The Lucas Oil Sponsored Streamliner Set One-Way and Two-Way Speed Average Records at Bonneville Speed Week

CORONA, Calif (August 24, 2020) – Lucas Oil Products, the California-based manufacturer and distributor of high-performance automotive oils and additives, completed a record-breaking run at Bonneville Speedweek at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Tooele County in northwestern Utah by successfully surpassing the AA/BFS (Blown Fuel Streamliner) two-way average and one-way last-mile records. Lucas Oil, which served as the official lubricant of the Speed Demon, was instrumental in preparing the vehicle to reach speeds of 481.576 miles per hour (mph) down the last-mile of the course and a two-way average of 470.015 mph thanks to the performance of the PLUS Racing Oil, Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer, L9 Racing Gear Oil, Synthetic SAE 140 Racing Gear Oil, Slick Mist Detailing Kit and Contact Cleaner.  “We are thrilled to be part of this great success story as the exclusive engine oil and additive supplier for the Speed Demon,” said Tom Bogner, Director of Motorsports, Lucas Oil. “Bonneville Speed Week is a challenging event for both man and machine. Many of the world’s fastest vehicles come out to run at unbelievable speeds and do so in the harsh conditions of the salt flats. I am so impressed with the Speed Demon team and proud to have Lucas Oil associated with the fastest streamliner at Bonneville.”

The Speed Demon collected its ninth HOT ROD Magazine trophy for recording the highest terminal-velocity speed at the end of Bonneville’s 5-mile course. Photo: John Baechtel

The veteran Speed Demon pilot, George Poteet, started the Bonneville Speed Week in good spirits after completing a five-mile speed of 469.298 mph on Wednesday – the Speed Demon’s then fastest time recorded on the Bonneville Salt Flats. This set the stage for Poteet’s record 470.015 mph run Thursday morning.

Lucas Oil provided the necessary oils and additives to ensure the Speed Demon’s twin-turbo big-block engine produced maximum speeds at Bonneville. Photo: John Baechtel

In the pits, the Speed Demon crew treated the streamliner’s 3,156 horsepower, 557 cubic inches, twin-turbo big-block engine with Lucas’ PLUS Racing Oil to minimize fuel dilution, resist oxidation and prevent fuel thinning out at high crank-case temperatures. Lucas’ Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer was also used to provide the Speed Demon motor a higher degree of lubricity and reduce operating temperatures along with fuel consumption.  The Speed Demon transmission and rear differential utilized Lucas’ L9 Racing Gear Oilmixed with the Synthetic SAE 140 Racing Gear Oil for reduced friction and parasitic drag to give the record-breaking streamliner noticeable gains in power while operating in extremely salty conditions.

Despite running in harsh, salty conditions, Lucas Oil kept the Speed Demon  running and looking its best all week long. Photo: John Baechtel

Lucas Oil’s Contact Cleaner was used to keep the engine area clear of any salt and oil, thus eliminating any risk of engine fires. Lucas’ Slick Mist Detailing Kit added the final touches to the Speed Demon, giving it a show-room ready shine before heading out to break the AA/BFS one-way and two-way records in style. The performance by Poteet at this year’s Bonneville Speed Week resulted in the Speed Demon team collecting the AA/BFS record for 501 cubic inches or larger forced-induction engines in Streamliners. A record that was previously set 16 years ago by Tom Burkland when he reached a speed of 417.020 mph.

Honda takes top five at VIRginia International Raceway
Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra score fourth place finish at VIR
Two top-ten finishes for Honda Civic Type R TCRs in the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix

ALTON, VA (August 23, 2020) –The LA Honda World Racing team scored their best finish thus far in the 2020 IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge with #73 Honda Civic Type R TCR drivers Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra scoring fourth at the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix.

Starting eighth in the hands of LaMarra, he and Pombo persevered through yellow flags and immense GS-class traffic. The pair spent much of the race swapping positions with their LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR teammates Shelby Blackstock and Chris Miller before eventually crossed the line in the fourth position.

Delivering the best qualifying performance of the LA Honda World squad for the weekend, Miller rolled off the grid sixth in the #37 and spent much of the race battling his #73 teammate LaMarra before handing over to Blackstock with one hour and eight minutes left.

A great pit stop put the #37 in the hands of Blackstock back on track in third position. The Nashville native slipped back to fourth position following a restart before suffering contact with the #29 Hyundai, spinning him off the track.

The spin dropped him to eighth place, but Blackstock managed to move his way back to sixth in the final 10 minutes of the race.

Driver of the #77 Honda Civic Type R TCR, Ryan Eversley achieved a massive milestone this weekend, competing in his 100th IMSA Challenge Series race. Unfortunately, Eversley did not get to take his turn behind the wheel during the race. Eversley’s co-driver Taylor Hagler was caught up in an unfortunate first-lap incident that ended the pair’s day early.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring

Honda Racing social media content and videos from VIRginia International Raceway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Next
The MICHELIN Pilot Challenge now travels to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta September 4-6 for Michelin Endurance Challenge weekend. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

Sato Wins as Honda Dominates the Indianapolis 500
Takuma Sato prevails over Scott Dixon to score second “500” victory
Graham Rahal, Santino Ferrucci round out Honda 1-2-3-4 sweep
Honda scores 13th victory in an historic running of the Indianapolis 500

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (Aug. 23, 2020) – Takuma Sato passed a previously dominant Scott Dixon with just 15 laps remaining in today’s Indianapolis 500, and went on to score his second win at the famed “Brickyard” in a race dominated by Honda teams and drivers.

Although he led only twice for a total of 27 laps, Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda was fast when it counted, in the run from the last round of pit stops to the checkered flag. Exiting the pits in second to Dixon, Sato swept into the lead on lap 185, then held off several attempts by Dixon to repass as the pair worked their way through lapped traffic. The race was decided on Lap 196 of the scheduled 200, when Spencer Pigot crashed hard exiting Turn 4, leading the race to end under the caution flag. The win is the second at Indy for Sato, following his initial “500” triumph in 2017.

Prior to the final pit stops, Dixon had dominated the day in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, leading a race-high 111 laps as the championship leader sought his own second Indy victory. Starting in the middle of the front row in the 33-car field, Dixon took the lead at the Green Flag and went on to control much of the 200-lap contest, especially after Alexander Rossi, in a strong running Andretti Autosport Honda, crashed out of the race on Lap 143. Prior to his contact with the wall, Rossi led four times for a total of 17 laps as he and Dixon edged away from the field in the middle portion of the race.

But both Rahal Letterman Lanigan Hondas came on strong in the closing laps, with Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal closing the gap to the lead pair in the final laps to finish third. After a disappointing qualifying effort, Santino Ferrucci conducted an exciting late-race effort of his own, finishing fourth to complete a Honda 1-2-3-4 sweep at the finish.

Honda drivers claimed eight of the top-10 finishing positions, with James Hinchcliffe recovering from a clutch problem encountered in his second pit stop to finish seventh, with his Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta eighth. Jack Harvey had his best Indy finish to date with a ninth-place result for Meyer Shank Racing; while Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the top 10 in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Next
The string of five consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval races continues next weekend as drivers and teams head 150 miles southwest to WorldWide Technolgy Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri for a pair of 200-lap races Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from this weekend’s pair of races 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) Started 3rd, finished 1st; second Indy 500 win; 13th victory for Honda at Indianapolis: “I think we had the best car. Only we were a lap short from Dixie [Scott Dixon] in terms of the fuel strategy, and [making fuel mileage to the finish] was a little tight. I couldn’t use max power to switch back and forth. And Dixon kept coming through Turn 4 [on the final green flag lap] and I was just able to hold him off. This is unbelievable. Everyone did a hell of a job. HPD and Honda gave us a lot of power and a lot of fuel mileage.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 2nd, finished 2nd; led race-high 111 laps; increased his mid-season championship points lead to 84 over Josef Newgarden [335-251]: “This is a hard one to swallow. On fuel mileage, I really can’t see how [Takuma] Sato was going to make it [prior to the caution that ended the race]. We pitted a lap later, and the [fuel mileage] numbers they had to get, it was going to be very difficult. I thought they were going to throw a red flag [following a late-race crash by Spencer Pigot], which would have been interesting for the last four or five laps. Huge congrats to Takuma. He drove his pants off today. Rahal Letterman Lanigan, they were super fast, obviously finishing first and third. It was good day for Honda. I want to give a massive thank you to them. We’re very proud to be powered by HPD and Honda, and it’s nice to get some [championship] points. But it’s hard when the win slips away like that.”

Santino Ferrucci (Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda) Started 19th, finished 4th: “It was just an incredible race. The SealMaster Honda was insane today. The guys worked really hard on pit lane, on the timing stand and the strategy was perfect.  I’m just really happy, after two incredibly long weeks of focusing on the car, we ended really good. During the first pit stop I got caught in neutral, and it was like a blessing in disguise. It set us way back, but the momentum we had just carried us. On the next restart [after a caution flag] we went from 25th right back into the top-10. It was where we needed to be and we just fought our way from there into the top-four.”       

Ted Klaus (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Indianapolis 500: “This was a very satisfying win. On behalf of every HPD team member and everyone back at HPD in Santa Clarita – who have all been pushing hard since last year’s race – thank you! Congratulations to Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal and the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan team for their one-three finish today; to Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing for his dominant run to lead 111 laps and second-place result; and to all of our partner teams and their great drivers. Together we led all but 22 laps of today’s race, and scored an incredible 13th ‘500’ win for Honda.”

August 23, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Richmond team finished 17^th in Sunday’s second half of a Cup Series twin bill at Dover International Speedway, and that leaves them with a slim nine-point cushion over the Playoff cutline with one regular season race left to run.

DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team enter Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway 15^th in the Playoff standings, just ahead of Jimmie Johnson and William Byron. Only one of the three of them is assured of a Playoff spot because any driver behind them in the standings but in the top 30 in points could win at Daytona and claim one of the two Playoff spots that remain up in play.
 
“I am going to sit and hope and pray all week that we can just come out of there clean and make the Playoffs,” DiBenedetto said.  We shouldn’t be this close to the bubble. It is frustrating.”

At Dover, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Richmond Mustang started Sunday’s Drydene 311 from the pole, as the line-up was set by inverting the top 20 finishing positions from Saturday’s race. He led the first 11 laps, but due to a loose handling condition was unable to maintain his spot at the head of the field. Still, he was able to finish the first Stage in seventh place and earn four bonus points.
 
From that point on, DiBenedetto and the team struggled to find grip, and he ended the second Stage in 16^th place.
 
In the final segment of the race, he essentially maintained his position in the running order. 

Although he fell a lap off the pace as the laps wound down, he took the wave-around during the race’s final caution period and regained the lost lap. Despite riding on older tires, he was able to maintain his spot until the checkered flag.
 
DiBenedetto said he’ll do what he can at Daytona to get the No. 21 team in the Playoffs.
 
“I have done a lot of superspeedway races, and I feel like I race really smart at them but it won’t help the fact that there are just so many variables at those places that you can’t control,” he said. “It is not the same kind of racing as anywhere else we go. 
 
“I would say the thing that pays off the most at Daytona is luck.”
 
Eddie Wood said that while he and his team didn’t come out of Dover with the results they’d hoped for, he did have reason to celebrate after Sunday’s race because Kevin Harvick delivered Ford Motor Company its 700^th Cup Series victory. 
 
“We’re happy for Kevin and the folks at Stewart-Haas Racing to win that milestone race for Ford,” Wood said. “We’re proud to have played a part in getting to 700, and we plan to do our part to run that number even higher.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA POST RACE RECAP AUGUST 23, 2020 Josef Newgarden leads 17 Team Chevy drivers in the 104th running of Indianapolis 500 (INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 23, 2020) – Josef Newgarden finished in fifth place to pace Team Chevy at the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. The two-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion started 13th and ran in the top-10 for most of the afternoon. Pato O’Ward started 15th and quickly moved toward the front before finishing sixth. Helio Castroneves finished 11th in his quest to become just the fourth driver to win The Greatest Spectacle in Racing four times. Rookie Rinus VeeKay, who was Chevrolet’s top qualifier, ended up 20th, one lap off the pace after a pitlane penalty took him out of the top-five running where he had been running.  Tony Kanaan finished 19^th as the 2013 winner winds down his successful career, Seventeen drivers powered by Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine qualified for the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.  Although the race had to be postponed from the traditional month of May and there were no fans on premise as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the race had the same drama, same high level of competition and same surprises one has come to expect from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.Takuma Sato clained his second Indy 500 victory followed by Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal filled out the podium. GM president Mark Reuss led the field to the green flag in a 2020 Corvette Stingray. It marked the 17th time a Corvette has served as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, starting in 1978, and the 31st time a Chevrolet has led the field, dating to 1948. No other brand or vehicle has served as the “500” pace car more than Chevrolet and the Corvette. Newgarden is second in the point standings, O’Ward sits third and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud is fifth in the standings as the Series prepares for next week’s doubleheader weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill.  DRIVER QUOTES NO. 1 JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SHELL V-POWER TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5^TH: “It’s disappointing for sure. Our Shell V-Power Nitro Chevrolet was fast. It was really, really good. We were just taking our time. My boys in thepits were on it today. They made us up spots on every single pit stop. We put ourselves in position there at the end of the race, which is all you can ask for. We actually came in with Sato on that last stop and maybe we should have went one lap longer. But in the end, we were a little behind the eight ball on the final stint. We were working to unhandcuff ourselves. I’m proud of everyone though – they fought hard. I can’t thank Shell and Team Chevy enough for all the support they give us. We just didn’t have what we needed. We were in position, but couldn’t capitalize to take advantage of it. Congrats to Takuma on the win. Just wish we were up there battling him for it.” NO. 5 PATO O’WARD, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6^TH:”The No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP team did everything we could to get to the front today. My crew did an amazing job in the pit stops. We were fighting up there with Dixon, Rossi and Takuma – great job to him. Towards the end we just didn’t have enough to get those in front of us. I think we juiced out the car and got everything out of it. We were right behind Josef in 5th for Chevrolet, so I think it was a good job for my first ever Indy 500. Obviously here the only thing that matters is winning. I’m excited to come back next year and try and get that win as this place is pretty special. For now, just collecting and move onto Gateway.” NO. 3 HELIO CASTRONEVES, PENNZOIL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11^TH: “I miss this thing so much. I know I didn’t finish in the top 10. One spot behind but let me tell you, what a great group of guys. They did a phenomenal job today. The No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet was not the strongest car out there, but we fought from 28^th all the way up to 11^th and we did everything we could. Obviously, we tried to take our chances with some of the yellows and it didn’t work out. It was very difficult to pass however and we hung on and a top 11 was the best we could do. Again, I miss everyone. This was awesome, but now on to the next page and on to Road Atlanta. NO. 12 WILL POWER, VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14^TH: “Obviously we made our way all the way up to eighth with really good restarts. And then I feel like I got too good of a restart, so I was almost touching Colton [Herta] in turn 4 and had to pull out to the outside. There is no draft there and about three guys blew by me and then I got pushed wide in turn one. And yeah and the bad stop didn’t help us there – my bad. But I wanted to thank Verizon and Chevrolet for everything. Chevrolet gave us a great engine. My guys worked really hard all month and I just really have to thank them for everything. We’re going to refocus for Gateway and work on that.” NO. 67 JR HILDEBRAND,          SALESFORCE DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16^TH:“The car was a huge handful at the beginning of the race. I almost spun out on the first lap. It was a bummer because I found some passing lanes in the middle of the fuel stint. But I couldn’t get to those lanes when I wanted to. Unfortunately, the car was twitchy early in the race. And we went for a different fuel strategy and the boys got the car working better throughout the day. I felt I got the feel of the car better as the race went on today. We knew the track temps were going up and we needed to make adjustments with every pit stop. I was working the trim switches and various items to help the car roll into the corners better. We were good to go to the end on fuel and we might have picked up some additional spots if others had to pit. But with yellow to the checkered, that didn’t happen. I hope Spencer (Pigot) is okay. That was a huge hit at the end. I just missed a few of the crashes today. I was dodging a number of incidents. We made the right calls today with our strategy. But we just missed a few things that would have improved our finish. Overall, the DRR guys worked really hard this month and we gained more information when we return. At least we made up half the field going from 32^nd to 16^th today.”  NO. 59 MAX CHILTON,GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17^TH: “It was a long race, but it always is around here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I tried my best out there and the whole team did a great job today. We really worked on making the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet better throughout the race. Every pit stop we were changing something whether it was the front or rear wings and I was working with the weight jacker and the bars pretty much every lap. We had great pit stops all race and we tried to change up the strategy a little bit and at the end of the day we were a big climber. I think we were the fourth-highest climber of the day coming from 30^th up to 17^th, which isn’t bad at all and we brought the car home in one piece, which on a 500-mile race is extremely important when you want to be in it to win it at the end. We’ve struggled for speed all month, but today was a massive improvement and I’m excited to come back and try again for an even better result next year.” NO. 4 CHARLIE KIMBALL,TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVRLET, FINISHED 18^TH:“I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 14 TONY KANAAN, ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19^TH:I don’t know what to say… We had a solid car, made a lot of positions on track and also in the pits. We went from 23^rd all the way to 8^th, I believe, but at the end I had to match a fuel number to make it to the checkered without a splash and in order to do that I had to let a lot of cars go. I truly believe that we had a Top-10 car. We ran up there most of the race and it’s just disappointing that we had to settle for 19^th.” NO. 21 RINUS VEEKAY, SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20^TH: “Of course everything was new to me and I didn’t want to take too much risk at the start. We were running third! The team was doing an amazing job. The second pit stop, I came into the box and just hit the brakes a little too hard. I locked up my inside front and my biggest nightmare happened. I hit the crew guys, they work day and night for me so I feel terrible. I will make sure to apologize to everyone. I made one mistake, but it was a big one. Pit stops are something I’m not as familiar with yet, but that’s not an excuse. We had a great car. It got better and better and I was able to pass cars on the inside and the outside. I learned a lot, but not fully in a good way. I just want to thank the team for giving me such an amazing car, but I threw the race away. Also, I feel bad for my teammates Ed and Conor having a tough rce. There were a lot of bad crashes and I hope Spencer (Pigot) is fine.:  NO. 66 FERNANDO ALONSO,RUOFF ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 21^ST:“It was a very eventful race for us, we didn’t have one lap of kindness let’s say. We were struggling from the very beginning with the balance of the car with a lot oversteer. We kept changing that balance in the pit stops, reducing the front flap, doing tire adjustments and then we started to be happy with the car. We were up to P15 around Lap 110, which is where we wanted to be. We spent half the race going from P26 to P15 and then we had a clutch problem on the car that we didn’t know how to solve. We finished the race without the clutch, so from that point on every pit stop we had to push the car, engage the gear and go. That cost us a lap and unfortunately, we kept that lap down until the end and we could not achieve anything more. “I’m happy to finish the race, cross the line and have one 500 miles in the pocket, that’s the positive thing. The negative is that we were out of contention very quickly with the clutch problem. Anyway, I think the Arrow McLaren SP team was fantastic during the race, the strategy and pit stops meant we were always gaining positions. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the last couple of weeks. We tried to race but luck was not with us today, but I’m proud of the effort from everyone in the team.” NO. 22 SIMON PAGENAUD, MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22^ND:  “It was a real shame to start as far back as I did. I really do think that Chevy brought an incredible race engine. It had so much power. It was so good. So I think if we started further up, we would not have lost as much time in traffic. I feel like we had one of the best cars. I didn’t see [Takuma] Sato, but congratulations to him. He’s an incredible driver around this place. It’s fantastic. I think he’s the most successful Japanese driver ever so congratulations to him and the Rahal team. We were just on the outside of Ryan Hunter-Reay and he just hit us in the front wing like we weren’t there. So we had to pit for a new front wing, and it went downhill from there. At the end of the race, we were running I think is the fastest laps of the race. The car was really, really good and it would have been good for the last shootout, but it wasn’t our year. We’ll come back next year and we’ll be strong. We have a good baseline to attack for next year and we’ll come back to try and get No. 2.” NO. 81 BEN HANLEY,DRAGON SPEED USA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23^RD:”It’s a fantastic feeling to finish the Indy 500! All the odds seemed against us two weeks ago, but a huge effort by everyone from the DragonSpeed crew to INDYCAR, Chevrolet, and Firestone made it possible. We tried a switch in strategy late in the race that didn’t quite didn’t work out, but we are really happy with 23rdand what we’ve achieved as a team at Indy this year. As we hoped, we gained a lot of knowledge today and can’t wait to come back next year to apply it!” NO. 20 ED CARPENTER, U.S. SPACE FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET. FINISHED 26^TH:“Not the day we were hoping for. Our day ended after one corner. I don’t know that I could have done anything different, it didn’t feel like that aggressive of a move on my part. Evidently, the other driver’s spotter cleared him, which is crazy to me. Is it 2021 yet? 2020 is being a tough year right now. I am praying everyone is okay, I know Spencer (Pigot) took a big lick. A couple of our crew guys got whacked in the pit too, so I am also thinking about them. I am terribly disappointed that we weren’t able to show better for the U.S. Space Force and the U.S. Air Force. I feel extremely disappointed that we couldn’t do more, but that’s racing sometimes.” NO. 24 SAGE KARAM, WIX FILTERS DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24^TH:“I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 47 CONOR DALY, U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEEVROLET, FINISHED 29^TH: “I’m not entirely sure what happened. We were having a good run and it suddenly felt like my left front tire felt into a hole. It was very strange. I thought I had it saved and it was a shame to see Oliver (Askew) hit the wall as well. My mistake and I am just looking forward to Gateway now. I am so thankful for the U.S. Air Force. They are the most incredible partner I’ve ever had and I hate this for them.”NO. 7 OLIVER ASKEW, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 30TH:,”First of all I need to thank the AMR Safety Team, Dallara, and INDYCAR for keeping us as safe as possible in these cars going these speeds. I’m sorry for the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP team, they’ve worked so hard all week, all month, all year building up to this event. So, to have a result like this is really sad for all of us but we will move on to Gateway next weekend. I was really happy with the pace we had and the aggressive strategies we were running. We were trying to make something happen with passing being at a premium at this race. Thanks again to the team for all their hard work.” NO.41 DALTON KELLETT, K-LINE USA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: FINISHED 31^ST:“It’s obviously a different 500 experience without the fans and having the national anthem and flyover without the energy of our great race fans and it was bit sad to see that. But the start felt pretty good. I thought I was going to get the jump on Tony and Will but they showed my rookie status and got the jump on me, so now I know where to go next time. The car felt really good the first stint, we were just chipping away at it, working with the tools and dealing with a bit of understeer with the tailwind in Turn 2. The car felt really good in 3 and 4, making moves in traffic and was able to pass guys. On the second stint, the wind shifted a bit so I was getting a run out of 2 into 3 but got stuck behind Hanley who was running a bit off the pace. I kept trying to draft and get by him going into 3. I went pretty late and I didn’t know if his spotter didn’t let him know I was pretty low or he didn’t think I was going for it. I kind of popped and he came down almost immediately so I didn’t have time to back out of it and he skimmed my front wing and took all the air off it. After that I was just trying to save it and couldn’t quite get it turned enough to miss the wall. Pretty disappointed that was how it ended. We were having a really good month up to that point.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DRYDENE 311 TEAM CHEVY PRESS POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES AUGUST 23, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3rd     JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE4th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE9th      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE13th    KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1st      Kevin Harvick (Ford)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd     Jimmie Johnson (Chevrolet)4th      William Byron (Chevrolet)5th      Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Daytona International Speedway with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 29, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES (INCLUDING JIMMIE JOHNSON’S THIRD-PLACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT): JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rdYOU GUYS DROVE FROM THE BACK THROUGH THE FIELD, TOOK TWO TIRES, GOT TO THE LEAD, BUT WASN’T ABLE TO HOLD ON. DID YOU AGREE WITH THAT CALL?“Yeah, I totally did. And I actually had a little bit of hope thinking that it would work thinking clean air would be so important and we were so fast the run before. There were a lot of laps on those left-side tires and it just didn’t pan out. But I really appreciate Cliff’s (Daniels, crew chief) courage to bet on me and give me a shot. We certainly improved our finish from where we were running at the time. So, all-in-all, a great call. Very proud of this Ally Chevrolet, everybody on this Ally team and all the hard work they’re putting in.” THE PLAYOFFS, IT GOT REALLY TIGHT AFTER THIS. YOU’RE HEADING TO DAYTONA – A SUPERSPEEDWAY. WHAT’S THE STRATEGY – HOW DO YOU GET INTO THE PLAYOFFS AT A SUPERSPEEDWAY?“I’m going to do my best to forget about it. There really isn’t any worrying that I can do this week to help me on a plate track. Studying, worrying – any of that isn’t going to make a difference. So, go down there, say a few prayers, maybe say a prayer per lap and see how that plays out I guess. We’ll race hard and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” WITH ALL THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD HERE, ARE YOU PROUD OF THIS LAST RACE AT DOVER?“I’m good with it. I want more – I absolutely want more. I know I’m capable of more and I know this team is. That’s our mission. I’m not gone forever – I’m just trying to slow down a little bit. I’ll be holding a steering wheel for years to come and it’s all about trying to win races.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th“It was like a completely different race car and completely different race for us today compared to yesterday. We had the Axalta Chevy doing the things we wanted it to do on most runs. It just felt good out there. I knew at the beginning of the race that we were keeping pace with the No. 19 the No. 11. As soon as we got the track position, we were able to stay up there. I think we were a little bit behind though since we really didn’t have a notebook from yesterday. I think if we had another race at it, we would run a bit better. Overall, this is good for our Axalta team. Now we’re going to Daytona where it’s going to be insane. I don’t think you can really points race. It’s going to be a race to be as aggressive as you can and hope things fall your way.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th“Man, I am so proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Three cars in the top-five today. For us to pull out a back-up car, the No. 88 team did a great job getting everything together and regrouping after yesterday’s issues. Very appreciative to end up in the top-five and get Acronis a good run. We needed to get things turned around and this is a good step in the right direction. I felt like we were a second-place car on the short run and probably shouldn’t have picked the bottom on that last restart. So appreciative to have a great run and a huge shout out to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet. This was great.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW / BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE- Finished 9th“We had a good day at Dover International Speedway in the Dow Coatings Chevrolet, and that shows just how hard we all work at RCR. It feels good to come out of the Monster Mile with two solid runs. We started the race too free. A pit stop for right-side tires definitely tightened me up, but it went back at the end of the run, and I was just sliding around out there to end Stage 1. Our Chevy definitely had speed today, it was just too loose to do anything with it during portions of the race. Justin Alexander and all of the guys on the team did a good job at making adjustments. Towards the middle of the race we were knocking off some of the fastest lap times of the field. We went four-wide to make a pass and I got a little damage to my right-front, which made our No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet really tight. It was still fast, though. I’m proud of a top-10 finish. We probably could have gotten a few more spots on that last restart, but the No. 2 car did a good job and had a good run. It was fun out there this weekend, and I want to thank everyone at Dow and Behr for their support.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th“We have been consistent in our hunt for the playoffs all season. With today‘s finish, not what we hoped for, but we locked-in! I’m proud of everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. Teamwork is what it’s all about. Thanks to GEARWRENCH, Monster Energy, Team Chevy and everyone that makes this team compete.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17th“We started off with our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet a lot better than yesterday. I was able to roll through the turns a lot smoother and just needed a bit more rear security. I thought maybe that issue would be cleared up as the track began to rubber up, but it just never tightened up quite as much as I needed it to. The adjustments that my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made through Stage 1 and 2 helped fight that looseness, but I still needed even more stability to really carry speed into the corner like I needed to. At the end of Stage 2, we took a big swing on our adjustments, which did help solve the rear security issue, but took it almost to the other extreme and made it tight to turn. The day didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I’m proud of our team. No one gave up, and we worked hard all race long. This isn’t over for us yet. We still have one more chance to make the Playoffs at Daytona International Speedway, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 COLUMBIA PFG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“Today was a little bit better day for our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Columbia PFG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It was kind of the same balance as yesterday. Our Chevrolet handled the same, but we had a little bit more speed. Still not where we want to be – just could never get the rear-end underneath us. When we did, it was just way too much. We need to get some more adjustability in our car, but overall a good day for our Columbia PFG team. It was cool to see them on the race track and I’m excited for what’s next with them. We will keep everything going and continue the momentum into Daytona (International Speedway) next week.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:  THE MODERATOR: We’re now joined by our third‑place finisher, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.            Q. Jimmie, how do you approach this week racing your teammate for the last playoff spot? Not only are you guys teammates and you guys share information, but you’re going to a superspeedway where traditionally teammates work together.JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, it’s going to be a really interesting race in Daytona from that respect. But at the same time, it’s still Daytona, and in my opinion, “the big one” or all the wrecks that can happen is really going to determine who makes it into the playoffs.           We did the best that we could here over these two days, had two respectable results, closed the gap, but now it’s kind of in luck’s hands or in fate’s hands down in Daytona at the plate rate.            Q. In terms of information sharing, open book between you guys this week?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Oh, yeah, always has been. It was that way racing my teammates for championships; it’s certainly that way going into a playoff race.            Q. Jimmie, the last few laps of this race given what’s on the line, how much pressure were you feeling? How much on the wheel were you in those laps on two tires?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Not much pressure. I was so excited and so happy to have the view I did sitting there up front and have control of the restart. I knew when we hit the gas and the 4 car was able to stay with me, I was going to be in trouble. I needed to clear him into 1 and quickly I realized that my left sides were pretty exhausted and just didn’t have the grip we needed in them. We had a really good car and I really credit Cliff for making that brave call for two tires. I think we were one of the fastest cars if not the fastest car over the last two runs, just unfortunately clawing our way back in from losing track position, and we didn’t have the best stop two from the end, so we really just had to gamble.           I really appreciate his courage to do that. It netted a better finish. Certainly wish there was more there, but a great couple days here in Dover.            Q. Matt DiBenedetto is only +9, so there is a path now for the both of you to make it in, so maybe working together, the both of you can climb in. How do you feel about that?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s so hard to know how things will play out down in Daytona. If you get single file and it’s the old track with high tire wear, which it won’t be, you can work with a teammate and really try to create some opportunity, but if we’re all running in a big group, luck is going to play a bigger role in things for the majority of it. I mean, if you have a dominant car and you can lead the race and control the lanes up front, there’s an opportunity there, obviously, but I feel like luck and fate is going to kind of control the outcome of this.            Q. You talked about luck and fate. Does that mean your experience means nothing next Saturday?JIMMIE JOHNSON: It’s hard to say it would separate me. I look at this weekend and think my experience played into my hand and helped me gain points on the two cars that I needed to. To go to Daytona where you don’t really work on your cars, you’re in a draft, in a pack, there is some skill needed in the draft to make that work and to create opportunity, but I think it’s a smaller window of opportunity than what we have on a traditional race.            Q. What will your stomach be like this week?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I’ve been doing this too long to worry too much. Championship pressure, thankfully I’ve been through that a bunch of different times. Maybe that’s ‑‑ I guess actually maybe that’s where experience will play through for me this weekend and I’ll be able to keep my head on straight, think, keep my emotions in check and really race with a clear and open mind.            Q. With a run like you had this weekend and obviously today especially, I’m curious how much you needed this mentally because obviously we know what’s at stake for the playoffs at this point, but to have a solid run back‑to‑back days and to improve on this second day of the double‑header, how much do you feel like you and this team needed this as you approach the next 11 weeks?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, we definitely need it. Momentum really works for you in either direction, and to run good at Daytona, to run decent at Michigan, to take these two races this weekend, top 10 and a top 5, that’s all going the right way, and it helps me. It helps every one of us on the team.           Who I think it helps the most is really Cliff and my guys on this team that have been giving me everything they can week in and week out. I sense that they’re probably more concerned about me finishing strong than I am. I mean, they really ‑‑ we have a great relationship and a great bond, and they want to give me every chance to win going out.           I truly appreciate their point of view and what they’re doing for me, and I’ll keep willing it as hard as we can, and hopefully we can get it done.            Q. With as meaningful as this racetrack has been to you in your career, how does it feel to end your time at Dover, at least your full‑time career, with the runs that you had this weekend?JIMMIE JOHNSON: It feels good. This place is a blast to drive. I’ve always enjoyed coming here and making laps, and if the phone ever rings and I can pick the Cup race to come back and run, I would choose this track. We’ll see what happens out there in years to come.            Q. With next week potentially being your last NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona, with the stakes that they are, is this one of the biggest Daytona races that you’ve had to deal with in your career?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Honestly, I haven’t thought about it in that respect. I’ve kind of felt like that race is going to be the pivotal race for us to make the playoffs or not, especially since I missed the Brickyard 400. Maybe someday down the road I’ll look back and think of these last trips to tracks and moments, but I’m just wired a certain way, and I think all competitors are. You keep looking forward and you don’t spend much time putting a lot of emotional value into things.           You know, I’ve been doing that all year long, and I’m running out of races so I guess at some point it’ll probably hit me, but right now it’s kind of business as usual and just focusing on the job ahead of me.            Q. Jimmie, you said you were excited on that final restart, but after the speeding penalty, you restarted 30th and then you slowly marched your way up to ninth. What was your mindset going into that second stage after such a costly penalty?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I felt like we were going to recover and have a decent finish, and I saw we put the 21 a lap down, so I was encouraged for the points situation there. And then I slowly caught the 24 and I could see that orange bumper on his car and felt like we minimized the bleeding to them, and just hoped for cautions. I knew the only way we’d have a shot to win was a couple cautions to bunch the field up, and hopefully a few good restarts to go with that and pit stops to get me the track position. So just praying for those late‑race cautions and we got them.            Q. How encouraged by the team’s fortune turning around, and would you say you attribute that to the 48’s new paint scheme?JIMMIE JOHNSON: We’re not superstitious, but just in case, we changed the color of the car, just in case there was something in that.           I really feel like it’s been here for us, and we’ve just been kind of affecting ourselves or hurting ourselves throughout the last couple of months and losing opportunities to perform and shine.           I still think we’re missing some pace and we don’t have dominant pace, but runs like today, to run in the top 5, to run in the top 10, we should have been doing this all year long and not having to worry about points going into Daytona. I’m pretty bummed about that, but when I look back at the DQ at Charlotte, got a goose egg in points there and then I missed the Brickyard 400. If we just score some points in those races, we’re in a much different position right now than we’re in.            Q. You mentioned how experience has served you well with handling the pressures of the playoff battle, but what are some of the ways that you’ve key pressed, kept calm and avoided the distractions that would otherwise serve as a distraction for you?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I feel as you get older and more experienced in anything you do, you learn what to worry about. When you’re young you worry about everything because you don’t want to overlook something that’s important. But I feel experience really buys you that knowledge, and you know where to focus your energy and not just wear yourself out worrying about everything all the time.            Q. I know even though you’ve had a year before with Chad on another team’s pit box, now that you guys are battling weekly for playoff spot, have you guys exchanged any pleasantries or talked any trash down the stretch?JIMMIE JOHNSON: No trash talking, but we did see each other a few times on pit road. Neither of us want to be in this position. I think we both know that here we are with one race left, and it feels like everything is on the line. But we’ve had 25 races ‑‑ I’ve had 24 versus their 25, to not put ourselves in this position.           You know, I think we both reflect back on the year and the moments that got away, and we’ll just go see how a restrictor plate race can settle this thing.            Q. On Friday you said it felt odd to be in this position fighting with your teammate for the final playoff spot. Now that you’ve finished these races, now that it’s come down to just you and William Byron and Chad Knaus who you had so much success with, how do you reflect on this going into Daytona knowing that in order to get to the playoffs you may have to knock out your former crew chief who you won your seven championships with?JIMMIE JOHNSON: We’ve kind of seen it coming, right, the last couple weeks. The thing that is very encouraging is we now have the 21 car there in the mix, so we both can get through, and we’ll just have to race smart and see how stages play out and then obviously the finish at the end of the race next weekend.           You know, at the end of the day for the 24 car, I wish them the best. They’re my teammates. That car and that number, Chad Knaus, William Byron, they’re friends, they’re teammates, and now that I know there’s a path in for both of us, maybe I’ll stop thinking so many bad thoughts about those guys and maybe we can both get in.            Q. The No. 48 team has had to go through a lot this season. We had the pause back in the spring, had to go through the driver change back at Indianapolis and of course now there’s this playoff push but you guys haven’t finished worst than 12th over the past four or five races. My question is how proud are you of the resiliency of this 48 squad?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, the resiliency that you see is what I feel and know and live with day‑to‑day with these guys. They are a great group of guys. They’re giving me everything that they have and I’m doing the same, and the bond and connection and energy and vibe on our team is real.           It’s nice to have it rolling the right direction for us. We’ve had some positive momentum a few times this year, and then something would derail us for a few weeks and we’d get it back going. It’s nice to have it going right now. These guys deserve it, and we certainly hope to close out the season strong.            Q. This past weekend has been basically the story of 2020: Denny Hamlin wins one day, Kevin Harvick wins the next. I know you’ve had seasons in the past where you’ve been the one that’s been dominant, but when it’s the same two guys each and every week, is it almost demoralizing for the rest of the field?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don’t know. I’ve been there. I’ve been that guy, and I know how hard it is to get there. I know how hard it is to stay there. And I know how awesome it feels to be there.           My emotions are just jealous it’s not me or envious that it’s not me. I want to be that team. Those were the greatest moments, to walk into a track at the Cup level and know that there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to be the guy taking the trophy out. There is nothing that feels like that.           Those guys deserve it. They’ve worked really hard to be in this position, and my advice to them would be enjoy it. You just never know how long it’s going to last. They’re both doing a great job. The 4 has been able to link together a lot of years like this, and I again know how tough that is. So, I have more respect and appreciation for what they’re doing because I’ve been through that and know the challenges that come with it.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Jimmie. We appreciate you taking the time, and good luck next weekend in Daytona.

Austin Dillon Tackles The Monster Mile With Strong Top-10 Run In The No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

9th   6th  18th

“We had a good day at Dover International Speedway in the Dow Coatings Chevrolet, and that shows just how hard we all work at RCR. It feels good to come out of the Monster Mile with two solid runs. We started the race too free. A pit stop for right-side tires definitely tightened me up, but it went back at the end of the run, and I was just sliding around out there to end Stage 1. Our Chevy definitely had speed today, it was just too loose to do anything with it during portions of the race. Justin Alexander and all of the guys on the team did a good job at making adjustments. Towards the middle of the race we were knocking off some of the fastest lap times of the field. We went four-wide to make a pass and I got a little damage to my right-front, which made our No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet really tight. It was still fast, though. I’m proud of a top-10 finish. We probably could have gotten a few more spots on that last restart, but the No. 2 car did a good job and had a good run. It was fun out there this weekend, and I want to thank everyone at Dow and Behr for their support.”-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and No. 8 Cat App Team Fight Hard to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive at Dover International Speedway

18th   8th   17th

“We started off with our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet a lot better than yesterday. I was able to roll through the turns a lot smoother and just needed a bit more rear security. I thought maybe that issue would be cleared up as the track began to rubber up, but it just never tightened up quite as much as I needed it to. The adjustments that my crew chief, Randall Burnett, and the team made through Stage 1 and 2 helped fight that looseness, but I still needed even more stability to really carry speed into the corner like I needed to. At the end of Stage 2, we took a big swing on our adjustments, which did help solve the rear security issue, but took it almost to the other extreme and made it too tight to turn. The day didn’t go how we wanted it to, but I’m proud of our team. No one gave up, and we worked hard all race long. This isn’t over for us yet. We still have one more chance to make the Playoffs at Daytona International Speedway, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.” -Tyler Reddick

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA POST RACE RECAP AUGUST 23, 2020 Josef Newgarden leads 17 Team Chevy drivers in the 104th running of Indianapolis 500 (INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 23, 2020) – Josef Newgarden finished in fifth place to pace Team Chevy at the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. The two-time and defending NTT IndyCar Series champion started 13th and ran in the top-10 for most of the afternoon. Pato O’Ward started 15th and quickly moved toward the front before finishing sixth. Helio Castroneves finished 11th in his quest to become just the fourth driver to win The Greatest Spectacle in Racing four times. Rookie Rinus VeeKay, who was Chevrolet’s top qualifier, ended up 20th, one lap off the pace after a pitlane penalty took him out of the top-five running where he had been running. 
Tony Kanaan finished 19^th as the 2013 winner winds down his successful career, Seventeen drivers powered by Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, direct-injected V6 engine qualified for the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. 
Although the race had to be postponed from the traditional month of May and there were no fans on premise as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the race had the same drama, same high level of competition and same surprises one has come to expect from the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.Takuma Sato clained his second Indy 500 victory followed by Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal filled out the podium.  GM president Mark Reuss led the field to the green flag in a 2020 Corvette Stingray. It marked the 17th time a Corvette has served as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, starting in 1978, and the 31st time a Chevrolet has led the field, dating to 1948. No other brand or vehicle has served as the “500” pace car more than Chevrolet and the Corvette. Newgarden is second in the point standings, O’Ward sits third and 2019 Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud is fifth in the standings as the Series prepares for next week’s doubleheader weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill.  DRIVER QUOTES NO. 1 JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SHELL V-POWER TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5^TH: “It’s disappointing for sure. Our Shell V-Power Nitro Chevrolet was fast. It was really, really good. We were just taking our time. My boys in thepits were on it today. They made us up spots on every single pit stop. We put ourselves in position there at the end of the race, which is all you can ask for. We actually came in with Sato on that last stop and maybe we should have went one lap longer. But in the end, we were a little behind the eight ball on the final stint. We were working to unhandcuff ourselves. I’m proud of everyone though – they fought hard. I can’t thank Shell and Team Chevy enough for all the support they give us. We just didn’t have what we needed. We were in position, but couldn’t capitalize to take advantage of it. Congrats to Takuma on the win. Just wish we were up there battling him for it.” NO. 5 PATO O’WARD, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6^TH: “The No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP team did everything we could to get to the front today. My crew did an amazing job in the pit stops. We were fighting up there with Dixon, Rossi and Takuma – great job to him. Towards the end we just didn’t have enough to get those in front of us. I think we juiced out the car and got everything out of it. We were right behind Josef in 5th for Chevrolet, so I think it was a good job for my first ever Indy 500. Obviously here the only thing that matters is winning. I’m excited to come back next year and try and get that win as this place is pretty special. For now, just collecting and move onto Gateway.” NO. 3 HELIO CASTRONEVES, PENNZOIL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11^TH: “I miss this thing so much. I know I didn’t finish in the top 10. One spot behind but let me tell you, what a great group of guys. They did a phenomenal job today. The No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet was not the strongest car out there, but we fought from 28^th all the way up to 11^th and we did everything we could. Obviously, we tried to take our chances with some of the yellows and it didn’t work out. It was very difficult to pass however and we hung on and a top 11 was the best we could do. Again, I miss everyone. This was awesome, but now on to the next page and on to Road Atlanta. NO. 12 WILL POWER, VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14^TH: “Obviously we made our way all the way up to eighth with really good restarts. And then I feel like I got too good of a restart, so I was almost touching Colton [Herta] in turn 4 and had to pull out to the outside. There is no draft there and about three guys blew by me and then I got pushed wide in turn one. And yeah and the bad stop didn’t help us there – my bad. But I wanted to thank Verizon and Chevrolet for everything. Chevrolet gave us a great engine. My guys worked really hard all month and I just really have to thank them for everything. We’re going to refocus for Gateway and work on that.” NO. 67 JR HILDEBRAND,          SALESFORCE DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16^TH:“The car was a huge handful at the beginning of the race. I almost spun out on the first lap. It was a bummer because I found some passing lanes in the middle of the fuel stint. But I couldn’t get to those lanes when I wanted to. Unfortunately, the car was twitchy early in the race. And we went for a different fuel strategy and the boys got the car working better throughout the day. I felt I got the feel of the car better as the race went on today. We knew the track temps were going up and we needed to make adjustments with every pit stop. I was working the trim switches and various items to help the car roll into the corners better. We were good to go to the end on fuel and we might have picked up some additional spots if others had to pit. But with yellow to the checkered, that didn’t happen. I hope Spencer (Pigot) is okay. That was a huge hit at the end. I just missed a few of the crashes today. I was dodging a number of incidents. We made the right calls today with our strategy. But we just missed a few things that would have improved our finish. Overall, the DRR guys worked really hard this month and we gained more information when we return. At least we made up half the field going from 32^nd to 16^th today.”  NO. 59 MAX CHILTON,GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17^TH:  “It was a long race, but it always is around here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I tried my best out there and the whole team did a great job today. We really worked on making the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet better throughout the race. Every pit stop we were changing something whether it was the front or rear wings and I was working with the weight jacker and the bars pretty much every lap. We had great pit stops all race and we tried to change up the strategy a little bit and at the end of the day we were a big climber. I think we were the fourth-highest climber of the day coming from 30^th up to 17^th, which isn’t bad at all and we brought the car home in one piece, which on a 500-mile race is extremely important when you want to be in it to win it at the end. We’ve struggled for speed all month, but today was a massive improvement and I’m excited to come back and try again for an even better result next year.” NO. 4 CHARLIE KIMBALL,TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVRLET, FINISHED 18^TH: “I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 14 TONY KANAAN, ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 19^TH:I don’t know what to say… We had a solid car, made a lot of positions on track and also in the pits. We went from 23^rd all the way to 8^th, I believe, but at the end I had to match a fuel number to make it to the checkered without a splash and in order to do that I had to let a lot of cars go. I truly believe that we had a Top-10 car. We ran up there most of the race and it’s just disappointing that we had to settle for 19^th.” NO. 21 RINUS VEEKAY,  SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20^TH:  NO. 66 FERNANDO ALONSO,RUOFF ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 21^ST: “It was a very eventful race for us, we didn’t have one lap of kindness let’s say. We were struggling from the very beginning with the balance of the car with a lot oversteer. We kept changing that balance in the pit stops, reducing the front flap, doing tire adjustments and then we started to be happy with the car. We were up to P15 around Lap 110, which is where we wanted to be. We spent half the race going from P26 to P15 and then we had a clutch problem on the car that we didn’t know how to solve. We finished the race without the clutch, so from that point on every pit stop we had to push the car, engage the gear and go. That cost us a lap and unfortunately, we kept that lap down until the end and we could not achieve anything more. “I’m happy to finish the race, cross the line and have one 500 miles in the pocket, that’s the positive thing. The negative is that we were out of contention very quickly with the clutch problem. Anyway, I think the Arrow McLaren SP team was fantastic during the race, the strategy and pit stops meant we were always gaining positions. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the last couple of weeks. We tried to race but luck was not with us today, but I’m proud of the effort from everyone in the team.”
NO. 22 SIMON PAGENAUD, MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22^ND:  “It was a real shame to start as far back as I did. I really do think that Chevy brought an incredible race engine. It had so much power. It was so good. So I think if we started further up, we would not have lost as much time in traffic. I feel like we had one of the best cars. I didn’t see [Takuma] Sato, but congratulations to him. He’s an incredible driver around this place. It’s fantastic. I think he’s the most successful Japanese driver ever so congratulations to him and the Rahal team. We were just on the outside of Ryan Hunter-Reay and he just hit us in the front wing like we weren’t there. So we had to pit for a new front wing, and it went downhill from there. At the end of the race, we were running I think is the fastest laps of the race. The car was really, really good and it would have been good for the last shootout, but it wasn’t our year. We’ll come back next year and we’ll be strong. We have a good baseline to attack for next year and we’ll come back to try and get No. 2.” NO. 81 BEN HANLEY,DRAGON SPEED USA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23^RD:”It’s a fantastic feeling to finish the Indy 500! All the odds seemed against us two weeks ago, but a huge effort by everyone from the DragonSpeed crew to INDYCAR, Chevrolet, and Firestone made it possible. We tried a switch in strategy late in the race that didn’t quite didn’t work out, but we are really happy with 23rdand what we’ve achieved as a team at Indy this year. As we hoped, we gained a lot of knowledge today and can’t wait to come back next year to apply it!” NO. 20 ED CARPENTER, U.S. SPACE FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET. FINISHED 26^TH: NO. 24 SAGE KARAM, WIX FILTERS DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24^TH:“I was able to pass guys in the early part of the race, and I had a very good restart which gave us more spots. So we were moving up. The first five or ten laps of the stints were fast, but then the tires fell off and I couldn’t pass people. Ultimately, I made a mistake on pit lane with our third stop. I don’t know if the tires were worn or the brakes locked, but I slid by our pit box. Then I had to get in reverse and we lost two laps. I got our one lap back and almost the other lap too. And the #10 car stayed out and it prevented us from getting a rave around on the next yellow flag. At the end of the race, the WIX Filters Chevy was better, but I didn’t want to ruin other guys races and I moved out of their way. We ran out of time trying to get the lap back, because the car could run with guys on the lead lap. The DRR crew did a great job in the pits as always and we just had the one mistake today when I missed the pit. I feel badly for that one. We did learn a lot this month as a ‘one-off’ team at Indy.” NO. 47 CONOR DALY, U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEEVROLET, FINISHED 29^TH: NO. 7 OLIVER ASKEW, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 30TH:,”First of all I need to thank the AMR Safety Team, Dallara, and INDYCAR for keeping us as safe as possible in these cars going these speeds. I’m sorry for the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP team, they’ve worked so hard all week, all month, all year building up to this event. So, to have a result like this is really sad for all of us but we will move on to Gateway next weekend. I was really happy with the pace we had and the aggressive strategies we were running. We were trying to make something happen with passing being at a premium at this race. Thanks again to the team for all their hard work.” NO.41 DALTON KELLETT, K-LINE USA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: FINISHED 31^ST:“It’s obviously a different 500 experience without the fans and having the national anthem and flyover without the energy of our great race fans and it was bit sad to see that. But the start felt pretty good. I thought I was going to get the jump on Tony and Will but they showed my rookie status and got the jump on me, so now I know where to go next time. The car felt really good the first stint, we were just chipping away at it, working with the tools and dealing with a bit of understeer with the tailwind in Turn 2. The car felt really good in 3 and 4, making moves in traffic and was able to pass guys. On the second stint, the wind shifted a bit so I was getting a run out of 2 into 3 but got stuck behind Hanley who was running a bit off the pace. I kept trying to draft and get by him going into 3. I went pretty late and I didn’t know if his spotter didn’t let him know I was pretty low or he didn’t think I was going for it. I kind of popped and he came down almost immediately so I didn’t have time to back out of it and he skimmed my front wing and took all the air off it. After that I was just trying to save it and couldn’t quite get it turned enough to miss the wall. Pretty disappointed that was how it ended. We were having a really good month up to that point.”                    

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA AUGUST 23, 2020 RACE #7 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERES:It’s here. After months of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the dogged determination of the NTT INDYCAR Series – the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – the Indianapolis 500 is here. The traditional 33 car field is set for 200 laps/500 miles today, August 23, 2020 for the at the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Just over half of the field for the 104^thrunning of the Indianapolis 500, will be 17 Chevrolet powered cars fielded by seven organizations: AJ Foyt Racing – Tony Kanaan, Charlie Kimball, Dalton KellettArrow McLaren SP – Fernando Alonso, Pato O’Ward, Oliver AskewCarlin – Max ChiltonDragonSpeed – Ben HanleyDryer and Reinbold – Sage Karem and JR HildebrandEd Carpenter Racong — Ed Carpenter, Rinus VeeKay, Conor DalyTeam Penske – Helio Castroneves, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power Fans have multiple options for listening and watching all of the on-track activities on race day.  The Indianapolis race coverage begins live on NBC at 1:00 p.m. ET plus IndyCar radio network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. BOWTIE BULLETS

• With second row starting spot running fourth quickest time Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carenter Racing Team Chevy driver posted quickest time in history for a rookie
• Cole for Conor: Race engineer Cole Pearn, who led Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing to the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship, has joined Ed Carpenter Racing to lead Conor Daly’s “500” program. The jump from stock cars to Indy cars is unusual but not without success. In 2015, Brian Campe helped Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya win the “500.”
• Rick Mears is still with Team Penske as driver support and advisor, as well as Helio’s spotter. If you ask Helio, he will tell you Rick as seven 500 wins because he was Helio’s spotter for all three of his wins.
• ·Robert Wickens is the driver coach for Pato and Oliver at Arrow McLaren. Wickens was seriously injured two years ago and is confined to a wheel chair. He was an incredible driver and is a great influence and resource for the young drivers
• Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 84 wins and 98 poles in 141 races along with six Manufacturer Championships
• Chevrolet has recorded six NTT IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championships since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012
• Helio aims for No. 4: Helio Castroneves again will attempt to join one of the most exclusive clubs in global motorsports – four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 – this year in a Team Penske car. Castroneves’ third win came in 2009, and his chances to join A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as four-time winners are dwindling at age 45 as he edges closer toward the end of his illustrious career. Can he get win No. 4?
• TK’s Last Lap continues: 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan will continue his final season of regular NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on Aug. 23, driving for A.J. Foyt Racing. Can Kanaan punctuate his final campaign, consisting of all of the oval races on the schedule, with an emotional victory at age 45?
• Safety revolution: This will be the first year in which the new Aeroscreen will be used in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The Aeroscreen, mandatory on all NTT INDYCAR SERIES cars starting this season, offers a revolutionary new level of driver protection and creates a sleek, jet fighter look to the open-wheel cars. The Aeroscreen’s IMS competition debut took place July 4 during the GMR Grand Prix on the IMS road course, but this will be the first time the safety device will be used in the Indy 500. The IMS oval debut of the Aeroscreen continues the Speedway’s legacy of automotive safety and technology development that started with the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911.
• Fernando is back: Two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso is back at IMS in a bid to become just the second driver to win the “Triple Crown” of motorsports – victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, 24 Hours of Le Mans and Indianapolis 500. Alonso, from Spain, will drive for Arrow McLaren SP while attempting to make his second start in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The motorsports world was shocked last season when Alonso was bumped from the starting field during the Last Row Shootout by driver Kyle Kaiser and upstart Juncos Racing. Can Alonso bounce back this year and make history by entering Victory Lane?
• Chevrolet earned six consecutive CART Manufacturers’ Cup championships from 1988-93.
• Chevrolet has recorded 12 driver championships, including four in the past five years.
• Chevrolet has recorded 195 wins in Indy-style racing, including USAC, CART, Indy Racing League and IndyCar Series since 1965
• Chevrolet’s initial win, under USAC sanction, was by Al Unser in the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb on July 4, 1965
• Chevrolet has 84 wins and 98 poles in 141 in IndyCar Series races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.

CHEVROLET INDY 500 STATS
Chevrolet has a storied history with Indianapolis Motor Speedway as an engine manufacturer, provider of the pace car, entrant and even drivers. Chevrolet was co-founded in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, the year of the inaugural 500-Mile Race. He competed in the ‘500’ four times, with a best finish of seventh in 1919. His brother, Arthur, competed in the 1911 and 1916 races and his other brother, Gaston, won in 1920 and finished 10th in 1919. Louis Chevrolet was also the owner of the 1921-winning car driven by Tommy Milton. The Louis Chevrolet Memorial is located just west of the entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Inscribed on the pedestal that holds a bust of Louis Chevrolet is his motto “Never Give Up.” 

BATESVILLE, AR (August 22, 2020) – Jimmy Owens continued his spectacular 2020 season on Saturday Night in the 28th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag. Owens held off a furious charge from Hall-of-Famer Billy Moyer on the final lap for the $40,000 victory. Moyer charged from 18th to briefly edge in front of Owens as the two exited turn number two on the final lap, but Moyer drifted out too high and hit the outside retaining wall. Owens pulled away for his third win in the event’s history. Moyer fell from second to fourth at the finish as both Earl Pearson Jr. and Tim McCreadie slipped by him. Owens made his way to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 10th time this season and breathed a sigh of relief that the race was over. “I knew there was someone behind me. I didn’t know if it was the 39 car behind me or what. I didn’t know where to go on the track. He [Moyer] snuck around me and was by me. He must have gotten a little push off the corner and tagged the wall. I wasn’t worried too much about the tires until Timmy pitted for a flat because I knew he would come from the back. My hat is off to my crew, we had a great run all weekend.” Pearson moved into third on lap 77 and then to second on the final lap. He picked up $20,000 for his runner-up finish. “It was looking like they were going to have a heck of a finish between Jimmy and Billy.  We started sixth and finished second in this Lucas Oil car, so it was a good race for us. Billy got me on that restart. Jimmy’s on fire right now and it feels good to come home second to him. Jimmy is winning everything right now. Mooney did a heck of a job on the racetrack, especially with as many cars that were here and the heat. He did a really good job.” McCreadie came from the rear after a tire change and took home $10,000 for third. “I got together with another car and it cut the tire down. It must have pushed the body down into the tire. I probably should have pitted the yellow before. Dale McDowell helped me out because he told me what was happening during the caution. We passed a lot of cars. We’ve had two good weekends in a row now.”

The winner’s Ramirez Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and is sponsored by Reece Monument Company, Tommy Pope Construction, Boomtest Well Service, General Tire, Red Line Oil, Ohlins Shocks, Champion Spark Plugs, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, Chris Madden, Josh Richards, and Tyler Erb.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag
Saturday, August 22nd, 2020
Batesville Motor Speedway – Batesville, AR

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (15 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 3. C8-Timothy Culp[2]; 4. 11J-Drew Armstrong[6]; 5. 36-Logan Martin[4]; 6. 14M-Morgan Bagley[5]; 7. 12M-Wendell Wallace[7]; 8. 86R-Rick Rickman[13]; 9. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[12]; 10. 92M-Chad Mallett[9]; 11. 78S-Steve Stultz[11]; 12. 71-Robert Baker[10]; 13. 93-Mason Oberkramer[8]; 14. 997-Travis Ashley[15]; 15. (DNS) 14G-Joe Godsey; 16. (DNS) 57-Mike Marlar; 17. (DNS) 14R-Jeff Roth

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (15 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 3. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[4]; 4. 1BJ-BJ Robinson[3]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[6]; 6. 12-Jamie Elam[9]; 7. 56C-Colton Horner[10]; 8. 13N-Derrick Nichols[12]; 9. 13-Joey Smith[13]; 10. 5A-Austin Vincent[11]; 11. 90-Brian Rickman[7]; 12. 7D-David Payne[16]; 13. 12C-Scott Crigler[8]; 14. (DNS) 16-Tyler Bruening; 15. (DNS) 26R-Ross Farmer; 16. (DNS) 48-Mike Myers

EPPING, N.H. (August 22) – After a fast-and-furious day of qualifying, the elimination fields for the JEGS SPORTSnationals have been set at historic New England Dragway. The event marks the first time a JEGS SPORTSnationals race has been contested in the NHRA’s Northeast Division, and nearly 400 sportsman racers have packed the facility in a strong show of support.   Heading into Sunday’s final eliminations, Frank Aragona Jr. (Comp), Scott Gove (Super Stock), Eric Merryfield (Stock), Michael Lubniesski (Top Sportsman) and Mike Coughlin (Top Dragster) lead their respective fields. Racers, including those in Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street, also made time trial runs Saturday before completing the first round of eliminations. Aragona is the three-time and reigning NHRA Comp world champion. He drove his J/AA roadster to a 7.388-second run to claim the top spot over Ronald Proctor and Richard Schonberger. Aragona was a semifinal finisher in the Northeast Division Lucas Oil Series event held Friday at New England Dragway.  Gove was the low qualifier for the Division 1 event on Thursday and repeated the feat on Saturday by driving his SS/AM Dodge Daytona to a 7.935-second run on his 9.00-second index. Gove is the only driver in the 43-car Super Stock field to run more than a second under his index and leads Edward Schrader, Mark Nowicki and Al Smyth. A total of 84 drivers made qualifying runs in Stock Eliminator, but none were quicker than Merryfield, who took his Dodge Challenger Drag Pak to the top spot with a 10.348-second effort. Gove, the low qualifier in Super Stock, just missed the pole in Stock with his A/SA ’69 Camaro. Bob Moran and Gary Walters round out the quick four. Lucas Oil Series winner Lenny Williams will begin his quest for a second title from the No. 6 qualifying spot.  Lubniewski set a fast pace in qualifying for the Vortech Superchargers Top Sportsman category with a quick 6.246 run in his Chevy Cobalt. Lubniewski is more than two-tenths of a second quicker than No. 2 qualifier Jeff Brooks, who ran 6.492. Brooks is coming off a win during Friday’s Lucas Oil Series event. John Benoit, the winner of the JEGS SPORTSnationals event earlier this summer at National Trail Raceway, will look to sweep both events when he begins Sunday’s action from the No. 3 qualifying spot. Three-time and reigning Division 3 champ Coughlin made an impressive showing for the JEGS Mail Order team when he drove his familiar yellow and black dragster to the No. 2 qualifying spot in the Vortech Superchargers Top Dragster class. A runner-up at the recent JEGS SPORTSnationals in his native state of Ohio, Coughlin drove to a 6.109 to push current championship leader Anthony Bertozzi to the No. 2 spot. Coughlin and Bertozzi raced in the final of the Columbus event last month. Al Kenny and Scott Hall round out the quick four in Top Dragster. The final elimination rounds for the JEGS SPORTSnationals will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Sunday.

August 22, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Monster Energy Mustang wound up with a disappointing 20^th-place finish in the opening race of a Cup Series double-header at Dover International Speedway on Saturday.

But he and the team have reasons to be optimistic heading into Sunday’s second half of the twin bill, which will see the Monster Energy logos on the hood of the No. 21 Ford replaced by the colors of Richmond Water Heaters.

For starters, DiBenedetto and the team will carry a 27-point cushion over the Playoff cutline into Sunday’s 311-mile race. And due to a starting line-up set by inverting the top-20 finishers from Saturday’s race, they’ll take the green flag from the pole on Sunday.

Recent history is on their side as well. In the three double-headers run already this season, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Richmond team have significantly improved their finishing positions from the first race to the second. At Darlington, a 14^th-place finish in the opener was followed by a ninth-place run. At Pocono they went from 13^th to sixth, and at Michigan they improved from 15^th to seventh.

Dover’s 311-mile opener saw DiBenedetto start from 14^th place and move up to 11^th in the opening laps, but he soon found himself dealing with a loose handling condition.

The Menards/Monster Energy team made adjustments, but the handling issues went to the other extreme, with the car becoming too tight.
 
With no caution flags after Lap Eight other than for the Competition Caution and for the end of the two Stages, the only opportunities to make major adjustments to the No. 21 Mustang were during green-flag pit stops. And the lack of caution flag also took away chances to play pit strategies to get back to the front.
  
“With it being a short race and no yellow flags, we were kind of stuck with what we had,” Eddie Wood said. “The good thing is they can work on the car before tomorrow’s race and we’ll get another chance to try to gain some points going into Daytona, where anything can happen.”
 
After Sunday’s Drydene 311 at Dover, only the Aug. 29 race at Daytona International Speedway is left to run before the start of the 10-race Playoffs.
 
Sunday’s race at Dover is scheduled to start just after 4 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBCSN. 

Matt McMurray, Mario Farnbacher finish second in VIRginia International Raceway thriller
Acura claims Manufacturers’ Championship lead
Misha Goikhberg, Alvaro Parente run seventh in #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo

ALTON, Va. (August 22, 2020) – The #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo of Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher shone at VIRginia International Raceway at the Michelin GT Challenge, finishing second in an exciting battle for GTD class honors.

The first of two GT-only rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, VIR showcased a thriller that saw the #86 Acura claim the second step on the podium and take the leads in the Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ championships along the way. Following today’s race, Acura takes over the 10-manufacturer GTD division lead with 121 points to 120 for Lexus and 113 for BMW. In the battle for the GTD drivers’ title, Farnbacher and McMurry leave VIR with 115 points, to 113 for Jack Hawksworth and Arron Telitz with 110.

McMurray stuck his NSX GT3 Evo on the second row of the grid in qualifying, and moved from fourth to second on the first lap of the race. The yellow flag flew at the end of lap one, marking the first of three cautions that disrupted the opening 30 laps of the two hour, 40-minute endurance contest.

Still in second with 57 minutes to go, McMurray handed the #86 Acura over to co-driver Mario Farnbacher. The German driver quickly cycled through to second place during the ensuing pitstops, before locking up the brakes while going for the lead in the first turn, and falling back to fourth after a brief off-course excursion.

Farnbacher recovered spectacularly, setting the fastest lap of the race and passing the #74 Mercedes-AMG of Lawson Aschenbach for third, and then reeling in the second place #48 Lamborghini of Bryan Sellers in the final 10 minutes of the event. Farnbacher utilized GTLM traffic as a “pick” to make a successful move on Sellers and secure second place on the final lap.

The sister #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo from Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian started eighth on the grid and battled hard through a hectic race to finish seventh at the line. Misha Goikhberg tackled the first one hour and forty minutes before Alvaro Parente brought the #57 home seventh following a competitive battle with Pat Long’s #16 Porsche and #44 Lamborghini of Andy Lally in the final hour.

Though Gradient Racing struggled early in the race, they recovered to get valuable track time and prepare for the next round of the GTD Sprint Cup Championship [for shorter races on the schedule]. Starting ninth in the hands of Till Bechtolsheimer, the #22 Acura found the wall early in the race, but lost only two laps for repairs and returning to the track. Both Bechtolsheimer and co-driver Marc Miller kept pace with the field, despite their wounded car, turning useful laps and collecting data.

Next
The Meyer Shank racing team will next be in action September 4-6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend–the event that has replaced the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen on the schedule. Contesting only the Sprint Cup, Gradient Racing will return to competition September 25-26 at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio.

Acura Team Penske
IMSA’s Prototype category was not a part of the IMSA weekend at Virginia International Raceway, which featured the GTD and GTLM classes only. The Acura Team Penske ARX-05s will return to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the next race on the schedule, September 4-6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, the YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Mario Farnbacher (#86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started fourth, finished second: “Matt was super strong this weekend and that was actually the base for our success today. He improved quite a lot during the weekend, which was really nice to see how he has developed. He really didn’t make any mistakes so I am really proud of him. Also super happy with the team, they made great strategy calls especially during the first yellow to keep Matt out there. Unfortunately I locked up when I was behind (Bill) Auberlen so I had to push after that. There were some really awesome fights and really close battles with both Lawson (Aschenbach) and Bryan Sellers. I’m happy to be back on the podium, but somehow, at VIR I never stand at the top. Overall it was really good points which is why we are now provisional championship leaders. Hopefully we can maintain that through the next few races.”

Matt McMurry (#86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started fourth, finished second: “It’s great to get another podium. It’s not quite the win that we wanted but we got a lot of points this weekend and should now be in the championship lead. Everyone did an awesome job, strategy and pit stops were perfect today. Mario did some crazy laps and made some crazy passes to claw his way back up to second. Next up is Road Atlanta which is one of my favorite tracks.”

Anthony Alfredo and the ADS/Footing First Team Rally for Top-15 Finish at Dover International Speedway

13th   5th  10th

“I had a lot of fun today in the second race of our double-header weekend in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Dover International Speedway. We didn’t quite finish as well as yesterday; however, I think we deserved an even better finish. Our No. 21 ADS/Footing First Chevrolet was really fast today. Our day started off kind of hectic when we didn’t have any power steering to start the race. So, instead of starting fifth, we had to drop to the rear to start the race after making an adjustment. That definitely put us in a hole early on. Thankfully, we were able to make our way up inside the top 15 fairly quickly in the first two stages. We had a really long green flag run during the last stage. We struggled on the fire off, but our Chevrolet really came to us on that long run and had great speed on older tires. My crew chief Andy Street made the call to stay out on older tires as long as we could during that long green flag run. We were really hoping to catch a late caution because that would have put us in really good position late. Unfortunately, we never got that caution, so we stopped for fuel only. I was sliding all over the place just trying to maintain what we had on those older tires. We were able to bring our No. 21 ADS/Footing First Chevrolet home in the 13th position for another top-15 finish. Overall, it was another solid day for our team. I appreciate everyone at Richard Childress Racing for all their hard work. I can’t wait to go to Daytona International Speedway for my first time next week.”-Anthony Alfre

Austin Dillon And The Dow Coatings Chevrolet Team Lead Laps and Highlight Speed In Saturday Afternoon NASCAR Cup Series Race at Dover International Speedway

15th   32nd  18th

“We had a fast Dow Coatings Chevrolet today, and it felt good to race at Dover International Speedway with plenty of speed. We just need to work on the handling a little. I feel like I covered every inch of this place, experimenting and looking for the best line around the track for our tight-handling condition. We opted to stay out for the competition caution in Stage 1, and our gamble paid off with the race lead. Clean air was everything. We had a commanding lead early in Stage 1, but I just got too tight to hold the lead for the end of the Stage. When we pitted at the end of Stage 2, we were issued a speeding penalty and had to restart at the tail end of the longest line. That mistake is on me. We ran long before pitting at the end of the race, but a caution didn’t fall the way we hoped it would and we ended up finishing 15th. I’m sure we could have finished a few positions higher if more things would have gone our way today, but that’s the beauty of having another race at Dover International Speedway tomorrow. We’re going to work on it overnight and get it dialed in for tomorrow.”-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and No. 8 Cat App Team Forge a Top-15 Finish at Dover International Speedway

13th   16th   17th

“Today was a good start to our doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway. Our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet was fast from the start and just needed some tweaking on handling. The track built really tight at first today, but changed over the course of the race. I struggled with being too loose in the rear of our Camaro for the second half of today, which prevented me from trying a couple different lines on the track, so that’s something we’ll need to adjust on for tomorrow’s race. But the good news is we get a second shot to finish even better tomorrow and we definitely have a solid Cat App Chevrolet to work with. This is the best start to a doubleheader weekend that we’ve had this year, so I’m looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DRYDENE 311 TEAM CHEVY PRESS POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES AUGUST 22, 2020 
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER5th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/TEAM RUBICON CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th    RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE13th    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd      Kyle Busch (Toyota)4th      Kevin Harvick (Ford)5th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet) The NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader race weekend at Dover International Speedway continues with the Drydene 311 tomorrow, August 23, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/TEAM RUBICON CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5th“I think we had a decent Mountain Dew Chevrolet. We were off there to start and then had to take some extra time on pit road. Luckily, we got it close after we messed with it a good bit and made some adjustments, which helped. I was proud to be able to drive from the back, back to the front. We had some really good pit stops that put us in a decent position there too. I think we just needed a little more to run with Denny (Hamlin), Kevin (Harvick) and those guys so we will try to get a little better for tomorrow.” “We started too far off there at the beginning and then had to come in and make an extended pit stop there to get things right, but I feel like our Mountain Dew team did a really good job to get things close after that. We just got a little too far behind, I think, to run with those guys and we still probably needed a little bit to run with Martin (Truex Jr.) and Denny (Hamlin). Just got behind and took the rest of the day to get back to where we did. I think we have a little work to do over night. Looking forward to getting our NAPA Camaro on track tomorrow and trying to improve. I think we were in the ballpark, we just still needed a little bit to run with the leaders.” JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“Solid day for this Ally Chevy team, we have some work to do but we will go to work tonight and get it right. Everyone did a great job, we have something to build on tonight and we will come back tomorrow and have something left for them. Bittersweet day tomorrow for me – my final Dover race.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th“That was a fun race in our No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet to mark off another top-10 finish. We were really tight at the start of the race, but Brian Pattie made some really good adjustments throughout the race to help us get faster and faster. Our cars this year have been some of the best I’ve had in my career, and this gives us a lot of confidence heading into tomorrow’s race. We learned a lot today and I’m excited for tomorrow to continue tuning this up tonight and have an even better day tomorrow at Dover.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th“Today was a good start to our doubleheader weekend at Dover International Speedway. Our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet was fast from the start and just needed some tweaking on handling. The track built really tight at first today, but changed over the course of the race. I struggled with being too loose in the rear of our Camaro for the second half of today, which prevented me from trying a couple different lines on the track, so that’s something we’ll need to adjust on for tomorrow’s race. But the good news is we get a second shot to finish even better tomorrow and we definitely have a solid Cat App Chevrolet to work with. This is the best start to a doubleheader weekend that we’ve had this year, so I’m looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW/BEHR ULTRA SCUFF DEFENSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“We had a fast Dow Coatings Chevrolet today and it felt good to race at Dover International Speedway with plenty of speed. We just need to work on the handling a little. I feel like I covered every inch of this place, experimenting and looking for the best line around the track for our tight-handling condition. We opted to stay out for the competition caution in Stage 1 and our gamble paid off with the race lead. Clean air was everything. We had a commanding lead early in Stage 1 but I just got too tight to hold the lead for the end of the Stage. When we pitted at the end of Stage 2, we were issued a speeding penalty and had to restart at the tail end of the longest line. That mistake is on me. We ran long before pitting at the end of the race but a caution didn’t fall the way we hoped it would and we ended up finishing 15^th. I’m sure we could have finished a few positions higher if more things would have gone our way today, but that’s the beauty of having another race at Dover International Speedway tomorrow. We’re going to work on it overnight and get it dialed in for tomorrow. Our Dow Coatings Chevrolet has plenty of speed. We just have to get the handling right.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th“My GEICO-Germain Racing guys did a good job today and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. Dover is a very physically demanding track. I’ve been working really hard on my physical shape this season, so I’m excited to put it to the test. We have been really strong in the doubleheaders this season. The Sunday races have been our stronger race each time, which we will try to do again. We came out of the gate strong today and will look to translate that momentum into another solid finish tomorrow.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“This isn’t how we wanted to start off the doubleheader weekend. Getting that damage early on really affected how our car handled. The guys did all they could on pit road, but we were playing the cards we were dealt. Not the first outing we wanted for Acronis, but we will make adjustments and changes tonight and be prepared for tomorrow’s race.”
BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 DOOR DASH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 27th“Not the best effort today for our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 DoorDash Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team. I thought we were going to have a decent day, and then we kind of lost it the second-half of the race. We lost the handling on our Chevrolet Camaro and just could not really gain it back. Our DoorDash team tried to pull some strategy to salvage a decent day and it did not go our way. We have another shot at it tomorrow with our partner Columbia for their first race, so we are excited about that. Dover (International Speedway) is one of the best tracks we go to. We still have a lot of work to do. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.” KURT BUSCH, NO 1. GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 6; Finished 40th“What an unfortunate way to have our day end on lap six. Way too early to be racing like that. We didn’t even have a chance to get a feel for the car. Just disappointing for all of the guys that work so hard, especially on the doubleheader weekends like this. Hopefully we can turn our luck around tomorrow and have a strong run for the GEARWRENCH Chevy”.

Third win for No. 3 Corvette C8.R, team’s fourth straight since return to racing

ALTON, Va. (Aug. 22, 2020) – Corvette Racing won again in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday as Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to victory in the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. It’s the second win in a row for the Garcia/Taylor combo, their third of the season and the fourth consecutive win for Corvette Racing – the first time that’s happened for the team since 2014. Garcia and Taylor extended their lead in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Driver’s Championship, as did Chevrolet in the Manufacturer’s standings. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner placed fourth in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R, just missing making the podium again with their teammates. The result was enough to keep Gavin and Milner third in GTLM points heading to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in two weeks. Garcia, Taylor and the No. 3 Corvette will enter on one of the team’s hottest streaks in almost five years. For the second race in a row, they were the beneficiaries of late-race misfortune for the race leader but this time had to survive their own drama inside the final 20 minutes. Taylor started the race fifth but worked his way up to second in the first 30 minutes before making his first stop at the 30-minute mark. An error in the pitlane sent the No. 3 Corvette back to fifth, but an inspired drive and bad luck for his fellow competitors meant he pitted from the lead with less than 55 minutes to make the hand-off to Garcia. One of those unlucky cars was the No. 4 Corvette, which went off-track shortly after a restart when Gavin picked up debris on his tires prior to the race’s third and final restart after full-course caution just an hour into the race. Try as he might to clean off the pick-up and easing his way through VIR’s final corner, the Corvette still went wide and onto the grass across from pit entry. Gavin recovered nicely and carved his way back through the slower GT Daytona cars and was behind the No. 3 Corvette in only seven laps. He stopped for fuel, tires and driver change to Virginia native Milner with 65 minutes to go with hopes of another yellow to tighten the field back up. Meanwhile, Garcia had settled into second place but faced a 13-second gap to race leader Nick Tandy once the final GTLM pit cycle completed. The No. 3 Corvette got the break it needed with 17 minutes left when Tandy was forced to pit with a tire issue, sending Garcia to the lead. In a race filled with uncertainty, there was still a little left for the No. 3 Corvette. Garcia reported a vibration at the rear of the car from a damaged diffuser, just as Tandy went into the pitlane. It impacted the balance and handling of the Corvette, but Garcia held on to take a 3.521-second margin of victory. Corvette Racing’s next event is the TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Sept. 4-5.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER: “Things are definitely going our way. We can’t complain about that! To do this, you need a fast car and a team to perform the whole time. We have that. We had our issues like the other teams did, but the main thing is that the ones we had were early so we could recover right away. Jordan did a really good job in his middle stint to drive back and maintain the gap behind the leaders. When I jumped in, the race was pretty much done. All I could do was keep some pressure on the 911 and not let him get away and have an easy race to the end. But we had our issues at the same time. They lost another tire and we had an issue with our diffuser. At first I thought it was terminal because it felt really bad. Once I got used to it, I could tell it wasn’t really interfering with the performance. I had enough of a gap to the 25 by about 12 or 13 seconds. With that, I could manage that in a way. It was very stressful to keep going but not knowing what would happen if the diffuser came off. Thankfully the C8.R is very strong all around! I’m very grateful for everyone at Team Chevy and Corvette Racing again. We just need to keep this momentum.” DID YOU HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH ANYONE OR DID THE DIFFUSER COME LOOSE BY ITSELF?“It just went. It was literally when I was watching the 911 go into the pitlane. At the same time, I had a massive vibration and I thought I had a tire blowing up. It was scary because it would have been a full lap back to the pits. Then I realized it was speed-related and wasn’t bad all the time. It took me three or four laps to be kind of cautious. Once I realized it was hanging on, I stepped up my pace a little bit more to make it difficult for the cars behind me to catch up. I was happy that traffic wasn’t too bad at that time and I could manage to stay ahead. “ WHAT WERE YOU FEELING SPECIFICALLY BEHIND THE WHEEL, AND DID YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS?“It took me a little bit, but the whole car was shaking a lot. At about 200 kph, the entire car was shaking. I knew it was coming from the back, but even the front end and front grip were moving around. The rear grip definitely was the same so maybe we were a little bit faster down the straights after that! Who knows. It was challenging to drive. Once I figured out what lines to use and not hit the curbs to keep both tires on the ground, it went my way a little bit.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER: “My time in the car was good. The Corvette C8.R has a pretty good cooling system, so it was nicer in there than it was watching! Heading into the race, our main objective was points. Seeing how strong the Porsches were on pace, we knew they were going to be hard to beat. We focused on our own race, and it came to us in the end with attrition and not making mistakes. We made one little hiccup in the pits but we were able to recover from that pretty quickly. At the end, Antonio was able to maintain a gap to second when he needed to, even with the vibration at the end. He did a great job of overcoming that. It’s an amazing day for Corvette Racing – the fourth win for the C8.R and third win for us. I’m definitely happy with this part of the season.” WOULD YOU AGREE THAT THIS WAS A RACE OF SURVIVAL? ALMOST EVERY CAR HAD A PROBLEM AT ONE POINT.“It felt like an endurance race with all the issues everyone was having. A lot of guys were making mistakes… going off-track, pit stop issues and tires. For us, it was about damage control and minimizing mistakes. Today was out-of-character in IMSA to see this many issues happen. I think we had the least amount of mistakes, and that’s why we won.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “For us, it came down to the wave-around after the last caution where one of the Lamborghini GTDs had to pass me to get back on his lead lap. I had to move off-line and run through a whole lot of pick up and I got my left side tires in it. Apparently I didn’t get them completely clean. Then on the restart it wasn’t completely clean, then I got into the Oak Tree corner and the car began to slide wide again. Maybe the tire wasn’t completely clean… there are just such fine margins here between having grip and no grip. Jordan (Taylor, No. 3 Corvette) nearly got by me as we came out but I stayed in front of him. On the brakes into the next corner, things were pretty messy. As I got into the final corner, I just lost the front of the car, got out on the curb and then was into the grass. Once you are in the grass there, you are a just passenger. It’s frustrating for sure. All I could do is apologize to the guys on the team because we had a great car today. We were fast, we were competitive. Looking at where we were and how things ended up, you could say the win was in the cards for us. But it wasn’t to be. A  lot of people had troubles and made mistakes. The only ones that ran trouble-free was the No. 3 Corvette. It’s amazing that we now have four wins in a row and that sets them at the top of the championship as leaders. Hats off to those guys. They have been fast and haven’t made mistakes. That is the name of the game. Others made mistakes and were punished for it. It is so competitive and there is no margin for error in this class.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH IN GTLM: “Today was certainly a very weird race. I would say it’s very uncharacteristic in our class for everyone to have some sort of a problem. This is one that I think every team and driver pairing will look back on this one and wonder, ‘What if’. Obviously we’re super happy for the No. 3 guys. Antonio and Jordan drove a great race. They didn’t make any mistakes except for one little hiccup on one pit stop, but ultimately it didn’t have a huge bearing on their race. Congrats to those guys for keeping the Corvette win streak going and keeping Corvette on top. Our competitors are probably sick of seeing Corvette there but we aren’t. We went a very long time – more than two years – without a win, so we are just catching back up. I feel bad for Olly, and obviously he is bummed. We’ve all been there… one little mistake and that can end your chances for the day. I’ve made my share before, and we will both make them again. He was just unlucky today. His situation happened at a part of the track where then terrain makes it difficult to get back on the circuit. We win or lose as a team.  We always help each other and support each other through things like this. We will be better for it and for the rest of the year.”

BATESVILLE, AR (August 21, 2020) – Jimmy Owens survived a 4-lap shootout with Brandon Overton to win Friday Night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 30-lap feature at Batesville Motor Speedway. Overton crossed the finish line in second ahead of Jonathan Davenport, Shanon Buckingham and Kyle Bronson. Owens had pressure from Overton for the last half of the race as the two battled in lap traffic. A caution with four laps to go for Timothy Culp allowed Owens to pull away from Overton to take his ninth LOLMDS win of 2020. The caution with 26 laps complete allowed Owens to have a clean track in front of him as he sped away from Overton to record his 73rd career win in LOLMDS competition. “I was afraid to step out in traffic, I didn’t want to give up my track position. I wanted to see that last yellow because it gave us a clean track ahead. We hope to keep it rolling tomorrow night. The track will be a different animal tomorrow night with a 100-lap race. They usually prep the track a little different and there won’t be as many laps on it before the feature. Hopefully it will hold up and be a good race.” Overton ran second to Owens the entire distance and looks to improve one spot higher on Saturday Night than he did one year ago in the $40,000 to win finale. “We’ll take it, last night we had a little bad luck. Jimmy’s had a good year and we have been there with him all year. We’ve got to get a little better, so we’ll go onto tomorrow and see what happens.” Davenport rounded out the podium with his third-place run. “We are trying some new things on the car. It seemed like it was pretty good, we just need to tweak on it some more for tomorrow. We kind of got lost there at mid-season, but everybody has worked hard on the team and we have made a lot of strides the last two nights. It’s good to run here in front my car owner, Lance Landers and Steve Martin and everybody at Nutrien Ag Solutions. We have a bunch of farmers here this weekend, so hopefully we can get them a big win here tomorrow night.” The winner’s Ramirez Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Reece Monument Company, Tommy Pope Construction, Boomtest Well Service, Red Line Oil, General Tire, Ohlins Shocks, Champion Spark Plugs, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten were Earl Pearson Jr., Dale McDowell, Tim McCreadie, Shane Clanton, and Spencer Hughes.

ALTON, Va. (Aug. 21, 2020) – Corvette Racing will line up from the second and third rows at Virginia International Raceway for the Michelin GT Challenge following Friday’s 15-minute qualifying session in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. Jordan Taylor qualified fourth and teammate Oliver Gavin fifth in the pair of Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs around the 17-turn, 3.27-mile road course on the Virginia/North Carolina border. Saturday’s race will see Corvette Racing and Chevrolet go for their fourth straight victory on the season and an extension of their championship points leads. Taylor set a lap of 1:41.228 (116.291 mph) in the No. 3 Corvette that he shares with Driver’s Championship co-leader Antonio Garcia. Right behind was Gavin with a 1:41.662 (115.795 mph) lap in the No. 4 C8.R that he will drive with Tommy Milner. The quartet will try to give Corvette Racing its fourth victory at VIR since 2012 and third overall win in the GT-only race since 2016. Weather could potentially play a factor in Saturday’s 2 p.m. ET race (live on NBC Sports Gold and Trackpass). Qualifying and Friday’s opening practice each took place on a dry track while Friday afternoon’s final practice was in the wet with Gavin setting the fastest time of the session.  Corvette Racing is coming off a soggy, come-from-behind win from Garcia and Taylor at Road America earlier this month, and the pairing also won at Daytona in July in a rain-affected race. Gavin and Milner, third in GTLM points, were winners at Sebring in mid-July and finished second to their teammates at Road America. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday with live coverage on NBC Sports Gold and Trackpass. NBCSN television coverage is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH: “Starting on the second row isn’t what we wanted, but I think it’s close to what we expected. It was a tough day to get a read on the track with a number of different series and going from dry to wet to dry again. Qualifying was the first time I’ve run dry laps here since 2017, which was interesting but a good learning experience. It looks like the race will likely be dry so we’ll take a close look at the data from this morning and qualifying to get a read for our race setup. I feel like we have a better handle on tire wear than we did at Road America, and we’re in good shape with our allotment. If this race comes down to strategy then I like our chances.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH: “Certainly today was very challenging in a number of ways. The track and weather conditions were all over the place, which made nailing the qualifying setup difficult. We gave it our best shot, and I think we will race better than where we qualified. A lot goes into winning a race here at VIR with the track layout and unpredictable weather, which we could have more of tomorrow. So we will see. I’m confident that we have a good sample of data from this track with this new mid-engine Corvette now to come up with a good setup and strategy for the race.”

CHEVROLET RACING NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEEDWAY INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA TEAM CHEVY CARB DAY FINAL PRACTICE RECAP AUGUST 21, 2020

AND, NOW WE RACE 

INDIANAPOLIS – Practice, then qualifying and the final practice are over, and…now we race. The field is set for unday’s running the 1104^th running of the Indianapolis 500 with the field evenly split between manufacturers, The 17 Chevy powered entries have emerged reasonably unscathed over the several days of on-track action that started on Wednesday., August 12.   Although qualifying did not quite meet expectations, today’s final practice allowed the teams and drivers to make final adjustments to their cars for the 200-lap/500-mile race on the famed 2.5-mile iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Leading the field for final practice was Pato O’Ward piloting the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet with a speed of 225.355 mph.  The 104^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will broadcast live on Sunday, August 23 starting at 1:00 p.m. with green flag at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Indycar radio network will also provide live coverage. DRIVER QUOTES: NO. 1 JOSEF NEWGARDEN, SHELL V-POWER TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I think it is pretty good to be honest with you. You don’t want to be over confident but I feel cautiously optimistic. It’s been fast in traffic and felt really fast today. I think Team Chevy has a really good package for us for the race. So feeling very confident wiith what they are bringing. Carb day is one of those days if you need it, you use it all. If you don’t, you take it easy and not use the car up. I’m optimistic. I think we have a shot.“It would be amazing to win this race. It is so special you just grow to love it more. I’ve been so fortunate, this is my ninth 500. I would love to win this race. But you can’t force her. If it is going to happen, it is going to happen. But to win one for the Captain in these trying times. We are going to do our best to put on a Magical 500. We are going to do our best to make it a great race. We obviously miss the fans.  But to be able to win it for Roger in this place, this year would be really special.” NO. 3 HELLIO CASTRONEVES, PENNZOIL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:  “Good strong finish for the number 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet for Team Penske. We definitely have great pit stops. Everybody seemed to be in sync and  right now we just have to play the game, stay clean and go to the front!” NO. 4 CHARLIE KIMBALL, TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“Well firstly, I just want to say we miss the best fans in racing. It’s not the same. It’s a very different energy here on Carb Day. It was nice to get a good two hours of running. The No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet came out pretty good this morning. We kept making it better, making it better. I’m pretty happy with the race car. I think we’re going to clean it and let her sleep until Sunday because we’ve got a lot of work to do on Sunday starting 29^th, but there are 500 miles. The guys did some practice pit stops and the guys have been great in pit lane all year and they were good today. I’m looking forward to Sunday’s race. There’s something special about being in those 11 rows of three starting The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, being a part of the 104^th Running. It’s just an incredible feeling even if the energy is very different.” NO. 5 PATO O’WARD, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“I think we are ready for the challenge ahead. It was a very positive day in terms of how we were feeling in traffic, passing cars, and playing around in five, 10, and 15 car trains. I think it is going to be very interesting to see how the cars will behave on Sunday in 10-15 degree hotter temps. I think we are ready, and we ended the day very happy with how everything fell and felt. So we are looking forward to race day and going forward.”
NO. 7 OLIVER ASKEW, ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “It was good. Probably the best I have felt in traffic. I think we are really going in the right direction and made the right changes over the mid-week break. The No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet felt good throughout the stint and I passed a few different people. Race day is going to be a different animal but I’m sure we are ready to react to the challenges and have a good day.” NO. 12 WILL POWER, VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“We were quite far off at the beginning of today. I was worried that we weren’t going to find anything, then we found some stuff late in the session and hopefully we have the Verizon5GH Chevrolet in the window where it needs to be. Obviously starting back in the pack, so I tried to run around cars where I will start and see how it is going to be. We have really good pit stops, great guys on the car. I think that is going to be our game wit strategy and our pit stops is where we are going to make time up.But it’s every man for himself, it is the Indy 500, but if we can be mistake free, we can get ourself to the top-five.” NO. 14 TONY KANAAN, ABC SUPPLY AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:Pretty good day, I mean beautiful day out here. Typical Carb Day. We ran through some tires, pit stops with the guys, checked if everything in the car was okay. The ABC Supply Chevy feels as good as it did last Sunday, so showtime in 48 hours.” NO. 20 ED CARPENTER, U.S. SPACE FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “It’s finally here! It’s time to race. We definitely have some work cut out for us with where we are starting. It’s going to take a lot of hard work with a balance of aggression and patience. Passing is possibly, but it is a lot harder in the past. We’re going to have to be opportunities. I am still confident that we’ll find out way to the front, but it’s going to be a battle out there. I am looking forward to the drop of the green, getting everyone on equal footing, on the same tires and running full stints. We’ll see where we are in the U.S. Space Force Chevrolet.” NO. 21 RINUS VEEKAY, SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:We have a really strong car going into the race. I found out that passing is going to be tough. Track position is going to be important, but I think have the right people around to guide me through the race. With this car, we have a shot at winning! That’s a lot to say as a rookie, but it’s exciting! NO. 22 SIMON PAGENAUD, MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“It’s always going to be about balance. Chevy has got it tremendous in race trim. We are equal to the competition, we have plenty of speed in race trim.  It’s going to be all about finding the balance in your race car the entire day The wind might change and when the wind shifts you might find yourself good in two and bad in four. The cars are very sensitive ths year, much more than last year. So balance is qoing to be evrrything. It’s also going to be about downforce, no question. We are going to have to run close to people and we need downforce. So the question is going to be how much. For me, it is going to be about balance. We are going to have to be aggressive from the start to pass people to get clean air.” NO. 24  SAGE KARAM, WIX FILTERS DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET:  “We rolled out with a bit more understeer than we had on Sunday. We just overshot our setups this morning. We went back to the garage then and put on last Sunday’s setup and felt a lot better at the end of the practice. I was able to run up on people and stay with them. Towards the end, I got in the gray and skimmed the wall in Turn Four. It didn’t do much to the car. We ran through some fuel settings and different mixtures to prepare for Sunday. We practiced in and out laps and had some excellent pit stops from the WIX Filters crew. As usual, they will help me pick up spots in the pits. They are always able to gain two or three positions on pit stops. I felt comfortable getting into the pit box and the crew is fast and consistent. I’m sure that will be the case Sunday too.” NO.41 DALTON KELLETT, K-LINE USA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET: That’s a wrap on Carb Day. We just finished up our two hour practice—the last practice before the big race. The car feels really good. We did some balance checks and two really long runs. On the first long run, we felt pretty competitive; we did an aero sweep on the second run and came out a bit shy on our COP (center of pressure) and we were struggling a bit so it’s important that we keep on top of that for the race and adapt as the conditions change. Even today at 11 o’clock it was quite a bit cooler than when we finished up at 1. So we’re going to have to adapt the car and make changes during the stops and that’s going to be key to being fast at the finish. I can’t thank the A.J. Foyt Racing crew enough—they gave me a great car. The No. 41 K-Line USA Chevy feels great and I’m excited for three rows of 11 going into Turn 1 in a couple days!” NO. 47 CONOR DALY, U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:“I am definitely excited for the race. This is what we work all of these day for. The guys have done a good job putting together the U.S. Air Force Chevrolet. Hopefully, we can put all the right pieces together for a long 500 miles. We’ll see what happens in the end!” NO. 59 MAX CHILTON, GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “We just finished up our last practice of the week heading into the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and I’d say that the Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet feels pretty good in race trim. The track has changed quite a bit since practice last Sunday, so we spent most of today’s practice finetuning some things with the car and working on our in and out laps trying to find some time there. The guys did a great job during pit stop practice getting me in and out quickly. I’m really looking forward to the green flag on Sunday and hopefully working my way up through the field quickly.” NO. 66 FERNANDO ALONSO, RUOFF ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: “It was the last opportunity to test the last few items we had on our list. Some of them were ok and some of them we will not be keeping for the race. Now we have a more or less clear idea of what we want. Sunday is a completely different thing and it’s supposed to be a bit hotter, so we will try to adapt to the conditions. There’s nothing more to test on the table so it’s race time!” NO. 67 JR HILDEBRAND, SALESFORCE DRYER REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET:“We worked hard today on in and out laps and pits stops as those will help us gain spots in the race. We are getting closer to what will work best on the car on race day. We would like to have a car that is in our window to make adjustments throughout the race. Today were great track conditions. I’m not sure that Sunday will be this cool. We have run in track temps over 120 and 125 degrees. So we know what our cars can do in that heat. If Sunday is hotter, it doesn’t concern me since we ran well in the hotter condition. I hope some guys are overly-confident with their cars today because a hotter track could affect them more than us. Overall, we learned more again today with our race car.” NO. 81 BEN HANLEY, DRAGON SPEED USA CHEVROLET