TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEPOCONO DOUBLEHEADERPOCONO RACEWAYLONG POND, PAJUNE 27-28, 2020
RACE #14 & #15: POCONOFor the first time in NASCAR history, Pocono Raceway will be the host of a NASCAR doubleheader race weekend. The ground-breaking weekend schedule will feature five races in three days, including two NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) events on back-to-back days: the Pocono Organics 325 in Partnership with Rodale Institute on Saturday, June 27th, and the Pocono 350 on Sunday, June 28th. The NCS doubleheader around the 2.5-mile track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle’ will mark the 14th and 15th races on the revised NCS schedule. In compliance with the pandemic guidelines, all events during the doubleheader weekend will be run without spectators.  ALL-TIME WINS LEADEROf NASCAR’s premier series’ 84 trips to the 2.5-mile tri-oval, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with a total of 32 all-time wins. NASCAR Hall of Famer and career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon leads the way in wins at Pocono Raceway with six victories (1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2011 and 2012). Two Team Chevy drivers are in the record books as multiple race winners, including Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, and Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, both with three career wins at the track.  BOWTIE BULLETS·       Of the NASCAR Cup Series’ 84 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, Chevrolet has recorded 168 top-five’s, 367 top-10’s, and 7,180 laps led. 
·       Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon leads the series in laps led at Pocono Raceway with 1,040 laps in 47-career starts. Of active drivers, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, has recorded the most laps led with a total of 743 laps in 36 starts. Of other lap leader statistics, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, holds the record for the most laps led in a single NCS race at the track with 175 of 200 laps (August ’07). ·       A Chevrolet has led the field to the green from the pole position 34 times, more than any other manufacturer. The most recent Chevy pole winner at Pocono is William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 (June ‘19). 
·       Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Pocono of any team with 17 trips to victory lane: Jeff Gordon (six), Tim Richmond (three), Jimmie Johnson (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Kasey Kahne (one), Geoff Bodine (one) and Terry Labonte (one). ·       Of active drivers, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads the way in runner-up finishes with five and top-five finishes with 14 at the track. In other top-finishing statistics of note, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch lead all active NCS drivers in top-10 finishes with 20 each in their careers. ·       With 13 races in the books thus far, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all NCS drivers in an Average Running Position of 8.2, as well as topping the Fastest Laps Run list with 317. Following the GEICO 500 at Talladega, Elliott broke his longest career streak for races led (eight).  COMING TO THE GREENThe race weekend format continues on with no practice or qualifying. The starting lineup for Saturday’s Pocono Organics 325 in Partnership with Rodale Institute will be set by virtue of owners points and a random draw. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters: 5th      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE7th      Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE10th    Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com Camaro ZL1 1LE12th    Jimmie Johnson, No 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE14th    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE15th    Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Caterpillar Camaro ZL1 1LE16th    William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE17th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE The starting lineup for Sunday’s Pocono 350 will be set by the finishing order of Saturday’s event, with an inversion of the top-20 finishers.  TUNE-INFOX will telecast the 130-lap, 325-mile Pocono Organics 325 in Partnership with Rodale Institute live at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 27th. FS1 will telecast the 140-lap, 350-mile Pocono 350 live at 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 28th. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. QUOTABLE QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS“So far, our prep hasn’t been any different for this weekend’s doubleheader. We ultimately want to run one car the whole weekend. I think keeping that in mind during the race on Saturday, but at the same time I don’t know that you are really going to approach it much different. You always want to try and finish, and finish toward the front, so I don’t think that is going to change. I do think track position is going to be really important with the shorter races, though, especially lining yourself up for the last stage in each event because it is going to be so short. It’s going to be hard to make up a lot of ground in a hurry.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGSBOWMAN’S THOUGHTS ON POCONO: “Pocono is a really fun track. It is one of my favorite tracks we go to. We are typically really fast here. This track is an interesting track because there is a big compromise in all three corners. It is definitely one of the more technical places that we go to.”
BOWMAN’S THOUGHTS ON PASSING AT POCONO:“Pocono is a tough place to pass cars. One of the keys is to qualify decent, but since we aren’t qualifying, we need to hope we get a good draw. The track is really a one groove track and since it doesn’t widen out a lot, it is tough to get by cars. Hendrick Motorsports is building some fast cars right now and I know when we go to Pocono this weekend, that is what we will have.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 14th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON THE POCONO DOUBLE HEADER:“I think overall it’s going to be a fun weekend. I really enjoy racing at Pocono. I think it’s one of those racetracks we go to that’s cool to race at, but is also really tough to get around. The restarts are really difficult and usually pretty treacherous. It’s important to have good, clean and consistent restarts there. You also need a good long run car that turns well to make speed. Now add in back-to-back races there, I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to bring a new challenge and I think we’re up for it. We’ve ran well at Pocono in the past so this is a chance for us to really capitalize.”
BYRON ON IF A GOOD CAR AT POCONO IS SETUP TO RUN BETTER IN ONE CORNER OR CONSISTENT IN ALL THREE:“I think there’s still some truth to when people say you need to have your car setup better in one corner than the others at Pocono Raceway. However, I honestly think nowadays with the way engineering is, you have to figure out how to make it work in all three corners pretty well more than you use to. You have to be close to exceptional in all three turns to be competitive, but I think Turn 3 is the most important, personally. The way that corner is and how difficult it is for the majority of the field, you want to be better there than everyone else. I always look at racetracks and try to see where the majority of the field will be weak and usually the best cars throughout the race excel in those areas of weakness. With that being said, I think the saying still holds true today with the three corners and having to be good at one end over another.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CATERPILLAR CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGS“The toughest thing to overcome at Pocono Raceway has got the be the dirty air. I’ve gotten in these Cup cars a few times on 1.5-mile tracks, and we ran a similar aero package in our Xfinity cars at Pocono a couple of years ago, and the draft is a huge part of your handling. Managing your track position to avoid as much dirty air as possible is going to be very important. If we’re entering that weekend on a draw, that draw could be the very thing that dictates the first half of the Saturday race and how you’ll need to go about getting track position. With the track being so flat, it’s also important to keep the front of the car rotating through all three corners, which is a challenge since you get tighter the longer we run. With this package, that’s going to get enhanced the longer we are in dirty air. It’s going to be a dogfight on the restarts because of how valuable the air is.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGSTALK ABOUT POCONO RACEWAY. IT’S AN INTERESTINGLY-SHAPED TRACK.“Pocono is a fun, fast track and I feel like we’ve been able to build a good notebook there so I’m excited to get there this weekend for a double-header. Good finishes will be important for us and the points battle following Talladega. At Pocono Raceway, speed is definitely carried through turn two and through three to the start-finish line. I think those are the most important corners. Of course, every corner is important, but turns two and three are a little bit more important because it’s the flat end of the track.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGS “Coming off of a really strong weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, I’m looking forward to the doubleheader at Pocono this weekend. The doubleheader is obviously going to create its own set of unique challenges. The races are shorter, and you could hit on something during the race on Saturday that could really help you on Sunday. We have definitely shown a lot of speed at the big tracks so far this season, and while Pocono Raceway has been a struggle for me in the past, I think Brian Pattie has hit on some things that will give us a strong run Saturday and Sunday in our No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 P&G CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS“I really like the fact that Pocono Raceway is a doubleheader. I like racing twice in one weekend because of the opportunity it gives you to try something on Saturday and if that doesn’t work, you can readjust for Sunday. I think track position is huge at Pocono and being able to have clean air is a big advantage as well. It’s truly a ‘Tricky Triangle’ with the different turns and straightaways. We’ve got a new paint scheme with our partners at P&G this weekend, and I encourage our fans to go to pg.com/TakeOnRace for more information.”

June 25, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to Pocono Raceway this weekend for a rare Cup Series double-header. They will run the Pocono Organics 325 on Saturday afternoon then return Sunday for the Pocono 350. Both races will be full points-paying events.

DiBenedetto has 10 career starts at Pocono but will be making his first appearance there in the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang.

“Pocono used to be one of my favorite tracks,” he said. “It’s so unique, and we used to shift gears every lap.”

These days, he said, things are different with the new handling package and its lower horsepower requirement.

“Now you get everything you can get on the restarts,” he said. “You go banzai for the first few turns, then everything single-files out.”

He said that when you’re running anywhere other than in the lead, it’s a struggle, aerodynamically speaking.
 
“You battle dirty air more at Pocono than at any other track except Indianapolis,” he said.

“You have to really attack the restarts. Track position means everything. 
 
“That puts a lot of pressure on me and on the crew to execute on the pit stops and restarts.”
 
Pocono, with its relatively low banking and long distance (2.5 miles), offers opportunities for fuel-mileage strategies, and the Wood Brothers team historically has been adept at taking advantage of those situations.
 
DiBenedetto, although a newcomer to the team, is well aware of the possibilities Pocono presents.
  
“The track is so big and so long that you can make a green-flag pit stop and not lose a lap,” he said. “Even if the caution comes out, you can stay out and gain track position.
 
“And the crew can crunch the numbers and treat the races there like a road course.”
 
He doesn’t expect the shorter length of the races this weekend will change how teams plan their pit stops.

 “I think the strategies will be the same,” he said.
 
And DiBenedetto said running two Pocono races in two days won’t be too physically taxing.
 
“That part will be fun,” he said. “The races aren’t super long. I should be able to recover physically and get rehydrated.”
 
The real test, he said, will be for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, which has to take the Mustang they race on Saturday and in a short time prepare in for Sunday’s race.

“That part will be a good test for our team,” he said.

There will be no practice or qualifying for either race.
 
The Pocono Organics 325 is set to start just after 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, with TV coverage on FOX. Sunday’s Pocono 350 is scheduled to get the green flag at 4 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.
 

• Emerging talents Jacob Abel, Dakota Dickerson, Taylor Hagler and Karl Wittmer work to accelerate their careers with experience behind the wheel of the Acura NSX GT3 Evo
• Inaugural GT3 Academy event combined on- and off-track instruction at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
• Race winners and NSX GT3 Race veterans Dane Cameron and Ryan Eversley provided one-on-one coaching for the candidates

Atlanta, GA (June 25, 2020) – A quartet of promising racers became the first graduates of the Honda Performance Development GT3 Driver Academy earlier this week, as HPD’s program to assist young drivers accelerate their careers held its inaugural session at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The four members of the first GT3 Academy class all were selected for the racing career promise and included Taylor Hagler, Jacob Abel, Karl Wittmer and Dakota Dickerson.  All arrived Sunday for an orientation session with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo they would pilot during the next two days. The car, prepped and crewed by the 2019 SRO World Challenge GT America Championship-winning Racers Edge Motorsports team, proved to be an ideal classroom for the challenging Road Atlanta circuit.

Intermittent thunderstorms shuffled the planned schedule for the inaugural HPD GT3 Academy event at Road Atlanta, but the racer/students still each ran 60-plus laps over two days and worked through the full curricula that included one-on-one coaching and instruction. The first group meeting occurred online Thursday evening with Acura’s social media staff and agency offering best practices on digital engagement with fans, teams, and large OEMs.

Taylor Hagler, who drives a Honda Civic Type R TCR in the Michelin Pilot Challenge noted, “I had a pretty steep learning curve, but thanks to the pre-track briefings, I felt right at home once I got into the cockpit. The NSX GT3 Evo was amazing, and I’m still processing everything I learned in the last two days. I can’t wait for the next event at Mid-Ohio!”

The Road Atlanta program included on-track coaching sessions in the championship winning from NSX GT3 Evo race winners Ryan Eversley and Dane Cameron, as well as off-track instruction relating to effective communication with team personnel and engineers, in addition to driver marketing insights and sponsor searches. As a testament to the drivers’ quick learning, the original target lap set for the drivers by Dane had to be reset with an even faster base lap early on the second day.

“The first event of the GT3 Academy went flawlessly,” commented F3 Americas race winner Jacob Abel. “The NSX GT3 car was awesome, and having very limited experience in sports cars prior to this opportunity, I was concerned about adapting. However, Ryan, Dane, and everyone at Racers Edge Motorsports made the transition seamless. I’m looking forward to taking what we learned the past couple of days and building on it at Mid-Ohio next month!”

After each on-track session, the drivers immediately reviewed lap data and in-car video with an instructor, while drivers not on track would pair with another instructor at a location around the track. Acura Motorsports/HPD provided engineering support and feedback to increase driver experience in working with OEM engineering staff. With a stated goal of expanding diversity and access for North American racing talent, HPD is committed to bringing more opportunities like this for the future stars of motorsport.

Canadian racer Karl Wittmer said, “I have a lot of experience in Touring Cars, but even so, this was quite different. The pre-track briefings and coaching were really valuable, but the best part was definitely getting behind the wheel and getting faster and faster over the two days!”

The Mid-Ohio GT3 Academy event in July will feature two 2019 NSX GT3 Evo Champions in drivers Kyle Marcelli and Mario Farnbacher as instructors and will focus on communication and feedback with a racer’s team and engineering personnel. The remaining two GT3 Academy dates will be announced shortly with a planned bonus event later in the year.

Current F3 Americas Champion Dakota Dickerson concludes, “The first event of the HPD GT3 Drivers Academy was an incredible experience. Being able to work with so many experienced professionals including the Racers Edge Motorsports Team, Ryan Eversley, Dane Cameron, and all of the folks at Acura Motorsports helped accelerate my learning curve and gave me valuable insights. Plus, the Acura NSX GT3 EVO was a blast to drive!”

Next GT3 Academy Event: July 22-23 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

CORONA, Calif. (June 25, 2020) – Building off the rising demand for streaming entertainment, and in response to the noticeable need for motorsport racing and automotive content on streaming platforms, MAVTV, the only cable television network in the U.S. dedicated solely to motorsports, is pleased to announce the launch of “MAVTV Select” on The Roku Channel, the home for free and premium entertainment on the Roku® platform. MAVTV’s new streaming network specializes in broadcasting only the best motorsport content available, including Pro Motocross, Late Model Dirt, Pro Pulling, ARCA Menards, and other racing entertainment. MAVTV Select is available on The Roku Channel, effective immediately.

“The development of Connected TV’s and digital streaming players have changed the way we watch television forever. Consumers want content they can stream for hours on end from multiple devices,” stated Ed Niemi, Senior Vice President, Content Distribution & Strategic Partnerships, MAVTV Motorsports Network. “By tapping into our vast media library, we’ve created MAVTV Select, now available through a linear channel on The Roku Channel, to meet the rise in demand for digitally streaming content and expanded our availability to motorsports fans throughout the U.S. and around the world.” Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. The Roku Channel, which launched in 2017, is the home to more than 100,000 titles, including free movies and TV episodes as well as premium entertainment, and is one of the top channels on the Roku platform. In Q1, The Roku Channel reached households with an estimated 36 million people.  “Now more than ever it’s important for us to provide Roku users with easy access to free content, such as news and sports, and the ability to access it on-demand,” said Ashley Hovey, Director of AVOD Growth, Roku. “We’re excited to enhance the streaming experience for motorsport enthusiasts through the updates we’ve made on The Roku Channel.” MAVTV Select will broadcast content from the enormous Lucas Oil Studios library. Daily programming for MAVTV Select is said to remain independent from the existing linear channel. Therefore, LIVE race event programming will stay exclusively on the MAVTV Motorsports Network. MAVTV Select is a free 24/7 channel dedicated to all motorsports and designed to complement the existing MAVTV Motorsports Network. From archived race events, to figure 8 racing, to car build shows, MAVTV Select will broadcast nothing but the best motorsports content. To begin streaming premium motorsports content on your television, use your Roku remote to turn on the device or open the smart tv app and The Roku Channel will appear automatically on your home scre

Richard Childress Racing at Pocono Raceway …  In 165 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has earned two wins, 16 top-five, and 56 top-ten finishes at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ The Welcome, North Carolina-based organization also has 13 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with a best finish of second coming last year with Tyler Reddick.  COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection. Catch the Action … The NASCAR Cup Series Pocono Organics 325 at Pocono Raceway will be televised live Saturday, June 27, beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons at Pocono Raceway will be televised live Sunday, June 28, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 350 at Pocono Raceway will be televised live Sunday, June 28, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Austin Dillon at Pocono Raceway … Dillon has 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono Raceway, one start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and is a former winner at the track in the NASCAR Truck Series (2014). Delivering Performance on and Off the Racetrack… Austin Dillon races on Sunoco Green E15 fuel made with 15 percent American Ethanol. Ethanol is the most effective and least expensive source of octane available and it also burns cleaner and cooler than gasoline. All those factors mean that ethanol helps drive peak engine performance whether you’re in a racecar or on your way to the grocery store. And, ethanol helps keep our air cleaner and our environment healthier by reducing toxic and greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about why ethanol is the smart choice for your engine, your wallet and our environment at americanethanolracing.com.SYMBICORT Partners with the No. 3 at Pocono Raceway … SYMBICORT is an AstraZeneca product and the sponsor of No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway on Sunday with Austin Dillon. You can learn more at MySymbicort.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:Talk about Pocono Raceway. It’s an interestingly-shaped track …“Pocono is a fun, fast track, and I feel like we’ve been able to build a good notebook there so I’m excited to get there this weekend for a double-header. Good finishes will be important for us, especially with the points battle following Talladega. At Pocono Raceway, speed is definitely carried through turn two and through three to the start-finish line. I think those are the most important corners. Of course, every corner is important, but turns two and three are a little bit more important because it’s the flat end of the track.”

Tyler Reddick at Pocono Raceway …This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Pocono Raceway will be Tyler Reddick’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts there and has not started or finished outside the top 10. He finished second during last year’s race with crew chief Randall Burnett. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate also has three NASCAR Truck Series starts at the track and one top-five finish. About Cleveland Brothers … Since 1948, Cleveland Brothers has had a history of offering quality solutions to support the needs of their customers. They are focused on growing your business with the equipment, parts, and service for any size company. Cleveland Brothers has 26 locations conveniently located throughout Pennsylvania, Northern West Virginia and Western Maryland. An assortment of online tools and information are also available to help make your business decisions easier. For more information, please visit: www.clevelandbrothers.com. About Caterpillar … Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping our customers build a better world – making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2019 sales and revenues of $53.8 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle, cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our customers succeed. The company principally operates through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:What is the trickiest part about getting around Pocono Raceway?“For me, it has got the be the dirty air. I’ve gotten in these Cup cars a few times on 1.5-mile tracks, and we ran a similar aero package in our Xfinity cars at Pocono a couple of years ago. The draft is a huge part of your handling. Managing your track position to avoid as much dirty air as possible is going to be very important. If we’re entering the weekend on a draw, that draw could be the very thing that dictates the first half of the Saturday race and how you’ll need to go about getting track position. With the track being so flat, it’s also important to keep the front of the car rotating through all three corners, which is a challenge since you get tighter the longer we run. With this package, that’s going to get enhanced the longer we are in dirty air. It’s going to be a dogfight on the restarts because of how valuable the air is.”

This Week’s No. 21 Taxslayer Chevrolet Camaro at Pocono Raceway… Myatt Snider will return to the seat of the No. 21 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro for his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ Snider’s previous race in the Richard Childress Racing-prepared Chevrolet was at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he had a career best finish of fifth. He has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at Pocono in 2018, finishing in the 12th position. He has also made a pair of ARCA Racing Series starts at Pocono Raceway, earning two top-10 finishes in 2016. About TaxSlayer … TaxSlayer makes online tax filing accessible for millions of Americans, with an easy-to-use platform and unlimited support at a fraction of the cost of the competition. Trusted for over 50 years, the Augusta-based tech company successfully completed more than 10 million state and federal e-filed tax returns in 2019 and processed $12 billion in refunds. TaxSlayer achieved a 4.5/5 TrustScore on consumer review site Trustpilot, with 87% of its customers rating the tax filing platform Great or Excellent. For more information, visit www.TaxSlayer.com. Tax Day … The IRS has extended the federal tax filing deadline for 2020. Tax Day is now July 15, 2020. This extension is automatic and applies to all taxpayers. For up-to-date information and advice, check out TaxSlayer.com/blog. Save Now … When you file with TaxSlayer, the savings are around every turn. All the deductions, all the credits, and all the money you deserve comes back to you in your refund. Start for free at TaxSlayer.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:What are the biggest challenges you’ll face this weekend with Pocono Raceway only having three turns?“I think the biggest challenge at Pocono is just getting the car right for all three corners. The corners are all so different. You can usually only pick two out of the three corners to really focus on. I have full confidence that Andy Street and our No. 21 Richard Childress Racing team will be able to adjust the car to what I need on each of our pit stops. I think if we can unload close to what we need we will be a contender on Sunday in our TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro.”

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIPDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAYIMSA WEATHERTECH 240 AT DAYTONAPRE-RACE MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPTJUNE 24, 2020

Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor (No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R) along with Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner (No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R) met with members of the media during a teleconference to discuss returning to competition next week at Daytona. FULL TRANSCRIPT: WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO ABOUT NEXT WEEKEND AND GETTING BACK TO DAYTONA?Antonio Garcia: “It’s been super strange to have such a long period of ‘off’ time between the Rolex 24 and Daytona next week. It has been strange doing our own work; my own workout is the only thing I could do. I haven’t been back to the simulator yet so the next time I will be in the C8.R will be full-on in the first practice.”Jordan Taylor: “I’m excited. Everyone is ready to get back to the racetrack. It feels like this has been another offseason, just a little weirder. It’s been tough not to be with the guys, hanging out, going to the shop and checking out the car. I was able to go to one simulator test last week in Charlotte, which also was a new experience. We weren’t allowed to have engineers there, so everyone was remoted in, so I was basically talking to everyone on a radio. We had one person there to run the simulator. That was unique but it was nice to get back to work and working toward the race next week. We had a good showing for the new Corvette C8.R at the Rolex 24. We had a flawless run in our car, so having the opportunity to come back there is a plus. We have spent a lot of time at Daytona and can apply what we’ve learned.”Oliver Gavin: “It’s fantastic to get back racing. All credit to everyone at IMSA for working away tirelessly for the last couple of months to get us back racing at Daytona. It will be obviously pretty hot and sticky conditions but at least we will be back behind the wheel. Some fans will get to see cars out on track, which I think is fantastic. It’s been a long break… probably the longest period for anyone involved in racing. There isn’t a lot of track time at Daytona, which will present some challenges and be a little weird, to be honest. But everyone is really wanting to just get out there and get on with it.”Tommy Milner: “I’m very excited to get back racing. It’s been a long break for a lot of us out of a racecar. This is probably the longest break most drivers and teams have had from racing and testing. So we’re all excited to get back in the racecar and go racing again. It’ll be quite different going back to Daytona in the summertime. I’ve done that before in GRAND-AM; I remember it being very hot so that will be a big change from what we’re used to at Daytona. But there are a lot of things these days that we aren’t used to. So most of all, I’m excited to get back to racing, getting in the Corvette and having some fun.” ANTONIO, YOU AND OLIVER GAVIN ARE SHARING AN APARTMENT OR HOUSE SOMEWHERE IN FLORIDA. HOW IS THAT GOING?Antonio Garcia: “It’s another new experience. This isn’t the first time I’ve shared a house with Olly; we used to do that every year we go to Sebring because we stay longer than a week there. We came over on the 18th to make sure we are ready for the race. So far it is going OK. We don’t hate each other yet! There’s still a few days to go because we usually don’t fly over this early. We are carrying on doing our work even though it is very warm. But we are getting used to the heat because the next two races will be very, very warm.“We are near Clearwater, by the sea. It’s a very nice area. Olly likes to ride a lot on the bike and it’s very good for me to run here, as well. We need to be out there first thing in the morning otherwise it gets very warm. We are trying to stay over in the U.S. until Road America. We don’t know how the quarantine situation will develop, so we will plan to stay through Road America but who knows what will happen after that.” OLIVER, HOW HAS IT BEEN BEING IN A QUARANTINE STATE FOR A COUPLE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE RACE? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO ACCLIMATE TO THE FLORIDA CLIMATE?Oliver Gavin: “Cycling has helped and getting out for a few hours of exercise in the Florida heat and humidity. I’m sharing a house with Antonio, which is going good and well. He has some pretty good skills with his cooking, which is good. I’m not so hot at that, so I’m doing some shopping, tidying up, doing the dishes. He actually brought a PlayStation so we’re playing a bit on that. We’ve done Bathurst and Motegi in the Corvette C7.R. Just filling the days and trying to get acclimated. We’re right on the beach so we can just go right out to the sea, which is really hot! I can’t believe how it is… it’s like a bath!” WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE NOT HAVING DAN BINKS WITH THE TEAM AS CREW CHIEF?Antonio Garcia: “It will be very strange. This entire situation has been a whole new experience for everyone. It will be strange not to have him on the radio and talk to him in the garage. I don’t know what exactly it will be like, but as soon as we show up at the track we will miss him.” YOU HAVE A GOOD NOTEBOOK ON DAYTONA WITH THE NEW CORVETTE, BUT ONCE YOU GET INTO THE OTHER EARLY-SEASON RACES FOLLOWING THE TESTING LOCKDOWN, IS THAT A HANDICAP FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP?Antonio Garcia: “It’s always a handicap not to be able to test and compete. We know Corvette Racing has been working since the checkered flag at Daytona. For sure we learned a lot at that race. There were some mistakes and the car wasn’t where we wanted it to be. I don’t know what to expect but I’m sure we will be as prepared as we can.” HOW HAS THE BREAK ALTERED YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SEASON?Antonio Garcia: “It’s going to be a challenge for everyone. Not being able to test your development on track is a new thing to do. Everyone is working at home so it’s not easy. You go by how the race went at Daytona, and we hope we are fixing the items we identified but we couldn’t test them on track. That’s the only downside to that and having just two hours practice. It will be a challenge, but Corvette Racing is the best team out there. If anyone can do this, it’s this team.” HOW IS IT DIFFERENT SHARING A CAR WITH JORDAN GIVEN THE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JAN (MAGNUSSEN)?Antonio Garcia: “Up to now in the longer races, I used an insert so I could raise myself up a little bit. That’s one of the things we still need to work out. Maybe we will use a seat position that works for both us. It could be a little high for Jordan but also works for me because I wasn’t too low. For sure, my legs would be a little stretched out but as long as I can see out of the window I’m happy with that. We will figure out what the best solution is.” IT’S BEEN SOME TIME SINCE YOU’VE WON A RACE ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE A COUPLE OF CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THAT SPAN. DOES THAT PLAY ON YOUR PSYCHE?Antonio Garcia: “I think you need to play every race as a single event and just try to achieve that. We had come close to many times with Jan; it was a little bit frustrating to be second so many times and knowing we could have won many of the races. But I think the approach will be the same: go race-by-race, do our best and if someone else does it better, then we can’t do anything about it.” HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU IN THE MEDICAL PROTOCOLS THAT IMSA HAS PUT IN PLACE FOR THIS EVENT?Jordan Taylor: “IMSA has gone through a lot and worked with NASCAR with their protocols. I’ve not heard of any issues through any of those events. I’m trusting them. There are a lot of competitors, teams and families involved so I’m sure they are taking all the precautions necessary.” TALK THROUGH THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THIS RACE AND THE ROLEX 24.Jordan Taylor: “It will be a much shorter race with a much different mindset. For the Rolex, you’re trying to race to the end and survive the first 20 hours to race in the last four. For this one, you’ll prepping a car for speed to compete in laptime and performance. You’ll have to take a lot more risks not to lose track position. There will be a bit of difference in strategy. Corvette Racing has a long history of bouncing between races of these lengths (endurance vs. sprint).” IS THIS THE BEST POSSIBLE PLACE TO RESTART THE SEASON?Jordan Taylor: “I think so. It’s the World Center of Racing. It’s a fun track and offers a lot of good things from a racing perspective. It will be an awesome July Fourth. We used to do this in the GRAND-AM days with the night race and with NASCAR. It’ll be a good show.” WITH PORSCHE LEAVING GTLM, ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE CLASS?Jordan Taylor: “I haven’t had any conversations on this. There’s a lot going on and not just in GTLM. It’s disappointing to see them gone but I’m sure they will be back at some point. I have confidence in Chevrolet and Corvette with decision-making processes.” HOW HAS THE BREAK ALTERED YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE SEASON?Jordan Taylor: “I don’t know if it’s altered things, but it’s made everyone a little more excited to get back to the track. I think we still have a team, a car and a full package to compete for the championship. For us, maybe the break is a little bit of an advantage for us with a new car. The guys were able to go back and study the car… understand where can make improvements whether it’s pit stops, drivability of the car, engine calibration, all those little things that have been worked on between the engineers and crew. I still have high expectations.” HOW HAS YOUR MINDSET CHANGED GIVEN THAT YOU NEED TO USE YOUR MIRRORS FOR PASSING MUCH MORE THAN YOU DID IN THE DPi CARS?Jordan Taylor: “That was pretty eye-opening. It had been a few years since I had done the Rolex in a GT car. Going back to GT, I realized that you had a lot of time to relax in the prototype when you’re coming up on a GT car. If you know you’re not going to pass in that corner, maybe you come off the throttle a little. You’ll lose a couple of tenths but maybe you can a couple in the next corner when your competitor has that same GT car there. I went into the Rolex with that same mindset – if I see a prototype then I’ll lift a little and let that car go and lose a couple tenths. But I realized that all those tenths you lose in GT, you don’t find that back. So it was a lot more mentally draining just being focused on pushing every lap in a stint and trying to hold prototypes off. I’m glad I had that 24-hour experience before going to a sprint race when that will really matter.” FROM WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CORVETTE AND THE TIRE BEHAVIOR, COULD A SPRINT RACE PLAY INTO YOUR HANDS OR WOULD AN ENDURANCE RACE SUITED THE CAR BETTER AT THIS STAGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT?Jordan Taylor: “It’s hard to tell. We’re going to Daytona for a race where it’s going to be so much warmer so we don’t know how the tire is going to react. Through all of our Daytona testing it was pretty cool, and even on raceday the highest temperature wasn’t that hot. That will be the bigger thing… how everyone gets their tire in the window to see how they work. But I’m sure no matter what race, you’re going to single-stint tires. Endurance racing suits Corvette Racing with its heritage but they are very good in these strategic races as well. We have the right guys behind us.” TALK ABOUT THE EFFORTS BY IMSA TO GET THE INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS OVER HERE FOR THE RACE.Oliver Gavin: “They really worked really hard, as did Ben Johnson (team manager) to keep Antonio and I in the loop. They worked really hard with DHS (Department of Homeland Security). There were lots of questions going back and forth during this whole time. All credit to everyone to get this going. Getting to the airport, getting over here and getting into the U.S. was relatively straight-forward and well-run. Where I flew into at Miami was good… the temperature checks, the paperwork we had to do, the advice on the quarantine was good. It is a recommendation, the quarantine. It’s not like there is someone watching the building to make sure we are sticking to the rules. But it’s the thing Corvette Racing wanted us to do, and it’s the right thing.” HOW MUCH EXTRA STRESS DID YOU FEEL ABOUT POSSIBLY NOT GETTING BACK TO THE U.S. AND NOT GETTING BACK IN THE 4 CORVETTE?Oliver Gavin: “There was a little bit of anxiety about it, certainly in the last number of months when we heard Sebring was going to be postponed and moved and no one knew what was going to happen next. Ben Johnson and everyone at Corvette Racing kept us in the loop and have been working away, and IMSA has been working tirelessly. There have been some periods where you’ve been home for many, many weeks and you’re wondering what is going to happen. But you look around at all the racing series around the world and everyone is in the same situation. I think people are finding solutions, and that’s great.” IT’S AN UNFORTUNATE CIRCUMSTANCE THAT THE TEAM WON’T BE ABLE TO GO TO LE MANS, BUT COULD THIS BE TURNED INTO A POSITIVE THAT MORE OF THE EFFORT WILL BE PUT ON THE IMSA CHAMPIONSHIP?Oliver Gavin: “Honestly in all the years I’ve driven for Corvette Racing, I never thought us going to Le Mans was detrimental to our championship chances in IMSA. I always thought us going to Le Mans made us better as a team, really sharpened our focus, gave us a chance to race other people and examined us fully under a microscope. There is no hiding place at Le Mans. So anything, I thought Le Mans was a really big bonus for us and that we always came back a little bit wiser and stronger. It’s a disappointment not to go this year. But in this whole season and year, there are lots of things that we are not going to like or not be happy about. But we have to make the best of the situations and make the most of it.” YOU TALKED ABOUT COMING INTO THE COUNTRY AND IT BEING QUITE ORGANIZED. AS AN IMSA COMPETITOR, IS IT A LETTER THAT YOU SHOW UP WITH, A FORM OF A VISA OR SOMETHING ALREADY STAMPED IN YOUR PASSPORT? HOW DOES IT WORK WHEN YOU SHOW UP AT THE DESK?Oliver Gavin: “I operate on a P1 visa, so that’s already on my passport. There were two other pieces of documentation that IMSA sent through to make sure we were on the list for immigration and particular flights and where we were going. We had to send all that through a long time before the 18th. So when I turned up at the airport in London, I went straight to a desk and then a U.S. immigration person. They then went down the list of people and said, ‘Yes, OK you’re on this flight and yes you’re with IMSA. We’ve got 11 others of you on this flight today.’ And I think half my flight was with IMSA people. It wasn’t very busy, so that’s side of things were really straight-forward.“Coming into the country on the plane, they have you filling out a form asking where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing and other bits and pieces. Once you are off the plane, they’d take that questionnaire off you, taking your temperatures and asking a few more questions. It was as thorough as it can be.” TALK ABOUT THE TIME AWAY NOW FOR YOUR FAMILY THAT THIS IS GOING TO BRING. HOW HARD IS THAT GOING TO BE?Oliver Gavin: “It is going to be a difficult period and something my wife and I spoke about, and also my kids. I spoke earlier about this being a difficult period for a lot of people and there are going to be lots of things that not a lot of us really want to do, but we have to in order to fulfill our jobs to get back racing and do the thing we love. We know there will be some sacrifices. My wife has been supportive 100 percent, and my kids have been as well. We’ve had a fantastic time together these last three months. It’s three months at home with my wife and my kids that I just have never had before. So that side of it has been a huge positive. There’ve been loads of jobs done at home – some inside and some outside. But this has been a big plus.” JORDAN HAS BEEN DOING SOME KARTING AND SIM RACING. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING, AND IS IT IMPORTANT TO ACTUALLY DRIVE SOMETHING TO STAY SHARP? IS STAYING IN SHAPE ENOUGH BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN DOING THIS SO LONG THAT IT’S GOING TO COME BACK QUICKLY, OR DO YOU NEED TO BE BEHIND THE WHEEL OR A KART OR EVEN A COMPUTER GAME?Tommy Milner: “I just did the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual that Corvette Racing supported with two cars… that was an interesting exercise. IMSA has had its own iRacing series, and I think those are very valuable for drivers. It has a lot of value in that it keeps your mind in racing. What we were driving isn’t exactly the real thing, and nothing will ever replace the real thing. But putting yourself in racing situations with traffic, those are all skills we have honed in real life that we can apply to these different virtual situations and can continue to learn from that. It’s hard to say that someone who has done a lot of sim racing can get into a car suddenly and go super-quick. But there is value for guys who have been doing it for a while to keep their minds in the game. Time will tell if the sim racing stuff has a lot of value or is of just a little value. We’ve only recently been able to get in our professional Chevy simulator to do some setup work for the upcoming races. It’s helpful for the drivers but also for the engineers to explore setup options and different tire temperature and compounds that we’ve found over the years that definitely apply to real life. It’s good for the team to get their mindset on Daytona and Sebring with these different temperatures and in some ways try to explore a bit of what’s going to happen. With the Corvette C8.R, we have quite a new platform and car. So there still is lots of learning and tweaking on things from Daytona and the WEC race at Austin, so there are a lot of ideas that the engineers want to try. There is nothing like real-life, on-track experience and we’re all looking forward to that next week.” WITH THE SMALLER GTLM FIELD THIS YEAR, HOW DO YOU SEE THE DYNAMIC WORKING OUT? DAYTONA WASN’T GREAT WITH THE RESULT FOR POINTS. IT’S HARD TO MAKE THOSE POINTS UP WITHOUT A LOT OF CARS. DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR PHILOSPHY GOING FORWARD?Tommy Milner: “With a new car, we are approaching each race trying to learn as much as we can. Winning races is always the target, and that won’t change whether we had a bad Daytona or not. For Olly and I, it’s about continuing to push the car forward and going for race wins. That’s the best way to make up that deficit. With less cars, it’s harder to make up larger point gaps but it’s the same for everyone. Just because we had a bad Daytona doesn’t mean we are out of it. As always, the goal at every weekend especially early on is to finish as high as we possibly can. Winning obviously is No. 1, but getting points is big. That won’t change by any means. There is an expected learning process with the new Corvette. If there is something we can learn early on here that will help us down the road then we will certainly explore that.” LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE OF THE IMSA CALENDAR NOW, DO YOU SEE HAVING THE THREE MAJOR ENDUROS STACK UP AT THE END OF THE SEASON GIVEN THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE C8.R?Tommy Milner: “That’s an interesting point I haven’t considered. Usually our two biggest races in the U.S. are the first two. Going into those with a new car is a big test of the car on the team and the drivers. Petit Le Mans has always been at the end so no matter if you have a new car or old car, you’ve got it figured out by the end of the season. I would expect that to be somewhat of the case again this year at Petit and Sebring – that the teams and drivers have figured their cars out and should provide for some pretty close racing. Sebring is a pretty tough track and we’ll have an opportunity here pretty early on and obviously not drive for 12 hours but have the experience of driving Sebring. We’ve done some testing there with this new Corvette so we have some experience there with it. Of course more time with the car is better. We had the one little problem at Daytona but the team had already identified the issue and made an update and fix for the WEC race in February. Everyone is confident that is solved and fixed. This whole year is going to be interesting with races quite close together is something we are going to be totally used to. It should be interesting. The team is up for it. They’ve taken this time with the opportunity to go through the lessons learned from Daytona and Austin to improve pit stop processes and other little details that sometimes get put aside earlier in the season because there often can be bigger things to focus on. All through testing, we’ve had a really good car. Daytona showed that the 3 car there was fast and competitive and reliable. That’s what we expected going into Daytona and that’s the feeling I get and the feeling most of the team has now. We aren’t looking to find problems with the car; we’re looking to find ways to make the car faster and win races.”

Inside Line Promotions – GAS CITY, Ind. (June 24, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi showcased speed in both a winged sprint car and a midget throughout four races in a six-day span.

Scelzi made his debut behind the wheel of Guy Forbrook’s sprint car on June 12 at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, which hosted the two-day Brownells Big Guns Bash featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Scelzi qualified fifth quickest out of 26 drivers in his group, placed sixth in a heat race and won the Last Chance Showdown to lock into the main event. He then charged from 21^st to 14^thin the feature to be tied for the third-most cars passed.

“Knoxville was about getting comfortable in the race car,” he said. “I think it takes time. It’s a new car so everything is different. We’ll get more comfortable the more we race. We had awesome speed though.”

Scelzi continued to be fast the following day as he timed in third quickest out of 26 drivers in his group. He was running second in a heat race when an incident ended the night early.

“I was in a spot to make the dash when I got into the infield and spun,” he said. “I tried to run the bottom lane and clipped the infield drain. It just bounced and backed me up into the fence.”

Scelzi was off for two days before joining Tucker Boat Motorsports for a pair of Indiana Midget Week races with the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midgets beginning a week ago Tuesday at Paragon Speedway in Paragon, Ind.

Scelzi qualified eighth quickest out of 46 drivers before he maneuvered from fifth to third place in a heat race. That locked him into the main event and the feature inversion placed him on the pole for the 30-lap feature. Scelzi led the first 10 laps before losing a pair of positions in traffic. He was maintaining third place until he caught the cushion wrong with nine laps to go.

“We were really fast at Paragon,” he said. “I was pushing too hard and hit the cushion and flipped. It’s easy to do in those cars. I think we could have had a third-place run. We regrouped for a good finish on Tuesday.”

Scelzi also drove for the team the following night at Gas City I-69 Speedway, where he timed in 17^th quickest and won a heat race to garner the eighth starting position for the A Main. He continued to progress throughout the feature and posted a fifth-place finish, which was his sixth top five of the season.

“I’m glad we were able to have a good run,” he said. “I struggled to get off turn two. That’s where I think I got beat. I felt better in turns three and four. It was a lot of fun racing the midget again.

“I want to thank Toyota and Tucker Boat Motorsports as well as Guy Forbrook for the opportunities.”

Scelzi returns to pavement competition the next two weekends. He will race this Saturday at Utah Motorsports Campus in Erda, Utah, during the ENEOS/Sunrise Ford Twins presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame with the ARCA Menards Series West.

BACK ON TRACK

Santa Pod Raceway

Sat.4 July 2020 – Racer Day

Sun.5 July 2020 – Racer Day

Sat.11 July 2020 – Street Day

British drag racing roars back to life next month with Back On Track at Santa Pod Raceway, two individual days of track action for racers on Saturday 4 ^th and Sunday 5 ^th July (Racer Days) and a third day for Run What Ya Brung (public track day) entrants on Saturday 11 ^th July (Street Day). All three events, naturally, will be conducted according to the Government’s lockdown guidance.

Each meeting will be held behind closed doors, admitting no spectators. On each Racer Day the attendance list will be limited to just 100 pre-booked entries. A paddock area accustomed to hosting 300 race teams and their transporters will enable bespoke, enlarged pit bays to accommodate social-distancing requirements. Both Racer Day events are open to cars and motorcycles using only race tyres, and the dragstrip surface will be prepared to full race standard.

Both Racer Day events will be live-streamed on Santa Pod’s YouTube and Facebook channels.

Street Day will also welcome cars and motorcycles. Only treaded street tyres will be permitted on the track.

New hygiene and safety measures are being introduced to ensure that Santa Pod remains Covid-secure. To comply with Government guidelines prohibiting gatherings of more than six people, individual entries at all three events will be restricted to one driver and five crew members. Hand-sanitiser stations will be located throughout the venue and regular hand-washing encouraged, while limited retail and catering facilities will be equipped according to required standards.

Full event information, detailing all the Racer Day and Street Day requirements and regulations, is available at www.rwyb.co.uk/backontrack.php and entry tickets may be booked, first-come, first-served, at www.santapodtickets.com. 

The UK drag racing season was due to begin at Easter, with racers already eager for action after a long winter’s break from the track. By now, Santa Pod should have hosted three national championship events and the opening round of the FIA/FIM European Championship series, plus its regular programme of modified car shows, specialist festivals and public track days on every intervening weekend. Despite their Covid-imposed restrictions, the Back On Track Racer Day and Street Day events respectively offer racers and RWYB entrants on two and four wheels a precious opportunity to test, tune and match race for the first time this year. It has been a long time coming, but drag racing is at last heading Back On Track.

BATAVIA, OH (June 26, 2020) – A doubleheader of racing action in Tennessee and Alabama is on tap with Friday’s event at 411 Motor Speedway, followed by an event on Saturday at Talladega Short Track. Both events will feature a complete program of: Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $12,000-to-win main event. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series makes a second visit to the McCarter family-owned 411 Motor Speedway this Friday, June 26th. Known as Tennessee’s Action Track, 411 Motor Speedway is celebrating their 60th year of thrilling, edge of your seat racing action. In addition to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, 411 Motor Speedway will have 604 Late Models, 602 Late Models, and Classics. In 2019, Ross Bailes led all 50 laps en route to his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win, but it was not easy sailing for the South Carolina driver. A caution plagued event saw many drivers take a stab at the top spot, especially in the closing laps. Donald McIntosh charged from the sixth starting spot to finish second, while current series point leader Jimmy Owens, finished in third.  The activities on Friday will get underway with pit gates opening at 2:00 PM, followed by general admission gates at 4:00 PM, hot laps at 7:15 PM. The stars of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will make a return appearance to Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL for the first time since 2008 (event rained out in 2009), on Saturday, June 27th. Talladega Short Track is a 1/3rd mile, high banked, red clay oval that is the home of “Dirt Trackin’ Southern Style”. The last series visit saw Chris Madden take the victory followed by Ray Cook and Shane Clanton, after a hard fought battle on a multi-grove track.  Saturday’s festivities will begin with pit and general admission gates opening at 12 PM. The on-track action will begin with hot laps at 6:30 PM. Along with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, 604 Dirt Late Models, 602 Late Models, Modifieds, and Hot Shots will be on hand. Lucas Oil Championship Standings:

Pos	Car #	Competitor	Hometown	Points	Pay
1	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	3025	$73,500
2	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	2865	$54,950
3	49	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville, GA	2760	$56,800
3	1T	Tyler Erb	New Waverly, TX	2760	$43,450
5	9	Devin Moran	Dresden, OH	2705	$39,732
6	40B	Kyle Bronson	Brandon, FL	2685	$41,475
7	14	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	2675	$45,175
8	25	Shane Clanton	Zebulon, GA	2640	$40,550
9	21	Billy Moyer Jr	Batesville, AR	2375	$26,275
10	81E	Tanner English	Benton, KY	2260	$20,100
11	1	Earl Pearson Jr	Jacksonville, FL	2175	$20,200
12	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	2140	$21,125
13	50	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown, TN	2130	$19,375
14	1s	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin, IL	2055	$52,700
15	16	Tyler Bruening	Decorah, IA	2035	$12,775
16	2S	Stormy Scott	Las Cruces, NM	1905	$11,775

Track & Event Information:411 Motor SpeedwayPhone Number: 865-888-5901Location: 632 Maryville Hwy. Seymour, TN 37865Directions: Located just 13 miles south of Knoxville, 13 miles North of Sevierville, and just 13 miles East of Maryville. 1 mile south of U.S. Highway 441 (Chapman Highway) on Highway 411 intersection.Website: www.411motorspeedway.net Talladega Short TrackPhone Number: 256-831-1413Location: 4343 Speedway Blvd Eastaboga, AL 36260Directions: I-20 to exit 173 toward Eastaboga, turn south onto John N Wills Ave, continue 0.3 miles to the speedway.Website: www.talladegashorttrack.com Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1350 NRM, (29.0) 1350 NRMW, (92) LM40 *Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Main.*For the Feature, competitors may use 2 new rear tires of choice.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain the starting position.

BLANEY WINS BACK-TO-BACK RACES AT TALLADEGA  Lincoln, AL – June 23, 2020 – Ryan Blaney wins the Geico 500 by 0.007 of a second in a thrilling overtime finish at Talladega Superspeedway! This win marks Ford’s and Roush Yates Engines’ ninth win out of the last ten races and Blaney’s second win in a row at NASCAR’s largest track.

“What a finish! Winning at Talladega is always special to my family and the entire Roush Yates organization,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Congratulations to Ryan, Todd, Roger and the entire No. 12 team. To have all three Team Penske drivers win a race and to be in playoff position is a great accomplishment. It’s a testament to all their hard work.”

Rain showers pushed back the Geico 500 to a Monday afternoon shootout, but just 57 laps in, the rain halted the race. After nearly an hour rain delay, the drivers were called back to their cars. The green flag waved and all three Team Penske Ford Mustangs and its Wood Brothers affiliate dominated the middle portion of the race and remained in control entering the final stage.   With laps winding down in the final stage, many drivers were asked to save fuel to make it to the end, until there was a late race caution that gave some teams the break they needed to make it to the checkered flag. Ryan Blaney lined up first with Kevin Harvick in second and Chris Buescher third. Blaney described the moment as “just biding your time and hoping you saved enough.”

The last two laps were filled with lane changes, bumps and runs! Harvick took the white flag with Buescher and Blaney on his rear bumper. Coming into turn three, there was a multiple car wreck mid-pack, but the leaders were still racing to the finish. Blaney dove down into turn four and got the lead while the field behind him was three-wide. Blaney used the entire width of the racetrack to maintain the top spot. The No. 12 Ford Mustang crossed the line first, ahead of a hard charging Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

“I’m really proud of this whole Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang team,” commented Blaney. “It’s been a cool year so far and I’m really excited to get our first win of the year at a cool place.”

Five Fords finished inside the top ten with Aric Almirola spinning across the finish line in P3, Buescher P6, John Hunter Nemechek in P8, and Kevin Harvick in P10. Fast Fords led a race high of 104 of the 191 laps and maintain the manufacture points lead with seven wins in the 2020 season.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series also took on the high banks of Talladega this past weekend for the Unhinged 300. Austin Cindric drove a clean, impressive race and finished P4. Chase Briscoe won stage two, but unfortunately suffered crash damage and finished P18. Briscoe sits second and Cindric sits third in driver points standings.   NASCAR heads to Pocono Raceway for a triple-header this weekend. The Cup series will race Saturday afternoon, June 27th and return to the track on Sunday, June 28th with the Xfinity Series for back-to-back races.  For a complete race schedule head to roushyates.com.  27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 389 WINS – 357 POLES!

June 22, 2020

DiBenedetto had a fast Quick Lane Mustang for much of Monday’s rain-delayed GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but in the end he fell victim to one of the crashes that often occur in the draft at Talladega and its sister track, Daytona International Speedway.

DiBenedetto was involved in a last-lap melee on the backstretch, was unable to continue to the finish line and wound up 26th.
 
“We pitted for fuel and were driving up through the middle and got blindsided by somebody crashing,” he said.

He was checked out at the track’s infield care center and released but said it was a bruising wreck.
 
“It was a hard hit,” he said. “But I should be fine.”

Early in the race, things were going much better for DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team. He started 23^rd after the starting line-up was set by drawing positions.

He had moved up to 19^th by the time the competition caution flag flew at Lap 27, and led that lap by staying on the track while the drivers ahead of him pitted. Back underway he cracked the top five by Lap 42, and was in second place two laps later. He took the lead at one point but had dropped to 13^th place when rain halted the race at Lap 57.

After a 58-minute red flag, drivers headed to pit road, and DiBenedetto returned to the track in 10^th place.

Working with his Ford teammates, he kept the Quick Lane Mustang among the top five for much of the second Stage of the race but ended that segment in 17^th place. 

DiBenedetto was sent to the rear of the pack for speeding on pit road during a stop with 43 laps remaining, but battled back into the top 20 and was in 19^th place for the start of the overtime finish, where he was collected in the last-lap crash on the backstretch that caused him to drop one spot to 15^th in the points standings.
 
The No. 21 team now heads to Pocono Raceway for a Saturday-Sunday double-header this weekend.

NASCAR CUP SERIESTALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYGEICO 500TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTESJUNE 22, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE 7th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE11th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th    TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LETOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ryan Blaney (Ford)2nd     Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)3rd      Aric Almirola (Ford)4th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)5th      Erik Jones (Toyota) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute on Saturday, June 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the Pocono 350 on Sunday, June 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES (Additional Team Chevy driver quotes and press conference transcripts for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jimmie Johnson): RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd (See below for press conference transcript) THERE WERE CERTAIN POINTS IN THIS RACE TODAY WHERE YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD THE FASTEST CAR AND MAYBE YOU WERE THE GUY TO BEAT. SO, SECOND MAY BE A LITTLE TOUGHT TO SWALLOW, BUT HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT?“Yeah, we were so close there at the end. It was hard all day trying to break up the Penske cars and then there at the end, all the blue ovals were together. But, our No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE was really fast all day. The boys brought a good one. I thought we had a shot there at the end, it just didn’t work out. But, all-in-all, a solid day. Really cool to see all the support of the fans that are here for Bubba (Wallace). That was a really special moment at the beginning of the race. We came up one spot short – we’ll go get them next week!” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th “Figuring out you are a couple laps short on fuel while leading a speedway inside 15 to go is not very much fun. We took the lead there and our fuel mileage number plummeted farther than we thought it would be. We thought we were good and then all of a sudden, we weren’t good. Led a bunch and had to give up the lead to try to make it there at the end. I saved enough once I gave up the lead, but so bummed. We had such a good car and definitely had a shot at winning. It is just one of those deals. Really appreciative of everyone at Valvoline and Hendrick Motorsports. P7 isn’t the end of the world, but man giving up the lead like that is a bummer.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 9th “Proud of our effort today for everyone who works on this Monster Energy Chevy. We chipped away at adjustments all day, having to overcome a really loose handling race car. Top-10 is a solid effort! Gotta zig instead of zag next time!” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th“Well, we finished 11th today. We had a shot there at the win with about 29 laps to go and just got a push from Logano in the corner. I don’t know why it got loose there but it did. We lost our track position and then really just fought to get back from there and tried to save fuel at the same time. We pitted with two to go to get some extra fuel and we made a pretty good charge to the front there in the third lane. We had a good number of cars to the inside but ultimately finished 11th. It would have been nice to finish top 10 but we did finish a superspeedway race in one piece which is nice. I thought we had some great speed at times and great opportunities to lead the race. We just have to build on that and continue to get better. I feel like these races are always unpredictable but at the same time there is skill involved. We did a decent job of controlling the skill part we just have to keep working.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“Our GEICO Camaro was solid today. We had a strategy there at the end to save fuel to make sure we were good to the checkered. I stumbled a little bit on the final restart, but we had just enough fuel to make it. You just have to be in the right line at the right time at the end of these things. We got filed out on the bottom, but still brought home a 12th-place finish. I’m really proud of our result. We needed that and we will keep truckin’ along. I’m proud of my GEICO Germain Racing team. We are going to keep rebounding and getting better.” BUBBA WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14thNOTE: After the race, Bubba walked across the track to wave and say hello to fans in the stands. WHAT A RUN FOR YOU TODAY! NASCAR RALLIES AROUND YOU, YOU’VE GOT FANS IN THE STANDS. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THIS DAY, THIS MOMENT?“This is probably the most badass moment right here. It’s been tough. It’s been hell. Well, I wouldn’t say hell; it’s just been hectic you know, carrying this weight, this burden. I wouldn’t really say burden, either. I’m proud to stand where I’m at and carry a new face. Look at this (turns around to face crowd to ask) is this the first time you’re here? From Atlanta? (cheers from fans) That is so cool! The sport is changing.” “The deal that happened yesterday, sorry I’m not wearing my mask, but I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile and I’m going to keep on going. I’ve been a part of this sport for a really long time. I’m still kind of a rookie. I’m starting to figure this stuff out. We had a good race going today in our Victory Junction Chevrolet. But man, I know I should have won that damn race. We ran out of gas. It’s just the stars didn’t align for us complete, but all in all, we won today. The pre-race deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life. From all the supporters. From drivers and crew members. Everybody here. The badass fan base; thank you guys for coming out here.” “This is truly incredible and I’m proud to be a part of this sport. Like I said earlier, I’ve got a long way to go. And we’ll keep on trucking. Another top-15 for us. We’ll take it. And, we’ll just go on to Pocono, right? I’m still smiling. I’ve got a long week ahead of me; probably a couple of weeks. Probably a couple of months, but I’ll be ready for Pocono, though.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“That was definitely a crazy day at Talladega Superspeedway in our No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet. We had nose damage early on in the race, and that caused us to use a little bit more fuel than the rest of the field during the long green flag run at the end. We got put in a position where we needed to pit early, then the caution came out after we pit. However, we had a really fast Kroger Chevrolet and were able to run in the front for most of the race and even lead a few laps, and to be able to finish P15 after the issues at the end is something, we can still be proud of. We need some positive momentum to continue turning the season around from our bad luck at the start and this is really going to help.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 REALTREE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th“We’re getting closer and closer to winning one of these races. We had a really fast No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today, really just needed a bigger fuel cell to make it through those closing laps without having to come to pit road. We were a little bit loose today, but the car was able to suck up to others really well, which made it easier for me to work with people and show them that they can trust and work with me in return. It was awesome to get my first Cup career Stage Win, even if we had to wait out a brief rain shower for it. I think that showed a lot of people that we really strong speed today. From there, we just played it smart and stayed out of trouble to be there in the closing laps. We managed to grab the lead with about 16 laps to go. It was tough to maintain the lead and save fuel since we knew we were right on the edge of making it. I thought maybe we would make it before that final caution came out, but then the No. 11 ran out of gas or had a bobble or something. Once he ran out, my main help was gone and the No. 12 was able to slide by as we slid back. But that is how it goes at plate-racing. Timing is everything. It was just chaos on that final restart, but we gave it everything we had. All in all, it was a great day. We were in the lead with a shot at the end, and that’s exactly where you want to be. I want to thank Realtree for letting me run their Timber camo pattern on my car, and I hope they enjoyed the show.” BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING/SOUTH POINT HOTEL & CASINO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“That’s not the finish we wanted – 21^st-place. I will take the heat. I did not do a good job on the last couple of restarts. Darren Shaw (crew chief) and the rest of the boys worked real hard on the No. 62 Beard Oil Distributing/South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet. It was trouble at the start but in the end, they got it right. I will take the blame – 21^st place and not a scratch on it. The good news is it is going to be a heck of a Chevrolet for Daytona.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/LITTLE CAESAR’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 38th WHAT ULTIMATELY TOOK YOU OUT FOR THE DAY?“The splitter was in the ground a long ways and it was just dragging too much. It wasn’t getting any air to the engine, so it was getting really hot. So, it just wasn’t worth continuing.” “I hate it. We really started the day struggling pretty bad and finally got it going pretty good, I thought, later on. Ultimately, just got in a bad spot there and went around.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 39th“Unfortunate day for the No. 3 team. The Bass Pro Shops Camaro was pretty solid – we had to work on it a little bit. You try and race at these places and keep yourself upfront in a good position, and that’s what I was doing. Just missed our stage points twice – 11th and 12th at the end of both stages. Tried to work the middle groove there and when Chase (Elliott) got turned, I was just kind of the last guy standing when he came up the track. Unfortunately, it’s a part of these things.” “That was a lot of fun. I think the package was pretty solid that NASCAR gave us. There was some good racing out there. Looking forward to going to Daytona and come back to Talladega. I feel like our speedway program is pretty decent. (Tyler) Reddick leading those laps at the end was big. So, we’ll keep working. Unfortunate finish for us – probably hurts us in the points. But Pocono doubleheader next weekend, we’ll be solid.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: Ricky, we’ll go right to questions for you.            Q. Talk about the last lap. Certainly, at a couple points it looked like you found a place to get to the front. May be one of the craziest finishers I’ve seen since 1982.RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: We didn’t get a great restart. Blaney and I didn’t get hooked up good enough. That seemed to let the outside lane get a run. It let the 4 and the 17 out front.           But what that intended to do was let me and the 12 get hooked up and get a draft from those two cars that were out front. I pushed Blaney really hard down the back straightaway. When we went into three and four, wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go. We ended up going low. Then I thought I was done. Thought I was a sitting duck. The outside lanes were coming. The 20 had a good run.           Then they started banging fenders, slowing each other down. I just kept on the throttle, was able to get close to the nose of the 12 there coming across the line.           All in all, it was a solid day for us. Our NOS Energy Drink Camaro was really fast. We lost track position, but seemed to be able to get that back pretty fast. Our car was fast. Worked well with others. I think all the blue ovals there together at the end were really tough to beat.            Q. These things are so hard to win, to be so close, what level of disappointment do you have losing by whatever it was?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: Yeah, it’s disappointing for sure. You work all day long, playing different scenarios out in your head, how you’re going to be the first one across the start/finish line. It does have a lot to do with all the other cars that are racing, who is pushing you, how they can push you, what moves they make.           A lot is in your control, a lot is circumstantial. You just got to keep putting yourself in those positions every race, especially on the speedways, to eventually get them to click off.           People that I worked with all race, if I had them behind me there at the end, I would have felt a little more comfortable because we worked really well together. When you got all the Fords there lined up, it was kind of tough. I didn’t feel like anybody was going to go with me.           We ended up in the bottom lane by ourselves. It ended up working out to get back to second. But definitely frustrating not to win. All in all, man, it’s still a good run for our team. We carried a lot of momentum from Daytona, bringing the same racecar down here to Talladega, it still being fast. That’s a positive. We got more speedway races to go.            Q. You were among those pushing Bubba’s car today. What did that mean to you? The Mississippi State flag, anything over the last couple weeks made you think more about it?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: Yeah, it was cool to see everybody pushing bush’s car there down to the front. I would say it was a Kevin and Jimmie idea that everybody jumped onboard with. Then to see all the crew members follow suit was really cool.           I think the coolest part for me was listening to the fans before the race, after the race, showing the support as well. I thought that was strong and really cool to see.           We had talked a lot about the Mississippi flag. I wore it on my belt for a long time. We did take it off. We took it off of my race suits over the past couple weeks.            Q. Someone who has had a good share of success at Talladega, describe what you thought about the new package that was run today.RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: I thought it was great racing. You had to work really hard to form your line and really work the side draft, pushing cars, getting cars to push you. You had to work hard for it.           I thought that was great racing. I felt like everybody kept their cars in control. We had some big saves out there. I saw I think the 12, the 11, 22, myself a couple times, get pretty sideways, but gather it back in.           The third lane I felt like with this package got hurt the most. It seemed like you could get some runs going, but it would stall out pretty quick. Seemed like the bottom and middle were the way to go. It kind of took the top lane out of it, which in turn a lot of times we run single file around the top and the race can get kind of stale.           I thought overall the package was really good. I don’t think any driver is going to have any complaints about it.            Q. We’re over a third of the way through your first season at JTG Dougherty. How have you been getting along with the new team and Ryan?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: It’s been great. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it from the first time we went over there, sat down with Tag and Jodi and Ernie and ate dinner. I felt welcomed. I felt like it’s a family atmosphere. Also, they get the job done. Any money that comes in they put right back into our race team buying parts and equipment, making sure we can perform the best that we can perform with what we got.           The Kroger family is one that I’m proud to be a part of. My mom has shopped there for 35 years so far and continues to shop there. Now having NOS Energy Drink onboard with us, it’s been a good chemistry from the top down, including our partners. I’ve enjoyed it so far.           We’ve got fast racecars. We have had some mistakes that have cost us, some on my end, some on the car’s end. We’re in there together, trying to clean everything up, trying to make sure we put our best parts forward. We’re looking forward to the rest of the year.            Q. Did you get a sense today at all of the actual fans that were in attendance?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: It was nice to hear them before the race. It wasn’t dead quiet like I said just a little bit ago. Chanting ‘Bubba’ at the start, pretty special to be able to hear that. I think those fans were glad to be here.           When Bubba took the lead, when he got to the lead, came down the front straightaway, we were only two‑wide at that point. I looked at the stands, watched all the people jump up and cheer. That was pretty cool.           Those are things that we haven’t had in a long time. I know those fans got to see a great race because we battled hard all day long.            Q. You mentioned not wearing the belt buckle. Would you say that was a decision based on a learning experience or because of the realization of something other people might feel towards it?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: You never want to do anything to offend anybody on purpose. Obviously not being on purpose. It’s our state flag. I’ve always been proud to be from Mississippi. I’ve always supported or wore the flag on my belt for a long time. I’ve never really thought of it offending anybody.           Obviously with everything that’s going on in the country, with the rebel flag, learning really how it offends so many people, I don’t intend to do that. That was just the way for us to make sure, myself and JTG and our partners, that we wanted to take initiative to take that off before we felt like somebody wanted us to have to. We just wanted to be proactive and make sure we got that off and didn’t offend anybody going forward.            Q. We’ve seen the moves you were making throughout the day. When you’re making those close‑call moves, how much are you weighing the risk versus reward?RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: For me, you just got to put yourself in position. For the longest time we weren’t sure if the rain was going to come. We wanted to get stage points. I feel like I have a style of drafting that when I get in different lanes, when I’m leading the lanes, I feel like I can pull that lane to the lead. I think it showed for the longest time the Penske cars were lined up on the bottom. Nobody could seem to get alongside of them. Myself, the 18, I think maybe the 95 or 41 was behind them.           I felt like my technique and aggressiveness on the side draft, along with Kyle Busch’s aggressiveness and pushing, got us back to the lead. Ultimately ended up getting us 10 points and winning the stage.           For me, you always want to keep your track position. There were a couple times I got in the back. It was difficult to make passes when they’re two‑ and three‑wide to get back to the front. You have to wait and let it chill out. For me it’s always trying to get back to having good track position.            THE MODERATOR: Thanks so much for your time, Ricky. Have a great week. We’ll see you for the doubleheader at Pocono.            RICKY STENHOUSE JR.: Thank you.  JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: Jimmie, thank you for taking the time. Not that you’re the specific spokesman for rallying the drivers for this stirring moment, but I know you had a large hand in what happened prerace. Start off with the emotional moment to start the race pushing the 43 to the front of the field.            JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I’m obviously very proud of our sport, the drivers and crew members that wanted to stand up today and stand next to Bubba Wallace. That’s really the moral of this story.           A lot of people reached out to me in the morning with ideas, wanting to do something like the video we made a few weeks ago. I certainly have been involved in playing a role in trying to help organize, get things executed and done.           This is really a driver initiative. Many drivers chipped in. Kevin Harvick had the idea of pushing Bubba’s car down the front stretch to the front of the field, have the teams follow. I’m happy to play a role in it. I want to. I know I need to.           I feel like to see the garage area stand up as they have, as well, in the last few weeks, then again today, is just sending a very strong message. I’m very proud of our sport.            THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Jimmie.            Q. Was there ever any doubt in your mind you were going to do something today regardless if the other drivers were going to join in?JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I went to bed early last night, was up early. I saw what was going on or what had happened. Like everyone, just couldn’t believe what I was reading.           Early on this morning I mentioned to the driver group that I was just going to go stand with Bubba at his car during the national anthem. If anybody wanted to meet me there, I was going to stand with him and be there. When that seed was planted, the group really started coming up with ideas. Everybody wanted to get involved.           After the drivers had a short period of time conversing, I understood that team managers and crew chiefs caught wind, they wanted to be involved. Within a short period of time, there was a plan in place. Of course, NASCAR was behind whatever we wanted to do 100% in support of that. That’s really the details leading into what happened today.            Q. How would you describe the feeling of the drivers? Are you shocked? Angry? Pissed off more than ever to do something? How are you all feeling emotionally over this?JIMMIE JOHNSON: For me, I feel like I went through all of those emotions. When I woke up this morning, read the news, anger, pissed off, all of that. My blood was boiling. I could not believe that that had happened.           As momentum built and the awareness of the statement the garage was going to make, how many people reached out, how many people wanted to be involved, it shifted to just great pride for our sport.           From when I woke up, I was up early this morning, went for a bike ride, I was probably up at 5:30, saw the news, from 5:30 to probably 10:30 everything took place. My emotions just followed that from complete and total anger and disbelief to then just great pride of our sport, how we were going to support that.            Q. Did you skip the bike ride?JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, I got up and did the bike ride. Did a lot of thinking while I was on it.            Q. You mentioned the driver group chat that’s been used to organize today and the video. Has it been more vocal since this started? How important is it to make your message very clear?JIMMIE JOHNSON: The driver chat has been around for a while. At times it’s been useful. Other times there’s content on there that, I don’t know, just gets in the way, stuff that people aren’t interested in. With what has gone on in the last few weeks, interest has been high, people have been paying attention, people have been engaged.           But I can go back to when we first started the driver council, this chat being established. There are times it’s been extremely effective to find the voice of the drivers. The lesser items, they just make noise, get in the way.           The chat has been very useful. The chat also starts one‑off text messages or phone calls. Brad called me this morning, Joey called me this morning. It’s really a good starting point to get something out there if it’s car related or what we’ve been dealing with the last few weeks. It’s been highly effective.            Q. Can you give us a sense of what it felt like as you walked with the car? For people watching, it was a powerful image to see. Was there any type of particular emotion or thing that went through your mind as you did something that’s never been done in the sport before?JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think after seeing some of the photos the first rain delay, I noticed the magnitude and impact of what we did as a group today. When we all gathered at the racecar, not everyone responds in that chat, so I knew that a lot of drivers wanted to come, but I didn’t know how well‑attended it would be.           I also knew that teams wanted to show their support, as well. Until we started walking and I could see every driver there, looked back and saw each team jump off the wall and fall in line. Then to go back to the rain delay, first thing I did was looked at the phone and saw the photos. To see how many people were on pit road showing their support for Bubba, that warmed me up tremendously.           It was hard to really know it in the moment. We’re obviously out there on the grid, without fans in the stands, it’s a much different environment. As I looked over my shoulder, as I saw the photos afterwards, realized the power of that statement and how many people were involved.            Q. What has it been like the last few weeks to be so socially active? Years past probably not as much so for various reasons. Is this what the sport is going to be now, more and more people be more active going forward?JIMMIE JOHNSON: When I look back, it depends on the topic. When the driver council was intact, there were things to discuss, report back to NASCAR on, every driver has stepped up and been involved. Then things cooled down. Maybe the topics aren’t as relevant or as big in some regards. Things kind of slow down.           The driver group has really helped shape the rules package that we have, race formats. As we’ve gotten into social issues of recent times, the unity there and the willingness for everybody to be involved has been quite impressive.           I’m not surprised because we have been able to be social and help guide our sport in the past. Certainly, this is something new for a lot of us. I do commend their courage and everybody’s willingness to listen and grow and to stand up like we did today.            Q. How difficult was it to have the emotional moment on pit road, then go the 500 miles of Talladega?JIMMIE JOHNSON: For me it was such a moment of pride that I shifted out of the dark place I was this morning and the disbelief that I had, shifted into a moment of pride. Whoever did what they did is hopefully watching and realizes that not here, not in our sport. It switched to a far different emotion than I really even anticipated. There was just great pride involved.           I know it was tough on Bubba. He was quite emotional at different points. I think he probably had a harder transition from what was taking place on pit road to firing the engine and going to work than myself for sure.            THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time, Jimmie, to tell a great story. Have a great week. We’ll see you in Pocono.            JIMMIE JOHNSON: Awesome. Thank you, everybody. See you soon. 

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Have Strong Showing at Talladega Superspeedway Despite Early Finish

39th    17th   18th

“The No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet was pretty solid. We had to work on our handling a little bit, but the balance was pretty good by Stage 3. You try to race at these speedways and keep yourself out front to put yourself in a good position, and that’s what I was doing. We barely missed stage points twice – 11th and 12th at the end of both Stages 1 and 2. We tried to work the middle groove, and when Chase Elliott got turned I was just the last man standing when he came up the track. It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of these races. I had a lot of fun out there. I think the package that NASCAR gave us was solid. There was some good racing out there. I’m looking forward to going to Daytona International Speedway, and coming back to Talladega Superspeedway. I feel like our speedway program is in a decent place, and my teammate Tyler Reddick leading laps was big. We’ll keep working. An unfortunate finish probably hurts us in the points, but there is a Pocono Raceway double-header next weekend and I think we’ll be solid.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Wins Stage, Leads Laps in Realtree Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway

20th     16th    16th

“We’re getting closer and closer to winning one of these races. We had a really fast No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today. We just needed a bigger fuel cell to make it through the closing laps without having to come to pit road. We were a little bit loose today, but our Chevy was able to suck up to others really well, which made it easier for me to work with people and show them that they can trust and work with me in return. It was awesome to get my first NASCAR Cup Series career Stage win, even if we had to wait out a brief rain shower for it. I think that showed a lot of people that we had really strong speed today. From there, we just played it smart and stayed out of trouble to be there in the closing laps. We managed to grab the lead with about 16 laps to go. It was tough to maintain the lead and save fuel since we knew we were right on the edge of making it. I thought maybe we would make it before that final caution came out, but then the No. 11 ran out of gas or had a bobble or something. Once he ran out, my main help was gone and the No. 12 was able to slide by as we slid back. But that is how it goes at plate-racing. Timing is everything. It was just chaos on that final restart, but we gave it everything we had. All in all, it was a great day. We were in the lead with a shot at the end, and that’s exactly where you want to be. I want to thank Realtree for letting me run their Timber camo pattern on my car, and I hope they enjoyed the show.” -Tyler Reddick

NASCAR CUP SERIESTALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYGEICO 500TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTESJUNE 22, 2020
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE 7th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 9th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE11th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th    TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LETOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ryan Blaney (Ford)2nd     Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Chevrolet)3rd      Aric Almirola (Ford)4th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)5th      Erik Jones (Toyota) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Pocono Raceway with the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute on Saturday, June 27, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the Pocono 350 on Sunday, June 28, at 4:00 p.m. ET on FS1. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndTHERE WERE CERTAIN POINTS IN THIS RACE TODAY WHERE YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD THE FASTEST CAR AND MAYBE YOU WERE THE GUY TO BEAT. SO, SECOND MAY BE A LITTLE TOUGHT TO SWALLOW, BUT HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT?“Yeah, we were so close there at the end. It was hard all day trying to break up the Penske cars and then there at the end, all the blue ovals were together. But, our No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE was really fast all day. The boys brought a good one. I thought we had a shot there at the end, it just didn’t work out. But, all-in-all, a solid day. Really cool to see all the support of the fans that are here for Bubba (Wallace). That was a really special moment at the beginning of the race. We came up one spot short – we’ll go get them next week!” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th “Figuring out you are a couple laps short on fuel while leading a speedway inside 15 to go is not very much fun. We took the lead there and our fuel mileage number plummeted farther than we thought it would be. We thought we were good and then all of a sudden, we weren’t good. Led a bunch and had to give up the lead to try to make it there at the end. I saved enough once I gave up the lead, but so bummed. We had such a good car and definitely had a shot at winning. It is just one of those deals. Really appreciative of everyone at Valvoline and Hendrick Motorsports. P7 isn’t the end of the world, but man giving up the lead like that is a bummer.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11th“Well, we finished 11th today. We had a shot there at the win with about 29 laps to go and just got a push from Logano in the corner. I don’t know why it got loose there but it did. We lost our track position and then really just fought to get back from there and tried to save fuel at the same time. We pitted with two to go to get some extra fuel and we made a pretty good charge to the front there in the third lane. We had a good number of cars to the inside but ultimately finished 11th. It would have been nice to finish top 10 but we did finish a superspeedway race in one piece which is nice. I thought we had some great speed at times and great opportunities to lead the race. We just have to build on that and continue to get better. I feel like these races are always unpredictable but at the same time there is skill involved. We did a decent job of controlling the skill part we just have to keep working.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“Our GEICO Camaro was solid today. We had a strategy there at the end to save fuel to make sure we were good to the checkered. I stumbled a little bit on the final restart, but we had just enough fuel to make it. You just have to be in the right line at the right time at the end of these things. We got filed out on the bottom, but still brought home a 12th-place finish. I’m really proud of our result. We needed that and we will keep truckin’ along. I’m proud of my GEICO Germain Racing team. We are going to keep rebounding and getting better.” BUBBA WALLACE, JR., NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 14thNOTE: After the race, Bubba walked across the track to wave and say hello to fans in the stands. WHAT A RUN FOR YOU TODAY! NASCAR RALLIES AROUND YOU, YOU’VE GOT FANS IN THE STANDS. HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THIS DAY, THIS MOMENT?“This is probably the most badass moment right here. It’s been tough. It’s been hell. Well, I wouldn’t say hell; it’s just been hectic you know, carrying this weight, this burden. I wouldn’t really say burden, either. I’m proud to stand where I’m at and carry a new face. Look at this (turns around to face crowd to ask) is this the first time you’re here? From Atlanta? (cheers from fans) That is so cool! The sport is changing. “The deal that happened yesterday, sorry I’m not wearing my mask, but I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile and I’m going to keep on going. I’ve been a part of this sport for a really long time. I’m still kind of a rookie. I’m starting to figure this stuff out. We had a good race going today in our Victory Junction Chevrolet. But man, I know I should have won that damn race. We ran out of gas. It’s just the stars didn’t align for us complete, but all in all, we won today. The pre-race deal was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to witness in my life. From all the supporters. From drivers and crew members. Everybody here. The badass fan base; thank you guys for coming out here. “This is truly incredible and I’m proud to be a part of this sport. Like I said earlier, I’ve got a long way to go. And we’ll keep on trucking. Another top-15 for us. We’ll take it. And, we’ll just go on to Pocono, right? I’m still smiling. I’ve got a long week ahead of me; probably a couple of weeks. Probably a couple of months, but I’ll be ready for Pocono, though.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“That was definitely a crazy day at Talladega Superspeedway in our No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet. We had nose damage early on in the race, and that caused us to use a little bit more fuel than the rest of the field during the long green flag run at the end. We got put in a position where we needed to pit early, then the caution came out after we pit. However, we had a really fast Kroger Chevrolet and were able to run in the front for most of the race and even lead a few laps, and to be able to finish P15 after the issues at the end is something, we can still be proud of. We need some positive momentum to continue turning the season around from our bad luck at the start and this is really going to help.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 REALTREE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 20th“We’re getting closer and closer to winning one of these races. We had a really fast No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today, really just needed a bigger fuel cell to make it through those closing laps without having to come to pit road. We were a little bit loose today, but the car was able to suck up to others really well, which made it easier for me to work with people and show them that they can trust and work with me in return. It was awesome to get my first Cup career Stage Win, even if we had to wait out a brief rain shower for it. I think that showed a lot of people that we really strong speed today. From there, we just played it smart and stayed out of trouble to be there in the closing laps. We managed to grab the lead with about 16 laps to go. It was tough to maintain the lead and save fuel since we knew we were right on the edge of making it. I thought maybe we would make it before that final caution came out, but then the No. 11 ran out of gas or had a bobble or something. Once he ran out, my main help was gone and the No. 12 was able to slide by as we slid back. But that is how it goes at plate-racing. Timing is everything. It was just chaos on that final restart, but we gave it everything we had. All in all, it was a great day. We were in the lead with a shot at the end, and that’s exactly where you want to be. I want to thank Realtree for letting me run their Timber camo pattern on my car, and I hope they enjoyed the show.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/LITTLE CAESAR’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 38th WHAT ULTIMATELY TOOK YOU OUT FOR THE DAY?“The splitter was in the ground a long ways and it was just dragging too much. It wasn’t getting any air to the engine, so it was getting really hot. So, it just wasn’t worth continuing.” “I hate it. We really started the day struggling pretty bad and finally got it going pretty good, I thought, later on. Ultimately, just got in a bad spot there and went around.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 133; Finished 39th“Unfortunate day for the No. 3 team. The Bass Pro Shops Camaro was pretty solid – we had to work on it a little bit. You try and race at these places and keep yourself upfront in a good position, and that’s what I was doing. Just missed our stage points twice – 11th and 12th at the end of both stages. Tried to work the middle groove there and when Chase (Elliott) got turned, I was just kind of the last guy standing when he came up the track. Unfortunately, it’s a part of these things.” “That was a lot of fun. I think the package was pretty solid that NASCAR gave us. There was some good racing out there. Looking forward to going to Daytona and come back to Talladega. I feel like our speedway program is pretty decent. (Tyler) Reddick leading those laps at the end was big. So, we’ll keep working. Unfortunate finish for us – probably hurts us in the points. But Pocono doubleheader next weekend, we’ll be solid.”

Dominic Scelzi Produces Top-10 Outing During Race for Roth Motorsports

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (June 22, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi recorded a top-10 result during a one-off race with Roth Motorsports last Saturday.

Scelzi was efficient throughout the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series season opener at Keller Auto Speedway, where he climbed behind the wheel of the No. 83jr sprint car for the first time since last November.

“I think we started back up where we left off,” said Scelzi, who guided the team to a third-place finish in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series championship standings last year. “We timed in good for going out late in qualifying. We did what we needed to do in the heat race. And we gained a spot in the dash.”

Scelzi qualified sixth quickest. He then advanced from third to second place in a heat race. The accumulated point total earned a spot into the dash. Scelzi maneuvered from fifth to fourth place in the dash to line up on the outside of the second row for the A Main.

“We moved forward to second a few laps in,” he said. “I was plugged against the cushion in turns one and two. Someone slid up and his right rear tire made contact with my left rear, which shoved me off the track. That put me back to 10^th or 11^th.

“It was so hard to make up ground that by the time we lost those positions we were out of contention. I think we had a top-three car. Our lap times were very, very good.”

Scelzi rallied back from the incident to score a seventh-place result, which was his 12^th top 10 of the year.

Scelzi returns to his family car this weekend when the team ventures to Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., Thursday through Saturday for the 42 ^nd annual AGCO Jackson Nationals with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

COLUMBUS, MS (June 20, 2020) – Earning $15,000 with his win at Magnolia Motor Speedway, current Point Leader Jimmy Owens won Saturday Night’s General Tire Clash at the Mag – presented by Big River Steel. Owens’ 67th career series victory also marks his first career win in the annual event that has been held since 2009. This event was co-sanctioned with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Presented by Lucas Oil. The 100-lap main event saw three different leaders, with Owens regaining the top spot from Shane Clanton on lap 23. After several breakaway runs, Owens held off Clanton at the finish for his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the year. Clanton finished just ahead of Josh Richards who came home in third. Bobby Pierce and Tyler Erb rounded out the top five drivers. As the initial green flag dropped, Owens took the lead and Erb ran second for the first 13 circuits of the race. Clanton started fifth and made an early race challenge by climbing to the second spot around Erb on the 14th lap. Erb would pass both Clanton and the race leader, Owens on lap 16 to gain the top spot.  Clanton then became the third new leader of the race as he went to the point on lap 18, but 4 laps later Owens powered around the leader, regaining the lead after a lap 22 restart. Clanton and Erb chased down Owens as the leader was battling traffic. With the top three nose to tail and Clanton threatening to retake the lead, a caution came with 18 laps remaining. Clanton’s hopes for the win faded in the final laps as Owens went on to take the victory over Clanton by .570 seconds at the finish. “This car was really just flawless this weekend,” said Owens in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. “We were so close to making it a sweep for the weekend. Thanks to all the fans who came out. When the track is slick like this, I think it makes for some better racing. We have a hard-working crew and it paid off in the end. Consistency is the key to our program this year. We’ve ended the last couple of seasons running great and we are really excited for the whole season. It is a whole lot better when you are running good.  Maybe 2020 will be the year for car number 20.”   Clanton led five laps early in the race and again got close to Owens with 18 laps to go when a caution flag came out. He finished in the runner-up spot for the second time this season. “We had a good weekend. We have worked awful hard the last two weeks on the car and it shows. We’re getting better.  To come here and run good feels good. Every time you run good like this, it helps the morale of the team.  We are not giving up. If it weren’t for Greg and Tyler Bruening, I probably couldn’t be here.” Richards came home in third in the 100-lap finale. “We did not touch the car tonight. I couldn’t steer it like I wanted too. I couldn’t turn in at all. Once we had some fuel burn-off then I could steer it a little bit better. I would have liked to have won for Big River Steel, but Jimmy’s been really tough. I feel if we could have had the car a little better we might have had something for him.” The winner’s Ramirez Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Reece Monument Company, Tommy Pope Construction, Boomtest Well Service, General Tire, Red Line Oil, Ohlins, and Champion Spark Plugs. Completing the top ten were Kyle Bronson, Devin Moran, Jesse Stovall, Tanner English, and Tim McCreadie.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
General Tire Clash at the Mag – presented by Big River Steel
Saturday, June 20th, 2020
Magnolia Motor Speedway – Columbus, MS

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer):  1. 4M-Michael Arnold[2]; 2. 11J-Drew Armstrong[1]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 4. 14M-Morgan Bagley[6]; 5. 00-Jesse Stovall[16]; 6. 36-Logan Martin[11]; 7. 92M-Chad Mallett[15]; 8. 6R-Robbie Stuart[12]; 9. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[9]; 10. 81E-Tanner English[8]; 11. 33-Scott Dedwylder[4]; 12. 21B-Chris Brown[3]; 13. G4-Shelby Sheedy[13]; 14. (DNS) 54-David Breazeale; 15. (DNS) Z6-Zach Combs; 16. (DNS) 1G-Devin Gilpin; 17. (DNS) R5-Hunter Rasdon; 18. (DNS) 111-Steven Roberts; 19. (DNS) 34-Doug Sanchagrin

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 50-Shanon Buckingham[1]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 3. 86B-Brian Rickman[2]; 4. 86R-Rick Rickman[4]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 6. 1C-Chad Thrash[15]; 7. 2S-Stormy Scott[8]; 8. 84-Austin Smith[7]; 9. 31-Nick Thrash[12]; 10. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 11. 14G-Joe Godsey[11]; 12. 25M-Justin Mcree[17]; 13. 7D-David Payne[13]; 14. (DNS) 33C-Eric Cooley; 15. (DNS) 3-Luke Bennett; 

Anthony Alfredo and the DUDE Wipes Chevrolet Team Score Top-Ten Finish in Wild Superspeedway Debut

6th    10th   10th

“We finished sixth in my first career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Talladega Superspeedway. I’d call it a successful day. To be honest, I wanted a little bit more because you’re never really truly satisfied as a competitor unless you win the race. We had a super fast DUDE Wipes Chevy Camaro today. The No. 21 Richard Childress racing crew all did a great job. The only thing we fought at the end was  we had no help from behind. Every time I would suck up to the car in front of me, we would hit that bubble of air and stall out because we didn’t have enough help. I’m glad we were still able to come away with a sixth-place finish. We had a clean race all day and led laps early, which was a lot of fun. I made a mistake coming to pit road under green and got caught speeding, but that’s just a product of not having any practice. I wish we could have practiced getting onto pit road because I didn’t know how hard I could brake or even where my lift point was. Thankfully, we were able to recover and have a really solid finish.”  -Anthony Alfredo

Richard Childress Racing at Talladega Superspeedway …  Richard Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in 1969 and is in a tie for the most all-time car owner victories at the storied Alabama-based race track with 12 NASCAR Cup Series wins. Among those wins include Dale Earnhardt’s final career win in the Winston 500 on October 15, 2000. Earnhardt won nine times, Clint Bowyer had two wins (2010 & 2011), and Kevin Harvick scored one victory (2010) at the superspeedway.  Childress’ most recent win at Talladega Superspeedway came last year when Tyler Reddick claimed the victory en route to his second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Reddick will be the 24th Cup Series driver to make a start at Talladega under the RCR banner this Sunday.COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection Catch the Action … The NASCAR Xfinity Series Unhinged 300 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live Saturday, June 20, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live Sunday, June 21, beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway … In 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Dillon’s best finish at the track is third (April 2016). He is also a former pole winner at the track (2019). Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology. Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/ E-Z-GO…E-Z-GO is an iconic, world-renowned brand in golf cars and personal transportation  vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, E-Z-GO Express™ personal utility vehicles, and the 2Five® street-legal low-speed vehicle. Known for innovation in electric-vehicle technology, E-Z-GO’s newest offerings include the ELiTE series of lithium-ion powered golf cars and PTVs, and the company’s exclusive 72-volt AC electric powertrain found in its latest Express series vehicles. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960, and today operates as part of the company’s Textron Specialized Vehicles division. Happy Father’s Day, Austin! … With three generations of racers among their ranks, NASCAR Cup Series races on Father’s Day weekend have always held special meaning to the Childress/Dillon family. This year, however, Father’s Day has even more meaning for Dillon, who became a first-time father on Sunday, June 14 when his wife, Whitney, gave birth to their son, Ace RC Dillon. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:RCR’s performance is notable so far in 2020. Talk us through that.“It’s been an awesome year so far. I always want more, but compared to years past, I’m very optimistic of where we are. We made a big jump and those jumps are hard to come by. My teammate, Tyler Reddick, entered our NASCAR Cup Series program with a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and that brought some momentum. I think it fired up everybody. It fired up me to compete. He’s a good wheelman. It builds both teams to compete within and that comes with these good finishes we’re having. The competition is great at RCR. And you’ve got to have that. Chevrolet stepped-up their game in the off-season and really gave us something else to work with as far as the car goes. Our whole entire shop is working really hard. Obviously, it’s been tough on everybody with the quarantine, but I feel like we did a good job of keeping up with the work that we had ahead of us. It’s been a really good break for our team, if anything. And, the way we go to the race track now looks different. Less people go to the track and I think that’s a good thing for our guys. The core group on each team is strong, and that’s nice to see.” How do you think the changes in horsepower and no air ducts will impact the race this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway?“I don’t really know what type of impact the lack of air ducts will have. We’ve obviously raced in the past without air ducts. I’d have to go back in time and look at what our cars did differently. I don’t know what the closest year that we ran a package like this would be. We feel like the racing is going to be different from the way it was at Daytona. It always is different from Daytona to Talladega. The first stage of the race will definitely be a learning curve for all of us. Set-up wise should not be a problem. I hope not. But, just the way we race and the runs you get, we’ll be learning that first stage. And, you want to be aggressive because every point matters throughout the year.” What is the key to having a solid performance this weekend at Talladega?“It’s a chess match. You have to know when to go. I’ve played a lot of different strategies when it comes to speedway racing, but my favorite is just going out there, racing and throwing caution to the wind. I feel like that usually plays out better for us. I won the Daytona 500 being a little more cautious, but it’s more fun when you go out and race. We’ll make a decision quite early in the race to figure out our strategy based on how everything is going. Hopefully all of our Chevys will run up front together and work hard together to do what we need to do to bring home the win for Chevrolet.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Realtree Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway … Coming off his first top-five finish in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Tyler Reddick is set to make his first Cup Series start at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Reddick, who won last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the 2.66-mile track with RCR, also has one additional top-10 finish in the Xfinity Series, as well as one pole award and two top-five finishes at the superspeedway in the NASCAR Truck Series. #RealtreeTimber… When it comes to hunting heritage, dedication and tradition, Realtree is at the forefront. So, when Realtree decided to create its next camouflage pattern, Bill Jordan and the design team met with some of the most legendary hunters, outdoor icons, and world-class guides to understand their vision for what makes an effective and versatile camouflage pattern for all of their outdoor pursuits. They took notes. They asked questions. They tested and tested again until they were sure they had something truly special. Built off the foundations of past Realtree camouflage patterns, they took advantage of new advances in technology and printing allowing them to create a revolutionary new pattern that truly meets the needs of hunters in numerous situations. New Realtree Timber is the result. It’s perfect for ducks in flooded timber, wooded turkey hunting scenarios, in any treestand setup, stalking the rocky terrain of the west, and so much more. Use Realtree Timber and become one with your surroundings! TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:Entering this weekend with a new rules package, what are your thoughts on returning to restrictor-plate racing?“It’ll be interesting to see how this weekend goes at Talladega Superspeedway. They’ve made some changes to the cars since we raced our last restrictor-plate race at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year. We were at one point going to have practice this weekend, and now we’re not. I’m really not sure if we would have utilized the practice session or not because we don’t want to be in a situation where we would damage our No. 8 Realtree Chevy before the race. Regardless, we’re now going to be on track for the race with no real feel for these cars or how this new rules package will run, so it’s going to be intense. Talladega is a wider track than Daytona though, and it’s going to be a lot warmer. I’m excited. I really like racing at Talladega, and I hope we put on a good race. Normally it does, there are just a lot of unknowns entering this weekend. As a team, we need to survive the race and continue to capitalize on as many points as we can. We’re now two points out of a Playoff spot, so I know we can get there.”

This Week’s No. 21 DUDE Wipes Chevrolet Camaro at Talladega Superspeedway … Coming off his first career top-five finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Alfredo will make his first Xfinity Series start this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.  Alfredo has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, where he ran in the top-10 for the majority of the race. Welcome, DUDE Wipes … The DUDE Wipes revolution was born one fateful day in our Chicago apartment, when we switched from toilet paper to baby wipes and were forever changed. Today we make self-care products for DUDES that get the job done and leave you feeling refreshed, from our original flushable DUDE Wipes to face & shower wipes, and deodorant body powders & body sprays to DUDE performance underwear. Fast Start for Fast Pasta …  In his first five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Alfredo has secured three top-ten finishes and has an average finish of ninth. He also won an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Saturday Night Thunder Race at Dover International Speedway during NASCAR’s hiatus from on-track competition. ANTHONY ALFREDO QUOTE:You have one career Truck series start at Talladega. Is there anything you learned you might be able to apply this weekend or will it be completely different?“I don’t think much will translate because the trucks punch such a bigger hole in the air and handle quite a bit differently. It is somewhat comforting knowing I’ve been to this track before though. We ran really well in my first and only superspeedway attempt last year, which was at Talladega. Even with some of the unknowns that you will inherently face at Talladega, I have a lot of confidence heading back now because I know my Richard Childress Racing team will have a fast No. 21 DUDE Wipes Chevrolet prepared for me. Things happen really quickly at superspeedways and a lot can happen in less than a lap. I’m hoping we can have a clean race and be there at the end when it matters most to get our first win of the year.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEGEICO 500TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYTALLADEGA, ALABAMAJUNE 21, 2020
RACE #13: TALLADEGAOriginally postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) will make its first appearance of the 2020 season at Talladega Superspeedway with the GEICO 500 on Sunday, June 21st. The 188-lap, 500-mile race around NASCAR’s longest oval will be the 13th race on the revised NCS schedule.  NASCAR’s June 9th announcement of gradually introducing fans back to events will include this weekend’s visit to the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Up to 5,000 fans will be on hand to watch the drop of the green flag from the track’s front stretch seating. Previous eligible ticketholders were given the first opportunity to purchase tickets, followed by a limited number available on a first come, first served basis to those who reside within 150-miles from the track.  BOWTIE BULLETS·       Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 41 all-time wins and 37 poles in 101 NCS races at the superspeedway, more than any other brand. Other statistics of note include 191 top-five’s, 366 top-10’s, and 7,903 laps led.  ·       Victories by active Team Chevy drivers include:Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE has two wins (May 2006, April 2001)  Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew-Little Caesars Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (April 2019)Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (October 2012)Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE has one win (May 2017)  ·       The most recent Chevy pole winner is Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew-Little Caesars Camaro ZL1 1LE, (October ’19). Elliott leads all active drivers in Busch Pole Awards at Talladega with two and, in eight career starts, has an average starting position of 4.6. His first pole in 2016 makes him the youngest pole winner at the superspeedway to-date (20 years, 5 months, 3 days).   ·       Hendrick Motorsports has the most victories at Talladega of any team with 13, all celebrated with the Bowtie brand. ·       Longtime Chevrolet ambassador Dale Earnhardt holds Talladega Superspeedway records for wins (10), top-five finishes (23), top-10s (27) and laps led (1,377) in 44 starts. Career Chevrolet drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are next on list with six wins at the track. LEADING THE STAGESWith 12 races in the books, Chase Elliott leads the field with 141 stage points, which includes five stage wins, 13 top-5’s and 22 top-10’s in stages. Fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate and Team Chevy driver Alex Bowman currently sits second on the list with four stage wins, including 12 top-five and 18 top-10 stage finishes for 126 points. William Byron (1) and Jimmie Johnson (1) have also contributed to stage wins thus far this season.  With Chase Elliott’s recent victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Alex Bowman’s win at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season, two Team Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers have secured their spots in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Elliott and Bowman, are currently ranked second and eighth, respectively, in the point standings. AT THE DROP OF THE GREENThe race weekend format continues on as a one-day show with no practice or qualifying. The starting lineup will be set by virtue of owners points and a random draw. Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters: 4th      Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE7th      Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE8th      Alex Bowman, No. 88 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 1LE11th    Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew/Little Caesars Camaro ZL1 1LE13th    Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE16th    Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Realtree Camaro ZL1 1LE17th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Camaro ZL1 1LE19th    William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE20th    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE TUNE-INFOX will telecast the 188-lap, 500-mile race live at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 21st. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. QUOTABLE QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/LITTLE CAESARS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 2nd IN STANDINGSELLIOTT ON RACING AT TALLADEGA“Last year worked out really well for us. It was kind of one of those races where things just kind of just fell in our lap there towards the end of the race. We were super patient and just very disciplined as a group. I’m looking forward to getting back to Talladega this weekend with the Mountain Dew/Little Caesars Chevy and trying to do it all again.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGS“Talladega is a track where we have been pretty good at in the past. I feel like anytime Hendrick Motorsports goes to a superspeedway, we are solid. Last year in the spring we were really fast and had a great car. We came up short by one spot to Chase (Elliott), but that just shows how great these Hendrick cars are at Talladega.” “I don’t think I can apply anything from my virtual win at Talladega earlier this year to this weekend’s race. It is a completely different style of racing, but we typically bring fast cars to Dega. It does not hurt to crash at the virtual Talladega and I definitely used a reset in that race. So that is not going to work on Sunday.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN STANDINGS“I’m excited to get to Talladega. We always have fast cars as an organization. Talladega last year was really good for us as a team. We were leading and got pushed sideways which ended our day. I think though that this weekend will be a good opportunity for us to do well. It is unpredictable but you have to do what you can to try stay in contention and be there at the end. You really look past your windshield during the race so to speak. You mainly watch the car running two spots ahead of you more than anything. This weekend will be no different. You have to watch the cars ahead to try spot potential wrecks before they happen to give yourself more reaction time. If we can do that and keep our nose clean, we’ll be in a really good spot to grab the win.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSLOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA, HOW DO YOU THINK THE CHANGES IN HORSEPOWER AND NO AIR DUCTS WILL IMPACT THE RACE?“I don’t really know how the air ducts will do. We’ve obviously raced in the past without aero ducts, so that’s one thing I just don’t really know. I’d have to really go back in time and look at what our cars did differently, but there was probably somewhere you could match them up to. I don’t know what the closest year that we ran a package like this would be, but we feel like the racing is going to be different from the way it was at Daytona. It’s always different from Daytona to Talladega, so I’d say the first stage of the race will definitely be a learning curve for just about all of us. Set-up wise should not be a problem – I hope not. But just the way we race and the runs you get, we’ll be learning that first stage. You want to be aggressive because every point matters throughout the year.” “Just trying to play the chess match that’s ahead of us this weekend is going to be the key. Just knowing when to go. I’ve done a lot of different strategies when it comes to speedway racing, but my favorite is just going out there, racing and kind of throwing caution to the wind. I feel like that usually plays out better for us. I won the Daytona 500 being a little more cautious, but it’s just more fun that way when you go out there and race. So, we’ll see. We’ll make a decision quite early in the race to kind of figure out how everything is going. Hopefully all of our Chevys will run up-front together and work hard together to do what we need to do to bring home the win for Chevrolet.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 REALTREE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS“It’ll be interesting to see how this weekend goes at Talladega Superspeedway. They’ve made some changes to the cars since we raced our last restrictor-plate race at Daytona International Speedway earlier this year. We were at one point going to have practice this weekend, and now we’re not. I’m really not sure if we would have utilized the practice session or not because we don’t want to be in a situation where we would damage our No. 8 Realtree Chevy before the race. Regardless, we’re now going to be on track for the race with no real feel for these cars or how this new rules package will run, so it’s going to be intense. Talladega is a wider track than Daytona though, and it’s going to be a lot warmer. I’m excited. I really like racing at Talladega, and I hope we put on a good race. Normally it does, there are just a lot of unknowns entering this weekend. As a team, we need to survive the race and continue to capitalize on as many points as we can. We’re now two points out of a Playoff spot, so I know we can get there.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 20th IN STANDINGSTALLADEGA IS CONSIDERED A WILD CARD WHEN IT COMES TO FINISHES. WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE TO BRING HOME A WIN?“Surviving; that’s the name of the game for speedway races. Talladega Superspeedway is a lot of fun. We were so fast there last year. Our Richard Petty Motorsports team didn’t qualify well, but we were inside the top-five and then we were involved in an incident. That one stung; it still does. “Richard Petty Motorsports always has good speedway packages. Our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast at the DAYONTA 500 this year. We have to bring back that same package and be a little bit better. We have to show other teams that we are fast and I am capable of hanging one if we are getting pushed. A lot of speedway races, we just get left-out hanging. We could be leading a line and get shuffled out of the lead. We just have to build trust into the other guys. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen and that’s fine. But we just have to figure out how to manage our own race and be there at the end at the last ten laps really is what’s important.” JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 43 VICTORY JUNCTION CAMARO ZL1 1LE “This weekend is the GEICO 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. We are taking the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Bubba (Wallace) does a pretty good job of drafting on the superspeedway tracks, so we are all definitely looking forward to that. It is the same car that we ran at the Daytona International Speedway – we redid it with a fresh body. The car seems to draft really well. It appeared we were going to get a solid top-10 finish until the last lap incident that moved us to 15^th-place in the finishing order. Hopefully, we will be better this week.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 21st IN STANDINGS“Talladega Superspeedway is always a track that I have circled on my list. Obviously getting my first win there was really special, but I always enjoy racing at the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega. We had really good speed in the DAYTONA 500 earlier this season and were able to get the pole and lead laps. We won’t have the opportunity for the pole this week, but Brian Pattie and the team at the shop have worked really hard to keep that same speed and more in our No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Chevrolet for this weekend. We struggled a little bit the last two races at Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, but if there’s a track that can turn that around for us, it’s Talladega.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 29th IN STANDINGS“I think racing at Talladega Superspeedway with no practice and qualifying this weekend will be awesome. Right now, everyone is super close in the field with no practice because that’s what you have. I think the racing has been better and created opportunities for teams like ours to go out and contend for top-five and top-10 runs consistently. The random draw has been a little more difficult for us, but at Talladega, anything can happen no matter where you start. The package we have now allows you to get better runs and the leader doesn’t have quite the advantage they once did in clean air. My approach is to just keep our No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet clean and make it to the end. It’ll be nice to have fans back, and there’s no place better than Talladega.” MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS“Racing at Talladega and Daytona is different than any racing we do all year. With restrictor plates, handling doesn’t really come into play very much. It’s all about positioning and drafting and being in the right place at the right time, and not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You feel like it’s a ticking time bomb and you don’t want to get caught up in it when it blows. There’s always a lot of strategy to try to make sure you’re around at the end. But also, you have to be careful about hanging back waiting for the wreck, because there’s always a possibility of not having the wreck, and then you aren’t close enough to the front to have a chance to win. It’s a balancing act of surviving all day and being in position to capitalize for a good finish or even a win at the end.”

COLUMBUS, MS (June 18, 2020) – Bobby Pierce dominated the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series opening night of the 2020 General Tire Clash at the Mag – presented by Big River Steel on Thursday Night at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Piece led wire-to-wire in the 25 lap feature to kick off the weekend. For the Illinois native, it was his first win of the season as he became the 11th different winner in 16 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events this year. Pierce had a healthy lead throughout the race and cruised to the victory. His win came ahead of a torrid battle for second on back that saw current series point leader Jimmy Owens finish in second followed by Ross Bailes, Shane Clanton, and Tyler Erb. Pierce got to the lead at the start of the race while the race for second raged on behind him. Owens and Bailes went back-and-forth several times in the race for second. Owens was finally able to wrestle second-place from Bailes on the 23rd lap. The 23-year-old Pierce went to Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Victory Lane for the 11th time in his career. “The way the night started; I was not happy. We were bad in qualifying. All-in-all it was a great ending to the night, this is our first win of 2020. This Pierce car with Advanced Shocks has been working well. I want to thank my crew and my family.” “It feels great to get that first win, but it’s 100 laps here on Saturday, it’s going to be a little different.  We had just got to get a little better. I feel like when I got to those lapped cars I was struggling a little bit. I saw my dad giving me signals and the sticks were getting closer together at the end. I messed up a couple of times and with this type of field of cars, you cannot do that too many times. It feels to get that monkey off our back.” Owens finished in second, and was happy with another podium finish, “After they worked the track there were crumbs on the bottom and I didn’t get off to a good start. It did not pack in as good as the top. Me and Ross had a good race. We just raced around the top and really couldn’t move around like we wanted to.  We will come back tomorrow night and try to pick up one more spot.”
Bailes took home the third spot in the Lamm Autosports/Rocket. “Thanks to Kemp Lamm for letting me drive his car. I thought we had something for him [Pierce] in the beginning. Congrats to Bobby on the win and thank you to Jimmy for racing me clean.” The winner’s Pierce Platinum Chassis is sponsored by Hoker Trucking, Premier Waste Services, Allgayer Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, Viper Risk Management, First Spear, and Advanced Racing Suspensions. Completing the top ten were Billy Moyer, Tim McCreadie, Timothy Culp, Hudson O’Neal, and Josh Richards.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
General Tire Clash at the Mag – presented by Big River Steel
Thursday, June 18th, 2020
Magnolia Motor Speedway – Columbus, MS

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Jimmy Owens / 13.23 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Frank Heckenast Jr. / 13.532 seconds 

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 5. 86B-Brian Rickman[5]; 6. R5-Hunter Rasdon[7]; 7. 84-Austin Smith[6]; 8. 1BJ-BJ Robinson[8]; 9. 3-Luke Bennett[9]; 10. (DNS) Z6-Zach Combs

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 10J-Joseph Joiner[3]; 3. 4M-Michael Arnold[1]; 4. 1ST-Johnny Scott[4]; 5. 1C-Chad Thrash[5]; 6. 14M-Morgan Bagley[6]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 8. 92M-Chad Mallett[9]; 9. 31-Nick Thrash[8]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25-Shane Clanton[2]; 2. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[4]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 86R-Rick Rickman[1]; 5. 1G-Devin Gilpin[7]; 6. 00-Jesse Stovall[8]; 7. 34-Doug Sanchagrin[6]; 8. 86-Kyle Beard[3]; 9. 6R-Robbie Stuart[9]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 90-Neil Baggett[4]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[8]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[6]; 8. 111-Steven Roberts[7]; 9. G4-Shelby Sheedy[9]

General Tire Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1B-Ross Bailes[1]; 2. C8-Timothy Culp[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[5]; 5. 33-Scott Dedwylder[7]; 6. 54-David Breazeale[6]; 7. 21B-Chris Brown[4]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[8]; 9. 48-Jamie Elam[9]

Big River Steel Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 11J-Drew Armstrong[1]; 2. 11H-Spencer Hughes[2]; 3. 50-Shanon Buckingham[6]; 4. 18X-Michael Page[7]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 6. 212-Josh Putnam[5]; 7. 33C-Eric Cooley[3]; 8. 7D-David Payne[9]; 9. 25M-Justin Mcree[8]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer):  1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[2]; 3. R5-Hunter Rasdon[5]; 4. 1C-Chad Thrash[4]; 5. 84-Austin Smith[7]; 6. 14M-Morgan Bagley[6]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 8. 86B-Brian Rickman[3]; 9. 31-Nick Thrash[12]; 10. 92M-Chad Mallett[10]; 11. 1BJ-BJ Robinson[9]; 12. (DNS) 3-Luke Bennett; 13. (DNS) Z6-Zach Combs

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 2. 86R-Rick Rickman[1]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[6]; 4. 00-Jesse Stovall[5]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[4]; 6. 1G-Devin Gilpin[3]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[8]; 8. 86-Kyle Beard[9]; 9. 111-Steven Roberts[10]; 10. G4-Shelby Sheedy[12]; 11. 34-Doug Sanchagrin[7]; 12. 6R-Robbie Stuart[11]

Arizona Sport Shirts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 33-Scott Dedwylder[3]; 2. 18X-Michael Page[2]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[1]; 4. 212-Josh Putnam[6]; 5. 54-David Breazeale[5]; 6. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 7. 21B-Chris Brown[7]; 8. 33C-Eric Cooley[8]; 9. 14G-Joe Godsey[9]; 10. 7D-David Payne[10]; 11. 48-Jamie Elam[11]; 12. (DNS) 25M-Justin Mcree