Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Team Bring Home 15th-Place Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

15th

12th

9th

“Tonight was frustrating for sure. My Richard Childress Racing team brought an extremely fast Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet for the opening round of the Playoffs, and we were able to post top-three lap times consistently throughout the race. I got loose running the fence early in Stage 3, which killed the right rear tire. At that point, I just had to hold on for as long as I could until we pitted under green for our final stop of the race. I’m proud of the effort that everyone on the No. 2 crew put forth and I’m hungry for more. We will bounce back next weekend in Talladega.”  -Myatt Snider

Taylor, Albuquerque take championship lead to season finale
Late-race crash drops Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 to sixth
Mark Miller, Till Bechtolscheimer pace Acura NSX GT3 effort with eight-place result for Gradient Racing

LONG BEACH, CA (September 25, 2021) – The Wayne Taylor Racing duo of Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor maintained control in the fight for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a fourth-place finish today at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Starting from fifth, Albuquerque made a bold start to gain two positions in the opening lap, before dropping one position after a long battle with Loic Duval. Finishing fourth, the duo will carry a 19-point lead into the season finale Petit Le Mans 10-hour endurance contest in November.

The second Acura ARX-05, run by Meyer Shank Racing for Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla, went for an alternative pit strategy calling for two stops, but required a mid-race caution period to work and the race ran caution-free. A late-race crash for Pla then sent the MSR Acura to the sidelines.

In the production-based GTD class, Marc Miller and Till Bechtolsheimer led the trio of Acura NSX GT3 Evo’s running this weekend in Long Beach, finishing eighth. Defending GTD champions Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher ran 13th In their Compass Racing NSX following a long pit stop, while Andy Lally and co-driver John Potter ended the day 16th in the Magnus with Archangel Acura.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Race Results
4th DPi – #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
6th DPi – #60 Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
8th GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Marc Miller, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
13th GTD – #76 Matt McMurry, Mario Farnbacher, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
16th GTD – #44 John Potter, Andy Lally, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

DPi Manufacturers’ Championship Drivers’ Championship (after 9 of 10 rounds)

1. Cadillac 3,311 1. Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor 3.071
2. Acura 3,223 2. Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr 3,052
3. Mazda 3,039 3. Oliver Jarvis, Harry Tincknell 2,882

Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) finished fourth with co-driver Filipe Albuquerque, pair leads the drivers’ championship by 19 points with one race remaining: “I think today we had the pace we expected [prior to the start], kind of ‘best of the rest’. It’s a shame not to come home with a better result at Acura’s home race. Long Beach is such a cool event to have Acura as the title sponsor. But the Konica Minolta boys did the job as usual, and Filipe [Albuquerque] had such a great start [moving from fifth to third] that we really couldn’t afford to take any risks with our race strategy. And it turned out that was the right call. Our team mates, the Meyer Shank guys, did take the risk [with an early pit stop strategy], but unfortunately it didn’t pay off for them. Ultimately, that could’ve been a winning call, but we’re happy to get the most out of what we thought we had today, with fourth. We still have the [championship] points lead going into [the season finale] Petit Le Mans, which is always nice, but the pressure is on! Basically, whoever wins [at Road Atlanta in November] will be the champions. So to win the title on a last-race shoot out would be pretty cool.”

Marc Miller (#76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) finished eighth in GTD with co-driver Till Bechtolsheimer: “It was a pretty good day for Gradient Racing. It’s a top-10 finish, without a scratch on the car, despite this being a street circuit. We had pretty good pace all day long. The Acura’s strengths are its brakes, and mid-corner balance, and our team prepared a great car for us. It’s a bit tough to maximize our advantages on a tight street circuit, but we’re all pretty happy with the result today.”

Fast Facts
Propelled by wins this season at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Acura Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, and at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca; plus podium finishes at Detroit and both Watkins Glen rounds, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque lead the Drivers’ Championship standings by 19 points with one race remaining. Taylor is seeking his second consecutive, and third overall, IMSA DPi Drivers’ Championship.

In the DPi Manufacturers’ Championship fight, Acura is seeking its third consecutive IMSA Manufacturers’ Championship. After nine of 10 DPi events, Acura is in a tight battle with both Cadillac and Mazda for the title.

Next
The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next travels to Virginia International Raceway on October 8-10 for the GT-only Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. The championship-deciding 2021 Motul Petit Le Mans season finale takes place at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, November 13.

Acura Motorsports Social media content and video links from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SOUTH POINT 400 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd       CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE6th        TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT TRIAL 11:HOT WHEELS CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th        KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 ILE13th      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LETOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1st       Denny Hamlin (Toyota)2nd      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)3rd       Kyle Busch (Toyota)4th       Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota)5th       Ryan Blaney (Ford)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, October 3, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES: CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndCHASE, A STRONG NIGHT FOR SURE, BUT SECOND PLACE. I KNOW THAT’S NOT WHERE YOU WANTED TO BE. TELL US ABOUT THE FINAL FIVE LAPS.“We were really close, just not quite close enough. Denny (Hamlin) did a good job of controlling the gap to me. He was having a hard time with the 21 (Ryan Blaney). I think he was doing a good job of giving himself enough room to him to be able to work the lanes, kind of control the gap back to me.”
“Super close. Really proud of our NAPA team. Feel like we’ve been performing at a really nice level the last three or four weeks, we just haven’t had great results to show for it. Proud of the effort tonight. Looking forward to the next two. Going to be wild. Looking forward to it.”
HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE YOUR CAR THE BEST AT THE END?“That’s a really good question. Obviously circumstances kind of went our way. We were able to get back on the lead lap when that cycle stopped. We were there in the middle with those guys making it on fuel. We were on the fortunate end because we got back on the lead lap, didn’t have to wave or get the Lucky Dog.”
“We just kept tuning on it, felt like we really needed a little track position.”
MAKE IT ANY EASIER FOR YOU GOING TO TALLADEGA NEXT WEEK?“I don’t know that it ever gets easy going there. The last Daytona race, I felt like that’s the best we’ve been at a speedway since I’ve been at HMS. I’m really proud of that.”
“Hopefully we can have that type of pace and car when we go to Talladega. If that’s the case, it will be a lot more fun, doesn’t mean you won’t crash, but could be more fun so I’m excited.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th“We stayed out and had to do the wave around. I wasn’t on fresh tires and stuck in traffic. Everyone is fighting so hard back there to run their race that I just got kind of stuck. Not beat around, but just stuck and having to race. It’s just hard.”
“We were able to fight back for a top-10 and come away with an OK finish.”
IS IT SOMETIMES HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO DO IN TRAFFIC OR HOW HARD YOU CAN PUSH IT?“(Ryan) Blaney got through there better. I got stuck around the No. 42 (Ross Chastain), so he was able to get clear and get away and have a good finish. Just being on older tires and having to battle through all of them was difficult. You forget how hard everybody races back there; it’s pretty wild. There were moments where I thought I was going to end up crashed or get frustrate and run myself into the wall. But we were able to mentally fight through it and come away with a top-10.”
YOU’RE 57 POINTS ABOVE THE CUTLINE. THAT’S STILL A PRETTY GOOD CUSHION AND RESULT FOR THE DAY.“Yeah, it’s good that I didn’t let my emotions get the best of me and make my day even worse. It’s good to go to Talladega (Superspeedway) and be that far up. I would have liked to have been up more. I feel like we gave up at least 15 points today with the second stage. That’s a bummer, but we’ll fight through it and hopefully avoid issues at Talladega.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th “Good try tonight by everyone on the Richard Childress Racing team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The front end of our Chevy was never really to my liking tonight. We were bouncing through Turn 2, but Justin Alexander and all of the guys made adjustments throughout the race to improve our handling issues. We just needed a little more a little earlier. In Stage 3, we were running 12^th when we made the call to stay out and long pit. It was just a gamble to try and catch a caution and make something happen. We led laps and were in position but didn’t get the caution we needed. It was worth a shot. We ultimately finished 13^th. We’re headed to Talladega Superspeedway next week, and we’ll do everything we can to try and snag a win.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA/SERVICE KING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18thWILLIAM BYRON AND HIS NO. 24 TEAM HAD JUST A BIT OF BAD LUCK THERE WITH THE CUT TIRE THERE AT THE END. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR RACE TO THAT POINT?“I thought we were really fast. We came from the back to the front, took the lead and then obviously had that caution. I chose the wrong lane there and had to run second there for awhile to Kyle. And then we had the strategy deal with not being able to make it on fuel and had to recover from that. We had to take two tires and that hurt us. We were able to drive all the way back to the front from the back again, so that was twice today. And then we had the flat tire.”
“We had an awesome car. The No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet was amazing. I think it was right there with the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin). We’ll just have to keep bringing that speed.”
THE GUYS IN THE BOOTH SAID GOING TO TALLADEGA, THEY WOULD RATHER BE WAY AHEAD OR WAY BEHIND. THEY WOULDN’T WANT TO BE IN THERE IN THAT MIDDLE GROUND. UNFORTUANTLEY, THAT’S WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF. JUST FOUR POINTS BELOW THE CUTLINE. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MENTALITY WILL BE AS YOU HEAD TO THAT SUPERSPEEDWAY? “Just be aggressive. I was aggressive all day today and passed a ton of cars. Just be as aggressive as I’ve been on the speedways in the past. We won a race on a superspeedway last year and I feel like we can do it again. The (Charlotte) ROVAL is a good track for us too, so we’ll see what happens.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 22nd “We weren’t great. The stage two strategy just didn’t work out for us and it put us in a tough spot there to start stage three. The valve stem got knocked off on a pit stop and the rest is history. Not a good day on any aspects. We had a decent car, we just didn’t have the pit road and strategy we needed.”

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet Team Gamble on Strategy En Route to 13th-Place Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

13th

15th

17th

“Good try tonight by everyone on the Richard Childress Racing team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The front end of our BetMGM Chevy was never really to my liking tonight. We were bouncing through Turn 2, but Justin Alexander and all of the guys made adjustments throughout the race to improve our handling issues. We just needed a little more a little earlier. In Stage 3, we were running 12th when we made the call to stay out and long pit. It was just a gamble to try and catch a caution and make something happen. We led laps and were in position but didn’t get the caution we needed. It was worth a shot. We ultimately finished 13th. We’re headed to Talladega Superspeedway next week, and we’ll do everything we can to try and snag a win.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Leads Laps and Impresses in No. 8 Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

6th

13th

13th

“Our Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Chevrolet was extremely fast tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I knew having speed in the car when the sun went down was going to be a key to finishing well. The track definitely tightened up as time went on, and I could feel it in our No. 8 Camaro. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, kept up with the changing track conditions though and we were able to post top-three laps times consistently. I think at worst we were a third-place car, and should have been competing for the win at the end. There weren’t a ton of cautions during the race and unfortunately waiting just a couple of laps from when the No. 11 pitted from the lead cost us valuable track position. A sixth-place finish is still a great night for our Richard Childress Racing team and we will now turn our focus to Talladega.” -Tyler Reddick

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA RACE RECAP SEPT. 26, 2021 Newgarden grabs solid runner-up finish from pole • Finish pulls two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion to second in standings• Wins the NTT P1 Award with four poles during the 16-race season LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 26, 2021) — Josef Newgarden did everything he needed to do in pursuit of a third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship. He won the NTT P1 Award, led 18 of the 85 laps and had excellent pit stops. But Newgarden had to settle for runner-up in the season finale on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit and second in the standings for the second consecutive year. Newgarden recorded four poles during the 16-race season, which garnered him the season-long NTT P1 Award. “It’s a different outcome for us, I think,” said Newgarden, who recorded two wins this season. “We were in the fight, which is the number one thing you’ve got to do, is just put yourself in position. We were definitely there. We had a shot at winning. We just came up short. It’s very disappointing. I mean, incredibly disappointing. You put everything into a season. You hope to win it, outside of the Indy 500. So, we just have to start over again next year, unfortunately, but we’ve got the crew to do it and we can bounce back pretty quick. So, I think we can have another run next year.” Pato O’Ward came into the season finale second in points and with a strong opportunity to challenge for the title. The second-year driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet started the weekend 35 points behind eventual champion Alex Palou. But contact with another car in Turn 2 of Lap 1 knocked O’Ward out of contention. He returned to competition and was able to secure third in the standings. Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, finished 11th and secured the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year title – a first for Team Penske. Making the transition from Australian Supercars to INDYCAR, the New Zealand native was impressive as he negotiated the change. He finished 14th in the standings. Colton Herta was the race winner and Scott Dixon completed the podium. UNOFFICIAL TEAM CHEVY DRIVER FINISHING POSITIONS2nd   Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske5th    Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske8th    Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing10th  Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske11th Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske13th  Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP15th  Max Chilton, No. 59 Carlin18th  Charlie Kimball, No. 11 Tresiba AJ Foyt Racing19th  Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing21st  Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force25th  Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek26th  Callum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing27th  Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP The 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season kicks off on Feb. 27 on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 6 wins, 8 poles in 16 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio, Long Beach); Will Power (St. Louis).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 95 wins, 107 earned poles in 165 racesDRIVER QUOTES:JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2ndYOU CAME UP SHORT OF A THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP BY FINISHING SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND SECOND IN THE RACE. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE GONE DIFFERENTLY FOR YOU TO FINISH IN FRONT OF COLTON HERTA (RACE WINNER)?“No, probably just not the yellow. That didn’t work for us. Colton did a great job. Congrats to him and his entire crew. He took advantage of it. He was on the right tire at the right point of the race. We were still saving fuel, so he just kind of went on that restart with new reds. He had a good strategy. If there were no yellows, I think we would have been okay today to cruise out front. But that’s the way it rolls sometimes. It just doesn’t always go your way. But it was a strong effort by our team. My crew was the fastest in pit lane all year, so there’s a lot to be prideful for with our crew and certainly our team with Hitachi and Team Chevy. I think we fought hard. We just came up a little bit short this year, which was unfortunate. But we fought all year long.” WHEN YOU COME THAT CLOSE, WHAT’S THE TAKE-AWAY FROM THE SEASON? YOU’RE A CHAMPION. TEAM PENSKE DRIVERS WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS. SECOND IS STILL AWFULLY GOOD. HOW DO YOU ASSESS?“Yeah, you know a couple of things go different. It’s a different outcome for us, I think. We were in the fight, which is the number one thing you’ve got to do, is just put yourself in position. We were definitely there. We had a shot at winning. We just came up short. It’s very disappointing; I mean, incredibly disappointing. You put everything into a season. You hope to win it, outside of the Indy 500. So, we just have to start over again next year, unfortunately, but we’ve got the crew to do it and we can bounce back pretty quick. So, I think we can have another run next year.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5^TH: “P5 today in Long Beach. I enjoyed the weekend so much. We had so much pace, the car was beautiful. Obviously the yellow day glow was bright out there. It was awesome and I enjoyed the race. We started on the black Firestone tires, trying to do something different than the others and hopefully gain position in the next exchange going to red tires versus the black. It could have worked but we had a bad pit stop unfortunately so we settled where we were, yellow came out and we were in good shape, finished fifth. I think that was about where we could have been so pretty happy with today. Thank you to Chevy, thank you to Menards, and thank you Team Penske. It was an amazing weekend.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10^TH: “Yeah, it’s not the best end of the season to be honest. I had a lot of potential in the last three races, just had really bad luck in some instances but need to improve for next year for sure. We’ve got a great Verizon 5G Chevrolet and a great team. We have a lot of potential so we’ll have a very close look at everything this year and come back swinging next year. I don’t think we showed what we really had this year as a team as a whole. I think we all had a lot more potential so looking for a big year next year.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 11thWHAT A YEAR FOR YOU. AND YOU ARE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. CONGRATULATIONS. PLUS, THIS WAS YOUR FIRST LONG BEACH RACE“Yeah, I’m really proud of everyone on the PPG Chevy. I think the car has been awesome, and I finally got it to my liking the last six or seven races. So, I’m really proud of everyone and I’m really excited for next year. This year was a foundation year; all about building and I feel like I’ve done that. Hopefully I can be a little bit further up next year.” HOW DO YOU FOCUS ON NEXT YEAR? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO DO NEXT YEAR?“Every year I need to get better. I need to study what Josef (Newgarden) does different and what Will (Power) does different and Simon (Pagenaud) and figure out my flaws and where I’m strong and work out a ranking on what I’ll work on. I’ve just got to continue getting better with that. And then obviously working on bits and pieces with my engineer and that will change during the year. Jonathan Diuguid will be moving on to the IMSA Sportscar program, so I’ll have a new engineer I’ve got to work with and it’s all about building relationships and getting better.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – IN PADDOCK ON LAP 18 TO REPAIR DAMAGE RECEIVED IN LAP ONE INCIDENT — Finished 28th:UNFORTUNATELY, THE CHAMPIONSHIP WILL NOT COME THIS YEAR, BUT WHAT A SEASON IT WAS. LET’S GO BACK TO THE START AND THE CONTACT WITH ED JONES. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN THIS RACE?“Yeah, it’s not the first time he’s hit us. And not the first time he does something stupid all season. So, I just wish he could use his head a little bit more; at least respect the guys that are fighting the championship. I don’t know what else to say. That corner is kind of just respect the guys that’s in in front and then maybe you get a run. I mean, I’m not telling him not to race me but don’t be stupid about it.” BIG PICTURE NOW. YOUR FIRST INDYCAR WINS, MULTI-WINS, CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT, WHERE IS THIS PROGRAM AT NOW HEADING INTO NEXT SEASON?“I think we’ve had a great season so far. I’m proud of the team. I’m proud of myself. Obviously, it wasn’t the perfect of seasons, but I think that’s just how it’s going to be. You have to learn from the little mistakes that you might have made and then, I feel like that gets you stronger. I’m looking forward to next year. I think we have a great baseline to start off from and see if we can get some more wins and challenge for a chance for another title.” NTT INDYCAR SERIES POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCEJOSEF NEWGARDENTHE MODERATOR: Joining us obviously two of the three off the podium from today, Josef Newgarden comes home second, his sixth podium of the season, seventh straight top 10 this year in 2021. We’ll begin with Josef. Starting with pole, you hung with it at the top, then what happened?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a pretty good day overall. I think Scott and me were pretty balanced. He was stronger at the beginning of the stint, I was maybe a touch better at the end.The yellows, inopportune yellow for us. Timed pretty well for Colton. He was fast, made use of it. He was on the right tire at the right time. Once he got the lead, even us closing up with the yellow at the end, he had position on us when we weren’t fuel saving any more. I was basically able to hold position.Pretty good day overall, but disappointed to not convert the pole to a win. Just coming up short in this race, coming up short in the championship is definitely disappointing. I think for us overall, we got to be proud of our fight, be proud of the effort we put in all year with our partners in Hitachi and Team Chevy. We’ll come back next year.A lot of great competitors. Congrats to Alex, too. He did an amazing job all year with the championship, so he should be very proud with his group. We’ll congratulate them and come back next year and try to do one better.THE MODERATOR: Questions.Q.Josef, in a nutshell, what do you think about a guy like Alex Palou who at the age of 24 wins the series championship in just his second full season in INDYCAR?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think he’s done a good job about maximizing his opportunity, right? Coming up, we all dream of having that type of team around you. Certainly within your second year, that’s a dream opportunity. So he’s certainly got all the resources and people around him to make it happen.He’s done the job clearly. He’s been solid all year. Been well within the fight. I said earlier in the year I think from the young crop of drivers he looks the most complete. Maybe that’s just because he has a couple more years on a lot of the other younger guys. He’s definitely been very complete all year. Seems to be very Dixon-esque in a lot of ways. Scott has been sort of the measure over the last couple decades of how you be a champion. Alex seems to embody that pretty well.He could have a very good run over the course of his career. We don’t know. We’ll see. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of time to stick around and see what he can do.Q.Aside from today’s runner-up finish, what would you say would be the highlight of your season?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Probably the two wins. I guess those are the highlights. Mid-Ohio and Gateway. I would say those two.THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Josef. Josef by the way also wins and clinches the season-long NTT P1 Award. A nice boost heading into 2022.

 CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS SEPT. 26, 2021                                                                                                    

Chevrolet adds to manufacturer points total with big day in Midwest

• Erica Enders wins fourth Pro Stock race of season, 33rd of her career• Brittany Force’s 337.66 mph run is third-best all-time speed in Top Fuel• Aaron Stanfield clinches Factory Stock Showdown title in COPO Camaro• Ryan Montford earns Stock Eliminator Wally in COPO Camaro

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 26, 2021) – Reigning Pro Stock champion Erica Enders can’t put her finger on why her Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS has been so strong at World Wide Technology Raceway through the years.
“I don’t know but I love it. I don’t question it,” said Enders, who picked up her third consecutive victory at the racetrack by defeating National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Rookie of the Year candidate Dallas Glenn in the final of the NHRA Midwest Nationals.
The event, which was not held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the third round of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship.
Brittany Force’s streak of consecutive Top Fuel No. 1 qualifiers ended at eight, though the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster qualifier No. 2 at 3.663 seconds. In her first-round elimination matchup, Force blistered the track in 3.641 seconds at 337.66 mph – the third-fastest speed in NHRA Top Fuel history and a track record. Force holds the top three all-time slots in speed, topped by the 338.17 mph run at Las Vegas in October 2019, and four of the top five.
Force lost in the quarterfinals on a holeshot to Justin Hart for the second consecutive event, which dropped the 2017 champion to second in the standings.
John Force remained third in the Funny Car standings after falling in the semifinals in the PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS. He defeated teammate Robert Hight, the No. 7 qualifier in the AAA Missouri Camaro SS, in the first round. 
Enders, who earned her class-leading fourth victory of the season and 33rd of her career, overcame Glenn’s .001-of-a-second reaction time to win by two-thousandths of a second. Glenn, driving the RAD Torque Systems Camaro SS for KB Racing, has two wins in four final-round appearances through 13 races.“I knew it was going to be close. I think I was shoving the throttle pedal through the firewall, but thanks to Elite Performance that make it possible,” said Enders, who is second in points with three races left.
Points leader Greg Anderson will have to wait two weeks before resuming his pursuit of becoming the all-time leader in Pro Stock victories as the No. 1 qualifier in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS fell on a holeshot in the quarterfinals to Mason McGaha in the Harlow Sammons of Odessa Camaro SS. Anderson, who a week earlier tied Warren Johnson for the class lead with 97 wins, moved to seven round wins of Johnson for second on the all-time NHRA list.
Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro, clinched his second consecutive Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown championship in the first round of eliminations and went on to earn his second Wally of the season. He defeated Len Lottig in an all-COPO Camaro final.
“It was a long, hard fight. We struggled some throughout the year, but at this race we started to turn it around a bit and found a little bit of power,” said Stanfield, the No. 1 qualifier at World Wide Technology Raceway. “I can’t thank my dad, my uncle – all of us work so hard in the shop – and Joe and David Janac and all they do for me. I could never dream of winning two championships in a row in this class. It’s pretty cool to win the championship and the race on the same day.”
Stanfield, 26, of Bossier City, Louisiana, won five of the six Factory Stock Showdown races in 2020 in the COPO Camaro. Drivers of the COPO Camaro have won six of the seven races in the eight-race series this season. David Barton, Jesse Alexandra, Chuck Watson II, John Cerbone and Stephen Bell have also notched victories.
Ryan Montford of Wichita, Kansas, earned his third national event victory and first in five years, driving his Omaha Track COPO Camaro to victory in Stock Eliminator.
“Couldn’t feel better to be back on this stage,” he said. “We took a break for a couple of years and didn’t run a lot of national events or divisionals and started back up again this year to do what we like to do.”
The Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis will host Round 4 of the Countdown to the Championship on Oct. 8-10. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 10. 
FS1 will telecast eliminations live at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Oct. 10.
An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (fourth win of season):
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PLACE?“I don’t know but I love it. I don’t question it. Steve (Torrence) and I were just talking about it. We’ve been coming here since we were kids, dragging our trailers with our Super Comp dragsters, so we’ve been doing this for 20-plus years. It’s a blast.”
IN THE FINAL, YOU HAD TO KNOW HE WAS RIGHT THERE.“I did. I knew it was going to be close. I think I was shoving the throttle pedal through the firewall, but thanks to Elite Performance that make it possible. It makes me feel happy.”
WHAT A DAY POINTS-WISE.“We’re looking forward to keeping that No. 1. We just needed Greg (Anderson) to stumble a little bit and we needed to go to work on making our program better. I needed to go to work behind the steering wheel; I’ve been struggling a little bit lately. Tim Freeman and Mark Ingersoll, my crew chiefs, said (.010-of-a-second reaction time) you can’t lose. I was 10, I don’t know how. Dallas (Glenn) was .001; these kids are keeping us honest and making us work for it. (The chase for the title) is going to be a dogfight. My crew works their tails off and have had to elevate me. They’ve dug deep, they’ve picked me up, stood behind me. We were able to park this Camaro in the winner’s circle today and that’s all that I care about.”
An interview with Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown race winner and champion AARON STANFIELD, JANAC BROTHERS RACING CHEVROLET COPO CAMARO:
YOU HAD QUITE THE WEEKEND.“It was a really good weekend. The competition is tough right now. The Chevys are obviously running really fast. It was good to qualify No. 1 and come out on top.”
DO YOU GET MORE PRIDE FROM THE CAR RUNNING AS FAST AS IT DOES OR FROM DOING THE JOB INSIDE?“I definitely can say I take a lot of pride on how the car runs. That’s part of the reason why I enjoy this class. It’s something that we’ve worked really hard to do well in.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO STAY FOCUSED WHEN YOU NOT ONLY HAVE YOUR CAR BUT OTHER CUSTOMERS?“I’ve been able to figure out how to deal with all that. We all work really hard and work really well together, so that’s a big help. The Janac brothers have blessed me with the opportunity to drive this hot rod.”
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “Tough day for this Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team, getting beat in the second round. We had a hole out, but I also wasn’t there on the starting line. There’s still four races left in this Countdown and that’s plenty of time for us to regroup and move forward.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “Well, we went some rounds, kept ourselves up there in the points. My guys, this PEAK team. They’ve worked hard, four races in a row, it ain’t easy. Big picture, we’re OK. Four races left and we’re still in the hunt for this championship.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AAA MISSOURI CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 7 qualifier, fell first round to John Force): “Rough day for this AAA team. We had a good car, made some mistakes. I think if we keep our heads down, keep doing what we know how to do, including myself in that, we could still pull this off. There’s still time.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, fell in quarterfinals): “”It feels great to be No. 1, but it’s such a slim edge. Anyone can win. You have to be perfect every time you go out there: on the tree, on the clutch and with the engine. On top of that, the good Lord has to be watching over you, and you have to have some luck.” (About teammates Dallas Glenn and Kyle Koretsky) “I’m proud of the racers they’ve become, the way they pay attention, and the way they watch what’s going on. They bend and they flex, they never get out of the game, and they bounce back in a hurry. It’s impressive to watch, but it’s tough going up against these guys. They’ve pushed me to be better, and I have no choice. They don’t fear anything, so you have to find a way to be better or go home.”
DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier, runner-up): “This Camaro has always been good here. I knew Erica (Enders) was going to be really tough in the final, so I just made a big, bold move on my clutch pedal and it almost worked. I felt like I was ahead until about 5 feet from the finish line. It was a good race, congrats to them. I can’t complain about a final round.”
BO BUTNER, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier, fell in first round): “My deal with Johnson’s Horsepower Garage, that’s a 2022 deal that we’ll debut at the first Pro Stock race next year. It’s going to be a big deal and I’m really excited about it. You might see me in Vegas or Pomona, but that’s still really up in the air. I mean, it’s a good thing to get some runs in and be back out here, but my main focus is on our program next year with Jason Johnson and Johnson’s Horsepower Garage. We’ve got a lot of things in the works.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA SCOTT MCLAUGLIN WINS ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR SEPT. 26, 2021
Chevrolet powers McLaughlin to Rookie of the Year titleTeam Penske driver impresses in first NTT INDYCAR SERIES season LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 26, 2021) – He’s a long way from New South Wales, Australia, and the familiarity of the cockpit of the Australian Supercar he has driven to 56 race wins and three championships. But Scott McLaughlin has taken to American open-wheel racing and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with remarkable determination and the ability to maximize his impressive skill set. At times it wasn’t easy — it’s a leap from sedan racing, although competition is on both road and street courses — to single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel IndyCars. And he is undoubtedly his biggest critic. McLaughlin, who completed his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES season with 11th- place finish in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on the Streets of Long Beach, has won the INDYCAR Rookie of the Year title.  “I’m really proud of everyone on the PPG Chevy,” said McLaughlin. “I think the car has been awesome, and I finally got it to my liking the last six or seven races. So, I’m really proud of everyone at Team Penske and I’m really excited for next year. This year was a foundation year; all about building and I feel like I’ve done that. Hopefully I can be a little bit further up next year.” The native of Hamilton, New Zealand, made the move from competing for Team Penske in Australian Supercars to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. McLaughlin quickly showed adaptability in handling the 1,700-pound race car with Chevrolet’s powerful 2.2-liter V-6, direct-injected, twin-turbocharged engine. “Congratulations to Scott McLaughlin on winning the 2021 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year award,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president Motorsports and Performance. “It was impressive how quickly he adapted to racing in the IndyCar Series. Scott combined his incredible skills with an absolute openness to learn every time he drove the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet in a test, practice or race. We are so proud to have Scott as part of Team Chevy and look forward to continued success in the 2022 season.” Starting the season at Barber Motorsports Park, McLaughlin garnered two top-five finishes, including runner-up on the Texas Motor Speedway oval, and five top 10s. Romain Grosjean (one pole and one podium) and Jimmie Johnson were the other first-year drivers. McLaughlin was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Race with a top-20 qualifying and finishing effort. He made his inaugural appearance in the Firestone Fast Six for the first race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and led first laps at Portland, Oregon. McLaughlin will begin his second season in the Team Penske Chevrolet on Feb. 27, 2022, on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES POST RACE ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR PRESS CONFERENCE
THE MODERATOR: What a 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Wrapping up not only the year, but obviously the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.Congratulations to our 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year. In the end it was a 33-point advantage over Romain Grosjean as Scott McLaughlin got it done.Overall your thoughts about the day and perhaps more importantly winning the Rookie of the Year.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think you get one shot to win this. It’s a proud moment regardless to win it. My ultimate goal was potentially top 12, top 10 in the championship. You always strive for more. To win the Rookie of the Year, it will sit with me forever and no one can ever take it away from me.Today we took a little bit of a punt just with the strategy at the start, staying out. Would have worked out if there wasn’t another quick yellow. Unfortunately there was. We pitted obviously. It put us back to sort of 22, 23. After that it was all just about trying to make the most of what we had. We moved our way forward all the way to 11th.Overall towards the end of the season, since probably St. Louis, potentially before that, I felt like I’ve had a good stranglehold on the car. I’ve come in leaps and bounds in terms of my confidence with the care. It really sets me up well for 2022.Qualifying is skill my Achilles’ heel right now, with the different compounds, getting used to that tire-wise. I’m happy. I had a year that’s had its ups and downs, overperformed, under performed, had a podium, close to having some semi-good results at the Indy 500. I’ve really enjoyed it.Proud of this year because it could have gone one of two ways. It’s been a big challenge for me and my wife to come back across here, order a couch, took four weeks to get a couch, then you sit on bean bags for a while, testing, doing a lot of different things. It’s been a lot of things off and on the track and just really proud to get through it with some success at the end of it.THE MODERATOR: You can’t test at a place like Long Beach or the street courses. Last year I remember a chilly Indianapolis Motor Speedway, your first opportunity to run in a car. It’s been quite a transition for you this year.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, if I think back to that point, where I was when I was then, to where I am now, confidence levels, how I feel in the car, it’s completely different. This is my first ever open-wheel championship. The only thing I’ve driven is two races in a Formula Ford. This is a different kettle of fish, probably the most competitive series in the world. To compete with these guys, girls, Simona, at the Indy 500 is a privilege.I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s made me better. I certainly feel like I’m a better racing driver even though I’m finishing the solidly finishing in the back edge of the 12. But I feel better and I’m excited for what’s ahead.THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions.Q.Can you comment on the excitement around the young talent in INDYCAR.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, I think it’s exciting for the category. You look at Alex, who just won the championship. Big congrats to him. A second-year guy just made it all happen and the most of his opportunity at Ganassi. Pato and Rinus. Both won this year. Pato nearly won the championship. It’s exciting. Colton obviously winning today.INDYCAR is in such a good set right now, it’s getting ready to go. I’m excited for these young guys to come through. I certainly believe that someone like Pato or Colton, they’re good enough for Formula 1. They’re good enough to take it to the very top. I’m not saying this isn’t it, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find them wanting to leave.INDYCAR is so good right now, it’s such a good category. I can’t see it getting any smaller. It’s just going to get bigger and bigger. The fan base as well. I think that’s exciting.Q.Where did you finish in the championship in the end? 12th?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think. I think around there. I really don’t know.Q.What would you say is a realistic target for next year or are you just thinking in terms of wins or podiums?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think top 10 in the championship, for sure, I need to be pushing there, getting results in the top 10. I think we’ve got that merit. I think we took a few risks on strategy the last few races because of where we were in the championship, we had nothing to lose.Next year, would we have taken that yellow at the start? Probably. Then we probably would have been a lot further up. But it’s exciting where I am and, like, where I feel. I certainly believe in my mind that I can be right there in that top eight, really be contesting for wins and podiums more regularly.I’ve still got a lot to learn. I think this year, being able to go back to all these tracks that I learnt, I feel, yeah, it’s going to feel amazing.Q.A massive focus at Penske on the 500. On the other hand there’s nowhere in the world where second place means less, right?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Maybe Bathurst (laughter).Q.Would you say, given your performance this year at the 500, a victory there is on the cards?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Oh, I’m going next year to Indy with the idea of winning. I’m going to be in a car that can win the race. I know I’m quick there. I know I’m quick on ovals. I feel like I’ve got a handle on it. It’s just a matter of having a good month, building up to it. Dotting my Is, crossing my Ts, not speeding in pit lane. That really hampered me. I think we were on for a top five.I feel like this whole rookie thing could have been sealed a lot longer if I could have finished where I was going to finish at the Indy 500. I was infatuated with the Bathurst 1000 before I won it. Now I’m infatuated with the Indy 500. With my wife, I’ll watch old Indy 500s on tele, YouTube videos, watch anything at the end of the day. I just will be infatuated with it until I go good there and get a result. Certainly I want to get there next year.THE MODERATOR: 14th overall in the championship this year.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Oh, damn it. Must have been close.THE MODERATOR: Yes.Q.Is there one memory that stands out from this year?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think you have to go back to Texas, following Scottie there. I certainly didn’t think I’d be in that position. I thought we could have been easily top five. To be battling for the win almost, really chasing him till the end, that was a good feeling.I think also starting my first Indy 500, there’s nothing better. Rolling out and seeing all the fans. Every driver in the intro room was saying, Wait till you see it next year when it’s full. I can’t wait. What I saw, 50% or whatever it was, it’s going to be off the chain. I’m really excited for that.Q.Out of all these tracks, they were all new this year, is there one that really stood out as a track you felt comfortable at and enjoyed? How has life been in the U.S. by comparison to living down this way?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: To be honest, I really enjoyed Laguna Seca. I felt really comfortable there. Felt like we had a really good car. Out of all the street tracks, I feel like this one’s probably my favorite. Out of the ovals, obviously Indianapolis was probably my favorite obviously just for obvious reasons.In terms of living in America, it’s just a whole lot bigger. New Zealand, it’s a beautiful place, but the amount of people and things you can do here, I think no disrespect to the Americans, I feel like they take for granted what they have here. It’s such an amazing country. I feel privileged to live here. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to potentially go a Green Card and permanent residency. I also feel privileged to have a passport in New Zealand to go home whenever I want. Miss my home terribly. Miss my mom and dad. They haven’t seen me in the INDYCAR in the flesh yet. It’s been on the box, watching on TV. They’re my biggest fans. I can’t wait for them to be at the Indy 500 next year.Q.What can you take from this season to go forward into next year to come out with a better result?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Like I’ve said, I need to get qualifying sorted and understand the tire. The hardest thing for me here is I’ve been so used in the super car extracting qualifying, you only had one lap to do it basically. The peak of the tire, you learnt that quite quickly, how to get it to its peak early enough in the lap to do a really good lap time over one lap.Here the laps — your fastest lap sometimes happens on lap two, three, potentially lap four. Trying to get the tire to come on at the very perfect, right time is very difficult and hard to understand or explain.But that will be certainly what I work on in the off-season, trying to understand. But I think I’ve slowly got it. It’s just the guys that have got it sorted, the guys that have been around for many years, even guys like Romain who have been on different compounds for a long time, they’ve got it sorted. I have to work hard to make it to that point.If I can get qualifying sorted, I feel like I’m as good as many people in the race.Q.What was it that attracted you to INDYCAR?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The opportunity to race for Team Penske, probably the most world famous team, one of the most world famous teams in the sport of motorsports. To drive for Roger in INDYCAR is pretty special. To then race at tracks like this, race the Indy 500, events that I’ve watched since I was a little kid, that’s certainly special.It’s just, yeah, an opportunity to try something completely different. I have so many bad habits from my super car days that have hampered me this year, so I think that’s why I’ve gone good on the oval because I’ve never been on an oval before, so I’ve got no bad habits.The road course stuff, it’s just completely different. I don’t have a roof over my head anymore. I’ve got a windscreen, but it’s different. I have open-wheels. I’m not banging doors any more. I can’t bang doors because if I do that, I’m going to be in a lot of trouble. It’s a lot of hard work trying to understand, trying to portray that to the media and the public. I’ve enjoyed the transition, feel like I’ve done an okay job.Q.If I’m not mistaken, I believe you are the very first Rookie of the Year winner from Team Penske, probably the only thing they didn’t win in INDYCAR yet. What did you feel about racing for Team Penske in your first season?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think it just shows that Roger doesn’t really employ rookies (smiling).I feel privileged to be in that position. But I also feel a bit vulnerable. Look, it’s a proud moment. Like I said, you get one chance to win this Rookie of the Year. I was lucky to win Rookie of the Year at Indy, Rookie of the Year this year in the championship. Any time you’re winning for Roger in any way, shape or form he’s happy. Yeah, hopefully it’s just a little bit of job security (smiling).Q.You got your best result of the year in second place at Texas on an oval. Was it a surprise to you? What do you feel is your comfort level on these tracks now?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: If we had qualifying and I was able to qualify, I feel like we could have qualified in the top five. I felt really strong on the ovals, like I said. Especially at Texas. I was a bit bummed not to qualify that race. Then we started 15. That’s where it was a surprise because I was just surprised. We made our way through, had really good speed on the in and out laps. I don’t really know what to expect on the in and out laps. One of my first times heading into pit road at speed because it had rained over practice, qualifying and stuff.It was one of those things where I just trusted my instincts, trusted my talent, my feelings. It worked really good. So the minute after that, I was like, Well, if I can maximize that, I can be better and better. I started overdriving. I sort of am back to where I felt at Texas, where I’m letting it all happen, enjoying it.Yeah, that was definitely a pivotal moment for me this year, something I really enjoyed.Q.After racing in touring cars in Australia and New Zealand for many years, is this what you expected or were there some things that surprised you?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, no, there was certainly — I think how hard it’s been to extract the speed on the red and the black tire in qualifying. I found it easier to do it in practice because you have I guess an unlimited amount of laps. If you make a mistake, you can get away with it. In qualifying you simply can’t. The battles are so close, so tight, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.I’m surprised with the competitiveness of the category, I think everyone has. This year it’s been crazy close, you just can’t make mistakes. That’s why we go racing. We take the risks to get faster and faster and I feel good.Q.Do Supercars have a Rookie of the Year title? I assume you won it in 2013?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, they do. It’s called the Mike Kable Young Gun Award, unfortunately named after a guy that passed away. I won that, which was pretty special, too. I guess you can say I’ve won in all the categories I competed in, which is nice.THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. You’re a rookie no longer.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Thank God.

Milner/Tandy pairing comes out on top against Taylor/Garcia in Corvette street fight

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 25, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy won their second straight race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday – a GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Milner passed No. 3 Corvette Racing teammate Jordan Taylor near the 50-minute mark, and Tandy drove a traffic-filled final stint as the Corvette Racing program won for the eighth time at the southern California street event. It’s the second street circuit win of the year for the Milner/Tandy duo, which also won a non-points race in June at Detroit’s Belle Isle circuit. Milner won for the fourth time his career at Long Beach while Tandy took his second victory there. Tandy took a 0.75-second victory over Antonio Garcia, Taylor’s teammate in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. The runner-up result did move Garcia and Taylor closer to their second straight GTLM Drivers Championship and a repeat Manufacturers crowd for Chevrolet. As is typically the case at Long Beach, traffic played a huge role throughout the 100-minute sprint. Taylor began on pole position with Milner never more than two seconds behind. The ebb and flow of being passed by faster prototypes but passing slower GT Daytona (GTD) cars caused the gap between the two C8.Rs to fluctuate throughout. The winning move came at the race’s halfway point as Taylor was balked by a GTD car, which allowed Milner to find some extra momentum and get alongside his teammate just before the short backstretch. The two Corvettes ran in that order before Taylor made the No. 3 Corvette’s only stop of the race with 41 minutes to go. Milner came in a lap later for the switch-over to Tandy, who rejoined the race in the lead and clear of Garcia by about two seconds. As was the case in the first part of the race, traffic made Tandy’s lead grow and shrink over the course of a lap. But neither Corvette driver put a foot wrong for the final stint. Corvette Racing’s next event is the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway on Oct. 8-9.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM WINNER:WE DIDN’T GET A GOOD LOOK AT THE PASS. TELL US WHAT HAPPENED. “The pass was done in Turn Six. I did a 360 and then a kick-flip afterward… Nah, lap traffic is always such a huge part of this race. When you have two cars that are so close and so competitive here together, trying to find an opportunity to pass on the racetrack is difficult. My plan was to stick with Jordan as best I could and take any opportunity that arose in traffic. That’s what happened at Turn Six. Because the GTD cars have ABS, they can brake later than we can. Jordan went for a move on the inside of that corner and it didn’t quite stick. His exit was compromised and I was able to get outside of him on the entry and that’s the preferred line there. At times it’s frustrating being stuck behind somebody. I’ve raced here for a long time and it’s happened to me. Just using that experience worked out for us. The pit stop was massively important here. It’s always limited by the driver change and four tires. That was the case again here, and everything lined up right. Nick did a great job. You have to make good decisions in traffic always. One bad decision can mean seconds of lap time and it can mean losing a position. He did an awesome job of managing traffic well and bringing our Corvette home.”RACING HARD AGAINST TEAMMATES: “It’s the age-old rule in racing: you can’t hit your teammate. That’s kind of the rule we live by at Corvette Racing, but we are allowed to race. We can try to pass each other on the racetrack – even without traffic – if the opportunity arises. Because the cars are so close and it’s the same equipment, we know exactly where they are strong and where we are strong. We can look at the same video and data. To find a big difference on the track in pure pace is pretty hard to do. In those situations, the traffic usually affords you the opportunity to make a pass that can be clean. I really only had the one opportunity and thankfully I was close enough to take advantage of that.”WINNING AT LONG BEACH: “The atmosphere here at Long Beach is fantastic with the crowd and energy that they bring. Not that we haven’t had fans for a year-and-a-half now, but this was the first time I really felt the energy of the fans. You miss it in some ways. Before the start of the race, there was so many fans in the stands. It’s one of the things that you get accustomed to after a long time. Now that we haven’t had it for a long time, to feel it again here at Long Beach is fantastic. I’m not sure that has any impact when you’re in the car, but it makes for a fun event for them and us as drivers and as a team.”RACING AGAINST GTD CARS: “That class has gotten super competitive the last couple of years. They’re doing the same job we are. For us at Corvette Racing, we don’t look at that class as something easy in any way. If anything it’s more difficult. For those guys to get wins in that class is very difficult. Whoever races in that class next year is going to have a hard time.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m really happy to win again at Long Beach and with Tommy. My job was pretty simple in the end. The stint Tommy did running up to the pitstop was crucial. Getting past the 3 car enabled us to deny them track position before the stop was a good call. Once we came back out in front, we knew the car coming out in front after the stop cycle would be difficult to beat. It worked out perfectly. The team did a flawless stop, and that’s one of the key things at Long Beach. It’s often that we are fuel-defined by the pitstop time. Here we don’t need to take a full tank, so often it’s down to the driver change time and tire change. Pretty much everything synced together. I got my belts tight and off we went.”WINNING AT LONG BEACH: “I’d reiterate what Tommy said. It’s awesome to be back at this event. I think I’ve seen more people here this weekend than ever. Anytime you get to come race at Long Beach, it’s a classic event. It’s always a favorite to come to. The races are frenetic. Getting a trophy from the Long Beach Grand Prix is always a big one.”LONG BEACH NEXT YEAR: “If Corvette Racing goes into GTD next year, we’ve been in the paddock with these teams and drivers. You can see the level that the category is top professional racing. We always look to have great racing. We always know that the best wins are when you face the toughest competition. This is what Corvette Racing wants to do. We want to race the best competition possible no matter where that may be. It’s great that we have all these different types of cars and classes within sports car racing that these teams and manufacturers can go racing in.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “Obviously you always want to win. The pit cycle didn’t go our way and we lost track position right before the stop. From that point on, we didn’t have the advantage of over-cutting so we had to pit early. The car was really good. Even if I had a two- or three-second deficit initially, I was able to catch back up again to Nick. As we saw, it’s almost impossible to pass unless you hit traffic the right way. That’s the main thing. I stayed where I was and wait for a mistake and a little traffic. On a street circuit, you can’t risk it like if we were fighting another manufacturer. You want to win but you always know that is your teammate, too. It was fun to go flat-out around this track, and I could tell Nick was trying hard, too.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTLM: “It wasn’t a bad race and to finish second. It definitely was tricky with traffic. Some guys did not want to lift or let anyone go, which was frustrating but it’s part of the race. Everyone has to deal with it. So another good day for Corvette Racing with a 1-2 finish. For us in the 3 car, I think we’re pretty close to the championship. It opens things up to take more risks the next races, which will be fun.”

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 25, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team secured the No. 2 qualifying spot Saturday night at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis. Robert Hight and the AAA Missouri Chevrolet Camaro SS team landed in No. 7 and John Force with the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy will start race day from No. 10. Back to their high-performance ways, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team came out Saturday to be quickest in both qualifying sessions earning a total of six bonus points. Early in the afternoon, during the second qualifying session, Force handled her Monster dragster to a solid 3.700-second run at 331.53 mph and continued to improve ending the evening with a stout 3.663-second pass at 330.39 mph. “Big improvement for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team today out in St. Louis. Definitely stepped it up and made two awesome runs today,” said Force who will face-off with TJ Zizzo in the first round of eliminations. “We have a good ladder for tomorrow and our plan is to go out and turn on four win lights.” Coming into the day No. 4, Robert Hight and the AAA Chevy team had trouble in the second session. Hight had to shut his Camaro off early to run only 4.958 seconds and 153.46 mph. The two-time winners of the event picked things back up in the third and final qualifying session going 3.898-seconds at 327.11 mph. While Hight improved, so did the rest of the Funny Car class shifting him into the No. 7 position. “Overall, not a bad qualifying effort, not great but not terrible,” said Hight who lines up against teammate John Force first round. “Obviously we were hoping to move a bit to get us out of that first round match-up with John. Not ideal with us both chasing a championship. It’s bound to happen, but you hope it’s at the end of race day, in the finals. We’ll have our work cut out for us but it’s nothing this AAA team hasn’t handled before and can handle again.” With nothing but room for improvement, John Force and the PEAK Camaro went 3.915-seconds at 304.94 mph despite the parachutes coming out early during their second qualifying run. Tire smoke had Force and the PEAK Chevy coasting to 6.881-seconds at 93.84 mph in the third and final lap of qualifying. “Figuring this car out. Like I said, made some changes, had a fluke with the parachutes in that first run, would have loved to have had that back but the early numbers looked good,” Force said. “We have good information for tomorrow so we should be okay. This championship fight is getting exciting. Just glad to be in it.” Eliminations at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway are slated to begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For qualifying television coverage, tune-in Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will air Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1. -30-

BRITTANY FORCE, 35, Monster Energy Top Fuel dragsterQualifying:2nd; 3.663-seconds at 330.39 mphBonus Qualifying Points:6 (quickest Q2 & Q3)

ROBERT HIGHT, 52, AAA Missouri Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:7th; 3.898-seconds at 327.11 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

JOHN FORCE, 72, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:10th; 3.915-seconds at 304.94mphBonus Qualifying Points:2 (second quickest Q2)

MADISON, Ill. (Sept. 25, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team secured the No. 2 qualifying spot Saturday night at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway just outside of St. Louis. Robert Hight and the AAA Missouri Chevrolet Camaro SS team landed in No. 7 and John Force with the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy will start race day from No. 10. Back to their high-performance ways, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team came out Saturday to be quickest in both qualifying sessions earning a total of six bonus points. Early in the afternoon, during the second qualifying session, Force handled her Monster dragster to a solid 3.700-second run at 331.53 mph and continued to improve ending the evening with a stout 3.663-second pass at 330.39 mph. “Big improvement for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team today out in St. Louis. Definitely stepped it up and made two awesome runs today,” said Force who will face-off with TJ Zizzo in the first round of eliminations. “We have a good ladder for tomorrow and our plan is to go out and turn on four win lights.” Coming into the day No. 4, Robert Hight and the AAA Chevy team had trouble in the second session. Hight had to shut his Camaro off early to run only 4.958 seconds and 153.46 mph. The two-time winners of the event picked things back up in the third and final qualifying session going 3.898-seconds at 327.11 mph. While Hight improved, so did the rest of the Funny Car class shifting him into the No. 7 position. “Overall, not a bad qualifying effort, not great but not terrible,” said Hight who lines up against teammate John Force first round. “Obviously we were hoping to move a bit to get us out of that first round match-up with John. Not ideal with us both chasing a championship. It’s bound to happen, but you hope it’s at the end of race day, in the finals. We’ll have our work cut out for us but it’s nothing this AAA team hasn’t handled before and can handle again.” With nothing but room for improvement, John Force and the PEAK Camaro went 3.915-seconds at 304.94 mph despite the parachutes coming out early during their second qualifying run. Tire smoke had Force and the PEAK Chevy coasting to 6.881-seconds at 93.84 mph in the third and final lap of qualifying. “Figuring this car out. Like I said, made some changes, had a fluke with the parachutes in that first run, would have loved to have had that back but the early numbers looked good,” Force said. “We have good information for tomorrow so we should be okay. This championship fight is getting exciting. Just glad to be in it.” Eliminations at the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway are slated to begin Sunday at 10:30 a.m. For qualifying television coverage, tune-in Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will air Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1.

Richard Childress Racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway… Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of only four active race tracks where team owner Richard Childress has yet to earn a NASCAR Cup Series victory. In 74 Cup Series starts at the Nevada tri-oval speedway, Richard Childress Racing has 11 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. The Welcome, N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series capturing four wins, 14 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes in 56 starts.  Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Alsco Uniforms 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live Saturday, September 25, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Performance Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be televised live Sunday, September 26, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Performance Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

‌  ‌  ‌

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Las Vegas Motor Speedway… In 12 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dillon has two top-five and two top-10 finishes, including his best finish of fourth in March 2020. He is a former winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2015) and NASCAR Truck Series (2010). About BetMGM… BetMGM is a market leading sports betting and gaming entertainment company, pioneering the online gaming industry. Born out of a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Entain (formerly GVC), BetMGM has exclusive access to all of MGM Resorts’ U.S. land-based and online sports betting, major tournament poker, and online gaming businesses. Utilizing Entain’s U.S.-licensed, state of the art technology, BetMGM offers sports betting and online gaming via market leading brands including BetMGM, Borgata Casino, Party Casino and Party Poker. Founded in 2018, BetMGM is headquartered in New Jersey. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:What are your thoughts on Las Vegas Motor Speedway?“Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been one of my favorite tracks. It’s always been a rough place as far as Turn 1 goes. Being able to turn through the bumps is very important. In Turn 3, it is important not to miss the entry. It starts there. The track has gotten a lot of character over the last couple of years, and that is what makes it fun to drive on. You really have to challenge yourself to be disciplined on your marks. I really enjoy the track. I’m looking forward to going there this weekend in the BetMGM Chevrolet.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Las Vegas Motor Speedway… Reddick has three previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, all behind the wheel of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. The 25-year-old has previously found Victory Lane at the 1.5-mile track with wins in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2019) and the NASCAR Truck Series (2016), while also collecting a total of four top-10 finishes in eight starts between the two series.  Chasing a Trio of Wins in Vegas… With victories at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series already under his belt, Reddick is looking to complete the trio in Sin City with a win in the premier series. The Corning, California native would only be the second driver to achieve this accomplishment.  About Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels®… From the world’s largest game of Jenga to building the world’s tallest sandcastle with Caterpillar machines, the latest edition of Cat Trials arrives this Sunday, September 26. With a desire to showcase the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels® is a salute to imagination. As STEM education expands globally, the Caterpillar Foundation recognizes that success in math and science is not a matter of inherent skill – it’s a matter of access. The foundation focuses on expanding access to STEM education in under-served communities in the US and around the world, while helping students pursue and enter STEM careers.  In Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels®, two professional stunt drivers, Tanner Frost and Greg Tracy, performed unique stunts. From drifting and bunny hops to driving a car out of the bed of a giant off-highway truck and down a ramp to a ramp-to-ramp jump over five pieces of Cat equipment, the trial showcases the power of play and STEM education. Greg Tracy and Reddick will be available to the media at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday from 1:30 to 1:45 p.m. PT.  About Caterpillar… Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping our customers build a better world – making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2020 sales and revenues of $41.7 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle, cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our customers succeed. The company principally operates through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: What is your outlook heading into Las Vegas Motor Speedway? “Going to Vegas will be a good blast. Earlier this year at Vegas, we were at a rough point for our team. We were not happy with the pace of cars or a lot of things honestly. I believe we had to pit for a tire rub or loose wheel during the race; it just wasn’t the best day for us. We were really feeling down our ourselves leaving Vegas in the spring, so I’m excited to see how we have improved as a team going back. Our RCR Chevrolet Camaros have gotten much better from that point to now, so it’s going to be exciting to see how much better we are currently. Even though we are no longer in the Playoffs, we are not going to ride it out. We are going to be aggressive and keep getting better. We’ll see how it all plays out in our Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Camaro on Sunday.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro at Las Vegas Motor Speedway… Snider has three career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, starting from the pole position in two of the three events. The Charlotte, N.C. native has also competed in three NASCAR Truck Series races, posting a sixth-place result in 2018. Let the Playoffs Begin… With Snider’s win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the third race of the 2021 season, the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing team punched their ticket into the Xfinity Series Playoffs. The 26-year-old enters the Playoffs as the ninth seed and Saturday will mark the start of his first Playoffs appearance in just his second full season. Looking Sharp at the Shop in Alsco Uniforms… Alsco Uniforms, the uniform industry’s best kept secret, will be the title sponsor of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Alsco serves as the official uniform provider of RCR and has been instrumental in helping the race team navigate the COVID-19 pandemic with a full suite of hand soap, sanitizer, first aid kits and cleaning products. Check out Snider piloting the Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet Camaro in the Alsco Uniforms 302. Myatt’s Mats… Several custom Alsco mats, featuring Snider and Alsco products, will be placed around property at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. If you find one of Myatt’s mats, please share on social with the hashtag #MyattsMats and tag @alscoinc. About Alsco Uniforms… Alsco is a fifth-generation family-owned and -operated uniform company founded in 1889 and recognized by the prestigious Hohenstein Institute for having invented the uniform rental industry. Celebrating over 130 years of business, Alsco provides uniform laundry services and other products that keep businesses clean and safe to all kinds of customers in the healthcare, automotive, industrial and hospitality industries. With more than 180 locations and 20,000 employees, Alsco provides laundry rental services to more than 355,000 customers in 14 countries, which makes Alsco Uniforms the largest uniform company in the world. Visit www.alsco.com to learn more about how Alsco Uniforms is the industry’s best kept secret. MYATT SNIDER QUOTES:Week one of the Playoffs is here. How important is it to have a good run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? “It sets the tone for your Playoffs for sure. I feel good about where we are as a team though. I didn’t have quite as good of a race as I would have liked in the spring Vegas, but it has always historically been a place that I run good at. The key to this first round is being consistent and running inside the top-10. If you do that, the results will start showing. Our No. 2 Alsco Uniforms team isn’t going to make any big changes and I think we will have the speed needed when moving forward into the Playoffs.”  How are you preparing for the next seven weeks? “The good thing is here at Richard Childress Racing, I have Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick that I can lean on. Both have really good experience at the Cup Series level and obviously Tyler has won two Xfinity Series championships recently which is good advice to lean on. Tyler and I actually share the same trainer, so I see him often and then I come here to the shop to talk to Austin on a weekly basis to discuss how to approach things. Both have been extremely helpful, not just with driving race cars, but with dealing with stuff outside of the race car.” With the Playoffs are starting, how do you reflect on your win at Homestead-Miami that now puts you in a battle for the championship? “It’s really nice for sure. But it was both a benefit and drawback for me personally. It was benefit, because I’m obviously in the Playoffs. The drawback was that it forced me to really learn some hard lessons. I went into the season with a lot of confidence. The first three races – at Daytona, Daytona Road Course and Homestead – were really solid from being in contention for the win at both Daytona races and then winning at Homestead. I had a lot of confidence, but that confidence blinded some things that I wasn’t dealing with and addressing in order to move forward. The bulk of the season has been working on those things, learning how to do my job better and ultimately getting better overall. That is part of this job. The good thing is that we did win early though, which was a blessing, and it opened up some doors for me to get ready for this point of the season.”  As a competitor, how have you been able to separate some of the challenges throughout the season and make sure you’re prepared for these next few weeks?“For me, it’s making sure I’m taking care of myself during this time. It’s so easy to become so focused and caught up in all this that you forget to let yourself have fun. I get to drive race cars, which is inherently a really fun thing to do. I can’t let the fact be lost that I’m getting to live out my dream thanks to my great partners – TaxSlayer, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Superior Essex, Crosley Furniture and Alsco Uniforms – and have the chance to drive for a great team at RCR. I have to keep things in perspective, not lose focus of my goals and not stare too far down the road.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS PRESS CONFERENCE SEPT. 24, 2021 PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET AND JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET PARTICIPATED IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS PRESS CONFERENCE. CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Once again, welcome. It’s great to be back on the Streets of Long Beach and certainly the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach 2021 version here in September. Welcome to our 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series championship contender press conference.It’s been a remarkable year certainly for the 2021 INDYCAR Series championship journey that started all the way back at Barber Motorsports Park back in April and concludes here on the historic Streets of Long Beach on Sunday. It’s the 16th consecutive season in which the NTT INDYCAR Series title will be decided in the final race. Remarkable.Who’s ready to go? I know you guys are ready to go come Sunday and certainly when practice starts tomorrow.Also joining us, a two-time race winner here in 2021, also a three-time pole winner this season who’s racked up five podiums. He sits second in points, the driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet. We say hello to Pato O’Ward.On the far end, he is a two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion, a winner at Mid-Ohio and Worldwide Technology Raceway this season, racking up five podiums in 2021, driving the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. He sits third in points. Great to have Josef Newgarden with us this afternoon.Let’s start with Alex. It’s really been a dream season for you, Alex, and really right out of the gate. You go back to Barber Motorsports Park picking up your first win back then, which seems like a long time ago but maybe it hasn’t been that long ago. How did that win set the stage for what has been a tremendous season for you here in 2021?Pato O’Ward also picked up his first career win this season and no better place to have that than your home state of Texas to kind of kick off the month of May. It’s really been a series of top-10 finishes ever since then. How big of a step has this season been for your career?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I think it was really cool. I think we broke through one of the biggest walls that you go through whenever you’re not a race winner yet, I guess you could say. I feel like the team and I have grown a lot. We haven’t had the most perfect season. No season will be perfect, but I think we’ve maximized the package that we have in very multiple occasions.Long Beach is cool, man. We’ll see what we can pull off this weekend.THE MODERATOR: We wrap things up with the two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden. Interesting year for you. Once you got past some of the bad luck, things picked up for you this season. The way this team and you fought out of that hole you guys were in early on, what does that say about this team?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think there was definitely a lot of hullabaloo about our performance in the beginning of the season, just Team Penske in general, what were we doing, what were we. I felt like we had good performance throughout, but when you look at the last couple week, we definitely got ourselves in a kerfuffle with the qualifying sessions.We’ve got to figure out how to be stronger this weekend; I think in qualifying it’s going to start. But happy to be here. It’s been a real pleasure driving with these guys. They’re incredibly talented, and I love to see that coming into the INDYCAR Series.There’s a great deal of pride amongst all of us that we have such amazing talent in this championship. It makes it more meaningful I think when you do a good job, so these guys should be really proud of what they’ve done, and to be here at the finale and still have somehow an opportunity, I think it’s almost an impossible opportunity, but to be in the fight is really cool.THE MODERATOR: So we’ve had hullabaloo and kerfuffle.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It may or may not be part of a game, but those got worked in.THE MODERATOR: You take a look at the Astor Challenge Cup, and certainly Josef, you’ve been a part of that thing. Do you allow yourself to think about taking that home this weekend, any of you, Pato, Alex?THE MODERATOR: Do you have a spot for that somewhere, Pato?PATO O’WARD: I’d make a spot. Yeah, it’s a nice Cup. You have two at home, Josef?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve got a couple of them.PATO O’WARD: Yeah? Where are they sitting?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: They’re in my office, right above me where I sit. Just trying to feed off the energy of them. They didn’t really work this year.PATO O’WARD: Don’t put it in your room because then the feng shui is not very good because of, what is it, iron, titanium? What is it made out of?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: They’re definitely not iron. I’m pretty positive.PATO O’WARD: Seriously, good question. Actual question, what is it made out of?THE MODERATOR: Silver.PATO O’WARD: Yes. No good in your room, but in your office is okay.THE MODERATOR: The mind games have started here, I think.Q.Josef, on the kerfuffle and hullabaloo, you joked it’s all part of the game. I just want to clarify, what mind games are we talking about?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, a hundred percent mind games, you know, a hundred percent. There’s also $20 on the line for those two right there. Pretty happy about that.Q.You got $20?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Potentially. Potentially, yeah.Q.Can you give us anything more?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve just got to clear the transaction and then I’ll have realized that victory.Q.There is a mental element towards winning a championship that you have gone through many times. You’ve won two championships. Neither of you have won major championships at this level, and yet you look at other series like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton today were playing mind games with each other. You two are not. I don’t know how serious your mind games really are, but I’m wondering what’s the difference with you guys and how are you approaching this from the mental point of approaching a championship?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You know, I think it’s a very respectful championship when you look at it, which is I think the beauty in INDYCAR racing. You have such a fierce environment where you have the best of the best in my opinion from around the world that want to compete every weekend, want to be the best and be on top. But we do it in such a respectful way. You have great drivers that I think they push to the limit, but they don’t try and go over it, certainly not purposely.Mind games are part of that. Obviously we’re going to try and — I always try and project my strengths, but at the same time I always want to win fairly.I think what I’m trying to get at, though, is why you don’t see a lot of that mess in our series is just because it’s a really respectful group of people that are here to work hard and let that really shine through at the end of the day. The hardest working group and the group that gets it right is the group that’s going to be victorious, and that’s what we all focus on. It’s a really pleasant environment to be in. You can see that as evidence with Romain.It’s one thing I love about this championship and being a part of it. It’s a real pleasure.Q.Josef, you used to be the young guy battling the veteran for the championship; now you’re the veteran with two young guys going after you. What’s it like to see that dynamic shift?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve got to tell you, I didn’t think I was going to get any questions during this press conference, so I’m happy to answer them, though, and speak about these fantastically talented guys. This is really the fight right here without a doubt. If an act of God happens and somehow we win this thing, great.But these two — I don’t want to call them youngsters because I’m not that much older than them. I feel like I’m in the weird middle position right now in the championship where I’m not the old guy but I’m not the young guy. It’s fun competing against these two because this championship you want to compete against the best from around the world, and to see what Pato is doing with the contingent from México and to see how invigorated Spain is becoming and his fellow countrymen from Alex is just what this championship is about. You want the best from around the world competing and trying to showcase their abilities.I’m excited to compete against them. I’m disappointed we’re not in a better position. I wish this was more of a true fight here for this final round and we could be closer, but we fought hard and I think we fought against the best this year. Whoever comes out on top I think is a very deserving winner between those guys.Q.For Pato, it’s Pato’s second year that he’s been involved in the late stage championship fight, it’s your first, but in a lot of ways when you’re that young and you’re in a fight for a championship, is it new, fresh, exciting, and it’s almost like you don’t know what you don’t know so you just have at it?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, it’s a really cool opportunity, I guess, that we have, and yeah, last time in the position to fight for a championship was in 2018, but nowhere near the magnitude of what this championship would mean to me, the team and my family and everybody around.Yeah, like I said, it would be cool if it was maybe a little bit tighter, kind of in the same boat where Josef is at. I know he’s a little further. But yeah, all I can do is just try and maximize what I can out of the car that I’m given and then see where everything else falls, I guess.Q.Could you talk about the mental approach, Pato?PATO O’WARD: For me, I’m just really trying to enjoy it because I feel like I’m up against very — these guys have a good head on their shoulders, and I wish I could say that from everyone, but some guys just don’t.It’s nice to fight against people that you can respect and that you can — you can really trust whenever you’re racing at 100 something miles an hour heading into a corner where things can go sideways very badly. But you can just compete against them fairly.I feel like it’s a little bit of what Josef said. I just think the respect, at least from all of us that have been in the fight all year, is strong. I hope they feel the same from me because I always try and be fair.It’s a lot more enjoyable when you can actually compete against someone and not always have to give in because you know that they’re just going to stick their nose in and ship you into the wall if you don’t give them their way.Q.Josef, two years ago you mentioned after winning the second championship you mentioned it was probably toughest and most draining race you ever won. Should you be in a situation Sunday where you pull off this title, number three in five years, would it be probably the most fulfilling in that regard?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think they’re all special. I don’t know that it would be — it’s hard to say. I don’t know how I’d feel about it. I think I’d be in shock if we won it. Like I say, that would be the most shocking without a doubt.After that, I don’t know. I’d probably have to sit on it a little bit and see how it feels, but yeah, they’re all difficult. They’re all difficult to win. Something as improbable as this one would be very shocking. That’s the only way I can put it.I don’t think we’re in the best position, but just to even be in the conversation still is still a task in itself. It’s very hard to get to this point in the year and still be in the fight. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re in the fight nonetheless.But yeah, I don’t know, the second one was very, very fulfilling. Very, very fulfilling. I don’t know that that would be the same answer for this one. This would be just shocking.Q.As far as Pato, of course in 2019 both of you had different career trajectories. Did you ever think you would now be in this position fighting for a championship?PATO O’WARD: Not at all, no. If you told me in 2019 I’d be fighting for the INDYCAR championship in 2021 I’d probably tell you, wow. Yeah, probably not.PATO O’WARD: Yeah.Q.Pato, you’ve been on both sides of a championship battle before. In 2016 Indy Pro 2000 you were on the losing side and then in Indy Lights and in IMSA WeatherTech you were on the winning side. Is it difficult to be on the bottom half trying to get on top this time, or are you just looking at it like you did a few years ago in Indy Pro?PATO O’WARD: I feel like all you can do is just try and maximize what you can control because I can’t control where Josef finishes, I can’t control where Alex finishes, I can’t control anything else that’s kind of out of my hands. I can just try and maximize what I can do and then let everything else fall where it will fall.But yeah, I don’t know, man. Obviously it’s better to be on the other end of it because you’ve got some breathing room, but I’m not angry about the position that I’m in. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish as a team this year. So yeah, we’re just treating it as another weekend and trying to maximize and end the year in a strong note.Q.There are several drivers here that are trying to secure their seats for 2022 and a good finish would really help them out. When you’re battling with those drivers, is there any additional worry that they might try and do something crazy to try and improve their position for next year, or do you race everyone the same?PATO O’WARD: I feel like it’s best to just kind of know who you’re racing against. I feel like by now we know who — at least I do. I know who I can get close with or who it’s just like, oh, this is just going to be hell. Yeah, just be mindful of who you’re fighting against, I guess.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think it’s always good to have just awareness. All of us need to have awareness as drivers on the track for what’s taking place around you. Putting it simply, we should race each other the same at all points, with just enough respect and fairness, racing hard, but to where there’s never an issue that comes up. Of course it’s impossible in racing. Sometimes you make a mistake or you miscalculate something or you just get something wrong.But if I was on the other end of it, it’s easy to say beforehand, but I would be aware of what people in a championship that are fighting in a final round, I would be aware of what they’re doing on the day. Not that I have to completely compromise my day for those people, but I think just being aware of how you race them or what you’re doing around them is important.That’s what I would do as a competitor. I can’t speak for everybody. But you should always, I think, race everybody with enough respect to keep it clean.Q.Pato, you guys were talking a few minutes ago about the couple races where your paths in racing crossed in 2019 in Super Formula. Can you maybe — if you can remember, can you guys give us an idea of maybe your first impression of each other as a driver out on track when you guys first got to know each other a little bit?PATO O’WARD: Well, I wasn’t near Alex, honestly. He was usually near the front. I was more struggling in the middle of the pack. Yeah, I felt like my life in Japan was like getting thrown into like a platoon of crocodiles, and it was like, okay, survive, not knowing anyone, no car, no test, no nothing. I barely knew the team. For me I didn’t really have as many encounters with Alex on the track. Just a little bit outside of the car because we were the both that spoke Spanish.I think I went to him and asked, what do you have for breakfast, because — I loved the food in Japan, but the breakfasts are horrendous. I went, man, what do you do. So he told me a tip: Go to a grocery store, get some cereal.Q.Josef, how have you seen these kind of situations with them but also with Takuma sometimes and with the Brazilian drivers? How do you feel about that?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: This? I love it, actually it’s beautiful. I was thinking while watching them, I’m like, man, I really should just take Spanish again because it’s so cool to be able to know that. I wish I was bilingual or something, but I’m not.PATO O’WARD: Josef is that guy that comes up to you and be like, I took Spanish in high school. Do you know any Spanish? Eh, poquito.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know none of it, but I wish I did. I love it. I think it’s great. Obviously we’re a domestic championship, but I always tell people because I’ve always had the question how do you feel about being American in the championship and succeeding, but I’ve always loved that — and I harp on this a lot, but I love that we have the best talent from around the world, and I’d love to see more of it.Certainly interacting with the fans from different areas of the world, like the Japanese fans are some of the coolest fans I’ve ever met in my life, and the Mexican fans actually seem incredible now, having witnessed them from Pato. I think we should welcome it and we should do more for sure.PATO O’WARD: We need to go to México in a race. We need to go.Q.Josef, have you located which Port-a-Potty you’re going to put Palou in so that he doesn’t actually start because I think that’s the only way you’re going to win this, right? Where are you going to put Alex so that he can’t start the race to give you a chance to win?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Are you guys staying at the Hyatt?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: What hotel are you at?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, we’re talking about it. I’m going to stop before I get in trouble.I don’t know, it’s going to take a crazy act for sure.PATO O’WARD: I’m at the Hyatt; do you want to come join?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s getting weird now.Q.Josef, do you feel any obligation to kind of help Pato a little bit out of loyalty to Team Chevy?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No. No. Unless — well, seriously, we’re not in a position where we can help Pato. We’re in the fight ourselves, so we have to look out for our own position. I would love to see it in the Chevy camp this championship, whether it’s me or Pato. But we’re not in a position, I think, to say — I don’t even know how we would help him, to be quite honest with you. I’m not sure that we would do anything that would be overt to clearly help him somehow win the championship. So no.be P1 with 35 points lead after those three weekends? Probably not.Q.Just wondered if you’d considered the implications of double points at the Indy 500 on the championship for the second year in a row, given it’s kind of cost you a lot of points.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it has, but you know, we know the rules and the points table going into the season. We have to account for the fact that Indy is double points. We know qualifying is important there. Both of those went against us for sure. We’d be in a different position if we had a better event, but that’s something that we’ve got to control.Yeah, I’m still not a fan of it. Even if this was a different situation — I think it’s good we’ve dropped the double points in the finale. I was never a fan of that, and I’m still not quite a fan of the double points at Indy. But like I said, we know the rules, we know the landscape going in, so I don’t think we can fall back on that. It would be an endless discussion of saying if this went different or that went different, I could go down the road and cite a lot of examples, but we always end up where we are, and unfortunately we’re a little bit short this year.Q.Pato, just wondered if you felt you’re kind of at a disadvantage this weekend given the fact you’re going up against two bigger teams with more teammates to hold you up over the course of the weekend?PATO O’WARD: I mean, yeah, they have more cars, I guess, but at the end of the day I feel like we’re racing against — I think the bigger thing is that we’re racing against teams that have won multiple championships, talking about Ganassi and Penske, and yeah, I think that’s our biggest battle right now. I think the guys in the series are respectful and they know — at least kind of what Josef said, if I was in a position to screw someone up that’s fighting for a championship, I would get out of the way because I wouldn’t because fighting for a championship is pretty big, and if I was in that position I wouldn’t want someone to get in the way forcefully. I hope everybody plays clean, I guess. I don’t know what to expect.THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys, for your time this afternoon. So many storylines coming into this finale. Best of luck in this championship race, the 2021 NTT INDYCAR Series championship. Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 6 wins, 7 poles in 15 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio); Will Power (St. Louis).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 95 wins, 106 earned poles in 164 races

BROWNSTOWN, IN (September 23, 2021) – Brandon Sheppard won his second consecutive Indiana Icebreaker as the previously postponed $15,000-to-win event was held Thursday Night at Brownstown Speedway.  It was Sheppard’s first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season as the 4-time and reigning Dirt Track Word Championship winner came across the line ahead of Steve Casebolt, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, and Jimmy Owens. Sheppard earned the outside front row starting spot in March and jumped to the lead at the start of the 50-lap race. Casebolt was the third driver to run in second as both Josh Richards and Kyle Bronson fell by the wayside. Casebolt picked up the second spot on lap 18 and stayed there until the checkers, with Sheppard in control of the race from the get-go. Sheppard, who won the race when it was last held in 2019, led all 50 laps to become the 15th different winner this year in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. “Our car was really good. I would like to thank all the fans for coming out tonight. We have three nights of racing this weekend, we love coming to Brownstown Speedway. The track had a lot of character to it tonight, but if it’s like that the rest of the weekend I won’t be mad at all about it.” Casebolt, a Hoosier native, came home in second. “I had a lot of fun out there tonight. It was a little nerve racking at times but considering the rain they have had this week; it was also fun at the same time. It was nice to get a podium finish, it’s like a win for us. All these guys are so good, they do it all the time. To run second to the Rocket House Car, I am pleased with that.” Moran finished second in the Jackson 100 a few years ago but is still seeking his first career win at Brownstown as he rounded out the podium in third. “I always seem to run good here. They did all they could do to the track. It has rained here three or four days straight. It’s kind of incredible we got to race here at all tonight. I couldn’t run up there with Brandon and Steve. When I found that bottom, I just stayed there. We’re happy with a third and we will give it another shot tomorrow night.”  The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Gunter’s Honey, Ace Metal Works, Integra, and Petroff Towing. Completing the top ten were Josh Rice, Tim McCreadie, Spencer Hughes, Tanner English, and Tyler Erb. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesRace SummaryIndiana IcebreakerThursday, September 23rd, 2021Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Josh Richards / 12.509 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Brandon Sheppard / 12.620 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 14-Josh Richards[1]; 2. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[2]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[4]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 5. 76-Shelby Miles[7]; 6. 32S-Chris Simpson[8]; 7. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[10]; 8. 418-Michael Wesselman[11]; 9. 1G-Devin Gilpin[5]; 10. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 11. 9G-Larry Greer[9] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 5. 11R-Josh Rice[6]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 7. 29V-Darrell Lanigan[7]; 8. 18R-Fast Eddy[9]; 9. 3Z-Zack Burton[11]; 10. 24-Jared Bailey[8]; 11. (DNS) 14M-Mark Robbins Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. C9-Steve Casebolt[2]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[8]; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler[4]; 5. 21H-Robby Hensley[7]; 6. 14R-Jeff Roth[9]; 7. 14B-Britan Godsey[10]; 8. 57M-Cameron Marlar[5]; 9. 16-Justin Rattliff[11]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[6]; 11. (DNS) 28E-Dennis Erb Jr Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 5. 14G-Joe Godsey[7]; 6. D8-Dustin Linville[9]; 7. 20B-Todd Brennan[11]; 8. 18A-Jeffrey Ledford[6]; 9. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 10. 13W-Brayton Laster[10]; 11. 17J-Greg Johnson[8] LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Shelby Miles[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. 11R-Josh Rice[2]; 4. 1G-Devin Gilpin[5]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes[8]; 6. 6-Ashton Winger[7]; 7. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[4]; 8. 3Z-Zack Burton[6] UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 14G-Joe Godsey[2]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 3. 21H-Robby Hensley[1]; 4. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 5. 14W-Quentin White[8]; 6. 14R-Jeff Roth[3]; 7. 13W-Brayton Laster[5]; 8. 14B-Britan Godsey[4] Indiana Icebreaker Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 48Lap Leaders: Brandon Sheppard (1-50)Wrisco Feature Winner: Brandon SheppardArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 1.889 secondsCautions: Brayton Laster (Lap 5); Billy Moyer, Jr. (Lap 5 Restart); Shane Clanton (Lap 9); Matt Cosner (Lap 10); Josh Richards (Lap 14); Kyle Bronson (Lap 16); Mike Marlar (Lap 35); Shelby Miles (Lap 40); Spencer Hughes (Lap 42)Series Provisionals: Spencer Hughes; Matt CosnerFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisionals: Brayton LasterBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Steve Casebolt, Devin MoranPenske Shocks Top 5: Brandon Sheppard, Steve Casebolt, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Jimmy OwensOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Josh Rice (Advanced 13 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (50 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Lap #3 – 13.012 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny WhiteARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Time of Race: 42 minutes 3 seconds Lucas Oil Point Standings:

*Results are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 25, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy won their second straight race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday – a victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM WINNER: “It’s not easy. On the surface it may look easier than normal, but it’s not. Having to race our teammates heads-up like that is very, very hard. The Corvette today was really, really good. We don’t normally do this, but we went in a little bit different direction from each other, so Jordan was quite a bit better than I was off the Hairpin, but I was better off Turn Six. I think it made for better racing on different parts of the race track for us. I’m super happy to be in the 4 car and for the team. We’ve had a string of bad luck and sometimes it was tough, but I’m really happy for all of the guys to get another one and going back-to-back is fantastic. The championship is still pretty far off I think. But a couple of events ago Nick and I said we just have to win out from here. That’s our goal. If we can win a championship, that is great. But for us it’s not so much for morale, but just to give us and all of our guys who work so hard all the time no matter what the result is some validation to reinforce that all of that hard work pays off. We share in the excitement when the 3 car wins, but it is still a competitive sport and our teammates are our competitors as well. So today was a good day for the 4 car.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM WINNER: “It’s always like this between the Corvette cars… so close and tight.  That is kind of why even if there are only two cars, it still makes for a very good race. It might not be such a spectacle, but for us it’s the best competition you can have. You need to speak to this guy next to me (Milner). He won the race. He had an awesome first stint, got in front of the 3 car and basically whoever came out of the stop in first was going to win the race. It is so special to win at Long Beach. There is no other track or event that we go to like this. It is one of a kind here and we’re glad to be back.”

Championship leader Alex Palou qualifies 10th, Honda driver seeking his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES title
Honda clinched 10th Manufacturers’ Championship – and fourth consecutive title – last weekend in Monterey

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sept. 25, 2021) – Scott Dixon led the Honda field in today’s qualifying action at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, in preparation for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES finale. The outgoing series champion advanced through all three rounds of Indy car “knockout” qualifying and will start tomorrow’s 85-lap race from the outside of the front row, second, in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

After winning the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year in his debut with Meyer Shank Racing, Helio Castroneves will start third in his MSR Honda, with series Rookie of the Year contender Romain Grosjean rounding out the “Firestone Fast Six” in his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda.

Dixon’s teammate, championship leader Alex Palou, can clinch his first Indy car drivers’ title with a finish of 11th or better tomorrow, and will line up 10th at the start. Other Honda top-10 qualifiers included James Hinchcliffe, leading the Andretti Autosports group in seventh; and Ed Jones, who will start ninth in his Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Qualifying Results
2nd Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3rd Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
6th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
7th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda
9th Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
10th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
14th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
15th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
16th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
17th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
19th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
25th Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
27th Jimmie Johnson-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
28th Oliver Askew Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
R – Rookie

Quotes
Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Championship leader, can secure his first INDYCAR drivers’ title with a finish of 11th or better in tomorrow’s season finale; will start 10th: “It was not the best of the [qualifying] sessions for us, but the good thing is that we had the pace, and it’s good to see Scott [Dixon, teammate and second-fastest qualifier] up there. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow from the top 10. We know we have a good race car. We’ll try and overtake some guys tomorrow, and just focus on ourselves. If we do a good job tomorrow, we win the championship. We can’t focus on what the other cars are doing.”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Qualified second: “We had some traffic on the last lap that I think cost us some time. We were definitely ‘up’ [on the lap segment times] until we caught that car and I think it cost us three to five-tenths [of a second lap time]. But the car is fantastic, it really came alive for us in qualifying. But goal number one is to do everything we can to help [teammate] Alex [Palou] take home the championship.”

Helio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing Honda) Indianapolis 500 winner earlier this year; qualified third in his sixth Indy car race with Meyer Shank Racing: “Today was an incredible day. I have to thank the whole AutoNation/SiriusXM team and Honda. We keep improving with every race. I made a little mistake in the hairpin [Turn 11] on my best lap, and that might have cost me pole. But we can look forward to a great race tomorrow.”

Fast Facts
Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the Grand Prix of Long Beach 14 times in 20 appearances. This includes victories in seven of the last 11 races; and a seven-year victory streak in Championship Auto Racing Teams competition from 1996-2002.

Honda-powered winners at Long Beach include Jimmy Vasser (1996), Alex Zanardi (1997-98), Juan Pablo Montoya (1999), Paul Tracy (2000), Helio Castroneves (2001), Michael Andretti (his final Indy car victory, in 2002), Dario Franchitti (2009), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010), Mike Conway (2011), Takuma Sato (2013), James Hinchcliffe (2017) and Alexander Rossi (2018-19).

Honda clinched its fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship – and 10th overall – last weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Honda teams and drivers have won nine of 15 races to date this season.

Where to Watch Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Live network television coverage Sunday’s 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES finale starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBCSN. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and on SiriusXM satellite radio.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIESACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACHSTREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIAQUALIFYING RECAP-NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVY ON POLESEPT. 25, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARDEN PUTS CHEVY ON POLE AT LONG BEACHO’WARD AND NEWGARDEN TO BATTLE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ON SUNDAY LONG BEACH, CALIF (Sept 25,2021) – Two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden came into the season’s final weekend knowing exactly what he had to do to keep his championship hopes alive sitting third in the standings 45 points down to the leader. 
So far the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet is one-for-one. He progressed to the Firestone Fast Six and turned that into the pole with a lap of 1 minute 08.22411 seconds/103.846 mph. For the fourth time this season and 15^th time in his career, he will lead the field to the green flag and add another NTT P1 Award to his trophy case. With today’s pole, Newgarden stays in contention for the season-long NTT P1 Award. Team Chevy drivers Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, and Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet joined Newgarden in the final round of knock-out qualifying. They will start Sunday’s race fourth and fifth respectively. Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, who came to Long Beach second in points, 35 points behind leader Alex Palou will start eighth tomorrow. Palou will roll off 10^th.  Rookie-of-the-year contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified 13^th for the season finale. Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Romain Grojean made up the remainder of the Firestone Fast Six, and will start second, third and sixth respectively. NBCSN will telecast the 85-lap/167-mile race on the  1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26. The race will be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. TEAM CHEVY DRIVER STARTING POSITIONS: No. 2 Josef Newgarden, Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified POLENo. 22 Simon Pagenaud, Menards Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 4^thNo. 7 Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Qualified 5^thNo. 5 Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, Qualified 8^thNo.12 Will Power, Verizon5G Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 12^thNo. 3 Scott McLaughlin, PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, Qualified 13^thNo. 77 Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 18^thNo. 20 Conor Daly, U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Qualified  21^st  No. 14 Sebastien Bourdais, ROKIT AJ Foyt Chevrolet, Qualified 22^nd  No. 59 Max Chilton, Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet, Qualified 23^rdNo. 21 Rinus VeeKay, Sonax/AutoGeek Ed Carpenter Chevrolet, Qualified 24^thNo. 4 Dalton Kellett, K-Line AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Qualified 26^thDRIVER QUOTES:JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – POLE WINNERYOU ARE FIRED-UP! THAT IS GREAT TO SEE. YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO“There’s some guy roaming around Long Beach that has just been yelling all weekend and getting us fired-up (laughter), and I was pretty much screaming that whole last lap. He’s at the track somewhere. He’s just getting me hyped. He was getting all of us hyped. He needs to be in this pit box. “I’m so happy. It’s been a little bit demoralizing the last couple of weekends where we’ve qualified. We’ve had really good cars. The team has been doing a phenomenal job, Gavin (Ward, Race Engineer) and all the boys. They’ve been killing it. To start where we’ve started these last couple of races has just taken the life out of me a little bit. So, I’m so pumped that we were able to be quick here. I think we’ve got the package, for sure, with Team Chevy. I wish we had more of a fight with Colton (Herta). He was going to be really tough to beat today. It’s a shame we didn’t get to fight him straight up, but you know what? We accomplished our job for today and now we have to go after it tomorrow.” YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP. IT HAS TO GO REALLY BAD FOR ALEX PALOU. HOW DO YOU APPROACH TOMORROW? IT SEEMS PRETTY SIMPLE SINCE YOU CAN’T CONTROL THEM“Yeah, I mean look, we’ve fought hard all year. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s very unprobeable for us to win this championship. So, I think our goal is to win the race tomorrow. Let’s finish our season on a high note. Everyone here deserves that. We’ll see what happens. I think it’s pretty unlikely, but you never say never in this sport.” DOES SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATTER? IS THERE SIGNIFICANCE IN THAT IF YOU CAN GET PAST PATO O’WARD?“Well, we always want to maximize our potential. If second is what we can do for the year, then we want to get that done. I know that’s what’s important to Roger (Penske) and the team and the same with me. So, we’re going to do everything we can to finish as high as possible and we’ll see where the chips fall at the end of the day.”
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP – QUALIFIED 5thWALK US THROUGH ALL THE CONFUSION TO MAKE IT TO THE FAST 12, WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE LOCAL LEVEL AND EVERYONE SAYING YOU DIDN’T SLOW DOWN, YOU SAID YOU DID SLOW DOWN. WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?“Man, I don’t know how they judged that because I’m happy I got through and we were fast enough to get through. But man, the car was standing there, and they kept the yellow for two or three laps and its qualifying. You have to push. But I wasn’t pushing. I was slowing down like three-tenths in that section, which I thought was safe. So yeah, I think we just have to be more clear on how the rule works. But anyway, I thought it was a good session. We ended up P-5. Maybe wanted a little bit more out of the Fast Six, but it was good qualifying again.” TALK ABOUT THE SPEED IN YOUR CAR, BUT ALSO HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR TEAMMATE TOMORROW? THAT’S GOING TO BE THE FOCUS FOR THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AT ARROW MCLAREN SP“Yeah, we haven’t talked a lot about it yet but I think tonight we’ll go through potential scenarios. The fact that we’re up there is helpful. I think that’s a really good thing that both cars are starting in the top – 10. It just gives you more window to play around with things, with strategy, and potential outcomes that can happen in the race. It’s INDYCAR and you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We kind of have to get through Turn 1 and then we’ll see where we are. I’ll just push and do my best race.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE – QUALIFIED 4thYOU SAID IF YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT MORE OUT OF THE HAIRPIN, YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON THE POLE“Yeah, I was on the lap and went hard in the hairpin and it was a little too much for the car. I may have lost second position there, but I tried. The goal was to go for pole position but Josef (Newgarden) sticked a really good one in. Great for Team Penske to be one and four. And tomorrow, we get to go racing. It’s my favorite track, so I’ve been enjoying the weekend.” YOU’VE BEEN IN THESE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES. PATO O’WARD STARTING 8th AND ALEX PALOU STARTING 10th. HOW WOULD YOU PLAY THE GAME IF YOU WERE THOSE GUYS? AND ARE THEY NERVOUS TONIGHT STARTING MID-PACK LIKE THAT?“Well, first of all, personally, and I’m sure it’s the same for a lot of drivers. But it’s awesome to be in the fight in the end. You’re doing this to be in the fight in the last race and Pato and Palou are in it. Man, Pato is in a tough situation. He’s starting mid-pack you know, and it’s been a mess, mid-pack, lately. So, I’m sure it won’t be easy, but he’s got cold blood. He’s really good. And Indy after the crash, he came back and finished second, so he’s strong. He’s going to be able to manage the pressure, I’m sure. But it is not an easy situation he’s in but first you’ve got go through all the mess.” TAYLOR KEIL, PRESIDENT ARROW MCLAREN SP AND STRATEGIST FOR PATO O’WARD: ON CONFUSION AT THE END OF FAST 12 SESSION:“I think we should (be in the Firestone Fast Six). We’ve actually got some data on our own team – I’m surprised Felix is through – frankly, good for him. Two cars we know went through the local yellow, but the results are official, so we have to make the best with what we’ve got. It’s unfortunate when the stakes are so high at the moment.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 8thI KNOW YOU CAN’T SEE WHAT THE OTHER CARS ARE DOING, BUT WHAT’S YOUR REACTION AND WHAT THE SITUATION IS WITH THIS RACE NOW IN NOT GETTING A CHANCE TO START IN THE FRONT COUPLE OF ROWS?“Yeah, we should be in there. We were up on our last lap and I had eyes and I saw yellow flags and there were yellow flags until the end of the session. (Alex) Palou had to slow in front of me. I slowed up because that’s what you have to do whenever there are yellow flags. INDYCAR is never consistent with their calls. They need to review that because we should be in the Fast Six right now.” THE CONSOLATION IS THAT ALEX PALOU IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU. WHAT CAN YOU MAKE HAPPEN TOMORROW? WHAT KIND OF STRATEGY OPTIONS DO YOU HAVE TO TRY TO WIN THE RACE AND MAYBE PUT HIM IN A BAD SITUATION?“He’s not the only one we’re worrying about. There’s Josef (Newgarden), there’s Scott (Dixon) that are in there and we should be fighting against at least for pole. I don’t know if we quite had it for the pole, but we definitely had it to get into the Fast Six. It’s a crappy situation. A bummer. But we’ll see what we can do.”
 NTT INDYCAR SERIES POST QUALIFYING NEWS CONFERENCEJOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLETPATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET
THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up qualifying at Long Beach. Joined by Josef Newgarden, the fourth pole of the season, 15th career pole for Josef today. Also joined on the far end by Pato O’Ward, second in the championship. He will start eighth tomorrow.Pato, championship still very much in play. The good news is you start in front of Alex tomorrow. How big of an advantage is that on a street course like Long Beach?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, our car has been good. I mean, we didn’t roll off the best, but I think we made some really good changes, just kept improving. We had enough for the Fast 6. Yeah, we should have been in the Fast 6, so…Kind of sucks to get hosed by a very odd call. I’m still seeking for answers. But, yeah.THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden, congratulations on the pole position. Tell us about your qualifying session today.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I wish we didn’t lose that the last couple weekends. That would have been nice to have that mojo. It’s really what’s done our fate in for this weekend, is just not qualifying well. It’s nice to have that back.We’ve had a fast car this weekend. Actually like we started a little bit slower. It’s been kind of the opposite the last two weekends where we started really quick, then for whatever reason we just fade and don’t get it right on the day when it counts.Really proud of the team. Felt like our car was good from the start. Just needed the track grip to come up. The more grip we had, the better I felt our car was. Yeah, pretty happy for our whole team, especially Gavin, all the boys on the car, Hitachi, Team Chevy.Got one goal accomplished for the weekend. Hopefully we can finish things off tomorrow and have a clean day. Staying alive, man, for now.THE MODERATOR: Questions.Q.Josef, you got out of the car excited, a couple of expletives doing the photography stuff. How excited are you to cut the gap, even if it is just a bonus point?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You should hear Dixon, he’s way worse. They call him The Iceman, this guy. Dropping fire (laughter).Yeah, I was pumped. We’ve had a guy roaming around here all weekend that’s just been yelling, like in excitement.PATO O’WARD: White shirt? Redhead, beard?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Dude, he has jacked me up. I just heard him the entire qualifying session. I tried to embody him as I got out of the car. I think I successfully did that. I apologize if anyone heard any of that. But I was pretty excited.It’s been a hard couple of weeks, like it said. The last couple qualifyings have been demoralizing. To bounce back and show our form is very gratifying. Very pleased for our team and that’s what we saw.Q.What did he yell?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: What does he yell, Pato?PATO O’WARD: No, I’m going to get in trouble (laughter).JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s so loud. You can’t miss this person. He’s great. I wanted him in our pit box. I meant to tell him that. I forgot to tell him before qualifying.He’s awesome, though. Don’t get rid of him.Q.Is he an INDYCAR fan?PATO O’WARD: Some guy just goes around screaming.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: He’s knowledgeable. The guy is a fan. He’s not just some crazy person that lives around here. He’s a real fan.PATO O’WARD: I think he’s had a tattoo of Will Power on his forearm.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: 07 Will Power race car on his forearm, massive. He loves it. Will took a video of him earlier in the week. You have to find this guy.Q.Have you seen him previously at Long Beach?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t remember him. I’ll remember it now.Q.This race being in September for the first time, two days to absorb it, how does it feel? Different from the April race?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, not to me. It’s great to be back. I don’t know, now that you’re here in the space, it feels like normal Long Beach in a lot of ways. Definitely missed this track, missed the crowd, missed the energy. Feels like it hasn’t really dipped, to be quite honest, coming back two years later, which is really great to see.Excited to be here. Excited that hopefully we’ll be back in April, no problems as well next year. It’s just a classic. You can’t not go to Long Beach on the year. It’s something you’d miss if we weren’t here. It’s nice to be here.Q.Would it make sense for INDYCAR to look at street races to finish things out?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I would agree. Also just being in L.A., it’s a great market to end the year. I think that adds an element to it that should probably be talked about.There’s a lot that goes into it, right? There’s so many other logistics, other variables to consider. Yeah, if you’re looking at it from a pure excitement standpoint, to Scott’s point, it’s interesting. It adds an element of chaos sometimes which can be very exhilarating.It can probably be worrisome if you’re leading the points, like if you’re an Alex in this situation it’s tough. If you’re a Pato in this situation, it’s encouraging because something maybe can happen, right, that you can’t plan for. I like it from that standpoint.I would also agree, an oval is fun, too. Iowa would be super crazy, but probably not the right place to end the year.Q.(No microphone.)PATO O’WARD: I love Iowa. I’m so excited we’re going back.Q.Pato, obviously you were able to see Felix’s data. What is the explanation you’ve had for the reason why the other cars weren’t penalized and Ed was the only one?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I mean, really, really happy for Felix, that he went into the Fast 6. I mean, we’re in the same team and we have literal data that shows that at least two of the cars that didn’t get penalized kept going quickly in the yellow flag. I don’t know. Maybe rules don’t apply the last race of the season when everything’s at stake.It just sucks. Sucks that we’re stuck there because we should have transferred. We had the car to fight it. I don’t know if for pole, but we definitely had a car to be in the Fast 6 and start within the first two rows.Q.You’ve not been given an explanation?PATO O’WARD: I’m still waiting on the explanation, just like you and everybody else. But doubt I’ll get an explanation.Q.Pato, we’ve seen a few people have trouble getting into the walls, trouble staying on track. You brushed against the wall once. How do you balance risk versus reward on a tough track like this?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I don’t know. I think you can’t get too greedy because it will bite. It will for sure bite you. I think as we saw today, not sure where Colton was, but for me he was the guy to beat for sure for pole. Yeah, like I said, when you get too greedy in places like this, they will bite. You just have to kind of find the fine line without damaging your car too bad, I guess.Q.You didn’t get any damage?PATO O’WARD: No, yeah, I gave an exit of turn four a little smooch. I just bent the tow link, then they fix.Q.Is pole more important here than at some other tracks? Does that help you stay out of trouble?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, it never hurts, right? I think they’re important at all tracks just from that standpoint. It puts you in the best position to kind of control the start in the race, stay out of any mishaps.But INDYCAR these days is unpredictable. You can start up front and it can flip pretty quickly. We haven’t seen as much of that this year. Looking at the statistics, probably starting up front is good.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I just jinxed it. It will flip now (laughter).I hope it doesn’t. So far this year starting up front has been what looks like pretty important. Yeah, hopefully that bodes well for tomorrow.Q.Josef, you said it’s been a tough couple of quallies. Does your race engineer Gavin give you any words of inspiration from qualifying or the start of the Fast 6?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We have these fun things that we do. He’s got a pre-event report that he always does, and I love to read it. He puts inspirational quotes at the top page. In this case he just put three pole winning photos. I was laughing with him on Friday. I was like, Well, at least we know how to do it, right? Literally it feels like we forgot how to do our job the last couple weeks.Yeah, that’s the inspiration he gave me, was let’s just go do what we normally do. Somehow it worked out. Pretty pumped on that.Q.When the Fast 6 got started, did you know Pato and Alex were out? How did that play into your mindset?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I saw where they were. I was kind of hoping they’d be a little further back. They got well within the top 10 there. It’s good, but they weren’t in the Fast 6, which is positive for our outlook. But we still had a job to do so I was just kind of focused on what we were going to do in the Fast 6.Q.Pato, you said last weekend in Laguna after the race that you were in the championship hunt but you never felt like you had the car to beat the whole weekend. Do you feel like you have a really good car this weekend? Seeing how you were angry about not being in the Fast 6, seems like you have a pretty good shot at it.PATO O’WARD: We definitely have a better car than what we’ve had, at least last weekend. Yeah, happy about that. I think the guys have done a great job in being efficient with changes, just working together to make everything just go a little bit better.But, yeah, I mean, it’s hard to say. There’s a lot of really quick cars out there. We’ve got champions in the front, people that know how to win races, people that know how to win championships.Yeah, it won’t be easy. But we’re definitely going to send it tomorrow.Q.Seeing how St. Pete went last year, do you feel we can have the same thing tomorrow in Long Beach? Does it give you a good feeling?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It’s impossible to predict honestly. You try and predict these races and it does the opposite, to Scott’s point a second ago, saying I might have jinxed it. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I really don’t.Alex has been extremely strong. I think if he sticks to his program, he should be in good shape. He’s been very resilient this year and done a tremendous job. Really the same with Pato. I don’t see him make a lot of mistakes, he’s always a charger.If they have a normal day, I don’t expect too much craziness to happen. But like I said, it’s unpredictable. You just don’t know in these events. We’ll see what we get tomorrow.Q.You’ve always expressed a great deal of confidence with the Arrow McLaren SP team since you first joined them. Did you know all along this season that you would end up in the top three for the championship?PATO O’WARD: For sure that was the goal. Last year we finished fourth, so the goal just starting off on the season was definitely to not be fourth, to be at least third, then maybe a bit better.Yeah, I mean, we can still finish there. We’re sitting second right now. At least from where I’m at, it’s really tight. We need to have a good race tomorrow to try to secure second. We just need to monitor where Alex is and see if we should really risk it to go for a win or not if we have a chance, or just try and save second, which is where we are.Q.Josef , there’s three Chevys and three Hondas in the top six. Talk about how important it is at this race to get that win. Have you noticed, is there a difference in drivability off the corner at top speed or something you’ve seen where you have a bit of an advantage?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We all want to have a good end to our championship regardless. As a team, as a manufacturer, as a competitor, you want to end the year on a high note. We’re all pushing for a good result tomorrow.There’s definitely differences I think between the two brands. I think for us, very pleased with our reliability, our fuel mileage, certainly our power that we’re able to create.I think there’s definitely differences between the two, the way the cars get off the corner, you can see visual differences between the two manufacturers. I’m happy to be a Chevy guy. I think they’ve backed every one of my wins in INDYCAR, have been still doing a stellar job for us this year.Q.For the Firestone reds, what do you think is going to be the dropoff?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I’ll do what he does. See what happens.Q.Josef, you have a big mountain to climb to winning the championship. Is it liberating to know the only way you can get this thing if you get all the points, bonus points, win the race, not worry about anything anybody else does?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I feel like I’m nearly dead. Just put me out of my misery at this point.But we’re, like, clinging to life. It’s a little bit, I don’t know, a hard place to be. We were in a similar situation last year. I just wish we were in a closer striking distance to Scott. We’re even worse than that this season. We’re just in it.Not much more to think about than trying to just go win the race. We did that last year at St. Pete. We approached it with let’s focus on ourselves, try to win the race, see what happens. We’ll do the same tomorrow and see where everything lands at the end of the day.Q.Josef, can you go into a little bit of detail about what went wrong in the last three qualifyings. Was it the same thing each time?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No. Laguna was probably the most confusing. I felt like we had the car to beat going into Laguna. It just unraveled oddly on Saturday morning when we put red tires on. Not a hundred percent sure what took place there.I think Portland we just got behind. It was sort of self-inflicting. We made, yeah — just didn’t keep up with the track, didn’t put it together. That happens at Portland. It’s so tight there, if you do that, you can get bounced out pretty quickly. That was more easy to understand, but no less difficult to realize.I think it was probably a combination of things at the GP weekend. But you just can’t have that. When you have 28 cars in the championship now, I mean, you can’t start back in 17th, 18th. It’s going to kill your day, especially when there’s nothing that happens in the race to help you. You’re really banking on at least some help somewhere to vault you to the top three.We can fight to fifth or seventh, that’s what we did, but to do much more than that you have to have an extraordinary day. Those are just really hard to come by nowadays with the parity in the series.Yeah, I don’t know. The last two weekends were really, really odd. I’m so pleased to go into this off-season with something more normal and just feeling a little bit better about going into ’22.THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 6 wins, 7 poles in 15 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio); Will Power (St. Louis).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 95 wins, 106 earned poles in 164 races

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA JOSEF NEWGARDEN POLE WINNING QUOTE SEPT. 25, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – POLE WINNERYOU ARE FIRED-UP! THAT IS GREAT TO SEE. YOU DID WHAT YOU NEEDED TO DO“There’s some guy roaming around Long Beach that has just been yelling all weekend and getting us fired-up (laughter), and I was pretty much screaming that whole last lap. He’s at the track somewhere. He’s just getting me hyped. He was getting all of us hyped. He needs to be in this pit box. “I’m so happy. It’s been a little bit demoralizing the last couple of weekends where we’ve qualified. We’ve had really good cars. The team has been doing a phenomenal job, Gavin (Ward, Race Engineer) and all the boys. They’ve been killing it. To start where we’ve started these last couple of races has just taken the life out of me a little bit. So, I’m so pumped that we were able to be quick here. I think we’ve got the package, for sure, with Team Chevy. I wish we had more of a fight with Colton (Herta). He was going to be really tough to beat today. It’s a shame we didn’t get to fight him straight up, but you know what? We accomplished our job for today and now we have to go after it tomorrow.” YOU HAVE A CHANCE AT THE CHAMPIONSHIP. IT HAS TO GO REALLY BAD FOR ALEX PALOU. HOW DO YOU APPROACH TOMORROW? IT SEEMS PRETTY SIMPLE SINCE YOU CAN’T CONTROL THEM“Yeah, I mean look, we’ve fought hard all year. We’ve had ups and downs. It’s very unprobeable for us to win this championship. So, I think our goal is to win the race tomorrow. Let’s finish our season on a high note. Everyone here deserves that. We’ll see what happens. I think it’s pretty unlikely, but you never say never in this sport.” DOES SECOND IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP MATTER? IS THERE SIGNIFICANCE IN THAT IF YOU CAN GET PAST PATO O’WARD?“Well, we always want to maximize our potential. If second is what we can do for the year, then we want to get that done. I know that’s what’s important to Roger (Penske) and the team and the same with me. So, we’re going to do everything we can to finish as high as possible and we’ll see where the chips fall at the end of the day.” NBCSN will telecast the 85-lap/167-mile race at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 26. The race will be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.
Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 6 wins, 7 poles in 15 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio, St. Louis); Will Power (Indy RC2). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1, Indy RC2); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio); Will Power (St. Louis).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 95 wins, 106 earned poles in 164 races

BROWNSTOWN, IN (September 24, 2021) – In a wild Night Before the Jackson Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series main event, Tyler Eb emerged for his series-leading seventh win of 2021 on Friday Night at the Brownstown Speedway. Erb took over the top spot when race-leader Josh Rice slowed with a right rear flat tire on lap 29. Erb went on for his first ever win at Brownstown. Current LOLMDS Championship point leader, Tim McCreadie, finished in second followed by Brandon Sheppard, Devin Moran, and Tanner English. Scott James started from the pole, as the veteran Indiana racer was looking for his first LOLMDS win since 2009. James would lead the first three laps before yielding the top spot to fellow front row starter, Josh Rice. Rice, the 2021 Ralph Latham Memorial winner at Florence Speedway in May, held the race lead until Erb passed him on lap 13 for the top spot. Rice would then use the high side to his advantage retaking the point from Erb on lap 17. Erb and Rice came across the line side-by-side with Erb narrowly edging out Rice. Suddenly, Rice slowed coming off turn number two with a flat right rear tire which forced a caution flag and a trip to the hot pit for a tire change. Erb went on to lead the rest of the race for the $10,000 victory. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 16th time in his career and his third in the last four series races, Erb said, “It feels great to win here at Brownstown. They did a great job from yesterday to today to give us a good racetrack. I have a great time. We had to bring out two cars yesterday. I have a great crew and great car owners. We had a good car tonight and it gives us confidence for tomorrow night.” The defending Jackson 100 winner, McCreadie, finished second in Friday Night’s event. “It was really wild out there. You’d think it was the beginning of the year the way some of them raced tonight. They’re really hungry, I guess. I just tried to stay out of their way. This place is so much fun to race on when it gets like tonight. It was cool and a lot of fun tonight.” Sheppard rounded out the podium as the Illinois drive, who won the Indiana Icebreaker on Thursday night, will be looking for his first Jackson 100 victory on Saturday Night. “It was pretty crazy there for a while for sure. We were fortunate to keep our nose clean there and hang on for a third-place finish. Our car was good, we probably need do a few things different for tomorrow night.”    The winner’s Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by M&W Transport, Roberts Bee Company, First Class Septic, Bazell Race Fuels, Posi Flow, Lucas Oil Products, Go Lithium, Midwest Sheet Metals, Keyser Manufacturing, and KBC Graphics. Completing the top ten were Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Moyer Jr., Steve Casebolt, Josh Rice, and Shane Clanton. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesRace SummaryNight Before the JacksonFriday, September 24th, 2021Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Mike Marlar / 13.385 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Josh Rice / 13.653 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 83-Scott James[3]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[4]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[6]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[5]; 5. 16-Justin Rattliff[7]; 6. 28JS-Jeff Shackelford[9]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 8. 21H-Robby Hensley[8]; 9. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 10. 14B-Britan Godsey[10] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 6-Ashton Winger[6]; 5. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 6. 12J-Jason Jameson[5]; 7. 22L-Skyller Lewis[7]; 8. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[8]; 9. 14W-Quentin White[9]; 10. 79-Troy Worrick[10] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 11R-Josh Rice[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 4. 76-Shelby Miles[7]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 6. 97-Michael Chilton[6]; 7. C9-Steve Casebolt[8]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 9. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 10. 1CJ-Casey White[10] Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 1G-Devin Gilpin[2]; 3. 1ST-Johnny Scott[3]; 4. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 5. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 6. 14-Josh Richards[5]; 7. 14G-Joe Godsey[7]; 8. 17D-Zack Dohm[8]; 9. 14R-Jeff Roth[9]; 10. (DNS) 13W-Brayton Laster LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 2. 11H-Spencer Hughes[2]; 3. 16-Justin Rattliff[1]; 4. 22L-Skyller Lewis[6]; 5. 21H-Robby Hensley[9]; 6. 12J-Jason Jameson[4]; 7. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[8]; 8. 79-Troy Worrick[12]; 9. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 10. 28JS-Jeff Shackelford[3]; 11. 14B-Britan Godsey[11]; 12. 14W-Quentin White[10] UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 2S-Stormy Scott[1]; 2. C9-Steve Casebolt[5]; 3. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 4. 97-Michael Chilton[3]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 14-Josh Richards[4]; 7. 17D-Zack Dohm[8]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[6]; 9. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 10. 14R-Jeff Roth[10]; 11. 1CJ-Casey White[11]; 12. (DNS) 13W-Brayton Laster

Three Wins in Five Races for Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products #1S

ROSSBURG, OH – September 24, 2021 – Start with Logan Schuchart and Eldora Speedway, then add in that crisp autumn air of September, and you’ve got a perfect recipe.

The Shark Racing pilot continued his hot streak on Friday night, leading the final eight laps at The Big E and scoring his second-straight BeFour the Crown Showdown victory.

After a tough opening half to the 2021 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series campaign, the Drydene Performance Products #1S has roared to life over the past month with three wins in the last five races. His stellar stretch has been good enough to propel him into a tie with Sheldon Haudenschild for fifth in the championship standings.

Schuchart’s third-career win at “The House That Earl Built” came with a little help from lap traffic, as he pounced on 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz on Lap 22 and never looked back.

“I thought I could use those holes to my advantage, but I ran through it and I swear the motor felt like it lost two cylinders,” Schuchart said. “I think it ripped two spark plug wires off, so I was worried. I thought David would slide me for sure on that last restart, but we never saw him. Eldora is always in great shape and it was a lot of fun tonight.”

From the jump of the 30-lap NOS Energy Drink Feature, all eyes were pointed to Oklahoma City’s Wayne Johnson, who earned his second pole position of the season.

However, Schatz stole command on the start and cruised away to lead the opening 21 laps aboard the Ford Performance, Carquest #15. Schuchart quickly charged from fifth to second, and then all attention turned to an epic battle for third between Johnson, David Gravel, Tyler Courtney, Ayrton Gennetten, and James McFadden.

The first two stoppages of the race were for championship leader Brad Sweet, who suffered a flat right rear on the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 not only once, but twice. He went to the work area on Lap 11 and Lap 22, ultimately crossing the line 19th for his worst finish of the season.

At the front of the field, Schuchart pounced on Schatz thanks to lap traffic and never saw another challenge. A green-white-checkered restart made it interesting, but neither Gravel nor McFadden could pressure the #1S as he scooted away to his sixth win of the season and 29th of his World of Outlaws career in a new Triple-X chassis, which he credits for their revitalized success.

“We just didn’t have the summer we wanted,” Schuchart elaborated. ” We felt like at any moment we’d start clicking, and we really felt like Eldora owed us one after July. We left Kings Royal week bummed out with the results considering how good our cars were. I don’t think we were good in the Dash tonight, but Ron, Ben, Jack & Bill made some awesome changes, and here we are.

Australian James McFadden earned a career-best Eldora Speedway result by placing second with a last-lap pass. It also extends his stellar stretch with five podium finishes in the last eight races aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, Karavan Trailers #9.

“That was so much fun,” McFadden said with a grin. “I told the boys I couldn’t stop laughing in the car it was that much fun. I grew up watching Eldora and watching guys pound it off the fence like that. A bit of redemption after leading laps at the Kings Royal and stepping on my old feller. This team is really clicking right now.”

The Big Game Motorsports #2 made a late charge at Schuchart for the lead, but the final caution on Lap 28 was a caution that David Gravel didn’t want to see as he slipped back to finish third. Ultimately, it was a massive points night as Sweet struggled with two flat tires and Gravel gained 32 points with some of his best tracks on the horizon in the final 10 races.

“Track was slick, but it was great,” Gravel noted. “The holes made it interesting. I don’t think I would’ve won the race, but the caution didn’t help with losing second. Overall it’s a good night to rebound after Hanford. I’m excited for Lernerville tomorrow, one of my favorite tracks.”

After leading the opening 21 laps, Donny Schatz fell back to finish fourth aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15. Rounding out the top-five was King Tyler Courtney in the NOS Energy Drink TURBO #7BC, who started his night with a win in the USAC Midget program.

Closing out the top-10 on Friday night was KSE Hard Charger Justin Peck in sixth-from-18th, polesitter Wayne Johnson in seventh, Eldora rookie Ayrton Gennetten in eighth, Jason Johnson Racing’s Carson Macedo in ninth, and Slammin’ Sammy Swindell with his first top-10 of the year.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series now embarks on a long overnight drive to Sarver, PA as Lernerville Speedway hosts the Commonwealth Clash on Saturday, September 25. If you can’t be at the track, you can watch Every Lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][$10,000]; 2. 9-James McFadden [9][$6,000]; 3. 2-David Gravel [6][$3,500]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [2][$2,800]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8][$2,500]; 6. 13-Justin Peck [16][$2,300]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1][$2,200]; 8. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [7][$2,100]; 9. 41-Carson Macedo [10][$2,050]; 10. 70-Sammy Swindell [12][$2,000]; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [18][$1,600]; 12. 26-Cory Eliason [11][$1,400]; 13. 11K-Kraig Kinser [13][$1,200]; 14. 10-Zeb Wise [24][$1,100]; 15. 5T-Travis Philo [17][$1,050]; 16. 5-Ian Madsen [4][$1,000]; 17. 97-Greg Wilson [22][$1,000]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [23][$1,000]; 19. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$1,000]; 20. 101-Cale Thomas [15][$1,000]; 21. 83-Kasey Kahne [21][$1,000]; 22. 7S-Jason Sides [19][$1,000]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen [14][$1,000]; 24. 11-Parker Price-Miller [20][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-21, Logan Schuchart 22-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 13-Justin Peck[+10]

NEW Championship Standings (70/80 races): 1. Brad Sweet (9,266); 2. David Gravel (-124); 3. Carson Macedo (-164); 4. Donny Schatz (-234); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-322); 5. Logan Schuchart (-322); 7. James McFadden (-702); 8. Kraig Kinser (-1058); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1324); 10. Jacob Allen (-1638).

Dane Cameron qualifies his Acura ARX-05 fourth for Meyer Shank Racing
Filipe Albuquerque to start fifth in the Wayne Taylor Racing Acura prototype
Till Bechtolscheimer, Gradient Racing pace Acura NSX GT3 qualifying

LONG BEACH, CA (September 24, 2021) – Dane Cameron led the way for Acura today in qualifying for Saturday’s IMSA Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, and will start his Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05 prototype from the outside of the second row, fourth. His co-driver in tomorrow’s 100-minute WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race will again be Olivier Pla.

Championship points leaders Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor will start fifth in their Wayne Taylor Racing Acura following today’s practice and qualifying sessions.

In the production-based GTD class, Till Bechtolsheimer led the trio of Acura NSX GT3 Evo’s running this weekend in Long Beach, and will start 10th with co-driver Marc Miller. Defending GTD champions Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher will start 13th In their Compass Racing NSX, while Andy Lally and co-driver John Potter will start 16th for Magnus Racing with Archangel.

.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Qualifying Results
4th overall – #60 Dane Cameron, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
5th overall – #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
10th GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
13th GTD – #76 Matt McMurry, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
16th GTD – #44 John Potter, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Quotes
Dane Cameron (#60 Meyer Shank Racing ARX-05) qualified fourth; race co-driver will be Olivier Pla: “A good rebound from this morning, with the unfortunate incident in the first practice [when co-driver Pla made contact with the wall]. But I think we’ve had a pretty good car throughout the day. Both Oli [Pla] and I were quite happy with the handling. It seems like all the turbocharged cars are a bit off from the normally aspirated cars here, which is a bit of a shame. But we were kind of the ‘best of the rest’ of the turbo group, and sometimes that’s all you can do. So we’ll see if we can make some magic happen tomorrow [in the race]. A big ‘thank you’ to all the Meyer Shank team, they had a really long day today with two practice sessions and qualifying all in the same day, so a really big ‘thank you’ to them.”

Matt McMurry (#76 Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) qualified xxth in GTD, co-driver will be fellow defending GTD champion Mario Farnbacher: “Qualifying today was a bit tough. There was a traffic jam almost every lap going into the last corner. I think we’ve improved the car a ton since we first arrived here this morning and I think me and Mario [Farnbacher, co-driver] are ‘there’ now. We have a fast car and know the track now. We’re plenty quick, but didn’t play the traffic [in qualifying] quite 100% right, so we’ll have some work to do in the race to get back up to the front.”

Fast Facts
Acura Motorsports and its performance arm, Honda Performance Development, have recorded a total of nine sports car victories at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, second only to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Acura and HPD.
This total includes three Long Beach wins for Acura, and six victories under the HPD umbrella. The victories all came in a consecutive, six-year period from 2008-13, and included “doubles” [wins in both LMP1 and LMP2] in 2009, 2012 and 2013.

Where to Watch the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Live US television coverage from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach begins at 5 p.m. EDT Saturday on the NBC Sports Network.  Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Sports Gold TrackPass, on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.

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

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).