Monthly Archives: July 2016

Erica Enders

Reigning Pro Stock champ Erica Enders catches wrong kind of break in Sonoma

Reigning Pro Stock champ Erica Enders catches wrong kind of break in Sonoma
SONOMA, Calif. (July 31) — Two-time and reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders has been hoping the breaks start turning her way in this transitional drag racing season, but when her engine broke in the water box just seconds before her opening-round pass, even she couldn’t believe her misfortune.

“It’s almost like ‘what else could go wrong,’ ” said Enders, the most prolific female Pro Stock racer of all time. “It’s just a tough, tough way to end the day … before it even started. Continue reading Reigning Pro Stock champ Erica Enders catches wrong kind of break in Sonoma →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Post Race

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 MID-OHIO
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE, LEXINGTON, OHIO
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES
SUNDAY JULY 31, 2016

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 PPG AUTOMOTIVE REFINISH TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: ELATED AND SORE, BUT IT DOESN’T HURT NEARLY AS MUCH WHEN YOU GET TO CELEBRATE IN VICTORY LANE. HOW YOU ARE FEELING? “I can’t feel anything right now, so it’s all good. My back was fine all race. Unbelievable. Thanks to IndyCar medical. That was a race! Wasn’t that fun? It was awesome. I had a great battle with Will (Power) there at the end. I knew that was my chance. So, on that restart, it was time to go. It was a pretty interesting lap and it was fun driving like that. It reminded me of my sports car days around Mid-Ohio. That’s racing. It was fair and clean and it was hard racing and I’m just glad I won, really. Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Post Race →

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–U.S. Cellular 250

Sam Hornish Jr. Captures Sixth-Place Result at Iowa Speedway in Richard Childress Racing Debut

“If this was only a 225-lap race, we would have had ourselves a top-three finish tonight. The right-front tire started to come apart on us in the last 15 laps of the race and dropped us from third back to sixth-place. We didn’t have quite the speed that we needed. I feel like the way it rained yesterday, we didn’t get enough runs during practice to figure out what we needed to. I’m really impressed with this Rheem team, and I’m honored to be given this opportunity with Richard Childress Racing. I have a couple more races this year with these guys, and we’ll keep our heads up and keep digging. We just weren’t where we needed to be tonight.”

– Sam Hornish Jr. Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–U.S. Cellular 250 →

World of Outlaws

Wilmot Warrior: David Gravel wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Badger 40 at Wilmot Raceway

Wilmot Warrior: David Gravel wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Badger 40 at Wilmot Raceway
Scores his sixth World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series victory of the season

By Tony Veneziano

WILMOT, Wisc. – July 30, 2016 – David Gravel has been under the weather over the course of the last week, but he didn’t let that slow him down on Saturday night in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Badger 40 at Wilmot Raceway in Wisconsin. The native of Watertown, Connecticut, led all 40 laps to claim his sixth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win of the season. Continue reading Wilmot Warrior: David Gravel wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Badger 40 at Wilmot Raceway →

Erica Enders

Pro Stock champ Erica Enders ready to keep Denver momentum rolling

Pro Stock champ Erica Enders ready to keep Denver momentum rolling
SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) — With four race days left before the Countdown to the Championship begins, two-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders knows time is short to be able to defend her 2015 title.

But Enders also knows she and the Elite Motorsports/Mopar Dodge team are more than capable of making a late-season surge, perhaps beginning with the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Continue reading Pro Stock champ Erica Enders ready to keep Denver momentum rolling →

Red Horse Racing

Red Horse Racing–Pocono Mountains 150

RACE REPORT
Pocono Mountains 150
Pocono Raceway
July 30, 2016
Newsletter – Dance Drop Shadow Image
Red Horse Racing at Pocono Raceway

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams traveled to the Tricky Triangle this weekend for the Pocono Mountains 150. During two practices on the 2.5-mile superspeedway on Friday afternoon, Timothy Peters was second and 16th fastest in the No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, while Brett Moffitt posted the 14th and 13th fastest times in the No. 11 Toyota Tundra. On Saturday morning, qualifying was cancelled due to inclement weather and the field was set per the NASCAR Rule Book. Peters would roll off in the seventh position, while Moffitt would start 15th. After 60 action-filled laps at Pocono Raceway, Moffitt secured a third-place finish, his best in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, while Peters also finished in the top-five in fourth.
Continue reading Red Horse Racing–Pocono Mountains 150 →

Mopar Racing

Hagan leads Mopar Dodge Charger Funny Cars, sets track record in Sonoma Qualifying

Hagan leads Mopar Dodge Charger Funny Cars, sets track record in Sonoma Qualifying

· Matt Hagan takes Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T to No. 4 position in final Sonoma NHRA Nationals qualifying
· Hagan resets Sonoma Raceway track record for speed
· Hagan and Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car teammates each qualify with sub 4-second passes
· DSR Top Fuel driver Leah Pritchett climbing, just misses top-half qualifying position in Mopar/Pennzoil® dragster
· Mopar Performance Dodge Dart Pro Stock driver Erica Enders to start No. 10 in quest for first Sonoma title
· Two-time Sonoma winner Jeg Coughlin Jr. eager to power Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar Dodge Dart Pro Stocker to another title
· Recent Mopar history at Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, Calif. (July 30, 2016) – Sea level conditions, a receptive racing surface, and a quad of very speedy Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars had the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Mopar drivers flying during qualifying for the 29th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Each of the four nitro Funny Car pilots recorded runs in the 3-second zone, and Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T driver Matt Hagan was the quickest of the lot. Hagan wheeled his strong HEMI®-powered racecar to the No. 4 position with a best time of 3.875-seconds at a big speed of 330.15 mph that reset the track record he set there one year ago. Continue reading Hagan leads Mopar Dodge Charger Funny Cars, sets track record in Sonoma Qualifying →

John Force Racing

JFR CAMAROS QUICKEST ON SATURDAY AT SONOMA

JFR CAMAROS QUICKEST ON SATURDAY AT SONOMA

SONOMA, CA – On Saturday the trio of John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Cars made the quickest runs on the final day of qualifying and Brittany Force was third quickest of the final session for Top Fuel. The conditions today should mirror race day conditions for the 29th annual Toyota Sonoma NHRA Nationals. The current quartet of JFR drivers will be looking for their 10th win at Sonoma Raceway tomorrow. Continue reading JFR CAMAROS QUICKEST ON SATURDAY AT SONOMA →

Jegs Racing

Magneti Marelli/JEGS Dodge Dart pro Jeg Coughlin hoping for more Sonoma hardware

Magneti Marelli/JEGS Dodge
Dart pro Jeg Coughlin hoping for more Sonoma hardware
SONOMA, Calif. (July 30) — Jeg Coughlin Jr. has two trophies from Sonoma Raceway, claimed in 2003 and 2010, and he would love to earn a third Sunday when eliminations for the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals begin live and nationwide on FOX TV.

“It’s great that FOX has given us these live positions on the main network,” Coughlin said. “It’s big for the sport and for all the racers. Certainly we’d love to have a big day tomorrow with all those extra eyeballs on our Magneti Marelli offered by Mopar/JEGS.com Dodge Dart. Continue reading Magneti Marelli/JEGS Dodge Dart pro Jeg Coughlin hoping for more Sonoma hardware →

Allen Johnson Racing

Allen Johnson–Sonoma Qualifying

ALLEN JOHNSON
MARATHON PETROLEUM/J&J RACING DODGE DART
QUALIFYING REPORT: 29TH ANNUAL TOYOTA SONOMA NHRA NATIONALS
SONOMA RACEWAY
JULY 29-31

Consistency Will Win Sonoma Nationals for Hopeful Allen Johnson

SONOMA, Calif. (July 30, 2016) – After two days of qualifying, Marathon Petroleum/J&J Racing Pro Stock driver Allen Johnson landed in the No. 6 spot on the ladder at the 29th annual Sonoma NHRA Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.

In the weekend’s first session on Friday, Johnson started his qualifying efforts with a conservative 6.644-second pass at 208.62 mph. It was a stellar 6.588, 209.95 that closed out Johnson’s Friday and put him in the No. 4 spot heading into Saturday.

For Saturday’s first session, Johnson ran a clean 6.603, 208.33. Returning for his final qualifier, Johnson clocked in with a 6.646, 209.01.

“I feel good. We made two good runs on Friday and today we did a little bit of testing and learned a few things,” Johnson said. “We’ll go back to Friday’s setup tomorrow and try to be very consistent for raceday. That’s always our deal on our Marathon Petroleum team.”

Starting raceday in the No. 6 spot, Johnson will have lance choice over No. 11 Aaron Strong in the first round of eliminations.

“Even though we did some testing today, we got some good data for tomorrow,” he added. “Our tune-up for tomorrow will be a combination of all four runs. Consistency and retaining lane choice will be the way we win the race tomorrow.”

Eliminations at Sonoma Raceway begin tomorrow at 11:00 am starting with Top Fuel.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NHRA–Sonoma–Qualifying

Post Qualifying Quotes – Sonoma Raceway, July 30, 2016

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT – TOYOTA NHRA SONOMA NATIONALS

TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER: “It is always good to end qualifying on a good note. Tomorrow’s conditions will be very similar to this afternoon. That was an important run for us. It went right down the race track. We have TJ Zizzo in the first round and we have never raced him before. Our goal will be to get that first round win and then go more rounds after that. Brian Husen and Alan Johnson have given me a great race car and I am excited to get to the race tomorrow with this Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster.”
Continue reading Chevy Racing–NHRA–Sonoma–Qualifying →

Honda Racing

Wiman Pilots Honda Civic to Top-Five Finish

Wiman Pilots Honda Civic to Top-Five Finish
¬
• Joni Wiman Collects Honda’s Seventh Top-Five Finish of 2016
• Eriksson and Wiman Show Poise Through Adverse Weather in D.C.
• Honda Remains in Third Place in the Season-Long Manufacturers Championship

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 30, 2016) – The 2016 North American Car of the Year, the Honda Civic Coupe, powered Olsbergs MSE driver Joni Wiman to the manufacturer’s seventh top-five finish in Washington, D.C. this afternoon in front of a near sellout crowd at the temporary circuit at RFK Stadium. Continue reading Wiman Pilots Honda Civic to Top-Five Finish →

Honda Racing

Hunter-Reay Heads Honda Qualifiers at Mid-Ohio

Hunter-Reay Heads Honda Qualifiers at Mid-Ohio
• Will start fourth in Honda Indy 200
• Graham Rahal continues run of top-six road course qualifying efforts
• Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates Hinchcliffe, Aleshin round out top-10

Always a contender at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ryan Hunter-Reay led the way for Honda Saturday in Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying in preparation for Sunday’s Honda Indy 200, and will start from the outside of the second row, fourth, in his Andretti Autosport Honda. Continue reading Hunter-Reay Heads Honda Qualifiers at Mid-Ohio →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Qualifying

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200
MID OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
QUALIFYING RECAP
SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

Simon Pagenaud Wins Verizon P1 Pole Award at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

· Pagenaud’s lap of one minute, 03.8700 seconds/127.271 mph eclipsed the track record set last year by Team Chevy driver Scott Dixon of 1:04.5814/125.869 mph.
· Sixth pole of the season for the current Verizon IndyCar Series points leader
· Will Power makes it all-Chevrolet front row for Sunday’s 90-lap/203.22-mile race on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile permanent road course in Lexington, Ohio
· Four Chevrolet Aero Kit IndyCar with 2.2 liter V6 engine made a run at number one qualifying spot in Firestone Fast Six
· Top-three and six of top-eight starters are Team Chevy drivers
· Pole is the 11th for Chevrolet in the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2016 Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Qualifying →

IndyCar

Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Qualifying

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200 MID-OHIO
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE, LEXINGTON, OHIO
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUALIFYING QUOTES
SATURDAY JULY 30, 2016

SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 PPG AUTOMOTIVE REFINISH TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, VERIZON P1 POLE WINNER: ON POLE WITH TRACK RECORD: “I didn’t know about that (new track record). That is good. The PPG car has been really good this weekend. It was more on me really because I have been struggling a little bit with my really bad lower back. They did a lot work on me. We didn’t need to do too much on the car, more on me this weekend. We put those Firestone red tires on and again, the car was beautiful. That was an interesting qualifying. The expectation of rain, no rain. There was some drops in Q2 that made it more difficult. And there at the end I think the strategy was perfect to start Q3.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Mid-Ohio Qualifying →

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Art St. Cyr, Lee Niffenegger 7/30/16

An interview with:

ART ST. CYR
LEE NIFFENEGGER

T.E. McHALE: Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining us for this latest in our series of media briefings throughout the 2016 I’m going to say motorsports season, because while our focus is normally on IndyCar activities during these, today we’re going to divert a little bit and talk about the advent of a very exciting program that got its debut in front of the public on Thursday with the NSX GT test sessions.
Our guests today, to my right, most of you know, Art St. Cyr, president of Honda Performance Development. We’re also joined by Lee Niffenegger, who is the project leader on the NSX GT project development.
We’ll start getting a comment from Lee, kind of an overview of Thursday’s activity and what was accomplished and how we feel coming out of those two, albeit very brief sessions, but there was a session early Thursday morning and midday on Thursday, a car was out for both of those. Give us a little sense of the postmortem. Continue reading Honda Racing–Art St. Cyr, Lee Niffenegger 7/30/16 →

John Force Racing

C. FORCE, HIGHT LEAD JFR ON FRIDAY AT SONOMA NATIONALS

C. FORCE, HIGHT LEAD JFR ON FRIDAY AT SONOMA NATIONALS

SONOMA, CA – Courtney Force claimed the No. 2 position in the Funny Car field and picked up three additional bonus points for her Traxxas Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team. She made two clean passes straight down the race track to kick off qualifying at the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway. Her 3.937 second pass at 322.50 mph was third best of the first session and she stepped up in the evening session to a 3.871 second run at 306.12 mph.

“This Traxxas Chevy made two amazing passes today at Sonoma Raceway. It feels so good to be back at this track. We’ve won here in the past and this is the second stop on the Western Swing for our team. We went out in the heat of the day and ran a 3.93 to get us in the No. 3 spot, then came out looking to improve in the night session. It was a lot cooler and we went straight into a 3.87 second pass, but it was only at 306 mph,” said Force, who sits No. 2 in the Mello Yello point standings. Continue reading C. FORCE, HIGHT LEAD JFR ON FRIDAY AT SONOMA NATIONALS →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono Qualifying

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
PENNSYLVANIA 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES AND QUOTES
JULY 29, 2016

PAUL MENARD LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN QUALIFYING AT POCONO
Six Chevrolet SS Drivers in Top 12

LONG POND, PA (July 29, 2016) – Paul Menard put his No. 27 Moen/Menards Chevrolet SS in third place during qualifying for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway. This was his sixth top-10 start at Pocono; fourth in 21 races this season and the first time at-track with his new crew chief, Danny Stockman. Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono Qualifying →

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono–Kyle Larson

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
PENNSYLVANIA 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 29, 2016

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed his finish at Indy last week and his expectations for Pocono on Sunday, his plans for the Knoxville Nationals, what race weekend is like when a crew chief is absent, and more. Full Transcript:

YOU TOO PART IN SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL THIS WEEK AT GREENBRIER. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOU DID THERE?
“Yeah, earlier this week; well actually before that, Denny Hamlin and me. Denny had approached me about if there was any possible way we could help out through Target with the floods that had happened there in West Virginia. So we got in touch with Target and they were going to allow us to go shopping for a bunch of toys. Denny and I, earlier this week, we went and bought close to $3,000 worth of toys. And yesterday we went to Greenbrier (County) there and got to deliver toys to a lot of kids. That was really cool. A lot of their families and stuff have lost everything; homes family members. I know there were quite a few people that died from the floods and stuff. So, to be able to contribute just a little bit with toys and see the smiles on some of the kid’s faces was pretty special. I know that Greenbrier and that whole community means a lot to Denny, so it was pretty neat to help out and pretty awesome that Target stepped up to let us do that.” Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono–Kyle Larson →

Honda Racing

Rahal, Honda Seek Mid-Ohio Repeat

Rahal, Honda Seek Mid-Ohio Repeat
• 2015 hometown winner Graham Rahal leads Honda pack in Friday practice
• Afternoon session interrupted by rain showers
• Rookie Enerson impresses with top-10 time

Defending Honda Indy 200 race winner Graham Rahal led the Honda field in Verizon IndyCar Series practice Friday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, posting the fourth-fastest time in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda in a rain-shortened afternoon session and ending the day fifth overall in combined session times.

Making an impressive IndyCar Series debut, rookie RC Enerson rounded out the top-10 in his Dale Coyne Racing Honda, with James Hinchcliffe 11th, only three hundredths of a second behind. Activities at the Honda Indy 200 continue Saturday with final practice and qualifying. Sunday’s 90-lap race starts at 2 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on CNBC.

Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda): “The track can change so much in a short amount of time, and that why it’s hard to test here. Some teams don’t. With all the GT and other [support series] cars racing, there are a lot of different types of rubber on the track, just a lot of cars, period. We definitely improved the Steak ‘n Shake car in the second practice. We got a decent lap in at the end. The rain did catch me on the last part of the lap but we were fourth fastest [in the session], so we’ll take it. When you come here as a single car team, it’s tough. It’s all on you as the lone individual, whereas Penske, for instance, has four cars to share the data. It’s not easy, but my guys have done an excellent job of keeping their heads down and fighting hard. Obviously, we want to win here; we want to go back-to-back. It’s a big weekend for myself, for all of our sponsors like Honda, Steak ‘n Shake, PennGrade and everyone that is heavily involved and makes this happen. I hope we can have a solid weekend.”