Wood Brothers

Wood Brothers Racing–Mid-Race Recovery in Coke 600 Gives Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Its Third Top-20 Finish of 2014

Mid-Race Recovery in Coke 600 Gives Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Its Third Top-20 Finish of 2014
May 26, 2014

Trevor Bayne and the crew of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion had a case of the long-green-flag-run blues early in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. But as the sun went down and the lap count went up, the No. 21 Ford Fusion picked up speed and Bayne ended up driving his way back into the top half of the field and scoring a 20th-place finish.

It was the team’s third top-20 finish in five starts this season.

Bayne started 14th, and in the early going found his car to be tight in the center of the turns. Crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew made adjustments on pit stops, but it took three stops before the car began to respond and turn quick laps with Bayne running the high groove. The problem was the laps lost during the long green-flags runs early in the race.

 “When your car is right, long green-flag runs are your friend,” team owner Eddie Wood said. “When it’s not, they’re not what you want.”

 “Once we got the car freed up, it was running speeds comparable to the top-five cars.”

 Wood had praise for his over-the-wall pit crew, which consistently cranked out stops in the 12- to 13-second range even while making chassis adjustments on every stop.

 “That’s a strong point for us now,” he said.

The timing of the race’s eight caution flags didn’t work out in the team’s favor as most caution periods were followed by long green-flag runs that prevented them from making up lost laps by taking the wave-around during caution periods.

 “We tried it three times, but it only paid off once. We gained spots on a few cars at the end because they short-pitted and the caution flag caught them,” Wood said.

  Still, he was pleased with the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team’s mid-race recovery.

 “We finished 20th, but it was a strong hard fought 20th,” he said.

 Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team return to the Sprint Cup Series on June 13-15 for the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–Davey Johnson Hits $20,000 Jackpot at Tyler County

Davey Johnson Hits $20,000 Jackpot at Tyler County
Pennsylvanian holds off World of Outlaws Late Model stars for huge payday
By Ben Shelton

MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. – May 25, 2014 – Maybe it was the four leaf clover, maybe it was the trick setup from crew chief, Austin Hargrove, or maybe it was just the relentless wheel of the veteran. No matter the exact reason, Davey Johnson overcame a furious late-race challenge from Chub Frank and Darrell Lanigan to claim the $20,000 payday in the 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 on Sunday night at Tyler County Speedway.

“This hot rod has just been great this whole year, and I always love this place…tonight we got ’em,” said the Greensburg, Pa., veteran in victory lane.

While Johnson was all smiles in victory lane, the 75 lap affair didn’t necessarily start with him being very happy. As the field came to green the pole sitter, Johnson, fired early, and was moved back a row with Morgan Bagley joining Jacob Hawkins on the front row.

As the race went green at the quarter-mile oval known as The Bullring, Hawkins jumped to the lead and held the top spot until lap 3, when Rick Eckert bolted to the lead as Hawkins dropped to the clutches of Johnson, Shane Clanton and Tim McCreadie, who was already on the move from the eighth starting spot.

Eckert quickly stretched his advantage over Johnson, who moved to the second spot on lap 6. While the York, Pa., driver motored away from the pack, Davey Johnson wasn’t too concerned in the early laps.

“I knew that he (Eckert) went softer than me on tires so I didn’t worry too much when he drove away from me early,” said the pilot of the #1J Rocket Imperial Towing Super Late Model.

By lap 9, Eckert was in lapped traffic before the race was slowed for the first time on lap 11 for Zack Dohm. At the time of the caution Eckert was the leader with Johnson, Hawkins, Clanton and McCreadie making up the top five.

As the race went back green the top five running order stayed the same, and by lap 23 traffic was an issue for leader Eckert. By lap 26, traffic became an even bigger issue, when a tangle with the lapped car of Tim Dohm sent Eckert spinning to a stop in turn one.

A dejected Eckert joined the tail of the field with Johnson assuming the lead. Despite several serious challenges over the remainder of the event it would prove to be a lead he would never relinquish.

While Johnson paced the field, a great battle raged behind him for the second spot with Clanton and McCreadie going wheel-to-wheel for the second spot with the Hawkins’ brothers in tow. Meanwhile as the race approached the midway point two drivers on the move were Chub Frank, who was up to fifth from the 11th starting spot by lap 42, while a motivated Eckert rocketed into the fifth spot on lap 48.

Unfortunately for Eckert his bad luck was far from over as the 2011 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Champion slowed with a flat tire on lap 54 before calling it a night seven laps later as a broken drive train.

With Johnson out front Frank continued his march forward with Hawkins in tow, and lap 61 found the duo catapulting into the second and third positions respectively with Lanigan lurking in the fourth spot.

With just 10 laps to go Frank turned up the wick and pulled alongside leader Johnson on multiple occasions, but just couldn’t make the pass stick, while Lanigan maneuvered past Hawkins into the third spot. The final 10 laps brought the crowd to its feet as Johnson, Frank and Lanigan battled in close confines.

With just a lap to go Johnson stretched his advantage to claim the victory, while Frank edged Lanigan by a nose for the second position at the line. Hawkins and McCreadie rounded out the top five.

A popular victory lane celebration in front of the West Virginia fans found Johnson thanking not only his crew, but also a special lady from the stands after claiming the third WoO LMS triumph of his career.

“Before the races today this sweet lady gave me a four leaf clover,” Johnson said. “I’m not saying that’s what did it tonight, but I’m not dismissing it either. This little flower is riding with me the rest of the year.”

Frank was more than pleased with his second place run.

“We seem to be getting better and better every time out this season, and it was a lot of fun running side-by-side with Davey (Johnson),” commented Frank. “Tonight definitely felt like the old days of me and him battling for the win.”

Heat race winners on Saturday evening included Davey Johnson, Rick Eckert, and Darrell Lanigan, while Sunday’s evening’s last chance showdown was topped by Tim Dohm.

The stars and cars of the WoO LMS will enjoy a four day break before invading the confines of Delaware International Speedway (Delmar, Del.) on Thursday, May 29, for the Fulton Bank 50. A $10,000 winner’s check will be on the line for the tour’s only appearance in the state of Delaware in 2014.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Coca-Cola 600 Post Race

CHEVROLET’S JIMMIE JOHNSON CRUISES TO FIRST WIN OF ’14 SEASON AT COCA-COLA 600
 
HARVICK GIVES CHEVROLET SS 1-2 FINISH
 
CONCORD, NC – May 25, 2014 – With just eight laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson moved to the front of the field for the final time in the 400-lap race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS).  Johnson captured his first victory of the 2014 season in his No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet SS snapping a 12-race winless streak. Throughout the lengthy endurance race, Johnson led 10 times for a total of 164 laps.
 
The win marked Johnson’s 67th NASCAR Sprint Cup career victory; his seventh win at Charlotte and fourth Coca-Cola 600 trophy. Also of note this is the third time Johnson has won from the pole at the 1.5-mile track. This win also broke the tie with NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip and Johnson is now the all-time series points-paying win leader at CMS. The 38-year old Cup Series veteran took team owner Rick Hendrick to Victory Lane in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 for the 11th time.
 
Kevin Harvick, who has collected wins at Phoenix and Darlington thus far this season, brought his No. 4 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet SS home in second place, giving Chevrolet a one-two finish.
 
Last week’s million-dollar Sprint All-Star race winner, Jamie McMurray, also had a strong No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet SS and finished in fifth-place.  Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon overcame back spasm challenges running a strong race in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS and was able to finish seventh overall.
 
Gordon continues to lead the current standings and holds an 11-point advantage over second place. Paul Menard finished eighth in the No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevy SS, his sixth top-10 finish of 2014, to put five Chevrolet SSs in the top 10 finishing order.
 
Matt Kenseth (Toyota) was third and Carl Edwards (Ford) was fourth to round out the top five finishing order.
 
The Sprint Cup Series travels to Dover International Speedway in Dover, DE to compete on June 1.
 
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – RACE WINNER
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT WITH JOHNSON, CHAD KNAUS, AND TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK:
KERRY THARP:  Let’s hear now from your race winner, Jimmie Johnson.
            Jimmie, certainly your fourth win here at the Coca‑Cola 600, your seventh points win here at Charlotte.  That’s the most ever in the history of the sport.
            Jimmie, talk about winning this race, such a big race on our schedule, in our sport, and it culminates a big day for motorsports.  You were the last one standing.  Talk about how this race unfolded for you.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, I mean, it means a lot.  Through the years a lot of references to this race as one of our majors.  I certainly agree with that.  600 miles around here is no easy task.
            To deal with all the things that are thrown at a race team through the evening with the track changing, the mechanical obstacles that you have to overcome, keeping an engine alive, tires alive, all of it.  It’s a serious team effort to finish 600 miles.  And then win here, especially as hard as we had to run throughout the night, the pace we had to keep up, certainly proud of that.
            This weekend, so much great racing today.  Obviously the big celebration.  I shouldn’t say celebration, but to be able to honor the men and women that have served our country and given the ultimate sacrifice.  Certainly tomorrow is Memorial Day.
            To have patriotic paint scheme on our racecar, to say thank you to the families that have lost loved ones, then to the men and women out there serving, to see us out there on the racetrack, I know it means something to them.  Proud to be a part of that.
            KERRY THARP:  Chad, certainly a great effort by the 48 team throughout the whole weekend.  Sat on the pole Thursday night.  Very impressive.  Talk about the whole experience, what it means.
            CHAD KNAUS:  Obviously this is a very special place in my heart.  My first victory in the Sprint Cup Series came here with Jeff Gordon back in 1994.  To be able to win this race again with Jimmie, couple times we won it, it’s pretty special.  It’s really neat.
            I have to definitely say thank you to Kenny Francis and Kasey Kahne.  We definitely robbed the bank on those guys.  They came over here last week and had a very fast racecar.  We pillaged their notes a little bit and came back with some of the ingredients they had in their racecar and put that in the Lowe’s 48 car.  Jimmie definitely responded well to that.  Thank you to those guys.
            It was a good weekend.  To be able to go out there and unload quickly, second in qualifying practice, to be able to qualify on the pole, fantastic.  Something we’ve struggled with here as of late.
            Then to be very fast in both practice sessions on Saturday during the day.  We worked hard with Jimmie and the engineers, tried to understand what the track was going to do with the temperature changes.
            It was pretty good.  We had to make some pretty big swings at it, but all in all it was a great weekend.
            KERRY THARP:  Rick, certainly Jimmie shows again the No. 48 team, the strength of this team.  Now you have three of your four drivers bound for the Chase.  Talk about this victory and how big it is for your entire team.
            RICK HENDRICK:  I think, number one, Charlotte is kind of home.  Won my first NASCAR race here with Sr. in ’83 in the Nationwide or Busch Series.  It’s a special place, all the families here.
            Winning a race, Jimmie and Chad have been so close this year, and several situations got away.  To get this one behind us is great.
            This is a tough race to win with the adjustments you have to make, just the endurance of this race itself.  We’re just glad to get another 600 victory.  Glad to see these guys get the win so we can go to Dover and relax.
            KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I kind of have a question.  What the hell are you all going to write about now?  We won.  Anybody (smiling)?
 
            Q.  Chad, you mentioned that you pilfered from notes from your teammates.  How often does that happen?  Did it help you tonight?
            CHAD KNAUS:  Yeah, it helped a hell of a lot.  I do it as often as we need it.  That’s the beauty of what we’ve got at Hendrick Motorsports.  If we need help, we’re not getting the result that we need, we’ve
got three other teams we can definitely bounce ideas off of and get direction from.
            This year has been a bit of a struggle for the 48 from an understanding of what the new rules are, what the car wants, even from Jimmie understanding what he feels he needs.  We’re all still trying to understand that.
            I don’t think we’re where we need to be 100% yet.  We’re definitely going in the right direction.  I think Dover and Pocono are going to be a good telltale of where the 48 is.
            We use whoever we can.  I don’t care who comes up with it.  If it’s fast, I’ll steal it.  That’s how we work.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  They’ve stolen plenty from you (smiling).
 
            Q.  Did you remember how to get to Victory Lane since it’s been so long since you’ve been there?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  12 long races (smiling).  I guess we’ve created this environment for ourselves.  I honestly wasn’t stressing.  The fact that 12 races created that much buzz just means we’ve done a lot of great things over the years, so I’ll turn it into a compliment.
 
            Q.  You dominated at Charlotte/Lowe’s before they did the repaving.  We heard that the character’s coming back.  Is that an indication this is playing into your hands?  Chad, the other two guys, Danica and Kurt, had engine problems.  Did that cause you any trepidation?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  We’re getting closer to the old track.  I still think we’re probably three to five years away from it really getting there.
            But the track’s rough.  They’ve started to put tar strips down and we have the seams developing.  There’s other patchwork done on the track.  It’s coming around.
            Whatever this asphalt mixture is, it’s pretty rock solid.  It’s taken a long time to get there.  We’re getting into a sweet spot with the track, I believe.
            CHAD KNAUS:  ‘Trepidation’ is a great word.  I was surprised to hear it out of this gallery (laughter).
            KERRY THARP:  This marks the 14th time in the last 26 Coca‑Cola 600s that a first‑time season winner has won the race.  That’s a big deal this year with the new Chase format.
 
            Q.  Was there any point in the beginning of the season up until now that you started to panic because you hadn’t had a win?  Was there any extra added pressure coming into tonight?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  No.  I mean, the first goal is to make the Chase.  You want to win races at the end of the season.  You have to win races at the end of the season to be the champions.
            Of course, we want to win early and often.  But we were holding steady in the championship points.  In my opinion, I don’t believe there will be 16 different winners.  I felt like a strong championship points position would get us into the first phase of the Chase.
            Granted, tonight simplifies things.  We’ll take it, move on.  We really want to heat up and win races later in the season, especially before the Chase starts.
            More than anything, I just got tired of answering the question.  There wasn’t a lot of frustration due to pressure of winning.  There was frustration in not having fast racecars, but that’s a different situation.
            We hold ourselves to a high standard.  I think we’re onto some good things and have a good direction to go with our racecars.
 
            Q.  Jimmie, you said after you won the pole that you wanted folks in the garage to fear the 48 team again.  You thought a couple wins would be necessary for that to happen.  Do you feel like that may be starting to happen or do you need to win at Dover as well?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  We’re off to a good start.  Multiple wins do that.  If we can take advantage of the next few tracks that are great tracks for us, it would be great momentum.
            Ideally you’d love to do it before the Chase gets started and carry that right into the start of the Chase.  But you never know when you’re going to peak and when everything’s going to be just right.
            We’ll hopefully peak at the right time.
 
            Q.  Rick, do you have any idea what the diagnosis is on the two engines that failed?
            RICK HENDRICK:  I think they were probably valve related.  Probably a spring broke first, then we swallowed a valve.  That’s the weakest part of the valve train.
            I know I talked to the engine guys a little while ago.  They’re going to diagnose it and see what they can find.  But usually that’s what happens, it’s a valve spring.
 
            Q.  Was there any concern when Junior had his issues, that you might be looking at three engines?  Did the 48, the 5 or 24 have any concerns either?
            RICK HENDRICK:  I definitely had a lot of concerns after the first one went.  Junior didn’t have an engine problem, that was probably a brake problem.  Vibration, thought it was something else.
            Anytime you break one, I guess that’s the part of the racing that I fear the most, is a part failure.  When you break one, it’s bad.  When you break two, it’s really bad.  They’re all just alike, so…
            A lot of uneasy feelings for me till it was over.
 
            Q.  Since you’ve accomplished what you’ve been able to, will certainly leave a huge mark in the history of motorsports, touch on what Kurt Busch was able to accomplish today at Indy.
            RICK HENDRICK:  I think it was an amazing job.  I think it speaks highly of the talent that’s in this garage, in this sport, to be able to go up there, never having been in the car before.  To finish sixth, he showed a lot of talent.
            I think it’s nice to see the fans recognize him for what he had done.  I think it was outstanding.
            Jimmie, you and Chad can voice your opinions.  But that was an amazing job, I thought.
   
         JIMMIE JOHNSON:  Yeah, I completely agree.  He did an awesome job.  Made us all really proud in the garage area watching.  Hats off to him.
            CHAD KNAUS:  Yeah, I agree 100%.  It’s pretty spectacular.  I think Juan Pablo had a lot of motivation to try to finish ahead of him today.
            Kurt did a great job.  The thing that really amazes me, is we all talk about communication.  To be able to go and put himself in that world, begin to try to communicate with those guys that have a completely different vocabulary than what we do on the Cup side, it’s spectacular to go through that.  Showed a lot of maturity on his part, a lot of desire.  I thought that was pretty awesome.
 
            Q.  You’ve been fairly open in the weeks leading up to this about how you were still looking for the handle on the car, the feel for this new rules package.  Chad, you said tonight that you feel like you still have work to do.  I’m wondering how that is.  Looks like you went out there and waxed everybody in one of the biggest races of the year.  What else do you need to prove?  How far do you think you’re still off?
            CHAD KNAUS:  I think we’re off a lot.  I think we’re more than capable of going out there and winning a race if everything goes right.  I think tonight we had a really good racecar and I think Jimmie did a fantastic job.
            But I think if things didn’t go our way, we wouldn’t have.  Quite honestly, I think we need to get back to the form of the 48 car to where we make it go our way.  That’s my goal.  I think we’re a little bit away from that.
            But once we get there, it will be the 48 of old and we’ll be able to go out there and win races like we’re supposed to.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I agree.  I think the 4 car can make stuff happen to Chad’s point.  We had a great night, took advantage of the opportunity.  There’s still some room to go, for sure.  Luckily we have time on our side.
            Q.  Chad, does the win give you an opportunity to take some chances?  Jimmie talked about putting wins together.  What risks can you take going forward now that you’re secure?
            CHAD KNAUS:  That’s a great point.  We hadn’t been in that position yet to really explore that.
            The thing that’s on our side is that we’ve got, like Jimmie said, a little bit of time to really get an understanding of what’s going on.
            The other thing we’ve got on our side is we’re going to Dover, Delaware, which is by far one of Jimmie’s favorite racetracks.  Then we’re going to Pocono, which is one of my favorite racetracks.  Doesn’t hurt.  So I think over the next couple of weeks we’re going to be in pretty good shape.
            Q.  Rick, typically when Jimmie wins a championship, sometimes they come out a little bit slow because many teams had been working on the next year.  Did you see this as the typical post‑championship start for this team?
            RICK HENDRICK:  You know, I’m probably not the guy to answer that question.
            But, you know, I think the new rule package, like they said, fell into maybe Jeff’s driving style and Junior’s more than it did Jimmie and Kasey.  I think the 5 and the 48 have a little bit more work to do than the 88 and the 24.  That’s just a matter of getting Jimmie what he wants and Chad understanding the car.
            There have been races that we have been so fast, like California.  Jeff had a good long‑run car, he’s had it all year.  One thing I’ve learned watching these guys, what works in the 24 doesn’t necessarily work in the 48.  Jimmie maybe doesn’t like it or it doesn’t work for him.
            So we have the information to look at, but that gives you a baseline, but it doesn’t guarantee that he can go out and win with it.
            Q.  Jeff Gordon, talking about his back, he said, Me staying in the car going through what we went through is only going to earn me more respect with this team.  What world does Jeff Gordon live in that he feels like he needs to earn any more respect with his team?
            RICK HENDRICK:  I think he probably said that without really thinking of maybe what he said because that team respects him so much.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  He’s just a humble guy.
            RICK HENDRICK:  I know he was in a lot of pain.  I was worried he would get in the car.  Allen and I’ve talked and the team’s talked about it.  It looks like the Jeff Gordon of 20 years ago.  He’s fired up.  He’s up there every week.
            I think that was just something he said because that team respects him.  I think he’s got the entire garage talking about the kind of year he’s having right now.
            Q.  Chad, Jeff’s comments were respect with regards to toughness.  He said, Maybe they don’t understand the toughness.  You’ve been with him through the years.  Do those guys understand the toughness of him?  What does it mean, since you’ve been a crew guy, to see a driver do something like that when you’re a crew guy working 120 hours a week, go through something like that for you?
            CHAD KNAUS:  I was listening to that question before.  I completely understand because as a crew guy sometimes you think that the drivers, they have it pretty easy.  They fly around in big, fancy jets, they show up at 3:00, race, go home, show up again on Friday, do it Saturday, Sunday.
            I think what Jeff was trying to say is he understands what his team does, what they go through to build the racecars, how this pit crew is there at 7:00every morning to practice pit stops, start working out, what they go through setting up the pits when it’s 120 degrees outside and waiting five hours to start.  He gets that.
            I think that’s what he was trying to say.  He was trying to prove to his guys that he was going to do his just work every day.
            Q.  Does a crew guy need to see that from time to time?
            CHAD KNAUS:  Yes, absolutely.  Yeah, for sure.  They have the utmost respect, just like we have the utmost respect for Jimmie.  When a crew guy sees something like that, it knocks you up to the next level.  I’ve seen what Jeff has done over the years.  I’ve se
en what Jimmie has done over the years.
            When you’re ingrained with them, you see the pain, the desire, what it is they put into it, man, you get it.  You really get it.
            I think what he said is actually true.  I think his guys will now ‑ not that they didn’t respect him before ‑ but they have a new appreciation for what it is that he does.
            KERRY THARP:  This is Rick Hendrick’s 11th Coca‑Cola 600 win.
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  That’s awesome.
            Q.  Jimmie, I remember you talking last year about your first start ever at Charlotte in the Sprint Cup Series, how it was a humbling experience for you.  Now you have more wins than anybody else here.  What does that mean to you now?  Rick, what does it mean to you to have Jimmie with that record?
            JIMMIE JOHNSON:  I’ll never forget that first start here.  That week was a tough week.  I lost one of my closest friends on the front straightaway, Blaise Alexander.  Looked at his skid marks every lap I went through with Cup and Nationwide practice, something tough to overcome.
            We qualified well, made the show.  The other Lowe’s car didn’t.  That was a huge feather in our cap.  Then I remember spinning.  As I’m sliding into the wall, I see Jeff coming for my door getting ready to run into the side of me.  He’s running for the championship.  I’m thinking, Please don’t let him hit me.  I’ll have my first and last race all at once.
            To have things fast forward to where it is today, to be able to be the winningest driver here, says a ton.  I mean, this track means so much to the racing community.  There’s some tracks that have a bigger awareness to fans and media and others outside of racing.  But this track, when you come here and run well, there’s just something about it with it being in the backyard of all the race teams.  There’s a lot of proud out of running well here.
            I have that pride.  Having the most wins here takes it to the next level, for sure.
            RICK HENDRICK:  For me, Charlotte is home, too.  Been friends with Bruton for a long time.  We kid him all the time about taking his money.  The fact that it’s here and the shop is only a mile away, my first NASCAR win was with Robert in ’83 in the Busch Series.
            So this is a special place for me.  I mean, it ranks up there with Daytona and Indianapolis.  To win in Charlotte is really special.  It’s home.
            Anytime we can accomplish something that someone else hasn’t, it’s rewarding to the organization.
            Q.  Rick, you’ve watched these two for a long time.  Tonight Jimmie added a few more numbers.  All‑time points leader here.  Is there any time that you sit back and look at these two and are amazed at what they’ve accomplished?
            RICK HENDRICK:  All the time.  I think about Jimmie riding with me, with my son to the Nationwide races, waiting for him, buying him a burger.  But these two, what they’ve accomplished…
            When you put them together, you have no idea it’s going to be anything like this.  It’s like Ray and Jeff.  You just never know.
            What they’ve been able to accomplish together, it’s been amazing.  I always say I’m just glad I don’t have to race against them.  I’ve been amazed for years at what they’ve been able to accomplish.
            The thing that amazes me the most is they are always digging to be better.  No matter how good they are, how many races they win, they strive to take it up another notch.
            KERRY THARP:  Congratulations to the No. 48 team.  Big win here this weekend.  Enjoy it.  We’ll see you at Dover.
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 4 BUDWEISER FOLDS OF HONOR CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
KERRY THARP:  Let’s roll into our post race for tonight’s 55th annual Coca‑Cola 600, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  Our race runner‑up is Kevin Harvick.
Kevin certainly had a strong car throughout the weekend.  Just came up a little short trying to defend that championship.
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah.  We had a fast car all night.  Just kind of fumbled again on pit road.  Got behind, got a lap down.  We needed a 700‑mile race to get back to where we needed to be.
All in all, they’re doing a great job of putting cars up on the track. We just have to clean up on pit road.
 
KERRY THARP:  Questions for Kevin Harvick.
 
Q.  I suppose y’all figured Jimmie (Johnson) was going to get one (win) sooner or later.  Do you look at that team and say, they’re back?
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  I look at it as we let them slip one in front of us by shooting ourselves in the foot.
You knew that was going to come.  They’ve won championships and done a great job through the years.  They were solid all weekend, didn’t make any mistakes, kept themselves up front all night and won the race.
 
In the end you’re going to have to beat them in all ways, shapes or forms, just not on speed.
 
Q.  Can you elaborate as far as shooting yourself in the foot.  You also said if this was a 700‑mile race, talk about that.
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  We needed longer to pass the car in front of us, and we had a loose wheel.
 
KERRY THARP:  Kevin, thank you and good luck next weekend at Dover.
    

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Coca-Cola 600 Post Race Report
Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 25, 2014
 
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon finished eighth, 15th and 16th, respectively.
Newman ranks 10th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Jeff Gordon by 71 points, while Dillon ranks 15th and Menard 16th.
Jimmie Johnson earned his first victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, June 1, which is scheduled to be televised live on FOX beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.
 
Austin Dillon Earns 16th-Place Finish in No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway
 
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon earned a 16th-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night after starting the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ longest race of the season from the 32nd position. The Welcome, N.C. driver began moving forward from the beginning of the 400-lap race, despite battling handling conditions throughout the event, moving into the top 25 by lap 25. Dillon fell one lap down to the race leader on lap 77, but rejoined the lead lap cars by earning the Lucky Dog Award on lap 234. He pitted on the ensuing caution so the RCR team could service his No. 3 Chevy with four tires, fuel and repair a fender rub. Dillon restarted 16th on lap 241 and worked his way as high as 10th in the running order. In the closing laps, he once again fell one lap down to the race leader ultimately finishing 16th. Dillon enters the Sprint Cup Series’ next event at Dover International Speedway 15th in the point standings.
 
Start – 32nd      Finish – 16th    Laps Led – 0    Points – 15th  
                                                  
 
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“I’m proud of everyone’s effort on this Cheerios Chevrolet team this weekend, especially during practice. We made a lot of gains during practice that really helped us during the race. It was not a bad finish considering all of the challenges we battled during the race. We’re looking forward to going to Pocono Raceway to test next week, and to Dover International Raceway to race.”
 

 
     
 
  2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards
 
Paul Menard Earns Eighth-Place Finish in No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet at Charlotte
 
Paul Menard drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 27 Serta/Menards Chevrolet SS to an eighth-place finish in Sunday’s 600-mile event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Eau Claire, Wisc., driver started 21st after the 1.5-mile track’s knockout qualifying session on Thursday. Menard raced in the top-20 for 49 laps of competition. On lap 82, Menard had to short pit due to a vibration causing the No. 27 Serta/Menards team to lose a lap to the leader. Menard was able to get his lap back on the lap 285 caution after several pit stops for adjustments. Once back on the lead lap, the Slugger Labbe-led team raced all the way up to second place before having to pit for fuel during the caution on lap 379. Menard restarted seventh on the final restart and was able to bring the Serta/Menards Chevrolet home in the eighth spot. Up next for the No. 27 team is next Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Dover International Speedway.
 
Start – 21st             Finish – 8th             Laps Led – 0                Points – 16th
 
PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“We had a great finish tonight in Charlotte considering where we started. It was a hard fought race the for No. 27 Serta/Menards team, but with some strategy and adjustments we were able salvage what could have been a tough night. This is a long race so you can never count yourself out no matter what happens. The guys did a great job on pit road and gave us good stops when we needed them, which helped get us back on the lead lap. This race in Charlotte is a tough one, but we finished strong.”
 
 
 
 

 
 
Cut-Down Tire Ends Ryan Newman’s Bid for a Top-10 Finish Resulting in
15th Place at Charlotte Motor Speedway
 
Ryan Newman drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS to a 15th-place finish in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The South Bend, Ind., driver had his work cut out for him after starting 42nd because of an issue in qualifying. With 400 laps at his disposal, Newman quietly picked off positions climbing from 42nd to 13th in the first 115 laps. From that point on, Newman raced no lower than 15th place, but needed chassis changes to contend for a top-10 spot. The Luke Lambert-led teams made a series of adjustments to fine tune the Quicken Loans Chevrolet and, on lap 280, Newman solidly competed in ninth place. Unfortunately on the lap 293-restart, the No. 31 driver reported a tire going down. It cost Newman a lap to the leader and left him in 23rd position. With 20 laps remaining, the No. 31 raced in 16th place and gained one more position before the checkered flag waved. The top-15 result moves the No. 31 RCR team to 10th place in the championship point standings.Up next for the No. 31 team is the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Speedway.
 
Start – 42nd               Finish – 15th                Laps Led – 0              Points – 10th
 
RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE: “This Quicken Loans team persevered this weekend. We had quite a bit to overcome, but we never gave up. We started from the back after an issue in qualifying and had a Chevrolet good enough to race all the way up to ninth position before we had a tire cut down on a restart. I have to hand it to this team; we never gave up through all the adversity. We just need to shrug off this bad luck. I will never stop fighting and nor will my crew, we’ll be fine.”
 
 
 

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Coca Cola 600–Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 25, 2014
 
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
 
WELCOME BACK TO VICTORY LANE THE LONG NIGHTMARE IS OVER:
“There are more people fretting about things than myself.  I mean what 12 races?  Give me a break.  Obviously it’s great to win and we are very happy to win here especially in the backyard of Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe’s headquarters is just up the road as well.  A huge night, all the executives from Lowe’s are here.  I can’t wait to have a cold beverage with those guys.  Just stoked for the night.  Very good race car.  We raced up front all night long and that last restart let us bunch up to those guys on two (tires) and our four (tires) were able to prevail.”
 
WAS THERE A POINT YOU WERE CONCERNED YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH (MATT) KENSETH?
“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.  Chad (Knaus) made me think I could get to the No. 24, but the No. 99 was up there and that is who he was afraid on the radio I wouldn’t be able to run down.  Sure enough we were able to catch a caution and I think the No. 27 and No. 99 had to pit.  When the No. 20 got away I thought ‘man I’m not going to be able to run him down.’  I saw him missing the bottom tight in (Turns) 3 and 4 and I thought ‘okay I’ve got a little something for him.’ And was able to get by with a few laps to go.”
 
YOU NOW HAVE MORE CUP WINS AT CHARLOTTE THAN ANYBODY ELSE – 7 – HOW ABOUT THAT?
“That is amazing.  That is very cool.  This is no easy race track to get around and to beat the greats that were before me I’m very proud of that.”
 
ON HIS RACE:
“It’s great to win, but believe me – and I promise you – all the hype and all the concern and worry, that was elsewhere. That wasn’t in my head; there are plenty of voices in my head, I’m not going to lie! We’ve had great races and we’ve had opportunities there in front us and had stuff taken away. And we’ve had bad races; I have to be honest about that too. I’m so proud of this Hendrick Motorsports-prepared race car, Chad Knaus and the leadership of this race team, and the great, great support from Lowe’s and KOBALT Tools. And do this on Memorial Day… just thank you to all the men and women who served our country.”
 
WHAT WAS THE KEY TONIGHT?
“It was such a long race and so many things going on. The track went in a little bit different direction than I thought it would from a handling setup. Once we got on top of that, we were real competitive. I really think clean air on those restarts were key. I was happy to get by the No. 24 and then the No. 20. I wasn’t sure I was going to get by both of them, but I did and brought this baby home.”
 
WILL PEOPLE START TO FEAR THE NO. 48 AGAIN?
“Yeah, they know we’re awake. In winning, it doesn’t matter who you are. The No. 4 car has had that momentum this year. They’ve been able to go out and execute and show a lot of speed and win. Hopefully this 48 is heading that way and we can get those other people thinking about us.”
 

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Coca-Cola 600–Kurt Busch

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 25, 2014
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 41 HAAS AUTOMATION MADE IN AMERICA CHEVROLET SS – Sidelined with engine issue on Lap 230. Completed a total of 906 laps in his effort to run the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
 
WE KNOW YOU DIDN’T WANT THIS DAY TO END LIKE THIS. WHAT HAPPENED?
“The motor blew. It acted like it swallowed three cylinders all at once, so it was real slow. It’s kind of a shame. It almost symbolizes how tough it’s been on the Haas Automation team. We give it our all, and the way we were clawing our way up there and got a lucky break with the caution one time… I thought we were making good gains on the car.  It was great to race in traffic and to feel the stock car right after driving an IndyCar was a day I’ll never forget. I can’t let the mood here with the car dampen what happened up in Indy today. That was very special and it takes a big team; it takes a team everywhere. Andretti Autosport gave me a top-five car to try to win the Indy 500 with and Stewart-Haas guys gave me a good car today and the motor just went. Sometimes that happens. All in all, I’m very satisfied. I gave it my all. I trained very hard. I had a lot of people helping out. Thanks to Gene Haas, Tony Stewart, Michael Andretti and this whole group. Everyone worked hard on both sides.”
 
TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY AND WHAT WENT WRONG HERE.
“It was really a lot of fun. A lot of preparation, a lot of hard work and a lot of team involvement on the Andretti side and the Stewart-Haas side. It was a dream come true to run at Indy and post a really good finish there. I can’t let what happened down here dampen the mood. I’m still really in awe of how well we ran at Indy. Those Andretti guys gave me a good car to do it with. Tonight, we were clawing our way up. We got a lucky break with one of the yellows. It was nice to run in the packs and side-by-side and feel that NASCAR on the same day as an IndyCar. The motor just expired. It’s a tough break. It takes a team if you’re going to do 1,100 miles. It’s not just one individual. We came up just short. It really means a lot.”
 
“Our Cup car was running okay. We clawed our way up there and caught a lucky break with one of the yellows. We worked on the car and I thought we were actually you know, right in the mix. Those top 15 guys seemed to separate themselves. We were going to start cracking on the top ten if we could get one more adjustment done to the car. And then we had a problem on pit road. A car came at me perpendicular on pit road and it broke the left rear shock. And so we were hanging on. We were going to muscle it out. And then it’s like the car just swallowed three cylinders all at once. So, the engine let go. Those things happen in motorsports.
 
“It was a good battle though. I was hoping to do 1100 miles today. I can’t let what happened here dampen the mood on what happened up in Indianapolis. But it’s not just one individual. It takes a team. Andretti Autosport guys put me in a good car. Stewart-Haas gives me a great car every week. We just had a monkey on our back down here in running NASCAR this year. That kind of motor failure symbolizes some of the struggles we’ve had.
 
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE TODAY?
“Today is a memory I’ll have forever. It was a challenge I put forth for myself. I enjoyed it. I soaked it all in up North. I loved racing up in Indy in front of all the Indiana natives and the Hoosiers. They love their speedway up there. That speedway loves them. That’s what I really saw out of that track today. There was a grand stage to stand on and represent NASCAR. We brought her home in sixth place. I didn’t think I had anything for those top five guys. They were racing hard. And those were the top five in that series. They’re strong. They’re tough.
 
“The mood down here we’re not going to let it dampen things. There is still wind in our sails and we’ll still sail on off into the sunset after today.”
 
HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
“I’m feeling good, actually. They way that this race was coming to us, the cooler conditions tonight; you know, my hands are a little sore. My feet are a little sore just from working it. And overall, I can stand here with a smile knowing I gave it my all for six months trying to get to this point.”
 
WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?
“I’d love to do it again. And at the same time, you’ve got to do it with quality teams. The teams really can make the big difference in all of this. And I have to thank Andretti and I have to thank Stewart-Haas.
 
 

John Force Racing

John Force Racing–COURTNEY FORCE WINS HISTORIC 100th NHRA FEMALE VICTORY

COURTNEY FORCE WINS HISTORIC 100th NHRA FEMALE VICTORY

TOPEKA, KS (May 25, 2014) — Courtney Force raced into the history books today at the 26th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka winning the Funny Car title and securing the 100th victory for female professionals in the premiere NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. It was Force’s second attempt at earning this important win. Last week Force fell to red-hot teammate Robert Hight in the Southern Nationals final round in Atlanta. Today against Cruz Pedregon the third year driver was not going let this opportunity slip through her Simpson Racing gloves again.

“This is huge. You could see the emotion on my face after I lost last weekend. It is a big deal and it is a milestone for women. Every girl out here wanted to get it. It was close every girl put her heart out there to try and get it. I was crushed after last weekend because I thought to myself that opportunity will never come again and that chance to get 100 will be gone forever,” said an excited Force. “I am still trying to soak it in right now. I have to thank my team and all my sponsors. Once my dad and Robert went out today you could see all those colors coming over to our pit area and thrashing on my car. I want to thank all them and all the crew chiefs. They gave me a good consistent race car all weekend and that is what we were missing from the start of the season.”

The win was not without some self-inflicted drama. Force admitted that nerves and pressure were at an all-time high as she rolled her Traxxas Ford Mustang up to face the two-time Mello Yello Funny Car champion. As she tried to give herself every starting line advantage she inadvertently lit the pre-stage and stage bulbs before Cruz had a chance to pre-stage. This racing faux pas weighed heavily on Force both before and after she ran.

“I almost screwed up on the starting line. I almost failed at my job. I was so nervous and the pressure was through the roof. I was pulling up to the starting line and all I was thinking was Cruz got a hole shot on Robert (Hight). I didn’t want to lose on a hole shot, too,” said Force. “There was a lot on the line. I wanted to roll in a little deep on my pre-stage. I screwed up and rolled it too much and lit both bulbs before he was even staged. Luckily, I left when I needed to. I apologized to Cruz and I sure as heck wasn’t trying to screw him up. I screwed myself up. Luckily we got away with it today.”

This was Courtney Force’s first win in three final round meetings with Cruz Pedregon to whom she lost in the final at the last race of 2012 at Pomona and the first 2013 race at Las Vegas.  It’s the second time she has gone wire-to-wire for a win as the No. 1 qualifier.  She also won from No. 1 at Pomona in 2013. This was the first time in her career that she reached back-to-back finals. It was the 231st Funny Car win for John Force Racing and continued a streak of 15 consecutive final rounds for the team and now four wins in a row.

“Last week I was in seventh place in the points and now I have shot up to fifth with a shot at the top three. Everybody is close together. All I am trying to do is create the Grand Canyon gap between me and the No. 11 driver. That is all I really care about,” said Force. “We are inching forward every weekend. Two go to back to back finals for my team is huge. I think this is a big weekend for women all together. Brittany and I were No. 1 qualifiers Erica Enders Stevens was so close today in Pro Stock. It just shows that we can dominate fields.”

The fact that she had come so close to getting the 100th win last week Force was asked in the media center if that loss entered her head before the final. The 2012 Auto Club NHRA Rookie of the Year was candid in her response to the media.

“I was thinking about it. That was all that was running through my head. I was thinking about going to another final and thinking about what happened last weekend. That sucked and you don’t want that to happen again. I was telling myself to not lose my focus,” added Force. “Don’t think about the 100th win. So now I was already thinking about it. You try and not screw up. You try and clear your mind. You look at the fans and think I am in the greatest place on earth. I get to be at an NHRA track and I get to drive one of these hot rods and there are little girls coming up to my ropes to wish me luck.

Fourteen women have contributed to the victory total. Four in Funny Car, one in Pro Stock, three in Pro Stock Bike and six in Top Fuel. Shirley Muldowney secured the first pro win June 13, 1976 so it spans 38 years. There have been four wins by women this year prior to Courtney; two each for Erica Enders Stevens (Pro Stock) and Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car).

Force was the No. 1 qualifier, set low ET and Top Speed on the way to her fourth career win which ties her with sister Ashley Force Hood. The Traxxas Ford Mustang driver defeated Dale Creasy Jr., Jeff Arend and Tommy Johnson Jr. to reach her final round race with Pedregon.

For Brittany Force and her Castrol EDGE team, it looked like it was going to be their weekend to win her first Top Fuel event. As she started race day from the number one spot, a first for Brittany Force, she was on track to get that trip to the winner’s circle and potentially claim NHRA’s 100th pro female driver win milestone.

“I’m so happy at how we did this weekend. We were the number one qualifier and we’ve never done that before. We ran a career best 3.74 ET and were super pumped about that so to come out here and go rounds is what we wanted to do,” said Brittany Force.

Unfortunately, a catastrophic engine failure during the semi-final round of eliminations ended her day, but it didn’t dampen Brittany’s spirits or enthusiasm one bit. She’s ready to get strapped into her Castrol EDGE Dragster and hit the drag strip.

“Obviously we wanted to go all the way, make it to the finals and be in the winner’s circle, but our day got cut a little short. However, I’m so proud of my team and we turned it around this weekend and we have a great race car. I’m anxious to get to Englishtown and see what happens,” said Brittany Force. 

In the opening round, No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force lined up against Luigi Novelli. This was the first time these two drivers had faced each other in eliminations. At the first hint of green on the Christmas tree, Brittany left the starting line and never looked back. Her Castrol EDGE Dragster ran a 3.872 pass while her competitor in the next lane had difficulties with his car and had to shut it down early in the run. Brittany’s car also some mechanical issues as her car crossed the finish line but she still got the win and advanced to the next round were she would face Khalid alBalooshi.

“Being the number one qualifier, there’s actually a little more pressure and it can be overwhelming but I try to keep my same focus. I’ve also been working on my lights and they’re getting better,” said Brittany Force.

In the second round, Brittany did not have lane choice but he didn’t matter as once again her 10,000 horsepower Castrol EDGE Dragster planted its Goodyear slicks on the pavement and streaked to a 3.828 second run at 322.88 mph over the alBalooshi who smoked the tires almost immediately. Then Brittany was ready for her semi-final match up against Spencer Massey, who she had faced many times in prior races.

During the semi-finals, Brittany’s Castrol EDGE Dragster was on a good run until it hit the lights. That’s when the BOSS 500 engine started to self-destruct and burst into a huge fireball. Massey was able to hold on for the win while Brittany was fined ten NHRA Mello Yello Points for oiling the track. It was a tough break for the 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year who has working hard on achieving her first win for the Castrol EDGE team.

With Brittany Force being the seventh female driver to qualify No. 1 in Top Fuel in NHRA history, she knows the rac
ing community is looking at even more closely as she’s begun going rounds and hanging tough in the top-ten of the NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel points chase.  Leaving Topeka, Brittany’s still in the Top Ten at 8th place, but now she has a 137 point lead over Bob Vandergriff who is in 11th place.

Points leader Robert Hight’s day ended much earlier than anticipated when his Auto Club Ford Mustang was ousted in a first round upset to Cruz Pedregon. Hight took responsibility for the loss and will exit Topeka with his points lead and a determined attitude heading to Englishtown.

“We just have to get back on a roll here. We have everything in place to do that. My Auto Club team did a great job and they gave me a great car. I should have had a better light.  An .081 light is not a terrible light but when you go up there and race Cruz Pedregon you have to dig a little deeper,” said Hight, the No 3 qualifier. “He is a two-time world champion for a reason. Luckily we don’t have an off weekend and we will get right back at it in Englishtown. We’ll start another roll next weekend.”

Hight’s team was on a six race streak of final round appearances and a three race win streak. This was the first time Hight was eliminated in the first round in 2014. His round record is now 22-4 for the season.

Hight had one of the most consistent race cars in qualifying at the Kansas Nationals running 4.091, 4.040 and 4.055 seconds and in the first round Hight posted another solid 4.073 second run. Going back to the final three rounds of Atlanta where the Auto Club Ford Mustang got its 33rd win running 4.053, 4.074 and 4.049 it has averaged 4.053 seconds on it last seven runs down the track.

Despite qualifying number one on Friday, and just barely getting bumped from the pole position on Saturday by daughter Courtney, John Force’s Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang looked like it was poised for another victory at Heartland Park Topeka.  Unfortunately, mechanical gremlins once again appeared during eliminations and ended his day early with a round one loss at the NHRA Kansas Nationals.

“We are just struggling. I don’t like it but we will get it fixed. We are consistent and you have to have a good race car if you are going to win rounds. We got some points in qualifying, but you need round wins to stay ahead out here,” said John Force.

The 16-time NHRA Mello Yello World Champion was hoping to get his 140th career victory and get back in the points chase with teammate and son-in-law Robert Hight today, but he’ll have to wait for next weekend’s NHRA Toyota Nationals in Englishtown, New Jersey.

“We won’t get hurt too bad but we can’t keep having weekends like this. I have sponsors like Castrol, Ford, Mac Tools, Traxxas, BrandSource, Auto Club that expect us to win races and that is what we need to do,” said John Force.

To say this first round loss is a disappointment for John Force would be an understatement. However, he will huddle with his crew guys and address the problems that have had him losing early during the last few races.

“I have a brain trust and we will get to work on it right now. The good news is Robert and I will stay No. 1 and No. 2 in the points no matter what but I will be ready for Englishtown. I am going to go root on my girls now,” said John Force.

The crew that works tirelessly on John Force’s 8000 horsepower Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang is just as frustrated to see their efforts go up in smoke on race day. Like their driver, they are under pressure to make the right calls on how the Funny Car is set up on qualifying and race day.

“We are still figuring out this clutch pack. It is just not consistent. We thought we had it going in the right direction and then on that run it didn’t wear the clutch at all and was way too aggressive. We will keep working on it and get ready for Englishtown,” said assistant crew chief Danny DeGennaro

The team leaves Topeka with 566 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car points and still in second place. With NHRA Toyota Nationals next weekend, John Force and the crew will head to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park for another chance of going rounds and possibly getting his 140th career win.

“The good news is Robert and I will stay No. 1 and No. 2 in the points no matter what but I will be ready for Englishtown. I am going to go root on my girls now,” said John Force.

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Mechanical malfunction slows Line on raceday in Topeka

Mechanical malfunction slows Line on raceday in Topeka
 
TOPEKA, Kan., May 25, 2014 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line picked up a round win on Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka’s NHRA Kansas Nationals, but a very strange mechanical malfunction slowed his progress in round two and he was sent home much earlier than anticipated. For Line, the shocking outcome on raceday only created a deeper motivation, and he will be burning the midnight oil in the dyno room at the KB Racing shop in Mooresville, N.C. this week.
 
Line qualified in the No. 8 position and came up against No. 9 qualifier Jonathan Gray in the first round of eliminations on Sunday. The forecast was grim for the day, but rain stayed away while thick air and warmer temperatures descended upon Heartland Park. Line kept his cool, though, and his 6.691 at 206.13 mph was enough to get the job done over Gray’s 6.736, 206.80.
 
For the second round, Line was tuned up and ready to make a charge for the win light with young Vincent Nobile in the opposite lane. Nobile, who gets his power from the KB Racing shop, launched with ease and headed down track while Line was stunningly left at the starting line with an unsettling surprise.
 
“I hit the gas and the car didn’t do anything; the engine died,” said Line, who was paused at the starting line for 1.885-second as the engine gave a cough. “I just went to put it on the two-step and the car misfired. That’s a new one. But it’s just one of those things. It was a fluke, something you don’t normally see and definitely something I’ve never done before.”
 
Line’s Summit Racing Camaro clocked a 6.674 at 207.56 mph when it finally was able to leave the starting line, but it was too late – Nobile had already turned on the win light with a 6.660, 207.27.
 
“Sometimes, things just don’t go your way,” said Line. “Things haven’t gone our way here in Topeka before, but we’re leaving here and going to Englishtown next week, a place where the Summit Racing team has had quite a bit of good fortune. We have a great team and great people behind us. We’ll get it turned back around.”
 

Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–Johnson Edges Coughlin in All-Mopar Pro Stock Final at Topeka, Earns Third Win of Season

Johnson Edges Coughlin in All-Mopar Pro Stock Final at Topeka, Earns Third Win of Season

“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson claims his second victory in three years at the NHRA Kansas Nationals
Johnson and Jeg Coughlin Jr. repeat the 2013 final at Topeka, this time with Johnson the victor
Johnson’s triumph is the third this season for the new Mopar Dodge Dart Pro Stock body
Coughlin continues to surge with a second consecutive final-round appearance following his NHRA Atlanta victory
Mopar-powered Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car drivers Ron Capps and Tommy Johnson Jr. advance to the semis at Topeka

Auburn Hills, Mich. (Sunday, May 25) – “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson raced to his second victory in three years and third straight final-round appearance at the NHRA Kansas Nationals, defeating teammate Jeg Coughlin Jr. in a repeat of last year’s all-Mopar final at Heartland Park Topeka. Flipping the results from his runner-up finish against Coughlin at the venue in 2013, Johnson drove to his class-leading third victory of the season, third overall at Topeka and 23rd of his career.

Following on the heels of Coughlin’s win in the rain-delayed NHRA Atlanta event on Monday, Johnson’s triumph is the second in less than a week for Mopar Dodge Dart drivers, and third overall since Johnson inaugurated the new Mopar Dodge Dart Pro Stock body with a win in its race debut at the NHRA Gatornationals in March. Counting Johnson’s victory at Phoenix in his since retired Dodge Avenger, Mopar Pro Stockers have accounted for four wins in the eight 2014 NHRA events held to date.

“It is fantastic to see Allen Johnson take the new Magneti Marelli Dodge Dart to the Kansas Nationals winner’s circle for his third win this season,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “There really is no better way to validate all the hard work that he and his team have put in combined with the work of our Mopar engineers. It’s a great way to get the season rolling and we look forward to seeing what more Allen and this new Dodge Dart can continue to do in such a competitive Pro Stock field.”

Johnson, who moved up to second in the Pro Stock standings with his win, used a 6.676 elapsed time at 206.95 mph to defeat Larry Morgan to begin eliminations and a 6.637/207.21 to best Shane Gray in the quarterfinals. Johnson’s quick reflexes proved the difference against points leader Erica Enders-Stevens in the semis. The pair posted near identical runs, Johnson with a 6.657/206.32 and Enders-Stevens with a matching 6.657 ET but faster speed of 206.51 mph. Johnson took the holeshot win with a quicker .022 reaction time to his opponent’s .046 to set up an all-Mopar showdown with Coughlin, who also competes with Mopar HEMI engines supplied by Johnson & Johnson Racing.

Coughlin, hot off his Atlanta victory, dispatched Rodger Brogdon, Dave Connolly and Vincent Nobile to reach the money round. Johnson, the overall 2012 Pro Stock series champ, was once again first out of the gate with a .028 to the .048 posted by Coughlin, the defending series champ, in his Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Dart. Johnson never trailed, recording a 6.663/207.18 mark to Coughlin’s 6.664/207.05 to earn his third Topeka Wally trophy, following victories in 2009 and 2012.

“What a great relief when you get to the final with your teammate,” said Johnson, who combined with his 2010 runner-up at Topeka now has five final appearances in the last six years at the venue. “You feel like you’ve won either way. Any time I’m in a final with Jeg it raises my IQ about 50 points, because he’s that good. It makes me want to be better to race him and gets me up for the challenge.

“We’ve been struggling just a little bit. We finally got a handle on Jeggy’s car at the last race, and in the second round today we got a handle on mine. This team just keeps battling. It doesn’t matter what it is, every single run we’re just attacking the car, and that’s just the way this team is. To have half the wins this year (in the class) in our camp is a pretty good feeling.”

With his runner-up spot, Coughlin moved to fourth in the Pro Stock standings. Dodge Dart driver V. Gaines, who took out Greg Anderson before falling to Enders-Stevens in the quarterfinals, is eighth in points.

A pair of Mopar HEMI-powered Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NHRA Funny Car drivers advanced to the semifinals on Sunday at Topeka, despite starting from deep in the qualifying field. Ron Capps, the No. 10 qualifier, drove his Dodge Charger R/T to round wins over Del Worsham and Bob Tasca III, but was unable to best Cruz Pedregon in the semis. Starting from the twelfth spot, Tommy Johnson Jr. upset No. 5 qualifier Alexis DeJoria in the first round and defeated Chad Head in the quarterfinals, before his day ended against event winner Courtney Force, who earned the 100th victory for a female in NHRA history.

Hoping for his first win of the season and encouraged by a strong No. 4 showing in qualifying, Matt Hagan’s luck failed to change at Heartland Park Topeka. The Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T pilot fell in a first-round match with Head, posting a losing 4.157/301.27 run after drifting to the left down track. Jack Beckman suffered the same fate as his Mopar DSR teammate Hagan, coming up short in the opening round against Dodge driver Jeff Arend, who was knocked out by Force in the quarterfinals.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Helio Castroneves Finishes in Second Place to Pace Chevrolet in the 98th Indianapolis 500

Helio Castroneves Finishes in Second Place to Pace Chevrolet in the 98th Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (May 25, 2014) – In the second-closest finish in the history the Indianapolis 500, Helio Castroneves just missed becoming only the fourth four-time winner of The Greatest Spectacle in Racing. Castroneves finished in second place – by a mere 0.0600 seconds – to lead six Team Chevy drivers in the top 10 in the 98th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske Chevrolet, led 38 of the 200 laps and was in the lead with just over a lap to go, but was passed by eventual race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay as the two approached the start-finish line to take the white flag for the final lap around the 2½-mile speedway.
“It’s a shame it was so close, but today is Ryan Hunter-Reay’s day,” said Castroneves, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2001, ’02 and ’09. “I do not take for granted.  I’m extremely happy with the result.  The car worked really well during the race.  The team did a great job during the pit stops.  It was the first time having Roger on the radio.  It was kind of awesome.  We dodged, avoided a few issues out there, incidents, were able to put ourselves in a great position to win.  Unfortunately it wasn’t our day.”
“What a solid effort by Helio Castroneves and Team Penske to come up short by six-hundredths of a second in the Indy 500 today,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, Verizon IndyCar Series. “Congratulations to Ryan Hunter-Reay for a strong showing and his first Indy 500 win. Team Chevy put up a tremendous battle, but misfortune caught too many Chevy-powered cars. Our focus shifts to next weekend at Detroit where we have two opportunities to redeem ourselves.”
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet), returned to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since winning the event in 2000 and overcame an early pit-road penalty to finish in fifth place. He also registered the fastest lap (225.191 mph on lap 182) of the race.
“Unfortunately, I made a mistake on one of the pit stops when I was resetting the fuel. I pressed the wrong button. We got a penalty for that but we came back,” Montoya said. “I was proud of the way we fought. I don’t think we had anything for the Hunter-Reay or Helio. But I was happy with the Verizon Chevy and it was good to be back in Indy. It was cool to watch them swap the lead back and forth of the final laps. I had a good seat for it; I just wish we were in the middle of it, but we just had too much understeer at the end.”
Sebastien Bourdais (No. 11 Hydroxycut/Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet, seventh), Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, eighth), Sage Karam (No. 22 Comfort Revolution/Brantley Gilbert Chevrolet, ninth) and JR Hildebrand (No. 21 Preferred Freezer Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, 10th) also finished in the top 10 for Team Chevy.
Other Chevrolet drivers to finish on the lead lap: Sebastian Saavedra (No. 17 KV AFS Racing Chevrolet), 15th; James Davison (KVRT Always Evolving Racing Chevrolet), 16th; and Ryan Briscoe (NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet), 18th.
 
The race was caution-free for the first 149 laps – the longest uninterrupted run in the event since 1976 – but a series of incidents over the final 51 laps eliminated contending Chevrolet drivers, including pole-sitter Ed Carpenter (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet) and former winner Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet). Carpenter was running in the top five when he got caught up in a wreck shortly after a re-start on lap 175. Dixon was running fifth when he spun into the wall on lap 166. Townsend Bell  (No. 6 Robert Graham KV Racing Technology) was also in fifth place when he wrecked with just 10 laps remaining.
The next race on the Verizon IndyCar Series circuit is the Dual in Detroit Chevrolet Belle Isle Detroit Grand Prix weekend on June 2 and 3.
CASTRONEVES POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
 
 
An interview with:
 
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ND:
 
 
THE MODERATOR:  We saw the shot of you in the car after the event.  I was reflecting that I saw you in the hotel in Texas after you’d been nipped for the championship a few years ago.  This one looked like one that really stung a great deal.  Tell us about it.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  First of all, I want to thank Shell-Pennzoil for a great way to start and launch a new product.  I appreciate that.  I want to thank again Roger and Team Penske with all the sponsors.
Great race.  Second place, it’s interesting when second place kind of sucks.  But certainly taking the positive out of this, it was a great race.  I think you guys had a good time.
Second thing, congrats to Andretti Autosports.  Ryan Hunter-Reay, great race.  He did everything he could.  I did everything I could obviously to try to stop.  Definitely unbelievable.
The reason that I was down there, I didn’t know you were watching, to be honest, I was just trying to collect my thoughts and make sure I say the right things (laughter).
I’m glad I did that because, as I said, it’s frustrating to be so close to something that only a few guys did.
But I do not take for granted.  I’m extremely happy with the result.  The car worked really well during the race.  The team did a great job during the pit stops.  It was the first time having Roger on the radio.  It was kind of awesome.
We dodged, avoided a few issues out there, incidents, were able to put ourselves in a great position to win.  Unfortunately, as I said, it wasn’t our day.  It was great to see an American driver winning.
 
THE MODERATOR:  You made a great move on the inside.  Ryan in some ways returned the favors.  Did you show him a move you wish you wouldn’t have shown him?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Now that you say it, I wouldn’t have done it, because the results didn’t show up.
Several battles I had out there.  I guess I show my cards.  I was able to keep them behind.  Ryan, maybe we didn’t have that kind of a battle, and maybe in the end we show it.
But no matter what, coming on the front straight he was able to have a very good run.  I was trying to do everything I could, like I said, guys.  The car, the way it’s designed, is very difficult to keep the guy behind.
I thought it was a very good race.  We did exactly what we needed to do to make it happen.
 
THE MODERATOR:  Questions for Helio Castroneves.
Q.        You said it was frustrating.  To come that close, are you replaying moves that you could have made?  What’s going through your brain?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  To be honest, this is the first time I kind of think through in terms of making the pass.  I didn’t think they going to go for the outside obviously.  That’s why I was really hugging the inside lane.  But, like I said, didn’t have much of a choice.
Like I said, it was a great race.  I tried man, trust me.  I really tried.  We tried to find answers, like I said.  You can’t question destiny.  Today I did everything, my team did everything we possibly could have done to win this race.  So close to win four.
But this is not going to knock us down.  The opposite, it’s going to make us move on to the championship.  This is a great day for championship points.
 
Q.        You said it was great to see an American win.  Is that diplomacy speaking or do you think there’s a benefit to having an American win here?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  No, why would I just say something I haven’t mean it?
It’s great because for several years the series was a f
oreigner up front.  It’s great to see American drivers succeed.  Third was Andretti.  You see the top two are American drivers.  IndyCar Series is showing it’s the right way to go, as well.  I say that in a positive way, and I mean it.
 
Q.        Ryan Hunter-Reay got you on the backstretch.  Seemed like his car went into the grass.  What went through your mind?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  I tried to not leave any room, but he was able to find some room there.  Once you put the nose inside, nothing you can do in terms of blocking, trust me.
I use every inch.  I think both of us used every inch of the track to make sure that both of us — I mean, at the end of the day there is stupid and then there’s bravery.  I think we’re right there on the edge, both of us, really trying.
I’m glad we both come out in a good way.  I’m sad it did not come out the way I wanted.
 
Q.        The decision by IndyCar to red flag the race to ensure a green flag finish, did that catch you by surprise?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  It did.  I believe the amount of debris that was out there, it would probably be a green and white and checkered flag.  I believe it was the right decision, to be honest.  It break the rhythm, but it give everybody a good, clean race.  I think that was definitely the right choice to do.
 
Q.        (No microphone.)
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  That spot, yes (laughter).  I’m back there, no.
Q.        In all your races in the past, have you ever had a race that came down to five or six laps of one guy passing the other back and forth like that?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Oh, man, I did.  I won’t say I didn’t.  I did have some races like that.  Pikes Peak with Gil de Ferran.  I think I had the same thing in Milwaukee.  I did have some races, but nothing for the Indy 500, such an important race.
I think, like I said, it hurts a little bit more than the others because it’s such a big race and you want to win as bad as anybody.
 
In the end of the day, like I said, I’m very happy with the performance of the team.
Q.        Ryan Hunter-Reay said at the end of the race you were using lines you hadn’t used all month.  Can you embellish that a little bit?  You said you left him a little room when you thought you didn’t.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  I thought I didn’t leave any room, but he found it.  You said it.  We trying to do stuff that normally over 220 miles an hour you don’t do it.  It was a great testament that the car was able to hold on in those type of circumstances.
When you have two experienced drivers battling that, it was a great show.  I thought it was awesome.  I had a great time.  Like I said, I did everything I could to stop Hunter-Reay.
Great job.  Some of the lines out there we never used, and now we know.
 
Q.        Both your teammates at one point were penalized for pit speed violations.  Were you alerted there might be a concern for you on that?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Yeah, they did tell me that.  Like I said, this race is about making less mistakes.  That’s what we did.  Even though you lose a little bit of the time, I was always trying to make sure that I don’t cut that close.
They were able to go back in the top 10 and show that all three cars are looking really strong.
 
Q.        Rick Mears got into a duel with Gordon Johncock in the day, but lost.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Rick was very happy for me on the radio, and that is worth a lot.  Everyone was excited for a great result.  They saw it.  We were fighting really hard as a group, as a team, the entire race.  We were driving smart, trying to make sure we put ourselves in that position.
It’s amazing, when Rick comes and says something like that, it makes you feel really good.
Now we move on for the next one.
 
Q.        You were so young when you won the first two times.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  What you talking about, man (laughter)?
 
Q.        Younger than you are today.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Okay.
 
Q.        The third win was emotional and special for a different set of reasons.  When you come as close as you did today, do you feel maybe you appreciate those wins a little bit more, the fact you were able to win three times?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  I always appreciate those wins.  I never took it for granted.  Like I said, they happened at the right time, at the right moment.
Rick already had those kind of battles as well.  He could have won five, but he won four.
Right now, at this point, I feel that the team, myself, the entire group is eager to make it happen and win another as soon as possible.  That’s just a testament to the series the way it is, because the cars are so close, giving an opportunity for everyone.
At this point it just give me more fuel, literally Shell fuel, to come back here and make it happen.
 
Q.        It seemed like you were having to react a lot to Marco’s advances on you.  Did that play in the back of your mind and prevent you from making a move on Ryan?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Well, the thing is, Marco was doing an extremely good job, especially in the lead.  Sometimes I was trying to send a message like, Take it easy.  But he didn’t want to do it.  I’m like, Okay, man, if you’re not going to do it, not going to play with you anymore – but in a good way, obviously.
You push the button of someone until the guy is desperate.  I thought he was going that way.  But in the end of the race, he knew my line was similar to his.  Hunter-Reay was able to run a different lane.  That’s why we were able to back and forth, back and forth.
That was the only time actually Hunter-Reay and myself were battling for a lead because before I was trying to save a little bit of fuel because I know that saving fuel was more important than anything else.
 
Q.        Was there ever a point on the last lap where you thought you might have him?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Yeah.  I said, I’m going to get him on turn four and this is going to be great.  But suddenly my car wasn’t pulling enough.  Especially because I noticed the wind, I was going against it.  I’m like, Go, go, go.  As soon as I passed the pit entrance, I’m like, This is going to be close.  It was close (laughter).
 
Q.        Does it make the race any more difficult when it starts with so many green flag laps, 115 laps?  Does it make it any more difficult?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Yeah, I mean, especially when we just finished the pits I think.  Yeah, I think we just had the pits.
No, actually, I’m sorry.  It was perfect because we have only a few gallons on the car, so we were able to pit and come back again.  It didn’t affect us.
The one that actually affect a little bit was 170 to go which we still had kind of like half tank in the car.  That was the one that I was kind of upset, start creating some type of mess, because that’s when people get anxious and really trying as hard as they can.
For us it was good.
 
Q.        During the break before the last eight laps, what were you thinking about sitting in the car?  Was it a hard time?  Did it disrupt what you had planned?
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  That’s a very good question.  I wa
s thinking, What am I going to do?  Where I’m going to pass?  How am I going to push?
Again, it wasn’t pulling.  That was my biggest advantage comparing to them.  I did everything I could to have a good start.  Marco came on the outside.  Instead of looking at the guy in the front, I’m trying to deal with Marco, and he was very aggressive.
As soon as I was able to take care of him, now the next target was Hunter-Reay.  I’m like, Okay, man, I’m coming.
THE MODERATOR:  Helio, thank you very much for coming in.
HELIO CASTRONEVES:  Thank you, everyone.  This is a treat.  For us, we’ll move onto the next.
 

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–IndyCar–Indianapolis 500

CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS 500
POST RACE DRIVER QUOTES
NOTES AND QUOTES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
 
INDIANAPOLIS (May 25, 2014)
 
 
DRIVER QUOTES – TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS POST RACE QUOTES:
 
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET,  FINISHED 2ND:  TELL US ABOUT THE END THERE : “With all the emotions flowing, I want to say something, but say the right thing.  Finishing second doesn’t take away from the performance that we had.  I wanted to give this to Roger so bad and I was pushing extremely hard and it was a great fight.  I tell you guys what, it was great for TV and I was having a great time, and unfortunately second is good, but it sucks.”
 
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GO BACK AND FORTH AND NOT GET IT? “So close but so far.  The boys did a great job.  Shell-Pennzoil, AAA, Verizon – just everybody.   We had outstanding pit stops and everything was working well, just the good news is that second sucks but its good points.  So hopefully it wasn’t that bad of a deal.  I think I feel like Marco in 2006.  He lost in the last straightaway and I lost in the last lap.  Congrats to Ryan Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport.  They did a great job and I am so upset that I didn’t get the 16th win for Roger.”
 
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5TH:  “Unfortunately I made a mistake on one of the pit stops when I was resetting the fuel. I pressed the wrong button. We got a penalty for that but we came back. I was proud of the way we fought. I don’t think we had anything for the (Ryan) Hunter-Reay or Helio (Castroneves). But I was happy with the Verizon Chevy and it was good to be back in Indy. It was cool to watch them swap the lead back and forth of the final laps. I had a good seat for it. I just wish we were in the middle of it, but we just had too much understeer at the end.”
 
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT/MISTIC E-CIGS – KVSH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: “Not a great day, but a good day. I am really happy for the Hydroxycut/Mistic E-Cigs crew. We struggled a bit with the car the whole month, but we stuck with it and got the best out of it today. We didn’t start in the front so it was a challenge to get there.  Overall it was a strong performance, a good result and we got double points. Now we move on to Detroit.”
 
SAGE KARAM, NO. 22 COMFORT REVOLUTION/BRANTLEY GILBERT  DREYER & REINBOLD KINGDOM RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: Hats off to my team. They did an awesome job. The Dreyer & Reinbold Kingdom boys gave me an awesome car. It was stable all day and I was able to come from the back and get a top 10 – I will take it! 150 laps straight of green-flag racing takes a toll on you. My foot even hurts from the vibrations of keeping it flat for so long. Now I know why they say this is the hardest race to win in the world.  We were looking good, we were running in eighth when a yellow flag came out right when I pitted. We ended up going a lap down and had to get the wave around and go to the back of the filed. It messed up our strategy, if we were out for another lap or so I belie we could have been in the top five. They team did awesome. I had so much fun out there. I am so grateful and blessed to have just run in the Indy 500.”
 
JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 21 PREFERRED FREEZER ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “Any day that you are not sitting in victory lane and drinking the milk, it’s a disappointment.  For us, the Preferred Freezer Service Chevy team, it’s frustrating because we had a really good car.  We had an issue with a tire that got us out of the pit sequence.  The car got bad with the tire issue.  I had to pit or I was going to crash. But the car was fast.  We passed a ton of guys today including in the end.  It was nice earlier when we jumped from ninth to third and I was running with Ed. I’m happy for Ryan (Hunter-Reay) and it’s a bummer for Ed.  We had really good cars today.  It was fun to drive the ECR car.  In those first few stints, the car was just a pleasure to drive.  I’m happy the car is in one piece and I think we showed we had some speed today.  We had the pace of the leaders and I ran with all of the those guys at one time today.  As the track got hotter, the other guys were sliding around so much.  So I felt without that early pit stop, we would have been right there too.  We got caught out a little by the late yellow flag.  I had to come back and pass a lot of cars.  To run up front, you need a great equipment and level head on your shoulders.  Frankly, I’m disappointed with tenth.  We had a stronger car.  It was fun to race with the ECR guys.  I would love to get into a full-time deal with this team.  This team is very good.”     
 
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 AFS KV-AFS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 15TH:
“15th place is very welcomed after a very long day out there. I am very proud of my KV AFS Racing boys because they never gave up. We didn’t have the best car, but we kept fighting and even with a broken wing at the end we still never gave up.  We were able to pick up some great points today, which will help us towards the championship. We will come back stronger next year but from where we started in 32nd, survive and finish 15th was a huge accomplishment.”
 
TOWNSEND BELL, NO. 6 ROBERT GRAHAM – KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 25TH – CONTACT: “I got hit in that three-wide on the restart in the left rear and earlier in the race with (Tony) Kanaan when I was inside of him and he was squeezing me, I clipped the wall with the left rear. It just knocked it too much out of toe. It was loose all race and then in the end, I was just trying to go for it to see if we could get to the front. You don’t get those chances very often, but unfortunately the left rear just took too much pounding during the day to make it work and it got away from me. I hate to end that way. That was a pretty good hit. I’ll be pretty sore.”
 
ON THE THREE-WIDE RESTART WITH CARPENTER AND HINCHCLIFFE THAT DAMAGED HIS CAR “I thought I was side-by-side with just Ed (Carpenter) in turn one. I didn’t realize someone else, I think it was Hinch maybe, had forced three-wide, which is pretty optimistic. I haven’t seen a replay but I would guess Ed didn’t have anywhere to go. I was giving him room for one car, I didn’t know there was a third one that had ducked in. Nonetheless, I thought we would just hang on there in the top five. We didn’t really have anything to charge to the front, given the way the toe was knocked out.”
 
WHAT’S IT LIKE WATCHING THE END OF THE RACE FROM THE MEDICAL CENTER?
“It just sucks. Should be out there racing with those guys.”
 
TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 26TH:
“It’s tough really. Our day was pretty much over before it started with the issues we had on pit lane.  When you go that many laps down you simply cannot recover.  I always say this place chooses the winner and unfortunately today she didn’t chose us.”
 
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 27TH – CONTACT: “Hinch (James Hinchcliffe) tried to make three wide in turn one with 25 laps to go.  Not a smart move.  It wrecked both of our races.  I told him if he didn’t have a concussion last week that I would have punched in the face.  It wasn’t a green-white-checkered situation.  Of all of the guys out there, I wouldn’t have thought it would be Hinch.  I am pretty good friends with him and those guys at Andretti.  I think he just didn’t use his head right then.
 
SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 29TH – CONTACT:&nb
sp; “I just lost it. All of a sudden the car just started sliding and that was it.  I’m just bummed for Chip and all the of the people that work so hard at Team Target. It just wasn’t our day today.”
 
BUDDY LAZIER, NO. 91 WYNN INSTITUTE FOR VISION RESEARCH CHEVROLET, FINISHED 32ND – MECHANICAL:  “The Wynn Vision Research car was really good. We had to make some adjustments like everybody. It seemed like at the end of a run, when tires got worn out, the car came back to us. I was really strong at the end of runs. We were making just slight adjustments that were making the car very happy.  On our first stop, I couldn’t engage the clutch, which also made it tough coming through the gears coming in to the pit. It would stick in each gear. It was eventually the clutch line that put us out. What was really impressive though, back up to speed, the car was strong. We were really able to suck up to the pack ahead of us. So, it hurts that much more when you know the car had potential, and the Wynn Vision Research car had potential.”

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–Davey Johnson Leads the Way in 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 Opener

Davey Johnson Leads the Way in 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 Opener
Johnson, Eckert and Lanigan Top World of Outlaws Late Model Series Action in Jackpot 100 Prelims
By Ben Shelton

MIDDLEBOURNE, W.Va. – May 24, 2014 – The World of Outlaws Late Model Series ventured deep into the mountains of West Virginia for the opening night of the 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 on Saturday at Tyler County Speedway. When the dust settled from the furious battles contested in heat race action Davey Johnson, Rick Eckert, and Darrell Lanigan had established themselves as lead contenders to claim the $20,000 payday in Sunday night’s finale.

The first heat race found Ohlins Shocks Fast Qualifier Zack Dohm from Cross Timbers, West Virginia battling fellow front row resident Davey Johnson for the lead in the opening laps of the 17 lap affair before Johnson checked out on the field to score the win by over two seconds. Meanwhile Shane Clanton advanced to the second spot to earn a spot with Johnson in the redraw for Sunday evening’s finale. Other transfers included Mike Benedum, Zack Dohm, Butch McGill, and Tim Senic.

Heat race #2 was brought to the green by Tim Dohm and Jacob Hawkins with Dohm jumping to the early lead as three wide battles raged behind him. Unfortunately for Dohm his time at the front would be short-lived as contact with an infield tire on lap 4 sent him spinning from the top spot as Tim McCreadie inherited the lead with Hawkins in pursuit. On the ensuing restart Rick Eckert came to life and shot past Hawkins into second and a few laps later overcame a side-by-side battle with Tim McCreadie to claim the top spot. A late-race caution set up a two lap dash to the checkers, and Hawkins took advantage of the situation to move past McCreadie into second. Eckert bolted to the win with Hawkins in second as the pair moved onto Sunday’s redraw. McCreadie, Chub Frank, Boom Briggs, and Frank Heckenast Jr. rounded out the transfers.

The third and final 17 lap, heat race would definitely not be short on excitement. The initial start was nullified with Corey Conley forfeiting his outside-front-row starting spot after firing too early against pole sitter, Darrell Lanigan. Clint Smith assumed the spot on the front row with Lanigan and grabbed the lead from the current WoOLMS point leader at the drop of the green flag. Smith maintained the top spot as Lanigan began to narrow his advantage by the midway point. In the closing laps Lanigan stepped to the outside to challenge the leader as the duo began to battle furiously for the top spot. The complexion of the race took a drastic change entering turn four on lap 15, when Lanigan made contact with the leader, which caused Smith to get completely sideways as he temporarily stalled. Lanigan grabbed the lead and Smith rejoined the pack, but not before falling back to fourth. The two-time WoOLMS champion Lanigan raced to the victory with Morgan Bagley claiming the final redraw spot. Jared Hawkins, Clint Smith, Derek Doll, and Matthew Cochran took the transfer spots.

Zack Dohm started the night by topping the thirty-one entries on hand in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a 12.835 second lap around the ¼ mile oval.

The WoO LMS will sanction the second night of the 3rd Annual Jackpot 100 on Sunday at Tyler County Speedway as a last chance showdown and the 75 lap, $20,000-to-win finale will headline the program

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–History 300

NASCAR Nationwide Series
History 300
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 24, 2014
 
Race Highlights:
Brian Scott qualified sixth as the top Richard Childress Racing qualifier for the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Ty Dillon started 11th and Brendan Gaughan 20th.
When the checkered flag waved, Brian Scott earned a fifth-place finish, Ty Dillon 10th and Brendan Gaughan was 17th. 
Ty Dillon currently leads the RCR drivers in the Nationwide Series driver point standings in fifth, Brian Scott is sixth and Brendan Gaughan seventh.
Next up for the Nationwide Series is the Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket at Dover International Speedway. Catch all the action live on Saturday, May 24 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.
   
 
Brian Scott Finishes Fifth at Charlotte Motor Speedway
 
Brian Scott and the No. 2 Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet Camaro qualified sixth for the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Scott’s sweet Chevrolet was tight in the center and loose on exit, but had great pit stops to keep the Camaro in contention during the 200-lap showcase. Scott took over the fourth position on lap 75 and was scored third at the halfway mark. The Boise, Idaho native looked to spotter Chris Lambert to lead him to the line the leaders were driving. The No. 2 team visited pit road in the fifth position on lap 174 for the final time. Scott battled with the leaders for position and ultimately finished fifth, collecting his second top-five finish of the season. The Nationwide Series heads to Dover International Speedway next week with Scott sitting sixth in the driver point standings.
 
Start – 6th        Finish – 5th      Laps Led – 0    Pts – 6th
 
BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:
“We had a really good Anderson’s Maple Syrup Chevrolet today. I’m really happy with how our 1.5-mile program is coming along. This was a great points day for our Richard Childress Racing team. Track position was everything and we really needed the clean air. I’m looking forward to the tracks we have coming up. we’ll be up front contending and leading laps soon.”
 
 
 
Ty Dillon Finishes 10th in the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
 
Ty Dillon drove the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/National Wild Turkey Federation Chevrolet Camaro to a 10th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway, recording the team’s eighth top-10 of the season. Dillon qualified 11th and kept his Chevrolet Camaro in and around the top-10 for the entire 200-lap event despite battling loose-handling conditions. Early on, Dillon and the No. 3 team were running in the 10th position but gained two spots on the team’s first pit stop of the day on lap 25. The team fell one lap down to the race leader during a long green-flag run in the middle portion of the race, but Dillon was awarded the Lucky Dog on lap 168 when the caution flag was displayed. With 25 laps to go on the race’s final restart, Dillon maintained his 10th-place position and took the checkered flag. He was the second Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender to cross the stripe and is fifth in the driver point standings, 36 points behind the leader.
 
Start – 11th    Finish -10th   Laps Led – 0      Points -5th
 
TY DILLON QUOTE:
“We’re learning, and learning fast. I was really happy how we were on pit road today and the consistency the entire day. I seem to be learning more and more each week and all of this knowledge is building like a snowball. Danny and I have a good notebook for next weekend’s race in Dover,  but we’re happy to have another top-10 finish leaving Charlotte.”

 
 
Brendan Gaughan Finishes 18th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the History 300
 
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 Richard Childress Racing team finished the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 18th position. The South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet team qualified 20th for Saturday’s race in Concord, N.C. Gaughan reported a loose-handling race car on lap 10. Crew chief Shane Wilson called for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on lap 25 to improve the handling, restarting 17th. On lap 38, Gaughan had a right-rear tire go flat forcing the team to return to pit road under green falling two laps down. The Las Vegas-native made a green-flag pit stop on lap 136 and was penalized for entering pit road to fast. The No. 62 RCR team served a pass-through penalty and went on to make up four positions, finishing 17th. Gaughan and the South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet Camaro will enter Dover International Raceway seventh in the driver point standings.
 
Start – 20th       Finish – 17th    Laps Led – 0     Points – 7th
                                                  
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“Sorry to all my No 62 team, I just pushed it a little too hard entering pit road. We were fortunate to be able to gamble and make up four positions after the speeding penalty. We’ll continue to work hard and move on to Dover.”

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Line sees the power of Summit Racing Camaro, seeking first Topeka win on Sunday

Line sees the power of Summit Racing Camaro, seeking first Topeka win on Sunday
 
TOPEKA, Kan., May 24, 2014 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line has yet to win at Heartland Park Topeka, but this weekend could very well be a different story. Line is qualified in the top half of the field and will have lane choice in the first round of eliminations to begin his bid for the trophy at the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.
 
In the first session, Mooresville, N.C.-based Line blasted down the racetrack with a 6.622-second run at 208.81 mph. Although he was quick to extract and examine the imperfections of the pass, it was fourth quickest of the round and looked to be a good starting point that Line was hopeful to quickly build upon. Mother Nature, however, had other ideas. Weather that had been pressing finally moved in full force and the first day of qualifying was cut short by one round. Day two dawned rainy and with more storms in the forecast, but miraculously the rain cleared and the Pro Stockers got another two chances to find their final positions on the ladder.
 
“The first round wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t perfect,” said Line. “Then the second run we had something go wrong and the run was really a throw-away. I only had one run – the last one – to make a good run. I thought it would be better, but it was a little light on the clutch. It wasn’t terrible, this just isn’t where we think we should be.”
 
Line’s 6.643, 206.01 in the second session was followed by a 6.631, 208.10 and he landed in the No. 8 position. Although still in the top half of the field and heading into raceday with lane choice over rookie competitor Jonathan Gray – a driver he has yet to race on Sunday – Line is in a position he hasn’t been relegated to since the third race of the season. He has qualified 7th or better in each race since the Gainesville Gatornationals.
 
Line, of course, is optimistic.
 
“I think if we do everything right, I think we have a chance of winning the race tomorrow with our Summit Racing Camaro,” said Line. “We struggled a little bit, but it’s an opportunity to learn something.”
 
Vincent Nobile, whose power is generated in-house at the KB Racing shop in Mooresville, is the No. 1 qualifier in Topeka. It is Nobile’s second low qualifier award with KB power.
 
“We are quite sure he’s cheating, but we haven’t figured out how yet,” joked Line. “We are monitoring the situation because something fishy is going on over there. But in all seriousness, Vincent made three really nice runs, and I’m excited for him. He is very happy, and it’s also a very good thing for KB Racing because it shows the power we have and what we are capable of. It’s definitely a good thing. Tomorrow we could have a very good day, and I think there is a very good possibility that we will see my Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro and the Summit car driven by my teammate Greg Anderson going rounds. It should be a very good day.”

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Anderson getting reacquainted with the white Summit Racing car in Topeka

Anderson getting reacquainted with the white Summit Racing car in Topeka
 
TOPEKA, Kan., May 24, 2014 – Greg Anderson had a surprise for fans and competitors in Topeka. A last-minute decision by the seasoned team put Anderson behind the wheel of the white Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro and sent the red Camaro back to the garage. Although they didn’t shoot right up to the top of the pack, Anderson and the KB Racing crew made strides towards becoming reacquainted with the white car and qualified in the No. 10 position. Anderson will race V. Gaines in the first round of eliminations.
 
“We were having a little trouble with the red car, and our teammate Vincent Nobile had some good runs on this particular car in the first four races of the season,” said Anderson, referring to the Summit Camaro that Nobile raced to the No. 1 qualifying position at the season opener and took to three consecutive semifinals. “We really liked the runs it was making when Vincent was driving it, and we had the plan to bring it back out after it was updated to a 2014 model. It took a few races to get that done, and it just happened to be that it was ready before this race. Now we have three cars that are the same and we just need to keep nitpicking at this one. We’ll get it going.”
 
Qualifying was shortened to three rounds as wet weather washed away the second session on the first day. Anderson was on the board on Friday night with a 6.651-second pass at 208.42 mph but was unsatisfied with the No. 12 spot. On Saturday morning, he made his best pass of the weekend so far, a 6.630, 207.69, that bumped him up a few positions on the ladder. Ultimately, following a 6.632, 208.01 in the final session, Anderson’s position was set at 10th.
 
“I need to be faster, but thankfully the car isn’t doing anything dumb – it’s just not lighting up the scoreboard like we think it should,” said Anderson, who will race Gaines for the first time on Sunday since defeating him in the first round of the NHRA Finals last fall. “The car is close, and it’s making good runs and certainly not acting like the red car was, but it isn’t where it needs to be just yet. We just need to squeak the last few couple hundredths out of it.
 
“We’re just going to make small changes because it’s close, but we are going to work on getting those few extra hundreds – and then I think we will have a chance to win. The good news is that it seems consistent and doesn’t seem far off. Hopefully we can make the right moves in the right direction and not knock it out of its happy place. It seems very happy, so we are just going to get it running a little faster.”
 

John Force Racing

John Force Racing–HISTORY AT KANSAS NATIONALS AS FORCE SISTERS QUALIFY No. 1

TOPEKA, KS – Brittany Force’s Castrol EDGE Dragster proved to be the dominant Top Fuel dragster at the NHRA Kansas Nationals as she ran a career best ET and top speed 3.746 seconds at 329.75 mph and claimed her first ever number one Top Fuel qualifying spot. She will share the top qualifying limelight with her sister Courtney Force who raced around her 16-time champion father John Force to grab the Funny Car No. 1 spot. This is the first time sisters have qualified No. 1 at the same Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event. All three JFR Funny Cars hold down the top spots for the 11th time and first time since Houston 2010. This is also naturally the first time John Force Racing has had No. 1s in Top Fuel and Funny Car.

“I’m just so excited. This really shows the Castrol EDGE team’s hard work is finally paying off. We struggled all of last year and then to come out here and go to number one is awesome. I really didn’t expect that as it’s a brand new car so to get it down the track and run like that makes us so excited. I’m so proud of my team,” said Brittany Force, the 2013 Rookie of the Year.

Force’s team had to swap out engines after the first qualifying session and due to a quick turn-around time they did not have time to warm the motor. For Brittany Force and her Castrol EDGE team, the quick turnaround didn’t rattle them one bit when she fired up her car on the starting line.

“It was pretty crazy before the run as we didn’t get to warm up the car and the turnaround was so quick. I was suiting up in the tow vehicle on the way up to the lanes. I thought my crew guys were just trying to rush me figuring there’d be a few cars ahead of us but when I got up there. I was shocked as when we pulled up we were literally the next pair of dragsters on the starting line. So I threw my stuff on and jumped in the car, got suited up and went right up there. I wasn’t expecting it to run a 3.74,” said Brittany Force.

With this being Brittany’s second season behind the wheel of the Castrol EDGE Dragster, she now has her first number one qualifying spot to her career. The 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year has attainable goals for herself. She also knows she’s part of talented family of NHRA record holders yet, she doesn’t feel intimated by their accomplishments because she shares the same last name.

“I definitely have a list goals that I want to achieve just this year.  But I don’t ever try to compare my goals to my sisters. That’s just my personality and how I am. I’m proud of them for everything they’ve accomplished but I have my own list of goals and that’s what I’m going after,” said Force, a two time No. 1 qualifier in the Lucas Oil Series in Top Alcohol Dragster.

Brittany did achieve one of her goals today with a number one qualifier but she’s also going for her first Top Fuel win and to be the 100th NHRA female pro driver to win a national event. To make this happen, Brittany has demonstrated to the racing community she has the skills and determination in reaching these goals.

After rain showers halted Friday’s second session, Brittany’s first qualifying run today was another strong and consistent pass despite having some issues down track. Her dragster lit up the scoreboard with a 3.811 second pass at 284.62 mph.

“On the first run today, the car left hard but I drove it a little bit out of the groove and once that happens, it sucks you right out. It happened right at the 800 foot mark. I also could feel the engine was having problems as the force threw me forward in the seat. Right then I knew the motor was hurt and I shut it down,” said Brittany Force.

Despite this, she still did a great job keeping the 10,000 horsepower Castrol EDGE Dragster on the track and not getting it crossed up by either driving over the centerline or worse, contacting the retaining wall. It just shows Brittany’s skill as a driver keeps improving run after run.

“Each run you always learn something, especially when the car wants to do strange things. Sometimes I’ll make a run and I’ve never felt it pull a certain way or do something weird. Hopefully next time I get out the run sooner when the car starts pulling this way,” said Force.

Force has competed at Heartland Park Topeka in both classes and has a comfort level when she fires up her Castrol EDGE Dragster.

“I love Heartland Park Topeka. The fact I was able to set a new track record today is awesome. It’s a very comfortable track me,” said Brittany Force.

Brittany Force will face Luigi Novelli in the opening round on Sunday and despite everyone asking her about potentially being NHRA’s 100th pro female driver to win a race, it’s not playing on her mind. Brittany and the Castrol EDGE team know they just need to be focused on going rounds and a trip to the winner’s circle will eventually come.

On the heels of Brittany Force racing to the top of the qualifying field in Top Fuel her sister Courtney Force ran around John Force to grab the No. 1 spot in Funny Car for the second time this season. The youngest Force was in the third to last pair of Funny Cars and she blasted down the Heartland Park Topeka track in 4.009 seconds, the second quickest elapsed time of her career, to jump to No. 1. She had to wait for Alexis DeJoria, Tim Wilkerson, John Force and Robert Hight to run to see if she would hold onto the No. 1 spot.

“This is huge. The one thing you are looking for as a team is consistency. We seemed to have lost that at the beginning of the season. It felt good to go out there last week and go all the way to the final. I was hoping we really found something. To come out here and have consistent runs throughout qualifying is big,” said Force.

“We (lost a) run yesterday because of the rain. It feels good to get the Traxxas Mustang down the track run after run. We were running 4.0s and then that last run to run four flat was exciting to hear my crew chief come on the radio that we went four flat and were No. 1. I was in the staging lanes listening on the radio to my sister go No. 1,” said Force.

“That was cool. I tried to not get my hopes up. I hopped out of the car and I was thinking dad and Robert are coming up so you never know what is going to happen. They seem to ruin my day a lot lately. This Traxxas Mustang has been consistent this weekend and we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

This was the fifth No. 1 of Courtney Force’s career. She will face Dale Creasy Jr. in the first round. This will be the second time Force has faced Creasy in her career and she defeated the journeyman Funny Car driver in their lone meeting last year at the NHRA Kansas Nationals.

While much of the attention at the end of qualifying was focused on Brittany and Courtney Force the hottest driver in the Mello Yello Series continued to stay under the radar as Robert Hight will go into Sunday as the No. 3 qualified Funny Car. The four time winner this season posted quick runs all weekend and will face two-time Funny Car champion in the first round. Hight is 19-11 versus Pedregon and is 2-0 against him at the Kansas Nationals.

“We were happy with that run in the last session. We weren’t trying to set a track record. We were racing like we always do; try and get the best run out there. Mike Neff has this Auto Club Ford Mustang going down the track and I need to just keep doing my job as a driver,” said Hight. “It is cool that Courtney and Brittany are No. 1 but I think it is just as important that all three John Force Racing Funny Cars are 1-2-3 in qualifying. Hopefully we will all go some rounds tomorrow. We have all been working together to get all the Funny Cars running consistently. I am ready for race day and I will be going after my fourth win in a row.”

Hight and his Auto Club Ford Mustang Funny Car has a commanding points lead but also has a streak of six straight final round appearances this season to go along with his active streak of three wins in a row. They were the picture of
consistency this weekend posting runs of 4.091, 4.040 and 4.055 seconds and Hight had the only Funny Car other than Courtney Force to run in the 4.0s all three qualifying sessions. His average ET was 4.062 to Force’s 4.054 seconds.

John Force may have been knocked out of the number one qualifying spot by his daughter Courtney on the final session, but the fact that the 16-time NHRA World Champ and his Castrol High Mileage Mustang ran a stout 4.043 second pass at 317.72 mph during his last run of the day is very impressive. For the Castrol GTX High Mileage team, it appears they may have eradicated the mechanical gremlins that had been plaguing them the last few races. More important, the proud father got to see a milestone unfold in front of him at the NHRA Kansas Nationals.

“Even though I got knocked out, we were going for it. To see both my girls get No. 1 in Top Fuel and Funny Car; that will make the boys mad. It is good for our sport. There are other women out there fighting for it. They are all trying to get to the 100th. We ought to sign up for the lottery,” said John Force.

For the NHRA, this is an historical accomplishment that shows the diversity of the drivers that compete in the professional categories. For both Force sisters to qualify number one in the Nitro classes, this is history and John Force couldn’t be more proud.

“This is just one race and it is just something for the two of them to be No. 1 side by side. They stand for all the women that do this. I can see Shirley right now jumping up and down. To see them in these Mello Yello No. 1 qualifier hats is awesome,” said John Force.

The matriarch of the family, Laurie Force, is also delighted to see how hard her daughters have worked over the years in getting to this momentous occasion. It has also shown the racing community and the NHRA fans the Force girls are the real deal.

“I think they are doing an awesome job. I get nervous when they go up and run but every run that they make I know they are getting a better handle on these cars. To see them both go out there and do such a good job is great,” said Laurie Force.

During John’s first run out of the box today, he had a disappointing 8.054 second run at only 77.20 mph after striking the massive Goodyear slicks in a billowing cloud of smoke at the 300 foot mark. Fortunately, Jimmy Prock and the crew went to work and the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang was back on track for the final session with a 4.04 second pass.

John Force will race from the number two position on Sunday and he’ll face fellow Ford Mustang driver Bob Tasca III in round one.

 

Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–No. 4 Qualifier Coughlin Leads Three Mopar Dodge Darts into Topeka Elimination Rounds

No. 4 Qualifier Coughlin Leads Three Mopar Dodge Darts into Topeka Elimination Rounds

Jeg Coughlin Jr. will defend his 2013 NHRA Kansas Nationals title from the No. 4 spot and seek his second straight Pro Stock win of the season
“Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart driver Allen Johnson and Dodge Dart pilot V. Gaines will also start in the top half of the Pro Stock field at Topeka
In NHRA Funny Car, Matt Hagan leads the Mopar contingent with the fourth starting position in his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T

Auburn Hills, Mich. (Saturday, May 24) – Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Dart driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. will look to keep a pair of streaks alive when he starts from the No. 4 spot in eliminations tomorrow at the NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. Coughlin will seek to defend his 2013 event win at Topeka, and will also attempt to double up following his victory earlier this week in the rain-delayed NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing event in Atlanta.

Inclement weather also played a role in Friday qualifying at Topeka, with the Pro categories limited to just one qualifying attempt. Coughlin made the most of that single session, recording his quickest qualifying effort with a 6.618-second elapsed time, at 208.65 mph. After more wet weather, the defending Pro Stock series champ added runs of 6.627/207.53 and 6.624/207.53 in his final two qualifying attempts on Saturday. Coughlin draws Rodger Brogdon to begin eliminations tomorrow.

“Coming off a hot win in Atlanta was amazing,” Coughlin said. “The timing of that win was great. We struggled a little bit through qualifying there, and this week has been a bit of a flip from that. We’ve been real consistent through qualifying.”

Allen Johnson, Coughlin’s Johnson & Johnson Racing stable mate, saved the best for last, driving his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” to its quickest qualifying run of the weekend on his final attempt with a 6.620 ET to move up to the sixth position. Johnson will face Larry Morgan in round one tomorrow. Fellow Dodge Dart pilot V. Gaines earned the seventh slot on the starting grid thanks to a 6.621 run and meets Greg Anderson in the opening round.

“We got our best run of the weekend on the last pass today, so that’s encouraging,” said Johnson, the 2012 Topeka event champ. “With Jeg in the top half at No. 4, and V. as well, we’ve got a great chance to keep the Topeka trophy in the Mopar camp.”

Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T racer Matt Hagan led the four-driver Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) NHRA Funny Car squad, taking the fourth spot in qualifying with a best ET of 4.064, setting up a first-round battle with Chad Head. Hagan’s Mopar-fueled DSR teammates clocked in a bit further back in the pack, with Jack Beckman closest in the No. 9 spot thanks to a 4.081 pass. Beckman will square off with another Dodge Charger, steered by No. 8 starter Jeff Arend. Ron Capps, No. 10 with a 4.095, will line up against Del Worsham, and No. 12 starter Tommy Johnson Jr. (4.116) faces Alexis DeJoria.

“This is only our eighth race of the year and there are still 10 more before the Countdown to the Championship, but we don’t like being ninth and plan to start moving up,” Hagan said. “Most important to us right now is to win rounds on Sunday and leave here with that Wally (trophy).”

Wood Brothers

Wood Brothers Racing–On Trevor’s Leaving

He’ll Always Be Part of Our Family
May 24, 2014

Wood Brothers Racing Statement On Trevor Bayne Departure In 2015

“Trevor Bayne will always be part of our family.  And we will always share that great Daytona 500 moment together. It’s something that will always be so special for all of us,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner, Wood Brothers Racing.  “We will always be Trevor Bayne fans, so we are happy he is getting his shot to race for the Sprint Cup Championship. We are going to do everything in our power to get him to victory lane one more time in the #21 Fusion.”

Summit Racing

Summit Racing–FIA Pro Stock champion Jimmy Ålund announces Summit Racing Equipment sponsorship

Norrköping, Sweden, May 23, 2014 – Eight-time FIA Pro Stock champion Jimmy Alund is thrilled to announce a multi-race sponsorship with Summit Racing Equipment. Alund will fly the Summit Racing colors in 2014 as he chases a historic ninth FIA Pro Stock championship.

This comes after Jimmy returning to Sweden after substituting for Greg Anderson in his Summit Racing Camaro for the first five races of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Ålund gathered not only qualifying and round points but capped of his 2
014 season in the USA with a win at the 5th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Ålund being the first European driver to win a Wally in an NHRA professional class.
 
“I am stunned, these positive hits from Summit Racing keep coming”, says Jimmy about the news, “when the Summit pro stock racing team asked me to drive one of their cars it took me by complete surprise and last week Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s Motorsports and Events Manager called and politely asked if I would accept an associate sponsorship for 2014”.
 
Jimmy continues, “The 2014 season has been a dream so far and to get to drive for such a legendary team sponsored by the finest business in the industry is a great honor. Add to that a sponsorship from Summit Racing for the European racing season… I’m at a loss for words.”
 
“Jimmy Alund filled in for Team Summit’s Greg Anderson while the four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion recovered from heart surgery at the start of the 2014 season. Greg’s are big shoes to fill; and fill them Jimmy did, taking his first NHRA win in Charlotte, NC at the NHRA 4 Wide Nationals in April. Summit Racing is very excited to extend the relationship as Jimmy competes in the 2014 FIA Drag Race Series in Europe” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s Motorsports and Event Manager. Greenleaf added “We’ve learned that the eight-time FIA Pro Stock Champion is very interested in American muscle cars. It’s a great fit!”

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–Saldana Wins Hard Fought Battle to Claim Circle K/NOS Energy Drink Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Charlotte

Saldana Wins Hard Fought Battle to Claim Circle K/NOS Energy Drink Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Charlotte
‘Brownsburg Bullet’ holds off Schatz to earn his third World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory of the season, fourth of his career at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. — May 23, 2014 — The final results from Friday night show Joey Saldana leading every lap in his Motter Equipment car – what those results do not show is the nearly lap-by-lap battle Saldana fought with Donny Schatz to win the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Circle K/NOS Energy Drink Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track in Charlotte.
“To race Donny Schatz on a slick track,” Saldana said. “I think the only reason that saved me was turn one and two – the cushion is what saved me because [Schatz is] definitely everybody’s benchmark when it gets slick.”

Saldana and Schatz took the green flag from the front row with Logan Schuchart and Kraig Kinser in row two.

On lap one Schuchart jumped past Schatz on the high side through turn two and took over the second spot. The move was short lived though as Schatz fought back and retook the spot by lap four.

Schatz then set his sights on Saldana. By lap six, the five-time champion was challenging Saldana for the lead. Schatz got his opportunity on lap seven as the pair caught lapped traffic. Just as Schatz piloted his STP/Armor All car around Saldana, the yellow flag flew, giving the lead back to Saldana.

As the green flag again flew on lap eight, Shane Stewart caught a tire barrier on the inside of the track and had a scary wreck that saw him flip end-to-end. Stewart was unhurt. Also involved were Jason Sides and Brad Sweet. Both drivers were able to return to the track and finish the race.

Saldana and Schatz again caught lapped traffic in the closing laps, but Saldana, despite getting into the back of Sides, made sure not to make the same mistake twice and let Schatz around. This included an impressive pass down the middle of two lapped cars through turns three and four.

“I knew Donny was on me and you don’t want to run into anybody but I just knew I had to keep my pace going or he was going to drive right by,” said Saldana, of Brownsburg, Ind. “I don’t know, I think it’s just instinct and you can’t learn it, you just have to experience it and some guys are just really, really gifted and some guys aren’t, so you’ve got to work really hard at it.”

Saldana’s win snapped the four race win streak of Daryn Pittman. It had been the longest win streak in the series since Jason Meyers’ five race win streak in 2011. Saldana also closed Pittman’s lead in the championship standings to just one point. This was Saldana’s fourth win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte and his third on the season.

After a tough battle down the stretch, Schatz said second place was not the result he wanted for his team or team owner Tony Stewart, who was in attendance tonight.

“This whole team, these STP guys, I really wanted to get a win for them tonight,” said Schatz, a five-time series champion from Fargo, N.D. “We haven’t felt like we’ve been very good even though we’ve been in the top five but they keep digging – they keep putting a great racecar under me and keep making it better and that’s all you can really ask for. I get to have a little more fun the next couple of nights and race for fun – I’ve been looking forward to that, but it would have been nice to get a win tonight.”

Tonight’s third place finish gave Schuchart and his Shark Motorsports team their best ever Outlaws finish. After the early challenge to Schatz, Schuchart tried again to take over the second spot from Schatz in the closing laps with a slide job out of turn two. Schuchart was not able to make the move stick and Schatz retained the position.

“It might have been close and maybe I shouldn’t have done it but I’m trying and I just really want to win,” said Schuchart, of Hanover, Pa. “We had a good car. Our guys did a good job. I was just trying to find a different line that those guys weren’t using that hopefully if they got to racing each other I could catch up to them. I got one shot at it and I tried to take it. I want to win one of these races.”

Schuchart said he and his team knew coming into this season that they would be facing a learning curve but that with every race and new track they face, the team is making strides and improvements. He said, though he was happy to run third, he had hoped for a finish a couple of spots better.

Racer News and Results