Colton Herta crushes large field in Nashville for second street circuit pole of 2021
Defending INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon completes front-row sweep for Honda
Honda drivers take five of top six starting positions in frantic NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 6, 2021) – Colton Herta dominated NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying today on the downtown Nashville temporary street circuit that will be the site of Sunday’s inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, scoring his sixth career pole and second of the season in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Herta’s qualifying edge of just over a half second in his Andretti Autosport Honda was huge by INDYCAR standards, and came after he also led the opening round for Firestone “knockout” qualifying. Herta’s other pole this season came on the St. Petersburg, Florida, street circuit and his run today was the sixth pole of the season for a Honda driver.

Fellow Honda driver Scott Dixon will start on the outside of the front row, second, in his best qualifying effort since he qualified on the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in May, and is the third front-row start of the season for the six-time champion for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Dixon’s teammate, Alex Palou, qualified third fastest today. But the current championship points leader will start ninth after an issue in pre-race testing resulted in an “unapproved” engine change, resulting in a six-place grid penalty at the next event.

Alexander Rossi now will start third in his Andretti Autosport Honda; with fellow Honda drivers Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR) and Jack Harvey (Meyer Shank Racing) completing the top six on the grid. The 27-car field for Sunday’s 80-lap race is the largest of the season outside of the Indianapolis 500.

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Honda Qualifying Results
1st Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
2nd Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda*
4th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
6th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
7th Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
10th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda
13th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
14th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
15th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
17th Santino Ferrucci Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
18th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
24th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
25th Jimmie Johnson-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
26th Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
27th Cody Ware-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
R – Rookie

• — Qualified third, but will start ninth due to a penalty

Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport Honda) Pole qualifier, his sixth career INDYCAR pole and second of 2021: ““I mean, it was a good lap but what we did in Q1 [the first qualifying round] really helped us there with being able to transfer [to Round 2, by only using the harder compound] ‘Black’ (primary) tires. “That was the biggest thing, is being fast on the blacks. It was really just made it a lot easier for the rest of the way. Great job by everybody; great job by the team. The car is fantastic. As you can see what we’re able to do on the black laps compared to everybody, we’re really in a league of our own. So, it felt amazing. A good car to take into the race tomorrow, too. Nice and stable. So, yeah, really excited [for the race tomorrow].”

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) Qualified Second: “I knew the PNC Bank #9 was super-fast; the Honda’s have been super-fast all weekend with drivability and just power, I think. That’s been a positive. The car was just really fast. We knew Herta was going to be fast because he was the only guy with new [softer compound ‘Red’] tires, and he’s been quick all weekend. He definitely deserved [the pole], so kudos to that group. We’ll see how tomorrow plays out, but starting on the front is fantastic for us.” [How do you win on this track tomorrow?] “Go fast, take chances.”

Fast Facts
This is the sixth pole of the season for a Honda driver. Other poles this year include Colton Herta at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg; Alex Palou in the first race of the Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader, and Scott Dixon in the second race; and Romain Grosjean at the Indianapolis GMR Grand Prix.

Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race on the city streets of downtown Nashville will be the inaugural running of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

Previously, INDYCAR and the Indy Racing League conducted eight races on the 1.33-mile Nashville Super Speedway oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, from 2001-2008. Honda drivers and teams won five of the six races the manufacturer contested from 2003-08.

Honda winners at Nashville Speedway include Tony Kanaan in 2003, and Dario Franchitti in 2004. Scott Dixon won three consecutive races on the Nashville oval, from 2006-08, in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Where to Watch Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix
Live NBC Sports Network race coverage of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, August 8. Additional coverage can be found on the INDYCAR Radio Network and on Sirius/XM satellite radio.

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Team Battle for Top-15 Finish at Watkins Glen International

15th

7th

13th

“Our overall result doesn’t show the speed the Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro had today at Watkins Glen, but this No. 2 team battled hard to get the best finish possible. I believe we had a top-10 car with some of the lap times that we were able to post throughout the race, but we had a few things not go our way. Right past halfway, I was struggling with wheel hop and during the final stage, the car spun in the inner loop which cost us a ton of track position. Even with restarting outside the top-20, I really felt like we could drive our way back up through the field. This Richard Childress Racing team never gives up and we kept fighting to knock back on the door of the top-10. Unfortunately, as the laps clicked away, I had a tough time braking where I needed to in the carousel and couldn’t turn in the center through the slow right handers. The overall tightness hurt us, but we still managed to bring home a 15th-place finish. The good thing about having two road courses back-to-back is that we get to turn left and right again next weekend. I’m really looking forward to racing at the Indy Road Course and wouldn’t want to be with any other group of guys.”  -Myatt Snider

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX STREETS OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP AUGUST 7, 2021 FELIX ROSENQVIST LEADS CHEVROLET IN FIRESTONE FAST SIX QUALIFYING ON STREETS OF NASHVILLE
NASHVILLE (August 7) — Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, will roll off 5^th for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix  for the NTT INDTCAR Series on the Streets of Nashville. Rosenqvist has been fast since he took his first laps around the new street course on Friday, and continued that consistency through the Firestone Fast Six qualifying. Colton Herta won the NTT P1 award. The remainder of the Firestone Fast Six were Scott Dixon, Alex Palou. Alexander Rossi and Romain Grojean.  Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet and Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet will start in the top-10, eighth and ninth respectively.  Contact with the wall late in Round Two for two-time Series’ champion, Josef Newgarden, No.2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet took him out of contention for a run for the pole at his hometown race. NBCSN will telecast the 80-lap/173.6-mile Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 8. The race, qualifications and practice will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Spectators will have the opportunity to view some of Chevrolet’s newest production vehicles, including a Corvette C8, Camaro ZL1 and Silverado 1500 Trailboss, and participate in a Q&A with NTT INDYCAR SERIES history making Chevrolet team owner Beth Paretta at the Chevrolet display in the Fan Zone located in the Nissan Stadium lot. The display will be open from 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7; and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. Paretta will chat with fans at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 8. All times are local. TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RESULTS:5^th:                Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet8^th:                Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet9^th:                Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet11^th:              Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet12^th:              Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet16^th:              Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet19^th:              Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet20^th:              Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet21^st:              Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet22^nd:             Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Chevrolet23^rd:              Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet DRIVER QUOTES:FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5^TH“We had a pretty solid qualifying. There was quite a lot of stuff going on here and there, a lot of people making mistakes. I feel like we were kind of doing solid. Maybe we weren’t the fastest car, but we were staying inside the qualifying all the time and getting through.“Then coming to Fast 6, I was like, Okay, let’s go, let’s try to go for the pole. Maybe I overdid it a little bit. But I also didn’t really feel like — I didn’t really nail my tires. They kind of came in end of my first lap, then during my second lap they kind of faded away a little bit.“I think Chevy has done a really good improvement for this weekend. We were working really hard the last couple weeks to improve some stuff. Seemed to have really helped.“Yeah, the whole team, I think it’s good to kind of bounce back inside a top five again. It’s been a while since we were there.“Yeah, good day.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 8th“It was a really good lap. This one is something else. You’ve got to just nail everything and it’s on the edge, on the edge, on the edge. It’s so much fun. Congrats to Nashville and the people that designed the race track. It’s just beautiful. It’s bumpy. We’re just not fast enough, you know? It feels good, but sometimes when it feels good, it’s a good race car but not a good qualifying car. So maybe with the track coming up in temperature and the red tires on, which we didn’t get to try this morning, maybe we built too much stability in the race car and couldn’t roll the speed through the corners. I’m assuming that’s what it is. We’ll look into it tonight. Well it’s a P78start for us in the Menards Chevy in Nashville. I really enjoy the track. It was really really fun to throw the car around in qualifying. We did everything we could, I think. I’m pretty proud of the 22 team and tomorrow we have a long race – 80 laps. It’s really hot and humid so we’ll try everything we can to go to the front and get on the first step tomorrow. IS THERE ARE PART OF THIS TRACK YOU LIKE THE MOST?“For those who know what it is, I love Rally Racing, like World Rally Championship. Actually when I retire in about 20 years of time, I will try that. I’ve done some and I’ve loved it. That section between Turn 4 all the way to Turn 8, is exactly like a Rally stage. I love it. It’s fun. And you really have to dance with the race car. I really enjoyed it.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET-QUALIFIED 12^TH“Its good to be here in Nashville and everybody has done a great job bringing this event to this city and this is the city where INDYCAR needs to be. I am really proud to be from here and have INDYCARs back, especially downtown, which is crazy cool. I would have never dreamed this type of event actually getting off the ground.  I am pretty pumped for tomorrow, I just wish we were a little higher up. We were trying to claw some performance back there and I over-pushed.  I think Team Chevy is doing a good job and we have a fast Hitachi Chevy for the most part.  We can make the most of it, its just going to be harder now.” DO YOU AGREE WITH THE PENALTY BY INDYCAR IN TAKING AWAY THE FASTEST LAP HERE? “Yeah, look, you can’t wreck and not get penalized. Its on me and that is how it works.” WHAT HAS THE DEFICIT BEEN JOSEF?  “I don’t know. It’s hard to say because it’s been a quick weekend. You take a swing at it with a new track like this and its either right on, or it’s a little off.  We have worked really hard and have been trying to be prepared as possible and I think we have gotten some more performance back. I am not sure exactly what we are going to need. I think we were a lot closer, I just over-stepped.”  YOU BROUGHT OUT THE CAUTION WHEN YOU HIT THE WALL. TALK ABOUT THE CIRCUIT AND THE INCIDENT“Yeah, it’s been a great circuit. It’s super fun to drive. It’s tricky. I don’t think we were on the best vote rolling off, trying to make up a little bit of a performance gap. But I feel positive for tomorrow. I think we can make something happen in the race. It’s just a little harder from 12th now.” WHERE DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE GOING TO HIT THE WALL? IT LOOKED LIKE THE CAR JUST WENT RIGHT INTO THE TURN“Yeah, I just made a mistake.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROCKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLT—QUALIFIED 16^TH“It’ not good. That’s all, nothing else to say. The car felt pretty decent on blacks (tires) and then didn’t change anything, got loose on reds. I don’t know. We cant seem to get a read on the car or at least get consistent reads and understand what’s going on, so just hit and miss all the time. “I was just hoping that I could bring some results to those guys and it’s just not happening. Can’t seem to find the sweet spot, been overshooting, undershooting and it’s very frustrating. That’s the name of the game. Tomorrow’s another day, we’re going to see what we can do.” DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET—QUALIFIED 19^TH“We just finished qualifying here at the Music City Grand Prix and I think was best qualifying so far on a road course this year so happy with that. It was a good improvement from practice two and having missed practice one, we’ve just been playing catch up. It was really helpful last night going over stuff with Seb, looking at onboard, looking at data and getting some input on car positioning for lines and stuff, so that’s definitely been a big help as far as getting up to speed. The car felt good. We’re really just fighting for traction overall. It’s pretty slippery in that back section as you go over the bridge and into those tight couple of areas, so just trying to manage that while still having a car that’s balanced for the rest of the lap. Overall it’s feeling pretty good. Looking forward to some long runs tomorrow and we’ll see how our fuel milage is in warmup and go from there for the race.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 22^ND“I had a pretty good decent first lap on the reds. And then on my second lap, I hit the wall. The right rear suspension was bent. And qualifying is already gone.” IS IT THAT YOU ARE PUSHING SO HARD OR IS IT THE TRACK OR WHAT IS IT?“Yeah, the track is gutsy. Everybody is new to this track. You’re pushing super hard and trying to find the limits. And it’s hard to get the car around this track. It’s been hard since lap 1 yesterday. But really now, I just threw it away.” DID THE TRACK CHANGE FROM THIS MORNING’S SESSION TO QUALIFYING?“Just a bit more grip, that’s all. No real balance changes. To be honest, quite consistent. But unfortunately, we couldn’t do well.” SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Qualified 23^RD‘I just cut the wall on my last lap there and broke a tire link. I really got into it there with our DEX Imaging car, we have a fast race car. I’ve don’t it to myself the last couple of races, just putting myself at the back of the pack and just don’t get enough. So it is what it is. It was an unfortunate end to a pretty promising weekend for us on the DEX Imaging Chevy. We had one fast lap at the end there in qualifying and unfortunately I tapped the wall and bent the suspension and that was it. So we start 23^rd tomorrow. Definitely not where we should be, we probably should be in the top 10 but it’s a little mistake on my part. You just get paid big time here. It’s tough, but we’ll get on it as a team. We’ll work on strategy overnight and see if we can come back stronger tomorrow. HAVE YOU STARTED THINKING ABOUT STRATEGY FOR TOMORROW?“I don’t know. We’ll debrief tonight and work on what we’ve got to do. But yeah, I’m pretty disappointed with myself. Three times in a row now I’ve stuffed qualifying. So, I’ve got to work on that.”

Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 scores third consecutive front row start
Magnus Racing notches season-best result in points qualifying for GTD

ELKHART LAKE, W.I. (August 7, 2021) – Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor scored the team’s third consecutive front row start in today’s qualifying for Sunday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Road America.

Taylor and co-driver Filipe Albuquerque will start the race from the outside of the front row, second, after setting a time of 2:08.677 in damp conditions around the four-mile circuit.

The second Acura ARX-05 from Meyer Shank Racing will start sixth in class after driver Olivier Pla made contact with the wall, while avoiding another spun prototype, during the qualifying session.

In the production-based GTD class, Andy Lally and Magnus with Archangel scored their best result of 2021 when Lally set the sixth fastest time in the championship points-awarding second session. Co-driver John Potter had control of the #44 Acura NSX GT3 Evo during the first session, to set starting position, and claimed the 14th fastest time.

The Compass Racing’s duo of Jeff Kingsley and Mario Farnbacher will start ninth for tomorrow’s two-hour, 40-minute event. Till Bechtolsheimer and Marc Miller will roll off 12th in their No. 66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo for Gradient Racing.
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Road America Qualifying Results
2nd overall – #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
6th overall – #60 Olivier Pla, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
9th GTD – #76 Jeff Kingsley, Compass Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
12th GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo
14th GTD – #44 John Potter, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Quotes
Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) pole qualifier; race co-driver will be Filipe Albuquerque: “A bit of a tricky qualifying. Damp conditions on wet tires. I’m really thankful that Filipe gave me some great tips before qualifying and the #10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 team worked together. I did some laps in the rain yesterday, but Filipe gave me tips on what it took to go faster and we ended up P2. The #31 [Action Express] team did a great job nailing their lap and getting the pole. It was difficult, and we were up against all our championship rivals in the top three. Tomorrow looks like it could be wet, dry, or mixed conditions and we’ll have to prepare for anything. The #10 Konica Minolta Acura has been really strong in the dry and I think we’ve shown we can be in the mix in any conditions.”

Andy Lally (#44 Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo): set sixth fastest time in GTD points qualifying: “The guys gave me a really good car. We took a shot [at estimating the proper tire] pressures, because we were expecting the rain to increase [as qualifying continued]. The car was awesome on the out lap, but we lost a little bit of rear grip in the following laps because we over-pressured the rear tires. With the track not fully wet, it was just a bit damp in some places, we overheated the rears by the third lap, so were unable to improve on our time. But this qualifying is definitely progress for us, so that’s nice to see. We’re kinda hoping for rain tomorrow, too!”

Fast Facts
Acura Motorsports has scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in 2020 with front-row starter Ricky Taylor and co-driver Helio Castroneves.

All three Acura NSX GT3 Evo teams are on track this weekend at Road America, with Sprint Cup participants Gradient Racing and Compass Racing joining full-season championship entrant Magnus with Archangel for only the third time this season.

Where to Watch the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America
Same-day US television coverage from Road America begins at 8 p.m. EDT Sunday on the NBC Sports Network.  Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available NBC Sports Gold TrackPass, on NBCSports.com  and the NBC Sports App with NBCSN authentication.

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

1-2 GTLM start for team’s 20th race at Road America; Milner second in qualifying

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Aug. 7, 2021) – Jordan Taylor gave Corvette Racing its second pole position at Road America in three years with the fast time in qualifying for the IMSA SportsCar Weekend race – the team’s 20th event at the historic road course and a fourth straight 1-2 qualifying result in GT Le Mans (GTLM) on the season. Taylor, driving the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R with Antonio Garcia, set a best lap of 2:20.979 (103.368 mph) ahead of Sunday’s two-hour, 40-minute race. Taylor and Garcia arrived at Road America after three straight victories and lead the GTLM Drivers Championship, as does Chevrolet in the Manufacturers standings. Taylor went 0.627 seconds quicker than Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette that he shares with Tommy Milner. Tandy and Milner were second in the two most recent GTLM races at Watkins Glen and Lime Rock, and they also won the non-points Detroit round in mid-June. Directly after Road America, Corvette Racing departs for France and its return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As is tradition, the team in May used Road America – with its long straights and sections of fast, flowing corners – to test and develop the Corvette C8.R’s low-downforce setup and aerodynamic package. Corvette Racing will race at Road America in IMSA competition at 1:40 p.m. CT on Sunday. Same-day coverage on NBCSN starts at 8 p.m. ET with live streaming coverage on TrackPass and NBC Sports Gold at 2:35 p.m. ET. Live audio coverage from IMSA Radio will be available on IMSA.com.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “Obviously a good session for us. We had a wet session to get an idea of what the car might be doing. So heading into qualifying, we had some confidence to know what to expect with tire pressures and to how to warm up the tire. It was a little bit drier than yesterday with not as much standing water. Getting the lap time in early when the tire was at its peak is what got us the pole. We almost replicated the lap at the end but I think that was just figuring out where to go in the wet. The C8.R was consistent and it was strong. It’s another 1-2 in qualifying for Corvette Racing so that bodes well for us in the race no matter if the race is wet or dry.”MORE ON QUALIFYING: “It’s good to be back at Road America. It’s one of our favorite events of the year. It’s Corvette Racing’s 20th race here so it’s special be part of that kind of history at this track. Another 1-2 for the team but it was definitely tricky. We had in-between conditions today for qualifying – we had a wet session yesterday, dry this morning and in the middle for qualifying. It’s good getting the car in these different conditions, especially leading up to Le Mans next week where all these conditions can play a part of it. The more miles we get on the Corvette in these mixed conditions and learn, the better we will be at Le Mans and for tomorrow.”ARE MIXED CONDITIONS SOMETIMES MORE DIFFICULT THAN FULLY WET? “It was a tricky session. Just watching the first GTD session, they were on slicks but it looked like it was raining on half the track so we didn’t know what to expect. For us, it seemed kind of damp everywhere – like a light rain. But even then, each corner felt different each lap. It was hard to tell if that was tire degradation or grip level or rain. It’s hard when you don’t have that many cars around you to kind of judge from. Thankfully we were able to get that lap in early and set a second pretty good lap at the end. No matter what conditions we get tomorrow, the C8.R will be strong.”DESCRIBE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO DRIVE THESE CARS IN THE RAIN: “It’s definitely sketchy. When I joined them in 2012 as a third driver, it was known that Gary Pratt (team principal) doesn’t like testing in the rain just because it’s so easy to make a mistake; you’re in a knife edge the whole time. In testing you can’t learn a whole lot, but at the same time you need to test some amount to be prepared for a weekend like this where it is in these conditions. From a driving point of view, it’s on edge… more on edge in the brake zones and everything than it would be in the dry. Locking front tires, locking rears, sliding the car… thankfully the team has developed so many bits of technology in the car: lock-up lights to warn the driver when you’re locking up a tire, traction control lights to let you know when the rear is slipping to give you more signals than what you’re feeling in the car. They’ve definitely made it easier for us throughout the years, but I think that’s what everyone is doing around the world to elevate racing and competition. That’s why I think you’ve seen everyone come so close when it comes to laptime.”IS THERE A FUN FACTOR TO IT? “It’s fun when you’re fast! When you’re slow, it’s very stressful because it’s so easy to make a mistake. If you just touch the paint at the wrong angle, you’ll be spinning off and you can’t catch the car. It’s impossible. You’re very on-edge but at the same time there is a bit of thrill with that where you are on edge, and the more on-edge you are the more laptime there is. So it’s risk versus reward. Robin Liddell was the one who said years ago in GRAND-AM that any driver who enjoys the rain is lying because at any moment you can send it off pretty quickly. Hopefully tomorrow isn’t as bad as last year. Antonio drove yesterday where it was more wet than today. I think no matter the conditions, the car has been proven. We’re looking forward to it.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALFIED SECOND IN GTLM: “We just missed it a bit with the setup. We’re still working on getting the balance where we need to be. Tomorrow is going to be the challenge if it’s dry with the temps and the tire degradation. If it’s wet, which is looking likely, that presents its own challenges as well. We got some good work in today but the majority will come tomorrow in warmup to make any last-minute improvements.”

NOS Energy Drink #17 Chases Second Ironman 55 Title on Saturday Night

PEVELY, MO – August 6, 2021 – It’s like poetry in motion watching Sheldon Haudenschild attack Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 like his life depends on it.

Whereas his father Jac Haudenschild rose to fame during “The Wild Child” days at Eldora Speedway, young Sheldon has created his own version of must-see-TV when he takes the NOS Energy Drink, Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 to Pevely, MO.

At 27-years-old, with 354 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Features under his belt, no track has consistently offered more highlights or more victory lane trips for Haudenschild than the I-55 bullring. He’s a 20-time winner with The Greatest Show on Dirt, yet the only facility he’s conquered on multiple occasions remains I-55.

The numbers speak for themselves, but the tape really shows all.

Prior to Friday’s dominance, which gave him six triumphs in 2021, there was the 2019 Ironman 55 when he delivered a jaw-dropping beatdown to win the $20,000 title by 10.308 seconds, all while lapping his way into the top-five.

On this night, a similar act was in store. After sitting in second for the opening six laps, Haudenschild pounced on Logan Schuchart to take the lead and began his march into lap traffic. Like 2019, it was a non-stop affair, but this time only 35 laps as he and Brad Sweet raced through lap traffic.

The margin of victory was much different, only 1.431 seconds this time, but he still lapped all the way up to seventh.

With ease it seemed, the Wooster, OH native trod a tricky cushion placed atop the track and planted his Hoosier Tire against the fence lap-after-lap. There were a few close calls as Sweet kept the pressure mounted, but Haudenschild was not to be denied at his best track on tour.

A $10,000 win equals Sheldon with his dad Jac at three World of Outlaws wins on the Missouri 1/4-mile.

For Brad Sweet, his quest for perfection was cut short by only one position. The Grass Valley, CA native entered the evening with a remarkable five-for-five record in the state of Missouri this year, including a sweep of I-55 in April. The chances seemed good when he raced into second on Lap 7, but it became tough to create a serious challenge with lappers here, there, and everywhere.

Ultimately, it was P2 for the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. Sweet now has 25 podium finishes this season and extended his points lead with a third consecutive World of Outlaws title sitting only 29 races away.

Closing out the top-five on Friday night was Watertown, CT’s David Gravel in third aboard the Big Game Motorsports #2, Hanover, PA’s Logan Schuchart in fourth with his Shark Racing #1S, and Lemoore, CA’s Carson Macedo with his 16th consecutive top-seven by taking fifth for the Jason Johnson Racing #41.

Rounding out the top-ten on the Night Before the Ironman was Donny Schatz in sixth, James McFadden in seventh, Jacob Allen in eighth, Spencer Bayston in ninth, and Parker Price-Miller in tenth with KSE Hard Charger honors coming from 21st.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series competes in the state of Missouri for the final time this season tomorrow, Saturday, August 7. Pevely, MO’s Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 will host the 13th Ironman 55, a grueling 55-lap affair with $20,000 to the winner. If you can’t make it yourself, you can watch all the action LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [1][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$5,500]; 3. 2-David Gravel [5][$3,200]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2][$2,600]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$2,350]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [10][$2,150]; 7. 9-James McFadden [14][$2,100]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [7][$1,950]; 9. 11-Spencer Bayston [8][$1,900]; 10. 83-Parker Price-Miller [21][$1,850]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [12][$1,400]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu [11][$1,200]; 13. 51B-Joe B-Miller [16][$1,000]; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$950]; 15. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$900]; 16. 7S-Jason Sides [22][$900]; 17. 48-Danny Dietrich [23][$900]; 18. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [17][$900]; 19. 47N-Marcus Dumesny [15][$900]; 20. O7-Skylar Gee [9][$900]; 21. 98-Clinton Boyles [24][$900]; 22. 20G-Noah Gass [19][$900]; 23. 44-Cale Thomas [3][$900]; 24. 13-Justin Peck [13][$900]. Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-6, Sheldon Haudenschild 7-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Parker Price-Miller[+11]

NEW Championship Standings (52/83 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (7,216); 2. Carson Macedo (-126); 3. David Gravel (-138); 4. Donny Schatz (-246); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (-272); 6. Logan Schuchart (-298); 7. James McFadden (-724); 8. Kraig Kinser (-880); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-1150); 10. Jacob Allen (-1378).

16 drivers are locked in for Saturday’s 100-lap finaleNEW RICHMOND, WI– August 6, 2021 – A Louisiana driver will lead some of the best Late Model drivers in the country to the green flag for the 34th annual USA Nationals. Cade Dillard led all eight laps of Friday’s pole dash at Cedar Lake Speedway to earn the first starting position for the 100-lap finale. The Robeline, LA driver survived double Drydene Heat races under a passing points format to lock himself into one of the top eight spots for the $50,000-to-win event. It also earned him the chance to race his way onto the front row.  The “Thriller” drew the pole for the dash and never looked back, thundering ahead of Ashton Winger en route to the victory.   Even though he’s thrilled with Friday’s performance, he knows there’s a lot of racing left.  “It’s pretty cool to be locked in and get on the pole of an event as big as this,” Dillard said. “There’s a long way to go, so hopefully, I can make the right changes on my car and hopefully be good at the end. That’s where I’ve struggled in the past with this event.”  Every driver racing at USA Nationals saw a different format on Friday than what they’re used to with the World of Outlaws. Drivers earned passing points in their two Heat Races, locking the top 16 into the show.  It’s a format that didn’t faze Dillard one bit because he’s familiar with it.   “I come from Modified racing,” Dillard said. “The USMTS; that’s what we do every night so passing points that didn’t really bother me. We just had a couple of lucky breaks in that second [Heat Race] and just had a really good car.”  Joining Dillard on the front row of the $50,000-to-win Feature is 2020 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year Ashton Winger.  After cashing in on $6,000 by winning Thursday’s held over Morton Buildings Feature, his second-place finish in the dash only added to Friday’s accolades. The USA Nationals has been on the Senoia, GA driver’s bucket list for a while. But Winger knows there’s still work to do if he wants to find Victory Lane again this weekend.   “We’ve got to be better, and we’re a little bit off whenever the racetrack progresses to the bottom,” Winger said. “At some point, we’re going to need to move to the bottom tomorrow, and we have to make sure we’re not 15th.”  Despite having a fast car all night, Winger stated he needed some luck to be in a good position for Saturday.  “I got pretty lucky in my first heat because the guy who was running second, I think something broke on his car, and I went from sixth to fourth and got points without passing anybody,” Winger said. “Racing is so much about being at the right place at the right time. I definitely think we had some stuff go our way today.”  Kyle Bronson, Jimmy Owens, and Brandon Sheppard rounded out the top five in the pole dash. Max Blair, Brandon Overton, and A.J Diemel made up the rest of the field.   After the pole dash, 11 drivers battled for a $2,500 prize in the Kyle Koch Memorial F.A.N.S. Fund dash. Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL, took the lead on the outside of Garrett Alberson and held on to win the event.  The dash is one of the reasons the Big Frog Motorsports is racing this weekend at Cedar Lake.  “Ultimately, that’s why we’re here; them guys stepped up and helped us get here financially,” Whitener said. “The Big Frog team pulled this car up here and got me here, and my fans put me on the front row [of the dash], so I have to thank them guys.”  Garrett Alberson, Bobby Pierce, Jason Feger, and Trevor Gundaker rounded out the top five in the 12-lap dash.  UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday, August 7, for day three of the USA Nationals. A pair of Last Chance Showdowns will help set the field for the 100-Lap, $50,000-to-win finale. USA Nationals Pole Dash (8 Laps)- 1. 97- Cade Dillard [1]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger [2]; 3.40B- Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[5], 5. 1- Brandon Sheppard [6]; 6. 111V- Max Blair[4]; 7. 76- Brandon Overton[7]; 8. 10C-A.J. Diemel[8].F.A.N.S Fund Dash (12 Laps)- 1. 58- Mark Whitener[2]; 2. 58- Garret Alberson[1]; 3. 32- Bobby Pierce[6]; 4. 25-Jason Feger[5]; 5. 11-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 6. 25S-Chad Simpson[7]; 7. 21- Billy Moyer, Jr. [8]; 8. 12- Ashton Winger [10]; 9. 11-Gordy Gundaker[11]; 10. 24-Ryan Unzicker [9]; 11. 32- Chris Simpson [12]; 12. 0-Nick Hoffman [13]; 13. 22-Tegan Evans[3].

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.

Ashton Winger beat Chase Junghans by 0.107 sec. to get his second career win at Cedar Lake Speedway during the USA NationalsNEW RICHMOND, WI – Aug. 6, 2021 – Ashton Winger and Chase Junghans suffered from the cruelty of misfortune in the early stage of the 2021 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model season, forcing both to scale back. Rebuild.Friday afternoon at Cedar Lake Speedway for the USA Nationals, both had redemption within reach. Side by side, about an inch apart, equal at the nose with their family-owned cars, they could see the checkered flag waiting to be claimed. But worthy only to one.With Junghans low and Winger high, the Georgian found an ounce more speed from the top line, beating Junghans at the finish line by 0.107 sec.The victory is Winger’s second career World of Outlaws win – coming about 13 months after he claimed his first at the Wisconsin track last year.“I don’t know what it is about this place, this place is awesome,” Winger said in Victory Lane. “It’s awesome to see all of these fans out here. Every time I roll in here it feels like home. It’ll definitely always be a special place to me since it is where I got my first Outlaw win.”The 30-lap, $6,000-to-win, Feature was originally scheduled for Thursday night, but Mother Nature cut the program short before the Last Chance Showdowns finished, moving it to Friday afternoon before the originally scheduled night of events.With the sun still illuminating the 3/8-mile speedway, the green flag became vibrant when it hit the air, unleashing the Most Powerful Late Model on the Planet. Junghans started on the pole, alongside Boom Briggs. And while the Kansas driver pulled away in his blue #18, Briggs had a poor start and fell to fourth by the first corner. His error opened a lane for Winger to go from fourth to second on the first lap and plan his pursuit of Junghans.Behind them, three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard crept into third, watching. Waiting.Junghans trekked low, while Winger soared around the high side. Lap by lap Winger closed the gap, gaining ground every time he exited a corner. On Lap 7, his white #12 machine was even with Junghans by the middle of the first corner before he mashed the throttle and launched his chariot to the lead down the backstretch.Winger kept his momentum steady after the pass, putting distance between him and Junghans, who now had to fend off attacks from Sheppard.Seconds before Winger was about to hit slower traffic, the first caution of the race emerged on Lap 17 when smoke vomited out of Ryan Gustin’s car. When the race resumed, the caution was immediately called again for Bobby Pierce getting sideways on the front stretch with right rear damage.The break of momentum didn’t hinder Winger’s spirits. This was a wiser, more seasoned Ashton Winger than a year prior. He spent the summer on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals tour, building his team and his confidence. He said the tour helped him learn to have fun racing again, and it’s shown with four wins this season. So, when the race restarted, there was no dull in his focus.He ran away from the field with his hunger for the win growing every lap. Junghans was still preoccupied with fending off Sheppard and now Jimmy Owens, who emerged into fourth.It wasn’t until lap traffic finally came into play that Junghans saw hope. He has two World of Outlaws victories, but his last came in 2019. Having spent several months away from the Series tour to prepare for the crown jewel events, he was just as eager as Winger to bath in confetti again.With seven laps to go Winger jumped the cushion, killing his speed and momentum. Junghans was now within striking distance. With both navigating slower traffic Junghans had a better time of it and reeled Winger in lap by lap.White flag. Winger led, but Junghans was on his bumper. Knowing his rival was close, Winger dove low into Turn 1 to stop a slide job attempt but Junghans went high to build momentum. It worked. He looked low on Winger down the backstretch and roughed his way underneath him going into Turn 3 with the two cars banging fenders.At the exit of Turn 4, Junghans had the lead by a nose. It wasn’t enough, though. Winger used the high side momentum to his advanced and stole the win.“I just needed to leave a little bit better off of (Turn) four,” Junghans said about what he needed to win. “I saw him take the bottom on that last lap and I was licking my chops. I was like, ‘I’m going to blast it off in there and cross him over.’ But, I mean, we did all we could. I ain’t going to wreck him for six grand or nothing. We’ll just build off of that and keep on trucking.”Sheppard had to settle for third, but was still satisfied with the result, knowing he had a good car for the rest of the weekend.“We were definitely able to get some good notes for tomorrow and the rest of the night,” Sheppard said. “It’ll probably still be that slick. Definitely nice to get laps on a track that slick. I know they’re going to work on it and make it really good for us. Another good run for us. We had a really good car. We’ve been really close on the car the past couple of weeks here. So, really excited about that.”With Sheppard’s championship points rival, Chris Madden, finishing 10th, he extended his points lead to 102 points over the South Carolina driver.Running the Summer Nationals tour for Winger was all about rebuilding his way back to being a full-time World of Outlaws again. He may now be there.“Thank you to everybody that has helped me and turned a wrench on my race car. This is awesome,” Winger said. “I’m just a silly ol’ Georgia boy trying to make everyone proud and do it in front of all of these people. That was probably one of the best day races I was ever a part of.”UP NEXT The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series continues its action at Cedar Lake Speedway for the USA Nationals Friday night before the $50,000-to-win Feature on Saturday, Aug. 7.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.RESULTSMorton Buildings Feature (30 Laps)12-Ashton Winger [4][$6,000]; 2. 18C-Chase Junghans [1][$3,000]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [5][$2,000]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens [7][$1,750]; 5. 0-Nick Hoffman [3][$1,500]; 6. 28M-Jimmy Mars [8][$1,400]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening [10][$1,300]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$1,200]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton [11][$1,100]; 10. 44-Chris Madden [12][$1,000]; 11. 40B-Kyle Bronson [24][$900]; 12. 18-Shannon Babb [14][$850]; 13. 97-Cade Dillard [19][$800]; 14. 32S-Chris Simpson [16][$775]; 15. 49-Jonathan Davenport [6][$750]; 16. 111V-Max Blair [17][$700]; 17. 59-Garrett Alberson [15][$660]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs [2][$640]; 19. B1-Brent Larson [26][$620]; 20. 7-Ricky Weiss [22][$600]; 21. 25S-Chad Simpson [21][$600]; 22. 49T-Jake Timm [23][$600]; 23. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [18][$600]; 24. 32-Bobby Pierce [13][$600]; 25. 19R-Ryan Gustin [25][$600]; 26. 25-Jason Feger [20][$600]; KSE Hard Charger Award: 40B-Kyle Bronson[+13]

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIXS TREETS OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE ONE RECAP AUGUST 6, 2021 FELIX ROSENQVIST LEADS CHEVROLET CONTINGENT IN PRACTICE ONE
NASHVILLE (Aug. 6, 2021) – In what could easily be earmarked as one of the most important practice sessions for Team Chevy in the NTT INDYCAR Series-the first laps around the new course on the streets of Nashville-is in the books. It was not without moments of excitement and gave the fans a glimpse at what is sure to be a very strategic and competitive  race on Sunday.
For the Chevrolet powered teams and drivers, even though the session was shortened as a result of contact incidents, all used their time as wisely as possible to prepare for Saturday’s practice prior to Firestone Fast Six qualifying.
Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, led the way for Chevrolet with the seventh quickest time in a very tight field, maximizing his street experience in Europe earlier in his career. 
Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet and Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet finished the session in the top-12. Colton Herta set fast lap in the session. 
Contact with track walls damaged the Chevrolets driven by Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP and Conor Daly, No. 20 US Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing. Both cars will be repaired and ready for Practice No. 2 at noon on Saturday in preparation for qualifying set for 3:30 p.m. Both live on Peacock Premium.
NBCSN will telecast the 80-lap/173.6-mile Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 8. The race, qualifications and practice will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Spectators will have the opportunity to view some of Chevrolet’s newest production vehicles, including a Corvette C8, Camaro ZL1 and Silverado 1500 Trailboss, and participate in a Q&A with NTT INDYCAR SERIES history making Chevrolet team owner Beth Paretta at the Chevrolet display in the Fan Zone located in the Nissan Stadium lot. 
The display will be open from 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 6; 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7; and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. Paretta will chat with fans at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 8. All times are local.
Team Chevy will be represented by:A.J. Foyt EnterprisesDalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators AJ Foyt RacingSebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt RacingArrow McLaren SPPato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SPFelix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SPCarlinMax Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher CarlinEd Carpenter RacingConor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air ForceRinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/AutogeekTeam PenskeJosef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team PenskeScott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team PenskeWill Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team PenskeSimon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske
DRIVER QUOTES:FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: ON PREVIOUS STREET COURSE EXPERIENCE: “”I think my street course experience definitely helps with this course. It is a fun track and really tricky. The straight after the bridge, where you are bottoming out, is just nuts. I had a really big moment there at the end of the session. Apart from that, it is really smooth and straight forward. Those high-speed kinks really upset the car, but it is a fantastic track. It’s going to be a good challenge and take the best out of us. The best driver will win.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET: AFTER CONTACT WITH WALL: “What a cool track. It is very physical and unlike any other place we go to, specifically the braking zones. Our car felt fine until I made a mistake going into Turn 3 and hit the inside wall, sending me into the outside wall in Turn 3. We didn’t get much running in today but tomorrow we will. We will be ready for qualifying, I’m not worried.” 
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON FIRST LAPS ON TRACK- “Yeah, couple of big bumps. Worst one is probably going into turn four. If they could grind that down a little bit, it would be really nice. The track is cool, man. I really enjoyed it. Really typical street course, bumps and cambers of the road you got to deal with.
“Yeah, it was fun. Fun, apart from the coming off the bridge heading into the city. That’s a bit sketchy with the bumps. That one big bump, that’s it, the rest are pretty good.
“It is so rare to break-in a new track-especially a street course. It’s always cool. I used to love any time we went to a new street course. A lot of fun. Once you’ve been there a few years, it gets really, really tough, tiny little details. Every one is good. Here you find big chunks, big chunks of time. I’m sure by the time we get to qualifying, it will be really, really tight, as it is already tight.
“But, yeah, enjoying it. I love the amount of fans that are here for a Friday. See a lot of people in the stands already, a lot of action in the paddock, a lot of stuff to do. So really cool. I think the promoters have done a great job”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“Awesome to get on track here for the first Music City Grand Prix. The DEX Imaging Chevy was amazing. I felt really strong. It’s nice to go to a track that other people haven’t been to before and you can really hustle it and find your way slowly. I felt like I had a really solid run, a solid start to the session. We just slowly chipped at it and found ourselves right around 10^th by the end of the session. There’s still plenty left in me and the car and I’m sure everyone up and down pit lane is the same. Overall pretty strong session. I love the track, love the atmosphere here in Nashville and I’m pretty excited for a strong weekend.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:“Beautiful day in Nashville. It’s an amazing design that they came up with for the track – I really enjoyed it. The Menards Chevy was very competitive so I look forward to tomorrow. We’ve got some work to do still to get to P1 but we definitely have a lot of lap time still in it. I’m very excited for the weekend. There is a lot of hype, a lot of people and I can’t wait to see what a good show we can bring to them.”
Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 4 wins, 5 poles in 10 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 93 wins, 104 earned poles in 159 races

Richard Childress Racing at Watkins Glen International… After restrictions and schedule changes prohibited a national series race at Watkins Glen International in 2020, the NASCAR Cup Series now returns to the high-speed, seven-turn, upstate New York facility. In 75 Cup Series starts at the 2.45-mile road course, RCR boasts two wins (Robby Gordon in 2003 and Kevin Harvick in 2006), eight top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. Dale Earnhardt also won three poles (1990, ’92, ’96). In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Welcome, N.C. organization has captured one victory with Harvick in 2007 and accumulated nine top-five and 22 top-10 results.  Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ The Glen 200 at Watkins Glen International will be televised live Saturday, August 7, beginning at 4 p.m. ET on CNBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International will be televised live Sunday, August 8, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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Austin Dillon and the No. 3 The Cowboy Channel Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Watkins Glen International… In six previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen, Dillon’s best finish is 16th in 2014. He has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit at the road course, posting a best finish of 12th in 2013. He also finished 12th in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Division race at Watkins Glen in 2008.  About The Cowboy Channel… The Cowboy Channel is the official network of ProRodeo and the first 24-hour television network totally dedicated to western sports and the western lifestyle. Headquartered in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, The Cowboy Channel features content focused on ProRodeo, bull riding, roping, reining, barrel racing, and other western sports genres, along with western fashion and music. The programming lineup also features a wide variety of “live” coverage from major western events showcasing the world’s toughest and most talented cowboys and cowgirls and is home of the National Finals Rodeo in December. The network enjoys distribution into 42 million homes on cable/satellite systems on Altice, Charter Spectrum, DISH, DIRECTV®, AT&T U-Verse, Cox, Comcast, Mediacom, Verizon FIOS TV, and many other rural cable systems. In addition, The Cowboy Channel can be streamed online via The Cowboy Channel Plus at cowboychannelplus.com, DIRECTV NOW, Roku, iOS, Android, Firestick, Apple TV, and Sling TV’s Heartland Extra package. For more information, please visit thecowboychannel.com. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:Another road course race this weekend. Another wild card?“Yeah, for sure. The road courses have turned into wildcard races. Taking care of your stuff, trying to make it to the end of these things becomes a demo-derby out there. This is going to be one of those ones that if you stay on track, you’re going to have a pretty good run. I’ve had decent runs at Watkins Glen International, but it’s been challenging to string together good finishes. I have a lot of optimism going into Watkins Glen this year, though, because our road course program has been solid this year compared to the past. We’ve put a lot of work in during the off season, and we’ve had a lot of highlights on the road courses this year, including earning stage points and decent finishes.” How do you prepare for a racetrack like Watkins Glen International?“A lot of time in the simulator, going over notes and watching old races. We try to make sure we are putting in the work beforehand. We’ve been working really hard on our road course program this year. Watkins Glen is a really fast, aggressive track. You can gain a lot by getting after it on the braking zones and its just a high-speed place with all of the grip in the pavement.”                                                                                                                                                                 How do you feel about the season so far? “I think we’re all on edge with our position in the points, but these next four weeks will be really telling. There’s a lot of fight in this team and we’re not giving up. I’m pleased with the consistency this No. 3 team has had this year. We show up each and every weekend and have strong, consistent cars that withstand the races. I think the next part of that evolution is just getting a little bit more speed. We would like to be where some of our other Chevy teammates are. We’re doing everything we can to lock ourselves into the NASCAR Playoffs.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Chevy Accessories Camaro ZL1 1LE at Watkins Glen International… Reddick will be making his first start at Watkins Glen International in the NASCAR Cup Series, as the series did not travel to the road course in 2020. Reddick has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at The Glen, with a best finish of fifth coming in 2019. About Chevrolet… Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at chevrolet.com. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: While you’ll be making your first Cup start at Watkins Glen International this weekend, you do have some Xfinity starts under your belt. What are your thoughts on the road course and what makes it unique?“Watkins Glen International is just a really fast road course. We’ve seen how fast the recent winners like Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliot have been there lately. They really thread the needle and run as close to perfect as possible every single lap, so we need to be ready to step up and perform at that level. My No. 8 Chevy Accessories team has been working hard to give us the best chance we can with the cars we have underneath us. I’ve been working hard as well to be as prepared as I can be entering a race weekend and understanding everything about each track so we can start the race as close to prepared as we can. The esses are really tricky at Watkins Glen. It’s important to your lap time, as well as the bus stop which comes up shortly after them. That whole back-half of the track is so incredibly important to your lap time. There is just so much momentum in this track that you can’t afford to give anything up at any point on the course.”

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro at Watkins Glen International…Snider will make his first career start at Watkins Glen International this Saturday. The 26-year-old driver has never competed on the seven-turn road course in any series, but has prepared for his track debut by talking with Austin Dillon, watching film and logging laps on the simulator. About Summit Hill Foods… Summit Hill Foods is a fourth-generation, family-owned food company headquartered in Rome, Georgia. Founded in 1941, the company’s core strength is the development and manufacture of ingredient systems used to deliver texture and superior flavor. Summit Hill Foods is an ingredient supplier to food service manufacturers and restaurants. The company also markets nationally distributed brands including Better Than Bouillon®, Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce™, Southeastern Mills®, Shore Lunch® and Better Than Gravy®. Southeastern Mills operates six manufacturing facilities located in Rome, Georgia; New Iberia, Louisiana; and Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more, visit www.SHFoods.com. MYATT SNIDER QUOTE:You have never raced previously raced at Watkins Glen International. What have your preparations looked like leading into this race? “I have spent a lot of time on the simulator at RCR, as well as watching a ton of film with my crew chief Andy Street. I’ve been doing all the research that I can, because I’m a believer in that if I’m prepared that will translate during the race. I have turned so many laps at Watkins Glen on iRacing throughout the years, that I feel like I have been there before when I actually haven’t. Saturday’s race is going to be exciting and I know my guys will bring a fast and spicy Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro.”

The Euro Finals Shootout Santa Pod RacewayThu.9 – Sun.12 September 2021
Santa Pod Raceway will present The Euro Finals Shootout over the 9^th-12^th September weekend. In normal times, the weekend hosts Europe’s most prestigious drag racing event, the FIA/FIM European Finals, but Covid-19 has forced cancellation of the championships these past two years and has robbed Santa Pod of the vivid presence of teams from 16 or 17 nations who usually attend.
Now, loosening travel restrictions promise a welcome return of some of the colourful Continental entries so missed since the pandemic struck.
The outline programme features Pro Shootouts for Top Fuel Dragsters, Nitro Funny Cars and Nostalgia Funny Cars. Pro Exhibition classes are also planned for Top Methanol Dragsters, Pro Stocks and Scandinavia’s outrageous, outlaw Top Doorslammers.
Round 5 of the Motorsport UK British Drag Racing Championship – the fast, furious Pro Modifieds – will headline the event’s UK national championship programme, heralding the first competitive appearance of Bobby Wallace’s latest entry. Imported from the USA last year, the 14-litre, V8-powered, nitrous-boosted Chevrolet Camaro dipped into the 5-second zone, at almost 240mph, on only its seventh test pass. The event’s expected influx of European Pro Mod heavyweights will pose an exciting challenge for the Wallace team and their UK counterparts.
A potential new star appears on the horizon among the 10,000-horsepower, 300mph Top Fuel Dragsters. After rising through the Junior Dragster ranks, Finland’s Ida Zetterström switched to two wheels, winning Scandinavia’s ferocious SuperStreet Bike championship – ultra-hairy, 6.8sec/215mph, turbocharged motorcycles running on street-legal tyres without the benefit of wheelie bars. Back on four wheels and duly quarantined, Zetterström began her Top Fuel licensing process guesting at Santa Pod’s recent VW festival, Bug Jam, and is expected to complete the procedure with a single remaining full pass at The Euro Finals Shootout, allowing her to compete for the first time with the world’s fastest, loudest racing cars.
Among opponents facing Zetterström will be Santa Pod’s own Top Fuel speed queen, Susanne Callin. Guesting at the same Bug Jam event, Callin set new career-best elapsed times with three consecutive 3-second passes, to add to the 300mph terminal speed she had clocked while still a teenager in 2005.
In normal times, Santa Pod’s annual calendar of 75 or more events is settled by September of the previous year. Covid has made planning on the hoof an entirely new experience for the venue’s management, and fresh details of The Euro Finals Shootout will be unveiled as they develop. The programme will include all Santa Pod’s regular attractions, such as Jet Cars, Monster Trucks and stunt driving and riding displays. As the sun goes down, the Friday Evening Nitro Show will showcase Top Fuel Dragsters, Funny Cars and Jets at their most spectacular.
The Euro Finals Shootout takes place at Santa Pod Raceway, near Wellingborough (NN29 7XA) from Thursday 9^th to Sunday 12^th September, 2021. Advance adult ticket prices begin at £20, with children aged 5 to 15 at £5 per day. All tickets must be booked in advance – there will be no admission on the gate. Overnight camping is included with multi-day tickets and parking and paddock access are free.
Event information is available at https://santapod.co.uk/european-finals.php and tickets may be booked online at www.santapodtickets.com or by telephoning the Box Office at 01234 782828.
Photos attached:

Super DIRTcar Series $10K-to-win Demon 100 set for Aug. 17 at Brewerton SpeedwayFor first time in two years, Big Block Modifieds return to New York track in NAPA Super DIRT Week qualifierBREWERTON, NY — The Beasts of the Northeast have caught the scent of a demon – a “1/3-mile D-shaped dirt demon” known to New Yorkers as the famous Brewerton Speedway. With their helmets in hand and 800-hp monsters under the hood, the stars of the Super DIRTcar Series will return to battle this tricky demon Tuesday, Aug. 17, for The Demon 100.Superstars like Larry Wight, Billy Decker, and Chris Hile made a name for themselves at the Brewerton track; now they, and the rest of the stacked Big Block Modified field, will look for glory on the biggest stage. With it will come a $10,000 payday and a guaranteed starting spot for the 49th NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week (Oct. 6-10).“We wanted to bring the Super DIRTcar Series back to one of its most vital home tracks,” said DIRTcar Racing CEO Brian Carter. “Brewerton Speedway has been a staple in the Central New York racing scene for decades and we couldn’t be more excited to bring the Super DIRTcar Series back to this fan-favorite track.”In 1973, Will Cagle won the first Series race at Brewerton Speedway. Then 20 years later “Canada Joe” Joe Plazek put his name in the record books to ignite a tradition of Series races at Brewerton. Matt Sheppard, the seven-time Series champion, holds the Series record with five Brewerton victories.The ⅓-mile track produces exciting wheel-to-wheel action on a weekly basis with its tight entry into Turn 1 and then fast, sweeping layout in Turns 3 and 4. Its shape is like no other and combined with the stars of the Super DIRTcar Series, The Demon 100 is destined for a hell of a 100-lap show.In addition to the Big Block Modifieds — with a purse in excess of $35,000 — the DIRTcar Sportsman will also be in racing in a 30-lap Feature with purse over $4,000.Tickets are on sale now for $30 presale. Admission will be $33 at the gate. Tickets for students (11-17) are $15. Kids 10 and under are FREE. Pit passes are $35 for DIRTcar members and $40 for non-members. CLICK HERE for tickets. Pit passes are not available for pre-sale and must be purchased at the gate. Hot Laps get the Big Block party started at 6:30pm (ET) followed by racing at 7:30pm.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every Super DIRTcar Series event live on DIRTVision. Get your FAST PASS now and see twin 60-lap Features at Land of Legends Raceway this Wednesday, Aug. 4, the Centennial 102 from Orange County Fair Speedway on Thursday, Aug. 12, and the Demon 100. Plus access to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Demon 100 Order of Events6:30pm – Hot Laps.7:20 – Opening Ceremonies7:30 – Heat EventsSuper DIRTcar Series Heats – 8 LapsDIRTcar Sportsman Heats – 8 Laps.Super DIRTcar Series Redraw.Super DIRTcar Series Last Chance Showdown(s) – 10 LapsDIRTcar Sportsman Last Chance Showdown – 10 Laps (If Necessary)Break – Track Prep (If Necessary).Demon 100 for Super DIRTcar Series – 100 Laps.DIRTcar Sportsman Feature – 30 Laps

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

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP ROAD AMERICA / IMSA SPORTSCAR WEEKEND CORVETTE RACING JORDAN TAYLOR AND TOMMY MILNER MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 2, 2021
Corvette Racing drivers Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Monday ahead of this weekend’s IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America and the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans. FULL TRANSCRIPT:
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RIT’S A BUSY MONTH COMING UP AHEAD FOR THE TEAM. WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET AHEAD OF EVERYTHING FOR CORVETTE RACING?“It’s going to be a busy month, as you said. It’ll be hectic. I think the biggest part is logistics for the team – getting parts, cars and people back and forth between the two. They’ve been shipping stuff for the past couple of months overseas to get ready for Le Mans. Timing-wise, it’s difficult having Road America this weekend but at the same time it’s always good to go racing. It was a 1-2 last year for Corvette Racing but it was pretty wild circumstances at the end there with the rain. I think Antonio (Garcia) and Tommy were fourth and fifth on the last restart and survived at the end to get the 1-2. Hopefully it will be a little cleaner and smoother this year. It’s always been a good track for the team and the car. We did a test there earlier this year kind of prepping for this week’s race and prepping for Le Mans in the low-downforce kit. We feel confident going back there and to Le Mans.”
CORVETTE RACING’S ABSENCE FROM LE MANS LAST YEAR WAS STRANGE. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU NOT RACING AT LE MANS IN 2020 AND HAS IT FUELED YOU TO GET BACK THIS YEAR?“When you watch it on TV – I missed the race in 2018 and 2019 as well – that’s when you remember how special it is. When you’re there, you’re in the moment and enjoying it because it’s Le Mans. But when you’re away from it and watching it on TV like when you were a kid, you definitely miss it and want to be back. It motivates you to get back there and be competitive. Watching last year on TV was difficult. This year if you knew the behind-the-scenes effort that the team has gone through with the resources and getting everything over there, it shows how much it means to the organization and Chevrolet as a whole. I’ve been getting excited. I’ve been watching old Le Mans races during the days while riding my bike in the garage to get motivated. I’m looking forward to getting back.”
TALK ABOUT THE POWER OF MOMENTUM WITH THE RUN YOU AND ANTONIO ARE ON SINCE THE START OF 2020.“It’s kind of crazy how well it’s gone starting in the last year. After the COVID break last year, things have gone so well. Things just clicked, especially on the 3 car side. A lot of things have gone our way strategy-wise. If you look at the Road America race from last year, we were fourth and fifth until the rain came, and that’s what switched things around and got us back to the lead. There were a lot of circumstances like that where we shouldn’t have been in contention and things just flipped around. At the same time, you need to be prepared for those opportunities. The team needs to be prepared to call the strategy on tire changes in that situation. A lot of times that can fall on experience. We’ve had a lot of close battles with the 4 car where they could have very easily gone the other way and they could have won all those races. Putting ourselves in the right position in a lot of times and having the little things going our way a lot of the times. Antonio and I have been working well together and the chemistry has been good.”
CORVETTE HAS USED ROAD AMERICA TO PREPARE FOR LE MANS. HOW MUCH OF WHAT YOU WILL RUN THIS WEEKEND CAN CARRY OVER TO THOSE FOLLOWING TWO WEEKS?“The test was important. We learned a lot from the very beginning. We started on our sprint configuration and went to low-downforce. From the beginning to the end, we made a bunch of improvements. Had we not had those tests, we would have been learning those things at Le Mans but the time there is crucial to get on track. We had two days there with low-downforce, and I think Tommy has done 45 days in the simulator around Le Mans with me watching! We’ve put in a lot of time and effort into it. A lot of it is also coming from that simulator time where we saw last year how important, how crucial and how well it worked. That was reiterated and confirmed at our Road America test as well. We knew from the simulation what to expected and what kind of changes we wanted to make. It’s looking positive from that point of view for Le Mans.”
DOES TOMMY DO MOST OF THE LE MANS SIMULATION WORK? DO YOU BOTH PARTICIPATE OR IS IT BETTER TO GET A BASELINE FROM ONE GUY AND WORK OFF THAT?“I do my fair share! Usually each test is two days and two drivers, and each of us will have our own program. Tommy has been the Le Mans guy most of the days I’ve been there, and then my project would be Lime Rock prep or Road America prep. My focus would be on one thing and his focus would be on one thing. That way every time you get back in the sim, you have something to relate to. Sometimes when you go track to track, it can take a run or two to adjust your brain to what that package is doing to give accurate feedback. Over time, the engineers have developed this process that’s shown to have the best result. Even these days when we go, there are things being adjusted to make it more accurate from a driver and feedback point of view. When I was doing Lime Rock prep, it’s like a 10-lap run and I’d be done in five minutes and Tommy would get in for his 10 laps and I’d sit there for an hour watching him!”
TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH FANS MAKE LE MANS WHAT IT IS, AND HOW PLEASED ARE YOU THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME KIND OF FAN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR’S RACE?“I’ll never forget my first time there in 2012. I flew over for the Test Day, was 20 years old and was just a little GRAND-AM driver here in America. I walked from the paddock to the pitlane and got stopped by like 10 people who knew my name and had pictures of me printed out of all my different GRAND-AM cars. In America, we have a great fanbase especially with Corvette Racing. When you go to Le Mans, it’s a very unique group of sports car fans. It’s very special. It will be missed but it it’ll be good to have at least some attendance. Missing the parade and some of those things will change a bit of the atmosphere.“My dad used to say that in NASCAR and Formula One, the fans know the drivers. In sports car racing, all drivers know the fans. In a lot of aspects, it’s true. When you go to Sebring, you have the cows, the monks and the group at Turn 10, and you get to know them. When you go to Le Mans, there are unique people like Therése (Heurtebize), and I think Tommy got knighted in 2015 by a group of British fans there, plus the Nerdmans come from Spain. That quote is true in a lot of aspects. When we go to those events, you expect to see these people every time. So it will be a little bit sad if we don’t get to see those same people but hopefully in a few years it will be back to normal so we can see all our fans again that we recognize every time we go back.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RWHAT’S YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS APPROACHING THE MONTH OF AUGUST WITH ROAD AMERICA AND LE MANS?“Our thought process has been pretty heavy on Le Mans in many ways. It’s been a topic of discussion quite a bit within the team. But obviously we have had other things to focus on with Lime Rock in previous weeks and now Road America as well. It’s a very balanced approach. Jordan and I were in the sim recently working on Le Mans and Road America. There is a lot going on, for sure. The first focus is Road America but I’m sure the topic for many of our meetings will be focusing on Le Mans as well. There’s a lot going on for Corvette Racing right now and focusing on one day a time in many ways. It’s busy but exciting.”
CORVETTE RACING’S ABSENCE FROM LE MANS LAST YEAR WAS STRANGE. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU NOT RACING AT LE MANS IN 2020 AND HAS IT FUELED YOU TO GET BACK THIS YEAR?“I don’t think any of us has taken going to Le Mans for granted. The amount of effort and attention that gets paid toward that race by this team, the engineers, the crew guys and us as drivers… we don’t take it lightly. Having missed last year and watching it on TV for the first time in many years, certainly the excitement ramps up for going back there again this year. Obviously it’s not exactly the same Le Mans experience without the public scrutineering and things like that. The world is still a little uncertain at times but we’re excited to go back. There has been a lot of time and effort spent with this Corvette C8.R to make it as good as we can for Le Mans. We don’t’ know exactly how good it will be until we get there. I think for all of us, we’re excited for what the car can be or could be. We’re excited to see how it goes.”
IS IT FRUSTRATING TO SEE YOUR TEAMMATES HAVE THE SUCCESS THEY’VE BEEN HAVING WHEN YOU AND NICK (TANDY) ARE KNOCKING ON THE DOOR?“There are moments of frustration for sure. For us on the 4 car, last year there were times where we missed it with setup and strategy. There was a conscious effort as the year was winding down last year to make a better effort to improve in those areas. We started to make some headway there, and in the offseason we continued to go over those things with the team and our engineers… the things that we thought were working well for us and the areas where we needed to improve. This year with Nick, he brings a fresh perspective on it. All things considered, we’ve had good races. We just haven’t had a whole lot of luck in certain situations. The 3 car guys have had great cars, have made the right strategy calls and done everything right. So in that sense they deserve all the success they’ve had. For us, there have had times where we’ve had the opportunities and for some reason or another… sometimes it’s bad luck and sometimes it’s of our own doing in not getting everything 100 percent right. Frustration is part of it but it’s not like desperation. Having been on this time for a long time, I really like the direction this car is going. We are making better decisions, making the right pit calls, making good setup decisions and changes. From that side, I couldn’t be happier. If Nick and I replay the year a little bit, it’s one little thing here and one little thing there, and oftentimes those are just racing things. At Watkins Glen, we were looking pretty good and the front swaybar broke. Those little moments when they start stacking up, that’s where the frustration comes in. But we have to stay focused on what is working for us and the things that we can improve on. We are finding and exploring every other area that we think can be improved and continue on that path. If we keep doing that, then we will have success. I don’t think there needs to be any kind of wholesale change on our side. It’s a matter of continuing down the path we have been going. If we continue do to that, we’ll be in good shape.”
HOW MUCH EMPHASIS DO YOU AND NICK NOW PUT ON LE MANS? HOW MUCH WOULD A LE MANS WIN TURN THINGS AROUND?“A Le Mans win pretty much trumps everything else. Every year, the team has in general joked that if we won Le Mans and we crashed every other race, it would still be a successful year. That’s a bit of a joke obviously, but a lot of emphasis is put on this race. It’s the biggest sports car race in the world and one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Those two wins at Le Mans in my career are two highlights. Every year I feel like we have a chance to get another win, and this year we will see. We feel good obviously, but with a new car there is still a little bit of an unknown. We don’t have any track time there yet with this car, but we feel good about all the preparation we’ve done. We feel good about it and excited about the opportunity with this C8.R. For us on the 4 car side, it would be a great way to turn our year around and fix all the bad luck we’ve had.”
THE TWO CORVETTES HAVE RACED EACH OTHER HARD THIS YEAR. WHEN YOU GO TO LE MANS AND IT’S A LARGER FIELD IS THAT DETREMENT OR DO THE BATTLES YOU’VE BEEN IN FEEL LIKE THEY’RE ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE SHARP?“There have only been two or three races where it’s just been the two of us battling. With Daytona, Sebring and the Watkins Glen Six Hours, and having the BMW guys there, they’ve been a huge competitor and continually challenge us. It hasn’t felt, to be honest, so far this year that the field is small. Part of that is that we haven’t had tons of races like that but also the challenge of racing our teammates has been pretty big. The race weekends don’t feel a whole lot different. Those felt like big battles. So far, the feeling and atmosphere within the team hasn’t changed. The Porsche guys are still quick. From that aspect, that hasn’t changed dramatically and some of that could be the attention put on Le Mans and understanding that we will have a big challenge there. Part of the team was over there in Spa for the Six Hours there, so the team is still in this mode of maximizing every single thing at the track. A lot of that energy and motivation comes from knowing we do have this big challenge coming up at Le Mans. The team has stayed pretty focused on that.”
TEMPERATURES THIS WEEKEND LOOK LIKE THEY COULD BE RELATIVELY COOL. IS TIRE DEGRADATION STILL A BIG ISSUE AT ROAD AMERICA WITH 70 DEGREE TEMPERATURES?“Probably. The last couple of years it has been quite warm. It seems like more these days with the tire compound options from Michelin that it’s more about making sure you are on the right compound. That kind of takes care of the degradation issue in that sense. Sometimes we are in between compounds and trying to figure out what the right combination is or the right compound to be on can be tricky. It seems like Road America is a little bit of an outlier in some sense for what we maybe normally run for most of the season. It’s a place where we’re always second-guessing our compound choice because of the track surface and the high-speed nature of the track. We’ll treat it as a nice challenge in that sense of making sure we are doing everything we can to get on the right tire as soon as we can in the practice sessions and be able to work from there. The plan is for us to run as we would normally run there for an IMSA weekend, which is the higher downforce spec. I don’t think the team is planning to run a low downforce spec in preparation for Le Mans. The plan is to run our normal sprint package. In that case, it’s kind of business as usual for the team. Because of the testing we’ve done and the work we’ve done in the sim, we have a good baseline for Le Mans. The focus will be maximizing the race weekend at Elkhart Lake and doing the best we can there with the best package for that racetrack.”
TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH FANS MAKE LE MANS WHAT IT IS, AND HOW PLEASED ARE YOU THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME KIND OF FAN ATTENDANCE AT THIS YEAR’S RACE?“Le Mans is not just the race itself. It is the atmosphere of the racetrack, the energy the fans bring, the energy that the race itself brings and the history of it. Having fans there will make it feel a bit more normal. Missing some of the other aspects of the event like scrutineering in town and the drivers’ parade and things that are just big moments of the weekend… they all add to the whole show that is Le Mans. From that aspect, those will be missed but having fans there in whatever capacity they are is great. As the years have gone and us as drivers being involved in the race, the few opportunities that I’ve had to watch the racecars go around at speed in-person  close to the track, it reminds you of how special it is to see these cars in-person and at full speed. For a lot of European fans, it will be the first time to see the Corvette C8.R. Hopefully it all goes smoothly and the fans have a good time.”

POMONA, CA (August 1, 2021) — The Bandero Premium Tequila ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car and driver Alexis DeJoria took on an unseasonably hot NHRA Winternationals this weekend at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Two days of qualifying had DeJoria’s team battling to get a handle on a hot track. In the final qualifying session last night DeJoria’s Toyota Funny Car flew to the No. 6 spot in the field and a first round match-up with Jason Rupert.

Earlier in qualifying Rupert suffered a major engine explosion and it was too much for the start-up team to overcome in time for the first round of competition. DeJoria would receive a competition bye run in the first round and the team was looking to take advantage of a “free” run to get prepared for what everyone was considering a challenging day on the race track.

The Bandero Tequila ROKiT Funny Car lined up in the right lane for the solo run. DeJoria launched hard and as she approached the 330 feet mark her race car was dropping cylinders.  Her team remotely shut off her race car to preserve parts before heading into the quarterfinals.

 Temperatures continued to climb throughout the day and as the quarterfinals approached track temperatures soared to over 140 degrees. The hot track conditions made corralling the power generated by these 11,000 horsepower land rockets a tall order for crew chiefs in all the nitro categories. DeJoria would be racing Jim Campbell for a chance to go into her fourth consecutive semifinal round.

DeJoria took a strong starting line reaction time advantage and was pulling away from Campbell when her blower belt broke and she lost power. She was helpless to watch as Campbell drove around her for the win. It was a tough loss for a team that is one of the hottest in the category.

“Pomona was definitely our worst showing of the Western Swing,” said DeJoria. “We had somewhat of a bye on our first run today when Jason Rupert blew up yesterday and couldn’t make it to first round. Then we had Jim Campbell in the second round and we had him, then the bolts were completely sheared off the flywheel and our blower belt broke. I was dead in the water down there and here comes Jim Campbell. He passed me and that was the end.”

The dominance of the Bandero Tequila ROKiT team has DeJoria stoked for the end of the regular season and the upcoming Countdown. The team is just over three rounds out of third place in the Funny Car standings. 

“We’ve been on a roll going to semis and qualifying really well. We have a week off and then we are going to hit Topeka,” said DeJoria. “I don’t want to go home right now. I wish we had another race to go to because I know how hot this car is. You can’t do anything about parts breaking and things like that, but we are right on the edge and it’s going to happen. I’m just proud of my guys. They’ve done a terrific job having been on the road for three weeks. We’ll just take everything back to the shop, go through it and get ready for the next race.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 7.277 sec, 87.52 mph; Qual. 15

Q2: 6.183 sec, 107.26 mph; Qual. 15

Q3: 4.021 sec, 313.73 mph; Qual. 6

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

Race Results

First Round

Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                        6              .248        7.972     77.94 (W)

Jason Rupert                         11           Did Not Run

Second Round
Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                       6              .075        4.797     175.87

Jim Campbell                       14           .095        4.314     271.95 (W)          

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Bob Tasca III, 729

2. Ron Capps, 734

3. John Force, 698

4. Robert Hight, 697

5. Matt Hagan, 689

6. J.R. Todd, 677

7. Alexis DeJoria, 632

8. Tim Wilkerson, 552

9. Cruz Pedregon, 537

10. Blake Alexander, 343

• Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) pilot Leah Pruett drove her Dodge//SRT Mopar Top Fuel Dragster from the No. 2 qualifier position to a win at the rescheduled National Hot Rod Associate (NHRA) Winternationals in Pomona, California
• After earning his third No. 1 qualifier position of the year Ron Capps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to his first win of the 2021 season to close out the NHRA’s “Western Swing” at Pomona.
• No. 4 seed Cruz Pedregon drove his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a quarterfinal appearance at Auto Club Raceway
• After a win at Denver and a runner-up finish at Sonoma Matt Hagan drove his No. 5 qualified DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car to close finish in the opening round

Aug 1, 2021, Pomona, California – After all four Mopar and Dodge//SRT-supported NHRA nitro entries qualified in the top-five heading into race day, the performance brands and Don Schumacher Racing doubled-up on Wally trophies this weekend with wins by HEMI®-powered pilots Leah Pruett (Top Fuel) and Ron Capps (Funny Car) at the rescheduled 61st annual Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Winternationals Presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California.

Pruett followed up a stout No. 2 qualifier performance aboard her DSR Sparkling Ice Spiked Dodge//SRT Top Fuel Dragster with her second trip to a final round showdown in consecutive weeks. She earned the second place position on the eliminations ladder, along with five important bonus points, by speeding to the provisional pole position on Friday and then posting the second quickest run of Q2 to put her on the starting line for the opening round against No. 13 seed Steve Chrisman. A 3.906-second elapsed time run by her HEMI®-powered machine at 268.01 mph gave her the round win and a quarterfinal bye run.

Following another solid 3.931sec./272.12 mph pass on her single run, Pruett staged next to her semifinal opponent, No. 3 seed Mike Salinas, and ran him down at half-track to turn on win lights with a 3.927 sec./273.16 mph pass to advance to her second final round appearance of the season after her runner-up performance last weekend at Sonoma Raceway. 

Pruett was lined up and ready for battle against No. 7 qualifier Justin Ashley in the final Top Fuel showdown in the sweltering heat at the Pomona dragstrip when her opponent opted to err on the side of caution after experiencing symptoms of extreme heat exhaustion and not take the run. That provided Pruett with her second solo run opportunity of the day, a 4.021 sec./271.52 mph pass, and an uncontested win to officially earn a Wally trophy for the ninth time in her Top Fuel career, the second time at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (2017), and her first victory of the 2021 NHRA season. 

In Funny Car action, after earning his fourth No.1 qualifier position of the first ten NHRA Camping World Series season events this season, Capps powered his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat through the elimination rounds with consistent 4.1-second runs and wins over Bob Bode, Bob Tasca and longtime rival John Force to advance to his second final round appearance of the season after his runner-up finish at the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals Presented by Pennzoil in Houston. 

A three-time winner at Pomona (1998, 2009, 2016), Capps earned his 66th career Funny Car win against No. 7 seed J.R. Todd by running him with a 4.151 sec./253.09 mph effort to beat his opponent’s 4.289/249.16 pass. The victory, the 2019 NHRA Funny Car world champion’s first of the 2021 season, puts him into the points lead. 

The third and final event of the NHRA’s “Western Swing” didn’t quite end the way No. 5 qualifier Matt Hagan had hoped after earning a coveted win at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals in Denver, Colorado, and his runner-up performance at the Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, California. 

The reigning Funny Car world champion began the day by staging his DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye next to Force in the opening round. After Force double-bulbed, Hagan hit the throttle first to take the early lead but soon saw his opponent close the gap and edge past him right before the finish to shorten his day and close out three consecutive weeks of racing.

The Cruz Pedregon Racing team had another promising weekend as team owner and Funny Car driver Cruz Pedregon qualified his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat fourth on the Funny Car eliminations ladder. He faced off against Tim Wilkerson in the opening round and took the win with a 4.103 seconds E.T. at 263.46 mph to advance. The three-time Pomona winner saw Force next in the quarterfinals and had a good run going until tire haze at mid-track saw Pedregon hesitate just enough to make it a close finish posting a 4.361 sec losing effort to his opponents 4.353 second round win.

Competition will resume in two weeks with the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park near Topeka, Kansas, for the first of just three remaining national events before the NHRA’s seven-race “Countdown to the Championship” playoff series begins September 9 at the Mopar Express Lane NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil in Reading, Pennsylvania, and concludes with the NHRA finals in November in Pomona, California.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:

Matt Hagan, DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

(No. 5 Qualifier – 4.009 seconds at 312.13 mph)

Round 1: (0.059-second reaction time, 4.112 seconds at 262.44 mph) loss to No. 12 John Force (0.111/4.054/270.75)

“It’s been a tricky track all weekend here at Pomona with these hot temps and (Crew Chief) Dickie (Venables) got the car to go down a very tough race track to give us a fighting chance. It just didn’t run good enough. We learned a lot racing in this heat and in conditions of which we had very little data. Now we do have some data if we face hot conditions like this in the future. We’re ready for a little break next weekend before we start again in a few weeks at Topeka (Kan.) and Brainerd (Minn.). It’ll be hot in Kansas and maybe some of what we learned here will help us there. We have a lot of racing left; this is the halfway point of the schedule. We’re going to dig in deep, work hard and win a few more of these races.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 1 Qualifier – 3.941 seconds at 321.35 mph)

Round 1: (0.087-second reaction time, 4.020 seconds at 268.81 mph) defeats No. 16 Bob Bode (0.103/4.180/257.43)

Round 2: (0.077/4.151/296.50) defeats No. 9 Bob Tasca (0.079/4.278/288.58)

Round 3: (0.092/4.158/253.71) defeats No. 12 John Force (0.046/4.659/215.41)

Round 4: (0.081/4.151/253.09) defeats No. 7 J.R. Todd (0.063/4.289/249.16)

“I was hoping a win was coming. This team, time and time again, they’ve given me one of the coolest cars to drive and this (weekend) was one of the most extreme conditions we’ve ever had. To do it at Pomona in the summer, with all my friends and family here, I can’t even tell you how amazing it is. We’re going to have a blast (celebrating).”

“I was thinking this week maybe I should stop saying ‘a win’s coming,’ because I felt like I was jinxing it but I truly felt like PacMan. You know, we were just chomping through these Camping World series points – semifinal after semifinal, a final in Houston. We’ve been consistent and just chomping these points up week after week. I really think we can have the regular season point lead going into the Countdown, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing.

“These were probably some of the most extreme conditions I’ve driven a Funny Car in, and maybe even the most fun car to drive. Everyone’s been tearing their hair out trying to get down the track and we had things happen and cylinders going out and (Crew Chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and (John) Medlen were just leaving it be because my NAPA Dodge was running like a bracket car. They’ve got such a nice tune-up that you can put a cylinder out and get through that rough spot and still make it down the track. We were quietly going about it every run.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.967 seconds at 317.34 mph)

Round 1: (0.062-second reaction time, 4.103 seconds at 263.46 mph) defeats No. 13 Tim Wilkerson (0.100/5.224/165.74)

Round 2: (0.081/4.361/218.37) loss to No. 12 John Force (0.053/4.353/260.46)

“We had a good solid event. We qualified fourth, which is great, with a 3.96-second run at 317 mph on Friday. We stumbled a little bit on Saturday trying to get the track figured out. Sunday we were strong starting out with a 4.10 second pass to dispose of Tim Wilkerson. In the second round we faced John Force and it was a great close race with a 4.35 to 4.36 but came up short. I clicked it off just a little bit early after I spun the tires at half-track and I just went on auto pilot and shut the engine off when I got concerned about the engine revving up, but I probably could’ve kept going for a few more feet and won that round that would have put us in the semis. 

“Overall it was a good event for us. It was challenging with the track at more than 140 degrees track temperature, which is hotter than we’ve been on and in years. In fact, (Crew Chief) JC (John Collins), even with all the data he had accumulated through the years, had never been in this hot of a condition so overall when you get a quarter final result, it’s a good day for the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. We’ll look forward to a match race in Norwalk on Saturday night, the traditional “Night Under Fire” exhibition event before we focus on Topeka (Kansas). Topeka is a great event for me. I’ve won quite a few races there. With Larry Miner and Joe Gibbs. I love the atmosphere there and the track is strong with really good grip and maybe one of the best surfaces on the circuit so I’ll looking forward to that. We’re still figuring things out, working out some kinks to make our race car better and I’m trying to do a better job as a driver but overall the needle is pointing up.”

TOP FUEL:

Leah Pruett, DSR Sparkling Ice Spiked Dodge//SRT Dragster

(No. 2 Qualifier – 3.780 seconds at 321.88 mph)

Round 1: (0.082-second reaction time, 3.906 seconds at 268.01mph) defeats No. 13 Steve Chrisman (0.184/4.312/242.23)

Round 2: (0.087/3.931/272.12) wins on a BYE run

Round 3: (0.104/3.927/273.16) defeats No. 3 Mike Salinas (0.093/4.360/223.21)

Round 4: (0.130/4.021/271.52) defeats No. 7 Justin Ashley (No time)

“Justin (Ashley) is an incredible competitor and I wanted nothing but to race against him. This is about the perseverance of this Sparkling Ice Dodge//SRT Mopar team, our dedication to do this on a home track is phenomenal. Thank you so much to everybody that stuck with us. I mean, we dug deep. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Wally (trophy). The most impressive part for me today was how our team has continued to persist and persevere and grow into the success region that we have right now.

“For (Crew Chief) Todd Okuhara to have an aggressive tuning persona and an application while being in the mud and Neal Strausbaugh, having leadership ability and bringing us all together. It’s about the fundamentals of what’s happening in the trailer and having each other’s back and pulling the rope in the same direction. We had been doing that, but we really got in sync together and that’s what makes me the most proud. This win is because of the progression over the last couple of weeks and what it has taken. The Dodge SRT Sparkling Ice team definitely deserves every bit of this one no matter how it came. I’m very proud of them.”

NHRA Championship Points Standings:

Following the rescheduled NHRA Winternationals Nationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 734 (1)

2. Bob Tasca III – 729 (2)

3. John Force – 698 (2)

4. Robert Hight – 697 (2)

5. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 689 (1)

6. J.R. Todd – 677 (1)

7. Alexis DeJoria – 632

8. Tim Wilkerson– 552

9. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 537 (1)

10. Blake Alexander– 343

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1. Steve Torrance – 1014 (6)

2. Antron Brown – 701(1)

3. Brittany Force – 625

4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 579 (1)

5. Shawn Langdon – 514

6. Mike Salinas – 513

7. Justin Ashley – 466

8. Billy Torrence – 448 (1)

9. Doug Kalitta – 439

10. Clay Millican – 388

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

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

POMONA, CA (August 1, 2021) — Running the  NHRA Winternationals in July proved to be a tough task for Funny Car driver Tim Wilkerson and the rest of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competitors. After two days of qualifying, race day began with teams getting their first runs on a track that started out twenty degrees cooler than anything they had seen at the event. The Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Funny Car team was dealt another setback when a number of Top Fuel dragsters and nitro Funny Cars suffered motor failures that led to lengthy oildown delays. By the time Wilkerson was strapped into his cockpit, the majority of the tuning decisions were made and the track temperatures continued to rise.

Coming into the Winternationals Wilkerson had only one first round loss in traditional side by side competition this season. The wildly inconsistent track conditions forced the crew chief and driver to get creative with his tune-up adjusting the clutch package every run of qualifying trying to find a stable combination for the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona racing surface. In the final session of qualifying Wilkerson made a representative run and went into race day as the No. 13 qualifier and a first round race against two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon.

Earlier this season Pedregon ended Wilkerson’s day early at the Norwalk Nationals. Today after the delays Wilkerson knew before he hit the throttle he would need some help from his competitor if he was going to advance to the quarterfinals. The veteran driver and crew chief felt like he made adequate adjustments to his clutch package and tune-up but with every passing minute and increase in temperature he knew his chances of success were dwindling. 

Both Funny Cars took off and as Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Mustang advanced across the shake zone his Goodyear tires lost traction and he was forced to lift as there was no hope of regaining momentum on the run. Wilkerson crossed the finish line second with a time of 5.224 seconds which was quicker than the comparable run in the second qualifying session but it was not enough to stay in the win column.

“The delays definitely hurt us today,” said Wilkerson, a 20-time Funny Car national event winner. “This event was a challenge with the heat and the green race track. Everyone had to deal with the same issues and we just got bit in that first round. I thought I had taken enough clutch out of it but after the run I could see how fast it still was because the tires were spinning too fast on the hot track. You can only try your best and we gave it our best. I can’t thank all my guys enough for working late last night and then getting out here early this morning. We will look at everything and be ready for Topeka.”

Wilkerson will be back in action for the NHRA Topeka Nationals in two weeks. He is currently eighth in points with three races in the NHRA regular season.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 6.149 sec, 107.49 mph; Qual. 11

Q2: 5.458 sec, 130.08 mph; Qual. 14

Q3: 4.313 sec, 243.55 mph; Qual. 13

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson                  13           .100        5.224     147.37

Cruz Pedregon                  4              .062        4.103     303.23 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1. Bob Tasca III, 729

2. Ron Capps, 734

3. John Force, 698

4. Robert Hight, 697

5. Matt Hagan, 689

6. J.R. Todd, 677

7. Alexis DeJoria, 632

8. Tim Wilkerson, 552

9. Cruz Pedregon, 537

10. Blake Alexander, 343

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION LUCAS OIL NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PROTECTTHEHARVEST.COMAUTO CLUB RACEWAY IN POMONA, CALIFORNIA AUG. 1, 2021                                                                                                    Chevrolet wraps up Western Swing with momentum • Aaron Stanfield earns second Pro Stock victory in a row• Brittany Force earns third consecutive Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier• John Force advances to Funny Car semis, moves to 3rd in standings POMONA, Calif. (Aug. 1, 2021) – Aaron Stanfield, one of Chevrolet’s rising young stars in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), claimed his second consecutive Pro Stock victory and third in the past four races in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals presented by ProtectTheHarvest.com at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
Stanfield, 26, of Bossier City, Louisiana, defeated reigning Pro Stock champion and Elite Motorsports teammate Erica Enders in the semifinals and dispatched No. 1 qualifier Greg Anderson in the final with a pass of 6.652 seconds to Anderson’s 6.660.
“Back-to-back finals, I couldn’t have dreamt of this,” said Stanfield, the No. 6 qualifier in the Janac Brother’s Camaro SS.
Brittany Force completed a sweep of the Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier honors for the three-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Western Swing in the Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster with a run of 3.741 seconds. Force has earned the top qualifier in five of the 10 races to push her career total to 25. Force lost in the second round of eliminations.
John Force advanced to the semifinals in Funny Car, driving the PEAK/BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS from the No. 12 qualifier spot. Force, who has two victories and a runner-up this season, moved to third in the standings through 10 races.
Teammate Robert Hight, who picked up his 53rd career Wally and second of the season a week earlier at Sonoma Raceway, was the No. 2 qualifier in the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS. Hight fell in the second round on a holeshot. He is fourth in the standings.
Stanfield, earning his fourth win in 30 career Pro Stock races, prevented Anderson from tying Wasrren Johnson’s 97 career wins for most in the category and second to John Force’s NHRA-record 153. Anderson registered his eighth No. 1 qualifier honor in nine Pro Stock races in the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS and became the first Pro Stock driver to clinch a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.
Stanfield, the 2020 Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown champion in the Janac Brother’s Chevrolet COPO Camaro, is confident he’ll be a title contender in the Countdown.
“I have some great guys working on my hot rod and if I can do my job behind the wheel I think we have a really great shot,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to race against him and that milestone he trying to accomplish, but I’m glad we got him stopped today.” 
Anderson, the points leader, advanced to his fifth final round of the season and 163rd of his career. He defeated KB Racing teammate Kyle Koretsky, the No. 5 qualifier in the Lucas Oil Camaro SS, in the semifinals.
Chevrolet Nitro and Pro Stock drivers will be joined by COPO Camaro competitors in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Aug. 13-15 at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.
An interview with Pro Stock winner AARON STANFIELD, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JANAC BROTHER’S CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier):
WHY ARE YOU GOING TO BE A THREAT IN THIS COUNTDOWN?“I have some great guys working on my hot rod and if I can do my job behind the wheel I think we have a really great shot.”
WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE DAY.“It was a tricky racetrack today. The crew chiefs really had their work cut out for them. Right before that final round they studied, did a lot of work, made a lot of changes and obviously it seemed to work out really well.”
WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING IN THE MIDDLE AS ELITE MOTORSPORTS REVELS IN PREVENTING GREG ANDERSON FROM GETTING THAT MILESTONE?“Our drive is to keep him away from it as long as possible. I would imagine that one day he is going to get it, but we want to make it as hard as possible. But the KB-Elite rivalry is great. They’re both very competitive teams and it’s cool to be in the middle of it and have the chance to win. I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given.”
WHAT DID YOU DO MENTALLY TO PREPARE FOR THE CHANGING TRACK CONDTITIONS?“That’s definitely something as a young driver that I’m still figuring out. It was really loose for us out in the middle of the racetrack, so it definitely was an adjustment. I just went in with the mindset of not get too complacent and expect anything because you never know what could happen the first 700 feet. They did a great job with the car today.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE REASON YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO ADAPT TO THESE CARS SO QUICKLY?“I’m extremely hungry and I have a lot of great people around me. I want to do well and continue to do well. I’m just thankful for the people I’m around and for the people who have given me these great opportunities.”
WHAT DID GREG SAY TO YOU AT THE TOP END?“He told me congratulations. He’s obviously competitive just like I am so I’m sure he’s frustrated; he wanted to win just like we did.”
WHAT COMMUNICATION HAVE YOU HAD WITH YOUR DAD, A FOUR-TIME SUPER STOCK CHAMPION, OVER THIS RUN?“I text with him every single round. He might give me advice here and there on what I might need to look for driving, and things of that nature. He’s taught me everything I know in this sport and I’m very grateful to have him by my side. He wasn’t able to make it here this weekend. He was home at the shop doing my job so I could come out and go Pro Stock racing. He’s been a huge help to me in my career.” 
CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPIT
TOP FUEL:
BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/ FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier, fell in second round): “These weekends only make you tougher as a team. We go another No. 1 qualifier but had a second-round exit on race day. Going into Sunday we knew going rounds was going to be a challenge. We missed our shot at Q2, which was a crucial run in the heat to set us up for race day. Luckily, we had a bye in the first round and we laid down a 3.84 in round one, which was an amazing pass on a hot racetrack. In round two, we had holes out at the step and had no chance next to Justin Ashley, who was on a clean run. As a team we pack up and head to Norwalk for Night Under Fire. Match racing will give us an opportunity to go testing and have a little fun. Maybe having a little fun will help us win in Topeka.”
FUNNY CAR:
JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 12 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “Today was good. Improved from qualifying. Denny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, they learned from qualifying and that’s what you’re supposed to do. Really had to work hard today, teams and drivers. The conditions made it tough, the track made it tough. The PEAK Chevy, these guys, they put in the work. They love it and I still love it. I’m still in it. Not letting the old man in, he’s creeping on me though.”
ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier, fell in second round): “This Auto Club team has worked hard, not just this weekend, but all year. We have a good car, Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham figured some things out in Sonoma and we were doing well. To go out on a holeshot, I’m just not very happy. I missed the mark. Luckily, we only have one weekend off and then we head to Topeka. I’ve done well in Topeka and I’m looking forward to putting this one behind me.”
PRO STOCK:
GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier, runner-up, points leader, clinched spot in Countdown): “It’s everybody that works on this KB Racing team and all the support we get from the folks at Hendrick, Summit and Chevy. Can’t thank them enough. I’ve got a great car, but I need to win more, no question about that. I’ve got an opportunity to win at every race I go to, and that’s something you don’t get every year. I expect I’ll have that the rest of the year, but I still have to make it pay off, I have to get the job done on Sunday. Even though I’ve had these No. 1 qualifiers, we’re talking about a half a hundredth (of a second) or a few thousandths; it’s not a huge gap. Anyone can win, and it all comes down to that starting line and how good a job the guys do with the car on Sunday. Out of the 16 cars, legitimately 14 to 16 of them can win, and every round is like the final round anymore, and anybody can beat anybody. So that’s great, the class is fantastic. It makes it hard to win. And I feel great that I’ve got a great car, but you have to have everything else perfect, too; the driver’s got to be perfect, the car’s got to be perfect, and the engine’s got to be perfect, too.”
KYLE KORETZKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier, fell in semifinals): “I think the weekend overall went well. That last round we just missed a little on the setup. I felt good driving. I thought I was hitting the Tree really good. Just kind of spun out there, the track got really hot. It was 148 degrees and just spun a little bit out of first gear and that was all she wrote. Couldn’t keep in front of Greg in the semis. We’ll go to Topeka with our heads high and a good car.” 

Top-four from each Showdown now locked into Saturday finale, top-two to redraw FAIRBURY, IL – July 30, 2021 – Two-thirds of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field for the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway has been set. Sixteen drivers have punched their ticket in by way of the four Showdown Features Friday night – the rest will be seeded into one of two Last Chance Showdown events on Saturday. A grand total of 63 Summit Modifieds packed the pit area for Hot Lap/Qualifying and were then divided into four 20-lap qualifying Showdown Features, taking the top-four finishers to Saturday’s main event. The top-two finishers were placed into the redraw, to be held at opening ceremonies on Saturday. The two Last Chance Showdowns will take the top-two finishers and put them into the big show, followed by four provisional starters to complete the field for the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Prairie Dirt Classic Modified finale. Showdown Feature #1The first Feature on the freshly groomed Fairbury Speedway was the speediest of all Showdowns, won by Valpariso, IN-driver Frank Marshall. Marshall set fast time in Group 1 Qualifying, putting him on the pole for the 20-lap event. When the green dropped, Marshall took off immediately, opening up a small gap over the field and continued to add to it with every lap he clicked off. In all, the caution-free race took just over 13.5 minutes to complete. Tyler Nicely, of Owensboro, KY, had been running Marshall down the entire race and came to within a half-second of him in the final laps, but was unable to make a move for the win. Marshall crossed the stripe first to secure a spot in Saturday’s redraw and his first career Summit Modified victory. With the #25 of Nicely hot on his tail, the veteran racer Marshall never buckled under the pressure and got the job done. “We know they’re there, but we feel like we’ve got a few good years left in us. We’re kinda veterans here, but it’s fun racing with these guys,” Marshall said. Summit Racing Equipment Showdown Feature 1 (20 Laps) 1. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 3. 1W-Bob Pohlman[2]; 4. 8K-Levi Kissinger[4]; 5. 25W-Allen Weisser[8]; 6. 59R-Jacob Rexing[5]; 7. 11S-Nick Seplak[6]; 8. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[11]; 9. 24B-Brent Weaver[7]; 10. 84-Ryan Toole[15]; 11. 7-Tim Nash[13]; 12. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[14]; 13. 32-Mason Duncan[9]; 14. 64-Dawson Cook[12]; 15. 35- Ethan Weber[10]; 16. (DNS) 27C-Justin Cundiff Showdown Feature #2 Curt Spalding cashed-in big time Friday night at FALS, winning his second career Summit Modified Feature after holding off one of the best and youngest drivers on the roster. Spalding grabbed the lead from the pole and opened up a solid gap in traffic before a caution with three-to-go restacked the field. On the restart, third-running Brandon Bollinger wound it up on the top side and went after 16-year-old Hunt Gossum for second.  At the stripe, Bollinger nipped Gossum by .150 to claim the final spot in the redraw while Spalding celebrated in Victory Lane. “The first ten laps, I felt really good. I thought we were slowing down, and the track was changing a little bit,” Spalding said. “It got technical, where you had to move around a little bit. About that time was when I started hearing the boys catching me. I knew they’d be coming.” Wehr’s Machine Showdown Feature 2 (20 Laps) 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[1]; 2. 242-Brandon Bollinger[3]; 3. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 4. 22C-Nick Clubb[8]; 5. 5-Steven Brooks[7]; 6. 15-Chris Smith[6]; 7. 48-Adam Pockrus[9]; 8. 12-Wyatt Harms[4]; 9. 757-Bradley Jameson[5]; 10. 1L-Dave Lilja[15]; 11. 463-Daniel Sanchez[10]; 12. 36-Eric Vaughan[12]; 13. 71R-Troy Ricketts[16]; 14. 62PAP-Kim Edington[14]; 15. 0-Travis Kohler[11]; 16. 83-Kasey Schrock[13] Showdown Feature #3He won the Summit Modified show at FALS earlier in the year for his fifth win in five starts. Since then, Nick Hoffman has won 18 of the 19 races he’s entered, adding the 18th Friday night in the third Showdown. The three-time and defending Summit Modified champion cooked up the exact same recipe he used to win here in June and served it again Friday night to claim his 56th career tour victory – smooth and steady, right through the middle. “Track got pretty momentum’d up through the middle, which is where I’ve been best,” Hoffman said. “I won the Summit Modified race here [in June] the same way, just kinda running the same line about midway to three-quarters of the way up the racetrack. Just carrying a lot of speed, and it’s just where we shine.” Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead and finished nearly 7 seconds ahead of runner-up Mike Harrison. However, Hoffman did turn some heads with a fifth-place finish in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series Showdown Feature #2. “I ran the exact same line in both cars. That was probably one of the best Late Models I’ve ever drove through the middle of the racetrack. It drove exactly how I’d want it to with my Modified,” Hoffman said. All-Star Performance Showdown Feature 3 (20 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[1]; 2. 24H-Mike Harrison[3]; 3. 53S-Bobby Stremme[5]; 4. 4-Victor Lee[6]; 5. 9H-John Demoss[10]; 6. 121- Deece Schwartz[12]; 7. 14-Caden McWhorter[11]; 8. 88S-Alan Stipp[9]; 9. 61-Chris Osborne Jr[14]; 10. 1-Nash Hilmes[16]; 11. 19-Travis Thrasher[15]; 12. 82-Jacob Poel[4]; 13. K19-Will Krup[2]; 14. 21D-Danny Schwartz[13]; 15. 42-Bob Baldwin[7]; 16. 28-Rodney Standerfer[8] Showdown Feature #4After winning the Gator Championship night at Volusia this past February, Justin Allgaier was determined to get back into the seat of his UMP Modified and compete with the best of the best again. Friday night at FALS, he not only competed with them, he beat them, scoring his first career Summit Modified victory in the fourth and final Showdown. “I feel like this style of racetrack is probably our worst, so to be able to come out here and put an Elite Chassis in Victory Lane more than once, and to race with some Elite Chassis out there in that race was really cool,” Allgaier said. Allgaier initially did not get the jump at the drop of the green he was hoping for, as polesitter Chris Arnold led the field into Turn 1 and down the backstretch. Allgaier crossed over underneath him heading into Turn 3 and got a smooth exit off Turn 4 to take the lead as Arnold bobbled up high. After that, it was all defense for #7, which Allgaier handled with no issues. Several cautions littered the 20-lapper, but Allgaier’s restarts were on-point as he cruised to the $500 victory. Deke Trucking Showdown Feature 4 (20 Laps) 1. 7A-Justin Allgaier[2]; 2. 8-Kyle Steffens[4]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 4. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 5. 3L-Jeff Leka[10]; 6. 1S- Brian Shaw[7]; 7. 34W-James Walters[9]; 8. 99W-Chris Arnold[1]; 9. 0J-Garrett Jameson[11]; 10. 3-Mike Brooks[14]; 11. 37- Michael Ledford[5]; 12. 777-Trevor Neville[13]; 13. 17-Mike Mosier[15]; 14. 18-Jarrett Stryker[12]; 15. K67-Ian Keller[8] UP NEXT The Summit Modified action from the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway continues Saturday night with Last Chance Showdowns and the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presnted by Drydene.

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

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

16 drivers are locked into Saturday’s 100-lap finale FAIRBURY, IL – July 30, 2021 – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models kicked off the 31st annual Prairie Dirt Classic in style Friday with more than 70 cars fighting for 16 spots in Saturday’s 100-lap finale.  Ryan Gustin, Bobby Pierce, Stormy Scott, and Hudson O’Neal each collected $3,000 by winning one of Friday’s four Showdowns and have the chance to start on the pole for the Morton Buildings Feature.   SHOWDOWN #1 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin has never been afraid to run the outside at any speedway. He used that experience to his advantage Friday, leading all 25 laps to score the $3,000 prize.  The Marshalltown, IA driver also swept the night, winning his Showdown and setting Slick Woody’s Cornhole Co. Quick time.  Gustin received advice from a DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals driver to help him get around Fairbury Speedway.  “Mike Harrison has been helping me out a little bit, telling me what lines to run and stuff,” Gustin said. “He’s got a million laps around [Fairbury Speedway], so I really got to thank him and everyone else that helps.”  Shannon Babb, a three-time Prairie Dirt Classic winner, finished second after starting 13th. Chris Madden crossed the line third, and Chris Simpson grabbed the fourth and final transfer spot.  SHOWDOWN #2 Bobby Pierce was one turn away from winning the Prairie Dirt Classic in 2019 before Brandon Sheppard passed him for the win on the final corner. The “Smooth Operator” proved he’s wasting no time in his quest for redemption, winning Friday’s second Showdown.  The Oakwood, IL driver chased down early race leader Jonathan Davenport and pulled an epic slide job in traffic to take the lead away from “Superman” with six laps to go.   Pierce stated he should’ve tried to make the pass a few laps sooner.  “I was kind of kicking myself in the butt for not pulling the trigger on the slider I was thinking about a few laps before that,” Pierce said. “Right place right time with the lap car, and it kind of set the pick for me, so I went right there and capitalized on it.”  Davenport settled for second, followed by Brian Shirley and Tyler Bruening.  SHOWDOWN #3 Kyle Larson started on the pole for Friday’s third showdown, hoping to find Victory Lane for the first time at the Prairie Dirt Classic. But Stormy Scott had other ideas, sneaking by Larson on the bottom to grab the $3,000 prize.  The Las Cruces, NM driver, bested a field of former Series champions, including Brandon Sheppard and Rick Eckert. The trip to Victory Lane caught him by surprise, knowing the competition he was facing.   “If you had asked me if I thought we were going to be here before this deal started, I would’ve told you no way; I just would’ve been happy to get into the show,” Scott said. “I’m more thrilled for my crew than myself to finally put an entire night together for these guys because they deserve it, and they work their butts off.” Larson, Sheppard, and Eckert grabbed the final three transfer spots into Saturday’s race.  SHOWDOWN #4 Hudson O’Neal wasted no time driving away from the rest of the field in Friday’s fourth showdown, leading all 25 laps.  The Martinsville, IN driver, started on the inside and made sure he beat Jimmy Owens to Turn 1 to carry his momentum to the top.  “I knew that the top was going to be okay, and I wanted to get up there to where I had some momentum built up where if somebody showed me the nose underneath, I could at last do something with him,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t want to get caught on the top and have no momentum built up, so that was kind of just where I stayed for the whole race.”  Owens crossed the line second, followed by Chase Junghans and Allan Weisser.  Weisser was penalized three positions due to a post-race infraction, moving Mckay Wenger into the fourth and final transfer spot.  The four Showdown winners will learn their starting positions on Saturday in the Morton Buildings redraw during Opening Ceremonies. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to Fairbury Speedway on Saturday for the 100-lap Prairie Dirt Classic.  Last chance showdowns will set the rest of the field along with the Late Model Shootout, where the winner can collect $2,500 or start last in the $50,000-to-win finale.  If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month. Drydene Heat #1 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 19R-Ryan Gustin [1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb [13]; 3. 44-Chris Madden [2]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson [3]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [8]; 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst [4]; 7. 25F-Jason Feger [10]; 8. T2-Todd Bennett [7]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver [9]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger [18]; 11. 14-Wil Herrington [16]; 12. 11T-Trevor Gundaker [6]; 13. 10J-Joseph Joiner [17]; 14. 26M-Brent McKinnon [14]; 15. 12Q-Brandon Queen [19]; 16. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [12]; 17. 24-Ryan Unzicker [5]; 18. 162-Logan Moody [11]; 19. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford [15] Drydene Heat #2 – Flight (A) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 32-Bobby Pierce [2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport [1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley [6]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening [3]; 5. 0-Nick Hoffman [10]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer [8]; 7. 7-Ricky Weiss [4]; 8. B1-Brent Larson [7]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb [13]; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks [5]; 11. 59-Garrett Alberson [15]; 12. 9S-Eric Smith [9]; 13. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh [11]; 14. 1st-Johnny Scott [12]; 15. 6S-Blake Spencer [17]; 16. 3-Dale Markham [18]; 17. 40B-Kyle Bronson [14]; 18. 2-Mike Chasteen [16] Drydene Heat #3 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 2s-Stormy Scott [3]; 2. 6-Kyle Larson [1]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard [6]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert [5]; 5. 9-Devin Moran [8]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton [11]; 7. 20RT-Ricky Thornton [7]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs [14]; 9. 22-Chris Ferguson [2]; 10. 25B-Mike Benedum [10]; 11. 89-Mike Spatola [9]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner [13]; 13. 10-Scott Schmitt [16]; 14. 111-Steven Roberts [12]; 15. 11H-Spencer Hughes [4]; 16. 73-Ryan Weistart [17]; 17. 76S-Titus Sneed [18]; 18. 354-Chris Nash [19]; 19. 35-Austin Simpson [15] Drydene Heat #4 – Flight (B) (25 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer-1. 71-Hudson O’Neal [1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens [2]; 3. 18C-Chase Junghans [3]; 4. 42-Mckay Wenger [8]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker [6]; 6. 35C-Derek Chandler [5];7. 61-Allen Weisser [4]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard [10]; 9. 51-Matt Furman [12]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton [9]; 11. 1M-Mike Mataragas [11]; 12. 116-Torin Mettille [13]; 13. 9Z-Lyle Zanker [16]; 14. T4-Adam Tishhouser [14]; 15. 12C-Jeff Curl [15]; 16. 84-Myles Moos [7]; 17. 79W-Greg Wagner [17]; 18. B14-Victor Benedetto [18] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 12.97; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 13.315; 3. 44-Chris Madden, 13.392; 4. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.409; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.473; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.475; 7. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 13.476; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss, 13.484; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 13.544; 10. 7S-Jay Sparks, 13.546; 11. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 13.555; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley, 13.555; 13. T2-Todd Bennett, 13.556; 14. B1-Brent Larson, 13.56; 15. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.566; 16. 45-Kyle Hammer, 13.596; 17. B12-Kevin Weaver, 13.657; 18. 9S-Eric Smith, 13.665; 19. 25F-Jason Feger, 13.667; 20. 0-Nick Hoffman, 13.669; 21. 162-Logan Moody, 13.687; 22. 15V-Kolby Vandenbergh, 13.708; 23. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.713; 24. 1st-Johnny Scott, 13.734; 25. 18-Shannon Babb, 13.757; 26. 28-Dennis Erb, 13.873; 27. 26M-Brent McKinnon, 13.88; 28. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 13.893; 29. 18L-Jeffrey Ledford, 13.893; 30. 59-Garrett Alberson, 13.909; 31. 14-Wil Herrington, 13.916; 32. 2-Mike Chasteen, 13.935; 33. 10J-Joseph Joiner, 13.99; 34. 6S-Blake Spencer, 13.994; 35. 12-Ashton Winger, 14.165; 36. 3-Dale Markham, 14.509; 37. 12Q-Brandon Queen, 14.646 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 6-Kyle Larson, 13.551; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal, 13.722; 3. 22-Chris Ferguson, 13.899; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens, 13.913; 5. 2s-Stormy Scott, 13.968; 6. 18C-Chase Junghans, 13.996; 7. 11H-Spencer Hughes, 14.015; 8. 61-Allen Weisser, 14.073; 9. 0E-Rick Eckert, 14.083; 10. 35C-Derek Chandler, 14.096; 11. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 14.12; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.15; 13. 20RT-Ricky Thornton, 14.151; 14. 84-Myles Moos, 14.158; 15. 9-Devin Moran, 14.215; 16. 42-Mckay Wenger, 14.215; 17. 89-Mike Spatola, 14.232; 18. 25-Shane Clanton, 14.248; 19. 25B-Mike Benedum, 14.252; 20. 97-Cade Dillard, 14.276; 21. 76-Brandon Overton, 14.285; 22. 1M-Mike Mataragas, 14.316; 23. 111-Steven Roberts, 14.407; 24. 51-Matt Furman, 14.415; 25. 4G-Bob Gardner, 14.434; 26. 116-Torin Mettille, 14.473; 27. 99B-Boom Briggs, 14.508; 28. T4-Adam Tishhouser, 14.608; 29. 35-Austin Simpson, 14.616; 30. 12C-Jeff Curl, 14.641; 31. 10-Scott Schmitt, 14.681; 32. 9Z-Lyle Zanker, 14.705; 33. 73-Ryan Weistart, 14.75; 34. 79W-Greg Wagner, 14.982; 35. 76S-Titus Sneed, 15.72; 36. B14-Victor Benedetto, NT; 37. 354-Chris Nash, NT

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

Weisser charges from 17th-to-second on the bottom FAIRBURY, IL – July 31, 2021 – Nick Hoffman has had one incredible weekend at FALS. Just days after getting the phone call to drive Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer Scott Bloomquist’s Drydene Team Zero Race Cars #0 in the 31st Prairie Dirt Classic, the three-time DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals champion went out and dominated the Modified competition Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway for his 19th tour victory of the season and second Modified PDC title of his career. “It’s just really cool to win here,” Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, said. “It really shows – this deal is 63 of the best guys in the country, as far as UMP Modifieds go, and to come out on top just shows how good our racecar is and how good of a season we’ve been having.” Just as he did back in June, Hoffman sailed his Elite Chassis #2 around the quarter-mile high banks with ease, leading all 40 laps en route to the $5,000 payday and his 57th career Summit Modified triumph. Hoffman set quick time in Qualifying on Friday night and won his Showdown Feature from the pole, setting him up for an outside-pole redraw result for Saturday’s Feature. He wasted zero time in getting out front at the drop of the green, muscling the lead away from polesitter Frank Marshall on Lap 1. Hoffman was never seriously challenged for the lead until the closing stages, when a 17th-starting Allen Weisser made his presence known by zooming through the top-five on the very bottom of the racetrack. With the laps winding down and Hoffman several car-lengths ahead, Weisser’s comeback was running out of time to mount a charge for the lead. But then, a real shakeup. A caution flew for a slow car on the front stretch. Weisser lined up right behind Hoffman for the restart and gave it one last-ditch effort. Hoffman got the jump, but Weisser stayed within striking distance as he motored even harder around the bottom. Hoffman knew Weisser was behind him, waiting to strike at the slightest mistake. So, he moved down a groove to protect the inside line and secure the victory. “I think I might’ve had something for him, but he just got such a good restart on that last run that he pulled me a little bit and it took me a lap or two to get going again,” Weisser, of Peoria, IL, said. “If we could’ve got a better restart, I think we would’ve had something for him.” “Allen was really good around the bottom, which he always is here, if there’s just a little bit of grip down there. So, I moved down a little bit and ran the bottom in Turns 1-2 and the [top-middle] in 3-4,” Hoffman said. Further on back, Tyler Nicely was in the thick of a battle for the final podium spot between he, Mike McKinney, Bobby Stremme and Kyle Steffens. Nicely had worked his way up to second, at one point, from seventh and looked to be competitive for the runner-up spot. However, he got hung out on the outside, a place he’s not often found racing, and drifted back a few positions. “We tried a few things this weekend, and I don’t think I was a big fan of it,” Nicely said. “We’re all out here trying a bunch of stuff, trying to catch Nick.” “At the end, I just had to get up on the wheel on the top and see what I could do. That usually isn’t my cup of tea, but sometimes you’ve got to do it.” Nicely was able to get the third spot back before the checkers with a steady line on the middle-top groove, beating out Stremme and Steffens, who each rolled the bottom. After putting in 40 laps worth of work in the Modified Feature, Hoffman strapped into the famed Drydene, Scott Bloomquist Racing, Team Zero Race Cars #0 for another grueling 100-laps around the high banks. He was victorious in Last Chance Showdown #2, punching his ticket into the big show and making him the only driver in the pit area to start both Features. Despite his split-attention throughout the event, Hoffman made it very clear where his focus was this weekend. “This was the opportunity of a lifetime to drive that #0 car, so the #2 car here was kind of on a stand-still,” Hoffman said. “Throughout the weekend, I probably spent 5-10 minutes on [the Modified]. I didn’t spend much time at all.” UP NEXT The Summit Modifieds will now get their break period and come back for race #24 on the schedule next Friday night, Aug. 13, at Highland Speedway, followed by another reschedule date at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 the next night. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Summit Racing Equipment Feature (40 Laps) 1. 2-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 25W-Allen Weisser[17]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely[7]; 4. 53S-Bobby Stremme[10]; 5. 8-Kyle Steffens[8]; 6. 96M-Mike McKinney[16]; 7. 99-Hunt Gossum[11]; 8. 7A-Justin Allgaier[3]; 9. 8K-Levi Kissinger[13]; 10. 3L-Jeff Leka[18]; 11. 28M-Frank Marshall[1]; 12. 1S-Brian Shaw[20]; 13. 757-Bradley Jameson[19]; 14. 5CS-Curt Spalding[4]; 15. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[21]; 16. 59R-Jacob Rexing[22]; 17. 77-Ray Bollinger[12]; 18. 4-Victor Lee[14]; 19. 24H-Mike Harrison[5]; 20. 242-Brandon Bollinger[6]; 21. 1W-Bob Pohlman[9]; 22. 37-Michael Ledford[23]; 23. 22C-Nick Clubb[15]; 24. 9H-John Demoss[24]

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