AUSTIN, TX (April 15, 2021) — Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria will be heading to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway focused on adding one more accomplishment to her impressive record.  She will be looking for her first career four-wide national event win at a track where she has had success in the past. DeJoria celebrated victories in the desert in 2014 and 2016 at the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals before the track underwent a major reconstruction to add two additional lanes. DeJoria will be looking to keep her ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Camry Funny Car on the right track this weekend.

“I am looking forward to racing Vegas because it will be my first Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip,” said DeJoria. “I’ve had success there before but I have never won an actual four-wide race yet. My dad turned 80 this week on the 13th and he will be at the races. I would love to give him a Wally as a present.”

It has been over a year since any professional driver has tackled the unique four-wide racing format and DeJoria will be right in the thick of the competition. Her best four-wide performance was 2014 when she raced to the final quad at the Carolina Nationals. 

At the season opening Gatornationals the ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Funny Car team qualified No. 2 on the strength of their 3.914 second pass and DeJoria advanced to the quarterfinals. In the first round she posted a 3.918 second run mirroring her best qualifying effort. The confidence in her team led by crew chiefs Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante has DeJoria thrilled to get to the second race of the season.

“Del and Nicky work so well together and they have an amazing handle on the tune-up on this Toyota Funny Car,” said DeJoria. “When I get strapped in I know I am going to have a great shot at a top qualifying spot or a round win. Having them on my team lets me focus on my job as a driver. This whole ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila team really came together down the home stretch of last season and we got off to a solid start in Gainesville. I am expecting great things this season starting in Las Vegas.”

DeJoria finished the 2020 season with five consecutive Top Five qualifying starts. No other driver can boast that consistency and she kept the streak alive with a No. 2 start at the Gatornationals this season. The ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila team has also avoided any first round losses over the last six races with three semifinal finishes.

Qualifying for the 21st NHRA Las Vegas Nationals will begin Friday, April 16 and continue into Saturday April 17. FS1 will televise one and half hours of live qualifying coverage at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday.  Final eliminations will start on Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m.  (ET) and will be broadcasted beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on FS1.

NASCAR CUP SERIES RICHMOND RACEWAYTOYOTA OWNERS 400TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTAPRIL 15, 2021 AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:  JUST MOMENTS AGO, YOU UNVEILED YOUR PAINT SCHEME FOR THE NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY; SPONSORED BY ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD. AUSTIN, IT’S A COOL LOOKING CAR. ALSO, YOU HAVE A COOKIE DOUGH FLAVOR THAT INCLUDES BANANA AND PEANUT BUTTER, AS WELL. WALK US THROUGH ALL THAT.“Our relationship with Andy’s Frozen Custard goes all the way back to 2015, where I met Andy. We’ve created an awesome relationship. Their family loves racing and I knew that Terry Phillips, he always had Andy’s on his dirt car. We started talking and we were able to strike up a conversation; and eventually led to putting Andy’s on my gloves. We went to Daytona; had an in-car camera and it was a great deal for not only myself, but for Andy’s. We’ve just grown this relationship. It’s what you want to do – you want to start from the ground up and build it together. I think both companies have really worked well together. Now, we’re getting the first paint scheme in a Cup race. It’s cool to bring them from my gloves all the way to a Cup race. And being the All-Star Race, we’re racing for a million dollars; I think that’s awesome. And a place where Andy’s also wanted to be at; Texas Motor Speedway, around the Texas area.”“It’s exciting. And my “3-Crete”, obviously you already called me cookie dough. You heard the story. I loved cookie dough as a kid. My couch called me that because he knew I loved it and I think it was a motivational thing to get me to work harder or something. But the banana and the peanut butter comes from my grandmother because when I’d go to my grandma’s house, it was either a banana peanut butter sandwich or the tomato. And I didn’t feel like tomatoes would go good in custard, so we just stuck with the banana peanut butter that she used to make me.” HOW DO YOU APPROACH A TRACK LIKE RICHMOND THAT ISN’T YOUR GREATEST TRACK, BUT YOU COME OUT OF MARTINSVILLE, YOU’RE PROBABLY EXCITED FOR IT. AND YOU WILL START ELEVENTH – WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?“Claire, Richmond is now like my favorite track in the world. I finished fourth last year and I’ve had three consecutive top-seven finishes. You know that’s like my best now. But it was my least favorite, I will give you that. You got that right; I sucked there at the beginning of my career. I dreaded going there. I said I wished Richmond would just not be a track anymore. And somehow, over the years, I’ve made it into a good place for us. We had a really strong run last year there and I sped on pit road in the Playoffs. So, it was what kind of locked us into that second round, was the solidifying after Darlington going to Richmond and having a good run. We really looked at everything we did last year and didn’t change a whole lot. But we went back over some things in the simulator and I think it should be a good one. Obviously, starting 11th helps. We have a good pit stall and we’re just going to go after it. We need to lock ourselves into the Playoffs or better ourselves in points this weekend.” YOUR NUMBERS ARE GOING UP, AS FAR AS YOUR AVERAGES, BECAUSE YOU’VE HAD SOME GOOD FINISHES. HOW DO YOU TURN THAT AROUND AT A TRACK? “It’s a tough place. I think at Richmond, you look at the people that run well that – there’s a lot of people that have been racing in NASCAR for a long time. A lot of the veterans do well there. I think the hardest part is learning how to adjust to that track; making the right adjustments throughout a run because it kind of just tricks you a little bit. It can because you start on a green track sometimes and rubber gets laid down. But I found something I felt like that worked for me along the line and I’ve just kind of stuck to it. Same with the setup – Justin (Alexander, Crew Chief) has done a good job of finding a setup that works for our RCR No. 3 Chevrolet. We’ll get after it.” CHASE ELLIOTT SAID YESTERDAY THAT ONE THING ABOUT THAT TRACK IS THAT EVERYBODY RUNS THE SAME THERE. YOU CAN’T FIND DIFFERENT AREAS TO RUN LIKE YOU CAN AT MARTINSVILLE AND THAT MAKES IT HARDER. DO YOU FIND IT THAT WAY?“Yeah, I think you see the middle and the top come in for a short period of time. But it kind of goes back to being the bottom being the dominate line. But I definitely think that there are things you can do to move around and find speed as the tires wear.” LAST SEPTEMBER, WITH THE WAY THESE STAGES ARE, THERE’S TWO PRETTY LONG STAGES IN THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGE. IF THEY ARE LONG, GREEN FLAG RUNS, SOME TEAMS WERE DOING ONE PIT STOP; SOME WERE DOING TWO PIT STOPS. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE WILL HAPPEN ON SUNDAY?“Looking at that strategy, it worked out for some guys; short-pitting works out. I think it puts a little more pressure on the crew chief to make a call, whether your car is going to be able to hold on for a complete run or you need to come and get tires; split it up and come down pit road twice. I think it’s really kind of based off of how good your car is in that moment. I think it’s obviously easier to take a pit stop out and run long. It’s less chance of having a catastrophic mistake on pit road; a lot of things can go wrong there. And then a caution flies when you’re on pit road, it’s double-whammy. I personally like less pit stops. But if it’s something that we have to do for the ability of our car, then we have to do it.” LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA – THE WHOLE DYANMIC OF NEEDING A TEAMMATE TO WORK WITH OR AT LEAST A MANUFACTURER TEAMMATE AND HOW THAT CAN GET ALL JUMBLED UP IF YOU GET TOWARDS THE END OR YOUR CAR HAPPENS TO WORK BETTER WITH A DRIVER OF A DIFFERENT TEAM OR MANUFACTURER. HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL THAT?“It’s definitely pretty tough to manage. The best thing about a speedway is taking a fast car and trying to keep it up front. When you get up there and keep up there, then everybody wants to work with you because they know you’ve got speed. The manufacturer stuff is really tough. I think for us, the Chevy’s have been working well together. Chase (Elliott) and I worked pretty good there at the Daytona 500. Had a chance to get up there and mixed up. But we’ve got to do a better job this time. I think the Ford’s had us covered late in that race and we’ve got to figure that out – which we lost some of our bullets early in a big wreck.” “We love Talladega. I think we’re taking our same Daytona 500 car there and we’ll see how it lines up.” YOU GUYS HAVE RACED MOST OF THE TIME AT NIGHT AT RICHMOND. HOW MUCH VALUE DO YOUR NOTES HAVE WHEN YOU’RE GOING TO RACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON?“That’s a good question. We have some day-race experience and we can look back on that stuff. Each year, NASCAR has subtly changed packages. This is the first year where we’ve had the same package back-to-back. Heat factors into every race track; the temperature. So, we’ll definitely try to make the best adjustments we can to keep up with the track. Hopefully what we have in it right now is just a good starting place and we don’t have to do a whole lot.” THERE’S TALK ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY ABOUT VACCINATIONS AND GETTING BACK TO NORMAL. IN NASCAR, ESPECIALLY WHERE YOU GUYS LIKE TO SPEND FACE-TIME WITH PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT YOU, HAVE YOU GUYS AS A TEAM COME UP WITH A STRATEGY OR IS IT ALL INDIVIDUAL? HOW ARE YOU GUYS GOING ABOUT THAT?“I think it’s mostly individual. We all want to do the best to be the safest, but I think it’s our own opinion in the direction we go from here. I think it’s individually made, but definitely want to think about the future and be as safe as possible.” GOING BACK TO RICHMOND, WHERE YOU’VE HAD SOME SUCCESS AS OF LATE. HOW DOES THAT TRACK IN PARTICULAR FIT WITH YOUR DRIVING STYLE? “In the past, it clashed I thought (laughs). But now, we have longer runs; I feel like I’m a strong guy when it comes to long runs and taking care of my tires. I do a pretty good job of that. It was definitely tough early in my career; just trying to figure out what the car wanted. I don’t think I ever went the right direction on an adjustment. But now, as things have progressed, it’s kind of come to me in a good way. It’s one of those places that match what I think I’m good at.” LEADING 55-LAPS AT RICHMOND LAST YEAR, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT RCR TOOK AWAY FROM THAT RACE HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND?“Well, it was a strong presence for RCR there. It was in the Playoffs; we needed to show up. We won that first stage; kind of drove off that first stage. The second stage, I finished second with a penalty. I think I got the penalty at the end of the first stage. So, we somehow drove from dead last back up to second and led. I think we just had to short-pit and that gained some of our track position back. Brad (Keselowski) caught me with probably 10-50 laps to go; I couldn’t hold him off to win both stages.” “Hopefully, with the weather change being a day race, we make the right adjustments and are in the same position and I just don’t make a mistake like I did.” BETMGM HAS YOUR ODDS THIS WEEKEND AT 40:1. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS AN UNDERDOG ENTERING THIS WEEKEND?“I’m probably looked at as the underdog most of the time. I think in my wins, I’ve been the underdog. 40:1 is probably better than I usually get. I like sneaking up on the competition sometimes. So, when they’re sleeping on me, it’s a good thing.” WE’RE COMING UP TO A BIT OF A LANDMARK IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE; A QUARTER OF THE WAY DONE THIS WEEK. WE’VE SEEN ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRACK, WHICH IS UNUSAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. HOW DO YOU ASSESS RCR’S PERFORMANCE AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR, PARTICULARLY WITH YOUR NO. 3 TEAM? “I think we’ve had some really good runs this year. Coming up to that mark in the season, we’re in a good place as far as points goes. I definitely wish I could have the finish back at the (Daytona) Road Course. But you have to move on from some of those things. It’s a long season; there’s no perfect season. I feel like we need to keep adjusting and making our stuff better. When the time comes where we need to be our best, we are the best. So, we just keep doing our thing. I think we’re moving in the right direction. Obviously, our car has had speed since last year and we’ve been able to maintain some of that. There are certain places where I feel like we can get better all around. But we’re in a good spot. We could be in a way worse spot. There are some guys back there in points that are looked at as favorites and are just in a bad position. We’re in a better position than what we have been at this point in the season before.” “On the odds question, I think I was one of the best odds for the (Bristol) Dirt Race and we were absolutely terrible. So, I’m kind of glad we’re not the best odds at Richmond.” YOU’RE IN A BIT OF AN UNUAL SPOT FOR YOU, IN THAT YOU’RE ALMOST AN ELDER STATESMAN OF SORTS AT RCR FOR A CHANGE. WHEN TYLER (REDDICK) WAS STRUGGLING, WAS THERE ANY SORT OF ADVICE YOU COULD OFFER TO HIM TO HELP HIM GET BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK?“Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just when you’re young or younger – I feel like I’m still young – is getting everything outside of your life going in the right direction because everything bleeds over into that race car. When you get in there, you’ve got to have a clear mind and really focus on what you have going on. For Tyler (Reddick), he had so much success in his Xfinity career and as soon as he got into the Cup Series, he did a great job. In the Cup Series, you’re going to have lulls and it’s how you handle them and how you bounce back from them. Luckily, you get to race every weekend and you can kind of wipe out some of those bad days. But I think he’s doing a good job. Like you said, he’s back on track. He’s been tough and it’s good to see where he was at Martinsville. I think we can use some of that when we go back to Martinsville; some of the setups and stuff they used. It’s just better for all of us at RCR when he runs well and I do, too.” YOU’VE RAN SOME OF THE BEST PAINT SCHEMES THIS SEASON. I’VE ENJOYED THE BETMGM, THE BASS PRO, AND I’VE NOTICED YOU’VE ONLY RAN THE DOW AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN ELABORATE ON? “Dow still has some races coming; they just kind of have races later in the season. And thank you for the shout-out on the paint schemes. I do think that RCR does the best paint schemes. As you can tell, the Andy’s Frozen Custard paint scheme looks great. We do a really good job at RCR on graphics and everybody working together to get the best we can out of our cars. I would be biased towards that, too. Bass Pro Shops – I see it on your hat there – they’re a big supporter of ours. We have the majority of our races with them (inaudible). We’re really thankful for all of our partners at RCR.”

In 177 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins, 38 top-five, and 72 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Virginia short track, capturing six wins, 32 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. Catch the Action… The NASCAR Cup Series Richmond 400 will be televised live Sunday, April 18, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Austin Dillon’s best NASCAR Cup Series finish at Richmond Raceway is a fourth place result he earned last fall in the NASCAR Playoffs. He also has a pair of consecutive sixth place finishes in April 2019 and September 2018. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, acquiring seven top-10 finishes and one pole award. About Team Chevy… Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value.  Chevrolet is Richard Childress Racing’s longest-standing partner and has been directly involved in each of the racing organization’s more than 200 victories and 16 championships. Chevrolet is the winningest brand in motorsports.  AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:What are your thoughts on Richmond Raceway?“Richmond Raceway is one of the tracks the No. 3 team has circled as a definite place where we can gain maximum points and compete for a win. It’s funny because there was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We ran really well there last year, and I’m excited to get back there and see what we can do this time around.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Tyler Reddick has one previous NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway, finishing 11th at the track last year. Reddick also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 0.75-mile track, collecting one top-five and four top-10 finishes there. #WhatPowersYou… We’ve all been there, especially this year. Our batteries are running low, and we need a little more power to get the job done – whatever that job is. Everyone has someone or something that helps them recharge, get into gear and do the thing. A hike. Your pump-up song. Winning that bid. Quality time in the dirt. Caterpillar wants to know… What Powers You? Share your story on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with #WhatPowersYou and tag @CaterpillarInc. You’ll have a chance to win a $200 gift card for Cat merchandise. About Caterpillar… Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping our customers build a better world – making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2020 sales and revenues of $41.7 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle, cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our customers succeed. The company principally operates through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: Last year we only raced at Richmond once in the Cup Series due to COVID-19 schedule adjustments, but your team came home with an 11th-place finish that weekend. Does that help your confidence while also coming off top-10 finish at another short track the weekend before? And are the two tracks at all similar to each other?“For me, some of the things I was able to learn from Richmond last year I didn’t really apply to Martinsville later that season, but I did bring some of those learnings back into this past week’s Martinsville race and I think that helped make a difference. As much as the tracks are different, I have a similar approach to both. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, does a really good job of giving me a car at these short tracks that I can be aggressive with at times, which is nice. Generally, though, I try to save a little bit of my tires at these tracks. My team had a really good car at Richmond last year. We had a similar situation of having to start in the back and move our way forward but had a really promising run during the final stage of our race last year. We came out right behind the leaders and were able to drive away from the pack for a while, so if we can bring some of that back and be that good all day, it’s really promising and we’ll have a shot to contend for a top five in our No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet.”

The Short Track Incident Response Program provides the same level of safety training given to crews with Formula 1, IndyCar and more CONCORD, NC – April 15, 2021 – The world watched in silence and fear as Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean and his car disappeared in a hellish dome of fire after a crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix last year. While the imagery froze onlookers, track and safety officials rushed to Grosjean’s aid.Their response was praised and hailed as a factor in Grosjean’s survival. It’s the same kind of training and response you’ll see from World of Outlaws and DIRTcar officials at every dirt racing event. And it’s the same kind of training and response Series officials hope to see from safety workers at every track they go to.The World of Outlaws and DIRTcar have partnered with ESI Equipment Inc. and the International Council of Motorsports Sciences to make racetrack and safety officials aware of the SFI accredited Short Track Incident Response Program in an effort to have those officials properly trained in how to handle any kind of race car accident.“Back in the day, there are racetracks, you’d call them and you would ask them if they had an ambulance on site. They’d say, ‘Yes,’” World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Safety Director Tyler Bachman said. “They did not lie to you. The ambulance was there. But it hadn’t been moved in seven years. So, we’ve come from that five years ago to always having an ambulance there. Now, we’re trying to get the people in those ambulances to understand the cars.“Someone on the safety crew may have never sat in a Late Model before. They might not realize there is so much sheet metal around it. Or a Big Block, they might not realize the driver sits in the middle of the car. Most of the time, if the car went for a wild ride, flipped, or hit the wall, there’s a good chance the sheet metal has folded and made for a not an easy way to get out.”The program tackles everything from putting out various types of fires to helping extricate a patient from a race car and different methods of properly flipping race cars over so the driver doesn’t sustain any further injuries. Sprint Car, Late Model and Big Block chassis are on site of each course – and they’re always looking for more used chassis to be donated, wrecked or not – so participants can see what it’s like to sit in the cars, practice getting patients out of the cars and practice where they’ll need to cut the chassis if the driver can’t get out on their own power.In a recent class with 25 participants from the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company – who serve as safety workers at Lernerville Speedway – they got to be strapped into a car, flipped over, and taught the variety of different style safety harnesses drivers where and how to undo them. Some drivers may wear a Simpson Hybrid, while others may wear a HANS device. And different models between those brands have different ways of being disconnected.“So, a safety person, if you haven’t raced you probably don’t know how to take that off,” Bachman said. “If you look at a Simpson Hybrid Pro, which a lot of our guys have, you might not know you have to pull the strings (to get it off). You could look at it for 20 minutes and not realize how to get it off. Just stuff like that. It’s really a big awareness.”Doing stuff in the fire service with vehicle rescue and car crashes… race car rescues are a lot different. You can’t just open a door. They don’t have a door. Fuels are different, too. With the Sprint Cars, you have methanol. You may run up to the car and not even know it is on fire. So that’s a big thing too.”Every official with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model, Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar took the course last year, and are certified by SFI – a non-profit organization established to issue and administer standards for the quality assurance of specialty performance and racing equipment. The crew from the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company is the latest affiliation with the Series to take the course. The goal is to have three to five courses a year, Bachman said, for tracks across the country. He’d like to eventually see every track the series race at go through the program.“I thought it was very comprehensive and really opened my eyes to how intricate extricating a driver can be,” World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers said after participating in the program last year. “I mean, who would have thought that a Sawzall with a special tipped blade was faster at cutting through a frame than the Jaws of Life. That’s only in certain situations, of course, but I would have never known. I hope we do more of this training in the future.”There are various versions of ESI’s Race Track Safety Services to accommodate a variety of series like Formula 1, IndyCar and NHRA. While the techniques may differ from series to series and track to track with each having its own idiosyncrasies, the level of training is the same throughout them all.“The information is consistent throughout whatever series we’re doing,” said John Evans, president of ESI Equipment Inc. and facilitator of the programs. “It’s like, why should a Formula 1 driver get something different than a dirt driver? Technically, they shouldn’t. You’re not going to get any different treatment on the street depending on what kind of car you drive. Whether you’re in an Audi or a Volkswagen, if you crash on the street, you’re going to get the same level of care no matter who is coming in that ambulance.“That’s kind of where our thought process is. Why should it be different? It shouldn’t be different. We should all have that same knowledge and skills and technical information that make us all good responders on the track.”In a similar program for Formula 1 safety workers, the class convinced the doctors who tail the field on the first lap to carry high-flow fire extinguishers with them. That type of extinguisher was what they used to help clear a path for Grosjean to get out of the fire, according to Evans.“That’s the kind of information and training that we are providing,” he said. “Not only in an FIA Formula 1 situation, put to people who are responding on dirt tracks.”He knows how important that is firsthand. One guy in his group faced an incident where a Sprint Car was upside down and on fire with the driver still inside. The fire department on site didn’t have the proper training or equipment to give the safety worker a clear path to the driver. He tried 16 times to get to the driver, Evans said. Fortunately, the driver survived but suffered 95% burns on his body. Those are the kinds of situations Evans knows need to be corrected at every level of racing.The Short Track Incident Response Program has been around for only a few years now but has become one of the most popular classes, according to Evans. More than 200 people have gone through the course, so far. Before teaming up with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar, the majority of trainees came from the program being put on during PRI in Indianapolis. That’s where Bachman first found out about the course and realized it was something the series needed to be a part of.Bachman has worked with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar for nine years and has worked in the fire service since 2007. While he’s been through courses and experienced several accidents throughout his career, he said the Short Track Incident Response Program was still eye-opening.“Any class you take, from a structure fire to a car wreck class, you learn something every time,” he said. “I learned a new technique on how to get [drivers] out. There’re new boards out called med boards. We just saw them when we were down there (in Volusia for the class) and loved how they work to get a driver out of the car. So, we actually ordered one for each Series.”The same sentiment was shared by those who participated in the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company class.“A couple of the guys said to me going into this, ‘Ah, it’s going to just be another fire class. It’s just going to be another race car rescue class.’ Well, at the end of it, they all said they learned some new technique,” Bachman said. “They hadn’t realized you could do that, or they didn’t realize they could roll over a car that way. Most people who are doing this are volunteer firemen, or paid firemen, or doctors. If there’re one or two things every time that they go, ‘Wow, I never realized that or, Wow, that’s a lot quicker,’ I think this class is incredible and I wish every racetrack would do it.”Another class is being scheduled during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in November, then, next year, Bachman would like to see the expansion of several classes in each region of the country.“I think the more people that take this in our sport, in the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar racing, it will benefit our drivers that travel with us,” he said.The course is available for track owners, local rescue crews, and any other motorsports affiliated company that might benefit from it. To request a Short Track Incident Response Program at your facility, or attend a scheduled class, contact:USA: ESI Race Track Safety Services; 1-800-574-8228 | info@esiequipment.com  Canada: CMRT;  info@cmrt.ca | 905-914-0261 | 514-434-6911RELATED: In addition to the Short Track Safety Program, the World of Outlaws has worked with the Med-Star Dirt Track Rescue team for several years and will utilize their services during the World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown at Bristol Motor Speedway, April 22-24, which features the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Super DIRTcar Series.Led by Jay Masur, CEO and President of Med-Star Paramedic and Ambulance, Med-Star Dirt Track Rescue has more than 40 years of dirt track experience and has been commended as one of the best safety teams due to their extensive knowledge and quick response times. They regularly work with the World of Outlaws during Northern Midwest events. Along with providing rescue support at the track, like the Short Track Safety Program, they also train safety workers on the proper ways to handle a wreck and how to attend to a driver.For the full World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model schedules, CLICK HERE. For the full Super DIRTcar Series schedule, CLICK HERE. And for the full schedule of DIRTcar events, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can 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 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.

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.

REAPING THE BENEFITS: Gustin taking first year with World of Outlaws in stride 

“The Reaper” hopes for more consistency as the Series moves closer to home

CONCORD, NC – APRIL 15, 2021 – Anytime you make your first attempt at something, there’s likely some growing pains you’ll have to deal with. 

That’s what 2021 Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin is going through in his first year with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models. The Marshalltown, IA driver knows the struggles are part of a learning curve. 

“It’s a tough deal, it’s about as hard as it gets out here,” Gustin said. “We’re just taking our whooping’s one night at a time.” 

Despite those struggles, Gustin is currently 11th in the points standings, with four top-10s in his first 10 starts. It’s not something “The Reaper” expected when the year started. 

“This isn’t local racing by any means, so we didn’t really have high expectations,” Gustin said. “But at the same time we have good stuff, so we feel we can also run good.”

That feeling is something Gustin hopes to turn into better finishes as the grueling World Of Outlaws schedule continues. 

“The season has had its ups and downs so far, but hopefully it’s kind of a turning point to run more consistent with more top-10s and top-fives,” he said. 

While he hopes for more consistent finishes, Gustin hasn’t set a goal for the 2021 season. 

“We’re just out here trying to learn, we’re rookies right now so we’re just trying to do the best we can every night, and just get better,” Gustin said.

He may not have a set goal, but Gustin still has his eyes on winning Rookie of the Year. Since DIRTcar Nationals in February, he’s closed the gap on leading rookie contender Kyle Strickler. He hopes to narrow it even more with trips to the Midwest on the horizon. 

“That would be a cool accomplishment for sure, but it’s going to be tough,” Gustin said. “We gave up a lot of points at [DIRTcar Nationals], but hopefully we can get back to our neck of the woods with tracks he’s not familiar with and make up some ground.” 

One of those tracks near Gustin’s Iowa home is Mississippi Thunder Speedway. The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will visit the Fountain City, WI track for the first time on May 7-8. “The Reaper” hopes there’s another first at the Dairyland Showdown doubleheader. 

“I have a lot of laps around [Mississippi Thunder Speedway] and a lot of success. Hopefully we can get our first win there, if it doesn’t happen before that,” Gustin said.  

If that first win comes in front of his home crowd, it’ll be a good way to show how he’s fighting through the growing pains of running a full-time Series schedule.  

Gustin and the rest of The Most Powerful Late Models On The Planet return to action April 23-24 for a swing through Kentucky and Ohio.  

Friday, April 23, the Series makes its first-ever trip to Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY. Then on Saturday, April 24, it’ll move to Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, OH for the first time since 2006. 

Kilgore, Hackney collide in closing laps, Bellomy Hard Charger in 24th-7th drive APRIL 14, 2021 – DIRTcar eSports’ all-time winningest Dirt Street Stock driver is back. Tyler Jackson, of Rockford, IL, put it in Fairbury Speedway Victory Lane Wednesday night, winning the fourth race of the Chevy Performance Street Stock League for his fourth career victory with the League in a very rough-and-tumble Feature event. “I’m not gonna lie, it took a little longer than I would have liked it to in race #4,” Jackson told DIRTcar eSports announcer Chase Raudman in the DIRTVision post-race interview. “But the competition level is a lot higher than it was last year. It was a great race – I’m still catching my breath.” While Jackson started inside Row 2, just ahead of him was last week’s Feature winner and Street Stock bigwig, Carl Kilgore. He and his #021 took off from the pole and appeared to have the car to beat until Jackson’s car came in and took the lead just slightly past the halfway point. The two played cat-and-mouse around the virtual quarter-mile before a dramatic ride to the finish presented itself on a restart with just three laps remaining. Jackson took the inside lane for the restart and threw a big slide job on Kilgore in Turns 1-2. Kilgore, of Greenville, MS, turned it back underneath him and returned the favor in Turns 3-4, but only slightly. Jackson kept his foot in the accelerator on the very top side and retained the spot as they crossed the stripe. “That’s what won me the race,” Jackson said. “I knew I had to get a good start with him.” Two more slide jobs by Kilgore on the following lap were unsuccessful in stealing Jackson’s spot. But as he prepared for what was likely going to be a third, Kilgore received a rear bumper full of former Extreme Savage teammate, Keith Hackney. Hackney’s and Kilgore’s bumpers met at the entrance to Turn 1, sending Kilgore around, collecting several other cars. “I got into him a little bit. I apologize for that, majorly. I didn’t want to have second that way, by no means,” Hackney said after the race. As Hackney, of Calhoun, GA, drove away with the spot, several other wrecks unfolded around the track, and Kilgore was left with a 17th-place finish. Hackney was later penalized to the tail of the lead lap (21st) by League admins in post-race examination for the incident. This moved Nathan Lemons up into second and Jamie Massey into third, marking the best finishes of their DIRTcar eSports careers. The Chevy Performance Street Stock League action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 25-Tyler Jackson (3); 2. 225-Nathan Lemons (6); 3. 2-Jamie Massey (9); 4. 54-Larry Barber Jr. (7); 5. 26-Sean Stevens (13); 6. 003-Thorne Zimmerman (15); 7. 002-Clifford Bellomy (24); 8. 029-Lane Phillips (17); 9. 546-Randy Axner (16); 10. 260-Sage Luther (10); 11. 717-Bobby Rafferty (12); 12. 48-Kyle Vaughn (19); 13. 23-Brayden McMahan (18); 14. 29-Joshua Divine (23); 15. 21-Jim Reavis (14); 16. 021-Carl Kilgore (1); 17. 18-Justin Henson (21); 18. 04-Joshua Dennison (20); 19. 111-Jaron Valley (8); 20. 121-Eddie Farness (5); 21. 69-Keith Hackney (4); 22. 53-Aidan Skraha (22); 23. 077-Holden English (2); DQ. 005-Devin Ramsey (11) Hard Charger: 002-Clifford Bellomy (+17) CHAMP DEFENDS TURF: Tucker Wins in Back-to-Back Seasons with Pro Late Models at CharlotteHouser leads most laps, finishes fifth, Matjoulis rebounds with second podium Forty laps in Wednesday’s DIRTcar eSports Tour Feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Kendal Tucker only needed one to steal the show. In one of the most exciting finishes in DIRTcar eSports history, Tucker, the defending Tour champion and Pro Late Model race winner at Charlotte from Season 2, pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the closing laps of Wednesday’s Drydene Pro Late Model Feature and beat Alex Bergeron and Tyler Schell to the line to win his third career Tour Feature. “That was a wild one right there, to say the least,” Tucker said. Dylan Houser, of Ocala, FL, led the majority of the race on iRacing’s new dirt tire model – a total of 33 under his belt by race’s end – and maintained the lead as he came to three-to-go with Bergeron and Tucker right on his heels. Tucker, of Mt. Airy, NC, took the most advantage of Houser’s scrubbing of the outside Turn 2 wall by throwing a wicked slide job as the three dove into Turn 3. He clipped the infield tractor tire, somehow stayed with it, and raced side-by-side with Bergeron for the lead as they crossed for two-to-go. Houser jumped underneath each of them and slid his way back to the lead while Bergeron and Tucker crossed it back underneath him on the backstretch. Lead in-hand as they took the white flag, Bergeron rolled high coming out of Turn 2. Houser drifted up into him and made contact as Tucker re-entered the picture underneath them both, also banging off Houser as they entered Turn 3. A final slide job from Tucker in Turns 3-4 on them both sealed the deal as he crossed the stripe and collected $250 for the epic victory from the 10th starting spot. “No matter how far back I start, it definitely makes it a lot harder,” Tucker said. “But with these longer-distance races, it kinda bails you out if you can keep the car clean coming up through the field.” With all of the insanity between Tucker, Houser and Bergeron in the final three circuits, Tyler Schell and Blake Matjoulis had been on a mission to capitalize. Which, they did, taking advantage of further contact between Houser and Bergeron to grab third and fourth at the line. Bergeron had also made significant contact with the outside Turn 4 wall coming to the checkers. It was later determined that he scrubbed the wall through the entire corner and was therefore penalized two spots post-race for wall-riding. This awarded Schell and Matjoulis the final two podium spots and a career-best finish for Schell. The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, with the Hoosier Racing Tire Big Block Modifieds at Lernerville Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker (10); 2. 85-Tyler Schell (16); 3. 127-Blake Matjoulis (7); 4. 12-Alex Bergeron (5); 5. 2-Dylan Houser (2); 6. 115-Boddie Parker (23); 7. 1-Jesse Enterkin (21); 8. 80-Dylan Wilson (3); 9. 17-Brett Rowles (15); 10. 48-Dylan Yeager (1); 11. 71-Keven Hebert (12); 12. 41-Logan Rumsey (18); 13. 09-Tanner Tomasi (8); 14. 717-Bobby Rafferty (20); 15. 37-Randall Carter (17); 16. 033-Richard Murtaugh (13); 17. 4-Huey Quillen (24); 18. 8-Tyler Jackson (9); 19. 13-Damian Kiefer (4); 20. 000-Kevin Dedmon (11); 21. 101-Brent Evans (22); 22. 331-Dustin Hall (14); 23. 33-Evan Seay (6); 24. 5-Nathan Waddell (19)

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

First of 11 Pennsylvania Races at Lincoln (May 12) & Williams Grove (May 14-15)ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – April 14, 2021 – It’s the biggest rivalry in Sprint Car Racing: The PA Posse vs. The World of Outlaws.The greatest band of full-time drivers traveling the nation against the most prideful and passionate set of local racers. The Outlaws want to come in and steal in the loot, but the Posse take defending their porch to the next level.LINCOLN TICKETS (Wed, May 12) WILLIAMS GROVE TICKETS (Fri-Sat, May 14-15)In 2021, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will make 11 appearances in Pennsylvania, and it all starts next month.On Wednesday, May 12, The Greatest Show on Dirt rolls into Abbottstown, PA for a one-night only event at Lincoln Speedway. Labeled the Gettysburg Clash presented by Drydene Performance Products, this $10,000-to-win mid-week special marks the 49th Outlaws / Posse soiree at Lincoln.A one-day break ensues before the Morgan Cup fires off on Friday & Saturday, May 14-15 at Williams Grove Speedway. The iconic Mechanicsburg, PA 1/2-mile will reach a milestone 220th World of Outlaws event during the finale, which offers a $17,000-to-win prize.One of the eight tracks to grace the schedule during the Outlaws’ inaugural year in 1978 and still hold races today in 2021, Lincoln’s history ranges far and wide with some holes in between. It started in year one when Steve Smith swept four shows over seven nights to shoo the Outlaws from his home turf.The Abbottstown 1/4-mile was a yearly tradition until 1999, when a 14-year dormant period began. In 2012, the track returned to Outlaw competition with a hot start for the Posse as Danny Dietrich of Gettysburg stood tall with the first two of his five-career World of Outlaws win.In 10 total dates since returning in 2012, the Posse have had the Outlaws’ number with six wins to four at Lincoln. Donny Schatz (2016), David Gravel (2017) and Sheldon Haudenschild (2020) are the only full-time Outlaws to beat the Posse of late.The competition has been stout in one month of local competition at Lincoln this year. Through seven races, six winners have risen to the occasion with Aliquippa, PA’s Tim Shaffer being the only repeat winner in the Heffner #72. Danny Dietrich, Billy Dietrich, Alan Krimes, Jim Siegel & Tim Wagaman also have wins.”We definitely take a lot of pride in defending our state,” Danny Dietrich said. “The World of Outlaws are the best in the country, but we’ve still got the best local scene of all 50 states. I think that’s why it is always so amped up when they roll into town. They want to beat us, but we want to beat them more. They bring in a little extra money and more glory, which is always nice too.”Transitioning to the Morgan Cup on May 14-15, Williams Grove Speedway will continue to stretch its advantage as the most-visited track in World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series history. Along with Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, they’re the only two tracks to host World of Outlaws events every single year since the inception of the Series in 1978.Although Outlaws Steve Kinser (38 wins), Donny Schatz (21 wins), Mark Kinser (18 wins) and Sammy Swindell (16 wins) have dominated the 1/2-mile, the Posse’s brightest have put up a strong fight including Lance Dewease (14 wins), Fred Rahmer (9 wins), Greg Hodnett (9 wins) and Don Kreitz Jr. (8 wins).For Dewease, a win in next month’s two-night Morgan Cup would prove especially meaningful if he goes winless at the half-mile until then. As of now, the 55-year-old legend from Fayetteville, PA owns 99 career wins at Williams Grove, which is good enough to be the all-time leader over Fred Rahmer (90) & Greg Hodnett (73). However, win #100 being against the Outlaws sure would be special.Of the current 15 full-time drivers, only Donny Schatz (18 wins), David Gravel (8 wins), Brock Zearfoss (1 win) and James McFadden (1 win) have World of Outlaws wins at the track.Some of the other local stars that have turned in strong performances in 2021 include winner Freddie Rahmer, Brandon Rahmer, Dylan Cisney, T.J. Stutts, Chase Dietz, and Steve Buckwalter, among others.”It’s hard to put that place into words,” Zearfoss, a native of Jonestown, PA said. “It’s just so special. I mean they’ve been racing Sprint Cars for almost a century soon. Williams Grove just has so much history, and especially with the Outlaws. I’ll never forget my first win there in 2017. Hopefully we can get another one next month.”As strong as they are, the PA Posse still went winless in 2020 against the Outlaws. They had nine chances between Lernerville, Williams Grove, Lincoln, and Port Royal, but loss all nine of them. It was the first time they were shut out on their home turf since 2008.With that as motivation, they’ll be sure to come out of the gates swinging when the 2021 chapter of Outlaws vs. Posse begins.Still a month away, Brad Sweet currently leads the World of Outlaws championship standings in pursuit of his third-straight title in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. The Big Cat is currently being chased by Sheldon Haudenschild (-92), David Gravel (-98), Carson Macedo (-110) and Logan Schuchart (-110).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.Photo – Trent Gower

CHEVROLET AT LAS VEGAS What: Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide NationalsWhen: Friday, April 16-Sunday, April 18Where: The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NevadaTV: FS1 will telecast eliminations at 8 p.m. ET April 18                                                                                                     Chevrolet drivers seek another winning hand in Las VegasNovel four-wide format at The Strip creates challenges in Race 2 of season 
DETROIT (April 14, 2021) – Four-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson doesn’t dwell on statistics.
He’s always looking forward to his next win because he knows how difficult it is to clutch a Wally in the ultra-competitive category dominated by Chevrolet Camaros. Anderson will acknowledge, however, that his victory in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season opener last month in Florida was particularly significant.
It happened to come on his 60th birthday, ended an 18-month victory drought and moved him within two wins of tying his mentor, Warren Johnson, for the all-time Pro Stock leader with 97 wins. 
“I definitely want to do that; I can’t say it’s not a goal,” said Anderson, who will seek to add to the total in the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals this weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “That isn’t the reason I race, though. I race because this is what I love to do, and I love to win. Whatever that number ends up as, 95 or 105 or whatever it’s going to be, I’m going to be happy. I’m just going to try to get as many as I can.”
The COVID-19 pandemic caused four-wide races in Las Vegas and Charlotte, North Carolina, to be canceled in 2020. No Pro Stock driver entered this weekend has won in the four-wide format at Las Vegas.
Anderson, driver of the Denso Spark Plugs Camaro SS, is an eight-time winner at the The Strip. 
“(The four-wide format) takes some getting used to,” said Anderson, who advanced to the final quad in 2019. “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know what it looks like for the spectators, but inside the car it’s a mess.” 
Three-time Funny Car champion Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS, also had a strong start to the season with a runner-up finish at Gainesville. He’s a five-time winner at The Strip.
“We had a good start to the season at the Gatornationals. It was good to be back in the seat, be with the team and Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham. We had some gremlins, but we had some luck on our side too,” said Hight, who is a three-time winner in the quad format at Charlotte. “It’s a good weekend when you get to the final, but we beat ourselves so it’s time to do some polishing and get this Auto Club Chevy running the way we know how.”
Funny Car teammate John Force, PEAK/BlueDEF PLATINUM Camaro SS, has won eight times at the track. Top Fuel sensation Brittany Force, Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster, holds both ends of the track records and will be looking for her 11th career victory. She won at the racetrack in the fall of 2019.FS1 will telecast eliminations at 8 p.m. ET April 18.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (holds both ends of track Top Fuel records — elapsed time of 3.680 seconds and 338.17 mph; won at track in 2019): “Vegas was our last win together in 2019. Vegas is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit and winning at your favorite track is something that can’t be beat. I’m excited to head to Vegas and start qualifying this Flav-R-Pac dragster. Our focus will be Saturday’s qualifying, especially that Q2 run setting us up for race day. We’re looking for more wins this season and ending the season with a championship.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (six-time winner at track; won the first four-wide event in 2010 at Charlotte): “I always look forward to racing at The Strip. Bruton Smith always puts on a good show. It’s already sold out. The fans are going to love it. It’s four-wide, it’s 40,000 horsepower. This BlueDEF PLATINUM team is excited so we’ll see how it goes, hopefully go some rounds and come out with a win.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in season opener; five-time winner at track): “Racing in Las Vegas is always a good time. I’ve had some success there but I’m looking to add a Four-Wide Nationals victory to my list. There’s a lot more going on when it’s four-wide but as long as you stay focused on what you’re doing and don’t worry about who’s next to you, it’s just like any other race. Whoever is in those other lanes, I’m not treating it any differently. The fans are the ones who really benefit from racing four-wide. Over 40,000 horsepower, the ground really shakes.”
PRO STOCK:
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (reigning and four-time class champion; four-time winner at track; holds track Pro Stock speed record of 214.69 mph; will be making 300th Pro Stock start and could surpass 350 career round wins): “I’m excited to go back to Vegas. We’ve obviously had a lot of success there. We were able to win the event there that closed the 2020 season and our fourth world championship in October. Four-wide is definitely interesting. It adds some challenging aspects. We’ll go there with a clear head and hopefully our Lady Luck that always graces us in Vegas will continue to do so.”
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, DENSO SPARK PLUGS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner in season opener; eight-time winner at track): “We went home after Gainesville and worked on our engines to try to make something better. We love our shop time. (The four-wide format) takes some getting used to. There’s a lot going on. Inside the car it’s a mess.” 
CHRIS MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in 170th Pro Stock race): “I am definitely a fan of the four-wide. I think it’s a cool race given the fact that it is different than all of the others. It gives us something different to look forward to. Best part is, come race day, the slightest mistake takes you out of the race, so the pressure to be good mixed with some Vegas luck is critical. We used Gainesville as our test session in order to get all of the off-season dust out of my Chevy Camaro. We tested again this week in Tulsa to confirm what we learned in Gainesville, so we expect to show out in Vegas.”
MASON MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (competing in 10th Pro Stock race; semifinalist at season opener): ““We’re coming off some good momentum in Gainesville by making it to the semis. Heading into the weekend, we were able to test, giving us more data on the track and me more seat time. I guess you can say that after making five or so laps before the national event really helped my confidence. The pressure of competition didn’t bother me because I felt confident in my Chevy Camaro as well as my driving. This weekend is the first time I’ll be driving in a four-wide event. I have watched my dad (Chris McGaha) over the years talk about the differences between this event and a normal national event and it will be important that I do my own thing and not worry about what is going on in the other three lanes. I am looking forward to this new experience.”
KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up at track in 2020 season finale; competing in 10th Pro Stock race and first time in four-wide event): “It will be a learning curve. You just have to go there and figure it out, with a clear mind. I watched some video, and I just have to hit my shift points. I have all the confidence in the world in my Lucas Oil Chevy Camaro.”
TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITEMOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up in season opener; won first national event 12 years ago in Super Comp at Las Vegas): “I certainly remember that win in 2009. I was pretty much in shock and could barely talk when I got interviewed at the top end. We are tuned-up and ready to roll. Luck was on our side in Gainesville, and we gained a lot of momentum by starting so well. There is no limit to what we can accomplish and there’s plenty of goals to set our sights on this weekend in Las Vegas.”

LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2021) – After making their return to the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing World Series, John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS team are more motivated than ever for the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway April 16-18. In what was his 200th race start in a Chevrolet, Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro started race day at the NHRA Gatornationals from the fifth spot. They took the first-round victory with a 3.915-second pass at 326.56 mph over Paul Lee’s 3.977 run at 328.94. Lining up against his team president, Robert Hight, in the second round, Force and his Chevy Camaro ran into tire smoke and coasted to a 4.994-second pass at 164.19 mph to give Hight, who finished the event runner-up, the win. “It was exciting to be back in the seat of my PEAK BlueDEF / PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro, be back with the fans and to be in the show. We went a couple rounds and we look like a race team,” said Force who sits eighth in points. “Robert Hight and Auto Club going to the finals, Brittany with Monster and Flav-R-Pac had a strong showing. We’re ready for this next race. Ready to head to Vegas.” Force has had success at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway winning a total of six times at the venue, twice in the spring, 2019 and 2015. He has yet to have a victory in the four-wide format at the track but is no stranger to winning in the unconventional style. Force won the first ever four-wide event held at zMAX Dragway in 2010 and was runner-up in 2014 and 2018, he also reached the final quad most recently in 2019. In addition to his six wins at The Strip, Force has had three No. 1 qualifiers and a total of eight final round appearances. “I always look forward to racing at The Strip. Bruton Smith always puts on a good show. It’s already sold out. The fans are going to love it. It’s four-wide, it’s 40,000 horsepower,” Force said. “This BlueDEF PLATINUM team is excited so we’ll see how it goes, hopefully go some rounds and come out with a win.” Before sitting out the majority of last season, Force had a runner-up finish at the 2020 Winternationals where he defeated Bob Bode, Tommy Johnson Jr. and reigning world champion Matt Hagan before falling short to longtime rival Jack Beckman in the finals. At the NHRA Arizona Nationals, Force qualified No. 2 and made a semifinal finish where he again lost to Beckman who was again the event winner.   Qualifying at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins Friday at 4:15 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Eliminations take place Sunday at noon. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

NASCAR CUP SERIES RICHMOND RACEWAY TOYOTA OWNERS 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 14, 2021 CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA, HOW DO YOU HANDLE WORKING WITH TEAMMATES AND MANUFACTURERS?“That’s a good question. I feel like it’s always a topic of conversation and it’s always a really tough conversation. But I feel like this has been going on for the last couple of years, I would say, give or take; way more than it did my first couple of years. And as things have gone on, the dynamic has certainly progressed. I think everyone has a better understanding. And ultimately, amongst our teams a Hendrick Motorsports, I feel like we have found ourselves in just a good position of understanding what’s important when it comes to helping each other. To me, the high spots of that are getting on and off pit road good, together, and efficiently. And then, restarts and lane choice from that standpoint. Outside of that, the race has to evolve naturally, right? Like we really try hard not to hurt one another. But it’s also hard to expect someone to hurt themselves and to go out of their way to try to help you. I feel like we have a good understanding of that, and we really just focus on putting emphasis at Hendrick Motorsports, and Chevrolet, too, as we have evolved into just the pit cycle and doing that together and taking time because those things, that in particular, I feel like is going to put you in the best position after that and potentially at the end of the race. So, that’s where our focus has been. That’s where my focus is at. And I feel like reasonably, we’ve done a good job of that and gotten better at it as time has gone on and focusing on those these and just not playing so many games of expecting too much from one another, but just focusing on those high spots.” DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT NOT HAVE WON IN THE FIRST EIGHT RACES?“No, I’m not concerned with it. I would love to win, for sure, before now; but at the same time, I feel like we have a great team. I feel like I’m in a good place. I don’t feel any different today than I did approaching the end of the season last year. So, we just have to continue to push and work hard to focus on what makes us go fast and what makes me comfortable behind the wheel. And just focus on us. I feel like that’s something we’ve always done a really good job of at the No. 9 team in particular. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) have a good relationship and I think we understand what I need behind the wheel to go fast. We just have to achieve that and get it the next few races. We’ve had pace at certain times this year that I feel like was good enough to contend for a win. We’ve also had races where we were really bad and didn’t have pace. But that’s racing and that’s part of it, right? Those tough days and slow races push you to want to be better. So, I guess to answer your question, no, I’m not concerned with it. We all want to win but I feel no different today than I did at the end of last year and the results were just fine then. So, I know we can achieve it. I know we can go out there and accomplish our goals. And we believe that as a team and really outside of that, it really just doesn’t matter.” HAVE YOU ENJOYED HAVING THREE SHORT TRACKS ON THE SCHEDULE IN A ROW?“Well, there’s only two short tracks on the schedule. And they never fall in order. So, Martinsville is it.” WHAT ABOUT BRISTOL?“Well, that is a good point. I guess the dirt throws that one for a bit of a loop. Yeah, I mean you know, Bristol is such an off thing. That’s really hard, right, because we don’t go back to the dirt. So, I think it’s been good. I think our cars and our series suits well for short track racing. Martinsville, I thought, was a good race. I wish I was part of it a little closer, but I thought it was a good show. Martin and Denny raced really hard for the win; I don’t know what else you could ask for really, if you’re a fan. They were side-by-side for ten laps, it seemed like, which I thought was really cool. So yeah, I think it’s a good thing. I’ve always been a fan of it and I’d love to see more. Hopefully we can get there one day.” RICHMOND IS A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN THOSE TWO AND THE CONFIGURATION IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. HOW MUCH DIFFERENT IS THE DRIVING AT RICHMOND?“The driving at Richmond is honestly very straight forward. I think that’s what makes Richmond really hard is because it’s just not a super challenging place, I don’t think, for the drivers to run the proper line. But what makes it really hard there is to just be different. And everyone is doing the exact same thing. Obviously, you have to have your car balance really good there and it has to be perfect. You’re riding that really razor thin edge much like you do at Martinsville. But it’s definitely a challenge. And I think the reason it’s a challenge is that everyone is just doing the same thing. Martinsville is different where guys really attack that race track differently. Whereas at Richmond, I feel like everyone is just in the exact same boat and it’s hard to be different. I think that’s what makes that place tough.” WITH EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENED DURING THE PANDEMIC, EVERYBODY HAS HAD TO DO THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY. WHEN THE SPORT GOES BACK TO A NEW NORMAL, WHAT ARE THE THINGS OR PROCESSES THAT WILL STILL CARRY OVER LIKE THE GOOD OLD DAYS?“That’s a great question. Honestly, from our preparation standpoint, really not a lot changed. We went about our race prep really similar to what we did in the past. Our post-race work was really similar. I don’t necessarily think a lot changed from my competitive-side or from the competition aspect; but certainly, from the logistic side of things and the scheduling side; which this is above me and not my call, but I definitely think there are a lot of lessons and a lot of good to take from what was a bad situation and still is, and just how they’re doing things. I feel like NASCAR became more efficient in the past year than it’s ever been. And, especially than it’s been in the last 10 to 15 years; I feel like we just learned that there’s just a lot of things that we don’t have to have to still put on a great show on Sundays. And man, I think we’d be making a really big mistake to not learn from those lessons and to not carry some of that stuff forward. The leadership is as different and is as confident and open to trying new things at NASCAR than, I don’t want to say than it’s ever been because I wasn’t around for a lot of it, but man, they’re doing things way different now and trying things that I don’t think any of us would have ever expected 10 or 15 years ago, right? I think they’re looking at all of it and I think they should. But that’s up to them and whatnot and again, that’s not my call and I don’t want it to be my call. But I do think there are a lot of great lessons that we can take from this on just how to be more efficient as a sport moving and to make it a little more economical and make use of everyone’s time wisely on the road, and still put on a really good race on Sundays or Saturday nights. Again, I think there is a lot of good to take from what’s been a tough year.” AS THE SPORT LOOKS TO OPEN UP MORE AS EARLY AS NEXT MONTH, AS A COMPETITOR WITH MUCH AT STAKE, DOES THAT IMPACT ANY DECISION ON WHETHER TO GET VACCINATED OR NOT, OR HAVE YOU ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF THAT? HOW DO YOU VIEW THAT?“Well, I view it very personally as I think a lot of people probably will. I, myself, view it personally. I don’t share my medical records with the public. I don’t tell you guys when I go to the doctor. Not out of disrespect, but that’s just that I’m kind of a personal guy, I guess, when it comes to my health. I’m making decisions about my health on my own terms; and I will respect everyone else’s decisions just the same as I hope to get the privacy and respect of mine.” WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD FROM WILLIAM BYRON AND ALEX BOWMAN ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES IN BEING ABLE TO DRIVE THE NEXT GEN CAR THAT HAVE PIQUED YOUR INTEREST ABOUT THE CAR COMPARES TO WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY DRIVING?“To be honest, we haven’t talked about it a ton. I’ve been kind of hesitant just with the whole situation and whatnot, on the car, and guys driving it just because I still think there’s a lot of questions that aren’t answered. You don’t want to pick up something. Say it’s a certain thing with the steering. There was talk about that a while back and that it was way off and they’re working on it and trying to get it better. But that might be a comment that you might get from one of them a while back before it was proper. So, I’ve just been really careful about asking and really getting involved with that car just yet because again, I just think there are things that they’re still working out. And honestly, I kind of want it to be worked out first before I really dive in and start to pick apart the small things that can make a big difference. We’re always hunting the really small fine details and you just want to make sure all those details are what we’re going to have next year. And that’s really kind of been where my head is at with it.” WITH THE NEW THINGS ON THE NEW CAR LIKE THE INDEPENDENT REAR SUSPENSION AND SEQUENTIAL SHIFTER, WHAT ASPECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST TO EXPERIENCE YOURSELF?“I think it’s really hard just to pick out one thing, right? I don’t think the sequential shifting is going to make that big of a difference like you guys would never know we have an H pattern shifter in our cars. Like, you would just never know that looking from the outside with the way the transmissions are. We might miss a shift on occasion just because of that. But for the most part, the transmissions are really nice, and they like to live in gear, and they want to go in gear. It doesn’t really seem to slow down the shifting process. I feel like we get the thing in gear really fast. So, I don’t really see that changing the look of things a whole lot. But certainly, the independent rear suspension and the aerodynamic factors of that car, I think, could definitely change how the racing looks. But I think you have to look at it as a whole. I think it’s really hard just to say hey, that one thing is going to be super-different and I’m super-excited about that. I think the whole thing is a package and it’s a package deal. That whole car is one unit. And it’s going to be very different. And I think you have to look at it as a unit and see how it is different as a whole because again, to your point, there are some things that are very far removed from what we’ve had, what NASCAR has had, for a long time. So, I’m very curious to see how it works and curious to drive one and see how the racing is.” INAUDIBLE – QUESTION ABOUT MAKING IT TO VICTORY LANE“We’re trying hard. We’re always trying hard; whether we win or finish last, we’re trying hard. So, it’s always a fight. Martinsville was a really strong fight by our team, honestly. We had a long day just in kind of how the strategy worked out. I feel like we passed a lot of cars, which was good. We got up there towards the front there at the end. We definitely weren’t as good as Martin and Ryan, but I thought we were probably mixed in with that group behind them, which is not what you’re looking for, but it’s certainly solid and something you can build off of. That’s an important race for the Fall. I hope we can go back and build on that. Certainly, looking to Richmond, that’s been a struggled track for me. I would love to go there and try to get a win. That would be a big one if we could go do that, just knowing how bad we’ve struggled there in the past. It reminds me of Martinsville and our struggles there and kind of progressing and trying to get better. Hopefully Richmond is another step in the right direction, and we can contend up there.” ASIDE FROM WINNING, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST GOAL DURING THE OPENING PART OF A LONG 36-RACE SCHEDULE?‘Honestly, you said it. Winning. I think winning early is a good thing. You have to win early. No, we didn’t last year. But I definitely think it helps. That, to me, is the most important thing; really, the whole year. With the way the points format is, it’s a long regular season to the Playoff run and to when it starts. You can have wins in the bank when that starts. It doesn’t guarantee you a shot to Phoenix, but it sure does hedge your bet and having those points as those rounds reset and go forward. I think that’s the most important thing. Obviously, getting good points and having solid finishes to get yourself in a good position for the regular season championship thing, whatever they call it; I don’t know what the proper term is for it, but it awards a bunch of points if you have a good result there. So, winning and getting yourself good points for the end of the regular season to help carry you to the Playoffs; those Playoff points, however you get them, are the most important thing.” THERE IS TALK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF NASCAR ADDING A STREET COURSE TO THE SCHEDULE IN THE FUTURE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT?“I don’t see anything wrong with it. Again, I’m honestly super excited that this leadership group at NASCAR is branching out and trying new things. Hey, I’m about it. If we go have a street course and it goes terrible, then that’s honestly fine with me because we were trying something different and we weren’t just stuck in the ways that we’ve been doing it for however many years just because that’s how it’s been done. So, I think sometimes we try these new things and we all just have this expectation of something that we don’t know whether it’s reasonable or not, but we have these high expectations. But in reality, I think we should really just be happy that we’re trying something different; and just take pride in that, and just leave it there, whether it goes good or bad. So, I’m all about it and hopefully they can pull it off somewhere and I hope it’s a good race. And if it is great or if not, then try something else.” HOW DO YOU THINK THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE PLAYED OUT AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER MOVING FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON?“Such a weird event, you know. The dirt category is small, right, with just that one race. So, it’s not like you go back there in the Fall, which makes it tough; but they say they’re going back there to do it again next year. I think this new car is going to bring a whole new set of challenges in how they can logistically make that work again. I felt like the only bad thing; really, I thought it was a pretty good show for the conditions and what they had to work with. It looked like an old short track race from the 80’s or something, which I thought was cool. I didn’t really think it was much of a dirt race like you typically see. And the reason for that is what we saw in the Truck event with how they cool these cars and the windshields; they just can’t have a tacky track, which is what dirt racing typically has. You see a track that has moisture to it ends up kind of progressing drier and drier as the race goes along. Whereas we started and we were kind of already on the dry side of the spectrum. So, I would love to see it where we could have more of that transition like normal dirt racing has. But just the way these cars are built and the windshields in them and stuff, that’s very difficult. So, all things considered, I think they did a really good job managing that. There were no disasters. They tried to get that Truck race going and they had to stop it. But nothing bad happened. And I thought our race went as smooth as it could have. But this new car is going to bring a new set of challenges that I don’t think anybody really knows about yet. So, we’ll see.” IS THERE ANY SENSE OF PRESSURE AS THE REIGNING CHAMPION IN TRYING TO GET BACK TO VICTORY LANE? HAS YOUR LIFE REALLY CHANGED MUCH SINCE WINNING THE TITLE?“To be real honest, my life really hasn’t changed a whole lot like day to day. I can’t say it’s really much different. We’re still very driven to want to go win and compete at a high level. That would be that way whether we had won last year or not. I’m thankful for that. I feel like we have a group that is very driven and not just content with last year’s result. We want to continue to push and get better and that’s where our head is at. Of course, we want to go win. That’s always the goal. But you’re going to have struggles and you’re going to have those bad days. We’ve had a few of them so far this year. But I feel like we have a very strong team. I feel like I have the best group in the garage to go to work with. I feel like they believe in me and I believe in them. They let me do my thing and I let them do theirs. I feel like our relationship is good. I think we all have confidence that we can go compete at a high level and compete for race wins and as long as we believe that, then everything else is really irrelevant. So, I feel very good about that. I feel like we’re in a good place. And we’ve just got to keep pushing and keep pushing ahead. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. Nothing is ever easy. But I feel like we go and compete to win races and do the high level. So, that’s what we’re working on.”

Batavia, OH (April 14, 2021) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is back in action this weekend in the Mid-Atlantic, at Hagerstown Speedway on Saturday, April 17th and Port Royal Speedway on Sunday, April 18th. The Red Nininger Tribute at Hagerstown Speedway will see a full program for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, accompanied by the Pure Stock division. Hagerstown Speedway is a true 1/2 mile track with straight-aways over 900 feet long and 70 feet wide, with 90 feet wide turns. The pit gate will open at 2:00PM with the general admission gate opening at 5:00PM, hot laps begin at 7:00PM. For tickets and more information, visit: www.hagerstownspeedway.com or call (301) 582-0640. Better known as “The Speed Palace”, Port Royal Speedway will host the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Sunday, April 18th for the River Valley 40. The immaculate half-mile oval will feature a full program for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, highlighted by a 50-lap, $10,000-to-win main event. The Limited Late Models will compete for $1,500-to-win. Both pit and general admission gates are set to open at 2:00PM, with hot laps slated for 5:15PM. For more information, visit: www.portroyalspeedway.com. For those unable to make it out in person, both races will be streamed live, beginning with hot laps, on MAVTVPlus.com. Unlimited. Exclusive. On-Demand. Live.  Following his victory at Atomic Speedway, Hudson O’Neal leads the current Lucas Oil Championship Standings and will be sporting the Midwest Sheet Metal Orange Spoiler at Hagerstown Speedway. “To say the least, it’s always been a dream to be in this position and to be able to take advantage of it with a really good race car. I ran pretty good at Port Royal last year and have had success at Hagerstown as well, so I feel pretty good going into the weekend.”  Trailing O’Neal in the championship hunt – by a total of just 125 points – are Devin Moran, Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson, and Brandon Sheppard to complete the top five. To view the complete Lucas Oil Championship Standings, please visit: https://lucasdirt.com/points/2021-points.  Track Information:Hagerstown SpeedwayPhone Number: 301-582-0640Location: 15112 National Pike, Hagerstown, MD 21740Directions: I-81 to exit 6-B, then 5.3 miles west on US 40 (NSR)Website: www.hagerstownspeedway.com Tire Rule for Hagerstown Speedway April 17th:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1300, (28.5) 1425Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1300 NRM, (29.0) 1300 NRMW, (29.0) 1425 NRM, (29.0) 1425 NRMW*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. Port Royal SpeedwayPhone Number: 717-527-2303Location: 308 W. 8th St., Port Royal, PA 17082Directions: two miles south of US Rt. 322 just off of PA Rt. 75 in Port Royal. Pit entrance on Fourth St., General Admission on Sixth and Eighth St.Website: www.portroyalspeedway.com Tire Rule for Port Royal Speedway April 18th:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1300, (28.5) 1425Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1300 NRM, (29.0) 1300 NRMW, (29.0) 1425 NRM, (29.0) 1425 NRMW*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. Red Nininger Tribute Purse: $15,000 to win- 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $57,050 River Valley 40 Purse:$10,000 to win- 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800. = $48,575

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.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDY GP OF ALABAMA – APRIL 17-18 BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK LEEDS. ALABAMA APRIL 14, 2021
RACE 1 OF 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES:DETROIT (April 14, 2021) – Chevrolet teams and drivers, buoyed by strong on-track test outings and off-track preparations, enter the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with high expectations for continued success. Since rejoining INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed an impressive 89 victories and 99 earned poles in 149 races on the way to securing six Engine Manufacturer Championships and seven Driver/Owner Championships. Team Penske and Ed Carpenter Racing have contributed to the achievements since 2012. Chevrolet scored seven wins and 11 poles during the 2020 season truncated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven cars powered by Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine will seek to take the checkered flag in the opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama powered by AmFirst on April 18 at Barber Motorsports Park. “As Chevrolet enters its 10th consecutive year of NTT INDYCAR SERIES engine manufacturer competition, we want to thank our partners and teams for the major accomplishments through the years,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet INDYCAR program manager. “That dedication to a collaborative effort resulted in maximizing available off-season testing in preparation of for the 2021 season. With a talented lineup of drivers and skilled teams backed by Chevy power, we look forward to achieving more milestones this season.” Chevrolet has won six of the past eight races on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn road course in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19. Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, is the only three-time winner. “I think we’ve got a good opportunity to come out pretty strong this year,” said Newgarden, who won from the pole in 2018 along with victories in 2015 and ’17. “I think we’ve done a lot of good work this off-season. I’m very encouraged about everywhere we’re going, to be honest, Barber included. I can’t wait to get going this weekend.” Newgarden, runner-up in the 2020 championship standings, also posted top-five finishes in 2019 and 2016 on the natural-terrain course that features 80 feet of elevation change. Teammates Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, and Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, have also notched victories. Team Penske will field a fourth full-season Chevrolet entry driven by three-time Australian SuperCar champion Scott McLaughlin, who made his Series debut in the 2020 finale. “This track requires a lot of commitment, a lot of bravery and a lot of commitment to the aerodynamics of the car,” he said of Barber Motorsports Park. “That’s something I’m getting used to right now. Having a couple test days puts me in good stead knowing what I’ve got and what I will have chassis-wise when we hit the track on Saturday morning.” Felix Rosenqvist, who edged Pato O’Ward for the victory at Road America last season, has joined Arrow McLaren SP as O’Ward’s teammate in the No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA Chevrolet, returns to A.J. Foyt Enterprises after competing in eight races in 2020. He will be joined for the full season by four-time Indy car champion Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT Chevrolet. Veteran Conor Daly will drive the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing in road/street course events, with the team namesake taking the wheel on ovals. Daly will also drive in the Indianapolis 500 for the team. Rinus VeeKay, the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year, returns to Ed Carpenter Racing in the No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet. NBC will telecast the 90-lap/214-mile race at 3 p.m. ET April 18. The race will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Practice, live qualifications and the race day warm-up will stream on Peacock Premium.
Team Chevy will be represented by:A.J. Foyt EnterprisesDalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USASebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT
Arrow McLaren SPPato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SPFelix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP
CarlinMax Chilton, No. 59 Carlin
Ed Carpenter RacingConor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air ForceRinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek
Team PenskeJosef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team PenskeScott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team PenskeWill Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team PenskeSimon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team PenskeHISTORICAL 2012 TO PRESENT – CHEVROLET V6 TWIN TURBOCHARGED DIRECT INJECTED 2.2-LITER ENGINE SUPPLIER IN INDYCAR:2012 – 11 wins   *First win as IndyCar V6 2.2 liter engine supplier (3/25/2012) – Helio Castroneves, Streets of St. Petersburg *First Chevrolet IndyCar V6 IZOD IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship *First Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Driver Championship – Ryan Hunter-Reay (also won Oval Track Championship) *First Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Road Course Championship – Will Power2013 – 10 wins *First Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Indianapolis 500 win – Tony Kanaan  *Second Consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship *Repeat IZOD IndyCar Series Road Course Championship – Will Power 2014 – 12 wins *Second Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Championship – Will Power *Third Consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship 2015 – 10 wins *Third Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Championship – Scott Dixon  *Fourth Consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship  *Second Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Indianapolis 500 win – Juan Pablo Montoya2016 – 14 wins   *Fourth Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Championship — Simon Pagenaud   *Fifth Consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship2017 – 10 wins   *Fifth Verizon IndyCar Series Driver Championship – Josef Newgarden   *Sixth Consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championship 2018 – 6 wins   *Third Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Indianapolis 500 win – Will Power2019 – 9 wins   *Fourth Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Indianapolis 500 win – Simon Pagenaud   *Sixth NTT IndyCar Series Driver Championship – Josef Newgarden2020 – 7 wins    * Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1), Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indianapolis road course1 October, St. Petersburg), Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indianapolis road course October2) TOTAL V6 WINS: 89 wins, 99 poles (And 5 pole starts based on entrant points for total of 104) in 149 races

LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2021) – The last time Brittany Force visited The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, she took home a Wally. Force and her Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team will look to repeat their result April 16-18 at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. In the fall of 2019, Force crossed off a bucket list victory when she raced to the thousand-foot mark in only 3.652-seconds, a track record, at 334.73 mph to defeat three-time and reigning world champion Steve Torrence in the finals for the 10th win of her career. Force also set the national speed record during qualifying of the event when her dragster hit 338.17 mph adding to the national elapsed time record of 3.623-seconds she set at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Pennsylvania earlier that year. “Vegas was our last win together in 2019. Vegas is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit and winning at your favorite track is something that can’t be beat,” said Force. “I’m excited to head to Vegas and start qualifying this Flav-R-Pac dragster. Our focus will be Saturday’s qualifying, especially that Q2 run setting us up for race day. We’re looking for more wins this season and ending the season with a championship.” Force will be competing to be the first John Force Racing driver to claim a four-wide victory at the track she holds near to her heart. However, the 9-year veteran is no stranger to four-wide success. In 2016, Force became the first woman to win in the four-wide format at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte and in the spring of 2019, she was runner-up at The Strip to Mike Salinas who recorded his first win. Coming off a year-long hiatus, Force and her David Grubnic and Mac Savage tuned dragster had a successful test session at Palm Beach International Raceway running low of the session with an impressive 3.670-second pass at 331.04 mph. They came out to the season opening Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in March and proved their test was no fluke as they consistently ran in the top five quickest of the qualifying sessions. The consistency continued on race day with a 3.727 pass at 331.94 mph, but Force would take the first-round loss on a holeshot with a reaction time of .072-seconds to her competitor’s .034. “Gainesville was the first race of the NHRA 2021 season. It was a good to be back with my team, on a racetrack, finding our routine again after a year away. We qualified 5th but unfortunately had an early exist on race day in round one,” said Force. “We have an amazing team with Grubnic returning as crew chief along with Mac. Our same team carried over from when we last completed February of 2020. I think that speaks for itself. It proves how dedicated this team is, they stood by JFR through our difficult decision to step out last season. I’m proud to be returning with every single one of them.” Before John Force Racing made the tough decision to sit out the 2020 season, Force had landed in the No. 1 qualifying position at both the Winternationals in Pomona, Calif. and the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix. Qualifying at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins Friday at 4:15 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Eliminations take place Sunday at noon. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

April 14, 2021

For Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Libman team, a third-straight short-track race is just what he says they need to continue climbing up the Cup Series standings.

DiBenedetto said he finds lots of positives heading into Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at the three-quarter-mile Richmond Raceway.

“The biggest thing I’m excited about is it’s a short track,” he said. “Our Menards/Libman Mustangs have been the strongest on the short tracks.”

He’s also looking forward to putting to use some of the information he and his Wood Brothers team gathered last fall at Richmond.

“We tried some things and learned a lot,” said DiBenedetto, who is set to start 16^th on Sunday. “I feel really confident as far as coming up with a set-up that gives me what I need out of the car.”

Then there’s the alliance between the Wood Brothers and Team Penske, which won the most recent Cup race at Richmond with its No. 2 team and driver Brad Keselowski.

“Brad was really fast in that race,” DiBenedetto said. “Our alliance with Team Penske is really helpful. We can learn a lot from that.”

After a disappointing start to the 2021 season, which saw the No. 21 team finish outside the top 30 in the first two races, there’s been a steady climb. DiBenedetto and the team have climbed 15 spots in the points standings to 22nd, largely on the strength of five consecutive finishes between 11^th and 16^th.

“We’ve been able to come up in the standings even with some crazy circumstances thrown at us,” he said. “We’ve overcome tons of adversity and put together some OK finishes, even though our finishes are still not reflective of how good a race team we have.”

DiBenedetto said it’s important to remember that even though he and his team have had some bad luck this year, other drivers and teams have had more misfortunes.

“It just shows how tough this sport can be,” he said.

Sunday’s 400-lap, 300-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. Eastern Time, with no pre-race practice or qualifying. There will be Stage breaks and Laps 80 and 235. FOX will carry the TV broadcast. 
 

LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2021) – Following a runner-up finish at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals, Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team are sitting No. 2 in the NHRA Camping World Series points. The strong start has the 3-time world champion optimistic heading into the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway April 16-18. After qualifying fourth at the Gatornationals, Hight and the Auto Club team continued their consistent weekend on race day. Hight defeated Bob Bode, team-owner John Force and long-time rival Bob Tasca III before facing J.R. Todd in the 81st final round of his career. It was a pedal fest as Hight and Todd went up in smoke at the hit. Todd was able to hook back up and finish with a 5.184-second pass at 286.38 mph while Hight and the Auto Club Camaro ran 6.591-seconds at 144.41 mph. “We had a good start to the season at the Gatornationals. It was good to be back in the seat, be with the team and Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham. We had some gremlins, but we had some luck on our side too,” Hight said. “It’s a good weekend when you get to the final, but we beat ourselves so it’s time to do some polishing and get this Auto Club Chevy running the way we know how.” Hight has won the spring event at The Strip three times in 2007, 2011 and 2012 but not since the race went to a four-wide format in 2018. He has also won the fall event in Las Vegas in 2009 and 2015. While Hight hasn’t had four-wide success in the West, he has had two victories at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals held in the spring at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte. “Racing in Las Vegas is always a good time. I’ve had some success there but I’m looking to add a Four-Wide Nationals victory to my list,” Hight said. “There’s a lot more going on when it’s four-wide but as long as you stay focused on what you’re doing and don’t worry about who’s next to you, it’s just like any other race. Whoever is in those other lanes, I’m not treating it any differently. The fans are the ones who really benefit from racing four-wide. Over 40,000 horsepower, the ground really shakes.” Hight has qualified No. 1 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a total of seven times, four in the spring and three in the fall. He’ll be chasing his first No. 1 in the four-wide format at the venue, something he has done three times at the Charlotte four-wide event, most recently in 2019 when he also finished runner-up.   Qualifying at the Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins Friday at 4:15 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Eliminations take place Sunday at noon. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (April 13, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi charged from 10^th to second place last Saturday during the Dave Helm 410 Winged Sprintcar Classic hosted by Keller Auto Speedway.

The stout performance marked the fifth consecutive podium performance for Scelzi, who now has seven podiums in his last 10 races.

“This is definitely the best start to a year I’ve had,” he said. “I feel like we’re hitting on all eight cylinders. I feel like as a race team we’re building on every night since we started this year.”

The night featured a twin heat race format with Scelzi maneuvering from sixth to third place in his first heat race before he finished fourth in his second heat race.

“I felt like we’ve been really good the last month,” he said. “We went there with the goal to try to learn something. The track had a little more grip than usual. We were trying some stuff to make us better when the track is fast. We were pretty good during the first heat race and tried something for the second heat race. It was the wrong move.”

The heat race runs ranked Scelzi 10^th in points to narrowly miss the dash and line up on the outside of the fifth row for the main event.

“We tried something different for the main event,” he said. “On the outside row it’s really hard to start, especially that far back. We fell back and I got to the bottom. I was able to run my own race. A lot of guys moved to the top and we were really good around the bottom. We worked our way to second late and were extremely fast at the end of the race. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be, but we were good enough to go from 10 ^th to second.”

Scelzi is set to make his season debut at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., this Friday.

“We haven’t been on super short tracks this year so I’m looking forward to this weekend,” he said. “I’m hoping Watsonville will have a little more grip than what I’ve seen the last two weekends. We’ve had success at that track in the past so I’m excited to make our season debut there this weekend.”

QUICK RESULTS –

April 10 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Heat race #1: 3 (6); Heat race: 2: 4 (3); Feature: 2 (10).

SEASON STATS –

12 races, 4 wins, 8 top fives, 11 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 11 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

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

Rookie In Red: Bruening eager to make most of full-time World Of Outlaws tour attempt

The Decorah, IA driver is tied for fourth in points after 10 races  

CONCORD, NC – April 13, 2021 – As the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models swing through the month of April, another driver has joined the Series full-time. 

Tyler Bruening is the latest addition to the 2021 tour, signing on after maintaining a top-five points position throughout the early stage of the year.

Joining the full World of Outlaws tour for the first time is something that gives the Decorah, IA driver a sense of accomplishment.  

“It’s a dream come true,” Bruening said. “When we first started, we never dreamed of making it this far.”

Running the full Series schedule wasn’t originally part of his plans in 2021. But after a few good runs, Bruening and his team had to take a closer look. 

“It’s just gone so well, and we’ve been running so strong that we really had to re-think what our plans were for this year,” he said. “That’s when we decided to jump on board.” 

The Bruening team has the opportunity to take a different approach when they enter the racetrack. They’re the only ones with a true teammate on tour. 

The Skyline Motorsports team consists of Bruening, and 2015 Series Champion Shane Clanton. Bruening understands the importance of having “The Georgia Bulldog” next to him in the pit area every night.  

“A lot of times we go to tracks I’ve never been to, so that’s when it really comes into effect,” Bruening said. “He’s been all over the world, so it helps out a bunch.” 

He’s also getting advice from Clanton on what to do inside the car, like keeping an eye on track conditions throughout the night. 

“It’s really helped me progress by taking away that learning curve, so it’s been a huge advantage for us and we’re just trying to use it the best we can,” Bruening said. 

As the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models get into the meat of its 2021 schedule, there’s a few tracks the Hawkeye State driver looks forward to visiting. That includes a couple close-to-home races next month.

“We’ve got Boone [Speedway] coming up here in a couple of weeks, and [Mississippi Thunder Speedway] is one that’s up around the house,” Bruening said. 

“I haven’t really raced [Mississippi Thunder] much but I’m excited to race around home. It’s just so my family and friends that normally watch on TV can come see us in person and experience the race firsthand.” 

While any driver that runs the Series wants to win a championship, Bruening has a goal of staying consistent. 

“Last year was pretty up and down for us,” he said. “We had pretty good speed all year, I just feel like we had bad luck.

“I really just want to be consistent and rack up those top-10s, be competitive and finish strong throughout the season.” 

After 10 races this season, he’s finished in the top-10 five times. Through his career with the Series, Bruening has made 35 starts and collected two top-fives and 11 top-10s in total. He’s still on the search for his first win, though.

Bruening is currently tied for fourth in the points standings with Kyle Bronson, 72 points behind three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard. He’s also in the hunt for Rookie of the Year, trailing Kyle Strickler by 50 points. 

You can see Bruening and the rest of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY April 23, and Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, OH April 24. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Birthplace of Series – Devil’s Bowl – Paying $20,000-To-Win on Saturday NightLAWTON, OK – April 13, 2021 – There’s no slowing down for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.After an exciting weekend on Indiana’s bullrings, The Greatest Show on Dirt is heading south for a weekend at Lawton (OK) Speedway on Friday, April 16 and Devil’s Bowl (TX) Speedway on Saturday, April 17.LAWTON TICKETS (4/16) DEVIL’S BOWL TICKETS (4/17)Let’s catch you up on the storylines to follow entering this weekend:BIGGER PAYDAY: On Saturday at Devil’s Bowl, the World of Outlaws will race for $20,000-to-win, the highest-payday of the season to this point. It’s the first of back-to-back weekends with more money on the line as the NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars battle for $25,000-to-win at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 24.In total, 12 events this season offer a more than $20,000 grand prize. That group is highlighted by a pair of $175,000-to-win King’s Royals at Eldora, the 60th Knoxville Nationals paying $150,000-to-win, the National Open at Williams Grove worth $75,000-to-win, and the $50,000-to-win Jackson Nationals, among many more high-paying shows.ADVERSITY HITS: After entering last weekend all on career-best streaks, Brad Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Logan Schuchart each left Indiana with their streaks snapped. Sweet’s run of nine-straight podium finishes? Gone. Haudenschild’s stretch of eight-straight top fives? Toast. Schuchart’s perfect 11-for-11 span of top tens? No more.Even David Gravel found his own slice of adversity at Kokomo when he clipped an infield tire running second and ended up with a 12th-place finish. Those four, who sit 1-2-3-4 in the championship standings with 70 races remaining will look to get back on trackMACEDO’S MOMENTUM: Much like basketball, it’s been a game of runs for Carson Macedo on the World of Outlaws trail in 2021. He started with a four-race spurt of 5th, 6th, 1st, 3rd to obtain the championship lead for the first time in his career. Then, a four-race swing through the south was full of struggles with runs of 21st, 7th, 13th, 11th.Now, he’s on a five-race streak of top tens and he’s back in contention tied for fourth in the standings. Since going to Missouri, the Jason Johnson Racing #41 has results of 5th, 5th, 8th, 6th, 1st. He enters Lawton and Devil’s Bowl fresh off a thrilling second win of the season at Tri-State Speedway.THE RISE OF THE #9: You can’t help but wonder where James McFadden would fall in the championship standings if he had been here from the start. Due to the birth of his first child, he stayed down under and misses the first six races of the season. Since arriving in the United States in March, he’s been on fire and the results prove it.The Alice Springs, NT, AUS native has a worst finish of 11th and average finish of 5.7 through his first seven starts in 2021. Last weekend especially, the Kasey Kahne Racing #9 found a rhythm on Indiana bullrings as he won for the first time this year at Kokomo and ran a close second at Tri-State. He’ll head to Lawton and Devil’s Bowl with a chip on his shoulder following that last-lap loss in Haubstadt.SCHATZ’S STRUGGLES: For the first time since 2002, Donny Schatz has finished outside the top-ten in five consecutive World of Outlaws races. That’s a stretch of 1,357 races for the 10x Series champion.Over the last five races, the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 has finished 11th a lap down at Lake Ozark, suffered a DNF while leading at I-55, ran 11th again at I-55, accepted another DNF on Lap 2 at Kokomo, and finished 16th-from-21st at Tri-State. A win this weekend at Lawton and Devil’s Bowl would get the monkey off his back with his first win of the season.BACK ON HOME TURF: For Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma City, OK and Aaron Reutzel of Clute, TX, this is their final chance of the season to race in their home states.Johnson, who drives the Two-C Racing #2C, owns several regional victories at Lawton Speedway and ran 14th with the World of Outlaws one year ago. He’s chasing his first top-ten of the season since he ran ninth at Magnolia (MS).Reutzel, pilot of the Roth Motorsports #83, has an ASCS National 360 Sprint Car win to his credit at Devil’s Bowl in 2017. Outside of his one DNF at Magnolia, Reutzel has been top-ten in every single feature this year and currently sits sixth in the standings.PAST RESULTS: Lawton and Devil’s Bowl are two of eight tracks that were on the inaugural World of Outlaws schedule in 1978 and still host races today in 2021. No full-time Outlaws have won at Lawton with the Series thanks to Daryn Pittman’s emotional home-state triumph last year.At Devil’s Bowl, Schatz, Sweet and Schuchart are the only full-timers with winning experience on the half-mile against the World of Outlaws.This Week at a Glance – When and WhereFriday, April 16 at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK Saturday, April 17 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TXOn the Internet World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Series Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthAround the Turn: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series prepare for a three-day show of epic proportions with the Bristol Throwdown coming up on April 22-24 at Bristol Motor Speedway.NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (7 Drivers): 5 wins – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #49 2 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 2 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41 1 win – Logan Schuchart, Shark Racing #1S 1 win – Aaron Reutzel, Roth Motorsports #83 1 win – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2 1 win – James McFadden, Kasey Kahne Racing w/ Mike Curb #9FEATURE LAPS LED (13 Drivers): 156 laps – Brad Sweet 51 laps – Aaron Reutzel 45 laps – Donny Schatz 37 laps – David Gravel 31 laps – James McFadden 27 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild 26 laps – Logan Schuchart 25 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 19 laps – Tyler Courtney 11 laps – Carson Macedo 10 laps – Jacob Allen 1 lap – Kasey Kahne & Kraig KinserSLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (9 Drivers): 2 QuickTimes – David Gravel, Brad Sweet, James McFadden, Cory Eliason. 1 QuickTimes – Aaron Reutzel, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild, Danny Dietrich, Sam Hafertepe Jr.DRYDENE HEAT RACE WINNERS (18 Drivers) 5 Heat Wins – Aaron Reutzel 4 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, David Gravel, Carson Macedo 3 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden 2 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz, Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Kasey Kahne, Kraig Kinser, Jason Sides, Ian Madsen, Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1 Heat Win –  Brad Sweet, Gio Scelzi, Danny Dietrich, Hunter SchuerenbergPODIUM FINISHES (16 Drivers): 10 Podiums – Brad Sweet 4 Podiums – Logan Schuchart & Sheldon Haudenschild 3 Podiums – Carson Macedo & James McFadden 2 Podiums – Donny Schatz, Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Gio Scelzi 1 Podium – Kraig Kinser, Brent Marks, David Gravel, Danny Dietrich, Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Sam Hafertepe Jr.2021 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Schedule & WinnersNo. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Fri, Feb. 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brad Sweet (1) 2. Sun, Feb. 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Logan Schuchart (1) 3. Fri, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1) 4. Sat, March 6 / East Bay Raceway Park / Tampa, FL / Aaron Reutzel (1) 5. Fri, March 12 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Sheldon Haudenschild (1) 6. Sat, March 13 / The Rev / Monroe, LA / David Gravel (1) 7. Fri, March 19 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2) 8. Sat, March 20 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Brad Sweet (2) 9. Sat, March 27 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Brad Sweet (3) 10. Fri, April 2 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (4) 11. Sat, April 3 / I-55 Raceway / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (5) 12. Fri, April 9 / Kokomo Speedway / Kokomo, IN / James McFadden (1) 13. Sat, April 10 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Carson Macedo (2)

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.

LAS VEGAS (April 13) — After a dazzling runner-up finish at the NHRA season-opener one month ago in Florida, second-ranked Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. arrives at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals looking for some firsts, while reminiscing on another “first” he accomplished at this track in 2009. It was 12 years ago when a teenaged Coughlin earned his first national event title in Las Vegas, driving the JEGS.com dragster to victory in Super Comp. Now he’s back as the driver of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro looking for both his first Pro Stock win, his first time ranked No. 1 in any professional class — which a victory would deliver — while competing in his first four-wide drag race in the factory hot rod category.

“We are tuned-up and ready to roll,” Coughlin said. “Luck was on our side in Gainesville and we gained a lot of momentum by starting so well. There is no limit to what we can accomplish and there’s plenty of goals to set our sights on this weekend in Las Vegas. “I certainly remember that win in 2009. I was pretty much in shock and could barely talk when I got interviewed at the top end. I’m still a person that keeps everything inside. I celebrate in my mind and heart. I know I don’t show much outward emotion, but believe me I’m excited when we do well. I just don’t have the perfect thing to say come to mind right away like my uncles. They’re all so smooth on camera. I’m just different.” Whether he pulls off a cartwheel or two in the winner’s circle this weekend or just politely takes the trophy and shares it with his teammates as has become his norm, Coughlin knows the effort his crew at Elite Motorsports puts in to make him fast.

“It’s incredible to me to see the amount of work the guys do every day to make these cars quicker,” Coughlin said. “I remember when we had our own program at JEGS and I’d get to work at 7 a.m. and the guys were already there working on the motor and the chassis and then at 7 p.m. when I was leaving they’d still be right there grinding away. These guys are exactly the same way. Their dedication is unmatched but it’s what it takes to win all the world championships they’ve collected. “I’m doing everything I can to rise to their level of intensity. While they’re making music in the dyno room, I’m constantly watching film of our runs and analyzing data. I’ll hit the practice tree for hours and make runs in my head over and over. I always see ways I can improve and I think it should always be that way. There is no ceiling for knowledge.”

The JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports crew is led by veteran racer and crew chief Mark Ingersoll. “We all enjoyed the extra time we’ve had between races but we’re anxious to get back after it this weekend,” Coughlin said.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDY GP OF ALABAMA BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK LEEDS. ALABAMA TEAM CHEVY DRIVER ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS PRE BARBER QUOTES APRIL 12, 2021
TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SIMON PAGENAUD AND WILL POWER met with media to discuss upcoming NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opening race at Barber Motorsports Park:
What have you done to prepare for a track like Barber, which can be a tricky circuit? SIMON PAGENAUD: — Barber10 years ago, it was my first ever INDYCAR race. Lots of great memories. Obviously a great win in 2016. Battle with Graham Rahal. A great track, really technical, high commitment. Really need to bring a lot of confidence to the game. It’s a brilliant oval track for those reasons.  
Scott, what have you done to prepare for a track like Barber, which can be a tricky circuit?  SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m feeling as prepared as I can be right now. I said to my wife last night, Whatever happens this week, I feel like I’ve done a lot of hard work, worked on my fitness. It’s going to be a very physical week, tough track on the body.  Worked with the team to get an understanding. This track requires a lot of commitment, a lot of bravery, and a lot of commitment to the aero, aerodynamics of the car. That’s something I’m getting used to right now.  Bit by bit I’ve got used to it across the run. Having a couple test days here puts me in good stead knowing what I’ve got and what I will have chassis-wise when we hit the track on Saturday morning.  Yeah, look, I’m happy where we’re at. Really excited for the challenge. It’s going to be an up-and-down year. I’m really excited for all the obstacles, what’s going to come across in my rookie season.  
Q. Obviously it’s going to be a pretty quick couple of races at the start of the season. For Simon and Scott, how confident are you guys going into the season? Also you’ve come off the back of a really good test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. How much confidence does that give you going into the month of May?  SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, it’s going to be an exciting year. Yeah, absolutely had a great test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Nice to also do some laps around there. I’ve got three great teammates to lean on, not only in terms of driving style but setup-wise, trusting what the car is going to be like at qualifying trim, race trim, understanding that. That was really nice to lean on all three of the guys. All three of them were fantastic with me, helping me build up, get acquainted.  For me, I don’t really know what to expect. I think we’ve done some really good work as a team in the off-season. From what I understand the team’s in a positive spot, but you don’t know with testing right now sort of where everyone’s at. I don’t think we’ll know until qualifying at Barber.  That’s my best answer to that sort of thing.  For me right now, it’s about doing as many laps as I can, getting as much understanding under my belt, leaning on my three great teammates as much as I can.  
SIMON PAGENAUD: Clearly we focused a lot on the Indianapolis 500. Last year was not what we expected. We wanted to come back and really show the resilience of Team Penske. As you saw the test, the drivers felt, we were very pleased with the improvement. Everybody worked so hard this winter. We found speed.  It’s obviously just the beginning of testing at Indy, but it felt very good. That’s clearly a very enjoyable thing to say as it’s also my number one goal.  Now when it comes to the full championship, also like Scott said, made big improvements on the race car, making it more consistently able to go get the last little bit of lap time. I don’t know where we’re going to stack up exactly, but I know that we’ve done everything we can to run up front and be there for the championship in the end.  It’s going to be a long season. You are going to have to score points and always be top five to fight for the championship.  
Simon, obviously we have condensed schedules again this year. Last year you didn’t know that going into it. Do you have to prepare a little differently now this year knowing that you’re only running Saturday and Sunday at Barber, everything is condensed? Does that change how you prepare in the off-season and week-to-week? SIMON PAGENAUD: The big advantage is this year we knew that the schedule was going to change. We knew in advance. That really helped my team and myself to prepare and understand how the weekend was going to roll.  At the end of the day it’s about knowing how to tackle each practice for qualifying and then the race. I think we have right now a very good outlook on everything.  Super excited about this format, quite frankly. I think we have a two-day weekend in Barber. St. Pete is different, three-day weekend. Texas is two races. The next four races are back-to-back. It’s going to be intense. But I know we’re ready. I can’t wait to get going.  
Simon, Team Penske has been three cars in the past. What advantages do you see in getting a fourth car full-time this year?SIMON PAGENAUD: You know, I know it’s very simple actually to understand. It’s two and two. Two and two make work a lot easier. When it’s three, two guys might like the same thing, one guy might not. When it’s two and two, there’s more chances that two guys are going to like the same things and two others are going to like the exact same stuff for their cars or their style.  As four, it also has a better flow, better energy within the team also. It’s the same with the engineers. Jonathan Diuguid is with Scott McLaughlin. He used to lead the sports car program. Jonathan was also Helio’s engineer in the past. Lots of experience there.  I think all those four engineers working together are really a fantastic group. Four awesome drivers, four awesome engineers. Obviously there’s a lot more engineers in the background that really makes for a super team.  
With the new aero package for the superspeedways this year, as I understand it you have more options as a team or a driver in terms of your setup. What has been your experience? I can ask both of you this question. What has been your experience so far? Has it made it confusing or has it made it better for you as a driver in that you have these more options? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: For me, it’s probably — I was speaking to Will Power about this, knowing that it’s one of my first times on a superspeedway, on the oval, having no experience on really anything else. Going in, it’s all brand-new.  The feeling? I didn’t have any old feelings of old cars and stuff. I was probably able to get acquainted almost easier because some of the older guys, in some ways they’re so used to different feelings.  I think it’s a good option of having the option of putting the balance boards on or taking them off or whatever. It’s going to be interesting what the racing is like.  I think we found in Indianapolis, yeah, depends on your setup. It was difficult to pass three or four back in the train. But I think it certainly looks better than last year.  Yeah, look, I’m learning every lap I do really, especially at the ovals.  SIMON PAGENAUD: I felt like INDYCAR did a great job allowing us more options. It was important to make sure the show was going to be awesome. Especially if we get some fans in the grandstand, it would be fantastic to come back and put on the best show ever.  The balance board, the more aerodynamics, also they fill up the hole on the side of the floor, and you can definitely add onto the front wing to help run in traffic. It was a big improvement.  I really enjoyed being able to run in traffic without big surprises in the aerodynamics of the car. I think with more testing, a lot more cars will figure it out and drivers.  So overall I think it’s very, very positive.  
‘Push to pass’ was tested at the Indy oval recently. There’s been some mixed feelings as to whether or not INDYCAR should allow ‘push to pass’ on ovals. In the past they never have. Like to get your thought as to having that option? I asked Juan Montoya last week. He was very much in favor of having it on the ovals. I’ve heard other drivers say they weren’t so sure. I’d like to hear your opinion.  SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Well, for me, I think anything that makes racing better is a good thing. If INDYCAR think the racing is going to be better with a ‘push to pass’ option potentially. But I think you’ll find if that gets brought in, it will be a very strategic move how you use them. You probably will save them for a long time, hopefully have enough fuel to use it, or gas as you say over here.  I think, yeah, it’s going to be interesting. It’s hard for me to tell because I haven’t been in a race situation. I think you got to back INDYCAR officials in anything that makes the racing better. Hopefully that will work.  
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think it’s very situational. Quite frankly, we don’t really have — drivers, it doesn’t really matter. We’re coming in, the rules are the rules. What INDYCAR decides is for us to use. I’m very much backing them up because they’ve made great choices in the racing in general.  Would I have liked to have the ‘push to pass’ in 2019? Probably not. Would I have liked to have it last year? Absolutely. It depends on the situation. It’s very hard to have one determined opinion on that.  I think for the racing, it would be great. For the fans, it would be fantastic. But it all depends how it’s gone in place.  I look forward, in any case, to changes. It shuffles the cards and it’s good for racing.  
Scott, this month here you’re kind of running the gamut of all the different types of courses that INDYCAR hits. You get the Indy 500 test, now you got a dedicated road course followed immediately by a street course and then a high-speed oval at Texas. Is that difficult to prepare for, to think about all the different types of racing that’s coming up in quick succession? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, any time I get laps in these cars, it’s better. It’s wild, but this is exactly why I came to America for. I came to race nearly every weekend on all different disciplines I haven’t done before.  It’s definitely a difficult thing to prepare for for everyone. I think we’re all sort of working out times to get on the simulator, when do you give up preparing for this race this weekend and then start thinking about the next race in a week’s time.  But thankfully for the start of season when it’s crazy, all these tracks I’ve been to before. I know what I need. We’ve got a solid plan in place. We can sort of hit the ground running at each track.  So, yeah, I think probably this one this week is probably the one track that definitely I need to work harder. St. Pete I feel, having known that track, I know our balance there, it’s going to be okay. Then Texas, it’s an oval. I’ve just got to work my way around it.  It’s exciting. Like I said, I came to America to race most weekends. This is a dream for me really.  Scott, obviously last year was sort of an interesting one for you going from the Bathurst 1000 straight over to America to make your INDYCAR debut. What is it like this weekend? You’ve had a fair bit of buildup. Does it feel like you’re having your debut all over in some ways? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It certainly feels like a bit of a reset button, I guess. I definitely feel a lot more prepared. I have an understanding of the car a lot more than I did when I was sort of rolling into St. Pete. That can only be beneficial for me.  I came into St. Pete with a thought of what the car was like in sort of February, March. Got to October, it was all full on. That week was full on for me. I was jetlagged, whatever. I’m not making excuses, but at the same time like I said, I feel as prepared as I can be right now.  The only thing right now I lack is experience. I feel like I’ve got, like I said, great teammates to lean on. I’ve got a great engineer, as Simon said, who has a huge amount of experience. I’m just leaning on everyone really and soaking everything up like a sponge.  It’s business time now. I really need to get into it.  
Following up on that ‘push to pass’ question before. Up until now it’s been allowed to be used as a defense mechanism as well as offense. Some drivers think that’s a good thing. Others feel it defeats the purpose of having it. I’d like to get your opinion on that.  SIMON PAGENAUD: That’s a loaded question (laughter). You never get everybody to agree on that one.  It is what it is. Again, like I said earlier, I think it depends what INDYCAR decides to do, and we have to oblige by the rules. We’re an entertainment show, so at the end of the day it’s about making sure we put on a fantastic show.  As we saw last year, racing without fans is not racing. They have a huge part of — they are a huge part of what we do, so we have to think about that, making sure that the fans enjoy the racing. That is what INDYCAR is doing.  Whatever the drivers think doesn’t really matter as much. But no matter what, it would be a great show. It has been without it. It will be with it, if we have it. So I personally have zero opinion on it. I don’t personally like gimmicks in racing, but honestly it completely depends on the situation and how it’s implemented.  
Q. Scott, can you tell me a little bit about the helmet design you’re going to be running at the Indianapolis 500. Is that a tribute to Rick Mears? SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. It’s just basically the same helmet design that Helio has run in previous years. Obviously what Rick was synonymous for with the yellow submarine.  I love tradition, I love history. I think it was a cool tribute. I couldn’t fit McLaughlin down the side, it would wrap around my visor as well. I had to subs substitute for Scott.  I thought it was pretty cool, quite on the back. It’s just a tribute to the 500, the people that have run it before, and hopefully a legacy we can start with myself and Pennzoil. I’m tremendously excited to run that car. I feel very lucky and privileged. Excited to see what we can do with it.  
I’d like to get your thoughts on INDYCAR going to Nashville for the Music City Grand Prix later this year.  SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’ve never been to Nashville before, so the more America I can see, the better. Very excited. I heard Nashville is a wild city. I’m really excited for the street track there, around the stadium where the Titans play, too, is cool.  Sounds to me, Josef is the Nashville king or Nashville mayor, he’s pretty pumped by it. He said it’s an awesome city and awesome vibe. Yeah, super pumped. Any track that goes over a bridge, man, is pretty bad ass, so I’m excited for that.  SIMON PAGENAUD: Can you play any instrument?  SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. Depending how many drinks I’ve had.  SIMON PAGENAUD: I want to see it. I want to see it (laughter).  Pretty exciting when we get to that market. It looks like a really interesting layout, for sure, going over the bridge. I’m sure those photos will go around the world and be very iconic after a while. I am really looking forward to it.It’s a town of festivities and we’re bringing the show. Very excited to get to know the town. I’ve actually never been to Nashville either. As you know, I look forward to finding some good restaurants.  
We’re joined by Will Power, Josef Newgarden. Will, as a two-time winner and four-time pole winner at Barber, it’s been a couple years since we have been to Barber, so how excited are you to get back to racing?  WILL POWER: Yeah, I’m super excited to get back in the car. Yeah, very excited. Josef is going to be very amused at this (laughter). Yeah, I think we’ve had two test days at Barber, so I reckon we’ve got the car pretty well sorted.  I know it’s going to be super competitive. It’s going to be very, very competitive. So many good guys and teams this year. Certainly have to put everything together to make sure that we’re in the game.  But just really happy to get back to racing. It’s been quite a long off-season.  
We’re also joined by Josef Newgarden, who is the most successful driver in the history of INDYCAR Series at Barber with three wins. Josef, what is it about Barber that kind of suits you? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’m pretty excited, too, like Will said. I think we’ve got a good opportunity to come out pretty strong this year. I think we’ve done a lot of good work this off-season. I’m very encouraged about everywhere we’re going, to be honest. Barber included.  I can’t wait to get going this weekend. It’s been a while since we got to do our normal jobs. I’m excited to get back with the boys and get working.  Excited we’ve got four cars. I think we’ve got some of the best people as always. We’ve been bolstered this year with adding Scott, his engineer J.D., and a couple others. Very, very excited to get going.  
Going to be a pretty frantic start to the season. How beneficial is it to you guys to have Scott kind of added for a fourth car this season?  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think it’s tremendously beneficial. I think we’re going to find a lot of benefits from it. Last time we were four cars, we worked really well together when Helio was in the mix. Having the resources that come with an extra car at Team Penske has, in my opinion, been quite useful. I think probably more useful now with the shortened track time.  We still have to be better at showing up with a car that’s going to work out of the box. But I think just having that extra car with the workload demand across the weekend will be very, very beneficial.  It will be fun. It’s also fun to just see a pure rookie kind of going at it. He’s obviously super talented, going to have a good car on him. But it’s fun to watch how excited he is for every little thing, which I think makes it exciting to go to the track.  
I wanted to ask, obviously we always expect Penske and Ganassi drivers to contend for titles. Who do you reckon are going to be the new contenders for titles, people outside that group that are going to fight for titles? Do you expect to see Colton or Pato or Felix battling for the championship this year? WILL POWER: Yeah, I think McLaren is going to certainly be strong this year, with Pato, they’ve added Felix, who has a lot of experience in INDYCAR now. I think those guys are going to be pretty strong.  Obviously Colton was already a threat last year, so more so this year.  (Loss of audio.)  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: As Will was saying, all of these guys are going to be very good. Is he back?  WILL POWER: Was I just talking and nothing happening?  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You froze, yeah.  WILL POWER: I thought everyone was so engrossed in what I was saying, they were just like frozen, looking like, Oh, my God (laughter). Just an amazing, amazing reply. Then it just stopped. Oh, I’m frozen, okay. I should stop.  
Do you want to finish your statement, Will?  WILL POWER: I have no clue where it stopped.  Oh, yeah, just basically you add after Herta Penske and Ganassi and you’ve got a very fierce championship. I think you’re going to see many different winners this year. It will probably be a year of consistency that will win it.  
Josef, anyone else? Do you see maybe Rinus VeeKay with a year of experience under his belt being a threat? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t think you can count him out. Yeah, I don’t know. I think time will tell. I wouldn’t necessarily put him in the list right now. I think we probably need a little bit more evidence of that.  Like Will said, I think Colton and Pato are probably the strongest newcomers to join the mix, and are definitely already threats in the championship. That’s only going to get probably better.  We’ve got to see how Scott takes to it. Scott has an opportunity I think to be very strong in his first year, which could be unique to other rookies. I think he’s going to have a good opportunity. We’ll see how it takes to it.  
WILL POWER: Yeah. I mean, I liken Scott to Wickens. I believe he can have a year like that just from experience in top-level motorsports.  
The new aero package this year, on ovals you have had a chance to test it at Indy. I’d like to get your opinion with the options you now have compared to before in terms of setups. Also you tested the ‘push to pass’ on the oval. Should that work into the mix? Is that not necessary?  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I mean, I guess I’ll speak to the ‘push to pass’ because I was at the test.  I was certainly not a big believer that’s something we need at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I want the racing to be as difficult as possible at Indy. I want opportunities for the front group to be able to race, to put on a good show.  You can’t have everything. It’s really, really difficult to find a good balance where you have the most difficult cars to drive, the drivers can really showcase their talent behind the wheel and work with the team to make a faster car. Also to create an environment where the race is thrilling.  I think you can have both of them. Honestly at Indy we’ve had that for the last 10 years. I think it’s been very difficult races and also very thrilling races. I think we’re talking about adding horsepower. I would rather just add pure horsepower to the car, which is what we all want. We just want more power for the cars.  I think the ‘push to pass’ situation where you create this big speed disparity between cars is more of a risky proposition, putting it in the hands of the some of the field of 33 would make me a little bit nervous, not because it’s going to be more difficult, just because I think it would be more risky for no reason.  Adding more horsepower is great, but probably not in a ‘push to pass’ format I think at Indy.  
Will, Honda versus Chevy, road course versus oval. Have you seen any trends? Your photo shop skills are getting as good as NASCAR. Will you be doing more of that in the future? WILL POWER: Yeah, the Honda versus Chevy, I think Barber probably is favored a little bit more to Honda because the way their engine seems to have more torque than ours. I think actually at the Speedway this year we’ll be pretty strong. I think Chevy’s made a really good gain.  Yeah, it’s very close. I mean, both honestly are very close. But the field is so stacked now that any little advantage really makes a difference. If one manufacturer is just weighted a little bit more on the torque side, torque of the engine, for somewhere like Barber where it’s just pure power because there’s so much grip, it kind of stacks the field one way. Yeah, it’s super close.  And my videos, yeah, I can keep doing them. Josef is actually using my guide to what to do, how far I should go. Is this okay to post? Any post that you don’t agree with, you should really message him because nothing to do with me, it’s his decision (laughter).  Yourself and Simon have spoken fairly highly of Scott McLaughlin leading into his first full year in INDYCAR. What sort of separates him from perhaps other rookies that we’ve seen over the last few years? What has your advice been to him ahead of his first full season? WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, the difference is that Scott has a significant amount of experience at a very high level because the Super Car Championship in Australia is very competitive, very professional. It’s on par with INDYCAR.  He’s been through all the stuff that rookies go through. You’ve seen that in his testing. He hasn’t thrown it off. I don’t think he’s even been off the track. Yeah, he’s very methodical about his approach. I think experience is going to help him significantly over a rookie that had only done junior categories.  
Will, obviously in the Road to Indy you’re helping out or mentoring Myles Rowe, but also there’s some young Australians. How cool is that as an Australian to see guys like Alex Peroni and Cam Shields come over here and try and make it? WILL POWER: Yeah, no, I’ve certainly helped Cameron Shields a lot in trying to make sure he continues. Obviously Myles is in a great program and has had a lot of laps in the car now. I’m hoping he’ll be super strong.  But, yeah, I actually don’t know Alex Peroni very well, but I’ve kind of followed him a little bit with what he’s done in Europe. I think he’ll be really quick.  Yeah, it’s great to see, especially Cameron Shields, he’s from Toowoomba, and he is very quick. I really believe he can get all the way to INDYCAR.  I’ve got to give it to him because he has absolutely zero money or funding and he stuck it out for the last few years here by just meeting the right people, getting in the right situation and performing when he needs to.  Yeah, I hope he gets a full season this year. I think he’s in a good car. We’ll see what happens there.  
How excited are you to be affiliated with Paretta Autosport for the Indianapolis 500? How impressed were you with Simona’s time over the weekend?  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very excited. They’re certainly a great addition to our group. It’s fun to have another car with Simona, too. I think Simona is a top-shelf talent. I think a lot of us feel that way about her in INDYCAR. It was almost a shame that she got cut short with her timeline in INDYCAR. When she left, she never probably had the best opportunity to compete at a high level. She was already doing that.  I think she’s going to be fantastic. She took to things pretty quickly, almost like she never left. With Paretta, the entire team, they’ve been absorbing the way work. We’ve had a lot of the different women at the track with us trying to understand our philosophies, the way we go about racing.  It’s going to be exciting. They’re a really fun program. I think they’re going to be covered pretty well in the 500. There’s a lot of interest in their specific group. I think they’ll have a good opportunity to compete at a high level.  
Will, a couple years ago you were involved with trying to get INDYCAR back to Australia. Any update on that? Any movement in that area? Is that a dead horse? WILL POWER: I don’t think that will ever happen. I don’t think it will ever happen (laughter).  I shouldn’t say never, but not in the time that I’m in INDYCAR. Let’s say it’s definitely not going to happen in the next five years. I think Roger’s focus is going to be on North America, not really going anywhere else. I don’t know that for a fact. I think he’ll try to grow that before he thinks about going anywhere else.  
The Music City Grand Prix in your hometown of Nashville. What can everyone expect from that new race coming up this year? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you could expect a good party, a really good party. I think it’s very positive. When I think of street course racing in INDYCAR, I think of thrilling racing for all the purists out there. But I think of an entertaining show, certainly a bit of a party, which caters to everybody. That’s what you want. You want that atmosphere where everyone can show up and have a good time regardless of how much of a racing fan you are.  I think Nashville is going to do that probably better than anywhere. I’m very excited for it. I think it will be a great event. I know all the drivers in the paddock are excited for that one to come around.  
Will, with Scott on the team, both from the same part of the world, do you have any secret language you can talk to each other your teammates won’t understand? WILL POWER: We certainly do, but probably nothing I can mention on here. If you’ve ever been to Australia, you probably understand they like to throw swear words around a lot (laughter).  JOSEF NEWGARDEN: They like to use their language at restaurants, I’ve noticed, when we go there (smiling). People love it.  WILL POWER: Yeah, no, we certainly have our own language, which isn’t good language, I would say (laughter).  
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