NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2013
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET Met with media and discussed Memorial Day, running in the longest race of the year, how the Coca-Cola 600 compares to the All-Star race, and more. Full Transcript:
Q. Danica, what does Memorial Day mean to you?
DANICA PATRICK: I thought you were going to ask me about labor. What does Memorial Day mean to me?
Q. Yes.
DANICA PATRICK: Well, for me, for so long obviously it meant Indy. It’s not Labor Day, it’s Memorial Day. I’m like, wait, no.
Memorial Day was the month of May for me. It was Indianapolis. It was a lot about the military, the people that serve our country on race day, everything down to them being the ones that sang national anthems sometimes before the race.
It’s the start of summer.
Q. How different was your experience last weekend compared to running the 600 last year, new car and all that?
DANICA PATRICK: How different was the All-Star Race versus the Coke 600?
Q. Compared to being a rookie last year and coming back.
DANICA PATRICK: I mean, the All-Star Race is a totally different thing. So I guess you get more track time really, which for me is good.
Q. Do you feel you’re a better driver than years past?
DANICA PATRICK: I don’t know. It doesn’t look like it out there. There’s definitely no chance that I’m getting worse. Continuing to learn and get more comfortable. We’re learning with the car. We know we have a lot further to go with getting to a place of speed that we want. But every day that we’re on track, every lap that we make is going to bring us a little closer and learn a little bit more. Sometimes it’s about what not to do.
Q. This is one of the signature races of the season, not just a holiday weekend. The longest race the year. How important would it be for you to run well here, change the conversation a little bit? How close do you think your team is to competing week in, week out in the top 10?
DANICA PATRICK: Sorry, that was like three questions. What one do you want me to answer?
Q. Performing well in a signature race.
DANICA PATRICK: It’s always really nice to do well when everyone is watching or when more people are watching. I’ve been very fortunate in my career that that happens a lot, whether it be Indy or Daytona or big races like that. It’s been a nice coincidence for me.
We didn’t have a special race here last year in the Coke 600, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t this weekend. Hopefully we keep that trend going of having good weekends on big weekends.
Q. How close do you think you are to running in the top 10 consistently?
DANICA PATRICK: I think that as an organization I feel like half of the battle is kind of figuring out what it is, and I think we have a grasp, an idea, of what that is, what those things are. Executing is the next challenge.
I think it’s going to take some time. I don’t know how long it will take to have those issues fixed ultimately, but I feel like we have an idea of where we need to go.
Q. (No microphone.)
DANICA PATRICK: Yeah, I mean, I think everybody rolls into a year, you think you’ve done everything you can to prepare best as possible. You don’t know till you get going, which is why at the beginning of the year when people ask about what I should be expecting out there, what to expect, I said, Let’s see how the first five races go, see where we shake out. I think that’s the same every year. You just need to see where you end up on all the different tracks, what you need to work out.
I do, I think that we were surprised. But all of us understand that we have to work hard to fix it.
Q. On race day, what do you do to get yourself mentally prepared to race? Any kind of rituals?
DANICA PATRICK: I listen to Eye of the Tiger six times and I do 40 push-ups in a row (laughter).
I don’t do anything unique or different. I just have a normal morning. I don’t think that changing it up means anything. Superstitions are only real if you believe in them.
They change based on what race time is, what there is to do before the race. Night races are far different days than noon races. No, I don’t do anything in particular.
Q. As you gain more experience in the car, your thought process, the things you’re thinking about as the race progresses, how has that changed from a year or so ago? I guess you’re learning more things.
DANICA PATRICK: I would say the biggest difference between when I’m out running the car at the beginning last year and now, I just feel like I understand a little bit better, definitely not great, but I understand better what’s happening with the car, whether it’s the splitter hitting, whether or not it’s falling over on the right rear, something like that. I can identify the issues a little bit better than I could in the beginning, of course.
Q. How much does that help you?
DANICA PATRICK: It just helps to be able to identify the problem so I can relay the right information to Gibson so he can fix it. He’s only as good as the information I give him.
Over time I’m getting better at that, help hone in on what change is the best one, not by telling him, but giving him more detailed information.
Q. (No microphone.)
DANICA PATRICK: I’m not going to lie. I didn’t feel very good after we ended the All-Star Race last weekend. I’m not necessarily optimistic right now about the race.
But by no means do I let that take me out of the game, take my effort out. We were all fired up today. I think we had a relatively decent practice. We had lots of issues. Around that, I think we had better race speed. I think we’re learning more about what I need in a qualifying car.
You know, let’s hope that helps us qualify better and let’s hope that helps us race better. That’s just what we do every single day and weekend, is work towards those things.
I have a little bit of a better feeling after practicing than I did this morning arriving. So a step in the right direction.
Q. This being Indy 500 week, do you think more about possibly doing the double at some point seeing all that going on?
DANICA PATRICK: I would say that I don’t think more about it when Indy comes up as far as on the schedule. But I would say that I think about it each year at the end of the year what I want to do.
I really tried hard to do it this year. We all did on my team. Ultimately it came down to the fact that it wasn’t going to help me here, and this is what I’ve chosen to do now, it’s not fair to take away from it. I have a long way to go to figure this out. I need to focus here.
As the years go by, more and more distance goes between my full-time IndyCar career and now, it gets less and less likely.
Q. Homesick feeling watching it?
DANICA PATRICK: No.&
nbsp; I have really fond memories. I, of course, would have loved to have won the race. I feel very fortunate as a driver to have been in a position to win a few times. Definitely two times having a really, really good chance. I feel good about that.
It’s just one race. It is the Indy 500, but I feel like I also did good things. While Indy can kind of make a driver, I feel like it is part of what made me who I am today. So it did those things for me. I didn’t win, but it did make me who I am today.
Q. 600 miles tougher physically or mentally?
DANICA PATRICK: Physically it’s just about hydration. Mentally it’s about hydration actually, I would say. Honestly, that’s where you lose it.
I’ve already started working on that. To be honest, that’s kind of the norm for NASCAR. These long races on Sundays, you really need to focus on just staying hydrated. The car is not hard to turn. It’s not physically difficult to drive. But you do sweat your butt off in there, so I’m working on that.
Q. After the 40 push-ups.
DANICA PATRICK: Yeah, my triceps are spazzing.
No, it’s fine. Just got to stay hydrated.
Q. How about a Dover preview? What are you thinking about as you head to the Monster Mile next week?
DANICA PATRICK: I’m thinking I’m glad we tested there. I hope it helps. It didn’t help Newman last year. I think we went there and there was a lot more cars on the track. There was like 11 of us. Actually laid down a little bit of rubber. Obviously the things we worked on will translate on race weekend. I think that’s always a struggle from testing to race time.
All posts by ARP Trish
Chevy Racing–Coca Cola 600–Jeff Gordon
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2013
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Charlotte Motor Speedway and discussed his first career win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his expectations for the race this weekend, his thoughts on Jimmie Johnson’s career and other topics. Full Transcript:
WHAT DID YOUR FIRST WIN HERE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY DO FOR YOU?
“I know how special that win was. That first win to come in the 600 and I meant everything I said. Coming into the Cup series I think everything is unknown. You don’t know if you have what it takes. You don’t know if you came into a team that got assembled that has what it takes. With that many unknowns you hope to get the opportunity to win one race. Now I just hope I get the opportunity to win another race. That is kind of how I have gone throughout my career is just work as hard as you can to do your part as a driver to go and have opportunities to win races. We have gone through some great times and won a bunch of races. It all started right here and hopefully another one can come here.”
WHEN YOU COME INTO A TRACK WHERE YOU HAVE WON BEFORE DO THINK ABOUT THAT AT ALL OR DOES THAT EVEN ENTER YOUR MIND?
“I think there is a period of time over the years where things seem to stay pretty constant for a certain number of years. We would come in here and pretty much be a threat for the pole and a threat for the win. Then things just started evolving faster than that. They used to maybe last five years then they started lasting three years. Now I feel like year to year and that is technology and engineering that has become a part of this sport. Before long it’s going to be each race or every couple of races like you see in other forms of motorsports like Formula 1 for instance. You can find something that quick. That is where I think we are right now is that a lot has changed from last year to this year. We are off to a slow start, but I think as an organization we have the tools that it takes to make up those gaps. To get ourselves back into a position to win and I think we learned a lot from the All-Star Race. Had a pretty good car and didn’t show for it. There is no doubt I feel like we can be a threat in this one.”
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN IN THE 600 ON SUNDAY?
“Well, it’s a long race. We certainly know that. This track definitely changes quite a bit with temperatures. We see whether it be during practice, qualifying or in the race. Yet, the competition has gotten so tight you can’t afford to give up too much. You used to be able to pace yourself you can’t do that anymore. You’ve got to have the car adjustable like you’ve always had to have it when the race starts. If it’s warm during the day the track is going to be slick and the balance is going to be different. The pace is going to pick up as the sun goes down. You’ve got to be able to be to be ready for those changes and that speed to pick up as well. That is why I love the All-Star Race it really tells us about the night conditions. We don’t get any night practice so it’s the one practice that we have to know what the track should be like when the sun goes down. The rest is really about getting a good lap in for qualifying, getting a good starting position and be ready for what the track is going to be like when the race starts.”
YOU ARE PSEUDO TEAMMATES WITH STEWART-HAAS RACING (SHR) THEY ARE KIND OF STRUGGLING. ARE YOU GUYS STILL WORKING AS CLOSELY WITH THEM THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING ON WITH THEM?
“I mean all the information is openly available like it always has been nothing has changed there. I think the crew chiefs talk among one another quite a bit. I talked to Tony (Stewart) from time to time, but I know that they haven’t been a part of our debrief call in’s and sit down meetings that we have on Tuesday as much this year as they have been in the past. You know who knows, some of it could just be when it comes to Tony and the No. 14 car I think I saw them like this before, then they went and won a championship. In my opinion they probably are struggling a little bit more than they would like to, but they are also a team that could turn things around fairly quickly and get back on track.
“I can’t say a whole lot. We are in an organization that we have a lot of guys running very well up towards the front of the points and we are not there. We do have conversations every week and sit downs. Sometimes even when your cars are good you don’t always put all the pieces together. That has been out thing this year. We’ve got a great cars, great crew chief, great pit crew and I think I do a pretty good job; but getting them all to come together in synch when it counts most. We did it at Darlington we had a third-place finish. We did a pretty good job at Martinsville, had a good finish. The rest of the races those things haven’t come together. We haven’t been able to get the results. So, some of those things could be the same with Stewart-Haas.”
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE JIMMIE JOHNSON’S CAREER?
“Pretty phenomenal I mean certainly from the Cup side of it. I think that a lot could be said about what he did prior to getting into Cup about how hard he had to work. If you were analyzing if the talent was there, but maybe the results weren’t always there. So, I think some people kind of looked over him when in reality he had a tremendous amount of talent, work ethic, desire and passion. When you put that combination with Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports and that team they have assembled from that point forward the rest is really history in what his career has been and the numbers that he has put up I think speak for themselves.”
YOU WERE THE GUY WHO ENDORSED HIM TO RICK HENDRICK AND LOWE’S. HOW DOES REALITY COMPARE TO WHAT YOUR EXPECTATION WAS IN 2001?
“It’s hard to have those high expectations to meet the reality. I think it’s better that way. It’s better to have a little bit lower expectations. Now when we were talking to sponsors, we were pumping it up like he was going to win every race (laughs).
“But I think that my expectations were, ‘I think this guy has the abilities. If you put a team together like we have done for the No. 24 team, I think he’s going to do some spectacular things.’ But still even then, I don’t think any of us expected the whole thing to come together quite the way that it did.
“And now I look at it and every time he wins a race I shake my head and I go that’s unbelievable. Those guys are just so good. And you give Jimmie the sight of the victory, and where he takes that to is just a whole other level. I remember in parts of my career when it was like that for me where we were just that good as a team; that in sync, and that confident that we almost had the competition beat before the race even started. They’re in that position right now. Everybody is sitting there watching them; well no, we got ‘em we got ‘em. And then all of a sudden they’re gone and they win. That just puts another notch in the belt of the No. 48 team, but it also takes a notch out of the rest of the competition. And that’s a great asset to have as a team for a driver.”
CONSIDER THE NUMBER OF FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS THAT ARE RACING RIGHT NOW, THIS POSSIBLY BEING THE GREATEST ERA OF COMPETITION, HOW DO YOU COMPARE THE ERA NOW TO THE ERAS IN THE PAST? HOW WOULD ANYBODY SAY THAT THIS IS GREATER OR THAT IS GREATER?
“Oh I would never categorize it that way. I feel like throughout the history of NASCAR, there has always been tremendou
s individuals and talents that played their own role in history and were spectacular in their own ways and sometimes they came along maybe when somebody else was moving out or sometimes they were right head-to-head.
“And to me, I’ve always seen dominance as something that you can’t dominate if somebody else is there, beating you every other weekend. So, usually it’s recognized as dominance because you have an edge on the competition. We saw that with Richard Petty. We saw that with Dale Earnhardt, Sr. We saw that with me. And we see that now with Jimmie Johnson. I think that’s always going to hold true throughout history of this sport.”
DO YOU HAVE A PLATFORM WITH WHICH TO APPROACH THE 600 RACE? WOULD YOU BREAK IT DOWN INTO THREE 200-MILE SEGMENTS
“I think you have to have a plan for every race and try to understand what the challenges are and what you can somewhat expect from previous experience. And because this is such a long race, maybe instead of breaking it down in half, you could break it down into thirds. Even with all the well-laid-out plans it doesn’t seem to make it all go smoothly. Even with Ray (Evernham) we would kind of know things but we would still have to adjust as we go. And that’s the way we still approach it today.”
WHAT MAKES DOVER SO MONSTROUS?
“Well, the high speeds, big corners, the high-banked turns and then the high-banked straightaways as well. It’s just a track where you’re on the edge. There’s not a lot of room for air and when it does happen… One is it can happen by itself. On your own you can break your car loose and find yourself in trouble and it’s hard to recover there. Usually when you have a problem, you’re in the wall. And same thing when you’re in a group and it happens as a group, there is going to be a big wreck. So, it is definitely a monster.”
I ASSUME YOU HAVE TO RACE THE TRACK THERE FIRST?
“I like to try to race the track first everywhere. But, I think that at Dover, similar to Darlington, you have to really respect the race track. You can’t get too caught-up in the competition. If you get track position like anywhere else, you’ve got to try to maintain it. It’s just still very important, even at Dover. But survival and having a car working good there is the most important thing. I feel like it might be a little bit more there than it is at some others, but most of the time that is the case.”
THERE HAS BEEN TALK ABOUT MOVING THE FALL CHARLOTTE FALL RACE TO LAS VEGAS. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT?
“I can’t imagine not racing here three times a year, or certainly two points races. I love racing here. It’s nice to be home and this is such a special race track. And I feel like people flock from all over the country to come here not just because of the facility, but what else there is to offer with the Hall of Fame, the city (of Charlotte), the team shops and all those things. I would hate to see that. But at the same time, I think Las Vegas makes great sense from a marketing standpoint. When we look at the sport and where we’re at and how to grow it and get those seats filled, you would certainly think that a race in Las Vegas in October would do pretty well. I think Las Vegas deserves to have two races. I would not want to see us take away a race from here.”
WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE THEM ADD ANOTHER ONE TO THE SCHEDULE?
“No (laughs), I wouldn’t. But without putting any names out there, there are some other tracks that maybe could give up one (laughs again).”
Chevy Racing–Coca Cola 600–Jimmie Johnson
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
COCA-COLA 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 23, 2013
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed winning the All-Star race last weekend, racing on Memorial Day weekend, his NASCAR Sprint Cup career and more. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Jimmie Johnson has joined us.
Jimmie, certainly coming off a very strong performance at the All-Star Race must bode well for you on Sunday here at Charlotte.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: It does. The longest run we had was 20 laps. We feel like we’ve got a good direction but we still need to get out in Saturday’s practice session and work on the car balance for a full run.
In our situation, we won’t be able to have our All-Star car to race this weekend. It won’t get released from the tech center till Tuesday. There’s not enough time to turn the car around.
We have a lot to work from, but it’s still a new weekend. Race is much different than before. We feel like we have a good direction and we’ll see where things stack up at the end of the night on Sunday.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Jimmie.
Q. Last night at the Hall of Fame, we were debating about whether this might be the greatest era of NASCAR competition, considering parity in the sport and the number of future Hall of Famers that are racing now. Out of that, I’m wondering how you can decide whether one era might be better than the other. How do you judge and stack yourself up, Jeff, those that you race with, against the guys that raced 50 years ago?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: That’s a great question. I don’t think there is an answer. I think that’s what leads to great conversation, debate, and harassment amongst friends that think a different driver from a different generation was better.
I don’t know how you do it. You can look at stats. But just a different world for a lot of reasons. I think it’s the same way when you look at a lot of other pro sports. It’s very difficult to pick one.
Stats kind of tell the tale at the end of the day, but we would all love to see – it wouldn’t be possible – but the greatest baseball game with all the Hall of Famers on the field. Same with football.
If we could get Petty in his prime, Earnhardt in his prime, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon, go on down the list, that would be an awesome list. We can’t do that so we just have the questions and the conversations, which are great. I’m glad we have those conversations in our sport.
Q. Jimmie, Brad was talking a little bit earlier about even though he’s a lot longer and you have to survive to get that far, how Sunday might be similar to the All-Star Race, in whoever can get up front after that last pit stop is going to have an advantage. How do you feel about the end of the 600 coming up?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I don’t disagree with that. I think it’s kind of par for the course on tracks without a lot of tire falloff or tire wear.
The clean air is more of an advantage in that situation, even if you are abusing your tires and you can hang on. I think a 10-lap shootout, guaranteed, changes the game a little bit. We’ll be hopefully coming in after a 40-, 50-lap run running on old tires to the finish. Maybe there’s a little different scenario at that point in time.
Yeah, I don’t disagree that opportunity could be here, especially if it’s a short run to the finish.
Q. Jimmie, Memorial Day weekend, there will be a huge military presence here. There’s always a lot of pageantry to go along with that. Your thoughts about Memorial Day, what it means to Jimmie Johnson.
JIMMIE JOHNSON: It’s awesome to be a part of it, to be a source of entertainment, and to pay our respects as a race team. We usually have an awesome paint job on our racecar. To be a part of it, to say thank you, means a lot to Lowe’s, myself and our race team.
From a race fan’s perspective, Sunday is the greatest day all over. Monaco Grand Prix, right into the 500, right into the 600.
I don’t miss not racing, but sitting on the couch watching all that, I do have fond memories of watching a full day of racing.
Q. Talked to Doug. He said you haven’t decided where you’re going to do your test yet this season. Is there someplace in particular you believe you need to test more than somewhere else with the new car?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: For me I think Phoenix is the question mark. We finished second there in the spring, but we didn’t have the confidence the race weekend we wanted to. We raced better than we expected to, finished better than we thought. From the 48’s standpoint, that’s probably the hottest track in our mind.
With the testing format the way it is, might not play out that way. We’ll have to see. Luckily all the cars are running good and we’re able to sit on our test sessions right now and use them in the best manner possible, hopefully on Chase tracks. That would be the ideal situation.
As we get through the summer, if we have a teammate that’s near that cutoff point, we need to get stronger at a regular-season racetrack, we can have that strategy in place, too.
Q. Jimmie, I’ve asked a few people today, your peers, to describe your career. More than one have said ‘greatest of all time’. How would you describe your career, knowing your peers feel that way?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: Wow, I don’t know how to quite respond to that. I am honored that they have mentioned me in that way.
I just don’t pay that much attention to it all. It’s very difficult to think about where I fit in while I’m still racing. I think of driver’s careers ending mid 40s. I still have 10 years or so to even think about that, worry about that.
So to be recognized and thought of and even in the conversation with Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon, that’s a huge compliment I’m very proud to have, proud to be a part of that conversation. But I haven’t thought that much about it.
Q. You mentioned earlier about not driving the All-Star car this weekend. Was that ever an option or hope?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: If you don’t go to the tech center following the race, you have that option. You can turn your car around. But we had a brake problem. We won. Weren’t getting our car back for a couple days. In the old days, before the cars would come home with us, they wouldn’t go to the tech center till Tuesday, we would ask ourselves the question, even if we didn’t win: Do we want to turn this car around and use it? When we won here, it didn’t go to the tech center, we brought that car back. You know where the gaps are. At that time the balance, now it’s the splitter. Those heights are so critical, you’ll waste two or three runs on a new tire today where you could use those runs to really fine tune your racecar. You’d much rather bring that racecar back in today’s world. Ideally we would, for sure.
Q. You’ve won this race before, the 600. You know the razor thin line of what it takes to win it, how hard it is to win it, the margin for error is so thin. How difficult or demanding on a driver is it when you have to physically wrestle the car around but also keep in the back of your mind one small mistake you could put yourself to the back of the field?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: 
; It is a fine balance. Not only is it important for the driver, but it’s also the team. I think the All-Star Race was a great example of how important that last pit stop is. You get the driver who’s been out there, potentially fatigued. You have a team that’s been up and at it early, setting up a pit, doing pit stops all day long. It’s late at night. You come down to the last pit stop. Who has it in the tank? Not only energy, but hand-eye coordination.
In today’s day of racing, when you get to Victory Lane, sure, the driver gets most of the credit for the job well done, but it’s such a team sport. There’s just as much riding on the success of the car on pit road as much as there is on the racetrack.
Q. AJ Allmendinger, qualifying for Indy, do you think if you go to Indy, top driver in the garage, you’d be a contender right away?
JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don’t think so. I think that the driver we become is a product of what we grew up in. My off-road days, the vehicles I raced, helped lead me to NASCAR. I didn’t grow up in carts. I’ve never been in an open-wheel vehicle, a formula-style vehicle. They just drive differently.
AJ was on top of his game in IndyCar before he came to NASCAR, had to relearn. I think his venture into NASCAR is a good example of what would happen if a driver went from NASCAR to IndyCar. It takes time.
If I just left and tried next year, tested a couple times, I wouldn’t be where Dinger is. I think he’s doing an amazing job and I would love to see him win that thing.
Honda Racing–Honda Announces Major USAC Partnership Program
Honda Announces Major USAC Partnership Program
Title Sponsorship of USAC National, Ignite and .25-Midget Series;Engine; Official Vehicle, ATV, and Pit Bike Programs Included
TORRANCE, Calif. (May 23, 2013) –American Honda Motor Co., Inc., today announced a comprehensive motorsports partnership program with the United States Auto Club (USAC), including title sponsorship of several USAC racing series and a new role as Official Engine Supplier to the Ignite Midget Series. Implementation of these programs will begin this year, and will be fully in effect for the 2014 race season.
Under terms of the multi-year agreement, Honda will become title sponsor for USAC’s NationalMidget, Ignite Midget (to be renamed Honda Midget) and .25 Midget racing series. Honda K24 “crate” engines, sold and distributed by USAC, will become the new spec engine for the HondaMidget Series.
Honda K- and F-series engines, also supplied by HPD,are currently being utilizedby individual teams in the USAC National Midget Series, and Honda GX-series engines remain a popular choice for .25 Midget competition.
Honda will become the official vehicle of USAC, as well as the Official Side-by-Side and All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) supplier; Official Generator and Official Pit Bike for the sanctioning body. In addition, Honda will become the presenting sponsor of all USAC National race broadcasts,via live streaming through USAC.TV, Ustream and USACRacing.com.
“Historically, USAC has occupied a leadership role in oval-track racing and grass roots motorsports nationwide,” said Mike Accavitti, Senior Vice President, Automobile Operations, for American Honda. “We’re pleased to be able to greatly expand our role in USAC competition,while taking the next significant step in advancing HPD’s grassroots motorsports initiative. We look forward to a long and successful association.”
Honda will supply USAC with Honda Civic Si pace cars for the National Midget and HondaMidget series. Honda Side-by-Sides and ATVs also will be utilized by series officials. Signage rights for the sponsored series, including Victory Circle, will be provided to Honda for the length of the agreement; and the iconic Honda “Circle H” logo will be placed on all Quarter Midget and Honda Midget entries.
“USAC is extremely pleased to announce the new partnership with Honda today,” says USAC CEO/President Kevin Miller. “Honda’s new level of participation throughout USAC’s racing programs brings new energy with its national marketing footprint. USAC and Honda have partnered today to create an expanded level of excitement in the Midget racing communityand we look forward to a mutually rewarding motorsports experience for all involved.”
Honda has been a fixture in North American open-wheel racing since 1994, and has played an active role in Indy car competition– as both a Manufacturers’ Championship competitor and single engine supplier –since 1994.
In competition with other auto companies, Hondahas won sixchampionships, more than any other manufacturer. In years of multi-manufacturer competition, Honda-powered drivers have won eight titles, again more than any other. Honda has a total of 197 race victories in open-wheel racing, 65 in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) competition and 132 in IndyCar.
As engine supplier to the entire IZOD IndyCar Series from 2006-2011, Honda supplied racing engines to the full, 33-car Indianapolis 500 field, and for a record-six consecutive years,the ‘500’ ran without a single engine failure.
Honda scored its first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2004 with Buddy Rice; and the 2012 race, won by Dario Franchitti, was Honda’s ninth consecutive “500” triumph – both against competition from other manufacturers and as sole engine supplier.
Founded in 1993, HPDis the technical operations center for high-performance Honda racing cars and engines, and competes at race circuits around the world from its headquarters inSanta Clarita, California. The company is marking it’s 20th anniversary as American Honda’s racing arm in 2013.
In addition to its efforts in Indy car racing, HPD spearheaded championship-winning efforts in the 2009-2012 American Le Mans Series, and in the LMP2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mansin both 2010 and 2012. HPD offers a variety of race engines for track applications from prototype sports cars to karting; and showcases “fun-to-drive” products for professional, amateur and entry-level racers.
NHRDA Indiana Diesel Shootout
Once again the NHRDA will team up with the Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League to put on the sled pull at the NHRDA Indiana Diesel Shootout. But for the first time ever this sled pull will not only be a points pull for Lucas Oil Pro Pulling League it will also be a point’s pull for the NHRDA Diesel Sled Pulling Series. Pullers must be a current NHRDA member to be eligible for NHRDA Diesel Sled Pulling National Points and contingency money from the NHRDA contingency sponsors, the membership fee is $50.00 for the year. Competitors in Super Stock, 3.0 and 2.6 must earn points at a NHRDA Diesel Sled Pulling Series event to earn an invitation to the NHRDA World Finals on September 28th at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. The NHRDA will have a booth right next to the PPL’s booth at the front gate to give all the pullers an easy way to sign up for their NHRDA membership and NHRDA contingency program.
Remember that the NHRDA World Finals is an invitation only and pullers wanting an invite must have pulled at a NHRDA Diesel Sled Pulling Series event during the 2013 season.
Chevy Racing–Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 Teams and Drivers Ready for 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 Teams and Drivers Ready for 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race
DETROIT (May 23, 2013) – The 33-car field is set for the 97th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race scheduled for Sunday, May 26th, and will feature 17 driver entries powered by the Chevrolet V6 2.2 liter direct injected twin turbocharged purpose built engine fueled by renewable E85.
Ed Carpenter, in his No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, will lead the traditional field comprised of 11 rows of three to the green flag. With deep roots in Indiana, hailing him as a local hero to Indy 500 race fans, Carpenter is the first owner/driver to win the pole for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing since 1975.
Months of preparation, coupled with hours of testing and practice on the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway will culminate when the most famous words in auto racing, “Drivers, Start Your Engines”, are uttered to signal the start of the 200 lap/500 mile race in pursuit of one of the most coveted awards in motorsports, the Borg-Warner Trophy.
“The keystone event of the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis 500, is nearly upon us and Team Chevy has positioned itself well for the start of the race,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for the IZOD IndyCar Series. “Our engineers, teams and technical partners have been preparing for the event since the day after the 2012 race was over. The competition in the Series remains tight, and the fans are sure to witness another memorable Indy 500, paced by the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
“Congratulations again to Ed Carpenter and the entire Ed Carpenter Racing Team for winning the pole position for Sunday’s race. We are looking forward to competing and being “back home again in Indiana”.
Andretti Autosport will field five Chevrolet-powered cars and drivers in the Indy 500. Rookie Carlos Muñoz and Marco Andretti, who currently sits second in the Series’ point standings, will fill the front row with Carpenter, starting second and third respectively. E.J. Viso will start fourth, defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay will roll off seventh and two-time 2013 winner James Hinchcliffe will take the green flag from the ninth starting spot to place all five of the Andretti Autosport entries in the first three rows.
Team Penske’s rookie driver, A.J. Allmendinger, will make his career first Indy 500 start from fifth position on the grid. Joining Allmendinger in row two will be his teammate Will Power starting sixth. The third Team Penske Chevrolet IndyCar V6 driver, three-time Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves, will start eighth.
Panther Racing’s JR Hildebrand had a strong qualifying effort, securing the 10th starting spot. His teammate, eight-year IndyCar series veteran Townsend Bell, will make his sixth Indianapolis 500 start, taking the green from the 22nd starting position. Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing driver, Oriol Servia, a fan favorite at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will start in 13th position.
Tony Kanaan will make his 12th start in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. He will pilot his KV Racing Technology Chevrolet from the 12th starting position. His teammate Simona De Silvestro, the fastest of the four women to qualify for this year’s race, will start 24th.
Hoping to add an Indy 500 win to his list of motorsports accolades will be Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais who will start 15th. He is followed by teammate Sebastian Saavedra who recorded the third fastest speed on ‘Bump Day’ to start 27th.
1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier will make his first start in the Indianapolis 500 since 2008. The 2000 IZOD IndyCar Series champion will start 32nd.
Chevrolet has won three of the first four races of the season, and has collected four poles which includes Carpenter’s Indy 500 pole-winning accomplishment.
Live broadcast overage of the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 begins at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, May 26 on ABC. The green flag is set to wave at 12:30 p.m. The famed race will also be broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including Sirius and XM Channels 211 and www.indycar.com.
Casey Currie Battles Through Adversity to Leave LOORS Lake Elsinore Round Second in Pro Lite Championship
Casey Currie Battles Through Adversity to Leave LOORS
Lake Elsinore Round Second in Pro Lite Championship
CORONA, Calif. (May 22, 2013) – Despite
its toughest weekend to date in the 2013 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series
(LOORS) season, the Monster Energy/General Tire squad led by Casey Currie overcame
adversity during both days of competition from Lake Elsinore, Calif., to leave
his hometown race second in the Pro Lite championship.
The speed
was definitely there for Currie and it showed immediately with impressive lap
times during Friday practice on the 1.1-mile circuit. Currie piloted his
Monster Energy/General Tire truck to top three times in each of his two group
sessions. On Saturday morning, Currie laid down a hot lap in qualifying that
landed him inside the top five on the starting grid for the first race of the
weekend.
As the
green flag waved to get Round 5 underway on Saturday afternoon, Currie put
himself in position to battle at the front of the field until his first
encounter with bad luck occurred early on. After the pole sitter spun just
after the finish, Currie was collected in the ensuing chaos and fell to 16th
in the running order, forcing him to battle his way back through the field.
Currie’s exceptional abilities behind the wheel were on display through to the
caution flag at the halfway point, passing seven trucks in just a handful of
laps. After restarting in ninth, Currie kept the charge going through the finish.
The speed was there in the Monster Energy/General Tire machine, but Currie
simply ran out of laps and ultimately claimed eighth spot at the checkered
flag.
“That’s
not the way you want things to go, but sometimes that’s just how things work
out in this sport,” said Currie. “The Monster Energy/General Tire truck was
driving really well and it made for some easy work to get back inside the top
10. I would have liked to be further towards the front and I think we had the
truck to do it with, but we ran out of laps there at the end.”
Round 6
kicked off on Sunday morning with qualifying to set the grid for the final Main
of the weekend. Currie once again was on point and laid down a solid time that lined
him up inside the top five for the final race of the weekend.
As the
race got underway, Currie made quick moves to be a part of the lead pack, but
was again hit with misfortune when another spin from a competitor collected the
Monster Energy/General Tire truck. This time, Currie wasn’t fortunate enough to
come away unscathed and a broken front suspension dropped him to the tail end
of the field in 28th spot. Despite losing the ability to make
another charge through the field, Currie refused to give up and soldiered on
through the remainder of the race to post a 20th-place finish,
earning highly valuable championship points as a result.
“This
just wasn’t our weekend,” said Currie. “Sometimes racing is harsh like that.
All we can do is take our lumps, finish strong, and look forward to the next
round. Hopefully we got the bad luck out of the way this weekend and will get
back into this championship fight in Utah next month.”
Currie’s
mixed results and hard luck unfortunately forced him to drop out of the Pro
Lite points lead and into second place. Despite the adversity in Lake Elsinore,
Currie still sits within striking distance at such an early point in the
season, 39 points out of first.
Prior to
the on-track action for the weekend, Currie spent Thursday morning with local
KTLA 5 reporter Gayle Anderson on the KTLA Morning News. Currie gave Anderson a
taste of what the Monster Energy/General Tire Pro Lite is capable of with his
popular two-seater truck. The chance to be a co-pilot alongside Currie has
become a favorite for the media and the sport’s sponsors.
Currie
and the Monster Energy/General Tire team will set their sights on reclaiming
the Pro Lite points lead at Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2013 LOORS season from Miller
Motorsports Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, on June 21-23. Currie will debut
a sharp-looking new truck for the event that is sure to turn some heads with
its aggressive-yet-nostalgic design.
To keep up with all of Casey’s racing visit www.caseycurrie.com.
Honda Performance Development OpensTech Center in Brownsburg
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (May 22, 2013) –Featuring a state-of-the-art driving simulator rarely seen outside of Formula One, Honda Performance Development officially opened its Indiana Tech Center Wednesday, in the Indianapolis suburb of Brownsburg, Ind.
Driver-in-the-Loop [DIL] simulator technologyhas been employed successfully by HPD’s sports-car racing programsince 2007 at a facility in England. HPD’s new Tech Center brings that capability to themid-west, a location centralto the American racing community.
A DIL Simulator can save racing teams both time and money, as extensive test programs can be run through the simulator, with the team’s driver at the wheel and engineers monitoring “lap times”, prior to going to the expense and time-consuming process of actual on-track testing.
“Because [setup] changes can be done so quickly, the DIL Simulator allows you to run through many more [chassis geometry and track condition] changes than you could perform with an actual race car,” said Gil de Ferran, Indianapolis 500 winner, Indy car champion and now a consultant to HPD. “It also allows you to perform experiments that would be completely impractical – or highly expensive – on an actual race car.”
Design and construction of this latest-generation DIL Simulator began in the summer of 2012, and a site in the Indianapolis suburb of Brownsburg was selected for its central location and proximity toracing teams and drivers.
After construction and initial testing, the DIL Simulator was installed at the new HPD Tech Center in Brownsburg and began operations earlier this month. In the future, in addition to Honda-powered IndyCar and sports-car racing teams, the Simulator and HPD Tech Center facilities will be available for use by teams taking part in other series.HPD offers in-house engineering support for drivers and teams utilizing the DIL Simulator. Customized simulations can be established to meet the specific needs of the teams.
“Similar to the decision to design, develop and build the new Acura NSX in Ohio, the HPD Tech Center is another example of Honda bringing R&D activities to the heart of the North American motorsports community, said Steve Eriksen, HPD vice president and chief operating officer. “This is a development tool that will bring benefits to all of our motorsports activities, through a focus on total vehicle performance encompassing both engine and chassis.”
The HPD DIL Simulator provides a cost-effective means of testing chassis setup changes, aerodynamics, engine mapping and future development paths, prior to turning a wheel on the race track. It also allows teams to replicate and experience many on-track situations, including changing track temperatures, surface grip, air temperature and wind direction/strength.
The Simulator provides an opportunity for drivers and engineers to strengthen their working relationships and understanding of one another, without the expense and time required by on-track testing. In addition, drivers can learn circuits and configurations prior to arriving at a newtrack. It can also be used as a coaching tool, and aid in driver development programs.
Honda Performance Development (HPD) is the Honda racing company within North America. Located in Santa Clarita, Calif., HPD is the technical operations center for high-performance Honda racing cars and engines. The company is marking it’s 20thanniversary in 2013.
As one of three engine suppliers to the IZOD IndyCar Series, Honda won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dario Franchitti; and has scored 197 race victories in both CART and IZOD IndyCar Series competition since 1994.
HPD takes part in both the American Le Mans Series–where the company swept all manufacturer, engine, team and driver awards in the 2012 ALMS LMP1 and LMP2 categories–and the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning the inaugural LMP2 championship during a year where it again took anLMP2 class win at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans, the company’s second class win at Le Mans in just three consecutive attempts.
HPD offers a variety of race engines for track applications from prototype sports cars to karting; and showcases “fun-to-drive” products for professional, amateur and entry-level racers.
Wood Brothers Racing–Woods Poised To Make Milestone Start At Charlotte
Woods Poised To Make Milestone Start At Charlotte
May 22, 2013
Like nearly everyone in America this week, Eddie Wood and his fellow members of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team have had the weather on their minds, especially after the heart-breaking death and damage that massive tornados caused in Oklahoma on Tuesday.
Wood and his crew also have been keeping an eye on the forecast for Charlotte on Thursday, when qualifying is scheduled for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, and there’s a chance of rain.
Wood is hoping for clear skies and a fast Ford Fusion so his family team can reach a milestone 1,400 Sprint Cup starts, dating back to Glen Wood’s first appearance in NASCAR’s elite division, at Martinsville Speedway on May 17, 1953, driving a 1953 Lincoln. Should there be rain, enough rain for qualifying to be cancelled, the team would miss the race. By competing on a limited schedule, the team has made fewer attempts to qualify for races this season than the other teams not otherwise locked into the starting field.
In rainouts, the final starting slots go to teams based on the number of attempts to qualify.
“Considering the tragedy and loss the people of Oklahoma have suffered, our weather concerns don’t seem that important,” Wood said. “But the Wood Brothers have run 1,399 races, and we plan to run a lot more in the future. If we miss Charlotte, we’ll make our 1,400th start somewhere else.”
Charlotte would be an appropriate venue, as the team got its first superspeedway victory there in the 1960 National 400 with Speedy Thompson at the wheel.
Crew chief Donnie Wingo also is hoping the weather works out in the team’s favor, as he and driver Trevor Bayne are looking forward to getting the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion back into Sprint Cup action.
“We’re taking the same Ford Fusion we ran at Texas and Las Vegas,” Wingo said. “It was our best chassis last year, and we’ve done a lot of work on it since.”
Wingo, Bayne and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew also are hoping to keep up the momentum from two recent test sessions, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Michigan International Speedway.
“We tested with a different car, but you always pick up things that can help you at other places and with other cars,” Wingo said.
The veteran crew chief will be putting his experience – recent and long-term – to work should the team make the field for NASCAR’s longest race.
“I like the challenge of 600 miles,” he said. “It requires a lot of preparation, and you have to build a lot of adjustability into the car because the race goes from daytime into night, and Charlotte is one of the most heat-sensitive tracks we race on.”
Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled for Thursday at 7:10 p.m., and the race is set to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX.
Pittman Captures World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car NAPA Outlaw Classic at New Egypt
Pittman Captures World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car NAPA Outlaw Classic at New Egypt
Oklahoma native races with heavy heart after storms ravage his home state
NEW EGYPT, N.J. – May 21, 2013 – World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship leader Daryn Pittman is having the best season of his career, but he outdid himself Tuesday night in the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Classic at New Egypt Speedway.
First he led 17 drivers in shattering the nearly 12-year-old track record in qualifying, then worked past Sammy Swindell on Lap 6 in the A-main and drove to his series-leading fifth victory of the season in the Kasey Kahne Racing Great Clips GF1, becoming the first driver in 2013 to set quick time and then go win the feature.
In addition to it being his fifth win, Pittman has also earned 16 top-five finishes and a staggering 22 top-10s this season in 25 events. He’s even tied with Paul McMahan with five quick-time awards to lead the series.
Pittman started the 30-lap A-main in third behind Sammy Swindell and Jason Sides. Pittman kept the pressure on, making his move to the front when Swindell was bottled up in traffic on Lap 6. Pittman never looked back, as Swindell, Sides, Tony Stewart and Donny Schatz rounded out the top five.
“I just had a good car all night we were fast from hot laps,” said Pittman, an Oklahoma native who was clearly racing with a heavy heart after seeing the catastrophic storm-related damage in his home state the past few days. “Honestly I just couldn’t ask for a better night it’s always fun when you feel like you’ve got the best car and it’s even better when you can put it to use all night long and come out with a win. [Swindell] just kind of opened it up in four getting tight and we were just really good running around the bottom and I kind of knew that would be the key the way the track was.
“Our prayers go out to everyone back in Oklahoma. It’s pretty close to home, friends actually lived in the neighborhood, and it’s unbelievable the devastation that those people are going through. I’m just praying that they can have the strength to try and get through it and that they’re definitely on our minds.”
Swindell, who started on the pole in the Big Game Treestands Eagle, led the opening five laps, but when he encountered traffic, Pittman made his move.
“We just did the best we could and still got the second,” said Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn. “You kind of hate to start on the front and not finish there, but the car is in one piece and we’ll work on it and go from there. Everything’s different from what we’ve ever run before and we’ve got to put it together and we’re close, we’ll just keep hammering on it.”
Sides started second and finished third in the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim despite having a motor issue in the early going that forced him to fend off Stewart and Schatz in the waning laps.
“Sammy got out to a little bit of a lead, and Daryn got right past us in turn four,” said Sides, of Bartlett, Tenn. “On the second or third lap it broke a rocker arm and it started spraying fuel everywhere. If there was a caution I was just really going to pull in and go, but since it did go green we just stayed out there and got a good run. Anytime you can run top three with a broke motor that’s still pretty good.”
For the second night in a row some of the best racing on track was between Tony Stewart and his Tony Stewart Racing driver, Donny Schatz. The two eventually finished where they started, with Stewart in fourth and Schatz one position behind, but as they were forced to weave through lapped traffic, the battle grew intense.
Pittman was not the only driver to best the previous track record. In fact, the previous track record would have only been good for the 18th qualifying position.
For the second night in a row, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series feature event ran the full distance caution free. Working his way through the field and collecting the KSE Hard Charger award was Kasey Kahne Racing’s Cody Darrah, who advanced from 22nd to 15th.
There were several drivers representing the PA Posse on Tuesday night. Greg Hodnett was the highest finishing Posse member, collecting an eighth place finish.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series takes a quick breather before heading to the Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. Friday night to kick off Memorial Day weekend with the Circle K/NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown.
World of Outlaws–Kraig Kinser Earns First 2013 Win at Historic Orange County Fair Speedway
Kraig Kinser Earns First 2013 Win at Historic Orange County Fair Speedway
Third generation racer dominates World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars in New York
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – May 20, 2013 – Kraig Kinser stole the show at Orange County Fair Speedway en route to his first World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series feature win of the 2013 season.
Kinser and his Messila Valley started alongside Chad Kemenah on the front row with both drivers seeking a breakthrough victory. Kinser jumped ahead on the outside and powered to the lead while Kemenah was forced to hold off third-place finishing Tony Stewart along with Paul McMahan and Donny Schatz.
The victory gives Kinser, the son of legendary King of the Outlaws Steve Kinser, four top-five runs and 10 top-10 finishes this season. It also was the first time he’s won at Orange County Fair Speedway.
“Hopefully we got out of the slump we’ve been having,” said Kinser, of Bloomington, Ind. “I started getting loose around the top and just started searching. I saw some lapped cars on the bottom when I got into traffic down there. I made a couple of turns through there and I knew that’s probably where I had to be, try to make them pass me around the top. It would be harder than leaving the bottom wide open.”
Kinser weaved through traffic in the Casey’s General Story/Messilla Valley Transportation Maxim as the event ran its full 25 laps caution free. While Kinser maintained his solid lead up front, there was a heated battle for the second through sixth positions. Kemenah started on the pole in his Hampshire Engines Maxim and finished second, but he first had to fight off Donny Schatz and his STP/Armor All J&J then later Schatz’s boss, Tony Stewart and his Chevrolet Performance/Mobil 1 J&J. Kemenah was able to maintain his track position in the lead pack of cars as points leader Daryn Pittman charged to a sixth-place run, finishing just 2.075 seconds behind Kemenah. Pittman’s sixth-place finish netted him his 21st top-10 finish of the year in the Kasey Kahne Racing Great Clips GF1.
“The season we’ve had so far with the wrecking and whatever else we’ve been doing, we’re happy,” said runner-up Kemenah, from Elvada, Ohio. “You know we’ve just got to keep running in the top five and we’ll starting winning. I killed the right rear tire so bad I was having a hard time hanging on there in the last few laps.”
Leading qualifier, Stewart, made a very hard run at Kemenah exiting turn four in the waning laps, but Stewart came up short and finished in the third spot. McMahan finished fourth after starting fifth. Mid-race he battled with Schatz and Stewart and attempted to work his way up to a podium finish. Towards the end, McMahan got around Schatz to earn a hard fought fourth-place finish. Schatz crossed the line in fifth, less than a second-and-a-half behind Kemanah.
“Nobody in the top four could run the top except for Donny, then it got to where it finally cleaned off enough on the bottom to where it got a little more grip,” said Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. “That’s kind of the advantage of being behind two guys one on top and bottom, you can gauge which line is getting quicker.”
Kraig would not be the only Kinser to find success, his father and car owner, Steve Kinser would earn the KSE Hard Charger award.
Tony Stewart made the most of the dash, after a six was drawn, that was where he would start the dash. In the six-lap event, Stewart picked through the field to finish third.
Race Winners Week Ending 5/19/13
NASCAR
Sprint All Star- Jimmie Johnson
Camping World Truck Series- North Carolina Education Lottery- Kyle Busch
Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon
Funny Car — Johnny Gray
Pro Stock — Jeg Coughlin
Top Alcohol Dragster — Alan Bradshaw
Top Alcohol Funny Car — Jirka Kaplan
Super Stock — Tim Nicholson,
Stock Eliminator — Austin Williams
Super Comp — Tommy Phillips
Super Gas — Steve Williams
Super Street — John Dasher
Top Dragster — Larry Piper
Honda Racing–Honda’s Newgarden Leads Final Indy 500 Qualifiers
Second-year IZOD IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden led the field Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the final day of qualifying for next weekend’s Indianapolis 500. Newgarden’s four-lap average of 225.731 mph, posted shortly after the historic 2.5-mile oval opened for qualifying at 12 p.m. EDT, put his Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda at the top of the final nine qualifiers who successfully joined the 33-car starting field today.
Graham Rahal also posted a four-lap qualifying average of just over 225 mph for the second-fastest run of the day and will start from 26th, while reigning Indy Lights champion Tristan Vautier qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 with a run of 224.873 mph and will start from the inside of the 10th row, 28th.
Other Honda-powered qualifiers in final “Bump Day” qualifying included Ana Beatriz, 29th, and her Dale Coyne Racing teammate, Pippa Mann on the outside of the 10th row, in 30th. Another Indy 500 rookie, Conor Daly, bounced back from a heavy crash on Thursday to qualify 31st for A.J. Foyt Racing; while Katherine Legge ran only her first practice laps for this year’s race this morning, but still claimed the 33rdand final starting spot in a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda.
IZOD IndyCar Series activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway resume on Friday with the traditional final practice session, known as “Carb Day”. The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, May 26, with live television coverage on ABC.
Josef Newgarden (#21 Century 21 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda) qualified 25th, fastest in the final day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500: “We’re in the show, so it’s good! We had a little bit of a bobble yesterday [in first-day qualifying] and we weren’t able to show our representative speed. But we did a little bit better today and I think we have even more to come for the race. We’ve got a lot of confidence going into our second ‘500’”.
Roger Griffiths (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development): “Congratulations to the second-day qualifiers, and to the Sam Schmidt team for getting its third car prepared and in the show for Katherine [Legge]. A number of Honda-powered cars put in considerable mileage today, which demonstrated good reliability. The hard work for HPD will continue throughout this week, as we prepare to give our teams the best possible shot at winning next Sunday’s race.”
Honda Racing–Tagliani Leads Honda Indy Qualifying
Veteran Canadian Indy car driver Alex Tagliani led the Honda effort in “Pole Day” qualifying Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and will start 11th in next weekend’s 97th running of the Indianapolis 500. Tagliani’s four-lap average of 227.386 mph was almost a full mile per hour faster than the 2012 pole speed of 226.484 mph, set by Ryan Briscoe, yet still missed the making the final “Top Nine Shootout” by just one-tenth of a mile per hour.
Nine Honda-powered drivers made successful qualifying runs today around the historic 2.5-mile oval, with Justin Wilson qualifying 14th to lead the three-car Dale Coyne Racing effort. Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti will start 16th and 17th, respectively. In 2012, Franchitti went on to win his third “500” after starting 16th.
IZOD IndyCar Series points leader Takuma Sato will start 18th for Honda and A.J. Foyt Racing, followed by Charlie Kimball in the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, 19th. After being knocked out of the field – the first 24 positions of the 33-driver grid were set in today’s qualifying runs – James Jakes dramatically “bumped” his way back into the field in the final minutes of qualifying, and will start 20th in his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
Simon Pagenaud, making his second “500” start for Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports, qualified 21st, while 2012 pole qualifier Briscoe rounded out the first-day qualifiers for Honda, and will start 23rd in his NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway continues tomorrow with a morning practice session, followed by final “Bump Day” qualifying to set the final nine starting positions for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500. Television coverage, beginning at 11 a.m. EDT, will be provided by the NBC Sports Network.
Roger Griffiths (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development): “Obviously, we came here shooting for the pole, but came up short. We’re all racers at Honda, and today’s results are very disappointing. But we’ve got a pretty good record of winning here [at Indianapolis, with nine consecutive race victories], and hopefully we’ll be drinking milk again next weekend. We have to knuckle down and keep fighting. That’s what we did in 2012, and that’s what we plan to do again this year.”
Alex Tagliani (#98 Barracuda Racing/BHA Honda) qualified 11th for the second consecutive year at the Indianapolis 500: “I’m very pleased with the team. The boys had somewhat of a rough week, but worked really hard to make sure that we had a strong car.I’m super confident with the car that we have for the race. I’m also very pleased with how Honda improved during the week of practice. They responded really well to what I was asking from the engine for my qualifying run. Honda worked with us to make sure we had a fair chance to fight the competition, and I’m pleased with the way they responded.”
Mopar Racing–Two Title Wins for Mopar with Coughlin and Gray at NHRA Kansas Nationals
Two Title Wins for Mopar with Coughlin and Gray at NHRA Kansas Nationals
· Coughlin and Gray earn title wins for Mopar and special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the 25th anniversary of NHRA Kansas Nationals
· Coughlin reaches milestone 500th career Pro Stock round win on his way to his first win of the season and 53rd of his career
· After a win at the previous event in Atlanta, Gray wins third title of the season, and first consecutive victories of his career to take Funny Car championship lead
· Three Mopars reach semifinals in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes
Topeka, Kansas (Sunday, May 19, 2013) – For a second time this season, two Dodge entries doubled up to take title wins in both the Pro Stock and Funny Car classes at the NHRA Kansas Nationals with drivers Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Johnny Gray taking home special-edition silver Wally trophies in honor of the event’s 25th anniversary. Each driver’s trip to the winner’s circle was notable for number of reasons.
Before the final elimination round came down to a Mopar versus Mopar face-off between Coughlin and his teammate Allen Johnson, his second round victory gave him a milestone 500 career round wins. He becomes the fifth Pro Stock driver to reach that plateau along with Greg Anderson, Bob Glidden, Kurt Johnson, and Warren Johnson.
Coughlin advanced to his 88th career final round appearance to earn a 53rd career win with a 6.680-second pass at 206.20 mph over Johnson’s elapsed time of 6.698 sec (206.57 mph) after both drivers recorded .013 second reaction times. It was the third time this season that Coughlin was involved in an all-Mopar final elimination. Previously, the driver of the Jegs.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger was defeated by Vincent Nobile for the win in the season opening event at Pomona, then finished runner-up to Johnson at the Gatornationals.
“Any day you are hoisting a Wally at the end of the day is a good thing and it’s what you work for and that final round ranks up there with some of the best races I’ve ever won,” said Coughlin who maintains his second place spot in the points battle but is closing the gap on the leader Mike Edwards. “Today was extra-special for several reasons. We hadn’t won in a couple of years. To finally get a Wally on Sunday is exactly what the doctor ordered. We have been working hard and trying to work smart, and today was our day and it felt fantastic.”
“All of us at Mopar are excited to see Jeg (Coughlin Jr.) back in the winner’s circle after a strong start to the season and be part of his 500th round win milestone,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We began a great partnership with Jeg last year and it’s great to see him back on top with this win at the Kansas Nationals. We look forward to seeing him contending for many more wins this year with the powerful Mopar HEMI engine under the hood of his Dodge. “
“We do take trips down memory lane occasionally and this is one of those times,” added Coughlin in speaking about the 500 round wins that have helped him earn 52 class wins and four championships. “We’ve been fortunate to win a lot of great races and win a lot of great championships. It’s a testament to everyone who has been behind us all those years. It’s been a product of 15 years of dedication from a lot of great teams I have worked with. It’s a testament to them from our family teams in the beginning to the Cagnazzi group, Schumacher and now with Allen Johnson.”
The defending winner at Heartland Park, Johnson won his match ups against Deric Kramer, Greg Anderson, and Roger Brogdon in the Mopar Express Lane Dodge to make his 39th final round appearance and finish runner-up to Coughlin. Johnson remains third in the Pro Stock standings.
Nobile beat fellow HEMI-powered Dodge of V. Gaines before upsetting no.1 qualifier and points leader Edwards in round two. That put Nobile among the three Mopars to make the semifinals where he was defeated by Coughlin, but earned enough points to move up a spot into sixth place in the championship.
While three Mopars made the semifinals in Pro Stock, the same transpired in Funny Car with Dodge Charger R/T contingent of Johnny Gray, Jack Beckman and Ron Capps all advancing. Matt Hagan’s ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ wasn’t quite as lucky falling in the first round to Bob Tasca.
In the semifinals, Beckman, who was the defending event winner, fell to Gray who would meet up for a final round elimination against Robert Hight after he defeated Capps. Gray earned his first victory at the Heartland Park Topeka track in the Pitch Energy Dodge Charger with a final run of 4.067 seconds (314.90 mph) after Hight lost traction early in the run.
Gray is having a banner year for Mopar and his Don Schumacher Racing team. With a victory at the previous event in Atlanta, not only does he have wins in back-to-back races for the first time in his career, bringing his career total to six, but he now also has sole possession of the points lead in the Funny Car championship for another career first. Highlights for Gray this season also include wins in all three of his final round appearances with his Dodge Charger R/T, a no.1 qualifier position at Phoenix and a semifinal appearance in the season opener at Pomona.
“My crew chief Rob (Wendland) gave me a great race car that ran real hard all day,” said Gray. “Sometimes you can win races on an intimidation factor and Rob had her tuned up to where she was a little intimidating today. My guys are giving me a car I can’t screw up in right now.”
“It was great to see Don Schumacher Racing’s Johnny Gray add a third win today to the strong start to the year he’s had in the Dodge Charger R/T,” Gorlier said. “Earning wins in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes for the second time this year after first doing it at the Gatornationals, is a great way to reinforce all the hard work that Mopar HEMI-powered teams and drivers are putting in early in the season to defend both World titles.”
Mopar teams and drivers will return to competition in two weeks for the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park near Englishtown, New Jersey, for the ninth event on the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.
Summit Racing–Anderson Prepared to Zero in on Trouble Spot after NHRA Kansas Nationals
Anderson Prepared to Zero in on Trouble Spot after NHRA Kansas Nationals
TOPEKA, Kan. (May 19, 2013) – The 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka saw some of the smoothest runs that the Summit Racing Pro Stock duo of Greg Anderson and Jason Line have seen all year, but the Minnesota-bred, Mooresville, N.C.-transplanted pair didn’t achieve the results that they were aiming for at the eighth of 24 events on NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour.
Anderson, the No. 6 qualifier, halted veteran racer Larry Morgan in the first round, 6.707 to 6.723, and then clocked a very efficient .017-second reaction time before excessive clutch slippage resulted in a 6.723 that simply couldn’t better Allen Johnson’s 6.674 in round two.
“This weekend, the Summit Racing Camaros weren’t running as fast as we believe they truly can,” said Anderson. “And really, we cannot expect to win races at this pace. We’ve got to pick it up. The cars are not responding in a favorable direction to the changes that we’re making, and so we’re glad we have a week off before it’s time to go racing again. That will give us a chance to really figure it out so that we can go to Englishtown with a better product and really show our potential.”
After struggling with tire spin in recent events, Anderson was pleased that he and Line’s Summit Racing Camaros were able to make a series of clean journeys down the quarter-mile dragstrip over the course of the weekend.
“The cars are going down the track every time, the cars are very safe, and they feel very good – they’re just not running fast yet,” said Anderson. “We’ve definitely gotten better and sorted out the problems we were having earlier, but you have to have both a repeatable car and run fast. You can’t have one without the other and expect to win. We know it’s there, we just have to zero in on what, exactly, we’re doing wrong.”
Anderson is holding in the No. 8 spot in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock standings, and he has much on the agenda as he is chasing his first win of the season. The Summit Racing team so far has one win on their scorecard this year; Line was victorious in Houston.
“This one was definitely a bust for us, we didn’t perform as well as we should have, but that has the Summit Racing guys fired up to get home and get back to work,” said Anderson. “We’ve been faced with challenges before, and we have a very capable team. It’s time we show what we’re capable of.”
Chevy Racing–Indianapolis 500 Bump Day
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES Ed Carpenter with Chevrolet V6 Power Wins the Pole for the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Line Qualified 7th, Geared to Go Rounds in Topeka
Seventeen Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Drivers Set to Start 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS (May 19, 2013) – Bump Day, the traditional name for the second day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, came to an end with the 33-car field set for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 26, 2013.
With today’s addition of Sebastian Saavedra, No. 6 TrueCar Dragon Racing Chevrolet, and 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier, No. 91 Lazier Partners Inc. Chevrolet, who both posted successful qualifying attempts, a total of 17 Chevrolet IndyCar V6 powered cars are set to start the 200-lap/500-mile race on the famed 2.5-mile oval.
Ed Carpenter, No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, will start of the pole with fellow Chevrolet V6 drivers Carlos Muñoz, No. 26 Unistraw Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, and Marco Andretti, No. 25 RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet completing the front row.
After the remainder of the cars had taken their qualifying laps today, there was an ample supply of track time available for open practice that gave Team Chevy cars and drivers a valuable opportunity to continue preparations for the historic race.
IZOD IndyCar Series activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway resume on Friday with the traditional final practice session, known as “Carb Day”. The 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts at 11 a.m.EDT Sunday, May 26, with live television coverage on ABC.In addition, the famed race will be broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and
Chevy Racing–Sprint All Star Race Post Race
SPRINT ALL-STAR RACE
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE NOTES AND QUOTES
MAY 18, 2013
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S PATRIOTIC CHEVROLET SS – WINNER
THEY SAY GREAT ATHLETES RISE TO THE OCCASION TO WIN THE BIG EVENTS. SO HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO DO WHAT NO OTHER DRIVERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IN HISTORY?
“That’s crazy. Gosh, to beat Jeff (Gordon) and (Dale) Earnhardt (Sr.), two guys that I’ve looked up to my whole life and two massive icons of our sport, this means the world to me. I really didn’t think we had a shot at winning tonight, starting 20th. But we had a great race car and worked our way through there and got the job done. Over time, honestly, it’s just dedication and drive from every member of Hendrick Motorsports, and every member on this No. 48 team. We’re very proud of what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished, but we know we’ve got to keep pushing harder and keep pushing one another and we did it again here tonight. I don’t know how we keep doing it. I’m very proud of this race team.”
RICK HENDRICK LEANED INTO THE CAR TO SAY SOMETHING TO YOU. WHAT DID HE SAY TO YOU? DID YOU MAKE THE MOTION TO GET HIM ON THE CAR AGAIN, AND DID HE SAY, ‘NO WAY’?
“I didn’t really hear him because the engine was running. But when I was talking to DW (Darrell Waltrip) on my way in, we talked about Rick not being on the door. And so I thought this was the perfect opportunity for him to ride a very short distance, a safe distance, but he turned it down. It would have been fun to do it. But, it is just a huge night for my entire fan base. I want to thank Sprint for their great support of our entire industry and our sport and this event tonight. I want to thank our great sponsor, Lowe’s, and Kolbalt Tools, Chevrolet and my family.”
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FOURTH
YOU GUYS HAD LANE CHOICE ON THE FRONT ROW, WHAT HAPPENED THE FINAL TEN LAPS?
“Well, I would say my pit crew did a great job of getting us out first. I was a little tight the run before and we didn’t have time to fix it because we wanted to get out first and knew if we could get clean air we thought we would be alright with our Farmers Chevy. Jimmie just stayed right there and I couldn’t get rid of him and then he beat me off the corner and into three and kind of on exit and it was over after that. I was tight and fell back to fourth but the pit crew did great, it was a great run for us, we tried hard and just a little too much bouncing off cars to have a car capable of running with him at the end.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING/SEALY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED FIFTH
I KNOW YOU DIDN’T GET THE WIN, BUT WHAT DO THEY SAY THEY KNEW YOU WERE HERE:
“Yeah, that is definitely the case. Winning a couple of segments in the All-Star Race is nothing to be disappointed about. You always want more and when you lose to a guy like Jimmie Johnson, a five-time champion, Chad Knaus (Jimmie Johnson, crew chief) those guys they were just perfect again. We were just one click slow on pit stop and one click off on the final adjustment. We came out fifth and got stuck in a little bit of that traffic. I thought we could race our way into that. We weren’t perfect tonight, but overall happy Armed Forces day. With them on board it always gives us inspiration to run strong and just if you see a military member thank them for their service.”
YOU GUYS HAD A FANTASTIC CAR BUT JUST GOT BEAT ON PIT ROAD ON THAT FINAL STOP:
“You know, to win some segments and to be in position with the All-Star race and the way it is, it shows the full strength of this team. Even though we were running 20 laps at a time, it still makes you proud to race for these guys. They put me in position with the best average finish through the first four segments but we were just a shade slow on pit road and maybe a shade off on that last adjustment because I couldn’t race back through traffic. Even if we came out first, it would have been tough to hold those guys off.”
I HEARD YOU SAY THAT THE CAR WAS STARTING TO PLOW:
“Yeah, a little bit tight and therefore, you are just trying to translate to them what that last change did and you just roll with it because it’s a million bucks going out the window but we are building our notebook up for Charlotte and the 600 next week.”
JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FOUNDATION CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED EIGHTH
YOU WON THE SHOWDOWN AND HAD A SOLID FINISH IN THE ALL-STAR RACE TELL US ABOUT YOUR NIGHT:
“Really happy with our car. I think if we ever could have gotten to the front, probably like most people, our car was extremely fast. It’s just really tough in traffic, but overall we had a good car.”
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CARES CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 20TH
ON HER RACE:
“First and very foremost, thank you to all the fans who voted for me or maybe voted so many times for me. I’m very fortunate to have the fan base that I do, and I never forget that. It really just makes me feel bad to win the Sprint Fan Vote and run in the back of the race. We just couldn’t get the GoDaddy Cares Chevrolet right. We were just too tight. The guys did a great job on pit road. That goes without saying. It was just a tough night, but hopefully we are able to figure out what was wrong and we can come back here next weekend and have a better run.”Chevy Racing–Indy Pole
INDIANAPOLIS (May 18, 2013) – Ed Carpenter fulfilled a life-long dream today by winning the pole for the Indianapolis 500. In his own Ed Carpenter Racing No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet V6, Carpenter put up a blistering four-lap average speed of 228.762 mph to earn the right to lead the 33-car field to the green flag of the 97th running of the Great American Race.
With deep roots in Indiana making him a local hero at famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Carpenter became the first owner/driver to win the pole since 1975.
“This is a good start,” said Carpenter. “I want to make sure we keep the team focused. I hope this is part one of a really magical month, and we’re here for race day. This is awesome and it’s bigger than our wins and it’s huge for the team. It’s definitely a landmark day, but I don’t want to get overly focused on this because we have a lot of work to do yet.”
Andretti Autosport teammates, rookie Carlos Muñoz, No. 26 Unistraw Chevrolet, and Marco Andretti, No. 25 RC Cola Chevrolet qualified second and third respectively to give Chevrolet the front row for the 200-lap/500-mile race on May 26, 2013.
“Congratulations to Ed Carpenter and the entire team at Ed Carpenter Racing for putting the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevrolet on the pole for the 97th running of the Indy 500,” said Chris Berube, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager for the IZOD IndyCar Series. “It was an impressive collection of laps Ed put up in the final qualifying session. Also, congratulations to Andretti Autosport teammates Carlos Muñoz and Marco Andretti on qualifying for the front row. The focus for Chevrolet, our V6 powered teams and drivers, and our technical partners remains on the ultimate goal – winning the Indianapolis 500-mile race on May 26th.”
Fifteen of the 17 drivers in Chevrolet V6 powered cars have secured starting positions for next weekend’s Indianapolis 500.
E.J Viso, A.J. Allmendinger and Will Power qualified fourth, fifth and sixth to secure second row starting positions on the grid. Defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and James Hinchcliffe will make up the third row of the starting field.
Other Team Chevy drivers also locked into the top-24 starting positions from the first day of qualifying are JR Hildebrand, Tony Kanaan, Oriol Servia, Sebastien Bourdais, Townsend Bell and Simona De Silvestro.
Summit Racing–Kansas Nationals
Event: 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals
Location: Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kansas
Day/Date: Saturday, May 18, 2013
Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line made four runs down the racetrack in his Chevrolet Camaro at Heartland Park Topeka and is eagerly preparing to make the most of Sunday, when he will start from the No. 7 position and square off with Matt Hartford in the first round of eliminations at the 25th annual NHRA Kansas Nationals.
Line made two smooth and steady passes in his Summit Racing Chevy on opening day in Topeka, clearing the finish line with a 6.684 at 207.40 mph followed by an improved 6.657, 208.20. Although the second set of runs at the Kansas facility weren’t quite as productive, Line continued to exhibit top-half efforts and clocked a 6.696, 206.86 in the third qualifier followed by a 6.720, 206.10 in the hot and sticky midday conditions.
The runs were respectable, however, the Houston winner was in no way satisfied.
“So far we haven’t made the quick passes that we’ve been hoping to make here, and we’re not very happy about that,” said Line. “It’s great to qualify in the top half with our Summit Racing Chevy Camaros, but really, my teammate Greg Anderson is sixth and I’m seventh – and that’s just not where we want to be. We want to be one and two, right there at the top.
“The good news is that tomorrow we’ll have a chance to get it right on raceday with our Team Summit Camaros. We aren’t where we want to be, but tomorrow is a new day.”
Line will meet Hartford in the first round of eliminations for the second time this season. The last time the two sparred in the opening act was just a few weeks ago in Houston, when Line bested his opponent en route to the final round and, ultimately, the win.
“We always hope for the best, but really, we know what the Summit Racing team is capable of,” said Line. “We just need to make sure we live up to our own expectations tomorrow.”