All posts by ARP Trish

Alex Palou drives the #10 HRC Honda to victory lane at Barber

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

May 4, 2025 — BIRMINGHAM, AL

Alex Palou scores his third victory in four races to open the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season
HRC-liveried machine finds victory lane in debut outing, bringing awareness to HRC US performance parts business
Rinus VeeKay scores impressive fourth place for Dale Coyne Racing
Honda wins first four races of 2025

Alex Palou continued his impressive start to the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, winning for the third time in four races aboard his #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda—this time sporting a striking Honda Racing Corporation livery.

After starting on pole, Palou led 81 of 90 laps in today’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix from Barber Motorsports Park to put the HRC Honda in victory lane. The win today is Palou’s second at Barber, after scoring his first-career victory at the facility in 2021.

Palou now has three victories in four races to start the season, with a worst finish so far this year of second. His championship lead sits at 60 points as he tries to defend his 2024 championship win and score his fourth title in five years.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay also had a strong day for Honda. After starting fifth, the Dutch driver came up just three tenths shy of a podium finish in just his fourth race for the team.

Honda has scored four victories in a row to start the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season—Palou in St. Petersburg, Thermal and Barber, and Kyle Kirkwood at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach last month.

Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix Honda Race Results

1st Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing Honda
7th Colton Herta	Andretti Global Honda
11th Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global Honda
12th Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
13th Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
14th Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
17th Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
20th Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global Honda
21st Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
24th Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
26th Louis Foster-R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
27th Jacob Abel-R	Dale Coyne Racing Honda

R – Rookie

Quotes

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished first: “Number one! Feels great! First time that we have the #10 HRC livery, which looked amazing on track and looked even better in victory lane. It was a perfect weekend with the pole position and then just managing the race. The pace was really, really good, and we just had to manage the different tires and fuel strategies. And we made it happen! It’s been a great start for Honda and CGR and hopefully we can continue that in Indy.”

Rinus VeeKay (#18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) finished fourth: “That was good, that was really fun! Great call by the team in the end of the second stint to stay out longer and save some fuel and then get some really good laptimes in the pit sequence. I was able to hold off Will Power on cold tires and that was a pretty fierce battle. I had a really good time out there. The #18 askROI Honda was incredibly fast. I have to thank Dale Coyne Racing and Honda for giving me the tools I needed to battle for a podium position. Great start to the month of May! I can’t wait to hopefully go even better next week in Indianapolis.”

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “An amazing day for HRC and Honda. Thanks to everybody at the factory for all of their hard work this year, we are four for four this year! Huge thanks to Alex and CGR. I don’t even know what to say right now, I’ve gotten so many excited texts from everybody back in the factory after seeing this car in victory lane. Thank you to everybody for making this happen—the livery looked great. Alex drove an amazing race. And for us to win with the HRC livery on the car is amazing for Honda and HRC.”

Next
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship kicks off the Month of May with the Sonsio Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend, followed by preparations for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500.

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CHEVROLET SCORES TWO PODIUM FINISHES AT BARBER

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, finished 2^nd:
“It’s everything we could have hoped for and much better. The No. 7 Velo Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew has done an awesome job all year, I think in Thermal we proved it straight on pace. (Our) strategy was good, but the 10 (Álex Palou) car still beat us. We put the car in the wall in qualifying at Long Beach, and we raced our race forward to the podium. The crew did an awesome job on strategy, and once again, today, we did so. We knew we could go aggressive after yesterday. The car hasn’t really been as good all week as it was at the test when we tested here, so it’s just been tough mentally, dealing with that.”
“I think everything about our strategy worked today. We did a change overnight that we’ve kind of been speculating on or the entire weekend, and we didn’t really pull the trigger early enough. We did it overnight, and that was really the deal breaker. The car was so much better this morning and just so much better in the race. So it’s awesome to, to finish like this.”
Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Good Ranchers Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 3^rd:
“The Good Ranchers Chevy has been fast the last three years. We didn’t have enough today. Props to Alex (Palou) and Lundgaard as well, who was super quick. We had the third best car today. It was a very interesting race, but I wish we had a little bit more tire life on our car. But overall we’re all good.”
What can you do to stop Álex Palou?
“I think when the guys on top of this game, you just can do the best you can in that regard. I feel like week in and week out, we can challenge him, but if he keeps executing like that, all we can do is execute as well. Props to his team. It’s a long season, and it’s way too early to be even worried about points. We’ve just got to keep being there, and if we’re there, we’ll be okay.”
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 5^th:
“If we saved fuel, we could have gone a lap longer. We should have tried to cover VeeKay. There was a bit of hard racing there. It was still a good day with the strategy. We could have over cut and got a couple of people. It was difficult decision, but still a good day.”
Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, finished 6^th:
“It was a very strong points day for all of us. It was great to see all three cars in the top 10. It was a pretty boring race I would say. The highlight was seeing Christian go through the Penske’s while I was struggling. But great job to Christian and Nolan. From the our side, I felt like we were behind playing catch-up and we kept making things better and better but for the race, that was the most I could get out of it. We recovered some good points for the championship, and I’m excited to go to the Indy Road Course and the Indy 500, which is just an amazing event to be a part of.”
Alexander Rossi, No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet, finished 8^th:
“The Java House team called a great race from pit lane and that was about as much as we could do on the day. I am still a bit disappointed on our performance yesterday, I did think we had a quicker car than that. Ultimately, we knew we were going to have a tough stint on the black tires at some point because of where we started. We tried to get as much track position as we could on the alternate red tires and build a big enough gap that it wouldn’t hurt us too much, then did the black tires at the end. It was a lot of work to keep going and keep those guys behind us, but we managed.”
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, finished 9^th:
“It was good to get a solid result on the board. Everyone did a really good job this weekend. I’m happy with how the weekend went and it was just smooth the entire time. That was a solid result and we can build from there. There was opportunity for more, and it always sucks to have a good result that doesn’t feel good because you think there was more in it. But that’s ultimately a good thing, and we’ll push for more in Indy.”
Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 10^th:
“Just a decent day. At least got a decent result. P10-nothing to brag about. At least we got some points and a clean day which is probably the most important at the moment. Lacked a little bit of speed in the race. The team executed really well. We just wanted to get as much as we could. Just disappointed we couldn’t drive forward a little bit more. Sometimes its all you have on a weekend. Everyone did a great job. We rallied pretty aggressively on Saturday just to try to compensate for the hybrid issue. The team did a good job sticking with it and getting what we could out of it. Again, just brought home a solid result. Something we can build on to get a podium or a victory here hopefully soon.”
Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Splenda ECR Chevrolet, finished 15^th:
“Tough weekend, I think. We thought we would roll off better than we did with how our recent test here went, but it seemed like nothing from the test correlated to the race weekend which put us on the back foot from the start. Qualifying P17 wasn’t great and with an all green race again, we become limited on what we can do. We maximized what we had with what we could do on strategy to end today’s race.”
David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, finished 16^th:
“Really unfortunate from a whole weekend as whole. We’re just not having any luck this season. The car was mega all weekend, we found a really good car heading into qualifying and just got stuck behind people in traffic and couldn’t get a lap in, and ended up being in the back and then, yet again in the race. Every time we came into the pits, we just couldn’t get clean air, even though we tried, and just kept getting stuck behind people. So, really fast car, but couldn’t show it, but hopefully we get some luck in the next one.”
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet, finished 18^th:
“Obviously, one of those days that’s tough to swallow. Everybody did a phenomenal job, crew, engineering, the car was amazing. We were so quick. Just had an issue with some electronic stuff in the pits that had us had a short fill. Just some bugs that we’re gonna work out going into Indy and I think we will be really good.
Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, finished 19^th:
“In the beginning, we got blocked by another car and then got hit on lap one, so that kind of killed our momentum a little bit, which is a shame because I thought I had a great start! Honestly our first two stints felt great. The pace on reds is good. We just need to improve our pace on the primary tire, and we’ve got to figure out the best possible strategies for these all-green (flag) races. It seems like we are just missing a little bit on clear track and a few opportunities there. Honestly I think actually we learned quite a lot. Gotta figure out what happens at the next race. But we will be in good shape when we go to Indy.”
Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, finished 22^nd:
“Barber this year-we finished the race. Something we haven’t been able to do the last couple of years so that is good. It is nice to have seen the second half of the race here. I think there was a lot to learn. It seems like INDYCAR is holding trend to no yellows – which is unbelievable.
“Good job to the team to work hard this weekend. It was a long day day out there. We kept fighting but unfortunately ended up in the same spot. That was just kind of the way the day went. Everyone was on the same strategy. Not a lot of variability. But made it fun to race against those guys. Hopefully we can go into Indy road course with some lessons learned.”
Callum Ilott, No, 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, finished 23^rd:
“The first lap was tough as we were on the hard tires. I had a little tap into turn two which destabilised me, and then there was a bigger hit from behind which caused some damage and made the rest of the race tough. Once I got going the pace was good, especially on the softer tire and I was able to move forwards a bit. Our pit stops are an area that we need to improve on, in my last stop I lost two or three positions which put us on the back foot for the final stint. Another finish for both cars though which is important and while we didn’t quite execute enough in the race, I think there was a lot of things learnt, both positive and negative.”
Robert Shwartzman, No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, finished 25^th:
“It was a difficult race, and I would say it wasn’t my best. I’ve struggled with the car all weekend, which I was expecting as we had similar struggles during the test here. There is something that isn’t working well with the stability of the car, but I don’t want to get too focused on this weekend. We have to learn from this, and I hope that the team can go away and analyse everything so that we can come back next weekend with a clear idea of what we can change on the car to help it be more under control and fast.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES at Barber Motorsports ParkMay 4, 2025Post-race transcriptChristian Lundgaard and Scott McLaughlin:
THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by Scott McLaughlin, his first podium of the season. Scott led three of the 90 laps this afternoon. It’s his 20th podium of his career, third straight podium at Barber.Christian Lundgaard with a race-high 16 passes on the track today. Second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points standings.Christian, your thoughts, a busy afternoon for you, have to be happy with another podium to start this year.CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, absolutely. I think the progression we made since the Sebring test earlier this year, it’s been moving forward and going in the right direction. The team has been doing an awesome job.The pace in the car is there, and it’s just about execution. We didn’t really execute in qualifying yesterday, so we were frustrated and wanted to make up for it. We did today.
THE MODERATOR: Some of the passes out there, which did you enjoy the most?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I mean, I enjoyed the pass on Scottie Mac here, but I really did enjoy the one I had on Pato into five, around the same pit sequence. It was kind of all three cars, the 5, the 12 and Scott coming out sort of like a lap after each other. I pitted before them. I had warm tires. It was just kind of chipping one off at the time.I had a great time out there, for sure.
THE MODERATOR: Scott, another podium for you at Barber Motorsports Park. Your thoughts on a third-place finish?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think we were just third place today. Didn’t quite have the pace from the get-go really. From lap two I tried to push Alex. He just had a lot of speed.Yeah, I just didn’t feel I had much grip. But the car was still okay. It was still pretty fast. Just wasn’t as quick as the front guys, front two.Hey, it’s good points. We got to just keep keeping on and being at the front as much as we can. That was a solid race for us from the pace we had. If you want to build a championship campaign, that’s how you have to do it.
THE MODERATOR: Third straight all-green race this season. As physically demanding as this racecourse is, it’s amazing.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah. But I think we all feel pretty good like now. It’s just like match fitness. All your muscles are going. If this is the first race of the year, it would be pretty hard.I think ultimately very surprised by INDYCAR that we have no yellows right now. It’s a credit to the racing, credit to clean racing that we’re having, and obviously the hybrid. We’re able to restart when we spin or something like that, so…
THE MODERATOR: Christian, you agree?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Absolutely.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.Q. Scott, you said something on pit lane that as long as you keep executing, eventually you’ll catch up with Alex. How frustrating is it to know you’re out there doing as good as you can, and he’s just doing that much better?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s not frustrating. At the end of the day you can only do as much as you can. I mean, I’m driving the thing as fast as I can. Christian is doing the same thing. Alex is doing the best job he can. That turns out to be a really good job and solid. We all know it was going to be that way.When a guy is at the top of his game, all you can do is try to be at the top of yours. We had a third-place car and we came in third. That’s all we can do. Nothing more, nothing less. I learnt that when I was racing Supercars, championship campaigns. You just got to be there.It is all swings and roundabouts. We’ll be strong at places he won’t. Just got to capitalize.
Q. Any other season, you’d be the story of the season so far. Alex is on fire. How do you put that in perspective?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about putting that aside and focusing on yourself. The 10 car is doing a great job. We’ve seen that in years in the past.I would say we’re trying to raise our own bar, and we’re doing so. We’re performing better and better. On top of that, I had a team change. Getting to know a bunch of new people, getting to work with a bunch of new people. It’s a different car to drive.I’m very pleased with the job that I’ve done so far, the work that we’ve done. I mean, I don’t think I could have dreamed of three podiums in four races, four first races.
Q. Scott, on lap two you were within half a second of Alex Palou. By lap four, you had fallen back to two seconds. What happened there?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Just pace purely. That was it. I just didn’t have enough pace.I mean, at the end of the day I pushed him, then sort of settled into a rhythm. Ideally I wanted to stay in that two-second bracket. Alex just had really good speed there, yeah.
Q. Christian, what was your thought process with the power move on Scott McLaughlin on lap 43?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: Yeah, I mean, ultimately you’re just trying to get by. It’s a pit sequence. It’s the one real opportunity you have, ’cause as soon as everybody settles in, you need to rely on people making a mistake and you can’t do that.It was about doing it when it counted. I was close enough to Scottie. I think we all know as soon as we get to the high speed on cold new tires, we’ll kind of bottom out. I pitted a couple of laps before, so I’d gone through that. When I caught Scott there, I knew game was on. I knew he was going to work for it, but always clean racing with Scott.
Q. Scott, for the future races, you and your team, do you have any idea how to break the dominance of Alex, which areas you have to improve the car?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Pure speed, man. I think those guys are executing. They’re just knocking good lap times out, qualifying well, then executing in the race. Great strategy.Props to Barry and the team that they run on the 10 car. They’re doing a great job. Obviously they’ve got a really good driver. I think Alex is one of the best racing car drivers I’ve ever come across. He’s the whole deal. That doesn’t mean we can’t beat him, as I said.Yeah, we know where we can improve, different facets that I can’t really expose. Ultimately I think if we just keep knocking on the door. Everyone has a bad race at some point. You got to try and keep knocking on the door there.Like I said, the people on the 10 car, Barry, Alex, all the guys, they’re doing a fantastic job. All you can do is just sort of be there, if you can.
Q. Christian, you said earlier the biggest change in your performance has been the team change. What behind the scenes has really allowed you to step up your game this year?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I think ultimately not a lot is really different from my own approach. I would say it’s keeping things very simple and just focus on what you can control, master the basics really.I think the car is purely faster than what I’ve been doing for the past three years. I think we’ve seen that just purely from the results across the last three years.But no, it’s just good and nice to see it come into reality, really just executing when we have the pace. I think we’ve done so. I think we got more out of Long Beach than we anticipated waking up Sunday morning. At the end of the day that’s how you fight for championships.
Q. Christian, you said your car wasn’t as good as the test. The team made some changes last night. At what point did you know, or did you know, that those changes made a huge difference and could get you on the podium?CHRISTIAN LUNDGAARD: I’d say straightaway in warm-up this morning. I’ve been battling with the same balance issue all weekend. We had an issue on the car in P1, which kind of forced us not to be able to really try much in P1. So we didn’t get to try some things that we wanted to try. We were kind of stuck for the rest of the weekend with what we had, because there was a bunch of other stuff we needed to test. It kind of decreased in our list of things we wanted to try.I said last night we need to do something if I want to have a good race car. We did it for warm-up this morning. It was just clearly better. I said that was probably one of the biggest game changers I’ve had in a car. It’s a relatively small change. A little surprising for us.The car felt at least a lot better.
Q. Scott, I don’t have an Alex Palou question.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: You can (smiling).
Q. In advance of this event you went to the Children’s Hospital in this community. Talk about how emotional, inspiring that was, how you felt when you got home and hugged your own child?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That was really like I guess a sobering experience, realizing how lucky we do have it. At the same time how many angels work in that hospital. It’s an amazing thing. The kids were so positive. The kids that I met.Anything that you can do as a racing driver, as a role model or anyone, you’re kind of like a Super Hero at that point when you come in and hang out and play Hot Wheels, play Mario Kart. I’m quite good at Mario Kart I might add.I had a great time. I would like to do that again. It was a really cool thing. Yeah, I think you just appreciate the people that work in the hospital. As much as the kids are going through, they have amazing people that look after them. The Children’s Hospital of Alabama do a fantastic job with that.THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys.

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FUll-Circle Moment Awaits Timm in First Dairyland Showdown as an Outlaw

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

FOUNTAIN CITY, WI (April 30, 2025) – It wasn’t long ago when Jake Timm spent his summers off from high school mowing the grass at Mississippi Thunder Speedway, dreaming of wheeling something with about 800 more horsepower around the track.

At that point, the Fountain City, WI facility was unknown to most outside the region, and the Timm family bought it to save it from closing. Fast forward a few years, and the track’s outlook is brighter than ever.

Mississippi Thunder is now home to a plethora of marquee events, highlighted by this weekend’s $75,000-to-win Dairyland Showdown for the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“With our family owning it and being associated with it for so long, I saw where it was when they got it,” Timm said. “The track was shut down; somebody had bought it and opened it for a year or two and then they were going to shut it down again. Dad took it over, and to see what it’s become, all the work he’s put in that didn’t really pay off for a long time. To see a race like this, and then the World of Outlaws [NOS Energy Drink] Sprint Cars coming later, the $100,000 Modified race. What it’s turned into, what it’s become, seeing all his hard work finally pay off, Tyrone [Lingenfelter] and everybody involved with it. It’s really cool to see.”

While Timm has driven everything from a lawn mower to a Super Late Model around Mississippi Thunder, he’s turned more laps in a Modified than any other chariot. The Winona, MN native competed in the division every Friday night for several seasons before hitting the road with the United States Modified Touring Series, which he won with at Mississippi Thunder in 2022.

Of course, Timm also knows how to win in a Late Model – he took the checkers four times in Fountain City with the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour and nearly won a World of Outlaws preliminary Feature at the 2023 Dairyland Showdown before crashing out on the final lap.

Even though he’s been successful in both, Timm said the similarities are nearly non-existent, particularly around the high banks of Mississippi Thunder.

“The two cars just drive so different,” Timm said. “The Modified, I feel like you’ve got to drive it a lot straighter most of the time. In the Late Model, there’s times when you want to drive it straighter yet, but there’s a lot more times when you’ve got to bend in and wheelspin a lot more. It just brings a whole new set of challenges. And then also, everybody in a Late Model just races so much harder. Not that Modified guys aren’t good racers or don’t race hard, but these guys, they’re on their toes. If you make one little mistake, they’re going to eat you up.”

The massive payday on Saturday night isn’t the only reason the Dairyland Showdown has taken on a new meaning in 2025 for Timm. He’s always been one of the regional stars who circled the event on their calendars as their chance to take on the World of Outlaws when they came to town. Now, he is an Outlaw.

When Timm signed up to chase the MD3 Rookie of the Year Award, he knew he was in for the biggest challenge of his racing career. With 11 races in the books, the No. 49 team have fought through their share of struggles but remain optimistic that improvements are on the horizon.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Timm said. “These guys are the best in the business and the best race car drivers in the world, so we knew what we were up against. The biggest thing is just staying positive, keep pushing forward to try and get better and make progress. It’s hard to stay positive when you’re getting your butt kicked every night. But I think as of late, we’ve definitely been starting to make a little bit of progress.”

As if battling the best Late Model drivers in the country every weekend wasn’t hard enough, Timm has been doing so with a blank notebook and zero experience at the track prior to Hot Laps.

“We still haven’t been to a track this year that we’ve been to before, so everything’s been new to us,” Timm said. “The biggest thing is asking for help from the people at Longhorn or just other resources we have that are willing to give us some advice as far as setting the car up and things like that. As far as driving it, the biggest thing is just knowing where to be, how the track races and what to expect at different points of the night behind the wheel. There’s no substitute for that kind of experience.”

With the summer portion of the World of Outlaws calendar containing several Midwestern tracks Timm has experience at, he’s confident that the toughest stretch of the year is behind him. He knows his goal of being a regular contender at the front of World of Outlaws races is within reach, and he’s excited to take a big step in that direction this weekend.

“Just looking forward to this weekend for a lot of different reasons,” Timm said. “It’s going to be nice to race at home in front of our own fans and people we know. Going from tracks that I’m not familiar with at all to the track I’m most familiar with is hopefully going to make a big difference in how I perform and our results. After this, there’s a lot more tracks on the schedule that we’ve been to before like Deer Creek [Speedway], Cedar Lake [Speedway], so I’m just excited.”

The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season resumes this weekend at Mississippi Thunder Speedway with the Dairyland Showdown, Thursday-Saturday, May 1-3. Tickets will be available at the gate.

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Power Dynamics in Flux as AFT Singles Arrive in Chico

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

(Chase Saathoff (88), Kage Tadman (228), Evan Renshaw (65), Tom Drane (59), and other Main Event riders round turn one in Ventura this past Saturday; Photo: American Flat Track/Tim Lester) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 30, 2025) – The AFT Singles presented by KICKER class arrives at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, this Saturday, May 3, for the Silver Dollar Short Track, Round 5 of the 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, with a renewed sense of unpredictability. This past weekend’s Ventura Short Track not only saw the category’s first winner not named Kody Kopp (No. 1 Bob Lanphere/KTM/Fastrack Racing KTM 450 SX-F), Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) or Chase Saathoff (No. 88 RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R) in more than 23 months, that winner was a rider making his professional debut. Encore! Encore!  Kage Tadman (No. 228 Old Oak Ranch/Roof Systems KTM 450 SX-F) became just the fourth rider in AFT Singles history to win in his maiden attempt. Of those who did it before him, only future Grand National Champion Brad Baker finished better than 10th in his follow-up performance, finishing second in his next attempt. Tadman’s performance this weekend will be of keen interest to the paddock and the sport’s fans at large after he thoroughly outshined a talent-laden grid at Ventura Raceway. The 17-year-old Salinas, California, native was clearly more comfortable with a tricky surface than his new adversaries, both willing and able to exploit a higher line and push in a way no one else could. Just how much of that was down to his innate talent (which, as a six-time Amateur National Grand Champion is no doubt considerable) and how much was due to a familiar track perfectly suited to his skill set remains undetermined. This weekend in Chico will shed a great deal more light on that. Championship Focus While Tadman stole the spotlight last weekend, Saathoff and Drane continued to jockey for championship positioning.  Saathoff continued his recent roll, bettering his Australian rival for the third consecutive race after failing to do so in the previous six races dating back to last season. Despite the shift, Drane continues to lead in the title fight, albeit by just two points (68-66) as they resume their fight at Silver Dollar Speedway. Speaking of 2024, the Silver Dollar Short Track was one of two critical races that saw Drane come out the worst of an incident involving Saathoff that ultimately cost him the #1 plate. That, combined with his rival’s momentum, the end of his record-setting nine-race podium streak, and a winless 2025 campaign to date, likely has Drane plenty motivated despite his position atop the standings. Incidentally, the Estenson Racing ace has not gone more than four races without a victory since the opening six races of his first full Progressive AFT season in 2023. Re-establishing the Established Order While Tadman was the one to finally succeed in toppling the pecking order – for one weekend at least – there have been hints that others are ready to join the party at the front. Last weekend, fellow Californian Tarren Santero (No. 75 Mission Roof Systems Honda CRF450R) joined Tadman in success – both by finishing on the podium and ahead of Drane. The third-place result was much needed after Santero struggled to find his footing in the opening three races of a ‘25 campaign saddled by lofty expectations. Senoia ST podium finisher Evan Renshaw (No. 65 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) and fellow class sophomore Bradon Pfanders (No. 83 Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM 450 SX-F) have the requisite talent to push for wins as well. Meanwhile, it seems only a matter of time before Trevor Brunner (No. 21 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) strikes considering he’s won races in all four of his previous seasons in the class. There’s More… If nothing else, Tadman reminded the dirt track world that anything can happen on any given weekend in AFT Singles competition. Among the other riders to track this weekend include Jared Lowe (No. 63 Big R/Little Debbie Racing Honda CRF450R), who was consistently strong this past weekend en route to an eventual sixth, and Aidan RoosEvans (No. 26 FRA Trust/ATV’s and More Yamaha YZ450F), who not only featured near the top of the leaderboards at Ventura but whose four-wheeled background has served him well at iconic auto racing venues in the past. Fun for the Family The incredible race action won’t be the only attraction for fans. Along with the Fan Party, complete with a Rider Q&A session, that directly precedes Opening Ceremonies, attendees can also expect a multitude of vendors, big screen viewing, designated motorcycle parking, and a variety of food and beverage options. Step Right Up… Get Your Tickets Here General Admission Grandstand tickets for the Silver Dollar Short Track are just $40 (kids 12 and under free) while Pit Grandstand tickets ($50, all ages), Reserved Grandstand tickets ($60, all ages), and Trackside Box tickets ($85, all ages) offer premium viewing experiences. And new for 2025, every level of ticket automatically includes paddock access. Also available for purchase is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($105), which includes reserved seating, a guided tour of the infield podium and start/finish line, photos opps included, and up-close viewing of Opening Ceremonies and a portion of the night’s race action. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/silver-dollar-short-track-123441 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

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Berry, No. 21 Team Bringing Bold New Look to Texas

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

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Chip Ganassi Racing to run special HRC livery at Barber Motorsports Park

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

April 30, 2025 — BIRMINGHAM, AL

Reigning and three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou’s #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to feature HRC branding for Barber Motorsports Park round
The HRC Honda machine will race in the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix May 4th
The collaboration celebrates the success of the CGR and Honda partnership, while also bringing awareness to the new HRC US performance parts business

The current NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship leader, Alex Palou, will have a new look for the 2025 Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix this weekend as his #10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda will sport a Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) livery.

The HRC livery is the same one previously run by Yuki Tsunoda at the HRC crossover event in Las Vegas last fall—an event in which Tsunoda, coached by CGR racer and six-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon, got behind the wheel of an IndyCar for the first time.

Now, it will be Palou’s turn to take the striking red, white and blue livery to the track as he tries for his fourth win in three races to start the 2025 season—following victories at St. Petersburg and Thermal and a second-place finish at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The strong start to the year has Palou 34 points ahead in the championship as he looks for his third title in a row and fourth in just five years.

The three titles with Alex Palou and four of Dixon’s six titles make up just part of the 14 total championships Honda has scored with Chip Ganassi Racing. Other Honda-CGR championship winners include Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti.

In addition to celebrating the success Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing have had over the years, the livery brings awareness to the new HRC US business ventures announced in the last six months. This includes the HRC performance parts business which debuted at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas last November, and will feature genuine HRC parts for Acura and Honda road cars. Meanwhile, the HRC Originals clothing line was launched at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach earlier this month.

Quotes

David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “We are excited to be the primary partner on the #10 CGR Honda at Barber Motorsports Park. We’ve had a very successful long-term partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing and both of us have seen a lot of success from that collaboration. Alex Palou has done an incredible job the last few years and to kick off this 2025 season and coming on board the No. 10 car seemed liked a great opportunity for visibility around the HRC brand and our new performance parts business.”

Chip Ganassi (Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing): “Over the years, we have had many successes working with Honda, winning multiple championships and Indianapolis 500s. We are looking forward to partnering with them at Barber on the No. 10, and hope Alex and the team will continue their successful start to the year.”

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Power Dynamics in Flux as AFT Singles Arrive in Chico

May 5, 2025 ARP Trish

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Doubleheader Launches a Busy May for Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

BATAVIA, Ohio (April 29, 2025) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing is poised to launch an exciting and lucrative month of May with a doubleheader in Indiana and Kentucky. Circle City Raceway welcomes the nation’s top dirt late model drivers for the first time in the tour’s history on Friday, May 2. The event will feature a complete program of Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $15,000-to-win main event. Additionally, the EDCO Welding Crown Vics and Super Stocks will compete on Friday night. The pit gates will open at 4:00 PM, followed by the general admission gates at 5:00 PM, and Hot Laps will begin at 7:00 PM. Circle City Raceway is conveniently located at 7300 East Troy Avenue on the Marion County Fairgrounds just off I-465 in Indianapolis, IN. To purchase tickets in advance or find additional information, please visit www.circlecityraceway.com. From there, competitors will make the drive southeast to Union, KY. Teams are vying for a $25,000 prize in the 39th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence Speedway on Saturday. Likewise, the event will feature a complete program of Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $25,000-to-win main event. The pit gate opens at 2:00 PM on Saturday, and the main and back gates open at 5:00 PM. Hot laps begin at 7:00 PM. In addition to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, the Pro Late Models and Modifieds. Florence Speedway is located in Northern Kentucky off Interstate 71/75, approximately 25 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio. Take KY exit 180 off I-71/75; west on US 42, nine miles to the track on the left. To purchase advanced tickets or find more information, visit www.florencespeedway.com. Following back-to-back victories in the northeast, Ricky Thornton Jr. has returned to the top of the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP standings. Devin Moran is second, followed by Jonathan Davenport, Garrett Alberson, and Brandon Overton, completing the top five. The Sunoco Road to Wheatland, the first of four bonus rounds in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP standings, continues. The Sunoco Road to Wheatland is a long-standing incentive that awards cash bonuses to the top 15 drivers in the series’ point standings at the Show-Me 100 in May. The series point leader will earn a $2,500 bonus at the Show-Me 100, while those finishing 2nd through 15th in the series point standings will receive cash prizes from the $16,000 bonus pool that Sunoco is distributing. For the latest news, results, championship standings, and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing Purses:Circle City Raceway – May 2: 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 Florence Speedway – May 3: 1. $25,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,500, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,900, 13. $1,800, 14. $1,700, 15. $1,600, 16. $1,500, 17. $1,500, 18. $1,500, 19. $1,500, 20. $1,500, 21. $1,500, 22. $1,500, 23. $1,500, 24. $1,500 = $82,800 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3 Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4

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All Dirt Roads Lead to CBS on May 3

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

CONCORD, NC (April 29, 2025) – CBS will bring viewers across the country down the road to World of Outlaws World Finalswith a new hour-long special on Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m. (ET).

The documentary special, All Dirt Roads Lead to World of Outlaws World Finals, will highlight the journey to the championship finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and the Super DIRTcar Series.

Starting at Volusia Speedway Park, during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, the yearlong season for the three premier dirt racing series takes them all around the United States and Canada before finishing the season in Concord, NC for a four-day event like no other.

The 2024 edition of World Finals saw wild racing, the iconic 3X4 Parade Lap, and history made across the three series. David Gravel won his first World of Outlaws Sprint Car title and became the 11th champion in Series history. Brandon Sheppard claimed his fifth World of Outlaws Late Model championship, becoming the winningest champion in Series history. And Mat Williamson earned his second Super DIRTcar Series title, joining an elite list of multi-time champions with the Series.

Along with the on-track excitement, the show will also highlight the biggest stars of the three series, the key people involved with the event and what makes World Finals one of the biggest events of the year off-track, too.

The show will run from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, marking the World of Outlaws’ fourth time on the main CBS network.

For the remainder of the year, fans will also get to watch World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision and Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota events from the 2025 season throughout the year on CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), presented in a half-hour special.

If you miss the All Dirt Roads Lead to World of Outlaws World Finals special, it will re-air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, May 4, at 6 p.m. (ET).

To learn more about the World of Outlaws World Finals, and to get tickets to the event, Nov. 5-8, visit alldirtroads.com.

ONLINE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/news/all-dirt-roads-lead-to-cbs-on-may-3/

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Record Paydays Up for Grabs at Mississippi Thunder in Dairyland Showdown

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

FOUNTAIN CITY, WI (April 29, 2025) – Mississippi Thunder Speedway has only been on the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision calendar for four years, but it’s already become a favorite of drivers and fans alike.

The late-spring visit to southwest Wisconsin will further establish itself as one of the premier weekends in dirt Late Model racing in 2025, as the winner of the Dairyland Showdown finale on Saturday night will take home a record-breaking $75,000 top prize.

The first two nights of racing on Thursday and Friday will both include full programs culminating with a 30-lap, $10,000-to-win, Feature. The “Every Lap Matters” format will be used on both preliminary nights, meaning drivers will score points for their results in Qualifying, Heat Races, Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns and Features to determine lineups for Saturday. The final night will include Hot Laps, Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns and a pair of Dashes to set the field for the 75-lap, $75,000-to-win, main event.

The World of Outlaws will be joined by the USRA Northern Lights Modified Series on all three nights.

Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:

ROLLING ON THE RIVER: Bobby Pierce’s 38-win season in 2024 may have been considered a once-in-a-lifetime achievement, but four months into 2025, he’s on pace for another stratospheric total.

The Oakwood, IL native’s $50,000 victory in the Alabama Gang 100 was his 11th Late Model victory of the year between the World of Outlaws, MARS and the Wild West Shootout in his 25th start. That’s a 44% win rate, putting him ahead of his 37% win percentage in 2024.

If history is anything to go by, Mississippi Thunder could be the perfect place for his reign of terror to continue. Since joining the World of Outlaws full-time in 2022, Pierce has only finished off the podium once in seven starts at the track and has one win from his first year as an Outlaw.

Through the first 11 races of the World of Outlaws season, the story of Pierce’s season hasn’t been the fact that he’s won three times so far, it’s been the places he’s won those races at. Pierce’s southern triumphs at Smoky Mountain Speedway, Swainsboro Raceway and Talladega Short Track were his first win at each facility, and the first two came in his first weekend racing at those tracks. The “Smooth Operator” has yet to win somewhere he’s visited Victory Lane before with the World of Outlaws, but he’ll look to break that trend this weekend.

FAMILIAR GROUND: When Ryan Gustin crossed the line at Swainsboro for his second win of the year, he looked to be Pierce’s biggest challenger for a potential second championship. Three races later, Gustin finds himself in need of an immediate momentum shift if he wants to maintain that status.

The “Reaper” finished outside the top 10 on both nights at Farmer City Raceway and on Saturday at Talladega, marking the first time in 2025 Gustin has gone more than two races without a top five. As a result, Gustin has gone from 30 points behind Pierce leaving Swainsboro to 90 markers back entering Mississippi Thunder.

The 3/8-mile on the banks of the Mississippi River has been one of Gustin’s best tracks since the early days of his career as a traveling dirt racer. His second United States Modified Touring Series win came in Fountain City in 2009, and he followed it up with four more over the next decade.

Upon switching to Late Models, Gustin collected three World of Outlaws top fives at Mississippi Thunder before breaking through for a win in last year’s Dairyland Showdown finale. Sharon Speedway currently stands as the only track Gustin has won at more than once with the World of Outlaws – he’ll try to add Mississippi Thunder to that list this weekend.

ON THE RISE: Tim McCreadie’s return to the full World of Outlaws tour didn’t get off to the start he and team owner Boom Briggs were hoping for, but a strong night at Talladega showed that things are trending in the right direction.

The former Big Block Modified star put his expertise in long-distance Features to good use, coming home seventh in the 100-lapper to tie his season-best result. That leaves McCreadie ninth in points in a tight battle in the back half of the top 10, with 30 points separating Max Blair in fifth and Tanner English in 10th.

It’s been three years since McCreadie last visited Mississippi Thunder, but his lone appearance there ended in the fifth spot in 2021. Saturday’s 75-lap distance could play right into McCreadie’s wheelhouse as he continues his quest to bring the No. 9 “Barefoot” Bob McCreadie tribute back to Victory Lane.

WELCOME HOME: After three months of traveling up and down the road chasing the Series, a pair of Outlaws will finally get a weekend close to home.

MD3 Rookie of the Year contender Jake Timm resides right across the river in Winona, MN, and has been racing and winning at Mississippi Thunder for as long as he’s been driving race cars. While his Fountain City resume includes a flurry of Modified wins, Timm is also no stranger to success in a Late Model – he’s won four times with the Dirt Kings Late Model Tour, and three of his four World of Outlaws top 10s have come at Mississippi Thunder.

Dustin Sorensen has also made the one-hour trip from his Rochester, MN home to Mississippi Thunder countless times, and enters the Dairyland Showdown as an Outlaw for the second time this year. Sorensen’s sixth-place effort in the 2024 finale was the first top 10 of the season that netted him top rookie honors. Following a rough night at Talladega that saw him miss the Feature, Sorensen will be aiming to rediscover the speed he showed at Farmer City, where he notched his first top five of his sophomore season.

BRENT’S BACKYARD: Cedar Lake Speedway may be Brent Larson’s official home track, but the Lake Elmo, MN pilot has still made plenty of memories over the years two hours south at Mississippi Thunder.

Larson stood on a World of Outlaws podium for the first time in the inaugural Dairyland Showdown in 2021. He nearly won a preliminary Feature two years later, as he led early before crashing out with 10 to go.

The “B1 Bomber” comes into one of his best tracks in need of a get-healthy weekend, as he has yet to finish better than 19th in World of Outlaws competition and sits 17th in the standings. The next couple of months could be conducive to some improvements though, as Mississippi Thunder is the first of nine-straight tracks on the schedule where Larson has finished top 15 before with the World of Outlaws.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Thursday-Saturday, May 1-3, at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, WI

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Bobby Pierce (1598 points)
2. Nick Hoffman (-82)
3. Ryan Gustin (-90)
4. Drake Troutman (-120)
5. Max Blair (-164)
6. Ethan Dotson (-168)
7. Cody Overton (-174)
8. Brian Shirley (-180)
9. Tim McCreadie (-188)
10. Tanner English (-198)

FEATURE WINNERS (7):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 3
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1

HEAT RACE WINNERS (22):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 7
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 6
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 5
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 4
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 4
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 3
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 3
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 3
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 2
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 2
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1
Garrett Smith – Madison, GA – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
Jason Feger – Bloomington, IL – 1
Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1
Zack Mitchell – Enoree, SC – 1
Cory Hedgecock – Loudon, TN – 1

LANDA PRESSURE WASHERS LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (21):
Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 3
Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – 2
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 2
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 2
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1
Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
Jackson Hise – Ocala, FL – 1
Trey Mills – St. Augustine, FL – 1
Austin Smith – Cedartown, GA – 1
Shannon Babb – Moweaqua, IL – 1
Mckay Wenger – Fairbury, IL – 1
Jake Timm – Winona, MN – 1
Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 1

PODIUM FINISHERS (16):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 6
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 5
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 3
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 3
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 2
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1
Ashton Winger – Hampton, GA – 1
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1
Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Zack Mitchell – Enoree, SC – 1
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1

FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGERS (9):
Dennis Erb Jr. – Carpentersville, IL – 3
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1

SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (6):
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 3
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 3
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1
Tanner English – Benton, KY – 1
Brian Shirley – Chatham IL – 1
Tyler Millwood – Kingston, GA – 1

BILSTEIN POLE AWARD (8):
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 2
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 2
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1
Jason Feger – Bloomington, IL – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Cory Hedgecock – Loudon, TN – 1

FEATURE LAP LEADERS (13):
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 157
Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 76
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 67
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 44
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 41
Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 30
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 27
Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 25
Ricky Thornton Jr. – Chandler, AZ – 18
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 16
Cory Hedgecock – Loudon, TN – 13
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 11
Brian Shirley – Chatham IL – 1

2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS REAL AMERICAN BEER LATE MODEL SERIES PRESENTED BY DIRTVISION SCHEDULE & WINNERS
Friday, Jan. 24 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Ryan Gustin (1)
Saturday, Jan. 25 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Garrett Alberson (1)
Thursday, Feb. 13 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Garrett Alberson (2)
Friday, Feb. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Devin Moran (1)
Saturday, Feb. 15 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Jonathan Davenport (1)
Friday, Mar. 14 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN / Bobby Pierce (1)
Friday, Mar. 21 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA / Bobby Pierce (2)
Saturday, Mar. 22 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA / Ryan Gustin (2)
Thursday, Apr. 10 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL (Practice)
Friday, Apr. 11 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL / Ethan Dotson (1)
Saturday, Apr. 12 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL / Brandon Sheppard (1)
Saturday, Apr. 26 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Bobby Pierce (3)
Thursday, May 1 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Friday, May 2 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, May 3 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Thursday, May 15 / Raceway 7 / Conneaut, OH
Friday, May 16 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Saturday, May 17 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Sunday, May 18 / Bedford Speedway / Bedford, PA
Friday, June 20 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Saturday, June 21 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO
Monday, June 23 / Independence Motor Speedway / Independence, IA
Thursday, June 26 / I-94 EMR Speedway / Fergus Falls, MN
Friday, June 27 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
Saturday, June 28 / Norman County Raceway / Ada, MN
Sunday, June 29 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND
Thursday, July 3 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 4 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, July 5 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 11 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Saturday, July 12 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Friday, July 25 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Saturday, July 26 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Monday, July 28 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI
Thursday, July 31 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Friday, Aug. 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Saturday, Aug. 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Wednesday, Aug. 13 / Highland Speedway / Highland, IL
Thursday, Aug. 14 / Spoon River Speedway / Lewistown, IL
Friday, Aug. 15 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Saturday, Aug. 16 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Friday, Aug. 22 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Saturday, Aug. 23 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Friday, Sept. 12 / Needmore Speedway / Norman Park, GA
Saturday, Sept. 13 / Senoia Raceway / Senoia, GA
Friday, Sept. 26 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Saturday, Sept. 27 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Friday, Oct. 3 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS
Saturday, Oct. 4 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS
Friday, Oct. 10 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Saturday, Oct. 11 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Wednesday, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thursday, Nov. 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Friday, Nov. 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Saturday, Nov. 8 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/what-to-watch-for-record-paydays-up-for-grabs-at-mississippi-thunder-in-dairyland-showdown/

EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/schedule/event-info/?event=4547662
TRACK INFO: https://mississippithunder.com/

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50th Anniversary BIGFOOT Open House June 7 in Pacific, MO.

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

BIGFOOT 4X4, Inc. is excited to announce that Missouri’s own O’Reilly Auto Parts is its 2025 Presenting Sponsor for the 50thAnniversary BIGFOOT Open House June 7 in Pacific, MO.

We welcome O’Reilly Auto Parts as our Presenting Sponsor, along with returning sponsors Vinyl Imagesand Big Boys Towing. Additionally, our new neighbor, Klance Staging, Inc. is allowing us to use their parking lot so we can expand this year’s event. We are excited to be working with these wonderful partners!Come celebrate 50 years of BIGFOOT history with some old, retired, refurbished BIGFOOT trucks, some old BIGFOOT parts and bodies, along with a few “clones” built by fans, plus some other surprises. You may even get to bid on one-of-a-kind body parts of the once in a lifetime BIGFOOT Anniversary body!Trigger King R/C Racing will be returning, but with a bigger event space.Also, Traxxas will be returning with their racetrack, so come drive a Traxxas R/C. There will also be different Traxxas vehicles for sale.

Come ride in a real Monster Ride Truck, as it’s an experience like no other.Old School Monster Tuck Exhibitions will return, along with some current BIGFOOT drivers and even some drivers from the past – maybe even a few surprise guests.This year’s event will feature a bigger food selection and be sure and check out the vendors.We can’t wait to see everyone for this once in a lifetime experience!

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: #LetsRaceTwo Creates Huge Eldora Sprint Car Weekend

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

The country’s best Wing and Non-Wing drivers are ready for two nights at Eldora Speedway

ROSSBURG, OH (April 29, 2025) – Call it “The House that Earl Built.” Call it “The Big E.” Stick with the original and call it Eldora Speedway. Just know the iconic Ohio half mile is the place to be this weekend for any Sprint Car fan.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is set for its first trip of 2025 to the Rossburg, OH oval. The #LetsRaceTwo weekend brings the stars of The Greatest Show on Dirt and welcomes the top Non-Wingers as the USAC National Sprint Cars will be in action both nights (May 2-3).

Eldora is the most visited track in World of Outlaws history and is set to extend that mark. The country’s top drivers have made 239 trips, including the second race in Series history. Eldora’s high banks and high speeds have thrilled fans for decades, and this weekend will continue the rich tradition between the World of Outlaws and Eldora Speedway.

BUY FRIDAY ELDORA TICKETS HERE
BUY SATURDAY ELDORA TICKETS HERE

WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVision

Let’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:

HAUD HEADS HOME: Ohio means home turf for Wooster, OH’s Sheldon Haudenschild. The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing driver gets five nights of racing in his home state this month, beginning with the pair at Eldora.

“The Big E” is home to a pair of Haudenschild’s 43 career Series victories, and they’ve both come during the month of May. His first was in 2021, and then last year, the 31-year-old led every lap of the #LetsRaceTwo opener to become the 34th different competitor with multiple World of Outlaws wins at Eldora.

Haudenschild heads home riding the momentum of taking the NOS Energy Drink No. 17 to his first victory at Tri-State Speedway. He’s fifth in points with eight top fives and 11 top 10s through the first 18 races of his ninth season on tour.

THE BOSS’ HOUSE: Donny Schatz has a tendency of showing off when he comes over to his boss’ house.

The 10-time World of Outlaws champion owns 19 victories at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, and 16 of them have come since joining forces with Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing in 2008. Six Kings Royal crowns are in Schatz’s trophy room. The 2002 Historical Big One belonged to him. Eight times he’s topped an Eldora Feature in the month of May. There’s not much Schatz hasn’t done at the high-banked half mile.

A visit to Rossburg, OH this weekend could be just what Schatz needs to right the ship in 2025. He and the No. 15 team have just two top fives so far, but the stats say they’ll likely add more this weekend. The Fargo, ND driver hasn’t finished worse than fourth in his last six tries at Eldora, and five of those results were on the podium.

MILLION DOLLAR MAN: Any time Logan Schuchart visits Eldora Speedway is an opportunity to revisit his history-making moment in Sprint Car racing.

Logan Schuchart became the sport’s first-ever winner of a seven-figure payday when he led flag-to-flag of 2023’s Eldora Million, adding the most monumental chapter to Shark Racing’s rags-to-riches story. But the Million is far from Schuchart’s only success at Eldora. “The House that Earl Built” has always been kind to the Hanover, PA native. He’s claimed six total Features, including four in World of Outlaws competition, which puts Eldora in a tie as his winningest track.

Schuchart has only missed the top 10 once so far in 2025. He trails point leader David Gravel by 72 markers and looks to make up ground in pursuit of his first championship.

THE BIG DAD-E: Chris Windom has focused on Winged Sprint Cars for the past few years, but back in his wingless days, few were as good as “Big Daddy” at “The Big E.”

Windom has won eight Eldora main events without a lid. In USAC competition, he’s topped a trio with the National Midgets and two apiece with Silver Crown and the National Sprint Cars. He also drove from sixth to victory with BOSS in 2016. An eighth-place run with the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) in 2022 stands as his best Winged result at the half mile.

The USAC Triple Crown champ currently leads the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year standings with the Sides Motorsports crew. He’s been in the top 10 on five occasions and already collected a trio of KSE Racing Hard Charger awards aboard the NOS Energy Drink No. 7S.

ELDORA EXCELLENCE: The four drivers listed above aren’t the only World of Outlaws gassers that have made the coveted trip to Eldora Victory Lane.

Defending Series champion David Gravel is an eight-time winner. Among those are high-dollar scores of $175,000 (Kings Royal), $100,000 (Joker’s Jackpot), and $52,000 (Governor’s Reign). Five of his victories have come since joining his current Big Game Motorsports team.

Carson Macedo owns a trio of Eldora checkered flags. He topped a pair during Kings Royal week of 2021, then added another in July of 2023 with Jason Johnson Racing. It’s one of seven tracks where he’s won at least three races with the World of Outlaws.

Last year, Giovanni Scelzi got his first-ever Eldora win when he took the KCP Racing No. 18 to a prelim score at the Double Down Duels.

BOUND FOR THE BIG E: Expect a wide variety of entrants this weekend as many more competitors with diverse backgrounds are planning to fill the Eldora pit area.

Broken Arrow, OK’s Brady Bacon has #LetsRaceTwo on his schedule with TKH Motorsports. The versatile driver has won at “The Big E” both with and without wings. He conquered ASCoC in 2017 and picked up trophies with both the USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown divisions.

Emerson Axsom hasn’t missed a World of Outlaws race in 2025, and the streak will continue this weekend. The Franklin, IN native was on the podium in 2023 at Eldora with USAC and finished sixth in last year’s Kings Royal.

Dillsburg, PA’s Anthony Macri plans to represent the Posse in the state that neighbors Pennsylvania to the west. The “Concrete Kid” has already won five times in the “Keystone State” in 2025. His best finish at Eldora is fourth on two occasions.

Kalib Henry is fresh off winning the ASCoC season opener and heading to Eldora in the Running Boxer No. 101. The Californian races primarily in Ohio these days and has competed in six races at Eldora, peaking at sixth last year.

And of course, it’s likely “Buckeye State” fans will get to see local talents such as Creed Kemenah (Alvada, OH), Cap Henry (Bellevue, OH), Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH), and others facing off with the best the sport has to offer.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE
Friday-Saturday, May 2-3 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH

ON THE INTERNET
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
X – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (18/85 Races):
1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (2544 PTS)
2. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-72 PTS)
3. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-98 PTS)
4. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-136 PTS)
5. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 (-196 PTS)
6. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 (-258 PTS)
7. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing No. 18 (-260 PTS)
8. Bill Balog – B2 Motorsports No. 17B (-312 PTS)
9. Chris Windom – Sides Motorsports No. 7S (-400 PTS)
10. Garet Williamson – Fischer Motorsports No. 23 (-404 PTS)

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (10 Drivers):
5 Wins – David Gravel
3 Wins – Kyle Larson
2 Wins – Michael Kofoid, Carson Macedo
1 Win – Christopher Bell, Bill Balog, Giovanni Scelzi, Logan Schuchart, Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild

FEATURE LAPS LED (14 Drivers):
126 Laps – David Gravel
76 Laps – Kyle Larson
73 Laps – Logan Schuchart
65 Laps – Michael Kofoid
47 Laps – Carson Macedo
40 Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
39 Laps – Giovanni Scelzi
19 Laps – Bill Balog
17 Laps – Emerson Axsom, Rico Abreu
16 Laps – Cole Macedo
9 Laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
8 Laps – Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel

SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (11 Drivers):
8 Quick Times – David Gravel
1 Quick Time – Emerson Axsom, Kyle Larson, Danny Sams III, Logan Schuchart, Anthony Macri, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, Rico Abreu, Michael Kofoid, Sheldon Haudenschild

HEAT RACE WINNERS (25 Drivers):
9 Heat Wins – David Gravel, Carson Macedo
6 Heat Wins – Bill Balog, Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild
3 Heat Wins – Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Michael Kofoid
2 Heat Wins – Brian Brown, Jacob Allen, Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom
1 Heat Win – Hunter Schuerenberg, Anthony Macri, Garet Williamson, Bryce Lucius, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Conner Morrell, Donny Schatz, Danny Dietrich, Aaron Reutzel, Tanner Thorson, Rico Abreu, Giovanni Scelzi, Tyler Courtney

TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (35 Drivers):
15 Dashes – David Gravel, Logan Schuchart
12 Dashes – Carson Macedo
8 Dashes – Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild
7 Dashes – Michael Kofoid, Giovanni Scelzi
6 Dashes – Emerson Axsom
5 Dashes – Brian Brown
4 Dashes – Kyle Larson, Garet Williamson, Cole Macedo
3 Dashes – Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney
2 Dashes – Danny Sams III, Jacob Allen, Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Austin McCarl, Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu, Parker Price-Miller
1 Dash – Justin Peck, Brad Sweet, Ryan Timms, Hunter Schuerenberg, Spencer Bayston, Conner Morrell, Bryce Lucius, Christopher Thram, Danny Dietrich, Tanner Thorson, Carson McCarl, Brady Bacon

MICRO-LITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (12 Drivers):
3 LCS Wins – Giovanni Scelzi
2 LCS Wins – Donny Schatz, Christopher Thram, Ryan Timms, Garet Williamson
1 LCS Win – Chris Martin, Anthony Macri, Bryce Lucius, Conner Morrell, Blake Hahn, J.J. Hickle, Zach Hampton

KSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (11 Drivers):
3 Hard Chargers – Ryan Timms, Chris Windom
2 Hard Chargers – Skylar Gee, Garet Williamson, Logan Schuchart
1 Hard Charger – Donny Schatz, Cole Macedo, Zach Hampton, Bill Balog, Hunter Schuerenberg, Michael Kofoid

PODIUM FINISHES (16 Drivers):
11 Podiums – David Gravel
8 Podiums – Carson Macedo
7 Podiums – Logan Schuchart
6 Podiums – Kyle Larson
5 Podiums – Michael Kofoid
3 Podiums – Giovanni Scelzi
2 Podiums – Christopher Bell, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sheldon Haudenschild
1 Podium – Aaron Reutzel, Jacob Allen, Bill Balog, Emerson Axsom, Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney

TOP 10 FINISHES (35 Drivers):
18 Top 10s – David Gravel
17 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart
16 Top 10s – Carson Macedo
13 Top 10s – Michael Kofoid
11 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi, Sheldon Haudenschild
8 Top 10s – Bill Balog
6 Top 10s – Emerson Axsom, Kyle Larson
5 Top 10s – Chris Windom, Cole Macedo, Tyler Courtney
4 Top 10s – Hunter Schuerenberg, Aaron Reutzel, Brad Sweet, Garet Williamson
3 Top 10s – Ryan Timms, Justin Peck, Anthony Macri
2 Top 10s – Christopher Bell, Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Austin McCarl, Rico Abreu, Parker Price-Miller, Brady Bacon
1 Top 10 – Danny Sams III, Skylar Gee, Zach Hampton, Conner Morrell, Tanner Thorson, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown

2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Wed, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)
2. Thurs, Feb 8 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Christopher Bell (1)
3. Fri, Feb 9 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (1)
4. Sat, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (2)
5. Sun, March 2 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
6. Mon, March 3 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2)
7. Fri, March 7 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Bill Balog (1)
8. Sat, March 8 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / David Gravel (3)
9. Fri, March 14 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Giovanni Scelzi (1)
10. Sat, March 15 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Michael Kofoid (1)
11. Fri, March 21 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (4)
12. Sat, March 22 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (5)
13. Fri, March 28 / Lawton Speedway / Lawton, OK / Michael Kofoid (2)
14. Fri, April 11 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (2)
15. Sat, April 12 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Logan Schuchart (1)
16. Sat, April 19 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (1)
17. Fri, April 25 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Kyle Larson (3)
18. Sat, April 26 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)

For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 To Pace 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, April 29, 2025) – The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – capable of 233 mph, the highest top speed of any car ever made in America by an auto manufacturer – will lead the field to the green flag for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Designed for speed and performance, the Corvette ZR1 is up for any challenge, and the exterior and interior of the Corvette ZR1 will be on full display as the car fulfills responsibilities on and off the track.

Michael Strahan, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, longtime “FOX NFL Sunday” analyst and “Good Morning America” co-host, has been named honorary Pace Car driver and will pace the field of 33 drivers in the Corvette ZR1 to start “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“Chevrolet is proud that the 2025 Corvette ZR1, our fastest Corvette ever, will be the Official Pace Car for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500,” said Scott Bell, global Chevrolet vice president. “With a top speed of 233 mph, the Corvette ZR1 is the perfect fit to lead the Indy 500 field to green.”

The Corvette ZR1 delivers 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm from a 5.5L twin-turbo V8, which is the most power ever from a factory Corvette and the most powerful V8 ever produced in America from an auto manufacturer. For Pace Car duty, the ZR1 is equipped with the Carbon Aero package, including dive planes on the front bumper, underbody aero strakes and the rear wing, which creates more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speeds.

The Corvette ZR1 achieves incredible acceleration – capable of zero to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds before rushing through the quarter-mile in 9.6 seconds at 150 mph, making it the quickest Corvette ever.

Arctic White exterior paint and Jet Black interior accents pair nicely with the Indianapolis 500 logos on the Pace Car. The jewel tone, emerald green and gold of the logo are highlighted in racing stripes and additional exterior design elements. Carbon fiber wheels complete the car’s iconic, race-ready look.

“As we anticipate another iconic Indianapolis 500, we are once again excited to have the incredible American sports car Corvette pacing the field,” IMS and INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “The race car-like performance of the Corvette ZR1 makes it the perfect car to pace the Indianapolis 500, and the distinctive sound of the Chevrolet V8 engine will echo brilliantly inside the walls of IMS.”

Corvette is the longest-running car nameplate in automotive industry history, so it’s no surprise Corvette has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than any car. The 2025 race marks the 36th time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948 and the 22nd time overall, all since 1978, for America’s favorite sports car.

Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on all Month of May events and activities at IMS.

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Dominic Scelzi Preparing for Weekend Doubleheader at Placerville Speedway

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (April 29, 2025) – Dominic Scelzi is heading to Placerville Speedway this weekend to tackle a two-night event at the high-banked dirt oval.

Scelzi will be competing in the 360ci winged sprint car portion of the Nor Cal Posse Shootout at the bullring in Placerville, Calif., on Friday and Saturday.

“Placerville has become one of the places I look forward to racing at,” he said. “The track is always two lanes and we’ve slowly but surely gotten better and more consistent there.”

Scelzi ran second at the track during a 360ci winged sprint car race in March. That gave him at least one top-five result at the unique oval for five straight seasons – four of which included at least one podium performance.

“I feel for us to have success we need to time in strong each night and get ourselves into the feature redraw,” he said. “It’s hard to gain spots so we need to put ourselves in position early.”

Scelzi has a win and a second-place finish during a pair of 360 sprint car starts this season.

SEASON STATS –

8 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 6 top 10s, 8 top 15s, 8 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the Nor Cal Posse Shootout

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Bauman and Daniels Take Struggle for Supremacy to Silver Dollar Speedway

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

(Dallas Daniels (32) and Briar Bauman (3) in Ventura this past Saturday; Photo: American Flat Track/Tim Lester) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 29, 2025) – An intriguing 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, picks right back up this weekend with the second annual Silver Dollar Short Track at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, on Saturday, May 3. Last year’s inaugural visit introduced the world’s greatest motorcycle dirt track racers to one of the West Coast’s most iconic auto racing dirt track facilities. A formative venue for a multitude of four-wheeled superstars, including the track’s current co-owners Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet (along with business partner Colby Copeland), Silver Dollar Speedway added another dimension to its proud history in 2024 by playing host to a triumphant performance from ten-time Grand National Champion Jared Mees. Daniels vs Bauman With Mees now retired, many predicted that Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) would assume the vacated Mission AFT SuperTwins throne. Many still do.  However, after four rounds, the series doesn’t just feature a heated title fight, it also has a new championship leader. That honor, of course, belongs to Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R), who took the Harley-Davidson XG750R to its second-ever premier-class victory one race after delivering its first. Bauman took the two wins from the third and second row, respectively, a fact that will undoubtedly create at least a small amount of doubt for Daniels whenever he lines up for a Main Event, no matter how perfectly the day has transpired to that point. The flipside, however, is that Bauman needs to continue making strides on the Harley so as to avoid putting himself and the Rick Ware Racing team in the position where they are forced to make significant set-up gambles come race time.  While their pre-race adjustments have paid off handsomely as of late, the most difficult aspect of defeating Daniels in a season-long championship battle is not beating him on any single given evening but somehow matching (and exceeding) his unrelenting excellence – a rare trait that has seen the Estenson Racing superstar collect 17 podiums in succession. Daniels may carry just an extra bit of motivation into this weekend as well; not only did he just lose the points lead, he also returns to a track where he came up just one corner short of beating Mees for victory. On the Fastrack While Daniels and Bauman have been a constant presence on the podium this season, they have been joined on the box by a different rider on each occasion. Jarod VanDerKooi (No. 20 Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM 790 Duke) became the latest to make a podium appearance, joining Henry Wiles (No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja 650), Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R), and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke). In doing so, he also sidled up next to Robinson and Fisher in the points race, forming a powerful second group of contenders working hard to keep Bauman and Daniels in sight. Beyond just getting his campaign properly on track, the third-place finish represents a significant milestone for VDK and Fastrack Racing. One race after giving the squad its first-ever top five since being established as an independent race team following a long association with Latus Motors, VanDerKooi earned the squad’s first premier-class podium. It was also VanDerKooi’s first finish this season as the top KTM, as he finally got the better of Fisher, who has immediately taken to the Rackley Racing KTM 790 Duke. Who’s Next? Who might be the next rider to step up to the podium this season? There is no shortage of contenders in a young season that has already boasted an impressive depth of color in terms of bikes and riders making their presence felt near the front. Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S) has shown huge potential on the Suzuki this season – potential that has never been more obvious than it was this past weekend at Ventura Raceway. There Bromley won a heat race, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and battled to a top-five result. A podium is not beyond his reach. Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) finally looked at home on the Royal Enfield, running in a podium position in the early going this past weekend before getting shuffled down just outside the top five. The race provided a much-needed confidence injection along with front-running experience that should continue to pay dividends moving forward. Meanwhile, Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) strung together his fourth top ten in four attempts, while James Ott (No. 19 G&G Racing Yamaha MT-07) continues to look increasingly racey. One other name to track is Logan McGrane (No. 14 Schaefer’s Motorsport KTM 790 Duke), who not only earned his first-career Progressive American Flat Track top ten this past weekend but actually gave Bauman fits in their heat race and ran in third position for the opening four laps of the Main Event. Family Fun The incredible race action won’t be the only attraction for fans. Along with the Fan Party, complete with a Rider Q&A session, that directly precedes Opening Ceremonies, attendees can also expect a multitude of vendors, big screen viewing, designated motorcycle parking, and a variety of food and beverage options. Step Right Up… Get Your Tickets Here General Admission Grandstand tickets for the Silver Dollar Short Track are just $40 (kids 12 and under free) while Pit Grandstand tickets ($50, all ages), Reserved Grandstand tickets ($60, all ages), and Trackside Box tickets ($85, all ages) offer premium viewing experiences. And new for 2025, every level of ticket automatically includes paddock access. Also available for purchase is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($105), which includes reserved seating, a guided tour of the infield podium and start/finish line, photos opps included, and up-close viewing of Opening Ceremonies and a portion of the night’s race action. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/silver-dollar-short-track-123441 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. How to Watch FloRacing For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2025. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. FS1 FOX Sports coverage of the Silver Dollar Short Track, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, May 11, at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).

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ROUSH YATES ENGINES CELEBRATES 200 NASCAR CUP SERIES POINT WINS

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

MOORESVILLE, NC – April 28, 2025 – Roush Yates Engines, in partnership with Ford Performance, has reached a historic milestone by securing its 200th NASCAR Cup Series point win. This achievement is a testament to the longstanding collaboration between Jack Roush, Robert Yates, and Doug Yates whose shared vision and engineering excellence have propelled Ford Performance teams to victory for over two decades.

The 200th win was secured at the Jack Links 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric taking the checkered flag. The triumph represents years of relentless dedication, performance, cutting-edge engineering, and continued leadership and resources from Ford Performance and Ford Motor Company.

“This is a historic moment for Roush Yates Engines,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Reaching 200 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series is a testament to the dedication and passion of our entire team, our partners at Ford Performance, and the incredible drivers and teams we power. It’s also an opportunity to honor the incredible legacy of two NASCAR Hall of Fame engine builders and team owners, Jack Roush and Robert Yates —two pioneers and visionaries who joined forces to create something truly special in motorsports.”

“We’ve been fortunate to celebrate a number of milestone achievements in NASCAR the last few years. The one constant to all of those has been Roush Yates Engines,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance. “I’m sure when Robert and Jack started the company more than 20 years ago, they envisioned great things. Doug has continued to deliver on that through his leadership and unmatched desire to be the best. Today, we are seeing the result of that represented by 200 wins.”

In 2004, Jack Roush and Robert Yates, in collaboration with Ford Motor Company, partnered to become the exclusive Ford engine builder for NASCAR. Under the leadership of President and CEO Doug Yates, these two legendary engine builders established Roush Yates Engines in Mooresville, North Carolina. Since its inception, the company has played a pivotal role in shaping the competitive landscape of NASCAR, delivering high-performance engines that have powered countless victories.

Roush Yates Engines made an immediate impact at the start of the 2004 season, locking down the front row of the 2004 Daytona 500. The company powered Greg Biffle (Roush Racing) to the pole position and Elliott Sadler (Robert Yates Racing) to P2.

This organization secured its first NASCAR Cup Series points win on February 22, 2004, when Matt Kenseth claimed the victory at Rockingham Speedway. In its inaugural year, combining legendary power and performance from Jack Roush and Robert Yates, the company powered Kurt Busch to win the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.

Over the years, Roush Yates Engines has powered numerous wins, including Ford’s 1,000th NASCAR win in 2013 with Greg Biffle at Michigan International Speedway, as well as the company’s 100th Cup Series points win in 2016 with Joey Logano at Michigan.

Roush Yates Engines and Team Penske celebrated its first NASCAR Cup Series Championship together in 2018 with Joey Logano in Homestead-Miami.

Roush Yates Engines and Team Penske embraced the NASCAR Next Gen Car beginning in 2022, securing numerous wins and three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championships. This remarkable achievement marked Ford’s first three-peat in its rich 75-year history in NASCAR.

In 2023, Ryan Blaney won the Championship, but did not win the race in Phoenix.

Roush Yates Engines remains committed to delivering power, performance, and reliability, ensuring that Ford Performance teams continue to lead the charge in NASCAR competition. As the 2025 season progresses, the company looks forward to adding even more victories to its storied legacy.

Top 5 teams:RFK Racing (77)Team Penske (75)Haas Factory Team (34)Wood Brothers Racing (4)Front Row Motorsports (4)Top 5 drivers:Joey Logano (34)Brad Keselowski (27)Kevin Harvick (25)Carl Edwards (23)Greg Biffle (18)

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AUSTIN CINDRIC SECURES 200TH NASCAR CUP SERIES POINTS WIN FOR ROUSH YATES ENGINES WITH FORD PERFORMANCE

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

TALLADEGA, AL – April 28, 2025 – Team Penske’s Austin Cindric won Sunday’s Jack Links 500, marking his first win of the 2025 season and the third of his NASCAR Cup Series career. This triumph also represents a historic milestone for Roush Yates Engines, delivering their 200th NASCAR Cup Series points win since the company’s inception in 2004.

“Congratulations to Roger, Mike, Brian, Austin, and everyone at Team Penske on the race win at Talladega,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Talladega is a special place for my family, Robert Yates Racing, and Roush Yates Engines, and for Austin to win our 200th NASCAR Cup Series Point win is truly special. Our Ford Performance race teams qualified well and were prepared for NASCAR’s largest track. We are thankful for NASCAR, Ford, Ford Performance race teams, and the many talented drivers that are part of this milestone for Roush Yates Engines.”

“I’m just so proud of everybody on this race team. Team Penske, the entire shop deserves wins at these racetracks with how fast our race cars are and I’m just so proud to be able to win for John Menard and the Menards team – to get this yellow car in Victory Lane and get in the playoffs,” commented Cindric.

Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith qualified on Saturday and won the pole for Sunday’s race, with a total of seven Ford Performance drivers starting in the top 10: Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P3, RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece in P4, RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher in P6, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P7, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry in P8, and Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in P9. Pole-sitter Zane Smith led the field to green and the early laps led to a battle as drivers raced in tight packs. On lap 43, an incident occurred during green flag pit stops, bringing out the first caution of the race and shuffling the field. Rick Ware Racing’s Cody Ware finished the stage in P8. Six Ford Performance drivers finished Stage 2 in the top-10: Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P2, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P4, RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece in P6, Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland in P8, Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith in P9, and Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry in P10. As the race came to an end, teams focused on fuel strategy and track positioning, anticipating a green-flag run to the finish. With 17 laps remaining in the race, Austin Cindric’s Team Penske crew executed the fastest pit stop of the race, propelling him to the front of the pack. Cindric battled with RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece, exchanging the lead multiple times in the closing laps. Cindric was able to hold off Preece and Kyle Larson to secure his first win of the season. The race featured 67 lead changes among 23 drivers with four cautions for a total of 22 laps. Cindric’s victory marked a significant milestone for Roush Yates Engines.

Front Row Motorsports’ Noah Gragson finished the race in P4.

The Xfinity Series also raced at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, where AM Racing’s Harrison Burton finished in P8 and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed finished in P9.

Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to Fort Worth, Texas this week and race at Texas Motor Speedway.

41 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 479 WINS – 438 POLES

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DYSON TAKES SECOND IN HARD-FOUGHT SONOMA TRANS AM SERIES RETURN

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 28, 2025) – Coming back from injuries that put him out of action for two months, Chris Dyson celebrated his return to the Trans Am by Pirelli series with a race-long battle with eventual winner Paul Menard. Dyson finished Sunday’s 100-mile contest at the physically demanding twisty 2.52-mile Sonoma Raceway right on Menard’s bumper (official margin 0.291 seconds) after a late-race caution period negated the small-but-important performance advantage Dyson’s #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang enjoyed as the 40-lap contest headed for its conclusion.

“I can’t be disappointed today,” Dyson said following his runner-up finish. “It was only a bit over a week ago I was (medically) cleared and felt good to go. I worked super hard in training in the time available to get ready and I’m pleased with my effort all weekend. It was a great race with Paul. I’m proud of the team; they gave me a great chance to shine again.”

The six laps of slow yellow-flag running, following a major crash with Adam Andretti and David Pintaric gave Menard the breather he needed to cool off his tires before the four-lap all-out sprint to the finish. Menard, the 2024 series champion following Dyson’s three-year title run, admitted “Chris was better on long runs, but we were better on short ones.”

Saturday’s qualifying session was cancelled because of heavy rain. The grid for the race was set based on practice times, with Menard on pole and Dyson alongside him and for Sunday’s race the track was still damp when the green flag waved.

“It was tricky conditions, but if we hadn’t gotten that yellow there near the end I think I’d have gotten him,” said Dyson, who set the race’s fastest lap and never trailed Menard by more than 1.5 seconds. “He was coming back to me. Still, it was hard racing the whole way, and I am so happy to be back racing and to be up front battling. If you had asked me a couple weeks ago I would have been pretty hard-pressed to say I’d even be out here today. So I am super grateful.”

Next Up, Laguna Seca

This weekend Dyson will have a rematch with Menard, as well as Andretti and Sonoma’s third-place finisher Tomy Drissi as the Trans Am series completes its West Coast swing with a return after a two-year absence to the Monterey Peninsula’s Laguna Seca Raceway, 150 miles south of Sonoma.

On the way to his second Trans Am title in 2022 Dyson won the series’ most recent race at Laguna Seca from the pole. He also won the pole there in 2021.

“Laguna in a Trans Am car is just a thrill. With the horsepower we have, the corners come at you pretty quickly. It’s going to be a shorter (two-day) weekend than normal National events, so I’m hopeful we can use some of our old lessons to hit the ground running, and have another great race. For more on Chris Dyson Racing.Laguna Seca ScheduleQualifying takes place Saturday, May 3, 2:40 PM – 2:55 PM PT (5:40 PM – 5:55 PM ET)The 100-mile race takes the green flag Sunday, May 4, at 1:20 PM PT (4:35 PM ET)Broadcast ScheduleThe race will be live-streamed on both SpeedTour.TV and the SpeedTour TV YouTube channel, as well as on SPEED SPORT 1, which can be watched on Amazon Prime Video, Roku, PlutoTV, Sling Freestream and more. For more information on how to watch, click here.

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What to Watch for at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

April 29, 2025 ARP Trish

April 28, 2025

What to Watch for at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix

Honda Hot Streak: Honda teams and drivers have started the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season off strong, scoring three wins in a row in the first three races of the year. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou saw victory lane at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and at The Thermal Club, while Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood took the top step at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Honda win streak stretches back to the finale of the 2024 season where Colton Herta took a Honda win in Nashville. Honda currently leads the manufacturers’ championship by 69 points after the impressive first three races.
Podium Perfect Palou: Reigning and three-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou’s title defense is also off to a promising beginning. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has two wins and one second-place finish to start the year, giving the Spaniard a perfect podium streak and an average finishing position of 1.33. Palou currently sits 34 points ahead in the championship as he fights for his fourth title in five years.
Breaking the Streak at Barber: Honda is looking to continue their winning ways to kick off the 2025 season and also snap a streak of three non-Honda wins in a row at Barber Motorsports Park. The last Honda winner at the track was Alex Palou in 2021—his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win. The Honda contingent of teams and drivers is eager to get back to victory lane, particularly at the home race of Honda’s Alabama Auto Plant—the manufacturing location for the Honda Odyssey, Pilot, Passport, and Ridgeline models.

Honda at Barber Motorsports Park

Honda-powered NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams have won five times at Barber Motorsports Park, most recently with Alex Palou in 2021.
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves won the inaugural Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber in 2010.
Other Honda-powered winners of the event are Will Power (2011), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014) and Takuma Sato (2019).

2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda Lineup

Andretti Global                     #26 Colton Herta (W)
                                                #27 Kyle Kirkwood (W)
                                                #28 Marcus Ericsson (I) (W)

Chip Ganassi Racing            # 8 Kyffin Simpson
                                                # 9 Scott Dixon (C) (I) (W)
                                                #10 Alex Palou (C) (W)

Dale Coyne Racing #18 Rinus VeeKay (W)
#51 Jacob Abel (R)

Meyer Shank Racing #60 Felix Rosenqvist (W)
#66 Marcus Armstrong

Rahal Letterman Lanigan    #15 Graham Rahal (W)
Racing                                     #30 Devlin DeFrancesco
                                                #45 Louis Foster (R)

C—Series Champion I—Indianapolis 500 winner W—Race Winner R—Series Rookie

Where to Watch

Television coverage of Sunday’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix starts at 12:30 PM CT / 1:30 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
Practice 1 will air on FS2 for this weekend’s race, while the remaining practice and qualification sessions will air on FS1.

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Chevy Racing–InDYCAR–Indianapolis Testing day 2 recap

April 24, 2025 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

NTT INDYCAR SERIES OPEN TEST

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

FAST FRIDAY SIM TEST AND TESTING DAY TWO RECAP

APRIL 24, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS (April 24, 2025) –

· For the first time in the history of the Indianapolis 500 Open Test, the 18 Chevrolet powered teams and drivers took part in 2.5 hour Fast Friday Sim session on the famed 2.5-mile oval

· The boost level was turned up to 1.5 bar (from normal 1.3 bar) which adds approximately 90 horsepower

· First time Team Chevy drivers have had the opportunity to utilize the hybrid system with the added boost

· Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin in the No. 3 Chevrolet posted the fastest lap of the session – an impressive 232.686 mph/38.6788 seconds

· McLaughlin’s teammate Will Power was third on the timesheets with a lap at 232.278mph/38.7467 seconds.

· The No. 3 Team Penske Pennzoil Chevrolet of McLaughlin was quick everywhere around the 2.5-mile oval, with the Kiwi having the quickest trap speeds at the start finish line (237.976mph) and Turn 1 (237.496mph) and was second quickest in Turn 3 (238.326mph). His Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden was the quickest in the Turn 3 speed trap (238.534mph)

· Kyle Larson, making his second attempt at the H1100, racing in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on May 25, 2025 hit the Turn 1 wall and again at the Turn 2 wall ending his day mid-way through the session

· After a two-hour break for the crews to prepare the cars for race running, the track was open for three hours of testing. With no yellow flags, the 2.5-mile oval was busy with 2436 laps (6090 miles) completed. Team Chevy drivers turned 1199 laps (2997.5 miles).

· The quickest Team Chevy driver with the boost lowered was Conor Daly, whose lap of 223.298mph was the fourth best of the afternoon.

· Up next for Chevrolet in the NTT INDYCAR Series is Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama May 2-4, 2025

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):

A.J. FOYT RACING

David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“First run with qualifying power and the boost – a lot of technical difficulties once again that we kind of ran through, but we know exactly what we had to do, so for our part we’re more here for trying to make sure we have a car for racing. I’m very comfortable with the car when it came to the qualifying and the boost, just other perspectives of technical difficulties which kind of lost us the pace there for those few laps but nothing to really worry about. We know exactly what to fix so now after the one run, we’re going to bring the car back and get focused on this afternoon because that’s what we’re training for. “

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“Obviously a very interesting day with the hybrid and the high boost. Feels pretty good, the cars are definitely quick. I don’t think were going to be as quick as we were the previous season just due to the weight of things, but overall very technical, very difficult as a driver to get all the systems right, but driving-wise, trying to find the balance with the car is also not the easiest thing, but overall pretty happy with it.”

ARROW MCLAREN

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“Just finished two days of testing at IMS. It was the first time at the open test that we had the boost up, at least in the morning, so that was cool. We know what to expect a little more on Fast Friday. We got through our program; we got through a lot of things. Alone running and traffic running. Feeling super happy for May coming up. I think this will be a great starting point to build on.”

Kyle Larson, No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“I was starting my qualifying laps there and, just got really tight and just a bunch of understeer through Turn 1, and ran out of space off of Turn 1. I kind of fought the understeer feeling yesterday and, yeah, carry over to the day. So, honestly, though, I’m happy to crash my first IndyCar and, live through it. We’ll just work on it and try and get the balance more comfortable. I just didn’t quite feel like I had the feeling I needed yesterday, and then it really carried over today. I think when you’re going faster, you know, it really stood out. Just a bummer, but, also, you know, encouraging that it didn’t feel I know it wasn’t like a big hit or anything, but it didn’t feel anything different than what I was expecting.”

DRYER & REINBOLD RACING

Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 23 Dryer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet:

“It’s been great to get back to work with everybody at Team Chevy and Ilmor. We’ve been working on the big ticket items, the fundamental stuff, the intricacies of the hybrid and the new procedures. Getting the team used to it, getting myself used to it, working in traffic, working on qualifying. The whole group has done a good job checking the boxes off. I’m looking forward to coming back in May and putting what we learned to use.”

Jack Harvey, No. 24 Dryer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet:

“I’ve been a competitor against Chevy for most of my NTT INDYCAR SERIES career, so it was cool to turn laps under the bow tie for the first time at as famous a race track as you could ever do it at. So far, mostly so good. Unfortunately, we had a hybrid issue yesterday that was a new issue for Chevy as well, so hopefully, they were able to learn something from it. Today has been a pretty smooth day on the whole.”

ED CARPENTER RACING

Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot and as a team everything is starting to come together. For this event in particular, there are a lot of nerves for the first one. Coming back knowing what to expect and having done it all before is a pretty good feeling.”

JUNCOS HOLLIGER RACING

Conor Daly, No. 76 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet

“It was quite an adventure. The high boost stuff was kind of – our four-lap average was not that bad; we weren’t that fast overall, but we had a really good four-lap run, and our last lap was our best, so we were pretty good right out of the gate. But then it got a little messy so we decdied to get to the race running.

“We have a lot of work to do in race running. We’re trying to figure out the best way to get through the field, get through the pack and get through the dirty air. To be the fastest Chevy is cool. We know that not everyone is going to show their stuff, but I saw those veterans getting big tows all day long, so they are hustling to get the lap time. Everyone is doing the same thing. We had a car that was fast enough to be flat when it mattered. That’s good.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 77 Juncos Holliger Racing Chevrolet

“IMS is a crazy track to drive an INDYCAR around. You’re either having the best time of your life, or you’re scared out of your mind. We had a little bit of everything today, which is great, but that also means we have some work to do. I’m really happy with our qualifying car. We had good speed in the car naturally, which is nice. In race trim, we have some work to do, but between the 77 and 76 we learned a lot. We’re going to come back for the “Month of May” a lot better off, which is good considering we’re already doing alright.”

TEAM PENSKE

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It was a pretty productive morning starting off day two at the open test. It’s been nice to have a high boost session. We don’t typically get this, and it’s interesting to have a simulation of what Fast Friday will be like. Just get an early touch on the car and what the high boost does. I felt pretty comfy and definitely felt some differences from last year to this year with the hybrid and the weight of the car. We’ve got something to digest as we come back to the “Month of May” and hopefully qualify on the front row again for Team Penske.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It’s cool to turn up the boost; the car feels pretty similar to last year, which is a nice feeling. Just working through the motions and learning the hybrid system under qualifying conditions at full boost. It’s always nice to turn the boost up here around Indy. The Team Chevy engine feels fast.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Just did a couple of quali sims to get us prepared for the qualifying weekend in May. We got a good feel for it and are trying to work out how to best use the hybrid. We’ll go back and look at the data to see what the best strategy is.”

Scott McLaughlin

Press Conference Transcript

THE MODERATOR: Join now by Scott McLaughlin. Last year’s pole winner for the Indianapolis 500. First of all, welcome back. Good to see you back. Car seems to be doing okay?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, we had a really good day. A good couple days. Felt like we got through a lot from a hybrid perspective.

Then yeah, I felt like the morning qualifying session, high boost session, was a bit of a crapshoot, you could say. Couple yellows. When the track got better, it was a bit dirty from some of the shunts as well. Then everyone was trying to cram a lot in in 40 minutes.

Yeah, look, overall really solid balance to kick off the month of May. The car is certainly different with the extra weight and whatnot. I think speaking to a lot of the drivers, I think we all concur the same thoughts: it’s different.

It’s fine, fun to get used to and understand it. I feel like I really honed in on a lot of things at a low intensity level just to feel out the car and see where we’re at.

Qualifying is going to be proper in terms of just what you need to do on the lap and thinking about what the car’s doing, the degradation of the tires with the heavier car. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

I think as well, if we have a hot day for the 500, it’s going to be pretty fun. Yeah, just trying to get comfortable with the race car. Hopefully we’re good.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Scott.

Q. You’ve picked up where you left off last year. A lot of drivers have said they’ve really had to yard sale their car, haven’t been able to use anything from last year. How much of the race car from last year have you been able to use this year?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Same car. Exactly same car. Hasn’t touched a piece of tarmac since May here. Pretty happy to have that. It shows in some of the balance numbers as well. We had a pretty solid race car or read straightaway. That’s a good feeling.

For me as a driver, getting out and up to speed, understanding all this other stuff that comes with it. As I said, it’s going to be a lot busier now, which is cool, but you want to be on top of things.

I feel like having that opportunity to come here with a similar car and get going has been good.

Q. Kyle said the traffic seemed like it was difficult. How much difficulty did you get have getting clean laps?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: In the boost session?

Q. Yes.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I concur with him. A couple of the new teams, you can pick who they are, rolled out today in some pretty peculiar spots. Oh, well, somebody is not going to be happy with you. It was interesting to watch. Actually, one of those new teams pulled out in front of me, though. I was a little pissed.

Overall, you understand everyone’s in the same boat. Everyone is trying to get laps and do whatever. You can only be so sportsmanlike to a point. You got to get going. That’s why I say, once the time came down and the crashes happened, only 40 or so minutes left to go, I knew it was going to be a bit of a crapshoot.

Yeah, but I thought we got enough done to look at it, come back. Definitely think I needed to do more single-lap qualifying stuff just to practice it. It was a good initiation.

Kudos to INDYCAR for giving us the opportunity to run the high boost. Weird running it now. Super weird. But it was cool.

Q. You had May-like weather the past two days. You’re a seasoned veteran now. How good is it for you to have that accurate weather?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I said to my guys before, it’s so nice going here and sort of understanding what I want, what feels right, remembering changes we made before. Definitely experience is a good thing.

But yeah, I think this is the best weather we’ve had in probably three, four years, at least the time I’ve been here doing the Open Test. Warm, much like what we might see in May. But you just never know with Indiana.

Yeah, we’ll look at the data and figure it all out. I think we’re in a really good spot.

Q. You said kudos to INDYCAR for giving you that morning session. A lot of people wanted to see if it was going to be too slow or too fast, balance way off. Are you content with where it’s at?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, you just try to get a feel for not only yourself but manufacturers, everything like that, to see where everything sits.

I think with the parameters we ran at from a team perspective, we didn’t throw everything to the wall today. I don’t think anyone would have.

It was a good read with a heavier car. The biggest thing that has changed now is the heaviness of the car. It’s very different. It feels weird. Not weird, but just feels different to usual.

To do that and be able to have an extra session at high boost rather than throwing it out on Fast Friday, who knows there could be rain on Fast Friday. You never know here. It’s nice to come out here in reasonable conditions, n

ot too much wind, have a feel for it, get an introduction to what it’s going to be like.

Q. Are the changes you’re making on the car, are you able to predict what they’re going to do?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: You’re talking about weight jacker and bar?

Q. Yeah. Is it doing what you would expect or what worked a year ago in a change is not going to work now?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, it’s lefty loose-y, righty tight-y. The weight jacker still works the same.

There’s some nuances to the setup that we had to change, for sure. Not change, but like move to I guess you could say. Yeah, it’s still fundamentally what you feel in the car when you’re out in front compared to in traffic, what you need to change for that. It’s very similar.

Q. Your setup with the extra boost this morning, how close do you think that’s going to be to what you run in qualifying? Was it relatively close? A lot of changes you still got to make to it?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I guess you could say it’s somewhat close if you get a read. We didn’t go out there completely different. Certainly trying different things underneath the car that you guys can’t see, no one can see. It’s more of a feel inside the team.

I mean, yeah, all three cars, we had a crack, but within the limits.

Q. How much would you have to change from yesterday’s car to this afternoon’s session? Speeds were up a little bit in the afternoon.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: From yesterday’s car? Yeah, the car was pretty similar to yesterday, to be honest. I just didn’t quite get the best run yesterday. I mean, you can be a hero and try to get a massive tow today, but it doesn’t really feel good.

Q. I heard during commentary the fact that New Zealand has the second highest number of drivers in the Indy 500 with three, along with the UK, then the U.S. with 15. As a Kiwi, how does that make you feel?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, it’s awesome. A little country that punches above our weight, as you know. One of those guys is an absolute legend of the sport, probably the greatest of all time in Scott Dixon. He’s done an amazing job of putting New Zealand on the map. Having Marcus here and now myself, it’s a cool thing.

I think it’s exciting for the Kiwis back home. Yeah, hopefully we can pull out the front for them.

Q. Looking slightly more towards the month of May, your pit box is going to move probably multiple times. Also then wondered the way you’re going to come into the pits using the pit-in, how hard are they adjust to, those variables?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I guess the pit-in for one, we don’t get to practice that really until Monday of race week. That’s probably the only thing. I think all us drivers would probably want to practice it say today on the hot stops. Because we had too many cars in pit lane, the safety is to bring the speed limiter closer into the pylon, into the attenuator. That does take a little bit to get used to. Want to practice that pretty hard on Monday and Carb Day.

The pit box thing, you’ve just got to deal with it. You have marks to practice in and out laps, wherever you’re going to be. I don’t think I’ve ever had the same pit box here ever. Hopefully we can have the same one this year as last year because that was pole.

Q. Looking away from this, Barber next week, then the Grand Prix, how difficult is it to change your mindset from what you spent two days doing to get back in the thick of things thinking about the championships?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, no, it definitely takes a couple laps to sort of get acquainted to a road course again. Your head is moving around a little bit more. It won’t take too long. We had a test there not long ago.

Yeah, Barber and Indy, for me Indy GP hasn’t been that kind too me, particularly in qualifying. Trying to tidy that up a little bit. We’ll be okay. Need to get back on track a little bit.

Had a solid run at Long Beach and hopefully can keep going.

Q. Try to avoid the mannequins at Barber.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That helped me last year (smiling).

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