BRISTOL, Tenn. (Oct. 13, 2021) – With three races left in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship and currently No. 2 by just 52 points, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster team enter this weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway looking to make some serious gains on the Top Fuel lead. Force and her David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team have been making waves all season. They are just two No. 1 starts away from tying the Top Fuel category record of 13 in a season set by Tony Schumacher in 2006 and from tying the JFR team record of 13 set by John Force in 1996. Brittany Force has been the No. 1 qualifier in 13 of her last 19 starts dating back to the 2020 season and is on an active streak of eight consecutive races in which she has posted both the quickest time and fastest speed of the meet and is on a streak of 11 straight races in which her car has been the quickest on the property. Force’s average qualifying time for the last 12 races is 3.690 seconds and she is coming off a 3.637 second run at Dallas that was the fifth quickest in history. Along with her high performance and qualifying success, Force also has a win at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan., where Brittany went onto share a historic winners circle with legendary father John Force. It was the first time in NHRA history that a parent-child duo had won together in the pro categories. The Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team also has been to the finals five times in the 2021 Camping World Drag Racing Series season, most recently finishing runner-up at the Carolina Nationals “There’s just three races left in this Countdown to the Championship, and we are still in the fight. We’ve had a tough few weeks, but plan to turn that around,” said Force referring to her runner-up finish in Charlotte and semi-final loss in Dallas that came down to reaction time. “I’m looking forward to getting to Bristol seeing what this Flav-R-Pac team can pull off.” Force has qualified No. 1 at Bristol Dragway once, in 2014, and in her career has never qualified outside of the top 10 at the Thunder Valley Nationals. She’ll be chasing her first win at the facility en route to taking over the Top Fuel points lead. Qualifying at the NRHA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway begins Friday with the first session at 5:30 p.m. and continues Saturday with sessions at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eliminations are slated for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Television coverage of the weekend starts with the first qualifying show Friday night at 7 p.m. and continues with a second qualifying show Sunday at 1 p.m. followed by the finals at 2 p.m. ET all on FOX Sports 1 (FS1).

Wayne Johnson’s Sophomore Surge ContinuesTwo-C Racing Enjoys Successful Second-Half of 2021 with World of OutlawsCONCORD, NC – October 13, 2021 – There’s no denying the progression of Wayne Johnson. The proof is in the pudding.Although he earned Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year honors in 2020, it was an admittedly slow season of transition for the former ASCS National 360 Sprint Car champion. He made 54 appearances with The Greatest Show on Dirt, but only qualified for 29 Features (53%) and scored one top-10 finish.Those numbers are drastically different in 2021, specifically the second half of the season, as the Two-C Racing team hits new highs with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.Not once, not twice, not thrice, but on more than four occasions has Johnson found himself contending for wins against the likes of Brad Sweet, Donny Schatz, and David Gravel this season.The Oklahoma City native has racked up 10 top-10 finishes and led multiple races, putting him 11th in the championship standings with another five races left in his sophomore campaign.”It’s been better definitely, but we’re still not where we want to be,” Johnson admitted. “The biggest difference from last year to this year is going back to these places two, three times. Our notes are getting better and bigger, and honestly, it’s not knowing what to do, but what not to do because it didn’t work out.””I say it over and over again, look at the Shark Racing guys,” Johnson continued. “It took them about four years to really get it going, now they’re seven years in and threatening to win almost every race. This deal isn’t a one-year option, it’s a grinding commitment and pays off over time.”One of the biggest variables in Johnson’s turnaround is the off-season changes in his program.The team shuffled between four different engine builders last year and unknowingly ran with an issue on their Jacobs Ladders mounts almost all season. The chassis was fixed and Two-C committed entirely to Kistler Engines. Most of their 2020 notes became obsolete, but the crew knew exactly what they had each night now.”I don’t think we can really count last year with all of the issues we had,” Johnson noted. “Starting this year in Volusia we had speed right away and I think that showed from the changes we made. Then Brian Kemenah came to Eldora and he got us even better.”The 50-year-old driver has a diligent crew including John Ivey, Darin Robinson, and Zach Patterson carrying the #2C up and down the road. “I love my guys to death, they work their asses for me,” he added on his crew. “I’ve realized when somebody makes all the calls and I just worry about driving, it makes my job easier. It makes me better.”Among Johnson’s significant milestones this year is his 200th World of Outlaws Feature start at Sharon Speedway. Unbelievably enough, he drew the pole position in all four DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash appearances. Four Team Drydene Heat Race wins and two MicroLite Last Chance Showdown victories are also on his resume.His greatest races included Huset’s in August, when he started pole position and led 13 laps, and Lernerville in September, when outdrove Gravel on Lap 1 and led the initial 12 laps.The road to Charlotte first leads Johnson through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, all to tracks closer to home and familiar to him.He’ll head for Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS on Friday, October 22, then he’s extra excited for a doubleheader on Halloween weekend which takes the Series to Lawton Speedway in Lawton, OK on Friday, October 29 and Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX on Saturday, October 30.Oklahoma’s Lawton’s date is the Outlaws’ lone appearance in the Sooner State this year. Johnson has won countless races at the 1/4-mile bullring, which sits only 70 miles from his house.”Even when we were no good last year, we were better at those because I have confidence,” he said on racing near home. “I’ve won a lot at both of those tracks. It’s like the PA Posse, you know it’s my home. I’m pumped to go back.”Johnson’s sophomore season will officially conclude on November 4-6 when #AllDirtRoads lead to the NGK/NTK World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch Johnson take on all remaining World of Outlaws events live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Wood

NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals – Bristol

Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and the Snap-on^® Dodge^® Hellcat^® Funny Car are heading to Bristol in the #3 spot in the NHRA Countdown, moving up a rankings spot by having a career-first five bonus points from the Dallas race. 

“Hats off to our Crew Chief JC (John Collins) and Assistant Crew Chief Rip (Reynolds) and the team. They are on their game…really doing a great job of preparing me and giving me a really good car,” says Cruz. “It will be interesting to race Thunder Valley at this time of year. We’re used to being here in the late spring, but no matter what the weather holds, the Snap-on Dodge doesn’t mind where it is. We’ve been running well in all temperatures and altitudes, and we plan to do so again this weekend.”

Cruz calls Bristol a “cool track” and says it’s one of the premier venues on the NHRA circuit with all the bells and whistles of the modern stadium look and feel.

Cruz’s car will once again be decked out in the Snap-on Tools Socket to Breast Cancer paint scheme through the Breast Cancer Awareness month of October in support of raising funds for The Pink Fund^® in the U.S. and Kelly Shires Foundation in Canada. Both organizations help breast cancer patients in their time of need, including providing valuable support for Cruz’s sister Dora who is a cancer survivor. For more information on these organizations, check out ThePinkFund.org and KellyShiresFoundation.org.

Plainview, NY (October 13, 2021) — Competing in his first NHRA Countdown second-year driver Justin Ashley is not shying away from the biggest stage in drag racing. Through four playoff races the 2020 Rookie of the Year has a runner-up finish, a semifinal and most recently a win at the historic Texas Motorplex during their epic Stampede of Speed Texas NHRA Fall Nationals. The win moved him to third in the points and on the way to victory he defeated Billy Torrence, Brittany Force and Steve Torrence, all competitors in front of him in the points at the time and all representatives of multi-car operations. Ashley, racing for Davis Motorsports, driving the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot, is one of the few independent teams battling for the NHRA Camping World NHRA Championship.

“In my opinion, as a relatively newly formed and independent team, this Davis Motorsports team is doing something extraordinary,” said Ashley. “When you have a crew chief like Mike Green in your corner and the leadership of Dustin Davis we have experience, passion and a desire to be successful on and off the racetrack. This Smart Sanitizer crew has been terrific and as a result put us in a position to compete for a world championship.”

Justin Ashley in Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot (photo credit Ron Lewis)

This season Ashley has been in the championship mix of Top Fuel teams since they raced to the semifinals at the season opening Gatornationals. They have been a consistently strong qualifier and Ashley’s skill on the starting line has won a number of rounds for the team. They raced to the finals at the Winternationals in late July and then the team really started to hit their stride at the perfect time when the Countdown began. Entering the playoffs in seventh place they raced to a runner-up finish in Reading, Pennsylvania, then the semifinals in Charlotte, they stumbled in St. Louis with an early exit but bounced back in Dallas with a win in dominant fashion.

“We have always had an elite team and now the results are there to provide tangible proof,” said Ashley, who picked up his first win at the 2020 Summernationals. “This is a complete team effort. You look at how we won in Dallas on Sunday. Mike Green gave me an amazing Top Fuel dragster that ran like a bracket car and the team did an amazing job servicing so everything would operate flawlessly. That was an excellent team performance all the way around, and we are going to try and improve on that for the rest of the season starting at Bristol Dragway.”

For the young team heading to the famed Thunder Valley Dragway will be a new experience but one they feel confident they can handle. Veteran crew chief Green has experience tuning drivers to victory at the Thunder Valley Nationals and the Smart Sanitizer Vita C Shot crew is experienced enough now to handle just about any challenge thrown their way.

“We are definitely still a young team, but our guys get great direction and support from Mike and Dustin,” said Ashley. “I love driving this race car with these guys. We are third in the points with only a few races remaining. We must take care of business in Bristol first. This is a great facility, and the key will be getting a good run Friday night. It sounds basic but if you can get that good first run it will set you up for success on Saturday and Sunday.”

In addition to his driving duties Ashley is constantly working to add sponsors and marketing partners to the Top Fuel operation. With season-long support from companies like KATO Fastening Systems and Auto Shocker along with a host of associate sponsors Ashley has been an incredible marketing machine. Vita C Shot came on board two races ago and is committed to the team throughout the 2022 season and Ashley continues to talk with potential businesses about the advantages of joining his operation.

“We have one of the most accessible and exciting sports on the planet,” said Ashley. “Our focus is working with our marketing partners and helping to put them in a position to grow their business, entertain their customers or employees and have a lot of fun while they are doing it. Everyone who comes to an NHRA national event wants to come back as soon as they can. We are entertaining fans and corporate guests across the country. I am always excited to talk with new companies about the benefits of being on our team.”

Qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals will begin at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, October 15 and there will be two more qualifying sessions on Saturday, October 16. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. ET.

OSWEGO, NY – October 11, 2021 – Following a post-race technical inspection, Chad Jeseo has been officially declared the winner of Sunday’s NAPA Super DIRT Week DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 at Oswego Speedway. The Averill Park, NY driver, has also claimed the 2021 DIRTcar Pro Stock Championship.  “The Pro Stock of Chad Jeseo was taken to a controlled inspection area for further evaluation,” said DIRTcar Northeast Series Director Dean Reynolds. “The car was inspected to make sure it was within GM OEM specifications. “The car was inspected by DIRTcar technicians Mark Hitchcock and Mike Welch, Nick Stone of Stone Motorsports, and Andy Rider of JACR Chassis. Representatives from Chad Jeseo as well as Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley Speedway were present. “After measurements were taken, it was determined that Chad Jeseo’s Pro Stock conformed to the specifications and deemed the official winner of the DIRTcar Pro Stock 50.”  DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 (Official Results) — 1. 25-Chad Jeseo[2]; 2. 324-Jason Casey[4]; 3. 7-Rob Yetman[11]; 4. 1X-Mike White[25]; 5. 23-Scott Towslee[15]; 6. 51-Jason Meltz[8]; 7. 413-Tommy Dean[26]; 8. 2-Pete Stefanski[17]; 9. 28-Burton Ward[21]; 10. 14J-Johnny Rivers[24]; 11. 17-Nick Hilt[31]; 12. 7D-Chucky Dumblewski[7]; 13. 91-Ian Bressette[27]; 14. 75S-Gary Silkey[20]; 15. 6C-Brian Carter[23]; 16. 178-Steve LaRochelle[13]; 17. 09-Shawn Perez[29]; 18. 56-Jay Fitzgerald[22]; 19. 69-Chris Crane[9]; 20. 6-Shane Playford[19]; 21. 711-Rich Crane[5]; 22. 8N-Nick Stone[3]; 23. 70X-Josh Coonradt[6]; 24. 322-Jay Casey[14]; 25. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[18]; 26. 75-Eli Gilbert[28]; 27. 4-Dean Charbonneau[16]; 28. 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 29. 14-Kim Duell[10]; 30. X15-Tyler Bushey[30]; 31. 57K-Kevin Fetterly Jr[12].

NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, Clarion Hotel – Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Line Performance, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, K1 Race Gear, Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Shocks, PJC Spray Foam, Racing Electronics, SRI Performance, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.  Special thanks to New York State. The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

BATAVIA, Ohio (October 11, 2021) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is set to finish up the 2021 season with one of the most anticipated events of the year. The 41st Annual General Tire Dirt Track World Championship – Presented by Optima Batteries – will take place October 14th-16th, at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, Ohio. The weekend will get started on Thursday night with preliminary events for the Open Wheel Modifieds. On Friday, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series teams will have Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, and compete in a single set of 12-lap Heat Races. Additionally, the Limited Late Models will have their preliminary events, along with the main event for the Open Wheel Modifieds. A complete program for the Legend Cars is also on tap for Friday night. Saturday’s program kicks off with a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 3:30 PM ET. Hot Laps will begin at 6:00 PM ET, followed by the awards presentations for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion and Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year. Consolation events for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series are set to begin at 7:00 PM ET, followed by the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win Dirt Track World Championship. After that, the Limited Late Models will compete in their 25-lap feature event, followed by the 25-lap, $3,000-to-win Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Race for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Jonathan Davenport is just as eager as anyone to get to Portsmouth Raceway Park this weekend for a chance at $100,000 in a race that he has yet to add his name to. “Confidence is high as ever going into the Dirt Track World Championship weekend after winning two of the Lucas Oil events in a row and having decent runs in the prior two series events at Portsmouth this year.” The pit gates will close on Friday and Saturday at 12:00 PM ET (noon) and re-open at 1:00 PM ET; the general admission gate will also open at 1:00 PM ET both days. For more information on the 41st Annual General Tire Dirt Track World Championship – Presented by Optima Batteries, visit: www.thedtwc.com; www.portsraceway.com; or call (740) 354-3278.  Track Information:Portsmouth Raceway ParkPhone Number: (740) 354-3278Location: 25648 State Route 73, West Portsmouth, OH 45663GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 38.76585 – Longitude: -83.01739Directions: 0.5 mile south of US 52 on SR 73, then right just before bridgeWebsite: www.portsraceway.com Dirt Track World Championship Tire Rule:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier Rib (28.5) 1300, (28.5) 1425Right Rear – Hoosier (29.0) 1300 NRM, (29.0) 1300 NRMW, (29.0) 1425 NRM, (29.0) 1425 NRMW, (92) LM40*Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials and Heat Races Friday night.*For the B-Mains, competitors may use 4 new tires.*For the Non-Qualifiers Race, competitors may use 4 new tires.*For the A-Main, competitors may use 4 new tires.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. Dirt Track World Championship Purse:1. $100,000, 2. $20,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $7,000, 5. $5,000, 6. $3,500, 7. $3,200, 8. $3,000, 9. $2,800, 10. $2,500, 11. $2,450, 12. $2,400, 13. $2,350, 14. $2,300, 15. $2,250, 16. $2,200, 17. $2,150, 18. $2,100, 19. $2,075, 20. $2,060, 21. $2,050, 22. $2,040, 23. $2,030, 24. $2,020, 25. $2,010, 26. $2,000. = $191,485 Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Race:1. $3,000, 2. $1,500, 3. $1,250, 4. $1,000, 5. $900, 6. $800, 7. $750, 8. $700, 9. $650, 10. $600, 11. 500, 12. $400, 13. $350, 14. $300, 15. $250, 16. $200, 17. $200, 18. $200, 19. $200, 20. $200, 21. $200, 22. $200, 23. $200, 24. $200, 25. $200, 26. $200. = $15,150 Previous Dirt Track World Championship Winners:1981 – Jim Dunn1982 – Charlie Swartz1983 – Freddy Smith1984 – Jack Boggs1985 – Freddy Smith1986 – Billy Moyer1987 – Larry Moore1988 – Donnie Moran1989 – John Mason1990 – Jack Boggs1991 – Freddy Smith1992 – Ronnie Johnson1993 – Freddy Smith1994 – Ronnie Johnson1995 – Jack Boggs1996 – Billy Moyer1997 – Marshall Green1998 – Freddy Smith1999 – Steve Francis2000 – Wendell Wallace2001 – Bart Hartman2002 – Shannon Babb2003 – Darrell Lanigan2004 – Rick Eckert2005 – Scott Bloomquist2006 – Shannon Babb2007 – Chub Frank2008 – Brian Birkhofer2009 – Jimmy Mars2010 – Earl Pearson Jr.2011 – Don O’Neal2012 – Jimmy Owens2013 – Brandon Sheppard2014 – Scott Bloomquist2015 – Scott Bloomquist2016 – Brandon Sheppard2017 – Josh Richards2018 – Josh Richards2019 – Brandon Sheppard2020 – Brandon Sheppard About General Tire:General Tire for over 100 years has offered a complete quality line of ultra-high performance, passenger, light truck, off-road, and commercial tires to meet all your needs. To learn more about General Tire, visit: www.generaltire.com About Optima Batteries:With a 40-year history of technological innovation and engineering, Optima products offer unstoppable power for extreme enthusiasts and others who require “The Ultimate Power Source.” In the past decade, Optima has revolutionized the industry with the introduction of its unique Spiralcell Technology, as well as developing the first digital battery charger and maintainer. Additional information can be obtained by visiting: www.optimabatteries.com.

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Oct. 11, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi soaked up the success of another stout weekend as he picked up a trio of feature victories during the 36^th annual Cotton Classic to push his season win total to 21 triumphs.

“I’m over the moon happy,” he said. “We had a great weekend and are closing in on 23 wins this season, which would give me 50 career. If I can hit 27 wins, which I know is a long shot, that would match the number of wins I earned in my first nine years of racing.”

Scelzi swept the night at Keller Auto Speedway on Friday, winning the Kings of Thunder 410ci winged sprint car feature as well as the Sprint Car Challenge Tour main event.

Scelzi qualified ninth quickest and placed fifth in a heat race to open the 410 action. That lined him up on the inside of the fifth row in the A Main.

“We didn’t qualify very good in the 410,” he said. “We were a little bit tight. Then in the heat race the track was fairly slick, but really dirty. We didn’t get a very good start and fell to sixth. We got back to fifth and finished there.

“In the feature we picked someone off every couple of laps. I got to fourth and then (D.J.) Netto and (Justin) Sanders hit each other. I was able to get to second. I felt good prior to that, but that helped out a ton. We restarted second and I felt like I tricked Bud (Kaeding). I got him to run the bottom in turns one and two. I ripped the top and hit the bottom in turns three and four to drive by him with a few laps remaining.”

Scelzi pulled away for the victory to add to his lead in the Kings of Thunder standings. He was just as efficient during 360 competition as he advanced from seventh to third place in a heat race and from fifth to win a qualifier. That started him on the outside of the front row in the main event.

“The scoring loop went out and they weren’t able to qualify us so they lined the heats up by pill draw,” he said. “We did really well and passed some guys. In the qualifier we methodically worked our way through there. That put us starting second in the feature. The race went green and the polesitter beat me into turn one. He missed the bottom into turns three and four and I got by him. We ran the top and bottom throughout the race. I got through traffic pretty good. I felt really, really good and we were able to lead all 30 laps to get the win.”

Saturday started with similar success for Scelzi, who timed in fourth quick in the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series qualifying. A heat race win was followed by a dash triumph, which put Scelzi on the pole for the feature.

“We went out 18^th in qualifying and the track had slowed down tremendously,” he said. “I was a little worried about getting a good time. I felt we had a hell of a lap. We got into the cushion perfectly and didn’t spin the tires where the cushion fell off the edge.

“In the heat race we passed Kyle (Hirst) around the top in turns one and two and then got to the bottom in turns three and four. We were around the bottom the rest of the heat race. For the dash we got put on the pole, which is awesome. We won that and started on the pole of the first feature.

“I ran the middle for most of the race, but I was able to run the top, the bottom, everywhere. The track was really slick and wide. There were three lanes of racing and we used all of them.”

Scelzi led the distance during the first of twin 20-lap main events. He was credited with 20^th in the second feature, which was completely inverted. Scelzi exited the weekend having virtually locked up the series championship.

Scelzi was also strong in the 360 portion of the night, setting quick time during qualifying, winning a heat race and finishing second in the dash. The main event wasn’t run because of a medical emergency in the pits.

This weekend will be dormant for Scelzi, whose next event is the Trophy Cup Oct. 21-23 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 8 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 1 (9).

Oct. 8 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Heat race: 3 (7); Qualifier: 1 (5); Feature: 1 (2).

Oct. 9 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature #1: 1 (1); Feature #2: 20 (27).

Oct. 9 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (4); Dash: 2 (2); Feature: Cancelled (2).

SEASON STATS –

63 races, 21 wins, 45 top fives, 53 top 10s, 58 top 15s, 60 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Oct. 21-23 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., for the Trophy Cup

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

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

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Fuel Delivery Services, Inc. 

Based in Stockton, Calif., Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., is a premier bulk transporter of refined petroleum products. For more information, visit http://www.FuelDeliveryServices.net .

“Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., has been a partner of ours since the first year we began racing sprint cars,” Scelzi said. “They supply a lot of product for our family business as well. We’ve been fortunate to work with them for more than a decade.”

Scelzi would like to thank Scelzi Enterprises, Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Whipple Superchargers, Schoenfeld Headers, Roth Motorsports, Red Line Oil, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, K&N Filters, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Auto Meter, Meridian Steel, Kenny’s Components and Worldwide Bearings for their continued support.

Top Fuel — Justin Ashley, 3.759 seconds, 326.40 mph def. Steve Torrence, 3.764 seconds, 321.81 mph.

Funny Car — Ron Capps, Dodge Charger, 3.930, 326.87 def. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.919, 328.78. B

Pro Stock — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.624, 206.32 ARP Car def. Chris McGaha, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Matt Smith, EBR, 6.839, 199.08 ARP Bike def. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, Foul – Red Light.

Top Alcohol Dragster — Jackie Fricke, 5.204, 275.73 def. Matthew Cummings, 5.240, 271.79.ARP Car

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Doug Gordon, Chevy Camaro, 5.517, 267.22 def. Brian Hough, Camaro, 5.562, 262.69.

Competition Eliminator — Don Thomas, Dragster, 7.074, 178.19 def. Keith Mawhee, Chevy Cavalier, 7.777, 175.48.

Super Stock — Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., Pontiac Firebird, 9.787, 135.69 def. Harvey Emmons III, Chevy Cavalier, 9.724, 129.87.

Stock Eliminator — Brenda Grubbs, Chevy Camaro, 10.018, 131.52 def. Jerry Emmons, Camaro, 10.242, 128.59.

Super Comp — Steve Evans, Dragster, 9.777, 146.65 def. Jeromy Hefler, Dragster, Broke – No Show.

Super Gas — Austin Williams, Chevy Camaro, 9.937, 166.91 def. Jerry DeBusk, Ford Probe, 9.948, 164.83.

Super Street — Scooter Wilkins, Chevy Nova, 10.945, 141.22 def. John Leibham, Chevy Camaro, 10.903, 150.90.

Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers — Jimmy Lewis, Pontiac GXP, 6.529, 192.47 def. Darian Boesch, Chevy Camaro, 7.296, 183.52.

Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers — Ross Laris, Dragster, 6.285, 183.64 def. Wayne Landry, Dragster, 6.397, 218.72.

Pro Modified — Lyle Barnett, Chevy Camaro, 5.894, 251.20 def. Justin Bond, Camaro, 5.829, 244.65.

Top Fuel Harley — Chris Smith, Weekend, 6.338, 221.63 def. David Larson, Harley, 12.460, 73.53

Canadian Sensation Mat Williamson Wins Second Consecutive Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at NAPA Super DIRT Week Super DIRTcar Series champ joins legends with second victory at historic event after pole-sitter Peter Britten suffers heartbreak at Oswego OSWEGO, NY — Mat Williamson won his second $50,000 NAPA Super DIRT Week Billy Whittaker Cars 200 championship in historic fashion. The prestigious win puts him in the same category as Stewart Friesen, Billy Decker, Brett Hearn, Merv Treichler, and Buzzie Reutimann as the only drivers to win back-to-back Billy Whittaker Cars 200s.  The Franklin Flyer Billy Decker, in the Gypsum Wholesalers #91 sped across the Oswego Speedway finish line second in Williamson’s tracks after failing to pull off a last-lap pass on the St. Catharines, ON driver.  Matt Sheppard finished third, extended his points lead, and is now well on his way to close out his record eighth career Super DIRTcar Series championship at the NGK NTK World Finals.   Oswego Speedway overlooks one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, where the waters were calm and serene throughout the week. In contrast, a storm raged within the walls of the Clay Palace where 41 Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds battled door-to-door for 200 laps.  Williamson’s breakthrough moment came when leaders Peter Britten and Tyler Dippel made heavy contact out of Turn 4 on Lap 151. The seas parted and the #88 Buzz Chew Racing Big Block Modified appeared at the head of the pack where he stayed until he passed beneath Head Starter Dave Farney’s double checkered flags for the historic win.  “I don’t even know what to say,” Williamson said. “I am speechless. Everybody that’s a part of this team kept their heads down all week. Last night, we talked to Integra [shocks] on how to be better. I put my trust in them and they built four shocks that were going to survive and be good in the chop. It’s not very often that we change shock programs and win big races. They built us something that was indestructible.” Williamson passed Britten in points and now sits tied with Billy Decker for second-place. His three Series wins this year break the tie.  “I knew this race was our only shot at moving up in the standings,” Williamson noted. “We spent all week here. We spent all night working on this thing. We welded around. We changed bolts and did everything we needed to do to make it survive. I am happy we got here.” Like any extra-distance event, there is a certain degree of endurance needed for both driver and car. Runner-up Billy Decker used all of his skill and experience to bring home the $25,000 second-place finish and the Penske Racing Shocks Hard Charger award in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200.  “I am just trying to keep the wheels on it,” Decker said. “It was a true test of man and machine out there. There’s no question about that.” Decker came up just short in making a run on the final lap to pass Williamson. He was happy to be in the mix at the end when it was go-time.  “Gypsum Wholesalers and Scott and the boys put together a great piece that took a 200-lap beating,” Decker said. “We didn’t quite have enough. We had a great race car. I think the pace picked up after that lap 167 restart. It was pretty much game on from there.” Decker did all he could to get to Williamson’s rear bumper late in the race, but the Canadian sensation held him off in the end. According to Sheppard, he’s “had a very good year. Not a great year, but a very good year. That comes in part to him nearly locking in an eighth Super DIRTcar Series championship at NAPA Super DIRT Week. “I think I had a shot at Billy [Decker] but I didn’t have a shot at Mat [Williamson],” Sheppard said about his Billy Whittaker Cars 200 run. “We kind of rode around and did what we needed to do to be there at the end. We picked up the pace and they told me on the radio that I was one of the fastest cars in the last 10 laps. I pulled up on Billy and I didn’t need that last caution. We’ll take a third.” Preparing a race car for any 200-lap Feature takes a lot of hard work and determination.  “I can’t thank my pit crew enough,” Sheppard noted. “They went over this thing with a fine-tooth comb. We knew it was going to be a challenging race. Just for this car to hold together for 200 laps is a testament to their work.” Williamson is an intensely proud Canadian and with border restrictions still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Canadians were unable to travel to NAPA Super DIRT Week this year. To the St. Catherines, Ontario native, their absence was felt.  “There was a big chunk of people missing here,” Williamson said. “It didn’t feel complete. My close family friends, my girlfriend, my Mom, and everybody that should have been here — I miss them. I miss the fans. I miss the people that come over and tell me they are from Niagara Falls or Chatham or somewhere close to me. It’s a cool thing to have happen as a Canadian down here at Super DIRT week.” Australian superstar Britten started the 49th NAPA Super DIRT Week on the right foot — hard on the gas. Britten won the SRI Performance Pole Award in Time Trials to lead the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 field to the initial green flag.  The #21A held a firm command of the lead until 151 when Dippel came up the track and the two made contact coming out of Turn 4, resulting in them both having an issue that forced them to pit and relinquish their top-two spots. “I am running my line. He blows it in. Knows the bumps are there and is going full throttle. Again, because he’s a moron, he drives through a massive hole and where does he end up? Right against the side of me,” said a dejected Britten, minutes after climbing out of the car. “He knows what he’s doing. He does this shit all the time. I don’t know what else to say except he’s the biggest moron in racing.” The incident helped Williamson, running third at the time, secure his second consecutive Billy Whittaker Cars 200 title as it handed him the lead and the chance he needed to make history. When he goes for his third consecutive win in 2022, it’ll be the 50th running of NAPA Super DIRT Week (Oct. 3-9) at Oswego Speedway. Mark your calendars now and keep watch of SuperDIRTWeek.com for tickets to go on sale. THE FINAL LAP: Next, the Super DIRTcar Series joins the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the NGK NTK World Finals (November 4-6). Get your tickets HERE or watch every lap live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.  FEATURE — 1. 88W-Mat Williamson[7]; 2. 91-Billy Decker[27]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard[8]; 4. 44-Stewart Friesen[5]; 5. 99L-Larry Wight[4]; 6. 66X-Carey Terrance[18]; 7. 98JS-Rocky Warner[17]; 8. 1-Tyler Dippel[9]; 9. 2A-Mike Gular[21]; 10. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[2]; 11. 32CM-Max McLaughlin[3]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller[13]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney[31]; 14. 34-Kevin Root[26]; 15. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[10]; 16. 21A-Peter Britten[1]; 17. 6H-Josh Hohenforst[19]; 18. 42P-Pat Ward[6]; 19. 115-Kenny Tremont Jr[37]; 20. 7MM-Michael Maresca[20]; 21. 28M-Jordan McCreadie[22]; 22. 111-Demetrios Drellos[14]; 23. 20-Brett Hearn[24]; 24. 5H-Chris Hile[11]; 25. 28ZT-Gary Lindberg[35]; 26. 43-Keith Flach[32]; 27. 44P-Anthony Perrego[12]; 28. 62S-Tom Sears Jr[25]; 29. 215-Adam Pierson[36]; 30. 22-Brandon Walters[38]; 31. 3-Justin Haers[30]; 32. 2-Jack Lehner[28]; 33. 17-Marcus Dinkins[39]; 34. 43H-Jimmy Horton[33]; 35. 25-Erick Rudolph[34]; 36. 4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[23]; 37. 49-Billy Dunn[41]; 38. 48TOO-Dave Rauscher[40]; 39. 26-Ryan Godown[15]; 40. 9-Marc Johnson[16]; 41. 23C-Kyle Coffey[29] PHOTO: Tom Morris  NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, Clarion Hotel – Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Line Performance, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, K1 Race Gear, Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Shocks, PJC Spray Foam, Racing Electronics, SRI Performance, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.  Special thanks to New York State.  The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.Canadian Sensation Mat Williamson Wins Second Consecutive Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at NAPA Super DIRT WeekSuper DIRTcar Series champ joins legends with second victory at historic event after pole-sitter Peter Britten suffers heartbreak at OswegoOSWEGO, NY — Mat Williamson won his second $50,000 NAPA Super DIRT Week Billy Whittaker Cars 200 championship in historic fashion.The prestigious win puts him in the same category as Stewart Friesen, Billy Decker, Brett Hearn, Merv Treichler, and Buzzie Reutimann as the only drivers to win back-to-back Billy Whittaker Cars 200s. The Franklin Flyer Billy Decker, in the Gypsum Wholesalers #91 sped across the Oswego Speedway finish line second in Williamson’s tracks after failing to pull off a last-lap pass on the St. Catharines, ON driver. Matt Sheppard finished third, extended his points lead, and is now well on his way to close out his record eighth career Super DIRTcar Series championship at the NGK NTK World Finals.  Oswego Speedway overlooks one of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario, where the waters were calm and serene throughout the week. In contrast, a storm raged within the walls of the Clay Palace where 41 Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds battled door-to-door for 200 laps. Williamson’s breakthrough moment came when leaders Peter Britten and Tyler Dippel made heavy contact out of Turn 4 on Lap 151. The seas parted and the #88 Buzz Chew Racing Big Block Modified appeared at the head of the pack where he stayed until he passed beneath Head Starter Dave Farney’s double checkered flags for the historic win. “I don’t even know what to say,” Williamson said. “I am speechless. Everybody that’s a part of this team kept their heads down all week. Last night, we talked to Integra [shocks] on how to be better. I put my trust in them and they built four shocks that were going to survive and be good in the chop. It’s not very often that we change shock programs and win big races. They built us something that was indestructible.”Williamson passed Britten in points and now sits tied with Billy Decker for second-place. His three Series wins this year break the tie. “I knew this race was our only shot at moving up in the standings,” Williamson noted. “We spent all week here. We spent all night working on this thing. We welded around. We changed bolts and did everything we needed to do to make it survive. I am happy we got here.”Like any extra-distance event, there is a certain degree of endurance needed for both driver and car. Runner-up Billy Decker used all of his skill and experience to bring home the $25,000 second-place finish and the Penske Racing Shocks Hard Charger award in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. “I am just trying to keep the wheels on it,” Decker said. “It was a true test of man and machine out there. There’s no question about that.”Decker came up just short in making a run on the final lap to pass Williamson. He was happy to be in the mix at the end when it was go-time. “Gypsum Wholesalers and Scott and the boys put together a great piece that took a 200-lap beating,” Decker said. “We didn’t quite have enough. We had a great race car. I think the pace picked up after that lap 167 restart. It was pretty much game on from there.”Decker did all he could to get to Williamson’s rear bumper late in the race, but the Canadian sensation held him off in the end.According to Sheppard, he’s “had a very good year. Not a great year, but a very good year. That comes in part to him nearly locking in an eighth Super DIRTcar Series championship at NAPA Super DIRT Week.“I think I had a shot at Billy [Decker] but I didn’t have a shot at Mat [Williamson],” Sheppard said about his Billy Whittaker Cars 200 run. “We kind of rode around and did what we needed to do to be there at the end. We picked up the pace and they told me on the radio that I was one of the fastest cars in the last 10 laps. I pulled up on Billy and I didn’t need that last caution. We’ll take a third.”Preparing a race car for any 200-lap Feature takes a lot of hard work and determination. “I can’t thank my pit crew enough,” Sheppard noted. “They went over this thing with a fine-tooth comb. We knew it was going to be a challenging race. Just for this car to hold together for 200 laps is a testament to their work.”Williamson is an intensely proud Canadian and with border restrictions still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most Canadians were unable to travel to NAPA Super DIRT Week this year. To the St. Catherines, Ontario native, their absence was felt. “There was a big chunk of people missing here,” Williamson said. “It didn’t feel complete. My close family friends, my girlfriend, my Mom, and everybody that should have been here — I miss them. I miss the fans. I miss the people that come over and tell me they are from Niagara Falls or Chatham or somewhere close to me. It’s a cool thing to have happen as a Canadian down here at Super DIRT week.”Australian superstar Britten started the 49th NAPA Super DIRT Week on the right foot — hard on the gas. Britten won the SRI Performance Pole Award in Time Trials to lead the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 field to the initial green flag. The #21A held a firm command of the lead until 151 when Dippel came up the track and the two made contact coming out of Turn 4, resulting in them both having an issue that forced them to pit and relinquish their top-two spots.“I am running my line. He blows it in. Knows the bumps are there and is going full throttle. Again, because he’s a moron, he drives through a massive hole and where does he end up? Right against the side of me,” said a dejected Britten, minutes after climbing out of the car. “He knows what he’s doing. He does this shit all the time. I don’t know what else to say except he’s the biggest moron in racing.”The incident helped Williamson, running third at the time, secure his second consecutive Billy Whittaker Cars 200 title as it handed him the lead and the chance he needed to make history. When he goes for his third consecutive win in 2022, it’ll be the 50th running of NAPA Super DIRT Week (Oct. 3-9) at Oswego Speedway. Mark your calendars now and keep watch of SuperDIRTWeek.com for tickets to go on sale.THE FINAL LAP: Next, the Super DIRTcar Series joins the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the NGK NTK World Finals (November 4-6). Get your tickets HERE or watch every lap live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. FEATURE — 1. 88W-Mat Williamson[7]; 2. 91-Billy Decker[27]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard[8]; 4. 44-Stewart Friesen[5]; 5. 99L-Larry Wight[4]; 6. 66X-Carey Terrance[18]; 7. 98JS-Rocky Warner[17]; 8. 1-Tyler Dippel[9]; 9. 2A-Mike Gular[21]; 10. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[2]; 11. 32CM-Max McLaughlin[3]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller[13]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney[31]; 14. 34-Kevin Root[26]; 15. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[10]; 16. 21A-Peter Britten[1]; 17. 6H-Josh Hohenforst[19]; 18. 42P-Pat Ward[6]; 19. 115-Kenny Tremont Jr[37]; 20. 7MM-Michael Maresca[20]; 21. 28M-Jordan McCreadie[22]; 22. 111-Demetrios Drellos[14]; 23. 20-Brett Hearn[24]; 24. 5H-Chris Hile[11]; 25. 28ZT-Gary Lindberg[35]; 26. 43-Keith Flach[32]; 27. 44P-Anthony Perrego[12]; 28. 62S-Tom Sears Jr[25]; 29. 215-Adam Pierson[36]; 30. 22-Brandon Walters[38]; 31. 3-Justin Haers[30]; 32. 2-Jack Lehner[28]; 33. 17-Marcus Dinkins[39]; 34. 43H-Jimmy Horton[33]; 35. 25-Erick Rudolph[34]; 36. 4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[23]; 37. 49-Billy Dunn[41]; 38. 48TOO-Dave Rauscher[40]; 39. 26-Ryan Godown[15]; 40. 9-Marc Johnson[16]; 41. 23C-Kyle Coffey[29]PHOTO: Tom Morris

NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, Clarion Hotel – Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Line Performance, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, K1 Race Gear, Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Shocks, PJC Spray Foam, Racing Electronics, SRI Performance, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.  Special thanks to New York State. 

The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Ron Capps battled teammate Matt Hagan in an all-Dodge final at the Texas NHRA FallNationals to earn a hard fought victory and further intensify the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Series “Countdown to the Championship” with just three playoff races remaining
• No. 2 qualifier Capps used two holeshot round wins to power his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a second career win at Texas Motorplex and 68^th career Funny Car Wally trophy to narrow the gap between him and Funny Car championship leader Hagan to 33 points
• Defending Funny Car world champion Hagan drove his DSR Western Technical College Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from the No. 4 position on the eliminations ladder to his second consecutive final round showdown in “Countdown to the Championship.”
• No. 3 qualifier Cruz Pedregon earned bonus points in every qualifying session then took his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a semifinal appearance and moved into third place atop the Funny Car standings

October 10, 2021, Ennis, Texas — An all-Dodge final round showdown at Texas Motorplex saw Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) veteran driver Ron Capps defeat his teammate and current National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car championship points leader Matt Hagan to earn the coveted champions’ black cowboy hat given to winners of the Texas FallNationals. the fourth of seven “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events. Capps’ 68^th career Funny Car victory was his second of the 2021 season and helped narrow the gap between him and Hagan atop the standings while fellow Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver Cruz Pedregon moved into the top-three with a semifinal round appearance at the Dallas-area venue.

Capps arrived in Texas ranked second in the playoff standings, within 59 points of the category leader Hagan, and promptly put his NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in a good position for the elimination rounds with a solid qualifying performance which allowed him to collect four bonus points and secure the No. 2 spot on the ladder. He disposed of competitors Jack Wyatt and Paul Lee in the early rounds to move on to a semifinal match against fellow HEMI-powered driver, Cruz Pedregon. A holeshot win over Pedregon provided Capps the opportunity to advance to his fourth final round of the season and meet up with DSR teammate Hagan.

Capps used a 0.046-second reaction time coupled with a solid 3.930-second elapsed timed run at 326.87-mph for another holeshot win, this time beating his stablemate’s quicker 3.919 sec./328.78 pass, to make his way to the winner’s circle for the first time in more than 20 years since his only other victory at the Dallas-area venue in Spring of 1998.

With Sunday’s victory, Capps, who finished runner-up in the championship four times before finally capturing the Funny Car crown in 2016, tightened up this year’s battle heading into the final three race weekends of the season and now sits just 33 markers, or less than two rounds, behind Hagan. 

Defending NHRA Funny Car world champion and points leader heading into Texas FallNationals, Hagan powered his DSR Western Technical College Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat from the No. 4 qualifier position to his second consecutive final round showdown in the “Countdown to the Championship” with a series consistent 3.9-second runs.

Coming off his win at the previous event in St. Louis, Hagan recorded a 3.897-second elapsed time qualifying run at 332.34 mph in Q2 on Friday evening to secure the fourth place spot. He began his Sunday drive with a starting line advantage and a first round win against No. 13 seed Dale Creasy Jr. to advance to a quarterfinals match against No. 5 seed Bob Tasca III. While his opponent was slightly quicker on the draw, the DSR HEMI-powered machine overtook him in the first few feet and posted a 3.918 second/325.53 mph run to turn the win light on against Tasca’s 3.955 sec./331.61 mph pass. The semifinal pairing brought No. 8 seed J.R Todd to the line against Hagan who posted a 0.081-second reaction time and 3.904 sec./331.04 mph lap after his opponent had a 0.007-second start, but double-stepped and lost traction at the hit of the throttle. 

Hagan advanced to his 71st career final round showdown, his sixth final round appearance of the season (and his team’s seventh with Tommy Johnson Jr.’s win while subbing for Hagan at Reading), and one with championship implications as it was against No. 2 contender and teammate Capps. While a holeshot and 0.0121-second margin of victory by Capps was a bitter pill to swallow, the runner-up finish kept him in the points lead.

Also vying for the Funny Car crown, Cruz Pedregon, a four-time winner at Texas Motorplex (1992, 1994, 2011, and 2013), earned the No. 3 qualifier position for Sunday’s elimination rounds after driving his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to be among the top-three quickest laps in all four qualifying sessions and collect a total of five precious bonus points. The Cruz Pedregon Racing team owner and driver put himself third on the ladder with his quickest qualifying pass from Friday evening in Q2, a 3.892-second run at 325.14 mph, marking the sixth consecutive event he has qualified in the top-five.

Pedregon’s opening round had him paired with No. 14 seed Terry Haddock against whom he got an early lead and never looked back en route to a winning 3.898-second run at 329.18 mph to advance to an important quarterfinal showdown against No. 11 seed John Force. 

While Pedregon sat fourth behind Force in the Funny Car championship standings heading into their meeting, that was no longer the case after he took his HEMI-powered Snap-on Tools “Socket to Breast Cancer” machine for a 3.925 sec./329.10 mph drive to overtake Force on track by beating his 4.299/225.07 lap and move past him in the standings. By advancing to the semifinals, Pedregon moved up a spot into third place as he chases his third Funny Car championship title. Unfortunately, that semifinal was against eventual event winner Capps, who used a holeshot victory to put Pedregon 80 points behind him.

Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett took her DSR Performance Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster for a solid 3.773 second elapsed time qualifying run at 323.12 mph in the third session of the weekend to earn a bonus point for setting the third-quickest pass. That effort put her 11^th on the Top Fuel eliminations ladder and set up a first round meeting with No. 6 seed Josh Hart. Pruett was quicker on the throttle with a 0.048-second reaction time giving her HEMI-powered dragster the starting line advantage and the lead through to the halfway mark. Unfortunately, soon thereafter, her ride shut off and allowed her opponent to get past. Pruett crossed the line with a 4.230 sec./192.63 mph posted time and speed behind Hart’s 3.755 sec./305.56 mph winning pass to eliminate her from the rest of Sunday’ competition. Pruett and her Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster come away from the Texas FallNationals sixth in Top Fuel championship standings.

Just three “Countdown to the Championship” playoff events remain in the 2021 Camping World Series season with the next race, NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, scheduled for Oct 15-17 at Bristol Dragway, near Bristol, Tennessee.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES
 
FUNNY CAR:
Matt Hagan, DSR Western Technical College Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.897 seconds at 332.34 mph) 
Round 1: (0.064-second reaction time, 3.910 seconds at 330.15 mph) defeats No. 13 Dale Creasy Jr. (0.076/4.032/297.29)

Round 2: (0.057/ 3.918/325.53) defeats No. 5 Bob Tasca (0.048/3.955/331.61)

Round 3: (0.081/3.904/331.04) defeats No. 8 J.R. Todd (0.007/7.983/71.40) 

Round 4: (0.065/3.919/328.78) loss to No. 2 Ron Capps (0.042/3.930/326.87)

“There’s a backside of a good drag race, and obviously it fell on my shoulders. Capps won on two holeshots today and obviously he was on it. We’ve got a great team and that would have been a big swing in the points direction for us (with a win) but it’s always coming down to the last deals. We’ve just got to keep digging and working hard. We’ve got a great Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, it’s responding well and it’s going to be a dog fight. It always is.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.882 seconds at 329.34 mph)
Round 1: (0.085-second reaction time, 3.898 seconds at 324.75) defeats No. 15 Jack Wyatt (0.0.161/4.795/168.72)
Round 2: (0.087/3.928/323.58) defeats No. 10 Paul Lee (0.094/3.943/326.95)

Round 3: (0.056/3.924/326.56) defeats No. 4 Cruz Pedregon (0.105/3.906/327.59)

Round 4: (0.042/3.930/326.87) defeats No. 4 Matt Hagan (0.065/3.919/328.78)

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made the mistake over the years of counting out, first of all, John Force, at anything. Everyone’s been bit by that. He always seems to find a way to climb his way back in. We have Force, J.R. (Todd) and Cruz (Pedregon) breathing down our necks. Tim Wilkerson, Robert Hight and I were talking, and we’ve been through this championship fight many times, but it’s never been this tight top-to-bottom. Anybody can win on any given Sunday, so it was good to gain a little bit on Hagan this weekend.

“(Matt) Hagan, and (crew chief) Dickie (Venables), those are my teammates and you don’t wish ill on anyone out here but I’m certain when I was leading the points a few times this year, they were hoping I would smoke the tires or we would lose early because you want to gain ground. So, I was hoping (Bob) Tasca would do the dirty work second round when they had Hagan, and then I thought J.R. had a good chance because they had a good running car, but Hagan and Dickie, they just kept surviving.

“I’m very fortunate to now be able to work with (Crew Chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen. I’ve known them for many, many years, and it’s been really fun. We have a really great race car, so I’m just trying not to be the weak link. It raises my intensity every time to not be second leaving the starting line, and to not do anything wrong, and just make sure that I do the best I can every time.

“It’s rare to beat (Hagan) on a holeshot but I just am so focused for my team. There was a lot of emotion going into that round. It’s good to get a little bit of ground from third place and gain a little bit on Hagan and those guys, and it’s nice to go right to Bristol.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 3 Qualifier – 3.892 seconds at 325.14 mph)
Round 1: (0.120-second reaction time, 3.898 seconds at 329.18 mph) defeats No. 14 Terry Haddock (0.182/4.026/307.93) 

Round 2: (0.072/3.925/329.10) defeats No. 11 John Force (0.033/4.299/225.07)

Round 3: (0.105/3.906/327.59) loss to No. 2 Ron Capps (0.056/3.924/326.56)

“After qualifying the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat into the No. 3 spot with a great 3.89 elapsed time at over 326 mph, we advanced to the semifinals where we lost a close race to Ron Capps with a 3.90 to a 3.92, but overall it was really a good points race for us. We did move up from fourth to third in the championship points with three races to go. Obviously it was a heartbreaker to lose to Capps because we did run a little quicker, but I just missed the tree there. I just didn’t deliver the goods there so that’s on me one hundred percent. The team did a great job in preparing me and giving me a good car. Qualifying was awesome as well.

“We racked up points in every qualifying session which gave us a total extra bonus of five points, which might be a career first for me to actually score in each of the qualifying rounds. They try to reward the good running cars and we definitely took advantage of that. Hats off to (Crew Chief) JC (John Collins) and (assistant Crew Chief) Rip (Reynolds) and the team. They were just on their game and we’ll shake this off and move on to a Bristol.”

 
TOP FUEL:
Leah Pruett, DSR Okuma Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster  
(No. 11 Qualifier – 3.773 seconds at 323.12 mph)
Round 1:  (0.048-second reaction time, 4.230 seconds at 192.63 mph) loss No. 6 Josh Hart (0.080/3.755/305.56)

“We definitely had some big expectations for the Stampede of Speed. Everything is bigger in Texas, but the one thing that wasn’t bigger here was our boost. Five pounds down at the step turned into a hole out and pitching the belt on a round that we were winning from the get-go. One thing I can say about this DSR Performance team, is that we will be fighting until the bitter end. We may be out of reach of the actual championship, but what we can do is continue to be the giant killer, and give it absolutely everything we’ve got for the last three races. We’re working together and keeping our heads up because that’s the only way that we’ll continue to be able to get the success we’re after for the rest of the season.”

NHRA Championship Points Standings:
Following the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex
 
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,449 (3/1-TJ Johnson Jr.)

2. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,416 (2)

3. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 2,336 (1)

4. John Force – 2,334 (3)

5. J.R. Todd – 2,315 (1)

6. Bob Tasca III – 2,291 (2)
7. Robert Hight – 2,261 (2)

8. Tim Wilkerson– 2,211 (1)

9. Alexis DeJoria – 2,197

10. Blake Alexander– 2,153
 
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1. Steve Torrance – 2,473 (9)

2. Brittany Force – 2,421 (1)

3. Justin Ashley – 2,352 (2)

4. Mike Salinas – 2,305 
5. Billy Torrence – 2,301 (2)

6. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 2,255 (1)

7. Antron Brown – 2,221 (1)
8. Clay Millican – 2,212

9. Shawn Langdon – 2,196
10. Doug Kalitta – 2,148

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Mopar

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) offers exceptional service, parts and customer care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, the brand expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Mopar is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

Follow Mopar and company news and video on:

Company blog: blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Media website: media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

Mopar brand: www.mopar.com

Mopar blog: blog.mopar.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mopar

Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialmopar

Twitter: @OfficialMOPAR

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/mopar and www.youtube.com/StellantisNA

Dodge//SRT

For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.

2021 marks the year that Dodge is distilled into a pure performance brand, offering Hellcat-powered, 700-plus-horsepower SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2021 model year, Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, the new 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the new 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.

In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). The Dodge brand also ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market). These results are historic because it marks the first time a domestic brand has earned top spots in both J.D. Power studies in the same year.

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

ENNIS, TX (October 10, 2021) — Countdown driver Justin Ashley won the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals today in dominant fashion. Ashley and the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot made a serious move up the Camping World Top Fuel point standings, moving from fifth to third in the process. The second-year driver won for the first time in 2021 in his third final round appearance defeating Keith Murt, Billy Torrence, Brittany Force and Steve Torrence to secure his second career Top Fuel victory.

Justin Ashley, 2021 Texas NHRA Fall Nationals Top Fuel winner (photo credit Ron Lewis Photography)

“I think when you win a race like this the key to victory is the team effort and the fact that everybody did their job,” said Ashley, the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year. “Today was a complete team effort. I did my job behind the wheel. Crew Chief Mike Green did an awesome job tuning this race car all weekend. It felt like a bracket car. The key to the win was this group of guys and the leadership of (team owner) Dustin Davis and Mike. They work incredibly hard. They definitely deserve this win.”

Ashley, the No. 4 qualifier, started his race day with a win over No. 13 qualifier Keith Murt. The round win was never in jeopardy as he took the lead off the starting line and never trailed getting to the finish line first with a 3.748 second pass at 319.29 mph. This win set the tone for a long day of success behind the wheel.

Justin Ashley and the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel powered by Vita C Shot team (photo credit Ron Lewis Photography)

In the second round Ashley squared off with Billy Torrence in a rematch of the Reading Nationals final from two weeks ago that did not go Ashley’s way. Today Ashley got the jump off the starting line, .039 to .091 reaction time advantage which was enough to get the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster out front and to the finish line stripe in front of Torrence. His slower elapsed time of 3.755 seconds outpaced Torrence’s 3.749 seconds for a hole shot win.

“For me the thought was unfinished business,” said Ashley, who has two runner-up finishes in 2021. “We had unfinished business to take care of this weekend. I knew that we were long overdue. This just felt so good because we were so close a few times and we finally sealed the deal. I wanted to finish it off for my guys and our sponsors. That is how you get it done and put on a great show for the fans.”

In the semifinals racing the 2017 Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, Ashley once again proved his mettle on the starting line with another hole shot win.  His .061 to Brittany’s .081 put him in position to take his 3.740 second run to the final round instead of Force’s 3.727 second run. The two round wins on the strength of Ashley’s reaction time combined with the consistency of Green’s tune-up set up a final round against the points leader Steve Torrence. 

“These round wins were so rewarding,” said Ashley, the 2020 Summernationals winner. “The Countdown is about one thing and that is getting hot at the right time. Obviously, the regular season is huge and meaningful, and you want to set yourself up for success. Once you are in the Countdown all bets are off. That is when the best teams in the world step up. It is really satisfying to step up and get hot at the right time.”

Final round Ashley versus S. Torrence (photo credit Ron Lewis Photography)

Both Top Fuel final round participants had two of the most consistent race cars on the property throughout the day. In a final for the ages Ashley and Torrence had identical reaction times and Ashley picked up his first win of the 2021 season with a winning 3.759 second run to Torrence’s 3.764.

“There is no intimidation factor for me when I race Steve,” said Ashley. “There is a respect factor. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Steve and Billy and that whole Capco team. They have developed a winning culture over there. They know how to win and that is not an easy thing to do especially at this level.”  

The success of the Smart Sanitizer Top Fuel dragster that is also backed by KATO Fastening Systems and Auto Shocker jumped him from fifth to third place in the point standings and inserted him into the championship conversation with three playoff races remaining.

“It is satisfying to throw our name into the championship mix. We are happy that we did it. We can’t control what Steve or Brittany or any of the other Top Fuel teams are doing. They are all in the Top Ten for a reason. They are all great drivers. We are happy for us because it puts us right back in the middle of things. Next weekend is Bristol. That will be a huge race,” added Ashley.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.809 sec, 304.67 mph; Qual. 6

Q2: 3.687 sec., 329.58 mph; Qual. 4

Q3: 3.772 sec, 324.20 mph; Qual 4

Q4: 3.783 sec., 324.36 mph; Qual. 4

Bonus Points: +2 (2^nd quickest in Q3)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     4             .061       3.748     319.29 (W)         

Keith Murt                         13           .091       3.862     311.85

Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     4             .039       3.755     324.75 (W)

Billy Torrence                     5             .091       3.749     328.86

Semifinal Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     4             .061       3.740     325.30 (W)         

Brittany Force                    1             .081       3.727     332.84

Final Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Justin Ashley                     4             .035       3.759     326.40 (W)

Steve Torrence                   2             .035       3.764     321.81   

Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown Top Ten – Top Fuel

1.          Steve Torrence                                    2473

2.          Brittany Force                                      2421

3.          Justin Ashley                                        2352

4.          Mike Salinas                                         2305

5.          Billy Torrence                                       2301

6.          Leah Pruett                                           2255

7.          Antron Brown                                      2221

8.          Clay Millican                                         2212

9.          Shawn Langdon                                   2196

10.       Doug Kalitta                                          2148

The Averill Park, NY driver survived several restarts to take checkers at Oswego  OSWEGO, NY-October 10, 2021-Chad Jeseo’s patience Sunday afternoon at Oswego Speedway helped him survive multiple restarts and find the checkered flag first in the DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 at NAPA Super DIRT Week. The win would be Jeseo’s first DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 victory, but results remain unofficial Sunday night pending post-race technical inspection. Jeseo and Luke Horning brought the field to the green in the 50-lap Pro Stock Championship, as Horning thundered to the lead off Turn 2. Horning led the first 10 laps before a caution allowed Jeseo to make his move. The Averill Park, NY driver, found the daylight he needed on the ensuing restart, pulling even with Horning on the bottom through Turns 1 and 2. The two drivers waged war in an epic side-by-side battle through Turns 3 and 4 until Jeseo used his momentum to nose ahead of “Cousin Luke” and took the lead — one he’d never relinquish. However, Jeseo’s run out front wasn’t smooth sailing. Despite leading the final 39 laps, “Bad Chad’s” run in front of the field was broken up by several cautions throughout the event, including one on Lap 38 when Nick Stone and Rich Crane made contact, sending Crane around and rolling on his roof. Five other cars were involved.  The crash set up one of many restarts on Jeseo’s path to Victory — a problem he solved through patience. “It feels really good; it’s just a statement from the 25 team,” Jeseo said. “Out here, it was kind of just patience, weathering the storm with the bumps and all that, but we had a good run there with Luke at the beginning, and it was too bad to see him get tangled up.”  Jeseo, who started second, knew his competitors weren’t the only battle he had to face during the DIRTcar Pro Stock 50. He stated he was more worried about beating himself as the laps wound down.  “The biggest thing is you just can’t beat yourself at the end of the day,” Jeseo said. “It’s hard enough to beat the guys you’re racing against, but you can’t beat yourself.”  Jason Casey crossed the line behind Jeseo — his best finish at NAPA Super DIRT Week. The Canaan, CT driver, snuck by Nick Stone for second with 28 laps to go, unable to find enough momentum to catch Jeseo in the race’s closing stages.  “I really needed [Jeseo] to bobble,” Casey said. “He’s on the leaf spring car and he seemed to be getting around a little better. I’m on coils, and we’re just trying to figure them out still a little bit.”  Rob Yetman finished third — extending his streak of top-six finishes in the DIRTcar Pro Stock 50 to nine consecutive years. The five-time NAPA Super DIRT Week winner was thrilled after he battled back from two spins to finish on the podium.  “We got dumped twice,” Yetman said. “To get third, I’m pretty ecstatic about that.”  Mike White, filling in for his son Justin, finished fourth, while Scott Towslee rounded out the top five.  FEATURE (RESULTS UNOFFICIAL PENDING POST-RACE TECHNICAL INSPECTION) — 1. 25-Chad Jeseo[2]; 2. 324-Jason Casey[4]; 3. 7-Rob Yetman[11]; 4. 1X-Mike White[25]; 5. 23-Scott Towslee[15]; 6. 51-Jason Meltz[8]; 7. 413-Tommy Dean[26]; 8. 2-Pete Stefanski[17]; 9. 28-Burton Ward[21]; 10. 14J-Johnny Rivers[24]; 11. 17-Nick Hilt[31]; 12. 7D-Chucky Dumblewski[7]; 13. 91-Ian Bressette[27]; 14. 75S-Gary Silkey[20]; 15. 6C-Brian Carter[23]; 16. 178-Steve LaRochelle[13]; 17. 09-Shawn Perez[29]; 18. 56-Jay Fitzgerald[22]; 19. 69-Chris Crane[9]; 20. 6-Shane Playford[19]; 21. 711-Rich Crane[5]; 22. 8N-Nick Stone[3]; 23. 70X-Josh Coonradt[6]; 24. 322-Jay Casey[14]; 25. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[18]; 26. 75-Eli Gilbert[28]; 27. 4-Dean Charbonneau[16]; 28. 2H-Luke Horning[1]; 29. 14-Kim Duell[10]; 30. X15-Tyler Bushey[30]; 31. 57K-Kevin Fetterly Jr[12]

NAPA Super DIRT Week is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: NAPA Auto Parts, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux, Chevrolet Performance and SIS Insurance. Other Super DIRT Week sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), A-Verdi, Area Auto Racing News, ASI Race Wear, Bart Contracting Inc, Best Western Plus-Oswego, Beyea Custom Headers, Bicknell Racing Products, City of Oswego, C&S Companies, Clarion Hotel – Oswego, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,  Drydene, Fast Line Performance, Fast Shafts, FireAde, Fox Factory, Gypsum Express, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Intercomp, iRacing, K1 Race Gear, Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Shocks, PJC Spray Foam, Racing Electronics, SRI Performance, Tracey Road Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco Aluminum.  Special thanks to New York State. 

The Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FireAde, Intercomp, and Racing Electronics.

ROME, GA (October 10, 2021) – Jonathan Davenport swept his home state of Georgia at the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events as he captured the Rome Showdown on Sunday night at Rome Speedway. Davenport, who won the Dixie Shootout in Woodstock, Georgia on Saturday night, backed up his win with his series-leading eighth win of the year at Rome. Davenport took the lead from Jimmy Owens on lap 28 with a slider in turn number two, after Owens had led the first 27 circuits of the 40-lap event. Davenport pulled away for the win, the second night in a row he bested Brandon Overton for the win, this time by 1.731 seconds.  Tim McCreadie finished in third followed by Kyle Bronson, and Ricky Thornton Jr. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 58th time in his career, the three-time series champion said, “Jimmy’s car was really good at first there. I was trying to figure out a line getting into turn three, but I never could figure that out until later.” “He’s so good, I had to mess up his rhythm and that was the only way I was going to pass him if it wasn’t in lapped traffic. I tried to stay patient at the first and not try and run the top so early and maybe get a flat. I just hoped I cleared him getting into one. I race with him with the utmost respect. I love racing with him, he’s never done me wrong.” Overton moved by Bronson on a lap 35 restart after Bronson slipped up the track on the backstretch. “JD and Jimmy were having a heck of a race for sure. We got another second this weekend so we will have to get ‘em next weekend. I want to thank everybody for coming out tonight and supporting us.” McCreadie came home in third. “I made some mistakes driving, on one restart I got in there and bottomed out and I lost three or four spots. We had to claw the whole race to get there at the finish. It’s been a real amazing year for me to do this. We didn’t get as many wins as I would have liked to have, but to be this competitive and leave out of here after running with these guys, it’s a great feeling.” The winner’s Lance Landers Double L Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, ASC Warranty, Bilstein Shocks, VP Fuels, Lucas Oil Products, Midwest Sheet Metal, Fatheadz Eyewear, and Spartan Mowers. Completing the t4op ten were Austin Horton, Jimmy Owens, Josh Richards, Tyler Millwood, and Earl Pearson Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesRace SummaryRome ShowdownSunday, October 10th, 2021Rome Speedway – Rome, GA Allstar Performance Time TrialsGroup A Fast Time: Jimmy Owens / 13.687 seconds (overall)Group B Fast Time: Josh Richards / 13.984 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 3. 42K-Cla Knight[2]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 5. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 6. 25-Shane Clanton[6]; 7. 10G-Garrett Smith[8]; 8. 15H-Christian Hanger[7]; 9. 3X-Bo Eaton[9] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 11H-Spencer Hughes[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 5. 7M-Donald McIntosh[7]; 6. 16H-Austin Horton[5]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[8]; 8. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 9. (DNS) 22R-Will Roland Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 31-Tyler Millwood[5]; 5. 10J-Joseph Joiner[4]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[7]; 7. 9C-Jason Croft[6]; 8. 92-Dalton Cook[8] Rome Showdown Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 26Lap Leaders: Jimmy Owens (Laps 1-27); Jonathan Davenport (Laps 28-40)Wrisco Feature Winner: Jonathan DavenportArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 1.731 secondsStopTech Cautions: Christian Hanger (Lap 17); Earl Pearson, Jr. (Lap 20); Hudson O’Neal (Lap 25); Shane Clanton (Lap 28); Chris Madden (Lap 30); Cla Knight (Lap 34)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisionals: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadiePenske Shocks Top 5: Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson, Ricky Thornton, Jr.Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Austin Horton (Advanced 11 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Jimmy Owens (27 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon OvertonEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap #30 – 14.182 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Hudson O’NealOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Jason DurhamARP Engine Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Clements Race EnginesDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Josh Richards – 13.742 secondsTime of Race: 32 minutes 29 seconds Lucas Oil Point Standings:

Speedwerks’ Brian Henderson leads home race at VIR
No. 84 Honda Civic Type R TCR’s charge halted by off-track excursion
VGMC looked set for first top-five finish of the year before precautionary stoppage

ALTON, VA (October 10, 2021) Atlanta Speedwerks looked set for a podium finish, and potentially a victory, in the #84 Honda Civic Type R TCR at today’s Virginia is For Racing Lovers IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race, before an unfortunate late-race off ended their chances for the TCR class win.

Brian Henderson started fourth at his home race at VIRginia International Raceway. Though he fell back to the sixth position in the early minutes of the race, the Fredericksburg, VA-native carved his way through the field, making his way to the lead just before the halfway point in the two-hour contest. Henderson led 6 laps before handing the #84 over to co-driver Ryan Eversley.

Eversley would leave the pits second in the TCR class, and was chasing down the leader when he went off in Oak Tree corner. Though he continued, the contact with the tire wall dropped Eversley down to ninth place, before he eventually made a pair of late race position gains to finish seventh.

Early in the race, the #88 VGMC Racing Civic Type R TCR looked set for the team’s best result of the year. Qualifying fifth, owner/driver Victor Gonzalez stayed in contention for a top-five finish for most of the first stint of the race before an off-course excursion dropped them down the TCR order.

Co-driver Karl Wittmer took over control of the #88 just past the halfway point, but would make it only 25 minutes into his stint before he had to retire the car due to high temperature readings.

Virginia is For Racing Lovers Honda TCR Race Results
7th TCR – #84 Ryan Eversley and Brian Henderson, Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR
12th TCR – #88 Victor Gonzalez and Karl Wittmer, VGMC Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR – Not running

Quote
Brian Henderson (#84 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR), started fourth, led six laps: “I had a blast! I always look forward to coming to VIR, no matter what we’re racing, and it was so much fun racing this Honda Civic Type R here. I really felt like everything came together during my stint. We made our way up through the field, and I just had a great time. We had a lot of speed in the car; it’s unfortunate we didn’t get a result that showed that. But, I’m still really happy with our team’s performance here today.”

Next
The MICHELIN Pilot Challenge heads to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the final race of the 2021 season, the November 12 Fox Factory 120.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring

Honda Racing social media content and videos from VIRginia International Raceway are available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by CoForce Digital Media, YouTube video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

ENNIS, TX (October 10, 2021) — Coming into the Stampede of Speed at the historic Texas Motorplex two-time 2021 Funny Car national event winner Tim Wilkerson knew the event would be a great opportunity to throw down some quick times in his Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang. The Texas NHRA Fall Nationals featured four rounds of qualifying for the professional teams and Wilkerson took advantage of every round to fine tune his 11,000 horsepower Funny Car. As the only competitor on the tour who is a team owner, crew chief and driver the Springfield, Illinois based driver had his hands full over the four-day event. 

“We had a really good handle on this Levi, Ray & Shop Summit Mustang this weekend,” said Wilkerson who has 22 Funny Car national event wins. “We ran pretty good on Friday night and I was happy with our last run. The conditions were pretty good this morning so we knew we could really get after it. That was a great run and we just got beat by a quicker run. That is how it goes sometimes.”

During the Friday Night Live! Session Wilkerson jumped into the top half of the 16-car field with a 3.936 second run at 327.27 mph and he stepped up in the final qualifying session yesterday with a stout 3.935 second pass at 322.51 mph. The reigning U.S. Nationals winner went into race day as the number nine qualifier and drew a tough match-up with 2018 Funny Car champion and number eight qualifier J.R. Todd. This was a rematch of last weekend’s first round which did not go Wilkerson’s way in St. Louis.

Tim Wilkerson, LRS Summit Racing Ford Mustang

Wilkerson’s Mustang was up to the task against Todd, a fellow Countdown contender racing with Kalitta Motorsports. The veteran driver got the jump off the starting line with a reaction time advantage of .073 seconds to Todd’s .087 seconds. Both race cars were side by side the entire length of the track. At the finish line strip Wilkerson’s Levi, Ray & Shoup Mustang was running 330.31 mph and tripping the timing beams 3.886 seconds after it left the starting line. It was a dramatic improvement from his qualifying run and was one of the quickest runs of the opening session.

Unfortunately, Todd was making the quickest pass of the entire event in the lane beside Wilkerson. Todd’s winning time of 3.867 seconds at 331.36 mph advanced him to the next round and prematurely ended Wilkerson’s quest for a second Fall Nationals victory. For the second week in a row Todd ended Wilkerson’s race day, today by a mere .005 seconds.

The Levi. Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang will be back on the track at Bristol Dragway in just a few short days. With three more Countdown races in the playoffs the Thunder Valley Nationals will be a critical race for Wilkerson who sits in eighth place in the Camping World Funny Car point standings.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 6.917 sec, 142.54 mph; Qual. 13

Q2: 3.936 sec., 327.27 mph; Qual. 7

Q3: 4.020 sec., 319.22 mph; Qual. 8

Q4: 3.935 sec., 322.51 mph; Qual. 9

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             9          .073     3.886   330.31             

J. R. Todd                       8          .087     3.867   331.36 (W)                              

Camping World Funny Car Countdown Top Ten

1.          Matt Hagan                                          2449

2.          Ron Capps                                             2416

3.          Cruz Pedregon                                     2336

4.          John Force                                            2334

5.          J.R. Todd                                                2315

6.          Bob Tasca III                                         2291

7.          Robert Hight                                         2261

8.          Tim Wilkerson                                     2211

9.          Alexis DeJoria                                      2197

10.       Blake Alexander                                   2153

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION TEXAS NHRA FALL NATIONALS TEXAS MOTORPLEX IN ENNIS, TEXAS OCT. 10, 2021                                                                                                    Anderson drives Chevrolet Camaro SS to NHRA record • Four-time champion becomes all-time Pro Stock wins leader• Brittany Force sets both ends of Top Fuel track record• Robert Hight rolls to 70th career Funny Car No. 1 qualifier

ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 10, 2021) – Greg Anderson’s 98th National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Pro Stock victory was 24 years in the making and what seemed like a lifetime in his dreams.
The driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS broke a tie with Warren Johnson to become the winningest driver in NHRA Pro Stock history and second in all professional classes to Chevrolet driver John Force’s incomparable 154 victories by defeating Texas native Chris McGaha in the final of the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex.
“I couldn’t imagine one win and here we are 98 wins later,” said Anderson, who also tied Johnson for the second-most elimination round wins at 877 among all professional classes. “What a run. I seem to be getting all the accolades right now. It’s not me, it’s this KB Racing team. I’m on top of the world. What a career it’s been. The best part of the whole deal is I don’t think I’m done yet.”Anderson, 60, an integral part of Johnson’s success with GM products in the class as a crew member and crew chief for more than a decade, competed in his first NHRA race in 1998 and picked up his first victory by defeating Jim Yates on April 29, 2001, at Bristol Raceway. Every Anderson win has also been in a GM car. 
A HendrickCars.com car also visited the winner’s circle Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway as Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series race in the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
“Congratulations to Greg Anderson on becoming the winningest driver in NHRA Pro Stock. We are proud that Greg’s 98 victories have all come behind the wheel of a Chevrolet and other products from our company,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Motorsports and Performance. 
“Greg has done an incredible job on the track and in leading an outstanding team of talented crew members and engineers in preparing his Camaro SS.Greg has also been a great representative for Chevrolet and his team on and off the track. We look forward to the balance of the 2021 season as Greg pursues his fifth Pro Stock world championship.”
A day earlier, for the second time in three events and fifth time in 15 races this season, Chevrolet drivers in Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock swept the No. 1 qualifier spots.
Brittany Force earned her 11th Top Fuel top qualifier honor of the season, driving the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster to track records of 3.637 seconds at 335.32 mph. The elapsed time is the fifth quickest in NHRA Top Fuel history. Force holds the record of 2.623 seconds, set in 2019 at Reading. Tony Schumacher holds the class single-season record for most No. 1 qualifiers with 13 in 2006.
Force, second in the standings, fell on a holeshot in the semifinals.Teammate Robert Hight, driving the AAA Texas Camaro SS, scored his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and 70th of his career – sixth on the NHRA all-time list — with a run of 3.878 seconds at 331.94 mph. He lost in the quarterfinals. John Force, the No. 11 qualifier, also fell in the quarterfinals in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Camaro SS.
Anderson, the No. 1 Pro Stock qualifier for the 10th time this season and 116th time in his career, extended his NHRA record by qualifying for his 414th consecutive race. The record win came in his 166th final, which includes eight this season.
“People kept asking me, ‘Where are you going to get it done?’ ” said Anderson, who won for the sixth time at Texas Motorplex. “As soon as I stepped out of the car I got a call from Mr. Hendrick – Kyle Larson won today, too, in a Chevrolet – and Jim Campbell, the VP of Chevrolet jumps on the phone excited as can be, so big day for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. I’m honored to be part of it.”
McGaha, who had reached the semifinals once in the previous 14 races in the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Camaro SS, bounced Aaron Stanfield, a three-time winner this season in the Janac Brothers Camaro SS, in one of the semifinals. Anderson knocked out Troy Coughlin Jr., driving the JEGS.com/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS, in the other.
Anderson increased his points lead to 81 over reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders, who fell in the quarterfinals to Stanfield. Both drivers are seeking their fifth NHRA Pro Stock world championship.
Pro Stock competitors have off until Oct. 29-31 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The John Force Racing trio will aim to gain ground in the standings Oct. 15-17 at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway in Tennessee. FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 17. 
An interview with Pro Stock winner GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:WHAT’S THIS MEAN TO YOU?“I’m trying to figure it out. It’s been such a big build up and I’ve had such a fantastic race car all year, it was almost impossible for it not to happen. At the same time, there are so many great drivers in this class that are capable, want to and will whip you. It’s been happening so often, so there’s no guarantee that it would happen. Who knows, maybe next year my car won’t be so good. I can’t say I put a lot of extra pressure on myself, but I certainly expected myself to step top the plate and get it done. I would have been disappointed if I didn’t get it done this year. As soon as I stepped out of the car I got a call from Mr. Hendrick – Kyle Larson won today, too, in a Chevrolet – and Jim Campbell, the VP of Chevrolet jumps on the phone excited as can be, so big day for Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports. I’m honored to be part of it.”
NINETY-EIGHT. THAT’S A BIG NUMBER.“I didn’t think I’d see one. What a career it’s been. The best part of the whole deal is I don’t think I’m done yet. I’ve had a lot of victories here that have been special. They’ve been career-changing and they’ve been year-changing and championship-clinching. It’s a great place to race; it’s great for Pro Stock cars.“
WHAT ABOUT WARREN JOHNSON?“He taught me a ton. I would not be here without everything he did for me. One life was working for Warren Johnson – I learned a ton of what to do and what not to do – and I applied that to my next life, which is driving a race car and running a race team. People ask me every day, ‘Are you proud of all these wins you’ve had?’ I tell them I’m most proud of the team I’ve assembled. That’s been the story since day one. That’s probably the most important thing in all the years with Warren – you have to surround yourself with good people if you want to succeed. I’ve tried to practice that with this KB Racing team and (owners) Ken and Judy Black. I’m just a fortunate guy. It’s been my dream and what a dream it’s been.”
IS THIS A DOWNPAYMENT ON A FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP?“It is a great step. We had a great day and now we’re down to two races. It’s not in the books but I like my chances. I feel if I can find a way to win at least one of these races, I’m going to be the world champion this year. Try to win them both, obviously.”
TELL US ABOUT NO. 1.“That was in Bristol in 2001. I’ll remember that until the day I die. I certainly was not expected to win; I didn’t expect to win. We got it done in our black Firebird. It was just a magical day and things just fell our way. Everybody said he’s a flash in the pan, one and done probably and we’ll never see him again. Well, here we are 97 times later.”
BIG POINTS DAY AS WELL.“I come to all these races to win. That’s my goal. The points are secondary. There is no feeling like winning one of these events. That’s what it’s all about for us. We got it done today. It’s kind of cool; they all go together. If I concentrate on winning the race and making history, that gets me the most points and helps in the championship chase. The championship is going to be a battle right down to the end.”

CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier, fell in semifinals, No. 2 in points): “Tough weekend for this Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team. We qualified well, we brought home the $15,000 check for going low Friday nights, got the No. 1 qualifier and then got beat in the semis. Overall, we picked up points and we went some rounds but to lose in the semis the way we did is tough. It was a close side-by-side race, but he had me on the tree. So, we’re going to pack up, go to Bristol and recover from this one.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 11 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “A little bit of a tough weekend out for this PEAK Chevrolet. We had some issues but I’m proud of my guys. Had to bring out the back-up car and they had some long nights and early mornings getting it ready. It ran good for a couple laps but had some bad luck with a cylinder going out in that second round. We’ll get it figured out and be ready for Bristol next week.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA TEXAS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “We had something going there for a while. It’s a good sign for these last three races. This AAA team is just focusing on taking it one run at a time and having some fun along the way. We had put a lot of pressure on ourselves and there’s still pressure, but we need to enjoy ourselves. We know how to race, Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham, they know what they’re doing.”

About ChevroletFounded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

Janczuk bests 2019 finish with runner-up, Calabrese third in NAPA Super DIRT Week debut

OSWEGO, NY – Oct. 10, 2021 – It’s a special feeling to stand in Oswego Speedway Victory Lane at NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week for the first time. It’s even more special knowing you drove from 19th on the starting grid to get there.

Zach Sobotka did just that on Sunday afternoon, wheeling his #38 DIRTcar Sportsman Modified from inside Row 10 to the lead in 55 laps and holding on to win $4,000 in the Chevy Performance 75.

“This is only my third time here. To be able to get the win is just amazing,” a grinning Sobotka said in Victory Lane.

The 21-year-old from Parish, NY, used the numerous caution flags and restarts to his advantage, staying out of wrecks and using the top groove to advance his position. But it took a lot of patience, a heap of awareness and a pinch of good fortune to get there by the end of 75 laps.

Polesitter Chad Edwards took the lead at the drop of the green and led through the opening stages, which endured an abundance of spins and other various incidents. One of which retired sixth-starting Chris Mackey in a multi-car incident coming out of Turn 2 on Lap 17, which nearly collected Sobotka on his drive up through the field.

“When Chris Mackey got taken out coming out of Turn 2, I thought I was gonna go right into him, honestly,” Sobotka said. “I’m glad he held the brakes, because he was probably gonna back right up into my left side.”

Once Sobotka reached the top-10, he began making more passes using the outside groove in Turns 1-2.

“Everyone was trying to fight for the bottom in Turns 3-4, but going into 1, I just found [the top],” Sobotka said. “That’s almost the problem with starting up front. You don’t really know what line is better, you’re just trying to protect.”

By Lap 48, Sobotka was staring down the rear bumper of Matt Janczuk, who was riding second behind leader Edwards. A quick yellow set up a restart on Lap 51, where Sobotka again jumped to the top side in Turn 1 and got around Janczuk for second.

In hindsight, Janczuk, of Oneida, NY, knew Sobotka was coming, but veered away from the aggressive driving to try and get him back. He’s chasing the Sportsman Modified Series points championship and Fall Championship, and was thinking of the future in the moment.

“I saw him on the board,” Janczuk said. “[Sobotka] was in a better position than us. We were points racing. We had to finish the race, for one, and I didn’t want to make any huge mistakes and fall back and get myself in a position to get wrecked.”

Now with the runner-up spot, Sobotka didn’t have to wait long to get the lead, as Edwards blew a right-rear tire just three laps later. This handed the lead to Sobotka and completed his drive from over halfway through the field. But it wasn’t over yet.

One final restart with 12 laps left saw the top-two break away from the pack in the final circuits. Sobotka switched to the high groove in Turns 3-4 to try and keep Janczuk at bay, but it had the reverse effect as Janczuk closed to within two car-lengths before taking the white flag.

“I was mainly looking at the [DIRTVision big screen] in Turn 1 to try and see where [Janczuk] was,” Sobotka said. “It looked like he was coming out high in 3-4, so I went up there and tried it, and thought ‘ah, this doesn’t feel right.’ So, I had to go back to the bottom and keep going through those holes.”

Now back on the bottom in 3-4, Sobotka led the field back around to the checkered flag and the first Chevy Performance 75 victory of his career.

Janczuk crossed in second, which one-upped his best career finish of third in 2019.

“We kinda ran out of time, and [Sobotka] had a little bit better car overall, I think,” Janczuk said. “It’s only our second time here, so a third and a second in two races… I can’t be upset about that.”

Crossing the stripe in third was Brian Calabrese, who came into Oswego on Sunday facing a unique situation after racing elsewhere on Saturday night. He drove back to his shop in Johnstown, NY, after the race and wanted to be extra sure he’d make it to Oswego for his first start in the big show.

“I slept in my pickup truck last night because I was too afraid I wasn’t gonna wake up to my alarm,” Calabrese said. “I wanted to lay down in my bed, but if my alarm clock didn’t wake me up, at least I was in my pickup truck when the crew guys got to the shop.”

He ran inside the top-10 the entire race after starting ninth and was able to crack into the podium with a pass on Justin Stone with 10-to-go.

“I dove it in there on the bottom and it stuck,” Calabrese said. “Risk versus reward.”

While he didn’t get the final restart he was looking for, Calabrese did bag a solid third-place to match his runner-up at Weedsport on Wednesday and fourth-place at Brewerton on Thursday.

“At that point, [the leaders] were too checked out. I’m not saying I would’ve won the race, but if we would’ve had [another] restart, it would’ve been interesting,” Calabrese said.

RESULTS

1. 38-Zach Sobotka[19]; 2. 33X-Matt Janczuk[3]; 3. 21C-Brian Calabrese[9]; 4. 1X-Justin Stone[5]; 5. 70A-Alex Payne[13]; 6. 5S-Tanner Siemons[15]; 7. 26-Ryan Godown[17]; 8. 410-Mike Fowler[7]; 9. 7-Michael Sabia[23]; 10. 57H-Remington Hamm[20]; 11. 42B-Justin Buff[24]; 12. 09-Connor Cleveland[25]; 13. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[34]; 14. Z4-JJ Courcy[28]; 15. B24-Brendan Gibbons[30]; 16. 92-Andrew Buff[2]; 17. 1M-Tyler Murray[27]; 18. 8-Alan Fink[4]; 19. 64-Tyler Corcoran[22]; 20. 41-Dalton Rombough[8]; 21. 1XD-Willy Decker Jr[18]; 22. 72-A Jay Potrzebowski[12]; 23. 1-David Rogers[10]; 24. 1R-Ricky Thompson[36]; 25. 10%-Chad Edwards[1]; 26. 19-Jamy Begor[21]; 27. 12G-Matt Guererri[14]; 28. 22B-Mike Bruno[11]; 29. 7Z-Zachary Payne[33]; 30. 31B-Ryan Dolbear[35]; 31. 18-Chris Cayea[16]; 32. 33-Ryan Murtaugh[31]; 33. 29-Nick Heywood[29]; 34. 33O-Cody Ochs[26]; 35. 3M-Chris Mackey[6]; 36. 02-David Boisclair[32]

October 10, 2021

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Duracell team extended their streak of strong road-course runs with a sixth-place finish in Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

DiBenedetto and the Menards/Duracell team recovered from an early race setback to work their way into the top 10 and score their second-straight top-10 finish on a road course and their fourth top-11 in the past four races on road courses.

At Charlotte, DiBenedetto started the race from 30^th place, quickly gained 10 spots then began to employ a strategy designed to gain track position.

Crew chief Jonathan Hassler elected to stop for fresh tires before the Competition Caution flag flew at Lap 12 then returned to pit road for fuel during the caution period.

But their strategy was foiled by contact on the track late in Stage One that left the Menards/Duracell Mustang with body damage and cost the team the track position it had gained.

In Stage Two, DiBenedetto worked to overcome the poor track position, and his efforts put him in position to restart the third Stage from 10^th place.

With the Menards/Duracell Mustang back up to speed, DiBenedetto was able to maintain his spot in the top 10 until a green-flag pit stop with 30 laps remaining.

DiBenedetto had moved to second place during that round of green-flag stops and was poised to rejoin the field safely in the top 10 once he made his stop.

But damage to a front fender caused a slow stop that put him  back in 16^th place.

Once again, DiBenedetto began working his way forward. He leapfrogged into to the top 10 by staying on the track when the caution flag flew for debris from Chase Elliott’s car.

Restarting in second place, DiBenedetto was able to hold his spot in the top 10 despite drivers behind him having fresher tires. Another caution gave his challengers with fresher tires more opportunities to pass him, but he held his ground and came home in sixth place. It was his ninth top-12 finish in the past 13 races. 

DiBenedetto said Sunday’s strong run is a testament to the hard work the No. 21 team has put into its road-course program.

“Road courses used to be a weak point in our program, and now they’re not,” he said. “The whole team has put so much effort into it and worked really hard to address the areas where we were lacking.”
 
He said that with a few fewer setbacks on Sunday, the results could have been even better.
 
“At the end, if we had been on new tires, with Hassler’s strategy, our Menards/Durcell Mustang was as good as any car out there,” he said. “To finish it off like we did on old tires shows just how good our car was.”
 
Next up for DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team is the Autotrader 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 17.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIES BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400 CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 10, 2021

KYLE LARSON TAKES THE WIN AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSETeam Chevy Scores 15th NCS Victory of 2021CONCORD, N.C. (October 10, 2021)– With Playoff implications on the line, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE team prevailed, taking the checkered flag for the seventh time this season in the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Larson’s victory in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Round of 12 elimination race marked Chevrolet’s 15th win for the 2021 season and 810th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series.  The 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver’s trip to victory lane at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile North Carolina Road Course is his 13th victory in 255 NCS races, securing his chance to continue in the battle for the coveted title of the NASCAR Cup Series Champion. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott triumphed from damage sustained at the end of Stage One, driving his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to a 12th-place finish to advance into the NCS Playoffs Round of Eight.  Tyler Reddick drove his No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1 1LE to a strong runner-up finish, his 15th top-10 finish in 2021, to give the Bowtie Brand a 1-2 finish in the final road course event for the 2021 NCS season. Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman battled to a 10th-place finish to round out the Team Chevy top-10. Chris Buescher (Ford) finished third, Kyle Busch (Toyota) was fourth and Denny Hamlin (Toyota) rounded out the top-five in the 109-lap race.  The NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight gets underway next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Sunday, October 17, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: Last but certainly not least is our winning driver, Kyle Larson.We’ll get right to questions.
Q.You were a premier dirt track racing, short track racer, oval racer. Have you surprised yourself at all with what a great road course racer you’ve become, too?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, a little bit. I felt like for me to be able to qualify as good as I had in years past when we had qualifying on road courses, I felt like I was a good road course racer until I would get to the races and I wouldn’t be very good just on the long run stuff.Now, with Hendrick, I think just the setups kind of go along with me and my style. We’re able to have good long run speed.I still feel like I’m so far away from being where I could be as far as road course racer. I still think there’s lots of, tons of room for improvement. I think there’s so many more people out there that are better than me under braking, just doing little things better than me and we’re able to get wins like we are.I feel like if I can put some more work in, I should hopefully get a lot better. Q.It seemed like you and your No. 5 team really had to work for it today. How gratifying is this victory given the circumstances?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it’s so satisfying because I really did not think that we were going to have a shot to win today. Had a lot of different emotions throughout the middle portions of that race, thinking that this is so depressing and sad and crazy that I’m going to lose my shot at a championship because of an alternator issue, to, okay, now we got it fixed, let’s try to get away with a top 15 finish, keeping all the fenders on it.I was passing some cars. We had a really good green flag cycle. I’m trying to look at the big screen. I see Denny coming up on my mirror. I’m like judging off of that, Okay, I think I’m towards the front here now. Man, I’d love to see a caution come out. Then it all worked out.Not that many people stayed out with him. I knew he was in trouble. I had just a lot of stuff work out for us. William having to go through the backstretch chicane that allowed us to get to second. From then on I was like, We really have a good shot to win now.Just a wild range of emotions all race long. Just crazy that I’m sitting here talking to all of you. Q.Seems like you chose your battles wisely. How confident were you that you had the car underneath you to make the final charge you did?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I knew I had a car that was definitely capable of winning. I was trying to be patient with it. I knew I had much better tires than Denny. But to a point I was too patient with him the first restart. I was able to somehow get past Reddick. I think him and Denny got battling. I was able to get him before we got back onto the oval, turn one over there. A caution came out shortly later.I told myself I still need to be smart and patient, but not to waste any time if I get an opportunity. I had a good restart, was able to get single file off of turn one. The restart before Denny had kind of entered low and washed really high in the center of three and four over here. I knew that was going to be a good opportunity for me if I could get my angles right to get pointed and squirt in front of him and at least get in position on him off of four.Yeah, that restart went really well for me. Kind of had to manage the gap and not make any mistakes. Q.You complete a sweep of the Charlotte races. It’s your second straight win in an elimination race. Do you believe there’s something about you and your team that you know how to flip the switch and just peak at the right time?KYLE LARSON: I’m not sure. I will say, though, that my team did an amazing job today. Steven getting the belt changed, Jesse changing the battery, my pit crew staying calm, listening to Cliff when communicating with him, when we’re having to change up our plans when they’re changing the cautions to quick yellow, things like that.I think Cliff is more good at kind of flipping the switch and keeping everybody motivated and calm, just communicating well with all the tasks that each and every one of us needed to get done.Then our race car is really good, too, which allows us to be more patient in situations like that. I think when you’re trying to fight handling or speed just in general, you can really overdrive and make mistakes.Having a good car helped with the switch, I guess. Q.You had so much to go through to get to the end. Cliff said several times your hands were shaking on the late restarts. Why the nerves at the end of the race instead of when you were facing all the stuff early? What is that about your handshaking?KYLE LARSON: It wasn’t my hand. My brake leg was kind of getting twitchy just from nerves and stuff. Not under caution. Once we got going, I got the lead, I couldn’t believe I got the lead that early on the restart.But yeah, I mean, I guess that was just an excited anxiety shake then. Early on when I was having all my issues, I was just kind of sad and depressed that this was going to be how my season was going to end, where we didn’t even really have a crash or a mistake on our part. It was just something kind of freak happen.Yeah, just had a lot of emotions. It all worked out. Q.Were you aware of everything that was going on with Harvick and Chase during the race at all? You’ll now catch up on it?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I need to really go back and watch what happened. Obviously we had the big screen so I saw Kevin get into Chase over here, get his payback I’m guessing. But, man, Chase’s team did such a good job, such a good job, fighting through that.I think any other race in the season, you’ll probably give up and just patch it together the best you can, and the driver also is probably going to limp it around and accept that they aren’t going to make the next round.Not Alan and Chase, that whole 9 team. It’s unbelievable what they did. I think they finished 13th or something like that. That’s crazy. Q.12th.KYLE LARSON: 12th, that’s just crazy. I was following along with that.Then I saw Kevin — I heard about Kevin getting into the barriers at one. I wasn’t sure if Chase got into him or not. I saw on the big screen that didn’t happen.Just a wild race for so many different people. So many drivers had to overcome something I felt like today. I don’t think there was anybody that probably had a smooth race at all. Q.Even with your points you have, so many this round, the ups and downs of Talladega, are you ready for the next round and the challenges ahead? Are you just glad this one is over and feel more confident about the next round?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I’m glad I’m through. I’m glad I somehow got five more points to take into the next round for sure.I think you look at probably where had I been in the same — you eliminate four cars out of this round, I’m much closer to the cut line going into Martinsville, if I have an average first race, a bad second race, then we’re in an extra stressful situation going into Martinsville.Hopefully Texas goes smooth. Hopefully Kansas goes smooth and we can be a little bit more stress-free. I guess I can’t imagine I’ll be much more ahead of the cut line than I probably was going into today, just with everybody having more points.Yeah, you got to be really good. You got to do a good job every lap of every race. You got to get stage points. You just can’t let your guard down and lose ground on guys that are gaining points on you.Yeah, it’s nice to have the bonus points that we have. I’m hoping we don’t have to lean on ’em like we did at Talladega going into today. Q.You were talking about you don’t believe in luck. After a race like this, are you still a believer in you make your own luck, or things fell your way today?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know, bad luck with the alternator belt, but after that I think for sure you make your own luck. Cliff leading all of us to get our tasks done, keep ourselves in the game. Maybe the ladybug on the roof of my car made a difference today.I don’t know. I don’t even really want to think about luck, good luck, bad luck, anything right now. I just want to go out there and do our jobs and it will all take care of itself. Q.Rick was in before you. He thinks that NASCAR needs to step in between Chase and Kevin. As a driver, do you think the sanctioning body needs to sort of referee?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I haven’t been in that situation yet to have a true opinion. I’m very glad that Chase was able to overcome everything that happened today. You never know if Kevin’s going to feel like he still owes him more.That’s between them two. NASCAR, if they feel like they need to step in, I don’t truly have an opinion of it.Just glad that Chase was able to overcome it today. Q.2018 you almost had this race won. Now you swept the races here at Charlotte. How sweet is it to overcome this and accomplish this victory in front of Mr. H in a hometown race?KYLE LARSON: No doubt. That moment of 2018, I can guarantee you it’s on my mind every restart of every Roval race I’ve ran since then. That’s all I can think about.Coming to the restart zone, lining up next to Denny in the right lane, like don’t do that again. I don’t even know how that happened last time because I don’t feel like I drove in that much deeper then as I would have today. But it happened.It’s on my mind. Yeah, cool to overcome and make it into the next round that day, then to get two Charlotte wins this year. THE MODERATOR: Kyle, congratulations. Thank you for the time. KYLE LARSON: Thank you, guys.
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by the race-winning crew chief.Cliff, a wild race for you guys and your team. Talk about the stress, especially with some of the issues you had early in the race.
CLIFF DANIELS: Certainly, early in the race didn’t look great for a little while. When we stayed out, our car just wasn’t where it needed to be. There in the first stage, we stayed out of the comp, faded pretty hard. Knew we had some work to do on the car. I can’t remember at what point we started having the voltage issue.Obviously only a handful of things there. The guys did a great job to diagnose, and we had to come up with a plan on what to do to fix it. Had to think pretty fast on our feet. The plan changed when NASCAR called for it to be a quickie yellow instead of a regular yellow. We were actually planning to pit twice.The guys, I couldn’t be more proud. Jesse Saunders, our car chief; Steven Legendre, who’s our engine tuner, they hit a home run on getting the car fixed. Our guys had to change the tires at the same time.Super proud of them. Proud of our team.After that we just kind of had to hang tough for the end of the race. Short pitted some of those guys. Larson did a heck of a job on restarts, drove a great race. Very, very thankful for the way it worked out.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Cliff.
Q.Do you practice that kind of stuff? That just doesn’t happen. You don’t do that on the fly. Do you have, like we had in the military, battle drills? Do you practice that?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, we do. Mostly in January, February before the season starts. As you practice crash repair, damage repair, changing parts and pieces on the car. We have a notebook you pull from. Obviously, it’s been 30 something-odd weeks since we’ve done that, so it can be a little dicey when you have to pull from those notes you made back in January, February.But those guys were tough, they were ready. We’ve got a checklist every week we go through of parts and tools and equipment that we need to have on standby. All that was ready and available. They knew what to do and got it done, so it worked out.
Q.Do you have a plan for days like this?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, I mean, I would say every maybe month, every four or five races, we go through random scenarios from things we see on other cars on track, things that happen to our teammates. You’re always trying to stay fresh on the crazy what ifs. You can’t always plan for a day like this, but be somewhat prepared.
Q.During the broadcast, when you had that meeting with all the team members, you had to do that to make a battle plan. Also that was taking you out of being able to follow the race. How did you manage that, keeping the team on the same page about how you’re going to fix the car and figure out how you were going to win the race?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, at that point I remember pretty clearly the two things we needed to do was have a plan if the caution came out and not burn the brakes off because he was running with no fans. Those are the only two things I was worried about at that point. Anything else strategy-wise, I knew if a caution came out, all the people on our cycle were going to stay out, and you’re pitting anyways to fix your car.Strategy at that point was gone in my mind. Don’t burn the brakes off because we have no fans. I could tell kind of by lap times, I was peeking over Jesse’s shoulder every now and then, looking at lap times, that we weren’t trying to kill it at that point and burn the brakes off.We had to have a plan for the caution. Once that worked out, everything kind of got reset, and then we had to start all over on what our strategy was going to look like from there.
Q.The road courses you guys have been so successful on, is that somewhere you’ve been focusing in particular? Do you feel you guys have been the dominant team this season? Does that change that much next season?CLIFF DANIELS: I would start out giving credit where it’s due. We’re spoiled. We have Alan Gustafson and Chase and their record from road courses to pull from. They’re the guys for the last two or three years that have been the toughest on road courses. If it weren’t for the package that they built and all the teammates kind of get to tune on and work from, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are.Certainly it takes everybody back at the shop, from brakes and transmissions, car construction, everything, to just have a really solid piece. I know that sounds really basic, but our cars do the right things right. We have good transmissions, brakes. Drivers do a great job with it. Just the way that we get to study and prepare for these races based on good data points from the past kind of sets you that much farther ahead.It’s tough when you don’t have a good race, you come back, review your notes, we know what doesn’t work, how do we find what does work. Well, now we’re again kind of spoiled because we know what works, we know what those guys have done, how they build their car, execute their race. We get to pick apart how Chase drives. That has really helped our whole company elevate, kind of run at a higher level.
Q.You sounded calm on the radio. Were you actually that calm internally?CLIFF DANIELS: Probably not. The tough part is I try to operate with my gut feeling based on the information that’s right in front of me, the information we had that was very well-reviewed by me and Jesse and Steven for what we had to do. The pit crew was 100% onboard like we spelled out behind the pit box what our game plan was going to be. Made sense to do it the way we did.The curve ball was when NASCAR called for the quick yellow right in the middle of that because that totally kind of derailed our plan. Everybody thought kick on their feet, guys did a good job getting it done. Glad it paid off.
Q.You swept the races here at Charlotte. How sweet is it to accomplish this in front of Mr. H in a hometown race?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, it’s really, really special to sweep Charlotte just in general. Any time you can sweet Charlotte, road course, oval, it’s really cool.To be in the backyard of Hendrick Motorsports, our company has such a legacy and history here. A lot of our teammates were either here in the infield or in the grandstand from all different areas of our company. To have that much support here, to be able to bring the trophy home tonight, them being able to see it tomorrow morning makes it that much more special.Super happy for Mr. H and hendrickcars.com. We had a lot of Hendrick Automotive Group guests here. The really cool part about it being a home race, it’s kind of a family race, we get everybody from Hendrick Motorsports and from the Hendrick Automotive Group here.
Q.Kyle worked his way through the field at a tough track. How confident were you he was able to do it with a car underneath him?CLIFF DANIELS: I could tell at moments through the race, other than the first run, we just weren’t very good the first run, but then we went to work on the car. I knew we had the pace that if we could ever get up front, we could run the top five. It’s tough to know if you’re not leading what you’re going to be out front, vulnerable, have the pace to stay up there. We knew our car was going to be top five capable.Once we got it up there, Larson told me he was amped up. His hand was shaking on the wheel he was so excited for the last few restarts. It doesn’t matter what he’s in, when you get Kyle Larson in that kind of mode, he’s lights out.
Q.I know Texas Motor Speedway is next weekend. Do you have a good baseline where you feel like you need to be?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, it’s going to be different for sure. The weather plays a factor. Also the package is a little different. We had smaller plate on the engine when we were there for the All-Star Race. That race is a little bit different.To be honest, we weren’t that good at the beginning of the All-Star Race. We had to make a lot of adjustments to the car. Going to sound weird to say. I’m glad to know the bad things our car was doing at the beginning of the race that we improved during that race so we can continue to build on those notes.Obviously look back at our notes from last year, put our best guess oh for what we need.
Q.Talking about not being focused on strategy at one point. You came in and pitted. You were essentially one of the first cars to leave that cycle. Did that become a strategy play in that sense in trying to get track position?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, it was. When everything was happening, again our two objectives were to take care of the car, get the car fixed however we could. Once we got going again, I could tell the car had pace because we’d pass somebody, catch the next group really quick. Passing seemed to be kind of tough today.I think we were 16th, somewhere around there, knew that our backwards lap was going to be in the 74 to 75 range. We chose the earlier side of that just to try to leapfrog as many as we could. I had to tell him we could have been a quarter of a lap short on fuel. Not sure how that was going to play out.That was really our best move to try to leapfrog a chunk of cars that I thought our pace, from that point forward, even if we had older tires, could keep us ahead of those guys that could pit a couple laps later than we did.Doesn’t always work out like that. This time it did. Got a couple of cautions after that. Guys did a good job on pit road.
Q.You’ve worked together all year. People talk about how calm you were. But how calm Kyle was. Drivers get panicky and upset. Kyle, you can correct me on that. Seemed like Kyle was calm, was able to take that in. Kyle seems to be California cool all the time.CLIFF DANIELS: He thinks really quick in the moment. He can process a lot of thoughts really fast. I can, too.My objective for him and for the team is to spell it out as clear and as concise as possible so we hit the first objective, when you’re done with that, you go to step two, then step three. Sounds basic and simple, but we really had no choice.It cracks me up after the race when he said to me, his hand was shaking on the wheel, so amped up for the last couple restarts. I know that of him, but I know his maturity behind the wheel with how fast he can be.He’s at a mature point he can control it so well. He can go stupid fast, be in control, pass guys for the win, for whatever. I think he kind of trusted us to do what we had to do to get him up there. We certainly trusted in him to take care of the rest. It all worked out.
Q.I asked Rick this. He said this was one of the most nerve-wracking races he had sat through. Were you able to keep up with where you were points-wise, or you just figured you’ll wait till the race plays itself out and not worry about every movement?CLIFF DANIELS: Yeah, a couple things there.Part of, I would say, Rick’s anxiety, too, is we were only one quarter of what was adding to his anxiety today. He had four cars to keep up with throughout the day.Then for us, all year I’ve tried really hard not to pay attention to points. Kyle and I have had some conversations. He thinks I get mad at him when he asks about points. I try not to let that be, like, the guiding factor to what we have to do. At the end of the day, if we have damage or issues, whatever is going on, my job is to lead him and the team to what we have to do to get himself back in contention.All week we knew we were going to kind of have points off to the side screen where we could see it. I did keep up with it throughout the day. I think at one point we were 11 points out all the way up to when we were 55 points to the good. I saw the big swing.You can’t ride the highs too high, and you can’t ride the lows too low. When we were leading at the end, I was realistic, if we get a late race restart, we may not win this thing. Crazy restarts at the Roval.When things are going terrible, I didn’t know if we could get an alternator belt or a battery on the car. I wasn’t convinced we were out of it either. Can’t ride the waves like that. Everybody executed today. It worked out.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll let you go. Congratulations.
CLIFF DANIELS: Thank you.
RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:THE MODERATOR: We are joined now by the owner of the winning team, Hendrick Motorsports, that’s Rick Hendrick.
This is Hendrick Motorsports’ 36th overall victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, that includes the oval, the Roval, all the All-Star Races.
Rick, congratulations on the victory. Two drivers are advancing. Talk about the day from your perspective, please.
RICK HENDRICK: It was an up-and-down day. At one point it didn’t look too good for the 5 car to have to change a belt and a battery. We hadn’t had any alternator problems, and had two cars today, the 48 and the 5. Then William was looking so good there. I hate it for him. And Chase, I don’t know how he came back with the damage he had. But he willed to get that car up there.
We’re going now, and try to win some races and make it to Phoenix.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Rick.Q.You got two cars in the Playoffs. I know it’s disappointing to have the two eliminated. Do you shift your mindset or resources towards helping the other two to move forward, a shift?RICK HENDRICK: No. We’re doing everything we can for all four. I want those guys to win races. We’re doing everything we can for all four teams. It’s one organization with four cars, one team with four cars.No, we’re not going to back off. They want to win. They want to finish the season on a high note. We’ll just keep doing what we’ve been doing. That’s the plan.One thing I’d like to say, too, Greg Anderson won today in our Pro Stock car. He’s the all-time winningest Pro Stock driver. He tied it a couple weeks ago, but broke it today. A pretty neat day to have Hendrick cars on the Pro Stock and this car today.
Q.During the race, particularly a cutoff race, is somebody telling you almost constantly where you stand? You knew at one point Kyle was way below the line, William was above it? Are you aware of that? If so, do you get too worried about it?RICK HENDRICK: Oh, yeah. Listen, I’ve got a screen that shows me every lap. But you got to figure in who’s got to pit, who’s staying out.To be honest with you, today, through this race, I lost track of everything. I mean, I was looking at the screen, but when you come in to change the belts, and Chase, I thought he was done. Didn’t know if the car could continue. William was good all day.You’re trying to look at, Okay, if William wins, what happens to Chase? Can maybe all three of them get in?But it was the most nerve-wracking race I think that I can ever remember being a part of watching just because the Roval, the pit strategies, where people were on tires. It was a hard race to keep up with.But the crew chiefs did a nice job. Vegas, we kind of messed up, didn’t pit, cost us some really good finishes there. So today it all worked out for us.But, man, I was talking to Cliff after. You’ll talk to him here later. But everybody was uptight. You had to be.
Q.How good does it feel after being down for a couple of years a little bit, down for you guys, not for most people, but to bounce back like you have this year, great speed, and you’re performing not on just one type of track but all the tracks?RICK HENDRICK: It feels good. We started off the year just so fast. People caught up. We’ve had just a heck of a year. All of our guys and crew chiefs. This has been the best chemistry I think between crew chiefs and drivers that we’ve ever had. Any week one can win a race.Kyle has been extremely good. Won a lot of races this year. But Alex won three, Chase won a couple, William won one. They’ve been in position to win.It’s been a great feeling not to have a sponsor say, ‘Why don’t you give the 48 the same stuff you give the 5, give him the same motor, the same car?’ Now all the cars, everybody touches each car, and the motors, they’re given out at random.It’s up to the teams. It’s up to the driver. But it is the best we’ve been as an organization in a long, long time.
Q.I was thinking how sweet it was for you to have your team sweep the races at Charlotte. Given this is a hometown race, how special does it get to know you have a team behind you that can win this event?RICK HENDRICK: Charlotte’s home. It’s always been a race that we want to win. We’ve been very fortunate here to win a lot of races through our career.But when we could have all our fans, a lot of our employees were sitting in the stands, couldn’t come in, but it’s a home track. I love it. I love the city. I’ve lived here now for a lot of years. To see the complex grow from Harry Hyde, the gravel road to where it is today, it’s home.
Q.As a team owner, how do you feel Chase and the 9 team have handled the situation with Harvick?RICK HENDRICK: Repeat that.
Q.As a team owner, how do you feel like Chase and the 9 team have handled the incidents with Harvick over the last couple of weeks?RICK HENDRICK: I think they’ve handled it well. Of course, they were upset. Everybody was upset when that happened today. It looked like Chase could be done and out of the Playoffs. I mean, it was a lot of heated feelings.He came back, was able to win. Harvick wrecked himself, I guess. I hope it’s over. We don’t want to race that way. We want to just race. That’s not our style. Just go out, if a guy is better than you, he wins. Just do your job. If you get beat, you get beat.It never feels good to push somebody out of the way. I mean, a little rubbing or something, that’s okay. But just to wreck somebody, that’s not good.
Q.You have two cars having some electrical issues, then the 9 and the 4 have their problems. What are you thinking when you see everything fall apart like that? You said you hope it’s over between Kevin and Chase. At what point do you think NASCAR has to step in on something like that since the championship is on the line?RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think they’re the only ones that can really stop it. I hope they do because the crew chiefs and everybody can do the best they can, but it’s up to the drivers themselves.I’ve been in this situation before. NASCAR can handle it.What was your other question?
Q.What were you thinking when you’re watching sort of everything unravel?RICK HENDRICK: I was upset. I was ready to go home. I mean, it was time to get the helicopter and get out of here. I mean, it was brutal. I’m not going to lie to you.That’s the lowest I’ve been since Talladega, I guess. We wrecked everything we had down there. Just hard to have a year like we’ve had, then it comes to crunch time, have issues.We haven’t had an alternator issue, I don’t think, all year. Here we are in the last race to advance to 8, and we have it in both cars. I’m glad the guys recovered. Then the issue with Chase. Then you have William, kid drove his heart out today.You got a variety of emotions. But it’s racing. At the end of the day, we got to celebrate. At one point today I didn’t think this was even possible, but the guys kept digging, and here we are.
Q.Kyle’s talent is unquestioned. Thought if he could get to Homestead, he could win the championship. What do you see out of him to have that championship potential pedigree this year and what he’s doing beyond the equipment issues of years past maybe he didn’t have?RICK HENDRICK: I think Kyle right now this year, he has tremendous confidence in the team. They have tremendous confidence in him. He believes, I mean, he’s a guy he told me all week, I can’t wait for the Roval, we’re going to win the Roval.He’s so good everywhere. When you get to a place like Talladega, Daytona, when you take it out of his hands, then he can’t show the real talent that he has.But I think the races coming up in Kansas and Texas, you know, Martinsville, I hope we can get a win and enough points before we get there, end up in Phoenix, I think, hot and slick. It will be a good track for him.We know the competition’s going to be tough. When you get there, you’re going to have your hands full with any one of the other three cars.I was around Kyle a lot when he was driving with Ganassi. We were kind of friends. I talked to him. But just the determination he has right now. He’s so good. I did not realize how good he was with feedback to the car.Now the further into the year he and Cliff go, the better they’ve gotten together. They can anticipate things, so… Pretty excited.
Q.Do you feel this latest win kind of solidifies that Hendrick Motorsports is the team to beat on road courses? How do you feel that sets the team up next year?RICK HENDRICK: Well, I don’t know. I think we won how many road course races? How many road course races we win?
CLIFF DANIELS: This year?
RICK HENDRICK: In a row, anyway. Five, yeah.I think we’re awful good on road courses. Our guys are. Next year with the new car, who knows.
Q.Mr. Hendrick, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that for William, Liberty University has signed through this season. He was at Liberty University this last weekend for their homecoming festivities. What is the relationship there?RICK HENDRICK: We’ll have an announcement probably this week. It will be a very good one. We’re excited.
THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the victory, Mr. Hendrick. Thank you for your time.

NASCAR CUP SERIES BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400 CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES OCTOBER 10, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE2nd TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 1LE 10th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY / CHARLOTTE FC CAMARO ZL1 1LE 11th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 13th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE 15th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 WHELEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE 

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER1st Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)2nd Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet)3rd Chris Buescher (Ford)4th Kyle Busch (Toyota)5th Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Sunday, October 17, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES: KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerTHIS WAS A BATTLE-TESTED WIN FOR THIS RACE TEAM TODAY. IF I HAD TOLD YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF STAGE 2 WHEN THEY WERE CHANGING ALTERNATOR BELT, THAT YOU WOULD WIN THIS THING, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE SAID?“I wouldn’t have believed it, that’s for sure. I don’t know. I didn’t even feel that good early. Started changing some things and they were doing a good job letting me know what to do inside the cockpit to get better. About that time, I noticed my battery was going low, so I was getting stressed out. Like man, I’m not going to get knocked out of the Playoffs like this. It wasn’t looking too good. Thankfully, everybody on our No. 5 car did a great job of staying calm. Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) as always, did a great job of communicating with me and what was going on and getting the battery changed and the alternator changed and whatever it takes to get our battery running. But man, my HendrickCars.com Chevy was good. William (Byron) was obviously really good. It’s a bummer to see that not work out for him. But I think the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) ended up making it, so that was some great perseverance by that team, too. So, it’s just awesome to be with Hendrick Motorsports and glad to get another win and I’m looking forward to the next round a lot.”
WERE YOU AWARE THAT AT TIMES TODAY, YOU WERE BELOW THE CUTLINE AND GOING TO MISS THE NEXT ROUND?“Yeah, I obviously had a pretty good idea. I’ve gone through it a few years ago in the No. 42 and when you think you’re good, then all of a sudden, you’re running like 40th. And you’re like well, I’m down below the cutline. I knew I was going to have some sketchy moments. I just had to pick my way through traffic and stay calm. We had some good restarts there at the end and I was able to kind of use my tire advantage to get under Denny (Hamlin) and kind of squeeze some real estate off of No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) there. It was fun racing with Tyler (Reddick). He’s one of the best there is. I don’t like racing him because he’s so good and so hard to race and pass. So, it was just a fun race there and a lot of craziness all day long.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndI KNOW YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT YOUR FINISH TODAY, BUT YOU PROBABLY WISH YOU WERE IN THE PLAYOFFS?“I am fired up because we had a really good car today. We had to start 29th because of crashing at Talladega last week and didn’t have a great pit stall because of that as well. So, it really forced our hand to be off sequence and we were in a situation there pretty early in Stage 1 where we were on new tires and I thought I had established myself in the outside and got in the wall and knocked both sides in and that hurt me a little bit.  As the race progressed and we were in that situation where we were trying to chase Kyle (Larson) down and I just knew we couldn’t change anything about what happened. It does leave a ‘what if’ in your mind.  It’s like if I hadn’t crashed this car early in the race, and almost ended our day, it should have been a little bit faster.” REGARDING CONTACT WITH WILLIAM BYRON: “I just flat out made a mistake and ran in the back of the 24. I am trying to stay as close as I can, and we are all trying to brake to the limit of the car and I got to the bumper trying to put myself back in position again to make a pass to the inside or outside. I got into the back of him ever so slightly and that is all it took to unhook the rear tires. Not on purpose.  It’s just that small amount of contact that changed the trajectory that much. That was shocking to me and sure disappointing.” DO YOU UNDERSTAND HIS FRUSTRATION?“Absolutely. He is racing for everything and second means nothing. He just broke through on the best tires and in position to make the pass and take the win away. And yeah, I took that from him. So, he handled it very well and I would probably have been a little more upset than he was.  He was great at listening and hearing what I said, but I really understand his frustration.” 
WITH YOU AND AUSTIN IN THE TOP FIVE MOST OF THE DAY, WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT THE ROAD COURSE PROGRAM AT RCR?“It’s gone in the right direction really well and having AJ Allmendinger come in and be a part of Kaulig Racing and work on making our stuff better on the Xfinity side, and now on the Cup side, has really helped.  Our team worked really hard in the off season to clean up and make better what was our worst type of racing. A year ago here, I was absolutely terrible and just dreading getting to it, but now with this car, we felt like we had the best shot to win. Its just a shame to not take advantage of it.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY / CHARLOTTE FC CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10thWHEN DID YOU ISSUES WITH THE BATTERY AND ALTERNATOR COME UP?“Pretty early, I would assume. I probably don’t catch that until it’s been a bit, right? I’m not sitting thee staying at the volt gauge. But there pretty early, we knew we had a volt issue. It acted like it threw the belt, So, we came down and put a belt on it and it didn’t. Don’t know what we had going on, but it’s unfortunate. It’s tough to make a car live long here without any brake fans and tire cooling, but Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys on the No. 48 Ally team did such a good job letting me know what I needed to do to get it to the finish line and what I could and couldn’t do with fans; and we put a battery in it at one point and kind of went from there. I hate it. I’m glad we got a top 10. I’m exhausted. I’m just mentally drained after the roler coaster that was. But it’s good to get a top 10. I wish we had more. Congrats to the No. 5 (Kyle Larson, race winner). The kid is super-human. It’s cool to see. I’m really happy for Kyle.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 11thI KNOW YOU CAME UP A BIT SHORT, BUT WHAT CAN YOU TAKE FROM THIS PERFORMANCE TODAY?“It was great. We had a really good car in two of the three races in this Round and today we had an amazing car, probably capable of winning, but just didn’t have things go our way there. At that point when I got up to third, my tires were shot, and there were only two laps to go. I wasn’t going to win, and made a mistake to not finish third, but at that point I was just mad.” ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH WHAT TYLER (REDDICK) SAID ABOUT IT BEING A MISTAKE IN HITTING YOU?“Yeah, I know it was a mistake, but it doesn’t make any difference.  The awareness there in that situation where a guy is there in the Playoffs and the first guy on new tires is probably going to win the race.  And there was just a lack of awareness there.  I feel like if the roles were reversed, I would be aware.” DID YOU TALK TO HIM ABOUT IT?“Yeah, I just first off wanted to hear it from him and not take it for granted that it was a mistake. And yeah, at that point, what do you do?” YOU SAID YOU WERE MAD. WHAT WERE THE RANGE OF EMOTIONS TODAY?“At the end I was just at a full rage, so I didn’t really care about finishing third because that wasn’t going to do anything for me in the Playoffs. It sucks now that we didn’t finish third, but overall, we were in position to win.  We were leading on the long run, the caution comes out, we pass all the guys on new tires, and we were the first guys on new tires.  That’s all you can do.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 12th HOW DO YOU COMPARTMENTALIZE ALL THE STRESSFUL MOMENTS TODAY?“Yeah, our team did a great job of putting the car back together and that was really the bottom line. They just took the right amount of time to get it fixed and fixed properly so as to not have tire rubs and cut a tire down and end our day. Super excited about that and excited about three more weeks and another opportunity to win a championship.” DID YOU SEE (KEVIN) HARVICK IN YOUR MIRROR AND DID YOU EXPECT WHAT YOU GOT?“I don’t have anything to say about him or anything.  Just glad to be moving on and that is all that matters to me.” HOW DID THE TEAM KEEP YOU CALM DURING THOSE MOMENTS? IT SEEMS YOU HAVE SOME VETERAN LEADERSHIP AROUND YOU?“Yeah, the good news is that we have been fighting together for a few years now so I think we all understand what is important to us.  We are all looking forward to three more weeks.” YOU MENTIONED YOUR TEAM. A DAY LIKE TODAY SEEMS TO GO A LONG WAY TOWARD BUILDING SOME MUSCLE FOR YOU AS A GROUP. WAS TODAY IMPORTANT TO COME BACK?“Absolutely. To overcome adversity; and fortunately, it was early enough in the race and we were able fix it and got a caution and was able to keep fighting. So, I’m just really proud of that. We could have easily given up or not fixed to the proper standard and have something break or had a tire rub, so everybody just did a really good job today and I’m super proud of that. Coming off of a really fast car, I thought we had a shot to win and obviously that didn’t happen. But in the grand scheme, moving on is the most important things and our season is still alive. So, I’m pumped.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 WHELEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 15th“It felt good to run in the top-five in our No. 3 Whelen Chevrolet today at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. I just wish we could have finished up there at the end. Track position was so important, and crew chief Justin Alexander made great calls all day to keep us out front. We ran solidly in the top-five, and as high as second, throughout Stage 2 and for most of Stage 3. Unfortunately, the cautions didn’t fall our way. At the end of the race, we couldn’t turn in a lot of places where we needed to be able to turn. Still, I’m proud of this RCR team and our overall road course performance this year. We’ve improved so much as a team and have been able to put together solid road course performances all year. We’re headed to Texas Motor Speedway next, and we’re going to try our hardest to find Victory Lane.”