NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2022) – Bill Skillman and his Ray Skillman Ford Cobra raced to their third victory of the season, took back the points lead and claimed the $1,000 bounty Sunday at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsport Park, the fifth stop on the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown schedule. 

Skillman, the No. 1 qualifier, took on No. 2 qualifier David Barton and his Saw Mill Auto Chevy COPO Camaro in the final round. Barton would have the starting line advantage with a .009 reaction time to Skillman’s .067, but Skillman and his Ford Cobra would run down the Barton and his COPO Camaro. Skillman’s 7.810 -second pass at 177.07 mph defeated Barton’s 7.869 at 180.09 with a margin of victory of only .001-seconds. 

Bill Skillman, winner Norwalk Nationals Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown, photo credit Auto Imagery

“The car has been running really well. We are generating a lot of power,” Skillman said. “This team I have has been working hard and I am really proud of them. This was a big win for us.”

The victory sends Skillman around Barton in the Constant Aviation points standings and earns Skillman $1,000 for beating Barton, the most recent event winner, through the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program. Skillman will now carry the $1,000 bounty and it will increase until another driver defeats him during eliminations. 

“It feels great to get that third win, but the points are still so close with three races left. That final was closer than I wanted it to be, but it was a great final round. A win is a win,” Skillman said. “I got the bounty, so I got a little bit of my money back. I am going to spend that bounty money on race car parts.”

On his way to victory, Skillman took down Lee Hartman, Dan Condon and David Janac before defeating Barton. Barton would get past Alan Scruggs, Ricky Hord and Ohio’s Mark Pawuk before reaching Skillman in the finals. 

The ongoing battle between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Pakswill pick up at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, August 31 – September 05. 

2022 Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Schedule/Results

Gainesville – Lenny Lottig, winner; Anthony Troyer, runner-up

Charlotte1 – Bill Skillman, winner, David Barton, runner-up

Richmond – Bill Skillman, winner, Dan Condon, runner-up

Bristol – David Barton, winner, Stephen Bell, runner-up

Norwalk – Bill Skillman, winner, David Barton, runner-up

Indianapolis, U.S. Nationals, August 30- September 5 

Reading, Dodge Nationals, September 15-18

Dallas, Fall Nationals, October 13-16 

Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten Points Standings:

1. Bill Skillman             435

2. David Barton           427

3. Lenny Lottig             301

4. Aaron Stanfield      258

5. David Janac             253

6. Stephen Bell           237

7. Mark Pawuk            235

8. Dan Condon           225

9. David Davies III       224

10. Anthony Troyer    195

Kalitta, S. Torrence earn round wins in Top Fuel

NORWALK, Ohio (June 26, 2022) – Ron Capps and J.R. Todd had strong performances on Sunday at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Both former Funny Car champions scored two round wins before coming up just short in races in the semi-finals. 

In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence and Doug Kalitta both scored opening round wins before losing close races in the second round. 

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park

Race 10 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.746 v. 3.813(B. Torrence) L. 3.802 v. 3.798(L. Pruett)
Doug Kalitta	SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.736 v. 3.772(A. Brown) L. 3.776 v. 3.771(M. Salinas)
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.852 v. 3.776 (L. Pruett)
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.793 v. 3.732 (T. Tatum)
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.813 v. 3.746(S. Torrence)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.772 v. 3.736 (D. Kalitta)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 5.519 v. Foul – Center Line  (D. Creasy) W. 3.974 v. 3.982  (C. Pedregon) L. 3.973 v. 3.933(B. Tasca)
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 3.903 v. 6.032 (B. Alexander) W. 3.953 v. 4.154(J. Force) L. 3.916 v. 3.890(R. Hight)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.952 v. 6.865(P. Lee) L. 4.651 v. 3.997(R. Hight)

TOYOTA QUOTES

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-finals

Two round wins and a close race in the semi-finals. How was the performance all weekend?

“The car went down the track every run this weekend, that’s something that we struggled with all season long – with just not being very consistent. We figured something out this weekend because we were making consistent runs, just a tick behind Robert there in the semis, but all-in-all a good weekend for our DHL Toyota GR Supra.”

# # #

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.  

Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants.  By 2025, Toyota’s 14^th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.  With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.

White flag. Nick Hoffman with a near two-second lead. And suddenly, the car shut off.

The four-time and defending champion appeared to be on his way to a dominating eighth DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals victory of the season Saturday night when his NOS Energy Drink #2 lost power going down the backstretch coming to the checkers and brought out caution.

Under yellow, now coasted past the start/finish line, his lifeless car was pushed back to the pit area, surrendering the lead to second-place Lucas Lee before a green-white-checkered restart to settle the race.

Lee took off at the drop of the green and brought it home for his fifth career Summit Modified victory in the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.

“When he slowed down, I thought he thought the checkered flag came out, and I thought, ‘Dude, we’ve got another lap,’” Lee said.

“I hate to win like that, but I was the next-fastest car.”

Back in the pits, a broken camshaft was the diagnosis from the Hoffman crew.

“I’ve had one break before, but I wasn’t racing; I was under caution, and it just shuts off,” Hoffman said. “First thing that went to my mind, it just shut off. It didn’t shake, it didn’t flutter, it doesn’t do anything. You just lose all ignition, basically.

“If it would’ve just made it to Turn 3, I probably would’ve made it back around and still won the race. It just wasn’t meant to be this weekend.”

Lee, of Paris, TN, had chances earlier in the race to gain on Hoffman and give him a run, but got held-up by traffic.

“He got pinned behind that lapped car and I started catching him,” Lee said. “I really got in there, and then he finally cleared that lapped car. Then, I got stuck behind him, but I felt like was there. “

Hoffman was beaten on-track Friday night by Rick Conoyer and Will Krup, when Hoffman said things just didn’t feel right with the car. He clearly had those issues worked out by Saturday, dominating the first 24 laps of the Feature, unchallenged.

“I think you’ve seen [the I-55 track surface change] a lot with the Late Model guys; they had to change their programs up too,” Hoffman said. “I talked to a lot of them guys to figure out which direction they were headed, and it was exactly the direction I wanted to go.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Modifieds get two days off before returning to action on Tuesday, June 28, at the revitalized Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, IL. If you can’t be at the track, watch it live on DIRTVision.

White flag. Nick Hoffman with a near two-second lead. And suddenly, the car shut off.

The four-time and defending champion appeared to be on his way to a dominating eighth DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals victory of the season Saturday night when his NOS Energy Drink #2 lost power going down the backstretch coming to the checkers and brought out caution.

Under yellow, now coasted past the start/finish line, his lifeless car was pushed back to the pit area, surrendering the lead to second-place Lucas Lee before a green-white-checkered restart to settle the race.

Lee took off at the drop of the green and brought it home for his fifth career Summit Modified victory in the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.

“When he slowed down, I thought he thought the checkered flag came out, and I thought, ‘Dude, we’ve got another lap,’” Lee said.

“I hate to win like that, but I was the next-fastest car.”

Back in the pits, a broken camshaft was the diagnosis from the Hoffman crew.

“I’ve had one break before, but I wasn’t racing; I was under caution, and it just shuts off,” Hoffman said. “First thing that went to my mind, it just shut off. It didn’t shake, it didn’t flutter, it doesn’t do anything. You just lose all ignition, basically.

“If it would’ve just made it to Turn 3, I probably would’ve made it back around and still won the race. It just wasn’t meant to be this weekend.”

Lee, of Paris, TN, had chances earlier in the race to gain on Hoffman and give him a run, but got held-up by traffic.

“He got pinned behind that lapped car and I started catching him,” Lee said. “I really got in there, and then he finally cleared that lapped car. Then, I got stuck behind him, but I felt like was there. “

Hoffman was beaten on-track Friday night by Rick Conoyer and Will Krup, when Hoffman said things just didn’t feel right with the car. He clearly had those issues worked out by Saturday, dominating the first 24 laps of the Feature, unchallenged.

“I think you’ve seen [the I-55 track surface change] a lot with the Late Model guys; they had to change their programs up too,” Hoffman said. “I talked to a lot of them guys to figure out which direction they were headed, and it was exactly the direction I wanted to go.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Modifieds get two days off before returning to action on Tuesday, June 28, at the revitalized Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, IL. If you can’t be at the track, watch it live on DIRTVision.

PEVELY, MO – June 25, 2022 – With a deep dive into Turn 3 and his right foot down coming out of Turn 4, Jake Swanson completed a big slide job pass for the lead – one that would later earn him a big $6,000 paycheck as victor of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale.

“We really needed this,” Swanson said in Victory Lane. “We really needed a win; it’s been a really rough year.”

The Team AZ Racing pilot from Anaheim, CA, chased polesitter Mario Clouser around the high banks of Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 through the middle stages of Saturday night’s Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series presented by Low-E Insulation Feature, hungry for his first victory in the tour’s inaugural season.

Running second after starting third, Swanson slowly closed the gap to Clouser, blasting the high line right in his trails. He originally tried the slide job one lap earlier on Lap 23 but did not have the momentum to slide up and make the pass. Three corners later, Swanson went in with the speed he needed, slid up in front of Clouser and won the drag race to Turn 1 to seal it.

Now with the lead and only 10 laps remaining, Swanson flipped on the afterburners, opening up a two-second advantage in five laps. However, he still had traffic in front, and at one point was nearly a part of a bigger accident after jumping the left-rear tire of Jack Wagner getting into Turn 1.

“It was a little sketchy there in lapped traffic,” Swanson said. “I don’t know if they didn’t see the blue flag or what.”

“We about went ass-over-teakettle into Turn 1 up there.”

Swanson recovered nicely, however, and cruised his No. 21AZ around the third-mile to the checkers, holding over a three-second lead.

Clouser held on for second, redeeming himself after getting into the wall while leading on Friday, while Whitz Racing Products Fast Qualifier Wesley Smith completed the podium.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series pres. by Low-E Insulation tags in its sister series on Sunday, June 26 – the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series pres. by Toyota takes on the quarter-mile bullring of Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, IL. If you can’t be at the track, watch it live on DIRTVision.

(6/25/2022 – Alex Nieten) Burlington, WA… From the beginning of the week, it was clear Tyler Courtney was going to be a threat to win the 50th Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup in his debut in the event.

Making his first laps at Skagit Speedway on Monday, “Sunshine” won the Dirt Cup Tune Up. On his two prelims, Courtney passed a combined 25 cars in the main events to slot himself atop the standings heading into the finale by a wide 19 point margin. And then on Saturday night, he punctuated the week by claiming the 50-lap, $50,000 to win Feature aboard the Works Limited No. 57. Including lap money, Courtney pocketed $76,000, the richest payday in NARC history.

While it was technically Courtney’s second career NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car win, it was his first with a wing on the car after he scored the wingless portion of the Anthony Simone Classic last year.

The night also marked crew chief, Paul Silva’s, first career Dirt Cup championship. Kevin Kozlowski’s No. 57 machine has now won three of the last five NARC races this season.

“I’m excited. That was badass,” Courtney said in victory lane. “What can I say? This is my first time to Skagit and got two wins out of four races… This is cool. Hopefully this event gets back to where it needs to be with Kevin (Rudeen) and Peter (Murphy) and everybody here at Skagit making it bigger and better.”

The green flag dropped with Courtney on the pole with the defending Dirt Cup champion, Dominic Scelzi, to his outside. Scelzi got the initial jump to lead the opening circuit.

About 10 laps into the main event Courtney found his first chance at the lead when Scelzi slid himself in turn one amid traffic. Courtney had a run on the top and looked to Scelzi’s outside, and the two nearly collided as Scelzi slid to the cushion before powering ahead off the corner.

A caution on lap 13 nearly brought disaster to Scelzi. Tyler Thompson slowed in turn four with an issue. The yellow flew, but Thompson’s issue forced his car to the left, almost into the path of the No. 41, but Scelzi managed to avoid him.

“Man, Dominic set a really fast pace there at the beginning,” Courtney said of the race’s early stages. “That’s what I wanted to do, but he just got the jump out of (turn) two there, and I got to following him there for a bit. I felt like we were better as the race went on.”

A few more cautions following the restart slowed the early pace of the race, but after a restart with 32 laps to go, the racing got wild.

Courtney looked low as the green initially flew but couldn’t make it work. It didn’t take long for him to rally, though, as the reigning All-Star champion closed back in on Scelzi in just a few laps. Finally, on lap 25, Courtney found the run and opening he needed, throwing a slider on Scelzi in turn one and leaving Scelzi no chance to crossover.

“We got him there in traffic, and then we got to kind of set our own pace,” Courtney said.

After completing the pass, Courtney wasted no time in speeding away at first. However, traffic soon impeded Courtney and allowed Scelzi to reel him back in. With just 15 laps to go, Scelzi tried a turn three slider but couldn’t get by, and the two nearly touched as they drove through turn four. Just as that happened, the yellow came out as Zeb Wise slowed. This caution period would become the open red for fuel and tires.

After the restart another small flurry of yellows slowed the race until the laps remaining count dwindled to just nine to go.

The restart with nine laps remaining saw Kerry Madsen and Scelzi begin to duke it out for second as Courtney capitalized by driving away. Madsen eventually came out ahead of Scelzi, but by that point Courtney was well ahead.

Courtney faced some traffic with just a few laps remaining, but none of it was enough to matter as Sunshine cruised to a three second win over Madsen and Scelzi.

“I want to thank Kevin Kozlowski for letting me come out and drive the car,” Courtney said. “And thanks to Paul, Hayden, Doug, and Tommy, everyone that worked on this thing all weekend made my life easy.”

Coming home second was Roth Motorsports driver, Kerry Madsen. The Mad Man owns a World of Outlaws victory at Skagit but was, like Courtney, making his Dirt Cup debut.

“I just wanted to drive my ass off and try to win $50,000 but came up one spot short in second,” Madsen said. “I probably needed another restart to throw a Hail Mary, but who knows? I really just want to thank Roth Motorsports for working so hard lately.”

Completing the podium after leading the first 24 laps was Dominic Scelzi in the Red Rose Transportation/Whipple Superchargers No. 41. “The Dominator’s” efforts earned him a payday of $42,000.

“He (Courtney) could get off of (turn) four really good. He could get off on turn (turn) two really good,” Scelzi said. “They were just a little bit better in the drivers seat and the race car, but it’s by far my biggest payday for a one night race, so that’s pretty cool.”

FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE EVENT (50-laps):  1. Tyler Courtney 57 2. Kerry Madsen 83 3. Dominic Scelzi 41 4. Shane Golobic 57 5. Jason Solwold 18 6. Corey Day 14 7. Trey Starks 55 8. Tim Kaeding 42X 9. Willie Croft 29 10. Justin Sanders 2X 11. Tanner Holmes 18T 12. Joel Myers Jr. 46JR 13. Tanner Carrick 83T 14. Jonathan Allard 0 15. Jesse Schlotfeldt 21 16. Greg Hamilton 96 17. Zeb Wise 26R 18. Bud Kaeding 69 19. Cory Eliason 26C 20. Blake Carrick 38B 21. DJ Netto 88N 22. Logan Forler 2L 23. Mitchell Faccinto 21T 24. Max Mittry 2XM 25. Tony Gomes 8R 26. Tyler Thompson 7.

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Scelzi 1-24, Courtney 25-50

SWIFT METAL FINISHING HARDCHARGER:  Joel Myers Jr. – 21st to 12th

STARR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT B-MAIN (20-laps):  Mittry, T. Carrick, Myers, Hamilton, Allard, Forler, Kaeding, Nick Parker, Tony Gomes, Billy Aton, Luke Didiuk, Chase Goetz, Colton Heath, Justin Youngquist, Brett McGhie, Corbin Fauver, Ashleigh Johnson, T.J. Richman, Travis Jacobsen, Garen Linder, Andy Caruana, Dana Glenn.

The Carpentersville, IL driver scored his 13th career World of Outlaws win and 25th DIRTcar Summer Nationals TriumphPEVELY, MO– JUNE 25, 2022 – If former Major League Baseball catcher Yogi Berra was watching Dennis Erb Jr. Saturday night, he’d probably repeat his famous line, “It’s like Déjà vu all over again.”Along with winning for the second straight night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 to sweep the inaugural St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff, Erb also pulled the same move he did Friday night to win Saturday. This time the Carpentersville, IL driver used the same move in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead from Jason Feger and drive away with the $20,000 payday. Erb went unchallenged in the final 27 laps to best the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models and DIRTcar Summer Nationals fields for the second straight night with Bobby Pierce, in second, and Jason Feger, in third, rounding out the podium. “We were just riding out there and following [Feger] for a little bit,” Erb said. “I knew we were starting to get into traffic, and I was trying to watch him and see how he was entering the corner. He just went in there and gave me enough room to sneak up underneath him.” Erb’s win is his fourth World of Outlaws CASE Late Models victory of the season – the most of all drivers. It’s also his 13th overall career Series triumph and his 25th DIRTcar Summer Nationals win.  While Erb was able to move past Feger for the lead early in the race, he was still left with having to maneuver through traffic in the remaining 27 laps. He stated that being aggressive was important, knowing the caliber of drivers behind him. “I knew we had a good group behind me there, so there was no time to relax,” Erb said. “We just had to make our marks and watch the cars in front of us. You just really can’t back off because you never know what’s going to happen.” Erb extended his points lead for the second consecutive night—144 points ahead of Max Blair, who finished 11th.  Feger, who led the first 27 laps, was passed by Pierce for second and had to settled for third. The Bloomington, IL driver stated he couldn’t get the car to stick to the bottom the way he wanted, allowing Erb and Pierce to slip by.  “I just felt like I was too tight to keep it down there,” Feger said. “I couldn’t get rotated. I couldn’t like, enter in on the bottom and get rotated.  “I kind of based everything off of [Friday] night and how the track raced. I thought there’d be enough speed to go there, which there was, but instead of all the lap cars being on the bottom, they were in the middle. So, it just kind of made it hard to pass, and [Bobby Pierce] and Dennis could rotate the bottom better than I could.” Pierce made his way to second from eighth. He snuck by Feger on the bottom late in the 55-lap Feature but didn’t have enough time to catch Erb. The “Smooth Operator” tried multiple lanes throughout the first 30 laps before settling on the inside line.  “I was searching a little bit, and the top wasn’t really there like it normally is in the past,” Pierce said. “It’s not even like the bottom had that much moisture. The top was just so slick and crumbly. There wasn’t enough bite up there to really get anything going, so it is what it is. “But hey, coming from eighth to second, catfishing like that and scraping the inside wall, we’ll take it any day.” Pierce also extended hisDIRTcar Summer Nationals points lead, beating out Ryan Unzicker, who finished ninth.  Shannon Babb crossed the line fourth, climbing as high as third before fading in the race’s late stages. The Moweaqua, IL driver was happy with his car and enjoyed racing against his Midwest rivals.      “Overall, it was a really good race,” Babb said. “Running around the inside wall with Bobby and Feger and Gordy [Gundaker] and everybody. So, I consider it a pretty good race.” Gundaker rounded out the top five, his third World of Outlaws CASE Late Models top five of the season.  “I just missed a little bit on the setup, and that’s the way it goes,” Gundaker said. “When you run fifth in a crowd of 47 race cars and a bunch of really, really good guys are here, there’s nothing to hang your head about.  “We’ve definitely had our ups and downs so far this year, and this is definitely an up. So, we’re going to take this weekend in stride and hopefully keep the momentum going.” The highly-anticipated faceoff between the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models and the DIRTcar Summer Nationals ended with Erb proving why he’s one of the most successful drivers in both series, further solidifying that with a sense of Déjà vu. UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models head North to Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, IL, on Sunday, June 26, for the Wild Man Kelly Classic, as part of the JB Hawks Summer Spectacular. Joining The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet are the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota. CASE Construction Equipment Feature (55 Laps): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[4]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 3. 25F-Jason Feger[1]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[5]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker[3]; 6. 81E-Tanner English[18]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[14]; 9. 24-Ryan Unzicker[23]; 10. 97-Cade Dillard[10]; 11. 111V-Max Blair[11]; 12. 11H-Jeff Herzog[12]; 13. 19R-Ryan Gustin[19]; 14. 25-Shane Clanton[17]; 15. 99B-Boom Briggs[21]; 16. 36-Logan Martin[2]; 17. 10-Daryn Klein[9]; 18. 1-Josh Richards[15]; 19. F1-Payton Freeman[26]; 20. 14G-Joe Godsey[16]; 21. 16G-Rusty Griffaw[22]; 22. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 23. 10J-Jordan Bauer[13]; 24. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[24]; 25. 23-Paul Roider[25]; 26. 6K-Michael Kloos[20] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Ryan Unzicker [+14].

The World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Case Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), MSD, My Place Hotels, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), Swift Springs, and Wrisco–Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including Dirt Car Lift, Capital Race Cars, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, FIREBULL, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, Rocket Chassis, and Sea Foam.

NOS Energy Drink #17 Drove 3rd-to-1st on Final Lap with Spectacular Outside Pass

BRANDON, SD – June 25, 2022 – In fitting fashion, Sheldon Haudenschild did what no other driver dared to do with $100,000 on the line Saturday night at Huset’s Speedway’s inaugural High Bank Nationals.

Running sixth with four laps left, many assumed the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 had no shot at the big payday. But if there is anything to have been learned through 45 years of World of Outlaws history, it’s that you never, ever count a Haudenschild out.

Taking a page out of the book written by Hall of Fame father, Jac, Sheldon throttled up and ripped the “Haud Line” around the outside of Brad Sweet for fifth, then Carson Macedo for fourth, then David Gravel for third, and that was only the beginning of his miraculous charge.

With the white flag waving, Haudenschild went to the faithful cushion one last time and made a two-for-one move, storming by both Buddy Kofoid and James McFadden in one swift swing to steal the $100,000 paycheck out of turn two on the 40th and final lap.

With the entire crowd on their feet in disbelief, the 28-year-old Wooster, OH native crossed the checkered flag to claim the biggest win of his life. Collecting his thoughts in victory lane, The Wild Child’s Child could only express his gratitude for the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing team that has believed in him for five years now.

“I don’t even know what to say,” Haudenschild thought. “[Kyle] Ripper is the man. This would not be possible without Ripper. He’s been there from the start for me, and I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for him and everybody that took a chance on me. Lauren [Albano], Ricky [Stenhouse], Richard & Jennifer [Marshall] trusted me from the beginning. I was a rookie with zero wins and they hired me, and that was five years ago now.

“We’ve been putting in the work for a long, long time. This wasn’t an easy week for us, but we never gave up. I thought what the hell, I had nothing to lose there at the end. I realized my tire was holding on and remembered it wasn’t a points race, so I figured I had to send it.

“I honestly almost gave up on myself when Brad [Sweet] got me and pushed me out of the top-five. I just started sending it into the cushion and realized this is what we had been doing all week long, passing cars. I think it was a blessing in disguise with how much we had to work because we learned how/when/where to pass guys while most of these cars were up front all week.”

Long before Sheldon’s breathtaking last-lap heroics, Carson Macedo controlled the opening 34 laps of a rather calm battle at the front aboard the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41. However, the business quickly picked up in the latter stages of the race as Budd Kofoid and James McFadden took him three-wide for the race lead on Lap 35.

Kofoid, who won his first-career World of Outlaws race on Thursday, briefly held the top spot while sneaking below Macedo in his Crouch Motorsports #11. It didn’t last long, though, as McFadden blasted the outside in the Roth Motorsports #83 and barely beat Kofoid to the stripe by 0.041-seconds.

While Macedo faded, it appeared to be one-vs-one for the paycheck between McFadden and Kofoid, but they were snookered on the final lap as Haudenschild went full send on the cushion and took it through turns one and two to pass them both.

Ultimately, McFadden finished 0.671-seconds behind Haudenschild on the dramatic last lap and claimed $30,000 for his runner-up efforts. It was his second, second-place finish of this week, this one in the most heartbreaking of fashions as $100,000 and his first win of the season slipped through the Australian’s grasp.”

“I’m just disappointed,” a dejected McFadden said. “I got the lead when it started taking rubber I thought I should just play it safe in traffic, but I should’ve known better. We really needed that win for myself, this team, and Dennis & Teresa [Roth]. Second is alright, but leading to the last lap for $100,000 and losing it just sucks. We’ll keep putting ourselves in this position to contend for wins and they’ll eventually come.”

Capping off a career week in third place was Buddy Kofoid in the Crouch Motorsports #11 with $20,000 in earnings. The Penngrove, CA 20-year-old opened many eyes this week against The Greatest Show on Dirt.

“Besides losing $80,000, I guess third isn’t too bad,” Kofoid kidded. “All in all, what a week for us. Brad [Alexander], Blade [Kearns], and I have run less than 10 races together and now we’ve won, ran fourth, and finished third in my first real big World of Outlaws race. It kind of stings, though. I got by Carson and thought I could really win, but then I had to fight James, and in the middle of that Sheldon somehow snookered us both on that last lap.”

Rounding out the top-five at Huset’s was David Gravel in the Big Game Motorsports #2 with a $15,000 payday, and early leader Carson Macedo collecting $10,000 for a fifth-place finish in the Jason Johnson Racing #41.

Closing out the top 10 on Saturday was Brad Sweet, Brock Zearfoss, Giovanni Scelzi, Hunter Schuerenberg, and Jacob Allen.

NOS NOTEBOOK (HUSET’S SPEEDWAY, 6/24/22)

Sheldon Haudenschild’s 30th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory brings him into a tie with Bobby Allen for 21st on the All-Time Win List. It was his eighth win of the season, already matching his career-best through only the first 32 races.

For the fourth consecutive race in as many nights, a Huset’s Speedway Feature offered three different leaders with Macedo leading Laps 1-34, McFadden controlling Laps 35-39, and Haudenschild only commanding the 40th and final lap.

Spencer Bayston and CJB Motorsports earned their first KSE Hard Charger Award of the season on Saturday by advancing eight spots from 22nd-to-14th.

Huset’s General Manager, Doug Johnson, announced during opening ceremonies that the second annual High Bank Nationals will offer the richest payday in Sprint Car Racing history. The World of Outlaws will return to the Brandon, SD oval on June 21-24, 2023 with a $250,000 top prize on the line.

UP NEXT (Fri-Sat) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series head back to Wisconsin next weekend for an Independence Day Spectacular on Friday & Saturday, July 1-2 at New Richmond’s Cedar Lake Speedway. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE, or watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (40 Laps) – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$100,000]; 2. 83-James McFadden [4][$30,000]; 3. 11-Buddy Kofoid [3][$20,000]; 4. 2-David Gravel [2][$15,000]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo [1][$10,000]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [9][$7,000]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5][$6,500]; 8. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [11][$6,000]; 9. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [8][$5,500]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [10][$5,000]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [13][$4,000]; 12. 11P-Parker Price-Miller [12][$3,400]; 13. 9-Kasey Kahne [16][$3,300]; 14. 5-Spencer Bayston [22][$3,200]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu [21][$3,100]; 16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [23][$3,000]; 17. 7S-Robbie Price [17][$3,000]; 18. 16-Brooke Tatnell [14][$3,000]; 19. 88-Austin McCarl [19][$3,000]; 20. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6][$3,000]; 21. 22-Riley Goodno [20][$3,000]; 22. 27-Carson McCarl [24][$3,000]; 23. 81-Jack Dover [15][$3,000]; 24. 13-Mark Dobmeier [18][$3,000]. Lap Leaders:Carson Macedo 1-34, James McFadden 35-39, Sheldon Haudenschild 40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 5-Spencer Bayston[+8]

NEW Championship Standings (After 32/77 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (4,266); 2. Carson Macedo (-12); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (-24); 4. David Gravel (-46); 5. Logan Schuchart (-54); 6. Donny Schatz (-148); 7. Spencer Bayston (-156); 8. James McFadden (-214); 9. Jacob Allen (-354); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-486).

Sarver, PA (June 25, 2022) – Tim McCreadie took the lead at the start of the 16th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel on Saturday Night at Lernerville Speedway. The reigning Series Champion never looked back in taking the $50,000 victory in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event.  Even though the margin of victory was only 0.459 seconds in front of Brandon Overton at the finish line, McCreadie had total control over the event for most of the distance. McCreadie had a close call on the final lap with lapped traffic and that allowed Overton to close the gap in a hurry, which at one point was more than half a straightaway out in front. Overton, the two-time and defending race winner was looking to tie Scott Bloomquist for the most wins in the event’s history by cutting more than 2 seconds off McCreadie’s lead but fell just short of stealing the win away. Mike Marlar, who was looking to become the first driver in nine years to win all three nights at Lernerville for the Firecracker weekend came from his seventh starting position to finish in third after winning both Thursday and Friday night preliminary races.  Brandon Sheppard, the current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader finished in fourth and four-time Series Champion Earl Pearson Jr. rounded out the top five drivers at the finish.  McCreadie, whose lone win in the crown jewel event was in 2019 when he drove the K&L Rumley #6 to victory, jumped to the lead at the start of the 100-lap event with Sheppard taking the second spot. It was a close battle up front with Pearson making it a three-car race for the lead early on. Pearson moved past Sheppard for second on lap five and stayed there until Sheppard returned the favor on the 11th circuit. With McCreadie seemingly in control of the race his lead was shrinking as he was maneuvering through heavy lapped traffic. Sheppard had cut his lead down to where he was just two car lengths behind McCreadie when the caution flew on lap 57. On the restart Overton was the benefactor as he got by Sheppard on lap 61 to take the second position. By lap 64 Marlar was around Sheppard to take third as the current points leader fell to fourth. McCreadie built what looked like an insurmountable lead as he was on cruise control. Heading to the white flag lap McCreadie had an issue in turn four with traffic that allowed Overton to make a run at him on the final lap but fell just short of the win. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the third time this season not only did McCreadie pick up one of the biggest paydays of his career, but also took another slice out of Sheppard’s points lead in the battle for the $150,000 to win season championship. “Like I said earlier, racing this close to home for me all of these fans up here are people I used to see out at the band. I love this place this is a big win for my team. I want to thank Donald and Gena Bradsher for giving me this chance, Philip Snellen my crew chief, and all of my crew guys; they work their tails off every week to give me a great car to drive and it was pretty much flawless tonight.” With the win McCreadie becomes the fourth different winner in the four $50,000 to win races for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series this year; joining Chris Ferguson (Show-Me 100), Jonathan Davenport (Historic 100), and Chris Madden (Mountain Moonshine Classic) on the win list. Overton, who finished second earned a $20,000 payday for the Wells Motorsports team, has finished on the podium each time in the three $50,000 to win events he has participated in with the series in 2022. “I probably needed a little cleaner racetrack. It took me forever to get around the lapped cars. Man, if I can’t win, I am glad that Timmy did. He’s a really great guy and I enjoy racing with him. It was another good night for us, and we will take it.” Marlar was trying to do something that no one has done since Josh Richards in 2013 and that was sweep the weekend. Rounding out the podium in third Marlar earned a $10,000 paycheck. “We had a great weekend, there were nearly 60 cars here, it’s a huge race, lots of competition so to be on the podium all three nights and to win two of them I don’t think anybody would have not wanted those results.” It was the first time the Firecracker 100 has been sanctioned by the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and it drew one of the largest crowds to ever witness a series event in its history. The 56 cars that participated all 3 days was the largest car count for the event since 2013. The winner’s Donald and Gena Bradsher-owned Paylor Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Mega Plumbing HVAC, Armslist.com, New Point Lighting and Design, Bilstein Shocks, Racing for Heroes, The Aesthetic Haus, SCT, Walker performance Filtration, and Baker Mitchell Company. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr., Garrett Alberson, Daulton Wilson, Gregg Satterlee, and Mark Whitener. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River SteelSaturday, June 25th, 2022Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 89-Ashton Winger[3]; 4. 0-Scott Bloomquist[4]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 6. 2D-Dan Stone[7]; 7. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[6]; 8. 112-Brandon Little[8]; 9. 0R-Ryan Scott[9] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[4]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[3]; 5. 1C-Alex Ferree[5]; 6. 22B-Darrell Bossard[6]; 7. 9Y-Levi Yetter[8]; 8. 10-Gary Lyle[7]; 9. 11H-Gale Huey[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 4. 1*-Chub Frank[4]; 5. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[6]; 6. 44-Joe Petyak[8]; 7. 17T-Tim Vance[7]; 8. 66-Todd Bachman[9]; 9. (DNS) 1CJ-Ryan Montgomery Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 22-Gregg Satterlee[3]; 3. 58W-Mark Whitener[1]; 4. 21L-Matt Lux[4]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner[5]; 6. 11-Spencer Hughes[6]; 7. 14-Dan Angelicchio[8]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[7]; 9. 11J-Joshua Powell[9] Wrisco Industries Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler[4]; 5. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[6]; 6. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 7. 11AC-Trevor Collins[7]; 8. 25S-Cory Sines[8] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 72-Michael Norris[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 94C-Charles Powell[6]; 4. 10M-Jared Miley[3]; 5. 12D-Doug Drown[7]; 6. 77-Tyler Dietz[5]; 7. 9-Breyton Santee[8]; 8. J4-John Garvin Jr[4] Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 0-Scott Bloomquist[1]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 3. 1C-Alex Ferree[4]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 5. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[7]; 6. 2D-Dan Stone[5]; 7. 10-Gary Lyle[10]; 8. 22B-Darrell Bossard[6]; 9. 112-Brandon Little[9]; 10. 9Y-Levi Yetter[8]; 11. 11H-Gale Huey[12]; 12. 0R-Ryan Scott[11] UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 1*-Chub Frank[1]; 2. 21L-Matt Lux[2]; 3. 48-Colton Flinner[4]; 4. 14-Dan Angelicchio[8]; 5. 11-Spencer Hughes[6]; 6. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[3]; 7. 1Z-Logan Zarin[10]; 8. 44-Joe Petyak[5]; 9. 66-Todd Bachman[9]; 10. 11J-Joshua Powell[12]; 11. 17T-Tim Vance[7]; 12. (DNS) 1CJ-Ryan Montgomery Lucas Oil B-Main #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[1]; 2. 10M-Jared Miley[2]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 4. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 5. 12D-Doug Drown[4]; 6. 11AC-Trevor Collins[7]; 7. 77-Tyler Dietz[6]; 8. 9-Breyton Santee[8]; 9. 25S-Cory Sines[9]; 10. (DNS) J4-John Garvin Jr Uncle Sam Non-Qualifier Finish (30 Laps, Winner Transfers):  1. 2D-Dan Stone[7]; 2. 48-Colton Flinner[1]; 3. 77-Tyler Dietz[12]; 4. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[8]; 5. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[5]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 10-Gary Lyle[10]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[11]; 9. 25S-Cory Sines[18]; 10. 11AC-Trevor Collins[9]; 11. 9Y-Levi Yetter[19]; 12. 66-Todd Bachman[17]; 13. 9-Breyton Santee[15]; 14. 44-Joe Petyak[14]; 15. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[4]; 16. 112-Brandon Little[16]; 17. 14-Dan Angelicchio[3]; 18. 7T-Drake Troutman[2]; 19. 22B-Darrell Bossard[13]; 20. (DNS) 11J-Joshua Powell; 21. (DNS) 11H-Gale Huey; 22. (DNS) 17T-Tim Vance Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 56Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (100 Laps)Wrisco Feature Winner: Tim McCreadieArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: Tim McCreadieBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Tim McCreadieMargin of Victory: 0.459 secondsStop-Tech Cautions: Jimmy Owens (Lap 4); Tyler Erb (Lap 44); Spencer Hughes (Lap 57)Series Provisionals: Spencer Hughes; Ross RobinsonFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisionals: Alex Ferree; John GarvinUncle Sam 30 Non-Qualifier Provisional: Dan StoneBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Tim McCreadie, Brandon Overton, Mike MarlarPenske Shocks Top 5: Tim McCreadie, Brandon Overton, Mike Marlar, Brandon Sheppard, Earl Pearson, Jr.Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Advanced 11 Positions)Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Brandon SheppardHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Tim McCreadie (100 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Garrett AlbersonDirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Lap 2 – 16.288 seconds)DirtonDirt.com Tough Break of the Race: Tyler ErbOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Philip Snellen (Tim McCreadie)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: n/aTime of Race: 40 minutes 19 seconds Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:

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

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 25, 2022) – A rejuvenated Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) earned his first victory of the 2022 Progressive American Flat Track season in Saturday’s Mission Lima Half-Mile at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio. Over the few several seasons, Robinson has established himself as the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle rider most likely to steal the occasional win away from class dominators Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and Briar Bauman (No. 3 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750). However, on this night, Robinson had to overcome the challenge of the series’ newest star in Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to get to the checkered flag first. The rookie looked to be the race favorite prior to the Main but gave himself a big task by getting shuffled down from pole to sixth at the start. So instead, it was Daniels’ teammate, JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who took point early on despite searching for pace all day long. Beach actually gapped the field by nearly a second in the early going before the likes of Robinson, Bauman, Mees, and Daniels really got rolling. Robinson was the first one by and built up a one-a-half-second lead of his own by the time Daniels arrived in second with some six minutes remaining on the clock. The Yamaha pilot steadily ate away at that gap, drawing near enough to crisscross in front of Robinson momentarily with his low-to-high line with less than three minutes remaining. The Mission Roof Systems rider was up for the challenge, adjusting his line to tighten his grip on the race. Daniels eventually conceded, allowing Robinson to secure the win with a 2.766-second margin of victory. The breakthrough was Robinson’s second Lima triumph, the first coming back in 2016. Afterward, he said, “We needed this. This year has been an absolute struggle for us… My team hasn’t given up, and they gave me a great motorcycle. All the guys pitch in and make this fun. Man, I needed this big. I can’t wait to go to the next one now.” Reigning champion and current points leader Mees worked his way past Bauman late to round out the podium, while Beach came home in fifth behind the two works Indian runners. Mees’ championship advantage was reduced slightly as a result; he now leads Daniels 139-127, while Bauman (115) and Beach (112) remain solidly in contention. Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) finished in sixth just ahead of Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750). Cory Texter (No. 100 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) was the top Mission Production Twins Challenge entrant in ninth, while Brandon Price (No. 92 Pro One Industries/Mission Foods KTM Duke 890) rounded out the top ten in his first ride aboard the KTM. Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines In recent weeks, defending Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) has been quietly keeping his hopes for a third and final class crown alive by clawing his way to gritty seconds, thirds, and fourths on nights he just didn’t have the speed to contend for the win. Texter was anything but quiet on Saturday night at Allen County Fairgrounds, however, registering a lopsided victory to narrow the gap to title leader Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) to just a single point (132-131). Texter, Janisch, and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) exploited the multiple nature of the circuit to each take a turn at the lead on the opening lap of the Main Event. But by lap two, Texter had seized control and he would never relent. Janisch both kept Texter honest and minimized the damage with a steady ride to second at a track he’s never completely gelled with. The win was Texter’s second of the season and his (and Yamaha’s) first ever at Lima. He said, “I’ve been coming here since I was two years old – maybe younger. Last year, I was all angry on the podium. I knew I could do better here. I rode really hard at the beginning and then just brought it home. This is my last Lima, and this is one I’m going to miss. It’s such an iconic track. It feels amazing to finally win here.” Billy Ross (No. 109 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R) proved his win at Laconia was no fluke by following up that maiden victory with a second-career podium. It didn’t come easily, however, as he only just managed to fend off a charging Cameron Smith(No. 34 Thee Cathy Gray/Al Barker Yamaha MT-07). Smith, who boasted terrific speed all day, encountered unwelcome bike issues just prior to the start and was forced to move to the back of the grid. Despite that, Smith powered through the pelting roost of the field to finish in fourth, just over a half-second back of the box. Cole Zabala (No. 51 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Yamaha MT-07) finished another two seconds back, equaling his best finish of the year in fifth. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER With each successive race, Kody Kopp (No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) continues to further the case that he’s the odds-on favorite to claim this year’s Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER crown. At Lima, Kopp scored a second consecutive blowout victory, his fourth win among six top-twos in just seven attempts this season. The emerging superstar gapped the field within a single lap and then piled it on from there, ultimately winning with more than four seconds in hand. Kopp’s mastery was reminiscent of that of his father, 2000 Grand National Champion Joe Kopp, who won at the circuit three times. The secret? Kody said, “Holeshots win races here, especially in this Lima pea-gravel. So we did our job and got a good start, and that’s pretty much all we had to do, honestly.” While there was little drama in deciding the podium, the race still proved to be a spectacular showcase for the future stars of the sport. Joining 17-year-old Kopp in the spotlight were a pair of 16-year-old phenoms. Australian Tom Drane (No. 359 Construction Supply Specialists/ICCONS KTM 450 SX-F) earned a remarkable runner-up result in his Progressive AFT debut while Rookie of the Year hopeful Chase Saathoff (No. 106 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) scooped up his second consecutive third-place finish. No other rider finished within 16 seconds of the runaway Kopp. Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) came home fourth, while James Ott (No. 19 MediaHT/G&G Racing KTM 450 SX-F) won out in a tight scrap for fifth ahead of Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R). As a result of Kopp’s win and Mischler’s seventh, Kopp now boasts a rather hefty 31-point advantage (155-134) in a quickly tilting title fight. The Mission Lima Half-Mile will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, July 3, at 11:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m, PT, including exclusive features, cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage, and expert commentary. Next Up: The 2022 Progressive AFT season picks right back up next weekend with the Mission New York Short Track presented by Mad Max Indian Motorcycle at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, New York, on Saturday, July 2. Gates will open for fans at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT ahead of the evening’s Main Event program. Visit https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3764/ to reserve your tickets today. You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FansChoice.tv. FansChoice.tv provides free-to-view livestreaming of Practice and Qualifying. FansChoice.tvsubscribers will then be able to watch the drama unfold from Opening Ceremonies through the Semis, Main Events, and podium celebrations. FansChoice.tv offers two subscription options, granting unlimited access to premium AFT content. Monthly subscriptions start at just $7.99, while a six-month subscription is available for $44.99. For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. To score the latest gear for the Progressive American Flat Track fan, visit our official merchandise store at https://store.americanflattrack.com.

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars to Race for $250,000-to-win on June 21-24, 2023BRANDON, SD – June 25, 2022 – Announced Saturday night at Huset’s Speedway, the High Bank Nationals will return for the second annual running in 2023 and will do so in a fashion bigger than any other event throughout all of Sprint Car Racing’s long history.Paying a staggering $250,000-to-win, the event will expand in purse and length with an extra day being added to the docket (June 21-24, 2023).”I’m thrilled to say we’re bringing the biggest race in Sprint Car history to Brandon, South Dakota next year,” said Huset’s Speedway owner, Tod Quiring. “We’ve had a vision for several years now of growing a specific race at this place into elite status, and I believe we’ve found just that with the High Bank Nationals. This is going to be a can’t miss event. I hope everyone comes out to support us next year and enjoy the immaculate facility we have at Huset’s.”With next year’s $250,000 payday, the Huset’s High Bank Nationals will surpass the likes of Eldora’s Mopar Million ($200,000), Knoxville’s Knoxville Nationals ($176,000), and Eldora’s Kings Royal ($175,000) as the current biggest payday in Sprint Car history.Racers will be competing for big bucks throughout the four-day event next year with Saturday’s finale paying $5,000-to-start.Stay tuned to the World of Outlaws and Huset’s Speedway social channels throughout the year and into the off-season as more details are finalized for this history-making event.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2022) – Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown is keeping the rivalries between the  Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks alive at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsport Park.  

Sitting second in the Factory Stock Showdown points standings, Bill Skillman in his Ray Skillman Ford Cobra secured the No. 1 qualifying position thanks to a 7.811-second pass at 177.42 mph in the second qualifying session. On Saturday morning, Skillman would be looking to do some testing to get set for the first round of eliminations later in the day. 

“We ran pretty good. That last pass, we just ran and plugged it into high gear and then threw it into neutral to coast the rest of the way down,” Skillman said. “We just wanted to see what those early numbers looked like. We weren’t the fastest, but we were right up there.”

Bill Skillman, Summit Racing Equipment Nationals Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifier, photo credit Auto Imagery

Skillman faced Lee Hartman and the Carrier Services Group Dodge Drag Pak in the first-round Saturday evening. Skillman would run 7.882-seconds at 175.80 mph bettering Hartman’s 7.981 at 177.49. 

“It’s pretty odd, running qualifying and first round on the same day,” Skillman said. “We do it regularly, though, so you get used to making a qualifying run and then cutting down to eight cars.” 

Most recent event winner and points leader David Barton landed his Saw Mill Auto Chevy COPO Camaro in the No. 2 qualifying spot with a 7.825-second run at 177.42 mph. Barton would line-up against Alan Scruggs and his BILSTEIN/Wesley Motorsports Dodge Drag Pak to start eliminations after Chuck Watson’s Dayco Ford Cobra machine was unable to make the call. Barton would prevail with a 7.877-second pass at 175.43 mph defeating Scruggs’ 8.098 at 173.96. 

Bristol winner David Barton, during first round win in Norwalk, photo credit Auto Imagery

With the first round win, Barton continues to carry the $1,000 bounty through the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program. The bounty on Barton will increase until another driver defeats him during eliminations. 

“It was warmer today, but I didn’t think it was any quicker or slower. The correction factor showed the same. It was nice to make a couple good solid straight passes today. We picked up a couple,” Barton said. “It is always exciting to try and get someone’s bounty. I’ll be honest, it was the last thing on my mind tonight. I wanted to win first round so I could sleep better tonight. I wanted to move on into tomorrow with a win tonight.”   

Skillman, who had a $2,000 bounty on his head in Bristol, is hoping he gets a chance to collect for himself.  

“I have to get him (Barton) in the finals,” Skillman said. “Which is what I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

The battle between Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Pakscontinues with the second round of eliminations at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park Sunday at 1:00 p.m. 

First Round Results: 

No. 1 Bill Skillman def. No. 16 Lee Hartman

No. 2 David Barton def. No. 15 Alan Scruggs

No. 3 Mark Pawuk def. No. 14 Scott Libersher

No. 13 Lenny Lottig def. No. 4 Aaron Stanfield  

No. 5 David Janac def. No. 12 Warren Walcher

No. 6 Jesse Alexandra def. No. 11 Doug Hamp

No. 7 Ricky Hord def. No. 10 David Davies

No. 8 Dan Condon def. No. 9 Don Bellese

Lexington, OHIO – June 25, 2022 – Ken Thwaits picked up the Masters Award and claimed a terrific P4 in Round 7 of the 2022 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship at Mid Ohio today. He went on to cement second place in the Drivers’ Championship behind only reigning Champion Chris Dyson. The 23 points Ken picked up for P4 put him on 158 for the season, two points ahead of Tomy Drissi.  Commentator Kerry Hitt alluded to Ken’s huge progress in the Series and the Tennessee based driver went into the weekend with a level playing field in the Drivers’ Championship on 135 points with former TA Champion Tomy Drissi. Sure enough it was the man dubbed “The Rockin’ Moroccan” who proved his closest rival on the track as the two men went head-to-head from flag fall. Drissi’s aggressive driving meant that they almost came together on Lap 3 but thereafter Ken was able to gradually draw away from the Californian and assert his superiority. Driving the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, Ken had opened up a sizable advantage over his competitor but a spin on Lap 29, very well managed by Ken in the circumstances, allowed Drissi to close the gap right up. Drissi attempted to pass on the following lap before a couple of cautions that included the retirement of second placed Kaz Grala settled the field and confirmed Ken in P4.  Speaking from the top step of the podium as he collected the Masters Award Ken was clearly thrilled with the afternoon’s work, “It was a great race. Tomy and I were having a showdown from the beginning. He didn’t give up. During the middle of the race I was trying to run down David Pintaric. It was just awesome. These cars are just awesome. Thanks to my crew and all of you guys that support us. We work so hard and will be back next weekend again to put in the work.” In a field that featured an increase in car count and talent this weekend at the Mid Ohio Sportscar Course, Ken did extremely well to qualify in P5 in 1:22:852, ahead of Tomy Drissi, his closest competitor this season for second place in the Drivers’ Championship. The Franklin Road Apparel team are in action again tomorrow when Cameron Lawrence takes to the track in the TA2 Class. Ken himself will be back in action at Road America next weekend when the Ryan Companies present the Trans Am 100 July 1 to 3.     Here is your CBS Sports television broadcast schedule from Mid Ohio for all classes: TA2 – July 2, 7:30p.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA2 (Encore Presentation) – July 3, 11:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA/XGT/SGT/GT – July 3, 2:00p.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA/XGT/SGT/GT (Encore Presentation) – July 4, 1:00 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network Fans can find the Franklin Road Apparel Trans Am clothing here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/ Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Franklin Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster rallied to their third No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. John Force had four solid qualifying runs landing the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS in the No. 2 spot with Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Chevy right behind in No. 3. Austin Prock rounded things out for the John Force Racing teams putting the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster in the No. 5 spot. To start Saturday qualifying, Brittany Force handled the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to a solid 3.835-second pass at 324.83 mph in much warmer conditions than Friday evening. The Monster Energy dragster would misstep in the final qualifying session, smoking the tires for only a 6.133 at 101.22. Force’s track record 3.666 pass at 333.08 from Friday night landed Force her third No. 1 of the season and second at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. “I haven’t won at this track so that’s definitely our plan coming out here. We had three solid runs in qualifying, just didn’t quite make it down in that last one. We knew after that .83 we could push it a little bit more, see what was out there,” Force said. “That 3.666 from last night puts this Monster Energy team No. 1 That’s really awesome and I’m proud of these Monster Energy guys. These runs today, they were important. We love the late night runs with those outstanding numbers but it doesn’t really help for race day. Today was important, getting that dragster down in the heat of the day in Q3, that was important for tomorrow.” John Force and the PEAK Chevrolet were one of only two Funny Car entries to make it down the track under four seconds in third qualifying session and the only to do it in the final session. The BlueDEF Camaro would go 3.984 at 325.85 mph for two bonus qualifying points to start Saturday and then would lay down a stellar 3.950 at 326.79 to earn three points for being quickest of the session. Force would stay No. 2 from his 3.903 at 330.15 from Friday night. “Really good weekend so far with this PEAK Chevy. We’re running well. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, all my guys, they have us consistently getting down the track and we’re quick,” Force said. “I just need to do my job and we’ll go out there tomorrow and keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll see what happens.” Robert Hight and the AAA Chevy would run into tire smoke down track for only a 4.765-second pass at 170.86 mph in their first run on Saturday. Hight would pick things back up taking his Camaro on a 4.048 at 311.63 ride. He’ll remain in the No. 3 qualifying spot thanks to his 3.907 at 327.59 from Friday night. “We missed it this afternoon, but today’s weather is closer to what we will see tomorrow, warm temperatures. That second pass was a decent run in these conditions,” Hight said. “I’m confident going into tomorrow. It’s hard not to be with Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham running your car. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow and hopefully get this AAA Chevy in the winner’s circle.” The Montana Brand / RMT dragster had cylinders out on their first attempt Saturday. Austin Prock would cross the line at 3.981-seconds and only 262.39 mph. In their final qualifying attempt, Prock would have a clean 3.888 pass at 322.65 mph. They’ll stay No. 5 off of their 3.745 at 328.78 from Friday night. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster made some progress today but the 1000ft elapsed time didn’t really show what we needed it to. We made gains in areas, just need to put the whole package together tomorrow. We made a good run when it counted to get us in the top half of the field. I know the ‘silver stallions’ (aka crew chiefs Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler) will keep at it tonight and have a solid game plan for the morning. Looking forward to going some rounds tomorrow and parking this Montana Brand / RMT car where it belongs, the winners circle.” Eliminations at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals are slated to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the race weekend will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) continuing with a qualifying show Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 26, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist DragsterQualifying:5th; 3.745-seconds; 328.78 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 35, Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy DragsterQualifying:1st; 3.666-seconds; 333.08 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +7 (quickest Q1 & Q2, 3rd quickest Q3)JOHN FORCE, 73, PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:2nd; 3.903-seconds; 330.15 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +10 (quickest Q1&4, 2nd quickest Q2&3)ROBERT HIGHT, 52, AAA Ohio Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.907-seconds; 327.59 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Sidelined by Incident at Nashville Superspeedway

36th

19th

17th

“The results don’t show how fast our Whelen Chevrolet was today at Nashville Superspeedway. Our Richard Childress Racing pit crew did a great job. Those guys gained us positions every time we came to pit road. My crew chief, Jeff Stankiewicz, kept working to make all the right adjustments and we had worked our way into position to score a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, I sped on pit road after Stage 1 and that put us behind but we fought our way back into contention. Then, we got caught up in a wreck and weren’t able to salvage our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. It stinks our day ended early but we’ll bounce back next week at Road America.” -Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Fight Hard for Top-10 Finish at Nashville Superspeedway

8th

4th

8th

“It was a hot one in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet today at Nashville Superspeedway. I felt like I did a pretty decent job hydrating but I might need to work on it a little bit. In the middle of the race, I got pretty hot. I had to do a reset. I got some ice and got to feeling better again to finish the run. All in all, it was a decent day for us. We fought a loose entry. Our Chevy would get tight across the middle and we never found the right balance. On the last pit stop towards the end of the race I went for a call that I thought would help us, but it didn’t. We lost some speed on the long run so we’ll reevaluate this week. Our RCR Chevrolet was good. I thought we were pretty decent on a short run. As the run went, we would start getting free and then tight across the middle. I feel like we got our front ends working pretty decent now, we just have to get the rear back in the race track.” -Austin Hill

June 25, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 26^th in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Burton turned a lap at 157.133 miles per hour in Saturday’s qualifying session on the 1.3-mile concrete oval.
 
In an extended, 50-minute practice session on Friday, he had a best lap at 157.989 mph, which he posted on the 14^th of the 39 laps he ran.
 
Sunday’s Ally 400 is set to get the green flag just after 5 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBC. Stage breaks are set for Laps 90 and 185 of the 300-lap race.

Ashley follows win with a strong second-place starting position in Top Fuel

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2022) – Ron Capps earned the first no. 1 qualifier for the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car in just its 10^th event with a stellar 3.901 second pass in the second qualifying session. In Top Fuel, Bristol winner Justin Ashley continued his strong performance with a second-place starting position as all six Toyota-backed teams qualified inside the top-11.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park

Race 10 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Brittany Force*	Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster	1st (3.666)	K. Wurtzel
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	2nd (3.707)	L. Pruett
Doug Kalitta	SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th (3.759)	A. Brown
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th (3.768)	B. Torrence
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	9th (3.774)	T. Tatum
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	10th (3.779)	S. Torrence
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	11th (3.808)	D. Kalitta

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Ron Capps	NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra	1st (3.901)	D. Creasy Jr.
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	6th (3.932)	P. Lee
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	7th (3.933)	B. Alexander

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

Do you look at your last qualifying run as something that can give you momentum for tomorrow?

“Of course. I think the conditions are going to be similar tomorrow throughout the day as we saw here. Q4 is important for us to go down the racetrack, go a-to-b and collect that data and information. As a driver, you are going up there knowing that you are not going to necessarily go up there and improve on your position, but you want to maybe pick up some bonus points. That is goal number one and then goal number two is to be able to set yourself up for tomorrow. I think that .84 was a good lap. I know (crew chiefs) Tommy (DeLago) and Mike (Green) wanted to go a little bit faster than that, but all-in-all, heading into tomorrow, it gives us something to work with.” 

You had four qualifying sessions this weekend. How do you approach each qualifying session?
“It is a little different because we do have that extra qualifying session. I love that as a driver, because, first of all, the more times I get to go down the track, the better because I can feel and experience different things on that particular racetrack. It also gives me a chance to work on my reaction time and the tree a little bit more, which is nice. It gives us some more leeways to see – when you have these three sessions and there is 21 cars coming into the weekend, you look at it and you can already see where the bump spot is going to make it a tough field to make. From a drivers perspective, it just gives me another opportunity to get after it and feel certain things in the race car and feel more prepared for raceday on Sunday. I think from a tuning perspective – it just helps them feel more comfortable to have that extra session just in case things don’t necessarily go as planned.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 1st

What have you learned with this new GR Supra?
“It would have been a very steep learning curve had we not had the help from Del Worsham’s team and the Yella Fellas on what they’ve learned all season long. We definitely would not have had the success we’ve had right away – the win in Bristol and the first pole for the GR Supra, which is awesome. I said last night – it was going to take a while to figure this car out, get it trimmed out to where that (crew chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John (Medlen) felt comfortable. Bristol was about as demanding raceday that we’ve seen with the bumps in the track, the heat and humidity, all of that together made it – for any team, if you go ask any team, that was probably the most difficult, demanding, fun race all season long. We knew coming here – and hats off to first off, Safety Safari, are the best in the business, but the Bader family – have you seen so many side-by-side runs like we’ve seen today and yesterday, it’s been unbelievable. This is a great race track. They do a great job, so the fans are going to get a great show, but that being said, it is hot and humid. It’s just like it was in Bristol, but you are seeing great runs. Tomorrow, cloud cover is going to come in and the reason that I bring that up is the adaptation of John Medlen and Guido have in super hot, tricky conditions and then when it cools off, like it did last night, we are going to see it do that again tomorrow. We are going to see some cloud cover. It’s going to be a cooler racetrack. It’s definitely going to be faster. That’s definitely what won the championship for us last year and I think our success so far this year has been due to the fact that they can adapt. We just threw another crazy thing at them when we brought the Supra body out in Charlotte. It’s been fun to watch them do that. If I can do my job as half as well our NAPA Auto Care guys do their jobs, we are going to win a lot more races. I was out of the groove the first run yesterday and I didn’t do my job, I don’t think in the right lane earlier today. It’s a tricky racetrack. You have to be on your toes as a driver. It’s going to be fun to see how tomorrow plays out though.”

How do you get in the right mindset of racing drivers like Matt Hagan and Robert Hight?

“We got here and the TV people came over and did an interview about us being disrespected because all they talked about was the two cars – Robert (Hight) and (Matt) Hagan – and for good reason. They’ve really been doing really well. They are probably two of the best cars. I look back at points last year – the top-five at this time last year, nobody in the top-five or maybe one, ended up being in the top-five at the end of the year. (Bob) Tasca was leading earlier on. A lot can happen. We saw (Tim) Wilkerson in the final with us in Bristol. I think teams are going to start hitting their stride, but when I made any comments about I didn’t feel like we were being taken as serious when runs come up, but I’m wearing another yellow hat again. That is four no. 1 qualifiers – that’s astounding for a new team like this, but together this year. I’m not surprised. When I get up and do that, I’m the voice of our team. Our team can’t speak. I feel confident, so happy for what they do in giving me these yellow hats, that I want to get up on the biggest speaker I can get and yell about how good they are. The win was great, but let’s not discount how good Jimmy Prock and Dickie (Venables) have been. They have set the bar, but we are just as good. It all started at the 4-Wides with Brian Lohnes. He wasn’t talking about our car. We had fun with Brian about it later. Then we won and he was like I wasn’t even talking about Ron Capps. It was just that. You have to earn that. Dickie and Jimmy Prock have earned that. That is why they have been talked about, but we are just as good I think, with conditions good and tricky one. It doesn’t matter. We got the big trophy at the end of the year last year. That’s what we are trying to do again this year. Teams can throw their big numbers out, but it’s going to be fun. It’s fun to battle those guys.”

Tom Blomqvist’s lap-record run secures pole for Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 in the Sahlen’s Six Hourse of the Glen
Filipe Albuquerque completes Acura sweep in his Wayne Taylor Racing Acura

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2022) – Tom Blomqvist took his Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 to a new track record Saturday at Watkins Glen International Racing, securing the pole and leading an Acura sweep of the front row in qualifying for tomorrow’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.

It is the third IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole of the season for Acura and the first for Meyer Shank Racing and Blomqvist, who will share driving duties tomorrow with Oliver Jarvis for the six-hour endurance sports car race.

Felipe Albuquerque completed the front row qualifying sweep for Acura, and will start second in the Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05 he shares with Ricky Taylor.

In the production-based GTD division, the #66 Gradient Racing NSX GT3 Evo22 of Mario Farnbacher, Till Bechtolsheimer Kyffin Simpson will start 17th after it was damaged in a collision during the final practice session, and was unable to make a qualifying run.

Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen Qualifying Results
1st overall – #60 Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi [new lap record]
2nd overall – #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
No time GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05) Pole qualifier, new lap record; third consecutive pole for Acura at Watkins Glen: “Our Acura is quick! I have to say thanks to everyone at Meyer Shank Racing, Acura and HPD. We prepared for this event really well and tested here. That put us in a really good position to capitalize on the strengths of our ARX-05. After leading both of the practice sessions earlier this weekend, there was a bit of extra pressure going into qualifying, but thankfully we were able to capitalize on it and I think that bodes well for tomorrow’s [six-hour] race.”

Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) Qualified 2nd: “”The car was pretty good. But, unfortunately the [chassis setup] window was really narrow in qualifying when it came to the peak [performance] of the tire—particularly with the hot weather we’re feeling here. So, I tried to push more later in the session, but unfortunately the tires were already gone by then and I wasn’t able to improve. It is what it is, the front row is still really good for a six-hour race. I think we have a good car for the race and we’ll see how it goes!”

Fast Facts
This is the third IMSA pole of the season for Acura. At the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Albuquerque and Taylor combined to win the qualifying race that set the starting field; and Taylor led another Acura front-row qualifying sweep at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Acura Motorsports has recorded five previous victories at Watkins Glen, including three consecutive Camel Lights class wins (1991-93) and GTD class victories in 2017 and 2019.

Acura’s initial Watkins Glen success came in 1991, with Parker Johnstone taking the Comptech Acura Spice SE90P to the Lights class victory in a three-hour IMSA Camel GT race. After the race was expanded to six hours in 1992, Johnstone teamed with Dan Marvin to repeat as Camel Lights class winner. Acura’s third consecutive class win came in 1993, as Bob Earl and Bob Schader paired up for the victory in their Brix Racing Acura Spice SE91P.

Katherine Legge and Andy Lally took their Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 to the GTD victory in 2017, marking the second consecutive race win for the pair that season and the second-win worldwide for the then-new NSX GT3 race program.

Two years later, Mario Farnbacher, Trent Hindman and future NASCAR Cup team owner Justin Marks combined to claim GTD honors in 2019, taking their Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 from the class pole to victory en route to GTD Drivers’ Championship for Farnbacher and Hindman.

Sebastien Bourdais qualifies third in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2022) – Cadillac Racing full-season DPi entries will occupy the third and fourth rows for the start of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 26. Sebastien Bourdais, who has added four pole starts and two race victories to his career ledger this season, drove the No. 01 V-Performance Cadillac DPi-V.R to the third starting spot with a best lap of 1 minute, 30.048 seconds on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course. Teammate Earl Bamber qualified fourth in the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R with a lap of 1:30.242.

Cadillac Racing media links * Watkins Glen International resource guide: Notes, statistics, driver and team profiles and more* 2022 media guide: Historical statistics, technical transfer, why we race and moreComing in 2023: Gallery of images of the Project GTP Hypercar that previews the race car for IMSA and WEC events

“It’s all about where you catch traffic and when you get the yellows and if you get a lucky undercut or something happens,” Bourdais said of the race that is scheduled to take the green flag at 10:40 a.m. ET. “It’s six hours of chaos with 48 cars out there. Keeping your nose clean is going to be key.”

Added Bamber, who tested at The Glen earlier this month: “We had a good test day and I think it’s converted into some strong results. It’s going to be all about track position and traffic is a bit wild out there.” Olivier Pla, competing in his second race with Action Express Racing, qualified fifth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering DPi-V.R with a lap of 1:30.500. Entering the third of four rounds of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R is the points pacesetter, with Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval co-driving the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry. Vautier qualified sixth with a lap of 1:31.059. Kamui Kobayashi, coming off a runner-up finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, qualified seventh in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R. He completed only three laps because of an issue with the front brakes. Kobayashi will share driving duties with Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller. The team is competing in the endurance races this season. Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, did not drive at Sebring because of an INDYCAR race weekend conflict. “It’s great to be back with the race team and the cars are extremely fun to drive. I’m excited to be back with Action Express,” he said. Tom Blomqvist produced a track-record lap time of 1:29.580 in securing the Motul Pole Award in the No. 60 Acura. The previous record of 1:29.639 was set in 2019. The USA Network will telecast the race live at 2 p.m. ET, with Peacock providing flag-to-flag coverage starting at 10:30 a.m. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race at IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

Cadillac Racing lineup, starting position and notes No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Renger van der Zande, Sebastien BourdaisBourdais drove in the qualifying session (start third, 1:30.048). “Happy with the car, just not quite there yet with the balance. It’s much more comfortable and we will see what tomorrow brings. It will be a long day and usually a lot of things happen in the race. Hope to be consistent, keep our nose clean and we’ll see what we get at the end of the day.”Van der Zande and Bourdais co-drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to victory on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 and on the Belle Isle street circuit June 4 after starting from the pole in both races with qualifying track-record lap times. … Bourdais set the qualifying lap record time in earning the pole for the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the May 15 Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. … Bourdais is a four-time INDYCAR champion.Car chief-Phil BinksLead engineer-John HennekRace strategist-Peter Baron No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Earl Bamber, Alex LynnBamber drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:30.242): “I think we had a good car in qualifying. The No. 02 Cadillac was strong. I think we made the right choices, just got blocked twice with traffic. I think all things considered, we’re in a good spot for tomorrow and we’ll definitely tune it up and be ready for tomorrow.”First-year entry in expanded Cadillac Racing DPi program. … Bamber and Lynn co-drove to a runner-up finish on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting second. … They, along with Neel Jani, co-drove to victory March 19 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. … Bamber salutes his home country with a silver fern design on the sides of his helmet — a quasi-national emblem used for various official New Zealand symbols. … Bamber tested at Watkins Glen earlier this month.Car chief-Jamie CoatesLead engineer-Danielle ShephardRace strategist-Michael Harvey No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike ConwayPla drove in the qualifying session (fifth, 1:30.500).Pla is making his second start in the No. 31 Cadillac. … Derani and Felipe Nasr won the 2-hour, 40-minute race at Watkins Glen in 2021. … Derani and Tristan Nunez co-drove to third place on the Laguna Seca road course after starting sixth. They followed with a third-place finish May 15 at Mid-Ohio. … Derani and Nunez, joined by Conway, started second and finished third in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring. … The three-driver team started seventh and finished fourth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to open the season. … Derani and Felipe Nasr were the 2021 IMSA DPi Driver Champions and Whelen Engineering/Action Express Racing was the Team Champion. … Conway co-drove to a runner-up finish at Le Mans two weeks ago.Car chief-Bill KeulerTechnical director/lead engineer-Iain WattRace strategist-Tim Keene No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic DuvalVautier drove in the qualifying session (start sixth, 1:31.059): “It’s not where we want to be. It’s not great for Cadillacs with the BoP, but we have some work to do to catch the others. We know where to look, we haven’t found a solution yet to fix what we want to improve on the car. Tomorrow is a long race that doesn’t rely only on pure speed. We’ll focus on our execution and look forward to a strong race tomorrow.”The team leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings through two of the four races. … Vautier and Westbrook co-drove to third place on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting fifth. … Vautier and Westbrook, joined by Duval, drove to second place in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring and opened the ’22 season by starting second and finishing third at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. … Westbrook is a three-time winner at The Glen (2014 and ’15 in a Corvette DP; 2016 in GTLM).Car chief-Josh KerriganLead engineer-Rick CameronRace strategist-John Church No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing) Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike RockenfellerKobayashi drove in the qualifying session (start seventh, 2:17.096).Team is running the four endurance races this season. … Team of Johnson, Kobayashi, Rockenfeller and Jose Maria Lopez opened the season by starting third in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Repairs in 13th hour necessitated by being bumped off course negated a strong showing, and team placed 11th overall. … Lopez was the third driver for the Sebring race, sitting in for Johnson, who had a conflicting INDYCAR race weekend. … The team started fifth and finished sixth at Sebring. … Kobayashi co-drove to a runner-up finish at Le Mans two weeks ago.Car chief-Scott DarnellTechnical director/lead engineer-Iain WattRace strategist-Chad Knaus See the Cadillac lineup Spectators can view an array of Cadillac vehicles, including the exciting CT5-V Blackwing, CT4-V Blackwing and the 2023 Escalade-V, at the Cadillac display in the midway. Hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. The 2023 Escalade-V — the industry’s most powerful full-size SUV that goes on sale late this summer – expands the V-Series lineup. Now in its fourth generation, Cadillac’s V-Series represents ultimate performance, the epitome of Cadillac’s engineering capability, with unrivaled sophistication and comfort for everyday driving. In adding Escalade-V to the lineup, the V-Series family continues to expand, while consistently combining power, luxury, thoughtful technology and athletic refinement for the discerning enthusiast.

Garcia, Taylor start sixth in GTD PRO for Sahlen’s Six Hours

WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 25, 2022) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the seventh row of the GT Daytona (GTD) category and in sixth position among GTD PRO entries for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday. Jordan Taylor set a qualifying lap of 1:46.259 (115.190 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R around Watkins Glen International during Saturday afternoon’s 15-minute session. He will start Sunday’s race – the first for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO class in nearly two months – as the pairing of Taylor and Antonio Garcia go for a second straight Sahlen’s Six Hours class victory and third straight at The Glen. The No. 3 Corvette was 1.5 seconds off the GTD PRO pole time. Garcia and Taylor arrived at The Glen second in GTD PRO points and first among GTD PRO competitors in the Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship made up of the WeatherTech Championship’s four long-distance races. The No. 3 Corvette already has an endurance victory this year to its credit: the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. Corvette Racing has three victories at Watkins Glen since 2014 – including two last year. Garcia and Taylor won in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category in last year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours as well as the WeatherTech 240 sprint race a week later. Garcia is one of nine drivers to win more than once in the Sahlen’s Six Hours and has five podium finishes in his last five races at The Glen, while Taylor won for the first time in the event a year ago. Chevrolet has a strong history of success in the race with 18 victories – second among active manufacturers. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 26. The race will stream live on Peacock with USA’s live television coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio’s streaming audio coverage begins at 9:55 a.m. ET on IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTD PRO:“Frustrating… the car actually feels pretty good. We’ve made some improvements and picked up time from the practices. But it wasn’t enough to gain 1.5 seconds around a place like this. We have a few things we can try for the warmup tomorrow but the track conditions won’t be anything like what we’ll have in the race. Strategy might be our way to gain track position. It’s gotten us out front before this year when we were down on performance, but you can’t plan for that at every race.”