NASCAR CUP SERIES

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

QUAKER STATE 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JULY 9, 2023

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Press conference transcript: 

YOU’VE BEEN NOMINATED FOR ESPN’S BEST DRIVER ESPY AWARD FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. YOU WON IT LAST YEAR. WHAT DOES THIS INCREDIBLE FEAT MEAN TO YOU? 

“Honestly, it’s cool to be acknowledged. I was super surprised by it. I know there was a lot more deserving drivers – at least in American auto racing – than I was last year. But regardless, it’s an honor. I don’t think I should win it (laughs), but either way, it’s cool to be on the list. I feel bad for guys who didn’t get acknowledged for this award because, like I said, there’s a lot more that are deserving of it than me.”

TALKING ABOUT THE LIST OF DRIVERS THAT YOU’RE NOMINATED ALONG WITH – YOU ARE NOMINATED IN GOOD COMPANY ALONG WITH BRITTANY FORCE, JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND MAX VERSTAPPEN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON BEING NOMINATED FOR THIS AWARD WITH THOSE DRIVERS? 

“Yeah, they’re the best – or one of the best – in all of their forms of racing. Anytime you can join a list with names like that is special. But again, I think a guy like Joey Logano probably should be on it more so than me. But hey – if I win, I’m going to stick the trophy right next to the other one, too. 

It’s cool.. it’s cool, for sure. But a fluke, in a way.” 

HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY HAS MATURED AS A SUPERSPEEDWAY-STYLE TRACK? 

“Well we’ve only made two laps, so I don’t know how it’s different than earlier this year. It seemed like the Chevy’s had their hands full yesterday just to complete a lap. I don’t know if that’s the surface or just teams trying to make their car better; not making it better and making it tougher to drive. But we’ll see once the race starts. Visually, it doesn’t look like it’s aged much. Just the times I went through (turn) two, I felt like the patch was rougher than I remembered, so curious of what that’ll feel like as we move up the race track because in qualifying we just run low. We’ll see – but yeah, pavement ages and I hope this place ages quickly to make the racing different each time we come back.”

(NO MIC.)

“I have no clue. I’ve been in NASCAR for 10 years and aside from Darlington (Raceway), I haven’t seen really any track get super abrasive over time. Yes – the groove might change here or there. Kansas (Speedway), for example, is good but I wouldn’t say it’s abrasive. It’s nice that you can move around the track. It was repaved all that long ago. But then you know a track like Daytona (International Speedway), Talladega (Superspeedway), Pocono (Raceway), Phoenix (Raceway) – places that like, I don’t foresee those tracks ever getting abrasive. I just think the – I don’t know the engineering behind it, but pavement nowadays must be a lot more durable than what it used to be. I would love for all of these tracks to get more abrasive. I think that’s when the racing gets better. These places seem so perfectly paved that I don’t see it getting abrasive, ever.”

CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE AT LOUDON? THEY ARE GOING TO DO A TEST AFTERWARDS, BUT WHAT DO WE NEED TO SEE ON THE FLATTER ONE-MILE TRACKS LIKE THAT TO GET A LITTLE MORE SIDE-BY-SIDE RACING AND MAKE IT EASIER TO PASS?

“I don’t know – I saw just a quick kind of overview of the changes, I guess, that they’re going to try at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway). I don’t know much about race cars, so I don’t know what it is exactly – but it sounds like on the runs that they’ve made on the computers, it seems like it should be better in traffic. I hope that when they go to the test that it correlates well and the guys that are there feel better behind cars.. all of that. I don’t know – that’s the goal for every race track and race car, is if you’re faster than a guy, it would be a little easier to pass them. We’ll see. 

But yeah, with these cars, I feel like we’ve made improvements on the 1.5-mile tracks compared to the previous model car. For sure, the short-track stuff has struggled for passing. But overall, I would say the cars are more fun to drive because you have your hands full of it more, but it’s definitely a little harder to pass.”

FROM A GUY THAT COMES FROM THE GRASSROOTS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO A TEAM THAT’S IN WORLD OF OUTLAWS OR THE ALL-STARS TO HAVE A GUY LIKE TONY STEWART, OR A PROMOTOR LIKE THAT, PUT UP A MILLION DOLLARS FOR A WIN? 

“Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s honestly really cool.. it’s a lot of money. It’s way more money than any dirt racer gets to race for. It’s life-changing money, for sure. For a World of Outlaw guy, it might take him four or five years to make that much. 

Yeah, it’s awesome. Tony (Stewart) and his whole staff.. FloRacing, they’re a big part of it, too. To promote a race last year with the late model million and then give the sprint car guys their chance this year, it’s pretty neat. I’m obviously happy I get to compete in it, too (laughs). 

We’ll see. It’s going to be a really tough race. I think there’s a few guys that have a great shot to win. But then it’s also a unique format that will open the door for others, too. We’ll see, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity, as well as everybody else is.”

WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET GOING INTO A SUPERSPEEDWAY RACE LIKE THIS? DO YOU TRY TO HOLD BACK AND AVOID THE WRECKS, OR DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN UP FRONT ALL DAY LONG?

“Well I would like to get up front – stay up front and have a better chance of not getting caught up in a crash. But I feel like I’ve crashed at superspeedways more than anybody probably ever has in their career (laughs). I’ve crashed in the front. I’ve crashed in the middle. I’ve crashed in the back. And I haven’t figured out how not to crash.

I don’t really know. I’ve tried studying these places a lot to figure out how to not crash and where all that happens. But I don’t know – I think a lot of times, you have to get a little bit lucky, but it’s decisions that lead up to those moments when crashes happen that are the reasons why you got in it or didn’t get in it. So just trying to make the right decisions. I would love to be up front though all race long.” 

REMEMBERING THE FINISH IN LAST NIGHT’S XFINITY SERIES RACE, WE SAW THINGS GO AWRY WITH THE STRATEGY THE KAULIG RACING CARS HAD. I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE HAD YOUR COMPETITION MEETINGS YET, WHETHER IT’S BEEN WITH HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS OR CHEVROLET, BUT HAS THERE BEEN ANY REFERRAL TO WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT AND ANY MESSAGE OF ‘DON’T DO THAT’ WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO DRAFT AND WORK WITH YOUR TEAMMATES? 

“Well I think there was more that went into the moves that were made last night than just Justin (Haley) not working with (Daniel) Hemric. It sounded like he was running out of fuel, so I don’t think it necessarily was him not working with his teammate. But yeah, I mean every week, you talk about the upcoming race and what you can do to help each other. Daytona (International Speedway), Talladega (Superspeedway) and Atlanta (Motor Speedway) are a little more extreme, I guess, in conversations. 

But yeah, you want to give your team the best opportunity to win. You want to give Chevrolet the best opportunity to win. So yes – I think working together is key, but you also have to lookout for yourself and how to get yourself the best finish sometimes, too. 

And also, it’s hard to make the decisions at 190 mph, quickly. It’s easy to look at something happening in the moment or look at it afterward and really critique somebody. But when you’re not behind the wheel, those decisions have to be made in under a second.”

IN 2001, WHEN KEVIN HARVICK DROVE THE NO. 29 TO HIS FIRST WIN HERE – FIRST OF ALL, DID YOU HAVE MEMORIES OF THAT RACE OR WATCHING IT AS A KID? WHAT IS YOUR VANTAGE POINT, SEEING CARS LIKE THAT, LEADING YOU GUYS AROUND TO THE GREEN TODAY? 

“Yeah, I was – gosh, I was only nine (years old) then, so I don’t remember if I watched it live. But I’ve obviously seen the highlights a lot of times. It was just an epic finish; an epic moment. A moment that meant a lot to the sport and to that race team, and the legacy that Dale Earnhardt, Sr., had and the start of Kevin Harvick’s amazing career. It’s pretty neat in Kevin’s final time here at Atlanta (Motor Speedway) to have Richard (Childress) pacing the field in that car. I think Atlanta has been Kevin’s best track his whole career until they repaved it, so it’s pretty neat. Those cars and the track – everything was just way different back then. It’s not even the same place – it might have the same address, but it’s not the same track as it was then. But no, it’s definitely cool to have that car leading the field.”

GOING BACK TO THE CRASH TOPIC – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR RECOVERY PROCESS AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN ONE OF THOSE WRECKS.. KIND OF LIKE THE ONE AT TALLADEGA (SUPERSPEEDWAY)? WHAT IT DOES TO YOUR BODY AND KIND OF WHAT YOU DO, SPECIFICALLY, TO RECOVER FROM SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

“Thankfully, I’ve never had anything too serious happen to me. I’ve never been diagnosed with a concussion. I’ve never had anything like that happen. Typically, I mean for me – in some wrecks, you’re not even sore at all. Even the Talladega (Superspeedway) one, I wasn’t really sore the next day. I think me being hit from the side; my body didn’t really have anywhere to go. So my neck wasn’t stiff.. nothing hurt. So I think that’s just a testament to the cars and the safety. You always want to see it getting safer. But yeah 10 years ago, I might have felt differently.. or maybe longer ago than that. 

But I’ve been fortunate, knock on wood, to not have anything serious happen to me yet. I know there’s an opportunity every weekend for that. I’m sure if the situation ever comes up where I am injured, I know that Hendrick Motorsports has great people, resources and contacts for whatever I’m sure you’re dealing with. Alex (Bowman) had his injuries. Chase (Elliott) had his earlier this year. They have, unfortunately, a lot of experience with it. But yeah, hopefully I don’t run into anything like that.” 

Garcia, Taylor, No. 3 Corvette C8.R claim season’s first GTD PRO victory

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 9, 2023) – Corvette Racing broke through with a long-awaited victory Sunday at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the team’s first win of the season in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor teamed for the victory in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which was racing for the second time at CTMP. It’s the first win for Corvette at the circuit since 2014 and gave the team an even dozen victories at the historic Canadian venue. It’s also the 126th win all-time for Corvette Racing and 114 in North American competition. The victory capped a day where Corvette Racing clinched the FIA WEC GTE Am Drivers and Teams World Championships at the Six Hours of Monza. The groundwork for the Canadian Corvette victory began early. Taylor began from fourth and held his position until diving in for a pit stop at the 33-minute mark. He got out and Garcia got in as the Corvette Racing crew changed tires and added fuel. The move set off a chain reaction with three other GTD PRO cars following suit, and the C8.R emerging after the cycle in third place – but second among cars in class that stopped early. An even more critical moment came with 70 minutes remaining. Garcia moved to the lead on a restart with 70 minutes left as the two cars ahead of him fought off-track at the exit of the first corner. The Corvette held the proper line and moved by each. The championship-leading 14 Lexus suffered damage in the incident while the No. 9 Porsche emerged behind Garcia. The top three cars ran within less than four seconds apart for the final 24 minutes with the Corvette taking the win under yellow after a late-race safety car period – the fourth of the day. Corvette Racing’s next event is the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix on Saturday, July 22 from Lime Rock Park.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO RACE-WINNER: “It was not easy. Probably on the last restart I knew we had the pace to win. Up to that point, the whole class was pretty close. Since the start, everyone was bunched up. We made a good call early just to put stress on everybody to see what they did. Almost everybody followed us on that strategy, which was OK. I believe it’s also smart to follow what Corvette Racing does! We did that expecting the leaders to stay out maybe, but they all came in and I knew from that point that I had to do a good job… especially at the start of the stint when I passed the Mercedes and got very close to the Lexus on cold tires. From that point on, they had really good pace but we were close. On the restart (with 70 minutes left), I knew the Porsche was the only one that gambled on the strategy and jumped us. I was kind of a front-row spectator into Turn One when the 9 and 14 went side-by-side, which I think never works here. Once I saw that, I was alert and went for it to make the move for the lead. We had strong pace at the front, but it was difficult to be at the back of the GTD field with the safety car rules where we cycle completely back to the rear of the GTDs or are always there fighting for positions. It’s always a nightmare. I’m glad we had the pace and nothing against us happened like what happened at Sebring when we were in the middle of the GTDs. That’s the way it is. I don’t think they want us to be there while we are racing, and we don’t want them there while we are racing other PRO cars.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO RACE-WINNER: “It has been awhile. The Sebring 12 Hours was the last one. We’ve struggled here and there, but I feel like we executed very well at a lot of the races and the results haven’t been there. We’ve had a lot of podiums here and there so it’s nice for everything to click and go our way. The guys called a great strategy and undercut everyone at the beginning, picked up a couple more spots and Antonio had a great restart to jump to the lead. Once he got to the lead, it was kind of stressful to watch with him mixed in with the GTDs. He did a great job staying out of trouble and thankfully we had a quick car in clean air. It’s really nice to get a Corvette back in victory lane back here at CTMP for the Chevrolet Grand Prix.”ON WINNING THE RACE AND THE WEC TEAM WINNING THE GTE AM CHAMPIONSHIPS: “It was a very good day. I don’t think it could have gone much better. We have our remote operations here too, and during our pre-race meeting and warmup, we were listening to their intercom of what was going on there. Kyle Millay (chief engineer) is usually on the WEC side but he came here this weekend. They were still talking to him here during our pre-race meeting for their strategy there. It’s a team effort from both sides. Nicky (Catsburg) just texted us and said they were on our intercom during our race. It’s one big family. They’ve had an unbelievable year winning as much as they did, winning Le Mans and clinching the championship. It was a good decision for Corvette to stay in the WEC to execute that championship and open some doors for the future.“They were bouncing some questions off Kyle. He’s been around for so long and seen pretty much everything there is to see even though he’s so young. Ben Johnson (IMSA team manager and program technical director) was on the intercoms too. Both teams on both sides of the ocean are working together. If we have an electronics issues, Neil (Schreiber), who set up our car is on the WEC side now so we can bounce questions off him. It’s nice to have that constant communication between the two.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “I can’t think of a better weekend for Corvette Racing. A World Championship in the WEC and a race win in IMSA on the same day is something we all will remember. It shows how strong this program is in both series and how much both sides work together to get the most out of these Corvette race cars. I’m incredibly proud of both the No. 33 and No. 3 Corvette teams on this unbelievable day.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R retains championship points lead

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 9, 2023) – The silver lining Sunday for Cadillac Racing in the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is that the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R retained the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype driver and team points lead.

Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims, who started on the inside of Row 2 in the hybrid Cadillac racecar for the scheduled 2-hour, 40-minute sprint, finished seventh in the race that ended under caution due to an incident with 4 minutes, 50 seconds left involving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, which qualified fourth with Sebastien Bourdais behind the wheel, was pushed off the racing surface into the grass and made heavy nose-first contact with the tire barrier in Turn 8 on the 2.459-mile course.

Renger van der Zande exited the car under his own power and was checked at the infield care center. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R was classified ninth. The No. 60 Acura ARX-06 took the checkered flag. Sims recorded the fastest lap of the race of the GTP contenders at 1 minute, 07.422 seconds on Lap 96 of 120. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R holds a 10-point lead over the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8. Cadillac paces the GTP Manufacturer standings by 47 points. The next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP race is Sunday, Aug. 6, on the 4-mile, 14-turn Road America course. Cadillac Racing will participate in a two-day IMSA-sanctioned test July 28-29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the mid-September race on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that incorporates sections of the famous oval.

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani: “We just weren’t lucky with the yellows today. We proved we had the pace, were quick in every sector of the track, but after being pushed wide on the final restart we weren’t able to recover in time to challenge for the podium. Tough hit on championship points, but we’re still in the lead and we’ll move on to Road America to try to increase the lead.” Alexander Sims: “We had a good car throughout the race and were very competitive but got caught by yellow flags today. It was just one of those days that you have to fight through to stay on course for the championship.” No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: “This was a tough result today for our Cadillac team. You never want to retire late in the race, but thankfully I’m OK and we can look to what lies ahead. Our team has made it clear that we will always dust ourselves off and push forward, no matter the circumstances.”

Catsburg, Keating, Varrone wrap up GTE Am title in No. 33 C8.R MONZA, Italy (July 9, 2023) – Campionato, Corvette! Corvette Racing clinched the GTE Am Drivers and Teams titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship on Sunday with a fourth-place finish at the Six Hours of Monza for the trio of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone. The No. 33 Corvette C8.R team finished ahead of its closest championship competitors to wrap up the program’s first title in WEC competition.

It’s been a dream season for Corvette Racing with three victories – the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 1000 Miles of Sebring and Six Hours Portimão – in addition to a runner-up finish at the Six Hours of Spa. “Congratulations to Ben Keating, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone on their championship in the first year for Corvette Racing in the World Endurance Championship’s GTE Am class,” said Mark Stielow, Director, Chevrolet Motorsports Competition Engineering. “This was not an easy accomplishment despite the results this season. The strategy and execution by the entire Corvette Racing team – the drivers, the crew and the engineers – has been excellent throughout the season. This was a deep and competitive class and we are grateful that Corvette Racing has come out on top. It gives us great momentum going into the end of the season and 2024 when the Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer program arrives in WEC.”There were a number of scenarios in play to clinch the title. The most straight-forward options were to win or finish second Sunday, or place ahead of its two nearest challengers – the No. 25 TF Sport and No. 85 Iron Dames entries. The latter worked just fine. Keating set the tone for the Corvette team early. He started sixth but picked up spots on consecutive laps to run third prior to a safety-car period at the 15-minute mark. The Corvette crew elected to bring the C8.R into pitlane for a fuel top-off. By the time Keating made his second stop at 80 minutes running, he had worked his way back up to second as the varying pit strategies came into view. He gave way to Varrone just past the two-hour mark but a rare in-race mistake meant the C8.R was called in for a drive-through penalty due to speeding in the pitlane. Varrone slid back to sixth but steadily worked his way back to the lead with strong pace and the pit stop cycle. By the time his driving time was complete just prior to the four-hour mark, the C8.R ran third but less than four seconds from the leader. Catsburg drove the final 92 minutes but was unable to make in-roads to the podium finishers – all of which were from the same manufacturer and ran more than 100 pounds lighter than the Corvette. The C8.R carried 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. The next round for Corvette Racing in the FIA WEC is the Six Hours of Fuji on Sunday, September 10.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC GTE AM CHAMPION: “Honestly, this season might have been one of my nicest in motorsport. It has been so cool, right from the start. It was always very relaxed with not a lot of pressure. Somehow the results just kept coming. I cannot deny that we have a great car, a great team and we have an awesome lineup. But we still need to execute, and I feel like we did that really well. Today I feel like we should have come away with a podium. We got a little bit unlucky with some of the safety car situations, but we did great. It’s super, super cool to be able to call myself a World Champion. I think I had won it before with a team but not as a driver. So I’m really, really happy!”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC GTE AM CHAMPION: “I’ve said it over and over, but in this championship and in each one of the five races we’ve had, it has been a true team performance overall. You win as a team and you lose as a team, but we’ve also been lucky in quite a lot of places. It’s just been a magical season. Everyone kept talking about us needing to finish first or second in order to clinch the championship here. I kept saying it was more about where the 25 and 85 finished rather than where we finished. We weren’t really racing for that. We were racing to be as far up in the order as we possibly could be. We had a really good race. It’s been an amazing season. I keep on joking that because we’ve finished fourth, we get to lose 10 kilograms in success ballast! Now we can really start pushing hard because we don’t have to be conservative. Just kidding! It’s been a great season. I’m really proud of everyone on the Corvette Racing team.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FIA WEC GTE AM CHAMPION:“This means quite a lot. It feels very weird at the moment but means so much. To say that we are World Champions is just an amazing feeling. I’ve been working for this since I was 8 years old and started driving karts. I didn’t imagine it was going to be so early. As Ben said, this was all teamwork all season. We’ve all done a great job – the three of us as teammates, the engineers and the pit crew has been amazing. We did a fantastic job. Today we weren’t racing for the win and couldn’t make it. But finishing fourth and sealing the title already with two rounds to go is just amazing.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “How cool is this? The Corvette Racing team joined the WEC full-time last year to learn the championship and had some great successes. We enjoyed it so much and had an opportunity this year with Ben, Nicky and Nico to have a Corvette in the GTE Am class. This group couldn’t say no! Now to be able to walk away champions and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the final year of GTE and the C8.R is a dream come true.”

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R finishes 10th overall, adds to championship points total

MONZA, Italy (July 9, 2023) – A promising start to the 6 Hours of Monza didn’t pay out with the desired result as the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R finished 10th overall Sunday in the FIA World Endurance Championship race. Timing of a safety car period at the start of the third hour impacted the strategy of Cadillac Racing, which was among the handful of teams that pitted early in the race under the first safety car period. For the fifth consecutive race on its maiden tour of the WEC schedule, the prototype powered by the all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter, DOHC V8 ran without mechanical issue.

Starting fifth in the 13-car Hypercar field on the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit, Alex Lynn took advantage of contact between two cars in the early minutes to advance his position. The team pitted behind the safety car with 31 minutes expired for 55 seconds of fuel/energy, joining four other Hypercars on the alternate strategy. Richard Westbrook took over driving duties with 4 hours, 39 minutes left and was running third when the second safety car was deployed 46 minutes later. Westbrook inherited the lead through pit stop cycling but was called in for emergency fuel under yellow. Three minutes later, under green, the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R returned to pit lane for full fuel/energy, which dropped the hybrid racecar to 10th in class. Earl Bamber, marking his 33rd birthday, relieved Westbrook with 3 hours, 24 minutes left and held track position during his stints. Lynn returned to the seat with 59 minutes left and brought the car home. Twelve Hypercars were running at the finish led to the checkered flag on Lap 200 by the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry.The WEC moves to Fuji, Japan, for the penultimate event in the championship. The six-hour race will be contested Sunday, Sept. 10, on the 4.563-kilometer, 16-turn course.

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.RRichard Westbrook: “My stint in the car was really good. We were fighting at the front and on a different strategy to half the cars, so it was good, classic sports car racing with different strategies playing out. And it was working for us. Unfortunately, the timing of the safety car was bad for us and we had to pit for emergency fuel and once that happens you’re pretty much out of the game. It’s a real shame. We have a good racecar, good on tires and were looking forward to this race. But when stuff like the timing of the safety car happens, you’re in the lap of the gods and it didn’t quite work out for us today. But in the future it will.” Earl Bamber: “Overall, a pretty tough day. I think we executed everything perfectly until qualifying and things in the race just didn’t go our way. From chassis, engine and everything like that I think we’ve made gains since Le Mans. We just needed to execute it better as drivers with a bit of strategy. But you have one of those days and we still scored points. I think we know where we can improve for Fuji. Huge congrats to Corvette Racing for winning the world championship.” Alex Lynn: “The start was pretty chaotic, but we got through unscathed and had a good start. And then we were battling it out with the Peugeots, the Ferraris, the Porsches and the car was performing well. It hasn’t swung our way, but we’ll pick up points where we can.”

July 9, 2023

Harrison Burton, in the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang, is set to start a Cup-career-best fifth in Sunday night’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Burton earned that spot with a lap at 176.803 miles per hour in qualifying on Saturday evening as Ford drivers swept the top six starting spots and eight of the top 10. His previous best Cup qualifying effort was a sixth in last year’s season finale at Phoenix.

Burton was fourth fastest in the opening qualifying round, turning a lap at 176.893 mph in his first lap on the track, as no practice was held prior to qualifying.

The 260-lap Quaker State 400 is scheduled to get the green flag just after 7 p.m., with TV coverage on USA Network. Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 160.
 

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (July 9, 2023) – At Wisconsin’s Road America this weekend Chris Dyson got everything there was from his #16 GYM Weed Ford Mustang. But after twice leading the race over the course of a sometimes tooth-and-nail battle with Justin Marks, Dyson came up just a bit short in a race that ended a lap early due to time constraints. “It’s never nice to finish second,” Dyson admitted after the race. “But congratulations to Justin and his team. His car was an absolute rocket this weekend and he drove a strong race. Our team had some technical problems during the weekend, but on race day my guys gave me an excellent race car. I wish I could say that if the race had run the full distance I might have had another shot at Justin, but unless he made another mistake it really wasn’t going to matter. Second was the best we could do today on pace alone.” From his starting spot on the outside of the front row Dyson led the first third of the 25-lap Denny Lammers Tribute 100 race after polesitter Marks got too hot into the first turn after the green flag and briefly dropped to third place behind Dyson and Boris Said. “Justin got past Boris very quickly and was on my tail,” Dyson reported later. “I knew it was going to take everything I had – and maybe a little more – to hold Justin off for the whole race. I was good early in the stint on full tanks and was able to conserve tires a bit more and control the pace. I knew if Justin got past and had open road ahead of him I was going to be in a tougher spot.” Eventually Dyson got a bit loose braking in Turn Six and Marks got by. But Dyson got another shot at Marks after a red-flag period at the race’s two-thirds point. Marks made another small error early in the first green lap and again Dyson and Said briefly got by. The next lap Marks drafted by Dyson on the front straight and retook the lead, this time for good. For Dyson the disappointment of not winning the race was somewhat assuaged with an increased point lead in his campaign for a third consecutive Trans Am National series championship. “The points situation still looks good,” Dyson said. “But we are looking to win the national championship by winning more races. We need to make our cars a bit faster. Fortunately, it’s two months till the next TA race, at Watkins Glen, though I think we will need all that time.” For Dyson’s teammate, Matty Brabham, it was an even tougher weekend; after setting fast times in practice, his #20 GYM Weed Ford Mustang suffered terminal electrical problems. Brabham was unable to qualify or race.  Fortunately for Brabham he had enough of a points cushion that despite going pointless at Road America he remains second in the championship. Next Up: Watkins Glen The Trans Am Series’ next event for the headline TA class is September 6-10 at Watkins Glen International. Dyson, a two-time Trans Am winner at the classic Central New York circuit, finished second there last season. Dyson looks to dethrone defending Watkins Glen race winner Justin Marks. Road America Rebroadcast Schedule A 60-minute feature on the Road America race, will be broadcast this Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices. For more on Chris Dyson Racing, visit chrisdysonracing.com

HIGHLAND, IL (July 8, 2023) – Ashton Winger’s been on one mission this summer – win more races. His relentless drive and determination to do that was tested Saturday night at Highland Speedway as he battled to keep the lead against some of Illinois’ best racers.

He took the lead in the opening laps, lost it, got it back, then lost it and regained it once more before holding off Mike Harrison and Jason Feger on a green-white-checkered finish to score the $10,000 grand prize and his fifth DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win of the season.

From the outside pole, Winger jumped out to the lead and looked strong through the first half of the 40-lap main event. He first denied five-time Hell Tour champion Shannon Babb on Lap 14 with a slide job pass for the lead, taking back the top spot after Babb got it from him on the previous restart.

Further back in the field, hometown hero and multi-time UMP Modified track champion Mike Harrison was mounting his charge to the front, advancing all the way to third from 12th on the starting grid by Lap 11. He picked up the battle for second with Babb on Lap 16 and swiped the spot from him at the line, blasting the high side around the 1/4-mile.

“I just slowly started venturing up toward the top, and I just figured out how to make that top work,” Harrison said. “There wasn’t really much up there; just more or less momentum.”

Harrison quickly closed in on the back of Winger, and with a big run off the top side of Turn 2, Harrison drove it hard down to the bottom in Turn 3 in a bid for the lead on Lap 24.

“I finally got to where I felt I had position and I drove in underneath [Winger],” Harrison said. “I don’t know if he just turned and went to the bottom or what happened there. We made a little contact there, but I fully intended on driving right past him into the corner.”

Harrison’s right-rear smacked Winger’s left-front, bending several front-end components on Winger’s car and opening the door for Babb to go by underneath him to take second.

“I’m not making excuses, but I was swatting flies down the straightaway, not knowing where my front tires were gonna land,” Winger said.

Winger had fallen back a bit with his handling now hindered but wasn’t ready to give up. When a flat left-rear tire forced Babb to pit under yellow with six laps left, Winger’s hopes were renewed.

“When Shannon had that flat, I knew Harrison was gonna try the top,” Winger said. “Then on that restart, it looked like he didn’t know where he wanted to go. So at the last second, he tried to run the bottom, and he left just enough open to where I could get my nose in there.”

Winger grabbed hold of the bottom lane for the restart while Harrison stuck to the top. With bent suspension parts and all, Winger still found the speed on the bottom to scoot past Harrison at the line coming to two-to-go to retake the lead.

“I knew when I got out front and could use the whole racetrack, I’d be alright,” Winger said.

The caution was thrown as the leaders were headed for the white flag, setting up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish. Try as they may, Harrison and a hard-charging Jason Feger – who had driven all the way back up to third from 17th on the starting grid – were unable to catch Winger as he held his damaged ride together and crossed the finish line to score his 11th career Summer Nationals win.

Though he crossed in second after leading 10 laps, Harrison stood proud with his second Late Model podium of the summer aboard the Steve Lampley Motorsports #33.

“In the end, I’m almost glad it came back down to me and [Winger], because that’s the way it was,” Harrison said. “I would rather lose the race to him for the way it all happened than win it and take it from him because we crashed together.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models will wrap-up Week 4 of competition Sunday, July 9, with a visit to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available at DIRTVision.com.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[17]; 3. 33-Mike Harrison[12]; 4. 7-Chad Zobrist[1]; 5. 4G-Bob Gardner[14]; 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk[11]; 7. 96V-Tanner English[10]; 8. 16-Rusty Griffaw[20]; 9. 14-Paul Kuper[15]; 10. 26H-Kyle Hammer[18]; 11. 31AUS-Kye Blight[19]; 12. 17-Todd Rehg[7]; 13. 44-Blaze Burwell[4]; 14. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 15. 51-Dean Carpenter[13]; 16. 15-Clayton Stuckey[23]; 17. 1-BJ Robinson[8]; 18. 27M-Rodney Melvin[3]; 19. 10-Daryn Klein[5]; 20. 38-Thomas Hunziker[16]; 21. 6K-Michael Kloos[9]; 22. 22-Dan Jacober[21]; 23. 23NZ-Mick Quin[22]

Harrison Holds off Steinkoenig to Win Eighth Career Summit Modified Feature at Highland

A victor so many times at Highland Speedway, there aren’t many situations Mike Harrison hasn’t prevailed in his career at the 1/4-mile bullring. Still, he put another on display for a packed house Saturday night.

With track points leader Owen Steinkoenig right on his tail for nearly the entire 25-lap Feature, Harrison fended off the pressure from behind and trekked his way through lapped traffic on the bottom to win his eighth DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature at Highland in the last 12 years.

“I knew [Steinkoenig] would be good here because he’s been really good here,” Harrison said. “He and Nicely – I knew they were the two I was going to have to contend with. I just had to keep my head on and stay down on that bottom; not necessarily protect, but just run my race and not worry about who was behind me.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Modifieds will wrap-up Week 4 of competition Sunday, July 9, with a visit to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available at DIRTVision.com.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[1]; 2. 5S-Owen Steinkoenig[3]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely[4]; 4. 0-Tim Hancock Sr[5]; 5. 1D-Dean Hoffman[9]; 6. 3E-Robbie Eilers[2]; 7. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[10]; 8. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[6]; 9. 24S-Jacob Steinkoenig[8]; 10. 128-Zach Schantz[7]; 11. E55-Chad Sellers[16]; 12. 787-Cody Zobrist[13]; 13. 15-Chris Smith[18]; 14. 21M-Willy Myers[14]; 15. 27R-Steve Rex[19]; 16. 94-Mark Clary[11]; 17. 14C-Rick Conoyer[15]; 18. 87Z-Zeb Moake[21]; 19. I99-Mikey Kopka[24]; 20. 9-Chad Cornett[12]; 21. 51M-Joe Mercurio[20]; 22. 12T-Dave Thornton[17]; 23. 95-Rick Salter[22]; 24. 69L-Josh Lemke[23]

The Lemoore, CA native moves by Schatz early and holds on for fourth victory of the yearWILMOT, WI (July 8, 2023) – Carson Macedo admits he hasn’t been himself over the past few weeks. A frightening crash at Knoxville in early June left him rattled both physically and mentally.He and his Jason Johnson Racing team stayed dedicated. Macedo battled pain. A large supporting cast kept his spirits up. Since the incident, his finishes in the next nine races were solid with eight top 10s but not quite on the championship level he showed early in the season.And heading into the 10th race after Knoxville, Macedo was beginning to feel like himself again. The result was a revitalizing triumph at Wilmot Raceway on Saturday night. Macedo rolled by Donny Schatz shortly before the halfway point of the Federated Auto Parts Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40 and held off multiple challengers on his way to Victory Lane for the second straight year at the Wisconsin oval.The Wilmot win moved Macedo up to four World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car triumphs this season and 32 for his career. The Lemoore, CA native joined David Gravel as the only driver with multiple checkered flags at Wilmot. And most importantly, the win served as a much needed confidence boost. A reminder to Macedo and the entire team of their capabilities as they pursue a championship.“I’m just thankful more than anything,” Macedo said. “It’s been a tough few weeks. I’ve had a lot of really good people reach out and be supporters. When you’re young you think you’re invincible, but the other week kind of knocked me back a little bit, that wreck. I feel like my guys have never given up on me – Philip Dietz, Clyde Knipp, Nate Repetz. They’ve been trying to give me the best car they possibly can. I just haven’t been 100% right. “Coming into this week, I worked out all week and was just in a much better mind and place in my head. I felt pretty good about our chances. We were fast early in the night. I felt like we had a really good Heat Race. We were outstanding in the Dash, and they just delivered again in the Feature. These guys did an incredible job.”When the green flag waved on the 40-lap main event, Macedo was on the pole, but it was Donny Schatz powering into the lead around Macedo’s outside.While Schatz was the one who grabbed the early lead, Macedo refused to let him pull away. Macedo kept the Albaugh #41 a few car lengths behind Schatz. As the two entered traffic, Macedo was forced to fend off a challenge in the form of a charging Bill Balog. “The North Pole Nightmare” slid Macedo for the runner-up spot, but he was able to cross Balog over.Balog’s challenge forced Macedo to elevate his game. Only a few laps after he’d briefly slipped to third, Macedo closed right back up to Schatz’ tail tank as they navigated slower cars. On lap 16, Schatz left an opening on the top side, and Macedo promptly took advantage. He ripped the cushion right around the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15.After taking the lead, Macedo began to put some distance between himself and Schatz. Then Schatz slipped back a spot as Balog maneuvered by him for second.A restart that came a lap beyond the halfway point gave Macedo a close moment as Balog got a strong restart. He attempted a slider but couldn’t clear Macedo. The #17B drifted up and above the cushion causing him to lose some spots and gift Brad Sweet the runner-up position.“I was most nervous with Bill. I knew he wants to win really bad and was willing to throw a flyer to try and win the race,” Macedo said of the restart. “I kind of spun a little bit off the bottom and could hear him behind me. I went to the top thinking I’ll get a run, and he threw a big bomb and I just barely snuck around him.”Once he cleared Balog, Macedo cruised ahead and worked his way expertly through traffic. A couple close moments where the cushion tripped him up caused some drama as Sweet closed in, but ultimately Macedo never allowed “The Big Cat” to have a legitimate opportunity at moving ahead.The checkered flag flew to a very happy recipient. It’s not only a victory to boost the entire team’s morale. It’s also a boost heading into a massive week in Ohio that includes the Brad Doty Classic and Kings Royal.“I’m thankful to be standing up here,” Macedo said. “When things are going good, you really kind of take for granted just how tough this is out here on the Outlaw tour. It felt really good to be back after lacking performance. Hopefully we can build on it. It’s good to have a little bit of momentum rolling into this week coming up. It’s definitely a big one.”The runner-up spot belonged to Brad Sweet aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing/Napa Auto Parts #49 as he fell just short of his 13th Series win in the state of Wisconsin. Sweet is up to 16 World of Outlaws podiums this season and put a little distance between himself and David Gravel in the championship hunt. Sweet enjoyed the 40-lap finale, and the racing surface even reminded him a bit of his west coast roots.“It was a tricky track,” Sweet explained. “It was actually a lot of fun. Lapped traffic was kind of wild there. I had a few close calls. The track was changing a lot… Once the curb got built up, it got a lot trickier. It was kind of a fine line between you either you’d enter with your right-rear too out in front of you and you got loose or you could get yourself too tight, and then you could get it right sometimes. It was a really fine line. It was kind of old school, kind of like a California track. My Napa Auto Parts guys gave me a great car.”Rounding out the top three was a charging Sheldon Haudenschild. The Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing gasser drove from 10th up to third aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17. Haudenschild’s feelings mirrored that of Sweet’s regarding the puzzling track conditions at times.“I feel like I only made one big mistake over in (Turn) 3, but it was just tricky,” Haudenschild said. “It was hard to get runs and throw sliders. The top was really fast. I felt really good early, though. We were able to move around, I feel like, probably more than anybody.”Donny Schatz and Kasey Kahne completed the top five.Brad Sweet’s lead in the standings is up to 12 markers. With his win, Carson Macedo closed in slightly back in third as he’s now 38 behind Gravel and 50 back of Sweet.KSE Hard Charger honors went to Caden Englehart. In his first career World of Outlaws Feature start, the Terre Haute, IN native drove from 24th to 15th.For the second time in the last three races, Bill Balog earned the Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award as he set a new Wilmot Raceway track record.The Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown was claimed by Noah Gass.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Bill Balog (seventh Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were topped by Carson Macedo (105th of career), Jacob Allen (57th of career), and Donny Schatz (516th of career).The Smith Titanium Brake Systems “Break of the Race” went to Bill Balog after he challenged for the lead early before slipping to eighth.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make their way to Ohio for a massive week. On Tuesday, July 11 Attica Raceway Park will host the Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic presented by Racing Optics with $15,000 on the line. Then it’s off to Eldora Speedway for two nights at “The Big E.” First, The Knight Before on Friday, July 14 pays $20,000-to-win. Then the 40th Kings Royal on Saturday, July 15 awards a huge $175,000 payday. For tickets, CLICK HERE. If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet[4]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[10]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz[2]; 5. 9-Kasey Kahne[6]; 6. 2-David Gravel[7]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[11]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog[5]; 9. 5-Spencer Bayston[8]; 10. 83-James McFadden[12]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[9]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart[15]; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen[3]; 14. 20G-Noah Gass[21]; 15. 71M-Caden Englehart[24]; 16. 3N-Jake Neuman[20]; 17. 23-Russel Borland[22]; 18. 6-Bill Rose[16]; 19. (DNF) 87A-Austin Hartmann[18]; 20. (DNF) 7S-Robbie Price[14]; 21. (DNF) 68-Dave Uttech[23]; 22. (DNF) 7N-Darin Naida[13]; 23. (DNF) 49J-Josh Schneiderman[17]; 24. (DNF) 16TH-Hunter Schuerenberg[19]

(7/8/23 – Ben Deatherage) Petaluma, CA … Chase Johnson brought the house down at Petaluma Speedway Saturday night with an impressive NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory at the Salute To Baylands Raceway Park. Johnson won his first series race since 2019 after powering his way to the front on lap 19 of the 30-lap headliner aboard the potent Toyota of Marin, Walnut Creek, and Sunnyvale/Price Family Dealerships #24 Maxim.

“I tell you what, there’s nothing better than winning in front of you fans,” said the pumped-up Sonoma County native. “I travel all across the country racing cars, and to do it in front of the home fans, there’s nothing like it.”

“I just really wanted to win,” he continued. “I was waiting for traffic, I love traffic here, but clean air is what you need with these cars, and that helped us out a ton. As I said, it’s so awesome to be here, and I’m blessed for this opportunity.”

Polesitter and Sunnyvalley Bacon dash winner Dominic Scelzi set the tone of the main event on the initial green flag. Two caution periods slowed the field down in the first five laps of the race, but once the field came back to green, Scelzi was electric on the restarts. The driver of the Scelzi Motorsports/Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim set a wicked pace and reached lapped traffic first as a long green flag run developed, which got the entire field elbows deep with slower cars.

Slowly but methodically, the ninth starting Johnson began to reel in Scelzi. Johnson would pounce on the two-time defending series champion with only 11 laps remaining to secure the coveted top spot. The only thing to slow him down would be one more caution flag.  However, Johnson answered the call with the back of the running order one last time to secure his third NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win, all of which came at Petaluma.  He also earned the Williams Roofing Hardcharger award.

Justin Sanders, who also earned the ARP Fast Qualifier award, was the runner-up in the Demo Mittry-fielded Farmer’s Brewing/North County Plastering #2X Maxim. 

“I tried making something happen on the top,” explained Sander. “I got next to Dominic on the restart and tried to keep up there, but I stayed up there too long. When (Chase) got by me, it looked like a slot car. It would have taken something miraculous to get around him.”

Despite dropping out of the top five briefly, Corey Day roared back in the Jason Meyers Racing-owned Meyers Constructors/Four C’s Construction #14 KPC, to finish third. Sean Becker scored his best NARC run of the season aboard the Bjork Construction/Kaeding Performance #7B Maxim with a fourth-place effort. The Dave and Debbie Vertullo-owned Starr Property Management/Air One Racing #83V Maxim, chauffeured by Dylan Bloomfield, scored his second career NARC top five finish.

Justyn Cox rallied in the Bates-Hamilton Racing entry from fourteenth to end his evening in sixth. Billy Aton beat out 2017 champ Bud Kaeding for seventh. John Clark made a home track appearance for his first career NARC top ten by finishing ninth. Nick Parker rounded out the top ten.

Heat races were picked off by Becker, Scelzi and Stephen Ingraham. 

A-FEATURE (30 Laps): 1. 24-Chase Johnson [9]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 3. 14-Corey Day [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [5]; 5. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [2]; 6. 42X-Justyn Cox [14]; 7. 26-Billy Aton [7]; 8. 69-Bud Kaeding [11]; 9. 12J-John Clark [10]; 10. 115-Nick Parker [8]; 11. 2R-Richard Brace Jr. [17]; 12. 551-Angelique Bell [18]; 13. 93-Stephen Ingraham [6]; 14. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 15. 92-Andy Forsberg [15]; 16. 7H-Jake Haulot [11]; 17. 4-Burt Foland Jr. [16]; 18. 51-Gary Paulson [15]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Dominic Scelzi 1-18; Chase Johnson 19-30

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Chase Johnson +8

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (18 Cars): Justin Sanders, 12.690

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 7B-Sean Becker [3]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 3. 115-Nick Parker [1]; 4. 7H-Jake Haulot [2]; 5. 42X-Justyn Cox [5]; 6. 4-Burt Foland Jr [6]

KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 26-Billy Aton [2]; 3. 12J-John Clark [5]; 4. 14-Corey Day [4]; 5. 92-Andy Forsberg [3]; 6. 2R-Richard Brace Jr [6]

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 93-Stephen Ingraham [3]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 3. 24-Chase Johnson [2]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [1]; 5. 51-Gary Paulson [5]; 6. 551-Angelique Bell [6]

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [5]; 5. 14-Corey Day [3]; 6. 93-Stephen Ingraham

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 8, 2023) – Bobby Pierce edged Hudson O’Neal at the finish line to win the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 on Saturday night at Deer Creek Speedway. The winning margin was 0.002 seconds which equaled the closest finish in Lucas Oil Late Model Series history. Pierce earned $50,000 for his biggest win thus far in 2023 and earned an additional $1,000 from NAPA Auto Parts for his first career victory in the crown jewel event. O’Neal was ahead at the white flag, but he bobbled in turn two allowing Pierce to close on him heading into the last two turns. Pierce through a slider on O’Neal heading into turn four to take the lead. O’Neal would turn down the track and the two-drag raced to the finish with Pierce scoring the victory. Brandon Sheppard came home in third followed by Chris Madden and Jonathan Davenport. Madden, the 2018 NAPA Gopher 50 winner, sprinted to the lead from his pole starting spot ahead of his fellow front row starter in Davenport, who was looking for his first win in the crown jewel event. Madden and Davenport ran first and second for the first 21 laps of the race when O’Neal grabbed the second position from Davenport. O’Neal then hounded Madden for the race lead until he was able to make the pass for the top spot on lap 37. O’Neal then had to deal with Tim McCreadie as he moved into second, but Pierce was the car on the move as he came from his outside fifth row starting spot to take second by lap 41. Sheppard then started to show some strength as he and his fellow Illinois competitor raced hard for second with Sheppard gaining the spot from laps 49 through 55 when Pierce got back by him. A caution with ten laps to go set up what would become a showdown between O’Neal and Pierce. Just when it looked like O’Neal was opening enough breathing room Pierce would close the gap. When O’Neal stumbled in turn on the final lap it was the opportunity that Pierce was looking for as he slid O’Neal heading into turn four to take the lead heading to the checkered flag. Pierce in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the second time this season and for the 14th time in his career came from the tenth starting spot to get the lucrative win. “I think everything had to play its part there. All the glory to the Holy Spirit and everything there. I had to have everything go my way. It was just one of those deals where Hudson just pushed, it was just bad timing on the last lap. I have had it happen to me plenty of times when you get to those last couple of laps and you’re leading, and you just want the race to be over. He [O’Neal] made a little push and every time he would pull me off two I knew three and four was going to be the one I was going to slide him. I am not going to lie I was scared to send that slider in there after what happened Thursday night.” Pierce referring to Thursday night’s preliminary feature where he got into the wall while going for the lead on Daulton Wilson ending his night. Pierce, who only led the final lap went for it in the final corner. “It was like well he bobbled, and I’ve got to go for it, it’s the last lap like people were going to ask me why I didn’t do it if I didn’t take it like I did. I took it in there, I am sure I was slow, and I might have bottled him up in turn four and I got the cushion pretty good. I was worried about the wall because it kind of sticks out.  I got the cushion, and the car was pointed down the hill and then I thought I was going to go for it and shoot it straight and gas it to the line. I heard Hudson to my left and we were both probably turning 9500 rpm’s coming to the line,” said the 26-year-old Oakwood, Illinois native. O’Neal was heartbroken in his post-race interview as he had led from lap 37 to the last lap. “I knew I had a good enough lead, and the top was so dominate. I knew if I didn’t mess up that I was probably going to have it and that’s exactly what I did. I was going down the front straightaway and thought about it too much and I don’t know it’s the biggest heartbreak I have ever had in my life. I don’t really have any words. I definitely gave one away. In this big of a race to be leading and in that position, you don’t get those very often. I don’t hate it for me I hate it for my team. We’ve had a good race car and I felt like we had potential there and every time we got on the racetrack, we would get a little bit better and better. We had a heck of a hot rod all weekend.” Sheppard, who was the first driver among the top three finishers to have won the race before rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “We definitely had a really fast race car we were really maneuverable around the racetrack. I was a little bit snug around the cushion. I couldn’t really keep up with them two once they got their speed picked up when they were able to rip around the wall. Overall, we had a great weekend I feel like. The car’s phenomenal.” The winner’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Mesilla Valley Transportation, Rio Grande Waste Services, PureMax Racing Oil, Toyota of Danville, Leka Tree Service, Carnaghi Towing and Repair, Extreme Electric, A Plus Vacuum, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint and Body Shop, and Bloomington-Normal Truck Performance. Completing the top ten were Tim McCreadie, Garrett Alberson, Earl Pearson Jr., Dustin Sorensen, and Chad Simpson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 – Night 3Saturday, July 8, 2023Deer Creek Speedway – Spring Valley, MN Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25C-Shane Clanton[2]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 4. 32C-Chris Simpson[3]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 6. 77-Jordan Yaggy[7]; 7. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[10]; 8. 11L-Lance Hofer[8]; 9. 15-Nick Anvelink[6]; 10. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 11. 90-Lance Matthees[11] UNOH B-Main Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[3]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 4. 15J-Justin Duty[5]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[10]; 6. 10-Garrett Smith[4]; 7. 55C-Chad Mahder[8]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 9. 10P-Paul Parker[9]; 10. 49T-Jake Timm[2] NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Night 3 Feature Finish (75 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 38Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Chris Madden       Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1-36); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 37-74); Bobby Pierce (Lap 75)Wieland Feature Winner: Bobby PierceArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: Bobby PierceBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Bobby PierceMargin of Victory: 0.002 secondsGorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Stormy Scott (Lap 18); Spencer Hughes (Lap 26); Shane Clanton (Lap 35); Ross Robinson (Lap 37); Max Blair (Lap 38); Tyler Erb (Lap 41); Dillon McCowan (Lap 48); Devin Moran (Lap 55); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 65)LOLMDS Provisionals:  Ross Robinson; Boom BriggsLOLMDS Emergency Provisionals: n/aMLRA Provisionals: Chris Simpson; Daniel HilsabeckMLRA Emergency Provisionals: Trevor Gundaker; Justin DutyTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon SheppardPenske Shocks Top 5: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Chris Madden, Jonathan DavenportTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Justin Duty (Advanced 13 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Chris SimpsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (38 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Chris Madden (Lap 8 – 14.485 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr. Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Bob Pierce (Bobby Pierce)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Vic Hill Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (14.567 seconds)Time of Race: 42 minutes 49 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 8, 2023) – Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) claimed sole possession of the career Grand National Championship Half-Mile wins record with a showcase performance in Saturday night’s Orange County Half-Mile as Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, returned to Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York, for the first time in 35 years. The combination of Mees’ immense ability, experience, and support provided the reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion with a decisive edge on a hyper-slick surface that tested the upper limits of the field’s collective skill. Even a late red flag that wiped out the multi-second lead Mees had diligently assembled did little to dent the factory Indian star’s dominance on the evening. He simply powered off the staggered start and marched away while his primary rivals waged war for second behind him. The last time the series visited the century-old venue, the legendary Scott Parker earned one of his record-setting 35 career Half-Mile wins. Mees’ victory tonight was his 36th HM win, which established the new all-time mark. Mees’ monumental night also saw him wrest the points lead away from Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) for the first time this season. Prior to the red flag, the young title hopeful was caught up in a heated scrap for second with the rolling Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke). After the restart, his season-long podium streak came under serious threat with the additions of Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to the fray. Bauman slashed up to second and controlled the spot to the flag. Afterward, the Rick War Racing ace proclaimed himself a contender from here on out now that the bike is properly dialed, a sentiment backed up by a win, two seconds, a third, and a fourth in his last five attempts. Daniels, meanwhile, had to hustle his way back past Robinson over the race’s final two laps to narrowly finish third, upping his active podium streak to 12 in the process. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to retain his championship standing, as Mees now leads the chase 257-255. After claiming his seventh victory of the season, Mees said, “We’ve just got to keep plucking away. Dallas has been riding phenomenally all year. It’s almost underrated how consistent he’s been this season. It’s making me dig down as deep as I can, and I’m really enjoying the battle. We’ve got a lot of racing to go, and I’ve got a couple tracks coming up that are more his forte than mine with the TTs. It’s an honor to keep the ball rolling, really.” Robinson and Beach completed the top five, while Billy Ross (No. 109 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Kawasaki Ninja 650) took the best finish of his premier-class career in sixth. Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750) finished seventh, followed by Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), and Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke), in that order. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) claimed the 13th victory of his Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER career in Saturday’s Orange County Half-Mile, and this one may have been the best yet. The entire evening felt as if it was shaping up as a collision course between Kopp and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F). While that initially proved true, what wasn’t expected was that their clash would be for second with Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) blasting away a couple second out in front. Saathoff’s long-awaited maiden Progressive AFT victory was delayed yet again, however. Once in the clear after shaking free of Drane, Kopp set about tracking the Turner Honda pilot down. The KTM star quickly gobbled up the gap and then searched for a way into first. He found one quickly enough although perhaps not exactly as scripted. The defending champ caught a rut in the middle of the corner and was sent wide, forcing Saathoff to chop the throttle to prevent contact. Once into first, Kopp flexed his sheer pace advantage and walked away with his sixth victory of the season. “In clay car-track racing you have to go for those little sliders,” Kopp said of his overtake for the lead. “It worked out. My bike just wheelied and put me straight into the wall. I reached out on the straightaway – put a hand out apologizing. But that’s racing. He’s in the pro class. I guess he was mad about it, but all right.” Drane held on for third ahead of Sathoff’s teammate, Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). Fifth went to a strong-running Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), who pushed his way into the early podium battle before settling in for his best career Parts Unlimited AFT Singles finish to date. Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) ended up sixth with Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/Eric Hoyt Honda CRF450R), Hunter Bauer (No. 24 BigR Racing/Little Deb Racing Honda CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/3 Bros KTM 450 SX-F) rounding out the top ten. Kopp’s big title lead got that much bigger with his triumph. He now leads Saathoff by nearly two full races (241-194). Kopp’s teammate, Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), could only muster an 18-place finish after crashing on the opening lap and then soldiering on less than 100% following the restart. As a result, he dropped all the way from second to seventh in the tight race for position behind Kopp. Next Up: Progressive American Flat Track will return to action on Saturday, July 22, for the inaugural Bridgeport Half-Mile at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/bridgeport-half-mile-60826 to reserve your seats today. For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage of the Orange County Half-Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m

July 9, 2023 — BOWMANVILLE, Ont

• Tom Blomqvist claims pole in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
• Ricky Taylor completes sweep with front-row start for #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura
• Third pole of 2023 for the electrified Acura ARX-06 prototype

For the second year in a row, Acura drivers and teams dominated qualifying at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, as Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist led an Acura 1-2 front row sweep in preparation for Sunday’s sixth round in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Blomqvist’s pole qualifying time of 1:05.653 in the #60 MSR Acura edged Ricky Taylor’s #10 ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport by just 81-thousandths of a second
around the challenging 2.459-mile CTMP road course as the pair of Acura heads the prototype field for the third time in 2023.

Previous poles this year came at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona [Meyer Shank Racing] and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach [WTRAndretti].

In the production-based GTD category, the #66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 from Gradient Racing will roll off 13th in the hands of Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Acura Qualifying Results

•   1st overall – Tom Blomqvist, #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
•   2nd overall – Ricky Taylor, #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06
• 13th GTD –  Sheena Monk, #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

Fast Facts

• Acura Motorsports has recorded six previous victories at CTMP, all in the prototype categories of the former American Le Mans Series championship.
• Acura is a three-time series champion in the premier prototype division since joining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2018, claiming the Manufacturer, Driver and Team Daytona Prototype International (DPi) titles in 2019-20 and again in 2022 with the Acura ARX-05.
• For 2023, the new, electrified Acura ARX-06 GTP effort continues to be spearheaded by a pair of IMSA championship-winning teams:  Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.

Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06) Pole qualifier: “Really happy to get the pole today. The car’s been quick, so that was the aim. We knew it was possible. Colin [Braun, co-driver] has been doing a fantastic job. But to be honest, I was struggling a little bit with the car. We just made some little tweaks and then with [new] tires and low fuel [for qualifying], I always have faith in what I can do in those situations, and thankfully it worked out. Just really happy for everybody at MSR. Everybody has been on it this weekend. Tomorrow is the important one though—we just have to convert it and hopefully it all works out.”

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06) Qualified second: “It was nice to get an all-Acura front row. Our ARX-06 is very strong this weekend.  I think we had a car for the pole, but I don’t know if I put it all together.  It’s okay, we have a long race tomorrow and I have a lot of confidence in the pace of the car.  There are a lot of cars on track, and the closing speed [to cars in the other classes] is substantial. I think the race tomorrow is going to come down to who can best get through traffic cleanly and quickly.” 

Sheena Monk (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) Qualified 13th in GTD: “The nature of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a bit difficult. It requires a bit of bravery so getting everything out from the Acura has been a bit of a challenge. Looking at the season as a whole, I would say that I am making improvements but I want so much more. The pace in practice this morning feels like it didn’t translate into qualifying later in the day. So, I’m a bit frustrated with that, but it’s a learning experience at the moment and I’m just trying my best to always push my limit a little bit further and just try to get myself as close to Kat [co-driver Katherine Legge] as possible. This morning I felt like I was making some headway—but then the track conditions changed a little bit, it got a little warmer, and the behavior of the car changed slightly and I just wasn’t able to adapt and put the power down in a way that felt as comfortable as this morning.”

Where to Watch Sunday’s Race
Live, flag-to-flag coverage from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be available on NBC starting at 12 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

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

• Instagram        (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd)
• TikTok             (www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_hpd)
• Twitter             (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_Hpd)
• Facebook        (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD)
• YouTube         (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV)

NASCAR CUP SERIES

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

QUAKER STATE 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JULY 8, 2023

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. Press conference transcript: 

HOW DO YOU FEEL ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY HAS MATURED NOW HAS A SUPERSPEEDWAY TRACK? 

“I don’t think we’ve seen its full potential yet. It still probably has a lot of grip where you’re really not fighting getting out of the throttle yet a whole lot. Old Atlanta (Motor Speedway), being as slippery as it was – if that was a zero on the grip scale, I think we’re still up in the nine or 10 right now. So it’ll take a little bit before we get to the five or six range when racing typically starts to get pretty good.”

HOW DO YOU THINK GOING 90 MPH ON THE APRON UNDER GREEN ENTERING PIT ROAD CHANGE MUCH, AS FAR AS STRATEGY? 

“I don’t think it changes much on strategy. When we were here in the spring, it seemed to be about equal for a lap and a half or something like that – where you would go down about a lap and a half. You know I think this time around might be a little bit less than that, obviously, but not by much. It’s just going to be a different rate of what you have to slow down to under green because under yellow, it’s still the same 45 mph all the way around. Everybody has probably looked ahead to that and planned – at least they should have – with their lights and everything else. So we’ll just see what that looks like getting out here and going.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE, THERE’S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RACES – WHETHER IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, WHEREVER. DO YOU SEE THAT HAVING A PLACE IN NASCAR AT ALL IN THE FUTURE? 

“I have a really funny answer, but I’m going to leave it alone (laughs). 

Yeah, I do. I feel like there’s definitely the potential for that – whether it’s North America, South America, even a different continent. I think there’s some opportunities that are out there, so it will be interesting to see where we land with that. I think last week kind of showcased that you can do a street event. And we’ve also kind of proven the stadium aspect, as well, with the (Los Angeles) Coliseum. I think that opens up a huge playbook.”

NOW A WEEK REMOVED FROM CHICAGO – ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON HOW THAT WEEKEND WENT WITH HAVING TIME TO PROCESS IT? 

“Yeah, I thought it went well. Considering where the team hotels were, we were in walking distance and that was pretty close. There was just a lot of walking from the garage area to pit road for the teams. Where the haulers were parked was a little bit of a walk, as well. Especially with the rain because your notice that you get for ‘drivers to your cars’ is about four minutes, so it’s almost where you have to get into a trot to get out there on time. But probably the only negative was just the weather. I thought everything else about it was really good. Practice went off pretty well. There was definitely some areas of the track where you could use a tire barrier – I obviously was a tester of those, and they seemed to work really well and that our cars can continue on with little damage. But just a couple of spots that probably could use more or any to begin with.”

IT’S BEEN A YEAR NOW THAT KURT (BUSCH) HAS BEEN OUT OF THE CAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT AND WHAT IT’S BEEN LIKE THE LAST YEAR WITH KURT AND HIM RECOVERING? 

“Yeah, I got to work with him on the sidelines last year being with the Toyota camp for the last half of the year, but really haven’t seen a whole bunch of him and haven’t talked a whole bunch with him – just not working with that group anymore. Being with Team Chevy, we’ve kind of I guess re-distanced a little bit. But you know, it was not due to what he wanted as a timeline of stepping aside and being out of the car. But the way it all went down, the way he’s handled it, the way he’s still been a part of 23XII and working with Tyler (Reddick) and Bubba (Wallace) over there – I think he’s an instrumental part to some of the success they’ve had early on. We’ll see what his choices are going forward on if he continues that.”

(NO MIC.)

“Yeah, so I was born in 1985 – I think Bobby (Allison) was done in ’88, so I never watched him race, but obviously I’ve seen the highlights and stuff like that. He was an amazing competitor. I always remember him being fast in that No. 12 Miller car. Just being a historian of the sport for the little bit that I am, it’s always really neat to just kind of see some of that. I know with Davey coming in and being here – those two guys racing with each other, running well with each other, working together and all that, was really cool as a father-son duo. Hopefully one day I can do some of that with my son, as well. He was an instrumental part of the growth of the sport during that time – stayed around a lot and kept his face in the business to just continue to elevate everything that they all were doing.”

JUST WITH THE DIFFERENT TRACKS AND HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED WITH THE SCHEDULE THE LAST FEW YEARS – HOW DOES THAT CHALLENGE YOU AS A DRIVER AND THE DIFFERENT SKILL SETS OR DEMANDS REQUIRED? AND TWO – WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR SON AND AS YOU PLOT A COURSE FOR HIM TO WORK HIS WAY UP, WITH NASCAR’S EVOLVING SCHEDULE, DOES THAT START TO CHANGE OR MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO PLOT HIS DIRECTION OR THINGS YOU WANT TO INCLUDE IN HIS DEVELOPMENT? 

“Yeah, obviously there’s a lot of change happening right now with different venues and things like that. Atlanta (Motor Speedway) turning into a speedway. You’ve got, I’d call it, six I guess superspeedway races, and then you’ve got seven road course races. You’ve got intermediates; you’ve got short-tracks. Now you have a street course. So there’s a lot going on with the different avenues that you can go and the training you can do with driver development. 

Yeah, I’m a proponent of getting him in as much stuff that I possibly can. Some people tell me that they think that’s hurting his development or slowing his development down in particular cars. And I’m like – well, yeah, but he can go run against any kid in the country and run top-three everywhere we go in any vehicle that we run in. I feel like that’s a Kyle Larson-type thing – where we’re not just focused on quarter midgets or outlaw karts.. he only does that and he’s really good at that. But then we can’t even make an A-main in a quarter midget race at a national event. The one thing that we’re a little bit short on right now is just the road course kart stuff that Keelan has been really high on. We haven’t done as much of that and Brexton keeps asking me about doing it and why we haven’t done it. And I’m like – bro, there’s only so much time in the day (laughs).. we’re pretty slammed as it is. But hopefully being able to get out to Trackhouse Motorplex a little bit more, especially as the off-season gets there – that’s sort of the time where I always ran road course stuff was always winter races. So I’d love to take him out there and just kind of get his feet wet more in that.”

HOW MUCH IS IT CHALLENGING FOR YOU? YOU HAD THE DEVELOPMENT AND SKILL SET, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE TALENTED IN A LOT OF THINGS, BUT A LOT OF THINGS ARE GETTING THROWN AT YOU. HOW IS THIS CHALLENING YOU? 

“You know, the only thing that’s been challenging to me and I don’t know how to be get better at it besides just doing it more often – is the street course last week. I came out of the gate my first lap on the track and boom – I shot up to third quick on the board. And then everybody started getting braver, pushing the brake limits more and getting better and better, and I started falling back. But when you go to the Clash at The Coliseum, that reminds me of going to Star Speedway up in Epping, New Hampshire – we’re close to there next week. It’s a little, tight, three-eighths mile bullring with really tight corners. So places like that where I grew up racing late models at remind me of that. The superspeedway here is a little bit different, but it’s really close to Daytona (International Speedway). And then all the rest of the stuff that we obviously do. Traditional road courses are traditional road courses – it’s just about finding your way around those. So again, the street course stuff – not having much experience in that or racing in the rain for that matter, too – is probably my worst trait at the moment.”

WHAT’S YOUR RECOVERY PROCESS FOR ANY WRECK, IN GENERAL? 

“It depends on the wreck. Last week, running into the tires at Chicago was great (laughs).. it was nice, it wasn’t really that bad. I was petrified going into that, that it was going to hurt a hell of a lot. But then the tire pack, you kind of just slowly accordion into it and it was fine. I think that was a good learning for us that we can do that at a lot more races maybe – not ovals, but road courses that don’t maybe have tire packs that have some gravel run-offs that don’t catch a car that you can still achieve the fence. I don’t think there’s a depth of tire pack that’s too thick, honestly. So I think that’s kind of a learning curve that I tested out last week. 

Other than that, yeah wrecking at superspeedway races – hitting the wall, breaking my leg, foot and stuff at Daytona (International Speedway) was no fun. It’s all about the hit that you get. But being in decent shape I think allows you to come out of those a lot faster. Just talking with Scott Borchetta, who is a TA2 driver who I’ve been friends with for a long time – he was in a bad accident and hurt pretty bad. He’s healing a lot faster than the doctors expected because he was like – yeah, I was working out, I was training, I was trying to keep up with these young kids to go race with. I think it’s just all about your body composition and makeup.”

HALFWAY THROUGH YOUR FIRST SEASON AT RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN TELL US THAT YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT RICHARD (CHILDRESS) AS YOUR CAR OWNER THAT MAYBE YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HIM IN PREVIOUS YEARS?

“To me, it’s just that he’s involved. He’s involved in a lot of different ways. He’s involved at the race shop – he’s there a lot, talking with upstairs people, downstairs people, into the competition meetings, talking with the pit crew coaches. He’s also doing some other outside business stuff with the spring company that he’s got, as well as the ECR engines and things that they’ve been doing. Not since I’ve been there, but the last couple of years they were the Cadillac engine supplier for the IMSA stuff for Cadillac. It’s just really cool to see all the different stuff that they have all up at their campus, and what all he’s involved in and how much he really pays attention to all of that. He’s an instrumental part to why we want to win races and why we’ve won races. And I feel like we’ve lived up to that to this point, which has been amazing and really, really good. It’s just a matter of carrying that forward and continuing to work together. He and I – we’ve exchanged a lot of text messages, phone calls and all that stuff on areas of things that we can do. I’m trying to push on him a little bit so he can go deliver those messages and push on it from his side because he’s always told me – just come to me.. bring me anything, whatever you’ve got, come to me.”

Cadillac V-Series.Rs qualify third and fourth for the 2-hour, 40-minute sprint

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 8, 2023) – Cadillac Racing will occupy the second row for the start of the Chevrolet Grand Prix on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Pipo Derani, driving the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 05.829 seconds to qualify third in the nine IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype field. Derani’s best lap of 10 on the 2.459-mile circuit was 0.176 of a second off the pole-claiming lap of the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 driven by Tom Blomqvist and 0.095 of a second from a front-row start.

Sebastien Bourdais followed 2 minutes later in the 20-minute session with a lap of 1:06.266 in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to claim the outside of Row 2 for the 2-hour-40-minute race. Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will seek to successfully defend their 2022 victory in the twilight of the DPi era. The tandem is fourth in the GTP standings through five races. Derani, who drove to a third-place finish last year at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and teammate Alexander Sims are coming off a runner-up finish two weeks ago at Watkins Glen International that vaulted the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R into the GTP Driver and Team Championship standings. Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship. NBC will telecast the Chevrolet Grand Prix at noon ET Sunday, with additional coverage in the U.S. on Peacock Premium. Live broadcast of the race will also be on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM (XM 207, Internet/App 992). What they’re saying

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:05.829: “I think we did a good job from free practice 2 to qualifying. The car was really good yesterday, and we tried a couple of things that didn’t go as planned for practice 2. We were able to turn the tables around again and come back to qualifying with a strong car. To be that close to the Acuras after what they displayed in practice 2, I think it shows that we are on the right path. So, thanks to the team for providing me with a good car. Starting on the second row is good, especially on a track that is difficult to pass. We have a strong package for the race and I’m looking forward to the 2-hour, 40-minute race and add points to our championship lead.” No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:06.266: “It’s a good Cadillac day. Pipo (Derani) put a very strong lap out there to get P3. The competition up front seems to be strong, but it’s close enough that things will equal out in the race. It will be interesting and hopefully we have a flawless day and just get it done.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will try to make it a dozen victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Sunday from fourth place on the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO grid for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix.

Jordan Taylor qualified on the third of 10 GTD category rows for the sixth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a lap of 1:15.494 (117.260 mph). He and teammate Antonio Garcia hope to win for the first time this season in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and give Corvette Racing its first victory at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit east of Toronto since 2014. The duo is coming off a third-place GTD PRO finish at Watkins Glen two weeks ago and came in second last year at CTMP in the C8.R’s first race at the historic Canadian circuit.  In addition to winning the race, Garcia and Taylor aim to close the gap in the GTD PRO championship standings. The drivers, the No. 3 team and manufacturer Chevrolet enter CTMP third in their respective GTD PRO points standings. Only 73 points separate second through fourth with a maximum of 385 points available this weekend. Lexus and its No. 14 drivers and teams lead the class by 172 points after five races and with six events left in the season. The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. The race will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.comoutside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air the call of the race on IMSA.com, XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN GTD PRO: “I don’t know. Something was off in that session. I don’t know if we missed something on the setup or if there was something else. We are still struggling in the last two sectors where you make your speed compared to the leaders. This track is about speed and track position. Unfortunately we don’t have very much of either right now.”

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of this weekend’s IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix and FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Monza. Materials include race advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography.

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After five of 11 events)Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1,7952. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 1,6823. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1,6234. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 1,6095. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 1,408 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1,7952. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,6823. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 1,6234. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 1,6095. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 1,408 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 1,7952. Mercedes-AMG – 1,6823. Chevrolet – 1,6234. Porsche – 1,6095. Aston Martin – 1,419 CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP & MONZA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at CTMP since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2016-2019). The Corvette C8.R raced at the track for the first time last season.• 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R.• 6: Hours difference between the IMSA team competing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the Corvette Racing WEC team competing at Monza on the same days.• 7: Number of drivers who have won races at CTMP for Corvette Racing. Johnny O’Connell (six), Jan Magnussen (five), Oliver Gavin (four), Ron Fellows (three) and Olivier Beretta (two) each have multiple wins there with the team.• 7: Pole positions for Corvette Racing drivers at CTMP. Oliver Gavin leads with three with Antonio Garcia (2016) being the most recent.• 11: Class victories at Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – all since 2001.• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.• 125: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, nine at Le Mans – including two weeks ago – and three in the FIA WEC.• 275: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 11,080.25: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. That represents 4,506 laps.• 358,144.93: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon… and then some! Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (wins in bold)2000No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole, fastest race lap) 2001No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2002No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 2nd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap) 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 7th in GTS (Gavin pole) 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 4th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)No. 33 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GT1 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Beretta fastest race lap) 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 3rd in GT2 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell – 5th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GT2 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GT 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia pole)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM 2023No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualifies fifth, only three-tenths of a second off pole time

MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified fifth of 13 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar entries and will start on the third row for the 6 Hours of Monza on Sunday. Alex Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 35.720 seconds with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left in the 15-minute session on the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn (seven right, four left) Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit.

Lynn’s lap was only .362 of a second off the pole-winning time of former Cadillac DPi endurance driver Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Lynn, Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook sharing the driving duties, has been consistent throughout the exceptionally warm race weekend in Italy by running in the top five in two of the three free practice sessions preceding qualifications.  Entering the fifth of seven races in its maiden tour of the WEC calendar, Cadillac Racing has also displayed consistently solid qualifying results: fifth at Monza, sixth at Le Mans, fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, eighth at Portimao and fourth at Sebring. More impressive have been the race results: third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, fifth at Spa, fourth at Portimao and fourth at Sebring.The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a fast-flowing circuit, with tight, technical corners separated by lengthy straights during which “you can stretch your legs,” according to Westbrook. The 13-car Hypercar field is augmented by LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories for a 36-car lineup at the “Temple of Speed.” MotorTrend will telecast the race live in the U.S. starting at 6:30 a.m. ET Sunday, July 9. Discovery Velocity holds the rights for Canadian broadcast, while Eurosport and L’Equipe will broadcast to much of Europe. Action can also be viewed on the FIA WEC app. RadioLeMans.com will also call the action. Fans can also get a driver’s view of the action via the live No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in-car camera. HERE.

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.RAlex Lynn drove in the 15-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:35.720 for fifth in the 13-car Hypercar field: “I think overall it was a decent qualifying for the No. 2 Cadillac, P5 and only three-tenths away from pole position. Again, another strong showing by the Cadillac V-Series.R, so from our side we’re happy. We know our strength lies in our race pace, so we’re excited to go racing tomorrow.”

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTE AM: “I had hoped we would be higher than P6. It was an unfortunate red flag in the middle of qualifying. I was on my best lap at the peak of the tire and had the best sector one and a pretty good sector two before I had to shut it down at the end. I think that was going to be a really good lap. Because we’re at the end of pitlane, we made the decision to go to the pit exit and queue up there rather than go to the box and change tires. It’s hard to know whether having track position is more important or having the peak of the tire one more time is more important. Hindsight being 20-20, I think I would have preferred to have new tires. The tires just didn’t feel the same to get those last three- or four-tenths out of a lap. We’re carrying 50 kilograms more weight than we were at the beginning of the season. That’s the penalty of the amazing success that we’ve had. If you look at how much 50 kilograms is worth around this track, it’s probably not far from the pole. From a points perspective, I’d rather Sarah Bovy got the pole instead Ahmad Al-Harthy. That gives us a little bit more margin in the championship, but the fact that both will start up front means they will have a little bit of an advantage at the beginning of the race. We’ll see. We have a really, really good racecar. As a team and a car, we carry the weight well. We’ll have to work our way up one hour at a time. We’ve got a lot of experience doing that.”

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Monza. Materials include race advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies, Corvette Racing photography

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After four of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 1332. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 593. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 564. Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr/Davide Rigon – 475. Alessio Rovera/Lilou Wadoux/Luis Perez Companc – 43 Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 1332. No. 25 ORT by TF – 593. No. 85 Iron Dames – 564. No. 54 AF Corse – 475. No 83 Richard Mille AF Corse – 43

FARMER CITY, IL (July 7, 2023) – Nine minutes and 52 seconds is all Brian Shirley needed to assert his dominance over the star-studded DIRTcar Summer Nationals field at Farmer City Raceway.

Shirley, the four-time Hell Tour champion from Chatham, IL, put on a clinic Friday night, leading all 40 laps of the caution-free Feature en route to his fourth victory of the summer and 42nd of his career.

A stacked field of 44 DIRTcar Late Models lined the pit area for the third race of Week 4. Shirley won his Heat Race, which set him up to redraw the pole for the Feature. He took full advantage of his starting spot at the drop of the green and immediately jumped to the early lead over Dennis Erb Jr. and Ryan Unzicker.

Unzicker, winner on Thursday night at Macon Speedway, had a fast car on the bottom around the 1/4-mile track and got by Erb Jr. for second on Lap 14. While Shirley ripped around the top side and began to sort his way through lapped traffic, Unzicker began to close the gap behind him.

Within three laps, Unzicker had completely erased Shirley’s lead and nearly pulled even with him at one point, looking for a way around to take the top spot. Shirley acknowledged that somebody was knocking on the door and quickly cracked the whip.

“That was the biggest nerve wrack of it all, to be honest,” Shirley said. “I didn’t know who was in second, I just knew, at times, second was right there.”

After a few smart moves in traffic, Shirley was able to shake Unzicker’s wrath and sped away, stretching his lead out to over a full second again as the laps continued to wind down.

“I was more worried if I picked the right lane coming up on lapped traffic,” Shirley said. “I wasn’t worried about how good my car was. I felt like my car was good enough to win the race. Luckily, when I did get by them guys, I got to get back into my rhythm and get back in the lane I was running.”

From there on out, Shirley was never challenged again. He completed all 40 circuits around and crossed under the checkered flag in an elapsed time of nine minutes and 52 seconds to claim his second career Summer Nationals Feature win at Farmer City.

UP NEXT

Week 4 of the 38th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues Saturday, July 8 with a visit to Highland Speedway in Highland, IL. Get a ticket at the gate or stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[7]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[4]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 5. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 6. 25-Jason Feger[6]; 7. 33-Mike Harrison[8]; 8. 42-Mckay Wenger[9]; 9. 26H-Kyle Hammer[12]; 10. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[13]; 11. 18-Shannon Babb[20]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner[10]; 13. 91-Rusty Schlenk[17]; 14. 22H-Dustin Hodges[11]; 15. 31AUS-Kye Blight[19]; 16. 33H-Roben Huffman[21]; 17. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[14]; 19. 1M-Mike Mataragas[16]; 20. B12-Kevin Weaver[15]; 21. 29-Spencer Diercks[18]; 22. 162-Logan Moody[5]

McKinney Goes Back-to-Back with Summit Modifieds After Late Pass at Farmer City

Starting from the sixth position, Mike McKinney said after the race, “I didn’t think I’d be able to do it.” And then, a door opened right in front of him.

McKinney, the 30-year-old UMP Modified ace from Plainfield, IL, had worked his way to third with 10 laps remaining in Friday’s DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature at Farmer City Raceway. The two drivers ahead of him – race leader Blake Brown and points leader Tyler Nicely – were in an intense battle for the lead when McKinney caught them in traffic and looked to the inside to make a move for the top spot.

As Brown and Nicely both pushed up the track through Turns 1-2, McKinney used the grip on the bottom lane and slipped past both of them out of Turn 4 to take the lead.

“The bottom was just the only lane open,” McKinney said. “There was a lot of grip down there. It was a little choppy, but I was able to make it work.”

McKinney sped away in traffic, but faced one final challenge in a green-white-checkered finish after the caution was thrown as McKinney was coming for the white flag.

“I really didn’t feel nearly as good,” McKinney said. “I don’t know if I had my tire kinda seal-up there a little bit, but I was really struggling those last few laps. I just knew that if I could keep running my line and hit my marks, I felt like we’d be pretty good.”

Despite his concerns, McKinney was able to hold on for his 18th career Summit Modified victory and second of his career in Summit Modified competition at Farmer City.

UP NEXT

Week 4 of Summit Modified racing continues Saturday, July 8 with a visit to Highland Speedway in Highland, IL. Get a ticket at the gate or stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[6]; 2. 37L-Michael Ledford[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[18]; 4. 99B-Blake Brown[1]; 5. 66-Cole Falloway[8]; 6. 5CS-Curt Spalding[9]; 7. 89-Austin Friedman[2]; 8. 13-Charlie Mefford[5]; 9. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[11]; 10. 5-Steven Brooks[10]; 11. 50-Tyler Weiss[13]; 12. 24T-Trevor Ringle[12]; 13. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 14. 130-Chase Allen[24]; 15. 99T-Tyler Loughmiller[22]; 16. 10K-Kelly Kovski[19]; 17. 150-Collin Alexander[20]; 18. 25-Tyler Nicely[4]; 19. 94-Tom Pasek[14]; 20. 0-Travis Kohler[16]; 21. 54-Zachary Hawk[21]; 22. 25W-Allen Weisser[15]; 23. 14-Caden McWhorter[23]; 24. 36-Kenny Wallace[17]

June 2023

Setting up the month of June with a clean slate, our journey began in Springfield MO, where the King of Springfield is held by MAP Motorsports. The track was set up with dirt jumps sprinkled about the black top surface. The asphalt hindered the trucks performance during racing due to the tires hooking. We did not want to push racing the truck too hard, and risk more parts be broken. Overall, the team placed 6th out of the 12 trucks that competed.

A couple hours from Springfield was our next event that located in Miami OK. During one of the rounds of racing, both our truck and Dozer, the truck we were competing against, came off the jump crooked enough to jar them off course at the exact same time. The two were catty corner from each other. As they were both backing up, Dozer was heading towards the pits as RJ re-positioned to finish the race. As he crossed the finish line, the announcer had demanded a re-run. We refused to race again because RJ had crossed the finish line, granting him the win. Because of this, the venue took this as a forfeit and advanced Dozer in racing.

Hickory NC is where things start to head south for the month. In the middle of our first freestyle of the weekend, RJ pits the truck due a valve dropping in the motor. On top of this, we were fighting with a constantly leaking tire that had dropped down to 13 PSI during intermission. We made the executive decision to swap the new motor out with ole Frankenstein, causing us to stay up until 3 in the morning. We oped out of racing because we weren’t too entirely sure about how the motor would preform after not running for a few months, but we still participated in the wheelies competition and freestyle. Almost running the truck for 4 consecutive minutes, RJ had fans chanting his name as he walked to collect his trophies for wheelies and freestyle.