Tuesday, July 21, 2020

East Coast Diesel/Truck Nationals Review! DIESEL Motorsports 2020

What a great show during these turbulent times with a great turnout by young truck enthusiasts from many states on the East Coast. It was a hot day but many enjoyed watching some fantastic trucks racing, pulling, dyno and show-n-shine. People came out to enjoy the show but brought their popups, lawn chairs and coolers to honor social distancing. Both sides of the track over a 1/4 mile long were lined with fans and families watching the trucks race and pull.

The fans looked at over 40 plus trucks in the show-n-shine with SEMA quality vehicles for them to inspect and talk to the owners. The truck owners are putting a lot of pride into these trucks. I couldn’t believe the quality of fabrication and building of these trucks, it made it very hard to judge and properly picking the winners. Appreciate Greg Alberalla of WrenchWorkz for helping with the judging of the trucks, took us well over an hour to look at them all.

The dyno run by Ken’s Auto had trucks lined up all day long to test their performance additions to their trucks, they want to know how much horsepower and torque was added by their builds. They had over 45 trucks and worked well past the show ending

in order to get everyone in for the day. It was over 95 degrees so the 5 guys they had crawling under those trucks that day well earned their money for running the trucks.

Racing was exciting all day long with some great trucks running in four classes: ET Bracket, 12.0 Index, Heads-up and DIESEL Truck War class. ET Bracket always has a large number of vehicles because everyone wants to test their trucks to see how fast they can go but this class you really don’t have to go fast but estimate how consistent your truck can go down the 1/4 mile. 12.0 Index was very popular this year with everyone trying to get as close to 12.0 time in the 1/4 mile on every run down the track. DIESEL Motorsports added a new class that will run at most event this year, DIESEL Truck Wars! It will be 1/8th mile racing running two trucks against each other 2 out of 3 runs, then the same in the final, best 2 out of 3 runs. It makes for a fun test on can the driver consistently win at the lights and can their truck hold together for numbered runs down the track.

Pulling had some high quality trucks run the 300 feet in front of a big crowd. With extreme heat 90 degrees plus wind the track dried out quickly even though we had packed soaked it with 8,000 gallons of water. It had not rained on the mountain for a number of days and the ground soaked up the water quickly so the trucks had a hard surface to pull on for most of the day. Track improvements are already in the mix for next year along with possibly running in the evening in order to avoid the day’s heat. The trucks that came are favorites every year and it’s not about just the pulling but the entire event with so much to do for the fans and families. Some great distances were recorded on the pulls and the HOT Work Stock top 4 prequalified for the Keystone Nationals in early Spring 2021!

I want to thank the vendors and sponsors who came for the event along with Numidia track personnel and our great DM crew for working through such a hot day. We can not pay them enough and it has to be the love of the sport. Everyone was so thankful for us putting on the event, even though yes people get paid to come in it feels good as two owners to have people thank us for the hard work that goes in to these shows. It has been many years since people have thank Gene and I for putting on the show, we appreciate praises. Yes it took more than just us to make the show happen, insurance company, track owner, local people who help us setup the day before and many more in the community.

Appreciate the vendors who braved the heat all day in order to give the crowds things to look at and buy during down times.

Vendors
Street Diesel Performance
Reiff Diesel
Justgetdirty.com
Garofalo Enterprises
South Jersey Custom Metal Designs
WrenchWorkz

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE SUPER START BATTERIES 400 KANSAS SPEEDWAY KANSAS CITY, KANSASJULY 23, 2020
RACE #19: KANSASThe annual spring NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at Kansas Speedway was re-scheduled due to the ongoing COVID-10 pandemic, and now gets underway on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 p.m. with the Super Start Batteries 400 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. The 400-mile race on the Kansas 1.5-mile tri-oval now marks the 19th race on the 2020 tour.
Over the course of three days, Kansas Speedway will host five NASCAR races across four different series. While the NCS race kicks-off the summer event, the schedule includes a NASCAR Xfinity Series race (July 25), a pair of NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races (July 24 & 25), and an ARCA Menards Series race on July 24. Currently, all five races plan to run without fans in attendance.
PLAYOFF PICTURE:With Austin Dillon’s recent victory at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19th, along with Chase Elliott’s win at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 28th, and Alex Bowman’s victory at Auto Club Speedway on March 1st, three Team Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers have now secured spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs that will determine the 2020 champion. 
With the start of the NCS Playoffs just eight races away, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Elliott and Bowman are currently ranked fifth and 11th, respectively; and Richard Childress driver, Dillon, is 14th in the point standings.
BOWTIE BULLETS:Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 12 wins and 11 pole awards in 28 races.
Victories by current Team Chevy drivers: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE has three wins (2008, ’11, ’15), Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE has two wins (2012, ’13), and Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (2018). 
Chase Elliott is the most recent winner at Kansas Speedway in 2018.
Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports sits atop the leaderboard in NCS wins by teams with seven victories at Kansas Speedway: Jeff Gordon (3), Jimmie Johnson (3), and Chase Elliott (1).
FLASHBACK:The groundbreaking for Kansas Speedway was held 21 years ago on May 25, 1999 and the first NASCAR Cup Series race made its Kansas City debut on September 30, 2001. Team Chevy driver Jeff Gordon was the inaugural winner and followed that with a second victory in 2002 and a third in 2014, all in Chevrolet race cars.
WINNING WEEKEND:The 1-2 finish by Richard Childress Racing drivers Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick at the NCS race at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19th capped a weekend of multiple wins for Chevy Racing in America’s premier racing series. In the Iowa INDYCAR 250S Doubleheader, Team Penske Chevrolet drivers Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden swept the weekend with wins in Race 1 and Race 2, respectively. In both races two of the three podium positions were Chevy INDYCAR drivers. Rookie Oliver Askew finished third behind Pagenaud and Will Power finished behind Newgarden.  In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Sebring, Corvette Racing captured a 1-2 GT Le Mans (GTLM) finish with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner scoring the win in the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, and Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia finishing second in the pole-winning No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Additionally, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPI.R team with drivers Felipe Nasr and Pepo Derani, won the July 18th running of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring DPI class and overall with the Konica Minolta Cadillac finishing second and the Mustang Sampling Cadillac coming in third to complete the podium sweep.
KANSAS STARTING LINEUPThe format for Thursday’s NCS event continues on as a one-day show with no practice and no qualifying. Owner points and a random draw have again set the starting lineup. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:  6th     Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE 9th     Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE11th     Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE14th     Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE15th     William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE16th     Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE17th     Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Victory Junction Camaro ZL1 1LE20th     Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
TUNE-INNBCSN will telecast the 267-lap race live at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 23rd. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. QUOTABLE QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGS“To me, Kansas feels like such a small mile and half compared to some of the other ones we go to. I just feel like the corners are sharper than some other places and with it being progressively banked, the top side is going to continue to become dominant. I think in a way, it’s going to turn into Homestead in some situations and as time goes on. The way the corners are shaped, it’s kind of small and that top groove having more banking than the other ones as you move down the track is going to make it a top-dominant racetrack. Typically, those tracks put on good shows, so I expect it to age really well. I look forward to racing there this weekend. It is a fun track.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 11th IN STANDINGS“I am definitely excited to get back to Kansas this week. That track was pretty good to us last year and I still think we should have gotten the win there in the spring. Kansas is pretty similar to Chicago, so I think it sort of fits my driving style. We have had some bad luck here lately and things just haven’t fallen into our hands. Hopefully we can turn that around on Thursday when we get to a track that I feel really does fit my driving style.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGSTALK ABOUT THE MOMENTUM YOU HAVE HEADING INTO KANSAS SPEEDWAY FOLLOWING A BIG WIN AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY.“Texas Motor Speedway is another mile‑and‑a‑half. Our cars have competed well on mile‑and‑a‑half’s. My teammate, Tyler Reddick, had a pretty good run at Kansas Speedway last year when he made his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the track. My current crew chief, Justin Alexander, was Tyler’s crew chief for that race so we have some good data from that run that we can utilize on Thursday night. I definitely feel like we have momentum, and we can take some chances and try some things now that maybe we wouldn’t have tried if we weren’t locked into the Playoffs.” WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES?“You have to execute. We’re doing that much better this year than last year. I’ve studied other drivers, such as Brad Keselowski, who don’t always have the best car but make it happen when it counts. They are constantly battling for track position even if they don’t have the best car. We’re trying to do more of that and put ourselves in more situations to run up front so that we’re comfortable running up there and can make your own race at the end. You have to be aggressive in this sport to win races. I’ve noticed that a lot of the great guys are doing it. We were aggressive with our call at Texas Motor Speedway, maintained our position and won the race.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON KANSAS SPEEDWAY.“I think Kansas is closer in relation to Charlotte with the amount of grooves it has and the ability you have to make the outside lane work. I think that outside lane is the preferred groove as the race goes along there. In terms of the track surface though, it’s similar to Texas with how smooth it is. It’s starting to get some grain to it and some character though the more we race there. It’s a great track though honestly. I think it’s one of the best mile-and-a-half tracks we have on the schedule to race at.” BYRON ON MID-WEEK RACES. “I’m definitely getting used to us having races coming rapidly around the corner and I really like it. It keeps my brain active and really myself in general. It doesn’t leave me too many days to sit and harp on the previous race or get lax waiting for the next one. I think it’s great to always have another race right around the corner so quickly like we’ve had.” BYRON ON THE PLAYOFF BUBBLE:“Right now, it’s all about points for us. We have to have a good week every week in terms of stage points and finishes. We need to work on getting back on the other side of the bubble and building back a buffer now. In my mind you want at least 50 points sitting between you and the cutoff to feel more secure and be able to be more aggressive. We were close to that point a couple weeks ago but the tire issue at Indianapolis and the wreck in Texas really hurt.” CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LEKNAUS ON KEITH RODDEN FILLING IN.“The No. 24 car has been strong even when the results haven’t shown it. Every week we lay out a pretty in-depth plan of what we’re going to do before we even get to the racetrack, so Thursday will be no different. We have a lot of depth to pull from in this situation at Hendrick Motorsports and I know Keith (Rodden) is more than capable of getting the job done. Keith’s been working with the team the last few races in preparation of this situation and I have all the faith that it will be a solid race for him and the No. 24 team.” KEITH RODDEN, FILLING IN AS CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LERODDEN ON SUBBING FOR CHAD KNAUS AT KANSAS:“I’m super pumped to get to the track again and help out Chad, William, and the No. 24 team. Being present for the birth of your child is important, especially in the world we are in now, that’s a moment you don’t want to take for granted. Myself – and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports – support Chad and his family 100% in whatever they need. I’ve known Chad for years and our communication with each other is great. I’ve also been working with William and the No. 24 team the last couple weeks in anticipation of this moment. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to step in and represent Axalta and Hendrick Motorsports. I want to get the best possible result, but the ultimate goal is to show up to win and bring a trophy back for Chad and his family.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 I AM SECOND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS“I think you can take a little bit from Texas Motor Speedway to Kansas this weekend. Honestly, I haven’t thought much about Kansas Speedway yet, but I’m really excited for the race. We have a lot to be excited about at RCR heading into this weekend following that 1-2 finish. All the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LEs are running really well this year, and we have a lot more speed on the intermediate tracks, so I have a lot of hope heading into this race. Kansas Speedway is a place that has been good for both myself and my crew chief, Randall Burnett. I got my first NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish there last year during my second Cup Series start, and then we finished second in the Xfinity race there later that year. I’m really looking forward to how the race shakes out and how much the lanes will move around. I think a lot of drivers will try to figure out how to run up high on Thursday night, but I’ll be curious how that affects the tire fall-off and maintaining your speed during a run.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGS“We’re ready to head to Kansas Speedway this Thursday night. With the way the starting draw has gone, while 25th may not seem like a great starting spot, it’s the best we could have drawn for our bracket so I’m thankful for that. I feel like our cars this year are better than I’ve had on intermediate tracks in the past, and last year at the Kansas night race we were able to lead laps and almost get a top-10 finish. I think a track like Kansas is one of those tracks where we run all over the track and feel comfortable moving around early when we had practice, so being the first cars on track for the weekend doesn’t overly worry me. It’ll be one of those races where your car is going to change throughout the run while the track is changing, and then going from day to night. We just need to keep up with the changes and Brian (Pattie) is great at that, so I’m confident in having a good run tomorrow night in our Kroger Chevrolet.”
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 BUSH’S BEANS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS“Kansas Speedway Thursday night is a new racetrack on our schedule, and a new way for us to turn our 2020 season around. We’re in a hole, but a few solid races can change that and with Kansas this week, New Hampshire Motor Speedway (one of my favorite tracks) next weekend, I think we have some good tracks ahead of us to put together some strong runs. After the race at Texas Motor Speedway, we’ve been looking at our notes and talking to Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and Brian (Pattie) to get a good setup in place to gain as many spots as we can before the competition caution at Kansas and then continue adjusting and moving forward. Our BUSH’S Beans copper Chevrolet looks awesome under the lights and I’m looking forward to having a good race Thursday night.

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 22, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi captured a podium finish during an efficient weekend in the Midwest.

The action started last Friday when he made his debut at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, Ill., where Scelzi opened the Midwest Open Wheel Association event by maneuvering from sixth to second place in a heat race. That earned a spot into the feature redraw. Unfortunately, Scelzi pulled the biggest number – eight – to line up on the outside of the fourth row in the A Main.

“It was the first night out in our brand new car,” he said. “I felt great from the get-go. We moved up through the heat race and made the feature redraw. I wish we would have drawn better than eighth, but that was the card we were dealt.

“We got to the top four fairly fast in the feature. Then we got by Shane (Stewart) and then by Paul (Nienhiser). I felt like we were every bit as good as Rico (Abreu). He made a good move in traffic when I got close to him and that was the end of the race.”

Scelzi’s second-place showing was his 10^th top five of the season.

He then headed to Knoxville Raceway for a race on Saturday, qualifying 12  ^th quickest and gaining a spot in a heat race to place second. That ranked him 10^th in overall points to give Scelzi the 10  ^th starting spot for the feature.

“We unloaded and I felt pretty good, but we had the wrong gear in for qualifying,” he said. “We didn’t turn the RPMs we needed to and that hurt our lap time. I felt really good in the heat race and in the main event we tried some stuff that didn’t work. We were really tight. The last few laps our engine overheated and we lost some speed as well.”

Scelzi salvaged a ninth-place finish, which was his 15^th top 10 of the season and his best outing at Knoxville Raceway this season.

He plans to return to the half-mile oval this Saturday to compete in the 360ci sprint car division.

NASCAR CUP SERIES SUPER START BATTERIES 400 KANSAS SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JULY 22, 2020
RICKY STENHOUSE, JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the challenges of the year thus far, the strengths of the team, having to distance from his teammates during the pandemic, his expectations going forward, and more. Full Transcript: TALK ABOUT YOUR EXCITEMENT HEADING INTO KANSAS THIS WEEKEND“Obviously starting 25th, and losing a spot there, in points, was obviously the best we could start, so I’m thankful for that draw. We’ve got a lot of work to do as far as points go. Luckily, there are a lot that are close to us.  And, Kansas can be one of those race tracks where I feel like we can get some Stage points and get a good finish. I was actually a couple of minutes jumping on here (the call) because I was watching the Kansas race from earlier last year when we ran that night race. And, we were really good. We took the lead and I feel like our cars this year are probably better on the 1.5-miles than what I’ve had in the past, and so I feel like we can have good strong run at Kansas. We learned some things at Kentucky that I felt like translated over to Texas and we were much better at Texas than we were at Kentucky. I got caught in that wreck on the front straightaway, but I felt like our speed in our Kroger Camaro was really good. So, I’m looking forward to getting to Kansas and trying to crawl our way back up in the points.”
HOW IS THE MOOD AT JTG DAUGHERTY RACING SINCE OBVIOUSLY IT’S BEEN A PRETTY FRUSTRATING MONTH OR TWO?“Yeah, for sure. I was thinking back earlier today, Pocono was kind of uneventful for us and we were average. I felt like we learned things for Indy and then we never really got a shot to try that and see how our car was going to be at Indy with the pit road accident. Going to Kentucky, we were really loose and had our issues. And then at Texas I felt like we had a car capable of running around 10th to 12th. I think we were up to 14th and slowing getting our track position and then got caught in that wreck on the front straightaway; not to mention, both of us got caught in that wreck. At the Bristol All-Star race, we definitely weren’t as good as what we wanted to be, but looking back at the Bristol race earlier this year we were really good around the top of the race track, and that never really came in until very late into that All-Star race. I wasn’t there for the Open, but yeah, it’s been a little bit frustrating, but everybody is still working hard. I feel like we know what we’re capable of. We’ve just got to have things work out just a little bit better for us. I feel bad for Ryan (Preece) because this has kind of been his whole season of having good runs going and things happen. For us, we were both in that same wreck on pit road at Indy and then we were both in the wreck on the front straightaway at Texas. So, it’s pretty frustrating, but our speed is where we want it to be, and I’m looking forward to building on that speed at Kansas.”
THIS WEEKEND, CUP WILL BE THE FIRST CARS ON THE TRACK, SO YOU WON’T HAVE OTHER SERIES ON THERE TO CLEAN IT OFF. WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE IN THAT TYPE OF SITUATION AND HOW DOES THAT IMPACT THINGS EARLY IN A RACE?“I think in places like Kansas that we run all over the race track and feel pretty comfortable moving around early-on like if I think back to practices and things like that. We all move around and are capable of getting the track kind of cleaned off. I think a lot of the drivers, we were watching the Kentucky race and a lot of the drivers voiced their opinions to everyone at NASCAR to make sure that they got the track cleaner because we all felt it was pretty dirty for the Xfinity guys, especially out of the groove on the bottom of the race track for whatever reason. So, I know NASCAR is probably going to be working hard to make sure that the track is clean and good to go. But, Kansas is one of those race tracks where I don’t feel like you’re worried about being the first cars on the race track, but that being said, I feel like your car will change from the very first run of the race to the end of the race.”
WITH YOUR DIRT BACKGROUND, CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT WE’VE SEEN KYLE LARSON DOING? IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY NIGHT HE’S RACING, HE’S WINNING A RACE, WHETHER IT’S OUTLAWS OR MIDGETS OR WHAT HAVE YOU. WHAT HE HAS DONE THIS SUMMER IN VARIOUS CARS AND LEVELS OF COMPETITION?‘I think a lot of people look at it as oh, he’s going to a lower series and running and dominating. That’s not the case at all. These people, the teams and competitors that he’s racing against are the best of the best in those divisions. In the Midgets and USAC we battled hard and he came out on top. I look at watching him, he’s raced throughout Pennsylvania and raced against our Outlaw teams and what he’s doing is tough to do. It’s not only when you look at the feature wins. I’ve been racing Sprint Cars over the last few weeks and just thinking back to winning heat races, qualifying first, winning features, battling for wins; he ran second last night and had a really good shot to win. It’s impressive. And, I don’t think you’ll see many people be able to go do that in a USAC Midget, in Pennsylvania, with the Outlaws; there’s just so much that goes into Sprint Car racing and what him and Paul Silva have built together and the speed that they have is pretty fascinating to watch and kind of unreal.”
ARE THERE SURPRISES IN THIS SEASON? YOU HAD SUCH HIGH ASPIRATIONS BUT IT’S DEFINITELY BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYBODY. ALL THE DRIVERS ARE TALKING ABOUT IT. WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND?“I think for us, going to a new team and just getting that chemistry down; I still haven’t seen all my guys on my team on a consistent basis because we don’t send everybody to the race track. A lot of our guys are staying back at the shop. I’ll go to the shop and sit in my car, but only when the road crew guys are there that I see on the weekends. And so, that’s been kind of a struggle. At the beginning of the year, I was at the shop a lot and able to kind of be around everybody, but when you’re doing things with limited people, I think we saw some struggles at the beginning of getting back racing that cost us some points and some good finishes. But I felt like we’ve rebounded well and had some strong runs. There’s times that you struggle when you get to a race track like Kentucky, I felt like we struggled a little bit. We were a little too loose and never could really get a handle on the race car in the race. That’s something that like during practice, we could have gotten a hold of and made our cars better. But everybody else has that opportunity that if you practice, to do that same thing. So, I don’t really know if your position really changes a lot but everybody gets that opportunity. So, it’s been interesting to just show up to the race track and go racing, but it’s also been kind of enjoyable because I’ve been able to run some Sprint Car races with my dad and our friends back home that help us on our cars and that’s been fun, too. I haven’t gotten to race with my dad in a long time with him being the crew chief and me racing. So I’ve had a lot of fun doing that and it looks like I’ll be able to do that a little bit more throughout the season.”
ARE THERE DAYS WHEN YOU FEEL VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE YOUR CREW CHIEF, BRIAN PATTIE WITH YOU?  I CAN’T EVEN IMAGINE GOING TO A NEW TEAM WITH ALL OF THIS IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE THE CONSISTENCY OF A CREW CHIEF THAT YOU KNOW.“Yeah, it’s been great having Brian. Obviously, he’s learning a new team and new cars as well. This time period that we’re in right now obviously would probably be a lot easier if we were still together at our former team just knowing the car over the last few years and kind of knowing all the ins and outs of it. Those are things that Brian, as a crew chief, had to learn kind of the hard way with a few things, and then myself also, having to learn some of those things. We know what balance trim that we like at these race tracks, but that was based off of our old race car. Now you’ve got a different one. Sometimes things don’t correlate and transition over as smoothly. But, I’m definitely glad to have him over in my corner. I think he’s one of the best out there and I know that the more time he has on the race cars, the better we’re going to be.”
YOU AND CHRIS BUESCHER HAVE HAD VERY SIMILAR SEASONS THUS FAR AT THE HALFWAY POINT REGARDING THE SEAT SWAP. WHAT ARE SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES YOU’VE SEEN DURING YOUR STAY AT JTG DAUGHERTY, AND WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR?“For me, I see a lot of opportunity to get more top 5’s and top 10’s, especially on these 1.5-mile race tracks. I feel like our cars are really good there. Looking back at getting back to Bristol, I feel like we still have a shot to win at Bristol, a better shot that probably I would have had before. I feel like that car that I had there, earlier in the year was one of my best. We still have room for improvement on landing the balance that we want at some of these race tracks, but I definitely see a lot of opportunity to run more consistent and further to the front than what we have so far this year. And, I’m excited for it. I believe in everybody at JTG Daugherty Racing. They’re working hard and they’re pumped-up and excited for the speed that we’ve had so far. People probably thought we’d kind of struggle for speed given all the circumstances and switching seats and teams and all that, but I feel like we probably on one hand, a few times this year have probably exceeded expectations and kind of surprised people. And then on the other hand, we’ve got to get more consistent with that. So, I’m looking forward to the second half of the year, for sure.”
IN THE OLD DAYS, NASCAR HELD TWO RACES A WEEK. DO DRIVERS LIKE TO SEE THAT?“I liked the doubleheader that we ran a Pocono. I’m looking forward to doing that at Michigan and Dover as well. I like racing as much as I can. And, any time you give an athlete, a team, an opportunity to go back to the race track the next day and do things different, that’s what we all wish we could do. And now you kind of get that opportunity to turn around. At Pocono, we weren’t great. We were average at both races. And we did things totally different at both races just trying to learn. I felt like we did learn. And we tried to take that to Indy because Indy was somewhat similar as far as long straightaways and the flat corners. So, we were able to learn those two races. And then you have two people battling it out both days. One came out on top one day and the other did the next day and that was pretty cool to see. I hope we keep that when we look forward on to different schedules and things of that nature.”
IT SOUNDS LIKE NASCAR IS EXPERIMENTING TO TAKE SOMETHING GOOD OUT OF THIS COVID-19 PANDEMIC“Yeah, I think NASCAR has done a great job with trying different things. No practice. Showing up and racing. It shows that we don’t need all the practice and the full three days that we used to always get. And NASCAR has been kind of shrinking that anyway. But now, I think it shows that we’re capable of doing it without it. I think some of us would still like a little bit of practice and qualifying, but nothing that you couldn’t do in the same day. And then also the back-to-back races, the Wednesday race, as long as the fans keep tuning in, obviously they can’t show up like we would want them to or be able to, but if they keep tuning in, who knows what it will hold for our schedules in years to come.”
YOU REALLY HAVEN’T GOTTEN TO SEE MOST OF THE TEAM WITH THE PANDEMIC, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THIS TEAM IS CAPABLE OF, SO ITS KIND OF LIKE THE ODDS ARE STACKED AGAINST YOU GUYS WHEN YOU GO TO A NEW TEAM WITH EVERYTHING THAT’S HAPPENED THIS YEAR. DO YOU CHALK THIS UP AS JUST A BUILDING YEAR TO TRY TO GET TO WHERE YOU KNOW YOU CAN BE? OR, IS THERE STILL A PRIORITY IN FOCUS ON TRYING TO WIN RACES AND BE IN THE PLAYOFFS?“Yeah, we’re definitely building toward next year. When the news came out that we would still be running these cars, you’re still learning a lot and trying to make sure that going into next year you have your best foot forward since we’re not switching cars. So that, for one, we’re still learning and trying to get everything aligned for next year, but there’s still opportunities. When you look back at this weekend in Texas, I felt like we were a 10th or 12th place car. When my teammate and I got in that wreck, we landed; we flew back early, obviously, both out of the race; and we landed, and I heard the No. 3 team (Austin Dillon) won. And, I’m like dang. We out ran them all race. So, there’s opportunities. You’ve just got to keep fighting. You never know how these races are going to play out. You’ve just got to keep putting yourself in position. I feel like we have speed that we can run inside the top 10 at these 1.5-mile tracks. And if you’re inside the top 10, you never know what will happen (with) race strategies and different pit calls. We’ve still got Daytona there, looming in the future that it would be cool to win, and you’d put yourself in the Playoff there. So, we’re still working hard and looking for wins as well.”

BATAVIA, OH (July 22, 2020) – The Dirt Track Bank 50 and 10th Annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals take place this Thursday-Saturday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, NE. Teams and fans alike will not want to miss out on three days of thrilling, side-by-side racing action, along with $65,000 in top prizes and over $250,000 in purse money.  On Thursday, July 23rd, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will take to the 4/10-mile oval for a complete program of Qualifying, Heat Races, B-Mains, and $12,000-to-win Dirt Track Bank 50. Also in contention will be the Dirt Track Bank BRLMs.   Friday night’s preliminary action is highlighted by two thrilling rounds of heat race action; Hoker Trucking Round One, and Strobel Mfg. Round Two – for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, and the USMTS Modifieds. Passing points from each round will determine the line-ups for Saturday night’s events. On Saturday night, B-Mains for Lucas Oil and USMTS will be held – plus the $3,000-to-win, $1,000 to start, S&S Showdown Non-Qualifiers race. The top-three finishers of the S&S Showdown have the choice of keeping their winnings, or forfeiting their earnings to start in the main event. The USMTS main event takes to the track before the 101 lap, $53,000-to-win Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals finale takes center stage.In 2019, there were nine lead changes during the A-Main event on Saturday. The hard charger of the event, Dale McDowell, came from 23rd to finish 5th, advancing 18 positions. Bobby Pierce lead the event three other times, before finally taking the lead on lap 66 and driving on to the biggest win of his career.  All three nights of racing from I-80 Speedway will be available live to anyone with a yearly subscription to LucasOilRa

Makenna Brown continues to gain experience in Super Comp TOPEKA, Kan. (July 21) — It’s going to be another busy weekend for Team JEGS drag racers Mike Coughlin and Makenna Brown as they head to Heartland Motorsports Park for a double-header weekend of Division 5 action in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series.   Reigning Division 3 Top Dragster champion Mike Coughlin is fresh off an impressive runner-up result at the annual JEGS SPORTSnationals, which concluded Sunday at National Trail Raceway in Ohio. His team, led by crew chief Greg Cody, hope to help the boss go one step further in Kansas.   “That was our first race of the year and we really didn’t have any issues at all,” Coughlin said. “We got as close to a win as you can get without winning but when you run into a guy like Anthony Bertozzi you know you’re racing one of the top 2-3 racers in the world. Every once in a while, you need a little luck. It’s hard to win round after round at this level.   “The JEGS.com dragster is happy, I’m pleased with my driving, and the guys — Greg, Tony Collier, Dave Ruark and Ryan Micke — are working well together. We had an awesome start and I hope it continues. When you have a situation like this where everything is clicking it’s just so much fun to race.”   Mike Coughlin Making up for time lost to the COVID-19 shutdown, there will be two full events run during this extended weekend. The first will take place Thursday and Friday, with the second race covering Saturday and Sunday. This is the second weekend in a row where Coughlin is competing in a double-header situation.   “The more racing the better for me,” Coughlin said. “We’ll probably use Thursday to see if anything needs tweaking for the conditions we’ll face at this track, like the EFI or blower boost. That’s about all she needs.    “It’ll be fun racing with Makenna again. She’s doing really well and getting in as much seat time as she can, which is critical. I always enjoy racing with my nieces and nephews, and my brothers, when we can. We have a lot of fun together and that’s the No. 1 thing.”   Brown is attacking her transition from Junior Dragsters to Super Comp with multiple race appearances this summer. Like Coughlin, Brown is excited to have two chances at glory this weekend although she knows gaining experience in one of the most crowded classes in drag racing is of paramount importance.   Makenna Brown “The learning process is never-ending,” Brown said. “My cousin T.J. (Troy Coughlin Jr.) always tells me, drag racing is all about persistence. I’m so thankful to be surrounded by such great people who are helping me learn more about the car, how it runs, and how to build consistency.   “This year I’m trying to get as much seat time as possible. I like going up against the really skilled racers to see what they do. These big divisional races always bring out the top drivers.”   A big part of Brown’s learning process is racing with her family members, as she knows her uncles and cousins shared experiences make her a better driver.   “Uncle Mike has always been there to help me, listen to me, and give me his best advice,” she said. “During his final round appearance in Top Dragster this past weekend, I was able to watch his runs and see the skill he has. He has so much knowledge about the sport and always is open to sharing his thoughts with me.   “I’ve realized you have to learn every pass, even from the rounds you lose, to become a better racer. My grandpa (Jeg Coughlin Sr.) taught me to take a moment and reflect on every run, no matter the outcome, and appreciate the lessons you learn. I always take time to do that when I race.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (July 21) — It’s going to be another busy weekend for Team JEGS drag racers Mike Coughlin and Makenna Brown as they head to Heartland Motorsports Park for a double-header weekend of Division 5 action in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Reigning Division 3 Top Dragster champion Mike Coughlin is fresh off an impressive runner-up result at the annual JEGS SPORTSnationals, which concluded Sunday at National Trail Raceway in Ohio. His team, led by crew chief Greg Cody, hope to help the boss go one step further in Kansas. “That was our first race of the year and we really didn’t have any issues at all,” Coughlin said. “We got as close to a win as you can get without winning but when you run into a guy like Anthony Bertozzi you know you’re racing one of the top 2-3 racers in the world. Every once in a while, you need a little luck. It’s hard to win round after round at this level. “The JEGS.com dragster is happy, I’m pleased with my driving, and the guys — Greg, Tony Collier, Dave Ruark and Ryan Micke — are working well together. We had an awesome start and I hope it continues. When you have a situation like this where everything is clicking it’s just so much fun to race.” Mike Coughlin Making up for time lost to the COVID-19 shutdown, there will be two full events run during this extended weekend. The first will take place Thursday and Friday, with the second race covering Saturday and Sunday. This is the second weekend in a row where Coughlin is competing in a double-header situation. “The more racing the better for me,” Coughlin said. “We’ll probably use Thursday to see if anything needs tweaking for the conditions we’ll face at this track, like the EFI or blower boost. That’s about all she needs.  “It’ll be fun racing with Makenna again. She’s doing really well and getting in as much seat time as she can, which is critical. I always enjoy racing with my nieces and nephews, and my brothers, when we can. We have a lot of fun together and that’s the No. 1 thing.” Brown is attacking her transition from Junior Dragsters to Super Comp with multiple race appearances this summer. Like Coughlin, Brown is excited to have two chances at glory this weekend although she knows gaining experience in one of the most crowded classes in drag racing is of paramount importance. Makenna Brown “The learning process is never-ending,” Brown said. “My cousin T.J. (Troy Coughlin Jr.) always tells me, drag racing is all about persistence. I’m so thankful to be surrounded by such great people who are helping me learn more about the car, how it runs, and how to build consistency. “This year I’m trying to get as much seat time as possible. I like going up against the really skilled racers to see what they do. These big divisional races always bring out the top drivers.” A big part of Brown’s learning process is racing with her family members, as she knows her uncles and cousins shared experiences make her a better driver. “Uncle Mike has always been there to help me, listen to me, and give me his best advice,” she said. “During his final round appearance in Top Dragster this past weekend, I was able to watch his runs and see the skill he has. He has so much knowledge about the sport and always is open to sharing his thoughts with me. “I’ve realized you have to learn every pass, even from the rounds you lose, to become a better racer. My grandpa (Jeg Coughlin Sr.) taught me to take a moment and reflect on every run, no matter the outcome, and appreciate the lessons you learn. I always take time to do that when I race.”

Teams and drivers beat blistering heat and high humidity in triple-race weekend at VIR

Finale Highlight- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A7TMYrH6KU

Alton, Virginia (July 20, 2020)- Virginia International Raceway staged a sweltering third annual Andy Scriven Memorial Race Weekend for the Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda June 17-19. Teams and drivers battled heat indexes well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity levels that topped 58 percent. Environment, tire management, engine temperature control and heat stamina quickly became part of teams and drivers’ weekend strategies.

But, the racing was just as hot as the asphalt with the FR Americas drivers delivering an action-packed triple round of wheel-to-wheel racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Linus Lundqvist remained perfect in his championship chase, scoring three wins, securing three pole positions, setting fastest lap in each race all while breaking two records along the way. The trio of victories marked the Global Racing Group rookies fifth-consecutive win of the championship.

“What an absolute dream weekend – again,” Lundqvist said.  “First of all, I have to thank my team at Global Racing Group. They did a great job all weekend, and it takes a whole lot of work to set up a race-winning car like that. Also massive thanks to Honda. I may be the one driving it, but there is an immense amount of teamwork behind every victory. It’s absolutely stellar and I’m so happy and proud about what we achieved this weekend.”

The F4 U.S. reigning champion Joshua Car also had a standout weekend. With a tough series debut at Mid-Ohio, the Australian Crosslink Competition pilot turned his luck around at VIR, finishing the weekend with three second-place finishes.

“The team had the car dialed in this weekend,” Car said. “(Linus) Lundqvist is really quick. There were some laps I was quicker, and some laps he was quicker. So the gaps stayed pretty stable. The team and I made so much progress this week that I know will have another go at the top step at Barber.”

Race 1

Lundqvist secured pole position for Race 1 after breaking the track qualifying record with a 1:43.477-seconds flyer. The previous lap record (1:43.486-seconds) was set in 2018 by Benjamin Pedersen. Newman Wachs Racing rookie Jordan Missng shared the front row, his best starting position so far this season. (Post Qualifying Interview)

Nicky Hays (Global Racing Group) and Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport) completed Row 2. In qualifying, the Car set the second-fastest time but was assessed a penalty for causing a red flag in the session which shuffled him back to starting fifth in Row 3 with Irishman James Roe Jr. (Global Racing Group)

Lundqvist was quick of the F1-style standing start, commanding more than a one-second lead by Lap 3. Car made up one position off the start and quickly challenged Hays for third. The pair diced back and forth for two laps before Car seized the position.

A full course caution on Lap 3 grouped the cars back together. After the restart, Missng dropped wheels of in Turn 12 opening the door just wide enough for Car to slot himself into second place, pushing Missng back to third before another full course caution called out the safety crews.

With eight minutes remaining the racing went back to green. Lundqvist continued to pad his lead while Car tried to chase down the Swedish rookie, but the 35-minute clock expired, and Car crossed the stripe in second. Missng finished the race in a lone third, while his Newman Wachs teammate Victor Franzoni and HMD Motorsports rookie David Malukas took their last-lap shootout down to the final straight. Franzoni, who started ninth, won the contest, finishing in fourth, Malukas completed the top five.

“It feels absolutely amazing to be able to get a podium in my third race as a rookie in this series,” Missng said. “The competition level is so high in this series and it makes getting a podium much more enjoyable. I want to thank my team manager Brian Halahan, Shaggy, Jason, Marco, Tom and everyone at Newman Wach Racing for giving me such a fast Missig Performance Group/Autobahn Country Club/Kart Circuit Autobahn Ligier JS F3.”

The Abel Motorsports duo of Jacob Abel and Blake Upton charged from 12^th and 14^th starting positions to finish sixth and seventh. Logan Cusson (Jensen Global Advisors) placed eighth. Velocity Racing Development pilot Mathias Soler-Obel crossed the finish line in seventh, but was assessed a post-race penalty for jumping the start that knocked him down to ninth with Hays recovering from a mid-race off track incident in Hog Pen to finish with points in 10th. (Race Highlights)

Race 2

Saturday opened with a full green 35-minute race from the 16-car FR Americas field. Starting from second, Car launched off the line to take an early lead from pole-starting Lundqvist, who played catch-up for the opening four laps. On the prowl, Lundqvist took the lead on the fifth circuit. Shaking Car, the No. 26 managed nearly a five-second gap, crossing the line uncontested in first.

Car finished in a lone second nearly 10 seconds ahead of third-place Malukas.

Malukas, starting sixth, inherited third-place around the 18-minute mark after Missng darted off track. Maintaining a three-second lead over the group of pumpkin orange GRG cars behind him, Malukas cruised toward the checkered for his first of two third-place finishes.  

Global Racing Group drivers Hays and Benjamin Pedersen rounded out the top five. Franzoni, Soler Obel, Roe Jr. and Abel finished in points position.

Race 3

The FR Americas Andy Scriven Memorial Race Weekend culminated at VIR on a sun-soaked oily 18-turn, 2.59-mile track.

Again, starting from the front row, Lundqvist and Car diced for the point the entire 35-minute race.

With six minutes remaining, a full course caution grouped the cars back together. Ludqvist and Car gapped the third-place Malukas instantly. In a two-lap shootout the two Ligier JS F3 cars sprinted around the technical Virginia International Raceway wheel-to-wheel, but Car was unable to get past the defending Swede as the battle went down to the checkered. Lundqvist, just edging out Car, set a new track record for the closest margin of victory, crossing the line just 0.256-seconds ahead of Car in second.

Malukas remained in his third-place starting position for the majority of the race, keeping front-runners Lundqvist and Car close. Malukas started experiencing heat-induced mechanical issues during the caution period. Franzoni got the jump on Malukas on the restart, but Malukas paid back the favor on the final lap, nursing an anguished car into a podium finish.

“It was a great weekend of learning,” Malukas said. “At a new track, with equipment that we are still beginning to learn and overcoming multiple obstacles, we still came out successful this weekend and secured two podium finishes.”

Franzoni went without visiting the steps and settled for a championship points-building weekend instead.

Frost charged from a 10^th-place start to finish the race in fifth, his best result of the weekend after the 18-year-old experienced mechanical issues throughout the event. Frost gained three of those five positions in the final two laps and was awarded the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of the Race which includes a signature Omologato watch for his passing precision.

“Difficult weekend for the team and myself,” said Frost. ” We had the pace for podium, but unfortunately we were never able to convert our pace to our true position. The team did a great job fixing the car and getting me back on track during the races. We look forward to a better weekend at Barber.”

Pedersen was shuffled back from fighting for a podium position to a sixth-place finish after his car started to fade on the restart. Hay, Missig, Roe Jr., and Upton rounded out the top 10. (Sunday Highlights)

FR Americas Championship heads further south to Birmingham, Alabama, for the SCCA Pro Racing Barber Festival at Barber Motorsports Park July 31-August 2. 

Richard Childress Racing at Kansas Speedway …  In 85 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway,Richard Childress Racing has one win with Kevin Harvick in 2013. The Welcome, N.C. organization also picked up an Xfinity Series win in 2006 with Kevin Harvick. COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection. Momentum at RCR … Coming off a historic 1-2 finish last week at Texas Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing will look to carry that momentum into Kansas Speedway. Teams will have a quick turn around with racing on Thursday night this week.  Catch the Action … The NASCAR Cup Series Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Kansas Speedway will be televised live Thursday, July 23, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 250 at Kansas Speedway will be televised live Saturday, July 25, beginning at 5 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Kansas Speedway … Dillon has made 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, earning his best finish of sixth in May and October 2016. He has also made five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, earning one pole award (2013) and a best finish of second (2012). In three NASCAR Truck Series races, Dillon has earned one pole award (2011) and a best finish of fourth (2014). Delivering Performance On and Off the Racetrack … Austin Dillon races on Sunoco Green E15 fuel made with 15 percent American Ethanol. Ethanol is the most effective and least expensive source of octane available and it also burns cleaner and cooler than gasoline. All those factors mean that ethanol helps drive peak engine performance whether you’re in a racecar or on your way to the grocery store. And, ethanol helps keep our air cleaner and our environment healthier by reducing toxic and greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about why ethanol is the smart choice for your engine, your wallet and our environment at americanethanolracing.com. Playoffs Bound … On Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, Dillon survived three late-race restarts to earn the win in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/E-Z-GO/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, securing a spot in the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs. His teammate, Tyler Reddick, finished a strong second to create a 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing. 1.5-Mile Prowess … Dillon holds the third-best average finish among all drivers on 1.5-mile tracks and has not finished outside of the top-15 on a 1.5-mile track this season. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Talk about the momentum you have heading into Kansas Speedway following a big win at Texas Motor Speedway?“Kansas Speedway is another mile-and-a-half. Our cars have competed well on mile-and-a-half’s. My teammate, Tyler Reddick, had a pretty good run at Kansas Speedway last year when he made his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the track. My current crew chief, Justin Alexander, was Tyler’s crew chief for that race so we have some good data from that run that we can utilize on Thursday night. I definitely feel like we have momentum, and we can take some chances and try some things now that maybe we wouldn’t have tried if we weren’t locked into the Playoffs.” What does it take to win in the NASCAR Cup Series?“You have to execute. We’re doing that much better this year than last year. I’ve studied other drivers, such as Brad Keselowski, who don’t always have the best car but make it happen when it counts. They are constantly battling for track position even if they don’t have the best car. We’re trying to do more of that and put ourselves in more situations to run up front so that we’re comfortable running up there and can make our own race at the end. You have to be aggressive in this sport to win races. I’ve noticed that a lot of the great guys are doing it. We were aggressive with our call at Texas Motor Speedway, maintained our position and won the race.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 I Am Second Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Kansas Speedway …Tyler Reddick has one NASCAR Cup Series start at Kansas Speedway, finishing ninth in the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 last year for RCR. The finish was Reddick’s first Cup Series top-10 finish in just two series starts. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile speedway and has not started or finished outside the top-10 in the series. Reddick picked up the pole award in the Xfinity Series in 2017 and has a best finish of second (October 2017 and October 2019). Reddick also has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Kansas Speedway. About I Am Second … I Am Second is a non-profit that ignites hope and inspires people to live for something greater than themselves. Launched in 2008, the iamsecond.com website features more than 100 powerful short films of athletes, actors, models, musicians, cultural influencers and everyday people who have found hope through a relationship with Jesus. Watch their stories and find out more at  iamsecond.com. Watch the Race with Cheddar’s… Don’t miss out! Cheddar’s is offering 15% off all To Go orders with the offer code RACEDAY placed on 7/23 and every Cup Series race day for the remainder of the 2020 season! Whether you’re watching the race on a Sunday afternoon or on a weekday under the lights, watch with all your Cheddar’s favorites for 15% off. Terms & conditions apply, visit cheddars.com/offer/race-day for full offer details. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES: Heading into Kansas Speedway this week, another 1.5-mile speedway, is there anything you can take from the strong run you had at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend?“I think you can take a little bit from Texas Motor Speedway to Kansas this weekend. Honestly, I haven’t thought much about Kansas Speedway yet, but I’m really excited for the race. We have a lot to be excited about at RCR heading into this weekend following that 1-2 finish. All the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LEs are running really well this year, and we have a lot more speed on the intermediate tracks, so I have a lot of hope heading into this race. Kansas Speedway is a place that has been good for both myself and my crew chief, Randall Burnett. I got my first NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish there last year during my second Cup Series start, and then we finished second in the Xfinity race there later that year. I’m really looking forward to how the race shakes out and how much the lanes will move around. I think a lot of drivers will try to figure out how to run up high on Thursday night, but I’ll be curious how that affects the tire fall-off and maintaining your speed during a run.”

This Week’s No. 21 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Chevrolet Camaro at Kansas Speedway … Kaz Grala will make his 2020 season debut in the No. 21 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing. This weekend will mark the 21-year-old’s first career Kansas Speedway start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Grala has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the 1.5-mile speedway, earning an eighth-place finish in 2017.  Welcome Back Kaz … Grala will step back into the seat of the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing for the first time in 2020. In 2019, Grala made five career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for RCR. He recorded his best finish of fifth at Road America in August last year.  Welcome Ruedebusch Development & Construction … At Ruedebusch, we have the ability to combine commercial real estate development, design-build construction, commercial real estate brokerage, and commercial real estate consulting services or contract them individually. Ruedebusch has knowledge and experience in all aspects of the commercial real estate field. From locating new rental space for your business, to finding the perfect piece of land for your new corporate headquarters; from the turn-key facility, to the architectural and interior design that will best reflect your company’s culture, Ruedebusch is with you every step of the way. Let Ruedebusch assist you with your project; we handle the details so you can concentrate on your business. For more information visit ruedebusch.com. KAZ GRALA QUOTES:It’s been almost a whole year since you’ve been behind the wheel of a racecar. How good does it feel to finally be back this weekend, especially with a team like Richard Childress Racing?“It does feel like forever since I’ve raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Luckily, I’ve been able to stay warm by coaching in super late models and doing some iRacing. It has been a lot of fun watching the No. 21 crew this year contend up front with some impressive speed. I couldn’t be more excited to finally get my first shot behind the wheel of the No. 21 Rudebusch Development & Construction Chevrolet in Kansas this weekend.” What kind of unique challenges does a place like Kansas Speedway present to you and your team this weekend?“Kansas is a fun track with a lot of different grooves you can use depending on how your car is handling. For me personally, the challenge I’ll be tackling is the fact that I’ve only raced on one 1.5-mile track in the past two years. On top of that, I’ve only ever raced at Kansas once, and that was in a Truck over three years ago. I’ll certainly be using the first half of the race to get acclimated and comfortable out there, but I’m confident that my Richard Childress Racing team and I will be ready to attack and claim a great finish when it comes time.”

Jul 22, 2020 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Megan Meyer, Pre-Race Releases, Race Results

The Randy Meyer Racing Team won for the second year in a row at National Trail Raceway for the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional Event alongside the JEGS SportsNationals. This is the team’s third win in only four events of the 2020 season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the NGK Spark Plugs Power Under Control nitro-injected dragster, Megan drove to the top qualifying spot in the first session with a 5.22 ET for the quickest pass of the event. Julie Nataas was second with a 5.30 ET at 278 mph, but slipped to the number five spot at the end of qualifying as both girls didn’t improve their times. Megan took down Jared Dreher in the first round of eliminations running a 5.28 ET at 273 mph, while Julie lost by .04 to Jackie Fricke running a 5.35 ET to her 5.28 ET.

Moving onto Sunday, Megan then took down Jackie running a 5.25 ET at 276 mph to Jackie’s slow 5.46 ET before moving onto the final round against Mike Bucher. Mike had a red light start, but didn’t matter as Megan still crossed the finish line first running a consistent 5.26 ET at 273 mph to become the event winner.

“This was my first time racing here in Columbus, and I will never forget it,” said Megan. “My team worked hard for this win through the heat and humidity and they deserve this so much. Thank you to the staff at National Trail Raceway for treating us so good and having a great track, and to NGK Spark Plugs for coming to celebrate our win with us. We are looking forward to racing again this weekend with my sister behind the wheel as we battle it out for points again!”

At the team’s home track, Heartland Motorsports Park, the Meyer sisters will try their best to extend their points lead over the Central region of the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. The team has had great success at this race, winning it in 2017 with Megan, 2018 with Rachel, and again in 2019 with Megan. The Randy Meyer Racing Team will be supporting a new livery on Rachel’s Top Alcohol Dragster with Aeromotive Fuel Pumps and Taylor Cable, two local companies that have been long-time partners with the Meyer family.

Qualifying kicks off at 8pm on Thursday for Top Alcohol classes, followed by two session on Friday at 5:30 pm and 8pm. All eliminations will be held on Saturday starting at 5pm. Tickets are $20 per person and are available 50% off at any O’Reilly Auto Parts store in the area, children under 12 get in free.

Glen Helen Raceway Hosts Opening Weekend Doubleheader, Without Fans

CORONA, Calif. (July 22, 2020) – The time has finally come. After months of waiting patiently, enduring through the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of the world’s best short course off road racers are set to converge on the sport’s hotbed of Southern California to kick off the 2020 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO from one of the region’s most renowned venues, San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Raceway. The first two rounds of the season will be brought to you by OPTIMA Batteries and Presented by K&N Filters, with a weekend doubleheader that will be conducted exclusively for competitors on Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26. Due to concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 and restrictions on public gatherings for both the state of California and San Bernardino County, fans will not be permitted to attend. “While our incredibly passionate fan base serves as the lifeblood of short course off road, the health and safety of our competitors, our sponsors, our staff, and those who cheer us on is of the utmost importance as we look to get the 2020 season underway,” said Ritchie Lewis, Director of Race Operations. “In working alongside local officials in San Bernardino, we have successfully developed the framework to host an event that will be limited to just our racers and event staff. Given how much things continue to evolve with the pandemic this is the best case scenario for all parties, and it will allow us to officially return to the track where we can begin the journey to crown a champion across our eight classes.”

Jerett Brooks (77) will begin defense of his Pro 2 title this weekend at Glen Helen. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

With the extended off season, many drivers have had the opportunity to make continued improvements to their respective programs and are more prepared than ever to duke it out on the track. As a result, the buzz coming into Glen Helen is electric, as five of the eight class champions from the 2019 season will return to defend their titles, setting the tone for another season filled with the captivating yet unpredictable action that sets the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series apart from any other form of motorsport. Leading the way for the roster of current titleholders is reigning Pro 2 Champion Jerett Brooks, who will be forced to contend with an even deeper field of exceptionally talented drivers for the new season. Brooks has emerged as one of short course off road’s most promising young racers, but he’s going to have his work cut out for him trying to once again fend off the likes of Rob MacCachren, Brain Deegan, RJ Anderson, Rodrigo Ampudia, and others for another season. Over in Pro Lite, last year’s champion, Ryan Beat, has made the move into Pro 2, and his vacancy has opened the door for what is destined to be a wide open championship battle featuring the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ most spirited racers. In a division brimming with young talent, the opportunity to become a first-time champion is huge, and the racing will certainly be indicative of that.

A wide open battle for the Pro Lite title will get underway this weekend. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

In Pro Buggy, reigning title holder Eliott Watson will have a target on his back as he makes his anticipated return to the track, mere months after being named a factory driver for Honda’s Talon Factory Racing team. More often than not, Pro Buggy features some of the highest parity of any division and also produces some of the best racing, which means Watson will have his hands full against a group of hungry challengers. In Turbo UTV, back-to-back champion Corry Weller will look to maintain her undefeated record in the division in pursuit of a third straight title. Weller has broken barriers every step of the way in her career, and she’s poised to remain the standard bearer of the UTV class. Over in Production 1000 UTV, Robert Stout’s ascension to the upper echelon of short course off road in just two seasons has been impressive. The reigning champion has all the tools to successfully defend his title, but it’s going to take another season of near perfect consistency to outlast his hungry, more experienced rivals for a second time.

Pro Buggy will feature some of the most competitive action of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

Even though fans won’t be in attendance this weekend, there’s still an opportunity to watch all the action unfold LIVE, as Lucas Oil Racing TV has it covered. The platform will kick off a full season of coverage of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with back-to-back live streams of the opening weekend of action, beginning at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET on both Saturday and Sunday. Action on the track for both days will begin with the RZR 170, JR 2 Kart, and Mod Kart junior classes, before the pro classes take center stage with Pro Lite, Turbo UTV, Pro Buggy, Production 1000 UTV, and Pro 2, which will bring each day to a dramatic and exciting conclusion. Event Info Rounds 1 & 2: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series July 25 & 26, 2020 Glen Helen Raceway 18585 Verdemont Ranch Road San Bernardino, CA 92407 Saturday & Sunday Event Schedule (all times Pacific):10:30 a.m. Qualifying1:30 p.m. Junior ClassesRZR 170JR 2 KartMod Kart3:30 p.m. Pro ClassesPro LiteTurbo UTVPro BuggyProduction 1000 UTVPro 2

July 21, 2020

After strong back-to-back runs on intermediate-length tracks at Kentucky and Texas, Matt DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team are headed to another mile-and-a-half track looking to capitalize again on the speed of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Mustang.

DiBenedetto finished third at Kentucky and was poised for another top-five finish at Texas only to be collected in a late-race incident. Next up is Thursday night’s Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas Speedway.
 
“I like Kansas better than the other intermediate tracks,” DiBenedetto said. “You can move around more. There’s not really a preferred lane, even though the top can be better at times.
 
“You can go to any groove, and that makes the racing better.”
 
DiBenedetto said the pavement at Kansas has aged well since it was redone in 2012.
 
“That pavement makes the racing better,” he said. “The surface is a little slicker, and the lap times fall off during a run, which makes it more enjoyable.”
 
Still, he said, it’s important to be up front as much as possible, to capitalize on the aerodynamic advantage that comes with racing in clean air.
 
With just eight races remaining before the start of the Cup Series playoffs, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team are currently in 12^th place in points and among the 16 teams that will start the 10-race, season-ending run to the championship.
 
But recent events have made a Playoff berth more of a challenge.
 
Two drivers who were below DiBenedetto in the Playoff standings, Cole Custer and Austin Dillon, won the past two races and took two of the guaranteed berths.
 
“Those guys winning bumped us back and put us in a little more uncomfortable position,” he said. “But our Menards/ Dutch Boy team deserves to be in the Playoffs. We’ve had fast cars consistently run in the top five and top 10.
 
“If we can keep than up the rest will take care of itself.”
 
There will be no practice or qualifying for Thursday night’s 400-mile race, which is set to get the green flag just after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBCSN.
 

Three-year race and championship-winning partnership will conclude at the end of this season
Acura Team Penske focused on defending 2019 titles
ARX–05 has added to the long line of championship-winning Acura Sports Cars & Touring Cars earning Acura’s Precision Crafted Performance tagline on the track

TORRANCE, CA (July 21, 2020) – Acura Motorsports today announced it has come to a mutual agreement with Team Penske to end its successful partnership at the conclusion of the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
The championship-winning program originated in 2017 in preparation for Acura’s debut in the premier class of IMSA competition at the start of the 2018 season. Acura Team Penske scored its first Daytona Prototype International (DPi) victory – at the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio – in 2018; and captured three more victories en route to sweeping the Manufacturer, Team and Drivers titles last year.
“On behalf of everyone at Acura and HPD, we’d like to thank Team Penske for their incredible efforts and impressive results racing the ARX-05,” said Ted Klaus, president of Honda Performance Development, the competition arm for Acura Motorsports. “The success we’ve achieved together during the first two-plus years of the program makes us even more determined to score more victories, defend our championships, and conclude our partnership on the highest of notes.”
In addition to sweeping the major IMSA DPi championships in 2019, the Acura ARX-05 scored four race wins, 14 additional podium finishes and nine poles from 22 races since its debut in 2018 racing against Cadillac, Mazda and Nissan.
The Acura ARX-05 [Acura Racing eXperimental, generation 5] is the latest in a line of endurance prototypes to be fielded by the company dating back to 1991, just five years after the 1986 launch of the Acura brand. Together with our partner ORECA, and based on the ORECA 07 chassis, HPD led the design and development of the ARX-05; featuring Acura-specific bodywork and powered by Acura’s production-based AR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine, which shares over 400 mass production components with Acura’s road going V6 products
The Acura ARX-05 has added to a rich legacy of Acura sports car racing campaigns and championships, including the 1991-93 IMSA Camel Lights manufacturer and driver championships; 53 IMSA and American Le Mans Series class or overall race victories; and the 2009 American Le Mans Series manufacturer, driver and team championships in both the LMP1 and LMP2 classes. Racing and competition are cornerstones of Acura’s existence, and these on track achievements continue to epitomize Acura’s tagline of Precision Crafted Performance
Acura Motorsports also campaigns the Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the IMSA GTD category with defending GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing and the Gradient Racing organizations.
Previously, HPD was affiliated with Team Penske in Championship Auto Racing Teams Competition (CART) in 2000 and 2001. The partnership resulted in 10 race wins, two drivers’ championships (both for Gil de Ferran), and the 2001 CART Manufacturers’ Championship. More recently, during the single-supplier era in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition, Penske and HPD combined for two Indianapolis 500 victories (Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006 and Helio Castroneves in 2009), plus the drivers’ title for Hornish in 2006.
“Roger Penske has long been an important part of the Acura family as one of our great Acura dealers, and it has been a privilege to have him as part of the Acura Motorsports family as well,” said Jon Ikeda, Acura vice president and brand officer. “We’ve also had a very spirited competition with Team Penske during our previous ALMS Acura prototype programs. We will always be thankful for the contributions made by Team Penske over the three-year course of our DPi program”

CBS, CBS Sports Network, MAVTV, and Lucas Oil Racing TV  Combine for More than 100 Hours of Total Air Time

CORONA, Calif. (July 20, 2020) – As the days continue to count down until the long awaited start of the 2020 season, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO has announced an extensive broadcast package for this year’s championship. Thanks to a multi-network partnership between CBS, CBS Sports Network, MAVTV Motorsports Network, and Lucas Oil Racing TV, fans of short course off road will be presented with more than 100 total hours of coverage for the 2020 season.  One of the most notable additions to the 2020 broadcast package will be exclusive LIVE streaming coverage of every round on Lucas Oil Racing TV. Beginning with the first event of the 2020 season from Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California, subscribers will have the chance to watch the action unfold in real time at every event, including the unpredictable and highly competitive action of the RZR 170, JR2 Kart, and Mod Kart youth classes. Given that the opening weekend of 2020 will unfortunately not be open to fans, Lucas Oil Racing TV will provide the only opportunity to see all eight classes take to the track for the first time this season and witness who prevails triumphant on July 25 and July 26. Complementing the streaming package is an impressive broadcast schedule across CBS, CBS Sports Network, and MAVTV Motorsports Network. CBS will highlight the network coverage by bringing the high octane action of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series’ captivating truck classes of Pro Lite and Pro 2 into millions of homes across the country with eight one hour network telecasts over the course of the season. Each broadcast will showcase the competitiveness of these premier divisions from every stop on the schedule, in addition to the season ending Lucas Oil Challenge Cup. The compelling action from all five pro classes will be featured on CBS Sports Network and MAVTV Motorsports Network, as both will highlight the battle for victory in each class from every round, dedicating multiple episodes from each race weekend into a series of hour long telecasts. Collectively, these two networks will make up the heart of the 2020 broadcast package with a combined total of 54 individual hours of on-air coverage.

The 2020 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series will feature an extensive broadcast schedule with coverage on CBS, CBS Sports Network, MAVTV Motorsports Network, and Lucas Oil Racing TV. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

“This is an impressively dynamic broadcast package for the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, and we’re thrilled to have so many opportunities to bring this truly incredible sport to our fans all across the country,” said Tom Fredrickson, COO of Lucas Oil Products, Inc. “In the midst of so much uncertainty surrounding the ongoing pandemic, we are incredibly fortunate to have a loyal team of networks and a seamless partnership amongst all of them that will allow us to reach the largest audience possible. Whether it’s on your phone, your computer, or on your television screen, it’s going to be hard to miss the spectacular action of short course off road during the 2020 season.” Narrating the action on the track with play-by-play calls, in-depth analysis, and trackside reporting is an experienced broadcast team featuring some of the most well known names in the off road racing industry. A three member lineup will spearhead the efforts for CBS, CBS Sports Network, and MAVTV Motorsports Network, featuring Ken Stout, Rob Klepper, and Derek Pernesiglio. Stout is one of the most recognizable names and voices in the world of motorsports and has become the proverbial voice of off road racing thanks to nearly 20 years as a fixture on the short course scene. Stout’s passion for off road has also passed on to his son, Robert, who enters the 2020 season as the reigning Production 1000 UTV Champion. In the booth, Ken will serve as the host for each network broadcast, where his immense experience and racing expertise will provide a welcoming environment for the viewers that allows them to feel like they’re a part of the action.  Flanking Stout in the broadcast booth will be Klepper, who brings an equally diverse range of experience into the fold as analyst. While he’s a decorated skeet shooter away from the race track, growing up in California allowed Klepper to spend most of his time around virtually every form of racing, where he started as a crew chief before eventually transitioning into announcing and broadcasting. With on-air experience across a wide range of disciplines, Klepper knows the ins and outs of competing on the track and serves as the perfect complement to Stout as they capture the excitement and explain the nuance of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series to millions of viewers across the country.  Rounding out the team as pit reporter is Pernesiglio, who will join Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series team for the first time. While he may be a new face to off road, the New York native has deep roots in the world of racing, both as a driver and an announcer. For nearly 20 years he has climbed the broadcast ranks, where he shares an equal love for both pavement and dirt. Thanks to his extensive racing pedigree, Pernesiglio will bring a truly unique perspective to viewers from his trackside position and will prove to be a perfect complement to his network counterparts.

All the door-banging action of the 2020 season will be brought into millions of homes by an exceptionally talented group of on-air personalities. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

Announcing duties for the live streams on Lucas Oil Racing TV, in addition to the public address system at Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series events, will be handled by the duo of Brent Smith and Jack Korpela. Smith is a former racer who brings behind-the-wheel experience into the fold as host. The Michigan native spent many years honing his talents on the short courses of the midwest, and while he still keeps his racing skills sharp behind the wheel, he’s enjoyed a successful transition into the broadcast and announcing world, where his racing experience will help serve as the perfect complement to the action out on the track. For his second season of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series competition Korpela will make the move into the booth alongside Smith. Uniquely enough, Korpela has some broadcast roots from the world of professional wrestling, but as a motorcycle drag racer himself, it was only a matter of time until he joined the motorsports world full time. His on-camera presence has allowed him to make a natural transition into off road, where he’ll take advantage of all the knowledge he gained last season to provide added color commentary with his new partner.

Acura Team Penske runs sixth overall with Dane Cameron, Juan Pablo Montoya
Helio Castroneves, Ricky Taylor recover from early-race issue to finish seventh
Marc Miller, Till Bechtolsheimer bring Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT-3 Evo came home seventh in GTD

SEBRING, Fla. (July 18, 2020) – A pair of late-race pit stops dropped the Acura Team Penske ARX-05s to sixth and seventh at the end of Saturday night’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship two-hour, 40-minute event at Sebring International Raceway, while Gradient Racing demonstrated steady improvement with a seventh-place result in GTD.

Acura Team Penske
In the premier Daytona Prototype International category, Juan Pablo Montoya qualified second, just two-tenths of a second off the pole time in his #6 Acura ARX-05, while teammate Helio Castroneves started his ARX-05 from sixth.

However, both Acura Team Penske entries required four stops for fuel during the two-hour, 40-minute contest, one more pit stop than most of their competitors. After running fourth in the early laps, then moving up to third, Montoya handed over the #6 Acura to co-driver Dane Cameron mid-race, who soldiered on to a sixth-place finish.

As the race approached the 30-minute mark, Castoneves was forced to pit his #7 ARX-04 when a turbocharger fitting worked loose on the notoriously bumpy Sebring circuit, but was able to regain the lead lap due to a timely full-course caution. Ricky Taylor took over the driving duties with just over an hour remaining, and brought his car home seventh.

Acura NSX GT3 Evo Teams
In the always-competitive GTD category, the Gradient Racing duo of Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer demonstrated continued improvement with their Acura NSX GT3 Evo, combining for a seventh-place finish at Sebring, after running 10th in the team’s 2020 debut two weeks earlier at Daytona.

Starting eight in class, IMSA rookie Bechtolsheimer gained a position during the opening lap and ran as high as fifth in a consistent first stint. Veteran Miller took over the driving duties at the first pit stop, resuming in eighth place, then gaining one position for a seventh-place finish.

This weekend’s race at Sebring is part of the Sprint Cup Championship, for shorter races on the 2020 schedule, and is not part of the overall WeatherTech SpotsCar Championship. As a result, the two-car Meyer Shank team of Acura NSX GT3 Evo’s were not present, but both will return for the next round at Road America.

Next
The resumed 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next moves north, to historic and scenic Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on August 2.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Sebring International Raceway 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
Juan Pablo Montoya (#6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) finished sixth: “We knew it was going to be a difficult weekend. We had very nice pace in qualifying, and I was really happy with the lap I put down in the session. Based on the last few races, with where we were with our fuel capacity, we knew it was going to be a tough night in having to save fuel, and that is exactly what it was. Now we will just have to see what comes out of this race before we get to Road America, but Acura Team Penske is building fast racecars. When you have to make an extra pit stop versus the other competitors there isn’t much you can do.” 

Helio Castroneves (#7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) finished seventh: “Obviously, we started well, but had an issue with the [turbo charger] boost and power on the No. 7 Acura. I was going through the gears and could feel the car just wasn’t pulling. The guys did a phenomenal job in fixing it [repairing a loose connection], and we were able to get our lap back. It was frustrating because we did everything we could to keep up but the others were too strong tonight. Hopefully the series can see what we are up against and we will be more competitive at Road America. It was still a great job by everyone at Acura Team Penske.”

Graham Rahal charges from 19th to third in Saturday night closer at Iowa Speedway
Scott Dixon protects championship lead with impressive fifth-place finish
Honda continues to lead Manufacturers’ title chase after run of five races in 15 days

NEWTON, Iowa (July 19, 2020) – Graham Rahal led the way for Honda in Saturday’s second consecutive night of Indy car racing, scoring his second podium finish of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with a third-place run on the tight Iowa Speedway oval.

Starting 19th for the second 250-lap race in a doubleheader weekend on the 0.9-mile Iowa oval, Rahal ran a long opening stint prior to his first pit stop, leading for the first time on Lap 61, then made up ground on fresh tires to lead two more times later in the race. His third-place result tonight in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda is Rahal’s second podium finish of the season, following a second-place result at the GMR Grand Prix in Indianapolis last month. The finish moves Rahal to sixth in the championship points standings after six races.

Much as he did in Friday night’s opening Iowa race, Scott Dixon also turned a starting position deep in the field into a strong finish, finishing fifth tonight in his effort to record a sixth Indy car championship. Combined with his trio of wins to start the season and a second-place finish last night, Dixon holds a 49-point lead in the points standings over rival Simon Pagenaud. With four wins from six races this season Honda holds a 39-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship 496-457, over rival Chevrolet.

Demonstrating continuing improvement on oval tracks, Jack Harvey finished seventh for the second consecutive night on Saturday in his Meyer Shank Racing Honda; while Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi combined an eighth-place finish tonight with sixth on Friday to break into the top 10 in the championship standings. Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Marcus Ericsson, finished ninth on both nights; with Marco Andretti coming home 10th for Honda and Andretti Autosport.

Next
Tonight’s race was the fifth in the last 15 days for the drivers and teams of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend at Iowa Speedway. The series now takes two weeks off, then resumes August 8-9 with the Honda Indy 200 at the scenic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from this weekend’s pair of races at Iowa Speedway 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
Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) Started 19th, finished third: “Tonight’s finish was the result of some good, hard work. It was a great showing for [new team sponsor] HyVee and it was great for us to come away with a good result. We needed it. It’s a good rebound for us after coming up a little bit short [12th in Friday’s race]. We’re super proud to be powered by Honda, I thought the engine tonight was phenomenal. We had everything we needed for the other guys. Next up is Mid-Ohio, that’s a big race for me. I love going home. We’ve had great success there, and I think we found some good stuff the last few times we’ve been on road courses, so I expect our team to be really good there. It’s an important race for Honda, too, with all the facilities in the area. I’m excited to go home. We’re a [championship] contender this year. We’ve improved, we’ve come a long way, and this car was great tonight.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 18th, finished fifth, continues to lead the Drivers’ Championship by 49 points after six races: “I think we knew this weekend was going to be one of our biggest challenges in terms of race weekends. We haven’t been as strong at Iowa as we’ve been at other tracks. We worked on it and tried some things and learned a lot and we were able to work our way up and get a good result for the PNC Bank car. The crew did a great job, especially in the pit stops. We came out of here with a decent [championship] points lead [49], so we’re looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio and hopefully extending that lead a little bit more. It’s great to be racing again. I feel very lucky, very privileged to be back racing. The car’s been very good this year, Honda has been working very hard, we’re always proud to be powered by Honda and HPD. Hopefully we can put the car in victory circle for a seventh time at Mid-Ohio. That’d be pretty cool.”

Wayne Gross (Race Team Manager, Honda Performance Development) on Saturday’s Iowa 250: “
“This was a much more ‘straightforward’ short track race tonight, with almost everyone on more-or-less the same pit strategy, but Indy car races on these short ovals are always a challenge. Everything is so tight that even the smallest mistake can have big consequences. Both Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon had flawless runs tonight, and Jack Harvey again demonstrated that he is now a contender on both ovals and road courses. Now we’re all looking forward to returning to our Midwestern ‘home’ track, Mid-Ohio, in a couple of weeks for the Honda Indy 200.”

Scott Dixon, Honda cap hectic final 50-lap run to finish second at Iowa Speedway
Alexander Rossi nets sixth-place finish for Andretti Autosport
Second round of doubleheader weekend runs Saturday night

NEWTON, Iowa (July 17, 2020) – Taking advantage of an extended caution on Lap 144 to make the second of his three scheduled pit stops, Scott Dixon took used fresh tires and strong Honda fuel mileage to work his way to the front of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field, finishing second in Friday night’s opening race of a doubleheader weekend at Iowa Speedway.

Starting 17th after a difficult qualifying run, Dixon’s Chip Ganasi Racing crew made setup changes at each of his three pit stops to improve the handling of his Honda-powered chassis. Combined with the long third stint, Dixon clawed his way to second, battling with eventual Simon Pagenaud throughout the last 50 laps of the 250-lap contest before finishing second, less than a half second behind Pagenaud at the checkers.

The tight, nine-tenths of a mile Iowa Speedway short oval is traditionally hard on tires, and tonight’s race was no exception, as drivers and teams experimented with various strategies to be able to run traffic-free laps on new tires.

One of the first drivers to go for the “undercut” by pitting early, Takuma Sato then made up ground running quickly in clean air as his competitors pitted. The strategy appeared to be paying off, as Sato led 49 laps mid-race. But a caution on Lap 144 ended those chances as Sato, teammate Graham Rahal and Ryan Hunter-Reay all went a lap down to the leaders who were able to pit prior to the yellow flag.

The caution, called initially for a single-car crash by Will Power, was then followed by a spectacular crash involving Colton Herta and Rinus VeeKay on an attempted Lap 156 restart. All drivers were uninjured in the incidents.

One of the quicker cars on fresh tires, Alexander Rossi ran as high as fourth early in several stints, but faded to a sixth-place finish in the closing laps. Running only his second oval race outside of Indianapolis, Jack Harvey finished an encouraging seventh for Meyer Shank Racing. Marcus Ericsson had another strong run in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to take the checkers in ninth, while Sato rounded out the top 10 for Honda, the first car one lap down.

Next
Tonight’s race was the opening round of a doubleheader NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend at Iowa Speedway. Tomorrow’s 250-lap finale starts at 8:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from Iowa Speedway 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 videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 17th, finished second; continues to lead NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by 50 points after five races: “Proud to powered by Honda and HPD, they do a tremendous job. I think our fuel mileage is really what enabled us to stay out and jump a couple of cars. I think those cautions obviously did help us. We had a pretty dreadful car in qualifying and – with the ‘parc ferme’ rules in place between qualifying and the race – you can’t change anything on the car after qualifying. So it took us a little while [making chassis adjustments at each pit stop] to get going. But a huge credit to the NTT Bank crew, they did a hell of a job tonight. You’ve got to take these nights and make the most of them.”

Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started eighth, finished sixth: “For us, there were two parts to the race tonight. The AutoNation Andretti Honda was one of the stronger cars out there, but we struggled with tire life. Ultimately, I think we were on the right strategy to win the race, but we just didn’t have the car to do it. It’s a bit unfortunate. Had that yellow not come out and we could’ve run the race we planned, we probably would have ended a couple of spots higher, but I don’t think we would’ve won the race. But we have a pretty good car, and we’ve had two decent finishes now [third at Road America last Sunday and sixth tonight in Iowa], we just need to make the car a bit better in the practice session tomorrow.”

Allen Miller (Race Team Principal, Honda Performance Development) on Friday’s Iowa 250: “Tonight’s race demonstrated why short ovals are so challenging for the teams, and exciting for the fans to watch. Everything changed dramatically in the final 50 laps, it made for another exciting finish here. Congratulations to Scott [Dixon] and Alexander [Rossi], who were both tenacious in the final 50 laps and well-earned their results. Special thanks to all the great fans who were able to come out here this weekend. Now we’re looking forward to doing it again tomorrow night, with hopefully just a slightly better result!”

Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra finish tenth in the Advent Health 120
More tire woes for Eversley and substitute co-driver Dakota Dickerson

SEBRING, FL (July 17, 2020) –The LA Honda World Racing team scored a top-ten finish Friday at Sebring International Raceway, the first IMSA MICHELIN Pilot Challenge race since the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the 2020 season after the opening round at Daytona in January.

Starting twelfth, Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra brought their LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR car across the line in tenth place in the weather-shortened Advent Health 120. LaMarra qualified the car and started the race, moving up three spots on the opening lap before a 75-minute red flag due to lightning in the area paused the action.

Though the clock continued to run at the start of the red flag, it was eventually stopped and the race was resumed with one hour and 10 minutes still to run. The trio of Honda Civic Type R TCR cars continued to run in the top 10 as pit stops started, with the No. 77, being driven by Dakota Dickerson, substituting for Taylor Hagler, working its way through the field and climbing to second position before diving in the pits for their stop.

Despite the strong showing before the pit stop, Dickerson’s co-driver Ryan Eversley saw shades of Daytona struggles again as the No. 77 suffered a punctured tire that dropped him and Dickerson back to a 12th place finish.

The No. 37 of Chris Miller and Shelby Blackstock struggled during the weekend following a heavy accident in Thursday practice. The LA Honda World Racing team worked hard to repair the car, but eventually power steering issue took them out of the race. The team is investigating the issue to determine if it was related to Thursday’s incident.

LaMarra and Pombo clinched the best result for the Honda TCR squad, crossing the line under yet another weather-induced yellow flag in their Honda Civic Type R TCR machine tenth.

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 Sebring 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 travels to the scenic Road America circuit in Wisconsin for the August 1st Road America 120. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

Quotes
Mat Pombo (#73 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished 10th: “We had a trying weekend with the balance of performance it seems. The LAP Motorsports LA Honda World Civic Type R TCR cars were on rails and the crew executed our plan flawlessly. We controlled everything we could today and came away 10th. I want to thank Mike LaMarra for driving a great opening stint, Luis and Rob for the great car, any my LAP Motorsports team for being the best in the paddock. We will forget this weekend and get after them in two weeks at Road America.”

Ryan Eversley (#77 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished 12th: “Well, that’s Sebring. We struggled for ultimate pace all weekend and were clearly out-gunned. But the L.A. Honda World guys gave us the best car they could. Dakota [Dickerson, substituting for regular co-driver Taylor Hagler] did a great job at the start to work our way up to sixth before handing over to me. After the pit stop we were running seventh and the car was handling really well before a puncture caused us to pit and lose a lap. It’s an unfortunate result, but it was really great to be back in a race car and on track. I’m looking forward to paring back up with Taylor we we come back for Road America in a few weeks.”

Mike LaMarra (#73 LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished 10th: “It was amazing to be back in the LA Honda World Civic Type R TCR, doing what we love to do. While the event was a little different than we are used to having, it felt good to be back with our LAP Motorsports team and the IMSA community. We just didn’t have the overall pace that we needed today. Thanks to LA Honda World Racing, LAP Motorsports, HPD and Mat [Pombo] for their support and effort.”

FORD FINISHES 1-2 IN TEXAS XFINITY RACE FORT WORTH, TX – July 20, 2020 – Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe brought home a 1-2 finish from Texas Motor Speedway. The No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang went to victory lane for the third time in three races and marked the fifth straight win for Ford Performance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

“Congratulations to Austin, Brian and the No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Austin and Brian worked hard all day to put the No. 22 Ford Mustang in position to compete for the win and three wins in a row is impressive.”

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, My Bariatric Solutions 300, Kyle Busch finished P1 with the Ford Performance teammates of Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe finishing P2 and P3, respectively.  Busch’s car then failed post-race inspection, and the win was officially awarded to Cindric and Briscoe was moved up to P2.

“I just got out of the hauler from getting changed back into my street clothes and saw the 54 and everyone and their brother surrounding the scales, that’s never a good sign for those guys,” said Cindric, when asked about how he found out about the win ruling. “I know they race hard and word hard. I want to win it on the track. I felt like we had a shot to do that today and maybe didn’t execute as well as we should have and that’s what kept us out, but fast race cars and being in position that’s where it counts.”   Ford leads all manufacturers with eight total wins and Briscoe with Stewart-Haas Racing leads the driver and owners’ points standings with Cindric and Team Penske in P2.

The Ford Mustangs showed a lot of speed on Sunday during the NASCAR Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, leading a race high 275 laps out of the 334-lap race. Ryan Blaney led 150 laps and won Stage 1 and 2.

Five of the Fords finished in the top-10 Joey Logano finished P3, Kevin Harvick P5, Blaney P7, Brad Keselowski P9 and Aric Almirola P10.   Ford leads all manufacturers with 10 race wins, while Stewart-Haas and Kevin Harvick continue to lead the owner and driver points standings.

The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge was back in action for the first time since January. In the Grand Sport (GS) class of 35 entries at Sebring International Raceway, the No. 22 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 with co-drivers Seb Priaulx and Scott Maxwell finished P8 and No. 40 PF Racing’s James Pesek and Chad McCumbee finished P11.   NASCAR will head to Kansas to run the Cup race this Thursday night and Xfinity race on Saturday evening at Kansas Speedway. In addition, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series will race next in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America on August 1st.  27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 397 WINS – 357 POLES!

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES IOWA INDYCAR 250S DOUBLEHEADER IOWA SPEEDWAY NEWTON, IOWA TEAM CHEVY POST RACE PODIUM ZOON CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS FOR BOTH RACES JULY 19, 2020
RACE ONE: Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, winner coming from last on starting grid to Victory Lane and Oliver Askew, No 7 Arrow McLaren SP, third place finisher-first NTT INDYCAR Series podium
RACE TWO: Josef Newgarden, No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, winner from pole-third win at Iowa, and Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, second place tying his best finish on the fast .875 oval
THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everybody, to our video news conference with the podium finishers from tonight’s race. We’re joined by the third-place finisher Oliver Askew of Arrow McLaren SP. Oliver finishes third. It’s his career best finish in the NTT INDYCAR Series. Oliver, took tires there late in the end and came through the field to score that podium and pass a lot of cars. Talk about the race tonight. And we’ll welcome Simon into the call. It’s Simon’s 15th career win in INDYCAR, his first win of 2020 and his first win at Iowa Speedway. Simon’s most recent win before tonight came at Toronto in 2019. Congratulations. You started 23rd, just the seventh guy to start 23rd or worse in an INDYCAR race and come all the way to win:
OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I don’t think I’ve had so much fun in a race car on an oval, on any racetrack in my life. Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet absolutely came to life since the track started to get a bit cooler and once the sun completely went down, and yeah, I just had so much fun out there. We were able to run the second lane about halfway through the race and I felt really good up there, as well.Without that second yellow I thought that we would have been in really good shape for finishing one-two with Pato and I, and we’ll try to do it tomorrow.I kept asking my timing stand what position we were in, and they would never tell me, they just told me to just keep my head down once we put on that fresh set of tires in the last stint, and I found myself fighting in third place with Rossi, and it was just an absolute blast up there.THE MODERATOR: You started pretty much mid-pack; how difficult was it to do qualifying and then start in the back and then kind of be patient and work your way until the car came in?
OLIVER ASKEW: Well, luckily qualifying doesn’t mean so much, as we saw today, and tomorrow we’re going to be starting in about the same spot. I was kind of worried the first stint didn’t really go very well. We got stuck in one groove and kind of burnt off the right front tire, so that forced us to pit a little early, which ended up helping us, I think. We jumped a lot of cars on that next stint, and that’s when we found ourselves running in the top 5 with Pato. Just an overall super strong day for the team.Q.Could you give us your perspective on what happened on the restart that got waved off? Colton Herta apparently was unaware that it was waved off? Were you aware? And apparently Pato went early. Can you give us your perspective on what happened?
OLIVER ASKEW: I don’t think — well — yeah, I can’t really speak for Pato. It didn’t seem like he went early. I don’t know why it was waved off. I thought it was waved off because there was contact. I didn’t know it got waved off for (indiscernible) waved off. But yeah, I haven’t seen the incident, so I can’t really comment on it. I was told in my ear that it was waved off right away.
Q.Oliver, McLaren when they put this team together decided they were going to go with two young guys, yourself, the Indy Lights champion from last year, and Pato O’Ward, the champion from the year before. It really seems the two of you are both getting to the same level of progress on the racetrack. How do you view the progress and the way that the two young guys are working with this team and the fact that the strategy that the team put in choosing both of you seems to be paying off very well?
OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I think it’s such a good environment right now. Pato and I get along really, really well and we have a lot of experienced personnel on the team. We have Robert Wickens who has recent experience with this car, who I’ve been able to lean on quite a bit over the past couple races. The more seat time I get in this car, the more I understand the ins and outs of INDYCAR, the better I seem to be and the more confidence I have in the car. It was good to put Road America behind us. That was not a very good weekend for myself, and hopefully this can be the start of a good rest of the year.You know, had a pretty good run on Simon. I probably should have gone in a bit deeper. I just didn’t really — yeah, I didn’t pull that move off that well, and I think it was really my only opportunity. He seemed to be a little bit better for the last 10 laps. Sort of 40 to go, 30 to go, I thought our car was really strong, but huge congrats to him. They did a fantastic job, and it was good to see him in Victory Lane.
Q.Oliver, this is your first podium. Based on the revised schedule would you have picked this soon or this track to get a podium?
OLIVER ASKEW: Well, I think this is the third podium in a row for Arrow McLaren SP here, so traditionally we’ve had really good cars and we knew that going in, but I kind of waited for the race to come to us. We made some good calls in the beginning of the race to jump a lot of traffic and ended up running one-two with Pato, which was awesome. I think without that yellow, we would have been in better shape, but that second yellow we would have been in better shape. To be on the podium here, it’s fantastic. My first podium on INDYCAR. Good to get that off my back and under my belt.Yeah, looking forward for tomorrow. Probably one of the funnest races I’ve done in my life. I’m happy I’ll be able to sleep in. I’m happy that these races aren’t during the day because that would be pretty brutal physically. So yeah.
Q.Does this change your goals for the rest of the year? Does it reset everything and now the expectations are higher?
OLIVER ASKEW: No, I don’t think so. The goal is for every weekend that we come across is just to do our best and execute, and that’s what we did today. As long as we keep our heads down and keep executing, we should be in good shape in the future.
Q.Simon, did you think you needed to get by Alex Palou at the end there?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, that was really trouble, to be honest, at the end, the traffic. Alex was doing a great job with his car and I was really strong on the bottom with a charging Scott behind me. That’s always kind of a stressful situation. But I also had to save some fuel to make it to the end. I used him to go fast on the straightaway, but at the end I was trying to press the issue a little bit and I found some things to try to get by, but when tires are used up, it’s a lot more difficult. You’re sliding around a lot more. Certainly not easy when you’re the leader. I didn’t want to throw away the race three laps to go, and I had a big moment three laps to go, so I was trying to force the issue. It worked out.
Q.Obviously it’s the first race of the new scoop on the aeroscreen, so I was wondering how you found it in the cockpit and whether you think it’s something that helped tonight and whether it’ll help moving forward, as well.
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, personally I thought this was an added layer of airflow into the cockpit. I thought it was great handling as long as everybody runs it. Obviously as long as everybody runs it, you’re not going to feel something different. It’s my opinion the more air, the better. Obviously tonight was not too hot, so you’re not supposed to be hot in the race car. It’s under yellow that it gets actually the hottest, but if it was during the day, it would have been tougher. However, it’s an improvement, and INDYCAR is really on it.
OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I kind of echo what Scott said. I don’t think I’ve ever been so dirty getting out of the car in my life, which means that it’s been moving some air into the cockpit. I haven’t done a back-to-back, so I can’t really say if it’s an improvement, but props to INDYCAR car for making the effort for sure.
Q.I don’t know if you’ve had time to look at the Colton Herta crash yet with Rinus VeeKay or if you’ve seen the footage, but I wondered if you felt reassurance now we’ve got the aeroscreen in place; when you see crashes like that happening do you feel a bit more safe as a driver to know that safety device is there?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, personally that was my first thought. I saw two cars flying behind me pretty high. My first thought was thank God we’ve got the aeroscreen. Again, I’ve been in big favor of the aeroscreen for safety. Unfortunately being around what happened to Justin was really tough, really tough for everybody. Obviously being there and seeing it happen was extremely hard, so I’m so glad that INDYCAR is doing everything they can to be the pioneer into a new level of safety, and I welcome it.OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I haven’t seen the incident, so I can’t comment too much on it.
Q.Oliver, first career INDYCAR podium, looks like you and the team are really starting to find your legs out there. Could you take me through the last few laps trying to get past Rossi. And did I hear you, the team wasn’t telling you your position towards the end?
OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I kept asking what position we were in, and I kept asking where third place was, and they just kept telling me to keep my head down. They knew that I would catch him eventually. They were just trying to keep me focused on the task at hand. Yeah, awesome day for the team for sure. I feel great. Now we just need to focus on tomorrow and try to get another couple places better.
Q.Trying to get past Rossi there towards the end, was that a bit of a challenge for you at all, trying to get past Rossi?
OLIVER ASKEW: No, I was on much fresher tires than him, and I think it was Sato that just got around him, so that put him in a bit of dirty air, and he lost some momentum. You know, we were catching him from a long ways back. I think we were good from the start of that last stint.THE MODERATOR: Oliver, Scott, we appreciate your time. Congratulations on the podium finishes, and we’ll see you tomorrow night, and good luck.
Q.Simon, starting 23rd there when your car just wouldn’t cooperate there on the qualifying grid, can you kind of maybe tell us a little bit more about what actually happened there, and how does having to start in last there kind of change your mindset going into the start of the race?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, we had some sort of a turbo pressure issue, so the car wouldn’t start, a problem that’s really rare. Luckily we were able to fix it because we didn’t get to qualify we could fix it thanks to INDYCAR because obviously the new schedule made it so you have the impound rules, but we were able to fix it per the regulation, and it is what it is. I’ll tell you what, unfortunately it’s an engine issue, but Chevy won the Indy. So what can you say? You have to be fortunate about the situation you’re in sometimes, and sometimes there’s going to be outside factors you can’t control, but this team, as you see, is able to always bounce back, and I think that’s the strength, and that’s what’s impressive to me.Obviously definitely not the qualifying we wanted because I think we had a car for both poles, so tomorrow we’re going to have, again, a lot of work to do, but actually starting at the back allows you to learn really early on about lane usage, tire wear. So I think I started really aggressive and dialed it back a little bit afterwards, so that was a different approach to some of the races I’ve been starting at the front on ovals. Interesting for sure, but yeah, just very fortunate that my team had a great strategy, were able to lay down some fast laps in pit sequence and get to the front.
Q.Certainly it’s been the case for you the last four races where you’ve been able to storm up to the front from toward the back, but why especially with this race and this track do you feel like starting position really wasn’t a big factor, not only for you but for all the podium finishers tonight?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, I think tire deg, which is great for racing and a desire from Firestone to create better racing, the fact that we have added weight on the car creates tire degradation. So when you have tire degradation, the better cars show better on long runs, and then you’ve got good cars on short runs, and that creates a difference. So I think that’s why the racing was so good, and that’s why you saw people cycle from the back to the front and vice versa. But also pit sequence was big today. There was a big game to play there. I’m sure tomorrow a lot of people will catch up on it, but yeah, we were able to kind of play a very aggressive game on pit stops and pit sequence, and that just worked out better than anywhere else for sure.But here when you put new tires on and you’re doing obviously 19 seconds a lap and the others are doing 22 seconds a lap, that’s three seconds gained. So if you can do several laps like that, it’s a lot of time when it’s only a 19-second lap.
Q.How early in the race did you realize you were riding a rocketship?
SIMON PAGENAUD: It’s interesting because all of a sudden they said, you’re the leader. I’m like, they’ve got it wrong, there’s no way I’m the leader. I know we’re fast, but I didn’t think I passed everybody. I realized at the start we were really strong. I realized on long runs we were really strong, but we short pitted, and then I passed a lot of people during the pit sequence. So I didn’t get to see the cars I passed, but all of a sudden they’re telling me that (indiscernible) is for position, Josef is for position, I’m like, wow, we’re right there in the mix, we’re right there for the win, and that was early in the race, too. I think that was by lap 80. So pretty early on we were right back in it.From there I just kept my head down really. I just kept pushing. I just kept attacking and I just kept listening to the race car and what we needed to keep going. We didn’t have to make any changes at the end. It was just a matter of being on the right tire at the right time. Glad it didn’t go yellow at the end there, that would have thrown a big curve ball.
Q.And also your engineer Ben Bretzman said after the race that races like this when you’re starting last and you know you have a good car, you just go for it. It makes the strategy that much more simple. Do you believe that it was like that tonight?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, yeah. We are in a situation this weekend where we’ve got nothing to lose. We’re starting last. We’ve got a really good car. We’ve got to go for it. The only thing is I don’t want to crash the car because it’s a good car, you know.That’s the only thing in the back of my mind. You want to be there at the end to play for good position. Certainly did not expect, quite frankly, to win the race today, but I certainly put as much effort as I could to go get it. Yeah, it was certainly one of my best overall races, yeah, but INDYCAR will always top it.
Q.Are you going to do it again tomorrow night?SIMON PAGENAUD: Hey, I never give up. If by now you don’t know this, I’m going to go to bed, I’m going to rest, and then tomorrow morning I’m going to put the knife between my teeth and I’m going from last to first.
Q.Simon, you mentioned all the dust; how disturbing was that, or was it only after they put a lot of speedy-dry down?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Listen, I’m struggling with heat in the car, so whatever INDYCAR is doing to provide airflow, I’m happy. I’ve driven on dirt; it doesn’t bother me. I am dirty, yes; I understand what they’re talking about. But to me it’s more important to get some airflow.
Q.So you’ll take the dirt over the air?SIMON PAGENAUD: Absolutely, absolutely.
Q.Simon, obviously a great win for you and Penske, but some more struggles today with your car in qualifying and Will Power had a problem on his pit stop that resulted in his left front wheel coming off. Does your win today sort of show if Team Penske can put all this stuff that has plagued you guys the first four weeks behind you, you have a chance at winning every week? Do you have any thoughts on the frustrations there about why Penske has sort of had these uncharacteristic problems on execution?
SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, it’s an interesting question. I think it’s a very unprecedented time. I think everybody is having to adjust massively like we are right now doing this videoconference.I think for the team it’s a big adjustment. We used to work a certain way. We used to meet at the shop. I haven’t been to the shop since St. Pete, for example. You know, I used to go there every Monday and sit down with my engineer, with my crew and give them a pep talk and so forth. Team Penske is being very, very cautious on the guidelines of COVID-19. They take it very seriously. We have 550 people on the race team. It would be quite dramatic if we were to have the virus spread within the shop, so they’re taking a huge amount of precautions, and rightly so. I’m obviously a hundred percent behind. It requires us to change our method.Does it have anything to do with what’s been happening? I think it’s just INDYCAR racing in general. There’s a lot of action. The weekends are very compact. Obviously what happened today to us was one problem — I don’t even remember having a mechanical problem in my career at Team Penske. At the end of the day, like I said earlier, you’ve got to be fortunate about what you have and who you drive for, and we’ll bounce back from this and we’ll recover, so that’s what we do.
Q.Do you guys still feel like — Dixon finishes second again tonight. You make a little bit of progress and are chipping away, but is he still pulling away?
SIMON PAGENAUD: He’s a strong man. Dixon when he gets in this position is when he’s at his best. We’ve got to find a way to make him trip. But I’ll tell you what, this is what’s fun about competition. You want to beat the best, and he’s certainly on a roll. His team found the right setups at the beginning of the season. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be the case every day; he qualified 17th today. Obviously he raced really well, but he always does that.But there will be better days for us and worse days for him. We just have to capitalize when he has bad days, as long as his bad days are not second. But we can’t control it. If he does an excellent job, then good for him, but we’ve just got to do everything we can to execute, like I said, and stay up front.
Q.Last time we spoke, you had gone from 20th to second. This time last to first. Does this mean you won’t qualify from here on out?
SIMON PAGENAUD: That’s funny. No, I love qualifying. That’s the thing. It’s one of my favorite exercises. It’s so much fun to be able to put it together on that one lap, and honestly I got the pole here last year, I got the pole in 2016, as well. I was looking forward to try to get two poles here in one weekend.We certainly had the car for it. But at the end of the day, like I said, it’s racing. Sometimes there are mechanical issues. We didn’t crash out of the race. We scored maximum points. Can’t be mad at that. Can’t be mad at anything. Can’t be mad at Chevy at all. These things happen, and I’m 100 percent behind everybody. I make mistakes, too; it’s just — but that was not a mistake, that was a simple mechanical failure. But like I said, I don’t remember having had a mechanical failure in my six years with Penske, so it’s okay. We bounced back, and tomorrow we’ll try to do the same.
Q.Talking about tomorrow, looking at the track, it’s extremely bumpy, it’s very hot, especially in the cockpit for you guys. How do you recover from a race like this to be ready for tomorrow?SIMON PAGENAUD: Yes, that’s a hot topic, and it’s not a play on words actually. It’s a hot topic. I’ve personally done a lot of research on the body, heat and how to treat the athlete the best way to recover, to prepare. I can’t tell you all my secrets because I don’t want the drivers to use my — what I think I have an edge on, but there’s definitely been a lot of research done trying to get a little bit of an advantage. I don’t know if I do, but I know that originally I’m someone that’s very sensitive to heat, and so far it’s not bothering me, so I think we’re doing a good job.But very happy we’ve got more air coming into the cockpit now. Really want to thank INDYCAR for caring about the drivers’ opinion after Indy. It was so hot, so difficult to be 100 percent the entire race.
THE MODERATOR: We welcome Will Power in. Second-place finisher in tonight’s INDYCAR Iowa 250. First 1-2 finish for Penske since 2017. How satisfying is it to you after a couple frustrating races? And we welcome in the winner of tonight’s Iowa INDYCAR 250 Race No. 2, Josef Newgarden from Team Penske. It’s career win 15 for Josef, his third win at Iowa Speedway, his first since he won at Iowa in 2019.
 WILL POWER: It’s just good to have a normal race. Really good just to have a normal race. Obviously very frustrating start to the year, as it has been for the last six years. I don’t know what I got to do. A hundred points out. Who cares? Just going to go try to win races.
Q.A question about the preparation you went through from day one to two. Talk about the specific things you were doing to make sure you were prepared for today’s race and how it actually went.WILL POWER: Physically it was pretty hot at the end of the race. Had too really wheel it tonight. Normally I never 9indiscernible) in a race. This is the first time I felt it. I didn’t really sleep last night because I was so frustrated with what happened.Yeah, good day. Good day. Obviously way out in the points. If Dixon will finish in the top five every race, won’t be a race. Be very tough to beat him.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: To answer your question, it felt great to shake off the pole jinx. I was pretty fired up yesterday. Felt like we had a winning car that slipped away from us. Was really determined that we could come back here and get it right today. Thought everyone did an amazing job.Tim is always on it when he’s calling the race. The boys in the pits are always executing for me. Just had a good run. No unlucky cautions tonight, which was great. Finally able to get the Hitachi car back into Victory Lane. Very happy about that. Very pumped to be with Chevy, have their support, great package underneath us.
Q. Josef, talk about how frustrated you were last night, to come back and have a day like you had today, leading over 200 laps, a great performance with the Firestone tires.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Tricky. It was a tricky night with the tires. Firestone is such a great provider for us. We never have any major issues, no big concerns, no troubles.Yeah, feels good after a night like yesterday just being so frustrated. I felt like we were a bit unlucky with the yellow. Without a doubt just took us out of the race pretty much completely, getting trapped a lap down. Trying to keep the bad luck away from us hopefully going forward now for the rest of the season.
Q.Josef, how much of the frustration you felt stemmed not only from how close you felt like you were on Friday night, but how much of that was close calls, not having been to Victory Lane since Iowa last year?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s probably a bit of both. So frustrated after the GP, catching the unlucky yellow, then having sort of the engine issue at Road America when it looked like we were going to seal up something on Saturday there.Just another yellow flag that was wrong place, wrong time last night. I think all of those three compounded into some frustration of not being able to capitalize on good days.
Q.Will, you’ve come close several times this year. You were frustrated about some bad luck. What has been the most frustrating part about starting really relatively strong with a handful of podiums so far this year and not coming away with a win?
WILL POWER: What’s frustrating? It’s frustrating when you’re so quick and you keep getting screwed by yellows and INDYCAR because the pits close. That is the most frustrating, annoying thing in history. It’s such a bad rule. It should be changed. It should have been changed this year, and hasn’t.Otherwise I would have won a race. Otherwise Josef Newgarden probably would be right up there in the championship, too. Dixon wouldn’t have gotten that freebie win.That’s what I say about the season, man. Screw that bloody stupid closing the pits on yellow crap.
Q.Josef, what is it about Iowa that’s leading you to have so much success here?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. I’ve spent my whole career studying the great Will Power. I’m a huge fan of Will. I respect him greatly. So I think all that work studying him has made me strong here at Iowa.But I don’t know. Honestly, I have no idea. I like short-track racing. I would take 10 short tracks if we could get them on the year. If I knew what it was, I’d bottle it, take it everywhere with me.We’ve always had good cars here. I think that’s why me and Will were 1-2, we had good cars. Certainly challenges by McLaren tonight. We can’t rest on what we did today. Got to be better next year. Good racecars, good teams, makes a big difference around here.
Q.Still your favorite short oval?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say so, yeah. I was really excited to go to Richmond this year. It was a shame we weren’t able to make that happen with the situation going on in the world. Yeah, I would say probably currently it is my favorite short track.
Q.Will, obviously you’re frustrated with some of the logistics and the rules. How do you keep your passion for the sport positive so you don’t get frustrated? How do you keep it so you keep that love and keep wanting to race?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, just have normal races where it’s just strange, abnormal things don’t happen. Like just have straight-up, normal races, be able to use the pace that I have. That would be awesome. That would be just so good.Or you could totally change the tactic and just qualify horribly and do a bad job. The way the rule is right now, end up at the front. You kind of have to take which one you want to do. I’ll take the working hard and trying to be good.
Q.Do you think the frustration would get to a level that you would switch series, go drive somewhere else?
WILL POWER: No. They just need to change the rule. They need to make it fair to people who put a hard, good effort in, spend a lot of money to be at the front, not to get screwed and basically get a drive-through because a yellow falls at the wrong time. Just a horrible rule.There’s a solution for it, but they don’t want to change it. They should change it. Just a terrible rule.
Q.Josef, how excited was your chief engineer being from the state of Iowa with taking this victory home from the pole?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, Travis Law. He’s an incredible chief mechanic. We have great chief mechanics on our team across the board. Travis has done an amazing job for us.He obviously likes coming here because it’s home turf. A little different, normally he has some family members around. Didn’t have that this year with COVID-19. But nonetheless, I think a win here is a big deal for him. It’s a big deal for all of us because of that.Just like last year how we got pretty excited to be able to have a fast car, same thing this year. Wants to make sure we do a great job. He does that everywhere. But everybody would feel it’s a little more special in your home state.
Q.You mentioned a lot of people have been talking about sand and debris in the cockpits. What is the heat situation like? How is that getting in there?
WILL POWER: Yeah, actually I did notice when I got out of the car, there was sand all over my suit. It was hot. I have to say, it was hot and humid. I could have done with more air in my helmet, for sure.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ll jump in and say, too, because we’ve been asked a lot about this. Look, at the end of the day, how do we judge the Aeroscreen? First off, they’ve honestly done an amazing job. The series has knocked it out of the park for pretty much most areas with this Aeroscreen.Are there some things that we still need to be better at, like airflow, pulling debris out of it, like the sand that you spoke about, especially on a gritty track like Iowa? Sure, we still have areas to improve. I think INDYCAR is listening, trying to do as much as they can in the pandemic situation. It’s been a tough year to make progress on anything I think anywhere in the world. But they’ve done a very good job.This Aeroscreen is very good. It’s very, very close to being perfect all around. The airflow quality has been a little lacking. We’ve made it a little bit better with every step. We still have a little bit more to go.There’s some grit that still comes inside the car, which is kind of the nature of an INDYCAR. We spew a lot of sand. We blast it up from the car. We’re swirling a lot of air on the track with the way these cars are designed.These things that need to be improved slightly, I think we’re going to get there. Overall I think I want to say that INDYCAR has done a great job with the screen.
WILL POWER: Thanks to Verizon and Chevy. Seriously, Chevy did a great job. You need to go out, people, and buy Verizon phones or get signed up with Verizon because, let me tell you, the service is amazing. How is that, Newgarden?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Unbelievable (laughter).
Q.Talking about the scoop, the cooling issues, was today a pretty significant step forward with the scoop or were there different things that you’d like to see added to it to improve the cooling?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think they need to do some different things. Look, Road America, no issues for me. Absolutely zero issues. Texas, zero issues. The Indy GP, it’s too hot.I think some of the issues they’re running into is we’ve been trying to force air in, but we’re not getting air out. I think the main issue now is trying to extract air from the cockpit. Is it a terrible environment? No, it’s not a terrible environment. Is it ideal? It’s not ideal. Just kind of in the middle right now of quality as far as the airflow.The reason I went through that is because it depends on the track and it depends on the temperature outside. If it’s a cooler day like at Road America, it’s a long straightaway, you don’t pick up as much grit from the racetrack like you do here at Iowa, there’s not any big problems.I don’t think anyone had major issues at Road America. It’s on days like the GP of Indy where it’s 95, 98 degrees out, it’s too hot, you’re not getting enough airflow in at that point.I think what we’re going to find here it’s not getting more air into the car, it’s more pulling air out of it. Yeah, there’s still things that need to be better. I think that’s what we need to work on.I wasn’t a big fan of the scoop this weekend. I didn’t think that was a positive. But that’s also okay. We test things like that to see if it is a positive or not. My opinion is it wasn’t the right direction. I think we need to do something different.
Q.Hinch was saying on the broadcast he ran into you at the hotel last night, you were still so angry you couldn’t form words. When was the last time you’d been that angry after Friday’s night’s race? Was it the race itself, the effect of the whole season?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Probably the last time I was that angry was qualifying here in 2019. I felt like we were going to qualify on the pole. We qualified third just due to a small miscalculation. It just frustrated me so bad.Look, I’m competitive. You want to be perfect every time on the track. When you feel like you have either a car to put on pole or a car to win the race, it doesn’t materialize, it eats me up inside. You wouldn’t believe it. I couldn’t even sleep last night I was so angry.It is both, to your question. It’s a combination of the season has been so unkind for multiple events leading up to this weekend, then it happened again last night. Really just last night overall. I was just mad about both of those things.I felt like when is the tide going to turn? When are we not going to get these odd engine issues, whatever it’s going to be. We have to have a smooth day where if we’re a first or second place car, we’re going to be able to secure that result.Finally tonight we were able to break through that odd streak that we had.
Q.Dixon has five top fives now in six races. The season is almost half over. Does it feel like the championship is slipping out of reach here?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Not yet. Fortunately not yet. Look, these days I think you have to accept that this is racing, right? There are years where I’ve had tremendous fortunes over other people when they’ve had misfortunes. I think right now you’re seeing that Scott has the lucky end of the stick.It’s hard to predict when that’s going to happen. You never know when you’re going to get things going your way or they’re not going to go your way. You got to really work to stay on track.When you’re in a situation like we’ve been in where things are not going our way, you just have to keep with the same process, keep doing the same things. It’s inevitable that it’s going to turn around. You’re eventually going to get out of this odd cycle where things are not coming your way.I think a lot of it is not down to decision making that we’re doing. I think we’re putting ourselves in as good of a position as we can. We’re just for whatever reason missing it here or there. That’s when you start talking about luck. I hate to use the word ‘luck’ but it is part of racing.Dixon has had a great start. I think we’ve given him a lot of layups already. A couple of his wins were complete layups from us. He is smart, so he is going to take them.Hopefully we can get a couple on the back end. If they hand us some layup, we’re going to try to put it in the basket, no problem, as well.
Q.You’re going into August with Mid-Ohio, the 500, Gateway. Describe the endurance these guys have put up with and now getting the much-needed rest.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s been grueling, totally grueling for our boys, boys and girls, on all the teams. You just can’t underestimate the amount of effort that’s being put in. These people are getting up at 4 a.m. in the morning on a Friday, traveling here, working all day on Friday, not getting out of the track until 1 a.m. in the morning. That’s almost a 24-hour shift, okay?You can’t make mistakes. You’re running a race at the same time in that 21 hours that you’re up for a constant amount of time. They’re doing an unbelievable job, absolutely unbelievable.I think the drivers have a hard time right now, too. But there’s nothing that compares to what the personnel and the mechanics are going through.Look, they’re grinding it out, doing what they can. They do it because they are passionate, they love racing, they want to do it for nights like tonight because they want to race. They have a lot of heart and soul without a doubt. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to do what they’re currently doing on these doubleheaders.This rest coming up for them is going to be very welcome, like you said.
Q.Regarding the championship race, Dixon’s lead, coming as close as you did last night, did you almost enter today feeling this was a must-win of sorts to stay in this race?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, no, no. It’s still too early. We’re not talking like there’s two or three to go as far as race events. So no.We just did the same thing, but we went aggressive. We went as aggressive as we could, did the same program. We knew that eventually all this was going to kind of turn around from a luck standpoint.I didn’t feel the pressure that we had to win to stay in the championship. It was just, hey, let’s go secure a win. We should have won last night, so let’s get it done tonight. That’s purely what the attitude was.Q.How much did the back-to-back doubleheaders take it out of you as the driver? You look a little thinner than normal. How has the toll been on you?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was very tough. Without a doubt, I was pretty fatigued towards the end of this race. I don’t know how to describe it, but like the last 50 laps I felt like I was just starting to feel it a little bit. I was really having to work to concentrate.These aren’t endurance events where you kind of backpedal a bit with the car, take it easy. You are flat out, knife to your throat for 250 laps. That’s how you drive these cars.So to do that two nights in a row in a grueling environment. INDYCAR is honestly a grueling environment. It’s been a little bit more grueling with the Aeroscreen, but it’s always been that way. It’s always been tough.It was very difficult. I think for anyone in this race tonight, they had their work cut out for them. It was definitely a little more fatiguing than Road America. Road America you have a little more time on the straights to catch your breath. This was tough.If they end up doing doubleheaders at other events, what is going to be coming our way, they’re tough to get through. You have to be physically ready for it.
Q.On the Penske eight wide, pretty impressive considering it’s the one time this season where everybody at Team Penske is running everywhere, every series on two different hemispheres.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s amazing what they’re doing, it really is. I think probably, what is it, 10, 15 years ago, probably just 10, Penske was not running this many cars. They didn’t have this many drivers, all this activity going on. They’re doing so much nowadays.It’s just amazing to see how they perform. They excel at every category they run in. That’s very difficult to do. They make it look simple. But it’s really not.They got a polished machine. It’s a lot of years of history. It’s just a tremendous amount of work from Roger and everyone that makes it happen, Tim Cindric, to make sure all themes teams are in sync and working together.Like I say, they make it look effortless. It’s unbelievable how they keep the performance up on all the teams.

NASCAR CUP SERIESTEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JULY 19, 2020
AUSTIN DILLON, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT TEXAS Third Victory for the Camaro ZL1 1LE in 2020 
FORT WORTH, TX (July 19, 2020) – Austin Dillon adds his name to the record books by winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE, his first win of 2020 and third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS).  Holding off the field with three stellar late-race restarts, Dillon led Chevrolet to its fourteenth trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series at Texas Motor Speedway and the third win for the Camaro ZL1 1LE in the 2020 season. The victory, Chevrolet’s 789th all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series, also secures Dillon’s spot in the Cup Series Playoffs. 
Dillon led the bowtie brigade and Richard Childress Racing to a 1-2 finish, with teammate Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat Oil & Gas Camaro ZL1 1LE, posting a Cup Series career-best second place finish in his series debut at the 1.5-mile Texas oval. This is the first time since the 2011 Talladega event that Richard Childress racing has finished 1-2 in the NASCAR Cup Series. The win is the 109th NCS triumph for Richard Childress Racing. 
Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, came across the finish line in the eighth position to round out the Team Chevy top-10. 
Joey Logano (Ford) was third, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was fourth, and Kevin Harvick (Ford) rounded out the top-five finishers of the race. 
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues on under the lights at Kansas Speedway with the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on Thursday, July 23rd, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We’ll roll into our post-race press conference with our race winner, Austin Dillon. Thank you for joining us after a quick visit to the care center.           Take us through the final laps. Not only a win but a Playoff spot as well. How did you approach the final laps?             AUSTIN DILLON: I just had to have confidence that in the moment we had a car that had potential. It didn’t really run well in traffic. Justin and I both talked about what kind of happened in Kentucky with Cole, the way they ran.           If you can get the track position at some point, you can be fast. You saw when we got out front, we had a hot rod. Got to thank all the partners: Bass Pro Shops, American Ethanol, Dow, Coca‑Cola.           But the call was the win, the call that Justin made. I asked him for something. Our car was fading. I thought Tyler, his car was a little better coming down the stretch. He had kind of caught me, but we had track position on him. I said, Man, I got to have something to finish this race off.           He said, All right, we’re taking lefts.           Lefts had freed my car up all day. I was tight. When we put the lefts on, it was the call we needed to go on and win the race.           It came down to just some restarts, not screwing up, making it happen when it counted on those restarts, getting through the gears, timing them. I had some good pushing. My buddy Kurt Busch gave me a good push that first one. Joey Logano was also a lot of help down the stretch.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll go straight into questions for Austin.            Q. Did you just need some fluids? How are you doing?AUSTIN DILLON: Yep, I got a couple IVs in me, feeling great. I felt great once I kind of got in the air‑conditioning. I was kind of wanting to come back out. I gave it all. I left it all out there. At least I can say that. Left it all out on the track.           Yeah, I feel great. The infield care center did a great job of taking care of myself. Kurt Busch, too. Kurt is okay. We’re actually flying back together so it worked out okay.            Q. Did you think you’d be able to survive that number of restarts with people having fresher tires behind you?AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, you know, I didn’t think tires were as big of an advantage, at least my car. Every time we put on four, we really struggled. We were just better on two. I felt like I could keep up with the competition better on two.           The restarts, as far as that went, I knew if I had a good push, I knew I could dictate when everything happened. I had good pushers with Kurt and Joey, like I said. The last one, I timed it perfect. Switched it up where I was in the restart box when I went. It gave me a gap to kind of put dirty air on everyone behind me.            Q. You’ve won two pretty big races in the past. That was on a superspeedway and fuel mileage. Does this mean any more because you had three restarts to earn it?AUSTIN DILLON: Hell yeah, it does. We took it from them. That feels good. I’ve said it to my grandfather. I said, Man, the two races we won were fuel mileage and one was the Daytona 500, it played out. Either way we had to make it happen. So they’re both big wins in my career.           This one, once again, we had to make it happen multiple times on older tires. That was pretty cool. Feels great.            Q. Why do you think you don’t get the credit you deserve from fans? Do you think you deserve more credit from fans?AUSTIN DILLON: I don’t know. It’s okay, man. Sports are sports. You got to have someone you don’t like. Maybe it’s just my background, where I come from. But I got a lot of people that love me, too. It doesn’t bother me at all really. They can either get on the bandwagon and love me… It’s okay. It’s part of sports. Haters are going to hate sometimes, but we’ll be all right.            Q. We heard from your crew chief about the late race call to take two tires. He was very surprised you were the only ones to take two tires. Were you just as surprised to find yourself at the front of the field?AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a good thing when you see no one in front of you. I saw my teammate. I knew he was on fuel‑only strategy. He had a good car there late like I said.           But I felt like our left sides were going to give us the edge on him. Was able to make it stick on the bottom. That’s kind of what pulled it out for us.           What a call by Justin. I mean, he’s done a great job all year of putting us in good positions when it comes to track position. All three of my Cup wins are with Justin. Love the guy. I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done for me and my family.           He’s been putting great products out there. He deals with me. I’m not the easiest individual in the world to deal with. I can get cranky from time to time. It’s just because I’m passionate and I’m a grinder. I feel like I can go out there and compete week and week out with these guys.           This was a huge win for our company, RCR, ECR, everybody that supports us. It was really cool.           It was nice to also have the ball in my court, you know what I mean, to dictate the end of the race.            Q. Nobody can take away you’ve won a couple of major races. When you reference talking to your grandfather about maybe not having earned it in the traditional sense, how much does that weigh on a driver? Were those things that gnawed at you a little bit because of what those races were?AUSTIN DILLON: You stay patient. You have faith. I have faith. Faith can really take you a long way. I’m not saying there wasn’t a lot of ups and downs during that time period. You go through peaks and valleys.           Have you to be able to have a good support system. My wife, my family always believed in me. I couldn’t get there without that. You know what I mean? Without the friends and the family, I would definitely have let it weigh on me. I don’t know how many races it’s been in between. I think somebody said it earlier, it was a pretty big number from Daytona to now.           You just stay diligent. I put a lot of work in during the pandemic to get in good shape. Didn’t look like it after the race, but I’ve been working my tail off in the car. I left it all out there.           But all the work, all the effort, the continued thoughts. You got to think positive, know that it’s going to turn around and come your way. I know I can do this. I’ve done it in the Xfinity Series, Truck Series, won outright in those multiple times. It’s the same guys, just more of them.           Those other wins feel just as good as this one, but there’s definitely an edge to this win. It feel goods.            Q. You talked about how you nailed it on the last restart. You haven’t led much this season. There’s no practice. You’re not getting track time. Maybe it’s been months since you led a restart in a race. How do you hit it and not spin the tires?AUSTIN DILLON: Kind of like riding a bike. I’ve been in that situation before. I’ve been given a lot of shit actually from all my friends about restarts, how I restart for a long time. I don’t ever want to let them down.           I had some dang good restarts at Kentucky from, like, eighth. I’ve always told them, Man, give me something I can drive and I can restart. I definitely made mistakes throughout the past. But I feel like in the right situations, I make it happen.           That was one of those situations where I had to clutch it. I had to make it work. I chose the bottom all three times. My spotter and Justin wanted it the second time. I didn’t feel real great about it the second time. It showed because I was a little late. It kind of backed everything up. Joey gave me a good push to get me going, which helped.           That last one I was thinking top, top, the whole last lap. Coming to the green, I said, I’m going to dictate this race from wherever I start. I chose the bottom. I thought our car was turning better than what Reddick was at that point. I chose that bottom. Just changed up, I made a different move than what I had been making on the restart.           I think it kind of threw a curve ball at the guys. That gave me that little bit of jump that I needed to be able to put dirty air on their nose going into turn one.            Q. How are you a different driver and how is RCR a different team going into the Playoffs this year?AUSTIN DILLON: As much as I hate to say it, I’ve got a lot of experience now in the Cup Series. For a long time I was looked at as kind of a young gun. I still feel young. The biggest thing is I’ve had to step up in the role that I’m in.           You bring Tyler in, who has absolutely crushed it from the Xfinity Series with two championships, brought something to push me. I think that’s something that everybody needs, is competition. I can’t thank him enough for all the competition he’s brought to our company. You got to have that.           When I first came in the Cup Series, I thought I was going to have Kevin Harvick as my teammate. He left. Me and Newman started our deal out. Newman was really great for a long time. Daniel was unlucky last year. We didn’t have what we needed last year, I feel like. Reddick was on fire.           Bringing him in, it really kind of changed the dynamic this year as far as the competition goes. Got to hand it to my grandfather. He’s made some great calls on putting the people in the right places. Even though I’ve argued with him multiple times on it, I got to give it to him. He does a good job. That’s why he’s the legend that he is.            Q. This is the first time since 2011 that RCR finished first and second in a Cup race. How much do you think that will mean to the people in Welcome?AUSTIN DILLON: Huge. Run a family organization back at home, at RCR. It’s so awesome. When you cross those railroad tracks, there’s a sign when you come in there. I can’t wait to get home because I know what it’s going to say on that sign: RCR goes 1‑2, and the 3 team brings home a victory at Texas.           That’s my favorite thing to do, home to all the hard‑working employees that have believed in me, those people matter the most to me. Our fans are huge, but also our employees that dig in and build these great racecars for us.            Q. You’re in the Playoffs now. Tyler is 14 points out. What does he have to do over the next eight races to get in?AUSTIN DILLON: I already seen a lot more maturity this year out of Tyler than I figured was going to be there, truthfully. As aggressive as he was in the Xfinity Series, I didn’t know how he would fare throughout those long races.           He’s taken care of his equipment. That’s a big part of it. I feel like if he takes care of his equipment, he obviously has enough talent in the cars to do it. It’s hard to start in that group from 13 to 24 to get the stage points. That’s the hardest point that him and Randall are going to have to focus on moving forward is getting track position at some of these places to give him opportunity.           He can win anywhere he goes. He has that talent in him. I wouldn’t be surprised next week at Kansas if both of us have another shot with what we’re bringing to the track. We got to do a really good job, like we did today, putting ourselves in situations where we are leading the race and we can take that opportunity to the next level.           I have no doubt that Tyler is going to be a winner in the NASCAR Cup Series.            Q. We’ve heard from a lot of drivers that it’s been a while since they won, they start hearing things, phantom vibrations. Was anything going through your head on those final laps when you had those guys behind you?AUSTIN DILLON: Only thing going through my head was the damn car was really hot (laughter).           The second to last restart, when that caution came out, I kind of had gotten tight into three. I don’t know if it was just because I was giving it all I had there at the end. That caution came out. I’m sure a lot of people were hoping it would go green right there. I think it was good for us. It cooled our tires back down, allowed me to fire it back in there that green‑white‑checkered.           No, I didn’t have any of those phantom vibrations. That was a good thing. You definitely start questioning them. The questioning thing is, like, you don’t want to give it away by choosing the wrong lane. That was my biggest thing. Don’t choose the wrong lane, inside or outside.           At the end, either way you have to make the move on your own. You dictate the start because you’re the leader. Doesn’t matter top or bottom, I knew what I had to do. I was able to make it happen.            Q. They showed Whitney on TV. Have you talked to her?AUSTIN DILLON: I FaceTimed her. She was holding Ace. Mother‑in‑law was there. It was just elation. They’re super happy, super pumped. Can’t wait to get home. Praise the Lord, it meant a lot to our whole family.            Q. Short week heading to Kansas. Since 2016 your results haven’t been what you would expect at Kansas. Talk about coming off of this win, the momentum going into that race.AUSTIN DILLON: Yeah, it’s another mile‑and‑a‑half. Our cars have competed well on mile‑and‑a‑half’s. Tyler had a pretty good run. It was his first Cup start there last year. Justin was crew chiefing him. We have some data from that run.           We weren’t bad in that race. We kind of gave it away in certain areas. We’re executing much better this year than what we were last year. Execution is a big part of it. I’ve studied some of the guys like Brad Keselowski who don’t always have the best car but makes it happen when it counts. They constantly are battling for track position even if they don’t have the best car.           We’re trying to do more of that and put ourselves in more situations, putting yourself up front so you’re comfortable running up there, make your own race at the end.            Q. You have had a couple opportunities to race in front of fans in recent weeks. This was the first event in the state of Texas to have fans. What was the moment like for you to be able to interact with fans?AUSTIN DILLON: Felt really good. I think it would have been awkward without them. That’s why I parked it right in front of them and let them smell that smoke, the burnt rubber. Everything I did was for those fans. I think they loved it.           I also gave the flag away to a little kid. He had a Kyle Busch shirt on. I told him he needed to get a new shirt. Hopefully I transferred him over (smiling).            Q. This whole stretch up until the last two weeks, it was the guys top eight in points winning races. You and Cole now have won races. Do you think it’s fortuitous timing or something we can see more of?AUSTIN DILLON: You saw Tyler up there with me at the end. There’s another guy in that area of points. A lot of disadvantages when it comes to the stages and points side of it. I also puts you in advantage to take chances when it counts. That’s what we did. It worked out for us.           You got to be aggressive in this sport to win races. I’ve kind of noticed that a lot of the great guys that are doing it. We were aggressive with our call. We maintained our position and won the race.            Q. Your teammate obviously has been one of the sources of inspiration for a lot of people. Strong rookie year. Where do you see his future in this sport?AUSTIN DILLON: I think he’s super talented. I think he’s going to be great for RCR for a long time. He’s only going to get better I feel like. He’s got a lot of potential. He shows it week in and week out. He’s not afraid to change lanes.           Definitely pushes me, shows me some things from time to time. I think I can show him every now and then a couple things.            Q. When your former competition on the cusp of the Playoff picture, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson had some problems today, did that change the way you and the 3 changed things up a little bit?AUSTIN DILLON: We didn’t start off real great truthfully our first run. We were bad off, made some adjustments. Never felt like we were out. We’ve had this saying on our car all year: FIDO, forget it and drive on. It’s been good for us. Even when we’re struggling, it’s FIDO, start over.           It was from a military guy that came and spoke to our company at the beginning of the year. I took that and used it. Even when we’re struggling, we kind of never are out of the fight. That was big today because I think with, like, 60 to go, I needed that saying FIDO because I came on the radio and said, We’re not good. We had the track position but we couldn’t hold it. He gave me better track positions. It was like, All right, I got to make it happen, do what it takes.             THE MODERATOR: Austin, we appreciate you joining us, especially after you made a trip to the care center. Best of luck in Kansas.             AUSTIN DILLON: Love you guys. JUSTIN ALEXANDER, CREW CHIEF, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: 
THE MODERATOR: Justin, take us through those last few laps, what it was like from atop the box, especially knowing that you were battling with your teammate as well.             JUSTIN ALEXANDER: Yeah, it was nerve‑wracking to say the least. We kind of had a good lead there about 15 to go. A caution came out. Every time a caution comes out, anything can happen. Especially battling with Tyler, he’s so good. He’s been good all day. He went to the back for a little bit, but came back up to the front.           Those last couple restarts, just nerve‑wracking. Anything can happen. We believed in Austin. He did such a good job the previous one. Just kind of hold‑your‑breath moment. We got through. Austin did a heck of a job. Can’t say enough about everyone on this team.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll start with questions for Justin.            Q. Joey Logano told us the tire that was used today wore but the car never slowed down. The only thing that affected it were the heat and balance. Did you notice those characteristics? If so, how did that influence your strategy on the final pit stop?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: Yeah, I think he’s absolutely right about that. If you watch lap times, we never really fell off any. Sometimes it would get a little faster towards the end of runs. That definitely played into our strategy.           Definitely what he said, really you’re ‑‑ the tires did wear, left side wear was a little bit of an issue. We had to deal with that. Obviously balance. When you take left versus rights, it changes the balance of the car. Definitely we fought that all day along with everyone else.           I think at the end, when we came down there to pit, it made sense to me to take two, or even none. Really, usually you would fire off slower on four tires. For us, we’d been firing off really good on two. We took lefts. Our car was a little bit tight at the time, so lefts freed us up, which definitely helped the handling of the car and let Austin do what he needed to do.            Q. Would you consider today’s win an upset?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: An upset? No. I think it depends in what terms you’re talking about an upset. The last time we were in Victory Lane with Austin was in 2018. It’s been a while since we’ve been in Victory Lane.           I think some people don’t give Austin enough credit. They think he may not be good enough to win races. They don’t give this team enough credit. From that perspective I do think we’re a bit of an underdog to some of these teams, bigger teams. In that respect, yeah, maybe it is a little bit of an upset.           We didn’t back into this win. We didn’t fluke win. It wasn’t a fuel mileage deal. We went up to the front, raced them at the end. The car had every bit of speed we needed to win this race. Our cars have had a lot of speed all year. It’s really about execution. We did put it all together today.            Q. Did the fact that you kind of needed a win to get in the Playoffs, did that affect your strategy calls at the end of the race?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: No. I would have made those calls regardless of whatever we needed. Like I said, four tires for us actually fired off slower than two tires. For me it was a no‑brainer. Two tires, two left side tires, freed our car up which is what we needed at the time. For me it was a real easy call.            Q. How often have you been in the shop during this period? Joey Logano mentioned he thought it was more challenging when you’re down because you don’t have all the time at the shop to massage the cars. How have you handled this?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: It’s certainly different times we live in today. That changes what we do. We do get to the shops. Our road crews, we do go in at nights after everyone is gone. The place is cleaned. We go in for a few hours a couple times a week.           I do get to look at the cars, massage on the cars, kind of final them. The guys at the shop do a wonderful job of prepping the cars for the most part. We just kind of go in there and fine‑tune on them.           It’s been different. I think it’s been good for us, this schedule. Not having practice, I don’t mind it at all. I think we’ve unloaded fairly well most races. The races we haven’t, we’ve been able to adjust and get the car where we needed it.           With all the tools and resources we have at RCR, I do feel like the way we’re running right now does benefit us a little bit.            Q. Did it just become evident from the start you were faster with two tires than four? How do you go through the learning process when you don’t have all the practice notes?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: I think we use history. We look at what happened here last fall, some of the things that happened. It was kind of similar to last fall here, even with a little bit of a different tire.           Definitely just for us, when we put four on a handful of times today, it took a while, 20 laps for the car to come in for us. It may not have been like that for everyone. Definitely our car. We did do two multiple times today. We knew how it was going to fire off, what the handling was going to be with us. For us, it was kind of a no‑brainer.            Q. When you made the call, did you think you’d be able to survive three or four restarts? Did you think you were going to be toast?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: You never know. I really didn’t know. I really thought more guys would do two. I was really surprised only one other guy did two. I think Tyler did fuel only. The rest did four. I was expecting not to be on the font row for that first restart. I was shocked when I saw the guys doing what they did.           Sometimes four tires work for other guys better than two. Those guys made those calls, which was best for their cars. Definitely it’s tough to survive one restart let alone three. Austin did a fantastic job getting out, going through the gears good, clearing the guys through one.            Q. When this aero package debuted, you had speed from the get‑go. You had difficulty translating it on race day. When the season started, you seemed to have made a lot of progress. Do you feel the break and the protocols since impeded your progress or do you think you could have even been better at this point?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: It’s hard to say. It’s definitely the new body this year has really helped us out. I can’t say that the break in the protocol has helped or hurt us really. Every team is kind of working a little bit differently. Everyone is trying to make their cars better.           We definitely took off really well to start. We’ve really been fast a lot of weeks, honestly. We haven’t had finishes to show for it. Had some incidents that have happened, some other things. I really feel like we’ve had all the speed we need in these racecars since Daytona this year.           I really don’t think we’ve gotten any worse relative to the competition to be honest. We just kind of put it all together today.            Q. Austin always is looking to improve himself. How much do you think this win will help his overall confidence and momentum?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: I think a huge boost of confidence to anybody, not only the driver but to everybody on this team, everyone in this organization. It just shows you’re capable of winning and you have what it takes to win versus all these other teams.           But definitely, especially all the restarts, knowing we have speed in the racecars, it certainly just gives you that. Especially Austin, it’s going to give him a lot of confidence going forward.           We’re not too far away from the Chase. It’s not bad to be on kind of a little bit of upward momentum streak right now. It’s good for the whole team. It takes a little pressure off of us on trying to race our way in on points. Sometimes that can get you a little stirred up.           Now we can just go out and focus on what we got to do to improve our team, improve the execution throughout the weekend, be ready for the Chase.            Q. RCR has been fairly forward thinking as far as embracing the technology. A recent example is the documentary about artificial intelligence, Pit Row products you used. Andy Petree has been forward thinking. You have embraced that. The example in that video was a race at Richmond where Pit Row was recommending certain strategies, and it looked like the team followed a couple of things, but diverged from the strategy at the end. Compared to that example today, just in general this year, how are you interacting with these products, as far as artificial intelligence in general, how does that help you and what have you learned from it?JUSTIN ALEXANDER: Yeah, it’s a tool that we definitely use every race day. We actually use it throughout the week in some instances. But certainly on race days. Technology has really kind of gone crazy in the last few years. The things that we can do now, prediction models, a lot of this stuff is statistics, statistics based.           Can’t thank Pit Row and their product enough. Certainly we use it, like I said, on a weekly basis it. It helps us. Helps me call races. Certainly we definitely used it today.             THE MODERATOR: Justin, those are all the questions we have for you. Thank you so much for joining us.             JUSTIN ALEXANDER: Thank you very much. RICHARD CHILDRESS, TEAM OWNER, RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:  THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Richard Childress. How was that, having to watch that from home?             RICHARD CHILDRESS: I wasn’t at home. We have a command center at the race shop. That’s where I’ve been watching the races. That’s where all of our engineers and everyone calls the race from. They actually made the call from the command center to do what they did to both cars.           It was pretty cool to be in there, watch how everything works. I’ve been watching all the races there. They probably won’t let me come back to another race for a while now (smiling).             THE MODERATOR: We’ll roll into questions.            Q. Today might mean more because Austin picks up his first win in 88 Cup Series races. How proud are you of the developments Austin has made since last year?RICHARD CHILDRESS: I mean, it’s great. Chevy did a great job giving us a really good car. Having Tyler right there to work with, he has a teammate that he’s really working good with. To see both those guys racing for the win. I was hoping they didn’t wreck each other. It was pretty cool to see RCR in the front.            Q. How crucial was it to reunite Austin with Justin Alexander?RICHARD CHILDRESS: It’s great. I’ve always believed strongly in Justin from day one. He believes in Austin. Austin believes in him. That’s what you got to have. You look back at all the greats throughout the time. I look back to the Earnhardt years with the crew chiefs he had, Chad and Johnson, the different people, how they worked together. That’s what Austin needed, was someone like this to work with.            Q. This is the first 1‑2 finish for your organization since 2011. What does this day mean for the organization and for you?RICHARD CHILDRESS: It means a tremendous amount because we’ve struggled, and everyone knows that, but Chevy has really worked hard and put together a great car for us. To be able to go out and be able to win in a Chevy and be 1‑2 today, it meant a lot.           RCR and ECR, we’ve got so many partners that stuck with us through the whole thing. To be able to have them bring the win home, a second‑place finish for Cat, it’s just amazing.            Q. Have you even been to a race since the season resumed? You were probably at the Charlotte race because you were in the condo. Have you just been stuck at home? What has that been like?RICHARD CHILDRESS: I really, really miss the people around the racetrack, the fans. That’s my biggest miss. And the racing. But, yeah, it’s different. I went there and seemed like it was one more that I went somewhere. That was the big one, was Charlotte. I was there for both of those races.            Q. What was that like to be there with nobody there?RICHARD CHILDRESS: It was different. It’s really different. It’s great. My phone has been blowing up. I got over 200 texts, my voice mail is full. That means a lot of folks are watching us, people that I didn’t even realize were watching races.           To give them live entertainment, for NASCAR to be the first to bring live entertainment back, it’s great. The fans are loving it.            Q. Why do you think Austin is not given the credit that he deserves as a driver?RICHARD CHILDRESS: You know, I don’t know. I think you get in the 3 car behind Dale Earnhardt, people think your granddaddy gave you this. He earned it no different than Ty Dillon. They had to earn their right to drive their cars. I think that may be a little bit of it.           We didn’t give him the cars he needed. I never forget ’98 when Dale Earnhardt came and said, I want to retire, it’s me.           I said, No, it isn’t, Dale. We haven’t given you the cars.           We haven’t gave him the cars he really needs until this year. Tyler Reddick will win a race before the year is up.            Q. You just mentioned Tyler Reddick. Coming into the year with consecutive Xfinity titles. Talk about where you see Tyler this year.RICHARD CHILDRESS: Just his attitude, what he brings, the pep he’s got in his step. He and Austin have a really good relationship. I think that helps Austin, as well.           Austin drives awesome being competitive. Now he’s got somebody that is going to push him. Both of them are going to do well, for sure.            Q. Over the last 26 laps and multiple restarts, either Tyler or Austin had to hold off Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. What was going through your head? At any point were you trying to give advice subconsciously to Austin the final laps?RICHARD CHILDRESS: It was a nail‑biter, for sure. When we had that big lead there, when Austin jumped out there and got him a good lead, then the caution come out. Wow, man, we didn’t need that. Had to restart. Did good. He had three restarts and was able to maintain and win the race.           Tyler was right there with him. That showed that both of them had cars that were capable to go. For him to beat the best of the best today, that shows where RCR is with both of our drivers.            Q. Obviously this year without the practice due to the pandemic, do you feel your teams have benefited maybe from a little bit less of that practice? Do you feel you need that back?RICHARD CHILDRESS: No, I think actually the fans like it. If you look, with the amount of technology that every team has today, the majority of the teams, the technology is right there for everyone to come out and run really good. We’ve missed it a time or two, but we’ve been able to adjust back in. Just like today, we were a little off at the start, but we came right back in and were able to pull it off.            Q. Do you feel with Austin’s win now putting him into the Playoffs that this team is capable of making that deep run?RICHARD CHILDRESS: We sure plan on it. We’ve talked about it, talked about it all year. We think with everything that’s going on, it depends on how the stages and everything run, we feel we can be right there for the win at the end of the day.           First you got to get in. That was one goal. Next you got to make it to the next round. Eve time you got to make it to the next round. I think if we get there to the final four, we may have a great chance.            Q. It’s been a while since you’ve gone to the next round. Ryan Newman since you’ve really been a contender. What is going to make this team a contender after all these years matching Gibbs and Hendrick and everybody else?RICHARD CHILDRESS: I think this year Chevy has gave us a lot better racecar. We got a lot better racecar than we’ve had in the past. I think that’s going to be the difference this year than in the past.            Q. You mentioned you were in the command center for the final moments of the race. You mentioned technology. Andy Petree has been forward thinking with trying new stuff. Based on recent documents, you have used artificial intelligence from Pit Row. As an old‑school racer, what has been your view of that and how has it helped your organization?RICHARD CHILDRESS: I got to go back to Eric Warren. Eric is a doctor. Andy had a lot to do with it. But we had this put in place, Eric wanted to put it in. We wanted to race Ryan Newman with it.           Today Pit Row and all the technology called for what to do with both teams there at the end. It definitely paid off for us. Pit Row has been a great thing.           I really enjoy it. I can actually see a lot more right there than I can at the racetrack actually, keep up with what every other car is doing. We can listen to every other car. We know where they’re at, know their strategy, when they have to pit, how far they can go. It’s Formula 1‑type technology. It’s really working great.            Q. In addition to things like the new body, do you believe that has helped you this year and the last couple of years to get ahead?RICHARD CHILDRESS: Ask me that one more time.            Q. With you being early adopters of that, technology building up, has that been something that has helped you get up front?RICHARD CHILDRESS: I think it really helps us as far as knowing what our cars are doing and what some of our competition is doing. But I think the key to it is we’ve got a lot better car this year than we’ve had in the last several years. Not that the cars were that bad, but this car is closer to what the other manufacturers that we’re racing is doing.