National Tour resumes racing at popular Oklahoma track April 12, live on DIRTVision

SALINA, OK (March 25, 2025) — High speeds. High intensity. And of course, high banks. This is Salina Highbanks Speedway.

The American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour is set for action at the Oklahoma 3/8-mile dirt oval on Saturday, April 12, marking the Tour’s first event since the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park in January. A 30-lap, $4,000-to-win, main event will highlight the night’s program.

Since its inception in 1992, the ASCS National Tour has made 13 appearances in Salina, producing nine different winners. The last three — Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2014), Blake Hahn (2015) and Jason Martin (2023) — will all make their return to the venue April 12 as part of this year’s 16-car full-time roster and took some time to share their past experiences racing the signature Oklahoma dirt track.

Tickets to see the ASCS National Tour on April 12 will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Salina Highbanks?

Hafertepe: The name kinda sells it. High banks, fast. Honestly, it’s really close to where my wife’s from, so it’s kind of like a second home. We’ve got a lot of family up there. It’s a super-fast place. It’s a 3/8-mile, but it races like a half mile.

Hahn: For me, it’s close to home. I don’t have a whole lot of tracks around here that we get to race at that are real close to home, and [Salina] is one of them. It’s nice, I get to see a bunch of my friends and family out there typically when it’s a race like that. That’s one big thing. It’s got a lot of high-speed, too. I think of high speed, especially after going there with the 410 and seeing how much speed those things carry.

Martin: It’s exactly like the name says — it’s really high-banked, high-speed type of racetrack. It’s typically slick, so it’s something that takes a lot of… your race car has to be pretty good to make speed, for one. But the track changes throughout the race quite a bit. It can go from really fast and heavy early in the night, then it can go to slick and really hard to get ahold of. And then, it can grip-up and really start taking rubber at times, too.

It’s a really fun racetrack; I always enjoy racing there. We’ve had really good success there — the first time we went there, we won. It really suits my driving style and the way our race cars work, and our Don Ott Engines run well there, so I’m looking forward to going back.

You’ve won at Salina Highbanks with the National Tour in the past. What do you remember from that night?

Hafertepe: In 2014, I thought we had a lot of speed that year. We were really quick, just never could put it all together. But Salina was one of those tracks that was right up our alley — super fast, wide, a place where I could keep a lot of speed, and I feel like that’s one of our strengths.

Hahn: My first National [Tour] win was there actually, so it was pretty memorable. It was a good night for us. The track actually took rubber about eight or 10 laps to go, and I think we pretty much led the whole thing. So, it was a good night for us to go run close to home. We had some family and friends out there, my grandma and grandpa were out there for our first national win, so it was a pretty big moment for us. It kinda opened the door for us to be able to pick off some more wins. The first one is so hard to come by, and to finally get that first one was good.

Martin: I felt like we were the fastest car all night long. We were quick time or right there at the top in our Qualifying group, and won our Heat Race, which was really good. The Feature, I think Blake Hahn got out to the lead early in the night and ended up driving off the top of the racetrack in traffic and kinda handed the lead over, but it was kind of a matter of time, I felt like. We were good enough that we were gonna drive by him pretty quickly.

Can you describe the speed and the banking of the track for someone who’s never experienced it?

Hafertepe: I would say Salina is one of the most… there’s a handful of other tracks that may be a little more banked than Salina, but even the straightaways are super banked. Some tracks have flatter straightaways, higher banked corners and have the transition into the corner because the bank changes. But Salina seems to hold the bank quite a bit all the way around.

It’s one of those places where you’re running into the bank and trying to keep as much speed as you can. The car will tend to get on the right-front sometimes because of running into the bank as well.

Hahn: When we go there, it’s kind of different than what we’re used to, typically. It holds you in there. There’s a lot of high speed, and you don’t have to roll out of the throttle on entry like you would at a lot of the smaller tracks like Creek County or Tulsa Speedway. To be able to go there and have that high speed on kind of a smaller track typically produces some good racing.

Martin: At Salina, it’s one of those places where you really feel the G-forces because of the banking. You don’t slow down much in the corners, where at some places, you’ll actually slow down. So, it’d be like running down the interstate at 120 or 130 miles-an-hour and having to get off the interchange and go back the other way and not slowing down.

It just puts a lot of exertion on your body. It is one of those physically demanding places. I do remember there was a lot of guys that were complaining they were wore out and their head dragging over in the seat.

How differently do you set up the car to handle the speed and banking of Salina compared to a smaller, flatter track?

Hafertepe: For most guys they’ll definitely have to do some stuff to keep themselves off the right-front, because when you’re running into that bank, it’s easy to get down on the right-front, and also on the right-rear. The transition when you go from the straightaway to the corner, just hitting that bank, it’ll tend to get the car on the right side.

I would say it’s more not necessarily things you have to do to your race car to get it to handle that place. There are subtle things that we do, but I think mainly it’s how you’re driving and how you attack the corners is the main adjustment you have to make.

Hahn: We don’t change a whole lot. Our setup kinda suits that track, so we seem to have good speed right out of the box when we go there. Typically, we change a few things on like a Knoxville or some half-miles like that, but with [Salina] being pretty small, we kinda keep the small track stuff going on and just do what we normally do.

Martin: It’s just a matter of the different size stagger you got on the car. On a little 1/4-mile, it takes a lot of stagger to get the thing to turn. You can get down to nine or 10 inches of stagger at Salina whenever it gets slick. You’re just trying to make the thing roll as free as you can and as straight as you can.

Why should people come and see the ASCS National Tour race at Salina?

Hafertepe: It’s a really great place for ASCS to start. It’s right outside Tulsa, where ASCS was born. I wouldn’t say Salina has a lot of (ASCS) history to it, but just being able to race around the Tulsa area to kick off the ASCS season is a huge thing. You can’t pass up a place that has the speed like Salina does. A Sprint Car on a track like that does a lot of amazing things and I think the number one thing that attracts people to Sprint Cars is speed. If you want to see speed, Salina Highbanks is it.

Hahn: We get to showcase the National Tour in Oklahoma, and there’s a lot of good drivers on Tour this year and a bunch of rookies that are looking to go run this year. I think a lot of fans enjoy seeing Sprint Cars. We don’t get a whole lot of Sprint Car racing around here, especially at Salina. I think a lot of fans should show up just to see the high speeds and see what kind of action they produce.

Martin: It’s going to be a Saturday night in the first half of April and there’s probably not a lot going on when the weather’s just now starting to warm up, so that would be a good time to get the family out and see some good racing. It’s one of the fastest places in this part of the country, and you won’t see much better racing.

CONCORD, NC (March 25, 2025) – The 2025 season is in full swing, and several regions are set to welcome the World of Outlaws Late Models for the first time this year.

The April calendar will see The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet leave the southeast for a weekend in Ohio before making a swing through the Midwest and ending the month back in the deep south.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

Atomic Speedway | Fireball 50 (April 4-5): Chillicothe, OH’s Atomic Speedway has been a staple of the World of Outlaws calendar since the Series’ infancy, and the tradition continues with next weekend’s Fireball 50.

The first visit to the southern Ohio 3/8-mile came in the second season of the Series in 1989 in a contest won by that season’s eventual champion, Billy Moyer. Sixteen years later in 2005 – season two of the revived tour – Jackie Boggs won his third and final World of Outlaws race in the return trip to Atomic.

Fourteen more Series races have been held at Atomic in the years since. The list of winners includes Late Model legends such as Tim McCreadie and Chub Frank, as well as current title contenders Bobby Pierce and Ryan Gustin. Pierce enters the race looking to join Tyler Erb as the second driver to win three times at Atomic, while Gustin aims to go back-to-back at the track and with the Series after winning last August and at Swainsboro Raceway last Saturday.

This year’s event will be co-sanctioned with the American Late Model Iron Man Series, bringing together the top Late Model teams from the Ohio Valley and beyond to battle the Outlaws next weekend.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Farmer City Raceway | Illini 100 (April 10-12): When the dust settles at Atomic, the Series will pack up and head west to Illinois for the first Midwest bullring battle of the season.

Action gets underway at Farmer City with a practice night on Thursday, April 10, before a pair of full programs on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12. In addition to the Late Models, the event will also play host to the season opener for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

The first major dirt Late Model event in the Land of Lincoln has historically been very kind to the locals. The last nine Farmer City victories have been split by Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Mike Spatola, Pierce and Nick Hoffman – who called Belleville, IL home prior to moving to North Carolina. Josh Richards was the last outsider to win at the track, delivering a weekend sweep in 2016.

Farmer City has earned the reputation of being one of the most thrilling tracks on the schedule, particularly following last year’s side-by-side, door-banging finish between Hoffman and Pierce.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Talladega Short Track | Alabama Gang 100 (April 25-26): Some would call racing under the lights at Talladega a NASCAR fan’s dream. We call it the Alabama Gang 100.

The weekend at the Talladega Short Track kicks off with a $12,000-to-win lid lifter on Friday night. Then, on Saturday, roughly an hour after the end of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race across the street, the best Late Model drivers in the nation will battle for the first $50,000 payday of the year.

Brandon Overton won the inaugural edition of the race honoring racing legends Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Red Farmer in 2023. The rest of the field will be looking to join him as a World of Outlaws winner at the track, including past Talladega Late Model victors like Gustin, McCreadie, Jimmy Owens, Ethan Dotson and Ashton Winger.

The Late Models will be joined on both nights by the winged warriors of the United Sprint Car Series, giving both open-wheel and fendered fans reason to circle the event on their calendar.

For more event information, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap in April and all season long on DIRTVision.

Inside Line Promotions – PERRIS, Calif. (March 25, 2025) – Dominic Scelzi passed a lot of race cars during the first four races of the Kubota High Limit Racing season.

Scelzi gained 10 positions – tied for the third most – en route to a ninth-place result on March 15 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Last Wednesday, he moved forward 11 positions – the second most – before placing 12^th at Thunderbowl Raceway. Two nights later, Scelzi drove by a dozen drivers during a ninth-place outing at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. He capped the busy eight-day stretch with another ninth-place showing on Saturday at Perris Auto Speedway.

“This is the best I’ve felt in a couple of years,” he said. “I just have some things I need to clean up in qualifying so that we aren’t starting so far back. We’ve had great speed in the car and I feel great. If we can improve qualifying we will start closer toward the front to give ourselves a shot to win.”

Scelzi’s charge from 19^th to ninth at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas tied his career-best result at the track. It also kicked off four main events of moving forward as Scelzi finished with 37 positions gained during the busy week.

The strong start to the season ranks Scelzi fifth in the High Limit Racing championship standings. He is one of only six drivers to produce at least three top 10s during the first four races of the High Limit Racing season.

“It feels great to have that consistency to start the season,” he said. “I’m looking forward to when High Limit Racing comes back to the West Coast in August.”

Next for Scelzi is the Sprint Car Challenge Tour race this Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif.

QUICK RESULTS –

March 15 – The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 5 (6); Feature: 9 (19).

March 19 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 7 (1); B Main: 3 (2); Feature: 12 (23).

March 21 – Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 6 (7); B Main: 1 (3); Feature: 9 (21).

March 22 – Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, Calif. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 9 (13).

SEASON STATS –

4 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 3 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 4 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.DominicScelziRacing.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41

X: http://www.x.com/DominicScelzi

SAILSBURY, NC (March 25, 2025) – NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch will race against his 9-year-old son Brexton for the first time ever at Millbridge Speedway on Wednesday, March 26 – and every lap of it will be live on DIRTVision.

The father-son duo will compete in the 600 Winged Micros division during the first Wednesday Series event of the season.

“I finally get to race against my dad!” Brexton wrote on X. “He’s not ready.”

Last year, Kyle Busch earned the track championship in the Wednesday Series Winged Micro division and Brexton won the track championship in the Restricted Micro division.

The younger Busch has already scored a major win in the Micro ranks this year, taking home a Tulsa Shootout Golden Driller after winning the Junior Sprints A-Main.

Racing against Brexton has been a dream of Kyle’s for a while, as he’s shared his hopes of one day racing against his son in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. But for now, he’ll get to do so at the 1/6-mile Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, NC.

The Wednesday Series opener features 600 Non-Winged Micros, 600 Winged Micros, Intermediates, Restricted Micros and Buggies. DIRTVision’s broadcast will go live at 6:15 p.m. (ET) when Hot Laps start. To watch the full broadcast, click here.

Along with Wednesday night’s event, you can watch every race from Millbridge Speedway live on DIRTVision – in addition to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Late Models, Super DIRTcar Series, American Sprint Car Series National Tour, Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota, 500 Sprint Car Tour and weekly racing from several tracks.

The tour returns to Lawton for the first time since 2021 before a third straight year at 81

LAWTON, OK (March 25, 2025) – The Texas trip is complete, and the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are set to head to America’s Heartland.

The Greatest Show on Dirt will call the Midwest home for a six-week stretch, and it all begins this weekend. First up is a return to Oklahoma’s Lawton Speedway on Friday, March 28. The tour last made a trip to the “Sooner State” oval four years ago. Then it’s an overnight drive up I-35 to Kansas as the World of Outlaws visit Wichita’s 81 Speedway for the third consecutive season.

Lawton was a part of the inaugural World of Outlaws campaign in 1978. The first Series event at the track south of Oklahoma City belonged to the “Ohio Traveler” Rick Ferkel. It was a staple of the early years until a long hiatus after 1985 before the World of Outlaws came back in 2020. The 1980 season was when 81 Speedway first appeared on the schedule, and it was Sammy Swindell claiming not only the debut, but the first five visits to the track.

BUY LAWTON TICKETS HERE
BUY 81 TICKETS HERE

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at the top stories to watch this weekend:

THE HOT HAND: The leading storyline of 2025 continues to be David Gravel’s unshakeable excellence with Big Game Motorsports.

Gravel has won five of the last eight races this year and set Simpson Quick Time, including a pair of new track records, in six of the last seven. Overall, the defending champion is yet to miss the top five in Tod Quiring’s No. 2 and owns an absurd average finish of 2.17 through a dozen races. He’s built an 82-point advantage in his quest for back-to-back titles.

This weekend, Gravel heads to a pair of tracks where he’s yet to visit Victory Lane. His two previous visits to Lawton led to a pair of top fives with a best of third in 2020 aboard the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41. Over at 81 Speedway, Gravel hasn’t missed the podium with two third-place finishes in 2017 and 2023 before improving to runner-up last season.

LAWTON LASHING: There’s one man especially happy to see Lawton back on the schedule, and his name is Carson Macedo.

The most recent visit four years ago belonged to Macedo during his first year with Jason Johnson Racing. He drove from third to the lead in six laps and pulled away for a dominant victory, stretching his advantage above five seconds when the checkered flag flew. That win makes him the lone full-time World of Outlaws competitor this season that’s won at Lawton.

Macedo rolls into Lawton looking to erase some of the gap that sits between himself and Gravel atop the standings. The No. 41 boasts a 5.08 average finish so far this year, which recent history says is roughly enough to win a championship, but the No. 2 has simply been a tick faster.

ONE WICHITA WINNER: Like Lawton, there’s only one former 81 Speedway winner among the 2025 roster of full-time World of Outlaws, and to no surprise it’s the 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz.

The Fargo, ND driver topped two straight visits separated by 11 years to the Kansas oval. First, it was his family’s No. 15 machine in 2006 on the route to his first championship, and then in 2017 he took the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing ride to an 81 Speedway victory en route to his ninth title. His two triumphs have him alongside Sammy Swindell (six wins) and Rico Abreu (two wins) as one of three multi-time winners at 81. Schatz has also been on the podium there twice more with third-place efforts in 2004 and last year.

Schatz heads to Lawton and 81 on the heels of an up and down weekend in Texas. He picked up his first top five of 2025 on Friday at Cotton Bowl Speedway before axle issues dealt him a DNF on Saturday.

SETTLING IN: Volusia served up some struggles to start the year for several potent teams, but a pair have righted the ship over the last several weeks and are starting to resemble the contenders we’re accustomed to.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Roth Motorsports clicked during the latter half of 2024 and went on a memorable run to close out the season, but the momentum didn’t quite carry into the start of 2025. The Penngrove, CA native has turned things around quickly with three consecutive top two finishes including his first win of the year at Kennedale. He’ll make his Lawton debut on Friday before getting his third look at 81 the next night. Kofoid came home fifth at 81 lasts year.

The first seven races of 2025 brought just one top five for Sheldon Haudenschild, but in the five races since he’s missed the top five only once with a 4.4 average finish over the stretch. The NOS Energy Drink driver appears poised to break through for his first victory of the season in the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17. His best outing at both Lawton and 81 is fourth.

WAYNE’S WORLD: TwoC Racing’s Cole Macedo may be debuting on both tracks on this weekend’s agenda, but he’ll have plenty of experience guiding him on the wrenches.

Former driver of the No. 2C turned crew chief, Wayne Johnson, has many laps at Lawton and 81 Speedway. The Oklahoma City, OK native spent much of his career behind the wheel in and around the Midwest. Johnson owns a handful of Lawton wins including a trio with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS). He’s also won at 81, beating the National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) Sprint Cars in 2001 and 2019.

After a rough start at DIRTcar Nationals, Macedo continues to claw his way toward the top of the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year fight with Johnson calling the shots. The Lemoore, CA native is fresh off a strong Cotton Bowl trip with finishes of ninth and seventh, making it top 10s in half of his last eight races. Macedo is currently fourth in the rookie battle, 46 markers behind leader Garet Williamson.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE 
Friday, March 28 at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK
Saturday, March 29 at 81 Speedway in Wichita, KS

ON THE INTERNET
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
X – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (12/89 Races):
1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (1702 PTS)
2. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-82 PTS)
2. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-84 PTS)
4. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-114 PTS)
5. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 (-164 PTS)
6. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 (-200 PTS)
7. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing No. 18 (-208 PTS)
8. Bill Balog – B2 Motorsports No. 17B (-236 PTS)
9. Garet Williamson – Fischer Motorsports No. 23 (-282 PTS)
10. Chris Windom – Sides Motorsports No. 7S (-286 PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (7 Drivers): 
5 Wins – David Gravel
2 Wins – Kyle Larson
1 Win – Carson Macedo, Christopher Bell, Bill Balog, Giovanni Scelzi, Michael Kofoid

FEATURE LAPS LED (10 Drivers):
126 Laps – David Gravel
51 Laps – Kyle Larson
39 Laps – Giovanni Scelzi
30 Laps – Michael Kofoid
25 Laps – Carson Macedo
19 Laps – Bill Balog
17 Laps – Emerson Axsom
16 Laps – Cole Macedo
9 Laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
8 Laps – Christopher Bell

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (6 Drivers):
7 Quick Times – David Gravel
1 Quick Time – Emerson Axsom, Kyle Larson, Danny Sams III, Logan Schuchart, Anthony Macri

HEAT RACE WINNERS (19 Drivers): 
8 Heat Wins – David Gravel
6 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo
4 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild 
3 Heat Wins – Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Bill Balog
2 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, Brian Brown, Jacob Allen
1 Heat Win – Emerson Axsom, Hunter Schuerenberg, Austin McCarl, Anthony Macri, Garet Williamson, Bryce Lucius, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Conner Morrell, Michael Kofoid, Donny Schatz

TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (30 Drivers):
11 Dashes – David Gravel
10 Dashes – Logan Schuchart
8 Dashes – Carson Macedo
5 Dashes – Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild, Michael Kofoid
4 Dashes – Brian Brown, Emerson Axsom, Giovanni Scelzi
3 Dashes – Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Garet Williamson
2 Dashes – Danny Sams III, Jacob Allen, Cole Macedo, Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
1 Dash – Justin Peck, Brad Sweet, Ryan Timms, Tyler Courtney, Parker Price-Miller, Aaron Reutzel, Hunter Schuerenberg, Spencer Bayston, Austin McCarl, Conner Morrell, Bryce Lucius, Christopher Thram, Donny Schatz

MICRO-LITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (9 Drivers):
2 LCS Wins – Giovanni Scelzi, Donny Schatz, Christopher Thram
1 LCS Win – Ryan Timms, Garet Williamson, Chris Martin, Anthony Macri, Bryce Lucius, Conner Morrell

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (9 Drivers):
2 Hard Chargers – Ryan Timms, Chris Windom, Skylar Gee
1 Hard Charger – Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart, Cole Macedo, Zach Hampton, Bill Balog, Garet Williamson

PODIUM FINISHES (12 Drivers):
10 Podiums – David Gravel
4 Podiums – Kyle Larson, Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo
3 Podiums – Giovanni Scelzi, Michael Kofoid
2 Podiums – Christopher Bell, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
1 Podium – Aaron Reutzel, Jacob Allen, Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild

TOP 10 FINISHES (30 Drivers): 
12 Top 10s – David Gravel
11 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart
9 Top 10s – Michael Kofoid
7 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild
6 Top 10s – Giovanni Scelzi
5 Top 10s – Bill Balog
4 Top 10s – Kyle Larson, Cole Macedo, Chris Windom, Hunter Schuerenberg
3 Top 10s – Ryan Timms, Brad Sweet, Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Anthony Macri, Emerson Axsom
2 Top 10s – Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel, Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston, Garet Williamson, Sam Hafertepe Jr.
1 Top 10 – Danny Sams III, Brian Brown, Parker Price-Miller, Skylar Gee, Zach Hampton, Conner Morrell

2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Wed, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)
2. Thurs, Feb 8 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Christopher Bell (1)
3. Fri, Feb 9 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (1)
4. Sat, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (2)
5. Sun, March 2 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
6. Mon, March 3 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2)
7. Fri, March 7 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Bill Balog (1)
8. Sat, March 8 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / David Gravel (3)
9. Fri, March 14 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Giovanni Scelzi (1)
10. Sat, March 15 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Michael Kofoid (1)
11. Fri, March 21 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (4)
12. Sat, March 21 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (5)

For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

(Pictured: Briar Bauman #3, Dallas Daniels #32, Brandon Robinson #44; Photo Credit: American Flat Track/Tim Lester)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 25, 2025) – The 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, resumes this Saturday, March 29, with the third annual Yamaha Senoia Short Track at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia.
 
Third Time’s a Charm?

The two prior stops at Senoia Raceway served as microcosmic previews of the Grand National Championship battles to come.

On both of those occasions – just as he will again this year – Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) came into Yamaha’s home round riding high after a spectacular Daytona double opener.

In 2023, Daniels fought back and forth with reigning Mission AFT SupertTwins king Jared Mees throughout only to be edged at the stripe. And in the 2024 rematch, Daniels claimed the early advantage only to see Mees take control and pull free by the end.

While those battles also served as neat little summaries of their respective ‘23 and ‘24 title clashes, it remains to be seen if the Yamaha Senoia Short Track will retain its predictive powers in Mees’ absence.

Daniels no doubt hopes it does, only this time in overwhelming favor.

Title sponsor Yamaha is still seeking its first victory in either class at Senoia. However, that’s not to suggest the manufacturer hasn’t been able to protect its home turf altogether since Yamaha Motor Corporation relocated its USA headquarters from California to the greater Atlanta area in late 2018.

While shut out from the podium in the 2019 Yamaha Atlanta Short Track at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Georgia, Yamaha fared considerably better in the 2020 doubleheader return, where Daniels doubled up in AFT Singles presented by KICKER competition and  claimed top honors in the second AFT Production Twins Main.

That was only a taste of what was to come in 2021; Yamaha cleaned up at the Yamaha Atlanta Super TT in a manner rarely seen at a single round. Armed with two of the modern era’s greatest TT riders, Yamaha won all three Main Events courtesy of maestros JD Beach (Mission AFT SuperTwins) and Daniels (AFT Singles and AFT Production Twins).

If that wasn’t enough, Mikey Rush made it an Estenson Racing Yamaha 1-2 in 450cc action while then Yamaha-mounted Dan Bromley joined Daniels on the AFT Production Twins podium.

Yamaha comes into this weekend’s Senoia Short Track with similar potential, boasting last year’s race and championship runners-up in both classes with parallel goals of claiming vacated thrones.

So now it’s up to Daniels and teammate Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) to properly set the tone for the season in the friendly confines of Senoia Raceway.

Read the full story HERE.

Mar 18, 2025 | Featured, Pre-Race Releases, Special Announcements

Randy Meyer Racing is thrilled to welcome rising star McKenna Bold to the team for the 2025 NHRA season. Bold will make her highly anticipated Top Alcohol Dragster debut stepping onto the national stage at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California, on March 27-30.

“Driving for Randy Meyer Racing has been my dream since I was 17,” said Bold. “I wanted to move up earlier, but with Megan Meyer’s guidance, I focused on getting as much seat time in Top Dragster as possible first. Now, I’m ready to take the next step, and there’s no better team than one that has won four of the last six world championships. I want to win in this sport, and joining Randy’s team is the first step in making that happen.”

Randy Meyer, owner of Randy Meyer Racing, is excited to see what Bold brings to the team. “McKenna has proven herself as a talented and disciplined driver, and we are happy to have her join our program,” Meyer said. “Her experience and passion for the sport make her a great fit for our team, and we’re looking forward to seeing her develop in the Top Alcohol Dragster ranks.”

Randy Meyer Racing enters the 2025 season following a dominant 2024 campaign, securing 10 wins and continuing its legacy as one of NHRA’s most elite Top Alcohol Dragster teams. With the addition of McKenna Bold and fellow new driver Matt Cummings, the team is poised for another standout year.

Bold’s love for racing was practically built into her DNA. Her father began racing in the ‘80s, and she grew up immersed in the sport, making her competitive debut at just eight years old in Jr. Dragster. Over the years, she built an impressive resume, qualifying for the Memphis World Finals, winning her division, earning a points championship, and collecting multiple event wins.

When she aged out of the Junior Dragster ranks, her family purchased a Mullis Top Dragster, and she competed full-time in 2018, winning two Wallys, two big-dollar races, earning Rookie of the Year, and finishing third in the Cash is King points standings. Since 2019, she has shared the dragster with her father, continuing to race part-time while pursuing her education. Over the years, she added another seven wins to her resume and finished second overall in the 2024 Heavy Metal Mayhem Bracket Racing Series.

“My number one goal is to bring home Wallys and help RMR add another championship to their collection,” Bold said. “On a personal level, I want to sharpen my reaction times and make sure I never let my team down. They’re giving me a car capable of winning, and I want to make sure I do my part behind the wheel.”

Fans won’t want to miss McKenna Bold’s highly anticipated Top Alcohol Dragster debut at Pomona’s legendary Winternationals on March 27-30. Watch it all unfold live on NHRA.tv, with broadcast airing on FS2 and FS1, and follow Randy Meyer Racing on Facebook for behind-the-scenes updates.

Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce, and Tyler Erb reminisce about importance of first wins with the Summer Nationals 

CONCORD, NC — March 24, 2025 — Drivers never forget their first win. Especially their first with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. 

It’s a different euphoria. It may mark a driver’s first Super Late Model victory. It may mark the start of their national recognition. Or it could even mark a resurgence in their career. 

In Part I of this series, multiple Summer Nationals champions talked about their path to the Hell Tour. In Part II, they talked about what it takes to be successful on the tour. Here, Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce and Tyler Erb highlight the importance of winning with the Summer Nationals. 

Series of Firsts 

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals has seen its past champions go through extreme efforts to win, then use that experience to improve at certain events and racetracks. 

Brian Shirley recalls a moment in 2012 when he was involved in an accident at LaSalle Speedway. He worked all night on fixing his race car and won the next day at Macon Speedway, en route to his first Hell Tour championship. 

“You learn about yourself and life on the tour,” Shirley said. “You learn whether you cannot give up. A lot of people start (Summer Nationals), and it all depends on what obligations and day-to-day things that make them choose to stay on it or not. For us, there’s a certain part of time where you gotta dig deep and find yourself to understand that you gotta make it through the night or move onto the next day. 

“One of the early years where we won the championship, we had worked, shit, all night on a racecar, and there’s a lot of willpower and a lot of things that just don’t come easy. Like being able to fix a race car through the night, drive to the next racetrack, and when you’re able to win, there’s so much gratification from not giving up.” 

Brandon Sheppard claims his 2013 championship run was the toughest challenge of his life at 20 years old and is grateful for the chance to find himself while racing for a title against future Illinois rival Bobby Pierce. 

Sheppard moved up to the national Late Model ranks and never looked back by becoming an all-time winningest driver with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series, earning the most Feature wins (86) and championships (2017, 2019-2021, 2024). 

“That was probably the toughest thing I ever did in my life,” Sheppard said about running the Hell Tour. “We had a tough battle with Bobby (Pierce) that year, and a lot of good drivers beating us and running up and down the road together. That was a lot of fun, but that was a grind, and it came down to the last night. I remember we broke the gear in the last night’s Feature and won by a few points, so I was stressed out the whole time.  

“Wild times, 20-years-old, I found out my girlfriend at the time was pregnant with my first son. It turned out to be a whole lot of good opportunities, and I give Summer Nationals a lot of credit for some of that because I met most of the people I consider friends today, and that’s where I got recognized in my career. I hope to get to a few of them again this year, and maybe before I retire, run it again a time or two.” 

Though he finished second to Sheppard in points, Pierce had a career-defining 2013 when he won his first four Hell Tour Features at Lincoln Speedway, Jacksonville Speedway, Kankakee County Speedway and 34 Raceway.  

Pierce said the wins and time on the track helped him improve at facilities like Eldora Speedway and stand out as core memories for the five-time champion. 

“My first win at Lincoln, that was $10K to win, and I did it on the bottom,” Pierce said. “I just hugged it down low, super slow, drag racing off the bottom. That was when I was 16, and I won at (LaSalle) a few days later, then I won at (Kankakee). That was kind of a moment where I was noticed more, like a national scene. That was a turning point in my career with how it gave me some confidence to go and win other races and compete.  

“In 2013, I didn’t make the (Dirt Late Model) Dream Feature, then we came back in September and sat on the pole for the World 100, led some laps, and ended up finishing fourth. I feel like the Summer Nationals make you better when you’re racing all the time like that. Everyone gets in the routine more and it’s a muscle memory thing too. When you’re racing every night, it’s like riding a bike.” 

Tyler Erb wanted to start the first week of the 2024 Summer Nationals on a high note if he was committed to racing the full slate. “Terbo” won the first four Feature races of the season, clinched the Week 1 championship, and knew where his calling was. 

“I think we just work better under stress,” Erb said. “Where we thrive, I think more when we don’t have to sit there and think about it. You just gotta keep racing and I knew we needed to be good off the start if we were even gonna attempt it, and we won every race of the first week. That lit a fire and gave everyone some belief that we can definitely do it and conquer it. 

“I think it made me realize that was the conditions I thrive in, and our team does really well in it, so I’m glad I finally did it. I’ve always loved the Hell Tour and wanted to run it, so to be able to do it just verified my mind like ‘Yeah, I might have been right the whole time. This is what I should be doing.’” 

You can see these former champions participate in various DIRTcar Summer Nationals races in 2025. To view the full schedule and purchase tickets, CLICK HERE. 

The 2025 schedule has drivers set for a challenging 31 races in 34 days. 

Read More: 2025 SCHEDULE: 40th Summer Nationals Tour Holds 30 Races in 33 Days 

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or by downloading the DIRTVision App. 

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 24, 2025) – With Chris Dyson sidelined while recovering from injuries, Matt Brabham took the wheel of Dyson’s #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang and drove it into the GYM WEED Winner’s Circle on Saturday at Road Atlanta’s second round of the 2025 Trans Am by Pirelli.  “I’m so proud of these Dyson guys,” Brabham said after climbing from the car. “I’m hoping for a quick recovery for Chris. I know he would have loved to be out there, rather than behind the pit wall. But these cars are so much fun, I’m glad to step in whenever Chris needs me.” “We had a really tough weekend at Sebring,” Dyson said. “In the weeks since, I was in regular therapy, actively working on healing, but I wasn’t making enough progress. I am lifetime athlete and I know what this takes; I wasn’t where I needed to be.  So I called Matty to get in the car.  Just because I couldn’t drive here doesn’t mean we don’t have a rocket ship of a car. I knew we were going to have a winning machine.  And I think that Matty went out and proved that.” Brabham qualified second for the 100-mile sprint race, and then at the green flag briefly dropped to third place behind Adam Andretti. After dispatching Andretti, Brabham began running down early race leader Brent Crews, who was banging curbs and dropping wheels off on corner exits to maintain his lead over Brabham. Crews’ car wouldn’t survive. Brabham later recalled that while pursuing Crews he was “saying to myself (of the speedy TA-class rookie) ‘you gotta save yourself man, you gotta save yourself. I want to have a race with you at the end. Then he dropped a wheel off and there was dust everywhere. Two laps later he was broken down.” Brabham handily dominated the remaining 25 laps of the race, despite a pair of caution periods, including one for the final two laps of race. The win was Brabham’s sixth in a dozen starts for CD Racing over the past five seasons. “Matty’s got one of the great winning percentages in this series,” Dyson noted. “He always comes through when our team needs him.”  Asked about the upcoming schedule, Dyson remained cautiously optimistic about a return to action.  ” My hope now is I’ll be able to make enough progress in the next couple weeks to get fit in and in the car again in time for the West Coast races at the end of April and beginning of May. I’m taking this one day at a time.  The team made me very proud today.  What a rebound for us after Sebring.”

RACE RECAP – PhoenixRace 2 of 20

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

PROCK FALLS IN FINAL ROUND AT PHOENIXBeckman, Brittany Ousted in Semifinals at Arizona Nationals

PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 23, 2025) – Reigning Funny Car World Champion Austin Prock’s bid to repeat as Arizona Nationals Champion went up in a cloud of tire smoke Sunday at Firebird Motorsports Park and with it his first opportunity to secure Funny Car win No. 300 for John Force Racing. Trying to put the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS in the winners’ circle for the fourth straight year at Firebird (Robert Hight won in 2022 and 2023), Prock lost to journeyman Paul Lee, who had his own problems but got to the stripe first in 4.030 seconds at 313.22 miles per hour.   Prock, who reached the trophy round by narrowly defeating teammate Jack Beckman and the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy in the semifinals, trailed in 4.507 seconds at only 240.68 mph, well off the 341.68 mph national record-setting speed to which he accelerated to last November at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip, the venue to which the Mission Foods tour returns this week for the 65th annual Lucas Oil Winternationals.  Leaving Firebird without a trophy after putting all three cars in the semifinals was a bitter pill for even team owner John Force to swallow although the sport’s biggest winner remained typically upbeat. “Well, I think it was a tricky racetrack,” Force said of the new surface at Firebird. “But I think Jimmy Prock and his boy adapted really good. Beckman, with PEAK, he did, too, and so did Brittany (the second youngest of his racing daughters). At the end of the day, we had a good outing. We have a couple new sponsors with Powers Affordable Housing and my buddy John Powers and Graham Rahal Performance to work with PEAK, Cornwell Tools, Monster Energy, Hendrickcars.com and Chevrolet.” The silver lining on a no-win weekend is that all three JFR drivers made significant moves in the point standings. Beckman charging all the way up to No. 2 in Funny Car and Brittany to No. 5 in Top Fuel at the wheel of a resurgent Monster Energy dragster. Prock will start the Winternationals No. 6 in the driver standings, a 10-position improvement from the spot he occupied after qualifying only 15th and bowing out in the first round of the season-opening Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. “Good weekend,” Prock said. “We rounded up some points in qualifying and ended up qualifying second and made a final round appearance. Proud of the team. We battled a lot of different issues, different problems, and these guys persevered through all of that.  “Made some nice runs today,” said the 29-year-old who last year broke Force’s single season record when he qualified No. 1 15 times in 20 races. “We’re heading in the right direction. We have a lot of work to do heading into Pomona, but I know this thing is on the right track and we’ll get one of those Wally’s here shortly.” Beckman, whose PEAK Chevy was the most consistent car all weekend long and the quickest on race day (3.910 seconds in the first round), remained optimistic despite the narrow loss to Prock. “Data acquisition wins championships,” said the 2012 Funny Car World Champion. “Race wins give you data acquisition. We didn’t get the race win (but) we got a lot of runs. We were the quickest car down the racetrack multiple sessions this weekend. If we had a rerun on (the semifinal), we would have fed it a little more power. Just a little stouter on the tune up (but) these kinds of lessons are going to serve us well for later in the year.” Brittany’s day ended on particularly frustrating note when she had to shut down the 12,000-horsepower engine in her Monster Energy Dragster because of an oil leak detected by her crew on the burnout prior to her semifinal match with eventual race winner Shawn Langdon. “After a solid weekend it’s very frustrating to get eliminated the way our team did,” said the two-time World Champion. “First round we got past (Steve) Chrisman running a 3.705 at 331 mph and in round two, we put a 3.779 on the board for the win light (against Tony Stewart). “Unfortunately, we had an oil leak in the semis and had to shut our car off before pulling into the beams,” said the 17-time pro tour winner. “We are still diagnosing the leak, but we will have an answer before we head into Pomona. We’re staying focused on all the positives that came out of this weekend and plan to carry that into the Winternationals next weekend.”

CHEVROLET IN NHRA 2025 NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY CHANDLER, ARIZONA TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP | NOTES & QUOTES MARCH 23, 2025 Greg Anderson Captured His 107th Career Pro Stock Win at Chevrolet’s 403rd In The Category Since 1970 Notes:Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS Funny Car, raced to his 21st career final round in Funny Car, facing defeat on his 4.507-seconds E.T., 240.68 mph run to Paul Lee. Prock’s runner-up finish is his ninth in the category.John Force Racing Funny Car teammates Prock and Jack Beckman, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet, faced off in the semifinals with Prock the victory in a tight drag race to the line. Prock ran a quick 3.966 seconds E.T. at 321.19 mph to Beckman’s 3.979 seconds E.T. at 321.24 mph.Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, raced to the Arizona Nationals semifinals, fell to Doug Kalitta after forcing an early end to her day by shutting her off on the line with mechanical issues.Qualifying Saturday evening for the John Force Racing team saw both Force (Top Fuel) and Prock (Funny Car) both qualify No. 2 in their respective categories, with Beckman (Funny Car) qualifying No. 3.Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet SS Pro Stock machine, captured Chevrolet’s 403rd win in the category in what was a memorable final race versus his KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn. Glenn, double stepping with a red light on the start, with Anderson taking the win after his car faced issues on the start simultaneously. Anderson’s win is his 107th career victory in Pro Stock.Matt Hartford, driving for KB Titan Racing, raced to the Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier in his Total Seal Piston Rings Chevy SS Pro Stock with his run of 6.509 seconds E.T. at 208.20 mph.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:On racing his teammate Jack Beckman in the semifinals…“These John Force Racing hot rods are bad to the bone right now. These are the two best cars in the category and that was one hell of a show for the race fans. Excited to go to the final round. Today, we’re racing in memory of Bernie Fedderly this weekend and today’s the anniversary of Eric Medlen’s passing. There’s a lot on the line today, and that 300th is definitely up there.” JACK BECKMAN, DRIVER OF THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“We just got beat by the better driver and the better team on that run. Not going to hold our heads down; that PEAK Chevy was fantastic. Like Austin (Prock) said, this one’s for Bernie Fedderly and Austin’s got a shot of getting win No. 300 for John Force Funny Car drivers and I will be standing on the starting line. If NHRA would let me push on his Funny Car, I would.” JOHN “JC” COLLINS, CO-CREW CHIEF FOR BRITTANY FORCE AT JOHN FORCE RACING:On shutting off early on the start line…“Just looked like something failed in the valve cover on the burnout. It was leaking a little bit of oil, and we didn’t want to take a chance running the car.” GREG ANDERSON, DRIVER OF THE HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET SS PRO STOCK FOR KB TITAN RACING:“You know they say there’s no such thing as an ugly win. That was an ugly win. But you know what? A win is a win is a win. I’ve never won that way in my life, but you know what? I’ll take it. Dallas (Glenn) is one hell of a tough competitor. We’ve got one hell of a race team in the KB Titan Racing team. The way they all jumped in on my car in the second round when it wouldn’t start. We basically had a throttle hung almost wide open and they got ‘er done. We got her staged and got her done. Very proud of the guys. It’s a big day for Hendrick Cars. Kyle Larson won today, so I felt like if I didn’t get the job done, I’d drop the ball, but I didn’t drop the ball, so Mr. (Hendrick) is having a big night tonight.” Can you clarify if the car died, or did you cut it off (on the final run)?“The car actually died. It made it one foot and shut right off. I was dead in the water. Absolutely my lucky day without a doubt. Thanking my lucky stars.”

UP NEXT:The third round of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season takes place March 28-30 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. The Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals air live on Sunday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage airs throughout the weekend with NHRA on FOX and NHRA.tv, streaming available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

Toyota makes 45th consecutive final round

CHANDLER, Ariz. (March 23, 2025) – After finishing runner up at Gainesville Raceway two weeks ago, Shawn Langdon bounced back to capture his first win of the 2025 NHRA season and a repeat at Firebird Motorsports Park. Langdon had to defeat his teammate, Doug Kalitta, to capture the Top Fuel Wally Trophy on Sunday. The victory by Langdon is the 20th of his career, as well as the second straight Top Fuel triumph for Toyota to begin 2025 after Antron Brown’s win in Gainesville.

Toyota has now also reached 45 consecutive NHRA event final rounds in either Top Fuel and/or Funny Car with the finals appearances by Langdon and Kalitta.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd went the farthest of the GR Supra Funny Car group, advancing to the second round but no further. Bobby Bode fell in the first round, as did Ron Capps after his car body exploded and blew off his chassis, followed by contact with the wall. Capps was awake and alert and climbed out of his NAPA Auto Care GR Supra Funny Car under his own power.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series is right back in action this weekend at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip next weekend.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

Firebird Motorsports Park

NHRA Arizona Nationals

Race 2 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Shawn Langdon	Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Winner	W (3.783) v. S. Palmer (3.918) W (3.841) v. J. Ashley (4.124) W (3.833) v. B. Force (No Time) W (3.724) v. D. Kalitta (3.770)
Doug Kalitta	Sealmaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Finalist	W (3.762) v. T. Shumake (3.829) W (3.821) v. Bye W (3.767) v. J. Salinas (3.809) L (3.770) v. S. Langdon (3.724)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.770) v. J. Hart (3.810) L (3.870) v. J. Salinas (3.821)
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.805) v. I. Zetterstrom (3.818) L (4.124) v. S. Langdon (3.841)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W (7.556) v. D. Wilkerson (Red Light) L (5.294) v. B. Tasca III (3.979)
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (4.003) v. B. Alexander (4.165)
Bobby Bode	DC Motorsports Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (4.768) v. M. Hagan (3.987)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

SHAWN LANGDON, Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Final Result: Winner

Why were you the Kalitta Motorsports Dragster that won today?

“Brian (Husen, crew chief) and the team. I’ve been saying all along, Brian has turned this team into a bunch of superstars. All the credit to him. All the guys have done such a fantastic job. No mistakes, gave me such a great race car today. Knew going into the final, you’re running A.J. (Alan Johnson, crew chief, Doug Kalitta) and Doug (Kalitta). What are you going to do? You have to throw down and Brian said ‘we have to get this thing to go a low 3.70,’ and that’s what we did. We called our shot a little bit. Proud of the guys, everybody at Kalitta Air Careers. Toyota. It’s a win-win for Connie Kalitta (team owner). Most importantly, we put a smile on his face.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Final Result: First Round

Take us through what happened there in that incident.

“We saw (Austin) Prock in front of us go 3.93 and Guido (Dean Antonelli, Capps’ crew chief) set us up to go 3.92, 3.93 and, (I) hit the gas, didn’t see Blake (Alexander), was running great like yesterday in the final round (of qualifying) and just happened so fast. To me in the car, it just smoked the tires a little bit and then, kaboom. Was much like Seattle last year in the sense that when the fire first happened, it was a convertible but there was a lot of fire in my face, and I was just trying to settle it down. Kind of bouncing around and then it wanted to go left. I was seeing John Force’s accident. We were the car behind him last year, we had a great view of it unfortunately, but it was weird, I didn’t have much steering, (it) was a hard left. I knew I was still traveling fast, so in my head, I knew it was not going to be good and I’m just picturing Force’s accident as I’m heading to the wall and just braced. I didn’t expect to be awake after hitting the wall and just braced the best you can. I hit the wall and then, I was still awake and there was still some fire, but I was like, ‘wow!’ Knew it hit, but got on the brakes and the shoots were already out. First off, NHRA safety did its job. Just watched the replay and the shoots were out like they should be. They said it pushed the wall back and they needed to repair it before the next cars went, and that’s a tribute to PBRC chassis, first off, but Guido (pause), one of the reasons I love Guido is he is over the top, not just with the car, but is safety-conscious with the car. So in this sense, we just had me fitted for a new seat and they put new head pads in. I wanted to get out of the car and thank John Force because unfortunately, Eric Medlen started this when we lost Eric, but John’s life was spared with (the safety improvements since) Eric’s accident. And then you fast forward, John’s life was probably spared a second time because of a previous accident and I for sure walked away from mine because of Force’s. Thankfully, we and NHRA have learned from the bad stuff that has happened. I’m interested to find out the G-Forces and speed I hit at, but thankfully, everyone’s been on top of safety. We’ll figure it out. Last year, we broke the brand-new car when it crashed and we went to the backup which almost won the race and a previous championship but now, we have a backup car that’s just as good as the first. Thankful we have such great partners with NAPA and Toyota and the guys will be ready for Pomona.”

CHANDLER, ARIZ. (March 23, 2025) — After three days on the track at Firebird Motorsports Park the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team and owner/driver Josh Hart feels like they are moving in the right direction. After four qualifying runs and the first round of the 40th NHRA Arizona Nationals today, Hart has seen flashes of success that should provide direction for the championship contending team. With two national events in the books and the historic NHRA Winternationals on the horizon, Hart is looking to turn on win lights soon. “We tested three different combinations at this event and we found one that we like for the long season ahead,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel national event winner. “The R+L Carriers team is prepared for the endurance NHRA challenge of 2025 and we feel that we will be a real contender by Vegas.” Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team making progress exiting the NHRA Arizona Nationals, photo credit Krista Zivcic PhotographyHart and the R+L Carriers team made two consistent runs on the first day of qualifying running 3.817 seconds and 3.819 seconds at well over 320 mph. On Saturday when the conditions headed up the crew made some adjustments in preparations for race day and a first round match up with reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown. Hart entered race day as the No. 10 qualifier with Brown sliding in at the No. 4 qualifier with a 3.710 second qualifying effort. Hart and Brown were the sixth pair of Top Fuel dragsters to hit the track in a first round that featured some tire smoke and smooth passes. Hart was first off the line with a .061 second reaction time but by halftrack Brown was side by side with Hart as the finish line closed in. Hart and the R+L Carriers made their quickest run of the event, a 3.810 second pass at 322.27 mph but it wasn’t enough for the win light against Brown’s 3.770 second pass, which was the second quickest run of the first round. Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be back on track for the NHRA Winternationals, March 27-30, at In-N-Out Drag Strip at Pomona in Pomona, California. For more information on that race visit www.nhra.com. Qualifying Results Q1: 3.817 sec, 323.58 mph; Qual. 10 Q2: 3.819 sec, 323.58 mph; Qual. 10 Q3: 8.763 sec, 72.97 mph; Qual. 10 Q4: 7.719 sec; 89.59 mph; Qual. 11 Bonus Points: 0 Race Results First Round Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco Tools dragster, (.072) 3.770, 329.34 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, (.061) 3.810, 322.27 mph Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Point Standings – Top Fuel 1. Shawn Langdon    219 2. Antron Brown    179 3. Doug Kalitta        161 4. Jasmine Salinas    145 5. Brittany Force    118 6. Tony Stewart    107 7. Clay Millican    89 8. Justin Ashley    85 9. Steve Torrence    75 10. Shawn Reed    66 11. Josh Hart        64 12. Ida Zetterstrom    58 13. Dan Mercier    51 14. Tripp Tatum    39 15. Scott Palmer    32 15. Doug Foley    32

CHANDLER, ARIZ. (March 23, 2025) — It’s impossible for every weekend to be a record setting race, and that is most definitely true of this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park. Buddy Hull, the Funny Car driver for Jim Dunn Racing, battled it out against the heat, just like all his fellow Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competitors. After facing less than ideal conditions all weekend, Hull is eagerly looking a week ahead to the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, March 27-30. 

“No one had their best day at this race,” said Hull, a Dallas-based driver. “Everyone struggled a bit, including us. It’s good to keep that in mind, because otherwise it’s very easy to be hard on yourself when you’re dialed into competing at such a high level.”

Buddy Hull and the USD Funny Car made the most of a tough and hot Arizona Nationals,
photo credit Krista Zivcic Photography

After battling through his first three qualifying runs, Hull made his best pass of the weekend during the fourth round of qualifying, with a 4.247 second, 242.23 MPH run, earning him the No. 15 spot going into race day. He was paired against reigning World Champion and No. 2 qualifier, Austin Prock. After staging his car, when Hull hit the gas the clip disconnect came loose on the cable and detached from the throttle, causing him to idle down the racetrack against Prock’s 3.936 second, 324.75 MPH pass. 

“I hit the pedal, the blades opened and then they went dead flat when the cable disconnected. They shut right away,” said Hull. “We were dead in the water. I was driving down the track and I saw the throttle cable out there blowing in the wind. The car probably went four to six inches, give or take, and to travel 1000 feet under no power, just idling, still going 60 MPH is incredible. It goes to show you how much power these cars are making.”

Despite the unfortunate circumstance of that clip disconnecting, Hull is very optimistic going into the Winternationals next weekend. He firmly believes the nitro Funny Car is continuing to move in the exact right direction. He also knows that with 18 races left this season, he has plenty of time to regain his Top 10 points position. 

“We have a new fuel system, and the car showed a ton of life in Gainesville,” said Hull. “With our tune up being brand new and the challenging conditions here, we couldn’t really ask much more of the car. We have five days off, then we’re right back at it. The team is ready to go. We didn’t hurt a single part all weekend long, so (team owner and crew chief) Jim (Dunn) is fired up. And the projected conditions in Pomona are completely different. We have something special planned for Jim next and we have a special sponsor for the weekend. And we’re super excited to run our first three-second run.”

Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be back in competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals on March 27-30 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, March 28 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, March 29. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Winternationals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 5.949 sec, 114.08 mph; Qual. 12
Q2: 5.477 sec, 133.28 mph; Qual. 17
Q3: 7.093 sec, 93.09 mph; Qual. 17
Q4: 4.247 sec, 242.23 mph; Qual. 15
Bonus Points: 0

Race Results
First Round 
Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS, (.075), 3.936, 324.75 mph def. Buddy Hull, Dallas, Tex., USD Dodge Charger, (.111), 14.943, 58.78 mph

Mission Foods Drag Racing Series – Funny Car Point Standings

1. Paul Lee        151
2. Jack Beckman    149
3. Bob Tasca III        143
4. Chad Green        139
5. Ron Capps        132
6. Austin Prock    127
7. Matt Hagan        124
8. Alexis DeJoria    107
9. Bobby Bode        87
10. Cruz Pedregon    87
11. J.R. Todd        86
12. Buddy Hull    83
13. Blake Alexander    82
14. Dan Wilkerson    68
15. Dave Richards    41

March 23, 2025 — THERMAL, CA

• Reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou scores second win in two races to open 2025 championship defense   
• Herta, Rosenqvist score top-five finishes at The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix 
• Palou extends his championship lead to 39 after just two rounds

 Alex Palou continued his impressive start to the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, scoring back-to-back victories to open his championship defense. 

The reigning and three-time IndyCar series champion started third at today’s Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix and made the pass for the lead with 10 laps to go. Palou would eventually cross the line with an impressive 10-second lead over P2. Today’s victory extends the Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s championship lead to 39 points after just two races. 

Colton Herta started alongside Palou in the fourth position on the grid aboard his #26 Andretti Global Honda, and would finish just off the podium in fourth place—and just ahead of Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist. 

Rosenqvist’s MSR teammate, Marcus Armstrong (P7), Herta’s Andretti Global teammate, Kyle Kirkwood (P8), and Palou’s Chip Ganassi teammate, Scott Dixon (P10) all scored top-10 finishes with Honda power today at Thermal. 

The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix Honda Race Results

1st Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Colton Herta	Andretti Global Honda
5th Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
7th Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
8th Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global Honda
10th Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
15th Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
17th Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing Honda
20th Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global Honda
24th Louis Foster-R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
25th Jacob Abel-R	Dale Coyne Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished first: “Number one! I’m very, very happy about this weekend. Since practice 1 we’ve had an amazing car. During the race, it was challenging. It was a crazy race. We needed to gamble a little bit with the tire choice at the beginning—we started on used alternate tires to try and have the new ones at the end and go as fast as possible at the end of the race. Everyone at the #10 car and HRC gave me everything I needed. We had plenty of Honda power and great pit stops, so I just had to execute and everything went well. I couldn’t be happier to start the season with a double win. Let’s go!”

Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) finished fifth: “It was a weird one! We really struggled on the black tires in the first stint and luckily we got off of them pretty quickly because of the struggle and we did the whole rest of the race on reds. We were the opposite [compared to the performance on the black tires] on the red tires, we were really good. I think we were one of the strongest cars, and we were able to capitalize on that and pick off a few cars at the end to get a top five. That’s a pretty good day from starting P9!”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “Great to go back-to-back for Honda to start the year. Amazing drive by Alex Palou in difficult conditions. I think this is really a testament to Alex, to the team at Chip Ganassi Racing, but also to everyone at Honda and HRC. We’re putting in a ton of effort to improve over last year and looking at every single little detail where we can get an advantage. I think St. Pete and today is really some of the culmination of that effort. We’re going to continue to push forward the rest of the season and hopefully take the Indianapolis 500 win and the Manufacturers’ Championship.” 

Next
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship returns to California for the home race of Honda and HRC, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on April 13th.

Josh Berry and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang Dark Horse battled back from an incident on pit road to finish 17th in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.Berry started Sunday’s 400 miler from the outside pole and raced in the top five and the top 10 throughout the first 80-lap Stage, finishing that segment of the race in eighth place and earning three Stage points. The pit stop during the Stage break saw Berry collide with other cars on pit road and wind up facing in the wrong direction. After repairs to the DEX Imaging Mustang Dark Horse he returned to the race in 33rd place, but was able to steadily move forward, breaking back into the top 20 at Lap 110.  The team’s strategy of running long almost paid off, but a spin on pit road by Daniel Suarez did not bring out the caution flag that the No. 21 team needed. Berry cycled into the lead at Lap 127 then made his green-flag pit stop.Back on the track in 28th place he worked his way to 15th by the time the second Stage ended at Lap 165. The DEX Imaging team was unable to significantly advance its position in the third and final segment of the race, and Berry took the checkered flag in 17th place.“Obviously, the incident on pit road kind of set us back, but our car was pretty decent,” Berry told reporters after the race. “It just wasn’t quite the same after that, but I thought we did a good job of making the most of it. It could have been a lot worse, but obviously we would have liked to have been a little bit better.”Berry’s finish allowed him to move up one spot in the driver points standings to 12th place heading into next week’s Cook Out 400 at the Wood Brothers’ home track, Martinsville Speedway.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

THE THERMAL CLUB INDYCAR GRAND PRIX

THE THERMAL CLUB

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA

TEAM CHEVY POST RACE RECAP

MARCH 23, 2025

Arrow McLaren Duo Continued Successful Weekend with Second and Third Place Finishes

·  Pole sitter Pato O’Ward driving his No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, led 51 of 65 laps in today’s The Thermal Club Grand Prix for the NTT INDYCAR Series

o  With an ambient high temperature of 94 degrees and track temperature in excess of 120 degrees, tire wear for both red and black tires was the determining factor for how the race played out in the final 10 laps of the race with the race winner saving a new set of reds for final stint

o  O’Ward sits second in the standings after two races, 39 points behind race winner and points leader Alex Palou

·       Arrow McLaren teammate Christian Lundgaard behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet, who started alongside O’Ward finished third to give the team and Chevrolet a double podium in the second race of the season

o  Lundgaard now sits fourth in the standings, 42 behind the leader

·       Chevrolet scored four of the top-nine

·       Two-time series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, was the biggest mover in today’s caution-free race driving through the field from 21^st starting position to finish sixth

o  Power gained 15 positions with performance behind the wheel and the fastest pit crew on pit lane

·       Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, posted a solid top-10 finish in only his second race with the team 

·       Next on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for Team Chevy is the Streets of Long Beach on April 11-13, 2025.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Finished 18^th:

 “It was a toTwo-ugh race. We knew it was going to be tough going into it, and it was almost a little bit of a curse, making it to Q2 and using up our reds because to everybody’s [surprise], I guess, we didn’t expect it, but the Reds [alternate tires] ended up being the better tire by quite a big margin. And we only had one new Red set when everybody else had two, and everybody kind of filtered out from there on. So made it to P8 on the new Reds, and from there, it was just survival, holding on. We came out with a P18 in the end. So really rough race. We knew it was going to be tough. Definitely a weekend to forget and move on to Long Beach.” 

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Finished 14^th:

 “It was honestly a really good race on our red tire runs. It was a bit of a bummer to lose the hybrid due to heat soak. But I don’t think we were the only one struggling with something like that. Just our prime tire run, we didn’t account for the balance being as badly shifted as it was, and we kind of missed the strategy just a little bit, but overall, it wasn’t a terrible day. Could have been worse.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 2^nd:

“We took a gamble and it didn’t work out for us. We had used our new reds in the start because we didn’t really quite know what the deg was going to be like, the deg profile. The blacks really kind of took a turn in the negative towards the end of the race and that was it. We didn’t really stand a fighting chance. But thanks for all of the fans hanging in there with us. Thanks to you guys for tuning in and hopefully it was somewhat of an entertainment. Long Beach is what’s coming up and hopefully we can have a repeat weekend, maybe even go one better. We have fought for the championship every single year, and that’s where I expect to be. The weekends like this is where every point does count. Every win does count for so much more and we just missed it by that, you definitely feel like you’ve left some points on the table where if we would’ve gone tomorrow, we maybe would’ve done something different. But, yeah, happy with the points day and we’re going to keep pushing. It’s a long, long, long season ahead and the ovals are a different beast as well. We need to be strong everywhere.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 19^th:

“That was extremely frustrating. I think we had good race pace, but we ended up on the wrong strategy. We did one more stop than everyone else and couldn’t make up that time again. I’m frustrated and disappointed, and I don’t think that’s what this group deserves. I feel like I’ve said that every weekend now and we need to do something to stop feeling that way. Hopefully, we have a better one in Long Beach.”

Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 3^rd:

“I think the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet has done a very good job. The entire team has done a very good job all weekend. We just didn’t have it there. We gave it a shot and came up short, but having two cars on the podium is as well of a day we could’ve wished for coming into Thermal. It’s tough seeing this guy beat us every single event. We’ve got to find a way to stop him. Gotta thank the fans too for sticking in there. It’s a long race, it’s tough.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 9^th:

“Ultimately a strong weekend for the ECR Java House team, but still a bit disappointed with P9. We looked like we were on for a Top 5 but some things didn’t quite go our way. Despite that, super proud of all the effort this weekend and we will continue pushing forward in Long Beach.”

Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 12^th:

“We finished P12 from starting P19. It was a good race for us even though we struggled this weekend finding the balance on the primary tire. The No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet crew did an amazing job getting the car in the window which allowed us move forward a bit. We’ll keep building on these results and there is more to come in the future.”

Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Finished 16^th: 

“At the start, we kind of just got boxed in and shoved off track there and we just kinda had to work forward from there on though. But honestly, we had a couple of good passes on track, a couple of good battles and worked our way forwards. We were really fast on reds and had good pits stops, which felt really good, but we just weren’t able to do anything crazy. I would say overall, happy with our pace on reds. We just keep stacking away points and keep getting better one race at a time.”

Sting Ray, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Finished 23^rd:

“Not a super exciting day for us. Being in the race was very fun. Lots of chaos, which welcome to INDYCAR racing. But really surprised the way the tires worked out. I think that having a it be red tire race kind of hurt us quite a bit. Not our cleanest day. Made up a spot on track, so write it up to a good experience. Thanks to the Goodheart Freedom Service Dogs car and all the crew that worked hard this weekend. We made some improvements and learned a lot.”

Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Chevrolet, Finished 22^nd:

“In the morning, the car felt pretty decent despite very few laps with it. Then, in the race, the first stint was mega. I came from the back towards the mid-pack and was battling with Scott Dixon. Honestly, at that stage, it felt really good and felt like we could challenge for the top 10. Then, again from that moment on, everything just started to fall apart. We came to pit, and we had a really slow pitstop. From then on, on Prime tires, I had zero grip. I don’t understand what was going on. And then at the end, to top it off, I had a hybrid issue. Overall, this is definitely a weekend to forget.”

Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Chevrolet, Finished 26^th:

“It was a shame about the contact on lap one. It was just a bit of a concertina, and way, way more damage than it should have been. It was quite costly. Unfortunately we had a bit of an issue in the pitstop with the with the fuel, which didn’t help. We had to do an extra pitstop to recoup that. But the positive was the pace and the car felt good. It’s a shame to have all those issues early on. We’ve got to work through these, there are some lessons for me and some lessons for the team, but the positive was that we had a top 10 pace-car and a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes and there’s been a lot of improvement.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, Finished 13^th: 

“Just a tough day for us on the No. 2 car. I had more potential, but I probably missed out on the tire game today, not utilizing the reds enough. That’s still a really strong effort from the team to try and make the most of it which I think we did with the 13th place. We can take those points and move forward. It’s a long season, so we had a tough weekend here, and we’ll try and get things turned around in Long Beach and get back towards the front.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, Finished 27^th:

“Not the day we wanted for the XPEL Chevy. Tough weekend all around, really, but I was very confident going into today that we would have good race pace. I’m confident that we could have moved up through the field like Will (Power) and Josef (Newgarden) were able to do. Unfortunately, the issue we had with our MGU (motor generator unit) caused it to go into critical mode and we had to sit on pit lane for several laps while draining the battery and resetting everything. Very thankful that we got a solid finish to start the year at St. Pete. We’ll just go about climbing back out of this points hole.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, Finished 6^th: 

“Yeah, that’s a big day considering it was full green. They didn’t get any lucky yellows or anything. That was pure pace there. The guys had a great strategy and we had great speed. I was really patient and methodical getting through the field. I think we’re all pretty disappointed with qualifying. I thought we certainly should’ve been in at least the top 10. That’s racing. That’s a good day. You look on those days and that’s the sort of thing that will help you win a championship there. We had an extra set of reds there. It helped, yes. Big time. It was kind of cool because at St. Pete, you didn’t have that luxury because the green was so soft, you couldn’t event use it in the race. But in this race, the (alternate) was the preferred tire. It was just, man, you had one lap to do it. Made a mistake starting the lap. The tire wasn’t quite in and I was disappointed with that because I’d been very fast in practice, running in the top six most of the time. But, you know, this is INDYCAR, anything can happen. Keep your head on and keep rolling.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Pato O’Ward

Christian Lundgaard

Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, as we wrap-up Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix here at beautiful Thermal Club.

Joined now by Pato O’Ward, who led a race-high 51 laps today, his first runner-up finish since Nashville last year. 27th career podium finish. And his teammate Christian Lundgaard, his fourth career podium.

Pato, we’ll begin with you. Your thoughts on a podium and a second-place finish, although I’m sure you are a little disappointed not being on the top step today.

PATO O’WARD: No, it’s all very good points day for the team today. Obviously we were the car that had everything to lose because we were starting on pole. I think we led like 50-something laps.

THE MODERATOR: 51.

PATO O’WARD: 51 laps. It kind of sucks to lose it there in the end.

Yeah, we need to keep pushing. We obviously weren’t perfect. There is obviously something that we could have done better in order to give it more of a proper fight to the 10 car.

Yeah, great weekend all around. Great recovery. Looking forward to Long Beach.

THE MODERATOR: Christian, congratulations on the podium. First one since last May at the IMS road course. You share Pato’s thoughts on a good weekend for Arrow McLaren?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I think where we were in St. Pete to where we are now, I think it’s a clear step. The 7 car, we had a good weekend. We scored some points in St. Pete coming here. I think overall looking across the three cars, we’re more competitive. Leaving with two podiums, a first and second, qualifying, I think we can be very happy with the weekend.

He keeps beating us every time, so we need to stop that (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Pato, on the radio quite a few times you were told that you were not able or not supposed to use hybrid. Can you explain why and if that had an impact on your race?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, for 50% of the race I couldn’t use the thing. Just overheats (smiling), so…

Obviously here it’s probably one of the most helpful areas where the hybrid is of good use because of those very stop-and-go corners and long straightaways.

In race trim, like, if you’re asking me if I would have won that race if I didn’t have those issues, the answer is still no (laughter.

Q. Christian, did you have the same issues with yours?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes.

Q. Lap traffic an issue either at any point?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yes.

PATO O’WARD: I mean, I hate to whine about it, but it sucks to be the leader. All of our Chevy affiliate teams are worthless with helping when a Chevy leader is coming up on them. Honda seem to work as a team very, very well because Foster was doing everything in his power to keep me behind. Palou gets right behind him, and he just lets him cruise by.

I still think Palou would have gotten us sooner or later. Obviously that just makes it a bit more of an annoyance rather than a joy.

Q. When F1 teams go 1-2, is that any extra motivation, or are you aware of it? Does it change your mindset?

PATO O’WARD: Oh, we’re aware, man. We want to be doing what F1 is currently doing.

I think the fight here in INDYCAR is different, definitely different. I think McLaren right now are leading the way in their situation, and we’re still chasing. We’re still chasing to be the best, so…

We’ll get there.

Q. As far as how much further you have to go to catch, how much further do you feel like you are along now compared to a year ago?

PATO O’WARD: Definitely better. Definitely. I mean, to be fair, this probably was one of the tracks where I personally felt like we really didn’t have a fighting chance. We put two cars on the front row, and we got some hard work today.

Yeah, like Christian said, it just seems like every time someone is winning, it’s always Palou in the 10. He’s obviously figured it out. He’s got a great team behind him. We just need to keep pushing. There’s really not another way.

Q. Christian, probably one of the most exciting portions of the race was when you and Alex were battling for second place. How intense was that from your point of view?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I knew I lost that fight. He was out on the sticker set of alternates at the end of the race. I was on a sticker set of primes. I knew he was going to have the advantage.

I knew Pato was five seconds up the road, so I tried to make him lose as much time fairly as possible. We had some fun, but it didn’t really seem to bother him.

Q. When you race a guy like Alex Palou, do you have a lot of trust that he’s going to race you hard, but it’s going to be clean?

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, yeah, it is clean. Don’t get me wrong, there is going to be a point when you’re racing someone that you think is clean isn’t.

But at this point it was, so that was good.

Q. Under these very hot circumstances, the conditions, how difficult was it totally for you? Any dehydration problems? Once Alex Palou passed you both, when he passed you, could you see or recognize some little secrets in the car, why he’s so dominant?

PATO O’WARD: Sticker set of red tires. That was the answer for losing the lead.

And I would say that I have forgotten what you asked first.

Oh, the heat. No, honestly the pace was super slow, the whole pace of the race. We were just kind of out there controlling it really because you’re just taking care of the tires. Physically for me really wasn’t an issue.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I agree. I agree, so… Simple.

Q. Did you feel like you did everything you could do today and just got beat by the strategy and what they were able to do?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah. I think the team did a phenomenal job in the pits. I mean, the car has been a joy to drive all weekend. In the race, as well.

We ran a red, black, black, black race. I think it should have been a red, red, black, black or any sort of combination with two reds and two blacks. I think we missed it on the 5 car. We can only see why we chose that, try not to make that mistake again.

CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I think the car that I had yesterday was potentially a little more preferred for me than today. I think we made some changes going into warm-up that felt nice in warm-up, but it was 40 degrees cooler. We carried those into the race. To me that didn’t really seem to be the preferred.

But I think in terms of strategy, I think we did what we could. I’m still a little doubtful why we went new stickers on the second stint instead of trying to do a little bit like Alex did, but it’s always easy to be smart after the fact.

I think we need to sit down and look at the facts and all the information that we have and come back in Long Beach and learn from those mistakes.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll let you go, Christian and Pato. Thank you.

NASCAR CUP SERIES HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MARCH 23, 2025

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER1st – Kyle Larson2nd – Alex Bowman7th – AJ Allmendinger10th – Justin Haley

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

·       For the first time this season and 30th time in his career, Kyle Larson earned a trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series – driving his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to the win in the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Taking the green flag for the series’ sixth points-paying race of the season, Larson drove his Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet to a pair of top-10 stage finishes, going on to lead 19 laps en route to the triumph and an early ticket into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.  ·       Chevrolet is the first manufacturer to capture a tripleheader sweep this season, with Larson also capturing the win in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, and fellow Team Chevy driver, Justin Allgaier, and the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team earning back-to-back trips to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.  ·       The victory – Chevrolet’s second of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season – is the Bowtie brand’s eighth victory in the division at Homestead-Miami Speedway to make it a three-way tie on the all-time wins leaderboard among its manufacturer competitors. Among those triumphs includes now two wins in four races in the Next Gen era at the 1.5-mile Florida oval, each earned by Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team.  ·       In six points-paying races, Larson is the second different Chevrolet driver to collect a victory and an early ticket into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs – joining reigning DAYTONA 500 champion and Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.  ·       Runner-up finisher, Alex Bowman, and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team put on a stout Saturday performance with the 31-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native becoming the third different driver to earn Chevrolet a pole position in NASCAR’s top division this season. The qualifying effort extended Chevrolet’s pole-winning feats to three-straight, with the Bowtie brand now leading its manufacturer competitors in pole triumphs with six points-paying races complete.  ·       The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team showed early speed, with Larson climbing his way up to a fourth-place finish in Stage One. Pitting during the stage break for the team’s second scheduled stop of the race, calamity ensued in the race off pit road between Josh Berry and Joey Logano, ultimately puncturing a hole in the left-side rocker of the No. 5 Chevrolet. Despite the damage, Larson remained a contender throughout much of the remainder of the race before taking the checkered flag for the first time this season.  ·       Among the five drivers who collected points in both stages of the 400-mile race included a trio of Hendrick Motorsports drivers: Kyle Larson (4th; 2nd), Williams Byron (6th; 4th) and Alex Bowman (2nd; 6th). Despite facing a pit road speeding penalty with under 60 laps to go, Byron will maintain the points lead for the fifth consecutive week as the series heads to the seventh points-paying race of the season at Martinsville Speedway.  ·       AJ Allmendinger continued his mile-and-a-half momentum by piloting his No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet to back-to-back top-10 finishes – taking the checkered flag in the seventh position. Completing the Team Chevy top-10 included Spire Motorsports’ Justin Haley, who collected the No. 7 Chevrolet team’s first top-10 finish of the season. 

Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Homestead-Miami Speedway:  Wins: 8Poles: 7Top-Fives: 54Top-10s: 112Chevrolet’s season statistics with six NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 2Poles: 3Top-Fives: 13Top-10s: 29

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Martinsville Speedway with the Cook Out 400 on Sunday, March 30, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 1stHOW WERE YOU ABLE TO PUT IT ON THE BOARDS AND MAKE IT SO PERFECT THAT LAST RUN?“It was far from perfect. I gave up a spot and a half, almost two spots, by hitting the wall too many times. I knew I wasn’t going to get the best restart there, and I knew I wasn’t good on the short runs. I just thought if I could hold off the 11 and the 45 behind me, I could get to running the top. And the 19 too, but then I got in the wall, and I let him by. I just had to keep plugging away with what I know and what’s good for me.  Just proud of myself, proud of the team. Just a lot of gritty, hard work by the team today. Damage on pit road, qualifying bad, bad restarts, all that stuff. So just super pumped and one of the coolest wins in my Cup career because of all the heartbreak I have had here, the heartbreak yesterday, and to just keep my head down and keep digging feels really good.” AS YOU GET THE LEAD THERE WITH ABOUT 10 TO GO, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? NO CAUTION RIGHT NOW?“Oh yeah, that is what I am thinking every time I am in the lead, especially here at Homestead. So yeah, just crazy. I knew with me coming toward those guys, they were going to start moving around and making mistakes. I felt like if I could just keep pressure on Alex (Bowman), that he would make a mistake. He caught the wall there and I got by him easier than I expected to. Still had to work hard though. My balance, once I got in clean air, was really loose, ust like those guys were.  Hats off to the whole team — HendrickCars.com, Chevrolet, Prime, Valvoline, the whole Hendrick Engine Shop and everybody at the Hendrick Automotive Group.”  AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 7th“I can figure out enough lines to make speed and do different things where certain guys just rip the fence to keep the momentum up. We just didn’t quite have enough there in the longer run. In general, I was really happy there. We fought hard, lost a little bit in the second stage but Trent Owens and the team worked hard to get it back and be very competitive.”  Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2ndYou possibly hit the wall off of turn four, but that final stretch, where do you feel like Kyle Larson (race winner) was a little bit better?“The No. 5 (Kyle Larson) was way better than us on the long runs all day and he showed up there at the end. I just tried to push a little too hard and kind of hung it in the fence there, so that’s on me. I just didn’t do a good enough job, but congratulations to Kyle Larson and the No. 5 team on getting the win.” How would you assess the performance, overall, of this No. 48 team? “Yeah, it was a good day for the No. 48 Ally Unrivaled League Chevy team. We have some work to do, for sure. But overall, it was a really good weekend for us at a racetrack that hasn’t been very good to us in the past.”   Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 20th It was an up-and-down day for the No. 71 Delaware Life Chevy team. We made a lot of adjustments throughout the race. We got our Chevy good at one point, and then on that last run, it just got really tight again. It was unfortunate, but we’re figuring it out. We’re making little gains at a time. We had a couple good runs that we felt like we were moving forward and doing the right things, and then a couple where we didn’t. We have to go back and look at it all; keep making the gains. I’m proud of the No. 7 team. Justin Haley and Rodney Childers did a great job and got a top-10 finish there, so that’s awesome. Good notes to look at and we’ll keep plugging away.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

Take us through what happened there in that incident.

“We saw (Austin) Prock in front of us go 3.93 and Guido (Dean Antonelli, Capps’ crew chief) set us up to go 3.92, 3.93 and, (I) hit the gas, didn’t see Blake (Alexander), was running great like yesterday in the final round (of qualifying) and just happened so fast. To me in the car, it just smoked the tires a little bit and then, kaboom. Was much like Seattle last year in the sense that when the fire first happened, it was a convertible but there was a lot of fire in my face, and I was just trying to settle it down. Kind of bouncing around and then it wanted to go left. I was seeing John Force’s accident. We were the car behind him last year, we had a great view of it unfortunately, but it was weird, I didn’t have much steering, (it) was a hard left. I knew I was still traveling fast, so in my head, I knew it was not going to be good and I’m just picturing Force’s accident as I’m heading to the wall and just braced. I didn’t expect to be awake after hitting the wall and just braced the best you can. I hit the wall and then, I was still awake and there was still some fire, but I was like, ‘wow!’ Knew it hit, but got on the brakes and the shoots were already out. First off, NHRA safety did its job. Just watched the replay and the shoots were out like they should be. They said it pushed the wall back and they needed to repair it before the next cars went, and that’s a tribute to PBRC chassis, first off, but Guido (pause), one of the reasons I love Guido is he is over the top, not just with the car, but is safety-conscious with the car. So in this sense, we just had me fitted for a new seat and they put new head pads in. I wanted to get out of the car and thank John Force because unfortunately, Eric Medlen started this when we lost Eric, but John’s life was spared with (the safety improvements since) Eric’s accident. And then you fast forward, John’s life was probably spared a second time because of a previous accident and I for sure walked away from mine because of Force’s. Thankfully, we and NHRA have learned from the bad stuff that has happened. I’m interested to find out the G-Forces and speed I hit at, but thankfully, everyone’s been on top of safety. We’ll figure it out. Last year, we broke the brand-new car when it crashed and we went to the backup which almost won the race and a previous championship but now, we have a backup car that’s just as good as the first. Thankful we have such great partners with NAPA and Toyota and the guys will be ready for Pomona.”

SWAINSBORO, GA (March 22, 2025) – Last year, the story of Ryan Gustin’s season was how he struggled to find his rhythm until the second half of the campaign.

He wasn’t going to let that be the narrative again in 2025.

With eight World of Outlaws Late Models races in the books, “The Reaper” became a two-time winner this season with a victory in the Battle of the Crossroads finale Saturday night at Swainsboro Raceway.

“Confidence is extremely high. I feel like we’ve got the best team in the country right now,” Gustin said. “These guys work their butts off day in and day out, car owner gives us everything we need. Definitely can’t thank these guys enough for everything they do for us.”

Gustin started the race from the outside of Row 2 behind Bilstein Pole Award winner Drake Troutman and Garrett Smith, two drivers who were both in search of their first Outlaw win. Troutman won the drag race to Turn 1, while third-starting Ashton Winger got to his inside exiting Turn 2.

After racing side-by-side for more than a lap, Troutman broke away to the early lead until a caution three laps in reset the field. Gustin got around Winger on the outside entering Turn 1 on the restart before switching to the inside lane to go to work on Troutman. One lap later, Gustin cleared the No. 22* exiting Turn 2 to take over the top spot.

Gustin’s gap to the field quickly grew to two seconds 10 laps in, but then closed back to within a second once the No. 19R caught slower traffic. Gustin’s advantage evaporated entirely when Trey Mills slowed in Turns 3 and 4 to pause the race 18 laps in, but Gustin took full advantage of the clean air after the restart in rebuilding a gap.

One more yellow flag flew with six to go to give the field one last chance at Gustin, but the Marshalltown, IA driver would not be denied, as he powered away once again on the way to his 12th win with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.

Despite this weekend being Gustin’s debut at Swainsboro, the Midwesterner instantly clicked with the Georgia facility and walked away with a pair of podium finishes. After entering the weekend fourth in the standings, Gustin is now tied with Nick Hoffman for second, 30 points behind Bobby Pierce.

“As far as keeping the race car in the racetrack, steering and all of the above, that’s what you’ve got to have at these southern racetracks,” Gustin said. “You’ve got to be able to keep the right-rear under you and still steer it through somewhat of a push, and we were able to do that all weekend.”

While he was unable to run down Gustin in the late stages, Winger was able to hold onto second to obliterate his previous season-best of 17th from Friday night and turn his season around after a dismal start.

“From the beginning of the year, I wasn’t even fast enough to get an emergency provisional,” Winger said. “I could make a little time down [in Turns 1 and 2] when I would hit it right or he would get it wrong. It got kind of tight over there leaving 2, the way the wall comes at you here, it goes from three lanes to one and a half. Figured I needed a good run, tried to use my head.”

Behind them, Pierce charged up from 10th to third for his third-straight World of Outlaws podium. All three of those runs came at southern racetracks outside of Pierce’s comfort zone, which gives the 2023 Series champion a wave of confidence heading back into familiar territory.

“I’m super happy with a first, first and third on this swing,” Pierce said. “If I could have ran some top fives, I would have been like ‘alright, that’s pretty good, I’ll take it.’ Definitely pretty excited to get back to racing around home and some tracks that we know.”

Troutman came home fourth at the end of 50 laps, while Hoffman rounded out the top five.

RACE NOTES:

Ryan Gustin set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Tanner English won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Drake Troutman won Heat 1.

Garrett Smith won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Ryan Gustin won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Ashton Winger won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Trey Mills and Austin Smith won the Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.

Drake Troutman won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Dustin Sorensen drove from 24th to eighth for the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.

Ashton Winger won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.

Drake Troutman was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Dalton Cook was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.

Jimmy Owens was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Tanner English was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Models head north to Ohio’s Atomic Speedway for the two-night Fireball 50 on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 4-5. To get your tickets in advance, click here.

Feature (50 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[10]; 4. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[8]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 7. 9M-Tim McCreadie[12]; 8. 19-Dustin Sorensen[24]; 9. 44D-Dalton Cook[9]; 10. 20-Jimmy Owens[15]; 11. 18X-Michael Page[22]; 12. 96-Tanner English[7]; 13. 16S-Sam Seawright[14]; 14. 14JR-Trey Mills[17]; 15. 74X-Ethan Dotson[20]; 16. 75-Daniel Adam[13]; 17. 49-Jake Timm[19]; 18. 111-Max Blair[23]; 19. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[25]; 20. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 21. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 22. 40B-Kyle Bronson[21]; 23. 2-Cody Overton[11]; 24. 23V-Cory Hedgecock[16]; 25. 10-Garrett Smith[2]; 26. 11-Austin Smith[18]