NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Ed Carpenter – Ed Carpenter Racing 

Starts 14th

THE MODERATOR: Ed, your thoughts about tomorrow? Two-hour practice, then Sunday.

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, really excited. I thought our last regular day on track Monday went really, really well. It’s always a nice, nice way to finish off that week feeling prepared, kind of take some of the pressure off of Carb Day. It can be such a weird practice session.

Yeah, so not super stressed about tomorrow. Just go make sure everything is back where we want it and everything’s working, get some pit stop practice in, be prepared for Sunday.

Q.  Ed, I just heard a lot of drivers say that the hybrid is not that much different to the car of last year. Also, it’s always said that we need to focus on all the details. Can you describe for you with your experience, with the speed that you had in past years, how do you explain what can be these little details and difference that you have to focus on?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of ways the cars can feel very, very similar to the past without the hybrid. For me, I feel like it made the window, the operating window, maybe a little smaller just with the extra weight.

As far as the details go, it’s just a whole ‘nother system to manage and use. It’s much more useful in a race setting than what it was in qualifying. Just being consistent with the usage and maximizing it, whether you’re on the move or defending.

It does play a pretty big role in helping manage keeping people behind you or getting past cars. It’s just another layer of detail that didn’t exist prior. So just a little more to think about and manage in the midst of the race.

Q.  Obviously as a team owner, INDYCAR has talked about having more independence in the wake of everything that’s happened this week with Penske. Is that something you called for in the past? What was your reaction to that whole thing?

ED CARPENTER: All that I’ll really say about that, just because there’s a lot to really be discussed still, I think the start of the conversations that have happened this week have been positive and productive. Look forward to hopefully being part of that as it develops.

I think this week kind of set the stage for what should be some productive work into the future.

Q.  Were you good with the way the Penske situation was handled overall this week?

ED CARPENTER: I think so, yeah. I mean, it’s obviously a tough situation for everyone, whether you’re talking the Penske drivers, especially the personnel that’s no longer with the team, but also the rest of the teams and drivers, our partners. That’s probably the most disappointing thing to me, is that we’re at a point in our sport where we have so many good things going on, so much momentum around this month, that it’s changed the storylines a little bit.

I think the Indy 500 is going to deliver a great show, and hopefully we’ll be talking about that come Sunday and not what happened last weekend.

Q.  Ed, Rossi has brought quite a bit to the program for all the different races so far this season. Speaking to Indianapolis, what’s maybe he added to the program that maybe you didn’t have last year?

ED CARPENTER: I mean, first and foremost, he’s won the race. That’s always a big plus, to have a past champion on your team.

But beyond that, Alex is really a professional, detail-oriented guy. The driver he replaced in Rinus was fantastic here, very quick. But in general, we hadn’t had a driver come into our team that had been at other high-level teams before they got to us, with the exception of Ryan Hunter-Reay doing a couple races for us a couple years ago.

To have a driver like that join us full-time, we’re in a really exciting time at ECR where we have a new ownership partner and new partners, new sponsorship. We’re really trying to raise our standards and aim higher than where we had the past couple years. He’s a big part of that.

Q.  Ed, obviously during the off-season, the team made all those changes. How would you assess how the team has progressed so far into this year?

ED CARPENTER: I think we’re heading in a good direction. We probably haven’t had all the results that we would have hoped on the 21 car. Alex has been quite consistent. We’ve been qualifying better with that car on average than we had been a year ago, and having some solid races.

It feels like we’re on an upward trajectory and really want to capitalize on that on Sunday.

Q.  Ed, I talked to Christian Rasmussen earlier, talking about his second start, said there’s always nerves at the Indy 500. Do you still get the nerves, those butterflies? Do you feel your mindset is that much different compared to when you were here for your earlier starts?

ED CARPENTER: Yeah, I mean, you still deal with nerves and anxiety. There’s always a lot to worry about here, whether it’s the pace of the car or making the right decisions or all the number of things that are outside of our control that you hope and pray will fall your way on race day.

At the same time really enjoy the process and look forward to all the emotions that come with race day, try to go out and do the job to the best of my abilities and put together a solid 500 miles and see where it lands us.

THE MODERATOR: Ed, obviously not your first 500, but aside from the racing, what do you look most forward to on race day?

ED CARPENTER: I think my favorite part about race morning is probably walking out to the pits with my family, is always a memorable thing. Photos that I appreciate having afterwards. Also driver intros before we get serious and get in the car is a really special moment to appreciate how lucky we are as the 33 drivers that get to go out and race in the greatest race in the world.

THE MODERATOR: Family photos changed over the years?

ED CARPENTER: They’re getting quite large. They still come up with me for driver intros. Two of the three are full-grown now. It’s getting tight.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News ConferenceThursday May 22, 2025Indianapolis, Indiana, USAJosef Newgarden – Team PenskeStarts 32nd THE MODERATOR: Going back to row 11, two-time reigning Indy 500 champion, 31-time race winner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, starting 32nd on Sunday, Josef Newgarden. How you doing? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m not sleeping tonight (smiling). Long days, late nights, especially with the travel. Kind of ready to get locked back in the bus here and not go anywhere for the next 72 hours, however long it’s going to be. Yeah, it’s cold in here, for, so I’m keeping my jacket on. All good, ready to go. THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts on getting back in the car tomorrow. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I can’t wait. I think the weather looks really perfect actually for the weekend in a lot of ways. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, pretty excited for that. Yeah, can’t wait. Q. These guys that are no longer on the team, they weren’t just guys you worked with, they were friends, people that you were close to. How difficult is it to see them leave, especially under these circumstances? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think we got a lot of people sitting here today, it looks like. I don’t want to disappoint or offend anybody. I’m here to talk about the race. I’m here with my team. I’m ready to go racing. I love this race. My goodness, I’ve been enjoying being here this whole time. I look forward to it every year, as we all do. Ready to go to work with our group. Proud of everything that we have done up to this point. Ready to go racing. So that’s what I got to say. Q. Speaking of the race, Kyle Larson thinks you have the fastest car on the track. What can we expect to see, what kind of charge? As Rick Mears says, you can win this race from any seat in the house. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think he’s right, you can win this race from any seat in the house. There’s no bad seat in this house. I like saying that, too. I love listening to where people sit and hearing their stories. There’s just no bad seat at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I think that goes for the starting grid, too. I like the challenge coming from 32nd. I don’t know what the day looks like, it’s so hard to predict. We do have a great car. It just seems to be getting better every year. I’m trying to protect that right now. It’s one of these things where every day changes a little bit at the Speedway. You have to stay on top of it. Sunday is really going to be the day that counts. We have to make sure we’re in the right place for that day. If we can do that, we should be in a good spot. Q. Do you come into this race angry? Frustrated? Anxious? What’s your emotion? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Right now I’m trying to remain – what’s the way to put this – trying to remain happy. This is the Indy 500. I just said it at the very beginning, too. I look forward to this time of year every season. I can’t wait. We’re going to have a sold-out crowd here for the Indianapolis 500, as it should be. To see all the people that show up and make this what it is, I look forward to that. That’s how I feel right now. I’m ready to go racing. I know I have a good car. I’m ready to work with my team and hopefully put on a good show. There’s no guarantees, but I’m ready to rock. Q. Has it been easy to try to be happy? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s a little cold to be happy today. A little gloomy. I think the weather is going to help tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday. Q. As you’re fighting from back there in 32nd, how do you approach that fight? Probably not a place you’ve been too much in your career. As you’ve been starting to think about this race, how do you approach trying to work your way up to the front? Do you have some benchmarks? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s a good question. I don’t have a plan at the moment. I don’t want to set anything in stone as far as markers or milestones throughout the race. I think we just got to go. I know this. If we can get the car where it needs to be on Sunday, which is where it’s been pretty much every day that we’ve been here so far, Indy is this mysterious place. Like every day, every condition is a little different. I know if we have the car we’ve had this entire month, we’re going to be completely in the fight. I don’t know what that is going to look like. It’s so hard to predict. I’m pretty open-minded on how this day is going to go. We have the tools and the people to battle to the front, which is what we plan to do. Q. Doug has said that they believe what was wrong on your car, Will’s car, found in tech inspection, wasn’t any sort of performance gain. You dropped back to 32nd and 33rd. Do you think the penalty that was dealt to you was an otherwise fair penalty? How did you react to it when you heard? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I just see a bigger mountain. That’s all I see. Q. You said you’re here to talk about the race. The race gets a lot harder for you when you have distractions and your team seems in turmoil. How are you going to stay focused and block out those distractions without letting that seep into your preparation? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, it’s the same challenge as always. I think you have to focus on what you can control. That’s the difficult part about this job. It’s the difficult part about the Indianapolis 500 is how do you stay focused on what is in your control. That can look very differently every year. There can be different stressors that push you. If you can just get yourself to a place where you are focused at the task at hand, you know what’s in front of you, you know what you’re in control of, you’re truly just focused on, that then I think you said yourself up mentally to have the best day possible. That’s what we’re doing. We’ve got to just, like I said, get the car right for Sunday. Even tomorrow in a lot of ways does not matter. It’s a last check. But Sunday is what matters. If we just focus on what we need to do for that place, I think we’ll be in a good place. Q. You can still win? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Q. How much will you and Will talk about moving up from the back? You can plan, say you’re going to work together, but the elements take over, the emotions take over. Is there an ability to work together, especially with the hybrid, start saving some fuel? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’s hard to work together. We can certainly not hinder each other. That’s probably the best way to put it. We’re on the same team. We got the same goal. We want to get all our cars up front. We want a car to win for our team, for our group. We don’t need to be hindering each other. I don’t know that we’re going to be able to work in parallel. It’s very tough to do here at the Speedway. In a lot of ways starting in the back, it’s every person for themselves. We’re just aware of each other. We both know what the game plan is in a lot of ways. I just think trying to not hinder each other is more the challenge. Q. Obviously you have Luke Mason as a strategist. What has made him the right person for the role? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, Lucas. His name is not even Lucas. I just like calling him that. Luke is going to be just fine. He’s one of the most naturally gifted race engineers I’ve ever met. I’m always excited when he’s on the stand. It will be no different on Sunday. Q. You’ve been traveling these last 24 hours. Will told us that Roger called him in and talked to him to deliver the news of yesterday. Did you talk to Roger on the phone, or how did you learn about what we learned yesterday morning? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I learned it on the phone just because I wasn’t present here. Q. Do you have any input on how folks were elevated? Did they ask you what you wanted to do on your car or just say this is what we’re going to do with the replacements? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, Roger Penske is the boss. It’s his team. That’s a question for him. Q. I’ll give you a break and give you a fun one. Is there anybody — with Kyle Larson being here doing the second double, is there anybody from either the INDYCAR side or NASCAR side also attempt the double? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So many. So many. Gosh, we could have a huge laundry list of people that should do it. I think Blaney really wants to do it. Obviously McLaughlin. I want to do it. I think you could ask the majority of the field would want to do the double. It’s so much fun. It’s just very difficult to get that lined up. Doing what Kyle is doing right now, it’s harder than it looks. What I mean by that is just putting the program together. You would have a lot of people doing it if it was simple, I can promise you that. I think Kyle Busch has spoken publicly about trying to get something off the ground. That’s Kyle Busch. Should seem like it’s pretty likely for him to put a program together. It was quite difficult. Yeah, there’s a lot of people that want to do it. I would love to see Blaney do it at some point. I don’t know how he would do in INDYCAR, but it would be fun to see. Q. With how this race has ended the last few years, thrilling last-moments passes, going into this race, is there a certain time frame, a certain lap that you guys feel like would be the opportune time to pass for the lead? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s different every year. I didn’t predict anything the first two races. I didn’t know how they were going to flow. First one in ’23 was quite chaotic with the reds. It was very hard to track what was happening until the very last moment. Last year same deal. You’re just sort of going off instinct. It was a really big battle last year with multiple cars. I don’t know what this year’s going to look like. I think you have to stay very open-ended, at least as far as your plan or perspective. They’re all different. Maybe that’s not going to be the case this year what we saw the last two seasons. Maybe it doesn’t turn into that. Maybe it does. Even if it does, it might look differently than it did last year. I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you what it’s going to be. You have to be open to it. Q. There’s some very good drivers starting in the back, the rows in front of you. Does that give you confidence you guys will all race each other very well, or do you see that as they want to get to the front just as bad as they do? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think everybody is going to be of the same mentality. Everyone wants to get to the front as quickly as possible. I’m not sure how it affects me with the cars. I kind of look at the field, you’re against everybody here. I think everybody’s really capable. It’s not like, Hey, the first half of the cars I have to get through with the team, are they weak? I think everybody is going to be pretty strong throughout the field. You’ll have some weaker cars, but I don’t think they go in batches necessarily. Yeah, I’m not really looking at who’s lined up in the back to start. Q. Since Tom Brady played such a big role in your commercial on FOX, are we going to get a chance to compare each other’s jawlines? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that that’s necessary. If there’s a man for the job, it would be you, Bruce. We should put you on that assignment, yeah. We could get your camera out with your flash. I think you’d do a great job. Let’s put you up to that task (smiling). Q. On a human-to-human level, Will said it’s pretty heavy on Mr. Penske to make those fines with people he has a long relationship with. In what ways do you hope to be there for him in this time? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’m not going to comment further on the actions that have happened with the team this week, like I said earlier. Q. The NASH sign out there with you in the green hat, that is your real hand? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Does the photo look weird? Q. Only the hand. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Which one, the right one? Whichever one is exposed? Q. Yes. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That sounds weird, my exposed hand. Maybe it’s the ring, I don’t know. Q. Should put two rings on. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Now that you said that, I need to go look at that photo. It’s probably warped in some way. Maybe that was a strategy. We wanted people to be freaked out by my abnormally large hand and then visit the pop-up. Everybody should come out and check out my abnormally shaped hand at our pop-up and buy some NASH merch. Q. Do you think there’s going to be a lot of passing because the hybrid or not because of the hybrid? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you’re going to see a very similar show to last year. I really do. I don’t think we’re going to deviate much from the amount of passing or the style of passing, which is a good thing. We had a really good show last year, right? Still gets tricky with multiple cars in a pack. If you’re sitting three or four deep, you’re working harder to try and look for a mistake or an opening. But the ability for the front group to pass, certainly the first two, to get through the field a bit, I think it should be a similar show. It’s a little different way we’re getting there. You have to use the hybrid now within either attack or defense. So that strategy is different than last year because we didn’t have that. I think the ability to pass, et cetera, it should not deviate much from last year’s show, which is a good thing. Q. I remember two years ago you said that you have a specific plan in order to go to the front. I remember also that you said you already know, your team already know, the way to win this race. Do you already have in process this plan for this year in this specific situation? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, definitely. I don’t think the plan changes in a lot of ways. As far as how do you win the Indianapolis 500? I think there is no one formula. I know of a formula that you can prescribe to win the race. I don’t think it changes starting from 32nd. We know what we need to do throughout the race to give ourselves an opportunity to go for the win. I think that’s really not the secret, but it’s just the formula, if you will. You have to give yourself a chance at the right time. Seems simple, but this race, it’s an endurance in a lot of ways, it’s 500 miles. A lot you have to calculate through: the way you manage yellows, where you put yourself in the strategies, when you’re making moves, when you’re not. There’s a cadence to it. We’ve done it before, and we’ll try and do the exact same thing this weekend. Q. You spent years trying to celebrate with the fans. You never did it. Three in a row has never been done. Anything up your sleeve if you win on Sunday? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know yet. I don’t know yet. It’s kind of an in-the-moment thing. We’ll see. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming out. JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Thank you.

About General Motors

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Sting Ray Robb – Juncos Hollinger Racing

Starts 17th

THE MODERATOR: Sting Ray, for you, how important will those two hours tomorrow be?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for us it’s critical. We found an issue in the car on Monday with something that was affecting the handling, and so I had been struggling with it, and we couldn’t figure out what it was because it was one of those things that wasn’t bad enough yet. Finally it got bad enough on Monday and took it back to the garage and went, Oh, there it is.

I don’t really know what kind of race car I have, but I do know that it’s fast. Even though the balance hasn’t been good, the car has been very, very quick, which is kind of out of the ordinary. Usually it’s the other way around. You get really good balance but the car is not quick. This year it seems like these cars are just rapid.

I’m excited to see what we can did do for the race. Conor has been happy with his car. We both like a similar thing, which is nice. We can kind of use his foundation to build from.

Tomorrow is important for us. I think that we need to have that experience to find out what we need for the race.

Q.  Sting Ray, about the speed on the car, do you feel like you can compare what you feel last year with this year, like the little things that change with the hybrid and the things that are changed just for the setup of the car? How do you can explain us a little about this difference?

STING RAY ROBB: Compared to last year it’s a new team for me on the 500 setup, and the car is quite a bit different with the hybrid as well. It’s hard to compare, right? The hybrid unit itself, I don’t think it has changed too much of what the cars are. It’s added weight, but it’s also added a little bit of the tools in the deployment region in how you maximize those.

I think that the balance change has been pretty minimal in that sense. Then going from last year’s team to JHR this year, I think that the speed that’s naturally in the car this year is better than what I had last year, which is kind of nice. I think that that comes down to the preparation.

So I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. That’s not necessarily my job to know every little detail, but I do know that these guys have worked super hard to get these cars ready.

To be honest, I think it’s the same throughout the paddock, right? We see guys where they have their primary car and then an accident happens and they go to their backup car, and it’s just not the same. Thankfully for us we haven’t had that as far as an issue so far. We’ve been running our primary car, and it’s been very, very quick all week.

THE MODERATOR: Speak of experience for you, Sting Ray, Conor has led a lot of laps around this place. How has he helped you as a race car driver?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, Conor has been a great teammate for me this year. For him it’s nice to have some familiarity coming back to a team that he’s run at least a part of a season with.

I think that the things that he needs from the car is similar to what I need from the car, which is nice. Usually you have a certain driver going one way and a certain driver going another way, but this year it seems like we are kind of pushing the team in the same direction, which it’s nice when you can get two cars going in the same direction. Things happen a lot quicker that way because you don’t have to compromise.

So it’s been nice to kind of have a teammate that has similar feedback and is driving a similar car that I find to be good. We’ve seen it in other places other than here, right? I think Long Beach was a place that based off our street course setup we kind of pushed the team in the same direction. They had already been developing that way anyways.

Now coming to a track that Conor has done so well at, has so much experience at with different teams, he has a lot of knowledge, and also his approach to the car has been really good.

That’s the thing with the month of May. You can’t just outdrive anything. You kind of have to work up to it. You have to go through the process. You have to check all the boxes. That’s where the experience comes in is which boxes do I need to check today? Conor has done a good job to kind of help check those boxes for me throughout the week and the week prior to get ready for qualifying and all that, so it’s been very good.

THE MODERATOR: Setup similar between you?

STING RAY ROBB: Identical. You could copy one setup sheet to another. Part of that is I don’t know what kind of car I have, so we’ve just been following his leads.

THE MODERATOR: It’s a good leader certainly.

Q.  Just got one for Sting Ray. Obviously your two previous race setups have been different. The first time was quite difficult, and you had that incident after running. Last year you were running at the front for quite a large period of it. I guess from your perspective, how unusual is it to have such two vastly different experiences that you carry over into the race this year?

STING RAY ROBB: Yeah, those are very, very two different experiences, but I think that the last two years here have been very unique experiences for me just because it’s overwhelming the month of Indy 500. I think this year I’m in a much better place mentally, physically. I understand and have expectations that are much more appropriate for what this is.

I’ll take my leading experience from last year, and hopefully that will come in handy for this season. Starting a restart from first is a little bit different than starting it from 20th. Now I know what that’s like. Hopefully I’ll have another chance to do it again this year.

Q.  Especially in your rookie year you sort of said the off track stuff, all the commitments you have to do and all the other stuff got quite tiring. Now you’re in your third year. Has anything really changed? Have you got the schedule off track where you can manage all this?

STING RAY ROBB: The schedule has been way better this year compared to the first year I was in INDYCAR. I remember it was my mom — my momager as I affectionately call her — that was scheduling everything for me at that time. She just said yes to everything that she could.

Whether it was talking to someone about doughnut at their doughnut shop or someone that was with FOX Sports. You name it, we did every interview that we could that rookie season. I remember I didn’t interview in the car driving from one speaking event to another while eating my lunch. I was, like, Okay, that’s it, I’m not doing that again.

Now I have scheduled naps into my routine, which is way better. I like it a lot more.

THE MODERATOR: Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day?

STING RAY ROBB: I think for me outside of the racing there’s a lot of tradition here, and I’m still learning what it means to be an INDYCAR driver at the Indianapolis 500. Every year it seems like there’s another layer added to it.

I actually got to sit in on Jake Query giving a little bit of a speech earlier this month and just kind of the history of how the speedway came to be. It makes you appreciate the grounds a little bit more, the fans a little bit more, the city a little bit more, and it makes you realize the impact that we’re having is more than just driving race cars around a racetrack.

I think one of my favorite moments that I’ve experienced so far, and it’s been the same answer the last two years, but when they do the playing of the “Taps,” and it’s dead silent after, and you look around, and you can just see the sort of solemnness that’s in the air. It’s one of those things where it’s, like, Yeah, racing is cool, but it’s not everything.

It’s kind of a neat perspective to have on Memorial Day weekend being from America and appreciating that these are the freedoms that we’ve been doing to steward well. That’s part of the reason why we have the livery on the car that we have this year. It’s been a pleasure.

CONCORD, NC (May 22, 2025) – Pack your bags, because the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision is about to head out on a summer road trip.

After a break in the schedule allowing teams to partake in the Dirt Late Model Dream and the opening weeks of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, the season gets rolling again with the busiest stretch of racing of the year.

The Series will log more than 1,200 miles across four states between June 20-29, with seven nights of racing on the itinerary at six different tracks.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead:

I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park | St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff (June 20-21): One of the most universally loved tracks in dirt racing is back on the calendar in 2025.

For the first time in three years, the World of Outlaws will go head-to-head with the stars of the Hell Tour for a pair of races on the 1/4-mile. They’ll be joined by the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota and the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals to round out the tripleheader.

Dennis Erb Jr.’s three victories make him the only current Outlaw who has found Victory Lane with the Series at Pevely before, as he won for the first time in 2012 and then swept the weekend in 2022. Other past winners in the 11 World of Outlaws races held at the track since 2005 include Billy Moyer (’05), Clint Smith (’07), Shane Clanton (’08), Shannon Babb (’10), Josh Richards (’11, ’13) and Brandon Sheppard (’17, ’18).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Independence Motor Speedway | Monday Madness (June 23): The first of two Monday night events on the schedule is coming up this month with the seventh World of Outlaws stop at Iowa’s Independence Motor Speedway.

Bobby Pierce won the return trip to the 3/8-mile after a five-year hiatus last season, and he’s looking to go back-to-back this year. If someone else can get the job done, they’ll become the fifth World of Outlaws winner at Independence alongside Pierce, Richards (’11), Darrell Lanigan (’12, ’13, ’14) and Sheppard (’19).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

I-94 EMR Speedway | Fergus Falls Showdown (June 26): The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will make their first stop of the year in the “Gopher State” when they bring the Thursday night thunder to I-94 EMR Speedway.

The 2025 running of the Fergus Falls Showdown will be the race’s third edition – Frank Heckenast Jr. won the first World of Outlaws race at the track in 2021 before Pierce followed him up two years later in 2023.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

River Cities Speedway | Grand Forks Showdown (June 27): River Cities Speedway may be widely known as an annual highlight of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, but the North Dakota bullring has become a summertime staple for the Late Models as well.

The Series has been traveling to Grand Forks each year since the third season of the revitalized tour in 2006 when Lanigan took the inaugural victory. River Cities has been producing unforgettable racing ever since, and the list of winners is a who’s who of World of Outlaws history. In addition to Lanigan, past champions Richards (’09), Tim McCreadie (’11, ‘15), Clanton (’17, ‘22), Mike Marlar (’18), Sheppard (’19, ’20) and Erb (’21) have all graced Victory Lane, as have current Outlaws Ryan Gustin (’23) and Brian Shirley (’24).

For more event information, click here.

Norman County Raceway | Norman County Showdown (June 28): The World of Outlaws made their long-awaited debut at Norman County Raceway in 2024, and they’re back for more one year later.

Last summer featured a race of attrition, with Kyle Bronson, Pierce and Gustin all experiencing trouble while leading. That opened the door for Nick Hoffman, who got by Devin Moran with eight laps to go for his fifth win of the year.

For tickets and other event information, click here.

Nodak Speedway | Minot Mayhem (June 29): The busiest week of the season comes to an end with a four-hour westward tow to Minot, ND for the first World of Outlaws race at Nodak Speedway since 1989.

The 3/8-mile hosted a two-night show as part of the second season of the Series, with Moyer and Mitch Johnson splitting the wins. While Nodak has not hosted national-level Late Model racing since then, the Northern Late Model Racing Association has made plenty of appearances at the track over the past three decades – two of them being won by Donny Schatz (’18, ’19).

For tickets and other event information, click here.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing

Starts 18th

THE MODERATOR: Continuing with row six, the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 18th, making his second appearance in the Indy 500, the 2023 Champion of INDY NXT by Firestone, driver of the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet for ECR, it’s Christian Rasmussen, and starting 17th, he led 23 laps in last year’s race, driver of the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, great to have Sting Ray Robb with us. Devlin DiFrancesco is also in row six. He starts 16th. He will join us later this afternoon.

Christian, for you, tell us about looking ahead to tomorrow, which is obviously hugely important to get you ready for Sunday as well?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, looking forward to it. I think we’ve had a good month so far. We’ve had really fast race cars. We he missed out a little bit in qualifying, but we’re better than what we showed there.

Yeah, I’m excited. Excited to get started. We had a good race here last year. I was able to move forward, so hopefully we can do that again.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about — we’ll start with Christian — having Rossi on board now, a guy that’s won this race, that’s been around here a lot. Ed has been around here a lot. You’ve worked with Ed now for the second year. How much has experience helped you at a place like Indianapolis?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, he’s been a massive asset not only here but the whole year. Alex comes in with a ton of experience. Obviously won around here, but he’s in his ninth year of INDYCAR, 10th year of INDYCAR.

THE MODERATOR: It’s his 10th Indy 500.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: No, it’s been amazing having him on board. I think Alex’s feedback to the car, knowing what’s going on is exceptional and more than anyone that I’ve ever worked with closely, so it’s been really good. He’s been helping on moving this whole project forward.

THE MODERATOR: It just seems, too, the team has a lot of momentum commercially speaking, and then obviously you’re seeing performance on track too, which I think has improved this year over last year. What is the momentum like for the team?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, for sure it’s there. It’s like Rome was built in a day and it’s not you get a new guy in and things are going to change overnight. It’s a process. I think Alex has really helped move that process in the right direction, and I think, like you are saying, I think results are getting better and better. I think this is just the start of it.

Q.  I’m wondering here, going into your second Indianapolis 500, finished 12th last year, great result. What are your thoughts going into your second Indianapolis 500? Do you think there’s going to be less nerves maybe, or just because it’s Indy, are those butterflies still going to be in your stomach coming back here for a second year?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, I think there will always be butterflies when you are just about to start the Indianapolis 500, but no, just as the month as a whole, I’ve been a lot more calm in a way this year just kind of knowing what to expect a little bit more, having been through it all one time before.

You just know what to expect a little bit more, which makes it — yeah, at least for me I’ve just been able to have a little calmer approach, which has been nice.

Q.  Christian, it seems that turn two might be your favorite corner. I was just curious if you know what’s happened there in terms of why that seems to have been a place where the car kind of got away from you?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: Yeah, the first time we thought we had a certain setup with the car. We were feeling very competitive up to that point. We had slight differences to the other car, but at that point when I did my first spin, we were I think 33 laps on tires. So it was a very easy one to brush off.

I was a little bit low, super old tires, and we just kind of thought that that was just one of them. So when we came back for practice the other day, we put on that same setup of the car because that’s where we felt the most competitive. 

Obviously went out on new tires, and the same thing happened.

So it was just kind of out of the ordinary. The rear just kind of stepped out on the car on both instances out of nowhere with not really any sign of it wanting to do so. So, yeah, obviously we’ve kind of had to re-evaluate the package that we are bringing and adapting a little bit from the other cars and kind of going towards that direction.

Q.  Do you have a similar setup to your two teammates?

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: It’s very similar. It’s been slight differences throughout the month. We’ve done things on the 21 car that the 20 and the 33 has adopted, and the other way around as well. That’s kind of how the team dynamic works around here. If you find a little bit of something that you find an advantage in, then we can adopt that on the different cars.

That was just kind of the instance here where we had a thing that wasn’t really working for us, and we adopted some from the other cars.

STING RAY ROBB: I will say that you did it fairly well considering the other guys that had done it.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: About as good as you can.

STING RAY ROBB: That was impressive. I was puckered up watching like, Oh, all right, he’s okay, we’re all good.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The first time the only damage we had was a slight crack on the rear wing.

STING RAY ROBB: That’s pretty good. Very impressive.

THE MODERATOR: Very impressive. Just after having experienced the Indy 500, both of you, once, twice, what’s your favorite part of race day? Christian, start with you.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN: The racing (laughing). I love racing around here. I think it’s so cool. I think you can do stuff around here that you can’t really do anywhere else. The racing on ovals in general are different from racing on a street circuit.

Obviously it’s super special being here. Walking through Gasoline Alley with 350,000-plus people, that’s a whole other story, but on the racetrack I think, yeah, it’s the coolest event that we do.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Callum Ilott – PREMA Racing

Starts 21st

THE MODERATOR: Continuing on with Row 7 for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. Starting 21st, making his fourth start in the 500 from England, driver of the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet, it’s Callum Ilott.

Starting 20th last year’s INDY NXT by Firestone champion, a rookie from England, driver of the No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Louis Foster.

And starting 19th, ready for his first leg of the Hendrick 1100, once he arrives here, Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren 

Chevrolet. Callum, let’s start with you. Looking forward to getting back in the car, I’m assuming, tomorrow?

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, we agreed that we would start before Kyle gets here. You can ask us some questions before the star arrives.

No, really happy to get back going with the race car. Monday was the first time I got to do some laps in the pack because we’ve been focusing on qualifying. Yeah, felt really good, actually. Really strong. I was happy.

I think I was able to overtake a few people, but still a couple of cars are quite a bit faster. Yeah, I think we can move forward quite a bit.

Q.  Callum, given that this is PREMA’s first oval race, obviously we saw what happened with Robert, but what have you seen in the team that’s helped them get up to speed — pardon the pun — over the last several days in practice leading up to qualifying?

CALLUM ILOTT: I mean, they’ve just progressed and progressed and progressed. Each day the cars got better and better, and we focused a lot on qualifying. We got my car into the field pretty easily, and Robert exceeded expectations by a mile, and then the race car, look, we had our first proper go at it on Monday.

I think it’s a big, big challenge for Robert and his car to learn that quickly in two days, how the timing of everything works. They’re going to give it a go, and he’s starting in the sharp end of things.

Yeah, it’s like any other race. Once you are out there, you just have to execute with strategy and pit stops. We’ve got enough people with experience on the team to get those right.

Q.  Then for Callum, two years ago you finished 12th here. Last year you finished 11th. How do you feel about your chances of picking up your first Indy 500 top 10 or better this year?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think pretty good. We’ve exceeded expectations as a team so far this week and last week. I think the team is only improving and improving. Yeah, we just have to execute. I feel like I’ve got a good enough understanding of ovals to move forward from the starting position. Yeah, just have to build on it.

Last year I was in the pit lane when the race started. I was also last again, like, I think, lap 110 and managed to come back through to 11th. Speed is good, and we’ll have to see. Pretty high chances hopefully.

Q.  How do you think the race is going to flow with the hybrid this year and all the tools you’re going to be using?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think the thing is you get so much use of the hybrid per lap everybody is going to be on it. It’s the same basically. Everyone will be in the same rhythm. You recharge in the corner when you let off and let off the gas and then deploy on the exit. It just makes everything the same.

I’m sure that some people can do a slightly better job than others with it, but it’s not exactly the most challenging thing right now. It’s just another — I think in qualifying it was more challenging if you were doing a complicated way with it. It can get very complicated. But there was more time in getting the car right than there was in getting the hybrid right, so…

LOUIS FOSTER: Even then in qualifying, getting the hybrid perfect was like nothing.

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, it doesn’t — yeah.

LOUIS FOSTER: It’s another thing to do on the straights. I think it’s a bit of a “get out of jail free” card. I think if you make a mistake, before you would lose your momentum. With the hybrid it helps to pick up the momentum. You have guys behind you that have that additional momentum. It’s just another button to press.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

KYLE LARSON – HendrickCars.com Arrow McLaren

Starts 19th

THE MODERATOR: Kyle, busy weekend ahead. You set, ready to go?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m excited about it. It’s obviously a really cool opportunity. I think the weather looks good so far. It changes every day at this point.

THE MODERATOR: We don’t need the pessimism. It’s looking good on Sunday.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Knock on wood.

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, we’re ready to go.

Q.  Kyle, I wanted to ask you, coming back this year, what is the biggest difference for you? Is it just kind of ease of getting around? Do you know how the flow is going to go, or is it something specifically on track you feel that much more comfortable? What is it like year two compared to year one?

KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. It’s been different a little bit. I feel like it’s obviously been a little more challenging with a couple of smaller crashes that we’ve had and then just having to work on the balance of the car more than we did last year.

I feel like last year we didn’t really have to mess with a whole lot. I thought the balance was pretty comfortable, but it’s just taken a little bit more time to get to that comfortable spot this year.

Happy with where we’re at now. Yeah, you know, just kind of focused on both of the races at this point.

Kyle, Josef Newgarden has a very fast car. He’s starting in the back. What do you expect to see? You’ve seen guys in NASCAR with fast cars come from the back through the field. You as a driver at mid-pack, what do you expect to see him be able to do? What does a driver like you also do to race your way up to the front?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I think it’s going to be really exciting for fans to watch Josef carve his way to the front. I think he’s definitely got a fast car, one of the most experienced drivers out there, bravest — one of the bravest guys out there too.

It will be tough to pick his way forward, but I think he’ll be able to execute his way to the front along with a good car. He’ll be great on restarts. He will execute good pit stops. It’s the unknown of if there’s an accident in front of him and stuff that he can’t avoid, things like that. He’ll have no problem getting his way to the front.

Q.  As far as you, there’s a lot of times the way NASCAR races play out you might get mid-pack and you race your way back to the front. How easy or difficult will that be to do that on this track?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s not easy at any track and NASCAR either to drive your way to the front, but that’s where you have to rely on the people around you, your team, and the car that they’ve built and provided, your pit crew, your strategist.

You can’t just do it all on your own at this level. So, yeah, I think for any of us in the field, you have to rely on your team. That’s what we’ll be doing. That’s what everybody will be doing.

Q.  Kyle, I know the restarts were a little bit problematic last year for you. Is there anything you have been able to do with the team to working on that and prepare, or is that something you literally have to do in a race because you can’t really necessarily practice here to do stuff like that?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah. I mean, you don’t get the chance to practice restarts in practice, but yeah, I just had that one kind of mishap last year where I think I kind of hit the rev limiter right when I went to shift to second, and then it got me confused if it did shift, and I think I hit it again maybe or something and ended up in the wrong gear.

You know, I was able to kind of overcome that and had — I would say every restart after that was pretty good. We would gain a spot or three. It was honestly probably good for this year I think to go and have that bad restart and then you have to get aggressive on some others to learn for this year having to start from, I don’t know, row seven or wherever we’re at.

Yeah, I think it’s tough. You get a lot of laps throughout these couple of weeks, but there’s still more to learn during the race than practice. Just getting into the rhythm of all that is a challenge. But, I mean, there’s a lot of us out there that really don’t have that much experience racing on ovals for some of these guys. Specifically, the Indy 500.

Q.  Kyle, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t really want to use your tools, like your weight jacker last year. This year you’ve got the hybrid in addition to that. How much have you been using that or messing with it? Do you think it will be a big thing for you during the race?

KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I have definitely gotten more — I think last year I was just scared to do anything. I think my balance was, like, in a happy spot last year, and I was like, I don’t want to go and — I didn’t know how sensitive everything was going to be.

This year, yeah, I’ve definitely played around with it a lot more. I feel like even last year I was afraid to do things in the short chute, moving bar. This year I’ve gotten way more comfortable with doing those things.

The hybrid is, I feel like, hyped up as being this crazy new thing, but it’s really not a big deal either, I don’t think. I don’t know what these guys think. But you just pull the paddle and go. When you want more charges, hit a button. It’s not really, like, a big deal.

Yeah, there is definitely more to the cockpits than what we’re used to all year long in NASCAR or sprint car racing, but yeah, I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of it more this time around.

Q.  Kyle, do you have anything to add? (about how the hybrid 

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, do you have anything to add?

KYLE LARSON: No. To me it doesn’t really — like he just said, it doesn’t change the style of racing to me. So, yeah, it’s just kind of another button that you have that you have to do that probably doesn’t really affect much of anything anyway. Yeah.

Q. Kyle, the thing about it is you’re at an iconic speedway here. You’ve got a fellow New Zealander now in cut with you. Then you were a regular feature at Western Springs Speedway at New Zealand over the years. It’s sadly closed now. What’s a memory that you have of racing Down Under in New Zealand?

KYLE LARSON: I always love going to New Zealand. It’s probably some of the best racing memories that I have to this point, just getting to spend time down there with our Kiwi friends that have kind of turned into family and other Americans going there to race. Racing 15 minutes outside of Auckland with 15,000 people there for a dirt race was pretty crazy. The racing was always good. You had off days to spend as vacation going to Waiheke Island and going on wine tastings on your scooter, and all that was fun.

Yeah, I haven’t gotten to go since 2019 and ’20, so I’ve missed going there. I wish I could have got there for the final season, but yeah, it’s just unfortunate, but hopefully maybe someday it will reopen.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Nolan Siegel – Arrow McLaren

Starts 24th

THE MODERATOR: The weather looks good. Nolan, for you, same story? The difference of the balance, the feel in the car between qualifying and the race?

NOLAN SIEGEL: I definitely feel the same as Kyle where qualifying was, I think, tough for everyone. It was a bit weird, I would say, how strong we felt on Monday relative to kind of the opposite on Saturday, which I guess is a good thing, but it’s been a bit confusing for us.

We’ve, I feel like, been really strong at some points and then weaker at other points. And qualifying day we weren’t as good as we thought we were going to be, and Monday we came back, and the car is fast and we’re really competitive in traffic.

Hopefully that stays that way, but it’s been very up and down. It’s been interesting. It’s been interesting.

Q. Nolan, for you as well, and we’ll just call you Kirk too. Your thoughts? First 500. As we mentioned, there’s a bunch of veterans in and around you. Is your mindset, great, I’m going to go in front of them right away? Or is it do I play it safe, learn from them, and then attack? What’s the mindset?

NOLAN SIEGEL: It depends how it plays out. No, I feel — starting where I am, I feel a lot better that I’m starting around great people that are also going to be moving their way forward. Yeah, I couldn’t ask for better people to be around.

If I can slot in behind Helio and follow him through the pack, then that’s going to be a great learning experience for me. Obviously he knows how to get around here.

Yeah, it’s definitely — starting where I am, it’s not where I would want to be starting, but it’s kind of the best-case scenario being where I am. So we’ll see. I’m going to do what I can. I’m going to try to be smart for the first part, but I think you can’t just sit around in INDYCAR. There’s no INDYCAR race where you sit around and wait, things just come to you. You kind of have to go get it.

I’ll try to move my way forward and be smart about it at the same time.

Q. Nolan, take me back to Sunday. You were watching Jacob Abel and trying to make the field, and it was the situation that you were in a year before. I’m sure you were relieved you weren’t in the cockpit at that time. Did it bring back some emotions? Did you have any opportunity to talk to Jabel and discuss, hey, I know the exact feeling, and maybe you and him might be the only two in the last two years that have felt that?

NOLAN SIEGEL: I have spoken to Jacob, and I stood out on pit lane with Jack Harvey, who was there with me through it all last year. It’s just hard. Someone has to go home, but no matter what, there’s no one in the field that you want to see go home. It’s just hard.

I know exactly what Jacob was going through. I have a lot of respect for Jacob. We’ve raced against each other for a long time, known each other for a long time, all through the Road to Indy.

Yeah, it definitely brought back some memories from last year. While I was happy to not be doing that on Sunday, it was hard not to feel for him and feel for the whole team. Like everyone there has put in so much work to be here in the first place, and to see a group of people go home with nothing, it’s hard.

Q.  Nolan, your famous quote last year was “I wasn’t going to go home because I lifted.” Is there a part of you that is amazed at the path your life has taken over the past 12 and 13 months since that day?

NOLAN SIEGEL: Yeah, definitely. I feel very, very lucky to be here. While I feel settled and obviously I’ve been in the same spot for long enough now for it to kind of feel normal, it is cool being here and looking back one year and thinking about all that’s happened.

I feel very grateful to be in the position that I’m in, and a lot of great things have happened in the past year. I just want to make the most of all the opportunities that I’ve been given. That’s my goal here.

Yeah, grateful to have another shot at this race obviously, and it’s been my goal for a long time to be full-time in INDYCAR, and to do it with a team like Arrow McLaren is really special. Yeah, I just want to make the most of that amazing opportunity.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Ryan Hunter-Reay – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Starts 25th

THE MODERATOR: Ryan, do you care to introduce your guest?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, this is Ryden over here. He just is graduating from fifth grade and missing his last week of school to be here because he would rather be nowhere else, so that’s what we’re doing.

THE MODERATOR: Your thoughts about missing your last week of school? Grab the microphone. What’s it like to miss the last week of school for this?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: I think it’s better than going to school. Way better.

THE MODERATOR: We agree. We’ll open it up for questions for all three, or four, for that matter.

Q.  You guys are staying across the street. You get to come and watch your dad race. That’s pretty cool. Your friends get into it? What’s this week like staying so close to the track and having this place as your playground?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: It’s really cool because we get to kind of scooter everywhere. Yeah, really fun.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Like his own little playground here. Tough life.

Q.  This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q.  My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, I think qualifying day, really Saturday is probably the longest day of the whole year for anybody involved in this business and especially from behind the wheel. It’s extremely stressful, but I think over time over the years you just learn to kind of deal with that.

It never gets old, though. It’s not like it becomes less stressful. You just deal with it in a different way, and you manage that a bit more. Yeah, it’s always come with a lot of pressure and obviously consequences on the racetrack and all that stuff. It’s part of the job.

Q. Then for Ryan, you’re a former winner here at the 500, so you know what it takes to finish up front here. What’s one thing that the rookies or the younger drivers don’t realize about this race until they’re, like, deep into it?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: It’s a long race really. Like kind of Colton said, you can’t really just focus on I have to get to the front now. It’s several cars at a time. Get some on the track. Get some in the pit lane. Work through it methodically that way.

You know, I think just knowing when to take the lunge and when not to, I think maybe the experienced guys have an upper hand on that, with it being all about keeping the momentum up. It’s tough now, though, with the cars how they are and the current specs, everybody is very desperate for every pass. 

There’s a lot of blocking going on.

It’s definitely a bit of a different approach than it’s been maybe, I don’t know, ten years ago, but we all adapt to that and drive accordingly.

THE MODERATOR: Ryden, who is going to win on Sunday?

RYDEN HUNTER-REAY: My dad.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: There it is.

THE MODERATOR: Right answer. Guys, thanks for coming up.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Jack Harvey – Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

Starts – 26th

THE MODERATOR: Jack, rising TV star at FOX Sports, putting that aside for at least a week. How much are you looking forward to Carb Day tomorrow and then obviously on race day?

JACK HARVEY: I think with all the drivers it’s always a privilege to get to compete in the Indy 500. Probably like a lot of people, we felt good on Monday, so we’re hoping that just translates to Friday and the race.

Q.  Jack, for you, race car looked pretty good. How much is it patience and how much is it wanting to go forward because there could be a lot of potential we’ll see? Restarts are going to be key here. How do you methodically work your way up knowing you have a good race car underneath you?

JACK HARVEY: I think patience is probably the right word. It’s obviously a super long race. We really just need to be there from halfway to the end. I think feels like a pretty fast row, at least from what I observed on Monday. So I think we’re all probably hoping that if one of us is going to the front, that we all just kind of as a convoy go to the front as well.

One thing that has been really cool with working with everyone at Dreyer & Reinbold and Cusick Motorsports is the emphasis they put on the pit stops and the preparation they’ve done. So far the stops have looked really great in practice. So I think that’s going to be more of an asset to us than a hindrance, which I think for a part-time or single-race team, it’s a really huge thing.

If the car is good and balance is good and everything is ticking away nicely, then hopefully we’ll have a great day.

Q.  This is for both Ryan and Jack. I’m curious how your approach and preparation for this race has changed from when you were racing full-time to this year where it’s your only INDYCAR race on the schedule, especially when driving for a team that’s also done a one-off?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: Yeah, it’s different for sure. It’s a lot to get on top of because you have a whole — you have a massive group of people coming together that need to operate and execute as efficiently as possible in a very short amount of time. There’s a lot more to be on top of, which it kind of comes a little bit more natural when you are running the whole season because you’ve been working with those folks, and you’re kind of in your rhythm.

But with that said, from a driving perspective, Indy is so unique. Indy is Indy, so there’s nothing different on that side of it. It’s more just trying to get that large group of people together and make sure that everything is kind of as you need it.

With all the new scenarios and protocols with the hybrid and trying to get — and it’s our first weekend with that as well. It’s our first, I should say, race with that. Yeah, it’s just a lot to manage on that side, but this group does a great job with that every year. It’s a fun group to work with. It’s not so bad having Jack there either.

JACK HARVEY: That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We’ve been working really well together. It’s been fun.

JACK HARVEY: Been getting choked out by your kids and RKO’d, and now a Ryan compliment. This week is pretty much complete, I think, at this point.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: They nicknamed him Muffin Man.

JACK HARVEY: The bad nicknames, that’s become my thing. Then I came into Ryan’s RV the other day and “Pirates of the Caribbean” was on, and I said, Well, you could call me Captain Jack. And then that’s low-key pivot into Captain Muffin. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just an easy target for bad names.

I think one thing, only doing the 500 this year, you hear all the drivers say, oh, I enjoy the month of May, but I don’t think all the drivers do enjoy the month of May because they’ve been busy up to May. The season is going good for some people. It’s going bad for others. Everyone else, apart from us, really, is going straight to Detroit.

When I say I’ve enjoyed everything this May, I mean that. Every media availability that we’ve had, I haven’t done anything other than totally willingly, every sponsor dinner that we’ve been to, because I’m grateful to be here, knowing this is, as is stands right now, the only time I’m going to wear my helmet this year. Even on some off days where in other years I wouldn’t come to the track, I wouldn’t — I would take that time for myself, where right now I’ve just been here taking it all in.

Having Ryan as a teammate who has been great when we’re on track, and his feedback to the team is huge. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, they know this disco dance. They get prepared for it as a single event every year anyway. I think they probably help us both navigate some of that. Also, from a timing perspective, when it’s time to ramp up, et cetera, I really think I’ve just enjoyed the month.

Q.  First of all, Jack, you’re a lad from Lincolnshire. How on earth have you acquired the nickname Hollywood? It seems like you’ve been forced to embrace it now it seems?

JACK HARVEY: That’s a pretty accurate observation, I would say. I think it started by — well, it definitely — I know it started by Will Buxton. I see Kevin. He was a culprit in this too. So between the booth and Kevin, and I low-key think Georgia was involved. I can’t remember exactly how Hollywood Harvey came up.

Just for context, the village that I grew up in is like 1,000 people in a small town in a small part of the United Kingdom two hours north of London. This is a rural place, guys. The fact that Hollywood Harvey is my nickname, I have my friends who didn’t get to see the build-up to it. They’re, like, Oh, big-time now, you’re on TV. I’m, like, I know it’s going to come across that way. Even these hooligans, they all heckle me now saying Hollywood and stuff. Kind of been forced to embrace it.

I

‘ve had worse. Muffin Man is worse, I have to admit. So maybe we’ll make a game out of just bad nicknames, but if it was an Olympic sport, I think I would be gold medalist right now.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: — got a very explicit British vocabulary now.

JACK HARVEY: Ryan has been watching some TV shows, and his vocabulary has rapidly improved.

THE MODERATOR: For instance?

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: We can’t give that out.

Q.  This question is for Hollywood. I’m just kind of curious. You have driven Honda your entire career. This is the first time you’ve ever had Chevy. I’m kind of curious what the differences you’ve noticed with the power band pounding laps around Indy.

JACK HARVEY: Nothing crazy, honestly. I would say, too, just top-tier organizations. My time with Chevy so far has been really good. I think probably some of what I hear other people talking about is the drivability of the car, on throttle application. That probably shows up more so on a street circuit and then road course and then probably least affected at the oval.

Yeah, my time with Chevy so far has been really great. Yeah, first race weekend not in a Honda, but that’s fine. It would be pretty cool if I can’t win it, to see Ryan win it, and then just a Chevy driver after that really.

Q.  My question is to all three drivers. May is the Mental Health Awareness Month for INDYCAR. It brings a lot of excitement and a lot of pressure as well to perform. How have you guys been coping with that pressure as you prepare for the race?

JACK HARVEY: I set boundaries with people from the team, sponsors, myself, et cetera. We do what is absolutely required, but after that if it’s 10 o’clock at night, if it’s urgent, you can call me. If it’s not urgent, let me have that moment to myself and unwind.

One thing I did this month, which hopefully you guys will do too, is watch “Andor Star Wars,” but I paced it out. I watched an episode a day because I used that as my time to unwind and do something I actually enjoyed.

Not taking on more than I could feasibly do and having boundaries I think was the best thing that I implemented this month of May.

RYAN HUNTER-REAY: So I’m working on my vocabulary. You are watching “Star Wars.”

THE MODERATOR: How was it?

JACK HARVEY: It was excellent. It’s like top tier “Star Wars,” Dave.

Q.  This question is for Jack. Jack, obviously you’ve got your new role with Fox, but what has it been like switching off from that for the month of May and being on track back in the car?

JACK HARVEY: It’s been pretty easy, honestly. I would say the opportunities that Fox has been given to me this year have been brilliant. It’s kept me in the paddock amongst all my pals and in an environment and a community that I like to be a part of.

Only getting to race once a year, I knew we had a lot of free time. Finally when I got the call from them, I was just really happy. That’s an area I still have to work on. It’s not totally my comfort zone. I feel like we’re making progress on it. Wearing the helmet, putting the suit back on, that’s still a place where I feel the most at ease, the most confident. It’s been if un.

Actually one thing I’ll share, both FOX Sports and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing with Cusick Motorsports, both organizations — I guess three organizations there, haven’t really overlapped. Everyone has been very respectful when it’s been time to be a pit reporter and then announce the NXT races and then also when it’s time to be driver.

The mutual respect between everybody has probably allowed me to focus on both jobs that I have this year to 100%. I’m very appreciative of that. When we’ve been able to maybe speak to the guys when I’m in the car, that’s just a fun bonus, but it’s come at a time that’s convenient to the team, convenient for the booth.

So, yeah, I feel like I’m living a pretty awesome life, honestly.

Q.  Just a quick one on Dennis and Don. What’s it been like working with those two guys?

JACK HARVEY: They’re awesome, honestly. A lot of respect for everybody at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Cusick Motorsports. It takes a village to be competitive at this. We all know that. We’ve had a great team of people right at the very top. It’s hard to get that message across.

What the team, both sets of teams, stand for and how they want to be, they radiate all the time. And they set the tone, and it trickles down through the entire — well, through both organizations. I think me and Ryan are lucky that as a single-race entry that we’re with both of those teams.

Q.  Then for Jack, you’ve been in the pit lane all season as a reporter, like you mentioned earlier. How has seeing the sport from the broadcast side changed your perspective as a driver coming back for this 500 run?

JACK HARVEY: It’s probably just appreciation for what goes into actually a good show and a good presentation of the INDYCAR SERIES, whether it’s TV, radio. So much more goes on than I think drivers are typically exposed to. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just everyone is doing their jobs.

More so just some appreciation and respect and gratitude for how hard so many people work just to try and make this a great product that people can come watch.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday May 22, 2025

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Will Power – Team Penske 

Starts 33rd

THE MODERATOR: Starting 33rd, he was the winner of the 2018 Indianapolis 500, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, good morning, Will Power.

Will, start off for you. Obviously you’re looking forward to getting out on the racetrack tomorrow. A couple of hours of practice before the race on Sunday. How crucial will those two hours be for you?

WILL POWER: I think because of the temperature it will be interesting. I think it’s going to matter. It certainly changes the car a lot. It’s very sensitive around this place to wind and temperature. It will be interesting to see how that feels.

I kind of feel like it helps everyone. It’s a bit more grip for everyone, a bit more downforce, less tire deg. I feel like it will be a race similar to last year where the cool track temps created a lot of close racing and epic restarts and so on.

Q. Will, you’ve been with Tim Cindric, Ron, and Kyle for a long time. Roger had to make the decision that he made, but for you personally these were more than just people you worked with. They were your friends. They’ve been to your house, up at the lake. Just how sad is it for you to see that these great careers now have this happen to them?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s kind of a shock and a pity. They’re all extremely good at their job. Yeah, it was just the pressure from outside. I guess Roger had to make a tough decision, but I can tell you these were very credible people. They really were. As you know, the infraction was very minor. It wasn’t a performance gain. Yeah.

I called Ron. Obviously he’s on my car. I didn’t get him. But yeah, I feel bad for everyone involved in that situation. I really do. It’s just a tough — I don’t know what else to say. They’re all extremely good people, great at their job, won a lot of races, championships, created an incredible team.

Yeah, a real pity.

Q. Talking to Rick Mears the other night, he said you can win the Indy 500 from any seat in the house, so obviously that’s the mindset you both have. If you could just describe how challenging it’s going to be to have a fast car coming up from the back?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s certainly tougher these days with the very tight field, but absolutely possible. Obviously depending on where yellows fall and so on, you can certainly find yourself in a really good spot.

The car is good. The car is fast. It feels like it’s good in traffic. I have started back there before. Yeah, so looking for a very, very clean, good day. Good, solid day.

Q. Will, did you have any input, or did you lobby for anybody to be your strategist for this weekend and/or are you going to lobby for anyone specific going forward?

WILL POWER: Have they —

Q. They’ve announced it.

WILL POWER: Roger asked what he would like, and he asked my engineer and all the engineers, What’s the best way to do this? They’re all very capable people on each car. I think it wouldn’t have mattered who they went with. I got Jonathan Diuguid, who is extremely experienced and has been an engineer and run INDYCARs before.

I think between Dave and Jonathan, those two guys are incredibly smart and understand strategy, everything. It’s a very strong group for all three cars.

Q. Obviously when things were going on on Sunday, there seemed to be other teams telling INDYCAR about what you all were doing. There was a lot of talk about did they tip off INDYCAR? Are you angry at other teams? Are you upset? Do you come in here with a kind of chip on your shoulder after what happened on Sunday?

WILL POWER: Yeah, no, I don’t know what I’m allowed to say, but I know what happened. Obviously, yeah, you want to — I just want to do a good job for all the guys on the team on Sunday. That’s sort of the main — I’m just very focused on the race. Not really out to get anyone.

It’s the circumstance that it is, and we’re all very motivated to have a good day, sort of try to put this stuff behind us. Yeah, you know, news cycles move pretty quick, so if you can throw a win in there, that would certainly be a good way to move forward, yeah.

Q. Will, I know we all learned about this yesterday morning at about 10:40 via email. How did you find out about the news and the decisions that Roger had made?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I was called in to see Roger at RP1 there. Yeah, that’s how I found out. Jonathan and Bud in there as well, and spoke to the drivers, yeah.

Q. You said, I think, in your initial comments — you said you felt like Roger either was forced to make this or had external pressures to make this. How did your — I know it’s a private conversation, but how did your conversation with Roger go, and what did he say to you to explain why he felt like he was having to make these moves?

WILL POWER: I know it was very tough for him. He said that. It’s obviously a very tough decision to make. He said he didn’t sleep the night before because he had to make a very hard decision.

I feel bad for him. He’s in a very tough spot in that situation. Yeah, it wasn’t really a long conversation with us. He just explained what happened. You could tell it was heavy on him. Tough, tough for him to have to do that.

Q. Will, is it hard for you being swept up in this, in something that you didn’t do that to the car?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, man, I’ve been around long enough to shut that stuff out and still focus on the thing that you’re here to do, and that’s to get the absolute most out of the car. You still have to do your homework. You can’t be distracted by all this. My main focus is Sunday, and that’s true. I’m not too swept up in it. I’ve got plenty of time after the race to think about that, but we’re coming up on the biggest race of the year for us.

Yeah, I think everyone — I feel like everyone on the team is positive and very motivated. I think being the driver you need to show that this is not affecting you, and you’re very focused on the job at hand, and I am. I am. I haven’t allowed too much emotional stress to take away energy that I need on Sunday.

Tough situation, but we still got a job to do.

Q. You touched a little bit on how it felt like it was heavy for Roger. What kind of impact do you think this could have on him? Obviously he cares a lot about his integrity and credibility.

WILL POWER: I think Roger moves forward very quickly. I know him over the years, he makes decisions. He moves forward. Doesn’t dwell on it. Starts looking at what is absolutely best for the team and everyone to move forward. That’s Roger. That’s why he’s so successful.

He’s not going to sit and spend a month worrying about what happened. I think he’s how can we fix this and let’s move forward and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Q. I don’t know if there is such a thing as being extra motivated because I know how highly motivated you guys always are, but is there any sense of that this weekend, that you guys have to really pull together and that this is an opportunity to rise like you never have before?

WILL POWER: I think it just kind of makes you lock in. You know, yeah, I think everyone is just locked in on the job. People have to step up now because we’re missing some key individuals, and that can be motivating for people. Like, all right, I’ve got to take on more work and responsibility. You know, that’s all of us in the team right now.

I think you get the best out of people in those situations. No one is ever ready for that. That’s why competition is so good. I think that’s what always gets the best out of me is tough situations. You see how good you really are.

Q. Will, we know you can be an emotional guy. How quickly did you kind of get over this and start looking forward? What is the driver’s reaction? I know Monday we were out here for the photo. What’s been the other competitors that you go up against — what’s been their reaction to this?

WILL POWER: I actually haven’t seen any of them. Yeah, I haven’t really talked to them. Everyone kind of goes home for a couple of days.

Man, I’ve been focused on the job, just doing all the homework I need to do. Obviously my engineer is more busy now. He has more obligations. But, you know, we have to be very good with finding time to sit down and make sure we don’t weaken the program or our potential for this weekend.

Yeah, everyone is positive in the team. They understand this is the biggest race of the year, and we want to have a great result. Yeah, it’s just an incredible number of circumstances that just you would never have dreamed of would play out like this. It’s just crazy. That’s Indianapolis. You just never know, man.

Look, PREMA turns up first year on pole and two of our cars are on the back row. Scotty crashed in practice with probably the car for pole. That’s Indy. A lot of pressure. So much effort goes in, and these sort of things happen, you know?

In some ways, having been around so long, it’s not that shocking. Like, oh, my God. These things happen. Strange things — like the year we almost didn’t make the field. Just things you wouldn’t think. This place just throws real curveballs at you. That’s just the way it is. It’s a very daunting, tough race to win, and the consequences are big when you make a mistake on and off the track.

Yeah, I guess that’s what makes it so special.

BATAVIA, Ohio (May 22, 2025) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing annual Georgia-Florida Speedweeks calendar will have a significant revamp in 2026. The rework will cause the entire Georgia-Florida Speedweeks schedule for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing to shift to a time after the Daytona 500. The traditional 12 nights of racing, with over $650,000 in purse money available, now begins at All-Tech Raceway, then moves to Ocala Speedway, and wraps up at Golden Isles Speedway. “Teams have been looking for a change to Speedweeks; we listened,” said Rick Schwallie, Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing Director. “Racing in mid-January has become too daunting for everyone. The off-season isn’t long enough, and the gap between Speedweeks and the regular season is too much. The weather is also very unpredictable. If teams and fans are going to travel for Speedweeks, we want to provide them with a sure bet and give them an experience they can enjoy.” The action will get underway on Wednesday, February 18, with an open practice at All-Tech Raceway in Lake City, Fla., followed by three straight nights of racing from Thursday, February 19, through Saturday, February 21. Those events will pay $10,000, $12,000, and $15,000 to win, respectively. From there, the tour will head to Ocala Speedway in Ocala, Fla – beginning with an open practice on Monday, February 23, followed by five nights of racing. On Tuesday and Wednesday, teams will compete for a chance to win $7,000. Drivers will be gunning for a $10,000 top prize on Thursday, February 26, and a $12,000 top prize on Friday, February 27. As the week comes to a close, $25,000 is on the line. The 2026 Speedweeks schedule will conclude at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, Ga. An open practice is planned for Tuesday, March 3. Racing action kicks off with a $7,000-to-win program on Wednesday, March 4, followed by a $10,000-to-win event on Thursday, March 5. Teams will vie for $12,000 to win on March 6, with Saturday’s finale featuring $25,000. Reserved seats and camping tickets are expected to go on sale soon. For the latest news, results, championship standings, and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. 2026 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing Speedweeks:Date – Track – Location – To Win – PurseWed. Feb. 18 – All-Tech Raceway – Lake City, FL – PracticeThurs. Feb. 19 – All-Tech Raceway – Lake City, FL – $10,000 – $48,575Fri. Feb. 20 – All-Tech Raceway – Lake City, FL – $12,000 – $52,800Sat. Feb. 21 – All-Tech Raceway – Lake City, FL – $15,000 – $63,400Mon. Feb. 23 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL – PracticeTue. Feb. 24 – Ocala Speedway* – Ocala, FL – $7,000 – $30,775Wed. Feb. 25 – Ocala Speedway* – Ocala, FL – $7,000 – $30,775Thurs. Feb. 26 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL – $10,000 – $48,575Fri. Feb. 27 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL – $12,000 – $52,800Sat. Feb. 28 – Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL – $25,000 – $82,800Tue. Mar. 3 – Golden Isles Speedway – Brunswick, GA – PracticeWed. Mar. 4 – Golden Isles Speedway* – Brunswick, GA – $7,000 – $30,775Thurs. Mar 5 – Golden Isles Speedway – Brunswick, GA – $10,000 – $48,575Fri. Mar. 6 – Golden Isles Speedway – Brunswick, GA – $12,000 – $52,800Sat. Mar. 7 – Golden Isles Speedway – Brunswick, GA – $25,000 – $82,800*Non-Championship Points Events 2026 Speedweeks Purses:$7,000 To Win: 1. $7,000, 2. $3,500, 3. $2,000, 4. $1,500, 5. $1,400, 6. $1,300, 7. $1,200, 8. $1,100, 9. $1,000, 10. $950, 11. $900, 12. $850, 13. $800, 14. $750, 15. $725, 16. $700, 17. $700, 18. $700, 19. $650, 20. $625, 21. $625, 22. $600, 23. $600, 24. $600 = $30,775 $10,000 To Win: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 $12,000 To Win: 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = $52,800 $15,000 To Win: 1. $15,000, 2. $7,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,000, 6. $2,500, 7. $2,400, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,800, 13. $1,600, 14. $1,500, 15. $1,400, 16. $1,300, 17. $1,200, 18. $1,100, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $63,400 $25,000 To Win: 1. $25,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,500, 6. $2,700, 7. $2,500, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,900, 13. $1,800, 14. $1,700, 15. $1,600, 16. $1,500, 17. $1,500, 18. $1,500, 19. $1,500, 20. $1,500, 21. $1,500, 22. $1,500, 23. $1,500, 24. $1,500 = $82,800

GARDEN CITY, KS (May 21, 2025) – In his first year racing dirt Midgets, Colton Robinson is soaking up the lessons and experiences attained with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota in his rookie campaign. 

The Titusville, FL driver began his career racing dirt karts around his home state tracks of Volusia Speedway Park and Callahan Speedway. He won Junior division titles in the Florida Dirt Championship Series and Florida Karting Series against future Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series racers Trey Mills and Jackson Hise. 

In 2022, Robinson made the move to race Micro Sprints for Frank Flud, winning races at Oklahoma’s Port City Speedway and Florida’s Marion County Speedway until Keith Kunz offered him the chance to go national Midget racing in 2025 for his national-touring team. 

“My dad started racing with go-karts, and he’s who really got me into it,” Robinson said. “We just got to the point where we kind of ran out of competition (in Florida), and we knew we needed to get onto something bigger.  

“So, I started racing Micros about two and a half years ago, and I was running with Frank Flud for all the big shows in Oklahoma when I caught Keith (Kunz)’s eye at a couple of KKM events last year. It’s definitely been a long process, but I’m very blessed to be able to do this.” 

The 15-year-old debuted aboard his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) LynK Chassis at the Turnpike Challengeto prep before the Xtreme Outlaw season opener at Farmer City Raceway. 

In his first four Series starts, he’s finished inside the top-10 in every Feature and sits sixth in the standings ahead of the Midget Roundup on Memorial Day weekend, May 23-25. 

Learning from experienced crew chief Beau Binder and the crew members turn wrenches on the KKM Midgets, Robinson’s resources have helped form a level of comfort with the Midget while working on building pace at tracks new to him on the Series calendar. 

“It’s a lot different compared to everything I’ve driven previously,” Robinson said. “If anything, it’s pretty close to the Micro, but it’s got so much horsepower. So, Beau (Binder) and all of them over (at KKM) have done great helping me get acclimated and comfortable with the car. It’s nice that we’ve been picking up speed pretty quick. I’m sure you’ll see us closer to the top five, hopefully.” 

Robinson’s primary challenge is having a firm understanding of how the tracks change throughout the evening so he can trace the ideal line at a faster rate in the Feature. 

“I’m just really trying to learn lines and watch the track moving,” Robinson said. “Even just staying comfortable with the car, getting to drive hard, and just learning what the car does, because all these (KKM) guys are the best. They help you get comfortable, stay comfortable, and a good car every time you go out on the track. If it’s not good, you’re normally the one at fault. We always have an off week, but it’s the driver at fault.” 

While he’s faced a steep learning curve for his first year competing on the national Midget stage, Robinson is enjoying the process of learning each new track that the Series follows.  

Among the tracks familiar to him is Mattoon, IL’s Coles County Speedway, which will host the inaugural King of Coles on May 30-31. 

“There’s a bit of a learning curve that’s come with this,” Robinson said. “I’ve tried to be a quick learner through the process, because a lot of it is new to me. I just try to go out there and drive it hard and figure out how to find speed around the track that others haven’t discovered. I watch a ton of videos of what track we go to next, talk to the crew about it, and they try to get the car to my liking before I even roll out there.  

“I’m taking each race one at a time. But I’m really excited to visit Coles County (Speedway) again. I’ve been there a few times with a Micro and did very well there, so I’m really keeping my eye on what’s coming at the end of this month.” 

Robinson straps into his Toyota-powered No. 67K Precise Tooling Solutions LynK Chassis for the 10th annual Midget Roundup at Airport Raceway on Friday-Sunday, May 23-25.  

On top of the two nights of racing alongside the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association at the Garden City, KS track, the Honest Abe Roofing Cookout on Saturday night offers nearly $6,000 worth of prizes for drivers and teams to win. Use code “ROBINSON67K” for $5 off your tickets to Airport Raceway.

MIDGET ROUNDUP TICKETS

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

ARTICLE:https://xtremeoutlawseries.com/news/colton-robinson-spreads-roots-from-florida-dirt-karting-to-xtreme-outlaw-midget-rookie-year/ 

EVENT INFO:https://xtremeoutlawseries.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4547733
TRACK INFO:https://www.facebook.com/AirportRaceway/

BEAR LAKE, PA (May 21, 2025) – As two of the biggest names in the Northeast corner of the dirt Late Model world, Boom Briggs and Tim McCreadie have been fast friends for decades.

They’ve spent their careers trading sliders on the track and busting chops in the pits afterwards. Briggs had always imagined joining forces with McCreadie someday, but it remained a mere idea for years with both men on their own separate paths in the sport.

Then came the end of the 2024 season. McCreadie was looking for a new home after his departure from Rocket1 Racing, while Briggs was considering taking a step back from being a full-time driver. At that point, Briggs knew that “someday” had arrived.

“McCreadie’s only two hours from me, so he can be more involved, it’s more of a family atmosphere here,” Briggs said. “Me and Timmy have been friends a long time. We’re both getting older, and I’m the closest race team to his house. We’re friends, we’re family friends. We always talked about it, and I guess the timing was right.”

Many former drivers have expressed how getting out of the seat and guiding a team to success from the sidelines can present a world of new challenges. But between his experience working for his cousin Chub Frank early in his career, as well as the team he’s assembled to take some of the load off his shoulders, Briggs has fit into his new role like a glove.

“It’s not been that much of an adjustment,” Briggs said. “I knew someday, that’s what was going to happen. And you know, I started my career working for Chub. Honestly, I don’t work that hard when I go with Timmy, I just keep the wheels in motion. The kids that we’ve got working right now are working their ass off. I just kind of oversee everything, keep Timmy’s head on, keep them focused and make sure the kids are doing what they need to do.”

While Briggs had all the faith in the world in his driver and team, the first two months of their return to the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision didn’t come close to meeting expectations. Two top 10s in the first eight races made it clear that something was off in the No. 9M camp.

After becoming one of the faces of the Longhorn Chassis brand during his previous tenure with Paylor Motorsports, McCreadie had spent a year struggling to get accustomed to a Rocket Chassis and find that same speed. Briggs has been a loyal Rocket supporter for much of his career and started the year with no plans to change course, but he knew the only way to get back into contention was to give his driver a machine he felt at home in. Thus, the Briggs Transport hauler rolled into Farmer City Raceway in April with a brand-new Longhorn in tow.

“That’s what Tim’s comfortable in it, he understands them,” Briggs said. “Tim right now is basically doing his own setups. Yes, we talk back and forth and stuff, but Timmy’s probably working harder than he has in 20 years and I think it’s paying off. Like I told him the other day, he’s more involved, he knows exactly what’s going on and his performance has paid off. He’s knocking on fourth in points now and he was sitting 10th. Tim can still get the job done.

“They did the switch to get Tim comfortable and got to where Tim could win races again. I still run my Rocket car; I’ve got no issues with Rocket. Mark Richards is a really good personal friend of mine. It was just a business decision.”

The box score from the first weekend following the switch may have been less than stellar due to some bad luck come Feature time at the Illini 100, but a solid Qualifying effort and McCreadie’s first Redraw appearance of the season on Saturday provided reason for optimism.

They followed that up with a seventh-place run at the Talladega Short Track two weeks later before heading to Wisconsin, where McCreadie finished fourth and fifth at Mississippi Thunder Speedway for his first top fives since January. All of a sudden, Briggs and McCreadie were rolling into a trio of tracks close to home with momentum on their side.

The first stop of the weekend at Raceway 7 was an emotional day from the start. It marked one year since McCreadie lost his father, “Barefoot” Bob McCreadie, while Briggs had been through the passing of Frank’s wife, Mary, the week prior. Their minds could have been on anything but racing that day, but Briggs made sure to keep his team focused on the task at hand.

Given the Conneaut, OH facility’s proximity to Briggs’ Bear Lake, PA home, along with McCreadie’s stellar record there of a win and three top fives in three starts, Briggs knew he had a team capable of contending for the win that night. Midway through the racing program, he started to believe the months of work were about to pay off.

“I watched him in the Heat Race, and I can tell by watching him that he’s comfortable, he’s aggressive,” Briggs said. “I’ve got full faith in Tim McCreadie, I have for 20 plus years. The guy’s a good race car driver. Anybody you talk to in this sport, when Tim McCreadie is confident and comfortable, he wins races.”

When the dust settled in the Great Lake Showdown, Briggs found himself standing in World of Outlaws Victory Lane alongside one of his best friends to cap off one of the most memorable nights of his career. But they weren’t done there.

The bid for a second-straight win two nights later at Marion Center Raceway ended in catastrophe when he was collected in a pileup just before halfway, sending the crew into thrash mode to make repairs in time in time to race at Bedford Speedway the following night.

The car was good as new by the time it hit the track on Sunday. McCreadie qualified second in his group and won his Heat Race to advance to the Redraw, where he drew the Bilstein Pole Award to start up front alongside Series points leader Bobby Pierce. McCreadie came out top of that battle against the fastest Late Model in the country in 2025 for his second win of the weekend, revitalizing Briggs’ outlook on what’s possible in the remainder of the season.

“We were talking today, and he can’t remember the last time he won two races in a weekend,” Briggs said. “So, to win two out of three against the number one guy in the country, the sky’s the limit. What can he do? He put himself in position qualifying good, winning Heat Races. You win Heat Races, you start in the top four, the wins come.

“Bedford was a big deal. Bobby’s good, and Bobby started outside pole and we won. The biggest thing is Tim’s confidence is up. When his confidence is up, the sky’s the limit.”

The Briggs Transport team will resume the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season with the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday, June 20-21. Click here to get your tickets now.

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

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/briggs-finding-early-success-in-new-role-outside-the-cockpit/

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE Charlotte Motor SpeedwayMay 23-25, 2025

Charlotte Motor Speedway, “America’s Home for Racing”, will once again set the stage for NASCAR’s traditional Memorial Day weekend tripleheader event.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

This weekend will mark the only time the sport will contest on the track’s 1.5-mile oval configuration, with all three series returning to the venue during peak playoff competition to take on its 2.32-mile road course layout. Chevrolet returns as the track’s defending winners in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series, with the manufacturer looking to go two-for-two in the crown jewel triumphs this season in the 66th running of the Coca-Cola 600.   Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

Located within the heart of NASCAR country, Charlotte Motor Speedway has been a staple fixture in the sport for 65 years – hosting its first event, the inaugural World 600, in June 1960. Within that time span, Chevrolet has accumulated a combined 83 victories across the NASCAR national ranks at the track, including 47 Cup Series wins, 24 Xfinity Series wins and 12 Truck Series wins.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is the home of one of NASCAR’s four crown jewel events – the Coca-Cola 600. The most physically and mentally demanding race on the circuit, the 600-mile event holds the honors of capping off what’s famously known as the “Greatest Day in Motorsports”. Chevrolet leads the series with 25 all-time victories in the crown jewel event – dating back to Joe Lee Johnson’s win in the inaugural race in 1960. Most recently, it was Kyle Larson that collected the crown in his championship-earning season (2021) – a victory that earned Hendrick Motorsports the record as the winningest organization in Cup Series history. Larson is one of just eight past Coca-Cola 600 winners entered in this weekend’s event, with fellow Chevrolet drivers Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch also earning a spot on that elite list with one win each.

For Dillon, his win in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600 was his first career victory in NASCAR’s top division, making him one of just 10 drivers in series’ history to become a first-time winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Welcome, North Carolina, native is among just a handful of drivers with multiple crown jewel triumphs to their name, with the Richard Childress Racing driver also having a Daytona 500 victory under his belt (2018).

“H1100”: Take Two The “Greatest Day in Motorsports” hits even closer to home for Chevrolet as the only manufacturer that competes in the two U.S.-based crown jewel events – the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. Along with its series-leading 25 Coca-Cola 600 victories, Chevrolet has also amassed 13 Indianapolis 500 wins, with the manufacturer looking to go three-in-a-row in the 109th running of the prestigious event.  One of Chevrolet’s own, Kyle Larson, will make his second attempt at becoming just the fifth driver in history to accomplish the famed Memorial Day weekend “Double”. Contesting in both events would put Larson in company of some of motorsports’ greatest drivers including John Andretti, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch. Taking it one step further, the 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native could become just the second driver, alongside Stewart, to complete all 1,100 miles.

Larson’s Mastery on Mile-and-a-Halves: While still new to the INDYCAR world, Larson will be able to hit the ground running upon his arrival to Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Chevrolet driver is a three-time crown jewel winner, with his first coming at the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. This season, Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team have been a force on mile-and-a-half tracks. In four events, Larson has tallied results no worse than ninth, including two of his three wins (Homestead-Miami Speedway and Kansas Speedway). Despite missing a trip to victory lane at Las Vegas and Texas, Larson still proved to be a top contender – recording the most laps led in each event.  Larson is also the series’ most recent points-paying winner of the season, which came in dominating fashion at the 1.5-mile oval of Kansas Speedway two weekends ago. The victory was accompanied by a sweep of the weekend, with the driver claiming the pole position, both stage wins and a race-high 221 laps led. It was a performance that shot Larson to the top of the series’ points standings, with the No. 5 Chevrolet team heading into the Charlotte race weekend with a 35-point lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron.

Regular Season Resumes for Xfinity SeriesAfter back-to-back off weekends, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be back in action this weekend, with Saturday’s BetMGM 300 marking the series’ 13th race of the 2025 season.  It’s been a dominating start to the Xfinity Series season for the Bowtie brigade. Over a stretch of 12 races straight, six drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations have earned a combined 10 victories, including an active streak of four-in-a-row. The wins are accompanied by series-leading numbers in a variety of statistical categories including eight pole wins, 19 stage wins, 40 top-fives, 76 top-10s and 1,763 laps led. There’s no better way to add to those accolades than a track where you’ve found a fair amount of recent success. Chevrolet heads into the weekend with a streak of three-straight wins in the series at Charlotte Motor Speedway – earned by a pair of JR Motorsports entries (Josh Berry – 2022; Justin Allgaier – 2023) and Hendrick Motorsports with Cup Series regular Chase Elliott (2024).

Doing the Double: Kyle Larson isn’t the only Chevrolet driver doing double-duty this weekend. Three drivers are set to make starts in NASCAR’s top two divisions at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including Austin Dillon, William Byron and Connor Zilisch.  For the first time in nearly two years, Dillon will make his return to the Xfinity Series to pilot the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS in Saturday’s 300-mile event. The Welcome, North Carolina, native has found great success in the series over his NASCAR career – highlighted by a championship title in 2013. The Chevrolet driver is a nine-time winner in the series, two of which came at Charlotte Motor Speedway when he swept the series’ two appearances at the track in 2015.  Another hometown favorite, William Byron, will make his return to the Xfinity Series this weekend – taking over the driving duties for the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has one Xfinity Series start under his belt this season at Circuit of The America, which ended with a strong runner-up result. Byron is a four-time winner in the series, all of which came in his rookie season that ended with a championship title (2017).  After being sidelined due to a back injury, Connor Zilisch will return to the driver’s seat at his home track this weekend. Not only will the rising star resume his rookie season in the Xfinity Series, the 18-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native will make his second career start in NASCAR’s top division in Sunday’s 600-mile race. Despite an early exit during his series debut race at Circuit of The Americas, Zilisch proved to settle right into Next Gen Camaro ZL1. Taking the green flag following a strong 14th-place qualifying effort, Zilisch overcame damage sustained on the opening lap to rally to a best running position of 10th before getting collected in an accident just past the halfway marker.

Ankrum Setting up for a Career Season With the second-half of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ regular season in full swing, the true championship contenders are starting to surface. Among those includes McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Tyler Ankrum, who enters the Charlotte race weekend steady in the fourth position of the series’ points standings. Ankrum led Chevrolet to the checkered flag at North Wilkesboro Speedway last weekend – tallying a third-place finish in his No. 18 Silverado RST. The result marked Ankrum’s sixth top-four finish in the series’ past seven races, including his first win of the season that came at Rockingham Speedway one month ago. The 24-year-old San Bernardino, California, native has been arguably one of the most consistent drivers thus far this season – owning a series-best seven top-fives and eight top-10 finishes with 10 races complete.

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 12 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 4Poles: 7Laps Led: 1,647Top-Fives: 24Top-10s: 55Stage Wins: 11

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 12 NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete: Wins: 10Poles: 8Laps Led: 1,763Top-Fives: 40Top-10s: 76Stage Wins: 19

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 10 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete: Wins: 5Poles: 2Laps Led: 653Top-Fives: 25Top-10s: 48Stage Wins: 7

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway: Kyle Larson – one win (2021)Chase Elliott – one win (2020)Kyle Busch – one win (2018)Austin Dillon – one win (2017) ·       Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 25 all-time Coca-Cola 600 victories, most recently by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson (May 2021).  ·       There have been 10 drivers in history that recorded their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway – most recently by Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in the 2017 Coca-Cola 600. ·       Chevrolet has earned at least half of the top-10 finishing results in seven of the 12 points-paying races thus far this season, including a season-high seven top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.  ·       In 120 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 56 victories – a winning percentage of 46.7%.  ·       With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 870 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.  FOR THE FANS:·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Silverado 1500 LD, Silverado 2500 HD, Traverse, Tahoe, Corvette, Equinox EV and Blazer EV.  Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Sunday, May 25 Austin Dillon: 1:20 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. Carson Hocevar: 2:10 p.m. – 2:25 p.m. Alex Bowman: 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Ross Chastain & Connor Zilisch: 2:50 p.m. – 3:05 p.m. Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: Friday, May 23: 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, May 24: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday, May 25: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET(Amazon Prime, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)  NASCAR Xfinity SeriesBetMGM 300Saturday, May 24, at 4:30 p.m. ET(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesNorth Carolina Education Lottery 200 Friday, May 23, 8:30 p.m. ET(FS1, NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletHow would you describe a lap around Charlotte Motor Speedway?“Charlotte is rough, my goodness. The vertical loads when we go into the corners in Turns 1 and 2, I get squished into the bottom of the car in the seat, almost harder than anywhere else we go. I would compare it to Dover, but Charlotte is a mile-and-a-half and really fast when you run the bottom. When you run the top of the track up by the wall, it’s almost like a washboard – if you’ve driven on a dirt road that’s rough and it’s really bouncing really aggressively – that’s what Turn 1 up by the wall feels like. In Turns 3 and 4, it gets way more sun throughout the year than Turns 1 and 2, so it has a lot less grip. When you turn down into Turn 3 there isn’t a lot of grip. Wrapping the line for me is my left-front right down by the apron to have a low exit off of Turn 4, or running right up by the wall.” What does racing on Memorial Day weekend mean to you?“It’s an honor to race on Memorial Day weekend. So many people have sacrificed so we can have the ability to go out here and do something we love. In my case it’s racing cars. It’s obviously a special weekend because we are remembering service members on our cars. I have US Army paratrooper Kevin M. McCrea on my car thanks to Jockey and Folds of Honor and we’ll get to meet some of his family members. That’s always a very special moment. And while there is nothing we can do to bring their family member back, I hope the race gives them a chance to think about something different for a little bit.”   Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWith the Coca-Cola 600 being the longest race of the season, how do you and your team prepare mentally and physically for such a demanding night?“The Coca-Cola 600 at home in Charlotte is always a favorite. Two years ago, I did the Xfinity race and the Cup race on the same day, which was quite eventful and something I’ll never be able to top. But knowing I’ve come close to completing 900 miles on the same track in one day makes the 600-mile Cup race seem a little less demanding. We’ve had so much speed in our 1.5-mile program and I’m excited to get a handle on it Saturday evening. This is the longest race of the year and where we can score the most points. The biggest thing we need to work on is getting in a better position to execute on restarts and we’ll have a couple of shots at that with four stages in Sunday’s race. This race is always an important one for teams and for the families of the military members that we are honoring.”   Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat do you think it is about the Coca-Cola 600 that make strong drivers end up in victory lane?“The Coke 600 is the Coke 600. It’s the longest race of the year. It’s a demanding race. You work as hard as you can on yourself with your training and whatnot to be able to withstand the elements for that race.” As the sport becomes more competitive each week and you see how close times are in qualifying, does that make a difference in a 600-mile race?“No, it doesn’t. It’s a longer race so you have more time from sunlight to nighttime, and typically you don’t really worry about how your car is until you get to the nighttime because that’s when the money’s paid, so you want to be fast at that time of the day.” There’s been a lot of speed in your racecars here of late. What do you credit that to?“It’s a lot of little things. That’s what you’re dealing with in this day and age. There are so many little details that you can find. If you find 100 small, tiny details, then that’s all going to add up. The guys at the shop have been doing a good job working on all of that, whether it’s car build or little things in the setups.” You look at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, you’ve had a lot of speed. Do you feel like a win is coming around the corner?“Texas Motor Speedway was good. I didn’t feel that good about Kansas Speedway. I got up to 11th at Kansas and then kind of stalled out. I feel like if you could have taken me and placed me in fifth, then I probably could have ran in fifth. But, I couldn’t get myself there on my own. Texas, though, I felt like I drove my way up to the front the whole time.”   AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet“Charlotte is one of the staples that we have in NASCAR, one of the crown jewels, and it’s fun to be a part of it. This weekend is a long, grueling race, but our mile and a half program has been really solid this year. We have the opportunity to have speed and be competitive. Charlotte’s always been one of my favorite mile-and-a-half racetracks; it’s definitely very heat sensitive, technical, and rough in three and four. We’re looking forward to going there after the All-Star race where we had a break from points racing. We were able to reset knowing that this can be a really good stretch of races for us ahead. We’re looking to kick it off right with a good 600-mile run.”   Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet“The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the biggest tests we face all season – it’s long, it’s demanding, and it really shows you what your team is made of. I’m proud to have FunPops riding with us again this weekend. Their energy and enthusiasm match what we’re bringing to the track. We’re locked in and ready to battle for every position under the lights at Charlotte.”   Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletIs it a little extra preparation for you physically for a race of this length with the heat, and talk about how important the weekend is outside of your physical preparation? “Yeah, I think it is. I just up my calories as far as my intake goes for the day, but other than that, it’s pretty much business as usual. I think the harder part of that is just the time of when you start the race and the track’s transition from day to night paired with the speed differences. Charlotte is just one of those really temperature-sensitive tracks. Even throughout the years—whether it was a repave or going through this Next Gen car—it’s just super, super sensitive to the temperature change and more track temperature. The sun going down and not beating on the racetrack changes the dynamic of the last half of that race. Making good adjustments and all those things—I feel like that’s the hardest part. You can be decent in the beginning and then really bad at the end, and vice versa. You can be bad at the beginning and get to where you need to be, especially with this car, with the heights being so important. It’s a fun race, but a hard race. It builds, and you can kind of feel that it builds toward the end. Most weekends, you feel like you don’t have enough time—here at Charlotte, you feel like you have a little bit of time. More than anything, it’s just one of the coolest weekends in racing altogether. I love it. I grew up loving motorsports and watching the Indianapolis 500, watching the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Coca-Cola 600. It’s just a fun weekend as a fan and as a competitor. It’s special, being on Memorial Day and always carrying a fallen soldier on the car. I have Specialist James Waters on the car of the United States Army, and it’s always a privilege and honor to do that. It’s a great reminder of what freedom is and what it’s not. So, it’s a special weekend.”   Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWe’ve seen the No. 77 team come to life on the mile-and-a-half tracks as of late. How can the team capitalize on the extra-long event to find success?“Our intermediate track program has come a long way since even the start of the year. As a whole, the organization has won the pole twice on mile-and-a-halves and we’ve been up front at nearly every race so far. For us, it comes down to having the time to recover from things that happen late in the race. It happened at Texas with a caution that seemed bad but worked out in our favor before we got caught in an incident. Then at Kansas we just ran out of laps with a flat tire coming so late in the game. Hopefully we don’t need to take advantage of having four stages to recover from anything. We have the speed, it’s just about putting all the little pieces together to reach the end goal.” Last weekend was a big weekend for Spire Motorsports, winning the Pit Crew Challenge with the No. 71 team and advancing to the All-Star Race with the No. 77 team. How does a weekend like that change the environment in the shop?“It’s more positive for sure. Every week we’ve had something to celebrate, and we kept it going. People outside of this building are noticing the payoff of the effort that everyone is putting in and it’s a lot easier to take the disappointment of an 11th-place finish when there is a win to celebrate. It shows a lot of progress that we can even be disheartened by missing out on a top 10, so I think it changes it a lot in a good way, but just makes everyone that much hungrier for the next win.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 87 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletWhat does it mean to you to be racing this weekend in Charlotte?“I’m super-excited to be making my second Cup start at Charlotte. The 600 is one of the biggest races in NASCAR and the longest. It’s going to be all about patience and thankfully I’ve got some endurance racing in my back pocket from the last two years that will help prepare me for this race mentally. I’ve done 24-hour races and 12-hour races but racing for five hours in a stock car is another challenge. Nine hundred miles in one weekend can be a lot, but I’ve got a great group of people around me to help keep me settled and prepare me for a weekend like this. The race starts during the day and ends at night, and the track changes a lot, so staying on top of that is going to be really important. That’s also really tough for me just because I’ve never done it before. I’m going to ask as many people as I can for advice and make sure I’m the best prepared I can be for the race.”     Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletIt seems you are running better on oval tracks and last weekend you started on the pole for the first time on an oval. Would you say this is showing your improvement?“Yes, one hundred percent. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. I feel like we are making steps, understanding each other, myself and Stephen (Doran), trying to get better. Majority of the races are ovals and we can’t be running at the back every week, so we are working on everything, getting our average finish better and keep working on getting good results. We’ve taken a lot of steps forward recently and last weekend at North Wilkesboro showed that.” Does NASCAR still feel somewhat new for you, or do you feel it’s just racing at the end of the day?“Well, it (NASCAR) feels like a completely different sport to anything else I’ve ever done. On the ovals, the techniques, the way you drive, the way the races are, it’s like nothing else around the world I’ve ever done. It’s so foreign to me, but the road course stuff feels normal. It’s a bit chaotic on the restarts and the way the race is, but the ovals are a world away from anything I’ve ever done.” Are you looking forward to racing 600 miles this weekend?“Yes, we didn’t get to finish it last year because it got rained out. So, looking forward to completing all 600 miles. Should be a fun race going back there for the second time. Hopefully we can keep building on momentum. My WeatherTech Chevy looks epic!”   Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletHow important is Sunday’s race to you?“The Coca-Cola 600 is a very special race for many different reasons. We get to remember all the people who have made the ultimate sacrifice and given us the freedoms we have in the most amazing country in the world. I came from a different country and am now a citizen. To come here and enjoy these freedoms, to enjoy what I am able to do, it’s not by magic. It’s also nice to see all of the work Coca-Cola does to make this event the success it has been over the years.” Thoughts on 300th start on Sunday?“Wow, time flies. It’s such an honor to reach this mark. So many people to thank and so many people who have supported me. I never dreamed I would be celebrating this, but I feel very fortunate.” You recently visited Fort Bragg as part of Coca-Cola’s Mission 600 program.“I have always appreciated the military, and what all the men and women do for this amazing country. But, when you experience exactly what they must do 24/7, it’s a completely different level. Huge respect for them. The level of discipline is pretty high. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to spend time with the military.” How do you prepare for Sunday?“As a human being you try and perform at 100 percent the entire time, but when you’re running a marathon, you’re not going to be as strong in the last 30 minutes. That’s normal. Fatigue is setting in, your muscles are tired, you’re running out of fluid, and you’re hungry. Racing is the same way, especially in the Coca-Cola 600. We start running out of energy and you’re mind gets tired after four hours of racing. But I look to this race as a marathon, and you have to be on top of your game for the last part of this race. So, I always try to keep that in my mind when I’m in the car. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 43First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)Most recent: 2024 Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2025 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 4Poles: 7Laps Led: 1,647Top-Fives: 24Top-10s: 55Stage Wins: 11 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 870 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 760Laps led to date: 254,358Top-fives to date: 4,393Top-10s to date: 9,062                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,204           Chevrolet: 870           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 843                                                                                        Ford: 743           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 194

The Greatest Show on Dirt will be all over the “Buckeye State” with three races in four nightsATTICA, OH (May 20, 2025) – The Greatest Show on Dirt is back on U.S. soil following a return to Canada, and all eyes are on Ohio.Memorial Day weekend is all about the “Buckeye State” for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Three nights of racing are set to take the country’s best Sprint Car drivers to three different Ohio ovals in three different regions of the state.It begins on Friday, May 23, in the Northwest at Attica Raceway Park. The 1/3-mile dirt track will welcome the tour for the 26th time. Then it’s straight east nearly to the Pennsylvania border, where Hartford, OH’s Sharon Speedway awaits the World of Outlaws’ 15th visit on Saturday, May 24. Sunday is an off day before racing resumes with a Monday, May 26, trip south to the Appalachian foothills for a battle at Chillicothe’s Atomic Speedway.No matter what corner of the state you’re in, there’s a little something for all of Ohio’s Sprint Car fanbase over the weekend ahead.BUY ATTICA TICKETS HERE BUY SHARON TICKETS HERE BUY ATOMIC TICKETS HEREWATCH LIVE ON DIRTVisionLet’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:HOME STATE HERO: Sheldon Haudenschild heading home always leads the headlines when the World of Outlaws venture to Ohio. The Wooster, OH native has swaths of fans in the region that are eager to welcome him with hopes of seeing a trip or two to Victory Lane.Haudenschild enters the weekend with the momentum of two top fives at Ohsweken, including his third podium of the year with the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink crew. They’re fifth in points with 11 top fives and 15 top 10s with 23 races in the books.Three times Haudenschild has been victorious at Attica. He topped a local race in 2013 and two with the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC) in 2015 and 2016. He won Sharon’s 2015 Lou Blaney Memorial with ASCoC, and he’s been on the podium there in three of his five attempts with the World of Outlaws. He’s one of only two multi-time World of Outlaws winners at Atomic with scores in 2022 and 2024.HEY, BUDDY: Plenty of focus was fixed on Michael “Buddy” Kofoid entering 2025 after a record-breaking rookie campaign last year with Roth Motorsports. The pairing stumbled slightly out of the gate, but the ship appears to have been righted, and the sophomore is soaring.After an 11.7 average finish in the first seven races of the season, Kofoid has improved that mark to 5.5 in the 16 races since. That stretch includes a trio of victories at Kennedale Speedway Park, Lawton Speedway, and Lincoln Speedway. It’s also allowed Kofoid to climb into the runner-up position in the standings. David Gravel still has a comfortable lead (+178 points), but there’s a long way to go for Kofoid and company.Ohio is familiar territory for the Penngrove, CA native. Courtesy of living in “Linderville” with Mike and Stephanie Linder, he spent plenty of time racing in the state when he first expanded his career to the Midwest. Kofoid won last May’s World of Outlaws visit to Attica in thrilling, last-lap fashion, and he’s been on the podium in 12 of his 25 races there. He owns a best finish of fifth at Sharon in three tries. Last May, the 23-year-old posted a pair of podiums at Atomic.OHIO ACE: Not that there are many states where Donny Schatz hasn’t performed well, but his talents have shone especially bright in Ohio.The 10-time Series champion bagged 32 of his 316 career World of Outlaws Feature victories in the “Buckeye State.” That’s the second highest on his résumé, ranking only behind his tally of 36 in Pennsylvania.He’s won at all three tracks on this weekend’s agenda. Schatz’s five checkered flags at Attica are the most, and he’s only missed the top 10 once in 19 tries. The Fargo, ND native visited Sharon Victory Lane twice, first with a 360 under the hood in a 2008 American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Patriot race and then with the World of Outlaws 15 years later. Of the dozen Series visits to Atomic, Schatz claimed a quarter of them with four trophies from the high-banked oval.Schatz and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing crew sit sixth in points with top 10 results in four of the last five races.BUSINESS AS USUAL: With more than a quarter of the season complete, there have been no hiccups for David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports in their title defense.They’re fresh off a sweep of two nights at Ohsweken, their third event sweep of 2025 to go along with back-to-back victories at Volusia Speedway Park (March 2-3) and Cotton Bowl Speedway (March 21-22). The No. 2 hasn’t finished worse than sixth in 2025 and boasts a 2.78 average finish.Recent history gives no reason to doubt Gravel and Tod Quiring’s crew this weekend. The Watertown, CT native is the most recent Series winner at both Attica and Sharon. His most recent trip to Atomic dealt misfortune as he got caught up in a crash with lapped traffic, but that came after winning the night before.ROOKIE BACK AND FORTH: The first quarter of the 2025 World of Outlaws campaign has made one thing clear – the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year battle won’t be won easily.Canada gave us yet another top spot swap among the rookies as a pair of top 10s, including a season-best fifth, lifted Chris Windom and the Sides Motorsports team above Garet Williamson. Windom has been in the top five before at all three tracks ahead, including podiums at Sharon and Atomic. The NOS Energy Drink driver is 14 markers ahead of Williamson.Cole Macedo is looking to claw his way into the fight after a forgettable start to the season in Florida. He and TwoC Racing have climbed into third in rookie points, and he’s got plenty of laps in Ohio thanks to making the same stop in “Linderville” that Buddy Kofoid did on his way to the World of Outlaws. The Lemoore, CA driver owns five local wins at Attica.Bradenton, FL’s Conner Morrell is down in sixth, but he’s fresh off posting the best finish of the season for one of the rookies after leading laps and coming home with the runner-up spot at Ohsweken.BUCKEYE BATTLERS: With Ohio having one of the healthiest local Sprint Car scenes in the country, expect many drivers who compete at these tracks weekly to put their best foot forward as they face off with the World of Outlaws.Bellevue, OH’s Cap Henry has already won three times in local Attica action this year. The 1/3 mile is also home to two of his six career World of Outlaws top 10s, including a personal best sixth in 2023.Over at Sharon, Hartford, OH’s own Dale Blaney is fresh off driving brother Dave’s No. 10 to victory. He’s also a seven-time Sharon winner with ASCoC.Atomic is yet to host a Sprint Car race in 2025, but there’s no doubt Lockbourne, OH’s Cole Duncan is a local favorite. He won the track’s final four races of 2024 and picked up a pair of World of Outlaws top fives last May.Expect many more locals including the likes of Craig Mintz (Gibsonburg, OH), Trey Jacobs (Wooster, OH), Creed Kemenah (Alvada, OH), Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH), Bryce Lucius (Findlay, OH), and more to compete in at least one and potentially all three events.THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCEWHEN AND WHERE  Friday, May 23 at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, OH Saturday, May 24 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH Monday, May 26 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, OHON THE INTERNET World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series X – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthCURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (23/82 Races): 1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports No. 2 (3282 PTS) 2. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports No. 83 (-178 PTS) 3. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing No. 1S (-184 PTS) 4. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 (-196 PTS) 5. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing No. 17 (-244 PTS) 6. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing No. 15 (-314 PTS) 7. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing No. 18 (-354 PTS) 8. Bill Balog – B2 Motorsports No. 17B (-458 PTS) 9. Chris Windom – Sides Motorsports No. 7S (-528 PTS) 10. Garet Williamson – Fischer Motorsports No. 23 (-542 PTS)NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (11 Drivers):  8 Wins – David Gravel 3 Wins – Kyle Larson, Michael Kofoid 2 Wins – Carson Macedo 1 Win – Christopher Bell, Bill Balog, Giovanni Scelzi, Logan Schuchart, Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild, Anthony MacriFEATURE LAPS LED (19 Drivers): 180 Laps – David Gravel 100 Laps – Michael Kofoid 76 Laps – Kyle Larson 73 Laps – Logan Schuchart 51 Laps – Carson Macedo 40 Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild 39 Laps – Giovanni Scelzi 29 Laps – Anthony Macri 19 Laps – Bill Balog 17 Laps – Emerson Axsom, Rico Abreu 16 Laps – Cole Macedo 14 Laps – Dylan Westbrook 12 Laps – Conner Morrell 11 Laps – Jordan Thomas 9 Laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 8 Laps – Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel 1 Lap – Donny SchatzSIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (13 Drivers): 9 Quick Times – David Gravel 2 Quick Times – Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild 1 Quick Time – Emerson Axsom, Kyle Larson, Danny Sams III, Anthony Macri, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, Rico Abreu, Michael Kofoid, Chase Dietz, Garet WilliamsonHEAT RACE WINNERS (30 Drivers):  13 Heat Wins – David Gravel 10 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo 8 Heat Wins – Bill Balog 7 Heat Wins – Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild 4 Heat Wins – Giovanni Scelzi 3 Heat Wins – Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Michael Kofoid 2 Heat Wins – Brian Brown, Jacob Allen, Austin McCarl, Emerson Axsom, Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich, Garet Williamson 1 Heat Win – Hunter Schuerenberg, Bryce Lucius, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Conner Morrell, Donny Schatz, Aaron Reutzel, Tanner Thorson, Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney, Zach Hampton, Chase Dietz, Skylar Gee, Justin Whittall, Chris WindomTOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (47 Drivers): 20 Dashes – David Gravel 16 Dashes – Logan Schuchart 13 Dashes – Carson Macedo 11 Dashes – Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild 10 Dashes – Giovanni Scelzi 9 Dashes – Michael Kofoid 6 Dashes – Emerson Axsom  5 Dashes – Brian Brown, Garet Williamson 4 Dashes – Kyle Larson, Cole Macedo, Anthony Macri 3 Dashes – Christopher Bell, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney, Donny Schatz, Danny Dietrich, Conner Morrell 2 Dashes – Danny Sams III, Jacob Allen, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Austin McCarl, Rico Abreu, Parker Price-Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg, Chris Windom 1 Dash – Justin Peck, Brad Sweet, Ryan Timms, Spencer Bayston, Bryce Lucius, Christopher Thram, Tanner Thorson, Carson McCarl, Brady Bacon, Zach Hampton, Kelby Watt, Ashton Torgerson, Skylar Gee, Lucas Wolfe, Chase Dietz, Justin Whittall, Jordan Thomas, Jonathan Preston, Dylan Westbrook, Cory TurnerMICRO-LITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (16 Drivers): 3 LCS Wins – Giovanni Scelzi, Garet Williamson 2 LCS Wins – Donny Schatz, Christopher Thram, Ryan Timms 1 LCS Win – Chris Martin, Anthony Macri, Bryce Lucius, Conner Morrell, Blake Hahn, J.J. Hickle, Zach Hampton, Emerson Axsom, Matt Campbell, Ashton Torgerson, Joe TrencaKSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (13 Drivers): 4 Hard Chargers – Logan Schuchart 3 Hard Chargers – Ryan Timms, Chris Windom 2 Hard Chargers – Skylar Gee, Garet Williamson, Donny Schatz 1 Hard Charger – Cole Macedo, Zach Hampton, Bill Balog, Hunter Schuerenberg, Michael Kofoid, Lance Dewease, Dylan WestbrookPODIUM FINISHES (24 Drivers): 15 Podiums – David Gravel 9 Podiums – Carson Macedo 7 Podiums – Logan Schuchart 6 Podiums – Kyle Larson, Michael Kofoid 3 Podiums – Giovanni Scelzi, Sheldon Haudenschild 2 Podiums – Christopher Bell, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Anthony Macri 1 Podium – Aaron Reutzel, Jacob Allen, Bill Balog, Emerson Axsom, Donny Schatz, Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Tyler Courtney, Donny Schatz, Cole Macedo, Chase Dietz, Danny Dietrich, Conner Morrell, Dylan WestbrookTOP 10 FINISHES (43 Drivers):  23 Top 10s – David Gravel 19 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo 18 Top 10s – Michael Kofoid 15 Top 10s – Giovanni Scelzi, Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild 9 Top 10s – Bill Balog 7 top 10s – Chris Windom 6 Top 10s – Emerson Axsom, Kyle Larson, Cole Macedo 5 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney, Hunter Schuerenberg, Anthony Macri, Garet Williamson 4 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Brad Sweet, Zach Hampton 3 Top 10s – Ryan Timms, Justin Peck, Parker Price-Miller 2 Top 10s – Christopher Bell, Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Austin McCarl, Rico Abreu, Brady Bacon, Skylar Gee, Danny Dietrich 1 Top 10 – Danny Sams III, Conner Morrell, Tanner Thorson, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Chase Dietz, Freddie Rahmer, Justin Whittall, Troy Wagaman Jr., Jordan Thomas, Dylan Westbrook, Jordan Poirier2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR WINNERS: No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Wed, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1) 2. Thurs, Feb 8 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Christopher Bell (1) 3. Fri, Feb 9 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (1) 4. Sat, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Larson (2) 5. Sun, March 2 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1) 6. Mon, March 3 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2) 7. Fri, March 7 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Bill Balog (1) 8. Sat, March 8 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / David Gravel (3) 9. Fri, March 14 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Giovanni Scelzi (1) 10. Sat, March 15 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Michael Kofoid (1) 11. Fri, March 21 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (4) 12. Sat, March 22 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / David Gravel (5) 13. Fri, March 28 / Lawton Speedway / Lawton, OK / Michael Kofoid (2) 14. Fri, April 11 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (2) 15. Sat, April 12 / I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park / Pevely, MO / Logan Schuchart (1) 16. Sat, April 19 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Rico Abreu (1) 17. Fri, April 25 / Jacksonville Speedway / Jacksonville, IL / Kyle Larson (3) 18. Sat, April 26 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Sheldon Haudenschild (1) 19. Fri, May 2 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / David Gravel (6) 20. Wed, May 7 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Michael Kofoid (3) 21. Sat, May 10 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Anthony Macri (1) 22. Wed, May 14 / Ohsweken Speedway / Ohsweken, ON / David Gravel (7) 23. Thurs, May 15 / Ohsweken Speedway / Ohsweken, ON / David Gravel (8)For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.ARTICLE: EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=4547756, https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=4547757, https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=4547766 TRACK INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/tracks/?track=Attica%2BRaceway%2BPark, https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/tracks/?track=Sharon%2BSpeedway, https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/tracks/?track=Atomic%2BSpeedwayFAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

In one of his most popular songs, Billy Ray Cyrus summed up one of the sad realities of wartime service when he sang, “All gave some, some gave all.” Cpl. Ian Thomas Zook, a United States Marine, is among those who gave all. He was killed in action in Iraq on Oct. 12, 2004, at the age of 24. Originally from Peoria, Ill., Zook later moved to Florida with his family. According to published reports, he was valedictorian of his high school class and initially pursued missionary work before joining the Marines in 2001 with aspirations of becoming a law enforcement officer. This weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers Racing team will honor Cpl. Zook as part of NASCAR’s 600 Miles of Remembrance program with Zook’s name being displayed on the windshield of the No. 21 eero Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The Coca-Cola 600 marks eero’s second primary race on the No. 21. In its debut at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season, Berry qualified inside the top five and delivered a strong run, contending inside the top 10 for much of the afternoon before delivering an impressive fourth-place finish, one week before scoring his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory.  A strong showing on Sunday would be a meaningful way for the team to honor Zook’s legacy, and they’re confident in their chances. The No. 21 car has shown impressive speed on intermediate-length tracks this season. “It’s the longest race in our sport, and that opens up a lot of opportunities for comers and goers,” Berry said during a recent media availability. “You obviously have to have a good balance to start the race, but then it cools off and you’ve got to stay up with the track. It’s just a grind.” “I’m really excited to get there with the speed we’ve had on the intermediates,” he added. “The 600 is a crown jewel. The pre-race is a lot of fun and really special. We’re excited to get there.” Practice at Charlotte is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 2:40 p.m. Sunday’s 400-lap, 600-mile race will go green just after 6 p.m., with stage breaks at Laps 100, 200 and 300. Coverage of the on-track activity will be carried on Prime Video.

A dozen races await the World of Outlaws, including a quarter of a million dollars at Huset’sCONCORD, NC (May 21, 2025) – Summertime is almost here, and a big June awaits the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.The northern region of the country will receive a heavy dose of The Greatest Show on Dirt as next month features five nights in Wisconsin, a lucrative four-day stretch in South Dakota, and more.June will also bring a pair of six-figure paydays in a single week at Huset’s Speedway, including the largest winner’s share of the 2025 season.Here’s where to find the World of Outlaws in June:Jackson Motorplex | Fendt Showdown (June 4): The month of racing begins in the middle of the week as the tour invades Minnesota’s Jackson Motorplex for the Fendt Showdown on Wednesday, June 4. It’ll mark the first time the Series has visited Jackson in June since 2021.Jackson is by far the most visited Minnesota track in World of Outlaws history with 33 races in the history books. There’s a four-way tie for the most victories at the track as Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart, Carson Macedo, and Brad Sweet have all topped four apiece.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Plymouth Dirt Track | Badger State Triple (June 6): A big weekend in the “Badger State” begins with a highly anticipated return to Plymouth Dirt Track. It’ll mark the first time since 2005 the World of Outlaws have made a trip to the Wisconsin oval. Plymouth will also serve as the kickoff to the Badger State Triple.Joey Saldana won the Series debut at Plymouth in 2004, and the following year Tim Kaeding was victorious in the only other visit to date.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Beaver Dam Raceway | Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial (June 7): The middle leg of the Badger State Triple takes the tour to Beaver Dam Raceway. The Jim “JB” Boyd Memorial serves up a $20,000 payday to the winner.The World of Outlaws has been to Beaver Dam 35 previous times, and current full-timer Sheldon Haudenschild has won most often with five checkered flags. All five of Haudenschild’s wins have come in the last seven visits. The other two races belonged to Giovanni Scelzi.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Angell Park Speedway | Badger State Triple (June 8): Three consecutive nights in Wisconsin at three different tracks closes out with a Sunday stop at the historic Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, WI.The Badger State Triple finale brings the World of Outlaws to Angell Park for only the second time ever and first trip since 2016. Donny Schatz topped the Series debut nine years ago.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Knoxville Raceway | Premier Chevy Dealers Clash (June 13-14): All eyes will be locked on “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” in mid-June as the World of Outlaws head to Knoxville Raceway for the second leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash. It’ll be The Greatest Show on Dirt’s last visit to Knoxville before August’s NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s.Mother Nature trimmed the first leg of the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash down to one night in April, and it was Rico Abreu coming out on top. Last June, David Gravel and Corey Day split Knoxville Victory Lane visits.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Huset’s Speedway | BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards (June 18-21): It’s a huge week of racing at Brandon, SD’s Huset’s Speedway when the World of Outlaws come to town for the BillionAuto.com Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards. Not one, but two six-figure paydays are on the line.The week delivers two events in one as the Huset’s Hustle kicks things off. The opening night (June 18) will serve as a prelim for a $100,000-to-win race on Thursday, June 19. Then it’s a clean slate for a June 20 prelim that sets the stage for the season’s biggest payday – a $250,000-to-win finale on Saturday, June 21. More than $800,000 in purse money overall is up for grabs at Huset’s that week.Sheldon Haudenschild won the inaugural event in 2022. David Gravel got the job done in 2023. Last year belonged to Michael “Buddy” Kofoid.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.Cedar Lake Speedway | Independence Spectacular (June 27-28): June closes out with the World of Outlaws annual trip to Wisconsin’s Cedar Lake Speedway. The Independence Spectacular gives fans two evenings of premier Sprint Car racing and a huge fireworks show on the final night.Cedar Lake is the most visited Wisconsin track in Series history with 53 races. Logan Schuchart is the most recent winner.For tickets and more event information, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/the-month-ahead-june-highlighted-by-seasons-biggest-payday-northern-swing/FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

DALLAS (May 21, 2025) — The wildly popular Shake and Bake Show broadcast on Steve Jackson Racing’s YouTube channel has built a massive audience by throwing out raw drag racing takes, showcasing elite guests and taking smack talk to the next level. The show hosted by Steve Jackson, Lyle Barnett and Courtney Enders, announced during last night’s show they will be putting their collective drag racing expertise on display for all their loyal viewers with the formation of the Shake and Bake Show Drag Race Bracket Bonanza league. This free league will be open to any and all listeners, viewers, haters and pretenders who want to match picks with the trio of drag racing experts.
 
“We have been making picks on the show for a long time and people give us crap when things don’t go our way or we make a pick that they think is dumb. Well now thanks to Drag Race Bracket Bonanza we can give our fans the chance to put up or shut up,” said Enders, a long-time support of the Drag Race Bracket Bonanza movement. “Since Drag Race Bracket Bonanza started, I have loved the game and how much fun it is for drag racing fans and the sport. This is just a natural progression, and we can’t wait to start kicking butt in the Shake and Bake league.”

 
Fans can sign up starting today by logging into www.dragracebracketbonanza.comand clicking the league tab. By using the Shake and Bake DRBB league code “fajitas” they can join the league and start making picks starting with the upcoming New England Nationals, May 30-June 1. The brackets will open for all classes when qualifying concludes on Saturday, May 31.
 
“The league feature for Drag Race Bracket Bonanza has been a big hit for fans, tracks and drag racing programs. Getting the Shake and Bake league up and running is so cool,” said Elon Werner, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza creator. “Part of the reason I started Drag Race Bracket Bonanza was so fans could bust each other chops about their drag racing bracket skills. Lyle, Steve and Courtney are top-tier ball-busters, and I can’t wait to see how their brackets play out.”
 
Since launching the free bracket game for drag racing fans at the 2023 U.S. Nationals, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza has sent prizes to 42 states and five countries outside of the U.S. Those prizes include the DRBB event plaques sponsors this year by Summit Racing Equipment, that are sent to the Overall winner, Top Fuel winner, Funny Car winner, Pro Stock winner and Pro Stock Motorcycle winner at each national event. So far, all DRBB event plaques have been signed by the drivers who won each event.

2025 prizes will also include three trophies designed by Katie Buttera of @applegirlart for winners of The Majors series, a custom Impact Racing helmet signed by all drivers in the Countdown, plans are also in the works for more opportunities for players to pick against NHRA legends and drag racing celebrities.
 
About Drag Race Bracket Bonanza
Drag Race Bracket Bonanza is the first dynamic bracket competition for drag racing fans. Launched during the 2023 U.S. Nationals and improved for the 2024 season, fans could fill out brackets for all four professional categories at the conclusion of professional qualifying. The free game includes league play, text notifications and a robust stats package to make playing even easier for fans. Developed and owned by Werner G+E, Drag Race Bracket Bonanza is the first fan-centric offering from the Dallas-based production company.
 
About Shake and Bake Show
The Shake & Bake Show brings raw drag racing takes, elite guests, and top-tier smack talk with Stevie “Fast” Jackson, Lyle Barnett, and Courtney Enders. Live every other Tuesday at 7:30 PM ET on Steve Jackson Racing’s YouTube!

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (May 21, 2025) – Don’t bet against Chris Dyson at Lime Rock Park, especially if it’s a Trans Am race. Of the five times America’s longest running road racing series has visited the beautiful New England facility in the modern era Dyson has won three times. And the two times he didn’t win, he finished second. Dyson arrives at Lime Rock Park hot off success on the Trans Am by Pirelli Series’ recent West Coast swing. At the wheel of his #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang Dyson won at Laguna Seca earlier this month after finishing a close second the week before at Sonoma. The Sonoma race marked a successful return to the series for the three-time champion after injuries suffered in a crash at the season-opening race at Sebring that forced Dyson to miss the next race at Road Atlanta. “Lime Rock is such a special place for our family and we have had so many memorable moments here,” Dyson said. “This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of our team’s debut race and win in the IMSA Camel GTP series. It inspired me as a boy and I’ve been fortunate to be able to enjoy lots of success here since my earliest driving days. And we always have lots of family and friends attending which only adds to the excitement.   “I can’t say enough about the facility and its recent upgrades,” Dyson continued. “This track layout just generates excitement. Like an oval it is a momentum lap and there is zero let-up here. It is maximum commitment with very little room for error. In a Trans Am car it’s sensational because with the horsepower we have, the corners come up very quickly. I can’t wait to be back racing ‘at home’ again. We have a lot of racing ahead of us this Memorial Day weekend, and I’m honored and humbled to have these opportunities.” Brabham Back for Lime Rock This weekend Matthew Brabham will be making his second start of the season for CD Racing. Standing in for the injured Dyson, Brabham drove Dyson’s #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang to victory at Road Atlanta. This weekend Brabham will be piloting the team’s #21 Ford Mustang. It’s the same car Brabham drove to second place at Lime Rock in 2022. Matos & Concord American Flagpole Look to Extend TA2 Point Lead Rafa Matos is the defending TA2 class series champion and Lime Rock Park race winner. Matos’ victory at Laguna Seca, the first of the season for him and his #57 Concord American Flagpole Chevrolet Camaro, boosted him to the top the championship standing following 11th, 4th and third-place finishes in the first three races of the season. “I’m grateful that Concord American Flagpole colors followed me when I changed teams for the 2025 season,” Matos said. “It was an honor to win the championship showcasing the ‘stars and stripes’ branding last year.  We’ve got some real momentum building after the recent races. A win at Lime Rock on Saturday would be a big help in winning a second straight championship for Concord American.” Matos is the TA2-class all-time race-win leader and in addition to his title last year was also the championship winner in 2021 and in 2018, his rookie year in the series. It’s a mark of Matos’s consistency that his four other TA2 seasons he has never finished lower than third in the championship standings. Concord American Flagpole USAC Sprint Car Team Has Busy Memorial Day Weekend Schedule CD Racing’s open-wheel short-track team is racing three times over the Memorial Day weekend. Brady Bacon will be behind the wheel of the #20 Concord American Flagpole red, white and blue liveried winged sprint car for the Bob Weikert Memorial meet at Pennsylvania’s half-mile dirt surface Port Royal Speedway. Following the races at Port Royal the team will head west to Iowa’s legendary Knoxville Raceway for a pair of USAC non-wing races, May 30-31. Driving the #20 Concord American Flagpole car Bacon recently scored his 60th USAC sprint car feature win. That victory left Bacon just two tallies shy of the all-time USAC sprint car win record established by the retired legend Dave Darland, a mark Bacon could possibly match at Knoxville. For more on Chris Dyson Racing. TA Lime Rock Park Schedule Qualifying takes place Monday, May 26, 8:45 – 9:00 AM ET The 100-mile race takes the green flag Monday, May 26, at 12:00 PM (NOON) ET TA2 Lime Rock Park Schedule Qualifying takes place Saturday, May 24, 9:05 – 9:40 AM ET The 100-mile race takes the green flag Saturday, May 24, at 1:20 PM ET Broadcast Schedule The race will be live-streamed on both SpeedTour.TV and the SpeedTour TV YouTube channel.