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RCR Event Preview – Darlington Raceway

Richard Childress Racing at Darlington Raceway … In 129 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has found success at the famous Southern 500 with eights victories, 23 top-five, and 42 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has yet to find victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the ‘Lady in Black’, but has accumulated 10 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes.
Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway … Over the past several years Richard Childress Racing has fully embraced a popular tradition known as ‘throwback weekend’ at Darlington Raceway. Teams and partners use the Southern 500 as an opportunity to honor NASCAR greats from the past and present. This weekend Austin Dillon will pay tribute to Junior Johnson with a special white and red No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet scheme. Tyler Reddick will honor Jeff Burton with a colorful Cat Power Chevrolet paint scheme that Burton accepted rookie of the year honors in. Anthony Alfredo and Blue Otter will pay homage to RCR’s winning tradition in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with a throwback to Kevin Harvick’s 2006 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship paint scheme. Catch the Action … The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway will be televised live Saturday, September 5, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway will be televised live Sunday, September 6, beginning at 6 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 


This Week’s American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Darlington Raceway … Austin Dillon has made eight career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway, posting a career-best fourth-place finish in 2017. He has made three appearances at ‘The Lady in Black’ in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, securing his best finish of fifth in 2012. The 2011 NASCAR Truck Series champion has two starts at the track in the Truck Series, earning his best finish of fifth in August 2010. 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. Al 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. NASCAR Throwback … Austin Dillon pays tribute to Junior Johnson with his No. 3 American Ethanol Chevy throwback scheme at Darlington Raceway. The Hall of Fame driver, who passed away in December, earned nine wins behind the wheel of the number three during the 1960s. NASCAR Playoffs …Dillon won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in July to lock himself into the NASCAR Playoffs. He is one of 16 drivers currently competing in the 2020 postseason.The four-round postseason consists of eliminations after the Round of 16 (Darlington, Richmond, Bristol), the Round of 12 (Las Vegas, Talladega, Charlotte Roval) and the Round of 8 (Kansas, Texas, Martinsville). The Championship 4 will compete for the title at Phoenix. This is Dillon’s fourth time making the NASCAR Playoffs. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:What will it take to advance to each round of the NASCAR Playoffs and vie for a championship this year?“Over the years, running in the NASCAR Playoffs I’ve figured out that every point does matter, so I think you have to attack from the opening green flag. Stage points are important. In 2016, I missed advancing to the Round of 8 by one point over Denny Hamlin. That really makes you realize how important every single point is. It does help that the Playoff drivers will all be starting the races towards the front of the field together, but as a team we need to do a good job of starting up front and keeping that track position. Throughout the season so far, we have done a good job of adjusting our car throughout the race and finishing well but we need to start our races with our Chevys just a little better so that we can put ourselves in the next round.” How does Darlington suit your racing style?“I think long races in the past have fit my racing style. There is plenty of time to make the car better during a long race, and all of our wins have come in races 500 miles or more. So, I think that bodes well for Darlington. We like the long-distance races and it’s a place that falls off. RCR has always been known for a long run speed. Short run speed is something that we’ve struggled with, but we’re trying to change. It’s nice that we’re going to a place that long run speed matters a bit.” Talk about how special it is to run a Junior Johnson tribute scheme this weekend at Darlington Raceway …“This Junior Johnson car means so much to me and I’m grateful to American Ethanol to be able to work with them to honor a NASCAR Hall of Famer this weekend. It’s a beautiful car. I grew up going to school with Junior’s kids and Junior came to our school and spoke to us when I was in middle school. He was a hero to me and when he came and spoke to us, he took me aside and talked to me because he knew my grandfather, obviously. He was nice and always a great person to be around. My mom and Lisa Johnson are very close friends. They talk all the time, so to do this throwback for Junior is very special. My grandfather is pumped about it, too. Darlington Raceway would be a great place to grab a win to honor Junior, solidify our place in the NASCAR Playoffs and earn our third Crown Jewel race. It would be special.”
Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Power Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Darlington Raceway … Tyler Reddick has two NASCAR Cup Series starts, including a seventh-place finish from the first race back for NASCAR following a brief postponement due to COVID-19, at Darlington Raceway. Reddick also has three starts at the ‘Lady in Black’ in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, collecting two top-five finishes and leading 70 laps during last year’s race. NASCAR Throwback … During the NASCAR Throwback weekend, Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Power team will be honoring former Caterpillar driver, Jeff Burton, with a scheme that highlights his No. 8 Raybestos machine. Burton accepted Rookie of the Year honors with the scheme for his run during the 1994 season. About Cat® Power Systems… For nearly 90 years, Caterpillar has been powering the industries and businesses that communities rely on. Wherever our customers are, and whatever their business, Cat® power systems meet critical needs of customers in all industries and applications-including Marine, Industrial Power, Electric Power, Oil & Gas, On-Highway Truck Engines, and Rail. Whether it be new power installations, or the expert Product Support and Services Caterpillar and Cat dealers are known for, Cat power keeps the world moving forward. Learn more at www.cat.com/PoweredByCat. #PoweredByCat About Blanchard Machinery Company … Blanchard Machinery Company has been supplying South Carolina customers with Caterpillar equipment since 1982. The family owned company has established retail and rental stores throughout the state which offer a wide range of Cat and non-Cat brands of equipment, from full-sized bulldozers to small machine parts. We are committed to providing our customers the best products and services available. Blanchard has multiple locations throughout South Carolina and numerous product lines. Our lines of business include Compact Equipment, Heavy Equipment, Forestry & Recycling, Power Systems, Bus, Truck Centers and Rental Services.TYLER REDDICK QUOTES: We’re headed back to Darlington Raceway this week, but it’ll be a much longer race for you this time around. How are you preparing for that?“Well, based on the two races we had at Darlington earlier this year, I need to avoid hitting both the wall and things that come off the wall. That sponsor banner that came off the wall and got stuck on the grille of my Caterpillar Chevrolet during the first race there back in May completely messed up the handling of it. The handling got so bad that I got into the wall too, and that didn’t help things either. So, I need to avoid both those things. 360-plus laps at Darlington is a long time with lots of opportunity to have success, but also a lot of opportunities to receive a Darlington stripe. Everything will be important on Sunday, and we’ll need to run a perfect race. Adapting to the changing track conditions as the rubber comes in throughout the night will be key to being successful.” Can you tell us a little bit about your throwback scheme you’ll be running this weekend?“We’re running a scheme on our No. 8 Cat Power Chevrolet that honors longtime Caterpillar driver, Jeff Burton, and his rookie season. Jeff also ran the No. 8 during his rookie year and captured Rookie of the Year honors, so our scheme highlights the Raybestos scheme that he accepted the trophy with. I love participating in NASCAR’s Throwback weekend and really appreciate all the history in our sport, so I’m looking forward to having a good run with our scheme on Sunday.”
Anthony Alfredo and the No. 21 Blue Otter Polarized Chevrolet Camaro at Darlington Raceway …Anthony Alfredo will be back behind the wheel of the No. 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series entry for Richard Childress Racing this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Alfredo made his Darlington Raceway debut in May when NASCAR resumed on-track competition after being postponed due to COVID-19.  Welcome, Blue Otter Polarized …That’s it. The best ever. We’re not cutting corners. We’re not sacrificing style for comfort. We’re going for it, and we have been for quite a while.  We’re for waiting long mornings in the duck blind, we’re for staring at that bobber. We’re for drinking cold beer on the back porch with your neighbors. We’re for jogging on the beach at 6am and we’re for sunset volleyball, trash talk and all. Built for both the avid outdoorsman and the city slick’n bartender. Italian frames crafted with rugged use in mind, as well as aesthetic pleasure and daily comfort. We don’t think you should have to settle for anything less than the best, so we don’t either. The best ever. Grab a pair today at blueotterpolarized.com. NASCAR Throwback … Alfredo will sport a special paint scheme with Blue Otter Polarized this weekend to honor Richard Childress Racing’s 2006 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship-winning paint scheme with Kevin Harvick in the No. 21 Chevrolet. Harvick scored nine victories in the blue and red U.S. Coast Guard colors to claim Richard Childress Racing’s second of five total championships in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.  Fast Start for Fast Pasta … Running a limited schedule in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Alfredo has secured six top-10 finishes and has an average finish of 11.9. 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 QUOTES: Do you feel more comfortable returning to Darlington Raceway knowing you have competed there earlier this season in the No. 21? “It definitely adds some confidence to our whole No. 21 Blue Otter Polarized team, knowing we got to race at Darlington earlier this year. I think Darlington is one of the hardest tracks on the schedule. It’s extremely difficult to get the car perfect, so it’s going to be about who can hustle their car around the track the best. I know my Richard Childress Racing team has been working hard and will bring another fast Chevrolet to the track. I’m looking forward to going back and applying what we learned from our first trip to hopefully be better this weekend.” Tell us about your Darlington throwback scheme and what this weekend means to you.“Throwing it back to Kevin Harvick’s No. 21 Coast Guard scheme is truly an honor. It’s pretty incredible to think Kevin and Richard Childress Racing won nine races with this scheme en route to their second Xfinity Series Championship in 2006. RCR has such a storied history in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, so I am really excited I have the opportunity to highlight their success. Not only was Kevin successful during his time at RCR in both the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series, but he has become a household name for NASCAR. Hopefully we can excite the fans by putting this famous scheme back on track.  I want to say a special thanks to Blue Otter Polarized for allowing us to rock such a classic scheme this weekend at Darlington Raceway.”
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Labor Day Weekend in the Bluegrass and Buckeye States

BATAVIA, Ohio (September 3, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will spend Labor Day weekend at Ponderosa Speedway and Portsmouth Raceway Park with two $12,000-to-win events.  Ponderosa Speedway, a unique D-shaped 3/8th mile oval, known as “Kentucky’s Baddest Bullring”, will host the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the 16th Annual John Bradshaw Memorial on Friday, September 4th. The event will include a complete program of: Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $12,000-to-win main event. Also in competition on Friday night will be the Crate Late Models, Modifieds, and Super Stocks. The John Bradshaw Memorial was added to the Ponderosa Speedway schedule in 2003, as a tribute to the late John Bradshaw. Bradshaw had taken over the promotional helm at “The Pond” to begin the 2003 season, but tragically lost his life after promoting only a handful of events that season. The action will continue on Saturday, September 5th, when the tour ventures to Portsmouth Raceway Park for the Bob Miller Memorial River Days Rumble 50 – Presented by Pepsi. There will be a complete show of: Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $12,000-to-win main event. Saturday’s racing action at Portsmouth Raceway Park will also include Modifieds and Sport Modifieds.
Bob Miller was a long-time and storied sponsor in dirt track racing. Miller had a passion for racing, unlike anyone else. Bob passed away in November 2014 at age 73, following a long-term illness. Track and Event Information:Ponderosa SpeedwayPhone Number: (859) 854-6808Location: 365 Phillips Lane, Junction City, KY 40440Directions: US 127 to Junction City, turn on 300/W Shelby St (stop light), then .7 mile turn left on SR-37/White Oak Road, then 1.2 miles turn left on Phillips Lane, track is 0.4 mile on Left.Website: www.ponderosaspeedway.net Tire Rule for Ponderosa Speedway: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-Mains.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 2 new rear tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position.  Portsmouth Raceway ParkPhone Number: 740-354-3278Location: 25648 State Route 73, West Portsmouth, OH 45663Directions: 0.5 mile south of US 52 on SR 73, then right just before bridgeWebsite: www.portsraceway.com Tire Rule for Portsmouth Raceway Park:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib 28.5 1350Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1300 NRM, (29.0) 1300 NRMW, (29.0) 1425 NRM, (29.0) 1425 NRMW *Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 2 new rear tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position

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MAVTV September Broadcast Schedule

This Month Features Sunday Takeovers of “Stacey David’s GearZ” Along With New Seasons of ATV Motocross Championship, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series and More
MAVTV Motorsports Network has announced its programming schedule for September, which will get underway on Saturday, September 5, with a 10:00 a.m. ET broadcast showcasing the best professional and amateur motocross racers competing in the new ATV Motocross National Championship season.

The attention then shifts towards Stacey David’s GearZ on Sunday, September 6, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Gearheads will enjoy the custom car builds, transformations and makeovers all month long as the high-octane show is scheduled to take over every Sunday of the month, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. 

Special programming of the eNASCAR Heat Pro League finale is featured on Sunday, September 13. Tune in at 9:30 p.m. ET to watch 28 of the best eNASCAR contestants battle for $200,000 and the right to be crowned the eNASCAR Heat Pro League Champion. The next day, on Monday, September 14, the Motorsports Network will bring viewers moto two coverage of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Finally, closing out the network’s September broadcast schedule are telecasts of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series on Wednesday, September 23, at 9:00 p.m. ET and the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series on Monday, September 28, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
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JEGS Allstars participant Paige Coughlin leads Team JEGS sportsman contingent into Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 2) — Upstart Super Comp racer Paige Coughlin successfully earned her first start in the prestigious JEGS Allstars event, which will take place Friday as part of the 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals. A junior at Miami University of Ohio, Paige joins her four uncles — John, Troy, Mike and Jeg Jr. — and her brother Troy Jr., as a bona fide JEGS Allstar. “Being a part of the JEGS Allstars team this year is such an honor,” said Paige, the only Coughlin to make the Allstars squad this season. “It’s very special to have this chance to compete against the best sportsman racers in the country and I am extra excited to be representing Division 3.” Paige Coughlin
Paige is one 80 racers vying for individual and team honors at the event. Racers must qualify for the JEGS Allstars by earning points in their home divisions during year-long battles in each of the NHRA’s 10 sportsman categories.  “It would be a dream to win Super Comp at my first JEGS Allstars race but it would be even more special if Division 3 can pull off the team championship,” Paige said. “I am super thankful for my family, my crew chief Justin Beaver, crewman Tony Collier, and everyone else at JEGS.com for helping me become this year’s Allstars rep. “I am also looking forward to racing in the U.S. Nationals. Having the two biggest races of the year combined in one weekend is definitely unique. It is never easy but we’ll do our best in both races to put this JEGS.com dragster in the winner’s circle.” Mike Coughlin
Paige’s Uncle Mike barely missed earning another JEGS Allstars berth in his Top Dragster but he’ll be on hand to watch his niece when she’s running, while also competing himself in his first U.S. Nationals in 15 years. “I’m so proud of Paige,” Mike said. “She’s become such a steady driver and has the ability, like her dad and brother, to stay very calm and focused when she’s competing. That’s the real formula for success in this sport. Plus, her crew always comes through with a perfect combination. I would be thrilled to see her win. “I’m personally very excited for Indy. We’ve had a couple of great weekends in a row and although we ended up getting delayed by rain, we managed to race all the way to the semifinals at this past weekend’s race in Bowling Green. We’re going to finish that race later this year, and I can tell you we’ll be using the exact same setup from Bowling Green this weekend in Indy.” Mike is a two-time winner of the U.S. Nationals, having secured the Pro Stock Truck title at this event in 1999 and 2001. He has four more victories at the facility at the divisional level, two in Top Sportsman and two more in Top Dragster. “We always try to treat all drag races the same and never get too high or too low, regardless of the situation, but this is Indy,” Mike said. “There’s no question it’s a bigger deal than normal. You just can’t escape the history of it all. I’m happy to have guys like Greg Cody, Tony Collier, Dave Raurk and Ryan Micke behind me. I know they’ll have us ready to compete.” Makenna Brown
Makenna Brown, the granddaughter of JEGS founder and drag racing Hall of Famer Jeg Coughlin Sr. and his wife Sue, also will represent the yellow and black in Super Comp during the U.S. Nationals. This weekend represents Makenna’s first “Big Go” as a sportsman racer. She previously competed in Junior Dragsters. “I’m really excited to compete at this race,” Brown said. “The car is running really well and I’m ready to see what this week has in store. There are a lot of amazing racers from all over the country going to Indy but I plan to just take it one round at a time, focus on my routine, and trust all the work my team and I have put into this year. “I know Paige, Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeg and Troy Jr. have been going all out to prepare for this race and I’m excited to spend time with them and see how they handle the pressure of the biggest race of the year.  “This is also my first race in more than a month. I’ve been spending some time with my dad, who has been in the hospital, but he’s home now and on the road to recovery. I am racing for him this weekend.” Paige, Mike and Makenna will be joined in the pits by Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Troy Coughlin Jr., who are competing in Pro Stock. Troy Jr. also has a dragster entered in Super Comp.
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chevy racing–nascar–darlington–austin dillon

NASCAR CUP SERIES COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 DARLINGTON RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PLAYOFFS MEDIA DAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 AMERICAN ETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – ROTATION TRANSCRIPT:
YOU COULD BE CONSIDERED AS AN UNDERDOG IN THE PLAYOFFS, WHO ELSE WOULD YOU CONSIDER TO BE LABELED AN DARK HORSE?:“That’s a good question. You have the usual suspects that have been solid all year. Kurt Busch is one of those guys that can get streaky also. As far as starting with no bonus points and making a run. I also believe that all of the Stewart Haas cave had speed at certain tracks, (Clint) Bower is good at short tracks so I think that is another one who could. The first round is obviously the first one you want to get through.There’s some good competition out there. So any of those guys in the Stewart-Haas that or possibly Kurt? I feel like another good one. It’s an experience. Cool. Thank you.
I AM JUST CURIOUS IF I WAS A DRIVER THAT TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, AND NOT BEING ALLOWED ANY POINTS IN PLAYOFFS IS GOING TO CONTINUE INTO PLAYLISTS AND I’M WONDERING HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT’S A FAIR PRACTICES AS SOMEONE WHO HAS ALREADY TESTED POSITIVE?:““Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I’m kind of glad it happened in the regular season and we had to win some of these guys. I feel like our It’s definitely gonna have to be very careful on the moves. They make over the next couple weeks. You don’t want to get it and be taken out of the points because of that.”
SO OBVIOUSLY YOU GETTING THE WINNER CIRCLE IS GOING TO BE CRITICAL AND I’LL HELP YOU STAY ALIVE IN A PLAYOFF HUNT. BUT HOW MUCH WOULD IT MEAN TO GET IT DONE JUNIOR JOHNSON THROWBACKS TEAM?“Oh man literally just made me smile because this Junior Johnson car means so much to me. It’s it’s a beautiful car. I grew up going to school with Junior’s kids and Junior actually came to our school and spoke to us when I was like in middle school and he was just a hero to me and when he came and spoke to us he kind of talked to me and because he knew my grandfather obviously and it was really nice and always just great people to be around. My mom and Lisa Johnson are very close friends. They talk all the time and to do this throwback for junior is very special. My grandfather’s pumped about. It’s a beautiful car Darlington could be a great place, you know, that would be third Crown Jewel too so that would be special.”
AUSTIN, OBVIOUSLY WHEN PEOPLE TURNED A SIGNIFICANT AGE 30 IN THIS CASE FOR YOU. THERE CAN BE THE POINT OF REFLECTION LOOKING BACK AT WHAT THEY’VE DONE. OBVIOUSLY. YOU’RE STILL A YOUNG GUY BUT YOU’RE NOT A KID IN THE SPORT COMPARED TO A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE AND CERTAINLY WHAT YOU HAD AS YOU NOTED. YOU HAD YOUR TO CROWN JEWEL WINS. BUT AS YOU REACH THIS AGE AND LOOK AT YOUR POINT IN THE CAREER, DOES THERE GET TO BE I DON’T KNOW IF THERE’S MORE”“Oh, yeah. I think it’s more about season every opportunity you get you know, you don’t know what could be your last everybody is fighting for their job every day. It doesn’t matter how many wins you got something becausecome up and change sponsorship wise or ownership wise. You just never know these days. So you just want to seize these opportunities and were in the playoffs again, and there’s another opportunity to become the first to win all three championships that we’ve got in our 16 guys that have this opportunity and we’re one of them so you want to take advantage of those opportunities and go out there and perform, you know, you can and you want to do it consistently. So yeah just doing everything you can to take advantage of the moment is big. Live in the moment and have fun doing it. And I do feel like I think the prime age and my dirt crew chie is always said this the prime age for a sin is like 35 Plus and you see it from Harvick and Denny Hamlin. So I feel like you start you gain so much knowledge during that time frame and I feel like I’m still gaining knowledge and your family situation changes, you know, I’ve got my first kid now and momentum has been good. And I just feel like I’m in a good spot and I think it can just keep going that way with the direction. I’m headed.”
HOW DO YOU ANSWER THE FOLKS THAT YOU’VE GOT HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THE PLAYOFFS? THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE KIND OF DISMISSING YOUR TEAM. WHAT DO YOU TELL THOSE PEOPLE?:
“I love being dismissed. I think it’s a great. It’s all I’ve just kind of always been that way. I feel like maybe not that way in the trucks are Xfinity at the end of those runs, but in the Cup series, it’s been a little bit of that. So and I feel like that’s what kind of propels us, and then we sneak up on people. I was very close to making it to the third round a couple years back in the playoffs and missed it by one point to Denny Hamlin not want to transfer this on and we missed at Talladega by one so I know from that experience at every Point matters, and we just need to go out there and do our job these first three races is good good races for us, but the stage is the way they play out. You got to get points. So we’re going to be very aggressive in getting those points and hopefully messed up a lot of brackets. Thank you.  GERMAIN RACING PUT OUT A STATEMENT ON MONDAYI BELIEVE IT WAS THAT BOB GERMAIN IS EXPLORING CONVERSATIONS FOR POTENTIAL SALE. HAVE YOU TALKED TO TY YET ABOUT THAT. AND IS THERE A POSSIBILITY THAT RCR COULD EXPAND AND INCLUDE YOUR BROTHER IN THE FOLD?“I actually haven’t talked to my brother about it. Did to my grandfather little bit about it, you know, I think all kinds of opportunities are out there right now. There’s a lot going on in the sport as you can tell it’s silly season. So but I’ve tried to keep up with what’s going on out there, but right now I’m really focused on the playoffs and and because that’s my job is to go out there. So we’ve been on the simulator Monday. I’m going back this afternoon. But as far as everything else going on, I’m just happy we have the #3 team and all of our sponsors, you know in a good place right now. So we’re we’re pumped about next season but focused on this season with the playoffs that that are up front.”
HOW DOES DARLINGTON FIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE?“Well, I think long races in the past have fit my race in the style plenty of time to make the car better being a long race and all of our wins have come in races 500 miles or more. So it’s a good one for us. We like the long-distance races and and it’s a place that falls off. RCR has always been known for a long run speed.
“Short run speed as something that we struggled with but we’re trying to change but it’s nice that we’re going to place that long run speed matters a bit.”
ARE YOU FEELING OKAY? WE HAD ANY EFFECT SINCE TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID AND IN A CRAZY WAY. DO YOU ALMOST FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE BECAUSE YOU’VE ALREADY TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE DISEASE AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET IT AGAIN. “Yeah, you know, I mean who knows truthfully I still got to be safe and practice all everything that we’ve been practicing all year safe social distancing and wearing a mask. You know, I stayed it does feel good to had it and know what it’s like and hopefully never experienced again. It’s feels like its done and antibodies, obviously in me.Yes it feels a little better than some of those guys in the payoffs that you know have to worry about it more I think than I do. But yeah, no, I’m not experiencing any kind of I feel great and I’ve been riding a road bike working out. I had a massive pickleball game with my dad and I beat him. That was pretty nice. If you get went went pretty deep there. I sweated a lot right for the Daytona race. Oh and it was hot down there. So yeah, you know if I’m a I’m an active person love to get out and play sports. So I feel good and prepared for what’s ahead.”
IS IT AN ADVANTAGE ONLY TO HAVE ONE IN THE PLAYOFFS AND ALL THE RESOURCES BEHIND YOU?” Yeah, you know, you definitely want both cars in. It is just good for the company when you have both cars and ready and very fast. But yeah, you know, I feel like in past. I’ve been on both sides of this this deal where you’re in or you’re out and the focus flips to whoever’s in and it feels good to have all the focus here at RCR. We’ve got some great teammates and great employees here that can do all they can to put effort into each car we take in the playoffs and I’m sure Tyler and Randall. I’ve already asked Tyler for his notes after Darlington, you know, we work together all year pretty great. So I think it’s it’s a good thing for us, but we’d love to have both in the playoffs”
AUSTIN, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. YOU’VE BEEN TO THE PLAYOFFS TWICE. IS AS FAR AS FEAR THIRD TRIP, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER a THIS TIME AROUND AND WHAT’S GOING TO BE THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN FINALLY BREAKING THAT ROUND OF 16 THRESHOLD?“Third, I believe I feel like it’s my fourth because I won Daytona nd I made it. I pointed of my way in and then won the 600. This should be my fourth. Okay? You’re right. The biggest thing is making it a couple rounds further. So yeah, you know want to survive in advance take the experiences from the ones past that they the biggest thing I’ve learned is, you know the points matter.When your are witting at the end of these stages are at the end of the race when you have a point right in front of you you got to do what it takes to get that point. You can’t ride you got to use the front bumper to get it. I mean, however, you got to get it strategy is also another key and you know, you try and lean on the strategy. We’ve been very good on strategy this year to be able to score points. So we’ll use some of that and also I think you got to be defensive at times when you’re struggling because there’s going to be times when the car is not handling right? You got to hold up the guys out back and be good in the mirror. I mean, there’s guys that are professionals at it Joey and Brad are very good at holding track position when their car is struggling and that puts them in a better spot when the caution comes out if they’ve held a couple more spots and then their pit crew comes and picks them up a position with one adjustment their car is able to win, you know what I mean or a little cleaner air and so knowing that there’s going to be times when you’re struggling how you handle those and taking every position you can take when a point is on the line.”
AUSTIN WHEN YOU DID WIN YOUR CROWN JEWELS AND MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN 2017 AND 18. JUSTIN ALEXANDER WAS YOUR CREW CHIEF. OBVIOUSLY LAST SEASON, YOU’LL RCR TOOK A CHANCE AND DANNY STOCKMAN THE MAN WHO LED YOU TO YOUR XFINITY AND TRUCK SERIES TITLES AS YOUR CREW CHIEF ON UNFORTUNATELY DIDN’T YIELD THE SAME RESULTS NOW JUSTIN ALEXANDER RESPECT WE DO THIS TIME AROUND SO I JUST WONDERED HOW MUCH DOES HIS RETURN TO THE PIT BOX HAVE ON YOUR EFFECT AND MAKING THE PLAYOFFS AGAIN THIS SEASON.“Well, it’s just been good for the entire organization the team Justin, you know to go through what he had to go through last year being switched off our team and the way he handled it was just so professional and I think also when you came back, you know, I just committed to him, you know, my full attention each and every week and he is he is delivered that back and more and and I think I’ve done the same reach other and we have a different respect for each each other this time around and he’s always been able to talk to me in a different way that challenges me to be better over the radio. It doesn’t get me frustrated or fired up and I don’t lose my focus. He’s all about the focus and maximizing our day and I also feel like the spotter that we’ve got this year. Brandon Benesh has been a big help also at those three my mom and she’s following us all the time and she listens to the radio and she said to me you are very fortunate because these guys are on a different level right now. The way they communicate on channel 2 said she never heard anything like it to my Cup career, and that’s good. You know, they’re on a good wave lengths together and really focused on what we’re doing and how how to make our cars better and how to make me better and to get the best out of the No.3 car.” ALSO YOU TOUCHED ON YOUR MINDSET HOW YOU KIND OF LIKE PEOPLE COUNT YOU OUT BEING THE UNDERDOG WITH THAT BEING SAID THOUGH. WHAT ARE YOU YOUR GUYS IS REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THESE PLAYOFFS IN PARTICULAR KNOWING HOW DOMINANT THE FOUR, THE 11 AND SOME OF THE OTHER BIG GUYS HAVE BEEN THE SEASON.“Well, you know the 4 and 11 are the two guys that everyone has circled and I feel like they’re pretty much in the final four at Homestead at this point with their points position and now granted anything can happen.Some of these lineups that NASCAR’s created in the schedule for the playoffs. There are some places that a lot of Destruction chaos goes on but I would say those two spots of the four locked up when it comes to Denny and Harvick. Now there are two others to other spots out there that we have circled that we need to go take one. That’s that’s what I’m focused on is knowing that there’s two spots available. I feel like for the championship and we have to chip away at it each and every week. Treat it one race at a time kind of the Bill Belichick attitude of maximize each week and then survive and advance survive and advance and and try and win a race, you know, win a race when it counts when you get down to the end and there’s guys that more bonus points. The only thing to do is when we were able to win this year. I made a good call at the right time and we had the speed to be able to maintain it in years past. I would say we probably wouldn’t have had the speed to be able to maintain at a mile and a half but this year we do and that’s what’s exciting is anything can happen with the eight moves, mate.”
MEDIA MEMBER: Thanks, and just so you know, I don’t want you to end up in Miami for the championship. It’s a phoenix this year. I mess up to that’s right. DILLON: Hey, I had a good run at Miami. So I kind of wish it was there, but we’ll go to Phoenix anyways time for thank you. Our next question will come from Peter strata. Go ahead with the question Peter.
WE SAW THAT OUR SEE OUR COMMAND CENTER IN DETAIL AFTER YOUR BIG WIN IN TEXAS. THEY GAVE YOU THE WINNING CALL. WHAT’S THE BALANCE AND MAKING THOSE PIVOTAL CALLS BETWEEN JUSTIN ON THE PIT BOX VERSUS THE TEAM BACK AT WELCOME. “Yeah, you know, I think Justin truthfully makes the call and I would give him credit for the win at Texas. I think the what the the War Room has done has just give us another option and more of an eye in the sky torelay more information that Justin might not be able to process fast enough the ability to process information faster is key to success and those guys in the War Room can be focused on other information that Justin can’t see so they can relay that to him and him trusting him is another part of that, but I do feel like a Texas myself and am kind of made the call and then with with help from our data showing that this was available and it’s the smartest route to go as far as keeping track position. It was it was the right decision to make so we’ll definitely use our wardrobe will definitely use our strategy tools to help us gain as many points as possible and hopefully put us in a situation where we can win again.
SPEAKING FROM THE TEAM ASPECT YOU GUYS HAVE EIGHT OF THE TEN PLAYOFF TRACKS THIS YEAR. YOU’VE ALREADY BEEN TO COMING INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND WITHOUT PRACTICE, HOW MUCH DO YOU RELY ON YOUR NOTES FROM THOSE OTHER RACES AND YOU THINK THAT’S AN ADVANTAGE FOR A TEAM LIKE RCR THAT SOME OF THESE BIGGER TEAMS DON’T HAVE THE PRACTICE ADVANTAGE.“I’ve I think it’s been good for us not having to practice I think it’s good for me. I don’t overthink things and talk about it all night. But myself I just go. You know, I we make a decision after we run our simulation and we go from there where it’s a little less stressful when you got practice and all kinds of adjustments to worry about it kind of simplifies things and makes you go with what you know works and then you adjust it throughout the race. So I don’t know if it’s an advantage. I mean, I feel like are this year’s been good for us, but I feel like it’s also been good because we’ve had faster race cars than in years past so. Maybe maybe it’s been good. I don’t know. Sometimes you want practice. Sometimes you don’t but I feel confident with the way we’re doing it right now. 
AUSTIN CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR KIND OF FOLLOWING UP ON AN EARLIER QUESTION. YOU KNOW, I KNOW TYLER REDICK, HE’S A ROOKIE AND HE’S HAD A GREAT BUT HE’S HAD A GREAT YEAR. IT’S A KIND OFSURPRISING THEY DIDN’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR VIA POINTS, “I’m not surprising I think you know for him he’s always wants as much as he can’t he’s a champion. He’s done a great job this year found a lot of speed at different tracks. But as a rookie man, this is tough. I mean if you don’t get a win like Cole or myself that it’s tough to point your way in and just a couple places that he probably can go back and look at that would change something he would have done nor things that happen here at Pocono. He had something go wrong with power steering. That’s a lot of points right there could have put him in a different situation. But you know, I think he did and does has done an amazing job all year as a rookie and I think it’ll be in the playoffs for years to come. So it’s it’s one of those things that he’s probably disappointed that but I think everybody knows that he’s got the speed and the pace to win races and ba in the playoffs in a real Contender for years to come.”
IS IT MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO WIN A RACE IN THESE LAST TEN RACES OR ADVANCE THROUGH TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP?“I would say I mean, I would love to win and advance to the championship. So I mean come on getting a win at the right time to advance in the championship would be I think the goal, you know, you get to the surviving advance and then you come down to rehab the wind and you make it happen. I think that’s what some of the great guys have done. You know, Kevin Harvick has shown an uncanny ability to be able to win when he needs one. That’s where you want to get to is where you’re confident enough where you can go and take a victory but atrophy is always good. I’d love to win another trophy in the last 10. So let’s just go with trophy.”
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TRACK THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IN THE CHASE? I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DARLINGTON’S CARS AND ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES WITH THE HISTORY, BUT YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TRACK THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO. “Yes. The Richmond is circled right now. Richmond is a place I had to six Place finishes a year ago, I believe or something like that. We’ve had some good runs there and we’ve had a something that just hits her. That’s good. I feel like we had speed to finish better than six things just in play on our way. What strategy so Richmond is circled right now my list and that’s as far as I really would go Vegas is another one. So those are the in the first Six Vegas. Well heck I’ll just say all the ones that I feel like we could win at Richmond Vegas, Martinsville, Texas, obviously and then yeah, those are my favorite tracks Circle right now that I feel like I’m being honest about speed and where our setups have been in the past that those are good places for us.
AUSTIN COMING OFF ENTERING YOUR ROOKIE SEASON BY THE 2014 GED. I BELIEVE YOU WERE COMING OFF THAT CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE XFINITY SERIES AND YOU’RE A DOMINANT THAT SEASON DESPITE NOT WINNING A RACE AND YOU’RE A ROOKIE SEASON. YOU KIND OF FELL FLAT THEN LIKEWISE. TYLER REDDICK WAS COMING OFF BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE XFINITY SERIES AND WASN’T THE ONE WHO MADE THE PLAYOFFS WHILE COLE CUSTER WAS A ROOKIE.THIS CLASS YOU DID AND THAT WAS JUST A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE PIECES FELL INTO PLACE FOR HIM. SO WHAT KIND OF CORNY CURVE IS THEIR DRIVERS GOING FROM EITHER XFINITY OR TRUCK SERIES TO THE CUP SERIES?“Well, it’s it’s number one Automotive racing series in the world in my opinion is the hardest one to win in you got multiple winners that are great at what they do, you know, everybody has gotten this point has one and done something that has gotten them to here. I think every level in the sport you go to from trucks toXfinity to Cup there is a another level you have to reach as a driver to step up your game and I felt like for me the formula was rookie of the year and the Truck Series and won a championship in the Truck Series and it was Rookie of the Year and XFinity Series and won a championship and Xfinity series, I get to the Cup series and I was hoping it would be the same way, you know, when a rookie of the year and go win a championship the next but it’s a different level and I’ve learned that over the last couple years. We made the playoffs in the playoffs are a huge feet when you’re in the Cup series. I mean you look at the Xfinity Series in my opinion. If you don’t finish the top ten you’re struggling every week and I would even go up to eight past that it’s not what the Cup series is where you’re fighting all the way back to what 22nd 23rd with guys that have won in the Xfinity series 24th, maybe but they’re just a different level of competition and that’s what it is and it takes a lot. I mean you could have a good crew good team good car good pit crew and still not win. You have a fastest car still not win. Every week is just a challenge so learning I think the learning process from a rookie to the next year is it’s big. That’s why we get so excited about rookies that come in and finish well early on in their career because you hope that the only way forward is up because they’re not getting some great finishes out their first year. They’re probably going to be fine.”

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New ‘Leader of the Pak:’ Order Reservations Open for Quickest, Fastest and Most Powerful Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak Ever

  • Starting today, Sept. 2, 2020, dealers and customers can now contact the Dodge//SRT Concierge at (800) 998-1110 to register for the opportunity to order the new 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak 
  • Order reservations for the new 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak officially open on Sept. 9, 2020, and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis
  • Quickest, fastest and most powerful Drag Pak ever is powered by a supercharged 354-cubic-inch HEMI V-8 engine
  • Dodge//SRT and Mopar give sportsman racers a new, turnkey package, loaded with suspension and chassis upgrades and built for NHRA and NMCA competition
  • Safety enhancements include all-new NHRA-certified roll cage for elapsed times as low as 7.50 seconds in the quarter-mile
  • The 50-unit serialized 2021 Drag Pak has a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $143,485
  • Customers can head to dodgegarage.com/drag-pak to find complete vehicle configuration and ordering information
  • Production of the 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2021

September 2, 2020 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Dodge//SRT and Mopar are now taking reservations for the 50 limited-production, serialized, non-VIN units of the new 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak.
 
To register for the opportunity to place an order for the 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak, all interested customers and dealers must contact the Dodge//SRT Concierge at (800) 998-1110. Registration opens today, Sept. 2, 2020. Order reservations officially open on Sept. 9, 2020, and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
  

“Our new Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is produced specifically for sportsman racers to secure and own bragging rights at the drag strip,” said Mark Bosanac, Head of Mopar Service, Parts & Customer Care, FCA – North America. “From the supercharged HEMI® V-8 power under the hood to the advanced suspension, chassis technologies and an all-new NHRA-certified roll cage, we can’t wait to give our loyal performance enthusiasts another purpose-built muscle car to carry the Mopar flag across the finish line first.”
 
The Drag Pak is engineered for grassroots drag racers who compete in sportsman classes in events sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and National Muscle Car Association (NMCA).
 
“This is the quickest, fastest and most powerful Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak we’ve ever built,” said Tim Kuniskis, Global Head of Alfa Romeo and Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “And, 50 members of the Brotherhood of Muscle are going to be able to buy this 7-second turnkey race car right from their local Dodge dealer.”
 
The starting U.S Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is $143,485. Customers can head to dodgegarage.com/drag-pak to find complete vehicle configuration and ordering information. Production of the 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2021.
 
Improved performance from upgraded supercharged HEMI V-8
At the heart of the new Drag Pak is the latest evolution of the supercharged 354-cubic-inch Gen-III HEMI V-8 engine, based on the same power plant that won the 2018 NHRA Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) and NMCA Factory Supercar championships.
 
Numerous enhancements include an all-new 3.0-liter Whipple twin-screw supercharger, upgraded forged internals, new front accessory drive and a new fabricated aluminum ice tank with a clear lid that cools the supercharger intercooler. The engine combination has been fully validated by Mopar engineers on the dyno, as well as the drag strip, and is approved for the NHRA FSS and NMCA classes.
 
A unique, serialized, red and chrome Drag Pak badge sits atop the machined aluminum supercharger cover. Also under the aluminum hood, enthusiasts will see a nod to past 1970-1974 ‘Cuda and Challenger heritage models, with a special red and chrome radiator support “fender tag” adorned with the silhouette of the Challenger, stating the series number, the vehicle code, axle ratio and engine designation – all unique to the Drag Pak.
 
Newly designed suspension provides a leg up on the competition
The all-new, four-link rear suspension is engineered to launch hard, quickly decimate the 60-foot elapsed times and stay planted all the way down the quarter-mile. A new geometry setup with longer control arms increases the length of the rear swing arm, allowing better anti-squat control and increasing stability. It also incorporates a wishbone link for lateral control (replacing a Panhard bar in prior models) and a larger-diameter anti-roll bar (250 percent stiffer than prior models).
 
Up front, a unique Mopar K-member underpins the front suspension, featuring integrated solid engine mounts and a cutout for easy oil pan removal. New for 2021 are exclusive double-adjustable Drag Pak-specific tuned Bilstein coilover shock absorbers supporting all four corners of the car. The new shocks improve weight transfer and body attitude for hard launches, as well as soak up track bumps and undulations at high speeds down the track. The shocks feature 10 settings (front and rear) for easy tuning of compression and rebound damping, allowing racers to adjust for diverse track conditions by simply turning the color-coded knobs.
 
Strange Engineering Pro Series II racing brakes on the front and rear provide ample stopping power after the finish line, with minimal losses due to brake drag on the way there.

Two wheel and tire combinations are available for the Drag Pak:

  • Bogart wheels with Mickey Thompson tires:
    • Rear: Bogart D-10 15-by-10-inch (non-beadlock) wheels riding on Mickey Thompson ET Drag® Pro Drag Radial 30.0 x 9.0 R15 tires
    • Front: Bogart D-10 17-by-4.5-inch wheels riding on Mickey Thompson 27.5 x 4.0-17 ET Front™ tires
  • Weld Racing wheels with Mickey Thompson tires:
    • Rear: Weld Racing Alpha-1 15-by-10-inch (double beadlock with Drag Pak engraved lock rings) wheels riding on Mickey Thompson ET Drag Pro Drag Radial 30.0 x 9.0 R15 tires
    • Front: Weld Racing V-Series 17-by-4.5-inch (with Drag Pak engraving) wheels riding on Mickey Thompson 27.5 x 4.0-17 ET Front tires

Improved performance and safety with certified roll cage
The new Drag Pak features an all-new roll cage fabricated to SFI Specification 25.5C (NHRA-certified 7.50-second ET) to not only handle the rigorous safety requirements of factory stock racing, but also improve performance.
 
The NHRA-certified roll cage is constructed from 4130 chromoly tubing and is fully TIG-welded, ensuring greater safety and integrity. The cage is fully integrated with the factory unibody through attachment points at the front and rear shock towers, B-pillars, vehicle floor and rocker panels. This integrated chassis approach is a result of Mopar’s involvement in different classes of drag racing over the years, as well as the stringent approach to safety mandated by the NHRA. The chassis is designed to work in combination with the rear suspension, channeling the forces from the control arms and coilover shocks directly into the roll cage, versus the body panels. The increased stiffness allows the new Drag Pak to be more responsive to tuning changes, enabling racers to extract more performance in the quarter-mile.
 
Out back, a trunk-mounted, SFI-certified three-gallon drag race fuel cell feeds a brushless racing fuel pump with dual inline filters. Axle-mounted wheelie bars are standard, as is a 10-foot parachute mounted rigidly to the frame rails via a unique tubular mount.
 
Improved interior features advanced, race-ready technology
The interior balances race car function with factory comfort and technology. The instrument panel features a carbon-fiber bezel with three primary gauges – rpm, brake pressure and oil pressure. The driver bezel also features a Holley EFI Digital Dash with a 7-inch, low-glare, full-color touchscreen display so drivers can tune and manage vehicle performance.
 
On the passenger side, a custom red and chrome Drag Pak serialized badge signifies the one-of-50 build sequence numbers. Driver comfort is achieved with the adjustable mounts that are included for the seats and racing pedals. Driver control is delivered through a mechanical floor shifter and lightweight steering column with quick-release steering wheel.
 
An all-new motorsport electrical architecture setup includes the “brains” of the supercharged HEMI powertrain in the programmable Holley Dominator Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) vehicle-management system. In addition, a programmable Racepak Smartwire Power Distribution Module controls all electrical components using solid-state electronics, which eliminates the need for fuses and relays. These electronic modules are conveniently mounted to the body using bespoke mounts that allow for easy service with factory fit-and-finish.
 
A choice of lightweight Racetech composite seats and Racetech HANS-ready cam-lock harnesses are FIA- and SFI-compliant. Both driver and passenger seats feature the Drag Pak logo embroidered on the seat back, while the optional Head Restraint Seat Package features a winged driver seat.
 
Rounding out the Factory Stock racing class feel on the interior are custom-cut lightweight carpeting, carbon fiber tube protectors and SFI-compliant roll bar padding.
 
High-impact exterior colors and heritage-inspired graphics choices signal performance
The new Drag Pak comes standard in White Knuckle and is available in five optional high-impact exterior colors: Hellraisin, Pitch Black, Smoke Show, TorRed and Frostbite. Full-color or monochromatic graphics packages are anchored by the Mopar logo and additional “drag pak” or “direct connection” billboard graphics on the quarter panels above the rear wheels. The graphic band wraps around the rear of the car, visually connecting both sides of the vehicle. 
 
A wide center stripe, with tracers on each side, runs from the edge of the front fascia, over the roof and through to the rear edge of the decklid. The graphics highlight the width of the Drag Pak and complements the variety of stripe packages that Mopar offers for the Dodge Challenger. The graphic band runs along the lower quarter of each side of the Drag Pak, accented by a tracer line.

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chevy racing–nascar–darlington–kurt busch

NASCAR CUP SERIES COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 DARLINGTON RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PLAYOFFS MEDIA DAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
KURT BUSCH, NO.1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – ROTATION TRANSCRIPT:“Yes, of course we want to win; but we want to advance through all the rounds to give ourselves a shot at the championship. So, consistency has been good for us this year. We just need to continue to do that and execute as a team to get through each of these rounds.”
COMING INTO THE PLAYOFFS, YOU AND (BROTHER) KYLE (BUSCH) HAVE BEEN SORT OF NECK-AND-NECK IN POINTS THIS WHOLE SEASON. HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT THIS PLAYOFF RUN SORT OF BEING LIKE A RE-SET FOR YOU AND KYLE, TOO? HOW ARE YOU LOOKING AT THESE NEXT 10 RACES?“I’m looking at it one race at a time. We put ourselves in this position to be Playoff-eligible and to have a shot at the championship. And so we know this is an opportunity to do something great. So, just one week at a time. I love Darlington. It’s one of my favorite race tracks, with Richmond and Bristol, two short tracks in this first round, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves but if we execute as a team, we’ve got a great shot at all this. I know my little brother, though. He’s putting a little extra stress on himself because he wants to win a race and continue his streak of winning seasons. And so, he’s thrown a little extra pressure on himself that way. And so maybe that’ll be a distraction for him.”
THIS IS YOUR 14th TIME IN THE PLAYOFFS. YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT FORMATS WITH DIFFERENT TEAMS. WHAT IS THE MOST VALUABLE THING YOU’VE LEARNED THROUGH ALL THAT TIME THAT YOU FEEL WILL BENEFIT YOU THE MOST IN THIS PLAYOFF?“I still think it comes down to consistency, and to know how to execute through each of the stages in the races, through each of the rounds. That consistency that we built on this year, with the Ganassi team, that’s our strength. And that’s what we have to use when we go through these different races and different rounds. And so, just staying calm and cool and collected around our consistency, is probably our biggest thing that I’ve taken through all these years.”
WITH BRISTOL BEING A CUTOFF RACE, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO THE FINISH OF THE RACE AT BRISTOL?“It’s going to be big. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a cool challenge to have that as a cutoff race. The biggest thing is that like Darlington and Richmond, anytime a yellow comes out, mostly likely you’re going to be pitting for tires. At Bristol you can stay out and change the sequence. And so that’s where the variable of that pit strategy call is going to be a huge difference-maker. So if we make it simple we just win at Darlington and that way we don’t have to stress that round.”
YOU KEEP MENTIONING CONSISTENCY. YOU’VE GOT FOUR TOP 5’S AND 14 TOP 10’S THIS YEAR. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS WHERE THE NO. 1 TEAM IS GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS?“I think we’re in a good spot, you know.  We’re in that underdog-type position that also, with the tracks that are coming up with Darlington and Richmond and Bristol, those are all my favorites. And the team has run really well at those tracks. And so we just have to go execute as a team and not get too far ahead of ourselves and just execute. That’s really what we’ve got to do these first few races to get to the next round.”
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO EXPLAIN OVER THE NEXT 10 WEEKS? YOU’VE DONE THIS MANY TIMES. BUT WHAT IS THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER-COASTER AND TRYING TO REMAIN CALM AND COOL GOING TO BE LIKE?“It’s a Playoff mindset. It’s a Playoff atmosphere. And you can’t get too far ahead of yourself. Each and every week it’s just that laser focus on what it takes to execute and to put ourselves in good position at Darlington. Once Darlington is over, then its laser focus on Richmond. And again, just that Playoff mindset and going and attacking it peacefully and strategically because 10 weeks is a long run, but you’ve got to stay on it.”
DO YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE YOU’RE MISSING IT MORE SO BECAUSE CHEVROLET IS AT A DISADVANTAGE RIGHT NOW OR DO YOU THINK IT’S GANASSI RACING?“I feel like we’ve done a good job as a group at Chevrolet to work together on superspeedway racing as well as tire data and strategic pit sequences and strategies. I really think Chevy has done a good job in connecting everybody. Yes, the Fords seem to be a little bit more powerful at like the 1.5-miles with their horsepower that they have. The Toyotas, they seem like they are downforce is a bit more than what we have right now. But hey, it’s what we have. It’s right now and it’s 2020 and I’m looking at our strengths with consistency is what we have to go through. It’s what we have to take with us as we go through each of these rounds.”
YOU ARE ONE OF TWO DRIVERS IN THIS PLAYOFF BRACKET THAT RAN WITHOUT A PLAYOFF SYSTEM. THE OTHER IS KEVIN HARVICK. HOW MUCH HAVE THE PLAYOFFS MEANT TO YOU, AND HOW MUCH AS IT MEANT TO NASCAR AS A WHOLE AND HOW IT’S CHANGED THE SPORT OVER THE YEARS IN THIS, OUR 17th YEAR OF THE POST-SEASON?“What I think it’s done is it gave it a strong comparison to other sports. There’s that Playoff atmosphere. There’s that championship race, where four guys are eligible to win the championship and it’s an even playing ground. When it was a long marathon process of going through all 36 races, that was a different sequence. That was maybe not as intense when it got down to the final rounds. And so, with these 10 weeks, the Playoff atmosphere is there, and it relates well to other sports. And that’s where it draws in more fans that might not have been NASCAR fans before.”
WHAT IS IT ABOUT DARLINGTON THAT WORKS SO WELL FOR YOU AND DOES THAT GIVE YOU AN ADVANTAGE GOING INTO THE WEEKEND?“I really enjoy running at Darlington and the way you have to race the race track and somewhat ignore the other cars out there while you’re racing. It’s that old school mentality at this great race track. Stay patient and find the right set-up changes to adapt to the track’s changing conditions. And so, it’s one of those crown jewel races, too. The Southern 500 kicks-off our Playoffs. I love the atmosphere right now and so we’re going after it strong.”
WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO WIN AT DARLINGTON?“It would mean the world to me. A track that I really enjoy running, I feel like I’m competitive every time I go there. But I haven’t won. So, it’s one of those challenges of you love it but you hate it, but at Darlington you have to respect the race track. And you have to do your job as a driver to communicate to the crew on what changes we need to adjust to. The pit crew has a large responsibility at Darlington just because of the abrasive surface and how much the tires wear out. So, it’s that whole team effort. But, for me, I definitely want this crown jewel race. I want to put this trophy up on the mantle right alongside my Daytona win and alongside a 600 win.”
THERE ARE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHO IS GOING TO BE IN THE NO. 42 CAR NEXT YEAR. HAVE YOU OFFERED YOUR INPUT AND WHAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE AS A TEAMMATE IN THAT CAR NEXT YEAR?“Yeah, I’ve given my input to Chip Ganassi and to our management. I think it’s important to find the right combination of a driver that can add to the program right away, but also will have years ahead of him or her, on what they can bring to the program. It’s all about that team work effort right now. It seems like every year that I come back to race, there’s more and more that you have to rely on through different departments. And so, a driver what comes into our program is going to have to be able to adapt to all those departments and sequences. And so we’ll see how things play out. I don’t know where Chip is right now, but I know we have about 10 weeks ahead of us with a Playoff run and that’s my focus on the No. 1 car.”
FOR THE 2021 SCHEDULE AND BEYOND, THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT MAYBE SHORTENING RACES AND BEING MORE SELECTIVE AS TO WHICH RACES ARE 500-MILE RACES. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE 10 RACES ON THE SCHEDULE THAT ARE EITHER 500 MILES OR 500 LAPS. DO YOU THINK THAT 500-MILE MARK SHOULD BE RESERVED FOR SPECIAL RACES LIKE DARLINGTON AND DAYTONA AND THE COKE 600 AT CHARLOTTE? WHERE DO YOU THINK THE SPORT IS GOING AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED?“I think you’re headed down the right path. I mean if I had a magic wand and could wave it over our schedule and adjust race lengths, yes, I think that the Daytona 500 is 500 miles, right? The Coke 600, leave that one. Darlington, it should be a 500-miler. And then maybe one more and that’s it. Just maybe have four races on the schedule that would be of that length, and that makes those races that much more of a marque-type win. And then the other races can be 400 or 300’s.”
WITH THE POINTS BEING AS TIGHT AS THEY ARE, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT DARLINGTON, RICHMOND, AND BRISTOL ARE THE FIRST THREE TRACKS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL TO CONTINUE IN THE ROUNDS?“Yeah, I feel like, at this point, it’s a reset. Everybody is basically even in points. Yes, there’s a top-five. I would say that (Kevin) Harvick and (Denny) Hamlin and (Joey) Logano and (Brad) Keselowski and Chase (Elliott) are a little bit further ahead. But if we have one good stage, we can jump up to eighth in points before the halfway break at Darlington. So, points are basically even right now. It’s a matter of just staying calm and cool and being patient and finding the right points through the different stages and through these first three races.”
AS YOUR BROTHER, KYLE, FAMOUSLY SAID, ‘IT’S 2020’. BUT COULD YOU HAVE IMAGINED A SCENARIO WHERE BOTH OF YOU WOULD BE WINLESS ENTERING THIS YEAR’S PLAYOFFS? HOW MUCH HAVE YOU TALKED AND/OR JOKED ABOUT WHO IS GOING TO GET THE FIRST WIN OF 2020 BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU?“I never would have guessed. I felt like the way our season started, was strong and consistent; and then we had a shot to win the first race back, after our delay, at Darlington. And then, it just seemed like these opportunities here or there just like slipped through our fingers and we didn’t execute to get those wins. And so, my little brother, same thing. I feel like his luck has been challenged in many different ways and it just hasn’t unfolded for him to get those wins. But hey, we’re both championship eligible. We’re in the Playoffs and here’s the reset. So, here we go.”
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chevy racing–nascar–darlington–william byron

NASCAR CUP SERIES COOK OUT SOUTHERN 500 DARLINGTON RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY PLAYOFFS MEDIA DAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY THROWBACK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – ROTATION TRANSCRIPT:
OTHER THAN YOURSELF, WHO DO YOU THINK IS A DARK HORSE TEAM OR A SUPRRISE TO MAKE A RUN THAT PEOPLE SHOULD WATCH IN THE PLAYOFFS?“That’s a good question. I think honestly, I’d say Aric Almirola. I just think they’re consistent, they’ve been consistently fast at a lot of these tracks. The only thing with that is I feel like a lot of the tracks are going to be much different in the Playoffs than the ones we ran in the summertime. Typically, summertime is a lot of 2-mile tracks and big, fast, open racetracks, and that’s not really the case in the playoffs. But I’d say they perform pretty well throughout.”
CONGRATS ON LAST WEEKEND – I KNOW THAT WAS BIG FOR YOU. YOU JUST DEALT WITH A STRESSFUL, PRESSURE-PACKED SITUATION IN TRYING TO ADVANCE INTO THE PLAYOFFS. TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE MINDSET NOW FOR YOUR TEAM GOING FORWARD. YOU’VE GOT THESE NEXT THREE WEEKS. OBVIOUSLY, YOU’D LOVE TO GET ANOTHER CHECKERED FLAG, BUT TAKE ME THROUGH THE MINDSET RIGHT NOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING THROUGH.“Honestly, for us, I think that now having that first win of the season and first win for me and this team, I feel like we’re more focused on just executing the details of each race. Obviously, our goal going into this year was to make it further than we did last year in the playoffs, which was the Round of 12 last year. So, if we can make it to the Round of 8 this year, it would be a success, for sure. We just have to take it one race at a time. A lot of these tracks are good for us. I think the first round is probably the weakest of the tracks for us, so we just have to try to focus on that, try to just compete in every race and hopefully get out of this first round with a great race at Darlington. Richmond is definitely our toughest of the three, so we’re going to have to really work hard at that race to have a good run.”
CONGRATS ON THE WIN AND THE NEW CONTRACT. HOW DID ALL OF THAT COME INTO PLAY AND WERE YOU ALREADY NEGOTIATING PRIOR TO THE WIN?“Honestly for us, we were already kind of negotiating that. I had one year left after this one, so it wasn’t super urgent to get it done or anything. But when Hendrick came to me and wanted to sign for a couple more years, I was thrilled and I think it’s worked out well for both of us. The fact that they have confidence in me is a great thing and I can just go out there and race as hard as I can and try to do the best that I can for them. They’ve made that known that they just want to focus on the race track and I’m going to try to do that throughout the playoffs, for sure.”
AS YOU LOOK AHEAD AT THIS FIRST ROUND, BRISTOL BEING THE CUTOFF RACE – DAYTONA WAS AN UNPREDICTABLE RACE, IT’S A SUPERSPEEDWAY. IS BRISTOL GOING TO BE THE SAME TYPE OF WILD CARD, WHERE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AND A SURPRISE COULD POP UP OUT OF NOWHERE AS WELL?“I think the surprise will just be some of the guys that maybe have issues with their cars or get caught up in a wreck. But I think you’re going to have to run well and perform well to win that race. There’s really not a fluke, per say. For us, we’re just going to focus on running well at Bristol. It’s a track where things happen really fast. You can’t have mistakes on pit road and you can’t have mistakes on the track. So, that’s our focus – to just have a mistake-free race there. We had a fast car there in the first race of the year back in June. The All-Star race was OK for us – I think we finished somewhere in the top-10. We just have to try to improve and see what we can do.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS HAVING THAT STABILITY THROUGH 2022, ESPECIALLY WHENEVER A COMPANY CHANGES LEADERSHIP, THERE’S ALWAYS QUESTIONS ABOUT STABILITY OF THE SPONSORSHIPS. TO KNOW THAT YOU’RE GOING TO BE THERE FOR A COUPLE MORE YEARS, HOW MUCH DOES THAT IMPACT YOU?“Well, it’s huge. I think for me, the confidence comes from knowing that Mr. Hendrick and Jeff (Gordon) have confidence in me no matter what sponsor or whoever is on my car. They’ve made that known since I’ve been there, is that my deal is separate from anything like that and I can go out there and compete hard, drive their car and they’re going to make sure that I can be on the race track each and every week. So, I think that’s where my confidence comes from – just knowing that I’m going to be in that car. Definitely with this deal, I can focus on the playoffs and focus on trying to win more races.”
YOU’RE IN A GREAT STARTING SPOT FOR THE UPCOMING RACE AT DARLINGTON. YOU’RE LINED UP RIGHT NEXT TO ALEX (BOWMAN). IS THERE ANY TALK ABOUT YOU GUYS MAYBE KIND OF GETTING A STRATEGY TOGETHER TO RACE TO THE FRONT OF THE PACK OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT?“I mean not really, just because Darlington is not like a speedway race or somewhere where you can really work together. But I think that for us all starting up towards the front, the three of us, I think that’s going to be great. It’s going to be an advantage to have three cars up there competing for stage wins and things of that nature. I think it’s all going to elevate our game and just gives us that advantage. Starting up front is just huge at any race track. Darlington is luckily a long race, so even if you start towards the back, you’ve got plenty of time to get towards the front. It’s going to help having a great pit stall selection – that’s what really comes to mind for me is having that great pit stall.”
YOU’RE ONLY THE SECOND DRIVER TO WIN BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE NO. 24 CAR – THE OTHER OF COURSE BEING JEFF GORDON. YOUR WIN LAST SATURDAY, YOU ACCOMPLISHED YOUR FIRST VICTORY AT A YOUNGER AGE THAN JEFF GORDON. I JUST WONDERED, WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS FOLLOWING THE RACE TAKING THAT CHECKERED FLAG AND DID JEFF GORDON REACH OUT TO YOU AFTERWARDS?“Definitely. It was cool to talk to Jeff (Gordon) on Sunday, just get his thoughts on it and just the excitement there between the two of us. We’ve really worked well together in the past of just trying to understand how to get better and improve. He’s given me some nuggets and some things that I can improve on. It’s been great to talk to him about the team aspect and things that we can do to just continue to elevate our performance. It’s just been a great couple of days. I was super excited when we finished that race like we did – it was really fun.”
YOU AND YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHAD KNAUS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WAS BROADCASTED OVER THE AIR WAVES – YOU KIND OF HAD A STRUGGLE THERE. BUT SINCE THEN, YOU GUYS HAVE REBOUNDED. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT GOING TO BE GOING INTO THE FIRST ROUND, WHERE YOU SAY YOU’VE STRUGGLED AT THE THREE RACE TRACKS COMING UP? HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JIMMIE (JOHNSON) AND WINNING THE SEVEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, HOW DOES THAT HELP YOU GOING INTO THIS FIRST ROUND?“I think it helps a lot. I mean obviously, a couple weeks ago, we were struggling there at Dover. But we really turned it around. Since that second race, we’ve really been on it. I think honestly for us, we’ve gotten past those hurdles and we’ve been able to handle the pressure really well. So, just knowing that the two of us together can handle the pressure, go out there and do what we need to do – I have confidence in him and we know that we have the same goals. We both want to win and we’ll do whatever it takes to do that.”
WHAT IS IT ABOUT DARLINGTON THAT MAKES IT A CHALLENGING TRACK?“Gosh, everything. I think just the fact that it’s two lanes wide. The fact that you have to run against the wall to make speed. These cars are super sensitive to hitting the wall to begin with – you can’t even really touch the wall nowadays and get away with it. So, you have to factor all that stuff in when you go to race at Darlington. It’s a tough track. Restarts are tough there because there’s definitely a dominant lane on the outside. Having the choose cone in effect is going to make that a challenge, as well. You can kind of name everything – the playoffs, it’s not going to be easy.”
THIS IS YOUR SECOND-CONSECUTIVE YEAR IN THE PLAYOFFS. YOU’RE A YEAR OLDER, YOU’VE GOT A WIN UNDER YOUR BELT. HOW DOES YOUR APPROACH TO THE 2020 PLAYOFFS DIFFER FROM YEARS PAST?“I think honestly for me, just having that comfort in knowing what the playoffs are like. The first race last year in the playoffs was kind of action-packed and intense for me. I learned a lot through that and you have to handle adversity well. I feel like we’ve been through a lot of adversity this year. We’ve had a lot of tire issues, we’ve had some issues with just random things that have happened. So, now we’ve been through that stuff so we can go into the playoffs and know that we are able to handle that adversity well.” 
YOU MENTIONED RICHMOND AS BEING A CHALLENGING TRACK. ONE THING THAT’S INTERESTING ABOUT THIS YEAR IS THAT THE SPRING RICHMOND RACE WASN’T HELD, SO THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME AT RICHMOND THIS YEAR. OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE SOME OTHER TRACKS THAT CAN MAYBE CORRELATE. WHAT WILL THE CHALLENGE BE, ESPECIALLY WITH IT BEING A PLAYOFF RACE, FIRST TIME THIS SEASON FOR YOU AND EVERYBODY ELSE?“That’s a good point – we haven’t raced there this year. It’s not one of my favorite tracks, but I think that for us, we’ll lean on our notes and information from New Hampshire. I think we had a good run there. We also finished OK at Phoenix, as well. I think we finished 11th at New Hampshire and 10th at Phoenix. So, right around the top-10, which is kind of our goal going into Richmond. I think if we can finish in the top-10, it’ll give us an opportunity to try and win at a couple other tracks. I think it’s one of those tracks where you kind of lower your expectations a little bit for us and try to just get out of there with a solid finish. One that we can kind of gather the points we need to going into the next couple.”
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CHAD KNAUS – WE SAW THE TURNAROUND AT DOVER AND WHAT LED TO AT DAYTONA. CHAD’S BEEN VERY VOCAL IN SAYING THAT HE WANTED TO WIN WITH THE NO. 24 CAR. HAVE YOU GUYS TALKED AT ALL OR CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INSIGHT ON WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS, IF YOU AND CHAD HAVE TALKED ABOUT NEXT YEAR OR WHAT HE’S DOING?“I don’t really handle all those talks and stuff with what’s going on there. But I love working with Chad (Knaus, crew chief). I think he’s been great for my career. He’s elevated me from where I was in my rookie year – where this team was in my rookie year, which was not something we were proud of – and elevated us into a playoff-contending team. A lot of that is thanks to him. It’s not just be as a driver – it’s our engineers, it’s our team, pit crew, mechanics, it’s everybody that he’s elevated their game for us to get into the playoffs two years in a row. I think it’s been a great thing for me and I look forward to what’s ahead in these next ten races with him.”
I KNOW JIMMIE JOHNSON HAS MEANT A LOT TO YOU EVER SINCE YOU JOINED THE HENDRICK SQUAD BACK IN 2017 I THINK IT WAS. THIS WEEKEND, WHAT’S IT GOING TO MEAN TO HONOR HIM THROWBACK STYLE IN HIS 2013 ALL-STAR SCHEME FOR THE 24?“It’s going to be really cool. Honestly for me, I’m excited about running that scheme and I feel like looking at his car on the race track, as well, is going to be really cool. I’m excited to see all those throwback schemes, particularly Jimmie’s and just look forward to seeing what that’s like. I think Darlington has a great tradition going there.”  

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2020 Edition of the Dodge HEMI® Challenge Revving Up at the NHRA U.S. Nationals

  • Dodge HEMI® Challenge set to take place during the 2020 NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis Sept 3-4 
  • Super Stock 1968 Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas battle head-to-head for an iconic custom-made Dodge HEMI Challenge trophy and $15,000 winner’s prize 
  • Legendary Mopar racer Herb “Mr. 4 Speed” McCandless will be the Dodge HEMI Challenge guest of honor and lead the parade of iconic muscle cars 
  • Defending winner Jimmy Daniels looking to extend 18-0 round win streak while vying for a record fifth consecutive title 

Wednesday, September 2, 2020, Auburn Hills, Mich. – The 2020 edition of the upcoming Dodge HEMI® Challenge looks to be a memorable one for all the right reasons; a special guest of honor and some record-setting achievements are revving up National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Sportsman class fans. 

More than 50 years after the iconic 1968 HEMI Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas first appeared on the drag strip, loyal racers and fans will once again be able to see the legendary cars race head-to-head in the ever-popular Dodge HEMI Challenge at the 66th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis, Indiana, on Labor Day weekend. 

The popular Sportsman class event, dedicated to showcasing Super Stock/A-HEMI (SSAH) competitors powered by the iconic 426 HEMI engine, was first launched in 2001 at “The Big GO” in Indy with support from FCA brands Mopar and Dodge. The 20th edition of the annual Dodge HEMI Challenge returns with qualifying scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3, and four rounds of eliminations competition to be contested on Friday, Sept. 4. 

The final shootout will take place Friday evening with the participants vying for the custom-built 42.6 lbs. Dodge HEMI Challenge trophy crafted with a 426 HEMI cylinder head, a $15,000 prize to the winner, $1,500 to the runner-up, and cash payouts for semifinal and quarterfinal finishers. All competitors will also receive the coveted Dodge HEMI Challenge participant decal and event hats. 

Acclaimed Mopar Super Stock and Pro Stock racer Herb “Mr. 4 Speed” McCandless will be the guest of honor for the 2020 edition of the Dodge HEMI Challenge. Prior to the first round of eliminations, McCandless will lead the parade of participating Darts and Barracudas down Indy’s fabled return road aboard his own original 1968 Super Stock HEMI Dart in celebration of the classic muscle cars that contributed to Mopar and Dodge brands’ legendary reputation and success at the drag strip.

The 77-year-old fan favorite was the recipient of the Mopar President’s Award in 2017, honoring him for his racing excellence, his service as a Mopar ambassador and his unwavering commitment to FCA brand and Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth vehicles. 

McCandless secured his place in drag racing history by driving his Sox & Martin HEMI-powered Plymouth Duster to a win against a field of 90 entries vying for 32 spots in the first Pro Stock competition held in 1970 at the prestigious U.S. Nationals. As part of this year’s 50th anniversary celebration of the NHRA Pro Stock category, an exact replica of McCandless’ 1970 Pro Stock HEMI Duster will be on display at the Mopar Road Show in the manufacturer’s midway throughout the race weekend. 

A strong field of “package” Mopar vehicles are expected to compete in the specialty event while showing off beautiful and vibrant paint schemes and wheelstands. Originally commissioned by Chrysler in 1968, a limited number of Super Stock HEMI Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas were built solely to compete on the drag strip just as the modern-day Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak is now. The Dodge HEMI Challenge is a tribute to those original muscle cars, now too valuable to race, and provides an opportunity to showcase today’s Super Stock versions as throwback clones of those historic vehicles. 

Among this year’s expected frontrunners is defending winner, 24-year old Jimmy Daniels, who has not lost a single round since first taking the wheel of his father Jim Daniels Sr.’s 1968 Dodge Dart in 2016. The younger Daniels comes into this year’s event looking to extend two unprecedented win streaks; an incredible 18-0 round win record and an unprecedented four consecutive Dodge HEMI Challenge title victories. 

The 2001 inaugural edition of the then Mopar HEMI Challenge was won by driver Bucky Hess. Other previous winners include Richard Beshore (2002), Jerry Jenkins (2003), and five-time NHRA Pro Stock champ, Jeg Coughlin Jr. (2004), Charlie Westcott Sr. (2009), Jim Daniels Sr. (2010) and Rick Houser (2007 and 2013). Charlie Westcott Jr. is the winningest HEMI Challenge driver with six titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2014) to his credit. 

Fans who can’t make it to the 2020 Denso Spark Plugs NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway to watch the Dodge HEMI Challenge in person can catch all the action online via NHRA.TV and its subscription-based, video-on-demand coverage of live racing action throughout the weekend. 

The final elimination round of the Dodge HEMI Challenge, as well as highlights from the parade of participating Darts and ‘Cudas, will air on FS1 during the qualifying broadcast on Saturday, September 5 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, with a repeat broadcast on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. on FS1. Fans can also look for HEMI Challenge highlights during the NHRA coverage on the FOX national broadcast network on Sunday, September 6 from 1 – 4 p.m. EDT. 

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DiBenedetto Begins Playoffs in Championship-Themed Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang


September 2, 2020


Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team head to Darlington Raceway this weekend to begin their quest for the Cup Series championship and are recognizing the occasion with a most appropriate throwback paint scheme.

As part of Darlington’s throwback weekend theme, DiBenedetto’s Mustang will carry a paint scheme based on the 1963 Ford Galaxie that delivered the Wood Brothers the 1963 car owners championship. So far, it’s the only Cup title in the team’s 70-year history.

In 1963, Tiny Lund drove the car to victory in the Daytona 500.

The late team founder Glenn Wood wheeled it to his last win as a Cup driver, at Bowman Gray Stadium on July 13, 1963. Marvin Panch, who returned to the ’63 Galaxie after being severely burned in a sports car crash prior to the Daytona 500, also won in it, at North Wilkesboro on Sept. 29, 1963.

Altogether, the Wood Brothers, who did not run a full schedule in that era, took the owners championship with 23 starts, scoring three wins, 16 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. They used five different drivers – Wood, Lund, Panch, Dave MacDonald and Fred Lorenzen. 

Joe Weatherly, who drove for nine different owners, took the driving championship.

DiBenedetto said he excited to have his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang looking like a championship car. 

“The throwback to the championship-winning Wood Brothers car will be an honor to drive at Darlington,” he said. “I can’t wait to get it on track especially in the Playoffs!”
 
DiBenedetto, who already has raced twice at Darlington this year in the No. 21 Mustang, said he’s optimistic about the third – and biggest – Darlington start of 2020.
 
“I think we made some improvements in the second race,” he said, pointing out that he and crew chief Greg Erwin finished 14th in the first Darlington race then upped that to ninth-place in the second. He said there’s room for more improvement in the Cook Out Southern 500, the first race of the 2020 Playoffs.
 
“There’s still a lot we can work on to be better this week,” he said.
 
While some drivers don’t particularly like racing on the tricky Lady in Black, DiBenedetto said he’s not among them.
 
“I love the slick, worn-out race tracks,” he said. “So that will be fun.”
  
There will be no practice or qualifying before the start of the Cook Out Southern 500, which is set for just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, with TV coverage on NBCSN.
 

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CORVETTE RACING AT ATLANTA: Right Places, Right Times


• Corvette C8.R riding four-race GT Le Mans win streak• Garcia, Taylor winners of last two IMSA rounds• Chevrolet enters with expanded lead in Manufacturer’s Championship• Corvette Racing with 10 victories at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta• Six-hour endurance race is team’s first since WEC at Circuit of The Americas
DETROIT (Sept. 2, 2020) – Corvette Racing returns to the endurance stage this weekend in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on a four-race win streak and an increased margin in the series’ GT Le Mans (GTLM) category.
The TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is the Corvette program’s sixth race of the year and fifth in the IMSA Championship. At six hours in duration, it also marks the first long-distance endurance race for the team since a February round of the World Endurance Championship and the first in IMSA since the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January – also the debut of the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.
Much has changed since the early days of 2020, to say the least. Racing is back since an extended shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and since that time no team has been on as big a roll as Corvette Racing. The team has reeled off four consecutive victories – three by GTLM Driver’s Championship leaders Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, including two weeks ago at VIR.
Teammates Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R have reeled off a win and runner-up finish since Corvette Racing returned to action at Daytona in July. Those results have moved them up to third in the GTLM Championship, and the combined efforts of the two Corvettes have Chevrolet comfortably ahead in the class Manufacturer’s Championship.
The four-race win run has been remarkable in the ways that the program has claimed victory. Rather than having outright power and pace of its competitors, Corvette Racing has relied on execution and minimizing mistakes while capitalizing on those of others.
This weekend’s race takes the place of the Sahlen’s Six Hours at The Glen, originally set for late June at Watkins Glen International. The move to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta means Corvette Racing – and the rest of the WeatherTech Championship – will compete in two long-distance events at the circuit in less than two months with Petit Le Mans scheduled for Oct. 15-17.
The Corvette Racing program has won 10 times at Road Atlanta, eight of those in long-distance endurance rounds. Gavin is IMSA’s winningest active driver at the circuit with five wins, and Taylor is a past IMSA winner at the track, having won twice in a prototype.
Road Atlanta is one of the tracks at which Corvette Racing tested the mid-engine C8.R during its development phase, albeit more than a year ago. It has been a good omen so far with victories at Daytona, Sebring, Road America and VIR – all places where the Corvette C8.R was tested in the past.
Both the Corvette C8.R and the 2020 Corvette Stingray production car were developed simultaneously with a deeper level of technology transfer between the race car and a production Corvette than ever before, which helps contribute to many of its advancements. As a result, the C8.R shares the highest percentage of parts between the production and race car than any previous generation.
The TireRack.com Grand Prix is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET on Saturday with live coverage on NBC Sports Network starting at 11:30 a.m. ET before continuing on Trackpass at 12:30 p.m. and returning to NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. IMSA Radio will stream Friday’s qualifying as well as the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s true that we’ve won three of the last four races, but we cannot get complacent with a lot of races to go. In all of these races, our pace has been decent compared to the other GTLM cars. What has impressed me the most during this run is the attention to details and how Corvette Racing always seems to have us in position to capitalize on mistakes. That comes down some to strategy, how we maintain track position and yes some luck as well. But the results speak for themselves. Let’s see if that continues this weekend at Atlanta.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m looking forward to going back to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. It’s a month earlier than we had originally planned, but it’s always good to go there. I’ve enjoyed success there before in both Prototype and GT cars, and it would be great to add to it this weekend with the C8.R. The last two months have been pretty crazy not just with winning races but how we’ve done it. That’s the never-give-up attitude that Corvette Racing has shown for more than 20 years. We try and find a way to be in the best position to take advantage when breaks come our way.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s been an up-and-down season for us on the No. 4 Corvette, but we’re going to a track I really enjoy. There have been a lot of fantastic moments and race wins at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in both sprint and long-distance races. This six-hour race has a lot of potential for myself, Tommy and Corvette Racing. We were right there at VIR two weeks ago, and the two tracks share a handful of characteristics – a good mix of mid- to high-speed corners and significant elevation changes. I enjoyed driving the C8.R around Road Atlanta during our test program, and it should be that much better this time around.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It will be interesting to race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta twice in a short span. We have a lot of laps and data there, and fortunately some in the C8.R during our early testing program. The conditions for this weekend will be considerably warmer which should make the track greasier during the heat of the day Saturday. How we manage our tires and track position will go a long way to determining where we end up. We’ve learned a lot about tire life and how this new mid-engine Corvette changes and evolves during a race. We’ll put that to good practice this weekend.”
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Team JEGS U.S. Nationals Fast Facts

The JEGS Mail Order team will feature a healthy line-up for this week’s 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals. Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Troy Coughlin Jr. will be competing in Pro Stock, while Mike Coughlin is racing in Top Dragster. Troy Jr. also will be racing in Super Comp alongside fellow third-generation racers Paige Coughlin and Makenna Brown. This year, the U.S. Nationals will also be home to the prestigious JEGS Allstars race, which features 80 of NHRA’s best sportsman drag racers competing for individual and team honors and a part of a $150,000 purse.  Jeg Jr. has opened the 2020 season by winning two of the first four races and he’s the current points leader in the Pro Stock class as he chases a sixth NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock title (and seventh overall). Jeg Jr. is once again racing as a member of the Elite Motorsports team. His Chevy Camaro will carry the familiar yellow-and-black colors of JEGS Mail Order along with the special edition JEGS 60th anniversary logo this season.  After winning national events in Super Gas, Super Comp, and Top Alcohol Dragster, as well as successful stints in Top Fuel and Pro Mod, Troy Jr. will be making his third start in the NHRA Pro Stock class. He will be once again be driving a Mustang for the Elite Performance team. At the most recent event, the Dodge NHRA Indy Nationals, Jeg Jr. and nephew Troy Jr. met in an historic all-JEGS final round. Jeg Jr. won his 65th Pro Stock race and 84th overall.  Last year, Jeg Jr. finished as the second-ranked driver in the Pro Stock class behind Elite teammate Erica Enders. It was the second-straight year that he’s been the championship runner-up. Jeg Jr. has now finished in the top 10 a total of 19 times in his professional career, which began in 1997. Jeg Jr. has announced 2020 as his last full-time season in professional drag racing. Jeg Jr.’s final campaign has been dubbed the “Breaking Barriers Tour,” in reference to his many racing accomplishments. To honor the 50th anniversary of the Pro Stock class, Jeg Jr.’s Chevy Camaro will carry a throwback paint scheme in Indy. It will bear a striking resemblance to the car in which he won his first title in 2000.  Earlier this season, Jeg Jr. won the $75,000 top prize in the Drag Illustrated World Doorslammer Nationals race in Orlando, Fla. Jeg Jr. defeated Greg Anderson in the final round of the inaugural event, which featured the sport’s best Pro Stock and Pro Mod cars. Jeg Jr. is once again racing as a teammate to three-time champion Erica Enders. The Elite Motorsports team also includes Troy Jr., Alex Laughlin, Bruno Massel, Aaron Stanfield and Marty Robertson. Jeg Jr.’s crew chief is Rickie Jones, who has extensive experience in the class as a driver, chassis builder, and tuner. The Elite team also features crew chiefs Rick Jones and Mark Ingersoll, who regularly share data.Jeg Coughlin Jr.
Jeg Jr. has won at least one national event at 24 different facilities, including Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. The only current stops on the current NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule where he has not won are the races in Norwalk, Ohio, and Epping, N.H. Jeg Jr. has three career Pro Stock victories at the U.S. Nationals, having won there in 2000, 2002 and 2009. Jeg Jr. defeated Ron Krisher in the 2000 final and stopped Jim Yates in 2002 and Greg Stanfield in 2009. Jeg Jr.’s most recent Pro Stock win at Indy last month was his fourth at Lucas Oil Raceway. In 21 career appearances at the U.S. Nationals, Jeg Jr. has a round-win record of 28-17 in Pro Stock competition, making it one of his most successful tracks. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the U.S. Nationals Super Gas title in 1992, beating Sherman Adcock Jr. in the final round. Jeg Jr. also won the prestigious Mopar Hemi Challenge at Indy in 2004, driving Michael Ogburn’s West Coast Hemi’s Barracuda to a final-round win over Rick Houser. In 20 career appearances at the U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Jeg Jr. has a round win record of 27-16 in Pro Stock competition, making it one of his most successful tracks. Adding his totals from the recent Indy events, Jeg Jr.’s total round-win record at Lucas Oil Raceway is 34-17. Jeg Jr. is a five-time NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion. He earned season titles in 2000, 2002, 2007-2008 and 2013. As a sportsman driver, Jeg Jr. also claimed the NHRA Super Gas championship in 1992. Jeg Jr. is the only driver to win national event titles in seven different categories. He has won in Pro Stock, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas and Top Dragster. Jeg Jr. is the only professional racer in history to win a national event title from all 16 starting spots. During his Indy win in 2000, Jeg qualified No. 16. With 65 Pro Stock wins in his career, Jeg Jr. ranks fourth all-time among Pro Stock drivers. Only Warren Johnson (97), Greg Anderson (94) and the late Bob Glidden (85) and have more titles. In 451 career Pro Stock races, Jeg Jr. has reached the final round 114 times, recording 65 wins. Including his 19 sportsman victories, Jeg Jr. has won a total of 84 times. During his career, Jeg Jr. has appeared in 139 final rounds, 114 as a professional and 25 as a sportsman racer. Troy Coughlin Jr.
During his Pro Stock career, Jeg Jr. has competed in 451 events and has a round-win record of 683-370. He has failed to qualify just 16 times. Jeg Jr. has been the low qualifier 34 times in Pro Stock including the first two events in Pomona and Phoenix this year. Troy Jr. is an eight-time NHRA national event winner and the first third-generation Coughlin to win a major event. Troy Jr. won the U.S. Nationals in Super Comp in 2010 and also won the Indy Super Gas title in 2014. His other wins have come in Las Vegas (2009), Gainesville (2013), Columbus (2014), Reading (2018), Norwalk (2019) and Reading (2019). Troy Jr. was crowned the 2018 North Central Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion and the 2019 Eastern Region Top Alcohol Dragster champion. He was also crowned the 2013 NHRA North Central Division Super Gas champion. Last season, Troy Jr. appeared in 10 final rounds in Top Alcohol Dragster and earned five wins including national event titles in Norwalk and Reading. Troy Jr. has also earned victories at regional events at Atco Dragway, Beech Bend Raceway Park and Virginia Motorsports Park. During his career, the versatile Troy Jr. has raced in Top Fuel, Top Alcohol Dragster, Pro Mod, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Dragster, E.T. Brackets, and Jr. Dragsters. Earlier this season in Orlando, he made his debut in the Pro Stock class alongside his uncle, Jeg Jr. The JEGS Mail Order teammates raced in round two with Jeg Jr. taking a narrow victory. In his runner-up finish in Pro Stock at the most recent NHRA race, Troy Jr. qualified No. 13 and defeated Kyle Koretsky, Erica Enders and Jason Line to reach the final round. In addition to his success in NHRA events, Troy Jr. also is regarded as one of the sport’s best E.T. bracket racers. He has accumulated several major victories including a $25,000 payday at the Atco Dragway Superbucks event and a $10,000 win the Spring Buck Blast at South Georgia Motorsports Park. He also won a $20,000 race at the Powerball of Bracket Racing event in Darlington, S.C. Mike Coughlin is a two-time Division 3 champion in the Top Sportsman class (2007-2009) and the defending Division 3 Top Dragster champion. His crew chief is Tony Collier. Mike is a 14-time NHRA national event winner. He has won national event titles in Pro Stock Truck, Super Comp, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster. Mike Coughlin
Mike also is a two-time U.S. Nationals winner. He won the Pro Stock Truck class in Indy in 1999 and 2001. Earlier this season at the JEGS SPORTSnationals at National Trail Raceway, Mike drove his JEGS.com dragster to the final round where he lost to world champion and current points leader Anthony Bertozzi. Mike began his career in the Super Gas and Super Comp classes in the 1980s and has extensive experience in the heads-up super classes. Paige Coughlin made her debut in the Super Comp class in 2017 and has raced part-time while continuing her education at Miami University of Ohio. Paige’s crew chief is Justin Beaver. Last year, Paige finished as the No. 2 ranked driver in the NHRA North Central Division Super Comp standings. She also earned a spot on the prestigious JEGS Allstars team for 2020. Before transitioning to the Super Comp class, Paige got her start in racing behind the wheel of a Jr. Dragster. Paige is the daughter of three-time NHRA Pro Mod series champion Troy Coughlin, and the younger sister of Troy Coughlin Jr. Makenna Brown got her start in the NHRA Jr. Drag Racing Series and recently made the transition to the Super Comp class. In her first full season in Super Comp, Makenna has raced in eight events and is currently ranked No. 37 out of more than 650 competitors. Overall, the Coughlin family, including John, Troy, Mike, Jeg Jr. and Troy Jr. have combined for 128 NHRA national event victories since 1990. The Coughlin’s have won in 11 different eliminators including Pro Stock, Pro Stock Truck, Pro Mod, Top Alcohol Dragster, Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Top Sportsman and Top Dragster. Paige Coughlin
The Coughlin family has enjoyed incredible success at NHRA’s biggest event with a total of nine victories. In addition to the four wins by Jeg Jr., two more by Troy Jr., and two by Mike, Troy Sr. also won the 1991 Super Gas title. Brother John Coughlin also won Indy as a car owner when Brad Plourd drove his JEGS.com dragster to the 2005 U.S. Nationals Super Comp title. TEAM JEGS – By the Numbers5: Team JEGS entries in competition at this weekend’s NHRA event.7: Different classes where Jeg Coughlin Jr. has won at least one NHRA national event title (the only driver in history to do so)9: Indianapolis wins for Team JEGS. Four by Jeg Coughlin Jr., two by Troy Coughlin Jr., two by Mike Coughlin and one by Troy Coughlin Sr.11: Number of classes where the Coughlin family has earned an NHRA national event victory19: Top-10 finishes for Jeg Coughlin Jr. in the Pro Stock class since 1998127: Combined NHRA national event victories for the Coughlin family
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JEGS Allstars event adds extra drama to historic U.S. Nationals

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INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1) -The best Sportsman racers that NHRA has to offer are headed for historic Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis this weekend to take part in the 36th annual JEGS Allstars, a special event held during the Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals. The event was originally scheduled to take place in Chicago in June, but has been moved to Indy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 80 racers who have qualified for the special event, winning an individual title at the JEGS Allstars race is a tremendous achievement, but being a part of the winning overall team is an extra-special accomplishment, particularly on the hallowed grounds of Lucas Oil Raceway, home of NHRA’s oldest and most revered event. Last year, the team from the South Central Division turned in a dominant performance to win their record-tying eighth overall team title. The Division 4 crew also won titles in 1987, 1992, 1994, 2002, 2003, 2011 and 2018. Each season, the JEGS Allstars competition crowns individual champions in 10 separate eliminators, and an overall team champion. A highlight of each season for a third of a century, the JEGS Allstars event features a total purse of more than $150,000, making it one of the richest events of its kind. 
Racers can only qualify for the prestigious event by earning points in their home divisions during year-long battles in the following NHRA Lucas Oil categories; Top Alcohol Dragster, Top Alcohol Funny Car, Competition, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Dragster and Top Sportsman. The Division 4 team comes into this year’s event as a favorite to win a ninth title with a strong line-up that includes world champions Craig Bourgeois and David Rampy, as well as defending U.S. Nationals Top Dragster champ Rusty Baxter and Darian Boesch, who will be a blocker in Top Dragster and a points-earner in Top Sportsman. Rampy and Bourgeois are just two of the 14 former or current NHRA national champions in the field. That list also includes reigning Top Alcohol Dragster champion Megan Meyer and current Stock champ Allison Doll, two of eight women who have qualified for the JEGS Allstars. Meyer, along with her sister, Rachel, are among the favorites in Top Alcohol Dragster are along with their teammate, Norway’s Julie Nataas, who is coming off a victory in last weekend’s North Central Region event in Bowling Green, Ky. The Top Alcohol Funny Car class also delivers a stacked line-up, although the only driver in the field who has previously won a JEGS Allstars title is defending event winner Ray Drew from the Central Region team. The Top Alcohol categories compete for their own championship, separate from the eight other eliminators. In addition to Doug and Allison Doll, the Northeast Division team features world champions Frank Aragona Jr. and Lee Zane. The Division 1 crew are also seeking their first Allstars overall crown since 2010 when they won three of 10 classes.
The Southeast Division team has enjoyed tremendous success at the Allstars with their most recent title coming in 2015. This year, their hopes are pinned on Jeff Strickland, who is pulling double-duty in Stock and Top Dragster, along with two-time Allstars champ Mike Crutchfield in Super Stock, and world champion David Tatum III, the Top Sportsman rep. The North Central squad will be looking to break the championship tie with the Division 4 team and garner their ninth win and they have all the weapons necessary to do it, including recent JEGS SPORTSnationals Comp champ Chad Voges, reigning Super Gas champ Jeremy Mason and past Allstars winner Lester Johnson in Top Sportsman. Another interesting part of the Division 3 team is Team JEGS driver Paige Coughlin, who is racing in Super Comp. The third-generation racer is hoping to join her uncle, Jeg Jr., who won JEGS Allstars titles in 1991 and 1997. The West Central Division team didn’t win their first overall title until 2014 but they added a second in 2016 and they could easily add a third thanks to a talented squad that includes Trevor Larson, the only driver to double-up in the JEGS Allstars and Comp racer Matt Harris, who is making his sixth appearance at the event. The Northwest Division team is looking for their first title since 2005 and has brought to Indy a line-up that includes Ryan Warter, the son of 1989 JEGS Allstars champ Jim Warter, and two-time Allstars winner Jeff Lane. Also a member of the Division 6 team is Mike Ferderer, a former Super Gas champ now racing in Top Sportsman. The gang from the Pacific Division, who last claimed the overall title in 2012, will be looking to regain the top spot and there is no reason to think they won’t be able to with a core group that includes five-time world champ Justin Lamb, in Stock and two-time national event winner Scott McClay in Comp. Any racer who can win Saturday’s JEGS Allstar title and then return on Sunday to win the Denso U.S. Nationals in the same class will be eligible for the JEGS double-up bonus.
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JEGS Allstars Fast Facts

Now celebrating its 36th year, the JEGS Allstars competition is one of the most highly anticipated events of the season for racers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series. Racers can only qualify for one of the coveted spots on the JEGS Allstars team by winning a year-long competition within each of NHRA’s seven geographic divisions. Individual racers in the JEGS Allstars event will be competing for a share of more than $150,000 in cash awards posted by JEGS Mail Order. There will also be an overall team championship earned, with the members of that division will split a $20,000 bonus. In addition, there is close to $50,000 in manufacturer posted contingency awards available to the finalists this year. Regional championship trophyAny driver who can win the JEGS Allstars on Saturday and then return to win the Denso U.S. Nationals title the following day will automatically be eligible for a “double-up” bonus from JEGS Mail Order.  Current NHRA pros Jeg Coughlin Jr., Aaron Stanfield, Bruno Massel, and Shawn Langdon are all former winners of the JEGS Allstars race. Last year, the team from the NHRA South Central Division (Division 4) won its record-tying eighth team title in the JEGS Allstars. The Division 4 team was led by Jeff Lopez, Christopher Dodd, Cy Hill, and Darian Boesch.  The North Central Division (Division 3) also has eight overall JEGS Allstars titles, while the teams from the Northeast Division (Division 1), Southeast Division (Division 2), and South Central Division are tied with seven overall titles. Since 1985, the JEGS Allstars has been contested in four locations; Bowling Green, Ky., Indianapolis, Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago. There are 14 former or current NHRA national champions racing in this year’s JEGS Allstars event. They are, Megan Meyer, Joey Severance, Frank Aragona Jr., Lee Zane, Craig Bourgeois, David Rampy, Doug Doll, Jeff Strickland, Justin Lamb, Jeff Lopez, Jeremy Mason, John Labbous Jr., David Tatum III, and Mike Ferderer. There are eight women in this year’s JEGS Allstars field. Sisters Megan and Rachel Meyer will compete in Top Alcohol Dragster, where they are joined by Jackie Fricke and Julie Natass. Annie Whiteley will race in Top Alcohol Funny Car as part of the Central Region team. Allison Doll will race in Stock for the Northeast Division team, Paige Coughlin is making her first appearance as a JEGS Allstar in Super Comp for the North Central Division and Victoria Johnson is racing in Top Dragster for the West Central Division. Divisional championship trophyThe only driver to double-up at a JEGS Allstars race is Trevor Larson, who won the Super Comp and Super Gas titles in 2015. Larson has returned in 2020 as the Division 5 Super Comp rep. Three drivers are competing in two classes and will have a chance to double-up. They are Jeff Strickland (Top Dragster/Stock), Vernon Rowland (Super Comp/Super Gas), and Darien Boesch (Top Dragster/Top Sportsman). Mary Ann Method was the first woman to win the JEGS Allstars with her Stock victory in 1995. Since then, three others have joined her including the late Shelly Howard (Top Alcohol Dragster, 2004), Lynn Hoosigian (Super Street, 2006), Brenda Grubbs (Stock, 2008). For the second-straight year, the husband-wife team of Doug and Allison Doll racing for the Northeast Division in Comp and Stock. The most successful driver in the history of the JEGS Allstars is Frank Manzo who has 10 wins in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class. David Rampy, who retired last season after 104 national event wins, has returned to compete for the one title that has eluded him, the JEGS Allstars. He will race in Super Stock for the Division 4 team.  By The Numbers — JEGS Allstars Edition3 — Drivers with a chance to double-up, Jeff Strickland, Vernon Rowland, and Darien Boesch8 — Women in the JEGS Allstars field 8 — JEGS Allstars Team Championships for Division 3 and 410 — JEGS Allstars wins for Frank Manzo14 — World champions in this year’s field36 — Years for the JEGS Allstars competition
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Cruz pedregon–indianapolis preview

NHRA® Team Report

NHRA U.S. Nationals – Indianapolis

Pre-Race Report

Three-time U.S. Nationals champion Cruz Pedregon and team are ready for the “Big Go” this weekend when it kicks off Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway. In their nearby shop in Brownsburg, the team has been prepping for a win, going over every inch of the Snap-on Dodge® and Cruz, Nick (Casertano), and Eric (Lane) say it’s ready.

“Even though the world has been a little different this year, this is still the U.S. Nationals and a win here will define a season. It’s been too long since we’ve won it, and 2020 will be a whole lot better if we bring this Wally back home with us,” Cruz says. “We consider it our ‘home track,’ but for most drivers in all categories — as the U.S. Nationals go, so goes the season. We approach the Big Go with the respect it deserves.”

Cruz says the weather looks great for fans, but the car likes a hotter track. So, Nick, Eric and he will be making adjustments for what looks as though it will be one of the cooler races this season.

“Even though I’m a California guy, Indy is a great place to be and the city has been great to the sport. We appreciate the fans coming out and experiencing drag racing at the highest level. Even though the event is a day shorter this year, it will still be a show worth watching from the stands or live on FOX,” says Cruz. 

Cruz’s Dodge® will again pay tribute to the Snap-on 100th with its paint scheme and logo. Fans are encouraged throughout the season to post pictures of the car with the hashtag #Snapon100. 

Follow Cruz and Snap-on on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, where you can also check out his Vlog “Kickin’ It With The Cruzer.” Follow Cruz on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Snap-on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for all things tools, racing and Cruz.

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Racer’s Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo Sweeps Road America Weekend

Racer’s Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo Sweeps Road America Weekend
Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock win both rounds of doubleheader weekend
Extends Acura NSX GT3 Evo win streak to three in a row in GT World Challenge America
Racers Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo takes lead on opening laps in both victories

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 30, 2020) – The Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo continued its recent dominance of the SRO Motorsport World Challenge GT America series, as the Silver Class driver pairing of Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock again were the overall winners in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races at Road America.

Unlike the most recent Sonoma Raceway weekend – when the Acura duo won pole positions for both races – at Road America the Racers Edge Acura NSX started both events from the outside of the front row. But in each race, the twin-turbo NSX would claim the lead before the opening laps were half-over, and would remain in command for the remainder of the 45-minute runs.

Blackstock chased pole qualifier Indy Dontje to the starting line for Saturday’s race, and needed just three turns to wrest the lead from the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver. When a pair Pro/Am cars crashed behind them, leading to a full-course caution, Blackstock made the move stick on the ensuing restart and held serve for the remainder of his stint. Smoothly executing the mid-race pit stop and driver change while holding a 15-second advantage, co-driver Hindman then widened it to nearly 40 seconds while romping to the win.

Sunday’s race followed a similar script, although this time it was starting driver Hindman outdragging rival and pole qualifier Ryan Dalziel down the long Road America startline straight and into the opening turn. This time Hindman handed Blackstock a 12.5-second lead at the pit stop and driver change, and Blackstock extended it to 21 seconds at the finish.

The win was the fifth of the season for the #93 Acura and the third in a row for Blackstock and Hindman dating back to Sonoma. The victory allowed the team to extend its lead in the Silver Class championship after eight races.

The Racer’s Edge team played one car short for the second straight weekend, as the defending series Pro/Am champion #80 Acura NSX GT3 Evo driven by Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli was again unable to compete at Road America, due to complications with travel restrictions for the Canadian pair, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wins this weekend are the fifth and sixth through eight GT World Challenge races for the Acura NSX GT3 Evo, which won team championships in both IMSA GTD and the SRO GT World Challenge series in 2019. The car, sold and supported by HPD in North America, runs in both Sprint and Endurance racing competition around the world.

Next
The SRO Motorsports GT World Challenge America teams will next head to Texas for the penultimate race weekend of the 2020 season, rounds 9 and 10 of the championship, September 17-20 at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin.

Social media content and video links from this weekend’s Acura Motorsports activity at Road America are available on HPD’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). 

Quotes
Shelby Blackstock (Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started 2nd, finished 1st both Saturday and Sunday: “It’s always really important in any race to get to the front and really take command of the race. Then you can gauge your pace from there instead of playing follow the leader,” said Blackstock of Saturday’s win.

Trent Hindman (Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started 2nd, finished 1st both Saturday and Sunday: “Shelby had one heck of a start and a really good move around Dontje in turn three, was all about execution today.” [on Sunday’s race] “I definitely took advantage of the bottom end torque that this Acura NSX GT3 has. The big thing was just watching when the green flag came out. I saw the starter’s hand move a little bit quicker I think and just rolled the throttle from there.”

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Pro Stock point leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. looking for one more Indy memory

Nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. anxious to go one step further
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 31) — The victories continue to add up for Pro Stock points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. and heading into this weekend’s 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals, the NHRA tour’s most recent winner simply hopes to return to the winner’s circle yet again. Coughlin has two wins and one runner-up showing in the four races contested this season, including the Dodge NHRA Nationals three weeks ago at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, where he beat nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. in the money round. Jeg Coughlin Jr.Jeg Jr. also is six-time winner of the U.S. Nationals, considered drag racing’s most prestigious event. He won the Pro Stock class in 2000, 2002 and 2009. He also claimed the 1992 Super Gas title and the 2004 Mopar Hemi Challenge.  “We’ve certainly had a wonderful run of late, including here in Indy,” said Jeg Jr., who plans to retire from full-time competition at the conclusion of this year. “It would be wonderful to close things out with another U.S. Nationals victory. I know everyone working on the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has that some opinion. “It’s been an unusual year to say the least but it has allowed us to race a few extra times at Indy, which is a track my family has enjoyed for decades, dating all the way back to when my father raced here. We were fortunate enough to win the last race here three weeks ago so we feel very optimistic about our chances going into the event. “Rickie (Jones, crew chief) has set a very aggressive course for our team dating back to last year’s playoff run and it’s been working. There’s no reason to change anything we’ve been doing, especially since there are more than a few unknowns as to what the rest of the 2020 season holds. We’re taking every round as if it’s our last.” Overall, Jeg Jr. has six world championships (five in Pro Stock) and 65 nationals event victories. He currently leads the Pro Stock championship standings by 44 points over Jason Line and 77 points over teammate and reigning series champion Erica Enders. Troy Coughlin Jr.Joining Jeg Jr. in the Elite Motorsports pit for the third time this year is Troy Jr., who bagged a runner-up finish in just his second start in the class. Troy Jr. switched to Pro Stock after winning back-to-back regional championships in Top Alcohol Dragster, one in the North Central region and the other in the Eastern region. “The NHRA is celebrating and highlighting 50 years of Pro Stock at this year’s U.S. Nationals so I’m really pumped up and honored to be a part of this race,” Troy Jr. said. “My continued thanks to (team owner) Richard Freeman and his entire crew. They are such a class group who are so fun to race with, especially the guys on my car — Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll, Eric Luzinski, Mike DePalma and Robert Freeman. “Additional thanks to the entire staff at JEGS for their support. Everyone was super excited about Uncle Jeg and me racing each other in the finals few weeks ago. I’m also very excited to watch my sister Paige (Coughlin) compete for the first time in the JEGS Allstars race. It’s going to be a big weekend, especially if we can figure out how to take my car one round further than last race.” Aside from his duties in Pro Stock, Troy Jr. will be competing for the Super Comp trophy alongside his sister Paige and his cousin Makenna Brown in the national event portion of the race. Troy Jr. has two U.S. Nationals win to his credit having won the “Big Go” in 2010 in Super Comp and 2014 in Super Gas. He’s also the first of the third-generation of Coughlins to win Indy. Jeg Jr.’s brother Mike Coughlin will round out Team JEGS this weekend with his entry in Top Dragster.
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Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Announces Updated Schedule for Remainder of 2020 Season

Condensed Schedule Will Now Consist of Back-to-Back Tripleheaders
CORONA, Calif. (August 31, 2020) – With half of the 2020 racing season complete, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO has announced an update to the current championship schedule that will ultimately condense the remaining events on the calendar into back-to-back tripleheaders to close out the year. Each of the next two events of the season, in September from Arizona’s Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Parkand in October from Southern California’s Glen Helen Raceway, will extend from weekend doubleheaders into three-day affairs. The expansion of these events means the originally scheduled November race at Wild Horse Pass will no longer occur.
Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series
“There were several factors that went into this decision, but ultimately our goal was to provide the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with as clear a path as possible to successfully completing the 2020 season,” said Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Director of Race Operations Ritchie Lewis. “With the coronavirus pandemic still presenting many unknowns, there was some uncertainty about having the schedule extend into November as we simply don’t know where things will stand at that point. Moreover, it also made sense from an operational standpoint to have one less logistical burden for both our staff and competitors to deal with. We felt like the expansion of Wild Horse Pass and Glen Helen was something that would benefit all parties involved.”

With the updated schedule, the race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park will now take place on Friday, September 18, Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20. The new season finale at Glen Helen Raceway will occur one week later than originally scheduled and will now commence on Friday, October 16, Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, with the final day serving as the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, which annually brings each season to an exciting conclusion.

In accordance with local health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19, each of these remaining races will be run as competitor only events, with no spectator access permitted.

“In the continued efforts to help fight the spread of COVID-19 we have worked in close correspondence with officials at both the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona and San Bernardino County in California to develop a plan that will allow us to successfully host these races without fans in the grandstands,” continued Ritchie. Additionally, we will take added precautions to revise the race day schedule in an effort to minimize the impact of the high temperatures that could accompany each of these weekends.”
 
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Defending World Champion, Megan Meyer, to Retire After 2020 Season

Megan Meyer, the defending world champion in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster, will step away from the class after completing the 2020 season.

Meyer won the 2019 championship driving the NGK Spark Plugs A/Fuel dragster tuned by her father and team owner, Randy Meyer. The second-generation driver grew up dreaming of one day winning an NHRA Lucas Oil Series world championship. Now that she’s accomplished that goal, she’s shifting her focus toward accomplishing other goals.

“I’ve been racing in Top Alcohol Dragster full-time for five years now and a lot has changed over that time,” Meyer said. “I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I’ve wanted to accomplish in Top Alcohol. I’m ready to take a break, focus on getting married, starting a family and working on my own business. I have other goals in my life right now that I want to focus on. I’ll see where that takes me.”

Since making her Top Alcohol Dragster debut in 2016, Meyer has earned 10 national-event victories, 11 regional wins and three consecutive NHRA Central Region championships to go with her 2019 national championship.

“I’m very proud of everything Megan’s accomplished,” Randy Meyer said. “She’s handled herself very well from day one. Her hard work and dedication to not only my team, but to the sport in general, has paid big dividends. She’ll have that to look back on for the rest of her life.”

Megan was named the Division 5 Pro-Sportsman Driver of the Year three years in a row after earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2016, the same year she appeared on the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 list. But it’s that world championship that will always highlight Meyer’s time in the class.

“It’s always been my dream to be a world champion since I saw Alan Bradshaw become our first world champion driver in 2003,” Megan said. “I knew one day that would be me. I didn’t know I could do it in four years. But thankfully we had a great car, great parts, great crew guys. We hoped for the best, put in the hours and got better parts every year with the help from sponsors, especially when NGK stepped up as my title sponsor. That’s where things really improved for us.”

NGK Spark Plugs, a longtime associate sponsor of Randy Meyer Racing, became Megan’s title sponsor in 2018 when the spark plug manufacturer signed a two-year contract that was extended this season. Meyer used her college education in marketing and graphic design to design striking NGK wraps, crew uniforms and other branded materials. She even won the 2018 NGK Spark Plug NHRA Nationals and 2019 NTK Nationals in Charlotte.

NGK plans to continue its title sponsorship of one of Randy Meyer Racing’s A/Fuel cars and is working with the team to select the new driver. The NGK car will race alongside the team’s second car shared by multiple drivers in 2021.

“We’re in negotiations with several other drivers to fill that void,” Randy said. “As a team and as a team owner, we plan on racing as much as we ever have and we’re planning on running two cars next year with multiple different drivers like we’ve been doing. It’s business as usual. Megan will still be around, she just won’t be at all the races and won’t be behind the wheel.”

Megan won’t give up racing altogether, as she plans to return to her bracket racing roots next year, sharing a Super Comp dragster with her sister Rachel.

“I’ve been driving for a total of 17 years, and for 12 of it I was bracket racing,” Megan said. “I still love that type of racing. I got to bracket race for the first time in years a couple weekends ago and had a great time.”

“We don’t know what the future is going to hold, but we’re pretty sure bracket racing will always be around,” Megan continued. “It’s something that’s available to me right now because of Rachel. I’d like to take that opportunity and see how I can use it to work with sponsors and social media. In my heart, I’m always going to be a sportsman racer. I want to keep working on ways to promote the sportsman classes and come up with more ways to help sportsman racers promote themselves and their sponsors on social media.”

As Meyer starts to wrap up her championship defense season with just a handful of races remaining, she looks back fondly on her experiences over the last five seasons while also looking forward to what comes next.

“I want to tell other racers to enjoy the ride, no matter how long or short they have to be a driver or a crew guy or whatever position they’re in,” Megan said. “Make sure you have fun and have creative experiences because those can lead to skills and networking that can lead to big success later on. I’m just following the strides to fit my new goals now. I want to be able to help other racers, to serve with passion and to be known as the girl who became a champion but also made a difference in the industry.”

Meyer and the NGK Spark Plugs A/Fuel dragster will race next at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Sept. 3-6 at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis. Additionally, Megan will compete in the JEGS Allstars specialty race Sept. 5 as a Central Region representative alongside sister Rachel. Teammate Julie Nataas will also race in the Allstars event for the North Central Region.

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Acura NSX Sets New Hybrid Production Car Record at Pikes Peak; 2021 TLX Races to Summit then Dealers

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 31, 2020—Acura captured a sixth consecutive podium at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with driver James Robinson finishing third in the highly competitive Time Attack 1 class. Robinson’s time of 10:01.913 in a 2019 NSX, bested his previous fast time of 10:02.448 (set in 2018) to establish a new record for a production vehicle with a hybrid powertrain.
Two race prepared 2021 Acura TLXs made their motorsports debut at the 2020 “Race to the Clouds”, ahead of the second-generation sport sedan’s arrival at dealers on Sept. 28. Drivers Jordan Guitar and Justin Lumbard, both engineers at the company’s Ohio R&D Center, finished fifth and sixth in class, respectively.

Acura’s 2020 Pikes Peak Results:

A third 2021 TLX, an early development prototype for the upcoming Type S high performance variant, served as the hill climb’s official Pace Car. Driving the TLX Type S was Nick Robinson, a principal engineer in the company’s Chassis Development Group and Pikes Peak veteran with class wins on both two and four wheels and current front-wheel drive record holder.
Pikes Peak serves as a test bed for new Acura performance technologies and as an opportunity for the company’s engineers to further sharpen their performance-focused driving and engineering skills. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer engineers who are responsible for all aspects of competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line.

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