No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualifies 13th for WEC eight-hour contest in Bahrain

MANAMA, Bahrain (Nov. 1, 2024) – Having consistent race pace in the desert will be the goal of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team following qualifications for the Bapco Energies Eight Hours of Bahrain. Alex Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 48.466 seconds during the 12-minute Hypercar session on the 3.36-mile (5.412km), 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit to place 13th in the 18-car field. The result marks only the second time in the eight FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) races that the Chip Ganassi Racing-run hybrid racecar has not advanced to the 10-car Hyperpole qualifying.

Lynn garnered Cadillac Racing’s initial WEC pole at Fuji Speedway last month and overall the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R posted a solid season average qualifying of 5.5. Lynn will share driving duties in Saturday’s day-night eight-hour race with full-season teammate Earl Bamber and Sebastien Bourdais, who co-drove to the dramatic victory three weeks ago in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Bourdais also joined Lynn and Bamber in the March opener in Qatar in addition to driving in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He last drove at the Bahrain circuit in 2022 in LMP2 in addition to two outings in Formula One. Media resources: Cadillac Racing at Bahrain photosNo. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R 2024 WEC statistics Fourth place at Cadillac Racing’s home race at Circuit of The Americas in early September is the team’s best finish of the season. Now the group seeks to claim its first podium of the season as it concludes its second season of WEC Hypercar competition. The No. 8 Toyota GR010 earned its first pole position of the season in a Toyota lockout of the front row with Brendon Hartley, who will drive for Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January 2025, behind the wheel.

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R driver’s viewThe Bapco Energies Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Arabian Standard Time)/7 a.m. (ET) Saturday. Get a unique perspective via the Cadillac in-car stream. Tune inMotorTrend TV will air the race from 6:30-8 a.m. and 2-3:30 p.m. ET in the U.S.. Full streaming will be on the MAX app in the U.S. and the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will also stream coverage of the race.

Post-qualifying driver quotes

Alex Lynn: “Tough day at the office. We’ve been looking for some pace all weekend. We weren’t going to be fighting Toyota or maybe Ferrari, but it’s a long race tomorrow and looking to finish on a high. We have to try to have a clean race and end the season right.”

Both TF Sport Corvettes advance to Hyperpole for second straight race MANAMA, Bahrain (Nov. 1, 2024) – Tom Van Rompuy led TF Sport’s effort in time trials Friday ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Eight Hours of Bahrain as the team looks to close its first season with the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in style.

Van Rompuy will start Saturday’s race eighth in the LMGT3 class behind the wheel of the No. 81 Corvette that he shares with Rui Andrade and factory pilot Charlie Eastwood. It marked the sixth time in seven attempts that Van Rompuy advanced out of the first round of qualifying, and his best lap in Hyperpole was a 2:03.125 (98.301 mph). For the second consecutive race, both Corvettes advanced to the 10-car Hyperpole session following Friday’s opening 12-minute qualifying period. Hiroshi Koizumi made it through at Bahrain as he did in his home race at Fuji the last time out. He will start ninth in class following his lap of 2:03.176 (98.292 mph) and will share with Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella – all three making their first career starts at Bahrain in any series. The pace of the Corvettes has been strong and consistent since the opening laps of practice. That was evident early, just as it has been for the balance of the summer. Both TF Sport entries each were inside the top-10 in class in each practice, and the No. 82 had three of the 13 fastest individual laps across the three sessions – led by Koizumi, who was second-quickest in Thursday’s night practice. The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 7 a.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air full and live television coverage from 6:30-3:30 p.m. ET. Full live streaming coverage – including the No. 81 Corvette on-board camera – will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of the race.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTESTOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We have progressed quite well throughout the sessions in the last couple days. In qualifying I struggled to the perfect lap; every lap was a bit of here and a bit of there. We ended up P8 and P9 with both cars, which is good. But I do think we have a really strong car for the race. So maybe we are not fastest on one lap or in qualifying, but I think we are really strong especially in the second stint with our tires. We have eight hours to play for it, so let’s hope we can climb some places tomorrow and end up on the podium.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The week has been good so far. The pace has been hard to understand. For everyone the tire degradation is significant. Nobody has gone to a double-stint but already there is five to six seconds of deg over a double-stint. Managing that is going to be key. Obviously getting both Corvettes in Hyperpole is great. If anything we’ve lacked a little bit of pace when the tires are brand new, but we’ve been very strong when they have been old. It’s an eight-hour race. I’d rather have a car that’s better on older tires than on one lap. So I think we are in a pretty good spot.”

HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The first three practices Thursday and Friday were really good, so maybe I used up too much for qualifying! But I am happy and very much looking forward to the race. We haven’t confirmed our driving plan yet but I’m very hopeful for a good result for the team.”

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s my first time here, and the track is quite interesting. Tire degradation is going to play a massive role in the race, which is exciting. I like those kind of conditions where as a driver you can make a difference by implementing some different driving styles. The Corvette has been super-rapid this week. My teammates were really good today and the team did a great job with the car setup. I’m excited to see where we stand tomorrow.”

 CONCORD, NC (November 1, 2024) – When Hank Davis found himself knocking on the door of his first American Sprint Car Series National Tour victory night after night in July, TwoC Racing crew chief Wayne Johnson made the following prediction:

“Keep learning and doing what you’re doing, the wins will start coming. And when they do, it’ll be just like Sam [Hafertepe Jr.] or [Seth] Bergman. It won’t be just one, it’s going to be multiple.”

As it turns out, he was on to something.

While you didn’t have to be Nostradamus to expect Davis to find his groove in the second half of the season, the competitiveness of the No. 2C machine as of late has exceeded even Davis’ own goals. His three wins and seven podiums since his maiden victory at Electric City Speedway are more than any other driver in both categories.

That recent hot streak has them sitting atop the National Tour Owners standings with four races remaining in the season, 50 points ahead of the Hill’s Racing Team No. 15H. It could be considered fitting that Hafertepe is the driver Davis finds himself battling for the title, as all three of his wins this year have come with Hafertepe finishing in the runner-up spot.

However, Davis said he doesn’t place any extra emphasis on beating the five-time National Tour champion on a nightly basis, compared to every other car on the track.

“At the end of the day, it’s just another race car,” Davis said. “Yeah, he might be right on my tail in that deal, but at the end of the day it’s just another car I’ve got to pass, and I feel like we’ve shown that we can do it. I try not to let myself get too worried about that because I know that we’ve proven we can beat anyone out there.”

With nearly a full season under his belt as a full-time Sprint Car driver, what’s been his biggest area of improvement since joining TwoC Racing in May?

“Just racecraft,” Davis said. “There’s things that I didn’t do before, and now with Wayne beating down my throat certain things and how you have to race to win. And now I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of it and understanding my own racecraft.”

Davis may have been in contention for wins long before he finally broke through in Montana, finishing fourth at Rush County Speedway and third at Dodge City Raceway Park in his debut weekend in the car, but Johnson agreed that the difference between then and now is night and day.

“At first we tore up some cars, but it’s just a learning process,” Johnson said. “He’s a quick learner, he kind of got that out of his system real quickly. More than anything, just the consistency. I wasn’t sure what we would get with him being a rookie, but it’s pretty impressive to me.

“The first [win] is always the hardest one. After the first one, they come a little easier. Just his confidence level being a young kid, after winning a couple races I think he realized, ‘Hey, I can win these races at this level.”

A potential Owners title would also be key to propelling TwoC Racing into 2025, which will bring a return to full-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car competition with Cole Macedo behind the wheel. And for Johnson, his success in his first season as a full-time crew chief gives him plenty of reasons to be optimistic about taking on The Greatest Show on Dirt in his new role.

“It’s helped my confidence a lot, just because I was always a driver-mechanic, I worked for myself,” Johnson said. “So, I wasn’t really sure I could be a crew chief and make it happen, but it sure has improved my thought process moving into next year being a crew chief at the Outlaw level.”

Of course, Macedo’s arrival means Davis is a free agent for the 2025 season, making each race night all the more important as the 21-year-old looks to impress potential car owners and secure his future as a Sprint Car driver. He’ll get a major opportunity to do that next weekend at The Dirt Track at Charlotte when he makes his World of Outlaws debut at the World of Outlaws World Finals in the No. 17GP for Michael Dutcher Motorsports.

“I really don’t think about it, but I would like to say its motivation,” Davis said regarding the uncertainty of his future plans. “I don’t want to worry about trying to run second, I just want to go try and win the race so that people can’t deny it. You can’t deny it at that point if I win a bunch of races. We haven’t won as many as I would like to, but we’ve definitely been one of the most consistent cars throughout the year, and definitely the most consistent in my life.”

As for his elevator pitch to the Sprint Car world, Davis is happy to let the stat sheet and the highlight reel do the talking.

“I don’t know how you consider yourself as a driver, you kind of have to let what you’ve done speak for that,” Davis said. “We’re going to have a good time if I’m around. I don’t come from a whole lot of money, but we know how to have a good time and enjoy it. Maybe we can get someone to bite on that.”

Davis will wrap up his rookie season on the National Tour at Tulsa Speedway (Thursday, Nov. 14) and Creek County Speedway (Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16). Tickets will be available at both tracks on race day, while DIRTVision will stream every lap live for those unable to make it to the track.

CONCORD, NC (Oct. 31, 2024) — The ninth annual World Short Track Championship kicked off at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Thursday night with the opening round of on-track activity for all 532 entries in the 10-division program.

Following practice sessions for all cars, four divisions took to the track for the first Championship Feature events of the weekend. Here’s how each played out:

Mario Gresham Opens Ninth World Short Track Championship With Pro Late Model Triumph

By Matt Skipper

Mario Gresham opened up the ninth annual World Short Track Championship as his way to make up significant ground from problems suffered at the start of Thursday’s program.

Dealing with carburetor problems in his Qualifying session, the Rome, GA driver’s worries were withdrawn when he got to work in the Crate Racin’ USA Fox Factory Pro Late Model Feature by leading every lap to win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Madison, AL driver Dalton Dowdy brought the field to the opening flag of the Feature but lost the lead immediately as Winchester, VA driver Davin Kaiser and Gresham flew by on the top side of the track.

Kaiser got clear of Dowdy down the backstretch, while Gresham was stuck next to him. Going into Turn 3, Gresham slung his No.21 Late Model down to the bottom to edge Kaiser to the line on the opening circuit.

Gresham kept the momentum rolling to clear Kaiser as Ellenville, NY driver Brock Pinkerous followed his tire marks to take over second place.

While “Bam Bam” used any open space around the 0.4-mile surface to close the distance, Gresham extended his lead to over two seconds on the 14-year-old driver.

Taking the checkered flag of the World Short Track Championship in a caution-free race, Gresham wheeled his way to victory in Thursday’s main event as he looks to mirror the drive in Friday’s Heat races for the Pro Late Models.

“I knew we had to go early,” Gresham said. “I think we qualified dead last for tomorrow, the carburetor wouldn’t run and had some problems. I was hoping to race to make sure everything was good on it. But once we made it through the first lap, I knew we were ok. The car was really good tonight.”

Pinkerous went on to finish the night in second, and Tyrone, GA driver Jody Knowles finished on the podium in a climb from an eighth-place starting spot.

Salisbury, NC driver Colby Quick finished fourth with an 11-position climb from a 15th-place beginning. Lake Elmo, MN’s Matthew Larson – son of World of Outlaws CASE Late Models competitor Brent Larson – finished his night by climbing up four positions for a fifth-place result.

UP NEXT: The Crate Racin’ USA Fox Factory Pro Late Models return to the racetrack on Friday, Oct. 27, for the second day of the ninth annual World Short Track Championship at The Dirt track at Charlotte.

For tickets to the World Short Track Championship, CLICK HERE.

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Mario Gresham[4]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[5]; 3. 66-Jody Knowles[8]; 4. 5-Colby Quick[15]; 5. 8-Matthew Larson[9]; 6. 22W-Jimmy Webb[11]; 7. 6-Dillon Brown[12]; 8. 24-Jacob Brown[7]; 9. 515-Bubba Roling[16]; 10. 22T-Jimmy Thomas[6]; 11. 11K-Davin Kaiser[3]; 12. 18G-Ricky Greene[14]; 13. 88D-Dalton Dowdy[1]; 14. P4-John Price[13]; 15. 98-Matt Dooley[10]; 16. 2S-Layton Sullivan[18]; 17. (DNS) 47-Gavin Cowan; 18. (DNS) 23-Beckham Malone; 19. (DNS) 00R-John Ruggiero Jr; 20. (DNS) 127-Austin Yarbrough; 21. (DNS) G4-Trent Ivey

Donovan Lussier Opens Ninth World Short Track Championship with DIRTcar Sportsman Feature Win

Fifteen Feature wins. An Airborne Park Speedway track championship. And now, a Feature win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for Donovan Lussier.

The 20-year-old from St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, made the 1,000-mile trip south to the famed dirt track in Concord, NC, to compete in the World Short Track Championship for the first time in his career and wasted little time making his mark, scoring the win in Thursday night’s VP Racing DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Feature.

Lussier took the green flag from outside Row 3 in the 15-lap main event. Working the middle lane around the 4/10-mile oval, Lussier advanced four spots in the opening lap to move to second and set his sights on leader and fellow Quebec-native Jeffrey Lapalme.

The two crossed the start/finish line less than 0.2 seconds apart. Lussier charged hard into Turn 1 and used the momentum from the fast middle groove to pull ahead of Lapalme at the exit of Turn 2.

Lapalme dove deep into Turn 3 in an effort to defend the spot but could not outmuscle Lussier’s speed. Lussier then completed the pass out of Turn 4 and crossed the stripe to lead Lap 2.

From there, it was smooth sailing for Lussier out front as he led the rest of the distance unchallenged to claim his first career DIRTcar Sportsman Series win in his first-ever appearance at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“Starting on the outside there helped me,” Lussier said. “I didn’t know if the groove was good, but once I passed a couple cars, I knew I could stick right there in the middle and slide up on exit and be good and fast.”

Lapalme held on to finish second while David Rogers completed the podium in third. Cody Ochs drove from eighth on the starting grid to finish fourth while Savannah Laflair rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT

The VP Racing DIRTcar Sportsman return to action at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1, with a round of Heat Races which will set a portion of Saturday’s Championship Feature lineup.

Tickets for the event are on sale at DIRTcar.com/WorldShortTrack and will be available at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS

Championship Feature (15 Laps): 1. 61L-Donovan Lussier[6]; 2. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[1]; 3. 44-David Rogers[2]; 4. 02-Cody Ochs[8]; 5. 16X-Savannah Laflair[4]; 6. 165K-Karston King[3]; 7. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 8. 14-Payton Talbot[14]; 9. 80-Joshua Jock[20]; 10. 32C-Carter Crooker[10]; 11. 49-Chris Jakubiak[19]; 12. 38JR-Jason Parkhurst Jr[9]; 13. 01-Zachary Buff[18]; 14. 26-Derrick McGrew[17]; 15. 10-Darin Gallagher[12]; 16. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[13]; 17. 23-David Dickey[16]; 18. 20X-Kevin Ridley[15]; 19. 6W-Kyle Whitney[11]; 20. 57-Ray Hall Jr[7]

ON THE HAMMER: Kyle Hammer Holds on for DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature Victory
Hammer begins World Short Track Championship Week with an impressive win

By Alex Nieten

Kyle Hammer put the hammer down on Thursday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte as the ninth World Short Track Championship came to life.

The Clinton, IL-native entered the Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature hungry for his first win of the year. A front row starting spot put that opportunity within his grasp, and Hammer capitalized.

A strong first lap allowed Hammer to get the lead early before things got a little dicey in traffic late, but ultimately he held on and led every lap on his way to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Victory Lane.

“I felt like we were pretty good there,” Hammer said. “Until one time in Turn 4, I thought I was knocking the wall down, lost the air off the nose behind one of the lapped cars and went sliding across the track. But I felt like we were good. I don’t know how far we were ahead. I think we have a good car and something to work on.”

Hammer became the seventh different winner of the DIRTcar UMP Modified Thursday Championship main event. He’s the first from the “Land of Lincoln” to top the event.

Pole-sitter Gary Dillon got the initial jump out of Turn 4 when the green flag waved on the 15-lapper, but Hammer ripped the top side of Turns 1 and 2 to lead down the back straightaway. Michael Leach slipped by Dillon in Turns 3 and 4 to snag the runner-up spot.

Hammer wasted no time growing his advantage north of a second in the opening circuits, but it wouldn’t be an easy cruise to Victory Lane as lapped traffic became a factor late. With four laps remaining, Leach cut Hammer’s lead down under seven tenths of a second as Hammer fought dirty air.

Right when the margin between first and second tightened, Hammer managed to clear a couple lapped cars just in time and was able to drive away to victory and start his World Short Track Championship on a high note. Michael Leach and Will Krup completed the podium after Krup fended off a late surge from Cole Falloway.

A little further back, three-time Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature winner, Kyle Strickler, put on a show. The “High Side Tickler” charged all the way from the tail of the field (20th) to a top five without the help of a caution.

UP NEXT: The Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds are back in action at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1 with Heat Races before Last Chance Showdowns and their $4,000-to-win finale on Saturday. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, don’t miss a lap on DIRTVision.

RESULTS:

Championship Feature (15 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 2. 00-Michael Leach[3]; 3. K9-Will Krup[4]; 4. 66-Cole Falloway[5]; 5. 8-Kyle Strickler[20]; 6. 12R-Ty Rhoades[8]; 7. 18-Charlie Mefford[11]; 8. 8A-Austin Holcombe[6]; 9. 5-Jonathan Taylor[14]; 10. 82-Gary Dillon[1]; 11. 88-Matt Crafton[18]; 12. 35-Carder Miller[19]; 13. 21-Taylor Cook[13]; 14. 7-Evan Taylor[10]; 15. 44-Dave Hess Jr[7]; 16. 84-Ryan Toole[17]; 17. 25-Greg Belyea[12]; 18. 6-Ryan Ayers[9]; 19. (DNS) 5T-Drake Troutman; 20. (DNS) 31G-Stephen Pedulla

Slater Baker Wins DIRTcar Pro Stock Feature on Opening Night of Ninth World Short Track Championship

In his first career appearance at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Slater Baker is taking a trophy from the World Short Track Championship back home to Gloversville, NY.

The 27-year-old Capital Region driver scored his first career DIRTcar Pro Stock Series win Thursday night, leading every lap of the MSD Pro Stock main event from the pole of the starting grid.

Baker was forced to survive several restarts en route to the win. In his own words, “It was just stay up front, and don’t let them by.”

Originally scheduled for 15 laps, an incident in Turn 3 brought out the red flag with 8 laps complete, prompting officials to declare the race official due to time constraints.

UP NEXT

The MSD DIRTcar Pro Stocks return to action at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1, with a round of Heat Races which will set a portion of Saturday’s Championship Feature lineup.

Tickets for the event are on sale at DIRTcar.com/WorldShortTrack and will be available at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS

Championship Feature (8 Laps): 1. 9B-Slater Baker[1]; 2. 75-Gary Silkey[2]; 3. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[3]; 4. 771-Jim Duncan[5]; 5. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[6]; 6. 63-Ryan Crellin[7]; 7. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[9]; 8. 48-Jocelyn Roy[10]; 9. 6C-Brian Carter[4]; 10. 4M-Jordan Modiano[8]; 11. 2H-Luke Horning[13]; 12. 2-Pete Stefanski[17]; 13. 8L-Marc Lalonde[16]; 14. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[18]; 15. 28-Philip DeFiglio[15]; 16. 57W-Joe Wilson[11]; 17. 9-Shane Henderson[14]; 18. 921-Eric Jean Louis[12]; 19. 17-Marc Peladeau[19]; 20. 177-Chris Stalker[20]