LONG BEACH, CA (March 19, 2024) — After an exciting Funny Car debut at the Gatornationals, driver Buddy Hull is ready to take on the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip on March 21-24. Hull, a driver for Jim Dunn Racing, will be showcasing an iconic Jim Dunn Mooneyes Funny Car body for the first time this year.

 
“I am over the moon to be competing at the Winternationals again,” said Hull. “This weekend we’re switching the body on the car to have a retro Mooneyes look. We’re super happy about it and can’t wait for the world to see it. It’s a cool race car, and to debut it in California, which is the homeland of drag racing, will just be an incredible experience. Mooneyes has been a sponsor for Jim Dunn Racing for a long time, and to show off this iconic car and represent Big Jim is a big deal to me.”
 
Moon Equipment Company, a California-based manufacturer of nostalgic hot rod products such as Moon tanks, discs and valve covers, will wrap its classic yellow Mooneyes graphics on the Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car for this year’s Winternationals. Jim Dunn Racing and Mooneyes have a relationship dating back over thirty years, and Hull is excited to share in this legacy.
 
“Relationships in this sport are everything,” said Hull. “The fact that Mooneyes has been a part  of the Jim Dunn Racing team for so long shows the talent and integrity of what the Jim Dunn name stands for. And I’ve always loved having really cool car bodies, like my Hull’k Top Fuel dragster that I debuted at the U.S. Nationals last year. It’s a great way to engage with fans and demonstrate one of the many reasons why drag racing is so much fun.”
 
Southern California has been the home of Jim Dunn Racing since 1949, so the Winternationals means a lot to the team as a whole. On Friday, Hull, Jim Dunn, and Jon Dunn will be part of Funny Car 101 at the Nitro Alley Stage at 1:30 p.m. PST. And on Sunday morning, Hull and the Dunns will lead the Sealmaster Track Walk before the start of eliminations.
 
“The Winternationals is one of the most iconic events in drag racing,” said Hull. “I’ve always loved racing here and have enjoyed some of my best success at this race. So now that I am part of the Jim Dunn Racing team, it’s incredible to have an even greater reason to want to succeed and make Big Jim proud. I know we will continue to get better and better over the course of the weekend.”
 
After making three qualifying runs in the Funny Car in Gainesville and one elimination round, in addition to testing done during the off-season, Hull is getting more and more confident in the car and himself as a driver, going into the Winternationals.
 
“Every run in the car you learn more, and the car teaches you something,” said Hull. “I’ve now made enough runs and been in the car enough time, that I’m not having to think about where anything is at. I’m just focusing on doing my job as the race car driver. The first three, four or five runs in a race car you have to think about ‘the lever is here’ and ‘this is how the pedal feels,’ but that’s over with, at this point. It’s simply just getting in there and doing my part as a good race car driver.”
 
One of many positive outcomes from the Gatornationals was the outpouring of support that Hull received from the Funny Car class about his transition from the Top Fuel field into Funny Car.
 
“It was great to get a warm welcome from the Funny Car guys at Gainesville,” said Hull. “They really welcomed me into the Funny Car class. It’s been so cool to make the crossover from Top Fuel to Funny Car and from part-time to full-time. I was able to spend some time talking to Ron Capps, Bob Tasca III and John Force during the Gatornationals, and they’ve all welcomed me in with open arms. They’re allowing me to fit in, in my own way. I can’t wait to see the impact I have on the field over the course of this year.”
 
In addition to Mooneyes, this weekend Hull will be representing sponsors Vertex Roofers and General Contractors, Solid Start/True Brand Products, Lescure Mechanical Services, Crow Safety, Blaze Exhaust Probes, Koppl  Pipeline Services, Good Vibrations Motorsports, KGC Construction, Powerbuilt Tools and Wiley X.
 
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be making one qualifying run on Friday, March 22 and two qualifying runs on Saturday, March 23 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. The top 16 quickest Funny Cars in the field will have a chance to compete for a Winternationals Wally on Sunday, March 24. The first round of eliminations will begin on Sunday at 11 a.m. PST. Fans can watch the finals live on FS1. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Winternationals visit nhra.com.

EASTABOGA, AL (March 21, 2024) – After a successful debut at the Talladega Short Track last year, the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models return to the Alabama track for the two-day Alabama Gang 100.

Located across the road from the Talladega Superspeedway – which will be hosting the NASCAR Cup Series the same weekend – the Talladega Short Track will host the best Late Model drivers in the country for $4,000-to-win split shows on Friday, setting up the $35,000-to-win finale on Saturday.

Brandon Overton, Tanner English and Kyle Bronson opened the show last year with wins during the split Feature action. That set the stage for a thrilling 60-lap Saturday Feature, which saw multiple lead changes, close quarters racing, and Overton walking away with the grand prize.

The United Sprint Car Series will join the World of Outlaws Late Models again both nights. Last year’s USCS races were won by 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

EVENT INFO:
Date – Friday-Saturday, April 19-20
Location – Eastaboga, AL
Track Record – 12.420 sec. by Jason Hiett on March 28, 2019

Times – 
12pm: Pit Gates open Fri. & Sat.
4pm: GA Gates Open Friday
3pm: GA Gates Open Saturday

Tickets – WorldofOutlaws.com/tix
How to Watch – If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

Previous World of Outlaws Winners at Talladega –
2023 – Brandon Overton on April 22

Last Race Video Highlight (Talladega, April 22, 2023)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ucBRvo7Yk

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES THERMAL $1 MILLION CHALLENGE THERMAL, CALIFORNIA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE MARCH 22-24, 2024 CHEVROLET CARRIES MOMENTUM INTO THE THERMAL CLUBFOR NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ $1 MILLION CHALLENGE ALL-STAR EVENT DETROIT (March 21, 2024) – In a historically unique event for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Team Chevy heads west to The Thermal Club for the non-points-paying second round of the 2024 season. The Thermal $1 Million Challenge is the first race on the 3.067-mile, 19-turn Twin Palms layout for INDYCAR. Despite a weekend with no points on the line, this still is an important event for Team Chevy. The manufacturer is carrying momentum from the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg into the $1 Million Challenge, having swept first through fourth in the season-opening event. The Bowtie Brigade also showcased strength through hard work and collaboration in the offseason. With a strong run and solid finish in the first round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing, discusses the upcoming unique weekend, with testing prior to the heat-race formatted event. “I think testing is really important for us, especially with our new [technical] partnership, so having more of a two-day test followed up by sprint race weekend, I think, is really nice,” said Ferrucci. “It’s a little bit more fun. We get a couple more days in California. So I’m quite happy with the idea of the series to move forward with what they’re doing. I think that with the gains that we saw in St. Pete with the Chevy engine, it’s going to be quite good moving into Thermal.” With prior heat-racing experience in his career, Ferrucci notes that while the format may be similar, the $1 Million Challenge will be different. “I feel like it’s going to race like a qualifying weekend. Basically, as if you made qualifying the racing. It’s very comparable to what we have now for qualifying procedure. Just instead of qualifying for lap time, you’re now racing.” During the two 10-lap (or 20-minute) heat races, pit stops are only allowed for emergency service and teams are allotted one new set of Firestone Firehawks. The top-six finishers from the heat races will then transfer to a 12-car, 20-lap main event Sunday that will see a total purse of $1.756 million, the largest in NTT INDYCAR SERIES history outside of the Indianapolis 500. The $1 Million Challenge race weekend at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, Calif. kicks off with open testing from noon p.m. to 2 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on Friday. Saturday sees two additional open testing sessions from 12 p.m. ET to 2 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. ET to 6 p.m. ET, followed by qualifications at 8 p.m. ET. Heat events and the 20-lap all-star race air starting at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on NBC. All test sessions and qualifications will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYINGPato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren:“I’m ready to go to The Thermal Club, where we’re racing for some cash. It’s going to be a cool event, I’m sure. The facility is world class and I think there are a lot of people that are excited to see the NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing here. I’m looking forward to this new event and making it a good weekend for our team.” Callum Ilott, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren:“I’m looking forward to Thermal quite a lot. It’s going to be an interesting weekend that not a lot of us are used to, but it’s an exciting, new challenge that we have. Obviously, we all tested there at the beginning of last year, and it’s quite a fun race track. I’m not sure how it’s going to be on the racing side, but by the way the heat races and final race are set up, it’s more like sprint racing anyway, so qualifying is going to be quite important. It’s going to be good fun, for sure. I’m looking forward to getting to work with Arrow McLaren again in the No. 6 NTT DATA Chevrolet.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren:“Going back to The Thermal Club is something that I think everyone has been really excited about. It’s rare that you get a completely new format in motorsports, especially when there is $1 million on the line. It’s going to be a cool event and I look forward to seeing what we can achieve.” Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:“After testing at The Thermal Club last year, I’m excited that we’re going back this year for a really different and cool event. I don’t think anyone in the series has ever been part of something like this before, and I have to give props to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for trying something new. We’ll all get the opportunity to get a lot of testing in, which I think we need if we’re going to race here. Even though this race isn’t for points, it’s a great chance for us to build off the foundation we laid in St. Pete and bring home some cash while we’re at it.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“I’m looking forward to going to The Thermal Club! I have only heard great things about the facility and can’t wait to experience it myself. Also with one full race weekend under my belt, a lot of the ‘firsts’ are out of the way which should benefit us.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“Any day we can get in the racecar is great and the $1 Million Challenge makes it even more fun! It’s an entirely different kind of weekend than anything I have been a part of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I love The Thermal Club, the track is great and the whole scene is pretty cool. We were pretty quick off the truck at Thermal last year during testing, so hopefully that continues this year and we can fight for a part of the million dollars!” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“Thermal offers a unique track format in the NTT INDYCAR Series schedule in which Chevy strengths could be highlighted. It will be interesting to see the progression through the weekend with several on-track sessions. Looking forward to that shootout action behind the wheel of the Chevy powered 41.” Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“Thermal will be a really good. (It’s an) opportunity for us to work on our road course set up. We had a very strong start of the season and I’m looking forward to unlock more speed and race a very unique race in Thermal.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Chevrolet at Juncos Hollinger Racing:“We are going to Thermal for the weekend with a double mindset. First, to take advantage of the large number of (test) sessions to follow our evolution and at the same time, try to be as fast as possible to fight for the prize. It is a very challenging, fast and technical circuit, so it will be a very interesting weekend.”

2024 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:199: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  112: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.  128: Earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 133 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather. 8: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 26: 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 the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

HAUBSTADT, IN (March 21, 2024) – The winged warriors of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series are bringing their high-octane show back to Tri-State Speedway on Saturday, April 20. The high-banked 1/4-mile track is a fan-favorite every year as its small scale and tight corners have produced some of the most thrilling Sprint Car races in Series history.Series stars Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild put on an electrifying show last year, trading slide jobs corner after corner. However, Non-Wing Sprint Car star Brady Bacon stole the spotlight by charging up through the field to steal the win – his first with the Series. Bacon was the third first-time Series winner at Tri-State Speedway since 2017 (Parker Price-Miller in 2017, Carson Short in 2020, and Bacon in 2023). EVENT INFO: Date – Saturday, April 20 Location – Haubstadt, IN Track Record – 11.110 sec. by Sammy Swindell on Oct. 8, 2004 Times (CT) – Pit Gates Open 2pm Grandstands Open 5pm Hot Laps/Qualifying 6:30pm -Racing to Follow Tickets – Available at the track How to Watch – If you can’t be at the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.Previous World of Outlaws Winners at Tri-State – 2023 – Brady Bacon on April 29 2022 – Carson Macedo on April 23 2021 – Carson Macedo on April 10 2020 – Carson Short on June 19, Carson Macedo on June 20 2019 – Christopher Bell on Oct. 13 2018 – David Gravel on May 13 2017 – Parker Price-Miller on May 14 2016 – David Gravel on May 14 2015 – Paul McMahan on May 3 2014 – Paul McMahan on May 10 2013 – Tim Kaeding on April 20 2012 – Craig Dollansky on April 21 2011 – Sammy Swindell on May 30 2010 – Craig Dollansky on Oct. 16 2009 – Steve Kinser on June 25 2008 – Craig Dollansky on July 6 2007 – Steve Kinser on April 21 2006 – Craig Dollansky on April 15 2005 – Steve Kinser on April 16 2004 – Tim Kaeding on Oct. 8 1999 – Mark Kinser on May 16 1998 – Mark Kinser on May 10, Sammy Swindell on June 21 1997 – Steve Kinser on May 11, Sammy Swindell on June 22 1996 – Mark Kinser on May 12 1995 – Stevie Smith on May 14, Steve Kinser on July 16 1994 – Andy Hillenburg on May 15, Dave Blaney on July 17 1993 – Dave Blaney on May 16, Andy Hillenburg on July 18 1992 – Gary Wright on May 10, Sammy Swindell on July 26 1991 – Doug Wolfgang on May 12, Steve Kinser on July 14 1990 – Doug Wolfgang on May 13 1989 – Steve Kinser on May 14 1988 – Bobby Davis, Jr. and Sammy Swindell on May 15 (co-winners) 1980 – Steve Kinser on May 11 1979 – Lee James on May 13, Larry Gates on Aug. 19 Last World of Outlaws Tri-State race video highlight – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLm4yx-ogRE

Partnership with John Force Racing now nearly a quarter-century strong.

POMONA, Calif. (March 21, 2024) – Austin Prock will pilot The Automobile Club of Southern California/Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Commonly known as “Auto Club,” the organization is celebrating the start of nearly a quarter century partnership with John Force Racing that dates back to 2001. The association is the longest tenured sponsor of JFR. “I am very excited to debut our Auto Club Camaro in Pomona,” Prock said. “I’ve cheered on this car a majority of my life. It’s surreal that I will be strapping in it in a few days. Auto Club has been a long time partner of John Force Racing and I’m looking forward to representing their brand and all they offer. I’ve got two goals this weekend: get fans to engage with the Auto Club booth in the midway and win the race!” In addition to this weekend, Auto Club will also sponsor the car in the season-ending In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals (Nov. 14-17), also at Pomona Dragstrip. “We’re very excited to have John Force Racing and the Auto Club Nitro Funny Car again racing in California,” said Jeff Zacek, Automobile Club of Southern California Vice President of Marketing, Member Research & Publications. “Austin Prock has been doing a phenomenal job subbing for our regular driver, Robert Hight, and we look forward to a great event this weekend.” A three-time NHRA Funny Car champion, Hight is on a temporary leave of absence from racing for personal medical reasons. His replacement knows he has big shoes to fill, but is up for the challenge. Prock is off to a great start to the season. In addition to being No. 1 qualifier and finishing runner-up piloting the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car in the NHRA season-opening Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., two weeks ago. Prock also won a special exhibition race in Bradenton, Fla., last month in his first-ever start in a Funny Car, also with Cornwell Tools on his livery. “Any time I get in a race car, I just want to do the absolute best job I can,” Prock said. “And more or less, it’s not about proving myself to everyone else, it’s proving myself to myself. I want to be able to get in the car and know I can do a good job and get the result I want.” The Lansing, Mich., native sits a close second in the NHRA Funny Car standings coming into this weekend’s event. “I’m looking forward to Pomona,” Prock said. “I’ve always loved that racetrack. It’s always been my favorite one to hit on the map.” Founded in 1900, the Automobile Club of Southern California serves over seven million members in several California counties including Inyo, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura. It continues to expand and enhance its wide range of services, including membership benefits, insurance, travel services, discounts, financial services, and comprehensive automotive services. Auto Club is the Southern California affiliate of the American Automobile Association (AAA) national federation of motor clubs. AAA will sponsor Prock’s Funny Car in Epping, N.H. (May 31-June 2); Norwalk, Ohio (June 28-30); St. Louis (Sept. 27-29) and Dallas (Oct. 11-13).********************************** The 2024 Mission Foods NHRA Drag Racing Series Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals runs from March 21-24 at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, Calif. FS1 will televise Qualifying Show No. 1 on Saturday, March 23, from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET. Qualifying Show No. 2 is Sunday, March 24, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. ET, and the Finals will also air on Sunday, March 24, from 7 to 10 p.m. ET. #2024ORCE

POMONA, Calif. (March 19, 2024) – Brittany Force will drive the Mark Christopher Auto Center Chevrolet/Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster in this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. “It’s an honor and a pleasure to support and be part of John Force Racing,” said Mark Christopher Auto Center Chevrolet president Chris Leggio, a longtime JFR friend and supporter. “And we’re especially excited to be more involved with Brittany and her dynamic team of professionals.” While Brittany Force lost in the first round of Top Fuel eliminations of the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., two weeks ago, she took some consolation that her Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster managed to finish runner-up in the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel NHRA All-Star Callout exhibition event on Saturday, March 9.  With Pomona Dragstrip being her home track, the daughter of team patriarch John Force is looking for a big rebound this weekend. “Going into Pomona, we need to see better results on race day, and in order to do that we need to make more consistent runs, we need to qualify top five and go some rounds on race day,” Brittany Force said. “We’d like to win this thing. “It’s Pomona and I’ve won there in the past. This David Grubnic (crew chief) team set the national mph record there back in 2022 at 338.94 mph. So we have been successful on this track. We just need to kind of regroup and get back on track.” Force will get a lot of support from Mark Christopher Auto Center Chevrolet, which is based in Ontario, Calif. The dealership was originally started by Charles and Shirley Leggio, who purchased it in 1975 and named it after their sons, Mark and Christopher. Since then, the family-owned and operated car dealership has been serving Southern California drivers from communities such as Ontario, Riverside, Pomona, Chino, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona and others for nearly 50 years. Mark Christopher Auto Center – which is a winner of the prestigious Edmunds Five Star Car Dealer Award – is proud to be one of the largest and most trusted auto dealerships in California.  Much like the John Force family, Mark Christopher Auto Center is also very family-oriented. With a strong belief in giving back to the community that has supported it for so many years, the dealership has helped raise more than $2 million for local charities, nonprofits and other organizations. Mark Christopher Chevrolet and the Mark Christopher Auto Center are located at 2131 Convention Center Way, Ontario, Calif. The phone number is 888-964-5407. #2024ORCE

(6/18/24 – Ben Deatherage) Merced, California … The Central Valley is about to hear the roar of the 900+ horsepower powerplants of the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series on Saturday, March 23rd, when the tour returns to Merced Speedway! The high-banked ¼-mile clay oval will host the cars and stars of the NARC organization for the first time since August of 2021 and will be the lone visit to the facility in 2024.

This marks the second stop on NARC’s 65th Anniversary 25-race campaign, which is slated to visit 17-different dirt oval tracks in California, Oregon, and Washington.

“I’m super excited to get to Merced,” said Lemoore driver Cole Macedo, hot off a big win at the Mini-Gold Cup in the Tarlton Motorsports #21 sprint car. “I know (promoter) Doug Lockwood has put in a lot of effort to make that place what it is today.  I think Drew Warner (crew chief) will give me a fast race car, and if I do my job, we should come out with a good finish.”

Macedo is the current NARC championship point leader after scoring his second NARC feature win of his career in Chico.

Many of the NARC sprint cars stars will be competing on the action-packed bullring for the first time, including a strong class of rookie drivers.  This year’s rookie field includes Lemoore’s Caeden Steele, who finished third in Chico, Fresno’s Gauge Garcia, Dominic Gorden from Clovis, Chico’s Michael Ing and Wilton’s Ashlyn Rodriguez.

Who to Watch

Aromas’ Justin Sanders, expected to be a strong challenger for the 2024 NARC title, will be looking to rebound after a crash took him out of contention in Chico. Sanders hit pay dirt in the series’ last visit to the track in August 2021 and knows that a victory gets him right back into the title hunt.

Shane Golobic, who finished second in the NARC season opener in Chico, is looking to put the Matt Wood Racing #17W car in NARC victory lane for the first time at Merced Speedway.  Golobic placed fifth in 2021 and was 16th when the World Of Outlaws visited in March 2022.

Bud Kaeding, who claimed the series title in 2017, still doesn’t have a Merced victory on this impressive resume.  He came across the line in sixth when NARC was in Merced last time. With a retro look for the #29 team, the Campbell racer is looking to check off Merced on his win list.

Tim Kaeding, from San Jose, will no doubt wow the crowd in the famed Williams Motorsports #0 entry. The “Governor of Good Times” was fourth in the last NARC trip to Merced. Kaeding is hitting the NARC trail heavy this spring and the 2002 and 2011 series champion is hungry to revisit victory lane.  He has 72 NARC victories to his credit.

Chase Johnson of Penngrove has a lot of laps and wins at Merced in many different types of cars, but the pilot of the #24 has yet to win in the 410 ranks. Johnson was third in a USAC-CRA race in September of 2019 and is in search of his fourth career NARC win.

Other NARC 410 Series stars expected to compete include Justyn Cox from Clarksburg, Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield, Billy Aton of Benicia, Gilroy ‘s Jarrett Soares, Kaleb Montgomery of Templeton, Michael Faccinto and DJ Netto from Hanford and many more!

Fan & Competitor Info

The companion divisions for the evening include the Hobby Stocks, Mini Late Models, and IMCA Northern SportMods.

Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced, California. Tickets are $25.00 for Adults, Juniors (11-17) $10.00, Kids (6-10) $5.00, and 5 and Under are FREE.

Pit Gates will open at 2:00 PM and the Front Gates at 5:00.  Hot Laps are expected to begin around 6:00, with racing kicking off at 7:00.  Additional information can be found at www.mercedspeedway.net.

The NARC racing format includes qualifying, four eight-lap heat races, an exciting six-lap trophy dash, a 12-lap last chance race, and a 30-lap main event.

The NARC 410 Sprint Series is the leading 410 Sprint Car tour west of the Rocky Mountains. Since 1960, they have enthralled countless thousands of fans from tracks up and down the Pacific Coast. For more information, visit their website at www.narc410.com or social media pages.

The event at Merced Speedway can be viewed live on Floracing.com, along with every NARC 410 Sprint Car Series race.

The NARC 410 Sprint Car Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires and Floracing.com. Associate and product award sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Beacon Wealth Strategies, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, Diversified Machine Inc., Jim Allen Promotions, Kaeding Performance Center, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, KSE Racing Enterprises, Lifeline LLC, Maxim Racing Products, Mettec Titanium, Pyrotect, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Scelzi Enterprises, SCI Racing Products, Starr Property Management, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Lite Brakes, Williams Roofing, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Winters Performance Products.

NARC 410 SPRINT CARS SERIES
CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS
(AFTER ONE EVENT IN 25-RACE SERIES)

1. Cole Macedo, Lemoore – 142
2. Shane Golobic, Fremont – 139
3. Caeden Steele, Fresno (R) – 138
4. Dylan Bloomfield, Oakley – 137
5. Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 136
6. Tanner Carrick, Lincoln – 135
7. Sean Becker, Roseville – 134
8. Nick Parker, Chico – 133
9. Justyn Cox, Clarksburg – 132
10. Gauge Garcia, Lemoore (R) – 131
11. Ryan Robinson, Roseville – 130
12. Chase Johnson, Penngrove – 129
13. Justin Sanders, Aromas – 128
14. DJ Netto, Hanford – 127
15. Andy Forsberg, Auburn – 127
16. Jayson Bright, Antioch (R) – 125
17. Kalib Henry, Sacramento – 125
18. Michael Faccinto, Hanford – 123
19. Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, B.C. – 122
20. Max Mittry, Redding – 121

UPCOMING EVENTS:
April 6 – Stockton Dirt Track – Asparagus Cup with SCCT
April 13 – Kings Speedway (Hanford) – $11,000 to win Peter Murphy Classic
April 27 – Stockton Dirt Track – Salute to NARC champ Leroy Van Conett
May 4 – Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare) – Chris & Brian Faria Memorial
May 11 – Antioch Speedway – Contra Costa County Clash
May 18 – Thunderbowl Raceway (Tulare) – KRC Night at the Races
June 1 – Placerville Speedway – Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial

BATAVIA, Ohio (March 18, 2024) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is back in action this week – Friday, March 22 at Atomic Speedway and Saturday, March 23 at Brownstown Speedway. Drivers will contend for a $12,000 top prize in Friday’s Buckeye Spring 50 at Atomic Speedway. The pit gate will open at 2:00PM, followed by general admission gates at 4:00PM. Dirt Draft Hot Laps are slated to begin at 5:00PM followed by Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and the 50-lap Buckeye Spring 50 finale. Also on the card will be the 305 Sprint Cars and Sport Modifieds.  Atomic Speedway is located at 2535 Blain Highway in Waverly, Ohio – just off S.R. 23 six miles south of Chillicothe. For more information about Atomic Speedway, including how to purchase discounted tickets in advance, please visit www.atomicspeedway.net.  Teams will travel west on Saturday to the historic Brownstown Speedway. A complete program is on deck for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – highlighted by the $15,000-to-win, 50-lap, 27th Annual John Jones Auto Group Indiana Icebreaker. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will be joined by the Pure Stocks and Super Stocks.  All gates at Brownstown Speedway will open at 12:00PM, with on-track action set to begin at 6:00PM with Dirt Draft Hot Laps. Brownstown Speedway is located one mile southeast of Brownstown, Ind. on S.R. 250 at the Jackson County Fairground. To purchase tickets in advance or find more information about Brownstown Speedway, visit the track’s website at www.brownstownspeedway.com. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series has seen nine different winners in the first 13 events of the 2024 season. Among those victors are the top three in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – presented by ARP standings – Ricky Thornton Jr., Hudson O’Neal, and Jonathan Davenport. Daulton Wilson and Brandon Sheppard round out the top five in championship standings. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Track Information:Atomic SpeedwayPhone Number: (740) 703-9749Location: 2535 Blain Hwy, Waverly, OH 45690Website: www.atomicspeedway.net Brownstown SpeedwayPhone Number: (812) 358-5332Location: 476 East CR 100, Brownstown, IN 47220Website: www.brownstownspeedway.com Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:March 22 – Atomic SpeedwayLeft Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3 March 23 – Brownstown SpeedwayLeft Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Buckeye Spring 50: 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = Total $52,800 Indiana Icebreaker: 1. $15,000, 2. $7,000, 3. $5,000, 4. $4,000, 5. $3,000, 6. $2,500, 7. $2,400, 8. $2,300, 9. $2,200, 10. $2,100, 11. $2,000, 12. $1,800, 13. $1,600, 14. $1,500, 15. $1,400, 16. $1,300, 17. $1,200, 18. $1,100, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000, = Total $63,400

March 17, 2024

A promising start to Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway for Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team took a disappointing turn just 67 laps into the 500-lapper as Burton made an unscheduled green-flag stop for fresh rubber. Although he and the team managed to work their way back onto the lead lap, the tire issues continued to plague them and they wound up 32^nd at the finish.

Burton started the race from 13^th place and drove into the top 10 by Lap 44. He was running just outside the top 15 at Lap 60 when tire issues surfaced, necessitating a green-flag stop that left him two laps in arrears.

Burton and the DEX Imaging team worked their way into the free pass position and rejoined the lead lap when the caution flag was displayed at Lap 175 for a multi-car crash.

He was back among the top 20 in the latter portions of the second Stage, and ended that segment in 19^th place.

The DEX Imaging crew called for a two-tire stop at the end of the Stage and moved back into the top 15 only to experience another tire issue and another unscheduled green-flag stop at Lap 306 that cost them three laps. 
 
With few strategy options at the team’s disposal, Burton was unable to advance. 
 
Burton and the No. 21 team return to the track next week for a road-course race at Circuit of the Americas. 

NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOOD CITY 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MARCH 17, 2024

·       Alex Bowman led Chevrolet to the checkered-flag in the NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway – driving his No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 to a fourth-place finish.  ·       Three Camaro ZL1’s earned top-10 results at the Tennessee short-track, with Bowman leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, in fifth; and Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, in eighth.  ·       With his second top-five finish of the season, Larson took over the top position in the NASCAR Cup Series driver points standings.  ·       The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Circuit of The Americas with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday, March 24, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20:  POS.   DRIVER4th      Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL15th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL18th      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL115th    Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Fishing Camaro ZL118th    Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Byran Camaro ZL1

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Finished: 4thBowman on his fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway: “We just made our left-front tire last a little longer than some others there. I think it was a good, solid day for the No. 48 Ally Chevy team. I feel like we had a pretty good Chevy, but we just had to go roll around half-speed and try to make it last. It kind of reminded me of Greenville Pickens (Speedway), short-track racing in the East Series, or something like that. Just had to be really, really, really patient. Obviously that long green-flag run where we all pitted, I think our right-front probably lasted the longest. It got us some track position and we ended up with a fourth-place finish. I don’t really know where my race car could have ended up, straight-up, because we were never able to run hard, but it was pretty good.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Finished: 5thHow difficult was it to get into a rhythm in today’s race? “Yeah, it was tough.. tough to get a rhythm. I felt like I was kind of in a rhythm when I could run around fourth to sixth behind the Gibbs cars and kind of pace myself. I felt like I was doing a good job of managing my stuff, we just never got a long run. And then the one time we get a long run is when we had the penalty and we had to go to the back, and abuse my tire to get back to the top-five.   It all just kind of weirdly worked out. I still don’t really know how we ended fifth, but we will take it and move on.  You’ll take a fifth. You don’t care how you got there, as long as you get to fifth, right? “Yeah, for sure. Obviously, I would have loved to not get that penalty because I felt like I could pace the 11 (Denny Hamlin) well, and I thought I could manage my tires good. He would have been hard to beat, but we could have ended up a little bit better and we could have ended up worse. So, yeah, I think I will take the fifth and be happy with it.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1Finished: 8thFor short-tracks, is this a good thing? “It’s a better race than we’ve had here. It was pretty fun from my seat.” What made this race challenging? “Normally, you could just bury the car into the corner so far and you don’t ever really get beat by guys with tires that bad. But you could just fall off a cliff there with the way that was. It was like racing at a really old, worn out short-track. It was a lot of fun. I think there was probably a little better balance somewhere up there, but I had a good time.”  AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Mountain Dew/Doritos Camaro ZL1Finished: 23rd“We initially struggled to find balance in our No. 16 Mtn Dew Cheetos Chevy. Combined with the tire issues the field faced, we had our hands full. I’m proud of our team and Travis [Mack] on the pit box. The way our day started, it wasn’t looking good, but we refocused as a team and made the most out of our day.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1Finished: 24th “We fought hard with the No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy. It didn’t matter what we did, we just kept losing tires. We were kind of in a box there trying to save and trying to go. Man, it was a weird race. Hate it that we couldn’t hold on because that would have been good run if we would have gotten ourselves into a better position. It was a good fight. We’ll go get a little bit more next week at COTA.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1Finished: 28th“Lots of highs and lows during this long race. We had a solid second stage, but after making some contact with the wall, we just fought a really tight-handling No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. The right front would wear quickly, and the rear would start going away not long after. Hopefully we can come back in the fall for some redemption.”

Hard Fight By Austin Dillon and The No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Team at Bristol Motor Speedway

24th

31st

30th

“We fought hard today in the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Bristol Motor Speedway. No matter what we did, we kept losing tires. It put us in a box with managing when to save tires and when to race hard. It was a very different race than what we’ve had in the past here. I hate that we couldn’t hold on there at the end. We had ourselves in a better position late in the race and I feel we could have had a really good finish. It was a good fight. We’ll go get a little bit more next week at Circuit of the Americas.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch Leads Laps, Overcomes Many Hurdles in FICO Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway

25th

14th

16th

“Today was one of those days where you just try to survive and get the best finish you can. Our FICO Chevrolet was good at the beginning of the race and we were able to work our way into the lead. The right-side tire wear was a huge factor and unfortunately led to me spinning out a couple of times. We were able to make up that lost time by taking the wave around during a caution just past halfway and catching a yellow flag about 50 laps later that put us back on the lead lap. Crew chief Randall Burnett and the guys worked hard on the car all day but the balance was just too tight. At the end of the race, we stretched out tire wear as far as we could go before pitting but unfortunately had to stop under green. It was a tough day overall but we’ll rebound next week at the Circuit of the Americas.”    -Kyle Busch

NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOOD CITY 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MARCH 17, 2024

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20:  POS.   DRIVER4th      Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL15th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL18th      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL115th    Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Fishing Camaro ZL118th    Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Outdoors by Luke Byran Camaro ZL1

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Finished: 4thBowman on his fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway: “We just made our left-front tire last a little longer than some others there. I think it was a good, solid day for the No. 48 Ally Chevy team. I feel like we had a pretty good Chevy, but we just had to go roll around half-speed and try to make it last. It kind of reminded me of Greenville Pickens (Speedway), short-track racing in the East Series, or something like that. Just had to be really, really, really patient. Obviously that long green-flag run where we all pitted, I think our right-front probably lasted the longest. It got us some track position and we ended up with a fourth-place finish. I don’t really know where my race car could have ended up, straight-up, because we were never able to run hard, but it was pretty good.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Finished: 5thHow difficult was it to get into a rhythm in today’s race? “Yeah, it was tough.. tough to get a rhythm. I felt like I was kind of in a rhythm when I could run around fourth to sixth behind the Gibbs cars and kind of pace myself. I felt like I was doing a good job of managing my stuff, we just never got a long run. And then the one time we get a long run is when we had the penalty and we had to go to the back, and abuse my tire to get back to the top-five.   It all just kind of weirdly worked out. I still don’t really know how we ended fifth, but we will take it and move on.  You’ll take a fifth. You don’t care how you got there, as long as you get to fifth, right? “Yeah, for sure. Obviously, I would have loved to not get that penalty because I felt like I could pace the 11 (Denny Hamlin) well, and I thought I could manage my tires good. He would have been hard to beat, but we could have ended up a little bit better and we could have ended up worse. So, yeah, I think I will take the fifth and be happy with it.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Mountain Dew/Doritos Camaro ZL1Finished: 23rd“We initially struggled to find balance in our No. 16 Mtn Dew Cheetos Chevy. Combined with the tire issues the field faced, we had our hands full. I’m proud of our team and Travis [Mack] on the pit box. The way our day started, it wasn’t looking good, but we refocused as a team and made the most out of our day.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 BREZTRI Camaro ZL1Finished: 24th “We fought hard with the No. 3 BREZTRI Chevy. It didn’t matter what we did, we just kept losing tires. We were kind of in a box there trying to save and trying to go. Man, it was a weird race. Hate it that we couldn’t hold on because that would have been good run if we would have gotten ourselves into a better position. It was a good fight. We’ll go get a little bit more next week at COTA.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1Finished: 28th“Lots of highs and lows during this long race. We had a solid second stage, but after making some contact with the wall, we just fought a really tight-handling No. 31 Cirkul Chevy. The right front would wear quickly, and the rear would start going away not long after. Hopefully we can come back in the fall for some redemption.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (March 17, 2024) – Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials are excited to announce Slicker Graphics has signed on to sponsor the Slickest Move of the Race for each event. As part of the agreement, Slicker Graphics will pay out cash awards at the series’ year-end awards banquet. The driver that earns the most Slickest Move of the Race points during the year will receive a $2,000 cash award at the championship awards banquet. The 2nd place driver will earn $1,000. Slicker Graphics located in Cincinnati, OH is fast becoming one of the most well-known graphics companies in the country. They specialize in wraps and graphics for Dirt Late Models, Modifieds, Street Stocks and Go-karts. Owned by Michael LeFevers, Slicker Graphics supplies all the victory lane checks for the series and has been a long-time partner of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. To contact Slicker Graphics, visit https://theslickerthebetter.com.  “We’re excited to add this new category to our lengthy list of incentives for drivers that follow the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Slickest Move of the Year award exemplifies the excitement the series brings to the industry and shines light on the stars that follow the series. We appreciate what Michael does for the series and now this new category will be great for the racers,” stated Wayne Castleberry, Corporate Sales and Marketing for Lucas Oil Motorsports. The 2024 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season continues March 22-23 with trips to Atomic Speedway and Brownstown Speedway. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com.

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

March 17, 2024 — SEBRING, FL.

• Louis Delétraz charges to victory in the final hour to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
• Delétraz and teammates Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta take their #40 Acura ARX-06 prototype to the first overall win for the Acura brand at Sebring and the second 12-Hour victory for HRC US
• Teammates Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Brendon Hartley finish fifth in their #10 WTRAndretti Acura

After 12 hours of hard-fought IMSA endurance racing it was Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global on top, with the #40 Acura ARX-06 taking the honors in the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. 

Starting third, the #40 crew of Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta led just 18 laps en route to victory, but a thrilling late-race pass in GT traffic with just four laps to go was all they needed to catapult themselves to the win.

On the way to said victory, Deletraz also set the fastest lap time in the IMSA GTP class of 1:49.497. With tonight’s win, Acura moves into an early-season three-way tie for the IMSA GTP Manufacturers’ Championship; while drivers Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Herta are tied for first in the drivers’ title chase.

The sister #10 Acura ARX-06 driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Brendon Hartley led 55 laps on the day before losing a lap in pitlane after the team noticed smoke trailing from the rear of the car. Thankfully, it was a quick fix and the #10 crew was able to continue to the end where they would wind up fifth. 

Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
The #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22 of Tatiana Calderon, Katherine Legge and Sheena Monk appeared headed for a strong finish in the production-based GTD class.  But in the ninth hour, contact from the #6 GTP car of Fred Makowiecki while Legge was running in the top six sent her Acura hard into the Turn 17 wall, ending Gradient’s day with major damage.

Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Acura Race Results

• Race Winners – #40 Louis Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06
• Finished 5th overall – #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Brendon Hartley; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06.
• Finished 17th in GTD – #66 Katherine Legge, Sheena Monk and Tatitana Calderon; Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 [not running – contact]

Drivers’ Championship (after 2 of 9 rounds)	Manufacturers’ Championship
1. Louis Delétraz, Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta	706	1. Acura	710
2. Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell	706	2. Porsche	710
3. Jack Aitken, Pipo Derani, Tom Blomqvist	600	3. Cadillac	710
		4. BMW	620
7. Filip Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Brenon Hartley	594	5. Lamborghini	186

Quotes
Louis Delétraz (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Race winner, first win in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition: “I can’t believe it. It was a long [final] hour, to be honest. I caught Sebastien [Bourdais, race leader], but we all know he is a hard racer and I didn’t want to take too much of a risk initially. But at the end I had to send it because it was now or never. I saw a gap and went for it. We had a few contacts, but we won, and that’s what matters. We really wanted to win this. It means a
lot to the team. Colton [Herta, co-driver] and Jordan [Taylor, co-driver] both were amazing. The car was perfect, our pit stops were excellent, everything was perfect.”

Colton Herta (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Race Winner: “To win this race, and to win it overall, is just incredible. I’m really fortunate to be a part of this [WTRAndretti] group, and Louis [Delétraz] did everything tonight. He got us in position to win with his moves. You wouldn’t want anyone else in the car in that situation.”

Jordan Taylor (#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06) Race Winner: “We were up and down throughout the day, but Louis was awesome. You could tell even back when we were testing here last month that he was the guy for the job. It was an unbelievably respectful battle for the lead. They both kept it clean, and it is a great night for the team, for the Dex Imaging Acura and for HRC.”

Tatiana Calderon (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) 17th in GTD (not running, contact): “It’s a shame to lose what I think would have been a top-five finish. I think we were all [three drivers] running really well, and the team was working so well together, until the collision. The important thing is Kat [Legge] is okay. Every time I get in the Acura, I feel more and more confident. I’m understanding the car and the tires a bit more all the time. I think we were doing a great job. So it’s a real shame not to finish, but that’s racing sometimes.”

David Salters (President, HRC US) on this weekend’s Acura victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring: “So, thanks to the efforts of our marvelous team of people at HRC US, ORECA and WTRAndretti; brilliant drivers and brilliant teamwork, we won Sebring. That’s a biggie. This place means so much to everyone involved in this sport. It’s iconic. To win here is just awesome. Plan A: have a fast car, fast drivers and a fast team. Plan B: refer to plan A. Well done team, amazing job.”

Fast Facts

• With tonight’s victory, Acura and its performance arm, Honda Racing Corporation USA (formerly Honda Performance Development), have recorded a total of nine victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, including two overall wins (2016 and tonight); three class wins for Acura; and four LMP2 class wins under the HPD (now HRC US) umbrella.
• HPD was renamed HRC US in January to reflect the new role of the company in Honda’s global racing efforts. With this change, HRC US will take on an increased role in Honda’s global motorsports activities.
• This weekend’s 12-hour contest was the 72nd race for endurance sports cars on the famed former World War II training facility and airport. 

Next
The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now moves west to Southern California for the April 19-20 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Acura and HRC US social media content and video links can be found on:

• Instagram www.instagram.com/hondaracing_us
• X                www.twitter.com/hondaracing_us
• Facebook www.facebook.com/HondaRacingUS
• TikTok        www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_us
• YouTube    www.youtube.com/HondaRacingUS

# # #

Race-long leaders Miller, Meseraull involved in incident with lapped traffic as McIntosh takes KKM to Victory Lane

DU QUOIN, IL (March 16, 2024) – The dry spell is over. Cannon McIntosh is once again in Victory Lane with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

The 21-year-old from Bixby, OK, had been shut out of Victory Lane with the Series for 23-straight races, dating back to May of last year when he completed a sweep of the weekend Millbridge Speedway. But Saturday night was his night at the Southern Illinois Center, as he inherited the lead in the final laps – after an incident involving the top-two cars took them out of contention – and held on to win his sixth career Series Feature.

The win stood as McIntosh’s first in his return to Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM), who he last drove for during the 2020 regular season and at the 2021 Chili Bowl Nationals.

“It feels amazing,” McIntosh said. “It feels like a long time since I’ve won. It feels a lot longer than it has been. It’s kind of been a journey all last year. Once we stopped winning, it was definitely dark times between switching teams and losing some relationships and that.

“But things circle back, and luckily, I feel like I’ve grown from a lot of losses in this timespan. It’s made me better as a driver, and I’m just thankful to be back in this position.”

Though McIntosh was victorious in the end, the majority of the race was controlled by front-row starters Joe B. Miller and Thomas Meseraull. The two open-wheel stars chased each other for the first 35 laps of the race, breaking only twice for cautions on Lap 4 and Lap 9.

After the caution periods, Miller – the polesitter – jumped out to a gap on Meseraull that grew nearly as large as a full second as the two began to break away from the field and enter lapped traffic. Inside and outside, Meseraull looked for any sliver of space to get by Miller but was unable to make the move.

That was until Lap 36, when Meseraull got a big run to the outside of Miller coming off Turn 4. Miller crossed the stripe first and entered Turn 1 hugging the inside berm. Meseraull swung it wide on the top lane through the corner and briefly took the lead out of Turn 2 as Miller was slowed-up by lapped cars in front of him.

As the two raced into Turn 3 nearly side-by-side, TJ Smith and Ethan Mitchell came together and flipped multiple times right in front of the leaders. Meseraull tried to evade on the outside but Smith came down on top of him. Miller locked-up and stalled on the bottom with Mitchell flipping in front of him as the red flag quickly came out.

All drivers were unharmed, but Smith, Mitchell and Meseraull were all towed off the track while Miller was ordered to restart from the tail of the field for his involvement in the incident as determined by race officials.

This incident handed the lead over to McIntosh, who was running in third place at the time.

“It didn’t matter to me, I just knew I was gonna be in whatever position was given to me,” McIntosh said. “Once I could hear them say I was the leader, I knew there wasn’t more than five laps to go, and I just had to execute, really.”

Now in control of the field with only five laps remaining, McIntosh began to devise his plan to keep the top spot.

“Once they said Ryan [Timms] was behind me, I knew he had probably been really good because he started pretty far back,” McIntosh said. “I knew I just couldn’t make any mistakes.

“[Timms] was obviously running a different line but Keith was basically telling me on the fence – stay on the bottom. It might not be better, but it’s gonna be hard for them to pass you if you hit your marks correctly.”

Ryan Timms had made the charge up to fourth by that time from his 12th-place spot on the starting grid and lined up to restart second, looking for a way to get by his KKM teammate.

“I thought I’d restart maybe fourth or fifth and then I heard over the PA I was restarting second,” Timms said. “I was definitely feeling good about it, especially with how fast I was up top in 3 and 4. But I knew it was going to be tough to beat Cannon if he just hit his marks on the bottom and didn’t make any big mistakes.”

Try as he may, however, Timms was unable to get by McIntosh in the end. McIntosh held off Timms’ challenges on the top and the bottom lanes to collect the $5,000 grand prize and the Series points lead by three points over Zach Daum.

“On that last lap, I just kinda went in full-send, wide-open on the top,” Timms said. “I really thought I was gonna get him. It seemed like to me we were side-by-side, at least in the middle of the corner and then he kinda pulled away going down the frontstretch.”

For the second night-in-a-row, Daum crossed the finish line third in the running order, this time coming in behind Timms. Jade Avedisian rebounded from her misfortunes on Friday night to finish fourth, while Trey Marcham crossed in fifth after starting 11th.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota returns to action in three weeks’ time for a two-day swing through Missouri – Friday, April 5 at US36 Raceway and Saturday, April 6 at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.

Tickets for both events are on sale now at XtremeOutlawSeries.com and will also be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 2. 67-Ryan Timms[12]; 3. 7U-Zach Daum[6]; 4. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 5. 32-Trey Marcham[11]; 6. 67K-Ashton Torgerson[7]; 7. 86-Shane Cottle[15]; 8. 25K-Taylor Reimer[21]; 9. 40-Chase McDermand[5]; 10. 06-Rylan Gray[19]; 11. 97-Gavin Miller[17]; 12. 51B-Joe B Miller[1]; 13. 2H-Nick Hoffman[9]; 14. 83-Will Armitage[20]; 15. 21K-Karter Sarff[18]; 16. 55-Trevor Cline[10]; 17. 56D-Mitchell Davis[14]; 18. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[22]; 19. 7X-Thomas Meseraull[2]; 20. 14S-Tyler Smith[13]; 21. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[16]; 22. 56-Tyler Edwards[8]

(3/16/24 – Ben Deatherage) Chico, CA … Cole Macedo battled his way to an impressive Mini Gold Cup triumph at Silver Dollar Speedway, when he recaptured the lead with only two laps remaining in a wild 40-lap NARC 410 sprint car finale that featured multiple lead changes. Macedo pocketed a stout $10,000 payday for this first ever victory at the quarter-mile oval driving the Tarlton & Son/Complete Parts and Equipment Solutions #21 Maxim.

“I worked really hard for that,” said a happy Macedo in victory lane. “The track was super demanding, and I’ve been in the gym all winter, and that prepared me for a race like this. I can’t say enough about this Tarlton Motorsports team: Drew (Warner, Crew Chief), Nate, Koby, Landon, Marv, and everyone who helps! We struggled this whole weekend and me and Drew kept putting our two cents into each other and put our best foot forward and he got me going really good there.”

The main event began with the Bates-Hamilton Racing #42X, driven by Justyn Cox, putting the Lippert Construction Maxim to the point at the opening green flag. Unfortunately, three race stoppages occurred while he reigned supreme, keeping the competition close.

Chase Johnson maneuvered his Toyota of Marin, Walnut Creek, and Sunnyvale/Price Family Dealership #24 Maxim to the point after a lap eight restart to pace the field. As the race developed, Johnson came under attack by a shadowing Macedo, but the leader managed to hold off the repeated challenges. But on the 31st circuit, Macedo finally overtook Johnson for the top spot.

Just when it looked like Macedo was going to cruise to the victory, Ryan Robinson, who started 18th, recovered from an early race tip-over to blast by Macedo.  But in a strange turn of events with the white flag waving, Robinson flipped violently down the back straightaway, giving the lead back to Macedo.  Luckily Robinson was unhurt in the accident.

Macedo would inherit the lead to and hold back the NOS Energy Drink/Matt Wood Racing entry, driven by Shane Golobic, to claim his second career NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory.

Caeden Steele, who was also involved in a mid-race accident wowed the crowd with his first career NARC podium in third.  He was driving the BCCR Racing/Cen-Cal Demolition Services #121 Maxim.  The Vertullo Racing Starr Property Management/Air 1 Racing #83V Maxim of Dylan Bloomfield held on to fourth while the 2017 champ Bud Kaeding rallied to finish fifth in the Kaeding Performance Center/Alviso Rock #29 Maxim.

Tanner Carrick was credited with sixth, while Sean Becker won hard charging honors by piloting the Don Bjork-owned entry to a seventh place finish after starting 22nd. Nick Parker, Justyn Cox and rookie Gauge Garcia rounded out the top ten.   Only ten cars survived the entire distance.

Andy Forsberg set quick time in ARP Qualifying while heat winners were 2019 title winner D.J. Netto, Johnson, Justin Sanders, and Max Mittry.

Gauge Garcia was upside down in the heat race action. During the caution plagued main event, Max Mittry, Justin Sanders, and DJ Netto were involved in red flag incidents.  There were no injuries reported.

HOOSIER A-FEATURE (40 Laps): 1. 21-Cole Macedo [12]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic [13]; 3. 121-Caeden Steele [14]; 4. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [10]; 5. 29-Bud Kaeding [9]; 6. 83T-Tanner Carrick [17]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [22]; 8. 15-Nick Parker [16]; 9. 42X-Justyn Cox [1]; 10. 2K-Gauge Garcia [23]; 11. 16A-Ryan Robinson [18]; 12. 24-Chase Johnson [4]; 13. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 14. 88N-D.J. Netto [7]; 15. 92-Andy Forsberg [2]; 16. 68-Jayson Bright [21]; 17. 17-Kalib Henry [8]; 18. X1-Michael Faccinto [6]; 19. 21P-Robbie Price [20]; 20. 2XM-Max Mittry [5]; 21. 26-Billy Aton [11]; 22. 0-Tim Kaeding [15]; 23. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [19]; 24. 12-Jarrett Soares [24]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Justyn Cox 1-7; Chase Johnson 8-30; Cole Macedo 31-36, 39-40 ; Ryan Robinson 35-38

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Sean Becker +15

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 88N-D.J. Netto [1]; 2. 17-Kalib Henry [4]; 3. 121-Caeden Steele [5]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding [2]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [3]; 6. 75-Bill Smith [8]; 7. 7X-RC Smith [7]; 8. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez [6]

KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 24-Chase Johnson [2]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [1]; 3. X1-Michael Faccinto [4]; 4. 83T-Tanner Carrick [3]; 5. 21P-Robbie Price [7]; 6. 68-Jayson Bright [5]; 7. 16J-Jacob Johnson [8]; 8. 4-Burt Foland Jr. [6]

LIFELINE USA HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 2X-Justin Sanders [1]; 2. 29-Bud Kaeding [2]; 3. 21-Cole Macedo [3]; 4. 15-Nick Parker [6]; 5. 92-Andy Forsberg [4]; 6. 7B-Sean Becker [5]; 7. 21M-Michael Ing [8]; 8. 2K-Gauge Garcia [7]

KAEDING PERFORMANCE CENTER HEAT FOUR (8 Laps):  1. 2XM-Max Mittry [2]; 2. 26-Billy Aton [7]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox [4]; 5. 16A-Ryan Robinson [1]; 6. 10-Dominic Gorden [3]; 7. 12-Jarrett Soares [6]; 8. 551-Angelique Bell [8]

STARR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT B-FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 68-Jayson Bright [3]; 2. 7B-Sean Becker [2]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [9]; 4. 12-Jarrett Soares [5]; 5. 21M-Michael Ing [7]; 6. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez [10]; 7. 16J-Jacob Johnson [8]; 8. 551-Angelique Bell [12]; 9. 75-Bill Smith [4]; 10. 4-Burt Foland Jr [11]; 11. (DNF) 10-Dominic Gorden [1]; 12. (DNS) 7X-RC Smith

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 2. 92-Andy Forsberg [1]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 4. 24-Chase Johnson [8]; 5. 2XM-Max Mittry [4]; 6. X1-Michael Faccinto [6]; 7. 88N-D.J. //Netto [7]; 8. 17-Kalib Henry [5]

ARP QUALIFYING QUICK TIME: Andy Forsberg, 11.407 (32 Cars)

One night after taking the points lead Scelzi gets his first win of 2024. (Trent Gower Photo) PAIGE, TX (March 16, 2024) – Cotton Bowl Speedway delivered yet again.One night after a race of the year candidate, the Paige, TX oval provided another thriller that brought the crowd to its feet. Huge slide jobs. Crossovers to counter. Battles all over the track. And a second straight late-race duel to decide the Texas Two-Step winner.This time it was Giovanni Scelzi making his way to Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. The KCP Racing pilot started on the front row, pulled away early, and out-dueled a fast-charging Brent Marks to seal the deal. On Friday night he took the World of Outlaws points lead for the first time in his career, and on Saturday night he scored his first win of the season.“I need to go find a top-dollar machine at the casino right now,” Scelzi said of a smile with his recent good fortune. “Man, the car is so fast. It minimizes the mistakes I make, so I can stick it in the slick part of the racetrack. Hats off to Adam (Clark). Bob (Curtis) if a new addition to the team, and he’s done an incredible job. And Aaron (Beiler) is doing great, too. Like I said, thank you to my guys.”Scelzi is now up to seven career victories with The Greatest Show on Dirt, equaling him with Jeff Sheperd, Chad Kemenah, and Brian Brown for 55th all-time. Last year it took the Fresno, CA driver 29 races before notching the first triumph of his rookie campaign. Seven races were all that was required for him to grab his first of the sophomore season. Scelzi’s early season points lead grew to 16 markers courtesy of his win.The result also made it seven different winners through seven races in 2024. That moves within one of equaling the record of eight different winners in the first eight races of a season established in 2015.After topping the Toyota Racing Dash, Donny Schatz led the field to green with Scelzi alongside. Schatz slid up in front of Scelzi in Turns 1 and 2, but Scelzi turned down the banking on corner exit and drove ahead of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15.As the early laps unfolded, Schatz was able to stay close behind Scelzi. But as the leaders entered traffic Scelzi sliced through lappers to build his advantage north of a second. The lead grew as large as two-and-a-half seconds.But on the 13th circuit a new contender began to emerge. Friday’s winner – Brent Marks – threw a slider on Schatz that stuck and quickly set his sights on Scelzi. Lap by lap the margin between the two began to shrink. Marks worked through traffic masterfully as the Murray-Marks #19 began to reel Scelzi in. On Lap 15 the gap was under two seconds, and then six circuits later it dropped to under a second.Then on Lap 24 the battle for the top spot heated up. Marks got a huge run down the back straightaway and launched a massive slider in Turns 3 and 4. Scelzi barely got back by on corner exit to retake the lead down the front straightaway. Then in the next set of corners Marks threw another slide job at “Hot Sauce.” Scelzi again turned low to counter and drove back ahead. Meanwhile, Logan Schuchart and David Gravel were engaged in just as intense of a duel for fourth behind them. The two traded several sliders and crossovers for the position.More traffic waited ahead as the laps continued to wane. Scelzi made a few strong moves through the lappers and looked as if he had the win in the bag. But the red flag flew with two laps remaining as Gio’s brother – Dominic Scelzi – got upside down on the back straightaway. The crash set up a green-white-checkered finish and gave Marks one last shot at Scelzi. But on the restart Schatz challenged Marks for second and forced him into a defensive mode. While Marks fended off the 10-time World of Outlaws champion, Scelzi pulled away to secure his first checkered flag of 2024.“I just couldn’t get the thing squared up right to drive off the corner, and I started getting tight on entry,” Scelzi said of late struggles that allowed Marks to close. “Brent got to me and started bombing me and broke my momentum like he had to. I felt like once I got him the last time he didn’t slide me in (Turns) 3 and 4, and I was clear.”Marks brought the Murray-Marks #19 home second, falling one spot short of a Texas Two Step sweep at Cotton Bowl. The “Myerstown Missile” had plenty of speed but couldn’t quite piece together a challenge for the victory on the final restart.“We just needed to get a good start there,” Marks said. “Gio went pretty early in the corner and being the second guy on the start there it’s just really hard to judge where they’re going to take off. He did a good job at tricking me a little bit, and when he took off it kind of left me in the slick a little bit more than I wanted to be. I spun the tires and just couldn’t quite get down the straightaway and into (Turn) 1 like I wanted to have a shot at him.”Rounding out the top three was Donny Schatz, marking his second podium of the season. The Fargo, ND native had high hopes of a win but still came away encouraged as his early season speed continues.“I would’ve liked to have won that, but I guess third is better than fourth,” Schatz said. “You’ve got to think about the big picture. All in all a decent night. This isn’t one of my best places. I think everybody that has a cell phone could see that all weekend it didn’t look like we were going to get to race, and we got two great nights of racing.”Logan Schuchart and David Gravel rounded out the top five.A 22nd to 12th run gave Jace Park the KSE Racing Hard Charger in only his third career Series start.Giovanni Scelzi took Simpson Quick Time honors in Sea Foam Qualifying.NOS Energy Drink Heats One and Three went to Brock Zearfoss (15th Heat Race win of career) and Brent Marks (33rd of career). Milton Hershey School Heat Two was topped by Logan Schuchart (122nd of career).UP NEXT: Two new Texas tracks are on tap for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars when the Series heads to Big O Speedway (Ennis, TX) on March 22 and Kennedale Speedway Park (Kennedale, TX) on March 23. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.FEATURE RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[2]; 2. 19-Brent Marks[3]; 3. 15-Donny Schatz[1]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[4]; 5. 2-David Gravel[8]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 7. 17B-Bill Balog[5]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[13]; 9. 83-Michael Kofoid[10]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[6]; 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel[16]; 12. 45X-Jace Park[22]; 13. 7S-Landon Crawley[7]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen[19]; 15. 6-Bill Rose[17]; 16. 25B-Blaine Baxter[21]; 17. 70-Kraig Kinser[15]; 18. 16TH-Kevin Newton[18]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[9]; 20. 23-Garet Williamson[14]; 21. 95-Matt Covington[11]; 22. 42P-Preston Perlmutter[20]For full results, CLICK HERE.

(March 16, 2024) – The No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R led the contingent of first-year GT3 Corvettes at the end of Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac. The trio of Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern placed ninth in a 22-car GT Daytona (GTD) field at Sebring International Raceway in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Sebring was the second race for AWA as part of the Corvette program following a debut in January’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. The No. 13 trio completed 314 laps and finished on the lead GTD lap in a largely trouble-free run.

Fidani drove two stints in the early part of the race, including the opening laps after all four Corvettes started from the rear of the field due to a post-qualifying technical infraction. But the No. 13 Orlando Corporation Z06 GT3.R team steadily worked its way through the field and ran as high as third in class before a successful fight in the closing hour to maintain its top-10 finish. The No. 3 Oshkosh/Mobil 1 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella looked as if it would take the honors as the highest-finishing Corvette in the race before being hit from behind and spun off track in the waning laps while running second in GTD PRO. The biggest mover early was Sims, who started the race and went from ninth to first in the first 67 minutes to set the table for a race-long fight for the class win with a special Mobil 1 gold livery to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. Garcia drove a double-stint before Juncadella put in a strong three-hour drive in the hottest part of the day as the No. 3 Corvette remained in the hear t of the fight. An untimely full-course yellow and an emergency pit stop for fuel with less than three hours to go pushed the team back down the order, but solid driving and strategy put Juncadella back into the lead inside the final 70 minutes. Late-race chaos saw Juncadella jostled around by multiple cars, the final being the impact that knocked the No. 3 Corvette off the circuit with six minutes to go. The No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R lost time in the first half of the race trying to sort clutch issues while trying to remain in GTD PRO contention with servicing during pit stops. Near the halfway point, the team elected to change a clutch component and lost multiple laps in the process. AWA’s second Corvette – the No. 17 Z06 GT3.R in GTD – retired early in the race with an electrical problem. The next IMSA round for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – featuring the GTD class – on April 20 from the Long Beach (Calif.) Street Circuit.

AWA POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was pretty intense out there. Obviously in Daytona we just had to circulate around a bit after that unfortunate start. It was good to be back in the GTD battle properly there. There was some intense battling, and I managed to fight my way from the back to P8, I think, so it was nice to be in the fight. We’re still really learning the car and optimizing things we learned in practice. Chevrolet and Pratt Miller have built an impressive piece of GT3 machinery. We’re still getting to grips with it a little bit, but as the race went on we jumped up and down the leaderboard and think at one point we were P3 after cycling through some stops. That was a proper, old-fashioned GTD stint doing some overtaking, which was nice to be in the fight. You’re always learning and you’re always pushing as well. We’re not just cycling around trying to be in school. We’re going as hard as we can.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a pretty tough race. It seems like we haven’t had the pace, so we need to figure out why. We didn’t have the pace to fight with the top guys so that was a bit frustrating. It was a hard race and really hot in the car. There were some little hiccups but didn’t have any penalties or any big incidents. So generally I’d say we executed pretty well. It’s good after Daytona to finish this race, gain some experience and move on.”

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTES

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “There were some pretty poor driving standards at the end from many cars. I just got fully rear-ended into the braking zone at Turn Three. I was just a passenger and there was nothing I could do. It’s a shame because we lost a podium probably – P2 or P3. Two corners before I got run wide by the Ferrari as well. It was very hectic out there and people were acting over-aggressive. It gets dark here and there’s not much (camera) footage so people start believing there are no rules. It was a bit too much. It’s a shame because after the last stop when we jumped everyone to the lead. I thought we maybe had it. But restarting through the GTD cars was a complete mess. I got overtaken before the green by the 14. We were lacking a little bit of top speed unfortunately late to fight the others. But the Z06 GT3.R was good and I was happy. I enjoyed the experience of returning to Sebring. It was just a bittersweet ending. We’ll analyze and get better for the next one.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We struggled a little bit in practice, but at the end of Thursday we had a feeling that we understood what that was and qualifying seemed to go well. In that first race stint, it was good to just get into it. It seemed like the car’s pace throughout the whole stint was pretty strong. But I tried to be sensible as well and not take too many risks and be too crazy early in the race.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It was a standard GTD race with a lot of warriors. The ABS in these cars allow people to throw it in and pray for the car to stop. It’s not ideal. It was a great job by Alex and Dani. We lost A/C from the third hour so it was very hard on us. It’s a shame we didn’t come out with a decent result. I’m not saying we deserved the win but I think we did deserve a strong result.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It wasn’t too bad early. The mentality at the start here was not to do anything stupid, no matter what. On the very first laps, you needed be very easy. Obviously there was a lot of chaos in front of us, but the mindset was already pretty reserved anyway so it didn’t affect us. I had two good stints there. It was tough to race with some the other cars in our class.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “To be honest, I think we had pretty good pace and were competitive. Unfortunately we ran into some issues with the clutch, so we kept losing time at the pit stops, and I had to stop twice on track. The pace is there but we were losing track position. We will keep plugging away at it and hopefully end up with a good result at the next race.”

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R fights to end; Derani uninjured in incident while leading

SEBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2024) – In the usual ebb and flow of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac, six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon summarized: “You’re never out of it until you’re out of it.” The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, whose prospects for victory were dashed the past two years by not going the distance after starting on the front row, challenged for the victory to the checkered flag Saturday night.

Drivers Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Dixon, the Chip Ganassi Racing team and Cadillac Racing engineers combined to lead the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) entry to second place at Sebring International Raceway. It is the second runner-up finish of the young IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for Cadillac Racing. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R placed second in the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. Cadillac, the reigning GTP Manufacturer champion, is tied for the lead through the two races. “Congratulations to Cadillac Racing team and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R on their podium in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac. Every member of the team can be very proud of their efforts on preparing the racecar for success, from both a technology and durability standpoint,” said John Roth, Global Vice President, Cadillac. “For more than a century, racing has provided a testbed for Cadillac to transfer knowledge and technology between racecars and production vehicles, and our V-Series portfolio demonstrates how we seamlessly bring lessons from the track to the road. The second place today showcases the remarkable capabilities and determination of the Cadillac Racing team.”Bourdais drove the final 2 hours, 12 minutes, negotiating the 3.741-mile, 17-turn course and traffic under the lights, holding off GTP challengers on three restarts and over the closing laps while meeting an energy number. Bourdais was overtaken by the No. 40 Acura on newer tires with 5 minutes left. The cars bumped several times, with the No. 40 going on to win by 0.891 seconds and end Cadillac’s three-year hold on the overall trophy. For the second consecutive IMSA GTP race – and second year in a row at Sebring — Cadillac Racing locked out the front row in qualifications. Both the pole-sitting No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R started strong, leading all but 10 of the 148 laps through the initial four hours and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R pacing the 11-car GTP field at the halfway point. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R led a field-high 97 laps and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R led 79.

The fortunes of the pole-winning and race-leading No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R were turned upside down with 4 hours, 35 minutes left when it was involved in an incident that forced its retirement. Reigning GTP champion Pipo Derani was 12 seconds clear of his closest competitor when his car made slight contact in Turn 10 while overtaking a GTD car, sending the prototype nose-first into the tire barrier and rolling on its hood. Derani was checked and released from the infield care center. “First and foremost, we are glad that Pipo was able to walk away from the incident under his own power, and that has been evaluated and released from the infield care center. That is what is most important,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “The construction of the Cadillac V-Series.R, its safety systems and Sebring’s trackside safety elements all did their job to keep Pipo safe. With the uncertain condition of the engine and hybrid system, we made the decision with the team to retire the No. 31 Cadillac.” Cadillac Racing will look to return to the podium April 20 at Long Beach, where it has won five times on the 1.9-mile street course since entering IMSA prototype competition in 2017.

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R Sebastien Bourdais: “I gave it all I had. The 40 car was out of sync and they put new tires on at the last stop and we didn’t because we didn’t have time for that and they just came like a rocket at the end. I’m a little disappointed that it turned into a bumper car contest at the end. I’m glad we got out of it because we could have picked up four or five punctures along the way. Obviously disappointed for the whole group and Cadillac because we had a really strong day. It was not as straightforward as we wanted, but up front most of it. It always hurts to get done like this in the closing laps. But it’s racing.” Renger: van der Zande: “The battle there at the end is good for the show. I thought with six minutes to go, we were in a good position to get that win. I am obviously disappointed but at the same time very proud of the team and Cadillac. We’ll continue to be in the hunt to win other races this year, but this one for now stings. Second place in my 100th IMSA start is not bad.” Scott Dixon: “It’s always an action-packed race. I had a ton of run out there. It was definitely up and down. We had an electronic issue that we were trying to debug. We got that sorted after falling back and clawed our way back up to second and then took the lead. The car had good speed. You never know; you always think you’re in this race and it can change quickly. You’re never out of it until you’re out of it. Glad Pipo (Derani) is OK. That’s a testament to the safety of these cars.” No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R Pipo Derani: “The Dallara Cadillac is a strong car. It’s one of those days that things go upside down, literally. It’s just a shame because we had a really strong car and our race was going strong. There was nothing I could have done and the wall came pretty quickly. The moment I was headed to the wall I knew the race was over. First time for me flipping a racer. Not the nicest feeling to be upside down until they can turn the car around. Good that I’m racing in 2024 and not in the ‘60s. I felt I was OK, just a little annoying when you try to open the door and you can’t. Luckily, everything was OK and the safety crew was there quite quickly and I was giving them signs I was OK. In general, I think the tire barrier got the most of the impact. (Navigating GTD traffic) I was 12 seconds ahead, I think, and everything was running smooth. We overtake thousands and thousands of cars. It’s one of those moments maybe he didn’t see, let go a little bit and there I was. Maybe I was expecting him to hold his line to the right; I was going to go on the left. It’s just one of those situations where it happens where you don’t have any chance at thinking or reacting. It’s part of multi-class racing. Our championship took a little hit with this one, but we have a strong car. We have more races to go. I wish I could have tried for my fifth win (at Sebring). I’ll have to try again next year.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOOD CITY 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 16, 2024

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 FICO CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.    Media Availability Quotes: I KNOW IT’S THE FIRST TIME THAT WE’VE BEEN ON THE CONCRETE HERE IN THE SPRING IN A COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT DO YOU NOTICE AS MUCH OF A CHANGE COMPARED TO OTHER TRACKS THAT WE VISIT TWICE, WHERE YOU’VE GOT A DAYTIME RACE VERSUS THE NIGHT RACE WHEN WE COME BACK IN SEPTEMBER? “Probably not as much here at Bristol (Motor Speedway) as normal. I would say that both races here tend to act very much more similar than other places we go to. Even Martinsville (Speedway), the way the gaps are between the asphalt and the concrete, they change from spring to fall. But here, being all concrete and not much temperature variation in the concrete surface itself compared to asphalt, you don’t notice as much.”  HAVE YOU SEEN WHERE THEY’VE REPAVED AND PATCHED AT COTA? AND IF SO, HOW WILL THAT IMPACT THE RACE? “I don’t think it’s going to impact the race any. I have seen it, yeah. I think they got rid of a bump on the exit of turn one, and I think they did a little bit into the backstretch straightaway through 12 or 13, and then out of the carousel and into 19. I don’t foresee it changing a whole lot. Like you’ll have lack of grip probably through the carousel, and then you’ll pickup grip on the exit and be able to go much faster through 19. But then out of 19, it’s back to the old asphalt and turn 20 is very slow with old asphalt being as slick as it is. I don’t know that it really opens up any more opportunities of passing or anything like that, just smoother surface I would imagine.”  WE’RE NOT EXPECTING ANY CHANGE IN HORSEPOWER, BUT LET’S SAY THAT IF NASCAR WERE TO CHANGE THE SPACER AND GIVE YOU MORE HORSEPOWER, WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU NEED TO KNOW? WOULD YOU NEED TO CHECK GEARING, THE TIRES, THE TRANSAXLE? FROM YOUR MECHANICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE CAR, WHAT ELSE WOULD NEED TO HAPPEN BEFORE YOU COULD ACTUALLY GO OUT ON THE TRACK? “I would say the only thing that would be a limiting factor might be the transaxle. But honestly, I’ve never really looked inside one or seen the components of one to see how sturdy the gears are. That would about be the only thing in my book of just knowing whether or not it would withstand the horsepower gain. I would imagine that it would.. that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal because I think Xtrac builds transmissions and such for off-road racing and things like that, where they’re over 1,000 horsepower. So I’m sure they’re used to, or at least have experience, in that realm of the higher horsepower. The brakes are fine. We don’t blow the tires off enough. I think that’s what we’re all kind of talking about. We need these things to be faster going into the corner; utilizing the brakes more, utilizing the tires more and having the opportunity to overdrive the cars more to burn the tires up to see guys struggle over a run.”  YOU’VE HAD VARIOUS RUNS HERE OVER THE YEARS WHERE YOU’VE BEEN REALLY, REALLY GOOD. THIS PLACE HAS CHANGED A TON, WHETHER IT’S BEEN THE SURFACE OR THE WAY THE TRACK WAS CUT-UP ON THE TOP OR WHATEVER. WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GOOD AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY, AND DOES THIS CAR, THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE TRACK AND THE RESIN GIVE YOU CONFIDENCE HERE GIVEN WHAT YOU’VE HAD BEFORE OR IS IT JUST A COMPLETELY DIFFERNET PLACE? “The car really changes a lot for it, for me. We won here with this car on the dirt surface, but I would say that since we’ve been bringing the new Next Gen car to the concrete surface, I have not found my way with it yet. I definitely had a way with understanding this place; having a sense of setup, how to drive it and whatnot with the old stuff, but not with the new stuff. We’ll see what happens here this weekend with our No. 8 FICO Chevrolet. Looking forward to the truck race. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a truck here. I think the last time was 2017 when I won, so certainly would be nice to come out here and go back to victory lane with one of those.” I KNOW YOU HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR BUBBA POLLARD, AND HE’S GOING TO MAKE HIS XFINITY DEBUT HERE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO NASCAR, THE SHORT-TRACK INDUSTRY, TO HAVE HIM GET A CHANCE AND TELL HIS STORY TO THIS AUDIENCE? “Yeah, I love it. A guy that works as hard as he does and does as much on his own as he does, I mean he’s a really smooth guy. I’ve raced against him a lot and we’ve had some really good battles. We’ve always been cordial with one another. I think the only time was when one of the younger kids was racing for me, he punted him out of the way, I think it was at Alabama one time at a race down there. He said, ‘well that’s what Kyle would do’. And I called him and I was like, ‘bro.. when have I ever done that to you.. like come on man’. We’ve always had a good relationship, so I respect the hell out of him for what he does. He’s honestly one of the best. Definitely one of the best from the south in the super late model ranks. I’ve raced against a lot of greats out on the west coast, up in the northeast and Midwest.. a lot of different names that always come to mind.” LAST YEAR, YOU GOT OFF TO A QUICK START. HOW WOULD YOU CATEGORIZE WHAT HAS HAPPENED THIS YEAR IN THE OPENING PART OF THE SEASON? “Yeah, the Clash was great.. we ran really well there. Daytona, we were fast. If I would have choose a different line on a restart, we probably would have had a top-four at Daytona, for sure. Atlanta, coming oh-so-close there with just needing a couple inches to win that thing. And then Las Vegas, we were really fast. We were probably one of the only guys that could keep up with Kyle Larson. We had a great shot there and pit road was our demise. And then last weekend (at Phoenix), we just weren’t very good, in general, with the short-track stuff still. We’ve tried everything, so I don’t even know where to go with what we do next. We’ll see, with some new ideas, if anything works here at Bristol.. being as though it’s a short-track race, but it’s still the different aero package. But yeah, I mean we’ve come to find what our strengths are, what our middle ground is and where our weaknesses are, for sure. We keep trying to improve on all of them.” IS THE PIT CREW STILL AN UNSETTLED SITUATION, OR DO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT THE PIECES TOGETHER AND YOU’RE GOING TO KIND OF LET THEM WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH IT AND SMOOTH EVERYTHING OUT? “I would say it’s still unsettled. The proof is in your results, right? You’re only as good as your last race, as us drivers tend to say. So you’re only as good as your last stop, I guess, is what a pit crew guy should say. But I know that everybody at the shop and all of RCR is working hard on trying to figure something out and get through it with the resources that we have. Each week, we’ll keep trying to fine-tune the personnel and make the best that we can out of the situation we’ve got to have at least decent stops. My thing is – they’re either the defense or the special teams unit, however you want to look at that. When you come down pit road, I’ve been saying it the last couple of years since we’ve been racing this car – the easiest time to pass people is when they’re sitting still.. it’s when they’re in their pit box. And so, we can’t be the ones that are always getting passed. We need to hold our own.” YOUR TEAMMATE, AUSTIN DILLON, WAS TALKING LAST WEEKEND ABOUT MAKING THE WIDTH OF THE TIRE SMALLER. HE SAID IT WOULD MAKE YOU GUYS FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE MORE SPEED WITH THE NEW SHORT-TRACK PACKAGE. I’M CURIOUS IF YOU FOLLOW THAT PHILOSOPHY, AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT PACKAGE WILL REACT AT RICHMOND? “Yeah, I mean I can see where he’s coming from. I think we’ve all kind of said that, when the tire got wider, we all knew it was going to produce more grip. We all expected it to be softer so it would wear, and it would wear out and then you would have less grip over the course of a run and have some falloff. But unfortunately, we haven’t seen that.. we haven’t seen that softer compound yet. We saw last year here at this race in particular where guys stayed out on 60 or 70 lap tires; went the rest of the way in the first stage and won the stage. Guys were finishing in the top-10 by staying out. You don’t want to have tire blowouts.. I get that. I understand Goodyear’s stake on that part. But I think when we have had softer tires in the past and have had blowouts, that’s because they were softer.. because they wore out.. because we punished them, you know. So you’re kind of to your own demise, in a sense. I guess tires not holding air probably don’t sell well on Monday.” HAVING DRIVEN THIS PACKAGE AT PHOENIX, DO YOU THINK IT WILL HELP THE RACING AT RICHMOND? “No… no… no. The problem starts at the front of the car; the splitter and the way the air is, and everything that we all do on setup stuff for make these things rely on the air as much as they do. That’s the problem.. I think they went about it.. that’s a funny way to say it.. backwards. There’s another way of saying that, but I’ll leave it for another day.  But they started at the back of the car. That’s not the problem.. it’s at the front of the car. So, that’s it.” WITH ALL THE TALKS OF WHAT COULD BE CHANGED, WHAT ARE TODAY’S FANS NOT ABLE TO SEE YOU DO THAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE OR HOW YOU COULD DISPLAY YOUR TALENTS 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO IN THE CAR? WHAT IS THE KYLE BUSCH THAT FANS ARE SEEING NOW, AND HOW MUCH IS THIS NOT THE 100 PERCENT KYLE BUSCH THAT WE COULD HAVE SEEN 10 YEARS AGO.. IS THERE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE? “I get what you’re saying. I feel as though that when the teams were able to build the cars, with the manufacturers and they were able to design them the way they wanted to design them, you’d have particular teams that would really focus on chassis build. They would work on their front clips. They would work on their rear clips. They would work on their bodies, and they’d work on their engines. You had a lot more feasibility in where you wanted to dump your resources. Did you want superspeedway cars? Did you want intermediate cars? Did you want short-track cars.. road course cars? You get it, right?  So now, we all have the same LEGOS and it’s just about how you assemble the LEGOS, which apparently we’re not smart enough yet at the short-track LEGOS to have that program scienced-out. For me anyways, I feel the practice limitations that have been set forth – I don’t have time to work through and dissect the car as much as I once did of being able to go through practices; look at the data, go through another practice, go through qualifying, go through weeks of being able to do that to build on your program and to give that feedback to the team, engineers and everybody back at the shop to make your stuff better. So I would say that’s probably a big part of it.” ALL THIS TALK ABOUT SIMULATION, AND HOW FAR IT’S COME AND HOW YOU’VE SEEN TO COME THROUGH YOUR YEARS. WITH WHAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, NOT BEING ABLE TO GET THAT FEEL IN PRACTICE AND SO FORTH, WHY CAN’T THAT BE DONE IN SIMULATION OR WHERE DOES SIMULATION FALL SHORT THAT PREVENTS YOU FROM GETTING BETTER IN PRACTICE SITUATIONS? “I would say that there’s nothing like the real thing. There’s nothing like the asphalt dyno, as my dad would always say. Going to the race track with your stuff and competing against the rest of the competitors to see where your shortcomings are.  The smartest robot in the world will never be what a human is, you know what I mean? It takes a human to build that robot, so there’s going to be way too many circumstances that would come about to make sim life what real life is.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR NASCAR TO HAVE A SUPERSTAR? SOMEBODY WHO TRANSCENDS THE SPORT, LIKE RICHARD PETTY, DALE EARNHARDT OR JEFF GORDON, AND DO WE HAVE ONE NOW? WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET THERE IF WE DON’T? “You’re looking at him.. no, I’m kidding (laughs).  I think his name is Chase (Elliott). He’s the man, so ask him.  But yeah, for whatever reason – I’m not sure what it is, but you have the diehard fans of NASCAR, of Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Harry Gant. You name it – guys from the 90s, mid-90s, late-90s, all of that. Our world now, today, of 2024, is a lot different fan base that’s following along. I don’t feel like we were able to transition a lot of the fans that were fans of those drivers of the names that I just mentioned, into a William Byron fan; into a Kyle fan or whoever. They kind of all probably went away.. just stopped following as much. Which is hard to say because honestly, when you look at NASCAR, the fans love the drivers. The driver star power, that’s what brings people to the race track, is the drivers. When you look at the NFL, for instance – those players on that team change so often. You guys think my pit crews’ names changing every week is a lot.. look at the roster changes of NFL teams, and what they do; what they go through with their 53-man roster. But fans are fans of the teams, and a lot of times – I’ll throw out a name.. Jacksonville, for instance. The last few years, they’re coming back because of Trevor Lawrence, right? They’ve got somebody back that has brought the team back into the forefront. But before that, their stadiums were empty, you know what I mean. You can find the same struggles across different sports, is what we see sometimes.” I WANT TO GO BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE TELLING MATT (WEAVER) ABOUT HOW IT’S BEEN HERE FOR YOU IN THE NEXT GEN CAR. HOW MUCH OF THAT IS THE FEELING OF THE CAR BEING SO DIFFERENT FROM WHAT YOU WERE USED TO HERE, AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS RHYTHM WHEN IT COMES TO THIS RACE TRACK? JUST KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT TO FEEL AND HOW YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO RUN THIS RACE TRACK.“Well Bristol is a lot of rhythm, but it takes a feel of what you’re looking for here, as well, too. This car just drives a lot different, and it drives a lot different because of the limitations in which it’s built. It just has a different way of you needing to go about it. I’ve learned some of that, but I guess I’m not the best of figuring out how to be better than some of the other drivers. Or maybe their cars are better than my car.. I don’t know. It’s not like we can swap seats. I’d always run this place more round.. like I would always try to make it as much of a circle as I possibly could, and now you kind of run this place in a diamond. You go up to the wall; do you try to come off the wall? Do you up to the wall in the corner? Do you come up the wall, you know what I mean? So it’s more diamond-shaped. It’s definitely a different way of running it. That seems to be a little bit more of the faster way this day in age. It’s a different technique to get used to, but that’s not to say that I can’t do it. It’s just a matter of sometimes you can’t out-race your own equipment, and you’ve got to go and get what you can get out of it, but nothing more.”