Richard Childress Racing at the Charlotte ROVAL… The Charlotte ROVAL made its debut on the NASCAR circuit in 2018.In five NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte ROVAL, Richard Childress Racing has a best finish of 11th in 2018 with Ryan Newman. The Welcome N.C. organization’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program also secured one top-five and three top-ten finishes in just four starts.  NASCAR Playoffs… Austin Dillon is in the midst of his fourth NASCAR Playoffs appearance and currently ranks 10th among the 12 drivers attempting to advance from the Round of 12 into the Round of Eight at this weekend’s cut off race at the ROVAL. Dillon is just 21 points below the cut line despite mechanical issues at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and being involved in several on-track incidents at Talladega Superspeedway.  Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at the Charlotte ROVAL will be televised live Saturday, October 10, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte ROVAL will be televised live Sunday, October 11, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s TRACKER Off Road/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at the ROVAL … Dillon has two NASCAR Cup Series starts at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, with a best finish of 23rd in last year’s event. TRACKER Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.  Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/. E-Z-GO … E-Z-GO is an iconic, world-renowned brand in golf cars and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, E-Z-GO Express™ personal utility vehicles, and the 2Five® street-legal low-speed vehicle. Known for innovation in electric-vehicle technology, E-Z-GO’s newest offerings include the ELiTE series of lithium-ion powered golf cars and PTVs, and the company’s exclusive 72-volt AC electric powertrain found in its latest Express series vehicles. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960, and today operates as part of the company’s Textron Specialized Vehicles division. NASCAR Playoffs … Dillon is currently competing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, where he ranks 10th in the standings and 21 points below the cutoff line to advance to the Round of Eight after a mechanical issue at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and an on-track incident at Talladega Superspeedway. The four-round postseason consists of eliminations after the Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol), the Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte Roval) and the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Martinsville). The Championship 4 will compete for the title at Phoenix.  AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Evaluate your NASCAR Playoffs performance in the Round of 12 so far …“At Talladega Superspeedway, I got into every wreck possible. It was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for most of the day. The week before that, we had a mechanical issue. But through both of those races, my Richard Childress Racing team has been amazing. The communication is unbelievable. They’ve been able to jump right in and fix the damage the last two weeks. At Talladega Superspeedway, we changed the oil cooler and only lost two laps. At Las Vegas Motor Speedway, we knocked the belts off and only lost eight laps. I don’t know how you can make either of those repairs so fast. The communication is great with this team. Even though the last two weeks have been unfortunate, we’re still in the hunt and have a chance to advance to the Round of Eight.” What are your thoughts on the next race in the NASCAR Playoffs, the ROVAL?“We have the ROVAL left in the Round of 12. We just need some help from some of these guys who are higher than us in the point standings, and we have to be in the position to help ourselves some, too. We’re going to rely on our notes from the Daytona Road Course a lot. Kaz Grala was a fill-in driver for me that week, and he did a great job. We will try to use that same setup moving forward. The ROVAL has never been the greatest track for us, but we’ll see what we can do. We’re going to try our hardest.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL… This weekend’s race will mark Tyler Reddick’s first NASCAR Cup Series start on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL configuration. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series top-10 finishes in two starts on the ROVAL configuration, capturing his best finish of second during last year’s event. Tyler on Twitch… Join Tyler Reddick and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen for an exclusive virtual Q&A session on Cheddar’s new Twitch channel this Thursday, October 8, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Fans can hang out with Reddick as he tries his hand at a couple of video games, ask him questions through the chat and be entered to win prizes throughout the stream, including a grand prize of autographed, race-worn gloves.  Watch the Race with Cheddar’s… To celebrate the debut of the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet Camaro this season, Cheddar’s is offering 15% off all To Go orders with the offer code RACEDAY placed on 10/11 and every Cup Series race day for the remainder of the 2020 season! Whether you’re watching the race on a Sunday afternoon or on a weekday under the lights, watch with all your Cheddar’s favorites for 15% off. Terms & conditions apply, visit cheddars.com/offer/race-day for full offer details. About Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen… Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen is the homestyle casual dining restaurant where guests always ‘Get a lot, for not a lot’ in a place that feels like home. After being welcomed with a signature Honey Butter Croissant on the house, guests can enjoy favorite dishes like hand-breaded Chicken Tenders, Homemade Chicken Pot Pie and House-Smoked Baby Back Ribs. For an even greater value, guests can pick up Family Bundles To Go featuring guest favorites designed to feed the whole family (or Pit Crew!) starting at only $24.99 with contactless curbside pickup. Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen operates more than 160 restaurants in 28 states. See the full menu and order online at cheddars.com. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:Is there any comparison between the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course you competed on earlier this year?“I really thought the two were going to be pretty similar, but they are really nothing alike. The Daytona Road Course is a really challenging track. The chicane we added to the frontstretch has some similarities to what the nature of the Charlotte ROVAL can be like, but to me, the Charlotte track feels a lot more like a street course. I’d be curious what drivers of other divisions would say to that if they ran the ROVAL. To me though, if I imagine running a street course, this is what I imagine it being like. I really enjoy both tracks even though they are nothing alike other than being two ovals we’ve turned into road courses.”You also have a unique event coming up on Thursday where you and your partner, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, will be streaming live on Twitch with fans. What can you tell us about that?“I think this Thursday’s event on Twitch is going to be a lot of fun. Everyone knows we haven’t been able to interact with fans as much face-to-face this year due to the restrictions, so I’m excited to hang out on the Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Twitch channel and answer some fan questions and have some fun. I’m going to get to play the new NASCAR Heat 5 game and take the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet around the ROVAL before this weekend, so maybe I’ll pick up some tricks on that. But overall, this is all about the fans and getting some time to interact with them. Plus, we have some cool prizes to give away during the stream, including a grand prize of autographed, race-worn gloves, so it should be a fun evening.”

Kaz Grala and the No. 21 Ruedebusch.com Chevrolet Camaro at the Charlotte ROVAL… Kaz Grala will return to the seat of the No. 21 ruedebusch.com Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL. Grala has one career start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Charlotte ROVAL, where he finished eighth in 2018. The Boston native has scored one top-five and three top-10 finishes in four NASCAR Xfinity starts this season. Grala also made his Cup Series debut in August at the Daytona Road Course, where he finished in the seventh position. About Ruedebusch Development & Construction… At Ruedebusch, we have the ability to combine commercial real estate development, design-build construction, commercial real estate brokerage, and commercial real estate consulting services or contract them individually. Ruedebusch has knowledge and experience in all aspects of the commercial real estate field. From locating new rental space for your business, to finding the perfect piece of land for your new corporate headquarters; from the turn-key facility, to the architectural and interior design that will best reflect your company’s culture, Ruedebusch is with you every step of the way. Let Ruedebusch assist you with your project; we handle the details so you can concentrate on your business. For more information visit ruedebusch.com. KAZ GRALA QUOTES: You are heading into the Charlotte ROVAL this weekend for your last start of the year. Talk a little bit about your 2020 season. “It’s been another great year here with everyone at Richard Childress Racing. This year has been short, but sweet for me. I haven’t run that many races this year, but I feel like I’ve shown myself well in the races that I did run and have raised my stock as a driver. It’s been an awesome season, and I don’t think there is any better place to finish this year out than the Charlotte ROVAL. We’ve had some really strong performances this year at places like Road America and the Daytona Road Course, so I definitely feel like we’re capable of going out and winning this weekend in our No. 21 ruedebusch.com Chevrolet.”  What are some of the unique challenges at the Charlotte ROVAL that make this track so difficult compared to the Daytona Road Course? “The biggest challenge at the Charlotte ROVAL, in my opinion, is a lot of the braking zones are not straight-line braking zones, whereas, the Daytona Road Course, most of the braking zones are straight line. So, you really have to make an effort to float the car in more gently in the infield portion at Charlotte because, as we’ve seen in the past and in testing, you can tear up a lot of equipment very easily. You really have to be careful and take care of the car early in the race to make sure you have something to race with by the end. I think you’ll see a little different of a race here than the Daytona Road Course. I’m predicting this race will produce more chaos, especially with it being the cutoff race in the NASCAR Playoffs to get inside the Round of 8. My goal is to ultimately get this No. 21 Chevrolet inside that next round, so we can continue to pursue the Owner’s championship for Richard Childress and everyone at Ric

Exchange of information between Corvette Racing, Chevrolet NASCAR engineering

DETROIT (Oct. 7, 2020) – This weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course venue for Corvette Racing and Chevrolet’s NASCAR Cup Series teams is a unique opportunity for the manufacturer with two of its premier programs at the same track on the same weekend. Corvette Racing competes in a 100-minute, GT-only race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday night on the Charlotte Roval, with the NASCAR Cup Series hitting the 2.28-mile, 17-turn road course Sunday afternoon.

Given the Chevrolet NASCAR team’s experience with the Charlotte Roval, data and information has been flowing between Cup Series engineering and that of Corvette Racing.  It’s a similar situation to the teamwork between programs ahead of the Cup Series’ race on the Daytona International Speedway road course in August. Corvette Racing driver Jordan Taylor assisted Hendrick Motorsports drivers in getting up to speed at Chevrolet’s Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) racing simulator. Chase Elliott went on to win that race in his Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Corvette Racing team manager Ben Johnson explains how the flow of data and information goes back-and-forth between the two programs…

BEN JOHNSON, CORVETTE RACING TEAM MANAGER: “Everywhere we go, our primary goal is to come up with the best setup and tire selection so the drivers can maximize the performance of the car. In 2020, we’re doing that everywhere we go. There are a lot of tracks that we haven’t previously tested the C8.R before. We’re building up the notebook at all times. So while coming to Charlotte is a bigger challenge because we don’t have prior experience with the C7.R, we have the tools and methodology. They are applied the same no matter where we go.” “The biggest crossover between what we do at Corvette Racing and the Chevrolet NASCAR teams are the tools we use from primarily the simulation space – desktop simulations, lap-time simulations and all the way up to the Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) rig. We wanted to learn as much as we could from the NASCAR group to see how we can best utilize the track model. Is there anything specific about the track model that we want to learn from while we’re in the DiL rig before we go to the track and then go back to the DiL rig? Ultimately the cars are very different, but within Chevrolet we use quite a bit of the same technology so you can learn a lot from someone who has used those tools for Charlotte.” “We tried to learn as much as we could from the NASCAR team in terms of the track itself. That’s where they have a lot of experience in understanding the grip profile of the track. Regardless of the car or the tire, you can use that to accelerate our learnings here at Corvette Racing.” The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s race at Charlotte is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with live television coverage on NBCSN and live streaming via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring. The race also will air on XM channel 202 and SiriusXM Online 972.

• First race at Charlotte Roval for Corvette Racing• Program remains first and second in GTLM Drivers Championship• Team to use Chevrolet simulator day before and day of official practice• Data exchange between Corvette Racing, Chevrolet NASCAR engineers a key• Corvette Racing hoping for second GT-only race win of IMSA season

DETROIT (Oct. 6, 2020) – As a team that has been competing around the world for more than 20 years, very rarely does Corvette Racing experience anything new. That’s not the case this weekend as the long-standing program races for the first time at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in a 100-minute sprint race. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will hold its second GT-only event of the season Saturday night at Charlotte with Corvette Racing among the favorites to take its second overall victory of 2020. In the first year with the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, Corvette Racing has claimed five victories in the last six races since the COVID-19 lockdown period ended in July. One of those was a GT-only win at Virginia International Raceway for Corvette Racing teammates Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor. The pairing shares the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and holds the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers Championship lead with four victories, including the most recent IMSA round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner sit second in points with one victory and three runner-up finishes – including in the last two races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and Mid-Ohio in their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Those efforts have Chevrolet ahead in the GTLM Manufacturers’ Championship heading to a new, unique venue. Corvette Racing participated in a single-day test on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn Charlotte Roval circuit a month ago to gain much-needed experience at the facility. Just as key to the preparations have been multiple sessions at Chevrolet’s Driver-in-the-Loop (DiL) simulator and exchanges of track data between Corvette Racing engineers and t Chevrolet’s NASCAR Cup Series engineering team. Chevrolet has race-winning experience at Charlotte with Chase Elliott’s victory a year ago in NASCAR competition. Despite the drastic differences in the mid-engine Corvette C8.R and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the Cup series, track surface insight from the NASCAR program provided Corvette Racing with data to establish a baseline setup ahead of the Charlotte test. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s race at Charlotte is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with live television coverage on NBCSN and live streaming via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring. The race also will air on XM channel 202 and SiriusXM Online 972.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We will be racing into the unknown. It’s a new track for everyone, although all of the GTLM manufacturers tested there for a day. It will be different… feeling like a single-day event with just two practices and racing at night with some potential poor weather coming, too. Things could be very unpredictable. It feels kind of similar to a street circuit in some parts. There are few places where the walls go by very fast because you are so close to them. There won’t be much resting, especially on the infield.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “This will be pretty intense. The test was important to do considering how little track time there is. It’s definitely a unique track with the layout and not much room for error. There aren’t a lot of passing opportunities, so qualifying will be pretty important. It’s a 100-minute race so it’s going to come down to execution with the one pit stop. Limiting mistakes on track, in the pits and on strategy… everything is going to have to go our way to have a good result. Going in there with the championship lead and four races to go, we will continue to treat it as we have all year-long – race for the win and if it’s not in the cards then go for the best result we can get.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “All three of my teammates came back from the test and said, ‘Whoa… that place is intense!’ I’ve not actually been on the track yet. I’m doing some simulator work a day or two beforehand to familiarize myself, and I’ve had a look at it on iRacing. In talking to the other guys about Charlotte, it feels quite tight and intense. It has a street circuit feel to it. I did a little bit on the simulator that I have at home, and I’ll be going to our Chevrolet simulator Thursday and Friday before the race. We’ll be at the simulator Friday morning and then at the track Friday afternoon – going from the virtual world to the real world all in one day.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Our approach is that we will focus on trying to execute in a situation that isn’t normal for us – a new track, racing late at night, not having our normal setup and not using the pitlane until the race comes. It’ll be a big test to see who can execute the best. The track can be punishing on mistakes. In some ways, it’s almost worse than a street track. The grip level is so high that you’re going pretty good through some of those corners with zero margin for error. Racing at night throws another wrench into the game. It’ll be a big challenge. Ultimately, we have to keep our cars in one piece and get a good result. It’ll be tricky with the traffic and night-time conditions.”

(10/6/20) Sacramento, CA … The high powered 410 sprint cars of the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Serieswill be back in action on Saturday, October 10th when it invades Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford for the inaugural Morrie Williams Legends Tributerace.  The event honors the late great legendary car owner who claimed four series championships with the sanctioning body.

This marks only the third scheduled event of the NARC season.  As with previous event, the racing facility will continue to follow state-mandated COVID-19 protocols, which means the main grandstands will be closed to spectators.  However fans are allowed in the pit area as long as they wear a mask and practice proper social distancing.  The event will be available on PPV at Floracing.com.

The event will be very unique in that it will feature two 20-lap main events in honor of Morrie Williams, a car owner who loved to watch cars charge from the back of the field.  The first event (see format below) will be lined up straight up by qualifying times for cars that transferred through their heat races.  The starting line-up for the second 20-lapper will line up completely inverted based on the finish of the first race (with the exception of any lapped cars.)  That means the top finishers will be charging from the back.

There will be a 10-minute intermission between the two events when crews can make adjustments to their car race cars – except change tires.  Any car that changes a tire would have to go to the very back of the field (behind lapped cars).

More than $27,000 in prize money is up for grabs including $2800 for each winner.  The overall points champion will pocket an additional $1000.

“It’s an personal honor to present this race for the great Morrie Williams,” said Peter Murphy, the promoter of the track, and former longtime driver with the man.  “He was the perfect mate to drive for and earned legend status in my book.  It will be a great night of racing.”

Williams passed away last year after battling cancer, but his legacy continues to live on today.

Some of the other notable drivers who have driven for Williams over the years include Jonathan Allard; Canadian Jimmy Carr; Greg DeCaires; Dennis Moore Jr., Bud Kaeding (2018 championship); and four-time series titlist Kyle Hirst.  Both Kaeding and Hirst will be competing in the event.

Allard, who won three championships with Williams (2006, 2008 & 2012), feels that this race is a perfect addition to the NARC racing schedule.  “Morrie was an amazing car owner and I feel so fortunate to have been a part of an amazing team. The championships came due to Morrie’s ability to believe in all of us. He was always able to get the best out of his team.”

“He was different that most car owners,” continued Allard.  “He was patient and allowed (crew chief) Ashley Smith and I to work in whatever direction we needed with the belief we would achieve many race wins and our championships. I have many amazing memories of Morrie because he taught me so much. The one thing about Morrie that I think about every day is how he treated people. Everyone that has met him has walked away a friend.”

Other registered entries include both Tim Kaeding of San Jose; Rutherford’s Rico Abreu; Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi and Craig Stidham; Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto and 2019 NARC/KWS champ DJ Netto; Auburn’s Andy Forsberg; Sean Watts from Clovis; Roseville’s Sean Becker and Jodie Robinson; Iowa’s Austin McCarl; Blake and Tanner Carrick from Lincoln; Morgan Hills JJ Ringo; AJ Bender from San Diego and many more!There will also be a full racing program on Friday night (October 9th) with a Kings of Thunder 410 sprint car show.

The NARC King of the West portion of the program will consist of individual qualifying, three 8-lap heat races, a four-lap trophy dash, and a pair of 20-lap main events.

Also on the racing card are the King of Thunder 360’s and the Legends of Kearney Bowl.

Pit gates open at 1:00 p.m. The drivers meeting starts at 4:00 p.m., with the first session of hot laps taking place around 4:30 p.m.

Keller Auto Speedway is located at the Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford.  The address is 801 S 10th Ave, Hanford, CA 93230.  The track can be reached at 559-584-7223.

For more information, call Jim Allen at 714-397-7417.

ED NOTE:  The main grandstands are closed to the general public and no tickets will be sold to the event.  Race fans are allowed to enter the pit area.  All race attendees and participants are required to sign a COVID-19 release form, wear face masks and practice social distancing in the pit area.

The King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires.  Associate and product award sponsors include ATL Racing Cells, Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Autometer, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, FK Rod Ends, Hooker Harness, Johnstone Supply, Kaeding Performance Center, KSE Racing Products, Maxim, PAC Racing Springs, Pyrotect, Racing Optics, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, SCI Racing Products, FloRacing/Speedshift TV, Swift Metal Finishing, Sunnyvalley Bacon, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Light Brakes, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Winters Performance Products.

NASCAR CUP SERIES /CORVETTE RACING CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 5, 2020

TEAM CHEVY’S CHASE ELLIOTT, DRIVER OF THE NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, AND CORVETTE RACING’S JORDAN TAYLOR, DRIVER OF THE NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R, met with media via teleconference to discuss the anticipation going into the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship and NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, the sharing of technology and information across multiple programs within Chevrolet to prepare, and more. Full Transcript

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE:  OBVIOUSLY, YOU’VE ALREADY HAD SOME SUCCESS ON THE ROAD COURSE THIS YEAR AT DAYTONA, WHERE YOU RECEIVED SOME HELP AND FEEDBACK FROM JORDAN (TAYLOR) AHEAD OF THAT AT THE CHEVROLET SIMULATOR IN CHARLOTTE. HOW HELPFUL WERE THOSE SESSIONS TO YOU AHEAD OF THAT RACE?Chase Elliott: “Yeah, it was a big help for us and for me, personally. That was obviously a very unique thing, with not having any practice and then going into a race like that. I talked to Jordan (Taylor) a lot. He was kind enough to share a lot of his notes and things from his past experience at the track, which I found to be helpful. He shared a lot of rain insight too, which I’m kind of glad we didn’t have to tackle that hurdle during that weekend for the first time. But, nonetheless, it worked out. I really appreciated the help from him and everybody that contributed. Obviously, there was a lot of effort that went into that, being such a green situation for most drivers in the field. It was a fun challenge. I enjoyed it and glad it worked out the way it did. Definitely a lot of prep work went into it and I think that showed.” WITH THE ROVAL COMING UP THIS WEEK, I WAS JUST CURIOUS TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU ATTACK A ROVAL-STYLE COURSE VERSUS A TRADITIONAL-BUILT ROAD COURSE, SAY LIKE WATKINS GLEN OR SONOMA. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES THAT YOU NOTICE FROM THE SEAT?Chase Elliott: “Yeah, I think Jordan (Taylor) touched on it. I think what makes the Roval really unique is it’s kind of like trying to fit a whole bunch of stuff in a very small area, I feel like. The place just does not flow very good. That thing probably wasn’t meant to be a road course, I would say, when they built it. It’s just unique and there’s just a lot of places around the racetrack that are really tight with not a lot of flow. I feel like most road courses around the country, that I’ve been to at least, have a flow to them. You kind of get in a groove and it’s really hard to find that groove, I feel like, at the Roval. I even think going back there this time, it’s going to be a challenge to find it. I felt like last year, throughout practice and throughout the weekend, I never felt like I got into a flow very well. I felt like our car was driving pretty good, but I just could never find a groove to get in and find any consistency. It really wasn’t until that very last run in practice and then when the race started, I felt like I found some consistency to be able to back things up and do it over and over again. So, I think to me, the key for myself personally is going to be finding that and trying to get that dialed in. Hopefully, it’s good enough.” IN THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE RACE THIS YEAR, YOU PROVED THAT IF YOU’RE FAST ENOUGH, IT IS POSSIBLE TO COMPETE FOR BOTH STAGE WINS AND THE OVERALL RACE WIN. DO YOU BELIEVE THAT IS A DUAL-FOCUS, SOMETHING THAT OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS ARE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO REPLICATE THIS WEEKEND OR DO YOU THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING ISOLATED TO THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE?Chase Elliott: “That’s such a tough thing – I don’t really know that you can ever plan for that or know exactly how to attack it. I think once the race starts, you kind of have to feel out who the players are and how fast or slow you are, kind of compared to the competition, and figure it out from there. And two, I think it depends on what position you’re in from a points-perspective on how you want to approach the race. It’s tough and like I said, I don’t really know that you can plan for that ahead of time until you start the race, kind of see where you stack up, and get a first-look at what your day is looking like. And then, make that decision, as far as how you want to attack it from there.” SCHEDULES PERMITTING, WOULD YOU WELCOME THE CHANCE TO JOIN CORVETTE RACING FOR AN ENDURANCE EVENT? Chase Elliott: “Yeah, I think it would be a blast. I’ve always enjoyed watching the 24-hour race. I know that’s one of their bigger events every year and it kind of kicks off the racing season, so that’s always an exciting one. Yeah, I think it’d be fun to give it a shot sometime down the road. If the opportunity ever presented itself, I think I would enjoy the challenge, for sure.” TAKE ME THROUGH LAST NIGHT. FIRST, YOU GETTING PENALIZED – YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE FACT THAT NASCAR RESCINDED IT. SECOND, THE DIFFERENCE OF 17-POINTS GOING INTO THIS WEEKEND FOR YOU AFTER RESCINDED THAT PENALTY, I’D ASSUME, IS HUGE. Chase Elliott: “Yeah, for sure. Obviously, that’s a huge deal for us. I credit Jay, NASCAR and those guys for taking another look at it. I think the tough thing, for me in that situation, is your kind of a put in a position where you either cause a wreck or don’t cause a wreck and that’s a tough spot to be in. I feel like we wrecked enough throughout the day – I’m not sure that I felt like we needed to wreck once more because that’s what was going to happen had I not driven where I did. So, I appreciate them looking at it from that point of view and understanding that. It’s so tough because everybody is put in such a tough situation racing in the guidelines we have and we had already crashed enough as it is, like I said. They’re in a tough spot – that’s a tough call to make on either side. But, like I said, I think just from my position, it was a big deal obviously to go from finishing 5th or 6th to the last car on the lead lap. That’s massive when you’re talking these three-race rounds and where we are in the points situation. So, to your point, yeah a very big deal and I do feel like they got it right. Obviously, it was me and I’m biased, but I do think that when you’re put into a position where you have to decide whether or not to cause a wreck, that’s a tough one to be in.” WHEN IT COMES TO THE ROVAL, WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE?Chase Elliott: “What Jordan (Taylor) and I touched on a few minutes ago, I just think the track is really kind of choppy, doesn’t flow very good and it’s a really hard thing to find a rhythm at that track. I feel like road racing is a lot about rhythm and a lot about consistency – finding your markers, pushing yourself to go to those markers each lap and things of that nature. So, when you have a hard time finding a flow, it’s hard to continue to repeat and repeat, and do things consistently lap after lap.” LAST YEAR, YOU WON, BUT IN A BIT OF A DRAMATIC FASHION WITH GETTING INTO THE TIRE BARRIER THERE. TALK ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THAT POINT AND THROUGH YOUR WAY BACK THROUGH.Chase Elliott: “Yeah, just a crazy event, for sure. A lot of good fortune. Obviously, a big mistake on my end and we were fortunate that our car wasn’t tore up very bad, somehow, and was able to fight back up through there. We had just enough time to kind of get back to the front and have a shot at it. First off, I had a really fast car. And, secondly, I made a really big mistake. Third, our car wasn’t tore up as bad as I thought it should have been. So, just had a lot of things go in our favor with the way the rest of the race went – the cautions how they fell, a couple of good restarts, and things just went our way. I’m glad it did, for sure. I’d like to eliminate running into the tire barriers if we have a fast car like that again.” IN YOUR CAR AROUND THE ROVAL, DO YOU FIND YOURSELF HAVING TO BABY THE BRAKES A LITTLE BIT TO MAKE IT LAST THROUGH THE ROVAL RACE? DO THEY FADE AS THE RACE PROCEEDS AND HOW DO YOU MANAGE THAT?Chase Elliott: “I feel like the race last year, I don’t remember us having a ton of brake fade. A little bit – I felt like the worst spot was probably into that backstretch chicane. That was probably about as hard as we would brake in a straight line. The rest of the track is kind of just awkward. The turn four area coming into that little chicane on the frontstrech is kind of curved, so it’s hard to use max brake pressure through that section. The rest of the track is just really kind of slow, to be honest. So, that backstretch deal was the worst spot I remember. Best I recall, I don’t remember having a bunch of brake fade issues last year, so hopefully not.”  NOW THAT YOU HAVE THE POINTS BACK, YOU’RE PLUS 44 GOING INTO THIS RACE. HOW DO YOU VIEW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO? I KNOW YOU WANT TO WIN THE RACE, BUT PLUS 44, DOES THAT GIVE YOU A CUSHION TO BE AGGRESSIVE?Chase Elliott: “Yeah, I don’t know. It’s such a tough thing. I feel like when you get in these rounds and whatnot, I feel like the worst thing you can do is just sit there and play the numbers game. It’s like I had a teacher tell me in high school one time – don’t come into my final exam just figuring out what you have to make to pass. I feel like that’s what I’m doing when I start sitting here and thinking about what to do on points. So, I’m going to take her advice and try not to do that this week and just focus on trying to run good. If you’re going to go out and beat the people that are champions and who’ve been running well – we see the same five or six people in the Final Four every year, so unless you want to run behind them like we have been doing, we need to focus on trying to beat them. To get there, you’ve got to be amongst them and put yourself in position to win because they are winning every week – one of just a handful it seems like. So, we need to be amongst them more often. I think we’re very capable of doing that. I think we’ve shown that this year, especially at times. We just need to do it more often and we don’t need to treat this week any different.” AFTER YOU HAD THE SITUATION LAST YEAR WHEN YOU RAN INTO THE BARRIER, HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO FIGURE OUT THE CAR WASN’T HURT BAD? WERE YOU SURPRISED? Chase Elliott: “Yeah, it was I don’t know, eight or 10 laps I guess after we went back green, and it was OK. It definitely hurt it, but it was still very good. So, just very fortunate there. I feel like a mistake of that magnitude, you deserve to not only destroy your car, but probably not keep going at the same time. I’m not sure what I did that week to earn that gift, but I certainly appreciated it.” LET’S SAY THIS WEEKEND GOES ACCORDINGLY – WHAT TRACK IN THIS NEXT ROUND ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING TO?Chase Elliott: “Heck, I don’t know. We need to focus on this week and I feel like much like the final exam example I used, I think worrying about next week is also a no-no. So, let’s just worry about Charlotte right now and we’ll see where we stack up after that.” WHAT DO YOU VIEW ARE YOUR CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES IN COMPARISON TO THE COMPETITION RIGHT NOW, KNOWING HOW YOU GUYS HAVE PERFORMED THIS YEAR?Chase Elliott: “I feel like when we’ve been at our best, I feel like we run with the guys that have been winning a lot and are in great positions. So, I feel like when we bring our A-game and things are where they need to be, we’ve competed and I think that’s the main thing. I hope we can continue to bring that A-game all the time and try to get a little more consistent. I feel like the past four or five weeks have been a little more consistent for us. We’ve had some better runs and been doing a better job – having more pace in our cars and being up towards the front. I think if we can keep doing that, I feel confident that we can run with whoever.” WITH YOU GUYS HAVING SO MANY MORE ROAD COURSES NEXT YEAR, WOULD YOU BE COMFORTABLE IF NASCAR STARTED USING LOCAL YELLOWS INSTEAD OF FULL-COURSE YELLOWS ON A ROAD COURSE?Chase Elliott: “Yeah, that’s a really good question. I do feel like sometimes the full-courses are probably a little unnecessary. I know that’s a NASCAR thing versus a typical road race style. I don’t know – I don’t know what the right thing is to do there. I feel like there’s times in the past where it’s worked in my favor to have a full-course yellow. And there’s time in the past where I wish it would have just gone green. So, I feel like it can go either way. I’m not sure – I feel like it’s all discretionary, I guess, on how bad a wreck is and whether or not they have to put out a full-course or not. But, I don’t know – that’s a great question, but I’m not sure I’m the right person to answer it.” WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE PLAYOFFS, HOW DOES THAT EXPERIENCE HELP AND WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED FROM YOUR PREVIOUS PLAYOFF EXPERIENCES IN THE POSITION YOUR IN AT THIS TIME?Chase Elliott: “I definitely don’t think it hurts anything, you know as you go through these situations. I feel like we’ve been through some tough situations in the Playoffs over my first handful of years – been in some tight scenarios, been in some tough losses and I think all of those situations help you learn and kind of help you just keep a middle ground through a lot of it, which I think is really helpful. I definitely don’t think it hurts. I still think we’re going to be faced with challenges and things I’ve never seen before and, as you do that, you just have to be dynamic and learn through those as well. But I do think having a little experience in seeing some of those tough days in these final races can help you just have a better mindset and understand that anything can happen and nothing is really over until it’s over. I think that’s something you always have to keep in mind as we go through these last 10 races.”  JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: YOU WERE PART OF A SINGLE-DAY TEST PROGRAM AT CHARLOTTE ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE GTLM CARS HAVE BEEN ON THE TRACK THERE. HOW QUICKLY WERE YOU AND THE REST OF THE CORVETTE PROGRAM ABLE TO GET UP TO SPEED DURING TESTING? AND, DID THOSE FINDINGS FROM THE NASCAR SIDE OF THE HOUSE HELP YOU AS DRIVERS AND THE ENGINEERS IN GETTING TO A STARTING POINT?Jordan Taylor: “Yeah, it definitely was a big help. We were able to do it in the simulator for one day before that test. So, Antonio and Tommy (Milner) and I were able to do some laps and got a feel for the track. It’s a very unique layout. Some sections don’t flow super-well. It’s just the way it kind of decreases at apex. So, the flow of it was kind of difficult to figure out. But, I think having a day at the simulator to kind of figure that out definitely sped up the learning process by the time we did get to the track; in understanding what kind of curbs you can and what curbs you can’t use and where you kind of want to line up and set up for other corners. So, it was definitely a big help. I think that’s kind of been a big part of our whole season this year is having the Chevy simulator to use. It’s a brand-new car. In going to a lot of these tracks that we’ve never been to for testing and having a shortened weekend with less practice really puts a lot of emphasis on preparation leading into these weekends well-prepared. The best case was this last race for us at Mid-Ohio, where we had not tested the car and rolled off the truck super-strong. We got the pole and won the race. So, it says a lot about the team, and I think leading into Charlotte and having that simulator usage is pretty crucial again.” HOW HAS THE SIMULATOR BENEFITTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE C8.R IN A YEAR WHERE ON-TRACK TESTING AND TRACK TIME IS MORE LIMITED THAN USUAL FOR OBVIOUS REASONS?Jordan Taylor: “It’s been huge. I was kind of in a simulator through the development process of it through the C7.R. Then a lot of the C8.R was designed through simulation before the car hit the track. Having all that data and development from the simulator was pretty incredible. My first impressions of the C8.R came last year on the simulator leading into Daytona. We did some differential changes in the simulator and then I gave my feedback, and then a month later when we were at the track, we did those same exact changes. Obviously, I had forgotten what my feedback was the month prior, but my feedback was identical. So, the correlation between the two are extremely accurate, which is really nice now that we’re in the meat of the season where you aren’t getting that testing time that we’re used to getting and going to tracks we’re not used to being at, like the ROVAL and some of these other races that have popped up on our schedule where we can’t test. It’s been important from the engineering side, but also from the driver’s side just to get that feel and understanding what it’s going to take to be competitive at these tracks.” WITH NASCAR INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ROAD COURSES ON THE CUP SCHEDULE TO SIX, DOES THAT LEND ITSELF ANY MORE TO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A GUY LIKE YOU TO PITCH RUNNING ALL SIX?Jordan Taylor: “I’d like to say yes but I think it’s going to be the same story as whether there’s one road course or 10 road courses. I think it’s going to be difficult to get in a car, especially a competitive one. But yeah, I’m going to keep trying. I think I’ve tried the last five or six years to get in a Xfinity ride at Road America or Mid-Ohio. Now they’re doing Daytona and COTA and Road America. They’re all great tracks that obviously we have a lot of history at. I’d love to get the opportunity but it’s going to take a good opportunity to get that chance.” ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE THE CHANCE TO DO ANY SIMULATOR WORK BEFORE THE RACE AT CHARLOTTE THIS WEEKEND?Jordan Taylor: “Yeah, we’ll be in there Thursday and Friday, I think. Antonio and I are there most of Thursday and then Oliver (Gavin) and Tommy will come in Friday and then we actually practice Friday night. It’s nice to get a little refresher course right before the weekend as a driver. And then as a team, I’m sure after our last on-track test, they’ve got a lot of items that we’re going to see how to properly optimize the setup; whether it’s geometry changes or springs, downforce levels, toes and camber. So, I’m sure there will be a lot of laps in the simulator, but hopefully it will all pay off in the weekend.” CHASE MENTIONED THAT THE TWO OF YOU WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND. WHAT WAS THE INTERACTION LIKE BETWEEN YOU TWO BEFORE TODAY AND ALSO GOING BACK TO AFTER THE DAYTONA RACE?Jordan Taylor: “I don’t know if we’ve talked much between the events, but I think we talked a little bit about the ROVAL when I was there at the simulator working for Daytona just because their focus was all on Daytona that weekend. It was good, I’m sure. Chase had a big part in developing the ROVAL stuff on the simulator, which was a big help to us just getting the track grip level correct so that when we go there, everything is kind of in-tune and on-pace where it’s going to be in real life. So, I’m sure as the weekend unfolds for us, we’ll have some questions and maybe we can play on top of those guys and vice-versa.” YOU TALKED ABOUT MAYBE WANTING TO FIND A NASCAR OPPORTUNITY. ONCE UPON A TIME, ROAD RACING SPECIALISTS COULD FIND HALFWAY DECENT RIDES IN THE CUP SERIES. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED TO FIND A COMPETITIVE RIDE ON THE XFINITY SERIES AND THEN MAYBE GET A CUP OPPORTUNITY?Jordan Taylor: “Yeah, I just think it would be important to get in the right car and the right opportunity. I’ve spoken a lot with Jeff Gordon about it. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to do some of the road courses in the past, but he’s steered me away from it just from the equipment point of view just explaining how important it is and it might not be worth just jumping in to be in the race, but you want to be competitive and at the front to at least show well to have a second chance at it. We’ve had a long relationship with Childress. We used their engines in all my prototype career pretty much and we’ve won a couple of championships together and a lot of Rolex 24s. So, they’ve definitely been at the top of my list for Xfinity. I think Cup is a different animal completely. They guys there are definitely all switched on. They might not be like road course guys, but whenever they come over and do the Rolex 24, they are definitely competitive in anything they jump in. So, for sure, for Cup, you’re definitely going to want to be in the right equipment to be anywhere near the front, no matter how good you are.” HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU THAT YOU COULD DO IT?Jordan Taylor: “I’d like to think I’d do well. But, at the same time, I’ve never driven a stock car like that. The closest thing I’ve driven was a V8 Supercar. But I love that style of racing; and sport cars now are having so much development with traction control and such higher levels of downforce and the Michelin tires we use now are so impressive. I enjoy that kind of old-school driving style where it’s no ABS, no traction control, no driver aids; it’s all down to what you can do with the pedals and steering wheel. I think my driving style kind of suits that so I’d like to think that it would suit me somewhat well, but you never know until you get that opportunity.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERace Wrap— 2020 NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival

The 22nd Annual NMRA World Finals & Holley Intergalactic Ford Festivalat Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, wrapped up a crazy 2020, and yet a rather successful Holley NMRA Ford Nationals season for racers and enthusiasts alike. Great racing and great weather made for an excellent combination as event winners drove to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle and NMRA Champions collected their hard-earned Edelbrock Victor trophies and Nitto Tire Diamond Tree rings. As this was the second year that Holley injected its infectious Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival into the event, event goers were treated to asphalt-ripping drifting that included Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chelsea DeNofa, auto-crossing, burnout mayhem, a Grand Champion competition, and of course the Festival 50 Crown Victoria race put on my YouTuber Cleetus McFarland and his crew who were responsible for all sorts of shenanigans on the course. And we can’t forget the towering Bigfoot 5, which was on display for photo ops. VP Racing Madditives Street Outlaw rookie Steve Halprin made a strong showing from the beginning of the event to the end, with elapsed times regularly in the 4.3-second range. Tony Hobson took the top spot in qualifying with a 4.26, but it was Halprin who consistently charged through eliminations and met Dom DiDonato in the final round of competition. When the race was over, it was Halprin who had turned on the win light at the top end of the track, and grabbed his first NMRA event win and took his first trip to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle.

Joel Greathouse was the man to beat all weekend in Edebrock Renegade, regularly posting times in the 4.50s. He was number-one qualifier with a 4.58 and after getting to the final round, Greathouse drove to victory when Eric Bardekoff’s Mustang failed to start. Bill Putnam has led the charge in JDM Engineering Limited Street, regularly posting the quickest times of the class. He proved that once again at Beech Bend Raceway Park with an 8.300 run to top the qualifying sheets. From there, he eliminated opponent after opponent straight through the final round, where he defeated Chad Wendel, 8.33 to 8.43. The high-flying wheelies from the G-Force Transmissions Coyote Stock racers did not disappoint in Bowling Green, with Kevin McMullin even putting his Mustang on the bumper and then the retaining wall during eliminations. Chester Drake, though, grabbed the top spot in qualifying with a 9.98—the only other racer in the class to post a 9-second run aside from Frank Paultanis—and he would meet Drew Lyons in the final round. Lyons drilled the tree with a .006 light, and shifted what might have been all four gears of his G-Force transmission in the air, but the driving effort cost him time and Drake to stormed past him for the win, 10.02 to 10.48.

Another top qualifier and another win came from John Leslie Jr. in Richmond Gear Factory Stock, who clicked off a 10.12 to top the qualifying sheets. Leslie Jr. met Justin Fogelsonger in the final round of competition, took the starting line advantage and then took the trip to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle with a 10.15-to-10.17 victory. Sporting a fresh set of RC Components wheels, Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle competitor Gary Parker won four elimination rounds to meet Jason Henson in the finals. Once there, Parker was quick to the tree and quick to the win light. The ARP Open Comp class is full of tough competitors and anyone can win at any time. At Beech Bend Raceway, the final round came down to Greg Cole and Chad Scholten. Both drivers did their jobs well off the line in the battle of Fox-Body Mustangs, but it was Cole who was victorious. Dave Cole grabbed the top qualifying spot in Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning competition with a 0.002 reaction time, and he continued to be on the winning side of the elimination rounds until the finals, where Fred Wade got the better of him from the start to the finish to take the win. Many NMRA racers choose to tow their cars to the track for various reasons, but ROUSH Performance Super Stang racer Kevin McKenna has proven time and again that he can drive to the track, no matter what state it’s in, and blast to competitive, low 10-second runs, and then drive it home. The Indiana resident drove to Kentucky for the final NMRA event of the season and drove to the win after defeating Pete Espeut in the final round of competition. Fastest Street Car Magazine Ford Muscle brings a wide variety of vehicles to the class, and Clyde Dunphy’s 1972 Mustang Mach 1 is one of the coolest rides to win a round. Dunphy did far more than that at Beech Bend Raceway Park, as he defeated Llyod Mikeska in the final round of competition and celebrated in the Aerospace Components Winners Circle. The Mickey Thompson Cobra/Terminator vs. GT500 Shootout class continues to be a favorite addition to the NMRA season opening and ending races, with racers running regularly in the 7s. Ryan Aycock was the man to beat, as he posted the quickest time in qualifying with a staggering 7.56. He would make it to the finals where he met Dwayne Hickman, who was doing well with the new supercharged combination in his Shelby GT500. Hickman ran the slower of the two times with a 7.75 to Aycock’s 7.68, but he grabbed a .223-second starting line advantage that allowed him to take the holeshot win. Many competitors in the Hellion Turbo Battle often compete in other classes during the NMRA races that the special class is held, and Donato Sierchio was entered in both Turbo Battle as well as the King of the Street competition with his 7-second, registered for the street Mustang. Sierchio qualified on top of the Hellion Turbo class with a 7.31, and took the first of two wins at this event after defeating James McCord, 7.28 to 7.44 in the heads-up eliminator. QA1 True Street always turns out in droves at the NMRA finals in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and this year was no exception with over 140 cars teching in. Chock full of 7- and 8-second machines, the majority of ultra quick cars bowed out early, leaving Jason Wagoner to take the overall win with an 8.964 average. Dan Saitz in his 2011 Mustang GT took runner up honors with a 9.019 average while Daniel Rosner rocketed to the 9-second win. Bob Myers banged the gears in his Mercury Capri to the 10-second win, Tim Apple took the 11-second award with an 11.043 average, and Gary Johnson went 12.005 for the 12-second prize. Leading the 13-second charge was Clint Plummer with a 13.015 average, Richard Shannon Doyle collected a 14.009 average for the 14-second win, and Brian Flanagan narrowly beat out multi-time 15-second winner Belinda Moore with a 15.026 to her 15.093 average. The exclusive GForce Performance Engineering King of the Street brings together the overall winners from each True Street competition, along with the winner of the Spring Break Shootout and the runner up from True Street at the finals for a heads-up brawl to find out who truly is the King of the Street. The final round came down to Spring Break Shootout winner Donato Sierchio and St. Louis True Street winner Randy Thomas, with Sierchio rocketing to the win in his turbocharged Fox-Body Mustang. TREMEC Stick Shift Shootout pits the eight quickest manually shifted cars from True Street against each other in their own speed contest. In the final round, Tim Casto defeated 2019 Stick Shift Shootout winner Mike Niehaus for the win and the trip to the Aerospace Components Winners Circle. The Capri Club of North America has once again found a home with the NMRA, and while the Ford Capri, of which the club is based on, may not be a Mustang, the club members’ enthusiasm is just as energetic. As part of their attendance, Capri Swarm owners were able to take part in a bracket race, which was settled on Saturday with Chris Rolls taking the win over James Meredith after Meredith turned on the red light at the start. The RacePagesDigital.com Bracket 3 featured racers from True Street as well as local bracket racers. In the final round of competition on Sunday, it was Michael Crass who drilled the tree with a .009 light and then took the win over Danny Towe, who wasn’t far behind with a .019, in the tough final round. Because the Performance Racing Industry show, where the champions ceremony is annually held, had to be canceled for this year, NMRA champions were honored for all of their accomplishments in the special champion version of the Aerospace Components Winners Circle as the sun began to set on a sensational weekend and season. Please visit www.nmradigital.com and www.racepagesdigital.com, and the series’ social channels, in the days to come for stories and videos that feature the champions.

·        Wild day of racing at Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil ends with all-Dodge Funny Car final and a record 11th consecutive national event win for Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis

·        Tommy Johnson Jr. drives DSR MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to second win of season and contributes to tightening up of the DSR Top-3 battle for Funny Car championship

·        Matt Hagan’s runner-up finish puts the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the lead for the Funny Car world championship with three national events left in NHRA season

·        DSR’s Leah Pruett walks away unhurt from wild ride in Top Fuel quarterfinals

·       Factory Stock Showdown eliminations postponed to Monday for No.1 qualifier Mark Pawuk and fellow Mopar Drag Pak pilot Pruett due to unusually cold and windy track conditions

October 4, 2020, St. Louis, Mo. – It was wild action-packed day of racing at the Mopar Express Land Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis that concluded with an all-Mopar Funny Car final round showdown, a record 11^th consecutive national event victory for the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team, and a shuffling atop the leaderboard for the final stretch in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car world championship.

Tommy Johnson Jr. earned his second Wally trophy of the 2020 season by defeating DSR teammates Jack Beckman in the semifinals and then Matt Hagan in the final, both of whom he is battling in a tight Funny Car championship fight with just three national events remaining. Johnson did it decisively by posting the quickest run of the weekend in the final, a 3.884-second, 326 mph effort aboard his MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, to edge out Hagan’s 3.886-second pass at 330 mph. 

“The last couple races have been “must do well” races and you look over there (at DSR teammates Beckman and Hagan) and they’re still going rounds, so when you do face-up against them, it’s a must-win,” said Johnson. “You can’t let them keep going rounds or you fall a round behind. It was huge to be able to take out both of them today and keep ourselves securely planted in it and make it a solid three three-man race right now”.

While Johnson remains third in the standings, the win keeps him in contention with just 34 points separating the three teammates atop the leaderboard. His win also extends the DSR’s unprecedented streak of victories to a record 11 national events since October 2019.

“It’s incredible that we won that many races in a row as a team and that I won the race today,” added Johnson. “It’s a tribute to all the hard work, even through the lockdowns and everything. These guys are at the shop working and trying to make everything better even not knowing when we would race again. They continually worked hard to keep that advantage. It’s extremely hard to make these cars run that good, that long, and that many runs in a row, so to be able to do it for this long is incredible.”

The runner-up finish by Hagan moves the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver into the championship lead ahead of Beckman and Johnson. He advanced to his 63rd career final elimination with round wins against Bob Bode, teammate Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria.

“As tough as it is to lose a close final like that, we gained ground and took the points lead, Said Hagan. ”We had a good weekend and it’s hard to complain when you make a final round. That was the bad side of a really good drag race for our Mopar team. It’s a Mopar-sponsored event and we wanted to win for Mopar and Express Lane, but at least another DSR Dodge Hellcat won again with Tommy (Johnson). I just can’t say enough about my guy working so hard with no mistakes. (Crew Chief) Dickie Venables is really tuning a mean race car. We’ve had such a fast car all season long. We’re making ground and that’s what matters. We’re used to this thing being tight and most of these championships are won on the final day of the season by one or two points. I’m extremely proud of my guys. It was a good day and weekend at St. Louis.”

Capps saw his race day end prematurely along with any hopes of remaining close to the fight atop the standings as a result of a second fiery run in two events; this one resulting in “oil-down” that cost him 10 valuable points and a quarterfinals loss to Hagan.

Race day at the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals was also marked by a frightening Round 2 incident for Leah Pruett and her Mopar Top Fuel dragster. After qualifying ninth, she started her day with a solid first round pass at 3.676 sec./ 328.38 mph over eighth seeded opponent Pat Dakin (0.057/11.817/70.73), but hopes of adding a few more round wins were cut short on her next run. Halfway through her drag race against DSR teammate Tony Schumacher, Pruett went for a wild ride as her dragster broke in two and went airborne before landing back on track and coming to a stop. The Mopar driver exited her vehicle unaided and walked away unhurt but disappointed.

“The was the most intense round of competition I’ve ever had and the wildest ride I’ve ever had, that’s for sure,” said Pruett who, despite the setback, remains third in the standings behind points leader Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta. “We’re still taking time to process and look at the parts and put a plan together for how to move forward. For me, my body is fine. My mind is fine. The DSR chassis and Impact safety equipment did everything it was supposed to. As a drag racer this is what we do. There’s a risk. I think the quicker you can get back on the track, the better. Let’s not ever do that again. I thank the lord, my team, the chassis shop, Don (Schumacher), and everybody that helped. Not a great start to October and that was an early Halloween surprise. That’s for sure.”

The brisk temperatures and windy conditions made it more difficult for low downforce vehicles to compete safely on the dragstrip and as such, the NHRA made the difficult decision to postpone racing for all other classes and categories including Factory Stock Showdown. No. 1 qualifier Mark Pawuk and fellow Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak driver Pruett, who qualified seventh, will have to wait until Monday to head to the staging lanes for FSS eliminations at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The Mopar Dodge SRT contingent will head west in two weeks for the 35^th annual AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals on Oct. 14–18 at Texas Motorsplex near Dallas. NHRA qualifying highlights will be broadcast on FS1 on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30–8:30 p.m. ET, and Sunday, Oct. 18 from 1–2 p.m. ET. Television coverage of the elimination rounds, including Live finals from the FallNationals, will air on Sunday, Oct. 18, on FS1 from 2–5 p.m. ET.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 5 Qualifier – 4.750 seconds at 185.03 mph)
Round 1: (0.084-second reaction time, 3.885 seconds at 332.10 mph) defeated No.12 Blake Alexander (0.150/6.630/95.37)

Round 2: (0.089/3.890/329.50) defeated No. 4 Dan Wilkerson (0.092/3.976/314.97)

Round 3: (0.083/3.903/330.80) (0.068/3.896/327.98) loss to No.  Tommy Johnson Jr. 

“It’s not the way I thought the day would end. I really thought we had the car to beat. Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen tuned perfect for today’s conditions. We were low ET, low ET and in the semis second low ET. The problem was the car we pulled up next too, Tommy Johnson, was low ET. The silver lining is a DSR Dodge Funny Car wins for the 11th straight race for Don (Schumacher). The upside for us is that we have three more chances to get trophies and the way our car is performing I wouldn’t put it past us.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  
(No.6  Qualifier – 5.105 seconds at 148.15 mph)
Round 1: ( 0.094-second reaction time, 3.959 seconds at 319.98 mph) defeated No. Bob Bode (0.031/4.080/266.21)

Round 2: (0.080/4.085/249.58) defeated No. 14 Ron Capps (0.090/5.182/113.44)

Round 3: (0.102/3.935/328.62) defeated No. 2 Alexis DeJoria (0.121/8.043/87.47)

Round 4: (0.058/3.886/333.00) loss to No. 8 Tommy Johnson Jr. (0.047/3.884/326.08)

“As tough as it is to lose a close final like that, we gained ground and took the points lead. We had a good weekend and it’s hard to complain when you make a final round. That was the bad side of a really good drag race for our Mopar team. It’s a Mopar-sponsored event and we wanted to win for Mopar and Express Lane, but at least another DSR Dodge Hellcat won again with Tommy (Johnson). I just can’t say enough about my guy working so hard with no mistakes. Dickie Venables is really tuning a mean race car. We’ve had such a fast car all season long. We’re making ground and that’s what matters. We’re used to this thing being tight and most of these championships are won on the final day of the season by one or two points. I’m extremely proud of my guys. It was a good day and weekend at St. Louis.”

Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 8 Qualifier – 7.220 seconds at 118.97 mph) 
Round 1: (0.084-second reaction time, 3.919 seconds at 324.05 mph) defeated No. 9 Terry Haddock (0.115/4.174/283.31)

Round 2: (0.078/3.943/324.51) defeated No. 1 Paul Lee (0.184 /3.892/330.72)

Round 3: (0.068/3.896/327.98) defeated No. 5 Jack Beckman (0.083/3.903/330.80)

Round 4: (0.047/3.884/326.08) defeated No. 6 Matt Hagan (0.058/3.886/333.00)

“What a different set of circumstances from last weekend at Gainesville where it was hot humid, to come to St. Louis where it’s cold and the track is tight. My guys did a great job of adapting. It’s really hard to make your cars run well in these conditions. The cars want to run good, but it’s hard to get them down the track. The team did a great job of adjusting and made the right changes and it kept getting better and better with each run. Racing teammates (Jack) Beckman and (Matt) Hagan in the final was some of the best drag races all weekend. It was close and it was tight and if you want to win this championship you have to step up to the plate. Today this MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat stepped up to that plate. It was just an outstanding car and the fans got a show at the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals presented by Pennzoil with the win.”

Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 14 Qualifier – 12.851 seconds at 71.93 mph)
Round 1: (0.110-second reaction time, 3.894 seconds at 331.77 mph) defeated No. 3 Cruz Pedregon (0.046/14.145 /65.73)

Round 2: (0.090/5.182/113.44) loss to No. 6 Matt Hagan (0.080/4.085/249.58)

“I’m not sure what to say at this point. The NAPA guys are tearing the car apart to see what went wrong. That’s two pretty good ones in two races. We have to figure out what the issue is. We have a great running car. We had lane choice. It hurts worse when you see your opponent go out and run 4.08 when you have an issue like that. It’s depressing when we have such a great car. The good thing is I know they’ll dissect the problem and find out exactly what the issue was and we’ll have it fixed for Dallas in two weeks.”

Leah Pruett, Mopar Top Fuel Dragster  
(No. 9 Qualifier – 4.310 seconds at 249.07 mph)    
Round 1: (0.037-second reaction time, 3.676 seconds at 328.38 mph) defeated No. 8 Pat Dakin (0.057/11.817/70.73)

Round 2: (0.060/No Time/ No Speed) loss to No. 1 Tony Schumacher (0.071/3.750/291.13)

“That was the most intense round of competition I’ve ever had and the wildest ride I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. We’re still taking time to process and look at the parts and put a plan together for how to move forward. For me, my body is fine. My mind is fine. The DSR chassis and Impact safety equipment did everything it was supposed to. As a drag racer this is what we do. There’s a risk. I think the quicker you can get back on the track, the better. Let’s not ever do that again. I thank the lord, my team, the chassis shop, Don (Schumacher), and everybody that helped. Not a great start to October and that was an early Halloween surprise. That’s for sure.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak– Factory Stock Shootout
(No. 1 Qualifier – 7.814 seconds at 175.48 mph)

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak – Factory Stock Shootout 
(No. 7  Qualifier – 7.955 seconds at 172.32 mph)

NHRA CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS:

(Following the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals) 

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 659 (2) 

2. Jack Beckman (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 643 (2)

3. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 625 (2)

4. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 527 (2)

5. Tim Wilkerson – 480

6. J.R. Todd – 473 

7. Bob Tasca III – 465

8. Alexis DeJoria – 375

9. Paul Lee – 319 

10. Cruz Pedregon – 303

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1. Steve Torrance – 642 (3)

2. Doug Kalitta – 640 (2)

3. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 562

4. Billy Torrance – 506 (1)

5. Terry McMillen – 436

6. Justin Ashley – 433 (1)

7. Antron Brown – 425

8. Shawn Langdon – 415 (1)

9. Clay Millican – 347

10. Tony Schumacher – 234

October 4, 2020

The record will show that Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Tuscany Faucets Ford finished 21^st in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

But what Eddie Wood – and lots of others – will remember most is the strong drive from DiBenedetto, who led three times for 10 laps and was in contention to win all the way until the final straightaway, and the smart pit calls by crew chief Greg Erwin, who chose to top off the fuel tank with 38 laps remaining.

That decision by Erwin put DiBenedetto in position to stay on the track through three overtime runs to the checkered flag while other contenders had to stop for fuel in a race that ran 12 laps past the advertised distance.

But a dramatic win, or even a heart-breaking close runner-up finish wasn’t meant to be. DiBenedetto led Laps 193-199 and most of the 200^th and final lap, but was nipped at the finish line by Denny Hamlin.

Then it was announced that DiBenedetto had been assessed a penalty for yellow-line violation, which relegated him from second place to 21^st.
 
“I can’t emphasize enough how proud I am of Matt, who did everything you’re supposed to do in a superspeedway race, and of Greg, who made the exact right call to top off after our last pit stop,” Wood said. “We all appreciate the support from Menards, Tuscany Faucets, Motorcraft/Quick Lane and Ford.
 
“We just came up short.”
 
DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team move on to the ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway next Sund

Racers Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo finishes third in GT season finale to clinch title
Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock claim Silver Class driver’s and team crowns
Team Honda Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo finishes third overall in 8-hour race

INDIANAPOLIS – (October 4, 2020) – The Racers Edge Motorsports #93 Acura NSX GT3 Evo closed the 2020 SRO Motorsports GT World Challenge America campaign in style on a rainy Sunday in Indianapolis, finishing third in the season’s final race to win the series Manufacturers Championship for Acura for the second consecutive year.

The three-hour season finale was actually a race within a race, as the finishing order for the SRO cars was determined by their position after three hours of the inaugural Indianapolis eight-hour SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge event, which included the GT cars from the IGTC as well as the SRO GT World Challenge America cars. The Racers Edge Acura was joined in the field by a similar Acura NSX GT3 Evo campaigned by IGTC series regular Team Honda Racing, featuring Acura IMSA DPi driver Dane Cameron alongside Mario Farnbacher and Renger Van Der Zande.

The endurance contest started with about 30 minutes of panic for teams and drivers ,as rain started falling around the 2.43-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course just about the time the green flag flew. Falling harder each lap, the rain forced teams to pit for wet-weather tires at different intervals, which staggered the running order as teams immediately found themselves on different pit strategies.

The #93 Racers Edge NSX started from fourth, with Trent Hindman, Shelby Blackstock and Robert Megennis behind the wheel, but fell back to ninth early after pitting for rain tires in the opening laps. Things went from bad to worse soon less than an hour later, when the team suffered the first of two cut tires, the first coming just as the car passed the start/finish line, forcing the team to limp all the way around the course before hitting pitting for a replacement.

Meanwhile, the #30 Team Honda Racing Acura played cat-and-mouse with a pair of BMWs at the front of the field, leading when the gap in pit strategy between the team played in Acura’s favor, but the team’s shot at victory evaporated with about two hours to run when an electronics issue during a pit stop caused the team to lose a lap to the leaders. The #30 Acura continued battling, and came home in third, while the #93 ran in the top 10 all day before ending up in seventh place.

The finish in the SRO event, sealed the SRO GT World Challenge America Manufacturers’ Championship for Acura for the second consecutive year, with wins coming from The #93 Racers Edge car and its sister machine, driven early in the year by Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli. The finish also sealed the Silver Class Drivers’ and Teams’ titles for Racers Edge, giving the Acura team a second-straight championship. The Acura NSX GT3 Evo, sold and supported by HPD in North America, runs in both Sprint and Endurance racing competition around the world

ST LOUIS (October 4, 2020) — Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team continued to show off their 2020 season improvement with a dominant performance during the lone qualifying session at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. McMillen blasted to the No. 2 qualifying spot with a 3.715 second run at 319.45 mph on Friday night and took some serious momentum into race day. A long day of rain delays put the pressure on all the pro teams but McMillen’s crew was up to the task.

In the opening round McMillen further showed his Rob Wendland tuned AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was going to be one of the race cars to beat at World Wide Technology Raceway. The team had a favorable match up against journeyman racer Todd Paton as eliminations began under cool conditions. McMillen got the jump off the starting and never trailed in the race as his 3.777 second at 325.53 mph pass advanced him to the quarterfinals against fellow championship contender Billy Torrence.

The quarterfinal race was one of the best side by side races of the day. McMillen was giving up lane choice but that was not a competitive disadvantage thanks to the excellent effort by the NHRA Safety Safari. Both Top Fuel dragsters launched nearly simultaneously with Torrence getting a slight advantage. That edge would prove to be the difference as the Amalie Motor Oil dragster barreled down the track and crossed the finish line in 3.714 second, a thousandth of a second quicker than his qualifying run. Unfortunately Torrence got the win light by less than two feet and .0046 seconds at over 325 mph.

“I could not be prouder of this Amalie Motor Oil race team,” said McMillen. “My crew chief Rob Wendland has been doing an amazing job with the tune up. We are running in hot conditions and this weekend conditions were the exact opposite of what we had in Florida. This team executed and we made the most of our one qualifying run and we stepped up when we needed to against a tough team. It just didn’t go our way today.”

The team brought out a brand new race car to begin the restarted NHRA season and through seven races McMillen knows he has a championship caliber race operation. Round wins are coming on race day and today under tough conditions McMillen’s Amalie Motor Oil team improved and posted some of the quickest elapsed times. With three races left McMillen in No. 5 in the points has the opportunity to realistically contend for a Top Three finish.

“There is no quit in this team. We will be heading to Dallas and Houston with the goal of winning both of those races and then see where we stack up for a run to the championship. We will have points and half at the last race so anything can happen. I am proud of how this team fought this weekend under tough conditions,” added McMillen.

Midwest Nationals Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.715 sec, 319.45 mph; Qual. 2
Bonus Points: +2 (2^nd quickest of Q1

Race Results

E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.777, 325.53 mph def. Todd Paton, Rancho Santa Maria, Calif., dragster 13.707, 54.81 mph

E2:  Billy Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco Contractors dragster, 3.717, 327.59 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster, 3.714, 323.50 mph

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY YELLAWOOD 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES OCTOBER 4, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3rd     TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR RV CAMARO ZL1 1LE4th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT NEXT GEN DOZERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE9th      BRENNAN POOLE, NO. 15 GOETTL CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th    RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)2nd     Erik Jones (Toyota)3rd     Ty Dillon (Chevrolet)4th      William Byron (Chevrolet)5th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Race 5 of 10)POS.   DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender)                     1st      Denny Hamlin (Toyota): 1 win2nd     * Kurt Busch (Chevrolet): 1 win3rd      Kevin Harvick (Ford): +684th      * Chase Elliott (Chevrolet): +445th      Brad Keselowski (Ford): + 416th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota): + 327th      * Alex Bowman (Chevrolet): + 228th      Joey Logano (Ford): + 219th      Kyle Busch (Toyota): – 2110th    * Austin Dillon (Chevrolet): – 2111th    Clint Bowyer (Ford): -3812th    Aric Almirola (Ford): – 48
The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course with the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on Sunday, October 11th,^, at 2:30 p.m. ET, the elimination race for the Round of 12. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR RV CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rd“I’m so proud of the effort for Germain Racing and GEICO. We are all fighting for jobs next year, including myself, so that’s the foot you want to put forward at one of these races winding down. It’s been a great run with this team and hopefully we can all work together in the future. I knew it was going to be hard to push anybody in front of me with these noses having a little too much point, but our GEICO For Your RV Chevrolet had enough speed to hang in there. I fell back to sixth in line, but when they all started to get into each other, I knew my outlet was to the bottom to have a chance to win and that’s what we are here for. I stayed on the bottom to hopefully be in position to win low if something were to happen. But to finish third – my personal career-best Cup finish and Germain’s best Cup finish as a team – is something I’m really proud of. It was a fun day and a long day. Thanks to all the fans who came out today too. It was good to have them here with us. I’m just extremely grateful to GEICO and Bob Germain for everything they have done for me the last four years.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th“It’s tough not to get the win today but to finish fourth is good. It’s just unfortunate. We had a really good run there on the final lap and I got a good push from the 11 in (Turns) one and two that set that up. I was able to get to the 17 and push him and then found some daylight on the bottom to have a run at the 21. Unfortunately, he blocked us there and put us below the yellow line. Fortunately, though we were able to save it and still finish in the top five. Today was a good run for us. We really needed to finish a race after the last couple weeks and it’s good to have a result like today.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT NEXT GEN DOZERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“That was a crazy race at Talladega Superspeedway, but I’m proud of my No. 8 Cat Next Gen Dozers team for rallying all day long. They worked really hard all race long to keep me in the game when we got into some trouble, and I really appreciate it. We got caught up in a wreck on Lap 1 that changed our game plan a little bit when we got some nose damage from the No. 95, but my team was able to make all the repairs quickly enough to get us back on our normal strategy by the time the competition caution came out. It was a lot about survival today with all the wrecks that were happening. I was able to squeeze through a couple big ones, but also got caught up in a couple others. Luckily, nothing was bad enough to take us out of the race completely. We just stayed focused, fixed what we needed to each time and kept fighting for every spot we could. It was a wild race today, so I’m happy we are able to come home with a seventh- place finish.“ RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th“What a race today at Talladega Superspeedway. To be able to bring home a top-10 finish in our No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet after the season we have had feels like a win. I wish we didn’t have as much damage there at the end and we could give a little bit of a better push, but ultimately we needed fuel for the final NASCAR Overtime and needed to pit from the front anyway. I’m really proud of our Kroger team to be able to fix the damage that we did have and keep us there at the front at the end. We’ve got five races to continue finishing out this season strong and I’m looking forward to ending the season on a high note.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“This team has a never-give-up-attitude and that is how we were able to finish so solid today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet. Last week was a real bummer, but we kept fighting and only lost eight laps changing a belt. Tonight, we changed an oil cooler behind the wall and only lost two laps, so this RCR team is special. They are true professionals. That was a fun race. We got our stage points in the first stage even with a little bit of damage. In the second stage, we just couldn’t keep up with the damage we had gotten, but to come back to 12^th says a lot. This car is killed. I had a huge run down the backstretch at the end of the race. I pushed Brandon Poole way up there. Once I shoved him, I got to the bottom and then I don’t know what happened. The No. 2 car came across my nose and we lost a couple more spots at the end. It was probably a wild race for the fans to watch. I hope that we can make something happen at the ROVAL. We’re a little too far back in points, but we’ll see what we can do. A lot of things can happen. It’s easy to miss a shift. It’s easy to jump a curb and wreck. We need those guys in front of us to help us out, and see if we can help ourselves out a little bit, too.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/PATRIOT FOUNDATION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th“This group of guys worked their butts off on pit road – very thankful for their hard work. Our Truck Hero Camaro, with Patriot Foundation on the side of it, was not really where we wanted it be to start the race. We made some changes, got it better and then I became a Ford sandwich there getting off turn two. I got pushed into the 10 (Aric Almirola) there – that was a bummer. If that was my fault, apologies to the 10. I felt like I got shoved into him, but it’s one of those deals you never want to be in that situation and crash somebody or cause a crash like that. So, bummed out about that.”
“It was a really long day. A lot of trips down pit road and we crashed like three times after that. Just tried to stay out of the crashes and kept getting caught up in more of them. But, I’m just glad we finished. We have a little bit of a buffer. We’re going into a little bit of a wild card race, but should have a good week ahead of us.”
YOUR CREW CHIEF, GREG IVES, TOLD ME THAT HE THINKS YOU CAN WIN AT ANY OF THE RACES IN THIS ROUND, SO THAT LEAVES YOU WITH THE ROVAL NOW. DO YOU SHARE HIS OPTIMISIM?  “Yeah, for sure. I think you have to go beat Chase Elliott, which is really tough to do at a road course lately. He’s got it so dialed in. They can give me all the same stuff that he has, take identical racecars, and he can still make it go a little faster. So, I’ve got my work cut out for me to try to match that and get as good as Chase is at that place. But I feel like we’re right behind him there and we can do a really good job there, as well.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 24thHE WAS RACING FOR THE WIN AND THEN, BUBBA, WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BACKSTRETCH?“I don’t really know – I haven’t seen a replay yet. It was a big learning curve day for me. I think I came down on the No. 37 (Ryan Preece) there and started that whole deal, so that’s on me. It’s just unfortunate. It was a really good day for us in our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 World Wide Technology Camaro ZL1 1LE. We’ve got a lot to look over and review, which is good. We led some laps and had a really solid car. Hats off to my guys for a really solid effort – getting it fixed there at lap one. It was definitely a hard hit, but all-in-all, we’re good. We’ll try to take what we can from today. I love coming to these plate races. It’s showing, but we didn’t get the finish that we deserved today. All-in-all, we’ll go to the Roval and have some fun.”  KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 109; Finished 32ndTHAT WAS A ROUGH RIDE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT?“Yeah, it was a wild ride. That’s the nature of this sport. You’re on top one week with a win and everything’s fantastic. And then this week here at Talladega, we were hoping for a nice, smooth run and to gain some points. I was just doing my job as a Chevy helper running top-five and next thing you know, I’m going for one of the wildest rides I’ve ever been in.” “Thanks to NASCAR safety. My sponsor GEARWRENCH this weekend, with Monster Energy, with Chevrolet. We were just trying to do the Chevy thing and get some points out of that stage. That’s just Talladega – the wild rides always continue. TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO FOR YOUR RV CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript: THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Ty Dillon, our third‑place finisher, driver of the No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet. Talk us through the third‑place finish, how it feels.             TY DILLON: It feels great. I’m sure everyone is aware our team announced it’s selling and has been sold. The relationship between myself and GEICO and Germain Racing and all the 47 employees at Germain Racing is coming to an end.           We all promised each other when it was announced we would all give everything we had till the end. This was a statement for our team.           I can’t thank everyone enough at Germain Racing, Bob Germain, Larry Rogers, all the people at GEICO, all the people that worked there over my four years that helped me throughout my four years here. I’m thankful for the opportunity and hopeful for the next opportunity. And hopefully some of us can get to work again, work together again. Hopefully this propelled some of us to get new opportunities next year as we’re all searching.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions from the media.            Q. You talk about your next opportunity. Where are you at in those discussions for next year? Are you looking in the Xfinity Series as well, just Cup? Do you want to continue racing full‑time in NASCAR?TY DILLON: Absolutely. I feel like I am one of the top‑level drivers in the Cup Series. I just need the correct opportunity. I proved in the Xfinity Series, every race I’ve won, if you go back and watch, I beat Kyle Busch, one of the best. He’s finished second to most of my wins. Kevin Harvick. You look at the field that was in the win that I got at the Brickyard. Those guys were the best of the best. I’ve proved that I can do it. Just a matter of opportunity.           I absolutely want to be in the Cup Series. I feel like in the right situation over the right time I can win races, be a championship contender. My time is not up here. I definitely have a lot to prove still. I feel like I’m starting to reach the pinnacle of myself physically and mentally as far as a Cup driver.           As far as the opportunity, I have nothing yet. Hopefully this inspires some more talks and more sponsorship opportunities. It’s getting to a tough place in the sport where you have to bring money with you as far as sponsorship. A little bit goes a long way right now.           If I have to take an opportunity to go down to the Xfinity Series, try to win races there, reprove myself, I’ll absolutely take it.           I’m a hungry driver right now. I want opportunity next year to continue to prove what I can do, start fresh.            Q. You said this was a statement for your team. How is it a statement for you personally?TY DILLON: Yeah, superspeedways are always a place that I’ve succeeded at and been successful at. I wanted to go out and at this point put together good runs. I have some anger built up, a little bit of fire, because I want that opportunity now for next year. I want it now because I believe in myself.           Any time we can take a chance when the field is equalized to prove ourselves, I feel like I want to make the most of it. Today was one of those chances. When you finish these races enough, it’s not just by luck.           We haven’t shown all the capabilities at some of the mile‑and‑a‑half tracks, but we’ve done it at short tracks. We’ve won stages. I think more it was a stamp on our race team and our years together. From here on out I’m going to try to do my best, continue to make statements to the owners out there and sponsors out there that if they take a chance on me, they won’t be sorry.            Q. Most people would think it would be a no‑brainer you would end up doing something at RCR. Has that option been discussed for you?TY DILLON: Yeah, I mean, I speak with my grandfather. He’s involved in trying to make sure I get a ride. The opportunity really isn’t there at RCR for me. They have two drivers who are under contract. It’s not like I can bring enough money to start a race team over there.           Hopefully we can do something to work together with another team. But, yeah, I haven’t really been an RCR driver now for four years. I hope people can understand that I can bring value to a team respectfully, not just because of who I am but because of my talent.           Like I said, I’m really eager to see what’s next for my career.            Q. What is the biggest lesson you’re taking from this 2020 season, one of change but the highest highs and the lowest lows?TY DILLON: It’s been an incredible season of life for myself. I have an incredible wife who just keeps things in perspective. Between her and I, we have a strong faith in Christ. We restore each other daily because the world can really get after you in times, especially with what’s going on with the virus, also with the job. Then we have a little one on the way. Everyone who has children knows what that’s like. We’re so eager to meet our little boy Captain here in a couple weeks. That is going to be beyond anything that racing can bring to our life.           I think what the virus has done for me, as a kid I grew up racing, my family was at the racetrack every weekend, we were hardly in any different places. I was always playing sports.           We were able for the first time in my life to sit down and have dinner with my wife and my daughter for an extended period of time. My wife is a great chef. We got to spend time together. That was a really great experience, something I hope to continue for a long time with my children, make it a really important thing with our family. I think that’s what I learned the most there.           Life can be up and down. Seasons come and go. If you’re not rooted in a faith, in something stronger, you’ll get tossed like the waves.            Q. Tell us how much of the hard work Bob has put on this race team the past couple of years? The run shows high volumes of what he’s contributed.TY DILLON: Yeah, I think Bob Germain has committed so much to this sport over a long period of time. He’s a truck champion owner. He went from a start‑and‑park team to finishing third here today. I’m not sure if that’s his best finish, but sure does feel like it.           I wanted to give him everything. I wanted to give him a win. I thought in my rookie year I’d give him wins and championships. This Cup Series is the real deal when you get up here. We had a lot to battle through.           We really have grown year after year. It is heartbreaking to see this is coming to an end for him and Germain Racing because of the commitment level he has had. It’s a tough climate across the country, in this sport right now. I think we have great hopes for the future of this sport, the new model car and everything that’s coming out, the way it’s going to help financially.           But unfortunately the timing didn’t work out for our race team. We hope for brighter days together in the future. We’ll see what happens.            Q. NASCAR has already stated they’re not looking at changing the yellow line rule. There was some question brought up about it as if this rule needs to change, still value. Are you comfortable with NASCAR saying they don’t feel like they need to change? As a competitor, would you say, Hear me out, here is why I think it could be changed?TY DILLON: The rule doesn’t need to be changed. It’s a product of what’s going on right now. These cars are a bit easier to drive, stuck to the ground harder. The runs are happening twice as fast as they ever have.           Guys going below the yellow line, you got guys going for a win, guys not trying to wreck. It’s not just you’re hitting the ball and it’s okay. It physically impacts you when you do crash.           Guys have a lot of things going on in their mind. Sometimes when you go below the yellow line, it’s not totally your fault, but it is the rules. It comes down to a mental decision, am I going to lift or go below the yellow line.           We know the rules before we get here. I think if you were to open it up and take the yellow line away, you’re going to have guys blocking all the way down to the grass, have twice as big of wrecks.           I don’t think we want to open up that can the worms. We have plenty of racetrack we can go four‑ or five‑wide on. It’s a product of what we do. I don’t see anybody at any fault for any reason. I don’t think anybody tried to bend the rules to get an advantage. I think it’s just a product of what happens here.            Q. You said the runs are coming faster than ever. This package was supposed to keep the runs from being as fast compared to Daytona in February. Are the runs still just as fast?TY DILLON: I think the runs are just as fast. The top speed is slower, which is helpful, especially when it comes to crashes. I think the impact rate, just being a driver inside the car, when things start happening, it is slower. Previously in the year when these crashes happened, it was like a snap and you couldn’t react.           I think just slowing the speed of the car down gives everybody a little bit better chance. Slowing five to 10 miles per hour down when you’re going that fast, hitting a wall, can do a lot for you in safety, too. I think that was the important call there.           Yeah, I mean, the runs are happening so fast, I’d say 20% of the times the spotters can’t physically react in time. The drivers really have to be on it, feeling, knowing how things go. A little bit of patience goes a long way.           You can see guys being really aggressive and it does get you to the front with these cars because they have so much grip, you can push the limits. But there is also a counter strategy to surviving these things.           If you look at what the 11 did, the 4, a lot of guys who finished the race, they were patient all day, didn’t put themselves in aggressive situations too early.            Q. What does it mean to deliver the best team finish with five weeks left?TY DILLON: That feels great. I want to give them everything I have coming down to the end of our run together. I’m not a person that’s built to quit in anything. I want to keep getting stronger every day of my life as a human. That doesn’t change for racing, racing for a team. Really proud of that.           We got, what is it, six or seven more to go. See if we can possibly top that coming to the end. All in all it’s been a great run, not just for the finishes but spending time and making relationships and memories with these guys.            Q. Looking at the stats, for drivers who have made at least five starts at Talladega, you have the best average finish with 12.0. What makes you good at this racetrack?TY DILLON: I think patience. My wife always preaches patience to me when I come to these superspeedways. I had a pretty good run going at Daytona, too. You throw that Daytona 500 out, it’s hard not to get a little anxious, get up in the middle of it.           I was a little mad at myself the last couple races at superspeedways. I was running inside the top 10, inside of two or three laps to go, got in crashes. The average finish would be even better if we would have finished those.           You don’t always want to have to put yourself at the back at certain times. But I feel like I’ve got a sense, I don’t get the hair standing up like Denny does, but I get a sense when things are about to get bad, focus on certain cars in the packs, certain attitudes and feelings I get. I try to navigate myself to a safe spot. Sometimes you’ll find yourself falling back. But it works obviously.            Q. Do you have a shortlist of teams in Xfinity you would consider?TY DILLON: I haven’t really gotten there yet. Obviously I’d want to be in a ride that’s competing for wins. But Xfinity is second on the list. I want to be Cup racing full‑time first. If all the doors shut there, I’ll start knocking on the doors in Xfinity. We’ll see what happens from there. God will bless us with some kind of opportunity whether it’s Cup or Xfinity, who knows what.             THE MODERATOR: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Congratulations on the finish. We’ll see you at the Roval.             TY DILLON: Thank you, guys. Appreciate your time.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/ TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Survive Wild Talladega Race

12th   12th  9th

“This team has a never-give-up-attitude, and that is how we were able to finish so solid today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet. Last week was a real bummer, but we kept fighting and only lost eight laps changing a belt. Tonight, we changed an oil cooler behind the wall and only lost two laps, so this RCR team is special. They are true professionals. Today was a fun race. We got our stage points in the first stage even with a little bit of damage. In the second stage, we just couldn’t keep up with the damage we had gotten, but to come back to 12th says a lot. This car is killed. I had a huge run down the backstretch at the end of the race. I pushed Brandon Poole way up there. Once I shoved him, I got to the bottom and then I don’t know what happened. The No. 2 car came across my nose and we lost a couple more spots at the end. It was probably a wild race for the fans to watch. I hope that we can make something happen at the ROVAL. We’re a little too far back in points, but we’ll see what we can do. A lot of things can happen. Its easy to miss a shift. Its easy to jump a curb and wreck. We need those guys in front of us to help us out, and see if we can help ourselves out a little bit, too.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Forges Through Intense Race at Talladega Superspeedway with a Seventh-Place Finish in  Cat Next Gen Dozers Chevy

7th   30th   19th

“That was a crazy race at Talladega Superspeedway, but I’m proud of my No. 8 Cat Next Gen Dozers team for rallying all day long. They worked really hard to keep me in the game when we got into some trouble, and I really appreciate it. We got caught up in a wreck on Lap 1 that changed our game plan a little bit when we got some nose damage from the No. 95, but my team was able to make all the repairs quickly enough to get us back on our normal strategy by the time the competition caution came out. It was a lot about survival today with all the wrecks that were happening. I was able to squeeze through a couple big ones, but also got caught up in a couple others. Luckily, nothing was bad enough to take us out of the race completely. We just stayed focused, fixed what we needed to each time and kept fighting for every spot we could. It was a wild race today, so I’m happy we are able to come home with a seventh-place finish.” -Tyler Reddick

·        Nitro qualifying at Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil delayed by rain with only one session run under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway to set the eliminations ladders

·        Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat foursome peddle their way through qualifying as they battle each other for Funny Car championship with just four national events left in the 2020 season

·        DSR’s Jack Beckman and Matt Hagan qualify their Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Cars fifth and sixth respectively

·        Leah Pruett seeks her first Top Fuel win of season to move her DSR Mopar dragster to the top of the standings from third place in points and her ninth place seeded position in eliminations.

·        Mark Pawuk qualified his Mopar Drag Pak No.1 for Factory Stock Showdown with record qualifying run on Friday night

October 3, 2020, St. Louis, Mo. – With just four events left in the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series season, Mother Nature made things a little more interesting for qualifying at the Mopar Express Lane Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil.

Intermittent rain throughout the day delayed on track activities at World Wide Technology Raceway for seven hours and limited Funny Car and Top Fuel classes to just one qualifying session in cool 58-degree Fahrenheit temperatures on Saturday night under the lights.

Challenging track conditions and the resulting shake-up to the nitro elimination ladders heading into race day will almost certainly further enliven battles for world championship titles for the Mopar Dodge SRT entries in both Funny Car and Top Fuel.

Funny Car qualifying saw just two of 16 entries make clean runs in cool conditions, with all four Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat pilots finding it difficult to get the traction needed to make it down the lane. 

Points leader Jack Beckman, who has won twice at St. Louis (2012 and 2016), was the highest seeded of the HEMI®-powered DSR teammates with a fifth place position on the eliminations ladder with a 4.750 seconds pass at 185.03 mph aboard his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. He will be paired with Blake Alexander for the opening round.

Matt Hagan, returning to the track in the familiar blue and white Mopar paint scheme this weekend after five events with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, qualified right behind Beckman in the sixth spot with a 5.105 second/148.15 mph pass and remains just a handful of points behind him in the points battle as well. He will have Bob Bode as his first round opponent.

Tommy Johnson Jr., who sits third in points with his MD Anderson Dodge, qualified eighth with a 7.220 sec./118.97 mph pass for a first round match against Terry Haddock.

A four-time winner at St. Louis (1997, 2005, 2007, 2017), Ron Capps remains in the championship hunt after his win last weekend at the Gatornationals to put him fourth overall, but will have to battle from a 14^th place on the eliminations ladder on Sunday starting his day against No.3 seed Cruz Pedregon.

In Top Fuel, Leah Pruett was looking for traction both on the track for her blue and white DSR Mopar dragster in qualifying as well as in the championship. Seeking her first win of the season and a chance to move up from third place in the points standings to challenge leader Steve Torrence and second-place contender Doug Kalitta, Pruett peddled her way to a ninth place seeding with a 4.310 sec./249.07 mph drive to stage next to Pat Dakin for the first round of action on Sunday.

While Factory Stock Showdown didn’t get to take to the track on Saturday as a casualty of weather delays, the Sportsman class did previously get a qualifying session in on Friday evening in which the Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak duo of Mark Pawuk and Leah Pruett made the best of the cool and quick racing conditions.

Coming into the weekend second in the FSS championship rankings, Pawuk took his Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Drag Pak on a stellar run down the track for a 7.814-second pass at 175.48 mph, setting track records for both elapsed time and speed to earn a provisional No. 1 qualifier position which, without a second session on Saturday, secured his position atop the eliminations ladder. Pawuk reset his own track records from 2019 and garnered his second top qualifier position at St. Louis after earning the first of his FSS career in 2018. 

After a trio of runner-up finishes, Pawuk is hoping to finally break through into the win column with his Mopar Drag Pak by making his way through eliminations starting with first round match-up on Sunday against Arthur Kohn.

“It’s been since 2001 since I won an NHRA national event, and I’d love nothing more than to get my first win in my Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak at our sponsors’ event,” said Pawuk. “It’s great that we qualified No. 1, but I would have loved to have gotten a second shot down the race track just to back up our other run and get more confidence for Sunday. It is what it is. Unfortunately, the weather seems to be against us this year. It looked like it would clear and NHRA did their best to dry the track but it kept spritzing and with it being so cool out today we’re going to have to go into race day with just one run. We’ll do the best we can and hopefully go some rounds tomorrow.

“Mopar recently debuted the new Drag Pak, and it sold out in 18 minutes,” added Pawuk. “I’m really looking forward to getting into the new 2021 car, but I tell you what, I’ll take my old baby right now because she’s running awfully good”

Joining her Mopar Drag Pak teammate in the top-half of the FSS elimination ladder is Pruett who posted her own sub-eight second run to put her in the seventh seeded position. Her solid 7.955-second pass at 172.32 mph will see her line up next to Lee Hartman for her first round match-up on race day.

Elimination rounds for the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Midwest Nationals Presented by Pennzoil are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Sun., Oct. 4, with the television broadcast on FS1 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET featuring live coverage of the final rounds.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES: 

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 5 Qualifier – 4.750 seconds at 185.03 mph)

“Wow! I have no idea what to expect for race day tomorrow. This race track was colder than anything we’ve run on in a year-and-a-half and nearly everybody missed it. You’ll have some highly favored cars in the bottom half of the car and it makes no difference. Tomorrow the track should have a little more temperature in it and it should come back into the tuner’s wheelhouse. I have no idea what to expect, but I’m going to get up early and I can’t wait to get out here to Gateway.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car  
(No.6  Qualifier – 5.105 seconds at 148.15 mph)

“It was a long day out there. We finally got a run in late and it put us in the No. 6 spot. That’s not the run we were looking for, but it gives us some data to run off of. It’s a great facility with a really good race track and this Mopar Hellcat Funny Car with Pennzoil and Express Lane here this weekend; it’s race day tomorrow. This rain and cold doesn’t matter. We have to go rounds and win this thing. There’s only a few races left and we have to perform.”

Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 8 Qualifier – 7.220 seconds at 118.97 mph) 

“It was an interesting qualifying session. The conditions we had were tricky. We don’t run fuel (nitro) cars in these conditions often and probably for good reason. We’ll go out tomorrow and have a better track and more normal conditions. It will still be cool, but it will be a very interesting day. There will be some great runs and some pedal fests. It will be great for the fans. We’re in the top half and have lane choice and we’ll do our best.”

Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 14 Qualifier – 12.851 seconds at 71.93 mph)

“What a long day. To get here and know the conditions were going to be cool and unfortunately the rains came and we got to run at night it was so cold. When you have 11,000 horsepower, you won’t see those conditions again. It’s the same for everybody and when it smoked the tires I just idled down the track instead of hurting itself or crossing the center line or doing something stupid. It’s gonna be like NASCAR where they just show up and race. I constantly brag about adapting like (Rahn) Tobler can, the NAPA Know How, and changing with the conditions. It’s going to be fast. This track is great. Anyone we race will be tough. With only three races left we have to step on it. Wake up and step on the gas.”

Leah Pruett, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel Dragster  
(No. 9 Qualifier – 4.310 seconds at 249.07 mph)   

“So we won’t have choice in the first round, but what’s most important is that we have a lane to race in. There’s a certain amount of pressure when it comes down to one run to get in the show. The first run of any race is about getting your car setup. All systems go. We had some bellhousing issues in the burnout, which compounded some problems. We were set up to run a high .60 or low .70. It ended up shaking early and we had to pedal it just like the majority of cars in that round. We know what happened and how to fix it. We practiced a long day today with a lot of waiting around and tomorrow is going to be a lot with Factory Stock eliminations also. That seems to be the norm for me and I’m looking forward to high paced, high energy, high intensity, high Mopar horsepower day.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak– Factory Stock Shootout
(No. 1 Qualifier – 7.814 seconds at 175.48 mph)

“It’s great that we qualified No. 1, but I would have loved to have gotten a second shot down the race track just to back up our other run and get more confidence for Sunday. It is what it is. Unfortunately, the weather seems to be against us this year. It looked like it would clear and NHRA did their best to dry the track but it kept spritzing and with it being so cool out today we’re going to have to go into race day with just one run. We’ll do the best we can and hopefully go some rounds tomorrow.”

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak – Factory Stock Shootout 
(No. 7  Qualifier – 7.955 seconds at 172.32 mph)

“I’m super proud of Mark Pawuk carrying the weight of our Dodge Mopar Factory Stock (Showdown) team lately. His car seems to be typically seven or eight or nine hundredths of-a-second quicker than El Bandito right now. What we’re focused on is trying to finish this year as strong as possible with the two DSR Drag Paks. I’m consistently running in front of Mark to make sure the car gets down the track and that’s the great product of having a team car. You can help each other. We’re trying to get down the track and when you only have one qualifier, that’s tricky. We know what the track can take and Mark’s out there paving the way, he got the pole this weekend, and we’re going to try and get a win in any class or both of them tomorrow. We’re digging for gold.”

IMPERIAL, PA (October 3, 2020) – Ricky Thornton Jr. picked a great time to get his first career win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series as he captured the 32nd Annual Pittsburgher 100 on Saturday Night at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway.   Moran led the first 16 laps of the race until Richards took over the point. Richards held the lead until Moran regained the lead on lap 36. The first caution of the race waved with 40 laps complete as the previously announced fuel stop would take place. Under the red flag Richards, who was running second, had a tire going down. Richards and several other competitors headed to the hot pit to change tires before the green would come back out again.

Thornton, who celebrated his 30th birthday on September 28, inherited the top spot on lap 82 when the top two drivers in the race, Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie, both headed to the hot pit to change flat tires. Moran had brought out the caution for his flat while leading. McCreadie picked up the race lead but his right front tire was going down forcing him to pit as well before a race restart commenced. Thornton took advantage of several restarts in the final 18 laps to stretch his lead over the field as he went unchallenged to score the $20,000 victory. With the win Thornton became the 20th different winner this year on the LOLMDS tour. The all-time series record is 22 different winners in one season. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Thornton celebrated his huge victory. “I think we were the only ones going hard on tires. We flipped a coin to determine what we were going to run. During that fuel break Taylon [Center] was looking at everyone else’s tires and he said there is no way they were going to make it all 100 laps without having some problems. It all worked out for us.” Richards was seeking his third win in the famed event and came up just short. “Congrats to Ricky on the win. He was so good on the restarts. I’d like to thank my team, the fans, and the sponsors for supporting this Clint Bowyer Racing Team.” Pearson came through the field to take third. “We had a shot on that last restart. It looked like Clanton was having a tire go down. We have been in the top five for the last three races, so that’s big for us.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and is sponsored by Dyno One, Excel Floor Covering, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Certified Inspection Service Company Inc., West Side Tractor Sales, Swift Springs, Penske Racing Shocks, Slicker Graphics, and Hoker Trucking. Completing the top ten were Jonathan Davenport, Chris Ferguson, Shane Clanton, Devin Moran, and Tanner English.

13th    6th  8th

“We had a fast No. 21 Ceco Building Systems Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway today. Early on in the race I was a little tight on exit and then loose once the car unloaded, but once we made a slight adjustment on our first pit stop, we had a really good balance for the race. Unfortunately, I had some contact with another car coming to pit road during our green flag stops in the final stage, and that caused some damage to our nose, but my team did a great repairing what we could and getting me back out on the track. We still had a lot of speed after that since the damage really didn’t affect me in the draft, and I was able to drive my way back up through the field and race in the top 10 for the majority of the final 20 laps. Things got a little hectic during the final laps when we got shuffled back a little bit and weren’t able to get up front when we needed to, but that’s superspeedway racing. It’s crazy how fast things change at these tracks, but I learned a bunch today. We came here to win, so I can’t say that I’m not a little disappointed, but you can only do whatever is in your control at these races. We were able to still end the day with a top-15 finish, so I’m still really proud of our effort today. We’ll keep building during my final two races later this year in the No. 21 Chevrolet.” -Anthony Alfredo

Late-race charge from Colton Herta comes up just short as he finishes second
Alexander Rossi scores fourth consecutive podium result with third-place run
Honda takes Manufacturers’ Championship lead to season finale in St. Petersburg

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (Oct. 3, 2020) – A late-race charge from Mid-Ohio race winner Colton Herta came up just short in today’s second race of the Harvest Grand Prix race weekend, as he finished less than a second behind race winner Will Power, on the road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fellow Andretti Autosport teammate Alexander Rossi finished third, for his fourth consecutive podium finish in the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The second-place finish for Herta helped Honda to maintain a 54-point lead over Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship [1057-1003] with a single race remaining in the 2020 season. Dixon, who finished eighth in the caution-free race in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, goes to the St. Petersburg season finale later this month with a 32-point lead over rival Josef Newgarden.

Honda drivers claimed six of the top 10 positions in today’s 75-lap race, with Jack Harvey finishing a season-high sixth for Meyer Shank Racing, while Graham Rahal held off Dixon to finish seventh. Alex Palou rounded out the top nine today in his Team Goh with Dale Coyne Racing Honda.

Next
After the fifth doubleheader race weekend of 2020, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES now takes the next two weekends off before concluding the season in Florida with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on October 23-25.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from the Harvest Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  

Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started second, finished second: “The Capstone Honda was really good and I’m happy to be powered by HPD. I think I kind of left everything out there [on track]. I used up a lot of my tires trying to catch back up to those guys. We just didn’t really have it at the end, I think I burned up the rears a little bit too much to the point where Will could hold me back. I do think we were a little bit faster than him, but, unfortunately, we just didn’t put it together in the first stint until too far back and that kind of hurt us going into the next two stints.”

Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started third, finished third, fourth consecutive podium finish in 2020: “Ultimately, another good day. It was the best qualifying we’ve had all year, so it’s good to be able to finally start up front. I think our pace through the first two stints was good. I think myself, Will [Power] and Colton [Herta] were kind of in our own league and it was whoever could make the best, last stint happen. We went with [Firestone Primary] ‘Blacks’ because we thought it was a good option. We were the only car that did Blacks on the last stint. Ultimately, we tried something different – I’m not mad about it – but it was the wrong tire choice. Did it cost us the win? Maybe not. Did it cost us second? Probably. But, ultimately, four races [at Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis] and four podiums, we’re pretty happy.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 15th, finished eighth; leads drivers’ championship by 32 points with one race remaining: “It’s definitely been a trying last few race weekends. I’m still mad at myself for making that mistake at Mid-Ohio, and letting those [championship] points get away. As always, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points title will come down to the last race. I’m just really proud of this PNC Bank team and everyone who works so hard to win. Honda has been pushing hard, and we’re always proud to be powered by them along with HPD. Congrats to Will [Power] and Josef [Newgarden] on the wins this weekend – that’s what we’ll be trying to do in St. Petersburg.”

David Salters (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today’s closing race of the Harvest GP weekend and Honda’s continuation in Indy car racing: “The closing laps of today’s race were exciting, as Colton [Herta] gave everything he had in search of the victory. Now the championship fights – both manufacturers’ and driver – will once again go on to the final race of the season, and our team at HPD are ready to take the fight on to St. Petersburg. We were excited to be part of today’s announcement securing the future of our participation in this great sport, and we’re already looking forward to the start of the new, hybrid era of Indy car racing.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDYCAR HARVEST GP INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE RACE 2 RECAP AND QUOTES OCT. 3, 2020 Power, Chevrolet complete INDYCAR Harvest GP sweep Race 1 winner Newgarden within 32 points of title lead; Chevy scores 199th win

INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 3, 2020) – Will Power led all 75 laps of Race 2 of the INDYCAR Harvest GP on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to claim his second victory of the season in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and 39th of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career. Chevrolet swept the doubleheader as reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, driving the No. 1 Team Penske Chevrolet, won the 85-lap Race 1 on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course on Oct. 2. Chevrolet has registered 88 victories in 148 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012. Overall, Chevrolet has 199 wins in Indy car racing (under AAA, USAC, CART, Champ Car, IRL and INDYCAR sanction): Chevrolet 2.2-liter V6 twin turbocharged direct-injected engine supplier –88: INDYCAR (2012-present) Chevrolet V8 engine supplier — 104: CART (1987-1993) and Indy Racing League (2002-05) Miscellaneous victories credited to Chevrolet — 7: USAC and CART (1965-81) “Just so happy to have Verizon, Chevy in Victory Lane again,” said Power, who won by .8932 of a second over Colton Herta in the caution-free race. “We had two Hondas trying to attack us (toward the end of the race), but the Chevy had very good power and drivability, so I’m over the moon to get another win.” It is the ninth time in his career that Power has won from the pole, including four times on the IMS road course (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020). The win tied Al Unser for fifth on the all-time Indy car victory list. Earlier in the day, Power claimed his fourth NTT P1 Award of the season and 61st pole of his career. Power, who has earned 37 of his career poles since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, is six behind leader Mario Andretti on the all-time Indy car list. Chevrolet has amassed 98 earned poles (102 counting poles based on entrant points when qualifications were canceled because of inclement weather) in the 148 races. Newgarden finished fourth and Pato O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, placed fifth. Simon Pagenaud rounded out the Team Chevy top 10 with a 10th-place finish in the DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet.Newgarden closed to 32 points of front-runner Scott Dixon in the chase for the driver championship heading into the heading into the season finale Oct. 25 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Firestone GP of St. Petersburg will be telecast by NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET. Newgarden won the 2019 race, which was the season opener. CHEVROLET UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1          Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet4          Josef Newgarden, No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet5          Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet10       Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 DXC Technology Team Penske Chevrolet17       Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet18       Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet19       Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet20       Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet21       Helio Castroneves, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet23       Charlie Kimball, No. 4 Tresiba AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet24       Sage Karam, No. 24 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Oil2Soil Chevrolet25       Dalton Kellett, No. 41 K-Line AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1         Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet2         Colton Herta, No. 88 Capstone Andretti Autosport Honda3         Alexander Rossi, No. 27 AutoNation Andretti Autosport Honda4         Josef Newgarden, No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet5         Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet

TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – RACE WINNER: “The tires had gone away and it was a tough battle and I had to work very hard to keep him behind. I am just so happy to have Verizon and Chevy in Victory Lane again. We had two Hondas trying to attack us there but my Chevy had very good power and drive-ability, so just over the moon to get another win, especially at this place.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 4TH “We were a little shy of where we needed to be. If we had a phenomenal day like we had yesterday, we would be in really good shape. We were just mediocre today. I think we had a car to compete with Will and Herta and Rossi up there but we just didn’t start up there high enough. With the start, I got kind of buried on the inside and I tried to get as much as I could on the outside but then Santino came in running tight – but he was fine. It just got tight and I got pushed back a little too far. The key for us was being up higher earlier today. I just had to work for a lot just like Scott did. If we had a cleaner qualifying run, I think we really would have had a better day. I’m really thankful to Team Chevy. There were two wins for Team Chevy here this weekend. They did a phenomenal job, and obviously having Hitachi support is always big for us. Look, we’re in it with a shot. We’re going to go to St. Pete and try and win this championship. I just wish we were in a little closer position.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 17TH: “Way different race than yesterday! I wish there had been some kind of yellow so we could have done something! Two stints on blacks, that was tough. We were not quick on the blacks yesterday and that did not change for today. The last stint on reds was pretty okay, we just had some unfortunate things happen today. I wasn’t completely happy with the handling of the car, but we didn’t get the set up quite right – it happens! Everyone gave 100%, including me, and that just wasn’t enough today. Let’s head to St. Pete and send it!” MAX CHILTON, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – FINISHED 19TH:  “It was a really tough day out there today. We had an issue on the start where we got blocked and lost quite a few spots, but thankfully we were able to make them up throughout the race. We just really struggled on blacks. The reds were manageable, but the blacks had zero grip. I just didn’t feel like I could be as aggressive today as I was yesterday, so unfortunately we weren’t as competitive as we were in Race 1. Even with the fuel saving, we were still able to make up positions throughout the race especially when we were on the reds. Obviously I wish we could’ve improved today and gotten a top 10, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us.”  CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA CHEVROLET – FINISHED 23RD: “Honestly kind of a frustrating day. We made the decision strategically to do something different than the 14 and something different than the 41. We started on used alternate Firestones. The pace just wasn’t great. The second stint on our first set of primes (tires) we just really struggled to find lap time, so from yesterday to today we seemed to have gotten a little outside the window. I don’t know if it was weather conditions, track conditions or just the tires we had left after using a little more on yesterday’s race but going for the three stop we had to make really good lap time and we struggled with a little bit during the second stint of the race. But at the end the lap times weren’t bad on the third and fourth stints. We just need to figure out how to make the car better in qualifying so we don’t have to throw Hail Mary’s.” DALTON KELLETT, NO. 41 K LINE USA CHEVROLET – FINISHED 25TH: “Definitely not the way we wanted to end the season for the No. 41 K Line Insulators USA crew. We thought we were looking pretty good going into the race with the two new sets of Firestone alternates (tires). When we went to sticker reds, we didn’t quite have the pace and it just seemed like the car couldn’t quite take the extra little bit of aggression to try to get that next few tenths out of it. Had a couple mistakes in (turn) 1 trying to push the brakes out a little bit deeper but getting front lock up, so that really hurt us having to take the run off road there. At the end of the day we didn’t quite have the pace or the consistency to pull off the strategy that we were trying to go for which was a bummer for the team. I think we’ve worked really hard all season and we’ve definitely made improvements but obviously today showed there’s some work that we have to do. We have to sit down and think really hard over what’s been good about the changes that we’ve made so far and what hasn’t worked and come up with a plan from there. ” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 18TH  “It was a pretty trying weekend, not where we want to be but it’s just the beginning of the relationship. We’re hoping to build something and prepare as best as possible for next year. In some respects we achieved that. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but if it was easy I may not be here. We have a lot to think about, a lot to go through and analyze and see what may explain what we’ve experienced this weekend. Starting from where we started today makes things very difficult but we were on the right strategy with the two-stopper because everyone who had a halfway decent day was on the two stop strategy. Passing was once again extremely difficult. Just a shame we got caught up in some guys’ messes when they tangled and got back on track like Ericsson running off the track and making us lose a couple of positions. We never could recover from that because passing was so difficult. At the end of the day, live and learn. Everybody tried real hard, the mechanics did a great job throwing all the changes that we wanted to try at the car and that was quite a bit all weekend long. We’ll keep working at it and move forward CONOR DALY, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 20TH: “As made a move into Turn 1 on Lap 2, we had a glitch and lost the throttle for a couple of seconds. I had to fall back to last, but honestly from then on, we had really good pace. Our second stint on new reds was great, we got up to 14th from dead last. We were making great progress but couldn’t maintain the speed on the last set of used reds. The 41 car blocked us pretty aggressively and was not very sportsmanlike, which was a shame. We just had to hang on to the finish.” HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – FINISHED 21ST  “The result doesn’t show how much work everyone from Arrow McLaren SP put into this weekend to make sure I was comfortable. We tried a different strategy, and even if the strategy wasn’t right, it was right for me because I could push and understand more of the car on reds. I wish we could have another qualifying and race tomorrow. I can’t thank Sam, Ric, Zak and Arrow McLaren SP enough for an amazing job. The car is in one piece which is great. Great experience. Hopefully Oliver continues to look after his health.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED FIFTH  “We ended up where we started, we didn’t go backwards, we didn’t go forwards. I think we maximized absolutely everything we could out of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Our black tire pace was where we really lost our chance at a podium. We have some work to do, but there’s one more race to go. We are going to try and get a win before the year ends. We are going to give it hell in St. Pete.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DXC TECHNOLOGY TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 10TH: “It was a big weekend for Team Penske. Will did a great job today and congratulations to him for the win. We worked hard today for a top-10 finish with the DXC Technology Chevrolet and it was a good way for us to end the weekend. With another good finish today by Josef, Team Penske has a chance to race for the championship at St. Pete so we’re all looking forward to the finale and a good result there..”  SAGE KARAM, NO. 24 DREYER & REINBOLD RACING OIL2SOIL CHEVROLET – FINISHED 24th: “While the results didn’t show it today, our Oil2Soil Chevy was much better in qualifying and the race from Thursday and Friday. We made some changes overnight that helped the race car. It’s tough out there. We ran P3 in qualifying today and, I pulled into the pits and looked at the time sheet, and I’m 11th. Wow, this series is very difficult. In the race, we tried the Firestone red tires and the car wasn’t as good as on the Firestone blacks. Later in the race, I was running very competitive laps but we lost a lot early. Our pit stops were very good today. The big thing for the DRR team, who is just getting back into road racing after a seven-year layoff, is that we learned quite a bit with the doubleheader race weekend. We lost some valuable time on Thursday in practice when we had a fuel pressure issue. But we will take the info and study it for the future races.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDYCAR HARVEST GP INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE RACE 2 WINNER QUICK QUOTES OCT. 3, 2020
Power, Chevrolet complete INDYCAR Harvest GP sweepDriver of No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet leads all 75 laps
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 3, 2020) – Will Power led all 75 laps of Race 2 of the INDYCAR Harvest GP on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to claim his second victory of the season in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet and 39th of his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career.
“I am just so happy to have Verizon and Chevy in Victory Lane again. We had two Hondas trying to attack us there but my Chevy had very good power and drive-ability, so just over the moon to get another win, especially at this place,” said Power, who won by .8932 of a second over Honda driver Colton Herta the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.
Earlier in the day, Power claimed his fourth NTT P1 Award of the season and 61st pole of his career. Power, who has earned 37 of his career poles since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, is six behind leader Mario Andretti on the all-time Indy car list.
It is the ninth time in his career that Power has won from the pole, including four times on the IMS road course (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020).
Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, who won Race 1 on Oct. 2, finished fourth in the No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Pato O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, placed fifth.
Newgarden closed to 32 points of front-runner Scott Dixon in the chase for the driver championship heading into the heading into the season finale Oct. 25 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Firestone GP of St. Petersburg will be telecast by NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET. Newgarden won the 2019 race, which was the season opener.
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – RACE WINNER
REGARDING THE BATTLE WITH HERTA AT THE END
“Yeah, the tires had gone away and it was a tough battle and I had to work very hard to keep him behind. I am just so happy to have Verizon and Chevy in Victory Lane again. We had two Hondas trying to attack us there but my Chevy had very good power and drive-ability, so just over the moon to get another win, especially at this place.”
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO HAVE CLEAN AIR AND JUST NEED TO HOLD OFF COLTON AT THE END?
“It was good to not get caught by a yellow or something strange like that. The boys had great stops and we had a great car. We definitely improved from yesterday. Man, I just pushed so hard the whole race. Obviously we had to save fuel, but you are still pushing while lifting earlier in the corners. Just a fantastic day.”
THIS WIN TIES YOU WITH AL UNSER FOR WINS ON THE INDYCAR CIRCUIT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
“When you talk about the names I am around, its just amazing to be with these people, legends of the sport. I could never had imagined having my name among such unbelievable, historic drivers. All these drivers…..I was a huge fan of them as a kid and they were my heroes, so its really cool to have my name up there.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Chevrolet and INDYCAR have agreed to a new, multi-year extension of their existing engine partnership that will extend well into the end of the decade, providing stability and innovation for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. 
“To be able to announce a long-term, multi-year extension with our great partners at Chevrolet is phenomenal,” INDYCAR President Jay Frye said. “It’s an exciting time in INDYCAR with the innovations in the car, the new 2.4-liter engine, and hybrid technology.” 
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of the 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 with hybrid technology will be delayed to the year 2023. Working in partnership with Chevrolet and Honda, the new engine will give the most exciting and competitive racing series in the world an additional 100 horsepower, ultimately producing over 900.
“Chevrolet has enjoyed great success since joining the NTT INDYCAR Series in 2012 with our 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine,” said Mark Reuss, president of General Motors. “We are thrilled to be moving forward with INDYCAR because it’s the perfect showcase for our engine technology, in the only open-wheel racing series in America, a high-tech, growing series that Roger Penske and his team are absolutely taking to the next level.”
The newly designed powertrain system also will provide a departure from the traditional, manual handheld starters and will let drivers restart the car quickly should it stall on the track. This will benefit the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team as it reduces exposure time on track and adds to the fan experience by potentially reducing the number of caution flags on track, leading to better flow and time of races.
CHEVROLET INDYCAR SERIES STATISTICS – 2012 TO PRESENT

• Chevrolet has recorded 6 NTT IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championships since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012
• Chevrolet has recorded 6 driver championships since returning to INDYCAR competition in 2012 with the2.2 liter V6 twin turbocharged direct injected engine
• Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2012; Will Power, 2014; Scott Dixon, 2015; Simon Pagenaud, 2016; Josef Newgarden, 2017 & 2019
• Chevrolet has 86 wins in 146 (59%) in IndyCar Series races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012
• Chevrolet drivers have earned 96 poles and started in the No. 1 position five other times due to entrant points when qualifying canceled 
• Chevrolet has won the Indianapolis four times since returning in 2012:
• Tony Kanaan, 2013; Juan Pablo Montoya, 2015; Will Power, 2018; 

Simon Pagenaud, 2019

Honda agrees to multi-year extension to continue INDYCAR competition
INDYCAR announces manufacturer agreement for 2.4-liter hybrid power unit formula
Honda hybrid power units to compete in NTT INDYCAR SERIES starting in 2023

TORRANCE, Calif., October 3, 2020 – Honda supports INDYCAR’s announcement of a new hybrid power unit formula, to take effect with the start of the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Honda Performance Development (HPD) is readying a 2.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 hybrid power unit capable of producing more than 900 horsepower as INDYCAR moves toward an exciting new generation of pinnacle North American motorsport.
“Honda welcomes this step to the future by INDYCAR, action that mirrors Honda’s efforts to develop and manufacture high performance, electrified products that will meet industry challenges and delight our customers,” said Ted Klaus, president of Honda Performance Development.
“At Honda, we race to develop our people, to innovate technologies and to engage fans. We are proud of our uninterrupted, 27-year leadership in INDYCAR, and look forward to delivering a next-generation Honda 2.4-liter hybrid power unit with more than 900 horsepower.”
The hybrid formula is part of a multi-year extension INDYCAR has reached with Honda and Chevrolet, which promises a continuation of manufacturer competition in North America’s pinnacle open-wheel racing series well into the next decade. The commitment also provides opportunities for additional manufacturers to join the series, which Honda strongly supports.
The INDYCAR announcement aligns Honda’s North American racing programs with the company’s product development activities. Globally, Honda expects two-thirds of its new vehicles sales to be electrified by 2030.
“American Honda and HPD are proud of our continuous, mutually beneficial relationship with INDYCAR in North America,” said Dave Gardner, executive vice president of National Operations for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Motorsports and competition help define who we are as a company. INDYCAR’s transition to an electrified formula aligns with our business direction in this region. We look forward to the thrilling new era ahead in North American motorsports.”
Racing is ingrained in Honda’s culture and supports the company’s challenging spirit. A racer himself, company founder Soichiro Honda believed in competition – at the highest levels – as a means of improving Honda’s people and products. In North America, American Honda and Honda Performance Development have been leaders in Indy car racing since the formation of HPD in 1993.
Honda and HPD entered Indy car competition in 1994, winning its first manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships in 1996. No other manufacturer has matched Honda’s success in Indy car, which includes 252 victories from 457 races, 16 drivers’ titles, eight manufacturers’ championships and 13 Indianapolis 500 victories
In 2020, Takuma Sato recorded Honda’s 13th Indianapolis 500 victory; Scott Dixon has posted four race wins and is the current NTT INDYCAR SERIES points leader; and Honda leads the Manufacturers’ Championship with seven wins from 11 races this season.