All posts by ARP Trish

Casey Currie

Currie Looks to Hit LOORS Jackpot in Las Vegas

CORONA, Calif. (April 23, 2013) — Like most who travel to Sin City, Casey Currie is heading to Las Vegas next weekend with one thing on his mind; winning. The Monster Energy/General Tire driver wants to stand on the top step of the podium for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, April 26-28.

“I’ve had some success at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,” said Currie. “This race is always a good one for us.  Not only on the track, but off of it as well, we all like to have a good time and what better place for that than Las Vegas.”

Currie finished first and second last year at Las Vegas after setting the fastest qualifying time in practice. Unfortunately for Currie, two big inversions saw him starting near the back of the field in each race. With his past success at Las Vegas along with the momentum he is carrying from a strong performance at the season opener in Phoenix, Currie is hopeful for another great result.

“We had two good races last time out,” continued Currie. “We just had some bad luck that kept us from getting a win. We’ve been working hard and trying some new things on the truck to keep moving forward and we want to get our first win of the year this weekend.”

Summit Racing

Anderson Relying on Total Team Effort to Produce Results in Houston

 
Mooresville, N.C., April 24, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson paid his dues as a crew member and crew chief before graduating to the role of driver and earning four series championships, and he learned early in his career that success in the incredibly competitive category requires more than skilled driving. An exceptional team is critical to rising to the top in a class where every ten-thousandth of a second counts. This weekend, at the O’Reilly Auto Part NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway near Houston, Anderson will be calling on a total team effort to summon success for the KB Racing group.
 
“What we’ve been able to achieve has been way beyond our wildest dreams,” said Anderson. “We didn’t set out thinking that we could dominate in this class for a number of years, and we exceeded our expectations. But when you get to that point and begin to go in the other direction and experience misfortune and what we perceive as failure, you take it really hard. You fall off of that mountain, and you take it hard.
 
“I told everyone when we were experiencing that high that it was the lows that would really distinguish the character of this KB Racing team, how we would be able to recover from adversity. Well, we did it – we recovered from a group of tough years and came back to win the championship in 2010 and 2011. That’s what a team does. If you can keep your head up and have faith in each other, you can dig out of that hole and find success again. We have to stay together, work together, win as a team, and lose as a team.”
 
Anderson made his first final round of the season last weekend at his home racetrack in Charlotte after starting a respectable 5th in the line-up. For the driver who has qualified on the pole 75 times in his career and participated in 112 national event final rounds, top-half qualifying isn’t enough, and the fact that it took four races to get to a final just doesn’t sit well. Anderson and his dedicated crew expect more – particularly on raceday.
 
“It comes down to adapting to racetrack conditions on Sunday,” said Anderson. “We had a pretty good test session after Charlotte, and we definitely gained some ground on what we think went wrong on Sunday last week. For us, it’s going to be a matter of avoiding mistakes like we made that day and managing the round-to-round changes with the racetrack that we haven’t been able to keep up with. It’s difficult to create those changes when you test, so it’s a work in progress, but we definitely have a lot of thoughts on combatting the problem. We don’t want to get over-anxious and say it’s fixed, but we will say that this Summit Racing team plans to do a better job in Houston.”
 
It is certainly no secret that the Summit Racing group has accomplished much in their history of racing together under team owner Ken Black, and the team has watched their combined total of Pro Stock victories rise to a remarkable 103. Anderson’s record in Houston includes two wins – one in 2004, when he was also the No. 1 qualifier – and then again in 2008, when he bested KB Racing teammate Jason Line in the final.
 
“You know, I look forward to this weekend in Houston. We have often had great atmospheric conditions there, and our Summit Racing cars have run fast at that racetrack,” said Anderson of the sea-level altitude facility that is particularly complementing to the naturally aspirated factory hot rods. “And the fans there are just wonderful – there always seems to be a good turnout in Houston, and they love Pro Stock. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and I’d like to think that if all of those things come together and we make the right decision on Sunday, we’ll get one of these Summit Racing Camaros to the winner’s circle.”
 

Summit Racing

Line Recalls First Final Round in Return to Houston

Line Recalls First Final Round in Return to Houston
 
Mooresville, N.C., April 24, 2013 – A return to Houston for the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Royal Purple Raceway this weekend should be just what Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Jason Line needs to kick his Mello Yello Drag Racing season into high gear. Now six races into the 24 race journey towards the championship trophy, Line has yet to advance to the final round for a chance at winning, but the Houston facility is special in that it holds a little magic that Line has nowhere else on the tour.
 
“Houston is where I went to my first final round,” said Line, now a 29-time Pro Stock victor and two-time series champion. “I remember it clearly, because up to that point in time I had been struggling, to say the least. It was the first time I’d ever actually felt comfortable, and probably the first good light I ever cut in a Pro Stock car. It was also the first time I’d ever raced Greg.”
 
Line had never raced his Summit Racing teammate Greg Anderson during eliminations prior to the final round in Houston in 2004, the Minnesota-bred driver’s first full season as a Pro Stock racer after a successful career in NHRA’s premier sportsman series, where he won a Lucas Oil Series championship in the Stock Eliminator category. Line edged his familiar opponent by a thousandth of a second at the start but the car quickly pointed left and Line had to lift. Anderson won the round, but the pair would meet again five more times that year, and in Chicago – just two races later – Line beat Anderson to score the first Pro Stock victory of his career.
 
“That was a good year,” recalled Line. “I was just happy to get there and then do a halfway decent job in the final. I don’t really think about it much because we’ve been back there so many times since then, but it really is a good memory. Even back then, I felt like this team was going to be together for a long time. We’ve had a lot of success since that day [100 wins for KB Racing, 21 all-Summit Racing final rounds, six shared championships]. We haven’t quite been performing up to our own standards lately, but we’re working hard to turn that around.
 
“Growing up in Minnesota, we used to come down to Houston with the Stockers in the winter time – the racetrack is a neat place, and we thought it was fun to get out of the snow. Hopefully this weekend we’ll get back to having fun with our Summit Racing Camaros.”

Follow A Dream Racing

PERMATEX/FOLLOW A DREAM TEAM OUT IN ROUND 1 AT CHARLOTTE

Marstons Mills, MA –April 23, 2013-Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream Top Alcohol Funny Car team went out in the opening round of eliminations for the first time ever at Charlotte, where the team had amassed four semifinal finishes and three quarterfinal finishes in seven previous starts.

“We got stuck in the wrong lane at the wrong time, and it cost us,” said driver Todd Veney, who ran a career-best 5.52 at this event last year. “We just missed having lane choice, and nobody in the entire first round made it down that left lane.”

After qualifying fifth with an off-the-trailer 5.67 and improving to a 5.66 in the second qualifying session, Veney dropped to ninth after the final qualifying session Saturday morning, when the temperature went from the 80s to the 60s overnight and several other cars picked up. The Permatex/Follow A Dream car lost traction 150 feet off the starting line in round one, allowing opponent Paul Noakes to advance with a 5.70.

“That’s not what we wanted to see, but it happens sometimes,” Blake said. “Usually, it doesn’t matter which lane you’re in, but that’s one time that it really did. Fortunately, there’s another race in a couple of days, so we have a chance to get right back on top.”

Race Winners

Race Results Week Ending 4/21/13


NHRA

Spencer Massey Top Fuel
Tony Schumacher Top Fuel
Blake Alexander Funny Car
Matt Hagan Funny Car
Erica Enders-Stevens Pro Stock
Mike Edwards Pro Stock
Hector Arana Jr. Pro Stock Motorcycle
Eddie Krawiec Pro Stock Motorcycle
Troy Coughlin Pro Mod
Bill Reichert Top Alcohol Dragster
Dan Pomponio Top Alcohol Funny Car
Chuck Gallagher Super Stock
Brian Rowe Stock
Alan Kenny Super Comp
Mike Sawyer Super Gas
Kenneth Moses Top Dragster

Nascar
Camping World Truck Series- SFP250- Matt Crafton
Sprint Cup- Matt Kenseth

ALMS
Klaus Graf/Lucas Lhur

Long Beach Grand Prix
Takuma Sato

Whelan
Spring Fling 150 George Brunnhoelzl III

World of Outlaws
Tim Kaeding

MotoGP
Marc Marquez

Continental Tire Series
Matt Bell/John Edwards

Rolex
DP Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas
GT John Edwards
GX Joel Miller

Dyson Racing

Dyson Racing–Racing Grit

LONG BEACH, CA  April 20, 2013 – On the perseverance continuum, race team owners must rate right off the scale.  Dyson Racing has more than thirty years of racing accomplishments to its credit.  By the nature of the sport, there will be races when the car will not finish the race.  Unfortunately that was the case today at the American Le Mans Series race on the streets of Long Beach. The #16 Thetford/RACER Lola Mazda car was retired thirty minutes into the race after making contact with the wall in the turn 11 hairpin going onto the front straight.  

“At this point, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what happened. We will look at the data, go over the car and evaluate what exactly took place,” said Chris Dyson. “We had just gone green after the first yellow of the race.  I was in second place and running well when the car did not turn in and just pushed into the wall at the hairpin.”

Dyson Racing has been competitive in the eight races here since the ALMS joined the IndyCar weekend, taking home six class or overall podiums on the streets of Long Beach.  Guy Smith qualified the #16 Dyson entry in second place yesterday and was looking forward to a classic Long Beach street fight.  “We are in a good position with this car this year.  We are in the fight,”  noted Smith.  “Last year was the first time we ran the larger front tires and it was a learning experience.  This year we have a car that works the tires and once you have tire temperatures, then you are concentrating on fine tuning the car and improving the balance. Your focus is on going quicker as opposed to figuring out the basics of how to drive the car.”

“We were in a position to do very well this weekend,” Dyson said.  “It is unfortunate but we will regroup and come back strongly at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team will be testing before the next race.  We tested at Willow Springs before coming here and had a very good test on a track that is a pantheon of adrenaline and commitment. It was one of those tests that help define confidence for the remainder of the season. The season has just begun.  There are eight races left in our ten-race season and there are a lot more races to be won.”

2013 marks Dyson Racing’s thirtieth year in professional racing.  Rob Dyson started racing in the SCCA in 1974 and moved up to the professional ranks in 1983 in IMSA’s GTO class. He started racing a Porsche 962 in IMSA’s GTP class in 1985 and has been a main stay of top-line prototype racing ever since. 

Honda Racing

HPD Sweeps the Streets of Long Beach

Honda Performance Development-equipped teams swept Saturday’s Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series race at Long Beach, with the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing duo of Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr claiming the overall and LMP1 victory in commanding fashion in their HPD ARX-03c Honda.  Making just its second start in the prototype ranks, Extreme Speed Motorsports bested fellow HPD team Level 5 Motorsports to finish 1-2 in LMP2 with a pair of HPD ARX-03b Hondas.

Starting third, Luhr quickly passed the Mazda-powered Lola of Chris Dyson, then took advantage of an early full-course caution to make a pit stop and sole driver change, with Luhr handing off driving duties to Graf.  When racing resumed, Graf continued to close on the race-leading Toyota Lola of Rebellion Racing until the next round of pit stops at the one-hour mark.  Entering the pits together, the Muscle Milk team took the lead with a quick, fuel-only stop, while Rebellion performed a full service and driver change.

Once in front, it was clear sailing for Graf, as he continued to extend his advantage for the remainder of the race, eventually pulling out a lead of more than 36 seconds at the checkers.

The victory was the third consecutive Long Beach “home” victory for California-based Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, and the fourth consecutive American Le Mans Series win for HPD, which is based in nearby Santa Clarita, California.

In LMP2, it was Guy Cosmo and Scott Sharp taking the victory in their HPD ARX-03b, as they were quick to take advantage of problems that struck both entries from defending class winners Level 5 Motorsports.  Cosmo moved in front of pole-starting Scott Tucker’s HPD at the 15-minute mark, and continued in the lead until the 40-minute mark, when he handed off to owner/driver Sharp.

A brief delay in re-starting left Sharp second, behind teammate Johannes van Overbeek in the #02 Extreme Speed HPD. But differing fuel strategies soon had Sharp back in the class lead and the series veteran went on to a comfortable, one-lap victory over teammates van Overbeek and Ed Brown.

Mopar Racing

Hagan Drives ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ to 4-Wide NHRA National Win

Hagan Drives ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ to 4-Wide NHRA National Win

·         Don Schumacher Racing’s Hagan takes ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ to winner’s circle at Four-Wide Nationals
·         Win by Hagan extends Mopar’s win streak to six titles in five NHRA events in 2013
·         Hagan back on track with first win since his 2011 NHRA Funny Car Championship season
·         Hagan takes the Funny Car Championship points lead by 50 points
·         Mopar Express Lane driver Johnson drops to second place in Pro Stock points standings after red light in round two quad elimination

Concord, N.C. (Sunday, April 21) –  Matt Hagan drove his ‘Magneti Marelli Quality Autoparts Offered by Mopar’ Dodge Charger R/T straight to victory lane at the fourth annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals for his first title win of the season and his sixth career Funny Car victory with Don Schumacher Racing.

“This was a big win for us,” Hagan said of his first title since the 2011 season finale to earn the NHRA Funny Car World Championship for Mopar. “It’s been a year since we won, or longer. It’s been too long, and that feeling is just great to have back. Obviously we don’t want this to go away.”

“Congratulations to Matt Hagan from all of us at Mopar on his win today at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Matt has had a strong start to the season and it’s great to see the ‘Magneti Marelli Quality Auto Parts Offered by Mopar’ branded Dodge Charger in the winner’s circle. We look forward to watching Matt, as well as his Don Schumacher Racing teammates contend for wins in defense of the Funny Car Championship title for a third consecutive year.”

Hagan had three consecutive 4.0-second passes during Sunday’s unique four-wide eliminations on his way to earning the “Wally”. He emerged the winner in the first round with an elapsed time run of 4.057 seconds (314.09 mph) and moved on to the next quad match up along with Mopar teammate Jack Beckman who had qualified third. They did so by defeating their other DSR teammate Ron Capps and Dale Creasy.

In the next round, Hagan was once again quickest with an e.t. of 4.075 seconds (313.29 mph) while Beckman hazed the tires and did not advance to the championship round.

For the four-wide final, the ‘Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar’ machine served up a 4.071 seconds (315.34 mph) run to beat Blake Alexander, while Tim Wilkerson and No.1 qualifier Chad Head both lost traction early in their runs. With the win, Hagan jumps from fourth place into the lead in the category by 50 points, marking the first time he has led the standings since winning the 2011 Championship.

The event’s purposely built four lane zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, provided a bit more of a challenge to Mopar’s Pro Stock contingency.  All four HEMI-powered Dodge entries had their elimination rounds end in disappointment as none made it past the second quad.

The first to fall was No.2 qualifier Jeg Coughlin Jr. who had great 0.005-second reaction time to take the lead off the start in the JEGS.com/Mopar Dodge Avenger until it suddenly got loose and he lost his chance to advance. Teammate Vincent Nobile had a similar fate after also coming out the gate first, but was beaten to the line by both Mike Edwards and fellow Mopar driver V. Gaines.

Coming off wins at the previous two National events, Allen Johnson drove his Mopar Express Lane Dodge to the finish in second place to make it through the first round.

Johnson and Gaines second round quad eliminations appearance didn’t go quite as planned as both saw their red lights come on, disqualifying their run at making the final four.

“It’s disappointing not to make it to the final and it hasn’t been our best weekend but the four wide is fun for the fans and mixes things up a bit,” said Johnson. “It’s kind of unusual for me to foul out and for both me and V. (Gaines) to both do it at the same time is really odd. It’s just not something we normally do.  The good news is the Mopar Express Lane Dodge isn’t too far back in the points in second spot.”

The Pro Stock Four-Wide National title was won by Mike Edwards who takes over the points lead. Runner-up finisher Erica Enders-Stevens slips into third sport behind Johnson. The final-four semi-finalists were Shane Gray and Greg Anderson.

Mike Edwards Racing

Edwards All Charged Up After Scoring First Win Of 2013

Edwards All Charged Up After Scoring First Win Of 2013
 
Today was all about being first for Mike Edwards and the Interstate Batteries/I Am Second/K&N team in Charlotte during the Dollar General Four-Wide Nationals.
 
Edwards wheeled his Chevy Camaro through the unique four-wide format, to earn his 35th career victory and first in 2013. Edwards did everything from the first position. Minus Friday’s qualifying were Edwards did not make a lap in the rain shortened session, he was the fastest every time down the race track.
 
Saturday, carrying the new look of Interstate Batteries, Edwards eclipsed his own national record with a 6.471, a number he backed up in the second session, to reset the NHRA Pro Stock e.t. record. With that, he earned his fifth straight No. 1 qualifying effort, the second longest streak to start a Pro Stock season since 2006 when Greg Anderson opened with six straight poles. It was Edwards 46th of his career.
 
“I knew having the pole was key come Sunday, because we knew from past experience that having lane choice is a major part in pulling off the victory,” Edwards said.
 
In the four-wide format, the first two rounds of eliminations, the top two drivers advance, while the final is a winner-take-all battle between the top four drivers to advance.
 
Edwards opened eliminations with a 6.493, low e.t. of the first round, to easily when his foursome. Then backed it up in the semifinals with yet another low of the round, 6.482, to earn lane choice in the final.
 
Also to advance to the title bout was Erica Enders-Stevens, Anderson, and Shane Gray. The title bout was all Edwards as he used a .009 light and 6.495 to earn his first NHRA Pro Stock Wally of the season, the first win with Interstate Batteries and I Am Second on the side of the car, first trophy for General Motors and the Chevy Camaro in 2013, and take over first place in the NHRA Pro Stock points.
 
“It feels really good to come away with a win today,” Edwards said. “We stuck with our game plan from start to finish and that was to not be too aggressive on race day, go down the track on every run and not beat ourselves. And we just did that today.
 
“It is really special to put this Interstate Batteries Camaro in the winner’s circle Chairman of the Board and I Am Second founder Norm Miller,” he continued. “Norm has blessed our team so much by giving us the opportunity to be associated with such a fine company as Interstate Batteries and to be able to carry the I Am Second message to the drag racing community has been incredible.
 
“As a whole, it is just an awesome feeling to have great partners, like the Interstate group, K&N, General Motors, Contemporary Corvette, and Young Life, all around us and be able to share a victory and the new NHRA Pro Stock e.t. record. This win is for all of them being behind us and making this dream of racing a reality.”
 
 
After five of 24 events, Edwards holds an 84 points lead over Allen Johnson.

Summit Racing

Anderson Sees Third Consecutive Four-Wide Final

Anderson Sees Third Consecutive Four-Wide Final
 
CONCORD, N.C., April 21, 2013 – Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson came very close to scoring a third-consecutive trophy at the popular Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte, the fifth race of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. It was also the first final of the season for four-time Pro Stock series champion Anderson, the No. 5 qualifier.
 
Qualifying for this season’s event was abbreviated to just two full sessions for the pros due to a near-total washout on Friday, with more rain and tornadoes in the forecast. On Saturday, however, the skies were clear and the air was cool. The Pro Stock cars came alive in the excellent conditions, and Anderson put a quick 6.508 at 213.67 mph on the scoreboard to top the charts in speed and earn another start from the top half of the field.
 
Similar conditions on raceday encouraged the Summit Racing team, and Anderson did his job in the opening act with an efficient .022 reaction time that preceded a 6.514 at 212.53 mph that was good for a pass to round two. The veteran driver took it up a notch at the starting line with a stellar .011-second reaction but then nearly immediately fell into tire shake. Luck was on the four-time world champion’s side, however, as two of the four opponents red-lighted and he was able to advance to the final round alongside Mike Edwards. Joining them in the final set of the day were drivers Erica Enders-Stevens and Shane Gray.
 
Anderson’s march towards the winner’s circle came to a jolting halt when he again experienced ferocious tire shake on the tricky racing surface, and Edwards moved ahead to take the win.
 
“It wasn’t a terrible day, but we certainly wanted more,” said Anderson. “To come here as the defending event champion, to have won here before and to know what that feels like, well you just want it again. That didn’t happen today. We had some luck – and we needed it – but we didn’t get the job done. There is good to come from that, though: every race we are becoming more and more determined to turn this thing around and get our Summit Racing Camaros winning races again.”
 
“Team Summit has a lot of experience at this racetrack, we’ve tested many times here, and that came into play during qualifying. But the truth of the matter is that qualifying is only one piece of the puzzle. You have to have the whole package – testing, qualifying well, and then turning on win lights on raceday. It was great to make it to the final round here, but I’m looking forward to taking it one step further and getting the win. Houston will be the first chance to do that, and I plan to take full advantage of the opportunity.”
 

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Five Team Chevy Drivers Finish in Top-10; Helio Castroneves Retains Points Lead

Five Team Chevy Drivers Finish in Top-10; Helio Castroneves Retains Points Lead
 
LONG BEACH, Calif.  (April 21, 2013) – With a fifth-place finish, JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing Chevrolet, led a contingent of five Chevrolet IndyCar V6 drivers in the top-10 finishing positions of the Grand Prix of Long Beach Indy. Hildebrand scored his best finish of the season after starting the 80-lap, 157.4-mile race in 12th on the 27-car grid.
 
“I’m really proud of the run we had and the pit crew guys did such an awesome job,” said Hildebrand. “We made up three or four of those spots in the pits on our last stop. We struggled in the first stint and were going backwards, but we had a great strategy and ended up on the sticker reds in the end and I was able to pass several guys there at the end just using the overtake.”
 
Oriol Servia, No. 22 Charter Panther Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet, finished in sixth place, followed by Marco Andretti, No. 25 RC Cola Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, in the seventh finishing position. Simona de Silvestro brought the No. 78 Nuclear Entergy Areva KV Racing Technology Chevrolet to the checkered flag in ninth place.
 
Helio Castroneves, No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Team Penske Chevrolet, retained the lead in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings with a 10th-place finish in today’s race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary course on the Streets of Long Beach.
 
“At the end of the day the lemon became the lemonade with our finish,” said Castroneves. “We are very happy to come out of here still leading the points, and now we have focus on what we need to do to improve.”
 
After three races in the record books of the 19-race 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season, Chevrolet has six drivers in the top-10 in the standings. Joining Castroneves in the top-five is Andretti who sits fourth in points.  Defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 1 DHL Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, is sixth in the standings after contact relegated him to the 24th finishing position today.
 
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, sits eighth in the standings with his 16th place finish in the race.  Sitting ninth in the standings is de Silvestro, and James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 GoDaddy.com Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, is in 10th position after a multi-car incident early in the race landed him in the 26th finishing position.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Grand Prix of Long Beach Post Race

IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH INDY
STREETS OF LONG BEACH
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE QUOTES
APRIL 21, 2013
 
JR HILDEBRAND, NO. 4 NATIONAL GUARD PANTHER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5th: ON HIS RACE:  “I’m really proud of the run we had and the pit crew guys did such an awesome job, because we made up three or four of those spots in the pits on our last stop. We struggled in the first stint and were going backwards, but we had a great strategy and ended up on the sticker reds in the end and I was able to pass several guys there at the end just using the overtake. I didn’t see (the incident between Oriol Servia and Tony Kanaan) because I’d let those guys go a little bit while we were saving to make sure we had enough fuel. I saw some tire smoke as I approached Turn One and was able to split through the middle. Really happy to get another Top Five here for the second year in a row, but we’ll make sure we put the work in to make sure we’re ready to rock-n-roll next week. If we continue to make gains like we have we’ll be running up front with the big boys a lot more often.”
 
ORIOL SERVIA, NO. 22 PANTHER DRYER & REINBOLD RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 6TH:  ON THE RACE: “I had the best car probably of the whole season in the race. It was awesome. On one restart, I don’t know what happened to Simon [Pagenaud] but he slowed down in the straight and I broke the front wing but even with that we were one of the fastest cars on track. I was saving fuel but I was flying. I was so happy!”
 
ON THE INCIDENT WITH TONY KANAAN: “With two laps to go, I had a run on Tony [Kanaan]. I was on the push to pass, I don’t think he saw me coming. I got in his inside and he closed the door. I was there – I cannot disappear! There’s no way I should get a penalty – neither should he – it was one of those deals where you both want the same space in the corner so you crash. I’m angry with him, he’s angry with me. That’s what happens in racing. But I shouldn’t get a penalty.” NOTE: Upon Further Review, IndyCar Officials Rescinded Penalty
 
MARCO ANDRETTI, NO. 25 RC COLA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: ON HIS RACE:  “Going into this, I knew that this would be about the best we would finish. I am definitely pleased with how we climbed our way through the field and how we stayed consistent throughout the day.  We knew that if we just stayed in the race and didn’t make any mistakes, we would be good. I had some front wing damage and a lot of understeer the whole race.”
 
SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 78 NUCLEAR ENTERGY AREVA KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CHEVROLET, FINISHED 9TH: ON HER RACE:  “I think it was a good recovery from where we started. The car was really fast and the guys did a really awesome job in the pits. When we had clean laps we could move forward and made up some positions, so I think P9 is really good for us. Hopefully next time we can start a little more up front and make life a little bit easier. But, I think it was a great weekend for us.”
 
HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 AUTO CLUB TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: ON HIS RACE:  “Tough day for the Auto Club Chevrolet, but my team did a great job getting me back out after our incident with the nose. I was trying to be careful but got bunched up and broke the front wing. At the end of the day the lemon became the lemonade with our finish. We are very happy to come out of here still leading the points and now we have focus on what we need to do to improve.”
 
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 7 MCAFEE DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 15TH: ON HIS RACE: “Well a lot of things happened today. We started in the middle of the pack and that ended up being our result. The yellows didn’t fall at the right time for us and we struggled with two of our pit stops. The last restart I couldn’t stay in front of Helio, and that was terminal for us at that point. I am disappointed because the team worked so hard to give me a good car, and should have been in the Top-10.”
 
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16TH: ON HIS RACE: “Frustrating day out there for the Verizon car, we had a car that we thought was good enough to win today. Sato was very strong and he really dominated out there. Obviously we didn’t have the start out there that we wanted and broke traction which hurt us. We didn’t lose much in the points which is a good thing but certainly we could have had a much better day.”
 
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 FUZZY’S VODKA ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED  18TH: ON HIS RACE: “I think we should have had a better finish today.  We had a 10, 11 or 12th place car today.  We had a tough first stop, but the car was very good in the middle stint and I did get up to P12.  Then later I tried to make a pass on (Sebastien) Bourdais and broke too hard and locked up the right front.  The tire was junk after that.  So I didn’t have the race car that we had in the middle.  We are making progress with the Fuzzy’s Vodka Chevy but we aren’t getting the results right now.  The team working well together and I feel good going to Brazil.”
 
TONY KANAAN, NO. 11 HYDROXYCUT KV RACING TECHNOLOGY SH RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 20TH:  INVOLVED IN SINGLE-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 79 OF THE RACE – ON WHAT HAPPENED:  “We had a good race going and I was set for a fifth-place finish until (Oriol) Servia took me out with half a lap to go. It’s really frustrating… I was the leading Chevy car out there and it was looking like a good points race for us. I’m really disappointed on how it turned out.”
 
E.J. VISO, NO. 5 TEAM VENEZUELA ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT HVM CHEVROLET, FINISHED 22ND: NOTE – WAS INVOLVED IN A MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 35 – ON WHAT HAPPENED:  “A very tough weekend for the team. It was looking like a good weekend for me after our very difficult beginning. It was a very tough Friday, a bit better Saturday in qualifying – we were able to qualify in the top 10 – and then in the race I really had a good, good recovery with some changes for the race which were in the right direction. The team gave me a car that was very competitive with new and old tires. I was able to have a very good rhythm and good pace with fuel. I believe we had a car that was able to win this race. I feel bad for the outcome of the team: one driver took three Andretti cars out – it’s a shame. Now to Brazil.”
 
A.J. ALLMENDINGER, NO. 2 PENSKE AUTOMOTIVE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 23RD: ON HIS RACE: “I thought today was going to be a good day for the Penske Automotive Chevrolet, we were posting lap times that were consistent with those up front. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get the track position we needed and having the gear box break in Turn 5 ended the day. But it’s another step in the learning process and should make us better for Indy.”
 
RYAN HUNTER-REAY, NO 1 DHL ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 24TH: NOTE – WAS INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR ACCIDENT ON LAP 50 – ON WHAT HAPPENED:  “We just weren’t going anywhere sitting in traffic like that. We missed it today – just didn’t have any grip and the corners that were my best over the weekend, were now my worst. I just had to start trying things and we were just sitting in the back of the pack. I started going and I couldn’t get around anywhere else and dove down to the inside. Got inside but there was no grip in there and just got into the tires. Completely my fault, but at that point we were just trying to make a bad day a little bit better.”
 
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE, NO. 27 GODADDY.COM ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, FINISHED 26TH : NOTE – WAS INVOLVED IN MULTI-CAR INCIDENT ON LAP 35 – ON WHAT HAPPENED: “Two in a row (not finishing due to contact) – what a kick in the pants. It’s really unfortunate because I think the Go Daddy team had done a good job giving us a great race car. If you look at the first stint we performed pretty well; we
picked up spots on the start and the first restart. We thought we were taking a bit of a gamble on the black tires there, but I think that might have been a really good strategy call seeing the way that the reds were falling off. We knew we had to protect them the second stint – I was excited to see how that was going to play out for us. A few guys jump us there with pitting a bit early but we were comfortable with the pace of our car. And on the restart… I didn’t get the best restart and Tony (Kanaan) had a smokin’ one and I was trying to keep, I think it was (Simon) Pagenaud, behind me on the inside and as we got down to Turn 1. I haven’t seen a replay so I don’t know if Tony was trying to do a last minute pass or if he was getting squeezed by someone else, but he moved in the brake zone and I just had nowhere to go and day done. So really tough break for the GoDaddy guys because I genuinely think we were podium contenders today and it was going to be a good comeback from not the strongest of weekends. But one thing I love about this team is they pull out on Sundays – they do Sunday as well as anybody, and often better, and I think today was going to be one of those days. But we’ll get our momentum back and move on to Brazil.”
 
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO.  6 TRUECAR DRAGON RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED  27TH: NOTE: INVOLVED IN A SINGLE CAR INCIDENT ON LAP THREE OF THE RACE: ON THE WEEKEND:  “It’s been a weekend to forget as a whole. We struggled from the beginning of the weekend and our result today wasn’t where we wanted to end up with the #6 TrueCar. We really were looking for a good finish because we had the car figured out. We knew there were going to be a lot of yellows today and we were going to do our best to stay out of them, which unfortunately did not happen. I am really sorry for my team because they have worked so hard all weekend and we leave today with a disappointing result.”

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Kansas Speedway Post Race

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
STP 400
KANSAS SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES
APRIL 21, 2013
 
PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 MENARDS/PITTSBURG PAINTS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 10TH:
ANOTHER TOP-10 FINISH FOR YOU AND THE TEAM. TALK ABOUT THE DAY
“It was okay. It was really hard to pass. We’ve got some of the best pit stops in the business. My guys do a really good job on pit road. So, we gained a lot there. The pace slowed down, which really caught us off guard from yesterday a lot more than we thought. So, we missed it a little bit but you’ve just got to look back and utilize the tools and do a better job of starting the race because we always end pretty good.”
 
DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 16TH
IF NOT FOR THAT FINAL CAUTION COMING OUT WHEN IT DID, HOW GOOD OF SHAPE WERE YOU TO GO THE WHOLE WAY?
“We were fine. We were running in the top five. We had good speed. I think we would have finished in the top five. We had a shot at it. The No. 17 had gotten his car really, really good; so (Ricky) Stenhouse was probably the strongest car that I saw at the end of the race. The No. 20 (Matt Kenseth) was pretty good too.”
 
WHAT POSITIVES CAN YOU TAKE OUT OF THIS AFTER HAVING THREE TOUGH RACES?
“Well, we’ve ran good in all of them. It’s just tough times. We’ve had poor luck; you can’t do much about that.  We’ll just have to keep working. But the cars are fast. We know we can run well. I’m really happy about how the cars have been driving and the work we’ve been doing. I’m extremely happy with the engines today. The power in the car was just incredible.”
 
HOW WORRIED WERE YOU WHEN THE CAUTION CAME OUT AFTER YOU PITTED?
“I was real worried. I was a lap down. I just had an idea there that we was in big trouble and were going to have a hard time finishing as well as we were running.”
 
THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION ABOUT WHETHER YOU WERE GOING TO BE THE LUCKY DOG OR NOT
“Yeah, we were the Lucky Dog because we were ahead of the No. 17 (Stenhouse), a lap down; but NASCAR has a way of scoring it and they scored it the way they scored it. That’s the rules. It’s not a real big deal. If we were the Lucky Dog, we would have been able to have the advantage of coming down pit road and work on the car a little bit and take some tires. But we weren’t.”
 
AND SO YOU ENDED UP HAVING TO TAKE A WAVE AROUND?
“We took a wave around. We were still in the same position we were in, whether we were the Lucky Dog of not, but didn’t get a chance to work on the car a little bit. But I don’t know if we would have done anything to it. I’m just real happy with the speed. The car had a great engine. The car handled good. We did a good strategy. We just got bit by a caution there.”
 
ON THE PAST FEW WEEKS
“We’ve been doing that every week; running real good and not getting a good finish. But it’ll come around. We’ve just got to keep working and stay positive. You can’t really get down about it because it can affect how you can perform when things do get turned around. So we’re going to stay positive. The cars have been real fast. What we’re doing is working on the set-ups. It just seems like we’ve got a good idea of what we need to be doing. The cars are real competitive.”
 
WHAT DID YOU GET BURNED BY TODAY?
“We got bit by a caution that came out just as we had pitted for our last stop. We were good to go to the end. We were running in the top three there. So, we had lined-up a top-five finish for ourselves and the tail piece on the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) came off and the caution came out and trapped us a lap down. We had to take the wave by and we were in 20th at that point.”
 
HOW DISAPPOINTED WERE YOU WHEN THAT CAUTION CAME OUT?
“As disappointed as you can be. We were a lap down and had tp take the wave by and that put us to the back behind a whole bunch of lead-lap cars. There was just no time left. It’s real hard to pass here. It’s a good race track though. This thing is widening out. But it was real tough to pass today. So, we’re going to have a hard time getting back to where we were. Chances weren’t very good.”
 
IS IT DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE HARD TIRES?
“Hard tires, yeah. The hard tires make the track really fast. Everybody runs about the same speed. You can’t really charge on people and get close to people because when the tires are hard, you just start slipping around in dirty air. But as the track ages, they’ll soften the tire up a little bit and we’ll be able to race a little bit closer and the racing will get a little bit better. This place has got a great future.”
 
KASEY KAHNE, NO. 5 FARMERS INSURANCE 85TH ANNIVERSARY CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 2ND:
DID YOU NEED ANOTHER LAP OR DID YOU NEED A CLOUD TO COME OUT?
“I needed clouds.  We tightened up a little bit on that final run and putting two on, and zero, I knew we were going to be a little loose but didn’t think it would be quite that bad.  Matt (Kenseth) was fast and I just did everything I could and he would go to those spots and I couldn’t make any ground.   It was still a good race and I want to thank Farmers Insurance and 85 years of Farmers Insurance, Chevrolet, Time Warner Cable, Quaker State and everybody on my team.   The team has done an awesome job and we fought back after a little bit of a disappointment with last week of 11th and came back this week.”
 
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S/KOBALT TOOLS CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 3RD:
FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, A LOT OF PEOPLE SAID ALL WEEK ‘WHERE ARE THEY’, BUT HERE YOU GUYS ARE WITH TWO OF YOU IN THE TOP 5
“Yeah, Friday and Saturday weren’t fun.  There wasn’t a lot of smiles around our group but everybody worked real hard to get the cars right and we had a great race car today.  At times I felt like I had a shot to win with my Kobalt Tools Chevrolet and we just didn’t have enough for Matt and Kasey there at the end, but a very solid performance for our Kobalt Tools Chevrolet SS.”
 
AN UP AND DOWN DAY BUT YOU GUYS SEEMED TO GET THE CAR CLOSER TO THE FRONT THE MORE YOU COULD ADJUST ON IT
 “We had a vibration at the start of the race and we had to come in and put four tires on and we lost…..well we didn’t have the best starting spot to begin with, but we lost more time.   But from there on, I drove right up through the field and got to the front and at times felt like my Kobalt Tools Chevrolet to win.  The last two runs we were a little too tight but other than that, a really strong performance with a car that drove through traffic, which is hard to do in today’s world of racing.  So happy to be able to do that.”
 
DID THE SECOND LANE EVER REALLY COME INTO PLAY TODAY?
“Oh yeah, that second lane was there for sure.  A lot of guys would get to it maybe 10-15 laps into a run, but the third lane wasn’t there yet.  There wasn’t anything that high, but the second lane was working real nice.”
 
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 14TH:
We struggled a little bit today with our Code 3 Associates Chevrolet. The guys  made good adjustments, and we used pit strategy to get some track position  towards the end of the race, but we didn’t have the speed we needed to keep it  up there. A good effort by everyone on this No. 39 team. We learned a lot today.  We’ll head to Richmond next week and see what we can do there.
 
KURT BUSCH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 15TH:
“From the start of the race we never could get the handling right. The car was loose then it was tight then it chattered — we just never had any consistency to work off of. We also had a loose wheel early in the race to deal with and that knocked us to the back. After our practice sessions we were looking for a better finish than 15th.”
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JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 MCDONALD’S CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED SEVENTH
YOU HAD QUITE A MOMENT TODAY THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO COME BACK FROM.  I SAW ALL THE GUYS CONGRATULATING YOU, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAY:
“We just started off way too loose.  I honestly thought we had one of the better cars in happy hour.  From the drop of the green flag it was just extremely loose.  We had to actually come in twice and lower the trackbar and make some adjustments.  Then I thought we finally had some track position and I got turned sideways on the restart and went all the way to the back again, but it was a good recovery.  We just had a fast car all weekend so really happy with that.  Good job by our team.”
 
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 13TH
HOW BADLY WERE YOU HURT WHEN THAT FINAL CAUTION CAME OUT WHEN IT DID?
“It cost us probably a good six positions I think.  We weren’t the best car, but we made some great improvements throughout the weekend.  The race pace just kind of came to us and the conditions in the race.  Really kind of brought us to life compared to the competition.  We are still lacking a few things, but all in all I thought it was a great effort.  We just cannot catch a break.  That last caution that definitely hurt us being on pit road when the caution comes out it’s never a good thing unless you are on a road course (laughs). We were looking pretty good up until that point, but we weren’t the only ones that it hurt.”
 
WHAT ARE YOUR OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THE RACE FINISHING 13TH WITH HAVING TO START LAST?
“Well, I mean if you would have asked me when the race started or before the race started ‘hey you are going to finish 13th today’, I would say ‘hey that is not bad’.  When you find yourself where you are a sixth or seventh place car and you think you can finish there then 13th is a little disappointing.  You are constantly changing your expectations throughout a race.  That is kind of how it was for us today.  Starting 43rd I was not looking forward to that.  It actually went a little bit better than I anticipated.  We were able to make our way up through there and actually had some cautions fall our way at the beginning of the race.  That last one just didn’t fall the way we needed it to.”
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED 25TH:
“We started out pretty good, but we just got tight in the second half of the race. We had a tire rub at one point and issues with the splitter from some contact we made. The trash on the grille was what really hurt us today. The temps went way high and we had to pit to pull it off. That put us two laps down. It’s disappointing because I think we could have had a much better finish with the Go Daddy car, but it’s one of those things that’s out of our control. The pit crew was awesome, I think they did a 12.1 (second stop), which I didn’t even think was possible. They did great today.”
 
TONY GIBSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 10 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET SS:
“We got in the back of somebody and knocked the splitter into the ground. From that point on, it was just too tight taking off until the tire pressures came up. Up until then it was good, the changes we made overnight were good. We had a good racecar, it was balanced good. She did a great job and it was definitely a top-15 car. We made improvement and the pit stops were good, but you can’t do anything about the trash on the grille. It’s just one of those things we just can’t control. That’s just part of it. But, the bright side is that we finished again and got a lot of laps in and we made some improvements and made a lot of gains. I felt like today was a positive day.”
 

John Force Racing

DOLLAR GENERAL FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS NOT KIND TO JFR

DOLLAR GENERAL FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS NOT KIND TO JFR

 

CHARLOTTE, NC —- The day after an explosion launched his Auto Club Mustang carbon fiber body onto a walkway adjacent to the zMax Dragway, the defending event champion was unceremoniously bounced out of the race in the second round. Luckily no spectators were seriously injured on Saturday and today Hight actually moved up in the Mello Yello point standings.

 

In the opening session of the 4th annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Hight pulled into lane four, the same lane he was in during the final qualifying session. He blazed down the track without incident posting an elapsed time of 4.113 seconds which was second quickest of his quad. Just behind No. 1 qualifier Chad Head. In an ironic turn of events the No. 1 and No. 16 qualifiers moved on to the second round.

 

Hight was joined in the second round with Head, fellow Ford Racing teammate Tim Wilkerson and Cruz Pedregon. When the Christmas Tree lit up Hight mashed the throttle and his Auto Club Mustang smoked the tires about one second later. Hight was forced to pedal his race car as Wilkerson cruised down the race track and Head fought with his Funny Car to maintain control. Head was able to secure the second place finish in the quad ahead of Pedregon and Hight.

 

“I want to thank my crew guys for giving me a good race car today. We made a great run in the first round. Yesterday was a tough day and I am so glad everything worked out the way it did. You never want to have an incident like that but like I said yesterday we will investigate the problem and see how we can possibly fix it. I am ready to get back to the track. We’ll be ready for Houston and we’ll be running the AAA Texas Ford Mustang.”

 

Heading to Houston for the 26th annual O’Reilly Spring Nationals Hight will be No.  6 in the Mello Yello point standings, a one spot improvement.

 

While Hight was advancing to the second round team leader John Force just missed joining his teammate. Force’s first round upset was the first time the 2010 Dollar General Four-Wide winner has lost in the opening session under the four-wide format. As the No. 2 qualifier Force and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang team had the first pick of lanes and chose the favorable second lane. Force launched hard but at about mid-track his Castrol GTX Funny Car shook the tires loose and Bob Tasca III and upstart driver Blake Alexander took the win lights and advanced to the second round.

 

The 15-time Funny Car champion was disappointed with his performance on race day and vowed to make immediate changes to improve his performance.

 

“Weather caught us since we only got two runs. Everybody only got two runs. We did get everybody qualified. I’ll head back to Indy tomorrow morning. We are going to make some changes on this Castrol GTX Mustang to make it fit me a little better. I don’t fit in it right and that doesn’t help the driver. We will get ready for Houston. It is good to be back to back, you get in the groove,” said Force.

 

Sunday was also a tough day for Mello Yello points leader Courtney Force. The driver of the Traxxas Ford Mustang was defeated in the first round for just the second time this season. Like all the drivers who did not meet expectation the truncated qualifying sessions contributed to on track struggles and the unique four-wide format.

 

“We only got two out the four runs during qualifying. I wish I would’ve gotten a little more practice out there before the race began, but it was an equal playing field because all of us (in Funny Car) only got two qualifying passes,” said the 2012 Rookie of the Year.

“Going up for round one, we had third pick of the lanes. We couldn’t get our car down there and unfortunately didn’t get the win. We slipped a little in the points and lost the points lead. I think if we would have had those two extra qualifying laps we could have done a lot better,” said Force.

 

“I think I struggled a little as a driver today and I wish I would have done better to get that win, but you know, we just have to keep our heads held high and move on. We go to Houston next and I’m excited to see what we can do there. Ron Douglas can tune this race car, we just gotta put this race behind us.”

 

Rookie of the Year contender Brittany Force had her most consistent weekend behind the wheel of the Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster. She made two qualifying runs due to the shortened schedule due to rain in the 3.83s and then in the first round she posted another 3.83 second run. It was not enough for the No. 9 qualifier to advance around the No. 1 qualifier Shawn Langdon and No. 8 qualifier Tony Schumacher.

 

Force was pleased with the consistency and excited to back on the race track in a few days. She was also glad she got some timely advice from her father.

 

“For me four wide is still very new. Getting up there and getting staged is a little tricky and today was only the third time I have done it. It got a little tricky when (rookie Sidnei) Frigo broke in lane four. The officials were showing me three fingers and it is a good thing my dad had already told me to have a plan with my team in case something weird happened. I remember thinking I am not going to worry about that but we did talk about some signals so we could communicate,” said Force.

 

“There wasn’t a problem and I was happy about that. We had a really consistent race car and the bad thing is we only got two qualifying runs. We ran 3.836 in the first round and we had been running 3.83s all weekend. We have a tunable race car which is good.”

 

 “I think back to back racing is helpful for the driver and the team. I get more comfortable in the car and with staging. Now we will go back to normal with only two cars at a time. I can work on my normal routine. The Four Wide is definitely fun and exciting but I wish I would have had a little more time to get used to it,” added Force.

Chevrolet Racing

CORVETTE RACING FINISHES 4TH AND 5TH AT LONG BEACH

CORVETTE RACING FINISHES 4TH AND 5TH AT LONG BEACH
Tied for Manufacturer Lead After 2 Rounds
 
(LONG BEACH, Calif., April 20, 2013) – Corvette Racing scored two top-five finishes at Long Beach to maintain a share of the lead in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Manufacturer Standings through the first two races of the season.
 
Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, drove the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R to a fourth-place finish in the GT class in the two-hour Tequila Patron American Le Mans Series at Long Beach on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit. Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen finished fifth in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R.
 
“As we saw in qualifying, the cars are just so close in performance,” Milner said. “We were in a good spot, but just a little unlucky there.”
 
Milner, who earned his first career ALMS race at this event last year, qualified sixth and had driven up to fourth when the team pitted with just over an hour remaining, and changed drivers. During the exchange, the team had a difficult time securing the steering wheel.
 
“Pretty much our race was so dictated by that pit stop where I got in and really just struggled to get the wheel on,” Gavin said. During the stop the team also experienced some trouble with one of the tires, and “the wheel got spun around and I was then trying to find the point where it had to slot on, and it wasn’t so easy to see. By the time I got it on, everybody else had finished up their pit stops and we came out pretty much at the back.”
 
Garcia, meanwhile, started fourth and quickly moved toward the front.
 
“Everything went to plan, basically,” Garcia said. “We knew how usually the first lap works here. I basically put pressure on, and the two cars in front of me both went off so I kind of made myself a little bit of a gap and made a pass on both.”
 
But, a series cautions slowed the No. 3 Corvette C6.R’s momentum, and brought pit strategy into play.
 
“All of those yellows – especially that first one, it was like flipping a coin,” Garcia said. “I think it was the right call to stay out, but then with all of these yellows coming after is where being in the lead wasn’t such an advantage anymore.”
 
The No. 3 Corvette C6.R was running second when the driver change was made.
 
“It started off pretty well,” Magnussen said. “I think the way the strategy and the pit stops worked out really hurt us. It seemed like everybody else was trying to salvage something and kind of went out of sequence and gained really well on it, and we lost on it, unfortunately. We were struggling a little bit too much right there at the end with grip.”
 
With less than 15 minutes remaining, Gavin passed Magnussen for fourth place.
 
“It was another learning lesson for us,” said Gavin, who teamed with Milner and Richard Westbrook last month to win the season-opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. “It was good just to score the points in the championship, to get fourth place, I’ll take that every day with how rough that race was. It was pretty nasty at times, and difficult, and traffic was hard. There was plenty of bumping and banging, and you just have to try and keep the car clean. There were a number of times where I thought, ‘Oh, this could get pretty messy here. We’re going to lose a corner off the car.’ Or, it was just sliding and sliding and you were just hoping that it was going to stop sliding before we ended up hitting the wall, and fortunately it did.”
 
The No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE won the race, followed by the No. 56 BMW Z4 GTE, the No. 91 SRT Viper GTS-R, and the two Corvettes.
 
Unofficially, Chevrolet and BMW share the Manufacturers Standings with 34 points apiece.
 
“Those guys battled the whole race,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “I would say tires were a factor throughout the race. It was tricky out there. I commend the whole Corvette Racing team for really staying focused and driving toward the front. You know, a couple of cars in front of us were a little tight on gas. We didn’t get them today, but it was a good points day and momentum in the season continues. So, on to Monterrey.”
 
The ALMS season resumes with Round 3 on May 9-11 with the American Le Mans Series Monterey (Calif.) at Laguna Seca, where Gavin and Milner won last year.
 

Mopar Racing

Shortened Qualifying Provides Mixed Results for Mopar at Four-Wide Nationals

Shortened Qualifying Provides Mixed Results for Mopar at Four-Wide Nationals

·         Field is set for eliminations at fourth edition of the Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Fueled by Full Throttle
·         Mopar Pro Stock driver Jeg Coughlin Jr. qualifies No.2 in Pro Stock competition at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C.
·         Jack Beckman qualifies his Dodge Charger R/T in third spot as the top Mopar Funny Car

Concord, N.C. (Saturday, April 20) –   Mopar drivers in both Pro Stock and Funny Car classes had just two runs to make their mark in qualifying for this weekend’s fourth annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, after rain washed out Friday’s sessions at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s zMAX Dragway. Those two passes left little room for error and had mixed results for Mopar entries in both classes as they prepared for Sunday’s contest.

The unique Four-Wide Nationals format for Sunday’s eliminations will see the field of 16 qualifiers in each class split into four waves of drag racing (instead of the usual eight) for the opening round.  With competitors facing-off simultaneously in four lanes, the top two finishers of each round will advance. As a result, only three eliminations rounds will be necessary, with the final run determining the winner, runner-up and two semi-finalists.

In Pro Stock qualifying, Mopar’s Jeg Coughlin Jr. run of 6.496 seconds (212.93 mph) came closest to stealing top spot from Mike Edwards (6.471sec / 213.64 mph), who posted a National elapsed time record and his fifth consecutive No.1 qualifier position of the season.

“We’ve had some great runs this year and we’ve been qualifying extremely well as evidenced by today’s No. 2 effort, but it’s game day where we want to perform to help mark this fantastic turn-around season for us in grand style,” said Coughlin who has two runner-up performance and a semi-final finish thus far in the first four events of the year. “There are some extra challenges when going four-wide but this race is Bruton (Smith’s) baby and it’s a lot of fun for us and the fans, as you can see by the packed grandstands. We have a fast racecar and I like our chances, but really the top eight cars here are separated by only a few hundredths of a second, give or take, so I know it’s going be a dog fight.”

Winner of the last two National title events, Allen Johnson qualified the Mopar Express Lane Dodge in fourth spot with his best pass of 6.500 sec /213.30 mph despite the limited track time.

“We didn’t have great qualifying runs but we’re still in the top half of the field and we’ll take that,” said Johnson. “Having a new car here and losing two sessions kind of hurt us. That might be true at any track but on this track especially since the start line’s uphill qualities make it a bit more of a challenge. But we have a confident and experienced Mopar Express Lane Crew and we’ll bounce back when it counts.”

Fellow HEMI® powered teammate Vincent Nobile didn’t improve on his first run of 6.534 sec (211.83) and ended up eighth, while the Dodge of V. Gaines claimed ninth place with a 6.545 sec (212.13 mph) effort. Both will be part of the first foursome running against Edwards and Frank Gugliotta. Meanwhile, Johnson and Coughlin will be the sole Mopars to battle in their respective first round quads with the hopes of advancing through two more in order to battle for the coveted Four-Wide National title.

The top qualified Mopar Funny Car was that of Don Schumacher Racing’s Jack Beckman who recorded an elapsed time of 4.071 seconds (311.09 mph) in his Dodge Charger R/T which was good enough to earn the third spot on the qualifying charts. Teammate Matt Hagan qualified his “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” entry sixth overall on the strength of a 4.137-second (303.09 mph) run in the final session. Fellow DSR driver Ron Capps had a best run of 4.137 seconds (303.09 mph) after smoking the tires of his Mopar in the final qualifying pass to put him in the 11th spot.

Funny Car qualifying came to a conclusion with a few surprises as rookie driver Chad Head drove to his first career No. 1 qualifying position, while Mopar’s Johnny Gray, second in the Championship point standings, will not be part of Sunday’s elimination rounds. After smoking the tires on his first run (7.56 second) putting him provisionally 12th, he had more trouble on his second pass, resulting in an e.t. of 5.363 seconds, which was not enough to make the field.

It will be quite the battle in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations as the DSR Mopar teammates Hagan, Capps and Beckman will battle each other and Dale Creasy for the two spots that will advance out of each foursome.

Chevrolet Racing

John Edwards and Robin Liddell Take Chevrolet Camaro GT.R to Top Podium Spot in GT for Second Consecutive Race

John Edwards and Robin Liddell Take Chevrolet Camaro GT.R to Top Podium Spot in GT for Second Consecutive Race
With GS Win Earlier in the Day, Edwards Becomes Only Fourth GRAND-AM Driver to Win Two Races in One Day
 
BRASELTON, Ga. (April 20, 2013) – Continuing their winning ways, the Stevenson Motorsports duo of John Edwards and Robin Liddell led the field at Road Atlanta to the checkered flag, and brought their No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GT.R to Victory Lane for a second-consecutive week. The pair started sixth when qualifying was rained out, and the starting grid was set on team point standings for the Video Studio Ultimate Grand Prix of Atlanta, Round 4 on the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series 2013 schedule.
 
With strong driving skills and good pit strategy, they were able to keep their Camaro in the front of the field at the conclusion of the 2.75-hour race.  The victory marks Liddell’s 20th career win in the GT division and Edward’s sixth.
 
Earlier in the day, Edwards won the PricewaterhouseCoopers 250 for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Camaro GS.R, to join Michael Valiante, Bill Auberlen and Paul Dalla Lana (twice) as GRAND-AM’s only drivers to win two races in one day. Matt Bell shared the driving duties with Edwards in getting the Grand Sport class win. The run moves the team up to third (unofficially) in the team point standings with eight races remaining in 2013.
 
“Congratulations to Stevenson Motorsports on the team’s win in both Rolex Series GT, and Continental Tire Challenge GS,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet Racing Program Manager, GRAND-AM Road Racing. “Both classes are very competitive, so to get one victory a weekend is an accomplishment, but to win in both classes is a remarkable feat.  The teams and the drivers executed perfectly, putting together great race strategies for both cars.
 
“In addition, congratulations to John Edwards for scoring the “double” win.  He and his co-drivers, Robin Liddell in GT and Matt Bell in GS, drove very smart races to get to the top of the podium in both classes.”
 
 In the Daytona Prototype (DP) class the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Corvette DP, with drivers Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty behind the wheel, finished third in the inaugural race for the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series at Road Atlanta to score the team’s third-consecutive 2013 season podium finish. The No. 90 Spirit of Daytona team of Richard Westbrook and Ricky Taylor brought home a fifth-place finish.
 
Other Team Chevy finishers in the 2.5-hour Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race were Lawson Aschenbach and Eric Curran who brought the No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R to the checkered flag in seventh-place; and, Ashley McCalmont and Bob Michaelian who finished 14th in-class driving the No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R.
 
The next event for Team Chevy in GRAND-AM Road Racing Rolex Sports Car Series will be the Chevrolet GRAND-AM Detroit 200 at Belle Isle Park, in Detroit, Michigan, May 31 – June 1.  The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race can be seen live on SPEED, Saturday, June 1, at 5:00 p.m. EDT. The Continental Tire Sports Car Series’ next race will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, June 15th at 12:00 a.m., with television coverage set for broadcast on June 23, 4:00 p.m. EDT on SPEED.
 
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES:
ROLEX SPORTS CAR SERIES RACE:
 
ROBIN LIDDELL, NO. 57 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GT.R – WINNER
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT TODAY THAT JUST CLICKED FOR YOUR STEVENSON TEAM?
“Well we have got a super crew and obviously Mike (??) and the guys from Pratt and Miller on the perch supporting us with strategy and what they do collectively.  John (Edwards, co-driver) obviously did a great opening stint.  We are not that high in the points so it was always going to be tough for him.  We knew we didn’t have a car that was very strong on the back straight which is what a lot of it is all about here.  Over a stint we felt we had a decent car.  A lot of it was unknown for everybody because we haven’t raced here before with these cars on these tires, so we didn’t know what the degradation was going to be like. We did struggle a bit on old tires.  It really came down to thinking on our feet.  The guys made a good call to pit early, take the tires and try and establish a gap with some quick laps when everybody else was falling off.  Essentially that is what we were able to do.  Really happy, again, we have won today like two weeks ago in Barber (Motorsports Park) with ultimately not the quickest car out there but some great team work, some great pit work from the guys.”
ROUGH START TO THE SEASON FOR YOU GUYS DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT IS BEHIND YOU?
“You never know if it’s behind you.  It’s pretty bad to have two poor finishes right in the first two races, but this is a team that always fights hard and we never give up.  We always look to improve and we have some super people, great engineering support and great crew guys.  We are usually a team for the last five years we have always been a team that on any given weekend we are always threatening for a win.  I don’t think this year is going to be any different.”

JOHN EDWARDS, NO. 57 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GT.R – WINNER
YOU WON THE GS RACE EARLIER TODAY GET IN THE GT CAR AND YOU WIN AGAIN.  WAS THERE ANY CHALLENGE TO YOU AT THIS TRACK?  OR WAS IT SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST QUICKLY ADAPTED TO?
“I think if you were watching the races it was always a big challenge.  In the GS race Andy Lally was pressuring me at the end and I was really thankful for that yellow to take the pressure off of me.  My stint in this race was relatively uneventful.  We had to work through a little bit of traffic in the beginning starting sixth based on where we were in points.  Then Andrew (Davis) was running well in the Porsche and they were getting a good run off the No. 7 so I never really had a chance to get by him except with some traffic and never really made it work.  We came out of the pits in second when Robin (Liddell, co-driver) got in the car and the team made a great call to pit early, got Robin in the lead, had fresh rubber at the end and he made a hell of a pass on Alessandro (Balzan) to take the lead.”

CONTINENTAL TIRE SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE RACE:

MATT BELL, NO. 9 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GS.R – WINNER
GREAT POINTS WEEKEND FOR YOU GUYS:
“It’s pretty surprising. I don’t think we have ever been in this position before.  Really the team is working better than they ever have before.  The pit stops, I think we gained something like 10 seconds on pit stops today.  Everyone is just working overtime.  The engineering stand they figured out this car without too much testing time.  Obviously we were rained out yesterday so I am just completely impressed with everything.  The car is exactly what we needed of it.  John (Edwards, co-driver) had an incredible drive.  So far we are looking pretty good in this championship.”

JOHN EDWARDS, NO. 9 STEVENSON MOTORSPORTS CAMARO GS.R – WINNER
PRETTY INCREDIBLE BACK-TO-BACK THERE SECOND LAST WEEK AND A WIN THIS WEEK:
“I think last week we were leading and I was a little bitter with a missed shift to lose it.  I think we had a better car today. (Andy) Lally was there at the end I think we were pretty equal on lap time, but he was a little quicker down the straights but not as good in the brake zones. I think over one lap we were about even, but that made it stressful when his speed was coming from the straightaway and mine was coming from the brake zone because I had to work really hard there at the end. Awesome running with him I think we stayed clean.  I didn’t think there was a scratch on the car, but I see some rubber so I know I got super sideways when I was next to Lally so I might
have rubbed him there a little bit but other than that a really clean race.” 

Summit Racing

Anderson Fast in Qualifying in Preparation for 4-Wide Eliminations

Anderson Fast in Qualifying in Preparation for 4-Wide Eliminations
 
CONCORD, N.C., April 20, 2013 – Heavy rain canceled the first day of qualifying before it ever really began, and Pro Stock pilot Greg Anderson only had two opportunities at the Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals to prove his worth before eliminations, but the seasoned driver seized the moment and raced to exceptional speeds to lock himself into the top half of the field in his Summit Racing Chevy Camaro.
 
After the first day of qualifying was washed away, Anderson and the Summit Racing crew arrived at the racetrack on Saturday rested and ready to tackle whatever zMAX Dragway had to offer, and the thought of only two qualifying sessions did not weigh heavily on their collective spirit.
 
“It would have been a different situation if we hadn’t tested here last week, but we felt like we had a very solid package for this racetrack, so we weren’t all that nervous,” said Anderson, a three-time winner at zMAX. “We should be able to rip right down this racetrack and qualify well.”
 
Anderson clicked off a 6.517 at 213.20 mph in the first session and returned to lay down an improved 6.508 at an awesome 213.67 mph for top speed honors. The Mooresville, N.C.-based driver qualified in the No. 5 position.
 
“We’re certainly solidly in the pack, but we believe our Summit Racing Camaros should be at the top, and that’s not where we are today so we’re a little disappointed,” said Anderson, whose KB Racing teammate Jason Line qualified in the No. 7 spot. “We have a lot of runs at this racetrack and we typically have a pretty good handle on our racecars here, so we hope that tomorrow we are able to show our potential a little better and come out on top on raceday.”
 
In the unique four-wide, three-round format, Anderson will compete against three other drivers in the eliminations opener. The quickest two to the finish line will advance to the semifinals. Anderson’s first-round opponents are Allen Johnson, Kurt Johnson, and Larry Morgan.
 
“On raceday, you better get it right, or you’re going home early,” said Anderson. “And we don’t intend to go home early tomorrow. We plan to wake up sharp, make good decisions, and have a chance to win. The table is set just fine, Jason and I are on opposite sides of the ladder, and there are four very equal brackets. We’ve got as good of a chance as anybody to win, we just have to do our jobs. If anybody can do it, this Summit Racing team can.”

Honda Racing

Franchitti Claims Pole for Honda at Long Beach

Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti’s final lap Saturday in IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying proved to be just enough, as the Honda-powered driver edged defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay by just under six hundredths of a second to claim the pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.  The run was Franchitti’s first IndyCar pole since the 2012 Honda Indy Toronto, as the four-time series champion, and winner here in 2009, prepares for his 250th IndyCar race start in tomorrow’s race.Takuma Sato continued his run of strong early-season performances, as he once again made the “Fast Six” final round of knockout qualifying and will start fourth on Sunday for A.J. Foyt Racing.  Making his first IndyCar start of the season, 2011 Long Beach winner Mike Conway will start fifth for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, while Charlie Kimball produced his second consecutive top-10 qualifying performance and will start ninth for Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing.Sunday’s 80-lap race, the third round in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series, starts at 4 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara) pole qualifier, his first pole of 2013 and 30th career IndyCar pole:  “This [pole] means a lot.  We had a very fast car at Barber [for the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama], but we made a mess of qualifying.  Today, it was nice to go out with a great car and really get everything out of it.  That last lap [we] just threw caution to the wind in a couple of places and I just got [the pole].  So it feels good, especially with the field as tight as it is.  It was nice for Honda to get a pole here, too, on their home ground.”