Alexander Rossi takes his Andretti Autosport Honda to the pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America
Chip Ganassi Racing teammates will line up third and fourth in their Hondas
Colton Herta rounds out the top five qualifiers for Honda, Andretti Autosport

ELKHART LAKE, Wus. (June 11, 2022) – Alexander Rossi led the way in NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying today in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and will start from the pole in Sunday’s Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America. The pole is the eighth of Rossi’s Indy car career, and his second at Road America, where the Andretti Autosport driver dominated in 2019, leading all but one of the 55 laps for his seventh career win.

Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson make up the second row of the starting grid in the 27-car field, with defending series champion Palou qualifying third, and recent Indianapolis 500 winner Ericsson in fourth. Colton Herta rounded out the top five qualifiers today for Honda in his Andretti Autosport entry.

Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Honda Qualifying Results
1st Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
3rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
5th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
7th Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
10th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11th Simon Pagenaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
14th David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda
16th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
19th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
20th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda
22nd Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
26th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
R – Rookie

Quotes
Alexander Rossi (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier: “I think we saw with last year’s [qualifying] results here that [Firestone primary ‘Black’ compound] tires were the way to go, so I think that’s just kind of a trend here. But it was an amazing job here all weekend by the Napa Auto Parts/AutoNation Honda team. It’s been a long time since we’ve been in this position [on the pole] so it’s amazing. It was so close today. We’ll enjoy it now, but we’ve still got a job to do [in the race] tomorrow. I think we’re really strong on the primaries, so huge thanks to the team for all their efforts this weekend. It’s a good boost for everyone, and we’ll enjoy it going into tomorrow.”

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) will start third: “Qualifying [third] is good, we were close [to claiming the pole], that was a good job by Alex [Rossi] and the 27 team. We were on the right strategy using the [Firestone primary compound] Black tires, it’s just that Alex [Rossi] was able to get a bit more time out of them than we could. They made it happen. But we’ve been improving the car every single time we’ve gone out this weekend and this is an amazing starting position compared to last week [when Palou started 18th in Detroit].”

Fast Facts
Honda Indy car drivers have scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in last year’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, won by eventual series champion Alex Palou in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

In 2020, Honda drivers scored a clean sweep of both rounds of a doubleheader race weekend. Scott Dixon won Saturday’s opening race en route to his sixth drivers’ title; with his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist claiming victory in Sunday’s event.

In 2019, Alexander Rossi dominated at Road America leading 54 of the 55 laps for a crushing, 28-second margin of victory in his Andretti Autosport Honda.

Dixon provided his own master class in race craft in 2017, taking charge midway through the 220-mile contest and fending off all challengers to claim the win.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP

JUNE 10, 2022

JOSEF NEWGARDEN GRABS FRONT ROW STARTING POSITION FOR TEAM CHEVY

PATO O’WARD WILL ROLL OFF FROM THIRD ROW

ELKHART LAKE, WISC (JUNE 11, 2022) – Josef Newgarden did what Josef Newgarden does at Road America – qualify on the front row. The two-time NTT INDYCAR Champion piloted his No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet to the front row with a lap of one minute, 44.9371 seconds/137.705 mph.  

This is Newgarden’s fourth front-row start (three poles)  on the 4.048-mile/14-turn natural terrain road course. He won from the pole in 2018. 

Pato O’Ward powered his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet to a third-row position on the grid. His Arrow McLaren SP teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, will start in eighth position in the No. 7 Vuse Chevrolet.

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Sonsio Team Penske Chevrolet, will start ninth, on the inside of row five.

Alexander Rossi won the NTT P1 award. Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta made up the remainder of the Firestone Fast Six field.

The remaining Team Chevy drivers will start as follows: 

12^th                                     Callum Ilott

15^th                                     Will Power

17^th                                     Rinus Veekay

18^th                                     Conor Daly

23^rd                                    Dalton Kellett

24^th                                     Kirk Kirkwood

25^th                                     Tatiana Calderon

27^th                                     Simon de Silvestro

Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season with the Sonsio Grand Prix at 12:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 12 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160) beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com.

DRIVER QUOTES:

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

SO, YOU WERE THE BEST ON THE SCUFF REDS.

“I thought he (Rossi) was on used reds. I’m surprised he was able to make that work on blacks to be quite honest. In my opinion I thought it was clear we were going to go used reds. They just seemed significantly better this year than last year. Last year, we obviously used that strategy, but I thought the drop off for the blacks was not as bad, where this year it seems a bit worse. You know what if he made that work, that’s pretty stout. The lap time he did on blacks would be really, really good. That’s an impressive pole. Hats off to that. I felt like I did a good lap, wasn’t perfect. I went for it on my first, because I didn’t know what the rain was going to do. Ultimately, I’d probably handle that differently, but PPG car is fast. Team Chevy has done a great job for us. Just wish we had the pole.”

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO.3 SONSIO TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

DID YOU NOT FIND THE SWEET SPOT THERE IN QUALIFYING?

“Yeah, I think all weekend we have just been chasing the sweet spot. I think we found it in qualifying, but it was just too late on learning the car as we’re going along. Proud of everyone on this Sonsio Chevy. The Sonsio Grand Prix too, I’d like to be a little further up, but at the end of the day it’s all good.”

I’VE GOT TO GIVE YOU AN A PLUS ON THAT SAVE OVER THERE IN TURN 12. YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD YOUR HANDS FULL. 

“Yeah, I mean I was just up on the (inaudible). You know how it is. It was pretty loose. Hands and feet going everywhere. Yeah, you’re on the limit and you’re trying to find it. You’ve got to be on the limit in IndyCar. It’s the most competitive series in the world and I have so much thrill in qualifying a race car around here and in the IndyCar Series.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET

“I punished my reds on that first lap too much, knowing that I was not in the top-six after the black run. Just put you in a more pressure situation. I think that’s some of it, just need to do a better job. 

YOU’VE BEEN REALLY COMPLIMENTARY OF YOUR CREW AND HOW THEY’VE GOTTEN YOU INTO THIS POSITION OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON. WHAT DO YOU GUYS HAVE TO DO TO GET INTO POSITION TO RUN UP FRONT TOMORROW?

“The only good thing about not qualifying well is the tire situation. You just have better tires. We need to qualify better, but I’m sure we can work something out tomorrow.”

PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET

FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET

WHAT KIND OF MEMORY WILL THIS QUALIFICATION SESSION BE FOR YOU?

“I think it’s actually the same spot I started when I won. That’s funny. No eight, maybe seven or eight. I mean, pretty good starting position. A bit bummed I couldn’t do a better lap. Just struggled a bit on the reds to be honest. I think every time we have been on the reds just didn’t get the difference we expected, but it’s a good starting point. Anything can happen on this track. Especially the stints on reds. If you can make that work, I think you’re in a good shape from P8. Little bit bummed like always.”

WE WERE WATCHING THE RAIN DROPS OFF AND ON. WERE YOU DISTRACTED AT ALL? DID THEY AFFECT AT ALL THE GRIP OF THE CAR?

“They did in Q1. I remember when I started my first red lap into 1 it was like oh. I definitely didn’t warm up my tires enough for that. I think it was just on the limit where you can see it on your screen, but it doesn’t really affect the grip much. Just a little bit when the tires are cold.”

CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLIGER RACING CHEVROLET

WHAT HAPPENED?

“I think I pushed it. The front didn’t really respond and then yeah, I just overshot it basically. Bit optimistic maybe. I don’t know, it was a bit strange.”

LUCKILY CAR NOT TOO BAD. YOU COULD HAVE PROBABLY GONE OUT AGAIN.

“Yeah, just with the time and they would have taken away the two laps anyway. So, better to check everything over. Great run to get out of the first Q1.”

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 16 PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET

REACCLIMATING IN SO MANY WAYS TO THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT QUALIFYING RUN?

“Terrible to be honest. I don’t know. I think it’s definitely been tough kind of jumping into the car and just getting my head around it. Then going out on reds, you know we had one set yesterday. I felt kind of ok yesterday, but definitely today when everyone kind of ups their game it changes things a little bit. Just didn’t really use the tire. I went out and yeah just didn’t use it. From that point of view, it’s definitely something that I really need to analyze for the next run we go to.”

WE CHATTED YESTERDAY AND I ASKED YOU WHAT WOULD BE A GOOD RESULT ON SUNDAY. YOU SAID, GIVE ME A PRACTICE, GIVE ME QUALYFING AND THEN MAYBE I’LL LET YOU KNOW. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU STAND FOR SUNDAY?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I think we can be quicker than a few cars in front of us. I don’t know. We just don’t need to do mistakes. For me, it is going to be important as well to just do 55 laps and finish it. We’ll see. I think if we get closer to where we want to be I think that would be positive.”

RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 DIRECT SUPPLY ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET

  “I drove as hard as I could, but we were just way too slow. We’ve been struggling since opening practice yesterday, especially in the slow-speed corners. It’s very unfortunate. I hope we can improve and find something good for the race.”

CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET 

WHAT WERE YOU MISSING? WHAT DID YOU LEARN HERE IN THIS SESSION?

“Yeah, it’s tough man. I felt like the balance was good. At least good enough to transfer. When we crossed the line for our last lap, they were like oh you are fifth. I was like alright. Everyone is so good here. Everyone is really good, so you got to be perfect. It’s tough man. We are on the limit everywhere. Just missing a little bit of grip. This is a really challenging place, on multiple different surfaces. As a team, we are definitely working on it so we can have a good day tomorrow for sure.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO FROM WHERE YOU’RE AT IN THE RACE TOMORROW? IS THIS A PLACE WHERE THE CAR IS GOOD AND YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD?

“I mean anything can happen in the race. Last year was kind of a wild mix up of strategy. You never know what can happen in an IndyCar race. The goal is to just try to pick people off one stint at a time. The windows aren’t massive, but we know we’ve raced well all year long. That’s a confidence inspiring thing that we have going for us.” 

DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET

 “Overall, we were not too happy with how the run went. We’d like to be starting a little further up but we felt like we were maybe a little over the top on being a bit loose that run. I think we are just looking for some grip overall across the camp right now between the three of us. Straightline braking seems to be a bit of a bit of a struggle. I made a little mistake on the start of my second lap and that probably cost us a couple of tenths, but that wouldn’t really have affected our position in our group I don’t think. Overall, still trying to figure out what it is we really need to kind of hit the nail on the head here. We seem to be still looking for that. So we’re going to look at the data between the three cars and see if we can come up with for warmup.”

TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET

  “I think we improved a lot since free practice. Unfortunately, I made a big lock up on my quickest lap where we lost a lot of time. So that cost me quite a lot of lap time obviously. I think this is the closest I’ve been to my teammates. So that’s encouraging and I think the car felt much much better than free practice 1 and free practice 2. So hopefully we can build on that. We need a good race car because they I think that tire degradation will be key here so hopefully we can get closer to the top guys in race trim.”

KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET 

“Finished with qualifying, definitely not the best qualifying that we’ve had all year. Qualified P24. I think some of that is caused by losing some [time] in the second practice which was unfortunate. Conditions have changed a lot I think from yesterday to today and I feel like we probably missed out in qualifying. We got the car a lot better from the first run to the second run, but still just not enough and it’s been really tight up at the front. So unfortunate starting position, but we’ll see how the race car goes.”

NTT INDYCAR SERIES News Conference

NTT P1 FIRESTONE FAST SIX

Josef Newgarden

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up qualifying, we’ve been joined by the outside front row starter Josef Newgarden.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was unbelievable. I didn’t even realize it was on blacks. I looked like an idiot talking to Greg from Team Chevy. I was like, Clearly, clearly it was better to go use reds, we knew that. He didn’t say anything to me (smiling). Someone else told me. He was like, I didn’t want to correct you. Wow, I feel, like, stupid.

Yeah, I think what Palou did was about what I would figure. Blacks was a low five on new blacks, low five, five-two, five-three. The new reds, I figured we could eke out an eight, nine, maybe a seven in a perfect world, if you absolutely, absolutely nailed it.

We were just a little short. I think Rossi’s lap is definitely an outlier. Must have been a mega lap. It looks like it. Kudos to these guys.

I was pretty happy with my lap. It wasn’t like it was a bad lap. It just wasn’t enough. Wish we were one spot better, but we all day to work on that now with PPG and Team Chevy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Did the rain affect anything?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Maybe a little warmup, but I didn’t notice a big difference from it.

Q. This race has been won from different positions on the grid. Historically seems to favor the guys up front because you can control the agenda of the race. How important is it to be where you’re at?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think it’s helpful here for sure. You want to be up front. Ideally it’s a long track, it’s a lot of ground to make up. You get pretty spread out. When you start at the back, it puts you on even more of a back foot here versus a smaller track.

Yeah, hopefully it’s good. The race is very different than qualifying. We’ll have to see how that works out. Tires, in my opinion, are quite different this year. So it will be interesting to see some guys that didn’t transfer, like a Will Power, for instance, it will be interesting to see how they utilize their reds and things like that.

There’s no gimmes this day. I thought Detroit was going to be pretty straightforward last weekend and it was anything but that. Don’t hold your breath.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I mean, I think outside Rossi, it clearly was a better choice for us. I mean, if I was to do it again, I think I could have found a little bit of time in it. I didn’t do a bad lap. It was a good lap I did.

But I think the evidence suggested to me that it wasn’t the same case as last year. Last year was a lot closer between I thought the reds and the blacks. The dropoff was maybe a little different on the reds. To me, I thought it was pretty clear that reds seemed better this year. Yeah, from yesterday, purely off the data yesterday, it seemed clear to me that they would be better. Obviously that wasn’t the case.

But I think Rossi is a bit of an outlier being able to make that work. It’s a very impressive lap, for sure. If you look at the others, five-four, five-three, that’s kind of what it stacked up to be in my mind.

Ultimately if we were to go back and do it again, maybe we could have pipped him. It was that close with how good of a lap it was. That’s INDYCAR, though. Sometimes you really think you have it sorted out, and someone can always put something together.

I think Alex mustered a really good lap together today. Sometimes that’s all it takes, is just really digging deep, putting it all together. That’s obviously enough for today. It’s not always straightforward.

Q. (No microphone.)

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I forget about that stuff half the time, to be honest. I just hope it doesn’t happen again. That would be great to not have that happen.

But we’ve got a lot of racing to do before we get to that point, to the end. I feel just as good as we did last year going into the race. Obviously not in the same position starting, but I think we’ve got a good car to go the distance. Hopefully two laps more the distance (smiling).

Yeah, we should be in good shape. I haven’t really thought of it much, honestly.

Q. (No microphone.)

THE MODERATOR: 1961 was the last time we had eight different pole winners to start the season.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Isn’t that crazy?

THE MODERATOR: There were nine that year. We’ll see what happens at Mid-Ohio. Bruce covered that year, too (laughter).

Q. Talk about how much more a pole means when it’s difficult to earn a pole?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, I mean, look, I think anything in this series nowadays is incredibly gratifying whenever you’re successful, whether it’s poles, winning the race. They’re both extremely difficult for different reasons.

It’s just hard these days to stay up front, to find a consistent edge. I think we can find an edge every now and then on people, but consistently having it is incredibly difficult.

INDYCAR is what it is, the product is diverse. You’re constantly swinging between all these different types of tracks. You might find a little edge on a road course and all of a sudden (indiscernible) between a street course, superspeedway. It’s not all just one type. It’s really satisfying when you get stuff right nowadays.

Q. Crowd bigger than you’ve seen here in the past. It seems like the crowd is up. I believe they were saying 20% over last couple years. What did you notice about the crowd?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just less COVID, you know (smiling).

I mean, truthfully that’s probably accurate. I don’t know. There’s always a huge crowd here. I don’t even know that I noticed a difference because the crowd always feels incredibly big here. So I don’t know. I don’t know there’s a difference. It’s always looked packed here.

Just to speak to Road America, I think they do a tremendous job here. I’ve never stayed here at the track until this weekend. Having a blast. Love f the atmosphere, love the fans. It’s beautiful country. It’s a great place to go racing, absolutely one of the best on the calendar. They do a great job up here of putting on a good show.

THE MODERATOR: Back to the most different poles, the record for most different pole winners in a season was in 1999 in the old CART days.

Q. How the performance of the blacks and reds in the qualifying is changing the preparation for the race?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. Clearly I think some people will prefer different things with their cars. I feel more confident on red tires this weekend, which is different than I think probably Rossi feels. I think you’ll see some split feelings amongst the pack.

If we get rained out here in P3, I don’t know. I’m not really sure we’re going to have a great analysis or estimate on how the tires are going to perform across the life, both the blacks and the reds. Hard to say at the moment. I’m not sure what we’re going to get. Could be a mixed bag.

But you’re going to need to be smart. Like I said, I thought we were smart in Detroit with what we were doing. It clearly wasn’t the right thing. It’s hard to always predict these races nowadays. I don’t have a good answer for you.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll let you go. Thank you.

Corvette C8.Rs run 1-2 in majority of race’s first quarter

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2022) – Corvette Racing ran 1-2 in GTE Pro at the quarter-distance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R leading much of the first six hours. Antonio Garcia was in the early part of his second rotation in the race-leading Corvette after he, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg each cycled through a double-stint each into the dusk. Garcia began second but took the lead from Nick Tandy in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette in the opening 90 minutes. Tandy, Milner and Alexander Sims caught the wrong end of a slow zone to fall off the pace of the sister car in the third hour. Tandy got back in the No. 64 C8.R near the six-hour mark in second place and ran about 40 seconds behind Garcia as the race moved toward the halfway point. Corvette Racing’s next update will come after the 12-hour mark.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s good. It was my first time in the car being this hot, and it was a bit of an unknown as to how the car would behave. I was happy with the setup and we were pulling away from the Porsches, especially in the first stint where I tried to stay in contact with Nick. During the second stint, traffic was a key part but I was still working to pull away from the rest and I could see Nick until he had his issue into Mulsanne. We’re still 1-2. It seems like we have the pace so let’s try to keep it up and see how the night goes. We are wondering how tomorrow will go with even hotter conditions than today. It will be another unknown.”More on the conditions: “Tonight will be better. From here though tomorrow afternoon, temperatures will start to cool off a little bit. That will hopefully make it a little easier.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “So far, so good. Antonio was able to get us into the lead by about 10 seconds. As soon as I got in, we got lucky with a slow zone and extended the lead. The car was really good. It was probably the warmest the track has been all week; we were on our alternate compound, which we haven’t done much running on. That was a bit of a question mark on how the car would handle it. Thankfully the double-stint wasn’t too bad and the pace was able to stay all the way through it. Looking ahead to tomorrow, where it’s going to warm up again, it’s promising for us if we’re still in the fight for it. Now we’ll get back to our preferred compound and see how that goes during the night.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It went well. On the opening stint you always have to get in the rhythm. The car did what it was supposed to do. We didn’t have any incidents. We maintained our gap. What more could you ask for, you know? It was a little bit of an up-and-down when judging the pace and what to do with the car in some places. No incidents so far… no damage, no touches, no punctures, no failures, no mistakes. That’s what we need.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “You saw there were a lot of different tire strategies in play there. Some guys took new ones on the first stop and some of us not. I lost a little bit at the end of my stint trying to get the front tires to work after the slow zones. It was frustrating. The first half of my first stint… I don’t think I had a clear lap until my 10th or 11th lap. That’s the way it goes sometimes. You try not to make mistakes in those situations.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s far and away hotter in the air and especially on the track that we’ve seen in practice. Everyone is learning. You see some different strategies with cars doing single stints on tires and double stints. For us it was going quite well. I had an issue on downshifting due to some brake locking at Mulsanne and had to bail out and around the round-about. It’s also very difficult out there with traffic because everyone is finding this strange situation with the grip of the track. There’s a lot of aggression because people aren’t feeling the car the same way as during practice, which is tough for us to deal with. It’s a good start with a long way to go. I’m looking forward to getting back in when the track is cooler.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was good fun. We had sensible pace, I think. We’re coming into conditions where our tires seems to be working a bit better. Our pace is solid and as good as anyone. It’s a long way to go yet but we’re still in the fight.”

Corvette Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV and MotorTrend Plus will air the race live. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Wednesday’s first official practice session.

CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: Après six heuresLes Corvette C8.R mènent en GTE Pro dans la majorité du premier quart de la course LE MANS, le 11 juin 2022 – Le Corvette Racing occupait les deux premières places en GTE Pro au quart des 24 heures du Mans, la Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Mobil 1/SiriusXM n° 63 ayant mené la plus grande partie des six premières heures de course. Antonio Garcia était au début de son deuxième relais dans la Corvette de tête après que lui, Jordan Taylor et Nicky Catsburg aient chacun effectué un double relais à la tombée de la nuit. Garcia était parti en deuxième position mais a pris la tête de Nick Tandy sur la Corvette Mobil 1/SiriusXM n°64 dans les 90 premières minutes. Tandy, Milner et Alexander Sims ont été victimes d’un « Slow Zone » et ont perdu le contact avec la voiture sœur au cours de la troisième heure. Tandy a repris le volant de la C8.R n° 64 vers la fin de la sixième heure, en deuxième position, et se trouvait à environ 40 secondes de Garcia à la mi-course. ANTONIO GARCIA, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « C’est positif. C’était la première fois que je roulais avec une voiture à une chaleur aussi élevée, et c’était un peu une inconnue quant à la façon dont la voiture allait se comporter. J’étais content des réglages et nous nous éloignions des Porsche, surtout dans le premier relais où j’ai essayé de rester en contact avec Nick. Pendant le deuxième relais, le trafic était un élément clé, mais je travaillais toujours pour m’éloigner des autres et je ne perdais pas Nick de vue jusqu’à ce qu’il ait un problème à Mulsanne. Nous sommes toujours leaders en GTE Pro et il semble que nous ayons le rythme, alors essayons de le maintenir et de voir comment la nuit se passe. Nous nous demandons comment se déroulera la journée de demain avec des conditions encore plus chaudes qu’aujourd’hui. Ce sera une autre inconnue. Cette nuit sera meilleure. D’ici à demain après-midi, les températures vont commencer à se rafraîchir un peu. J’espère que cela rendra les choses un peu plus faciles. » JORDAN TAYLOR, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « Jusqu’ici, tout va bien. Antonio a réussi à nous mettre en tête avec une dizaine de secondes d’avance. Dès que je prenais le volant, nous avons eu de la chance avec une Slow Zone et nous avons augmenté notre avance. La voiture était vraiment bonne. C’était probablement le plus chaud que la piste ait été toute la semaine ; nous utilisons notre compound alternatif, avec lequel nous n’avons pas beaucoup roulé. C’était un peu un point d’interrogation sur la façon dont la voiture allait réagir. Heureusement, le double relais n’a pas été trop difficile et le rythme a pu être maintenu tout au long. En regardant vers demain, où il va faire plus chaud, c’est prometteur pour nous si nous sommes encore dans la lutte pour la victoire. Maintenant, nous allons revenir à notre compound préféré et voir comment ça se passe pendant la nuit. » NICKY CATSBURG, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°63: « Ça s’est bien passé. Dans le premier relais, il faut toujours se mettre dans le rythme. La voiture se comporte comme elle le doit. Nous n’avons pas eu d’incidents. Nous avons maintenu notre écart. Que demander de plus ? Il y a eu un peu de fluctuations dans l’évaluation du rythme et de ce qu’il fallait faire avec la voiture à certains endroits. Aucun incident jusqu’à présent… pas de dégâts, pas de contacts, pas de crevaisons, pas de défaillances, pas d’erreurs. C’est ce dont nous avons besoin. » TOMMY MILNER, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « Vous avez vu qu’il y avait beaucoup de stratégies de pneus différentes en jeu. Certains pilotes ont pris des pneus neufs lors du premier arrêt, d’autres non. J’ai perdu un peu de temps à la fin de mon relais en essayant de faire fonctionner les pneus avant après les zones lentes. C’était frustrant. La première moitié de mon premier relais… Je ne pense pas avoir eu un tour clair avant mon 10e ou 11e tour. C’est comme ça que ça se passe parfois. On essaie de ne pas faire d’erreurs dans ce genre de situation. » NICK TANDY, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « Il fait de loin plus chaud dans l’air et surtout sur la piste que ce que nous avons vu aux essais. Tout le monde apprend. Vous voyez quelques stratégies différentes avec des voitures qui font des relais simples sur les pneus et des relais doubles. Pour nous, ça se passait plutôt bien. J’ai eu un problème de rétrogradation à cause d’un blocage des freins à Mulsanne et j’ai dû sortir et faire le tour du rond-point. C’est aussi très difficile avec le trafic parce que tout le monde trouve cette situation étrange avec l’adhérence de la piste. Il y a beaucoup d’agressivité parce que les gens ne sentent pas la voiture de la même façon que pendant les essais, ce qui est difficile à gérer pour nous. C’est un bon début, mais il reste encore un long chemin à parcourir. J’ai hâte de reprendre le volant quand la piste sera plus fraîche. » ALEXANDER SIMS, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°64: « C’était bien amusant. Nous avions un rythme raisonnable, je crois. Nous arrivons dans des conditions où nos pneus semblent fonctionner un peu mieux. Notre rythme est solide et aussi bien que n’importe qui. Il y a encore un long chemin à parcourir mais nous sommes toujours dans la lutte. »

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 11, 2022

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway. Press Conference Transcript: 

AS THE DEFENDING RACE WINNER HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK?

“Yeah, it’s nice. It’s home, so it’s cool to get out here to Sonoma (Raceway); a track where we won last year. I’ve always qualified really well here, so I’m excited about today. I’m hoping with this Next Gen car that we’re just as good as we were last year. I’m excited to get on track.”

HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU SPENT IN THE SIMULATOR TO ADJUST TO WHAT THE NEW CAR IS GOING TO DO HERE. 

“I haven’t been in the sim, but we should be alright. These cars, especially on the road courses, haven’t driven too much different, at least at COTA. The braking zones go a little bit deeper, but other than that, it felt similar.”

THIS IS A PLACE WHERE YOU GOT YOUR FIRST CAREER ROAD COURSE WIN. AS A NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NATIVE, WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO GO BACK-TO-BACK HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY?

“Yeah, it would be really cool for sure. Jeff Gordon, also another Northern California guy, has had a lot of success here. I’d like to catch him in wins someday, so have to go to work on that because he’s won a lot here. 

It would be neat. Like I said, it’s always nice to come home, but it’s especially nice when you can win.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE LAYOUT CHANGE? 

“Yeah, it kind of is what it is. I think it’s going to be similar racing either way. The same guys are going to be up front as they would with the other style. Personally, I enjoyed the carousel. It added a left-hander, more normal feeling corner to me. They added a patch of new pavement over there last year, so I felt like that kind of opened up the groove a little bit in getting grip. I don’t know the reasoning behind changing it back. Maybe it’s just better viewing for the fans or something. But again, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot. We know what to expect because we’ve raced on this layout for a long time. It should be fine.”

ON TOP OF THAT, YOU WON BOTH STAGES AND THE RACE LAST YEAR. ARE YOU GUYS GOING TO TRY AND DO THAT AGAIN OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO DO?

“I have no idea. I think last year, our car was so much better than the fields that we were able to kind of be aggressive with the strategy like that and go after the stages and the race win. I think I read somewhere earlier where there had never been a stage winner to win the race here, so that just showed how good our stuff was last year. 

I don’t expect you’ll be able to do that this year. I think everybody’s cars are a little bit more equal. You’re going to have to play the strategy more conservatively to prepare yourself to lineup in the best spot for the final stage.”

WE HAVE OUR OFF WEEK COMING UP. WHAT’S YOUR THOUGHTS ON ONLY HAVING ONE OFF WEEK; AND ARE YOU GOING TO DO YOUR TYPICAL THING AND GO RACE? 

“I’m not going to race. I’ve been racing a lot more this year than I have in years previous. So, I want to take this off week and spend more time with my family; kind of recharge and get back excited about racing. Obviously I would love to have more than one off week. I think all of us in the sport deserves more than one off weekend. But again, it is what it is. If there were no off weekends, we would still be racing. 

I loved having two off weekends in a row last year. I know that was circumstantial with the Olympics, but that fell at a perfect time. It was Katelyn’s birthday and my birthday for both of those off weekends. So, that was fun. I would love to get at least one off weekend back. If we could get three off weekends in a year, that’d be great.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO NASHVILLE, LAST YEAR YOU DOMINATED THAT RACE. DESPITE DOMINATING IT, IT WAS A PRETTY GOOD RACE. WERE YOU SURPRISED WITH HOW GOOD THE RACE WAS AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU WON THE RACE?

“A lot of the tracks we went to last year, our car was so good that we were able to lead a lot of that race and get the win. It raced really well. I had only tested there before and it was always kind of just right around the bottom; where last year, I think they put some resin no the track or something and we were able to move up the track a far bit. It was pretty slick and you could move around. I hope it’s similar to that. I think it should be and probably even better. It seems like these Next Gen cars slide around even more, so it should be fun.”

THE NASHVILLE MARKET HAS REALLY COME TOGETHER FOR NASCAR, WITH THE BANQUET AND CHAMPIONS WEEK. IT JUST SEEMS LIKE NASHVILLE GETS PRETTY FIRED UP FOR NASCAR.

“Yeah, definitely. Nashville is a great area for racing, especially NASCAR racing. I look forward to getting there. Last year was the first event there for the Cup Series. The crowd was huge and the atmosphere in the city was great. I’m sure it will be a lot of the same.”

AFTER LAST WEEK AT GATEWAY, ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL THAT YOU MAY GET CAUGHT UP IN SOMEBODY ELSE’S PAYBACK? 

“I don’t know – you’d have to ask people if they feel the need to pay me back (laughs). I don’t know who owes me anything.”

HOW CRITICAL IS TIRE MANAGEMENT? ALSO, TOMORROW IS SUPPOSED TO BE COOLER. WILL THAT HELP WITH HANDLING AND TIRES?

“Sonoma (Raceway) has a really wore out surface, so you have to manage your tires, especially the exit of (turns) 7 and 11. I feel like that’s where you really fight grip. The more you can manage your tires, the better off you’ll be for the long run. Tomorrow being cooler will be a lot better for us in the cockpits with the cars being cooler inside. Usually when it’s cooler outside, the track is cooler and has more grip. It makes it a little bit easier to manage your stuff and things like that. It will be similar racing whether it’s 100 degrees or 78 degrees.”

NEXT YEAR’S OFF WEEKEND, WOULD YOU SPEND IT IN FRANCE VACATIONING? 

“(laughs) I would, yes. If NASCAR would allow us, for sure.”

(6/10/2022 – Alex Nieten) Watsonville, CA… Put a phenomenal race car driver in a phenomenal race car and good things are bound to happen.

That’s exactly what took place Friday night at the 36th Annual Pombo-Sargent Classic hosted by Ocean Speedway as Corey Day climbed aboard the Works Limited No. 57 and won in dominant fashion on his first night in the potent machine, taking the lead early on in the non-stop 30-lap main event and never looking back.

The triumph marked Day’s fourth with the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars in just his 18th career series start. It was also the third different car he’s won in with the series, the other two being Jason Meyers’ No. 14 and Day’s family owned No. 41. Day also became just the second driver to win multiple NARC Fujitsu Features this year after claiming the David Tarter Memorial in Chico back in April.

After the checkered flag flew, Day was quick to offer gratitude to those who contribute to making the 57 such a strong car and who presented him to the chance to pilot it– Kevin Kozlowski (car owner) and Paul Silva (crew chief).

“I can’t thank Kevin and Paul enough for the opportunity,” Day said. “This car is legendary, and to be the one picked to drive it is pretty cool.”

Originally scheduled to start third, Day lined up on the pole after the originally scheduled pole sitter, Mitchell Faccinto, suffered a broken crankshaft while lining up for the main event.

To Day’s outside was series point leader, Dominic Scelzi, and “The Dominator” got the initial jump, rocketing around the topside to lead the opening circuit.

The high line proved dominant early on a fast racing surface at the Watsonville bullring. Scelzi led the way as the front runners approached traffic within just five laps of the green flag flying. As Scelzi fought with lapped cars, Day saw his opening and pounced.

On lap eight Day carried a huge run into turn one courtesy of ripping the cushion to perfection in turns three and four and pulled the trigger on a flawless slider. Day’s momentum propelled him to such a speed that Scelzi didn’t even have a chance to try a crossover down the backstretch.

“He (Scelzi) got to traffic there and was taking it a touch to easy,” Day said of what led to the move. “He was ahead of me enough to where I had a little clean air and could run a little bit harder than he could, him being stuck behind those guys. So, I got to him and threw a slider on him, and then lap traffic was really tough.”

The traffic Day spoke of was a challenge he’d be forced to face the rest of the way as the main event went caution free. Day moved all around the quarter-mile oval to work his way by slower cars. While Day encountered some difficulties with traffic, the drivers pursuing him, Scelzi,

Willie Croft, and Justin Sanders, we’re busy battling each other and traffic and unable to erase the deficit.

As their war raged on for runner-up, Day cruised away and the laps dwindled.

Day wound up taking the checkered flag with a 2.905 second advantage over Scelzi.

“Getting through traffic definitely wasn’t easy,” a winded Day said to sum up the race. “But, I was just trying to pick off as many as I could to have a good buffer between me and second, and it worked out. There were a couple times there where I tried the bottom and blew it there off (turn) four, and I figured Dominic or Justin, I didn’t know who was running second, would be right on me, but they weren’t. I’m super pumped.”

Scelzi’s runner-up finish marked his ninth consecutive top-three to begin the NARC campaign as the Red Rose Transportation/Whipple Superchargers No. 41 seems incapable of missing the podium this season. He’s the first to string together nine straight NARC podiums since Kyle Hirst in 2018. While he’s enjoying the consistency, Scelzi couldn’t help be a little disappointed to miss out on a possible win.

“He (Day) did an awesome job,” Scelzi said. “I just got into traffic, and I don’t really think we got too tight. I think he just did a better job in traffic… At the end of the day, Corey got by the lapped cars and we didn’t and ran second. I’m kind of tired of running second. That’s like three in a row, so let’s get back to getting first-places in a row.”

Completing the podium was Willie Croft in the Amerikote Powdercoating/Holey Smokes BBQ No. 29 as he held on for the good finish even after late contact with the fence. Croft now has five straight series top-fives and podiums in four of his last five races as he continues to chase down Scelzi for his first title.

“I got a little high in the marbles here off of (turn) four and tried to just skim the wall but hit it harder than anticipated,” Croft explained. “But overall everything was good. We had a great car all night. My guys did a great job… It’s a little hard to make up points when Dominic’s on the podium with me, but there’s a lot of races left. We’re just going to keep plugging along and just try to do the best we can every night and see what happens.”

The balance of the top-10 included Justin Sanders, Ryan Robinson, D.J. Netto, Max Mittry, Shane Golobic, Steven Kent, and Chase Johnson.

FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE (30 laps): 1. Corey Day 57 2. Dominic Scelzi 41 3. Willie Croft 29 4. Justin Sanders 2X 5. Ryan Robinson 56 6. D.J. Netto 88N 7. Max Mittry 2XM 8. Shane Golobic 17W 9. Steven Kent 37 10. Chase Johnson 24 11. Bud Kaeding 69 12. J.J. Ringo 2K 13. Kaleb Montgomery 3 14. Joel Myers Jr. 83V 15. Kurt Nelson 72W 16. Koen Shaw 88 17. Billy Aton 26 18. Gauge Garcia 21X 19. Chris Nelson 72JR 20. Logan Forler 2L 21. Mitchell Faccinto 21

HOOSIER TIRE LAP LEADERS: Scelzi 1-7, Day 8-30

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (21 cars): Corey Day 10.968

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 laps): Johnson, Faccinto, Day, Myers Jr., Nelson, Garcia, Forler

KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 laps): Scelzi, Mittry, Kent, Montgomery, Kaeding, Shaw, Nelson

DIRT.TRAVEL CLUB HEAT THREE (10 laps): Golobic, Sanders, Netto, Croft, Ringo, Robinson, Aton

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 laps): Faccinto, Scelzi, Day, Croft, Mittry, Johnson

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 10, 2022

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 TRUE VELOCITY CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Press Conference Transcript: 

AUSTIN, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING TO LEARN HERE RUNNING BOTH RACES AND HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO GET ON THE RACETRACK TODAY?

“I’m always looking forward to anytime you get extra time at a road course. For us, it has been really helpful over the last couple of years getting more laps. I feel like early in my career I didn’t do a lot of this, and I wish I had. It’s a lot of fun getting to go out there and run these trucks. Thankful for the opportunity from Tyler Young and we’ll just go have some fun with it.”

AFTER THIS RACE WE GET OUR ONE AND ONLY BREAK OF THE SEASON. YOUR THOUGHTS ON JUST A WEEK BREAK FOR A SEASON THAT STARTS IN FEBRUARY AND ENDS IN NOVEMBER.

“What a grind. I’m looking forward to the off weekend. I’ve got my vacation planned and my grandfather is already on me about getting back to work. I was like, hey I’m taking this one off weekend. I’m going to get home Sunday, well probably Monday morning very early and then Tuesday I’ll be flying to the beach and will stay there until Sunday and then get refocused again going back the next week. It will be nice to not have to worry about going to the track this coming weekend. Our schedule’s already probably one of the most brutal in sports and then you took away two of our off weekends, it makes it pretty tough. That’s what we are here to do.”

AFTER THE BREAK WE GO TO NASHVILLE. LAST YEAR, THERE WERE A LOT OF DRIVERS THAT JUST THINK THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO SEE THE KIND OF RACE WE SAW. WERE YOU PLEASANTLY SURPRISED AT HOW WELL THAT TRACK RACED?

“Yeah, I think so. I think what they did with the, they used something a little different it wasn’t just straight PJ1 or anything, they kind of ran the track in with the tire dragon and did some different stuff. I thought it was a pretty impressive race. I felt like guys were very underestimating what that track could do on the braking side of things. Everybody brought too small of a brake package, and we were blowing brake rotors. So, this year should be a little different. They will be more prepared. I think you will see another good race for sure.”

WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR, WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL THAT MAKE? WILL IT MAKE FOR A BETTER RACE ON TOP OF WHAT YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT OR NOT?

“It could. It’s funny. The race began everybody running the top I feel like, and it moves back down to the bottom by the end of it. I don’t know what to expect. That place is kind of round the bottom is the fastest lane, but if we can get the top worked in it would be nice.”

I WOULD IMAGINE DRIVING THE TRUCK VERSUS THE NEXT GEN CAR IS QUITE DIFFERENT. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE THINKING YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO LEARN FROM THE TRUCK RACE THAT YOU CAN CARRY FORWARD TO THE CUP RACE?

“I think visually is the biggest thing. I’m looking forward to seeing the track and every time, you know you only come here once a year, so every corner has a little something different. This is the old configuration that we’re kind of used to. Last couple years been working on that snake section through there kind of down the drag strip. Now I think the biggest advantage is just, you know when you have a 15-minute Cup practice you’ve got to be on your game from the drop of the time limit. For me, this is just more about visually getting my marks back and having fun. I’ll definitely learn something about the track today that I’ll take into tomorrow. The driving style will definitely be a lot different with shifting, will be the biggest thing, not having to worry as much about wheel hop.”

I WAS TOLD THAT THE DRIVERS KIND OF GOT WITH NASCAR AND THE TRACK AND THE TURTLES HAVE BEEN REMOVED, OR BUMPS IN TURN 4. ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT AND HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE RACING?

“I just don’t think you will get the good pictures that you’ve gotten in years past. It will be easier on the driver’s back. With this car it’s just so brutal when we are on this shock stops that it probably wasn’t going to work out. It was something that the drivers definitely got to try to get ahead of coming here. I think, I was really proud of NASCAR for getting that changed. It was a good communication between us and NASCAR.”

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE IN A MUST WIN IN CUP TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

“I do. I mean, I think so. I don’t think mathematically it’s not hard at all for us to get into the playoffs if there’s no more new winners. I think we are in a place where we can point our way in. I think there are going to be more winners and we need to be one of them.”

ALONG THOSE LINES, IS THERE ANY FRUSTRATION IN THE FACT THAT YOU’VE HAD MORE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN IN THE FIRST 15 RACES THAN YOU HAD ALL OF LAST YEAR BUT IT JUST HASN’T HAPPENED?

“I think so. I mean, not so much frustration. Just when is it going to happen. I feel like I’ve got a real positive mindset in that our time will come. The Good Lord has blessed us, like you said, with a bunch of opportunities this year. Charlotte, I could not sleep the next night. All week it ate away at me because we were so close and I tried to think of all the scenarios, played Monday morning QB with myself all night long. Eventually, you just have to let that go out of your mind and I did. I feel good about it. I gave it everything I had. Those opportunities don’t happen very often to win a Coke 600 and I felt like we were really close doing it for a second time.”

THEY SAY IT’S THE GAME OF INCHES, WORLD OF INCHES. MAYBE, WHAT, EIGHT INCHES OR SIX?

“Yeah, for sure. Even that I think I was more concerned with, could I have done anything different to not get loose in the center of the corner. I drove in there pretty darn deep, and I thought it was a good save, but I was kind of looking both ways because I had cars coming at me pretty fast. I didn’t know the fourth car was out there. I think the (Ross) Chastain thing is what upset it for us really. Him getting to the right rear of (Kyle) Larson because I thought we were three wide so I felt like I was going to get given a little bit of room there. I mean he couldn’t of course, so that’s the thing that got me. I couldn’t tell that he was left front to his right on the right rear quarter.”

OUR NEXT ROAD RACE IS ROAD AMERICA. COTA VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN SONOMA. ROAD AMERICA IS VASTLY DIFFERENT THAN MAYBE ANYTHING THAT WE’VE GOT. HOW MUCH DO YOU LIKE RACING THERE AND WHAT’S IT LIKE TO JUST RUN ON A COURSE THAT LONG?

“Road America is multiple times where you can mess up in a lap. It is cool to put together a lap there, because you know you mentally held it together for a long period of time. You can kind of find speed where a second is not far off at all at Road America. You can figure out a second there, which is pretty cool because not many places we go to you can say that.”

ESPN MADE AN INCREDIBLE BID FOR F1 TO GET THEIR TV RIGHTS AND MOST OF THAT WAS BASED ON THE SHOW THAT FOLLOWS THE F1 DRIVERS AROUND. YOU’VE GOT YOUR LIFE IN THE FAST LANE; WE’VE GOT SOME OTHER STUFF THAT’S COMING OUT. TALK ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE AND IF YOU THINK WE’RE BEHIND THE GAME ON PROMOTING NASCAR. WE USED TO DO THIS 10 – 15 YEARS AGO, BUT IN THOSE TYPES OF REALITY STYLE SHOWS, ARE WE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND WHAT WILL THIS DO FOR THE SPORT?

“I think any publicity is good publicity in certain aspects for our sport. I think that, yeah, getting into the lives of some of the drivers is key. What we do is not natural for anyone. The schedule, the travel, the lifestyles we live is just interesting. I’ve kind of in a way thought the whole time, why is there not more on what we do. It is interesting. I mean, we live inside this bubble where we feel like we are the main attraction each and every weekend and we are when we are in this town. There are other things that go one outside of this garage and it’s cool to get to those people that might not be tuning in on a regular basis on the weekends and try to fire them up about the sport and promote it in anyway. I think NASCAR has a really good trajectory right now. I think it’s very positive for our sport to reach other avenues. It was a grind for eight weeks for me and its still kind of lingering on. I’m still doing interviews for the show. It’s going to be cool. I’m too nervous to watch it. I’ve already been getting episodes and checking them out. I’ve heard good things and it looks pretty good.”

YESTERDAY, WE MET WITH STEVE PHELPS AND HE TALKED ABOUT OVERALL EVERY RACE WE HAVE HAD HAS BEEN GOOD, WITH MAYBE THE EXCEPTION OF ONE. DO YOU FEEL THAT WAY AND WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CHANGES IN THE SPORT, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HOW NASCAR HAS BEEN OPEN TO THOSE CHANGES?

“I think it’s good. Change is fun for fans. It’s sometimes frustrating for competitors, but in the end, we are here for the fans. I think it’s been good, and we have been very fluid. I mean going back to your thing about F1, their Netflix series definitely helped their sport, because if you look at any given weekend our racing, we have like 30 cars on the lead lap last week at St. Louis. You don’t see that in an F1 race. After the race starts, it’s kind of like there’s two people you’re talking about strategy wise, sometimes. I think that the most intriguing part to me is just their strategy because they have three different compounds of tires. Past that, our racing is the best racing in the world. I’ll put it up against anything. We complain about it when it’s good, because there’s no other form of motorsport that races like we do. That’s just my opinion.”

Six C8.R Le Mans drivers reflect on past week’s running ahead of 24 Hours

LE MANS, France (June 10, 2022) – All the testing, practice and qualifying sessions are in the rear-view mirror. Now it’s time for Corvette Racing to take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans and go for a ninth victory in the great endurance race. The two Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs will roll off first and second from the GTE Pro grid for the first time since 2010. Nick Tandy put the No. 64 Corvette on pole position in the class Thursday, followed closely by Antonio Garcia in the No. 63 C8.R. With the race beckoning and final prep work being completed, all six Corvette Racing drivers took stock of the week with outlooks heading into Saturday’s green flag…

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Now you need to put everything together… all the laps you’ve done. The last two hours of practice last night was the real warm-up of the race; that’s when you normally go and decide things about the car you will race. We have a good car, for sure. Now we have to see where the others are.”The outlook and starting at the front: “I’m not nervous. I was way more nervous last year when we weren’t in Hyperpole and were behind seven Am cars. Last year, the pressure was up. The rain at the beginning helped as we were P2 after Lap One. But I prefer it this way! We know how well the car is running. We can’t ask for a better starting point. This is the good thing about having two cars here. We have two shots in the race, and we need to capitalize on this. It would be great if we could keep it 1-2 all the way, but now there’s not much else we can do and nothing else we can ask for.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Every year, this race starts and it’s just a dogfight from start to finish. I’m excited to get things started because I know the car is quick and comfortable to drive. All of the drivers in our car are happy with it. We’ll be in a good spot, I think. For us, the name of the game is staying out of trouble, but at the same time you don’t want to lose too much time throughout. We have a good, competitive car. It feels stronger than it did last year when we finished second, so that makes things exciting.Can you control a race this long from out front? “The big thing with this race is that it’s always important to be at the front. You never know when you’re going to get a slow zone or safety car that can separate the field. In America, you can drop back and hope for a yellow to get things back. Here, you always try to maximize track position. Starting up front, you want to be up there in case one of those things happen. Looking at where we qualified, we definitely want to stay up there as long as possible to control things as much as we can and hope nothing out of our control takes that away.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I was already more confident at the beginning of this week than last year. Now after my first days of driving, I’d say my confidence level is high. It all feels really good. I can feel the team is better prepared, and I can feel that the car is in a better window. But you can never be too comfortable. Let’s see what happens in the first few hours of the race, and then we will have a better picture of what’s going on. So far, we can only focus on ourselves and I feel like what we are doing is good. The car is good. The team and drivers are well-prepared. But it’s still a 24-hour race and lots of crazy stuff can happen. Even when you have a car that is able and capable of winning, you still need to do it. People sometimes underestimate that; they think that if you have an advantage or you have the car to win, then just win it. But it’s not like that. You still have to negotiate traffic and the race for 24 hours. Let’s see, but I’m confident.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “To me it feels like we are the best prepared we’ve ever been with a car that is the best I’ve ever had at Le Mans. From that side of things, I’m excited for the race. Now saying all that, there are years where we didn’t have the best preparation and won, and there are years where we had great preparation and didn’t get the win. We’ve done everything we needed going into this. Like Le Mans always is, the race is its own separate beast. Having success will require using all the things we’ve learned so far, putting those to the test, not making mistakes and having a good, clean race. We’ve been fast in the practice sessions but performance in the race is what matters.”Preparation leading up to the race: “It’s easy to say that the WEC program has helped in the current state because we’ve had a good week. There are a few areas where you could definitely say, ‘Yes having done the WEC, we are better.’ Things like pit stops and having the chance to put those to the test at Sebring and Spa.. we saw there was room to improve there, and the team did a great job to figure out how to make them faster. That’s one area. There’s a case to be made for a lot of other areas as well, but I hesitate to say that it’s necessary to do WEC to be successful here. In a lot of ways, things feel just like they always have. The attention to detail is the same, but nothing beats experience. In my view, the team is in a good place. The crew guys are happy with where things are. It’s a good place to start from.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “This year does feel different to last year. We’ve obviously taken a step forward with what we know about this car and this racetrack. But also the basic preparation of the team being in this WEC paddock with this Corvette and these regulations, there is a bit of pressure off. It’s not a new environment anymore. It’s a familiar environment. We can really concentrate on the job. We have the experience of how to make the most out of the pitstops and with the way the sporting regulations work, which is different from how we normally choreograph pitstops. We have had it pre-organized and practiced. We know what to do with heated tires – these sorts of things with the WEC-specific tire compounds. It’s all these kinds of things that we’d normally experience for the first time. Now it’s in our pocket. You can see from the Test Day onward that it’s been much better preparation than in the past.”Preparation leading up to the race: “I’m pretty sure we’re the team that has done the most laps and done the most quality running. The race is still to come. Anything can happen. But looking at how the build-up has been the last week, we couldn’t ask for more. With qualifying both cars on the front row and having really good knowledge through practice about all the different conditions as we can experience. There isn’t a great deal extra that we could have done as a team as prepare us. We have all the basics covered. Now we need to go into the race and perform and hope for a bit of luck. The drivers are ready. The car and the team are ready. Now let’s go out and win a 24-hour race.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “The preparation has been really good. From the first moment I drove the car Sunday, I could tell there have been improvements in some places over last year. I would say the Corvette feels more hooked up in the Porsche Curves this year, for example. Last year it was already pretty good so it’s not like there were massive areas to improve, but that was one area where it feels a little more hooked up. The running so far has gone very smoothly. We’ve got through a lot of test items and setup work to get to a point where we are pretty happy having optimized what we can. I’m looking forward to getting into it in the race, seeing how the pace develops into the night and into Sunday.”Can you control a 24-hour race from the front: “With a relatively small field and a 24-hour race, it may make a little less of a difference than a longer race with a bigger field. But hopefully we can stay in front for at least a few stint. There’s always a chance that a safety car comes out in the middle of the pack, and suddenly being at the front or the back makes a huge difference. You don’t rely on that scenario, but that can happen and being in the front can only put you in a better situation. It’s always better to be at the front.”

Corvette Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV and MotorTrend Plus will air the race live. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Wednesday’s first official practice session.

It’s the Blairsville, GA driver’s Sixth Eldora Crown Jewel Win

ROSSBURG, OH – JUNE 9, 2022 –Jonathan Davenport’s racing career can be summed up in two words. Battle-tested. 

From his early struggles on asphalt to his crown jewel wins on dirt, the Blairsville, GA driver has overcome them all.  

That’s why it’s only fitting Superman” faced another battle Thursday at Eldora Speedway to conquer the wealthiest prize in dirt Late Model history. 

Davenport dominated most of the 101-lap Eldora Million, setting a torrid pace throughout the first 75 laps. However, that’s when the battle toward the checkered flag truly began. 

Tim McCreadie caught Davenport, setting up a war between the two veterans. They traded the lead back and forth for more than 20 laps with slide jobs and crossovers before Davenport got the advantage. 

“T-Mac” fell victim to a flat tire with two laps to go, bringing out a caution and setting up Davenport’s final challenge—a hungry Chris Madden searching for his first Eldora Crown Jewel win. 

As the green flag flew, Madden mashed the gas on the inside of Turn 1, inching ahead of Davenport as they thundered down the backstretch. 

However, “Superman” wouldn’t let Madden be his kryptonite, passing back the Gray Court, SC driver in Turn 3 and holding on to win the second installment of the Eldora Million—worth $1,002,022. 

Despite the million-dollar prize, the amount of money he won hadn’t set in, as he felt it was similar to his other five Eldora crown jewel triumphs. 

“I haven’t even thought about the money yet,” Davenport said. “I ain’t really going to think about that until it gets into the bank account. It’s just another crown jewel here at Eldora. That just makes it all of them I’ve won except for The Stream, and I don’t think we’ll run that again.

“It’s just an awesome opportunity to come here. This place is so great.”

Davenport, who earned $12,000 more in a preliminary win Thursday afternoon, had a game plan when he lined up next to Madden for the final restart. He knew how important it would be to get the jump off Turn 2.

“If [Madden] tried to slide me, I knew it was so rough in the center that I could turn back under him,” Davenport said. “But he was smart enough not to do that and got a good run off [Turn 1 and 2.]

“I just had to keep my composure and let off, and let his dirty air pass me, and then I could turn back under him and try to slide him at the other end.”

The Georgia campaigner’s Eldora Million win is his sixth win of the season and his sixth crown jewel win at Eldora Speedway. 

Madden finished second, passing 17 cars after starting 18th. The Gray Court, SC driver, thinks the late cautions hurt his chances of winning his first Eldora Crown Jewel.

“I think we win,” Madden said. “It’s the same old story, those guys can fire and run faster than I can but after we make green flag laps and run five or six laps we get better. 

“I keep saying this every time, but I guess it’s something to do with my package, my setup, my balance, whatever fits me. It just takes a little while to get going. We came from 20th or 19th or something to race for the win; that’s all you can ask for.”

Devin Moran, from Dresden, OH, rounded out the podium Thursday night at Eldora. He’s had his eye on the prize since the event was announced, trying to keep the race in the family name after his dad’s win in 2001.

The “Mailman” stated he thought it may have been different if he was second during the last caution. 

“I just wish we could’ve restarted second,” Moran said. “I definitely wouldn’t have been quite as nice as [Madden]. I just wanted this one so bad. 

“But this racecar was badass all day long. We had a really good piece, and we put ourselves in contention, and this is by far the best we’ve ever been here.”

Tim McCreadie finished fourth, bouncing back after a flat tire while racing with Davenport. It was something the Watertown, NY driver didn’t realize until right before it happened. 

“I must’ve ran over something; I didn’t notice it until coming for two to go,” McCreadie said. “I layed on the right rear a little bit going into [Turn 3], and it shook all the way down the front stretch. 

“I don’t think it was blistered or chunked. I just ran something over; I don’t know. It might have been going down a bunch at the end. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Chris Ferguson finished fifth, keeping the momentum from his preliminary Feature win on Thursday afternoon. Despite rounding out the top five, he was disappointed with the finish as he yearned for more. 

“Having the momentum definitely was a bit of a letdown,” Ferguson said. “After the Heat Race, I felt like I was going to be one of the fastest cars in the Feature. But sometimes you just over-adjust, and we missed it, but luckily, we have two more days.”

Jonathan Davenport solidified his climb to the top of the Dirt Late Model world with his Eldora Million Victory. The win only proves anyone who comes up against “Superman,”, especially at Eldora, must go through a battle-tested veteran to earn their spot in Victory Lane.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Late Models return to Eldora Speedway on Friday, June 10 for the 28th Dirt Late Model Dream. 

No Invert for Thursday Night’s Eldora Million Heat Races

ROSSBURG, OH – June 9, 2022 –Chris Ferguson and Jonathan Davenport have a leg up on their competition entering Thursday’s Eldora Million. 

The two Southeastern drivers took advantage of up-front starting spots to split the two 25-lap preliminary Features paying $12,000-to-win.

Along with the check, each driver also gained momentum for Thursday’s 101-lap Eldora Million—the richest race in Dirt Late Model History. 

GROUP A TWIN-25 Preliminary Feature- Chris Ferguson

For years, Chris Ferguson has put together strong runs at Eldora. However, a trip to the track’s iconic Victory Lane has eluded the Mount Holly, NC driver. 

Ferguson finally scored his first win at “The Big E,” leading every lap in the first of two Preliminary Features Thursday afternoon. He stated how important it is to be on the Eldora stage.  

“This is that moment, you know, this is where the biggest track in the world is,” Ferguson said. “We might not be the best every week, but right now, we’re standing up here, and I just can’t believe it.”

While Ferguson led every Feature lap, he still dealt with traffic. The North Carolina driver struggled toward the end with handling his Team Zero Race car.

“I could tell I had a little bit of a lead,” Ferguson said. “So, when I got in lap traffic, I struggled a little bit, but we were just a little free in dirty air.”

Chris Madden crossed the line second, a position he held throughout the event. The Gray Court, SC driver, stated he needed more balance to have a shot at passing Ferguson.

“We had a great race car,” Madden said. “We didn’t do what I thought we needed to do. I told my guys I said, well, let’s go over here and see where we’re at, but we missed our balance a little bit.”

Mike Marlar, the leading point scorer Thursday afternoon, finished third. 

The Winfield, TN driver is happy with his car after his podium run, setting fast time, and winning his Heat Race. 

“We definitely had a good car so far today, and I might be leading the points, which guarantees a spot in the Million, and that’s a good deal to do,” Marlar said.

Devin Moran finished fourth, and Shannon Babb rounded out the top five. 

GROUP B TWIN-25 Preliminary Feature- Jonathan Davenport

Jonathan Davenport is no stranger to Eldora’s iconic stage and welcomes momentum scoring a $12,000 preliminary victory. 

The Blairsville, GA driver rolled around Gregg Satterlee on a lap eight restart and paced the field for the rest of the Feature.  

However, “Superman” stated he wasn’t in the lane he would’ve chosen if he was leading. 

“I got a good restart there with Satterlee,” Davenport said. “He picked the right lane; I would’ve picked the bottom too. I just rolled into it a little bit, just kept enough speed with him, and as he was picking up the pace, I was too.”

Ricky Thornton Jr. finished second after starting fifth in the 25-lap Feature. The Chandler, AZ driver stated he’s happy with his finish after his Eldora Million almost took a downward turn earlier in the day. 

“I about killed our weekend there in Qualifying,” Thornton said. “I got to give a big shoutout to my crew; they had to get [the car] back together for the Heat Race.

“JD had a really good car, there’s just a little bit we need to work with, but we should be good for later.”

Bobby Pierce crossed the line third, followed by Brandon Sheppard and Jason Feger. 

No invert will occur for Thursday Night’s Eldora Million Heat Races after Marlar spun a zero on the Wheel of Misfortune. 

Follow live coverage and updates of the Eldora Million on all of DIRTcar’s social media channels and DIRTcar.com.

Group A Preliminary Feature (25 Laps): 1. Chris Ferguson, 2. Chris Madden, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Devin Moran, 5. Shannon Babb, 6. Kyle Bronson, 7. Mason Zeigler, 8. Shane Clanton, 9. Dennis Erb Jr., 10. Daulton Wilson, 11. Ricky Weiss, 12. Tyler Erb, 13. Ashton Winger, 14. Mark Whitener, 15. Kenny Collins, 16. Cade Dillard, 17. Frank Heckenast Jr., 18. Colton Flinner, 19. Jeep Van Wormer, 20. Wil Herrington, 21. Boom Briggs, 22. Jake Timm, 23. Billy Moyer, 24. Ross Robinson

Group B Preliminary Feature (25 Laps): 1. Jonathan Davenport, 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., 3. Bobby Pierce, 4. Brandon Sheppard, 5. Jason Feger, 6. Hudson O’Neal, 7. Tim McCreadie, 8. Darrell Lanigan, 9. Kyle Strickler, 10. Josh Rice, 11. Nick Hoffman, 12. Earl Pearson Jr., 13. Brandon Overton, 14. Jimmy Owens, 15. Tyler Bruening, 16. Johnny Scott, 17. Chase Junghans, 18. Brian Shirley, 19. Gregg Satterlee, 20. Carson Ferguson, 21. Spencer Hughes, 22. Dustin Linville, 23. Trent Ivey, 24. Ryan Gustin

Pair of C8.Rs to start 1-2 in class at 24 Hours for first time since 2010

LE MANS, France (June 9, 2022) – Nick Tandy led a 1-2 result for Corvette Racing in the Hyperpole session Thursday night ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tandy set a lap of 3:49.985 (132.538 mph) the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to give the team its first pole since 2010. That also was the last time Corvette Racing started Le Mans with two cars on the front row. Antonio Garcia sealed the effort in the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R with a time of 3:50.177 (132.414 mph). It continued a solid pre-race program for the mid-engine Corvettes, which are at Le Mans for the second time. Tandy, driving with FIA WEC full-season teammate Tommy Milner and Alexander Sims, claimed his first pole position at Le Mans. He was only 0.192 seconds clear of Garcia, who is driving with IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teammate Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg. The two Corvettes have shown impressive form since Sunday’s Test Day with the full benefit of running the WEC with the N. 64 Corvette being realized. The next goal is add another 1-2 finish… this time Sunday afternoon for the team’s ninth class win and first since 2015. Corvette Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV will air the race live with the MotorTrend Plus adding on-board footage. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans.

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE PRO HYPERPOLE WINNER:“What a fantastic day and a fantastic car. It’s great to see so many Corvette flags around the track. This is for everyone who is here to support us and here to watch us. Hopefully we can keep these two yellow Corvettes up front for 24 hours. It was great out on track. The car feels fantastic. These GTE cars are so much fun to drive when you’re out there with fresh tires and low fuel around this circuit… it’s a real privilege.””The practices have been really good. Corvette Racing knows how into and race these events. It’s been a long time since they’ve been on the top step at Le Mans. The plan is always to keep it clean, keep it fast and have a great race. The ultimate thing though is still to end up still on the track and first on Sunday afternoon.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTE PRO HYPERPOLE: “You can’t get much closer than that. It’s the first pole and first 1-2 for Corvette in quite a while. They were good runs. It was pretty difficult to know what the track was going to be like. This new format for qualifying here is just different for us. It’s the first time I did this, so I’m happy. I’m happy with how the car is running, for sure. Yesterday we were up front and we’re still up front now. It’s a nice place to start the race for sure.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

TOYOTA/SAVE MART 350

SONOMA RACEWAY

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

JUNE 12, 2022

RACE #16 – SONOMA RACEWAY

Shifting focus from a Midwest oval to a West Coast road course, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will make the cross country trek to Sonoma Raceway this weekend. The only appearance at the Northern California circuit for NASCAR this season, the doubleheader race weekend marks just the second road course race for both series in 2022 thus far. While it’s a familiar track to NASCAR, teams will be faced with a new set of unknowns, with drivers competing on a shorter course layout. Previously configured as a 2.52-mile circuit, the track is returning to a 1.99-mile course, with the incorporation of the chute connecting Turns 4 and 7. 

Chevrolet is returning to Sonoma Raceway as the defending winners following Kyle Larson’s home state victory at the circuit in 2021. In 32 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Sonoma Raceway, the bowtie brand has claimed the victory a manufacturer-leading 12 times. Chevrolet drivers have a history of success in turning left and right. Career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, leads the NCS in all-time road course wins with nine; five of which were captured at Sonoma Raceway. Those five victories also make Gordon the winningest driver in the series at the California road course.  

A MONUMENTAL HOME STATE WIN

Kyle Larson’s victory in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway was more than just a win for the Hendrick Motorsports driver. The Elk Grove, California, native swept both stage wins and led a race-high 57 laps en route to his first-career road course victory in NASCAR’s premier series. Finally getting the first road course win under his belt, Larson went on to capture two more road course victories later in the season at Watkins Glen (August 2021) and the Charlotte ROVAL (October 2021). 

In the past seven road course races for the NASCAR Cup Series, Chevrolet has captured the win at each of those events. This road course win streak dates back to Chase Elliott’s victory at the inaugural Circuit of The Americas (COTA) event in May 2021, with the most recent recorded by Ross Chastain with his first-career NCS win at the series’ return to COTA earlier this season (March 2022). 

NCWTS RETURNS TO SONOMA

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series DoorDash 250 on Saturday, June 11, marks the series’ return to Sonoma Raceway for the first time since 1998. The Northern California circuit has only hosted four NCWTS races in the track’s history, with Ron Hornaday Jr. driving Chevrolet to the win in the inaugural race (October 1995). 

The bowtie brand looks to capture the third win of the season for the Silverado RST in the 75-lap event. It will be another NASCAR Cup Series / NASCAR Camping World Truck Series doubleheader that will see a handful of Team Chevy drivers pulling double duty, including Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain and Alex Bowman. 

–       Austin Dillon will be back behind the wheel of the No. 20 Young’s Motorsports Silverado RST; his second start of the season with the team. While Dillon is no stranger to the series – previously recording seven wins and a championship title (2011) – this weekend will mark Dillon’s first-career road course start in the NCWTS.

–       Ross Chastain will return to the seat of the No. 41 Niece Motorsports Silverado RST, marking his 100th start in the NCWTS. Chastain’s most recent start in the series took place just two weeks ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he piloted Chevrolet to its second NCWTS win of 2022 and his fourth-career win in the series.

–       The No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST will be back in action this weekend, this time driven by Alex Bowman. The 29-year-old Chevrolet driver has only made three previous starts in the series in his career, most recently with the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team at COTA earlier this season. Running a partial schedule, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RST is coming off of a strong performance last weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, where 19-year-old Rajah Caruth captured the attention of many after piloting the team to an 11th-place finish in just his first-career NCWTS start.

After suffering injuries during a late-race incident at World Wide Technology Raceway last weekend, Carson Hocevar will have fellow Chevrolet driver, Daniel Saurez, on standby as a relief driver for the No. 42 Niece Motorsports Silverado RST. Hocevar is entering the Sonoma race weekend in the eighth-position in the NCWTS driver points standings. Both Hocevar and Suarez will get time behind the wheel during the NCWTS practice session on Friday. Of Suarez’s 28-career NCWTS starts, he has posted one win (Phoenix Raceway; 2016), 10 top-five’s and 16 top-10’s. 

CAMARO SS WIN STREAK TO SIX

In an eventful debut for the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) at Portland International Raceway, Chevrolet extended its win streak after AJ Allmendinger piloted the Camaro SS to its sixth-consecutive victory. The win didn’t come easy for the 40-year-old Kaulig Racing driver, with his day starting at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments. Proving his nickname as the road course ringer, Allmendinger overcame two off course incidents, working back through the field to take the checkered flag for the second time this season. The triumph is Allmendinger’s 12th-career NXS victory and his eighth-career NXS road course win. The win in the inaugural event also marks Allmendinger’s third-consecutive NXS road course win, a feat that ties the series record previously posted by Terry Labonte. 

Not only was this road course circuit a new venue for the series, but Mother Nature played a vital role in on-track action throughout the weekend. While qualifying was cut short due to heavy rainfall, tricky weather conditions carried over to race day. Starting the race on rain tires, varying weather conditions continued through stage two, with teams able to return to slicks for the final stage. Battling through final stage chaos, Allmendinger led a strong Chevrolet showing in the final running order, with eight Camaro SS drivers placing in the top-10. This includes a sweep of the top-six finishing positions: Allmendinger (race winner), Myatt Snider (2nd), Austin Hill (3rd), Josh Berry (4th), Justin Allgaier (5th) and Daniel Hemric (6th). Noah Gragson drove his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team to a ninth-place finish, with Alex Labbe, No. 36 DGM Racing Chevrolet, rounding out the top-10. 

With its nine wins this season, Chevrolet now has more than double the win count of competing manufacturers. Becoming the fourth driver to post multiple wins in the series this season, Allmendinger continues to lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver points standings, with a 43-point lead over second. Chevrolet drivers have taken over four of the top-five and eight of the top-10 in the NXS driver points standings. With its 23 NXS Manufacturer Championship titles, Chevrolet also continues to lead in the NXS manufacturer standings, extending its lead to 67-points heading into two consecutive off weeks. The series will be back in action at Nashville Superspeedway with the Tennessee Lottery 250 on June 25. 

STANDINGS UPDATE

Heading into the Sonoma race weekend, 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Chase Elliott, has maintained the lead in the NCS driver points standings for an impressive 11th-consecutive week. A road course favorite, Elliott looks to finish one spot better than the 2021 NCS race at Sonoma Raceway as he has his eyes set on his eighth-career NCS road course victory; a feat that would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer, Tony Stewart, for second on the NCS all-time road course win list. Elliott leads a strong list of Chevrolet drivers in the standings with two in the top-five and five in the top-10, all of which have secured a 2022 NCS Playoff berth by virtue of a win. 

Going for its 41st NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship in 2022, Chevrolet also continues to lead in the manufacturer standings by 21-points, with seven drivers among four different Chevrolet teams contributing to those points thus far. In 15 points-paying races, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in NCS race wins (7), top-five’s (36), top-10’s (70), laps led (2,234) and stage wins (15). Chevrolet drivers have claimed a series-leading 15 stage wins by seven different drivers, recorded at 10 different racetracks. 

BOWTIE BULLETS

·       Active NASCAR Cup Series drivers who have previously won at Sonoma Raceway:

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 (2021)

·       Road course favorite, Chase Elliott, has recorded seven road course victories in his NASCAR Cup Series career; the most of all active NCS drivers. Elliott also ranks third on the NCS all-time road course wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine wins) and Tony Stewart (eight wins). Those victories have been recorded at five different road courses, a record in series history.

·       In the seven road course events on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Chevrolet captured the victory in six of those races. With only one road course race in the books so far in 2022, Chevrolet continued its road course success with Ross Chastain capturing his first-career NCS win at COTA in March.

·       Chevrolet leads the way in NASCAR Cup Series pole wins at Sonoma Raceway with 16. Of the three active NCS pole winners include Kyle Larson, who leads that group with three poles (2017, 2018, 2019). Larson is one of just four drivers in NCS history to have posted consecutive pole wins at Sonoma Raceway.

·       Career Chevrolet driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Jeff Gordon, leads the series in NASCAR Cup Series wins at Sonoma Raceway with five wins (1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006). Gordon is one of just two drivers that have posted consecutive NCS wins at the Northern California road course circuit.

·       Of the 32 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet has recorded a manufacturer-leading 12 of those wins, including the most recent by Kyle Larson in 2021. The bowtie brand also leads in pole wins at the Northern California road course with 17.

·       Kyle Larson’s home state win at Sonoma Raceway in 2021 marked his first-career road course win in NASCAR’s premier series. Larson went on to win two more road course races later in the season at Watkins Glen and the Charlotte ROVAL.

·       William Byron leads the NASCAR Cup Series in total laps led thus far this season with 570. Two other fellow Chevrolet drivers join Byron in the top-five of that list, including Chase Elliott in second with 445 laps led and Ross Chastain in third with 426 laps led.

·       With 15 NASCAR Cup Series races complete in the 2022 season, Chevrolet continues to lead all manufacturers in NCS wins (7), top-five’s (36), top-10’s (70), laps led (2,234) and stage wins (15).

·       Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 15 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins:

Tyler Reddick 2 – (Fontanax2)

Alex Bowman 1 – (Las Vegas)

Ross Chastain 3 – (Las Vegas), (Darlington), (Charlotte)

William Byron 3 – (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega)

Daniel Suarez 2 – (COTA), (Charlotte)

Chase Elliott 3 – (Martinsvillex2), (Charlotte)

Kyle Larson 1 – (Bristol)

·       Of the four NASCAR Cup Series drivers that have recorded multiple wins this season, two come from the Chevrolet camp: (Ross Chastain – COTA, Talladega), (William Byron – Atlanta, Martinsville).

·       Chevrolet leads the driver points standing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chase Elliott remains in the top position in the NCS standings with a 9-point advantage over second; and AJ Allmendinger continues to lead the NXS standings by 43-points. Chevrolet also remains atop both the NCS and NXS manufacturer points standings.

·       With its 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships; 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships; and 821 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR.

TUNE IN

FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota / Save Mart 350 on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series DoorDash 250 on Saturday, June 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

QUOTABLE QUOTES

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 

WHEN DID YOUR ROAD RACING SKILLS IMPROVE?  

“In 2015 when I was running the Xfinity Series, Chevrolet gave me time in Spring Mountain, Nevada and Ron Fellows and his group would teach me the basics, how to turn, how to shift. It’s just unnatural when you’re used to turning left your whole life. It’s the opposite in road course racing – the seat feeling, g-forces on your body. That was super helpful to me and I’ve just kept working on it.”

ANY THOUGHTS ON USING THE CHUTE THIS YEAR AT SONOMA VERSUS THE CAROUSEL LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS?

“I don’t really have an opinion on the chute. I’ve obviously only ever raced on the carousel at Sonoma. I remember watching guys run the chute growing up on TV, but it just adds another element for me to figure out this time.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 TRUE VELOCITY CAMARO ZL1 

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR SONOMA RACEWAY? 

“A lot of simulator time. Get in the simulator and run a lot of laps. We’ve been finding some time to do that within the busy schedule. Road courses haven’t been a strong suit for us, but they are improving, and I am very proud of that. There’s a lot of beating and banging at the end of those road courses. It seems like they’ve become rougher and rougher as we go. I’m looking forward to those challenges. I did put in a lot of work this off season.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM HAS DONE SO FAR THIS YEAR? 

“We’ve been pretty consistent week in and week out. We’re just showing up and doing our job; keeping all four tires on the ground and working hard to make the car better throughout the race. Hopefully we will have a win soon, but for now we are just doing the best we can to be consistent and earn stage points. That’s what you have to do.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 

LARSON ON RACING AT SONOMA RACEWAY: 

“I’ve always had some good speed at Sonoma (Raceway) and it’s my home track. It’s always fun to see my friends and family, and it was cool to get my first win at my home track last year. But that was with last year’s car and on the longer track. Hopefully, we can get another pole there this weekend, lead some laps and challenge for the win again.”

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

DANIELS ON THE TRACK WITHOUT THE CAROUSEL: 

“The track layout will be a different element compared to the last couple trips we’ve made there. We’ll place a little more emphasis on right-hand turns because so much focus was placed on the carousel and the left-hand turning capability of the car – and now we don’t race that portion of the track. It’s just going to race differently.”

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1 

DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GETTING BETTER ON ROAD COURSES? 

“I’ve gotten better through practice and working on the simulator. Sonoma is one that I’ve only raced at once and now we’ve changed configurations again so it’s like starting over. Hopefully, the learning period is not too large. Sonoma is an abrasive track and wears tires out.”

WHAT HAS SONOMA RACEWAY MEANT TO THE AREA THAT YOU GREW UP IN; AND WAS THERE ANYTHING ABOUT THAT TRACK THAT GOT YOU EXCITED ABOUT RACING WHEN YOU WERE A KID? 

“Well oddly enough, I never went there as a kid. It was seven hours from where I was born but it was the closest track that we had. I always watched on TV and wondered what it was like down there. I was never in Napa Valley. It’s kind of weird for me. It’s the closest one to home but it was so far away it never made sense to go. I definitely liked going there for the first time. I got to spend a couple of days exploring the area last time I raced there. I went out early and got to go home. It was cool to spend some time in the area but for me it is a weird sensation because it does feel really far from home.”

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

ELLIOTT ON RACING AT SONOMA RACEWAY: 

“Sonoma (Raceway) has been a place that has been a pretty big challenge for me in the past. Last season, I felt like it was the best I’ve ever been there. We were pretty good late in the race and I was really proud of that effort by our NAPA team. With having one road course race down with this new car and having some learnings from COTA (Circuit of The Americas), I’m hopeful that we can put together another strong run like we did last year.”

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

GUSTAFSON ON PREPARING FOR THE SECOND ROAD COURSE RACE OF THE SEASON: 

“Heading into the first road course race of the year at COTA (Circuit of The Americas), we didn’t really know what to expect. There are so many new things with this car, so many unknowns. We didn’t really get the chance to test on a road course before the season started. Chase (Elliott) had the opportunity to drive the car at Charlotte (ROVAL), but we weren’t there because we were in the middle of the playoffs. So, it was a steep learning curve for our team at COTA and I think going through that experience was good. It certainly helped us moving forward. We’ve still got to learn some things, but now I think can start working our way down the list of unknowns that we need to figure out. Hopefully, we have a better run than we did in COTA and be able to go off that for the remainder of the road courses this season.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1 

BYRON ON HOW TO APPROACH THIS SUNDAY’S RACE AT SONOMA RACEWAY: 

“I think Sonoma (Raceway) is the most different of the road courses that we race on. I feel like you have to focus more on your corner entry and exits to really be able to roll through them and get a good run off. There’s not many true braking zones, so it’s more about keeping as much speed as possible and setting yourself up for the next corner constantly. I feel like that changes what you want from the handling of your car as well. We’ve had good runs going there the last couple races, we just haven’t had the finishes to match it. We also have had to approach this race differently in the past strategy-wise and focus more on capturing as many points as possible. Coming into this race with 13 playoff points already, I think we’re in a better position to utilize a different strategy this time around.”

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

FUGLE ON HIS THOUGHTS FOR SONOMA RACEWAY:

“This is only my second time going to Sonoma (Raceway) and it will be my first with this configuration. I think we had a solid race going last year before being caught up in a late race incident and we have a good notebook to lean off of from the No. 5 car’s win. Obviously, there will still be some unknowns for this weekend, especially with this being only the second road course race with the Next Gen car. We were able to test two weeks ago at Watkins Glen (International) for the Goodyear tire test and I think we learned a lot that we can apply for Sonoma. Right now, it’s going to be all about building our notebook for this style of racing seeing as four of the next 10 races are road courses.”

TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1

DO YOU TRAIN FOR A ROAD COURSE DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU WOULD AN OVAL? 

“Not physically. Physically I train the same for everywhere. I wouldn’t even say my training is based on racing; it’s more about making sure my heart is good shape. It’s physically balanced across my body, arms, and legs so that I can take a three-and-a-half, four-and-a-half-hour workout pretty much every week. Recovery is very big for me too, so just as important as it is for me to continue working out, it’s important for me to make sure I’m getting rest and putting my brain ready to settle into more racing. There is a lot that goes into it if you want to be able to hold yourself to a standard for 38 weeks a year. It’s definitely a challenge when you only have one off weekend from February to November.”  

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 

WITH THE NEW CAR AT SONOMA THIS WEEKEND, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS? 

“I think COTA (Circuit of the Americas) was a good race and put on a good show for everybody. Hopefully the new car does the same thing in Sonoma. I’m glad we are going back to the old configuration for this weekend at Sonoma. I wasn’t a huge fan of the carousal. I think it made racing a bit tougher and more challenging to pass here and there. So, I’m happy to go back to the old configuration again. You’ll be driving hard. This car is better on road courses, so you have to drive harder. I think it’ll be just as race-y as we’ve seen, probably a bit better going back to the old layout.” 

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY/BETTER TOGETHER CAMARO ZL1 

BOWMAN ON RACING TWICE AT SONOMA RACEWAY: 

“I think it’s important to get as many laps as I can in before getting in the No. 48 Ally Chevy on Sunday. Last time we ran the No. 7 Spire truck, we had a ton of speed and I think it helped me learn the track which helped me be fast in the Cup race. Obviously, it didn’t end the way I wished, but ultimately, the experience can only make me better.”

GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY/BETTER TOGETHER CAMARO ZL1

IVES ON HIS EXPECTATIONS FOR THE RACE AT SONOMA RACEWAY:

“We had a ton of speed at COTA (Circuit of The Americas) and got collected in someone else’s mess which cost us a win. I think it’s great that Alex (Bowman) is going to get back in the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Spire truck to get more road course experience – it served him well last time. We learned a lot at COTA and Alex gained some confidence in his ability to run well on road courses, so I am optimistic for the race and look forward to getting out to Sonoma (Raceway) and redeeming ourselves on a road course.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 ONX HOMES/RENU CAMARO ZL1 

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SONOMA?                               

“Trackhouse Racing has been fast everywhere this year but we have been particularly fast on the road courses so, of course, I am very excited about this weekend in Sonoma.

We are very strong. I am just happy to be in this position. We have a great group of people, great support from everyone at Trackhouse, Chevrolet and all of our sponsors.”

WHAT WILL THE CHALLENGES BE? 

“You just have to take care of your brakes, tires. It is a track that wears out your brakes a lot. You just have to pay attention.”

GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST

“I’m looking forward to getting to Sonoma, which is a track I’ve never been to before. It’s been quite some time since the trucks last raced there, so it will be cool to scratch a new track off my bucket list. The layout is very technical, and there’s some pretty wore out asphalt there, so we should have some tire fall off to make the race interesting. I can’t wait to learn the track and I’m sure Charles will have us a solid Champion Power Equipment Chevrolet, so I look to do my part and have a good day.”

JACK WOOD, NO. 24 COOKS COLLISION SILVERADO RST

“I can’t wait to go to my home track this week in Northern California. I grew up only about an hour away from Sonoma, and there has been a lot of time and effort put in behind the scenes for this race. I think we are going to have a good chance at producing a solid run. I’m so excited to have Cooks Collision on our No. 24 Chevy this week, we will have a bunch of former employees that worked for the company over the past 40 years, so it will be great to celebrate and commemorate all of the memories from over the years.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 40

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021

Drivers Championships:

Total (1949-2021): 33

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021

Event Victories:

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)               

2022 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    

Wins: 7

Poles: 2

Laps Led: 2,234

Top-five finishes: 36

Top-10 finishes: 70

Stage wins: 15

·       Tyler Reddick (Fontanax2)

·       Alex Bowman (Las Vegas)

·       Ross Chastain (Las Vegas), (Darlington), (Charlotte)

·       William Byron (Phoenix), (Atlanta), (Talladega)

·       Daniel Suarez (COTA), (Charlotte)

·       Chase Elliott (Martinsvillex2), (Charlotte)

·       Kyle Larson (Bristol Dirt)

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 821 (1949 to date)

Poles won to date: 725

Laps led to date: 243,570

Top-five finishes to date: 4,174

Top-10 finishes to date: 8,625

Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:

           General Motors: 1,155

           Chevrolet: 821

           Pontiac: 154

           Oldsmobile: 115

           Buick: 65

           Ford: 815                                                         

           Ford: 715

           Mercury: 96

           Lincoln: 4

      Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467

           Dodge: 217

           Plymouth: 191

           Chrysler: 59

           Toyota: 166

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 09, 2022) – Progressive American Flat Track announces the Progressive Triple Crown, a unique multi-race challenge that rewards mastery over the sport’s three oval disciplines. In addition to the overall championship, this season, the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle competitors will vie for the Progressive Triple Crown by competing to collect the most combined points at three designated events. The Progressive Triple Crown will consist of the Progressive Laconia Short Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire on June 11, the Black Hills Half-Mile at Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota on August 6, and the Mission Springfield Mile Doubleheader at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois on September 3-4. The premier class rider who scores the highest points tally across that combination of Short Track, Half-Mile, and Miles will collect a $25,000 prize. “As the leading motorcycle insurer in the country, we recognize the passion, dedication and commitment riders have to the sport, making this sponsorship a natural fit,” said Todd Matthews, Progressive Acquisition Specialist. “We are excited to not only see this sport continue to grow, but also to see who comes out on top to take home this award.” The Progressive Triple Crown is the most high-profile new element of the broader partnership with series title sponsor Progressive Insurance®, but not the only one. The 2022 season also sees the introduction of the Progressive Marketplace, a new vendor area that includes a Progressive American Flat Track branded semi-trailer truck that transports various partner displays across the nation from round to round. “We’re thrilled that Progressive has further expanded their support of the series in 2022 as they continue to play an integral role in helping us grow the sport,” said Gene Crouch, COO of AMA Pro Racing. “The Progressive Triple Crown adds a new twist to the season that will both reward our athletes and add an extra dimension of drama and excitement for our fans.” Progressive American Flat Track returns to The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire on Saturday, June 11 for the first Progressive Triple Crown event, the Progressive Laconia Short Track presented by MOMS Manchester. Secure your tickets now at https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3692/.

DETROIT (June 9, 2022) — Cadillac today revealed the Project GTP Hypercar that previews the third-generation prototype race car from the American luxury brand. In 2023, Cadillac will contest the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Cadillac will be competing again on the world racing stage, and we are all thrilled to return to Le Mans after 22 years,” said Rory Harvey, Vice President Global Cadillac. “By competing in both the 2023 IMSA and WEC championships, Cadillac Racing has the opportunity to demonstrate its capability, craftsmanship and technology.” Codeveloped by Cadillac Design, Cadillac Racing and Dallara, the Project GTP Hypercar incorporates key brand design characteristics. Elements of the brand’s heritage such as vertical lighting and floating blades are present throughout and connect the Project GTP Hypercar to the future of Cadillac. Download all the Project GTP Hypercar images

“The Project GTP Hypercar is a unique convergence of form and function and showcases Cadillac’s future performance aesthetic,” said Chris Mikalauskas, lead exterior creative designer, Cadillac. “We have plenty more to come, from the upcoming race car to amazing production vehicles.” Since 2017, Cadillac has been competing at the forefront of American sports car racing in the IMSA manufacturers championship achieving numerous wins, podiums and championships in the Cadillac DPi-V.R.

“Competing for the overall win at Le Mans with an iconic American brand like Cadillac is an honor,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager. “The entire team is excited to continue building Cadillac’s racing legacy by competing against the very best internationally and in the world’s toughest race.” The new race car will be powered by an all-new 5.5L DOHC V-8 that will be paired to the LMDh common hybrid system. Cadillac’s commitment to performance is embodied in the V-Series portfolio. Its recent expansion includes the CT4-V and CT5-V sport sedans, Escalade-V as well as the track-capable CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing. The race car will begin on-track testing this summer and first race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2023. Recent Cadillac Racing achievements include:• Winning the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship three times: 2021, 2018 and 2017• Winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona four times in a row: 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017• Winning the Michelin North American Endurance Cup four times: 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017• Prior to competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Cadillac competed in the Pirelli World Challenge Championship, earning five Manufacturer Championships (2014, 2013, 2012, 2007, 2005) and five Driver Championships (2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2005).

Celebrating Dow’s 125th Anniversary with driver Austin Dillon at Road America WELCOME, N.C (June 8, 2022) – Nearly 1,900 U.S. Military Veterans will “ride” with Austin Dillon over the July 4th Holiday when he competes in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America in a patriotic No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet featuring the names of U.S. Military Veterans and active-duty military members. The 2022 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet highlights Dow’s Military Degree Equivalency (MDE) program, and the work of Team Rubicon. In addition to honoring U.S. Military veterans, RCR will recognize long-time partner Dow with a special logo on the hood of the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet in celebration of the Company’s 125th Anniversary. “I’m proud to have played a small role in Dow’s history and heritage so it means a lot to be able to help celebrate their 125th Anniversary and honor employee veterans at the same time,” said Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet. “Dow has been with me through some of the greatest moments of my Cup Series career, and their team of scientists help make our Chevys faster, lighter and more precise. It’s special to be able to reflect on the powerful effect the Dow Salutes Veterans program has had over the years, and to honor our true heroes – veterans and active-duty military – for their service and dedication.” 2022 marks the eighth consecutive year that Dow has partnered with RCR to honor U.S. Military veterans. The program began with just over 350 veterans in 2015 to nearly 1,900 this year.  “The Dow Salutes Veteran’s program with Richard Childress Racing is a very tangible and meaningful way to recognize the many contributions of Dow and RCR veterans to our country and to our companies,“ said Jane Palmieri, president, Dow Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure and Executive Sponsor of Dow VetNet. “The special, patriotic-themed No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is the perfect way to commemorate our veterans and the milestones we’re celebrating this year.”  This year’s No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet features Dow’s commitment to the service and skills that veterans bring to the workforce with a special nod to Dow’s Veterans Resource Group (VETNET) and Military Degree Equivalency (MDE) program. The program provides an opportunity for individuals with extensive military background to utilize their broad scope of training and education, leadership experience, and proven ability to perform in high-pressure situations to better transition into a successful career at Dow.  The car’s paint scheme also highlights Dow’s relationship with Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization that has been instrumental within Dow. “Team Rubicon and our veteran volunteers are thrilled to ride with Richard Childress Racing and Austin Dillon this July 4th,” said Art delaCruz, CEO of Team Rubicon. “We’re proud to partner with Dow to be a part of their continued investment in the men and women who have served this country.” Watch Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet in the Kwik Trip 250 presented by Jockey Made in America at Road America live on USA Network on Sunday, July 3 at 3 p.m. ET.

Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma Raceway … In 75 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway, Richard Childress Racing owns two wins. Dale Earnhardt claimed the first win for the organization in 1995, leading the final two laps of the race to secure the victory. Earnhardt also won the pole for that same event, the first for the Welcome, N.C.-based team. Robby Gordon won at Sonoma in 2003, leading 81 of 110 laps and holding off Jeff Gordon for the victory. RCR has racked up 14 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes since the NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at the track in 1989. The team has led 140 laps at the California road course and has completed 7,715 of a possible 7,762 laps (99.39 percent). Introducing the Carolina Cowboys … Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the PBR Team Series, an elite new league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing in games beginning in July 2022. The team is operated by Richard Childress Racing with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon serving as General Manager. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys inaugural “Cowboy Days” Home Stand September 9-11 at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster. Follow Sunday’s Action at Sonoma … The Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway will be televised live on Sunday, June 12 beginning at 4 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s True Velocity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Sonoma Raceway … Austin Dillon has made seven previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Sonoma Raceway, earning his best finish of 13th at the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course last year. In his most recent road course start, Dillon finished 10th at Circuit of the Americas in March. In addition to competing in the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend, Dillon plans to compete in the NASCAR Truck Series race on Saturday. Welcome, True Velocity … True Velocity is an advanced technology company focused on critical defense infrastructure and the modernization of small arms and ammunition. Founded in 2010, Texas-based True Velocity has more than 350 patents pending or issued on its products, technology, and manufacturing processes. Initially, the company is focused on revolutionizing the ammunition industry. True Velocity’s proprietary composite-cased cartridge provides significant logistical advantages over traditional brass-cased ammunition and gives end users unmatched accuracy, repeatability, and reliability, all in a lightweight cartridge. True Velocity products are manufactured in the U.S. in a state-of-the-art facility and are currently available to public agencies, at select retail locations, and direct-to-consumer at tvammo.com. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:How do you prepare for Sonoma Raceway? “A lot of simulator time. Get in the simulator and run a lot of laps. We’ve been finding some time to do that within the busy schedule. Road courses haven’t been a strong suit for us, but they are improving, and I am very proud of that. There’s a lot of beating and banging at the end of those road courses. It seems like they’ve become rougher and rougher as we go. I’m looking forward to those challenges. I did put in a lot of work this off season.” How do you feel like your team has done so far this year?“We’ve been pretty consistent week in and week out. We’re just showing up and doing our job; keeping all four tires on the ground and working hard to make the car better throughout the race. Hopefully we will have a win soon, but for now we are just doing the best we can to be consistent and earn stage points. That’s what you have to do.”

This Week’s Lenovo Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Sonoma Raceway … Tyler Reddick has one start at Sonoma Raceway, earning a 19th-place finish on the lead lap last year. The driver of the No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet has made 10 starts on road courses in his NASCAR Cup Series career and has tallied five top-10 finishes, highlighted by a second-place effort in 2021 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. Reddick won his first Cup Series pole position in 2021 at Circuit of the Americas.  About Lenovo … Lenovo’s story has always been about shaping computing intelligence to create a better world. With the world’s widest portfolio of technology products, we deliver our vision of Smarter Technology for All through products, solutions, software, and services that individuals, communities, businesses, and entire populations need to fulfill their potential. We serve more than 180 markets, and we own the majority of our facilities, giving us unrivaled scale, efficiency, and control of our supply chain. Our global manufacturing allows tailored offerings to regional markets and includes more than 30 manufacturing facilities, including in-house, joint venture, original design manufacturer, and contract manufacturer sites in Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, and USA. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:Do you think you’re getting better on road courses?“I’ve gotten better through practice and working on the simulator. Sonoma is one that I’ve only raced at once and now we’ve changed configurations again so it’s like starting over. Hopefully, the learning period is not too large. Sonoma is an abrasive track and wears tires out.” What has Sonoma Raceway meant to the area that you grew up in and was there anything about that track that got you excited about racing when you were a kid?“Well oddly enough, I never went there as a kid. It was seven hours from where I was born but it was the closest track that we had. I always watched on TV and wondered what it was like down there. I was never in Napa Valley. It’s kind of weird for me. It’s the closest one to home but it was so far away it never made sense to go. I definitely liked going there for the first time. I got to spend a couple of days exploring the area last time I raced there. I went out early and got to go home. It was cool to spend some time in the area but for me it is a weird sensation because it does feel really far from home.”

A dozen Chevrolet-powered IndyCars will look for Bowtie’s sixth win of 2022 DETROIT (June 9, 2022) – Chevrolet’s team’s in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will close out a hectic five-week stretch of competition this weekend at one of North America’s top road-racing destinations: Wisconsin’s historic Road America for the Sonsio Grand Prix Presented by AMR. Twelve Chevrolet-powered IndyCars – including the 2022 debut of Paretta Autosport’s No. 16 Chevrolet for Simona De Silvestro – are entered for Sunday’s 55-lap 220-mile race around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. De Silvestro and AJ Foyt Racing’s Tatiana Calderon – in the No. 11 Rokit Chevrolet – are the first female pair to compete in the same INDYCAR race in nine years, and both are on Team Chevy. Chevrolet is coming off an historic victory last weekend at Belle Isle – the manufacturer’s 100th INDYCAR win since it returned to the series in 2012 with its 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V-6 engine. The Bowtie Brand reached the mark by winning five of the first seven events of 2022 and leads the Engine Manufacturer Championship. “Everyone on our program and all of our teams have worked extremely hard during this run of events at Indianapolis, plus Detroit and now Road America,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “We’re grateful to reach the 100-victory mark with our 2.2-liter V6 engine, and there’s no place better than to start the drive to 200 than at a circuit like Road America. “It’s a circuit that presents a variety of engineering tests,” he added. “Obviously the track is very fast with long, wide-open straights but at end of these are hard braking zones for a number of 90-degree corners. Throw in high-speed corners like the Carousel and the Kink, plus a race surface that brings high tire degradation, and this will be one of the most challenging races of the season.” Road America returned to the INDYCAR schedule in 2016, and Chevrolet has won twice at the circuit since then: Team Penske’s Will Power – the winner last weekend at Detroit and the current points leader – in 2016 and teammate Josef Newgarden in 2018. In addition, Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist won at the circuit in 2020. Chevrolet also has been strong in qualifying with the manufacturer taking six of seven pole positions since 2016. Newgarden has extra incentive to win at Road America. With early-season wins at Texas Motor Speedway and the Long Beach street circuit, he heads to Wisconsin with a chance to win the PeopleReady Force for Good Challenge, which rewards the first driver to win on an oval, street circuit and road course in the same season. That driver will share $500,000 with his or her team and donate $500,000 to that driver and team’s chosen charity. Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season with the Sonsio Grand Prix at 12:55 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 12 from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160) beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com. TEAM CHEVY QUOTESPATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW McLAREN CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN SP: “I am excited to go back to Road America where I got my first pole in IndyCar. I’m looking forward to making our No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet a bit better than last year and fight up at the front.” FELIX ROSEQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN SP: “It will be good to be back at Road America. It’s where I got my first IndyCar win back in the day. Think it’s been one of our weakest tracks and I actually didn’t drive last year; but I think we’ve made some good progress since then. We know what to do to be competitive so we’re pretty pumped to get back and try to continue our streak of good speed and good results that we’ve had lately.” TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKiT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “It’s been very tough for me coming as a rookie with very little testing. So I think we have improved particularly, like, in the road courses where I can, like, explore the limit of the car a little bit more. These street circuits are really tough here, compared to Europe even or some other places. The bumps that you experience in Detroit, for example, I think that’s unique from INDYCAR that you can have all these kind of tracks. I’ve been enjoying suffering a little bit, as well. It’s tough, but we like the good competition. Yeah, hopefully once we get to places where I’ve been before, like Indy GP again, Mid-Ohio where I tested for the first time last year in July, to go to familiar places, I hope that our performance can continue to improve.” SIMONA de SILVESTRO, NO. 16 CHEVROLET, PARETTA AUTOSPORT: “I think the last time I was at Road America was 2009. For me, the expectation, I think at the end of the day you want to do the best job you can. I think we have to be realistic as well. We have not tested. It’s the middle of the season, all these guys and girls have been running half the season already. We need to see where we kind of stack up. I think for me in a sense, I’m really looking forward to getting back in an IndyCar. So from that point of view I think I’ll push quite hard to get up to speed as quickly as I can.” CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Road America is such a classic event for our sport. To be partnered with Paretta Autosport this weekend as well is really nice. Having three drivers under our banner will help us collect a good amount of information and hopefully lead to us being as strong as we can be! We’ve had three solid races in a row and want to keep adding points to the board and keep this positive momentum going!” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 DIRECT SUPPLY CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING: “Road America is my favorite track, it’s been two years since I’ve last driven there so I am excited for this weekend! The track suits my driving style and the team has made huge progress. It should be a good weekend, especially with Direct Supply on the car! I’m really ready to get back on track there with all of my bones in the right place places this year!” CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 DYNAMIC EDGE CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING: “Having spent a week out of the car obviously in Detroit, looking at the racing from a slightly different angle, I can happily say I am going to be back in the car for Road America. I have been cleared by the INDYCAR Medical Team. We looked quite extensively at my hand and the risk of further damage is a lot lower. It’s still a factor, but the track surface in Road America is a lot less bumpy than Detroit. Looking at Road America, I haven’t been there yet, but it’s a good high speed fun track and quite long as well. There are some good overtaking zones, so it should be a fun weekend with a lot of action. I am super excited to get back in, coming off the momentum we had at the INDY GP we should be on for a good weekend.” BY THE NUMBERS: Chevrolet in INDYCAR· 1: Chevrolet’s position in the INDYCAR Engine Manufacturer standings after seven races· 2: Consecutive front-row starts in the Indianapolis 500 for Rinus Veekay of Ed Carpenter Racing· 2: Wins at Road America for Chevrolet-powered teams since 2016, when INDYCAR first raced at the circuit.· 3: Team Chevy drivers in this year’s race who have previously won at Road America in INDYCAR: Will Power (2016), Josef Newgarden (2018) and Felix Rosenqvist (2020).· 4: Consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin won the pole and race at St. Petersburg. Penske teammate Josef Newgarden won at Texas and Long Beach, and Pato O’Ward was victorious at Barber Motorsport Park for Arrow McLaren SP· 6: Different Chevrolet drivers to win races dating back to the start of 2020. Scott McLaughlin was the most recent at St. Petersburg· 6: Number of Manufacturer Championships in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012· 6: Number of Team Chevy Driver/Entrant championships since 2012· 9: Wins from pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver· 14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including past 11 with Chevrolet· 18: Wins by Roger Penske-owned entries in the Indy 500 since 1972· 26: Wins by Will Power since 2012. All have come with Chevrolet, giving him the most of any driver with same manufacturer· 39: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver· 100: Chevrolet victories in NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012· 109: Earned poles by Chevrolet since 2012· 172: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR

Garcia, Tandy among GTE Pro leaders in first official practice, qualifying sessions

LE MANS, France (June 8, 2022) – Both Corvette Racing entries advanced Wednesday to the Hyperpole final qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the pair of mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs continuing their strong showing from Sunday’s Test Day. Antonio Garcia, driving the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, was the second-fastest driver in an ultra-competitive GTE Pro category with a lap of 3:51.132 (131.855 mph). A three-time Le Mans winner, Garcia was only 0.133 seconds off the class-leading pace of Laurens Vanthoor. Nick Tandy wasn’t far behind in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. His best lap of 3:51.491 (131.669 mph) put him comfortably inside the top-six, as the six fastest cars in each class from Wednesday qualifying advance to Thursday’s 30-minute Hyperpole session. Wednesday’s five hours of practice saw all six Corvette Racing drivers cycle through the C8.Rs. Aside from a brief heavy shower during the qualifying session and a couple of slow zones in the two-hour night session, neither of the Corvettes lost significant running time due to technical or mechanical issues. Corvette Racing will contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV will air the race live with the MotorTrend App adding coverage of official practices and qualifying Thursday. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Wednesday’s first official practice session.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – SECOND IN GTE PRO QUALIFYING: “It was a good day and so far the car is good. We had a clean run in free practice to validate a few things we had in mind and putting things together from the Test Day. You always get a little nervous with this new qualifying format because in an hour, anything can happen. We saw that last year when I got caught with a ton of red flags and slow zones. I knew we had the speed but you had to put down a lap or two, to be sure. We did it and did it early enough with the unexpected rain. I couldn’t believe that after I went out for my second run that the team told it was raining hard. Even at Pit-In, there were zero drops. It was another Le Mans qualifying, and tomorrow is the real one. The important thing was to run as much as we could tonight and again tomorrow. We have five more hours of free practice left. Let’s see if we can improve things even more.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FOURTH IN GTE PRO QUALIFYING: “Raceweek is always a little bit different from the Test Day. That’s always the first day when the public roads are opened up to us and the rubber from the tires start going down. We’re pleased to see that the car is still in really good shape from the test. We’re continuing to work through and figuring out what tire compounds we want to be running at certain times. So far, the practice is going well. In qualifying, the key aim of course was to get both cars into the Hyperpole. We managed to get some idea of what we need to do to gain a bit more performance for Hyperpole. From our side, it’s been a pleasing day. Everything that we have worked on has made sense with what we hoped would happen with the car. Hopefully the rest of the week will go as smoothly as today.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES

SONSIO GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA

ROAD AMERICA

ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 8, 2022

SIMONA DE SILVESTRO, NO. 16 PARETTA AUTOSPORT CHEVROLET, AND TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT CHEVROLET met with members of the media via ZOOM to discuss the upcoming race at Road America.

THE MODERATOR: This weekend the NTT INDYCAR SERIES back at it heading to the historic 4.0 mile road course at Road America. For the first time in some nine years two women will be competing in a significant number of races during the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. 

This weekend Simona de Silvestro returns to the series, first of several races in 2022, as Paretta Autosport expand their program this year after doing the one-off Indy 500 last year. She will drive the No. 16 Paretta Autosport Chevrolet.

Preparing for her sixth start of the season, driver of the No. 11 Rocket A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet, it’s great to have Tatiana Calderon with us as well.

Simona, certainly you’ve been in the simulator, this is a program that was announced in April with KiwiCo onboard. How excited are you to get to Road America?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I’m super excited to get back in the car. Yeah, it’s been a while since we announced it, so there was a lot of time to think about it, maybe overthink it. Talking a lot with the engineers and stuff like that. I’m just really glad to be in the week of the race now, kind of just getting down to work and get going.

So, yeah, I can’t wait to be back in an INDYCAR. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now, especially on the road course. So, yeah, pretty excited about it.

THE MODERATOR: Obviously Paretta Autosport, Female-Forward team, bringing back most of the team both over the wall and when it comes to the commercial side as well.

Even those no longer with the team, Caitlyn Brown, she did the inside front tire last year’s 500, she is now with Scott McLaughlin’s car as a junior mechanic. Lauren Sullivan is now a coordinator with Team Penske. Madison Conrad did the inside right tire. She is now involved in NASCAR.

The women’s program that has and is working providing a lot of opportunities. So I guess the question is, how excited are you to see what this next step looks like with Paretta Autosport?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Like you just said, I think it’s really important. I think what Beth has put together last year, just doing the Indy 500 with these women, seeing three of them really kind of taking off and doing some really important jobs on some other teams, I think it just really gives a lot of credit to her.

I think if she wouldn’t have put this program together, I don’t think these women would be in those positions now. I think that’s something really special. I think it’s something that Beth can really be proud of.

For me as well, I think the last seven years I’ve always tried to come back to INDYCAR. It was really a struggle, to be honest, to get a seat or something like that. Trying really hard to do it because I think for me INDYCAR is very special and I think it’s something that really suits me, where I really wanted to race.

She putting this program together, especially now doing more races, I think it’s really important, a really big step forward actually for us as well, just to see how we’re doing, and hopefully we can really build on this and become full-time.

Yeah, I’m super pumped. She’s an amazing person. I wouldn’t be here without her from that point of view. I think all of the women involved, me, myself, the other ones, I think we’re pretty grateful for her really fighting for this and getting it going.

THE MODERATOR: Also welcoming Tatiana Calderon. Tell us about the first few races this season for you and what you are learning and continue to learn about the race team and about the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

TATIANA CALDERON: Yeah, first of all I’m super happy to see another female driver joining the grid, to see women in motorsport. I think it’s great for the series, great for the sport. Is another very competitive driver joining the grid that is already quite competitive. Yeah, looking forward to see Simona and compete against her this weekend and in the next couple of rounds.

But also, you know, it’s been very tough for me coming as a rookie with very little testing. So I think we have improved particularly, like, in the road courses where I can, like, explore the limit of the car a little bit more. These street circuits are really tough here, compared to Europe even or some other places. The bumps that you experience in Detroit, for example, I think that’s unique from INDYCAR that you can have all these kind of tracks.

I’ve been enjoying suffering a little bit, as well. It’s tough, but we like the good competition. Yeah, hopefully once we get to places where I’ve been before, like Indy GP again, Mid-Ohio where I tested for the first time last year in July, to go to familiar places, I hope that our performance can continue to improve

.

THE MODERATOR: That’s what makes the championship all the more special and difficult because of all the disciplines involved.

It’s back to Road America really for both of you. Simona, you were in Atlantics in 2007, 2008, and Tatie in the old Star Mazda Series. Your thoughts about going back to a big track like Road America?

TATIANA CALDERON: I think it was 2011, 2012. All I remember was the carrousel and I really liked the track because it reminds you of, I don’t know, like Spa-Francochamps or something, flowing elevation changes.

I will be in the simulator just to remind myself of all the corners and stuff. Yeah, happy to be back in a road course. I think everyone enjoys Road America quite a lot, so looking forward to the weekend.

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

Q. Tatiana, through now a handful of races in your rookie INDYCAR season, do you feel like you have a grasp of where you’ve improved the most so far as well as maybe one or two areas that you’re supremely focused on trying to improve as the season goes on?

TATIANA CALDERON: Yes, certainly. I think the first time I did more than 20 laps in the car was, like, in the race in St. Petersburg. Then to understand a little bit the tires like I’m used to, like Pirelli, the Yokohama I was running in Super Formula a few years back. It’s a very different type of tire and style I think you need in INDYCAR.

Just getting a little bit of the specific style for this type of car, a bit heavier, but good power. I think it took me a little bit longer than I would want to. Also because we started with the street circuits. It’s a little bit more challenging to explore the limit of the car when you know the wall is right there, and if you miss the track time in a place like this.

Yeah, I think just understanding a little bit more of the car behavior and the tires is what will bring me more performance towards the end of the year.

Q. Simona, you’ve done full seasons in INDYCAR, but it’s been a long time. What do you feel like is a realistic expectation for you and the team?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, I think the last time I was at Road America was 2009. Yeah, it’s been quite a while.

But I don’t know. For me, the expectation, I think at the end of the day you want to do the best job you can. I think we have to be realistic as well. We have not tested. It’s the middle of the season, all these guys and girls have been running half the season already. We need to see where we kind of stack up.

I think for me in a sense, I’m really looking forward to getting back in an INDYCAR. So from that point of view I think I’ll push quite hard to get up to speed as quickly as I can.

Yeah, I don’t know. I think if we do our job correctly, I think we can be on the competitive side for sure. I don’t think we can win the race or be a podium. I don’t think. I think that’s really unrealistic. Even if we see Will qualifying 16th and stuff like that, I think the field is super deep.

From that point of view, yeah, I think we have to be realistic. We just need to do our job correctly and just kind of, yeah, keep chipping away at it, finishing the race. I think if we do everything correctly, I think the race could be all right.

Q. A decade or so ago it was more common to see a handful of women racing in INDYCAR. Nine years since we had two or more outside the Indy 500. What do you feel getting back to a trend where we see women racing in INDYCAR on a more regular basis, what that can potentially do for the growth, from the fan side or potential future driver side?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I think, like you said, for me personally, when I got into INDYCAR in 2010, there were quite a few females. Danica was driving. We were quite a few.

It’s interesting the last few times it hasn’t really happened. I think in a sense, seeing at a top level it’s only going to be the two of us, but I think the trend has changed a little bit, there’s some up-and-coming. If you look at the junior series, I think it’s much more common to see female drivers, which I think is really positive.

But for sure, I think being the two of us in a top series, also hopefully get results, I think it can encourage even more girls to go driving and all that. I think it’s really important that we are able to be competing in INDYCAR, yeah.

TATIANA CALDERON: I saw you race when I was doing Star Mazda. I look up to Simona, Danica. There was Bea at some races when I was there, as well. It’s a shame it was a long period the last couple of years that we hadn’t had somebody in the top level of single-seaters.

I think sometimes you have to see it to believe it, for the young generation to say I want to be in INDYCAR, because there are females that can compete against men in a very competitive championship.

I hope that together we can keep that momentum going and to see more females starting also in single-seaters because at the end that’s what we need. It’s a circle, so hopefully there will be more and more joining us in the future, and we can stay and represent women in the best possible way.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, did you look up to Simona, watch her drive?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: You make me feel old (laughter).

TATIANA CALDERON: Let’s just experience looking at that (smiling).

She was doing so well. I wanted to be in INDYCAR watching her and Danica being very competitive. I think great news to have her back, to have more females. The more the better. The more normal it becomes.

THE MODERATOR: You’re both way younger than any of us on the call, so don’t go there, Simona.

Q. Simona, an unusual situation where when you leave a series for seven years and come back, the car isn’t often the same. I guess the chassis is the same fundamentally but a lot of changes to the car. What are you feeling like is going to be your main challenge this weekend, what aspect of the car will be most difficult?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, in the sense when I’m in the car, it feels pretty similar because, like you said, it’s the same chassis. But definitely with the aeroscreen it seems the behavior of the car has changed quite a lot, as well as looking at the onboard looks different than how I used to drive it.

To be honest at the moment, I haven’t driven it. I’m a bit maybe overthinking sometimes a little bit. I need to go into the weekend and see what we got.

The good thing is it’s been quite a while. I think in a sense I won’t really remember how it really felt like so I can start from a blank sheet and work from there. I think a lot of the guys who have been running a lot, I think the aeroscreen changed that a lot. I think they’ve been trying to get the feel they used to have without it. In that sense for me it’s been so long that maybe I’ll just hopefully adapt to it a little bit quicker.

But the other thing, I only haven’t done a really long race, like an INDYCAR race in a while. I did GT last year where I think we were in the car for like 45 minutes. I think that’s going to be interesting to be back in the car for two hours.

I don’t know. For me, I feel like a little kid again getting to drive an INDYCAR. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten how to drive so I think we’ll be okay.

Q. Can you tell us who your engineer is? Have you been able to establish a relationship there?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, little bit. I actually was in Detroit with the team as well, with Ed Carpenter Racing, kind of integrating. I know a few guys there that I worked with in the past, so that’s kind of positive.

John Gentilozzi is going to be my engineer. He’s really well-integrated in the team. I think the guys they have there are really strong. From that point of view, even my teammates, I think they’re really strong. I can just kind of feed off them, try to get up to speed as quickly as I can.

I know they are quick and that will help as well.

Q. Simona, right now the plan is still Road America, Mid-Ohio and Nashville for you this year, no other races at this point?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Correct, yes. At the moment it’s those three that we announced.

Q. Because Beth wants to obviously build out Paretta Autosport, Female-Forward, how has the dynamic changed with the female personnel, given three of last year’s members of the team have left? Have they been replaced with other females? What’s the female dynamic right now?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, so there’s a few that are coming back. Like you just said, three of them left and got different opportunities, which I think is really positive.

But I think what Beth really is going to try to do is really find more girls that can kind of train, train with Carpenter, kind of build them in. Just actually giving them their, let’s say, first step into it.

I think she’s been able to do that last year. I think that’s kind of how she’s looking at it: giving the first step. Hopefully they will grow enough within the team that we can start really running with those girls and kind of they can really do the changing tire and all that, really be pointed out to be left front or something like that.

But that will take a little bit of time now, especially with our new association with Carpenter. This is all kind of a work in progress. But hopefully with this year and having even more races next year or something like that, this is really kind of the first steps towards that goal.

Q. Simona, how beneficial was it for you to be integrated with ECR in Detroit? What do you think you learnt over that weekend that you can bring forward to Road America this weekend?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Quite a lot. I think the biggest thing was just the process of the race with strategy and all that. It was actually cool to be on the timing stand because in my career I never really did that because I was always driving. You kind of see a little bit all the stuff behind the scenes, you kind of learn and understand a little bit more what the engineers are going through, things like that. That was good.

Also kind of just getting back to how an INDYCAR race unfolds. I haven’t been around it for a long time. It was just good to see how this kind of all works.

It’s still pretty similar to what how I’m used to, but I think it’s always good to get a bit of a refresher, let’s say.

Q. Tatiana, Kyle had a great race on Sunday. What do you think the race on Sunday is going to do for the team’s confidence this weekend going into Road America?

TATIANA CALDERON: I think it’s a very different type of circuit, and the setup will be completely different to a street circuit. Yeah, I think Seb, we were looking a little bit on his data, the comments he had from the car back in Road America. I think we have a good baseline to start off with.

Obviously, you know, every year every driver is a little bit different in terms of what they like of the car.

But, no, I’m happy. I’m confident the team has been very motivated to keep trying to move up the grid. Yeah, I’m happy with my engineering group and everybody just really listening to my comments and trying to make it better for me.

Hopefully we’ll have an entertaining weekend.

Q. How are you feeling about getting back into a road course race after almost seven years? What are your thoughts about not getting a 500 drive but a three-race program for 2022?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: You know, I’m really looking forward to get on a road course, street course, because I think that’s really where I’ve in the past my strength in a sense. So from that point of view it just gives me a bit of confidence. When I look back at races, I was kind of all right, so I think I can get there again. That’s pretty positive.

I think getting the three races instead of the 500, in a sense it makes a lot of sense. I think the situation we would have been in, Ed couldn’t run a fourth car, there wasn’t enough people to run a fourth car, so it didn’t really make much sense to really try to do something that wasn’t really possible to do just to do the 500.

Coming up with those three races I think in general, as well, to where Beth wants her team to go, how she wants to grow it, I think it makes a lot of sense for us to be a bit more on track as well, getting this experience.

Also all the women that are involved, to get to experience different things, hopefully we’ll get some momentum through that to do this.

Q. Simona, being out for a bit, a lot of talk has been about the road course. Do you think the physicality of the race will be much of a challenge for you?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Well, I’ve been training really hard the last few months. I think for sure when you don’t drive for a while, yeah, I think there’s always being fit, but then there’s driver fit. I would ideally for sure liked to have had a test day to be in the car, seat position, all that. Right now we did everything at the shop and I’m going to go in the first session, and hopefully it will all be good. I think having a test day would have been really good.

But, yeah, I don’t know. I’ve trained a lot. I’ve been in racing for a long time. Hopefully what I’ve done is enough. Yeah, you know, for sure I think it won’t be a walk in the park. I think these cars are quite tough to drive. You don’t have power steering, things like that. The carrousel, it will be quite a lot of Gs going in.

For sure it’s not going to be super easy, but at the end of the day I’m a racing driver. When opportunities like this come up, I need to be ready for it, and hopefully I am.

Q. You’re a racing driver. Put your INDYCAR racing hat on. Do you see yourself as a female INDYCAR driver or an INDYCAR driver who happens to be a female?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yeah, well, definitely more the second one. I think for me throughout my whole career I’ve always just been a driver. You know what I mean? I think for sure as the years went on, I realized I definitely can have an impact as well because I just kind of went my way. I didn’t care that I was a girl, I just wanted to be a racing driver, I wanted to win races. That’s how I went about it.

In the sense I think racing is a great platform to show that you can compete against the guys. I think I’ve shown that in the past. I think that’s a really important message. Also I think in business and all that, if somebody is good enough, they should get the opportunity.

I think that’s something I’ve always fought for. I’m still fighting for this, to really show that, yeah, anything is possible. Yeah, for sure it’s not an easy walk and stuff like that, but hopefully if we get good results I think it will create even more opportunities for young girls to follow their dream and not be afraid to try something different.

Q. Tatiana, would you mind answering that one, too, on the gender part.

TATIANA CALDERON: I totally agree with what Simona said. I feel like a racing driver first who happen to be female. I think it’s the same way Simona has done it: you have to be measuring yourself against the best to be better. I think in this sport is one of the only sports where we can compete in equal terms. We can prove that we can do the same job or better than anybody.

It’s been just more about having those opportunities and maybe sometimes you have to knock the door, use some other tools that you have has a female, and explore those because that’s something you have.

But certainly I hope that having more females at the top level and doing well will then open more doors for the generation that comes underneath us because it’s not easy to get those chances.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, obviously when you go through a paddock area and see little girls, young women that aspire to do racing, maybe haven’t thought about racing as a place of employment or job opportunity, there’s a connection you guys make that no one else in the paddock can make. Do you sense that, feel that? How important is that and how special is that?

TATIANA CALDERON: Oh, absolutely. I think that’s one of the things I love most about American racing, that the paddocks are open for more kids, for more people so you can interact with some of the little girls. Just a handshake or a picture can change their view on the sport. That’s something you feel with their parents, as well. It’s like, Look, this is a girl, you can do this.

It’s been really nice to experience that kind of thing. With little changes you can maybe change the perception of somebody or get them interested. I have felt that more in America than in any other place. So hopefully we start to change some stereotypes and some beliefs and we get more young girls involved very early on because I think you need that in sport as well, to start early.

THE MODERATOR: Simona, you agree?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I totally agree with Tatiana, what she says. If I look at myself when I was younger, I didn’t really realize, but in a sense I have, like, a really big impact in making people believe that really they can do anything.

I think also seeing the women that are in the team, that there is a lot of opportunities out there, not to be afraid to go that way.

I think sports is the perfect platform. Especially I think INDYCAR is the perfect platform because it’s quite accessible to fans. That makes it really special.

Q. How do you see the future of women in motorsport? Do you think in the future they will be more opportunities or do you think it will be maintain those opportunities? We know Tatiana has been in the past few years in important championships around the world. We’re seeing more girls in junior categories. How do you see the future in these important categories around the world like INDYCAR, F2? Will women be more competing there more than now?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Well, I hope so. I think it’s still a bit of a fight in the sense, yeah, if I look at my career, I think in 2013 I was really kind of at the top where I should be. I was really competing up front in INDYCAR.

To be honest, there wasn’t really an opportunity to go into a bigger team. I think that still is something — I think that we need to fight for. I think if we are able to be really competitive, I think the last 10 years things have changed a lot, that there is in a sense more people willing to maybe take a risk. I think it’s still a bit of a work in progress.

I think we still need to prove that every weekend we can be running up front and get those results. Hopefully that will even pus

h more opportunities for women to really be at the top level in racing.

TATIANA CALDERON: I agree 100%. We need more opportunities with more females starting. It’s a long process. I think it’s been changing, but not at the speed we would like it to change.

Like Simona said, I think we still need that big opportunity. Look at Formula 1 as well, 45 years since a female was on the grid, right? In Formula 2 there has not been that many. We still need to get more opportunities at all levels, not just as drivers.

I definitely see people want female drivers more and more, to give us more opportunities. Hopefully we will see them in the upcoming years. But, yeah, it’s a long process.

Q. Is there any chance to speed that process that you’re talking to, what would it be?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: I don’t know. In racing definitely money makes a big difference. If you have sponsors that are really helping teams that also really want to see you successful, I think that will really I think push things forward.

At the end of the day, if I look back, like I said before, I think in ’13 I finished in front of Josef in the championship. He ended up going to Penske and then won the championship two times.

At the end you need to get the right shot, you need to get people behind you who really want to support you. I think as a female driver, we do get the opportunities, but I think also sometimes it’s really quick when we have a bit of a bad season, not get dropped but the support then isn’t really right away.

I think with some guys, they get more chances at it. I think that is sometimes something we fight a little bit more for, what is a bit trickier in that sense to navigate.

For sure I think if you find good sponsors, a really good team that wants you around, wants you to succeed, I think we can really change that.

THE MODERATOR: Tatiana, the scrutiny is a little different, isn’t it?

TATIANA CALDERON: Sorry?

THE MODERATOR: The scrutiny is a little different, to Simona’s point, that maybe a weekend that doesn’t go as well as you would like is looked at differently.

TATIANA CALDERON: Yeah, you know, sadly that’s the way it is sometimes. We get judged in a different way that maybe some guy does a mistake, it was a mistake, but if it’s a female driver then it’s because she’s a female sometimes.

But I think we’ve been changing that perception. Like I said, I think it’s just taking time and getting those opportunities to perform at a really high level with a really good team behind you.

It’s about also the management side believing truly in what we can achieve in a good sort of team atmosphere. Yeah, at the end of the day performance is all what matters. Hopefully we can show that and earn those opportunities once we are up there.

THE MODERATOR: Simona, what do the next 24, 48 hours look like? Are you going to be in the simulator tomorrow?

SIMONA de SILVESTRO: Yes, I’ll be in the sim getting through all the procedures and all that, then on Thursday I’ll be going to Road America, so looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: The countdown is on. We’ll wrap things up from here.

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (June 8, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi returns to King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series competition this weekend with a 45-point lead in the championship standings.

Scelzi has recorded a podium result during each of the first eight series races this season and he’s hopeful that streak continues on Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., during the 34^th annual Pombo-Sargent Classic and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., during the 31^st annual Dave Bradway Jr. Race.

Scelzi has one series victory at each track, winning at Ocean Speedway in 2019 and at Placerville Speedway during the Dave Bradway Jr. Race last season.

“I feel pretty good,” he said. “Historically, Watsonville has been one of my best tracks, but it’s changed so much the last few years it’s hard to know what to expect. This year we haven’t been there so it will be interesting. Last year I think those were our two worst NARC runs with a DNF and an 11^th so hopefully it goes smoother.”

Despite a couple of rough results with the series last year, Scelzi recorded a pair of 360ci wins and five total podiums at Ocean Speedway in 2021.

“Placerville is a place I’ve historically struggled at until last year,” he said. “We rolled in there and ran fourth in a 360 race and then went there and led every lap of the NARC race to win. Hopefully we can time in well both nights and have smooth, efficient nights at each track to continue our podium streak.”

SEASON STATS –

23 races, 5 wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 20 top 20s

UP NEXT – 

Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., for the 34^th annual Pombo-Sargent Classic and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the 31^st annual Dave Bradway Jr. Race with the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series

June 8,  2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are hoping their second road-course race of the season, this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, turns out as well or better than their one, on March 27 at Circuit of the Americas.

At COTA, Burton earned Stage points in both Stages and finished 17^th, earning 26 points on the day. 
 
But each road course is different, so Burton, crew chief Brian Wilson and the rest of the DEX Imaging team have plenty to do as they prepare for racing on Sonoma’s 12-turn, 2.52-mile layout.
 
“Sonoma has always been a unique challenge in the group of road courses that we go to in the Cup Series,” Wilson said. “Drive off and rear grip fall-off are always a focus, more so than at the other tracks we go to. 
 
“The challenge is that you also need rear platform control for the esses. Compromising those aspects in the setup and needing your driver to manage the rear tire fall-off are always points of discussion when you prepare for Sonoma.”
 
Wilson said that while COTA is different from Sonoma, lessons learned there will come in handy this time around.
 
“At our last road course race in COTA we scored as many points as we have at any other track this year,” he said. “We’ll take a similar approach this weekend, with hopes of executing the right strategy.”

Wilson said Burton is putting in extra effort this week as he prepares for Sunday’s 350-kilometer race.

“With Harrison running the truck race this weekend and having just finished our weekly simulator session through Ford, I believe he’ll have as much experience as we can get for a rookie,” Wilson said. “He should have a good idea of the trade-offs and compromises that we’ll have to make this weekend.”
 
Practice for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (4:30 Eastern Time) followed immediately by qualifying at 2:25 p.m. (5:25 Eastern).
 
Sunday’s 110-lap, 218.9-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (4 p.m. Eastern Time). FOX Sports 1 will carry practice, qualifying and Sunday’s race.
 
Stage breaks on Sunday are set for Laps 25 and 55.