11th 
16th 
14th“Man, we were just one position shy of earning our third consecutive top-10 finish! I’m feeling good after the race. We’ve been putting a lot of work into our program. This No. 3 Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Chevrolet team showed how much fight we have. We adjusted all day and tried our best to keep up with changing track conditions. It was frustrating because for a while it seemed like no matter what we did, we couldn’t go forward. We never gave up, though, because no matter what happens we focus forward. We pitted early during the final green-flag pit stop cycle, and that helped us gain some track position. It also meant that we had to manage tires for the last run of the race. We were able to fight our way to an 11th-place finish. I’m proud of everyone on this Richard Childress Racing team for their hard work and for hanging in there until the end.”
Dixon Dominates in Texas for Honda
- Scott Dixon leads 157 of 200 laps to open 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES with a victory
- Late-race crash ends promising run for Felix Rosenqvist
- Zach Veach matches career-best fourth-place result
FORT WORTH, Texas (June 6, 2020) – A race that started out ominously for Honda ended in triumph, as Scott Dixon dominated tonight’s season-opening race, leading 157 of 200 laps around the Texas Motor Speedway oval to score his 47th career Indy car win.
The first race of the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES, delayed three months by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, took place without spectators and with limited crew members on a hot night in Fort Worth, Texas. With social distancing protocols preventing Honda engineers from assisting teams during the engine starting procedure on the grid, an issue with the spec series ECU resulted in Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal and Alexander Rossi all going at least one lap down to the leaders in the opening laps.
At the front of the field, pole qualifier Josef Newgarden took the early lead, but it soon became apparent that Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, had two of the quickest cars in the field. Passing Newgarden for the lead on Lap 32, Dixon was rarely headed for the rest of the night, at times opening up leads of five seconds or more on the fast, 1.5-mile TMS oval. The dominating win was the fourth for Dixon at TMS, and the 47th of his career. With the win, he also tied A.J. Foyt’s record 18 seasons with at least one IndyCar victory, and extended his own consecutive season win record to 16.
Equally strong throughout the night, Rosenqvist appeared headed for a second-place finish behind his teammate, until a late-race crash while attempting to pass the lapped car of James Hinchcliffe sent Rosenqvist into the wall on Lap 191.
Behind Dixon, Zach Veach rebounded from a disappointing 2019 season with a strong run to fourth-place, equaling his career-best previous Indy car finish. Colton Herta steadily worked his way from 14th on the grid to finish seventh, while his Andretti Autosport teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay recovered from his dramas at the start to claw his way back on to the lead lap and an eighth-place result.
Making his first oval race start in any series, Indy car rookie Alex Palou was the innocent victim when his Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh Honda was collected by a spinning fellow rookie, Rinus Veekay, on Lap 36. Hinchcliffe’s first race back with Andretti Autosport was hobbled when a wheel nut jammed during his third pit stop, dropping him off the lead lap. Takuma Sato was unable to take the green flag after crashing his Honda in qualifying. With just two hours between qualifying and the race, his Rahal Letterman Lanigan team was unable to repair the damage in time for the early evening race start.
Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES resumes Independence Day weekend, on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the GMR Grand Prix on July 4.
Social media content and video links from this weekend’s Honda IndyCar Series action from Texas Motor Speedway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD), Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd/).
Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 2nd, finished 1st; 47th career Indy car victory, ties A.J. Foyt’s record of at least one Indy car in each of 18 seasons: “The car rolled off the trailer really fast. We’ve also been using the Honda simulator in Indy for the last three weeks, and that was a big help in our preparation. It’s not often you get an amazing car like this. It was a fun night for us and a great way to get started back [racing] after a long break. The Honda engine, it was huge, man, the power out there. Our car was just so fast tonight, in any situation. We had to make a couple of bold moves tonight, and we could just go for it. Huge thanks to the team and everyone involved.”
Zach Veach (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started 5th, finished 4th, matches his career-best finish: “We had a really, really good night here in the Gainbridge Honda. I wanted to start 2020 off well because 2019 was so rough — and we came out here to Texas and got a top four [finish]. I’m just very happy. This kind of momentum will be great to go into the Indy Grand Prix and hopefully have the season we’ve been needing to have. The guys did an awesome job. My engineer, Mark Bryant, gave me a car that was amazing and my crew – they were awesome. That played a big part in a race with not many on-track passes. I’m just happy and a big thank you to Andretti Autosport.”
Allen Miller (Race Team Principal, Honda Performance Development) on tonight’s 2020 season-opening win: “It’s great to finally be racing again. INDYCAR did an excellent job in developing a way to return to the track, and our HPD race team excelled in adapting to these new procedures. Scott Dixon proved once again why he is a five-time INDYCAR champion, and Felix Rosenqvist matched him move for move until his unfortunate crash. Congratulations to Scott and the entire Ganassi team on a well-deserved win.”
Chevy racing–indycar–texas–sam schmidt, oliver askew, pato o’ward
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTJUNE 5 2020
THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to our final pre-race video news conference with the drivers from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in advance of the Genesys 300 tomorrow night. The race will be on NBC at 8 p.m. eastern.
We’re joined by Arrow McLaren SP team co-owner Sam Schmidt and drivers Oliver Askew and Pato O’Ward.
For the drivers, we start off with both of you making your season debuts. Oliver, this is your series debut. How much have you anticipated getting in a car tomorrow?
OLIVER ASKEW: Getting in a car, racing an Indy car, this is a moment I’ve been waiting for since I was 10 or 11 years old when I began to follow the series, began to realize this is what I wanted to do at the end of the day for my professional career.
I’ll be making my professional debut tomorrow. I honestly couldn’t be more excited about it. I’m very relaxed going into it as well. I know the weekend, it’s not a normal format. I don’t think anybody’s experienced something like this before.
I know we’ve had really strong cars here before. Arrow McLaren SP has done a really good job rolling off the trailer and being quick right away. Hopefully, we can have a good qually and a good, clean race tomorrow.
THE MODERATOR: Pato, first oval race in an INDYCAR. Eight road course races. You have both done well on ovals in the Road to Indy. Your anticipation of getting into the car tomorrow and your first oval?
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I think after this period of time that we’ve been kind of ghosted, it feels a little different. I feel a little anxious, a little nervous, excited. But I think ultimately we’re all ready to get back to racing. We’ve all been preparing. We’ve been trying to prepare the best way we can to start the season.
Obviously, the preparations are quite different heading into the first oval of the season. This year the first race is going to be an oval. It’s quite different to past years what it’s usually like. That’s definitely going to present some challenges ahead, especially me never driven laps at Texas Motor Speedway, the first INDYCAR oval race.
Yeah, I think we’re in for a treat. Texas is always a very exciting race.
THE MODERATOR: Sam, we’ve been talking about Arrow McLaren SP it seems like for a year now. We finally get to see those cars on the track. How much are you looking forward to seeing Oliver and Pato in your cars?
SAM SCHMIDT: Very much. I mean, the biggest challenge is given the one-day schedule, the restrictions on the schedule, neither myself or Rick can be there, which is truly an epic bummer because we spent a ton of money. All we’ve been dying to do is go racing, now we can’t be there in person.
Very excited because the team got me set up with live audio on the timing stand as well as video from the same position I would normally be sitting on the No. 7 stand. It’s the next best thing to be there in real-time with strategy and be able to talk if I decide I want to talk. That’s pretty cool.
We tried to prepare them as much as possible, everything from videos to in-car camera stuff to data. Luckily Oliver got to turn a few laps there earlier in the year. Pato is going in cold turkey. They’re both really professional and did really well on ovals before. We’re hoping we can come out of this.
We also have Robert Wickens in our arsenal. I think that’s going to help them a lot.
THE MODERATOR: Sam, in addition to the race team, I know you’re involved in a number of non-profits, including Cure Paralysis Now. What have you been doing with them during the break from the racetrack?
SAM SCHMIDT: Thanks for asking.
It’s been hugely busy just to try to keep the guys busy, try to get in on a bunch of engineering initiatives. Off-site, that’s been one of the national tragedies and the challenges of this whole thing, it’s keeping non-profit foundations funded first and foremost, keeping them busy. The initiatives that we’re undertaking, research perspective, really haven’t slowed down because a lot of those are international depending on region.
Locally with the Driven Neurorecovery Center, we had to shut that down physically I think March 15th. But our trainers were amazing. They each took about 10 clients into the wing, did virtual training with them weekly. We’re checking with them constantly. Then we had virtual training online and virtual Yoga.
More recently in the past 30 days, we’ve passed out over 2,000 meals to people specifically in southern Nevada with disabilities. They couldn’t get out. It is with the partnership of Zappos.com. They’ve really turned lemons into lemonade. I give it all to the trainers there with their own initiative. Just trying to make the best of it.
We opened this week again. The lights came back on in Vegas yesterday. Everybody is excited here to get the tourism going here and start getting some jobs back. I think we had over 400,000 filings for unemployment just in southern Nevada alone. It’s nice to see the lights come back on.
THE MODERATOR: For the drivers. Both of you participated in the iRacing. How much did that help you guys in developing race craft for racing on an oval?
OLIVER ASKEW: I think it was extremely beneficial for myself especially because I’ve never done a pit stop before, I haven’t been able to hear what the timing stand has to go through, strategy. All of that was very realistic.
I think our team took the initiative early on and set a trend by building our own timing stand essentially in the iRacing software. I had all of my strategists and engineers on-call through every race. Towards the end of the season I think most of the drivers had the same thing because they realized that was a huge factor in scoring good results, was strategy through iRacing.
There wasn’t so much I could take away from the driving side. I think on the ovals a bit more I was able to take away a bit more than the road courses because of the dirty air. It was quite realistic. Being able to race with these guys on track that I’ve been looking up to for so long, each have a different personality, it was cool to see that side.
THE MODERATOR: Pato?
PATO O’WARD: I think for me very similar to Oliver. I think all the practices that we go through during the race weekend, like data analysis, speaking with the engineers, trying to get every single thing out of my feedback and out of theirs, put it onto the racecar to make it faster, were definitely there. It was definitely something that kept our brains and everything working like it does in a normal race weekend.
On the driving side, it is at the end of the day a video game. Honestly, I didn’t really get much out of it. Maybe a little bit more in the ovals, like Oliver said. Dirty air has a bit more into play and all that kind of stuff.
But, yeah, I think it was just good to have something to do during the lockout, something we could continue in a way to exercise our brains and just improve in the little things that we can improve mentally and everything, then just physically staying in shape, pushing yourself every day to be as prepared as possible for this first race.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions for the drivers and Sam Schmidt.
Q. Sam, I know it’s a brand-new chapter in your racing career with McLaren. How excited are you to get the season going with the team, given that it’s a new challenge with Chevrolet? With the lockdown, what kind of challenges have you faced as a team in terms of getting prepared for the new season?SAM SCHMIDT: All great questions.
We really were running hard since Arrow has been now a six-year partner, a major part of our program. McLaren being announced last August. It was really, really a steep learning curve getting all those parties integrated, everybody basically worked through the holidays. We were loaded for bear, ready to go in St. Pete. Quite a deflation not to get off there.
That’s been one of our I’d say bigger silver linings as far as the team through the COVID situation because there were so many things for us with McLaren. Part of the partnership is their technical abilities, some things that we don’t have access to because we don’t run multiple series, have 50 engineers. That had always been on the checklist to put our mutual heads together and learn as much as we could.
It wasn’t realistically going to take place until the end of the season. Our engineers were able to dive in. Six people over in Woking (England) that were not furloughed because they were part of our program, they were working non-stop with our guys to check some of those boxes. That part has been really good.
Then on the mechanical side, Taylor’s side, continue to work on pit stops, stay physically fit. Some of our individual guys, upright guys, electronic guys, gearbox guys, they were able to take some of their work home and just work on projects there.
We made the best of the situation, like I’m sure every other team did. In particular, this layoff really helped with the McLaren situation.
Q. Is the plan, since you guys have never run at Texas, to start with a pretty conservative and high downforce setup for practice and see how comfortable you get as the day progresses?OLIVER ASKEW: Yeah, I think the team has been studying past races here. I’m sure we’re going to be able to start with a conservative approach because it’s my first oval race in an INDYCAR, first speedway race in an Indy car. I have been here before. I have a little leg up on Pato. I’m sure he’s going to learn the track quite quickly.
With the impound after qualifying, I’m quite happy about that. I’m sure a lot of other drivers are, especially the rookies, because we won’t be trimming out for qualifying. We’re going to be running race downforce. I think that’s pretty close to max.
Qualifying is going to be interesting, for sure. You’ll see which guys are light on downforce and which guys are not. We’ve had really good cars here in the past, Arrow McLaren SP has. We finished in the top five here multiple times over the past couple years. That definitely builds confidence within myself, I’m sure Pato as well, heading into tomorrow.
Q. Oliver and Pato, speaking of the iRacing, we haven’t seen you guys in action yet on track, but during the iRacing races, you were pretty strategic in action against other teammates on track. Are we going to see you guys do more of this strategic teamwork or are we going to see some friendly competition this season?PATO O’WARD: That’s a good question. I think the racing is definitely quite different in the video game than what it will be in a real car. In iRacing you will just naturally take a lot more risks than what you would be doing in a real car because just the consequences aren’t the same. You can just click a reset button.
I think you’re going to see some very competitive racing. Hopefully everybody hasn’t forgotten how to race in a real car and gives each other space. We are not going to be in a virtual Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, it’s going to be the real one.
Not really sure how everybody’s going to go about it because it’s been just such a long time. I think everybody is just going to feel it out. I’d be guessing everybody is going to at least start in the conservative side because it is a very fast track and it’s very important to respect one another.
I can’t talk for other drivers. I can talk about myself. I think just the smartest thing to do and the best thing for everybody is to work up to it because that’s what we want to do, we want to complete the race, we want to race and give the fans a great show to watch.
Q. Pato and Oliver, what do you think about having practice, qualifying and the race all in the same day? Will you even notice it’s different or will you just call it a regular race day?OLIVER ASKEW: Thanks for the question.
I don’t think anybody has experienced anything like this in the past, even the veterans. Going into it, there’s so many unknowns with practice, qualifying and the race all in the same day. We haven’t run the Aeroscreen on an oval in traffic before, so that’s a big unknown. The qualifying procedure I don’t think has — the impound hasn’t happened before, at least in the recent past. There’s a lot going on.
It’s going to be about executing and not doing what we don’t know. I think that’s a great point to bring into tomorrow. There’s a lot of unknowns, especially for me and for Pato.
Honestly we’re just looking to have a good, strong and safe result tomorrow. I’m sure Pato is thinking the same way.
PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I’m on the same boat as Oliver. It’s going to be important to just be efficient and use our time wisely, in a good way, not to get impatient. I think that’s going to be the most important part.
But it is going to be a race. It’s obvious some things change a little bit, especially when you’re going at it with other people. But, yeah, I think the most important thing is being very patient, bringing everything home, build momentum to start the season, because that is going to be the most important thing.
Q. Sam, you’re going into the season with a whole different team of drivers. With Oliver’s season in INDYCAR and Pato’s first full season, what is some advice you’ve been giving the guys as we start this season up with INDYCAR racing?SAM SCHMIDT: I really like the previous answers that Pato and Oliver have given about being patient, being conservative. That’s certainly something we’ve been hammering in their heads now for about 30 days. Let’s hope that maintains that wisdom because that’s what this place is all about.
There’s a lot of mistakes have been made in the pit lane over the years. I remember my first couple times at Texas, and it’s wicked fast. You just got to be, like they both said, cognizant of everybody around you, give everybody space, give and take at least until sort of that last stint on fuel.
It’s not ideal throwing two rookies in this situation, definitely not what we anticipated. I think the paddock as a whole is absolutely thrilled to get back to racing under any conditions whatsoever, to have this 14-race schedule.
I’ll take a moment to thank Roger Penske, Eddie Gossage and the state of Texas and everybody involved in this. I think we’ll all agree that if Roger had not bought the series in January, this would be a struggle. The Hulman-George family has done such a great job for 75 years, but man, he’s made a schedule that is going to make our partners very happy and make the most of the situation.
We’re just very excited to get started. Yeah, can’t wait.
The drivers, they’re smart young kids. I just kind of told them more than anything don’t do what I did, because I think I only finished one race at Texas, so…
THE MODERATOR: Seeing as we have no more questions for our guests, we’ll let them go, thank them for their time this morning, wish them the best of luck this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Chevy racing–indycar–texas advance
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY ADVANCEJUNE 5, 2020
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCENTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASJUNE 6, 2020
RACE #1 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERES:It’s time to race! After waiting for almost three months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, the Chevrolet powered IndyCar teams and drivers are ready to kickoff the 2020 season Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. It will be the 24th consecutive season the NTT INDYCAR SERES will bring the excitement of INDYCAR to the famed Texas oval. Team Chevy drivers have posted eight victories on the 1.5-mile oval dating back to 2002 when Jeff Ward took the first trip with Texas Victory Lane with Chevy Power.
Starting his march toward his second Series’ Championship, Josef Newgarden drove his Chevrolet powered Team Penske car to the win at TMS in 2019. With a total of four wins and seven podiums, Newgarden was crowned the NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion following the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September, 2019.
BOWTIE BULLETS· Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 82 wins and 92 poles in 135 races along with six Manufacturer Championships. · Of active Team Chevy drivers, Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet has won twice at Texas (2011 and 2017), Tony Kanaan, No. 14 7-Eleven AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet has one Texas win (2004, the same year he won the Series’ championship), Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet (2014) and Newgarden’s 2019 win. Team Chevy’s Helio Castroneves has the most Texas wins with four. Although not full-time in the Series, Chevrolet will welcome him back to join the Team Penske camp for the Indianapolis 500 currently scheduled for August 23, 2020. Castroneves will be racing for his record-tying fourth win.
· Team Chevy drivers have won five of the eight races run at TMS since the highly successful Chevrolet 2.2 liter V6 engine program began competing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012.
· Power is second all-time INDYCAR pole winner with 57 (behind only Mario Andretti with 67).
· The Genesys 300 (200 laps/300 miles will be the debut race for two rookie full-season drivers for Team Chevy: Oliver Askew (Arrow McLaren SP) and Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing). TUNE-IN:The Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway gets underway on Saturday, June 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will air on NBC, Pennzoil IndyCar Radio, Sirius Channel 211, XM Channel 205 and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES app. Pre-race coverage will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. QUOTABLE QUOTES: ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES: “The Chevy powered teams are locked and loaded to officially get the NTT INDYCAR SERIES kicked off this Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. Our Chevrolet engineers and technical partners have worked hard with each team to be as prepared as possible given the condensed schedule for the day. But racing under the lights at Texas is always exciting and a favorite for the drivers and fans, It will be a new experience for us to race without the fans physically present, but I know every Chevrolet team and their drivers will work hard to give the fans at home a great race and let them know INDYCAR is back on-track.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “I am really excited to get back to racing, but we as a sport understand there is a lot of pressure on us to do everything right. I have the utmost confidence in our team, the series and the track that we will do everything to keep the entire INDYCAR community safe, all while putting on a good show. It will be interesting to finally get back on the track and have the first race be one of the most intense we have all year at Texas. That place takes a lot focus and is so fast. But I’m always confident with the car we bring to the track. This will also be our first race with XPEL on my Chevy. They’re a relatively new partner of ours and it’s great they will get to be on the car for our first race of the year. I just want to put on a great show for our fans that will be watching at home on NBC. All of us will miss seeing our fans out there, but we k now they will support us by tuning in.” CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“I’m really excited to get back on track in the No. 4 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet especially at Texas Motor Speedway having sat on pole there with the track record in 2017 and being back with my INDYCAR family as socially distant as it will be. It will be hard and very different to be racing without fans, especially the Team Chevy fans, at the race track because that interaction is a large part of what I love about being at the race track. I’m glad everyone will be staying healthy and safe and able to watch the race live on NBC on Saturday night in primetime under the lights. It’s an honor for me to be a teammate again to Tony Kanaan as he starts his Last Lap [tour] in INDYCAR driving the 14 car. For me, getting to race for A.J. Foyt in his home state of Texas is extra special. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Billie Jean King, she says ‘Pressure is a privilege,’ so the added pressure of performing for A.J. in Texas is a privilege that I look forward to stepping up to.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“Finally, it’s race week! All of us at Arrow McLaren SP are so ready to get started. To be honest, it feels a bit weird, a bit funky. Everything has been stopped for so long that it’s hard to believe we are going to be racing this weekend. I’m looking forward to getting started and getting back into it with the team. I know it’s going to take a few laps to get back up to speed. I’m feeling a little rusty but we are definitely going to be as prepared as we can so we can use our time efficiently with everything is compressed into one single day. We are definitely ready and looking forward to the race. Let’s go!” OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“Everyone at Arrow McLaren SP, including me, is ready to go. I think with the extra time to prepare, we are more ready than we were before St. Pete. It will be a challenge for sure, being my first INDYCAR race, but I’m looking forward to taking in the experience and putting on a show on NBC for our partners and fans at home.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I cannot wait to get back on track this weekend at Texas. It feels like it’s been a year since we were on the track for pre-season testing at COTA, then when we were in St. Pete. But the delay was the right thing to do – to make sure we are doing this right as a sport and taking all the proper precautions. I have seen a lot of the plans and we know INDYCAR has taken a lot of time to figure everything out to put on a good show, but to do it with everyone’s safety as the first priority. Once we get there and get in the swing of things, it will also be interesting to finally get a race with the new windscreen. On top of that, it will be the first time anyone has run the windscreen at night, so it should be a new experience for all of us. We don’t really know how the cars are going to react, so the one practice session will be really important. But we are all professionals and it will come back to all of us rather quickly. Also this is such a big opportunity to race on NBC. I know the fans will be tuning in this weekend. It won’t be the same without them there but safety is the most important thing and we can’t wait to see them back at track with us soon.” TONY KANAAN, NO 14 7-ELEVEN AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“I can’t express in words how happy I am to be back racing in the NTT INDYCAR Series this Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s our first race of the season and we all want to put on a good show for the fans who will be watching on NBC during primetime TV. We’re living through unprecedented times, so being able to give our fans good entertainment to watch is key. 7-Eleven is back on board for this race with an awesome throwback paint scheme on the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Chevy and we’re hungry for a good result. It’s going to be a one day event with a lot going on for us at the track, but I couldn’t be happier to get the #TKLastLap campaign going and to be in a race car again, especially in Texas, home state of A.J. and 7-Eleven.” ED CAPRENTER, NO. 20 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “Saturday cannot get here quick enough! I am so happy to know we are finally getting our season started. Texas Motor Speedway is one of my favorite stops of the year. I hope to find success and start off the season on a high note. I am very thankful for the hard work that INDYCAR, TMS, Eddie Gossage and Governor Abbott have put in to make this happen.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:“I am extremely happy to finally be back in the U.S. and be able to make my NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend! It will be quite an experience for my first race but the team and I are fully prepared to have our best possible performance!” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DXC TECHNOLOGY TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I am thrilled to finally go INDYCAR Series racing. These times made me realize that racing is a full part of me and I have dedicated myself to it. We wish fans could be with us at Texas but understand safety is the most important thing for everyone involved. We will however provide the usual exciting entertainment that INDYCAR racing can provide while we can’t wait to see our fans back at the track again soon. We have had great success with the DXC Technology Chevrolet over the years and it will be an honor to take them on for our return at Texas which is such a tricky oval. We have a lot of exciting news in INDYCAR with the unveiling of the aeroscreen and its safety improvement for the drivers. We have a very interesting field with great rookies. It will definitely be a race and a season not to miss.” CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “First of all, I’m obviously very excited to get back to racing and get back out there on track – that’s the coolest part of this whole deal. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all more than just a little anxious to get to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. On top of that, it’s an incredible accomplishment for me to back with a team I did this race with last year – that’s never happened before in my career. I had a great race last year with Carlin in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, so I’m excited to work on what we developed last year and not have to start from square one especially with the condensed schedule. We’re just going to do everything we can to come away with an ever better result this year and build on what we have. I think it’ll put a smile on everyone’s face just to be back at a race track.”
Chevy Racing–indycar–texas advance
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY ADVANCEJUNE 5, 2020
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCENTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASJUNE 6, 2020
RACE #1 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERES:It’s time to race! After waiting for almost three months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine, the Chevrolet powered IndyCar teams and drivers are ready to kickoff the 2020 season Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway. It will be the 24th consecutive season the NTT INDYCAR SERES will bring the excitement of INDYCAR to the famed Texas oval. Team Chevy drivers have posted eight victories on the 1.5-mile oval dating back to 2002 when Jeff Ward took the first trip with Texas Victory Lane with Chevy Power.
Starting his march toward his second Series’ Championship, Josef Newgarden drove his Chevrolet powered Team Penske car to the win at TMS in 2019. With a total of four wins and seven podiums, Newgarden was crowned the NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion following the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September, 2019.
BOWTIE BULLETS· Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 82 wins and 92 poles in 135 races along with six Manufacturer Championships. · Of active Team Chevy drivers, Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet has won twice at Texas (2011 and 2017), Tony Kanaan, No. 14 7-Eleven AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet has one Texas win (2004, the same year he won the Series’ championship), Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet (2014) and Newgarden’s 2019 win. Team Chevy’s Helio Castroneves has the most Texas wins with four. Although not full-time in the Series, Chevrolet will welcome him back to join the Team Penske camp for the Indianapolis 500 currently scheduled for August 23, 2020. Castroneves will be racing for his record-tying fourth win.
· Team Chevy drivers have won five of the eight races run at TMS since the highly successful Chevrolet 2.2 liter V6 engine program began competing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012.
· Power is second all-time INDYCAR pole winner with 57 (behind only Mario Andretti with 67).
· The Genesys 300 (200 laps/300 miles will be the debut race for two rookie full-season drivers for Team Chevy: Oliver Askew (Arrow McLaren SP) and Rinus VeeKay (Ed Carpenter Racing). TUNE-IN:The Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway gets underway on Saturday, June 6 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will air on NBC, Pennzoil IndyCar Radio, Sirius Channel 211, XM Channel 205 and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES app. Pre-race coverage will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. QUOTABLE QUOTES: ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES: “The Chevy powered teams are locked and loaded to officially get the NTT INDYCAR SERIES kicked off this Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway. Our Chevrolet engineers and technical partners have worked hard with each team to be as prepared as possible given the condensed schedule for the day. But racing under the lights at Texas is always exciting and a favorite for the drivers and fans, It will be a new experience for us to race without the fans physically present, but I know every Chevrolet team and their drivers will work hard to give the fans at home a great race and let them know INDYCAR is back on-track.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “I am really excited to get back to racing, but we as a sport understand there is a lot of pressure on us to do everything right. I have the utmost confidence in our team, the series and the track that we will do everything to keep the entire INDYCAR community safe, all while putting on a good show. It will be interesting to finally get back on the track and have the first race be one of the most intense we have all year at Texas. That place takes a lot focus and is so fast. But I’m always confident with the car we bring to the track. This will also be our first race with XPEL on my Chevy. They’re a relatively new partner of ours and it’s great they will get to be on the car for our first race of the year. I just want to put on a great show for our fans that will be watching at home on NBC. All of us will miss seeing our fans out there, but we k now they will support us by tuning in.” CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“I’m really excited to get back on track in the No. 4 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet especially at Texas Motor Speedway having sat on pole there with the track record in 2017 and being back with my INDYCAR family as socially distant as it will be. It will be hard and very different to be racing without fans, especially the Team Chevy fans, at the race track because that interaction is a large part of what I love about being at the race track. I’m glad everyone will be staying healthy and safe and able to watch the race live on NBC on Saturday night in primetime under the lights. It’s an honor for me to be a teammate again to Tony Kanaan as he starts his Last Lap [tour] in INDYCAR driving the 14 car. For me, getting to race for A.J. Foyt in his home state of Texas is extra special. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Billie Jean King, she says ‘Pressure is a privilege,’ so the added pressure of performing for A.J. in Texas is a privilege that I look forward to stepping up to.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“Finally, it’s race week! All of us at Arrow McLaren SP are so ready to get started. To be honest, it feels a bit weird, a bit funky. Everything has been stopped for so long that it’s hard to believe we are going to be racing this weekend. I’m looking forward to getting started and getting back into it with the team. I know it’s going to take a few laps to get back up to speed. I’m feeling a little rusty but we are definitely going to be as prepared as we can so we can use our time efficiently with everything is compressed into one single day. We are definitely ready and looking forward to the race. Let’s go!” OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“Everyone at Arrow McLaren SP, including me, is ready to go. I think with the extra time to prepare, we are more ready than we were before St. Pete. It will be a challenge for sure, being my first INDYCAR race, but I’m looking forward to taking in the experience and putting on a show on NBC for our partners and fans at home.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I cannot wait to get back on track this weekend at Texas. It feels like it’s been a year since we were on the track for pre-season testing at COTA, then when we were in St. Pete. But the delay was the right thing to do – to make sure we are doing this right as a sport and taking all the proper precautions. I have seen a lot of the plans and we know INDYCAR has taken a lot of time to figure everything out to put on a good show, but to do it with everyone’s safety as the first priority. Once we get there and get in the swing of things, it will also be interesting to finally get a race with the new windscreen. On top of that, it will be the first time anyone has run the windscreen at night, so it should be a new experience for all of us. We don’t really know how the cars are going to react, so the one practice session will be really important. But we are all professionals and it will come back to all of us rather quickly. Also this is such a big opportunity to race on NBC. I know the fans will be tuning in this weekend. It won’t be the same without them there but safety is the most important thing and we can’t wait to see them back at track with us soon.” TONY KANAAN, NO 14 7-ELEVEN AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“I can’t express in words how happy I am to be back racing in the NTT INDYCAR Series this Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. It’s our first race of the season and we all want to put on a good show for the fans who will be watching on NBC during primetime TV. We’re living through unprecedented times, so being able to give our fans good entertainment to watch is key. 7-Eleven is back on board for this race with an awesome throwback paint scheme on the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Chevy and we’re hungry for a good result. It’s going to be a one day event with a lot going on for us at the track, but I couldn’t be happier to get the #TKLastLap campaign going and to be in a race car again, especially in Texas, home state of A.J. and 7-Eleven.” ED CAPRENTER, NO. 20 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “Saturday cannot get here quick enough! I am so happy to know we are finally getting our season started. Texas Motor Speedway is one of my favorite stops of the year. I hope to find success and start off the season on a high note. I am very thankful for the hard work that INDYCAR, TMS, Eddie Gossage and Governor Abbott have put in to make this happen.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:“I am extremely happy to finally be back in the U.S. and be able to make my NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut this weekend! It will be quite an experience for my first race but the team and I are fully prepared to have our best possible performance!” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 DXC TECHNOLOGY TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I am thrilled to finally go INDYCAR Series racing. These times made me realize that racing is a full part of me and I have dedicated myself to it. We wish fans could be with us at Texas but understand safety is the most important thing for everyone involved. We will however provide the usual exciting entertainment that INDYCAR racing can provide while we can’t wait to see our fans back at the track again soon. We have had great success with the DXC Technology Chevrolet over the years and it will be an honor to take them on for our return at Texas which is such a tricky oval. We have a lot of exciting news in INDYCAR with the unveiling of the aeroscreen and its safety improvement for the drivers. We have a very interesting field with great rookies. It will definitely be a race and a season not to miss.” CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “First of all, I’m obviously very excited to get back to racing and get back out there on track – that’s the coolest part of this whole deal. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all more than just a little anxious to get to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. On top of that, it’s an incredible accomplishment for me to back with a team I did this race with last year – that’s never happened before in my career. I had a great race last year with Carlin in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, so I’m excited to work on what we developed last year and not have to start from square one especially with the condensed schedule. We’re just going to do everything we can to come away with an ever better result this year and build on what we have. I think it’ll put a smile on everyone’s face just to be back at a race track.” Chevrolet INDYCAR Series Statistics Chevrolet has recorded six NTT IndyCar Series Manufacturer Championships since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.Chevrolet earned six consecutive CART Manufacturers’ Cup championships from 1988-93.Chevrolet has recorded 12 driver championships, including four in the past five years.Chevrolet has recorded 193 wins in Indy-style racing, including USAC, CART, Indy Racing League and IndyCar Series since 1965.Chevrolet’s initial win, under USAC sanction, was by Al Unser in the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb on July 4, 1965.Chevrolet has 82 wins and 92 poles in 135 in IndyCar Series races since returning to manufacturer competition in 2012.
Chevy racing–nascar–atlanta–preview
TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEFOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAYHAMPTON, GEORGIAJUNE 7, 2020
ATLANTA FOR RACE #10:After the March visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway, which was the first venue on the schedule to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASCAR Cup Series will make its return to the track Sunday, June 7th, with the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. The 325-lap, 500-mile race at the 1.54-mile quad oval will mark the tenth event on the revised 2020 schedule. The Series’ return to the speedway will be a one-day show without fans in attendance. With no practice or qualifying, owner points and a random draw will set the starting lineup. By virtue of the random draw, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, will be leading the field to the green. Here is a look at Team Chevy’s top-20 starters: 1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE8th Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE12th Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE15th Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE16th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Symbicort Camaro ZL1 1LE19th Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE20th William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE CHEVROLET LEADS THE WAYChevrolet is the most successful manufacturer at Atlanta Motor Speedway in NASCAR Cup Series competition with 40 victories. The Bowtie brand has also registered 25 pole starts, 190 top-five and 378 top-10 finishes. Dale Earnhardt is the most successful driver at the track with nine victories, all behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. CELEBRATING 60 YEARSAtlanta Motor Speedway hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race in 1960. Fireball Roberts, driving a Pontiac, won the inaugural race from the pole on July 31. The GM brand won four of the initial five races at the track. Chevrolet claimed its first win in October 1962 with Rex White behind the wheel of an Impala. TAKING IT IN STAGESRecent Charlotte Motor Speedway race winner Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, leads all drivers with five stage wins so far this season. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE, is second with four stage wins. Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams with 10 stage wins this season. BOWTIE BULLETS· Victories by current Chevrolet drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway include:Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, has five wins (2004, twice in ’07, ’15 and ’16)Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, has three wins (2002, ’09 and ’10)· Atlanta is one of eight tracks on the 2020 schedule where Chevrolet has earned 40 or more wins. The others: Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.· Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, leads the way in wins in the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway with 12: Jeff Gordon (five), Jimmie Johnson (three), Darrell Waltrip (one), Jerry Nadeau (one), Kasey Kahne (one) and Ken Schrader (one). TUNE INFOX will telecast the 325-lap race live at 3:00 p.m. ET Sunday, June 7. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. QUOTABLE QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 3rd IN STANDINGS“The track hasn’t changed a ton these past few years. It has a lot of wear to it, a lot of character and a lot of bumps. There is a fine line of getting your car right. I’m excited about that. As a team we’ve had a lot of dialogue in trying to get our NAPA Chevy dialed in without having any practice, which is tough. I have a lot of confidence in my guys being able to get us close and giving us enough adjustability to where if we do miss it, one way or the other we can work on it throughout the race. I’m just looking forward to the race, obviously it’s my home track and any time you go to your home track you want to do good.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 5th IN STANDINGSBOWMAN’S THOUGHTS ON GOING TO ATLANTA: “Atlanta should be a good track for our team. Our 1.5-mile program is really good right now and I feel confident that we can continue that momentum from Charlotte. This track is one where you have a lot of options. It’s worn out and you can move around a lot, which gives drivers a lot of choices. Everyone appreciates options, so this weekend should be a good one.” BOWMAN’S THOUGHTS ON HIS NEW SHOES FOR ATLANTA:“I have some new shoes this weekend for Sunday’s race. It is always special in Atlanta when we support the Chase Elliott Foundation and their “DESI9N TO DRIVE” program. Justin Mingo, 14 years old, designed some awesome blue shoes with red flames. Hopefully we can get Justin’s shoe design to victory lane.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 SYMBICORT CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IS ANOTHER TRACK WHERE ASPHALT THERE IS AMONG THE FAVORITE OF THE DRIVERS, AM I RIGHT? “Exactly. We make sure when we go there, we don’t pray for rain. We don’t want any rain because it’s going to be a long day drying that place. It is old. It weeps, but I’m glad they’ve kept it the same. It’s a place that drivers love because you know it’s going to be slick and over time you might be able to find some grip by moving around or changing your line and being disciplined with the throttle.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS“Atlanta is a tough track. You have to take care of the right front tire there, or the right rear, whichever one seems to be wearing out the most. I think any time you get a chance to pass a car and get ahead of them you need to take it, but it’s a fine line of how hard do you push it versus taking care of your tires so you’re there in the end. You just really need to manage your equipment the best you can to have a shot. It’s a long 500-mile race and it’s physical. You have to do the best job you can to keep yourself mentally and physically in contention.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 18th IN STANDINGSIS THERE MUCH YOU CAN TAKE FROM SOMEWHERE LIKE LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY, KNOWING THE TWO TRACKS ARE VERY DIFFERENT DESPITE BEING THE SAME LENGTH? “There’s really nothing you can take from Las Vegas to Atlanta. However, I do think there are a lot of things that we have done in the Xfinity cars at Atlanta to capitalize on speed that can apply this weekend. Atlanta is all about managing tires, even with all of the downforce we do have and where the horsepower is at in these Cup cars. You have to be smart and really understand how to manage your car from Lap 1 to Lap 45, which is about how far you can go on a set of tires. Tires will be our best friends this weekend. Atlanta is a weekend that kind of got away from us last year in the Xfinity Series, so I’m looking forward to getting back there this weekend. We were running down the leader last year with seven laps to go, but then a caution came out and we got shuffled back on the restart, so I’m looking forward to another shot at Atlanta in our No. 8 Roland Chevrolet.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 21st IN STANDINGS“I’m ready to get to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. While the track layout may be similar to Las Vegas and Charlotte, the old surface is so hard on tires that it creates an entire new strategy for the race. I feel like we’re really getting into a groove now that we’re back to racing consistently, and we have had great speed in our Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE. This is the first weekend that NOS Energy Drink will be on the No. 47, which is always special for me as they’ve been a great partner throughout my career. Both our Charlotte car where we finished fourth and our Bristol car where we were running in the top-10 before an accident ended our day early, they were two of the best cars I think I’ve had at two very different tracks. No matter what, I feel like I can make a decision and put our car where I want it to go and we’ve been able to gain track positions. Running 500 miles at Atlanta is always a challenge, but I know we will have a really fast No. 47 NOS Energy Drink Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend.” BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 22nd IN STANDINGSTHOUGHTS GOING INTO ATLANTA WITH YOUR INTERMEDIATE PROGRAM? “Atlanta Motor Speedway has been a place that Richard Petty Motorsports has struggled at as a team. It has always been the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series season, and we never really got a good balance. This year, we have had a couple of intermediate tracks under our belt. We have some good notes to look back on. “We will go to the Atlanta Motor Speedway and come with a different package than we have in the past based off of our intermediate races earlier this year.” JERRY BAXTER, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 43 MCDONALD’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE “We’re taking the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. It is the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE we ran at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway – and we finished in the sixth-place with it. We have been doing some updates on it as the season has rolled-on. Atlanta Motor Speedway has quite a bit of tire fall-off, so we need to focus on having pretty decent long run speed. “Bubba” ran the simulator on Monday, so hopefully we can continue the momentum that we have built over the last few weeks.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 27th IN STANDINGSIS THERE A WAY THE CAR CAN BE SET UP AT ATLANTA TO REDUCE THE TIRE WEAR FACTOR?“Atlanta is old, abrasive and wears on our car and tires very hard. I think everybody’s goal in Atlanta is to make sure that you don’t wear your tires faster than the guy in front of you. One thing that always helps is adding downforce to your race car. If you keep the car pushed into the track more, you’re not sliding and creating more friction. Also, if you take air out of the tires that will help the pressure in the tires create friction as well, but there are limits to all of this. NASCAR keeps us reigned in to a certain point, so our GEICO team has to adjust little details across our Camaro to make sure we’re beating those guys in front of us.”
DOES ATLANTA NEED TO LOOK AT NEW PAVEMENT? IT’S BEEN 26 YEARS NOW ON THE SAME SURFACE.“Yeah, I know. No matter when they do it, all the drivers are going to be upset. There is a certain point where they have to do what’s best for the track and I think once they decide to repave it, they should maybe dozer the whole thing and change it up. Maybe make it a short track or a road course, do something different. I don’t think we need more mile and a half tracks, I think we need to change up. If they want to get more and more people to Atlanta, they need to look at something different.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS“Finally, I feel like a little bit of luck is on our side as we head to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend in the No. 37 Kroger Camaro. Our teammate has had a lot of speed since we’ve returned to racing, and I think we’ve been able to work together on some great notes heading into the race on Sunday. This is only my second Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and we were running in the top-10 before an accident ended our day early. Atlanta is so rough on tires and your tire strategy that it really gives us a new angle setup-wise than we’ve seen at some of the other intermediate tracks we’ve run at. I’m happy that we finally have some luck and momentum on our side, but the key is to be consistent and keep moving forward with the No. 37 Kroger team.” MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CREDIT ONE BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 32nd IN STANDINGS“Atlanta is about as racy as it gets for high-banked intermediate tracks. The pavement’s wore out, there are a lot of bumps, and at times can be very line sensitive. It’s a track I have always really enjoyed racing at and I’m excited to get back. Every week has been a new challenge for me to get acclimated and up to speed, and this will be another one. Chad and the guys have been bringing great cars to the track and we are looking for a mistake-free solid race, and a good result.”
‘Ride like the wind’ has new meaning for Jeg Coughlin Jr. after visit to CTC wind tunnel
| DELAWARE, Ohio (June 5) — As important as wind tunnels have been to auto racing through the years, a surprisingly small percentage of racecar drivers have actually been to one in person. Jeg Coughlin Jr., the five-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion, can count himself among the lucky ones after a memorable trip to the Chrysler Technical Center, which houses one of only four full-size wind tunnels in the country. “We got a little peek behind the magic curtain at CTC,” Coughlin said. “Throughout my career I’ve been fortunate enough to align with great partners, including the fine folks at Chrysler and Mopar, and they were kind enough to invite us to Ann Arbor (Mich.) to tour a facility that is so immense you need a GPS locator to get around. “It was an incredible day with lots of really neat things to see, including some double, top-secret areas and assets. I think we walked several miles getting from one end to the other but it was all worth it, for sure.” Coughlin isn’t exaggerating. The Chrysler Technical Center, which also serves as FCA’s corporate headquarters, boasts more than 5.4 million square feet of floor space, making it the second largest building in America. Only the Pentagon is bigger at 6.5 million square feet. The CTC facility sits on 465 acres of land just north of Detroit. A file photo of Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s HEMI-powered JEGS.com Dodge Avenger, which he drove to the 2013 Pro Stock title, in the wind tunnel. “As you walk from place to place you’re rewarded with the rich history of the company,” Coughlin said. “It was like being a kid on a school field trip to a massive museum, only it was all about cars. My kind of place. “The wind tunnel is down below in a basement-type area and like everything else there it was massive. I’ve seen videos of my racecars in wind tunnels over the years but I’d never been to one before. “When we arrived in that section of the building we passed a bunch of cars that were being prepped for their turn in the tunnel and many of them were covered in drapes because the stuff they were working on was secret. I saw a Viper with different rear wings and ground effects they wanted to test. It was like being in a James Bond movie.” The research team had a passenger car in the tunnel when Coughlin’s group arrived. They were prepped to turn on the massive fan and allowed the visiting VIPs to stand in the tunnel for a few minutes as it ramped up. “We walked down this long, bending ramp, which is all part of the design to put the air into the tunnel the way they want it,” Coughlin said. “They had a car tied down and were putting it through its paces at lower rates of wind speed. They even had the little vapor stream deal you see on TV shows that shows how the air flows over the car. We stayed in there for a bit but when they increased the gusts of wind they pulled us to safety. “The science behind utilizing a wind tunnel is overwhelming. Just the way they generate the wind with this giant fan, the way they control the temperature inside the chamber, the tiny corrections they can make to the speed of the air, the positioning of the car on all these different axises, it’s so impressive. As a driver, you really start to understand how tiny little changes to the car can make a huge difference.” The end result of the trip left Coughlin, who plans to retire from full-time racing at the end of 2020, feeling extremely confident about the design of both his racecars and his street cars. “All of what they do there is about making cars safer, even in the wind tunnel,” Coughlin said. “Of course, with racecars there is a bigger emphasis on making them as slick and aerodynamic as possible to increase speed, but there is still a large focus on safety, just like with the street cars. “The people there were special also. It’s always a treat to see American workers making iconic American cars with so much pride.” |
RCR Event Preview – Atlanta Motor Speedway
| Richard Childress Racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway … In 147 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has earned nine wins and three pole awards, including Kevin Harvick’s emotional victory in the Cracker Barrel 500 on March 11, 2001. Dale Earnhardt won eight times at the Hampton, Ga.-based track under the RCR banner. The Welcome, N.C.-based organization also has captured three NASCAR Xfinity Series victories with drivers Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Elliott Sadler. COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection Catch the Action … The Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, June 7, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Atlanta 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, June 6, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. |
| This Week’s Symbicort Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Atlanta Motor Speedway … In seven NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dillon’s best finish is 11th in 2016. SYMBICORT Partners with the No. 3 at Atlanta Motor Speedway … SYMBICORT is an AstraZeneca product and the sponsor of the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 with Austin Dillon. You can learn more at MySymbicort.com. AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Atlanta Motor Speedway is another track where the asphalt is among the favorite of the drivers, am I right? “Exactly. We make sure when we go to Atlanta Motor Speedway that we don’t pray for rain. We don’t want any rain because it’s going to be a long day drying that place. It is old. It weeps, but I’m glad they’ve kept it the same. It’s a place that drivers love because you know its going to be slick and over time you might be able to find some grip by moving around or changing your line and being disciplined with the throttle.” |
| Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Atlanta Motor Speedway … This weekend, Tyler Reddick will be making his debut NASCAR Cup Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts and one top-five finish at the 1.5-mile speedway. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender also has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at the track, including one top-five finish from 2015. About Roland … Roland DGA Corporation serves North and South America as the marketing, sales, distribution and service arm for Roland DG Corporation. Founded in 1981 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Roland DG of Hamamatsu, Japan is a worldwide leader in wide-format inkjet printers for the sign, apparel, textile, personalization and vehicle graphics markets; engravers for awards, giftware and ADA signage; photo impact printers for direct part marking; and 3D printers and CNC milling machines for the dental CAD/CAM, rapid prototyping, part manufacturing and medical industries. For more information, visit rolanddga.com. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE:Is there much you can take from somewhere like Las Vegas Motor Speedway to Atlanta Motor Speedway, knowing the two tracks are very different despite being the same length?“There’s really nothing you can take from Las Vegas to Atlanta. However, I do think there are a lot of things that we have done in the Xfinity cars at Atlanta to capitalize on speed that can apply this weekend. Atlanta is all about managing tires, even with all of the downforce we do have and where the horsepower is at in these Cup cars. You have to be smart and really understand how to manage your car from Lap 1 to Lap 45, which is about how far you can go on a set of tires. Tires will be our best friends this weekend. Atlanta is a weekend that kind of got away from us last year in the Xfinity Series, so I’m looking forward to getting back there this weekend. We were running down the leader last year with seven laps to go, but then a caution came out and we got shuffled back on the restart, so I’m looking forward to another shot at Atlanta in our No. 8 Roland Chevrolet.” |
| This Week’s No. 21 Death Wish Coffee Chevrolet Camaro at Atlanta Motor Speedway … Anthony Alfredo will return to the seat of the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro as the NASCAR Xfinity Series visits Atlanta Motor Speedway. Alfredo will be making his debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He has one career NASCAR Truck Series start at the track in 2019. Welcome, Death Wish Coffee … In 2012, Death Wish Coffee Co. started a small coffee shop in Saratoga Springs, NY. Founder Mike Brown saw a need for coffee that was both strong and delicious to serve his groggy morning customers. After creating the perfect blend of beans and combining it with his unique roasting technique, the ‘World’s Strongest Coffee’ was born. Today, thousands of people trust Death Wish Coffee to wake them up and keep them going every day. For more information visit deathwishcoffee.com. Death Wish Coffee’s Mission … Our mission is to fuel you wherever you go. Death Wish Coffee is made by passionate people for passionate people, and our carefully selected, perfectly roasted coffee beans produce a bold, highly caffeinated coffee blend. We strive for the best tasting and highest quality organic and fair-trade beans in every bag. Our processes are USDA certified and we have committed to sustainability throughout our products. We offer a 100%, no-BS guarantee: If this isn’t the strongest coffee you’ve ever tried, we’ll gladly give you a refund. ANTHONY ALFREDO QUOTE:Atlanta has an extremely abrasive surface. How important will tire management be this weekend and do you think that will play into your favor? “Tire management will play a huge role in being able to have a successful run at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. I learned a lot about how to take care of my tires early in a run at Darlington Raceway. Atlanta is one of my favorite racetracks after making my NASCAR Truck Series debut there last year. I am typically strong at worn out racetracks where tire management is vital, so hopefully that will translate to success for us. I’m also proud to be representing Death Wish Coffee on our No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend. It’s going to be a lot of fun to go back to Atlanta with a little more experience under my belt. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together with my Richard Childress Racing team.” |
chevy racing–nascar–atlanta–jimmie johnson
NASCAR CUP SERIESATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAYFOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTJUNE 5, 2020
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, spoke with media via video conference to discuss his thoughts going into the Atlanta race weekend, discussions he has had with Bubba Wallace and other drivers about what is currently going on in the United States, and more. Full Transcript: JUST TO KICK OFF, WE SAW THE PRESS RELEASE WHERE ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY WAS RE-NAMING A GRANDSTAND AFTER YOU AND YOUR CAREER IN NASCAR. GIVE US A FEW THOUGHTS ON THAT AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO YOU.“It means a ton to me. To have my name be on the grandstands there at the speedway, alongside all the other greats, is just super meaningful to me. My final full-time year in Cup is a little different than I imagined; our whole world is different than we imagined with Covid. I know there were other plans to kind of go with the events in Atlanta this weekend that won’t be seen through, but it’s still amazing to have my name on the grandstands there. I’ve seen a few pictures and I can’t wait to see it in person on Sunday.” I KNOW YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF STUFF THROUGH YOUR FOUNDATION, GIVING TO SCHOOLS, AND I THINK BUBBA WALLACE SAID YOU HAD REACHED OUT TO HIM THIS WEEK. I’M CURIOUS, I KNOW YOU’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RACING SEASON, BUT HAVE YOU STARTED THINKING ABOUT OTHER THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO OR POTENTIALLY COULD DO IN REACTION TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOCIETY?“Yeah I think just generally, that’s the big question I have for myself right now. I’m trying to learn and educate myself and really listen during these times. I find the more I listen, the more I learn. There is a lot of noise out there right now obviously, but when you sit down and listen, you realize a lot of the injustices that take place across a broad spectrum. As a figure of our sport and somebody that’s just a citizen that cares in this country, I feel like for me personally, it’s really time to listen and I look forward to the journey it takes me on and the ways I can be active.” BUBBA MENTIONED HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH YOU THIS WEEK AND HE MENTIONED THERE WAS AN IMPACT ON HIM WITH HAVING THAT CONVERSATION. HOW DID THE CONVERSATION WITH BUBBA IMPACT YOU?“We are all so busy – our industry is so busy. You just don’t know what people deal with and Bubba has been a great friend of mine. I’ve been in conversation with him with some of the depression issues that he’s battled over the years that he’s been able to share publicly. Things that drivers talk about and the challenges we have in our teams, our jobs, relationships, life and things like that – he and I have always had an open line of communication and talk on a deep level. To start, I just called to check in with him. I just wanted to know how he was doing. In that phone call, I learned a lot about him, his family and the things that they’ve been through. His cousin was killed while he was young, to learn that story, I just had no idea. I had no idea the challenges he’s been faced with. It’s part of that listening stuff that I mentioned earlier. I have many friends of color and race, and just checking in with them and understanding. Just curious, how are you? How is this impacting you? That’s been a great learning point for me during these times.” YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT LISTENING AND THAT’S A VERY IMPORTANT THING AT THIS TIME. AS NASCAR BEING ONE OF THE FEW ACTIVE SPORTS OUT THERE, I THINK THERE’S A QUESTION OF IS THERE SOMETHING MORE THAT CAN BE DONE IN A MORE UNIFIED WAY? “That’s a great question. I think for those of us that ask ourselves ‘is there more that we can do’, that’s the start of it. I think that’s, ultimately, what a lot of the protestors far and wide want to ignite in people – do you think you can do more? And when that really hits inside of you, will you act on it. I do think there’s time to do stuff this weekend. There’s a lot of discussion going on behind the scenes with many drivers with our sport, the leaders of sport. (inaudible)” AFTER BRISTOL, YOU MENTIONED HOW YOU FELT A YEAR AGO AT ATLANTA WAS A BIT OF A WAKEUP CALL FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, BUT YOU WERE EXCITED TO GO BACK THERE BASED ON THE SUCCESS YOU SAW AT FONTANA. I’M CURIOUS, WITHOUT GIVING AWAY TOO MANY TRADE SECRETS, WHAT IS IT YOU FELT LIKE YOU GUYS FIGURED OUT FROM LAST YEAR?“Atlanta is just so abrasive that if you have any imbalances in your race car, you’re over-working a particular corner or you have the wrong shock package or aero concept, whatever it is, it’s going to show up. That track is so abrasive. You get one lap with grip and then everything from there is downhill. We were able to really understand just how far off we were. That was in a lot of areas and I think we quickly addressed the mechanical grip issues that we had and our Hendrick cars were more competitive throughout the year. I feel like the 9 car did an amazing job of really putting some speed in their car and being consistent and getting to victory lane. So, they were the high-water mark for the HMS cars and we’re all trying to get there. And then you add in during the off season, how the Chevrolet’s were allowed to build a new car. That was the final piece that we were missing. We were able to get mechanical grip in the car, but it came at a huge penalty for drag and the car wasn’t very efficient. After NASCAR did a lot of research and taking all manufacturers to the wind tunnel, they were able to put some new quality back into the build of the bodies. You add the new efficient race car that we have, the new efficient Camaro that we have, with our journey last year on the setup, we have great cars. I still think that we, as a company, have a little bit to gain on the tracks where we trim out more. Michigan would be an example of that. But when you look at Atlanta, Darlington, Fontana, these tracks with a lot of wear and require a lot of downforce and grip, we seem to have a really strong package right now.” YOU’VE BEEN SO GENERIOUS, AS FAR AS FUNDING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AROUND THE COUNTRY, DO YOU SEE EDUCATION AS ONE WAY PEOPLE CAN GET A SET UP THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THAT POSITION BEFORE?“Education has been a really important. Chandra and I both grew up in public school systems. We understand the diversity in the public school systems, we understand the challenges in the public school systems. And to us, we’ve always felt that starting with kids is the most important part of the equation. The earlier you start, the more hope you have for change in education and knowledge, and ultimately, better citizens in the country. Citizens of the world, understanding culture abroad. Education has been very important to us and I think, in general, should be a point of focus. It has been for us. As I look into the future at what I do when I’m not a full-time racer, it’s a little unclear right now where I take the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. But our focus has been on children for a reason and we really feel like we can make change and really effect individuals’ lives if we start young enough.” HAVE YOU FOUND WAYS, DESPITE WHAT’S GOING ON, TO SAVOR THE MOMENTS AT THESE RACE TRACKS KNOWING IT COULD BE YOUR LAST TIME THERE?“Yes and no. This weekend will be a track that I won’t see again, potentially, as a race car driver. I’m excited to have the moment with the grandstands being named after me, granted there’s no fans there to celebrate it with (laughs). It’ll be interesting to see how I feel being at the track this weekend, but knowing we have so many races left and we’ll be coming back to these tracks, it hasn’t been on my mind. Fontana was out of this world – what an emotional and special moment that was to go back to my home track for the final time, have fans in the stands and the full experience. I guess I’ve been riding that high. I’m just happy to be back at the track. My head space has been back to some normalcy and back to racing.” BEFORE YOU TALKED TO BUBBA, DID YOU FEEL LIKE ‘I’M JUST A DRIVER, WHY WOULD SOMEBODY CARE WHAT I SAY’? DID YOU RE-THINK YOUR IMPACT IN GENERAL ON ANY ISSUE AS A SPORTS FIGURE?“No – I feel like I’ve spoken up on issues through my career. I feel like if you speak up on an issue, you really need to believe it in your heart and see it through at that point. You’re going to receive pushback from anyone on any topic on the other side (inaudible). I’ve let my passion, my desire to learn and understand and have a voice kind of lead me through my journey.” WITH RACING HOW IT IS RIGHT NOW, FAST AND FURIOUS, IS IT EASIER FOR YOU FOR THE ONE LAST TIME OR IS IT HARDER GIVEN HOW THE SCHEDULE IS?“I’ve really enjoyed it. My job entails just the part that I love the most about my job, which is racing. The corporate obligations have really slowed down; it’s now basically some zoom calls to be with fans or sponsors. Here we are doing media and I’m in Oklahoma at my in-laws. So, I’m able to really enjoy the part that I love the most, which is driving and we’re racing twice a week. I’ve enjoyed the schedule and the challenges that have come with it.” HOW DID YOU LEARN ABOUT GEORGE FLOYD AND THE PROTESTS? HOW DID YOU NAVIGATE THE DAYS FOLLOWING? “I saw it through social media. I typically don’t have the news on with kids and such in the house – we’re just not big TV people. So, I learned through watching on social media. I was definitely pulled to making statements and wanted to share my point of view. I feel like in my position and who I am as an individual, I want to have a voice and I want to stand up for injustices. So, I’ve been trying to find my voice. I think part of that journey is to educate myself. I’ve been very deep in that and trying to learn and educate – on the phone with friends of mine, like Bubba Wallace, other friends of color and race that I’ve known through the years just checking in. Just trying to understand and asking them deeper questions that haven’t come up in our relationship so far. To learn and understand just how far and wide my friends have dealt with issues is helping me find my voice and have clarity in the situation and all the noise that’s out there. I know there’s a lot going on in the media, so I found in my opinion, the best route is to talk to my friends of color and understand their perspective to help me understand my perspective and find my voice, ultimately.” IS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT LOSING FANS OR FOLLOWERS BASED ON WHAT YOU POST OR WHAT STAND YOU TAKE?“It’s a sensitive topic, but I think you’ve got to follow your heart and post what you believe in. It’s hard to live your life worrying about other people. You have to let your passions in your life shine through and the things that you believe in. You need to follow that. And for me, ultimately, I’ve felt the need to have a voice in this and I’m still trying to find that voice. So, I’m being pulled this way more than I have in other times and there’s just something inside of me that makes me feel like I need to do it.” WE’RE SEVERAL RACES INTO THE PROTOCALS AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE HAVE TO RACE. WHAT’S BEEN THE HARDEST OR STRANGEST PART OF IT FOR YOU?“For me, it’s been the cadence or rhythm that you have with the individuals on your team. Normally when the green flag drops at a race, as a group, you have a sense of what your challenges are going to be that day. You’ve had practice, you’ve had qualifying, you know what to be prepared for. And to go cold turkey off the truck, you just have no idea where the day is going to take you and what challenges you’re going to deal with. Certainly, I’ve had that on my side as a driver and the crew members that prep on the car and maintenance, the adjustments on pit stops, the crew guys over the wall hitting the lug nuts and how much of a rhythm that is for them – everything is just cold turkey. It’s a really interesting head space that first stage, if not to the second stage, of just trying to find out where you’re at. So, that’s been an interesting one for me.” WITH THE FANS NOT THERE, HOW ANXIOUS DO YOU THINK EVERYONE IS INSIDE THE GARAGE TO JUST HAVE SOME FANS THERE? “At least everybody that I’ve talked to, we just want to be safe. Of course, we understand these are trying times and different times, it is awkward at track and we all wish fans were there, but we just want to be safe. So, we’re happy to be in an industry that is back working and we’re able to do our jobs again. So, as long as we’re doing it and doing it safe, we don’t want to regress, so I think everybody’s head space is about doing the right thing and being safe.” THE CHOOSE CONE HAS BEEN A TOPIC THAT KEEPS COMING UP HERE AND THERE. I WANTED TO GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT – WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT? “Yeah, I’m definitely in favor of it. We’ve been kicking it around for years back and when we had a more formal driver’s council, it was always topic that came up. We hope that it comes into play and if you watch from about 15th on back on a restart, everybody is just choosing where they want to go anyhow (laughs), so it would be nice to have that be a part of the format. I only see it helping. When you’re on tracks where track position matters in a sense of lanes, it’s going to look like it does right now. You get to Martinsville, you’re going to have cars pick the inside lane for safety. And then someone from deep in the pack is going to try to take the outside lane and see how it plays out. I really don’t see it being a problem. I think it simplifies restarts for us and, honestly, a lot of drivers grew up in a series that has choose cones. So, it’s not something we really have to teach or educate ourselves on. I think it could be a win-win for everybody.”
chevy racing–nascar–atlanta–ty dillon
NASCAR CUP SERIESATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAYFOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTJUNE 4, 2020
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed his discussion with Bubba Wallace and other drivers about what is currently going on in the USA. Full Transcript: WHAT IMPACTED YOU THE MOST IN YOUR CONVERSATION WITH BUBBA WALLACE ON INSTAGRAM THE OTHER NIGHT? HOW HAS THAT MAYBE GUIDED ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE DONE OR THOUGHT ABOUT SINCE THAT CONVERSATION WITH HIM?“I’ve known Bubba since I was 13 when I first started racing and Bubba Wallace was one of the first kids I met at the race track or followed and knew. Kind of when you go to the race track, you’re first thing is to figure out who is the best. Bubba was younger than me, but in the class that he was in, he was the best. So, I always watched him. And we knew each other and then we ended up racing against each other. So our whole careers have been kind of a mirror back and forth. I am a little bit older than Bubba. So, I’ve known him my whole career and growing up and have seen him grow up as well, and to hear the stories about how Bubba was treated in some of those situations and knowing Bubba’s character and knowing him as a human being, that blew my mind because I would have never thought Bubba as a person, would have gone through anything like that. But, I think that’s just what it is. I think sometimes it’s easy for us who don’t know, as a white man or a white person, in general, we don’t know these stories. We don’t all the time ask the right questions to become informed. And just hearing what he’s gone through in his career and having to deal with people, on top of being a good race car driver, which makes people not like you always, but the color of his skin being something that he’s had to battle too in his career and will have to continue to battle. I think just hearing those stories impacted me in just saying that Bubba’s going through this, so is everyone else that looks like him, so why can’t we emphasize to learn more and hear the stories so that we can help make a change, have the right verbiage in our communities and in our groups, so that this problem doesn’t continue on.”
THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW SPORTS THAT’S ACTIVE RIGHT NOW. I KNOW YOU ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THINGS ON YOUR OWN, AS MANY PEOPLE ARE, BUT WITH THE PLATFORM THAT THIS SPORT AND ITS COMPETITORS HAVE THIS WEEKEND, THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS, I UNDERSTAND THAT. BUT ARE THERE ANY TYPES OF THINGS BEYOND WHAT’S BEEN SAID OR DONE SO FAR THIS WEEK THAT CAN BE DONE COMMUNITY-WIDE, OR IS THAT BEST LEFT TO EACH INDIVIDUAL TO KIND OF FIGURE OUT HOW TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES?“I think obviously anything that’s said or expressed has to come from a true heart, so that does come from the individual. But I think it does take, as a group, saying that we don’t stand for it. And once we all know that we’re all on the same page as saying we don’t stand for it, we come together with a united voice saying that we don’t tolerate hate, racism, bigotry in our sport and that it’s not okay. And there’s great conversations going on with the folks in our sport on this in planning a united front to make a statement. And I’m very proud of that. Our sport is doing a good job, but it also takes the individuals who aren’t afraid to step out and say this isn’t about me anymore. And that’s tough in our sport because our sport is all about being number one and having the most influence as far as followers and sponsorship and being up front, it’s a very selfish motivated sport. That’s just what it is. There’s one winner in our sport. And there’s usually a bunch of losers trying to figure out how to get there. So our mindset, our whole career from the time we are 12 or 13, which are very impactful years in a human being’s life, is trying to figure out how to get yourself there. And, for one time, for the drivers and everybody in NASCAR who have worked so hard to get to this place, we have a platform where there are people that we can influence and be true leaders. And being a true leader, you don’t make it about yourself. It’s about the others in life. So, I think there’s great conversations going on around how we can make this a united front and voice that hopefully helps change. And make it not about being scared anymore to acknowledge that there is something wrong here.”
WHAT RESPONSE HAVE YOU RECEIVED ON SOCIAL MEDIA? IS THERE ANY HESITATION IN RACING, BECAUSE YOU ARE A LARGELY WHITE SPORT, WITH A LARGELY WHITE AND CONSERVATIVE AUDIENCE ABOUT GETTING OUT AND TACKLING SUCH A TOPIC AS THIS?“Yeah, I think it’s something to certainly a lot of people consider. And it keeps a lot of people who feel strongly about this subject from saying things. And it’s tough. And, I’m not one to say hey, you need to speak up and tell other people what to do.
“For me, I can tell you about my heart on it and for me, I don’t care if I ever win a race or a championship in my life or lose every follower I have on Instagram or sponsor that I have, but when my children grow older and I take my last breath, I want to be made sure that I was on the right side of what I felt is going on in history. And that means way more than acquiring fame and trophies and wins. Those things all fade away. But the impact you had on human beings in your life, the relationship lasts forever. So, that’s my heart behind this. I know some people might not feel the same as me and I understand that, as well. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I just wanted to stop, in the middle of my career, and say hey, this is where I stand and there is the taunting in your head of what if I lose this or what if something happens. But, I know at the end of the day, this is what I believe in and I’ll stand up for what I believe in.”
WHAT HAS THE REACTION BEEN THAT YOU’VE RECEIVED SO FAR?“It’s been very positive. I’ve had a really great reaction. Obviously, there’s the few that don’t agree. But, I’m not looking for someone to agree with me. I’m just talking about how I feel on the subject. You can’t do anything in this day without making one person mad or somebody else happy, but this is who I am . I want to use my platform to talk about things that matter to me, whether it makes some people uncomfortable, or not. So, in general, it’s been overwhelmingly positive. And so, that’s been really great.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK NASCAR, AS A SPORT, CAN DO MOVING FORWARD TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE ISSUES AND MAYBE LACK OF REPRESENTATION THAT HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY PART OF THE SPORT?“I think the unfortunate thing that there has been in the past, a bit of a stigma about our sport, as being not accepting and kind of an underlying racist tone to our sport that I know doesn’t exist in the sanctioning body and in the drivers and in the sport, at an intimate level outside of what the fans and maybe the media get to see. I think there’s a lot of great-hearted people in our sport. But also, this is a time for us to speak up and confirm that. And so, like I said earlier, there’s a lot of great conversation going on and I think we all understand, as a group of drivers, our input, and NASCAR as a body, which is great. We’re all working together in that we have to change it. We have to make sure that the message isn’t just for right now. That we come together and come up with a plan that senses who NASCAR is today, tomorrow, and forever. So, there’s been a lot of great discussions of how we’re going to move forward and make sure that we move out of this narrative of the past, that all of these drivers that I feel like are in Cup and in the sport now, never wanted to inherit that tag or title. But, this is the time for us to change it for history. And I think we have a lot of passionate leaders in our group that are working together with everyone to try to encourage great change.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE ATHLETES HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE THEY DO HAVE THIS PLATFORM? LIKE MICHAEL JORDAN’S COMMENT OF EVEN REPUBLICANS BUY SHOES’. WHAT’S YOUR STANCE ON THAT?“Yeah, I can’t really speak to Michael Jordan. I can just speak to my heard as far as what leadership means to me. And, I think every human being has a role in leadership in their life and whether you own a business or are a professional athlete, the amount of people that you might lead can be different. But, it’s all-important. To me the most important leadership I have is to my wife and to my kids. So, whether it’s your family, your friends that you spend time with in your small community, or it’s as a professional athlete. I have a platform of followers on Instagram that follow me. And much is given, there’s much expected. But it’s a blessing for me to have the following that I have and I can lead to the people that follow me and say hey, this is who I am and you can follow me in this way, or you can choose not to. But we all have opportunities to lead in life. And to have the excuse that you’re too small for people to care. No one in life is unimportant to not lead in some kind of way. I think once we all believe in ourselves in that way, we’ll start to change things.”
OBVIOUSLY YOU ALL HAVE A STRONG PLATFORM AND YOUR WORDS CAN SPEAK VOLUMES. BUT HAS THERE BEEN ANY DISCUSSION OR ACTION POINTS OR THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO BEYOND THE IMPORTANCE OF SPEAKING AS FAR AS TRYING TO HELP UNDERSTANDING WITH WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOCIETY?“Yeah, absolutely. There’s been some really great discussions privately behind the scenes with NASCAR, the executives in NASCAR, and all the drivers. So, I hope and expect soon that we’ll come out with a way of setting a tone with our hearts on this subject. So, I think the greatest thing that all of us can have is conversation. Conversation leads to change. Conversation leads to empathy and understanding. So, that’s happening. And, I first just want to say, I think Bubba Wallace’s strength to speak up during this time for our sport, has been awesome. And, I’m just proud of him as a friend, knowing him his whole career, too, and I think we’re going to see great things come out of this generation of NASCAR of who is in the sport right now. Hopefully it sets the tone for who comes after us. And for all of us, that would be the most important thing that we do.”
IS THERE ANYONE AT NASCAR DIRECTING THE DISCUSSION? IS IT SOMEONE WITHIN THE DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OR A POINT PERSON FOR THAT YET?“Not yet. I think we’re in discussions that I think it’s coming from individuals. Right now it’s a lot of driver discussion with NASCAR saying let’s do this together. We want to be a part of it. NASCAR has confirmed their heart in this situation and are just backing the hearts of a lot of drivers in this. So, I’m excited. I think something great is going to come out of it and I think there is a group of real true leaders of drivers that are standing up and leading and so, I’m excited. I think there’s great opportunity here to hopefully make some changes.”
chevy racing–indycar–texas–conor daly
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTJUNE 3, 2020
THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by the driver of the No. 59 Gallagher Chevrolet for Carlin, Conor Daly. Welcome to the call.
CONOR DALY: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
THE MODERATOR: What are the emotions going through this week? Eagerly anticipating the race, excited, anxious? What has been going through your head?
CONOR DALY: Yeah, I mean, honestly just so ready to go. It’s been a long time. I think since like March 2nd or 3rd since I’ve been in a car. Since September on an oval, August, whenever Gateway was.
It’s going to be fun. A lot of variables, a lot of new things that we’re all going to have to adjust to pretty quickly. I feel bad for the rookies not having had the whole month of May getting up to speed on an oval, getting used to that style of racing.
It’s tough. I know for a fact. Texas is tough. Oval racing in INDYCAR overall is tough. But it’s fun. Hopefully, we can all be smart about everything and just have a great Saturday night.
THE MODERATOR: Texas last year was your debut with Carlin, if I remember correctly. In the year working with them on the ovals, what did you learn about the team that can help you jumping into a one-day show with practice, qualifying and a race?
CONOR DALY: Realistically I think we had a great run together last year. It was a lot of fun to get used to how they work, them getting used to what I need out of the car.
At Texas, we were thrown into the deep end. For me, I struggled a little bit with it at first. We actually had a pretty good race, were actually pretty happy with it come the end of the day.
By the end of the season together, or the oval season that we did together, we were fighting quite a lot at the sharp end in Gateway. I love that track, but I also really enjoy driving the car there, too.
It’s great to have the support of Gallagher still, have a great-looking car to drive on the ovals this year, albeit an interesting new schedule with the doubleheader at Iowa will be interesting and everything in general about this year will be different, but it will be cool.
I’m excited to get it going with these guys on Saturday night.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.
Q. I wanted to ask you as a competitor embracing these challenges. Obviously, everybody is in the same boat going in. I’m sure you’re giving proper due to everything you have to that’s kind of unusual for this race. Is there part of you that is excited for these new changes, challenges, to test yourself and the team, see where you come out on the other end?CONOR DALY: Absolutely. Oddly enough I’ve been in a lot of crazy and strange situations in my career so far. I really enjoy situations where there’s not a lot of information known about certain conditions. Like if it’s raining, I love rain races. I like showing up to new tracks. Gateway, when that was added to the schedule, loved that immediately. It was a lot of fun.
There’s just a lot, though, that we don’t know with what the Aeroscreen is going to do. There’s only three, four, five guys maybe that have driven with an Aeroscreen on an oval. We were obviously hoping to have most of the month of May to figure out what that’s going to look like, but we don’t. It’s going to be interesting.
I think the series has done a great job on trying to obviously understand what we’re all going to have to deal with on Saturday night. I think having the tire stints reduced a little bit, I don’t know if I necessarily like that, but obviously it’s done for a reason for us.
I was watching the race last year from my own onboard perspective. I was like, Wow, 55, 60 laps before we pitted or something. It’s going to change the race drastically when it comes to strategy.
Again, I think those types of things, you just want to be the guy who makes the least mistakes. I think when everyone comes together after having not run anything for a very long time, you just got to be the guy to make the least mistakes.
I think that’s our goal, for sure, is to start the season with a good, positive experience for everyone, then see what happens.
Q. I know Carlin wanted to have two cars, but they announced the other day it’s just going to be you. To have their full focus, does that help you in any way or does it hinder because you don’t have teammate feedback?CONOR DALY: I think having information and more data, especially when the day is so condensed, that’s super important. And it is a shame to be missing a wing man, per se.
But the team is prepared for that. We’re all ready to give it our best effort no matter what. It’s an unprecedented situation, for sure. Everyone says that so often. But racing is a business. We got to do the best job that we can no matter what for the partners that the team has with Gallagher Insurance and everyone else that supports this.
I’m excited. There’s a lot of great guys and girls at that team. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll be the Lone Ranger out there. We do have information from last year, which is great. For me, I do have a feeling of what this car was like last year. That’s the first time I really ever had that in my career, going back to the same track with the same team.
There’s obviously a few new things on the car. It will be nice to get back to work with those guys because we know where we want to improve coming off of last year.
Q. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee there will be a huge rating, but the potential is there, the fact this is going to be on NBC in primetime. How do you view that opportunity?CONOR DALY: I mean, it’s great. We have a great TV partner in NBC. It’s going to be exciting to be able to start the season on network, NBC primetime. It’s our job as drivers to let all of our fans know and all of our social media reach know that, hey, this is going to happen Saturday night. You better turn on your televisions and you better tell all your friends, their families, everybody’s else’s friend to turn on their televisions because it’s going to be an electric show. It’s going to be a lot of fun to have live racing back in action.
I appreciate that, for sure. I think all of us drivers are definitely thankful this is how we’re going to get to start the season. Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool.
Q. The whole iRacing, Twitch situation. I’m sure your mind is past that for now focusing on this weekend. To go back to that briefly, how important is that for the future in terms of drivers trying to establish themselves in the likes of INDYCAR? Do you think it’s something that can help guys like you trying to establish yourself, it’s going to become a more important part of motorsport in the future, or we’ve seen a bit of a boom with everyone stuck inside? Is Twitch something that can help you establish yourself in the future?CONOR DALY: I think eSports in general, having a Twitch channel is cool. It’s fun. It’s fun to be able to bring fans directly into my technology center upstairs, which is essentially a guest bedroom.
Yeah, it’s pretty cool to have that out to just communicate. Communication with our fans, with people that support us, is awesome. But for professional eSports, I don’t know really what it does. I hope that continues to grow because I think it’s awesome that there are guys and girls out there who are doing an incredible job behind the virtual wheel. They deserve to get their time to shine, for sure. That will be really cool.
I don’t know how many professional drivers will be doing much of that because we will probably get beat by the professional eSports guys. But I think for sure. Obviously right now we have so much to do with the real season now that it’s resuming, it is going to sort of fall a little bit by the wayside because we have real life to focus on now again. You know what I mean?
I think in the off-season it would be really cool to think about how we could expand INDYCAR’s role with eSports, that community. But obviously, for now, there’s a lot on all of our tables when it comes to the real-life action. It will be nice to get back to that.
I certainly will still be playing video games in the off-season, that’s for sure.
Q. How are you feeling about having no fans at the race? Will that be weird for you or will you not really notice or care about it?CONOR DALY: You know what, it is going to be weird I think. But realistically when we line up on that grid two-by-two, we close the visor, that’s all that needs to be said. We’re going to be going racing. There’s going to be a pace car out there that’s going to be leading us around. Realistically all focus is on the job at hand.
I think it’s going to be strange basically before and after the race. But during there’s not a lot of time that you spend looking anywhere else other than the racetrack right in front of you. It will be interesting and it will be strange, but I think we’ll be able to do a good job with it for sure.
Q. I saw what you posted Monday, the heartfelt tribute to Chris Beaty. I’ve seen some other drivers post some things about the social unrest, other drivers talking about how they’ve struggled with how much they want to weigh in. Why did you decide to do that? Did it feel comfortable because you had a connection to Chris Beaty? What has been the reaction?CONOR DALY: Yeah, I mean, obviously Chris was a pretty close friend of mine. Obviously what’s going on now is just tough to see no matter who you are, I think. I just wanted to say something because just how good of a person he was. I didn’t want to dive in to anything and create any big story about it or anything. I just felt like he deserved some words.
Obviously he was out there trying to help protect some people who were getting robbed. It’s incredible to see that level of a person that he was. He definitely deserved the respect that people certainly in Indianapolis are giving him.
Yeah, it’s a tough situation all across the country. But, yeah, he was a great guy and he’ll definitely be riding with us this weekend. He was a big INDYCAR fan, as well. That’s pretty cool.
Q. Is it difficult sometimes for drivers to figure out how to toe the line, weigh in on things that could potentially be controversial but important for them to speak out on?CONOR DALY: I think so, yeah. There’s a lot of business aspects to this sport, for sure, that we have to be aware of. There are companies that support us, support our team, stuff like that.
But realistically you got to say what comes from the heart as well. I think it’s been great to see a lot of drivers saying what they have. I think it’s a pretty unified message between all the stuff that we’ve seen put on the Internet, for sure.
It’s good to see us as a community doing what we are doing. Hopefully we can continue to get some positivity going with our race this weekend as well.
Q. Obviously this year you’re driving for two teams. How beneficial is that to you as a driver in terms of your development going forward during the season?CONOR DALY: Well, I mean, it’s strange obviously. It’s not how you’d like to do things ideally. But it’s a great opportunity to be a full-time INDYCAR driver again. So I’m going to look at it like that.
I got this shirt out of a pile of 16 shirts that I had upstairs from all the teams that I drove for last year (laughter). It was really interesting to go through that.
But, yeah, I mean, the Carlin guys are a great team that believed in me in 2011, and they still do now. It’s cool to be driving for them and hopefully continuing to get some great results together.
Would love to be able to hoist some trophies up for them this year because they deserve it. They’re putting in a lot of work. Trevor is an incredible owner. Chili’s is a great supporter of the series and the team as well.
It is going to be interesting. Obviously I was supposed to start the season with ECR, now I’m starting it with Carlin, then rotating into the ECR car after that.
I have to say the same for both teams: it’s incredible to be part of both organizations. I raced with Carlin before, so I know what that situation is like. I haven’t raced for ECR yet. I’m excited to start the journey with those guys because they also have done a fantastic job of welcoming me into the organization. I know they’re ready to go, for sure.
Q. The Aeroscreen, how are you going to adapt to that in Texas?CONOR DALY: I have no idea how I’m going to adapt to it (laughter).
I think publicly I’ve said I’m not a huge fan of it. But I understand the reasons obviously why it’s been introduced. I respect what the series wants to do, the direction they’re taking obviously.
But, yeah, it obviously presents a lot of interesting variables. This week I thought I was going to use the helmet that I tested with in St. Pete. Apparently it had the air induction thing on the wrong side so that had to be changed. There’s so many different things now that we’re going to have to get used to when it comes to driver cooling, the tear-offs.
Yeah, it’s exciting because it’s all new, but it’s also like I don’t know what’s going to happen. It should be interesting.
Q. Dealing with two different teams, how hard is it to build momentum? You were starting with ECR, but now starting with Carlin. How hard has it been to build up that momentum that you would normally do before the season starts?CONOR DALY: Well, ideally when we were looking at the regular season, it would have been quite nice. I had a couple test days with ECR, then we go to St. Pete, do the race, get the road racing going. We had two test days at Richmond with Carlin. That would have been nice to get everything flowing together. Now we’re just jumping in racing.
I think no matter what, me personally, I always try to just have a positive momentum streak going. That’s what we’re going to do. We got one race in June. June is going to obviously be pretty quiet. You definitely don’t want to sit through the weeks after Texas and think, Man, I wish that would have gone better.
We want to try to make it a great start so we can look at things as positive as possible heading into the month of July, where we have five races in 13 days or something like that, which I’ll be with both teams during that time.
I think this race in June is going to be kind of on its own, on a bit of an island because we have so much time before and after. Once we get rolling in July, I think things are just going to keep flowing together pretty well.
Q. Are there any plans of moving out?CONOR DALY: Of what, my house?
Q. Yeah.CONOR DALY: Not my house. This is my house. I live by myself. I don’t want to move. I think this is great.
Q. I guess I was under the impression you were living with your parents.CONOR DALY: No, no, that hasn’t happened since 2014 (laughter).
THE MODERATOR: We will take the time to thank Conor for his time, wish him the best of luck this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for Saturday night’s Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race is at 8 p.m. on your local NBC affiliate.
CONOR DALY: Thank you, guys. I appreciate everyone.
chevy racing–indycar–texas–tim cindric
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTJUNE 3, 2020
THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the first of today’s video conferences with participants from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. INDYCAR is holding these in advance of the Genesys 300, which takes place Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be on at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. We’re pleased to be joined this morning by the president of Team Penske, Tim Cindric. Tim, welcome to the call.
TIM CINDRIC: Good morning, guys.
THE MODERATOR: Tim, starting the season a few weeks later than we had hoped to in March, what kind of unique challenges has Team Penske faced as they get ready for the Genesys 300?
TIM CINDRIC: Well, I think everybody, knowing that we haven’t actually raced in, what, eight and a half months or so right now, has a bit of anxiety for how it’s going to turn out, and obviously going to Texas as our first race, yeah, it brings a lot of questions as far as how prepared we are and really how the season is going to start. Yeah, ever since Friday the 13th of March, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind up and down, and we’re just glad to be going racing again.
THE MODERATOR: As a team strategist, do the unique challenges of Texas and all the things that have been announced about tire stints and things, the one-day show, make it any more of a challenge for you?
TIM CINDRIC: Well, it’s something we haven’t experienced before, so honestly I wish it were the other way around because I think there’s probably more strategy involved in having the tire falloff and the degradation at Texas, and you saw that play out last year with Josef and kind of how that race went back and forth. Either way, I think it’s going to be really good racing. I am glad that we’ve got veterans in our cars right now because if I’m a rookie and I have to start at Texas as my first race, that’s pretty intimidating for sure, but yeah, thankfully they’re getting a bit of practice and not having to hop in and just race like NASCAR has had to do here quite a few times.
Q. In February you guys had the opportunity to take Scott McLaughlin to Texas to run some laps, so you have a little bit of data with the Aeroscreen on the car. Was that a helpful test for you guys?TIM CINDRIC: I think it was really more helpful for him. At the end of the day, it was just him being able to get up to speed and be in a position to understand what an oval is like and how fast it really is, but any time you get a chance to run somewhere, it’s beneficial, but I think the windscreen and that type of thing, once we go night racing, I’m not sure really anybody has experienced that at this point with the current screen. I know that Scott Dixon did a few runs I think it was at Phoenix if I remember correctly, but when you do it for real, it’s going to be different.
Q. I actually wanted to follow up on a question up just asked regarding testing. Jay Frye announced earlier this week that teams for the rest of the 2020 season would be limited to essentially only testing on the grounds of trying to develop a new potential future driver down the road, and so when you guys have the opportunity to get that extra test in with Scott at the beginning of the year on an oval, I know as you mentioned, maybe not a ton that you could take out of that and you guys weren’t anticipating this whirlwind season going, but just that one extra day on an oval which not too many teams have gotten, if that’s the only data that you guys will have, does that give you any sort of an edge going down the road the rest of the year?TIM CINDRIC: I think the perception is that it may. It probably depends on what side you sit on. But what we ran there with him was obviously something very different than what we would plan to race with our guys because you’re trying to give him the maximum level of comfort. He didn’t really run — I can’t remember even how many laps that he ran, but just getting to the point where he could hold the thing full throttle all the way around was a bit of a learning curve. You have to remember he’s never been on an oval whatsoever before.
But yeah, any time you go there — I don’t think we learned too much more than I guess we anticipated doing. I don’t really know how to answer the question because it’s all going to be really a matter of perception. Every team that didn’t get a run there is going to say that we gained all these big advantages and we’re going to say that really it wasn’t that big of an advantage. It was a bit of an inconvenience in some ways to go do it in the way that we did it right after the previous test, but we felt like we had him here in the country and it was a good opportunity for him to learn what that was all about.
In fact, he was actually scheduled to try and run the Richmond open test and the reason for the Texas test was that they weren’t going to allow him to run the Richmond open test with the other competitors unless he had run on an oval, so the background to why we actually went to Texas was it was the only oval that whoa could run, that we could actually get him cleared to do the Richmond open test.
Q. You mentioned your veteran drivers that you have in the car for this weekend. In such a breakneck season, especially in July that we’re going to have with I think about five races in 15 days or so, how important will that experience between Power, Pagenaud and Newgarden be for you guys as you try to navigate so many ever-changing things, a new landscape in such a short period of time for this shortened condensed season?TIM CINDRIC: Yeah, I think when you look at the schedule, it’s so different than what we’re used to, and I think the competition in INDYCAR, you saw it last year and I think you’ll see it again this year, the competition just continues to get greater and greater. You see some of the guys that came on board last year like Rosenqvist that now has a season under his belt, Herta. Look at all these guys that are up-and-coming and then you combine that with the veterans that we have and the fact that we’ve all been running these cars — yeah, OK, the windscreen is a bit different, but I don’t think that’s really going to give us a whole lot of handling characteristic change; it’s going to be more about how you execute on race weekends. With the number of double-headers that we have, it’s going to be a very momentum-based season, and I think you’re going to have comers and goers, and you’re going to have those that are seemingly out of it, but all of a sudden are in it when they have a great weekend at Iowa or Elkhart Lake or anywhere else. You’re going to continue, I think, to see this championship all the way down to St. Pete.
Q. The fact that you’re also in charge of the NASCAR side of the operation, even though they were drive-to races, the fact that they got rolling back in May, did you learn any processes and things of that nature that will be helpful in getting the INDYCAR team set with the parameters we have with the COVID-19 situation?TIM CINDRIC: Yeah, without a doubt. I think the fact that we’re running a NASCAR team out of the same building has probably given us a lot bigger edge on what to understand at Texas than maybe running Scott McLaughlin there for a few laps. But I’ve got to commend NASCAR and their aggressiveness in terms of getting back on track because I think they’ve really served as a catalyst for the rest of motorsports worldwide to show the world that it can be done, and there was a lot of risk in doing that in terms of being the first and taking the risks of, hey, what happens and what protocols you have to have in place and secondary procedures or whatever else. Without a doubt, we’ve learned a ton from the way in which it’s transpired within the NASCAR world.
I think honestly that the way they started the protocols, there hasn’t been too many changes. They had things pretty well covered from the very beginning, and it’s just been a matter of executing, and when you look at how NASCAR operates and whether it’s the pit stops or just how their haulers are arranged or how their communication happens relative to INDYCAR, relative to IMSA, everybody has their own little idiosyncrasies of how you operate as a series, so I think there’s some uniqueness there that’s going to continue to play out. But certainly, I think not only our team but I think motorsports in general has learned a lot from NASCAR.
Q. And also, how have you staggered the work schedules with the crew, and also, it’s going to be fairly ambitious for you to get to the races. You leave out of the Statesville airport Saturday morning and that’s going to be — you’re doing what the Indy guys are doing except you’re coming from a different part of the country. How do all those logistics come into play for you?TIM CINDRIC: Yeah, it’s been frustrating for many, but it’s a part of life now, as everybody understands. Yeah, we’ve chosen at this point to work in shifts rather than have our entire workforce together. You have to remember we have almost 500 people in the building on a normal basis, so we’ve really been working to maybe a third of the workforce, if you will, on any given day, split into shifts. Our shifts have been six-hour shifts, so we’ve been working from 6:00 to noon, and then we’ve taken a two-hour break for sanitization and so forth, and then we’ve worked then from 2:00 to 8:00 with a different shift. That’s been across the board through all of our series, and we’ll continue that process here for the foreseeable future, and really it helps us maybe take less risk with our people but also put ourselves in a position to where we’re not as vulnerable should someone get infected.
Q. Tim, I wanted to ask you about what Bruce was asking about in terms of the itinerary of getting to Texas. I’ve heard that the Indianapolis teams are going to be leaving very early Saturday morning, getting back very early Sunday morning, a very long day. How will that work coming from North Carolina? Do you have any sense of what the itinerary will be? Are you leaving very early and expecting to get back very late?TIM CINDRIC: Yeah, I think it’s the same really. The drivers are taking a different approach. The drivers are going in early just so that they get a decent night’s sleep there and can get acclimated, whereas the team, yeah, we’re going to leave before the sun comes up for sure, go through all of our screenings and protocols before we take off, and then yeah, go through that process just to get into the racetrack. It’s going to be a long day without a doubt, but wouldn’t trade it — don’t want to be home on Saturday. I’d much rather be at Texas.
Q. What are you expecting from the Aeroscreen? I’ve heard some sort of surprising takes on it like it actually might mean less downforce on the cars by a slight amount. What are you expecting in terms of how the cars will handle and how it might impact the racing?TIM CINDRIC: Well, obviously there’s a weight distribution change, so on the road courses we’ve seen that. Everybody has had a chance to test those things at COTA or whatever else, and really from a physics standpoint, what we don’t understand is how we’re going to draft and how things are going to be in traffic. That’s probably a pretty unknown right now. When you’re running by yourself and what we thought was going to happen with Scott when we put Scott out there, honestly, it was pretty immune to the whole situation. There wasn’t a lot of unexpectedness. There was some drag. But yeah, it did maybe make a bigger hole in the air, but at the same time, is that helpful or not helpful in terms of drafting?
I think we’re not going to know until we get in a pack to really understand how it’s going to affect the race, so it’s yet to be seen, really.
Q. Are you expecting with the tire stints, will there be more pack racing than normal if you have 35 laps at a time?TIM CINDRIC: You know, I don’t think we’ve raced this tire combination, so I’m not 100 percent sure. I do think that without having the falloff that we’ve typically had there where it starts to string out toward the end, I do think that it’s going to be pretty competitive there at the front and that the cars will certainly be closer and we’ll have less cars a lap down. When you look at only running 35-lap stints, you’re going to have more cars on the lead lap than what you would typically have in say a 70-lap stint or something that’s more normal for a place like Texas.
So I think the fact that you have more cars on the lead lap, you’re going to have less people moving over or they’re going to have harder racing for sure. So I certainly think it’s going to be a competitive night.
Q. I just wanted to start with Scott because you mentioned him a few times. Is there any update on his situation in terms of will he be racing with you this year and is there still appetite to do that because you’ve spoken about the benefit of having your experienced guys in the car, obviously, with having reduced practices. Is there still appetite to get Scott out there at some point this year?TIM CINDRIC: Well, there’s certainly an appetite. Whether that’s reality or not is yet to be seen. Currently with the schedule that he has and the quarantine rules that exist within travel at the moment going to and from Australia, if those stay in place the way that they are relative to the schedule, I just don’t see that it’s feasible. It’s just not possible to be able to clear quarantine and actually have him continue with the Supercars schedule and the schedule that we have. Until some of that is lifted, I really don’t see him having an opportunity to be here, and obviously, from an economic standpoint, I think everybody is challenged on that front.
I think for sure there’s a huge appetite, and he understands the reasons why we need to be patience on both ends, but right now he’s focused on the Supercars series until really things change.
Q. We’ve heard from Jay Frye that they’re considering a staged introduction of the next chassis for INDYCAR. What are your thoughts on what you’ve been told as a team so far on the next sort of phase of the rules cycle? Is it something — the things that you’ve heard so far, is it something you’re behind, or is there anything you think needs to be ironed out? What’s your feeling about the whole situation at the moment?TIM CINDRIC: Honestly, we’ve been so tied up in what’s been going on the last three months or so that I couldn’t give you too many details of even what’s been discussed. Our focus has been on today and how to get through today to get to tomorrow. This process that we’ve been through, it’s turned into three days a week, right. There’s today, tomorrow and yesterday. You forget what day of the week it is.
Been really struggling with trying to keep up with what’s happening on that front, and I think there’s been lots of discussion, and I think it’s really encouraging to hear that a manufacturer like Ferrari might be interested in the series itself. It tells you how far the series has come in a very short period of time here, and I think if we can get back on track, a lot of those things are going to be pretty exciting. But from today, I can’t honestly tell you that we have a very good perspective of even what’s been discussed just because we’re so focused on just getting through the next day.
Q. We’ve heard lots of stories about how people have been coping during quarantine, stuck at home, unable to go out. Just wondered if you’d share how you and your family have been coping and dealing, staying busy during the quarantine.TIM CINDRIC: I haven’t had any trouble being busy. I think it was probably the first week after St. Pete where you’re trying to really understand what this all means for everybody, but from that point on, honestly, it’s been probably the most frustrating few months of my career because every day is a different day. Every day is changing, every day is a constant change of scenario, and what might or might not happen and really how you keep the workforce not only motivated but quite frankly employed.
When you look at all the different trade-offs that we have with not knowing what the series was going to do, what the schedule was going to be, there’s just so much uncertainty, and some of that still exists. I still think it’s a pretty fragile environment. The fact that we’re still not racing with fans and some of these other things, I think motorsports has done more than any other sport to be relevant, and we’re very fortunate from that perspective.
But for me personally, I think I’ve had as much time and energy devoted into my job than I really ever have here in the recent times. As much as I thought maybe the first week that this all occurred that I’d be catching up on my domestic list, I can’t say that I’ve really had a chance to do much of that. But on the other hand, there’s quite a few people that have kind of in some ways been at home too long, so you have to look at all the different perspectives of what it is.
The one thing I am thankful for is that my kids are old enough to where I didn’t have to home school any of them because that would have been a real trying thing for me to try and home school my own kids and keep my family intact. Fortunately, that’s beyond me as far as the age of my children, but as I see the others having to home school kids and all that, in some ways I’m really jealous that they spend the time that I didn’t really have to devote to my kids at that age, but in other ways I’m like, man, I don’t know if I could have got through that or not. It’s interesting times.
Q. How beneficial is it to you as a team going into Texas having won there last year, given that you’re starting new with the Aeroscreen this year?TIM CINDRIC: Well, you certainly look at that race, and we weren’t really the dominating car until toward the end of that race. I think it gives us, yeah, kind of a check on the list to say we know what’s possible with the way the tire situation is probably in my mind going to be more influential than what the Aeroscreen scenario is, provided that the sightlines and the reflections and all the things that we really haven’t experienced yet don’t come into play more than what we anticipate. I think right now we anticipate all that being — based on our runnings at COTA and some other things, unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to run the Richmond open test. That would have given us a pretty good perspective on how it is to run on the banking and the ovals and that type of thing, and I think we were going to be able to run there at night a bit.
But I think the bigger concern with the Aeroscreen honestly is just adapting to racing at night, and we really haven’t done much of that at this point in time as well as the tire combination that we have and the 35-lap – if that’s where we end up – regulation to how long you can run a stint or half stint on tires is going to keep the field pretty packed up the entire time, which with that many cautions or that many situations of pitting, if you want to call it that — the in and out laps is where I was trying to get to, they’re going to become that much more important. So when you look at the number of in and out laps or the pit stops itself, I think track position will still be pretty key.
Q. I wanted to ask how much your role has changed, not because of the pandemic but with Roger getting involved in the series and IMS, and also I wanted to ask if there’s going to be a lot more day clashes this year, given not only NASCAR but also IMSA is going to have to compress its schedule towards the latter half of the season, how your duties are going to change and priorities are going to change now that you’re kind of like leading the race team.TIM CINDRIC: Yeah, well, honestly, he’s given me that rope here for the last 20 years in a lot of ways, so I think our relationship really hasn’t changed in terms of the way he and I operate.
Indy right now has taken probably more of his time, so he’s maybe a little bit distant in some weeks, and in other weeks he’s right on cue. But from a running-the-race-team perspective, he’s kind of always given me that ability to go do those things and has never really micromanaged what we do. I’ve always felt like I have an understanding of when to pick up the phone and when to make sure he’s in the meeting and when to make it happen, so I think that’s probably why I’ve survived here so long, because I think I understand that balance. Some days maybe I get out of check, but lately, I’ve felt more of an accountant and an HR guy than I have a racing guy here in the last two or three months, so it’ll be fun to actually be a racing guy here for a little while.
But yeah, my role within the team, I guess I refer to myself as the team guy. He’s got to focus on the series, and I really don’t have much influence in the series itself, except I probably have a seat closer to the table than I did before as far as being one that he’ll reach out and ask your opinion about a certain thing that’s happening or what he’s trying to achieve and maybe try and give some direction with who else out there might be a good sounding board for some of the things that INDYCAR or IMS is trying to be. But the quality of people there, he’s come to find that there’s a really good core within INDYCAR and within IMS, and his leadership has really brought that to another level, I think. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to see that.
I got a chance to actually go to Indianapolis a couple weeks ago. Hadn’t seen Roger really since the Daytona 500 was the last time that I saw Roger up until two weeks ago, other than these Zoom calls. He taught me what Zoom was, so he was ahead of the curve relative to myself on this Zoom business. He took the initiative to have my come to Indy and spend a couple hours with him on a golf cart going around the speedway and just understanding what’s transpired since he took over the speedway, and it’s amazing.
Having grown up there as a kid, I thought I knew that place like the back of my hand, and there’s so many places that I went to and that I saw on the outside of the racetrack that I had never seen before, and the best way — he said, “What do you think?” After I thought about it, I’m like, the best way I can tell you is that this whole place looks younger, the entire place, what he’s done, and I’m really interested to see what the die-hard fans have to say because the ones that — you know how it is. You know your little space. Like for us we know the garage area like the back of our hand, we know the men’s bathroom, we know exactly where the paper towels are, what all works, what used to be there and what’s there now, and you walk it and it’s amazing; you have LED lights in the bathrooms. Okay, people have made jokes about the bathrooms, but when you understand how many of them there are and the fact that that’s where everybody goes, you know, as part of it.
But when you look at what he’s done with — that’s one discussion. But what they haven’t really understood is just the sight lines, the video boards, the additional video situations that he has, and the overall customer experience, what you see as you drive in, what you saw as you walk in a gate, when you look at when you walk up — the actual grandstand that you’ve walked up for years, and you’ve had this particular seat for years. It used to be a rusty banister, now it’s not. It used to be this and it used to be that. It’s unbelievable what’s happened in a short period of time. It’s unfortunate we are where we are now, but in some ways, it’s good for the speedway in that they’ve had even more time to do some of these things. It’s quite an evolution, and I think it’ll continue here for a while.
THE MODERATOR: Tim, we appreciate you taking the time to join us and wish you and Team Penske the best of luck this weekend at Texas.
TIM CINDRIC: Appreciate you guys calling in, and hope to see you at the racetrack soon.
Giovanni Scelzi Joining All Stars for Four Races in Midwest This Weekend
Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (June 2, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi is bound for the Midwest to tackle four races with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1.
Scelzi, who is driving a family car, will make his debut at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., on Thursday; at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla., on Friday; at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Okla., on Saturday; and at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., on Sunday during the Cometic Gasket Thunder Through the Plains presented by Hercules Tires.
“We’re making some changes with the race car this week and we have four nights to learn so there’s nothing better than racing night after night,” he said. “Hopefully we can find the perfect balance in the race car on Thursday. Once you get that you can just tune on it here and there.”
Less than half of Scelzi’s races this season have been on pavement, giving him only seven starts in a winged sprint car. However, he has earned three second-place finishes, four top fives and five top 10s in those seven races.
“I haven’t been able to run much sprint car stuff this year,” he said. “I think a realistic goal is to run in the top five. We want to find a good balance and be able to contend each night.”
Scelzi noted that his tentative debut with car owner Guy Forbrook is now scheduled for June 12-13 at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event is on tap
Honda Drivers, Teams Ready for Rescheduled 2020 INDYCAR Season Debut
Honda Drivers, Teams Ready for Rescheduled 2020 INDYCAR Season Debut
Delayed season opens Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway
Honda seeks “three-peat” of Manufacturer Championships
Talented 14-driver lineup features eight IndyCar Series race winners, including four Indianapolis 500 winners, two series champions
TORRANCE, Calif. (June 1, 2020) – Eight race winners, four Indianapolis 500 champions and two former series title holders make up the talented Honda-powered lineup for the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES, opening this weekend with the Genesys 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Originally scheduled to begin at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March, the season start was delayed due to effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 season now will begin Saturday night with a non-spectator event at the 1.5-mile Texas oval. NBC will provide live network television coverage starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
Eight wins in 2019 brought Honda the company’s eighth INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship, and second consecutive title, with Honda drivers claiming victory in 19 of 34 races over the past two seasons.
“HPD Is proud that in 2019 – together with our partner teams – we achieved a second consecutive INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship”, said Ted Klaus, president of Honda Performance Development, the racing arm for American Honda in North America. “So far this year, HPD has been ‘racing’ to support medical ventilator companies with engineering services, as well as finding ways to safely run our racing business and get back to the track. It will be great to begin the 2020 racing season, where we intend to win on the track AND demonstrate common sense ways we can resume our livelihoods.
“For 2020, HPD’s goals are to win the Indianapolis 500, as well as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. Everyone at HPD has worked extremely hard to prepare for another highly competitive season, and we’re looking forward to getting our title defense under way.”
Honda will present an impressive lineup in Texas, all utilizing the Honda HI20TT twin-turbo V6 engine and Dallara chassis. It begins with five-time IndyCar series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 victor Scott Dixon, and includes 2017 Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato; 2012 series and 2014 Indianapolis 500 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay; 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi; multi-race winners Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe; plus Colton Herta, who broke through with two race wins during his rookie 2019 season.
Honda has been a fixture in North American open-wheel racing since 1994, and has played an active role in the growth of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as both a Manufacturers’ Championship competitor and single engine supplier, with a record that includes eight Manufacturers’ Championships. Honda’s Indy car total of 245 wins in 26 years of North American open-wheel racing – including 12 Indianapolis 500 victories since 2004 – is unmatched by any other manufacturer in the same period.
The company scored its first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2004 with Buddy Rice; Manufacturers’ Championships in 2004 and ’05; and became engine supplier to the entire IndyCar Series in 2006. Honda supplied racing engines to the full, 33-car Indianapolis 500 field every year from 2006-2011, and for six consecutive years – and the only six times in event history – the ‘500’ ran without a single engine failure.
Since the return of multi-manufacturer competition in 2012, Honda has scored four more Indy 500 triumphs, by Dario Franchitti in 2012, Hunter-Reay in 2014, Rossi’s dramatic victory in 2016’s historic 100th race and Sato’s popular victory in 2017. The 12 wins by Honda at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway lead all other major automobile manufacturers.
Chevy racing–indycar–texas–tony kanaan
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENESYS 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTJUNE 1, 2020
THE MODERATOR: We’re happy to be joined this afternoon by Tony Kanaan, who will race the famous No. 14 for A.J. Foyt Racing at Texas.
Tony, welcome to the call.
TONY KANAAN: Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: When the season was due to start in March, you weren’t going to be on the grid at St. Pete. Thanks to the extension we had for the off-season, you get a chance to kick off T.K.’s Last Lap at Texas and possibly extend the streak of consecutive starts to 318. Does that make this weekend a little more special to you?
TONY KANAAN: Yeah, I mean, a lot of people ask me how I coped with the delay of the season. To be honest, I was mentally prepared already because my first real race was going to be the 500. My mind was already set for May. I only really had to delay, what, a couple of weeks from what I was originally scheduled to do. For me, I think it wasn’t as hard as for the other guys that were already in St. Pete ready to go.
Also, a great surprise was with the unfortunate situation I’m going to get to extend my consecutive starts by one more. Hopefully, I’m going to get to start the race first. We can’t say that before I get there. It’s a pretty cool thing. It was one other thing I was actually ready to retire once they took the green flag in St. Pete.
THE MODERATOR: You’ve raced 20 times since 2003 at Texas Motor Speedway. Obviously, it’s a track where you clinched your championship. You have a lot of special memories at that track. What do you like the most about racing at Texas? What will you remember the most about racing at Texas?
TONY KANAAN: Regardless of how we had the package, how did they change the track, it was always a very challenging place for various different reasons over the years. Used to be a pack race, then not. It was a very difficult racetrack on tires, extremely hard on the tires. It was a difficult race to race.
I don’t think I can pick one particular thing to say Texas is difficult. I think it’s going to be a nerve-wracking day. We cannot even call it a weekend any more because it’s a single-day event. Everybody has been out of the car for quite a few months. I’ve been out of the car for eight months myself. I never actually driven the car with the windscreen. It will be challenging.
This is a challenging time. I think the race is still going to be great. It’s a fast oval. Apart from Indy, I think it’s one of the fastest we go. We’ll see. Happy to be back, though.
THE MODERATOR: We will open it up for questions for Tony Kanaan.
Q. You talked about all the different packages you’ve raced at Texas. The thing I remember about you is you’ve never been reluctant to speak out about safety, especially at Texas and other tracks. Is that what you consider one of your legacies, that you’ve been a leader and a spokesman for the group?TONY KANAAN: I mean, eventually I became the spokesman because I’m the oldest guy in the field, the most experienced. That’s usually what happens, right? When I first came into INDYCAR, it was Al (Unser) Jr., it was Mauricio Gugelmin, all these guys that took the lead on the drivers association. Over the years I’ve learned a lot from those guys.
I have to say I was, what, two years into the series when we lost Greg Moore. Since then I’ve been extremely involved trying to make the sport safer. At the beginning I was young. I just sat down and listened. By the time we came through the years, I slowly started to help more and more. I took more of the liberty to be more spoken, try to unify the communication between the series and the drivers. Now we have the best group of people on both sides.
Yeah, I guess I’m not going to take all the credit because I don’t do this alone. I have a lot of other drivers that help me out. Yes, over the years I’ve tried to make the series that made me safer and safer so we don’t lose friends and people that we love.
Q. We know there will be no fans this time. I saw Kurt Busch yesterday say he thought there’s been a different vibe when he gets out of the car, no fans there. Even the introductions he’s missing, just a different vibe. Are you even concerned about any of that?TONY KANAAN: I think we all been mentally prepared for this, right? I don’t know how I’m going to feel because I haven’t witnessed a racetrack with no fans, to be honest. I don’t recall in my career ever that I show up to a race – talk about testing – but that wasn’t a single person ask you to the autograph. You are going to walk in, it’s going to be like a private event.
That is the safest thing to do for our first race. It will be no sport if we keep doing this, thank God I know it’s not going to happen, but no sport will survive without fans. It will be a different vibe. I think we need to look.
Throughout my entire life, not just this situation specifically, I always try to look at the positive things. Out of a negative or bad situation, there is always something you can make the most out of it.
To be honest we should be happy that we’re back. We should be happy that life is becoming whatever that normal is going to be. But also I think in hindsight a lot of us, not saying me, but we will actually value the fans a lot more once we come out of Texas that we had to race with empty stands.
I believe it’s on the fans’ advantage because I think it will be a lot more appreciation. Not that we didn’t. I think INDYCAR is great. We grow this series because we give the access to the fans, access to us, autograph session, you can be in the grid if you buy a paddock pass. Think about the positive side. Once they’re allowed to come in, it will be even better than it was before.
Q. Speaking of making a positive out of a negative, with all the iRacing experience, has that gotten the drivers used to the visual of what it’s going to look like with the Aeroscreen?TONY KANAAN: Honestly I hope so because I have no idea how to answer that because I have not been in the car. I didn’t even sit in the car in the shop. My car is not ready yet with the windscreen. I think I’m going to go to the shop tomorrow and try.
iRacing has been, as far as the graphics, pretty good at it. Hopefully it will be the same. If it’s the same, I have plenty of sit time already.
Q. You’ve been part of some wild races at Texas. Do you expect Saturday night to be a little on the wild side or do you think there will be a little more caution since it’s the first race out after this unexpected pause?TONY KANAAN: I think we all going to be a little bit more on the cautious side. I think everybody is going to try to get a rhythm, try to finish the race, try to get this one under our belt. It’s an oval, the first race. I’m hoping that’s going to be the approach.
Talking to some of the guys, I think everybody is on the same page. You never know when the green flag drops, people have a tendency to forget and go for it.
Q. You knew John McCain, NTT CEO. You’re part of the NTT Data sponsorship this year. He’s going to be honored on Marcus’ car this race. How important is that to you, somebody who is so important to the series gets honored after he passed away?TONY KANAAN: I mean, John was a personal friend of mine actually apart from being a sponsor. We went through his battle with his disease for the past year and a half. I mean, I went to see him a couple times. We talked frequently on the phone. I still am in contact with his wife and his kids.
John did a lot for the sport. Way before NTT, people that don’t know, John used to sponsor Greg Ray with EDS back in the day. He was from Indy. He was a lover of the sport.
We haven’t actually had a chance to celebrate his life yet because we had this party organized for him and COVID hit. We still got to do that. It’s awesome. Benito (Santos, his marketing manager) and I are working on something to do it for him, as well, this weekend. Obviously NTT is from Texas. NTT has been a great sponsor of mine since I joined Ganassi. When I left, they kept a personal deal with me.
It’s really close to the heart, and I can’t wait to pay a tribute to him this weekend.
Q. This is going to be the first live sporting event in the state of Texas since COVID started. People are so starved for competition. Do you think this is going to be an opportunity to maybe add some new INDYCAR fans, people that maybe weren’t watching the sport before but will now?TONY KANAAN: I think so. I think nowadays we can always speak from experience. Like America, it’s very well-known, when I first came here, look how many sports we have on a weekend. Sometimes you cannot catch up, so many. Even during the week. Now everything is stopped.
Hopefully these people that never really watch racing will be looking to watch something on Saturday night. We’re on prime on NBC, which is great after 13 years for the first time again. I’m hopeful that will be the case, for sure.
Q. The idea of not having had a lot of testing this off-season, Texas being the first race of the year, it being typically really exciting but sometimes dangerous. How do you balance, and how do you hope others will balance, the idea of being aggressive, trying to get up toward the front early to possibly avoid some of the incidents that might happen in the race, also keeping in the back of your head that you and the rest of the series has been out of the car for the last eight or nine months?TONY KANAAN: I mean, I think we are professionals. We’ve been doing this for a long time. We are a different breed. We’re always needing to adapt to something really quick. If you think about it, when you travel 220, 230 miles an hour, nothing even is predictable. You have to adapt to that reaction, you have to adapt to that situation, to that moment. It will be no different this weekend.
Yeah, there is room for people to say, We need more this, we need more that. Now is not the time for us to actually complain. This is what we got and this is what we get to work with. Be smart about it and do the best you can.
Now, I can’t speak for everybody else, but I’m pretty sure that the guys that have a lot of experience, that’s what they’re going to do. We have a bunch of rookies in the field. Hopefully they will be patient enough to do so.
We can’t make a prediction what’s going to happen. I just believe that everybody is going to try to get this weekend out of the way as far as let’s get started. So I’m hoping, like I said, I’m hoping that will be the case with everybody else.
Q. There are so many things that are unpredictable. Do you think, given the unpredictability of so many things, along with the race at Texas, do you think there is potentially a situation where experience could play a real factor in being able to be adaptable quickly?TONY KANAAN: Yeah, I mean, experience never hurts, right? I have to say we are in a series that everybody has a lot of experience, apart from the rookies. It’s a fine line, right? When you have experience, you kind of know what to expect, you know how to react, be a little bit more smart. But when you haven’t tried, the unknown is actually pretty cool sometimes. You don’t worry about it. You wake up and say, Okay, I have a race on the oval, I’m going to try to win. You don’t know what’s going to happen.
I would say the experience is going to help a lot to make me sleep the night before the race. I know I have been in the car for a long time, I know the car. Once the green flag drops, it will be a balance with the most aggressive people and those with experience.
If I had to pick one, because you asked, I will say experience would win just because we’ve been out of the car for so long.
Q. Before the race, your plan, since you’ve never been in this car with this screen, how are you and your engineer going to attack getting comfortable and then searching for speed?TONY KANAAN: There is not a lot of time. Basically not a lot of options. We do have by mandatory by the series and Firestone, we have to scrub all the sets of tires that we going to actually use in the race for safety reasons. That being said, that means four laps on each set, which is five sets total or six, so you’re talking about 24 laps already you got to come in and out to get the shine off the tire.
For me, I hope after 23 years in INDYCAR will be enough for me to get used to the windscreen and everything else.
After that you got to get the car right. The car needs to be spot on out of the box from the shop. You’re not going to have a lot of time to change things, to make big changes. If you’re off, it’s going to be a long night. Everybody is in the same boat.
Q. A lot of the fun factor for you is the fans. How much are you going to miss that? Not being pestered for autographs, I don’t think you see it as that, but how much are you going to miss not having anybody to play with?TONY KANAAN: That’s the opposite, I like being pestered about autographs. That’s who I am. That’s how I became who I am in INDYCAR.
It is going to be really weird. I have no doubt that for me I don’t think it’s going to feel like a race weekend. It’s going to feel like a private test with everybody in the series and that’s it.
Again, it’s different times, right? Everywhere we go nowadays it’s empty. Even when you go places, everything is different. Try to get my mind and my emotions wrapped around this new normal up until we can really come back to normal.
I think it’s going to be weird for sure. I’m glad that we’re back racing at least.
Q. Are you looking forward to Iowa?TONY KANAAN: I mean, I was extremely lucky because with all this pandemic, I actually had gained one more race because I was going to do five races. It ended up with Iowa being a doubleheader I was going to do six, then we lost Richmond. For me my life has not actually changed as far as races. Iowa is a place I’ve had a lot of success. Now we’re doing a doubleheader there, it’s even better for me.
It’s a very weird year right now. I looked at my watch today and said, We’re in June and we haven’t done anything, nobody. I’m going to start to try to enjoy these last five races.
I know for a fact, if you think about it, for me, if I look at the races I’m going to do, by August 30th I’m done. It will be even a shorter year for me. I’m looking forward to go back to Iowa.
Q. You’ve been around a long time, seen a lot of different leadership regimes within INDYCAR. How would you compare the current leadership to what you’ve seen from the past?TONY KANAAN: I think we have the best we ever had, to be honest. We went through very difficult times since the split. I’m not saying that we didn’t have good leadership before, but I think now, between Mark Miles, Jay Frye and then when Roger stepped in, it couldn’t be any better.
I also have to say I don’t think we would be racing this year if Roger hadn’t bought the series. He’s putting a lot of effort in, reinvesting a lot to keep all of us together.
To me we’re in the best hands we can possibly be in. We’re in the best hands since I joined this series, which is 23, 22 years ago. We’re in the best hands I’ve ever seen. I’m really happy about that.
Q. What are some of the challenges INDYCAR still has to get back to the level it wants to be at?TONY KANAAN: Right now I think we’re in the right path. It’s just time. You’re not going to become the most popular series from one year to the other. I think we’ve been building, we’ve been doing great, improving our television package. We’re more out there. Now we try to gather the new fans.
When I talk about new fans, I think there’s a lot of discussion about I have four kids on my own, those kids don’t care to watch TV. They’re on the tablets, on their phones, on the Internet. That’s where we need to try to become popular, too, to gather more fans. I know the series has a plan for that. I know we’re all working really hard to do that. I don’t think we have to do anything different, it’s just going to take a little bit of time.
One comment. You can see I’m in the dark because we had a little situation in my house this weekend. The basement got flooded, burned the entire (indiscernible) of the house. We have no power. I’m trying to do the best. I’m not in my man cave in the dark (laughter).
Q. What aspect from racing, aside from racing itself, have you missed the most? Has the crisis really refocused your love of racing maybe more than ever before?TONY KANAAN: The first question, what I miss the most? It’s really that feeling, it’s race week. I woke up today, I was like, Man, we’re racing Saturday. I got to watch my workout. I can’t go as hard because it’s what I’ve been doing for the past eight months. You go balls out, you don’t care, tired. Sleep into the middle of the day. You’re sore.
I miss that anticipation. Tomorrow we’re going to have a team meeting, talk about the race. We’re going to watch last year’s race and evaluate that that I’ve lived for so long. That’s what I’m missing.
The second question, what was it?
Q. Basically being refocused by the crisis and the pandemic.TONY KANAAN: Yeah, the refocus, it’s hard, right? You ask yourself, Am I doing the right thing, setting the right example through my kids, to my fans when you post something? Do I wear a mask? When do I wear a mask?
That is first, and now the anticipation. I’m going to go to the track, how do I behave there? INDYCAR had a 35-page document they sent to us to us kind of get educated. From then on it’s really try to adjust to the new schedule. It’s a one-day event. You’re going to do everything in one day. Everything is new.
To me, I honestly always try to look at the positive side. Because I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s actually kind of cool. We’ve been doing the same thing, every year we say the same thing. We do spring training, do the same pictures, turn left, turn right, look up, look down. We’re going to talk to you guys. We’re going to qualify, go to the bullpen. You’ll ask us the same questions: How is the car? Blah, blah, blah. This is different, you’re not going to be there.
For me it’s actually cool. I’m not saying it’s a good situation but it’s something different.
Q. Under normal circumstances you’d be coming off a month at Indy, a doubleheader in Detroit. How strange does it feel to not have those emotional highs and lows? Looking ahead to Indy in August, why will it still be a big deal no matter when it is, regardless of whether there are fans there?TONY KANAAN: To be honest, your first question, I’m not going to say I didn’t miss because it’s such a strange times that I don’t even know what day of the week it is sometimes, what month are we in. We’re just all on like a cruise control mode, right? We just wake up, we try to entertain the kids because they’re going to ask why they can’t go here, there, why they’re not going to school. You just move on with life.
To me, I haven’t felt that because I live in Indy, because we can’t leave the house, we can’t go out, it didn’t feel like the month of May because nobody was ready for the month of May anyway. The city wasn’t prepped for that because we knew it was not going to happen. On that standpoint I don’t think I had to deal with it at all.
Now your second question, on the August thing, first I think unconsciously because I know the 500 is going to happen, it wasn’t a big deal it didn’t happen in May. As far as I’m concerned, as far as a driver you can ask, probably you guys that cover, once you merge yourself into the three weeks, you don’t know what month it is, day of the week it is. You breathe and you eat and you’re at the track the whole time worrying about getting your car ready.
To me, if it’s August, if it’s May, if it’s Christmas, if it’s New Year’s, that doesn’t matter because that is the month of Indy. I know the tradition, it was May, but I’ve never really knew what day of the week was when I was racing because I was so focused on getting the car right.
The best thing that happen was Roger and his team made sure that the 500 is going to happen. It’s just going to be a little hotter. Maybe not because it’s Indianapolis. It might snow. You never know (smiling).
Q. How excited are you to have Charlie Kimball as your teammate, having worked with him previously at Ganassi, given you have the combined experience of racing during these uncertain times, given you have the added rookies in the field this year?TONY KANAAN: It helped a lot. Charlie was a great teammate at, what was it, Ganassi. I know Charlie well enough. Especially now that we don’t have that much time, he’s the only full-time driver in that team. With his experience and mine, I think we’re going to be able to feed from each other that day and have not an advantage because all the good teams have good drivers, but it was not going to put us behind, that’s for sure.
Charlie is great. We’re actually good friends. Our families are friends. We hang together, our kids, our wives. It makes me feel good. At least in a year that we didn’t know who is going to be driving what car, who is going to be my teammate, it’s great that it’s him.
THE MODERATOR: That’s all the questions we have for you. We will thank you for your time, wish you the best of luck this weekend at Texas.
TONY KANAAN: Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Hope you guys stay safe. We’ll have more surprises this week. I can’t say much, but we will have some cool things that are going to happen before the weekend.
Chevy racing–indycar–texas–josef newgarden
CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESGENEYES 300TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYFT. WORTH, TEXASTEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTJUNE 1, 2020
Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, No. 1 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, was the guest on Series’ teleconference:
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. We have our two-time defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2019 Texas race winner Josef Newgarden here with us.
I’ll go ahead and kick it off, then open it up for questions.
We’re excited to come and kick off our season at the Genesys 300 here next weekend. Josef, thanks for joining us today. How excited are you to get back to racing and kick off the season next week at Texas?
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So, yeah, I’m super excited about starting off the season next weekend. It’s certainly something we’ve been waiting for the last three months, is the call to go race.
Feel like we have some goals to look forward to. We have some tasks at hand, we know what they are. I know the first couple weeks of this lockdown in the United States, it felt quite hopeless. Now we feel pretty positive that we have something to work towards.
Excited to get to the track. It’s what we love the most. Excited to do it in the safest way possible with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. We’re going to be looking to come out of the gates very strong to start a different-looking season with XPEL onboard this week in Texas, which is going to be cool for us, and some good power from Team Chevy, as well.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll take some questions.
Q. The first thing to comes to mind, since we haven’t had any racing yet, I look at this group of rookies, as talented as they are, they get thrown into Texas, how daunting that place can be even being a veteran. Does the comfort level change knowing you’re going to be going up against guys that haven’t been able to compete on the INDYCAR stage yet at a place like Texas?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Great question.
Totally agree. Texas is a very difficult racetrack to race in general, whether you’ve been there 20 years or first time. It’s a daunting track to get right. Typically we have five races or so to sort out our stuff, kind of get ourselves in the right frame of mind, have a general base before we go to a track like that.
I think for the veterans it will be a tough race to get thrust into. From the rookie side, it’s going to be extremely difficult. This whole year is going to be tough on rookies with limited track time. I think Texas will be one of the toughest places to go to right out of the gates, face a big challenge. It will be tough on everybody.
Probably have to change our mental process a little bit for how we race people. Like you said, I think rookies might have to have some extra care or some extra thought coming up on somebody or racing wheel-to-wheel with one of those guys.
I hope everyone tries to get back into a rhythm to start this season. It’s going to be very, very important, especially at a place like Texas, that everyone try to settle in for this first race out. I think we need to do that for ourselves individually, but I think collectively as a group coming off the simulator racing we’ve been doing, everything over the last two or three months, trying to get back into a rhythm is going to be important for us.
Q. With so few personnel allowed per entry at the track, how much do you think that’s going to impact communication to help everything kind of move a little bit more fluidly, or maybe even less fluidly as it were, compared to what it would be on a normal race weekend? Do you expect that would be a big hindrance for teams at Texas?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think procedurally it will be very different. Our process within our own team, our process within teams collectively, race control, INDYCAR, that’s all going to be different.
But I think the flow of information, race control during the race, decisions throughout the day, typically all that is done remotely anyways. I don’t think that will be aggressively impacted. I think we’ll be able to operate pretty globally, not a lot of lag time with communication flow from an event standpoint.
Within the team, that hands-on experience of just to be able to walk over, talk about (indiscernible), whatever it is, you’re not going to have that interaction. That’s going to be very, very different from my standpoint as a driver.
I think the most critical relationship is the engineer-driver combo. From my standpoint, that’s going to be the thing that I need to stay most in touch with. That’s what we’re working on, is how can we make that as fluid as possible. Everything else I think can flow pretty normally outside of that.
My performance is certainly going to be directly tied to staying closely connected to my engineer and going from there.
Q. You talked about trying to get in a rhythm and stuff. It’s going to be almost three months since you guys were getting ready to race, then you have a month off after that one. Talk about dealing with that.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s a strange time, right? I think it’s been tough for everybody right now, regardless of what industry or way of life you’re operating in. A lot of things have been taken away, our passions and our jobs a bit altered.
It’s going to be a new world for us racing here. Showing up for a one-day show, different than what we used to do at Texas. This sort of lag time between some events is very different. Haven’t been in the car in three months now kind of getting to Texas.
Look, we got to make the most of it. I think in some ways it’s very exciting because we’ve never had opportunities to see who could shine under situations where there’s not a lot of testing. Kind of have to make quick decisions, hopefully make them better than people around you. From that standpoint, I’m really excited.
I think it’s going to put a lot of pressure to get it right early within a race weekend, within a race situation. I think some people will really shine under those conditions more so than others.
Q. With the one day, that’s something new, you’re going to fly down together, spend a day, go back. What is your understanding of how that’s going to work? What are your thoughts about doing that?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s like everything: INDYCAR has done a great job of trying to analyze, figure out what is the best way to get back going. Inevitably, like everything, it has to get back going at some point.
The fun thing about our sport is we can create that separation specifically, but amongst the athletes, a lot of the individual teams, we can create these bubbles and figure out how to social distance together, put procedures in place that keeps us safe.
We’re not in the position yet to bring fans back. That makes me pretty sad. But at the same time just thinking that we’re putting procedures in place that get us back to the racetrack, get the show on TV, still get the race out to fans remotely, that’s really exciting.
I love where we’re starting. I feel comfortable with the guidelines that are in place. Everyone has worked hard. I think we’re doing it smart, safely. With some baby steps, trying to do this methodically, I think we will get back to the full force of what racing was three months ago before not too long.
Q. How would you explain Texas Motor Speedway to a first-time viewer, which we should get some of those with the race being on NBC, which will be the first time that INDYCAR has been on primetime on NBC? How would you explain it to a first-time viewer?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Great question. Always hard to answer. I think for me it’s like watching jet fighters in a gymnasium, you know. Let’s go with that. You’re watching these incredible pieces of art, these cool machines, they’re jet fighter planes in my opinion on the ground. They are flying around in close proximity and going to battle.
Texas is one of these places where you get these really intense battles with these jet fighter-looking cars. They’re constantly drafting each other, trying to use the air and push the air to either get ahead of someone or keep someone behind them. It’s just a very fun, intense battle, which turns into a bit like a dogfight. If you’re into that action, I think you’ll get that at Texas Motor Speedway.
To your point, it’s a great opportunity for us to maybe showcase our sport to people that have not been exposed to it before. People that love sports, but maybe haven’t seen an INDYCAR race, INDYCAR action around Texas under the lights. I think it’s something once they see it, I know we can put on a good show and I think they’ll enjoy the product.
THE MODERATOR: We were discussing some ideas internally how we can increase that audience. Someone came up with a good idea: if we could all get one person to watch the event, we’d all be the better for it.
We’ll continue with questions.
Q. Eddie Gossage called this race the most important race in the history of INDYCAR because of the circumstances, because of the layoff, the built-up frustration. Are you looking at it the same way, that this is a chance to showcase the sport and maybe take away some of the angst everyone is having?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I certainly think it’s an incredibly important event. Texas is an important event regardless of this current situation we’re in. It’s always a big-time show. It’s always had a storied place in INDYCAR history.
But in these current situations, without a doubt it’s going to be a very important event back for us. Is it the most important event in INDYCAR history? I have no idea if it is or not. Without a doubt, it’s going to be a very important event in the current time period.
I think it’s an event where we can get it right. It’s been actually quite fun to watch the NASCAR guys. I think we’ve been watching them very closely, how they’ve managed the slow reopening of their series. We’re going to be looking to do much of the same.
We have very good guidelines in place, I think a good roadmap from the INDYCAR Series of how to do this safely. I think INDYCAR will work with Texas Motor Speedway to really reach fans that haven’t been reached before because of the eyeballs that are out there that are deprived of other sporting events.
It will be for sure an event to get right. A lot of pressure. But I think everyone involved will really be able to rise to the occasion and do a great job.
Q. Kind of lost in this entire process is we haven’t had an official race yet with the INDYCAR Aeroscreen. Doing that immediately at an oval, what is your thought process about how this is going to race?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, the positive is that we spent a good amount of time, the series itself, Jay Frye leading the charge, making sure that this screen was vetted as it could be, making sure that it is fully prepared to run through a rigorous INDYCAR event.
I think the positive is that most of the work has been done. I don’t think there’s any dramatic concerns from anybody about rolling into this event, having any major issues.
I think inevitably we will have things that will pop up that we will want to improve on. With any new technology, that is always the case. You do the best you can to introduce it and make sure it’s ready to rock right from the jump. I think the screen is ready for that.
We’re going to have some things that creep in throughout the year that we need to improve on. We will continue to make it safer. Just like a HANS device, SAFER barriers, they’re always going to be improving, getting better.
Is the Aeroscreen ready for primetime? Absolutely. It’s been tested, been run through its paces at many different types of tracks, short ovals, speedways, road and street courses. It is absolutely ready to go.
I do not think it’s going to be a major concern for the teams. It is a topic of discussion and we want to make sure we’re prepared in that area of the car for the race. Is it a major concern? No, I don’t think so.
Q. You were talking about watching how NASCAR has eased back into it. I think it was Harvick that said you feel like everything is going to be normal, and it hits you is when you get out of the car and it’s dead silent. Is that what you anticipate?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I would say that’s probably right. That’s my anticipation of what’s going to happen. I’ve had the question already, Is it going to be strange or different being in the racecar, not having fans?
I don’t think so from a racing standpoint. When you’re in the car and you’re focused in, you’re very locked in on the situation that’s happening, whether it’s practice or qualifying or the race. That’s not going to be altered with no fans.
What is going to be strange, if you’re the person that wins the race or you’re a person that finishes second or third, you were just in an intense fight, at least a fight on track trying to win the race, getting out of the car, whether you’re celebrating a win or you’re disappointed with the loss, getting out of the car, trying to feed off that energy that the crowd gives you in that moment, that’s going to be very different. It’s not going to be there.
I think those moments will be very, very strange for everybody. Disappointing in a lot of ways just because that’s a lot of what we love about racing, is doing our part, driving the cars, trying to be competitive in the race, then sharing that energy level with the crowd afterwards. We’re not going to be able to do that in that way to start out.
Like I said, I think the most important thing is just to get the show back on the road, still be able to broadcast this in primetime. I think in a lot of ways it’s a big win for us to get back and be racing again.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you so very much, Josef, for joining us this afternoon. We appreciate your time.
KESELOWSKI WINS AT BRISTOL WITH A NEVER-GIVE UP EFFORT
| KESELOWSKI WINS AT BRISTOL WITH A NEVER-GIVE UP EFFORT BRISTOL, TN – June 2, 2020 – Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 crew, with their never give up effort, won Sunday’s Food City Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. This marked the fifth win of the NASCAR Cup season for Ford Performance and Team Penske’s 75th all-time Cup win with Ford. |
| “Congratulations to Brad, Jeremy, Roger, and the entire Team Penske organization,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “What an exciting finish. Once again, the teams put themselves in position to win and the Ford Mustang’s came away with a 1-2 finish with Brad and Clint {Bowyer}. Congratulations to Roger and his team on 75 wins with Ford. It’s great to be back to racing and delivering exciting finishes for the fans.” |
| It looked like the wild, wild west at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon. With 2-laps remaining, race leaders Joey Logano and Chase Elliott made contact and collided with the outside wall, leaving an opening at the bottom of the track for a well-positioned No. 2 Ford Mustang to take advantage of the track position and take the lead. Keselowski was followed by the No. 14 of Bowyer from Stewart-Haas Racing to make it a 1-2 finish for Ford Performance. |
| Keselowski now has 32 all-time points Cup Series career wins and is tied with fellow Team Penske teammate Logano and former Roush Fenway Racing driver, Carl Edwards with 23 NASCAR Cup Series wins since joining Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines. “An incredible day. I’m so happy for the team,” commented Keselowski. “This was a never-give-up effort. That’s what we’re becoming as a team. We kind of got a Christmas present here in Bristol. We’ll take it. We’re in position and able to strike when it counted with the Discount Tire Ford Mustang. We were just in position to strike and here we are in victory lane.” |
| Keselowski started from the pole position to lead a total of 115 laps of the 500-lap race and Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney led 60 laps until retiring after an incident with Ty Dillon. In addition, Matt DiBenedetto from Wood Brother’s Racing led four laps and Logano led two laps. |
| With the 1-2, Keselowski – Bowyer finish, Ford continues to lead the Manufacturer Standings by 25 points. In addition, Stewart-Haas Racing (370 points) and Team Penske (346 points) continue to lead the Owner Standings. |
| Monday night, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Cheddar’s 300, it all came down to a green-white-checkered finish for Chase Briscoe. He raced Noah Gragson hard off the restart, but ultimately finished the night second. In addition, Briscoe secured a position to run for an extra $100,000 in Atlanta this upcoming weekend. Briscoe and Stewart-Haas Racing continue to lead the Driver Standings and Owner Standings in points. |
| NASCAR will head to Atlanta, Georgia later on this week, where the Xfinity Series will run the EchoPark 250 on Saturday and the Cup Series will run the Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500. Reference the full 2020 schedule on roushyates.com. 27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 386 WINS – 357 POLES! |
Myatt Snider Battles his way to a Strong Finish at the Last Great Colosseum in the TaxSlayer Chevrolet
| “Man, that was awesome! I can’t thank my crew chief, Andy Street, and all the guys on my Richard Childress Racing team enough for preparing such a lighting fast TaxSlayer Chevrolet. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, did a great job helping us keep our nose clean and avoiding all those wrecks throughout the night. Thankfully, we really didn’t have to adjust much on our TaxSlayer Chevrolet. For me, it was just about not over-driving the car and getting into a rhythm. It was also a special night because we carried the name of Army veteran Jackie Chang on our windshield header for the Comcast/Xfinity military campaign. I’m very thankful for the progress we’ve made as a team over these last few races. To bring home a top-five finish for TaxSlayer and all our partners at a place like Bristol Motor Speedway is special for sure.” -Myatt Sn |
REESE/Draw-Tite Ford Finish 31st at Bristol
May 31, 2020
Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 REESE/Draw-Tite Ford team had some early success in Sunday’s Food City Presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway but were collected in a mid-race multi-car incident and wound up with a 31st-place finish.
DiBenedetto started ninth after the line-up for the top 12 starting spots was set by a draw among the top 12 teams in car owner points.
He struggled with a loose handling condition in the opening laps but took the lead by staying on the track when the yellow flag flew at Lap 62 for the second of two competition caution periods.
He held the top spot for four laps, the third-straight race in which he paced the field, then finished seventh in the first 125-lap Stage despite riding on older tires than many of his competitors.
Entering pit road at the end of Stage One, DiBenedetto was nabbed for speeding and sent to the rear of the pack for the restart.
As he was working his way forward, he was swept up in a nine-car crash on Lap 231. He wound up spending 43 laps in the garage while the REESE/Draw-Tite team replaced a broken tie rod. He rejoined the race and ran until the finish, moving up to 31st position but dropping two spots in the Cup Series standings to 13th.
A frustrated DiBenedetto was able to find some bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day.
“We hung on with old tires to get stage points,” he said. “The car was plenty fast.
“Then we got a speeding penalty, and were driving back through the field and broke a tie rod.
“We had a fast car, but in the end it didn’t matter.”
DiBenedetto said what he needs most is simple – a change of racing luck, such as that being enjoyed by his fellow Team Ford driver Brad Keselowski, who has won two of the last three races by capitalizing on others’ misfortunes in the closing laps.
“We need to borrow his horseshoe,” DiBenedetto said.
DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team now head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next Sunday for the Folds of Honor/Quik Trip 500.
Horizon Global
Headquartered in Plymouth, MI, Horizon Global is the #1 designer, manufacturer and distributor of a wide variety of high-quality, custom-engineered towing, trailering, cargo management and other related accessory products in North America and Europe. The Company serves OEMs, retailers, dealer networks and the end consumer as the category leader in the automotive, leisure and agricultural market segments. Horizon provides its customers with outstanding products and services that reflect the Company’s commitment to market leadership, innovation and operational excellence. The Company’s mission is to utilize forward-thinking technology to develop and deliver best-in-class products for our customers, engage with our employees and realize value creation for our shareholders.
Horizon Global is home to some of the world’s most recognized brands in the towing and trailering industry, including: Draw-Tite, Reese, Westfalia, BULLDOG, Fulton and Tekonsha. Horizon Global has approximately 3,600 employees. For more information, please visit www.horizonglobal.com .
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formedin 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. WoodBrothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.
Richard childress racing–bristol post race
| Hard Work and Teamwork Contribute to Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Chevrolet Team’s Sixth-Place Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway |
| “A sixth-place finish for the No. 3 car! The Symbicort (budesonide/formoterol fumarate dihydrate) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was good when it mattered. We worked really hard today. It was a hard-fought battle. The car was tight. We cut a right-front tire, and Goodyear said they didn’t know what happened to the tire, but we recovered. We made some great adjustments throughout the race to improve the handling. We were pretty fast at the end of the race. Justin Alexander made a great call to take tires with 38 laps remaining, and it showed. I can’t believe the No. 2 car won. It just shows you have to stay in these races until the end. We were racing him right before the last caution came out, and he goes on to win the race. We’re getting there. I love how these races are playing out. We’re getting closer and closer to a win. We’re headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway next week, and we will be ready.” -Austin Dillon |
| Tyler Reddick and the Alsco Uniforms Team Have Day at Bristol Motor Speedway Cut Short Due to On-Track Incident |
| “Well, unfortunately we had an early end to my NASCAR Cup Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway. We had a handful with the balance of our Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet today and weren’t quite where we needed to be to start the race. We worked really hard though and got it to where I thought it needed to be. We were even able to start clicking off some top-five lap times and just needed some track position to get up there and start contending. We had started to weed away at that, and I’m confident we would have gotten up there. I could run the top lane pretty well, which was helping a lot. It’s unfortunate, but it’s a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time at Bristol. I saw the No. 47 get spun, and I saw him go down, but then I couldn’t see him anymore. I was worried if I checked up too much I’d get caught up in it, but it didn’t matter and I got caught up in it anyway. Just a tough situation and a tough way to end our day.”-Tyler Reddick |