CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

ARROW MCLAREN PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Zak Brown, Sam Schmidt, Gavin Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi

Press Conference Transcript:

LAUREN GAUDION: Good afternoon, everyone. We have a great audience here at Thermal. I’m Lauren Gaudion, director of communications with Arrow McLaren.

Joining me onstage we have No. 5, Pato O’Ward, No. 6 Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Alexander Rossi, McLaren CEO Zak Brown, racing director Gavin Ward, and team owner Sam Schmidt.

We’ll start with some opening statements from Zak, then move along to Gavin and open it up for questions.

Zak, you want to get us started.

ZAK BROWN: Certainly. It is officially good afternoon. So good afternoon, everyone. Excited to be here at Thermal for the first-ever INDYCAR spring training test.

Very excited to be here with our three drivers, our newest one here that we worked hard to get, Mr. Rossi, and of course our returning veterans now of Arrow McLaren, Felix and Pato. Great to be here with our partner Sam and our racing director Gavin Ward. We’re very excited about Gavin leading the team moving forward.

It’s been a very busy off-season, ultimately recruiting a lot of people for our expansion, then of course announced Tony joining us for the Indy 500 this year, and Kyle Larson joining us in ’24. We’re definitely thinking long-term about our commitment to INDYCAR racing.

I think we’re going to field very competitive racing cars with aspirations for them all being in a position to win races and compete for the championship.

That being said, we are still a pretty young team, especially with onboarding. The amount of people that we’ve onboarded over the winter will take some time to work through the experience of working together.

But we are very excited.

So let me turn it over to Gavin, who is ultimately responsible for leading the performance of our racing team.

GAVIN WARD: Gavin Ward here, racing director. Very happy to be here at Thermal. Very happy to be here getting some race cars back on track.

We’ve got very few days to get ready for St. Pete. So this is crucial time for us with the additions and growth of the team, to pull this team together and gel, get ready for St. Pete. It’s going to come up in a hurry.

So far been very happy with it. Blown away by the positive atmosphere and the great integration of Rossi into the team. Yeah, it’s been a neat venue for us.

For us, the approach here is not so much about going to win the test, but really about making sure we learn as a team, we nail our processes, we learn how to work together, and we learn about the development to the race car so that we can be more competitive once racing starts here.

LAUREN GAUDION: With that, we’ll starred taking questions from the field.

Q. (No microphone.)

ZAK BROWN: INDYCAR racing is different from Formula 1. I think we always have to be careful to think that bringing Formula 1 is some sort of magic to INDYCAR racing. INDYCAR racing is as competitive as any form of racing I’ve ever seen.

That being said, we do have aspects of our Formula 1 technology and know-how that we will ultimately long-term be beneficial to our INDYCAR teams.

So to have someone like Gavin who understands the capabilities of a Formula 1 team and an INDYCAR team is what you need to understand where are there areas that you can extract knowledge and know-how to the benefit of the INDYCAR team.

I think when we looked at Alex as a driver, it is great that he has Formula 1 experience. I’ve been following Alex prior to being in Formula 1. Alex and I first met in England. When we looked at Alex, alongside Felix and Pato, we thought it was the perfect complement of speed, experience and kind of global knowledge of motorsports. We think Alex will bring a lot to the table for what is still a pretty young team.

Q. Gavin, the ability to work with all three drivers as the race director, how important is that? What are some of the bigger-picture ideas you bring to the team that can help them increase even further?

GAVIN WARD: I think you kind of nailed it with the start of that question. To succeed in INDYCAR requires exceptional collaboration amongst drivers, engineers, crew. It’s interesting with how tight it is in this sport, we kind of have to raise the bar as a team working together.

I think that’s my big emphasis actually right there.

Q. Zak, how influential is it going to be having Tony onboard for the Indy 500?

ZAK BROWN: I think he’s got a lot of experience. He’s won the race, as has the guy sitting to my left. So I think, I don’t know, that’s probably one for the drivers because I think where he adds value is obviously with the team, but maybe ask Felix and Pato, who have yet to win Indy. Gotten really close.

Q. For yourself, Pato, Felix, go ahead.

FELIX ROSENQVIST: Yeah, I mean, Tony has been around for a very long time.

ZAK BROWN: I’ll tell him you said that (smiling).

FELIX ROSENQVIST: One of the first drivers I knew in INDYCAR. He’s a great guy off the track as well. I think he has the mentality where he always tries to help, is a team player. I think that’s more valuable than anything.

If we all want to do well, we’re all going to have to work very closely together. I think that’s already in the mentality with me, Pato and Alex. We don’t really hide anything. I think adding Tony, he will definitely be onboard with that.

He won the race. He’s had a lot of success there. He finished between me and Pato last year in P3. So, yeah, looking forward to having him.

Q. I was curious why did we pick Tony Kanaan to run the 500 this year?

GAVIN WARD: Tony, he’s super experienced, very capable, no doubts that he’ll be straight up to speed. For us, with a growing team, that’s an obvious choice for us to put in the car and build out our depth for the biggest race of the year, the biggest race in the world.

That would be the obvious one.

Q. Zak, motorsport is a business. With the number of New Zealanders you have driving for you, what does it mean to you culturally, significance-wise, having the name McLaren associated with the team?

ZAK BROWN: I mean, I grew up as a McLaren fan, as I think many people have. My earliest memories of McLaren date back to ’88 with Senna versus Prost, back when I was racing. I feel like I’ve got the second-best job in motorsports. I feel like the guy to my left, the two to my right, have the best job in motorsports.

I don’t know. Alex, you’ve been a fan of McLaren. I think the drivers can probably talk more to what it means to be a McLaren driver.

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, there’s a huge amount of obvious performance that’s synonymous with the team. And for us as individuals that are a part of it, it’s up to us to raise our game on and off the track to represent the brand.

There’s a huge privilege that comes with that, but also responsibility.

It’s early days for me, but very excited to be able to call McLaren home and look forward to pretty cool things we’re going to be able to accomplish together.

Q. Sam, in many ways what you did in the Indy Lights program was the foundation for where we are now. When you look back, does that make you very proud to know you created some of this?

SAM SCHMIDT: Overwhelmingly. Second only to being the father of two great kids, I think this is very similar.

As Zak mentioned, I’ve known Zak for over 25 years, we’re both racers as heart. That’s why we’re here. That’s why everybody in this room and on this paddock are here.

We want to win. Through 10 years of Indy Lights, seven championships and 80 wins, probably the biggest compliment I ever got was by the announcers being the Roger Penske of Indy Lights, right?

It still wasn’t good enough. You want to win the Indy 500, you want to win championships. After eight years of punching above our weight with guys like Simon Pagenaud, et cetera, I can tell you the guy at the other end, we tried to get him seven or eight years ago. This caliber of driver is what it takes to win. I believe we started strategizing with Zak right about 2018.

I want to be involved. It’s obviously difficult to travel all over the world. The competition with racing in multiple forms of series, Formula E, INDYCAR, Global Rallycross, you name it. I didn’t have the bandwidth to do that, nor the resources.

I think this is the perfect two-year engagement, now a bit of a marriage. Resource-wise it gives us the opportunity to have everybody you have sitting up here, lots of orange shirts in the paddock, you can’t miss us. Sorry, papaya. Have to get that right (smiling).

This is a dream come true. I can be associated with people like Arrow and Onsemi and Lucas Oil and NTT, pursue my dreams in a car again, do some things with the foundation that we couldn’t do, but also be a part of this going forward for a long time to come.

Thank you for the question. But, yeah, seems kind of weird coming from me, but I live the dream every day.

Q. I wanted to ask again about somebody who is not here, Tony Kanaan. If he wins the 500 this year, it’s going to be hard to get rid of him when you already signed Larson. Are you looking forward to running five cars at next year’s Indy 500?

ZAK BROWN: I hope we have to deal with the luxury, challenge of having one of our drivers drinking milk at the Indy 500.

I’ve known Tony for 30 years. We were teammates in 1993. We were laughing about it the other night. He didn’t really speak in English. That was before he came over to do Indy Lights.

I’m looking forward to us racing with Tony.

Q. Gavin, I wanted you to talk about how easy or difficult it was to expand at a time when we all know it’s really hard to find really good personnel. You chose this year to field three cars.

GAVIN WARD: That’s a great question.

Yeah, I mean, it’s a fight for talent out there. There’s no hiding that right now. Very happy with how our recruitment has come together in the off-season. We’ve had to get a little bit creative.

I think that’s actually how we always looked at it. We didn’t look at just wanting to bring in people from the INDYCAR paddock necessarily to fill the slots we needed to fill, we always kind of wanted to bring in a good mix.

We’ve got some great hires from other racing series. We have a great mechanic from World of Outlaws, a great mechanic from Williams F1. We brought in engineers in from Cup. We have an engineer from Boeing, one that has a Salesforce background. Happy with the amount of diversity we’ve brought in there.

Also a little bit of promoting from within. Chris Lawrence stepping up as engineer for Felix. Really happy to give him that opportunity and recognize his success and contribution with this team.

Q. Felix and Pato, how do you feel after the first day and a half of testing and where are you at after an off-season of hard work now?

FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, it’s hard to say. This track is very different from anything we do. I think it has some similarities to maybe Portland, some Indy GP. There’s some really slow corners that we don’t have in the calendar.

We try to learn where we kind of have a corner that are similar to what we normally do.

Honestly, the cars are so even now, they’re very equal to what we all ran for the past two years. It’s all in the details. I mean, we’ll be strong. We’re up there. But now is not really the time to judge if you’re going to be on pole or not in the next race. We’re just trying to learn. We have a master list of things to go through.

No, I’m very positive about it. It feels very good so far. As Gavin said, new engineer this year, Chris. Just getting up to speed with that, as well.

Everything feels good. But I can’t answer if we’re 5/10ths or 1/10th, plus 1/10th quicker than last year.

Q. Zak, some big news in Formula 1 with Ford coming onboard for Red Bull. Do you have any kind of opinion on that, what it means for Formula 1 and McLaren from your perspective?

ZAK BROWN: Yeah, I think it’s great. Formula 1 is growing in leaps and bounds at the moment. Long may it continue. Ford has a great history. Jim Farley, who I know quite well, is a racer at heart, as is the Ford organization.

I think it’s fantastic for the sport to see another big OEM come in and join our sport.

Q. Alex, we spent Content Day bugging you, asking you how you’re feeling, how are you getting acclimated. Now you have three sessions, how are you feeling after that?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, we’re getting there. I mean, it’s a lot of new things. It’s obviously a new team, but there’s new people on the team, as well. I’m not the only new person. There’s new computers. Everything is new, right?

There were some bugs yesterday that we were sorting through. It’s a new manufacturer for me. It’s been a little bit weird because Felix and Pato don’t really have a benchmark of what the car should feel like here either, so we’re all kind of learning together in a strange way.

It’s been very productive. This morning was heads and shoulders better than how yesterday was going for us. I think we’re getting settled in and this afternoon should be another step better.

Generally happy. The big thing is, everyone has kind of faced adversity and everyone has just kind of dealt with it. There’s been no stress or panic. We’re kind of taking it one step at a time, which is very encouraging.

Q. You talk about the new manufacturer. Often we see drivers switch teams. Have you felt any differences, nuances, that you can share?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, they’re certainly different. I mean, I think it’s very public knowledge that Team Chevy and the teams that had Chevy engines worked really hard in the off-season 2021 and 2022 to close the gap of what the Chevy drivers felt like they were missing compared to the others. I think that was obviously proven last year with winning the drivers and manufacturers championship.

There is differences. There are some things that, me being so fresh out from the other side, I’m able to have a very clear black-and-white understanding of this is better, this is worse. Hopefully we can come out of here with a couple bullet points to continue and take forward going into St. Pete.

Q. Gavin, this is a bit of a different role than what you’ve done in the past. Has it been easy or difficult as an adjustment? If so, why?

GAVIN WARD: Yeah, so I’d say it’s been a pretty easy adjustment. Probably easier than I expected. I said it before, but I feel, although I come from an engineering background, and I’m still pretty hands-on in the engineering world here, this evolution kind of fits the way that my career has evolved, to be more people focused and more focused on the human performance aspects of the sport. As I’ve come to learn, at the end of the day that’s what really makes this happen or makes this sport tick. So yeah.

Q. In terms of the infrastructure at the team, have you had to change anything in that regard?

GAVIN WARD: Yeah, we have. I mean, the growth we’ve had, as everyone has talked about, is huge. From an infrastructure point of view, we’ve been building everything up, testing out some new systems here. As Alex mentioned, we had a few growing pains to work through yesterday, which I think we’ve made a lot of progress on.

We’re trying to turn this team. It’s quite difficult to develop, to grow and develop at the same time. I think we did a big sprint to get the right people in place. Now it’s all about building our processes, people working together well, gelling the team.

The culture is strong. I have no issues with that at all. We’re trying to hit that fast forward button, trying to do things in a number of weeks that might naturally take a bit longer here to get full stride, but also build the systems in the team so that not only are we going to hit St. Pete with competitive race cars, but aim to be able to continually bring performance through the year to try and really fight the Penskes and Ganassis out there.

Q. How beneficial is it to have three experienced drivers on the team? They all appear to have different driving styles. Is that beneficial for the team or not?

GAVIN WARD: Yeah, I mean, there’s nothing more important in INDYCAR to having a strong driver lineup. I think we’ve got the best one out there.

As for driving styles, I mean, I’m a believer that there’s as many driving styles as there are racing drivers. It’s up to us to give each of these drivers what they need to execute on the day.

We’re heads down trying to do that.

Q. Zak, you obviously move between a lot of different motorsports series. Where do you feel INDYCAR is on the commercial side of things? What kind of atmosphere is there for improved commercial aspects?

ZAK BROWN: I think lots of opportunity. We sat at a team owner meeting yesterday with the league, they laid out their plans, and they have big aspirations, which is great. Lots of new activity coming. Lot of focus on the drivers, which I think is great.

I know they met with the drivers, what was it, yesterday? All my days are running together now. Ultimately the drivers are the star of motorsports, not just INDYCAR.

Yeah, we’re here to support them. I think we can bring some value to the series as well. I think the new TV programming that they have will be excellent. It’s the best broadcast schedule that I think I’ve seen certainly in the recent times. Good schedule. Doing new things like testing here in spring training.

Q. Zak, last year Pato had a lot of testing in Formula 1. What is the plan for Pato in this season to try to prepare for Formula 1? What will be the main change in the team? Last two seasons Pato has been fighting for the championship. Unfortunately had some problems. What will be the main change in the team to try to resolve these problems?

ZAK BROWN: First thing is we want our three drivers to compete for the championship this year in INDYCAR. That’s priority number one.

We are still developing our Formula 1 testing plans for the balance of this year. Right now we’re focused on getting Oscar up to speed. Pato will be back in our Formula 1 car at some point later this year. But right now we want to be laser focused on the job at hand, which is getting the most out of our INDYCAR team.

Pato, I know you spoke with Andrea not too long ago. I don’t know. What do you think?

PATO O’WARD: I think it’s great (smiling).

I mean, the schedule in INDYCAR is so tightly packed. I know we don’t have a lot of testing before St. Pete. I feel like once we’re done here and once we’re done mid February in the Sebring test, it’s coming fast. Once that kind of ramps up, it’s pretty much non-stop up until September.

As I mentioned I think a couple days ago, the F1 stuff is more of an off-season project. The cars are very different. I think Zak is on the same boat as well as Andrea, we don’t want to take away from the energy and the hunger of the things we want to accomplish in INDYCAR to get a test in in the Formula 1 car. I think that will come later in the season, as Zak mentioned.

We’ve got a big ambitions for this year. I think these two test days have been really good to get all the little gremlins out. It’s definitely not been the smoothest, but I think session after session we’re just getting back into the flow of everything.

As Gavin mentioned, so many new people. That’s been really nice. I’ve really enjoyed just working together with everybody. I guess in a month, a little over a month, we’re going to be in St. Pete, yeah, starting the season.

Q. Alex, earlier in your career you knew what McLaren meant to that series. Now you’re a McLaren driver. What does it mean to you to be part of McLaren?

ALEXANDER ROSSI: Yeah, I mean, kind of as I said before, it’s a huge honor, but it’s also a big responsibility, right? There’s a lot of extra eyeballs that are on the organization because of the name and then the brand that’s associated with it.

For us, it’s very important to make sure that we dot our Is and cross our Ts, but at the same time show what McLaren is about. That’s about obviously performance, but also as Gavin mentioned, having the diversity aspect of hiring people from different aspects of life, bringing ideas from all corners of the team and organization in order to improve it.

I think that’s something that’s very unique to the INDYCAR paddock. On top of that, having the resource that we can rely upon back in England, assuming all Internet connections work. That’s a really positive thing (smiling).

Something I’m looking forward to continuing to evolve with as time goes by with the team. But, yeah, just incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be here.

BARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 3, 2023) – After a successful inaugural Germfree Southern Sprint Car Shootout at Volusia Speedway Park, the event is expanding in 2024 to a high-paying three-day spectacular, Jan. 25-27.

Set to feature the best 360 Sprint Car drivers around the country, and beyond, the event will boast a more than $65,000 overall purse, paying $2,500 to win on Thursday and Friday, and then award a massive $10,000 payday on Saturday.

“After a great reception to the inaugural Southern Sprint Car Shootout, we saw the potential for it to be the next marquee 360 Sprint Car event in the country,” said Tyler Bachman, the event’s coordinator. “By expanding it to three days in 2024 and presenting an increased purse, we’re laying the groundwork for its continued growth for years to come.”

The inaugural event in January proved its future potential by attracting high-profile names like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Anthony Macri, future stars like Ryan Timms and Gavan Boschele, international travelers from the United Kingdom and Canada and a plethora of the best 360 Sprint Car drivers in the region.

And along with the names, it produced two nights of thrilling action around “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile” with Timms, the 16-year-old standout, taking the inaugural victory. Then, Florida’s Tyler Clem won the main event on Saturday, holding off a stout field of drivers for what he called, “the biggest win of his life.”

The second running of the event in 2024 will host a practice night on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Then, there will be the three nights of Feature action for the Sprint Cars, which will be accompanied by 3/4 Modifieds.

Further details about the purse and format will be announced later.

To keep up with the latest information about the 2024 edition of the Southern Sprint Car Shootout, visit VolusiaSpeedwayPark.com and follow the track’s social pages.

A Potential $25,000 payday is on the line if a driver can sweep the weekend

MARYVILLE, TN – February 3, 2023 – A new challenge awaits the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series when it returns to Smoky Mountain Speedway for the 10th Annual Tennessee Tipoff, March 3-4. 

The two-day event will be the first-time drivers will see the track’s new configuration, shortened to 3/8-mile from its 4/10-mile size in the offseason.

A total of $115,000 is on the line in Feature purse money throughout the weekend.

It’ll be the 12th and 13th appearance for the Series at Smoky Mountain, the first Tennessee track to see Dennis Erb Jr.’s title defense, and one of the most exciting rosters in Series history.

TICKETS: CLICK HERE

Here’s What You’ll See:

A New Era: Like the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models, Smoky Mountain Speedway is moving into a new era in 2023. 

Track officials decided to shorten its length to 3/8-mile, meaning the first driver to reach Victory Lane in the Tennessee Tipoff will be the first driver to win in that configuration.

Money Time: The Tennessee Tipoff is the first trip to the Volunteer State for the Series in 2023, and drivers can grab a solid payday no matter where they finish.

While $10,000 is on the line on Friday, March 3, the prize is even higher on Saturday, March 4, as $15,000 will go to the winner. Any driver who sweeps the weekend takes home $25,000.

A total of $115,000 will be up for grabs between the two Features.

Volunteer State Glory: Tennessee’s Jimmy Owens has the chance to make history on night one of the Tennessee Tipoff.

The Newport, TN driver was the last World of Outlaws CASE Late Models winner on the 4/10-mile configuration and will be the first to win on both style tracks if he finds Victory Lane on March 3.

Joining him will be 2018 Series champion Mike Marlar of Winfield, TN, who won the event in 2020.

Current Series points leader Chris Madden has also had plenty of success at the Tennessee track, winning the Tennessee Tipoff in 2021 and the track’s Mountain Moonshine Classic last July. 

Eleven-time World of Outlaws winner Devin Moran will also be on hand for the Tennessee Tipoff after scoring back-to-back wins at Volusia Speedway Park’s Sunshine Nationals. He’s searching for his first World of Outlaws win at Smoky Mountain—a track promoted by his car owner Roger Sellers.

EVENT INFO: CLICK HERE

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision – either at DIRTVision.com or by downloading the DIRTVision App.

BARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 3, 2023) – Having won numerous motocross and rally championships, co-created Nitro Circus and Nitro Rallycross, performed several miraculous stunts, and raced in NASCAR, amongst a plethora of other accomplishments, there isn’t much left on Travis Pastrana’s bucket list.

Except for the Daytona 500.

His plan to run the historic NASCAR Cup Series event with 23XI Racing and Black Rifle Coffee Company led to another unexpected venture, all hinged on a dollar bet.

Pastrana will kick off his Florida Speedweeks run with the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds during the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Feb. 6-18.

Looking to do “really cool stuff” that involves the community and helps veterans and first responders, Pastrana said the group at Black Rifle Company approached him and asked what he’d like to do this year.

“And I said, ‘Daytona 500,’” Pastrana said with a joyous laugh. “They were like, ‘Well, that’s kind of the opposite.’ I said, ‘No, no, it’s good. We’re going to go down, we’re going to go hangout with (three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and DIRTcar UMP Modified racer) Matt Crafton, one of their drivers, we’ll go to Modified races and watch all the Late Models. We’ll watch the racing, and we’ll bring veterans down and hangout with (Longhorn by Loenbro boss and Rallycross driver, Steve) Arpin.’

“I told Crafton and he goes, ‘Ah, too much of a sissy to driver?’ I called Arpin, and said, ‘So, Longhorn, I heard you guys have vehicles that can kick the crap out of Crafton’s vehicle.’ [Arpin] said, ‘Yeah, if you don’t suck, you can beat him.’ I said, ‘Alright, I’m in.’”

Pastrana will drive one of Arpin’s Longhorn Chassis DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, sponsored by Black Rife Coffee Company, during the first week of DIRTcar Nationals – holding a dollar bet with Crafton on who will have the better finish. That first week will feature six UMP Modified Features a night, Monday (Feb. 6) through Friday (Feb. 10), and then the prestigious Gator Championship race on Saturday (Feb. 11). Pastrana hopes to run every night.

“He cares so much about the sport, so much about the people that are in the sport” said Arpin, who has six DIRTcar Nationals Feature wins in a DIRTcar UMP Modified. “He cares so much about the people that make the sport, that for us to have him drive for us… it’s like, the guy gets in a boat, he jumps out of hotels, it just doesn’t matter, he just does it. For us to get to put him in a car and have this be a bucket list thing for him is absolutely unbelievable.

“He just cares so much about the sport and the industry that he’s just the most kindhearted, big-hearted, normal guy that just happens to be a global celebrity and a talent beyond belief.”

While Pastrana is used to sliding sideways on dirt with his rallying experience, dirt track racing is an entirely new discipline for him. He made one previous dirt track start during the 2010 Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway in a dirt Late Model but only made five laps.

In a two-day test in one of Arpin’s Modifieds, Pastrana joked he wasn’t sure if they were going to let him get back in the car on day two.

“[Arpin] showed up the second day after hearing how bad the first day was,” Pastrana said jokingly. “But he just told me, until you commit, it’s not going to work. Once I committed, it started making a lot of sense. But coming in, if you’re lifting off the gas while trying to turn, it just doesn’t turn and all your natural instincts say, ‘Don’t get on the gas.’ So, yeah, I feel like it should suit my driving style because I’m more of an aggressive sideways type of driver, but it was very difficult. Turning and sliding, I’m fine. Getting it there is not the easiest.”

Arpin attested to the difficulty of trying race a dirt car versus a rally car, having gone from racing Modifieds to rally cars in his career. However, after day two of testing, he said, “we’re pretty confident Crafton is going to have to run hard to keep his dollar.”

Like any athlete, Pastrana wants to be competitive – and as he put it, “kick Crafton’s ass.” But more so, he wants to have fun. He wants Aprin and the Longhorn team to have fun. He wants his sponsors to have fun. He wants his friends and family to have fun. And like with everything he does, he wants to put on a good show for the fans.

“How this all started was, it’s been an awesome ride for me, and I don’t have much left on my bucket list,” Pastrana said. “To do the 500 was something that felt like a now or never deal. You know, I have some great sponsors with Black Rifle Coffee Company, and Dixxon Flannel jumping on board. Even Wienerschnitzel jumping in. Basically, calling in all the favors from all my buddies. Everybody, long lost relatives, friends, family, sponsors from all the years of motorcycles to rally to NASCAR to everything. They’re all going to be there.

“It’s going to be an expensive weekend. Not everything is covered. If I crash anything it is going to be all on me. This is one of those things where I want to come down and have fun. I want to hang out with the crowd, I want to sign autographs and give high fives. Especially for the Modified crew, that’s the grassroots racing that I love and some of my friends are involved with. We’ll be camping down there with Arpin and all the Longhorn guys, just hanging out. I feel like that’s a great opportunity for us to bring a lot of veterans and bring people that are into racing and aren’t into racing, friends and family, and just have an awesome time.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (February 3, 2023) – Friday night’s portion of the Winter Nationals at All-Tech Raceway has been rained out. A steady morning rain has left the grounds heavily saturated.   Saturday’s program is still on as scheduled. The festivities will kick off with a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 3:30PM ET. The pit gates will open at 2:00PM ET, followed by general admission gates at 3:00PM ET. Hot laps will begin at 5:30PM ET.   Saturday’s on-track action includes a complete show of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $15,000-to-win A-Main. The Pure Stock division will also be in competition on Saturday, chasing a $1,000 top prize.   For ticket prices, camping and event information, please visit www.alltechraceway.com.   Track Information: All-Tech Raceway Phone Number: 386-754-7223 Location: 1024 SW Howell Rd, Lake City, FL 32024 Website: www.alltechraceway.com Directions: Take Exit 414 (Lake City/High Springs), turn left on SR41 towards High Springs, go approximately 1/4 mile to SW Howell Rd. (next to Marathon Station), turn right, then go approximately 3/4 mile to the track on the left. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule: Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains: Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1 Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20 For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires: Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1, (90) NLMT2, (90) LM20, (90) NLMT3, (90) LM30s Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20, (92) NLMT3, (92) LM30s *Can cut and/or sipe any tire. *Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. All-Tech Raceway Winter Nationals Event Purse: Saturday 2/4 – 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. 2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = 57,050

BATAVIA, Ohio (February 3, 2023) – Friday night’s portion of the Winter Nationals at All-Tech Raceway has been rained out. A steady morning rain has left the grounds heavily saturated. Saturday’s program is still on as scheduled. The festivities will kick off with a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 3:30PM ET. The pit gates will open at 2:00PM ET, followed by general admission gates at 3:00PM ET. Hot laps will begin at 5:30PM ET. Saturday’s on-track action includes a complete show of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $15,000-to-win A-Main. The Pure Stock division will also be in competition on Saturday, chasing a $1,000 top prize. For ticket prices, camping and event information, please visit www.alltechraceway.com. Track Information:All-Tech RacewayPhone Number: 386-754-7223Location: 1024 SW Howell Rd, Lake City, FL 32024Website: www.alltechraceway.comDirections: Take Exit 414 (Lake City/High Springs), turn left on SR41 towards High Springs, go approximately 1/4 mile to SW Howell Rd. (next to Marathon Station), turn right, then go approximately 3/4 mile to the track on the left. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20 For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1, (90) NLMT2, (90) LM20, (90) NLMT3, (90) LM30sRight Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20, (92) NLMT3, (92) LM30s *Can cut and/or sipe any tire.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. All-Tech Raceway Winter Nationals Event Purse:Saturday 2/4 – 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. 2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = 57,050

Bernhardt hard charges 24th-to-third, Troutman bags fifth-straight Speedweeks top-five

TAMPA, FL – Feb. 2, 2023 – Every January for the past six years, Tyler Nicely has made the journey from his home in Owensboro, KY, to East Bay Raceway Park for the annual UMP Modified Winternationals and been shut out of Victory Lane each time. That was, until Thursday night.

With a swift move to the outside of defending Florida Speedweeks champion Lucas Lee with less than 10-to-go, Nicely grabbed the lead and fended off pressure from Tuesday night winner Drake Troutman in the final laps to claim one of the longest-awaited wins of his career.

“In my heart, it’s the biggest,” Nicely said. “I’ve tried so hard for the last six years to get one here.”

The win’s significance in his career only grows the further back in history you look. In the 2021 Winternationals opener, he was passed by Troutman (making his East Bay debut) for the lead just past the halfway point. In last year’s opener, he spun out all by himself while leading in the opening laps.

On Wednesday night, Nicely rode the struggle bus, dropping from his third-place starting spot all the way back to 16th before retiring and taking a DNF at the hands of a broken rear-end component. Just when all hope seemed lost, Nicely looked deep into his bag of tricks and pulled out his most powerful weapon – experience.

“After last night, I wanted to just load up and get ready for Volusia,” Nicely said. “My dad just told me to keep my head down. Me, Ryan, my shock guy, and Chase, we just put our heads together last night at dinner and went back to everything we knew.”

The changes he and the crew made took a few laps to show a difference, but Nicely immediately felt it come Feature time.

“When the green flag flew, I actually had the feeling in the race car that I’ve been wanting all week,” Nicely said. “I just kept my head on my shoulders and took the positions when I could get them, and it paid off.”

Unlike Tuesday and Wednesday, Nicely did not win his Heat Race on Thursday, forcing him to come from ninth on the Feature starting grid. He took the green and immediately was on the move, cracking into the top-five in only seven laps.

At the head of the field, outside polesitter Denny Schwartz was on a mission, leading the first 22 laps of the 30-lap event. Lucas Lee was his biggest competition throughout and crept underneath him for the lead in traffic on Lap 23. As Lee took the position away and crossed the stripe, Schwartz made the frontstretch a bit too wide and made heavy contact with the wall, coming to a stop just before Turn 1.

This gave Lee the lead for the first time all week. Nicely restarted right behind him in third and made the most of it, getting a big run into Turn 3 on the high side and powering around the outside of Lee for the lead in Turn 4.

Then came Nicely’s toughest test. Troutman had been riding top-five all race, and on a restart with seven-to-go, shot around Lee for second and made a beeline for the leader. Nicely had taken notice and devised a plan to defend his lead.

“I wanted to make sure he was going to have to pass me on the bottom,” Nicely said. “I was just trying to make it a big circle as much as I could to keep the momentum up. My guys were motioning me to go to the bottom, but my front-end was just way too unstable for down there.”

And defend the lead he did. Try as Troutman may, Nicely was able to hold him off the rest of the distance.

“I just found a pretty good spot on the racetrack where I could take it and run with it,” Troutman said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of places on the track tonight that wasn’t slippery. I kinda found that spot where I could get a good run on [Nicely], but it just wasn’t good enough.”

Troutman did cross the stripe in second, however, making it three-straight top-five finishes at East Bay this week and five total top-fives in five Speedweeks starts. East Bay has, overall, been kind to the 17-year-old from Hyndman, PA, and it showed again Thursday night.

“It was very technical, but that’s the glory with this place,” Troutman said. “That’s what I love about it.”

Completing the podium was multi-time East Bay track champion Bryan Bernhardt, who made and incredible drive from dead-last 24th on the starting grid all the way up to third in 29 laps. The 21-spot improvement gave him his best finish of the week and will bode well for his Winternationals event points total, which will lock the top-six into Saturday’s 75-lap, $5,000-to-win finale at the conclusion of Friday’s events.

UP NEXT

The fourth and final night of preliminary UMP Modified Winternationals action hits the dirt of East Bay Raceway Park Friday night, Feb. 3. Hot Laps are set for 6pm. If you can’t be at the track, Follow DIRTcar Racing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for live updates throughout the program.

RESULTS

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 25N-Tyler Nicely[9]; 2. 5-Drake Troutman[5]; 3. 69B-Bryan Bernhardt[24]; 4. 145-Kyle Hammer[4]; 5. 12-Lucas Lee[3]; 6. 2-Devin Dixon[6]; 7. 99-Blake Brown[7]; 8. 24-Zeke McKenzie[1]; 9. 40-Kevin Adams[10]; 10. 20-Brian Skaggs[8]; 11. 54-Jason Kinney[13]; 12. 18C-Miles Cook II[16]; 13. 33W-Rodney Wing[23]; 14. 1H-Ben Harmon[19]; 15. 90-Tim Gay[21]; 16. 9PG-Percy Gendreau[11]; 17. 5X-Joe Godsey[14]; 18. 7-Brad Deyoung[22]; 19. 25-LJ Grimm[20]; 20. 22-Austen Becerra[18]; 21. 21S-Denny Schwartz[2]; 22. 205-Travis Varnadore[17]; 23. 56-Chris Wilson[12]; 24. 70B-Shane Burrows[15]

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

CONTENT DAYS

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

DAY ONE TESTING RECAP

FEBRUARY 2, 2023

Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, led the Team Chevy contingent after two sessions completing Day One of Preseason Testing at The Thermal Club in the Coachella Valley just south of Palm Springs, California.

Times around the 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course dropped as the day progressed with Power’s fastest lap of 01:39.372, 110.890 mph landing the defending NTT INDYCAR Series champion just two-tenths of a second down to fastest of the day.

The top-thirteen drivers ended the two sessions only six-tenths difference. All 27 drivers were able to get a solid amount of laps in under clear blue skies, with a 60 degree temperature and a slight breeze.

Day two of testing will start at 9:00 am PST and run until 4:30 pm.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Callum Ilott

Press Conference

Callum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, seventh quickest today:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Wrapping up the first day of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES test day. The fastest in both sessions today, Colton Herta. Also joining us seventh quick in session two, Callum Ilott. Callum, you’re 24, the old guy of the group. Colton is like 22. This is like the next generation of young racers.

CALLUM ILOTT: You said I’m old?

THE MODERATOR: You’re old when it comes to the next generation.

Callum, your thoughts on a full day today? Obviously pretty successful in the Chevrolet.

CALLUM ILOTT: Yeah, starting off I was getting used to the circuit, also the team. It was all right. Not as good as him. I think he set a great lap straightaway.

Coming into the afternoon we had a couple items we needed to test and get through.

It was good. I like this place. It’s a big mix of slow speed, long corners, high speed. I think not very forgiving if you do go wrong. No one has put in the wall yet. That’s a good sign.

THE MODERATOR: You see some video, maybe some onboards of various sports cars that are here. Once you get out on the racetrack, was it anything similar?

CALLUM ILOTT: The only thing I found was an E92 M3. That was a good one. That was this track. Obviously, a few layouts. The angle of it was on the floor so you couldn’t see where you were going.

I don’t know. I don’t think anyone has this on a simulator. 

“It was a bit of a discovery process for everyone. It’s high speed. I think it’s a great place to start to get us active. To do two days here, yeah, we’ll see what tomorrow holds.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll go ahead and open it up for questions.

Q. What do you think about the possibility of doing a race here? Would it work?

CALLUM ILOTT: It sets a standard really of what we want to be doing with this series. It’s really, really high level, high tech. As a circuit, yeah, it’s got a little bit different corners.

I think the overtaking, we’ll find a way, we’re INDYCAR, someone always sends it down the inside. I think if we can extend the straight and get some maybe between turn six and seven some overtaking. It’s definitely a great circuit to drive and good fun and a bit different to the normal winter training we get in Florida. So I like the circuit.

Yeah, I think if we could, it would be good to race here once.

Q. Anything from a safety upgrade standpoint?

CALLUM ILOTT: I think the (indiscernible) might propose a little bit of an issue. Again, it depends on what angle you’re hitting them obviously.

It’s a pretty straightforward process to make it a bit safer and a bit more cushiony. I’m not in charge of that stuff. I just drive and try not to hit those things.

Yeah, I think it’s a straightforward process. To be fair, everyone has had a little moment today, spun and carried on. That’s a good start. Obviously there are anomalies, these things happen. So far, so good.

Q. Your teammate, do you know the problems he was having?

CALLUM ILOTT: Obviously it’s not easy to jump in these things. He did a good job by the end of the day.

We’re finding our way with the car. There were a couple things in the morning where I was really not happy with it. I know for me that that’s not how the car should behave, whereas he might go to push it a bit more because he doesn’t know on that side. I think that’s what happened on one of the places.

In the afternoon I think they kind of followed the way we’d gone. Yeah, I think he was all right. Look, you’ve always got to push it. A lot of others were making mistakes. I think he was 7/10ths off me by the end of the day. Not bad for the first day.

Q. Callum, last year you said Portland and Laguna was where it started coming together for you. You had experience on those tracks from the year before. When you got the front row at Laguna, was that a sudden breakthrough or because you knew your way around?

CALLUM ILOTT: No, we could go back to, like, Long Beach was one that I’d done before. I think we qualified even worse than the year before. It was put together last minute for the year before. It’s not always the case.

Obviously I know my way around Laguna. That helped a bit. It was one of those tracks that you always drove on Gran Turismo or something as well. I knew it on that side.

Barber was the first place it kind of clicked. At the end of the season I think that’s where we started to understand where we needed to start with the car and have a good baseline. It kind of reflected in those two.

Hopefully I would like to be able to do the same in St. Pete and come along. I think the street circuit car has always been a bit more difficult, a couple things we struggle with. I don’t know if we’ve solved them or not, so it will be interesting to see.

THE MODERATOR: Callum, your eyes lit up when Colton said seven first-gear corners.

CALLUM ILOTT: I’ll go a few second gears, but he was quicker so I might need to revisit that. If I get the blue lights, I’m going to shift.

BATAVIA, Ohio (February 2, 2023) – After a brief break in the action, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series continues a busy Speedweeks schedule at All-Tech Raceway in Lake City, Fla. on February 2-4. The All-Tech Raceway Winter Nationals begins Thursday, February 2 with an Open Practice followed by two complete nights of racing. On Friday, February 3 teams will be vying for $12,000-to-win while Saturday, February 4 will offer competitors a top prize of $15,000. Both nights A-Main events will be 50-laps in distance.  Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and an A-Main event will take place each day for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. The Pure Stock division will also be in competition on Saturday, February 4 paying $1,000-to-win.  The gates will open at 2:00PM ET on Thursday, February 2, with practice scheduled from 6:00PM ET to 10:00PM ET. On Friday and Saturday, the pit gates will open at 2:00PM ET, followed by general admission gates at 3:00PM ET. Hot laps will begin at 5:30PM ET. Saturday’s program kicks off with a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 3:30PM ET. The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – presented by ARP continues as teams battle all season for a chance at the record point fund of over $1,000,000. The 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion will take home an industry record $200,000.  Brandon Overton leads the current Big River Steel Chase for the Championship – presented by ARP standings by 60-points over Ricky Thornton Jr. after five events. Jonathan Davenport is third, with Devin Moran and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five. For complete, up-to-date standings, visit www.lucasdirt.com/standings.  For ticket prices, camping and event information, please visit www.alltechraceway.com. For more information about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series including event schedules, MAVTV broadcast dates, and live streaming via MAVTV on FloRacing, visit www.lucasdirt.com.  Track Information:All-Tech RacewayPhone Number: 386-754-7223Location: 1024 SW Howell Rd, Lake City, FL 32024Website: www.alltechraceway.com Directions: Take Exit 414 (Lake City/High Springs), turn left on SR41 towards High Springs, go approximately 1/4 mile to SW Howell Rd. (next to Marathon Station), turn right, then go approximately 3/4 mile to the track on the left. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1Right Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20 For the A-Main, competitors may use 3 new tires:Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) NLMT1, (90) NLMT2, (90) LM20, (90) NLMT3, (90) LM30sRight Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) LM20, (92) NLMT3, (92) LM30s *Can cut and/or sipe any tire.*Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position. All-Tech Raceway Winter Nationals Event Purses:Friday 2/3 – 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = $52,800 Saturday 2/4 – 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. 2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000 = 57,050

February 2, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are optimistic headed into this weekend’s Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and with good reason. 

For starters, they had a good run in the inaugural Clash, which is held on a temporary course inside the famed stadium. The team also is encouraged by the way it ended last year’s Cup Series season with a flurry of good finishes. To top it all off Burton is fresh off a win in an IMSA sports car race on the road course at Daytona International Speedway. 

“Last year’s Clash was a great event for the industry and for the No. 21 Ford,” said crew chief Brian Wilson, who like Burton is heading into his sophomore season in NASCAR’s elite division. “Transferring into the main event was a huge accomplishment for our young team.” 

“We’re looking to build from that and on the momentum we had to end 2022.” 

Wilson said the entire Motorcraft/Quick Lane organization was heartened by the late-season improvement, which was backed up by race statistics.

“Coming off the end of the season, everyone was excited with our step forward in competitiveness,” he said. “In three of the last four races we qualified in the top-10. This was a great sign that our hard work was paying off.”

Once the final checkered flag of 2022 had flown, Wilson and the team did a more thorough evaluation of their season, and liked what they saw.

“After the first four races in 2022 our average finish was 29^th,” he said. “In the last four races it was 19th.

“That’s a large step forward in a highly competitive field. You could also see progress when you looked quarter by quarter at our stats.” 

“At the end of the year everyone could feel the change in performance, but it’s always good to see the numbers back that up.”

Wilson added that last week’s win by Burton at Daytona, where he teamed with fellow Ford driver Zane Smith to win the Michelin Pilot Challenge event. Burton took the checked flag over veteran sports car racer Spencer Pumpelly, making him and Smith the first NASCAR regulars to get the victory in that race.

“Harrison’s win in his Mustang was another boost of confidence, Wilson said. “The Wood Brothers team is excited to get to the track and continue to improve on where we ended 2022.”

Practice for the Busch Light Clash is set for Saturday from 3-5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (6-8 p.m. Eastern), to be followed by single-car qualifying. Both will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

Sunday’s program starts at 2 p.m. (5 p.m. Eastern) with four 25-lap heat races followed by two 50-lap last chance races.

The 150-lap main event begins at 5 p.m. Pacific (8 p.m. Eastern), with Sunday’s coverage on FOX.
 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 2, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track revives Daytona Bike Week tradition with the 2023 season opener returning to the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10, 2023. The DAYTONA Short Track will feature two back-to-back nights of bar-banging racing under the lights at one of the most iconic racing arenas in the history of the sport. Coming off the heels of last season’s spectacular five-way title fight, the 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season ranks among the most highly anticipated in recent memory. ReigningMission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees will look to continue his historic run. But to do so, he’ll once again have to go through the most talented collection of motorcycle dirt track racers in the world – including the likes of Briar Bauman, Dallas Daniels, JD Beach, and Brandon Robinson. This season’s DAYTONA Short Track I & II resumes a hallowed tradition that saw the high-profile event serve as the opening round of the Championship from 1989 through 2016, with doubleheaders becoming the norm in 2006. Over the decades, the DAYTONA opener frequently saw the sport’s leading stars shine the brightest, with Hall of Famers Scott Parker, Chris Carr, Will Davis, and Kenny Coolbeth all earning wins in Daytona. However, the event is just as renowned for the unpredictable racing it has regularly produced. Several riders have scored upsets to secure their first-career premier-class victories there, including the aforementioned Bauman and Robinson. One rider yet to triumph at the venue, however, is Mees, who hopes to scratch off one of the few remaining unfilled achievements still left on his scorecard. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric. A half-million motorcyclists are once again expected to descend on Daytona Beach for this year’s 82nd annual Daytona Bike Week, and the DAYTONA Short Track I & II is primed to be one of the world’s largest motorcycle event’s premier attractions. A range of ticket options are available now, now starting at $25 each night, including Upper Rim Road – Standing Room Only, Reserved Grandstand, and Accessible Seating. And for an additional $40 ($20 for kids under 12) per night, Paddock Access Upgrades provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport.

The family announced the exciting news on social media in advance of the 2023 NHRA season.

OCALA, FL (February 2, 2023) —NHRA rising star Josh Hart and his wife Brittanie introduced their new son, Banks Nicolas Hart, to the world and NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series community this week in a series of social media posts.

“We are beyond excited to become ‘Hart party of four’ with the addition of Banks to our crew,” said Hart. “Brittanie and I thought the timing was right to welcome Banks to our family through adoption and we could not be more thrilled. This was a decision we have been praying on for some time and God blessed us with Banks at the perfect time.” 

 
Brittanie added, “Our hearts are full and we are so grateful for the love and support we have already received from the racing community. We have been blessed to be able to welcome Banks into our family and our hearts are bursting with love.”

  
Josh and Brittanie are also parents to three-year-old daughter Helen. According to the parents, their oldest child is more than excited to be a big sister. The Harts are positive advocates for adoption and encourage anyone with questions to reach out through the team’s social media channels.

“My life was positively impacted by adoption, and I am looking forward to helping other families grow through this process. We are fortunate to be able to provide a loving and positive environment for Banks. My adoptive parents are wonderful, and Brittanie and I are committed to raising and supporting Banks in the same way,” added Hart.

NASCAR’S RETURN TO THE COLISEUM The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season will officially take the green flag at the renowned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the 45th running of the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. The annual exhibition-style, non-points paying preseason event made its debut appearance at the .25-mile track built within the famed Los Angeles venue in 2022, marking the first time the Clash was held outside of Daytona Beach, Florida, since its inaugural event in 1979. The encore performance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will set the stage for the 36 points-paying race schedule for NASCAR’s premier series, which kicks-off with the 65th running of the Daytona 500 two weeks later. Chevrolet will help get the 2023 NCS season underway, with the Camaro SS set to pace NASCAR’s premier series at the iconic Southern California track.  The 2022 Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum was not only the series debut at the track, but it was also the competition debut of the Next Gen Camaro ZL1. The manufacturer made a strong first appearance on-track, with five Chevrolet drivers from four different teams taking top-10 finishes in last year’s main event.  LOOKING BACK ON HISTORYThe winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Cup Series history lives up to that prestigious honor in the Clash record books. In the event’s 44-race history, Chevrolet leads the way with 21 all-time victories. The Bowtie brand’s most recent trip to victory lane in the annual preseason event was with Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in 2019. Johnson will return to the event in a new capacity this year as a team owner, with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB making its official on-track debut in the exhibition race.  A staple name in the Clash record books is career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon. The NASCAR Hall of Famer leads the series in most consecutive Clash appearances, competing in 22 consecutive events (1994 – 2015). Gordon took his first of two Clash victories in 1994, making him one of just five drivers in the event’s history to win in his first Clash appearance. Only six times in the event’s history has the Clash winner gone on to win the Daytona 500. Gordon was able to accomplish that feat in 1997.  NEXT GEN CAMARO ZL1 BACK ON TRACKIt was one year ago at the renowned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where the major automotive brands of NASCAR’s premier series debuted their Next Gen models. Bringing the track and the street closer together, a collaboration among Chevrolet’s engineers, designers and its race teams developed the Next Gen Camaro ZL1. Taking its debut season by storm, nine drivers from four different Chevrolet teams collected a manufacturer-leading 19 victories for the Next Gen Camaro ZL1, ultimately leading Chevrolet to its 41st NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championship title and continuing its legacy as the winningest manufacturer in NCS history. The Camaro ZL1 race car made its series debut in 2018, competing for two seasons before being replaced by the Camaro ZL1 1LE in 2020. The Camaro ZL1 1LE took on NASCAR’s premier series for two seasons, leading to the debut of Chevrolet’s latest race car – the Next Gen Camaro ZL1 – in 2022. In that timespan, Chevrolet recorded two NCS Driver Championships with Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021); and back-to-back NCS Manufacturer Championships in 2021 and 2022. NEW TO THE BOWTIE LINEUPThere will be a set of new faces added to Chevrolet’s full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup in 2023, all of which will get their seasons officially underway in this weekend’s Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.

Noah Gragson, No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camaro ZL1 Noah Gragson will contend for NCS Rookie of the Year honors behind the wheel of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camaro ZL1. Gragson is coming off a strong season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS), collecting a series-leading eight victories and finishing in the runner-up position in the series’ driver points standings. While a series rookie, the 24-year-old Nevada native is no stranger to the series. In 2022, Gragson made 18 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, all made with Chevrolet teams Kaulig Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Beard Motorsports. The No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camaro ZL1 team will be under the leadership of Crew Chief Luke Lambert, who was also Gragson’s Crew Chief at JR Motorsports in 2022.

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 AJ Allmendinger has found his way back to full-time competition in NASCAR’s premier series, taking over the driving duties for the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro ZL1 in 2023. Allmendinger retired from full-time NCS competition in 2018, going on to join Kaulig Racing to compete a part-time schedule in the NXS in 2019 and 2020. The 41-year-old California native went on to compete full-time in the series in 2021 and 2022, claiming back-to-back NXS regular-season championship titles. Allmendinger also ran a limited schedule in the organization’s second NCS entry the past two seasons. A highlight of those starts includes claiming the victory in the series’ debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2021, marking Kaulig Racing’s first-ever win in NASCAR’s premier series.

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 The 2023 season will also see two-time NCS Champion, Kyle Busch, back behind the wheel of a Chevrolet-powered machine, piloting the No. 8 Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. The 37-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, native started his NCS career with Chevrolet, competing his rookie campaign with Hendrick Motorsports in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Busch scored four NCS wins with Chevrolet, two of which came in his rookie season. A notable win for Busch came in the debut of the “Car of Tomorrow” at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007, a triumph that also delivered Chevrolet its milestone 600th all-time NCS win.  One of the most accomplished drivers in NASCAR’s modern history, Busch has recorded a series-leading 224 victories across all three NASCAR national series.

TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS: WEST COAST BOUNDA new format was introduced to the Busch Light Clash last season, with heat races and last chance qualifiers setting the main event lineup for the first time in the event’s history. This year, the main event’s starting lineup will expand to 27 cars, with the top-five finishers in each of the four heat races and the top-three finishers from each of the last chance qualifier races securing a starting spot. The 27th and final starting spot will be given to the driver who finished highest in the 2022 points standings that did not race their way into main event.  With all 2023 NASCAR Cup Series chartered teams eligible to enter the Clash, 16 Chevrolet drivers will battle for their chance to compete in the 150-lap main event:  Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Animal Control FOX Camaro ZL1Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Camaro ZL1William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1Justin Haley, No. 31 Celsius Camaro ZL1Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Camaro ZL1Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Food4Less / Velveeta Camaro ZL1Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Ty Dillon, No. 77 NASCAR Fan Rewards Camaro ZL1BJ McLeod, No. 78 Celsius Camaro ZL1Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1

FOR THE FANSFans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the NASCAR Fan Fest area of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.Fans can check out Chevrolet vehicles on display at NASCAR Fan Fest, including a Corvette, Camaro ZL1, Tahoe Z71, 1500 Silverado ZR2, Equinox RS FWD, Bolt EUV Premier. Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:Sunday, February 5Corey LaJoie: 10:30 a.m.Justin Haley: 11:30 a.m.Ty Dillon: 11:45 a.m.William Byron: 12:20 p.m. Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: Saturday, February 4: 12 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Sunday, February 5: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Tune-In: FS1 will telecast the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum practice session at 6 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 8:30 p.m. ET, on Saturday, February 4. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FOX will telecast from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, February 5, starting with qualifying heat races and last chance qualifier races at 5 p.m. ET, followed by the main event for the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

QUOTABLE QUOTES Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1What makes Trackhouse different?“I think it’s the people that makes the difference. It’s a breath of fresh air and it’s a place where people really have the opportunity to shine.” Does it feel any different entering this season?“Last year there was so much unknown. The year before that I had just signed a contract Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR). The one thing about last year that made me feel a little bit more comfortable was that I had the same guys on the No. 1 at Trackhouse as I did on the No. 42 at CGR. The excitement was high last year and then we missed the main event at the LA Clash and finished last at the Daytona 500. That was a pretty humbling moment to stumble out of the gate like that. We did a reset and got ourselves regrouped for the rest of the season. I think things are a little calmer going into this season. I have the same group of guys again this year, and we have a year under our belt with this version of the car which is helpful.” You had some bumps in the road last season along with a lot of success. How are you approaching this year?“I certainly learned a lot from last year. It was an arrival year, running in the top-five, top-10, winning a couple of races in the Cup Series. It’s such a small and special group of men and women who came before me and accomplished that. I’ve spent years trying to get here, trying to get my name out there enough to try and get hired to drive someone’s racecar. Maybe my name doesn’t need to be talked about every week (laughs), for some sort of action on the track. Maybe some weeks we can just fly under the radar, without any drama, get wins and top-fives.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1You’re RCR Chevy was really strong in the Clash last year. Did the race exceed your expectations?“There were a lot of unknowns heading into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum last year. It was a brand new track – the smallest and tightest track we had ever raced on in the NASCAR Cup Series – and a brand new car with the debut of the NextGen Chevrolet. I think the race exceeded everybody’s expectations. NASCAR did a great job introducing new fans to the sport, and FOX did a great job with the broadcast window. Everyone knew we were there, and it was a solid move forward for the sport. From the competition side of things, it was good, fun racing. Our RCR Chevy was really fast in practice, and our long run speed was there during the race. I’m just disappointed I couldn’t get those next two cars and ended up finishing third. All-in-all, our sports’ inaugural race in L.A. was great, and we’re all looking forward to getting back there for this year’s event.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Larson on the Clash at the Coliseum: “I thought last year was amazing. NASCAR and everyone else involved did a great job building the track, making it proper for racing, creating excitement around the event and making it fun for fans. It was great to be a part of that historical event. I’m happy that we’re able to come back and put on another great show. I’m sure that it will be even better than the inaugural race was.” Cliff Daniels, Crew Chief, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Daniels on the upcoming season: “People always say control what you can control. The good news for us is there are things that we (the No. 5 team) can control to make a difference and be better. A lot of those things we got right in 2021. We know that it is within us. We have the capability and talent. Now we just need to put it together and come out of the gates strong in 2023 to run a solid season. I’m confident that we will.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1What are the keys to running well at the LA Coliseum? “I feel like, obviously having a fast car is good but to have a fast car you have to be fast while going slow. You’re probably out of the throttle just as much as you’re in the throttle at the Clash and time in which you’re on the brakes is going to be very important to making sure you’re not on ‘em too much but yet you still get the car slowed down enough in order to make it turn for the middle of the corner and exit for the next straightaway.” Can you compare racing at the Coliseum to any place you’ve raced at in the past?“I would say racing at the Coliseum is most similar to a place in Canada that I raced at once before, Autodrome Chaudiere which is a tight little quarter-mile track. It had a little bit of banking, so the Coliseum being so flat is a little bit new compared to that. There’s also another place in Los Angeles that’s not too far away which is called San Bernadino Speedway. There’s a little quarter-mile, flat racetrack there that I raced Legends cars at years and years ago. Had a lot of fun and won a race there. I feel like I’m using some of that for racing at the Coliseum.” How challenging is it to qualify well at The Clash?“Last year for us it was really good. I was able to qualify first and ran second for majority of the race. Had a good race, unfortunately it came up a tick short. Qualifying well at the Clash is important as much as it is challenging because it’s only two laps and you’ve got to hit your marks. It’s hard to know how hard you hit the corner and how much you really give it on exit to not spin the tires too much. It is a challenge, but it’s also very important because it can set up your track position for the whole rest of the event.” How important is it for NASCAR to kick off the season in Los Angeles? “I think it’s great to get an opportunity to go out to Los Angeles and kick off the season. I think that it kind of wakes the Los Angeles crowd up a little bit for when we come back out there for Fontana. Might get them a little interested to come back out and see NASCAR again at Fontana but it also gives newer fans people the opportunity to see us in LA and sometimes they won’t really venture out too far out to go somewhere to see an event so it’s nice to have one right there in the meat of the city and also get the attention of nothing really on television during that weekend with the NFL taking the weekend off before the Super Bowl.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1Elliott on racing at the Clash: “The Clash was a good event last year and it was a unique way to kick off our season. It seemed like the fans were excited to be there and enjoyed all the festivities they had going on. It was just kind of a different vibe than what we usually have. Everyone that had a hand in putting it together and bringing it to life did a great job, and going back a second year, I think it will just be as good.” Alan Gustafson, Crew Chief, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1Gustafson on heading back to Los Angeles for the Clash: “Last year was kind of surreal racing at such an iconic place where so many major events have been held. It’s just a cool venue and I’m looking forward to going back. Hopefully this year will be a little bit of a calmer experience and a little less stressful. Last year everything was brand new – the track, the format and the car. We’ll have a little bit better of an idea of what we’re going for this time around, but the track is so unique that even with going there last year, we’re still learning.” William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1Byron on starting the 2023 season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: “I’m excited to get out to Los Angeles. I’m just really ready to get the season started. We have our goals set to accomplish this year and the team has been preparing for the season to get back underway. While the Clash isn’t a points-paying race, it is a good way to get momentum going and really shake the dust off before the season ramps up in Daytona. The goal still remains to win every time we’re on track and show what we’ve learned.” Rudy Fugle, Crew Chief, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1Fugle on returning to the LA Coliseum: “Last year’s Clash really had a lot of aspects we had never done before – the Next Gen car, the track location, logistics in general. It all worked out, but I think we’re better prepared for even the little details this year. We’ve come so far with the car setup-wise from race one to the season finale. What we learned at last year’s Clash with the car is vastly different to what it will be this year. I’m really excited to go try those new things out though and see what may arise.” Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1Entering your rookie season, you head to Los Angeles with a lot of momentum surrounding your team. Specifically for this event, what do you anticipate and what are some of your expectations for this weekend?“We’ve had a lot of great things going for us at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and I’m looking forward to starting our year on the right foot this weekend in Los Angeles. The Clash is a great event that NASCAR has put on; I watched the race on TV last year and was pretty excited about what I was able to take away as a fan of the sport. There’s certainly a cool atmosphere there, and it’ll also be a fun experience to join our new partner Hurley with their NASCAR drop. We’re even going to go up in the Goodyear Blimp before the weekend kicks off, which is something that I’m really pumped about. As far as expectations go, I think the key for us will be to make the race first and foremost, and then continue to learn about this new car before we start points racing. I’ve still got a lot to learn competing at this level, but I’m ready to get things under way with my No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts team.” Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1“I’m excited to get the season started this weekend at the LA Coliseum with the Clash. Last year we went into this race not really knowing what to expect but were able to get a good finish. I think this year, we are a little more prepared and hopefully we can get the season started with a win and set the tone for the year. NASCAR and everyone involved have done a great job making this race a fun environment and bringing new eyes to our sport. It’ll be nice to get back in the No. 43 Camaro and kick things off for the 2023 season with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.”  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Food 4 Less/Velveeta Camaro ZL1“Last year, The Clash at the Los Angeles Coliseum was totally new for everybody, and no one knew what to expect. Coming through the tunnel was one of the coolest things ever for me. We made the race, and it was nice to be able to do that because not everybody made it. We know it will be more intense this year especially since everyone knows what to expect. It’s a great venue, and the crowd’s electric. We’re excited to be back in market for the Clash.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Bowman on the start of the season: “I am excited to get back behind the wheel. The way last season ended and me having to be out of the race car has made me hungry to get back. I have spent the offseason training and preparing, so I think the shortened season in 2022 and focusing on being ready for this season has created a lot of excitement and anticipation for me. Blake (Harris) has brought a lot of energy to this team and I know the crew is super motivated to go compete. We will take it one race at a time, and it starts at the Clash this Sunday.” Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Harris on the team’s approach at the LA Coliseum: “First and foremost, we have to make sure the team is clicking. Working on communication with Alex (Bowman) is the highest priority. It’s super unique how we go out there, being three eight-minute sessions for practice. We get a little extra time for changes compared to what our normal segments would be. Everything about that race is just different. The main thing we are going to try to take away is how we discuss changes that need to be made to the car and really just the communication between myself, Alex and the entire team for that whole practice session. Looking ahead to Daytona (International Speedway), we go right into a qualifying session and then qualifying races so between the heat races and all the practice at the Clash, a big portion of our focus is communication.” Harris on his expectations for the race: “Last season, the No. 48 team didn’t reach the main event, so the first priority is having enough speed to qualify well and put ourselves in a decent position in our heat to not go to a last chance qualifier. Our next priority is going and building off of what Hendrick Motorsports had for a short-track package towards the middle-end of the year, which seemed to have a lot of speed. Hopefully, we can bring some of that speed back to Los Angeles.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Jockey Camaro ZL1Are you ready for a new year?“Of course I am. We got some rest, visited family in Mexico and Brazil, visited Europe, got engaged to Julia (Piquet). It was a busy off season. But now it’s time to get back behind the wheel and race.” What is the key to a good season?“We really must do more to meet expectations. Last year we were underdogs, working very hard, everyone was very hungry and success came. This year, we must make sure we stay humble and work even harder than last year. Success is going to come, but the worst thing that can happen is for us to feel entitled. You know, ‘Since we did great last year, we will do great this year.’ It doesn’t work like that. You must stay hungry, and you have to work harder than last year because everyone else is working harder to catch you. I think the expectations are way higher this year and I can’t wait to see what we can do.” Is this your best career opportunity?“Back in 2020, when we made the announcement that I was going to drive for Trackhouse I told everyone this would be my best opportunity to grow as a driver. A lot of people didn’t know what I was talking about. I was seeing something that nobody else was seeing because (owner) Justin (Marks) and (president) Ty were telling me their plans and how they were going to do things. I think everyone sees that now. I feel very happy to have finally found a team that believes in me and gives me every single resource. I have had it in the past, but not to the extent as I do at Trackhouse Racing. If you want to beat the best of the best, you must have everything at the top of the game. We have been building that at Trackhouse. Every day the thought is what do we need to do to go faster.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 833 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 734Laps led to date: 245,544Top-five finishes to date: 4,221Top-10 finishes to date: 8,712                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,167           Chevrolet: 833           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 820                                                                      Ford: 720           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 170

Sent on behalf of Wally Brown Racing DAVIDSON, N.C. (February 2, 2023) – Wally Brown Racing has recruited 2022 Mission Production Twins Champion Jesse Janisch to compete in the 2023 Progressive American Flat Track series. Wally Brown Racing will step up to the premier Mission SuperTwins category after developing the WBR KTM 890 Duke into a two-time Mission Production Twins race winner with James Rispoli at the controls a year ago. This season, WBR and Janisch will run a limited schedule with continued support from KTM North America. The effort will utilize both the established WBR KTM 890 Duke and the all-new WBR KTM 790 Duke as KTM shifts its focus to the 790 platform to prepare for the 2024 rules package. The versatile Janisch has an extensive motorsports history, including dirt track, roadracing, supermoto, motocross, hillclimb, grass drag racing, and off-road racing. The Wisconsin native started racing professionally in 2003 and first made his name in Progressive AFT as a TT extraordinaire. In 2022, Janisch demonstrated his complete mastery of the sport, scoring seven victories and 13 podiums en route to the Mission Production Twins title. “I’ve been able to witness the triumphs of the WBR program at the expense of my own successes in 2022,” Janisch said, “As they say – if you can’t beat them, join them! I cannot wait to jump on the new 790 platform that they’ve been hard at work on this winter and see where we shake out at our first round. I was fortunate to compete in several Mission SuperTwins Main Events in 2022. I’m ready to improve upon my results and turn some heads in the class in 2023.” “Wally and the WBR team really did an amazing job in 2022 showcasing the Ready to Race potential of our KTM 890 Duke platform in the Mission Production Twins class,” said Chris Fillmore, Flat Track Manager for KTM. “It was good to hear they are excited and willing to also get an early start with the all-new KTM 790 Duke platform in anticipation of the displacement reduction the series will introduce in 2024. The bar has been raised with the series going to a single Twins class in 2023, but based on the team’s quick successes in the past, I know they are motivated and ready for the challenge. Jesse proved last season he has what it takes on a twin by winning the Mission Production Twins Championship. We are for sure looking forward to seeing how things develop.”

Team owner Wally Brown said, “Our team is looking forward to taking what we learned in 2022 and applying it to a new program this year. It will be challenging, but I feel certain we can make progress on developing a competitive package. The KTM Duke is a well-built machine and gives us a lot to work with.” WBR plans to compete at the Senoia Short Track in Senoia, Georgia, the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky, the Bridgeport Half Mile in Bridgeport, New Jersey, and the Springfield Mile in Springfield, Illinois.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

CONTENT DAYS

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

AJ FOYT RACING DRIVER TRANSCRIPT

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:

What are your thoughts on getting back into an Indy car this week?

“It’s going to be weird because I actually haven’t driven on a road course in INDYCAR in quite some time. Hopefully it’s like riding a bike and just comes right back to us. It’s been nice though to be with the team since September, so I kind of already feel like I’ve had a season before the season, so we’ll see what we can do.”

Being out for a season, you’ve had a little bit of racing in there, but what do you do? What’s the hardest part about staying sharp?

“You can only train so much before you start to go a little stir crazy. I think the coolest thing was now this year, I’ve been basically inside five INDYCAR teams. Starting off with Rahal, then Dreyer, then Juncos, then Penske, and at the very end, Foyt. It’s just kind of a weird way of seeing how operations work, which was kind of unique for me. I think it’s a really unique position as a driver to see. Then running the Chili Bowl actually was really nice because it knocked a lot of my timing, honed a lot of my timing because driving those cars, they’re very fast. They mimic racecars for setup, just in the reverse. Everything’s just a complete opposite, but it’s still a racecar. It really hones your feeling again. I’m really excited to get back into an Indy car.”

What do you feel is the biggest key in allowing [AJ Foyt Racing] to turn the corner here?

We just needed some organization. I had this chat with Larry [Foyt] a while ago. The team has all the fundamentals to really put a good car out there. If you look back at the results, they’re really not a reflection of the actual speed of the car, in my opinion. I think that having someone like Michael Cannon come on board to really help organize this team, put them on the right track, give them what he calls Racing 101, we just need some consistency. I think that was our biggest thing and that’s what we’re hoping to really find. I’d like to see this team back inside the top-10 consistently and then go from there. We’ve got to be a little bit realistic. It is tough coming off of where the team has finished in the last couple years, but we definitely can see a lot of rapid growth hopefully throughout the winter.” 

Does it give you motivation knowing that you’re on the radar of the INDYCAR powerhouse teams now?

“It definitely makes you hungry and want more. I just want to do my best. I want to continue down the path I’m going because I think it’s the right path for me. Getting the opportunity to work with AJ [Foyt] and the team, and to take this team from where it is and to build something of my own with Michael and Larry is going to be nothing short of a challenge. But I’m really looking forward to that. I really think I’m up to that challenge now. It will be a reflection on all of us how we do this year because it’s not just on me, it’s not just on Michael Cannon, it’s not just on our leadership. It’s on everybody coming together as a team and making this effort, making a really good effort.” 

How does it feel to be sitting at a team being the senior driver, and what does that mean to you about going forward in 2023?

“It’s definitely a unique position to be in. I’m very fortunate for Benjamin [Pederson]. He’s actually unlike some of the other rookies I’ve seen on the grid. He’s very willing to learn and he’s very, very into it. Working with him and spending some time with him, it’s going to be really good. His dad is a very brilliant person who came in when we needed organization while we were trying to get people like [Michael] Cannon on board, and he really put the base layer down. It’s not common that you see someone like that do something for a team like this. I’m very much looking forward to being the senior driver. I know that I am not even close to the same driver I was in 2019 and 2020 as I am today. The way that I drive, the way that I get feedback, the way that I know what I want out of the car, I kind of hopefully can speed his progression up the best I can with my knowledge while getting us working in unison. We really need to be a team to get this thing accomplished.”

What are your goals for the test at Thermal this week?

“I’ve got to knock the rust off because I haven’t seen a road course in INDYCAR in quite some time. We’re going to have a little bit of fun just getting used to track. We want to make sure that we have our road course car set to look forward to Barber, and to get through some fundamental testing. It’s a new team, I’m new to them. We have a bunch of new engineering and other structure, so we’ve got to get into the rhythm of working with each other, the chain of command. Communication will be huge. Once we get through that, I think this two-day test will be more about understanding each other and making sure everything’s good with the car more than anything else.”

BENJAMIN PEDERSEN, NO. 55 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET:

Some changes at AJ Foyt Racing from last year to this year. How are things coming together for you?

“It’s been very exciting times at AJ Foyt Racing. New people, new organization, new structure, new methods, people are so hungry right now to be there and to improve and I think it’s been a lot of time, before my time there, of people wanting it but not knowing how to get there. Now there is a very good path with, as a team, how we can accomplish goals. People are staying extra during weekends to practice pit stops when they don’t have to be. People that don’t have to be there to help them are showing up to help them with that and it’s just really special to be a part of.”

You spent a lot of time last year shadowing AJ Foyt Racing. How valuable was that for you?

“It was so valuable. I felt like last year I was a part of the team. The only thing I wasn’t doing was driving the car; every team meeting I was a part of. Being on the timing stand, seeing strategy come into play, it was a really big help. It made me feel like I got a season’s worth of experience without driving the car, and now the only difference is, I’ll be driving the car. The strategy meetings, everything like that, will feel similar and I’m grateful to the team for letting me be a part of that last year. I can’t wait to do it now for real, and as an official driver for them and working together.” 

Can you take us into a little bit more of what you’ve seen in changes Larry and the team made, and how it will be beneficial in continuing to climb up the grid?

“When I talk about the restructure of the team, new people, some of those key players are additions like Michael Cannon who was at Ganassi for the last three years with [Scott] Dixon, who is now our technical director and oversees many different areas. Craig Brooks is a new person as well who helps run the team as a manager position. New mechanics, same engineers that have been involved in the program to keep building on what they have started. New parts on the car that will help with dampers, etc. It’s a lot of new things and a lot of hard work, but as soon as we go live at Thermal here in a couple of days, it’s going to be a lot of hard work and I cannot wait to work hard with the team.”

You’ve got a somewhat veteran teammate in Santino Ferrucci this year. How much do you think you can lean on him and learn from him? 

“He’s been awesome. I haven’t had too many interactions with him. The first one was at the Foyt Christmas party, actually. We were having dinner together, and the amount of information he shared with me that I would not expect him, or any teammate to share with me once you get to INDYCAR, it was pretty eye-opening, and I take my hat off to him for that. Everything from little advice or tips for how he has his cockpit set up, different tracks, what he prioritizes, and I was very impressed with what he shared. I can’t wait to work with him as a teammate, to help make this team better.” 

Are there any particular tracks you’re looking forward to this year?

“In terms of tracks coming back to, I’m very excited for Barber, one of my favorite tracks. Honestly every track on the calendar in terms of tracks I’ve been at, there’s not any track I don’t enjoy. I very much look forward to the new tracks like at the Indy 500, Texas, Toronto, Long Beach. Very excited to explore these new places.”

Are you particularly excited about the ovals in INDYCAR, and do you anticipate expecting any difficulty in differences of machinery from INDY NXT? 

“Personally, I’m a huge fan of the ovals. We’ve had a lot of success in INDY NXT the past couple of years on the ovals we have done. It’s not like I had a lot of experience on ovals before then, but we hit the ground running as soon as I was introduced to it. I’m looking forward to two superspeedways this year. I haven’t gone over 180-185 mph in a racecar, so I’ll be doing close to 240.” 

What have you been doing to prepare for INDYCAR vs. INDY NXT?

“I’ve personally spent a lot of time on the simulator I have at my house. I’ve been doing a lot of sim racing, long races, to get used to that. Been doing go-karting. Been taking advantage of any track time I can get, but really since being in a proper racecar, which was Laguna Seca last year, and honestly since my INDYCAR test, it’s been seven months. I’m looking forward to getting back in real life and pushing like crazy.” 

What are your goals for the test this week?

“I think the big goal is let’s get going. Let’s get comfortable in the car. To get used to a brand new track. My first goal is to push myself as hard as I can, and to work with the people around me to improve myself. Secondly, it’s also how can we improve the car. If we have a car that’s capable of being top-five, that’s what I expect. If it’s a car that we’re struggling in top-15, then anything over that I think is good. Whatever is realistic is what my goals are then we can always push for more.” 

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

CONTENT DAYS

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING DRIVER TRANSCRIPT

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET:

On the team’s recent rebrand…

“Some big steps up. Hopefully that continues on the performance side as well. It looks really good, really professional so far, and I’m really impressed.” 

Getting going in 2023, how do you parlay the success you had last year to get going in the new season?

“That sets a good baseline for us. Obviously, Laguna Seca was fairly impressive for what we could do. I think more of the consistency stuff, which we’re getting to in Portland, the P10, P9, that was more of a solidity for us to work on the performance side. Going into St. Pete, Long Beach, the ovals, for me, that will be really where the performance gain is. To be able to really compare what the performance gain that we had across the season to last year compared to now this year, that will be important to see. St. Pete will be a tough one, but a good one to see where we’re really at.”

Your thoughts on having a teammate this year, and how much of an advantage will that be?

“Let’s see. Augustin is in a very tough position. It’s not being easy being a rookie, and it’s not easy being a rookie without single-seater experience. I’m very interested to see how he gets on and do my best to help him as best as possible, especially over the next few days here. The closer he is to me and the better he does, the better the team does. It’s quite important to get that comparison, and I’m sure he will do a good job.”

With you being a part of a rookie class last year, and four new rookies this year, people all over the globe are now interested in INDYCAR. Are you aware of being a part of this changing face of INDYCAR?

“It’s good. I saw a lot of potential in INDYCAR when I came over. I think there’s some things that it does really well. The racing is incredible. I think there are some things that can be improved, but most people know that and are in tune to it. That’s the part of a driver in anything, you want to improve and want to do better, and the potential it has as a series is really highlighted across the years. What sets it apart from Formula 2 or whatever, you are constantly competing with the best. If you look at the grid this year, it’s incredible. I thought last year was good, and this year is going to be a touch better.” 

You finished really well last year with ninth at Portland and qualifying second at Laguna Seca. How is your approaching heading into Year 2 now knowing the tracks, the car, do you feel in a better place?

“My race craft has always been slightly weaker than the qualifying side of things. That scenario for me to work on. I think, like in Laguna Seca, I proved that if we had a car we can be competitive, that’s what we can do with it and on the qualifying side. It’s up to the team to give the car on the weekend. Of course, I work as much as possible for it, but there’s only so much a one-man show can do in a year. I think the ovals are going to be a bit different. Having a teammate to share some feelings on will be helpful. The attitude, I’m just a bit more relaxed. I know my limits, I know what I’m confident in, and I know what should and shouldn’t happen. I think I can tame myself in the ways that I maybe didn’t last year while knowing where I could improve where there is the time.” 

Do you feel your improvement from last year be quantified by results this year? 

“I’m very quick. If you put me in the quickest car, I don’t think there’s many people quicker than me, honestly. Looking at Laguna Seca, we had a good car, and I was able to put it there. Once it’s there, I can always compete with it. That’s up to [the team] to do it. I rarely make mistakes in qualifying so if it’s slow, it’s partly 5% of the time it could be me. I feel a bit cocky to say it, but I can tell them when I’ve nailed it or when I’ve not. Normally, I’m quite honest if I’ve messed up. With the races and stuff, we’ve had incidents where I’ve made mistakes and made the wrong decisions under pressure. We’ve had incidents, like Iowa, where we had great race pace but we couldn’t keep up in the pit stops and you lose four or five positions every pit stop. It’s painful to do, but that’s the way it goes. Quantifying that, I think eliminating the mistakes, being consistent, if I’m doing a more solid, consistent job, we can easily see the strong tracks for us. Where we’re good, where we’re slow, the areas where we can improve. I have a good idea of where we needed to be better, especially the short oval qualifying, for some reason we’re just not quick. But when we get to the races, and the tire saving we have, we can’t extract the peak out of the tires, but we’ve ended up going five or ten laps longer than some other people. Some street circuits we could be better, so that’s why I’m interested in the first couple of races.”

AGUSTIN CANAPINO, NO. 78 JUNCOS-HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET:

Ricardo [Juncos] has discussed for a while adding a second entry alongside Callum Ilott and to build the team. When did the prospect start for joining INDYCAR, and when did conversations start for you?

“Everything started in the test, because we did exhibitions in Argentina. We had a lot of people watching the exhibitions and it was a successful event. It all started there in Sebring. After that, in exhibitions. Honestly, I didn’t expect that. I had all of my 2023 plans ready in my series in Argentina. Richardo [Juncos] called me in December. We had a chance to do that, and so I needed to change everything with my team owner in Argentina. I took this opportunity for me because it’s my first opportunity outside of my country and of course I know it would be difficult for me. I haven’t done a full season in a single-seat car, but I am very excited and will do my best.” 

What about this INDYCAR opportunity, as someone who has had little time in single-seater open wheel racing and success in stock cars in South America, why was this something you wanted to give a shot to?

“Because it’s INDYCAR. INDYCAR, in my opinion, is the most demanding and competitive category in the world. For me, it’s a big opportunity to try something at an international level. We’re here with [Romain] Grosjean, [Scott] Dixon, Callum [Ilott], some of the best drivers in the world. It’s a big opportunity. I don’t know the cars, the tracks, the ovals, but I love the challenge. I love the situation. I know it will be difficult to me, but I have confidence. I need time. I need to learn day by day, test by test.”

How big was the exhibition in Argentina, and how does that help seal the deal for being an INDYCAR driver?

“We had more than 70,000 people. In our country, the motorsport is very popular. It’s second after soccer. We have a lot of fans, so you can see on social media, the people are very crazy for this opportunity for me.”

Do you think there will be a smooth transition from the touring car to the Indy car?

“It’s very different, especially physical demand. INDYCAR is the most demanding. I did 45 minutes races in my home country, and here it’s hour and half, two hours. And especially the ovals. I think it’s very different, but at the end of the day, it’s racing cars. I think this is the most common thing – racing cars.”

You’ve had a long relationship with Chevrolet. How cool is it to keep continuing that?

“It’s awesome. In my country, Chevy fans are a lot. You can see a lot of people with tattoos of with the Chevy logo, my car, my signature. The Chevy brand in my country is very popular so for me, it’s a good thing.”

What are your goals for this test at Thermal Club, and the start of the season? 

“I need to do laps. To complete the races. Improve through the season, and then results after that.” 

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

CONTENT DAYS

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

TEAM PENSKE DRIVER TRANSCRIPT

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

Last year you talked about you have five wins, but you could win 10 in a year, that’s how good we are. Do you have momentum heading into 2023? What’s the goal right now?

“Honestly, I don’t feel that different leaving Laguna [Seca], where I was kind of at mentally there, my statements, what I was projecting. I feel very similar to that place. Not a lot’ has transpired between now and then. I’m just in the same spot, ready to get back going, improve where we can, be better in areas where we need to be, put a good season together. I don’t think we’re going to change much. I don’t know that we need to change anything as far as our approach or process. I think everything that we’re doing is what we need to be doing. INDYCAR just has that intangible side to it where you just can’t predict everything. You do need a little bit of I don’t want say lock but you need the tides to favor you at times. It’s preparation, hard work, maximizing each day, then timing needs to be on your side. Sort of the tides need to flow for you. I think most of everything went well for us last year. There were just too many events, just a couple too many races that didn’t go our way that we needed to.”

They used to say in a championship race that the leader, biggest contender is going to have a bad race. Almost seems like with as competitive as the series is, you can’t even afford that any more. Has it gotten to that point? 

“I think you can have a bad race. You just can’t have three or four of them. Three or four is a lot. It depends on the year. I think the complexion of each year is different. It’s always been hard for me to assess things by comparing year to year. They’re all different. There are some years you probably could afford three or four bad races. Last year was not a year that you could afford that. It depends on who’s having a great year. Sometimes people just have a good run and nothing seems to go wrong for them. That’s just the nature of the beast.”

What have you discovered when you dissected 2022? You said luck is a big part of it?

“It really is. I’ve done this enough I think to have a fair assessment of it. It’s my opinion there’s that intangible you can’t control. When I analyze other drivers and the seasons they’ve had, even my own, sometime timing just seems to work out really well for certain teams and individuals. That’s a thing you can’t control, unfortunately, right? With that kind of comes peace of mind. I focus on controlling how can we build the best cars possible to give ourselves the best speed, how can we make the best decisions we can strategy-wise, position-wise. You really just have to hope that the timing blesses you throughout the year as well. I am so positive, when we get a year where we get good timing paired with great speed and decisions, it will be a great year. It will be really great. Much better than what we had last year.”

A lot of drivers talked about continuity, how positive that is. You have another new engineer this year. Is that a scary thing or are there positives? 

There are positives. I always have great confidence in whoever’s around me at Team Penske. We just are able to attract some of the best of the best talent-wise. Anyone that’s in the doors there I feel confident to work with. You could put anyone with me and I’ll be happy to find a way to make the most of it. But I don’t want to say it just like that. It’s not me making the most of it. I’m going to be working with great individuals. But there are a lot of new individuals on the 2 car again. It’s going to be a new crew chief, new mechanics. There’s a lot of new faces again this season. But there’s some continuity there. I think we’ll be able to get everybody gelling pretty quickly. My new engineer was with me last year, which is really great, Luke Mason, who was kind of the performance engineer. He is fantastic. I think he will step into the role and absolutely shine. I have no doubt about it.”

With this test coming up tomorrow and Friday, testing in the off-season is so limited, a track that INDYCAR has never been to before, what do you feel you can take away from going to Thermal these next couple days? 

“You probably shouldn’t come out of here either too excited or too demoralized depending on how it goes because it is not incredibly relevant when it comes to at-track performance. We’re not going to run here this year for a points-scoring race. From that standpoint, it’s not relevant. What it is relevant for and what I’m excited about is just being on track. We definitely need it on the No. 2 car. We have a lot of new people. We’re going to maximize this time by just treating it like a race weekend in that we’re doing all the things we would do on a normal weekend to be fast and work well and efficient together. When we come out of the weekend we’ll have something to look at, what did we do well or not well. We have a good, relevant conversation piece to take into St. Pete. From that standpoint it’s excellent. If we finish 15th on the charts, yeah, maybe we shouldn’t read too much into that. It obviously matters, why were we 15th. I’m not going to be blowing up on the fact that we were 15th at Thermal when we’re not coming back here for a race this year.”

Bearing in mind your team won nine races last year, probably could have won at least three more, what do you still need to find? Are you just relying on Chevy finding another giant step? 

“Yeah, I hope not. I mean, I think the parity in the sport it’s because of the longstandingness of the car. You’re seeing most teams have reached a certain max to what they can really look for, look into. I am always pushing the team on how are we going to separate ourselves? It’s difficult because we’ve almost examined everything to the Nth degree. What can we do? We are Team Penske, we’ve got to find a separator within the rules. Within the rules, there’s a way we can continue to work to separate ourselves. We’re doing that. We’re trying to continue to dive deeper into areas we’ve already been through multiple times. We’re going to go through them again, keep hammering them. We keep finding little things. I do believe there is more. I think we need to continue to have that attitude because when you don’t have that attitude is when you stay flat and you go in reverse. We just can’t afford that. We got to keep going forward. Indianapolis is obviously the most glaring example of where we can continue to push forward. There are other areas where we’ve excelled better, but Indianapolis is still a weak point for us.”

Would it be fair to say that will be where the team’s focus has been in the off-season? 

“No doubt. It’s number one. It’s the number one objective. There’s just no excuse for it. We have to be better at Indianapolis, full stop. It’s not from a lack of trying. I can tell you it wasn’t from a lack of trying last off-season. We thought we were going to be exactly where we wanted to be. I think we made tremendous progress, but we weren’t fully there. We’re doubling down again. No excuses. We’ve got to make it better.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

Three wins last year, three poles, seven podiums, eight top-fives, 12 top-10s. Remarkable season, yet you got to get better if you want to think about winning a championship and the Indianapolis 500. Your thoughts heading into a new year? 

“I know that we made a massive step personally for me last year. That was due to a number of things, things clicking, working out really good. But now what we know of INDYCAR racing, you just need to continue stepping up a little. McLaren is going to be fast, Andretti, Ganassi as we know is unreal. We need to continue to build as a team, myself. I’ve certainly looked at negatives that I can improve on. Hopefully that bodes me well for the rest of the season.”

What are the negatives you can improve on? 

“Yeah, for me, I made a couple mistakes mid-season. My Indy crash, Detroit going down the escape road, a few things that just sort of put me on the back foot championship-wise. If you looked at my season from maybe Road America on, I felt like everything sort of clicked. I just took races as they came. The way I finished the season last year, I’ve got to start and continue to do every race of the year like that. I can’t afford mistakes. You can’t afford mistakes in INDYCAR and be on the back foot.”

Took a big step in year two. Three wins. Josef said he wants to end the run of 17 consecutive years of the championship coming down to the season-ending race. Have you been in that situation before? You have to keep going up against two championships that are your teammates. 

“For me, it’s rewarding when you can beat those guys. You know that they’re at the top of their game. They’re probably the best INDYCAR drivers, some of the best INDYCAR drivers around right now. You know when you’re beating them, you’re doing a good job. As a team, we push each other. The competitiveness between us all, we hate losing to each other, but we also know the reward in beating each other, for the team to win. It’s just good camaraderie, the boys and girls push each other on the mechanics side. Whose cars get done the fastest. Good, competitive rivalry between everyone. That starts from how we interact, the three of us. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating that I have them as teammates. I think it’s like — I just want to chase something, if I’m better than them on the day, you have to be somewhere thereabouts.”

Last year when I interviewed Tim Cindric, he said you’re right where he expected you to be in year two. Year three he said he expected you to go into the last race of the season with the championship in his hand. How realistic is that especially after you’ve been through the fires of a championship battle? 

“I’m sure it’s realistic. I believe in myself that I can do it and be a part of the fight again. I mean, being a part of the fight last year was a pretty cool moment. Realistically, we weren’t really a part of the fight, but we were mathematically in it. This year for sure I’m excited to continue to learn and be a sponge and just execute the way I think we need to execute to be there at the end. I truly believe I can do that.”

Some athletes don’t buy into the you can take momentum from one season to the next. Do you feel like you can take what you just did at the end of last season over to 2023? Does a longer off-season negate that? 

“No, it’s the same length off-season last time. I think it’s more up to you and your mentality and what you think. I certainly believe you can’t stop me from learning what I learnt last year. I still know what I learn understand and what I can improve on. Whether it’s momentum or whether it’s just learnings, I know what I learnt and what I need to learn and be better at from last year, I know what I’ve had to work on in saying that. That’s what I’ve worked on. I think that hopefully will put me in good stead.”

You’ve felt pressure on yourself. You’ve always wanted quick results. Now everybody is pointing to you as a championship frontrunner. Do you feel that pressure? Do you block that out? 

“I think now you just know, like, the learning is over now. Team Penske, you got a car that you know can win races. You’re expected to compete for championships. That’s just an expectation that I have, that I had in Australia for five, six years. I understand the mentality and understand what it’s like to have that pressure. I feel like it’s not an unknown for me. I’m not really stressed about it. I sort of know my ability, what I can do. If it’s good enough, it’s good enough. Yeah, it’s not an unknown and I’m not too worried about it at all. I put more pressure on myself than anyone can put on me. I just focus on that myself.”

What are your goals for the test this week? 

“I need to learn the track first. I sort of don’t really know where it goes. I feel like I’m going to get lost out there. That’s probably the first thing. But we’ve got a bit of a list of things we got to get through, mate. We’ll work on that, get some bits and pieces done for what we think is going to help us later on in the season. We don’t know what the bitumen is like, if it’s hard on tires, low grip. It looks low grip and hard on tires. Who knows when you get out there, how long it will take for the track to rubber up. We got plenty to get through, like we always do. We’ll try to make the most of every lap we have.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:

I know you mentioned having not been in the car since you clinched the championship at Laguna. I know testing has been increasingly a little bit more limited these last couple years. What has that been like literally having not been in an INDYCAR for six months after coming off of such a high and such an important year in your career? 

“It’s the way it is these days, so you’ve got simulators that you can go through setup items and somewhat keep shot. It’s never the same as the real car. There’s no substitute for being in the real car. But everyone is in the same boat, and you’ve got to make the most of these very limited days.”

This next two days at Thermal, what have you understood about why INDYCAR is doing this, what you hope to gain from it? It’s a track you guys don’t race at. What do you think you can gain from it, and have you studied it much yet? 

“Yeah, I don’t know. I actually haven’t asked INDYCAR why we’re doing it here, but it’s a nice location. I think it’s a pretty nice track. As far as what you’ll get out of it is going through the motions of a race weekend basically. It’s not really — we won’t know until we drive on it what it really applies to, which track would be the most similar. I’m thinking Indy road course, sort of Portland. You could probably get some stuff from it there. I think it’s getting the group together, going through the motions of getting a setup for a track, and being fast and getting back into the flow of things more than anything.”

How helpful is it to you to keep your race craft sharpness that GoPro is just a few miles away from Team Penske’s headquarters? 

“Yeah, I love go-karting. It’s a lot of fun. It’s very intense, very competitive. Also, that’s somewhere you can get some race fitness for sure because you’ve actually got some G-forces. The simulator you get obviously the steering so you can work on your arms, but you actually get neck and whole body in the go-kart. I just love karting. I have since I was a kid. I do it for fun, and it keeps me sharp.” 

Obviously now you’ve got the pole record. How big of a deal is it now to get that pole at IMS on the oval? 

“That’s one that’s eluded me for a long time, and I’ve had times that I’ve had the car to do it and then just sort of overshot or undershot in some way of trimming or it just hasn’t worked out or the wind. It’s a tough one because it’s often out of your hands. It really depends on the car you have that year, the time you go, the temperature, it’s all got to work. It’s all got to. Either it’ll happen or it won’t. Either it’ll all fall in place and it’ll be there, or — yeah.”

You’ve gotten poles at St. Pete. What is it about that track and the start of the season that amps you up or gets you going so quickly? Is it important to start off with a pole the first race? 

“Yeah, I think it’s the whole off-season of preparation, and you turn up and it’s a track that suits me. It’s pretty tight, technical, got to brush walls to get it. Yeah, everything I like about qualifying is that track, and there’s not much time to think so you’re always in a corner. Yeah, always look forward to going to St. Pete.”

You’re not known as an un-confident guy. What type of confidence does getting another championship and setting the all-time record in poles, how would you feel if you were able to get another four or five poles just this next year alone and another championship? 

“Yeah, that’s the goal. The confidence, I just think the older you get, the more comfortable you are with the situation. You just naturally gain confidence. You know your strengths. You know your weaknesses. You know how to extract the most out of yourself. That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I would say I don’t have much pressure at this time in my career, so it’s all about the craft and getting the most out of it. Yeah, it’s a good space to be in.”

Was that kind of key to your amazing consistency through the season, just not letting emotion override…

“Yeah, like I said, every season flows differently, but just in general in my life, I just don’t put too much emotion into situations. There’s nothing to be gained from it. There’s just a lot of things that clicked last year within my team, the crew. Obviously, Dave Faustino and the new crew chief are all pretty good group, pretty good, positive group, enjoying the job.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

CONTENT DAYS

THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST

THERMAL, CALIFORNIA 

ED CARPENTER RACING TEAM TRANSCRIPT

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:

When you look back at how INDYCAR started for you, where you’re at now, one of the up-and-coming drivers that can win races and challenge for the championship, has it happened according to your schedule or faster than you thought it would? 

“It’s going according to my schedule like I’d hoped it to be. It’s gone fast. The whole Road to Indy, I’m in INDYCAR now longer than I’ve been in the Road to Indy. Pretty crazy. I’m very happy with how it goes. No complaints.”

Last year was an up-and-down year. Not the consistency you wanted. What have you dug into or found this off-season or focused energy on to try to make this year across 17 races more of what you want from a performance standpoint? 

“That’s definitely something we focused on. We’ve had great pace at races, but we’ve been too up and down. With the engineers, we kind of took apart every full race weekend with Practice 1, Practice 2, like everything with the feedback, what I gave. Lap for lap, we looked everything back. We tried to find stuff that should have gone right but didn’t go right. Kind of kept going the whole weekend. Sometimes in practice one something happens, that kind of carries over throughout the whole weekend. Sometimes something goes very well in Practice 1, and it carries out throughout the whole weekend. We found a lot of stuff that I could prepare better in some ways. I feel like I can prepare a bit better in some ways. I found ways, different ways, to prepare, so I’m focusing on that now. Also within the team, they found a few things they can improve, so we can start off better.”

You mentioned you have some new people at the team. Can you elaborate on that? How many people did they bring in, what departments, and did you have any influence on that? 

“I did not really have an influence on that. Of course, I encouraged the team to get new people, extra people, new minds, new brains in the team. We have a new fueler. We have a new performance engineer. For me, the main people are still the same. I think there’s definitely people around that are going to pick up a little bit.”

When you look back at last season, do you feel you drove to pretty much what the maximum of the car gave you? Do you feel you didn’t leave anything on the table? Did you feel like there was more you could have done? 

“You know, I always try to give it my all. There’s been weekends where I’ve left some on the table. Like Portland, I definitely made a mistake while that was an easy top-10 when we were at that race. There’s been a few mistakes that were unnecessary that needed to be filtered out. For me, I think there was a top-eight in the championship that was possible with the car we had last year. I think now it was 12. I think if stuff would have gone my way a little, if I didn’t leave some stuff on the table, a top-eight would have been possible.”

You may have an opportunity at Detroit where I think you’ve done well, changing from Belle Isle to the new course. What can you say about the new course and how you perceive it?

“I think it’s going to be interesting for everyone to come to a new track. Definitely downtown is going to be I think a bit more alive. I think the fans, there’s going to be a bit more attendance from the fans. I’m curious to see how it’s going to go. Of course, I’ve seen the track from the aerial view. It looks very square. I’ve been on the track before with a road car. It actually looks very cool. If they change up some patches on the track, I think it’s going to be a very cool race.”

What are your goals going into the 2023 season? 

“My goals for the 2023 season is getting back to the top step of the podium, winning a race again, hopefully more than one. But ideally just to be more consistent and be closer to top-fives and top-10s all the time so we can be high up in the championship standings at the end of the season.”

Except for the Indy 500, what race are you looking forward to this year? 

“St. Petersburg; first race of the season. I’m excited for that.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:

You’re looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow? 

“It’s rare to get to drive our Indy cars now in the off time. These days are really, really important. It’s just honestly good from a physical standpoint just to get in the car. We can train all we want, and I’ve had the most consistent training regime of any off-season thankfully, so it feels good what we’ve been doing in the gym, but there’s nothing like getting in these cars to drive to really prepare yourself for the first race. It’s going to be important. Try to do as many laps as possible.” 

It is rare for you guys to get on track and do as many laps as possible. It’s even more rare to do it at a track you’ve never been to. What is the challenge going to be like trying to make the most out of this place? 

“Well, I’m trying to think back to I guess the last time we all had to learn a new track. It’s probably Nashville. We’re going to have to do it again at Detroit, right, because Detroit will be a new one for us this year. We’ve done it before. But when it comes to Nashville, it was very, very time condensed, then we went racing. This is just two full days of testing. It’s hard when it comes to just two full days of testing because obviously some people will adapt to it quicker than others. You might feel like a hero, then the next day you might feel like a zero because some people have caught up. It really kind of funny to see. It’s kind of a shame that it’s all officially timed and judged upon day one because it could be a complete flip in day two. These days are important because hopefully it is an indication for us on all the permanent road circuits that we go to, right? This is a permanent road circuit that we get to test at which is important for a number of tracks: Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca, Indy GP, all the permanent tracks we go to. Hopefully it’s helpful for us in all those scenarios.”

Is it important maybe to stay a little bit measured [at this test]? It’s not like any track exactly on the circuit. 

“Yeah, and it’s a long lap, too. I guess if we’re kind of thinking and simulating that it’s a minute 44, 43, 42. When it comes to tire stints, as well, we can only really get 18 to 20 laps out of tires. Like, that’s not a lot. Hopefully we can use those laps just as efficiently as possible. It doesn’t matter to us how fast we go, as long as we get something out of it, right? How do we judge some changes? If that’s great for a certain section of the track, that could represent a section of another road track we go to. There’s a lot that we can learn, for sure. Realistically we kind of have to keep ourselves in check with our expectations and what we want, make sure that we focus on our test plan, just get through that, and enjoy it, enjoy what we can learn, take a lot from it.” 

Go back to 2018. Did you think [100 starts] would be even close to possible? 

“It’s been cool to be around for nine seasons, but I’m just excited to be here again. This level of continuity is super important, right? We have a great off-season to work together with the team, to work with all of our partners, to really market what we want to market really well this year with BITNILE.COM. We want to be faster at certain places. We’ve been able to look at all those places all during the off-season, which is really cool. We got to do a lot of simulating days in the end of last season, the beginning of this season. There’s a lot of really cool stuff. Even after the Indy 500 last year, there’s areas where, like, I obviously have not been as good at qualifying there as my teammates have been, so that’s really an area I would like to be better. But, boy, have we been good in those races the last two years. Excited to take that to another level as well. We know our cars, when we show up there, are very, very good. All of it is good. I did not know I would get to this point. I’m 31 years old and I’m still racing Indy cars, which is kind of crazy. I hope to do that for many more years, too.”

ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET:

Going in with two full-time cars, your oval program, do you have any vision of filling out the rest of those street courses, Beth [Paretta], some other program or driver?

“Not for 2023. We had plans and talks about doing more, but we kind of set a date on the calendar. If we didn’t have everything in order from funding and people, the full program in place by a certain date, we wanted to be disciplined and focus on exactly what we’re doing. That’s the plan. I don’t see that changing. Things can always change. If we’re going to have growth, my focus is doing that in ’24.”

When Rinus [VeeKay] was in here, he mentioned there are some new faces. He said he was asking for extra help on the engineering side. Can you discuss some of that? 

“Yeah, we’ve been really fortunate. We’ve been able to bring in some new people. We lost a couple. All things considered I would say our turnover was low. For a year and a half, we’ve been trying to add a couple positions that we didn’t have. I think we’re happy with the people we’ve been able to bring in. Some new faces in engineering, some new faces out on the car. Hopefully have a deeper team, a little bit of a restructure at the shop, but minor relative to other teams.”

Any areas you’re looking to shore up?

“I really think it’s more depth more than a specific area. I think we’re not venturing. It’s not like we created a new department or project. It’s just more depth on the bench, more people working on the projects we already had going and furthering them. Just more depth.”

What are your goals for 2023? 

“My number one goal is the same every year, and that’s to win the Indianapolis 500, whether it’s in my car would be best, or the other team cars. After that, be as competitive as possible, win as many other races as possible, place our cars hopefully in championship contention at Laguna [Seca]. 

What’s your most favorite race, what race are you most looking forward to this year, except for the Indy 500?

“I would say Iowa. I think it’s a spectacular event, always has been. Hy-Vee is taking it to another level. I think consistently that’s put on some of the most exciting racing on the calendar each and every year. Now it’s just an all-around great fan experience as well.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES CONTENT DAYS THE THERMAL CLUB OPEN TEST THERMAL, CALIFORNIA ARROW MCLAREN DRIVER TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 1, 2023 PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET: Glad to get started back in the car this week? “I’m ready to get back driving and ripping around in my Indy car. It’s been long. Way too long. It’s been a great offseason but I’m excited, I’m anxious, I’m really looking forward to getting back into the flow of everything. Working with the guys and the engineers and mechanics.”  “It’s a lot of new faces. I’m still in the process of learning all the names. It’s so cool to see we’re all growing. There’s been big steps each year, but in terms of personnel, this year has been a very big one. One reason being probably because of the third car, and the team is growing. It’s great to see, to see everyone’s enthusiasm. Everybody’s here for that one goal. We all put so much time and sacrifice and energy into making these racecars go quicker. We, as drivers, put it into how we can maximize it. Really excited to get this season underway.”  You’ve now got Gavin Ward. How has that transition been? “Gavin is great. I’m a big fan of him. He, more than obviously trying to extract everything that our group can do in order to make our racecars quicker and more reliable, he really looks into how to get that performance. How can we make it easier on ourselves to find it and get it. I feel a lot of that comes with preparation that’s maybe not racecar related. Mental, physical, diet, I’m a huge believer in all those things from experiences I’ve had in my career. Going through the ranks, it’s so important to have. There are so many things that play into your performance that you have no idea.”  Did you have any concerns with McLaren adding more people, or is it more of a testament to the McLaren brand?  “That’s definitely not a rumor, right. I feel like it’s been so hard to find people in all departments. Form talking to not just the people on our team, but from other drivers or friends, it’s hard to find people. I trust the team. I think the group of people who are in charge know exactly what we need, and I trust they’re going to make the right decisions. From what I’ve seen, there’s so much talent. There already was, but so much more has been added on. It’s going to get us where we want to be.”  You were kind of a lead driver here over the past few years. Alex was a lead driver at his team. Has that been a change with Alex coming into the team? “He’s been great to have around. We’ve all enjoyed the content days, the media that we’ve done with the team. At the end of the day, INDYCAR is as much as teammates will help in gathering data, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to specifically help you in what you need because it’s a series where you can really tailor the car to what you want rather than in, for example, Formula 1 where this is the car and you need to learn how to drive this certain car. In INDYCAR, it’s very different where you can tailor and customize it to what you want to feel like or to drive like. From past experience, I think Alex likes a car similar to what I do. I know he likes it to be to point well. From experience, I wasn’t there at Andretti for seven years like Alex was but from my experience it was an extremely strong car in the rear. I feel like our car is very different to that. I’m curious to see what he thinks and how he develops in where we can find some more time. I do think we have a very strong car in certain areas, but I definitely think he’s coming from a car where that other car has been strong than us at other racetracks. I feel like if we can find gains where we haven’t quite had a winning or podium car, that’s just going to help all of us, right? He’s been great. He’s been great to have around. I think he needed a fresh start and he’s excited to really work with all of us and create the strongest package.”  You had some tough ups and downs in terms of the car last year. Do you feel like you were able to diagnose some of that stuff this offseason and come into this year not wondering if the car will last like some of the races you had last year? “For sure it’s been looked into. We’ve obviously looked for answers. Have we found them all? I really think it’s a hard statement to say because I feel like you can find and analyze reasons why things might have happened, but you never really know for sure. But what I do know is that we want to minimize those. The perfect thing would be to not have those issues, right? It’s possible for sure. The first two years I was with the team, I don’t think I never had a DNF. I had completed almost all laps all year, and last year, we had the best average qualifying positions we’ve had during a season. We had like four DNFs. One of those was unlucky. The others just had mishaps. It’s so hard to say. For sure it’s possible to make those a lot less than last year. We’re definitely starting this year with a clean slate and starting to work off the strong years we’ve built together.”  Was it important to have Will [Anderson] on your car for the 2023 INDYCAR season? “I think it’s such an important relationship that you have with your race engineer. I’ve been working with Will since I joined the team, and he’s very calm. He’s in the same neighborhood as Taylor was in terms of voice volume and minimal speaking, which I enjoy. I think it’s good. I think it will obviously sound a little different, but I think it will be just fine.”  FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 6 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET: “I’ve been ready to go for a couple of months now. Things are finally kicking off. A lot of things to be excited about. New colors, new people in the team, another driver in the team. Another car. New partners. So, it’s super exciting. New track, that’s also fun. It’s not very normal in this series that we can go to a completely new place. No one has driven an Indy car here before. Good vibes.”  “It’s great to have some foundation in the team now at this point. I feel really at home. This will be the longest I’ve been with a team in quite a while, probably since 2014 when I did Formula 3. To be with the same team for a third year is huge for me with consistency. Basically, [we have] the same group as the previous year, some changes here and there. I have a new engineer this year, Chris Lawrence, who is a good friend of mine. He’s been on the car for many years on what used to be the No. 7 car, now the No. 6 car crew. I think what you look to is to improve all the small details. It’s so tight and as we said, have some standouts last year. I think we had some low points as well, so I think that’s what we’ve been targeting. How can we get rid of the lows and improve the highs a little bit more? In INDYCAR, it’s very tight. It’s small differences that make you go from, let’s say P10 to P1, it’s all within a couple of hundredths or tenths. It’s good to keep building on that foundation we laid. We ended the season on a very good note last year in Laguna Seca. Just trying to continue where we left off.”  What benefits and changes have you been getting with Alex [Rossi] coming on board? “I think it’s always depends on what driver, what’s the dynamic of the group and all that, but my feelings have been that it’s very good. We had a chance to hang out quite a lot with Alex, and I think he’s well integrated at this point. A couple of days in the simulator and at the shop with media days and so on. I think the fit has been really good with him, me and Pato. I think on a trackside perspective, it’s obviously huge to have a third opinion of things. Every driver is different, and every driver’s opinion is valuable in its own way. I think everyone on the team knows how me and Pato operate at this point, and in our differences from driver to driver, but it will be really interesting to see what Alex thinks about the car, how we work, especially here at Thermal. That’s when we have time to look into operational things, bigger picture things maybe that we can improve as a team and we’re open to listening to him and hear what he has to say. Obviously he comes from a lot of success at Andretti, so we’re super excited to have him on board.”  How does it feel to be back with McLaren this year? “I think it’s a massive opportunity to be back for a third year. I feel like I have all the tools I need to perform. I’m feeling pretty good with everyone at the car. There were so many things happening on and off the track, and as a team we really learned a lot from that we can bring into this season. So I think we will be tough this year. We have a lot of things in the bag to try early this season. A couple of things here at Thermal we want to try and going into the season, we have pinpointed some areas where we feel like we were lacking a little bit, like the short ovals, for example. I feel like we’ve done the best we can to attack all those areas and bring the best possible package we can going into the season.”  What kind of influence do you think [Gavin Ward] will have?  “I think he’s already had a lot of influence. He’s been very important to us in the transition to three cars. The transition to what we want to become in the future and the goals we have. We are very much on target I think with that thanks to him. He’s been great and I think everyone at the team agrees he’s been a great leader so far. It’s a new role for him. He’s been great. He’s a great leader. He’s a funny guy to be around. He brings good energy to the team, and I think he has had that ability to be funny and then switch it on in serious mode when he needs to which goes along with the vibe of our team in general. We have high hopes.”  How are you looking at this season?  “First of all, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. It’s a long time until next year. But as I said, it’s a great opportunity for me. I’m in a great spot. I’m in a well-performing team, not only at Arrow McLaren but my No. 6 car will be strong this year. I feel well with everyone around me. I feel like I have good support from the team to go and perform. I just try to do what I can do which is go fast forward and races.” Testing at Thermal, what can the team learn? “I think it’s always exciting to come to new tracks and it’s an amazing facility. We’re staying at the villas inside the track area. I’ve not been here before and I’m really blown away. I don’t know if there are ambitions to race here in the future, if that’s an option, but I’m pumped to be in California in January. There are worst places to be. Learning the track will be a good lesson to who will get up to speed the quickest. I think the closet one we race at is COTA, with the smooth F1-style layout. We’ll see. I just think everyone is taking on the challenge. It’s a fun challenge. You never really know until you hit the track.”  ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET: There are a lot of great things happening with Arrow McLaren right now. Do you feel that too? “100%. I think it’s been very cool to watch them evolve and expand over the past couple of months. Obviously, I don’t have a benchmark of what they were before, certainly the commitment to performance and results goes without saying and is apparent on every level of the organization. I’m very excited to get on track, to stop talking about it, and get to work and start driving.”  “There were close to 40 hires over the last couple of months, so it’s been a good time to come in. Everyone’s finding a new role or position, and kind of learning who’s who, and finding everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.”  Does this have the ingredients to have a really good breakout year for you? “I hope so. I mean, it’s a fantastic organization whose results speak for themselves. I think that what they’ve done in the past couple of years is very impressive. They’re a great organization with great partners and great people and getting to work now with GM and Chevy has been pretty cool as well; to see what they’re doing and to push the program forward. Like Is aid, it’s been a lot of conversations and things in theory, and we don’t really know anything until we get on track, but from where we sit, we’re very, very excited for what’s to come.”  What’s it like working with Gavin Ward? You both have Formula 1 backgrounds. Does it help you both speak the same language?  “I think Gavin is a fantastic leader but also his background is really in everything. Whether it’s engineering, systems engineering or aerodynamics, and now kind of an all-encompassing role that has that technical director standpoint but also that team manager and team principal standpoint. He’s someone who his door is always open and he’s a very involved kind of person from every aspect of the whole organization. I think that’s been really cool to see and work with him on. He’s someone who understands the ins and outs of the sport from top to bottom and I think his big thing is maximizing people and their strengths. What they can bring to the table. If you can do that every single day and every single event, then you’re going to set yourself up in a good position.”  What’s it like being teammates with Felix [Rosenqvist] and Pato [O’Ward] so far? “We haven’t really done anything yet other than some meetings and team activities together. I have a lot of respect for what they’ve done in INDYCAR, and also their prior careers. I think that we will all bring something a little bit different to the table which I think is unique in terms of not only personalities but also driving styles and experience levels. I think that we have the ingredients to really be able to develop the team and continue to push the team forward at a better level than what they’ve shown in the past. It’s been a really positive experience.”  Alex Rossi on testing at Thermal Club… “You’re introducing INDYCAR to a demographic that has an interest in racing with some decent capital behind them. They may not know of INDYCAR. They may have known about INDYCAR but have not seen it in person, so what we’re doing is we’re able to bring and showcase what we believe is the best series in the world in front of people who are passionate about motorsports, participating in motorsports themselves and maybe haven’t seen it.”  How much time have you spent with [Craig] Hampson before the test? What has that been like? “I’ve known Craig since 2016. He was at Andretti when I was there and I got to work with him a little bit. We’ve always been friendly in the paddock. That was a critical thing for me in terms of making the switch to Arrow McLaren was being able to work with Craig and kind of continue that relationship and develop it to be working together on the same car and same program. I have a huge amount of respect for what Craig has accomplished in his career. I think he’s a brilliant engineer and a great guy. His track record speaks for itself. Regardless of anything, I’m excited to get the chance to work with him.”  Do you have a better sense over the past couple of months of why this team has become so successful so quickly consistently versus competing with them over the last couple of years? “I think there is just a very clear path in terms of what they’re trying to accomplish whether that’s on a daily, weekly, or monthly timeframe. There’s a very black and white set of objectives and reasons behind those objectives in terms of the development of the car, development of the people, the transition of people. I think there’s a lot of very detail-oriented people that are in a management role of the team, or senior role. With that comes a lot of structure down the pipeline that you’re very clearly able to see; path of progress as you go into the season.”  TONY KANAAN, NO. 66 ARROW MCLAREN CHEVROLET – INDIANAPOLIS 500 ONLY: Considering how close you go to winning the Indy 500 last year, has that made you want it more? “You’re as good as your last result. When you start coming up to my age, which is 48, people ask you that question. People doubt you. People say, “Maybe is it time?” All those questions. The only way to reassure, even yourself. That weighs a lot also in my decisions going forward. Anything can happen in the 500, but as long as I have it in my head that I’m competitive. But if I think I still have the possibility to win, I will keep trying. But also I need others to see that.”  As far as what Arrow McLaren has done since coming to INDYCAR, it’s been quite impressive. Are we on the verge of really seeing McLaren, the McLaren influence really raise the level of competition in INDYCAR?  “Yeah, I mean, think about we hired so far 40 more employees since we went from three cars in Indy, two full-time to three full-time. I think Zak [Brown] has a vision that’s very aggressive, and he wants to grow the team and he wants to win. That’s all he cares. He’s a racer. Like a lot of the team owners in this series. Yeah, we have grown fast, and it’s going to be up to us to make sure that we keep up the expectations that he’s putting on us.”  By bringing you on board, Zak has the finishers from positions 2 through 5 of last year’s Indianapolis 500. In a lot of ways, I think it’s a great situation to be in based off last year’s race. “Yeah, I think if you take the example with Chip last year, he put all his cars in the top 12 and he put himself in a position that he was going to be covered to win the Indy 500 if something happened to one of his cars, and look what happened. We had five cars, and we made it happen. Two of them had an issue, but the other two covered the bases. Yeah, I like our chances a lot.”

Buzzy Adams drives from out of Last Chance race, ascending from 17th on starting grid to runner-up finish

TAMPA, FL – Feb. 1, 2023 – He’s been competing in East Bay Raceway Park’s annual Winternationals event for nearly 15 years, but Wednesday night became Travis Varnadore’s first career trip to Victory Lane in the historic event.

Piloting a car with a 16-year-old frame, Varnadore wheeled his DIRTcar UMP Modified around the bottom of the 1/3-mile oval with veteran skill, taking the lead from two-time Winternationals finale winner Kevin “Buzzy” Adams before the halfway point and driving away from the field to seal the victory.

“It feels really good,” Varnadore said. “This has been a long time coming.”

Travis, the 31-year-old from Dover, FL, is a nephew to track co-owner and promoter Al Varnadore, who joined in the post-race Victory Lane celebrations with the rest of the Varnadore family, friends and crew.

“It’s great to have all of our friends and family here watching, being local,” Varnadore said. “All of our sponsors, they’re friends and family. Every one of them are here tonight, working on the car.

“It means a lot, not just to me, but it means a lot to them. I’m glad I got it done for them.”

The car he took to Victory Lane is the same car that was once driven to multiple Winternationals top-fives by brother Maverick Varnadore – a 2007 Harris Race Cars chassis. The crew said the car was well-maintained over the years and still contains all-original framework.

Though the frame had its age, Varnadore didn’t let anyone watching know it, as he turned a second-quick lap in his Qualifying group and later won his Heat Race. He took the green from fourth on the Feature starting grid and wasted little time, advancing to second on Lap 2.

After a couple quick cautions, a hard-charging Buzzy Adams entered the picture, already up 13 positions in the first seven laps after starting 17th. A restart on Lap 9 saw Adams thread the needle in between Varnadore and Tuesday night winner Drake Troutman going into Turn 1, driving by both of them to take the lead out of Turn 2.

“On the first lap, everybody just kinda stopped and they left me a lane,” Adams said. “I’m like, ‘Well, I’m either going to the house, or I’m going to wreck everything. Luckily, I got through and picked a bunch of ‘em off.”

But as soon as Adams made the move for the lead, Varnadore cracked the whip in the bottom lane. He caught Adams in three laps and found the extra grip he needed down low to take the lead on Lap 11.

“The last couple of weeks with the Crates, the top just hasn’t been there the entire race,” Varnadore said. “So, I figured I’d just keep it as low as I could around the bottom. I didn’t think the top was going to stick very long.”

From there, it was smooth sailing for the #205, crossing the finish line with a 1.5-second gap over Adams. Though he was strong in traffic, Varnadore had not forgotten about the competition behind him.

“I figured we were going to have [a yellow] with a couple laps to go, and Buzzy was going to sling it around the outside and catch us for the win,” Varnadore said. “We just got lucky with no late cautions, I guess.”

For the second-straight night, Adams comes home P2. He dropped back to third after starting on the pole of his Heat, which forced him to come through a Last Chance Showdown, but made the incredible comeback to take the Winternationals points lead with two nights left before the top-six in points are locked into the finale on Saturday.

“I didn’t even expect to get the lead when I did, so I didn’t know where to be on the track,” Adams said. “I think by that time, I had my stuff used up. But, I’m happier than hell with second, and we’ll keep working on this thing and try to get better.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar UMP Modified Winternationals action continues Thursday night with another full racing program. Hot Laps are set for 6pm. If you can’t be at the track, Follow DIRTcar Racing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for live updates throughout the program.

RESULTS

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 205-Travis Varnadore[4]; 2. 40-Kevin Adams[17]; 3. 12-Lucas Lee[7]; 4. 99-Blake Brown[10]; 5. 5-Drake Troutman[2]; 6. 33W-Rodney Wing[5]; 7. 54J-Jason Jack[6]; 8. 17-Chris Wilson[22]; 9. 2-Devin Dixon[14]; 10. 20-Brian Skaggs[12]; 11. 25-LJ Grimm[18]; 12. 2J-Troy Johnson[1]; 13. 65-Todd Sherman[11]; 14. 25W-Allen Weisser[19]; 15. 1S-Brian Shaw[8]; 16. 8L-Jimmy Lennex[13]; 17. 25A-Jason Altiers[20]; 18. 4-Mike Learman[23]; 19. 24-Zeke McKenzie[16]; 20. 18C-Miles Cook II[15]; 21. 25N-Tyler Nicely[3]; 22. 145-Kyle Hammer[21]; 23. 85A-Brandon Hutchinson[24]; 24. 3F-Rob Fuqua[9]

(Feb. 01, 2023) – John Force Racing announced today they have expanded their partnership with Cornwell Quality Tools as the Official Tool of John Force Racing with a primary sponsorship of Robert Hight’s Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. In addition to seeing the Cornwell Quality Tools name and logo on all the John Force Racing hot rods throughout the 2023 season, Hight will also race the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car at 11 of the 21 NHRA Nationals events. The Cornwell Tools livery will debut at the NHRA Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK at Route 66 Raceway May 19-21. “Cornwell Quality Tools has been an amazing member of the John Force Racing family. Having them step up and invest even more into the relationship is a testament to that. I’m extremely honored and excited to represent Cornwell Tools and their family of franchises,” said Hight, who is also the President of John Force Racing. “Cornwell Tools is a perfect partner for me personally because I was a former crew guy. I know tools and Cornwell Tools are the best that John Force Racing has ever used. If we ever get into a bind between rounds, I will grab some Cornwell Tools and go to work alongside my guys. I’m looking forward to what we can accomplish this year together.” “Cornwell Quality Tools has had a fantastic partnership with the John Force Racing team, and we are extremely excited and thrilled to continue to grow our relationship, now as a primary sponsor of the 3-time NHRA Funny Car Champion Robert Hight,” said Bob Studenic, President and CEO of Cornwell Quality Tools. “The Robert Hight primary sponsorship will continue to move the Cornwell Tools business forward, to achieve greater brand awareness and drive franchise engagement. Robert has been a true champion for JFR, and he has been a great supporter of the Cornwell Tools family. We cannot wait for the start of another fast-paced and successful NHRA race season.” In addition to debuting at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Hight will pilot the Cornwell Tools Chevy Funny Car at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn., a stint of eight straight races from the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Denver through to the NHRA Carolina Nationals and finally the NHRA Nevada Nationals.