“Sunshine” pockets $25,000 at the site of his Series debut to close World Finals

CONCORD, NC (November 9, 2024) – In a week defined by uncharacteristically nice November weather, it’s only fitting that “Sunshine” found a way to Victory Lane.

Tyler Courtney was quietly consistent through the first three nights of the World of Outlaws World Finals. Sea Foam Qualifying Night led to him clocking in seventh and 11th in the pair of flights. Then he grabbed finishes of 10th and sixth on Thursday and Friday which set him up on the front row of a Saturday Heat Race.

Then came the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season finale, and Courtney locked himself in the Toyota Dash. Good fortune in the redraw put him P1, and he capitalized.

Courtney won the Dash to set himself up on the pole for the 25-lapper, and he never looked back once the green flag flew at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. The Indianapolis, IN native led every lap of the Feature, surviving a brief challenge from Series champion David Gravel to get the win and bank $25,000.

“To end the year on a win like this gives us a little bit of momentum going into 2025,” Courtney said. “Just can’t say enough about all of my guys. Jake, Ron, Bobby, they bust their tails. We struggled a little bit the second half of the season but started to find our footing here in the last month or so. I heard them talking about my debut here with Danny Smith. I think I was racing Jacob Allen for the D-main that year. So 11 years later to come here and get a victory is great.”

It’s Courtney’s third win of 2024 with The Greatest Show on Dirt and his 12th overall this year in a 410 Sprint Car, tied for the third most in the country. It was a full circle night as Courtney got his first checkered flag from the site of his World of Outlaws debut back in 2013.

When the green flag dropped Courtney quickly pulled ahead of outside polesitter Brian Brown. Courtney had the Clauson Marshall Racing No. 7BC on cruise control as he stretched the advantage early.

David Gravel surged from seventh to the runner-up spot by Lap 13 and appeared primed to give Courtney a challenge when a caution came out a lap later erasing his more than five-second lead.

But Courtney refused to let it slip away even as Gravel pressured him on the restart. Courtney kept his NOS Energy Drink ride glued to the bottom as Gravel braved the top. Gravel got the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 wound up and closed in for about a lap, but ultimately Courtney prevailed as he rolled away and took the checkered flag with more than a two-second gap between himself and Gravel.

“I think we proved to not only ourselves but a lot of other people too that we belong on the national tour and that we can compete too,” Courtney said of he and his team’s season. “I haven’t won as many Outlaw races in a year as I did this year, so to go out and do that is really accomplishing for myself and our team and just awesome.”

Gravel’s runner-up gave him a strong punctuation to his first World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championship. He and Big Game Motorsports pieced together 15 wins, 33 podiums, 44 top fives, and 60 top 10s on their way to a title. Gravel became the 11th different driver to earn a championship with The Greatest Show on Dirt while Quiring became the 10th different owner.

While they might’ve come up one spot short, the race exemplified why Gravel and the Tod Quiring-owned crew came out on top in 2024. They’ve got a fast race car with one of the most talented Sprint Car drivers in the country who does what he needs to do without taking unnecessary risks. The Big Game No. 2 came home P2 to close out the season.

“The beginning of the race really went my way,” Gravel explained. “A couple of guys missed the bottom, and I was able to get underneath them. “Brownie” (Brian Brown) got messed up on the cushion there, and I was able to get by him. Then a caution came out and kind of had a clean slate. Then we had that run, and he started getting into traffic, I felt like that was a little bit of my chance there. Then we had the caution or the red with five to go. He was really, really good in clean track.”

Rounding out the final podium of the season was Carson Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing team. The Californian got the top going late in the running to work his way into third.

“I think late in the race there it transitioned back to the top,” Macedo said. “These guys (Courtney and Gravel) were actually running the middle which surprised me. But Brownie went to the bottom there on that restart and I think just spun a little bit, and I was able to get a run and get around him. It was a hard-fought race. It changed a lot just like I feel it has the last couple of nights with the way the track prep is. Man, hats off to this team. They’re doing a great job. They’re delivering, Philip Dietz, Adam Zimmerman, and Robby McQuinn.”

Ryan Timms and Brian Brown completed the top five.

Donny Schatz completed a clean sweep of the World Finals KSE Racing Hard Charger Awards by taking the Tony Stewart Racing No. 15 from 18th to ninth for his third in a row.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Sheldon Haudenschild, Carson Macedo, and Justin Peck. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Buddy Kofoid.

Tyler Courtney topped the Toyota Racing Dash.

Bill Balog won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Giovanni Scelzi.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars begin the 2025 season at Volusia Speedway Park’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 5-8. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[7]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 4. 10-Ryan Timms[9]; 5. 21-Brian Brown[2]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[4]; 8. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 9. 15-Donny Schatz[18]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen[12]; 11. 26-Justin Peck[8]; 12. 2KS-Cory Eliason[16]; 13. 39M-Anthony Macri[19]; 14. 9-Kasey Kahne[10]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[14]; 16. 14-Spencer Bayston[15]; 17. 27-Emerson Axsom[17]; 18. 17B-Bill Balog[21]; 19. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[23]; 20. 70-Kraig Kinser[27]; 21. 69K-Logan Wagner[24]; 22. 24D-Danny Sams III[22]; 23. 88-Austin McCarl[20]; 24. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 25. 7S-Landon Crawley[26]; 26. 13-Daison Pursley[13]; 27. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[25]

Allgaier’s First Career Series Title

AVONDALE, Ariz. (Nov. 9, 2024) – As the checkered flag flew for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, a long-awaited dream came to reality for JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier. Driving his No. 7 Camaro SS to a runner-up finish – the best among the Championship Four drivers – in the series’ season finale race at Phoenix Raceway, Allgaier earned the title as the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion.  “We’re so proud that Justin Allgaier, one of our longest members of Team Chevy, is now a first-time champion,” said Dr. Eric Warren, Executive Director, Global Motorsports Competition, for General Motors. “Congratulations to Justin, Jim Pohlman, Mike Bumgarner and the entire No. 7 JR Motorsports Camaro SS team for winning this championship. They worked hard all season long and delivered another strong performance when it mattered the most. What a great way to finish the NASCAR Xfinity Series season for Chevrolet.” The title is the fourth in the series for JR Motorsports’ co-owners Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., all of which have been recorded under the Chevrolet banner. The feat also celebrates Chevrolet’s 22nd NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Championship since the inception of the series in 1982. “Also, congratulations to Kelley Earnhardt Miller, LW Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on winning their fourth NASCAR Xfinity Series championship,” added Dr. Warren. “We’re proud that they have earned each of their championships in partnership with Chevrolet.”

During the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, the 38-year-old Riverton, Illinois, native piloted his No. 7 Camaro SS to two wins (Darlington Raceway and Michigan International Speedway) en route to his series-leading ninth playoff campaign. Despite a tumultuous opening round, Allgaier once again proved his true championship potential – earning three top-eight finishes in the Round of Eight to point his way into his seventh Championship Four appearance.  “This team never gave up,” said Allgaier. “Jim Pohlman (crew chief) – his leadership skills are second to none. He told me all weekend that we were going to have a chance.”  Allgaier joins 16 other Chevrolet drivers to earn the NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Championship title. Others on that elite list include Tyler Reddick (2018 & ’19), William Byron (2017), Chase Elliott (2014), Austin Dillon (2013), Clint Bowyer (2008), Martin Truex, Jr. (2004, ‘05), Brian Vickers (2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, ‘06), Jeff Green (2000), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (1998, ‘99), Randy LaJoie (1996, ‘97), Johnny Benson (1995), David Green (1994), Steve Grissom (1993), Joe Nemechek (1992) and Larry Pearson (1987). “Dale (Earnhardt) Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L.W. Miller, everybody at JR Motorsports, all the men and women, all five of our race teams – just the effort that we’ve put in, I’m at a loss for words,” added Allgaier. “We’re going to celebrate this one for sure. It’s unbelievable.” Chevrolet also led the series with 18 wins this season, with 10 drivers from four different Chevrolet teams taking the Camaro SS to victory lane. The Bowtie brand returns to competition in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with the season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

November 9, 2024

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team will close out the 2024 season with two-straight top-10 starts as Burton has secured the ninth starting spot for Sunday’s Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway.

That follows a sixth-place start last week at Martinsville Speedway. It’s Burton’s and the team’s third top-10 start of the season, the other coming at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

Like last week at Martinsville, Burton and the team had a strong practice session on Friday at Phoenix. Burton was 12th on the speed chart with a best lap at 131.637 miles per hour. That came on the fourth of 61 laps he ran in the session. Among drivers who ran 10 consecutive green-flag laps he was 14th fastest, averaging 129.962 mph from the 23rd to the 32nd laps he ran.

In qualifying on Saturday, he was fifth fastest in Group B with a lap at 134.645 mph. Then in the final round he was ninth fastest with a speed of 132.188 mph.

“It was a really good day,” Burton told reporters at the track. “Obviously you get in the top 10 and 12th in practice. The last two weeks have just been really good, and Vegas before that was really good for us.

“Homestead, we kind of missed it a little bit, but I just can’t express enough what it means for my race team to bring me fast cars even when I’m on my way out.

“It sucks because we know we can do it. We’ve done it the last two weeks, showing that we’re fast enough.

“Obviously a mechanical failure last weekend took us out, but this is a good enough team to be a winning Cup team, so it’s bittersweet and really sad to be leaving but really proud of the effort and how we keep fighting. It’s really special.”

Burton said he’s hoping for a strong run on Sunday in his final ride in the No. 21 Mustang Dark Horse.

“I think we are going to have a good race car,” he said. “We were a little bit tight, and I think that bodes well for long runs in the race.

“I want to run as good as I can, hopefully up front, and try to win this thing.”

Sunday’s 312-lap, 312-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern) with NBC carrying the TV broadcast.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 185.

NASCAR CUP SERIES PHOENIX RACEWAY CHAMPIONSHIP RACE TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT NOV. 9, 2024

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP POS.   DRIVER3rd – Ross Chastain4th – Kyle Larson5th – Chase Elliott8th – William ByronIN 35 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES Wins: 15Poles: 10Top-Five Finishes: 69Top-10 Finishes: 143Stage Wins: 23

·       Four Chevrolet drivers posted top-10 qualifying results for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The defending winner of the series’ season finale race, Ross Chastain, drove his No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL1 to a best-lap of 26.812 seconds, at 134.268 mph, in the second round of qualifying to secure a third-place starting position for tomorrow’s 312-lap event.  ·       Joining Chastain in the top-10 includes a trio of Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1’s, including Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team in fourth; Chase Elliott and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 team in fifth; and Championship Four contender, William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 team, in eighth.  ·       Each of Chevrolet’s top-10 qualifiers are past winners in NASCAR’s top division at Phoenix Raceway, with William Byron and Ross Chastain sweeping the 2023 races, and Kyle Larson (2021) and Chase Elliott (2020) each earning a victory in their title-winning seasons.

William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1: Post-Qualifying Quotes  Q. William, do you feel like you have enough in your car this weekend to contend for the championship tomorrow? WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I do. Just didn’t quite get the second lap I wanted to there in the second round, so bummed about that. But I feel really good about our race car. Get first pit pick, which is huge. So excited for all those things. We just need to put together a good start to the race, but really it’s such a long race. It’s just going to be about trying to get to the finish and have what you need there. Q. How much does it matter having two non playoff drivers in the front row to start things off like this? WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I don’t think it really matters. I think it’s a race just like any other week. You’re going to have to deal with those things. So, yeah, I don’t put too much focus on that, really. Just trying to get the most out of my car and try to just get the most out of the day. Q. How much does the first pit stall assuming you’re picking the first pit stall with the No. 1 pick, how much does it matter? WILLIAM BYRON: We’ll see. The rules have changed a little bit on the lines, so we’ll see. I think I just have to do a good job throughout the day rolling time, and I have the best pit crew out there. So it’s going to be a good advantage for us just doing our jobs. The pit stall hopefully is clean for us and just work from there.  Q. Did you watch the truck race last night at all? They penalized 100 people it seemed like for not starting in the or changing lanes before start/finish line. Will that impact anything that you do or were planning to do tomorrow? WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah. I think it was a little bit different than it’s been in the past, just in the way that the restarts were going and the available space on the bottom. I’ll just adjust as needed. But yeah, I feel like I’ve understood the way it is for a while, so I don’t really worry about it too much. Q. Just speed wise alone, where do you think you guys are at this weekend? WILLIAM BYRON: I think we’re plenty capable. I feel like we had some things to improve after practice, and I feel like we did those things. So big credit to everyone – not only on our team, but back at the shop and Hendrick Motorsports as a whole. I feel good about it. I feel like we’re in a ball game. So just have to put together a good first couple of stages; try to get towards the front, and then go from there. Q. Nerves wise, is this just a normal weekend to you? Are you unfazed? WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, qualifying is probably the biggest nerves. I think just trying to get through those laps and put good laps together. But, yeah, once I get in the car, I feel like my nerves are pretty normal. Yeah, I get nervous just like everybody else, but I feel like I’m able to manage it pretty well.

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 9, 2024) – The 2025 season finale for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota is coming home to Millbridge Speedway for a two-night program, Monday–Tuesday, Nov. 3–4.The move brings the Series’ championship finale to its birthplace and places it among the biggest week for dirt racing in North Carolina — the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, which is 30 minutes south of Millbridge.Titled as the Xtreme Outlaw Midget World Championship: The Kickoff to World of Outlaws World Finals, the inaugural event will help commence a massive week of championship celebrations for the premier dirt racing series.“The World of Outlaws World Finals is one of the biggest events in dirt track racing, and with Millbridge’s short drive from Charlotte, we all knew we wanted to make the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series part of this special week,” said Tyler Bachman, Xtreme Outlaw Series Director. “Our relationship with the Millbridge staff has grown so much over the past three years, and what better way to grow one of our biggest events on the schedule than to put it in front of fans that travel into the area for World Finals.”For the past three seasons, the Xtreme Outlaw Series has made its annual Millbridge stop during the week leading up to Memorial Day — coinciding with the NASCAR weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway — and will now move into the fall, giving Millbridge a fall Midget program for the first time since the track’s last presentation of the Carolina Midget Showdown in 2021.“We think that the track, with the red clay, is going to bring some better racing in November than it would in the middle of the summer,” said Ashly Burnett, Millbridge Speedway co-owner and promoter. “We love our NASCAR fans, but we really want to bring some good racing to our dirt fans as well.”While the 2025 World Finals runs Nov. 5–8, the Xtreme Outlaw Midget World Championship will get the week’s racing festivities started with a $4,000-to-win Feature on Monday, Nov. 3, and a $5,000-to-win main event on Tuesday, Nov. 4.A Series championship coronation will follow the completion of Tuesday’s program, after which all attendees are encouraged to spend the rest of the week at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified action.Historically, multiple drivers from non-open-wheel racing disciplines have had cars prepared to compete during Millbridge’s two-day Midget event, which has been contested every year since 2020 in both the spring and fall.“We see that every week at Millbridge; you never know who’s going to show up,” said Burnett, who hosts several NASCAR stars and their family members as competitors in the track’s weekly Micro Sprint program. “When you present them with a big race, especially with the Midgets and bring Xtreme in, you really never know — not only NASCAR, but any form of motorsports — we always get surprised who shows up and who enters our events.”NASCAR Cup Series stars Kyle Larson and Chase Briscoe won the first-ever Midget events contested at the 1/6-mile oval in December 2020, followed by USAC champion C.J. Leary’s sweep of both Midget events on the red clay in October 2021.The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series began its inaugural season at Millbridge the following spring with multi-time track champion Gavan Boschele taking the first-ever Series checkered flag in May 2022. History was then made at the next Millbridge race as Taylor Reimer was deemed the winner, becoming the first woman to earn a win in national Midget competition.Cannon McIntosh — the 2024 Series champion — swept the two-day show in May 2023. And Karter Sarff and Zach Daumsplit this year’s shows.Tickets for the inaugural Xtreme Outlaw World Championship: The Kickoff to World of Outlaws World Finals will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track to watch, stream every lap from every 2025 Xtreme Outlaw Series event live on DIRTVision.ARTICLE: https://xtremeoutlawseries.com/news/millbridge-speedway-to-host-xtreme-outlaw-midget-championship-finale-during-world-finals-week-in-2025/EVENT INFO: https://xtremeoutlawseries.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4547705 TRACK INFO: https://millbridgespeedway.com/ FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

Macedo makes it a dozen wins in 2024 with Jason Johnson Racing after compelling duelCONCORD, NC (November 9, 2024) – Carson Macedo came into the World of Outlaws World Finals knowing he wouldn’t leave anything on the table. The odds of climbing back in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championship fight were slim, but that didn’t mean he’d give less than maximum effort. And that kind of attitude brought him to Victory Lane on Friday night.Macedo and the Jason Johnson Racing crew earned the pole for the 25-lap finale and came out on top of a spirited battle with Michael “Buddy” Kofoid for a $15,000 score at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.Macedo led early before Kofoid roared by on the outside, but the Lemoore, CA native refused to be beaten by his fellow Californian as Macedo came back with a slide job that proved to be the winning move.Only three spots behind him, David Gravel came home fourth to secure a World of Outlaws title and end Macedo’s outside chance. But the 28-year-old had nothing to hang his head about. He did everything he could by picking up the win, but Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports team continued the consistency they showed all season long.“I think it takes time to win a race here,” Macedo explained. “It’s definitely a chess game. As the lines and stuff move around, you’ve got to be able to move around with them. I think your car, obviously, being good helps a lot, too. I felt really confident when Buddy got by me that I could maybe get back by him.“Feels good to win the battle tonight, but obviously we kind of lost the war. That’s a little bit bittersweet, but congrats to the 2 team and David on winning the championship. Man, we fought all year. We fought as hard as we could. Someday maybe we can be sitting in that spot.”The Charlotte win made it a dozen overall in 2024 for Macedo with The Greatest Show on Dirt. That marks a new personal best for him. It was also his first ever checkered flag from the North Carolina facility. His 47th career victory moves him within four of equaling Jeff Swindell for 17th all time.As previously noted, a fourth place result locked up the championship for David Gravel. He becomes the 11th driver in Sprint Car history to own a World of Outlaws title. Big Game Motorsports team owner, Tod Quiring, is only the 10th owner to claim the championship and becomes the first new one since 2013 when Kasey Kahne got his first with Daryn Pittman behind the wheel.“It feels good to go into tomorrow just racing for a win,” Gravel said. “I want to touch that trophy and raise that trophy above my head because I’ve been doing this for a long time. We’ve been close a lot of years and been on the podium a lot in the points. To finally get it done and do it with Levi, being a dad, and having a family and everything feels really, really cool. There’s a small list of World of Outlaws champions, and I’m just proud to be one of them.”Macedo and Kofoid led the field to green, and Macedo jumped right out to an early lead.The early part of the race allowed Macedo to inch away from Kofoid and Gravel as he rolled the bottom of the freshly prepped surface, but lapped traffic threw him a curveball.Once traffic became a factor near the halfway point, Macedo’s lead started to shrink as Kofoid started to get the cushion going around the 4/10 mile. Kofoid finally found the momentum he needed to blast by for the top spot on Lap 16 out of Turn 2. Macedo came back at him with a slider in the next set of corners, but Kofoid calmly crossed him over to keep the lead.It was a short-lived stint atop the leaderboard as the tricky cushion caught Kofoid. The Roth Motorsports driver tripped up outside of Turn 2 allowing Macedo back to his tail tank. He wasted no time looking to reclaim the top spot as he tried to throw a slider in Turn 3 but couldn’t clear him. However, one more set of corners was what Macedo required as he tossed a slide job that stuck in Turns 1 and 2.From there, Macedo drove away with ease to his 12th World of Outlaws victory of the 2024 campaign.“I was just the leader and didn’t really know where to be,” Macedo said of his race. “I was running the bottom at the time and felt like it was slowing down. My pace was just getting so low. I kept getting my wing back I tried it the one time and felt like I was on ice skates it was so dirty. I just never thought that it would’ve been that good. Then I could hear Buddy get to my outside, I thought, ‘Man, he must just be running just behind me.’ Then I see him leave my left rear off of (Turn) 2. I tried to slide him in (Turns) 3 and 4 and got over the cushion a little bit. But overall, my car was incredible.’Kofoid came home in the runner-up spot for his second straight second place finish in the Roth Motorsports No. 83. He continues to make some final additions to his unbelievable rookie season résumé with the World of Outlaws.“Obviously, Carson and the 41 guys were really good,” Kofoid said. “I just had my wing back to be really good down there (Turns 3 and 4) kind of through the dust before it cleaned up. And then I was kind of running across (Turns) 1 and 2, middle-up and kind of was just getting my wing back every lap. Then it looked clean enough, so I moved up more on top into (Turn) 1 and just plugged it a little bit too hard and let Carson back by.”Like Kofoid finished up second both nights, the third position belonged to Justin Peck once again on Friday. The Monrovia, IN native continues to prove he’s quickly adapted to wheeling his new ride, the Rudeen Racing No. 26.“Two nights in a row we’ve kind of started a bit free as we started that Feature. My car is awesome. After we get a couple laps into the race it starts coming in. The longer the race goes the faster I seem to get. The car is really good man.”David Gravel and Kasey Kahne completed the top five.A 23rd to 15th run earned Donny Schatz back-to-back KSE Racing Hard Chargers.NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Giovanni Scelzi, Carson Macedo, and Justin Peck. Milton Hershey School Heat went to Buddy Kofoid.Carson Macedo won the Toyota Racing Dash.Logan Schuchart won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Danny Sams III.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars wrap up their 47th season with the $25,000-to-win World of Outlaws World Finals finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.FEATURE RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 3. 26-Justin Peck[4]; 4. 2-David Gravel[3]; 5. 9-Kasey Kahne[8]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[13]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[7]; 9. 13-Daison Pursley[6]; 10. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[10]; 11. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen[17]; 13. 21-Brian Brown[9]; 14. 17B-Bill Balog[18]; 15. 15-Donny Schatz[23]; 16. 1S-Logan Schuchart[21]; 17. 10-Ryan Timms[16]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[25]; 19. 2KS-Cory Eliason[24]; 20. 27-Emerson Axsom[22]; 21. 23W-Justin Whittall[19]; 22. 24D-Danny Sams III[15]; 23. 7S-Landon Crawley[14]; 24. 7N-Darin Naida[20]; 25. 99-Skylar Gee[12]For complete results, CLICK HERE.ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/giving-his-all-carson-macedo-out-duels-kofoid-for-charlotte-win-gravel-locks-up-title/EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=6174 TRACK INFO: https://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Nov. 4, 2024) – John Force Racing swept the postponed 24th NHRA Nevada Nationals on Monday, claiming victories in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories. Austin Prock, driving for the Cornwell Tools team, and Brittany Force, piloting the Chevrolet Accessories Top Fuel Dragster, each secured wins from the No. 1 qualifying position, while their teammate Jack Beckman earned a semi-finalist result in his PEAK Chevrolet.  Prock’s victory marked a significant achievement, tying the record for the most Funny Car wins in a single season since 2000, when team owner and Hall of Famer John Force captured 11 victories. The win with teammate Brittany Force also marks the first double-up win since Prock and Robert Hight shared the winner’s circle at the Charlotte 4Wide on April 30, 2023.  In the final round of Funny Car, Austin Prock’s Chevrolet Camaro SS faced Paul Lee, echoing their matchup at the Northwest Nationals in Washington earlier this year. He  maneuvered his Camaro to the 1,000-foot mark, in combat with Lee, and secured a decisive victory outperforming Lee in every metric on NHRA’s official timeslip. Prock recorded a reaction time of 0.065 seconds and an elapsed time of 3.830 seconds at 327.33 mph, surpassing Lee’s 0.089-second reaction time and 3.982-second elapsed time. “I mean, this team has just been lights out this year.” said the former NHRA Rookie of The Year,  “Outstanding job by each and every one of the Cornwell Crew. They all carry their weight and pick up weight from, you know, if a guy’s behind or struggling. They all got each other’s back, and that’s what makes a team. We win and lose as a team, and we won as a team today.” The victory all but secures the first championship of the 29-year-old’s career. He enters the final race of the 2024 season just points shy of a perfect race over teammate Jack Beckman. “That’s our main goal this year, is to win the championship. When I got in the race car, at the beginning of the year, my dad [crew chief Jimmy Prock] said, I want a world championship, so we’re getting really close. And to do it with my dad and brother [co-crew chief Thomas Prock], you know, all three of us Procks, would be really special, along with this whole Chevy team.” Prock’s cross-class teammate Brittany Force was also victorious in Vegas. With guidance from crew chief David Grubnic, her Chevrolet Accessories Top Fuel team earned Force her third Nevada Nationals win and fourth overall at “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The victory marked a return to form for a team that once dominated the class, breaking a two-year absence from the winner’s circle since their last win at this event in 2022. “This is definitely a special one, and it’ll always be a special one in our book.” said the 2x NHRA Top Fuel Champion, “Not just for me, but all of John Force Racing. It’s been a difficult season for us all. And I’ve been out of the winner’s circle for two years since this event here in Vegas. I felt good coming into this race. You know, our team’s really been pushing hard, and we’ve been seeing the progress on the track. It’s just incredible for our entire Chevrolet team, and all our sponsors. Monster Energy, Cornwell Tools, HendrickCars.com, all of them. To get them back in that winner’s circle is incredible, and a really special one because it was my dad’s first race back since his wreck. To be able to celebrate with him in the winner’s circle and a double up, I mean, this is one of the biggest wins in our camp, for sure.” Force’s 3.703-second pass at 332.59 mph, moved straight down the groove as reigning champion Doug Kalitta smoked the tires off the line and shut it down early. The victory marked the 17th of her career and moved her team from eighth to seventh in the overall championship standings.  The Chevy dragster now sits  118 points behind leader Justin Ashley heading into the NHRA World Finals. When qualifying begins Nov. 15th for the In-N-Out Burger Finals at Pomona, Calif., she will be only 34 points out of fourth place in an event that pays 30 points for each round win instead of the usual 20.Jack Beckman, filling in for sidelined team owner and driver John Force in the PEAK Chevrolet Funny Car, proved to be one of the fastest in their class.   Qualifying second overall, Beckman and his team had aimed to face teammate Austin Prock in the final round but ultimately settled for a semi-final finish. Lee claimed a holeshot win over Beckman with a career-best 3.834-second pass at 330.23 mph, edging the PEAK Chevy at the stripe by just 0.0024 seconds.  “Overall, it was a fantastic weekend for me and my PEAK Chevy Team.” said the winner of 2024’s Midwest Nationals. “It was really frustrating to lose. Paul Lee’s car was gonna run a mid-81 against us, we still laid down an .82 with the cylinder out. Even when our car is not perfect, it is still one of the best hot rods out here, and it gives me nothing but excitement pulling into Pomona for the last race. Our push right now is to close the season with a win, 1-2 for John Force.” Beckman holds second place in the Funny Car championship standings behind teammate Austin Prock, trailing by 188 points with 191 points still up for grabs. To secure the title, Beckman will need a standout performance and some missteps from Prock, setting up an all-John Force Racing showdown in the season’s final stretch.

CHEVROLET IN NHRA2024 FORD PERFORMANCE NHRA NATIONALS THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAS VEGAS, NEVADA TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP | NOTES & STATS NOVEMBER 4, 2024  Aron Stanfield Captured Chevrolet’s 400th Pro Stock Win Since 1970 While His Father Greg Stanfield Won the Factory X Championship in Las Vegas

Notes:Doubling up at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Monday, Austin Prock, competing in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, and Brittany Force, driving the Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, both won their respective categories in team owner John Force’s first return to the track since his incident in Richmond earlier this season.Prock, who leaves Las Vegas leading the championship over teammate Jack Beckman, racing on behalf of John Force in the Countdown to the Championship, won his eighth event this season and 12th of his career by defeating Paul Lee in the final round.Force raced to her 36th career final round and faced off against Doug Kalitta in Monday’s final round, making a 3.703-second E.T. lap at 332.59 mph pass to win her 17th career Wally trophy and first this season.With a strong performance by both John Force Racing Funny Cars on Sunday up to semifinals, Prock and Jack Beckman, competing on behalf of John Force in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, ensured the team will compete for the World Championship, its 21st in team history, in Pomona. All three John Force Racing cars raced to the semifinals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before racing was suspended Sunday for cold temperatures. The Top Fuel Finals and Funny Car semifinal and final rounds were completed Monday in Las Vegas.Heading into race day atop the qualifying leaderboard, Force captured her fifth No. 1 qualifier of 2024 and 51st in her career, by running 3.660 seconds E.T. at 334.98 mph.Prock secured his 14th No. 1 qualifier this year, breaking the record of team owner and 16-time world champion John Force for most No. 1 qualifiers in a single season. First taking the provision No. 1 qualifier spot with his Q2 run of 3.843 seconds E.T. at 333.33 mph, Prock then bested his qualifying result in Q3 with 3.817 seconds E.T. at 327.98 mph.Prock secured the record as Force looked on during his return to the track at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time since his accident in Richmond.Beckman raced his way to the semifinals against Paul Lee but faced a close drag race determined by .002 E.T. and fell to Lee.Qualifying No. 2 for Sunday’s NHRA Nationals, Beckman ran a career-best elapsed time during Q4, a stout 3.821 seconds E.T. at 330.41 mph.Aaron Stanfield, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock with Elite Motorsports, captured Chevrolet’s 400th win since 1970 in the category by defeating Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.comChevrolet Camaro SS. Stanfield captured his sixth win of 2024 and 14th career in Pro Stock, beating Anderson with a .023 reaction time on a 6.606 seconds E.T. run at 206.31 mph. Anderson finished runner-up behind Stanfield by just .08 mph on a run of 6.591 seconds E.T. at 206.39 mph.With Dallas Glenn eliminated in Round 1 on Sunday in Las Vegas and Aaron Stanfield racing to the Finals on Monday, Stanfield leaves Las Vegas and heads to Pomona the Pro Stock points leader in a tight world championship battle.Concluding four qualifying sessions, Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock, captured his seventh No. 1 qualifier this season and 131st of his career. Dallas Glenn, who leads the championships standings over Aaron Stanfield and Anderson, qualified No. 5 heading into race day in Las Vegas.Reaching the final round in Holley EFI Factory X, Greg Stanfield, driving the Rod Shop Chevrolet COPO Camaro, secured his sixth NHRA world championship on Friday and the inaugural in Factory X. Stanfield won the season-opening Las Vegas race, and additionally captured victories at Chicago and Dallas to win three times in 2024. Friday saw Jesse Alexandra break the six-second barrier to become the first competitor in the Holley EFI Factory X category to do so behind the wheel of his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. Alexandra raced to the feat by running a stout 6.988-second E.T. pass at 192.44 mph in his 2024 Camaro.

Quotes:AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“I’m feeling amazing. Me and Brittany (Force) have been talking about doubling up all year long, and to get it done when John (Force) is finally back at the racetrack, the good Lord was looking down on us, blessing us today. It’s been a wild weekend, a long weekend, but it’s going to be a (dang) long day. Thank you Cornwell Tools, thank you, Chevrolet, thank you GHX, Rick Hendrick, HendrickCars.com, thank you, everyone. Let’s go!” BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“It means everything. We’ve been chasing this win for two years at this event. It has been a long road this whole season, but I’m really proud of these guys right here. They’ve never given up. The hard work that has gone into this team, their patience, until we got back here, their fight to never give up, I’m proud of all of them. I have to thank my sponsors Chevrolet, Monster Energy, HendrickCars.com, Cornwell Tools, GHX, all of them. It took all of us to get here. This win right here, like I said, I believe, I always believe, that everything happens for a reason and I believe that God has a plan. This was his plan, to win, to double up because it’s the first race my dad (John Force) has come back to since his wreck in Virginia. It’s been a long road. I’m so proud of him. This win right here, this win is for him.” DAVID GRUBNIC, CREW CHIEF FOR BRITTANY FORCE AND THE CHEVROLET TOP FUEL TEAM:“The track is excellent. We probably didn’t get enough in it to compensate for that, but either way it got the job done. We’ve had a struggle this year, and one win isn’t going to be enough to get us back to where we need to be. I’ve got to thank all of our sponsors, the Force family, they’ve been very patient with me. But we’re turning it around. We can see where we’re going.” JOHN FORCE, TEAM OWNER OF JOHN FORCE RACING, ON TODAY’S DOUBLE-UP IN LAS VEGAS:“Well, Brittany (Force) drove the Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster and got the win, and (Austin) Prock of course, he drives the Cornwell Camaro. He got the win, too. So, I’m really excited. Brittany has struggled all year, but I think they got it figured out, and we’ll see where it goes. But I just want to thank Chevrolet for everything, and I want to really thank HendrickCars.com, all of our great partners. I got to see both of my teams win today with their support and with our entire family at the track this weekend. I’m glad to be back.” JACK BECKMAN, DRIVER OF THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR FOR JOHN FORCE RACING:“Overall, it was a fantastic weekend for me and my PEAK Chevy team. It was really frustrating to lose, and we lost to what was the quickest run of the weekend. Paul Lee’s car was going to run a mid-81 against us. We still laid down a .82 with the cylinder out. Even when our car is not perfect, it is still one of the best hot rods out here and it gives me nothing but excitement pulling into Pomona for the last race. Our push right now is to close the season with a win, 1-2, for John Force.” AARON STANFIELD, DRIVER OF THE JOHNSONS’ HORSEPOWERED GARAGE/MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS PRO STOCK FOR ELITE MOTORSPORTS:“They (his Elite Motorsports team) all went back and studied what happened, and they made the right calls here. It’s a little tricky when you don’t have as many race cars on the racetrack. Man, I’ve got the greatest guys out here at the racetrack, and thank you to (Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage), Jason and Nikki Johnson, the Melling Brothers, Joe Janac, and all these Elite Motorsports boys. This was a big day for us, and it’s Vegas baby!”

Up Next:The final race of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series takes place at the famed In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip Nov. 15-17. The In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals air first with Friday qualifying on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Sunday’s finals air following, also on FS1, at 4 p.m. ET. Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

Toyota Top Fuel Dragsters hold the top five in points heading to NHRA finale

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 4, 2024) – In his quest to defend his Top Fuel World Championship, Doug Kalitta fell just short of a season sweep at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, coming home as the runner-up in the Las Vegas Fall Nationals. Kalitta had to go through Toyota teammates and championship competitors, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon, on his way to his sixth final round of the season and 118th of his career. He fell to two-time world champion, Brittany Force, in the postponed final round on Monday. 

Kalitta’s performance during the weekend’s eliminations moved him up three spots in the Top Fuel points standings to be tied for fourth position as Toyota now owns the top five in the category points heading to the final race at Pomona in two weeks. Also, with Kalitta making the Top Fuel finals, Toyota has now reached 42 consecutive NHRA event final rounds in either Top Fuel and/or Funny Car.

Looking to close the gap in the Top Fuel standings himself, Langdon went rounds on Sunday and faced Kalitta in a hotly-contested semifinal. Unfortunately, Langdon suffered a blown rear tire as he approached the 1,000-foot mark that led to a center line violation and gave the round win to Kalitta, who also faced trouble. By making the semifinals, however, Langdon has pulled within one point of Brown for second place in the Top Fuel points standings.

Justin Ashley, Brown and Steve Torrence were the other Toyota Top Fuel Dragsters to advance out of round one on Sunday. Ashley still holds a 44-point lead over Brown in the Top Fuel points standings, while Langdon inched closer to only now trail by 45 points. Torrence marginally lessened his deficit to Ashley, now sitting 85 points back of the lead in the fourth position, tied with Kalitta.

In Funny Car, Ron Capps defeated Alexis DeJoria in round one of action on Sunday but fell in round two. By making it to the quarterfinals, Capps moved up to third in the Funny Car standings, now ahead of Matt Hagan by seven points. Like DeJoria, J.R. Todd was defeated in the first round of Funny Car action on Sunday.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series concludes its 2024 season at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, with eliminations set for Sunday, November 17.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas Fall Nationals

Race 19 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Finalist	W (3.861) v. I. Zetterstrom (7.019) W (3.692) v. A. Brown (3.728) W (No time) v. S. Langdon (Center line violation) L (6.147) v. B. Force (3.703)
Shawn Langdon	Kalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-finals	W (3.680) v. J. Salinas (3.744) W (3.701 – holeshot) v. J. Ashley (3.698) L (Center line violation) v. D. Kalitta (No time
Justin Ashley	SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.711) v. S. Massey (3.735) L (3.698) v. S. Langdon (3.701 – holeshot)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.724) v. T. Stewart (3.735) L (3.728) v. D. Kalitta (3.692)
Steve Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W (3.700) v. T. Schumacher (3.738) L (3.719) v. C. Millican (3.726 – holeshot)
Billy Torrence	CAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L (3.741) v. C. Millican (3.727)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W (3.917) v. A. DeJoria (4.209) L (3.878) v. J. Beckman (3.853)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (5.338) v. C. Pedregon (3.924)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero CaféToyota GR Supra Funny Car	First Round	L (4.209) v. R. Capps (3.917)

*= Non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Final Result: Finalist

How would you describe this weekend for you and your team?

“Yeah, don’t necessarily know exactly how we completely shake out points-wise, but would’ve definitely been nice to get those extra 20 points (by winning the final round). We were trying to throw down. Yeah, unfortunately, we didn’t make it (down the track), but like you said, we’re in a good spot hopefully going to Pomona. That place is usually really good to us. We’re all hungry here and obviously, it’d be nice to get this thing to the winner’s circle for sure (at Pomona).”

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

TF Final Result: Semi-finals

Can you take us through what happened there in your semifinal run?

“You know (pause), I just hit the gas, and the car was making a great run. Just, from the time I hit the gas, it kept trying to pull me left so I was trying to give a little bit of input in it. I know the right lane, it likes to suck you to the inside, and that’s a common thing, so I tried to cheat it just a little bit right, pointing the car just a little bit right and run that right edge and let it bring me back in. And just from the time I hit the gas, it kept pulling me left, pulling me left, but I kept trying to put input into it and you know, the dragsters, if you get your hands up around 12 and six, that’s a lot of input for a dragster. And when it catches, it going to shoot you across the lane so you have to keep that in mind. I just kept putting more input to it and it wasn’t coming back. By the time (pause), you’re hauling like crazy and next thing I know, shoot, there’s a lock and I run over (the block) and the tire blows and at that point, you try to salvage what you can. Dang, I hate it for the guys. Man (pause), it stinks. First time I’ve ever hit anything in my career – never hit a cone, never hit a wall. (Have) taken pride in that for a long time. Feel bad for the guys, they’ve worked their butts off. We’re a championship team, just tried to get that one (win) light and I feel terrible, going to be honest with you. Just, trying to hold it together. Hope I didn’t do too much damage to it. We’ve still got a shot at the championship, that’s the most important thing. Just, I don’t want to be the cause in not winning it. Love the support, love everything about it. (I) want to be a champion and (pause).”

Category leader elevates its diesel exhaust fluid purity guarantee with new triple-filtration process

LAS VEGAS (November 5, 2024) — Old World Industries announced today that America’s number one brand of diesel exhaust fluid, PEAK® BlueDEF®, has further set the standard of purity by investing in a new triple-filtration process. PEAK® BlueDEF® and the premium PEAK® BlueDEF PLATINUM® will also debut new packaging in Q1 2025, highlighting the purity and performance benefits that set its product line apart.

“As even the smallest contaminant can create significant issues for your vehicle, it is critical that your diesel exhaust fluid is of the highest purity. BlueDEF® has always been manufactured to the highest quality and purity standards but this new process offers consumers an extra layer of assurance,” said Randy Turner, director of product management. “Every batch of PEAK® BlueDEF® and PEAK® BlueDEF PLATINUM® is now triple-filtered, lab-tested and secure-sealed to provide ultimate protection from contaminants.”


PEAK® BlueDEF® and PEAK® BlueDEF PLATINUM® are compatible with all diesel SCR systems and the non-flammable formula with easy-pour dispensing nozzle makes handling safe and easy. BlueDEF PLATINUM® contains a proprietary additive package to help prevent deposit build-up, optimize fuel economy and extend the life of the SCR system. 

The triple-filtration process and new packaging were announced during the AAPEX Show which runs November 5-7 at the Venetian Convention & Expo Center. If you would like to learn more about PEAK® BlueDEF® and PEAK® BlueDEF PLATINUM®, visit the Old World Industries display in booth #A2245 or peakauto.com. Link to show map.

LAS VEGAS (November 3, 2024) — The Funny Car class has never been more competitive, and the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals made that very clear this weekend with a crowded 21-car field. But what has made Jim Dunn Racing an iconic team for so long is how they never back down from a fight. That includes their driver, rookie Funny Car driver Buddy Hull. 

“Vegas has proven to be a tough track for us this year, but it’s nothing we can’t handle and learn from,” said Hull. “We made four runs this weekend that gave us a lot of data that we can use going into the World Finals in Pomona. We have two weeks to go to work and continue to get better before one of the biggest events of the year.”

Out of two runs on Friday and two more runs on Saturday, Hull’s best pass of the weekend came during the fourth and final round of qualifying, with a 4.090 second, 311.27 mph run, handedly outrunning fellow competitor Jeff Diehl in the other lane. Unfortunately, this run was not enough to get the Jim Dunn Racing nitro Funny Car in the show, but the team is still optimistic about what they can take away from this weekend.

Buddy Hull and Jim Dunn Racing will be back in action in two weeks after a challenging weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, photo credit Dirty Blonde Motorsports

“It’s really satisfying when your best run is the last one, because it shows that you’re picking up on what you learned in the first couple of passes,” said Hull. “What this year has taught me is that every run down the racetrack matters, because nothing beats repetition and time in the car, when it comes to improving by leaps and bounds.”

This weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hull highlighted sponsors Kindness General Contractors, LLC, and Crow Safety Gear, a local company owned by Jon Dunn. 

“When we have 20 dates on a schedule, it’s easy for race weekends to feel like they will blend together,” said Hull. “What helps make every race unique is the sponsors we represent, particularly when they are in the area. When they can attend and see their marketing dollars put in action at such an exciting event, that really puts it into focus for them why they continue to support the sport of drag racing and Jim Dunn Racing.”

After this weekend’s performance, Hull is already looking forward to the World Finals in Pomona, California to finish out the season on a high note. It will be his first time competing at this event since his Top Fuel debut in 2021.

 “We are going to put this race behind us and get excited for the finals,” said Hull.  “It’s going to be a reflective weekend for me, as I wrap up my first Funny Car season, and my first time competing in the Countdown. Even with the ups and downs, this will be a year I will never forget.”

Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be back in competition for the last race in the Countdown at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals on November 14-17 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, November 15 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, November 16. For tickets or more information on the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals visit nhra.com.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.207 sec, 275.34 mph; Qual. 13
Q2: 13.082 sec; 67.99 mph; Qual. 16
Q3: 4.316 sec; 267.37 mph; Qual. 18
Q4: 4.090 sec; 311.27 mph; Qual. 18
Bonus Points: 0

Points
Following a lengthy oil down at the conclusion of the Top Fuel semifinals in the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series the NHRA announced they would be finishing the event tomorrow with eliminations resuming at 11 a.m. PT. Updated points will be available on www.nhra.com at the conclusion of the event.

RIDGEWAY, VA – November 4, 2024  – Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s Xfinity 500, earning a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Round of 4 alongside teammate Joey Logano. This weekend’s win marked Blaney’s third win of the season, 13th of his career, and 100th NASCAR Cup Series win with Ford for Team Penske.

“Congratulations to Roger, Tim, Jonathan, Ryan, and everyone at Team Penske on the race win at Martinsville and advancing to the Championship 4,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Ryan’s victory is a testament to his talent, dedication, and the team effort at Team Penske and Ford Performance. 100 wins at the NASCAR Cup level is a significant milestone and our team is proud to power 73 of these.”

“Yeah, a lot of momentum. It’s nice to have two Penske cars in. It’s nice to join the 22 and have a decent shot to bring Roger another title, a third title in a row, so these guys are the best at what they do and it’s been so much fun to get to run with them and share wins and championships. It’s super strong right now in our organization and hopefully it carries over,” commented Blaney.

Three Ford Performance drivers started Sunday’s race in the top 10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe in P4, Wood Brothers Racing’s Harrison Burton in P6, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece in P8. Stage 1 ended with five Ford Performance drivers in the top-10: Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece in P3 and P4, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano in P5 and P9, and RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in P10.

Brad Keselowski won the second stage of the race, holding off Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. Keselowski took the lead from Blaney following a restart on Lap 203 and maintained it until the end of the stage on lap 261. After a caution on lap 398, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney pitted from the front of the pack for four tires, while Denny Hamlin took two tires and William Byron and Kyle Larson stayed out. With less than 100 laps remaining in the race, Larson and Byron restarted on the front row with Elliott, Blaney and Hamlin in the Top 10 on new tires. Blaney passed Chase Elliott for the lead on Lap 486 of 500 and pulled away to win by 2.593 seconds. Blaney joins fellow Round of 8 winners Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick along with William Byron in the race for the 2024 title.

A total of four Ford Performance drivers finished in the top-10: Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P1, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P4, RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski in P9, and Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P10.

The Xfinity Series also raced at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday where Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer finished in P4, advancing to the Championship 4.  Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to Phoenix Raceway this week for the final race of the 2024 season.

39 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 473 WINS – 436 POLES

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (November 4, 2024) – A calculated and relentless drive brought Chris Dyson and his #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang victory Sunday at Circuit of the Americas in the final race of the 2024 Trans Am by Pirelli season. The win at the Austin, Texas, circuit, Dyson’s third in a season marked by too much bad racing luck, secured second place in the championship point standing for the three-time and defending champion. “I’m just full of emotion right now,” Dyson said after being greeted by his wife Joy in the GYM WEED Winners Circle. “Coming down here we had a really good feeling about this weekend. I felt prepared, I felt mentally calm. The team and I came with our winning mentality. We had nothing to lose. Great execution from everyone. It feels good to put a line through the 2024 season. Let’s move on to 2025!” Dyson started the 100-mile sprint race from third on the grid, but quickly dispatched 2023 COTA race winner Gar Robinson for second place behind newly-crowned TA champion Paul Menard. “The weather was hot and I knew it would be tough on drivers, cars and tires,” Dyson said. “I was confident the race was going to come down to the last segment and we set the car up for that.” After Menard dropped out with mechanical problems at the halfway point, the second half of the race came down to a tight duel between Dyson and TA2 regular Thomas Annunziata, who was making his second TA-class start of the season. Dyson hounded Annunziata for five laps before finding his way into the lead for the final third of the race. “Thomas drove a fine race, but I knew we were just a bit stronger,” Dyson said. “He was driving really hard. I knew all we needed was for him to make a small mistake. He did, and I took my shot. Thomas didn’t give up. He kept attacking until his engine broke. But I knew once I was past him we were in good shape.” “This has been a character-building season,” Dyson added. “We’ve had so many superb races where circumstances just didn’t cooperate and a few sure-fire race wins slipped away for unusual reasons. Still, three race wins, four poles and setting fastest race laps at more than half the events underlined our performance this year. Let’s just say we didn’t lose the championship this year because we weren’t fast enough. All that said, results like today’s to close out 2024 really energize the whole organization, and we will carry this positive momentum into the off-season.”  Matos Takes TA2 Title With 8th-Place Finish Rafa Matos basically just needed to finish the COTA race with his Concord American Ford Mustang to secure his third season TA2 title. And that’s what Matos, who arrived in Texas with five race wins already and a big point lead, did. In a wild race that saw numerous collisions – one competitor smashed in the driver-side door of Matos’ race car – a heady race to 8th place was more than sufficient to secure the title. “What a crazy race!” Matos exclaimed afterward. “Everybody had their elbows out. I’ve never seen so much contact in a Trans Am race. Thanks to Concord American Flagpoles for its support and to Chris Dyson for getting us together.” For more on Chris Dyson Racing.COTA Rebroadcast Schedule In addition to the livestream, 60-minute feature produced by Greenlight TV will be broadcast the following Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.  Additional Broadcast Coverage On MAVTV In addition to the livestream, highlights of the race will be broadcast the following Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.

Racing Suspended in NHRA Nevada Nationals; Will Resume on Monday

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Nov. 3, 2024) – With a recovering John Force watching from the sidelines, Austin Prock and Jack Beckman delivered the ultimate “get well” message Sunday, driving their respective Chevrolet Camaros into the semifinals of the 24th NHRA Nevada Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and assuring JFR of its 21st NHRA Funny Car Championship. A lengthy cleanup operation following an incident involving the Top Fuel dragster of reigning World Champion Doug Kalitta, coupled with cooler air and track temperatures, compelled NHRA officials to suspend racing and postpone completion of the event until Monday. Competition will resume with Prock opposing Blake Alexander in one Funny Car semifinal and Beckman facing Paul Lee in the other. After qualifying No. 1 for the second straight tour event, two-time Top Fuel World Champion Brittany Force authored her own “welcome back” message to her dad by driving her Chevrolet Accessories dragster into the final round for the first time this season with a chance to win a Mission Foods tour event for the first time in two calendar years. She will oppose Kalitta. “This Chevrolet Accessories team has been running strong all weekend long,” said the 2x Top Fuel Champion, “And we are in the finals. Unfortunately, it’s delayed to tomorrow. But we will be ready for it.” By reaching the penultimate round, Prock, the 29-year-old driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS, and Beckman, driving the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro in relief of Force, insured that one or the other of them will win the Funny Car championship and become the fourth different JFR driver to do so. It will be the team’s 21st Funny Car title and its 23rd overall. Prock will leave LVMS with no less than 2622 points; Beckman with no more than 2514. The next closest driver in points is Ron Capps with 2411, not enough to offset Prock’s 211-point advantage even with extra points available at the season-ending In-N-Out Burger Finals at Pomona, Calif. The most points Capps could earn in that race is 191. “We were racing smart today,” said an elated Prock, “just trying to get it done for the boss. Credit to this Cornwell Tools team, my dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock), my brother Thomas, Nate Hildahl and everybody else that makes it happen.” Prock’s teammate, 2012 NHRA Funny Car champion Jack Beckman, was just as focused. “It’s been an odd weekend of racing,” Beckman said. “I’ve had plenty of late rounds postponed to the next day due to weather. I can’t think of any postponed due to excessive track cleanup. And what happened out here this weekend is kind of unprecedented. But we want to race our PEAK Chevy when the conditions are fair and adequate for us. It will just be a Monday trophy. I’ve got a bunch of those at home, and they’re the exact same size as the Sunday trophies.”

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November 3, 2024 A promising start to Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway ended in disappointment for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team.Burton, who started a season-best sixth suffered a transaxle failure on Lap 346 of 500 and was unable to continue. He was scored 36th.Prior to that time, the No. 21 Mustang Dark Horse showed some good speed. Burton fell in line in seventh place after the drop of the initial green flag. He was in eighth place when the race’s first caution flag flew at Lap 77.After a pit stop he fell in line in 19th place and ran there until the final laps of the first 130-lap Stage, which ended with Burton in 20th place.He moved back into the top 20 after a pit stop at the end of the Stage but spun after contact from Carson Hocevar on Lap 158.After a pit stop during the caution period for his spin, Burton worked his way from 28th place up to 24th. When the caution flag flew at Lap 187, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team elected to stay on the track while others pitted and he moved up to eighth place for the restart.The disadvantage of older tires was apparent as he dropped to 23rd place by the time Stage Two ended at Lap 260. Back on the track after a pit stop, Burton moved up to 18th place before pulling off the track at Lap 346.Burton and the No. 21 team now head to Phoenix Raceway for next Sunday’s Cup Series championship-deciding season finale.

LAS VEGAS (November 3, 2024) — At the conclusion of the penultimate NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series, the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals, Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will have one more chance to end their season on a high note. This weekend at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Hart’s team never got a strong handle on the tricky track conditions at the track located fifteen minutes from downtown Las Vegas. Through four rounds of qualifying Hart struggled to transfer the power generated by his R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster to the all-concrete track. His best effort was a 3.801 second pass during the first qualifying session on Saturday held up to secure him the 16th spot in a tight Top Fuel field. “There were 19 Top Fuel dragsters on the property, so we knew it was going to be super competitive,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “We just never got over the hump.” Josh Hart faced Brittany Force in the opening round of the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals, photo credit Auto ImageryOn race day Hart was paired with No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force in the first round. The R+L Carriers team knew they had a tough opponent, but they were up to the task. Hart grabbed a slight starting line advantage with a .056 second reaction time but by half-track Force was pulling away with a solid 3.721 second smooth pass. “We just had to go up there and hope we could catch a break,” said Hart. “We are looking to finish the season in a strong points position and we’ll have to wait for Pomona. We are still looking for consistency and we have one more race this season.” Hart will leave The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway looking to make up ground in two weeks when the tour heads to In-N-Out Burgers Drag Strip at Pomona. The fourth year pro will be looking to race into the top ten at the final race of the season. The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will have two qualifying runs on Friday, November 15, and then two more qualifying runs on Saturday, November 16. The quickest 16 Top Fuel dragsters will look to race for the final win of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series on Sunday, November 17 from Pomona. For tickets or more information visit www.nhra.com. Qualifying Results Q1: 3.852 sec, 326.08 mph; Qual. 9 Q2: No Time; Qual. 12 Q3: 3.801 sec; 328.46 mph; Qual. 14 Q4: 3.823 sec; 317.79 mph; Qual. 16  Bonus Points: 0 Race Results First Round Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Chevrolet Accessories dragster, (.062), 3.721 sec, 329.26 mph def. Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, (.056), 4.133 sec, 209.07 mph

Byron Drives to Final Position in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:  POS.   DRIVER2nd – Chase Elliott3rd – Kyle Larson 6th – William Byron7th – Austin Dillon8th – Ross ChastainWITH 35 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACES COMPLETE:Wins: 15Poles: 10Top-Five Finishes: 69Top-10 Finishes: 143Stage Wins: 23

UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series will head to Phoenix Raceway next weekend for the 2024 Championship Race. Coverage of the 312-lap event can be found on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

·       For the second time in his career, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron will have the opportunity to race for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship. In a race all the way to the checkered flag, Byron drove his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to a sixth-place result. Ending the race with a four-point advantage over the playoff cutline, Byron took the fourth and final position in the Championship Four. ·       Despite a valiant effort all race long, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle came just short of a ticket into the Championship Four – ultimately driving their Camaro ZL1’s to a second and third-place finish, respectively, in the Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. While each endured challenges throughout the race, the pair of teammates proved to be contenders throughout the 500-lap event – collectively leading 200 laps en route to their podium finishes. ·       Chevrolet will have the opportunity to race for a driver championship in all three NASCAR national series next weekend, with Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier advancing to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship four, and CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger and McAnally Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes racing for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Finished: 3rd“I’m proud of the effort from this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. This whole Round of Eight has been a fight, really. From the first stage at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) on, it’s been a fight. I feel like we made the right pit call to give ourselves the best opportunity. I’m proud of my team; the car, the pit crew, everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. We just didn’t have enough. I actually thought that when Chase (Elliott) got to second, I thought he was going to drive right to me and pass me easily. I was surprised I held on as long as I did, so it gave me hope. But then we just fell off the last 30 laps or so.”  Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1Finished: 2ndHow do you sum up the strategy call? “It was a great call. It got us right there in the mix and we had an opportunity. I just made a couple mistakes there past halfway and got some damage on our car. I think that hurt a little bit. Just little things started stacking up. I was pushing really hard trying to get to the No. 5 (Kyle Larson). I just felt like Ryan (Blaney) had been really good. I was scared to give him an opportunity to get to the No. 5 first. I just really wanted to try to get the lead. And then you never know, maybe a caution comes out or something. It just didn’t work out for us. We’ll go to Phoenix (Raceway) and try to put together a good weekend.” You were so confident coming into this race, but you never know with how these races go. There was a lot going on there at the end.“Yeah, I don’t know what all was going on there, to be honest. All I know is that we came up one spot short and it’s unfortunate.”  How would you summarize this race for yourself and the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevy team? “Really solid. Like I said, I just made a couple mistakes there and got some damage on our car. I think that hurt us, and I just didn’t manage the last run very well.” William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1Finished: 6thWhat are your emotions here at the end of this race? “Yeah, I’ve never been a part of anything like this, so I don’t really know how to feel. I hate it for everyone involved, but I’m happy for this No. 24 Liberty University Chevy team. I’m happy for us moving on, and we’ll go on and focus on Phoenix (Raceway).” I know your mind is on Martinsville here, but from a broader perspective, what’s your thoughts, expectations, optimism heading to Phoenix? “I have not gotten there yet (laughs). I’ll think about this one here at Martinsville (Speedway) with my team. We had a lot of adversity through the second half of the race there. Yeah, I mean we know what the rules are, right? So it is what it is. I wouldn’t say I’m happy, but I’m excited to race for a championship, that’s for sure.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 High Point Paint Services Camaro ZL1Finished: 13th“Really fast No. 31 High Point Paint Services Chevrolet all weekend. We kept our track position and made some gains during the first stage. Getting spun by the 77 set us back a bit. Fortunately, a timely caution and some solid adjustments helped get us some track position back, and we were able to get a top-20 finish out of it.”

Vesti, Eastwood, Juncadella drive the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in WEC rookie test

MANAMA, Bahrain (Nov. 3, 2024) – For Frederik Vesti, Daniel Juncadella and Charlie Eastwood, the opportunity to drive the Cadillac Racing Hypercar V-Series.R during the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test was “an experience.” The group totaled 103 laps in two sessions on the 3.36-mile (5.412km), 15-turn at the Bahrain International Circuit.

“It was really positive. I expected to have a difficult car to drive as I’ve heard in the past about these cars, but I think I had a lot of confidence with the car. For sure, there is some technique that needs to be fine-tuned,” said Vesti, who will make his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R in January at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The 2023 FIA Formula 2 Championship vice-champion and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One reserve driver will be a new teammate of Earl Bamber and Jack Aitken with the Action Express Racing-run Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) program. He turned 30 laps, with a best of 1 minute, 52.513 seconds. Bamber, who teamed with Alex Lynn and Sebastien Bourdais to drive the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R to sixth place in the WEC season-ending Bapco Energies Eight Hours of Bahrain less than 12 hours earlier, set up the hybrid racecar in the two-hour morning session with a chart-topping lap of 1:49.566. The time stood up through the three-hour afternoon session. The Cadillac Hypercar moved up one position on the points table post-race after a podium finisher was penalized and dropped in the classification. Media resources: WEC rookie test gallery | Cadillac Racing 2024 WEC statistics | 2024 IMSA statistics Eastwood and Juncadella also enjoyed a productive outing with TF Sport and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. The No. 81 Corvette of Eastwood, Tom Van Rompuy and Rui Andrade were runners-up in the LMGT3 class, just ahead of the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R trio of Juncadella, Hiroshi Koizumi and Sebastien Baud.  Eastwood turned 34 laps with a best of 1:52.512, while Jucadella got in 30 laps with a best of 1:52.719.

The 2025 WEC season begins Feb. 28 with the Qatar1812Km at the Lusail International Circuit, preceded Feb. 21-22 by the annual Prologue.

What they’re saying

Frederik Vesti: “I’m extremely happy to get my first laps in the Cadillac. It was really positive. I expected to have a difficult car to drive as I’ve heard in the past about these cars, but I think I had a lot of confidence with the car. For sure, there is some technique that needs to be fine-tuned. It’s a heavy car compared to what I’m used to. There are a lot of systems to use to help to go quicker so that’s something that I need to get into in the winter before starting next year, which I’m really excited about. (about difference in cars he’s driven) It’s a fairly big change. I can’t drive directly on instinct. I have to think a bit more as I jump in a car like this, but with more laps and test days I’m sure I’ll get it. (advice from Bamber, teammate in IMSA in 2025) Earl helped me a lot to set up the car, using his suit and seat. I’m looking forward to working with him in 2025.” Charlie Eastwood: “First test in Hypercar, what an experience and what an honor to have the chance to do it. Big thanks to GM, Corvette and the team for setting this up. The car was great to drive. So fast on the straights, which we see in the races as they come past the GT cars like we’re stopped. A tricky car to drive and complex as well, and I think once you start to drive it more and more it will come quite rewarding. I had a really good last run in the car, good consistency throughout the run, which isn’t straightforward here in Bahrain. All in all, just loved the experience and hopefully it’s not my last time.” Daniel Juncadella: “It was great to get the experience driving a high-downforce car. It’s been seven, eight years since I drove a high-downforce car and I enjoyed it a lot. It was great to get my first test in this kind of car, so thankful Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing for giving me the opportunity. It was a great way to finish off the season after yesterday’s great result. Looking forward to more in the future.”

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 3, 2024) – The ninth annual World Short Track Championship concluded Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with 14 Feature races among 10 divisions.

Each race produced a storyline winner, who either established a new record or visited Victory Lane for the first time.

Full Saturday coverage:

Kyle Strickler Captures Record Fourth UMP Modified World Short Track Championship in Nick Hoffman-Built Car
By Jordan DeLucia

Kyle Strickler and Nick Hoffman. For years, both drivers came to The Dirt Track at Charlotte in October and raced against each other for World Short Track Championship supremacy.

And now, and they’re celebrating together in Victory Lane.

Strickler, 41, of Mooresville, NC, captured his fourth career World Short Track Championship Feature win Saturday night, breaking the tie between he and Hoffman for most all-time in the Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified division.

“It means a lot to me because I’m here with all my sponsors and hometown people, family, friends and everybody that comes out to this race,” Strickler said. “It’s awesome. I love coming here.”

However, this win came with a bit of irony, as Strickler won the race driving a brand-new Elite Chassis — Hoffman’s own UMP Modified chassis brand.

For most of their careers, Strickler and Hoffman were bitter rivals on the track, at odds with each other personally as well as professionally. Strickler traditionally raced Longhorn Chassis Modifieds while Hoffman built and drove his own Elite Chassis Modifieds, and both had their fair share of success as multi-time winners of World Short Track Championship.

“What’s wild is, if you would’ve seen us about 15 years ago racing locally right around here, we hated each other,” Hoffman said. “We would literally crash each other on purpose, could never finish a race together because we would just wreck each other.

“We were pretty hard competitors, completely hated each other. So, for us to come full circle now… We gained a lot of respect for each other once we started running Late Models and going that route and being successful in other forms, not just Dirt Modified racing. It’s pretty wild.”

Though much time has passed since their days of hard feelings, Strickler said he had driven Hoffman’s Elite cars in various one-off races over his 18-year UMP Modified career, and felt 2024 was the time to finally get one of his own.

“FOX [Racing] Shox, our relationship with them, and Nick’s been tied in with them too on the Modified side, so it made sense,” Strickler said. “Jerovetz Motorsports (Shock Service), Ryan Rosenow and all them guys in Wisconsin — they do all of our shocks for myself and for Nick, even when I was in the Longhorn stuff.”

“He wanted to get a car from me a couple months ago,” Hoffman said. “We talked about doing some stuff. Finally, he got this thing from me about a month ago and finally got it put together for this weekend.”

Right from the drop of the first green flag of the weekend, Strickler’s Elite Chassis was fast, setting the second-fastest lap in the 38-car field in Thursday’s Qualifying session. On Friday, Strickler was strong again, dominating the first Heat Race to lock himself into the redraw for Saturday’s main event.

He drew the outside pole and took off as the green flag dropped on the main event, taking the lead on the opening lap and leading every lap unchallenged en route to the $4,000 victory.

“I really want to thank Nick, because he’s really helped me with any questions I asked him,” Strickler said. “As competitors for so long, we’ve kinda gone two different ways with setup stuff, but there’s a lot of stuff that’s the same, too. So, it’s great to have him be an open book where he could help me learn this new car. It’s been so good right out of the box.”

Crossing the finish line behind Strickler were two Illinois natives and fellow Elite Chassis drivers — Will Krup and Kyle Hammer. Pennsylvania driver Jonathan Taylor finished fourth ahead of Kentuckian Charlie Mefford — another Elite Chassis driver who climbed from 13th on the starting grid to finish fifth, much to Hoffman’s delight.

“It’s really cool for me to have my cars sweep the top three on the podium, and then have four of the top five is really special,” Hoffman said. “I was more nervous standing up there watching this race than I would’ve been sitting out there racing myself.”

RESULTS
Summit Racing Equipment Feature (25 Laps): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 2. K9-Will Krup[3]; 3. 45-Kyle Hammer[4]; 4. 5-Jonathan Taylor[6]; 5. 18-Charlie Mefford[13]; 6. 35-Carder Miller[5]; 7. 8A-Austin Holcombe[11]; 8. 6-Ryan Ayers[21]; 9. 84-Ryan Toole[23]; 10. 00-Michael Leach[17]; 11. 5T-Drake Troutman[7]; 12. 89-Corey Gordon[19]; 13. 12-Ace Claborn[10]; 14. 7-Evan Taylor[8]; 15. 114-Jordan Koehler[9]; 16. 51P-Joey Polevoy[18]; 17. 07-Curtis King[26]; 18. 23Z-Austin Self[24]; 19. 25-Greg Belyea[22]; 20. 66-Cole Falloway[15]; 21. 12R-Ty Rhoades[14]; 22. 99-Cole Hilton[16]; 23. 88-Matt Crafton[20]; 24. 31G-Stephen Pedulla[1]; 25. 44-Dave Hess Jr[12]; 26. 814-Samuel Lamborgini[25]

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Austin Holcombe Wins Third Crate Modified World Short Track Championship Title
By Jordan DeLucia

Austin Holcombe has made World Short Track Championship history in the Hoosier Racing Tire Mid-East Crate Modifieddivision with his third win in the last four years Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Holcombe, 29, of Elm City, NC, tied fellow North Carolinian Jeff Parsons for the most wins in the division at the World Short Track Championship. Parsons took the checkered flag in the Crate Modified main event in 2017, 2019 and 2020, and Holcombe has now tied him with wins in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

“This Crate car — it sits here all year; we run a few races a year with this Crate car and it’s just always good to us,” Holcombe said. “It’s nice to come to Charlotte and it’s nice to win.”

Similar to his previous wins, Holcombe grabbed the lead early and led the entire distance, unchallenged by his competitors, and Saturday night was another installment of his dominance.

From the pole, Holcombe secured the lead on the opening lap and crossed the finish line 1.2 seconds over runner-up Stephen Pedulla.

“It’s all about Qualifying good; you’ve got to start up front, and you need a lot of luck,” Holcombe said. “It worked out for us. We drew the [#1 redraw pill], and anytime you can start out front against any of these guys and you haven’t got to try and pass the cars, it’s just a win in the books right there.”

Pedulla, of Kannapolis, NC, recorded his best career finish in the main event with a runner-up, while 2018 Crate Modified main event winner Jesse Rockett drove from eighth on the starting grid up to finish third.

RESULTS
Hoosier Feature (15 Laps): 1. 8A-Austin Holcombe[1]; 2. 31G-Stephen Pedulla[4]; 3. 7-Jesse Rockett[8]; 4. 14-Jeff Robinson[6]; 5. 32K-Garrett Killman[3]; 6. 6-Ryan Ayers[11]; 7. 5-Ethan Wilson[5]; 8. 2K2-Taylor Kuehl[21]; 9. 44P-Jeff Parsons[12]; 10. 1-Grayson Keaton[10]; 11. 15-Morgan Widener[17]; 12. 45-Cambridge Gann[7]; 13. 92-Tyler Love[25]; 14. 04-Cole Wagoner[16]; 15. 7G-Gary Jarrett[14]; 16. 29-Brandon Bentley[19]; 17. 16W-Dustin Watkins[24]; 18. 03-Oliver Gentry[20]; 19. 73-Chris Nickerson[22]; 20. 88-Jay Seward[9]; 21. 50-Ronnie Covey[26]; 22. 71K-Dennis Kirk[28]; 23. 05-Travis Covey[27]; 24. 2J-Jake Barneycastle[15]; 25. 50B-Justin Blevins[23]; 26. 121-Chase Cardwell[13]; 27. 21A-Adam Favors[2]; 28. 25-Robert Poole[18]

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Dave Rogers Scores Third World Short Track Championship Victory at Charlotte

By Mike Warren

Dave Rogers has become a regular visitor to Victory Lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in the past few seasons.

The LaFargeville, NY driver led every lap to win his third World Short Track Championship Feature in the last four years in the VP Racing Sportsman division.

“Every time you can win here, it means the same,” Rogers said. “It’s unbelievable, and it’s a dream come true.

Rogers, the pole-sitter, slid in front of Donovan Lussier in Turn 2 to take the lead on the race’s opening lap. However, he could never pull away from the field with two Pro Fabrication caution flags slowing down the event in the first 19 laps.

Lussier tried challenging Rogers several times but lost second to Derrick McGrew Jr. on the lap 20 restart. The St. Denis-de-Richelieu driver lost another spot when Jessica Power snuck underneath him with six laps to go.

McGrew tried chasing down the No. 44 car, but a caution with three laps remaining for Payton Talbot impacted the top three drivers.

When the race resumed, Rogers pulled away again, but Power dove underneath McGrew in Turn 2, making contact as they raced down the backstretch. The contact sent McGrew’s No. 26 around leaving Zach Buff nowhere to go in the incident.

From there, Rogers took advantage of the single-file restart to pull away from Power and score the $4,000 prize and his seventh career DIRTcar Sportsman Series victory.

“It’s my driving style,” Rogers said. “It’s banked, and you can just run the piss out of it. You got to drive it hard or you’re lacking. As you can see the motor is steaming. I drove the shit out of this thing.”

Power crossed the line second, earning her best finish at the 4/10-mile oval. The Kingston, ON, driver said she thought the cautions at the end of the race stopped her momentum.

“Everyone’s so fast here,” Power said. “You have to capitalize on restarts. It’s terrible what happened with that wreck, but it’s just one of those things that everyone’s racing hard, and I hope everyone’s okay.

“We had a really fast hot rod tonight. I wish we started closer to the front and maybe we could’ve done something.”

Lussier, who won Thursday’s Championship Invitational Feature rounded out the podium.

“I think the car was decent; I just didn’t get lucky with the outside starting position,” Lussier said. “Overall, we had a great weekend. The car was fast every night and I feel like we can just improve for next year.”

Darin Gallagher finished fourth, and Chris Jakubiak rounded out the top five.

RESULTS
VP Racing Sportsman Feature (30 Laps): 1. 44-David Rogers[1]; 2. 52-Jessica Power[7]; 3. 61L-Donovan Lussier[2]; 4. 10-Darin Gallagher[5]; 5. 49-Chris Jakubiak[21]; 6. 80-Joshua Jock[12]; 7. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[6]; 8. 38JR-Jason Parkhurst Jr[13]; 9. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[18]; 10. 32C-Carter Crooker[3]; 11. 12G-Matt Guererri[16]; 12. 16X-Savannah Laflair[22]; 13. 21-Cameron Norris IV[15]; 14. 20X-Kevin Ridley[8]; 15. 44S-Gordon Smith[24]; 16. 02-Cody Ochs[20]; 17. 61-Derek Wagner[10]; 18. 57-Ray Hall Jr[14]; 19. 58-Logen Lockhart[25]; 20. 23-David Dickey[11]; 21. 26-Derrick McGrew[4]; 22. 14-Payton Talbot[9]; 23. 01-Zachary Buff[23]; 24. 78-Michael Wright[19]; 25. 10X-Cory Castell[26]; 26. 165K-Karston King[17]

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Denis Gauvreau Scores First World Short Track Championship Victory in Pro Stocks

By Mike Warren

After a 900-mile drive from Quebec, Denis Gauvreau made his opportunity count Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

The Chelsea, QC driver powered around Marc Lalonde on Lap 3 of the 25-lap MSD Pro Stock Feature and never looked back to earn his first World Short Track championship win.

Lalonde, the pole-sitter, led the race’s opening lap in his No. 8 car, setting a fast pace around the 4/10-mile facility.

But behind the Plantagenet, ON driver, Gauvreau started moving toward the front quickly. Gavreau quickly passed Albany-Saratoga Speedway regular Jordan Modiano on Lap 1 and set his sights on Lalonde, the 2019 Plattsburgh Airborne Speedway champion.

With a burst of speed, Gauvreau was wheel-to-wheel with Lalonde as they entered the backstretch on Lap 3. After carrying his momentum on the outside lane through Turns 3 and 4, Gauvreau nosed ahead of Lalonde for the lead at the start/finish line.

Gauvreau went untouched to earn the $3,000 prize and his first DIRTcar Pro Stock Series victory since winning at Autodrome Edelweiss in 2008.

The Canadian debuted a brand new Manimal chassis in Charlotte and said it was the key to victory.

“This a brand new (Nick) Stone car,” Gauvreau said. “It’s the first race. It’s a beautiful car. Thank you, Nick Stone, for this car. I went up to the outside and go for first.”

Three-time DIRTcar Pro Stock Series champion Jocelyn Roy crossed the line second after passing Lalonde midway through the race.

“I’m very happy,” Roy said. “My team is in great shape. The great people in the U.S. are nice. I’m just very happy. My team, my sponsors, and my family are all very happy.”

Lalonde settled for third, earning his best finish in four tries at Charlotte.

“I struggled a bit this weekend with the car,” Lalonde said. “I made some adjustments. It was good. We’re still missing something, but I’m happy with a third racing against all the best riders in our Series and two Canadians in front of me.”

Reigning DIRTcar Pro Stock Series champion Pete Stefanski finished fourth, driving Phil Defiglio’s car, and Eric Jean-Louis rounded out the top five.

RESULTS
MSD Pro Stock Feature (25 Laps): 1. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[3]; 2. 48-Jocelyn Roy[6]; 3. 8L-Marc Lalonde[1]; 4. 2-Pete Stefanski[7]; 5. 921-Eric Jean Louis[4]; 6. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[8]; 7. 8C-Sean Corr[16]; 8. 17-Marc Peladeau[9]; 9. 75-Gary Silkey[5]; 10. 76-Kyle Hoard[15]; 11. 9-Shane Henderson[11]; 12. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[10]; 13. 6C-Brian Carter[17]; 14. 9B-Slater Baker[13]; 15. 2Z-Hugh Page[19]; 16. 93-Sheldon Martin[18]; 17. 4M-Jordan Modiano[2]; 18. 2H-Luke Horning[12]; 19. 177-Chris Stalker[14]; 20. 63-Ryan Crellin[26]; 21. 28-Philip DeFiglio[21]; 22. 771-Jim Duncan[24]; 23. 01-Braxton Mcdaniel[22]; 24. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[23]; 25. 58-Roxanne Roy[25]; 26. 57W-Joe Wilson[20]

—

Hoots Charges to SRI Performance Monster Thunder Bomber Win
By Alex Nieten

Last year Mattison Hoots came within two spots of an SRI Performance MMSA Monster Thunder Bomber victory at the World Short Track Championship, forced to watch as Luke Doggett celebrated. But this time it was Hoots’ turn to make the coveted trip to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Victory Lane.

Hoots lined up fourth for the Feature and quickly ripped to the lead by Lap 3 before driving away to his first Charlotte victory.

An emotional Victory Lane followed as he arose victorious on the grandest stage. Hoots was choked up as family and friends surrounded him and the confetti flew. A winner at Charlotte. An honor every competitor at the event covets.

Mark Towell and Stetsen Todd led the field to green, and Stetsen used the outside line to grab the top spot on Lap 1. Right behind him, Hoots went from fourth to second on the opening circuit and set his sights on Todd.

Hoots jumped to Todd’s outside when he saw an opening. The two then gave the fans a multi-lap show as they rolled around the entire 4/10 mile side by side for multiple laps. Both fought hard but clean to get the advantage as they never touched fenders. Finally, Hoots managed to muscle ahead of Todd and clear him to secure the lead.

That proved to be the winning move as Hoots never looked back. He put together consistent laps and grew his advantage north of two seconds by the time the 15-lapper concluded as Hoots crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead.

“I knew watching the previous races that it might get cut short for the cautions and the time, so I knew I kind of had to make a move really fast to get up front,” Hoots explained. “I found some moisture up top really fast and really good, and I was able to make the pass for the lead and hold them off.”

Todd held on for second after leading the first two laps. He couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at coming up short with what he felt was the quickest machine on property.

“It sucks because we were the fastest car all weekend,” Todd said. “I didn’t know the groove would be that high, and I didn’t want to get up there and get freight-trained on the bottom. So, I just moved up too late. Then on the last restart, we got kind of moved a little bit. So, he (Hoots) got a big lead, and I just couldn’t reel him in after that.”

Rounding out the podium with a charge from seventh was Tyler Guice.

“This place is so crazy. You don’t ever know what the track is going to be,” Guice said. “We really just come down here to have fun as a team as kind of an end of the year deal.”

RESULTSSRI Performance Feature (15 Laps): 1. 41-Mattison Hoots[4]; 2. 19-Stetsen Todd[2]; 3. 47-Tyler Guice[7]; 4. 21J-Nate Jackson[11]; 5. 97T-Mark Towell[1]; 6. 51C-Luke Clements[3]; 7. 28-Rod Tucker[18]; 8. 97-Luke Doggett[5]; 9. 43-Jacob Funderburke[12]; 10. G41-Grant Burton[27]; 11. G1-Greg Carroll[20]; 12. 135-Travis Jamieson[23]; 13. 98-Isaiah Parker[24]; 14. 05-Cruz Mattison[16]; 15. 78-Hunter Funderburke[21]; 16. 119-Jason Edmonds[26]; 17. 22W-Walt Waddell[14]; 18. S1-Bryson Sweatt[15]; 19. S2-Garrett Sweatt[22]; 20. 32-Brandon Greene[19]; 21. 16-Benny Peeler[25]; 22. 483-Hannah Wall[28]; 23. 28G-Bryson Guice[8]; 24. S4-Tyler Smith[9]; 25. 4H-Jonathan Hinson[6]; 26. 4-Cory Skipper[17]; 27. 83-Ricky Bogan[10]; 28. P8-Christopher Patterson[13]

—

Tucker Tops Street Stocks for Third World Short Track Championship Division Victory
By Alex Nieten

It doesn’t matter the car. Rod Tucker is going to be fast at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

The Greenville, SC native entered this year’s ninth annual World Short Track Championship already an owner of victories in two separate classes, the COMP Cams MMSA Monster Mini-Stocks (2018) and SRI Performance MMSA Monster Thunder Bombers (2022).

He decided 2024 was the right time to make history by adding a third.

Tucker started sixth for the Race Quip Street Stock main event on Saturday, took the top spot on the sixth lap, and held off a late charge from Andrew Durham to get the win.

The victory made him the first competitor ever to come out on top of three different World Short Track Championship divisions. It’s a place he’ll forever hold in the prestigious event’s history.

Calob McLaughlin and Bradley Weaver led the field to green. McLaughlin led the opening lap before Weaver blasted by to take the lead on the second circuit. Tucker began his charge to the front immediately, going from sixth to third in one lap, and then two rotations later he took over the runner-up spot.

A Lap 5 restart set the stage for a thrilling battle between Weaver and Tucker. When the green flag brought the action back to life, Tucker threw a slider at Weaver in Turns 1 and 2 to grab the lead. Weaver returned the favor the next time around in the same set of corners, and the two made slight contact. Tucker came back at Weaver with another slide job in Turns 3 and 4, and the two were side by side when the yellow flag came out.

Tucker held the top spot for the restart, and he made sure to quickly jump ahead and was able to hold off a surging Andrew Durham for his third Charlotte triumph.

“Weaver was really good,” Tucker said of their battle. “I could just get to the center of (Turn) 3 so much better than everybody, I felt like. I knew on restart if I didn’t get to the top as quick as I could and try to slide him down there, it was going to be pretty single file because the top was so good down there. I kind of got tight once I got up there, I think, hurting that fender a little bit like that kind of hindered me a little bit. But all in all we had a good weekend. I’ve got to thank all of my guys for helping me all weekend. It feels pretty cool. We’ve won in three different divisions up here, so I can’t thank everybody enough.”

Durham had an up and down race that ultimately ended on a high note as he claimed the runner-up spot. The result marked his best ever finish in a championship Feature at “America’s Home for Racing.”

“I was kind of surprised that I felt like I was driving up to him (Tucker), but I guess we’ll never know,” Durham said. “It’s a long weekend for not many laps. You never know what you’re going to get when you go out there. You’ve got to be on it and do the best you can and hope you got something good enough.”

Weaver slipped back to third after leading early. The ill-timed caution right as he was re-taking the lead might’ve cost the Shelby, NC driver a potential victory.

“If the caution would’ve come out when I had him cleared, I think we would’ve been alright,” Weaver said. “But the car kind of went away there at the end. Probably could’ve run second had we had some more laps.”

RESULTSCOMP Cams Feature (15 Laps): 1. 12-Rod Tucker[6]; 2. 06-Andrew Durham[4]; 3. 2-Bradley Weaver[2]; 4. 83M-Calob McLaughlin[1]; 5. 11-Kade Langley[13]; 6. 25-Andrew Gordon[17]; 7. 18B-Blake Bentley[10]; 8. 01L-Patrick Lyon[11]; 9. 44-Jeff Parsons[15]; 10. 13-Kayden Outlaw[23]; 11. 99-Stephen Ford[16]; 12. B4-Brandon Satterfield[19]; 13. 18-Ricky Greene[20]; 14. 00-Cody Ussery[26]; 15. 32-Garrett Killman[18]; 16. 9-Ronnie Mosley[22]; 17. H3-Harley Holden[14]; 18. 81-Justin Barber[25]; 19. 5-Hunter Denny[27]; 20. 101-Josh Hellams[5]; 21. 0-Johnny Westmoreland[8]; 22. 39-Steve Greene[12]; 23. JR1-Jake Jackson[7]; 24. 59-Brandon White[21]; 25. 04B-Austin Brown[9]; 26. 5H-Hank Taylor[3]; 27. 57-Michael Wells[24]; 28. 17-Brian Carswell[28]

—

John Ruggiero Jr Wins First FOX Factory Pro Late Model World Short Track Championship Feature
By Matt Skipper

John Ruggiero Jr. knew he had the car to beat entering the ninth annual World Short Track Championship.

Leading the final 25 laps, the Lincolnton, NC driver earned his first FOX Factory Crate Racin’ USA Pro Late Models Championship Feature win on Saturday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte,

Clay Hill, FL driver Bubba Roling led the first laps of the 30-lap race, with Quick in second and Ruggiero in third.

Ruggiero got by Quick, then a mistake by Roling entering the top side of Turn 3 on the fifth lap gave way for the No.00 Longhorn Factory Team Late Model to slide down the bottom of the track to take the Feature lead.

On the first restart on Lap 11, defending champion Trent Ivey passed Roling around Turns 1 and 2 to work on chasing Ruggiero for the win.

Ivey closed the gap on Ruggiero until a caution with five laps to go, which involved seven cars, and a late-race dash in which new contenders attempted to dethrone Ruggiero’s lead.

Ruggiero got the perfect start to maintain the lead, while Layton Sullivan took over second from Ivey with a run on the bottom lane.

Cruising to his second World Short Track Championship win in four years, Ruggiero captured the win to begin the Saturday night of Feature racing from The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“I came with (Longhorn) last year and thought we could win,” Ruggiero said. “I told Steve (Arpin) last night that ‘I feel like we had a car capable of winning tonight, no matter where we start.’ I drew the four on the redraw, things played well for us on the start, with Colby getting tight and Bubba opening it up for me.

“Once we got out in front, I got a little scared with Trent behind me because he’s won here so many times. This one goes out to all the Longhorn guys for giving me an opportunity to drive one of these. It’s been an awesome year, and I hope we can keep things moving forward from here.”

Sullivan, of Gaffney, SC, earned his first World Short Track Championship podium with his second-place drive from starting fifth in the early-going.

“It feels pretty good, honestly,” Sullivan said. “We’ve been coming here for a while, and this is one of my favorite tracks by far. It’s nice to finally get on a podium and have a run that shows this kind of speed that we’ve had. I think the best I’ve finished is eighth, and we’ve felt like we were better than that. When they wet the track before we went out, we kinda missed it on the adjustment. But other than that, we has a really good weekend and really fast car.”

Ivey, of Union, SC, took his third consecutive podium in the Pro Late Models at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with a third-place finish.

“It was my last chance to try something,” Ivey said. “I just couldn’t quite make it work this year, but congrats to John, they’ve done great, and we’ll have to come back again next year. We just needed a few adjustments. We were chasing the car after the track prepping and just didn’t do a good job.”

York, SC driver Jeremy Steele finished fourth, and Roling picked up the top five in his first attempt at racing in the World Short Track Championship.

Last Chance Showdown Winners: Travis Steele, Ricky Greene, Jimmy Thomas

RESULTS
FOX Factory Feature (30 Laps): 1. 00R-John Ruggiero Jr[4]; 2. 2S-Layton Sullivan[3]; 3. G4-Trent Ivey[5]; 4. 22-Jeremy Steele[10]; 5. 515-Bubba Roling[2]; 6. 5-Colby Quick[1]; 7. 22T-Jimmy Thomas[21]; 8. 55H-Benji Hicks[16]; 9. 98-Matt Dooley[8]; 10. 48-Hunter Kohn[13]; 11. 32W-Ethan Wilson[7]; 12. 11W-Joey Warren[18]; 13. 23-Beckham Malone[15]; 14. 7J-Dalton Jacobs[22]; 15. 24-Jacob Brown[24]; 16. 88D-Dalton Dowdy[28]; 17. 21-Mario Gresham[25]; 18. 22H-Matt Henderson[11]; 19. 5S-Travis Steele[19]; 20. 6-Dillon Brown[9]; 21. 127-Austin Yarbrough[6]; 22. 66-Jody Knowles[12]; 23. 17J-John Winge[27]; 24. 45-Nathan Dallas[26]; 25. 78-Blake Pryor[14]; 26. P4-John Price[17]; 27. 1B-Brent Trimble[23]; 28. 18G-Ricky Greene[20]

—

John Ruggiero Jr Captures Second Chevrolet Performance Mid-East 602 Late Models Feature at World Short Track Championship
By Matt Skipper

John Ruggiero Jr was unsatisfied with leaving the ninth annual World Short Track Championship with only one Feature trophy.

Instead, he’ll left with two, as the Lincolnton, NC driver led all 20 laps to become the first driver to sweep the FOX Factory Pro Crate Racin’ USA Late Models and the Chevrolet Performance Mid East Association 602 Late Models.

Ruggiero and David Smith led the field to the green flag, with defending 602 Late Model champion Beckham Malone in third as Ruggiero led over Smith.

Ruggiero extended his lead to over two seconds when he encountered lap traffic at the halfway mark of the Feature. Ruggiero made his No.44 Late Model work around every lane of the racetrack with a mix of the high and bottom lanes in his pursuit.

With the caution waving with two laps remaining, Ruggiero had to face the pressure of a potential late-race charge from Smith, Malone, and Mooresboro, NC driver Dalton Peavy, to fend off on the final restart.

Ruggiero got the vital restart to break away from Smith as Malone and Peavy were left to battle for the final step on the podium.

Crossing the finish line as a three-time World Short Track Championship Feature winner, Ruggiero completed a flawless weekend at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for his second career win in the 602 Late Models.

“The track prep from the 604 Feature was a curveball to expect,” Ruggiero said. “I was a little nervous about how the track could take rubber or where it got slick, so I had to be smart and slow down my entry to hit my marks. I knew David and Beckham were behind me and really good, so I just had to do everything I needed to do to stay out front, and it’s the name of the game at places like (Charlotte).”

Smith, of Inman, SC, took home the second-place result, and the Rock Hill, SC driver of Malone rounded out the Feature’s podium finishers.

Peavy drove to fourth, and Trent Ivey of Union, SC finished fifth to bookend the Chevrolet Performance Mid-East 602 Late Models racing weekend.

Last Chance Showdown Winners: Jason Dickerson, Bryce Viar, Nickelos Stiles

RESULTS
Chevrolet Performance Feature (25 Laps): 1. 44-John Ruggiero Jr[1]; 2. 11S-David Smith[2]; 3. 23-Beckham Malone[5]; 4. 9-Dalton Peavy[3]; 5. 28-Trent Ivey[13]; 6. 007-Nickelos Stiles[21]; 7. 11B-Dalton Jacobs[24]; 8. T9-Brodie Thompson[9]; 9. 0-Olivia Gentry[23]; 10. 2-Wyatt Coffey[12]; 11. 18-Preston Blalock[25]; 12. J12-Jason Dickerson[19]; 13. 5O-Joey Johnson[27]; 14. 22T-Steven Thompkins[11]; 15. C10-Carl Currin[18]; 16. 27-Mike Davidson[22]; 17. 5-Robbie Gibson[10]; 18. 20-Trey Stamper[4]; 19. 7H-Ronnie Long[28]; 20. 32-Shawn Walker[26]; 21. 5J-Braden Jones[16]; 22. 25V-Bryce Viar[20]; 23. 1J-Morghan Johnson[7]; 24. 24-Seth Wimpey[8]; 25. 22K-Kenny Peeples[15]; 26. 57-Luke Cooper[6]; 27. 611-Koulten Herbert[14]; 28. 515-Bubba Roling[17]

—

Cody Keith Scores First World Short Track Championship Title With COMP Cams Monster Mini Stocks
By Spence Smithback

In his fourth trip to The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the World Short Track Championship, Franklinton, NC driver Cody Keith scored his maiden win in the event in the COMP Cams Monster Mini Stock division. 

“It means the world, this is always the one you want to win,” Keith said in Victory Lane. “My guys traveled with me up here to see if we could get it done and we did, so it’s pretty cool.” 

Keith’s Heat Race win on Friday night netted him the sixth starting spot, while Kevin Cooper and Daniel Coffey shared the front row. Cooper grabbed the early lead through the opening set of corners, but a pileup in Turn 2 behind him reset the field before he could break away. 

The ensuing restart was a mirror image of the original start, with Cooper taking the top spot and Coffey sliding into second behind him, but this time they were able to put some laps on the board. Coffey’s time in second didn’t last long though, as contact with Brad Hamm in Turn 4 caused him to fall back several spots and out of the lead group. 

That gave the runner-up spot to Matt Gilbert, but before he could get comfortable, a hard-charging Keith made it to Gilbert’s back bumper just past halfway. Keith made his move with six to go and instantly went to work on chasing down Cooper, and with five to go, he ripped around the outside of Turns 3 and 4 before clearing him for the lead in Turn 1. 

From that point forward, Keith was off like a rocket, crossing the stripe over a second ahead of the pack at the end of 15 laps. 

Behind him, Gilbert wrestled second away from Cooper in the closing stages of the race by squeezing between Cooper and the infield tractor tires in Turns 3 and 4 with three to go. It was his third-straight podium in the World Short Track Championshipfollowing a win in 2022 and a third-place finish a year ago. 

“I kind of wish we would have run 25 laps, we may have been able to have something there at the end,” Gilbert said. “All in all, it was a good race, just kind of wish we had a little more laps to kind of show what we had.” 

Cooper entered the event as the defending Mini Stock winner and looked to be in position to go back-to-back, but said an ill-handling race car forced him to settle for third. 

“We had a pretty good weekend,” Cooper said. “We won the Heat Race, drew the one on the redraw, started on the pole of the main event. Just got real free there at the end and got passed.” 

COMP Cams Feature (15 Laps): 1. 51-Cody Keith[6]; 2. 117-Matt Gilbert[3]; 3. X-Kevin Cooper[1]; 4. 98-Brad Hamm[4]; 5. 121-JR Warren[7]; 6. 99-Daniel Coffey[2]; 7. M6-Jamie Massey[14]; 8. 19-Justyn Jacobs[15]; 9. 1-Connor Keaton[17]; 10. 15L-Zach Lankford[22]; 11. 8-Dustin Bolin[16]; 12. H3-Harley Holden[20]; 13. 118-Ronald Arch[10]; 14. 37-Ben Burnett[26]; 15. 2-Johnny Raines[18]; 16. 56F-Nick Fulcher[25]; 17. 12-Pete Brew[23]; 18. 69-Billy Cline[12]; 19. 50-Everette Dunlap[11]; 20. 5-Jack Jordan[27]; 21. 9-Travis Mosley[9]; 22. 8J-Tyler Johnson[21]; 23. D7-Dakota Whitley[28]; 24. 10-Logan Richey[5]; 25. 44-Nick Broome[8]; 26. 03-Damien Bryant[19]; 27. 212-Greg Brew[24]; 28. 96X-Tyler Riddle[13] 

—

Kelly, Presnell Continue World Short Track Championship Dominance with Saturday SCDRA Hornet Wins
By Spence Smithback

Joey Kelly and Newman Presnell continued their reign over the DIRTVision Hornet division at the 2024 World Short Track Championship, taking home a pair of Sport Compact Dirt Racing Association (SCDRA) Features on Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. 

Feature 1
Shawn Peche got off to a brilliant start in the first 10-lap Feature of the night, going from his fourth-place starting spot to the lead by the time he hit the backstretch on Lap 1. His hopes of a World Short Track Championship victory fell apart one lap later though, as contact with the No. 24 of Chris Martin sent him head on into the frontstretch wall and out of the race. 

Before the caution came out, Kelly had already powered his way from 16th up to fourth, which allowed him to restart in the second spot. He wasted no time blasting past CJ LaVair entering Turn 1, but LaVair wasn’t interested in letting Kelly drive away. He looked to Kelly’s inside down the backstretch and stayed side-by-side with him for nearly two laps, but Kelly ultimately prevailed on the outside. 

Before Kelly could get too far away, the No. 25 of Gage McManus spun in Turn 3 and was collected by Glenn Engstrom to bring out the caution with two to go. The field was unable to capitalize on their final chance at Kelly though, as he nailed the restart and drove away to his third win of the weekend. 

LaVair ended the race as the runner-up for the second night in a row, while Reggie Twing came home third to stand on the podium for the first time at Charlotte. 

RESULTS
DIRTVision Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 88-Joey Kelly[16]; 2. C4-CJ LaVair[14]; 3. 5-Reggie Twing[11]; 4. 55C-Rusty E Catoe[15]; 5. 3B-Brad McManus[7]; 6. 41JR-Kolten Saam[12]; 7. 25-Gage McManus[5]; 8. 58-Ronnie Hall[10]; 9. 777J-Jeffrey Erb[8]; 10. 17E-Glenn Engstrom[3]; 11. 359-Michael Lambert[9]; 12. 0-Shawn Peche[4]; 13. 24-Chris Martin[6]; 14. 59-Ron Scully[1]; 15. 21A-Adam Asbill[2]; 16. 94-Payne Pickles[13] 

Feature 2
Ricky Weaver started on the outside of the front row and broke away to a large lead early with Mike Crickmore and Jacob Bright side-by-side behind him for second. Their battle was quickly interrupted by a lightning-fast No. 48 of Presnell, who raced from 14th all the way to third in the first half-lap. 

Presnell picked off Crickmore on Lap 2 before turning his attention to Bright in second. The two battled door-to-door briefly, but a slip-up on the high side for Bright was all Presnell needed to take over second. 

Presnell stayed in the low lane as he went after the leader, and while Weaver was able to hang with Presnell for a bit longer than Bright or Crickmore, he still had no answer for Presnell’s pace on the bottom. 

After taking the lead at the halfway point, Presnell never looked back and led the field by almost three seconds at the end of the caution-free Feature. 

“Feels good to be out here, back at Charlotte again getting another win out here,” Presnell said after his second win in as many nights. “We have a blast out here, we love this race.” 

Bright got by Weaver for the second spot with two to go, forcing Weaver to settle for third – matching his career-best finish at Charlotte from 2022. 

RESULTS
DIRTVision Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 48-Newman Presnell[14]; 2. 95-Jacob Bright[8]; 3. 21-Ricky Weaver[2]; 4. 66-Mike Crickmore[4]; 5. 55-Larry Lamb[10]; 6. 77NY-Kris Clark[5]; 7. 91-Allen Griffith[9]; 8. 15-Kenneth Colf[15]; 9. 66W-Michael Wallace[16]; 10. H2-Alex Brooks[13]; 11. 68J-Jessie Joyner[3]; 12. 328-Zachary Slone[7]; 13. 08-Dallas Griggs[1]; 14. 96-Kevin Brazell[6]; 15. 14-Wayne Taylor[11]; 16. X-Shannon Barnhill[12] 

—

Presnell, Harris, Haskin Win Big With DIRTVision Hornets During World Short Track Finale
By Nick Graziano

The final day of the ninth annual World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte continued to provide stellar racing and even better storylines with the DIRTVision SEHA Hornets Saturday night.

Two more first-time winners were crowned, and a father-and-son duo continued to sweep the weekend.

The field of 72 SEHA Hornets were split into three 10-lap Features, which concluded Saturday night’s Feature action.

Feature 1
The DIRTVision SEHA Hornets kicked off Feature #1 with opening laps fit for an action film.

Cars battled five-wide for second and the leader slid into the Turn 2 wall the next lap, creating a frenzy for the top spot. Cars shifted from two- to four-wide in the first corner, but TJ Slack had the better run of them all and pulled away down the backstretch.

His time out front was cut short after the PRO-FABrication Headers caution flag came out on Lap 2. Dale Bennett, who restated third, timed his restart well, darting into second by the first turn and stayed glued to Slack’s bumper by Turn 2.

Bennett pulled ahead down the backstretch, but Slack fought back, throwing his car low in Turn 3. The two raced side by side for nearly a whole lap before another caution came out.

To Bennett’s fortune, he was ahead at the line before the caution was thrown. That gave him the preferred line for the restart and the ability to hold off another attack from Slack.

In the lead with clean air, Bennett looked to be on his way to Victory Lane. However, he was a lone swimmer in an ocean already conquered by the approaching predator. Kayden Presnell, who won his first World Short Track Championship Feature Friday night, was already up to third – from 16th – at the halfway point of the race.

On Lap 7, Presnell was up to second. And in the final three laps, he devoured Bennett’s lead and powered past him on the final lap to win the Feature.

“We definitely got pretty lucky on all of them starts,” Presnell said. “It all worked out perfectly… It’s definitely been a really good weekend.”

Presnell and his father, Newman Presnell, both won their Features Friday night and then both won them again on Saturday night.

RESULTS
DIRTVision Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 48-Kayden Presnell[16]; 2. BAND1T-Dale Bennett[10]; 3. F1-Travis Lankford[12]; 4. 57-Jordan Mauney[17]; 5. 25J-Josh Whitfield[13]; 6. 09-Dean Riddle[6]; 7. 212-Tanner Coggins[11]; 8. 58H-Ronnie Hall; 9. 41S-Kevin Saam[14]; 10. 27M-Keitha Martin[20]; 11. 21G-Brandon Greene; 12. 78-Ethan Fowler[15]; 13. 2L-Kylee Laws[19]; 14. 57G-John Graybeal[22]; 15. 32-Christian Byers[4]; 16. D2-Danny Tate[21]; 17. 214-Thomas Mcgahee[2]; 18. 8-Charles Johnson[1]; 19. 16-Barry Bennett[3]; 20. 17E-Glenn Engstrom[5]; 21. 0-Corey Harper[7]; 22. 135-Travis Jamieson[8]; 23. 3-Jaycob Johnson[9]; 24. 2DD-Dylan Douglas[23]; 25. 21-Nick White[24]; 26. (DQ) 33S-TJ Slack[18]

Feature 2
Justin Harris made the second Feature all about him. He was quick to the throttle on the initial start, going from fourth to first on the first lap and then never looked back.

A caution slowed his momentum early, but once the race resumed, he returned to his groove by the first corner, pulling ahead by a few car lengths.

He had few scares throughout the 10-lap Feature, but Casey Towell aimed to give him one. He moved into second with three laps to go and tried to cut into Harris’ lead every lap. However, time wasn’t on his side.

Harris saw the checkered flag for the first in his career at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. He had tied his career best finish of second the night prior.

“Finally, a fat guy won this thing… I’m out of breath,” Harris said in a comedic tone.

RESULTS
DIRTVision Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1H-Justin Harris[4]; 2. 11-Casey Towell[6]; 3. 4TJ-Mitchell Coggins[2]; 4. 48K-Newman Presnell[21]; 5. 78H-Steven Herring[15]; 6. 58-Eddie Segars[18]; 7. 26C-Carson Venable[13]; 8. 3C-Scott Cloninger[24]; 9. 58K-Kason Bright[8]; 10. J6-Jimmy Price[3]; 11. 4-Daniel Wright[12]; 12. 77NY-Kris Clark[7]; 13. 15-Ken Colf[10]; 14. 44-Jordan Webb[19]; 15. 28A-Tyler Langley[1]; 16. 2-Tyler Capps[17]; 17. 81A-Avery White[20]; 18. 328-Christopher Gardner[9]; 19. T2-Jose Hernandez[22]; 20. 03-Jamey J Bresette[5]; 21. 41-Gage McFadden[11]; 22. 25K-Jeremy Hudson[16]; 23. 35-Ashley Parker[14]; 24. 58H-Ronnie Hall[23]

Feature 3
The theme of first-time winners continued in the third, and final, Hornet Feature of the night. And not only a first-time winner at World Short Track Championship and The Dirt Track at Charlotte, a first-ever winner.

Willie Fowler took the lead into the first corner on the initial start, but Austin Haskin had a launch like a rocket ship, soaring from fifth to second through the first turn. He carried his momentum to the outside of Fowler and drove past him before the lap was complete.

He took the lead just in time before a caution on the first lap too, helping to place him in the top spot for the restart. When the race resumed, Haskin, again, had a strong launch and pulled ahead of the field by multiple car lengths.

Cars battled three-wide for third behind him allowing a heavy hitter to make up time. Joey Kelly, who became the first Hornet driver to win two Features on the same day on Friday, was picking up and laying down cars.

Kelly started 13th and got up to fourth by the halfway point. He ran down the top three in the closing laps, passing third-place Trent Blackwell with two laps to go. But that was as far as he could make it.

Haskin saw the checkered flag for the first time in his career – ever.

“I don’t know what to say…” Haskin said, trying to find the words that would best describe winning his first race. “It feels good doing it right here at Charlotte. It’s awesome.

“There are a bunch of good guys that we race with. I’ve tried to outrun them all year. I had car troubles last night. I pulled the motor out and put it back together and she was on the rail.”

RESULTS
DIRTVision Feature 3 (10 Laps): 1. A53-Austin Haskin[5]; 2. A23-Andrew Rich[2]; 3. 88K-Joey Kelly[13]; 4. 22-Trent Blackwell[21]; 5. 511-Bentley Caudle[4]; 6. T3-TJ Hill[14]; 7. 2D-Daniel Tate[7]; 8. 19-Willie Fowler[3]; 9. 5-Reggie Twing[17]; 10. 14-Wayne Taylor[18]; 11. 10-James Morrow[8]; 12. 33-Scott Isbell[12]; 13. 21G-Brandon Greene[1]; 14. 96-Kevin Brazell[20]; 15. 07-Brayden McDonald[19]; 16. 27-Chris Jaret[15]; 17. 23-Austin Burch[16]; 18. 115-Kylon Tate[10]; 19. 116-Gavin Bright[23]; 20. T3JR-Riley Hill[6]; 21. C4-CJ LaVair[9]; 22. 08-Dallas Griggs[11]; 23. 18-Phillip Taylor[22]; 24. 19X-Chris Harvell[24]

(11/2/24 – Ben Deatherage) Stockton, CA … Justin Sanders passed Cole Macedo with only two-laps remaining to win the thrilling 30-lap Tribute to Gary Patterson season finale and 2024 NARC 410 Sprint Car Series championship at the Stockton Dirt Track.This was the second time Sanders has won this prestigious event. Starting eighth in the 20-car grid, the Mittry Motorsports driver put the Farmers Brewing Company #2X KPC in victory lane for the seventh time this season to earn the 2024 title.Entering the event, Sanders led Macedo by a slim three-points margin. The final spread was only six-points.Rolling from the pole, Beacon Wealth Strategies dash winner Tim Kaeding was the class of the field, building huge 10-car leads, despite a couple of caution periods that slowed the action. However, the race took an unexpected turn when Kaeding’s right rear tire began to lose pressure with ten laps to go.This sudden twist of events brought the two championship contenders, Macedo and Sanders, who were tailgating in second and third, hot on his heels. Kaeding fought valiantly until lap 27, when the tire let go, handing the lead to Macedo.The new leader seemed to be cruising towards a much needed victory until Sanders made a daring move to overtake the Tarlton Motorsports fielded Tarlton & Son #21 Maxim on lap 29. Macedo fought back but Sanders answered the challenge to secure the 20th series victory and the championship.”Tim was the class of the field all night,” said Sanders in victory lane. “He did a good job with the low tire and kept up some fast speed. He’s such a veteran driver, winning a lot of races and knows how to keep the car going, I honestly thought that when that red came out (on lap 20) this race was over because I figured Cole knew where to go.”Macedo was a valiant runner-up despite his best efforts. At the same time, Shane Golobic wound up third in the NOS Energy Drink #17W KPC for Matt Wood Racing.NARC rookie Dominic Gorden secured a solid fourth-place result in the Gary Silva Ranches #10 KPC. Completing the top five would be the California Waterfowl #83T Maxim piloted by Tanner Carrick.Rookie Caeden Steele, showed his mettle by starting 16th and finishing sixth, earning him the Williams Roofing Hardcharger award. Nick Parker, Justyn Cox, Billy Aton, and Gauge Garcia rounded out the top ten.The heat race winners were Golobic, Macedo, and Dylan Bloomfield.Kyle Beilman and Max Mittry were both involved in red-flag incidents but were both unharmed.HOOSIER RACING TIRES A-FEATURE (30 LAPS):  1.  2X-Justin Sanders [8]; 2. 21-Cole Macedo [2]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 4. 10-Dominic Gorden [9]; 5. 83T-Tanner Carrick [7]; 6. 121-Caeden Steele [16]; 7. 15-Nick Parker [15]; 8. 42X-Justyn Cox [14]; 9. 26-Billy Aton [13]; 10. 2K-Gauge Garcia [10]; 11. 88N-D.J. Netto [6]; 12. 5R-Ryan Rocha [18]; 13. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [3]; 14. 5V-Colby Copeland [12]; 15. 12J-John Clark [17]; 16. 31-Kyle Bielmann [19]; 17. 0-Tim Kaeding [1]; 18. 75-Bill Smith [20]; 19. 29-Bud Kaeding [11]; 20. 7-Max Mittry [4]METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Tim Kaeding 1-27; Cole Macedo 28; Justin Sanders 29-30WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Caeden Steele +10 (16th to 6th)BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 LAPS): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [2]; 2. 88N-D.J. Netto [1]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [3]; 4. 26-Billy Aton [5]; 5. 0-Tim Kaeding [4]; 6. 12J-John Clark [6]; 7. 75-Bill Smith [7]KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 LAPS): 1. 21-Cole Macedo [1]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [2]; 3. 29-Bud Kaeding [3]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox [7]; 5. 7-Max Mittry [4]; 6. 121-Caeden Steele [5]; 7. 31-Kyle Bielmann [6]WINTERS PERFORMANCE HEAT THREE (8 LAPS): 1. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 2. 83T-Tanner Carrick [1]; 3. 10-Dominic Gorden [2]; 4. 5V-Colby Copeland [3]; 5. 15-Nick Parker [5]; 6. 5R-Ryan Rocha [6]BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES TROPHY DASH (6 LAPS): 1.  0-Tim Kaeding [4]; 2. 21-Cole Macedo [1]; 3. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [2]; 4. 7-Max Mittry [3]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]ARP QUALIFYING QUICK TIME: Tim Kaeding, 11.580 (20 Cars)