“Sertões rally is complete! Finisher pin this year, honestly it was a phenomenal race. The challenge was real, the competition is so fierce here. We finished 8th and I think everyday if you average it out, we lost less than 5 minutes a day. Overall, I think the top 30 racers were all within 45 minutes total for the whole rally. It’s pretty wild, if you lose 3 minutes on the day, you’re going to go from top 5 to 20th to 30th.

It was an amazing experience, the terrain was unbelievable, fast and crazy technical roads, it was just a lot of fun everyday. There was never a section of whoops or miserable section where you would get beat up in the RZR. It was all fun and fast.

All in all, the Polaris RZR did a phenomenal job, for having a bone stock RZR it really was good. I’m excited to come back and do it again. We made a lot of great friends, the competitors are fierce but they’re friendly as ever when we get to the bivouac. We met a lot of new friends. I just want to come back down to Brazil, it’s a beautiful country. Thank you to RZR for letting us come out here and accept the journey, and the complete RZR family for taking care of us while we were here. Thank you everybody and we’ll be back!” – Casey Currie

BROOKLYN, MI – August 23, 2021 – Ford Performance and Roush Yates Engines won their seventh straight NASCAR Cup race at Michigan International Speedway with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney in the FireKeepers Casino 400. This was Blaney’s second win of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Season and Ford retained the Michigan Heritage Trophy, presented to the winning manufacturer at the 2-mile track.

“This is such a big deal for our company, for our employees,” said Mark Rushbrook, the global director of Ford Performance. “To come here and race in front of all of our employees and their friends and families and have Ryan go get that win with Team Penske and Roush Yates power. We are taking the Heritage Trophy back to Dearborn.” “Congratulations to Ford, Ryan, Todd, Roger, and the entire No. 12 crew for the strong finish and making it 7 wins in a row at Michigan,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “We have always strived to finish strong at Michigan and this year was no exception. We are thankful for the continued leadership and commitment from Ford Motor Company and honored to power these Mustangs.”

Blaney started the race in third position but was quickly shuffled to mid-pack at the start of the race. Blaney and the No. 12 team continued to make adjustments and finished stage 1 & 2 just outside of the top 10. There were 20 lead changes throughout the race and the last half of the race came down to pit strategy and race execution. With 20 laps remaining, there was a brief caution for rain and another following a 7-car incident with 14 to go. With 8 laps remaining, Blaney was able to take the lead and hold off the hard charging second position by 0.077 seconds.

“We come up here every year and know it is important to the Blue Oval and the Ford family and Mr. Penske as well. It is a really big race for all of our group including the Penske side. To have Edsel here, I haven’t seen Edsel in over a year so it was great to have him out. I am excited to get him in victory lane. Everyone from Ford does so much for us. It really is a big family and I am just happy to be a part of it.” commented Blaney.

Matt DiBenedetto with Wood Brothers Racing finished P6, Brad Keselowski with Team Penske in P9, and Chase Briscoe with Stewart-Haas Racing finished P11.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series raced on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway while Ford Performance teammates finished in the top 12 as Riley Herbst with Stewart-Haas Racing finished in P7 and Ryan Sieg with RSS Racing finished P12.

NASCAR Cup and Xfinity series will race at Daytona International Speedway this upcoming weekend. This race will be the last regular season race for the Cup series while the Xfinity series has 4 remaining prior to the playoffs. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola, and Kevin Harvick have clinched a spot in the playoffs.  33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 423 WINS – 383 POLES!

Top Fuel — Steve Torrence, 3.712 seconds, 323.74 mph def. Clay Millican, 3.729 seconds, 320.05 mph.

Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.923, 327.98 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.935, 324.83.

Top Alcohol Dragster — Rich McPhillips Jr., 5.194, 276.86 def. Joey Severance, Broke. 

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Kyle Smith, Ford Mustang, 5.496, 259.56 def. Bob McCosh, Chevy Camaro, 5.616, 262.23. 

Super Stock — Anthony Bertozzi, Pontiac Grand Am, 9.019, 146.46 def. Mike Mans, Pontiac Firebird, 8.769, 153.54. 

Stock Eliminator — Brett Speer, Chevy Nova, 10.510, 111.21 def. Russ Kramer, Plymouth Belvedere, 10.815, 121.57. 

Super Comp — Gary Stinnett, Dragster, 8.909, 179.49 def. Craig Schultz, Dragster, 8.904, 167.22. 

Super Gas — Luke Bogacki, Chevy Corvette, 10.541, 115.62 def. Dale Evens, Corvette, Foul – Red Light. 

Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers — Curt Harshfield, Chevy BelAir, 6.968, 184.77 def. Steve Jaeger, Chevy Monte Carlo, 6.796, 197.80. 

Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers — Kendra Larson, Dragster, 7.088, 188.96 def. Holden Laris, Dragster, Foul – Red Light. 

Pro Modified — Jose Gonzalez, Chevy Camaro, 5.790, 246.03 def. Brandon Snider, Chevy Corvette, 5.812, 247.29. 

Mountain Motor Pro Stock — JR Carr, Chevy Camaro, 6.379, 209.88 def. John DeFlorian Jr, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.

Austin McCarl & Jacob Allen Earn First Podium Finishes of 2021

BRANDON, SD – August 22, 2021 – David Gravel has found a knack for shining bright when he plays in the boss’ backyard.

For the second time this season, the Watertown, CT native parked his Huset’s Speedway #2 in victory lane at none other than Huset’s Speedway, a track promoted by his Big Game Motorsports car owner – Tod Quiring.

His win ironically came just about 24 hours after the Watertown, CT native stated “they needed to get start getting some Outlaw wins” after running second at Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday night. He gave himself exactly what he wanted on Sunday, scoring his eighth win of the year and the 66th of his World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series career.

Becoming the fourth different leader with 11 to go, Gravel said Sunday’s Pioneer Bin Buster Bash simply played into his favor. He’s not entirely wrong as Carson Macedo spun in lap traffic, Wayne Johnson slipped back from the pole, and Austin McCarl knocked the jacob’s ladder out of the car when he hit the wall.

However, a win is a win; and with 22 races remaining in the championship chase, every single point matters.

“That was a wild race,” Gravel said. “I thought I was going to wreck a couple of times. I just bided my time and the race really played out in my favor. I think the lead really just got handed to me. All in all, really happy to get another win at Huset’s Speedway. I mean this place was closed down four years ago and look at it now. It’s incredible seeing this kind of crowd.”

Beyond Gravel, the storylines were plentiful on Sunday as The Greatest Show on Dirt survived an afternoon thunderstorm and beat incoming weather to conclude an epic night of racing.

First off, Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma City, OK earned his first pole position in seven years with the World of Outlaws. The 50-year-old sophomore led 13 of the first 14 laps before slipping to finish seventh, which is still a season-best result for the Two-C Racing team.

Secondly, there was A-Mac Austin McCarl. The son of T-Mac Terry McCarl started outside pole at a track he has dominated in 2021, giving himself and his dad to become the eighth father-son duo to win in World of Outlaws history. The #17A led nine laps through the halfway point, but contact with the wall dropped him from the lead and eventually to a career-best P2 run.

There was also the run of Jacob Allen on this night. The lovable Shark Racing driver drove by the likes of Kraig Kinser and Donny Schatz to earn his first podium finish of the 2021 season.

Once in command of the lead on Lap 24, Gravel never looked back. He easily survived a restart with four to go, and then a green-white-checkered finish, as he ultimately crossed the line with a 1.425-second advantage.

“For how much we rain got, the track was really good,” Gravel noted. “Hats off to the Huset’s Speedway crew on the job they did, and the Outlaws did a great job rushing us through to beat the weather.”

After leading nine laps, Austin McCarl of Altoona, IA ended up with a second-place finish, equalling his career-best with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

“You know you’re doing something right when you’re disappointed with running second at an Outlaw show,” McCarl mentioned. I just got too aggressive in traffic, made the car too tight and when I hit the fence it knocked the ladder out. It hurts, but I beat myself. I think I can live with that, rather than something else taking it away from us.”

Claiming the final podium position was Hanover, PA’s Jacob Allen with his first top-three result of the year in his Shark Racing, Drydene Performance Products #1S.

“This feels great, man,” Allen said. “Huset’s is so much fun when it’s like this. Getting back on the podium with the Outlaws is awesome.”

Closing out the top-five at Huset’s was a red-hot Donny Schatz in fourth aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 and Kraig Kinser in fifth aboard the #11K with his third top-five finish of the season.

Rounding out the top-10 on Sunday night was James McFadden in sixth, Wayne Johnson with a season-best seventh, championship leader Brad Sweet in eighth, Sheldon Haudenschild in ninth, and Brock Zearfoss with his 15th top-10 of the year.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will take two days off before returning to North Dakota this Wednesday, August 25 for a makeup date at Grand Forks’ River Cities Speedway. After that, The Greatest Show on Dirt will head to Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway on Friday, August 27, and South Dakota’s Black Hills Speedway on Saturday, August 29.

NOS Energy Drink Feature RESULTS (36 Laps Due to Green-White-Checkered Finish) – 1. 2-David Gravel [4][$10,000]; 2. 17A-Austin McCarl [2][$6,000]; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$3,500]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$2,800]; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][$2,500]; 6. 9-James McFadden [12][$2,300]; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1][$2,200]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [9][$2,100]; 9. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [13][$2,050]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8][$2,000]; 11. 13-Mark Dobmeier [17][$1,600]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$1,400]; 13. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [15][$1,200]; 14. 83-Kasey Kahne [11][$1,100]; 15. 3-Tim Kaeding [24][$1,050]; 16. 81-Jack Dover [18][$1,000]; 17. 19-Paige Polyak [14][$1,000]; 18. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$1,000]; 19. 27-Carson McCarl [20][$1,000]; 20. 16-Brooke Tatnell [23][$1,000]; 21. ACE-Dusty Zomer [19][$1,000]; 22. 47N-Marcus Dumesny [22][$1,000]; 23. O9-Matt Juhl [21][$1,000]; 24. 7-Justin Henderson [16][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-7, 9-14; Carson Macedo 8, Austin McCarl 15-23; David Gravel 24-36. KSE Hard Charger Award: 3-Tim Kaeding[+9]

NEW Championship Standings (58/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (7,722); 2. David Gravel (-120); 3. Carson Macedo (-162); 4. Donny Schatz (-238); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-266); 6. Logan Schuchart (-304); 7. James McFadden (-712); 8. Kraig Kinser (-910); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1190); 10. Jacob Allen (-1384).

Photo – Trent Gower

The New Berlin, IL driver is second on the all-time wins list with 75 World of Outlaws VictoriesERIE, PA – August 22, 2021 – A timely decision by reigning Series champion Brandon Sheppard brought him one step closer to history. The New Berlin, IL driver, was running second when a caution came out on Lap 2, giving him lane choice on the restart. Sheppard chose the outside, using his momentum to power around Dennis Erb Jr., and hold on for the win Sunday night at Eriez Speedway.  It’s the “Rocket Shepp’s” sixth win of the season and 75th World of Outlaws triumph of his career. He’s now in sole possession of second on the all-time wins list—three wins away from tying Josh Richards for the most all-time (78).  Sheppard knew his decision could be costly later in the race if he couldn’t wrestle the lead away from Dennis Erb Jr., who took the top spot on the initial green flag.   “I wasn’t that great at restarting on the bottom I didn’t feel like, and I thought [Erb] would restart on the bottom, so I knew I needed to choose the top,” Sheppard said. “I knew getting the lead early was going to be key later because the slicker the track got, the more tire wear would come into play.” Several cautions in the second half of the race halted Sheppard’s chances of driving away from the field. Even though he wasn’t worried about his tires, the “Rocket Shepp” was nervous about how quickly his car came to life on restarts.   “It took me a few laps to really get a good rhythm going and get a good line going to get rolling there, so I really hated seeing them cautions,” Sheppard said. “I didn’t think I was taking off very good on the restarts, and it was definitely stressing me out, but we were able to pull it off.” While Sheppard led most of the event, the hometown crowd locked their eyes on Eriez Speedway regular Dave Hess.  The Waterford, PA driver, who needed a provisional after an incident in his Drydene Heat Race, drove to second place after starting last.  It’s a finish Hess never expected, as he let the race come to him.  “The car was bad enough that we were real tempted just to load it,” Hess said. “The type of track it was when we got out there, I was just hoping to stay alive and get up through and get a top-10 out of it. Never did I believe we would get up to a podium finish.” Hess used both lanes throughout the Feature, but a timely switch around halfway was key to his ascension through the field.  “I felt like I needed to get toward the bottom around mid-race, and then we started picking them off down there,” Hess said. “I think one more restart or maybe another 10 laps, and maybe we could’ve at least gave Sheppard some competition and made a race out of it.”  Chub Frank, a 16-time World of Outlaws Feature winner, crossed the line third. “Chubzilla” stated he had a good car but couldn’t keep pace with Sheppard because of tire wear.  “We burnt the left rear tire up on them restarts trying to get back to second,” Frank said. “Where [Sheppard] was running is probably where I was going to have to run, and I think Hess was the only one who probably had a shot at it because he saved his left rear tire.”  Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and Boom Briggs crossed the line fifth, inching ahead of Chris Madden on the final lap. The Bear Lake, PA driver felt the number of cautions prevented him from having a better finish.   “Longer green flag runs were definitely better for us; I just couldn’t get enough heat in that right rear tire,” Briggs said. “I never could get to the top where I wanted to go, but I just made that bottom work and ran around for 25 laps, and it paid off in the end.”  On the first restart, Brandon Sheppard’s choice paid dividends on his quest toward World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model history. The New Berlin, IL driver extended his points lead over Chris Madden to 158—shortening his path toward another Series Championship.  UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet travel to Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA, Aug. 26-28 for the Quad Cities 150 presented by Hoker Trucking.  If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App.Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1][$10,000]; 2. 44H-Dave Hess [25][$6,000]; 3. 1X-Chub Frank [3][$3,500]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb [2][$2,800]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs [13][$2,500]; 6. 44-Chris Madden [12][$2,300]; 7. B1-Brent Larson [9][$2,200]; 8. 111V-Max Blair [15][$2,100]; 9. X3-Wyatt Scott [5][$2,050]; 10. 19R-Ryan Gustin [7][$2,000]; 11. 19-Bob Dorman [21][$1,600]; 12. 16-Tyler Bruening [22][$1,400]; 13. 7-Ricky Weiss [11][$1,200]; 14. 29J-Jason Genco [20][$1,100]; 15. 40-Dutch Davies [19][$1,050]; 16. 9K-Mike Knight [10][$1,000]; 17. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand [17][$1,000]; 18. 111-Matt Lux [6][$1,000]; 19. 1Z-Logan Zarin [16][$1,000]; 20. 22-Greg Oakes [14][$1,000]; 21. B22-Bump Hedman [4][$1,000]; 22. 12B-Andy Boozel [18][$1,000]; 23. 7J-Kyle Bedell [23][$1,000]; 24. 76-Steve Kania [8][$1,000]; 25. 20-Doug Eck [24][$1,000] Hard Charger: 44H-Dave Hess[+23]Qualifying –1. 111-Matt Lux, 15.48; 2. 44H-Dave Hess, 15.611; 3. 1X-Chub Frank, 15.653; 4. 28-Dennis Erb, 15.658; 5. X3-Wyatt Scott, 15.675; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 15.693; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 15.706; 8. 40-Dutch Davies, 15.77; 9. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.777; 10. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 15.893; 11. B22-Bump Hedman, 15.905; 12. 44-Chris Madden, 15.928; 13. 9K-Mike Knight, 15.946; 14. 76-Steve Kania, 15.947; 15. 12B-Andy Boozel, 15.966; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs, 15.973; 17. 22-Greg Oakes, 15.979; 18. 111V-Max Blair, 15.985; 19. 29J-Jason Genco, 16.037; 20. 7-Ricky Weiss, 16.062; 21. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.084; 22. 20-Doug Eck, 16.1; 23. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand, 16.1; 24. 19-Bob Dorman, 16.137; 25. 7J-Kyle Bedell, 16.388; 26. 01W-Khole Wanzer, 16.729

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Matt Hagan powered his Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from a fourth place qualifying position at 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals to his second victory in the last five National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Series events
• Hagan captured his first victory at Brainerd International Raceway and his 38th career Funny Car Wally trophy in an all-Dodge final round showdown against No. 2 qualifier and fellow HEMI-powered driver Cruz Pedregon
• Runner-up finish for Cruz Pedregon and his Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat after qualifying No. 2 with a career best elapsed time run of 3.874 seconds
• Ron Capps drove his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to a quarterfinal appearance and remains top-five in points and within 25 points of the lead heading into the final regular season event
• Leah Pruett and her DSR Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster come away from Brainerd fourth in Top Fuel points standings heading to the NHRA’s prestigious Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis

Aug. 22, 2021, Brainerd, Minnesota – It was an all-Dodge final at the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals with Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Matt Hagan powering the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to his first victory at Brainerd International Raceway by defeating fellow HEMI®-powered driver Cruz Pedregon. It was Hagan’s 38th career Wally trophy and his second win of the 2021 NHRA Camping World Series season.

After qualifying No. 4 on the eliminations ladder, Hagan put together a string of consistent runs and round wins over Dale Creasy Jr., Paul Lee and Bob Tasca III to advance to his 69th career final round. That paired him with No. 2 qualifier Pedregon and his hard charging Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for their first final round showdown in over ten years. 

Hagan’s quick 0.051-second reaction time gave the DSR Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat an early lead from which he never looked back on his way to a 3.923 second elapsed time run at 327.98 mph to defeat Pedregon’s 0.106-second light and solid 3.935 sec./324.83 mph pass and capture his second win in five national events.

Hagan’s two victories this season were both “firsts” in that they were both earned at venues at which he had never won. Earning the coveted Wally at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals in July and Sunday’s drive to the winner’s circle at Brainerd helped propel the defending NHRA Funny Car World Champion into the points lead for the first time this season with just one event remaining for racers to lock themselves into the “Countdown to the Championship” playoff.

That last race of the regular season will be the 68th edition of the NHRA’s cornerstone event and world’s biggest drag-racing competition – the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis on Labor Day weekend.

For their part, the Cruz Pedregon Racing team and the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat have shown season-long consistent and steady improvement that included a win at the Norwalk event in June. Following up his semifinal appearance last weekend in Topeka, Kansas, Pedregon put his HEMI-powered ride No. 2 on the eliminations ladder with a career best 3.874-second pass at 324.67 mph. 

He then continued to impress with hard fought side-by side battles and round wins over Gary Densham, defending event champ Ron Capps and J.R. Todd with a series of 3.9-second runs (3.907/3.908/3.933) before adding another 3.935 effort in his loss to Hagan. With his runner-up finish, Pedregon remains eighth on the Funny Car leaderboard heading with one regular season event left.

DSR driver of the Pennzoil Synthetics/NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, Capps, qualified in the top half of the eliminations ladder for the 11th time in 12 events. The six-time and defending Brainerd champ was seeded seventh and lined up next to No. 10 John Force to kick off race day. Capps had the quicker start and a solid 3.953-second lap to turn on win lights against Force who had trouble early in his run. 

Capps’ quarterfinal match-up with Pedregon was a terrific side-by-side battle from start to finish with nearly identical launches – a 0.076-second reaction time to Pedregon’s 0.075 – and identical speeds at 325.45 mph, with the only difference coming at the stripe with Capps’ 3.935-second lap to Pedregon 3.908-second winning run. Capps leaves Brainerd ranked fifth in the Funny Car standings but less than one round out from the leader.

Also a defending event winner at Brainerd International Raceway, DSR’s Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett kicked off qualifying looking strong and posting the second-best pass of the Q1 session. With what ended up being her quickest run of the weekend, a 3.789 second pass at 319.90 mph aboard her Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster, Pruett’s best qualifying lap also gave her a berth into the NHRA’s 2021 “Countdown to the Championship” ensuring she’ll finish the season in the Top 10 for a sixth consecutive year. While subsequent qualifying runs were hampered by a few issues that the DSR team worked to get resolved by race time, her first qualifying lap was good enough to put her eighth on the eliminations ladder. 

Pruett rolled her HEMI-powered machine to the start line for a first round matchup with No. 5 seed Justin Ashley, but saw her hopes of defending her event title go up in tire smoke right off the hit of the throttle. With just one event left before the playoffs begin, Pruett remains fourth in Top Fuel standings.

The NHRA Camping World Series now prepares to head to drag racing’s most prestigious event, the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, September 1-5, which features a unique points-and-a-half format and will see racers jostling for position before the points are reset and the field tightens heading into the “Countdown to the Championship” playoffs.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:
Matt Hagan, DSR Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye
(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.891 seconds at 328.06 mph)
Round 1: (0.089-second reaction time, 3.911 seconds at 328.30 mph) defeats to No. 13 Dale Creasy Jr. (0.080/4.031/311.85)
Round 2: (0.070/ 3.928/323/27) defeats No. 5 Paul Lee (0.095/3.911/329.18)
Round 3: (0.065/3.932/328.30) defeats No.  Bob Tasca (0.076/3.940/329.10)
Round 4: (0.051/3.923/327.98) defeats No. 2 Cruz Pedregon (0.106/3.935/324.83)

“I’ve been racing for so long, and it’s great to knock this one off the list and add a Brainerd trophy to the shelf. We want to win every race, and at every race track, so I’m especially glad we got it done today. We’re trying to get where we should be. After coming off of such a strong championship run last year, you come out and expect to set the world on fire, and we just haven’t been able to do that. But (Crew Chief) Dickie Venables, you give the guy enough shots at the race track, he’s a bad man. I just want to do my job up there. I really pride myself in leaving the starting line really well, and it’s going to take these tough packages. You’re going to have leave good, and you’re going to have to race good, and that’s what we’re doing with this Mopar Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat.”

Ron Capps, DSR Pennzoil Synthetics/NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.922 seconds at 325.22 mph)
Round 1: (0.050-second reaction time, 3.953 seconds at 323.35 mph) defeats No. 10 John Force (0.066/6.205/112.01)
Round 2: (0.076/3.935/325.45) loss to No. 2 Cruz Pedregon (0.075/3.908/325.45)

“We always talk about Brainerd being such a pivotal race heading into the Countdown. We have Indy coming up and that’s points and a half, but Brainerd always plays a huge role because it’s the second-to-last race before heading into the Countdown. You’ve got to come out of Brainerd with a good race car. We didn’t make up as many points as we wanted to this weekend, but we have a great race car. Dean Antonelli and John Medlen have been really focusing on clutch-wear these past couple of races, and we were really happy to run a .93 in the right lane, we just got beat by a quicker car in the left lane this weekend. The NAPA team did a great job, and it was fun carrying the Pennzoil colors again this weekend. Now we have a week off to focus on Indianapolis and the playoffs. Right now, the fans are getting a really good taste of what the Countdown to the Championship will be like this year. Not only are the points close right now, but the performance of the cars in the Funny Car category right now is something to behold.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat
(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.874 seconds at 324.67 mph)
Round 1: (0.135-second reaction time, 3.907 seconds at 326.56 mph) defeats No. 15 Gary Densham (0.092/4.253/270.75)
Round 2: (0.075/3.908/325.45) defeats No. 7 Ron Capps (0.076/3.935/325.45)
Round 3: (0.058/3.933/322.73) defeats No. 11 J.R. Todd (0.074/3.955/321.73)
Round 4: (0.106/3.935/324.83) loss to No. 4 Matt Hagan (0.051/3.923/327.98) 

“Great weekend overall for the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. To qualify in the second qualifying position with a career best 3.87 (second run) and then hammer out four runs in the 3.9-second range which were incredibly consistent runs in eliminations was very positive. Especially given that the track was a little warmer today than yesterday. It was just a strong effort all the way around and it shows that we’re coming into our own here going into the big race at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals. We’re not going to hang our heads because that was a close race in that final with (Matt) Hagan. You know I’d like to have that reaction time back a little bit. I miss the tree there a bit but overall it was just a solid effort by the team. I’m just proud of the guys.” 

TOP FUEL:
Leah Pruett, DSR Mopar Dodge//SRT Dragster
(No. 8 Qualifier – 3.789 seconds at 319.90 mph)
Round 1: (0.097-second reaction time, 4.472 seconds at 179.64 mph) loss to No. 5 Justin Ashley (0.056/3.765/326.32)

“I’m not sure if there’s an amusement park here at Brainerd, but we sure feel like we’re on a roller coaster with this season of highs and lows. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the number of runs for the team to stay on track is crucial. So, when we lost our third qualifying session lap to a mechanical malfunction, we were robbed of an opportunity to learn this tune-up and get better. What we had for Q3 is pretty much what we had for E1, and that’s a high sixty run and we were just outside of that window. The goal was to turn on win lights. We will not test before Indy’s Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals, but we are real close to breaking through again and we have the confidence to do it. We appreciate the great fan support this weekend at Brainerd for our Mopar Dodge//SRT team and now we focus on Indy and the Countdown.”

NHRA Championship Points Standings:
Following the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1.Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 865 (1)
2. Bob Tasca III – 850 (2)
2. J.R. Todd – 850 (1)
4. John Force – 849 (3)
5. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 840 (1)
6. Robert Hight – 782 (2)
7. Alexis DeJoria – 725
8. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 712 (1)
9. Tim Wilkerson– 631
10. Blake Alexander– 470

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1. Steve Torrance – 1212 (7)
2. Brittany Force – 829 (1)
3. Antron Brown – 791 (1)
4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 631 (1)
4. Mike Salinas – 631
6. Shawn Langdon – 620
7. Clay Millican – 519
8. Justin Ashley – 558 
9. Billy Torrence – 510 (1)
10. Doug Kalitta – 503  

Pat Caporali

Austin Dillon’s Strong Run in the No. 3 BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Aerosol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE Stalled by On-Track Incident at Michigan International Speedway

36th

26th

13th

“We came to Michigan International Speedway with the mentality that this would be a make-or-break race for the No. 3  BREZTRI AEROSPHERE® (budesonide, glycopyrrolate, and formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Aerosol team, and boy did we bring a rocket. I am so proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for everything they put into this Chevy. We came close to winning Stage 1. In Stage 2, I was trying to get as many Stage points as I could get and did a good job of side-drafting and came down to the apron. After the Start/Finish Line, I was starting to come up off the apron because it’s so rough down there. Since the stage was over, I figured by that point the No. 2 car would have given me a little room. He didn’t and it ruined our race. I don’t know why it happened, really. He just held me down there a bit too long. I’m thankful that the good Lord kept me safe today because that was a heck of a wreck. I hate it for BREZTRI and my guys, most of all. They built a rocket ship. They really wanted this one, and I did too. I think we would have had a shot to do something at the end with our race car. It’s the best race car we’ve brought to the track at RCR this year, I feel like. It’s a bummer but we’ve got Daytona left to try and win to secure a spot in the NASCAR Playoffs.” -Austin Dillon

NASCAR Playoff Hopes Still Alive For Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Chevy Accessories Team After Up-And-Down Day at Michigan International Speedway

29th

14th

11th

“Today was an up and down race for our Chevy Accessories team. I thought our car had good speed early and would have easily finished inside the top-10 with the lap times I was posting. During the beginning portion of the race, we lost track position and fought most of the race to get back. The car was a bit too tight in traffic, but Randall Burnett and the guys kept making it better. In the closing laps, I made it four-wide on the bottom, but I lost momentum, slid up on the track and lost a ton of positions. We avoided damage there, but unfortunately with less than 10 laps to go, my right rear tire was cut down and I spun. We were forced to pit under green for four tires and that cost us a solid finish. There is one race left at Daytona and we will give it everything we have as a team to get our No. 8 Chevrolet into the NASCAR Playoffs.”  -Tyler Reddick

The NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series reaches the centerpiece of the 2021 schedule this week when the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports (FFDM) will take teams and fans on a four-day tour of Nor-Cal.

This year marks the second edition of the FFDM. Tim Kaeding claimed the inaugural edition in 2019 by winning two of the four races, and COVID-19 regulations erased the 2020 FFDM from the calendar.  (ED NOTE:  The originally scheduled August 25th show at Placerville Speedway was canceled because the El Dorado County Fairgrounds were transformed into a staging are for firefighters and equipment battling the Caldor fire.)

Racing kicks off Thursday August 26th at Merced Speedway for Thursday Night Thunder. The following night takes the series to Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway for the third and final visit to the coastal bullring in 2021. Saturday the caravan will head to Stockton Dirt Track for the $6,000 to win Champion’s Classic that also features a $3,000 to win 360 sprint car show. The FFDM wraps up Sunday with the third series appearance at Petaluma Speedway this year.

The FFDM will be incentivized by a $8,000 point fund that will award $2,000 to the winner of the final standings and distribute the remainder among the drivers who finish 2nd-12th in points. Also, on top of the $6,000 to win race at Stockton, the other three events will all be $4,000 to win. Both the point fund and the heightened purses at Stockton will provide an opportunity for some drivers to have a very lucrative week!

On Thursday in Merced NARC will be joined by Mini Stocks, Mini Late Models and IMCA Northern SportMods. Friday at Ocean IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks and South Bay Dwarf Cars will share the card. Stockton will feature the $3,000 to win 360 sprint car event and NorCal Dwarf Cars. Joining NARC on Sunday in Petaluma will be Super Stocks, Dwarf Cars and Hardtops.

The entire four-day blitz of racing guarantees to offer plenty of excitement. Competitors will be vying for the extra money up for grabs alluded to above, and the situation atop the series standings may shake up. Dominic Scelzi currently holds a slim six-point lead over reigning champ DJ Netto, and just 15-markers behind Netto is 2015 titlist Bud Kaeding. For more information regarding drivers to watch and stories to follow this week, check out our FFDM Storylines and Stats here: https://narc410.com/2021/08/15/fastest-five-days-in-motorsports-story-lines-stats/

The NARC King of the West Hoosier Tire Format for the FFDM will feature ARP Bolts Fast Time Qualifying, 10-lap Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Heat Races (Stockton heat races will be 8 laps), a six-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Trophy Dash and the 30-lap Fujitsu General USA Main Event.

At Merced the grandstands will open at 5:00 P.M. with racing set to begin at 7:00 P.M. Merced Speedway is located at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way Merced, CA 95341. For more information call 209-600-8382 or visit https://mercedspeedway.net.

On Friday night at Ocean Speedway Adult General Admission tickets will cost $25. Juniors ages 11-16 will be admitted for $20. Kids 6-10 can get in for just $10. Children 5 and under are free! Tickets can be purchased in advance at:https://www.eventsprout.com/event/final-points-night-friday-night-frenzy. Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds at 2601 E Lake Ave Watsonville, CA 95076. For more information call (831) 688-7223 or visithttps://oceanspeedway.com.

The Stockton Dirt Track pit gate is set to open at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday with the main gate set to follow at 5:00 P.M. Racing will get going around 7:00 P.M. Pit Passes are $40. Adult General Admission is $25. Kids ages 5-12, seniors 65 and older and military personnel with a valid ID will be admitted for $20. Kids 4 and under are free! Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/king-of-the-west-narc-fujistu-sprint-car-series-and-norcal-dwarf-cars-tickets-162479457431?aff=website. The Stockton Dirt Track is located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds at 1658 S Airport Way Stockton, CA 95206. For more information call 209-466-9999 or visit https://stocktondirttrack.com.

On Sunday in Petaluma the pit gate will open at 2:00 P.M. with the front gate opening at 4:00 P.M. Hot laps will kickoff at 5:00 P.M. with racing to follow at 6:00 P.M.

The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports can be viewed live on floracing.com along with the entire NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car schedule.

NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series
Championship Points Standings (After nine events in 21-race series 8/24/2021)

1. Dominic Scelzi, Fresno – 1001
2. DJ Netto, Hanford – 995
3. Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 980
4. Tim Kaeding, San Jose – 967
5. Sean Becker, Roseville – 960
6. Billy Aton, Benicia (R) – 953
7. Sean Watts, Clovis – 927
8. Justin Sanders, Aromas – 730
9. Geoffrey Strole, Hanford (R) – 685
10. Shane Golobic, Elk Grove – 673
11. Mitchell Faccinto, Hanford – 632
12. Mitchel Moles, Raisin City – 607
13. Kenny Allen, Chico – 583
14. Willie Croft, Colfax – 530
15. Ryan Robinson, Foresthill (R) – 524
16. Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA – 524
17. Joel Myers Jr, Sebastopol (R) – 518
18. Mark Barroso, Merced – 491
19. Kyle Offill, Tracy (R) – 481
20. Kyle Hirst, Paradise – 427

The King of the West-NARC Fujitsu General USA Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires.  Associate and product award sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Autometer, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, FloRacing.com, Johnstone Supply, Kaeding Performance Center, KSE Racing Products, Maxim, PAC Racing Springs, Pyrotect, Racing Optics, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, SCI Racing Products, Swift Metal Finishing, Sunnyvalley Bacon, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Light Brakes, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Winters Performance Products.

NASCAR CUP SERIES FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400 MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES AUGUST 22, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE 3rd      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE 4th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 8th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 12th    RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/MAXWELL HOUSE CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ryan Blaney (Ford)2nd    William Byron (Chevrolet)3rd     Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)4th      Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)5th      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, August 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES: WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndWILLIAM, YOU PUT UP A MAJOR FIGHT THERE WITH LATE-RACE RESTARTS TRYING TO GET BY RYAN BLANEY. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED TO MAKE THE PASS?“Just the 11 (Denny Hamlin) to stay with us. He tried to shuck us into one. I had to stay with him to not sacrifice my right rear. Once you get put three-wide middle, it’s game over. I gave up the lead trying to protect the top. Just didn’t have the loyalty there to kind of push me to the lead.”
“Overall, really good car. The No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet was extremely fast. Definitely know we can bring that to the Playoffs. Stinks to finish second, but feel like we had a really good car to go to battle with.” SAW YOU AND (KYLE) LARSON GET OUT OF THE CAR, BOTH SMILING, HIGH-FIVED A LITTLE BIT. WHAT WERE YOU DISCUSSING? DDI YOU HAVE A LOT OF FUN IN THE LAST COUPLE OF LAPS?“Yeah, it was fun; kind of like a speedway race. I was trying to back up to him about two to go. He kind of ran the bottom, so he didn’t have any momentum to push me.”
“Yeah, I don’t know what you do. You can only block so many lanes. I tried to block the top and cost myself first, but just part of it.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 CINCINNATI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 3rdTHIRD FOR KYLE LARSON. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE SO MUCH MORE. SO MANY MOVES BEING MADE OUT THERE. DESCRIBE WHAT IT’S LIKE RACING WILLIAM (BYRON) AND EVERYBODY ELSE TRYING TO GET THIS WIN. “Yeah the restart worked out a little better than I thought it was going to for me. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) tried to stick the 24 (William Byron) three-wide. They got loose. I got to the middle. I think came out third or something there. Was able to get to second.”
“Just made a couple bad moves, I guess. I think honestly just a little too patient behind the 12 (Ryan Blaney). Could have made some later, you know, dives I guess to the inside. Who knows. I need to watch the replay.”
“Just made a couple wrong moves, allowed William to get by me. Once I was in third, I hoped they would get racing, get side drafted. I was never close enough to William to help him generate a run on the 12. Ended up third. A good points day. Wish we could have had more, but all in all a good day for the Cincinnati Chevy.” THAT IS A HARD DECISION. YOU DON’T WANT THE DISASTER OF GETTING DUMPED IF THE MOVE ISN’T GOOD?“Yeah, I was probably honestly a little too — I had points on my mind a little bit too much. I’m looking in my mirror. I saw the 11 (Denny Hamlin) falling back some. I just didn’t want to screw it up really.”
“I felt like I had to weigh the risk versus reward. I could risk going for the win, not having it work out, end up 30 something and lose the point lead going into Daytona; or I could be a little bit more cautious, beat Denny by a couple spots, which is what we did.”
YOU HAVE TO HAVE THOSE POINTS ON YOUR MIND NEXT WEEK, TOO. GOT TO MAKE YOUR MIND HURT. “Yeah, I mean, I’m glad I gained some points on him today. But Daytona is Daytona. I don’t typically see the checkered flag I feel like too often there. We’ll see.”
“But glad to go in there with 28 points. If we could get a couple good stages there at Daytona, I would feel much better about it.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4th“I had an excellent No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE thanks to Matt McCall (Crew Chief) and all my Chip Ganassi Racing guys. They’re digging hard. The first little sequence, I knew we had a good car today. I just made a couple of mistakes in the aero-situational events. It’s like a mini-superspeedway race out there. And then you have handling mixed in because it’s a 2-mile track.” 
“We did really good today. We were right in the mix. Fourth-place is bittersweet. I wanted to win so bad. I had three different plans in my head and I cannot believe a Chevy didn’t win today.” 
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th “Man, we definitely wanted to finish better for Ally at their home track. We received some damage early on and we just battled tight conditions throughout the race. Just really tight. We made some gains on pit road, which was what we needed. We will come back strong in Daytona for the final race of the regular season.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th“It ended up being an OK day; it was just up and down. We got caught a lap down early with a loose wheel. The middle part of the race, there just wasn’t much going on. It was good to get back on the lead lap and at least salvage a top-20 out of it for our Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Medallion Bank Camaro ZL1 1LE. We were just tight all day and couldn’t really get it to do much other than that. We’ll go on and see what we can learn from it. Hopefully, we’ll go to Daytona (International Speedway) and get a win.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined in accident with Brad Keselowski on Lap 121 – Finished 36thTHE STAGE WAS OVER. WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND BRAD?“I was just trying to get as many Stage points as I could get right there and did a good job of side-drafting and came down to the apron and I’ve seen just one quick replay, but it was after the Start/Finish Line. I was starting to come up off the apron because it’s so rough down there. But I figured by that point, he would have given me a little room. I hate it. I’m thankful that the good Lord kept me safe today. That was a heck of a wreck, but I feel fine. I hate it for BREZTRI and my guys, most of all. The built a rocket ship. They really wanted this one, and I did too. Just working our tails off right there. I think we would have had a shot to do something there at the end with our race car. It’s the best race car we’ve brought to the track at RCR this year, I feel like. It’s just a bummer but we’ve got Daytona left and I just hate it. I don’t know why it happened, really. I thought I had a little room to come up and he just held me down there a little bit too long, I guess.” HOW DETERMINED ARE YOU TO WIN AT DAYTONA NEXT WEEK?“Very. The guys have worked so hard. You saw the equipment I had today and man it was so fast. I was having a blast out there racing like that. It’s fun to be able to do that. I’ve just got to thank ECR and RCR. But that one is probably done, and we’ll just bring another one next week to Daytona.”

BRAINERD, MN (August 22, 2021) — A week after he had one of the toughest races of his career during the Topeka Nationals Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang Funny Car team showed why they are a team that will be contending for the 2021 Funny Car championship. In the final qualifying session Wilkerson made one of the quickest passes of his career and set a new personal speed record running 334.40 mph to jump from eleventh to third in Funny Car qualifying. It was a monster run that set the team up for a first round match up with Jim Campbell the No. 14 qualifier.

The cool Minnesota conditions gave Wilkerson and car chief Richard Hartman the opportunity to put a lot of power to the racetrack on race day. The team picked up in the first round right where they left off from Saturday’s final qualifying session’s 3.883 second pass. Wilkerson was first off the starting line and never trailed in the race. It was an impressive run for a team that had to rebuild their race car last weekend and spent the week on the road to get ready for this event. His winning time of 3.934 seconds at 314.75 mph setup for a great quarterfinal race against J.R. Todd.

(Photo courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster for media use only)

“That was a good run for the first round,” said Wilkerson. “We made a killer run last night and I knew conditions would be good this morning. You can’t take Jim Campbell lightly so we wanted to be sure we got down the track.”

Wilkerson and Todd were the last pair of the second round and they were separated by approximately 1/1000^th of a second on performance. In one of the closest races of the quarterfinals Todd narrowly edged out Wilkerson for the win. Once again Wilkerson posted a great 3.929 second run showing what a good handle he has on his Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang Funny Car.

“We have a race car that can compete with anyone out here,” said Wilkerson. “I have to thank all the guys on the team that worked so hard after Topeka to get us ready for this race. We made some great runs and I feel good heading to Indy and going into the Countdown. The fans this weekend were amazing.”

For his efforts he effectively earned his twelfth consecutive berth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Wilkerson will most likely officially clinch his playoff spot at the conclusion of qualifying in two weeks. This will mark the fourteenth consecutive year he has finished in the top ten.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 4.031 sec, 318.24 mph; Qual. 9

Q2: 4.008 sec, 321.12 mph; Qual. 11

Q3: 3.883 sec, 334.40 mph; Qual. 3

Bonus Points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q3)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             3          .112     3.934   314.75 (W)

Jim Campbell              14        .131     6.537   104.31

Second Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             3          .079     3.929   320.97

J.R. Todd                      11        .067     3.931   326.87 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Matt Hagan, 865

2. Bob Tasca III, 850

2. J.R. Todd, 850

4. John Force, 849

5. Ron Capps, 840

6. Robert Hight, 782

7. Alexis DeJoria, 725

8. Cruz Pedregon, 712

9. Tim Wilkerson, 631

10. Blake Alexander, 470

Wilkerson Bounces Back with Strong Brainerd Nationals Performance

BRAINERD, MN (August 22, 2021) — A week after he had one of the toughest races of his career during the Topeka Nationals Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang Funny Car team showed why they are a team that will be contending for the 2021 Funny Car championship. In the final qualifying session Wilkerson made one of the quickest passes of his career and set a new personal speed record running 334.40 mph to jump from eleventh to third in Funny Car qualifying. It was a monster run that set the team up for a first round match up with Jim Campbell the No. 14 qualifier.

The cool Minnesota conditions gave Wilkerson and car chief Richard Hartman the opportunity to put a lot of power to the racetrack on race day. The team picked up in the first round right where they left off from Saturday’s final qualifying session’s 3.883 second pass. Wilkerson was first off the starting line and never trailed in the race. It was an impressive run for a team that had to rebuild their race car last weekend and spent the week on the road to get ready for this event. His winning time of 3.934 seconds at 314.75 mph setup for a great quarterfinal race against J.R. Todd.

(Photo courtesy of NHRA/National Dragster for media use only)

“That was a good run for the first round,” said Wilkerson. “We made a killer run last night and I knew conditions would be good this morning. You can’t take Jim Campbell lightly so we wanted to be sure we got down the track.”

Wilkerson and Todd were the last pair of the second round and they were separated by approximately 1/1000^th of a second on performance. In one of the closest races of the quarterfinals Todd narrowly edged out Wilkerson for the win. Once again Wilkerson posted a great 3.929 second run showing what a good handle he has on his Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang Funny Car.

“We have a race car that can compete with anyone out here,” said Wilkerson. “I have to thank all the guys on the team that worked so hard after Topeka to get us ready for this race. We made some great runs and I feel good heading to Indy and going into the Countdown. The fans this weekend were amazing.”

For his efforts he effectively earned his twelfth consecutive berth in the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Wilkerson will most likely officially clinch his playoff spot at the conclusion of qualifying in two weeks. This will mark the fourteenth consecutive year he has finished in the top ten.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 4.031 sec, 318.24 mph; Qual. 9

Q2: 4.008 sec, 321.12 mph; Qual. 11

Q3: 3.883 sec, 334.40 mph; Qual. 3

Bonus Points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q3)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             3          .112     3.934   314.75 (W)

Jim Campbell              14        .131     6.537   104.31

Second Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson             3          .079     3.929   320.97

J.R. Todd                      11        .067     3.931   326.87 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Matt Hagan, 865

2. Bob Tasca III, 850

2. J.R. Todd, 850

4. John Force, 849

5. Ron Capps, 840

6. Robert Hight, 782

7. Alexis DeJoria, 725

8. Cruz Pedregon, 712

9. Tim Wilkerson, 631

10. Blake Alexander, 470

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATIOLUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY, BRAINERD, MINNESOTA AUG. 22, 2021                                                                                                    Chevrolet points to regular-season finale at Indianapolis No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force sets Top Fuel track speed record at 334.98 mph

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 22, 2021) – Brittany Force drove the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster to her fifth National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier in a row, broke her own track speed record and advanced to the semifinals of the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
Force, who won for the 11th time in her career a week earlier, posted a track-record speed of 334.98 mph in earning her seventh top qualifier honor in 12 Top Fuel races as part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series regular season. A streak of five No. 1s was last accomplished by Larry Dixon in 2009.
After a solo run in the first round of eliminations, Force ran low elapsed time of the event at 3.672 seconds in defeating Antron Brown. A mechanical issue early in her semifinal pass prevented the Chevy dragster from advancing to the final for the fourth time this season.
To win this championship, yes we need to win races, but if we keep hanging in there, going rounds, No. 1 qualifiers, I know we’re still in a good position,” she said.
Teammates John Force, the No. 10 qualifier in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS, and No. 6 qualifier Robert Hight in the Automotive Club of Southern California Camaro SS, fell in the first round of Funny Car competition. Force has a 78-23 round record at Brainerd International Raceway, where he’s won 11 times.
Chevrolet Pro Stock drivers rejoin the schedule at the U.S. Nationals on Sept. 3-5 in Indianapolis. KB Racing’s Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, is the points leader as he seeks to tie Warren Johnson’s class record of 97 wins. Five different drivers of the Camaro SS have won at least once through the 10 races.
Drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro will also be in action in the sixth round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. COPO Camaro drivers have won four of the events, most recently by John Cerbone at Topeka.FOX will telecast eliminations from the U.S. Nationals live at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 5.
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/ FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “We’re still looking into what happened on that last run. It shook really hard and it wasn’t going to drive through it, it was going to go into tire smoke. Still trying to figure out what went wrong on the run. Overall, it was a good day. We made a semifinal round appearance. To win this championship, yes we need to win races, but if we keep hanging in there, going rounds, No. 1 qualifiers, I know we’re still in a good position. It’s in our range, we’re chasing it down, we’re going after that championship.”
FUNNY CAR:
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier, fell in first round; secured spot in Countdown to the Championship): “We’re definitely not where we want to be. Something happened, something mechanical, on that run. It shut off, I think it threw the clutch out of it. We have to get our act together. This is the time of the year where you better have everything together or you better be testing. That’s what this Auto Club Chevy is going to do.”
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 10 qualifier, fell in first round; secured spot in Countdown to the Championship): “That run was pretty exciting. That’s why I drive a fuel Funny Car. End of the day, every point counts, every round counts. What counts is making the Countdown or you don’t have a chance at winning the championship, and we did that this weekend. Didn’t go the way we wanted today. My best car, Robert Hight, was out, and I was right behind him. Luckily, Brittany went some rounds.”

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 22, 2021) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team rode the momentum from their Topeka win and five consecutive No. 1 qualifiers to a semifinal finish Sunday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. It was an early day for both John Force Racing Funny Cars with Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro and John Force with the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy going out in the first round. With her seventh No. 1 qualifying position of the season, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy dragster earned a bye first round of eliminations. Crew chiefs David Grubnic and Mac Savage took advantage of the stress-free run by going 3.680-seconds at 334.40 mph for lane choice over Antron Brown in the second round. The consistency continued as the Monster Energy team improved to run a stellar 3.672-seconds at 333.33 mph, the quickest pass of the event, to defeat Brown’s 3.771 at 315.78. The victory set Force up to run Clay Millican, a rematch from the final round at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka last weekend. The Monster Energy dragster would run into trouble almost immediately and have to shut off early for a 7.971-second run at 77.65 mph giving Millican and his 3.876 pass at 265.95 mph the win. “We’re still looking into what happened on that last run. It shook really hard and it wasn’t going to drive through it, it was going to go into tire smoke. Still trying to figure out what went wrong on the run. Overall, it was a good day, we made a semifinal round appearance. To win this championship, yes, we need to win races, but if we keep hanging in there, going rounds, No. 1 qualifiers, I know we’re still in a good position, it’s in our range, we’re chasing it down, we’re going after that championship.” After bumping up to the No. 6 qualifying spot off a clean 3.909-second run at 327.51 mph on Saturday evening, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy experienced a mechanical issue down track in the first round. The Camaro would shut off near the finish line for Hight to record a 3.988-second pass at 274.05 mph and be bettered by J.R. Todd’s 3.970 at 321.73. “Well, we’re definitely not where we want to be that’s for sure. Something happened, something mechanical, on that run. It shut off, I think it threw the clutch out of it,” said Hight who secured his spot into the NHRA Countdown to the Championship this weekend. “We have to get our act together. This is the time of the year where you better have everything together or you better be testing. That’s what this Auto Club Chevy is going to do.” Coming into the race with the points lead off his third win of the season, John Force and the PEAK Chevy struggled in qualifying with only one clean pass Friday afternoon that had them No. 10. Their positioning would put them against longtime rival Ron Capps in the first round. Force would go on a wild ride mid-track, nearly hitting the wall but keeping the PEAK Camaro in his lane. With a 6.205-second run a 112.01 mph Force would be bettered by Capps’ 3.953 at 323.35. “That run was pretty exciting, that’s why I drive a fuel Funny Car. End of the day, every point, every round counts. What counts is making the Countdown or you don’t have a chance at winning the championship and we did that this weekend,” said Force who drops to fourth in the points. “Didn’t go the way we wanted today. My best car, Robert Hight was out, and I was right behind him. Luckily Brittany went some rounds. We’ll see you all at Indy.” The Dodge//SRT NHRA U.S. Nationals, the final race of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series regular season, takes place September 3-5 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis. Teams will earn points and a half at the event as a last effort to gain points positions before the Countdown to the Championship begins and the points reset.

Garcia, Taylor, Catsburg second in GTE Pro; No. 64 Corvette endures hard-luck race

LE MANS, France (Aug. 22, 2021) – The mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R finished on the class podium in its 24 Hours of Le Mans debut Sunday with the trio of Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg placing second in the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. The debut of the mid-engine racing Corvette came a year later than originally planned due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. But the wait proved worth it with Corvette Racing showing its usual competitive spirit during its 21st race at Le Mans since 2000. “Today’s second-place result in GTE Pro for the No. 63 Corvette C8.R and drivers Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg is a significant achievement as we debuted the mid-engine Corvette C8.R at Le Mans,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “To be on the podium at Le Mans with the C8.R is very gratifying. It’s a testament to the hard work and determination of our Corvette production and racing teams.

“The support of Corvette owners and fans from around the world has been incredible,” Campbell added. “This race result is dedicated to our customers and supporters.” While the No. 63 Corvette ran in contention for the entire race, the No. 64 C8.R of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims seemingly ran into nothing but bad luck. It began on the roll-off from the grid when Milner was hit from behind by the eventual class-winning Ferrari at the beginning of the formation lap. The contact broke part of the diffuser, but the No. 64 Corvette ran well early and even led in a wet start with Milner going to the fore. He and Tandy cycled through and kept the No. 64 C8.R in contention before the diffuser finally broke in the fifth hour shortly after Sims’ first stint. It was the first of three visits to the garage for the No. 64 team, which also had to repair part of the gearbox, clutch and the alternator. Milner, Tandy and Sims – who set a GTE Pro record race lap of 3:47.501 – finished sixth in class.

On the No. 63 Corvette side of the garage, all three drivers drove double stints to open the race. Each of the trio led for a time as well as the race began to evolve into primarily a battle between Corvette and Ferrari, although five cars remained on the lead lap in GTE Pro at the halfway point. Things began evolve into a two-car race into the final six hours between the No. 63 C8.R and No. 51 Ferrari. The Corvette team kept it close and was able to triple-stint its Michelin tires in the late going but couldn’t make up the necessary ground. The No. 63 Corvette did, however, complete the entire 24 hours without a change of brakes. Corvette Racing returns to action in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Sept. 10-12 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTE PRO: “I don’t know if I prefer to be two seconds, 10 seconds, 40 seconds or three laps back. I think it hurts the same! We’ve been in that 30-second range between the two cars pretty much for 24 hours. I must say it does hurt a little bit. When you come so close, it’s difficult. But when you do your best, you run almost a perfect race and someone else does it a little better than you, you have to congratulate them. There is nothing we could do. I think we ran a perfect race regardless of our position. We finished second but very close for sure. They just did it 40 seconds better than us. I’m very happy for the team, the 63 crew, Jordan and Nicky – all six drivers had really, really good drives and helped develop this Corvette and for sure all the engineers. So even if the 64 had so much trouble, getting up to this point we have all been working together to get the most out of the C8.R. For sure, two of our cars up front would have put even more pressure on the 51. We were both alone so it was a one-on-one fight between Corvette and Ferrari. We were close. When you are up on the podium, you always want a tiny bit more. I would have liked to have given Corvette the first Le Mans win in the C8.R. Now we need to wait until next year and work harder.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R  – FINISHED SECOND IN GTE PRO: “That’s my fourth podium here. It’s hard to complain with a podium at Le Mans. But when you come this close, it’s difficult to take. The Corvette Racing guys did an amazing job. We didn’t have any issues with our car. We executed really well strategy-wise and in the pitlane and on the track, there were no mistakes. For our first run at Le Mans with the C8.R, we should be pretty proud of that to come home second against some cars that have run here the past few years. We learned a lot as a team and can come back stronger next year.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTE PRO: “It’s super nice. This is my third time at Le Mans, and the first two times we finished nowhere. To be in the fight right to the last lap was very cool. It went well. The C8.R was very good. I had some good stints and nothing really bad happened. I will go home with some positive feelings. P2 kind of feels like a loss, but on the way home I’ll be like, ‘We finished P2 at Le Mans. That’s not bad!’ We had a cool fight with the Ferrari, and I think we did well.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTE PRO: “It was a very frustrating race for us. It wasn’t taken away from us right at the start, but a pretty good indication looking at the damage from the contact before the race started with the Ferrari that it was going to be a big problem for us. It ended up being such that we had more problems after that. It’s hard to say if that initial damage caused some of the other problems we had. It’s very unfortunate and unlucky… unnecessary but in the end we turned it into a test session in a lot of ways. We tried to go as fast we could to learn as much as we could about the C8.R and find anything that in future may or may not be a problem. Our focus turned from going for a race win to helping the 63 guys do whatever it took to get them the win. Unfortunately that didn’t materialize; I think the Ferrari had just a little bit too much pace compared to everyone else. From our side, it’s disappointing but for the team, second place is a good result. It’s not the result we were all looking for but we can be happy about our performance today.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTE PRO: “Endurance racing is not an easy game. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. This time on our side of the garage, we didn’t have the smoothest of runs. But I really enjoyed the week. I’ve enjoyed being with Tommy and Alex being in the car again. I’m proud of how we managed to get the speed out of the car. Honestly, it’s probably the nicest racecar I’ve had to drive around this circuit – to be consistently fast and confidence-inspiring… I’m really proud of everyone who worked to give us a car with that performance. The reliability didn’t go our way this time, but we can be proud that we have one car on the podium. It’s a great experience with the new C8.R and hopefully we will come back fighting stronger next year.”

ALEXANDER SIMS NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTE PRO: “Everybody comes here to win, knowing that even if you have a super-fast car, there are so many opportunities for things not to go perfectly – reliability, drivers making mistakes, slow zones and safety cars. There are so many factors, and this time we had a couple of those go against us. Nevertheless, to get my first finish at Le Mans was good. I got a lot of great experience with the C8.R . It was brilliant to drive through the entire race. It’s a shame not using that pace to fight for the podium positions. I’m proud of the whole team. The effort they put in was remarkable. They got the changes made in the pits very, very quickly for such big fundamental changes that needed to be done. Well done to the 63 car for getting the podium. On to the next one.”

THAT’S A WRAP: Winger Wins Sixth of Season, Pierce Crowned 2021 Champion at MerrittWinger wins weekly points title, passes English for second in overall standings LAKE CITY, MI – Aug. 21, 2021 – The start of the 36th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals ushered in a new theme to the iconic Midwest dirt track racing circuit – evolution. A new schedule layout, a new championship format, a new points fund structure, new tracks… the list goes on. Two of the sport’s most talented, youthful drivers went through evolutions of their own over the course of the 29-race journey that spanned 28 tracks in nine states over two calendar months. All of it came to the forefront Saturday night in the season finale at Merritt Speedway. Bobby Pierce – the 24-year-old, newly crowned four-time Summer Nationals champion from Oakwood, IL – tasted evolution over time, seeing his already-decorated career cross into rare air with a fourth championship title, tying him for second-most in tour history with Brian Shirley and Shannon Babb. He also set a new personal best in single-season wins with 13 in 28 starts, or a win percentage of just over 46. “It’s been a while since I’ve won one of these, so to be back on top feels really nice,” Pierce said. Ashton Winger – the 21-year-old rising Super Late Model star from Hampton, GA – kicked off his campaign going through equipment, struggling to earn high-up finishes consistently. Fast forward to the end of August, and he put his Rocket Chassis #12 in the top-five in each of the last 12 races. Airforcealso put a cap on his season with a sixth Feature win Saturday night, collecting the Champions Week points title for an extra $2,000 and passing Tanner English in overall points to secure the runner-up rank. “First two weeks of this deal, I did nothing but crash,” Winger said. “We got the ball rolling a little bit there with a couple podiums, and I felt like we let a couple get away before we ended up winning our first one. “It’s been a really trying year. We had a really, really rough go at the beginning of the year. I’m really thankful that everything’s ended up the way it has. Hopefully, this is not our peak, and we’ve yet to reach that.” Winger began his night at Merritt on the right foot, winning Heat Race #3 and redrawing the pole for the Feature. Outside polesitter Travis Stemler, of Ionia, MI, got the jump on the outside groove and took the early lead, forcing Winger to find a way around him. “When Travis got me on the start there, I was beating myself up pretty bad for just not getting a better launch,” Winger said. While Winger chased down Stemler, consistently running the preferred bottom groove, Devin Moran found something on the middle-top side behind Winger and soon closed the gap to the #12. Winger immediately took notice, moved up to counter Moran’s run and wound-up finding more speed than he thought there would be. “I didn’t realize that top side would be as good as it was,” Winger said. “Hats off to the track crew – they made this thing as racey as it was.” Winger quickly reeled-in Stemler and made the pass for the lead as he crossed the stripe to complete Lap 17. Despite facing several waves of lapped traffic over the final 23 laps, Winger was able to maneuver through and maintain his gap to Moran, cruising across the line to collect the final $10,000 check of the season. Further back in the field was Pierce, who struggled to find the speed he needed to be a factor in the final Feature of the season. He wrapped up his 2021 Hell Tour campaign with a 12th-place result, but left with the biggest check of all, worth $29,000. “I’ve got to give a huge thanks to my dad, Bob Pierce Race Cars, all my crew guys that stuck it out with me this year. All my sponsors… it just takes a huge team effort. My mom, my girlfriend selling t-shirts, anyone that’s helped out there. Day-in and day-out in this heat, it’s a struggle, but when you’re running good, it’s a lot of fun,” Pierce said. The big checks on the wall of the garage look even better to those that helped win them, grinding it out on the trail of the Midwest’s most popular summertime Dirt Late Model series – the Hell Tour. Pierce has plenty of them, and he’s not even close to done with the 2021 racing season yet. “I think this is my 78th race this year,” Pierce said. “Everyone says the Summer Nationals is the ‘Hell Tour’ for a reason… well, we’ve been gone even more days than that. We don’t really get many days off.” And now what started 68 days ago is all said and done. The entire DIRTcar Racing family would like to thank each of the drivers, crews, sponsors, and fans that came out to support the Summer Nationals in its 36th consecutive year. Here’s to an even better 2022! ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (40 Laps) 1. 12-Ashton Winger[1]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 4-Travis Stemler[2]; 4. 42-Chad Finley[4]; 5. 81E-Tanner English[5]; 6. 83- Scott James[6]; 7. 27-Eric Spangler[9]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[8]; 9. 19X-Cody Bauer[7]; 10. 74-Mitch McGrath[10]; 11. 6M- Dona Marcoullier[11]; 12. 32-Bobby Pierce[12]; 13. 16B-Joey Burch[14]; 14. 4T-Andrew Terrill[16]; 15. M14-Brandon Thirlby[13]; 16. 11X-Ryan Lanphierd[17]; 17. 16-Mike Staszak[18]; 18. 03-JC Witherspoon[21]; 19. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]; 20. 15G-Jamie Grochowski[20]; 21. 14R-Jeff Roth[19]; 22. (DNS) 21N-Logan Nickerson MIGHTY MICHIGAN: Poel Earns Eleventh Career Victory in Season Finale at MerrittErickson runner-up in three-straight nights, Hoffman clinches championship The outside groove was faster, and Jacob Poel knew it. With one quick decision and the throttle down just a bit longer on the straightaway, he seized the opportunity to make the pass – and it worked. Now in command with nine laps remaining, Poel looked as if he were going to cruise to his first DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature win of the season, until the caution displayed with two-to-go. “I knew the track was probably better on the bottom, but under caution, I just kinda blew the crumbs off that middle and tried to get as much room as I could,” Poel said. But the Spring Lake, MI-driver stood his ground and defended the top spot from the wrath of Jeffrey Erickson on the green-white-checkered finish, who was starving for his first win with the tour after back-to-back runner-up finishes to pocket his first $1,500 Summit Modified check in the season finale at Merritt Speedway. Earlier in the race, Poel found the upper lane after getting stuck behind Brandon Bollinger. With the halfway point looming, he knew he had to go and make the move. “The track was a little dirty up there and I was like, ‘y’know, I didn’t come here to follow the leader and finish second, or even third,’” Poel said. With the win, Poel becomes the 10th driver to win a Feature with the tour this season. But doing most of the winning this year was a driver who put together the single most dominant season in Summit Modified history. It’s now official – Nick Hoffman has clinched his fourth career Summit Modified championship with an incredible 19 wins in 20 starts. He amassed 937 points – 23 shy of the maximum number of points a driver can earn under the new championship format. While he was unable to be with the tour to close out the season in Michigan as he originally planned, Hoffman is now cashing in on his stellar season and putting his talents to the test behind the wheel of the Scott Bloomquist Racing Late Model while the Hall-of-Fame driver recovers from injury. And now what started 68 days ago is all said and done. The entire DIRTcar Racing family would like to thank each of the drivers, crews, sponsors, and fans that came out to support the Summit Modifieds in its 11th year of competition. Here’s to an even better 2022! ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (30 Laps) 1. 82-Jacob Poel[3]; 2. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[1]; 3. 19B-Chad Bauer[5]; 4. 92-Caleb Kill[12]; 5. 47-Collin Thirlby[11]; 6. 242- Brandon Bollinger[2]; 7. 77-Joe Rokos[7]; 8. 36-Kenny Wallace[6]; 9. 99-Hunt Gossum[13]; 10. 42B-Bob Baldwin[9]; 11. 15H-Austin Harnick[19]; 12. 99B-Brent Banning[14]; 13. 1*-Wyatt Baker[15]; 14. 74-Jacob Flickinger[16]; 15. 15-Dave Baker[8]; 16. 4J-Paul Johnson[10]; 17. 20-Kevin Miller[22]; 18. 32-Scott Boyd Jr[20]; 19. 18-Dan Wierman[21]; 20. 95-Chuck Powell[18]; 21. 18S-Jacob Stuhr[4]; 22. 9-Garrett Rons[17]

DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).

Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.

LE MANS, France (Aug. 22, 2021) – The final dice have been cast in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Corvette Racing part of what is shaping up to be a two-team battle for victory in the GTE Pro category. Jordan Taylor ran second in the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R at the 18-hour mark and a little more than a minute behind the class-leading Ferrari. Taylor, Antonio Garcia and Nicky Catsburg were one of three cars still on the lead lap three-quarters into the race. Catsburg set the fastest GTE Pro lap of the race at the end of a storming triple stint with Garcia and Taylor each running strong doubles as the sun rose on Le Mans. Taylor was in the car as the clock struck 18 hours. More bad luck beset the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R of Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims. After being hit by another car rolling off the grid for the formation lap, the No. 64 Corvette lost time in the garage repairing its damaged diffuser plus repairs to the gearbox, clutch and alternator. It was classified as seventh in class with six hours to go.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “The pace during the night was quite OK. It seems like we are right there. Let’s hope we stay close to the Ferrari and stay in touch. In the end, it’s going to be a hard battle but the C8.R feels good. When the fuel load is going down, the car gets quicker and I was lucky to be out there at the right time of day. The track is getting faster and faster. It was a nice stint to dawn. Last evening it started to rain and it took a very long time to dry up completely. There was a dry line but as soon as you had to overtake, it was very difficult. Now the track is getting drier and it’s easier to attack so you can push the limits and overtake. The track is in very good shape right now.”

ND Native Collects 301st World of Outlaws Victory at Home TrackFARGO, ND – August 21, 2021 – Fargo fans got exactly what they wanted on Saturday night: a Donny Schatz W.After taking the lead from Logan Schuchart with eight to go at Red River Valley Speedway, the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion survived the final restart and ran away with his second victory of the 2021 season.As emotional that he was for his 300th career win, Schatz was equally as excited for his 301st.He offered a huge fist pump in victory lane and couldn’t thank the fans enough for their support. The roars of the packed crowd echoed through Cass County and random shoutings such as “WE LOVE YOU DONNY” and “YOU’RE THE GOAT” could be heard over the podium interviews.Schatz has now won 23 of his 301 career wins with The Greatest Show on Dirt inside his home state of North Dakota. Six of those 23 triumphs in the “Peace Garden State” have come specifically at Red River Valley, located just minutes away from his Fargo residence.Saturday’s win came in the first race back since he nearly stole his 11th Knoxville Nationals title last weekend. With a new Ford Performance (FPS410) Engine under the hood and newfound confidence, Schatz says he’s looking forward to these final 23 races in the 2021 season.”Winning at home is big, and it’s important,” Schatz said to a raucous crowd. “I mean, look at this crowd. You guys are incredible. It’s cliche, but I can’t thank you guys enough for the support, it means a lot to me. I’m 25 years into this deal, and I’m feeling better every day. I don’t know that I have another 25, but I know that I’ve still got a lot left in me.”Before Schatz thrilled his hometown crowd, Kasey Kahne sent the internet into a frenzy during Slick Woody’s Qualifying. In his first race as a “full-time” Outlaw, Kahne established a NEW TRACK RECORD (11.397 seconds) and made it four consecutive QuickTimes for the Roth Motorsports #83.Team Drydene Heat wins followed for Schatz, Schuchart & McFadden, but it was David Gravel earning his eighth pole position by topping the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.Gravel paced the opening lap of the Feature in his Big Game Motorsports #2, but in choosing the outside lane on the first restart, he chose poorly. Schuchart scooted by with a slide job into turn one and Gravel eventually succumbed to Schatz on Lap 11 as he faded to third.As the cross flags waved with 15 down and 15 to go, Schatz picked up the pace and quickly caught Schuchart in a battle for the lead. Fans were treated to a thrilling show through lap traffic as the #15 and the #1S dueled for a handful of laps, even going three-wide with the backmarkers.Schatz officially took command on Lap 22, moments prior to the final caution being called for Marcus Dumesny on Lap 24. He aced the final restart and went challenge free to the checkered flag ahead by 2.636-seconds as his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Carquest #15 made it two wins in 2021.”We haven’t had the greatest year, but we’re past 300, we’re onto the 301, and now we want 302,” Schatz mentioned. “We’re hitting on all cylinders right now. This is a new Ford powerplant under the hood. Things have been way better with this. It’s a lot easier for me to drive, and we can do the things that we couldn’t earlier this year. Hats off to Ford Performance, and every single one of our partners for sticking with us. We’ve lacked speed at the end of the races, and these past few weeks there’s been a huge difference. I’m feeling really good going forward.”While Schatz walked away with the win, mayhem broke loose in the battle for second as a three-way war ensued.Ultimately, David Gravel ended the night with a runner-up finish. The Big Game Motorsports #2 didn’t get the W they wanted, but they’ll now head to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday with the championship runner-up slot back in their grasp.”I feel bad for my guys,” Gravel acknowledged. “I chose the top and gave up the lead, and I think that is what took us out of contention for the win. If I didn’t make that big move at the end, I think we’d run fourth tonight. Starting on the pole, you always want to win so it’s a bit disappointing. It’s been a good year, but we need to start picking up some more wins.” Rounding out the podium for the seventh time this year was James McFadden aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing, Karavan Trailers #9. He sealed his deal for a top-three in the midst of a wild three-wide move with Gravel and Schuchart on the Lap 24 restart.”That was a lot of fun, mate,” McFadden offered. “It was treacherous up top. A real fine line between ripping or falling off. This place reminds me of home. It’s always fun when you run better and we’ve been doing that lately.”Closing out the top-10 at Red River Valley was early leader Logan Schuchart in fourth, NOS Energy Drink pilot Sheldon Haudenschild in fifth, championship leader Brad Sweet in sixth, Jason Johnson Racing’s Carson Macedo in seventh, 360 Nationals champion Giovanni Scelzi in eighth, KSE Hard Charger Kraig Kinser in ninth, and Shark Racing driver Jacob Allen in tenth.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series wraps up the weekend tomorrow, Sunday, August 22 at Huset’s Speedway. The Pioneer Bin Buster Bash marks the 50th all-time appearance by The Greatest Show on Dirtin Brandon, SD. Tickets are available to BUY HERE.NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$10,000]; 2. 2-David Gravel [1][$6,000]; 3. 9-James McFadden [5][$3,500]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$2,800]; 5. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [10][$2,500]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,300]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo [9][$2,200]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [3][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$2,050]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$2,000]; 11. 83-Kasey Kahne [7][$1,600]; 12. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [12][$1,400]; 13. 2C-Wayne Johnson [17][$1,200]; 14. 20G-Noah Gass [14][$1,100]; 15. 47N-Marcus Dumesny [15][$1,050]; 16. 13-Mark Dobmeier [22][$1,000]; 17. 7S-Jason Sides [20][$1,000]; 18. 6N-Greg Nikitenko [21][$1,000]; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle [24][$1,000]; 20. 20A-Jordan Adams [16][$1,000]; 21. 14T-Tim Estenson [19][$1,000]; 22. 8-Jack Croaker [23][$1,000]; 23. 9N-Wade Nygaard [11][$1,000]; 24. 55-Nick Ranten [13][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1, Logan Schuchart 2-21, Donny Schatz 22-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 11K-Kraig Kinser[+9]NEW Championship Standings (57/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (7,588); 2. David Gravel (-136); 3. Carson Macedo (-142); 4. Donny Schatz (-246); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-264); 6. Logan Schuchart (-296); 7. James McFadden (-716); 8. Kraig Kinser (-916); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1186); 10. Jacob Allen (-1394).

Larson holds off Gustin for Battle at the Border Victory It’s the Elk Grove, CA driver’s second career World of Outlaws Late Models winHARTFORD, OH – August 21, 2021 – Kyle Larson proved Saturday night that not even “the reaper” could kill his winning momentum.The Elk Grove, CA driver – who now has five World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model starts and only a handful of Late Model races under his belt in general – looked like Late Model veteran at Sharon Speedway, leading every lap of the “Battle at the Border.” It’s his second Series victory in three starts this season, and of his career, adding to the plethora of trophies he’s already collected amongst a multitude of different racing disciplines in 2021.   While the record book will show Larson never relinquished the lead, “The Reaper” took a few swings at the 2021 Prairie Dirt Classic and Knoxville Nationals champion. Ryan Gustin used the cushion to make a late-race charge, pulling even with Larson’s Longhorn Chassis in the closing laps.   The battle forced Larson to change his line, keeping “The Reaper” at bay until the checkered flag.   “I heard [Gustin] going into [Turn 1], and I saw him coming out of [Turn 2],” Larson said. “We kind of drag raced down the backstretch, and he tried to run in and pinch me and kind of block my slider, but I was able to have enough room to get in front of him and kind of get up on the wheel from there. “The top of [Turns 1 and 2] was definitely better when I got up there, and I just had to not make too many mistakes once I got up there.”  The $10,000 victory came on the type of surface Larson said best suited his driving style – one he’s still fine tuning for the Late Models. “I feel like when a track is like that is when I’m best,” he said. “When I don’t have to run the top, I don’t have to try and run the bottom, I can kind of use momentum and use the middle to be good.  “That’s kind of how [All-Tech Speedway] was, and [Fairbury Speedway] a little bit, so yeah, I think my car is good in those conditions, and I don’t have to be so precise.”  Gustin brought the crowd to their feet and made his name known with one of the closest attempts of dethroning Larson for a win, while in search of his first Series win. The Marshalltown, IA driver made an impressive run from 14th to third before a caution with 13 laps left gave him the breakthrough he needed. “[Brandon Sheppard] gave me the outside on that restart, and I knew I had to make the best of it, otherwise he was going to find it and go up there,” Gustin said.  Gustin pounded the cushion off the restart, giving him a chance to catch Larson and try to pass him for the win. Even though he came up short, “The Reaper” knew he left everything on the racetrack.  “We gave it all we had, but we got beat by the best driver in the world as far as I’m concerned,” Gustin said. “Nothing to hang your hat on there, but I wish he wouldn’t have been here, so we could’ve gotten our first [win].” Three-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished third, his 19th podium finish of the season.  The New Berlin, IL driver stated he was happy with the car and feels they aren’t far from rattling off a few more wins.  “We were decent; we were just a little bit free in that Feature,” Sheppard said. “The team’s working their butts off. We’re right there on the cusp of being really good like we’ve been for a long time. We just have to get all of our ducks in a row.” Tyler Bruening crossed the line fourth—his second top-five of the weekend. Colton Flinner, from Allison Park, PA, rounded out the top-five.   Even though Larson’s experience in a Late Model is limited, he hasn’t shown it. As “Yung Money” gets more comfortable, one can only imagine what he can accomplish in the future. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet finish their Northeast swing on Sunday, Aug. 22 at Eriez Speedway in Erie, PA.  If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online or through the DIRTVision App. Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 6-Kyle Larson [1][$10,000]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin [14][$6,000]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$3,500]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [4][$2,800]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner [5][$2,500]; 6. 99X-Boom Briggs [9][$2,300]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [13][$2,200]; 8. 1X-Chub Frank [10][$2,100]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [7][$2,050]; 10. 22-Gregg Satterlee [6][$2,000]; 11. B1-Brent Larson [15][$1,600]; 12. 10-Jared Miley [11][$1,400]; 13. 77-Tyler Dietz [22][$1,200]; 14. 1Z-Logan Zarin [19][$1,100]; 15. 9-Levi Yetter [12][$1,050]; 16. 44-Chris Madden [8][$1,000]; 17. 76-Steve Kania [24][$1,000]; 18. 50-Ryan Missler [20][$1,000]; 19. 111V-Max Blair [3][$1,000]; 20. 19-Bob Dorman [16][$1,000]; 21. 777-Doug Drown [21][$1,000]; 22. 119-Chad McClellan [17][$1,000]; 23. 99B-Logan Jaquay [23][$1,000]; 24. 12B-Andy Boozel [18][$1,000] Hard Charger Award: 19R-Ryan Gustin[+12] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 16.637; 2. 111V-Max Blair, 16.651; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 16.764; 4. 10-Jared Miley, 16.951; 5. 7-Ricky Weiss, 17.062; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 17.125; 7. 99X-Boom Briggs, 17.15; 8. 22-Gregg Satterlee, 17.19; 9. 12B-Andy Boozel, 17.391; 10. 777-Doug Drown, 17.451; 11. 77-Tyler Dietz, 17.674; 12. 1Z-Logan Zarin, 17.739; 13. 99B-Logan Jaquay, 17.829; 14. 76-Steve Kania, 18.029 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 16.866; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening, 16.876; 3. 28-Dennis Erb, 16.91; 4. 9-Levi Yetter, 17.233; 5. 1X-Chub Frank, 17.277; 6. 14R-Clay Ruffo, 17.361; 7. 119-Chad McClellan, 17.454; 8. 48-Colton Flinner, 17.502; 9. 50-Ryan Missler, 17.608; 10. 19-Bob Dorman, 17.972; 11. 43X-Garrett Mott, 18.093; 12. 27W-Eric Wilson, 18.253; DQ. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 17.425; DQ. 217-Howard Fraley, 18.46

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY, MADISON, ILLINOIS TEAM CHEVY – POST RACE RECAP AUGUST 21, 2021 JOSEF NEWGARDEN WINS AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY FOR THIRD TIME CHEVROLET DRIVERS SCORE TOP-FIVE FINISHING POSTIONS AND SIX OF TOP-EIGHT 

• Chevrolet sweeps podium under the lights at World Wide Technology Raceway 
• Chevrolet drivers capture top-five finishing positions and six of the top-eight
• With runner-up finish, Pato O’Ward takes a 10 point lead in the driver standings with three races remaining in the season
• Three Chevrolet powered organizations represented in top-five finishers

 MADISON, ILL (AUGUST 21, 2021) – Josef Newgarden came to World Wide Technology Raceway with his focus set squarely on doing everything he could to continue his march to secure his third NTT INDYCAR Series title.  
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion took his third place starting position, avoided near disaster in the race that was slowed by caution six times for a total of 49 lap and drove to Victory Lane for the second time this season and the third time at the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis. 
It was the 20^th career win for Newgarden and the sixth win for Chevrolet in 2021 with 13 races in the books. Newgarden now sits third in the point standings, just 22 points behind the leader. 
Pato O’Ward finished second after starting fifth.  He was credited for leading once for one lap and as his championship rivals were caught up in on-track incidents impacting their finishing positions, the young Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet driver executed a well-planned race, and is now is the leader in the driver standings with a 10 point advantage going into the final three races. 
Pole winner Will Power brought his No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet to the checkered flag in third place to make it a Chevy sweep of the podium. Power led once for one lap and continued on the momentum he built with a strong win at the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 
Scott McLaughlin continues his remarkable rookie season with a fourth-place finish in the No. 3 Dex Imagining Team Penske Chevrolet. Rounding out the all-Chevy top-five was four-time Series’ champion Sebastien Bourdais driving the No. 14 Rokit AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. 
Former champion and Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud rebounded from an early race incident to finish eighth in the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet.
TOP CHEVROLET UNOFFICIAL FINISHING POSITIONS1^stJOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET2^nd      PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET3^rd        WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET4^th       SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET5^TH       SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET8^TH      SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET11^th      CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET12^th     DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET16^th     FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET21^st      RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET22^nd     ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE CHEVROLET
Rosenqvist retired from the race due to a mechanical issue. VeeKay and Carpenter were caught in on-tract incidents and sustained too much damage to continue in the race. A total of nine of the 24 starters were in the paddock when the checkered flag flew as a result of several multi-car incidents.  Next on the schedule is the Portland Grand Prix, Portland International Raceway (Oregon) on September 12, 2021.
DRIVER QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – RACE WINNERON A WILD NIGHT THAT SAW SO MANY CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS HAVE SOME MISFORTUNE, THIS WAS THE ULTIMATE ELIXIR, RIGHT, TO GET YOU RIGHT BACK IN THE TITLE HUNT?“Yeah, any win is big. It’s been disappointing on a couple of these last events because I felt like we’ve had winning cars. Obviously, Nashville wasn’t supporting for us. It was tough to have a not-so-good-race in your hometown. And the GP wasn’t great. We came here with just an amazing car. Scott McLaughlin tested for us. He made a whole new package for us. I’m real thankful for my team and teammates and just happy to be falling back into this chase with Team Chevy and having Sonsio on the car tonight was good. “Team Penske is good here. I’m so proud of this team! Team Chevy did awesome as you can tell! Great Mileage. Great Performance. This is so good.” LET’S GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING WHERE THERE WAS SOME CONTACT WITH SIMON PAGENAUD. AT THAT POINT, HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU ABOUT THE RACE CAR?“I was real concerned that we were going to have a tire going down. I knew his front wing had touched my left rear. I wasn’t sure how bad it was. I picked up a vibration and I think it ended up just being a bent rim. So, we got really lucky it didn’t get worse, but I knew our car was good. I was like if we can make it through this stint, and not compromise our positioning, then we’re going to be just fine.” GOING TO THE FINAL STINT, HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU THAT YOU HAD THE CAR TO BEAT AND THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP PATO O’WARD AND THE REST OF THE FIELD AT BAY?“I felt good about it. I was real confident we had the car if nothing silly happened. So, at that point, I was feeling good about things.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED 2NDLATE IN THE RACE WITH NEWGARDEN ON THE RESTART, DID YOU KNOW HEY, I’M THE POINTS LEADER? DID IT GO INTO YOUR MINDSET AT ALL?“I knew we were having a good points day. And I just had to keep my nose clean the whole race. Obviously, it would have been great to win. I think I had the car to win. Man, these Penske guys were really, really tough. It was really tough to get by them. I think we maximized today. I think we truly did. So, I’m proud of the Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 crew.” WE HEAD TO THE WEST COAST FOR THE LAST THREE RACES. YOU ARE THE POINTS LEADER IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES‘Yeah, there are still three races to go. But this is definitely the right way we want to go. So, we need to continue pushing.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3RDSOMETIMES YOU CAN FINISH 3^RD AND SAY I HAD A LITTLE BIT LEFT IN ME AND OTHER TIMES YOU CAN SAY I GOT THE MOST OUT OF IT. WHICH WAY DID THIS ONE GO?“I was really lucky to finish third. I really didn’t have the car, honestly. I was definitely not as quick as the guys in front.” HOW DRAINING IS A TRACK LIKE THIS? IT IS HOT OUT HERE“It wasn’t bad until the end there and we were pushing really hard. Not terrible. Just a little tired like mentally tired in a long race like that. I got a bit tired at the end there, like mentally tired. I was physically fine.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGINING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FIINISHED 4^TH: “I feel like I jumped in a sand pit. I have sand up and down my back and its disgusting. BUT, it was an awesome day for us with the Dex Imaging Chevy. I had a decent car. I fell back at the start so I probably didn’t pick the right hole, I took it a little safe I suppose, but then on the third or fourth or 10^th restart, whatever we had, they were crazy starts, but I really got into it, and got comfortable. We got ourselves in a nice position there. We were able to get a good finish.“We tested here a while back, and my feedback translated to good performance gain for all the guys and I am really proud of that. I’m learning the car and getting more comfortable in it and learning to trust the car and myself. Really proud of the Dex Imaging Chevrolet. We had great fuel mileage and I can’t wait for what’s ahead.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – FINISHED 5THYOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE COMPLETELY WORN OUT BY THAT RUN. THAT WAS A HECK OF A NIGHT. TAKE US THROUGH YOUR TOP 5 FINISH“Honestly, I’m still not quite sure how we didn’t cycle in the lead when the yellow came out and we basically stopped one less time than everybody else, I think. And we stopped after the yellow. But I don’t know. I’ll have to look at it. But I didn’t quite understand at the time and I really thought shit, we’re actually going to be in the lead! But anyway. I didn’t have the fastest car but the car was still pretty solid. I was really trying to bring it to the end because I had that feeling like after the start and looking at all the chaos and the aggressivity and things, one yellow after another, finishing was actually going to be some valuable points. So, yeah I guess we were well inspired this time because there was definitely a lot of attrition and a top-5 finish with the ROKiT No. 14 Chevrolet is definitely a good result for us.” ON THE STRATEGY AND PIT STOPS“It was a total team effort for sure. Good strategy, good pit stops, and didn’t make any mistakes on track or in the pits. Actually, if that yellow doesn’t come out, I’m quite sure how it works out. But we’re going to do one less than some of the guys, so for sure. Anyways, we’ll take a top-5; and not really being able to pass anyone because there really wasn’t any passing, is a heck of a result.” POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:THE MODERATOR: We have joined by the third-place finisher, Will Power. Power’s fourth podium of the season, 85th now of his career. That seems like a lot. Pato O’Ward, fifth podium of the season as he now takes over the overall points championship. He’s up 10 over Alex Palou with just three races remaining in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.Will, tell us about your night.WILL POWER: Yeah, actually I was really happy to finish third. Definitely didn’t have the car to challenge for the win. Yeah, struggled a little bit to get the car in a window.Just did a really clean race, clean pit stops, no mistakes. Yeah, stoked to be third.THE MODERATOR: Clean certainly because there’s a lot of attrition early on. Just staying clean was key. There was one point in the race, maybe the third stint, you lost some ground. Difficult to tell exactly what happened.WILL POWER: That was when everyone was saving fuel. You literally have to lift at the start/finish line. If you wanted to burn more fuel to pass someone, which a couple guys did to me, you could. I lost track position doing that. I could have burnt more fuel. But I was playing the long game. I wanted to get that number and made sure we went a couple laps longer.Ultimately I should have kept the track position. Nothing much would have changed to be honest. The guys that I was fighting, most of them just fell out, so it didn’t matter. I don’t think I was going to beat Newgarden or Pato.THE MODERATOR: Pato, congratulations. Another podium. Perhaps more importantly you now take over the points championship. How big is this for you?PATO O’WARD: It’s a very big points day for us. To be honest, man, it’s so tight. There’s still three races to go, 150 points on the table. Yeah, I mean, this means we’re going on the right path. We came off a solid run in Indy road course, now we have a podium with second. It would be great to rack up a couple more, a few more podiums.Yeah, man, we’re just going to push until the checkered flag waves in Long Beach and see where we stand.THE MODERATOR: Speaking of pushing, were you content with the podium? Were you thinking championship maybe versus the win?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, man, I was happy. In a perfect world, it’s not ideal that Josef beat us. But, man, the guy had everything to win it. He had so much pace. I honestly didn’t have anything to challenge him.The only way I could have maybe challenged him was if we got stuck behind lapped cars. But they were all very respectful, which is completely fine. Yeah, that’s a change (smiling).Yeah, I couldn’t really get close enough. I didn’t want to throw away a second.THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for questions.Q.What did you think of the racing tonight? Scott Dixon said it was erratic, race control needs to look at it. What did you two think?PATO O’WARD: In the beginning of the race, I mean, I was alongside — I will remain not saying their name, but I was alongside…Q.Say it.PATO O’WARD: No. I think you guys know who. I was alongside him. But people know who they can race dirty or not. I had a lot to lose today, and they know that. Yeah, they’re just taking advantage of what position they’re in in terms of the championship because it’s almost finishing.Other than that, after the first — honestly, I wasn’t even keeping track when it was, but after the first hundred laps, my race calmed down a lot actually. But the start was pretty hectic.I don’t know what you think, Will.WILL POWER: It was me, wasn’t it (laughter)? That was the person. No, just kidding.Actually, it was all behind me. I didn’t have any issues with anyone. I didn’t see anything. Everyone was saying after the race it was a very crazy race. For me, it was a pretty straightforward, no issues with anyone. Yeah, I didn’t fight Herta very hard at the beginning because it’s such a long race.Yeah, it didn’t matter in the end, so… I just wanted to finish this race. I wasn’t that good, so just wanted to get through it, no mistakes. Yeah, I’ll be interested to watch to see what went on.Q.Pato, the restart where VeeKay and Dixon and Palou were in their incident, TV said they thought you had backed out a little bit, you were racing safe. At any point were you racing safe?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I was fully alongside Rossi. I guess he doesn’t look in his left mirror here. He just turned in, so I had to slam on the brakes so I didn’t crash. Marcus had to, as well, because we were going three-wide into there.I’m assuming that is what caused the checkup behind for sure. For me it was even sudden and pretty aggressive, yes.Q.(No microphone.)PATO O’WARD: I mean, I was trying to make positions when I could. I mean, it’s so important. It’s such a long race. Sometimes it’s not really so good to be risking so much in the beginning just because, I mean, so many things can fall.Yeah, I was trying to make positions when I could. I mean, I had a run. It wasn’t like I was going to brake and let Hunter-Reay and Sato and everyone behind by, I had to pull out. I did but I got blocked.WILL POWER: Sounded like it was Rossi (smiling). Just kidding.Q.There seemed to be questions, the first couple of restarts, even the start, that the starts were way too slow. They were coming up in first gear, stacking everybody up. How did you feel about that?WILL POWER: I actually did the start. I started in first gear. They told me first gear. Go at this point. I did exactly what they said. After that it was Colton. Let’s see, you know more.PATO O’WARD: I can’t remember who it was. It wasn’t Will because I think you were in the first and second restart. First restart, yeah. I think it was either the third or fourth restart.The problem was, the guys were starting to accelerate. Everybody is like, Okay, we’re going. They would stop and then go. That’s what makes the checkup so much. I don’t know why it’s so hard to comprehend. Man, just stay in one throttle, then go. It’s so simple.But when guys just go, then stop, everybody behind us, I mean, at least with me, if you’re fourth or fifth in the line, you see the first jump a little bit, let’s go. If not, you just get eaten. They stop, you stop, you’re relying on the guys behind to stop, it just creates chaos.Q.Early in the race we saw the high line getting used, especially in three. Did it marble up?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, just all the marbles at the end of the race. Really, I didn’t use the second groove. I had big wiggles when I tried so I stopped.WILL POWER: Yeah, I think it would be awesome if it got rubbered in. You would see one of the best races you’ve ever seen. It would be like Iowa. Yeah, I don’t know how they do that.I was speaking to the guys that run the track. Do you grind up there? Do you do something that adds a lot of grip? That’s what needs to be done. It just makes the racing so much better, so much better when you got a second groove to go to, especially on the outside.Yeah, you’ve literally got 10 laps maybe beginning of the race to do that, then it’s gone.Q.Now that the last oval is out of the way, you have a couple weeks off before the three-week stretch to finish out the season. How do your respective teams prepare for three weeks out west?WILL POWER: Yeah, we tested out there for our team. I know those guys tested, as well. Yeah, there’s not much you can do now. We’ll do some sim work. Pretty quick weekends, too. I think they’re shorter weekends. Not much practice.It will be an interesting three races, as tight as the championship is. It always is this way. I’ve never seen someone wrap it up in all my 15 years in INDYCAR, no one’s wrapped it up the race before the last race. It never happened. Looks like the same here.PATO O’WARD: Which was the question again?Q.How does your team prepare?PATO O’WARD: We prepare like we have been preparing the whole year, I guess. Now championship is more into the mindset of just really be aware of who we’re racing and when. But, yeah, I mean, to make your life easier, you score more points than the guys you’re fighting. It’s not really as easy as it sounds (smiling).Q.Last week you were pretty frustrated at your race at Indy. Is there any frustration at not getting the top step tonight? Are you happy given what’s going on with the championship right now?PATO O’WARD: I was happy. We did a really good race. I think I did a really smart — I think I maximized every little bit I could out of our car. But Josef was just really quick. The Penskes in general were just really, really quick.So, yeah, I mean, I think for us it was a really good day.Q.Was it difficult to balance the level of aggression towards the end knowing you wanted to get Josef?PATO O’WARD: Yeah, I tried to catch him. I could get within I think 3 or 4/10ths. That’s as close as I could. If not, I was risking too much of getting some takeoff understeering into the marbles. Like I said, I needed him to have his wings messed up with a car in front for me to be able to get more of a run.When one car has clean air and the one behind doesn’t, the pace is very similar, it’s pretty much impossible to get by them.Q.Will, with four Penske cars in the top eight tonight, what has changed at Penske?WILL POWER: Well, nothing really. I mean, like I said at Indy, it wasn’t due to lack of trying or hard work. Obviously there’s a bit of bad luck in there. Yeah, nothing’s changed. I think we’re just kind of seeing our true potential right now, yeah.When you look at Newgarden’s pace all year, it really is not a lack of performance. It’s just a lack of just circumstance. Yeah, I mean, I expect us to be competitive for the next three races.Q.Pato, given the intense ups and downs of the championship fight, how have you balanced that mentally with the high stakes of this year’s close competition?PATO O’WARD: I mean, you try not to think about it too much because there’s so much racing. Whenever it’s so competitive like this series in INDYCAR, just a lot can shift in one race, as we saw today.You just always try to maximize every session you’re in, whether it’s practice, qualifying, race. Obviously the race counts way more than others. Yeah, I mean, you kind of just have to weigh it out and understand who you’re racing against.Too bad this guy beat us today so he’s closer in the championship to me. He did a great job.THE MODERATOR: Obviously joined now by Josef Newgarden, for the third time a winner here, second win of the season, 20th now of his career. We talked earlier about the championship. Josef now 22 points out of first place.Congratulations. It’s a whole new ballgame now for the last three races of the season, isn’t it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I think so. It definitely helps a lot. I was surprised when I saw the early wreck. Will and me were talking about it. Yeah, everyone was good, which is great. But it’s about time we got something to come our way a little bit. That’s what it felt like.Yeah, it does help a lot. It helped a lot today. A win helps a lot. The team did a great job. Will was super quick this weekend. I thought Scott McLaughlin did a great job for us. He came and tested here. He’s a rookie that never has driven on ovals before this year. He helped develop a lot of the things I ran on the car here.Everybody did a great job of pitching in this weekend. We had great cars. The circumstances have played favorably into helping us get back into this race, which is what we’ve been working towards. I feel really confident about where we’re going.THE MODERATOR: The big announcement at Iowa Speedway this week where you have won three times. These types of tracks seem to be right in your wheelhouse? How are you so comfortable at tracks like this?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’ve always liked short ovals. I think it’s some of the most fun racing out there. It’s fun to drive these type of cars on these type of tracks. It’s hard competing against Pato and Will at these type of tracks, too. I mean, I’m pretty sure whether it’s Iowa or here, these are the guys I’m racing. It’s not a given. They’re going to be very strong next year, too.I’m excited to see it back on the schedule. Past success doesn’t necessarily mean future success. We got to stay vigilant. Yeah, I love the style of racing. I would put a lot more short ovals on the calendar if we could. I’d love to go back to Milwaukee, if we can figure that out. Iowa I think is a big favorite for everybody. To have a doubleheader is pretty cool.I hate when we have these dinky little champaign bottles. This is awesome. Everywhere we should have big bottles like this. I know the boss, so I’ll put in a good word.THE MODERATOR: We will let Pato and Will go and continue with questions for Josef.Q.You had a bit of a collision with Simon. What happened on the backstretch?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I knew we touched, his right front wing to my left rear wheel. I knew that. I was just concerned after it, I didn’t know if I had a tire going down or not immediately. I think it was just a bent rim. Fortunately that didn’t turn into something more significant somehow. I just had a vibration after the contact.Yeah, we obviously had some sort of miscommunication. For me I thought he was making a move, I swung back out wide, went in pretty deep. It didn’t look like he got into the corner deep enough on me. I started to kind of come down so I wasn’t in the marbles. Looked like we just touched from where he was still at getting into the corner.I would say a bit of a miscommunication. We don’t normally get together very often. It’s been a long time since I’ve touched with a teammate. It happens. Fortunately it wasn’t more significant. I hate to see that it broke his front wing. I came out better of that mix for sure. It only damaged my rim, was able to continue. It obviously ruined his race. I don’t like seeing that. Unfortunately it happened.Q.From the manufacturer’s standpoint, Chevy was first through fifth. How is that for Chevy as a manufacturer?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Stellar. I think Chevy has been doing a great job for us. Real proud to represent them as always. Had everything I needed tonight as far as fuel, power, reliability. Couldn’t ask for more.Q.With how your season really started with just a string of bad luck, now two race wins, how big of a morale boost is this for you and the team?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Any win is positive. Everyone is going to be really happy about that. Yeah, I’m pumped for the crew. I felt like we’ve been very competitive all the way through this summer, to be quite honest.I don’t know that we needed a big jolt of confidence. We needed definitely some more consistency. Last weekend hurt us. It was a small mistake that kind of derailed the weekend with not getting qualifying right. Mostly that was on me. Just not setting my gap correctly. A small little mistakes like that can affect you from winning the race or finishing eighth.I think when I look at our overall performance, our capability, do we have the capability to come to most tracks or every track and win the race? Yeah, I do. As far as a confidence standpoint, it’s been really strong. But a win, to seal that off, obviously it cements things. I think that’s always positive. Whenever we can get ’em, we’ll take ’em.We’re going to need some more. This is kind of the situation we’ve been in. Road America didn’t help us, a couple other races that didn’t help us this year. We’re not where we want to be points-wise. But we’re clawing back. We said we would and we are.Q.The end of the race, how important was it you did not catch Tony Kanaan?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know that it was critical. If I had a preference, I probably would like to not get there. So, yeah, it’s a game. I just turned into a time game at the end, how you want to manage gaps, how fast you really want to go. It’s a little bit boring. Probably didn’t look very entertaining.It’s definitely a game that you’re playing, trying to figure out what’s the best way to run the car to finish the race, not use it up, not get passed, keep the thing clean.It wasn’t critical we catch him. My preference was to not catch him.Q.You could feel the air getting disturbed and it messing you up?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, honestly I don’t think it would have been very different if we caught him 20 laps sooner. I don’t. It disturbs the car. It’s been tough to drive here in the turbulence. I don’t think we probably have the degradation of the tire perfect where we should have it for incredible racing.But it’s hard to create that perfect storm. It’s a moving target every track, trying to get the conditions and the tire and the downforce, it’s just really hard to nail it, exactly where it needs to be.Yeah, I guess to answer your question, I don’t know that it would have made a big difference.Q.Dixon said it was erratic and crazy driving out there tonight, race control needs to look at it. Did you see any of that, share that sentiment?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I saw it last week. When I started 20th last week, I was just trying to protect my race car. First stint of the race, I was about getting run into three or four times. Literally was just trying to not wreck while being aggressive and going forward myself.Yeah, I mean, I think people are driving aggressively these days. They really are. You almost have to match it to some degree because if you don’t you just get run over. You’re sitting there going, Why are you running me over? Doesn’t matter who is right or wrong at that point, you still got ran over, right?I would agree with him. Everyone just drives real aggressive these days. They push the cars to the limits, they push how much they can touch or not touch. With these cars you can touch a lot, generally get away with it. I think people are pushing over the edge of that at times.I definitely feel and understand and probably agree with him that people are driving pretty aggressively these days.Q.In the other series I cover, there’s allegedly a hierarchy where veterans will talk to the younger guys, say, We don’t do that. Is there a fix for the way guys are driving? Can something be said or done?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That’s a tough question. Some of it’s self-policing, right? You end up causing enough problems in a row, an individual, that’s going to turn into a bad situation. Everyone’s going to not be happy with that certain individual. I think that frustration will not last too long.So I don’t think it’s going — if you’re running up front around the same guys every weekend, I don’t think you’re going to have multiple instances week after week. There’s no way you can sustain it. In some ways that’s self-policing. You’re not going to get a lot of multiple offenses.The hard thing nowadays is you’re up and down the grid. It’s really hard to stay at the front nowadays. Last weekend I had to start 20th. I’d consider us a frontrunner. Every now and then we find ourselves all over the grid. I’m not always around consistently the same people. You end up having these run-ins with people you don’t see very often during the year.I think that’s part of what’s aggravating the situation, is the field is so competitive, it’s jumbled up every weekend. Different people are around each other all the time now. Couple that with aggressive driving, you’re just having a lot more moments I think where people are upset with each other.It’s kind of the nature of the beast right now. It’s so competitive and so tight, the field as far as performance goes, you almost have to be aggressive to get in front of people and find an edge.Like I said before, if you don’t bring that aggression yourself, you end up getting run over now. It’s a hard balancing act. But, yeah, I don’t think there’s like a pecking order as far as the veterans and who gets a talking to. I don’t think the youth really cares anyways.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: If you were talking to Will, we’d get a cage out. We’d settle this UFC style. I’d put some money on Will. That guy’s nuts. He just blacks out sometimes. You should see him drive. I don’t think he even knows where he’s going half the time. He’s literally just driving off instinct.You put him in a cage, you don’t want to go against Will Power. I think it’s called psychotic, is what it’s called.Q.Without naming names, are there drivers that when you get up beside them, you’re like, Yeah, no, this is not going to be fun?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: So difficult not to just blurt a name, but I’m not going to do that.Q.I would be okay with that.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You would. It’s late at night, between us, not going anywhere. Absolutely not getting suckered into that.Yeah, we all have our feelings on who we feel like is not the right person to be around or who we think is aggressive more than others. It’s just part of the learning process, trying to understand your competitors.It’s like that in any series, though. That’s not unique to INDYCAR racing. It’s like that in Formula 1 or sports cars or NASCAR. Everyone knows or has an opinion on who they think is probably not safe to be around on the track as far as protecting your car.So, yeah, there are instances like that. I won’t be specific, but I think we all feel that way.Q.Now that it’s time to make the numbers in the fight for the championship, is your strategy to win all three of them?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I think the good news is, is if we win all three, it definitely adds up to winning the championship. That’s the good news.As far as our approach, I don’t know that we’ve ever really changed our style or procedure. We typically show up every weekend and try to maximize whatever our potential is. We felt like we had a winning car today and we tried to win the race.I think the name of the game for us is doing that in Portland, Laguna and Long Beach. Kelly asked me this question before the race. Of course, within the race, if there’s situations that arise, bring about an obvious change of course or change of approach, then maybe we would. Say the leaders get taken out like today, leaders of the championship I should say, then maybe you’re going to be a little bit more cautious towards of the end of that race.But when you go into the weekend, I think you’re just trying to maximize whatever your result is. It’s really the best way to approach it.Q.Given your past experiences fighting for the title, how much can you rely on that? Can you rely on your teammates with the tight competition?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Definitely can rely on my teammates. We have a lot over the years. They’ve always been good to me. I feel confident that we have a championship-winning team. I felt that, I mean, how many years have I been doing that? Is this my fifth-year at Penske? I think so. I felt that my first four years here. Every single year we’ve had the competitive capacity to challenge for the championship. I feel no different now.I think, yeah, it definitely will serve us well in this homestretch.Q.How do you think the strong end of the season will help you in 2022?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, we got to keep it up, right? We’re doing a good job now. Nashville was a little rocky for us. GP was slightly rocky, too. It can swing very quickly. We could be from being a hero this weekend to right back out of it in Portland. It swings that fast.I don’t think we can be relaxed about anything. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We certainly have to be strong. We’re not in some cushiony position when we can just sit back and anything can really happen to us. We can’t. We have to be solid. Hopefully we have a good, solid end here. If we do, that could add up to a championship.Q.Not a very important question. The giant champagne bottle thing, the bigger the bottle, is that so you can get more people?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, in all seriousness, it just looks more professional. When you hand someone a foot bottle, half this size, it just looks funny. When you look at a professional championship, we got a big champagne bottle that doesn’t run out in like three seconds, it just looks better in my opinion.I think whoever has done a great job and gotten up on the podium should have a nice, big champagne bottle that sprays for a little while. You can hand it to the team and everyone can enjoy it. I just think it’s better for the series. It’s not that hard to do. It’s just a small request. I think it goes a long way to the appearance of the show.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think they would agree. Talk to Roger or Bud about it. I think they would agree. Whatever the small details. I mean, they’re all about the details. Adding a little detail like that is not difficult. Yeah, I think it should be mandatory we have big champagne bottles.Q.You have two weeks off until you go to Portland. How do you plan on spending the next two weeks off?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, I’m going to sleep probably all day tomorrow, I can tell you that. I was really lucky. My dad drove me up here this weekend, about four and a half hours from Nashville. He’s a sweetheart. He’s going to drive me home tonight. I’ll sleep in the car. How lucky am I? 30-year-old, still have my dad driving me around. Feel like the go-kart days.I’m going to relax. I have some sponsor deals I’m going to do next week and the week after that. Once we go out to Portland, I’m pretty much staying out there, help my team try to maximize three events to go.                                       

Locust Grove, AR (August 21, 2021) – In a close and dramatic finish Hudson O’Neal barely edged out Jonathan Davenport at the finish line to win the 29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions. The win Saturday night at Batesville Motor Speedway was O’Neal’s fourth this season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The event was co-sanctioned with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Presented by Lucas Oil. For the 20-year-old Indiana native it would be O’Neal’s second crown jewel victory of 2021 to go along with his Show-Me 100 win at Lucas Oil Speedway in May. O’Neal started sixth and took the lead on lap 39 from Jimmy Owens as he raced unchallenged until Davenport, with five laps to go started to make a run on him. After taking the white flag Davenport went low in turn one for the lead briefly as O’Neal crossed over to regain the top spot heading down the back stretch. Davenport made one last-ditch effort sliding in front of O’Neal as the two headed to the checkers. O’Neal would cross over Davenport as he beat the 3-time Series Champion to the finish line by just 0.116 seconds. Brandon Overton, last week’s Sunoco Race Fuels North-South 100 winner at Florence Speedway came home in third followed by Tim McCreadie and Jimmy Owens. McCreadie, the current LOLMDS point leader jumped to the lead at the start of the event with Owens following in second. The two longtime series regulars ran 1-2 until the tenth circuit when Owens took the lead. Owens was trying to make Topless 100 history by becoming the first driver to win the event in back-to-back years by leading the next 29 laps, before he yielded the top spot to O’Neal. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 11th time in his career, the third-generation racer won a career-high $40,000. “I was thinking don’t make any mistakes. The top was really thin. I knew when I passed for the lead that some other guys were going to move up there and it was just going to keep dying. We had a lap 75 caution there and my guys were pointing me to the bottom. I heard Jimmy picked the top and I thought I was only going to run this top one lap again because I knew I had some decent speed up there. Whenever I came back around after the restart, they were pointing me back to the top, so I thought I better get back up there.” “This is just awesome. I knew he [Davenport] was close. They told me was kind of running a little bit of a diamond line in turn one. I knew the line I was running; it was going to be subject to a slider down here.  I knew coming to the white flag, I was actually expecting him to slide me with two to go. I knew I had to be ready the next lap. He was going to slide me, and I was just kind of prepared and turned down the racetrack to get a good run down the backstretch, and then he slid me again. I knew I had to grab that traction early in three to able to get a run to beat him back to the line.” Davenport, like O’Neal, was looking for his first career win in the annual event but came up just short at the finish line by one car length. “That was just kind of a Hail-Mary there. I got just a little bit of a run on him off of four. He went in just low enough in three that I couldn’t really get a momentum run on him. I was a little bit better running crooked than he was around the top there, but I just couldn’t quite get up there early enough. I probably slid too far and then he got back by me earlier than what I anticipated. He raced me clean. I was just trying to catch a little of grip up there at the checkered flag. He done an awesome job; he never made a mistake.” Overton entered the event with 21 overall wins this year, looking for his second-straight crown jewel. Finishing in third, Overton said, “We just fell too far back early on. We got it rolling there at the end, we could have run them down there. Hudson and JD, they run a good race. Like I said week after week, we’ve been running a bunch of big races and running up front. I am just proud of my whole team.” The winner’s Roger Sellers Double Down Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Lazydays RV, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Lucas Oil products, 2150 Enterprises, WR1 Sim Chassis, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten were Josh Richards, Ricky Thornton Jr., Shane Clanton, Mike Marlar, and Kyle Bronson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary COMP Cams Topless 100 – Presented by Nutrien Ag SolutionsSaturday, August 21, 2021Batesville Motor Speedway – Locust Grove, AR LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 3. 14M-Morgan Bagley[4]; 4. 11H-Spencer Hughes[6]; 5. 48-Wendell Wallace[1]; 6. R5-Hunter Rasdon[8]; 7. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[10]; 8. 45-Kylan Garner[3]; 9. 27-Rayce McCord[15]; 10. 6R-Robbie Stuart[14]; 11. 92M-Chad Mallett[11]; 12. 503-Jason Miles[12]; 13. 86R-Rick Rickman[5]; 14. 4A-Michael Arnold[9]; 15. (DNS) 78S-Steve Stultz; 16. (DNS) 26R-Cole Farmer UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 86-Kyle Beard[2]; 3. 75-Terry Phillips[3]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[4]; 5. 18-Shannon Babb[5]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 7. 36-Logan Martin[8]; 8. 1R-BJ Robinson[11]; 9. 18P-Brayden Proctor[9]; 10. 13N-Derrick Nichols[13]; 11. 5A-Austin Vincent[10]; 12. 26H-Dustin Holmes[14]; 13. 997-Travis Ashley[15]; 14. (DNS) 91-Chris Jones; 15. (DNS) J8-Jadon Frame

COMP Cams Topless 100 Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 47Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1-9); Jimmy Owens (Laps 10-38); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 39-100)Wrisco Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealMargin of Victory: 0.116 secondsStop Tech Brakes Cautions: Tyler Erb (Lap 37); Nick Hoffman (Lap 67); Billy Moyer, Sr. (Lap 75)Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Provisionals: Shane Clanton; Spencer HughesCOMP Cams Super Dirt Series Provisionals: Logan Martin; BJ RobinsonSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon OvertonPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie, Jimmy OwensOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Shane Clanton (Advanced 15 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadieHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (62 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon OvertonEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr.Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Tim McCreadie (Lap 1 – 15.183 seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Nick HoffmanOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Trevor Crittenden (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Kyle Bronson (13.734 seconds)Time of Race: 42 minutes 07 seconds

Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings: