B-Shepp recovered from a flat tire from the Feature race earlier in the afternoon to win $7,000 at Deer Creek Speedway 

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 5, 2024) – Brandon Sheppard didn’t miss a beat in the second NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Feature on Friday at Deer Creek Speedway. 

Bouncing back from the Feature race earlier in the day that saw the New Berlin, IL driver finish 17th after suffering a flat right-rear tire, Sheppard led flag-to-flag to win his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models Feature race of the season at Deer Creek Speedway. 

Beginning the Feature from the front of the field after drawing the Bilstein Pole Award, Sheppard took command of the race from the drop of the Gorsuch Performance green flag. However, he couldn’t run away from the competition. 

Ryan Gustin, who won the first Feature of the night, hounded the No. B5 Dude Wipes Longhorn Factory Team Late Model throughout the duration of the 30-lap race. 

Once Sheppard caught the back of the field, the slower cars created a new obstacle for the leader every lap and opened the door for Gustin, and third-place Bobby Pierce, to pounce. 

Pierce ripped the high line with a clear lane in front of him while Sheppard and Gustin had to find creative ways to slide by the slower cars using both the high and low lanes. 

But once Sheppard cleared the minefield of traffic, he was able to run away and score the win while Gustin and Pierce were trapped in the pack. 

“It was definitely tricky,” Sheppard said. “We had to figure out how to maneuver through (the traffic). Sometimes, when you’re leading and you’re in a bad spot, you don’t know which line to take or what will be faster for you, what’s slower and where you can pass them at. I had to make my best guesses and keep the speed up. 

“I knew if I broke momentum, it was going to kill me, so I needed to keep momentum and keep rolling so they didn’t get a big run on me… This team has never given up on me and I’ve never given up on them, they never quit trying to be better, so we’ll keep plugging away and see what we can do.” 

Pierce finished his charge by throwing a haymaker at Gustin on the final lap and claiming second by the checkered flag. 

“We were terrible at the beginning and came up there at the end,” Pierce said. “Definitely wish we could have had more laps, but I’m pretty happy to come home with second. It gives us a good spot for tomorrow, we’ll have to see what they do to the track. The longer the race is, the better I’m getting to be.” 

Gustin took the final step on the podium after a day that saw him edge out Nick Hoffman by 0.009 seconds to win Thursday’s makeup Feature race. 

“This was a great day for us,” Gustin said. “I felt like we were in contention in that last (Feature), we weren’t as good as (Sheppard) was, he zigged and I zagged through the lapped traffic, and it all worked out for him. Then Bobby got us there at the end when we got held up behind a lapped car. That’s how it goes, though. Hopefully, we can take home $50,000 tomorrow night.” 

Finishing fourth was New Waverly, TX driver Tyler Erb, and Brandon, FL driver Kyle Bronson completed the top five finishers of the night. 

Here are the top-16 drivers locked into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale Feature: Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Nick Hoffman, Shannon Babb, Tyler Bruening, Dennis Erb Jr, Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb, Tyler Stevens, Cade Dillard, Chad Simpson, Chase Junghans, Brian Shirley, Brent Larson and Jake Timm

RECAP NOTES: 

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Kyle Bronson 

Simpson Quick Time Award: Ryan Gustin 

Heat Race Winners: Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Bruening, Kyle Bronson 

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Blair Nothdurft 

Bilstein Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard 

Fox Factory Hard Charger Award: Nick Hoffman 

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models finish the NAPA Gopher 50 weekend at Deer Creek Speedway with Saturday’s $50,000 finale Feature on the line. The top-16 locked in through points will compete in two Dash races to set the starting lineup, while the rest of the field will battle in the Last Chance Showdown. Those that do not transfer will compete in a $3,000-to-win non-qualifiers Feature. 

For more information about Saturday night’s program and the full 2024 Series schedule, CLICK HERE. 

If you can’t make it to Deer Creek Speedway, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision. 

CASE Late Model Feature (30 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[10]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[13]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard[7]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 10. 18C-Chase Junghans[16]; 11. 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 12. 19-Dustin Sorensen[19]; 13. 22*-Max McLaughlin[9]; 14. 76-Blair Nothdurft[17]; 15. 11H-Lance Hofer[12]; 16. 49-Jake Timm[14]; 17. 97JR-Cody Overton[11]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[18]; 19. 55C-Chad Mahder[22]; 20. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[15]; 21. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[21]; 23. 43-Derrick Stewart[20]; 24. 14W-Dustin Walker[24] 

by Colby Trotter

PADUCAH, KY (July 5, 2024) – Right when it appeared that all hope was lost for Tanner English, the Kentucky native gathered-in his concentration and refused to be denied in front of his home-state crowd Friday night at Paducah International Raceway. 

English, the former World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year from Benton, KY, led the opening 12 laps of the main event before a flat tire forced him to surrender the lead. When both Jason Feger and Tyler Clem suffered flat tires of their own while leading in the closing laps, English had driven all the way back from the tail of the field and was there to pick up the pieces for his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win in Kentucky. 

“Luck kept rolling our way,” English said. “I hate it for Feger. He had a flat there but I think I probably would’ve won it if I hadn’t had a flat also.” 

In Victory Lane, English let the feeling of a win in front of his fans sink in and expressed his emotions in the moment. 

“It’s been a long time coming to win a big race here,” English said. “I’ve won some World 50s, some $10,000-to-win races, but like a Summer Nationals [race] – it’s something special. 

“It may not be the biggest win, may not be the most competition here, but it means a lot to me.” 

English started on the outside pole and took the lead on Lap 1 as he rolled around the high side of the 3/8-mile oval and zoomed past polesitter Jeff Herzog. Once he took the lead, English began to set the pace, gapping runner-up Feger by over a second when the yellow flag was thrown on Lap 12. 

Then, the caution flag flew again on Lap 13 and that’s when English discovered he had a flat right-rear tire. Once he found out his tire was flat, English knew he had to fix it no matter how tough the decision was. 

“I knew it was fixing to blow,” English said. “I knew it was almost gone so I didn’t have any other choice and had to do it.” 

Feger inherited the lead after English took his place at the back of the field and took off on the restart. Once Feger got the lead, it appeared as though nobody was going to catch him as he got out to over a four-second advantage with 10-to-go. 

English had not given up though; he was making a hard charge to the front of the field and was back up to fourth with five laps-to-go. Feger was still way ahead of the field but when the caution flag came out on Lap 38, he discovered he had a flat tire of his own and ducked into the work area. 

“I needed a caution bad,” English said. “I was sixth or seventh there and I just kind of rode forever waiting for a caution and finally it came out.” 

Tyler Clem then inherited the lead with English behind him. On the restart, Clem jumped the cushion in Turns 1 and 2 and slowed, bringing out the caution again and handing the lead back to English with three laps-to-go. 

“I knew something was bound to happen,” English said. “I just didn’t expect it to happen like that. Didn’t expect Feger to have a flat and then Tyler hopped the cushion there in the lead, so I just felt my way with my tires and just stayed up the rest of the race.” 

Now, English was back to where he was at the beginning of the race and got a great jump on the restart to take the checkered flag two seconds ahead of runner-up Joe Chalmers. 

While he collects the $10,000 grand prize, English said winning a Hell Tour race at his home track – where his father Terry English won five times – means far more than the winner’s check. 

“It’s big just to do it in front of my hometown crowd,” English said. “I live 15 miles down the road so it’s awesome because we get to sleep in our own bed tonight.” 

English also takes the Week 4 points lead going into the last two races of the week, now sitting 28 points ahead of Rodney Melvin. 

UP NEXT 

Week 4 of the 39th DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues Saturday, July 6, at Clarksville Speedway in Clarksville, TN. Tickets will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision. 

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view results here) 

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 96-Tanner English[2]; 2. 31AUS-Joe Chalmers[13]; 3. 15-Clayton Stuckey[20]; 4. 25F-Jason Feger[6]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[9]; 6. 75-Daniel Adam[8]; 7. 30-Mark Voigt[15]; 8. 31S-Paul Stubber[14]; 9. 58-Tyler Clem[16]; 10. 27M-Rodney Melvin[3]; 11. 11H-Jeff Herzog[1]; 12. 28B-Carson Brown[10]; 13. 29-Christian Hanger[7]; 14. 99-Dylan Thompson[4]; 15. 38-Thomas Hunziker[11]; 16. 10-Ronnie Cooper[17]; 17. 54-David Breazeale[12]; 18. 2-Charlie Cole[22]; 19. 174-Ethan Dotson[5]; 20. 7-Tony Cruse[21]; 21. 23C-Wyatt Cox[18]; 22. 12-Ashton Winger[19]; 23. 89-Jeremy Anderson[23] 

Trent Young Leads Every Lap at Paducah for Third Career Summit Modified Win 

Eight minutes and one second was all Trent Young needed to win the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature Friday Night at Paducah International Raceway. 

Young, 39, of Crofton, KY, led all 25 laps and finished over five seconds ahead of runner-up Cole Falloway for his third career Hell Tour victory. Two of his three wins have now come at Paducah, and he said his familiarity with the track played to his advantage. 

“The speed I think,” Young said when asked why he’s had success at Paducah. “It’s fast. It’s usually a little rough. You just got to back up and drive it. A lot of guys are really good in the slick and the smooth, but you just got to get up on the wheel and go after it here and it suits me.” 

Young started on the pole after setting the Quick Time in his Qualifying group and winning his Heat Race. Once he got out to the lead on Lap 1, there was no catching him as he dominated for his first Summit Modified win of 2024. 

“It was huge,” Young said of starting on the pole. “The speed makes it hard to pass because you’re going so fast.” 

UP NEXT 

Week 4 of DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals competition continues Saturday, July 6, at Clarksville Speedway in Clarksville, TN. Tickets will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision. 

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view results here) 

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 10Y-Trent Young[1]; 2. 66-Cole Falloway[5]; 3. 12L-Lucas Lee[2]; 4. 12N-Tyler Nicely[3]; 5. 777-Trevor Neville[9]; 6. 188-Jeremy Sneed[11]; 7. 23Z-Austin Wayne Self[4]; 8. 27-Michael Turner[12]; 9. 14-Dalton Lane[20]; 10. 1L-Mike Lentz[10]; 11. 60-Jim Manka[18]; 12. 4-Brenden Heizer[19]; 13. 13-Charlie Mefford[6]; 14. 94-Austin Rettig[7]; 15. 2-Peyton Walker[15]; 16. 86A-Kevin Burns[16]; 17. 54-Zachary Hawk[14]; 18. 1-Colby Paris[21]; 19. 9B-Cory Balkey[13]; 20. 55M-Blaze Melton[17]; 21. 9D9-Cole Hilton[8]; 22. (DNS) 270-Cody Downs; 23. (DNS) 51-Timmy Hill

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 5, 2024) – Nick Hoffman has made a habit of thrilling fans with last lap passes this season and on Friday evening at Deer Creek Speedway Ryan Gustin took a page from his playbook.

During the first race of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models – ran Friday evening after being postponed on Thursday – Gustin threw a “Hail Mary” slide job at Hoffman in the final corner and held a 0.009 second lead at the finish line to score his second win of the season.

The victory – the seventh of Gustin’s World of Outlaws career – came after a mixed bag of results since his first victory of the season in May.

“Anytime you’re standing up here in Victory Lane it makes you feel good,” Gustin said. “I love this place. It’s probably one of the places I have more laps than anyone. It feels good.”

Gustin started the 30-lap Feature fourth, with Shannon Babb next to him, 2022 Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. directly in front of him and Tyler Stevens, making his Series debut, on the pole.

When the race commenced, Stevens pulled away from the field while Babb moved up to second and Gustin fell to fifth. The field didn’t get much time to stretch their legs as a caution brought them back together on Lap 3.

All eyes turned to Nick Hoffman when the race restarted as the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 ripped around the top of Deer Creek Speedway, stealing third on Lap 5 and then second a lap later. Stevens’ healthy lead was spoiled in three laps with Hoffman on hyperdrive in the middle lane.

Knowing Hoffman had arrived, Stevens tried to make his car wide, switching lanes each corner. But when they got to Turn 3 on Lap 10, Hoffman dove under Stevens, propelling his car a few yards ahead of Stevens before sliding in front of him by the exit of the turn – a foreshadowing moment for the end of the race.

Once Hoffman finally found clean air, he gapped the field by over a second in less than two laps.

Behind him, a war was being waged for second through fifth. Gustin, Bobby Pierce and Shannon Babb looked like synchronized dancers running three-wide down the straights and sliding each other in the corners with precise rotations. 

Gustin emerged the victor, pulling ahead of the two and passing Stevens for second on Lap 25. Pierce followed him through, getting by Stevens for third on the same lap.

They appeared to be out of time to catch Hoffman until two late-race cautions. One on Lap 26 brought the field back together and the last on Lap 28 set the stage for a photo finish.

With two laps to settle the fight, Pierce tried to end it in the first corner on the restart, diving under the front two, pulling even with Hoffman. But Hoffman and Gustin had the better momentum up top and drove back by him.

“It was a good racetrack for being a day race,” Pierce said. “They gave us something to race on and move around on. It was a fun race. I got to third there, got us in good position. I couldn’t go any further than that. I kind of stalled out at the end of the race.”

Once Pierce was no longer a threat, Gustin was able to put all his focus on Hoffman. With two laps to go, he was 0.7 seconds back. With one to go, 0.3 seconds back. He closed to Hoffman’s bumper down the backstretch and plotted the same move Hoffman used to take the lead earlier in the race.

Gustin stayed in the throttle upon entry, steering to the bottom of the track, launching his car ahead of Hoffman’s and giving himself enough room to slid up the track in front of him. Predicting the move, Hoffman cut underneath the No. 19R in the middle of the corner, leading to their drag race to the line.

“He got that top line rolling pretty well there,” Hoffman said. “Woulda, coulda, shoulda, if there was no caution, we’d probably win the race. But he was just better than I was at the end. He was able to slide me in (Turns) three and four. I was actually surprised I got back to him at the line. I had a run and dipped back down the hill. I heard him coming. I expected a slider coming, so I kind of crossed up and made sure I had a run. But it wasn’t quite big enough.”

It wasn’t big enough by 0.09 seconds as that’s all Gustin needed to edge him for the win.

“It was a heck of a race,” Gustin said. “Anytime you get to race with them guys is really fun… All in all, it was really fun. Obviously, a good race with Nick. He’s a clean racer. When you’re out there throwing sliders and bouncing off the fence, it’s always entertaining. I’m sure the fans loved it.”

The victory also places Gustin as one of the top points earners for the event, which will lock the top-16 points earners between Friday’s two Features into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale.

And while Hoffman didn’t get the win, his second-place finish has him currently tied with Brandon Sheppard, who finished 17th, for the Series championship points lead.

RECAP NOTES:
Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Tyler Bruening
Simpson Quick Time Award: Ryan Gustin
Heat Race Winners: Ryan Gustin, Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb, Tyler Stevens
Last Chance Showdown Winner: Billy Moyer Sr.
Bilstein Pole Award: Tyler Stevens
Fox Factory Hard Charger: Tyler Erb

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models return to action on Friday, July 5, at Deer Creek Speedway for Friday’s originally scheduled portion of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50. Tickets are available at the track.

If you can’t make it to Deer Creek Speedway, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS
CASE Late Mode Feature (30 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[12]; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 8. 1-Tyler Erb[20]; 9. 2-Tyler Stevens[1]; 10. B1-Brent Larson[16]; 11. 49-Jake Timm[9]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard[11]; 13. 3S-Brian Shirley[18]; 14. 55C-Chad Mahder[13]; 15. 18C-Chase Junghans[10]; 16. 40B-Kyle Bronson[14]; 17. B5-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[17]; 19. 22*-Max McLaughlin[23]; 20. 76-Blair Nothdurft[19]; 21. 97JR-Cody Overton[21]; 22. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 23. 19-Dustin Sorensen[15]; 24. 29-Keith Hammett[22]

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-HIO

MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE

LEXINGTON, OHIO

TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE ONE

JULY 5, 2024

• Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, posted the second quickest time in the final order of practice one at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to lead Team Chevy in the debut of the hybrid power unit
• Despite the session being slowed by rain, drivers got laps utilizing the hybrid system
• No issues were reported throughout the session
• Team Chevy finished the one hour, 15-minute practice session with Rossi, then Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet, Pato O’Ward. No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finishing fifth and seventh respectively, followed by Team Penske’s  No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet driven by Will Power in 10th. 
• The 80-lap, 180.64-mile Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio kicks off with first practice Friday, July 5 at 3:20 p.m. ET. Saturday sees second practice at 10:50 a.m., with qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six following at 3 p.m. ET. Race day starts with warm up at 10:25 a.m. ET, and the race takes the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. All practice and qualifying sessions broadcast with Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218. 

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 PRACTICE RESULT:

Pos.  Driver

2^nd     Alexander Rossi (1:07.5093)

5th    Scott McLaughlin (1:07.6827

7th    Pato O’Ward (1:07.8407)

10th   Will Power (1:08.1458)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES)

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

“We didn’t turn a lot of laps today in Practice 1. I’m just glad we were able to get one solid lap in to analyze some data. We’ll work tonight to see what we need to improve on for tomorrow.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: 

“We’re off to a solid start this weekend. The session got cut short because of the rain and we didn’t get all the running in that we wanted to, which was tough. I thought we rolled off pretty strong, though; that was the strongest session we’ve had together. The No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team is making progress and getting more competitive, so we’re in a good spot moving forward.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: 

“We only got one run in because of the rain, but the car seems to be in a good window. The hybrid works as we expected, which is good. We even got a couple laps in the rainy conditions. It’s hard to really know where we’re at, but certainly the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet is in a good place to start the weekend.”

Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:

“The weather didn’t cooperate today, but everyone had to deal with that. I think we got off to a pretty good start. We learned a few things in the dry conditions and learned a little bit in the rainy conditions. I’m hoping it stays dry for the rest of the weekend here so we can get more laps in.”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“We are here at Mid-Ohio, but the weather didn’t help us much today.But I think we have a decent baseline. I think that is as we could hope for so some work to be done on a car but looking positve for tomorrow.”

Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“Unfortunately we have a problem today but the good thing is raining after my problem, so we have some luck with that .Tomorrow is another day so we see what happened tomorrow.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“We just didn’t see a need to take the PPG Chevy out in the rain with the forecast being dry for the weekend. Definitely wanted to get it one more run but the spin I had flat spotted the tires. Thankfully we were able to learn a bit about how the hybrid system will affect the handling. It definitely changes the balance and braking quite a bit. Then, you throw in the new pavement on top of that. I think everyone wished we could’ve had a bit more dry weather to put it through its paces today but so far everything seems good.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“The Sonsio Chevy team had a great plan for the session to gradually work in the hybrid system. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas for us. We got 14 laps in so that gave us something to build on for qualifying tomorrow. We have a lot of miles left to run this weekend, but everything worked great for us. No issues.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“It was nice to get out there and work on the hybrid over a race weekend. Wish we could have had more time but there wasn’t any benefit for us to go out in the rain. The weekend looks to be very clear. Definitely deployed the hybrid on the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet and it worked pretty seamlessly. Tomorrow will be a big day.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – End of Day Press Conference:

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up the first day of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by the 2025 Civic Hybrid. We’ll be joined by P1 in that practice session, Alex Palou, but currently joined by Pato O’Ward, driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, pole winner, NTT P1 award winner here in 2022, three top 10s here at Mid-Ohio.

Outside of the rain, which kind of put a damper on things, your thoughts on day one today?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, obviously not ideal that it started raining there at the end. Would have liked to get a few more laps. We truly only kind of got one. Everything else was just always traffic, stack-ups, everybody trying to get clean gaps, but these tracks aren’t long enough for the 27 cars that we have. So that’s kind of been a little tough in these practice sessions.

But at least we got one in, a decent lap in, that we can kind of look over and really see what we need. I know what we need from the car, so that’s the most important thing.

THE MODERATOR: The weather looks decent the rest of the way, so practice 2 is going to be crucial it sounds like.

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, tomorrow I think practice 2 will be obviously the most important going into qualifying. I don’t expect this race to be any different to the last few years. It’s going to be a track position race, very sensitive to where you qualify, and yeah, that’s going to be the full focus tomorrow, just trying to get this car as close to the front row as we can.

Q. How does the hybrid — can you sense or feel the hybrid kicking in?

PATO O’WARD: You can feel it. You can definitely feel it when you engage the deploy. It’s obviously not as big as I think people are thinking in terms of lap time. It’s less than two tenths I would say with a perfectly optimized usage of deployment strategy.

I think the system is capable of so much more, so I would like to see that evolve into let’s really push this system and see how much it can actually give us in terms of lap time because if it gives us four, five, six tenths over the lap, I think that’s when we’ll really see it getting optimized by all the teams and just trying to perfect it as much as possible because now it won’t be as — it’ll usually overthrow a little balance difference in the car exactly.

Yeah, so far I think we’re just working through it. Obviously it’s brand new, and we just need to kind of go through the whole process, I’d say.

Q. It seems like it doesn’t even take half a lap in some cases to harvest or regenerate. Are you impressed by that, how quickly you can get back to 100 percent?

PATO O’WARD: Yeah, there’s different levels to that, and it’s very similar to — I wouldn’t say it’s similar to the Formula 1 car, but it’s the same kind of idea of, like, the braking generates the energy, it goes into the pack, and then you deploy it where you wish.

Different to us, we have to manually deploy. If you get out of sequence and you have to manually kind of regen, there’s limits to how much you can regen and limits to how much you can deploy, so there’s a lot of limits that we need to work through.

Q. Do you guys need better weathermen to try and get the red tire run in? I’m surprised nobody put the reds on earlier in the session to at least try that.

PATO O’WARD: My Arrow McLaren is base Arrow McLaren. I don’t have the radar in it, so I couldn’t tell you.

Q. I know it was only nine laps, a dozen laps or so. Was there anything that you learned about the hybrid system running out there today that was new or a surprise or anything like that, or just not enough laps to learn that much?

PATO O’WARD: Nothing we already know from the tests that we’ve done. The balance of the car has changed. I think it’s an accumulation of both the new tarmac and the 100 pounds at the rear of the car that have shuffled the mechanical balance of the car rearwards, but I think you’ll see teams and drivers get creative for the race. I think that’s where you’re going to see a massive shift in, like, effect on the tire or stuff like that.

Q. Pato, you mentioned if you time all of this perfectly, you’re maybe getting two tenths or so on your competitors, say if they weren’t using the hybrid system at all on a lap. With all the work you’re having to do in the cockpit, all the buttons, having to do everything perfect, is there a risk that by going for those two-tenths, if you don’t do it right, you could set yourself back by not doing other things on your lap as well as you might have been able to do otherwise if you weren’t messing with the hybrid?

PATO O’WARD: I’d say car balance is still a priority, but you can’t just ignore it because it’s to the point where, like, the series is so competitive in qualifying I’ve been left out of the Fast Six for half a tenth a couple times this year. If someone uses it that half a tenth better than you do, they’ll transfer and you won’t if you’re right on the throw-out line.

I think there’s a big emphasis on both ends. You’ve got to get it right if you really want to be one of the top performing cars. But I would say it definitely doesn’t outweigh trying to get a better balance for the car. I think that is definitely the priority, and this is just kind of free lap time that you can gain by optimizing it.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAILABILITY QUOTES JULY 5, 2024

Daniel Suarez, Driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Chicago Street Course.   Media Availability Quotes Highlights:  When you go into this event, do you expect there to be a little bit more aggression than other road courses? Do you just know that going in, or would you completely disagree that it’s no different than any of the road course races? “Yeah, well first of all, I’m super excited to be here. The race is amazing. The event is unbelievable. I want to give a lot of credit to NASCAR, to you guys, all the other media and the city for putting this amazing race together. I think when it comes to the drivers, I think in the first part of the weekend, we’re going to be a little cautious, just because racing in the streets, it can be a little intimidating. A little slight mistake and you pay the price big. But as a race team, we’re going to get more and more comfortable, and we’re going to get more and more aggressive. I just think that’s great. I think that last year, we all learned a lot – the drivers, race teams.. even NASCAR. The second year, I feel like we come with a lot more knowledge and we’re more prepared. So I’m really excited and looking forward to seeing who’s going to be contending upfront. I feel like last year, if I remember correctly, there were maybe five to seven of us that were upfront with an opportunity to win the race. But I can assure you that there will be way more than seven cars fighting for the win this time, just because everyone keeps getting better and that’s going to make the race even more exciting for everyone.” Having Shane van Gisbergen to lean on as a teammate, how has he been able to help you and Ross (Chastain) prepare for this year’s event? “Yeah, honestly, I felt that last year, he helped our entire program a lot because, like I said, nobody had experience in street course racing last year. In my entire career – I’ve been racing over 20 years and in my entire career before last year, I had two races in the streets; one was in go-karts and one was in a Trans Am, and that was it. Ross (Chastain) had never raced a street course before. Most of us had never seen a street course before. Shane (van Gisbergen), he had been doing street races.. like 100 races. He’s experience in street course racing.. he’s tremendous. I mean last year, he had more experience than the entire field combined. So last year, he was able to really help a lot. This year, I still believe that he’s helping the entire program. With having said that, the entire team already has knowledge. Everyone has experience. Everyone knows what to expect; what to do, what not to do.. things like that. I believe that Shane is going to be extremely strong this weekend again. But I think, like I said, there will be a lot more contenders in the mix.”  How did you experience your first Fourth of July as a United States citizen? “It was a little different. Most Fourth of July’s, I’d go with friends and we do a barbecue, go to the lake and things like that. My first Fourth of July as a United States citizen, I was unpacking because we just moved (laughs). So it wasn’t very exciting.. it was actually a little boring. But you know, it’s how it is. It’s been a little bit busy at home lately.”  You obviously didn’t get the finish you would have wanted here last year. You’ve had a bit of a struggle these last few weeks. But your teammate won here last year and Ross (Chastain) was close to winning last week. How does this week, as an organization, give you confidence heading into this weekend? “Yeah, we’ll see. Definitely running well helps and we have to build on that. With that being said, I’m a very realistic person. I like to live on planet Earth. I don’t like to be on a different planet (laughs) with not being realistic. The reality is that last week, I would say that in Nashville, we had a good run. We had maybe a 10th to 15th place car before all the chaos we had there at the very end. We were running 12th or 13th, and Ross was in a good position. I think Ross was maybe a little bit better than us. I still believe that there were cars out there that were much better than us, but strategy got him in that position.  For me, when I start thinking about being realistic.. you tell me, ‘Hey Daniel, the No. 1 almost won last week’. Yeah, the No. 1 team did an amazing job executing a good race; making some good calls and good strategy, and things almost worked out for them. But they didn’t have the speed to flat-out win the race. So we still have work to do. Our road course program – the last race at Sonoma, I think the No. 1 team was pretty good and we were OK. We were not very good.. we finished 13th, which is not very good. So you know, we are thinking a little bit outside the box coming here to Chicago. Some of the things have worked for us in the past, and some of them are things that we’ve learned the last few months. We’ll see where we stack up. We all have confidence that the cars are close enough that from the start of practice, we’re going to be contending. We just have to be in the ballpark because if you’re not in the ballpark at the start of practice, that’s it. You cannot make a slow car a fast car in 20 minutes.. it’s impossible. So pretty much, right now as we talk here, there are race cars down there.. nobody knows yet, but there are some cars that are going to be very fast, some cars are going to be OK and some cars are going to be slow. So hopefully we have some of the cars that are going to be very fast and we can make it a little bit faster in those 20 minutes and go execute in the race.” You’re one of the handful of drivers that will be doing double-duty. Is this Xfinity Series race one that you particularly wanted to do? How can that help what you do on Sunday? Is there a tremendous value in running the race on Saturday? “Yeah, that’s a very good question. If we were in Sonoma, Watkins Glen or any other race track and I had the opportunity to run the Xfinity race, I may do it.. I may not. I don’t know, like I would really have to think about it because the cars are so different nowadays that it can be helpful or it can be hurtful. The transmission is different. The engine is different. The suspension is different. Everything is different. The only thing that’s the same is that it has four tires (laughs), but everything else is different. But here on a street course, like I was talking earlier – I, personally, don’t have a lot of experience on street courses. I’ve had three street courses, so far, in my career. So the more laps that I can get, the more reps that I can get at this track, I’m going to take it. I have a great opportunity with Mario and his group, and hopefully we can make the most out of it. They’ve been working very hard to make this race car as good as possible, and I’m really looking forward to getting some extra reps. With that being said, I have in my mind very clearly, that the cars are completely different; the transmission is going to be different and everything is going to be different.. the brakes are going to be different. But the goal of this for me is to give Mario and his group a good result, and also for me, to get some extra reps on a race track that I know is different than 99 percent of the schedule that we have in NASCAR.” When you talk about SVG elevating the entire Trackhouse program, obviously he’s got a completely different style with the right-foot braking technique. So how do you take that data when you can’t really mimic what he’s doing? “That’s a good question. That’s a very, very good question. You know, it’s just a different style. Do I think there’s an advantage to do what he’s doing? I would think so. But whatever he does and the way he’s doing it and the time – because he takes his time, getting from the gas pedal to the brake. That time that the car is settling is working.. it’s working. And I believe in some corners, it works for him, and some corners, not so much. We went to Indianapolis last year – he was good, he was fast and he finished in the top-10. But he wasn’t as dominate as he was here. So I definitely feel like there’s something there to learn. I believe, and this is just my personal opinion, is that the clutch-heel that he does is a huge advantage in the Xfinity Series and not so much in the Cup Series. Again, this is just my opinion, and the reason for that is because in the Xfinity Series, you have the wheel hop and you can control that with the clutch. In the Cup Series, we don’t have wheel hop.. it doesn’t exist. So it’s a little bit different, but definitely, his style works. I was talking to Shane about this a few weeks ago, and when I moved to the United States 12 years ago, I used to do that. I used to do exactly what he does now because in the NASCAR Mexico stuff, you used to use the clutch to shift. So I used to do exactly the same thing. It took me a year or two to swap my mentality and my style to what everyone does here. He told me he’s too old to change (laughs). But yeah, it works for him and I think he’s going to continue to be very strong. I’m very looking forward to racing against him. It’s impossible to really, really know if it’s better or worse.. I mean I believe if he was braking with the left, he would be just as good. He’s just good.” Did you ever think about maybe switching back?“I mean, I feel like I could do it. I could do it if I gave it a shot.. I just don’t believe that in the Cup Series, like a lot of people think that is the reason why he won here last year. I don’t think so. I think that he won here for many reasons, and that’s just his style. But I believe I can replicate what he does with the right-foot brake, with a left-foot brake. It’s everything about timing. The clutch part, I cannot replicate that because my left-foot is either on the brake or the clutch.. you cannot do both. But I don’t think that the clutch does a lot in these cars. It does a lot in the Xfinity stuff. That’s why I think in the Xfinity car he’s going to dominate a lot on road courses because the wheel hop doesn’t exist for him in the Xfinity car because he’s using the clutch and nobody else is doing that.” What was your first impression when you got here last year?“For me, the coolest part was to walk to the track and seeing fans left and right. That was super cool, you know? I was actually just doing an interview downstairs and I felt like it’s super personal for many people here; to come race here in the streets of Chicago. Next week, people are going to be driving on these roads that we’re going to be racing over 100 mph on and they’re going to be running 45 mph and they’re going to say, ‘man, these guys were running yesterday here, 160-170 mph’. So that part is crazy to think about. And also, we’re racing in their city; racing on their turf. So I think that’s very special. I don’t know.. I personally think that we should have more street courses because it’s an amazing way to connect with the city at a whole different level. It’s way more personal. We’ve been bringing fans to the racetrack for over 75 years, and I feel like this thought process of bringing the racetrack to the fans, I think it’s a very good way to do it.”  You said earlier that you feel pretty decent about where your team is at and you’re slowly gaining momentum. Where do you think you guys stack up right now compared to the rest of the post-season field? Do you feel like you have what you need to make a deep run in the post-season? “I feel like we have work to do, to be honest. I believe that if the playoffs were to start tomorrow, I think we would really change the mindset and the way we’ve been doing things; trying different things and the way we’ve been calling some races. (Inaudible…) But when we have good speed, we’re good. We can execute a good race and we can run in the top-10, top-five, all race long. We did it in Iowa. In Nashville last weekend, I feel like we didn’t start the weekend that well, but the car was much better on Sunday and we were able to drive through the field and we were running in the top-15. We just have to be a little bit more consistent. Like New Hampshire, for example, it was probably the worst car I’ve ever had at New Hampshire. The car was bouncing like crazy. I talked to my guys about this – we’re going to miss it at some races. We’re not going to have a great car every single weekend. But the weekends that we miss, we cannot miss by a lot. Our misses should be running top-20.. not running 30th. If we run 30th in the playoffs, that’s it. We can say ‘goodbye’ to the playoffs. So it’s just very important to be smart about our decisions; how we’re going to make sure that we’re competitive. If we’re going to miss it, miss it by a little bit. Don’t try to hit homeruns because you’re not going to win a championship by trying to hit homeruns.. you have to go through base one, base two, base three. And then when you get that cycle going, then you can start hitting homeruns. In some ways, sometimes we’ve been trying to hit the jackpot a little bit too much as a group. So we just have to be a little bit better with that, and I think then, we’re going to be great and make a good run into the playoffs.”

CONCORD, NC (July 5, 2024) – The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota took in several drivers new to Midget racing and the Series in 2024, and their progress has shown throughout the first half of the season.

Seven rookies have made committed to following the entire Series schedule – including Ashton Torgerson, Brayton Lynch, Jayden Clay, Elijah Gile, Kale Drake, Trevor Cline and Tyler Edwards – who have combined for four wins, 11 top-fives and 29 top-10 finishes in the first 14 races.

Four of them currently sit inside the top-10 in the points standings and are poised for more success as the season returns from the summer break in two weeks – Friday-Saturday, July 19-20, at Spoon River Speedway. Tickets are on sale now at the link below.

SPOON RIVER TICKETS

Catch each of the rookies back in action with the Xtreme Outlaw Series at the track or streaming live on DIRTVision.

No. 67K – Ashton Torgerson (Glendale, AZ)

If there were a top rookie honor awarded through the first half of the Xtreme Outlaw Series season, Ashton Torgerson would be its recipient in 2024 with three wins, five top-five finishes and 10 top-10s collected through the first 14 races.

The 18-year-old former Micro Sprint champion wasted little time getting competitive in his Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports (KKM) entry, bagging his first top-10 in the second event of the season at the Southern Illinois Center. From there, he recorded finishes of 11th (US 36 Raceway), seventh (Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex) and a runner-up on the first night at Farmer City Raceway in April before capturing his first career national Midget Feature win Saturday at Farmer City.

Torgerson also won the next Series event at Humboldt Speedway in Kansas before capping-off the first half of the season with another win at Coles County Speedway in May, putting him fourth in the Series points standings with 15 races left.

“Overall, so far, it’s been amazing already, and we’re only halfway through,” Torgerson said of his season after the win at Coles County. “I think we’re gonna keep clicking-off some wins and hopefully we can get more.”

No. 1K – Brayton Lynch (Springfield, IL)

Eleven Feature starts into his rookie season with the Xtreme Outlaw Series, Brayton Lynch has been working to get back into the swing of racing a full national Midget series schedule and competing against today’s top talent.

Lynch, along with multi-time Chili Bowl Nationals-winning crew chief Rusty Kunz, drove the Rexroad Racing entry to a ninth-place finish at Atomic Speedway in May – a new personal best with the Series. However, Lynch said he’s not been satisfied thus far.

“It’s been, honestly, a little underwhelming just because I think we’re a little faster most nights than our results show,” Lynch said. “At the beginning, I was kinda struggling to get comfortable, but now I’m comfortable. I think now, it’s kind of a confidence thing.”

With half of the season complete and an 11th-place spot in the Series points standings, Lynch has some clarity in his method to improve in the final 15 races on the schedule.

“I know how fast the car is and I know what my abilities are, I’ve just gotta get myself mentally back to where I know I can be better than what we’ve been,” he said.

No. 66 – Jayden Clay (Newcastle, OK)

Still navigating the challenges of a first full season driving a Midget, Jayden Clay has been gaining both speed and confidence in his time with Mounce/Stout Motorsports. Though he said he’s not yet seen the results he’s worked for, he knows his car is fast enough to get him the results he wants.

“Definitely not how I would have liked to start the season, but I think where we’re at right now with how many races in, I think I’m getting faster,” Clay said. “I definitely think my car is fast enough to finish top-10, I just haven’t been able to put it up front.”

He logged his best career Midget finish of 13th twice in May at Atomic Speedway, demonstrating an ability to control his car at high speeds that he’s been improving upon since graduating from the Micro Sprint ranks in 2023.

“I definitely think from the beginning of the year, my progress has gone up tremendously from where I started to where I am now,” Clay said. “I still have a lot to learn, as in the drivers I race with and car control and everything like that.”

No. 98K – Elijah Gile (Phoenix, AZ)

The youngest driver in history to join the full-time Xtreme Outlaw Series roster has gone through a big change in his first full season behind the wheel of a Midget. Fourteen-year-old Elijah Gile began the year piloting his family’s Gene Gile Racing No. 13 entry for the first six races of the season before switching to Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports in April.

Gile said while it’s been an adjustment in getting used to all the coaching and tutelage from Keith Kunz and his team of crew members, the knowledge he’s gained from their teachings over the last eight races has been helpful in developing his skills so early on in his career.

“They help break down what mistakes I made and what I can do different,” Gile said. “I’ll go out there and try to correct it, and if not, they’re always there just waiting to tell me what I did wrong and what they’ll change with the car to make it better.

“It’s pretty cool. They’re very respectful, I respect them a lot and I’m very excited for the rest of the year.”

He garnered his best finish of the season at Atomic Speedway in May, finishing 10th on the big, 3/8-mile oval – a place where his new Toyota Racing Development (TRD) engines shined the brightest in keeping speeds high.

“With Keith’s stuff, they have TRD [engines], so you have to drive them a lot harder and be [smoother] with the throttle, and you can’t dump out of it as much,” Gile said.

No. 97 – Kale Drake (Collinsville, OK)

From out of the Micro Sprint ranks and into the Midget world, Kale Drake has already made his mark on national Midget series racing and with its most decorated team at Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.

RELATED: How Kale Drake Evolved from Micro Sprint Champion to Xtreme Midget Winner with Keith Kunz Motorsports

The 18-year-old Oklahoman joined the team as a crew member in February and got his first shot in the seat with the Xtreme Outlaw Series at US 36 Raceway in April. A seventh-place run there was a sign of his early abilities but did not outshine the Feature-winning performance he gave the following night at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex, taking the lead out of Turn 4 on the final lap to net his first career Midget victory.

“I didn’t think it was gonna come that quickly,” Drake said. “It definitely wasn’t an easy one. I’ve always been super confident at Sweet Springs; I’ve rolled really well around that joint since the beginning.”

Since then, Drake has had up-and-down results but still managed to push his way into the top-10 of the points standings despite missing the first two races of the season. He currently sits ninth in points with four top-fives and seven top-10s in 12 starts.

“Going into this last half of the season, I feel like I have a lot more confidence knowing that we’ve been on both sides of the stick, in a way,” Drake said. “We’ve struggled, and we’ve been really good. Putting it all together and meeting in the middle to have consistent, solid nights is really the name of the game.”

No. 55 – Trevor Cline (Mooresville, NC)

Through the first eight races, 16-year-old Trevor Cline did not have a single top-10 finish and had notched a best finish of only 14th. But come a trip back to his home track of Millbridge Speedway in May, the light switch flipped on and has powered his string of recent success.

Cline, the two-time and reigning Micro Sprint champion of the 1/6-mile North Carolina oval, bagged his first two top-10 runs of the season in the two-day midweek event, placing 10th on Tuesday and ninth on Friday, showing the speed and consistency that was missing from his program in the opening rounds of the season.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot as a driver,” Cline said. “Going into Millbridge, we had a bunch of confidence because I have about as many laps as you can in a Midget or a Micro there.”

From there, Cline bagged two more top-10s at Atomic Speedway later that week before scoring his best career finish and his first-ever Midget podium with his third-place effort at Doe Run Raceway to cap the month of May.

“I think it’s gone better than we anticipated it to,” Cline said of the first half of his season. “Obviously, we started out the year struggling pretty bad; almost killed a racecar at Du Quoin. Struggled since then, finally started to get our program back up, and then ran third at Doe Run.”

No. 14S – Tyler Edwards (Salina, OK)

The second of two new Mounce/Stout Motorsports entries on the Xtreme Outlaw Series roster this year, 30-year-old Tyler Edwards currently sits 10th in the standings with a best finish of fourth, which came at Atomic in May.

Atomic is only one of the many new tracks the former Sprint Car and Micro Sprint racer has had to adapt to, but he’s navigated the challenges well, also notching four top-10s in the first 14 races.

“Having to learn some of these tracks, that’s kinda been the biggest learning curve for myself,” Edwards said. “But I definitely feel like we’ve made improvements since the beginning. Just as a team too, we’ve kinda learned each other, what we like and what we don’t like about each other and what we need in the racecar every night.”

In enduring some mechanical struggles as well, Edwards is still in high spirits and said he’s prepared to take on the rest of the season in pursuit of his first career national Midget series victory.

“Overall, it ain’t bad for dealing with some of the thing we’ve had to deal with – motor woes and me having to learn all these new tracks,” Edwards said. “I feel like we’re getting really close to being right where we want to be and being able to compete up front every night.”

Hall of Fame Driver Still Faces Long Road to Recovery

RICHMOND, Va. (July 5, 2024) – Less than two weeks after drag racing champion John Force suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI), among other injuries that included a fractured sternum and a right wrist injury, following an engine explosion that sent his Funny Car into a concrete guard wall at over 300 miles per hour, doctors acknowledged his positive response to treatment. He was moved out of neuro-intensive care and into acute neuro care at the hospital where he was transported by air ambulance on June 23. The latest upgrade was welcomed by Force family members who have maintained a presence at the hospital since the 16-time NHRA Champion’s arrival, but medical professionals emphasized once again that the journey ahead will be a long and difficult one. Although Force is still dealing with cognitive and behavioral symptoms from his TBI, the fact that the Hall of Fame driver can converse with medical staff, family members, and John Force Racing president Robert Hight, who flew in this week, is an encouraging sign. However, there have also been periods of confusion, which doctors say require time and patience to treat. Also noteworthy was the fact that the 75-year-old grandfather of five has regained his equilibrium to the point that he has been able to start walking with the assistance of medical staff members.  According to family, the next step for the man whose career has spanned six decades likely will be a move to a long-term facility specializing in TBI and associated symptoms. A time frame for that move has not yet been determined.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGO STREET RACE TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAILABILITY QUOTES JULY 5, 2024

Shane van Gisbergen, the inaugural winner of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Chicago Street Course.  Media Availability Quotes:  As you were flying into Chicago, do you kind of get a really good vibe? Do you like looking down and seeing it considering what happened last year? Secondly, more importantly, now that you’ve had more experience in NASCAR and have been a part of this, does it make what you were able to accomplish last year in the Cup Series even a bit more amazing or a really feel good moment for you when you think about what you did?  “Yeah, it’s cool. I’m not much of a city person.. there’s not enough grass here for me (laughs). I guess we’re racing in a park, which is cool. But yeah, I prefer the countryside and getting away from people. But yeah, it’s cool. It’s special to come back here. As you asked, being here for a year, yeah it does have more meaning now knowing how tough this series is and how good everyone here is. We just had a dream run and we’re ready to try and do the same again. The preparation has been pretty good. Looking out there now, the track looks amazing. The weather looks like it’s going to be pretty good, which I’m excited for. Hopefully it’s a good race weekend for everyone.” You didn’t get to experience double-file restarts here last year. Now that you’ve gotten to experience them some in Cup, what have your impressions of it been, and how do you think it’ll impact this race? “Yeah, I think here, it’s a little different with where it’s placed. You kind of get going just before the last corner, so it’s a huge advantage to be the first guy because you’ll be clear by the exit. But yeah, if you’re third row back, it’s going to be carnage.. not carnage, but difficult to stay clean through there. Yeah, I think that worked out pretty well last year. But this year, it’s going to be tough. I watched the Xfinity Series race – they go through it very cleanly, but the outside guy lost positions every time. So it’s going to be a fight to be on the right-hand side and try to not give too much up to get there, I think. But yeah, looking forward to that. I think it’ll be different than on the ovals. On the ovals, it’s crazy the way everyone races here; takes 50-50’s. They pretty much take all 50-50’s and get involved in a crash or they don’t. So I’m a bit more reserved, at the moment, for that, I think.” Last year, this is obviously what got the ball rolling. You win this race and suddenly you’re racing full-time in NASCAR months later. When you look ahead to Sunday, are you looking at it as potentially – hey, if I can repeat, win and have all the spotlight and attention on me, that can really kind of solidify my future even more in NASCAR, in terms of the Cup path that you want to pursue? “No, I don’t think like that, but it would probably certainly help; getting a good result both days and showing I can keep running upfront on road courses. But I’m not trying to put pressure on myself, you know saying ‘I have to win to get into Cup next year’, you know? But certainly a good result will help that, yeah.” Last year, Kyle Larson was marveling on the move you made on Justin Haley to win. Can you take us through that move again, and are you anticipating that you won’t be able to make that move in year two because people will have figured out that it’s coming? “Yeah, I think I did the same thing at COTA on someone. But to me, it’s normal (laughs). I see stuff that Kyle Larson does on ovals and I go – what the hell.. how did he do that? So it’s relative, right? It’s what I’ve always been used to with this kind of racing and making moves like that. On the ovals, people are doing stuff to me and I’m like – how did he come up with that or know that I was going to do the opposite? So yeah, it’s kind of just that I need to get better at the oval stuff and they’re going to keep getting better at the road course stuff, as well, I guess.” Anytime you can get laps at a course, you’re going to be improved the next time come back. So for Sunday, how much do you anticipate the Cup field sort of closing the gap to you? Also for you, doing double-duty on Saturday, your experiences in the Cup car, which generally handles way better on these types of tracks than the Xfinity car does? Can that in any way be a disadvantage for whatever your Saturday might look like?“The car difference is huge, but laps and reps overcomes that by so far, especially what we’re going to be doing tomorrow morning, the track is going to be completely different from how the Xfinity race finishes. So getting to experience that is going to be a huge head start for Sunday, which is why so many Cup guys are probably in that Saturday race. Just get reps; get comfortable with the walls on both sides of the car. This racing is so different from anything we do all year, so yeah I think for sure that doing both classes is going to be more of an advantage than a disadvantage.  I think for sure that there will be more of them. There were a lot of guys that were fast; five or six fast guys last year. Especially in qualifying, there were some big laps. This year, there’s just going to be more guys with data; more guys will have better setups with learning what they did last year. I think there’s a big chance that there will be 10 or 15 guys. That’s the best thing I find about NASCAR.. it’s not the same people every week. This series is so competitive and so tight, but hopefully it’s us that’s in there, as well.” It’s been a year and obviously there’s a lot of things that have changed in your life. Is there anything you miss? What are the biggest notices you have now versus being here last year? Like I said, do you miss being home because you completely upended everything? “I miss New Zealand a lot, for sure. But I love it here. I really enjoy racing. I love racing every week. I love having a routine and knowing what I’m doing pretty much every day until November.. that’s exciting. I have three weeks off in August and I have no idea what I’m going to do. It’s a weird feeling. I love this style of racing; the atmosphere, the people and the schedule. Yeah, I’m loving every moment. I definitely think I made the right choice. I feel like it’s a really cool place for me; being welcome by everyone, whether it’s team people, drivers and the fans. It’s been really cool to see how welcoming everyone is and I’m really enjoying it.” There’s a lot of talk about the field catching up to you with more experience, but you also have more experience here in NASCAR. So whatever advantages they gain, are you also gaining an advantage too because you have all this experience now? “Yeah, for sure. Like I have learned a lot with the Cup car. I had a really good time at the wheel force test at Sonoma, which it was essentially like my first test day in NASCAR. You don’t really get to test much here.. you’re learning as you’re racing. So it was good to have two days; experiment with the car, the tire and push things. I went off-track a couple of times, just learning. Got to try different brake pads, suspensions, stuff like that. So yeah, got to learn what I liked and what I needed from the car. For sure, I’ll be better this year, too.. knowing what to expect and what I want from the car. Last year’s car wasn’t perfect by any means. But yeah, I think we’ll all be taking a leap forward, that’s for sure.” Last year when you came in, maybe everyone wasn’t super familiar with you and didn’t know what you could do. So having said that, this year, is there a slightly different vibe? People know that this is the guy that’s setting the standard, so do you expect it to race differently? “I’m not sure about that, but I certainly enjoyed last year. I’m a pretty quite guy, so flying under the radar pre-weekend was awesome for me. I just focused on my job and do well at it. Yeah, the media stuff is pretty overwhelming sometimes, but I’m getting used to it. But yeah, I know for sure that there’s probably a target on us. People are going to be looking at us a lot more and try to study what we’re doing. But yeah, just have to keep our heads down and expectations in check. Our prep has been good with all the Kaulig Racing guys, and then obviously some Trackhouse Racing input, as well. So yeah, I feel ready to go and prepared. Just have to go out there and do it.” You said you enjoyed flying under the radar. Like when you look back on it, the announcers could barely announce your name. You had the drivers, even after the race, be like – I didn’t really know this guy before. Was there anything in the back of your head like there was a little bit of disrespect here.. like I’m a three-time Supercars Champion.. nothing like that? “No, not at all. I think the funniest one was – Brad Keselowski had a tweet afterwards. We must have done the track walk next to each other and he goes – ‘did the track walk and had no idea who this guy is, but now I do’ or whatever. I found that pretty funny. But yeah, it’s hard, especially in this series – when you’re racing every weekend, it’s hard to have the blinkers off and watch other racing. You’re so engrained in what you’re doing and focused on yourself. I wasn’t angry or disappointed in them at all. It was cool to just come in, but that changed pretty quick after practice and qualifying, I guess.”  Last year, you were in the PROJECT91 car for Trackhouse Racing. This year, you’re in a Kaulig Racing entry for Sunday. You said you were going to have some input from Trackhouse, but can you just address that? Will there be much of a difference, or are you anticipating anything begin different with the car? “I guess that’s the beauty of both. We had the teams that were first and second last year having input this year, which is awesome. Travis Mack, who is the crew chief on the car this weekend, he was at Trackhouse last year. So it works really well, already having that relationship setup. It’s been good on all the ovals we’ve done, so far. Yeah, Travis has been at the shop most days this week to help prepare the car; make sure it’s right. It went into the Kaulig truck to get here and those guys will run it all weekend. It’s a real combined effort. It was a little messy, maybe, at COTA.. it could have been better. But every week, the relationship has gotten better and better, the more races we do. Yeah, really confident with how it all works now.”  What’s your knowledge of this track at this point? “Yeah, street courses are different every year, no matter where you go. Like the barrier locations are always different, depending if they put them inside the curb or on top of it. The track always changes. I haven’t walked around yet.. I’ll do that tomorrow morning. Basically, I’ll just be trying to look at all of the barrier locations on apex and exits, just to see the differences with how the barriers are lined up and stuff. I hear there are some resealing, as well. I haven’t been there yet, but basically the corner directions are the same, but there’s always small differences. And then with only two classes on track and a year’s worth of traffic in between each race, it’ll be really interesting. The track didn’t really ramp up until the end last year when it dried up, so it was like a reset. Whereas if it’s dry all weekend, the track will be completely different. But it should be a good race track. There should be a lot of passing, if it’s completely dry. There’s great passing zones here for a street race. Hopefully it’s exciting” What is that like now, instead of getting the knowledge, you’re giving it to your competitors? “Yeah, obviously I’ve gotten a lot more questions this week. But yeah, I don’t mind telling small things, but you’re not going to tell every secret, I guess. But I’m completely open to Daniel (Suarez), Ross (Chastain) and Zane (Smith) and whatever they ask. The track walk tomorrow, we’ll do that together maybe and try and talk things through. Those guys were fast in a lot of areas. Daniel was really quick last year in a lot of spots.  But yeah, for sure, I don’t mind. I don’t mind helping those guys because I certainly ask a lot of questions the other way. But yeah, I’ll keep a little bit in the pocket because you want to win, as well.” How much was there the openness among Supercars? Is that universal or something that is kind of different?“No, it’s pretty similar there. The Supercars guys, they’re all good guys. You still keep separate, but everyone is pretty fun. You talk about it a little bit, but between manufacturers, it’s not as open as it is here, I guess.”  How do you deal with changing expectations from week-to-week.. going from ovals, where you’re still learning and not having much expected of you at this point of your career, versus going to a road or street course, where you’re automatically expected to contend for the win? “Yeah, good question. I kind I had just been letting the road course stuff happen this year and not focusing on it as much because like I just know I’ll be good there. I do the usual preparation, but I don’t do more. Whereas with the ovals, I try to study as much as I can with SMT, previous races, onboards.. I’m trying to soak in as much as I can. I’m really focusing on getting better on the ovals, and I feel like I have. At Iowa, I made some errors and had a bad weekend. But I feel like it’s been a pretty steady progress. And then Nashville was the most comfortable I’ve felt on the ovals. I feel like I’ve said that the last few ovals that I’ve run, so certainly moving forward; getting better, more competitive. I’m racing around some pretty good guys, I feel like. But yeah, the road stuff just comes.. it’s almost like a holiday on a road race weekend for me. I can relax and have some fun.” After watching film and going through those emotions from the race, what were some drivers that you feel like are going to be your biggest challengers this weekend? “Yeah, again, there are so many guys in this series that if they hit it, they can be on. There’s 10 or 15 really good road racers now, and then the rest of the field aren’t slugs either. It’s pretty impressive how competitive everything is. And especially how much road racing there is now, everyone has gotten good at it. Yeah, I really enjoy racing – I think it was Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Larson last year.. all of us at the start and just seeing how comfortable they were; their proximity to the barriers and how much they were pushing in the wet. I remember being pretty conservative in the wet and let them through a little bit at the start. It was pretty cool to watch those guys. They’re relatively inexperienced at this stuff and they were pushing pretty hard. It was cool to watch. Yeah, I think it will be those guys, for sure, up front. I think it was Denny (Hamlin) who was on the pole, as well. He was going really well. He hit the wall, unfortunately early, but he was fast, too.” With everyone having your SMT data, can they copy what you do.. is it that simple? Or do you feel like all your years of experience.. they can look at it, but it’s going to take them awhile for them to be able to do what you do..“Yeah, the SMT stuff is amazing on the ovals, but I hate it on the road courses for that reason (laughs). They can see what you’re doing. But yeah, I guess my brake technique is completely different, so it would be very hard for someone to switch over. Like for me on the ovals, I’ve never left-foot braked before. But you can’t really right-foot brake on an oval, so I’ve had to learn that technique. But if I tried to left-foot brake on a road circuit, I’d be miles off the pace. It’s such a different technique and way that you control the car into the corner. I do it with the clutch, they do it with the throttle. Yeah, it would be very hard for someone to just try and emulate what I’m doing, I think. You can still see gears, proximities, steering angles, stuff like that, and get most of the basic stuff down, I think.” You came and ran this race last year. You mentioned that heading into it, you weren’t really well known over here. You go out, whip the field and win the race. Did you ever envision last year that it would ever translate to what you’re doing now.. full-time racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the opportunity in the NASCAR Cup Series in coming years? “Not at all. It was just a one-off race at that point. As I said, I went to Nashville the week before, a year ago now, and just opened my eyes to how cool the racing was; how open it was for everyone. I took my dad there last week.. he’s come over for the weekend. We were just standing right on the pit wall as the guys were doing their pit stops. I was dropping him at the corporate suite.. he didn’t like the heat, so he wanted to get to the air conditioner. But we stood on the backstretch on the way out and we just walked right up to the fence on the side of the track. I don’t know if we should have done that, but we were standing right by the inside wall right when the cars were going past. The experience here is awesome. We both had a little moment, without saying anything, how cool it is here. Yeah, we’re all really, really enjoying it. It’s been a huge 180 for me, my life and my career. But yeah, I’m having the time of my life.”

CONCORD, NC (July 5, 2024) – 

For most Sprint Car drivers, their path to stardom starts in go-karts before advancing through the likes of Micro Sprints, Midgets and anything else with four wheels and an engine they can get their hands on.

But for Landon Britt, his trajectory toward the American Sprint Car Series National Tour took a bit of a detour in his teens.

“Got out of racing for a little bit, about three years, and got into rugby really heavy,” Britt said. “I grew up in more of a country area, and rugby was kind of a big thing out there. I had multiple friends that played, and they kept talking to me, ‘Try to come, try to come,’ and eventually I went, and from there on I just played.

“The summer before my junior year [of high school], I started playing, and then played my junior and senior years, and then played about a year after high school where I played on a men’s team.”

Perhaps there’s an alternate timeline in which Britt is preparing to head to Paris to represent the United States on the Olympic rugby pitch. However, the urge to get back behind the wheel of a race car was too much to resist.

“Me and my dad had always talked about getting back into racing,” said Britt, who raced go-karts as a child before his rugby hiatus. “I told him I wanted to get out of the go-kart world, I wanted to move up.”

While many drivers have had their heart set on Sprint Cars as the ultimate goal since day one, Britt was always one who explored his options.

“We had talked about doing autocross, and getting into something like that,” Britt said. “We just really didn’t want to race against the clock the entire time.”

From there, Britt went looking for a form of racing where you could slide cars through the corners at extreme speeds, inches away from other competitors doing the same thing. His calling soon became clear.

“I had mentioned something about doing Formula Drift, and then he had mentioned Sprint Cars, and we just kind of sat down and talked about it,” Britt said. “Honestly, Sprint Cars have just been the answer the whole time. When we both talked about it, everything just led back to Sprint Cars. I’m not really sure what drew the attention to it, it’s just what we chose, and we fell in love with it after we chose it.”

Once Britt settled on Sprint Cars as his chariot of choice, he became a regular at dirt tracks around his Memphis home before slowly expanding his schedule. After a few seasons of regional competition, 2022 marked Britt’s first full season on the ASCS National Tour, which he said was always the destination for his team.

“In the 360 world, there’s not a more elite series,” Britt said. “The level of competition, everything that ASCS brings has been on a broader and more elite level.”

After a rookie season that included three top fives and a seventh-place points finish, Britt became a National Tour winner for the first time in 2023, taking the checkers at Arrowhead Speedway in September. For the inexperienced and undermanned LB Motorsports team, the win proved that they could go toe-to-toe with the best in the business.

“Being a smaller, father-son, two-man team, first-generation driver trying to run against these guys that have been doing it 10, 15, 20 years, it’s very tough,” Britt said. “They already have the knowledge, and we don’t.”

When he isn’t chasing the National Tour across the country, Britt can be found back home working at his father’s HVAC business, something that has been part of his life for nearly as long as racing.

“I started doing it when I was 12 years old. Summers, weekend deals, and then at 18 years old was when I went full time,” Britt said. “Our weekly schedule is wake up, get to the [HVAC] shop at eight (in the morning), work however late it may take to get what work needs to be done, and I’m at the [race] shop after the fact.

“It’s not ‘walk in every morning and go straight to car stuff’ like some of these guys have time to do. Versus us, the business has to come first, because it’s what’s pushing this car around.”

Ten races into his third season on the National Tour, Britt sits eighth in the standings, just seven points out of the familiar seventh spot he has finished in his previous two years. He said the No. 10 team remains focused on continually making strides until they become frequent visitors to Victory Lane.

“This year we’ve grabbed some other ideas and some things that we’re trying,” Britt said. “At some points, it’s a little bit more of a struggle, but every place we go to we figure out a little bit more and more of what really needs to be done in these certain situations.”

Britt will be joined by the rest of the National Tour stars when the season resumes in Kansas at Lakeside Speedway on Friday, July 19, and 81 Speedway on Saturday, July 20. Tickets to both events will be available at the gate on race day, and if you can’t make it, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

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July 5, 2024

For years, NASCAR insiders and the sport’s fans were conditioned to look on the Fourth of July weekend as a time to return to Daytona International Speedway for the traditional start to the second half of the season.

But starting last year, NASCAR’s elite Cup Series celebrates Independence Day weekend with a race on the streets of Chicago.

The inaugural event on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course was plagued by torrential rains, but the race still was a crowd pleaser.

Now the circuit returns, and Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are hoping for sunny skies and a strong run on the most unique course on the circuit.

“I’ll admit I was a skeptic when the Chicago street race was announced last year,” crew chief Jeremy Bullins said. “But considering the rain and everything else that went on I was so impressed with the crowd of fans that stuck it out that I really can’t wait to go back.

 “I hope we can have some better weather and put on a good race for the fans.”

He said the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team has had more speed and opportunities to finish well in recent weeks, and he hopes to build on that this weekend.

“We’ve had some decent momentum swinging our way lately, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do with our Motorcraft Mustang this week,” he said.

Practice for the Grant Park 165 is set for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to be followed by qualifying at 12:30 p.m. (1:30 Eastern). USA Network will carry the TV broadcast.

Sunday’s 75-lap, 165-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 3:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Eastern) with TV coverage on NBC.

 Stage breaks are planned for Laps 20 and 45.

PEVELY, MO (July 4, 2024) – Drivers and fans will be treated to the biggest Ironman 55 yet at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in August with the largest purse in event history.Between two days of racing, Aug. 2-3, more than $180,000 will be on the line for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota. That’s highlighted by Saturday’s Features paying $25,000-to-win for the World of Outlaws and $7,500-to-win for the Midgets.Friday’s Feature will pay out $12,000-to-win/$1,200-to-start for the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and $4,000-to-win/$300-to-start for the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets.Both nights will also count toward the Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series title – awarding $2,500 to the Series champion at the end of the year – as POWRi will co-sanction the event with Xtreme.Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 is home to some of the most iconic moments in Sprint Car racing, such as Sheldon Haudenschild’s dominating performance in 2019 where he won by over 10 seconds, Kyle Larson’s sub-10 second qualifying lap and Larson’s intense duel with Logan Schuchart last year.The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets have produced a “new flavor of the week” vibe with every race at I-55, producing five different winners in their five trips there.EVENT INFO Date – Friday-Saturday, Aug. 2-3 Location – Pevely, MO Track Record – 9.995 sec. set by Kyle Larson on May 22, 2020 (Sprint Cars) 12.625 sec. set by Michael Pickens on Aug. 5, 2022 (Midgets)Times (CT) – 2 p.m. Pit Gate Opens Grandstand Gate Opens: 5 p.m. Friday / 4 p.m. Saturday 6:30 p.m. Hot Laps & Qualifying -Racing to followTickets – Available HERE. How to Watch – Can’t make it? Watch every lap live on DIRTVision.Last Race Video Recap (World of Outlaws, Aug. 5, 2023) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA7ZWv2i-JMLast Race Video Recap (Xtreme, Aug. 5, 2023) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y458bOOLEYPrevious World of Outlaws winners at I-55 – 2023 – Brad Sweet on April 14, Spencer Bayston on Aug. 4, Kyle Larson on Aug. 5 2022 – Carson Macedo on April 16 & August 5, Brad Sweet on August 6 2021 – Brad Sweet on April 2, Brad Sweet on April 3, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 6, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 7 2020 – Brad Sweet on May 22, Kyle Larson on May 23, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 7, Kyle Larson on Aug. 8 2019 – Brad Sweet on Aug 2, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 3 2018 – Daryn Pittman on April 21, Rico Abreu on Aug. 3, Logan Schuchart on Aug. 4 2017 – Daryn Pittman on Aug. 4 2016 – David Gravel on Aug. 5, Rico Abreu on Aug. 6 2015 – Christopher Bell on May 2, Donny Schatz on Aug. 7, Shane Stewart on Aug. 8 2014 – Sammy Swindell on April 26, Paul McMahan on Aug. 1, Kerry Madsen on Aug. 2 2013 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 3 2012 – Craig Dollansky on Oct. 13, Jason Sides on Oct. 13 2011 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 5 2010 – Joey Saldana on April 17, Tim Shaffer on Aug. 6, Jason Meyers on Aug. 7 2009 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 7, Joey Saldana on Aug. 8 2008 – Jason Meyers on April 5 2007 – Joey Saldana on July 7 2006 – Donny Schatz on April 1, Brooke Tatnell on July 8 2005 – Kraig Kinser on April 2, Chad Kemenah on July 8 2004 – Craig Dollansky on April 17, Danny Lasoski on Aug. 7 2003 – Steve Kinser on April 12, Tyler Walker on July 12 2002 – Jac Haudenschild on March 30, Daryn Pittman on July 13 2001 – Randy Hannagan on March 24, Stevie Smith on July 14 2000 – Jac Haudenschild on July 22 1999 – Jac Haudenschild on July 24 1998 – Stevie Smith on July 25, Andy Hillenburg on Oct. 10 1997 – Mark Kinser on May 18, Sammy Swindell on Oct. 11 1996 – Mark Kinser on June 12 1992 – Steve Kinser on June 10 1991 – Sammy Swindell on May 4 1990 – Sammy Swindell on April 14 1989 – Doug Wolfgang on April 15, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 11 1988 – Steve Kinser on April 23 1987 – Brad Doty on April 22, Steve Kinser on Sept. 25Previous Xtreme winners at I-55 – 2023 – Cannon McIntosh on April 14, Karter Sarff on Aug. 4, Jade Avedisian on Aug. 5 2022 – Chance Crum on Aug. 5, Michael Pickens on Aug. 6

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCEChicago Street RaceChicago, IllinoisJuly 6-7, 2024

One year ago, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) made history by competing in the sport’s first-ever street race. NASCAR will make its return to the “Windy City” this weekend to take on the Chicago Street Course for a doubleheader event featuring two of NASCAR’s top divisions – kicking off Saturday with the NXS’ The Loop 110, with NASCAR’s premier series capping off the weekend in Sunday’s Grant Park 165.  Built among some of the city’s most renowned landmarks, the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit features portions of the famed streets of Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue, with the start-finish line situated at the Buckingham Fountain. Chevrolet will return to the course as the defending winners of the inaugural NCS event, while looking to capture its first street race victory in the NXS.

ONE YEAR AGO… Shane van Gisbergen added to an already history-making weekend on the streets of Chicago by becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. Van Gisbergen, who was also piloting a Camaro ZL1 in the Supercars Championship series last season, made the trip to the United States to make his first-career NASCAR start in the inaugural Chicago Street Race. The 35-year-old New Zealander immediately caught the eye of the NASCAR world when his first-ever laps behind the wheel of a Next Gen Camaro ZL1 saw the Team Chevy driver top the leaderboard in the series’ practice session, going on to post a third-place qualifying effort for his series debut.  Enduring a race that saw a crossover from wet to dry conditions, van Gisbergen showcased his mastery in making left- and right-hand turns throughout the race. With the race ultimately shortened due to impending darkness, crew chief Darian Grubb gave van Gisbergen a fresh set of Goodyear tires that allowed the driver to quickly climb through the field to the top position during the final stage. Despite never experiencing an overtime restart, the challenge proved to be no problem for van Gisbergen as he quickly pulled away to take the checkered flag and a historic victory.

Big Day for the Bowtie BrandVan Gisbergen’s historic victory was celebrated by a dominant performance by the Bowtie brand, with Team Chevy drivers sweeping the top-five finishing positions in the series’ first-ever street race. Van Gisbergen, who was behind the wheel of Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 Camaro ZL1, led drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations to the finish including: runner-up finisher Justin Haley in the No. 31 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1; Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in the third and fourth positions, respectively; and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch rounding out the manufacturer’s top-five sweep. This marked the second time in the series’ Next Gen era that Chevrolet swept the top-five finishing positions of an event – also accomplishing the feat at Road America in July 2022.

MOMENTUM ON LEFTS AND RIGHTSSunday’s Grant Park 165 will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ third event that will feature left- and right-hand turns. Chevrolet has been unstoppable on road course circuits this season, with wins by Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (Circuit of The Americas) and Kyle Larson (Sonoma Raceway) keeping the manufacturer undefeated on road courses this season.  While there are unique challenges that come with street racing, Chevrolet has a boost of confidence from its success in making left- and right-hand turns in recent years. With Larson’s win in the series’ most recent road course race at Sonoma Raceway, the Bowtie brand now owns 19 victories in the past 24 NCS road course events – nine of which have come in the series’ Next Gen era. Among the entries for Sunday’s event, there are eight Team Chevy drivers that have recorded a road course/street course win in NASCAR’s premier series.

Topping the list is Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who ranks third on the series’ all-time road course wins list with seven triumphs. Joining Elliott on the list includes Kyle Larson (five NCS road course wins), Kyle Busch (four), AJ Allmendinger (three), William Byron (two), Ross Chastain (one), Daniel Suarez (one) and Shane van Gisbergen (one).

SMITH COLLECTS CAREER-BEST FINISH; ADDS TO MANUFACTURER POINTS LEADAt Nashville Superspeedway, Team Chevy’s Zane Smith came just 0.068 seconds from becoming a first-time winner in NASCAR’s top division. Settling for a runner-up result, Smith’s career-best finish in the series didn’t come without a fight. The NASCAR Cup Series rookie was sitting outside of the top-20 for the first overtime finish, but pit strategy by the team’s rookie crew chief, Stephen Doran, put the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team in prime position to outlast the long list of drivers that fell short on fuel during the record-setting five overtime attempts.  Smith’s finish helped keep Chevrolet atop the NCS’ manufacturer points standings, with the Bowtie brand heading to Chicago with a four-point lead over second-place Toyota. In 19 points-paying races, five Chevrolet organizations have contributed points towards the manufacturer points standings as the Bowtie brand looks to defend its championship title. Smith also became the ninth different driver to lead Team Chevy to the finish in a NCS race this season.

SVG’S CHICAGO RETURNWhile Shane van Gisbergen has already proven his ability to navigate the Chicago Street Course, the 35-year-old New Zealander is on the horizon of his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series start at the 2.2-mile, 12-turn circuit. Returning to the venue that put his name on the map in the NASCAR world, van Gisbergen heads to the “Windy City” as the series’ most recent road course winner. Just one month ago, van Gisbergen became a first-time NXS winner at Portland International Raceway, with the Team Chevy driver becoming the series’ second rookie to secure a playoff berth this season. Van Gisbergen followed up that performance with yet another trip to victory lane just one week later at Sonoma Raceway – giving the team back-to-back road course triumphs. In addition, van Gisbergen will strap into the No. 16 Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing to defend his title in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event.  Among the nine drivers that will pull double-duty this weekend, five come from the Chevrolet camp. Joining van Gisbergen on that list includes Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Camaro SS. This weekend will mark Larson’s second NXS start of 2024, with his lone start in the series this season resulting in a trip to victory lane (Circuit of The Americas – March 2024). Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez, who became a first-time NCS winner at Sonoma Raceway in 2022, is also tapped to pilot the No. 36 Camaro SS for DGM Racing. Team Chevy’s full-time NXS drivers, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Hill, will also compete in Sunday’s NCS race, with Allmendinger driving the No. 13 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 and Hill driving the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 – a third entry for both Chevrolet organizations.

ECKES PROVING TO BE A TITLE FAVORITEDespite a three-week break in competition for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), no momentum was lost for Christian Eckes and the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Silverado RST team. At Nashville Superspeedway, the 23-year-old New York native became the series’ second three-time winner this season in dominating fashion. With a third-place qualifying effort, Eckes quickly drove his No. 19 Silverado RST to the lead on the first lap, with the Team Chevy driver going on to lead every lap of the 150-lap event en route to the victory. The triumph also extended Eckes’ lead in the series’ points standings, with the Team Chevy driver now sitting at a 40-point advantage over second-place Corey Heim with three races remaining in the regular-season.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       The pace car lineup for the second annual Chicago Street Race will feature all three NASCAR OEM partners, with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 helping lead the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series to the green-flag in their respective events.  ·       With 50 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 54% with 27 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – eight wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 10 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – nine wins). ·       Shane van Gisbergen captured the win in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural Chicago Street Race last season, with the 35-year-old New Zealander becoming the first driver in 60 years to win in his first career NCS start (last previously accomplished by Johnny Rutherford at Daytona International Speedway in 1963).  ·       Chevrolet drivers swept the top-five finishing positions in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race – recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. The feat marked the second time the manufacturer swept the top-five finishing results in the series’ Next Gen era – also accomplishing the feat at Road America in July 2022.  ·       Chevrolet has earned 19 victories in the past 24 NASCAR Cup Series road course events – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in August 2019, to Kyle Larson’s victory at Sonoma Raceway in June 2024. ·       In 13 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with nine victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. ·       In 91 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 45 victories – a winning percentage of 49.5%.  ·       With his victory at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson is the second driver to hit a double-digit win record in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen era with 10 triumphs. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, leads the series’ all-time win record in the Next Gen era with 11 victories.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 859 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

FOR THE FANS·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Plaza at the Chicago Street Course. ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Trax ACTIV, Silverado 1500 ZR2, Colorado Trailboss, Tahoe Z71, Traverse Z71, Blazer EV RS, Equinox EV RS, Corvette Stingray and Corvette Z06.  Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Sunday, July 7·       Chase Elliott: 12 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. ·       Kyle Busch: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. ·       Shane van Gisbergen: 12:30 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. ·       William Byron: 12:45 p.m. – 1 p.m. ·       Carson Hocevar: 1 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. ·       Kyle Larson: 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: ·       Saturday, July 6: 8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.  ·       Sunday, July 7: 9 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 685 Toyota: 681 (-4)Ford: 663 (-22)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 637Toyota: 606 (-31)Ford: 535 (-102)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 498Toyota: 459 (-39)Ford: 414 (-84)

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup SeriesGrant Park 165Sunday, July 7, at 4:30 p.m. ET(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 Saturday, July 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Peach Camaro ZL1Is there anything you, Daniel or the organization can take from SVG’s Chicago win that will transfer over?“Well, he’s a machine when it comes to preparation. I would say he’s kind of leading the charge for us in the simulator and getting it how he thinks it will be. But, the streets up there will have changed and we’re all honest with each other that the simulator is a tool. At least I’ll have that to go off of though. Last year, I’ll be honest, that I didn’t put enough stock in his simulator prep but this year I definitely have.” Do you think SVG will has as much of an advantage in on a dry street course and now that you all have one race there under your belt?“He is an animal when it comes to road courses and we’ve seen that with his two Xfinity wins already this season. He’s that good.” What are you most looking forward to at Chicago?“Getting another crack at it, as SVG would say. Definitely not the result I wanted last year. Didn’t feel comfortable, didn’t make a lot of speed, couldn’t pass and really struggled. It was a concrete canyon feeling and the walls were really close to the left and right of the racing line. Looking forward to getting another shot and seeing if I can do better.” Having notes and data now, how does that change going into Chicago this time?“It’s definitely more than last year (laughs). I just have no idea what it would be like but the street could’ve totally changed with regular traffic out there and what’s getting dropped on it, gouges, new paint here and there. I know NASCAR will try to and make it the most similar but still, it’s another level of unknown.” Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Celsius Camaro ZL1What’s your perspective heading into this weekend?“We ran 14th at the Chicago Street Course last year and our goal is to better that this weekend. Our road course program has been solid so we’re looking to have a great run in the Celsius Camaro. There’s no margin for error on the race track so we have to be perfect all weekend. I’m looking forward to going back to Chicago this weekend and putting on a great show.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1What was your experience like last year at the Chicago Street Race? “The Chicago Street Race last year was pretty exciting. I know we had the weather there and it kind of held up the start of things. I didn’t think we were going to race. I thought it was flooded, but it stopped raining, they got it kind of dried up, the standing water removed, and we were out there as it was still drying, running our wet tires. It was a challenging racetrack already with how narrow it was and how slick it was on city streets. Throw in the rain and wet aspect into it and it totally changes it for us. We struggled a little bit there early in the race, but we were able to turn it around. Our strategy worked really well, some breaks fell our way, and we were able to score a top-five.” Last year you went nose first into the tire barrier but were able to bounce back and score a fifth-place finish. Were you surprised the car didn’t have more damage?“I was thankful that the car didn’t have more damage than what it did. I was able to continue racing and was able to score a top five finish, which was really good for us. I felt like we had a top five car, so we achieved the finish that we should have so that was pretty good.” Would you be okay with adding another street race to the schedule? If so, what would be a good location? “I would say that another street circuit would be a pretty good idea. If we’re going to do it, we should go to an area that we’re not currently racing in. I wouldn’t change racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to run on the streets of Las Vegas. Let’s go somewhere different.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 Benesch Camaro ZL1“I really liked the racetrack last year in Chicago. I thought it was really ‘racey’ for a street course. We definitely didn’t have the result we wanted to, but I’m pumped up to get back there and run both races. I believe with the things we have learned on the road courses, especially with the Cup car, we’ll be better there and have a great weekend.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Bowman on racing the Chicago Street Race: “I’m excited to get there (Chicago Street Course). It is a really fun place to race. It’s honestly difficult, you know, just making laps there (Chicago Street Course) by yourself it’s so technical that it actually makes it really fun. I’m excited to get there from that stand point of things. I think our road course stuff has been really, really good. Last year, we had a good day going until we encountered a mechanical issue. Excited to go back to Chicago and looking for a little redemption.” Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Harris on calling the shots for the No. 48 team during NASCAR’s second consecutive Chicago Street Race:“This weekend we are shooting to have a full solid race. I feel like road courses in general have been a strength of ours this year- so my eyes are set on a top-five finish and hopefully contending for a win. There is potentially a little bit of rain Sunday, so we’ll see how everything plays out. We ended the race a little bit early last year due to a mechanical failure, so I’m a little bit disappointed that we didn’t get more dry track time there. Of what we did run and even in the wet (tires) I thought we were super competitive though. I’m excited to get back there.” Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1Career best second-place finish last weekend in Nashville. How does that feel and how will you carry this momentum with you?“It feels so good to put a solid weekend together. It was an awesome result and obviously it stinks to be 0.068 seconds away from my first Cup victory. You never know when you might get a shot at that again. But so proud of my team for pulling the second-place finish off and the strategy we chose. We know what our cars are capable of now. Going to build off this momentum and continue to learn and get better. I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago this weekend. I’ve heard how cool of an event it was last year and I’m excited to make my first start on a street course.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1Even though it’s your debut at the Chicago Street Race, you’ve been putting in extra prep time since last year. Has that extra effort made you feel more ready heading into race week?“I did a lot of prep work in the SIM. It’s kind of weird to say, I’ve gotten a ton of laps on the Chicago Street Course but I’ve never raced there, so I’m really looking forward to just getting on the actual race track. The SIM was interesting last year without all the buildings, it was just completely bare so I’m excited to go and see the actual Chicago skyline everyone keeps talking about. The extra time makes me feel good about this week. I feel pretty good. I think we are going to have a fast car and I know we can continue to build and get better at road courses.”  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey x Folds of Honor Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts on Sunday’s race in Chicago?“I am very optimistic. We were good there last year. It was frustrating because we had a really good car and I thought we were going to be there at the end, but we ended up having too many issues. We had a good car all weekend and I think everyone knew we were there. I know we are good enough to win this race on Sunday.” What is the key to winning?“You have to survive. Stay out of trouble. You do that by qualifying well, making good pit stops, good strategy and having a little bit of luck.” How important is Chicago to NASCAR?“I think Chicago is very important. We need as many new markets as possible. We came up here two weeks ago for a Daniel’s Amigos and I was pleased with how enthusiastic everyone was about the upcoming race. The Amigo’s program is about bringing new fans to the sport and going new places is one of the best ways to do that.” What are your thoughts on running a Jockey paint scheme honoring a fallen Georgia police officer?“Jockey and Folds of Honor have come up with a great paint scheme to honor Chase Lee Maddox who lost his life in the line of duty. I’m honored to meet his family this weekend and thank them for his service in the military and as a police officer.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2023): 42First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2024 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 8Poles: 6Laps Led: 1,607Top-five finishes: 35Top-10 finishes: 72Stage wins: 11·       Chase Elliott: 1 ·       Kyle Larson: 8·       Ross Chastain: 1·       William Byron: 1 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 859 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 749Laps led to date: 250,782Top-five finishes to date: 4,333Top-10 finishes to date: 8,932                                                                                                         Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,193           Chevrolet: 859           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 832                                                                      Ford: 732           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 187

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-HIO MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE LEXINGTON, OHIO TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE JULY 5-7, 2024 TEAM CHEVY READY TO TAKE ON NEW OPPORTUNITY AT MID-OHIO WITH THE DEBUT OF THE INDYCAR HYBRID POWER UNIT DETROIT (July 3, 2024) – The ninth round of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship sees the dawn of a new era with the introduction of hybrid technology to competition. Team Chevy looks to Mid-Ohio with the new technology that creates a new tool for drivers to utilize as they compete toward capturing the seventh win at the 13-turn, 2.258-mile natural terrain road course. On road and street courses, Chevrolet NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers will benefit from the improved drive through and off corners with the new hybrid technology, setting up and executing overtake in the corners with regeneration to the Chevrolet 2.2-liter V6 engine. The 14th event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio since the introduction of the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engine in 2012, Chevrolet has captured the win six times in the past and looks to this weekend to secure the first with the integration of hybrid technology. “The introduction of hybrid technology provides an opportunity to integrate electrification technologies into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES,” said Eric Warren, Executive Director, GM Motorsports Competition. “During the development of any new technology, extensive analysis and testing are done to identify as many issues as possible. We support INDYCAR’s decisions throughout this process to study testing data carefully and make sure that when the hybrid technology is integrated, the operation and performance are exactly what is expected. This approach has given INDYCAR and the engine manufacturers the opportunity to ensure the high-level of competition continues un-interrupted.” The most recent winner for Team Chevy at Mid-Ohio, Scott McLaughlin, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet, said “Mid-Ohio has got a lot of new things coming with the repave, with the track for the first thing, so track grip and track pace will be really high. Added to that, it’s the first time with the hybrid, so learning that, understanding what INDYCAR has given us power-wise to work with the manufacturers. I feel like I understand it really well, worked with Team Chevy a lot on this to understand it in our simulators and whatnot, but once you get out in real life, certainly it’s a little bit different. Excited to see a change in INDYCAR, a change for the future, and what a place to start at a very historic place to start at Mid-Ohio.” Holding 10 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards, as well as 15 podium finishes and 602 laps led on the natural terrain road course, Chevrolet looks to add to the four wins, including the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, three earned pole awards, 11 podium finishes, and 331 laps led this season. The 80-lap, 180.64-mile Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio kicks off with first practice on Friday, July 5 at 3:20 p.m. ET. Saturday sees the second practice at 10:50 a.m., with qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six following at 3 p.m. ET. Race day starts with warm-up at 10:25 a.m. ET, and the race takes the green flag at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. All practice and qualifying sessions broadcast with Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“I do like Mid-Ohio. I love it in the rain, because it’s super technical. But it’s an all right track. Very fun, very technical. I’m excited to go back to see what the repave is like. So that’ll be something new for us. As for the hybrid, it’s just another tool to have in the car for drivability and it’s helpful for me because I can adapt really well to stuff like this. I’m quite excited to have it as a tool.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Mid-Ohio is the first place I won at in the Road to Indy. Some of my best results have come there. I think it is because I have enjoyed the layout so much. The elevation changes, variety of corners, and unique lines make it a fun place to drive. I think Mid-O is one of the great American tracks that we need more of on the calendar. [The hybrid engine] should make passing and defending more interesting, if we are allowed to use its full capability. In a sense, it can be used like a mini-P2P (push-to-pass). The only difference is that it is pretty much a renewal resource in comparison to the overtake button. I think it will be of critical use in the race in order to stay ahead of the cars around.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m looking forward to the repave at Mid-Ohio. It was already a very physical race without the repave, so I think it’s going to be one of the most physical races that we’re going to have. I’m expecting that pace to come up and the setups of the car to change a little bit, so it’ll be key to get all of the little things right. It’ll be a good challenge for the drivers and the teams, but I always enjoy driving around this track.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m looking forward to my second race with Arrow McLaren and going into a race weekend after getting into the shop and getting to know everyone a bit more. We’ve got a test under our belt now, and I think going into the first hybrid weekend is going to be very exciting. I think it’s going to even the playing field a little bit, so hopefully I can take advantage of that.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:There has been a lot of noise going into the weekend, which is all a part of racing this time of year, but I’m focusing on the second half of the season and the debut of the long-awaited hybrid. We came off our best result of the year at a high-grip road course and with the recent repave at Mid-Ohio, we’re expecting to roll off the truck strong once again.” Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:“It’s the start of a new era this weekend in Mid-Ohio as we’ll be racing with the new hybrid powertrain for the first time. The new hybrid technology, combined with the track repave at Mid-Ohio, should make for some interesting new challenges this weekend. The team went straight from a strong race in Laguna to tests in Iowa and St. Louis. Our push to improve and grow as a team is relentless, and every time we hit the track gives us an opportunity to learn and get better while doing what we love.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I look forward to what the Mid-Ohio race will bring this year! There will be a lot of changes this weekend with the hybrid getting introduced. It will be interesting to see how that will impact the racing. Other than that, I am excited to see what we can do! We keep getting better each weekend and I think Mid-Ohio could be a great weekend for us.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I am very excited for racing in the middle of Ohio! It Is cool track and of course it’s the 4th of July weekend so there will be many fans! I have finished 4th there before, so let’s do something like that again and we will all be happy! We are about halfway into the season, so this should be a great turning point to getting strong results and ending the bad luck streak. We have had good road course car all year and it will not be any different in Mid-Ohio!” Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Exciting time with the new hybrid system coming. We will try to adapt our car to it as fast as we can and keep our recent improvement to chase some good results. Mid-Ohio is always a nice weekend and a fun track to drive.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“We arrive at Mid-Ohio with good expectations due to the team’s good performance and because we were testing there, where there is new asphalt and the track changed completely. We begin to navigate the second half of the year and we will seek to continue our growth.”

Chevrolet in Mid-Ohio (since 2012, V6 era, pre-hybrid) Wins at Mid-Ohio: 62014: Scott Dixon2016: Simon Pagenaud2017: Josef Newgarden2020 (Race 1): Will Power2021: Josef Newgarden2022: Scott McLaughlin Earned Pole Awards at Mid-Ohio: 102012: Will Power2013: Ryan Hunter-Reay2014: Sebastian Bourdais2015: Scott Dixon2016: Simon Pagenaud2017: Will Power2019: Will Power2020 (Race 1): Will Power2021: Josef Newgarden2022: Pato O’Ward Number of Team Chevy Podiums at Mid-Ohio (V6 era since 2012, pre-hybrid): 15 Number of laps led by Team Chevy at Mid-Ohio (V6 era since 2012, pre-hybird): 602

2024 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:0: NTT INDYCAR SERIES race as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration. 207: NTT INDYCAR Series races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  115: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012.  130: Earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 135 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather. 8: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  13: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 6: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 33: Number of times Chevrolet has swept the podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. In total, a manufacturer has swept the podium 50 times since 2012 in the V6 era. 27: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.   9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.  46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

Longest-tenured team tabs new driver in multi-year agreement for No. 21 FordCONCORD, NC (July 3, 2024) – Josh Berry, a five-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and a current Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate in the NASCAR Cup Series, will pilot the famed No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing in 2025.Berry will become the latest driver on an extensive list of legendary names that have competed for the Wood Brothers when he takes the helm beginning with the DAYTONA 500 on February 16, 2025.The Hendersonville, Tennessee, native, who received his first go-kart at just eight years old, began to make a name for himself competing locally in a Legend Car as a teenager before ultimately taking his racing skills online. Berry’s talent caught the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr., which ultimately led to a successful tenure driving Late Model Stock Cars for JR Motorsports.There, he collected a myriad of wins and numerous championships, including the 2017 CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championship, the 2019 Valley Star Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway – the most prestigious Late Model Stock Car race in the United States – and the 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national title.“When you think of the history and legacy of NASCAR, it’s hard to not think of the Wood Brothers and the incredible impact they’ve made on the sport. It’s an honor and a privilege to be a small part of carrying on that legacy,” said Berry. “To be able to add my name to the list of drivers who have piloted the iconic No. 21 is something I don’t take lightly.”Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active NASCAR team and one of the winningest teams in series history. The team currently has 99 victories in NASCAR’s premier series, with the likes of David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Neil Bonnett, Dan Gurney, AJ Foyt and Buddy Baker all visiting victory lane with the team. The organization also currently enjoys a technical relationship with Team Penske, which will continue, along with major support from Ford Performance.“Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with a multitude of successful drivers, and now having the opportunity to add Josh Berry to that list is a significant milestone for our team,” said Jon Wood, president, Wood Brothers Racing. “Josh brings a wealth of talent and determination, evident thorough his success in every level of competition, from grassroots NASCAR to present day. He fits the values of our team, and we believe that with Josh behind the wheel, we will achieve great things together on the track.”Further details regarding the 2025 Cup Series season and sponsorship for the No. 21 Ford Mustang will be announced at a later date. The team will continue to receive support from Ford Motorcraft/Quick Lane.

by Colby Trotter

HARRISBURG, AR (July 2, 2024) – Tanner English was banging on the door for his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals win of the season and finally kicked it down Tuesday night at Old No.1 Speedway. 

Coming into the event, English had recorded seven-straight top-five finishes on the Hell Tour in 2024. In the tour’s first-ever visit to Arkansas, English’s eighth-straight top-five resulted in a trip to Summer Nationals Victory Lane for the first time since 2022. 

“At first it was rewarding because we were struggling pretty bad so about after the first three top-fives I was like ‘Alright, I’m ready to win one,’” English said. “We were trying to find the balance with our car and finally found it and I just felt like every night leading up to now we made the wrong decision. Finally, it all came together.” 

It wasn’t just English’s first win of the 2024 Hell Tour; it was his first win with Coltman Farms Racing – the Georgia-based team he joined earlier this year. 

“Definitely relief mainly just to get my first win with Coltman Farms,” English said. “I want to make them proud. They give me everything I need to make this deal happen and it’s kind of been on me to make it happen.” 

To earn his first win with his new team, English started on the outside pole and took the lead on Lap 1 from polesitter Chandler Petty using the banking of the 1/4-mile oval. Once English got by Petty he started to set the pace around the track.  

Then from fourth on the grid, Ashton Winger made his way up to runner-up spot on the second lap and began to chase down English with each lap. On Lap 11, Winger got close enough to attempt his first slider on English, but English powered around the top lane and denied it to hold onto the lead. 

Winger tried again on Laps 23 and 24, diving down low in Turn 1 and sliding up in Turn 2, but again English was strong on the top and denied the pass both times. Winger tried once more on Lap 28, sliding up in front of English coming out of Turn 2, but English this time crossed Winger over to maintain the lead. 

“I kind of predicted what [Winger] was going to do,” English said. “I knew he was going to slide me, so I cut underneath him. The first one I got to the outside of him and squeezed him to the wall. 

[Winger] is going to race you hard but it’s usually clean. You just got to predict what he’s going to do basically.” 

A caution on Lap 34 cooled off the battle between English and Winger and on the restart, Winger stumbled and fell back in the field while English led the field back around to the checkered flag unchallenged to claim the $10,000 grand prize. 

UP NEXT 

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models will continue Week 4 at Benton Speedway on Wednesday, July 3, accompanied by the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals.  

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.  

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view results here) 

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 96-Tanner English[2]; 2. 27M-Rodney Melvin[4]; 3. 74X-Ethan Dotson[10]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[8]; 6. 29-Christian Hanger[5]; 7. 18C-Matt Cooper[16]; 8. 7JR-Shane Stephens[9]; 9. 31AUS-Joe Chalmers[11]; 10. 15-Clayton Stuckey[13]; 11. 75-Daniel Adam[7]; 12. 28B-Carson Brown[23]; 13. 33C-Steven Crocker[21]; 14. 86-Kyle Beard[20]; 15. 30-Mark Voigt[19]; 16. 5M-Jon Mitchell[24]; 17. 2-Charlie Cole[15]; 18. 51-Logan Seavey[6]; 19. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]; 20. 12C-Scott Crigler[12]; 21. 14M-Morgan Bagley[17]; 22. 47-Chandler Petty[1]; 23. 91-Chris Jones[18]; 24. 58-Tyler Clem[14] 

McKinney Outduels Neville at Old No.1 for Fourth Summit Modified Win of 2024 

The Hell Tour’s first visit to Arkansas served up one of the most exciting DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals races of the season Tuesday night at Old No.1 Speedway. 

With two laps-to-go, Mike McKinney took the lead from race-long leader Trevor Neville in lapped traffic and led the last two laps for his fourth Hell Tour win of the season. After the race, McKinney said there was so much going on in front of him, he was unsure of how it all went down. 

“I don’t really remember all what happened,” McKinney said. “The lap cars were crazy. One about spun out in front of us. I can’t wait to go back and watch the video for sure. I didn’t think we’d win that race. In disbelief, for sure.” 

From fifth on the starting grid, McKinney stayed patient in the opening laps, swapping between fifth and fourth place in the first 11 laps before the last caution came on Lap 12. On the restart, McKinney started on the outside and found the banking of the track to his liking and used it to shoot up to second by Lap 13. 

“Was able to restart on the outside and went as high as I could,” McKinney said. “Gained a lot of good speed there and was able to get there before anyone else.” 

Going into Lap 22, Neville stayed down low going into Turn 1 and McKinney stayed up high, and going down the backstretch the two were side-by-side. Once the two reached Turn 3, McKinney kept his line up high while Neville opted for the middle groove. Coming out of Turn 4, McKinney sealed the pass on Neville but right in front of McKinney were two lap cars. 

McKinney caught the two cars at the start/finish line, contacting the rears of both cars but somehow all three kept their cars steady. McKinney swung it high in Turns 1 and 2 to get by the slower cars while staying ahead of Neville. 

“You’re just judging your speed versus theirs,” McKinney said of getting by the lap cars. “We race really good in traffic like that and it’s just a matter of decision making and we were able to make all the right ones.” 

But the battle between Neville and McKinney was not done yet. On the final lap, Neville edged ahead of McKinney down low in Turns 1 and 2 but McKinney shot by him down the backstretch and stayed in front through Turns 3 and 4, crossing the stripe .379 seconds ahead of Neville when the checkered flag flew. 

“It kind of came down to the last lap there,” McKinney said. “I finally got in front of him and was able to pick off one more lap car and finish it out.” 

With the victory, McKinney becomes the first driver to win four Summit Modified races this season as he stays in pursuit of his first championship with the series. 

UP NEXT 

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals will continue Week 4 at Benton Speedway on Wednesday, July 3, accompanied by the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models. Tickets will be available at the gate.  

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.  

ABBREVIATED RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 2. 777-Trevor Neville[1]; 3. 24-Zeke McKenzie[5]; 4. 12L-Lucas Lee[4]; 5. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 6. 94-Austin Rettig[21]; 7. 5-Steven Brooks[7]; 8. 36-Kenny Wallace[11]; 9. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[13]; 10. 23Z-Austin Wayne Self[6]; 11. 54-Zachary Hawk[12]; 12. 14-Dalton Lane[14]; 13. 9D9-Cole Hilton[9]; 14. 88-Shane Mendoza[19]; 15. 99P-Brandon Poppenheimer[18]; 16. 25-Greg Belyea[16]; 17. 29-Colby Richardson[17]; 18. 5K-Dennis Kimbrough[22]; 19. 07-Jack Walker[24]; 20. 34-Tommy Smith[23]; 21. 12-Kaleb Jones[20]; 22. 18-Clay Caldwell[15]; 23. 9-Ken Schrader[10]; 24. 177-Johnny Gustavus[25]; 25. 13-Charlie Mefford[8] 

The World of Outlaws celebrates Independence Day Weekend with three nights of racing in Spring Valley, MN 

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 2, 2024) – Deer Creek Speedway and the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models are set to bring drivers and fans a massive Independence Day Weekend with the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50. 

The three-day event, July 4-6, will see racing every night with the addition of fireworks on Thursday and a concert by country music artist Dylan Scott on Friday night, all leading to Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale. 

Thursday and Friday’s Features will pay $7,000-to-win and set the stage for Saturday, awarding points for Qualifying, Heat Races, Last Chance Showdowns and the Features. The top-16 points earners from the two nights will be locked into Saturday’s Feature. The rest will have to race their way in on Saturday. 

For more information about each event CLICK HERE. 

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision. 

Here are the top storylines to look out for: 

Sheppard Running Away – Brandon Sheppard has turned up the heat behind the wheel of his No. B5 Sheppard Riggs Racing Longhorn Factory Team Late Model, picking up his first two Series Feature wins of 2024 at Thunderhill Raceway Park and Ponderosa Speedway. 

The New Berlin, IL driver’s continuous work toward consistent finishes inside the top five paid off during the seven Feature races in June, only finishing outside the podium two times. 

He leads the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models points hunt by 30 markers over Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman entering the Gopher 50, which he has won twice – 2018 and 2019. 

Bobby’s Big Return – Deer Creek Speedway was under the reign of Bobby Pierce in 2023 when he won his first Gopher 50 in a photo finish with Hudson O’Neal and then picked up a victory with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models there in the fall. 

Pierce swept the Iowa races at Independence Motor Speedway and Hamilton County Speedway in June. However, mechanical issues at Norman County Raceway and River Cities Speedway dropped him to fifth in the Series standings – 182 points back from the lead. 

The “Smooth Operator” rolls into Deer Creek Speedway with regained spur after a bounce-back victory at Proctor Speedway on Monday night. 

Mad Max Showing Fury – Max McLaughlin enters his Gopher 50 debut as the most improved driver on the World of Outlaws tour, so far, with five straight finishes in the top 10, including his first points-paying podium finish. 

The Mooresville, NC driver also won his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature at Adams County Speedway last month. 

His performance moved him up to second in the World of Outlaws MD3 Rookie of the Year battle – 46 points behind Rochester, MN driver Dustin Sorensen. 

Squirrel’s Return – Chatham, IL native Brian Shirley found the top spot with the World of Outlaws Late Models Sunday night at River Cities Speedway, leading all 40 laps for his first win of the 2024 season. 

It had been a tough road for Shirley with the Series until the Heartland Grand Tour saw the Bob Cullen Racing No. 3S finish outside of the top-10 once in the seven races contested through June. 

Shirley’s last visit to the Gopher 50 resulted in an eighth-place finish and he picked up a 12th-place finish at the 3/8-mile track with the Series in 2023. 

WHEN AND WHERE  

Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, MN 

ABOUT THE TRACK   

Deer Creek Speedway is a 0.375-mile dirt oval 

TRACK RECORDS 

Deer Creek Speedway – 13.900 sec. by Tim Fuller on 7/3/2014 

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 make their second trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania for racing at Bedford Speedway (July 11), and Sharon Speedway (July 12-13). 

FEATURE WINNERS (8 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins  

1. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 5 
2. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 4
3. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 2
4. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 2
5. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2
6. Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1
7. Ryan Gustin –  Marshalltown, IA – 1
8. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1
    

HEAT RACE WINNERS (23 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins  

1. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 10
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 9
3. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 9
4. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 5
5. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 5
6. 6. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 4 
7. Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 3 
8. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 3
9. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 2
10. Dale McDowell – Chickamauga, GA – 2
11. Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 2
12. Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 2
13. Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 2
14. Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – 1
15. Tyler Emory – King George, VA – 1
16. Shannon Babb – Moweaqua – IL -1 
17. Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 1 
18. Cody Overton – Evans, GA – 1
19. Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
20. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1 
21. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 
22. Garrett Smith – Eatonton, GA – 1
23. Max McLaughlin – Mooresville, NC -1 

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (19 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins  

1. Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 3
2. Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 3
3. Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 2
4. Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 2
5. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 1
6. Tyler Peterson – Hickson, ND – 1 
7. Dave Hess Jr – Waterford, PA – 1
8. Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 1
9. Jake Timm – Winona, MN – 1
10. Gregg Satterlee – Indiana, PA – 1
11. Logan Zarin – Hookstown, PA – 1
12. Jordan Yaggy – Rochester, MN – 1
13. Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
14. Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1 
15. Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – 1 
16. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 
17. Chase Junghans – Manhattan, KS – 1 
18. Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – 1 
19. Tripp Gerrald – Versailles, KY – 1 

PODIUM FINISHES (17 Drivers)
Rank – Driver – Hometown – Podiums  

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 10 
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 9
3. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 7
4. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 4
5. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 5 
6. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 3
7. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 3
8. Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL – 2
9. Ryan Gustin –  Marshalltown, IA – 1
10. Brent Larson – Lake Elmo, MN – 1
11. Zack Dohm – Cross Lanes, WV – 1
12. Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
13. Max McLaughlin – Mooresville, NC – 1
14. Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
15. Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – 1
16. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 1 
17. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1 

FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER (14 Drivers)  
Rank – Driver – Hometown – H.C.  

1. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 3
2. Brent Larson – Lake Elmo, MN – 3
3. Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 2
4. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 2
5. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 2
6. Tristan Chamberlain – Richmond, IN – 1
7. Jake Timm – Winona, MN -1 
8. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 1
9. Max McLaughlin – Mooresville, NC – 1
10. Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
11. Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 1
12. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 1
13. Cody Overton – Evans, GA – 1
14. Chris Ferguson – Mt. Holly, NC – 1

SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (10 Drivers)
Rank – Driver – Hometown – QTs   

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 6
2. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 2
3. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 2
4. Cody Overton, Evans, GA – 2
5. Jason Jameson – Lawrenceburg, IN – 1 
6. Ryan Gustin –  Marshalltown, IA – 1
7. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1 
8. Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – 1
9. Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 1 
10. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1 

BILSTEIN REDRAW POLE AWARD (12 Drivers)  

Rank – Driver – Hometown – Poles  

1. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 4
2. Cody Overton – Evans, GA – 2
3. Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 2
4. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 2
5. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1 
6. Ryan Gustin –  Marshalltown, IA – 1
7. Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1 
8. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 1 
9. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1 
10. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1 
11. Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
12. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1 
     

CASE FEATURE LAP LEADERS (16 Drivers) 
Rank – Driver – Hometown – Laps Led  

1. Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 170
2. Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 159  
3. Chris Madden – Gray Court, SC – 71
4. Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 68
5. Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 61
6. Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 45
7. Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – 40
8. Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 32
9. Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 31
10. Ryan Gustin –  Marshalltown, IA – 30
11. Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 29
12. Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – 26
13. Ricky Thornton Jr – Martinsville, IN – 16 
14. Cody Overton – Evans, GA – 10
15. Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 6
16. Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 1

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
7. Friday, May 3/Mississippi Thunder Speedway/Nick Hoffman (3)
8. Friday, May 4/Mississippi Thunder Speedway/Ryan Gustin
9. Thursday, May 16/Raceway 7/Chris Madden
10. Saturday, May 18/Marion Center Raceway/Chris Madden (2)
11. Sunday, May 19/Path Valley Speedway/Bobby Pierce (2)
12. Thursday, June 20/Thunderhill Raceway Park/Brandon Sheppard
13. Friday, June 21/Ponderosa Speedway/Brandon Sheppard (2)
14. Saturday, June 22/Brownstown Speedway/Nick Hoffman (4)
15. Monday, June 24/Independence Motor Speedway/Bobby Pierce (3)
16. Tuesday, June 25/Hamilton County Speedway/Bobby Pierce (4)
17. Saturday, June 29/Norman County Raceway/Nick Hoffman (5)
18. Sunday, June 30/River Cities Speedway/Brian Shirley

Fireworks Expected as Progressive AFT Heads to DuQuoin for Independence Day Weekend

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2024) – Ten rounds into the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, the series at last prepares to do battle on a Mile racetrack – the Memphis Shades DuQuoin Mile at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Illinois, this Saturday, July 6. The world’s elite motorcycle dirt trackers dicing it up on a Mile is widely recognized as one of the greatest spectacles in all of motorsport. A unique test of pace, courage, and strategy, Mile nationals are commonly decided by mere inches despite being waged at triple-digits speeds. The DuQuoin Mile is considered special even inside its category. Known as the “Magic Mile,” DuQuoin has played host to a some of the most legendary and thrilling races in Grand National Championship history. And this Independence Day weekend’s atmosphere is destined to be that much more electric, as Saturday’s Progressive AFT event will conclude a full week of competition that will also crown this year’s amateur national champions during the 2024 Mission Foods AMA Flat Track Grand Championship, sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association from June 30-July 6. Progressive American Flat Track has its resident Mile magician in Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750). The nine-time and reigning Mission AFT SuperTwins king has won an astonishing 17 of the most recent 24 premier-class Miles dating back over the previous five seasons. That includes last year’s DuQuoin Mile, which saw Mees avenge his 2015 defeat to Bryan Smith in the closest race the series has ever seen, decided by an official 0.000 seconds. Last year’s contest was nearly as close, with Mees taking top honors over Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) (0.033 seconds), Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) (0.097 seconds), and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) (0.160 seconds). There’s a lesson in there for Estenson Racing Yamaha star Daniels, who comes in with a 21-point advantage, a perfect podium record on the season, and fresh off a dominant victory at the Lima Half-Mile. He fully understands that if he doesn’t play his cards just right this weekend, he could potentially see that hard-earned points lead eaten into and his podium streak snapped, even if he manages to finish just a fraction of a second behind the winner. The Indian-mounted Mees and Robinson will both be looking to make that possibility a reality, while Bauman will be motivated to showcase the prodigious top-end speed of his KTM after using it to such good effect in the 2023 season finale at Springfield, the last time the field lined up for a Mile. If a genuine pack war is to take hold, it’ll likely include some or all of the following premier-class standouts: Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Sody Ent/OTBR Yamaha MT-07), Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Transalp), and Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing Mission Foods KTM 790 Duke). It’ll also provide a high-profile stage for rookies Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke) and Declan Bender (No. 70 GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750) to continue to prove their skills at the pinnacle of the sport. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER As stunning as last year’s Mission AFT SuperTwins Main Event may have been, the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER raceat the DuQuoin Mile was even tighter. Six riders took the checkered flag within 0.262 seconds of the win, and even a tenth of a second behind first was too much for a rider hoping to finish on the box. The winner on that day was Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who comes in riding high after also claiming top honors just days ago in Ohio. With big skills and light weight, Drane has immediately proven to be a monster on the Miles, a reputation he’ll only hope to enhance this weekend. That combination will present quite the challenge for two-time defending class champion, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F). Kopp will no doubt be eager to start up another win streak after seeing his three-race run snapped this past weekend. While the bulk of Kopp’s victories have come on Half-Miles and Short Tracks, he made it his mission to win a Mile and accomplished that feat in last year’s Springfield Mile I. He’ll also be motivated by the fact that he left DuQuoin last year with just a fifth-place result despite crossing the line a mere 0.106 seconds after Drane. Another rider seeking revenge is Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R), who finished second to Drane by 0.011 seconds here a year ago. Saathoff is on something of a roll, having reeled in four consecutive podiums, along with six top threes in his last seven races. As good as his form has been, his goal remains to transform more of those seconds and thirds into firsts. The same can be said for fourth-ranked Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), who finished third at DuQuoin in ‘23 and earned a win in last year’s Red Mile. James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) continues to head up the next group, which consists of fellow California natives Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M Motorcycles Honda CRF450R), and Tyler Raggio (No. 55 Raggio Racing/Sluggo Racing KTM 450 SX-F), along will up-and-coming Pennsylvanians Logan Eisenhard (No. 66 Hannum’s Harley-Davidson KTM 450 SX-F) and Evan Renshaw (No. 265 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). However, if he continues at his more recent pace, Ott will find himself instead considered a member of the top group, having scooped up three top fives in his last four races. There will be plenty to keep spectators entertained off track as well, including numerous vendors, plenty of food and beverage options, and extensive motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets can be purchased for $30 (kids 12 and under free with a paid adult GA ticket), while Reserved Grandstand tickets are $40 (all ages). The Pit Pass Upgradecan be added to either option for $40 ($20 for kids). New for 2024 is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($150 all ages). This ticket option provides reserved seating with Pit Pass access, a guided tour of, and photo opportunities at, the infield podium and start/finish line, infield viewing of Opening Ceremonies and the heat races, and a track talk and photo opportunity with 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/trackenterprises/events/duquoin-mile-2024-80042 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. PT). You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FloRacing. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2024. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. FOX Sports coverage of the Memphis Shades DuQuoin Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, July 14, at 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT). For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.

♦ NMRA & NMCA Same Weekend♦ Pro Mods, Renegades & More♦ Heads-Up & Index Racing♦ Thrill Festival (Sat)♦ FMX Motocross Stunt Shows♦ Jurassic Attack Car Crushes♦ Tom Bailey’s Drag & Drive♦ True Street & HEMI Racing♦ Factory Appearing Stock Tire♦ Giant Car Show♦ Huge Midway & More♦ Kids 12 & under FREE & FREE parking♦ Every Ticket is a Pit Pass Visit 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 Flyer

OCALA, FL (July 2, 2024) — In a bold move designed to put his R+L Carriers team on a path to the NHRA Top Fuel championship, Josh Hart announced today that he has hired veteran crew chief John Stewart to assist Ron Douglas in the preparation and tuning of the R+L Carriers dragster in which he has won two times on Mission Foods drag racing tour. The team also announced they have scheduled a comprehensive test session prior to the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
 
“John is a welcome addition to our team and this move is something that both Ron and I talked about, and feel is needed to get our R+L Carriers team on track for the Top Fuel world championship,” said Hart. “We are going to test prior to heading to Seattle so we can make the most of the final four regular season races prior to the start of the Countdown. Competing at this level with so many intricacies involved in the modern-day Top Fuel dragster, every team has two top-tier crew chiefs or tuners with years of experience in the pits (so) this is just what we need to be as competitive as possible.”

 Veteran Crew Chief John Stewart has officially joined Josh Hart Racing, photo credit Auto Imagery

Stewart has over five decades of experience tuning nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters working for some of the biggest names in the sport including Darrell Gwynn, Don Prudhomme, Joe Amato, Shawn Langdon and Dick LaHaie.  One of Stewart’s principal strengths is his understanding of the dynamics of the intricate clutch system so critical in transforming power into performance.
 
The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be testing and then heading to Pacific Raceways for the NHRA Northwest Nationals, July 19-21.
 

BATAVIA, Ohio (July 2, 2024) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will kick off a busy July with a lucrative doubleheader in the Buckeye State – Friday, July 5 at Portsmouth Raceway Park and Saturday, July 6 at Muskingum County Speedway. The action this weekend will get started on Friday, July 5 with a stop at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, Ohio for the return of the Independence 50. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will compete in a full program of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $20,000 to win main event.  The Limited Late Models and Sport Modifieds are also on the racing card for Friday, July 5 at Portsmouth Raceway Park. The pit gate will open at 2:00 PM. The general admission gates will open at 4:00 PM, with on-track action beginning at 7:00 PM. Portsmouth Raceway Park is located at 25648 State Route 73 in Portsmouth, Ohio. For more information about Portsmouth Raceway Park, please call (740) 858-4972 or visit the track’s webpage at www.portsraceway.com. The following night, July 6, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series returns to Muskingum County Speedway. Another full program of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 60-lap, $20,000 to win main event is in store during the annual Freedom 60.  The pit gate opens at 2:00 PM with the general admission gates opening at 3:00 PM and on-track action beginning at 6:30 PM. In addition to the thrilling action of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, the 604 Late Models, Modifieds, and 4-Cylinders will also be in competition on Saturday.  Muskingum County Speedway will also have the largest display of fireworks the area has to offer following the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series main event. Muskingum County Speedway is located at 7985 Frazeysburg Road in Dresden, Ohio, just north of Zanesville. Tickets to the Freedom 60 can be purchased in advance by visiting https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/2184/tickets. To learn more about Muskingum County Speedway, visit www.muskingumcountyspeedway.com. Ricky Thornton Jr. continues to lead the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP. Jonathan Davenport is second, followed by Devin Moran, Tim McCreadie, and Mike Marlar rounding out the top five in the current championship standings. Clay Harris leads the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year chase by just 20 points over Drake Troutman. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Portsmouth Raceway Park – July 5: 1. $20,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,500, 4. $5,000, 5. $4,000, 6. $3,500, 7. $3,000, 8. $2,500, 9. $2,400, 10. $2,300, 11. $2,200, 12. $2,000, 13. $1,900, 14. $1,800, 15. $1,700, 16. $1,500, 17. $1,18. $1,200, 19. $1,200, 20. $1,200, 21. $1,200, 22. $1,200, 23. $1,200, 24. $1,200 = $80,000 Muskingum County Speedway – July 6: 1. $20,000, 2. $10,000, 3. $6,500, 4. $5,000, 5. $4,000, 6. $3,500, 7. $3,000, 8. $2,500, 9. $2,400, 10. $2,300, 11. $2,200, 12. $2,000, 13. $1,900, 14. $1,800, 15. $1,700, 16. $1,500, 17. $1,300, 18. $1,200, 19. $1,200, 20. $1,200, 21. $1,200, 22. $1,200, 23. $1,200, 24. $1,200 = $80,000 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4