CHATHAM, LA (April 17, 2024) – The American Sprint Car Series National Tour officially begins its new chapter under the World Racing Group banner at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, LA, April 19-20.

Featuring the best Sprint Car drivers in the region, the two-day event will see the National championship return to the 1/4-mile track for the first time since 2012. It’ll also be the season-opener for the ASCS Gulf South Region and the continuation of the 2024 season for the ASCS Hurricane Area Super Sprints.

Between the National Tour and regional series, ASCS has visited Super Bee 20 times, dating back to 2002. Five of those visits were for National events, seeing former champions Gary Wright and Jason Johnson swap command of each race. Wright won with the National Tour at Super Bee in 2003, 2004 and 2005, while Johnson also won in 2004 and in 2012. Kevin Ramey won the first ASCS trip to the track in 2002 with the Gulf South Region.

In addition to championship points, drivers will contend for a $4,000 payday each night.

Tickets for the event will be available at the gate. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.com.

On Friday, grandstands will open at 5 p.m. (CT) and Hot Laps are scheduled for 7 p.m. with racing to follow. Then, on Saturday, grandstands will open at 4 p.m. with Hot Laps at 6:30 p.m.

Keep up with the top storylines of the weekend:

NEW CHAPTER: World Racing Group finalized the acquisition of the American Sprint Car Series from Series founder Emmett Hahn in March to help strengthen and grow ASCS and Sprint Car racing.

In the month since, the American Sprint Car Series has already seen enhancements with the hiring of Lonnie Wheatley as the Series Director and Cody Cordell as Competition Director, and the implementation of a $152,000 championship points fund and tow money package for the National Tour.

The top-10 finishing positions in the title race will be paid with the champion earning $40,000; $25,000 for second; $20,000 for third; $15,000 for fourth; $12,000 for fifth; $10,000 for sixth; $9,000 for seventh; $8,000 for eighth; $7,000 for ninth; and $6,000 for 10th.

A new race format has also been established featuring Time Trials – where drivers only time against those in their Hot Lap group and Heat Race – Heats, a Dash, Last Chance Showdown (if need) and a Feature with 22 starters and Provisionals. For the full format, CLICK HERE.

Currently, 14 drivers, representing seven states, are expected to contend for the 2024 title: Brandon Anderson (OK), Seth Bergman (WA), Zach Blurton (KS), Landon Britt (TN), Matt Covington (OK), Hank Davis (OK), Michael Day (TX), Andrew Deal (KS), Terry Easum (OK), Bradley Fezard (AR), Austyn Gossel (CO), Bryan Gossel (CO), Kyler Johnson (KS) and Jordan Knight (KS).

ONE SPOT BETTER: After finishing second in ASCS National Tour points last year, Matt Covington, of Glenpool, OK, returns full-time to chase his first ASCS championship.

The 19-time National Tour winner will continue to pilot his No. 95 Sprint Car for his 11th straight full-time season on the National scene.

He’s spent the early portion of the 2024 season building experience with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, earning a career-best Series finish of 13th at Cotton Bowl Speedway.

BERGMAN RETURNS: After running a part-time schedule the last five years, Seth Bergman, of Snohomish, WA, is set to chase his first National Tour championship again in 2024.

He’s already found success with the American Sprint Car Series this year, making an impressive 15th-to-first charge at Creek County Speedway with the ASCS Sooner Region in March. The victory brought him to 71 career ASCS wins overall – 18 of those are with the National Tour.

The last time he followed the full National Tour in 2018, Bergman earned his career-best points finish of second.

ROOKIE CLASS: The American Sprint Car Series National Tour will have a stout field of Rookie of the Year contenders this year with eight first-year drivers representing four states.

Joining the tour are Zach Blurton (KS), Hank Davis (OK), Andrew Deal (KS), Terry Easum (OK), Bradley Fezard (AR), Austyn Gossel (CO), Bryan Gossel (CO) and Jordan Knight (KS).

Of the group, Blurton is the only one entering the 2024 season with a National Tour win – coming at WaKeeny Speedway in 2022. Davis and Bryan Gossel each have two regional ASCS victories; Davis’ most recent one came in March with the Hurricane Area Super Sprints.

HURRICANE SEASON (SO FAR): The Hurricane Area Super Sprints have contested three races, so far, this season and have seen a different winner in each.

Hank Davis, who is running for Rookie of the Year with the National Tour, won the region’s first race of the year at North Alabama Speedway – his first win with the region and second ASCS win overall. Then, Max Stambaugh also picked up his first Hurricane Area Super Sprints victory the next night at North Alabama.

The most recent victory with the region went to four-time National Tour winner Jan Howard at Louisiana’s Baton Rouge Raceway. Howard is also the current Hurricane Area Super Sprints points leader – 57 ahead of Brandon Blenden.

WEEKEND GLANCE:
When & Where
Date – Friday-Saturday, April 19-20
Track – Super Bee Speedway (1/4-mile in Chatham, LA)

Previous ASCS National Winners at Super Bee
2012 – Jason Johnson on June 18
2005 – Gary Wright on May 6
2004 – Gary Wright on Sept. 24, Jason Johnson on Sept. 25
2003 – Gary Wright on Aug. 31

On The Internet
ASCS Website – ASCSRacing.com
ASCS Facebook – Facebook.com/AmericanSprintCarSeries
ASCS Instagram – Instagram.com/ASCS_Racing
ASCS X – X.com/ASCSRacing
Super Bee Speedway Website – SuperBeeSp

Fidani, Bell set for season’s first street race in No. 13 AWA Corvette DETROIT (April 17, 2024) – The next chapter in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R program gets under way this weekend with the first street race for the first-year racecar in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.  Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and AWA are set for their first appearance at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third round of this year’s GT Daytona (GTD) championship. The 100-minute race features a 27-car grid including 17 production-based GT entries – including the No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The AWA duo is coming off ninth-place class finish in last month’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac. This time around it’s an all-out sprint race for the No. 13 Corvette with close-quarters racing the norm between the concrete barriers along the 1.968-mile, 11-turn Long Beach street circuit. Chevrolet and the Corvette brand have been a fixture at Long Beach since the Corvette Racing program first visited Long Beach in 2007. In 15 visits, Corvette GT cars have captured eight victories with two additional in the Corvette Daytona Prototype era. Combined with results from the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chevrolet boasts a total of 22 victories in the Grand Prix’s two premier events. Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and AWA are set for their first appearance at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third round of this year’s GT Daytona (GTD) championship. The 100-minute race features a 27-car grid including 17 production-based GT entries – including the No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach and FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Imola.  Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 20. The race will air live on USA Network starting at 4:30 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage also on Peacock. IMSA Radio will air Friday’s 5 p.m. ET qualifying and the race at IMSA.com with Sirius 211, XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996 also providing radio coverage of the race.

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s a privilege to be able to be a part of such a historic event. This is a very challenging circuit that requires a lot of focus since the margin of error is so small, but we made some solid progress at Sebring. We’re taking steps in the right direction and doing everything we can to be more and more competitive as the season goes on. The team is working hard as always to give us a great car, and I believe we have some good opportunities to do well in this round.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Long Beach will be an exciting new challenge for Orey and myself, as we have never been there before. I’VE watched the race many times over the years and always wanted to race there, I’m glad the wait is finally over!“Our pace and performance across the week at Sebring gave us a good boost of confidence, and I’ve been told that Long Beach has many similar characteristics, so despite the fact that this is a new circuit for us and we have some gaps in knowledge to fill, I have no doubt that AWA and Corvette will give us a car capable of getting a strong result.”

2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PointsGTD Drivers Standings1. Indy Dontje/Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 7252. Antonio Fuoco/Giorgio Sernagiotto/Roberto Lacorte – 5893. Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer/Jan Heylen – 5704. Albert Costa Balboa/Cedric Sbirrazzuoli/Manny Franco – 5455. Francois Heriau/Miguel Molina/Simon Mann – 48519. Lars Kern/Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 347 GTD Teams Standings1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 7252. No. 47 Cetilar Racing – 5893. No. 120 Wright Motorsports – 5704. No. 34 Conquest Racing – 5455. No. 21 AF Corse – 48518. No. 13 AWA – 347 GTD Manufacturers Standings1. Mercedes-AMG – 7512. Porsche – 6343. Lamborghini – 6164. McLaren – 5505. Lexus – 5277. Chevrolet – 505 CORVETTE RACING BY THE NUMBERS: Long Beach• 3: Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in competition this weekend – No. 13 of AWA at Long Beach, No. 81 and No. 82 of TF Sport at Imola• 4: Generations of Corvette ZR1 (C3, C4, C6 and C7). The eighth-generation Corvette ZR1 will be revealed this summer• 6: Iterations of Corvette GT entries at Long Beach since 2007 – Corvette C6.R GT1 (2007-09, Corvette C6.R GT2/GT (2010-13), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019), Corvette C8.R GTE (2021), Corvette C8.R GTD (2022-2023) and now the Corvette Z06 GT3.R• 8: Number of drivers who have competed at Long Beach for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Johnny O’Connell, Nick Tandy and Jordan Taylor. That list grows this year with addition of Orey Fidani and Matt Bell in the No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R• 8: Number of Long Beach victories in 15 appearances for the Corvette Racing program• 10: Number of Long Beach sports car victories for Chevrolet. Throw in 12 IndyCar wins, and Chevrolet has claimed 22 victories in the event’s two premier races.• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 19: Number of street circuit victories for Corvette Racing – more than any other IMSA entrant at the circuit.• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 45: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Rui Andrade, Sebastien Baud, Hiroshi Koizumi and Tom Van Rompuy joined the list at Qatar to open the WEC season• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 287: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 4,225.27: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 15 previous trips to Long Beach. That represents 2,147 laps around the 1.968-mile street circuit.• 371,612.71: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles Corvette Racing at Long Beach (wins in bold)2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Gavin pole) 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 (Beretta pole, fastest race lap) 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 9th in GT2 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT (Magnussen fastest race lap) 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT (Gavin fastest race lap) 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 5th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GT (Gavin fastest race lap) 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLM (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM (Milner fastest race lap) 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 9th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 5th in GTLM (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTLM 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTD PRO (Taylor pole) 2023No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO

♦ NMRA & NMCA Same Weekend♦ Pro Mods, Renegades & More♦ Heads-Up & Index Racing♦ Thrill Festival (Sat)♦ Insane Jet Cars♦ FMX Motocross Stunt Shows♦ World’s Largest BIGFOOT♦ Race for the Rings Shootouts♦ Giant Car Show♦ True Street & HEMI Racing♦ Huge Midway & More♦ Kids 12 & under FREE & FREE parkingVisit NMRAdigital.com or NMCAdigital.com for a complete schedule of events, including specific daily features. Buy your tickets online or at the gate. Event FeaturesDirectionsDaily ScheduleCar Show FlyerHost Hotel for NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Doubletree by Hilton1000 Eastport Plaza DriveCollinsville, IL 62234618-301-5007Call to Book – ask for NMCA RatesFind Great Deals

Paducah brings the Series to Kentucky for the first time since 2012 while Tri-State makes its annual spring appearance  PADUCAH, KY (April 16, 2024) – The only 2024 trips to Kentucky and Indiana are up next for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.First up is a Friday, April 19, visit to Kentucky’s Paducah International Raceway to bring The Greatest Show on Dirt back to the “Bluegrass State” for the first time in 12 years.Then, a trip north across the Ohio River takes the tour to the “Hoosier State.” Indiana may be known for basketball, but in the Sprint Car world it’s known for bullrings, and down in southern Indiana Haubstadt is home to one of the best – Tri-State Speedway. The quarter mile welcomes the World of Outlaws for the 45th time on Saturday, April 20.A highly anticipated return to a state starved of the nation’s best Sprint Car drivers and one of the most anticipated races of the year is set to create a thrilling double header this weekend.BUY PADUCAH TICKETS HERE BUY TRI-STATE TICKETS BY CALLING (812) 768-6025WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVisionLet’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:BACK IN THE BLUEGRASS: A dozen long years have passed since The Greatest Show on Dirt has competed in the state of Kentucky, but Paducah’s Friday event is set to welcome the tour back to the “Bluegrass State.”Back in 2012 when the World of Outlaws last visited, Paducah was also the destination, and Joey Saldana drove the Kasey Kahne Racing #9 to his 87th career win. Of the 2024 roster, only Donny Schatz, Kraig Kinser, and Bill Rose were full-time for the most recent Kentucky trip.The World of Outlaws have completed 10 races in the state of Kentucky at two tracks – seven at Paducah and three at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway (Calvert City, KY). The first was hosted by Paducah in 1998 and won by Jeff Swindell. All 10 races have produced a different name in Victory Lane, and the trend will continue Friday as none of the previous Kentucky winners will be in the field.TRI-STATE TRIUMPHS: Only two of the current crop of World of Outlaws stars have been to Tri-State Speedway Victory Lane, and they’re two of the best on a quarter-mile – Carson Macedo and David Gravel.The Haubstadt bullring has been one of Macedo’s best tracks throughout the years. The Lemoore, CA driver topped three consecutive trips to Tri-State from 2020-2022. He hasn’t finished worse than fourth at the quarter mile in his last five attempts, and he’s led laps in the last four. The three wins put Tri-State in a tie with Eldora Speedway and Jackson Motorplex for the winningest track on his Series résumé. He’s also tied with Mark Kinser for the fourth most victories. Only Steve Kinser (eight wins), Sammy Swindell (five wins), and Craig Dollansky (four wins) own more.Macedo enters this weekend on a roll of nine consecutive top 10s, including a pair of podiums this past weekend at I-55.Gravel has twice conquered Tri-State (2016 & 2018), and both came when he was behind the wheel of the CJB Motorsports #5. The current point leader has been in the top five in six of his 14 Haubstadt starts.The Watertown, CT native carries the momentum of seven consecutive top fives including a run of five straight top twos at one point during the stretch. His win last Friday at I-55 pushed Big Game Motorsports to 97 World of Outlaws wins as they continue to near the rare triple-digit territory.HAUBSTADT HEARTBREAK: There’s no doubt that Sheldon Haudenschild knows his way around Tri-State Speedway, but a win has eluded him in seemingly every way possible.Back in 2017, Haudenschild led 13 laps before contact with a lapped car left him with a sixth-place finish. The following year he led seven laps before contact with Justin Peck on a restart with 10 laps to go gave him a DNF. The next two visits he finished second including a drive from 18th in 2019. The Wooster, OH native led 10 laps in 2021 before a flat tire with less than 10 laps remaining dropped the heartbreak. And most recently Haudenschild led 16 laps last year before Brady Bacon snuck by with only a few circuits remaining.Overall, he’s led 46 Feature laps and finished runner-up on three occasions, but he’s yet to grasp a checkered flag. He’ll look to change that this weekend with the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing crew as he makes his 11th Haubstadt visit.A RARE DONNY DOUBLE: Not often do the World of Outlaws visit two tracks where Donny Schatz is yet to win, but that’s exactly the scenario this weekend.The 10-time Series champion has been in the pit area for all seven visits to Paducah. After missing the top 10 in the first two, Schatz found consistency with five straight finishes of seventh or better highlighted by a runner-up in 2009.Tri-State Speedway has been the closest thing to kryptonite for the living legend. It’s the track where he’s made the most starts (26) without a win. He’s knocked on the door a handful of times with six top fives, peaking at third in 2008.The Fargo, ND driver has been strong all of 2024 with a 5.46 average finish through the first 13 races. He’ll head to Paducah and Tri-State fresh off an I-55 win looking to challenge for his first victory at both facilities.BUDDY BREAKTHROUGH?: The 2024 season started with some ups and downs for Michael “Buddy” Kofoid and Roth Motorsports, but over the last few weeks they’ve locked into a strong groove.The rookie hasn’t missed the top 10 since a cut tire ended a potential winning run at Volusia in early March. As the weeks continue Kofoid and his team look to be gaining more and more steam toward their first win of the season. Three of the last four races have resulted in podium runs for the Penngrove, CA driver.Friday will mark Kofoid’s Paducah debut, but he’s got plenty of Tri-State experience. He finished 13th with the World of Outlaws last year at Haubstadt. He’s also competed there six times with the USAC National Midgets, bagging a trio of runner-up finishes.PRIMED FOR A FIRST-TIME: There’s something about Tri-State Speedway that makes it a prime location for first-time Series winners. Whether it’s the surface, size, shape, or all three combined, the Indiana oval tends to put new faces in Victory Lane.Six times the quarter mile has provided a driver’s first World of Outlaws win. The trend began with the track’s first race when Lee James won on May 13, 1979. Three months later it was Larry “Buckwheat” Gates taming Tri-State for his one and only Series victory. Fast forward to 1992 when Texan Gary Wright snagged his first checkered flag with The Greatest Show on Dirt at Haubstadt.The latest three new winners have all arrived in the last decade. Indiana’s own Parker Price-Miller went to Victory Lane in August of 2017. Then, in 2020, Marion, IL’s Carson Short traveled one state east for Tri-State glory. Most recently, Brady Bacon topped the 2023 visit to become the 150th different winner in Series history.Saturday offers the next opportunity for another potential new winner to arise from Tri-State Speedway.THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCEWHEN AND WHERE Friday, April 19 at Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, KY Saturday, April 20 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, INON THE INTERNETWorld 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 (13/82 Races):1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports #2 (1860 PTS) 2. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 (-48 PTS) 3. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing #18 (-72 PTS) 4. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing #1S (-88 PTS) 5. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing #41 (-100 PTS) 6. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports #83 (-146 PTS) 7. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17 (-188 PTS) 8. Bill Balog – B Squared Motorsports #17B (-244 PTS) 9. Brock Zearfoss – Brock Zearfoss Racing #3Z (-288 PTS) 10. Landon Crawley – Sides Motorsports #7S (-370 PTS)NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (9 Drivers): 3 Wins – David Gravel 2 Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz 1 Win – Brad Sweet, Tyler Courtney, Brent Marks, Giovanni Scelzi, Carson Macedo, Rico AbreuFEATURE LAPS LED (12 Drivers):80 Laps – David Gravel 56 Laps – Giovanni Scelzi 55 Laps – Carson Macedo 54 Laps – Rico Abreu 42 Laps – Donny Schatz 48 Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild 25 Laps – Brad Sweet 13 Laps – Anthony Macri, Michael Kofoid 10 Laps – Bill Balog 3 Laps – Brent Marks 1 Lap – Tyler Courtney SIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (8 Drivers):3 Quick Times – Carson Macedo 2 Quick Times – Brent Marks, Michael Kofoid, Giovanni Scelzi 1 Quick Time – Landon Crawley, Brian Brown, Aaron Reutzel, David GravelHEAT RACE WINNERS (19 Drivers): 6 Heat Wins – Giovanni Scelzi, David Gravel 5 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild  4 Heat Wins – Brent Marks, Rico Abreu, Michael Kofoid 3 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo 2 Heat Wins – Brian Brown, Tyler Courtney, Landon Crawley 1 Heat Win – Corey Day, Justin Peck, Bill Balog, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Brock Zearfoss, Logan Schuchart, Bill Rose, Ryan Timms, Donny SchatzTOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (26 Drivers):11 Dashes – Giovanni Scelzi 10 Dashes – David Gravel 8 Dashes – Carson Macedo 7 Dashes – Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild, Michael Kofoid 6 Dashes – Bill Balog 5 Dashes – Brent Marks, Donny Schatz, Landon Crawley 4 Dashes – Tyler Courtney, Brian Brown, Logan Schuchart 2 Dashes – Brad Sweet, Aaron Reutzel 1 Dash – Anthony Macri, Justin Peck, Zeb Wise, Corey Day, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Brock Zearfoss, Bill Rose, Ryan Timms, Garet Williamson, James McFadden, Logan McCandlessMICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (10 Drivers):1 LCS – Austin McCarl, Bill Balog, Corey Day, Kasey Kahne, Koty Adams, Jace Park, Anthony Macri, Landon Crawley, Logan McCandless, Garet WilliamsonKSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (11 Drivers):2 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart 1 Hard Charger – Donny Schatz, Aaron Reutzel, Jace Park, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Brock Zearfoss, Chase Randall, Chris Windom, Noah Gass, Austin McCarlPODIUM FINISHES (13 Drivers):7 Podiums – David Gravel 5 Podiums – Donny Schatz, Carson Macedo 3 Podiums – Brad Sweet, Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild, Giovanni Scelzi, Michael Kofoid 2 Podiums – Tyler Courtney, Brent Marks 1 Podium – Justin Peck, Anthony Macri, Aaron ReutzelTOP 10 FINISHES (31 Drivers): 12 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi, David Gravel 11 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart 10 Top 10s – Michael Kofoid 9 Top 10s – Carson Macedo 7 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild, Bill Balog 6 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney 5 Top 10s – Brent Marks, Rico Abreu 4 Top 10s – Anthony Macri, Brock Zearfoss 3 Top 10s – Brad Sweet, Brian Brown, Aaron Reutzel 2 Top 10s – Ryan Timms, Chase Randall 1 Top 10 – Justin Peck, Kasey Kahne, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Zeb Wise, Corey Day, Cory Eliason, Landon Crawley, Jacob Allen, Chris Windom, Garet Williamson, James McFadden, Joe B. Miller, Kraig Kinser2024 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)1. Wed, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brad Sweet (1) 2. Thurs, Feb 8 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1) 3. Fri, Feb 9 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney (1) 4. Sat, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1) 5. Mon, March 4 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1) 6. Fri, March 15 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Brent Marks (1) 7. Sat, March 16 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Giovanni Scelzi (1) 8. Sat, March 23 / Kennedale Speedway Park / Kennedale, TX / Carson Macedo (1) 9. Sat, March 30 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS / Rico Abreu (1) 10. Fri, April 5 / US 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / David Gravel (2) 11. Sat, April 6 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK / Sheldon Haudenschild (2) 12. Fri, April 12 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / David Gravel (3) 13. Sat, April 13 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Donny Schatz (2)For the full 2024 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, CLICK HERE.

CONCORD, NC (April 16, 2024) – Starting at Super Bee Speedway this weekend, the American Sprint Car Series National Tour will utilize a new nightly format.

“We’re moving in the direction we feel best for the series and its drivers,” said ASCS competition/technical director Cody Cordell. “We’re excited for a little change and looking forward to the next chapter of the American Sprint Car Series.”

Based on the format used by the former All Star Circuit of Champions, with some changes in place, the nightly run of events will go as follows:

2024 ASCS National Tour Race Format:

• 2-lap Time Trials (1-3 cars at a time)

• Qualify only against cars that will be in your Hot Lap group and Heat Race.

• Qualifying order will be determined by draw.

• Heats are straight up by time, except for the fastest qualifier in each group/Heat, which will invert to the 4th starting position.

• The penalty for missed Time Trial position, with a two (2) car grace, is one (1) timed lap at the end of qualifying – best you can start your Heat Race is fifth. If for any reason a car takes one lap at the end of qualifying, the car’s time will not be used for Dash eligibility, the car must win its Heat to make the Dash.

• The Heat winner and the quickest transfer from each Heat will have a random draw for Dash starting position. When using a two- and three-Heat format, the quickest Heat qualifier must finish in the top five and on the lead lap of their qualifying heat to remain eligible for the Dash. The finish of the Dash will set the top starting positions of the Feature. There is one five-lap Dash.

• If the quickest Heat qualifier (4th starter) also wins the heat, then that will be the only car from that heat to go into the dash draw. If the quickest heat qualifier (4th starter) does not qualify through their Heat, the Heat winner and next faster qualifier that qualified through their Heat Race will transfer to the Dash.

• Non-dash cars that qualify for the Feature are lined up by Heat Race finish behind the Dash cars (2nd place finishers, then 3rd place finishers, then 4th place finishers etc.)

• Starting position amongst the same place finishing cars will be determined by overall qualifying time.

• Top 2 qualifiers from overall Time Trials not transferring to the Feature will occupy the front row of the Last Chance Showdown. Remaining non-transfer cars are lined up in the Last Chance Showdown, C, & D-Mains up by Heat Race finish.

• Starting position amongst the same place finishing cars will be determined by overall qualifying time.

• D-Main event transfers (2) tag the back of the C-Main event by finish position.
• C-Main event transfers (2) tag the back of the Last Chance Showdown event by finish position.
• Last Chance Showdown event transfers tag (4,6 or 7) the back of the Feature event by finish position.

• 22 Feature starters + Provisionals

This format is for ASCS National Tour events only. ASCS Regional events will follow the traditional draw/passing point system. Questions regarding the format can be directed to Cody Cordell at (918) 407-1879, or ccordell@dirtcar.com.

The 2024 American Sprint Car Series National Tour begins on Friday-Saturday, April 19-20, at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, La.

The 2024 season marks the 33rd season of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the American Sprint Car Series National Tour, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours encompassing Wing and Non-Wing competition.

Live coverage of the National Tour can be found exclusively at http://www.DIRTVision.com.

For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ascsracing).

Apr 16, 2024 | Featured, Race Results

The Randy Meyer Racing Team made their first final round appearance this year at the 2024 NHRA Las Vegas 4-Wide Nationals. Drivers Scott Dean and Hunter Green were behind the wheels of the nitro-burning machines tuned by Randy Meyer. Scott, in the OTG dragster, powered to a 5.296 ET at 263 mph for the no. 3 spot, and Hunter’s best came last of the 4 qualifying sessions running a 5.313 ET at  269 mph to take no. 4.

With only 3 rounds of eliminations running 4 cars at a time, the first round quad saw Hunter go up against Jackie Fricke (12), Mike Quayle (13), and Joey Severance (5). Unfortunately, Hunter’s dragster smoked the tires at the launch ending his weekend. However, Randy was able to use that data to make last minute adjustments to Scott’s dragster that resulted in the round win. Scott faced Casey Grisel (14), Madison Payne (6), and Juan Cantau-Pompa (11) first round. Scott slowed to a 5.312 ET at 269 mph but advanced onto the semi-finals alongside Casey Grisel.

In the second round quad, Scott lined up against Mike Coughlin (2), Mike Lewis (7), and Casey Grisel. Mike Coughlin crossed the finish line first and Scott was second running an improved 5.263 ET at 272 mph to advance to the final round quad.

Up against Shawn Cowie (1), Jackie Fricke, and Mike Coughlin, Scott had the best reaction time of 0.031 and ran a 5.291 ET at 274 mph for his final pass, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Shawn Cowie’s winning 5.200 ET at 279 mph. Scott and Randy Meyer’s team are pleased with their first final round appearance of the season, but of course hope to go home with the Wally.

“We had great success last year at the Las Vegas Regional race and this last weekend was no different,” said Scott. “Unfortunately, it ended up with the same result, losing to Cowie in the final by less than a thousandth of a second. We almost had the hole-shot win by grabbing 9 hundredths on the reaction time, but Cowie was a missile all weekend. Everyone has their own opinion on 4-wide racing, but for me I really enjoyed it. You are forced out of your same routine and comfort zone, which is where I thrive. Randy and the entire RMR crew had the OTG hot rod tuned up great this weekend. I can’t wait to race with RMR at my new home track, Flying H Dragstrip in Odessa, Missouri in June!”

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (April 16, 2024) – Dominic Scelzi returns to the Midwest this week.

The action begins on Tuesday at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla., during the Red Dirt Rumble with the Kubota High Limit Racing series. He’s made one start at the track in 2020 during an All Star Circuit of Champions event.

“I’m looking forward to this week’s High Limit race at Red Dirt,” he said. “We didn’t have the best result there a few years ago so hopefully we can qualify well to set ourselves up for a good night this time around.”

Scelzi will stay in the Midwest to compete this weekend either with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series or High Limit Racing.

The World of Outlaws races are Friday at Paducah International Speedway in Paducah, Ky., and Saturday at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. The High Limit Racing shows are Friday at Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla., and Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla.

“We’re going to watch the weather throughout this week before we make a decision,” Scelzi said. “It’ll be great racing with a talented group of drivers competing whether we’re racing with the World of Outlaws or High Limit.”

Scelzi’s lone scheduled race last weekend – the Peter Murphy Classic at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – was postponed until this summer because of inclement weather.

SEASON STATS –

12 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 12 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Tuesday at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla., for the Red Dirt Rumble with Kubota High Limit Racing

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41

Posted By: Ainsley Jacobs Apr 14, 2024

The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals and Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals returned to North Carolina’s Rockingham Dragway for the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance and Top of the Rock Thrill Festival Presented by Innovation Performance Technologies on April 12-14, 2024, and fans were treated to a full weekend of automotive awesomeness.

Qualifying kicked off for all drag racing categories on Friday morning and on Saturday, the fun festivities were amplified as both the 60^th Anniversary of the Ford Mustang and the Top of the Rock Thrill Festival were in full swing.

From Bigfoot, the world’s largest monster truck, on display to the wild, flame-throwing Dawn Perdue vs. Larry Aldrich Jet Car Shootout, freestyle BMX stunt shows featuring Alex Johan doing a trick off of the back of Bigfoot, TV personality and DJ Clarence Barnes, Miss NMRA/NMCA, 704 Exotics supercar display, Innovation Performance Technologies “Laps of Honor” custom Mustangs, meet-and-greet sessions with No Prep Star George Cunningham of Bad Apple Racing, massive car show featuring the best in American-made muscle, a huge vendor midway, and so much more, the atmosphere was absolutely electric.


The baddest boosted and blown doorslammers came to battle in VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod, and Canada’s Scott Wildgust was the quickest of them all in qualifying with a 3.641 at 208.04 mph trip from his supercharged Ford Mustang. In eliminations, Wildgust met with the number-two qualifier, Bob Glenn, for a showdown of epic proportions. Incredibly, both men ran identical 3.667-second passes at 200+ mph, but Glenn’s -0.003 second reaction time made his moot as the red light defaulted the win to Wildgust instead.

The nitrous-infused entries of ARP Nitrous Pro Street were running flat-out all weekend long, and Kyle Salminen qualified number one when he ran 4.236 at 167.72 mph. Salminen maintained his lead all throughout eliminations as he took round win after round win before staging his car against Nicole Liberty in the finals. It was an incredibly close race with both running 4.26 and 4.27, respectively, but the hundredth of a second advantage resulted in the win lights illuminating in Salminen’s lane.


NMCA Edelbrock Performance Xtreme Street/NMRA VP Racing Lubricants Renegade brought together two fields of fast cars for one big throwdown, and Cameron Massengale held the advantage going into eliminations as he had the quickest qualifying time of 4.522 at 158.84 mph. After a year away from competition, multi-time champion Joel Greathouse was on a winning streak in eliminations until his Fox Mustang exited the chat when it mattered most — the finals. As a result, Josh Hutnick, who had worked hard all weekend to stay in the game, was able to run uncontested and enjoyed an easy win as he broke the beams to solidify his success.

Holley EFI Factory Super Cars contender Jason Dietsch conquered qualifying when he coaxed a 7.752 at 177.51 mph run out of his KSR Racing ride, but it was his teammate, Jonathan Allegrucci, who took top honors for the weekend. After dispatching the competition in rounds one and two, Allegrucci did the same for Mike Clark in the finals; although Clark left the starting line first, Allegrucci was able to drive around him and found success at the stripe for the second year in a row here at Rockingham Dragway.


John Langer topped the list with his 7.714 at 174.96 mph pass during Dart NA 10.5 qualifying and stayed in front of the pack as eliminations progressed. A bye in th first round led to a win in the second, and Langer lined up against Rick Hornback in the finals. Although Hornback had a big holeshot advantage, Langer blasted past him at the top end to take the win with a 7.791 at 178.43 mph time slip in his hand.

The hot new Scoggin-Dickey Street Warrior 10.10 Presented by Chevrolet Performance class saw James Meredith running as close to the 10.10 goal as possible during qualifying, only .004-seconds over. Meredith went out in the semifinals, but Mike Winters and Gary Parker were both still in the running as the sun began to set on Sunday. Although both men broke out with 10.07-second passes, Winters was three-thousandths closer to the 10.10 mark and snatched the victory from Parker’s grasp at the last second.

Longtime LME Street King Presented by Chevrolet Performance racer Keith Vaughn qualified first after running 10.005 on his 10.00 index. Vaughn put up a valiant effort and earned a place in the finals, but his 9.981 on a 10.00 dial-in left the door wide open for David Rickey in the opposing lane to wrap up the win with his 10.519 on a 10.50 dial.

Richard Mace was the number-one qualifier in Proform Rumble Presented by Chevrolet Performance as he was aiming for an 11.00 and went 11.030, but Tim Poston was the last man standing when it came time for eliminations. There, Poston bested Regina Puckett and he wrapped up his weekend with a winning 10.069 trip on his 10.00 index.

The Micro Strategies Stock category had a strong showing, and Dave Swanson ranked at the top of the order as eliminations began. The competition was cutthroat as the number of hopeful drivers was cut in half with each passing round. Ultimately, it was Rodney Ward and Rodney Worrell who hung on until the bitter end, but Ward found sweet success when his 12.492 at 99.14 mph run on his 12.30 dial in bested Worrell’s 9.466 on an 8.89 target.


Similarly, in Micro Strategies Super Stock, the number-one qualifying honor went to Brian Oakes but Mark Nowicki and Jeff Ross captured the limelight in the last round of eliminations. There, both men ran close to their dial-ins, but Nowicki put together a better package for the win when he went 9.542 on his 9.51 to Ross’s 10.580 on a 10.58.


In Erson Cams Nostalgia Muscle Presented by World Products qualifying, Jeff Toepper was closest to his index of 11.25 and slipped into the number one spot as a result but it was Dan Sisson who ultimately came out on top. In the finals, Sisson dispatched Jeff Toepper into the runner up position when Sisson turned the win light on in his lane by running 10.197 on his 10.25 dial while Toepper went 11.178 on his 11.25 expectation.

TD Holland qualified first in the Nostalgia Super Stock field, but ended his weekend in second overall after scoring the runner up spot due to an unfortunate red light of -0.002 in the finals. Tim Frees, on the other hand, was clean and green as he left the line running on a 10.50 dial in, and Frees’s 10.46 at 128.83 mph pass was inked in the books as a winning one.

Two top MagnaFuel Open Comp racers cut incredible, perfect 0.0000-second lights in qualifying, but Scott Williams’ overall performance entitled him to the higher ranking over Will McKay. The five rounds of eliminations reshuffled the field with advances and upsets alike, producing a final round featuring Taylor Dietsch and Gordon Harlow. The heavy hitters were both going for it, but Harlow left the line just six-thousandths of a second too soon so Dietsch was able to easily cruise to an uncontested conquest.

A bunch of bracket racers ran for bragging rights on Sunday in Bracket Open, but only the best of the best got to hang around until the evening. As the rest packed up to head home, Rodney Ward and Dell Britt had one last chance for glory – and Ward seized not only the moment, but also the win as he captured his third Victor Award of the weekend as he had won in Micro Strategies Stock and NMRA HP Tuners Super Stang as well.

The new eighth-mile bracket category for drivers ages 13-16 in full-size vehicles, Innovative Performance Technologies Jr. Street, had a handful of hopeful youngsters hustling down the dragstrip. The final two, though, were Hunter Marshall and Justin Jones, both trying their luck at a win but it was Marshall who triumphed with a 9.08 second run on his 9.00 dial as Jones ran a touch too quickly.

On Saturday, the region’s raciest street cars converged on Rockingham Dragway for a 30-mile cruise around the area to before taking to the track to make three back-to-back quarter-mile in Circle D Specialties True Street. When the results were tallied, New Jersey resident Mark Sordato had averaged 9.517 seconds with his Pontiac GTO and was officially awarded the overall win. Shelly Schwemley took second, while Tyler Thomburg won the 10-second group, John Harrell Jr. won the 11-second group, Jerry Jones won the 12-second group, Daniel Huth won the 13-second group, Paul Falcon won the 14-second group, and Mike Baker won the 15-second group.

Also on Saturday, the Hemi-centric Dodge Direct Connection Shootout showcased more than three dozen modern Mopars, but it was Bryce Rohrs of Hicksville, Ohio, who had the quickest of them all. His 2020 Dodge Challenger clocked a three-run average elapsed time of 9.265 seconds to take the overall win, while John Johnson earned the runner up honors. Additional category winners included Michelle Day (9-second), Roberto Vera (10-second), Mike Brice (11-second), Harry Lubitz (12-second), and Ryan Walton (13-second).


The eight quickest Dodge Direct Connection Shootout finishers were welcomed back on Sunday to compete in the exclusive HHP Racing Quick 8 Presented by Scoggin-Dickey competition on a handicapped staggered start and Tripp Carter swept the field. Not only did Carter capture the victory, he also had the lowest elapsed time of each of the three rounds, and the top speed and best reaction time in both the semifinals and the finals for a truly epic weekend.

For the special Open Comp All-Star Shootout, NMCA’s best and brightest took on the top talent from the NMRA. After whittling down the 16-car field, both Jim Johnson and Terry Haynal broke out in the final round but Johnson had the lesser of two evils and was deemed the winner.

Racing wrapped up on Sunday evening with celebrations in the Winner’s Circle and Victor Award presentations for all the successful drag race drivers. The Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals will continue its 2024 season tour with the 19th Annual NMRA/NMCA Race for the Rings & Thrill Festival at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis in Madison, Illinois, over the weekend of May 3-5, 2024. For more information and advance tickets, visit NMCAdigital.com.

Apr 14, 2024

Despite the challenges of rain early in the event schedule, the sun shined on the racetrack when it counted and the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals series campaign powered on at Rockingham Dragway with the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals Presented by Sipple’s Speed & Performance and Top of the Rock Thrill Festival Presented by Innovation Performance Technologies, which delivered fast Fords and plenty of fun for all those in attendance.    “NMRA is celebrating Mustang’s 60th birthday all season long, but with our second event rolling into Rockingham just days before its birthday, a celebration was in order,” Steve Wolcott, President and CEO of NMRA, said. “We felt the power of Ford’s pony car throughout the weekend, and it was rewarding seeing so many smiling fans in the stands.”   NMRA celebrated the Mustang’s 60th birthday with special Mustang Day celebrations both on and off the racetrack, as the UPR Products All-Ford Car Show offered a Mustang-only grouping and the huge Circle D Specialties True Street class included a Mustang Day classification as well. 

  During downtime on the drag strip, fans enjoyed photo opportunities with the World’s Largest BIGFOOT Monster Truck, which also cruised the Top of the Rock and joined in on the BMX Freestyle Stunt Show action, where riders did tricks out of the bed and off the tires of the towering Ford pickup.    While the excitement atop The Rock kept fans engaged and entertained throughout the day, the heads-up, index, and street-car racing classes on the drag strip are the foundation of NMRA’s program. From storied categories like VP Racing Lubricants Renegade to the fresh Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10, there were plenty of fast Fords on the property vying for victory and coveted trips to the NMRA Winner’s Circle.   “This was our biggest Rockingham event to date, and it even exceeded the levels that we attained during the All-Star Nationals longstanding run at the now-closed Atlanta Dragway,” Rollie Miller, NMCA General Manager and National Event Director, added. “Our racers put on a great show this weekend, and the momentum of both series is strong headed into our Race for the Rings event in St. Louis.”

  It is Josh Hutnick riding that wave into the next event, having qualified in the second slot in the combined NMRA VP Racing Lubricants Renegade/NMCA Edelbrock Xtreme Street class with a 4.55 at 162 mph. After qualifying, Hutnick powered through eliminations and was set to square off with number-three qualifier Joel Greathouse. Unfortunately for the defending champ, Greathouse, experienced breakage in the semifinals and handed the easy win to Hutnick in the finals.    In the high-flying Vengeance Clutch Coyote Stock category, Shane Stymiest posted a 9.64 at 137 rip to take the pole in qualifying over the 13 other competitors in the class. Stymiest had a strong run until he clashed with eventual runner-up Chad Stephens. In the final, Stephens and his Dirty Bird faced Charlie Booze Jr. Stephens left first but Booze drove around him for the win with a 9.68 to Stephens’s 9.78.   Class regulars Mike Bowen and Damien Stephens squared off in the Richmond Gear Factory Stock competition at The Rock. Bowen took the top qualified spot with a 10.20 at 119.40 pass. Bowen carried that advantage through to eliminations, where he got the jump at the light and powered to a win with a 10.02 at 131.85 blast over Stephens’ 10.41 at 128.83 mph hit. 

  Stacked with 19 entries, the Suncoast Performance 8.60 Street Race class competition was fierce, with the top 12 competitors qualifying at 8.68 or quicker. However, it was Willie Lujan hauling all the way from South Florida who nailed the top spot in qualifying with his 8.601 at 158.79 mph pass. After five fierce rounds of competition, Gavin Black faced off against Houston McClain. Both racers knew it would be close, and McClain left a bit too early, handing the easy triumph to Black, who ran an 8.75 at 143.08 mph as he cruised to the win.   A new championship category this season, Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts Street Bandit 10.10 attracted a robust field of racers. The top four qualifiers were all in striking distance of the class index limit, with Bill Wittenauer right in the mix in the third slot with a 10.13 at 132 mph. He took out Chris Hammon, Cary Shotwell, and Charlie Atchinson en route to a final-round battle with Brayden Creamer. Both ran slightly quicker than 10.10, but Wittenauer’s quick work at the tree meant the race was over right off the line.   Qualified by reaction time, Truck & SUV saw Gregory Collins ascend to the top spot before eliminations began courtesy of a .0026 at the tree. That good fortune followed him into eliminations, where he clashed with former champion Mike Roup, whose Ranchero recently survived an electrical fire. Collins chopped down the tree and ran an 11.65 on an 11.65 dial-in to vanquish Roup.



With more than 30 cars competing in the ARP Open Comp class, the competition was fierce as Charlie Atkinson qualified in the top spot with a .0001 reaction time. Atkinson fell in the first round, but defending champion Dennis Corn danced around his dial-in all day long to go rounds. His T-bird flew into the final round against Charlie McCulloch. There, Corn was a little late at the lights, but took the win on a double breakout to hold off McCulloch and take home the win.   Longtime racer Adam Cox put his experience to work in qualifying, as to bested 12 other racers to put his New Edge stallion at the head of the class in Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle with a .0017 reaction time. Adam carried that momentum into the final round against the always tough Susan McClegnahan. He was running it right on the edge at the tree durng eliminations, however, and lit the red bulb in eliminations, handing her the easy win in the final.   Among the dozen cars competing in the HP Tuners Super Stang class, Ray Williams Sr. nabbed the top qualifying position with a .0013 reaction time, but he headed for the trailer in the first round of eliminations courtesy of eventual winner Rodney Ward. Ward put his S197 in the NMRA Winner’s Circle by defeating Dale Aldridge in the final round with quick work at the tree and a 12.50-second run on a 12.40 dial-in.    It was Mark Schiffner who powered to the first qualified position in CJ Pony Parts Ford Muscle on the merit of a 10.26 pass on a 10.25 index. However, as the field narrowed in eliminations, two familiar faces persevered as David Mormann clicked off a 10.745-second run on a 10.75 dial-in to best Cindee Hall’s off-pace 13.58-second pass on a 12.75 dial-in.   In the combined NMRA/NMCA Circle D Specialties True Street, several Fords triumphed to uphold NMRA’s honor. Shelly Schwemly earned runner-up honors thanks to a 9.789 average of three back-to-back runs. All the cars in the True Street class first completed a 30-mile cruise before those runs, and other Ford winners included Tyler Thornburg (10-second), John Harrell Jr. (11-second), Jerry Jones (12-second), Daniel Huth (13-second), and Mike Baker (15-second).    It was a display of pure pony power, as NMRA celebrated the Ford Mustang’s 60th birthday with a special Mustang Day Circle D Specialties True Street class. A busy Willie Lujan piloted his 1990 Mustang LX to the overall win with an 8.825 average, besting runner-up Willy Blanco’s 2016 Mustang, which clocked a 10.02 average. Other winners included Ray Roman (10-second), Kevin McCotter (11-second), Ray Williams Sr. (12-second), Rodney Ward (13-second), Elaine Moistner (14-second), and Ken Mason (15-second).

  In Innovation Performance Technologies Jr. Street, which lets teens from 13 through 16 years old graduate from Jr. Dragsters into full-size race vehicles, Hunter Marshall topped Justin Jones to earn a trip to the Winner’s Circle.   It was a busy weekend for Rodney Ward as he not only took the crown in HP Tuners Super Stang, but he survived five rounds of Fastest Street Car Bracket Open competition to race Dell Britt in the finals. There, Ward won the battle at the tree and the war at the stripe with an 8.08 on and 8.04 dial-in to take home another win.   Holley NMRA Ford Nationals racers once again join forces with their friends at the Red Line Oil NMCA Muscle Car Nationals series for the 19th Annual NMRA/NMCA Race for the Rings & Thrill Festival on May 3-5 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, outside St. Louis.  

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models head south for big paydays and big showings 

CONCORD, NC (April 16, 2024) – After a weekend of photo finishes and wild racing, the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models will turn their attention to a massive three-day weekend in Tennessee and Alabama. 

The swing begins with the Series’ debut at Thunderhill Raceway for the Summertown Showdown on Thursday, April 18. The night has the Outlaws dueling for a $10,000 payday at the 3/8-mile track – the first of 16 new venues the Series will compete at in 2024. 

Then, it’s a three-hour drive toward the Talladega Short Track – just outside the Talladega Superspeedway, which will be hosting its NASCAR weekend. For the second straight year, the World of Outlaws will bring the party to Eastaboga for two nights of the Alabama Gang 100, Friday-Saturday, April 19-20. 

Friday opens the competition with twin $4,000-to-win Feature races. That leads to Saturday’s finale – a 75 lap Feature with $35,000 on the line. 

The World of Outlaws will be joined by the United Sprint Car Series both nights, which will feature drivers like 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe. 

If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch every World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model race live on DIRTVision. 

Here are the top storylines to look out for this weekend: 

Smooth Momentum – Similar to his 2023 performance, Oakwood, IL’s Bobby Pierce put on a clinic in the two days at Farmer City Raceway, finishing second to Nick Hoffman in a finish for the ages on Friday night before commanding the 60-lap finale on Saturday night to claim his second consecutive Illini 100. 

“The Smooth Operator” climbed his way up to eighth in the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models points standings after a points penalty from Volusia Speedway Park dropped him to 16th entering the Illinois weekend. 

He’ll look to keep climbing this weekend. Thunderhill will be a new track for him, but Pierce was on track for a potential win at Talladega last year before one of his wheels broke.  

Breaking The Ice -– At the start of 2024, Marshalltown, IA driver Ryan Gustin began his new tenure with Todd Cooney Motorsports on the right foot by winning the Ice Bowl at the Talladega Short Track on January 7. 

The pilot of the #19R has been experimental with his car through the first four months, driving a Longhorn Chassis before currently switching to an Infinity Chassis by Wells Motorsports under the sheet metal of his #19R dirt Late Model. 

He’s yet to score a top-10 finish with the World of Outlaws, so far, this year, but his success at Talladega could change that this weekend. In addition to his win there this year, he finished third in the Alabama Gang 100 last year. 

Race To Thrill – Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman continued to show his growth as a dirt Late Model driver last weekend by making himself the winningest World of Outlaws driver, so far. 

On Friday night, he had a tight battle with Bobby Pierce through the final turn at Farmer City Raceway, jumping over the banking and onto the horse track to take the win by 0.072 seconds over Pierce. He followed that up with a second-place result on Saturday night to Pierce. 

Hoffman now sits third in points, only 34 points behind leader Brandon Sheppard, with two wins – bringing him to three career Outlaw wins overall. He’ll try to keep that momentum going this weekend and improve upon his sixth-place run in the Alabama Gang 100 last year. 

Shepp’s Challenging Beginning – Four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard enters the weekend with the momentum of having increased his points lead over Chris Madden to 24-points after Farmer City. Getting there, though, wasn’t easy. Sheppard had to use an emergency provisional to start the Feature, but then proceeded to charge from 23rd to fifth in the 60-lap Feature. 

He’s yet to finish outside the top-10 this season – a stat he currently shares with Cade Dillard – and will have three more chances to continue that trend, while still looking for his first win this weekend. A win at Thunderhill or Talladega would be a first for the New Berlin, IL driver. 

WHEN AND WHERE 

Thunderhill Raceway in Summertown, TN 

Talladega Short Track in Talladega, AL 

ABOUT THE TRACK  

Thunderhill Raceway is a 3/8-mile high-banked, red clay oval 

Talladega Short Track is a 3/8-mile high-banked, red clay oval 

TRACK RECORD 

Talladega Short Track – 12.420 sec. by Jason Hiett on 3/28/19 

ONLINE  
Thunderhill Raceway at https://www.thunderhillracewaypark.com/  

Talladega Short Track at https://www.talladegashorttrack.com/ 

ON THE INTERNET  
World of Outlaws CASE Late Models Series  
X – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels  
Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels  
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries  
YouTube – YouTube.com/WorldofOutlaws  
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month 

AROUND THE TURN 

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models visit Arrowhead Speedway on Friday, April 26, then 81 Speedway on Saturday, April 27. 

FEATURE WINNERS: (4 Drivers)  
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins 

1. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2 
2. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2 
3. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1 
4. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 

HEAT RACE WINNERS (15 Drivers) 
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins 

1. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 4 
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 3 
3. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 3 
4. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 3 
5. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 3 
6. Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 3 
7. Dale McDowell – Chickamauga, GA – 2 
8. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 2 
9. Shannon Babb – Moweaqua – IL -1 
10. Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 1 
11. Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1 
12. Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 1 
13. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1 
14. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 
15. Garrett Smith – Eatonton, GA – 1 

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (11 Drivers)  
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins 

1. Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 3 
2. Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 2 
3. Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 2 
4. Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1 
5. Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 1 
6. Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1 
7. Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – 1 
8. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 
9. Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – 1 
10. Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – 1 
11. Tripp Gerrald – Versailles, KY – 1 

PODIUM FINISHES (10 Drivers)  
Rank – Driver – Hometown – Podiums 

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 4 
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 3 
3. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 3 
4. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 2 
5. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 1 
6. Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1 
7. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1 
8. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 1 
9. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 1 
10. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 

FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER (4 Drivers)  
Rank – Driver – Hometown – H.C. 

1. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 2 
2. Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 2 
3. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 1 
4. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1 

SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (4 Drivers)  
Rank – Driver – Hometown – QTs  

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 2 
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1 
3. Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – 1 
4. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1 

MD3 ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD (3 Drivers) 

Rank – Driver – Hometown – Wins 

1. Cody Overton – Evans, GA – 4 
2. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1 
3. Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 1 

BILSTEIN REDRAW POLE AWARD (5 Drivers) 

Rank – Driver – Hometown – Poles 

1. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 2

2. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1 

3. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1

4. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1

5. Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1 

CASE FEATURE LAP LEADERS (8 Drivers)  
Rank – Driver – Hometown – Laps Led 

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 48 
2. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 47 
3. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 40 
4. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 29 
5. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 27 
6. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 16 
7. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 15 
8. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 6 

2024 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & Winners 

1. Friday, Jan. 19/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Devin Moran 
2. Saturday, Jan. 20/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Hudson O’Neal 
3. Thursday, Feb. 15 /Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Nick Hoffman 
4. Friday, Jan. 19/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Devin Moran (2) 
5. Friday, Apr. 12/Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/Nick Hoffman (2)
6. Saturday, Apr. 13/Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/Bobby Pierce

TF Sport team buoyed by pre-race testing at Italian circuit ahead of Round 2 DETROIT (April 16, 2024) – Corvette Racing and TF Sport write their next chapter together this weekend as the team and its pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs travel to Italy for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Imola. The goal this time around for TF Sport and Chevrolet is to earn more points in the LM GT3 Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams championship standings. Both the No. 81 and No. 82 Corvettes came away from the season-opening event in Qatar with points and positives to take into the Italian round.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Imola..  Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

Tom Van Rompuy earned himself and his teammates one point with a pole-position run at Qatar and will continue teaming with Rui Andrade and Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood in the No. 81 Corvette – primarily yellow with black accents. The reverse colors are present on the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R with the trio of Hiro Koizumi, Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory pilot Daniel Juncadella together again after a 10th-place finish in Qatar – netting two valuable championship points, as well. The second round of the championship is at a new venue for the Corvette brand, but not for TF Sport. Already, the team has undertaken a robust testing program at the 3.05-mile, 19-turn circuit in which the two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs recorded more than 3,000 kilometers. TF Sport has raced just once at Monza but it was a stellar outing – a 1-2 finish in the European Le Mans Series’ GTE class and the LMP2 Pro-Am victory in 2022. In addition, Corvette Racing has tasted success in Italy during the last two FIA WEC seasons: it won the GTE Pro class at Monza in 2022 with the Corvette C8.R, and the team wrapped up the GTE Am Drivers and Teams titles in 2023 also at Monza. The FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Imola Prologue is set for 1 p.m. Central European Time / 7 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, April 21. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage of the race and Friday’s qualifying, as will the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race plus Friday’s final practice and qualifying.

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 81 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I feel everyone is thinking the same thing in that it will be a super-tough race with traffic. As we know, Imola has the characteristics of one of the more old-school European tracks. With that, it makes passing between GT3 and Hypercar very difficult. We were testing at Imola a few weeks ago in the Corvette, and the delta of lap time between GT3 and Hypercar was significantly smaller than most circuits. The main reason for this is that at Imola in the GT3 cars, you can take a lot of curbs. There has been a completely new profile of the curbing around most of the circuit so that the GT3s can get right on top of the curbs, which the Corvette was handling very well at the test but the Hypercars cannot; they have to drive around them. So the laptime delta is going to be very small and I feel they are going to struggle to pass the GT cars very easily. So you’re going to see a lot of aggression into braking zones and things like that. It’s going to be an interesting race and hard to know how it’s fully going to pan out. But it will be action-packed and with a chance of some collisions between cars in different classes.”I have raced at Imola in LMP2. That in itself was very difficult with the traffic. If anything, the Hypercars may struggle even more as they are a heavier car and can’t take the curbs as much as the P2s. We might find that some Hypercars may be stuck behind GT3s for half a lap or maybe a third of a lap, which is a significant laptime loss for those guys.”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I did a race in 2022 with GT World Challenge at Imola where I finished second. It’s a pretty cool track, to be fair, with not much rest between corners; there aren’t many long straights so there is a lot of activity in your driving. The Corvette felt pretty good at the test. It was a positive session, and it was positive because my teammates did pretty well. Both Seb and Hiroshi… especially Hiro. He found a lot of speed during the two days, which is very encouraging. As I’ve said before, our result in the end ultimately depends a lot on their performance. They were both impressive, which is encouraging as a sort of driver coach.”An interesting feature about Imola is that at most of the corners, there are very high curbs. It’s a quite unique driving style because you need to use as much as you can from the curbs. But on the other hand, it’s difficult to set up the cars to ride those curbs properly. In the test, we could see that it was quite upsetting when you were beating those big curbs. But there is a way to go through to maximize the car balance and performance.”Also there is the atmosphere around the corner where Aryton Senna crashed. There is a statue of him, a lot of flowers and a lot of memories. It’s always special to be in such an environment. You can feel that vibe around the track.”

SEBASTIEN BAUD, NO. 82 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I am very much looking forward to participating in this second round of the World Endurance Championship. We have had good preparation with the team and my teammates. And above all, a good analysis of our performances after the first round in Qatar. I am very determined for this six-hour race and also to demonstrate the full potential of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Imola is going to be a tricky race with traffic. You will have to remain very attentive, while being quick.”

2024 FIA World Endurance Championship PointsLMGT3 Drivers Standings1. Aliaksandr Malykhin/Joel Sturm/Klaus Bachler – 382. Alex Riberas/Daniel Mancinelli/Ian James – 273. Clement Mateu/Erwan Bastard/Marco Sorensen – 234. Ahmad Al Harthy/Maxime Martin/Valentino Rossi – 185. David Rigon/Francesco/Castellacci/Thomas Flohr – 1510. Daniel Juncadella/Hiroshi Koizumi/Sebastien Baud – 211. Charlie Eastwood/Rui Andrade/Tom Van Rompuy – 1 LMGT3 Teams Standings1. No. 92 Manthey PureRxcing – 382. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team – 273. No. 777 D’Station Racing – 234. No. 46 Team WRT – 185. No. 54 Vista AF Corse – 1510. No. 82 TF Sport – 211. No. 81 TF Sport – 1 CORVETTE RACING BY THE NUMBERS: Imola• 2: Starts for Corvette Racing in Italy – both at Monza in WEC (2022, 2023)• 3: Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in competition this weekend – No. 13 of AWA at Long Beach, No. 81 and No. 82 of TF Sport at Imola• 4: Generations of Corvette ZR1 (C3, C4, C6 and C7). The eighth-generation Corvette ZR1 will be revealed this summer• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 19: Number of street circuit victories for Corvette Racing – more than any other IMSA entrant at the circuit.• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 45: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. Rui Andrade, Sebastien Baud, Hiroshi Koizumi and Tom Van Rompuy joined the list at Qatar to open the WEC season• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 287: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 4,225.27: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 15 previous trips to Long Beach. That represents 2,147 laps around the 1.968-mile street circuit.• 371,612.71: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles Corvette Racing in Italy (wins in bold)2022No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy (Monza) – 1st in GTE Pro 2023No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone (Monza) – 4th in GTE Am (clinched GTE Am championship)

Runner-up in two races, teams seek to continue strong efforts at Long Beach

DETROIT (April 16, 2024) – After two races totaling 36 hours, the 100-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race in Long Beach, California, will feel like a Saturday stroll on a city beach. Cadillac Racing will seek its sixth victory in seven races this week on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit and manufacturer-leading 30th win in IMSA prototype competition since 2017. A Cadillac DPi won five consecutive races through 2022 (no event in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), including podium sweeps in ‘22 and ’21, to extend GM’s victory streak to seven in the event. A Chevrolet Corvette DP won the 2015 and ’16 races.

Following runner-up finishes by both the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, in addition to front-row qualifying lockouts, in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) races this season, teams and drivers are primed to occupy the top step in Victory Circle. “It’s a straightforward race with one pit stop and one driver change, but you have to get it right,” said Sebastien Bourdais, who will share time in the seat with Renger van der Zande. Cadillac swept the podium in 2022 on Long Beach circuit.

By Bryan Hulbert CONCORD, NC (April 15, 2024) – Kansas native Jordan Knight is joining the American Sprint Car Series National Tour full-time in 2024 with the Danny King-owned No. 88 – a car synonymous with racing around the Midwest.

Carrying on the memory of Steve King, who lost his life in an on-track accident in 2006, Knight began talking with the King family midway through the 2023 season about bringing the Steve King Foundation No. 88 on tour.

“We started talking about it last year. I was originally going to try tackling it in our family car, but I knew that was a long shot,” Knight said.

“I’ve driven for Danny several times over the last few years, and he knew this was something I was aiming for, so over the winter, he called and asked if we were going to do anything. I went up and met with him, and he said he wanted to help, so we basically merged our teams, with Danny being the car owner. I’m very thankful because tackling the National Tour wouldn’t be possible without his help.”

A graduate of the United Rebel Sprint Series in Kansas, Knight has been behind the wheel for nine years. Chasing points twice with the URSS, Knight placed inside the top three in tour standings both times. He picked up his first win with the Series last year.

“Taking the American Sprint Car Series for the first time, I would say nervous is an understatement,” he said. “If we could be a consistent top-10 car, that is my ultimate goal. Anything more than that is great.”

Fans can keep up with the driver of the Triple X Chassis/Next Era Energy No. 88 by following https://www.facebook.com/KnightRacing1011K.

The 2024 American Sprint Car Series National Tour begins Friday-Saturday, April 19-20, at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, La.

The 2024 season marks the 33rd season of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the American Sprint Car Series National Tour, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours encompassing Wing and Non-Wing competition.

Live coverage of the National Tour can be found exclusively at http://www.DIRTVision.com.

For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ascsracing).

BATAVIA, Ohio (April 15, 2024) – The voting is now open for the Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver Contest. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Most Popular Driver Contest is based solely on the fan votes. The winner of the Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver award will be announced during the annual Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Awards Banquet in December.  The Deatherage Most Popular Driver will receive a $500 cash bonus and product certificate from Deatherage Opticians. Voting will continue through December 1, 2024. Fans can vote for their favorite driver by visiting https://www.lucasdirt.com/most-popular-driver. To be eligible for the 2024 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver Award, a driver must maintain 100% attendance on the tour. Fans may vote for one (1) eligible Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series driver per ballot submission. Voting is limited to one (1) vote per person. Deatherage Opticians is a family-owned business for over 38 years founded by Terry Deatherage, now owned and run by his son Greg Deatherage. Greg is an avid dirt late model fan and has helped several dirt late model drivers with their personal eyewear. For all your eyewear needs visit www.deatherageopticians.com For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. About Deatherage OpticiansDeatherage Opticians in Wichita Falls, TX has been providing eyewear needs to customers since 1961. They offer an extensive selection of eyewear for men, women, and children as well as contact lenses and a complete line of accessories. Visit their website at www.deatherageopticians.com. Follow Deatherage Opticians on their social pages at https://www.facebook.com/deatherageoptical, https://twitter.com/deatherageopti1 and at https://www.instagram.com/deatherage_opticians/. Or call them directly with any questions or purchases at (940) 723-7241.

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2024, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 63 events across 16 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package streamed live via FloRacing, with select broadcasts on MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 15, 2024) – Defending Trans Am by Pirelli series champion and 2023 race winner Chris Dyson took a hard-fought victory Saturday at NOLA Motorsports Park in suburban New Orleans, streaking under the checkered flag in his #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang a scant 0.390 seconds ahead of the Mustang of Paul Menard. “It was a great race with Paul,” Dyson after climbing from his car at the winner’s circle. “We were phenomenal on long runs.  We had worked hard all weekend to find a balance between one-lap pace and full race performance, and that’s never easy with these levels of horsepower and on such hot days.  My hat’s off to the crew for giving me this rocket ship today.” Menard, winner of the season opener at Sebring after Dyson was taken out in a first-turn crash, acknowledged that fact following the race. “Chris was just too fast on old tires,” he said. Dyson, starting second and running with a chassis setup that maximized the performance of his tires over the course of the entire race, shadowed pole-sitter Paul Menard for the first three-quarters of the 100-mile sprint before seizing the lead at the event’s three-quarter mark. After pure bad racing fortune denied him a victory in the first two races of the season, it looked like Dyson had the third round of 2024 in hand after overtaking Menard and pulling a gap. A couple of laps later a red flag incident that left the field parked for a substantial period appeared to negate Dyson’s advantage and perhaps give one to Menard, whose car was very strong on cold tires on restarts. But with four laps remaining in the race Dyson timed the rolling restart perfectly and established a slim but significant half-second lead over Menard. “I knew it was critical that I not let Paul get close enough to make a move, so I couldn’t afford even the slightest mistake.  I drove the sections where I was quicker like a madman just to build a margin.  But Paul was still hanging with me, so I had to be absolutely relentless and give it everything down the stretch.” Dyson forecast that the remainder of the season would continue to feature this same kind of hard racing which defined this season so far and indeed the Trans Am Series in its more than half-century history. “Paul is really strong, Tomy (Drissi, a former series champion) is still getting up to full speed with his new team, and Adam (Andretti, winner at Road Atlanta) is going to be a threat all season. It’s going to be a fight every weekend.  I can’t wait for the next one.” With his 24th Trans Am Series victory at NOLA Motorsports Park, Dyson moved into joint fourth on the all-time Trans Am winners list. Matos Domination of NOLA TA2 Race Makes for a Weekend Sweep by CD Racing’s Branding Partners Driving a Concord American Flagpole-branded Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang, Rafa Matos on Sunday scored his first CUBE 3 Architecture TA2-class win of 2024. The win by the two-time TA2 champion was eerily similar to Dyson’s win in the TA class the previous day. Matos won the pole position, and then shadowed the early race leader before taking the lead and holding to the finish. “Thanks to Chris Dyson and Concord American Flagpole for supporting me this year,” Matos said after climbing for his car and before mounting the top step of the podium. Adding to his 2018 and 2021 series titles, the victory at NOLA, his 21st, makes Matos the winningest driver in TA2 history. The Concord American Flagpole branding, which also features prominently in CD Racing’s open-wheel dirt-track racing program, made its first Trans Am appearance in 2022 when Matthew Brabham drove a CD Racing entry into Victory Lane at Virginia International Raceway.  “I’m happy CD Racing was able to bring our USAC Silver Crown and sprint car partner to support Rafa with Nitro in his quest for a third championship,” Dyson said. “He’s doing a terrific job on track and showcasing the company.  It was amazing for us to each win races on the same weekend.  Here’s to continued success!” Matos’ next race is May 11, when the TA2 class races at World-Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL. Click here for more on Chris Dyson Racing. Next Up: Lime Rock Park With his win in New Orleans Dyson has closed the TA championship points gap to series leader Menard to just 8 points. The Trans Am Series’ next event is on Memorial Day at the Dyson team’s home track, Lime Rock Park in rural Northwest Connecticut. Dyson has won three of the four races run during the current Trans Am era at the short but very fast New England circuit. And last year at Lime Rock was where Dyson first took the championship point lead. “Lime Rock is a great track for us,” Dyson said. “I’ve been racing there for 25 years and my family’s history at Lime Rock goes back 50 years. And beyond the history, the Memorial Day weekend at Lime Rock is when all of our extended family and our many local friends have the chance to come and watch the team in person at a fan-friendly venue.  We’ll be pushing hard in the next few weeks to make sure we can have another strong race there.” NOLA Rebroadcast Schedule A 60-minute highlights show of the NOLA event will be broadcast this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.

April 15, 2024

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Freightliner Mustang Dark Horse had an encouraging run in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, leading the race at one point and putting themselves in position for a good finish before being collected in a crash during the first attempt at an Overtime finish. Their 28th place finish did not accurately reflect Burton’s and the Freightliner team’s performance in a race that saw the yellow flag fly on 16 occasions for 72 laps.

Burton started 29th and ended the first 80-lap Stage in 34th place, one lap behind the leaders.

In the second Stage, Burton and the team worked their way back onto the lead lap following a caution period at Lap 102 for a multi-car crash.

The Freightliner team made a pit stop during a caution period at Lap 114 and joined the top 25 by Lap 130.

When another caution flag flew for a crash by Josh Berry, Burton stayed on the track while others made pit stops and lined up seventh for the ensuing restart, at Lap 143.

Burton held his own in the top 10 for the remainder of Stage Two, finishing seventh and earning four Stage points.

The team elected to stay on the track during the caution period following the end of the Stage and moved up to third place for the Lap 173 restart.

Burton made a move to the inside and took the lead on the opening lap and held it for seven circuits.

As drivers with fresher tires overtook him, Burton continued to run in the top 10 until Lap 192, and he was in 12th place when he made a green-flag stop at Lap 199.

He returned to the track in 33rd place and began reclaiming spots. After another stop he was in 24th place for a restart with eight of the scheduled 267 laps left to run.

When yet another wreck sent the race into Overtime, Burton was in 21st place for the restart but was involved in an incident with Kaz Grala that brought out yet another yellow flag.

After a pit stop for tires and fuel, Burton returned to the track in 32nd place and drove up to 28th by the time a wreck by Ross Chastain on the second attempt at an Overtime finish froze the field on the white-flag lap.

Burton and the team now head to Talladega Superspeedway for next Sunday’s GEICO 500.

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R team confident heading into Round 2 of the WEC season

DETROIT (April 15, 2024) – Earl Bamber is certain that memories will wash over him this week at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo and Dino Ferrari. The racecourse in Imola, Italy, that will host the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season is a substantive notation on Bamber’s motorsports CV. “Imola actually was my first-ever European race,” said Bamber, who will co-drive the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R with Alex Lynn in the 6 Hours of Imola. “It was 2008 and I won. I have fond memories of Imola because it was my first time racing on a European track and winning made it extra fun.”

Ride alongWatch the race from the drivers’ perspective in the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R HERE. Media resources* En français: Imola event preview in French* Drivers CV: About Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn* ’24 WEC statistics* ’23 WEC statistics* Cadillac all-time statistics

The New Zealander, who had raced to that point in Formula BMW Asia, Formula V6 Asia, the Toyota Racing Series, among others, joined ADM Motorsport for the two rounds of the International Formula Master series (aka Formula Super 2000) in September 2008 at Imola. Driving a spec Formula 2000, Bamber placed seventh in the first race and won the second. “It was an eye-opening event, a great weekend at Imola,” Bamber added. “I’m looking forward to going back with Cadillac Racing and compete for another win there.” Cadillac Racing tested for two days in mixed conditions in September 2023 on the 3-mile (4.9 km), 21-turn (12 left) Imola course. The facility, which hosted its first race in 1953 and last Intercontinental Le Mans Cup — precursor of the WEC — race in 2011, replaced Monza on the WEC calendar this year as the latter is undergoing scheduled work. “As a team, we’re excited to go racing again. Now the season really starts to ramp up in preparation for Le Mans,” said Lynn, who will also compete at Imola in July as he seeks to successfully defend his European Le Mans Series LMP2 championship. Cadillac Racing and the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R opened their second season of WEC competition as Bamber, Lynn and Sebastien Bourdais drove to a fourth-place finish in the 19-car Hypercar field March 2 at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar. On March 27, the FIA issued a report that disqualified the Cadillac Racing entry because of a post-race technical inspection infraction. Cadillac issued the statement: During the FIA World Endurance Championship race in Qatar on March 2, the rear diffuser strakes on the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R were unintentionally out of specification relative to the homologated height. We have cooperated with the FIA and ACO and accept their findings. Bourdais co-drove with Anthony Davidson to victory in the No. 7 Peugeot 908 entry in the six-hour Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race July 3, 2011, at the Imola circuit. Davidson earned the pole and Bourdais set the LMP1 race lap record of 1 minute, 33.112 seconds.The 6 Hours of Imola is scheduled for 7 a.m. ET, Sunday, April 21. Max and discovery+ will provide live streaming coverage in the U.S. along with the FIA WEC app. RadioLeMans.co will have flag-to-flag coverage. Viewers can also ride along in the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R during the race HERE. What they’re saying

Earl Bamber: “I think Qatar was a good start to the season considering our limited preparation. I think the whole team did a fantastic job to sort of pull us out of a hole on strategy and really on the fuel strategy place us on the right pit stop cycle rotation. It’s a credit to the whole team and just the whole progression that the Cadillac program is coming toward. We’re getting stronger and stronger with each race. It was a good race of execution and now shows we have good footing and I think where we are car-wise we’re excited going to Imola. We drove there once already and it was phenomenal. I think it’s going to be really difficult with traffic management and I think it will be a spectacular race for the fans. With Ferrari and Lamborghini on the grid, I think the fans are going to be out in full force. It should be a real festive feeling.”

Alex Lynn: “I’m looking forward to Imola. It’s a great track, a historic place and I think it’s a great place to host the second round of WEC in 2024. I think the fans will bring some big atmosphere, which is always fun when we get to European WEC races. As a team, we’re excited to go racing again. Now the season really starts to ramp up in preparation for Le Mans. Imola is a twisty circuit, a lot of stop, start, which we seem to be very agile with our car so I’m quite optimistic for a successful event.”

Brittany Force reaches semifinals, John Force makes early exit

LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2024) – Austin Prock paced John Force Racing by finishing second in Sunday’s final round of Funny Car competition in the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With team owner John Force failing to advance in the first round, and teammate Brittany Force being eliminated in the Top Fuel semifinals, it was left to Prock to carry the banner for JFR – and that’s just what he did. Prock has had an outstanding start to the season, reaching the finals in three of the first four races. He finished runner-up in the season-opening race at Gainesville, won his first career NHRA Funny Car race (in just his third-ever start in the class) last week at Phoenix, and now finished runner-up in Las Vegas. He also won Saturday’s Las Vegas edition of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty competition, a race-within-a-race that takes place in each of the 20 NHRA national events. Interestingly, in each of his three final round appearances thus far this season, Prock also was No. 1 qualifier in those respective races, as well, making him the fourth driver in NHRA Funny Car annals in the last 25 years to earn No. 1 qualifier in three of a season’s first four races. “It was almost a perfect weekend,” Prock said. “We got No. 1 qualifier, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty deal and runner-upped at this deal.” Prock and his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car got off to a good start in the final round but couldn’t hold off winner Bob Tasca III. “We were out front and the engine nosed over, shot a spark plug out downtrack about 650 or 700 feet and the thing just nosed over,” Prock said. “We were still good enough to run second. “Tasca made a great run, great job by that team. We knew they were going to be tough this year but I think everybody in these pits knows we’re going to be tough this year, as well.” It was the furthest Prock has ever gone in Las Vegas. His previous best was reaching the semifinals in 2022, while driving a Top Fuel dragster for JFR. Prock was the quickest (3.916 seconds at 322.58 mph) of the 16 drivers in the first round. In the semifinals, he reached back for a little bit extra to capture his quad (3.907 seconds/324.75 mph) and advance to the final round against Tasca, Matt Hagan and Ron Capps. Prock moved into the Funny Car points lead during Saturday’s qualifying and then increased his edge over second-ranked J.R. Todd to 48 points (Prock has 367 points, Todd has 319 points). ——————————- In Top Fuel, Brittany Force made her quickest and fastest (3.750 seconds/335.90 mph) pass of the weekend in her first quad, sending her into the semifinals. The driver of the Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster was seeking to make her fourth final quad appearance at Las Vegas, as well as potentially add to her win there in 2022. Unfortunately, the two-time NHRA Top Fuel champ (2017, 2022) fell short in those semis, even though she had a strong run of 3.776 seconds at 331.94 mph. “Overall, it was a good weekend for our Monster Energy team,” Brittany Force said. “We made big improvements in performance on the racetrack. “Our car was running with everyone else. We qualified fifth and first round we came out and ran a 3.75, which was outstanding. I was slow on the tree and it cost us in Round 2. It’s tough, I’m beating myself up over it, but this whole team, we take our wins together and our losses together. “I feel like our race car is definitely coming around. We struggled last year with it and the beginning of this season but now it’s starting to run consistent and starting to put good ETs on the board.” Force leaves Las Vegas tied for eighth in the Top Fuel points. ——————————- As for team owner John Force, he was looking to repeat his record 156thcareer win from last week at Phoenix, but fell short, losing in Sunday’s first round. The 16-time NHRA Funny Car champ lost traction on his car about halfway down the track, almost going sideways. Being forced to lift to avoid a tangle with the retaining wall, Force finished with an ET of 4.165 seconds at 257.63 mph, not enough to advance to the semifinal round. “My car moved around a little bit, I may have corrected it too hard,” Force said. “I got a tire out of the groove, blew a tire off, dropped a hole because it spun and I had my hands full at the other end, but I’m just trying to win.” While Force, who was No. 2 qualifier behind Prock coming into Sunday’s eliminations, would have liked a better finish for himself and his PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, he was happy with his team’s overall performance. “Brittany went some rounds, I didn’t, but Prock, being No. 1 runner-up, John Force Racing is strong,” Force said. “We qualified good and now we just move on to the next one.” Force falls from third to fifth in the Funny Car standings, just seven points out of fourth and 23 points out of third, where he had been ranked heading into this weekend. ——————————- Up Next: The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series next heads to zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. for the second of two NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 26-28.

LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2024) — Most firsts do not come easy, and that includes the first time attempting four-wide competition in a Funny Car for Buddy Hull, driver for Jim Dunn Racing. This weekend’s Vegas NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway posed many unexpected hurdles for the Jim Dunn team, but Hull is confident that it was an opportunity to shake off any first-time jitters in preparation for the second four-wide race in Charlotte in a couple of weeks.

 Buddy Hull executes burnout in the KGC Funny Car, photo credit NHRA/National Dragster

“No one is harder on me, than me,” said Hull. “I was super excited going into this weekend to show off all the progress we have been making with the car, and we unfortunately did not deliver. I must remember that it is rare that progress is linear. We were able to collect several rounds of data this weekend. We’re going to take a hard look at it over the next two weeks and come back to Charlotte an even stronger team. I know we can, and will, do better moving forward.”
 
The fourth round of qualifying was the strongest for Hull. He made a 4.236 second, 294.31 mph pass, finishing second behind No. 12 qualifier Chad Green.
 
“If we could have made a few more passes like we did in Q4, we would have been in much better shape,” said Hull. “But we are in Vegas after all, and that is just the luck of the draw sometimes. It was great to be out there on Friday and Saturday, running four-wide in a Funny Car for the very first time. I’m getting more and more comfortable in the car. By the time we get to Charlotte at the end of this month, and make four more four-wide passes, it will be second nature.”
 
Despite the tough weekend, morale is still high for Hull and Jim Dunn Racing. The Charlotte four-wide race will officially mark four years since Hull made his professional debut.
 
“Four years into this crazy experience, I couldn’t be more thankful for where I am now,” said Hull. “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs, both in my Top Fuel dragster, and now driving a nitro Funny Car for Big Jim. But the lows make me appreciate the highs that much more. I have a good feeling going to Charlotte, that we’ll have a really positive weekend to mark my professional anniversary. This weekend will ultimately just be a steppingstone to bigger and better race weekends in the near future.”
 
Reflecting on the weekend, Hull said that the highlights included representing sponsor KGC Construction on the side of his car, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT race car at new Vegas attraction Dream Racing, and interacting with Vegas fans.
 
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be back in competition in two weeks at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, North Carolina on April 26-28 at zMAX Dragway. There will be two qualifying sessions on Friday, April 26 and two qualifying sessions on Saturday, April 27. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals visit nhra.com.
 
Qualifying Results
Q1: No run
Q2: 4.310 sec, 289.32 mph; Qual. 20
Q3: 6.932 sec, 98.51 mph; Qual. 20
Q4: 4.236 sec, 294.31 mph; Qual. 19
Bonus Points: 0

CHEVROLET IN NHRA2024 NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALSTHE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAYLAS VEGAS, NEVADATEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP | NOTES & QUOTESAPRIL 14, 2024 CHEVROLET CAPTURES FACTORY X AND FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN NHRA FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS VICTORIES; RACES TO RUNNER-UP FINISH IN THE FUNNY CAR FINAL ROUND IN LAS VEGAS

Notes:Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car raced to his third final round of the 2024 season, his first year in Funny Car, finishing runner-up to Bob Tasca II by 0.01 seconds with his run of 3.904 seconds E.T. at 318.77 mph to Tasca’s 3.915 seconds E.T. at 329.75 mph. Prock qualified No. 1 for the third time in four races this season in his Funny Car debut year, capturing his sixth career No. 1 qualifier in NHRA and third in Funny Car.Prock also raced his way to the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty victory, which includes a cash prize and bonus points, after defeating Paul Lee, Blake Alexander, and Daniel Wilkerson.Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, raced her way to the four-wide semifinals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, fell in the first round at Las Vegas to Matt Hagan and Jason Rupert.Jeg Coughlin, Jr., driver of the SCAG Power Equipment Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock, raced to the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals victory in Pro Stock and his 66th career win in the category, with his run of 6.616 seconds E.T at 207.18 mph defeated Erica Enders, Jerry Tucker, and Brandon Foster.Jerry Tucker, driving the Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock, qualified No. 1 for the four-wide event in Las Vegas with his run of 6.612 seconds E.T. at 206.61 mph.After the NHRA Winternationals were postponed due to weather in Pomona, the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown finally crowned a champion with the Wally trophy and special media, with Stephen Bell outrunning David Davies II in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro.On Sunday, Ricky Hord raced to the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Wally over Scott Liebersher, David Janac, and Mark Pawuk in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, his third victory in FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown.Greg Stanfield, with his run of 7.121 seconds E.T. at 192.77 mph in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, defeated Alex Laughlin for the Factory X victory at Las Vegas.Earning the provisional No. 2 position in qualifying with his run of 3.947 seconds E.T. at 321.42 mph in Q2, Prock led the John Force Racing trio at the conclusion of Friday’s qualifying.

Quotes:BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:“Overall, it was a good weekend for our Monster Energy team. We made big improvements in performance on the racetrack. Our car was running with everyone else. We qualified fifth and in first round we came out and ran a 3.75, which was outstanding. I was slow on the tree, and it cost us in Round 2. It’s tough, I’m beating myself up over it, but this whole team, we take our wins together and our losses together. We will pack up, put it behind us and try and figure out what I did wrong and fix it before I go to the Charlotte 4-Wide. I feel like our race car is definitely coming around. We struggled last year with it and the beginning of this season but now it’s starting to run consistent and starting to put good ETs on the board.” AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“It was almost a perfect weekend. We got No. 1 qualifier, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty deal and runner-up’d at this deal. We were out front and the engine nosed over, shot a spark plug out down track at about 650 or 700 feet and the thing just nosed over. We were still good enough to run second. (Bob) Tasca made a great run, great job by that team. We knew they were going to be tough this year, but I think everybody in these pits knows we’re going to be tough this weekend, as well.” JOHN FORCE, DRIVER OF THE PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“Brittany (Force) went some rounds, I didn’t, but (Austin) Prock, being No. 1 runner-up, John Force Racing is strong. We qualified good and now we just move on to the next one. My car moved around a little bit, I may have corrected it too hard. I got a tire out of the groove, blew a tire off, dropped a hole because it spun and I had my hands full at the other end, but I’m just trying to win.” How more successful can (Austin) Prock become?“If you win a championship then you’re successful. He’s got a good car but you’ve got to watch the championship. Robert (Hight) was there the last two years in a row and then they took away all the points (when the points reset for the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs) and then he wound up losing by three points or whatever it was. But stuff happens, it’s the same for everybody. I just hope (Prock) can continue as he’s going. He’s got his head on right, driving the car real good, has a great team with his dad, so we’ll see where it goes.”

Up Next:The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series next heads to zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C. for the second of two NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 26-28, 2024. Friday and Saturday qualifying airs on Sunday, April 28, at 11 a.m. ET. Sunday’s eliminations broadcast at 6 p.m. ET. All sessions from near Charlotte air with NHRA on FOX on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.