Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2025) – On the track on which she won her very first NHRA national event, Brittany Force hopes to take the first steps toward securing a record-tying third World Championship this week when she drives her Monster Energy Chevrolet in pursuit of the Top Fuel championship in the 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

Coming off a victory in last October’s NHRA Nevada Nationals at Las Vegas and energized by a strong performance in last month’s pre-season PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton, Fla., the newly married 38-year-old can’t wait to start racing once again for a championship she won in 2017 and again in 2022.

“I’m excited to get this season started at the Gatornationals,” she said. “After testing in Bradenton with David Grubnic, John Collins and the rest of this Monster Energy team, I feel we have a very strong group. 

“We have four new guys on the team and other guys in new positions. Changing up crew and jobs is a challenge, but I feel we got into a solid routine pretty quickly during testing,” said the 17-time tour winner. “We need to start our season strong (by) qualifying top five and going rounds on race day.”

The significance of a third title is that it would tie Force with Hall of Famer Shirley Muldowney for the most championships by a woman in either of the NHRA’s two signature classes – Top Fuel and Funny Car. In fact, she and Muldowney are the only women to have prevailed in either of those categories. 

The second youngest of John Force’s drag racing daughters and the only one who chose not to follow her father into a Funny Car class in which he has won a record 157 events and 16 championships, Brittany was rewarded with a Rookie-of-the-Year nod in 2013 although it would be three more years before she would win the first of her 17 “Wally” winner’s trophies at the 2016 Gatornationals.

After claiming the 2017 championship in a car prepared by Alan Johnson and Brian Husen, the graduate of Cal State-Fullerton earned her second with Grubnic, himself a former Gatornationals Top Fuel winner as a driver (2006). It has been Grubnic’s tuning expertise, in recent collaboration with Collins, that has made her car the acknowledged Monster of the Mission Series.

In addition to setting the current NHRA national records for both time and speed (3.623 seconds, 338.94 miles per hour), she raised the Gainesville Raceway speed record to its current 337.75 mph en route to her 2016 victory and is the record holder for time, speed, or both, at 11 other series’ venues.   

At Bradenton, she qualified third and upended 2023 NHRA World Champ Doug Kalitta in the opening round before a narrow starting line disadvantage made her slightly quicker 3.752 a semifinal loser to eventual race winner Shawn Reed’s 3.768.

“We had one of the top-running cars and we should have turned on the win light in the semifinals,” she said. “I was a little slow off the light, but that’s something I can fix. I’m pumped with this new group (four new crew members joined the team this year) and excited to see what we can accomplish.”

Surprisingly, despite all her success, including the fact that she is one of only a handful of drivers to have started as many as 50 NHRA tour events from the No. 1 qualifying position, one thing she has not yet checked off her to-do list is a bonus race victory. Runner-up in 2022 and 2024 in what now is the Right Trailers All-Star Callout, she gets another shot this week in a race held in conjunction with the Gatornationals.

Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2025) – With his eye on a racing milestone and his mind on new experiences, Jack Beckman returns to full-time competition on the Mission Foods tour this week when he drives John Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet SS in a bid for the Funny Car title at the 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

“For the first time in five years, I will be racing the entire season,” said the 58-year-old Californian. “(And) things have changed noticeably in those five years, meaning several upcoming ‘firsts’ for me. 

“We now begin the season at the Gatornationals, something I have never done,” he said, referencing the 60-odd years during which the series began in California with the Winternationals. “Then, there’s the fact that the tour has streamlined down to 20 events from the 24 that I had become accustomed to (and) testing is now allowed just two days prior to racing. 

“Plus, I’ve never participated in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge program and Gainesville is my first opportunity to do so. That’s a lot to take in,” he said.

Nevertheless, the widely respected driving instructor and cancer survivor admits that as much as he is looking forward to all of those first-time experiences, he is even more focused on a couple other numbers.

“I am most looking forward to a second win at the historic ‘Gators (he won the race in 2018 while driving for Schumacher Racing) and to the start of what I hope will be my second Funny Car championship (after initially hoisting the trophy in 2012). 

“But I also have my eyes on a much bigger number and that’s 300,” he said. “JFR has won 299 Funny Car races and either Austin Prock’s Cornwell Tools team or my PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant team will put a Chevy SS in the history books with that next win. So, Chris Cunningham, Tim Fabrisi, Daniel Hood, myself and the rest of the PEAK squad have plenty of incentive to make the ‘Gators great.”

Summoned out of retirement last season to fill-in for an injured Force, “Fast Jack” earned a full-time ride on the strength of two wins in just eight starts and a second place points finish behind Prock.

It’s an opportunity he thought had passed him by after a lack of sponsorship sent him to the sidelines at the end of a 2020 season in which he finished third in the driver standing. Without a ride, the U.S. Air Force veteran returned to his “day job” as an elevator repairman.

“I went back to work at Schindler Elevator on November 9, 2020, after 22 years away, and expected to stay there,” he said. Then came the call from JFR President Robert Hight that put him back in a race car for the last three months of the 2024 season.

Driving the Chevy in which Force had won twice before suffering injuries in a 300 mile per hour crash in Richmond, Va., Beckman raised the trophy at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., just across the river from St. Louis, and then applied an exclamation point with a victory in an all-JFR final round in the season-ending In-N-Out Burger Finals on his home track.

Photography: John Force Racing / Gary Nastase / Auto Imagery

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2025) – In an event in which his grandfather was the Funny Car runner-up to Don “the Snake” Prudhomme in 1975, Austin Prock and his Cornwell Tools crew mates begin defense of their Mission Foods Championship this week in the 56th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.  

Coming off a stellar performance in last month’s pre-season exhibition at Bradenton, Fla., during which he strong-armed the Cornwell Tools “Prock Rocket” Chevy to the quickest elapsed time in history at 3.791 seconds, the 29-year-old this year is focused on becoming just the second Funny Car driver in the last 23 years to win back-to-back titles. 

That quest begins this week in an event in which John Force Racing drivers have won 16 times and in which Prock was runner-up one year ago after qualifying No. 1 and lowering the track record to its current 3.820 seconds.

“I’m looking forward to starting the NHRA season with Cornwell Tools, HendrickCars.com and Chevrolet,” said the man who last year broke boss and mentor John Force’s 28-year-old single season record when he qualified No. 1 in 15 of 20 events on the way to winning the Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge championship, the regular season championship and the six-race Countdown.

“Bradenton was great to get the blood and mind set flowing back into that competitive edge,” he said. “We had a great outing there and are hoping to continue that in Gainesville (where) we had an outstanding start last year, making it to the finals. Hopefully we can be one spot better this year.”

Although John Force Racing president Robert Hight remains the official NHRA Funny Car record holder at 3.793 seconds, a mark he established eight years ago in a similar JFR Chevrolet, Prock’s performance in last month’s PRO Superstar Shootout was a reminder that records are made to be broken.

In a car prepared by his crew chief, dad (Jimmy) with input from his brother Thomas and Nate Hildahl, the former quarter midget and sprint car standout last year became the fourth different JFR driver (after Force, Hight and Tony Pedregon) to win as many as eight races in a season.

That bounty included three wins during the Countdown and a jaw-dropping, record-setting 341.68 mph speed at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in the season-ending In-N-Out Burger Finals.

In becoming the first driver to break the 340-mph barrier in the sport’s primary series, Prock eclipsed the official NHRA Top Fuel speed record of 338.94 mph set by JFR teammate Brittany Force in her Monster Energy dragster.

The 2019 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year at the wheel of a JFR Top Fuel dragster in which he won four times in three full seasons, Prock is the only team driver to have won races in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car classes.  

Tom Prock, the champ’s grandfather, was runner-up in three of the eight races that comprised the NHRA tour in 1975, losing to Prudhomme at Gainesville and Montreal, Canada, and to the late “Jungle Jim” Liberman at Englishtown, N.J.

WEC Hypercar contenders to be joined by two IMSA GTP cars in June race

DETROIT (March 3, 2025) — Cadillac will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June to challenge for the overall victory with four factory Cadillac V-Series.R racecars supported by experienced and championship-winning teams and drivers. Event organizer Automobile Club de l’Quest extended the four invitations to Cadillac Racing, which had three Hypercar entries the past two years. The June 14-15 race marks 75 years since the first Cadillac entry at Circuit de la Sarthe and 25 years since Cadillac returned to the iconic race with four cars. “We’re thrilled for Cadillac Racing to return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac. “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023 and securing a top 10 finish last year, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, performance and innovation of our race teams once again.”

• The Nos. 12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R received automatic invitations based on full-season participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). JOTA Sport is in its first season of WEC Hypercar competition as a works team. Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button, Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens will be the drivers. • The No. 101 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, a full-season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, will compete at Le Mans for the first time. Ricky Taylor is listed as the primary driver. • The No. 311 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R is a full-season IMSA GTP entry campaigned by Action Express Racing that will return to Le Mans for the third consecutive year. Jack Aitken is listed as the primary driver. In its first season of WEC Hypercar competition in 2023, Cadillac Racing posted a podium finish along with fourth place at Le Mans. In 2024, Cadillac Hypercars qualified second and third and registered a best finish of seventh for the American contingent. The Nos. 12 and 38 Hertz Team JOTA entries placed eighth and ninth, respectively, with another manufacturer.Before entering Hypercar competition as a privateer in 2023, JOTA Sport earned podiums at Le Mans 10 times in LMP2, including second and third overall in 2017. The Cadillac V-Series.R features a purpose-built Cadillac 5.5L DOHC V-8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan. The racecar, co-developed by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and chassis constructor Dallara, was informed by the Project GTP Hypercar that was unveiled in June 2022. It incorporates distinctive Cadillac design elements, such as vertical lighting and floating blades.

Cadillac’s early history at Le Mans The first Cadillacs that raced at Le Mans were entered by privateers Briggs Cunningham and Miles and Sam Collier in 1950. Both Series 61 coupes were powered by the Cadillac 5.4-liter OHV V-8 engine. Miles and Sam Collier co-drove the No. 3 “Petit Pataud” to a 10th-place overall finish. Briggs Cunningham shared the wheel of the No. 2 “Le Monstre” with Phil Walters and finished 11th overall despite an early off-course incident. That same year, Sydney Allard and Tom Cole Jr. finished third overall in the Cadillac-powered Allard J2. Cadillac returned to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, 2001 and 2002 with its 4.0-liter turbocharged V8-powered Northstar LMP. In 2000, Franck Lagorce, Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace drove the Team Cadillac No. 1 Cadillac Northstar LMP to a 21st-place overall finish, while Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli and Eric van de Poele finished 22nd in the No. 2 sister car.

The defending champion survives several restarts for 104^th career victory

BARBERVILLE, FL (March 2, 2025) – Last year David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports engineered an unforgettable season, and they’re out to top it in 2025.

There’s no taking the foot off the gas for the defending World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car champions. They made it to the sport’s mountaintop, and they’re determined to protect their territory.

It began with last month’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. Gravel couldn’t find Victory Lane during the four straight nights of racing to begin the season, but he bagged a trio of podiums. The only step of the podium left to climb in 2025 was the top one, and the Watertown, CT native did exactly that on Sunday at Volusia Speedway Park.

There was no stopping Gravel at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.” To start, he flexed his muscle early by taking the top spot on three consecutive attempts to begin the race. Then he smoothly worked through traffic to maintain the lead. And to seal the deal Gravel survived multiple late restarts and drove away to victory.

“The car was really, really good tonight,” Gravel said. “I thought, in the Feature, I was super maneuverable. At first, I thought I was top dominant, but really I could run the bottom, and I felt like I was just as fast down there.

“Tonight was just our night. We qualified well, got a good Dash draw, and with how the track was, it was good to start up front.”

Fuel issues became a concern late as the field ripped around a fast surface, but Gravel was mindful to the potential of coming up short and made sure to save whenever he could to help secure the trip to Victory Lane.

“Once we got going green, I just kind of pulled back to three-quarters, half-throttle to conserve,” Gravel explained. “Once that red (flag) came out, I shut it down as fast as I could and then leaned it down as much as I could under yellow (flag). I did my part. We run a big tank and fill it up. We did everything we could do, and it worked out.”

Gravel’s first win of the season was the 104^th of his career, bringing him within one of Joey Saldana for seventh on the all-time World of Outlaws win list. Six of those triumphs have now come at Volusia, equaling the Florida track with Eldora Speedway and Knoxville Raceway for the third winningest track on Gravel’s résumé. He’s also only one away from equaling Brad Sweet for the second most Series victories at Volusia. Gravel has now won at least one World of Outlaws race in 10 consecutive years, and he’s confident Sunday’s score could be the first of many in 2025.

“It’s good to get the first one off our backs here,” Gravel said. “If we stay up front like this, we’ll be a lot of trouble all year.”

The runner-up spot belonged to Aaron Reutzel as he and Ridge & Sons Racing made their first appearance of 2025. The Clute, TX native showed consistent speed all night as he got his year started off strong. Reutzel’s result marked his 21^stcareer podium.

“It’s really satisfying,” Reutzel said. “Like I said earlier, we’ve put a lot of hours in at the shop not just race car-wise. We’ve been getting that truck and trailer ready and getting our team organized, just getting prepared to go up and down the road.”

Rounding out the podium was Jacob Allen and the Shark Racing No. 1A team. It marked the Hanover, PA native’s first top three with The Greatest Show on Dirt since June of 2023. Allen’s efforts were aided by the fact that he had “Lethal” Lee Stauffer helping out with the car and making his job a little easier.

“Great team effort,” Allen said. “Lee has given me a bunch of confidence. Normally, I’m kind of thrashing around trying to figure out how I want to set up my car. Obviously, winning Outlaw races is a big deal. Starting on the pole has some pressure, but Lee took that pressure off me today. Felt really good to come home with a podium.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Cole Macedo completed the top five.

Macedo’s drive to fifth started from 19^th, giving him the KSE Racing Hard Charger.

David Gravel earned his 123^rd career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Jacob Allen. WIX Filters Heat Three went to Carson Macedo.

Jacob Allen topped the Toyota Racing Dash after getting the SPA Technique #1 Redraw.

Chris Martin won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Logan Schuchart.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete the Bike Week Jamboree on Monday, March 3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen[1]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 5. 2C-Cole Macedo[19]; 6. 14-Spencer Bayston[13]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 8. 7S-Chris Windom[9]; 9. 83-Michael Kofoid[22]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[12]; 11. 13-Daison Pursley[14]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 13. 23-Garet Williamson[7]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[16]; 15. 6-Zach Hampton[25]; 16. 44-Chris Martin[21]; 17. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6]; 18. 64-Andy Pake[24]; 19. 28M-Conner Morrell[23]; 20. 27-Emerson Axsom[4]; 21. 39M-Anthony Macri[10]; 22. 88-Austin McCarl[17]; 23. 17B-Bill Balog[11]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[20]; 25. 24D-Danny Sams III[18]

After an up-and-down day in the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Josh Berry and the No. 21 Freightliner team ended the day with a 26th-place finish.Berry started the race from 35th place and ended the first 20-lap Stage in 30th place. He was 34th after the second Stage, a 25-lap run, but saw his fortunes improve significantly in the third and final 50-lap segment of the race.Berry moved into the top 20 for the first time during a caution period at Lap 51. He was scored as high as 16th before dropping outside the top 20 at Lap 54 of 95. After dropping outside the top 25 he worked his way forward and was in 14th place with 25 laps remaining.Berry made his final pit stop with 22 laps remaining and rejoined the race in 32nd place. He again moved forward and was running 15th on a restart with 15 laps to go. Berry’s fortunes took another turn when he was forced to slow for an incident involving Ty Gibbs that dropped him to 31st place. But Berry put the No. 21 Freightliner Mustang Dark Horse back to work and gained four spot in the final five laps to finish 26th.Berry and the No. 21 team now turn their attention to next week’s Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICA STEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MARCH 2, 2025

Byron Leads Chevrolet with Runner-Up Finish at Circuit of The Americas

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER2nd – William Byron4th – Chase Elliott5th – Kyle Busch6th – Shane van Gisbergen9th – Alex Bowman

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

·       In an all-out battle all the way to the checkered flag, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron led Chevrolet to the checkered-flag at Circuit of The Americas – scoring a runner-up result in his No. 24 Chevrolet.  ·       Byron led a strong contingency of Chevrolet drivers to the finish of the NASCAR Cup Series’ third points-paying race of the season, with drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations earning top-10 results. Among those finishers includes Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, who sustained damage in a turn one, lap one, incident. Continuing to fight all race long, a late-race pit strategy gave Elliott a fresh set of tires to drive his way to a fourth-place finish. ·       Trackhouse Racing’s Connor Zilisch’s NASCAR Cup Series debut ended early after sustaining damage during an incident in the final stage. The 18-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native had an early setback after enduring damage on the opening lap, but later rallied to a strong performance in Stage Two – driving his No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet from outside the top-30 to the 14th position.  ·       Showing speed across the Chevrolet camp right out of the gate at Circuit of The Americas, drivers from five different Chevrolet organizations collectively took 10 of the top-11 positions on the final speed chart following Saturday’s two rounds of practice for NASCAR’s top division. Reciprocating the speed in qualifying, Chevrolet drivers took seven of the top-10 starting positions for today’s 95-lap event – led by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (third) and Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar (fourth).

Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Circuit of The Americas: Wins: 3Poles: 3 Top-Fives: 17Top-10s: 27Chevrolet’s season statistics with three NASCAR Cup Series races complete:  Wins: 1Poles: 0Top-Fives: 7Top-10s: 13

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Phoenix Raceway with the Shriners Children’s 500 on Sunday, March 9, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletFinished: 5th How much more could you have pushed your car? “No, that was it on pushing the car. We had a really good No. 8 Rebel Bourbon Chevy to be able to push that hard. I just wish that maybe we had equal tires to the No. 20 (Christopher Bell). I don’t know if that was all the difference. I know he was really fast and he had a good racecar. I feel like that might have been able to help hold me on a little bit better to him, but even that last yellow flag that we had, I felt like the gap that I had to the field, I was far enough out front that I could run the clean lines, the lines that I wanted, to preserve the tires and take care of them as much as I could to see if he could get there. But once we had that yellow, then it was just defensive mode. You’re in complete and utter just beat the heck out of the tires at that point, and I just didn’t have it over the No. 20. Hate it that the contact that we made between two and three ruined our racecar too. It bent the right-rear toe link and knocked everything out of it. I just didn’t have anything there at the end to compete with those guys. That doesn’t go for what our Chevy was today. Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and the guys did a great job adjusting it through practice, qualifying and into the race, and giving me a piece to go out there and do that well, and to get this Rebel Chevrolet up front like we did. Appreciate Zone, Cheddar’s, Lucas Oil, Chevrolet and everyone at RCR and ECR for a really good piece this weekend. If we can keep getting top-fives and running in the top-five, the wins will be right there.”   Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4thYou really had to work for it. How much more did you car give you there at the end? “Yeah, it was just a crazy day, really. I got run over, I felt like, there in the first corner. I’m curious to see it. I still haven’t seen it to know whether or not I did something wrong. I’m happy to own it, if I did. I just felt like it was the first corner of the first lap, and it’s just a bummer to get behind and then we had damage. Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and the guys did a great job fixing it and getting it that close. We got behind on a restart there and just had to play major catchup there. Alan made a great call there at the end to put tires on it. We were rolling up through there really good at the end. Obviously when you have a good car like that, I would have liked to have been in the fight with those guys, but it was a great recovery from where we were at during the end of the second stage.”   William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 2ndHow close was that and what else did you need to do at the end there? “Yeah, it was really close.  I feel like the battle between he (Bell) and (Kyle) Busch — I was just sitting there waiting for one of them to bobble or slide their tires. Bell got by him and I felt like once he got by him and clear, his car was super loose and it kind of gave me a couple of shots at him. I just couldn’t ever get beside him. We have always raced really well together, so I didn’t want to move him blatantly. We were just sliding there a ton at the end. We came a long way this weekend and I am really proud of that. We were pretty far off to start, but got ourselves pretty raceable and in a position to win.  Just sucks to be so close. You are on the bumper of the guy coming to the line and that sucks.  A lot of races ahead and hopefully we can just keep bringing this speed. It’s a good start to our road course program. Still a little work to do, but thanks to Raptor, Chevrolet, Axalta, Liberty University, and all of our partners. Been a good start to the year so far.”  Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 11th “Definitely an up and down day for us in our No. 71 Gainbridge Chevrolet. We had decent speed. We got some track position early on and we were trying to work a strategy, but unfortunately had a pit road violation there that put us to the back. Track position is so important. We tried rallying back. We fought hard all day and we had a pretty good car. It’s something to build on. We were hoping to get back into the top-10, but just ran out of laps there. Really proud of the effort. Scored some points again and got some Stage points. Not ideal because we are going for wins, but we are getting closer. We are just going to keep grinding.”  Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage. Finished: 37th Not the start of the race that you wanted or the end, but in the middle stages, you had a lot of speed. What are your takeaways from today? “Yeah, we had a really fast No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet. I’ve had so much fun preparing for this event. That second stage, driving from outside the top-30 to 14th, was a lot of fun. I was passing a lot of guys that I used to watch on TV growing up. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to come back and do this again. I had an absolute blast driving through the field, and I wish it didn’t end early.” Zilisch on the accident that ended his Cup Series debut early in the final stage: “All I saw was a cloud of smoke, and by the time I saw him (Daniel Suarez), it was way too late to do anything. I saw him spinning off to the left and I thought he was going to keep going in that direction or stay there. I guess he flipped back right and he started coming towards me. Really unfortunate way to end my Cup Series debut. We were one of the top-five fastest cars in the second stage there. I went from outside the top-30 to 14th, and I felt really good about our Chevy. We made a lot of gains from practice and qualifying. It’s just an unfortunate way to end it.”  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletSidelined by damage sustained in an accident in the final stage. Finished: 36th “I just hit the curb, hit the ground and then it spun me out. When you have low air pressure, that’s very easy to do because the car is lower to the ground. I wish I could say it was a big mistake, but it wasn’t. It was just maybe a tire width too far to the left, and I hit the curb and I spun out.” Was this an encouraging run for your team today? “It was a good day for the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet team. We were a top-five, top-10 car, for sure. I thought we were going to be a little bit better than that, but we have to continue to work and learn from today.”

Stockton, CA … After a long winter, the wait is coming to an end for 410 sprint car fans in California as the Northern Auto Racing Club opens its highly anticipated 2025 season this Saturday night with the annual Salute to Leroy Van Conett at the Stockton Dirt Track.

The first of 29 races scheduled for NARC’s 66th season of competition, the Salute to Leroy Van Conett honors one of the all-time greats. A Galt, CA native, Van Conett was an eight-time NARC champion, winning his first title in 1969 and scoring his last in 1984. Among his many career sprint car victories were a Gold Cup win and 65 NARC triumphs, and it all resulted in Van Conett entering the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1999. Van Conett’s NARC championship total has been surpassed only by fellow Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding.

Aromas, California’s Justin Sanders, the defending NARC series champion, won last year’s Salute to Leroy Van Conett after making a late pass around former series champion Sean Becker. Sanders also won the NARC season finale at Stockton in spectacular style last November, beating Cole Macedo late to win the annual Tribute to Gary Patterson and win the NARC championship in walk off fashion. Sanders, driving the Mittry Motorsports No. 2x, will look start his title defense with a win at the track where he saw much success last year.

Several other top racers will be on hand. Among them will be the rising star from Oregon, Tanner Holmes, who will be splitting time this season between his family’s car and the potent Tarlton Motorsports No. 21, which he will be piloting on Saturday. Holmes won his first NARC 410 race last year and looks to quickly add to his total this season. With Macedo behind the wheel, the Tarlton Motorsports team nearly won the NARC title last year against Sanders.

A number of other aspiring drivers have been knocking on the door of their first NARC win, and opening night at Stockton Dirt Track is that first opportunity this season for drivers like Gauge Garcia of Lemoore, and Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield, a pair of drivers who led NARC main events last season but fell short. Ashton Torgerson of Glendale, AZ is one of the drivers who will compete for NARC Rookie of the Year honors. A former Tulsa Shootout winner in micro-sprint competition and having raced midgets and 360 sprint cars, Torgerson recently moved up to the 410 ranks and will be one of the young guns to watch.  Other NARC rookie of the year candidates include Landon Brooks of Rio Oso, who will be driving for the veteran Bates-Hamilton Racing Team.

Other top drivers expected to compete include 2024 NARC rookie of the year Caeden Steele of Fresno; Billy Aton of Benicia; Dominic Gorden from Clovis; Lincoln’s Tanner Carrick; Campbell’s Bud Kaeding; San Jose’s Tim Kaeding, Shane Golobic of Fremont; Templeton’s Kaleb Montgomery; Angelique Bell of Roseville; Jarrett Soares of Gilroy; Jennifer Osborne of Geyersville; Oregon driver Tyler Thompson; Roseville’s Sean Becker; Hanford’s DJ Netto and many others.

Fan Info

The NARC portion of the race program includes qualifying, three eight-lap heat races, a 6-lap dash, and a 30-lap feature event. Also on the card with the NARC 410 sprint cars on Saturday night will be the Hunt Magneto Wingless Sprints, NorCal Dwarf Cars and the Legends of Kearney Bowl.

The Stockton Dirt Track is located at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds at 1658 S Airport Way. The main gate for fans opens at 4pm. Tickets are $30 for adults 18 to 64, and $25 for juniors 5 to 17, seniors 65 and older, along with military. Children age 4 and younger are in for free.   Parking is $10.00 cash.

Racing is scheduled to start at 6pm.  Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/salute-to-leroy-van-conett-wing-sprint-cars-wingless-sprint-cars-more-tickets-1245084474179?aff=website

Fans who cannot make it in person can watch live on www.floracing.com. FloRacing will livestream all NARC shows this season.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT MARCH 2, 2025 JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND TEAM PENSKE GIVE CHEVROLET THEIR 337TH INDYCAR PODIUM FINISH SINCE 2012 IN THE V6 ERA Chevrolet Starts Season Solid with Two Finishing in the Top-Five and Four in the Top-10 Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, raced to a third-place finish on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Chevrolet’s 23rd podium finish at the track in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012.Newgarden’s podium finish was his 59th career podium finish, and Chevrolet’s 337th overall since 2012 in the V6 era.Chevrolet finished with four in the top-10 at the conclusion of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg including Newgarden, his Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin (fourth), Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard (seventh) and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Alexander Rossi (10th).Leading the field to the green flag Sunday, McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet captured Team Chevy’s 10th NTT P1 Pole Award on the Streets of St. Pete in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012 Saturday, his second on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn course. Additionally, McLaughlin’s pole is Chevrolet’s 136th earned pole award in the V6 era since 2012.Team Chevy drivers and teams kicked off Sunday’s race day with a warm up practice session, with six Chevrolet drivers finishing in the top-10 including Nolan Siegel from Arrow McLaren (fifth), Conor Daly from Juncos Hollinger Racing (sixth), Christian Lundgaard from Arrow McLaren (seventh), Sting Ray Robb from Juncos Hollinger Racing (eighth), Pato O’Ward from Arrow McLaren (ninth), and David Malukas from AJ Foyt Racing (10th).Team Chevy next heads to the Thermal Club for The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix in Thermal, Calif. Competing on the Twin Palms layout, a 3.067-mile, 19-turn racing surface, the main event airs live on FOX at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 23. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218. Race Results (Top-10):3rd     Josef Newgarden4th     Scott McLaughlin7th     Christian Lundgaard10th   Alexander Rossi Morning Warm Up Results (Top-10):5th     Nolan Siegel6th     Conor Daly7th     Christian Lundgaard8th     Sting Ray Robb9th     Pato O’Ward10th   David Malukas

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Overall, a lot of positives to take out of that race. Very good race for us. We had a little issue with the pit stop on the end there that took us out of the top-10. Overall, our race was incredible. We just kept going forward. The green tires, which was a big question mark for all the drivers on it having a lot of pace. I think, for us we managed to do a full stint and even did an extra few laps. The car is really good. The team is doing a good job. So to start off the first race like that, to capitalize on my mistakes from (qualifying), we finished off with a P13. It’s a very good, decent result to start the season off and better results for the rest.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Solid first weekend back. Wished the result was a little bit better for us. I think we were just struggling with the balance all weekend, and getting a bunch of things sorted. Qualifying kind of hurt us with the electrical problem, but that’s also nobody’s fault. That was just freak. Just keep on learning from this event, and a lot of notes to be taken and move forward to Thermal.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“Things were tough starting out with a puncture on a pretty messy start in front of us. From what we had today, I would say we maximized things after starting further back than where we would have liked. We got some solid points and it’s important to make sure our bad days aren’t too bad. Great job by the team with the pit stops and the strategy, and I’m looking forward to Thermal in a couple weeks.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“That was a very disappointing end to a strong weekend. We had pace in every session and on both tires. For how hard this team has worked, coming away from today with that result is disappointing. We’ll continue working hard, though. We’ve shown what we have. The whole No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team executed well all weekend. If we continue to execute like that all year, we’re going to have some good results when the luck is on our side.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“It was a really, really good first weekend overall. From where we were in Practice 1 to Practice 2 to Qualifying, we just kept chugging speed out of the car and got faster and faster into the race. Going in, it was a big question mark on strategy, what was going to work and what wasn’t. I hate to see the cars that are always on the better side of the strategy are the winning cars again. Obviously, I would have liked to have been in that situation. The Firestone Alternate tire runners got the lucky yellow in the beginning of the race, and it simplified their race from there. We got to lead a good amount of the race, which was awesome for a debut with Arrow McLaren, so I’m very happy for that. The rest was pretty much just damage control. We were looking at a good result but also potential for a very bad result. We chose a bit of a safer route, and we got home in eighth. At the end of the day, we get points for that and leading the race, which is pretty cool.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“First race of the year done in St. Pete. Not a bad race for us with a P15 finish from starting P24. Our pace in the No. 21 Splenda car was good. It was a clean and boring race for us but that means it was a safe one. We will keep that going forward and into the next race at Thermal.” Alexander Rossi, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“It was always going to be hard starting from 20th. We came in P2 on the strategy that we chose, which was starting on the primary tire. We steadily improved the car all weekend and from a strategy standpoint, we executed really well. That’s about all we could get out of it, but the weekend overall was positive. We’ll take the momentum and try to keep learning.” Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“I think we had a tremendous start which was a lot of fun. Gained a lot of positions. Got off of the greens (alternate tire) right when we wanted to. Honestly, I think we had great pace during the race. Just our used set of primaries kind of hurt us in the middle of the race. We definitely know to make sure to keep only new primaries from now on the rest of the season. Just something we didn’t know. Thought we could’ve got away with it. Bit of a shame to kind of not capitalize on a top-12 that I think we had. We were running ahead of a lot of those guys to finish up near there in the top-10. Decent start, we learned a lot, and I think we can carry a lot of this to the next few races.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Today was okay. I think we had a good car. We are still learning the tires. I think there is room to go on that. It really hurt us at the beginning of the race. Our ending stint was really nice. I know we were there in front of the leaders trying to hold (Alex) Palou off, and it is very hard to hold off that guy. I felt like we decent pace in the car. I think we could have gone a little more forward with different tire pressure. Overall, I’m happy with it. I think we had decent fuel save, and decent power. So, I am hoping that the No. 77 Goodheart Chevrolet goes faster at the next one, and I think it will.” Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:“This is the first race and we didn’t have particularly high expectations today, but I think we maximized most of it, what we could. Today, we did what we could but again, we had an issue with the radio. That compromised the whole strategy. I was basically left more or less on my own figuring things out, which was a bit difficult because it’s our first time here. I didn’t know a lot of things that were going on. I think we could have done a bit better in terms of position, but I tried my best out there and that is the most important thing. We will all now work really hard in the three weeks we have before the next race, taking the learnings from this weekend.” Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:“It was a solid first race from us today. There were no big mistakes on anyone’s side, aside from a little one I had at Turn 10 which I recovered from pretty quickly. We were P19 and P20 for the team, on the lead lap, which I think is a good start. We have some areas where we can work on, but overall the pace was pretty good. We chose to start on the primaries, and with the crash at the start we were put at a bit of a disadvantage by having to do a longer stint on the alternates than the other strategy. I think in a different circumstance with this strategy we could have been a bit higher up but we can’t complain at all. We had good pace when we were fighting with the others. I’m really happy in general. We will debrief and work on lots of things to take to Thermal.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:“It was a good race by the 2 team. A couple of hiccups but this team fought really hard. It starts with a really great car, and we have had a great car all weekend. I think we could have qualified higher than 10th and I said that yesterday. I felt like our car today was certainly capable of winning, but we just didn’t quite get there for a couple of reasons. The pit cycle was where we obviously needed to go longer and then we had a shift there at the end that we kind of didn’t realize and we had to give up second place there. It was a great fight for our team, and this is a good start for us. We are on the podium, got some points and we would like to keep these points on the board and then have a good, solid year. It’s a long season and you have to go all the way. I am happy to be back with this team and happy to see the energy here to start the year in INDYCAR. You know, everything is very positive right now so thank you to Team Chevy and sorry we couldn’t get the win. Obviously, PPG has been here with us and backing us and I always love driving this PPG car because normally its more lucky, but we had a lot of people here supporting and we just got to get ready to go to the next one.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:“We were ultimately a pit stop behind, but we knew that was the risk of running the blacks. I think if it was no yellow first lap, we’re gone. It is what it is. Great day for us. Good points. Great start to the year. A pole and a fourth, I can’t be unhappy with that.” On the greater variation of the green and black tires adding to strategy…“Look, they’ve done what they’ve needed to do to get degradation. I think kudos to Firestone for giving it a crack. Overall, okay.” On not having a caution would’ve made a difference…“I think if the caution was in a different spot, for sure. The yellow on the first lap really hurt us, but we knew going in, that was the risk of running the black tire. We wanted a solid race, and I thought the risky strategy was starting on the green. Ultimately it was the other way around but we had great pace today and I’m really proud of everyone.” Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:“Just really close racing there in the middle of the pack and we got checked up super quick. Got into the back of the 6 car which was my fault and obviously not intentional. Normally that corner opens up a bit there, so I need to go back and look at that. Not much I could do after that contact with the 45 car behind me. Just hate to start the season this way. We’ve been strong starters the last few years with the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet. Looking forward to Thermal and the points race there.” Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with members of the media during the podium press conference after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Transcript:THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the VISIT St. Pete/Clearwater Media Center, wrapping up the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding. But we’re joined now by Josef Newgarden driving the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet with his fourth podium here at St. Pete, 59th career podium, one behind the great Johnny Rutherford for his 17th all time. Josef led two laps today. How would you describe the start to 2025? I’m sure if they would have told you ahead of time you’d get a podium finish, you might take that, although you’d love a win? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it was a good day. A podium is always solid. I think I said that on Friday when I was in here that ultimately we need a good day just to get points on the board. That’s kind of going to be most important for this weekend, so we accomplished that. Can’t be too dissatisfied. I think we had some miscues in the race today for sure. Just a couple fueling-wise. But the team still did a stellar job. It starts with the foundation of a fast car, and we certainly had that all weekend, and it definitely felt like it was intact in the race.Very solid overall, just wish we could have capitalized on the positioning. We were in a good position today to challenge for the win and misstepped a little bit, but really proud of the team and the way they started. Built awesome cars. We can go on with that and feel confident at least to challenge for wins in the future. Putting good points on the board is always the key, so we can leave here with a solid result. Q. How are you going to beat Palou for the title?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m sorry, that is an incredible question. It’s round 1. I know this is your first race here, but it’s round 1, dude. Let’s see how it goes. Q. The physical difficulties out there, how was the track, alternate rubber, et cetera?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Very similar to last year, I would say. I don’t know how everyone else feels, but to me it felt similar track conditions, good temperature, great track build. Kind of typical St. Pete. It just grips up like crazy here in the race. Certainly throughout the weekend and in the race it kind of takes another level throughout each stint.Pretty straightforward. Felt like typical St. Pete. You’ve just got to get the cycling correct and get yourself in position. Obviously didn’t have as much chaos with a lot of restarts. Sometimes that can jumble things up. Really just had a pretty straightforward day. Just needed to get the cycles right. Q. Josef, what were you going through the last lap or two when you started to fall away from Alex?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, we just had fuel miscues today two times. The second one we were just — we had a shift that was unexpected with a lap to go, and we just had to hit the emergency button, which was unfortunate. We kind of started that last lap like half emergency mode, and then they said, you just have to pull the chute here. Like just finish. Yeah, it happens. It’s unfortunate. To have miscues like that and to still finish third I think is a great day in a lot of ways. Really pleased to come out of here with points. Obviously there’s a lot more that could have been.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT MARCH 1, 2025 SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN CAPTURES CHEVROLET’S 10TH POLE FOR AT ST. PETERSBURG SINCE 2012 Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, captured Team Chevy’s 10th NTT P1 Pole Award on the Streets of St. Petersburg in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012.McLaughlin captured his first pole in 2022 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit, with today’s fastest position being his second-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole on the course.McLaughlin, along with Christian Lundgaard, driver of the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, represented Team Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six.Sunday sees race day for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, starting with a warmup session at 9 a.m. ET on FS2, followed by the 100-lap, 180-mile main event live at 12 p.m. ET on FOX. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218. Firestone Fast Six Qualifying Results:1st      Scott McLaughlin5th     Christian Lundgaard Second Practice Top-10 Results:4th     Nolan Siegel5th     Conor Daly6th     Christian Lundgaard7th     Sting Ray Robb8th     Pato O’Ward10th   David Malukas

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING  David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Looking at qualifying from a positive standpoint, we did a really good job making the car where it needed to be for qualifying. I think that’s something very hard to do. Looking at it from a team perspective and chemistry, we’ve done a very good job connecting and figuring out what I need from the team and what we need from the car. The car was very strong. Now the things to take away, I did a really bad job from my side. I think that was one of the worst laps I’ve done. I think I just asked too much out of myself to not do any laps on the alternates and kind of just guessed going into qualifying there. It’s the first race of the season so a lot to take from it, and it’s not over yet. We have a race tomorrow so we’ll work on it then.”  Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Honestly, I’m really proud of our engineering team to give me a car that was capable today. It was just unfortunate circumstances, but I got into the wall a little bit coming on the frontstretch and going down the front straight the car got stuck in sixth gear starting what would have been my fast lap. The lap before was really good but it was in my head that was my banker lap so it just shows we have pace and we’ll just see what we can do tomorrow.”  Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I just couldn’t get the Firestone Alternates switched on. We had two opportunities, and I don’t have an explanation really. It was just a really tough lap to get together, and it is obviously not ideal for tomorrow. We’ll have our work cut out for us, but I think we can make our way forward and score some solid points tomorrow.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“It was a positive day. We transferred, and that was our goal. I really wanted to be in the Firestone Fast 6 and make that happen. The conditions changed a little bit, and I didn’t quite execute on that last lap in Q2. But I think for the first time with this new group on the No. 6 NTT DATA crew, everything went really well and we’re happy with the result. This puts us in a good spot for tomorrow. We’re making progress as a team and we’ll continue to build from this. It’s a super strong start for 2025.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m really proud of the crew, and proud to put the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet up front. Starting this season like this is really what I was trying to manifest in the offseason. I was telling everybody that I didn’t really want to show up and work my way through. I wanted to start strong, and I feel like we did that. We probably surprised a few people today, but at the end of the day, the points are scored tomorrow. That’s where we need to be strong and I feel like we have a really good car. The first one is always tough as the track and the grip improves a lot throughout the race.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“It was not a great run for us today. We were pretty hopeful after yesterday, we had great pace on the black Firehawks. We are struggling to figure out the green tires a bit and definitely have some work to do for tomorrow!” Alexander Rossi, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I am pretty disappointed. The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet was in a pretty good spot, we did everything right from a set-up standpoint. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake on our first set of tires in Turn 10 which cost us a bit of time. There is a little bit of an unknown as to what happened on the second set, but we will look into it. The car is good, but we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Overall, I think it was a decent day for us but qualifying is… You have to nail everything and I think we just missed a little bit on the ideal pressures for the one-lap magic. That was obviously where all of the time was. We just happened to miss is by a little bit but a lot of other people did as well. You see the field a bit jumbled, but when cars like Pato (O’Ward) and (Alexander) Rossi are kind of near the 20’s where we are, you know that everyone has had a bit of a challenge today. So, I’m actually quite confident about tomorrow. I think we’ve had a great car on the long run. I think our car has treated us very well. Not too worried about it, but it’s a little bit harder on us from the beginning.” On finishing Practice 2 fifth and how he’s feeling about qualifying…“It’s an interesting weekend so far. You kind of see the field jumbled up a little bit. It’s actually really nice to have these rules to where we can run that extra set of greens. I think that, especially for someone like me who didn’t really get to run this last year on the road and street courses. It’s tough, man. One lap, one lap. Yesterday, it was a couple of laps, but I think we realized there was more there if you try to get the peak out of it in just one lap but that means you have to be perfect. You can’t make any mistakes. You have to get everything out of it. It’s a tough one, man.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:Qualifying day was a bit frustrating. I thought we had some more room to go there based off our Practice 2 times, but conditions changed a little but and the race is going to be very exciting. The difference between the primaries and alternates, I think, that’s the headline of the weekend. We’ll see how that goes. Whether it’ll be a two-stop or a three-stop, that’s still to come. I’m hoping that we get it figured out for the race tomorrow. I think that we have a decent package to run in the race long stints in. We’ll see how it goes but everything else seems pretty good.” On finishing Practice 2 in seventh with the softer tire:“It’s pretty incredible. The jump from the blacks to the greens is unbelievable. I think it’s the biggest gap we’ve had in INDYCAR from primary to alternate sets. After three laps, it feels like a stick of butter that’s smeared on a piece of bread. It just disintegrates the tire. It’ll be interesting to see what it’s like in qualifying. I think that everyone’s going to be very tight like they are now, but it’s really, really hard to get the maximum amount of just that one lap tire. So we’ll see what it’s like, and hopefully we’ll keep moving forward. I know not everyone ran the green in that session, but I’m feeling good. I think we got it compromised one way or the other. Kind of got to pick a tire to be good on, so hopefully we picked the right one.” Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:“Overall I don’t think it was a bad qualifying because of all the issues we had in free practice. We barely got any laps in, so we maximized everything we could. I also had my first experience of how the qualifying works here. Also, these tires are something new, something different to what I am used to, so it is really something to have to learn because the whole group level is extremely different to whatever I’ve experienced before. So, definitely something to work on. But for now, we have to build from where we are. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting race, the first race of the season, and let’s see how we’re going to perform from there.” Callum Ilott, No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet:“It was not a solid qualifying. We need to look into it quite a bit. We just couldn’t get the tires to work and couldn’t put anything together. I think if we were able to add something, we would be a little bit closer. I think it was just a messy session and everything you want to not happen happened. We can make some changes for tomorrow and at least we can only go forwards.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:“We’ve had a fast car since we’ve got this. Team Chevy has done an incredible job. Hopefully, one of our teammates here will take the ball and get a Chevy on pole. We are going to focus on tomorrow now. You know, 10th isn’t bad; it’s not great. Even though we don’t have a good starting spot, I know our car is good. I just want to have a clean race. Of course, I want to be up front, and I want to win the thing. That’s my ultimate dream for tomorrow, but we need to get points on the board. We need to have a good, clean day. I think we can do that.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:“Yesterday – with our wreck at the end of the session – was not how we wanted to start the weekend, but there is so much trust amongst everyone on this DEX Imaging Chevy. No one ever dropped their head, and the vibes have been positive the entire time. Track position in a two-stop race is very important so this was a huge pole position, not to mention my 70th for Team Penske. Very proud of that and very proud of our effort today.”  On winning from pole in 2022 and the importance of qualifying…“I just wanted to get pole at the first race of the year. Good vibes. Great vibes. Immaculate vibes. I’m very excited. Great spot to start. We’ll do what we can in the race and see how we go. Really proud of everyone at Team Chevy, everyone at Team Penske in the offseason. It’s hard to keep doing this, keep being fast, and there’s a ton of respect and competitiveness down pit lane so to continue this is amazing.” Take us through that Firestone Fast Six…“The car was awesome. Immaculate vibes here for the Thirsty Three’s. Really proud of it. The DEX Imagine Chevy was fast. I put it in the fence there yesterday and I was pretty (mad) at myself. I was glad to come back and deliver when I needed to today, and really proud of the group.” Talk about the tire degradation…“You can definitely feel the tire deg for sure. We’re going to have to work hard to look after them, but I think we had a great strategy.” Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:“It was pretty good. I just carried too much speed into the first corner of that lap and understood why I had to lift. It was enough to get me through. Just frustrating because I know we have a good car.” On damaging tires when pushing that hard…“If you push, you don’t destroy the front. You just don’t have time for another lap. I just pushed wide. I got on the throttle, but I had to back out. That’s more of what happened.” Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with members of the media after qualifying. Transcript:MODERATOR: Welcome in Scott McLaughlin, his 11th NTT INDYCAR SERIES P1 award, second here in St. Pete. It is the 12th for Team Penske here on the streets of St. Petersburg. For the organization, it is their 699th pole position. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: My 70th. Pretty cool. I know my stats, don’t worry (smiling). THE MODERATOR: Not bad. Congratulations. No better way to start 2025. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Great start. Thanks, Dave. Just super pumped with that. Basically from the Q1 group one that we did, really felt like the car had it in it. In Q2, we sort of scraped in, just sort of missed the balance. Once we centered the balance up again for Q3, knew in the first run it was going to be pretty good, I could sort of lay it down as much as I could. Full commitment lap, as everyone else was. Certainly felt like I had a lot more confidence in the car. Credit to the team because ultimately I gave them a bit of work last night. They were here till 8:30. To come back and put it on pole… I don’t want to keep doing that, but ultimately if I do that and do pole the next day, that makes up for it a lot.We’ll keep working, hopefully convert it tomorrow. THE MODERATOR: Quite a story the last 24 hours. I think I saw Kyle Moyer with pizzas being delivered late last night. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Kyle is sick. He likes that. He likes fixing car. He’s a handyman.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions. Q. Scott, the car this morning, any extra work or changes on it after the fix?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it was an improvement on yesterday, for sure. But we still had to keep working at it. I thought the best the car has been this weekend was in qualifying. That was the main thing. I was really happy with it. Only in Q2 was where I wasn’t happy and we turned it around. Q. I think Colton, you heard Scott say it was probably a three-stop race with these tires. Do you believe that? Are you surprised there’s as much falloff as there is?COLTON HERTA: Yeah, I think it was more extreme than I thought it was going to be. Usually when we have deg races, we deg on the red tires or soft compound, it’s more so like you can maybe get a second lap in in qualifying. It was interesting to feel that. I think tomorrow is going to be interesting because of that. For sure no doubt in my mind a three-stopper. There’s no way anybody takes these tires to 30 laps or whatever it is to do the two-stopper. How long can you make them last? What is that going to look like? Is it going to be five laps? 15 laps? It’s all going to be dependent, at least for us, on what guys do behind us. We’ll kind of pit from there. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I agree (smiling). Honestly, there’s not much to add. I think it’s going to be a bit of a see what you can do. Obviously you don’t want to lose too much time mucking around on a set of tires if you’re getting hammered on the under-cart or vice versa. Interesting warm-up to see where we’re all at. Q. …you finished third in the championship last year. The importance of this race is getting off the season to a fast start. How important is it to leave here with a fast start?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, look, payday is tomorrow. I can’t speak on behalf of Colton. I’m sure he’s the same way. We just want to get a good race under our belt tomorrow. Ideally a win. But you try to get away from here with a podium or a top five and you just sort of run away with it. It’s a nice feeling to take those points and get going. For my circumstance, I need a stronger start compared to my last few years to make sure I’m not chasing my tail halfway through the year. Q. Scott, first pole as a dad. What would it mean to be able to celebrate in pit lane with a new member?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I said to Karly, if I do get pole, run from the bus to pit lane because I want to get a photo with her for that moment. Hopefully we can do it from Victory Lane tomorrow. Ultimately it was super special. She was awake, too, so ideal timing.THE MODERATOR: Pretty good luck charm there. Q. (Off microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s just nice. I’ve told her to stay away as much as she can. Q. Scott, I’m sure this probably isn’t as big of an accomplishment as your first pole as a dad. Given the circumstances of the last 24 hours, what does it mean to you to be able to pull out a pole?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. The hit that I had yesterday wasn’t as bad as it looked. The theatrics were pretty crazy. Ultimately you hate giving the team extra work, go over the garage hours and whatnot. Anything you can do to repay them. They always just say go out and get pole, do whatever. The team composure just… They love working on it.Long hours suck, but it’s kind of a passion. It’s just nice to repay them in some ways. The only way I can do it apart from maybe a Coors Light after the race or something like that. That’s probably it, so… Q. Scott, you signed a new deal with Team Penske. How long was this in the works? When did it get over the line? How does it feel to get it over the line?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, just over the off-season, man. Was a simple sort of conversation we all had. It was done pretty quickly, I guess. So yeah, pumped to do that. Good security for me and my family moving forward. Yeah, it’s something that takes another focus off what I’ve done. Focus and get going. Yeah, I was pumped to get it done. Q. Your fifth season in INDYCAR. You beat your Penske teammates last couple of years, won on every type of track. Have you given time to reflect on the rise you’ve been on?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it’s crazy. I’m proud of the opportunity to come here. Never thought I’d probably be here. I was talking today to a friend. Seven years in the main series in Australia. Now I’m in my fifth season in INDYCAR. I’m not far away from being longer in the professional INDYCAR, as a professional driver in the INDYCAR SERIES, than the Super Car Series. It’s kind of crazy how my life has changed. But love it. Love every second here. Enjoy America. I love it. I love it here. Don’t really see any plans on leaving. I’m really enjoying it. Q. For you personally, psychologically after what appears to be a massive off-season, to come back this strong straightaway, that’s a great way to kick-start the season?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I’m just glad I’m a dad now. I haven’t lost 2/10ths like everyone says (laughter). I had a 2/10th game plan on Colton. Having Lucy in the off-season, probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my life. There’s more to life than racing in some ways. I said to many people throughout the week that I feel like when I go home, I’ve got a home. I’m worried about my wife and my daughter, my family. Then when I go to the workshop, I’m refreshed, I’m excited. It’s not that I don’t think about them. I’m so focused on work because I know when I get home, I’m going to be too busy changing diapers, whatever. I’m really happy with the work/life balance I’ve got going here. It’s a credit to my wife and my family. Yeah, just really enjoying it so far. Q. During the off-season, Lucy, the Rolex. When you get back, do you feel this is the time to get the season going again? This is game time again now?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, for sure. What a place to start. St. Pete is a track that always provides so many great memories and vibes and people here are so passionate. There’s so many people that are probably not race fans but just enjoy the theatrics, the racing itself, just enjoy it. It’s such a different demographic you see here. It’s really cool.Yeah, it’s a great way to kick off the season for us in INDYCAR. THE MODERATOR: Maybe the good vibes will continue tomorrow. Thank you, Scott. SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Immaculate

• Release
• Photos

March 1, 2025 — ST. PETERSBURG, FL

• Colton Herta rolls off P2 in his #26 Andretti Global Honda
• Meyer Shank Racing duo of Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Armstrong lock out second row
• Scott Dixon qualifies sixth as he searches for first St. Pete win

Colton Herta once again led the Honda contingent of NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers in qualifying today at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Herta will start second for the first race of 2025 aboard his #26 Andretti Global Honda.

The pair of Meyer Shank Racing Hondas will line up just behind Herta, with Felix Rosenqvist (#60) and Marcus Armstrong (#66) locking out the second row. Also making the Firestone Fast Six round of qualifying for Honda was Scott Dixon, who will line up sixth as he searches for his first St. Pete win. The Streets of St. Petersburg is one of only four tracks on the schedule that the six-time IndyCar champ has not found himself in victory lane.

Marcus Ericsson, reigning champion Alex Palou, and Kyle Kirkwood narrowly missed the Fast Six. They will line up seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. While newcomer to the Honda fold, Rinus VeeKay, will line up 12th in his first race for Dale Coyne Racing.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Honda Race Results

•  2nd Colton Herta                   
•  3rd Felix Rosenqvist  
•  4th Marcus Armstrong
•  6th Scott Dixon                      
•  7th Marcus Ericsson
•  8th Alex Palou           
•  9th Kyle Kirkwood
• 12th Rinus VeeKay     
• 14th Devlin DeFrancesco       
• 15th Kyffin Simpson    
• 16th Louis Foster-R    
• 21st Graham Rahal    
• 25th Jacob Abel-R      

Andretti Global Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Andretti Global Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
Dale Coyne Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes
Colton Herta (#26 Andretti Global Honda) qualified second: “It’s exciting! I can’t wait to see how the race will be, but for qualifying it’s really exciting. Especially to have these green [softer Firestone] tires and really hang it out there. It’s a hard thing to do, it’s a hard thing to get every corner right for one lap. Inside the cockpit, it’s really a guestimate of ‘I think I can brake here, I think I can roll this much speed.’ It did get easier through the rounds, and we had a really solid car. I’m really happy with how this Gainbridge Honda is performing and how we turned it around from yesterday. This one is really all up to the guys, they really lit the fire underneath me and here we are.”

Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) qualified third: “ This is a good start to the season here in St. Pete. We got a second row lockout for Meyer Shank Racing, which is super exciting. In all honesty, the start to our weekend was quite tough, and I felt like we were a slight step behind and just kept trying to claw back in every session and every outing. Then when it matters, we were almost on for pole position. It’s always hard when you just miss out on it, I’ve been in that boat many times, but I’ve also had the pleasure of having many poles. P3 and the second row is really good in the end, this is where we want to be, and I think we have a good Honda race car, so I’m super excited and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Honda at St. Pete

• Honda-powered drivers have won 11 of the 20 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races at St. Petersburg since the event was revived for the 2005 season. The late Dan Wheldon led a Honda and Andretti Green Racing sweep of the top four positions in the inaugural 2005 event.
• While Marcus Ericsson was the last winner for Honda on the streets of St. Pete, winning the race in 2023.
• Other Honda winners on the streets of St. Petersburg include Colton Herta in 2021; Sebastian Bourdais in 2017-18; Dario Franchitti in 2011; Will Power in 2010; Ryan Briscoe in 2009; Graham Rahal in 2008; and Helio Castroneves in 2006 and ’07.

The Bradenton, FL native becomes the seventh rookie on tour in 2025

CONCORD, NC (March 1, 2025) – Conner Morrell is ready to join The Greatest Show on Dirt.

The 20-year-old has been hired by Bill Rose Racing for his debut campaign with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. The Bradenton, FL driver becomes the seventh rookie in the class of 2025 and brings the total number of full-time competitors to 15.

The addition of Morrell means Bill Rose will field two cars on the World of Outlaws tour this year. He already put Mooresville, IN’s Zach Hampton behind the wheel of the No. 6. Morrell will still compete with his familiar No. 28 under Rose’s banner.

“The deal came together a little late,” Morrell said. “Obviously, we were talking through the off-season. I just couldn’t really come up with anything immediately. I knew I had something, but I didn’t know how quickly I could get it. Once I knew I had it, we decided to put this deal together. I’m super excited. I’ve always wanted to be an Outlaw.”

Morrell has sharpened his talents in recent years leading him to the sport’s biggest stage. Last season he competed primarily in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Highlights included victories at Michigan’s Butler Speedway and Pennsylvania’s Lernerville Speedway. He also took on the full All Star Circuit of Champions tour in 2023.

While he’s been improving every year, he still knows 2025 is going to serve up plenty of challenges competing with the best every week. He’s ready to embrace the journey ahead and learn.

“There’s going to be a ton of new tracks,” Morrell said. “I ran the All Stars, so I think that will help me a little bit this year being on the road. I still know I’m going to get my teeth kicked in. These guys are the best of the best, and there’s no doubt about it. But I’m excited to run with them.”

The 2025 campaign already got underway a few weeks ago at the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. At the time, Morrell didn’t expect to be full-time for the year. Then suddenly things came together, and he’s ready to take the step to Sprint Car racing’s top level.

“It was kind of thrown in my lap,” Morrell said. “I was in my room watching a movie, had just got back from the gym, and I was told that we’re going on the Outlaw tour. I’m super excited.”

Morrell continues his rookie campaign this Sunday-Monday, March 2-3 at Volusia Speedway Park’s Bike Week Jamboree.

BUY TICKETS HERE

For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

Morrell would like to thank Tub O’ Towels, Amalie Oil, Auto Loads, Allstar Performance, Ti22 Performance, and USA Steel Fence.

Juncadella, Edgar, Keating drive No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R to first FIA WEC victory

LUSAIL, Qatar (March 1, 2025) – TF Sport delivered the first FIA World Endurance Championship victory for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R as Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating won the Qatar 1812Km on Friday to open the season. The trio drove the No. 33 Corvette Z06 GT3.R to a remarkable victory as they came from 13th in class at the start to win by less than a half-second. It’s the second win in as many 2025 races for the Corvette GT3 racecar as it also won the GTD class of the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the hands of customer team AWA.

The victory was the first in the FIA WEC and in a Corvette for both Juncadella and Edgar, and it was the eighth in the championship for Keating – including four in a Corvette. TF Sport won its eighth race in FIA WEC competition and for the first time since the 2022 Six Hours of Fuji. The three drivers and the No. 33 TF Sport team worked their magic in the race’s opening half. Keating drove from 13th at the start to sixth in a little more than three hours in his first WEC race since winning the 2023 GTE Am title in a Corvette. Keating completed his required driving time and handed off to Edgar for his first laps in FIA WEC competition. The progression up the order continued through a double-stint as the race went into darkness and the Corvette up into third place. Juncadella drove a double-stint of his own and moved the Corvette into the class lead for the first time just past the halfway point. Another stellar run by Edgar kept the No. 33 Z06 GT3.R in the thick of it heading into a climatic final hour. Juncadella got back in the Corvette with a little under 90 minutes to go and made his last pit stop for fuel and left-side tires to counter a full-service stop with four fresh tires for the second-place No. 59 McLaren. The two cars ran nose-to-tail for the final 30 minutes as Juncadella withstood the immense pressure holding off his pursuer and navigating the faster traffic. Things didn’t work out as well for the No. 81 entry. Tom Van Rompuy began the race ninth in class and steadily moved toward the front and inside the top-five in his opening stint. Disaster struck with a mechanical issue shortly after Van Rompuy’s first pit stop in the form of a broken alternator pulley shaft that forced the retirement of the No. 81 less than an hour into the race. TF Sport and the rest of the FIA WEC field moves on to its next race at the Imola Circuit in Italy on Sunday, April 20.

JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to TF Sport on its thrilling first victory with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Winning at Qatar with the No. 33 Corvette continues the strong start to 2025 for our Corvette GT3 program following on our results at Daytona. Thanks go to Dani, Jonny, Ben, the TF Sport team and our Corvette Racing engineering group for delivering this landmark victory in the FIA WEC.”

TOM FERRIER, TF SPORT OWNER: “There’s no denying that it was a big move for us to join GM and Corvette. We knew it was going to be a challenge the first year, and it was to start with. We gathered momentum as the year went on. Bahrain ended fantastically with a second and third, which was really exciting. We went to Daytona this year and everyone saw the reliability and how much it had improved on the Corvette and that gave us a bit of confidence. We had a great Prologue, struggled a bit earlier this week but knew we had a good car for the race. We executed perfectly today. I’m sad for the 81 but absolutely over the moon for GM, Corvette Racing and ourselves. It’s a huge result for us.”

TF SPORT POST-RACE DRIVER QUOTESDANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “For the whole stint, for sure that was a lot of pressure in the last 30 minutes. At beginning I didn’t think I could hold (the No. 59) off. I just focused on hitting my marks. I could see where he was stronger in places. There were a couple of places where he could have gone for it and I think he was unsure. So it was good to keep him behind. At some point I was thinking we were going to finish second but I was focused on myself, my driving and not making mistakes. I don’t recall ever being in this situation where an unexpected win comes up and the last 40 minutes I have to defend for it. And here we are!”

JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Going to bed last night, I didn’t expect that we would end up here. To be honest I was hoping for top-eight or top-six… just a clean race and some points. In the Prologue we were happy with the car but in Free Practice and qualifying we seemed to struggle. A few small changes we made really helped the car today. We still weren’t the fastest but we were good enough, the strategy was amazing, the pit stop and everything… nobody made mistakes. It was just a very good race all around, and I’m very happy to win my first WEC race.”(On early run): “Those first two stints went quite well. A couple of small changes we made for the race seemed to have helped. Ben felt much more confident, and I was happier with the car than where it was in practice so that was nice. I lost a little track position with a drive-through but then managed to overtake a couple of cars on track. Until I got out of the car, I didn’t know where we were. It was a nice surprise to see we were third.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I couldn’t have imagined this. Even if you look at the way the race unfolded, we didn’t have the speed to win it. We had to let others take themselves out of contention, and we’ll take it any way we can get it! We ran a clean race and a hard race. We did everything we could to stay up front. The last 30 minutes of Dani staying in front of the McLaren was just epic. To start 13th and end up in first place after 10 hours of hard racing is not easy. And it’s great to have Keating Chevrolet in Victory Lane!”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We started the race quite well. I was able to drive from ninth to fourth. We had a strong car and were climbing up the order. When I came into the box and started my second stint, shortly after that we had a technical issue and had to retire the car. The team did a really, really good job. I hope to come back stronger at the next race at Imola.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE REPORT FEBRUARY 28, 2025 SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN LED TEAM CHEVY IN THIRD AT THE CONCLUSION OF FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG FIRST PRACTICE Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, led Team Chevy by finishing third during the first practice (combined), setting a fast lap during the sunny session in St. Pete with a fastest lap of 01:01.0002 seconds. Unfortunately, McLaughlin faced a late session incident, ending his practice early.Chevrolet finished the combined practice session with two in the top-five, with Newgarden in second followed by Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, in fifth. The Bowtie brand finished with four in the top-10 at the conclusion of Friday’s first practice session.Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, led Team Chevy in the first 45-minute session of practice, with his fastest lap of 01:01.2494 seconds. Chevrolet additionally finished with eight in the top-10 during the first 45 minute session before the field broke into two groups.Saturday on the Streets of St. Pete sees Team Chevy open with a second practice at 10 a.m. ET on FS2 followed by Qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six at 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Additional coverage throughout the weekend can be found via INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218. First Practice Top-10 Results (Combined):3rd     Scott McLaughlin5th     Pato O’Ward9th     Josef Newgarden10th   Will Power First Practice Top-10 Results (45-minute session):2nd    Josef Newgarden3rd     Will Power4th     Scott McLaughlin6th     Christian Rasmussen8th     Pato O’Ward9th     Alexander Rossi10th   Nolan Siegel

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING  David Malukas, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Overall, seemed like a pretty good session other than the chaos that is INDYCAR. We had very few laps today that we could do. We had a few issues with the brakes here or there, but we managed to fix it all up. So, at the end, I think we got around 10 laps in total between alternates and primaries, maybe one or two here or there. We also had that unfortunate yellow flag, so track time was rough. I think from a first session being back, I we kind of went through our checklist of things I wanted to go through. So now, we get to hone in, look at lap times, try to find the time from my side heading into Practice 2. I think from the car, Chevy, the Foyt guys, really good job. We’re heading into tomorrow.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Solid first day back in St. Petersburg. Everything went really well with the team. Got a couple of overnight changes we’re excited about. Our Chevrolets feel awesome. Lot of power. Very happy with the offseason changes. I feel we’re going to have some good gains race day.” Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“I think that was a good first session for us. No problems, really. Just worked through our plan. Some decent speed in the car, too, so appreciate everyone at this team and everyone at Chevrolet for getting us going fast. We’ll keep working on getting towards the P1 spot.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Day one at St. Pete, I felt okay. We had a little bit messy of a session as a team, but all in all I think we have decent pace. I think if we clean it up, run smooth, the car has great speed, we’ve got great horsepower behind us. A little fine tuning here and there and we’ll be fine.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“First session of 2025, and I would say that we’ve got some work to do. But I’m confident in the men and women that we can make those changes and see how we stack up in Practice 2 and then get ready for Qualifying.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“Overall, I think it was a positive start and our pace on new Firestone Alternate tires was pretty strong. We know what we need to work on. We have a lot of understeer that we’ll need to sort out but it’s comfortable. It’s my first time racing in St. Pete in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and this is one of my favorite tracks and I’m very excited for the weekend. Off to a strong and positive start and I think we’ll get better from here and be in good shape for Qualifying.” Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“For our first go, I think we’re okay. We’re obviously building up to it. We don’t really know what the track condition is compared to last year since St. Pete was a bit under water last fall. I think we’ve identified a few things that we were concerned about leaving Sebring. Some of them translated, some of them didn’t. We still have some work to do, but overall it was a good first run. I’m looking forward to hearing what the others have to say in terms of where we are from an overall balance and overall performance perspective. It’s good to get running.” Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, met with members of the media after the first practice session. Transcript:THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Wrapping up today’s practice, we are joined now by Josef Newgarden. What did you learn in that practice session? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was different. Just compared to last year, we didn’t have the hybrid here is probably the biggest year-over-year change. Then the tires have taken an alteration, if you will. It’s a known thing. We’ve been working on this in the off-season. Firestone has been pretty transparent and open that we’re looking for a different mix between the primary and the alternate. They definitely have different properties to what they had last year. A lot to dive in. There wasn’t a lot of laps. I ran preslim laps on the primaries and then I did that one run on the alternate. Felt really good on the primaries, so-so on the alternates. I didn’t really do a good lap at all. Kind of understand why. We’re going to pick apart everything tonight and try to be in a big spot for tomorrow. Good to be back. What a great atmosphere today. I think St. Pete has typically felt like this even on a Friday, but today looked really, really great. Nice to be back at the track. THE MODERATOR: Looked good on FOX. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I can’t wait to see it. THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Josef, you were second fastest in the 45-minute session. Is there any incentive to come out here and win after what happened last year? I want to show I can win by that type of length without any drama?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think there’s definitely motivation for us to do well. Like, that seems obvious. I won’t shy away from saying that. Definitely we want to come out here and do a great job this weekend. It would be very gratifying to win the race. I don’t think that needs to be our focus. I don’t see how this year is different. Every year I show up at St. Pete it’s about putting up a solid result on the board. I really mean that. I’m not just trying to be poetic. You have to get a result on the board to start the year and you got to start thinking championship right away. If we can come out of this weekend with a good result, a clean car, I think that it’s going to be a win. Do we ultimately want to have a dominant day, be out front, make a statement? Absolutely. I hope that happens. I’m not going to try to force that. I think we need to get what we can this weekend, what we’re capable of, move on to the next and have a really solid year. That’s more where our focus is right now. Q. Pato has had a pretty good run here even though he got the victory only because of what happened to you last year. The year before he was leading and had the plenum issue. Seems to have a good rhythm for this track. Do you see him as really I don’t want to say the guy you’re chasing, but how big a threat is he in the race?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I’m going to give you the typical answer because it’s so true. Pato is definitely going to be in the conversation. I don’t see how he won’t be. He has been for many years. You look at guys like Kyle or it’s Colton or Alex or my teammates, there’s too many individuals that probably can and will be in the conversation that you have to consider a threat for the weekend. It’s hard to just single somebody out like Pato. Is Pato excellent here and is he going to be in the conversation here, yes. Q. Josef, Team Penske, what has made you so good at this racetrack?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s a good observation that we have fast cars here. Similar to Andretti holistically speaking on a street course, I think our cars have suited this track over the years. Certainly since I started in 2012, I think Team Penske has always had a good base package here. It’s gone up and down a little bit, but been very consistent over that time. How many poles has Will had around here? Nine. Some absurd figure. It speaks to the quality of the car. Even to start today on primaries, I felt like our car was naturally fast. I’m appreciative of that, the effort we put in. We’ve even doubled down on it. Even though we know we have a good base car here, we’ve tried to make it even better. I don’t think I can give you one reason why. These things move all over the place. Kyle was just talking about this with their team, they know they have a strength on street courses. Maybe that strength doesn’t carry everywhere. We’re trying to flatten our performance window where it’s not peaks and valleys, it’s just quite consistent everywhere and we have that speed naturally. This has always been a stronghold and we want to have that everywhere we go. Q. Josef, it’s all about driving and working and trying to win. Are you excited to see some of the things on the broadcast? How interested are you in seeing how the sport is being portrayed to a bigger audience?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I love it. What’s not to love about it? I’ve preached this this entire off-season. The great thing for everybody in this building right now, everyone touching this sport, we’re not hoping and dreaming that this thing becomes something elevated and great again. It was a great, great sport at one point. It was world renowned. It deserves to be that. I think FOX will be a tremendous catalyst to bring it back to what it once was. I’m excited. I’m excited for all of us. I think we all deserve it. We’ve all been working hard. We all continue to need to work hard. Let’s see what this season can bring. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think it can be a very big year.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R scores points in first race of new alliance

LUSAIL, Qatar (Feb. 28, 2025) – Cadillac Racing recovered from incidents in a turbulent FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season-opening Qatar 1812 Km to record its first points in its new alliance with JOTA Sport. The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, with Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens sharing driving duties, finished eighth in the 10-hour race on the Lusail International Circuit. The sister No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R driven by Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button placed 16th in the 18-car Hypercar field.

Extra time on pit lane and in the garage for repairs following contact with each other leading up to a restart in the third hour while running 1-2 and a throttle issue vexed the Cadillac Racing challenge for its maiden WEC victory. Still, in the ebb and flow of endurance racing, the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R regained lead-lap position through solid work by the experienced crew and contended for a top five. Both cars, powered by the purpose-built Cadillac 5.5-liter V8 DOHC engine, displayed consistent pace on the 5.38-kilometer, 16-turn circuit on the northern outskirts of Doha and promise for subsequent races on the eight-race calendar. Cadillac Racing began its third season of WEC Hypercar competition with an expanded lineup, while JOTA Sport kicked off its first season as a WEC Hypercar works team following two decades of success as a privateer.Photo gallery for editorial use | Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA statistics The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, which qualified fourth in the Hyperpole session a day earlier, topped the lap time sheet twice in practice and testing. The No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R qualified fifth and recorded the second-quickest lap time in the two-day Prologue that totaled 14 hours of track time over four sessions. The No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse won the race. The 6 Hours of Imola on April 20 is next on the schedule.

What they’re saying No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Alex Lynn: “There are many positives, but to be totally honest you can’t override the bitter feeling of the day. I have a huge amount of faith in JOTA having felt the car for the last 10 hours and knowing what we have capable of doing. Like all great sportsmen we need to pick ourselves up and carry on.” Norman Nato: “On a personal side, it was my first race with Cadillac and, whilst obviously we were hoping for more, we have still finished in the points and that’s something. Of course it’s not what we wanted, having had such incredible pace over the past two weeks, it’s natural to want a much better result. But we finished the race and we take the experience and learnings from the race. Even on a bad day, scoring points is a positive.” Will Stevens: “If you take a look at the week overall, we can be happy with the way we got up to speed in the car so quickly and the performance we showcased ahead of the race. On days like this, when you don’t get the results you want, it’s really important to pick up the pieces and get the best result you possibly can. Even on bad days, as a team we have to take the positives, we’ve shown good pace, we’ve demonstrated a good understanding of the car so even if it was a difficult and disappointing day, the experience will help us in the long run.”No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “Earl showed a lot of pace early on and I think our car was a lot better in the warmer conditions, as the temperatures cooled off we seemed to lose track with the lead pack – independently of the incident we had. We live and learn. We’ve run a full race, both cars finished and, although it wasn’t the result we wanted, we learned a huge amount about the set-up and race performance. We’ll take a good look at all the data and try and learn more about the car so that we can take into Imola.” Earl Bamber: “We led the race, so that’s always a positive and we showed good pace here again at Qatar. Just a shame on our part with what happened and had another technical issue later on. Good the sister car managed to recover and score some points. Soon we have to have a nice streak. The car is quick. The people back in Detroit and Charlotte are doing some great work on the car as well, constantly pushing the boundaries and developing. If we keep in that direction we’ll be good.” Jenson Button: “What an up and down race. I think the most important thing you take out of this race is the pace that we had in the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R. Obviously, we made some mistakes and it looked like it was going well initially and then Earl had his incident, dropped way back and fought his way back with a staggering drive to come up to the front again. Then we had the incident behind the Safety Car and then got on with the racing after that. Unfortunately, we had penalties when we pitted when we weren’t supposed to and then (an issue) cost us another seven laps to fix the throttle. Messy day but the pace was amazing. Everyone who got in the car was super quick and I think we take a lot of positives away from the weekend.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 28, 2025

Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media onsite at Circuit of The Americas to preview his doubleheader race weekend and his first career NASCAR Cup Series start in Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

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Media Availability Quotes: Connor, you made your first NASCAR National Series start here at COTA in the Truck Series, where you won the pole and ultimately posted a top-five. Now you’re back, this time in the Xfinity Series, and we know you’ve had success on road courses after winning your debut in the series up at Watkins Glen. So, can you kind of talk to us about your feelings or perhaps excitement heading into this weekend? “Yeah, it’s going to be a really cool weekend for me, getting to make my Cup Series debut with Red Bull back in NASCAR. Yeah, I’m really excited to see what, you know, Sunday is all about and learn from all the guys who are so seasoned and professional. There’s a lot of cool guys that I’m getting to race against and learn from this weekend. So, excited for that and excited to hopefully, you know, have a really good run in the Xfinity car and maybe lock ourselves into the playoffs in our Weather Tech Chevrolet.”  How much are you looking to gain respect from the veterans out there and show them that — hey, you know, I’m an accomplished racer. I can walk the track and you don’t have to worry about beating someone out there? “Yeah, it’s really important to gain respect from those guys, you know, as early as possible. You don’t want to go out and make a fool of yourself because once you lose respect of all the veterans, it’s really tough to get it back. So, you definitely want to race them the right way at first and, you know, show them that you’re going to race them with respect. I think if you do that, they’ll give it back to you. So, that’s definitely the plan. I’ll try and stick by it as best I can. But it can be tough for us sometimes, you know, with pressure and just everything involved. It’s a lot tougher than people realize, but obviously the goal is to show those guys that I’m here to show them respect and, you know, not step outside my boundaries.” It doesn’t seem like you’re too nervous.. maybe you’re hiding it well. But is it part of that that you didn’t grow up with this being the goal? Like, does it help that it wasn’t some lifelong quest and you’re finally here and what you’re feeling is in the moment? Is that playing into that at all.. why are you approaching this in sort of like a more excited, it’s as cool as just riding down the highway? “I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily why, but the biggest thing for me is to just not let any moment be too big. You know, it’s important to kind of just treat every race the same, whether it’s, you know, a Cup Series race or whether it’s a local late model race, right? You want to prepare. Maybe you’re going to do more to prepare yourself for a race like this and do more to make sure that you’re ready to show up and race on Sunday. But I feel like, for me, I try and just treat every race the same. It’s easy to get in your own head when you’re thinking — oh my gosh, this is such a big stage, this is crazy. You know, it’s better to just kind of treat it like another race, and I think that’s what works best for me. I think it’s different for everybody, but it’s easy for me to get in my own head if I try to tell myself — oh my gosh, this moment’s so big. I’ll tend to make more mistakes if I do that.” So how do you shove it out? Like, when that stuff starts to creep in, how are you like — nah, I’m not going to go there? “Man, it’s so internally, you know, it’s something that you just kind of have to do yourself, right? You can’t let outside noise affect the way you prepare; the way you compete and the way you think. It’s just kind of got to be the way you are, right? You got to show up to the track and understand that there’s going to be a lot of noise around you, and there’s going to be a lot of lights, and you know, it’s going to be a big stage. But you kind of just got to let it, you know, not get to you and not affect you. Just treat it like any other race.” You’ve had a lot thrown at you over the last year. Now, you’re 18 years old and about to make your Cup Series debut. So how do you handle all of this, I guess, I don’t know if it’s PR pressure or career pressure or racing pressure, but how do you handle all that and sit here so cool, calm and collective like — I’m just ready to go to another race because this isn’t just another race, this is the Cup Series..“Yeah, no, I mean, it is crazy, right? There’s been obviously moments where I’ve kind of let the best, you know, let me get the best of myself and think — oh my gosh, this is pretty crazy. But, you know, if you get too excited in the moment and you hype yourself up too much, that’s when nerves start to become a thing, and I’m really bad with nerves. Like, when I’m nervous and, you know, I’m amped up, I just don’t perform. I struggle. So the best thing for me to do is just, you know, act like this is just any other race. And I think one thing that helps me is I feel like I’ve competed in a lot of big races already. I’ve had a lot of big moments. You know, I remember for my Truck Series debut, it was tough for me, right? I had all the nerves get to me and made way too many mistakes. And then I went to the Xfinity debut and just kind of went out there and, you know, did what I do to do, and it worked out well for me. So I’m kind of coming into this weekend with the same attitude and, you know, just going to go out there and run the best race that I know I can run, and whatever result comes is what happens.” Has anyone helped you with that? “Yeah, Josh Wise would have to be my biggest mentor. You know, I go to him for anything.. whether it be, you know, relationship advice or how to drive through a corner, right? It’s good to have someone like that at my age, who I can go to and can always give me a non-biased answer no matter what it’s about. So I definitely am fortunate to have not only Josh, but a lot of people in my corner who are willing to give me those, you know, non-biased answers, whether it’s what I want to hear or what it’s not what I want to hear.” What are your expectations going into Sunday?  “Yeah, it’s hard to set expectations when you haven’t done it before, right? The car is new. I’m racing against probably 25 drivers I’ve never raced against before. Yeah, there’s a lot of variables that I just don’t know. So for me, setting expectations is really tough, right? I don’t want to set a goal of, you know, I want to go out and finish top-five, and then I get a speeding penalty or, you know, my pit crew has a loose tire and I finish 15th because of something out of my doing, right? Because then I’ll be upset, you know, that I didn’t meet my goal. But for me, my expectation is I expect to be, you know, reasonably fast. I expect there to be — I don’t want to say that I’m going to be really fast, but I do expect to not be way off on speed. But the biggest thing is going to be execution on Sunday and making the most of the race and not making mistakes. You know, if the pit road speed is 50, expect me to be doing 48, right? I’m not going to be pushing the limit. You know, I just want to take it easy and make sure I run all the laps and don’t get a penalty. That’s going to be the biggest thing when it comes to the race. But I feel like when it comes to speed, I feel confident in myself that I’ll be able to run fast enough laps to be at the front.”  How important is your mentality for the Xfinity Series race, knowing you’ve had DNF’s the last two weeks? “Yeah, it’s really important. It’s been a tough year so far and it’s important to get the momentum kind of swinging back in the right direction, and there’s no better place to do it than a road course for me. So, yeah, it’s crucial this weekend to have a mistake-free weekend; execute all day and hopefully have at least a good enough run to get us moving in the right direction in the point standings. And if we could lock ourselves in, even better. But, yeah, it’s been a frustrating year to this point. But at the end of the day, it’s a 33-weekend schedule, so I’m not really worried yet. But, you know, a few more of those DNFs and you start to worry.” How much have you prepared for this weekend? “Yeah, that’s something that — you know, this answer might be surprising, but I try not to overdo it, right? I don’t want to confuse myself. I don’t want to overthink it. I don’t want to, you know, go in and study so much that I drown myself in this. You know, I feel like I have a good baseline off of what I learned in the Truck race last year here. The Cup car in the sim.. I’ve done quite a bit. You know, I’ve probably done 10 hours.. eight to 10 hours in the last three weeks of that. So, you know, I feel like I’m prepared. And I’ve gone back and watched the race. I’ve watched some in-car footage, and, you know, done the basic stuff. But for me, I don’t want to drown myself in past races because, you know, maybe something’s different this year, right? Maybe we show up and the asphalt is crazy more grippy. I don’t want to overconsume myself with information and overload myself, and then, you know, show up for practice and it’s way different and I’m freaking myself out. So, I kind of give myself a guideline of, you know, a checklist for practice. A checklist for the race.. things that I want to achieve and things I want to do. But I don’t overload myself with information prior to the event because you never know what could change.” I’m just wondering, if you find yourself late in the stages near the front, do you think the veteran drivers around you are looking for ways to exploit, say, your inexperience, or just the fact that, you know, you may not have been able to move forward and they’ll be looking for ways to get in your head?“Yeah, I mean, when it comes to the race, I definitely think they’re going to try and exploit my inexperience, you know, no doubt. But I do think that that’s going to be part of being a rookie, right? They are going to expect me to make mistakes. So, they’re going to try and force the mistakes, and that’s one thing that I’ve definitely focused on is not allowing that to happen, right? Don’t let people force mistakes and don’t let them make me do things I don’t want to do. You know, if I go out and do what I know to do and treat it like there’s a short track racer behind me that I’ve raced at Hickory Motor Speedway and, you know, not Kyle Busch or Kyle Larson, then it’ll probably help me. So, yeah, just like I said, I’m going to try and treat this like any other race.And, you know, I feel like I’ve not been exploited on these road courses to this point. It’s different on ovals, but, you know, I feel like I have a good feeling of what I need to do come Sunday.” Is it overstating to say that whoever is figuring out 6A, 6B, or whatever they’re calling it, is going to be in the driver’s seat for this race? I mean, is it just that important, those two turns, or is it just another part of the course that they’re going to figure out? “Yeah, I mean, it’s definitely going to be important. The guy who wins the race has got to be good everywhere. I don’t think it’s going to be the case of they’re going to be really good in 6A, 6B and give it up the rest of the track. I feel like it’s going to be just like any other road course we go to. You know, you’re going to have to figure it out quickly, and you’re going to have to be good everywhere to win especially come Sunday. It’s tough to win these races and you’ve got to be really fast everywhere. And I think it’s going to be important to understand how restarts will work there. 6A is really wide on entry, so, you know, expect a lot of chaos there. And the exit’s really tight, as well. So, I’m curious to see what the race is like. I’m glad I get Saturday to kind of get a feel for it and understand what that is like. But, yeah, come Sunday, I mean, it’s going to be whoever’s the best and makes the least amount of mistakes.”

Curt Spalding left Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals with about every Gator trophy available to the DIRTcar UMP Modified division this year. But he almost wasn’t there to do it. 

Living over 1,000 miles away in Watervilet, MI and unsatisfied with his overall level of performance in 2024 – having not won a race at Volusia Speedway Park since 2020 – making the trip to the Florida track for nine nights of racing wasn’t a sure thing.  

However, his car owners, Chris and Adam Terry, and his son, Tyler, thought otherwise. They believed he could leave Florida with at least one Gator trophy. 

“Being on the fence, Tyler got fired up and really excited to work even harder cause he wanted us to represent well,” Spalding said. 

And after those nine nights of racing, the hard work paid off. Spalding left with five Feature win Gator trophies, the Gator Championship Big Gator trophy and the week-long DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator Championship trophy. 

“It was surely not our goal at all,” Spalding said about returning home with a farm of Gator trophies. “Obviously, we wanted to run good.  We were hopeful to come out of there with at least one Gator. So, to come out of there with a handful of them and everything that happened, honestly, it goes back to the last two years where we worked really hard on this program for (Volusia). 

“We sacrificed a lot of things last season trying to get to a better place in our program, and it’s tough when you’re doing that and you’re running 10-15 places at places where you’re expected to win.  But, when things like this come together, it makes it well worthwhile.”

On top of achieving more than he and his team envisioned, the victories were special for several reasons. Spalding has been a fan of the event and facility for several years, making visits since the 1990s, and to pick up wins there is very special.  

“Every day, it’s pretty unbelievable the amount of people that have reached out,” Spalding said. “It’s still so surreal. I think Chris Terry has been getting more and more excited as every day passes. You keep hearing more and seeing more and realizing what took place, we’re very happy and fortunate that we got it done.” 

Focus towards the 2025 season has Curt planning to run UMP Modified events throughout the year, including select races with the DIRTcar Summit Modified Nationals. 

He’ll also turn attention towards Tyler’s racing career as the 23-year-old gains more time behind the wheel of a DIRTcar UMP Modified.

“Tyler raced his Modified about 20 times locally in 2024, won a couple and now it’s time to expand out,” Curt said.  “Tyler is focused on the overall program and what’s nice is that he’s learned how to drive and watch a race car. Not a lot of people are good at watching, driving and tuning. A lot of the time, he’ll be telling me stuff before I even get out, when typically it’s the other way around.

“He’s had some good guidance from one of my co-workers and close friend, Dewayne Ragland. He’s passed now, but he talked and worked with (Tyler) to show him things, it definitely parleys to where we’re at today. Thankful for everyone that helps our program and we are all very excited to see what else 2025 brings.”

The 2025 DIRTcar Summer Nationals season starts in Illinois at the Brownstown Bullring on Tuesday, June 10. For the full “Hell Tour” schedule and news, CLICK HERE.

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

The Series sophomore went from questioning his racing future to being ready to return this week

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 28, 2025) – Questions and fear swirled in Bill Balog’s mind as he sat upside down in his Sprint Car.

He’d just flipped while running fourth at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Nationals. Pain burned in his right ankle. He feared the worst. But like most racers, his thoughts were only on the next race.

“When I was in the car kind of upside down, I was trying to think if I could run the throttle pedal with my left foot on the next race because I thought my foot got ripped off, honestly,” Balog explained. “Or I wondered who am I going to hire to drive this thing?”

World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car officials carefully removed Balog from the No. 17B, and the “North Pole Nightmare” headed to the hospital. He expected his foot to be broken at the very least, but good news came from the doctor. Tissue damage and swelling was the extent of the injuries.

“They did all the x-rays, and it wasn’t broken,” Balog said. “It looked like a softball, and it’s still big. I mean, I’m walking around fine on it and working. It’s just a little bit sore.”

It was a rapid, positive turn of events for the Hartland, WI resident. From thinking his foot was gone to learning there were no breaks. Fortunately for Balog, the only break was in the World of Outlaws calendar following the night of his crash. Three weeks off have allowed him enough time to rest and heal. Now, the season is set to resume, and Balog is ready to roll.

The Greatest Show on Dirt heads back to Volusia for the Bike Week Jamboree, Sunday-Monday, March 2-3. Before his flip, the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” gave Balog and his team ample reason for encouragement.

Balog qualified second quickest in his flight during the first full points night of the season. That led to a Heat win and a personal best Volusia result of sixth in the Feature. The following evening, he timed in seventh quickest before securing another top 10 in the main event. Saturday’s finale looked as if it may be the highlight of his week. Despite drawing the very last pill for Qualifying, Balog managed to qualify second quickest in the flight. He won his Heat with a thrilling last lap pass and finished third in the Dash to line him up on row two of the Feature. Then the crash ended a potential top five.

“I feel like we learned a lot last year on the practice night, basically everything not to do,” Balog said. “We basically just rolled that setup into this new car with what we learned at Volusia, and it was really good. The car that we started with was a brand new Triple X, and it scaled out really nice. Everything measured really good. We had some confidence that way.”

The focus is fully back on Florida this week. Four-wheel and two-wheel worlds will collide as the country’s best Sprint Car drivers invade Bike Week at Volusia, kicking off a stretch of 17 consecutive weeks of racing for the World of Outlaws.

Balog had the window to heal. Now it’s time to hit the road again as he takes on his sophomore season with The Greatest Show on Dirt.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Balog said. “I feel confident with what we’re doing with the car, definitely going in the right direction, and we want to carry that on to the other tracks.”

Balog and his team continue the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season at Barberville, FL’s Volusia Speedway Park, Sunday-Monday, March 2-3, before heading to Eastaboga, AL’s Talladega Short Track on Friday, March 7, and Columbus, MS’s Magnolia Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 8.

TICKETS FOR THE EVENTS ARE AVAILABLE NOW

For the entire 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

Posted on behalf of AFT Events  Daytona Beach, Fla. (February 28, 2025) – AFT Events is thrilled to announce that master motorcycle designer, fabricator, and television personality Paul Teutul Jr. of Paul Jr. Designs will serve as Grand Marshal for the highly anticipated Daytona Short Track II on Friday night. Known worldwide from his hit television series American Chopper, Paul Jr. has built a legacy out of pushing creative boundaries and forging the unimaginable out of raw metal – a spirit that resonates perfectly with the adrenaline-fueled world of flat track racing.  With nearly three decades of hands-on experience bending steel into jaw-dropping shapes, Paul Jr. has left an indelible mark on motorcycle culture. Throughout his career, he’s collaborated with some of the most recognizable brands and personalities, crafting bespoke designs that blend artistry with functionality. Now, he’ll bring his legendary flair to the starting line at Daytona, ready to pump up the crowd and officially kick off Friday’s can’t-miss AFT action.  “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Paul Jr. as our Grand Marshal for Daytona Short Track II,” said Bob Deislinger, Managing Director of AFT Events. “Paul’s visionary designs have inspired an entire generation of custom bike builders and race fans. His passion for creativity and speed mirrors the old-school tradition and fresh energy we celebrate in flat track racing.”  Paul Jr. will join a stacked field of the world’s top flat track racers as they unleash bar-to-bar battles on the tight, demanding short track at Daytona. Fans can expect a high-revving spectacle that merges time-honored racing grit with modern-day innovation – a nod to Paul’s own legacy of marrying tradition and invention in his groundbreaking builds.  Don’t miss your chance to see Paul Jr. in the Grand Marshal role and experience the heart-pounding excitement of Progressive American Flat Track’s season opener. The 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7.  To purchase Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I tickets, click HERE.  To purchase Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II tickets, click HERE.  And to save $10 by purchasing Thursday and Friday tickets together via the Multi-Day Discount for the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II, click HERE.

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will tackle their first road course circuit of the 2025 season, with the pair heading to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) for a doubleheader event. This weekend will mark just the fifth appearance by both series at the Austin, Texas, road course, but the first on the circuit’s shorter configuration.

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Drivers and teams in NASCAR’s top two divisions will shift from COTA’s 3.41-mile, 20-turn, full course layout to the 2.3-mile, 20-turn, circuit known as the track’s “National Course”. Despite a whole new set of challenges on the horizon, the Chevrolet camp has proven they can master the Texas circuit – heading into the race weekend with three wins in both divisions in just four races.  Team Chevy Leading the Charge at COTA:

Chevrolet drivers have found victory lane in three of the four appearances made by both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series at the Austin-based circuit. In the sport’s debut at the circuit in 2021, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott made the trip even more special for the Bowtie brand, with his victory delivering the manufacturer its milestone 800th all-time win in NASCAR’s top division. Fellow Chevrolet driver, Ross Chastain, added yet another memorable trip to victory lane the following season by becoming a first-time NASCAR Cup Series winner – a triumph that also marked the first victory for Trackhouse Racing in just the organization’s second season of competition. Most recently, it was William Byron who added his name to the history books as a winner at COTA – becoming the third different Chevrolet driver to reach victory lane in NASCAR’s top division at the Texas circuit.

In the Xfinity Series, Chevrolet will look to extend its triumphant streak at the circuit to four-straight in Saturday’s 65-lap event. The manufacturer’s three-peat kicked off in 2022 with a win by Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger, with the road course warrior going back-to-back with a return trip to victory lane the following season. Last season, it was Kyle Larson who made a last-lap pass to steal the checkered flag – delivering Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 Chevrolet entry its long-awaited first Xfinity Series victory.

ROAD COURSE WARRIORSWith back-to-back superspeedway-style races in the books, NASCAR will turn its attention to making left- and right-hand turns for the first time this season. Road course circuits have fared well for the Bowtie brigade in recent years, with seven different Chevrolet drivers tallying a combined 20 wins in the past 26 NASCAR Cup Series road course events. In the Next Gen era, Chevrolet holds a winning percentage of 67 percent on road courses heading into the COTA race weekend, with Kyle Larson’s 2024 Charlotte ROVAL victory marking the manufacturer’s 10th road course triumph in the Next Gen car. Among Chevrolet’s 15 full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitors includes eight past road course winners in the division: Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron; Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez; Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch; Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger; and Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell. Also earning a victory making left- and right- hand turns on a street course circuit includes Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who have collectively kept Chevrolet undefeated in the series at the Chicago Street Course.

ZILISCH SET FOR CUP SERIES DEBUTThis weekend will bring the highly anticipated NASCAR Cup Series debut for one of Chevrolet’s racing stars – Trackhouse Racing Development Driver Connor Zilisch. One year ago at COTA, the 18-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native made his first-ever start in the NASCAR national ranks behind the wheel of a Spire Motorsports-prepared Silverado RST. Immediately taking the NASCAR scene by storm, Zilisch drove the Chevrolet entry to a pole win and a fourth-place finish at the Austin-based circuit. Just a few months later, Zilisch made yet another impressive debut – partnering with JR Motorsports to make his first career Xfinity Series start at Watkins Glen International. Zilisch went on to take the pole and the race win, making the young talent just the seventh driver in NASCAR history to earn the victory in his first Xfinity Series start.  Zilisch will have the opportunity to make history yet again this weekend. The 18-year-old Chevrolet driver will get behind the wheel of the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet – a fourth entry under the Trackhouse Racing banner – for his first appearance in NASCAR’s top division. The last driver to win in his Cup Series debut also came from the Chevrolet camp – fellow Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen (Chicago Street Race – July 2023).

RCR STAYS UNDEFEATED IN ‘25With two races in the books for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, it has been the pair of Richard Childress Racing teammates that have dominated the series’ statistical categories. With yet another commanding performance at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway, Austin Hill joins his teammate, Jesse Love, with an early ticket into the series’ playoffs and keeps Chevrolet undefeated heading into the COTA race weekend.  The pair of victories were accompanied by strong performances throughout each event. Hill has swept the stage wins in each race thus far, but an unfortunate mechanical issue took him out of contention for the win at Daytona International Speedway. The duo also paced the series in laps led in each event, with Love and Hill tallying a combined total of 86 of 126 laps led in the season-opener, as well as 159 of 163 laps led at Atlanta last weekend. In addition, Love has captured the only pole win of the season – driving his No. 2 Chevrolet to back-to-back qualifying triumphs at the 1.54-mile Georgia venue.

BYRON TAPS IN FOR HMS’ FIRST XFINITY SERIES START OF THE SEASONReigning DAYTONA 500 Champion, William Byron, will take over the driving duties for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 Chevrolet this weekend for the entry’s first appearance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. This will mark the first of 16 starts in the series for the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team – an entry that will also feature Byron’s teammates, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, as well as development driver Corey Day, behind the wheel. The team has made two trips to victory lane since returning to the series in 2022, with the first coming one year ago at COTA with Kyle Larson.

First Truck Triumph of the Season In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Chevrolet will enter back-to-back off-weekends on a high note. The Bowtie brand earned its first trip to victory lane of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend – courtesy of Spire Motorsports and Cup Series regular Kyle Busch. The victory was accompanied by a near dominate performance by the Chevrolet camp throughout the weekend – nabbing the pole win with Connor Mosack; a stage win sweep courtesy of Jack Wood and Busch; and six different Chevrolet drivers tallying a combined 124 of 135 laps led.  With a second-consecutive top-10 finish, CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger also found himself at the top of the series’ points standings heading into the off-weekends. The 40-year-old Fairhope, Alabama, native has tallied podium finishes in all but one stage thus far this season, with the series’ veteran being one of just three drivers who have posted back-to-back top-10 finishes.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Circuit of The Americas: William Byron: one win (2024) Ross Chastain: one win (2022)Chase Elliott: one win (2021) ·       In four appearances for both the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series at Circuit of The Americas, Chevrolet leads the series with three wins in each division.  ·       Chevrolet has earned 20 victories in the past 26 NASCAR Cup Series road course events – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in Aug. 2019, to Kyle Larson’s victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course in Oct. 2024. ·       In 15 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with 10 victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. ·       Chevrolet has recorded 67 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker’s victory at Watkins Glen International in 1957.  ·       In 110 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 53 victories – a winning percentage of 48.2%.  ·       With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 867 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand PrixSunday, March 2, at 3:30 p.m. ET(FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity SeriesFocused Health 250Saturday, March 1, at 2:30 p.m. ET(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletWhat are you thoughts on how they have changed the COTA track?“It should keep the track cleaner (laughs), no dirt back there in that right-hander where we were all driving off of the track. I like it obviously and I’ve been fast there and just enjoy it. The different layout doesn’t bother me.” You’ve been successful at COTA.. why is that?“Phil Surgen (crew chief) gives me cars that I can be aggressive with and chase the grip, both in qualifying and the race, and be able to attack it. The track is going to be repaved in a lot areas with means it will be smooth and have a lot of grip. They continue to invest in the surface there. As it continues to get bumpy, they don’t let it go; they go ahead and fix the issues. It will be a different track from what we saw last year.”  Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletHow do you feel about heading to Circuit of the Americas with the 7 team, especially after a tough start to the season?“I’ve always felt really comfortable at Circuit of the Americas. We haven’t had the best start to the season but I’m looking forward to getting to a road course with the No.7 team and racing it out on Sunday.”  Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletGoing to COTA with a reduced track length with the short course. What do you think the changes will do there? “I don’t know.. you know, I think you lose a couple passing zones. You lose turn 11, all the way up at the top. You lose coming down into turn 12 after the long straightaway. I don’t think going into turn six is going to be a passing zone. It’s really tight. I mean, sure – guys are going to try and throw it in there and pass there, but it’s a 90 degree corner. It’s going to be slower and sharper than the frontstretch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, when you come down into the turn on the front straightaway. As you come back onto the back straightaway, that corner is just kind of a flowy corner, so I don’t think you’ll get much two-wide racing through there. Trying to setup something on that little short shoot you have now before turn 12 is going to be tricky to say the least because you want to be on the inside for that corner but the next two corners you’re going to want to be on the outside. So I don’t know.. I feel like we lost two and we didn’t gain any. We’ll see how that transpires and what it looks like. But being a shorter course and not having that long straightaway in turn 12, you’re going to get less separation from all those other cars around you, so it’s going to be more Martinsville-esque with cars staying closer together and probably a little bit more pushing and shoving, and I’m sure that’s what the fans will certainly enjoy.”  Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet“I love road course racing. It’s something I’ve always had a lot of confidence at, but I’m very excited this year for the opportunity to get to work with AJ (Allmendinger), probably the best in the business at road course racing, especially with Kaulig Racing. So, for me, it’s a shut mouth and open ears for the weekend and try to learn as much as I can. I can’t expect to go out and run AJ, but I can learn a lot and hopefully improve my past performances at the race track. I think it’s going to be a really fun weekend. I enjoy the discipline of road course racing, and then I love Austin, Texas, too. I’m a huge Longhorns fan, so I just love being in the city and everything it’s about.”   AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet“I always enjoy going to COTA, I feel like we’ve had a lot of speed there in the past. We’ve had some success, but we’ve always been in the mix to run inside the top five. It’ll be a challenge this weekend with the new layout, but I feel good from where our road course program has been. If we can unload, have speed, and execute, we’ll give ourselves a shot to win the race.”  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports ChevroletCOTA is a track where you see a lot of drivers struggle due to its tight turns and limited space. What goes through your mind as a driver when you prepare for these tracks that you might have struggled at in the past?“COTA’s honestly a really fun racetrack. I would say, for me, I don’t really focus on the results as much as I do the speed that we’ve had and been able to show at some of these tracks. Especially throughout portions of that race the past few years. We’ve just had mistakes – whether it’s been the team or the driver. They took us out of contention for a few decent races there. I try to block some of that out from the past road course races over the last few seasons. Obviously, we have a whole new section of the racetrack that we have to figure out. We ran it on the sim so that helps a little bit. For the most part, we’re going to try to pick that up as fast as we can during those two practice sessions on Saturday.”  Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet“I’m looking forward to going to COTA, obviously having a road course early on in the season is really beneficial, especially for me as I am getting up to speed with the race team, with Chevrolet, and just feeling out the differences. Now we can learn what we need to work on, so we are carrying good moment going into COTA. I am looking forward to you kicking off our first road course of the season.”   Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFollowing your 29th-place run at COTA last March you improved your finishing position over the final three road course events, underscored with a third-place finish at Watkins Glen. How confident are you that the No. 77 maintain that momentum Sunday at COTA?“I’m really excited to get to COTA and check out the new layout. Luke (Lambert) and, really, everyone at Spire did a great job last season of building up our road course program. I think we’ll all pick up where we left off, and a lot of that is the result of the work that was put in during the off season. Running the Xfinity race will give me a chance to get a couple more laps on the track and maybe find something I can share with my teammates. The other thing we’ve got going for us is two new teammates in Justin (Haley) and Michael (McDowell) that are really strong road-course racers. It’s been an exciting start to the season for us and we can definitely keep that going this weekend.”  Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet What are your thoughts entering the first Cup race of your career?“Going into my first Cup race at COTA, it’s going to be a big challenge for me. A lot of question marks but I just want to go in and enjoy it and have fun. You only get to make your debut in the Cup Series once. I feel like it’s going to be a good experience for me to go learn and run all the laps. I think that’s what I’m honestly looking forward to the most is just running all the laps and making the most of the experience.”  How cool is it for you and Trackhouse to bring Red Bull back to the Cup Series?“It’s awesome to have Red Bull back in the sport. It’s going to be a big race for everybody, Trackhouse, me, Red Bull. No pressure to out and perform at any level. I just want to go out and learn as much as I can and enjoy my first Cup race.” Do you think the extra track time in the NXS car will help you in the Cup race?“I think it’s going to be helpful to have the Xfinity car there on Saturday and race that race. The track is a little bit different than last year so those laps are going to be really important to getting up to speed and getting used to the new track updates. It’ll be helpful to have those laps but the Cup car is a lot different. At the end of the day it’s going to be different because how different the cars are.”  Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet What do you think about the course change to COTA? How might that impact things?“I think the new course will be okay. I did like the long track, but I see why they (NASCAR) shortened it, to give more times past the fans and more action. The cut through they have done, we don’t lose any passing spots, more laps as well. I think the shorter track is probably a good thing.” What are your impressions of COTA? Kind of comparing it to some other tracks you’ve been to around the world.“I like the track and I think it’s pretty cool. The change they have done is really good, with the second extension or cut through. The one we did in Supercars would be terrible in these (Cup) cars, so they made a good call there. But there will probably be a bit of action, I think, with the tight left hander. It’s odd how we spend more time off the track than on it, but that’s how it is here, and it looks pretty cool when the cars are all battling.”  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletDo you enjoy racing at COTA?“Yes, I do love the track. It’s one of the best in the world and the crowds are awesome. They make me feel so welcome. I love going around and seeing all the fans. We have run so well over the years here but just haven’t had the finish we deserve. Maybe Sunday will change all that.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 43First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)Most recent: 2024 Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2025 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 1Poles: 0Laps Led: 96Top-Fives: 4Top-10s: 8Stage Wins: 1 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 867 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 753Laps led to date: 252,807Top-fives to date: 4,373Top-10s to date: 9,015                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,201           Chevrolet: 867           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 840                                                                                        Ford: 740           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 190