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cruz pedregon–atlanta preview

NHRA® Team Report

NHRA Southern Nationals – Atlanta

Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and team head to Atlanta with the fresh energy of finishing in the top half of the field, two races in a row. The goal now for Cruz, Crew Chief John Collins, and the team is to close the gap and move the Snap-on Makers & Fixers Dodge® to the top.

“We’re only 14 runs into the season, so we’re in what I’d call fine tuning mode,” Cruz says. “We stayed after the Vegas race to get in a couple of testing runs and we like the numbers we’re seeing.”

Test times were 3.98 and 3.99, so Cruz says to look for the car to start having more consistent runs, especially toward the middle of the season and, ultimately, for the team to finish the season strong.

“The hardest part beyond making good runs is making good runs consistently, and that’s what we have to look forward to with our group…a team that will get the numbers down and know how to keep them down,” Cruz says. “That’s the part I’m looking forward to the most.”

Cruz says he’s excited to be back concentrating on the driving while the team focuses on tuning. He says it’s the kind of work he did back in the 90’s, and it’s the kind of work that will help him put all his energy into winning.

Follow Cruz and Snap-on on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, where you can also check out his Vlog “Kickin’ It With The Cruzer.” Follow Cruz on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow @MakersandFixers on Instagram and share your stories at makersandfixers.com.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: $30K on the line at the Hawkeye 100

Sheppard, Madden, Weiss, Bruening and more tackle Boone Speedway for the first time

BOONE,IA– April 26, 2021 – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will make its first ever appearance at Boone Speedway April 30-May 1, for the highly anticipated Hawkeye 100.   

It’s the richest event in the history of the Boone, IA oval, and one driver could walk away with $33,000 if they win both nights. 

Friday’s event starts with Slick Woody’s Qualifying, splitting the field into two 25-lap “Twin Hawk” Features, each paying $3,000-to-win. Drivers will earn points in both Qualifying and their Twin Hawk Feature, setting the lineups for Saturday’s Drydene Heat Races. 

The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return Saturday for Drydene Heat Races and Last Chance Showdowns.  Those events will set the stage for the unprecedented three-wide start of the Hawkeye 100, paying $30,000-to-win, and $1,500-to-start. 

Joining the World of Outlaws Late Models this weekend is the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, and IMCA Stock Cars. All three divisions will chase more than $31,000 in purse money. 

If you can’t make it either night, 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.

Here are the top stories to follow this weekend:

Chasing the Champ: Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard widened the gap between himself and second place in the point standings. But now, he has more challengers gunning to knock him off his throne.   

There’s only 66 points separating Sheppard and fifth-place Ricky Weiss. The New Berlin, IL driver has a 46-point lead on Chris Madden and Kyle Strickler, who are currently tied for second. Tyler Bruening is fourth, 64 points behind, and Ricky Weiss is fifth. 

Sheppard is still chasing his first official World of Outlaws win of 2021. If he gets it during Saturday’s Hawkeye 100, it’ll be the 70th of his career. It would put him eight wins behind Josh Richards for most all-time (78).

The Hawkeye state has been good to Brandon Sheppard lately. He won all three events at Davenport Speedway in 2020. 

Smokey Stays Hot: Chris Madden has been on a hot streak the last four races. 

He has three top-fives, and two of them are second-place finishes. The only event he didn’t finish in the top-five was April 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway, when he finished sixth. Madden has more top-fives (5) than any other driver this season. 

One of Madden’s strengths is his performance early in the night. He also currently has more Drydene Heat Race wins than anyone else (5). 

Sniper Engaged: Another driver with some momentum after a couple of good runs is Ricky Weiss. 

The Headingly, MB driver has back-to-back top-five finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway. It’s propelled him to fifth in points, 66 back of Sheppard and put him on a path to nearing his first win of the season, which would also be the first win for his self-built Sniper Chassis.

So far this season, Weiss has three top-fives, and six top-10s in 12 starts. 

Home for the Hawkeye: This weekend’s Hawkeye 100 has been on Tyler Bruening’s radar since the beginning of the season. 

Boone Speedway is a short drive for Bruening, with the track about three hours from his Decorah, IA home. He hopes for some home cooking as he pushes for his first career World of Outlaws victory. 

Bruening is also making a push in the hunt for Rookie of the Year. His six top-10 finishes, and top-five at Richmond Raceway have put him only 16 points behind leading rookie contender Kyle Strickler. 

When and Where

April 30- May 1 at Boone Speedway in Boone, IA. 

About the track

Boone Speedway is a 1/4 mile high-banked oval

Online: www.raceboone.com

On the Internet
World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Series
Twitter – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels
Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

Around the Turn: The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models head to Mississippi Thunder Speedway, May 7-8, in Fountain City, WI for the Dairyland Showdown presented by Dynamic Concrete Resurfacing.

CLICK HERE for tickets.  

Ricky Thornton, Jr Eyes Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year

Batavia, OH (April 26, 2021) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is excited to have a new young gun taking on the grueling demands of the nation’s premier dirt late model tour in 2021. There is no better way to get the experience to win championships than to set sights on Rookie of the Year. 
Ricky Thornton Jr. has a long list of dirt modified accolades, but is fairly new to the dirt late model scene and hopes to capitalize on his new successes with the Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year title in 2021. There are numerous drivers that are second generation drivers, but Thornton’s story is a little different, “I got started in racing because both parents (Ricky Sr and Tonja) raced.” Not only did both of Thornton’s parents race but he also has two brothers, Jeremy and Justin, that race.
The 30-year-old, Chandler, AZ native pilots the Todd and Vickie Burns-Owned SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis, powered by a Clements Racing Engine. He receives sponsorship from Dyno One Inc, Excel Floor Covering, Certified Inspection Service Co, D & E Outside Services, Deines – Nitz Solutions & Powdercoating, West Side Tractor Sales Co, Hoker Trucking, Shelby Materials, EMD Wraps, Midwest Sheet Metal, Simpson Race Products, Sub-Surface of Indiana, and Penske Race Shocks.
“I’m extremely excited to be able to compete in the 2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with SSI Motorsports. I am hoping I can bring them another Rookie of the Year title, since they already have one with Hudson O’Neal in 2017.”
In 2021, along with $100 cash per race, the Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year will receive the following at the year-end banquet: a check for $10,000, $500 product certificate from Earnhardt Technologies, one Carbon Driveshaft from Fast Shafts $750 value, $500 product certificate from Keyser Manufacturing, product certificate for new nose/graphic kit from Performance Bodies, $300 product certificate from Schoenfeld Headers, one free car wrap from Slicker Graphics, product certificate from Thermo-Tec Cool-It, 10 sheets of aluminum from Wrisco Industries, Inc., and a set of wheels from Vahlco Wheels.
“We want to thank all the sponsors of the Rookie of the Year program and their support of the series. We would especially like to thank David Cardey at Eibach Springs for their title sponsorship of the Rookie of the Year Program for the third year now. Eibach is a great company and a great partner of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series,” stated Wayne Castleberry, Corporate Sales and Marketing for Lucas Oil Motorsports.
Eibach’s production technology is recognized worldwide as leading its field, from their high-strength spring-steel alloys, advanced CNC winding process, high-quality corrosion protection and the legendary longevity of all of their springs and components. To learn more about Eibach, visit their website at www.eibach.com.
About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2021, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 59 events across 18 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events will broadcast on four networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, d

THE ULTIMATE GLADIATOR

David Gravel Gets $25,000 for Sweeping World of Outlaws at Bristol Motor SpeedwayLogan Schuchart Led 23 Laps Before Gravel Slid Him Coming to the White FlagBRISTOL, TN – April 25, 2021 – David Gravel loves making statements, and boy did he make a big one at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend.After his downright domination of Friday’s opener at the Bristol, TN 1/2-mile, Gravel returned to victory lane on Sunday afternoon and completed a weekend sweep of the Bristol Throwdown. This time, he did it in opposite fashion by sliding to the lead coming to the white flag to earn his 61st career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win.The Big Game Motorsports #2 started on the outside pole of the 25-lapper, but slipped back to third before running down Logan Schuchart in lap traffic and clearing him with a monster run down the backstretch that guided him to a huge turn three slide job on Lap 24.A symbolical weekend in a way, Gravel’s impressive weekend sweep at the high-banked oval came with Sammy Swindell in attendance as the Grand Marshal; a passing of the torch if you will. With his two wins on Friday & Sunday, the Watertown, CT native equaled the three-time World of Outlaws champion as the only two drivers through six events to win twice at the iconic venue known as The Last Great Colosseum.Surviving a green-white-checkered restart following Schuchart’s sudden mechanical failure, Gravel drove off to a 0.846-second victory for $25,000 over Donny Schatz, another former Bristol winner in 2001.”When I fell back to third I honestly didn’t think I had a shot,” Gravel noted on surprising himself with the win. “I was kind of just hoping to stay on the podium at a certain point. I think Donny [Schatz] messed up and just couldn’t take off on one restart and I slid by him, then catching Logan [Schuchart] was a matter of traffic. Sweeping the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway is a pretty damn awesome accomplishment.”Beyond Gravel’s double dip, the biggest story of Sunday came with one lap remaining when Logan Schuchart dropped out of the race with a heartbreaking mechanical issue.The Shark Racing #1S won the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and ran away from the pole position to lead the opening 23 laps of the 25-lapper. His run came to a screeching halt on the white flag lap when Gravel built a massive run off the top side of turn two, sped down the backstretch, and launched a slider for the lead into turn three. The bad news came moments later when a mechanical issue forced him to drop form second worth $10,000 to 19th worth $1,200 as he was only a half-mile away from the checkered.”We had some sort of mechanical issue with the engine,” Schuchart explained afterwards. “I hate saying that because Michael Newman builds us some of the most badass engines, but sometimes stuff beyond your control happens. We had a really fast Drydene Performance Products #1S this weekend and we really improved since we got here on Thursday. I hope we can come back here next year and go for another win.”Rounding out the podium behind Gravel was Donny Schatz aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 and Aaron Reutzel in the Roth Motorsports #83. For Schatz, the 10-time Series champion collected his third podium through 15 races and first in over a month.”I wouldn’t say we’re back yet,” Schatz said afterwards. “We had a solid finish and had some good speed, but it’s a lot harder to climb out of a hole than people think. It’s just the nature of the beat. We had a chance to contend there for a while, but just couldn’t follow through. Momentum means everything, that’s a big lesson I’ve learned in my 25 years. So hopefully this is a stepping stone to getting back on track.”For Reutzel, his second podium finish of the weekend was a sigh of relief following three different engine changes.”We overcame a lot this weekend, man,” Reutzel noted. “We just kept our heads down and kept digging. We weren’t as good tonight as were Friday, though. Anytime you run well with the Outlaws you build that momentum and build your confidence, which is what we need right now.”Closing out the top-five at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon was Fresno, CA native Gio Scelzi finishing fourth in the KCP Racing #18 and Nashville, TN native Paul McMahan running fifth in the CJB Motorsports #23.The rest of Sunday’s top-ten finishers were Carson Macedo, Brock Zearfoss, Spencer Bayston, James McFadden & Cory Eliason.In Sunday’s intense qualifying session, the World of Outlaws track record at Bristol Motor Speedway was again shattered for the second time this weekend. This time, it was Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, TX going around the half-mile at an average speed of 142.098 MPH during his 13.326-second lap.UP NEXT – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will take a few days off to rest and ready themselves for a Midwestern triple-header this weekend. On Thursday, April 29, The Greatest Show on Dirt visits one of the smallest tracks on tour with Jacksonville (IL) Speedway on tap, but then we’re off to I-70 (MO) Motorsports Park on Friday & Saturday, April 30 – May 1 for the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown.NOS Energy Drink Feature (26 Laps) – 1. 2-David Gravel [2][$25,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$10,000]; 3. 83-Aaron Reutzel [6][$5,000]; 4. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [5][$4,000]; 5. 23-Paul McMahan [4][$3,500]; 6. 41-Carson Macedo [8][$3,000]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [10][$2,800]; 8. 71-Spencer Bayston [14][$2,700]; 9. 9-James McFadden [11][$2,600]; 10. 26-Cory Eliason [7][$2,500]; 11. 49-Brad Sweet [18][$2,000]; 12. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [22][$1,800]; 13. 2C-Wayne Johnson [16][$1,600]; 14. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$1,500]; 15. 20-Ryan Taylor [15][$1,400]; 16. 19-Parker Price-Miller [17][$1,300]; 17. 9JR-Derek Hagar [21][$1,200]; 18. 11K-Kraig Kinser [23][$1,200]; 19. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1][$1,200]; 20. 22-Jac Haudenschild [24][$1,200]; 21. 24-Rico Abreu [20][$1,200]; 22. 72-Tim Shaffer [12][$1,200]; 23. 7S-Jason Sides [19][$1,200]; 24. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [13][$1,200]. Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-23, David Gravel 24-26. KSE Hard Charger Award: 7BC-Tyler Courtney[+10]NEW Championship Standings (15/83 Races): 1. Brad Sweet  (2,142); 2. David Gravel (-60); 3. Carson Macedo (-90); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-104); 5. Aaron Reutlzel (-106); 6. Logan Schuchart (-150); 7. Donny Schatz (-160); 8. Kraig Kinser (-260); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-314); 10. Giovanni Scelzi (-392).Photo – Brent Smith
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.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 all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

chevy racing–nascar–talladega post race

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES APRIL 25, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER2nd     WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE6th      KAZ GRALA, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE14th    RYAN PREECE, NO. 37 KROGER/REESE’S CAMARO ZL1 1LE
TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Brad Keselowski (Ford)2nd     William Byron (Chevrolet)3rd      Michael McDowell (Ford)4th      Kevin Harvick (Ford)5th      Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Buschy McBusch Race 400 on Sunday, May 2, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES: WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd “Finished second here at Talladega (Superspeedway) in the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet. It was a good race for us. I felt like we had a shot there at the end, just not quite enough racecar to lead the race I felt like. But it was a really good day. We had some damage, but the guys did a great job fixing it. We’ll go to Kansas (Speedway) and hopefully have a really fast car there.”  KAZ GRALA, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6thKAZ, YOU DON’T GET TO RUN A LOT OF THESE RACES, BUT WHEN YOU DO, YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT. “I try to Regan (Smith) and I feel like we did today. We had a really good Hyerice Chevrolet. Kaulig Racing did a great job. They won the NASCAR Xfinity Race yesterday, so big weekend for them all around. But I was just happy to get to pilot this thing. It is few and far between when I do, but I try to make an impression on my few starts and I feel like today was a good step in the right direction. Didn’t have the best luck in Daytona, but we rebounded here. I think that’s a great boost in momentum for us and hopefully it’ll be just another piece of the puzzle for me to get a full-time ride sometime down the road.” 
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 ROLAND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“We had a really strong No. 8 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today and were able to walk away with a finish that showed it. After being caught up in a wreck so early at Daytona this year, our strategy was different for this race with the goal of making it to the end. My whole team did a great job today with sticking with that strategy and racing smart with the big picture in mind to be there at the checkered flag. Almost all day long I could get the car to do whatever I wanted, which was great. The run right before the green-white-checkered felt like the car completely flipped its switch and didn’t drive anything like it did for the majority of the race, so we’ll have to figure out what changed there. Luckily, we were still able to make it through the chaos of the last lap and come away with a solid seventh-place finish. Overall, a good day for our team.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th “That was a crazy race today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway. We were really good to start the race, and then for portions of the race we couldn’t make anything work unless I was on the top. We made some moves at the end of the race to get that eighth-place finish. Everyone was all over the place and that was some work. We hit someone on the outside quarter panel, but I’m not even sure who it was. We were all wrecking on the backstretch, but somehow it didn’t happen. I don’t know how we all came out of that. It was crazy. I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for working so hard to get us that awesome finish. We’ll go back to Welcome and look over our Chevy to get it even better for Daytona.” ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CAREGILITY/YORKTEL CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th “A very hard hit at the end of the race. Proud of the effort from everyone though. We tore up two cars at Daytona, so we had to bring a new car here; a big increase in speed, handling, and drivability. I had more of a race car to go race with. That’s what this team and season is all about. I can’t thank everyone enough honestly for building a safe race car, that was a very hard hit. But we led some laps, race around guys all day, worked well with Kurt (Busch); my teammate as laps down and pushed me to the lead! Good effort by Team Chevy. It was awesome to have Caregility and Yorktel on the car, they were here in the suite. An unfortunate ending which is how this place normally is but proud of the effort today”. ERIK JONES, NO. 43 UNITED STATES AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 27th“It was a solid day for our No. 43 United States Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. It felt good to get up front and lead some laps at the Talladega Superspeedway. Unfortunately, we got turned-around coming to the finish line, and did not get the finish our Richard Petty Motorsports team was capable of. We will regroup, and go on to the Kansas Speedway.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 35th “Just a really difficult day. We started out pretty good with the Monster Energy Chevy, just trying to stay clean. The guys made some nice adjustments to get the car handling. We ended up having an issue and had to replace the oil cooler. We just can’t seem to catch the breaks that we need. We just need to dig-in and keep working, the results will follow”. ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 118; Finished 38th “Obviously this is not the way we wanted to end our day. Things like this just happen at places like Talladega. We had a good Ally Chevrolet today and Greg (Ives) had some really good adjustment calls on pit road. Just not our day today. This team is really looking forward to going to Kansas next week. That is a really good track for us and hopefully we can rebound in a week.”

DiBenedetto Finished Fifth at Talladega


April 25, 2021


Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang came up short in their bid for victory in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but still ended up with their first top-five finish of 2021, their first Stage win of the season and led five times for a total of 28 laps.

DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang were among the leaders from start to finish of Sunday’s race. After starting 13th, he took the lead for the first time on Lap 51 and collected 10 Stage points plus a Playoff Point for winning the opening 60-lap Stage.

He continued to run up front in Stage Two, but had a big moment after contact with Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the Stage.  When DiBenedetto recovered, he elected to stay back until the end of the Stage, a move that paid off as he escaped damage from a multi-car crash in the lead pack at the end of that Stage.

In the final segment of the race, DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang climbed from as far back as 23rd place to fifth with 20 laps remaining. DiBenedetto took second place with 16 laps remaining and was running there when the caution flag flew for a spin by Quinn Houff.

Just after a restart with 12 laps to go, DiBenedetto continued in the lead and held it until the yellow flag flew with four laps remaining for debris from Martin Truex Jr.’s car.

That caution pushed the race into overtime, and DiBenedetto surged ahead when the green flag was displayed. He held the top spot as the lead pack sped under the white flag, his 14th-straight lap led, but lost it when he moved to the outside lane ahead of an oncoming Ryan Blaney. But after DiBenedetto made the lane change, Blaney lost his drafting push. That allowed DiBenedetto’s Ford teammate Brad Keselowski to take the lead and the win, while DiBenedetto held on to finish fifth, as Mustang drivers swept four of the top five finishing positions.

Despite his disappointment over the events of the last lap DiBenedetto focused on the positives afterward.

“We will hold our heads high,” DiBenedetto said. “We won a Stage, ran up front all day and came away with a top-five-finish and had a good points day. We did the best we could.”

DiBenedetto did say he didn’t want to see the final caution flag fly.

“I liked how we were sitting before that last caution fell,” he said, adding that the move to pick up Blaney on the final lap seemed to be a good one at the time. “Everything got all jumbled up after that.”

“But our time will come.”

Next up for DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers team is a 400-miler at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. The 42 points that DiBenedetto earned at Talladega propelled him to 17th in the points standings, 12 points behind 16th place.
 

DOTTING THE I’s AND CROSSING THE SWORDS

Friesen Doubles Up at Thunder Valley Super DIRTcar Series Big Blocks close out stellar Bristol Throwdown; Friesen, Drellos, and McLaughlin take podium in finaleBRISTOL, TN – Stewart Friesen went two-for-two with the Super DIRTcar Series Big Blocks at Bristol Motor Speedway, picking up his second $10,000 grand prize of the historic weekend Sunday afternoon.

The victory was also his third Series win in a row – the first driver to accomplish that feat. The Halmar #44 finished ahead of second and third-place finishers, respectively, Demetrios Drellos in the #111 and “Mad Max” McLaughlin in the #32C. “The Last Great Colosseum” provided the perfect stage for Big Block Modifieds to put on an unforgettable show. While Friesen may have swept the weekend, the racing was intense throughout the entire field. Between great track preparation and the superior Hoosier Racing Tires fitted on Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds, drivers could make moves from the top to the bottom of the famed half-mile throughout the 40-lap Feature. “It was a great weekend,” Friesen said, grinning. “Proud to be here. Proud of our division to be here. I am really proud of my crew chief, and Chris Larsen, and the whole Halmar race team. It’s a pleasure to work with those guys.”No one knew what to expect from the dirt-covered Bristol but Friesen has more laps on it than anyone else after competing in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Cup Series races. But Big Block Modifieds are their own unique animal. “It’s neutral ground so we don’t have any notes to go off,” Friesen noted. “Our tires are so much different than the Goodyears we ran on the truck and the Cup car. The track responded differently. There was a little character in Turns 1 and 2. It had a little bit of a chop that made me tight. We were pretty tight but as long as I didn’t make a bad corner we were good.” For the second race in a row, Mike Mahaney of King Ferry, NY, drew the SRI Performance pole and picked up a $500 bonus for his trouble. Friesen lined up on his outside of the #35 Huttig Racing machine to start. At the drop of the green, the chase was on as 31 Big Blocks poured through the highbanked Bristol turns. Mahaney cultivated a lead in the early going but the #44 was soon making his presence known. Friesen struck early but Mahaney fought back and reclaimed the lead. But then, smoke began to puff from the front of the #35 and for the second night in a row, Mahaney fell from the lead and out of the podium.

“The power steering problem didn’t cause us to slow down but it did get tougher to drive,” Mahaney said. “We had a really fast car all weekend and there were a lot of positives to build on. It’s great having the points lead going into Bridgeport.”

While Mahaney battled his issue, both had to navigate their way through heavy lap traffic.“It was close,” Friesen said. “It was a lot of fun. We put on the hard compound and waited for it to come in. The lapped traffic was pretty wild. I was trying to set up Mahaney in traffic and got bottled up and he got by me. He was really fast. I think he had a power steering problem. I can’t imagine turning a lap around here without power steering.”A power steering issue is exactly what plagued Mahaney, who is currently the highest full-time driver in points. Friesen took advantage and worked his way around the outside of Mahaney for the lead. From there, he was off to the races, cutting through lapped traffic to keep his advantage.Demetrios Drellos, from Queensbury, NY, started fifth and stayed toward the front of the field all night. Friesen’s lead was far from comfortable, especially when lapped traffic as fast as Peter Britten in the #21A came into play.“It was tough,” Friesen said. “I got to Britten there. He was opening up his entry so I couldn’t get on the outside of him. I’d hit the cushion once good and then miss it the second time. It was a challenge. I got underneath him and on that last lap I didn’t know what to do. I just let it slide for the fence in Turn 4 and was thankful Drellos wasn’t any closer.”The high speeds of Bristol Motor Speedway harkened back to the days of Big Blocks motoring around the one-mile New York State Fairgrounds oval where Friesen won the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at NAPA Super DIRT Week five times. “I don’t know what the top speed was at the end of the straightaway but we went back to our Syracuse notes and used some aero stuff that we did there,” Friesen noted. “I knew it was going to be fast. It was fun. There is nothing like driving one of these things wide open. It’s just an awesome feeling. Hopefully we can do it again next year. Drellos has had a shaky start to the 2021 points season with a DNF during the season-opening race at Can-Am Speedway and 25th place finish in the first Bristol Throwdown Feature after making race-ending contact with seven-time champion Matt Sheppard. 
But in this race, Drellos was in on the money. “The car was about as good as it’s gonna get,” Drellos said. “I couldn’t really ask for anything else. Maybe if the lapped cars played a little better or had a luckier redraw but I couldn’t ask for anything more. Friesen was hammering the top which is probably why he lost a little speed late. I was rolling the bottom probably 35 of the 40 laps other than to get by lapped traffic and then I went in the middle. The grip never really went away.”There are still 24 points races left but Drellos is eager to get the show on the road and dig out of his hole. A second place goes a long way in doing that and he now sits 14th in points. “This is a good boost for the whole team,” he noted. “Whoever thought we were going to race at Bristol let alone be in contention to win at Bristol? It gives us some momentum going into Bridgeport. We’ve had a really rocky start to the year even going back to speed weeks (OktoberFAST) last year.”The final step on the podium was filled by 2021 DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator champion Max McLaughlin, from Mooresville, NC. The driver of the #32C was in Drellos’ tire tracks across the line and was also reeling in Friesen as well. “Mad Max” wants another chance at a Bristol sword. “I hope we get to come back because that was awesome,” McLaughlin said. “From my point of view, the track was as racy as it could get for a daytime show. I think we were almost three-wide for the lead there. I said yesterday that this place is more fun on asphalt so I gotta take back my words there.”McLaughlin had a shot at the lead when lapped traffic entered the picture. “I think we were both better,” he noted. “If there were more laps we were closing in really good. I think we found the middle before anyone else did. Friesen was up top. You could go anywhere. I was running the bottom early. I felt good on the bottom. But you could run anywhere.”“The Hile Driver” Chris Hile, pilot of the red #5H, started the night out on top by setting the quickest lap during Time Trials awarding him the Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award. NEXT UP: The Super DIRTcar Series invades Bridgeport Speedway to decide who will be crowned the King of the Big Blocks. Mat Williamson, Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight, and more will go toe-to-toe against New Jersey/Pennsylvania favorites like Ryan Watt and the legendary Billy Pauch. Bookmark SuperDIRTcarSeries.com on your favorite browser and make sure you are following the Series on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more. Feature (40 Laps)1. 44-Stewart Friesen [2][$10,000]; 2. 111-Demetrios Drellos [5][$5,000]; 3. 32C-Max McLaughlin [4][$3,000]; 4. 35-Mike Mahaney [1][$2,500]; 5. 14W-Ryan Watt [3][$2,000]; 6. 1D-Tyler Dippel [8][$1,700]; 7. 91-Billy Decker [9][$1,500]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [13][$1,200]; 9. 2A-Mike Gular [6][$1,100]; 10. 9S-Matt Sheppard [10][$1,000]; 11. 20-Brett Hearn [15][$1,000]; 12. 25-Erick Rudolph [11][$1,000]; 13. 3-Justin Haers [19][$1,000]; 14. 83JR-Tim Sears [31][$]; 15. 3J-Marc Johnson [17][$1,000]; 16. 28-Jordan McCreadie [23][$1,000]; 17. 83-Brian Swartzlander [22][$1,000]; 18. 88-Mat Williamson [20][$1,000]; 19. 42P-Pat Ward [26][$1,000]; 20. 5H-Chris Hile [12][$1,000]; 21. 21A-Peter Britten [27][$1,000]; 22. 66X-Carey Terrance [24][$1,000]; 23. 19M-Jessey Mueller [25][$1,000]; 24. 22-Brandon Walters [18][$1,000]; 25. 17D-Marcus Dinkins [28][$1,000]; 26. 48T-Dave Rauscher [30][$]; 27. 4R-Kevin Root [29][$]; 28. 99L-Larry Wight [7][$1,000]; 29. 2-Jack Lehner [14][$1,000]; 30. 1-Jackson Gill [21][$1,000]; 31. 3B-Chad Brachmann [16][$1,000]PHOTO: Joe Grabianowski
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.

RCR Post Race Report – GEICO 500

Austin Dillon Capitalizes on Wild Ending at Talladega Superspeedway To Earn Top-10 Finish in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
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“That was a crazy race today in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Talladega Superspeedway. We were really good to start the race, and then for portions of the race we couldn’t make anything work unless I was on the top. We made some moves at the end of the race to get that eighth-place finish. Everyone was all over the place and that was some work. We hit someone on the outside quarter panel, but I’m not even sure who it was. We were all wrecking on the backstretch, but somehow it didn’t happen. I don’t know how we all came out of that. It was crazy. I’m proud of everyone at RCR and ECR for working so hard to get us that awesome finish. We’ll go back to Welcome and look over our Chevy to get it even better for Daytona.”
-Austin Dillon 
Tyler Reddick and No. 8 Roland Chevy Team Survive and Capitalize To Earn Top-10 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway 
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“We had a really strong No. 8 Roland Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE today and were able to walk away with a finish that showed it. After being caught up in a wreck so early at Daytona this year, our strategy was different for this race with the goal of making it to the end. My whole team did a great job today with sticking with that strategy and racing smart with the big picture in mind to be there at the checkered flag. Almost all day long I could get the car to do whatever I wanted, which was great. The run right before the green-white-checkered, it felt like the car completely flipped its switch and didn’t drive anything like it did for the majority of the race, so we’ll have to figure out what changed there. Luckily, we were still able to make it through the chaos of the last lap and come away with a solid seventh-place finish. Overall, a good day for our team.”
-Tyler Reddick

chevy racing–indycar–st. petersburg–Race recap

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA POST RACE RECAP APRIL 25, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SIMON PAGENAUD PUT CHEVY ON PODIUM ON THE STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURGCHEVROLET DRIVERS CAPTURE SEVEN OF TOP-12 FINISHERS ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (April 25, 2021) – Chevrolet drivers captured two steps on the podium in Race 2 of the NTT INDYCAR Series season, and scored seven of the top-12 finishers on the challenging street course in St; Petersburg, Florida. Josef Newgarden was looking for a three peat on the Streets of St. Petersburg, but had to settle for runner-up. The two-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion and two-time winner at St. Petersburg needed a strong race to start his run for another title. With a first-lap accident at Barber, a solid podium finish was just what he needed to get his season back in championship form. Simon Pagenaud, driving the No. 22 Menards/Australia Gold Team Penske Chevrolet, had a very steady race that netted him a third place finish and another solid points day. Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, recovered from a disappointing qualifying effort that put him 20th on the grid. The former Series’ champion and Indianapolis 500 winner marched his way to eighth in the finishing order. Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, continues to take lessons learned from his rookie year and apply them to his second full-time season. He battled all day in the top-half of the field and brought home a solid ninth place in the final finishing order/ It looked like a promising hometown race for four-time Series’ champion Sebastien Bourdais, but first lap contact as well as other issues relegated him to 10th in the final order.  Rookie-of-the-Year contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, had another strong showing for his first INDYCAR street race. He ran competitively in the top-15 for virtually the entire 100-lap race and brought home an 11th place finish.  Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, had a strong showing in only his second race with the team. His 12th place finish gives him a solid foundation to build on as the season progresses. Colton Herta was the race winner.Next on the schedule is the doubleheader on April 30-May 1 at Texas Motor Speedway.   TEAM CHEVY FINISHERS:2.       Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske3.       Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards/Australian Gold Team Penske8.       Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske9.       Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing10.     Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing11.     Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Dex Imaging Team Penske12.     Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP16.     Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing19.     Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP23.     Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA AJ Foyt Racing24.     Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin          DRIVER QUOTES:JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 2ndIT GOT A BIT CLOSE AT THE END. TALK US THROUGH THE IDEA THAT YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO PUT ON THE REDS AT THE END. WHAT WAS YOUR THINKING GOING INTO THAT FINAL STINT?“Well, we lost a little too much ground in that second stint, really; to capitalize with the reds. And then we had the caution, which almost gifted us another chance. And I just didn’t want to over-extend myself today. I felt like I was close to an opportunity, but Colton (Herta, race winner) was really good. He was doing a great job on the restarts. It was tough to get tire temps. So, I pushed really hard right there in those two initial restarts. I didn’t have quite the runs I needed, so I didn’t want to risk anything. But a good day. I’m really happy with Chevy’s performance and thankful for all their work; and to have Hitachi on and get a podium is really nice here to start our year off. So, congrats to Colton. It was a great rebound for both of us. I feel bad about what happened last week, so I’m really happy that he got back on it today and had a very deserved victory. I wish we could have fought him a little bit more. I think we were just lacking a little bit.” GREAT REBOUND FROM LAST WEEK. WAS THAT PART OF THE IDEA ABOUT NOT OVER-EXTENDING AND WHAT YOU WERE THINKING?“Yeah, if I have an opportunity I’m going to go for the win. I was very close to having just enough of that opportunity. I think I was just a little shy of it. So, I didn’t want to force something that wasn’t there today. It’s not the day to do that. But I’m happy with the podium. We obviously want to win but we’re on the board now. “I was close but I think he (Colton Herta) definitely had us covered. We had a good opportunity with those cautions bringing us back into the mix. I just didn’t want to over extend myself if the opportunity wasn’t perfect. And I didn’t feel like it wasn’t the perfect opportunity to make the pass. I looked for it, it just wasn’t there. Podium is pretty nice. Would have liked to have that third win, but we are back in the war and that’s what we needed after last week.”SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS/AUSTRALIAN GOLD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 3rdYOU’VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL NEW GOLD LIVERY AND ELVIS-STYLE GLASSES, AND YOU END UP ON THE PODIUM. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE IDEA, RIGHT?“Yes, Australian Gold. I’m glad we had some sunglasses and sunscreen this weekend. It was a hot race. But we’re very happy with the end.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN HAD TO USE THE REDS. YOU HAD A CHOICE AND PUT THEM ON. DO YOU THINK ULTIMATELY THAT WAS RIGHT IN THE END?“Yeah, it was great strategy. We really had a shot on restarts, but it was too slippery on the inside to go for it. I noticed it when I tried to pass Jack (Harvey). But really when I lost the race was at the beginning of the first stint but overall, I think it was a great performance by the No. 22 Chevy Australian Gold team. That was a great performance. I think on street courses we could be very strong. I can’t wait for the oval, especially Indy and Texas.” IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT YOU WERE ON THE PODIUM, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 2021“Yeah, we finished really well here. I think we finished sixth last year. And then we made some more improvement over the winter. The whole team is giving us a lot of support to give us the best cars out there. So, thanks to them and thanks to Chevy for giving us all the horsepower we need. I’m excited about the podium. Very good street course run. Awesome. Very happy all weekend. I couldn’t ask for a better car. Great strategy. Fantastic looking car. It made social media for sure. Australian Gold is a new partner for Menards. I hope We get to see that gold car more often.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH AFTER STARTING 20TH“Yeah, really solid day for us to get up there to P8. It was inside the top 10 and that was our goal in starting the race.  Obviously qualifying was pretty disappointing, but yeah, solid pit stops today.  We tried to catch a few yellows and finish in the top five but it just didn’t work out.  We passed a lot of cars on track and the car did really well, so we were very happy to get the Verizon 5G Chevy in the top 10. Really good day.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET – FINISHED 9TH“So, a pretty tough day here in the office. But you know, a Top 10, P9. I had a hard lock-up on the red tires, which wasn’t ideal. But again, I learned so much. A good points day, but not an easy day at the office. Not much to complain about. It was very, very tough, obviously. But we survived, and I’m fully ready for Texas next weekend.”SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH“Not the best of day here in St. Pete for round two for the INDYCAR Series. Our No. 14 ROKIT Chevrolet suffered some damage when I misjudged the gap between myself and Simon (Pagenaud) and the race was a long drive from there.  We had some not-so-great sequences with a few hiccups in the pits and then I made some mistakes. So unfortunately started fifth and finished 10th and it was not what we were looking for today, but we got some points and we brought it home.”SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11TH“Yeah, overall a good day for us in the DEX Imaging Chevy. It was a full-on race, very hot, very humid and one of the most physical races I have ever done. Solid race from our end and I was probably a little bit too safe at the start.  I was just trying to keep my front wing on.  It was pretty forceful out there and a lot of the veterans around me were just using a bit more of their experience on colder tires.  We got around in the first stint and we pitted at the right time and we were actually on a very alternative strategy there, that could have almost put us in the lead. Unfortunately there was a couple of spinners towards the middle of that race. And our team reacted and we pitted and we did the right thing on that strategy, just unfortunately there was no yellow. We didn’t use the speed we had in the clear air to really get going, but for me right now its continuously finishing races.  Finishing P 11 is a great run for us and we will continue to build on that and hopefully come the end of the year we will be bigger, better and stronger.  Just want to thank DEX Imaging for their support and am excited for the next few races.” FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – FINISHED 12TH“I just finished a long race here at St. Pete. I thought it was okay. It wasn’t really anything fantastic. We’re going to have to do some bigger things on the car to compete at the front. We could follow the field but couldn’t really get forward. It’s so tight in the field; if you don’t have that little extra it’s kind of hard to move forward. But it feels good to finish the race and get some points and move on to Texas where I think we have a good chance to get some good points at those two races.”
NEWGARDEN AND PAGENAUD ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTTHE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us today here for our Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete post-race press conference. We’ve been joined by our second- and third-place finishers, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, and Simon Pagenaud, driver of the No. 22 Menard’s Australian Gold Team Penske Chevrolet, as well.Gentlemen, thanks for joining us. Josef, we’ll start with you. A chance to get three back-to-back to back wins, finished second, obviously that’s disappointing, but tell us about your day. You had a good chance to get that third win.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, just a little short today on finding that Victory Lane one more time. Kind of sad now that I think about it. It would have been nice to put three in a row together. That would have been pretty sweet. But it was important for us to get on the board. I said we needed to do that last weekend. We didn’t accomplish that. But a good bounceback by the entire crew and the team, and to get some good points is really what we needed today, so we accomplished that.Now we can get our season off the ground, get going to Texas and feeling good about things. But pretty happy about what we put together.I think team Chevy did a really nice job doing their homework, and I think us as a group we put in a lot of effort this off-season and found some good pace. We were in the mix today without a doubt. We were in the fight, just came up a little bit short. But I think a lot of the work from all the people at Team Penske is paying off, and it’s good to get a podium finish for team Chevy and Hitachi.
THE MODERATOR: Simon, disappointing weekend for you last week at Barber, but great finish for you on the podium with your very fancy Australian Gold Team Penske Chevrolet. Talk about your day.SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, first of all, great weekend, a gold livery that made a lot of headlines. So thanks to Team Penske, Australian Gold for coming along, and giving it a bit of joy like that with livery is exactly what racing is about. It was a lot of fun. We had some special glasses, as well, just to note.But overall great performance all weekend. Thanks to the whole team for working on the street course package as hard as it did with team Chevy, and overall great performance. I think very pleased with third place. It’s a really good hope for the championship knowing how good we’re going to be on oval.
Q. After last week’s crash you sounded not only disappointed for yourself but also that you got some of the other title contenders involved in it like Colton. In some ways did you kind of feel good that both you and him were able to fight it out today, because you both kind of needed a rebound from last week?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, definitely. I was really pleased for Colton, for him to have a solid day. I think him and his crew were certainly deserving of the victory. They were very strong. Just a touch better than us I would say on the day today. They worked hard, and it was nice to get them get a bounceback event, too. They got caught up in the mess last week through no fault of their own. I felt pretty bad. It was just one of those things. It’s tough to have a bad weekend, and when you affect others it makes it double tough.Yeah, pleased for both of us, I guess, but we can get our season started now and feel pretty good about things, and was happy to have a nice little battle with Colton. I think we had a good little race there at the end. It’ll be fun to do that hopefully a couple more times this season.
Q. This is the middle weekend of four races in a 14-day period. Now we go to Texas for a double-header. How do you guys feel about — I guess there’s no rest for the wicked?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: No, definitely not. It’s going to be flat out. We’ve got to be on it here. We knew we were going to rattle through four races pretty quickly and then when you really count May into that, you’re getting through a third of the season pretty fast.We’ll know where we’re at pretty solidly in this championship hopefully by the time we get to June, but we need to stay focused and get through this next period pretty quickly with the best results possible.
Q. Simon, your thoughts?SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, it’s obviously a hard day. It’s been two physical races. The cars are faster than ever. Definitely feels like it’s very important to be at a high fitness level, and personally very happy with it. I think it’s the best I’ve ever had.Very excited about the whole season. I’m glad — we got in a very good groove with the 22 team, so I look forward to the next few races coming up, which we know are going to be strong for us.
Q. A lot of drivers are saying this is a very physical weekend; they seem very exhausted after the race today. I’m wondering how both of you are feeling and why today might have been difficult.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say it was probably the heat today. For me, like I felt pretty good in the car physically, but I was really — I was pretty hot. Like this morning I was really, really warm.Probably not acclimated as well to the heat right now, but yeah, that was the biggest thing for me. I thought it was really humid today. Temperature-wise it wasn’t that hot. I think about 80 degrees. That’s not really that tough. But when you add 90 percent humidity, it definitely changes the effect, so you’ve got to make sure you’re hydrated really well and you’re not overheating because physical exhaustion is one thing but then heat exhaustion is a different one. Yeah, that’s what’s made it tough.It’s funny, I got through warmup, and I’m like, man, this is going to be a really hard day. Then you get into the race and you’re like, you know what, it’s going to be fine, and you end up getting through it just fine, as always.I don’t know about Simon, though. He looked pretty worn out, so I’m worried about him for a couple of events. I’m messing with him.
SIMON PAGENAUD: It’s actually quite interesting because I noticed Colton lying down and Josef was next to him pouring water on his face. I felt fantastic. I mean, obviously my fitness program, and I’m being serious, is much better than Josef’s, and I must say I have a lot of confidence right now because if you’re fresh then we can race again. Take that. Come on, come back.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just look at the lap times at the end. That tells the story to me for fitness.SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, yeah, look at the lap times at the end. Exactly.
Q. So both of you guys, it’s your peak physical condition that kept you in shape for today?SIMON PAGENAUD: Absolutely. I feel fantastic.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s amazing. You know, we all went through — all the drivers, we went through a performance analysis, and I couldn’t believe how well that I tested compared to the rest of the team. I mean, it’s just — my fitness level is so high right now, and the confidence is through the roof at the moment. While everyone is falling on the floor, I’m so ready for these exhausting races.
Q. Just double checking, Colton was or was not laying down on the ground having water poured —SIMON PAGENAUD: You’ll have to ask him. You’ll have to ask him.Q. Simon, can you give us a bit of an overview of Barber and what happened there and if today kind of feels like maybe a bounceback performance or things felt much better today or is your street course package so different to Barber that the two really aren’t relevant to each other?SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think the street course package is very satisfying. I think we’ve made big improvements, especially since we were here last year. We had a good understanding what we needed from the car, and we found a really good package for my style. So very excited about street course racing.On the road course, yeah, we need to keep digging, keep finding some performance. Not fully happy there, and I think this is probably our weakness compared to how good we’re going to be on oval, which I think is going to be our most strength — our biggest strength this year. So that’s where we’re at.
Q. For both of you, Colton has really kind of emerged quickly on the kind of INDYCAR scene and really he’s been kind of the stand-out guy at Andretti since he came in and he’s got more wins since Alexander Rossi since he came into INDYCAR. Do you see Colton as sort of the biggest contender from Andretti now?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I would say so. I don’t want to discount someone like Rossi, either. I think Alex is certainly capable of being in that mix every weekend, so I think it would be unwise to discount him, but I think Herta is without a doubt their — to me he seems like the top gun over there.He’s so young; he started, whatever it was, I think three years ago, but he’s still so young right now, so he’s got a lot of runway, pretty level-headed, has a great crew around him. I know his engineer. He was my first engineer. He’s got a great team around him. Seems to work well with his dad. I was watching his dad this weekend and how proud he was of him when he was getting in the car, and they just seem like they have good chemistry.Yeah, I think they’ll be in the mix without a doubt all year, but like I said, I wouldn’t discount some of the other boys over at Andretti. I think they have some other capable drivers, too, and not just Herta.
Q. Any thoughts on that, Simon?SIMON PAGENAUD: Yeah, I think he’s fantastic. He’s a great driver. He’s really young, so he’s got a lot of room to improve still, which is impressive.But I see a lot of young guys coming up and having just as much talent and potential in the future, being championship contenders, as well. The series is at its highest level right now. It’s just incredible to see the talents and the personalities, as well. Yeah, look forward to the future.
Q. Josef, you’ve been incredibly fast all weekend; on those restarts at the end, how much were you thinking championship versus win?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Definitely both. You know, it was kind of serendipitous that it was me and Colton there at the end. I definitely appreciated that personally that we were kind of bouncing back together here after last weekend’s difficulty. But I was pushing him. I mean, look, if he gave me an opportunity to win the race, I was going to take it, as we all should. It just wasn’t quite there.I really had gotten a second chance at it. If those cautions didn’t come out, I think Colton was going to kind of walk us. He was just better today. He had a little bit on us for sure. But with that fresh opportunity with the two cautions, I pushed as hard as I could directly after them. I mean, I was really looking for a clear, clear opening, and I was close. It was very close to being open there, but it just wasn’t quite enough.Yeah, I was looking for the win, but certainly tempering things trying to make sure we had a solid day.
Q. Simon, with this third place are you going to run that gold livery all the time now?SIMON PAGENAUD: Well, it certainly has a lot of attention this weekend for great reasons. I think it was awesome to see something new like that, something that hasn’t been seen in a while. It’s great to see Australian Gold join us, same with Menard’s. I hope we get them back. I hope they stay and I hope we have more races with that car.

chevy racing–indycar–podium quotes

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA NEWGARDEN AND PAGENAUD PODIUM QUOTES APRIL 25, 2021
JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SIMON PAGENAUD put Chevrolet on the podium at St. Petersburg.
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 2ndIT GOT A BIT CLOSE AT THE END. TALK US THROUGH THE IDEA THAT YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO PUT ON THE REDS AT THE END. WHAT WAS YOUR THINKING GOING INTO THAT FINAL STINT?“Well, we lost a little too much ground in that second stint, really; to capitalize with the reds. And then we had the caution, which almost gifted us another chance. And I just didn’t want to over-extend myself today. I felt like I was close to an opportunity, but Colton (Herta, race winner) was really good. He was doing a great job on the restarts. It was tough to get tire temps. So, I pushed really hard right there in those two initial restarts. I didn’t have quite the runs I needed, so I didn’t want to risk anything. But a good day. I’m really happy with Chevy’s performance and thankful for all their work; and to have Hitachi on and get a podium is really nice here to start our year off. So, congrats to Colton. It was a great rebound for both of us. I feel bad about what happened last week, so I’m really happy that he got back on it today and had a very deserved victory. I wish we could have fought him a little bit more. I think we were just lacking a little bit.” GREAT REBOUND FROM LAST WEEK. WAS THAT PART OF THE IDEA ABOUT NOT OVER-EXTENDING AND WHAT YOU WERE THINKING?“Yeah, if I have an opportunity I’m going to go for the win. I was very close to having just enough of that opportunity. I think I was just a little shy of it. So, I didn’t want to force something that wasn’t there today. It’s not the day to do that. But I’m happy with the podium. We obviously want to win but we’re on the board now. “I was close but I think he (Colton Herta) definitely had us covered. We had a good opportunity  with those cautions bringing us back into the mix. I just didn’t want to over extend myself if the opportunity wasn’t perfect. And I didn’t feel like it wasn’t the perfect opportunity to make the pass. I looked for it, it just wasn’t there. Podium is pretty nice. Would have liked to have that third win, but we are back in the war and that’s what we needed after last week.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS/AUSTRALIAN GOLD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 3rdYOU’VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL NEW GOLD LIVERY AND ELVIS-STYLE GLASSES, AND YOU END UP ON THE PODIUM. THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE IDEA, RIGHT?“Yes, Australian Gold. I’m glad we had some sunglasses and sunscreen this weekend. It was a hot race. But we’re very happy with the end.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN HAD TO USE THE REDS. YOU HAD A CHOICE AND PUT THEM ON. DO YOU THINK ULTIMATELY THAT WAS RIGHT IN THE END?“Yeah, it was great strategy. We really had a shot on restarts, but it was too slippery on the inside to go for it. I noticed it when I tried to pass Jack (Harvey). But really when I lost the race was at the beginning of the first stint but overall, I think it was a great performance by the No. 22 Chevy Australian Gold team. That was a great performance. I think on street courses we could be very strong. I can’t wait for the oval, especially Indy and Texas.” IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT YOU WERE ON THE PODIUM, BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN 2021“Yeah, we finished really well here. I think we finished sixth last year. And then we made some more improvement
“Very good street course run. Awesome. Very happy all weekend. I couldn’t ask for a better car. Great strategy. Fantastic looking car. It made social media for sure. Australian Gold is a new partner for Menards. I hope We get to see that gold car more often.” 

RCR Post Race Report – Talladega 300

Myatt Snider and the TaxSlayer Chevrolet Team Earn Ninth-Place Finish in Rain Shortened Race at Talladega Superspeedway
9th10th7th
“Our TaxSlayer Chevrolet Camaro had a ton of speed today. Andy Street (crew chief) and the boys brought a really good piece and it was able to suck up behind any car even when I didn’t have help out behind. The handling started a little free, then went tight, but the adjustments made on each of our stops definitely improved the overall feeling inside the car. Everyone executed well today, from Andy on top of the box, Derek Kneeland (spotter) on the roof helping to guide me, and the pit crew with fast stops that put us out front every time. I hate we didn’t get to finish the final few laps, because I think we would have had something for the win. Mother Nature forced the ending, but a top-10 result is still a good day for our Richard Childress Racing team.” 
-Myatt Snider 

chevy racing–indycar–st. petersburg qualifying

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA QUALIFYING RECAP APRIL 24, 2021 TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS CAPTURE FOUR OF FIRESTONE FAST SIX SPOTS DEFENDING RACE AND TWO-TIME WINNER JOSEF NEWGARDEN WILL ROLL OFF THIRD IN SUNDAY’S 100-LAP RACE ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA (April 24, 2021) – Four Chevrolet powered drivers secured starting positions in top-three rows for Sunday’s 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Firestone Fast Six qualifying battle for the NTT P1 Award. Two-time and defending winner of the first street race of the season Josef Newgarden will start his No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet from the inside of the second row, third overall of the 24 starters. Teammate Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards/Australian Gold Chevrolet will start alongside Newgarden. Sebastien Bourdais, No. 24 ROKIT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, will roll off fifth, on the inside of row three with Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, captured the sixth starting spot.  Rookie-of-the-Year Contender Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Dex Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, continued his steady improvement behind the wheel of an INDYCAR with a solid 14th place qualifying effort. Pole favorite Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet, tapped the wall on his final hot lap and damaged his car relegating him to the 20th starting position. Colton Herta and Jack Harvey (both Honda) will make up the front row.Live coverage of the 100-lap race starts at noon Sunday on NBC and the INDYCAR Radio Network.          TEAM CHEVY QUALIFIERS:3.       Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske4.       Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards/Australian Gold Team Penske5.       Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing6.       Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP7.       Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing14.     Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Dex Imaging Team Penske17,     Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP19.      Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing20.      Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske22.     Max Chilton, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin     24     Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA AJ Foyt Racing DRIVER QUOTES:JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 3RD“We had a good day on Saturday here in St. Pete. I feel really good about our car. I just got through qualifying. It’s pretty hot and definitely very humid outside, so it’s going to be a hard race to get through. But I felt really good in all sessions except for that Fast Six. In the Fast Six, I felt like it difficult to bring the tires up when they were used. I think that’s how we got beat. So, we’re starting third for the race tomorrow. It’s a good enough spot to win from, no doubt. I think we have a good race car across multiple stints that we can make something happen from that spot. I’m feeling really good and have good momentum and just need to keep carrying it all the way through until tomorrow night, and hopefully we’ve got a win underneath us.” SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS/AUSTRALIAN GOLD TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 4TH“We were P4 today at St. Pete with the Australian Gold Chevy car. It was fun qualifying. We found a lot of speed. We found a really great balance on the car all weekend. I’m very happy. I think we kept progressing every session and at the end there, it was great to be in the Fast Six and put out as much we could out of the race car. So, I’m satisfied with P4. Josef (Newgarden) is starting third so it’s going to be interesting at the start with him. And then obviously we’ve got to go to the front together. So, I’m very excited. I’m glad we brought the sunscreen. It seems to work.” SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 5TH:“Really good afternoon here at the Grand Prix of St. Pete in the No. 14 ROKIT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet. Really happy we made it the Firestone Fast Six and will start fifth tomorrow. Definitely a big turn around from practice one and two. Hats off to the boys for figuring it out and giving me a really fast ride. Can hardly wait until the race tomorrow!” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, QUALIFIEED 6TH:“We just got done with qualifying here in St. Petersburg. We are sixth, starting on the outside of the third row. We had a quick car in qualifying but we just didn’t make quite the right call on either using reds or new blacks. The track was very different to what we felt in Practice 2, but we have a quick race car. We are going to be thinking about it tonight, and we are going to go get it tomorrow.” SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 DEX IMAGING TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 14TH“Overall, it was a pretty disappointing day for me, I guess; coming back to St. Pete, a track that I know, after last year, you sort of want to try again for that Q2 bracket. Unfortunately, the car was feeling really good in practice and qualifying in the first segment there, especially on black tires. But we put the red tires on and I just didn’t get that little extra bit you need to really get into that t Top Six to advance to Group 2. It’s going to come with time. I’m feeling really comfortable and strong on the black tires and I think we were the fastest in that group there in one stage where everyone had the same tire. The red tires; just not enough laps right now. I haven’t got a great feel for it and confidence to really find the grip at times when you can only do it once or twice in a run. So, I’m a little bit disappointed. But, at the end of the day we start XX for a pretty long race tomorrow and hopefully we can make our way through with the pace that we have on the right compounds.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 20TH“It was definitely not the qualifying session we were looking for. We just didn’t get the set-up quite right and the series is so tough now, if you’re not right on point, you’re certainly going to pay for it and then start back somewhere like 20th. So, it looks like a two-stop strategy. We are hoping there are some yellows, which will open the windows up and give us a chance to potentially jump some people. So, the aim for tomorrow will be a Top 10. We’ll try to get some points and get in that Top 10 and that would be good for us.”

Pole for Herta, Honda in St. Petersburg


Colton Herta takes pole in Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying
Jack Harvey qualifies second in all-Honda front row

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (April 24, 2021) – Colton Herta prevailed in a typical fraught NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying, edging fellow Jack Harvey by just two-tenths of a second to secure an all-Honda front row for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Herta and Harvey were two of the seven Honda drivers to advance through the first round of INDYCAR “knockout” qualifying. Behind the lead pair, defending series champion Scott Dixon will start eighth in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, with Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal and Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama race winner Alex Palou rounding out the top 10 for Honda. Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe also advanced to second-round qualifying, and will start 11th and 12th, respectively.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Qualifying Results
1st Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
2nd Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
8th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
10th Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
12th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda
13th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
15th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
16th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
18th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
21st Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
23rd Jimmie Johnson-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport Honda) Pole Qualifier, 1st NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole of 2021 and 5th career pole: “I knew [before the start of the race weekend] we had a good race car for here. Just had to get through those two [qualifying] stages nice and clean. Really happy for [my] guys. We’ve got the best seat in the house [pole] for the start, it’s been an incredible weekend so far. Can’t wait to get going again tomorrow.”

Jack Harvey (Meyer Shank Racing Honda) Qualified Second, third career front-row start: “We felt confident coming into this weekend, as we’re run well here previously. We were strong all day, and happy to share the front row with our ‘pseudo teammate’ [Colton Herta]. With Colton, with Honda and the Andretti Autosport connection [MSR shares a technical partnership with Andretti Autosport], it’s a really good day for us all.”

Fast Facts
Honda claimed the initial lead in the 2021 INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship with Alex Palou’s victory Sunday at the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

As a result, Honda holds a 17-point lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, with 90 points to 73 for rival Chevrolet. The company is seeking its fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in 2021.

Palou also takes the early-season lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings, with 53 points to 41 for Team Penske’s Will Power. Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, defending and six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, is third with 35 points.

The 24-car starting field at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will once again be led to the green flag by the Honda Civic Type R Pace Car. The Civic Type R is the latest in a series of Honda Pace Cars utilized for NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition since 2006.

Where to Watch the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Sunday’s 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starts at 12 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the NBC Sports App and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

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

OFF THE TOP: Friesen cuts through the field to win Super DIRTcar debut at Bristol

Friesen, Williamson, and Dippel take Bristol Showdown podium after intense 40-lap Feature at Bristol Motor SpeedwayBRISTOL, TN – Stewart Friesen added to his list of Hall of Fame-worthy accomplishments Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, winning the Super DIRTcar Series’ debut at “The Last Great Colosseum.” 

He did so in a gladiator fashion worthy of the iconic sword he was awarded after piloting his Halmar Racing #44 chariot from eighth to the lead in the 40-lap World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown Feature.“This is a huge stage to get a win on in our Northeast Modifieds and I appreciate everyone inviting us here,” Friesen said. “Our cars put on excellent racing like they do at Charlotte and Volusia. It was really cool for us and to get the first win here is really special.”Friesen was fastest overall in Time Trials and took the Billy Whittaker Cars Fast-Time Award by running a 16.574 sec. lap. That time was nearly a second faster than the Quick Time set during Thursday’s practice session.

He then won his Heat Race, but drew the eight in the redraw – a fate of luck he initially thought killed his chance at a win. From there, he passed seven cars on his way to claim his now coveted World of Outlaws Bristol Showdown sword. “I found the top side pretty early,” Friesen noted. “I thought pulling eighth in the redraw was going to be the kiss of death with the way the Heat Races went. The track crew did a great job working the outside. I started thinking about the top when Tyler Courtney in the Sprint Car’s Last Chance Showdown was on the outside making some hay. I knew it was there but it just needed to be cleaned up. We raced all around the track for the first few laps and when my tires came in, away we went.”Bristol Motor Speedway can be intimidating to some drivers, but Friesen has been circulating the Bristol highbanks more than anyone else over the last month. He raced in both the NASCAR Cup Series race on dirt as well as the Camping World Truck Series race. For the Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON native, the initial shock and awe has worn down and he could approach the race like any other. “The NASCAR experience on the dirt here helped,” Friesen noted. “Not with the setups though. I got a lot of help from some of the late model guys. That paid off. We did a lot of homework.”With the fast-time award, a Heat Race win, and a racy Feature victory, Friesen looks tough to beat at Bristol. Mike Mahaney, from King Ferry, NY, started the race in the top spot after redrawing first place and collecting a special bonus from SRI Performance. He built a huge lead in the early going before cautions allowed Friesen a few opportunities to pass cars and get up to the rear bumper of the #35. After the #44 went by him, Mahaney held tight to second place until Keith Flach slowed in front of the leaders on the backstretch and bottled Mahaney up. Three cars got around him but he was able to hold on for fifth after dominating the early stages.Tyler Dippel picked up a career-best second-place finish with the Super DIRTcar Series. His #1D Teo Pro Car stayed up front all race after rolling off from third. At the initial start of the 40-lap Feature, Dippel won the drag race with defending Series champion Mat Williamson, from St. Catharines, ON to grab second.  After that, the only car to pass him was Friesen on his way to the win. “Once Friesen went around and showed us the top would work I started searching around,” said runner-up Dippel. “The crazy part to me was working through the dirty air. When you got up on someone close you had to have the left or right front sticking out to get the nose in the air. I’ve never felt that in a dirt car besides the Syracuse Mile.“The speed sensation is unbelievable. The G-forces really suck you down into the seat. It was fun. I had a blast out there.”The final podium step was filled by Mat Williamson, driver of the #88 Buzz Chew Racing machine. Williamson and his team worked hard to squeeze a few more tenths of a second out of his Bicknell Racing chassis and Billy the Kid engine. We spent last night testing some things and trying to get better but tonight is the best we’ve gotten it,” Williamson said. “You’re going so fast I didn’t expect the race track to race as well as it did. When Friesen went around me on the top I had fully expected there to be no one up there.”While some drivers wanted to draw comparisons, like Lebanon Valley Speedway in respect to its speed or Cornwall Motor Speedway in respect to its banking, it’s clear Bristol is unlike any other track.“It’s a whole different ball game down here,” Williamson noted. “It was a good thing that no one had a hometrack advantage because it had us all figure it out together.”Williamson has won some huge races in front of some big crowds but Bristol is incomparable. “I’m happy and I hope it was a good show for the fans,” he said. “It’s really cool for the modifieds to get an opportunity like this. The Feature was hotly contested from the top to the bottom of the field. Erick Rudolph, from Ransomville, NY, took his #25R up 15 positions to claim the night’s hard charger award. He finished in the eighth position after 40 laps and 20 miles of racing. The legendary “Franklyn Flyer” Billy Decker in the #91 Gypsum Racing Big Block had a difficult start to the night as he spun on the first lap of his Heat Race and was collected by Chad Phelps in the #X car. He was forced to take provisional but passed 15 cars himself to finish twelfth. Tim Sears Jr., in the #83X, has backed up his great finish at Can-Am Speedway with a fourth-place finish on the Bristol high banks. It’s going to get tough for Sears to sneak up on the Series stars because now they know that yellow #83X is coming for the front. Mike Mahaney, from King Ferry, NY, started the race in the top spot after redrawing first place and collecting a special bonus from SRI Performance. He built a huge lead in the early going before cautions allowed Friesen a few opportunities to pass cars and get up to the rear bumper of the #35. After the #44 went by him, Mahaney held tight to second place until Keith Flach slowed in front of the leaders on the backstretch and bottled Mahaney up. Three cars got around him but he was able to hold on for fifth. Race fans can catch the Super DIRTcar Series again tomorrow at the World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown finale. It’s a 40-lap, $10,000-to-win Feature, which also pays $1,000-to-start. Get your tickets at BristolMotorSpeedway.com or tune in live on DIRTVision. Feature (40 Laps)1. 44-Stewart Friesen [8][$10,000]; 2. 1D-Tyler Dippel [4][$5,000]; 3. 88-Mat Williamson [2][$2,500]; 4. 83JR-Tim Sears [6][$1,800]; 5. 35-Mike Mahaney [1][$1,600]; 6. 84-Gary Tomkins [5][$1,400]; 7. 3B-Chad Brachmann [3][$1,300]; 8. 25-Erick Rudolph [23][$1,200]; 9. 21A-Peter Britten [7][$1,100]; 10. 32C-Max McLaughlin [15][$1,000]; 11. 9S-Matt Sheppard [14][$900]; 12. 91-Billy Decker [27][$800]; 13. 99L-Larry Wight [21][$700]; 14. 42P-Pat Ward [10][$650]; 15. 5H-Chris Hile [26][$600]; 16. 2-Jack Lehner [9][$600]; 17. 2A-Mike Gular [12][$600]; 18. 14W-Ryan Watt [11][$600]; 19. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [18][$600]; 20. 83-Brian Swartzlander [22][$600]; 21. 28-Jordan McCreadie [24][$600]; 22. 3-Justin Haers [25][$600]; 23. 19M-Jessey Mueller [13][$600]; 24. 20-Brett Hearn [20][$600]; 25. 111-Demetrios Drellos [19][$600]; 26. 22-Brandon Walters [30][$]; 27. 17D-Marcus Dinkins [28][$600]; 28. 4R-Kevin Root [29][$]; 29. 3J-Marc Johnson [16][$600]; 30. 43F-Keith Flach [17][$600]PHOTO: GT Smith 
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

WIRE TO WIRE: McCreadie uses strong start, adaptability to win at Richmond Raceway

The 2006 Series Champion won his 33rd career World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model FeatureRICHMOND, KY– April 23, 2021 – Uncertainty fluttered in Tim McCreadie’s mind before the start of Friday night’s World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Feature at Richmond Raceway.He would see the drop of the green flag from his outside pole starting position, but doubts possessed his confidence in the position with Chris Madden on the pole. However, it only took a lap for those doubts to be exorcised.The 2006 Series champion bested Madden on the first lap from the outside lane and never released his stronghold on the lead for all 40 laps.“I knew [Madden] was really good and I wasn’t going to be able to snooker him, so I thought let’s just roll the top and see if there’s anything up there,” McCreadie said. After passing Madden, the Watertown, NY driver tried to find comfort around the bottom of the track, but Madden again forced McCreadie to place doubt on his line by making up ground around the top.With Madden on his tail, McCreadie returned to the top to kill the 29-time Series winner’s momentum.“[Madden] moved up and started getting back to me, and my crew moved me up, and that’s when I noticed the sticks started moving farther apart again,” McCreadie said. “At that point I knew once [the track] latched down I’d probably be OK.”And OK, he was. McCreadie was the first to see the checkered flag and claim his 33rd career World of Outlaws victory. He’s now tied for seventh on the all-time win list with 2004 Series champion Scott Bloomquist. While Madden had to settle for second, the podium continues his promising consistency. The finish was his fifth top-five of the season. Even though he had a shot at passing McCreadie in traffic, he knew second was the best he could do once the track took rubber. “[McCreadie] was able to get back to the bottom, and we just couldn’t complete the pass,” Madden said. “His guys did a great job moving him around, getting him into the right position.”One of the drivers who worked the outside of the racetrack early in the race was third-place finisher Scott James. The Bright, IN driver started eighth, and quickly went up high, moving up five positions. “In the [pace] laps I felt like there was some traction up there,” James said. “The car was phenomenal; it would just roll right around the top.”Ricky Weiss finished fourth, for his second-straight top-five finish, and Tyler Bruening finished fifth.Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard crossed the line ninth, for his eighth top-10 of the season. That’s more than any other driver on the Series. The New Berlin, IL driver still holds the point lead, but now there’s a tie for second place. The bad luck continued for Mooresville, NC driver Kyle Strickler, when his hood popped up with just three laps to go. The “High Side Tickler” finished 22nd, dropping him into a tie with Madden, 46 points behind Sheppard. UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on The Planet head to Boone Speedway in Boone, IA for the inaugural Hawkeye 100 April 30-May 1. For Tickets: CLICK HERE.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.Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 39-Tim McCreadie [2][$10,000]; 2. 44-Chris Madden [1][$6,000]; 3. 83-Scott James [8][$3,500]; 4. 7-Ricky Weiss [4][$2,800]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening [3][$2,500]; 6. B1-Brent Larson [5][$2,300]; 7. 76-Brandon Overton [12][$2,200]; 8. 17-Zack Dohm [6][$2,100]; 9. 1-Brandon Sheppard [9][$2,050]; 10. 81E-Tanner English [10][$2,000]; 11. 58-Mike [14][$1,600]; 12. 32-Bobby Pierce [16][$1,400]; 13. 97-Cade Dillard [11][$1,200]; 14. 12-Jason Jameson [24][$1,100]; 15. 31-Tyler Millwood [19][$1,050]; 16. 21-Kirk Phillips [18][$1,000]; 17. 40B-Kyle Bronson [23][$1,000]; 18. 28-Dennis Erb [20][$1,000]; 19. 97C-Michael Chilton [13][$1,000]; 20. 11-Tommy Bailey [21][$1,000]; 21. 99B-Boom Briggs [17][$1,000]; 22. 8-Kyle Strickler [15][$1,000]; 23. 99L-Darrell Lanigan [22][$1,000]; 24. D8-Dustin Linville [7][$1,000] Hard Charger: 12-Jason Jameson[+10]Qualifying Flight-A – 1. 44-Chris Madden, 15.329; 2. 83-Scott James, 15.563; 3. 17-Zack Dohm, 15.583; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie, 15.586; 5. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 15.587; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler, 15.656; 7. 97C-Michael Chilton, 15.664; 8. 97-Cade Dillard, 15.669; 9. 38-Derek Fisher, 15.688; 10. 99L-Darrell Lanigan, 15.739; 11. 21-Kirk Phillips, 15.822; 12. 31-Tyler Millwood, 15.831; 13. 1G-Ryan King, 15.843; 14. 13W-David Webb, 15.895; 15. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 16.062Qualifying Flight-B- 1. 11-Tommy Bailey, 15.491; 2. 76-Brandon Overton, 15.523; 3. 81E-Tanner English, 15.586; 4. 7-Ricky Weiss, 15.607; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening, 15.664; 6. B1-Brent Larson, 15.692; 7. D8-Dustin Linville, 15.714; 8. 32-Bobby Pierce, 15.757; 9. 12-Jason Jameson, 15.759; 10. 16R-Justin Rattliff, 15.802; 11. 99B-Boom Briggs, 15.803; 12. 28-Dennis Erb, 15.819; 13. 58-Mike , 16.013; 14. 13-Brayton Laster, 17.062 
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.

PERFECT NIGHT: David Gravel is Flawless in World of Outlaws Return to Bristol Motor Speedway

Gravel Set New Track Record, Won His Heat, His Dash, and Friday’s 25-Lap FeatureBRISTOL, TN – April 23, 2021 – A perfect night is hard to come by against the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. It’s even harder to come by at the daunting high-banked 1/2-mile of Bristol Motor Speedway.Don’t tell that to David Gravel, though.The Watertown, CT native paved his path to victory lane with a trail of downright domination on Friday night. His Big Game Motorsports #2 was simply unstoppable from the time the trailer unloaded. Harnessing 20 years of pent up energy, Gravel made sure he was the first, and biggest, storyline leaving Thunder Valley in the Series’ first race since 2001.It all started with his new track record. At 13.672 seconds, Gravel clocked an average speed of 138.502 MPH; officially making him the fastest driver to ever turn laps on the dirt-covered Bristol Motor Speedway. From there, he won his Heat Race, won the Dash, and ran away with a $10,000 Feature victory, the 60th of his World of Outlaws career.With his winning sword in hand, the newest gladiator of The Last Great Colosseum reflected on how special this opportunity is to race on a stage and venue like Bristol.”This is so cool,” Gravel said in awe of a massive crowd. “This is just such an iconic place that everyone always talks about. I can’t thank Bristol Motor Speedway and the World of Outlaws enough for making this event happen. I hope we get to finish out this weekend and go after that $25,000 check.”A noted ace on bigger, faster tracks, Gravel’s clean sweep of the night at Bristol equals him with Donny Schatz for the most wins (9) on 1/2-mile ovals since the beginning of 2019. His unbeatable performance on Friday marked the first perfect night of the 2021 World of Outlaws season.”This thing has been incredible ever since we unloaded yesterday,” Gravel bragged on his Big Game Motorsports crew. “After the Heat and Dash, I told them not to change a damn thing. I just ripped down five qualifying laps there at the end to try and hold off Reutzel.”Not just the physical size, but the stature that Bristol brings can offer true season-changing momentum. Gravel has felt his early-season resume has been lackluster at best with two wins in 14 races, but with a Bristol beatdown in his bank, he feels more and more confident heading into the crucial summer months.”I really think we’ll kick ass at big tracks all year long,” Gravel noted with a grin. “This schedule is so unique because we’re going to a super short track on Thursday and then we’re back at a big track on the weekend. You have to be good everywhere with the Outlaws. This engine program is super stout and this team is really hitting our stride.”Gravel’s closest contender came in the form of KSE Hard Charger Aaron Reutzel, who battled back from a pair of engine changes to roar from ninth-to-second and compete for the win in his Roth Motorsports #83. The Clute, TX native rolled by Sam Hafertepe Jr. on Lap 18 and was cutting into Gravel’s lead lap-after-lap with the aid of back markers.By Lap 20, the gap was only five-tenths of a second and Reutzel was poised to give Gravel some heat in the closing circuits. However, a caution for Logan Schuchart changed it all.With Gravel removed from traffic and given the benefit of clean air, his Big Game #2 proved to be too stout. Reutzel hung close with him for the first lap, but the raw speed of Gravel’s Morrison Racing Engines powered Maxim Chassis was too much to handle.When the checkered flew on Lap 25, a dejected Aaron Reutzel crossed the line 1.871-seconds short of Gravel’s tail tank.”That caution killed every ounce of momentum I had,” Reutzel explained post-race. “We went from ninth-to-second, we were flying through there and he couldn’t pass the lap cars. That restart gave him clean track and he was gone, though. He was the fastest car all night until lap traffic, and then I thought we were the car to beat. You have to be good to win these races, but you also have to be lucky.”Rounding out the podium aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41 was Carson Macedo, who was surprised, but pleased with track conditions.”I was just searching for too long in the beginning,” Macedo explained. “I thought the bottom would be dominant, but Aaron found the top and I realized where I needed to be. I think it got a lot more racey there at the end. I can’t say enough about how cool this event is. A dream come true for me to be on the podium at Bristol.”Following Gravel, Reutzel, and Macedo on night one of the Bristol Throwdown was Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, TX, who actually led the opening two laps before Gravel went storming by. Closing out the top five was Donny Schatz aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance #15.The rest of Friday’s top ten finishers were NASCAR sensation Kyle Larson in sixth, Gio Scelzi aboard the KCP Racing #18 in seventh, championship leader Brad Sweet in eighth with the Kasey Kahne Racing #49, Paul McMahan in ninth making his season-debut, and rookie contender Brock Zearfoss in the tenth spot.UP NEXT – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will wrap up the Bristol Throwdown on Saturday, April 24 with a $25,000-to-win main event. Officials are bound and determined to complete the event on Saturday night, but a Sunday rain date could be used at Bristol Motor Speedway if absolutely necessary.NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 2-David Gravel [1][$10,000]; 2. 83-Aaron Reutzel [9][$6,000]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo [6][$3,500]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [2][$2,800]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [3][$2,500]; 6. 57-Kyle Larson [12][$2,300]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [5][$2,200]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,100]; 9. 23-Paul McMahan [4][$2,050]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [16][$2,000]; 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [10][$1,600]; 12. 71-Spencer Bayston [7][$1,400]; 13. 9-James McFadden [20][$1,200]; 14. 11K-Kraig Kinser [18][$1,100]; 15. 26-Cory Eliason [21][$1,050]; 16. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [23][$1,000]; 17. 72-Tim Shaffer [11][$1,000]; 18. 20-Ryan Taylor [17][$1,000]; 19. 9JR-Derek Hagar [24][$1,000]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart [15][$1,000]; 21. 2C-Wayne Johnson [13][$1,000]; 22. 22-Jac Haudenschild [22][$1,000]; 23. 19-Parker Price-Miller [14][$1,000]; 24. 24-Rico Abreu [19][$1,000]. Lap Leader(s):Hafertepe 1-2; Gravel 3-25. KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Aaron Reutzel[+7]NEW Championship Standings (14/83 Races) – 1. Brad Sweet (2,014); 2. David Gravel (-82); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (-98); 4. Carson Macedo (-100); 5. Aaron Reutzel (-122); 6. Logan Schuchart (-134); 7. Donny Schatz (-178); 8. Kraig Kinser (-246); 9. Brock Zearfoss (-322); 10. Jason Sides (-392).Photo – Trent Gower
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.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 all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

chevy racing–nascar–talladega–alex bowman

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 23, 2021

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:  GIVE US A RECAP OF HOW THE WEEK HAS BEEN SINCE YOU WON ON SUNDAY.“Yeah, Sunday night was fun. Recovery and kind of a normal week, honestly; normal competition meetings, team meetings, a little more media than normal. It was really special to win at Richmond (Raceway), on a short track, get the No. 48 back in victory lane and get Ally’s first win. That’s really, really cool.”
AFTER A PIT PENALTY AND BEING QUITE FAR AWAY FROM THE LEADERS IN THE CLOSING STAGE OF THE RACE, HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT ACTUALLY ENDING UP WINNING THE RACE? “Yeah, it was a surprise to me, I guess. I knew we were really good, but really to be buried in the field twice throughout the day, to be able to come back from that pit road penalty and pass as many cars as we did. Really under green, we drove from last to third. The leaders were pretty checked out and then got that late caution to be able to pass the No. 22 (Joey Logano) and the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) was really neat. I felt like we had a car capable of winning all day, just didn’t have the track position to get up there and do it until the end.” 
CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH THE INTERACTION OR THE WAY YOU LIKE IT WITH YOUR SPOTTER ON THE RACETRACK? ALSO, PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES ON FRIENDS. SO, HOW DOES HAVING FRIENDS HELP OR HOW MUCH DOES IT HELP TO BE SELFISH THESE DAYS?“Spotter/Driver interaction on the No. 48 team is very sarcastic. Both of us are very sarcastic all the time, whether it’s daily life, meetings, in the racecar, spotting. Neither one of us do a very good job of turning it off, it’s always there. So, there’s a lot of that, for sure.”
“I think having friends on the racetrack doesn’t really benefit you, expect for this week going to Talladega (Superspeedway). I respect everybody I race with. There are a few guys in the Cup garage that I would consider friends, but I’m not there to make friends. I’m there to do the best I can. I have a pretty small circle of friends as it is; it’s not just an in-racing thing. I have a small group; I keep to myself and do my own thing. I think being selfish is definitely rewarding in the Cup Series. But this week, I need all the friends I can get. So, everybody be my friend and push me to the front.”
WITH TEAMMATES TO THINK ABOUT AND CHEVROLET TO THINK ABOUT, HOW SELFISH ARE YOU ALLOWED TO BE? HOW SELFISH CAN YOU BE?“I think the goal is go win Talladega and if you have to be selfish to do that, that’s fine as long as you win. We’re all going to work together as much as we can. If we can’t win, we want one of the HMS cars to be there and being winning it.”
NOW THAT WE’RE ABOUT TEN RACES DEEP, HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE START OF THE SEASON FOR THE NO. 48 TEAM AND JUST HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS IN GENERAL?“I think HMS, in general, has been great. I feel like about every week, they’ve had a car that’s capable of winning. It’s really cool to see that. The atmosphere in the company is amazing. Everybody is working really well together. A lot of new faces and everybody has really clicked. For us, it was a rough start to the year. Obviously, we got the pole at Daytona; crashed like 12 laps in. From there, we had some rough weeks. We had a lot of speed, but just really couldn’t put races together. I felt like Bristol and Martinsville, we had cars capable of winning. Obviously, didn’t get the job done at either of those; broke a transmission at Bristol and then, Martinsville, we got crashed. It’s been rougher than we wanted and rougher than what we wanted for Ally. But going to Richmond, we just wanted a good, solid top-10 and to come out of there with a win, I think it’s a good point in the year to kind of get pointed in the right direction and hopefully we can carry that through the summer and into the Playoffs.”
HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STACKS UP AGAINST THE COMPETITION RIGHT NOW? DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS THE ORGANIZATION TO BEAT?“I think so. It might not be one specific car every week, but every week there’s one of the cars that are up front. I think we’re only going to get better, just with the atmosphere in the company and everything. Everything is so positive right now and I think it’s going to continue heading in that direction. It’s really cool to see that. In 2018 when I started there, it was a rough year. 2019 started rough and got better. Last year was kind of hit-or-miss and ended the year really positive, and it’s good to see it carry over to this year.”
AS IT GETS CLOSER TO MOTHER’S DAY, WHAT ARE YOUR REMEMBERANCES OF YOUR MOTHER HAVING A BIG ROLE IN YOUR RACING CAREER COMING UP?“She hated it (laughs). She was not a fan when I was a kid. She was definitely skeptical about racing as a kid; being safe, how much school I had to miss, kind of all of that. I think once she realized that it wasn’t going anywhere and I was going to stick with it, she got super, super supportive and has been supportive ever since. I remember she hated it at first, but once she realized it wasn’t going to stop, she’s been extremely supportive.”
I KNOW YOU WON EARLY IN THE YEAR LAST YEAR TOO, BUT HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO GET THAT FIRST VICTORY OF THE YEAR PRETTY EARLY IN THE SEASON?“Yeah, I think it’s a little bit of a stress reliever. But (INAUDIBLE)… we want to win each and every week. There’s a lot more races that we’re going after. Last year, we won early and then kind of fell off through the summer months, and I think that’s something we really want to avoid this year. We want to stay strong all year long and have good Playoff points to fall back on in the Playoffs. We put together one of the best Playoff runs of anybody last year and still ended up sixth in points, just because we didn’t have the Playoff points to fall back on. We want to do a better job of that throughout the summer, but it’s definitely good to have a win early.”
YOU’VE TRADITIONALLY PERFORMED WELL IN THIS PARTICULAR RACE, THE GEICO 500 AT TALLADEGA. YOU FINISHED EIGHTH IN 2018, RUNNER-UP IN 2019 AND THEN SEVENTH LAST SEASON. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE KEY TO NAVIGATING THE DIFFICULT TRACK, WHEN TO MAKE A MOVE AND WHEN TO STAY PATIENT? “Yeah, really the key is just surviving, right? You’ve got to be there at the end and that’s really hard to do at superspeedways these days. Everybody is just continually getting more aggressive, continually feeling like they can throw huge blocks and not cause crashes, and push each other really aggressively and not crash. Surprise, we crash a lot. It’s just tough to make it to the end. I think knowing when to be aggressive is key. It’s different each and every speedway race. It kind of has a flow to how the race goes and it’s kind of a guessing game, to a point. I feel like there’s definitely some guys that have it a little more scienced out than I do, but we just have to do what we can to survive to the end and be aggressive when it counts.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT HIM, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT HE’S DOING NOW? “To be honest with you, I expect him to have a lot of fun. Probably bring a lot of new eyes to IndyCar and make the most of his opportunity. I feel like putting an expectation on finishing position and stuff like that isn’t really fair to a guy that got two test days and went racing in the hardest open-wheel series in America. It’s really cool to see him do that and see him trying something new. Never having driven anything like that, going into a car with so much downforce, some really technical racetracks that he’s never seen before – I think it’s hard to put a finishing position goal on that. I think by the end of the year, you’re going to see improvement. All year long, he’s going to continue to get better and better; learn the racecars, learn the racetracks. But I think the biggest thing you’re going to see is he’s going to have a lot of fun with it and probably there’s going to be nobody in the garage area happier to be there than he is.”
I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE SHORT TRACK AND WITH THE WIN: YOU MENTIONED YOU DRIVE THE TRACKS A LOT DIFFERENT THAN YOUR TEAMMATES AND MAKES THE SETUP A LITTLE MORE INTERESTING. HOW IS YOUR DRIVING STYLE DIFFERENT THAN YOUR TEAMMATES, BUT THEN ALSO HOW MUCH OF A CONFIDENCE BOOST IS IT TO SEE THE SPEED THAT YOU GUYS SHOWED?“Yeah, I feel like we all have different backgrounds. Chase (Elliott) grew up racing super late models. William (Byron) grew up iRacing and then quickly into late models, and then Xfinity and all that. Kyle (Larson) grew up somewhat similar to me. He raced a lot of sprint car stuff, whereas I raced the midget stuff more. I think it just makes us all drive different. When we go to short tracks, we all kind of point to Chase. He’s been the most successful lately. Chase and I have really different driving styles at the short tracks. So, it’s hard for us when we have one car that’s really successful there and we’ve kind of struggled to go a different direction. But I think it’s something I feel like Greg (Ives, Crew Chief) realized that we needed to do. I was never going to be able to copy Chase’s driving style and it’s worked out here recently. So, I’m appreciative of him sticking with me and knowing I ask a lot out of the racecar at short tracks and want different things than most. But we’ve been able to figure out how to make it work.”
NOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE A WIN AND ARE LOCKED IN THE PLAYOFFS, WHAT’S THAT FOCUS NOW THAT WE HEAD INTO SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER?“Really just winning more races; staying consistently upfront through the summer months. It’s something we’ve struggled to do the last two years, really. We’ve fallen off through the summer. So, we want to continue to be as strong as we are right now and win more races before the Playoffs start.”
HOW MUCH IS THE LUCK FACTOR FOR YOU AT TALLADEGA BECAUSE YOU HAVE JUST ONE TOP-FIVE FINISH THERE. IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HOW MUCH HAS LUCK KIND OF PLAYED INTO YOUR RESULTS?“Well, I definitely think you make your own luck to a point. I feel like we’ve crashed out of a lot of superspeedway races. Daytona, we were like 12 laps in, leading the top line minding my own business and got cleaned out. Luck is definitely a factor, but there are also guys that can consistently seem to avoid those situations and consistently seem to be upfront at the end of those races. I have to figure out how to do that and do a better job of doing that, but it’s definitely part of it. To a point, you make your own luck.”
HOW MUCH HAVE YOUR RELIED ON KEVIN (HAMLIN, SPOTTER) OVER THE YEARS, AS FAR AS KIND OF GUIDING YOUR WAY? I KNOW THERE ARE TIMES WHERE HE DOESN’T HAVE TIME TO REACT, BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU RELY ON HIS NAVIGATION FOR YOU?“Yeah, I mean a ton. The Cup cars, you can’t see a whole heck of a lot out of them, so your spotter is really all you got; painting a picture of what’s around you. I think he does a really good job of giving me what I need. I feel like we’ve gotten continuously better at knowing what each other wants and needs in communication. He’s done a great job. I rely on him a ton. I think every Cup driver is relying on their spotter a ton. He’s going to go through some radio batteries this weekend, for sure.”
CJ LEARY, WHAT’S YOUR GAMEPLAN FOR HIM, AS FAR AS HOW MUCH INTERACTION AND SUPPORT ARE YOU GIVING HIM IN WHAT DISCIPLINES?“Yeah, him and I are really close friends. Obviously, he drives my wing car and he’s going to keep driving the Chili Bowl stuff. Other than that, he’s got his own non-wing deal driving for Bill Michael from Arizona. That’s their deal, but the wing deal is going OK. We’ve got a lot to learn. I feel like he’s just got to get comfortable in a wing car. We seem to be able to go fast and then just struggle to race. He just needs laps and races. I think by the end of the year, we can be really, really strong. We’ve been racing with the World of Outlaws and the All-Stars lately; kind of jumped in head first. So, I think once we get back to the local stuff, he gets his feet under him and figures out how to race the air and all there, he’ll be really, really strong.”
NINE, GOING ON TEN RACES THIS SEASON, WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE HAVING KYLE LARSON AS A NEW TEAMMATE AND WHAT HE’S BROUGHT TO THE TABLE TO BETTER YOURSELF AND THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE.“Kyle (Larson) and I are good friends, so it’s really cool to have him as a teammate. It’s been a lot of fun. I feel like he fit right into the group. Everybody has clicked really well and he’s definitely fast. Everywhere we go, he’s very sharp on what he wants in a racecar. He does a really good job of knowing exactly what he wants and kind of what he’s had in past experiences and I think that’s been really good for the team. I feel like the four of us are all clicking really well together. The four crew chiefs are working really well together. Obviously, Rudy (Fugle) is new and he’s been really great, too. It’s cool to see all the new faces and people that have moved around at HMS all clicking really well right now.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO PUT THE NO. 48 BACK IN VICTORY LANE AFTER ALMOST FOUR YEARS AND STARTING TO BUILD A NEW LEGACY FOR THAT NUMBER?“Yeah, it’s really special. It’s a similar thing that I went through with the 88 and it’s cool to do it again in the 48 and put it back in victory lane. We want to win a lot more. There are some high expectations to live up to driving the 48 car. But to get it back to victory lane and get Ally their first win, it’s really special.”
HOW DOES GOING FROM THE BRINK PLAYOFF CUT-OFF A WEEK AGO TO NOW HAVING A WIN CHANGE THE VIBE GOING INTO THE NEXT FEW MONTHS?“Yeah, I mean honestly, last week I couldn’t have told you where we were in points. I wasn’t thinking about that or worried about that. I knew it wasn’t good; we had had a rough start to the season. But I felt like if we run as we should run and finish how we run, we could make the Playoffs and win races. The vibe for the rest of the season is just to keep it turned on through the summer months. It’s something that we’ve struggled to do as a team throughout the last couple of years. We’ve got to run strong each and every week for the rest of the year. I feel like we magically turned it on for the Playoffs last year and went on probably the best streak of my career, as far as how strong we were each and every week. But we need to do that for the entire rest of the year to come away with what I feel like we’re capable of doing.”
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM CHASE ELLIOTT AS A TEAMMATE AND WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES CHASE A GREAT CHAMPION AND THE MOST POPULAR DRIVER?“Yeah, I think having Chase (Elliott) as a teammate is really cool. I feel like all my teammates are pretty great in their own way. Chase approaches things a little differently. He doesn’t live here, he just kind of does things a little different. So, it’s cool to see him be so successful. I think he’s a great Champion for the sport for a lot of reasons. I think it’s been a while since such a popular guy has won the Championship, so for him to do that is obviously really popular. People love him; people just absolutely love that guy. Chase is a great guy and I really enjoy being around him. I don’t know what parts or pieces makes somebody so popular, but he definitely is and it’s really cool to see.”

chevy racing–nascar–talladega–ricky stenhouse Jr.

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 23, 2021
RICKY STENHOUSE, JR., NO. 47 NOS ENERGY DRINK CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: TALK ABOUT GOING TO TALLADEGA AND WHAT YOUR APPROACH WILL BE“For us, it’s just to go out and try to get a win and get some Stage points. We came up short at Daytona, just the way things played out, where we were in the pack coming down the stretch at some of those Stages, we didn’t get the Stage points that we got last year and it kind of put us behind a little bit. But I feel like we’ve been making up for that with the end results, the finishing results. So, we’d like to get some more Stage points. We know our NOS Energy Drink Camaro is going to be really fast. It always is. The guys have been massaging on it and working on it hard. When we’ve got it ready to go, we’ve just got to be one spot better than what we were at this race last year. All in all, it’s just really about trying to get to the checkered flag and making sure that we have a chance for the win.”
CONCERNING WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS, DO YOU FEEL LIKE IF IT GETS DICEY, DO YOU STILL FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO GET STAGE POINTS RATHER THAN MAYBE BACKING OUT, WHICH MIGHT BE THE SAFER PLAY?“I don’t know. I just kind of always go off the feel. I don’t really always have a set full game plan. I feel like when you have those game plans and you try to stick to it, especially at speedways, it can be a detriment to the decisions you make on the race track. So, I’m more of a feel guy. One that goes out to the race track and that’s me, my spotter, and that’s also (crew chief) Brian Pattie watching from the pit box. I feel like we do a really good job of just kind of watching what’s going on. So, I’m not sitting here and saying like hey, we have to go get Stage points. Just like at Daytona, if the opportunity arises, then we’ll go get them. If I feel like things are getting too dicey and something could happen and we won’t make it to the end of the race, then I’ll back out. It’s just the way we have always done our speedway racing.”
WHAT IS THE OVERALL VIBE OF THE TEAM, CONSIDERING RIGHT NOW YOU’RE IN THE PLAYOFF MIX COMPARED TO A YEAR AGO WHEN AT THIS TIME, YOU REALLY WEREN’T?“It’s definitely a different feeling and you’re always looking to not make mistakes and continue the run that we’ve been on. Last week at Richmond, with the caution the way it came out and a pit road penalty, it kind of set us back a little bit. But we were still able to manage a decent finish. We didn’t finish where I feel like we normally run there at Richmond. But, you know, the overall confidence in the team is really high. We’re doing what we set out to do this year and that’s to be consistent, get those Top 15 finishes, try to average a 14th place or better finish, and just see where things shake out. It’s nice to be in the mix. It’s nice to be on a good, consistent run; and also check the goals off that we’ve been trying to do since the off-season. And it’s been fun to accomplish. We’ve got to keep it up. We’ve got to keep doing it. There are a lot of races left until the cutoff, so yeah, there are a lot of winners, but you never know how it’s going to shake out. So, we’re just going to keep plugging away.”
THERE ARE A COUPLE OF WEEKS UNTIL THE DARLINGTON RACE, AND IT’S GOING TO BE ON MOTHER’S DAY. WITH THAT IN MIND, WHAT ARE YOUR BEST MEMORIES OF YOUR MOTHER HAVING A ROLE IN YOUR RACING CAREER?“My mom, she’s always been super supportive of my dad racing when he first started racing, making sure he’s fed while working in his carport back in the day when they first started dating. She’s continued that trend all the way through with me racing and us working in the garage. She’s always supporting us and always going to the race track and she’s coming to Talladega this weekend so I’m pretty excited about that. So yeah, I think most drivers always know that they worked really hard with their dad to get to the point that they’re at. But if it wasn’t for our moms supporting us on the back side, I don’t think any of us would make it here either.”
YOU’VE HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS AT TALLADEGA AND DAYTONA. WHAT IS IT ABOUT SUPERSPEEDWAYS THAT WORK SO WELL FOR YOU AND YOUR CAR?“Well, I think it definitely evens the playing field out a little bit more than maybe some of the race tracks to when it comes to having the most resources and having the all-out fastest car. Obviously, the draft takes care of a lot of things. But you still need a fast race car. When we won our first race here at Talladega, we sat on the pole by two-tenths. It’s nice to be able to have a car that fast. Since being paired-up with Brian Pattie, I feel like he takes a lot of effort and pays a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the speedway racing, and I feel like that’s made me a better speedway racer. And then just learning over the years how the draft works, what you can do to manipulate other drivers, and other cars, to give yourself an advantage. And then just trying to work and put yourself in the right positions and get yourself out of positions when you feel like things aren’t going good. So, it’s just been something that over time. I feel like that’s why we tend to have some good runs here. Once you get a win at a speedway race, and we got back-to-back wins, I feel like that gives you a little bit more confidence in the decisions that you’re making on the race track.”
WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE JTG DAUGHERTY RACING HAS MADE THE BIGGEST IMPROVEMENTS FROM LAST YEAR?“I think it’s just paying attention to detail. For me, as a driver, not trying to do more than what the car is capable of, less mistakes, better pit roads; we’ve had really good pit stops all year and that’s always beneficial when we have cars that are running in the Top 15 and we can come down pit road and gain a spot or two or maintain. That was something we struggled with last year when we were fast. I felt like we would come in pit road and we could leave five or six spots behind and then you’re trying to make that up all the time. That’s an area I think is better. We set-up this off-season to come into 2021 and make less mistakes, be consistent, and try not to do anything spectacular and don’t do anything that is really bad. And I think that’s where our heads are at and I feel like we’re all a little bit more focused each week. The guys working on the car, me in the car making the decisions behind the wheel have been a lot better and probably some of the best of my career as far as the decisions I’ve made. I’m looking forward to building on that and continuing to get better. Also at the same time, we’re trying to make our cars faster. Our Kroger team has worked really hard in the off-season as well as making some of the race tracks, now that we have a notebook, being at the team for a year, we can look back at those races where we struggled last year and make different decisions and different set-up decisions going in that can benefit us. And I think you’re seeing some of that as well.”
HOW DOES THE NEW QUALIFYING PROCEDURE AFFECT SOMEONE LIKE YOU WHEN YOU’RE STARTING AND FINISHING AN AVERAGE OF 13TH? DO THE RICH JUST KEEP GETTING RICHER UNDER THIS QUALIFYING METHOD?“Yes and no. I do feel last year, when we re-started, and I finished 40th and made not even a lap; and then all of a sudden we’re starting in the back every week. It was definitely difficult to get to the front or to get to where we felt like we should be running. But it’s long races. The No. 48 (Alex Bowman) went to the back the same time I did. Granted, he was a lap ahead of us. But he went to the back for a pit road penalty and drove up and won the race. I think if you have a fast race car you’re going to get to where you should run no matter where you start. I definitely would like to qualify. I have fun qualifying. It’s a bummer that we can’t. But I think if you have your car where you want it to be and need it to be; yeah, the first Stage might not go as planned or get the Stage points you’re looking for, but you normally get your track position and kind of keep it throughout the race. So, like you said, it’s the same for everybody. And it can make the first Stage or two difficult. But with competition cautions, you’re not really worried about going a lap down. So, if you drive up through the field and come down pit road during the competition caution and gain some spots, and you’re right there where you should be running.”
CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF FRIENDS YOU HAVE ON THE RACE TRACK AND HOW THAT’S CHANGED OVER THE YEARS OR HOW THAT MATTERS NOW, INCLUDING THE FRIENDS YOU INHERIT VIA YOUR MANUFACTURER AND THOSE YOU FEEL YOU’VE MADE OR DON’T HAVE?“Yeah, I think everybody sits here and talks about the friends that they have and your teammates going to work in the draft and obviously being at Talladega is why you bring that up. So, when you get out on the race track, you really don’t see a whole lot of like big time help from people. Everybody still makes the decisions based off what’s going to benefit them in the end. And I’m okay with racing like that. I feel like that’s one thing that has helped us be in contention for wins is making decisions throughout the race that are going to benefit your team and your partners. And you can’t keep making decisions throughout the race based on the people you’re drafting with and just lose track position. You have to keep your track position, no matter what, throughout the race to have a shot at winning States and getting Stage points and winning the race in the end. Ryan Preece and I talked about it this week. And I’m like dude, just do what benefits you and your team because I feel like we get too caught up in like hey, how’s this going to affect the guys I’m drafting with? If you watch the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin) yeah, he has teammates out there; but he does, and makes moves constantly, that benefit him and his team. I feel like that’s why he’s won so many Daytona 500’s and that’s why he’s in mix at the end of these races. I feel like to the media maybe he says hey, I’ve got my manufacturer teammates and that’s what we’re going to work with; but when it comes down to it and you watch the races, I feel like everybody is out there for himself.”
WE TOOK A FAN VOTE ON THE AIR LAST NIGHT ABOUT WHO THEY THOUGHT HAS THE MOST FRIENDS AND WHO HAS THE LEAST NUMBER OF FRIENDS AT A PLACE LIKE TALLADEGA. DENNY HAMLIN SAID HE HAS A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS SPONSOR. HE HAS A LOT OF FRIENDS IN THE FIELD THAT WILL WORK WITH HIM OR THAT HE’S WORKED WITH. SO, YOU ALMOST GOT THE MOST VOTES FOR BEING MAYBE THE ONE WHO MIGHT HAVE THE LEAST NUMBER OF FRIENDS OVER THE YEARS. CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT?“Well, that’s the fan’s opinion; they don’t really know what’s going on exactly, in our race cars; or the conversations that are had before a superspeedway race. I feel like I’ve got plenty of friends when I need to go out there and draft. But like I said, if you watch those people that yeah, they have friends and there are a lot of people that follow Denny when he makes moves. There are people that follow (Joey) Logano and (Brad) Keselowski because their cars are fast, and they know how to stay up front and they know what they’re doing. The more races, overtime, where I’ve run well and won and been in contention on superspeedways, you just get more people that go with you. And when you have a fast car that can lead a line to the front and you show that, more people go with you. So yeah, that’s the fan’s perspective which, everybody has their opinion, and they have a right to have their opinion whether they think I have friends out there or not. But I’m very confident when I come to Talladega and Daytona that we can get the job done.”
HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FROM A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE TO DRIVE ON SUCH A WIDE RANGE OF RACE TRACKS IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME?“It’s something that we’re used to. I think the NASCAR schedule is very diverse. We go to so many different race tracks and we’ve added a couple of new ones this year. You could throw in concrete and dirt and asphalt, new asphalt, worn-out asphalt, smooth tracks and rough tracks. We run on all different sorts of race tracks and I think that’s what is fun about our schedule and about our sport. Every week is different. Some notes apply. You could go from one 1.5-mile to another, and your set-ups are totally different. I think that’s what’s cool about this sport and of NASCAR. All the tracks we go to are different and that makes drivers and teams stay on their toes to make sure that they’re ready.”
WHEN IT COMES TO TALLADEGA AND WORKING WITH TEAMMATES, AT WHAT POINT DURING THE RACE DO YOU THINK OKAY, IT’S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF AND I’M READY TO GO FOR THE WIN REGARDLESS OF YOUR TEAMMATES AND THE GUYS YOU’RE WORKING WITH?“You stay constant throughout the race with those around you that you’re comfortable with, drafting. But you can’t ever really count on anybody to go with you or to like the decisions that you make to benefit your team. Throughout the whole race you have to make decisions based on what’s going to give you the track position. Sometimes that’s changing lanes where there’s only one hole to be filled and maybe the people that you’re drafting with behind you don’t have a hole to get in. But that’s something where you weigh your options of do I stay in the Top 10 or do I stay out here in the outside lane and draft with them and fall back to 20th? Those are things that you contemplate and that you calculate throughout the race. I think everybody has noticed, I would say over the last three or four years, track position means a lot. You can’t just run up through the field like you used to be able to. And it’s difficult to get that track position to break into that Top 10. There are so many games being played on pit road of when to take tires and when not to, just based off of track position. The whole race you’re probably making decisions based off what’s going to be best for you.”
SO FAR THIS YEAR, WE’VE BEEN TO RESTRICTOR PLATE, SHORT TRACKS, INTERMEDIATE, AND ROAD COURSE TRACKS. WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU AND JTG DAUGHERTY NEED TO WORK ON TO BE STRONGER?“That’s a great question. I think the road courses are something that are not my strong suit. But, JTG has probably helped my road course racing. Our cars are a little bit better than what I’ve run on some of the road courses, and so that’s helped me out. I think our short track program needs to get better. We went to Martinsville and we tried a totally different set-up and we struggled. At Richmond, we got really good at the end of the race, but we didn’t start out as good as what we needed to. So, I would say short tracks are where we need to pick-up some of our stuff and work on to get some better finishes and have fast race cars. But all in all, I’m really happy with the consistency that we have. We’re still just working on every race track and making sure that we’re better.”
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE DOUBLE YELLOW LINE RULE AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IT MAYBE CHANGE IN SOME CAPACITY?“I don’t know. I really struggle with the double yellow line rule. I’ve been bitten by it a couple of times, actually. And I feel like it’s happened to me two or three times actually, that I’ve gotten penalized for going below the double yellow line and advancing my position. There are so many instances where, in all of my cases, I feel like if I would have stood my ground and not gone below the double yellow line, whoever was blocking me was going to crash. And so, to avoid the crash, I went below the double yellow line and still, I guess, advanced my position. So, any time that happens, I just automatically now have to give it back because we’ve been bitten by it too many times. They say it’s a judgement call. I’m not sure. I don’t know if there’s a certain way they judge it, because I’ve been bitten by it so many times. It’s in place and you can use it to your advantage. I haven’t really seen them penalize people for blocking people below the yellow line. I’ve only been on the other receiving end of being blocked and then getting penalized for going below it. I don’t really know what else there is to do with the double yellow line as far as rules go. It’s either there or it’s opened up; one of the two. And the way we all drive right now, if you opened it up, I think you would have people entering on the apron getting into the corner and I don’t know if that would be good or not.”

EVOLUTION: New Championship Format, Points Fund Checks Implemented for 36-Race Season

Lake Cumberland Speedway also added to both schedules on July 13 CONCORD, NC – April 23, 2021 – Thirty-five years of Hell Tour tradition has given the Dirt Late Model and Modified worlds some of the best short-track racing available anywhere in the United States. 2021 marks the DIRTcar Summer Nationals’ next evolution of that same great competition in an all-new championship format and an upgrade in prize money. Traditionally, Late Model championship chasers competed in every race on the schedule for the $25,000 title. This year, each Late Model driver’s best 31 finishes over 36 scheduled races will be counted toward the overall points championship. For their efforts, a new points fund system has been implemented that could award the champion a potential $36,000. For each race completed above 25, an additional $1,000 will be added to the champion’s check, making the potential for $36,000 to be awarded to the victor. Each of the other spots inside the top-10 will follow suit, with different amounts being added to each position’s check as more races past 25 are completed. At its maximum, the runner-up in final points could take home over $14,000 with over $10,000 going to third. A grand total of 36 Late Model and 35 Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals shows will make up the 2021 schedule, each shown live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene, spanning seven competitive weeks (eight with the possible make-up week, Aug. 11-15) at 36 different tracks in nine states from June 15 to Aug. 21. One final track has joined the schedule on both sides to complete a list of four brand-new tracks to the tours this year. Lake Cumberland Speedway in Burnside, KY, will kick off Week #5 and host both tours for the first time in track history on Tuesday, July 13. The 3/8-mile red clay oval precedes another track debut at the newly constructed Circle City Raceway in Indianapolis, IN. Seven weekly points fund checks will also be awarded this year – $2,000 going to the points champion of each week, tallied from the first race of the week to the final. The Summit Modifieds will stick to their traditional championship format in 2021, counting each driver’s best 10 races of the 35 scheduled. A $5,000 check will again be awarded to the points champion at season’s end, crowned for the first time ever in the state of Michigan at Merritt Speedway on Aug. 21. The championship chase begins with the first race at Brownstown Speedway in Indiana on June 15. Catch all 36 races at the track or live from your home with a Platinum or monthly FAST PASS subscription to DIRTVision presented by DrydeneCombined tour schedules:Week #1Tuesday, June 15 | Brownstown Speedway | Brownstown, INWednesday, June 16 | Peoria Speedway | Peoria, ILThursday, June 17 | Kankakee County Speedway | Kankakee, ILFriday, June 18 | Tri-City Speedway | Pontoon Beach, ILSaturday, June 19 | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, ILSunday, June 20 | Plymouth Speedway | Plymouth, IN Week #2Wednesday, June 23 | LaSalle Speedway | LaSalle, ILThursday, June 24 | Spoon River Speedway | Canton, ILFriday, June 25 | Sycamore Speedway | Maple Park, ILSaturday, June 26 | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | Pevely, MOSunday, June 27 | Jacksonville Speedway | Jacksonville, IL Week #3Wednesday, June 30 | Beaver Dam Raceway | Beaver Dam, WI (Late Models only)Thursday, July 1 | Davenport Speedway | Davenport, IA (Late Models only)Friday, July 2 | The Dirt Oval at Route 66 | Joliet, ILSaturday, July 3 | Fayette County Speedway | Brownstown, ILSunday, July 4 | Lincoln Speedway | Lincoln, IL Week #4Tuesday, July 6 | Knox County Fair Raceway | Knoxville, ILWednesday, July 7 | Belle Clair Speedway | Belleville, IL
Thursday, July 8 | Macon Speedway | Macon, ILFriday, July 9 | Farmer City Raceway | Farmer City, ILSaturday, July 10 | Highland Speedway | Highland, ILSunday, July 11 | Tri-State Speedway | Haubstadt, IN Week #5Tuesday, July 13 | Lake Cumberland Speedway | Burnside, KY
Wednesday, July 14 | Circle City Raceway | Indianapolis, INThursday, July 15 | Thunderbird Raceway | Muskegon, MIFriday, July 16 | Hartford Speedway | Hartford, MISaturday, July 17 | Oakshade Raceway | Wauseon, OHSunday, July 18 | Terre Haute Action Track | Terre Haute, IN (Modifieds only) Week #6Wednesday, July 21 | Randolph County Raceway | Moberly, MOThursday, July 22 | Springfield Raceway | Springfield, MO (Late Models only)Friday, July 23 | Lake Ozark Speedway | Eldon, MO (Late Models only)Saturday, July 24 | Clarksville Speedway | Clarksville, TNSunday, July 25 | Richmond Raceway | Richmond, KY Fri-Sat, July 30-31 | Fairbury Speedway | Fairbury, IL (Modifieds only) Week #7Wed-Sun, Aug. 11-15 | Make-Ups Week #8Wednesday, Aug. 18 | Butler Motor Speedway | Quincy, MIThursday, Aug. 19 | I-96 Speedway | Lake Odessa, MIFriday, Aug. 20 | Tri-City Motor Speedway | Auburn, MISaturday, Aug. 21 | Merritt Speedway | Lake City, MI 
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, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE, MSD, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Velocita USA.

This email was sent to trishyunick@me.com 
DIRTcar Racing, 7575 Westwinds Blvd Suite D, Concord, NC 28027, United States 
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chevy racing–nascar–talladega–ross chastain

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYGEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 23, 2021

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CAREGILITY/YORKTEL CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:  RECAP YOUR SEASON AND HOW YOU ARE APPROACHING THIS WEEKEND AT TALLADEGA?“I’m going to approach it the same way we’ve approached every weekend: we go and try to win. That’s what we’ve tried to do all year, and we are on a path to get there.”
BASED ON EXPECTATIONS BEFORE THE SEASON, WHERE DO YOU SEE PROGRESS AND WHERE DO YOU SEE AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT?“It’s been humbling, for sure. There have been a lot of things that I’ve just done wrong behind the wheel… the small details of driving the car. We’re working down a path with no practice of trial-and-error at these races to see what works for me and what works for the car. We have to be better. We’ve been pretty honest with ourselves and pretty transparent with each other in what we see. You can throw a lot of that on me. There are a lot of things in the car that I have to keep doing better. We’ll keep working toward that.”
ARE YOU FILLING UP A PROVERBIAL NOTEPAD WITH THE 42?“Absolutely. If we could go back and do these races again with what we’ve learned, I’m sure they’d be better and we’d be better. That’s what makes the good guys great. They’re really good at this. To try and catch up and beat them in our first couple of at-bats is a tall task, but it’s what we signed up for. I never realized how much I appreciated practice coming up through the different series and in my time in the Cup Series over the last few years. Man, what I wouldn’t give for a few laps of practice.”
WITH NASCAR RACING AT DARLINGTON ON MOTHER’S DAY, WHAT KIND OF ROLE DID YOURS PLAY IN YOUR CAREER?“Big… very big. She’s driving to Talladega right now with my aunt. They’re road-tripping and bringing some fresh watermelon from our farm. She sent me a video last night from the field, and that was her last stop. Starting out, she was always there to support me and did everything from sewing the patches on my suits, helping us load the racecar and driving me to the track before I was 16 if my dad was in the field or on our farm. She knew I wanted to race, so those early years were hobby racing and what we loved to do. We’ve had some special times. It’s brought our family closer together. It’s brought in her parents and giving them a more active role. It all gave us excuses to be around each other, so it really brought us together.” 
DO YOU TALK ABOUT PLAYOFFS THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON? OR IS IT MORE ABOUT IMPROVEMENT AND GETTING BETTER?“Every driver and every team look at the points. They usually come out about the time we get to the plane, and you can find it online. Everyone glances at it, but we haven’t had the points acquisition this year that we were looking for. We haven’t finished good enough to deserve points at a lot of races so far. So, we’re building. We just talk about what we need these cars to do, what I need to do better and where we need to do better as a team. It’s more about the progress of these racecars and myself. Obviously, the playoffs are a big deal, and missing them would not be good. The goal is still to make them. There are a lot of opportunities with more races left in the regular season than we’ve ran.”
YOU SEEM TO BE HITTING YOUR STRIDE. DOES HEADING TO TALLADEGA PUT YOU IN A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE POSITION WITH MOMENTUM?“I heard a Trucks series veteran say a long time ago… we’ll probably crash but it’s the art of getting through it with minimal damage or no damage to put yourself in position to win at the end. What I learned at the 500 will pay off, although it was a smaller pack most of the race after the first big crash. Talladega is a little bit wider with easier entries and exits out of the corner. It doesn’t funnel down and cause the stack-ups that can cause a lot of wrecks. I don’t know if anyone can feel favorable going to Talladega. It’s just Talladega. We’ll race and work with Team Chevy, Kurt Busch and see what we can come out with.” THOUGHTS ON THE DOUBLE YELLOW-LINE RULE?“It’s gotta stay. It’s there for a reason. You can’t have that transition on the apron. They didn’t have it back in the day; that’s why they put it in. There has to be a rule. A good reminder would have been in the iRacing event. There was no double yellow-line rule, and it’s not even painted there from the last scan, I guess. I think the guy that should have won the race got beat because of a pass below the double-yellow. Back where I was in the middle of the pack, there were guys passing below the yellow all day long. There was no enforcement there. We can’t have that. It needs to stay. We all know the rule, so why are we complaining about it?
WHAT’S THE THING YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT CHIP GANASSI RACING?“The people. There are so many people that I’m still meeting a lot of them. There are around 170 people here. The biggest thing that I got reminded of a few weeks in, I kept going to my crew chief (Phil Surgen) and Doug Duchardt with questions and ideas. Doug was like, ‘You know we have people for this stuff’. Now I don’t go to them necessarily about an idea, but I go to them to find out who do I talk to about this, and who do I talk to about that. That’s why this building is here in Concord (North Carolina), and that’s why they’ve been able to sustain for so long – the people and their livelihood and their job is to push these racecars. That’s the goal. It’s a higher volume and higher quality than I have ever been part of.” 
BIGGEST SURPRISES IN THE CUP SERIES SO FAR?“I’ve been here a few years. We had the Xfinity program, so I’ve raced out of the shop and then I’ve raced for other teams. I’ve been here a good chunk of days out of the week over the years seeing these cars get built, sent out, come back, built, raced and come back torn apart. So, I’ve watched all these processes and couch-raced. I’m a self-proclaimed couch racer. What I mean is that whenever I see a racecar on track, I think I can drive it better. I’m always like, ‘He should be higher. He should enter higher. He should wait to pick up the throttle, ease into it and hook up those rear tires.’ Then I get in the car and I drive in shallow and pick up the gas too soon… so yeah, I’m a couch racer. It’s hard, the transition being on-track. The transition being in the shop has been great.”
HAVE GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS CHANGED AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON?“No. We have attainable goals and the small steps of doing the obvious things right during a race. Our goal is to win. Our process in preparing for a race does not change. It’s only ramped up and we’re pushing harder. It’s with that goal of winning. We are competitive people and competitive thinkers. I think competitively about everything in every aspect of my life, most of the time with myself to do better. That can be hard sometimes because it can feel like I’m on a spinning wheel and I just can’t catch up. It’s how I’m wired. I wake up and my mind instantly goes to competition about something, what I want to accomplish and what I need to do to get there. We’re not backing down. These guys are here late and up early. We have a lot of things we want to accomplish.”