TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE NTT INDYCAR SERIES IOWA INDYCAR 250s DOUBLE HEADER IOWA SPEEDWAY NEWTON, IOWA JULY 17-18, 2020 RACE #5 & 6 OF 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES: To complete the cycle of five races in 15 days, Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR Series heads to Iowa Speedway for another doubleheader on Friday and Saturday, July 17-18.  Since 2013 there has been at least one doubleheader weekend on the Series’ schedule, with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle the one remaining annual event.  However this season, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, racing was halted just prior to the season-opening event on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. With the changes that had to be made to the schedule, Detroit had to be postponed for this season.  But, the Series was able to schedule the IOWA INDYCAR 250S doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, the .875-mile asphalt oval just East of Des Moines.  Both races are 250 laps/218.75 miles. Qualifying will be held on Friday and will be the debut of a new, unique format that will set the field for both races. Each driver will get two laps on the clock. Lap number one sets the field for Friday night, and lap two sets the field for Saturday night.  Both races are scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. E.T. with live coverage on NBCSN television. Re-joining the competition at Iowa is 2004 INDYCAR Series champion and 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan. Kanaan will drive the famed No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet sponsored by an equally famed and storied sponsor: Bryant Heating and CoolingM.
Defending and two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden, No.1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, is heading to Iowa ready to recapture the magic of his win last season and continue his march toward another title. 
All NTT INDYCAR SERIES races are also broadcast live on the INDYCAR Radio Network, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR MOBILE APP powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice and qualifying is available on NBC Gold live streaming, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com, and the INDYCAR MOBILE APP. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES races will be paced by a beautiful Camaro ZL1.  BOWTIE BULLETS:

• Chevrolet at Iowa Speedway 2012 to current:
• 5 wins: Ryan Hunter-Reay-2012; James Hinchcliffe-2013; Josef Newgarden-2016, 2019; Helio Castroneves-2017
• 7 poles: Will Power-2013, 2017,2018; Scott Dixon-2014; Helio Castroneves-2015; Simon Pagenaud-2016, 2019
• Simon Pagenaud is 3^rd in points; Pato O’Ward is 4^th in standings; Pato O’Ward is 4^th in points; Josef Newgarden is 5^th in the point standings; Will Power is 7^th in the standings 
• Power is the second all-time INDYCAR pole winner with 58 (behind only Mario Andretti with 67).
• Since returning to INDYCAR manufacturer competition in 2012, Chevrolet has amassed 82 wins and 96 poles in 139 races along with six Manufacturer Championships and six driver championships

 QUOTABLE QUOTES: ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES: “Iowa Speedway is the shortest track on the NTT INDYCAR Series and always presents interesting scenarios for Chevy teams and drivers. This season having a doubleheader on the .875-mile high banked oval adds another level of preparation for what-ifs. All of the prior INDYCAR doubleheader race weekends have been on road or street courses. So being the first oval doubleheader gives the Chevrolet engineers with technical partners the tasks to assist teams with as many tools for their toolbox as possible.  For our rookie drivers, Friday’s on-track practice, qualifying and race will be critical. The good news is INDYCAR has added an additional practice session for rookies, or drivers who are coming to compete on the track for the first time. Fans will be in attendance and both races are at night, so there will heighten the excitement that is a necessary component for our sport.”

FROM THE COCKPIT: JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: “Last weekend, we had some great moments but ultimately things did not go our way. We left Road America with that behind us and are looking forward to Iowa. We had such an awesome race there last year in the Hitachi Chevy, so I think we have a good shot to turn it back around with two shots for a win. It’s just one of those places that tends to fit my driving style, so I always feel great racing there. Speedways like Iowa can lead to a lot of close, wheel-to-wheel racing, so the guys have worked hard to put together a great car to help with that. I’m also looking forward to once again seeing fans at Iowa this weekend. They help provide a different energy that all of us drivers feed off of so we’re always happy to see them back at track!” CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“Short track racing especially under the lights both Friday and Saturday nights is a place where INDYCAR shines. I’m excited to get there with the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet team; we’ve made progress all year long. Every single race we’ve seemed to have gone forward. We were strong on the oval at Texas and I‘m looking forward to continuing to work forward from where we finished at Texas and do better.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“Iowa Speedway is a very tricky but fun short oval. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at Iowa are always super exciting and eventful. I’m looking forward to building on the momentum we have so far this season, and trying to make this weekend even better than last weekend. I have had a lot of success the past few years at Iowa in the Road to Indy, so I really want to keep that going. Arrow McLaren SP and Team Chevy have a good track record at this race over the past few years, which is a combination for success.” OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET:“I expect Iowa to be very exciting for Arrow McLaren SP. INDYCAR racing there has always been a barn burner and it has been a hugely successful track for Arrow McLaren SP so I’m confident we can roll off the truck with a good package. It will be another steep learning curve for me as a rookie, having never been on a short oval in an Indy car, but I look forward to the challenge and the task at hand.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“Man, Road America was a rough weekend. We had some issues in the pits and I made some mistakes on track. We reviewed what we did over the weekend as a team and the Verizon Chevy guys and I feel much more confident headed into this weekend at Iowa. Ovals can be so much fun to race, but it will be a pretty tiring weekend between the two races and how hot it’s supposed to be. Getting rest between the two races will be key so that’s something I’m keeping in mind. I’m really excited to get back at it this weekend and turning our luck around.” TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BRYANT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:“Iowa has always been a good track for me so I’m pretty excited about it. At Texas we started off with a pretty good result so I’m looking forward to it especially being a doubleheader so hopefully we’ll have a better result than Texas which was already good.” ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET: “Every year I get excited to race at Iowa! It is such a cool race track with some of the best racing each season. Having a doubleheader this year is going to make it even better. I have been wanting to win this race for a long time and I am determined to make it happen this year!” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:“I am really looking forward to Iowa! It’s going to be the first oval after the difficulties I had in Texas, so it gives me extra motivation to do extra well! The team has produced many good results in the past at this track so I think it will be a good weekend. Iowa is the first oval I ever drove at, it will be quite cool to come back after three years and this time in an Indy car! Two races will be tough, but I’m very confident. I can’t wait to get there and I am ready to fly around that track!”  SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“I’m looking forward to Iowa which is one of my favorite ovals. It’s a short oval and the racing is tight and really exciting at night. I’m happy we will have fans at Iowa like we did at Road America. We are third in the championship and are looking forward to this doubleheader to perform at our A-game in those two races. The No. 22 Menards Chevy crew is fully ready to go and focus on execution.”  CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET: “I’m really excited to get back to work with everyone at Carlin after our strong debut at Texas Motor Speedway. It really felt like a podium was in the cards there, so I think we should set some high expectations this weekend for ourselves. Iowa is a tough track for me personally, but I actually felt like last year we didn’t have too bad of a race there. We needed to work on some things after that race for this year, but I’m excited to see the progress we’ve made. The progress we made from 2019 to 2020 at Texas was massive, so if we can make that same type of progress at Iowa, it should be a lot of fun. It’ll be a tough weekend physically with two races, but I’m so excited to get back in the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet and work with the Carlin boys again.” 

Summernationals·        Mopar Dodge//SRT Funny Car of Matt Hagan and Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster of Leah Pruett from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) will be sporting new “Demon-possessed” SRT Hellcat Redeye paint schemes as they return to Indianapolis for the Lucas Oil NHRA Summernationals on July 18-19·        Fierce new paint schemes promote the recent reveal of the 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world·        Hagan looking forward to repeating his winning performance from this past weekend with new SRT Hellcat Redeye look in second Indianapolis event·        Pruett gets back behind the wheel of her Mopar Challenger Drag Pak to compete in Factory Stock Showdown this weekendJuly 16, 2020, Auburn Hills, Mich. – The Mopar Dodge//SRT Funny Car of Matt Hagan and Mopar Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster of Leah Pruett will be sporting new “Demon-possessed” SRT Hellcat Redeye paint schemes to battle the “dog days of summer” – traditionally associated with the start of a month of high heat, drought and adversity – that begin this weekend with the Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Summernationals in Indianapolis. It is the second of two consecutive national events at Lucas Oil Raceway to restart the 2020 NHRA schedule after a four-month pause in competition.

The fierce-looking red-and-black paint schemes for the two Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) entries come on the heels of the early July public unveiling of the new 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world. With a top speed of 203 mph and quarter-mile elapsed time of 10.6 seconds at 129 mph, the 2021 Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye is designed and engineered to appeal to muscle car enthusiasts who want even more — more power, more performance and more bragging rights at the drag strip.

After driving away with bragging rights and a Wally trophy of his own by earning his first national event win of the season at this past Sunday’s E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals, Hagan is looking forward to trying to repeat that performance aboard his new-look Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye this weekend.

“It’s beautiful and those colors really pop and I think it’s going to look great at 330 mph, so don’t blink,” says Hagan, whose speed has earned him two No.1 qualifier awards this season to date. “It’s one of those deals where Dodge has always come out with some awesome schemes, the coolest and fastest cars. I love that they really give me an opportunity to engage with the fans and the stuff they sell on the showroom floor. Dodge always comes out with some cool stuff and I’m excited for fans to see it because I love it. It’s an amazing paint scheme.

“My Hellcat Redeye Funny Car might be faster and more fun to drive,” adds the two-time Funny Car world champion, “but when you have a production car that you can grab off the showroom floor and take it out there, that’s pretty awesome. It’s pure power. It’s probably the closest you can get to what we’re drag racing, having that raw power in the palms of your hands and underneath you.”

Pruett is also looking forward to showing off the new Dodge//SRT Hellcat Redeye look on her DSR Top Fuel dragster.

“I’d like to say that I’m surprised how good it looks, but I’ve come to expect nothing but the remarkable from Dodge when it comes to showcasing their cars,” says Pruett. “They stand out on the racetrack and they stand out when it comes to how the cars look and how they perform. It makes me feel like when you’ve got a really nice dress and your dancing shoes on and you look hot-to-trot, then you go and have a good night out on the town.

“They’ve actually simplified that paint scheme into something that really pops with the chrome detail and that flat black is simple and refined,” says Pruett. “While I love my blue Mopar for how sleek and cool, like with a lot of o’s cool it is, this Redeye is spicy hot.”

After reaching the quarterfinals in the NHRA’s return to the drag strip last weekend, Pruett is also hoping to harness some of the energy she feels comes with the new Redeye look to maintain her top-five position in the Top Fuel point standings.

“This Redeye dragster is going to have a good weekend. I can just tell. There is an aura about it. The Redeye stands for ultimate power and it’s a way for us to be able to relate to those Redeye owners. It’s a new version for us to highlight. We had the 1320 and the Demon and I personally have driven a couple of Redeyes and wish I had one of my own. I feel that we are going to not only look good but do well,” says Pruett.

The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye-themed paint schemes will remain on the two DSR entries through the next two scheduled NHRA events, including the Dodge Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colorado, on Aug. 7-9.

Pruett is also slated to get back behind the wheel of her Mopar Challenger Drag Pak this weekend to compete in the season debut of the rescheduled 2020 SamTech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown.

While development of the new-generation Challenger Drag Pak continues, its release has been postponed to 2021 due to the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. An on-track NHRA debut is now slated for next season. Despite the delay, Pruett is confident that the team can still make some gains through the eight scheduled events.

“Coming back to racing has brought some sense of normalcy back and getting back in the Drag Pak is one of my favorite places to be on earth,” says Pruett. “We were very much looking forward to debuting a new Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak this year, but even though we’re not, we’re still going to be out there entering, qualifying and competing and chasing down a Wally (trophy) with Mopar Dodge//SRT and making as much power as we can, while we can, in the circumstances that we can.”

Heading into the shortened two-day NHRA event, Jack Beckman leads the trio of Dodge Charger SRT Hellcats at the top of the Funny Car points standings that includes his DSR teammate Tommy Johnson Jr. and Hagan, each with a win this season. Ron Capps and his HEMI®-powered Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat sits sixth in points, but is working to change that this weekend at the only racetrack on the circuit at which he has never earned a Wally trophy.

In Top Fuel competition, Pruett will be joined again by Tony Schumacher and Cory McClenathan for the second of their two-event cameos. Schumacher is looking for his 85th Top Fuel event win as the NHRA’s most successful Top Fuel pilot of all time, while McClenathan is in the hunt for a 35th career victory, which would tie Mopar legend Don Garlits’ 35 NHRA wins.

Qualifying highlights will air on FOX Sports 1 at 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, July 18, while Sunday’s elimination rounds, including live action, will be broadcast on the FOX national broadcast network starting at noon Eastern.

July 16, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto overcame an early brush with the wall to lead the final 15 laps of the NASCAR Open at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night, earning his first win in a major NASCAR race and a berth for the No. 21 Menards/FVP Mustang in the NASCAR All-Star Race.
 
DiBenedetto also had early contact with the wall in the All-Star Race but battled back to finish 13^th in the first All-Star appearance of his career.
 
Even though the All-Star result wasn’t what he was hoping for, it didn’t overshadow the accomplishment of winning the Open, where he stormed through the field then held off Clint Bowyer and Austin Dillon for the victory.

“The Open race went really good,” DiBenedetto said. “We got damage early. It was just a racing deal, but it put us in the wall pretty hard and we had to pit to fix it.

“We restarted from the rear and blew back through the field. I had to push some people out of the way to get back to the front and get the win.”

The Menards/FVP team repaired the damage from the Open prior to the start of the All-Star race, and DiBenedetto was encouraged with the speed his Mustang had shown in the Open even with body damage.

A similar scenario played out in the All-Star race when William Byron suddenly slowed ahead of him. DiBenedetto slammed on the brakes and wound up contacting the wall, resulting in significant damage to the Menards/FVP Mustang.
 
“I didn’t expect him to check up like he did, and I wheel hopped, hit the wall and knocked in the side of the car,” DiBenedetto said. “It was really beyond repair, but we made the most of it and were able to take advantage of the last restart and pick up some spots at the end.”
 
DiBenedetto said he remains encouraged about the speed and performance of the No. 21 Mustang as the team heads to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
 
“We’ve been on a roll lately,” he said.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIESBRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JULY 15, 2020
CHASE ELLIOTT WINS MILLION-DOLLAR NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE  BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 15, 2020) – Chase Elliott scored a $1 million prize by winning the NASCAR All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway in dominating fashion behind the wheel of his No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1 1LE. The Hendrick Motorsports driver won Stages 2 and 3 en route to his first victory of the prestigious NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) non-points event, and second of the 2020 NCS season.   The victory was the 19th All-Star triumph for Chevrolet and third of the 2020 season for the Camaro ZL1 1LE. It also marked the 10th All-Star win for Hendrick Motorsports, more than any other NCS team. Traditionally held at Charlotte Motor Speedway since 1985, this popular event took place at Bristol for the first time ever; hosting a capped attendance at 30,000 fans to mark the most-attended sporting event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last All-Star race not held at Charlotte was at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1986, which was won by Chase’s father, Bill Elliott. The victory makes Chase Elliott and Bill Elliott the second father-son duo to win the NASCAR All-Star Race, joining Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Other Team Chevy finishers in the select 20-car All-Star field were Elliott’s teammates Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE in eighth, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE in 12th, and Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE in 17th. Additionally, Justin Haley, No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles Camaro ZL1 1LE was 14th, Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonalds McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE finished 18th, and Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE was 20th. CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: 
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our race winner, Chase Elliott. Why don’t you start off by running through your All‑Star Race.             CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, just a special night. A special event. Any race is hard to win, but this is a special race to win, something that locks you in the All‑Star Race for life. That’s extremely special to join dad.           Winning this race means a lot to me as well. Just a big thanks to our partners, UniFirst, NAPA, Hooter’s, Kelley Blue Book, Mountain Dew, Chevrolet, all our partners that make this go around. They stood by us through some not‑so‑spectacular years.           We’ve had a rough couple weeks. We ruined Mr. Hendrick’s birthday on Sunday by running pathetic. It was really nice to slightly make up for that tonight.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions.            Q. You had a really good car back in May at Bristol. Was the car just as good tonight, better? How would you rate it?CHASE ELLIOTT: To be honest, I think it was a little bit better. I think we improved our car at least for the short run. The race a few weeks ago I felt like consisted of more long runs than the short runs. The short run came down to the very end. That was our weak point in that event. We put a lot of emphasis on trying to be better in the short run. I thought we hit it really well tonight.            Q. In the last segment, are you looking in your mirror thinking when you were going to get bumped, somebody is going to try to wreck me for this thing?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think you have to expect that in any event, especially this one. There’s no points on the line or anything. The goal is to get far enough away where they don’t have that option. Luckily it worked out that way tonight. Got a good restart there at the end, was able to put together a good 15 laps to seal the deal.            Q. How big is this win to you and why is it so big to you?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, to me this is one of those prestigious events that the Cup Series only has, right? This is a special race on the schedule every year. There’s a lot of hype around it. The other thing about it is, you know, it’s something you have to race your way into. Luckily we raced our way into this deal for life now. That means a lot.           To me, it reminds me a lot of the Clash or something at the beginning of the year in some ways. I think this race is bigger than that because you’re racing against the very best over recent times and anybody’s career that have locked themselves into this event.           To beat the best I think is always special.            Q. The only other time this race was run away from Charlotte was Atlanta, your dad won it. What does it mean to have a victory in this race like your dad?CHASE ELLIOTT: I didn’t know that. I knew that, but I didn’t really put it together until Winston told me that there on the front straightaway. Somebody told me upstairs a second ago I think the only other family duo to win the All‑Star Race were the Earnhardt’s. Any time you can join them in anything racing is very special.           To join dad in winning this event, heck, I mean, that’s not just special, that’s a lot of years and a lot of history for everything to come full circle like that. It’s pretty dang cool.            Q. Kevin Harvick talked about the challenges of the upper lane, raising the question about track prep. There was concern about track prep at Kentucky last week. How concerning has the track prep been the last two races? Is there a concern going into Texas?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, I don’t think so. The track prep was no different today than it has been the past two or three years we’ve been coming here. The difference was the length of the event was not long enough for us to get the grip strip up off the bottom to where the momentum around the top became the dominating factor.           Look, at the end of the day, by the end of a 500‑lap race, the top is the place to be. At the end of a hundred some odd lap race, the bottom is the place to be. There’s still a place to be so I’m not really sure that it matters.            Q. You said in addressing the victory on television there’s no feeling like watching those fans lose their minds after you’ve been successful. What’s the difference from your perspective, from the athlete’s perspective, having the adulation at the end of a night for you versus what you have experienced without anyone there?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, you know, to me tonight felt like an event again. I feel like we’ve been missing that piece for a couple months. It just felt really good to get NASCAR back. I mean, NASCAR is built on the fans. Once the race starts, it’s hard to engage with them because you can’t hear them. Before a race, the atmosphere was energetic again. I felt like the vibe was back.           I felt like that fire and intensity in me was back even more so than it has been, a piece that had been missing. I think that’s driven by the people, the cars pulling in, the prerace parties and everything that you see.           I actually went up in the stands. I snuck up there with my mask on, watched the Open from the back straightaway. I’m looking around, seeing all these kids and families, people wearing their respective drivers, a lot of 9 gear. You don’t realize how much impact you have on people you never met, you never will meet, who genuinely want to see me do well and they don’t even know me. It’s pretty dang cool to experience that.           I felt like I had a special night sitting up there with them watching that Open from the grandstands, really seeing and getting back to the roots of what this sport is built on. Then to engage with them after the race, to me it made it mean that much more.            Q. You said after the race you had struggled, had difficult races in the last several weeks. Did you feel as a collective unit at Hendrick that you were missing something the last several weeks or more individual circumstances of the races?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, a little bit of both. I felt like I was struggling. I wasn’t doing a real good job, giving good feedback. To me good feedback is giving a direction on the car and coming in and doing that and going back out and being better. My direction has not been pointing us in a better direction in going faster these past couple weeks.           I feel like I needed to hit the reset button, not overthink things, do what I feel is right. That’s a hard thing to do all the time. You try to get better, you try to learn. A lot of times you can take yourself down a road, this or that, that may not necessarily be benefitting you.           But we all want to improve. I certainly have room for improvement. Tonight was a great night for us, but I still think I can do better and there’s areas I can improve on. I’m going to keep working on that.            Q. You must get an adrenaline rush in a race with fans. It must be something you can take forward for the rest of the season?CHASE ELLIOTT: Absolutely. To me there is no more electric environment that we as NASCAR drivers can interact with and hear at Bristol. There’s no other racetrack that’s like this, that you’re surrounded by the people watching all the way around the racetrack.           I don’t think there’s a better place to have people back for the first time than here. I know it was limited on how many people could come. Heck, it felt like they sure were making a lot of noise for only 30,000 people to be here, so that was pretty cool.            Q. What are you going to do with the money?CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s a great question. Blaney was giving me a hard time about Mountain Dew earlier today. I think I’m just going to send a truck to his house and they’re going to unload about 14 pallets of Mountain Dew in his driveway this week, see what he does with that.            Q. Normally we don’t race mid-July at Bristol. Did you notice anything different in the car than you would at Bristol normally?CHASE ELLIOTT: To me it felt like normal Bristol. This racetrack I think is really consistent from the standpoint of just the overall feel, what it’s like. I thought everything was really very Bristol‑esque.            Q. This being the first real marquee win of your career, you touched on the significance, but to have a marquee event on your résumé now, what kind of importance does that mean for you?CHASE ELLIOTT: It means a lot. I think that’s why the Coca‑Cola 600 this year hurt so much. Those are big events. This race is a big event. The 600, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard, the Southern 500, all those races are just ones that I feel like when you get done racing, you can look back and say that you had won something like that. I think it’s a special thing. That’s why.           All wins are hard. I’ve never had an easy one. I can’t say that any of them are any harder or easier than others. When I get done racing one day, to look back and say we won the All‑Star Race I think will be a special thing.            Q. The under glow on the cars, what did it look like from your perspective? Did it change anything for you? Just weird to see?CHASE ELLIOTT: I didn’t think it did much of anything, to be honest with you. It sure didn’t do anything for me.            Q. Can you hear the sirens going off in Dawsonville tonight? What does it mean to you to bring this back to Dawsonville, the fans that have followed you your whole career?CHASE ELLIOTT: It’s amazing. I can’t wait to get home. It’s late. I don’t know what time it is. Probably not going to hear it tonight. Hopefully somebody took a good video of it I can see it. Such a special tradition, Gordon there at the poolroom has carried on for me, after doing it for my dad’s career over the years.           Just proud that we were able to win, make it happen.            Q. How do you think the choose rule played out tonight?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think the choose rule has been needed for a long time. I think it should be that way every week. I don’t think there’s really a reason to not have it. There’s no reason to me why you shouldn’t have the choice or you should be automatically told where you’re going to line up when one lane has an obvious advantage just based on where you come off of pit road.           To me, life isn’t fair, but it just makes way more sense to put it in our hands. It either works out for you or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t work out, it’s your own fault, not the luck of the draw, where you come off of pit road.            Q. You jumped out front towards the final two stages. Once you took control of the race, never gave it up again. How important was getting out front?CHASE ELLIOTT: Luckily we were able to pass up through there. I think we had a really good UniFirst Camaro and we were able to make some passes there at the beginning of the race. My team did a really good job of hitting the setup really well for running the bottom. I don’t know how it would have been if I ever had to move up.           Yeah, I just think the way it played out, we were fast around the bottom and we were able to get out front and control the race. That’s nothing new. When somebody has a fast car and they get out front, it typically looks like that I feel like. I was just glad it was us this time.            Q. How much of tonight’s race can you apply to the Playoff race in the fall? Was it maybe too small of a sample size?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think Bristol is Bristol, like I said a minute ago. We’ll for sure be thinking about what we had here a few weeks ago, what we had tonight, try to be better when we come back.             THE MODERATOR: Congratulations and thanks for joining us.             CHASE ELLIOTT: Thank you. Have a good night.
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are joined by our race‑winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson.           Why don’t you just start off and quickly run through the race from the top of the pit box.             ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, we started 13th, so we knew we had to pass some cars pretty quickly. UniFirst Chevy was pretty fast. He made up some pretty quick ground there. I don’t remember where we got to after the first 55. Certainly, somewhere in the top three.           We knew we were going to pit there and get a read on the tires, get an adjustment on the car. We did that. The next 35 went pretty well. He was able to get past Kevin and get the lead.           That was probably the toughest decision of the night. When you have the lead, you don’t want to give it up here. Our plan had been to pit then and get tires. With the lead, it made it a little bit more difficult. We stuck to our guns there, pitted. Worked out there. I think Ryan was the only one that stayed out. Brad took two. Fortunately for us everything went smooth from there.           Having a tire advantage on those guys certainly paid off. Kyle was getting pretty good there where I could see him making some ground. Certainly, made a push there at the end to make it interesting.           Car was really good. Happy. Pit stops were great. Just about as smooth of a night as you could ask for.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll go to questions.            Q. You get there today and see pretty heavy application of the PJ1 on the bottom groove, a 20‑car race, are you thinking this is going to be a bottom feeder race?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, you know, my experience with the grooves here is you don’t really run the top in until you have to start lapping traffic significantly, right? That’s when you start running the top in, is when you have to lap cars. The leaders get strung out, you have no option. The faster cars will ultimately start running the top because they have to get through lappers.           With it being as short as it is, knowing it’s a short field, the chance of lapping cars… We had planned on the bottom, really having our car get on the bottom and having good short run speed.            Q. Looked like you had Chase turn off the under glow lights for the pit stop. If you did, was that so your crew guys could see better or something you were concerned about?ALAN GUSTAFSON: That’s a secret. I can’t tell you that (laughter). No, I’m kidding.           Yeah, we hadn’t done it before. I didn’t want to take a chance and have the lights ‑‑ we didn’t get the lights until pretty late in the game. We hadn’t had experience doing it. I don’t think it would be a problem ultimately. Certainly, we weren’t going to take that chance.            Q. What does this win do for your team?ALAN GUSTAFSON: It puts a million bucks in our bank account, that’s always a good thing. Certainly, happy for Chevrolet and UniFirst. Everybody at HMS works really hard. A win will certainly lift everybody’s spirits and give you some momentum.           Yeah, I certainly wish this was a points race. We got to get back on track. We’ve had a couple races, a stretch, that haven’t been the greatest for us. I think we’ve had some pretty decent performance in our cars.           That’s the way it goes sometimes, you just don’t get the finishes that you feel like you deserve. That’s certainly the case at Indianapolis and Kentucky and the first Pocono.           Yeah, we’re going to work hard. This doesn’t hurt. Bristol has been a good track for us. This was an opportunity for us to work on a few things that we struggled with in the spring to be prepared when we come back here when it really matters.            Q. For some of the races coming up, do you feel you have a pretty good string of strong tracks, this can help you gain some momentum in the official points races?ALAN GUSTAFSON: We have some points to make up. We’ve slid a few spots. It’s pretty close from second to fourth where we’re at.           To be honest with you, Texas and Loudon aren’t two of our better tracks. Those tracks we’ve circled to work hard on and try to improve. I feel like we can. I think we learned some things from Kentucky we can take to Texas. We’re looking forward to putting that to use. Loudon is a place we need to work on. We’ve had some decent runs there. I wouldn’t say we’ve got that one circled as one of our favorites.           Yeah, look, any time you can win, it’s better. I don’t know that it’s going to be a huge step forward. This track is so unique, I can’t say that what we’ve done here is going to help Texas.            Q. You only have to bring one racecar to the racetrack each and every weekend. Does that change how you prepare in the shop? Do you have to focus on specific cars?ALAN GUSTAFSON: To be honest with you, I don’t think if we had backup cars weekly we could do it with the schedule we’ve had. The way we’re working split shifts, trying to keep the road crew away from the shop crew as much as possible. Man, it would be just a monumental task to do that with backup cars.           I think it’s been a must. I wouldn’t say that it’s put us in a better position to focus on the primary car. It’s just kept that status quo or the way it was. I don’t think us or any other team could keep their head above water in this kind of COVID era, the schedule we’ve run with having to do two cars every weekend.            Q. A stretch of four races in 11 days. Certainly, you did this earlier in May. Those were only at two tracks. Four different tracks, four different locations. What are the challenges in this stretch, how you’re getting things prepared?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s a tougher swing for sure with a Wednesday night race, then a Sunday race in Texas, then back to Kansas on Thursday. That’s tough. Then we’ve got some doubleheaders coming down the road. Certainly, have to get those cars prepared.           We’re full gas. It’s a lot of hours. It’s a lot of prep. It’s not going to be easy. It’s one of those situations, I think I talked about this before, it’s one of those situations where you’re just trying to keep the quality up and keep the cars as good as you can and try to find a way to improve throughout all that, which is difficult to do.           It’s going to be a tough stretch. I think it will be an opportunity to make some ground on some people if you get it right.            Q. It’s about a month away, you’ll be racing on the Daytona road course. You haven’t done that before. The challenges in getting ready for that? Is that simple for you guys, you just bring out your Roval winning car and run it there?ALAN GUSTAFSON: It’s not simple. It’s going to be difficult for everybody. You’re not going to have any references really. Certainly there are some characteristics of the Roval, but it’s obviously a bigger oval and the speeds are going to be higher. The infield is pretty unique. In my experience, a million years ago road racing there, it’s a track that’s hard to get ahold of.           That infield is not the easiest to navigate and get the car hooked up on. It’s going to present some unique challenges. Certainly the speed of the banking, it’s a pretty dedicated true chicane unlike what we’ve run at the Roval. That will be different I think for everybody to get ahold of. We’ll have to manage the speeds, too.           It will be a very, very unique experience. But I’m looking forward to it. It will be a fun challenge. I really like that road course. I hope the cars race well there. I think they will. I hope it all goes well obviously for us.            Q. The significance to you of helping Chase get his first marquee win?ALAN GUSTAFSON: To win at Bristol is cool no matter when you do it. The first All‑Star Race, pretty unique circumstances, something we haven’t done before. Any time you can be the first at something, you feel like you’ve done a good job.           Yeah, I mean, it’s very satisfying for all of us. Certainly I think Chase is the best out there, so any time we can help give him a car like we did tonight to showcase his talents, it’s very gratifying.            Q. How did the choose rule play out from your perspective? What kind of communication did you have with Chase about which lane to take?ALAN GUSTAFSON: That’s a great question. We had some statistical analysis of that and the effectiveness of the lane. We talked about it beforehand. I think he used that information every time but once. He kind of went against the grain. We certainly leave that up to him. He knows what the car is driving like, what the opportunities are.           I don’t think it’s an absolute monumental change to the sport. I’ve been in this situation a lot of times where it’s just really frustrating when you get taken out of an opportunity to race for a win because of a lane.           There are some tracks, this is one of them, that the lanes can get a huge amount of disparity. It kind of sucks when you’re second or third and get stuck on the bottom, end up seventh or eighth, don’t get a chance to race for the win.           I think it gives it an opportunity to make it a little bit more fair for the competitors. I don’t think it’s going to be a monumental shift. It’s probably going to affect a row or two like what you saw tonight.             THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us. Congratulations on the win. Good luck in Texas.             ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it.                

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL ALL-STAR RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE 8th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE12th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 14th    JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 77 FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES CAMARO ZL1 1LE17th    JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL ALL-STAR RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)2nd     Kyle Busch (Toyota)3rd      Kevin Harvick (Ford)4th      Brad Keselowski (Ford)5th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on Sunday, July 19th at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, NBCSports Gold App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. TEAM CHEVY ALL-STAR POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1 1LE – RACE WINNER IT’S IN THE FAMILY DNA. MILLION DOLLARS, WHAT’S IT MEAN TO WIN THIS EVENT, THIS NIGHT, AT THIS TRACK?“I can’t believe it. What a better night to have fans back than tonight – y’all are awesome. There’s nothing like Bristol. There’s nothing like the lights here. There’s nothing like racing here. I’ve never won here – what a race to do it. Just really proud of our team tonight and rebounding. We’ve had a really tough couple of weeks and just felt like we had kind of gotten off base and I felt like I was struggling. Just tried to hit the reset button this week, and came out and put on a great performance – great car. Just can’t thank all our partners enough, everybody that makes this happen. All those No. 9 hats and t-shirts up in the stands – love to see it.” WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO HEAR THOSE FANS AND SEE THEM HERE TONIGHT?“There’s no feeling like it (cheering from the crowd). There’s nothing like it – this speaks for itself. And like I said, Bristol is an electric atmosphere that is unlike any other that we go to. Couldn’t be more excited. We’re going to celebrate this one for sure. And we’ll take that million dollars back to Georgia, why don’t we!”  ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“Not completely the night we wanted, especially after starting up front. Frustrating to go backwards there. I was really pleased with our final adjustments there at the end. We started out way too loose into the corner and struggled to get any rear grip in the car. Over the course of two stops, we made the exit worse instead of helping the entry. On the last stop we changed up what we were doing and really helped the car. For the last 15 laps we were just buried there trying to pass guys. To get back to eighth was really good. This will give us a good notebook for when we come back in the playoffs. Ran out of laps, but congrats to Chase (Elliott) and the guys on the win.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th“I had fun in the All-Star race tonight. It wasn’t the result we hoped for. I was really proud to have Axalta on the car with a different look having Sea Glass back onboard. The lights under the cars were cool to see as well. It was really awesome to see fans back too which added a whole new level of excitement. On to Texas.”
MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S MCDELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th“It was a tough night for us. We just couldn’t get the balance where we needed it to be. We got the car handling better late in the race, but with such a short race that didn’t help us too much. It’s always fun to race at Bristol, just wish we could’ve been more competitive”.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Have Impressive Showing in  All-Star Open

3rd   11th

“We came into the All-Star Open with the goal of making it into the All-Star race for our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet team. That’s the big show, and a race I’ve been in before. We gave it all we had, and that’s all we can do. We moved forward fast from 11th. I got loose one time and lost track position, and that killed us. But we made the right call to come down pit road for tires and set ourselves up for the last two stages. We just didn’t have enough juice off the bottom. I was doing the best I could on the final restart to get going. I thought I had the leader almost clear, but when you come off Turn 2, you’re just done. I got sideways there, and it was over. Still, it was fun to make some laps at Bristol Motor Speedway tonight in front of a loud and passionate crowd. I love short track racing. We’ll go to Texas and try to get a win there.”-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Food City Team Battle Hard During All-Star Open at Bristol Motor Speedway

10th     5th

“We gave it our all tonight to try to make our first NASCAR All-Star Race, but it just didn’t come together this time. Our No. 8 Food City Chevrolet was way too loose to fire off tonight, and that caused us to fall back at the start of the Open and receive some damage on the initial start. We were able to tighten it up a lot during the first Stage break, but unfortunately received some additional damage to our nose on the restart. We kept with it though and did everything we could to try to get up there to win one of the final two stages, but it just wasn’t our night. We can at least take this experience back to the shop to continue building our notebook on Bristol Motor Speedway and hopefully come back here in the fall with a strong set-up for the race.” -Tyler Reddick

Virginia International Raceway stages three-race weekend for F4 U.S.

Alton, Virginia (June 15, 2020)- The largest average FIA F4 field in the world returns to action July 17-19 for the third annual Andy Scriven Memorial Race Weekend at Virginia International Raceway. Round 2 of the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda will feature 33 drivers from around the globe for a triple-header race weekend guaranteed to deliver wheel-to-wheel action. (Stream Live)

With final results still in review from the opening rounds at Mid-Ohio, the top spot in the championship has yet to be claimed. With a scholarship valued at $230,000 to enter the Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda on the line, every round in the expedited season is more crucial than the last. But before the 2020 championship title is in view, drivers will have to master the technical turns and steep elevation changes of the famous Virginia circuit. 

Of those drivers on the hunt for a title is F4 veteran Jose Blanco, who returned for his third season under the Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport banner, piloting the No. 32 Art-Draft Authority Crosslink Competition LVP Paints machine. Blanco leads the four-car international squad in experience and results on the 17-turn, 3.27-mile Virginia circuit. In his two visits (six races) at VIR with Crosslink/Kiwi, Blanco has collected one podium and three top-10 finishes with the top step just out of reach for the Puerto Rican pilot. But, after capturing top results at Mid-Ohio in the opening two rounds, Blanco looks to bag his first win of the season and his maiden victory at VIR during the Andy Scriven Memorial Race Weekend.   

“I’m very excited to go back to VIR to get back racing,” said Blanco. “I really like this track a lot. It has some nice corners and elevation so it will be nice to drive there again. We will be fighting for the win so I am very eager to get the weekend started.”

Working on his third season of competition, Dylan Tavella joined two-time team champions Crosslink/Kiwi for a 2020 title chase. Tavella opened the season scoring a podium finish for his new team at Mid-Ohio. The New York native also earned the Omologato Perfectly Timed Move of the Race for his charge to the front, achieving his best first-round results of his F4 career.

“My team and I left on a good note from Mid-Ohio, and we are coming into VIR better than ever,” said Tavella. “I’ve been doing a lot of simulator work to get ready for VIR and physically training every day to get prepped for the weekend.”

While Velocity Racing Development rookie Hunter Yeany only has two races of F4 U.S. competition experience, he’s spent hours turning laps at VIR in person and virtually during his two-years of training in the VRD Academy. The demanding preparation has already paid off for the 15-year-old driver who was the only rookie to complete the opening F4 weekend with a pair of podium finishes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course just two weeks ago. Heading into VIR, Yeany said he’s not settling for anything less than a first-place finish. 

“Now that the first race of the series is behind us, I’m looking forward to my home race at VIR,” said Yeany. “I want to show the fans what I can do.”

However, the podium-hungry drivers will have to get through Jay Howard Driver Development pilot Christian Bogle. Bogle ended 2019 strong at the United States Grand Prix weekend at Circuit of The Americas, and his season-end success carried through into 2020 as he snagged the first pole-position of the season at Mid-Ohio. While Bogle 2020 marked his third season racing with JHDD, Friday will be his first visit to VIR, as schedule conflicts have kept Bogle from competing at the technical circuit in the past. 

Giving drivers ample seat time on race weekends to aid in their development is a staple of the F4 U.S. Championship. Drivers will receive three hours of track time at Virginia International Raceway in addition to a full promoter test day on Thursday. A pair of 30-minute practices on Friday kicks off the official weekend. A 30-minute qualifying session opens the day on Saturday at 9:05 a.m. ET followed by the first of three 30-minute races starting at 1:20 p.m. ET. The race weekend wraps up on Sunday with two races at 9:05 a.m. and 1:20 p.m. ET. Fans can stream all three races live by visiting FANRacing.Live. For live timing and scoring, post-race video highlights and results visit F4USChampionship.com. 

CHEVY RACING NTT INDYCAR SERIES IOWA INDYCAR 250s IOWA SPEEDWAY NEWTON, IOWA TEAM CHEVY ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER ROBERT BUCKNER Q & A JULY 15, 2020 Robert “Rob” Buckner, Chevrolet Engineering Program Manager for the INDYCAR program answers questions on managing five races in 15 days with two doubleheaders – one on the biggest track on the schedule followed immediately with one on the smallest track on the schedule and other topics. QUESTION: INDYCAR is currently in a stretch of five races in 15 days on three very different tracks.  From the engine manufacturer side, what are the processes the Chevy engineers with the technical partners have to address to get the information to the teams? What kind of information do you disseminate to the Chevy teams prior to a race weekend? ROB BUCKNER: Everyone on the Chevrolet side has been putting in a great effort during these busy times, we all really missed being at the track and racing so we are enjoying the busy month of July. Our Chevrolet teams and drivers have been preparing for each event at the Chevrolet Performance simulator which helps us prepare for each unique circuit. That process reall enables us to have the dialogue of current weaknesses and issues that we need to collectively address together. On the engine side we are always looking for gains in performance and fuel economy that can be applied to every discipline that IndyCar represents. QUESTION: INDYCAR has had at least one doubleheader on the schedule for several years. Having raced at Iowa Speedway for many years, does that familiarity make the preparation for a doubleheader weekend less complicated? ROB BUCKNER: The Iowa doubleheader will be a unique challenge, because it is the first double header at an oval in this era and the race distance for each race is still significant at 250 laps. Iowa is more about the cornering forces than the mileage accumulation so it will be a grind for the crews to have a properly prepared car for both days. That goes for the drivers also – the July Iowa race is always hot and humid, very little straight away to rest. Everyone will be exhausted after Saturday night’s race. I have always loved night racing so it is a weekend I am looking forward to. QUESTION: Not violating proprietary information in any way, in a doubleheader event, can enough be learned in Race One and then implemented to make a significant difference in performance in Race Two? ROB BUCKNER: On the chassis side I am sure there will be some improvements made, there are so many smart people in the paddock that running a full race and having 20 hours to think about what you would do differently will lead to some improvements for Saturday. Iowa is also a tire management type event over a stint length so balancing that will be a real challenge. As an engine supplier we will be looking to address any immediate reliability concerns or driver feedback as we play a role in managing tire wear. Hopefully if we execute on Friday night we can replicate that on Saturday and get some good results. Our engine group is certainly up to the challenge. QUESTION: Without giving away any secrets, how significant are the mapping changes from a small, tight road course, to a big technical a road course and then to a short oval?  ROB BUCKNER: It is easier now than it would have been in years past since all these July events are ran at 1.5 bar boost level. With the amended schedule for 2020 we are still on our first race engines that have been installed since the COTA preseason test in February. These engines are closing in on 2000 miles but have been very reliable so far. The needs of a road course and an oval are very different but our engineering support on the weekend have developed great baselines, so we are in a really good place right from lap 1 in first practice. We are very fortunate to have such an experienced Chevrolet support network during these times of so much change. QUESTION: How is Chevrolet able to adapt engine characteristics and drivability to accommodate the varying driving styles across the group of drivers in the Chevrolet V6 camp? ROB BUCKNER: It is very useful to have a library of calibration and track data to reference over the years and each of our Chevrolet engineers have a great relationship with their driver. Our group can then take the drivers verbal feedback and identify what they are referencing from the engine data and make improvements. We really get to understand what each of them are looking for from the engine and tailor around that. It is incredible how observant the drivers are and how attentive to minor changes they can be in this development process. It is definitely a process that requires attention to detail and our group really excels at that.

CHEVY RACING NTT INDYCAR SERIES IOWA INDYCAR 250s IOWA SPEEDWAY NEWTON, IOWA TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT – TONY KANAAN JULY 15, 2020 TONY KANAAN, NO.14 BRYANT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, MET WITH MEDIA TO DISCUSS BRYANT SPONSORSHIP, HOW HE SEES THE SEASON PLAYING OUT AND OTHER TOPICS, FULL TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the NTT INDYCAR Series video conference heading into the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway, the Iowa INDYCAR 250s.We are joined today by 2013 Indianapolis 500 champion Tony Kanaan, who has a special sponsor announcement he would like to share.Tony, go ahead and share your news.
TONY KANAAN: Thank you. Welcome, everybody. Obviously I’m pretty excited about many things. I sat away for two weekends in a row suffering watching other people drive, which was kind of tough for me.
Today we going to announce, Bryant, which has been my sponsor for 13 out of the last 14 years, they’re going to be my primary sponsor for the two Iowa races.
Pretty excited. I have a long relationship with them. They step it up big-time this year to make the T.K. Last Lap possible. I have good friends there.If you guys ever noticed, we have the loudest fans on the INDYCAR parade here in Indianapolis during the month of May. Bryant bring more than 500 people every year to the Indy 500. It’s not going to be different this year.I’m extremely excited. The car looks beautiful. You guys going to have a chance to see it. Not obviously just that they sponsor me. It came out really cool. I’m excited about it. Iowa is a good track for me. We had a lot of success there in the past. Looking forward to this weekend.
THE MODERATOR: Your team sent over a photo of the car. I’m going to share it with everyone right now. I hope everyone can see my screen. Pretty cool car.T.K., do you want to walk us through it a little bit and tell us about it.TONY KANAAN: Yeah, they have this saying: Whatever it takes. It’s on the engine cover, as well. You guys can’t see it. The team, the guys from Bryant, they were so cool. They came to me and said, How do you want your car?I said, Well, it’s more how you guys want your car.Together we came up with that. I’m pretty happy about it.
THE MODERATOR: At this time we’ll go ahead and open it up to the media for questions.Q.T.K., here it is Iowa. You have a great record there. Two races. The way your schedule is set up this year, by the time the second race is over, you’ll already be halfway through with your season. Talk a little bit about the mixed feelings that you have going into this race. You’re a former winner and could win this weekend.TONY KANAAN: For sure. Every race that I finish this year, in my head it’s one less, right? Although I can tell you I’m prepared. That was my decision. But it’s never easy. It’s never easy. I’ve been doing this for 23 years. This is all I’ve done.I kind of got spoiled in a way with COVID because the season was supposed to start in March and didn’t. I was actually part of the first race of the year. Kind of was twisted in my head because I really didn’t have time to process that.When it hit me, when everybody went to the next race, I wasn’t there, I was home on the Friday watching it, it was kind of tough. I knew was going to be an adjustment. It is what it is.When I win, I’m going to be happy. I’m pretty sure three hours later I’m going to be sad. If I don’t win, it will be the same thing. I know it’s coming. Obviously we have still four races to go on my end. We’ll take it one at a time.
Q.There was a time in your career where you go to Iowa, Tony Kanaan was the first name everybody said they had to beat to win that race. Why are you so good there? What is it about that track? Is it a track you have to be aggressive and attack?TONY KANAAN: Yeah, I mean, it’s a track you need to be aggressive. It’s an oval that has some particularities that I don’t think I’m going to share here because it’s some of my secrets. It’s a track that we clicked right away.I was always competitive there. If you guys remember, if I’m right, I think I crashed the first three or four times actually leading that race or in contention to win the first three times we went there. It was like, Wow, I’m good but…It was kind of like a mini Indy for me. I was always very successful, but I couldn’t close the deal. Then we clicked. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to be a good weekend for us. I picked the tracks. I was actually extremely fortunate this year to say, These are the races I want to do. We made it happen with a different sponsor every race, which is awesome. Iowa is one of them because I know I can be very competitive.What it is, I don’t think I have the answer the total answer for you. For sure, it’s a track that suits my style.
Q.Bryant Heating and Cooling goes all the way back to the early days of A.J. Foyt, back in the ’60s. To have that connection, Robin Miller used to say Tony Kanaan could have raced in the ’60s. You had to be a test pilot to drive those things. With all that being combined, what is it like to be in this?TONY KANAAN: I mean, if you think about it, Bryant has been in racing since 1958. I mean, it’s crazy how this company has support the Indy 500. They actually sponsored A.J.’s car with John Andretti the year that John did the double I think in ’99. It’s a company that supports INDYCAR.With me, they made my career last a lot longer because they are one of my biggest sponsors. They’ve been with me through every team. I moved, they moved with me. It’s a company that knows racing, that knows the background.Back to your question, when you talk about that I could be racing, I could have raced in the 1960s, I don’t disagree. I think I see a lot of things in my boss that I still have it today.I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but that’s just the way we are. For sure I would have loved to actually be part of those days. I know it was dangerous. He tells me, Tony, we’d start a season, we didn’t know if we would finish the season. Not finish the season because you’d be out of the car but because you probably be not around.I like that dangerous part. I like the mentality, the way they used to run things. That’s how A.J. and I clicked, because he’s a much older school, but I’m kind of old school.
Q.You mentioned how hard these last couple weekends have been for you watching the races. What have you done during the race weekends or race weeks to try and keep yourself occupied?TONY KANAAN: I did it all. I tried everything. The first time, the first weekend, during the first day I went to the pool with the kids. I tried to stay in the pool. I couldn’t help getting out of the pool and watch the scoreboard. That was during qualifying. I ended up actually watching the race.Last weekend I picked a virtual race, a 24-hour race to do. Me, Alonso, Rubens Barrichello and a couple of eSports drivers. That kept me busy. It was a real 24-hour race. We did it in Spa. We ended up winning that race.I was really busy. Obviously it was a real thing. Alternating doing stints. You got to sleep because you got to be up. I kept myself extremely busy and racing in a way.I guess one positive thing about the pandemic, I think it brought a lot of people a lot closer. Look how we’ve been doing things lately. And sim racing was something that INDYCAR introduced so we could entertain our sponsors and the fans. I kind of liked it. I picked it up, been doing it regularly.Actually, as soon as we hang up today, I have a race to do at 2:00 on iRacing. I picked up a 24-hour race to do. In a way, I felt like I was racing.
Q.I know Iowa is a track you have a lot of history with, success at. Being that you only have five races to run this year, the opportunity with how the schedule changed, running two of those at Iowa, trying to build momentum with this team, how much are you looking forward to that?TONY KANAAN: I’m looking forward many things. To be honest, I mean, the way I shape up the T.K. Last Lap was we had a lot of plans with the fans. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen. But it’s still not going to take away that I, Tony Kanaan, wanted to have.I am doing it to thank the fans, to thank obviously the sport that gave me so much. Also I’m doing it for myself. I’m going to try to enjoy the weekend as much as I can in many ways: driving the car, which I don’t get to do a lot these days, spending time with my team. Obviously a good result would be awesome.To me, I just really want to enjoy and just really be in the car and do what I do. I think that’s the best place to be. For me, it’s a good track. I’m extremely, extremely hopeful that we’ll be very competitive there, which is going to help a lot. Just really enjoy the weekend. Like you said, it’s actually four more to go that I get to do this. We’ll enjoy as much as we can.
Q.This is probably less of a concern for you given your physical condition. What do you think about 500 laps in a little over 24 hours in Iowa? The green flag temperature Saturday night is going to be around 90. What kind of a test do you think it will be?TONY KANAAN: I love it. I think the hotter and the more difficult it is, the better for me. That’s what I train for. I train for difficult situations. I train to be able to have that edge on people that don’t. Unfortunately I know that a lot of the guys are doing the same. I used to I think have a bigger edge on them.To be honest, they had two extremely hot races already, so they’re more accustomed than I am. Although I can try to simulate the heat in the car, driving the car, it’s what you’re going to feel.I think we’re going to be level there. I think it’s going to be extremely tough. I talked to the guys, everybody is kind of complaining a little bit that it’s quite a bit hot. But I’m ready. That is something that when I decided to become the athlete or the racecar driver that I am today, one thing that I said was never going to lack is my physical condition.I’m not worried. Obviously I’m cautious and I have to take the precautions because it is going to be extremely stressful. When you talk about the heat and a road course or a street course, you talk about the heat and fatigue physically. Here is mentally. I found throughout my career the physical fatigue, I think you can manage well.For me the mental fatigue, it’s really tough. It’s a lot tougher. You kind of not have trained for that. Your body, you can lift weights, do cardio, this and that. Your mind…I’m expecting to be extremely drained after the two races, but I’m ready.
Q.The 10 car for Ganassi winning Road America, first time since you won with that team six years ago, I don’t know if you keep in touch with a lot of those guys, what did you think of that?TONY KANAAN: I do. Obviously Dixon and I, we actually see each other every day. We work out together. Felix started cycling. I know you heard that on NBC. Felix is actually my height. I sold him a couple of my bikes so he could have a bike ride. We’ve been working together.NTT, my personal sponsor, I raced that car. I felt so happy for so many reasons. They gave me the opportunity to drive for Ganassi for all those years. Unfortunately the race that I won there wasn’t with that car. The relationship with those guys, it’s so good.John was a great, great support, John McCain, that was the CEO that unfortunately passed away a few months ago with brain cancer, didn’t even see that car win. It was so special in so many ways. All those guys were my guys, the guys that I raced with, my mechanics. Really special.I think you saw, I posted congratulating the 10 car, Chip and NTT. It was really sweet to see it. I mean, I think it was easier to swallow because I’m not there. But they deserve it. They deserve it.
Q.I saw your tweet yesterday about the superstar racing experience. Have you talked to Tony Stewart? Are you going to do this?TONY KANAAN: So funny. I don’t want to spoil the thing. I see the tweet that they come up with new series. Jokingly I said, I’m in.Yesterday I was in Charlotte on a simulator for Chevy, for Iowa, the proper one. I’m on the plane, boarding the plane, my phone rings. I see a Charlotte number. I picked up. It’s Ray. Ray says, Hey, T.K. it’s Ray Evernham, what is your suit size?I truly mean it as I have nothing planned for next year yet. If they make it happen, I’ll be there.
Q.How excited are you with the progress made by the team in recent races? Obviously Charlie finished 10th in Road America. How excited are you to be back in the car this weekend, hopefully kind of extending that progress with the team?TONY KANAAN: Oh, extremely excited. I think we made quite a good jump. If you look at Texas, Charlie and I were extremely competitive. We were in the top 10 the entire race.Charlie’s been pretty good. He had an awesome second race in Road America. I’m pumped. I think we have a good thing going. There are still a couple things we need to adjust. But the cars are definitely better this year. We made a lot of changes, some of them we had to do.I’m pretty pleased. I’m extremely confident and hopeful that we’ll be very competitive there.
Q.The fact that we have a doubleheader this weekend, is that more beneficial to you in terms of progression with the car?TONY KANAAN: 100%. I mean, for me, you know, if you think about it, I’m out of the car for two weeks. I know it wasn’t an oval, but these guys been driving the car. I have a chance to, let’s say on the first day, because Texas was really hard for me, I was out of the car for eight months, have an hour session, that got cut because a couple guys crash, becomes a 40-minute session. I wasn’t comfortable, I would say, until mid race. Here I have two chances.I would say it’s definitely better for me.
Q.You mentioned earlier about obviously retirement, four races to go, not being able to really celebrate with the fans. Is retirement something that you may reconsider doing?TONY KANAAN: That’s something that I’ve been actually stressing enough. I don’t know when we got misled on the retirement. When we announced the T.K. Last Lap, it got confused. Obviously I’m not doing a full season, so it’s tough to say it’s my last season in INDYCAR.My idea was to slow down a bit. I can assure you I don’t think I’ll be competing on a full championship again in INDYCAR. But I never said I’m going away.To answer your question, I still have plans to do a few races next year. Obviously a lot of things need to fall in place. For the same reason what you just mentioned, I’m not going to say I’m coming back because I couldn’t celebrate with my fans. The plan all along, obviously it’s quite obvious that I want to do the 500 again. A lot of my sponsors are onboard with that.But as this year happened the way it happens, I think we have a pretty good chance to probably do exactly the same thing next year. But the message was the T.K. Last Lap was, I’m slowing it down, I’m not going to be a full-time INDYCAR driver any more. I never really had the intention to say, That’s it, I’m leaving. Unless I don’t have a seat, unless I don’t have a car and sponsor that wants to help me to drive, I guess then I would be forced to retirement.My intentions are to come back in a smaller degree, do maybe the 500 only or maybe two races, one before the 500 and the 500. Also I’m still extremely involved with INDYCAR. I still run the drivers association.If, if there is no possibility for me to come and drive again in INDYCAR next year, I’m still committed to come to the races. I still have a lot of sponsors there that want me to come. I was going to do the Indy Lights broadcast this year, but they canceled. I’ll still be around so I have time to celebrate with them as well.
Q.Could you talk a bit about Scott Dixon getting off to winning three races in a row. What are you seeing with this? How impressed are you?TONY KANAAN: He can’t impress me any more. I live with this guy. We raced together. He was my teammate. I see him regularly every day at the gym.Here is the thing with Scott Dixon. People have to stop giving him chances because he doesn’t need any chances to win anyway. People are doing him huge favors. They’re shooting themselves in the foot, man. From the outside now I can see a lot better because I’m not in it. You can just see it coming.Scott is, in my opinion, with all the credit to every driver I’ve been teammates, if you think about it, I had tough ones, I had Dan Wheldon, Dario Franchitti, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti. I mean, I had them. He’s by far the most complete one I’ve ever seen.I don’t know how to explain. I joke with him all the time. He’s just Scott Dixon. That’s it. I joke at home, I joke with him, when I do something good, Wow, I Scott Dixon’ed this one.He’s amazing. He’s on a roll. People better wake up otherwise he’s going to be gone.
Q.New qualifying system this weekend. Two laps, the first lap counts for the first race, second for the second race. How do you attack that? I don’t know if we know about tire deg yet. Is that a thing where you hope to do two consistent ones or go hard on one versus the other?TONY KANAAN: Actually I found that out like 30 minutes ago. Benito says, Did you see that? I said, What?I have not had a chance to process. Like you said, I don’t know the tire deg. I’m going to have to make up my mind. For sure you’re not going to do two laps exactly the same. For sure either the first lap or the second lap is going to be the quickest. That’s kind of obvious.Depends how the weekend goes, the heat. I will know that on Friday on the hour session, then I’ll make my decision. One race is not going to be good, the other one is going to be better. That’s the way it’s going to be.It’s interesting. It’s actually fun because we never done that. You’re going to have to probably be cautious in the first lap because it’s such a short track, maybe your tire temps, everything is not going to be up to temp yet. Those type of qualifying, you do one to put it in the bank, then you go for the next one. If the next one doesn’t worth, you had the first one. This one is not, you’re going to have both of them.It’s going to be interesting.
Q.Would it be better to have two fifth starting spots or a first and a 10th?TONY KANAAN: I would go for first and a 10th. Who cares? Nothing to lose.
Q.How about the race? Two races, two days. Attack more the first race or the second race?TONY KANAAN: Depending where you’re starting. That’s all going to dictate from where you’re starting, what kind of car you have, to be honest. For me it will be attack them both. I mean, obviously you’ll know your chances better where you qualify from one race to the another.It’s a tough track. Easy to get lapped there. It’s going to be interesting.
Q.Can you talk a little bit about the rookies, how you see them, especially he’s not technically a rookie, what do you think about Pato O’Ward?TONY KANAAN: I mean, I was really impressed. Actually in a way, again, I’m on the outside. I’m glad I’m not there actually sometimes to see how many of the young kids are coming up, right?I think it was kind of like about time. We’ve been dominating for so long, the same guys. Year after year, you call the same people. Oh, it will be those guys, blah blah, you make a list. Now it’s like, Whoa, wait a second. We have something there.They’re only going to get better. That’s just the nature of things. That time has arrived. It’s no different than when we came in, Helio and I, to the series back in ’98. We were there. Then Wheldon comes in.I’m happy to see that. It’s really cool. Pato showed a lot of maturity. You call him a rookie, he has done a few races, but still fairly young and unexperienced in INDYCAR. I think he did an awesome job.It was a shame. Whoever chose that tire for him, I could see that miles away. I couldn’t understand why. They probably have their reasons. It’s easy for me to say.But it’s pretty impressive to see. I’m excited to see how this thing is going to develop in the future. I think we found three really good kids that are actually going to be giving the old guys a hard time.That is the time that I say I’m glad I’m slowing it down and going somewhere (laughter). It’s going to be tough to swallow. I’ve been there before.
THE MODERATOR: One other thing I forgot to mention is we have a very special grand marshal for this Friday’s event. The folks at Iowa Speedway have chosen the one and only Tony Kanaan to be the grand marshal on Friday night. He’ll be giving the command from his car.Talk about that special honor.TONY KANAAN: That’s so cool. I’ve been watching NASCAR and what they’re doing with Jimmie Johnson. That’s quite cool. I’ve been getting so much back. It’s amazing. It’s something that it’s hard for me because I’m very emotional. I’m going to have to actually hold my breath because I’m really easy to get emotional when people are doing stuff and I actually knowing that.It’s an honor. I’m glad I’m doing from inside the car, to be honest. I’m excited. It’s one of those things that I didn’t expect it at all. I think it was a nice gesture. I can’t wait.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, everybody, for joining. Be sure to tune in this weekend on NBCSN for both races beginning 8:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Jul 15, 2020 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Megan Meyer, Pre-Race Releases

The 2020 racing season is starting to wind back up again during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Randy Meyer Racing Team is eager to return to the winner’s circle at National Trail Raceway in Columbus, OH. Defending event winner, Julie Nataas, will join the defending World Champion Megan Meyer, in her NGK Spark Plugs/Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Dragster, to take on the rest of the competition for the team’s fourth race of the year.

“It’s been four long months without racing, so I’m really looking forward to go to National Trail Raceway where we won last year to restart the NHRA season,” Julie said. “We will do a test run before the race to make sure everything is where we want it to be. It’s going to be hot this weekend, but I’m hoping to defend my win from last year. I’m excited to be back racing with my team!”

Julie scored her first Regional event win at this event last year over Chris Demke that led to her first Regional Championship. This will be Megan’s first time racing in Columbus, and she is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s been almost 2 months since my last race where we had a great outing being number one qualifier and picked up the win, which is our second of the season. I’m hoping to collect as many points as possible this weekend, and at our race in Topeka next weekend, to continue the chase for the 2020 championship with the limited schedule. We collected good data here last year, so I have a really good feeling going into qualifying on Friday that we will both perform our best,” said Megan.

The team will get one qualifying session Friday at 6pm ET, with two more on Saturday at 12 and 3pm ET followed by the opening round of eliminations at 6pm ET. The semi-finals and final round will be held on Sunday at 12 and 3pm ET at National Trail Raceway.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCENASCAR ALL-STARBRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAYBRISTOL, TENNESSEEJULY 15, 2020
BRISTOL FOR THE NASCAR ALL-STAR:The NASCAR All-Star race is an annual event that has been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway every year since 1985, with the exception of 1986, when it took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway. For the first time, this popular race will take place at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday, July 15th, where NASCAR’s best will battle under the lights for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.
Although Charlotte will always be recognized as the traditional home for the All-Star, the current pandemic situation in North Carolina makes its 36th running at Bristol a better option to allow fans in attendance. 
CONTENDERS:There are 16 drivers who are eligible to compete in the All-Star event due to wins in 2019-20 or being a previous All-Star winner or Cup champion. Six of those are Camaro ZL1 1LE drivers, and their starting positions for the race have been determined by a random draw: 
 2nd    Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes Camaro ZL1 1LE 4th     Justin Haley, No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles Camaro ZL1 1LE 6th     Matt Kenseth, No. 42 McDonald’s McDelivery Camaro ZL1 1LE 7th     Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE13th     Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Camaro ZL1 1LE14th     Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
Drivers not already qualified will have a chance to join the All-Star field by competing in the NASCAR Open, in which there are ten Team Chevy entries. The winner of each Open segment will advance to the All-Star, as will the winner of the Fan Vote. 
WHAT’S NEW?In addition to the location change itself, there are three modifications coming to the 2020 All-Star Race. NASCAR oftentimes utilizes this particular event to test concepts for possible future use.
The highly anticipated ‘choose rule’ will be executed on restarts, which allows each driver to pick a lane. Traditionally, the leader makes a choice, and the field lines-up accordingly on the inside or outside lanes. With this new test format, there will be a designated point on the track where the drivers will choose their restart lane.
Teams already locked-into the All-Star race will feature underglow lighting mounted beneath their cars giving each manufacturer its own colorful identity.
The race cars themselves will feature a new paint scheme concept in which the side-door numbers are moved toward the rear wheel to allow additional sponsor exposure. CHEVY PERFORMANCE:Chevrolet leads all other manufacturers with 18 victories in the prestigious All-Star race.
Career-long Chevrolet driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, leads all drivers with four All-Star race victories to his credit (2003, ’06, ’12, ’13). Other active Chevy drivers with All-Star wins are Kurt Busch (2010), and Matt Kenseth (2004).
Hendrick Motorsports leads all other NASCAR Cup Series teams with eight All-Star victories:Jimmie Johnson (4), Jeff Gordon (3), and Terry Labonte (1).
FLASHBACKS:Darrell Waltrip, driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Hendrick Motorsports, won the inaugural All-Star race on May 25, 1985. Team Chevy has since won the event with multiple models including the Chevy Lumina, Monte Carlo SS., Impala, the Chevy SS, and most recently, the Camaro ZL1.
When rain caused a multi-car crash on Lap 1 of the All-Star race in 2001, Jeff Gordon used his back-up Chevrolet to win the big prize. Gordon has captured three All-Star wins in Chevrolet race cars.
TUNE-IN:FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Open and the NASCAR All-Star at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday evening, July 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. QUOTABLE QUOTES:ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 CHEVYGOODS.COM / ADAM’S POLISHES CAMARO ZL1 1LE:“This year’s All-Star Race is going to be a little different since we don’t have to race our way in. I have not ever been in the All-Star Race without having to race my way in or win the fan vote like we did last year. I think the ChevyGoods.com/Adam’s Polishes machine will look great under the lights at Bristol, especially with the underglow lights. We ran decent at Bristol earlier this year before we got caught up in an incident on track. I think we will have a good Chevrolet for Wednesday night’s race.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE:BYRON ON THE ALL-STAR RACE AT BRISTOL.“I think it’s going to be fun having the All-Star race at Bristol Motor Speedway, especially under the lights. Hopefully we make it in since we have to race our way in still. Bristol is always a tough track that requires constant concentration. I think that Open race is going to be even more wild than usual with people trying to secure their place. There will be desperation on the line to get a win and get into the big show. Last year we raced our way into the All-Star race with a Stage One win. We had a really good run there and honestly had a shot to win close to the end. I think if we get into the All-Star race, it’s going to be a lot of fun, especially now.” BYRON ON USING THE CHOOSE CONE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.“I’m for sure excited to use the choose cone in the All-Star race. There’s no doubt that I think it will add an extra layer of strategy and excitement. It’s going to be a tool that will make this into an incredible race and keep people on their toes more than they already would be at a place like Bristol. It brings me back to my early days in racing. The race itself is going to be phenomenal I feel like but I’m really looking forward to see how this plays out. AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE:WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET INTO THE ALL-STAR RACE?“You’ve got to go get it. You will be after it, and putting it all on the line to try and win a Stage in the open in order to transfer into the All-Star race. The All-Star race is so fun because you let everything go on All-Star night as far as the big picture, and just put it all on the line to try and win. It’s for the fans, and I’m really looking forward to trying to race my way in. Especially at a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 FOOD CITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:“It’s tough to gauge our chances on making into the main event. Honestly, the All-Star race is an event I always have fun going to watch from the stands with my friends, so it’s weird being involved in it this year. I haven’t gotten much of a chance to campaign for the fan vote with how busy we’ve been with all these races, but it would be an honor to win that. Hopefully, fans are seeing what I’m doing out on the track and that performance has gotten them to go vote for me. If they want someone who is going to do some crazy stuff to try to win the million dollars, I’m their guy. As for racing our way in through the Open, I hope we can do that. There are just so many variables going into the race that it’s tough to even form a strategy. The lineup is based off a random draw, so that is an unknown for now. We also aren’t quite sure yet how the traction compound will be laid down, so that’s another variable. We’ll just have to adapt to all the challenges and try to put ourselves in the best spot to win a stage and advance to the main event.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL1 1LE:“I think we have a really strong shot at making the All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol is one of my favorite tracks, and we have a great starting position starting fourth. We had a really strong run om the first Bristol race before ultimately being involved in a wreck that ended our day early, but that gives me nothing but confidence that Brian Pattie set up our No. 47 Kroger/Cottonelle Chevrolet as best he could to give us a shot at $1 million.” MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 MCDONALD’S DELIVERY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:“The All-Star Race moving to Bristol is awesome. It’s long overdue. I love Charlotte Motor Speedway but I think the All-Star Race needs to be at a short track and there’s no better short track in the country than Bristol Motor Speedway. I think everyone is looking forward to being a part of this one. There’s a high probability of a lot of action there, maybe some hurt feelings, most likely some wrinkled up race cars. It’s the All-Star Race, it pays a lot of money, so you know everyone’s going to be in the gas. I’m thankful to be a part of this one and hopefully we can go up there and dice it up for that million.” 
RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 ENERGIZER CAMARO ZL1 1LE:“Nothing would turn our luck around quite like advancing into the All-Star Race and competing for $1 million. I love Bristol Motor Speedway and short track racing, and I think we have a really strong shot at winning a stage and advancing into the race. Bristol is one of the only tracks where we’ve seemed to have some luck this season, and I feel confident that we can race our No. 37 Energizer Chevrolet into the big show. We’ve got a great setup, and one of the best-looking cars on track and I know we’ll have some extra power with Energizer on board.”
TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICO HUMP DAY CAMARO ZL1 1LE:ON GETTING A TOUGH STARTING POSITION DRAW FOR THE OPEN (21st OF 22) AND OVERALL THOUGHTS ON ALL-STAR RACE:“Drawing second to last for the Open is not quite what you want, but you never know what can happen. It’s going to be wild and a crazy shootout to get in. The choose rule is going to make it super interesting as well, so we might have to be strategic and just go for it. Bristol is a place where I’ve been successful. Our GEICO team won a stage there last season, and this will be essentially stage racing. If we can get ourselves in a position to find some track position at the end of one of the stages, I believe that we can win and sneak into the All-Star Race.”
DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE CHOOSE RULE WHEN WHAT YOU DO IS DEPENDENT ON WHAT THE PEOPLE IN FRONT OF YOU DO?“It’s going to be a split-second decision. You are going to see the guys with an aggressive mindset who put themselves out there in a tough spot – probably on the top lane which isn’t the dominant lane at Bristol. It just depends on how the PJ1 comes in and what line will be dominant on the restart. It’s going to be interesting, but quite fun. I used to do this back in my legend car days, and you could always make something happen. I love that our sport is opening up their minds to new creative ways to make the racing exciting. I think they are going to be very pleased with what this choose rule brings and maybe it is something that we can adapt into the future of our sport.”

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (July 14, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi is doing double duty this Saturday.

Scelzi will pilot a Bill McAnally Racing pavement late model during an ARCA Menards Series event at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, before venturing approximately 28 miles south to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where he will drive a 410ci winged sprint car for Guy Forbrook.

“It will be a long day running the ARCA race and then heading to Knoxville, but I’m really looking forward to it,” Scelzi said. “It will be my first time at Iowa Speedway, but I’ve heard it’s an awesome place to race. Knoxville is a great track, too.”

Scelzi has produced a lot of success during his limited number of starts at Knoxville Raceway, where he became the youngest 410ci winged sprint car winner in the history of the track last year. He also won the season finale, placed third out of 77 drivers during the 8^th annual Bell Helmets Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank and finished 10^th at the 59^thannual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores.

“Knoxville is a place I’m really comfortable at,” he said. “We made some changes to make us better since we ran there earlier this year. There will be a lot of good cars there so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

It will be an action-packed day as the ARCA Menards Series race is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. Hot laps at Knoxville Raceway begin at 6:45 p.m. with qualifying to follow.

SEASON STATS –

25 races, 1 win, 8 top fives, 16 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 22 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, with the ARCA Menards Series and at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa

Inside Line Promotions – TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (July 14, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi earned his first top 10 of the season during World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competition last Sunday, capping a three-race weekend with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt.’

Scelzi qualified 18^th quickest before he gained a position to finish fifth during a heat race at Terre Haute Action Track. That lined him up on the inside of the eighth row for a wild main event. Scelzi survived the close calls and gained a handful of positions to place 10^th, which was his best run of the season with the series.

“It’s good to make progress and earn a top 10,” he said. “We’ve been struggling with being too tight lately. We haven’t been able to qualify very well and it feels like we haven’t raced well either so it’s nice to see a positive result to end the weekend.”

Scelzi began the weekend last Friday at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, where he timed in 20^th quickest, placed seventh in a heat race, ended second in the Last Chance Showdown and rallied from 20 ^th to 14^th in the A Main. It was the second-most positions gained in the feature.

Scelzi followed that performance up with another 14^th-place run on Saturday at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis.

“We aren’t where we want to be, but we’re trying really hard to better ourselves,” he said. “We are going to change some stuff on the car this week to hopefully feel better this weekend.”

Scelzi plans on making his debut at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln., Ill., on Friday with the MOWA Sprint Car Series before heading to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on Saturday.

HEBRON, Ohio (July 14) — There will be plenty of JEGS yellow and black at one of the high-performance auto parts giant’s biggest events of the year, JEGS Speedweek, a double-header race taking place Thursday-Sunday at historic National Trail Raceway. Reigning divisional and regional champions Mike Coughlin and Troy Coughlin Jr. will be joined by Paige Coughlin, Makenna Brown and Jeff Taylor in representing JEGS.com in a variety of classes in both races. JEGS Speedweek combines the first Lucas Oil Series Division 3 race of the season with the annual JEGS.com SPORTSnationals, a special national event exclusively for Sportsman racers. The D3 race will take place Thursday and Friday, followed by the SPORTSnationals on Saturday and Sunday. Mike Coughlin“We have a whole lot of racing ahead of us this weekend and I’m very excited about it,” said Mike, the reigning D3 Top Dragster champion. “Aside from a little spin I took in Tony Collier’s bracket car a few weeks at Dragway 42, I haven’t raced since last fall so I’m absolutely ready to get back on the racetrack. “My guys, Greg Cody, Tony Collier, Dave Raurk and Ryan Micke, did a bunch of work in the off-season to insure we wouldn’t have any drop-off in performance from last year’s incredible run and we’ve just been waiting for the green light to race. I know I’ll be treasuring whatever racing we’re able to do this year because we never know what will happen.” Mike will follow-up this weekend’s race with two more double-header weekends in Topeka, Kan., and Indianapolis.  “We’re going to stay very busy and I love it,” Mike said. “I couldn’t be happier. Starting this weekend at National Trail, which (track owner) Jay Livingston has revived to its former glory and beyond, we’re going to have a bunch of fun, and racing with my family makes it even better.” Troy Jr. returns from a weekend outing in Pro Stock to pilot his always-reliable JEGS.com Super Comp dragster. After winning back-to-back regional championships in Top Alcohol Dragster, Troy Jr. is ever-anxious to compete in a pair of races that bear his family’s famous company name. “Any time I’m representing JEGS I take an incredible amount of pride in what that means,” Troy Jr. said. “From my grandfather’s time starting JEGS here in Columbus 60 years ago to nowadays with my dad and uncles running JEGS and a lot of us third-generation kids working there, it’s truly an honor to be a part of it all. Troy Coughlin Jr. “We have a lot of cars entered in both races and I will be so happy if we can find the winner’s circle. It won’t be easy because this event has attracted all of the top racers in the country, but we have all the pieces in place to challenge for every trophy.” After participating in four high-profile bracket races in the last month, Paige arrives at her home track of NTR looking to turn on as many win lights as possible in her JEGS.com Super Comp dragster. The college junior cut her racing teeth at NTR and says returning to the familiar confines of her local track gives her a great level of comfort. “I pretty much grew up at this track, either running my Junior Dragster or watching my brother and my uncles’ race, so it’s definitely my favorite place to compete,” Paige said. “Plus, it’ll be nice to race a full quarter-mile again. We did really well at the bracket races so my crew chief Justin Beaver feels really confident in the car.  “It’s the first Division 3 race of the year and we’re repping No. 32 on my dragster this year so we’re coming in with our heads held high. It’s always a blast racing with my Uncle Mike, my brother TJ, and my cousin Makenna. Me and Makenna have been racing together a lot and she’s doing so well. It’s not an easy transition but she’s handling it well.” Paige Coughlin Like Paige, Makenna is searching for her first win in Super Comp and having two chances at glory during JEGS Speedweek is exciting, although she is more focused on continuing to learn the nuances of driving a nine-second dragster. “Although it has been around five months since I last raced in Super Comp, I feel really confident going into this double header,” Makenna said. “My team and I feel we have the JEGS.com dragster set up really well and I know they’ve been working really hard.  “It has been nice to get some bracket races in and get more comfortable with the car, but I am really ready to be back with the NHRA. I am so thankful to be able to represent JEGS and my family at the track. I am also excited to return to National Trail Raceway, the track where I started racing juniors, won my first race, and won two back-to-back track championships. I have a lot of good memories there and am really excited to make some more.” Decorated drag racer Taylor, who helps Team JEGS with numerous projects involving the group’s racing program, rounds out the team roster this week. Taylor will be captaining the JEGS.com Dodge Challenger in Stock eliminator.

5:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, July 18
NBC Sports Network, NBC Trackpass and IMSATV.com
Radio Le Mans and IMSA.com

ACURA, HPD AT SEBRING
Acura Motorsports and its performance arm, Honda Performance Development, have recorded a total of eight victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, including three class wins for Acura, four LMP2 class wins under the HPD umbrella, and an overall win in 2016.

This weekend’s two-hour, 40-minute contest is an addition to the 2020 schedule as a result of adjustments made to the calendar in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acura’s initial victory at the rugged airport circuit came in 1993, when Comptech Racing brought its Acura Spice prototype home first in the Camel Lights division, and fifth overall in the 47-car field. Three-time Camel Lights champion Parker Johnstone anchored the driver lineup, with co-drivers Dan Marvin and Ruggero Melgrati.

In 2007, Acura returned to endurance sports car racing for the first time since ’93, and promptly won the LMP2 class – finishing second overall – in the debut of the Acura ARX-01a prototype in the hands of Andretti Autosports drivers Dario Franchitti, Bryan Herta and Tony Kanaan.

Acura won the LMP2 category again at Sebring in 2009, with Lowe’s Fernandez Racing finishing third overall in its Acura ARX-01b driven by Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz.

HPD supplied customer teams in the LMP2 category from 2010-2016, scoring class wins at Sebring in 2011, 2012 (in both the American Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship races) and 2013.

In 2016, HPD and partner team Tequila Patron ESM scored an overall victory at Sebring in a Honda-powered Ligier JSP2 co-driven by Pipo Derani, Scott Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown.

ACURA TEAM PENSKE
The combination of Acura Motorsports, Team Penske and the Acura ARX-05 DPi resulted in a sweep of IMSA’s season-long championships in 2019, claiming the Manufacturers’, Teams’ and Drivers’ championships.

Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya combined for three race wins and four additional podium finishes to claim the 2019 Drivers’ Championship in the #6 Acura Team Penske entry. Teammates Helio Castroneves and Ricky Cameron complied five podium finishes in their #7 ARX-05 to help Acura secure the Manufacturers’ title.

The Acura ARX-05 is the latest in a line of prototype sports cars to be fielded by the company, dating to 1991, just five years after the launch of the Acura brand. Based on the successful ORECA 07 chassis, the ARX-05 DPi features Acura-specific bodywork and utilizes the production-based Acura AR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine.

ACURA NSX GT3 EVO TEAMS
Fielding a pair of Acura NSX GT3s, Meyer Shank Racing took the Drivers’ and Team championships in GTD, with drivers Mario Farnbacher and Trent Hindman scoring one win (with endurance co-driver Justin Marks) at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, and four second-place finishes in 10 races to claim the Drivers’ Championship for Farnbacher and Hindman, and the teams title for MSR.

For the GTD class, this weekend’s race at Sebring is part of the Sprint Cup Championship, for shorter races on the 2020 schedule, and is not part of the overall WeatherTech SpotsCar Championship. As a result, the Meyer Shank team will not be present in Sebring this weekend, but will return for the next round, July 31-August 2 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Starting at the WeatherTech 240 at Daytona earlier this month, the Texas-based Gradient Racing organization is fielding an Acura NSX GT3 Evo in IMSA GTD Sprint Cup completion for drivers Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer. The pair finished a solid 10th in their IMSA debut at the WeatherTech Daytona 240. The Gradient team is focusing on the GTD Sprint Cup championship, and will lead the Acura NSX GT3 Evo effort at Sebring this weekend.

WHERE TO WATCH
Television coverage from Sebring begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT Saturday on the NBC Sports Network. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBC Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication. Practice and qualifying action can be found at IMSATV.com.

Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the WeatherTech 240 will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, the YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

July 14, 2020

If there ever was a NASCAR All-Star Race made to order for Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/FVP team it’s this one.

Due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic the annual non-points-paying extravaganza has been moved from its traditional home at Charlotte Motor Speedway to Bristol Motor Speedway, one of DiBenedetto’s best tracks. And it will be run this Wednesday night, giving him and his team a chance to capitalize on their recent momentum.

His stirring run at Bristol in 2019, where he led 93 laps and eventually finished second, played a big role in his being selected by the retiring Paul Menard to replace him as driver of the iconic No. 21 Mustang fielded by the Wood Brothers.
 
“Obviously I’m pretty glad that it’s at Bristol,” DiBenedetto said. “I think it’s cool, a cool change. I’m a little biased, though. I love Bristol so much. One of my favorite tracks.”

Because DiBenedetto hasn’t won a Cup race in the past year, he’ll have to race his way into the main event by winning one of the Stages of the preliminary Open or through the fan vote.

That prospect doesn’t intimidate him at all.

“I think it’s cool,” he said. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to race our way in. I know the fan vote is important, too. People have been voting, which we appreciate a lot as a team.”
 
The timing of the All-Star event is a plus for DiBenedetto and the Menards/FVP team.

They were fast when the Cup Series ran a points-paying race at Bristol in May before being swept up in a multi-car crash, and they’ve been on quite a roll in the past few weeks, winning Stage points and running among the leaders every week.
 
His third-place finish this past Sunday at Kentucky Speedway shows just what the team is capable of doing on a regular basis.
 
“You see how fast our cars are,” he said. “It makes it so fun driving these things. We’re really getting in a groove as a team now. I finally feel it clicking real well.”
 
He said his confidence has never been higher.
 
“What does that, though, is my team,” he said. “Driving this 21 car for the Wood Brothers, having such a good team, great people around you, firing off the race with no practice, yeah, it’s pretty good, don’t really touch it, tiny air pressure [adjustment].  
 
“That’s amazing to have that good of people here. Having our alliance with Team Penske, support from them. All the support from Ford and Menards/FVP. That is what does it. That’s what makes my confidence so high because I’m so confident in my guys.”
 
The Open is set to get the green flag at 7 p.m. Wednesday night, followed by the All-Star race at 8:30. TV coverage is on FOX Sports 1.
 

• Garcia, Taylor coming off Daytona win in No. 3 Corvette C8.R• Chevrolet enters tied for GTLM Manufacturer Championship• Corvette Racing program with 11 class victories at Sebring

DETROIT (July 14, 2020) – Corvette Racing doesn’t have to wait long for its chance at a second straight victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team returns to the track this weekend at Sebring International Raceway for the Cadillac Grand Prix in search of another win for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Both Corvettes will be on the GT Le Mans (GTLM) grid at Sebring as the IMSA championship embarks on its third race of the season and second following a weeks-long layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the team’s previous 21 visits to the 3.7-mile, 17-turn road course, Saturday’s affair is a two-hour, 40-minute sprint race. It’s the same format that saw Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor claim a class victory in the IMSA WeatherTech 240 at Daytona on July 4. The Independence Day result gave Corvette Racing its 100th win in IMSA as well as the first for the new Corvette. The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R won by 1.977 seconds in the car’s third race, and Garcia set the fastest GTLM lap of the race. The sister Corvette – the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R – scored pole position with Oliver Gavin at the wheel. He and teammate Tommy Milner led the race on two occasions and went on to finish fifth in the race. Like Daytona, Sebring is a track that Corvette Racing has a significant amount of testing data available, having completed a multi-day test there earlier this year and also early in the C8.R’s initial development period. Sebring is steeped in Corvette Racing history. The circuit has witnessed the team take 11 class victories since 2002, and all four drivers have previously won there. Gavin leads with six GT-class victories, Garcia has three and Milner two. Taylor was part of one overall winning effort. Like Daytona two weeks ago, Corvette Racing (like all competitors) will operate at Sebring in accordance with federal, state and local guidelines for social distancing and wear appropriate PPE at all times. The event schedule will include a one-hour practice Friday with another practice Saturday morning, qualifying early Saturday afternoon and a race into dusk Saturday evening. The mid-engine C8.R is based on the strong foundation of the 2020 Corvette Stingray with both developed simultaneously. There is a deeper level of technology transfer between the race car and production Corvette than ever before, which helps contribute to many of its advancements. As a result, the C8.R shares the highest percentage of parts between the production and race car than any previous generation. Initial design and development on the Corvette C8.R – with Corvette Racing engineers working alongside Corvette production personnel – began more than five years ago with track testing starting within the last 18 months. Heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation aided in the testing program. The Cadillac Grand Prix at Sebring is set for July 17-18 with live race television coverage on NBC Sports Network, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App starting at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. IMSA Radio will broadcast all practice and qualifying sessions as well as the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Sebring, I think, will have the same feel as Daytona. We are normally racing quite a bit longer at Sebring, just like Daytona. The main thing is still the importance of just two hours practice before qualifying. That’s what puts the most pressure on us as a team. You will discover very quickly how competitive you are. If you are good, then you are good. There is not really time to adjust much on your car. Knowing how good the C8.R felt at Daytona compared to how it was at the Rolex 24, and how good it felt at our Sebring test, I’m confident.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We’re entering the meat of the championship where we’re racing every two weeks. For us to come out so strong out of the box after the break is impressive and shows a lot for the team and all the drivers for all the preparation we did leading up to it. This will be a different experience racing at Sebring this weekend. The biggest thing will be the heat. Usually we are there in March where it’s starting to get warm. Now we’re going there in the summer when it’s crazy hot, plus the track is still physical. That will all raise the intensity and it will be a much different feeling. Everyone will have a new experience doing a sprint race there. I’m looking forward to it. It should be a fun event.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s a great thing to have these first three races at tracks where we have raced on or tested with the Corvette C8.R. We have a pretty understanding about where to go with the car and how it will feel. These will be very different conditions, though. Sebring will be very, very hot and likely very humid. The mindset for Sebring has to be the same as how we approached Daytona. We have to go all-out, get qualified up front and try to run up there as much as possible. There is no time to waste. We have to use every single second of track time to understand the car in these conditions.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Both Daytona and Sebring are good tracks for us, especially with this new Corvette C8.R and the testing we have done at both places. It lessens the learning curve for us to some extent. The temperature and difference from what we would have expected in March at Sebring will be significant this weekend, although it shouldn’t be too different than what we faced at Daytona a couple of weeks ago. I was encouraged by the car at Daytona, and we feel similarly about the package we have going into this race. Sebring, no matter if it’s a one-hour practice session or a 12-hour race, is always going to be difficult. It’s not the smoothest track in the world and has a lot of high-G corners and big brake zones. The fatigue and drain you normally feel after the 12 Hours probably won’t be as bad this time, but it’s still going to be difficult. That won’t change at all.”

Richard Childress Racing in the All-Star Race …  Richard Childress Racing has won four NASCAR Cup Series All-Star races with drivers Kevin Harvick (2017) and Dale Earnhardt (1987, 1990 and 1993). Earnhardt’s 1987 All-Star victory included the legendary “Pass in the Grass.” Battle at Bristol  … For the first time in history, the Cup Series stars will battle for one million dollars on the high banks of the ‘World’s Fastest Half-Mile’ of Bristol Motor Speedway. Adding to the excitement, NASCAR will implement the ‘choose cone’ rule for restarts. The idea for a choose cone came after Austin Dillon petitioned for it on Twitter saying, “It’s time for a choose cone. The bottom is at a disadvantage. This will create drama and allow us to decide our fate. Paint something on the track before the start finish line. One to go we choose our destiny.”  Both Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick will need to race their way in by winning a stage in the All-Star Open in order to secure a spot in the feature event, the All-Star Race.  COVID-19 Relief … Own a piece of history by participating in an auction and sale of Richard Childress’ personal collection of memorabilia. All proceeds will assist COVID-19 relief efforts. Thousands of rare, hard-to-find and exclusive items from Richard Childress’ 50+ years in NASCAR are up for bid or sale. Visit https://www.ebay.com/str/RichardChildresscollection. Catch the Action … The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Open at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live Wednesday, July 15, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be televised live Wednesday, July 15, beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports One and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Bristol Motor Speedway… In 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Dillon has one top-five and three top-10 finishes. He posted his best finish of fourth in August 2016. He is a former winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the track. Vying For A Spot In The All-Star Race … Dillon, who has made two previous All-Star race starts, will be vying for a spot in this year’s event by competing in the All-Star Open. The 22 drivers entered in the All-Star Open can race their way into the All-Star Race by winning a Stage. Fans can also vote Dillon into the All-Star race by participating in a fan vote at nascar.com/fanvote. Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology. Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit basspro.com. E-Z-GO …E-Z-GO is an iconic, world-renowned brand in golf cars and personal transportation vehicles. Products sold under the E-Z-GO brand include RXV® and TXT® fleet golf cars, Freedom® RXV and Freedom TXT personal golf cars, E-Z-GO Express™ personal utility vehicles, and the 2Five® street-legal low-speed vehicle. Known for innovation in electric-vehicle technology, E-Z-GO’s newest offerings include the ELiTE series of lithium-ion powered golf cars and PTVs, and the company’s exclusive 72-volt AC electric powertrain found in its latest Express series vehicles. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, Ga., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960, and today operates as part of the company’s Textron Specialized Vehicles division. Vote for Austin … Visit NASCAR.com/fanvote to vote Austin Dillon into this year’s All-Star Race. You can vote daily and votes shared via Facebook and/or Twitter count double. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:What will it take to get into the All-Star race?“You’ve got to go get it. You will have to be after it, and putting it all on the line to try and win a Stage in the open in order to transfer into the All-Star race. The All-Star race is so fun because you let everything go on All-Star night as far as the big picture, and just put it all on the line to try and win. It’s for the fans, and I’m really looking forward to trying to race my way in. Especially at a short track like Bristol Motor Speedway.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Food City Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Bristol Motor Speedway … This Wednesday’s NASCAR All-Star Open will be Tyler Reddick’s first time competing in the event. Reddick will need to race his way in via the Open or win the Fan Vote to make the All-Star Race. The two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion has five Xfinity Series starts at the track, winning last fall’s race there with crew chief Randall Burnett, along with two top-five and four other top-10 finishes. Reddick also has two NASCAR Truck Series starts, with two top-five finishes at Bristol. About Food City … Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 134 retail supermarkets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, Chattanooga and north Georgia, including 109 pharmacies and 108 fuel/convenience stores. The company also owns and operates their own 1.2 million square-foot distribution center in Abingdon, VA. Food City offers a wide variety of services and conveniences, including in-store bakery/delis, floral boutiques, full-service meat and seafood departments with in-house butchers, locally grown produce, full service pharmacies, fuel centers, GoCart curbside pick-up, and home delivery. The Food City name is also synonymous with NASCAR racing through their title sponsorship of two of the sport’s most popular events, the Food City 500 and Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. Food City is Bristol Motor Speedway’s longest running sponsor and the second longest in NASCAR.Learn more by visiting FoodCity.com  Vote for Tyler … It’s not too late to case your vote for Reddick as the 2020 NASCAR Fan Vote! Fans can vote on NASCAR.com/FanVote once a day through Tuesday, July 14, at 12 p.m. ET for Reddick as their pick for the All-Star race. Votes shared to Facebook and Twitter count as double. Watch the Race with Cheddar’s… Don’t miss out! Cheddar’s is offering 15% off all To Go orders with the offer code RACEDAY placed on 7/15 and every Cup Series race day for the remainder of the 2020 season! Whether you’re watching the race on a Sunday afternoon or on a weekday under the lights, watch with all your Cheddar’s favorites for 15% off. Terms & conditions apply, visit cheddars.com/offer/race-day for full offer details. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: This will be your first time taking part in the All-Star race festivities. What do you think your chances are of making it into the main event from the Open?“It’s tough to gauge our chances. Honestly, the All-Star race is an event I always have fun going to watch from the stands with my friends, so it’s weird being involved in it this year. I haven’t gotten much of a chance to campaign for the fan vote with how busy we’ve been with all these races, but it would be an honor to win that. Hopefully, fans are seeing what I’m doing out on the track and that performance has gotten them to go vote for me. If they want someone who is going to do some crazy stuff to try to win the million dollars, I’m their guy. As for racing our way in through the Open, I hope we can do that. There are just so many variables going into the race that it’s tough to even form a strategy. The lineup is based off a random draw, so that is an unknown for now. We also aren’t quite sure yet how the traction compound will be laid down, so that’s another variable. We’ll just have to adapt to all the challenges and try to put ourselves in the best spot to win a stage and advance to the main event.”

FARLEY, Iowa (July 13, 2020) – Josh Richards made a daring three-wide pass for the lead on lap 17 and went on to win the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Truck Country 50 on Monday Night at 300 Raceway. Richards, Jimmy Owens, and Kyle Bronson went 3-wide down the main straightaway as Richards split both Owens and Bronson to take the lead heading into turn one on lap 16. From there Richards maintained a steady pace to the checkers as he bested Owens by .872 seconds to become the sixth different winner in six appearances by the LOLMDS. Tim McCreadie charged from the back after pitting for a flat tire to finish in third place. Kyle Bronson led the first part of the race but finished in fourth followed by Tyler Erb, who rounded out the top five finishers. Richards was thankful his right rear tire held up as flat tires derailed some of his top competition. “Man, I was hoping the tires would hold up tonight. I can’t thank everyone enough with this race car: Brad, Cody, and Big Dog; they do a phenomenal job. Thanks to my dad and Steve Baker at Rocket Chassis. We have had a lot of speed, and we just tweaked some things. We were a lot better tonight. I knew last year the track dried up pretty quick. They tilled it up quite a bit tonight, so we kind of left the car alone. The car was snug tonight. The last couple of laps the right front wouldn’t steer at all. I was fortunate enough to have a scoreboard in turn three to help with how many laps I had left.” Owens notched yet another top five finish this year. “Josh drove an awesome race. He made a heck of a move to get the lead. It was great to come out with another podium finish. They did a great job on prepping the track before the feature. It was good racing all-night long.” McCreadie passed several cars in the closing laps to round out the podium. “This is two years in a row we have had flats here. Hats off to everybody in the pit to get both back tires changed. When I got to third, I thought I was getting another flat. We had a nice rebound and are looking forward to the next race. The winner’s Clint Bowyer Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by iRacing, Big River Steel, DEKALB Seed, Crawford Outdoor, FORD Performance, Cometic Gasket, and Integra Shocks. Completing the top ten were Jonathan Davenport, Tanner English, Shane Clanton, Tyler Bruening, and Devin Moran.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Truck Country 50          
Monday, July 13th, 2020
300 Raceway – Farley, IA

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Josh Richards / 15.082 seconds 
Fast Time Group B: Stormy Scott / 14.992 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer):  1. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 6. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 7. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 8. 40-Joel Callahan[8]; 9. 71-Hudson O’Neal[9]

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer):  1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 4. 15B-Brian Birkhofer[4]; 5. 58-Jeremiah Hurst[5]; 6. 29D-Spencer Diercks[8]; 7. 50-Shanon Buckingham[7]; 8. 59-Garrett Alberson[6]; 9. T22-Tegan Evans[9]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 3. 0E-Rick Eckert[4]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[6]; 5. 1C-Chad Simpson[5]; 6. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 7. 81E-Tanner English[7]; 8. 111-Matthew Lux[8]; 9. 44W-David Webster[9]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):  1. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 3. 111-Matthew Lux[6]; 4. 44W-David Webster[9]; 5. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 6. 40-Joel Callahan[4]; 7. T22-Tegan Evans[8]; 8. (DNS) 50-Shanon Buckingham; 9. (DNS) 59-Garrett Alberson

(July 14, 2020) Jim Allen, Sacramento, CA …  The NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series will be in action this Saturday, July 18th at the 10th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.  The lucrative event, sponsored by Al’s Roofing Supply, will be showcased in front of an empty grandstand due to strict state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions.  It was made possible due to a tremendous outpouring of sponsorship support in honor of the living driving legend.

Saturday’s nights show will feature more than $32,000 in prize money, including a $5000 payday for the winner of the 30-lap headliner.  Each starter in the 24-car main will earn a minimum of $700.  This is the second night of a two-day HK Classic program at Ocean Speedway, featuring a regular racing program on Friday night (July 17th.)

This marks only the second race of the season for the NARC King of the West series, utilizing a schedule that has endured 13-cancellations so far due to the pandemic.  The Northern Auto Racing Club announced three-weeks ago that the traveling series will not crown a champion after 60-consecutive years of doing so.  The Howard Kaeding Classic could also be the 2020 “season finale” assuming California continues its lock down on spectator sports.

This race was made possible through donations of businesses and supporters directly tied to the racing community.  2018 series champion Bud Kaeding of Campbell has spearheaded the fund-raising efforts in honor of his legendary grandfather, a winner of more than 500 career main events.

“To be honest, I was surprised by the response we received from supporters of the event,” said Kaeding.  “I knew going into this project that it is was going to be tough to pull it off.  In years past, I just worked on contributing to the existing payout, but this year I knew that raising the full purse would be a tall feat. The support by the teams and sponsors has been incredible.”

The only drawback of the 10th Annual event is not providing race fans with the ability to attend in person.  The event will only be available on FloRacing/Speedshift TV PPV.  Racing teams will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing in the pit area.

“Not having race fans attend really takes away the atmosphere for me as a racer,” explains Kaeding, a 21-time winner on tour, including last year’s race.  “Not seeing fans after the races and not seeing a smiling kid after an autograph is something I hope ends soon.”

But the motivation to continue the event without an annual gap comes directly from the source – the 88-year old Howard Kaeding himself.

“He (Howard) is always on me about making flyers and getting the word out to the community in February and March,” said Bud.  “He usually puts ads in the local papers and goes to local restaurants and auto parts stores to hang flyers.  So, I guess you could say he looks forward to it, which drives me to succeed also.”

“As a driver, team owner, and promoter I can’t thank all of the supporters of this years event enough. I know this has been an off year for everyone and I am beyond thankful for everyone that has contributed.  Without their help this event wouldn’t be possible.”

All the top 410 sprint car drivers in California will be competing on the quarter-mile dirt oval.  Among them will be defending champion DJ Netto; Indiana’s Spencer Bayston, the winner of the June 20th show at Hanford; two-time series champ Tim Kaeding of San Jose; Elk Grove’s Shane Golobic; Willie Croft, Colby Copeland, Jodie Robinson and Sean Becker of Roseville; Clovis driver Sean Watts; Kyle Offill of Tracy; Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto; San Diego’s AJ Bender; Chico’s Kenny Allen; and many more!

The NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series will consist of qualifying, four 10-lap heat races, the 6-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Dash, a 12-lap Last Chance semi, and the 30-lap main event.  Also on the racing card are IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks.

Ocean Speedway is located at the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds in Watsonville, CA.  Qualifying gets underway at 6:00 p.m.

RACING TEAMS:  A signed COVID-19 release form must be signed at the pit gate.  Strict COVID-19 safety protocol must followed at all times.  This includes, but is not limited to, wearing a mask, social distancing, and proper sanitation (washing hands.)

Event Contributors (as of 7/13/20 – 4:00 p.m.) :  Al’s Roofing Supply, Swift Metal Finishing, Norm Martin, Roth Motorsports, Emadco, Southern Pacific Farms, Rico Abreu Racing, Kyle Larson Racing, Williams Roofing, Speedshift TV, Fujitsu General USA, Alviso Rock, FK Rod Ends, Netto Ag, North County Plastering, Anne Chisum, Beer Optics, Alan Cade, Golobic Construction, R&B Company.