(1/27/25 – Jim Allen) Auburn, CA … The Northern Auto Racing Club has experienced a busy off-season in preparation for the highly anticipated 29-event NARC 410 Sprint Car Series campaign in 2025. This involved enacting various rule modifications and updates, with a significant focus on enhancing driver safety and well-being in sprint car racing.Many of the rule modifications align with those of the High Limit and World of Outlaw series, ensuring consistency across the racing series. A summary is outlined in the accompanying notes.In addition, the NARC Advisory Board agreed to implement a new CAP (Competitive Advantage Program) Insurance policy for all drivers competing on this season’s tour. This $500,000 excess accident medical insurance policy activates after other insurance options are exhausted. The driver membership fees will increase to include the cost of the policy, with a discount for memberships processed before March 1st.Medical insurance and costs reached viral status in 2024 with major accidents and injuries involving NARC-member drivers Chase Johnson, Angelique Bell, Dominic Scelzi, and Justyn Cox. Johnson and Cox were injured at non-NARC events. This policy covers all sprint car events a driver decides to compete in in the United States, not just NARC shows.Similar mandatory type policies are already in effect with several other sanctioning bodies and tracks.“Most drivers don’t realize that track medical insurance provides marginal coverage at best,” states series board member Brent Kaeding. “Depending on the track, it’s between $15,000 and $50,000 total, which barely covers an ambulance ride and one night in an ICU (Intensive Care Unit.) It’s enough to bankrupt about any household.”Injured driver Chase Johnson also spoke in favor of the policy.“This is a good thing for all of the NARC drivers,” said Johnson, who suffered a rehabilitating back injury at a High Limit event at Chico in August. “I’m proof that you can’t have enough insurance in a bad situation.”In other series news, NARC announced that Andrew Kunas will be the official NARC announcer for the 2025 season. With 16 years of experience announcing for the ASCS Frontier Region and various tracks in the Pacific Northwest, the veteran is a valuable addition to the NARC staff.Membership and insurance applications can be found at https://wp.me/P8HUv9-iG.RULE SUMMARYFIRE SUPPRESSION:The Lifeline Fire Suppression system (and others) must be recertified every two years. This requires inspection of O-Rings, piston, bottle, bladder, and a tank refill.  The cost is $230 at Kaeding Performance.CAR:A removable wicker bill, maximum height of 1 1/2 inches (1.5”), may be mounted on the rear edge of the top wing center foil. Wicker bill must be 90 degrees to the top of the center foil. Built-in wicker bills or gurney lips will not be permitted.One (1) in-car shock adjuster is permitted in the cockpit.Any header that is not straight out the back of the car with or without a muffler must be welded when the bend connects to the header and to the muffler.An “In-axle tire inflation system” that is attached to a bleeder is legal. No remote/data changing is allowed.SEATS:The Northern Auto Racing Club highly recommends the use of a seat insert to increase the safety of the driver.The seat should be mounted in four places to the chassis with minimum 3/8” steel bolt and nut. It is highly recommended that mounting bolts do not exceed 3.5” in total length. Grade 8 steel bolts are highly recommended. Mounting holes in seat must have a 1.5” diameter mounting plate with a minimum thickness of .060”.OTHER:Cars are not allowed to “break traction” at any time during a caution period unless directly authorized by the Director of Competition over the radio. Any cars that do so may be moved to the back of the starting grid.Cars involved in a race stoppage during the semi or main event that go to the work area will be given two minutes to make repairs once they reach the work area. This rule no longer applies once the semi or main reach the halfway point, or curfew issues come into play. There is no allotted repair time provided during the heat races.If a car goes to their pit area instead of the designated work area during the semi or main, there is no two-minute time clock because we have no way to check your status. The car can return to competition at an appropriate time. There is no “courtesy time.” https://wp.me/p8HUv9-2Zb

INDIANAPOLIS (January 27, 2025) — The second annual SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout (prosuperstarshootout.com), February 6-8, 2025, will once again be featuring the full-time professional Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock drag racing teams looking to wow fans and set more records from Bradenton Motorsports Park. A highlight of this year’s event will be the closing concert headlined by American Rebel Andy Ross and the American Rebel band. To promote his concert, American Rebel Light Beer and the SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout, Ross will be executing a pre-event media tour as well as social media promotion. The concert will be free to all PRO Superstar Shootout participants and fans in attendance on race day. 

The 2024 inaugural event took the motorsports world by storm with incredible side-by-side racing, a unique chip draw elimination format, record-setting speeds and a fan-friendly atmosphere. The addition of Ross and his American Rebel band is another step towards creating the ultimate racing and entertainment event.

The American Rebel band led by Andy Ross (center) will perform free concert on Saturday Night from Bradenton Motorsports Park, photo credit American Rebel

“The PRO Superstar Shootout is the Pro Bowl of the drag racing season,” said Andy Ross. “Last year’s debut event was a massive success and American Rebel and myself are honored to participate. The Saturday night closing concert is going to be a lot of fun and the band, and I can’t wait to hit the stage. The PRO Superstar Shootout is a chance for the race teams to have some friendly competition and a dress rehearsal for the season. American Rebel Light Beer will be featured at the track during the race weekend, and it is our entrance into a new and exciting market for American Rebel Light Beer. I always consider it a win-win when American Rebel Light is featured, and they hand me the microphone.”

“The inaugural shootout was a huge win for the fans, for PRO, and its members” said Alan Johnson, PRO President. “Our goal with the SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout is to give motorsports fans a unique event and to get them excited for the start of the 2025 NHRA season. Last year we put on an amazing show that saw Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Austin Prock (Funny Car), and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) drive to exhilarating victories. This year we will be looking to once again offer fans an unparalleled drag racing experience.”

The successful format of last year’s event will carry over in 2025. After qualifying on Thursday and Friday, the elimination round matchups of the 8-car field on Saturday will be determined by a chip draw, a feature that is unique to the SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout. The higher qualified drivers will draw chips with competitor names to determine first-round match ups. Subsequent rounds will also be decided by random draws, giving fans and teams a thrill of uncertainty and excitement as the race day progresses. Additionally, Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers will face off in a fan-favorite Top Fuel versus Funny Car Chicago Style race. After the last championship run of the finals, Andy Ross and the band will take the stage near the finish line for a closing concert.

“We will be doing chip draws every round and we’ll also highlight some strong Top Fuel versus Funny Car racing again in 2025,” said Bob Tasca III, who clocked a blazing, record-setting 341 MPH run at last year’s event. “We want this race to have a different feel and experience than a traditional national event. The drivers and teams like the format because it’s unpredictable and fun and the fans let us know they loved it!”

Additional classes will also be contested including Top Sportsman, Stock and Super Stock. The event will feature autograph sessions, driver Q&A’s and additional fan-friendly entertainment elements. The PRO Superstar Shootout will once again be broadcast on FloRacing (www.floracing.com) all three days.

ABOUT THE PRO SUPERSTAR SHOOTOUT

On February 6-8, 2025, the Professional Racers Owners Organization (PRO) in collaboration with Bradenton Motorsports Park, will host the 2nd annual SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout. The 2024 inaugural event took the motorsports world by storm with incredible side-by-side racing, a unique chip draw elimination format, record-setting speeds and a fan-friendly atmosphere.

Posted on behalf of Raggio Racing DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 27, 2025) – Raggio Racing, backed by Sluggo Racing & UnSettled Racing, is thrilled to announce it will compete for the 2025 AFT Singles presented by KICKER championship with Tyler Raggioaboard a KTM 450 SX-F.  The same team/rider/machinery combination saw Raggio enjoy a breakthrough 2024 campaign in which he emerged as a fully-fledged frontrunner. The Lockeford, California, native entered last season seeking his first career top-ten result and with a best championship ranking of 19th to his name. He ended it with eight top-tens over the season’s final nine races – including a fourth-place run at the Black Hills Half-Mile – to secure sixth in the final AFT Singles presented by KICKER championship order.  Shawn and Clarissa Raggio, owners of Raggio Racing, lead their family’s flat track legacy with unwavering passion and commitment to the sport they love. The squad has been backed by Sluggo Racing, owned and operated by Michael and Anna Dobbs, dating back to Tyler’s amateur days. And they were joined by Greg Settle and UnSettled Racing, who came aboard the effort last season to play an integral role in the year’s highly successful campaign.  Full of confidence and backed by familiar personnel and equipment, Raggio is primed to take another step forward in ‘25 and battle for podiums and race wins.  Tyler Raggio (#55):   “I’m excited to return with the team for a second straight season. There’s been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to better this program for 2025, and I’ve been putting in the work during the offseason. I’m ready to kick off the year in Daytona!  “I’m thrilled to have Sluggo Racing back on board for the 11th consecutive year of my career; this partnership has been a vital part of my journey as a racer, and I am grateful for their continued support. And I’m just as happy to have UnSettled Racing back for the 2025 season. Over the past four years, I have had the privilege of working with UnSettled Racing as a mentor, team manager, and mechanic. The team is made up of some really talented and promising racers, and it has been an honor to work alongside them.”  Shawn and Clarissa Raggio, Team Owners of Raggio Racing:   “Tyler’s relentless determination, speed, and unshakable drive have defined his career, and he’s more ready than ever to prove himself as a true frontrunner this season.  “For us, racing is not just about competition – it’s about family, community, and heart. We’re profoundly grateful for the steadfast support and friendship of Michael and Anna Dobbs of Sluggo Racing, who have stood by us through every twist and turn of their journey. And we are equally excited for the continued support of UnSettled Racing, Holland Racing and ATVs and More as invaluable partners for the 2025 season.”  Micheal and Anna Dobbs, Owners of Sluggo Racing:   “Supporting Raggio Racing has been a privilege. Our partnership with the Raggio family is a testament to the strong bonds within the racing community. For over two decades, we’ve shared this incredible journey, including ten years as Tyler’s dedicated sponsor. It’s been an honor to watch him grow into a phenomenal racer and an inspiring individual, embodying the passion and determination that make this sport so special.”  Greg Settle, Owner of UnSettled Racing:   “I’m honored to have Tyler piloting our 2025 ATVs and More KTM 450. He’s an incredibly dedicated and hard-working young man who spends a lot of his time helping several youth riders develop their skills and grow the sport. His efforts have not gone unnoticed, and he has earned the respect and admiration of many in the community.  “We have high expectations for Tyler coming into the season. We’re looking to build off of last year’s performance and be a threat for the AFT Singles championship. I’m confident that he will continue to demonstrate the same level of commitment and excellence that he has shown in the past.”

January 26, 2025 — DAYTONA BEACH, FL

• #60 Acura MSR ARX-06 finishes second after grueling Rolex 24 at Daytona
• Fifth-consecutive year Acura scores podium finish in season-opening IMSA race
• #93 Acura uses teamwork to get back on track following suspension issue

An Acura team of drivers stood on the podium at the IMSA Rolex 24 at Daytona for the fifth-consecutive year as the Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian #60 stormed to second place in the twice-round-the-clock classic.   

Starting from sixth on the grid, co-drivers Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist led a total of 39 laps over the course of 24 hours, coming up just 1.335 seconds short of victory.

The sister #93 Acura ARX-06—piloted by Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande, Alex Palou and Kakunoshin Ohta—started second and led early for a total of 19 laps before a suspension failure in the fifth hour forced the car into the garage. Despite the issue, the Acura MSR and HRC team worked together to get the car repaired and back on track in just one hour—allowing the #93 team to make up valuable positions and points as other cars suffered from attrition in the race.

The #93 marks an expanded effort for Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) as they take on strategizing and race engineering the entry for the first time. It also serves as an opportunity for HRC global-backed driver Kakunoshin Ohta to experience the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

During his stints, Ohta was able to make his way to the front of the field and lead on his IMSA debut. Despite the stellar opening to the race by Ohta and his teammates, the #93 would finish eighth following the lengthy repair.

In addition to the effort in the race this weekend, the Acura Integra Type S served as the official safety car for the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Meanwhile, HRC global president Koji Watanabe waved the green flag as honorary starter for the event.

Rolex 24 at Daytona Acura Results

• Finished 2nd – #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Tom Blomqvist Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist
• Finished 8th – #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande, Alex Palou and Kakunoshin Ohta

Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 2nd: “Fantastic result nonetheless. There were parts of this race where we thought ‘this is going to be a long, long 24 hours.’ We struggled for pace and the Porsches were extremely fast but thankfully the team did a fantastic job to get me in a good position at the end. I drove the wheels off the thing and managed to get one of the Porsches, but the other one was a little but too far ahead – just not enough time really. Who knows what could have happened with a few more laps. I’m obviously extremely happy for everyone, it’s a good start to the season and good points. Huge thanks to everyone at Acura MSR, Acura and HRC. It’s a big joint venture this year with the team, there’s a lot more people involved and there’s a huge amount of effort and resources that’s gone into this program and it’s definitely a good way to start and let’s roll on to Sebring.”

Colin Braun (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 2nd: “Obviously great result, what a way to start the season and start the new rebirth with HRC and Acura MSR. Second is a great result and Daytona is so important and winning is everything so in one way it’s an amazing start and in another it’s like ‘aw man.’ But the guys and gals executed really well. Both Felix and Scott did a great job and Tom killed it at the end. Considering this is kind of the start of this new program, I think it’s going to be a really good season. We have a lot of really good things to build on and continue to refine and improve and I think we are looking forward to keeping it going.”

Scott Dixon (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 2nd: “It was a fun race, there were definitely some difficult parts throughout, not mistake free which is never great. But Acura, Honda and MSR did everything strategy-wise that we could – but we just had a bit too much tire degradation and that definitely made it a tough race, especially when we had to double stint [the tires] early. Tom did a great job at the end. I think that was the best result that we could have had, maybe if we had a little longer we would have had a better shot.”

Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 2nd: “Pretty good ending for the #60 car. It’s always a bit bittersweet in these big events with a second place. But honestly, with the way things looked for a while we’ll definitely take it. For these guys who are going to continue running the championship, it’s good points in the bag. Tom did a demon stint in the end, that was incredible to watch, my heart was pounding. Really proud of all the guys: my teammates, the mechanics, crew and engineers that was a hell of an effort.”

Nick Yelloly (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 8th: “For the #93 car, obviously we had our technical issue with the rear suspension failure early on unfortunately. We had really good pace and qualified P2 and were able to stay there quite comfortably in the first couple of stints. Great effort from the team to get the car back out, albeit 40 laps down. From there it was just seeing what we could do to help the #60 car and get up as far to the front as we could. Great effort from Acura MSR and HRC and we have plenty more to come for the rest of the season.”

Renger van der Zande (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 8th: “I’m super happy to see that the #60 car race all the way to P2, I think it was a team effort. It’s a bitter feeling to have ended the race so early. But at the same time we’re the crew that got the car out the fastest which means we got the most points from the people that had the same problem. We need to investigate what happened and why it [suspension] broke, but apart from that we learned a lot. We learned how we run this car, how we run this team with MSR and HRC. I think we can be proud of what today brought, but not the result that we wanted.”

Alex Palou (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 8th: “Sad day for the #93 car having a mechanical failure so early on, especially with it not being our fault. Sometimes it’s a team mistake or driver mistake, so you know what you could have done differently, but this time it was just a failure and we couldn’t have done anything differently. It’s unfortunate, but happy at the same time we got running again. We got a lot of laps in for myself and for the team and that’s going to help us be a bit stronger in Sebring. And obviously I’m happy to see how Tom was fighting at the end and almost getting that win. It makes us hungry and I’m looking forward to the next couple of races.”

Kakunoshin Ohta (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Finished 8th: “It is a huge honor to be a part of Acura Meyer Shank Racing and getting to race in the Rolex 24. I did a lot of laps, maybe six stints and now I am so tired. I felt like I drove a really clean race and I’m happy about that. I even got to lead my first time out and that was really special. I know the car was fast and I wanted to win the race, of course, but this race is tough sometimes and unfortunately our car broke. But I’m already looking forward to coming back and joining the team at Watkins Glen and I’m so thankful to Acura MSR and to HRC for this opportunity.”

David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “So, first time out as new pinnacle racing team of HRC and MSR. Our amazing men and women, together started working in earnest just over 9 weeks ago to bring us all together and get all of our facilities and equipment aligned. After this Herculean effort we came to one of the most arduous and prestigious races on earth, and earned a P2 spot in Quali and a P2 spot in the race. We learned so much over the course of these two weeks in Daytona. To get so close to the victory in our first time out against world-class opposition is truly just reward for our amazing men and women. Bravo team. No one can guarantee the outcome in world class sport, but we can guarantee that we will try to improve and learn tomorrow and each day. We will focus our attention on the next race at Sebring and building our team.”

Next
The 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now moves to central Florida for the
73rd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Saturday, March 15 in Sebring, FL.

Win for No. 13 Corvette is first in a 24-hour race for Corvette Z06 GT3.R  DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2025) – The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R started its second season of competition by winning one of the biggest races the world as AWA and drivers Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern and Martin Kirchhöfer captured the GT Daytona (GTD) victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 13 Corvette crossed the finish line by 1.454 seconds for the 21st victory for Chevrolet in the Rolex 24 and the fifth for the Corvette Racing program since 1999. AWA’s victory was its second in three seasons at Daytona, also the first in a 24-hour race for the Corvette GT3 and 12th since debuting at the Rolex 24 a year ago. Five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs entered the race with two making the podium. Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella placed second in GTD PRO in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Z06 GT3.R.  GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results· No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – Runner-up in class· No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone –– Seventh in class· No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – Ninth in class GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results· No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – First in class· No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 20th in classAWA’s victory began to take shape past the halfway point. Both Fidani and Kern completed the minimum drive time in the first 13 hours to set the stage for Bell and Kirchhöfer to drive most of the remaining 11 hours with Kern giving the pair a stint’s worth of a break before going the rest of the way. The GTD race swung in favor of AWA inside the final seven hours when Bell stopped for fuel and tires and retained the class lead. The class running order went back and forth the rest of the way with Bell taking the lead for good with 20 minutes left and running as low as fourth after a restart with 40 minutes to go.  As joyous as the win for AWA was, the fate of the No. 4 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports was just as heartbreaking. After cycling up and down in the GTD PRO order, Tommy Milner moved into the lead inside the final two hours but his attempt to extend his lead over the second-place No. 1 car was repeatedly blocked by that car’s team entry. That allowed the No. 1 to get to the back of Milner’s Corvette, which suffered rear damage that required multiple stops to repair. Despite that, the No. 4 squad remained in contention with Varrone racing his way up to second before the trio eventually finished seventh. The wild late-race chaos also saw Sims go from seventh to second inside the final hour. The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch took the fight to the GTD PRO regulars and consistently ran in the class’s top half for the majority of the race. DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette was on pace for a solid result in its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut before retiring at the halfway point with Charlie Eastwood moving toward the front. The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is 1812KM of Qatar – the opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship – on Friday, February 28. The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 15.

JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Congratulations to Andrew Wojteczko, drivers Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, Lars Kern and Marvin Kirchhöfer and all of AWA for their incredible victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. What this team has achieved in one year with the Corvette is nothing short of phenomenal. Thank you to AWA and every person and partner who contributes to Corvette Racing’s success. There is no better way for AWA to start the season and the team’s road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This means absolutely everything. To me, to my teammates Orey and Lars and Marvin. Everybody on this team has worked so hard. To think where we were this time last year and how far we’ve come to now… it’s so much hard work to do this. From the minute the checkered flag fell at Petit Le Mans, no one took a rest. No one took a break. It’s been 24-7 since then to get a car that is capable of winning the Daytona 24 Hours. AWA gave the four of us car to do it. IMSA is the hardest championship in the world. Our competitors gave us a hell of a run. I had to work so hard to get on top of those guys but we managed to make it work and bring it home in the last 10 minutes. Thank you to the competition for making it this hard, and thank you to AWA and my teammates to get us over the line.” The winning pass: “Honestly, I can’t remember a thing. There were PRO cars, there were GTD cars… I don’t remember that. I’ll have to watch the video later! Every time there was a car in front of me, I was trying to overtake it. I asked the guys to stop giving me updates on the radio. I just a GT car and wanted to pass it. That’s all I was focused on. I can’t thank my teammates and everyone enough. That’s one beat up Chevrolet Corvette but they make them tough in Detroit!” More on the win: “That was so tough. The competition here in this series is the best in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. I couldn’t have asked for a better Corvette to take on the best here. There was some hard, hard racing… really hard but fair all the way. I have to give credit to our competitors. That was proper racing and why I love this race series. I hope the fans enjoyed it as well. I can’t thank AWA, Corvette, GM and my teammates. Everyone did such a good job giving us a car to go to work in.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This was always a dream, but I didn’t think about it before coming here two weeks ago. I think I drove my best-ever race in this one, the car was hooked up, my teammates drove really well and everything just came together. This is huge boost for the team and myself heading to the 24 Hours Le Mans. If we can this one, I think Le Mans also is a possibility as well. We’ll take that energy from here and roll it forward into that. But first, let’s try going for the 12 Hours next at Sebring!”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I thought this is something that would never to happen to me. I lost out on a big win on the Nurburgring once where I was pretty sure that we had it. So I kind of thought I’m just the unlucky guy. Today, we all did our job but then at the end, we were discussing who was going into the car and I put my money on Matt. And we were all like ‘yeah, he can do it.’ What he did at the end and how the car performed over the whole race was just incredible. We knew on pace that we had an edge on everybody because the car was just absolutely epic to drive. Loved it. That’s why all of us had great pace in the race. But then at end it was just pure carnage and chaos. The way he managed it was incredible. The team with so many hiccups and so many gremlins with refueling and stuff, we always found a solution for it. It’s unreal.”  What does this do for you and for the team going to the other 24-hour race…“We were laughing a couple of days ago that if we win this, it’s a good test for Le Mans. So we can continue like this. I think that’s our approach.”

MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “How I’m describing this one, I don’t know. I’m lost for words. What an amazing race. I mean the result is one thing, but if you look behind the scenes, AWA, GM, Chevy and everyone, the amount of work everyone put in to have a great race and then actually winning the race in the last 30 minutes, I mean it’s absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone for the support…to Chevy, to AWA, they welcomed me in the best possible way. As we said, quite nice way to start – one race, one win. Hopefully, there’s a few more coming. Amazing result, and just very, very thankful for everyone on the team involved to win the Rolex 24.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “All race we were going everywhere, basically. We solved a wiring problem during the night, and the car got back to being alive. We were lucky our crew could fix that, and the car was back in contention and fast. Ever since I drove it at night, we at least had a chance. I don’t think it would have made a ton of difference, but it’s a shame that penalty that I had, which from my point of view, was a little bit on the edge and avoidable from both sides. Such a shame. That put us on our back foot, and no yellows for three hours, at least. That was painful because if there were a yellow, we could have made our way to P1 and P2. I think we were both fast enough to be P1 or 2 or be up front on regular strategy instead of gambling on our strategy. Here you only want to win, but the good thing you can take is championship points for manufacturers, drivers, and teams. We’ll go up from here. And congratulations to the AWA guys on their win in GTD with their Corvette.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Right at the end for the last few hours, things really chopped and changed a lot for everyone in the field, really. But our Corvettes were working really well. We maybe didn’t have the pace overnight, but during the day things really came to us and we had the laptime. It was just a little bit difficult to race in a pack with a couple of the other manufacturer cars who were particularly fast on the straights and weaker in the corners, which is where we made our laptimes. Honestly, from where things looked like a few hours from the end, second is pretty good. But when you’re fighting super close for the win, you can’t help as a sportsman to feel disappointed not to get the win.” Considering where you were a year ago…“I thought that exactly too. Here we had a near flawless race. Our Corvette held up really, really well. The whole team did a fantastic job to execute so much of the race so well. It was a good start for the year.”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’ve had some time to cool down and to be honest, it’s an amazing result to finish second. A great start to the year. Really thankful to the team. They made us believe in winning, and we ended up just short. Alex is an absolute legend. That last 30 minutes gave us the shivers and made us dream about the victory. We just came short. It is what it is. Tomorrow will taste way better and I think looking at the overall performance and where we’re coming from one year ago, it’s fantastic. So really happy for the Pratt and Miller guys, everyone at Corvette Racing. They gave us a fantastic Corvette GT3 car and that was good fun.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R (on incident with No. 48: “That’s not what IMSA is about, sports car racing is about. First and foremost, the driver should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed… with that kind of racing. It is team racing here but not like that. They have a car that’s laps down out of the race whose only job is basically only to help the teammate, and not like that. Lap after lap, blocking, blocking, blocking, waiting for me. It’s just like I said, not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing. I don’t have an issue with 1 car. Those guys are in their own race. It’s just the sister car that’s out there just to be a nuisance. Poor sportsmanship, poor driving, just embarrassing on their part.“It sounds like they timed their pit stop to come out in front of me. On their previous stint, they waited for me until I got close, then held me up for a bit but for whatever reason, either he pit or got the black flag, then came out and did it again. Their only goal is to race dirty. Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go. I was content for a while just to sit behind him. I’m not a big believer in spirits and those kinds of things, but if karma was going to work, it would be a good time today.” More on the incident…“Basically that’s not what IMSA and sports car racing is about. Hard racing between competitors is totally fine. I have no issue with the 1 car. At the end of the day the driver of the 48 should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed… a car that’s only out there to slow us down isn’t what this race is about. I have no issue with the 1. They’re still in the hunt. We’ll continue to race them clean as we have.””In the end what hurt us the most was to continue to stay out after they had a blocking penalty to block more. Whoever was in the 48 really slowed me up in (Turn) Three and got me a little bit crossed up and put me into the 1. The car isn’t totally right for sure. There’s lasting damage from all of that for sure, not to mention the problems we had with the bumper. Hopefully that is fixed now. It’s just disappointing. The team at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has done a great job all race long. I’m really proud of our guys. Nicky and Nico have done a great job all race long. It’s a shame for us to work that hard to put us into contention to have a good result and for it to be spoiled like that was pretty pathetic.”

CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s been so much fun bringing Trackhouse to IMSA and run the Rolex 24 with this team. All my teammates were a blast to be teammates with and hang out with off the track. Ben brought so much expertise to the team, and Scott and Shane – with all their experience racing V8 Supercars, IndyCar, NASCAR – I had a lot to learn from. I’m grateful that I got this chance to race with all those guys and race with them. I’m frustrated with how the race ended but looking back at the last two weeks, it was so much fun that I don’t sweat the result too much.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (January 26, 2025) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, presented by FloRacing, will continue its Georgia-Florida Speedweeks action with the Wieland Winter Nationals at All-Tech Raceway. The action begins on Wednesday, January 29, with an Open Practice, followed by three full nights of racing.  On Thursday, January 30, teams will compete for a $10,000 prize, followed by a $12,000 prize on Friday. Saturday, February 1, will feature a top prize of $15,000 for competitors. Each day will include Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and an A-Main event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing. The 604 Late Model division will also be in action on Friday and Saturday, with the All-Tech Raceway Crown Vics added to Saturday’s racing program. The pit gates will open at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, January 29, with practice scheduled from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. For the remainder of the weekend, the pit gates will open at 2:00 PM, followed by general admission gates at 3:00 PM. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 PM each day. All-Tech Raceway is conveniently located just off I-75, Exit 414 at 1024 SW Howell Road in Lake City, Florida. For ticket prices, camping and event information, and more, please visit www.alltechraceway.com. Following the season opener at Golden Isles Speedway, Tyler Bruening leads the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP. Jonathan Davenport is second, followed by Brandon Overton, Devin Moran, and Brian Shirley. For the latest news, results, championship standings, and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Wieland Winter Nationals Purses:Thursday, January 30: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Friday, January 31: 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = $52,800 Saturday, February 1: 1. $15,000, 2. $7,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,000, 6. $2,500, 7. $2,400, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,800, 13. $1,600, 14. $1,500, 15. $1,400, 16. $1,300, 17. $1,200, 18. $1,100, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $63,400 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Fronts/Left Rear – Hoosier (90) NLMT2Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R leads contingent with fifth place

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 26, 2025) – Cadillac Racing Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) cars led laps in the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona, though they unfortunately weren’t in the closing rush to the checkered flag. The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, with drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens and Brendon Hartley, led the three-car contingent with a sixth-place finish among the 12 GTP entries. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R were eliminated from contention in the first half of the twice-around-the-clock race.

Cadillac Racing has recorded four overall victories and 12 podium finishes since 2017 in the annual IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Combined, the Cadillac GTPs, powered by the 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine, led 99 laps. The fortunes for Action Express Racing’s second overall victory in the Rolex 24 were dashed just before midnight ET when the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R with Frederik Vesti behind the wheel shot up the banking of the oval Turn 4 and made heavy contact with the SAFER Barrier. Vesti was uninjured. The team received the car in the garage at 12:15 a.m. and immediately set to work on repairs and replacements. The car, driven by Vesti, Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Felipe Drugovich, rejoined the race 78 minutes later and soldiered on to ninth place in class. Media resources: Event images for editorial use | 2025 statistics | Cadillac Racing in Rolex 24 results Three hours earlier, cold tires were the culprit as the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R was involved in a multiple-car incident in Turn 2 off a restart with Louis Deletraz behind the wheel. Deletraz was checked and released from the infield care center and the car was retired. The No. 7 Porsche 963 won the race. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac is next on the IMSA calendar March 15 on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway course. Cadillac Racing swept the front row for the 2024 race and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R finished as runner-up. Cadillac Racing Rolex 24 At Daytona overall victories2020 (Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi)2019 (Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso; Jordan Taylor, Kamui Kobayashi)2018 (Christian Fittipaldi, Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa)2017 (Jeff Gordon, Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli) Of note: Sebastien Bourdais, full-season driver for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in the FIA World Endurance Championship, co-drove to the LMP2 class victory for his 14th career IMSA win.What they’re saying

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Ricky Taylor: “Hard week but I think we came away with a good result. The team maximized the performance, and we go to Sebring with some points and start the season working toward the championship with Cadillac.” Filipe Albuquerque: “What a tough day in the office. A long race. During the night actually the car was pretty decent, pretty nice and competitive, but we missed something. I mean, it’s our first race with Cadillac, learning the car. We seemed to miss the setup for the daytime; it was hard to drive, very hard to drive. We did what we could. I don’t think it’s that bad to finish P5 with what we had, so it’s what it is. So, we’ll learn and move on.” Will Stevens: “Overall, we came in with expectations to be higher up, but we did the best we could. At points in the race we seemed strong, especially in the night. I thought we could mix it up with the others and the car came to life in the night for sure. I think we just struggled a bit more in the heat, especially this being the hottest day of the week. Overall, I think it’s been a good first race for Cadillac and me back with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing. I think we can build on this and I look forward to Sebring.” Brendon Hartley: “I had another great experience with WTR. You have to learn the car at the Roar, all my teammates did a great job getting me up to speed. I loved working with everyone again, I think that’s one of the real strong points, every year I have with WTR. It’s been a great group of people, great atmosphere, team spirit. I mainly drove in the night and the car came alive; at some points we were flying. All the guys behind the scenes did a great job in fine tuning all the settings to get the balance that we wanted because we didn’t start the race with the ideal balance. Unfortunately, in the day, when the sun came out, we didn’t have the pace to challenge the top four. Overall, I think it was a really positive experience. First race for Cadillac with WTR, lots to learn and I really enjoyed it, and I hope I can come back at some point.”No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R Earl Bamber: “I think we were very competitive and had something to fight at the front. We led laps. It’s a shame. I guess we all just have to come back next year. It’s good that Fred got some laps again, it’s good for a Cadillac to finish a race and you have two cars finish. But we came here to win, so I think we’re all pretty gutted. But looking forward to the season we know we’ve got a great package, the drivers are on fire. So, I guess we’ll roll on and see what we can do at Sebring.” Jack Aitken: “Repairing the car) shows the passion for this race. Just to finish is a massive achievement. In my time here we’ve been to this race three times with this car and we’ve had the pace every single time. But it just hasn’t quite come together for us, so it’s a bit of a sad one. But we put in a really good showing. I think it’s going to motivate us to come back next year and make sure that we put it all together. I’m really proud of the whole Whelen Cadillac team for getting back out there and finishing the job.” Frederik Vesti: “I can’t believe the team put an almost brand-new car together in 78 minutes. That’s incredible. When I saw the car in the garage, I was pretty confident it was over. But to see the teamwork to get the car back out, it was impressive. I think today it is more like practice for me and for everyone. We are so far down, but still good practice for the races ahead, learning the car, continuing to work on tires and everything. So, I’m really happy to get out on track, also just to get out in the car after a big crash like that. It’s nice to shake it out.” Felipe Drugovich: (after the incident) “I think more time in the car is good, especially for me and Fred that we are still getting used to everything. But it’s a great experience. It’s not as we wish it was. I think what I did at the day to still push and have a look how it is and improve for the next ones. (getting the car back on track after incident) “I think it was an amazing effort. I think they all stand out for this team. They did it with me in Le Mans last year as well. In a few minutes the car was back together so it was really cool.”

No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Louis Deletraz: “Very cold tires, especially when you race at night. I’m fine. Luckily, we have a very strong car. Cadillac has a very safe car. I think I just didn’t have enough grip in the tire and lost it straight away and after that got hit by an LPM2. I feel very bad for the team and it’s a shame that it happened so early in the race. A sad way to end the 24.” Jordan Taylor: “Obviously, a tough day. The car showed a lot of speed when the sun went down and the cooler temps came in. Kamui was a rock star getting the car to lead a couple of times. We were just clicking off the laps as you have to do at Daytona just the get to the end and go fight from there. It looked like just a tiny touch of cold tires or maybe a touch from another car sent Louis off. He’s OK, so that’s the main thing. Unfortunately, we got collected by another car after the spin and that basically took away our chances to repair the car. Tough one for the team.” Kamui Kobayashi: “Unfortunately, we had the crash after the restart. Louis is OK, so that’s the most important part. I think we had a strong car, led laps and were working on making the car better for the morning. Everybody did a lot of hard work. I was missing experience in the Cadillac, but the team did an excellent job getting everything in order. It’s a shame we couldn’t take the checkered flag.”

BARBERVILLE, FL (January 25, 2025) – 

For the first time in his career, Garrett Alberson elected to include Volusia Speedway Park on his early-season itinerary. And after two nights of action, he’s already fallen in love with the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”

After an exhilarating late-race tussle, the Las Cruces, NM driver won for the first time with the World of Outlaws Late Models and bagged the $20,000 top prize in Saturday’s DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals finale.

“It’s huge for the team,” Alberson said. “This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. Just to be a contender in Late Model racing, it’s super cool.”

Alberson began the 50-lap affair in the third starting spot behind two of dirt Late Model racing’s all-time greats – Jimmy Owens and Jonathan Davenport. Owens broke away to the early lead, while a slow start for Davenport allowed Alberson to climb to second exiting Turn 2 on the first lap.

Owens looked to have the dominant car early on, but Alberson kept the gap within a second until Lap 14. Nick Hoffman’s run of misfortune continued for the second-straight night with a flat left-front tire, bringing out the caution.

On the ensuing restart, Alberson briefly lost second to Tyler Erb but regained the spot when the No. 1T slid up and out of the groove in Turn 2 just before halfway.

After a caution due to a spinning Brent Larson, Alberson got his first look at the lead as he went three-wide down the backstretch with Owens and Max Blair for the top spot. Owens won that battle, but Alberson wasn’t keen on letting him get away. Following a handful of attempts, Alberson threw a slider and made it stick to take the lead for the first time with eight to go.

“Jimmy got out there really good early, but I could pace him and kind of run down the track a little bit,” Alberson said. “I knew once we got clean air there, I was going to be OK. I could make really good speed in the top, my right-front was giving up a little bit getting tight like everybody else.”

When it looked like Alberson was driving away to a comfortable victory, Brian Shirley slowed on the frontstretch to set up a three-lap Dash to the checkers. For Alberson, the path to his first World of Outlaws win was simple – hold off a future first-ballot Hall of Famer in Davenport.

Half a lap after the restart, Davenport slid up in front of Alberson before the No. 58 crossed him back exiting Turn 4. “Superman” tried the same move in the next set of corners, but Alberson once again had the momentum on exit to prevail. One more perfect lap later, Alberson crossed the line to become the 102nd Feature winner in Series history and first from the state of New Mexico.

“Man, that restart got wild,” Alberson said. “JD and I were throwing slide jobs there at the end, hopefully it was all clean and everything. Man, this is awesome.”

For Davenport, his maiden Sunshine Nationals appearance wrapped up with his second runner-up in as many nights. With a weekend of consistent speed at Volusia under their belts, the No. 49 team will be among the favorites when the Series returns to the track in February for Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

“I thought I’d make him earn it anyway,” Davenport said. “I didn’t think I could get to him, but I found a line that I could slide across him through [Turns] 1 and 2, really stuck until we could exit.

“Garrett pushed a little off of 2, so I said, ‘might as well try it.’ But I bottomed out when I went to slide him and got a little more sideways than I wanted to so I wouldn’t clear him and not hit him. That put me a little bit out of the ballpark, and then he got another run on me. From then, I was just trying to break his momentum.”

Rounding out the podium was the No. 111 of Blair, who spent the entirety of the second half of the Feature lurking in the top five. After his Friday Feature came to an early end with a Lap 1 incident, the third-place run was just what the doctor ordered for the Centerline Motorsports team.

“I think we had speed all weekend,” Blair said. “The racetrack was awesome tonight, I can’t say enough about how much work they put into getting something like this to race on. Minus one little bump into Turn 3, I don’t know if it could have been any better.”

Devin Moran drove from 15th up to fourth while Owens fell to fifth at the finish.

RACE NOTES:

Brandon Overton laid down the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Nick Hoffman won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Cody Overton won STAKT Products Heat Two.

Jimmy Owens won Keyser Manufacturing Heat Three.

Tyler Erb won Jarrett Rifles Heat Four.

Nick Hoffman, Garrett Alberson and Jonathan Davenport won Heat Races One, Five and Six.

Tyler Bruening, Dustin Sorensen and Brandon Overton won the three Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.

Jimmy Owens won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Hudson O’Neal drove from 22nd up to eighth to claim the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Ethan Dotson was the MD3 Rookie of the Race with his 12th-place finish.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Models return to Volusia Speedway Park on the final week of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Thurs.-Sat., Feb. 13-15. Get your tickets by clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every World of Outlaws Late Models race live on DIRTVision.

Feature (50 Laps): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 3. 111-Max Blair[7]; 4. 99-Devin Moran[15]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce[17]; 7. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 8. 71-Hudson O’Neal[22]; 9. 1-Brandon Sheppard[23]; 10. 9-Nick Hoffman[5]; 11. 2-Cody Overton[6]; 12. 74X-Ethan Dotson[18]; 13. 97-Cade Dillard[25]; 14. 96-Tanner English[14]; 15. 22*-Drake Troutman[27]; 16. 40B-Kyle Bronson[9]; 17. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[26]; 18. 19R-Ryan Gustin[16]; 19. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[24]; 20. 16-Tyler Bruening[19]; 21. 19-Dustin Sorensen[20]; 22. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 23. B1-Brent Larson[28]; 24. 3S-Brian Shirley[13]; 25. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[29]; 26. 14W-Dustin Walker[30]; 27. 9M-Tim McCreadie[11]; 28. 44-Chris Madden[12]; 29. 76-Brandon Overton[21]; 30. 157-Mike Marlar[10]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/alberson-snags-first-world-of-outlaws-win-in-dirtcar-sunshine-nationals-finale/

TRACK INFO: https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/

FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

The late decision to race the DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals in the days leading up to the event is a choice that Ethan Wilson is happy to look back on.

The Fayetteville, NC driver had to fight with Florida and Crate Racin’ USA 604 Late Model talents through the field for his first career win at Volusia Speedway Park.

The pilot of the No.00 Longhorn Chassis began his night from 10th place, with little passes able to be completed until a pileup on the front stretch played to Wilson’s favor – jumping from ninth place to sixth on the following drop of the green flag.

Wilson consistently ran in the top five for 10 laps until he passed Zack Carley and Mark Whitener for second place. Then, he ran multiple laps against Sam Seawright for the Feature lead.

Wilson and Seawright traded slide job moves with each other until Seawright pulled off the racetrack with a mechanical issue – boosting Wilson’s chances at the win.

Whitener, the former Sunshine Nationals winner, gave Wilson one final run for the win with wide divebombs to give his No.5 Late Model as much space to catch the North Carolinian. It was too little, too late for Whitener’s chances as Wilson gave the Longhorn Factory Team its first Late Model Palooza triumph.

“I was a little nervous, but I knew that I was really good,” Wilson said. “I had to hit my marks coming to the green and just do my job getting through the corners. The cars are great, this was my first time in this race car, so thanks to Steve Arpin, Matt Langston, and all the guys at Longhorn. That was the most fun I had in a race car in a really long time, the track was pretty badass.”

Whitener cemented the night in second, wishing he had a chance to restart the race on the high side of the track to see if his chase for the lead had gone in his favor.

“I don’t know if I went wrong or not,” Whitener said. “I just didn’t feel like I was in the racetrack like I was last night. I was quarter-throttle through the corner to keep the car straight and where I’ll pull up off the corner with (Ethan). I needed the top on the restart to where I could make some moves, but I was always stuck on the bottom. Congrats to Ethan and those guys, we’ll come home second.”

Zack Carley finished on the podium for his introductory trip to Volusia. It was never planned at first for the Freedom, NY driver to race, but was led to competing inside the thick of the southeast’s talent pool of competitors.

“It’s been a long trip,” Carley said. “We started at Golden Isles and they got rained out, so we sat around with nothing to do for seven days and this was a great way to cap it off. This (result) is killer, we’re racing against the best in the business so we passed half of the best in the business, so we love it.”

Powder Springs, GA driver Jake Rainey finished fourth, and Douglasville, TN native Michael Page completed the top-five finishers.

RECAP NOTES:

604 Late Model Quick Time: Skylar Marlar (16.651)

Last Chance Showdown Winners: Kaede Loudy, Layton Sullivan, Austin Yarborough, Mikey Kopka

Hard Charger of the Feature: Wil Herrington (+29)

Up Next: Volusia Speedway Park welcomes the biggest kickoff party in dirt racing with the 54th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, starting on Thursday, January 30, starring the American Sprint Car Series and DIRTcar UMP Modifieds.

DIRTCAR NATIONALS TICKETS

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.

ARTICLE:https://dirtcar.com/recap/surfing-horns-ethan-wilson-snags-10000-in-604-late-model-finale-at-sunshine-nationals/ 

EVENT INFO:https://dirtcarnationals.com/
TRACK INFO:https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/ 

FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

Corvettes work their way forward in opening hours of 2025 opener DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 25, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s contingent of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs found their way toward the front of their respective classes in the opening phase of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. All five Corvettes were on the lead lap of their respective classes to first race of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, an encouraging start to the second year of the Z06 GT3.R program.

Both of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ pair of Corvettes ran in the top-three of the 15-car GTD PRO class in the first six hours of the race. Alexander Sims was as high as second in class in the No. 3 Z06 GT3.R, followed by Tommy Milner in the No. 4 sister Corvette during their opening stint. The two yellow Corvettes were second and fourth at the six-hour mark. Nico Varrone led the charge in the No. 4 with Daniel Juncadella completing the opening driver rotation in the No. 3. The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R was on the GTD PRO lead lap with Shane van Gisbergen in the middle of his opening stint and running 10th. Connor Zilisch drove a double-stint to start with Ben Keating following in a two-hour triple stint. In GTD, AWA’s No. 13 Corvette ran as high as fourth as the race went into dark to start its second season with the Z06 GT3.R. Orey Fidani started the race and was in the middle of his second time through and was 18th after six hours. DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette climbed its way up through the order in its WeatherTech Championship debut. After stints from Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluc and Alec Udell to start, Pipo Derani was just outside the top-10 in 12th place but also on the lead lap.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTESALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was pretty standard racing out there. In the first couple of stints at Daytona, you want to take it easy and start to get a feel in terms of where we’re strong and where our Corvettes are working well around the track so we can build a picture of later in the race.” Avoiding an opening-lap spin by a P2 car…“I was being told to go outside by my engineer. He could see the screen at the moment, and I was like, ‘Nope, don’t think so!’ at the last minute. But thankfully all was safe for everyone.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Early on it was pretty uneventful, which was good. It looked like most of the field there at the start was nose-to-tail. Even after the pit stop cycle, it seemed like most of the GTD PRO field was still pretty close together. I just followed Simsy around for awhile and did some racing a little bit toward the end, but so far so good.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “All good so far. Car is doing well. We’re trying to not take any risk and not do too many crazy things. It’s easy to kind of get mixed up in GTD stuff which is unnecessary, but so far so good. Car feels great, so let’s try and make it to the end. Some of the others cars, I mean the Lambo, is incredibly quick. That’s going to be tough. I think they already had some issue, so let’s hope they have some more. Then we’ll see what happens later in the race.”  On tire degradation versus other cars.“To be honest, I don’t know about the others, but these tires now, did qualifying, ten laps, and a double-stint. If the car feels like that with those tires on, I’d sign for it. It’s all good.”

CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was good. We just got a drive-through as I got out of the car for pit protocol which puts us back a little bit. The car hangs on really well through the double stint. We lack a little bit of raw pace, but I think we make it back on the long runs. It’s going to evolve a lot through the day and night. We’ve got definitely some work to be made and some ground to be made up ahead of us, but it’s not a bad start. It’s early, so anything can happen.” You had to avoid a spinning car on the opening lap….“Yeah, the LMP2 for me on Lap 1, and then one was passing me in Turn 4 one lap in. It came from way back. It was a bit sketchy. Between the GTD cars, we’re all just in a line in the draft until the prototypes caught us and we got split up a little bit. Pretty calm so far.”  Are you having more fun considering your teammates with pretty big personalities? What’s it been like to have Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen as teammates?“It’s been really good to have Scott (McLaughlin), SVG and Ben (Keating) even. Ben’s got some character and a lot of experience in this sport, so it’s been really cool to learn from all those guys. We’ve definitely had a lot of fun together racing. They’re teaching me a lot which is super beneficial for me. It’s not often you get to team up with a team like this and learn from guys like that. I’ve been very fortunate to have all them supporting me and pushing me in the right direction, and keeping our team straight. Shane’s obviously done this race in GT cars a lot before and has a good bit of experience. We’ve been definitely learning on him to kind of ask where you think we are and how do you think we’re doing. He definitely understands GT racing a bit more than me and Scott, but Ben and Shane definitely have a ton of experience and it’s been a lot of fun learning from those guys and hanging out with them off track as well.”  Is there anything fun you’re learning or they’re teaching you?“Majority of good things. I’ve definitely learned some Kiwi slang that I probably didn’t need to know that I know now.”  Do you feel like you’re being a little bit of a Freshman being hazed by them?“I said that before. Yeah, it’s fun though. I bring them coffee in the morning, and we all have a laugh together. It’s been really cool to have them picking on me at times, but they feel like big brothers to me and that’s been really cool.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “No issues. The car is running perfectly. I feel like we are in a really good position at this point. I basically double-stinted the tires and we still had good pace at the end. So the car feels really, really good. It’s enjoyable. always gets wild at the restarts but you have to keep your head down and relax because we know the car has pace throughout the stint to move up the order.”

MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was great. Honestly, AWA, I think we did a good job as a team. The car, our Corvette, honestly, we’re feeling good out there. I think we’ve got some good pace. We’re not as strongest on the straight, I’ve got to say, which makes overtaking quite hard, but I think on the pace-side, we are very competitive. But we’re only in around four hours into the race. A bit of the race is done but still a long way to go. We’ve just got to keep it clean. I’m enjoying my time. Honestly, I’m really enjoying being out there, enjoying the race, enjoying being in Daytona.” Close calls on track?“Well there’s some guys there I think they believe it’s like the last lap of the race, so they make your life quite difficult to get past them. Had a few nice overtakes into the Bus Stop around the outside of the Ferrari. We all love to pass a Ferrari on the outside, so that was good. Not bad, just mainly fun, and just have to keep it nicely together now for the rest of the race.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The car felt pretty good. I feel like we were moving forward a bit. There was a lot of energy saving trying to maximize the amount of time that we can spend on the racetrack. So it’s a little bit of balance of if there is an opportunity to make a pass, push and try to get past that car in front of you. But you’re also trying to keep in the draft of another car so you can get that top speed because that’s worth a lot here at Daytona.”

SALIH YOLUC, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The car felt nice to be honest. It’s just for some reason because of straight-line speed issues, it was a bit difficult to race others. But all in all it was a great stint.”

BARBERVILLE, FL (January 24, 2025) Kicking off the sixth annual DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park included four Features contested to decide the top-20 starting positions in Saturday night’s finale.

Starting the weekend at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” with Feature wins bagged by Sam Seawright, Matt Herlong, Demetrios Drellos, and Mark Whitener.

Feature 1 – Sam Seawright

Friday night’s opening Feature began with Mack McCarter spinning in the middle of Turn Two on the first lap. Multiple cars suffered damage, ending the races of McCarter, AJ Miller, and former track champion Garret Stewart.

On the following restart, Sam Seawright took advantage of the gained track position to pass polesitter Layton Sullivan for the lead.

The Fort Payne, AL native dominated the 20 laps by inflating his gap to over 10 seconds before the Feature prematurely ended with Robert Smith, Kyle Hardy, and Sean Ragan involved in a major crash on the front stretch.

With Smith and Hardy contending for second place when time expired on the Feature, Smith was credited with a second-place result and Sullivan finished the night in the third position. Seawright’s Feature win helps his chances of taking over the Crate Racin’ USA Winter Shootout Series points lead entering Saturday night.

Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 16S-Sam Seawright[4]; 2. 01S-Robert Smith[8]; 3. 99-Kyle Hardy[13]; 4. 7J-Dalton Jacobs[12]; 5. 23M-Beckham Malone[6]; 6. 15-Marty Massey[9]; 7. 42-Steven Stratton Sr[15]; 8. 7T-Tyler Thomason[7]; 9. 87C-Jarrod Carey[3]; 10. 16W-Wesley Scott[16]; 11. 59-Brian Wooldridge[19]; 12. 96-Sean Reagan[18]; 13. (DNF) 19X-Mark Page[17]; 14. (DNF) 2S-Layton Sullivan[1]; 15. (DNF) 16-Caleb Gay[11]; 16. (DNF) 7-Corey Neil Jr[10]; 17. (DNF) 51-Mack McCarter[2]; 18. (DNF) 14AJ-AJ Miller[5]; 19. (DNF) 67S-Garret Stewart[14]

Feature 2 – Matt Herlong 

Similar to Feature 1, the second go-around for the 604 Late Models began with several Late Models spinning through the middle of Turn 2 and stopping the nights of Rob Pitcher, Monte Skinner, Dale Young, and Luke Bennett.

On the second attempt, Kaede Loudy took command of the Feature, leading every lap to build a six-second gap until a late caution with two laps left opened the door for the field to contend with the Rogersville, TN driver.

Up to bat was Matt Herlong, who traded lanes with Loudy in the final two laps, which culminated in Herlong swinging down to the bottom of the track and then sliding up around Loudy to steal the Feature 2 race win.

“I watched him do it three or four times in a row so I set him up for that,” Herlong said. “It was a hell of a race. I’m worn out, it was rough out there for sure. I did this for my good friend Jim, who isn’t here no more.”

Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 131-Matt Herlong[2]; 2. 126-Kaede Loudy[3]; 3. 07-Hayden Cardwell[6]; 4. 18X-Michael Page[7]; 5. 18B-Austin Yarbrough[13]; 6. 18-David Showers Jr[4]; 7. 44-Kam Boyd[1]; 8. 8-Matthew Larson[8]; 9. B2-Brian Booze[17]; 10. 515-Bubba Roling[12]; 11. 49-Mario Gresham[9]; 12. 31S-Tim Swartz[16]; 13. 4G-Kale Green[11]; 14. 57-Landon Zakalowski[18]; 15. 119-Joe Belkey[10]; 16. (DNF) 17P-Rob Pitcher[15]; 17. (DNF) 00M-Monte Skinner[5]; 18. (DNF) 14Y-Dale Young[19]; 19. (DNF) 3-Luke Bennett[14]

Feature 3 – Demetrios Drellos

Curtis Glover and Nathan Bray led the field to the start, but Super DIRTcar Series regular Demetrios Drellos stole the show in Feature 3.

The Queensbury, NY native normally seen in a Big Block Modified ran in second for the majority of the race until a three-car battle gave him breathing room for that chance. Drellos, Trynt Lloyd, and Nathan Bray for the lead off a late restart on Lap 13, which resulted in Drellos prevailing with a move around the top of Lloyd to take the victory.

Lloyd, of Jacksonville, FL, finished second. Fayetteville, NC native Ethan Wilson rounded out the Feature’s podium.

“I really had to bide my time there,” Drellos said. “I didn’t want that caution to come out because I was about to turn it up a wick, but it did and next thing I knew, we were three-wide going for the lead. That was a lot of fun though.”

Feature 3 (20 Laps): 1. 111-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 2. 2-Trynt Lloyd[9]; 3. 00-Ethan Wilson[8]; 4. 21-Nathan Bray[2]; 5. 30-Curtis Glover[1]; 6. D8-Dustin Linville[3]; 7. 257-Skylar Marlar[10]; 8. 86-Wil Herrington[11]; 9. 7A-Corey Almond[6]; 10. 39W-Brandon Wells[14]; 11. 67-Gregory Carrico[7]; 12. 23-Toby Sims[12]; 13. 20-Owen Osteen[13]; 14. 71C-Davy Cline[18]; 15. 18C-Miles Cook II[5]; 16. (DNF) 28L-Austin Leamon[16]; 17. (DNF) 24-Payton Stevenson[19]; 18. (DNF) 118-Jared Delk[15]; 19. (DNF) 1X-Ethan Whitis[17]

Feature 4 – Mark Whitener

Visiting Sunshine Nationals Victory Lane for the first time since 2022, Mark Whitener continued to prove his threat for the Feature win on Saturday with a dominating display in the final 604 Late Model Feature.

To do so, he had to fend off Winter Shootout points leader Jimmy Thomas and reigning Volusia division champion Mikey Kopka for the race win through the 20 laps. The Middleburg, FL driver was unfazed by the challenges of Thomas and Kopka as he picked up the second straw hat won at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile.”

“We come here a couple of times to get ready for Speedweeks,” Whitener said. “We’ve been working on the (Super Late Model) and not enough on this thing, so we got some things to work on. Everything’s all good, I know they’re working hard on (the track) and I look forward to tomorrow.”

Thomas, of Phenix City, AL finished second, and Callahan, FL native Kole Platt snagged the final podium spot from Kopka off the final restart on Lap 19.

Feature 4 (20 Laps): 1. 5-Mark Whitener[1]; 2. USA1-Jimmy Thomas[10]; 3. 44P-Kole Platt[4]; 4. 721-Mikey Kopka[12]; 5. 28-Jake Rainey[5]; 6. 6-Dillon Brown[7]; 7. 611-Koulten Herbert[11]; 8. 52-Cody Karl[9]; 9. 2C-Zack Carley[8]; 10. 94-Holden Allen[16]; 11. 12C-Chase Giddens[6]; 12. 54T-Tuck Trentham[2]; 13. 17C-Jamie Maurice[15]; 14. 18I-Jason Intoppa[13]; 15. (DNF) 69-Wyatt Boyd[17]; 16. (DNF) 89-Timmie Harrelson[18]; 17. (DNF) 11-John Ownbey[3]; 18. (DNS) 35-Christian Augspurger

Up Next: The 604 Late Models conclude the weekend at Volusia Speedway Park with the $10,000-to-win finale to the Sunshine Nationals on Saturday night, January 25.

SUNSHINE NATIONALS TICKETS

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.

ARTICLE:https://dirtcar.com/recap/early-risers-seawright-herlong-drellos-whitener-claim-604-late-model-feature-wins-at-sunshine-nationals/ 

EVENT INFO:https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/schedule/event-info/?event=6321
TRACK INFO:https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/ 

FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

BARBERVILLE, FL (January 24, 2025) – They say if you don’t win the show, be the show. But if you’re Ryan Gustin at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, you do both.

Moments after “The Reaper” crossed the line at Volusia Speedway Park to claim the 11th World of Outlaws Late Models win of his career, the engine under the hood of the No. 19R machine started to turn sour. With smoke billowing out from every corner of the car, Gustin crossed the scales to officially become the first winner of the new season.

“It was obviously running hot,” Gustin said in Victory Lane. “Smoke was pouring out on the backstretch and they said keep going, so we burned her down and it paid off. I’m glad there weren’t many more laps, I don’t know how many laps the old girl had left in her.”

Earlier in the night, Gustin claimed the Simpson Quick Time Award and won his Heat Race to make the Redraw, where he pulled the outside of the front row to start next to Bilstein Pole Award winner Nick Hoffman.

A brilliant start gave Gustin the early lead, but a multi-car pileup on the backstretch quickly erased his advantage. On the following restart, Hoffman nailed the first set of corners to grab the lead back and went to work on building a gap.

Hoffman maintained the top spot for the next 15 laps until he jumped the cushion in Turn 2, letting Gustin get to his inside. That kicked off a back-and-forth tussle for the lead, with both drivers taking their turns at sliders through slower traffic.

It all came to an end for Hoffman just past halfway though, as he squeezed his No. 9 under Gustin entering Turn 1, lost the back end and went around to bring the caution out.

When the race went back green, Gustin found Ethan Dotson and Jonathan Davenport on his tail in second and third. A perfect restart allowed Gustin to extend a sizeable advantage over both of them with the laps ticking down.

Davenport got within four tenths of Gustin in the closing stages, but slid up over the cushion exiting Turn 4 which gave Gustin the opportunity he needed to drive away to the win.

Friday’s event marked Gustin’s first World of Outlaws start with new crew chief Cody Mallory on the wrenches, and they’ve already proven themselves to be a lethal duo capable of beating dirt Late Model racing’s best.

“Cody came on here and he’s completely redone this thing,” Gustin said. “Whole different unit than what we’ve had. This thing is just in the racetrack, fun to drive.”

In the final run to the checkers, Davenport got close enough to notice the trouble brewing under Gustin’s hood, but wasn’t able to pull off the winning move for his first Volusia win in seven years.

“Congratulations to Ryan there, they did a great job,” Davenport said. “Saw his motor was running hot and I was pulling up beside him like ‘man, don’t burn that thing down, go ahead and give us one here.’ But anyway, it just wasn’t our day.”

Rounding out the podium was Cody Overton with a career-best third-place finish. It certainly didn’t come easy, as the second-year Outlaw drove up from his 23rd starting spot to take home the Fox Factory Hard Charger as well.

“I was kind of doubting myself after Qualifying, I was like ‘maybe I just can’t drive,” Overton said. “My car owner [Dave Steine] has a lot of faith in me, he has spent tons and tons of money and I’m super thankful for him. This is a new car to me, my notebook has got one page in it. We’re going to take these notes and grow from there.”

Ethan Dotson kicked off his bid for the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award by finishing fourth, good enough for Friday’s Rookie of the Race honors. Tim McCreadie completed the top five in his first World of Outlaws start in the Boom Briggs-owned No. 9M.

The World of Outlaws Late Models return to Volusia on Saturday night for the $20,000-to-win DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals finale. Get tickets in advance by clicking here.

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

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 2-Cody Overton[23]; 4. 74X-Ethan Dotson[5]; 5. 9M-Tim McCreadie[17]; 6. 22*-Drake Troutman[13]; 7. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[25]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[16]; 12. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 13. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 14. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 15. 16-Tyler Bruening[21]; 16. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[24]; 17. 17SS-Brenden Smith[18]; 18. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[27]; 21. 14W-Dustin Walker[28]; 22. 1T-Tyler Erb[14]; 23. 8-Dillon McCowan[29]; 24. 157-Mike Marlar[20]; 25. 11-Austin Smith[30]; 26. 09-Michael Leach[19]; 27. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 28. 111-Max Blair[9]; 29. 60-Dan Ebert[15]; 30. 71-Hudson O’Neal[22]

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/gustin-takes-opening-night-win-at-dirtcar-sunshine-nationals/

EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/schedule/event-info/?event=6321
TRACK INFO: https://volusiaspeedwaypark.com/

FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

The pairing reunited in the off-season, and Schuerenberg is set for his rookie year with The Greatest Show on Dirt

CONCORD, NC (January 24, 2025) – Hunter Schuerenberg and Vermeer Motorsports are taking the next step with their reunion, joining the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car roster for the first time.

The Sikeston, MO native reunited with Tony Vermeer’s team over the off-season, and they’re ready to compete with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Schuerenberg joins an already loaded rookie class alongside Cole Macedo, Chris Windom, Garet Williamson, Skylar Gee, and Zach Hampton.

“I’m super excited about it,” Schuerenberg said. “I’ve raced since I was five years old and raced professionally since I was 17, and I’m 35 now. The World of Outlaws has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old. For me, this is something that’s been 25 years in the making.”

Schuerenberg in the Vermeer No. 55 is already a proven combination. The 35-year-old spent more than three seasons with the Iowa-based team. Their first win together came at Ohio’s Atomic Speedway with FAST in 2020. They competed full-time with the All-Star Circuit of Champions in 2021 and 2022, collecting five wins and a pair of third place finishes in points.

Schuerenberg and Vermeer also enjoyed a handful of strong outings in World of Outlaws action, posting top fives at Tri-State Speedway, Huset’s Speedway, and Eldora Speedway – three tracks on the 2025 calendar.

“I think we both just kind of realized that what we were doing when we split apart was pretty promising and headed the right direction,” Schuerenberg said of what led to the reunion. “I think we both mutually just kind of realized we’re better off together as a team.”

Now the pairing will look to rekindle the past success as they attack a 90-night campaign with the country’s best Sprint Car drivers. Schuerenberg will have brother-in-law Clinton Boyles on the wrenches for his debut season with the World of Outlaws.

“It’s very exciting for me to have the opportunity to run with the Outlaws, period, because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Schuerenberg said. “But I’m also very excited that I’m going to be doing it with my brother-in-law as my crew chief. I’m going to be doing it with a car owner that gave me my first real opportunity at being a winged Sprint Car driver. I’m going to have my family on the road with me and also some sponsors that have not only been with Tony the last time I was there but have been with me since I started trying to do winged Sprint Car racing again.”

The addition of Schuerenberg adds even more intrigue to the 2025 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year competition. The list of rookies grows to six as the stage continues to be set for one of the most competitive battles in Series history.

“I definitely think all of them are going to be super competitive for that Rookie of the Year honor for different reasons,” Schuerenberg said. “If we do get that award at the end of the year, we will have worked for it. Whoever gets it will have definitely earned it, which is what I want. I wouldn’t want it to be a walk in the park.”

Schuerenberg and Vermeer Motorsports begin the 2025 World of Outlaws season at Volusia Speedway Park’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 5-8. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the full 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

The pairing reunited in the off-season, and Schuerenberg is set for his rookie year with The Greatest Show on Dirt

CONCORD, NC (January 24, 2025) – Hunter Schuerenberg and Vermeer Motorsports are taking the next step with their reunion, joining the 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car roster for the first time.

The Sikeston, MO native reunited with Tony Vermeer’s team over the off-season, and they’re ready to compete with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Schuerenberg joins an already loaded rookie class alongside Cole Macedo, Chris Windom, Garet Williamson, Skylar Gee, and Zach Hampton.

“I’m super excited about it,” Schuerenberg said. “I’ve raced since I was five years old and raced professionally since I was 17, and I’m 35 now. The World of Outlaws has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old. For me, this is something that’s been 25 years in the making.”

Schuerenberg in the Vermeer No. 55 is already a proven combination. The 35-year-old spent more than three seasons with the Iowa-based team. Their first win together came at Ohio’s Atomic Speedway with FAST in 2020. They competed full-time with the All-Star Circuit of Champions in 2021 and 2022, collecting five wins and a pair of third place finishes in points.

Schuerenberg and Vermeer also enjoyed a handful of strong outings in World of Outlaws action, posting top fives at Tri-State Speedway, Huset’s Speedway, and Eldora Speedway – three tracks on the 2025 calendar.

“I think we both just kind of realized that what we were doing when we split apart was pretty promising and headed the right direction,” Schuerenberg said of what led to the reunion. “I think we both mutually just kind of realized we’re better off together as a team.”

Now the pairing will look to rekindle the past success as they attack a 90-night campaign with the country’s best Sprint Car drivers. Schuerenberg will have brother-in-law Clinton Boyles on the wrenches for his debut season with the World of Outlaws.

“It’s very exciting for me to have the opportunity to run with the Outlaws, period, because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Schuerenberg said. “But I’m also very excited that I’m going to be doing it with my brother-in-law as my crew chief. I’m going to be doing it with a car owner that gave me my first real opportunity at being a winged Sprint Car driver. I’m going to have my family on the road with me and also some sponsors that have not only been with Tony the last time I was there but have been with me since I started trying to do winged Sprint Car racing again.”

The addition of Schuerenberg adds even more intrigue to the 2025 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year competition. The list of rookies grows to six as the stage continues to be set for one of the most competitive battles in Series history.

“I definitely think all of them are going to be super competitive for that Rookie of the Year honor for different reasons,” Schuerenberg said. “If we do get that award at the end of the year, we will have worked for it. Whoever gets it will have definitely earned it, which is what I want. I wouldn’t want it to be a walk in the park.”

Schuerenberg and Vermeer Motorsports begin the 2025 World of Outlaws season at Volusia Speedway Park’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 5-8. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the full 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

CONCORD, NC (January 24, 2025) – “Peach State” fans will have a fresh face to cheer for in 2025, as Cedartown, GA’s Austin Smith is ready for a run at the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award with the World of Outlaws Late Models.

Racing nationally against the best Late Model drivers in the nation has long been the target for Smith, and he decided that there was no better time than the present to pull the trigger and chase the dream.

“We were going to go to a bunch of the races anyway,” Smith said. “Swainsboro, Talladega, even the Florida races, we were coming to those, the Smoky Mountain race. There’s a bunch of them in my area that we were going to go to anyway, so it kind of made sense to just go ahead and do it all.”

He won’t be going at it alone though, as Smith has the full support of Shane Clanton and Capital Race Cars on his side. Not only does that mean he’ll have the equipment he needs to win, it also means he has the expertise of the 2015 Series champion to lean on as he navigates life on the road with the World of Outlaws.

“My dad and Shane, they joined together last year and became partners on this Capital deal,” Smith said. “He’s been there, done that. He knows the ins and outs, the dos and the don’ts. He’s passionate about this racing, he’s been around it his whole life, so he’s good to learn from. Yeah he’s stubborn, but he’s definitely a good one to have in your corner.”

In his limited World of Outlaws starts last season, Smith proved his ability to hold his own in two of the sport’s biggest events, making the Feature on Saturday at the Prairie Dirt Classic and on all three nights of the season-ending World of Outlaws World Finals. But competing against the Outlaws every weekend requires an entirely different level of preparedness and commitment, and Smith knows he’s in for a trial by fire in his freshman season.

“Racing with these guys is a totally different animal,” Smith said. “I don’t know that you have an advantage anywhere across the United States. Yeah, I could probably gamble on tires or something like that where maybe they don’t really know, but as far as setup, driving, equipment, things of that nature, they’re all the best of the best. It’s tough night in, night out no matter where you’re at.”

With the likes of Ethan Dotson, Daniel Hilsabeck, Jake Timm and Daniel Adam committed to the full World of Outlaws season, Smith knows he’s in for a heavyweight fight for this season’s top rookie honors. While that’s a battle he believes he’s capable of winning, the primary goal for 2025 is to continue the building process towards a long and successful career with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.

“We would love to win the rookie deal obviously, just as all the other rookies would,” Smith said. “Just getting out there and getting our feet wet racing with these guys, it makes you better. We’re looking forward to racing with them. Trying to build our notebook, trying to build our program, trying to build Capital as a whole. We’ve got Daniel [Hilsabeck] and Dennis [Erb Jr.] on tour also, which is going to be great help. We’ll just see what happens.”

Smith will kick off his first season with the World of Outlaws Late Models this weekend at Volusia Speedway Park’s DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 24-25), followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). To find ticket information for both events, click here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap of the 2025 World of Outlaws Late Models season on DIRTVision.

January 23, 2025 — DAYTONA BEACH, FL

• Nick Yelloly qualifies his Acura MSR ARX-06 second for Saturday’s season-opening Rolex 24
• Tom Blomqvist shows speed in #60 Acura MSR machine, will start sixth

Nick Yelloly led the way for Acura in qualifying for the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, putting his #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian ARX-06 second on the grid for the twice-round-the-clock classic.

Yelloly’s qualifying effort marks a strong showing for the #93 team, a joint effort between Meyer Shank Racing and Honda Racing Corporation USA. HRC US is taking on a larger role in engineering and strategizing for the team for the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Yelloly will be going for his first Rolex 24 win on Saturday, alongside two-time Rolex winner Renger van der Zande, three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou, and HRC-backed driver Kakunoshin Ohta.

The sister #60 Acura ARX-06 qualified sixth in the hands of Tom Blomqvist. The two-time Rolex winner’s pace looked good enough to join the #93 on the front row, before an altercation with the slower #63 cost him significant time on what was likely to be his fastest lap. Blomqvist and teammates Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist will start the Rolex 24 from sixth.

Rolex 24 at Daytona Acura Qualifying Results

• Qualified 2nd – #93 Nick Yelloly, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Renger van der Zande, Alex Palou and Kakunoshin Ohta.
• Qualified 6th – #60 Tom Blomqvist, Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06. Co-drivers will be Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist

Quotes
Nick Yelloly (#93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 2nd: “My very first Acura qualifying and we’re lining up on the front row for Daytona, which is nice. There was a bit of confusion regarding the amount of time we had left, so it was lucky that I started to get on with it when I did, because in the middle of the lap they said it was the last lap and I thought I had two or three more. Let’s say the racing gods helped us out a little bit there, but the car felt nice. I still think there’s more in it. Now we just have to concentrate on the race. Happy for all the MSR and the HRC crew to get a good start to the season in terms of qualifying, but the points are mostly in the race!”
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06) Qualified 6th: “Car is good, car is fast! We just got ourselves in a difficult spot there with the traffic and the track position. It’s a little annoying for me, it’s a little annoying for him as well. I was just trying to complete my lap, but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be. It’s a bit disappointing because I think we had the car to fight for pole. It’s a long race so it doesn’t really matter, but let’s see!”

How to Watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Television coverage for the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona starts Saturday, January 25, at 1:30 PM ET on NBC for the initial hour of the event. Coverage continues on the USA Network from 2:30 – 6:30 PM Saturday before returning to NBC 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM Sunday for the conclusion of the race

Live flag-to-flag coverage will be available on NBC Peacock in the US and on IMSA’s YouTube channel internationally. Additionally, Radio Le Mans will have live flag-to-flag coverage via IMSA.com.

Acura and HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:

• Instagram
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• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• TikTok 
• YouTube

www.instagram.com/hondaracing_us www.twitter.com/hondaracing_us
www.linkedin.com/showcase/honda-racing-corporation-usa/ www.facebook.com/HondaRacingUS
www.tiktok.com/@hondaracing_us
www.youtube.com/@HondaRacingUS

CONCORD, NC (Jan. 23, 2025) — Seth Bergman finally accomplished his goal of winning the ASCS National Tour title in 2024, but even with the Emmett Hahn Trophy in hand, he’s not satisfied.

“Now that we’ve got one, I want to come back and back it up,” Bergman said. “I want to show that it wasn’t just a one-time thing, that we’re building something consistent here that can consistently compete and win championships at this level.

“For me, I think that’s just the competitive drive I have in me. I’ve worked so long to get one, and now I’ve got one, and I’m like, ‘Alright, let’s go get another.’”

The 37-year-old Snohomish, WA-native is returning to the full-time roster in 2025, driving the Oklahoma Chiller, Rider/Triple X No. 23 for his own Bergman Motorsports team.

Though his first championship — a lifelong goal of the Oklahoma resident — was sweet, Bergman still has areas he wants to improve on.

“It’s about coming back and trying to better some of our areas that we weren’t good in last year,” he said. “There’s certainly a lot of things I didn’t think went great last year that I think we can improve upon. We’re working really hard to have a much better year than we did last year, and also to come and back it up and show that it wasn’t just a one-time thing.”

In 31 races last season, Bergman collected seven wins, the most top-five finishes of any driver (24) and top-10s in all but three races. But he didn’t top every stat column, and that doesn’t sit well with him going into the new year.

Bergman’s biggest rival throughout 2024 was five-time Tour champion, Sam Hafertepe Jr. In 30 recorded starts, the Sunnyvale, TX-native won 12 Features and garnered 13 Quick Time Awards (Bergman was second with three), among other stats columns led, but still came up 146 points behind by season’s end.

“I didn’t win as much last year as I wanted to,” Bergman said. “We had a lot of things changing with our team all year and I never really got a solid footing and really got going. I feel like I was more inconsistent than I wanted to be. I didn’t win near as much as I wanted to.

“Yeah, we were good enough to win the championship, but it bothers me that Sam won more races, he led more laps, and things like that bother me. I know I’m capable of more.”

While the past has frustrated him, Bergman has learned from his experiences and is ready to move on to the new season, which, for him, begins April 12 at Salina Highbanks Speedway. He and his team are assembling all-new cars for the new year and have upgraded their equipment as well — from transporters to mules and tools — and will sit out from the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals events at Volusia Speedway Park.

It’s all part of the off-track preparations he’s making to ensure himself a seat at the championship contenders table come season’s end.

“The past few years, I feel like I’ve been coming into my own as a driver and a man,” Bergman said. “When I climb into the race car these days, I’m confident. I know I’ve put in a ton of work outside the racetrack just on myself, my mental [health]. I work really hard outside of the racetrack to make sure that when I come, I can be ready to compete. So, I get a lot of confidence off that.”

See Bergman make his 2025 season debut and begin his run to a second ASCS National Tour championship on Saturday, April 12 at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, OK.

Tickets for the event will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap of every race throughout the season live on DIRTVision.

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R paces three-car contingent in shortened qualifying

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2025) – Cadillac Racing will start the first race of its expanded IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) program from the fourth, seventh and eighth positions in the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Jack Aitken, driving the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, led the Cadillac contingent with a best lap of 1 minute, 34.350 seconds on the 3.56-mile, 12-turn Daytona International Speedway course in the scheduled 15-minute qualifying session that was reduced to 5:50 of green flag running because of a red flag early on.Filipe Albuquerque recorded a best lap of 1:34.933 in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing entry, while Louis Deletraz was right behind in eighth at 1:34.935 in the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing car. The No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 claimed the pole with a lap of 1:33.895. In 2024, the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R rode to the pole with a track-record lap time of 1 minute, 32.656 seconds, and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R completed the front row lockout. Cadillac Racing will seek its fifth victory since 2017 in the January 25-26 race. Cadillac has totaled 12 podium finishes, including the four overall victories, in the Rolex 24 At Daytona since 2017. A 90-minute night session today and 60-minute morning session Friday will allow Cadillac Racing teams to further fine-tune the cars for the changeable weather and track conditions during the twice-around-the-clock event.  Cadillac Racing overall victories2020 (Renger van der Zande, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon, Kamui Kobayashi)2019 (Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso; Jordan Taylor, Kamui Kobayashi)2018 (Christian Fittipaldi, Filipe Albuquerque, Joao Barbosa)2017 (Jeff Gordon, Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Max Angelelli)Poles2024, 2021, 2018, 2017

What they’re saying Filipe Albuquerque, No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing (best lap of 1:34.933): “A hard qualifying for us as the first time in the Cadillac V-Series.R. For sure the red flag didn’t help anybody. I think for us a little bit more in terms of knowing what the car was going to be like. We’re still learning about the car. P7, it’s not the end of the world for a 24-hour race – it’s a long one. We keep going and learning the car, obviously we would have liked to be a little bit further ahead, but we will see come Sunday.” Jack Aitken, No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R (best lap of 1:34.350): “I was happy and it’s a pretty good place to start. We’re hopefully going to be in the mix in the front the start of the race. It was a bit of a weird session, very truncated and I didn’t get many laps in. I had to make that last lap count. The car felt really nice, so I think we’re in a solid position. We have a few more sessions to work on things and build a solid racecar.” Louis Deletraz, No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing (best lap of 1:34.935): “Not an easy qualifying with the red flag. I think the pole position lap time was not doable for us, simply impossible. First qualifying together with Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing. We are learning every time and know how to improve and get better. The main focus now is the race.”

Three Corvettes in top-eight after qualifying; AWA, DXDT eager to go forward in GTD DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 23, 2025) – The three Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sped toward the front of the class Thursday in qualifying ahead of this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entry led the way for the Corvette camp by qualifying fourth in the 15-minute session for the 15-car GTD PRO field with a lap of 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) – less than a half-second off the class pole-winning time. Sims had another half-second in hand over Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports squad that will see both of its cars on the second and third rows for Saturday’s start. The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the next row after Connor Zilisch’s effort that saw him qualify eighth in class and barely a tenth-of-a-second off Milner’s time. In the GTD ranks, the DXDT Racing and AWA Corvettes qualified 16th and 17th respectively in the massive 22-car field in class. Charlie Eastwood did the honors in the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for DXDT’s maiden qualifying run as a full-season WeatherTech Championship team. His lap of 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) was about eight-tenths clear of Orey Fidani in the No. 13 AWA Corvette. GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Qualifying Times· No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) – fourth in class· No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone – 1:46.445 (120.400 mph) – sixth in class· No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – 1:46.579 (120.249 mph) – eighth in class GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times· No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) – 15th in class· No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – 1:48.334 (118.301 mph) – 16th in class The Rolex 24 marks the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the second season of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program. This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series. The Rolex 24 At Daytona goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with live television segments on NBC and USA plus flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTESALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “First of all, low fuel run here. You’re getting a load of laptime on the straights, and the car is pretty alive. Qualifying at any point is quite exciting when it comes down to two or three laps of the tire peak where you’ve got to try and nail a lap, which is always tough in itself. Simply the fact I was doing qualifying, it was exciting. These conditions, it was really hard to switch the tire on and I didn’t get it. It was just challenging to switch the tire on compared to normal. The car was feeling nice. This Corvette is lovely. It’s great in loads of phases but it’s really exciting when you’re driving it on low fuel. The team gave me a really nice car. We did the best with what we could in terms of the balance of the Corvette out there. It was really nice to drive. Quite a big delta to the Fords. I can imagine where the laptime is gained on that, but well done to those guys, and we’re looking forward to the race. We’ll know more, honestly 12, 14, 16 hours into the race. It seems like the car is working well, and that’s all you can ask for now.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Glad to be at the pointier end of the class. Obviously, P1 is a little bit out of touch there, but otherwise, we’re generally pretty close. We’ve worked very hard in the offseason. The engineers have – based on last year’s data and the car we’ve had – to try and improve our Corvette and I think we’ve done a great job in improving the car. Hopefully, that will translate to a good race for us. So far, reliability-wise, we’ve been very good which is I think is another important part to make this race successful for this team. From that side, all good. It’s been a great week so far with my teammates Nicky and Nico. We’ve got a couple more practice sessions here to work on it a bit more. I think we’re in the hunt. I don’t think we quite have the fastest car, but like I said, we still have two more practice sessions to work on it. I think more than anything, we’ve gone down a good path with the car so far all through the Roar, practice and qualifying as well. Good car balance, so we’ll just continue to tweak on it.”

CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It definitely feels good to get qualifying out of the way. It doesn’t mean too much in a 24-hour race. There are a few cars out there that are going to be tough to beat. We’re going to need some help, but overall the car is driving well, and I think we’ll have a good car for race runs and longer stints. I feel like that’s one thing we were really good at in practice. Just hoping we can keep that up in the race and keep our car driving well, and I think that will pay off for us.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Not what we expected. Just didn’t seem to be able to generate a lot of grip. It’s a very different condition than what we had in the Roar, and we seemed a bit more comfortable. Both in FP1 and there in qualifying, we just didn’t seem to be able to gain enough grip. We need to look at the data to see where we’re missing it. Ultimately, if it heats up again for the weekend, we might be in a better window but we still need to understand why we’re not there at the minute. Bit of work to do, for sure.“Ultimately, we still had the same opportunities as everyone else to be up front and we’re not. For sure it’s not a be all to end all with 24 hours to go to the front, which is very straightforward if we have the pace. But we definitely seem to be missing a bit at the minute. It’s going to be a case of working out where we’re missing that, and go from there.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Qualifying went well. The car felt amazing out there, and it just kept getting better and better with every lap. Huge credit to the team for their hard work dialing it in. I’m feeling confident and excited heading into the race!”

Trackhouse by TF Sport drivers Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch along with TF Sport team owner Tom Ferrier and GM Executive Director of Global Motorsports Competition Dr. Eric Warren met with members of the media at Daytona International Speedway to discuss the program’s effort in this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona with the No. 91 WeatherTech Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in GTD PRO. Full transcript:

Eric, how significant is it for Chevrolet to be a part of this project and with five Corvettes for this race and considering Chevrolet’s history at the Daytona 500? DR. ERIC WARREN: “This is a great project that I’m sure we’ll talk about more. The exciting part for me is having Tom and TF Sport come over and work with the IMSA group and Pratt Miller. There are so many intersections across all our series here. It’s exciting not only to bring an additional Corvette with the history and opportunity, but across IndyCar, NASCAR, sports cars and even Supercars… that’s the relationship part of this. Particularly with Ben and Tom running this year in the WEC, this is a great opportunity. It fell into place and there are a lot of great things from a competition point of view with the great road-racing experiences that these guys have and the history we have here in all our other competitions. There are so many parallel things that I couldn’t be more excited. The car looks great, on top of all that.” For Tom, exciting to start TF’s second year with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R as part of this program and this group?TOM FERRIER: “Definitely with this group, for sure. We had a great year last year, and we got stronger and stronger throughout. We ended it really well in Bahrain with a double-podium. We definitely felt like we were ready to kick off 2025 in a good, strong way. As Eric said, it’s a lovely combination to have. We have Been with us in WEC this year, and it’s great to get going with him. Obviously these three guys (McLaughlin, van Gisbergen and Zilisch) are pretty special to work with as well. We’re really looking forward to it and are excited about this.” For Connor, how the LMP2 win last year at Rolex 24 set the stage for where you are now.CONNOR ZILISCH: “It was a big confidence-booster for one and opened up so many opportunities for me on this side of the paddock. I felt like I had to make a name for myself before I got the opportunity to jump into a GT car and race with a team like TF Sport and race with Corvette. It’s definitely something that I could use to prove myself in this style of racing. That race was incredible last year here. Everything about it and the emotions… everything I learned racing in the WeatherTech Championship last year was so beneficial for me in every series I race in. It made me such a better driver. Working with Era Motorsports last year was so beneficial for me as a person and a driver. I learned so much from that, and that has opened doors for me.” For Scott, what’s it been like to transition to this car and with this group?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: “It’s nice to have a roof over my head in some ways! I’ve missed it. When Eric said the opportunity was going to happen with (Connor, Shane and Ben) and now knowing TF Sport and how they work, it was awesome. I’ve been having a blast and had a lot of fun this past weekend. But for us, we aren’t looking at it as fun or an exhibition. We want to go out there and win and do our best for Team Chevy, Corvette and their whole program. I’m having a blast teaming up with my old buddy here (van Gisbergen) and getting to know Connor, who is a superstar in his own right, is very cool. I’m not taking any of this for granted, for sure.” Shane, talk about coming into this race as a NASCAR driver this year after coming in originally as a star in Australian Supercars.SHANE VAN GISBERGEN: “It’s been awesome to come back to this race. I’ve missed GT3 cars quite a bit. There are certainly a lot more buttons and dials on the dash than a (stock) car, that’s for sure. It’s been fun teaming with these guys, as they’ve touched on, and TF Sport and Team Chevy. It’s been a blast so far. I miss GT racing and the team aspect of it. The car has to suit all four drivers. There are little compromises but thankfully we’re liking the same things. It’s just been fun so far and I’m sure it will be fun in the race. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. So far it’s been an awesome experience to be back here.” Ben, you’re pulling double duty this weekend. How is it going so far?BEN KEATING: “So far, so good. I was excited to get the opportunity to get to do a qualifying sim just now, and pretty happy with those results. I’m grateful to drive this morning.” What is Justin Marks like as a team owner?VAN GISBERGEN: “It’s unreal. He’s such a forward-thinking, open guy. I got to have him in New Zealand a couple of weeks ago on the last few days of my holiday. I hung out with him a bit and got to know him as a person. Just an awesome guy. As a boss he’s great, too, with how he thinks about this stuff. I had some drives that I was trying to get. I really wanted to come and do this race, and had some good potential drivers and he said, ‘No wait a bit. I’m working on something that you’ll like.’ It’s amazing how he makes things come into fruition. Even when he told me that he was going to make me come over here… it’s exploded, the program that I thought I’d be doing. What an amazing person.” ZILISCH: “I can relate to what Shane said. He’s so innovative and creative with everything he does. It’s been a blast to be part of Trackhouse and get to know Justin and everyone who works at Trackhouse. It’s a great place to be. Everyone loves what they do at the shop. It’s a very positive building to work inside of. Justin does such a great job not only running the business and making sure he does things different. But also making sure it’s a great atmosphere to be in. I do truly feel at home at Trackhouse.” Eric, what’s it like working with Justin compared to some other owners in general?WARREN: “From the beginning when he first came into NASCAR, I was having a lot of conversations with him. So I’ve known him for quite a while and watched him race when he was in (the) Xfinity (series). From a sports car point of view, he’s always had that as his heart. He raced in sports cars and he sees himself as a sports car racer. So I knew that passion was always there. We always talked about different opportunities. It’s exciting because he is thinking about a lot of different things. We’re very fortunate with Team Chevy to have long-standing relationships with Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske… all those people that you see. Creating those intersections for Justin and those individuals and all the different series, it’s great to see him mature as an owner, let’s call it, and all the excitement around the Trackhouse brand. Watching that come together is great. You feel like you’re a part of it. It’s been exciting, and this project has been super-exciting.“To tell a funny story about Connor and Justin, I think it was at VIR and we had had Connor as a development driver for awhile. Justin won the TA1 race and he called me saying on the first lap that Connor was two seconds a lap faster in that car. He was asking how we are going to get him signed up. From that moment there’s always been all these relationships and intersections that you see develop. That’s been exciting.” Eric, you mentioned all these drivers getting signed, and Justin (Marks) has kind of gone the way of Zak Brown with having all these drivers with nowhere to go. Connor (Zilisch) is on lease to JR Motorsports. TRD has run into that problem often. How do you handle that as a manufacturer?WARREN: “As a manufacturer, our objective is to win. We’re in it to win. We want to learn. You develop relationships with teams. You see opportunities with teams and drivers by having multiple teams. You look several years down the road. Unfortunately, at the top level of motorsports, there’s going to be situations where you don’t end up with a seat. Sometimes that’s situational, sometimes that’s competitive. The good thing about Justin (Marks), he’s part of the driver development program we have which has been a little bit organic. We’ve been trying to learn and Connor’s (Zilisch) has been a great example of that as others are on the NASCAR side. It’s hard to say that’s a negative. To be able to sign other drivers, look at Shane (van Gisbergen) coming in. You don’t get access to the talent, you don’t learn. Until you put people in situations, you don’t identify the talent of the driver versus the situation of the team.” Do you worry about losing some of these young kids you develop?WARREN: “As far as at Chevrolet and GM Motorsports, we feel like if we’ve built the most competitive program, they’re going to come back, right? And we see that all the time. We try to get people to a point where they know that GM Motorsports is the place to be. Situationally, let’s say we can’t, we lose one. There are plenty of times when we know where they’re hearts are at. That’s where we’re at. We’re the hearts, the minds, of our fans and customers, so I don’t lose too much sleep over it because I know at some point in time, I’ll get them back.” With NASCAR’s new rules specifically for the OEMs and what happened at Martinsville, what thoughts or talks have gone into how you guys will race at the Daytona 500?WARREN: “There’s a lot of discussion going on behind the scenes there. I think, we as an OEM, and I think that this is shared by others, we’re in it to win. We want to compete. Technology changes a lot. All these strategies and different communications in the sport changes a lot. There are certain types of tracks, and Daytona has kind of been that for a lot of years now, where just by the strategy of it, you have to pit together. Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as a two-car team. Now there’s multicar teams, and now there’s groups of multicar teams. The sport really changes because the manufacturer, the engineering, and the cost required to do simulators and simulation has become such a big part of it. It allows for the engineering and the planning, and the strategy comes from the manufacturers. Some of that kind of group work has been natural. Certainly, we work with NASCAR and all the series we work with, we try to figure out ‘okay, where’s the line?’ We want to keep progressing, make sure it’s clear, what is competing. The situations are so different. Every track there’s a spot where multiple people from the same manufacturer are using the same strategy tools and if the strategy tool says, ‘stay out,’ it could look to an uninformed observer that it was something that it wasn’t, right? It’s just the sport. So, we want to make sure that integrity is protected and understood, and it’s a constant evolution.” Connor, with this morning’s NASCAR Cup Series announcement for your first start in the Daytona 500, do you have any planned after that?“No, nothing yet. We’re going one race at a time and moving into it slowly. I’m still really young and have a long time to grow and progress in this sport. I definitely have trust in Justin (Marks) and what Trackhouse and GM are doing with me. Honestly, I’m very out of the loop on what goes on behind the scenes. They don’t tell me stuff until it’s done. I’m probably the wrong person to ask, but as of right now, I don’t think there’s anything else planned.” This race is known for having a star-studded lineup. Who would you want to see in it?KEATING: “I’d love to see Max Verstappen come out here and play around with us.”  ZILISCH: “I agree.”  VAN GISBERGEN: “I feel the same. I was just messaging (Max) about it before. I think he’d be good here.”  MCLAUGHLIN: “I don’t know. Valentino Rossi has been doing some GT stuff. It’d be cool to see him come here and try it.” ZILISCH: “I’ve heard he’s really good, actually. I’ve talked to one of his teammates and said he’s really good on four wheels. Drivers drive.”  Have you decided who is going to qualifying the car?ZILISCH: “I think I’m qualifying. The lightweight guy (laughs).” With your great outcome last year, what you’ve been able to do in the sports cars has kind of helped you. You said a year ago you wouldn’t be where I was (without it), talk about how that has progressed…ZILISCH: “With COTA being the third race of the year, it made sense to get a start in it early (on a road course) and get a feel for it. The (NASCAR) Cup car is a lot different. I definitely have a lot to learn there. It’s just a whole different level in the Cup series and I want to get my feet wet in it as early as possible and get an understanding of what my future may look like. So, I’m really excited for that. It’s going to be a lot of fun. “Things have progressed really fast. It’s been… the last 16 months, 18 months have been quite a whirlwind but it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve just been trying to take a step back and enjoy it all because things happen fast and life moves fast, and you have to step back and enjoy the time. That’s my main thing is just trying to soak it all in, have fun, and not stress myself out too much about these big moments.”  Have you talked to Justin (Marks) about Project 91 or anything else on the NASCAR side?MCLAUGHLIN: “No. I mean, I remember when Shane (van Gisbergen) got announced and that was all going on, I felt ‘you’ve got a great guy for that.’ So I was super excited (for him). I think it was going to be a great program that he’s got going on there. But no, I haven’t spoken to him on doing that.” You said previously you didn’t like racing GT cars, but now you’re here. What’s changed?KEATING: “As most of you know, I pay to be here by selling and repairing cars. I really enjoy racing what I sell. There’s nobody out there selling an ORECA or a Gibson to a retail customer. So, I’m excited to make that connection. The way GT3s have kind of taken over sports car racing around the world, I don’t know if there are any other options. I’m very excited to be back in a Corvette. I’m very excited to be able to represent Keating Chevrolet on the track and also be able to represent the Corvette brand in Houston at my dealership. There’s a lot of synergies there and having won the World Endurance Championship in 2023 with Corvette, it’s kind of like putting on an old shoe or a glove or something. It just feels great. We’ve won the World Championship with TF Sport in 2022. Everybody involved is kind of all in the family for me.”