EPPING, N.H. (June 02, 2023) – On a hot and tricky New England Dragway, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster team had the cleanest pass for the John Force Racing quad of hot rods on day one of the NHRA New England Nationals. Prock would end up sitting sixth with dragster teammate Brittany Force in the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster currently No. 10. In Funny Car, Robert Hight has the AAA New England / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS in fourth while John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy are No. 8.
Austin Prock managed a 4.075-second pass at 239.27 mph in the Montana Brand / RMT dragster despite dropping cylinders late in the run and having to shut off before the finish line. With cooler conditions set to come in for Saturday, Prock will look to improve from him No. 6 qualifying spot in the final two qualifying sessions.
“Pretty tricky track conditions, but this Montana Brand Rocky Mountain Twist dragster got through the toughest part of the race track. We spun at about 660 feet and dropped two cylinders. I tried legging it to the stripe to get up in the field as far as possible, but the safety device shut it off because of the two cylinders out,” Prock said. “Not exactly what we wanted, but valuable information for these next summer events. The rest of the weekend is polar opposite conditions which suits us well. Should be an exciting weekend.”
Robert Hight and the AAA Chevy were amongst the top of a Funny Car field that struggled in the heat at New England Dragway. Hight managed to hold on until the AAA Camaro hazed the tires late in their 4.624 second, 186.74 mph-run.
Brittany Force, back in the black and green of Monster Energy, had to shut her dragster off early after it started to lose traction. She would cross the finish line at 4.907 seconds and 149.88 mph.
John Force and the BlueDEF Chevy lost traction early in their first attempt down New England Dragway. Force would shut it off early to coast to a 6.816-second pass at 102.35 mph.
The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway continues with qualifying Saturday qualifying at 2 p.m. which will include the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Final qualifying and the finals of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge will begin at 5:30 p.m. Sunday eliminations are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage will be aired on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET, and eliminations will be Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: All Hands on Deck!

June 2, 2023 ARP Trish

Corvette WEC, IMSA drivers work together at Chevrolet Driver in the Loop simulator

LE MANS, France (June 2, 2023) – Corvette Racing really, REALLY wants to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. So much so that after last year’s near-miss, there is a focused, full-team effort to put the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette in the best position possible to win the GTE Am category this time around. Much of the preparation centers around work at the GM Technical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina where Corvette Racing drivers from the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship have helped their brethren from the FIA World Endurance Championship in Chevrolet’s Driver in the Loop (DiL) simulator with multiple sessions to test different configurations for the C8.R around Le Mans. Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone will drive the No. 33 Corvette in the 24 Hours. Each of the three has spent time in the simulator alongside Antonio Garcia and Tommy Milner from Corvette Racing’s IMSA program in the lead up to the 24 Hours.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC: “The IMSA guys are always following us and are always in touch about what’s going on during our weekends in WEC. Tommy has been on the sim a lot and Antonio every now and then, and they have been doing some test work for us. If it works on the sim, we have been implementing that on the track and evaluating their changes. It’s definitely helpful and beneficial. It’s cool that even though we are in two different programs, it still feels like we are all working together. That’s very cool and in the spirit of the team. It’s nice to have everyone involved and keep all the links close. They all have so much experience in this car, so it’s nice to have their help.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC: “I spent a couple of days at the sim and spent a lot of time on Le Mans and also Monza. It was really interesting for me and my engineers. I’ve raced a lot of cars at Le Mans. I have enough time in the Corvette now. I’m able to run the C8.R on my sim at home. I thought there wasn’t going to be much value going to the (Chevrolet) sim. But I was there for two days and I left there feeling there was a lot of value. As far as my communication with the engineers that are running the car, I felt like we got a much better understanding of what I like and don’t like. If we can figure that out, it can make a huge difference in our results at Le Mans.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC: “I was really impressed with the facility in my first time. The GM Technical Center is very cool. You can see that it is next-level. I personally love it. I’m a big sim fan and do a lot of sim racing at home. So I really like this kind of stuff. I always tested other sims and it doesn’t feel so realistic with how the motion works and things like that. I have to say that I was able to jump in the Chevrolet sim right away and it was great. The feeling you get from the car is very similar to real life. It was cool for me to practice for Le Mans – not only driving but also feeling setup changes. I think that’s one of the best things that you can do – try different setups and feel those as a driver. It lets you develop setup changes before you get to the track.“Le Mans is a track where you cannot test. You go there once a year for one test day and then the race-week starts. It’s really difficult to get laps in and everything nailed for the race. So these sims sessions make it easier to establish a baseline. From this, we can work on the car as the track develops, the weather gets warmer and other things. There aren’t so many big changes to do because you know what to use from the start. Between the sim and the experience of Corvette Racing at Le Mans, we are in a great place to start and work from there to get the best car possible for the race.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – IMSA: “It’s always good to be back driving the GTE spec and revisit what we raced last year. There was a tiny bit of difference in the setups between the 63 and 64 cars. With only one car now, we need to know what the best options are and see which car was best at certain points. We are re-evaluating things we learned late last year and early this year in the WEC. There is a ton of data to analyze. It’s important to be ahead of things to see what direction you want to take and especially what to discard when you find changes that don’t work. A read at Le Mans is super-long because it’s a four-minute lap. If you want to try something and it doesn’t work, you’ve lost 40 minutes or more on the Test Day, for example. So it’s important to maximize your time not just at the track but in the sim, as well.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – IMSA: “Where I’ve been able to help at the sim is my knowledge from last year about what the car felt like and correlating what they have in the sim now versus what we had last year and made sure the preparations they are doing for this year are getting off on the right foot. They’re using every bit of information that they can get their hands on to improve the car to help Ben, Nico and Nicky be as prepared as possible for the race.“There’s a bit more attention paid to Le Mans and all the work we’ve put in at the sim to make it as reliable as we can for feedback from drivers will pay off the most this year with someone like Ben and Nico, who haven’t raced this car at Le Mans. The DiL is quite valuable for us in this situation to get the opportunity to get their feet wet before they get to the track for the first time in the C8.R.”

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After three of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 822. Alessio Rovera/Lilou Wadoux/Luis Perez Companc – 433. Simon Mann/Ulysse De Pauw – 364. Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Mikkel Pedersen – 355. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 32
Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 822. No 83 Richard Mille AF Corse – 433. No. 21 AF Corse – 364. No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing – 355. No. 85 Iron Dames – 32
CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 22 appearances at Le Mans: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Number of wins for the Corvette C5-R – 2001, 2002, 2004• 4: Number of wins for the Corvette C6.R – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2000-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and Corvette C8.R (2021)• 8: Class victories for Corvette Racing at Le Mans – all since 2001• 9: Number of drivers who have won races at Le Mans for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Johnny O’Connell, Scott Pruett and Jordan Taylor• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 25: Number of drivers to compete for Corvette Racing at Le Mans. That number grows this year with the additions of Ben Keating and Nico Varrone• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.• 124: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, eight at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC.• 272: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 108,358.22: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 21 previous trips to Le Mans. That represents 12,850 laps… or more than four full trips around the Earth at its equator. The two Corvettes combined to go over the 100,000-mile mark at Le Mans in the 2021 race.• 354,262.62: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon… and then some!
Corvette Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (wins in bold)2000No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 4th in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS
2001No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Scott Pruett – 1st in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS
2002No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS
2003No. 53 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTSNo. 50 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS
2004No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTS
2005No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1
2006No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 7th in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1
2007No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 14th in GT1
2008No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 3rd in GT1
2009No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GT1
2010No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 12th in GT2 (DNF)No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 10th in GT2 (DNF)
2011No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 14th in GTE Pro (DNF)
2012No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 5th in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 6th in GTE Pro
2013No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 4th in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 7th in GTE Pro
2014No. 73 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GTE Pro
2015No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – DNS (Qualifying crash)No. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTE Pro
2016No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ricky Taylor – 7th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor – 10th in GTE Pro (DNF)
2017No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM
2018No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 15th in GTE Pro (DNF) 2019No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 16th in GTE Pro (DNF) 2021No. 63 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 2nd in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 6th in GTE Pro
2022No. 63 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 7th in GTE Pro (DNF)No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 6th in GTE Pro (DNF)

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Jesse Love Conquers Tri-City, Xtreme Outlaw Field for First National Midget Victory

June 2, 2023 ARP Trish

McIntosh bags sixth-straight top-two finish, McDermand Hard Charger 16th-to-fourth

PONTOON BEACH, IL (June 1, 2023) – It’s been a long time coming for Jesse Love. A winner of races on both asphalt and dirt in his career, but never a national Midget event.

That was until Thursday night, when he broke through to Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota Victory Lane at Tri-City Speedway.

“It feels great,” Love said. “I’ve been trying to win one of these races for what feels like a long time.”

The 18-year-old racer from Redwood City, CA, gave CB Industries team owner Chad Boat his fourth career Series victory and a $4,000 check.

“Chad just believes in me a lot,” Love said. “When you have people that believe in you as much as they do, you just start believing in yourself.

“Chad’s a lot more than a car owner now, he’s one of my best friends. Can’t thank him enough for believing in me and helping me get better every day.”

Love began the night on the right foot, laying down the fastest Qualifying lap of all 21 cars in the pits to earn the Whitz Racing Products Quick Time Award. A third-place finish in his Heat Race earned him a Feature starting spot on the outside pole after the inversion draw, which he took full advantage of in the opening laps.

For the first 26 laps, Love chased polesitter Ryan Timms around the 3/8-mile oval but was unable to make any headway. Timms was heavily gapping the field after every restart and had built a 1.5 second lead as he crossed the stripe to complete Lap 26 when the caution was thrown for Keith Kunz Motorsports teammate Taylor Reimer with a flat right-rear tire atop Turn 4.

Shortly after the caution was thrown, fellow KKM teammate Jade Avedisian came to a stop on the backstretch, also with a flat right-rear tire. Seconds later, Timms pulled into the work area with a right-rear flat of his own.

“There was like seven laps or so where [my car] was just shaking real bad and I didn’t know why,” Love said, referring to the laps he ran under green since the restart prior. “I thought surely it’s not a right-rear tire going down.”

“And then, sure as heck, three cars dropped right-rear tires at the same time. So, I thought I had a right-rear going down.”

This handed the lead over to Love with only four laps remaining. With uncertainty about his tires beginning to creep into his mind, Love could already feel the pressure from the Series points leader behind him.

“I was kinda sure it was Cannon, which is never somebody you want right behind you on a restart,” Love said. “I just had to get the best restart I could.”

What he didn’t know was that behind him, McIntosh was having doubts of his own.

“Under the yellow, I could feel the bounce of the car,” McIntosh said. “Something felt wrong.”

A deflating right-front tire on the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #08 had reared its ugly head as McIntosh hit the throttle for the final restart, which he said hindered his car’s abilities.

Though McIntosh got within striking distance at one point, he was unable to make the move in the end. Love drove under the checkered flag to collect his first victory with the Series, while McIntosh came home second.

“It kinda seemed like something weird there because it was all three KKM cars all at the same time,” McIntosh said. “I kinda felt okay at the same time. Unfortunately, it got our right-front instead.

“I think if we restart that [with an inflated tire] – 100 percent we have a shot at it.”

Fifth-starting Landon Brooks came home third and bagged his first career podium finish with the Series – a great rebound night after suffering back-to-back DNFs last week at Millbridge Speedway.

“I knew we would be good,” Brooks said. “Every other race besides Millbridge, we’ve been really good. I wasn’t too worried about it.”

Chase McDermand, current runner-up in Series points, was the DIRTVision Hard Charger Award winner, advancing 12 spots in his charge from 16th on the starting grid to finish fourth. Defending Series champion Zach Daum rounded out the top-five in his first night at the controls of his new ride – the Trifecta Motorsports #7U.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets are back in action Friday night, June 2, for the first of a two-race stay at Wayne County Speedway in Wayne City, IL. Tickets will be available at the gate; stream all the action live on DIRTVision if you can’t make it to the track.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 84-Jesse Love[2]; 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 3. 2X-Landon Brooks[5]; 4. 40-Chase McDermand[16]; 5. 7U-Zach Daum[10]; 6. 97-Gavin Miller[9]; 7. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[13]; 8. 44-Branigan Roark[20]; 9. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 10. 26-Chance Crum[18]; 11. 67-Ryan Timms[1]; 12. 25K-Taylor Reimer[8]; 13. 97K-Cooper Williams[17]; 14. 17B-Austin Barnhill[15]; 15. 31K-Alex Midkiff[19]; 16. 19-Daison Pursley[6]; 17. 08X-Ricky Stenhouse Jr[7]; 18. 31B-Kyle Beilman[14]; 19. 19M-Holly Shelton[21]; 20. 21K-Karter Sarff[12]; 21. 5G-Gavan Boschele[11]

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SMOOTH HOMECOMING: Illinois’s Bobby Pierce Nets Farmer City Showdown Victory

June 2, 2023 ARP Trish

The Oakwood, IL driver cuts points lead to 50 after Chris Madden’s seventh-place finish

FARMER CITY, IL – June 1, 2023 – Bobby Pierce made sure to let his Illinois fans know he was back home Thursday night at Farmer City Raceway with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models.

The Oakwood, IL driver slid past Nick Hoffman on Lap 27 and held on to earn his second Series win of 2023.

Hoffman outran Series points leader Chris Madden on the opening lap of the Farmer City Showdown and went unchallenged through the first half of the race.

However, a caution on Lap 19 for Shane Clanton put Pierce in a position to strike.

The “Smooth Operator,” who was third at the time, started to move forward on the restart, thundering around Madden for second as the race reached halfway.

That’s when he started to lurk behind Hoffman, closing in on the Mooresville, NC driver as they reached the tail of the field.

After two laps of pulling his nose even with Hoffman’s left rear quarter panel, Pierce saw his opportunity on Lap 27.

Hoffman picked the outside lane in Turn 3 while trying to get by the lap car of Dustin Walker.

That allowed Pierce to choose the bottom, thundering past the #9 in the middle of Turn 3 and sliding his spoiler in front of Hoffman’s nose as they exited Turn 4.

“We caught that lap car, and we caught him at the right time because I made up a lot of ground on Nick,” Pierce said. “Nick kind of got bottled up and even pushed a little bit, and I had that bottom, and I just swung it in there, and I felt him get me a little bit in the rear when I slid in front of him.

“That was probably going to be the only time I was going to pass him. He made a couple of bobbles, but he was pretty fast. Out front by himself, it would’ve been hard to pass him.”

From there, not even a caution with three laps to go could stop Pierce as he held on for his sixth career World of Outlaws win—one worth $10,000.

“The car was awesome tonight,” Pierce said. “I think we had a really good setup for how fast the track was.”

Hoffman crossed the line second – his second podium in the last five World of Outlaws races.

“I just screwed up one time behind lap cars,” Hoffman said. “I wasn’t sure which one to pick, and I chose the wrong one, obviously. He was pretty good on the bottom to be able to get underneath me and slide me into [Turn] 3. I knew he was close. I could kind of hear him back there.

“Biggest thing is I made one little mistake and opened the door a little bit, and he capitalized.”

Kyle Bronson finished third, moving up seven spots from 10th.

While happy with the performance, the Brandon, FL driver also referenced a need to be better earlier in the night.

“I felt I had a really good car,” Bronson said. “It was kind of hard to get position on a car and pass them the way the track was. It’s just tough to start 10th and run that good. The guys are too good to spot them that many spots.

“I felt like we were kind of too snug all night long, but we raced really well, and that’s the goal, to race really well. We just have to get better in our Qualifying package.”

Defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and Ryan Gustin rounded the top five.

For Pierce, the win adds to his consistency over the last month, as he hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in the previous six World of Outlaws races.

It also helped him lower Madden’s points lead to 50, sweetening his home-state win.

“We said if we stayed consistent, everything would come to fortune,” Pierce said. “We got the win on top of it. We got the big points jump, and we’re just going to have to keep doing it.”

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series continues its Midwest tripleheader on Friday, June 2, at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL. Then, a trip to Kentucky is on tap as the Series visits Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY, for the USA World 50.

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

CASE Construction Equipment Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[10]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[13]; 7. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 8. 96V-Tanner English[4]; 9. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 10. 24-Ryan Unzicker[12]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[7]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[11]; 13. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[19]; 14. 36-Logan Martin[17]; 15. 11-Gordy Gundaker[23]; 16. 1ST-Johnny Scott[18]; 17. 30-Todd Cooney[20]; 18. 33H-Roben Huffman[22]; 19. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 20. 25-Shane Clanton[9]; 21. 25F-Jason Feger[15]; 22. B12-Kevin Weaver[14]; 23. 81J-Jack Riggs[21]; 24. 18B-Shannon Babb[16] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Gordy Gundaker [+8].

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chevy racing–nhra–new england nationals advance

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NHRA NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAY EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE JUNE 2-4, 2023
(JUNE 1, 2023) – Kicking off the month of June in the 2023 NHRA racing season, the Team Chevy nitro teams of John Force Racing have their sights set on NHRA’s New England Nationals this weekend and the Winner’s Circle. Seeking the 21st Top Fuel win, Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, and Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Chevrolet, have worked to close the points gap on Steve Torrence in first in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Racing Series driver championship standings. Currently second, B. Force sits 17 points back from first in second, with Prock right behind her 27 points back in third.
“I’m excited to be returning to New England Dragway this weekend with my Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team,” B. Force said. “We’ve had some luck in Epping in the past with a track record and win. This team is looking for more this weekend,” Force said. “Our plan is to qualify in the top five while attempting to win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and chase down a win on race day Sunday.” Heading to the northeast, the Chevrolet Funny Car drivers of John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, as well as Robert Hight, driver of the Auto Club Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, look to return to the Winner’s Circle and capture the Wally trophy in New England. Seeking the 158th Funny Car victory for Chevrolet, and the 78th for the Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car body, Hight noted anticipation for Epping saying, “Things are coming around and we’re finding some consistency. I’m excited to be driving the AAA Chevy this weekend. Hoping we can get the job done for them at New England Dragway. I’ve gotten close to winning a couple times in Epping. Would be pretty great to get the job done this weekend, mark another one off, move up in points and get AAA in the winner’s circle.” While Pro Stock and the Factory Stock Showdown will not be in competition in Epping at New England Dragway this weekend, Chevrolet drivers and teams in those classes eye the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals June 9-11, 2023 as their next event at Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee. The 2023 NHRA New England Nationals action from New England Raceway airs first with qualifying Friday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Saturday qualifying airs Saturday, June 3 at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. Sunday’s Finals will air on FS1, starting at 7 p.m. ET. Coverage streaming live throughout the weekend can be found through NHRA.tv, available via AppleTV, Android TV and Roku devices. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:“I’m looking forward to firing things off strong in Epping. Always love going there because of the history, it’s an old school track, and the fans are always great. It’s going to be interesting with the swings in weather this weekend, but I believe our Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team will be able to overcome any conditions. Hoping for another solid weekend to keep chipping away at the points standings.” John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:“We had a great week with everyone at PEAK and BlueDEF, OWI, their parent company, in Chicago. Even had the founder and chairman out, Tom Hurvis. My hot rod celebrated all of their employees on the hood, and we took it to the semi-finals. We love coming to Epping and putting on a show for the fans. I’m feeling good. We’re in the race within a race and we’re going to win this thing.” Robert Hight, driver of the AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:“It’s been a decent season so far. Things are coming around and we’re finding some consistency. I’m excited to be driving the AAA Chevy this weekend. Hoping we can get the job done for them at New England Dragway. I’ve gotten close to winning a couple times in Epping. Would be pretty great to get the job done this weekend, mark another one off, move up in points and get AAA in the winner’s circle.” TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS:1,428: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time)600: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 619.372: Number of wins in Pro Stock since 1970; 253 won in the Chevrolet Camaro body165: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time)157: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 196778: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time)77: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro body45: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Brittany Force27: Number of NHRA championships Chevrolet holds as a manufacturer since entering the first in 1966. No other manufacturer has won it more than Chevrolet.24: Wins by John Force in a Chevrolet-bodied Funny Car18: Number of Pro Stock championships20: Chevrolet career Top Fuel wins in NHRA16: Number of Chevrolet career wins by Brittany Force7: Number of Funny Car driver championships2: Number of Top Fuel driver championships MOST RECENT WIN IN NHRA BY CHEVROLETChicago – Route 66 RacewayDallas Glenn (Pro Stock)Len Lottig (Factory Stock Showdown) MOST RECENT DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIPS IN NHRA BY CHEVROLET2022: Brittany Force, Top Fuel2022: Erica Enders, Pro Stock2022: David Barton, Factory Stock Showdown2019: Robert Hight, Funny Car UPCOMING NHRA MILESTONES950: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) is second all-time with 917 elimination round wins. He could reach 950 round wins with a decent run in the 18-race schedule. 619: Robert Hight has 600 Funny Car elimination wins to rank 13th on the all-time NHRA list; Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) sits 12th with 619. 442: By qualifying for his next race, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) will extend his NHRA record to 441 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2002 at Pomona 2, and he holds the longest career qualifying streak in NHRA. 138: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) ranks third on the NHRA all-time list with 121 No. 1 qualifiers. He will tie Warren Johnson (Pro Stock, 138) for second to John Force (165) on the list. 264: By qualifying for his next race, Robert Hight will extend his NHRA record to 263 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2010 at Pomona 2, and he currently sits seventh in career qualifying streaks in NHRA (Doug Kalitta is sixth at 273). 65: Robert Hight moved into the top 10 on the all-time NHRA victory list with his win in Pomona 1 with 63. Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock, retired) is next ninth on list with 65. 46: Erica Enders has 43 career Pro Stock victories (all with Chevrolet, first win coming at Chicago, 2012 and last win at Las Vegas 2, 2022). Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) is the all-time NHRA female leader with 46. 18: Brittany Force (16 Top Fuel career wins) will move past Shirley Muldowney (18 wins) into third on the NHRA all-time victory list for females. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 43) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle, 46) are ahead. 6: Erica Enders (Pro Stock) could tie Warren Johnson (6 Pro Stock championships) for second on the class list. The same holds for Greg Anderson. Bob Glidden is the leader with 10. 3: Brittany Force (Top Fuel, 2 championships) would tie Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) for second on the NHRA all-time championship list by females with another title in 2023. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 5) is the leader.

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BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY HEADED TOWARDS VICTORY AT NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

EPPING, N.H. (June 01, 2023) – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster team have made no misguided steps as they prepare for the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway, the seventh of 21 events on the NHRA Camping Drag Racing Series schedule.
With her semifinal finish at the return of the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, Force and the Monster Energy team made a jump from fifth to second in the Top Fuel points standings. Led by crew chief David Grubnic and assistant crew chief Brandon Hazleton, the Monster Energy team has earned three No. 1 qualifying positions, including at the season-opening Gatornationals and both Four-Wide events in Las Vegas and Charlotte.
“I’m excited to be returning to New England Dragway this weekend with my Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team,” Force said. “We’ve had some luck in Epping in the past with a track record and win.”
Force won the NHRA New England Nationals en route to her first championship in 2017 when she started from the No. 2 qualifying position. New England Dragway is one of only two tracks on which Force has yet to qualify No. 1 (the other is St. Louis), however, Force did set the current track speed record of 334.90 mph during the first round of eliminations in 2022, she also qualified No. 2 but lost in the second round to teammate Austin Prock.
“This team is looking for more this weekend,” Force said. “Our plan is to qualify in the top five while attempting to win the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and chase down a win on race day Sunday.”
For the second time this season the weekend’s competition has added incentive for Force and her Monster Energy team as they compete in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during Saturday qualifying. Thanks to their semi-final round appearance at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals, Force earned a rematch against eventual event winner Clay Millican. Performing in the race within a race not only earns drivers’ championship points at the end of the regular season but a chance at extra cash as well.
“We still have so much racing ahead of us this season but it’s time to turn things around going forward and get back to the top,” Force said.
The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway start with qualifying Friday at 6:00 p.m. Saturday qualifying and the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for Top Fuel will be at 2:20 p.m. If Force wins, her last qualifying session and the Challenge finals will be at 5:55 p.m. Regular Top Fuel qualifying will be at 5:30 p.m. Sunday eliminations are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage will be aired on FO Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET, and eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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chevy racing–indycar–Detroit advance

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX PRESENTED BY LEAR INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE JUNE 1, 2023 CHEVROLET AIMING FOR HOMETOWN VICTORY IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES RETURN TO STREETS OF DETROIT DETROIT (June 1, 2023) – Returning to the streets of Detroit for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Presented by Lear, the NTT INDYCAR Series heads to the Bowtie brand’s backyard at the original home of open wheel racing in the Motor City. It is the first time in over 30 years Indy cars will race around downtown Detroit. With the series competing on famed-Belle Isle from 1992 to 2022, the Team Chevy drivers and teams have their eyes set on capturing Chevrolet their potential ninth win since 2012 in Detroit in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. “Coming off an exciting Indianapolis 500 win by Team Chevy, Josef Newgarden, and our engineers, our Chevrolet-powered teams are prepped and ready for our hometown race on the Streets of Detroit,” said General Motors IndyCar Program Manager Rob Buckner. “I am so happy and proud of our staff at GM Motorsports and our partners at Ilmor Engineering for their efforts and results in the year’s biggest event. “Moving from the familiar Belle Isle to the unknowns of the Streets of Detroit presents a new and different challenge,” continued Buckner. “With our history of success on other street courses, we feel as prepared as possible for the race. The split pit lane will add a new twist to the event and excitement for the fans. It will be an all-new event, and our Chevrolet teams and drivers are ready to bring home another win for the hometown fans.” After racing to his first Indianapolis 500 victory, as well as capturing Team Chevy’s 12th in history, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, said of this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, “I think the event is going to be A+. I can’t deny I loved Belle Isle, but I really think from an event standpoint it’s going to be a home run. If you’re there for the fans, the engagement, the community, what they’re doing is going to be amazing,” exclaimed Newgarden. “It’s really going to be amazing. [The track is] short. It’s technical because it’s mostly tight corners. It seems like Nashville, if anything, but it’s also different than Nashville. They’re not totally similar, but if there’s any track that it’s most close to, it’ll be that.” The 1.7-mile, nine-turn street circuit will race counterclockwise along Jefferson Avenue, Bates Street, Atwater Street, St. Antoine, Franklin Street, and Rivard, with 100 laps, or 170 miles, determining the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix victor. Adding a new twist to the event is a split pit road for drivers to navigate, adding excitement for race fans and Chevy-powered teams alike. For fans attending the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix in downtown Detroit, the Chevrolet Racing display, featuring 2023 models as well as t-shirt giveaways, will be open throughout the weekend starting Friday, June 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. The display will then be open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, and Sunday race day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear kicks off with Practice 1 Friday, June 1 at 3 p.m. ET, with Practice 2 starting Saturday at 9:05 a.m. ET. Qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six also take place Saturday, starting at 1:15 p.m. ET. A final warm-up will start race day Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160. The 100-lap, 107-mile race Sunday, June 4 will take the green flag at 3 p.m. ET live on NBC. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“I’m thrilled to be here. It’s always nice to get back racing right away. Indy is always a tough grind for everybody, so we’re dragging a little bit coming into this weekend. But I think once we get on track, we’ll all be excited to be racing again. A new track is always a great opportunity to learn something quicker than everyone else, and try and prove yourself for the inaugural event, and I think the team has done a tremendous job. Excited to represent all of our partners, which most of them have a strong connection to Detroit. Thankful for all the effort that has gone in to move this race downtown.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“I’m actually really, really excited. The track actually it’s very different than what we are used to. We’re going to be in a new spot, so it’s an opportunity to hit the ground running and be quicker than most. I’m excited. I think it’s going to be cool, and a new rejuvenated race for Detroit.” Will Power, No. 12 Chevrolet at Team Penske:“I’m really excited to get on track this weekend. It has a lot of bumps, a lot of off-camber corners, great long straight, and I think you can’t get too wide in the hairpins. You won’t know until you get out there, but I think it’s going to race really well. The pit lane is pretty cool. For all the people who are in the chalets above are going to enjoy if we have a full course yellow and pit under that caution. It’s going to be interesting out of pit lane when everyone gets off the button. I think it’s really cool we’re racing around the Renaissance Center. It’s Chevrolet’s backyard, and I think the guys have done a great job with the track – the grinding and resurfacing. Pretty special, and I hope we get a massive crowd with half the track being free. I’m looking forward to getting out there on Friday.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“This is our first time going to downtown Detroit. It’s a new track for all of us; everybody starts from zero. I’ve always enjoyed going to Detroit because I get to see a lot of the Latino community there. I’m certainly going to miss Belle Isle, but I’m sure the event this weekend will be awesome, so I’m looking forward to it. There are 11 races to go to chase this championship.” Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”It’s awesome to go to downtown Detroit. I’ve been looking forward to hitting the streets all year. I think it will be a bumpy and challenging track in pure Detroit fashion. It’s also a new challenge as no one has raced here before, but that’s exciting for us. We will try to roll out of the truck as good as we can.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”I’m looking forward to getting right back on track in Detroit this weekend. I know the amount of effort from the series and promotor that has gone into making this race a reality, and I cannot wait to get started. It is a completely new track for all of us, so everyone will start with a blank slate. I know the team is hungry to continue the success from the month of May.” Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“New circuits always make for interesting weekends. We’ve done as much homework as we can to roll out with good cars from the start here, but with the many unknowns, we’ll adapt to what we learn in practice and try to give Chevrolet a big win in their home race and keep building up points towards the championship.” Conor Daly, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“Chevrolet has a lot of momentum going into Detroit. Team Chevy won the Indy 500, so everyone will be very excited to get to this new track. We will do our best to make the Chevy family proud, as well as BITNILE.COM!” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“Detroit is going to be a lot of fun! I have driven it on the simulator and I cannot wait to get started there. A new track is always a great challenge! We had a great car at the Indy 500 and I am excited to turn right again.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“I’ve always enjoyed going to Detroit. It’s where I started my IndyCar career (in 2018) and I’ve usually run pretty well there. I think I’ve grown a lot (as a driver) since then. Actually, I was going to have a top-10 in the first race but I got hit and put in the wall. And then the second race I crashed coming out of the pit but I still finished tenth.” Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“I think since Detroit will be new for everyone it will level the playing field in a big way. While I was in INDY NXT, we went to a new track for everyone – Nashville – which will be like what we will experience in Detroit this week. At Nashville I was fast and picked up quickly, so I am confident we will do the same thing this weekend. I know Foyt has some great street cars and will work hard to achieve some great results.” Callum Ilott, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“Detroit is obviously a brand-new track, and I understand that it’s going to be a challenge as it’s quite tight. It will be new for everyone, which means that it will be a level playing field and we will try to maximize our chances from that. I’m looking forward to getting a first look at the track, where we can hopefully continue the momentum from last week’s INDY 500. The data from our previous street races at St. Pete and Long Beach could potentially be useful this weekend. However, everything will be unique so until we turn some laps, we won’t know.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“We are going to a new circuit for everyone, which is good for me since in my case, they are always new and this situation allows me to be less at a disadvantage. A difficult circuit is expected, but we have no information so far, so we will have to find out from Friday in the first practice. The objective will be to try to finish the race in the best possible place, as always, to continue learning within the category.” CHEVROLET IN DETROIT:Wins in Detroit (all on Belle Isle since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo injection era): 82014: Will Power (Race 1) and Helio Castroneves (Race 2)2015: Sebastien Bourdais (Race 2)2016: Sebastien Bourdais (Race 1) and Will Power (Race 2)2019: Josef Newgarden (Race 1)2021: Pato O’Ward (Race 2)2022: Will Power Pole Awards in Detroit (all on Belle Isle since 2012): 102012: Will Power2014: Helio Castroneves2015: Will Power (Race 1) and Juan Pablo Montoya (Race 2)2016 Scott Dixon (Races 1 and 2)2019: Josef Newgarden (Race 2)2021: Pato O’Ward (Race 1) and Josef Newgarden (Race 2)2022: Josef Newgarden 2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:188: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR. 109: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012. 121: Earned poles since 2012. 7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012. 7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012. 12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2 liter twin-turbo direct injected era.26: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer. 14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including the past 11 with Chevrolet power. 9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver. 44: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Power’s career total of 68 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

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ROBERT HIGHT AND AAA CHEVY LOOKING FOR FIRST WIN AT NEW ENGLAND DRAGWAy

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

EPPING, N.H. (June 01, 2023) – With 600 round wins under his belt, Robert Hight is looking to take the AAA New England / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS to another winner’s circle at this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway.
Hight is just the 13th driver in NHRA pro drag racing history to win 600 competitive rounds, a mark he reached with a first-round win at the NHRA Route 66 Nationals after qualifying No. 1. His qualifying efforts extended his record of having qualified No.1 at least once and won at least once in every season that he has contested the championship (18). The AAA Chevy currently sits third in the overall championship standings after six events thanks to two victories at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals and NHRA Arizona Nationals.
“It’s been a decent season so far. Things are coming around and we’re finding some consistency. I’m excited to be driving the AAA Chevy this weekend. Hoping we can get the job done for them at New England Dragway,” Hight said. “I’ve gotten close to winning a couple times in Epping. Would be pretty great to get the job done this weekend, mark another one off, move up in points and get AAA in the winner’s circle.”
The NHRA New England Nationals is the only current event in which Hight has not yet hoisted the winners’ trophy. That said, he has taken his AAA Chevy Camaro SS to the final round the last two years, dropping an all-JFR final to teammate John Force in 2021 before losing to Matt Hagan a year ago. Hight has qualified No. 1 in 2014 and 2017, setting the current track records of 3.822 seconds and 336.74 mph in 2017. The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway starts with qualifying Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday eliminations are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage will be aired on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET, and eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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Burton, Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team Prepping For 300-Miler at World Wide Technology Raceway

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

June 1, 2023

After a long but memorable Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are back on the road.

This weekend finds them headed to World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 on the 1.25-mile track formerly known as Gateway International Raceway.

Brian Wilson, crew chief on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, said there’s lots to feel good about around the team shop this week.

“Last weekend in Charlotte was another solid race for the No. 21 Ford,” Wilson said. “With such a long race you expect ups and downs. We certainly had that throughout the day.

“We ended up with a top-20, but know that we were capable of more than that. We’re all hungry to keep pushing for better results.”

Wilson also said he was happy to see Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 crew at Team Penske score a victory in the Coca-Cola 600.

“It was great to see our technical alliance partners get a win,” he said. “Everyone in the Ford camp has been pushing to improve our performance at 1.5-mile tracks, and I know every Wood Brothers fan enjoyed seeing the former No. 21 driver Ryan Blaney in Victory Lane.”

Wilson said that as he looks forward to the upcoming weekend, he believes he and the team can use what they learned last year to their benefit.

Last year, in the Cup Series’ first visit to WWT Raceway, the No. 21 team qualified ninth and ran in the top 20 for much of the race before finishing 25^th.

“We believe that we can build on that performance and keep our upward trend of competitiveness going,” Wilson said, adding that the tire compound that will be used this weekend will offer crew chiefs some additional options as they make their calls from atop the pit box. “Last year’s event showcased a tire that allowed for some unique strategies.

“We’ll have the same tire combination from Goodyear for this race. This should allow teams to do two tires, stay out and flip strategies when opportunity presents itself.”

Practice for the Enjoy Illinois 300 is set for Saturday at 9 a.m. Central Time (10 a.m. Eastern) to be followed by qualifying at 9:45.

Sunday’s 300-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Central Time (3:30 Eastern). Stage breaks in the 240-lap race are set for Laps 40 and 140.

FOX Sports 1 will carry the TV coverage all weekend.

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aUSTIN PROCK AND MONTANA BRAND SET SIGHTS ON NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS VICTORY

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

AUSTIN PROCK AND MONTANA BRAND SET SIGHTS ONNEW ENGLAND NATIONALS VICTORY

EPPING, N.H. (June 01, 2023) – Already with one win this season, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster team enter this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway sitting third in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel points standings. Prock has emerged as a prominent figure in the Top Fuel category, having secured victory in three out of his past 12 national events reaching back to the 2022 Countdown. This season he has gone to the finals twice in the last four event. His most recent triumph in Charlotte at the Four-Wide Nationals, was a significant milestone marking his first victory of the season, first in Four-Wide and first in Top Fuel for seasoned crew chief Chris Cunningham, who was previously part of the crew chief tandem on Robert Hight’s Funny Car with Jimmy Prock.
“I’m looking forward to firing things off strong in Epping. Always love going there because of the history, it’s an old school track, and the fans are always great,” Prock said. “It’s going to be interesting with the swings in weather this weekend, but I believe our Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team will be able to overcome any conditions. Hoping for another solid weekend to keep chipping away at the points standings.”
With only two previous starts at New England Dragway, Prock has qualified in the top half of the field in both 2019 and 2022. Last season he raced his way to the semifinals losing only to eventual race winner Mike Salinas.
The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway starts with qualifying Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday eliminations are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage will be aired on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET, and eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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SUMMERTIME SPECIALIST: Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing Picking Up Early Season Steam

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

Schatz has turned his season around heading into River Cities and OgilvieGRAND FORKS, ND (June 1, 2023) – Temperatures are on the rise as summer nears, and Donny Schatz is beginning to heat up.Tracks get slick. Grip is scarce. And humidity plays with the density of air. These conditions have always brought out the best in the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion. And 2023 has been no exception.After combating struggles through the first couple months of the campaign, Schatz has resembled his prime self since the beginning of May. In the last nine races, Schatz has collected six podiums, including a pair of victories at Attica Raceway Park and Sharon Speedway. The podium tally would likely be seven if it weren’t for a late-race flat tire at Atomic Speedway. He’s also missed only one Toyota Dash over that stretch – a key aspect to their success.“We’ve gotten ourselves qualified. I think that’s the most important part,” Schatz commented. “You can’t start in the third and fourth row of the Heat Races and think you’re going to get in the Dash unless something drastic happens. Nobody really does that. The guys have worked hard. They’ve done their homework, just kind of fine-tuned.“Like I said, it’s all about getting qualified well. Then, you can work on your car a little bit and try a few different things in the Heats and the Dashes. The tracks where you have to drive with any sort of control, we’ve been good at. Lawrenceburg (Speedway) we weren’t all that good at, but honestly it was completely different than when we’ve been there in the past. Normally, there was a little bit of a bottom at times, but this was basically just a death slider race. That’s why we didn’t have the best result. But pretty much everything else the last month has been great – a couple wins and some podiums. You’ve got to be consistent. That’s where we want to be.”A primary catalyst to their results is the performance of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing team’s Ford FPS 410 engine. With steadfast diligence, they’ve made progress in their motor program, leading to a more comfortable feeling and allowing Schatz to drive the way he prefers.“Everybody at Ford and Ron Shaver that have been working on it are just continually trying to improve with baby steps,” Schatz said. “We’re getting pretty close. We’re getting back to where I can move my foot and being able to race.”In addition to the program being in a good place, Schatz noted the Ford’s functionality excels during the summer stretch.“The cylinder heads on these Ford motors are very efficient,” Schatz explained. “They are super efficient. Sometimes they get running to where they get pumping so hard that when you start to close the butterflies off and cut the air off, they keep running a little bit. And that’s where it kind of helps us come these summertime months when the air is bad. There’s not as much air in there to mix it with fuel and do that.”Looking ahead, the schedule suggests Schatz could continue his current pace. Next up is a visit to one of his home tracks – River Cities Speedway (Grand Forks, ND) – on Friday, June 2 – where the Fargo, ND driver’s record is impeccable. In 29 Series starts, he’s won 12 times, podiumed on 21 occasions, and finished no worse than seventh.“It’s a forgiving place,” Schatz said of his results at River Cities. “I’ve learned where you can get yourself in trouble and not get yourself in trouble. And we’ve been very fortunate to always have a good race car there. Everything’s really just worked there. There are multiple grooves. Everytime we go there we seem to have a pretty decent racetrack.”Another upcoming event close to home for Schatz is the Husets High Bank Nationals (June 21-24) in Brandon, SD – also the home state of his crew chief Steve “Scuba” Swenson. The four-day event will conclude with a $250,000-to-win Feature – the richest payday in World of Outlaws history.“It’s definitely a place I cut my teeth at,” Schatz said of Husets. “I spent a lot of Sunday nights there. I tore a lot of stuff up there. I made a lot of memories there, and I’ve managed to win a few races too. We’re looking forward to it. I think when everybody heard it was paying $250,000 to win, we all thought, ‘Man, is Tod (Quiring, track owner) insane?’ But it’s cool that we can get that opportunity to race for that sort of money. It’s what you strive for. They work hard at trying to put on the best races they can.”Schatz will be poised to maintain his recent performance for the remainder of the season as the third-winningest driver in Series history is in pursuit of his 11th championship. The early season troubles dug him a sizable hole but continuing to perform the way he has and maintaining a pragmatic perspective could lead the racing legend back into the title hunt.“To win a championship you’ve got to be consistent,” Schatz said. “When you can’t win, you’ve got to have seconds and thirds. We’ve been in that form the last month, but I think we’ve dug just a little bit too big of a hole to dig out of it. But there’s still a lot of racing left, so we’re just going to keep down this path to get as much of it as we can, and maybe we’ll still have an opportunity going right down to the last race to have a race for a championship.”Catch Donny Schatz in action with the World of Outlaws this weekend at River Cities (June 2) & Ogilvie Raceway (June 3). For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, watch all of the action on DIRTVision.

SUMMERTIME SPECIALIST: Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart Racing Picking Up Early Season SteamSchatz has turned his season around heading into River Cities and OgilvieGRAND FORKS, ND (June 1, 2023) – Temperatures are on the rise as summer nears, and Donny Schatz is beginning to heat up.Tracks get slick. Grip is scarce. And humidity plays with the density of air. These conditions have always brought out the best in the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion. And 2023 has been no exception.After combating struggles through the first couple months of the campaign, Schatz has resembled his prime self since the beginning of May. In the last nine races, Schatz has collected six podiums, including a pair of victories at Attica Raceway Park and Sharon Speedway. The podium tally would likely be seven if it weren’t for a late-race flat tire at Atomic Speedway. He’s also missed only one Toyota Dash over that stretch – a key aspect to their success.“We’ve gotten ourselves qualified. I think that’s the most important part,” Schatz commented. “You can’t start in the third and fourth row of the Heat Races and think you’re going to get in the Dash unless something drastic happens. Nobody really does that. The guys have worked hard. They’ve done their homework, just kind of fine-tuned.“Like I said, it’s all about getting qualified well. Then, you can work on your car a little bit and try a few different things in the Heats and the Dashes. The tracks where you have to drive with any sort of control, we’ve been good at. Lawrenceburg (Speedway) we weren’t all that good at, but honestly it was completely different than when we’ve been there in the past. Normally, there was a little bit of a bottom at times, but this was basically just a death slider race. That’s why we didn’t have the best result. But pretty much everything else the last month has been great – a couple wins and some podiums. You’ve got to be consistent. That’s where we want to be.”A primary catalyst to their results is the performance of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing team’s Ford FPS 410 engine. With steadfast diligence, they’ve made progress in their motor program, leading to a more comfortable feeling and allowing Schatz to drive the way he prefers.“Everybody at Ford and Ron Shaver that have been working on it are just continually trying to improve with baby steps,” Schatz said. “We’re getting pretty close. We’re getting back to where I can move my foot and being able to race.”In addition to the program being in a good place, Schatz noted the Ford’s functionality excels during the summer stretch.“The cylinder heads on these Ford motors are very efficient,” Schatz explained. “They are super efficient. Sometimes they get running to where they get pumping so hard that when you start to close the butterflies off and cut the air off, they keep running a little bit. And that’s where it kind of helps us come these summertime months when the air is bad. There’s not as much air in there to mix it with fuel and do that.”Looking ahead, the schedule suggests Schatz could continue his current pace. Next up is a visit to one of his home tracks – River Cities Speedway (Grand Forks, ND) – on Friday, June 2 – where the Fargo, ND driver’s record is impeccable. In 29 Series starts, he’s won 12 times, podiumed on 21 occasions, and finished no worse than seventh.“It’s a forgiving place,” Schatz said of his results at River Cities. “I’ve learned where you can get yourself in trouble and not get yourself in trouble. And we’ve been very fortunate to always have a good race car there. Everything’s really just worked there. There are multiple grooves. Everytime we go there we seem to have a pretty decent racetrack.”Another upcoming event close to home for Schatz is the Husets High Bank Nationals (June 21-24) in Brandon, SD – also the home state of his crew chief Steve “Scuba” Swenson. The four-day event will conclude with a $250,000-to-win Feature – the richest payday in World of Outlaws history.“It’s definitely a place I cut my teeth at,” Schatz said of Husets. “I spent a lot of Sunday nights there. I tore a lot of stuff up there. I made a lot of memories there, and I’ve managed to win a few races too. We’re looking forward to it. I think when everybody heard it was paying $250,000 to win, we all thought, ‘Man, is Tod (Quiring, track owner) insane?’ But it’s cool that we can get that opportunity to race for that sort of money. It’s what you strive for. They work hard at trying to put on the best races they can.”Schatz will be poised to maintain his recent performance for the remainder of the season as the third-winningest driver in Series history is in pursuit of his 11th championship. The early season troubles dug him a sizable hole but continuing to perform the way he has and maintaining a pragmatic perspective could lead the racing legend back into the title hunt.“To win a championship you’ve got to be consistent,” Schatz said. “When you can’t win, you’ve got to have seconds and thirds. We’ve been in that form the last month, but I think we’ve dug just a little bit too big of a hole to dig out of it. But there’s still a lot of racing left, so we’re just going to keep down this path to get as much of it as we can, and maybe we’ll still have an opportunity going right down to the last race to have a race for a championship.”Catch Donny Schatz in action with the World of Outlaws this weekend at River Cities (June 2) & Ogilvie Raceway (June 3). For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, watch all of the action on DIRTVision.

Uncategorized

chevy racing–nascar–weekend advance

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

MIDWEST TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWESTThe NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will reunite in the Midwest this weekend for the series’ return to World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR). Located just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, the 1.25-mile oval just recently entered the scene for NASCAR’s premier series with Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarter marking only the series’ second-ever appearance at the track. For the NCTS, the Illinois oval has been familiar territory over the past two decades. Saturday’s Toyota 200 – the series’ 23rd race at WWTR – starts the five-race countdown as the series begins the final stretch in its regular-season. The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will make the journey to the Pacific Northwest to Portland International Raceway (PIR) this weekend. Hosting the series for only the second time, Chevrolet will make its return to the 1.97-mile, 12-turn road course as the defending winners at the circuit and will look to go back-to-back in Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147.

ROAD COURSE WARRIORSChevrolet has proven to be a frontrunner in NASCAR Xfinity Series road course competition and looks to continue that trend heading into the Portland International Raceway weekend. Road course phenom AJ Allmendinger put Kaulig Racing and Chevrolet in the history books as the inaugural winners at the Oregon road course circuit last season. The triumph was part of a dominant season in road course competition for the manufacturer – with Chevrolet nabbing wins in five of the six NXS road course races in 2022. The Bowtie brand already has one trip to victory lane in the series on a road course this season after Allmendinger defended his winning title at Circuit of The Americas in March.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Of the active NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have previously won at World Wide Technology Raceway in either the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, two of which are Chevrolet drivers:         Justin Haley, GMS Racing Silverado in the NCWTS (2018)       Ross Chastain, Niece Motorsports Silverado in the NCWTS (2019)
·       Only three drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series are repeat winners this season, all coming from Team Chevy (William Byron – Las Vegas, Phoenix & Darlington; Kyle Larson – Richmond & Martinsville; Kyle Busch – Auto Club and Talladega).
·       In 14 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (eight), top-fives (31), top-10s (59), stage wins (15) and laps led (1,851).
·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with eight victories in 14 NASCAR Cup Series races, eight victories in 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and six wins in 11 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a win percentage of more than 50%.
·       With Grant Enfinger’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Kansas Speedway, GMS Racing is tied with Kevin Harvick Incorporated as the winningest Chevrolet organization in NCTS history with 43 all-time wins.
·       Chevrolet’s series-leading eight NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by drivers from three different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports).
·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 15 of the 28 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (seven; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (two) and Chase Elliott (one).
·       Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 39 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 41 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 23 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 841 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TUNE IN: · NASCAR Cup Series: World Wide Technology RacewayEnjoy Illinois 300 presented by TicketSmarterSunday, June 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)
· NASCAR Xfinity Series: Portland International RacewayPacific Office Automation 14Saturday, June 3, at 4:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) · NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: World Wide Technology RacewayToyota 200Saturday, June 3, at 1:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1World Wide Technology Raceway is a pretty new track on the Cup Series schedule, what do you think about going there?“I obviously have good memories of racing at World Wide Technology Raceway since I won there back in 2019 in the Niece Motorsports truck. I enjoy going to the Midwest and it’s fun because it’s a fairly new market for the Cup Series. The fans are excited to have a race there and the track has all kinds of this planned for them with the concerts and things like that.”
What are you looking forward to about this weekend?“Looks like it will be another really hot weekend just like it was last year. The track will be slick and I get the chance to drive the Moose Fraternity car again which always fun. Before the race weekend, I’m going to visit Mooseheart which is always an incredible time and then on Saturday I hope to meet quite a few Moose members and fans at the lodge in Illinois.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1 What are your thoughts on going back to WWT Raceway?“I’m looking forward to racing at Worldwide Technology Raceway again in the No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro. It’s the only real Midwest track we have right now, and the fans love it. Last year was a great inaugural race for the NASCAR Cup Series and we have good notes to build on. RCR has put in a lot of work on our speedway package, and I feel confident in the effort of my Richard Childress Racing team. It was a fun race and we put on a good show.”
What makes WWT Raceway so unique and challenging to drive?“It’s a tough track with differences between the two ends. There will be a lot of shifting, so managing the transmission and not over-revving the engine will be key for 300 miles. Turns 1&2 are tighter corners. You really have to get the car turned early so you can get that long exit down the backstretch. You’re in the corner for a long time through Turns 3 and 4. It’s a flatter corner, and you’re always trying to balance the two corners to make the best car you can. You have to give up a little bit in Turns 1 and 2 to be good in Turns 3 and 4 and vice versa. What corner do you want to be good at?”
St. Louis isn’t known for its racing heritage, but the interest is picking up since the NASCAR Cup Series has gone there. Talk about the St. Louis market and what it means to NASCAR in general.“The Midwest is key to our sport. Going there and being around the fans is always fun. I raced dirt tracks in St. Louis and around the area a lot. There are some great dirt tracks out in Missouri, so for me, I feel like I’ve been racing there for a while. I ran Gateway in the NASCAR Truck Series a few years ago, and that track always puts on a great race. The staff has done a great job in bringing it back and rejuvenating the track to make it an exciting place to go race and for the fans to enjoy.”
What’s your favorite thing about the race weekend other than the race itself?“Usually, it’s the National Anthem for me. When they play the Anthem, there’s always a flyover, and that gets me pretty pumped up and ready to get into the car and do what I’ve been working on all week.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Larson on racing in St. Louis: “I’m excited to see the NASCAR Cup Series return to St. Louis. Last year, we finished 12th, but I think our team learned a lot throughout the race. The No. 5 team is definitely hungry for a better finish, myself included, but 2022’s experience and notes certainly help us build confidence for this weekend.”

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Daniels on what the team has learned since last year’s trip to WWT Raceway: “To be honest, last year at St. Louis we weren’t very good, disappointingly so. I think at the time there were some things we needed to evolve with our short-track package and since then, we have done that. We’ve had some great short-track races this year and taken a lot from what learned at Phoenix (Raceway) earlier this year. We’re just trying to figure out how to put that together in the right way and hopefully put a great foot forward for this weekend. I will say the track did a great job last year and I think the track is going to race well this year. We certainly enjoy going there and enjoy the race. Obviously, only been there once, but hopefully this year we put a better car on track and turn it into an even more fun experience.”

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 You ran very well last year at Gateway, scoring a second-place finish and leading the most laps (66). What are the keys to running well there?“We had a really good run there last year. We were kind of mired there in traffic for a little bit but once we got out front our car was pretty fast. We were able to lead the most laps. To me, Gateway is a tough track. There’s a lot of shifting there. The braking is very technical. The two ends of the track are entirely different from one another so that’s kind of an interesting take on it as well. Turns 1 and 2 are vastly different than 3 and 4, so how you attack each end of the racetrack is really different. I had a couple of late-race restarts last year that came down to me and (Joey) Logano. I just messed up on one of the restarts and let him get alongside of me and then tried to throw a slide job and wasn’t quite able to secure the win. I feel like we’ll be real close to that and we can win there.”
Gateway has a unique shape and design. Can you compare it to any other track? Phoenix perhaps?“Gateway is just so different. The long straightaways kind of remind you a little bit of Martinsville with the braking technique that it takes to get into the corners in Turns 1 and 2 being like Martinsville, but then down in Turns 3 and 4 it reminds you of Turns 1 and 2 at Phoenix. Gateway is just tough, one that you don’t really compare to anywhere else. It’s its own unique animal.”
How aero dependent of a racetrack is Gateway? The track surface looks worn out but is tire wear a factor?“Gateway is a little bit aero dependent for sure. Anywhere you go that you’re traveling 60 miles per hour there’s aero dependency. It’s a fun little racetrack. You can run low and you can run high. I seemed to find success there last year running a little bit higher. Other guys were working their way all over the track. The track surface is aged. It’s pretty worn but doesn’t lend itself to a lot of tire wear. Tire fall off happens a little bit when the tires get hot, but last year we didn’t see any issues where we had to pit and put tires on, or that putting tires on made a big difference.”

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1LaJoie on driving for Hendrick Motorsports this weekend: “The last 24 hours have been surreal. Despite the circumstances, I’m very appreciative of Mr. Hendrick for the opportunity to fill in for a championship team and driver. I also can’t thank my Spire Motorsports family enough for working with Hendrick Motorsports to make it come to fruition. The level of preparation and expectations to succeed are everything I expected them to be. I was able to spend time with Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the No. 9 guys at the shop and the pursuit of perfection is evident the second you walk through the door. I’m ready to climb through the window and get to work.”

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 FARMSMART CAMARO ZL1“Gateway was a racetrack I didn’t get to practice at last year since I was running the Xfinity race at Portland. Once I got in a rhythm on the racetrack, I really enjoyed it. It’s a unique oval; downshifting twice in this car in turn one and really heavy on the breaks. I had a lot of fun with it, hopefully we can go back there and base it off our success last year and have a good weekend.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 Byron on his thoughts for this weekend: “Gateway (WWT Raceway) is a track that we need to make some improvements at. We’ve really been focusing on that this season though, not only getting better and staying consistent, but really focusing on those tracks that we seem to not be as strong at. It’s going to be a really hot weekend, just like it was last year. I think we have a better idea of what to expect this year than we did last year, and we’ve been unloading close to what we need this year, which is promising. I’m optimistic for this weekend with how we’ve been executing so far this year.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1Fugle on the eventful week for the team: “It’s been a busy week for the No. 24 team after the rain out from Charlotte (Motor Speedway) and the tire test at Michigan (International Speedway). This team never quits and I think this season we’ve shown that. We weren’t the best at Gateway (WWT Raceway) last year but even this year we’ve already improved at some of the racetracks we weren’t great at before this year. That’s been one of our goals this year and so far we’ve executed that. Hopefully, this weekend is no different and we can have a better showing.”

JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1“Gateway has always been a fun track for me in my racing career, and it’s where I got my first NASCAR win in the Truck Series. We had a good finish at Gateway last year and a great race overall as a team. That gives us some confidence going into the weekend.”

NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORT CAMARO ZL1“I’m looking forward to St. Louis and hope we get to practice and qualify. The weather is really hurting us – when we don’t have a chance to make laps and have to start by the metric, we have to work hard to move forward and have been having some bad luck. I ran well in the trucks at this track so I am looking forward to getting some laps in the No. 43 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet.”

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP CAMARO ZL1“St. Louis is a great track, since it was new last year on the Cup schedule, we haven’t had the opportunity to run there as much as the other tracks, but when we do have the opportunity to compete there we have run well. Last year we didn’t have a great start, but we worked our way up to a top-ten finish. With Bommarito back on the car this year I feel like we need to have that same goal in mind. It is going to be our first time back on the road in a while and transitioning from a 600-mile race in Charlotte to a 300-mile race changes your mindset a bit, but I am excited to get back out there and race for a win.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1Bowman on racing at WWT Raceway: “WWT Raceway is a little bit unnatural for me. It kind of has a Loudon (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) –Phoenix (Raceway) feel to it – two places that are not my favorite. I am just trying to understand what I need to do. I think it is going to be driver-input sensitive and I think we will be able to manipulate the race car a lot. I have been in the simulator a lot, just trying to be better and lean on my teammates – looking at their data. I am just trying to understand what I am going to want in the race car and how to go execute.”

BLAKE HARRIS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1Harris on his approach to Sunday’s race at WWT Raceway: “It’s a super unique racetrack. There is nothing really like it that we go to in the (NASCAR) Cup Series. We will have to go apply a lot of what we have learned this year at short tracks. Track position is really important here, so we are going to focus on qualifying well and getting some short-run speed in our No. 48 Ally Camaro, especially after last week’s pit road debacle and having our qualifying position determined by the NASCAR metric system. Qualifying well leads to good pit selection and that leads to good track position, so our weekend starts with qualifying well. Our pit crew handled everything that was thrown their way in Charlotte, but we know it was something that affected our race and our ability to compete for a win at the end.”

CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RSTDo you enjoy racing at World Wide Technology Raceway?“Gateway is a track that I’ve had success at and run well at, so I’m excited to go back there. I don’t know what it is about that track — I just really like the feel of it and how you have to race it from a driver’s standpoint. It’s a really neat race track with having two different corners and both ends of the race track being completely opposite. I like to think Turns 1 and 2 race like a short track and we are shifting down there, then Turns 3 and 4 race like a traditional mile race track, like a Loudon. Aero is really important and makes it hard to pass. You need to qualify well and do everything you can to keep your track position. I’m excited to go there in a KBM truck and see what we can do.”
Is it important to end this five-week stretch of races with a strong run headed into two weeks off?“We are coming to the end of a five-week stretch where there have been some bumps in the road, but it is crucial to end on a high note. You want to have some momentum going into a couple weeks off and then be ready to make a push to get into the playoffs in the final four weeks of the regular season. We just need to execute and have a good day on Saturday.”
How do you prepare for the heat that you’ll experience this weekend?“It’s going to be 95 degrees and hot on Saturday. This place is notorious for that, during the summer it feels like it’s one of the hottest places on Earth. You need to hydrate during the week, work out and eat healthy. We do a lot of cardio and some heat training as well. Nothing that we are not used to, but it’s definitely going to be more demanding from a physical standpoint inside the truck.”

GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RSTWhat are your thoughts on returning to World Wide Technology Raceway given your strong runs there in the past?“I enjoy running at WWT Raceway because it’s a little different style track. It has some intermediate and some short track tendencies. Heading into the last half of the season, the No. 23 team is more determined than ever to be a contender for more wins this year. The team has been putting in the work, and I feel our organization has shown more speed through the last four races. I am confident that we will return to WWTR strong, and will continue to push ourselves to get back to victory lane.”

RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 BORN DRIVEN SILVERADO RSTRajah’s thoughts on this weekend in Gateway:“I feel really good about heading back to World Wide Technology Raceway this weekend. This is the track that I made my NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut at last year, and ran inside the top-10 for a good portion of the day. We had a speeding penalty and some other stuff happen, but my team and I were still able to rebound for an 11th-place finish that day. I feel really good to go back to a place that I’ve raced at in a truck before. Additionally to have the support of the Wendell Scott Foundation and promote their new book, Born Driven, on our truck this weekend is really a blessing especially with having the Scott Family there. We are in the back yard of the Steward family, and I have been very appreciative of all they have done for my career as well.
I feel extremely confident about our chances to run well throughout the weekend in practice, qualifying, and the race. We continue to look at building upon our momentum with a good result for Maury Gallagher, Mike Beam, Ron Booth, Chevrolet, our body hangers, everybody at GMS Fabrication, Butlerbuilt Seats, Alpinestars, and Competition Cleaning. I’m very excited.”

DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 LIFTEDTRUCKSFORSALE.COM SILVERADO RSTYou’ve never raced at Gateway before, but are there any tracks that you have raced at before that seem similar?“I’m looking forward to getting to a new track that’s similar to some of the tracks that I’ve been to before. I like to think that Gateway is pretty similar to Milwaukee, which I’ve raced at a couple of times in the ARCA Menards Series for GMS Racing. It’s going to be good to get to a track that has a little bit of a short track feel, but where still aerodynamics are still important. I’m happy to get our No. 43 LiftedTrucksForSale.com Chevrolet out onto the racetrack for our first race with them as a partner of ours!”

JACK WOOD, NO. 51 LOGITECH SILVERADO RSTThis will be your first Truck Series race at a track less than 1.5 miles this year. Are you looking forward to it?“The 51 team had a lot of speed at Gateway last year and I think our sim time leading up to this week went really well, so I feel like it will be a good race for us. We just have to put together a whole race. We have had great qualifying speed and race speed in the trucks, our pit crew has done a really great job all year, but I just have to do a little better job of putting the races together.”
What does it take to be successful at World Wide Technology Raceway?“I think you have to be ok with your truck being a little bit on the edge. I think track position is a huge thing there because it is really tough to make up ground once you lose it. Qualifying is going to be important, and the restarts are going to be especially important this week. You have to take care of your truck because you are going to be using up the transmission and using up the brakes. The biggest thing is that you have to stay mentally focused all day and do your job — especially with how hot it is going to be Saturday. I work hard to be in shape and hopefully with it being a little hotter this weekend that will come into play a little bit.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007) 2023 STATISTICS: Wins: 8Poles: 4Laps Led: 1,851Top-five finishes: 31Top-10 finishes: 59Stage wins: 15· Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)· William Byron – 7 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte)· Kyle Larson – 2 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt)· Chase Elliott – 1 (Talladega) CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 841 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 738Laps led to date: 247,395Top-five finishes to date: 4,252Top-10 finishes to date: 8,771 Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date: General Motors: 1,175 Chevrolet: 841 Pontiac: 154 Oldsmobile: 115 Buick: 65 Ford: 822 Ford: 722 Mercury: 96 Lincoln: 4 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467 Dodge: 217 Plymouth: 191 Chrysler: 59 Toyota: 174

Uncategorized

Cruz Pedregon–Epping Advance

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA New England Nationals

Pre-Race Report

With two #1 and two #2 qualifying weekends in the last NHRA four races, Cruz Predregon and team have the Snap-on^®“Makers and Fixers” Dodge^®SRT^®Hellcat^® right where they want it for Epping.

“This Snap-on car is really responding well to our cool weather setup, and it should pay off for us with the lower temps expected in New England this weekend,” says Cruz. “We’re still working on a good setup for when we have a hot track that gets slippery, but we see that coming together for us before we get into the warmer conditions in the months ahead.”

The team was able to gather data from runs during the weeks off including a rare matchup between the Snap-on Funny Car and the R+L Top Fuel Dragster. Cruz invited NHRA Top Fuel championship contender Josh Hart to make a side-by-side run at Lucas Oil Raceway over the Memorial Day Weekend. The event was part of Cruz’s primary sponsor’s Snap-on Superspeedway contest that hosted franchisees, winning customers, and their guests for a weekend at the Indy 500 prior to an immersive drag-racing experience that included instruction at the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School and wrapped with the Funny Car vs. Top Fuel Dragster exhibition race before dinner at the track. The tree was adjusted accordingly, and even though Hart came out on top, both racers called the day a “win” for everyone who attended.

Prior to the race, Cruz will ride along with Nitro Franchisee Brian Beaulieu who spends many weekends here at the track in Epping. His son races Junior Dragsters and just began racing in the Junior Street division. His son is taking part in the Junior Dragster display you can see on the Midway along with the 100 or so of Brian’s customers he’s bringing with him to the track this weekend. Brian was an auto technician before he took on his Snap-on franchise 15 years ago. If you’re like Brian and have interests as a professional “maker and fixer,” be sure to check out “Makers and Fixers” on Instagram and share your stories at makersandfixers.com.

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JOHN FORCE AND BLUEDEF CONTINUE HUNT FOR VICTORY AT NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

JOHN FORCE AND BLUEDEF CONTINUE HUNT FORVICTORY AT NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

EPPING, N.H. (June 01, 2023) – John Force and his BlueDEF PLATINUM / PEAK Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS enter this weekend’s NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway sitting eighth in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing points and are looking to up their performance as they search for their first victory of the season.
At the most recent event on tour, the NHRA Route 66 Nationals presented by PEAK, Force and his BlueDEF Chevy, adorned with the names of Old World Industries (OWI) employee names on the hood, continued their streak of semifinal finishes after qualifying No. 8. Force also earned semifinal points after reaching the final quad at both NHRA Four Wide Nationals in Las Vegas and Charlotte.
“We had a great week with everyone at PEAK and BlueDEF, OWI, their parent company, in Chicago. Even had the founder and chairman out, Tom Hurvis. My hot rod celebrated all of their employees on the hood, and we took it to the semi-finals,” Force said. “We love coming to Epping and putting on a show for the fans. I’m feeling good. We’re in the race within a race and we’re going to win this thing.”
This weekend’s competition has added incentive for Force who will compete for the first time in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge during Saturday qualifying. His semi-final finish at the Route 66 Nationals earned him a spot in the specialty event. Performing in the race within a race not only earns drivers championship points at the end of the regular season but a chance at prize money as well.
Force has two past wins at New England Dragway in 2015 and 2021 making him one of only seven racers to have multiple wins at the track. In last season’s event Force qualified second overall and lost in the second round. He also has one No.1 qualifier in the inaugural event in 2013.
The NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway starts with qualifying Friday at 6:00 p.m. Saturday qualifying and the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for Funny Car will be at 2:50 p.m. If Force wins, his last qualifying session and the Challenge finals will be at 6:25 p.m. Regular Funny Car qualifying will be at 6:00 p.m. Sunday eliminations are set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage will be aired on FO Sports 1 (FS1) Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET, and eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

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Megan Meyer Leads Randy Meyer Racing Quad to Victory at Eddyville’s Nitro Chaos

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

Megan Meyer Leads Randy Meyer Racing Quad to Victory at Eddyville’s Nitro Chaos

May 31, 2023 | Featured, Megan Meyer, Race Results

Two-time NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Megan Meyer bounced back from a second-round red-light at the Nitro Chaos season opener by racing to victory last weekend at Eddyville Raceway Park’s “Chaos in the Cornfield.” Driving one of two Gunk Cleaners A/Fuel dragsters, Meyer defeated two Randy Meyer Racing teammates before beating Dale Creasy Jr. in his NHRA Funny Car on a holeshot in the A-Field final round.

“After the red-light loss in Edgewater, I was so in my head about not red lighting again,” Megan said. “I was dead late on the tree every time and it almost cost me the race in first round. I got lucky all three rounds and finally cut a good light in the finals after getting out of my head. My husband, my sister, and my dad all gave me pep talks that I needed. I was also fighting a head cold, so I wasn’t feeling the best, but I knew I had to forget about everything and focus on my job.”

Chaos in the Cornfield was Randy Meyer Racing’s first time fielding four different cars: three A/Fuel dragsters – driven by Megan, Rachel Meyer, and Matt Sackman – in Nitro Chaos and the Julie Nataas-driven A/Fuel Funny Car in Funny Car Chaos.

“It was just like the series: chaos,” said team owner and tuner Randy Meyer. “We started out with chaos planning on running two cars, then adding a third, then a fourth. Our ultimate goal was to try to put on a good show for the fans that come out to support this series. It’s all about the fans. We wanted to support Chris [Graves, promoter] and what he’s done. It turned out to be a really good weekend. We had a few struggles, which we expected trying to run four cars. We knew we had our hands full, but I laid out a pretty good plan ahead of time. That’s what it takes to make something like this happen. It’s hard to run one car, much less two, then you add in three and four.”

Nataas, the current NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster national points leader, made her second appearance of the season in the RMR A/Fuel Funny Car. Unfortunately, parts breakage in the second qualifying session prevented Nataas from reaching eliminations. With just two Funny Car Chaos races left this season, the team plans to park the Funny Car to focus on the dragsters.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that the Funny Car didn’t do as good as we hoped,” Randy said. “We were showing good promise with it at Dallas. We have to regroup and start back over, but we’ll be back with the Funny Car in the future. When we do come out, it’ll be good and it’ll be fun and it’ll be fast.”

All three RMR dragsters qualified in the eight-car A-Field, with Megan qualifying No. 2 with a 3.51-second E.T. at 227 MPH. Rachel ended up No. 6 with a 3.72 E.T. at 212 MPH, and Matt qualified No. 7 with a 3.72 at 174 MPH.

In the opening round, Megan powered past Matt in the OTG dragster to win with a 3.62 at 221 MPH. On the other side of the ladder, Rachel used a weekend-best 3.61 at 219 MPH in her Gunk dragster to beat Todd Bruce in “The Bull” A/Fuel dragster, setting up a Meyer vs. Meyer matchup in the semis.

In the semifinals, Rachel went into aggressive tire shake, which shook out one of her parachutes, slowing her to a 3.67 at 199 MPH. Megan didn’t have any issues in her lane, charging to a 3.57 at 223 MPH for a spot in the final round.

The final round was a battle between the two quickest cars on the property, with Megan lining up against No. 1 qualifier Dale Creasy Jr. in his NHRA Funny Car. Megan was first off the starting line and drove through tire shake to finish ahead of Creasy with a 3.56 at 223 MPH to Creasy’s 3.54 at 192 MPH. It was a powerful win that put Megan back in championship contention.

“I believe this win will bump me into top 3 in points, and with the season already halfway through, it’s important we collect as many as possible and don’t slip,” Megan said. “What will really get us to separate from the pack is getting those No. 1 qualifier bonus points. If we can do that and win, we have a good chance at making the Gunk team and ‘Queen Bee’ the first champion of the Nitro Chaos.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the daily activities we do to make our operation run at a high level full-time, but when we captured team photos Saturday morning with all of our crew and cars together, we took a step back and saw that we’ve come a long way. My dad has sacrificed so much time and energy for this sport, and he deserves this win for all that he’s done for us and for drag racing. I’m also very proud of each of our crew guys, past and present, that have helped us win all of the titles and championships including our latest one. I had Andrew Holisky and Taylor Pflumm as my crew this weekend and they did an outstanding job with the car and stayed on top of everything to give me the best dragster to win.”

Rachel, who plans to run one more Nitro Chaos event this season, was thrilled with the team’s overall performance at Chaos in the Cornfield, even though her Gunk dragster struggled with wheelstands and tire shake.

“I would have loved to meet up with Megan in the finals, but unfortunately we were on the same side of the ladder,” Rachel said. “It’s still awesome we all even made it into the A-Field because I wasn’t sure I was going to get in after my first two qualifiers. The last one I had to pedal twice and luckily it was enough to land in the No. 6 spot.

“I barely took out ‘The Bull’ first round, had to pedal again, so I knew going up against Megan would be tough since we were struggling to get a solid pass down the track,” Rachel added. “We both missed the tree big time. The sun was hitting it just right that we couldn’t see the stage bulbs, but when I shook and pedaled, my parachute came out and I couldn’t catch Megan. I’m so proud of her for getting the win. She did a great job of driving in the finals and I’m happy she got over her fear of going red.”

The next Nitro Chaos race for the Meyer sisters is July 14-15 at Mo-Kan Dragway near Joplin, Missouri. The next stop for the RMR team is this weekend, June 2-4, at Summit Motorsports Park’s Cavalcade of Stars NHRA Lucas Oil Series regional event, where Nataas will compete in Top Alcohol Dragster.

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HOMEGROWN: McDermand, Mounce/Stout Motorsports Emerging as Title Contenders

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

Illinois driver returns home for Xtreme Outlaw tripleheader this weekend at Tri-City, Wayne County

CONCORD, NC (May 31, 2023) – In a world of Midget racing Goliaths, Chase McDermand is the proverbial David on the national scene. Armed with two cars, a few engines and his parents’ plumbing business as a sponsor on the side, he’s competing with — and beating — some of the best the sport has to offer.

The 22-year-old from Springfield, IL, is in his second full season with Mounce/Stout Motorsports and has won twice with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota already this year. Hot on the trail of his first national championship, McDermand is showing what’s possible with his mostly homegrown operation.

“I just try to do the most with what I have, and we’ve been able to do quite a bit with that,” he said. “We’ve been really blessed to have the success that we’ve had. I’m proud of the team as a whole.”

The Series returns to his home state of Illinois for a three-day race weekend this Thursday-Saturday at Tri-City Speedway and Wayne County Speedway. He’s currently 89 points out of the Series points lead with roughly three quarters of the season left to be contested.

Despite posting back-to-back third-place finishes last week at Millbridge Speedway, his gap to points leader Cannon McIntosh jumped 30 points after McIntosh swept both nights of competition. That gap doesn’t scare him, though, and neither does his competition.

“On the track, they’re all just racecars,” McDermand said. “When I can, I try to just see numbers. It doesn’t matter what engine is under the hood or who’s driving the car — to an extent — they’re all just racecars out there.”

He said it’s how he tries to approach the situation every time he straps into his car. Competing night-in and night-out against drivers with corporate sponsors, driver development programs and revered crew chiefs doesn’t faze him. It’s a challenge he’s willing to take on in pursuit of something he’s wanted for a long time.

“I remember just five or six years ago, being at the races at Jacksonville or Lincoln watching the Midget Week shows, wanting to be a part of where I am right now,” McDermand said. “Now that we’re here, we’re in contention for the championship. It just makes it real.”

Though he’s right where he needs to be in the standings, he did not begin the season in that position. A rough start to his night in the season opener in Du Quoin, IL, sent him back to the trailer early without a spot in the main event, dropping him way down in the standings. But the team rallied the next night, climbing from 12th on the starting grid to second by the checkered flag.

Since then, it’s been smooth sailing for McDermand and the team, posting podium finishes in all but two events thus far.

“After Du Quoin, I feel like it’s been uphill in terms of good progress,” McDermand said. “We’ve had good speed. Just putting whole nights together and taking advantage of good starting positions, which we were able to do in the last four or five nights … it’s important to hit the ground running every night.”

From a historical perspective, McDermand is relatively new to the national Midget scene, but has a nice resume already built. He’s a graduate of the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association, garnering three consecutive championships in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

He paired with car owners Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout at the end of the 2021 season before taking on the entire POWRi national circuit together in 2022, where he won three races and placed fifth in the points standings against the toughest talent at Keith Kunz Motorsports, Chad Boat Industries and Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports.

Now in the thick of a championship battle, McDermand has reflected a bit on the impact of he and the team’s progress on their chances to win it all in 2023.

“As a whole, this is really the first time we’ve had a chance to run for a championship,” McDermand said. “The results have shown that the more experience I have, the better I am as a driver. The more experience the team has running up front, having speed, also makes them better. Both of those things combined [has been] giving us good results.”

McDermand and the Mounce/Stout Motorsports team are back in action with the rest of the stars of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series pres. by Toyota this Thursday-Saturday, June 1-3, at Tri-City Speedway and Wayne County Speedway (IL).

Tickets for all three nights will be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to the track to watch in person, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: This is It!

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

Team going for ninth class win at final Le Mans for C8.R • Keating, Catsburg, Varrone enter as GTE Am championship leaders• Twenty-third appearance for Corvette Racing at famed French endurance classic• Another class victory would come during Centenary celebration of Le Mans• Corvette C8.R one of five General Motors entries into this year’s Le Mans DETROIT (May 31, 2023) – Corvette Racing has contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans 22 times since making its debut at the French endurance classic in 2000. This year’s running, though, might be the biggest yet.
There are a number of storylines that center on the long-standing program’s appearance this year at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Those pages will start writing themselves with the annual Test Day on Sunday – when the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R hits the track for six hours of testing – followed by official practices, qualifying and Hyperpole, finally culminating with the race on June 10-11.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION
Corvette Racing media information in both English and French is updated and available ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Materials include:· Le Mans race advance and quotes· Corvette Racing stats and figures· Corvette Racing racecar comparisons· Corvette Racing Fast Facts· Driver biographies

Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone will pilot the mid-engine Corvette in its final appearance at Le Mans as next year will see the debut of GT3 cars at the 24 Hours, including the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. But first things first – sending the C8.R out at Le Mans with a victory and getting closer to the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE Am title.
The Keating/Catsburg/Varrone trio won the first two WEC races of the season at the Sebring 1,000 Miles and Six Hours of Portimão and followed with a runner-up finish at the Spa Six Hours to take the championship lead. Le Mans is critical, though, as it is a double-points race and will go a long way toward determining this year’s title-winners.
Keating won last year at Le Mans in GTE Am and finished second in 2021. Catsburg will race at Le Mans for the fifth time and third year in a row for Corvette Racing, having finished second in GTE Pro in 2021. Meanwhile, Varrone made his Le Mans debut a year ago but already has a 24-hour victory under his belt this year, having won the Rolex 24 in the LMP3 class.
Corvette Racing is an eight-time winner at Le Mans with three different generations of America’s sports car. A first 24 Hours win for the C8.R – which won the Rolex 24 in 2021 – would be appropriate on a number of levels. One is that it would come during the Centenary running of Le Mans, which celebrates its 100th year at this event.
Secondly, a victory would cast a larger spotlight on GM’s involvement in this year’s race – one Corvette, three Cadillac V-Series.R entries in Hypercar and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that will run under the Garage 56 banner this year.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 10. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, the latter beginning with Wednesday’s opening practice. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the Test Day, practices, qualifying and the race.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I want to win this race extremely bad! I feel in a way that I’ve been so lucky already this season winning some cool races and cool events. But I cannot deny that I really think we have a shot this year at Le Mans. That’s not always the case. I believe that we have an awesome team with all the experience there. We have awesome drivers. We have a cool car. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be fighting for the win. I’m already nervous and I already feel like, ‘Come on… let’s not make mistakes. Let’s bring it home.’ But it’s never easy. It’s still a mechanical sport. We saw what happened with the 64 car last year. You never know and you never know until the last five minutes of the race. It’ll be super cool and I cannot wait.”(GTE Am vs. GTE Pro at Le Mans): “There isn’t much difference. We are still going to end up driving against pros. The only thing that might happen is that I might be in the car and there might be a Bronze driver in the other car, and you would for sure fight them differently than you would another pro. But most of the same time, we’ll out the same time with the other pros. Like we’ve seen this year, it’s a tough battle. You have many good drivers on the grid and many drivers that used to be in the Pro class before, so I don’t feel the approach is so different.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Clearly we have a good team of drivers and a great team of engineers and pit crew at Corvette Racing. We have all the pieces of the puzzle to do well at Le Mans. I still think it’s anybody’s best guess as to who will do well. There are 62 cars on track and everyone wants to do the best they can. Twenty-four hours is a long time to expect every other driver to keep their head about them and make a good decision. Someone can make a mistake and take you out, not of your own doing. It happens often. But Le Mans is a double-points race for the championship. I don’t want to say it’s completely over, but if we were to win then I don’t know if anyone can catch us. It would be just a total dream to win Le Mans.”(Race outlook): “Everyone wants to win Le Mans, and no one is really going to show what they have until the race starts. Then the gloves come off. Who knows what’s going to happen. That’s something you can’t control. All we can control is doing our jobs to the best of our abilities. We will deal with whatever comes up. I’ve often said that it’s really special to win a World Endurance Championship race as an American driver racing an American car, racing something I sell and racing for an American team. It’s hard to imagine what that would be like at Le Mans and the 100th Le Mans. That would be on a totally different level.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Le Mans is the race that everyone wants to win. It’s our race of the year. The GTE Am championship is important, but this is the biggest race for us. Le Mans is something else. This year, we’ve done very well so far and have a great start. We have two wins, another podium and lead the championship. We’ve been doing great things together as a team. The goal is to do the same as we have been doing in the first three races – how we work, how we manage situations… the same we did at Sebring, Portimão and Spa. That is my mentality going into Le Mans.”(Learning with Corvette Racing): “One of the biggest things I’ve learned is on pit stops and how to be precise with where I stop. I’m learning to see how important it is for a pit stop to be on you marks. Corvette Racing takes it so seriously and that’s why they are so quick on their stops. We work on how to get in the box, how the procedure works and how important it is for the car to be right on the point. It’s much easier for the mechanics to do the tire changes and fuel the car. I’m also really lucky to have Nicky as a teammate. He’s one of the best drivers in the world, and he’s helping me a lot. I can see what he’s doing not only in the car but outside the car as well, how he manages situations and deals with things. He’s such a nice guy that he has no secrets with me. He shares all his experiences and all his knowledge with me just for me to get better and improve as a driver and a person. That’s something I really appreciate.”

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Cadillac at Le Mans: Triple threat for overall victory

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

Three V-Series.R Hypercars ready to compete in 91st edition of endurance classic

DETROIT (May 31, 2023) – After a 21-year hiatus, Cadillac returns to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with ambitions to fulfill.
It will be a homecoming of sorts; the Cadillac Motor Car Co. name was derived from the French explorer who founded Detroit in 1701. Cadillac first competed in the iconic endurance race in 1950. Five decades passed until the American luxury brand again appeared at Circuit de la Sarthe with prototype challengers in 2000-2002.

Following 2004-2017 championship campaigns in GT racing and the 2017-2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship DPi era, Cadillac Racing remains at the forefront of sports car racing with the new Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid racecar that competes in IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship.The 91st running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the fourth race of the WEC season — will take place on the 100th anniversary of the first race on the outskirts of the city in Northwest France.

Media resources
Le Mans guide:* Driver, team bios* History of winning* A look at the Hypercar* Driver, car photos
Records: How Cadillac Racing drivers have fared at Le MansLe Mans notes: Facts, figures and moreHistory: Cadillac Racing at Le MansTimeline: Cadillac V-Series.R development
In French: Cadillac Racing media resources

“Competing for the overall win at Le Mans with an iconic American brand like Cadillac is an honor,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “The entire team is excited to continue building Cadillac’s racing legacy by competing against the very best internationally and in the world’s toughest race. I think we’re bringing America pretty loud and strong with our Cadillac, and we’re proud of that.”
Nine drivers of the three impressive Cadillac V-Series.Rs will aim to grab the overall victory in the 16-car Hypercar class on the 8.47-mile (13.629 kilometers) course that includes public roads. Cadillac is paying homage to its first venture to Le Mans with the same car numbers 2 and 3 as 1950, along with No. 311.
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook is the full-season FIA WEC entry. Through three races, the Chip Ganassi Racing-run team is a respectable fourth in the championship standings. The trio of drivers recently were joined by Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon, co-drivers with Sebastien Bourdais of the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R, for an endurance and performance test at Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal.
Both the No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken, already have won races this season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
“The team has put in a lot of work and focus on Le Mans, so we know we will have a good and reliable car,” said Westbrook, who earned an overall podium finish in 2022 at Le Mans. “Then it comes down to us executing and keeping everything clean and run max attack for 24 hours. If you do that, there is a good chance you’re going to get podium or something better.”
On-track activity begins Sunday, June 4, with two test sessions totaling six hours.
The Cadillac V-Series.R features an all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan. Cadillac is the sole GTP manufacturer with a naturally aspirated engine.The last timeSome world events in June 2002 – the last time Cadillac Racing competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans:* Ronaldo scores twice as Brazil defeats Germany 2-0 in the FIFA World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan, for its record fifth title.* Serena Williams wins her first French Open tennis title, defeating older sister Venus Williams 7-5, 6-3.* Albert Costa defeats Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 to win the French Open –his lone major title.* The Glastonbury Festival in England opens with Coldplay and Rod Stewart as headliners.* The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.* Los Angeles Lakers beat New Jersey Nets for a 4-0 sweep and third consecutive NBA title. Shaquille O’Neal is the Finals MVP for the third year in a row.* Detroit Red Wings beat Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup for the 10th time. Coach Scotty Bowman retires with record ninth title.* Asteroid 2002 MN missed the Earth by 75,000 miles (120,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.* Canadian singer Avril Lavigne releases debut album, “Let Go.”

What they’re saying

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.REarl Bamber: “It’s exciting to see the talent we have at Cadillac Racing and I’m looking forward to going to Le Mans. It’s going to be tough, but we’re definitely closing the gap to Toyota and Ferrari step by step and the endurance and performance testing we have done has been important. You have to run a clean race and have good pit stops at Le Mans to have a chance at victory. I said it at Daytona that if that car was at Le Mans, it would have won because we had a clean race and a quick car. That’s what we need to repeat when we go to Le Mans, and I think this group is building towards it.” Alex Lynn: “Winning Le Mans takes perfection. It takes everything to go right. I’ve been lucky enough to do it in GT Pro with Aston Martin and I can honestly say it takes perfection to win that race because you’ll be the car that takes all the risk, doesn’t break down and the drivers are all on perfect form to win. The one that does win has all those ingredients go correctly. From our side, it’s a difficult race to win but the most rewarding. We’ll arrive with confidence in our car and team.”
Richard Westbrook: “Everything has to be clean and perfect at Le Mans, especially this year. A lot of new machinery out there and it’s a big ask for a lot of manufacturers. The Cadillac has been really reliable so that gives us a lot of confidence. The team has put in a lot of work and focus on Le Mans, so we know we will have a good and reliable car. Then it comes down to us executing and keeping everything clean and run max attack for 24 hours. If you do that, there is a good chance you’re going to get podium or something better. I think the main thing at Le Mans if you are a couple of tenths (of a second) off, say the Toyota or Ferrari, you at least put pressure on them because Le Mans is all about pressure. You keep people under pressure, they can make mistakes. We’ll be going there full of confidence and knowing we have a good car.”

No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: “It’s a special race. It’s the most famous classic race in the world and that’s what we’re aiming to win. I think Cadillac is a super American brand. I’ve been racing in America for 10 years and most of my time with Cadillac, so going with my American racing family as I call them to go for the Le Mans overall victory is something special. A lot of people from Holland will be watching us fight for the overall win, and that would be special. It will be a busy week, tense and exciting. We’ll be having tire warmers now for Le Mans, so it’s also a little different from what we’re used to racing the whole season (in IMSA). We’ll have to learn a lot in a short period of time.”
Sebastien Bourdais: “To drive for a manufacturer like Cadillac and going back to Le Mans to try to win the overall is a great honor. I’ve had the chance to do that a few times in my career and there is nothing like going for the Le Mans overall victory. Being from Le Mans, it’s very busy trying to handle all the requests from the media, but it will make it even more special if it’s a great day. It will be the first time in some time that I’m not rushing to get there and rushing to get back (to North America) for an IndyCar race or whatever. I think the last time that happened was 2011, so that will help me focus more on the event and optimizing the result.” Scott Dixon: “I’m excited to go back to Le Mans. It’s been a few years and my first time to go in the premier class. Competing with the Hypercar brings a totally different level to it. It’s a difficult race and having the opportunity to win with the Cadillac LMDh is very special.”No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R
Jack Aitken: “I think some of the biggest challenges of Le Mans are off the track because it’s obviously a huge event and there is a lot of pomp and circumstance with scrutineering the car in town, the driver parade and it’s a very long week. Managing your energy levels through the week is a bit of a fine art, I believe. I have full faith on the engineering side that we’ll get up to speed quickly. That’s not going to be a problem. It’s going to be more the intricacies of Le Mans itself.”
Pipo Derani: “A lot of resilience it takes to win that race. It’s a whole new game, especially coming with Action Express for the very first time. The good thing is as a team we’ve been operating together for a long time. At the same time, we’re going into a new environment with new regulations and new set of rules. It will be an extra challenge for us as a team, but it’s fantastic. It’s one of those races you look forward to and it’s special to be a part of it. I’m very much looking forward to being there with the team that I’ve achieved most of my best results in America and try to win with them at Le Mans. It will be a great challenge, but a great opportunity to be present in the centenary edition of the race. We will do our best to lead Cadillac to a good result on its return to Le Mans.”
Alexander Sims: “It’s such a momentous occasion and not really comparable with any race you do. The track is fun to drive and it will be a learning curve for us in these cars. Hopefully, we can use the test day to get up to speed from a car performance point of view. I think the benefit we have going there for the first time is it’s the first time with these cars for everyone. In some ways, we’re on a level playing field and it’s who can get up to speed as quick as possible. The team has been preparing for this race for a long time already, so they’ll do a good job. We’ll give it our best shot.”

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JOSH HART BATTLES CRUZ PEDREGON AT SNAP-ON SUPERSPEEDWAY EVENT

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

OCALA, FL (May 31, 2023) — NHRA Top Fuel championship contender Josh Hart squared off with two-time NHRA Funny Car champion Cruz Pedregon on Monday, May 29, at Lucas Oil Raceway as part of the grand prize Snap-on Tools Superspeedway contest event. Snap-on Tools hosted 24 VIP contest winners and their guests at the Indy 500 on Sunday and then at an all-day fully immersive day of drag racing that included instruction in the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School culminating with a side-by-side exhibition race between Hart’s R+L Carrier Top Fuel dragster and Pedregon’s Snap-on Tools Dodge Funny Car.

“Cruz called and asked me if I would be interested in racing him in front of some of the Snap-on Tools Superspeedway contest winners and franchisees. I jumped at the chance,” said Hart, who has two Top Fuel national event titles to his credit. “I have never made a pass beside a nitro Funny Car and it was an awesome experience. This was a cool event Snap-on Tools hosted giving these winners the chance to check out the Indy 500 and then get a full day of drag racing.”

Cruz Pedregon and Josh Hart set to square off at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, photo courtesy of Cruz Pedregon Racing

Hart and Pedregon fired up their 12,000-horsepower land rockets while the Snap-on guests got an up close and personal experience. They each executed long and smoky burnouts before taking the Christmas Tree with Pedregon getting a slight competition advantage off the starting line to even out the elapsed times. Both Pedregon and Hart were clean off the line and as they blasted towards half-track Cruz’s Snap-on Dodge Funny Car dropped a cylinder and shut off on the exhibition with Hart making a clean pass to the finish line.

“I have to tell you it was cool to race beside a Top Fuel dragster,” said Pedregon, who spent most of the day conversing with Snap-on contest winners. “This was a great event hosted by Snap-on and I am so proud to have been a major part of celebrating these customers and franchisees. These folks are the best in the business. I can’t wait for a rematch with Josh.”

Josh Hart and Cruz Pedregon prepare for side by side exhibition run, photo courtesy of Cruz Pedregon Racing

The Snap-on Superspeedway event was the final chapter of the contest that afforded Snap-on customers and franchisees the chance to win prizes ranging from tools to Traxxas radio-controlled cars to the grand prize event. Twelve customer winners plus a guest and twelve franchisee winners and a guest were treated to an amazing two-day racing experience. On Monday, the winners enjoyed a full day of Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School instruction and racing. There was also an opportunity to take rides on a separate AutoCross course set up at the track. The Pedregon versus Hart side-by-side Funny Car versus Top Fuel dragster exhibition was the finale before the group enjoyed hospitality at the track.

Hart and Pedregon will head from Indianapolis to Epping, New Hampshire at the end of the week for the NHRA New England Nationals from New England Dragway, June 2-4.

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JOSH HART ON A MISSION AT NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

June 1, 2023 ARP Trish

OCALA, FL (May 31, 2023) — The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team with driver and team owner Josh Hart are heading to New England on a mission and with a plan. Two weeks ago, Hart raced to the final round at Route 66 Raceway and was just one one-hundredth of a second away from his first win of the 2023 NHRA season. The runner-up finish was further proof that the strategy Hart and crew chief Ron Douglas have put into place following a tough start to the season is coming together. This weekend at the NHRA New England Nationals, June 2-4, Hart will be looking to pick up his first national event win of the season.

“We won the Pep Boys All-Star Callout and had a car that could have won the Gatornationals on Sunday, but the driver cost us,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “After that we went into a little slump, and we have been methodically working our way back to our rookie season performance level. No one ever panicked over here, we just went to work and figured some things out. The main thing we have seen is we are making progress and keep moving forward. Chicago was a big race for this R+L Carriers team.”

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Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

Hart didn’t dominate in qualifying at the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 Nationals entering race day as the No. 12 qualifier, but his team managed some tricky track conditions and the veteran tuning skills of Douglas put Hart in a position to win with his driving abilities. A pedal-fest first round win over three-time world champion Antron Brown led to two solid round wins over rookie Jacob McNeal and veteran TJ Zizzo in the semis. Facing friend and long-time racer Clay Millican in the final Hart was in a no-lose situation.

“Clay is a great friend of mine and we wanted to win for sure but seeing what that win meant to Clay and his team was pretty cool,” said Hart. “We have a race car that can win rounds and we are looking to have more success in Epping than we did last year. We will have a busy weekend and I am looking forward to racing in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the first time. That looks like a really cool deal and it will make for a fun Saturday.”

Hart will be one of four Top Fuel semifinalists from Chicago that will get to rerun their races with $10,000 and three championship points on the line. During the first qualifying run on Saturday Millican will match up with Brittany Force who he beat in Chicago. Hart was scheduled to race Zizzo but the part-time driver from Chicago will not be racing at the New England Nationals. The next driver up is the quickest second round loser, Jacob McNeal, who will also be absent, so Hart will face Leah Pruett, who was the second quickest loser in Chicago.

“We will be ready for whoever we have to race for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge,” said Hart, who pocketed $80,000 earlier this year winning the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout. “These specialty races are great for the fans and when you get into the Countdown those championship points could come in handy. I want to thank Mission Foods for putting this race on and I am looking forward to getting after it.”

The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will come into New England Dragway with a win light already on their record. On Monday before the race Hart raced two-time Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon during the Snap-on Tools Superspeedway contest event.

Cruz Pedregon and Josh Hart square off at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, photo courtesy of Cruz Pedregon Racing

Last year during his first trip to New England Dragway Hart made quick and consistent runs entering race day at the No. 5 qualifier. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue at the start of the race grenaded his R+L Carriers engine right off the starting line costing him a first round win. It was a costly error and one that Hart has no plans to repeat.

“We were ready to go in that first round and I remember hitting the throttle pedal and then all heck broke loose,” said Hart. “The only positive was there were some amazing photos, but that isn’t really what we are after out here. My team works too hard to not win rounds and we want to win races. This season has been a progression of positive steps. I am excited to get back to New England Dragway and see the fans again and turn on some win lights.”

Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will get their first pass at New England Dragway on Friday night at 6 p.m. followed by two qualifying runs on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. which will include the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge races. Final eliminations will commence on Sunday, June 4, at 11 a.m. (ET) with the race being broadcast on FS1.

ARP Racing News

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