Pritchett Takes Top Fuel Win for Mopar at NHRA Brainerd, Johnson Runner-up in Funny Car

Pritchett Takes Top Fuel Win for Mopar at NHRA Brainerd, Johnson Runner-up
in Funny Car

Eric Bell wins Super Stock

Leah Pritchett wins 36th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Papa John’s Pizza/Mopar Pennzoil Top Fuel dragster
Victory is fifth for Mopar HEMI®-power from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) in Top Fuel this season, 17th Nitro victory for Mopar overall in 2017
Pritchett’s win is fourth of season and fifth of career
Tommy Johnson Jr. drives to runner-up finish in Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car, his fourth final round in last five events Continue reading Pritchett Takes Top Fuel Win for Mopar at NHRA Brainerd, Johnson Runner-up in Funny Car

Will Power Puts Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Pocono

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
ABC SUPPLY 500
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE RECAP
AUGUST 20, 2017

Will Power Puts Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Pocono

· Third win of season for 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion
o Scores 32nd career win and breaks tie for ninth on all-time list with Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy
o First IndyCar driver to score back-to-back wins at the Tricky Triangle
o With runner-up finish, Josef Newgarden gives Chevrolet IndyCar V6 1-2 finish in 14th race of season and extends point lead with three races left
Holds 18 point lead over second place
o Four Team Chevy drivers in top five of standings
· Chevrolet holds 37-point lead in battle for 2017 Manufacturer Championship Continue reading Will Power Puts Chevrolet in Victory Lane at Pocono

Record-setting weekend ends in semifinals for Auto Club Chevrolet driver Robert Hight

Record-setting weekend ends in semifinals
for Auto Club Chevrolet driver Robert Hight

Photo credit: Gary Nastase and Auto Imagery
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) – Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight left Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday with the national elapsed time record, second place in the Funny Car points standings and his 400th elimination round victory after the NHRA Nationals.

But Hight, who turned 48 on Sunday, wanted more – much more. Continue reading Record-setting weekend ends in semifinals for Auto Club Chevrolet driver Robert Hight

Continuing to turn proverbial corner, John Force takes PEAK Chevy to Brainerd semis

Continuing to turn proverbial corner, John Force
takes PEAK Chevy to Brainerd semis

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) – John Force keeps saying he and his PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS are turning the proverbial corner. This weekend, they made seven strong runs and were inches from taking the car to the Funny Car final round.

After making four qualifying attempts in the 3.9-second range or better and qualifying No. 3, Force won his first two rounds in Sunday’s NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway before narrowly falling in the semifinals – by just two thousandths of a second to eventual race winner Alexis DeJoria. Continue reading Continuing to turn proverbial corner, John Force takes PEAK Chevy to Brainerd semis

Team Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Recap: Brainerd NHRA Nationals

Team Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Recap: Brainerd NHRA Nationals

BRAINERD, Minn. (August 20, 2017) – Allen Johnson took his Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Dodge Dart to the quarterfinals at the 36th annual NHRA Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway after earning a season-high No. 3 qualifying position.

In the first round, Johnson staged up against Mark Hogan. Johnson was awarded a bye-run and clocked in with a 6.641-second pass at 207.11 mph when Hogan suffered mechanical issues at the starting line and was unable to stage. Continue reading Team Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Recap: Brainerd NHRA Nationals

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force looks to Indy after Brainerd quarterfinals appearance

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force looks
to Indy after Brainerd quarterfinals appearance

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) – Courtney Force and her Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet Camaro SS team put together a strong performance in this weekend’s NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in which they continued to establish consistency and competed in the quarterfinals.

Force, who at one point held the track speed record this weekend and made four runs of 3.9 seconds or better, handily won her opening-round race Sunday before bowing out with a mechanical problem in the second round. Continue reading Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force looks to Indy after Brainerd quarterfinals appearance

Rossi Heads Honda Effort at Pocono

Rossi Heads Honda Effort at Pocono
• 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion leads 44 laps, finishes third
• Seven Honda drivers combine to lead 160 of 200 laps
• 500-mile race features Pocono record 41 lead changes

LONG POND, Pa. (Aug. 20, 2017) – Alexander Rossi, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal and a heroic Ryan Hunter-Reay were among seven Honda drivers to contend for victory Sunday at Pocono Raceway, the second and final 500-mile race of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series. But a third-place result for Rossi was the highlight for Honda, as an off-sequence pit strategy paid huge dividends for Penske Racing, with Will Power and Josef Newgarden finishing 1-2 at the end of 200 hard-fought laps. Continue reading Rossi Heads Honda Effort at Pocono

Despite close second-round defeat in Brainerd, Brittany Force knows Monster Energy car is fast at right time of year

Despite close second-round defeat in Brainerd, Brittany Force knows Monster Energy car is fast at right time of year

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) – This is the right time of the season to be running well, and since Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster driver Brittany Force is doing just that, she’s pumped for the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals and the Countdown to the Championship.

Force dropped a close second-round match in the NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, but the Monster Energy car was flying all weekend. Continue reading Despite close second-round defeat in Brainerd, Brittany Force knows Monster Energy car is fast at right time of year

Progress made with quarterfinal run at Brainerd for two-time champ Erica Enders

Progress made with quarterfinal run at
Brainerd for two-time champ Erica Enders
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) — Although she was unable to capture her third career Brainerd win at this weekend’s 36th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Erica Enders says progress is being made with her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, as witnessed by her race day performance.

After qualifying with a 6.665-second quarter-mile pass at a top speed of 206.42 mph, Enders managed to improve her best time of the event twice on Sunday, first beating teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. with a 6.659 at 207.78 mph and then running a 6.648 at 207.66 mph in a close loss to Tanner Gray. Continue reading Progress made with quarterfinal run at Brainerd for two-time champ Erica Enders

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Pocono Post Race

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
ABC SUPPLY 500
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES
AUGUST 20, 2017

DRIVER QUOTES:

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: “We had to add a lot of downforce because we went to the back and went a lap down, so you had to try to get good in traffic. Oh, man. What a day. I’ve got to thank Verizon and Chevrolet, obviously; the engine is very, very quick. It was a seriously dramatic day. It was a lot of fun. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Pocono Post Race

Chevy Racing–NHRA–Brainerd

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION
LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY AT BRAINERD, MINNESOTA
SUNDAY, AUG. 20, 2017

Chevrolet Continues Winning Streak, Record-Setting Funny Car Runs

• Rookie Tanner Gray earns fourth Pro Stock win of season
• Bo Butner is runner-up for fifth time, retains Pro Stock points lead
• Robert Hight sets Funny Car national record in Chevy Camaro
• Hight, John Force advance to the Funny Car semifinal round Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Brainerd

Jeg Coughlin Jr. drops close race to Elite Motorsports teammate by .004 seconds

Jeg Coughlin Jr. drops close race to Elite Motorsports teammate by .004 seconds
BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 20) — Jeg Coughlin Jr. ran his best quarter-mile pass of the weekend in the opening round of the 36th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. He also left the starting line with a stellar .009-second reaction time. Unfortunately, neither feat was enough to give his JEGS.com/Elite Performance Chevrolet Camaro team the victory against stablemate Erica Enders, who also had her best pass of the weekend and recorded an even better .003-second launch.

“We made a lot of changes on both cars overnight and tried very hard to make them as similar as possible today, being team cars and all, “Coughlin said. “I wanted to be somewhere between .004 and .012 on the Tree and had a .009, but I still left second and crossed the finish line second. It just didn’t pan out for us by four-thousandths of a second. Continue reading Jeg Coughlin Jr. drops close race to Elite Motorsports teammate by .004 seconds

Blaney Finishes 10th in Night Race At Bristol

Blaney Finishes 10th in Night Race At Bristol

August 20, 2017
Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team came away from the Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway with a 10th-place finish and some growing momentum heading into an off week followed by the final two races of the regular season.

Saturday night’s finish was Blaney’s ninth top 10 of the season and his second in the past three races. In between he had a 15th-place finish at Michigan, and he and the team head into the off week 12th in the championship standings. Continue reading Blaney Finishes 10th in Night Race At Bristol

Richard Childress Racing–Bass Pro NRA Night Race

Cut Tire Ends Austin Dillon’s Race Early in the Dow Energy and Water Chevrolet

“From my perspective, we were running really good and all of the sudden the left-rear tire went flat. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if we had contact on the restart or if our track bar broke. My car chief was standing in Turn 3 and he said the letters on the Goodyear tire were rubbed off and about two laps later we were done for the night. It’s really disappointing because I was moving forward. I passed about four cars and then busted a tire. It never works out that you break when you are running bad. It always happens when you are running really well. I really love this track and was having a blast tonight. It sucks to end this way. We had a lot of people here from the Dow Energy and Water family, and we had a good car all night. I just wish we could have finished.”

– Austin Dillon

Paul Menard Fights to 16th-Place Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway in Knauf/Menards Chevrolet

“Tonight was a battle for everyone on this Knauf/Menards Chevrolet. We got the free pass a couple of times, Matt Borland and the guys kept adjusting on the car throughout the night. We used pit strategy to get inside the top 10 late in Stage 2. I was able to hold off a lot of those guys with fresher tires to pick up some stage points, which was big for this team. We took the wave around in the final stage and the car really came to life. The car worked well on the bottom on the last run, but it just got too tight at the end.”

– Paul Menard

Ryan Newman Earns Caterpillar Racing Its Ninth Top-10 of the Season at Bristol Motor Speedway

“Overall, I’m proud of our team effort. I was too fast on pit road, which cost us, but the guys did a good job in the pits which was a great help. We fought hard and kind of got lucky there with tires. I don’t know that we had a sixth-place car, but we did tonight. It was a lot of fun out there and I think we are all looking forward to the last off weekend of the season.”

– Ryan Newman

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Bristol–Post Race

TOP TEAM CHEVY FINISHERS:
POS. DRIVER
7TH RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVY SS
9TH KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 HUGGIES LITTLE MOVERS CHEVY SS
11TH JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVY SS
12TH JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S/CESSNA CHEVY SS

TOP FIVE FINISHERS:
POS. DRIVER
1ST Kyle Busch (Toyota)
2nd Erik Jones (Toyota
3rd Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
4th Matt Kenseth (Toyota)
5th Kurt Busch (Ford)

The next stop on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is at Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Sunday, Sept. 3rd.

POST RACE QUOTES:
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – Finished 6th
“I got too fast on pit road, which cost us, but guys did a good job in the pits which is a nice change. Overall, I’m proud of the team effort. Fought hard and kind of got lucky there with the tires. I don’t know that we had a sixth-place car, but we did tonight.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Bristol–Post Race

Record-setting run powers Auto Club Chevy driver Robert Hight to third No. 1 in a row

Record-setting run powers Auto Club Chevy
driver Robert Hight to third No. 1 in a row

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 19) – A day after making history with the first sub-3.8-second pass in Funny Car history, Auto Club of Southern California driver Robert Hight secured his third consecutive No. 1 qualifier by taking the top spot in the NHRA Nationals on Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway.

But Hight was still all smiles over his record-setting run of 3.793 seconds at 338.00 mph -even if there was a bit of disbelief. Continue reading Record-setting run powers Auto Club Chevy driver Robert Hight to third No. 1 in a row

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force looking to repeat in Brainerd

Monster Energy driver Brittany Force
looking to repeat in Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 19) – Monster Energy driver Brittany Force hopes history repeats itself in the NHRA Nationals this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway.

Force qualified No. 3 in the Top Fuel class for this race a year ago and ended up in the winner’s circle. She’s qualified No. 2 for the 2017 and hopes to go back-to-back. Continue reading Monster Energy driver Brittany Force looking to repeat in Brainerd

PEAK driver John Force seeks 12th NHRA victory at Brainerd from No. 3 qualifying spot

PEAK driver John Force seeks 12th NHRA
victory at Brainerd from No. 3 qualifying spot

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 19) – John Force delivered the strongest pass in 31 career race weekends at Brainerd International Raceway on Friday and earned the No. 3 qualifying position for Sunday’s NHRA Nationals.

Force took the PEAK Coolant & Motor Oil Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car down the drag strip at 3.852 seconds at 334.15 mph in Friday’s second session. That pass resulted in the fifth quickest elapsed time and third fastest speed of the 16-time Funny Car champion’s career. Overall, Force was the only driver of the 17 Funny Car drivers entered whom qualified under four seconds every run. Continue reading PEAK driver John Force seeks 12th NHRA victory at Brainerd from No. 3 qualifying spot

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force claims No. 4 spot for Brainerd

Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force
claims No. 4 spot for Brainerd

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 19) – Courtney Force claimed the No. 4 qualifying position for the third consecutive NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car race, the NHRA Nationals on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.

Force, seeking her first victory of the 2017 season and first at Brainerd, turned in a best qualifying pass of 3.863 seconds at 335.98 mph in Friday’s first session. The speed was temporarily the fastest in track history and the second-fastest of her career.
Continue reading Advance Auto Parts driver Courtney Force claims No. 4 spot for Brainerd

Pritchett Qualifies No. 1 with National Record in Mopar Top Fuel Dragster at NHRA Brainerd

Pritchett Qualifies No. 1 with National Record in Mopar Top Fuel Dragster at NHRA Brainerd

Leah Pritchett qualifies No. 1 with national record in Mopar-powered Top Fuel dragster during 36th annual NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway
Pritchett’s lap of 3.640 seconds at 330.63 mph resets own elapsed-time record
Top Fuel dragsters featuring Mopar HEMI® power from Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) have qualified No. 1 nine times in 2017
Mopar Nitro teams from DSR have set low E.T. 13 times overall this year
Pritchett’s No. 1 qualifying effort is sixth of season, seventh of career
Matt Hagan qualifies No. 2 to lead Mopar-powered Funny Cars
Six Mopar Dodge Funny Cars qualify for 16-car field Continue reading Pritchett Qualifies No. 1 with National Record in Mopar Top Fuel Dragster at NHRA Brainerd

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