NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DRYDENE 311TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 21, 2020 

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the doubleheader at Dover International Speedway, the pressure and mindset that comes with racing on the Playoff bubble, thoughts going into Daytona as the last race of the regular season, and more. Transcript:  IN TALKING WITH WILLIAM BYRON YESTERDAY, I ASKED HIM HOW IT FELT TO KIND OF BATTLING WITH YOU FOR THAT LAST SPOT AND HE SAID IT WAS ‘ODD’. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT?“Yeah, it is odd. It’s unfortunate, as well. But it’s the situation that we’re in. With Chad (Knaus) on the box there, you just think of the layers of how it’s odd and we’re all fighting for that last spot in the Playoffs.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THIS WEEKEND? YOU’RE GOING INTO A REALLY GREAT RACETRACK – A DOUBLEHEADER. THIS IS A CHANCE TO REALLY PICK UP A LOT OF POINTS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING IN THIS POSITION RIGHT NOW?“I love the track, obviously. I’m very optimistic about how we’re going to run. Just overtime though, I’ve kind of helped my competition in some respect, especially inside the walls of Hendrick Motorsports. Chad Knaus is on the box for the 24 car, as we all know, and William (Byron) is a great student. He’s really increased his game at Dover, so I don’t think it’s going to be easy to get points on him or especially a lot of points on him. For all of us out there, Dover is a track where you can get caught up in stuff and have a lot of cars affected. And then we roll onto Daytona after that, which who knows how to even approach that. I think the first race – being smart, just kind of see how things unfold, see where things lay out – will get me a better mindset on how I need to race on Sunday.”
TWO QUESTIONS – FIRST, WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE OF ALL THE 11 DOVER WINS THAT YOU HAVE? DOES ONE STAND OUT THAT’S SIGNIFICANT, MILESTONE OR PERSONAL REASON? “It’s hard to pick one, but what does come to mind is kind of a pattern that developed after my rookie year in how I grew to count on that fall Dover race to really give our team the shot in the arm by winning and running well. Which leads me to my rookie season, my second win there – we won the first time at Dover and then went the rest of the summer without winning and struggled. The start of the summer slump that happened for myself and Chad, that was like the first time we went through it and then we recovered. When I look back, I can of smile now and I had no idea the foreshadowing of that year, of that track and what that would mean. So, I kind of look back to that.”
I KNOW ON THE DALE JR. PODCAST, YOU SAID YOU WERE HOPING FOR 14 OR 15 INDYCAR RACES NEXT YEAR. IS ANYTHING AT ALL CONCRETE FOR NEXT YEAR OR, NO MATTER WHAT RACING SERIES IT IS, IS IT STILL HOPEFUL PLANNING AND TALKING?“It’s still in the planning stage right now. When I look at the road and street courses IndyCar has, last year there were 12. So, when I say 15, I would love to throw in a few more races – if they’re sportscar races, NASCAR races, whatever they might be. But nothing is concrete. Kind of the planning cycle for corporate America is going on and budgets are being allocated, so I certainly hope here in the short term we’ll have some exciting news, but right now nothing is concrete.”
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ON WHAT NASCAR SHOULD DO IF A DRIVER TESTS POSITIVE IN THE PLAYOFFS AND HAS TO MISS A PLAYOFF RACE? OBVIOUSLY NOW, THERE’S A WAIVER, YOU’VE GONE THROUGH IT, YOU CAN STILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. SHOULD THE RELIEF DRIVER’S POINTS COUNT TOWARDS THAT PLAYOFF DRIVER? SHOULD THE PLAYOFF DRIVER WHO IS SICK BE ABLE TO GO TO THE NEXT ROUND? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION BECAUSE THIS COULD CERTAINTLY PLAY OUT IN THE COMING WEEKS.“It’s been a big concern of mine since the beginning and something I’ve had talks with internally at NASCAR. Ironically, I ended up being the first guy in that situation. In my opinion, the precedence has been set and you’ve got to see it through. I haven’t had that luxury and although it might just be a few points I would have received, I didn’t get the points for the Brickyard and wasn’t under the impression that was ever an option. So, I think the bed has been made and they need to see it through the rest of the year.”
BECAUSE IN SO MANY CASES, SOMEBODY DOES NOT SHOW SYMPTOMS, DOES THAT MAKE IT EASY IF SOMEBODY KNOWS THAT THEY’VE TEST POSITIVE THAT THEY CAN DECIDE ‘HEY, AS A DRIVER, I CAN KEEP ISOLATED, I’M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND STILL RACE AND NOT COST MYSELF A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP’?“Now you’re understanding all the frustration and agony that I went through in July. Again, there’s been a precedence that’s been set and I think it needs to stay the same and stay the course. I can add though that once you get a positive test, you’re in the system and I’m not sure how you hide that. Where you can hide that is if your symptoms aren’t too great, you’re asymptomatic, something in that department where you’re not ill – you can lay low, self-quarantine, just bide some time and wait out the quarantine clock. But once you have a positive test, it triggers state departments and a lot of other things start happening then and I’m not really sure how you hide that.”
WITH THIS TALK OF INDYCAR RACING AND YOUR INTEREST IN ROAD COURSES, IF NASCAR WERE TO ADD MORE ROAD COURSE RACES OR EVEN STREET RACES POTENTIALLY, WOULD THAT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD CONSIDER DOING MORE NASCAR EVENTS NEXT YEAR?“Yeah, I would definitely look at that. That would be really exciting. I think the idea of street racing is a really good one, could be a lot of fun and a great experience. Depending on the more natural tracks or road courses, if one would come about, I would definitely look at it. I feel like the Road America track, it’s so fun watching the Xfinity Series race there and that would be a great fit for a Cup car.”
DO YOU THINK IT GIVES YOU AN ADVANTAGE HAVING TWO RACES AT DOVER THIS WEEKEND, WHERE SINCE YOU’VE HAD NO PRACTICE, YOU CAN DEVELOP AT LEAST A COMPETITIVE BASELINE AND WITH ALL YOUR EXPERIENCE AND SUCCESS AT THAT TRACK, IT WILL HELP YOU HAVE A FIGHTING CHANCE ON SUNDAY?“I think so. The one caveat to that is the driver I’m focused on has Chad Knaus on the box, and he’s a student, friend, somebody I’ve mentored and kind of taught how to drive good there and be competitive there. So, it is a very unique situation to be in and I wish it wasn’t a Hendrick teammate that I was fighting for that last spot with.”
DID YOU TEST POSITIVE OR DID YOU TEST FALSE-POSITIVE FOR COVID? WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE WORLD OF OUTLAWS RIGHT NOW AND THEM HAVING A BREAKOUT OF SORTS, HOW MUCH DO YOU COMMEND NASCAR FOR JUST REALLY PULLING THE REIGNS BACK ON THIS SITUATION? “I feel like NASCAR has done an amazing job in creating distancing and these different compartments that don’t overlap so that we can control the spread. I think Hendrick Motorsports has done as great job as well. Once you experience a positive test in your circle – if it’s you, your family or someone through contract tracing – you really start to understand how quick this can move around and the impact that it has on your professional life and personal life. I feel that it was very well thought out and because of that, we haven’t had a spread or move around a lot within our sport and we’ve been able to go to the track week in and week out. As far as my testing, I don’t know if I will ever have an answer or conclusion. I do know that I tested positive and then I had two negatives quickly after. I had zero symptoms, so I could have been asymptomatic or I had a false-positive. But, I don’t know how to ever prove it one way or the other. I just don’t know.”
THE END OF THE SEASON IS FAST-APPROACHING AND THE END OF YOUR FULL-TIME CAREER. WINNING, IS THAT SOMETHING NOW THAT YOU’RE ANXIOUS ABOUT GETTING THAT WIN, ONE MORE WIN IN YOUR FULL-TIME CAREER? IS IT GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTING? WHAT’S THE FEELING NOW WITH THE END OF THE SEASON FAST-APPROACHING AND STILL TRYING TO GET THAT WIN?“Yeah, it depends on the day and the experience. I never wanted to have a winless drought or have a winless season. But I’ve worked through so many of those emotions over the last couple of years and also understand that there are factors that I can’t control that have affected my performance. We haven’t had the performance that we’ve wanted as the 48 car and for our company. Again, depends on the day and when you run really well, it increases that desire to win. To run up front last week and finish fourth felt good, but at the same time, I really want to win and wish that I had a little bit more for 9 car and had a shot at it. With time running out, I feel like something that does help me is that this isn’t a hard stop for me in motorsports and I know there are wins still out there for me. That’s just the glass is half full point of view that I have and I guess maybe the way I manage some of the disappointment over the last few years, but I need to make the most out of each opportunity that I have ahead of myself and I will certainly do that.”
THE WILDCARD IN ALL OF THIS IS THE LAST RACE OF THE REGULAR SEASON IS THE SUPERSPEEDWAY IN DAYTONA. YOU MAY END UP GETTING INTO THE PLAYOFFS BECAUSE JUST OF THE NATURE OF THE DAYTONA RACING. OBVIOUSLY, YOU CAN NAVIGATE YOUR WAY AROUND THAT PLACE AS WELL PRETTY WELL. SO, ALL IS NOT LOST WITH EVERYONE THINKING WITH THREE RACES TO GO, YOU’RE ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN. THERE ARE STILL PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES, CORRECT?“There are plenty of opportunities. Of course, I would like to control things these next two races at Dover and not have to worry about Daytona. The reason I bring that up is somebody below the cutoff line or below where I am in points could win at Daytona. That’s not unrealistic and then it really complicates the situation. I really don’t want to depend on Daytona. If I do, I do and I’ll have to be smart and use all my years of experience to figure something out. But I don’t even want to think about Daytona yet (laughs).”
YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU’RE A VICTIM OF YOUR OWN SUCCESS, PERTAINING TO WILLIAM (BYRON) AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS AT DOVER. DO YOU STILL HAVE THAT SAME FEEL? HAVE YOU LOST A LITTLE BIT THERE? HAS EVERYONE GAINED A LITTLE BIT THERE? THE NUMBERS CERTAINTLY AREN’T WHAT THEY USED TO BE THERE. WHERE ARE YOU AT WITH DOVER WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE RACES THIS WEEKEND?“I’m not sure that our company has lost anything at Dover. I think Alan (Gustafson) and Chase (Elliott) do a phenomenal job in really getting the potential out of the car week in and week out. Alan’s experience and the connection between those two has really made the difference and they’ve been very competitive and won a few times at Dover. The journey that I’ve been on over the last three or four years, the last year of Chad (Knaus) and I, we just weren’t bringing the best out of one another. A couple trips there with Kevin and then Cliff (Daniels) and I have been finding our way. We’ve been competitive every time we’ve been there, but to be great just takes something special. I think the potential is there and I feel really good this weekend. Cliff has been on the box for a lot of the wins that I’ve had at Dover and our relationship and connection is very strong. So, I’m optimistic about that. But when I look through the garage area, there’s been a lot of teams studying how we’ve gone fast around that track. You look at other drivers zoning in on their game and getting better and on top of that, it’s just a never-ending journey for a crew chief and these crew chiefs on other teams are getting stronger too. Long story short, the potential is there for us, I think we can do it. But the field has definitely gotten stronger.”

BATESVILLE, AR (August 20, 2020) – Tim McCreadie remains one the hottest drivers on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour as he passed race leader Jimmy Owens coming to the white flag. He held off Owens on the final lap to win Thursday Night’s 30-lap preliminary event at Batesville Motor Speedway. McCreadie, coming off a $50,000 win last Saturday Night at Florence Speedway, came from the fifth-starting spot for his fourth LOLMDS win of 2020. Owens finished in second followed by Dale McDowell, Earl Pearson Jr., and Billy Moyer Jr. The race ran caution-free for all 30 laps and saw Owens do just as he did a week ago. He dominated the race for 3/4ths of the race, but a late race charge by McCreadie left Owens in the runner-up spot despite leading 28 of the 30 circuits. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 19th time in his career, McCreadie continued his stretch of late race heroics. “It’s tough to lead here late in the race. You’ve got a lot of lap traffic, but that’s part of it. We got a good bite going into three and four and the car stuck enough to get around Jimmy [Owens]. It’s amazing what’s happened for our team in the last two weeks. I stayed out on the road with the guys after Florence and went down to Longhorn. We worked on some things this week. This deal is not easy. There are so many guys that can win each night. If you make a small mistake they are all over you.” Owens was happy with his results in tonight’s Prelim A-Main. “We tried a couple of things tonight. This track is different than what we run on all year. We kept a steady pace and got into traffic. McCreadie went to the outside at the end and got around me. The car could move around pretty good out there until we got behind traffic.” McDowell is coming off a top five finish at Florence in the North-South 100 and said he can build on his podium finish tonight at BMS. “We haven’t been here in 3 or 4 years. I am sure Shane will make some adjustments for tomorrow night. I was behind those two battling for the lead and I could see what they were doing, so that’s something that might help us for tomorrow night and Saturday.” The winner’s Donald and Gena Bradsher Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Bilstein Shocks, VP Fuels, Sweeteners Plus, and D&E Marine. Completing the top ten were Jonathan Davenport, Shane Clanton, Brandon Overton, Stormy Scott, and Spencer Hughes.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE DOVER DOUBLE HEADER DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DOVER, DE AUGUST 22-23, 2020
DOVER DOUBLE: RACE #24 & 25With just three races left in the regular season, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) returns to Dover International Speedway for the third doubleheader race weekend of the 2020 season. The race weekend will consist of six races packed into three days of action, including two NCS events on back-to-back days: the Drydene 311 on Saturday, August 22nd, at 4:00 p.m. ET and the Drydene 311 on Sunday, August 23rd, at 4:00 p.m. ET. The NCS doubleheader around the 1-mile oval known as the “Monster Mile” will mark the 24th and 25th races on the revised NCS schedule. 
In addition to the NASCAR Cup Series events, the three-day race weekend kicks off with ARCA Menards Series East Series on Friday, August 21st, at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race on Friday, August 21st, at 5:00 p.m. ET. Also accompanying the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will take part in a doubleheader race weekend, with the first event taking place on Saturday, August 22nd, at 12:30 p.m. ET, and will return for the second event on Sunday, August 23rd, at 1:00 p.m. ET. In compliance with the pandemic guidelines, all events during the doubleheader race weekend will be run without spectators. 
BOWTIE BULLETS·       Of the 100 appearances made by NASCAR’s premier series at the “Monster Mile”, Chevrolet has made its way to victory lane 41 times, more than any other manufacturer. Other statistics of note include 25 poles, 201 top-five’s, 382 top-10’s and 18,783 laps led. 
·       Current Chevrolet drivers that have recorded wins at Dover International Speedway include:Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, with 11 wins (June 2017, May 2015, June 2014, September 2013, June 2012, September 2010, September 2009, May 2009, September 2005, September 2002, June 2002)Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Clover Camaro ZL1 1LE, with three wins (June 2006, May 2011, May 2016)  Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE, with one win (October 2011)Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew/Team Rubicon Camaro ZL1 1LE, with one win (October 2018)
·       27 different organizations have scored NASCAR Cup Series victories at Dover International Speedway, with Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports leading the way with 20 wins among six drivers: Jimmie Johnson (11), Jeff Gordon (five), Geoff Bodine (one), Ken Schrader (one), Ricky Rudd (one) and Chase Elliott (one). 
·       In his 10 career starts at the 1-mile track, Team Chevy’s Chase Elliott tops the leaderboard in a variety of statistical measures: leads all active drivers in average starting position of 8.875 and average finishing position of 8.6; holds the record for the youngest series Dover pole winner (May 3, 2019 – 23 years, 5 months, 8 days); and his October 2018 trip to victory lane made him the youngest Dover race winner (22 years, 10 months, 0 days). ·        Since the start of the electronic scoring system, the record for the closest Margin of Victory in a NCS race at Dover International Speedway was captured during Jimmie Johnson’s September 2005 victory, where he took the checkered flag over Kyle Busch by 0.080 seconds. 
DOVER SCORECARDChevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, is no stranger to success at the famed “Monster Mile” and his impressive statistics throughout his NCS career proves just that. Of his 36 starts in NASCAR’s premier series at the track, Johnson leads the series in wins making 11 trips to victory lane. Johnson also leads the series’ active drivers in top-five finishes with 17 and top-10’s with 25. Of the 116 different drivers that have led laps at Dover International Speedway, Johnson tops the leaderboard by leading 3,110 of the 14,165 laps he has completed – a laps led percentage of 22%. Other series-best records he currently holds at the track incudes an average running position of 8.848, fastest laps run with 1,428, and 10,110 laps ran in the top-15 (84.1%). 
PLAYOFF OUTLOOKWith 23 races into the 2020 season and three left in the regular season, the quest continues to make the top-16 in the standings and secure a spot above the Playoff cutline for the chance to compete for the title of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Heading into the doubleheader Dover race weekend, three Team Chevy drivers have locked themselves into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of victory:             Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew / Team Rubicon Camaro ZL1 1LE – 4th in Standings                       Victories: 2 (Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona Road Course)                       Stage Wins: 6; Stage Top-Five’s: 18; Stage Top-10’s: 34            Alex Bowman, No. 88 Acronis Camaro ZL1 1LE – 8th in Standings                       Victories: 1 (Auto Club Speedway)                       Stage Wins: 4; Stage Top-Five’s: 13; Stage Top-10’s: 27            Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow / Behr Ultra Scuff Defense Camaro ZL1 1LE – 9th in Standings                       Victories: 1 (Texas Motor Speedway)                        Stage Top-Five’s: 2; Stage Top-10’s: 11 With 10 drivers having already won a race, there are just six spots up for grabs for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Here is a look where the remaining Team Chevy top-16 currently sit:             Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE – 12th in Standings                       Stage Wins: 1; Stage Top-Five’s: 4; Stage Top-10’s: 19            William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE – 16th in Standings                       Stage Wins: 2; Stage Top-Five’s 8; Stage Top-10’s: 20 CAMARO ZL1 1LE ON THE POLEFor the remainder of the 2020 NCS season, the race weekend format will consist of no practice or qualifying. The starting lineup for Saturday’s Drydene 311 will be set by a combination of the finishing position from the previous race (weighted 50%), rank in team owner points standings (35%) and the fastest lap from the previous race (15%). Team Chevy’s Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green in Saturday’s Drydene 311 in his No. 9 Mountain Dew/Team Rubicon Camaro ZL1 1LE.  Here are Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:            1st      Chase Elliott, No. 9 Mountain Dew/Team Rubicon Camaro ZL1 1LE           6th      Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE           8th      William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE           9th      Kurt Busch, No. 1 GEARWRENCH Camaro ZL1 1LE           11th    Alex Bowman, No. 88 Acronis Camaro ZL1 1LE           16th    Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat App Camaro ZL1 1LE           19th    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Camaro ZL1 1LE The starting lineup for Sunday’s Drydene 311 will be set by the finishing order of Saturday’s event, with an inversion of the top-20 finishers.  TUNE-INNBCSN will telecast the 311-lap, 311-mile Drydene 311 live at 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 22nd. Returning on Sunday, August 23rd, NBCSN will telecast round two of the doubleheader race weekend with the 311-lap, 311-mile Drydene 311 live at 4:00 p.m. Live coverage can also be found on the NBC Sports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.  QUOTABLE QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 MOUNTAIN DEW/TEAM RUBICON CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGS“To me, doubleheaders mean that there are a lot of points on the line in a short matter of time. Thankfully, for our good run at the DAYTONA Road Course and this new qualifying format, we will get to start up front on Saturday at Dover. Having that first pit box is also a huge thing for us this weekend.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 ACRONIS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 8th IN STANDINGS“I am excited to get to Dover this weekend and I know our team is too. We were really strong in Dover last year and I know that these guys have been working hard on our Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE’s for this weekend. This track is physically demanding not only on the driver, but the car as well. We have to stay up front and I have to keep the car clean and out of trouble.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 GEARWRENCH CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGS“Dover is a tough, challenging track that changes a lot with the rubber build-up. I expect that the second race (Sunday) will be much more difficult than the first race (Saturday). With all of the other series competing there this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; getting the track all rubbered-in and no practice will make it challenging. This track changes the most and the car has to have an adaptive set-up to be ready for all of that; but the second race is definitely going to be way tougher than the first race.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 16th IN STANDINGSBRYON ON RACING AT DOVER:“Even though it’s concrete, Dover’s surface changes a lot during the race. It’s really temperamental and holds a lot of rubber. When it does that, it widens the racetrack out. It’s a tough track to get ahold of for that reason. You have to prepare for when the rubber lays down and have your car handling how it needs to once that happens. You have to stay on top of those things. I feel like our guys have done a good job in preparing and we’ll see what we have when we unload.”
BYRON ON RACING WHILE ON THE PLAYOFF BUBBLE:“This is going to be a tough weekend, for sure. We need to have good runs on both days. I’m hopeful that we can either get the win or create a good buffer in the point standings so we can go to Daytona and have a bit of a less stressful race. That would be the ideal situation. I would rather be in the position we are, though, ahead in points, instead of trying to play catch up in these final races. It puts things in my hands more, and I like that challenge, especially for a doubleheader weekend.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT APP CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 19th IN STANDINGS“We’re entering this weekend with our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet with the goal of making up as many points as possible. With just three races left, we need to maximize everything we can. Dover is a tricky place to race, but I do have some success there to lean on. It was the site of my second win in the NASCAR Truck Series, so entering the weekend with that bit of confidence helps. Doubleheader weekends have been tough for us this year, but I know my team is doing everything they can to have us in a really solid spot when we roll off on Saturday and then build on that for Sunday’s race.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 24th IN STANDINGS“I’m excited to head to Dover International Speedway this weekend. I’ve had some really strong runs at Dover in the past, and I feel like the cars I am driving this year are better than cars I’ve had in the past so that gives me a lot of confidence heading into a track that I’ve run well at. I think we can perform better at Dover than ever before, and the doubleheaders only help that. The opportunity to adjust our setups following Saturday’s race can be a real advantage at a track like Dover and we’re looking forward to having two strong runs this weekend in the No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet to set us up for a great shot at getting into the Playoffs at Daytona International Speedway next week.” MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 28th IN STANDINGS“Dover is my favorite track on the circuit. A great race track—really fast, very challenging, but also really hard to pass. We’re back to the normal package with a lot of power and less downforce, so I’m looking forward to this one. Historically, it’s been good track for the 42, and it’s been a decent track for me too. Hopefully we go there, get our cars to run good, and have a couple of good days there. I’m looking forward to a double header again. I felt like at Michigan we made significant gains from race one to race two with drivability and handling, even though our box score didn’t really show it with some of the problems we had, but we did run better.” RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 SCOTT BRAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS“We had a rough start this season but August has finally got us heading in the right direction. Dover has been a funny track for me in the past. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it, but keeping your car clean and working on track position is always important. Dover is a really fast racetrack and I’m happy to be able to adjust between Saturday and Sunday races. We have to take it one race at a time. We had a really decent race there in the fall of last year, and I feel like that’s something we can build off of heading into the doubleheader this weekend. The regular season may be coming to an end, but we’ve still got 13 races to finish out the year strong and run well in the No. 37 Scott Brand Chevrolet.” 

DELAWARE, Ohio (Aug. 20) — When the drivers in the NHRA Pro Stock class got together and decided to run throwback car designs at this year’s 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals, five-time class champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. was quick to select his favorite ride. “It was pretty easy for us to pick the 2000 design we used to win our first Pro Stock championship, which also happened to be the car I drove to my first Indy win in Pro Stock that same year,” Coughlin said. “Fortunately, when we started to overlay that design on my current JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, it really seemed to fit really well. It was meant to be!”  Already a world champion after winning the 1992 Super Gas title, Coughlin was just a few years into his pro career when he entered the 2000 U.S. Nationals with a very competitive JEGS.com-branded Oldsmobile Cutlass. He was the runaway points leader, having won seven of the first 15 races of the year, and the chase pack seemed to be getting smaller and smaller in his rear-view mirror. But qualifying at Indy that year was a disaster and Coughlin and crew barely limped into the elimination field in the 16th and final position. His challengers were licking their chops. After all, no one had ever emerged from the 16th starting spot and found the winner’s circle before. “The guys pulled an all-nighter and chased away the gremlins that were hampering us in qualifying,” Coughlin said. “We knew we needed to be perfect to even get out of the first round but it turns out there was a little extra magic in that ol’ Cutlass and it just came to life on race day.”  By the end of the day Coughlin had not only secured his first Indy win in the Pro Stock class but he’d also become the first, and to date, only, professional drag racer to win an event from the 16th qualifying position. “Coming from the most difficult starting position to win the race was just a phenomenal accomplishment,” Coughlin said. “I already liked that car a lot but after Indy it just became so special. We cruised to a few more wins down the stretch that year and captured the championship, which really sealed my love affair with that car. “I know when I walk up to get into my car at this year’s U.S. Nationals and see that throwback paint scheme, it’s going to fire me up. From the mock-ups I’ve seen it looks great. Woody (Scott Woodruff, director of media and motorsports at JEGS) really did an awesome job putting this together.”Coughlin pointed out that a large decal of his original Oldsmobile will grace the hood of his Camaro so fans can see the old and new cars at the same time.“What’s interesting is the fact we’re coming into this year’s Indy with the same kind of momentum we had in 2000,” Coughlin said. “We’ve been on a strong run that really dates back to last year’s Countdown to the Championship where we jumped from eighth to second in the title chase, finishing just behind our teammate Erica Enders. “We’ve been fortunate enough to earn two wins in three final-round showings in the four races the NHRA has held this year and we’re in the points lead, so there are definitely some familiar feelings to how it was 20 years ago.” Should Coughlin prevail at this year’s “Big Go” it would be his 66th Pro Stock win and his sixth U.S. Nationals victory. Aside from his 2000 triumph, Coughlin also won the Pro Stock trophy in 2002 and 2009. Additionally, he won the 1992 Super Gas title and the 2004 Mopar Hemi Challenge. “We’re going to stay aggressive,” Coughlin said. “This has been a season of unknowns and, even now, none of us know how many more times we’ll be able to race so we’re going to get after it like there’s no tomorrow and have no regrets. We did win the last Indy races a few weeks back and I have complete confidence Rickie Jones (crew chief) will deliver a great racecar for me to drive.”

Michelin GT Challenge At VIR
Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va.
1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, August 22, 2020
Live Coverage on NBCSports.com TrackPass and IMSA Radio

ACURA NSX GT3 EVO TEAMS
Defending GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing is once again in the thick of the 2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title chase with their pair of Acura NSX GT3 Evos. On the strength of a pair of podium finishes in three races this season, Acura is second in the GTD Manufacturers’ Championship, just five points out of first place, with seven races remaining.

Defending GTD Drivers’ Champion Mario Farnbacher and co-driver Matt McMurry are currently fourth in their #86 Acura NSX GT3 Evo, just four points off the lead in the drivers’ title chase. The pair finished third when the 2020 season resumed at the Daytona WeatherTech 240 in July, and second at the most recent round at Road America.

Meyer Shank Racing, meanwhile, currently is ranked third in the Teams’ Championship, also four points out of first.

MSR has continued its partnership with businesswoman/racer Jackie Heinricher in 2020 to field the #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo for drivers Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg. The pair finished fourth at the WeatherTech 240 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

The Texas-based Gradient Racing organization is fielding the #22 Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the seven, shorter GTD “Sprint Cup” races for drivers Marc Miller and Till Bechtolscheimer. The pair finished a solid 10th in their IMSA debut at the WeatherTech Daytona 240, and are currently ranked ninth in the Sprint Cup standings after two of seven races in that “championship within a championship.”

Meyer Shank Racing claimed both the Drivers’ and Team championships in GTD in 2019, with Farnbacher and Trent Hindman scoring one win (with endurance co-driver Justin Marks) at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, and four second-place finishes in 10 races.

ACURA TEAM PENSKE
IMSA’s Prototype category is not a part of the race weekend at Virginia International Raceway, but the championship-defending Acura ARX-05s will return for the sixth round of the 2020 championship, the Six Hours of Atlanta, September 6 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The combination of Acura Motorsports, Team Penske and the Acura ARX-05 DPi resulted in a sweep of IMSA’s season-long championships in 2019, claiming the Manufacturers’, Teams’ and Drivers’ championships.

Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya combined for three race wins and four additional podium finishes to claim the 2019 Drivers’ Championship in the #6 Acura Team Penske entry. Teammates Helio Castroneves and Dane Cameron combined to win the most recent round in the series in their #7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05, the IMSA Sports Car Showcase at Road America, earlier this month in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

The Acura ARX-05 is the latest in a line of endurance prototypes to be fielded by the company, dating to 1991, just five years after the launch of the Acura brand. Based on the successful ORECA 07 chassis, the ARX-05 DPi features Acura-specific bodywork and utilizes the race-proven, production-based Acura AR35TT twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine.

WHERE TO WATCH
Live flag-to-flag race coverage from the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBC Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication. The race broadcast also will re-air Sunday, August 23, on NBCSN, starting at 10 a.m. EDT.

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

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR will be available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, the YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

• F4 U.S. and FR Americas to keep original Formula 1 USGP date as finale
• Circuit of The Americas to host full SCCA Pro Racing sanctioned weekend
• Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup and Pro SRF3 Series to support FR Americas and F4 U.S.

AUSTIN, TEXAS (August 20, 2020)- SCCA Pro Racing announced today that it will keep the originally scheduled finale at Circuit of The Americas for the Formula 4 United States and Formula Regional Americas Championships on October 23-25. The pair of Honda-Powered championships were initially slated to support the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix for a double-header finale, but the date was in jeopardy after F1 announced in late July that it was canceling all the Americas Grand Prix due to international travel restrictions related to COVID-19. 

Working with track management, SCCA Pro Racing was able to re-secure the date as a full Pro weekend with FR Americas and F4 U.S. headlining the event and other SCCA Pro Racing-sanctioned series like Blue Marble Radical Cars and Pro Spec Racer Ford 3 Series supporting the weekend.

The opportunity also allowed for more track time, adding an extra race for both F4 U.S. and FR Americas.

Expanding from a two-race weekend to a three-race weekend for FR Americas, will make up a round lost from the canceled Grand Prix de Trois–Rivières in Canada, and for F4 U.S., the extra race is a chance to close the gap on the championship chase.

“We were grateful that Circuit of the Americas allowed us to stay on the original date,” said SCCA Pro Racing General Manager Sydney Davis Yagel. “It’s great that the F4 U.S. and FR Americas Championships to finish their seasons on an all-SCCA Pro Racing weekend with Radical Cup and the Pro SRF3 Series. Exciting racing is in store, even with the absence of Formula 1.”

All three F4 U.S. and FR Americas races will be live streamed by Formula Americas Network on FANRacing.live.

F4 U.S. and FR Americas will travel through Florida for back-to-back events before heading to CoTA, starting with Sebring International Raceway, September 25-27. Then driving south to Homestead-Miami Speedway October 2-4 for a weekend on the Roval.

Blue Marble Cocktails Radical Cup’s original CoTA date was also displaced due to COVID-19 cancelations. With the calendar of events looking bleak, F1 dropping off the October ticket, was just the opportunity its program needed to get the famed Texas circuit back on its calendar. 

“Replacing F1, along with SCCA Pro’s F4 U.S. and Formula Regional Championship, is a bit of a coup for the Blue Marble Radical Cup, and we’re glad to have secured Circuit of the Americas back on the 2020 schedule,” said Radical Sportscars Representative Tom Drewer. “With a large contingent of Texan Radical owners, it’s an important event, and always attracts a large grid.”

Originally slated to hold its third annual exhibition race at CoTA with the Creventic 24h Series in November, Pro SRF3 also needed to secure a new date after the international championship canceled its American date due to pandemic-related travel complications. 

Pro SRF3 will now bring their wildly popular SCCA Road Racing spec series racing at CoTA on a full SCCA Pro Racing weekend.

“The Pro SRF3 Series is proud to be a part of the F4, FR Americas and Radical Cup weekend at CoTA,” said Robey Clark, President of SCCA Enterprises. “This will be our third year of the Pro SRF3 at CoTA sponsored by SCCA Enterprises, SCCA Pro and Hoosier Tires.”

All state and local COVID-19 mandates will be in place. Additional series and fan participation will be announced at a later date.

BATAVIA, Ohio (August 19, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is up next with the COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag. The Crown Jewel event takes place this weekend with a $40,000 top prize on the line Saturday in Batesville, Ark.
One of the most highly anticipated events of the season, the 28th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions is slated for Thursday – Saturday, August 20th – 22nd, at Batesville Motor Speedway. The crown jewel event is co-sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series.
The Topless 100 prelim nights will feature a complete program of Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains and a $5,000-to-win main event on Thursday and Friday nights. Drivers will earn points in each of the two preliminary nights that combined, will determine the lineups for Saturday night’s finale. Modifieds will also compete in a full program on Thursday and Friday nights. Both days, the pit gate will open at 3 PM CDT, main gate at 4 PM CDT, with a driver’s meeting slated for 7PM CDT and hot laps to begin 30 minutes later. 
Saturday’s festivities will kick off with hot laps at 8 PM CDT, followed by consolation events for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The 100-lap, $40,000-to-win Topless 100 will cap off the weekend action. The Modifieds will once again compete in a full program on Saturday night. The pit gate will open at 3PM CDT, main gate at 4 PM CDT. There will be a driver’s meeting at 7:30 PM CDT. 
The event’s unique format, featuring dirt late models without a roof, gives spectators an up-close look, as drivers wrestle their 800+ horsepower machines around the lightning-fast, 3/8-mile oval. 

NASCAR CUP SERIES DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DRYDENE 311TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 20, 2020 
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference to discuss his outlook going into the doubleheader race weekend at Dover International Speedway, the pressure that comes with racing on the Playoff cutline, the mindset that comes with preparing for a doubleheader, and more. Transcript:  WILLIAM, A BIG DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – A VERY IMPORTANT WEEKEND. WALK US THROUGH WHAT’S GOING ON WITH YOU HEADING INTO THIS RACE AS WE GET READY FOR THAT DOUBLEHEADER.“I’m excited for it. I think Dover is probably one of Chad’s (Knaus, crew chief) best tracks. Obviously, working with Jimmie (Johnson) in the past, I feel like he has a really solid notebook there and I feel like a really clear direction of what he wants to run there. So, that’s always good. I think that helps us, especially when we won’t have practice. I’m excited for it. Two races, two shots at it. We’ve done some simulator work this week and I feel like we’ve done our homework. I know the guys are working hard getting down to the final couple races here to try to make the Playoffs. I think we can do that and hopefully we can have a good weekend and kind of try to extend that point advantage that we have.” 
YOU MENTIONED THE PLAYOFFS, OBVIOUSLY EVERYONE HAS AN EYE TOWARDS IT AS WE WRAP UP THE REGULAR SEASON. HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO MAYBE ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURE FROM YOURSELF OR FROM BEING OVERWHELMED? “You just have to go out there and race your race. I think that the last few weeks, honestly, have been more challenging than any other, just because you can’t let that kind of change your mindset for the weekend. It’s definitely just tense times – you have to try to capitalize on every point. I really don’t think about the points until the race is over. That’s kind of our mentality on it – kind of just grab as many spots as we can on the racetrack and hopefully that puts us in a good position. I think Daytona is probably the only place that I’ll be super worried about points. But hopefully we can go out there this weekend and have close to a 30- or 40-point advantage, which is really going to be the only safe bet. So, yeah that’s going to be my goal this weekend.”
IT’S KIND OF WEIRD FOR ME THAT IN ORDER FOR YOU TO STAY UP AND BE IN POSITION ON POINTS, YOU HAVE TO KEEP JIMMIE JOHNSON AT BAY. WHAT’S IT LIKE KNOWING THAT ONE OF YOU, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD AS YOU LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, IF ONE MAKES IT, THE OTHER ONE CAN’T. OF COURSE, YOU’RE OUT THERE TO DO THE BEST FOR YOURSELF INDIVIDUALLY, BUT IS IT KIND OF WEIRD FIGHTING FOR THAT LAST SPOT WITH YOUR TEAMMATE?“Yeah, it’s odd. You’d like to be in a different position than that, but that’s ultimately what’s happened and the position that we’re in. I think for us as a team, selfishly as the 24 team, we want to do as well as possible and get ourselves into the Playoffs so we have something to race for in the last 10 races and really have an opportunity to advance through the rounds like we did last year. Yeah, it’s tough. I’m the biggest Jimmie (Johnson) fan I feel like out there. I hope that we both can make it somehow. I know this is his best racetrack coming up, so we’re definitely keeping an eye on that. Hopefully, we’re within striking distance of a few guys ahead of us in points as well and maybe we can keep climbing our way up there and try to get ourselves out of the hole that we kind of put ourselves in earlier in the season.”
YOU MENTIONED BEFORE MAYBE BEING A LITTLE MORE NERVOUS ABOUT DAYTONA. COMING OUT OF THE DOVER WEEKEND, YOU CAN MAYBE HOPE TO MOVE UP TO 15TH, SOMEWHERE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT BETTER. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’LL GO TO DAYTONA HOPEFULLY ON THE POSITIVE SIDE, BUT STILL HOW NERVOUS ARE YOU GOING THERE THAT CLOSE TO CUTOFF LINE?“Yeah, I think you kind of have to take the approach of, this year with that being the cutoff race – typically we have I think Richmond as the cutoff in the past and last year I think it was Indianapolis – those places are somewhat more predictable. Indianapolis being a little less predictable, but you at least had an idea going in of what you were going to face and maybe where you could run. Whereas this Daytona race is going to be like an elimination-style format race, so really just have to go in there with as much of a gap and buffer that we can. I think that you’re going to have to race aggressively at Daytona because if you don’t get any stage points, then you’re ultimately going to be looking at possibly a one- or two-point day, which would be horrible. So, I think you have to go for the stage points, hopefully get five or six – 10 would be awesome – and then you can kind of live with the result at the end of the race. That’s kind of the way the speedways have been lately. When I look at Talladega in the Playoffs last year and kind of how we approached it, we raced hard the whole time. It didn’t work out in the end, but at least we had some points to fall back on.”
SINCE THE NASCAR SERIES RETURNED TO RACING IN MAY, THERE HAVE BEEN FOUR TRACKS THAT HAVE HOSTED BACK-TO-BACK RACES: DARLINGTON, CHARLOTTE, POCONO AND MICHIGAN. OF THOSE EIGHT, YOU HAVE SCORED SIX TOP-15 FINISHES AND YOU ARE ONE OF SIX DRIVERS TO IMPROVE YOUR FINISH FROM RACE ONE TO RACE TWO. YOU’RE ONE OF FIVE DRIVERS WHO’S AVERAGE FINISH FROM SATURDAY TO SUNDAY HAS IMPROVED BY AN AVERAGE OF EIGHT POSITIONS. WHAT DOES THAT SAY? DOES THAT GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE FOR A WEEKEND LIKE THIS?“I think so. I think having another race in the weekend just makes it easier to learn and improve from the previous race, whether that be the car or even yourself. So, I think it’s definitely an opportunity to get better. I feel like us on the 24 team, we were slightly better with practice last year. I feel like we had really come into our own as a race team, through practice and going through the fall events. The Playoffs, we had some really, really good runs. I do think that hurts us a little bit, so I think the second day kind of allows us, the engineers, Chad and myself to work on all the little details that we need to improve. And ultimately, that’s just our mentality – if we’re not improving the next day, then that’s definitely going to be a poor finish and a poor day. I like the doubleheaders. I think they’re great. It really gives you a chance to get comfortable with the surroundings and just the race track in general.”
YOU HAD SAID EVEN THOUGH DOVER IS CONCRETE, THE SURFACE CHANGES A LOT DURING THE RACE. CAN YOU SORT OF TELL THE RACE FANS HOW THE TRACK CHANGES FROM THE DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE?“Rubber at Dover is a huge factor in speed. Typically, you’ll go out there in practice and the first few laps on the track are a half-second faster than the rest of the practice. The first practice is really probably a half-second in lap time difference from first practice to second at Dover. I feel like typically the thing that makes the biggest difference there is rubber. So, you get into the race and under caution, everybody pulls the rubber off the race track. It’s really sticky and the track is super aggressive for rubber being laid down. It’s very unique and really the groove moves up by the wall at some point during the race and then it comes back down. It’s just a challenging track to try to chase those changing conditions, for sure.”
GOING BACK TO DAYTONA, EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE FIGHTING ON THE BUBBLE RIGHT NOW, YOU HAVE A GREAT SHOT TO WIN AT DOVER. WITH THE SPEED THAT YOU GUYS HAD AT DAYTONA IN FEBRUARY, DOES THAT KIND OF ALLEVIATE SOME OF THAT PRESSURE OR IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALLGAME BECAUSE THE TRACK IS GOING TO BE HOTTER?“We always seem to have speed in qualifying and the Duels in February. Our guys do a really good job of preparing going into those races. I feel like that’s kind of a normal thing for us. I think that as we get into the summer months and we go back to Daytona in July, typically when we do and what the track is going to be similar to here in August, we typically fight handling a lot more. We try to do a pretty diligent job of trying to figure out where our handling needs to be for this race and making sure that we handle well enough. I think really the cars slide around a lot at Daytona when you come back in July or August. The track is difficult to get a hold of. But I think it also helps some of the better cars, the better drivers and the best handling cars rise to the front in this race. That’s what we’re going to work diligently on. I don’t really think we’ve spent a lot of time yet on Daytona until we get past Dover and know what position we’re in.” 
THE CHOOSE RULE IS BACK IN PLAY THIS WEEKEND. I’M JUST CURIOUS, WITH THIS NEW RULE, HOW DOES IT CHANGE OR WHAT MORE DO YOU HAVE TO DO IN TERMS OF PREP? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THE ENGINEERS FEED YOU TO HELP YOU DECIDE WHAT LANE TO CHOOSE DURING THE RACE?“What we found at Michigan – which is much different obviously because the bottom was so treacherous and the draft was so big in the outside lane – I think that there it was a bigger factor in just choosing the outside lane, unless you were really going to lose a lot of positions. I think Dover is fairly even on lane choice. I know the bottom lane doesn’t accelerate as well on the restart zone, so if you’re maybe second, you might choose to restart fourth instead of on the inside in second. I don’t really know, I think it’s all just feel and how your car is handling. Obviously, the engineers can try to science it out as best they can. But typically, just common-sense plays into a rule like this for sure.”
WITH THE DOUBLEHEADER WEEKEND, WHAT’S IT LIKE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY FOR A DRIVER? IN A NORMAL RACE WEEKEND, YOU GO HOME AND DO THE RECOVERY. I’M JUST CURIOUS IN THE MINDSET IN HAVING TO COMPLETE A RACE AND THEN START THINKING ABOUT WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO THE CAR OR WHAT MORE YOU CAN DO THE NEXT DAY. WHAT’S THE PROCESS YOU GO THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT ON THESE DOUBLEHEADERS AND WHAT YOU MIGHT GO THROUGH THIS WEEKEND?“I think this is probably going to be the biggest challenge, so I think there will be a lot of physical training and recovery that’s going into Sunday. Luckily, there are quite a few hours in between the races. I believe the races start at 4:00. It’s going to be pretty straightforward in terms of having a lot of time to devote to recovery and eating right. And then you have the team aspect – they’re trying to get the car back through inspection, they’re trying to get it cleaned up from the first race. Hopefully, there isn’t a lot of damage. You have to get your feedback back to them pretty quickly. They pretty much have an idea of what the issues were with the car in the first race based on your feedback and comments on the radio, so try to just give that detailed feedback. Hopefully, we can just make it better with our tools and have a better second race. That’s the goal with the doubleheaders – just trying to improve. It’s almost like the first race is like a practice session.”
LET’S TALK ABOUT THE HEAT. HOW WAS IT DURING THE ROAD COURSE AT DAYTONA? HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR IT? WHAT DO YOU THINK NASCAR CAN DO TO HELP ALLEVIATE THIS HEAT IN THE CARS?“I think there’s really two or three factors with the heat. There’s the fact that we’ve raced a lot more over the summer than we typically are used to, so the recovery time is not as much. Even though we don’t have practice or qualifying, we typically have a mid-week race or a doubleheader race, so we have more events. I think the other thing is the climates that we’re racing in is twice as hot than we typically race in during the summer. Typically, in Daytona, if anything, we’re racing at night – never during the day and never on a road course. I think the right-side window piece definitely made the cars extremely hot this year. It just becomes hard to breathe. You’re kind of sitting in a sauna and suffocating in the same air that just keeps staying in the car. Whereas before, we used to have air kind of evacuate and leave the car. You might not be getting fresh, cold air, but at least you’re not breathing in the same air the whole time. I think NASCAR is doing a good job in making some changes. To be honest, the road course at Daytona was a little bit dangerous how hot it was. I think a lot of us were possibly going to make it to the end of the race, but definitely not anywhere near one hundred percent. It was going to be a difficult challenge. Luckily, we got the lightning delay and had a chance to get some fluids, cool down and go from there. So, that was a blessing, for sure.”
WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PREPARE FOR IT?“I train with my trainers, so I’ve tried to amp up my training in August. I typically don’t do a lot of training during the summertime because it’s so hot. But with the schedule that we have, it’s pretty necessary.”

August 19, 2020

When Matt DiBenedetto fires up the No. 21 Menards/Monster Energy Mustang and takes the green flag on Saturday at Dover International Speedway, it will mark his 200^th career start in NASCAR’s elite Cup Series.

His 201^st start will come on Sunday at Dover, with Richmond Water Heaters replacing Monster Energy on the hood of the Menards Mustang.

DiBenedetto, who will start 14^th at Dover on Saturday, made his Cup debut at Phoenix Raceway in 2015 at the age of 22, driving for the underdog BK Racing team.

After failing to qualify at Atlanta and Las Vegas, DiBenedetto earned the 35^th starting spot at Phoenix and finished where he started. Inconspicuous as his debut was, it was the start of an upward career trajectory that five seasons later has him driving the iconic No. 21 Ford for the Wood Brothers and competing for a Playoff berth.

“It’s cool that this weekend is my 200th start,” DiBenedetto said. “That’s crazy to think. 
 
“I remember making my first Cup start at Phoenix and just being appreciative for being there and accomplishing the first part of my dream which was making it to the Cup series.

“Now it’s fast forward to this season having a dream opportunity driving the 21 car and competing up front.”
 
DiBenedetto said other than the fact that it was his debut, there was nothing really remarkable about his first Cup race. (He did finish ahead of future NASCAR Hall of Famers Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr., both of whom crashed out of that race.)

“It was a crazy time because the team wasn’t planning on running me at that race until last second, so we didn’t have a full crew or anything,” DiBenedetto said. “But it was neat how willing everyone was to work hard and get me out there.
 
“I think they could sense my passion for wanting to be in the Cup Series and that I would do anything to make it happen and prove myself.”

Despite his first team’s underdog status, DiBenedetto went on to finish 21^st at Bristol in his fifth start and 18^th at Talladega in his seventh start. He turned heads by finishing sixth at Bristol the following year, then moved to the Fords fielded by Archie St. Hilaire in 2017. He finished ninth in the Daytona 500 for St. Hilaire and eighth at the Brickyard. 

After an impressive 2019 season in the No. 95 owned by Bob Leavine he was tapped to replace the retiring Paul Menard in the Menards/Monster Energy Mustang.  

Entering his 24^th race in the No. 21 this year, DiBenedetto has two top-five and five more top-10 finishes and heads into this weekend’s double-header 44 points ahead of 17^th place, with only the following Saturday’s race on the oval track at Daytona International Speedway left to run before the start of the Playoffs.
 
There will be no practice or qualifying before the start of Saturday’s and Sunday’s races at Dover, both of which are scheduled for 311 miles.
 
The twin Drydene 311s are set to start at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, with TV coverage on NBCSN.
 

The Chevrolet winning tradition started at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway a century ago. A driver named Chevrolet won the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race 100 years ago.                                                       Gaston Chevrolet, with his driving mechanic Johnny Bresnahan, crossed the finish line first in the eighth running of the 200-lap race on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval on May 30, 1920. Although Gaston didn’t pilot a car carrying the Chevrolet nameplate, the Chevrolet legacy at the world famous speedway began.  Gaston Chevrolet, born on Oct. 4, 1892, near Beaune, France, where his Swiss parents had emigrated to a few years earlier, was the younger brother of engineers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet, the namesake of Chevrolet automobiles. In his second Indy 500 start, Gaston Chevrolet qualified sixth with a four-lap average speed of 91.55 mph in the No. 4 car owned by William Small. Ralph DePalma earned the pole with an average speed of 99.15 mph in the first year utilizing the four-lap qualifying format that remains in place today. Chevrolet took the lead from DePalma on Lap 187 and led the rest of the way to win by 6 minutes, 16.60 seconds over Rene Thomas in the race free of caution. Chevrolet came into the pits twice for fuel, but he completed the race with the original set of Firestone tires. It was a first for the Indy 500, and the feat wasn’t recorded again until 1964 by A.J. Foyt. Chevrolet, who entered 15 races sanctioned by the American Automobile Association (AAA) over four years, recorded his first AAA Champ Car Series victory on July 14, 1919, at Sheepshead Bay, New York. He added wins at Uniontown, New York, and Sheepshead Bay in September that year. The Indy 500 was his lone victory of 1920, though he added three other top-10 finishes. On Nov. 25, 1920, Chevrolet died in a racing accident at the wooden board track in Beverly Hills, California. His total of 1,030 points was 100 more than Tommy Milton, and he was posthumously honored as the 1920 AAA National Champion. He is interred next to his brother Louis in the Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery in Indianapolis. Chevrolet started 16th and finished 10th in his other Indianapolis 500 start in 1919. His winnings totaled $23,200. As an Indy car racing engine supplier, the Chevrolet brand of General Motors earned the first of its 11 Indianapolis 500 victories in 1988 with Rick Mears behind the wheel of a Penske/Chevrolet. The Bowtie brand has 11 victories in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” including the past two years. Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race Chevrolet has a storied history with Indianapolis Motor Speedway as an engine manufacturer, provider of the pace car, entrant and even drivers. Chevrolet was co-founded in 1911 by Louis Chevrolet, the year of the inaugural 500-Mile Race. He competed in the ‘500’ four times, with a best finish of seventh in 1919. His brother, Arthur, competed in the 1911 and 1916 races and his other brother, Gaston, won in 1920 and finished 10th in 1919. Louis Chevrolet was also the owner of the 1921-winning car driven by Tommy Milton. The Louis Chevrolet Memorial is located just west of the entrance to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. Inscribed on the pedestal that holds a bust of Louis Chevrolet is his motto “Never Give Up.” 

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 18, 2020) – Iowa Speedweeks featured a pair of podium finishes for Dominic Scelzi.

Scelzi garnered a third-place result on Aug. 6 during his preliminary night at the 30^th annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank before placing ninth two days later in the event finale at Knoxville Raceway.

He followed that performance up by finishing second after nearly capturing a win in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour’s Sage Fruit Ultimate Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Co. hosted by Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Aug. 9.

“I felt really, really good for the 360 stuff,” he said. “We were really strong.

“We timed in good and ran well in our heat race during our 360 Nationals prelim night. When you go into a race like that you have to be perfect. I felt like we were probably a fourth-place car or maybe a fifth-place car. That made me want to better ourselves for Saturday. We changed some stuff around on the race car to try to make ourselves better, but it didn’t do anything for us. We started coming on better at the end, but we were really a ninth-place car.

“We made more changes and I felt like we went in the right direction in Oskaloosa. We were fast all night long. We won our heat race and placed third in a qualifier. I ran with (Brian) Brown the entire main event. On the last lap I tried to make a hero move to pass him. Unfortunately it didn’t stick and we ran second.”

Scelzi shifted his focus to 410ci sprint car competition last weekend at Knoxville Raceway, which hosted The One and Only and the 9^th annual Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

“When the track is really fast I feel super good,” he said. “I can maneuver good. I can run the top and the bottom when it has speed, but we don’t have the mile per hour. When the track slicks off I can’t run the bottom as I need to and don’t feel as good on the top. I don’t think we’re miles off, but we were off enough.”

Scelzi was also hampered by a broken rear end last Thursday during his heat race. The team was unable to finish the night and placed 19^th in the B Main on Friday. Mechanical woes ended the weekend early on Saturday.

Scelzi plans on competing this Friday at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., during the Second Leg of the Northern Tour and Saturday at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D., during the Red River Rumble with the World of Outlaws.

Giovanni Scelzi Scores 13^th-Place Result During Capitani Classic

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 18, 2020) – Giovanni Scelzi captured a 13^th-place outing last Saturday during the 9 ^th annual Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank.

It was a strong result during the marquee World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series event that replaced this year’s Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Approximately 70 drivers tackled the three-day show with the KCP Racing driver kicking off the competition last Thursday.

Scelzi qualified 25^th quickest and advanced from fourth to third place in a heat race, which ranked him 15^th in overall points and earned a lock-in position into the A Main. Scelzi continued to march forward in the feature as he hustled to an eighth-place result.

“We moved around a bit,” he said. “I got a good restart once and had a bad restart when I got stuck behind a couple of cars. Going 15^th to eighth was a positive start to the weekend. Your first night you have to make the show and get a good amount of points, which we did.”

Scelzi improved his qualifying result on Friday, timing in 17^th quickest. He got a great initial start to the heat race, but a caution negated that. The next attempt didn’t fare as well and Scelzi finished seventh in the race. That relegated him to the middle of the B Main. He then charged from 12^th to sixth, which was only two positions shy of earning a transfer into the main event.

Scelzi accumulated enough preliminary points to be in a good position entering Saturday’s finale. A third-place finish in a qualifier locked him into the 16^th starting position for the 30-lap main event.

“We had a decent first couple of restarts and gained a few positions,” he said. “Then the race went green until Lap 28. I wasn’t able to make anything happen on the bottom or the top because the lanes were clogged. We battled between 12^th and 13^th the whole race.

“The format was harder than the Knoxville Nationals, but I’d consider it a Nationals. Running 13^th isn’t bad given the circumstances. That was my ninth race with KCP Racing and we’re still learning. I think we have a pretty good program. The more we race together the better we will get.”

Scelzi returns to ARCA Menards Series West competition this Saturday at Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo. He currently ranks fifth in the championship standings – only five points out of fourth and eight points away from third place.

Scelzi’s next sprint car race is Aug. 30 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint C

EPPING, N.H. (Aug. 18) – Just weeks after the successful conclusion of JEGS Speedweek at National Trail Raceway, the popular JEGS SPORTSnationals will make its first stop in the Northeast this Thursday-Sunday at historic New England Dragway. The event, which will be run in conjunction with an NHRA Division 1 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event, will crown champions in eight different classes: Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Comp, Super Gas, Super Street, Top Dragster, and Top Sportsman.Established in 1974 at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Ky., the SPORTSnationals has become a popular showcase for NHRA’s best sportsman drag racers. Over the last 46 years, the event has made stops in Denver, Indianapolis, Houston, Las Vegas, Fontana, Calif., Hebron, Ohio, and Belle Rose, La. At the recent JEGS Speedweek race at National Trail Raceway, sportsman star Anthony Bertozzi made history by winning a record fifth JEGS SPORTSnationals title. Bertozzi won the Top Dragster title by beating the JEGS.com dragster of Mike Coughlin in the final. Bertozzi and Coughlin are both expected to be among the leading contenders in Epping as they continue their battle for the national championship in the Vortech Superchargers Top Dragster division.  Bertozzi is the current points leader in Top Dragster while Coughlin is ranked 25th, despite having attended just one national event so far. “I’ve never been to New England Dragway but I’m really looking forward to it,” Coughlin said. “I’ve been told it’s a nostalgic place, an old-school track, and I really enjoy those kind of places. I also know there are a lot of great restaurants and great seafood in that part of the country.”  The New England area is also the home of Dan Page Race Cars. Page built Coughlin’s current supercharged Top Dragster, which is capable of low six-second elapsed times at more than 230 mph. “My car has been running great over the last few weeks,” Coughlin said. “We don’t even need to make any changes, just maintain it from race-to-race. Getting to the final [at the JEGS SPORTSnationals] was a huge confidence booster.  “I don’t like losing but after that race I wasn’t disappointed one bit. When you race against Anthony he’s the best there is. My car also ran great in Indy last weekend and before that when we were in Topeka. I’m also liking the double-races That’s a win for everyone when you can run two events with half the travel.” Coughlin is the only Team JEGS driver racing in Epping, but he’ll have the full support of longtime crew chief Greg Coty and crewmen Tony Collier, Dave Ruark and Ryan Micke. Coughlin will also be joined by his son, Clay, who is preparing to make the transition from Jr. Dragsters to NHRA sportsman racing in the near future. The Northeast Division is home to a number of past JEGS SPORTSnationals winners including 104-time national event winner Dan Fletcher, multi-time divisional Super Gas champ Mike Sawyer, and Steve Szupka. Much like the other JEGS SPORTSnaitonals races, the Epping event is expected to feature the same mixture of fierce on-track competition, and friendly off-track camaraderie.

• Corvette C8.R on three-race GT Le Mans winning streak• Championship leaders Garcia, Taylor coming off unexpected Road America victory• Chevrolet with expanded lead in Manufacturer’s Championship• Sebring winners Gavin, Milner were Corvette Racing’s first VIR winners• Two overall GT-only wins for Corvette Racing at VIR

DETROIT (Aug. 18, 2020) – In the midst of one of its hottest streak of racing during the last few seasons, Corvette Racing heads to Virginia International Raceway for the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR – the fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The program, in its 22nd season of competition, has won three straight races in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class and is coming off back-to-back 1-2 finishes with the first-year, mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, the GTLM Driver’s Championship leaders, enter off an unexpected victory at Road America in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. The result also increased Chevrolet’s lead in the GTLM Manufacturer’s standings. Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette stand third in GTLM points on the back of a victory at Sebring and runner-up finish at Road America. The pair teamed for Corvette Racing’s initial victory at VIR back in 2012 when the team raced there for the first time. In all, the program has three wins at VIR including two overall – 2016 and 2017 – as the race has transitioned into a GT-only race for the WeatherTech Championship. Garcia was part of the two latter winner efforts with Jan Magnussen, and the No. 3 Corvette has been on the GTLM podium each of the last four years. This year’s event also will be the first for Jordan Taylor with the team as a full-time member of Corvette Racing although it isn’t his first time at the circuit with the team. He was a late fill-in for an injured Magnussen in 2014. This time around, a different kind of Corvette will be present as the mid-engine C8.R makes its VIR race debut. The track, however, isn’t completely new to the 2020 Corvette as Corvette Racing tested its first two race chassis for the first time following last year’s VIR race. That knowledge could provide a good omen. Each of the team’s previous three events following the COVID-19 shutdown came at tracks where Corvette Racing had tested the C8.R over the last two years – Daytona, Sebring and Road America. Both the Corvette C8.R and the 2020 Corvette Stingray production car were developed simultaneously with a deeper level of technology transfer between the race car and a production Corvette than ever before, which helps contribute to many of its advancements. As a result, the C8.R shares the highest percentage of parts between the production and race car than any previous generation. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR is scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday with live coverage on NBC Sports Gold and Trackpass. NBCSN delayed coverage is set for 10 a.m. ET on Sunday. IMSA Radio will broadcast all practice and qualifying sessions as well as the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “After three really good races, we are back at another track I really like in VIR – not just because we have had a ton of success but because I really enjoy driving around there. The grip level is very high, and the C7.R was pretty good there. We’ve tested the new car there, and there is some representative data for sure from that test. We were competitive there in years past against cars like the Ferrari and Ford that are a similar configuration to what we have now with the C8.R. I’m looking forward to getting back there and being a tiny bit more competitive than we have been the last couple years. We should have a good car and should be able to contend.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Racing at VIR is a more of an engineering exercise. The track has a number of different corners – high-speed and low-speed – long straights, big brake zones. So you have long straights where you want to trim out the car and lose all your downforce and drag, but then you have some very technical sections where you want that downforce and braking capabilities. It’s a lot on the engineers to find that perfect setup, which makes it fun. As a driver, it’s a fun track. You have to know where you’re going. It’s very narrow with not much room for error. From those standpoints, it’s always very challenging at VIR. From the experience I’ve had so far with the C8.R, it has suited different types of tracks very well. With this track layout, I think it will be a blast to drive around there in this Corvette.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “When I first went to VIR, it reminded me of a couple of tracks in the UK… ones like Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. This track has a number of challenging corners where you have to be absolutely bang-on with your line and you really have to thread the car through certain parts of the circuit. It’s quite a technical track. The circuit has a lot of grip level, so the G-loads are pretty high. You can certainly feel that when you’ve been in the car for about an hour or more. It’s usually a very hot and physical race. But the circuit generates great racing. You have the Oak Tree turn onto the backstraight… that long run into the Roller Coaster turn… that always generates a few moments in the race and good passing opportunities. Likewise coming out of the final turn onto the frontstretch into the first couple corners. It has a number of fast, sweeping corners and challenging areas, bits of the track where you need to be brave but others where you need to be spot-on with your braking, line and positioning of the car.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “VIR is always one of the highlights of our schedule, especially for us in GT as we have our own standalone event. It definitely adds some prestige and excitement for those of us in GTLM. This has always been a great event, and we’re excited for this race with our new Corvette C8.R. We tested there about a year ago and with everything we learned from it and how we’ve raced so far, I’m looking forward to seeing how successful we can be with this new car. It’s a bummer that fans won’t be there for it but we’ll give everyone at home a great show.”

Baja Ridgeline Race Truck Runs Second in Vegas to Reno

• Baja Ridgeline Race Truck leads early, recovers to finish second following mid-race issues
• Honda Off-Road Racing Team season resumes after five-month layoff

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (August 17, 2020) – After a five-month layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Honda Off-Road Racing Team resumed its 2020 season this weekend, finish second in the “7200” class for unlimited V6-powered trucks in the General Tire Casey Folks Vegas to Reno off-road race.

Ridgeline Baja Race Truck

A part of the Best In The Desert series of off-road races, the “V2R” point-to-point race is the longest event of its type in the United States.  The 550-mile run features a unique set of challenges, including hot ambient temperatures – as high as 110 degrees F – substantial elevation changes and the constant potential of sudden, strong rain storms.  The course is also known for several high-speed sections, as well as stretches of deep silt and thick dust that can make overtaking difficult.

After qualifying on pole in the four-truck 7200 class, team owner/driver Jeff Proctor and navigator Evan Weller led for the first 150 miles before encountering fuel system issues as they approached their fourth scheduled pit stop.  After the stop, the pair continued to run well, until an improperly fitted rear wheel resulted in loss of the wheel and hub. 

Following a quick repair, the Ridgeline resumed in the class lead, but the fuel issue returned as Proctor and Weller approached their next scheduled stop.  Co-driver Pat Dailey and navigator Mike Loomis took over the controls for the middle third of the race, dropping to second in class after a second unscheduled repair to the damaged rear hub.  Proctor and Weller returned to the cockpit for the final run to the checkered flag, finishing second, approximately 21 minutes behind the class winner after losing nearly two hours to repairs on course.

Making approximately 550 horsepower, HPD’s 3.5-liter HR35TT engine uses the same block and cylinder heads as the production V6 that powers the production Ridgeline.  Additional, custom elements of the powertrain include an HPD-designed intake plenum and custom Engine Control Unit programming. 

Honda Talon 1000Rs

Continuing their debut season, the new Honda Talon 1000Rs of Eliott Watson and Christopher Polvoorde also had little luck in their UTV Pro Turbo Class contest.

Starting towards the back of their class after a blind-draw qualifying, both Talons rapidly gained positions during the first 100 miles.  Shortly after, however, Watson’s day ended with what the team described as a “freak” mechanical issue that was unable to be repaired on course.  Polvoorde climbed to third in class as he approached the 300-mile mark, but then encountered a mechanical issue that required nearly two hours to repair.  He recovered to finish 12^th.

Next

The Honda Off-Road Racing Team returns to action September 22-27 for the rescheduled 52^nd annual SCORE Baja 500, then finishes the 2020 season November 17-22 with the 53^rd running of the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000.

Photos and information from the Ridgeline Baja Race Truck’s efforts can be viewed on

Instagram at @hondaoffroadracing and @proctor_race.  Honda Racing/HPD news and reports can be found on the racing channel at Hondanews.com and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD  and on the Honda Racing Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD.

Quotes

Jeff Proctor (team owner/driver Ridgeline Baja Race Truck) finished second in Class 7200 for unlimited V6 Trucks: “Vegas To Reno this year was full of the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows.  Our team fought hard to overcome multiple challenges to get to Reno. We will take the podium finish, but we had the speed to win.  We’re frustrated with not being able to link every variable together to win.  We will fix out mistakes, make adjustments and come back stronger for the Baja 500 in September.”

Christopher Polvoorde (driver, Honda Talon 1000R) finished 12^th in the UTV Pro Turbo class: “Right off the start, I saw a few opportunities and started picking up positions.  The dust was really bad, so any time you had a chance [to pass someone] you had to take it.  Next thing we knew, we were running third!  Once we got a solid track position, I just cruised and started clicking off miles.  Unfortunately, we had a mechanical issue to deal with and were down for about two hours.  The team worked hard, and we were able to get back on course and make it to the finish.  Overall, its great to see how fast these Talon’s are, without even pushing hard.”

Three-Round Lucas Oil Off Road Shootout Brings Series to the Midwest

CORONA, Calif. (August 17, 2020) – With two rounds of action complete to start the 2020 season the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO is set to keep the momentum rolling with an anticipated return to the Midwest, where much of the short course off road’s legacy was fostered. Highlighting the championship’s return to Wheatland, Missouri’s state-of-the-art Lucas Oil Speedway is a tripleheader, marking the first time in series history that an event weekend has consisted of three days.   The 3rd Annual Lucas Oil Off Road Shootout Presented by General Tire, slated to take place on Friday, August 20, Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22, has emerged as a highly anticipated affair for short course off road fans across the region, who have patiently been waiting for the roar of 800 horsepower to once again reverberate through the grandstands since the series debuted in Wheatland in 2017. As one of the country’s premier racing facilities, the track layout at Lucas Oil Speedway stands alone on the championship calendar. A sprawling landscape not only makes it the longest track on the schedule, it also means high speeds, big air, long sweeping corners, and even an over-under bridge, which allows for these world class racing machines to open up and put the performance capabilities on full display.

Lucas Oil Speedway, the longest track in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, will host a tripleheader weekend for the 3rd Annual Lucas Oil Off Road Shootout. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

On the track, the opening weekend in Southern California in late July provided much needed rejuvenation for the drivers across all eight classes of competition. After a long and arduous wait through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to strap in and get behind the wheel was the kind of therapy that only racing can provide, and the extended layoff didn’t prevent the drivers from giving it their all. The action on the track was brimming with intensity, and it set the stage for one of the most highly competitive seasons in recent memory, particularly considering that some serious performance gains will be expected coming into Lucas Oil Speedway. In the premier Pro 2 class reigning champion Jerett Brooks picked up right where he left off and sent a clear message to his rivals that he’s not interested in leaving the door open for anyone to challenge his current hold on the division. However, glimpses of impressive speed were evident from the likes of Ryan Beat, Ricky Gutierrez, Doug Mittag, and Brian Deegan. While he’s got the early edge, Brooks is going to have his work cut out for him to sustain the momentum over the tripleheader weekend.

Jerett Brooks (77) will lead the Pro 2 field into action at Lucas Oil Speedway. Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series

Over in Pro Lite, the wide open nature of this season’s title fight was readily evident from the drop of the first green flag. While Christopher Polvoorde and Cole Mamer emerged victorious, Brock Heger, Madix Bailey, and Ronnie Anderson also showed they’re ready to fight for wins. Parity seems destined to define this class, and it will be exciting to see which drivers rise to the occasion at Lucas Oil Speedway.   Pro Buggy was also hotly contested to start the season. While defending champion Eliott Watson was there to do battle at the opening event, the spotlight was stolen by a pair of drivers hoping 2020 proves to be their breakout season. Both Matthew Brister and Trey D. Gibbs were able to capture their first Pro Buggy wins with impressive performances, and each driver is determined to sustain his hot start, hoping to become a legitimate title threat.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – August 17, 2020 – Austin Cindric won his fifth race of the season in the historic first race on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. This marked the 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the season for Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines.

“Congratulations to Austin, Brian and the No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Austin is an accomplished road racer and drove a great race on Saturday. Our team at Roush Yates Engines is proud to partner with and build world-class engines for all the Ford Performance teams.”

The inaugural running of the Daytona Road Course was fast and furious, starting from the first lap. Ford Performance teammates, Cindric and Chase Briscoe, led the Xfinity field to the green flag and it was game on from the first lap. It was Cindric that mastered the course layout and track conditions to take control of the race to win the first Stage and secure 10 additional stage points.

The Ford Performance teammates would continue to battle each other throughout Stage 2, and it was Briscoe that would come out on top, winning Stage 2 and leading 26 laps.

In the final stage, Cindric perfectly managed a chaotic late race restart to stay in contention for the win. He passed leader Brandon Jones with five laps to go and built a sizable lead to take the checkered flag 7.108-second ahead of Jones. This was his fifth win out of the last six races and second road course win in a row. When asked how he would describe the race, Cindric commented, “I’m not sure anyone was really happy with their race car. Unfortunately, I have a tough perspective of driving really fast high-grip race cars at this track, but great credit to my team, the MoneyLion guys and everyone that puts this together Ford Performance, Roush Yates Engines, obviously everyone at Team Penske for working hard. That’s five wins on the year and back-to-back now. I’m really proud of that. I didn’t feel like I drove my best today, but we executed there at the end where it counts and that’s what makes these races so difficult to win.”

Chris Buescher of Roush Fenway Racing led the Ford Performance teams to a top-5 finish, finishing P5 in the NASCAR Cup Series race in the Go Bowling 235 on Sunday, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing driver Clint Bowyer in P6, Team-Penske’s Joey Logano P9 and Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell in P10.

With the playoffs fast approaching, NASCAR heads to Delaware for a double-header weekend. Both series will run back-to-back races, on Saturday and Sunday at Dover International Speedway.  27 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 402 WINS – 358 POLES!

CHASE ELLIOTT SCORES VICTORY AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSETeam Chevy Takes Four of the Top-10 DAYTONA BEACH, FL (August 16, 2020) – Chase Elliott adds to his impressive road course resume by taking his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane in the GoBowling 235 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) debut appearance at the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course. The win is Elliott’s second points-paying victory and 13th top-10 finish of the 2020 season. It is his fourth career road course win and third in a row.  The victory, Chevrolet’s fourth triumph of the season, is the manufacturer’s 32nd road course win on tracks currently on the NCS tour and the 790th all-time win in NASCAR’s premier series. The win at the inaugural visit to the Daytona International Speedway Road Course is Elliott’s eighth career victory in 172 NASCAR Cup Series starts. Elliott, the youngest road course winner in NCS history, is now the sixth and most recent driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to win three or more consecutive road course races.  The win is the 19th NCS road course triumph for Hendrick Motorsports, which was also celebrated by Elliott’s teammates Jimmie Johnson, who finished 4th in his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, and William Byron, who was 8th in his No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kaz Grala, who was the substitution driver for Austin Dillon after he tested positive for COVID-19, brought the No. 3 American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 1LE home in the 7th position in his NCS debut, giving Chevrolet four of the top-10 finishers.  Denny Hamlin (Toyota) was second, Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) was third and Chris Buescher (Ford) rounded out the top-five finishers of the race.  The NASCAR Cup Series season continues with a doubleheader race weekend at Dover International Speedway with the Drydene 311 on Saturday, August 22, at 4:00 p.m. ET and the Drydene 311 on Sunday, August 23, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold app, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by today’s winner of the Go Bowling 235 at the Daytona road course, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. I believe that’s three road wins in a row. Is it safe to say you’re becoming a fan of the road courses?             CHASE ELLIOTT: I’ve just had really good cars I think more than anything. I’m not sure I did anything very special today but had a really fast NAPA Camaro, which makes everybody’s job a little easier from my end driving it, from Alan’s end calling the race, and then from his end on adjusting, too. Really fortunate from that standpoint. Had a really nice week of preparation, came out and executed really good race. Really proud of the day. I think we have a lot to be proud of and showing up having a car like it needed to be, it doing what I wanted, and then to take that and get the result that I felt like we deserved.            Q. I don’t know that you made a mistake today or at least it didn’t look like it. I’m curious, did you expect it to go that smoothly at a track that you had never raced at before?CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, it never goes smooth, or smooth in my eyes, at least. Yeah, I mean, obviously I look back and just ‑‑ we had that run there after the lightning break, and then I think the odds of it going green from there to the end, I think we all knew were pretty well slim to none. So, it was just a matter of when that caution was going to come out in my eyes and in my head. I had already accepted that long before it came out, and then to me the bigger question was not when but how many were going to be in a row, how many green‑white‑checkereds were you going to have to do in a row, and that’s where as time goes on, just executing those is important, and the only way to get better at them is to be in those positions more often as a driver and for me personally, so really proud to be there today and to execute it like we needed to.            Q. I’m wondering, how does it feel to make history and win this race on this first road course here?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, any win at Daytona is special, and Alan and I were joking, he said we had to change it to a road case to win a race here at Daytona. That was his first win here. This is his home track, he’s from down here, so I think that was really cool. Yeah, just a great day.           Obviously Watkins Glen has been good to us, but I was just really happy that we replaced a road course with a road course and didn’t just pile something else on the schedule to check a box. I think there was a lot of effort into getting this road course done and completed in time, so appreciate Daytona and everybody that works in the facilities here to be able to turn it that fast, and did a really nice job with it.            Q. With the late restart there, did you have any Roval flashbacks like man, I can’t do this again, I’ve got to do something different?CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I certainly didn’t want to drive into the barrier in Turn 1, so yes, that crossed my mind: Don’t do that.            Q. And you didn’t, so you learned?CHASE ELLIOTT: Learned. I finally learned something.            Q. Speaking of the last restart with three laps to go, were you expecting complete mayhem and maybe to get rooted out of the lead?CHASE ELLIOTT: I had considered it a possibility for sure. You know, but at the same time, I think if you execute and do your part from the driver’s side, you should be able to keep those opportunities from happening if you stay mistake free. Fortunately was able to get a good jump, had a good Turn 1, and then tried to just fall into rhythm there and just tried not to overdrive it. I thought Denny was being really aggressive on corner entry. I was not being as aggressive as him and was just focused in on my exits and trying to just control that gap to him, and yeah, fortunately it all worked out.            Q. Is there any sort of lesson with the car you can take from this road course and apply it to the oval since we’re going to be coming back in two weeks?CHASE ELLIOTT: No, unfortunately not. This is just a whole different animal, car, configuration, body, brakes, motor, you name it; nothing is really the same. This is just kind of a road course racing is a thing of its own and superspeedway racing is just not ‑‑ there’s absolutely nothing you can take from today and apply it to the week after next.            Q. And since you’re becoming ‑‑ you’ve grown to like road courses I presume, so do you think that this Daytona road course could find a permanent spot on the, quote‑unquote, normal schedule?CHASE ELLIOTT: That’s well above me. I don’t know. I think you’d have to make ‑‑ those decisions are made with a lot of things in mind, and whether or not I like it isn’t one of them. That’s just part of it.            Q. How does it feel just to win again, to sort of end a little bit of a dry spell and some of the things this team has gone through here in the summer months?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it feels really good. I mean, any time you can win in this series, I have learned and learned the hard way in some cases that you just can’t take them for granted. They’re just too hard to get, and it should be, and that makes the feeling of victory feel that much better because it is so hard. You just have to enjoy them. You never know if you’ll ever get another one or what tomorrow brings. I don’t take it for granted, and we just tried to make the most of a really good car today. You don’t have cars like that all the time, so when you do, you really want to make the most of it and try to capitalize and just really fortunate that everything went our way and we executed and did everything on our end that we could control right and had the result that, like I said earlier, I thought we deserved.            Q. Is it also a major positive you beat one of the hottest drivers in the deal right now? Denny Hamlin week in and week out. Does that at least send a little bit of a message to those guys, we can be as good as you and we can beat you guys?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, I don’t feel like we need to prove that to them, and we certainly don’t need to prove that to ourselves. I think that when we have things going like we can and like we know how to do, I think we can run with whoever. I think we’ve proven that in the past, and that’s not something that I need to sell myself on believing or sell my team. I think we’re all on the same page there.            Q. About a year ago when you won the Watkins Glen race, you guys were coming off several tough weeks, and you said it was good to get a reminder that you guys had the pieces of the puzzle and everything in place, that if things went correctly that you could win as you got close to the playoffs. Do you hope that this win can sort of serve in the same capacity this season?CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, the points you can’t put a price tag on the six points we earned today for the playoffs, and that to me is the biggest piece of the puzzle for as far as a championship goes. Our performance on the ovals the past month have not been what they need to be to compete for the championship, and I think we all know that, so we’re working really hard on doing that and getting better, and I think a day like today where we’re able to come here, have a really fast car, get some of those bonus points, I don’t want to say it bides us time, but having six more points than we would have had than if we hadn’t have won today makes a big difference, and especially when you’re fighting to run seventh and eighth at Michigan last weekend.           All that stuff matters, and as tight as it’s going to be through these rounds and through this last 10, we needed all we could get, and those bonus points, they’re irreplaceable. That has Denny and Kevin pretty well locked in to Phoenix, and that’s a situation that we strive to be in each year, and those guys have put themselves in that position year and year, so it’s certainly possible, and we want to do the same.            Q. You touched on the Michigan disappointment, I guess, from a few weeks ago. You head to Dover next weekend with two chances to win, and Dover has been historically a good track for you. Do you feel like there’s any momentum that you can carry in? Obviously the tracks don’t compare whatsoever, but do you feel like there’s any moral momentum that goes into next weekend?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, for sure. I mean, any win is great, right, and it makes everybody feel good. We should enjoy this. We should enjoy today, tomorrow, and when we go back to work this week, obviously we’ll put eyes on Dover, but there’s been a lot of emphasis put into Dover and trying to improve, especially after a tough month. So yeah, until we get to the racetrack and kind of see where we stack up and get our report car, obviously we don’t know, but yeah, winning, you can’t ‑‑ there’s nothing that replaces that. Like I say, I just think it makes everybody on our team feel like they deserve to feel. I think we have a winning group. I believe that, and there is no doubt in my mind about that, and we just have to have all the puzzle pieces going together to make that happen, just like anybody else does. But I think we have what it takes to run really good and compete with these guys week in and week out.            Q. Earlier this week you were talking about how you and your team really weren’t able to keep up the momentum that you may have been able to gain from winning the All‑Star Race last month. Considering that and considering that you’re back in Victory Lane today, how much of a point of emphasis is continued success from this going to be in the shop this week?CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, I mean, we always want to do good. There’s no speech that we hear when we have a bad day that makes us want to do better any more than we already do, and if we don’t have that fire before you have a bad day, then we shouldn’t be doing this, and I don’t think that’s the case for anybody on our team.            Q. Obviously with last year’s win at the Roval and then this win here, two different types of courses, but a little bit of similarity. The Roval being an elimination race, does this give a little bit of confidence knowing that you can go back there with that success on both these style of racetracks and have that potential to move on?CHASE ELLIOTT: I hope so. I mean, the Roval is obviously a long ways off. Everybody is going to get better from what they had today. Yeah, there’s a lot of racing between now and the Roval we need to focus on. You know, a good run here I think gives us a good baseline of a few things we improved on. But it is a different track from Charlotte. That is a different animal I feel like, but some similarities, but certainly different, too.            Q. We heard a lot of drivers talking this week about the use of the simulators and iRacing. How much did that pay off in today’s race?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I think we had some time on iRacing and time with Chevrolet this week. Appreciate Jordan Taylor and Boris Said reached out to me this week, and I feel like offered some really nice help that made a difference today, so really thankful for that. Like I said, just had a really nice week of preparation I felt like personally and spent the amount of time I felt I needed to in certain areas to try to fire off well, and it was just super ‑‑ yeah, feels really good to know when you put the work in certain areas you can come out and have a performance like that after you put in the right amount of time.            Q. I want to ask you, how big of a factor was the heat in the race, and during the lightning delay, were you able to cool down and rehydrate?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I think that lightning delay was pretty crucial for a lot of guys to get a breather. I mean, I was hot for sure. I think everyone was. I mean, it was a hot day. Mid‑afternoon in Daytona is not cool and probably never will be.            Q. Do you think NASCAR may need to make any improvements for this race when the Clash uses the road course in 2021?CHASE ELLIOTT: I thought the track was fine. They have a ton of 24‑hour events that they’ve run here over the years, so I don’t think they need to do anything. I thought it was all good, no worries.            Q. You mentioned that Arizona is the most important thing to come out of this season, and I’m right here in Dawsonville. What would you say growing up‑wise with Bill as your dad and just growing up in the pick‑your‑boot‑straps‑up‑and‑get‑it‑going in Dawsonville, what do you think it is about you that just provides that bulldog in you that focuses on the championship ahead?CHASE ELLIOTT: I don’t know, I think everybody is ‑‑ I’m sure a lot of people are proud of where they’re from and that’s certainly the case for me. You want to make your hometown proud and fortunate to still call it home, which is nice. But yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I’ve been lucky to grow up in the racing world, and not just my dad, but I’ve had a lot of really nice, really great racing mentors I feel like to look up to over the years who handled themselves the right way in my eyes on and off the racetrack, and yeah, there’s really no other thing to say other than I just got lucky with the people around me that I grew up around and had nice people and good people, good role models to look up to.            Q. This season we were supposed to use the low downforce package on the road courses, but of course for Daytona, being Daytona, we had the big spoiler for this race. What effect did that have on the racing today?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, good question. I don’t know. I think about Watkins Glen in 2018, and I think about Watkins Glen in 2019 and it was pretty much the same race, so I’m not sure that it makes much of a difference. It seems like the good cars always find their way to the front. It might take them a little longer at certain tracks, but they tend to find their way back there whether we have an eight‑inch spoiler or two‑inch spoiler or no spoiler, so I’m just not sure that’s an excuse we need to use anymore.            THE MODERATOR: Chase, thank you for your time today and congrats on the win again. ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 L1E PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:  THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Alan Gustafson today, the race‑winning crew chief for the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet. Alan, just talk to us about what you had to do to get that into Victory Lane today.             ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, just obviously preparation in the shop is a big deal. Appreciate everybody at HMS Racing doing a great job and getting the car ready and in great position to go and try to win the race. So for us it was about executing, putting ourselves in position, and yeah, the car was great off the truck, and Chase is a phenomenal road racer and adapted really quickly, and it really went well for us today. Super happy about it.            Q. Chase has eight career wins now, four of them on road courses, two at Watkins Glen and two unique tracks at the Roval and on this one, which was new to everybody basically. You mentioned him as a road racer. What have you discovered in the races working with him that seems to make him adapt so well in these races?ALAN GUSTAFSON: He’s really good. I mean, he’s just a very talented driver. With any good driver, they have the ability to slow things down, and when you’re running a new track or running at the speeds they run they can slow it down to where it’s slow and they can make the right decisions and adjustments, and he does a fabulous job of that. We knew really from the first time I worked with him at a road course, I knew he was really good and just needed some experience and needed to understand the cars.           I’ve mentioned this before, we went to a Watkins Glen test his rookie year and were able to find some things that he really liked in the cars, and ever since we’ve been able to improve on that.           Yeah, he’s a tremendous talent. I think he’s a world‑class race car driver, certainly a world‑class road racer, and just did an amazing job.           It’s a daunting task I’m sure to come here and not know anything about driving the track. You can drive the simulators all you want, but still, to understand this tire and the grip it’s going to have on this surface when it’s 100 degrees outside and traffic is around you and all of the above is a very difficult thing to do. He did a great job, and yeah, a lot of kudos to him.            Q. I wondered if you could just compare a little bit if you remember the preparation that you did going into the first race at the Roval compared to what you had to do going into this race?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, the first Roval race we had a test, and I know there was ‑‑ I can’t remember the exact sequence, but there was a few tests leading up to it, and there was split‑test days, and I know the first time we were there it was us and the 48, and they were changing configurations and bus stops and chicanes and just a lot of time at the Roval.           I think we were much more ready for the Roval and prepared. But really all ‑‑ I don’t want to say all, that’s not true. But a lot of that effort was able to be used for here, right, and we could use a lot of that information and apply a lot of that to this place. They’re not distinctly different. They are different for sure, more the grip in the track than I think anything, but yeah, so the Roval there was tons of testing and tons of buildup to it, and we knew everything from the gearing to the braking to the handling on the car, and here you’re making some pretty big assumptions on getting that all perfect.            Q. How does it feel to get the win at Daytona, considering it’s been a track that’s kind of eluded you from a points‑paying race perspective? Just describe how much determination he has on those road courses which has proven to be very successful to you guys as of late.ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, winning here at Daytona is a big deal. I think it’s a big deal for everybody. Certainly a really big deal for me. I’ve been trying to do it for a long time and have been really, really close. The superspeedways are just ‑‑ there’s just so much ran doneness or circumstantial things that go into that. It’s tough, and we haven’t been able to put all that together correctly. We’ve been really close but haven’t been able to do it so it’s nice to come here and win at the road course. I’ve come here since I was ‑‑ watched races on this road course since I was probably four years old. This is really where I started my racing here was more road racing than it was stock car racing.           It’s cool for me, and yeah, again, his ability is amazing, and his record speaks for itself. He’s the best guy in the series when we go and turn left and right. He does an incredible job, and he’s just really good at it, and he’s phenomenal.           It’s nice to be able to come to a track and have the team support and then have the best driver on the grid climb into your car. It’s an exciting thing.            Q. You win early, and it takes pressure off you in the playoff. Those late‑season wins kind of build momentum to the playoff, and how important are wins later in the regular season heading into the playoff?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, they’re all important. I think you alluded to some of the particular things when you win early it’s ‑‑ you know, you slot yourself in, obviously, and there’s some value to that, and when you win late, then there’s some value to that momentum.           We’ve all seen these races. We know that you’re going to have to win and win often to be the champion. It’s not going to be some situation where you’re going to run fifth to tenth and make it. You’re going to have to go and win and compete with the 11 and the 4 and those guys on a regular basis and win.           It’s important for us to do that, and we’ve kind of ‑‑ our form slipped, obviously, the last couple months, and it’s important for us to get our form back. This is obviously a step in the right direction. It’s a very specific discipline of racing, but there’s still a road course left, so yeah, it’s good. Any time you win is good. The bonus points are good. The momentum is good. The morale is good. I’ve never found an ill effect of winning in my career.            Q. Alan, you mentioned the 11 and the 4. They’re at the top of their games right now. Do you feel you’re half a step behind those guys? Early in the season you seemed to have as much speed as they did, and now maybe ‑‑ or do you feel like it’s just a matter of putting it together, you still have the speed, still have what it takes to run with those guys?ALAN GUSTAFSON: No, at the beginning of the year I thought we were the best car for a significant part of the season. I mean, it could be my rose‑colored glasses but I certainly felt like we were in contention to win about every week. We’ve had some issues and slips since then, and those guys have got the upper hand on us and we don’t have the pace to match them right now, and we can’t consistently compete to win on all different configurations of tracks. There’s certainly specific tracks that we’re still really good at. Obviously Bristol and road courses. I think we’ll have our chances, but I do think we’ve got to find some pace and some speed to match those guys when it comes to the Texases and Kansases and racetracks along those lines.           So we’re working hard. I promise you there’s nobody in the garage working as hard as Hendrick Motorsports is and the 9 team is to try to reel that back in, but those guys have got an upper hand on us, and I’m sure they did it by grinding hard and working hard, and kudos to them for doing it, but we’ve got to find something.            Q. Since I’m based in New York, how disappointed were you guys that you couldn’t come to Watkins Glen this season? Chase did say it was good to replace one road course with another, but how disappointing is it that you couldn’t make the annual trip to Watkins Glen?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s ‑‑ I love Watkins Glen. I love the area. It’s gorgeous country. It’s in August. It’s so good. It’s so nice. You know, you still have reasonably cool nights and it’s just lush and green and beautiful. I love the area. I love going there. I love the track. Man, it’s a wicked road course. It’s so fast and unique. Yeah, it’s great.           I miss it, and I miss ‑‑ I really love the dedicated road course circuits like that that are ‑‑ you’re like in the forest, you’re out there kind of ‑‑ it’s not a big concrete jungle. You kind of race through the trees and you’re in a ‑‑ I don’t know how to describe it. It just reminds me more of really truly dedicated road courses that I grew up on. So I love that part of it.           But if we’re not going to be able to race there, this is a great place to come and race, and I think everybody was excited to get on this track. It’s so prestigious and so many good people have raced here and won, so many legends of the sport.           You know, it’s bittersweet. I would have loved to have been at Watkins Glen. I would have probably slept a lot better last night if we were going to Watkins Glen, but it was also a great challenge to come here. Daytona is my home. It’s really what got me started in the sport. Any chance to come here and race is great, and certainly to win.            Q. You noted earlier that your career started in road racing. Do you think that has helped you as a crew chief set up cars for Chase especially?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don’t think it hurts. Yeah, I’ve always had a love for it. My best friends growing up still road race. They have a shop here and have raced at the highest level, in the 24 hours, and been very successful and won, and yeah, a lot of my roots are there.           Yeah, it’s always been ‑‑ it’s something I’ve really enjoyed and loved. Any time you enjoy something, it’s a huge benefit. The cars we raced back then don’t have anything to do with what we race now, but I think just embracing it, enjoying it and seeing the positive side of it, all that helps, and I’ve always enjoyed road racing and enjoyed the challenge. I think that certainly helps when it comes to having to go do it and execute it.            Q. You seemingly go from one strong suit to another here. Dover has historically been a great place for you and Chase. How significant will it be for you guys to go in there and get good runs on a double‑header weekend, and how much does a win today help to start the week on a positive note?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, it helps for sure, and you’re right, Dover is another really strong track for us. Statistically it’s certainly got to be one of the best that we run at. I’m looking forward to getting there. It’s a lot of fun, too. It’s certainly a different challenge and very unique.           Yeah, we need to be able to go and win there. We need to be able to contend to win. It’s that time of year. There’s just no ‑‑ we’ve got to be able to go everywhere and contend to win, and certainly we’re going to go to Dover and give everything we can to put ourselves in position to win, and I’m looking forward to going there and seeing what we’ve got, and like I said, we’re working hard to improve our oval track stuff. Certainly that’s a little different configuration with the aero package, but yeah, we’re pushing hard and we’re excited to go. My expectation is we want to be able to go there and win.            Q. In regards to heading to Dover, this will be the third double‑header that we’ve had this season for a weekend. Is Dover going to be the biggest challenge as far as double headers? And second part of that, is there a little bit of chip on you guys’ shoulders knowing that the last race you ran there you only completed eight laps?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think you’ve always got to have kind of a chip on your shoulder. You’ve got to find some way to motivate yourself and keep pushing yourself, and so yeah, we’re ready to go.           Dover is going to be the most difficult double‑header on the equipment for sure, to run the cars there. That’s a very violent track. I don’t think that ‑‑ TV doesn’t do it justice or watching the race doesn’t do it justice. It’s the loading and the bumps into 3 and the violence the car takes, all the components on the car. I mean, they are just getting punished lap after lap after lap after lap.           This is going to be the most difficult double‑header as far as equipment goes for sure. And yeah, the double headers are not easy. It’s tight schedules and a lot of long hours. I guess if you’re in the 4 at Rodney’s place, it looked pretty easy last weekend, but it wasn’t easy for us for sure.            Q. How have your guys handled those double headers?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Just a lot of hard work. You’ve got to prep the cars and you’ve got to have a good game plan on what you’re going to switch out, how you’re going to switch it out. From the time the race is over until the time the garage is closed until the time we put the car on the grid, it’s nonstop. There’s very few people there to support it, and you’re trying to debrief, trying to get a game plan, and it’s just a lot of work.            Q. Considering your previous sports car experience and the next‑gen car that’s coming up with a lot of sports car elements with aluminum uprights, do you see the next‑gen car being more suited for road courses or possibly street circuits than the ovals like traditionally we’ve seen?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I’m curious, I think the car is more suited for road course racing and more suited for street course racing, and with the way the underbody is and the aerodynamic setup of the car, and it being symmetrical, I worried about it at Dover. I don’t think it’ll have any issue road racing. I think it’ll be very V‑8 Supercar‑esque in my opinion. But when you go slam that thing around at Dover, the aluminum wheels and the rest of it is where that car is going to be put to a significant test, like I was saying earlier. There’s nothing like Dover, period, that’s it. There’s no place in the world like that. There’s no place that loads like that. There’s nothing like that. It’s a test for sure.            Q. Do you see with the wheels growing bigger, and I’m assuming the rotors are going to grow bigger and possibly bigger calipers, do you see that helping out on certain courses?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think the cars will be faster. You’ve got better brakes; I think you’ll be faster road racing where you use a lot of brakes and Martinsville and places like that, but we don’t use much brake at the intermediates or high‑speed ovals. Probably won’t impact that.            Q. As far as the individual links in the rear and specifically what I’ve heard of the tolling speed and kind of position of the wheels, do you see that as being a vulnerability or is that more to be able to save the chassis?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to say. I can’t say that I’ve worked with the car enough to make a whole lot of educated opinions about it, so it’s tough to say. I mean, I think it’s just more in convention with the majority of the rest of the racing industry. That’s really where I think it’s gone, and that’s just much more conventional to really any other race car you’d see on any other circuit.           

August 16, 2020

A caution flag near the end of Sunday’s Go Bowling 235 on the road course at Daytona International Speedway gave Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team the break they needed to finish 15^th and head to Dover International Speedway with a 44-point cushion in the Playoff standings.

DiBenedetto, who added six points to his total by finishing fifth in the race’s first Stage, remains 15^th in the Playoff standings with three races left in the regular season – two at Dover and one on the oval track at Daytona. After that, the top 16 drivers in the Playoff standings will start the 10-race, season-ending run for the Cup Series championship.

On a steamy hot Sunday afternoon at Daytona, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang lined up ninth for the start of the inaugural Cup race on the 3.6-mile road course. 

He moved up to sixth place by Lap Six and to fifth place by Lap 12 and remained there until the end of the first 15-lap Stage. 

Because he made his pit stop after at the end of the first Stage, while others gained track position by making their stops before the end of Stage One, DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team were playing catch-up for most of the second Stage and wound up 21^st at the finish.

In the third and final segment of the race, DiBenedetto and the team struggled to find the rear grip he needed, and were running 18^th when the caution flag flew with five laps remaining for a spin by Kyle Busch.
 
DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team opted to head to pit road for fresh tires and one final adjustment, which put him 23^rd in line for a three-lap dash to the checkered flag.
 
As he often does on restarts, DiBenedetto made the most of the moment and gained eight spots before he crossed the finish line.
 
DiBenedetto said the Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang just didn’t have the speed he needed to stay among the leaders.
 
“We struggled all day and had to play defense the whole race,” he said.
 
DiBenedetto had no complaints about the race course itself. “It was fun, and I would love to do it again,” he said.
 
Eddie Wood said that while he and the team had hoped for a better finish at Daytona he’s pleased to have some breathing room headed into the Dover double-header. DiBenedetto and the team were 57 points ahead of the 17^th place driver headed into Daytona and saw that margin shrink by 13 points.
 
“We lost some points to the cutline, but we’re still in a decent spot,” he said. “With two races at Dover and one at Daytona, all of the teams competing for those final Playoff spots won’t feel really safe until the checkered flag flies at Daytona in two weeks.”

Kaz Grala Pilots the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 To a Strong Seventh-Place Finish in NASCAR Cup Series Debut

7th   10th  n/a

“I never thought my NASCAR Cup Series debut would come in this nature. I first want to say that I’m thankful that Austin’s symptoms are mild and that his wife Whitney and baby Ace are healthy. I hope to see him back in the car next week at Dover International Speedway. It certainly was an honor to get the call from Richard Childress and drive his iconic No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet. I honestly had a blast. These Cup cars have so much power, which I really enjoyed. Today exceeded my expectations. My goal was to come in today, run all the laps, not tear anything up, and get a top-30 finish so this is certainly far above my wildest dreams. Justin Alexander called an excellent, strategic race, which really helped us get up there and compete inside the top-20 most of the day. We were able to lead laps in my NASCAR Cup Series debut, and it was fun to mix it up with some of my childhood heroes. Before the last caution, I made a bold, three-wide move on a restart, which got us a ton of positions. I don’t really know what I was thinking, but it worked and put us around 12th. We were in pretty good shape with some fresher tires than the guys ahead of us and opted to stay out under the last caution. We were able to pick off a few more of those guys to finish comfortably inside the top-10. I can’t thank everyone enough for giving me this opportunity: Richard, American Ethanol, and Chevrolet. Today was a dream come true and I hope I made everyone in Welcome, all of the guys on the No. 3 team, Austin Dillon and all of RCR’s partners proud. That green No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet is iconic and it meant a lot to be able to sport American Ethanol’s colors today. I hope to have the opportunity to be racing on Sundays in the future.”-Kaz Grala

Tyler Reddick and the Cat App Team Fight to Top-20 Finish at Daytona International Speedway Road Course

18th   18th   17th

“Man, the Daytona International Speedway Road Course is tough, but our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet team kept after it, and we were able to continue to get better throughout the day. I spent a lot of time on the Chevrolet simulator before this weekend to help prepare, but there was still a big learning curve during the first stage of this race. I struggled with some wheel hop in Stage 1, but we were able to make some adjustments before Stage 2 started to help fight that. I got more comfortable with the course as the race went on and had better drive off to fight for positions. The red flag actually helped me a little bit since I was able to cool off a little bit and review some SMT data with my crew chief, Randall Burnett. We made a fuel only stop just before Lap 50, which helped me get some good track position. Unfortunately that final yellow came out with six laps to go, and we had to pit for four fresh tires. I got boxed in on that final stop, so that hurt our restart spot, but I was able to get our No. 8 Cat App Chevrolet back into the top 20 before the checkered flag came out. Not the day we wanted, but we maximized what we could and have three more shots to get into the Playoffs, so our fight isn’t over yet.” -Tyler Reddick