Ryan Eversley, Todd Lamb and Greg Strelzoff score second place in caution-marred season opener
16-year-old Noaker stars with pole position before the #84 suffers mid-race contact

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2021) – Atlanta Speedwerks kicked off the 2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season with a qualifying pole and podium finish for their Honda Civic Type R TCRs in Friday’s four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway.

Just 16 years old, Robert Noaker scored pole position for Friday’s event in the #84 Civic Type R TCR, but it was the sister #94 car out of the Atlanta Speedwerks stable that crossed the line second and took home the hardware for the team. Driven by team owner Todd Lamb alongside Ryan Eversley and Greg Strelzoff, the #94 started the race in 12th place, working their way through the field, and utilizing a well-timed splash of fuel with just over an hour to go to secure their podium finish.

Though they started on pole position and led for much of the early part of the race, the #84 of Noaker and Brian Henderson did not share its sister car’s luck, getting taken out with just over an hour left to run in a multi-car incident, resulting in the sixth of seven yellows during the four-hour event. The #73 LA Honda World entry of Mike LaMarra and Mat and the new-to-IMSA #88 Civic Type R TCR from VGMC Racing of Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias both exited the race early with mechanical issues.

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Daytona Race Results
2nd TCR – #94 Todd Lamb, Ryan Eversley and Greg Strelzoff, Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR [led race-high 60 of 104 laps]
11th TCR – #84 Robert Noaker and Brian Henderson, Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR
15th TCR – #88 Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias, VGMC Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR
16th TCR – #73 Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR

Quotes
Ryan Eversley (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished second: “We had a really great Roar [pre-race test], the car was really fast every session. I was proud of how fast I got up to speed, and how fast Greg [Strelzoff, co-driver] got up to speed. The Atlanta Speedwerks guys were fast all last year, I saw that when I raced against them [in previous seasons]. They were always tough to beat. So I knew when I got to join them that we would have fast cars. We proved that here by having one of the fastest Hondas. We just lost the win at the end, but [due to the late caution] I don’t think we got beat by anything in our control. We did the best job we could, and I’m proud of everybody on this team. We’ll go to [the next race at] Sebring and try to win!” 


Todd Lamb (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished second: “We’re extremely happy to be running two Hondas this year, full time, it’s a big step up for the team. We couldn’t do this without the support of HPD, Sabelt, Lemons of Love and all of our other supporters that have been there for us. I’m really proud of everybody on the team. We thrashed and thrashed and thrashed in that very short off season and the guys did a great job prepping the cars. We’re looking for big things this year. Very excited to get this season going.”

Greg Strelzoff (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished second: “Not only first race of the year, it’s my first professional race in five and a half years, coming out of retirement. I was able to work with a great team in Atlanta Speedwerks. They were able to get me up to speed quickly, even faster than I thought I could. At the start of the race I was able to make a lot of moves, the equipment really worked well, the team really worked, the strategy was really well called and I felt super comfortable in the car. I love racing the Honda Civic, it was a great car to drive.” 

Next
The Michelin Pilot Challenge travels to Sebring International Raceway, in central Florida, March 17-19 for the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring

TAMPA, FL (January 29, 2021) – Current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Point Leader Brandon Overton picked up his first win of the season on Friday Night at East Bay Raceway Park. Overton grabbed the lead from Tim McCreadie on the 27th lap and went on to claim his eighth career series win. A spirited battle for the lead consumed over half the race with more than five different race leaders. Tyler Bruening started 11th and charged to second at the finish for his best career LOLMDS finish.  McCreadie came home in third followed by 21st starting Devin Moran, and Shane Clanton. Brian Shirley started on the pole and led the first eight laps until Jimmy Owens took over the lead, but a few laps later Shirley regained the point. Shirley stayed in front until lap 26 when Mike Marlar took over the lead. Marlar’s lead was short-lived as he held the lead for just one circuit until McCreadie charged ahead after a restart. McCreadie could not hold off Overton who charged around him with 22 laps to go. Overton, in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fourth time, became the sixth different winner in six LOLMDS events in 2021. “After the heat race, I said this one is going to require a lot of luck. I got the lead at the right time. I knew if I just kept hanging around the top three that I would get a win before the end of the week. I started to feel like I was going to leave here without winning and that wasn’t going to sit well with me.” Bruening was elated on the podium with his highest finish in LOLMDS competition. “We have been really good, but we’ve gotten tangled up in some stuff that wasn’t our doing this week. We have had some really good speed. Now it’s up to the me to put it all together as the driver, because this car is fantastic. Thanks to my dad [Greg] and Marshall Green at Capital Race Cars. I am thrilled to be up here on the podium.” McCreadie had his best finish of the 2021 campaign as he rounded out the podium. “We have all been chasing our tails all week and we’ve just been behind in our plans. We had a good run tonight, so that’s cool. We just need to be a bit better.”  The winner’s Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by Clements Racing Engines and is sponsored by Allstar Concrete, Crossfit Overton, Garnto Southern, EZGO, Big Dog Stump and Tree, R.W. Powell Construction, Hurst Construction, Dirt Mafia, Clean Way Clearing and Grading, and ATC Site Construction. Completing the top ten were Mark Whitener, Hudson O’Neal,  Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Moyer, Jr., and Josh Richards.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Wrisco Industries 45th Annual Winter Nationals – Presented by Lucas Oil
Friday, January 29, 2021
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brian Shirley / 14.548 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Overton / 14.673 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 81-Jason Riggs[5]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[8]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[7]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 8. 6S-Blake Spencer[12]; 9. 94M-Jason Miller[10]; 10. C4-Freddie Carpenter[11]; 11. 29-Larry Grube[9]; 12. 14R-Jeff Roth[13]; 13. 48-Colton Flinner[6]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99B-Boom Briggs[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 5. 33-Jeff Mathews[7]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 14G-Joe Godsey[5]; 8. 8-Kyle Strickler[8]; 9. 1G-Ryan King[9]; 10. 8A-Rob Anderzack[10]; 11. 51-Dean Carpenter[12]; 12. 4B-Richie Edwards[13]; 13. 311-Ken Monahan[11]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 3. 385-Mark Whitener[2]; 4. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[6]; 6. 58-Ross Bailes[12]; 7. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[9]; 8. 3W-Brennon Willard[10]; 9. 18X-Michael Page[11]; 10. KB0-Kerry King[13]; 11. 311A-Ashton Winger[5]; 12. 00H-Wil Herrington[8]; 13. 54-David Breazeale[7]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[7]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 5. 22-Gregg Satterlee[9]; 6. 111-Steven Roberts[2]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[12]; 8. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[8]; 10. 995-Manny Falcon[13]; 11. 14B-John Baker[10]; 12. 4S-Danny Snyder[11]; 13. 2X-Devin Dixon[3]
MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 4. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 6. 212-Josh Putnam[8]; 7. 27J-Joe Denby[12]; 8. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 9. 00S-Jesse Stovall[11]; 10. 40C-Joel Callahan[10]; 11. 18J-Chase Junghans[5]; 12. (DNS) 6B-Adam Boyd; 13. (DQ) 1T-Tyler Erb[1]
Fast Shafts Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 3. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 5. 7R-Ross Robinson[5]; 6. 6T-Tim Dohm[7]; 7. 2D-Dan Stone[9]; 8. 36-Matt Irey[11]; 9. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 10. J8-Jadon Frame[10]; 11. 18S-David Seibers[12]; 12. 24D-Michael Brown[6]

LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 4. 81-Jason Riggs[1]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler[10]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[8]; 9. 48-Colton Flinner[19]; 10. 51-Dean Carpenter[16]; 11. 4B-Richie Edwards[18]; 12. 311-Ken Monahan[20]; 13. C4-Freddie Carpenter[13]; 14. 8A-Rob Anderzack[14]; 15. 33-Jeff Mathews[4]; 16. 14R-Jeff Roth[17]; 17. 29-Larry Grube[15]; 18. 1G-Ryan King[12]; 19. 94M-Jason Miller[11]; 20. 6S-Blake Spencer[9]

UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 4. 22-Gregg Satterlee[4]; 5. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[10]; 6. 00H-Wil Herrington[17]; 7. 3W-Brennon Willard[9]; 8. 111-Steven Roberts[6]; 9. KB0-Kerry King[13]; 10. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[7]; 11. 58-Ross Bailes[5]; 12. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[3]; 13. 20B-Todd Brennan[12]; 14. 18X-Michael Page[11]; 15. 54-David Breazeale[19]; 16. (DNS) 995-Manny Falcon; 17. (DNS) 311A-Ashton Winger; 18. (DNS) 14B-John Baker; 19. (DNS) 2X-Devin Dixon; 20. (DNS) 4S-Danny Snyder

Wrisco Industries B-Main #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 3. 7R-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 6T-Tim Dohm[6]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[3]; 6. 36-Matt Irey[10]; 7. 40C-Joel Callahan[13]; 8. 2D-Dan Stone[8]; 9. 111M-Matthew Lux[12]; 10. 18S-David Seibers[16]; 11. 24D-Michael Brown[18]; 12. 27J-Joe Denby[7]; 13. 212-Josh Putnam[5]; 14. (DNS) 6B-Adam Boyd; 15. (DNS) 1T-Tyler Erb; 16. (DNS) J8-Jadon Frame; 17. (DNS) 18J-Chase Junghans; 18. (DNS) 76B-Blair Nothdurft; 19. (DNS) 00S-Jesse Stovall

Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 to start fourth, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura fifth, for 24-hour endurance racing contest
Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo starts 12th in GTD
2021 IMSA season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona begins Saturday

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2021) – The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off tomorrow with a new look for the Acura Motorsports effort, as two championship-winning teams – Wayne Taylor Racing and Magnus with Archangel – make their debut for the manufacturer. They join reigning GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing, which continues with Acura in 2021 but now in the premier prototype division.

Defending two-time Rolex 24 winner Wayne Taylor Racing will join two-time Acura GTD series champion and 2012 Rolex winner Meyer Shank Racing to field Acura ARX-05 prototypes in this weekend’s season-opening endurance contest. Completing the Acura lineup for 2021 is Magnus with Archangel, fielding an Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the production-based GTD class.

Acura Rolex 24 Starting Positions
4th overall – #60 Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
5th overall – #10 Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
12th GTD – #44 John Potter and Andy Lally, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Magnus with Archangel Video
To mark their switch to Acura Motorsports and the start of the 2021 season at Daytona, Magnus with Archangel co-owner/driver John Potter has produced a cartoon video, shot in the style of the famous “Speed Racer” animated racing program of the 1960s.

Acura Rolex 24 Fast Facts
Acura comes to this year’s Rolex 24 as two-time defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the premier DPi category with the Acura ARX-05 prototype, and defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the production-based GTD class with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo.

All three Acura teams at this year’s Rolex 24 are previous winners of the endurance racing classic. Wayne Taylor Racing won the Rolex 24 in 2017, 2019 and 2020; Meyer Shank Racing was victorious in 2012; and Magnus with Archangel have combined for three wins in production-based GT categories.

In a new format for 2021, starting positions for this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona were set according to the results in a one hour, 40-minute race that concluded the “Roar Before the 24” series open test last weekend.

Acura Motorsports Rolex 24 Pre-Race Quotes
Mike Shank (co-owner #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): will start fourth in Saturday’s Rolex 24 at Daytona: “We’re really happy where the car is right now from a handling/balance perspective. All the drivers like the car, and they’re all incredibly fast. I don’t think we could be happier at this point. We even had time to practice some ‘bad scenario’ pit stops – what to do if things go wrong during the race. To have that kind of relaxation is really valuable going into the race. We’re ready.”

Wayne Taylor (owner, #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) will start 5th: “I think, relative to the [qualifying] race last weekend, we’ve improved quite a bit. I feel as if we have a car now that is competitive enough to win the race. It’s been a pleasure to receive such great support from HPD, it just pushes all of us to do a better job. Obviously, lots of things can happen during the course of a 24-hour race, but I’ll put our four drivers up against any other lineup in the field. They’ve got the experience and the knowledge, and there’s no egos involved at all. So now we’re just waiting for the start, but we’re going into the race feeling good.”

David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on this weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24: “Firstly, before we get to the Rolex, we need to give a huge ‘thank you’ to Team Penske and their great people, for three years of awesome racing, helping us develop the ARX-05. They helped us achieve enormous success in our IMSA program and were great in assisting us in the transition [to Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing]. Right now, there’s been a huge amount of work from everyone at HPD, and on the part of WTR and MSR getting us ready, despite the shortened off-season. We’ve got a fantastic driver lineup and some awesome cars. Now, let’s go race. Anything can happen in a 24-hour race, and probably will.”

Where to Watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Television coverage of the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona starts Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST on NBC, and continues on the NBC Sports Network from 4:30 – 8 p.m.; 11 p.m. – 3 a.m.; and 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. Coverage concludes with the final hours of the race on NBC from 2 – 4 p.m. Sunday. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBCSN Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication.

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

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Daytona are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter at (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).

TAMPA, FL (January 28, 2021) – Josh Richards joined both Tyler Erb and Stormy Scott as drivers who started ninth but came home with the win at East Bay Raceway Park. The 2017 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion started inside of the fifth row to score a feature win this week. Richards took the lead on lap seven from Mark Whitener and then proceeded to lead the rest of the way to score his 32nd career win on the LOLMDS tour and his eighth career triumph at East Bay Raceway Park. Brandon Overton crossed the finish line a little over a second behind the winner, in second. Hudson O’Neal finished in third followed by Brian Shirley and Devin Moran. Whitener was looking for the biggest win of his super late model career and bolted to the lead at the start on the second main event of the night. Richards quickly went to the front and was second by the fourth circuit. Richards made his move on Whitener, grabbing the lead with seven laps scored. Overton moved to second on lap nine while Whitener remained in the top three until he suffered a flat tire with five laps to go. A caution with one lap to go set-up a dash to the finish with Richards holding off Overton for the victory. Richards went to Lucas Oil Victory Lane piloting a brand new race car. “I was really frustrated in that first race. I felt like we had a really good car, but we had to take a provisional and we moved up a little and then we just ended up destroying our primary car in a wreck. I can’t thank the Mason Zeigler crew enough for all of their help in getting this thing ready for the second feature. I felt like in then first few laps it was going to be critical to get to the front and it paid off.” Overton is the current series Point Leader heading into the final two nights of racing this week. “I tried to not make any mistakes and then had to hope we still had enough air in the tires to make it to the end. I was worried about my left rear tire, we went soft on it, but it held up. I was scared to death I was going to get a flat. So, I just eased up on the restarts to try and save them.” O’Neal earned his second podium finish for Double Down Motorsports so far this week. “I was very concerned about my tires. You try to drive it straight and keep my tires underneath of me for a good part of the race. We didn’t have a very good first feature tonight, but we rebounded nicely in the second round.” The winner’s Clint Bowyer Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by iRacing, Rush Truck Center, Big River Steel, Cometic Gasket, and Ford Performance. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr. Frank Heckenast Jr., Kyle Bronson, Brandon Sheppard, and Jimmy Owens.

West coast swing to Sonoma Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca canceled for F4 U.S. and FR Americas

INDIANAPOLIS (January 27, 2021)- Parella Motorsports Holdings announced amendments to both the Honda-powered Formula 4 United States and Formula Regional Americas Championships 2021 calendars today, canceling the early season west coast swing for both series due to challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

PMH will revert to a more traditional schedule for the championships in 2021, comprised of six tripleheader events at top venues located on the Eastern half of the United States and Canada.   

The back-to-back events at Sonoma Raceway (April 23-25) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (April 30-May 2) have now been replaced with F4 U.S. and FR Americas both opening their seasons at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as part of the Atlanta SpeedTour March 26-28.

The championships will then run in tandem with the Road America SpeedTour May 14-16 for the next three championship rounds. The visit to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Wisconsin road course will be a first for F4 U.S. teams and drivers. 

With the reshuffling of the schedule, FR Americas will now also join F4 U.S. at Brainerd International Raceway July 16-18 to complete its revised 18-round calendar. Brainerd is currently undergoing FIA certification to become the country’s newest FIA graded circuit to host both F4 U.S. and FR Americas this summer.

Preseason testing, the championships’ visits to Virginia International Raceway and Circuit of The Americas, the tripleheader event for F4 U.S. at Mid-Ohio and FR Americas’ international street-race fixture at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières will remain on the previously announced dates.

“The decision to realign the 2021 race schedule for F4 U.S. and FR Americas was an extremely difficult one,” said PMH CEO and President Tony Parella. “We were really excited to take both championships out west for the first time this season to create a true National Championship, but with the increased number of COVID-19 cases, California has implemented gathering restrictions for events which will close the gates to fans and limit the number of event entries. Sonoma and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca have some of the best fans in the world and PMH is excited to introduce its newest junior open wheel championships to them. Our goal is to add a west coast visit back to the championships’ schedules in 2022.”

All SpeedTour events will still include a built-in track test day for F4 U.S. and FR Americas drivers, and all national rounds for both championships will be live streamed to a global audience. 

The SpeedTour events at Sonoma and Laguna Seca in April will still continue without spectators, featuring SportsCar Vintage Racing Association and Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli on the program. 

For tickets: www.SpeedTour.net/events

For more information: www.F4USChampionship.com or www.FRAmericas.com

F4 U.S. REVISED 2021 Schedule

·         VIR: March 6-7 (Rookie School)

·         VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)

·         Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)

·         Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)

·         Mid-Ohio: June 24-27 (Test day June 23)

·         Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)

·         VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)

·         COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov. 4)

FR Americas 2021 REVISED Schedule·         Sebring: February 18-21 (Winter Warm Up, non-points)·         VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)·         Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)·         Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)·         Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)·         Grand Prix de Trois-Riveres : August 13-15·         VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)·         COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov.

Cancelled in 2020, the FIM-Europe Drag Bike Championship is set to resume in 2021 with six provisional rounds:
Rnd.130 April-2 MayKunmadaras, Hungary (SuperStreet Bike only)
Rnd.229-31 MaySanta Pod Raceway, UK
Rnd.310-13 JuneTierp Arena, Sweden (to be confirmed)
Rnd.48-10 JulyKauhava, Finland (to be confirmed)
Rnd.527-29 AugustHockenheimring, Germany
Rnd.69-12 SeptemberSanta Pod Raceway, UK
The FIM-Europe Drag Bike Championship is contested in four classes:
Top Fuel BikeSuperTwin BikePro Stock BikeSuperStreet Bike.
The Junior Drag Bike Cup will also be contested at the Swedish, Finnish and both Santa Pod rounds.
With the 2020 championship cancelled owing to Covid, 2019’s reigning FIM-Europe champions are:
Top Fuel Bike:  Filippos Papafilippou (Greece)SuperTwin Bike:  Marcus Christiansen (Denmark)Pro Stock Bike:  Fredrik Fredlund (Finland)SuperStreet Bike:  Steve Venables (UK)Junior Drag Bike Cup:  Blade Dummer (UK).

TAMPA, FL (January 26, 2021) – Tyler Erb made a late-race pass on Brandon Overton to win Tuesday Night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at East Bay Raceway Park. A caution flew on the final lap for Brandon Sheppard just before the checkered flag, setting up a duel between Erb and Overton for the top of the podium. The victory for Erb was his 10th career win in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Competition, his third career win at “The Clay by the Bay”, and his third overall win of 2021. Shirley jumped to the lead at the start of the race and led the first nine laps. Overton moved up from his fifth starting spot to grab the lead. A three-car battle for the lead ensued between Overton, Shirley, and Erb for the remainder of the race. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the first time this season Erb commented that the finish would have made for a great television ending. “I thought that would have made a great tv thing. We were able to pull through. It made my heart skip a beat when I headed to the checkered and then the caution came out. I was not happy about that. We definitely had to work for everything we have gotten this week. I can’t thank the crew enough for all they do. Eric Brock gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to drive his car and we hope to be in for a long time.” Overton was in the hunt once again for a victory at the 1/3 mile oval track. “It’s just hard to make that right call every night on the car because the track changes so much. We just want to keep it on the podium.” Shirley was the overall fastest qualifier for the 74 entrants and was looking for his first career win in the series and at East Bay but came home third. “I don’t have a ton of experience here. We have run just a few times up front. It is not one of my better tracks. I was set up for the track to get a little blacker where I could steer a little better. I couldn’t hug the corners where I needed to.” The winner’s Eric and Kelly Brock-owned Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and is sponsored by Industrial Resourcing Group, Roberts Bee Company, First Class Septic, Bazell Race Fuels, Lucas Oil Products, Sunoco Race Fuels, Keyser, Franklin Enterprises, KBC Graphics, Boxo, and Corey Frazier State Farm Insurance.  Completing the top ten were Tanner English, Johnny Scott, Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, and Tyler Bruening.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Wrisco Industries 45th Annual Winter Nationals – Presented by Lucas Oil
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL

ZOOM CONFERENCE TEAM PENSKE TEAM CHEVY INDYCAR DRIVERS JANUARY 26, 2021

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:YOU HAD A GREAT YEAR IN 2020. YOU HAVE A PRETTY SPECIAL RACE COMING IN AUGUST ON THE INDYCAR SCHEDULE WITH RACING ON THE STREETS OF YOUR HOMETOWN IN NASHVILLE. TALK ABOUT THAT A BIT.“Yeah, I’m extremely excited about Nashville. I think the NASCAR guys are, too. Obviously, they are different tracks but it’s certainly a city that supports events I think almost better than anywhere. It’s growing in population and popularity among sports fans and it’s a perfect destination as far as visiting a city for tourism and to see an event like INDYCAR and NASCAR for that matter, I think it’s just the best destination. So, I’m very excited about INDYCAR coming back. I would never have dreamed of that happening when I was a kid, growing up in the northside of Nashville, that we would one day have a street course race in the downtown streets of Nashville. So, it’s going to be fun. I think it has big potential to become one of the marquis events on our calendar and certainly a blockbuster for a street course race.” YOU’VE BEEN WORKING A LOT WITH GAVIN WARD RECENTLY. IS HE GOING TO BE YOUR RACE ENGINEER AGAIN THIS YEAR? AND HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT BRING YOU GOING INTO THE SEASON GIVEN YOUR STRONG YEAR LAST YEAR?“Yes, confidence is big. I agree with Ryan (Blaney) in saying you’ve got to feel good about your ability in the car and the people around you. Gavin Ward is stellar. I’m such a fan of Gavin. He’s brought a lot to our team specifically being in the Formula 1 world. In a lot of ways, INDYCAR and Formula 1 are very similar and in other ways they’re very different. They approach a race car a little different than we do. They’re both open-wheel cars, so a lot of it transfers, but they may be focusing on one area of the car that we would never look at. “So, for me, that’s brought a lot of confidence to our team to try and open up our scope in how we’re developing the cars in the off-season and what we’re thinking about over race weekends. And when it just comes to race day execution, he’s really good. He’s a great collaborator for me, to figure out what we need on the car specifically for each session and then maximizing race day. So yeah, he’s going to stick around. We’ll have the same program as last year and obviously just trying to up our game in all areas. That’s the goal every season. I’m hoping we can find that extra that we need.” YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT SMALL DETAILS IN THE OFF-SEASON AND THERE’S NO ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO FIX EVERYTHING. BUT IS THERE A PARTICULAR AREA YOU HAVE FOCUSED ON WHERE YOU FEEL YOU CAN IMPROVE DURING THE OFF-SEASON?“Yes, we definitely have. We’ve put a ton of emphasis on the Indianapolis 500 as far as the way we build the cars, what we’re looking for in qualifying; I think we’ve definitely marked that even as we always do, even if we won the race by a mile, I think you’d be looking at how to be even better at Indy. I think after last year we really want to up our game. When it comes to qualifying, we want to be up higher. We know we can do that. We know that we have people to make it happen. So, we’ve spent a tremendous amount of time on that, which I think is very encouraging. I’m really excited to get to the month of May, to be honest with you. So, that’s number one.  “Then with myself, I think the biggest area that I can improve is qualifying. There are some places where maybe we were just a little behind as a team and ultimately, we got what we got out of a particular qualifying session. But then there’s other times I think that I can still contribute a little bit more. And I can still maximize those starting placements just a bit better. It’s not that we were bad in 2020, but if there’s an area to improve I think that’s the place to push forward. I think our race performances were very strong. Circumstances didn’t always fall in our favor, but if we can just give ourselves a little better starting spot every single weekend, I think that’s going to go a long way in helping our cause for the championship.” ALONG WITH YOUR TWO INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORIES IN YOUR CAREER, YOU HAVE BEEN SEMI-CLOSE SOME OTHER TIMES, BUT HAD NEVER FINISHED SECOND PLACE AND BEEN QUITE AS CLOSE AS YOU WERE AS RUNNER-UP IN 2020. AFTER HAVING SOME TIME TO REFLECT OVER THESE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, HAS THE REFLECTION AND DRIVE YOU’VE GOTTEN ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHERE YOU FINISHED?“I think for me, if anything, in all honesty, I was really just disappointed. I felt like we had a championship performance last year. Circumstances didn’t always fall our way. It was one too many times that circumstances went against us. And I think ultimately that’s what kind of decided our fate with the title. But we fought all the way. We got pretty close. We fought our way back every time. It was just too big of a deficit at the end of the day to make up, especially with a competitor like Scott (Dixon). I think if you give him too much of a window sometimes you dig a hole that’s too big to claw your way out of. But yeah, I was disappointed. For me, as a competitor, it would have been nice to knock off the third championship and then this year I would like to be working on the fourth. And so now you’ve got to re-set. We didn’t win the third; we’ve got to try and win the third this year. And that’s the way my mind works.  “For me I want to figure out how we can win as many championships as possible. And the Indy 500 is still on that list. I have not been able to personally knock that race off and get one on the board. So, I’m focused on that, but I’m definitely focused on us trying to find this third championship. I thought we had the performance for it last year and we’ve just got to maintain that and continue to up our game. That’s the mentality ever season. So, I’m just more determined and more focused after the disappointment of falling short last year.” SCOTT MCCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: TALK ABOUT COMING TO INDYCAR WITH A PENSKE LEGACY PARTNER SUCH AS PPG: “I think it is fantastic that we were able to announce that PPG will join us for 10 out of 17 races in 2021. For me, to race car No. 3 was very special from what Rick and Helio have done for the team, but also to carry on a 37 year legacy with PPG and be a part of that in some way is going to be very cool, and hopefully I can add to what has already been achieved in the P, PG INDYCAR with people before me. We went though video on the announcement which I thought was very cool. It brought back some goosebumps. Danny Sullivan then Al Unser, Jr., Rick Mears , Juan Montoya, Josef (Newgarden) who have run these colors. To be a part of this legacy is very cool for me and it is starting in my rookie season. I appreciate the trust that PItPG put in me and my program.” WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON IN THE OFF SEASON TO GET READY FOR INDYCAR? “A lot of things. Trust in the car and what it does. Trust the aerodynamics. It’s the first race car I have ever driven that relies on the aerodynamics and trusting within the car. The grip level you get. It can also bite pretty quick so learning that and learning the limit is quite difficult, but I’ve had some good analysis with my engineers and working a few things out. Making sure I am comfortable in the car. Another thing as well, and I noticed this in St. Petersburg, learning the tire in qualifying conditions, it takes time for the tire to come up to temp and it is a very short window where you can get the ultimate grip for the fastest laps. That is something I think I am going to have to learn over the race period, over the journey. We only get to run the red tires in qualifying or at the race track at the race meeting so I am going to have to learn that over time and test in them. I think our learning develop[ment has been going okay but time will tell and we will try to learn as much as w can.” WHAT ARE Y0UR EXPECTTIONS? “It’s one of those of those deals to say exactly what my expectations until we get on track and see where we are at. Like Will said, I think we are going to have a real strong race car and three strong teammates to push me. I think that will accelerate my process. If I get to the end of the year and I’m in the top-10 of the championship or the top-eight in the championship that would almost be a win for me. I am realistic about my expectations. But I am impatient. I’m competitive and I want to make sure we get to the front as quick as we can. I’ve got a massive amount of expectations from the sponsors that partner with us including PPG and some to be announced. It’s an exciting period but there is a pressure there and I am excited to take that on board and move forward with it.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON HIS RECORD SETTING CAREER SO FAR BEING LISTED ALONG SOME OF THE GREATS IN THIS SPORT: “It’s amazing. It’s something that I would have never thought when I first started my career. To be five poles away from equaling Mario Andretti for all-time poles. Up there with Michael Andretti-three wins away from him to be fourth on the list. It’s reall cool-the Andretti name is such a legendary name in the sport. I’m still as motivated as ever. Love it as much as I ever have. So I expect to keep going here and have a real shot at the championship this year. Planning on having a good start to the season I think that is what has made it difficult for us the last few years. I have a very good crew. Obviousuy being with my engineer (Dave Faustino)  for over a decade, we know each other so well. I have three very good teammate. Three very strong guys so I expect the team to be very strong this year as a whole.” WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE GIVEN SCOTT? “I told him when he was initially getting into it was just to creep up on it all. Because there is nothing worse than going into the wall, having a crash and losing your confidence. That certainly puts you back a few steps.   He’s driven in a very high-profile series at a very professional level for a number of years so he knows all that. I think he knows the process he needs to take. There’s not really much you can give him. He’s got to really take from real-life experiences from here out honestly.” WITH THE NEW ENGINE WHAT WILL CHANGE WITH PUSH TO PASS. HAS INDYCAR TOLD YOU IF YOU CAN DO IT DEFENSIVELY AS WELL OFFENSIVELY?  “No, I don’t think they know how that is going to work until we get around the engine to see how it all going to work when it is actually physically on the track. I’m guessing-I expect them to use the electric motor for the curves for push-to-pass. Not the engine, not the boost. Because I think you will have plenty of options for push-to-pass in two different ways obviously amounts of horsepower. What I’ve been for is when we go to a track like Mid-Ohio or St. Pete where there are short straights to me you should have a no reply system. Maybe on some of the bigger tracks where it is easy to get around. Them you could tailor that to the amount of horsepower you get. Because you don’t want to make it a brainless pass where it is easy like DRS in Formula One. I think you want to make it where it is still difficult but you can get a legitimate run on someone.” HAVE YOU ALREADY BEEN TOLD THAT THEY AREN’T GOING TO USE THE ENGINE POWER TURBO BOOST FOR PUSH TO PASS ANYMORE? “No, I haven’t been told that. I expect them to use the electrical engine for push-to-pass for practical reasons and it has to make sense to the manufacturers. If they are talkimg about the electrical side being used as a device during the race, its good for the manufacturers.” WHEN WE HAVE SUCH A CONDENSED AT BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS TO PREPARE FOR THE SEASON EARLY ON? “After reviewing the previous seasons, we’ve made adjustments. Obviously we struggled in the pit quite a bit. I’ve reviewed the mistakes I’ve made as well and I have a slightly different crew this year. I think the cars will be better as well. I’m pretty confident in that, the team has done very good development in the off season. The first three tracks, I feel like they are difficult tracks for us.  The are strong Honda tracks.  It’s going to be a very tight first three races. I think, as we do every year to win the championship and for me personally, I just have to make sure we are in the hunt. Properly in the hunt.  Not clawing my way back from a terrible start to the season. For one reason or another, you can’t really pinpoint the same reason we have lost too many points in the first four races. That is a big focus.” IS THE BROAD AGE BAND IN INDYCAR WITH TALENT YOUNG AND OLD,. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? “I think it is a sign of the times, If you look at football, Tom Brady is going to the Super Bowl at 43 years old. I feel like you can be as competitive and strong until you are 45 or so. I’ve been there so I know but certainly in your early 40s.  But also drivers starting so young now. There are kids getting in cars when they are 12 or 13 years old. It’s crazy. So by the time they are 18 it’s a matter of experience of racing cars as we have seen with Colton Herta. Yes, it is a huge spread in age, but not in competitiveness as far as the level of skill. It is a very competitive series over a 20 year or more age group. Which bodes very well for those young guys. They can have a really long career. It certainly put us in pretty big numbers if you look at Colton Herta starting where he is.”  SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS CHEVROLET:YOU ARE BUSY GETTING READY FOR DAYTONA FOR THE ROLEX 24. YOU ARE A BIG PHYSICAL FITNESS GUY. DO YOU FIND IT AN ADVANTAGE TO START YOUR SEASON WITH AN ENDURANCE RACE. DO YOU SEE AN ADVANTAGE TO THAT?“Yes, I think it’s mostly just having a calendar in place and being able to have deadlines and knowing when you’re going to be in the car. It’s an assessment, Daytona is for me. It’s really an assessment of my work that I’ve done over the winter mentally, and also physically. It’s also, you’re kicking off a new season and it’s exciting. New car. New gears. New everything. You just get going. I’m very excited for 2021. I feel very refreshed. Obviously, the only advantage of COVID is really to stay home and really rest and focus on training. So, I really feel ready for 2021.” HOW BENEFICIAL IS IT FOR YOU, OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE RACING THIS WEEKEND LIKE A KANAAN SEASON IN INDYCAR?“Yes, anytime you’re in the race car it is beneficial. The sports cars, the prototypes, the way they are these days, they’re pretty close to an INDYCAR. The braking power and downforce level are similar. Obviously different tires and a bit of a different feel, but the driving is very close. And the fact that you’re passing people really allows you to work on those details. At the end of the day, I think the work of a race car driver is all about working on the little crafts, the little details for your craft. So, the more you think about it and practice it, the better. I really enjoy doing it. You know, my roots originally, came from sports cars. So, it’s good to go back and forth and keep me current in sports cars.” HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT APPROACHING THE SEASON NOW WITH YOUR WORK DURING THE OFF-SEASON? ARE YOU CONFIDENT MOVING FORWARD?“Yes, it’s been an interesting off-season, for sure. I think as a team we were able to re-center on the No. 22 car. I’m pretty excited about this season coming up, really. There’s a big focus on Indianapolis. Personally, I want to go back there and try to go for another win. We know its Team Penske’s number one goal and the whole team has put a lot of effort into it. So, let’s cross fingers and hope that we get the speed that we want out of the cars. Certainly, on the road course, we just need to find some speed in qualifying for us. We’ve been working hard on that with my engineer, Ben Bretzman. We can’t wait to go to Sebring and get to test the car. We’ve got a few items that we want to try and see if that gives me feel that I want from the car to just extract the best out of it every time we go out on track. I think St. Pete was pretty good for us. We improved the car massively, so I think we’re on the right path. We just need to get going quite frankly. It’s been a long off-season and I just hate not driving. So as soon as we get to Sebring we’ll have a better understanding.” AS YOU LOOK AT THE INDYCAR SERIES DRIVER LINE-UP FOR THIS YEAR, WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU MORE? THE YOUTH AND TALENT OF THE DRIVERS OR THE NUMBER OF GUYS STILL RACING AT LATE 30’S EARLY 40’S CONTINUING TO RACE AT A HIGH LEVEL?“Straight answer is I don’t care. I’m focused on myself (laughs). That’s it.”

Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Jan. 26, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi earned a trio of top-10 results last weekend during the inaugural Schaeffer’s Wild Wing Shootout.

Scelzi won a heat race each of the three nights at Arizona Speedway before improving his feature finish each night, culminating with a runner-up result on Sunday.

“We got better throughout the weekend and Sunday was our best day,” he said. “I felt like we were in a good position the first half of each night, but we really made gains in the feature during that final night.”

Scelzi qualified seventh quickest out of the 26 drivers on Friday. A heat race victory locked him into the feature redraw and he pulled the No. 3 to line up on the inside of the second row for the main event.

“They worked the track,” he said. “We figured it’d go away and kept the car pretty tight, but the track never went away. I fell to fifth right away and ran fifth for a while. I started moving around to run the top and middle. I just wasn’t making the right moves and we were too tight and unfortunately dropped to ninth.”

A ninth-place qualifying effort and another heat race win placed Scelzi in the feature redraw on Saturday. He drew the No. 4 to start the main event fourth and duked it out for a top five throughout the race.

“We were better,” he said. “I felt really, really good the second night. We freed the car up, but we changed some stuff around trying to get the tire spin under control. In the heat race we did it and it worked really good. The track was even slicker and we thought it would probably get slick in the feature so we left the engine detuning on and freed the car up. The track stayed wet again and we couldn’t move forward.”

Scelzi placed sixth and entered the event finale on Sunday aiming for continued improvement. He timed in seventh quickest and won his heat race for the third straight night. The No. 4 in the feature redraw lined him up on the outside of the second row for the 35-lap A Main.

“The track was in the best shape it had been in all weekend,” he said. “We qualified better and won the heat race. I felt like we knew where the track was and knew what we needed to do with the car. We raced really, really well.

“It was up against the fence in turns one and two. In turns three and four you could run against the fence, but there was moisture across the track. I went fourth to third right away and I was pressuring D.J. Netto for second. We had a restart with 10 laps to go. At that point I had figured out the middle in turns three and four. I slid him into one and cleared him. I felt like I closed on Tony Stewart (for the lead) in turns three and four. I continued that line and was able to get to him. I felt like I’d have one shot at him, but I got into the cushion too hard in turns one and two on Lap 34. That gave Tony enough room that I couldn’t get back to him. I was pleased with improving to a second-place finish and the gains we made.”

Scelzi plans to return to action on Feb. 20 at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif.