NASCAR CUP SERIESTEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES JULY 19, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE2nd     TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT OIL & GAS CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE12th    CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE14th    BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 CASH APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE 
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)2nd     Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)3rd      Joey Logano (Ford)4th      Kyle Busch (Toyota)5th      Kevin Harvick (Ford) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Kansas Speedway with the Super Start Batteries 400 Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on Thursday, July 23, at 7:300 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES (INCLUDING TYLER REDDICK PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT):AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerIT’S BEEN 88 RACES SINCE AUSTIN DILLON GOT TO DO THIS – CELEBRATE WITH A WIN IN THE CUP SERIES. MAYBE THIS ONE A LITTLER SWEETER. YOU HAD TO DO IT ON THREE DIFFERENT RESTARTS WITH GUYS LIKE KYLE BUSCH, JOEY LOGANO AND KEVIN HARVICK BEHIND YOU. AUSTIN, THERE’S FANS THERE CHEERING YOU ON. HOW ABOUT THAT?“Not bad for a silver spoon kid, right? I’ll take that. Have to thank everyone at RCR, ECR, Bass Pro Shops. Tyler Reddick, he raced me clean. 1-2 for RCR – this has been coming. We’ve had good cars all year. Justin Alexander and my whole crew. I got my baby Ace back home and my wife, I love them so much. I’m just so happy – thank god.” WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE FOR RCR? WE STARTED THE DAY ASKING YOU ABOUT THE CUT LINE. NOW, YOU’RE ABOVE THE CUT LINE AND IN THE 2020 PLAYOFFS. “To tell you the truth, it means a whole lot. Just for the family, for everybody, all of our partners. Truthfully, I’m out of breath right now. I’m about to go down, I need a drink. That was fun.” HOW ABOUT BEATING THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS? THREE STRAIGHT RESTARTS YOU HAD TO DO. YOU HAD TO EARN THIS ONE AUSTIN! “Yeah, I had to change it up a couple of times. Definitely had to earn it. I changed it up. I waited the second one and I went on the last one. So, it worked out for me good.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT OIL & GAS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd“What a great day for Richard Childress Racing. This organization is working so hard and to have a 1-2 finish like we did is incredible. It felt like we had everything happen to our No. 8 Cat Oil and Gas Chevrolet, but strategy was king today. We had good speed overall and earned some stage points at the end of the first stage, but we got shuffled back for the majority of the second stage when we took two right side tires. That really messed with the handling of our Chevrolet and trapped us a lap down for a while. There were a couple major wrecks later in Stage 3 that we were able to miss and that helped us get our lap back to be able to contend at the end. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, made a great call to take fuel only during the caution with about 30 laps to go and that put us up front for those final restarts with our teammate, Austin Dillon. We really couldn’t ask for much more than what we got today. One spot better would have been great, but the recovery this No. 8 Cat Oil and Gas team made today was huge. We’re racing for the big picture of making the playoffs, so we have to race smart. Days like this will help us get there.”
YOU GO FROM 41 BACK OF THE CUTLINE, TO 14 BELOW NOW, ENTERING THE NEXT RACE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TODAY?“It was not strategy in our Cat Oil & Gas Chevrolet. We had good speed in our Chevrolet ZL1 1LE, but we just couldn’t get our Camaro back in contention after we took right-sides (tires). It really shifted the balance of our Camaro. That just put us behind, and we had to catch a few breaks. Some cars got collected in carnage. We avoided it, but you can’t ask for much more than we got there. Me and my teammate (Austin Dillon) on the front row there in those last couple of restarts and you know, he’s done this a little bit longer than I have, and I’m a little rusty. I haven’t been on the front row in a while and he just snookered me those times. Kyle (Busch) was doing a really good job of pushing me, but that last one I put us in a big deficit and I just couldn’t get back out of it.” WAS IS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND THAT YOU REALLY WANT THIS BUT MAN, THIS IS MY TEAMMATE AND THIS LOOKS GOOD TO RC?“Well, I knew it was going to be important. There was one restart where I probably could have went to his inside and I just wanted it to be between us. I didn’t want to bring other cars into it and make sure we could fight it out. We just got the restarts that kept giving us the opportunities. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done today. But, hats off to the No. 3 and all those guys. They’re working hard. It gets one RCR Chevrolet to the playoffs and now we’re below the cutline. We’ve got to keep fighting. If we can keep running like this, we won’t have to worry about points.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“We had one of our best points days so far this season with the Monster Energy Camaro. We scored stage points in the first and second stages, followed by another top-10 result. I really battled a loose handling car all day, it was really difficult on the restarts and short-runs, so I really had to work my butt off there at the end with all the cautions”. BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 CASH APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14th “A top-15 day for the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Cash App Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team at the Texas Motor Speedway – a long, hot day that’s for sure. Proud of the efforts from our team. Cash App was on the car for the first time, so that was cool. We got Cash App a really good first finish. I thought we had a chance there. If that last caution had not come out, we maybe could have held on for a top-10 finish. But all-in-all, a great effort. Good bounce back from our last two weeks and we’ll just keep pushing to get our cars better. Shoutout again to Cash App for jumping on-board. Being a part of the sport, how cool is that? Get them their first top-15 finish and go onto the Kansas Speedway. We’ll see what we got there.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th“The results unfortunately don’t show it, but the No. 42 team worked really hard today to get the McDonald’s Chevy in a position to be competitive. We started the race way too loose and it was really hard to make any passes with the car handling that way. Chad (Johnston) and the guys kept working on it, and the handling got much better during the second stage, which allowed us to race up to just outside the top-10 at the end of the second stage. We were in a good spot to start the final stage, but got some damage that affected the handling when we were caught up in that big wreck on the frontstretch. We worked as hard as we could following the damage to make the most of our day, so, proud of the team for all the effort today.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 318; Finished 30th“That was not the way that we needed to finish Texas. We struggled some, but overall, our ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes team was good today. Our team worked really hard on the car today and the changes during our pit stops. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we will move on to Kansas this week.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 35th“I bummed the way today ended for my Germain Racing team. Our GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE was really good. We battled being loose at the start of a run, but it would get better and better as the laps clicked away. My guys worked extremely hard to turn this car around from Kentucky and we were putting ourselves in position to have another solid finish. My car jumped out on me under the No. 24 and I hate it for William and his guys too. I had a little damage on the left rear and just wasn’t expecting the car to jump out on me like that. We will rebound and get after it in Kansas on Thursday. On to the next one.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 250; Finished 37thYOU STARTED THE DAY 15TH OUT OF 16 DRIVERS TRYING TO MAKE IT INTO THE PLAYOFFS. NOW, HOW TOUGH WILL THESE NEXT EIGHT RACES BE WILLIAM?“Honestly, it’s going to be tough. We just have to find speed first. We’re not really running good at all and we’ve got to figure that out. Obviously, the 13 (Ty Dillon) got up into us there and took us out, but we were pretty far back anyway. Thanks to Axalta and everybody on the team. We’ve just got to figure it out and figure it out quick before the fall.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT OIL & GAS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us, Tyler. As excited as I’m sure you are for an RCR victory, it’s probably a little disappointing to come up a little bit short. Take us through the last few restarts, what was going through your mind.             TYLER REDDICK: Well, it’s just one of those deals where it’s risk versus reward. For us, to race against my teammate, as much as it’s my responsibility to win for this Cat Oil and Gas Chevrolet, I don’t want to take a win opportunity away from either RCR car.           Just trying to race as hard as I can without getting the 3 in a position where he lifts, slides up, makes me lift, the cars behind us have an opportunity there to win that race.           I just tried to do it as best as I could. I’m not going to lie, he did a really good job in the restart zone of keeping me from getting into a rhythm, being able to work with the 18 behind us, who is one of the best. Had me all jacked up. Kyle couldn’t give me the pushes that he was wanting to give me for himself to battle with the 3. Just got to continue to work on that.           A lot of these restarts throughout the year, we’ve been in mid pack, we haven’t had the opportunity to play with that on the front row. Just came down to that launch. That’s something that I didn’t do a great job of during the last couple restarts.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Tyler.            Q. You’re really in the thick of this Playoff race now. Does that change anything you’ve been doing? Do you have to be more conservative going forward? How do you approach these races as the homestretch comes?TYLER REDDICK: This further cements what I really pressed to my team before starting this race. We have nine races. We have 42 points to make up. Hopefully we can make up more than that. Seems like we already did that one race.           Now it’s about beginning to press and try to be in position to win these races, but not go all in and take a top five day and crash out and lose all those points.           We got to keep being aggressive like we are to get up there with strategy call. Randall Burnett did a great job. Had a fast car. Made some bad adjustment on it. Hurt us, lost a lap. We were in dire situations, two laps down at times.           Between catching the right breaks, getting our car back where it was at the beginning of the race when we had good pace, what it took to get our Caterpillar Oil and Gas Chevrolet back up there. It allowed us to take fuel only at the end, really mix it up, and really put my teammate right next to me. It was between us.            Q. Do you feel this was a little bit of an upset for you guys going 1‑2 or have you been strong enough this year that if you got yourself in position you could do this?TYLER REDDICK: Well, it’s been really difficult. I mean, last two races I’ve drawn 24th. It makes it really hard to get that track position. The pit stall you get isn’t the greatest. The odds are kind of stacked against you at the beginning of the day.           The guys that are in the top 12 in points, they draw pits from the race before. You get what I’m saying? They get the track position at the beginning. It helps them get the race going.           If your car is off a little bit, you make a small mistake, it can really upset the outcome of your race in general. Yeah, we got up there and we stole some track position at the end. Austin and I had good pace on our cars when we had track position. That’s the name of the game at tracks like that that are repaves, have a little bit of age, but the tire falloff isn’t quite there. That’s what makes track position king.            Q. What can this do for the organization?TYLER REDDICK: Hopefully push it in the right direction. We’ve been looking for validation for a long time, what’s the right way to go, which direction we need to take our cars and team. It’s been really hard to search and find that with how much the track position plays into the handling of your vehicle.           Today we saw the capability of both of these cars. Once you got our Chevrolets in that better track position, clean air, it showed itself.           It’s going to be a big confidence booster for myself, Austin. It is going to push the guys back at the shop, the men and women back at the shop, to work hard to give us fast racecars, from the upper management all the way down.           A nice little uplift to take us into the next race Thursday at Kansas, a good track for me.            Q. How challenging was it with the tires? Did that play any role in the difficulty in firing off and doing what you wanted on restarts?TYLER REDDICK: It was my understanding the 3 was on no tires like we were. But it’s possible he took two. There’s a lot going on there.           You know, it’s possible it hurt the initial takeoff. Austin was really able to eat some ground on me there, really execute well there. Maybe that was some of it. I’m not going to make excuses and say it was.           I got to do better. I got to really focus on the things that could have potentially taken away from this race, what can we do to change them from hopefully keeping it from happening in the future.           All in all, great day for our team.            Q. Unofficially you’re about 14 points out of the final Playoff spot. How significant is that with the number of races left at this point going into a Kansas, track you feel good about?TYLER REDDICK: We’re not where we need to be at. But with eight races, 14 more points to get, having Austin locked in I think could be a benefit to us. We just got to keep running races like this.           We’re not going to get lucky every single day, every single outing we have, get cars caught up in messes that we stay out of. We will continue to stay vigilant and keep our Caterpillar Oil and Gas Chevrolet out of those messes, keep finishing these races.           Name of the game, we were two laps down at one point. We never gave up. We had some luck go our way. We had some things fall at the right time and it got us back into the game.            Q. Can you talk about how intense it was dealing with the heat today, how hard it was? Also what kind of goes into hydrating and training?TYLER REDDICK: It’s just your preparation of the week, the week leading in. Just taking the thought, maybe I should drink a little bit of water. Especially if you’re outside doing yard work, working on cars, whatever it might be that you do. Being outdoors, rehydrate your body, keep that replenished.           A little bit harder than I expected. Once you’re in it, you’re kind of stuck with what you got. You can bring some fluids, bring some bags of ice. It can help. You really have to stay on top of it going into the race.           A little harder than I expected. We got some cautions at the right time and whatnot that kind of cooled it back down rather quickly. I’d say the last hundred laps weren’t too bad at all.             THE MODERATOR: Tyler, we appreciate your time. We wish you the best of luck later this week in Kansas.             TYLER REDDICK: Thank you all very much.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Score First Win of 2020 Season and Secure Playoff Position at Texas Motor Speedway

“Wow! I’ll take that. I have to thank everyone at RCR, ECR, Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Off Road and E-Z-GO. And to Tyler Reddick, he raced me clean.  A 1-2 finish for RCR – this has been coming. This is huge for the RCR family and all of our partners – Chevrolet, Dow, American Ethanol, Symbicort, RigUp and Coca-Cola. We’ve had good cars all year. Thank you to Justin Alexander and my whole crew.  Truthfully, I’m out of breath right now. That was so much fun. I changed up my restarts a couple of times. We definitely had to earn it. I waited to go on the second restart and I went on the last one. So, it worked out good for me. I’m so excited to get back home to my wife, Whitney and our new baby, Ace to celebrate with them! I’m just so happy; thank you God. To tell you the truth, it means a whole lot to win.”  -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Oil and Gas Team Power Through to Career-Best Second-Place Finish

“What a great day for Richard Childress Racing. This organization is working so hard and to have a 1-2 finish like we did is incredible. It felt like we had everything happen to our No. 8 Cat Oil and Gas Chevrolet, but strategy was king today. We had good speed overall and earned some stage points at the end of the first stage, but we got shuffled back for the majority of the second stage when we took two right-side tires. That really messed with the handling of our Chevrolet and trapped us a lap down for a while. There were a couple major wrecks later in Stage 3 that we were able to miss and that helped us get our lap back to be able to contend at the end. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, made a great call to take fuel only during the caution with about 30 laps to go and that put us up front for those final restarts with our teammate, Austin Dillon. We really couldn’t ask for much more than what we got today. One spot better would have been great, but the recovery this No. 8 Caterpillar team made today was huge. We’re racing for the big picture of making the Playoffs, so we have to race smart. Days like this will help us get there.”-Tyler Reddick

July 19, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang had the speed to race in the top ten and contend for a win at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. 

But after dodging several earlier incidents, including one on Lap 220 in which he had to drive part of the way into the grass to avoid spinning cars around him, DiBenedetto’s No. 21 Mustang received damage when a rookie driver made an unexpected move to pit road.

DiBenedetto wound up with a disappointing 17^th-place finish, but remains in 12^th place in the Cup Series standings. That allows him to be among the drivers who draw for the top 12 starting spots for Thursday night’s race at Kansas Speedway. And he’s now 51 points ahead of 17^th place in the Cup Series standings, with eight regular season races remaining before the top 16 drivers start the 10-race Playoffs.

DiBenedetto ran in the top 10 for most of Sunday’s 500 miler, finishing 11^th in the first Stage and 13^th in the second, but moved into the top five as the third segment of the race began to unfold.

He pitted from the lead with 43 laps remaining and was poised to rejoin the top five when that round of green-flag pit stops cycled through.

But with 24 laps to go, and several leaders yet to pit, contact at the entrance to pit road sent DiBenedetto back to the crew for repairs, which kept him from taking the wave-around at that point.

DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew continued the battle, and were in the free pass position when the caution flag flew with 16 laps remaining.

He rejoined the field in 19^th place and regained two more spots to finish 17^th.

“Obviously we were hoping for more, but it could have been a lot worse,” Eddie Wood said of his team’s result at Texas. “Matt drove a smart race. [Crew chief] Greg [Erwin] made good calls from the pit box, and the pit stops were really good.”

“Because some of those around us in the points standings had troubles too, it wasn’t as damaging as it might have been.”

Wood said he remains optimistic heading into the upcoming races.

“When a car has the speed ours has had in the past few races, things have a way of working out for the good,” he said. “Our team will move on to Kansas and get back to work there.”
 

·        All-Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat final between Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman at Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals rescheduled to take place during the U.S. Nationals in September

·        Hagan advanced to final round for second consecutive event, while Beckman has done the same in three of four events this season

·        Three DSR Mopar Dodge//SRT- sponsored Funny Cars atop Funny Car points standings with Beckman, Tommy Johnson Jr., and Hagan

·        Leah Pruett drives Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye dragster to a semi-final appearance at Lucas Oil Raceway to remain second in Top Fuel points

·        Pruett and Mark Pawuk both took Challenger Drag Pak to eliminations appearance in first Factory Stock Showdown of the year

July 19, 2020, Brownsburg, Ind. – Another national event Funny Car win was within sight as the second All-Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat final round showdown in as many weeks had Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) teammates Matt Hagan and Jack Beckman set to go head-to-head at the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals, when the skies opened up above the Indianapolis drag strip and spoiled the day. 

Hagan, coming off an event win last week in another all-Mopar final against teammate Tommy Johnson Jr., worked his way through eliminations after qualifying 13^th and was headed back into a battle for the Wally trophy with a new red, black, and chrome SRT Hellcat Redeye livery. For his part, after qualifying sixth, Beckman was poised for his 66^th career and third final round appearance in four races this season, and was looking to add to the pair of wins he already had under his seatbelt in the Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.

The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series has rescheduled the rained-out final to take place during the U.S. Nationals Sept. 3-6., at Lucas Oil Raceway.

To get to the finals, Hagan defeated DSR teammate Ron Capps, JR Todd and Bob Tasca, while Beckman sent Chad Green, Tim Wilkerson and DSR teammate Johnson Jr. home early.

No. 2 qualifier, Johnson Jr. began his day with wins over Bob Bode and Cruz Pedregon for a semifinal round match against Beckman. Johnson, who earned a Wally at Phoenix earlier this year, had the early lead but saw his 4.027 second run overshadowed by Beckman’s 3.969 to move on to the final. Johnson however remains second to Beckman in the Funny Car standings.

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat of Ron Capps had a solid qualifying performance that put the DSR driver No.4 on the ladder and gave him lane choice over his first round opponent. Unfortunately, for a second week in a row, that first round pairing was against a DSR teammate and last week’s race winner, Hagan. While Capps’ 3.967-sec./ 324.59-mph run was the third quickest of the round, it wasn’t enough to oust Hagan and his 3.931 sec/321.58 mph effort.

In Top Fuel competition, No. 2 qualifier Leah Pruett and her red-hot Mopar Dodge SRT Hellcat Redeye dragster looked solid throughout the weekend and early elimination rounds with first round victory over Lex Joon and a hole shot to beat Billy Torrence to advance to a semifinal appearance against Justin Ashley. Misfiring cylinders ended her hopes of beating Ashley but still put Pruett in second in the Top Fuel rankings.

Pruett pulled double duty this weekend joining Mark Pawuk for some SAMTech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown action. The pair took their Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks to their first elimination round runs of the year in the first of eight FSS events this season.

Sporting a fresh new livery on his Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak, 12th-seeded Pawuk lined up next to No. 5 qualifier Arthur Kohn in the opening round, but his 8.135 second elapsed time run at 169.85 mph wasn’t quite enough to beat his opponent’s 8.057 sec. /170.88 mph pass to move on to the next round.

A similar fate awaited Pruett who, from her 16^th place qualifying position on the ladder, drove her Angry-Bee themed Mopar Challenger Drag straight down the lane to post a 8.200 second E.T. at 168.07 mph but wasn’t able to challenge No. 1 qualifier Chris Holbrook’s 7.980 sec./ 174.55 mph pass.

The pair will get back in their drag paks next month at the second FSS event of the season, scheduled to take place at the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway (Aug 28-30).

Next on the updated 2020 NHRA schedule will be a third consecutive national event to take place at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, replacing the previously slated 32nd edition of the Dodge Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colo., on Aug 7-9. The Dodge-sponsored event, which boasts the longest continuous sponsorship in the NHRA and one of the longest in all of motorsports, has been postponed due to pandemic-related issues, but hopes to be rescheduled for a later date this season.

NOTES and QUOTES: 

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

(No. 6 Qualifier – 4.059 seconds at 299.66 mph)

Round 1: (0.076-second reaction time, 4.032 seconds at 310.77 mph) beats No. 11 Chad Green (0.159/4.323/293.86)

Round 2: (0.061/3.991/317.72) beats No. 3 Tim Wilkerson (0.069/4.009/316.82)

Round 3: (0.074/3.969/321.65) beats No. 2 Tommy Johnson Jr. (0.062/4.027/309.56)

Round 4: To be completed at U.S. Nationals vs No. 13 Matt Hagan

“In a lot of ways these races will have a little asterisk next to them, what’s not going to be different is the trophy. It’s the exact same size as every other Wally we’ve earned. It’s going to mean just as much. We’re going to work just as hard for it. Whether we run tonight, tomorrow or in three weeks it really doesn’t matter to me. We have a car and a team that can adjust. We struggled in qualifying and they worked hard and figured it out. The car came around and we’re in another final round and someone is getting a trophy. I don’t care when they run it, we’re gonna run our tails off.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  
(No. 13 Qualifier – 4.275 seconds at 283.73 mph)
Round 1: (0.087-second reaction time, 3.931 seconds at 321.58 mph) beat No. 4 Ron Capps (0.070/3.967/324.59)  

Round 2: (0.097/3.949/323.81) beat No. 5 JR Todd (0.069/4.028/317.19)

Round 3: (0.078/3.946/324.36) beat No.1 Bob Tasca (0.062/4.010/320.13)

Round 4: To be completed at U.S. Nationals vs No. 6 Jack Beckman

“We were on a roll today coming off the win last weekend. We have a beautiful car with the red chrome Hellcat Redeye. It’s definitely one of my favorites in the 12 or 13 years I’ve been with DSR. I’d love nothing more than to put it in the winner’s circle for Dodge and Mopar and then the rain rolled in. You never know what will happen for weather and I’m glad we have lane choice, but Jack’s (Beckman) car is really good. That’s a strong team. All of the DSR cars are. We’re ready to go. No matter if we race tomorrow or in three weeks, I have all the confidence in Dickie Venables and this team.”

Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 2 Qualifier – 4.017  seconds at 300.86 mph)

Round 1: (0.084-second reaction time, 4.123 seconds at 278.06 mph) beats No. 15 Bob Bode (no time)

Round 2: (0.052/3.979/317.57) beats No. 7 Cruz Pedregon (0.058/5.902/118.04)

Round 3: (0.062/4.027/309.56) lost to No. 6 Beckman (0.074/3.969/321.65)

“It was another good weekend for this MD Anderson Dodge team and we’re just keeping our momentum going. Another solid qualifying effort and some more round wins. We just didn’t have enough in the semis against (Jack) Beckman, but I’m very happy with how our team is performing. (Matt) Hagan’s car is running great and it’s shaping up as a three-way DSR Funny Car battle for the championship and I’m glad we’re a part of it. It’s fun. We’re getting quite a bit of data for racing here and in hot, humid conditions and that will continue to benefit us during these summer months. We get a few weekends off and the team needs that before we get to go after that Wally trophy here at Indy in three weeks. “

Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 4 Qualifier – 4.054 seconds at 312.86 mph)  
Round 1: (0.070-second reaction time, 3.967 seconds at 324.59 mph) lost to No. 13 Matt Hagan (0.087/3.931/321.58)

“We had a really great hot rod and were really happy with how we ran in qualifying. Sometimes with luck of the draw you end up racing Matt Hagan and (crew chief) Dickie Venables first round and that is just how it goes. You know when you pull up to the line they are going to swing at it, so we had to swing right back, and we did. It was a great run. The NAPA guys and (my crew chief) Rahn Tobler did a great job getting our car ready. Our run would have beaten just about any other car in that round with us running third-lowest E.T. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the run we needed today. We have shown as a team that we can run with the best, and I’m really looking forward to getting back here in three weeks.”

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster  
(No. 10 Qualifier – 3.934 seconds at 306.33 mph)   
Round 1: (0.073-second reaction time, 3.820 seconds at 316.97 mph) beats No. 15 Lex Joon (0.065/4.104/242.71)

Round 2: (0.044/3.818/314.46) beats No.10 Billy Torrence (0.080/3.793/320.36)

Round 3: (0.102/4.530/171.62) lost to No. 14 Justin Ashley (0.055/4.049/237.09)

“I do feel that we have the best horse on the property between qualifying well and going rounds on Sunday. Unfortunately, we had a couple of holes (cylinders) out early against Justin (Ashley) in the semis and we kicked the belt off. They had issues too, so that makes it a bit tougher. What works best is when the crew chiefs, team and me are on the same page and I felt we were today. I will say this is the best-looking Top Fuel car on the property. I’m excited for the Hellcat Redeye colors to run again, and we’ll keep picking up momentum and building on what we’ve learned the last two weekends and be ready to go in three weeks.”

Factory Stock Showdown 

Leah Pruett, Mopar Challenger Drag Pak  
(No. 16 Qualifier – 8.146 seconds at 168.32 mph)   
Round 1: (0.077-reaction time, 8.200 seconds at 168.07 mph) lost to No. 1 Chris Holbrook (0.041/7.980/174.55)

“No matter what category you’re in, one day of qualifying with just two hits is a challenge. We got our two DragPaks qualified and we had to race the No. 1 qualifier (Chris) Holbrook. We tuned for the changing air and weather conditions. The package that we currently have is making it challenging to turn on win lights. We’re working very hard to change that, but in the interim we’re doing the best job with what we can. The result is that win lights will be hard to find. This is a very different class than Top Fuel where we can see progression from run to run. This particular class, progression happens on the dyno, at the shop, in making laps and with rule changes. We know that we don’t have an upper hand and it speaks a lot for Dodge and Mopar and our team to be fighting this fight and it’s a difficult run. We do see the light at the end of the tunnel and we know we can achieve what we have in the past with these Drag Paks.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Challenger Drag Pak  

(No. 12 Qualifier – 8.078 seconds at 170.28 mph)  

Round 1: (0.048-reaction time, 8.135 seconds at 169.85 mph) lost to No. 5 Arthur Kohn (0.033/8.057/170.88)

“It’s great to be back behind the wheel of our Empaco Challenger DragPak this weekend here at Indy. We qualified in a very tough field. We left well, but unfortunately we’re struggling to keep up. We’re going to keep working hard to find a way to create more power and see what we can do to be more competitive. It was awesome to see fans in the stands with everything going on with Covid. It’s nice to be out at the track and I can’t wait to make more laps at Atlanta and Indy in late August.”

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 19, 2020) — What a difference one day made for Terry McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil Top Fuel team. After two tough runs in qualifying at the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis, McMillen’s team rolled into race day as the No. 12 qualifier and facing a first round match-up with the winningest Top Fuel racer ever, Tony Schumacher. The AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was up to the task and not only advanced from the first round raced to a semifinal finish and a jump in the Mello Yello point standings. McMillen moved up to No. 9 in the points and is just six points out of seventh place.   “I think everything on that car was gone through with a fine tooth comb last night,” said McMillen, from his lounge at the end of the day. (Crew chief) Rob (Wendland) had the chance to look as some other things. We found a couple different spots that we needed to tickle differently. We did that and from then on it has been fast.”   The opening run today for McMillen and the AMALIEⓇ Motor Oil XTERMIGATORⓇ Top Fuel dragster was one for the ages. McMillen never trailed in the race, grabbing a string line advantage and posting low ET for the event. His winning elapsed time of 3.765 seconds at 320.66 mph propelled him into a second round match-up with three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown.   “You can walk back after that run with your chest sticking out a little bit,” Rob Wendland, McMillen’s crew chief. “(Hall of Fame crew chief and Wendland mentor) Austin Coil would let me look at runs. He told me what he liked about me was I looked at all the bad runs not the good ones. I knew I needed to know why it did something. If you figure that out that is a good mentality for tuning. Seeing your plan come together is very gratifying. We have been working to get to that run for a long time. It was showing us something but it was really hard to figure out. I kind of thought we were being too big of wimps with it and it was the right call,” Rob   In the second round McMillen again brought a strong race car to the starting line. Both drivers launched aggressively but it was McMillen and his Amalie Top Fuel dragster getting to the stripe first.  Another strong run of 3.796 seconds which was again the quickest run of the quarterfinals set him up against T.J. Zizzo.   “The environment we are racing in is totally different,” said McMillen. “We don’t have four qualifying shots where you get to throw a home run shot on Friday night and move all the way to the top of the ladder. Everybody has had to make some adjustments to get the car down the track. You have to make sure you are qualified because race day doesn’t happen if you aren’t in. We came out on race day ready to roll and man, what a weekend.”   In the semifinal with a SummerNationals final round appearance on the line McMillen came up just a tick short. McMillen left the starting line first and was right beside Zizzo the entire length of the track but his performance fell off slightly, slowing his dragster to a respectable 3.891 second pass at 310.13 mph but it wasn’t enough for Zizzo’s 3.837 second run at 319.67 mph. While his day was wrapped up one round too soon for his taste McMillen has a ton of confidence moving forward with the rest of the season.   “The way I look at it right now any time we go to the starting line we are a threat. We can outrace any car out there on any given day. E3 here it just didn’t work our way. We dropped a hole early but we still ran a 3.89 which is pretty stout. There is just a little more fine-tuning and we will have it. The team and Rob did an amazing job. It was just the matter of getting the chemistry right with the parts and the team and we just went out there and made it happen. We made some statements today,” added McMillen.   Qualifying Results Q1: 4.017 sec, 257.58 mph; Qual. 10 Q2: 6.311 sec, 100.25 mph; Qual. 12 Bonus Points: 0   Race Results E1: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.765, 320.66 mph def. Tony Schumacher, Austin, Texas, Global Electronic Technology/Toyota, 4.447, 195.25 mph   E2: Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster, 3.796, 321.96 mph def. Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco/Global Electronic Technology, 3.927, 308.35 mph   E3: TJ Zizzo, Lincolnshire, Ill, Rust-Oleum dragster, 3.837, 319.67 mph def. Terry McMillen, Elkhart, Ind., Amalie Motor Oil dragster,3.891, 310.13 mph   Terry McMillen Racing based in Elkhart, Ind., is a Top Fuel drag racing team competing in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The team was founded in 2007 and has shown remarkable determination and dedication. McMillen won the prestigious Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals in 2018 and has qualified for the NHRA Countdown, the end of season playoffs, in 2017 and 2018. Throughout his career with longtime sponsor AMALIE® Motor Oil McMillen has raced to eight final rounds including a career best five finals in 2018.

WHEATLAND, MO (July 18, 2020) – Payton Looney became just the second driver from Missouri to win the Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 – Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com on Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Speedway. The 26-year-old from Republic, Missouri earned $20,000 for his richest career win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and Lucas Oil MLRA co-sanctioned event.Looney and Shanon Buckingham swapped the lead back-and-forth in the early going. Looney led the first seven circuits of the race, until Buckingham forged ahead on lap eight. Buckingham was out in front until lap 22 when Looney passed him for the top spot. After the only caution of the race on lap 28 Looney pulled away from Buckingham and led the rest of the way to become the 14th different winner this year on the LOLMDS tour. Kyle Strickler made up ground late on Looney using the top line of the track. Strickler got to within 1.67 seconds of Looney at the finish line. Buckingham came home in third. Chris Ferguson got around Ricky Thornton Jr. to claim the fourth finishing position. Thornton, Jr. rounded out the top five. Looney was joined by his family in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the biggest win of his racing career before his home state fans. “I was fading really bad,” said Looney. “I was just kind of a sitting duck or whatever you want to call it. I guess I burned up my right rear. I don’t know I haven’t even looked at the tires yet.  Once it cleaned up and I went to the bottom like that, I just can’t park like those other guys can. They can go in and get stopped and get going better than I can. I need to be able to use the racetrack and get momentum. That’s what I kind of did early on. I was just riding around out there, and then I saw Shanon get by me. It didn’t really change anything I was doing. I just kind of ran my race a little bit. Once that top kind of cleaned up I knew I could circle back by him.” “My guy was giving me signals and I knew what kind of lead I had. I was content to ride around the bottom behind Bronson in the closing laps. It just all worked out. I have changed my mindset a lot this year. I have put a lot of pressure on myself. I have a beautiful wife and kids. There are always more races, but this one is special,” said Looney. He now joins the 1999 winner, Terry Phillips, as the only winners of the crown jewel event from the Show-Me State of Missouri. Strickler’s late race heroics almost paid off, but he fell just short of the biggest win of his late model career. “First off, this in an absolutely amazing facility. This is the first time I have been here, and I am sure I will be back. I just needed a little more on the top. I think those guys up front with me burned it up a little too much. So much of this is patience. Being a modified guy, we don’t get too many 100-lap races. To bounce back after last night at Tri-City and the misfortune we had there feels good.” Buckingham was impressive all race long. He stayed in the top three the entire distance, leading to the third-position payday. “I guess I am a little more of a finesse driver. When I first started racing, we didn’t have the money to tear stuff up and knock down the walls. My dad always said bring it home in one piece so you can race next week. I think I learned that way and I think I erred on the safety side too much. This track just suits me. I like the slick and I like momentum racing where the right foot makes the difference.” The winner’s Capital Race Car is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored Atnip Express, Atnip Motorsports, Duvall Electric, and Swift Springs. Completing the top ten were Rick Eckert, Jimmy Owens, Tyler Erb, Tanner English, and Chad Simpson.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Lucas Oil Show-Me 100 – presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com
Saturday, July 18th, 2020
Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MOLucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Payton Looney / 15.537 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Chad Simpson / 15.629 seconds 

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 15L-Payton Looney[1]; 2. 22F-Chris Ferguson[5]; 3. 00-Jesse Stovall[2]; 4. 1ST-Johnny Scott[4]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[9]; 7. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 8. 50X-Kaeden Cornell[11]; 9. 93-Mason Oberkramer[8]; 10. 91P-Jason Papich[3]; 11. 59-Garrett Alberson[10]

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[5]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 7. 57-Mike Marlar[7]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[10]; 9. 9-Devin Moran[6]; 10. 1X-Aaron Marrant[9]; 11. (DNS) 53-Andrew Kosiski

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 2. 1C-Chad Simpson[1]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[4]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[6]; 5. 1V-Will Vaught[5]; 6. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 7. 3W-Brennon Willard[10]; 8. 32B-Cody Laney[9]; 9. 12C-Scott Crigler[11]; 10. 6H-Al Humphrey[12]; 11. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 12. 58-Jeremiah Hurst[8]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 50-Shanon Buckingham[1]; 2. 75-Terry Phillips[3]; 3. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh[2]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[4]; 5. 14-Josh Richards[5]; 6. 91T-Tony Toste[10]; 7. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 8. 15D-Justin Duty[8]; 9. 78S-Steve Stultz[11]; 10. 21F-Johnny Fennewald[9]; 11. 14M-Reid Millard[12]; 12. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 2. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 5. 93-Mason Oberkramer[9]; 6. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 7. 57-Mike Marlar[6]; 8. 50X-Kaeden Cornell[7]; 9. 1X-Aaron Marrant[12]; 10. F15-Jeremy Conaway[15]; 11. 91P-Jason Papich[11]; 12. 59-Garrett Alberson[13]; 13. 9-Devin Moran[10]; 14. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 15. 53-Andrew Kosiski[14]

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 2. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[3]; 3. 1V-Will Vaught[1]; 4. 32B-Cody Laney[7]; 5. 15D-Justin Duty[8]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 91T-Tony Toste[4]; 8. 78S-Steve Stultz[10]; 9. 21F-Johnny Fennewald[12]; 10. 12C-Scott Crigler[9]; 11. 3W-Brennon Willard[5]; 12. 22H-Daniel Hilsabeck[13]; 13. 14M-Reid Millard[14]; 14. 6H-Al Humphrey[11]; 15. (DNS) 71-Hudson O’Neal; 16. (DNS) 58-Jeremiah Hurst

July 19, 2020 Jim Allen

(July 18, 2020) Watsonville, CA, By Jim Allen … Four-time NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series champion Kyle Hirst held off Justin Sanders in a fierce sprint car battle to score a stout $5000 payday in Saturday’s 10th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway.

Hirst, piloting the famed Williams Motorsports number 0 Maxim for only the second time, become the only three-time winner of the race named in honor of a West Coast racing legend.  The 88-year old Kaeding was in victory lane to greet the winner of this year’s edition which was staged in front of an empty grandstand.

Hirst, who started on the pole of the 30-lapper after claiming the Sunnyvalley Bacon dash, was the class of the field for the first 10-laps despite three caution flag restarts.  From that point on, it was a no holds barred open wheel scrimmage through lapped traffic with Sanders and Friday night winner DJ Netto.  Sanders and Netto made contact with the defending NARC-KWS champion bringing out the caution flag at the halfway point.

Once action resumed on the racy quarter mile oval, Hirst and Sanders turned up the heat and battled inches apart lap after lap.  Sanders, steering the North County Plastering/Alkaline 88 sprinter, actually took the lead briefly on three occasions negotiating through slower cars, but Hirst answered each challenge with moves of his own.  Hirst held on to win by .626 seconds.  Sanders pocketed $3,000 for his runner-up performance.

“He made me work for it,” admitted a winded Hirst in victory lane.  “I like racing with Justin and it got really tight a couple of times in lapped traffic.  I have to thank this team for giving me a great car.”

Indiana’s Spencer Bayston, who started 15th in the 24-car grid in the Tarlton Motorsports KPC, methodically sliced his way through the field and picked off Mitchell Faccinto on the white flag lap to earn the final podium position.  Bayston also claimed the Swift Metal Finishing hardcharger award.

Faccinto’s efforts came aboard the Western Metal Company KPC.   Two-time series champ Tim Kaeding rounded out the top five aboard the Bates-Hamilton R&B Company Maxim.

Blake Carrick, Shane Golobic, Andy Forsberg, Ryan Bernal and Sean Becker were the next five to cross the checkered.

DJ Netto was the class of the 32-car field in qualifying, clocking a 12.041 second run.

Heat race wins were captured by Willie Croft, Chase Johnson, Shane Golobic and Bud Kaeding.  Joey Ancona won the 12-lap semi.

NEWTON, IOWA TEAM CHEVY RACE 2 NOTES & QUOTES JULY 18, 2020
TOP CHEVROLET UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.   DRIVER1^st       JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET2^rd       WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET4^thSIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET6^th       OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1^st      Josef Newgarden (Chevrolet)2^nd      Will Power (Chevrolet)3^rd       Graham Rahal (Honda)4^th       Simon Pagenaud (Chevrolet) 5^th     Scott Dixon (Honda)
Josef Newgarden conquerors Iowa Speedway for third time leading 214 of 250 laps; first driver to win at Iowa from poleChevrolet drivers capture four of top-six finishing positions in sweep of Iowa doubleheader
NEWTON, IOWA – Josef Newgarden shook off the disappointment of an ill-timed caution during Race One on Friday night to take advantage of starting on the pole and finish in Victory Lane in tonight’s Race Two of the Iowa INDYCAR 250s. 
Between the green flag and the checkered flag, the two-time and defending NTT INDYCAR Series champion, driving his favorite No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, led 214 of 250 laps to become a three-time winner and the first to win from the pole. His other victories at the .875-mile oval came in 2016 and 2019. 
Following in Newgarden’s tire tracks at the finish was teammate Will Power. Power was credited with leading once for two laps behind the wheel of his familiar No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.  
Last night’s winner Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, who again was the last car on the starting grid, came home in fourth.
Giving Team Chevy four of the top-six finishers was Rookie-of-the-Year contender Oliver Askew finished sixth in his No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.
Graham Rahal (Honda) completed the podium.
Pagenaud leaves Iowa second in the standings, 49 points behind the leader.. Newgarden is third, followed by Pato O’Ward in fourth and Power in fifth,
The NTT INDYCAR Series season continues August 9th at 1:30 p.m. ET with the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in Lexington, Ohio. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR MOBILE APP powered by NTT DATA.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race WinnerAFTER LAST NIGHT, TO COME OUT HERE AND WIN THIS ONE FROM THE POLE, HOW GOOD DOES THIS ONE FEEL?“It feels really good. I don’t know what we’ve got to do to keep the bad luck off of us, but hopefully this is a start. Our guys did an amazing job yesterday. I was so disappointed for them because I felt like they had the winning car. They put in the work and we just weren’t able to get rewarded for it. I was so determined to come back today. I think everyone was determined to come back and have a really good race. And we just ran hard. We ran hard all day. I’m so proud to be powered by Chevrolet. I felt like we had the package to beat: fuel mileage, durability, we had the power. And then to have Hitachi back on, they’ve been a good luck charm for us. Thanks to Hitachi. Thanks to everybody at Team Penske back at the shop. I’m just thrilled we were finally able to get this monkey off our back.”
YOU ARE THE FIRST DRIVER AT IOWA TO START ON POLE AND END UP IN VICTORY LANE. YOU MADE IT LOOK EASY“I heard that stat. I don’t think I’ve been on pole here before. So, I was sitting there thinking you know, we can do that. I don’t know why we can’t convert from pole. It’s just kind of a silly stat, I guess, that’s kind of run through to this point. I knew we had speed. I felt totally confident. When Tim’s (Cindric) is on my stand and I have my guys doing pit stops, I have complete confidence we can win any race that we go into. That stat wasn’t bugging me.”
WHAT CAN THIS DO FOR YOU IN PROPELLING THIS TEAM FORWARD AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES?“Well, we needed to. It would have been nice if we could have had a couple of the finishes where we thought we should have been. I think at Road America, we had a winning car on Saturday. I wasn’t able to secure that. We had a podium to slip away at the GP. I knew we needed a win and we need another one to come soon enough, too. It’s not going to be just one. We’ve got to be able to put consistent finishes on the board.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 2^ndAFTER A COUPLE OF ROUGH RACES, HOW GOOD DOES IT FEEL JUST TO PUT A SOLID NIGHT TOGETHER?“Yeah, it feels good to have a solid day. I’ve got to thank Verizon and Chevy for all the support. And, yeah man, we would have loved to have the win, of course; but it’s seeming like if you did a good job in the series, you just get screwed. So, I’m glad for once we actually get a good result out of it. So, soldier on. I’m exhausted.”
WHAT’S THE STORY ON YOUR ICE BATH LAST NIGHT?“It made me feel good. It’s so bloody hot in these cars now. Man, I’m going to need one after this one. I look forward to trying to have a good rest of the season. I don’t know what it is I have to do to have normal races like (Scott) Dixon and (Simon) Pagenaud. Even if those guys qualify last, they end up at the front. Maybe I just try less and be a much worse driver and I think I’ll do way better.”
WHATEVER IT TAKES, RIGHT?“Yeah, that’s what it seems like.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 4^rdYOU ARE THE HARD-CHARGER FOR THE WEEKEND, NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. WE’VE SEEN THE DRIVERS GET OUT OF THEIR CARS JUST EXHAUSTED. HOW EXTRA TOUGH WAS YOUR JOB AS MANY CARS AS YOU HAD TO PASS?“Yeah, it was a tough weekend, and certainly a dramatic one. But we prevailed. I want to thank Team Penske and Menards and Chevy for giving me the horsepower going forward. We weren’t quite as hooked-up today. I’m not sure why. I actually think we went the wrong way in the adjustment in the pit stop and from then, we had to do quick speed stops, so we didn’t make any changes. Maybe we didn’t have the outright pace, but overall first and fourth is pretty good when you start last in both races. So, I’m pretty pleased with the results and it seems like the championship is shaping up, so it’s pretty exciting right now.”
AFTER QUALIFYING YESTERDAY, THE OUTLOOK WAS LIKELY MORE GRIM THAN OTHER WEEKENDS. SO, IS IT A FEELING OF RELIEF OR JUST SATISFACTION OVERALL THAT YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU DID THIS WEEKEND?“Well, it’s satisfaction from a preparation standpoint. We just showed everybody in the paddock that you have to count on us no matter what happens. So, that’s the mark of a champion team. And, that’s what you want to do. That’s what you want to show every weekend. You want people to fear you. I’m pretty sure they feared us today. We’ll re-group again and go to Mid-Ohio.”
OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 6^thA THIRD AND A SIXTH AT A PLACE THAT HAS BEEN DEEMED CHALLENGING, BUT YOU TOOK TO IT LIKE A DUCK TO WATER. HOW DID YOU FIGURE IT OUT?“Yeah, you can’t complain about two top-10’s and especially our first podium after yesterday. It was hard to sleep after all the adrenalin. But we just had to focus and get back to it today. I was really proud of everyone at Arrow McLaren SP and Chevrolet and everybody involved with this team. I know Pato (O’Ward) had a really good shot there at a podium and a win, so we’re definitely on the right track. Two podiums in two race weekends for us with really quick cars. I’m just really looking forward to the next couple of races. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going and really have a good run at the rookie of the year championship.”
TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BRYANT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 11th“All in all, I think it was a positive weekend for us. We definitely have a much more competitive car. We’ve been running in the top 10 every single race with one of these cars, so really happy. Very emotional weekend for me yesterday giving the command. It was kinda like, I never had done that, so it was kind of mixed feelings and it was really cool to do it, but also it’s something really coming to an end. Today we had a great race. We ran in the top eight all day long. The tire strategy we played a little bit of a gamble and it worked so I was really happy. I was a lot more comfortable today in the car. You know, doing this race is like one weekend, four weekends off…it’s kinda weird to me. I’ve done 17 races in a row for 23 years so I think this is a good lead for Indy. We’re going to have a normal “Month of August” in Indy, so I’ll be in the car every day so hopefully we’ll go for the big win because that’s what my boss wants. Thanks to Bryant, Firestone, Chevy and the whole Foyt team for the opportunity. Let’s go to Indy!”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 12^th“Yesterday, I think we started off the weekend well. In the second race, the best way to sum it up is ‘what could have been.’ We had the pace, we were strong, I made up positions to be fighting at the front. In the end, it was not meant to be for us, but we’re going to continue pushing to finish strong at Mid-Ohio.”
CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – Finished 13^th“Tough night for us. The No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet was really strong all race and even after we came out on the wrong side of Ed’s yellow, we were still pushing up at the front running pretty consistently in the top three. We made a strategy call there at the end to stay out under the yellow and wait to take tires until about 35 to go. Unfortunately, in tonight’s race it just wasn’t the right strategy and we didn’t move forward like we thought we would. I’m gutted for the team because the car was great and had serious podium potential, but we just had some bad luck. Obviously I’m still feeling good about our pole from yesterday, but it would’ve been really nice to come away with a top-three finish this weekend.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 16th“Another tough night here at Iowa Speedway for the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet. The guys did a great job in pit lane – they’ve done that all year. It’s nice to rely on that coming down pit lane to pick up ties and spots, but we just struggled a little bit. I struggled with grip. I struggled with balance. Felt like I drove pretty hard, but we had a lot to learn and a lot to look at heading into the next race at Mid-Ohio and the big one at Indy.”
RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 17th“Yesterday, the car felt amazing. I could pass whenever I wanted and tires would stay good for a long time, at least 80 laps. I struggled with that tonight. I just didn’t have the pace to charge through the field. Still, we were doing well, closing back in on the Top 10 after a bad start. Then, at the second pit stop, the car got down on the ground with three wheels on it. We had trouble restarting the car and lost about three laps. That was a bummer. We are very unlucky at the moment, but let’s hope it will switch around soon. Mid-Ohio is coming up soon and that’s been a good track for me. I’ve won races and had a very good test with ECR last year, so I can’t wait to try again there.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Contact with the wall; sidelined on Lap 113 – Finished 23rd“I caught a group of guys that were stacked up two-wide in front of me. I had Charlie (Kimball) on the inside and I just went into Turn 1 a little too hard. I got more understeer than I thought, got up into the marbles and couldn’t get it back. I am so disappointed that I made that mistake. The U.S. Air Force Chevrolet was really hooked up tonight. We struggled so much last night but felt like we really showed something tonight. I’m not sure what hurts worst, the poor performance last night or messing up a good result tonight. On to the next one.”

HEBRON, Ohio (July 18) – One day after winners were crowned in the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event, JEGS Speedweek remained at full speed as the fields were set for the annual JEGS SPORTSnationals race.  Saturday’s packed schedule at National Trail Raceway included qualifying and elimination rounds for Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Comp, Top Dragster and Top Sportsman. Also on the docket was the opening round in Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Street drivers, plus class eliminations for Super Stock and Stock drivers. Reigning world champion Megan Meyer and De l Cox Jr. emerged as the respective top qualifiers in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car, two categories making their first SPORTSnationals appearance since 1985. Meyer drove to a 5.225-second elapsed time and also won her first-round race. She’ll be joined in the semifinals by Jackie Fricke, Mike Bucher, and Josh Hart. Cox drove his Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car to a 5.518-second pass to lead Top Alcohol Funny Car. Like Meyer, Cox also emerged as a winner from Round 1 and is joined by two-time world champion Sean Bellemeur, Drew Hales, and Chris Foster in the final four.  The low qualifiers in Comp, Super Stock, and Stock included Greg Kamplain, Andy Kronenbitter, and Bill Dyer.  Kamplain won the first of his eight national event titles at the JEGS SPORTSnationals in 1983. Kronenbitter topped a field of 95 Super Stock entries in his ’08 Cobalt while Dyer drove his ’10 Cobra Jet Mustang to the qualifying lead in Stock over a huge field of 139 drivers. Zach Sackman, a winner at last weekend’s NHRA Nationals in Indianapolis, took the qualifying lead in the Vortech Superchargers Top Dragster class with a run of 6.128-seconds. In Vortech Superchargers Top Sportsman, Boyd Beyer is the top qualifier at 6.461 seconds. Team JEGS driver Mike Coughlin, a four-time SPORTSnationals winner, is also solidly in the Top Dragster field with his supercharged dragster. Coughlin drove to a competitive 6.174 to earn the No. 4 starting spot. Coughlin nailed down three-straight SPORTSnationals wins in 2005-2007, and won again in 2009. He’s also got five wins at National Trail Raceway, his home track. A trio of JEGS machines entered eliminations in Super Comp on Saturday with Troy Coughlin Jr., Paige Coughlin, and Makenna Brown each piloting their familiar JEGS.com dragsters. While Troy Jr. suffered a tough loss, Paige and Makenna moved on to Sunday’s final elimination rounds.  The JEGS Speedweek event has been a huge success with upwards of 650 entries for the double-header race that features both a Division 3 Lucas Oil Series race and the JEGS SPORTSnationals. The event will conclude at 8 a.m. Sunday with final eliminations resuming.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESIOWA INDYCAR 250S DOUBLEHEADER IOWA SPEEDWAYNEWTON, IOWATEAM CHEVY WINNER’S QUOTE – JOSEF NEWGARDENJULY 18, 2020
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race WinnerAFTER LAST NIGHT, TO COME OUT HERE AND WIN THIS ONE FROM THE POLE, HOW GOOD DOES THIS ONE FEEL?“It feels really good. I don’t know what we’ve got to do to keep the bad luck off of us, but hopefully this is a start. Our guys did an amazing job yesterday. I was so disappointed for them because I felt like they had the winning car. They put in the work and we just weren’t able to get rewarded for it. I was so determined to come back today. I think everyone was determined to come back and have a really good race. And we just ran hard. We ran hard all day. I’m so proud to be powered by Chevrolet. I felt like we had the package to beat: fuel mileage, durability, we had the power. And then to have Hitachi back on, they’ve been a good luck charm for us. Thanks to Hitachi. Thanks to everybody at Team Penske back at the shop. I’m just thrilled we were finally able to get this monkey off our back.” YOU ARE THE FIRST DRIVER AT IOWA TO START ON POLE AND END UP IN VICTORY LANE. YOU MADE IT LOOK EASY“I heard that stat. I don’t think I’ve been on pole here before. So, I was sitting there thinking you know, we can do that. I don’t know why we can’t convert from pole. It’s just kind of a silly stat, I guess, that’s kind of run through to this point. I knew we had speed. I felt totally confident. When Tim’s (Cindric) is on my stand and I have my guys doing pit stops, I have complete confidence we can win any race that we go into. That stat wasn’t bugging me.” WHAT CAN THIS DO FOR YOU IN PROPELLING THIS TEAM FORWARD AS THE SEASON PROGRESSES?“Well, we needed to. It would have been nice if we could have had a couple of the finishes where we thought we should have been. I think at Road America, we had a winning car on Saturday. I wasn’t able to secure that. We had a podium to slip away at the GP. I knew we needed a win and we need another one to come soon enough, too. It’s not going to be just one. We’ve got to be able to put consistent finishes on the board.”

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: Gavin, Milner Lead Corvette C8.R Sweep • Garcia, Taylor finish second in pole-winning No. 3 Corvette• Chevrolet, No. 3 Corvette take GTLM Championship leads• Twelfth class victory at Sebring for Corvette Racing• 61st 1-2 team finish in program history

SEBRING, Fla. (July 14, 2020) – Corvette Racing went 1-2 at Sebring International Raceway as Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner took a GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Cadillac Grand Prix for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday. The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R took a 0.480-second victory over the pole-sitting No. 3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia – class winners two weeks ago at Daytona. It was the 12th victory for Corvette Racing at the 3.7-mile, 17-turn road course in central Florida, and the result moves Chevrolet into the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship lead after three races. The team also won its 101st race in IMSA, 109th in program history and finished 1-2 for the 61st time. Gavin won for the seventh time at Sebring, and Milner took his third victory at the circuit. The two Corvettes ran second and third early but took control of the race following the first pit stop just past the half-hour mark. Two GTLM competitors collided in the pitlane, and the C8.Rs emerged 1-2 with Taylor leading Gavin. They continued that formation until the midway point of the race when the Corvettes stopped a lap apart from each other. Fuel-saving by Gavin during his stint allowed Milner to take the lead as the No. 4 C8.R went a lap longer than the team car. Garcia entered the race about three seconds back from Milner as the pair made their final stops separately about 20 minutes later. Garcia closed the gap to Milner over the final 20 minutes but not enough to overtake the No. 4 Corvette. The Garcia/Taylor duo did, however, leave Sebring with the GTLM Driver’s Championship lead, as did the No. 3 Corvette in the Team standings. Saturday’s victory also came on the one-year anniversary of the 2020 Corvette Stingray production car’s public debut. It is the road-going counterpart to the C8.R. Corvette Racing returns to competition July 31-August 2 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE-WINNER: “It’s been an amazing day. Thanks to Corvette Racing and Tommy for doing a wonderful job to bring the car home at the end. It was the strategy and pit stops that made the difference. Our guys did an outstanding job throughout the race. Our Corvette C8.R has really come alive in the last two races. It was a great result for the No. 3 Corvette to get the 100th victory in IMSA for Corvette Racing at Daytona. For us to get No. 101 and my 49th in IMSA is fantastic. A great day. I do want to dedicate this win to a great friend of mine who passed away just before Daytona – Nick Moss, who supported me throughout all my career. He came to Le Mans with me 15 times and was an amazing, amazing friend. He passed away after a long battle with cancer, and I want to dedicate this win to him.” HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT SETTING UP FOR A SPRINT RACE FOR SEBRING INSTEAD OF 12 HOURS?“It’s a far shorter timespan so you may go more aggressively on your brakes. You’re also not having to factor in that night finish or how the track is going to evolve. You have a very short window where the track is going to improve or not. It’s a tight window. We focused on that. These races are happening very, very quick. You hardly have time to get the cars ready between sessions. Just before the start, our guys were thrashing away to make some changes that in the end made our car really good and led us to standing here talking to you. We have them to thank for that, for making all those changes and the guys working in the engineering room going over all the numbers. This is still a brand new car and we are really trying to learn as we go. It’s a phenomenal car and we want to win more and more. Bring on Road America.” DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PORSCHES?“It was only after the race that people started talking to me about it. The guys didn’t mention it to me. I just saw that one of the Porsches had left missing its front bumper. It was all of us trying to leave together and there wasn’t enough room. I was already in the fast lane and had priority.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE-WINNER: “It’s an amazing achievement to get 100 wins and now 101. The success of this team is incredible, and to be a small part of that is obviously an honor. It took us awhile to get 100 so it’s nice to get over the hump to get 101 and not have to talk about that one! Today was all about strategy and not making mistakes. It looked like we were going to have a pretty good race with the Porsches. It was all pretty close but then all fell apart there as far as that goes. In the end, it was left to myself and Antonio and of course Jordan and Olly at the start. Olly in the end really made the race for us with saving fuel and having a bit better pit stop and get out in front of the 3 car. That was pretty much the end. Antonio got pretty close there at the end. He was there for sure. The plan was with a couple laps to go once he got there, it wasn’t worth throwing away a win and 1-2 finish for Corvette Racing. So he was probably a little bit nicer to me than he could have been! But it was an awesome day. It’s great to drive with Olly and it’s an incredible achievement for him to get 50 IMSA wins. We’ll work on that in the upcoming races.” HAD THE PORSCHES NOT HAD THEIR INCIDENTS IN PITLANE, HOW CLOSE OF A RACE WOULD IT HAVE BEEN?“It was looking like it was going to be very, very close pace wise. I think you saw that in the pitstop as well. We all came in together and we were all going to leave together. It looked like with all the strategy details, it was going to be a close race whether it was on fuel mileage or tires or whatever. They have been fast all season and continue to be quite quick. We’ll for sure have some work to do to find an advantage somewhere if we can and ultimately not make mistakes throughout the race. We saw today how one small one can ruin your race. We’ll have to be extra vigilant about no pitlane incidents or making mistakes on the track…. those little details that aren’t so sexy in some way but that’s what makes the race for you in the end.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “After going so long without winning race before Daytona, I really wanted another one today. But this was a great result for Corvette Racing with the 1-2 finish and the championship lead. It was a great job by everyone on the team – the crew and engineers. Things went the way for Oliver and Tommy today, and they did a good job managing their race and their fuel. I think we can all be happy with the performance of the team and the Corvette C8.R. We have shown good pace the last two races and have gathered a lot of data both in the dry and in the wet. That’s the main thing for us as we go further in the season. All in all, it was a good weekend.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Another great day for Corvette Racing. I had to start with the P2 cars, and there were a couple of slow guys in their field. A couple of cars got by me at Turn Two or Three. But the Corvette Racing guys got us back out front and we were able to pull a big gap in that second stint to the Porsches and BMWs. Congratulations to Olly and Tommy on the win. They did a great job with the strategy. A 1-2 team finish for the Corvette C8.R and the points lead for me and Antonio is nothing to be disappointed about. WHAT DID YOU SEE ON THE FIRST PIT STOP?“I knew it was going to be messy pitting under yellow because everyone gets stacked up. I think even the 4 car got stuck behind me trying to leave, and then when I saw the Porsches leave they knocked into each other. It’s super tight. The competition in GTLM is so close; to make passes on track is difficult so a lot of times you have to make it happen in the pits. We’ve got the best group at Corvette Racing to get us out front.”

·       Leah Pruett qualifies second in the fiery new-look Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel dragster at Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals 

·       Tommy Johnson Jr. follows up runner-up finish last weekend with No. 2 qualifying position in his MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Funny Car at Lucas Oil Raceway

·       Matt Hagan looking to repeat last week’s winning performance with new Mopar Dodge SRT Hellcat Redeye-themed Funny Car in second of two back-to back NHRA national events in Indianapolis

·       Pruett and Mark Pawuk return to Factory Stock Showdown competition behind the wheel of their Mopar Challenger Drag Paks 

July 18, 2020, Brownsburg, Ind. – Coming off a Funny Car event win last weekend at Indianapolis, Don Schumacher Racing’s (DSR) contingent of Mopar Dodge SRT-sponsored entries came back firing on all cylinders to earn a pair of No. 2 qualifying positions at the Lucas Oil NHRA Summmernationals, as National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Mello Yello Drag Racing Series competition returns to the “Crossroads of America” as part of the new rescheduled season plan. 

DSR Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett showed off a new demon-red Hellcat Redeye paint-scheme by putting her Mopar Dodge Charger SRT second on the Top-Fuel eliminations ladder, while Funny Car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. came close to repeating his top qualifying effort from last week, eventually settling into the No. 2 spot going into Sunday’s competition.

Johnson Jr.’s second qualifying run of 4.017 seconds at 300.86 mph took him to the top of the timing sheets, and while it looked like he might repeat last week’s performance as top qualifier, Bob Tasca bumped the MD Anderson Dodge from the No. 1 spot later in the session. As No.2 qualifier, Johnson Jr. will face Bob Bode as his first round opponent.

DSR teammates Ron Capps and Jack Beckman, winner of the 2020 season opening event, both secured lane choice for their opening rounds of eliminations with their No. 4 and No. 6 positions respectively in qualifying. Beckman will see Chad Green in first round action.

Capps, who was second quickest in the first qualifying session, will be paired up with DSR teammate Matt Hagan, winner of last week’s E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals. With the shortening of qualifying to just two sessions with the new season schedule, Hagan had little room for error to make the field after a difficult first run, but safely put his new-look Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye in the show on his final pass no put him .

Top Fuel No.2 qualifier Pruett earned bonus points for her Mopar Dodge SRT dragster by posting runs that put her in the top-three on the timing sheets in both sessions. She’ll see Lex Joon in the first round of eliminations. 

Pruett will have two opportunities to fight for a Wally on Sunday as she pulls double duty this weekend by getting back into her Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for Factory Stock Showdown action.

Factory Stock Showdown

The SAMTech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) class took to the track for the first time this 2020 season with Pruett, the 2018 champion in the category, and Mark Pawuk get behind the wheel of their Don Schumacher Motorsports-prepared Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Paks. Both drivers return aboard the same factory-built vehicles with which they finished the 2019 season (at Dallas), when Pruett qualified second and reached the final while Pawuk qualified ninth. 

Looking to build off those results, the pair both qualified their Mopar muscle cars for Sunday eliminations. Pawuk qualified 12th on the strength of his first run at 8.078 sec/170.28 mph and will face no. 5 qualifier Arthur Kohn. 

Pruett’s second elapsed time run of 8.146 sec. /168.32 mph put her 16^th on the eliminations ladder and will see her matched up with No. 1 qualifier Chris Holbrook.

Elimination rounds at the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals begin at 9:45 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 19, while television coverage will air starting at 12 p.m. (ET) on the FOX national broadcast network and will include LIVE final elimination round action.

NOTES and QUOTES: 

Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car

(No. 6 Qualifier – 4.059 seconds at 299.66 mph)

Qualifying 1: 4.059 sec/299.66 mph

Qualifying 2: 6.485 sec/113.08 mph

“If you’re going to go one for two in qualifying, this weekend we did it the right way. We unloaded with a good run and then we took a shot and missed it, but that’s ok. We know how to back up from that tomorrow. Last weekend when we missed it on the first run, you go up for the last qualifying session biting your nails and it’s too much stress before race day. Once again, we have a great car and it looks like there will be great competition out there tomorrow. The three cars I fear most all say DSR and the (Bob) Tasca car with DSR parts. We have to beat a lot of good cars and if we can do that, they’ll hand us the trophy.”

Matt Hagan, Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car  
(No. 13 Qualifier – 4.275 seconds at 283.73 mph)
Qualifying 1: 5.147 sec./145.42 mph

Qualifying 2: 4.275 sec./283.73 mph

“With just two qualifying shots, it’s far more nervous when you get up there to the water box. I’m sure plenty of drivers felt that stress level last weekend like we did today. Dickie Venables did what we needed to do to get in the show and we get to race tomorrow. A hot, greasy race track is always tricky to navigate. We have this awesome brand new paint scheme with the chrome red Hellcat Redeye scheme and it’s a beautiful car. It looks fast and we have to make it fast and we’ll end up in the winner’s circle again.”

Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 2 Qualifier – 4.017  seconds at 300.86 mph) 
Qualifying 1: 4.572 sec./186.41 mph

Qualifying 2: 4.017 sec./300.86 mph

“This two-run qualifying deal puts a lot of pressure on the teams. It’s interesting to see everybody have trouble on the first run and that puts a lot more pressure on that Q2 run to get in the show. To come out and go from fifteenth to No. 1 and end up second is great. Hats off to (crew chiefs) John (Collins) and Rip (Reynolds) and this team. We have a good race car, just trickier track conditions than we saw last weekend. It will probably be trickier tomorrow with the heat, but that 4.01 in the last session was solid and that sets us up for a good race day.”

Ron Capps, NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car
(No. 4 Qualifier – 4.054 seconds at 312.86 mph)  
Qualifying 1: 4.054 sec./312.86 mph

Qualifying 2: 4.440 sec./200.26 mph

“Obviously, it’s a tale of two weekends. We were so disappointed in ourselves for not qualifying better last weekend and putting ourselves in the position of having to run the No. 1 qualifier who was our teammate Tommy Johnson. Today, we finished the first session as the No. 2 qualifier. We tried to push it in Q2, we wanted to go for the pole, we thought we could run a mid-3.90 and that was the time to try it. Unfortunately, we didn’t think the position we were in was going to lands us with a round one matchup with our teammate Matt Hagan. That’s a tough car right now, they’re coming off a win and running great. We start earlier in the morning so the first round will give us the best conditions we’ll see all day. It’s going to be triple digits with the heat index, and usually, the NAPA team is really good in those conditions. First-round is going to be really tough, like a final round, but I’m confident in my team and we’ll go up there and do our best.”

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster  
(No. 10 Qualifier – 3.934 seconds at 306.33 mph)   
Qualifying 1: 3.850 sec./314.31 mph

Qualifying 2: 3.889 sec./311.34 mph

“What I love about racing are the constant challenges that are thrown at you. Todd and Neal, have been putting in the extra efforts on Cory’s dragster, and I had to qualify in Factory Stock (Showdown) with the Dodge DragPak for our first race this weekend in that class. Everything about this operation is elevated this weekend running 10 cars. It’s great to see more fans here today and this has to be one of the humidest races we’re ever run. It’s feels like Florida more than Indy. We’re looking forward to race day, another early start and we’re planning on building on last weekend and going more rounds.”

Factory Stock Showdown Notes & Quotes

Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak  
(No. 16 Qualifier – 8.146 seconds at 168.32 mph)   
Qualifying 1: 9.491 sec./104.71 mph

Qualifying 2: 8.146 sec./168.32 mph

“Just like race cars do, sometimes they have a couple of issues. Ours happened to be in the belt power strain, and luckily, we tested yesterday and thought we almost had it cured. We broke a belt on Q1, and it created a very high-pressure situation of leaving just one qualifying attempt to get in the field and I’m very proud of (crew chief) Kevin Helms, Terry Snyder, and this entire Mopar crew for getting this car down the track. We made a moderate Q2 run to get in the show, which made for some scary times, living on the edge, but we thrive on that. Mark’s (Pawuk) car is running well, and we’re going to pick it up from there. I have a really heavy matchup, No. 1 versus 16, and (Chris) Holbrook is not one to take lightly. We came here to compete, and you’re going to see some good competition tomorrow.”

Mark Pawuk, Dodge Challenger Drag Pak  

(No. 12 Qualifier – 8.078 seconds at 170.28 mph)  

Qualifying 1: 8.078 sec/170.28 mph

Qualifying 2: 8.201 sec./168.56 mph

“What I love about racing are the constant challenges that are thrown at you. Todd and Neal, have been putting in the extra efforts on Cory’s dragster, and I had to qualify in Factory Stock (Showdown) with the Dodge DragPak for our first race this weekend in that class. Everything about this operation is elevated this weekend running 10 cars. It’s great to see more fans here today and this has to be one of the humidest races we’re ever run. It’s feels like Florida more than Indy. We’re looking forward to race day, another early start and we’re planning on building on last weekend and going more rounds.”

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY CADILLAC GRAND PRIX OF SEBRING GTLM WINNER QUOTES JULY 18, 2020

SEBRING, Fla. (July 18, 2020) – Corvette Racing went 1-2 in at Sebring International Raceway as Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner took the GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Cadillac Grand Prix for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday. The No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R took a 0.480-second victory over the pole-sitting No. 3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia – class winners two weeks ago at Daytona. It was the 12th victory for Corvette Racing at the 3.7-mile, 17-turn road course in central Florida, and the result moves Chevrolet into the GTLM Manufacturer’s Championship lead after three races.

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “As always, Corvette Racing did an amazing job in the pitlane to get us out in front of the Porsches on the first stop. I don’t know what their deal was. It was a good job between Jordan (Taylor). I tried to save as much fuel as possible to try to hand the car over to Tommy to finish off and give him the best chance of leapfrogging the 3 car in the pitlane. It’s a great 1-2 for Corvette Racing and a great way to follow up the team’s win at Daytona.””Getting Win No. 100 and 101 means everything. Everyone at Corvette Racing and Team Chevy has been working so hard, and we can’t thank them enough. The Corvette Stingray road car was launched a year ago today, so to win this race is absolutely phenomenal.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “It was close there at the end. Olly did a great job of saving fuel and that allowed us to get out ahead of the 3 car. It was a great strategy from Chuck (Houghton, race engineer) and great pit stops from Brian (Hoye, car chief) and the whole crew. To have these Corvette C8.Rs in as good as shape as they were after the long break is a testament to everyone on this team.”

28th    10th  9th

“We had an extremely fast Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet today at Texas Motor Speedway. We were really good early in the race, but struggled to get track position. My crew chief, Andy Street, made a great strategy call to have us pit prior to the end of stage two. That allowed us to stay out and take the lead for the beginning of the final stage. I battled really hard on older tires to keep the lead and then had to give it up because we started over heating from a piece of debris on our grill. Once we got back in the dirty air, I made a mistake by getting too high in the PJ1, which led to us knocking down the wall. Once that happened, we struggled with a bad vibration for the remainder of the race. With 10 laps to go, something broke and I hit the wall again, which ended our day. I hate it for all my Richard Childress Racing guys and Death Wish Coffee. It’s definitely not how we wanted to finish. However, I’m super proud of the speed we brought again and I know it’s just a matter of time before we can put it all together.”  -Anthony Alfredo

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIPSEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAYCADILLAC GRAND PRIXGTLM POST-QUALIFYING QUOTESJULY 18, 2020

SEBRING, Fla. (July 18, 2020) – Corvette Racing claimed its second consecutive pole position in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as Jordan Taylor turned in the best GT Le Mans (GTLM) qualifying time for the Cadillac Grand Prix on Saturday in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Taylor’s best effort was a 1:55.634 (116.436 mph) lap for his first career GTLM pole in the Corvette that he shares with Antonio Garcia. Oliver Gavin was just behind in the No. 4 Corvette that he drives with Tommy Milner – only 0.381 seconds off the lead C8.R.  Garcia and Taylor delivered Corvette Racing’s first victory with the mid-engine C8.R and the team’s 100th win in IMSA two weeks ago at Daytona, a race in which Gavin was the fastest qualifier just ahead of Taylor. The Cadillac Grand Prix at Sebring is set for 5:30 p.m. ET today with live race television coverage on NBC Sports Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE WINNER:“This one was a little bit unexpected. At Daytona, we thought we would have pace because we were there for the Roar and the Rolex 24, and had a lot of data to go by to improve the C8.R. Coming here was a big unknown. We did two of testing in February, but it was private testing so we didn’t know how quick everyone else would be, and where our strengths and weaknesses would lie. There is limited practice time here again, but we had a couple days on the simulator where we worked on a few things. This morning to be honest, we were a little off the pace and bouncing around a little. The Corvette Racing guys made a lot of big changes for qualifying, and the Corvette was super nice to drive. It’s my first pole with Corvette and first one of the No. 3 C8.R, so that’s special to do it at a historic track like Sebring. I’m excited but the race is going to be a much different story with the what type of weather might come later on today.” TALK ABOUT THE MOMENTUM OF THE TEAM RIGHT NOW.“It’s great to be up front and now trying to follow up our first win. I think everyone was down during the quarantine time – stuck at home and stuck in the shop and hoping all our work would pay off. Now we’ve proven it at Daytona with the win and it’s gotten everyone excited and showing on the track how much work we’ve done. There’s a lot of good momentum and we hope to carry it on throughout the season.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “It’s positive result for the team to have both Corvettes up front and get another 1-2 in qualifying. Due to the lack of dry running, both cars went different directions for qualifying to try and learn more in time for the race this evening. Our car was good for a couple laps and I thought there might have been more in it, but the balance just started to go away. It seemed Jordan really managed to nail it and get that lap together for pole. Hats off to him and everyone at Corvette Racing for another good day. We’ll try to carry that forward into the race. The weather will play its part, but we don’t know how or when. We’ll be ready for whatever is thrown at is.”

FORT WORTH, TEXAS JULY 19, 2020
Race #18: TexasOriginally slated to be a March appearance for NASCAR’s premier series, the revised NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) schedule continues on with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 19th. The 334-lap, 500-mile race at the 1.5-mile Texas oval now marks the 18th race on the tour. 
With NASCAR continuing to take steps in the return of guests to its events, the Texas Motor Speedway event will play a part in the process. With the state allowing 50 percent capacity, the Texas oval grandstands and camping will be open to race fans, subject to social distancing requirements and additional safety measures in place. The NASCAR race weekend will be the first major league sports event in the state of Texas to be open to fans since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
BOWTIE BULLETS·       Chevrolet has made 13 trips to victory lane in NASCAR’s Premier Series at Texas Motor Speedway. Other statistics of note for the bowtie brand’s history at the 1.5-mile oval include 68 top-five’s, 162 top-10’s and 4,265 laps led.
·       Victories by current Chevrolet drivers include: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, with 7 wins (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017), Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE with 2 wins (2002 and 2011), and Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1, with one win (2009). 
·       Of the 38 NASCAR Cup Series events that have been held at Texas Motor Speedway, four different manufacturers have led the field to the green from the pole position, with Chevrolet leading the way capturing 15 poles. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads active drivers in NCS Busch Pole Awards at Texas with three (2015, 2017, 2018).  
·       Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports sits on top the leaderboard in NCS wins by teams at Texas Motor Speedway with nine trips to victory lane. 
TEXAS RECORDBOOKCareer Chevrolet driver, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, is no stranger to topping the leaderboard in statistics and his history at Texas Motor Speedway does just that. Of his 33 starts in NASCAR’s premier series at the speedway, Johnson leads the series in wins making seven trips to victory lane – a winning percentage of 21.2%. Three NCS drivers in history have captured consecutive wins at Texas, with Johnson leading the way with three (2014 Playoff race and the 2015 sweep). Johnson also leads the series in runner-up finishes with five, top-five finishes with 16, and top-10 finishes with 22 in his career. Of the 81 different drivers that have led laps at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson tops the leaderboard by leading 1,152 laps thus far. He’s also captured the current title of series-best in fastest laps run with 728 and laps in the top-15 with 7,185.  STARTING LINEUPThe format for this weekend’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:
3rd      Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE8th      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE12th    Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE13th    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE14th    Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Cash App Camaro ZL1 1LE18th    William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE20th    Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
TUNE-INNBCSN will telecast the 334-lap race live at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 19th. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 L1E – 4th IN STANDINGS“Texas is a hot place. This time of year, I think everywhere is probably going to be hot, it always is. From the hydration standpoint, that’s always important. Preparing to sweat a lot is another big thing. As far as the track goes, I don’t expect the racing to look a whole lot different just because it’s hot. I think it will be really similar to what we’ve seen there in the past. The repave has been a big-time struggle for us. We just need to settle in and try to find some consistency and get going a little better. It’s such a unique place now with the ends being so different and how you want to configure your car.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM/ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 9th IN STANDINGSBOWMAN ON WHAT MAKES TEXAS DIFFERENT. “Texas is different because since they reconfigured it, it’s just really tricky down in turns one and two. In turns three and four, you’re just wide open. Turns one and two are just really flat and different. It’s not the normal 1.5-mile track shape. It started widening out there in the fall and hopefully it continues to move in that direction this year.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON HIS SUCCESS AT TEXAS.“I don’t know why I’ve always been so good at Texas Motor Speedway other than it’s one of the tracks I’ve raced at the most in my career. We always bring fast cars which definitely helps especially with the amount of grip the track has. I would say it’s just a bit of luck that Texas just suits me. I really like that place and it seems to like me as well. Hopefully we will have a good run there this weekend.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER/E-Z-GO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSTELL US ABOUT RACING AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND HOW IT DIFFERS FROM OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS, SUCH AS KANSAS SPEEDWAY? “Texas Motor Speedway is a bit different from Kansas Speedway in that it has two different ends. You have one end that’s very banked and has high speeds, and then you have a hard end where you have to get turned and get back on the gas. Texas Motor Speedway just has so much grip now. It’s quite a bit different, and the banking has changed a lot from the old track to the new track. I really like Texas and am looking forward to getting there. It’s going to be really important to run well and to have a good finish because we are still battling to make it into the Playoffs. Our cars have been strong on 1.5-mile tracks this year, and we will look to some of that speed to try and get the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER/E-Z-GO Chevy into Victory Lane.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT OIL & GAS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS“Texas Motor Speedway is a fun place to race and a track I’ve come close to winning at in the past in the other series, but always seem to come up one or two spots short. So, I’m really looking forward to this weekend and competing in my first NASCAR Cup Series race there this Sunday with our No. 8 Cat Oil and Gas Chevrolet. Texas is a little similar to Kansas Speedway, where you can have a lot of balance changes in your car during a run. You have to manage your car and its changes during a run really well in order to be successful there. Moving around throughout a run will also still be important at Texas, and we’ve seen the PJ1 open up a couple lanes in the past, so we should be able to put on a good show this weekend.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 27th IN STANDINGS“I’m really looking forward to Texas. The hot weather on this track surface is going to be interesting. It is going to take a good car with a lot of grip to be successful. We had a great GEICO Camaro ZL1 1LE in Kentucky that we are now turning around to use at Texas on Sunday. Hopefully our Germain Racing team can keep the momentum rolling from the really fast race car we had last weekend.” 
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS“Texas will be a big challenge this weekend. Day race, in Fort Worth, in the middle of July… you know it’s going to be a really hot and slick race track. Conditions are going to be extremely hot inside the car as well. Like most of the mile-and-a-half tracks we go to these days, track position is going to be extremely important. I feel we’ve made gains over the past few weeks and think if we execute well we can put our McDonald’s McDelivery Chevrolet in the mix on Sunday.” 

GRANITE CITY, IL (July 17, 2020) – Tyler Erb took the lead on lap 22 and then went on to pick up the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory on Friday Night. Tri-City Speedway’s “NAPA Know How 50” marks Erb’s second win at Tri-City Speedway. Billy Moyer Jr. recorded his best LOLMDS finish, coming home in second. Moyer, Jr. led the first 21 laps until Erb passed him for the lead. Jonathan Davenport crossed the finish stripe in third, followed by Shane Clanton and Tyler Bruening. Moyer Jr. started alongside Kyle Strickler on the front row and then survived what was once a three-car battle for the lead until Strickler went spinning into the infield, ending his night with front suspension damage. Moyer, Jr. then held the point until Erb got by him three laps from the halfway mark. Erb quickly stretched his lead over Moyer, Jr. as he went unchallenged to the checkers. Erb visited Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the second time this season, ninth of his career and said patience was a key to his win. “I knew that surviving out front was going to be half the battle. When we took off, I knew we had a really good car. I expected the track to come back the way it did. They had it rolled in really nice when we started. I almost took the lead when that caution came out. I knew when I was in second to just keep following Billy, he was a hand full tonight until an opportunity presented itself. He had a good car tonight and was going to be tough to beat. Congrats to him and JD on their finishes tonight,” said the 23-year-old Texas racer. Moyer, Jr. was glad about a podium finish to end the night, “I just didn’t judge lapped traffic right. All-in-all to run second here is great, it’s one of my best tracks. I love racing in the St. Louis area. The Lucas Oil Series and the track did a great job on the track considering how much rain they had here a few days ago. Thank you to Marshall Green and everyone at Capital Race Cars. I have never had this great of help from anyone on the chassis-side. We will be contending for wins hopefully for a long-time to come.” Davenport finished third. “It was tough to pass lapped cars. I moved around early on and gained some spots. I think Randall [Edwards], Erb’s crew chief saw me and moved him up the track. I got going pretty good and got by Junior. I felt like I was a little bit better than Junior, but it got hard to pass.  A third-place finish here is good, we have had some pretty bad luck so to get a podium finish feels good for sure.” The winner’s Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Race Engine and sponsored by is sponsored by Roberts Bee Company, First Class Septic, Franklin Enterprises, Industrial Resourcing Group, and Valvoline. Completing the top ten were Rick Eckert, Devin Moran, Johnny Scott, Tim McCreadie, and Josh Richards.

TEAM CHEVY RACE 1 NOTES & QUOTESJULY 17, 2020
TOP CHEVROLET UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.   DRIVER1^st       SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET3^RD      OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET4^thPATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET5^th       JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET 8^th       CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET
TOP SIX UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1^ST      Simon Pagenaud (Chevrolet)2^nd      Scott Dixon (Honda)3^rd       Oliver Askew (Chevrolet)4^th       Pato O’Ward (Chevrolet)5^th      Josef Newgarden (Chevrolet)From last to first, Pagenaud claims victory in Iowa Race OneChevy drivers claim four of top-five finishing positions
Newton, Iowa – Simon Pagenaud sat quietly poised in his No.22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, set to be almost last car to qualify for both races of the NTT INDYCAR Series Doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. But a problem with the fueling system prevented the car from firing, so Pagenaud did not qualify and had to start dead last (23^rd) for the first of the two 250-lap races. He will also start last in Race Two. 
But in his usual cool manner, the 2016 Series’ champion worked in sync with his team and when the checkered flag flew, it was Pagenaud that took his bright yellow Chevrolet to victory lane. He led twice for total of 83 laps. 
Scoring his first NTT INDYCAR Series podium is third place finisher Oliver Askew, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. Askew started 14^th in the 23 car field. 
Scott Dixon (Honda) completed the podium.
Askew’s teammate, Pato O’Ward, brought his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet in fourth. 
Josef Newgarden, who will start on the pole of Saturday night’s 250-lap race, finished fifth. Newgarden started second and grabbed the lead early, and would be credited with leading twice for 68 laps. But the team’s strategy was shuffled when a long caution flag scrambled the field on lap 144. 
The caution was caused when teammate Will Power made contact with the backstretch wall, and at the restart a two-car crash kept the field under caution for 26 laps. Team Chevy driiver Rinus Veekay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet was involved in the accident but emerged uninjured.
Pole sitter Conor Daly, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, finished eighth to give Chevrolet five of the top-eight finishers. 
NBCSN will telecast Race 2 of the IOWA INDYCAR 250’s Doubleheader live at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 18. Live coverage can also be found on the INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR MOBILE APP powered by NTT DATA.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race WinnerFROM WORST TO FIRST! IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO NOTCH YOUR FIRST WIN HERE AT IOWA?“Wow, this place is tough! What a night! What a day for us. First of all, it was an amazing group effort from the whole Team Penske to recover from Road America. I made a mistake. We unloaded really well. This morning was a lot of fun. Qualifying was disheartening, but these guys never give up and that’s what this team is all about. It’s amazing to get the Menards car to be shining here in Iowa is awesome. So, I’m really proud for John and everybody at Menards and Chevy. Obviously, we had the horsepower and the fuel conception, but most importantly, I can’t believe it. I have to re-watch the race. How did I get there? I don’t know. The last 50 laps were certainly a lot of tension. A lot of tension. When (Scott) Dixon is chasing you, you’d better hit your marks.”
TAKE US THROUGH THAT AND HAVING THE FIVE-TIME CHAMPION BREATHING DOWN YOUR NECK AT TIMES AND TRYING TO STRETCH THE FUEL AND KEEP HIM IN YOUR REAR VIEW MIRROR AND DEALING WITH LAPPED TRAFFIC, HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH ALL OF THAT?“Yeah, it’s certainly not easy with lapped traffic. I knew we had a really good car on long runs, so that was really my chance. I was really keeping up with the tires and they behaved really well. I was a little worried about the (Arrow) McLaren guys because they pitted for new tires, and new tires were so much speed, so I was a little worried. In the end, I had my hands full. Thanks for everybody at Team Penske and everybody who supports us. It was an amazing team effort.”
YOU’RE GOING TO DO IT ALL AGAIN TOMORROW NIGHT, STARTING FROM THE REAR. DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU?“I do, I do. I never give up. If I’ve got to do it again, I’ll do it again. This we certainly a pretty cool win on an oval. Indy will always be the top, but this one was pretty cool, too.”
OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 3^rdWHAT A NIGHT IT WAS FOR YOU IN PICKING UP YOUR FIRST CAREER PODIUM. TALK ABOUT THAT TEAM STRATEGY ON PURE OFFENSE WITH THOSE TIRES LATE IN THE RACE. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?“I wish you could see my smile right now (wearing a mask). This Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet absolutely came alive once the track started to get cooler. We were really, really good on new tires and when they were very used. So, if that yellow didn’t come out at the restart, I think we would have had a really good shot at finishing at least one-two with Pato (O’Ward) and I. We’ll get at them again tomorrow. Honestly, that’s probably one of the most fun races I’ve ever done in my life. Hats off to everybody at Arrow McLaren SP and thanks to everybody who showed up tonight and watched at home, my family. It was an awesome night.”
THIS WAS NO EASY TRACK TO COME TO TERMS WITH. AND WHILE YOU HAVE RACED HERE ONCE BEFORE EARLIER IN YOUR CAREER, YOU SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE LIKE LEARNING A WHOLE NEW TRACK IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES. HOW DID YOU COME TO GRIPS WITH IT SO QUICKLY?“Well, I think a lot of it comes down to preparation and spending some time in the Chevy simulator. I was here four years ago but the track feels a lot shorter and smaller now running in INDYCAR. I love this track and can’t wait to get back out there tomorrow.”
MAYBE SOME OF THAT SPEED CAME FROM YOUR NEW DO, A LITTLE BIT SHORTER?“Yeah, it might be a little more aero-efficient and a bit of weight reduction, and it’s a bit cooler in the car, too. Maybe I should keep it short.”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 4thIF NOT FOR THAT PIT STOP THERE THE LAST TIME YOU CAME DOWN, YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN RIGHT UP THERE CHALLENGING. BUT YOU HAD A FAST CAR. HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE THE DAY OVERALL?“Yeah, I think you said it. Arrow McLaren SP gave us fantastic cars. We were really up on the pace. Unfortunately, that last pit stop really put us some time behind and it made us fight harder, but I’m super happy for my teammate, and his first INDYCAR podium. We’re going to be pushing for one-two tomorrow. We’ve got very fast cars and these guys deserve a win. So, hopefully we can give it to them tomorrow. But I’ve got a race under my belt at Iowa. What a fun race! What a cool race! It’s definitely one of the craziest ones I’ve ever done.”
YOU FOUGHT HARD TO GET TO A POSITION WHERE YOU’RE CONSISTENTLY CONTENDING FOR WINS AND OBVIOUSLY LAST WEEK AT ROAD AMERICA YOU HAD A STRONG SUNDAY. TONIGHT, ANOTHER STRONG NIGHT. HOW EXCITING IS THIS FOR YOU?“Oh, for sure. I have so much faith in the group of guys that are behind me that are engineering these cars. They are way smarter than me. My job is to drive the car. Honestly, they’ve given me great cars everywhere. We’ve been out of the box very fast. We need to continue doing that and our pre-race conditions need to keep improving and I know we’re going to be up there fighting for wins and podiums. I think we’re making big strides. Last weekend was a big step. Today was a great result for the team but we’re close to that first win and I hope it comes soon.”
HOW VALUABLE WAS TODAY JUST FROM A LEARNING PERSPECTIVE?“The stints are so long. It’s really good to just kind of get a feel for what the car is going to start doing after 40 or 50 laps. And yeah, obviously it’s up to the guys to do the strategy and my job is to listen to instructions and push, push, push. But, I’m so happy for Simon (Pagenaud). Great job on his part and Scott Dixon as well, and my teammate there. It’s a great result for the team, but I want three positions there!”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 5^thYOU LED 68 LAPS TONIGHT AND THERE WAS PERHAPS A SLOW STOP AND AN UNTIMELY CAUTION, BUT WHERE DID THIS ONE ULTIMATELY GET AWAY FROM YOU GUYS?Multiple points. The caution was certainly was the nail in the coffin. Without sounding too over-confident, I think we had the car to beat tonight, hands-down. So, it’s frustrating. I’ve got to be honest, I’m so angry about the way that this all transpired. Some of it is just bad luck. The yellow coming out when it came out, you can’t predict that stuff. You weigh out the pros and cons when you’re trying to go long, when you’re trying to go short on your pit windows. And, I can’t fault my guys. I think they did a great job. I had a rocket ship. I mean, I had a car above, in my opinion. I’m sad that we weren’t able to put our car in Victory Lane because I felt like we had that potential. But, like I said, I’m very proud of my guys. They always do a great job for me. I think it’s just chalked up to bad luck tonight. I’ve got to try and make-up for it tomorrow.”
AND YOU’LL BE STARTING ON THE POLE FOR TOMORROW’S RACE“Yeah hey, look, all you can do is go forward. This is racing. Some days the racing gods shine down on you and some days they don’t. And today they definitely didn’t, but that’s how it works. You’ve got to take the good days when you get them and accept the bad days when you have them. We’ll try to regroup for tomorrow. But Chevy has done a great job for us. We had the package to beat tonight in my opinion and having Hitachi’s support always means the world. So, we’ll try again tomorrow and try to get ‘em.”
CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – Finished 8^th“It was definitely a rollercoaster of a day for us. Obviously, we were so excited to win the pole for tonight’s race in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet. That’s just such a major accomplishment for myself and this team. We’ve all been working so hard and the guys gave me a great car to qualify, so I was pretty excited that I was able to get that pole. We started the race tonight okay, but just really struggled with keeping the rear underneath me and trying to figure it out as we went. It was just tough and we just didn’t have the pace that we needed. The yellow really killed us. Some people just got so lucky with that, but unfortunately it didn’t fall our way. We chose to extend the last stint and make the tires last, but it was really tough driving absolutely to the limit on older tires and trying to hold people off there at the end. It was tough end to the day, but it was seriously awesome to get the first INDYCAR pole for both Carlin and myself and I’m looking forward to tomorrow night’s race where we’ll start up front again in third.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 15^th“This has always been one of my favorite tracks, but I don’t remember ever having as difficult of a night here. I was excited to run the U.S. Air Force colors and want to do a good job for them. I’m embarrassed about the performance tonight. The good thing is we have another chance tomorrow, so long as it’s not a repeat. It was pretty brutal. It’s hot in the cars, it’s uncomfortable and with a poor performance, I am pretty disappointed.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 17th “I think it was a disappointing night for both AJ Foyt Racing cars. The No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet was not what I wanted to feel underneath me but I know the engineers will do really good work making it better tonight. I felt like everyone did a good job with what we had. Today was busy, practice, qualify and straight into the race—especially racing what you qualify. We had to compromise on gears, ride heights and setups and stuff but it was the same for everyone and we just didn’t maximize it. But we’ll review it and be ready to go for another 250 laps tomorrow night.”
TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BRYANT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 18^th“It was a shame. I think we had a consistent car but the tire deg for us was more than other people, so we need to figure out what’s causing it. It’s on the setup. We’re pretty decent halfway through the stint and then the car will fall off really quick and in one of those I got loose, and not to spin I went wide, got in the marbles, brushed the wall a little bit, so that cost us 18 laps, but track position is really important so we have that for tomorrow. [starts 8^th] I think we have overnight to think about it and another hour session tomorrow to try to make the tires last a little bit longer and then go from there. I truly believe we have a top 10 car for tomorrow.”
RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Sidelined on lap 157 in accident with Colton Herta – Finished 20^th “There was nothing I could have done. I had a good start, but I was told it was a no-start so I went off the throttle. I think the other car was too late getting that information, I really don’t know. I got hit, that’s clear. It’s very tough. We could have gone for a podium or a win today. We’ve got to go for it tomorrow. I’m happy that we’ll have a Take 2.”
WE BET YOU’RE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT AERO SCREEN WHEN COLTON HERTA WENT OVER YOU“Yeah, I’m very happy; especially with the safety. I stepped out. I saw the whole row. So yeah, the screen was destroyed. Thank you to INDYCAR for the great safety and let’s go for it tomorrow.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Sidelined on Lap 143 with left front wheel issue – Finished 21^stYOU HAD A BIT OF A WILD RIDE WHEN THE WHEEL CAME OFF. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE?“Obviously, the front just took off straight into the wall. Yeah, not a good feeling.”
YOU HIT THE WALL AND IT WAS THE LEFT FRONT THAT CAME OFF. YOU SAID THIS HAS BEEN A SEASON SO FAR WITH A LOT OF PROMISE AND YOU JUST HAVEN’T LIVED-UP TO THE POTENTIAL. THIS LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT“Unbelievable. I don’t know what I’ve got to do. It’s so, so, so frustrating. It’s just unbelievable. I don’t know what to say. The guys will get it back together and we’ll have another shot at it tomorrow.”
WE’VE JUST SEEN A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF THE AERO SCREEN AND YOURS IS ONE OF THEM WITH THAT WHEEL COMING BACK OVER THE TOP OF YOU. WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE ADDITION OF THIS SAFETY IMPLEMENT?‘Man, I’ll tell you, you can’t thank INDYCAR enough for everything that they’ve done, safety-wise with that aero screen and inside the aero screen. It’s just a tremendous job and it’s better than any other series that have implemented something like it. A very, very good job.”

First Division 3 race crowns winners as JEGS Speedweek powers forwardHEBRON, Ohio (July 17) – Ronnie Bohn, Michael Volkman, and Doug Duell were among the winners crowned Friday night as part of the Division 3 Lucas Oil Series event at National Trail Raceway. Bohn won in Comp Eliminator, Volkman earned the Super Stock title, and Duell won in Stock Eliminator.  The other champions crowned Friday evening included Michael Handras (Super Comp), Greg Slack (Super Gas), Robert Bauer (Super Street), Danny Nelson (Top Dragster), and Curt Fredrich (Top Sportsman).  The North Central Division Lucas Oil Series event marks the first of two races that make up JEGS Speedweek, an event that has attracted more than 600 of the nation’s best sportsman drag racers.  Bohn drove his six-cylinder powered dragster to a victory over past JEGS SPORTSnationals winner Mike Farrell in the final round of Comp. Bohn, was the No. 2 qualifier in the quick field while Farrell was sixth quickest at the start of eliminations. Volkman drove his Dodge Sebring to the Super Stock title by defeating Brina Frank in the final round. Volkman posted a dial-in time of 10.68 seconds and ran a 10.73 for the win. He entered the Columbus event as the No. 5 ranked Super Stock driver in NHRA competition. Duell outlasted 139 other racers to take home the Stock title. Paired with Kevin Wells in the final, Duell drove his vintage Plymouth Barracuda to the win when Wells fouled at the start. Handras outlasted a big field of Super Comp entries to earn that title. Handras defeated Rick Huges in the final round, which was decided via a double-breakout. Slack kicked off the 2020 season with a win and a runner-up in Gainesville, Fla., and he found the winner’s circle again here by beating Tommy Turner in the Super Gas final. Slack, in his ’70 Ford Maverick, ran right on the 9.90-second index for the victory.  Bauer had a nearly-perfect reaction time in the final round of Super Street, and parlayed his starting line advantage into a victory over Mark Smith. Bauer drove to a 10.93 elapsed time for the victory.  Fredrich is the reigning series champion in the Oakley Motorsports Top Sportsman class, and he bolstered his title defense with a final-round win against Glenn Butcher. Fredrich drove his ’68 Camaro to a 6.632-second run for the win, which was highlighted by an almost-perfect .007 reaction time. Nelson, defending JEGS SPORTSnationals winner and reigning NHRA Top Dragster world champion, continued his winning ways by besting Anthony Bertozzi in the final of Oakley Motorsports Top Dragster. Nelson drove to a 6.14 elapsed time on his 6.13 dial to take the victory. JEGS Speedweek will continue on Saturday, July 18 with qualifying rounds for the JEGS SPORTSnationals. Racing will get underway at 8 a.m. Saturday’s program will also include class eliminations for Super Stock and Stock drivers as well as final qualifying rounds for racers in Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Lundqvist fastest in Friday’s practice

Alton, Virginia (July 17, 2020)- A fleet of Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda drivers invade Virginia International Raceway for the third-annual Andy Scriven Memorial Race Weekend July 17-19. 

Sixteen drivers from eight countries make up the grid for the first triple-header event of the season. The weekend honors the late Ligier Automotive chassis designer Andy Scriven. Scriven was instrumental in the Ligier JS F3 and bringing the first Halo-equipped chassis to North America.  

Linus Lundqvist’s FR Americas perfect run in the season debut at Mid-Ohio netted the 2018 BRDC British F3 champion an early championship lead. But, this weekend the Global Racing Group rookie faces a challenging new circuit with hungry competitors nipping at the chance for victory.

“We had a perfect start to the season, surely, but I can’t rest on my laurels in this sport and I don’t intend to,” said Lundqvist. “I am absolutely certain that our rivals have done their all to close the gap we enjoyed at Mid-Ohio. I will try to go for wins again, of course, but I do expect a tough fight. It should be good fun.”

Although VIR is new to Lundqvist, the native Swedish pilot wheeled his No. 26 Paytrim machine to the top of practice times early on Friday, with a pair of fast laps. (Practice 1:44.419-seconds, Practice 2: 1:44.380-seconds)

“It is my first time around VIR and all I can say is it’s a great track and really amazing,” said Lundqvist. “Very happy with today’s results. My car felt mega here. We have some fine details to manage before qualifying tomorrow.”

A driver looking to dethrone Lundqvist from the top step happens to be one of his Global Racing Group teammates, Danish-American pilot Benjamin Pedersen. Pedersen is the winningest driver at VIR on the FR Americas roster.

In his last visit to the 3.27-mile, 18-turn track, Pedersen finished fastest in qualifying, setting the new track FR Americas record (1:43.486-seconds) which lead to a succession of wins. Driving the orange No. 24 DirtFish machine flatout around the fast and flowing Virginia circuit, Pedersen also holds the record for smallest margin of victory at VIR in both the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda (.122-seconds) and FR Americas (.5 34-seconds). 

Pedersen will have a lot of ground to make up from practice to qualifying, though, as his times in both Friday sessions were nearly a second off Lundqvist’s pace. (Practice 1: 1:45.108, Practice 2: 1:45.315-seconds)

“I’m really excited to be returning back to VIR this weekend with Global Racing Group,” said Pedersen. “We had very strong pace here last year with a near sweep of the weekend and we have worked extremely hard to be best prepared for VIR. We are learning so much every session. We took good advantage of the promoter test day and have some adjustments to make before qualifying on Saturday.”

After playing runner up to Lundqvist at Mid-Ohio in both rounds, HMD Motorsports driver David Malukas is on the hunt for his first win. Malukas’ best lap in Practice 1 (1:45.476-seconds) slotted him mid-field, but in the final practice of the day, Malukas shot to the top of the lap times halfway through the 30-minute session. He held the top time for a few laps before an off in Turn 12 ended his day prematurely. That left the door open for Lundqvist, who laid down consecutive fliers in the final two laps of practice. 

“After a short break since Mid-Ohio and with a bit more testing under my belt, I’m excited to try and do another good showing with the HMD Motorsports team at VIR,” expressed Malukas, who will mad his VIR debut today. “I’m ready to get going again and see what we can do with the ultimate goal being to win!”

Soler-Obel (Velocity Racing Development) had a break-out weekend last season at VIR, claiming his maiden FR Americas victory while also setting the track record for the fastest in-race lap (1:44.015-seconds). 

The Columbian driver faced several challenges at Mid-Ohio and is looking to rebound this weekend on a track that has been good to him in the past. Soler-Obel finished the day, turning his fastest time in the first practice (1:45.111-seconds).  

“VIR is a track the team and I are very comfortable on,” Soler-Obel said. “We’ve worked out the kink’s from the last race and expect much better results at VIR than Mid-Ohio.”

Other drivers to watch this weekend are Joshua Car (Crosslink Competition), Nicky Hays (Global Racing Group), James Roe Jr. (Global Racing Group) and Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport).

Both Car and Hays were only separated by a tenth of a second in the opening practice while Frost and Roe Jr. traded positions several times in the final practice.

New to the field this weekend are Relentless Motorsports and its drivers Mitch Egner and Andrew Dobbie. The first full Canadian FR Americas squad missed the season opener due to boarder restrictions, but are eager to get to work at VIR. 

“I am just glad to be here with everything going on in the world,” Dobbie said. “We were finally able to make it through the boarder. It’s a big day for the team since it’s the first race weekend for us. I am super happy and anxiously excited for Saturday.”

A field of 16 drivers open Saturday with a 30-minute qualifying (10:25 a.m. Eastern) with Race 1 at 2:55 p.m. Eastern. The Andy Scriven Memorial Race weekend culminates on Sunday with two 35-minute rounds of racing (10:35 a.m. Eastern and 3:05 p.m. Eastern). All three races will be streamed worldwide available at FANRacing.Live.