The first of four new tracks on the schedule brings the tour to a Texas bullringKENNEDALE, TX (March 6, 2024) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are trucking to Texas.Five nights of Florida racing opened the 2024 campaign, and now the tour is bound for the “Lone Star State” where a new track awaits. The Greatest Show on Dirt is set to invade Kennedale Speedway Park for the first time in Series history this weekend (March 8-9).The 1/4-mile track, located just south of Fort Worth, joins the state’s rich history of Sprint Car Racing as the 12th Texas track to welcome the World of Outlaws. The state has hosted 206 World of Outlaws races (fifth most all-time) including the first in 1978.The two nights will ignite the Lonestar Sooner Stampede for the World of Outlaws – a three week stretch of racing in Texas and Oklahoma that also includes stops at Cotton Bowl Speedway (March 15-16), Big O Speedway (March 22), and Lawton Speedway (March 23).A new track means empty notebook pages, no data to pull from, and no on-paper favorites to win. It’s the opportunity to watch the nation’s best Sprint Car drivers battle to forever cement their name as the first World of Outlaws winner at Kennedale. Throw in the fact that the oval is a racy bullring, and it’s bound to be a thrilling debut.BUY TWO-DAY KENNEDALE TICKET PACKAGE HEREBUY FRIDAY KENNEDALE TICKETS HEREBUY SATURDAY KENNEDALE TICKETS HEREWATCH LIVE ON DIRTVisionLet’s look at the weekend’s top storylines:CLEAN SLATE: One of the most interesting aspects of venturing to a new facility is the lack of statistics. There’s no driver to highlight as a clear-cut favorite due to an impressive résumé. Many of the group of full-time World of Outlaws drivers for 2024 will be laying eyes on Kennedale for the first time.Even looking at the latest drivers to win at a new track doesn’t lend any insight as to who a favorite might be. There hasn’t been a repeat winner at the last five tracks where the World of Outlaws have debuted.The most recent driver to claim the debut at a new track is Carson Macedo. The Lemoore, CA native won the inaugural visit to Minnesota’s Ogilvie Raceway last June. The four prior to Macedo are Brad Sweet (Vado Speedway Park), Donny Schatz (Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway), David Gravel (Dirt on the Rev), and Sheldon Haudenschild (Magnolia Motor Speedway).TEXAS TITANS: None of the current World of Outlaws drivers may have had the chance to conquer Kennedale yet, but a handful of them have experienced success when visiting Texas.Donny Schatz has topped seven races in the state. The 10-time Series champion has made a trio of Victory Lane visits at Devil’s Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, TX), twice came out on top at Royal Purple Raceway (Baytown, TX), and won once apiece at Battleground Speedway (Highlands, TX) and Lone Star Speedway (Kilgore, TX). Schatz’s seven Texas wins are tied for the sixth most.Series veterans David Gravel and Logan Schuchart both own three Texas victories. Gravel’s first two came at Gator Motorplex (Willis, TX) and Cotton Bowl Speedway (Paige, TX). Then, most recently, the Big Game Motorsports pilot claimed the final race in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history last October. And speaking of Devil’s Bowl, that’s where all three of Schuchart’s victories occurred. The Hanover, PA native took the Shark Racing #1S on three consecutive trips to Victory Lane (2019-2021) at the birthplace of the Series.Two-time Texas winners include Sheldon Haudenschild and Carson Macedo. Haudenschild’s both came at Cotton Bowl Speedway in 2021 and 2022. Macedo has won in Texas once in each of the last two seasons, topping a Cotton Bowl Feature in 2022 and the penultimate Devil’s Bowl race last year.FIVE RACES, FIVE WINNERS: Parity has been the name of the game so far in 2024 for the World of Outlaws. The first five races have failed to produce a repeat winner with Brad Sweet, David Gravel, Tyler Courtney, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Donny Schatz claiming checkered flags.It’s only the 10th time in 47 seasons of racing that the first five Features didn’t see anyone pick up multiple wins. If another different name parks in Victory Lane on Friday at Kennedale, it will mark just the sixth time the season has started with six different winners.Looking a little further ahead, the record for different winners to start the season is eight in 2015. New winners would be needed both nights and Kennedale and both nights at Cotton bowl next weekend to establish a new mark.LONE STAR LOCALS: Texas may not be a Sprint Car hotbed in the realm of Pennsylvania or California, but the “Lone Star State” has produced its fair share of talent. A handful of notable names come from Texas and will be looking to top the World of Outlaws at Kennedale.Sam Hafertepe Jr. headlines the local contingent entering the weekend. The Sunnyvale, TX native is fresh off topping this past weekend’s American Sprint Car Series Elite Outlaw race at Kennedale. That win came against a tough field, and this weekend he aims for his first World of Outlaws triumph since 2011.Another top Texan heading to Kennedale is Chase Randall with TKS Motorsports. He may make most of his laps in the Knoxville region these days, but he comes from Waco and has Kennedale success in his past. Back in 2021 Randall won a 410 race at Kennedale when he was only 16 years old.Aaron Reutzel plans to make his way to Kennedale aboard the Ridge & Sons Racing #87. The Clute, TX driver has competed at Kennedale with ASCS in the past but is yet to pick up a win at the bullring.INVADERS: Along with the stars of the World of Outlaws and the healthy crop of locals, drivers from many states plan to partake in the Series debut at Kennedale.Oklahoma is sending plenty of talent capable of winning in Texas for the “Sooner State.” Oklahoma City’s Ryan Timms is yet to miss a World of Outlaws race in 2024 and will continue that trend. Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) plans to make his first Series appearance of the season driving the TKH Motorsports #21H. Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK) also intends to join the cast of Sooners.Pennsylvania will have some representation in the form of Brent Marks (Myerstown, PA) and Jacob Allen (Hanover, PA). Both are proven winners at the highest level of the sport and could be threats to take the Series debut at Kennedale.Outside of the trio of Californians full-time on the tour, the “Golden State” will be represented by Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi. He’s brought the Scelzi Motorsports #41 out for a five-week stretch with the World of Outlaws beginning at Kennedale. This past weekend he finished third at Kennedale’s ASCS Elite Outlaw race.Many more are expected to be among a healthy group of invaders filling the Kennedale pit area.THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCEWHEN AND WHEREFriday-Saturday, March 8-9 at Kennedale Speedway Park in Kennedale, TXON THE INTERNETWorld of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series X – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthCURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (4/86 Races):1. David Gravel – Big Game Motorsports #2 (572 PTS)2. Donny Schatz – Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 (-12 PTS)3. Giovanni Scelzi – KCP Racing #18 (-12 PTS)4. Logan Schuchart – Shark Racing #1S (-36 PTS)5. Carson Macedo – Jason Johnson Racing #41 (-82 PTS)6. Sheldon Haudenschild – Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17 (-86 PTS)7. Michael Kofoid – Roth Motorsports #83 (-106 PTS)8. Corey Day – Jason Meyers Racing #14 (-110 PTS)9. Bill Balog – B Squared Motorsports #17B (-128 PTS)10. Brock Zearfoss – Brock Zearfoss Racing #3Z (-132 PTS)NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (5 Drivers):1 Win – Brad Sweet, David Gravel, Tyler Courtney, Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny SchatzFEATURE LAPS LED (9 Drivers):25 Laps – Brad Sweet, David Gravel24 Laps – Rico Abreu13 Laps – Anthony Macri, Michael Kofoid12 Laps – Donny Schatz10 Laps – Giovanni Scelzi7 Laps – Sheldon Haudenschild1 Lap – Tyler CourtneySIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (4 Drivers):2 Quick Times – Brent Marks1 Quick Time – Landon Crawley, Brian Brown, Michael KofoidHEAT RACE WINNERS (10 Drivers):3 Heat Wins – Rico Abreu2 Heat Wins – Giovanni Scelzi, Tyler Courtney, David Gravel, Brent Marks, Michael Kofoid, Sheldon Haudenschild1 Heat Win – Corey Day, Justin Peck, Brian Brown, TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (17 Drivers):5 Dashes – Giovanni Scelzi4 Dashes – David Gravel, Rico Abreu3 Dashes – Tyler Courtney, Brent Marks, Brian Brown, Landon Crawley2 Dashes – Brad Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild, Buddy Kofoid1 Dash – Anthony Macri, Bill Balog, Justin Peck, Zeb Wise, Corey Day, Donny Schatz, Carson MacedoMICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (4 Drivers):1 LCS – Austin McCarl, Bill Balog, Corey Day, Kasey KahneKSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (3 Drivers):2 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart1 Hard Charger – Donny SchatzPODIUM FINISHES (9 Drivers):3 Podiums – Brad Sweet2 Podiums – David Gravel, Tyler Courtney, Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild1 Podium – Justin Peck, Anthony Macri, Donny Schatz, Carson MacedoTOP 10 FINISHES (21 Drivers):5 Top 10s – David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi4 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney, Logan Schuchart3 Top 10s – Anthony Macri, Brad Sweet, Rico Abreu2 Top 10s – Brent Marks, Brian Brown, Buddy Kofoid, Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild1 Top 10 – Justin Peck, Kasey Kahne, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Zeb Wise, Carson Macedo, Corey Day, Cory Eliason, Landon Crawley2024 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)1. Wed, Feb 7 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brad Sweet (1)2. Thurs, Feb 8/ Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)3. Fri, Feb 9 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Tyler Courtney (1)4. Sat, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)5. Mon, March 4 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1)For the full 2024 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, CLICK HERE.

OCALA, FL (March 6, 2024) — Starting the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at the historic Gatornationals this weekend 2021 winner Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team are eager to get on track. Heading into his fourth season as a Top Fuel team owner and driver Hart will be looking to win the Gatornationals for the second time and defend his Pep Boys Allstar Callout title in the specialty race that will be contested Saturday during the final day of qualifying. The tuning decisions will continue to be handled by veteran crew chief Ron Douglas and Hart’s team remains intact from the 2023 campaign.

 Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel team in Pep Boys Allstar Callout winner’s circle, photo by Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase

“We have been building a great team since we started in 2021 and went full-time in 2022,” said Hart, a multi-time Top Fuel winner. “We win and lose as a team and we are all ready for this season. I am excited to have R+L Carriers and TechNet back with the team.”
 
Last year Hart opened the season with the biggest payday of the year winning the Pep Boys Allstar Callout from the No. 8 position. Hart defeated Austin Prock, Brittany Force and Mike Salinas to take the top prize. Unfortunately, the team was not able to double up and Hart was ousted in the first round proving how tough the Top Fuel season would be for the driver from Ocala, Florida.
 
“I mentioned in the media room after we won the Pep Boys race that this sport will humble you so you can’t get too high and you can’t let yourself get too low,” said Hart. “The next day we got humbled when I wasn’t on my game. We spent the rest of the season having some highs and some lows, but we never gave up. This year we have more parts and a great attitude so I am looking forward to winning the Pep Boys Callout again and getting another Gatornationals win.”
 
In his rookie season Hart, debuted at his home track Gainesville Raceway and took the Top Fuel title outrunning Shawn Langdon in the final. It was Hart’s first Top Fuel national event and the first win for a Burnyzz Speed Shop livery in Hart’s career. Hart has owned and expanded the business of Burnyzz Speed Shop for years and while it is has been a constant presence on all his race cars had never driven the brand into the winner’s circle before the 2021 Gatornationals.
 
“Burnyzz has been a huge part of my life and we never got into the winner’s circle with a Burnyzz Speed Shop race car until that Gatornationals win which made it extra special,” said Hart. “That rookie season was great and we have built on that success and in 2024 we want to take it to the next level. My focus is on the race car and the R+L Carriers team. The competition continues to get better and better and I love that. I want to race and compete against the best drivers in the world and we have that in the NHRA.”
 
Hart and the R+L Carrier Top Fuel team will be on track Friday, March 8 for two qualifying runs getting ready for the Pep Boys Allstar Callout on Saturday. The second day of professional qualifying at the Gatornationals will be packed for Hart with the Pep Boys Allstar Callout event in the TEC at the track followed by two rounds of qualifying with the possibility of a third round for $80,000. Final eliminations on Sunday will feature the quickest 16 Top Fuel dragsters hitting the track at 10:30 a.m. ET with the first two rounds of racing live on FS1.
 

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (Mar. 6, 2024) –John Force Racing, one of the winningest organizations in National Hot Rod Association history with a record 22 championships and more than 225 national event wins, enters the 2024 NHRA season with a new Force-ful theme that highlights the organization’s overall efforts, as well as offers a vision for JFR’s future. That theme, #2024ORCE (a metaphor for twenty-twenty-Force), is centered around the leadership of team patriarch and 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, along with daughter and two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, plus Austin Prock, filling in for sidelined three-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight. All three drivers hope to make 2024 one of their best years yet, and to cap things off with the championship in their respective classes for JFR. Hence, the #2024ORCE theme. “John Force Racing is ready to turn it around this season in 2024. We are calling it 2024ORCE,” Brittany Force said. “We have the most championships in NHRA history and our goal is to get right back on top, where we belong.” Added John Force, “Well, it’s 2024, but we’re looking at it like 24s (meaning JFR could win its 23rd and 24th championships). “My daughter is in this, and of course, our new kid, (Austin) Prock, replacing Robert Hight while he gets through some personal stuff. But it’s exciting. A new major series sponsor with Mission Foods is coming on board. We’re already out promoting it.” Prock previously drove a Top Fuel dragster for JFR before being tabbed to fill in for Hight, who finished second in the Funny Car class last season. Prock has been licensed for Funny Car for the last several years. Prock also embraces the #2024ORCE theme. “Races are won and lost as a team,” Prock said. “The structure of JFR has been built off of the ‘one team’ mentality, meaning all teams have each other’s back and share information. I believe the countless race wins and championships is derived from this approach.” After Prock won his first-ever start in a Funny Car last month in Bradenton, Fla., he and John and Brittany, as well as their teams, are looking forward to getting off to a strong showing in this weekend’s 2024 season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. Force, who earned his NHRA Funny Car license in 1974, turns 75 years old this May and is closing in on 50 years of full-time competition in NHRA. But the driver of the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS is not retiring or slowing down. Rather, he still hopes to capture several more Funny Car national event wins and championships.But Force, who is the winningest individual driver in NHRA history with 155 national event victories, is also looking ahead to growing JFR’s future as an organization and brand in the coming years, both before and after he closes out his legendary racing career. Among the initiatives Force hopes to eventually bring to fruition include a book and a movie deal about his incredible life and career, possibly another reality TV show (following the breakthrough A&E real life series “Driving Force” that debuted in 2006), an in-studio TV show similar to Jay Leno’s tenure with “The Tonight Show,” and possibly a regular podcast. Force also has hopes to essentially one-up Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who has said he will delay retirement so as to get the chance to play in the NBA with his son Bronny. After spending several years of racing with three of his daughters – Ashley, Brittany and Courtney – Force is now looking forward to see his grandchildren move up in the NHRA ranks, including granddaughter Autumn Hight, and grandsons Jacob and Noah Hood. Autumn Hight is the daughter of JFR President Robert Hight, while her mother is Force’s oldest daughter, JFR Chief Financial Officer Adria Hight. Autumn is currently 19 years old and is expected to race in the NHRA Super Comp class this season. Jacob and Noah Hood, meanwhile, are the sons of John Force’s crew chief, Danny Hood, and JFR Vice President and Creative Director Ashley Force Hood. Others who also play vital roles in JFR’s overall operation include Director of Business Operations Bob McAleer, Director of Public Relations Jerry Bonkowski, the team’s new Social Media Manager Cole Wilgus, Communications Coordinator A.J. England, Social Media Assistant Darin Williams Jr., Graphic Designer Armando Villa, and veteran drag racing consultant Dave Densmore. “We’re getting ready to head for Gainesville and I’m ready,” John Force said. “I feel really good physically, and am looking forward to winning and going after number 17 (a record-breaking 17th championship).” Given the organization’s new theme for 2024 and all the plans he has for the future, while retirement is inevitable, Force still has plenty more to accomplish in his life. Or as he emphatically says with a smile, “It ain’t over till I say it’s over.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 6, 2024) – Progressive American Flat Track is proud to announce a new multi-year agreement with FOX Sports and unveil the broadcast schedule for the 2024 Progressive AFT season.  All races will air in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The sole exception is the Spirit of Sturgis TT, which will be featured in a one-hour telecast on the FOXbroadcast network. This event will mark the first occasion a Progressive AFT race has aired on a major broadcast network in three decades. “FOX Sports has been a tremendous broadcaster, allowing us to showcase the incredible action, captivating storylines, and compelling personalities of the sport to millions of viewers,” said Gene Crouch, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “This renewal is an exciting step forward, one which provides us an amazing opportunity to put Progressive American Flat Track and the Spirit of Sturgis TT in front of FOX’s massive network audience.” FOX Sports coverage of the 2024 Progressive AFT season will deliver in-depth coverage from all 16 events, starting with the season opening doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway on March 7 and 8. For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. 2024 Television Schedule for Progressive AFT: Saturday, March 16 – Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I – 9:30 a.m. ET (6:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, March 17 – Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II – 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, March 31 – Yamaha Senoia Short Track – 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, May 5 – Mission Texas Half-Mile – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, May 12 – Silver Dollar Short Track – 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, May 19 – Ventura Short Track – 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, June 23 – Orange County Half-Mile – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, June 29 – Bridgeport Half-Mile – 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, July 6 – Lima Half-Mile – 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, July 14 – DuQuoin Mile – 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT)Sunday, August 4 – Peoria TT – 1:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, August 11 – Black Hills Half-Mile – 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT)Saturday, August 17 – Spirit of Sturgis TT – 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, September 8 – Springfield Mile I – 7:00 a.m. ET (4:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, September 8 – Springfield Mile II – 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT)Sunday, September 15 – TBA Season Finale – 10:00 a.m. ET (7:00 a.m. PT)How to Watch: FOX Sports and FloRacing are home to Progressive American Flat Track programming. For the 2024 season, all races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 or FOX during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed athttps://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. FloRacing provides livestreaming coverage of every Progressive AFT round at https://flosports.link/aft.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2024) — The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown will begin its season at historic Gainesville Raceway, March 7-10, for the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The heated competition between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Mustang Cobra Jets and Dodge Mopar Challenger Drag Paks will be front and center at a total of 10 NHRA national events in 2024.   After an off-season of change, the look of the field will change dramatically as previous series champions have moved on to new challenges. Last season Aaron Stanfield took top honors, but the multi-time champion is stepping away from full-time competition in the class along with 2022 champion David Barton, who will focus on his engine development business. Both former champions will be around the class, but their full-time absence will open the door for other drivers.   “Aaron has been dominant in this class for a lot of years, and he is a great friend. We had a fun battle last year for the championship,” said Stephen Bell, the 2023 Flexjet championship runner-up. “I think this year we are going to see a lot of new faces in the winner’s circle and the championship will be up for grabs. I can’t wait to get to the Gatornationals and get the season started. We have done some testing but until you get into competition you don’t really know what you have.”  Norwalk winner and championship runner-up Stephen Bell will have the Flexjet Bounty for Gatornationals, photo courtesy of Gary Nastase/Auto ImageryWith the Gatornationals absence of Barton, the winner of the Nevada Nationals Factory Stock Showdown title, the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty of $1,000 shifts to the reigning champion but Stanfield is also not on the entry list, so championship runner-up Bell will carry the added pressure of starting his championship chase with a figurative bullets-eye on his COPO Camaro.   “I love the Flexjet bounty program and I think it adds a lot to the class,” said Bell. “I had the bounty last year after I won the Norwalk national event and it was pretty cool. This class has so many tough drivers and good cars I think you’ll see the bounty on a lot of drivers this season.”   Last year Joe Welch took home the win at the Gatornationals, his third Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown national event win, running low ET and Top Speed of the race. The win was special for the racer from Stevensville, Michigan. Turning on five win lights and outrunning Stanfield for the win was quite an accomplishment.   “I get to the finals so few times, you have to give it all you got,” recalled Welch after the victory. “That last run – it was straight as an arrow. Aaron’s a good friend of mine and a great competitor. I just knew I had to give him my best. The chips were going to fall where they may and this time the win light came on for me.”   This season with ten races spread across the country the competitors in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series will have their hands full chasing the championship. In 2023 the series saw seven different drivers hoist the infamous Wally trophy for winning an NHRA national event. Lenny Lottig took home three national event wins to lead the class. Veteran racer Mark Pawuk picked up his first win in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown era and Jesse Alexandra won the U.S. Nationals for the second time in the hyper competitive class. Pawuk and Alexandra will be back in action in 2024 and each is looking to pick up more wins and possibly the Flexjet championship trophy.   “Winning the U.S. Nationals again was great. The field was huge in the Flexjet Factory Showdown with lots of real heavy hitting competitors. There were a lot of guys that could have done this job. The Lord was with me, and it is just crazy how it all came together,” said Alexandra, after the Indy win. “Winning out here against these kinds of competitors. Stephen Bell is like, ‘The Guy,’ for me. He’s so good all around. He’s so good on the tree. He’s such a good competitor. He drives so well. We have gone back and forth. I mean when I can race with him just to be on the same track with him is an honor. I tell him that all the time. He’s a great, great competitor.”   Qualifying for the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown season opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals begins Friday, March 8 with sessions at 1:30 and 4:00 p.m. Elimination rounds will take off on Saturday and Sunday with final eliminations scheduled for 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, March 10.   2024 FLEXJET NHRA FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SCHEDULE March 7-10                 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, Gainesville, Fl. March 21-24               64th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals, Pomona, Calif. April 12-14                  24th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Las Vegas May 17-19                   24th annual Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago June 7-9                      23rd annual NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, Bristol, Tenn. June 27-30                  18th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Norwalk, Ohio Aug. 15-18                   42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, Brainerd, Minn. Aug. 28-Sept. 2           70th annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, Indianapolis Sept. 12-15                  39th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, Reading, Pa. Sept. 27-29                  13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis About Flexjet   If maintaining performance vehicles is your passion – translate those skills into becoming a Flexjet aircraft maintenance technician (AMT). Explore a career with the world-class Flexjet Maintenance group today.   Flexjet, Inc., a global leader in subscription-based private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 25 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Red Label by Flexjet™, a market differentiator, which features the most modern fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500, Bombardier Challenger 350, the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600 and the Gulfstream G650. Flexjet’s helicopter division sells fractional, lease, and on-demand charter access to its fleet of owned, operated and maintained Sikorsky S-76 helicopters which boast 55,000 hours of safe flying certified by Wyvern and ARG/US and serving locations throughout the northeastern United States, United Kingdom and southern Florida. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Instagram @FlexjetInc.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 5, 2024) – Following months of training, preparation, and anticipation, the 2024 Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, is now just two days away. And in Daytona Bike Week tradition, the season will kick off in spectacular doubleheader fashion under the lights of the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway with the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II on Thursday, March 7, and Friday, March 8, in Daytona Beach, Florida. With decades of heroics in its record books dating back to 1954, each new battle for the fabled Grand National Championship is historic by definition. 2024 has the potential to go down as one of the most significant as reigning Mission SuperTwins king Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) attempts to upgrade his already lofty status from legendary to immortal. Mees has an unprecedented tenth Championship squarely in his sights, needing just one more title triumph to reset one of the sport’s foundational records once thought unbreakable. However, it’ll likely prove one of the most difficult of his remarkable career, a fact that could very well be underlined in the Daytona opener. Despite his lengthy list of accomplishments, Mees has yet to conquer the DAYTONA Short Track. That reality is in sharp contrast to rising title challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who dominated the event last year, a feat that served as a springboard to a spectacular sophomore season in which he very nearly toppled Mees in his quest for a ninth Grand National Championship. And Daniels only figures to be that much more formidable in ‘24 as he continues to gain confidence and experience. Another rival standing in the path of Mees is two-time Mission SuperTwins champion Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), who toiled in ‘23 with the expectation of being rewarded for those efforts in ‘24. Bauman managed to win a pair of races last season even as he tamed a KTM 790 Duke that was still early in its development. The hard-earned knowledge gleaned last season should allow him to once again emerge a full-blown championship contender. The obstacles Mees will need to overcome do not end with Daniels and Bauman. The 2024 field is loaded with the greatest motorcycle dirt trackers on the planet, including premier-class Main Event winners Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing Mission Foods KTM 790 Duke), and Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650). And while Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Dodge Bros. Racing/Castrol Harley-Davidson XR750) is not a threat for the crown, he is a threat to run up front whenever he lines up during his limited schedule. That’s especially true at the DAYTONA Short Track where he stands as the event’s winningest rider, boasting four prior victories. The Mission SuperTwins field only increases in strength this season with a number of big-name talents stepping up to full-time premier-class duty, including Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R), Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing KTM 790 Duke), Declan Bender (No. 70 GOMR/BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), and Morgen Mischler (No. 13 Big Red Super Twins Honda XL750R), who joins Dan Bromley (No. 62 Big Red Super Twins Honda XL750R) on the newly announced Honda-powered Big Red Super Twins squad. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER It’s something of a similar story in the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER class, where reigning champ Kody Kopp (No. 1 Latus Motors/BMC KTM 450 SX-F) is in position to become the most decorated rider in the history of the category, both in terms of championship triumphs and race victories. Kopp projects as Mission SuperTwins superstar in the near future; if everything goes to plan, this could very easily prove to be his last opportunity to leave his mark in the extraordinarily competitive and entertaining Parts Unlimited AFT Singles class. His presence is also an opportunity for other up-and-coming riders looking to make their own impression. The list of potential usupers to Kopp’s throne is headlined by the Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R), and Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). Once fully up to speed, Drane was effectively Kopp’s equal over the ‘23 season’s second half and should only be that much better in his second full season. Saathoff has been on the verge of a breakthrough maiden win for two seasons now, the first of which could come at any time and open the floodgates to many more. Lowe managed to break down that same wall a year ago and now looks to transform that speed into legitimate title contention. The class is never in short supply of talent, also boating the likes of Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Certified/Vance & Hines KTM 450 SX-F), Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) among its ranks. It’s also a battleground where newcomers can establish themselves as frontrunners with little delay. Could 2023 Nicky Hayden AMA Flat Track Horizon Award winner Evan Renshaw (No. 265 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) become the latest rookie sensation to set the Progressive AFT alight? Additionally, Royal Enfield will showcase its enormously successful and popular Build. Train. Race. (BTR) program on both days at the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA. Since its introduction, BTR has injected new talent and excitement into the series as highlights, celebrates, and encourages the involvement of women in flat track racing. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained off the track as well, including numerous vendors, plenty of food and beverage options, music courtesy of international famed and Daytona-based DJ Shea Michaels, fireworks displays at the conclusion of both night’s Main Event programs, Monster Energy and Mission Foods sampling activations, and extensive motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $30 (kids 12 and under $5) each day, while Reserved Grandstand tickets are only $10 more (all ages) per day. The Pit Pass Upgrade provides all-day access to the pit area where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Pit access is included with Reserved Pit Grandstand tickets, which are $75 per day.New for 2024 is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($150 all ages). This ticket option provides reserved seating with pit pass access, a guided tour of, and photo opportunities at, the infield podium and start/finish line, infield viewing of Opening Ceremonies and the heat races, and a track talk and photo opportunity with 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith. Fans can save $10 by purchasing Thursday and Friday tickets together via the Multi-Day Discount. To purchase Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I tickets, visit: https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-i-86846. To purchase Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA II tickets, visit: https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-ii-86992. And to take advantage of the Multi-Day Discount for the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II, visit: https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-i-and-ii-86845. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on both days. For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2024. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. To score the latest gear for the Progressive American Flat Track fan, visit our official merchandise store at https://store.americanflattrack.com.

Jet Cars and family fun highlight Santa Pod’s Festival of PowerTHE FESTIVAL OF POWERSanta Pod RacewayFri.29-Sun.31 March 2024  Fire-breathing Jet Cars and nitro-burning Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars join an array of family-friendly off-track entertainments to give Easter weekend’s Festival of Power its special season-opening flavour at Santa Pod Raceway.   Get ready for a mind-blowing experience with the awe-inspiring Jets—these fire-breathing marvels traditionally take the Festival of Power spotlight, unleashing their one-of-a-kind, smoke-flame-thunder extravaganzas all weekend long. While officially they are in exhibition mode, don’t be fooled—the competitive spirit between these Jet teams rivals that of their wheel-driven counterparts, turning the track into an inferno for a fierce and unforgettable showdown.   Jets apart, the Festival launches 2024’s UK championship drag racing season and the variety of classes on show range from production saloon cars to the most powerful racing machines on earth. It’s the same story among the motorcycle racers, and of course there are age 8-18 classes on two and four wheels for upcoming youngsters.   A Top Fuel Dragster match race pits Sweden’s Susanne Callin against Malta’s Duncan Micallef. At present Callin is the quicker and faster of the two, at 3.840 seconds and 320.20mph. Micallef’s career-best figures are a ‘mere’ 3.896sec, 312.18mph. On the other hand, Micallef has 2017’s FIA European Championship to his credit while Callin’s best-placed finish is second, earned twice in 2022 and 2023. On an unusual side-note, as President of the Malta Motorsport Federation, Micallef is undoubtedly the world’s fastest-driving head of a national motorsport authority.   At the fast-and-loud end of the spectrum, Top Fuelers are not the only ground-shakers on the bill. Five brutal fuel Funny Cars are due to kick off the European Funny Car Cup series while, one rung down, a field of colourful Nostalgia Funny Cars, harking back to the class’s origins decades ago, begin their own annual battle for competitive honours.   Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Champion Bobby Wallace, from nearby Bedford, launches the defence of the title he achieved last year among the spectacular Pro Modifieds, saloon cars in silhouette but ferocious, 240mph racers under the skin. Beneath that level, all manner of cars and motorcycles compete for national supremacy in their individual classes. Access to the pits is free and open, so wander at will to view the work going on to fettle these mechanical marvels.   Away from the track, the Live Action Arena features Monster Trucks and stunt driving and riding displays, and for those of all ages fancying a detour indoors, the award-winning John Lawson’s Circus presents four shows a day throughout the weekend. For the grown-ups there are historic aero engine displays and night-time live music while children’s entertainments include dinosaurs, Transformers and mini-Land Rovers.   The Festival of Power takes place over Easter weekend, 29^th to 31^st March 2024 (not Easter Monday) at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough, NN29 7XA. For further information and to buy tickets, visit www.

The 10-time champion earns his 500th overall Sprint Car win at the Bike Week Jamboree

BARBERVILLE, FL (March 4, 2024) – At one point in time Donny Schatz was a North Dakota kid in the stands watching races as Sprint Car dreams bloomed within his mind. Now, he’s a 500-time Sprint Car Feature winner.

He fought through early struggles that every driver combats. He began to collect some checkered flags in the 1990s. He ascended to the highest level of the sport with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and eventually became the most dominant force with the Series for a stretch. Wins on the sport’s biggest stages at the Knoxville Nationals, Kings Royal, National Open piled up along with so many more. And on Monday at Volusia Speedway Park, he made his 500th trip to Victory Lane and 312th with the World of Outlaws.

The 10-time Series champion lined up fourth on the grid, got a strong start, and was at the right place at the right time when misfortune struck a leading Michael Kofoid. A shredded tire gifted Schatz the lead, and he never looked back on his way to win number 500. 

Volusia has been a helpful racetrack for Schatz on his path to 500. Monday’s Bike Week Jamboree marked his 24th overall Sprint Car victory at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.” The driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 has earned 15 of those with The Greatest Show on Dirt. Volusia is the fourth winningest track on Schatz’s World of Outlaws résumé, trailing only Williams Grove Speedway, Knoxville Raceway, and Eldora Speedway.

But even with the enormous magnitude of the achievement, it was business as usual for Schatz when the race concluded. He’s not focused on any milestones. He’s focused on getting the next win and the many more that will surely follow.

“I really don’t want to think about it,” Schatz said. “I feel like I’ve got a lot of years left in me. I’ve got a lot of good racing left in me because I still love to race. That’s the important part. Numbers are numbers. That’s the stuff that I’m probably going to roll over to Steve Kinser’s bus someday when we’re sitting here at Volusia watching our kids or our kids’ kids and we’ll have talks about it. But for now, it’s just a number you don’t even want to think about. I’ve been very fortunate to race with a lot of great people and have great partners behind us.”

The front row consisting of Sheldon Haudenschild and Buddy Kofoid brought the field to green for the 25-lapper. The outside line proved to be the place to be as Kofoid blasted by Haudenschild for the lead while Schatz ripped ahead of both Giovanni Scelzi and Haudenschild to take second from the fourth starting spot.

As the opening laps clicked away Kofoid set a torrid pace in the Roth Motorsports #83. He remained glued to the high side and on rails. Behind him, Schatz tested different lines as he’s known to do and didn’t let Kofoid build too much of an advantage.

When the lead duo entered traffic, Kofoid managed to extend his lead at first as the gap grew to just over a second on Lap 9. But Schatz began to regain his footing and cut away at the margin as the race neared the halfway mark. Only two laps later, he had sliced Kofoid’s one second advantage in half.

Right when it looked as if a battle may be brewing between the rising star and the living legend, heartbreak hit Kofoid. The left-rear tire on his machine let go entering Turn 1, sending him spinning and backing into the fence. Adding salt to the wound, the incident occurred a lap after the halfway point meaning no guaranteed time in the Federated Car Care Work Zone. His team wasn’t able to make repairs in time for the restart, leaving him trapped in the Work Zone as the field came back to green.

Kofoid’s misfortune was Schatz’s benefit as the Carquest #15 inherited the top spot with 12 laps remaining. The Fargo, ND driver wasted no time pulling ahead when the green lights flashed. In two laps he held more than a one second lead. Even when he made his way back into traffic, no lapped cars slowed him.

A late caution for Jacob Allen set up the potential for a dramatic finish with only three laps to go. But Schatz had no intentions of allowing any drama to intervene between himself and the finish line. Schatz powered ahead on the final restart and cruised to a comfortable win and joined the 500 club.

“I wasn’t really worried about what was behind me,” Schatz said. “As long as I could focus on out in front of me and do what I was doing we were going to be alright. You know somebody is going to maybe try the slider, but there isn’t anything you can do about what other people are doing. He (Haudenschild) must’ve spun his tires on the start. Man, we got a hell of a run and went right to second, and I can’t ever remember running a car that hard that long. It’s hard on tires and hard on wheels. It’s hard on everything. 

“We kind of capitalized on the misfortune of the #83. We were getting to the point where we were having a lot of wheel spin. When your right side is up against something, the left side is the one that spins, and that’s generally where a problem happens. And obviously, that’s what happened there and we capitalized on that. Hats off to my guys. They just keep digging and digging and digging.”

Haudenschild claimed the runner-up spot for his second consecutive strong run at Volusia. The pilot of the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink #17 capped DIRTcar Nationals with a win last month and came up one spot short of back-to-back wins. The result marked his 95th career World of Outlaws podium. The Wooster, OH native noted that track position might’ve prevented him from grabbing the win.

“The outside just seemed like you could kind of keep your speed up a little bit better,” Haudenschild said. “Definitely in (Turns) 1 and 2 you could roll it way faster at the start of the race. Don’t think there’s much I could’ve changed there. I feel like my car was really good, and whoever was out front was going to be really fast and hard to catch. The #83 was scooting pretty good, and so was Donny when he got out front.”

Rounding out the top three was Carson Macedo aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41. The result served as a revitalizing boost for Macedo who struggled to start the season last month. He and the team put in plenty of work throughout the three off weeks, and their efforts immediately paid off with their first podium of the year and the 88th of Macedo’s career.

“We worked really hard,” Macedo said. “I think we were as good as the other two here in the Feature. It’s just once we get strung out at this place it’s crazy. You kind of hit that air barrier and you can’t go any faster. All in all, we took those three weeks to do all we could. Luckily, Tim Engler and Paul Kistler, we were able to meet them at the chassis dyno and kind of do some work on our engine package. I feel like we’re getting closer and closer.”

David Gravel and Giovanni Scelzi completed the top five.

The fourth place result allowed Gravel to maintain his early season points lead. Schatz and Scelzi sit in a tie for second, 12 markers behind Gravel.

Logan Schuchart picked up his second KSE Racing Hard Charger of the season.

Buddy Kofoid claimed his first Simpson Quick Time of the year and the sixth of his career.

Sheldon Haudenschild won the Toyota Racing Dash.

NOS Energy Drink Heat One belonged to Kofoid (16th Heat Race win of career). Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Sheldon Haudenschild (100th of career).

Giovanni Scelzi topped the Micro-Lite Qualifier.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Texas for The Greatest Show on Dirt’s debut at Kennedale Speedway Park on March 8-9. 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 A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz[4]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[6]; 4. 2-David Gravel[7]; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[3]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[11]; 7. 14-Corey Day[12]; 8. 7S-Landon Crawley[5]; 9. 8-Cory Eliason[9]; 10. 17B-Bill Balog[8]; 11. 24D-Danny Sams III[15]; 12. 70-Kraig Kinser[14]; 13. 15K-Creed Kemenah[16]; 14. 97UK-Ryan Harrison[17]; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen[10]; 16. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 17. 6-Bill Rose[19]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[13]; 19. 5T-Ryan Timms[18]

DALLAS (March 4, 2024) — The 2024 professional drag racing season launches this weekend at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. on March 7-10, with an epic return of the fan bracket game Drag Race Bracket Bonanza (DRBB). For the first time ever, DRBB will be up and running for the entire NHRA season, including the two four-wide races in Las Vegas and Charlotte.   “Last year we got off to a great start with thousands of people playing during the U.S. Nationals and throughout the Countdown,” said Werner. “We are excited to have DRBB up and running for the full season. We will have some shorter series like The Majors, the Four-Wide Nationals Cup and the Countdown, as well as an overall season champion. Our goal is to create a fun and engaging game for anyone interested in following professional drag racing.”  By the end of the 2023 season, with only seven races in play, prizes were sent to 18 states across the U.S. and three countries. DRBB players surveyed during the off-season frequently mentioned that they loved having even more of a reason to tune in on race day, to follow their brackets and root on their picks.   “I think Drag Race Bracket Bonanza is great because it opens up the opportunity for fans to have a vested interest in the outcome of each race,” said Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley. “It’s a fun, engaging and competitive way to increase fan involvement and add to their overall experience.”  Throughout the off-season, the DRBB team worked tirelessly on completely revamping the website to make it even better on both mobile and desktop. Returning players can expect a drastically improved website and new features. The main comment from beta testers of the updated site was that it is much faster and user-friendly to make their picks.   “The entire DRBB development team has been working all off-season to improve the gameplay and user experience,” said Werner. “The look is much cleaner, and we have added driver photos and stats to make playing easier for fans of every experience level. Overall, the new and improved version of DRBB takes the drag racing experience to the next level for fans who want to feel more invested in their favorite driver or category.”   One of the most requested features after the 2023 season was the chance for league play. Players didn’t want to just compete worldwide, but also have the chance to directly challenge their friends and family, to make it a more localized experience.   “We have added league play for players that would like to compete against their friends and family in a closed group,” said Werner. “Everyone will still play in the DRBB main league but fans can share their bracket inside their private league or create a unique bracket for league play. We have also added a randomizer option, similar to a lottery ticket quick pick, for people who want to play but may not know every class or just don’t have time to fill out a bracket for all four categories.”   As a continuation from 2023, players will have the opportunity to fill out their brackets for all four professional classes. They will earn points based off their correct picks, and at the end of every race, DRBB will award prizes to the overall winner and each class winner (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle), signed by the race winners. There will be five prizes given out every race, with additional specialty prizes given out throughout the season for the individual series.   “Drag Race Bracket Bonanza couldn’t have come at a more perfect time,” said Funny Car driver Buddy Hull. “Fans are looking for more interaction and ways to make NHRA drag racing more exciting between their friends and family. I can tell you this, I certainly enjoy playing and I work to get as many of my friends and fellow racers to play as well.”   Fans can find both drivers and fellow DRBB competitors talking about the popular game on social media. Funny Car driver Bob Tasca III recently tweeted that he is “Hoping to sign plenty of the @dragracebb plaques in 2024.” You can follow Drag Race Bracket Bonanza on social media for cool stats, prize updates and info on Twitter/X at @dragracebb or Instagram and Facebook, @DragRaceBracketBonanza. DRBB also just launched a new YouTube channel, at @DragRaceBracketBonanza.   DRBB players will have the opportunity to fill out their brackets for the first time this year during the Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway when qualifying ends on Saturday, March 9. They will then have until the first round of eliminations begins on Sunday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. ET to submit their picks. Fans can watch the NHRA broadcast on FS1.   For additional information and to sign up anytime fans can visit www.dragracebracketbonanza.com.

MILTON, DELAWARE (March 4, 2024) — Continuing to build one of the most dynamic and fan-centric marketing programs on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, El Bandido Yankee Tequila will once again sponsor standout Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Flyin’ Ryan Oehler for the entire 2024 NHRA season. In addition to a new-look Buell Pro Stock Motorcycle, El Bandido Tequila will have several at-track marketing initiatives, including being named the Official Tequila of Indianapolis Raceway Park and Texas Motorplex. The horsepower of Oehler on the track and El Bandido Tequila off the track will be a potent marketing combination.

“We have been building a strong marketing presence the past few seasons with El Bandido Tequila across the country with our Pro Stock Motorcycle team,” said Ryan Oehler, the 2020 U.S. Nationals Pro Stock Motorcycle champion. “Through at-track events and marketing tie-ins at off-site fanfests we have been working towards this season of dynamic El Bandido activations and introducing this delicious tequila to even more NHRA fans.”

Throughout the season, Oehler and El Bandido Tequila will promote monthly giveaways that will  include Burromax electric minibikes. The season will kick off on March 7-10th at the Gatornationals, providing fans with the opportunity to enjoy El Bandido Yankee Tequila for the first time at this historic event. Fans will be able to sample and even purchase the product while they enjoy watching Oehler battle for his first Gatornationals victory.

“We have been working with the NHRA as well as a number of other track operators to provide fans the chance to sample El Bandido Tequila. I know once fans taste El Bandido Yankee Tequila it will become their tequila of choice,” added Oehler, the 2021 Gatornationals runner-up.

Oehler’s El Bandido Pro Stock Motorcycle team tested over the off-season and recently made back-to-back career best runs. With a new look and new horsepower Oehler is looking to make the 2024 season one of the best of his career. Since his professional debut in 2017, Oehler has always been a threat to win. This season with the backing of longstanding sponsors El Bandido Yankee Tequila, Burromax electric minibikes, High Performance Lubricants, NGK NTK Performance, World Wide Bearings, Silver Star Painting, Limelite Graphics, McCoy Motorsports, Liberty’s Gears, Nut Scentz, Line2Line Coatings, Smith Systems, Mullaney Cycle Works, Capitol Group, Tampa Bay Race Rentals, Fast Lane Classic Cars, Mickey Thompson, Psycho Speed, The Vault Bar & Grill, DHR, Boom Boom Paints, Manley, MRE, Birch Family, Wicks & Sons, The Nevco Group, The Detail Specialist, Miller Janitor Supply, September’s Taproom and Eatery, Precision Plastics, B&K Cylinder Heads, AirTec Heating and Cooling, Cycle Drag, and CP Pistons the team is looking to make a serious run for the Pro Stock World Championship.
 

The El Bandido Yankee Tequila Pro Stock Motorcycle team will be competing on the track for the first time this season Friday, March 8, for two qualifying runs at Gainesville Raceway. Oehler will have two more qualifying runs on Saturday before the top 16 Pro Stock Motorcycles lock in to race for the Gatornationals title live on FS1 Sunday morning. For tickets or more race information fans can visit www.nhra.com/ 

Cruz Pedregon 

NHRA^® Gatornationals – Gainesville, FL

Pre-Race Report

News of note: 

Fresh paint scheme for the Snap-on^® “Makers and Fixers” Dodge^® SRT^® Hellcat^® and haulers. The Snap-on car and Cruz are paying tribute to the Makers and Fixers among us as recognition of the value of their work. As Cruz’s primary sponsor, Snap-on is asking NHRA fans to follow Makers and Fixers on Instagram and hoping Makers and Fixers will submit their own stories to makersandfixers.com.

Images here: 

CruzPedregonSnap-onDodge2024_1.jpg

CruzPedregonSnap-onDodge2024_2.jpg

Team additions:

Jason Bunker – Crew Chief

Johnny West – Assistant Crew Chief

Andrew Moore – Car Chief

Chris Balance – Clutch Specialist

Aiden Campos – Cylinder Head Specialist

Caleb Krueger – Super Chargers

Jonathan Whitley – Bottom End

John Rios – Tire & Body

Quotes – Cruz Pedregon, two-time Funny Car World Champion

“I’m very enthusiastic about the team. We’re not changing a lot, just some smaller things on the engine. Making it breathe better, it has more power than we had last year, and it goes down the track nice and smooth. So, I’m looking forward to a good winning season.”

“I feel like the Snap-on car will be one of the surprises of the season, I really do. I feel like we’re flying under the radar right now, based on our preseason testing and my conversations with Jason (Bunker), he has a really good handle on this setup.”

“We have a great group of guys we’ve assembled, headed by Jason Bunker, a younger up-and-coming crew chief who has a lot of enthusiasm. Then I’ve paired him with veteran Johnny West who has nearly 60 years of experience. So, I think it’s going to be a good 1-2 combination heading up the team. A lot of young guys, too, that are very excited to be on the team and part of the Snap-on Dodge crew.”

“We did quite a bit of testing down in Bradenton a few weeks ago. It went very well, and the car responded nicely to the changes we’ve made so we’re excited to get to Gainesville. I love the Gainesville track. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. Lot of fans and such a big event on the NHRA schedule.”

Favorite memories of Gainesville:

“I was born and raised in Southern California, so I’ve never really been around alligators or knew much about them other than that there was once one on the racetrack. They spotted the gator and showed it to everyone. There were pictures of it, and that scared the heck out of me. We get out of the car at the finish line and I’m thinking man, I’ve got to start looking around here because I don’t want one of these gators sneaking up on me.”

“I remember one time the throttle hung open on the car, this was back in ’08 one of our championship years, and I remember thinking I’m going to go for a ride and I’m going to wind up in water because there was a body of water at the finish line, way beyond the catch net area. I’m thinking to myself, if I survive this and I make it to the end then I’m going to be in this water, trying to swim out of there and dodging gators. So that scared the heck out of me because like I said, I’ve never really been around gators being from California, that was something that was not even in the equation.”

Name on the side of Cruz’s car – Snap-on Nitro Franchisee: Kenny Cholewinski

·        Kenny’s in his 29^th year of operating a Snap-on Franchise, and he’s been coming to the Gatornationals the past 25 of those.

·        He likes the freedom of “calling his own shots” running his franchise business.

·     His best drag racing story goes back to the 70’s when he was helping a friend who ran Super Stock. He was watching other classes from the sidelines when a race team member ran over and asked him to step in to help push a driver’s car back to the water box after the burnout. When he grabbed onto the roll cage and looked into the window at the driver, it was none other than “Big Daddy” Don Garlits’s dragster.

Follow Cruz and Snap-on on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, on Twitter, and Instagram.

For Immediate Release

Veteran Writer Jerry Bonkowski to Lead PR Effort During ‘An Exciting Time”

YORBA LINDA, Calif. – (March 4th, 2024)

With the acknowledgement that his almost 50-year career as a full-time professional Funny Car driver is nearing an end, John Force has announced the hiring of author, award-winning journalist and motorsports podcast host Jerry Bonkowski to manage the public relations and publicity effort for John Force Racing, Inc., as the company moves forward.

“I still love to drive my hot rod and I still believe I can win,” said the man who this year will climb back into the cockpit of the PEAK Coolant and Antifreeze Chevrolet Camaro SS to pursue an unprecedented 17th NHRA championship, “but I’m going to be 75 years old and there are some things I want to do down the road that I can’t (do) if I’m racing every week.

“I’ve always talked about a book, which basically is already done, about a studio TV show, maybe another reality show (following the breakthrough A&E real life series “Driving Force” that debuted in 2006) and a movie (for which a script already has been written),” said the 155-time Mission Foods tour winner, “and I really want to race with my grandkids.”

Although Bonkowski will lead the public relations effort moving forward, he will benefit from a framework already in place at JFR that includes Vice President and Creative Director Ashley Hood, Armando Villa, A.J. England, Darin Williams Jr. and a soon-to-be-named social media director. 

“Bonkowski has the contacts to help make everything happen for PEAK, Chevrolet, Monster, Cornwell Tools, AAA and all our other sponsors, but it’s always a team effort,” Force said, adding that Dave Densmore also will continue to contribute as a consultant. “He has all the stats, he knows where the bodies are buried and he’s the only one who’ll still laugh at my jokes.” 

A Chicago native, Bonkowski for more than 35 years has covered all forms of auto racing as a senior-level writer and columnist for some of the largest publications and digital outlets in the world including USA Today, for which he was senior motorsports writer for 15 years, AutoWeek, Sports Illustrated’s Auto Racing Digest, ESPN.com, Yahoo Sports and NBCSports.com.

He also has extensive broadcast experience, having contributed content and commentary to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 for the last 20 years while also hosting his own podcast, “The Racing Beat.” In 2010, he expanded his resume as author of the book “Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates.”

A graduate of Chicago’s Columbia College, from which he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications, Bonkowski also earned a Master’s degree in Sports Administration with an emphasis on Sports Communications from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio

In addition to his racing credentials, Bonkowski has covered Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA and the NHL while at USA Today and worked all six Chicago Bulls NBA championships, the 1985 Chicago Bears’ race to the Super Bowl and Tiger Woods’ 1996 PGA debut. His extensive freelance resume includes articles on such diverse topics as Southeast Asia, the military and Medicare.

He and his wife, Cyndee, reside in Chicago. They share three children, daughters Heather (Hartmann) and Sarah (Shaw), and son Bradley.

DALLAS, TX (March 4, 2024) — Driver Buddy Hull is set to have the best year of his life, kicking it off at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. on March 7-10. For the first time in his career, he will be racing the entire NHRA season, and making the exciting transition from piloting a Top Fuel dragster to a Nitro Funny Car. If that wasn’t a big enough transition already, he will also be making his debut as a driver for Jim Dunn Racing.   This weekend will be the first Gatornationals event that Hull has ever competed in, and he’s never felt more ready for a race. Hull earned his crossover license in early February, and he and the Jim Dunn Racing team have spent the off-season testing the car and building up a team comradery.   “Outside of Indy and Pomona, what is more historic than the Gatornationals? I have been to the race a few times. Every time I have been, I have just thought about how badly I want to drive a race car at this race,” said Hull. “To finally get that opportunity to race at the Gatornationals is something that I have dreamed of. It is truly a dream come true. It took a lot of hard work to get here. I am going to focus and do my job as a driver, because we want nothing more than to put this Vertex Funny Car in the Winner’s Circle in Gainesville. We are ready to show off what this Jim Dunning Racing team is made of.”   For the first race of the season, Hull will be sporting a Vertex Roofers and General Contractors design on his Funny Car, honoring the Dallas-based company that he owns, and was his first sponsor to start his professional racing career. In addition to Vertex, other supporters of the car include new sponsor, Solid Start/True Brand Products, as well as sponsors Lescure Mechanical Services, Mooneyes, Crow Safety, Blaze Exhaust Probes, KGC Construction, Powerbuilt Tools and Wiley X.   “I am incredibly thankful for all of our sponsors, new and old, who have put so much faith into me as a driver,” said Hull. “Their support is a huge driving factor in what pushes me to want to be successful. What I love about this sport is the amazing community of people. And I am excited to bring even more people into the fold this season, to see what drag racing is all about, and why it’s the best sport in the world.”   When asked about the decision to make the switch over to Funny Car and drive for the legendary Jim Dunn, Hull knows that it was the best call he could have made to advance his career. With this change, he can now focus solely on being a driver instead of both a driver and team owner, channeling all his energy into becoming a driver who can live up to the Jim Dunn name.   “Obviously there is a lot of pressure when you make big changes like this. But pressure makes diamonds,” said Hull. “I am super excited to have that pressure to be the very best Funny Car driver I can be for Jim Dunn Racing. This whole off-season my war cry to myself has been ‘I have to be the best race car driver I have ever been in 2024 and beyond.’ I want to represent Jim Dunn Racing the very best I can at every race all season.”   Looking ahead at the 2024 season, Hull believes there is a lot to look forward to. Competing at all 21 national events, many at tracks he has never been to. Earning new career best speed and E.T. records. And racing against a whole new class of drivers, including many of his heroes.   “I can’t wait to race John Force. I grew up a John Force fan,” said Hull. “I watched him set his Funny Car on fire too many times to count. John has treated me well since I became a professional driver and we have bought a ton of race car parts from John Force Racing.  He has been very helpful to me. I appreciate the support, but I also want to beat him.”   On top of his success on the track, Hull is also enthusiastic for many life events happening off the track. The 43-year-old married his longtime love, Madi Smith, at the end of February.   “I am ready for this to be my year, racing for an elite team, with the love of my life by my side,” said Hull. “I have worked so hard to have this opportunity, and I’m blessed to be doing this with the very best people surrounding me. I want to win not just for me, but for this team and for my new family. Let’s do this.”   Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be on track for the first time this season with two qualifying runs on Friday, March 8 and then two more qualifying runs on March 9 at Gainesville Raceway. The top 16 quickest Funny Cars will battle it out for the Wally and a special Gatornationals trophy starting on Sunday, March 10 at 10:30 a.m. ET with the first round of eliminations live on FS1. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Gatornationals visit nhra.com.

16th

19th

27th

“Solid showing today for everyone on the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Our 16th-place finish doesn’t show how strong we were. We had a pretty solid day and ran in the top-five or top-10 all day. We earned stage points in Stage 2 and we were pretty good in the middle of the race. Unfortunately, we didn’t make a big enough adjustment at the end of the race and got really tight. Even though we weren’t able to come home with a top-10 finish, it was a big improvement from where we’ve been. We were one adjustment away from finishing in the top-10, for sure. We’ll learn from today and head to Phoenix Raceway.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch Shows Speed and Leads Laps in BetMGM Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

26th

21st

6th

“We had a faster BetMGM Chevrolet today than what the results show. Our Richard Childress Racing team had speed early in the race. Crew chief Randall Burnett made a good call for two tires to get us track position and set us up for a good finish in Stage 1. We led some laps in the BetMGM Chevrolet and ran up front. We had a tough day on pit road and didn’t get the finish that we deserved. I’m proud of this team for bringing fast cars every week. We’ll get after it next weekend at Phoenix Raceway.”  -Kyle Busch

March 3, 2024

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team ended Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 30^th-place finish.

The early portions of the race were encouraging as Burton, who started from 29^th place, moved up five positions to 24^th before the race’s first caution flag flew at Lap 11.

Burton took his Mustang Dark Horse to pit road for his first stop during the ensuing caution period and moved into the top 20 when the green flag was displayed for the restart.
 
He was running 23^rd when the race was red flagged for repairs to the outside wall and remained in the top 25 until the first Stage ended at Lap 80 with him in 23^rd place.
 
A quick pit stop during the Stage break allowed Burton to restart in 19^thplace, and he ran in the top 20 for most of the first half of the second Stage. 
 
Burton managed to hang on to the lead lap until a caution flag for a spin by Christopher Bell at Lap 157 allowed him to pit under caution and return to the track in 22^nd place. He held that spot until the end of the second Stage.
 
After falling a lap down in the late part of the final stage, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team elected to take the wave-around during a caution period for a spin by Corey LaJoie at Lap 236 of 267 and rejoined the lead lap.
 
The final 20 circuits saw the No. 21 Mustang Dark Horse drop to 31^st in the running order, but Burton regained one spot on the final lap to finish 30^th.
 
The No. 21 team now turns their attention to next week’s Shriners Children’s 400 at Phoenix Raceway.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIE SLAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT MARCH 3, 2024

Kyle Larson Drives Chevrolet to Third Consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Victory of the 2024 Season

·       In dominating fashion, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team earned their first victory of the season in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – extending Chevrolet’s streak as the only manufacturer to win a points-paying race in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.  ·       In the Next Gen car’s third season of competition in the NASCAR Cup Series, this marks the second time Chevrolet has swept the first three races of the season – also accomplishing the feat in 2023 when the Camaro ZL1 won four-straight races.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10: POS.   DRIVER 1st – Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1 4th – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1 10th – William Byron, No. 24 Z HP Camaro ZL1

·       Larson swept the stage wins and led a race-high 181 laps en route to his third career NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – his 24th victory in 334 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       The victory is Hendrick Motorsports’ series-leading 10th NASCAR Cup Series triumph at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – with five of those victories coming in the series’ past seven races at the track.  ·       Larson drove Chevrolet to its 13th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – four of which have come in the five races that the Next Gen car has competed at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.  ·       Larson delivered Chevrolet its 854th all-time victory in NASCAR Cup Series competition, extending the manufacturer’s record as the winningest manufacturer in series’ history.  ·       With Larson’s NASCAR Cup Series win and Rajah Caruth’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, Chevrolet continues the streak of earning at least one win in the NASCAR national ranks each weekend since the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course events in October 2023. ·       The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Phoenix Raceway with the Shriners Children’s 500 on Sunday, March 10, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES: Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Finished: 1st“I knew Tyler (Reddick) was going to be the guy to beat. From the first stage, he was really fast there. I was hoping those guys were going to get racing a little bit longer behind me because I felt it was going to time out to where he was running really hard and getting the tow to catch me at the end. Thankfully, I was able to air lock him a couple of laps and get him tight. I thought (Reddick) and Bubba (Wallace) were going to get working together again to build a run, so I was happy that didn’t happen.  All in all, such a great, great job by this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. Just their execution, restarts, pit road.. all of that was great. Cool to get a win here in Las Vegas again, back-to-back, and swept all the stages. Can’t ask for much more than that.” Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1Finished: 4thWhat can you take from this mile-and-a-half and apply to others?“This speed. I mean the handling of the car is incredible for our Kubota Chevy. It’s everything that I wanted, dream about, and wake up and train for is to drive cars like this. That’s what makes it hurt so much worse. When we finish fourth and we were legitimately an eighth-place car, it’s something we’re high-fiving. You all have seen me in my career, I’d jump up and down for a fourth place finish. If someone is just glancing at my interviews, they’re going to say, “Well, Ross is changing,” but I’m not. When I have a car capable of fighting for the win, and I take ourselves out, that’s what I can get down about right now, but excited about because I know how good the car was and how much speed it has.” From the start of the race, speeds dropped five miles per hour in Turn 1. What was it like and how hard was it to hold on?“Yeah, there were times where if I wasn’t tucked up within five car lengths of somebody, I’d have significantly less RPM and speed down the front. I couldn’t catch them because I was inhibited by the wind, and they had the draft. Think of the DRS trains in Formula 1. Once those DRS trains get going, the guys that are out of it, they lose so much of it. We’re not losing as much. But there were times where I was 16th place, but I’m three seconds behind 15th and there are no cars, and they get bottled up, and I get with them, and I’m picking up 200 RPMs on the front stretch just being in their draft. So, it was pretty wild because as much as I loved that draft on the straightaway, you’d get into the corner and I didn’t want to be behind them. It’s a lot of fun racing. I passed a lot of cars today. That part I was smiling, but knowing I had a car enough to compete today, it just hurts.”  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1Finished: 11th“It wasn’t easy. I wasn’t really happy with the balance of the No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevy. The front of the car never turned the entire race. The back of the car was going away on the long run. Sometimes we were making the car a little bit better in the long run, but the front just never turned all race long. Just have to see everything to figure out how we can be a little better next time.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 BetMGM Camaro ZL1Finished: 16th“P-16 finish for the No. 3 BetMGM Chevy. We got stage points in Stage 2. The BetMGM Chevy was pretty good in the middle of the race. Didn’t make a big enough adjustment there at the end and got really tight.  Unfortunate. We had a pretty solid day around the top-10 all day. We weren’t able to come home with one, but it was a big improvement from where we’ve been. We were one adjustment away from being in the top-10, for sure.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 South Point Hotel and Casino Camaro ZL1Finished: 19th“We fired off decent in the race, but within a few laps, the No. 31 South Point Chevy just started getting tight. A speeding penalty set us back a bit, but fortunately we were able to get the lap back. We ran the best we had all day during those last couple of runs, and we were able to grab another top-20 finish.”

Jesse Love and The No. 2 Whelen Team Bring Fast Chevrolet to Las Vegas Motor Speedway

17th

15th

7th

“The Richard Childress Racing team brought another fast No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We knew the wind was going to be a factor today but my crew chief, Danny Stockman, and the No. 2 team had our Chevrolet’s balance good to start the race. For the first half, we ran in the top 12. The longer the race went green, the faster we were and I could pass cars on the bottom and the high line. I messed up on a couple of pit stops and had to restart in traffic. My car didn’t like that. I feel like we were in contention to win and small mistakes had really big consequences. I will go to work this week and get better on pit road. My team did a great job today and I feel like I let them down when it counted. Thanks to Whelen Engineering and everybody at RCR and ECR for giving me fast race cars to drive.” -Jesse Love

Austin Hill and The No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Team Maintain Points Lead With Top-Five Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

4th

5th

1st

“It was a bit of an up and down day for our Bennett Transportation and Logistics team. We were able to run inside the top-five for most of the race. My pit crew gained spots all race and were excellent with getting me on and off pit road quickly. On the last green flag stop, the guys did a heck of a job again and I was able to get off pit road cleanly. We got up to second-place and just focused on clicking off laps to match what the No. 20 was doing. All of a sudden during that run, it was like a light switch flipped and I didn’t have a right rear to lean on. I was sliding the rear tires bad all the way through the corner, which forced me to slow down and lose a couple positions at the end. All in all, it was a solid day for our No. 21 team. To come home with a top-five finish and keep the points lead while not having a great car is big for our group. We are just going to keep building this momentum going forward.”-Austin Hill

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 2, 2024

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media following the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Media Availability Quotes:  I know this is always a special weekend for you. What are your emotions like going into this weekend? “Yeah, it’s nice to be able to get back to the hometown; have an opportunity to come out here and race again. It’s been awhile since we’ve gone to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, being 2009. We’ve had some really strong runs here as of late. I think three, third-place finishes in the last four or five races; or four, third-place finishes.. something like that.  It’s nice to get here. Certainly wish the weather was better. Seven days ago, it was beautiful here, and then NASCAR came to town (laughs).” Yesterday, your teammate in the Truck Series, Rajah Caruth, got his first career win in NASCAR. What were the conversations like after the race? “Yeah, I just sent him a note late last night when we got done and was congratulating him; telling him he did a great job and how well of a race that he ran. His race craft was really good. We ran side-by-side a lot. We had an issue last year at a race that I had to sit him down and talk to him about, and it seemed like he really listened. He did a great job, and he’s well deserving of the victory. They were fast. It’s cool to see a Spire truck win all three truck races this year.” You mentioned the weather – how much impact did the wind have yesterday, and how much do you expect it to have tomorrow?“Yeah, I mean the wind isn’t terrible for us on the race track. It’s more uncomfortable or wears on you a little bit when you’re in the grandstands probably as a race fan. You know where the wind is blowing, so you kind of have to drive a little bit differently as you would on how you attack the corners, whether you’re in a head wind or a tail wind. And then also, just being around traffic – when you want to make your moves and what straightaway you feel like you’re best prone to be able to make that pass on somebody with head wind or tail wind.” It’s a small sample size, but to be leading the points after two races has to be more advantageous than feeling like you have to fight your way out of a hole, is it not? “Definitely. I’ve always been a strong proponent of getting a good start to the season; having a strong start, whether it’s winning races or just coming out with top-10 finishes to kind of build your foundation to your season. I feel like the first two weeks – if I would have restarted one lane different on the last restart for Daytona, we would have finished fourth. So we could be talking about a fourth and a third, which would be really good. And we’ve actually been collecting a few stage points here so far this year, which has been good. A little bit of a struggle today.. little behind on the eight ball and not where we want to be with our Camaro. Hopefully we can fine-tune it in for tomorrow. There’s really not much we can do with impound and going into the race, but we’ll go to work.” You talked a little bit about Rajah Caruth. Several of the Cup drivers have said that he’s come to them for advice and has been willing to listen. I’m curious, with Brexton coming through the ranks, how important is that for a driver to take that feedback and make something into it? Is Brexton spending any time iRacing.. is he ready for that yet? We see Rajah and William Byron – is this just going to be another tool in the toolbox to get young drivers up to speed? “Yeah, definitely. It certainly is. With the release on iRacing coming this week of our home track Millbridge and the micro program being on there as well, he’s going to get a lot of seat time on iRacing to be able to prepare himself. The season there starts up in a couple of weeks.  Just talking with these young guys – we’ve been through it with Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and the Bubba Wallace at KBM, and now Rajah is just another one of those. Being in the driver’s meeting with him this past week and trying to talk through some of the things he learned last week or he had questions on – I first saw him on pit road over there yesterday after qualifying and he’s right up on me like, ‘hey man, what do you think? What do we have to do.. what’s this, what’s that.’ He’s good. He doesn’t ask dumb questions. He’s like, ‘this might be a dumb question’, and I’m like ‘actually, it’s not’. So you kind of get an understanding, and being in that boat for me for 12 years, I kind of know where some of these kids are coming from with their inexperience.” Looking at your upbringing, coming up through the ranks of racing – how would an iRacing simulator have helped you along the way? Are you kind of sad that you didn’t get to do some of the stuff that these young guys are doing? Do you think it will help them in the long run and getting more into the sport? “Well Jerry (Jordan), I’m not that old (laughs). They had this thing called NASCAR 2000 on Papyrus, if you remember. I burned laps on that thing like it was nothing. The ‘R’ button was my favorite button.. restart, restart, restart. I think I was so good at restarts throughout my entirety because I would restart, restart, restart (laughs).  But no, if I didn’t qualify good on a race or something, I’d always try to figure out how fast I could get to the lead and pass cars. I wish I could turn the competition down here in real life, you know, and get back towards the front again, but these guys are tough.  I did some of that stuff. I remember being a kid.. I think I was 13 or 14 years old and just starting racing legends cars. I ran a full season on the Cup calendar with the Cup cars. Like every Sunday while the Cup races were happening on TV, I’d either be watching or I’d be running my own, you know what I mean. It was always pretty fun that I got a chance to do that after our Friday and Saturday nights of racing right over here at the Bullring.”  What were your thoughts on Atlanta? From a mental standpoint, were you exhausted after the race? How do you feel about going back there for the playoff opener in September? “I think I was too mad to be exhausted. Being that close to winning a Cup race is certainly one for the books, but also a bit frustrating. Obviously just not being able to execute everything I needed to do and I thought about doing, I just didn’t think of it in the moment. I knew ahead of time, but just wasn’t able to get it through when I needed to.  But looking back on it.. seeing it as a finish, the attention that it got and some of the media stuff that I did during the week – it was really cool to get some notoriety and get some for our sponsors, as well as our sport. To be that close in a third-place finish.. again, it stings to be third. I’d much rather be the guy on top, being able to take home a trophy.  It was an intense race all throughout. I don’t think you really saw much lollygagging like we did at Daytona.. you know, a lot of part-throttle, saving fuel and all that sort of stuff. We didn’t get a chance to see some of that at Atlanta, really. There were some crashes.. single-car stuff and a couple-car stuff. Obviously the first lap.. if that didn’t happen, I think you would have had everything that a race would need.” Do you think it will be more intense in the playoff race? “It’s the playoff opener, right?”  Yes.. “No.. you would think that these guys would make it less intense because it’s the playoff opener and you don’t want to knock yourself out or take a chance of ruining a points day. It becomes really important to get points. I think early in the season, like that race right there with Daytona and Atlanta to kick-off the season – everybody is going for broke. They all know they have a chance to win. You’re going to see anybody and everybody try to score a win, right? And so, when you get down to that Atlanta race in the playoffs… yeah, guys that are outside of the playoffs still want to win to make their year, but I would think it would be a bit calmer.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 2, 2024

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Media Availability Quotes:  Obviously you won last week, but what made it so much fun throughout the race from the driver’s seat? “You know, I think that every time you win a race, it’s already special. But if you can pick winning from five-seconds ahead or winning in a finish like Atlanta, I would definitely pick that one every day of the week. It was just very intense racing. I would say that the entire race – I felt it behind the seat and I’m sure you guys felt it from the media center and fans at home and at the race track, the intensity of the race was very high the entire race. It was probably one of the most intense races I’ve been a part of. To be able to survive that and to be in contention at the end to be able to pull off the win that close with two other great race car drivers is quite special. I truly enjoyed that. There are a lot of great people from my team there that night – the CEO of Freeway Insurance, people from Coca-Cola, just so many great people that got to enjoy the victory with us. It was a lot of fun.” What was the party like after the win? What has this week been like for you? “You know, I’m not a huge party guy… I don’t even drink alcohol (laughs), but I definitely enjoyed it. I took a day to enjoy it and really live in the moment. But really you can’t do that for too long. In my mind, I’ve already been asked these questions and having fun with it.. but in my mind, I’m already thinking about practice, qualifying and how we’re going to be able to put together a fast lap today. That’s the way I also approached the week. I spent the entire week talking about it, but after Monday or Tuesday, I had already flipped the page. I had the opportunity to go to Nashville on Wednesday or Thursday.. I can’t remember, there’s been so much that has happened over the last week. But I had a great time there with Pitbull on stage. It was fun.. it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it a lot. But the reality is that in my mind, I was already past that. I was already thinking about Las Vegas. But I enjoyed it a lot and my team did, as well. Hopefully we can have more moments like that one this year.” We saw the photo of the car at the shop and that celebration, but have you given thought to the fact that you’re pretty much locked into the playoffs at this point? “You know, a few people have asked me that question about the playoffs. But to me, honestly I haven’t even thought about that. I haven’t even thought about the playoffs. We have a long way to go before the playoffs. In my mind, I don’t want to be one of those drivers that wins one race to get into the playoffs and that’s it. I don’t want to be part of that. The goal here is to do more than that; be strong in the regular season. I know that to be able to contend for the championship, you have to win three or more races, and that’s the goal for our team. The goal is to build a strong season where we have stage points and wins, so that when we get into the playoffs, we can say we made the playoffs but in a strong fashion. That’s the goal and everyone at Trackhouse Racing is working very hard to be able to deliver that.” You won last week, so Max Verstappen had to win this week to keep up with the family? “(laughs) Yeah.. the thing about Max (Verstappen) is that he makes it look easy. He’s done a great job the last few years.. his entire team, as well. He’s putting the bar pretty high, so I have work to do.” The wind this weekend; how much does that concern you? “Yeah, we talked about it as a group. I didn’t really realize how big it was until I got here. On the interstate coming here, it was full of dust and pieces of debris flying everywhere. It’s going to be tricky, but the beautiful thing is that it’s going to be the same for everyone. Everyone is going to struggle with the same thing. Our group on the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevy team, we’ve prepared extremely well and I think we’re as prepared as we can be. We have some ideas, some options, of things to do for the wind because tomorrow, luckily, it won’t be this hard. So yeah, we may have to adjust aggressively for it today, but tomorrow is going to be a little bit more normal. It’ll be windy still, but not as windy as today.” You and Rajah Caruth both have unconventional paths to get into NASCAR. You can share in the difficulties it takes just to get to this level. Can you speak on his victory for last night? “You have no idea how happy I was for him. He’s a great young man. Not just a very talented race car driver, but also very dedicated. We get to see each other almost every week, training or doing different things, and I like him a lot. I consider him a friend. He knows this, and will know this, but the first win is always the most difficult one to get. I’m sure he’s going to win at least a few times this year. He’s very disciplined and he works hard. He’s been strong the last few weeks. I’m very happy for him. Obviously he made history last night, being the third African American driver to win in the NASCAR national series, and he’s very special. He’s also a graduate of the Drive for Diversity program, just like myself, Bubba Wallace and many others. So very happy that we’re seeing good talent from the Drive for Diversity program coming to a national series and being successful.” Back-to-back examples of the Drive for Diversity program working? “Of course. I mentioned this a week or two ago, that the Drive for Diversity program has changed quite a bit since Bubba Wallace and myself were there 10 years ago. 10 years ago it was very good.. we had a good opportunity. It was a good program. But today, it’s a great program, and I’m very happy to see that. 10 years ago, it was a great program to give you an opportunity for the K&N Series and the ARCA series. But to make the jump to a national series, it was very difficult. You had to be lucky and you have to be very, very good to get an opportunity.  Today, the Drive for Diversity program is so involved in the Truck Series and that’s very special.. very special because giving an opportunity to these young guys like Rajah (Caruth) and Nick Sanchez to get an opportunity in the Truck Series and perform at a very competitive level. We didn’t have that 10 years ago, so I’m very happy for them. I’m very happy that the Drive for Diversity program continues to grow and continues to get better.” Next weekend at Phoenix Raceway, they’re going to have the “Viva La Fiesta”. Just curious to hear your overall excitement for that event and the importance of that cultural presence and impact over there. “Yeah, of course. I think that every time that I come to the west coast to Las Vegas, Sonoma, Auto Club Speedway was very, very big.. Phoenix and Los Angeles – it’s amazing to feel an incredible amount of support from the Latino community, and I feel very, very proud to be the face of this community in the Cup Series. We embrace it and I’m very happy that the race tracks embrace it with us, as well. The “Viva La Fiesta” in Phoenix is just a small example of that. We’re going to be having a great time in Phoenix next week.” When you scored your first victory at Sonoma Raceway, it was in the middle of the season. This year, you’re two races in and you’re essentially guaranteed a playoff spot. Does that give you an opportunity to gamble in order to try to get some more stage points and playoff points throughout the year? “I think so, yeah. I had a meeting with my crew chief about it. It definitely gives us a lot more freedom. We want to gamble wisely.. you don’t want to do just wild gambles and hope for the best, like a stage running long and hoping for things to just fall in your lap. But you can gamble a little bit in the setup.. you can gamble a little bit on the strategy. You can push the limits a little bit harder in a few areas. I think it’s a very good thing.  But with that being said, it’s also very important to continue to be consistent.. to continue to be strong and to have in mind that – yeah, we’re in the playoffs, but in my mind, one win won’t do it to be able to get to Phoenix to fight for a championship. You have to really build your resume over the year, and we have to continue to do that. If that’s what it takes to be consistent, to gamble or whatever that may be – we’ll have to figure it out and do it. But I think honestly, this weekend for us is going to be a very, very important weekend. It is for everyone. It’s going to be a very, very important weekend because, as we all know, we have a lot of 1.5-mile tracks and this is the first one with this package. We have to see where we stack up; where we’re strong and the areas that we aren’t very strong that we have to work on. We’re going to find out a lot of things today and tomorrow, and I’m very excited for that.” Go back to Atlanta again – you, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch are crossing the line all at the same time. What are you thinking? Go through the whole conversation on the radio up until you know that you won.“Yeah, it was definitely tricky and a little stressful, especially the last couple of laps. I really wanted to be on the outside to have a shot to attack the No. 12 (Ryan Blaney). But unfortunately, the person that was behind me and pushing me was his teammate. So I wasn’t really getting a lot of help to build runs. At that point, it was going to take a little bit of situational things to be able to make a run at it. Luckily, the No. 8 (Kyle Busch) was able to build a run at it with the No. 23 (Bubba Wallace). I was able to stay close to the No. 8 and that’s what created the three-wide.  At that point, once you get three-wide getting into turn three and we’re side-drafting hard exiting turn four – at that point, you’ve already used your bullets. You already did what you had to do and at that point, you’re just hoping that you’re the one. I knew that I was inching ahead of the No. 8.. I was slowly moving ahead of the No. 8 when I did my last side-draft. But I had no idea about the No. 12.. he was so far on the inside and the No. 8 was blocking my view to the No. 12 that I had no idea. I knew he was there, but I didn’t know where he was. So when they told me that we got the No. 8, but the No. 12 was very close, I was nervous because I had no idea. Like if they were telling me that the No. 8 beat us by a nose or we beat him by a nose, I would have believed it because I could see him. Like I said, I knew on the No. 8 but I didn’t know on the No. 12. By the time that we crossed the start-finish line and the time that we actually knew that it was us, it was probably a minute but it felt like three hours (laughs).  But yeah, it was quite special. It’s always fun to get victories like this. I hope that I get an opportunity to experience many, many more in this fashion because in this fashion, like I said, it’s quite a bit more intense and thrilling than winning races by three, four or five-seconds.” The last year or so, there’s been a lot of talk amongst drivers regarding the lack of respect that has been shown when racing, especially when coming to the start-finish line. Was there any worry in your mind that you were possibly going to get punted, or there was going to be contact by somebody else trying to move you out of the way for the race win? “You’re talking about when we were already three-wide, or before that?” So even just coming down the backstretch, when you guys were trying to make the runs and coming out of the turn three when you were trying to make your move to take the lead, were you worried that somebody was going to throw an aggressive block?“I was a little bit on the No. 2 (Austin Cindric) because I knew I couldn’t trust him, especially because his teammate was in the lead. He didn’t want to push me. He was pushing me just enough to stay up there, but never hard enough to make a run on the No. 12. I had to make sure that when he was pushing me, I was on my toes of where he was going to go because I didn’t know if he was actually going to push me or he was going to do something else. Like I said, on the back-straightaway, he never touched my bumper because he was lifting so much. But I have raced with Ryan (Blaney) for many years, along with Kyle (Busch), as well – when we were three-wide, we didn’t want to hit each other. Lets say that if Kyle and I were hitting each other, that was going to give Blaney the win. If Blaney and Kyle were hitting each other, that was going to give me the win. So at that point, we knew it was in our best interest not to touch because whoever was touching the other one, it was going to affect us, too. So if it was a battle between two cars, yeah, you may touch a little bit more because it’s a different situation. But with three cars, you’re in a different spot. You’re not fighting one guy, you’re fighting two. So it’s a little bit more complicated.  I feel like there’s a lot of lack of respect many times, but that’s what makes racing fun, too. Right there at the end, we raced with respect because it was in our best interest, so it worked out that way.” Did you have any interaction with Pitbull at the concert? Just talk about the experience of being introduced and coming out on stage.“That was quite an experience. I wasn’t thinking much about it when they told me I was going to do that. And then I had a little talk with Pitbull before he performed and he said – yeah, I’m going to bring you on stage and then you can talk and then we can have a shot of my tequila together. I don’t drink, that’s why I got drunk with one shot (laughs). It was very improvised, but it was amazing. I wasn’t thinking much about it. When I was in the moment.. when he introduced me and I was talking to all the people there, I mean the energy was unbelieve.. unbelievable when people were screaming. I don’t know if Nashville is normally like this or it was because Pitbull was there or maybe I just got lucky, but there were a lot of Mexican flags with the fans, and people were getting crazy. I was talking in Spanish.. actually I got nervous, I should have spoken English a little bit too, but I did my entire speech in Spanish and people were getting crazy. It was a great time. It was a great experience. Pitbull is such a rockstar. That guy is unbelievable.. the way that he performs; the way he drives people is unbelievable. I’m very happy and I’m very proud to have Pitbull as part of Trackhouse.” I saw you interacted with a post on Twitter of a woman that was sobbing in the grandstands when you won. She said she had been a fan of hers your whole career, and to be present in Atlanta just brought her to tears. What does that make you feel like? “Yeah, it was very special. It’s very special because many of these people.. not all of them, but many of these people have had a very similar journey as myself… coming from Mexico or somewhere else in Latin America and just having the same obstacles; not speaking the language and just trying to find an opportunity. I feel like that’s the reason why we connect so well because – yeah, maybe I’m driving race cars for a living, but at the end of the day, we’re the same. We came from the same place and we came with a very similar journey. It’s quite special to give those experiences to my community, to my people, and I hope that I get the opportunity to do that many more times this year and in the future. It’s quite special to be able to have my people so excited and so proud. It’s a feeling that’s just different and I’m very lucky to be in this position and to be the one to actually make those kinds of things happen.” We’re seeing the growth amongst the fanbase with minorities and people that don’t come from the traditional racing background over here in NASCAR. What do you think is the next step to continue this amazing growth?“Yeah, you know I think the next step – I talked about this in Atlanta, but I think the next step is to become one of those drivers that when you win, you’re not very surprised that they have won. Who is in that category.. Kyle Larson, William Byron, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, all those guys that win often. They win every single year and they’re in the playoffs every single year. Not just attending the playoffs, but fighting in the playoffs.. that’s the goal. I’m not OK being an ‘OK driver’ or a ‘good driver’ anymore. I had this conversation with my team in the offseason. Everyone on the team has to have the same mentality. If 50 percent of the team wants to be great, but the other 50 percent is OK with being good, that won’t work. Everyone has to have the same mentality, and my goal is to go to the next step.. to go to the next level. I feel like right now, I have the team to do it. The team is in the same mindset of myself, and I have to take advantage of that. I have to bring this group to the next level to be able to get used to that. To be able to not just win one race a year once in a while, but to win three, four or five races a year. That’s my goal and that’s what we’re working towards for this season.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PENNZOIL 400 PRESENTED BY JIFFY LUBE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 2, 2024

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series’ qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway – Media Availability Quotes From the time you come off of turn two, could you go through the process of how that all works? “Yeah, so we’ll likely have two pages – one for under green and one for under yellow that we’ll use for different lights and what we’ll look for in the gearing, RPM ranges and whatnot. If you’re under green and you’re coming off of turn two, you have to make sure you’re on page two – whatever page it is – and then you’ll slow down as quickly as you can, as late as you can, in order to make it to the 90 mph speed zone by the first line. Carry that around the corner and then you’ll slow down through your lights and then run your pit road lights. There’s different colors – you’ve got three different sets of colors that you can go through, so there’s a pretty wide range. You’ll probably run all reds.. actually you’ll run probably four blues through the corner, and then you’ll run all reds on pit road. That’s typically what we do.” When you were scouting talent for up-and-coming drivers, what were the factors you were looking for besides just wins? “For us, the skill level and the background of where they come from. Racing in the super late model ranks was kind of where I got my best sense of racing against some of those younger guys and got to pick up on some of those guys. Brian Ickler was one of our early guys at KBM, and then we obviously got Erik Jones from when he beat me in super late model race down in Pensacola. You look at those characteristics. I don’t know if we ever necessarily looked at their persona, or relied on that a whole lot, or their media training and anything like that. We’d just kind of help them through some of that stuff once they got to us. Toyota, TRD and their workforce of what they all did was a huge part of all of that, as well, too. I had a couple of guys that I really liked that I picked and sold them on, and we were able to bring them in. And then they had a bunch of guys that they wanted and basically said – hey, we’re going to run these guys and we all kind of agreed and worked together on.” You have a new jackman this week. I don’t know how involved you get in those decision, if at all, but the fact they wanted to try something different after struggle the first week – did it surprise you at all because teams tend to kind of work with the same people, at least for a little bit before trying something different?“Well the jackman we had was the same jackman we had all of last year. We were trying to redo a few different positions over the offseason, and some of the talent we were scouting, talking to and giving offers to, they declined them and went somewhere else. We kind of just had what we had, and we’ve been working through that. It’s tough out there. It’s really hard to recruit and get guys. Especially with where RCR is based and where they’re at, it’s a long drive to get up to Welcome to pit stop practice sometimes three and four times a week, whatever it might be. I know that Ray and all the guys there in the pit crew department are working super hard. Trust me, they’ve heard it – not from me, but from Richard week in and week out. Their ears are bleeding, but I know they’re trying and I know they’re working hard. Trust me, there were plenty of offers over the offseason to try and get different talent up there, and we just weren’t able to secure it.” There’s a lot of talk since the fuel saving last weekend. Obviously it’s always been an important part, but how much it’s grown even more so the last couple of years. What can be done, if anything, in terms of taking emphasis off of that and allowing you guys to do a little bit more and race a little bit more, as opposed to riding around more?“Yeah, good question. We kind of talked about it in our Chevy meeting last weekend among the other drivers, and there was really no solution that came to the forefront. The only one that I really had was to reduce the fuel cell size to create more opportunities of coming to pit road to just break it up more. But then you put your pit crew and the guys on pit road in more danger.. you put twice as much emphasis on doing all of that. When you come to pit road, it kind of breaks up the field for a little while.. like you take about 10 laps to kind of get it sorted back in and get going again. We go like 30 to 33 laps on fuel. If you go 15 or 16, and it takes 10 to bunch everybody back up – well now you’re getting ready to pit again. So you’re not going to sit there and save. You’re going to be going all out as much as you can, and making sure that you’re not fuel saving in order to do the leap frog strategy. A couple of guys said – no, you’d still do the same thing, but I don’t know that you would.” Is it a problem, or is problem the right word?“I believe it is. I believe it’s a problem. The start of the race last weekend for the Daytona 500 – we’re all sitting around there running half-throttle; not passing and just riding in a line. I felt disgraceful, myself, being a race car driver – wanting to go fast, lead laps and win the Daytona 500, and that was our strategy that we had to employ at the start of the race because everybody was doing it. When you’re running wide open and you’re in the draft, your pace is probably a 46.30. We were running 49.80’s.. almost 50 second lap times. It was pathetic.. I was like, how slow are we going to go? I felt bad for the fans. This is not good for them. It’s not what I want to be doing. But when you kind of get in that situation, I don’t know what you do. The third lane could have developed. It was so early in the race; nobody wants to develop a third lane. We’re riding – it’s a 500 mile race, don’t blow everything up in the first stage, right? But somebody could have just pulled out into the outside lane and literally just ran to the front and done whatever they wanted to do. So I was surprised nobody did that.” When you say disgraceful.. there were a lot of races where it’s a 500 mile race and you can’t lose it immediately; you have to take your time to kind of buildup… “But there’s no passing.. people want to see passing. The fans are all about – hey, we want to see racing. That’s not racing.. that’s riding. Yeah, back in the days – sure, you had 500 or 600 mile races where you needed to ride for a while. The Coca-Cola 600, for instance – it’s a long race, but you’re at least still trying to pass the guy in front of you and get in position as the day goes on. You’re not just riding 15th for the first 100 laps and being like – yeah, cool, I’m good with riding 15th right now. No.. you want to get further up the ladder and run with speed, your talent, your car’s ability and everything else. Doing what we did last week, you might as well pull the cars out of the parking lot and run rental cars around.” Was there any conversations among your team about how to approach these first two races? You’re down a car from Daytona. You’re in Atlanta and you could very easily be down a car, so how do you approach that? “Yeah, our Atlanta car was the car that we raced in the Daytona 500. So everything kind of got pushed up a week. The Daytona 500 car that we crashed – it went back to the shop and I think we’re on a five-week cycle, so whatever the fifth race is, it’ll probably be where that one goes. But yeah, this week’s car was slated to be our Las Vegas car, so it just kind of moves everything up. The cars are all the same, so there’s not really much differences that you have. You’re talking maybe a small part on a body part that you can maybe push or pull or whatever that you can get through the hawkeye, but it’s not a lot.” Going back to last weekend, you had the issue on the pit stop. Richard Childress comes on the radio and tells everyone to get their heads out of their butts. When you have a car owner like that, one that’s really involved, what’s that like? “Well that’s kind of what I answered early, was Richard is very involved and wants any situation to get better. If we’re not winning every single race out of the year, then how did we lose that one race? What can we do to make it better? That’s a racer’s mentality.. that’s what we all try to strive for and try to be better at. It’s tough sometimes when you have the human element. We all make mistakes.. I made tons of them last year and my crew stuck behind me – was passionate that I was their driver and wanted to go to the next week and figure out how to win the next one. I know where Richard is coming from, and I appreciate that – the emphasis he puts on greatness and wanting to be better. It’s what we all strive for.” With two years on this new configuration, are the ‘warm and fuzzies’ all gone? What has been gained, and what has been lost? “Yeah, any form of restrictor plate, pack-style racing is not high on my list. I would say – obviously as much as the surface deteriorated, there comes a point where something has to be done and they went through it. I just don’t understand or appreciate why we added the banking and the stuff that they did here in the reconfiguration.. although it’s the same outside wall spacing. Would I have much rather seen them just repave what we had? Probably because you would know then that, at least when it deteriorates some, it can get back to the old Atlanta ways. This deteriorates here, I mean it’s going to be fast.. it’s going to be damn fast sliding around, like 10 mph faster through the corners sliding around than what the old track would have been. We’re racers, though. As I’ve said before, we all want to go fast and do what we can to be the fastest ones out there. It’s not that you’re scared of that, it’s just that the hits are harder.” Later today, you’re going to make your first drafting track start in the Truck Series since 2015. What was behind the decision to run the Truck race here? “Well watching the Truck race here last year, it doesn’t necessarily fall in line or orchestrate itself as a Daytona or Talladega-style race. It is different. So I kind of took that into consideration, that you can make some moves by yourself. Yes, you’re in a line, you’re drafting, you’re trying to hold onto the draft and all that sort of stuff. But it did seem like there were some times in which handling kind of came into play.. making some moves kind of came into play and whatnot. It’s definitely not like a Kansas, where you can be the leader, run away and go hide.  It wasn’t my first choice. Definitely wouldn’t have been at all my choice, but I’m thankful for the opportunity that Spire Motorsports and Group 1001 gave to me to be able to come out here and run the five truck races that I’m allowed to do. This was the fifth one that was available on the list that I could do. I didn’t have much pick. It’s tough of a pick with all of the regulations and things that I have with NASCAR and all that sort of stuff, which the triple-truck challenge races, the playoff races. I don’t do speedway races, so my pick of the litter was I think literally eight or nine races that I could do. It gets small.” What is your thought on the current state of the Truck Series? “You know, you could talk about the current state of NASCAR. I feel like the current state of NASCAR is healthy and strong. You look at the Cup Series – having all of the things that are kind of happening behind the scenes, with big team owners coming in and being a part of all of that, and it just trickles down. Being able to get a new TV deal and all that sort of stuff, with NASCAR and the TV networks – we’re all grateful and thankful for that, and the hard work that was put in behind-the-scenes. It trickles down into the Xfinity Series and it trickles down into the Truck Series. Would I say that there are 500 ‘Fortune 500’ companies that are all out here participating in our sport? No, there’s not. So the sponsorship landscape is absolutely the toughest landscape in our sport, but I don’t know that’s any different than what it was in the high time.. in the mid-90s to the mid-2000s. I think you still saw cars that were in the back of the field that were under funded or had a struggling time being able to find big name sponsors to be able to get them to the track or to get them a better footing within the series to withstand and have some strength to their company.”