NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA U.S. Nationals – Indianapolis

Pre-Race Report

Three-time U.S. Nationals champion Cruz Pedregon and team are ready for the “Big Go” this weekend when it kicks off Friday at Lucas Oil Raceway. In their nearby shop in Brownsburg, the team has been prepping for a win, going over every inch of the Snap-on Dodge^® and Cruz, Nick (Casertano), and Eric (Lane) say it’s ready.

“Even though the world has been a little different this year, this is still the U.S. Nationals and a win here will define a season. It’s been too long since we’ve won it, and 2020 will be a whole lot better if we bring this Wally back home with us,” Cruz says. “We consider it our ‘home track,’ but for most drivers in all categories — as the U.S. Nationals go, so goes the season. We approach the Big Go with the respect it deserves.”

Cruz says the weather looks great for fans, but the car likes a hotter track. So, Nick, Eric and he will be making adjustments for what looks as though it will be one of the cooler races this season.

“Even though I’m a California guy, Indy is a great place to be and the city has been great to the sport. We appreciate the fans coming out and experiencing drag racing at the highest level. Even though the event is a day shorter this year, it will still be a show worth watching from the stands or live on FOX,” says Cruz. 

Cruz’s Dodge^® will again pay tribute to the Snap-on 100^th with its paint scheme and logo. Fans are encouraged throughout the season to post pictures of the car with the hashtag #Snapon100. 

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

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, where you can also check out his Vlog “Kickin’ It With The Cruzer.” Follow Cruz on Twitter and Instagram, and like the Snap-on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for all things tools, racing and Cruz.

Racer’s Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo Sweeps Road America Weekend
Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock win both rounds of doubleheader weekend
Extends Acura NSX GT3 Evo win streak to three in a row in GT World Challenge America
Racers Edge Acura NSX GT3 Evo takes lead on opening laps in both victories

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (August 30, 2020) – The Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo continued its recent dominance of the SRO Motorsport World Challenge GT America series, as the Silver Class driver pairing of Trent Hindman and Shelby Blackstock again were the overall winners in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races at Road America.

Unlike the most recent Sonoma Raceway weekend – when the Acura duo won pole positions for both races – at Road America the Racers Edge Acura NSX started both events from the outside of the front row. But in each race, the twin-turbo NSX would claim the lead before the opening laps were half-over, and would remain in command for the remainder of the 45-minute runs.

Blackstock chased pole qualifier Indy Dontje to the starting line for Saturday’s race, and needed just three turns to wrest the lead from the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver. When a pair Pro/Am cars crashed behind them, leading to a full-course caution, Blackstock made the move stick on the ensuing restart and held serve for the remainder of his stint. Smoothly executing the mid-race pit stop and driver change while holding a 15-second advantage, co-driver Hindman then widened it to nearly 40 seconds while romping to the win.

Sunday’s race followed a similar script, although this time it was starting driver Hindman outdragging rival and pole qualifier Ryan Dalziel down the long Road America startline straight and into the opening turn. This time Hindman handed Blackstock a 12.5-second lead at the pit stop and driver change, and Blackstock extended it to 21 seconds at the finish.

The win was the fifth of the season for the #93 Acura and the third in a row for Blackstock and Hindman dating back to Sonoma. The victory allowed the team to extend its lead in the Silver Class championship after eight races.

The Racer’s Edge team played one car short for the second straight weekend, as the defending series Pro/Am champion #80 Acura NSX GT3 Evo driven by Martin Barkey and Kyle Marcelli was again unable to compete at Road America, due to complications with travel restrictions for the Canadian pair, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The wins this weekend are the fifth and sixth through eight GT World Challenge races for the Acura NSX GT3 Evo, which won team championships in both IMSA GTD and the SRO GT World Challenge series in 2019. The car, sold and supported by HPD in North America, runs in both Sprint and Endurance racing competition around the world.

Next
The SRO Motorsports GT World Challenge America teams will next head to Texas for the penultimate race weekend of the 2020 season, rounds 9 and 10 of the championship, September 17-20 at the Circuit of the Americas near Austin.

Social media content and video links from this weekend’s Acura Motorsports activity at Road America are available on HPD’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD). 

Quotes
Shelby Blackstock (Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started 2nd, finished 1st both Saturday and Sunday: “It’s always really important in any race to get to the front and really take command of the race. Then you can gauge your pace from there instead of playing follow the leader,” said Blackstock of Saturday’s win.

Trent Hindman (Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 Evo) started 2nd, finished 1st both Saturday and Sunday: “Shelby had one heck of a start and a really good move around Dontje in turn three, was all about execution today.” [on Sunday’s race] “I definitely took advantage of the bottom end torque that this Acura NSX GT3 has. The big thing was just watching when the green flag came out. I saw the starter’s hand move a little bit quicker I think and just rolled the throttle from there.”

Nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. anxious to go one step further

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 31) — The victories continue to add up for Pro Stock points leader Jeg Coughlin Jr. and heading into this weekend’s 66th annual Denso Spark Plugs U.S. Nationals, the NHRA tour’s most recent winner simply hopes to return to the winner’s circle yet again. Coughlin has two wins and one runner-up showing in the four races contested this season, including the Dodge NHRA Nationals three weeks ago at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, where he beat nephew Troy Coughlin Jr. in the money round. Jeg Coughlin Jr.Jeg Jr. also is six-time winner of the U.S. Nationals, considered drag racing’s most prestigious event. He won the Pro Stock class in 2000, 2002 and 2009. He also claimed the 1992 Super Gas title and the 2004 Mopar Hemi Challenge.  “We’ve certainly had a wonderful run of late, including here in Indy,” said Jeg Jr., who plans to retire from full-time competition at the conclusion of this year. “It would be wonderful to close things out with another U.S. Nationals victory. I know everyone working on the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro has that some opinion. “It’s been an unusual year to say the least but it has allowed us to race a few extra times at Indy, which is a track my family has enjoyed for decades, dating all the way back to when my father raced here. We were fortunate enough to win the last race here three weeks ago so we feel very optimistic about our chances going into the event. “Rickie (Jones, crew chief) has set a very aggressive course for our team dating back to last year’s playoff run and it’s been working. There’s no reason to change anything we’ve been doing, especially since there are more than a few unknowns as to what the rest of the 2020 season holds. We’re taking every round as if it’s our last.” Overall, Jeg Jr. has six world championships (five in Pro Stock) and 65 nationals event victories. He currently leads the Pro Stock championship standings by 44 points over Jason Line and 77 points over teammate and reigning series champion Erica Enders. Troy Coughlin Jr.Joining Jeg Jr. in the Elite Motorsports pit for the third time this year is Troy Jr., who bagged a runner-up finish in just his second start in the class. Troy Jr. switched to Pro Stock after winning back-to-back regional championships in Top Alcohol Dragster, one in the North Central region and the other in the Eastern region. “The NHRA is celebrating and highlighting 50 years of Pro Stock at this year’s U.S. Nationals so I’m really pumped up and honored to be a part of this race,” Troy Jr. said. “My continued thanks to (team owner) Richard Freeman and his entire crew. They are such a class group who are so fun to race with, especially the guys on my car — Rick Jones, Mark Ingersoll, Eric Luzinski, Mike DePalma and Robert Freeman. “Additional thanks to the entire staff at JEGS for their support. Everyone was super excited about Uncle Jeg and me racing each other in the finals few weeks ago. I’m also very excited to watch my sister Paige (Coughlin) compete for the first time in the JEGS Allstars race. It’s going to be a big weekend, especially if we can figure out how to take my car one round further than last race.” Aside from his duties in Pro Stock, Troy Jr. will be competing for the Super Comp trophy alongside his sister Paige and his cousin Makenna Brown in the national event portion of the race. Troy Jr. has two U.S. Nationals win to his credit having won the “Big Go” in 2010 in Super Comp and 2014 in Super Gas. He’s also the first of the third-generation of Coughlins to win Indy. Jeg Jr.’s brother Mike Coughlin will round out Team JEGS this weekend with his entry in Top Dragster.

Condensed Schedule Will Now Consist of Back-to-Back Tripleheaders

CORONA, Calif. (August 31, 2020) – With half of the 2020 racing season complete, the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Presented by GEICO has announced an update to the current championship schedule that will ultimately condense the remaining events on the calendar into back-to-back tripleheaders to close out the year. Each of the next two events of the season, in September from Arizona’s Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Parkand in October from Southern California’s Glen Helen Raceway, will extend from weekend doubleheaders into three-day affairs. The expansion of these events means the originally scheduled November race at Wild Horse Pass will no longer occur.

Photo: Lucas Oil Off Road Race Series

“There were several factors that went into this decision, but ultimately our goal was to provide the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series with as clear a path as possible to successfully completing the 2020 season,” said Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Director of Race Operations Ritchie Lewis. “With the coronavirus pandemic still presenting many unknowns, there was some uncertainty about having the schedule extend into November as we simply don’t know where things will stand at that point. Moreover, it also made sense from an operational standpoint to have one less logistical burden for both our staff and competitors to deal with. We felt like the expansion of Wild Horse Pass and Glen Helen was something that would benefit all parties involved.” With the updated schedule, the race at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park will now take place on Friday, September 18, Saturday, September 19, and Sunday, September 20. The new season finale at Glen Helen Raceway will occur one week later than originally scheduled and will now commence on Friday, October 16, Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, with the final day serving as the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup, which annually brings each season to an exciting conclusion. In accordance with local health and safety guidelines related to COVID-19, each of these remaining races will be run as competitor only events, with no spectator access permitted. “In the continued efforts to help fight the spread of COVID-19 we have worked in close correspondence with officials at both the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona and San Bernardino County in California to develop a plan that will allow us to successfully host these races without fans in the grandstands,” continued Ritchie. Additionally, we will take added precautions to revise the race day schedule in an effort to minimize the impact of the high temperatures that could accompany each of these weekends.”

Megan Meyer, the defending world champion in NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster, will step away from the class after completing the 2020 season.

Meyer won the 2019 championship driving the NGK Spark Plugs A/Fuel dragster tuned by her father and team owner, Randy Meyer. The second-generation driver grew up dreaming of one day winning an NHRA Lucas Oil Series world championship. Now that she’s accomplished that goal, she’s shifting her focus toward accomplishing other goals.

“I’ve been racing in Top Alcohol Dragster full-time for five years now and a lot has changed over that time,” Meyer said. “I’ve accomplished pretty much everything I’ve wanted to accomplish in Top Alcohol. I’m ready to take a break, focus on getting married, starting a family and working on my own business. I have other goals in my life right now that I want to focus on. I’ll see where that takes me.”

Since making her Top Alcohol Dragster debut in 2016, Meyer has earned 10 national-event victories, 11 regional wins and three consecutive NHRA Central Region championships to go with her 2019 national championship.

“I’m very proud of everything Megan’s accomplished,” Randy Meyer said. “She’s handled herself very well from day one. Her hard work and dedication to not only my team, but to the sport in general, has paid big dividends. She’ll have that to look back on for the rest of her life.”

Megan was named the Division 5 Pro-Sportsman Driver of the Year three years in a row after earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2016, the same year she appeared on the Drag Illustrated 30 Under 30 list. But it’s that world championship that will always highlight Meyer’s time in the class.

“It’s always been my dream to be a world champion since I saw Alan Bradshaw become our first world champion driver in 2003,” Megan said. “I knew one day that would be me. I didn’t know I could do it in four years. But thankfully we had a great car, great parts, great crew guys. We hoped for the best, put in the hours and got better parts every year with the help from sponsors, especially when NGK stepped up as my title sponsor. That’s where things really improved for us.”

NGK Spark Plugs, a longtime associate sponsor of Randy Meyer Racing, became Megan’s title sponsor in 2018 when the spark plug manufacturer signed a two-year contract that was extended this season. Meyer used her college education in marketing and graphic design to design striking NGK wraps, crew uniforms and other branded materials. She even won the 2018 NGK Spark Plug NHRA Nationals and 2019 NTK Nationals in Charlotte.

NGK plans to continue its title sponsorship of one of Randy Meyer Racing’s A/Fuel cars and is working with the team to select the new driver. The NGK car will race alongside the team’s second car shared by multiple drivers in 2021.

“We’re in negotiations with several other drivers to fill that void,” Randy said. “As a team and as a team owner, we plan on racing as much as we ever have and we’re planning on running two cars next year with multiple different drivers like we’ve been doing. It’s business as usual. Megan will still be around, she just won’t be at all the races and won’t be behind the wheel.”

Megan won’t give up racing altogether, as she plans to return to her bracket racing roots next year, sharing a Super Comp dragster with her sister Rachel.

“I’ve been driving for a total of 17 years, and for 12 of it I was bracket racing,” Megan said. “I still love that type of racing. I got to bracket race for the first time in years a couple weekends ago and had a great time.”

“We don’t know what the future is going to hold, but we’re pretty sure bracket racing will always be around,” Megan continued. “It’s something that’s available to me right now because of Rachel. I’d like to take that opportunity and see how I can use it to work with sponsors and social media. In my heart, I’m always going to be a sportsman racer. I want to keep working on ways to promote the sportsman classes and come up with more ways to help sportsman racers promote themselves and their sponsors on social media.”

As Meyer starts to wrap up her championship defense season with just a handful of races remaining, she looks back fondly on her experiences over the last five seasons while also looking forward to what comes next.

“I want to tell other racers to enjoy the ride, no matter how long or short they have to be a driver or a crew guy or whatever position they’re in,” Megan said. “Make sure you have fun and have creative experiences because those can lead to skills and networking that can lead to big success later on. I’m just following the strides to fit my new goals now. I want to be able to help other racers, to serve with passion and to be known as the girl who became a champion but also made a difference in the industry.”

Meyer and the NGK Spark Plugs A/Fuel dragster will race next at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, Sept. 3-6 at Lucas Oil Raceway near Indianapolis. Additionally, Megan will compete in the JEGS Allstars specialty race Sept. 5 as a Central Region representative alongside sister Rachel. Teammate Julie Nataas will also race in the Allstars event for the North Central Region.

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 31, 2020—Acura captured a sixth consecutive podium at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, with driver James Robinson finishing third in the highly competitive Time Attack 1 class. Robinson’s time of 10:01.913 in a 2019 NSX, bested his previous fast time of 10:02.448 (set in 2018) to establish a new record for a production vehicle with a hybrid powertrain.
Two race prepared 2021 Acura TLXs made their motorsports debut at the 2020 “Race to the Clouds”, ahead of the second-generation sport sedan’s arrival at dealers on Sept. 28. Drivers Jordan Guitar and Justin Lumbard, both engineers at the company’s Ohio R&D Center, finished fifth and sixth in class, respectively.

Acura’s 2020 Pikes Peak Results:

A third 2021 TLX, an early development prototype for the upcoming Type S high performance variant, served as the hill climb’s official Pace Car. Driving the TLX Type S was Nick Robinson, a principal engineer in the company’s Chassis Development Group and Pikes Peak veteran with class wins on both two and four wheels and current front-wheel drive record holder.
Pikes Peak serves as a test bed for new Acura performance technologies and as an opportunity for the company’s engineers to further sharpen their performance-focused driving and engineering skills. The Acura Pikes Peak race team is comprised of a group of volunteer engineers who are responsible for all aspects of competition, including the development of vehicles, race prep, crew support and navigating race cars to the finish line.

BIG BLOCKS IN OCTOBER: DIRTcar OktoberFAST presented by DIRTVision Features Six Nights of Racing on Six Historic DIRTcar Tracks

Over $300,000 up for grabs, Super DIRTcar Series September events canceled, Super DIRT Week postponed to 2021

WEEDSPORT, NY — Aug. 31, 2020 — 2020 continues to be a year without precedent. Given the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions — knowing NAPA Super DIRT Week just wouldn’t be Super DIRT Week without thousands of spirited fans on location — DIRTcar Racing has scheduled a six-day extravaganza of the four premier Northeast divisions, spotlighting the Super DIRTcar Series. With purses and prize money totaling over $300,000, DIRTcar OktoberFAST will feature six tracks in six days, participants-only at track, broadcast live to fans around the world on DIRTVision from October 6-11.

New York State’s COVID-19 restrictions have forced the four DIRTcar Northeast Series to wait to resume in 2021 but not without racing for big money in the cool October air. While competitors will be at the track, social distancing, and masking up for their safety, our fans will be able to enjoy this unparalleled week of racing from home on DIRTVision, the new home of the Super DIRTcar Series in 2021. 

With the 49th annual NAPA Super DIRT Week postponed until 2021, tickets and camping will automatically carry over to Oct. 6-10, 2021. Fans may request a refund, but refunded camping sites and seats will be made available to the general public at superdirtweek.com in October. 

What DIRTcar has put together is essentially an entire season in a week with six nights of Super DIRTcar Series racing supported by DIRTcar 358 Modifieds, Sportsman, and Pro Stocks. 

“We want to keep the teams close to home by celebrating at our home tracks,” said DIRTcar CEO Brian Carter. “We’re putting it all on the line, investing the 2020 Series’ point funds into prize money over the course of a single week so we can put 2020 behind us with a bang.”

Six core, longstanding DIRTcar tracks are lined up to host these premier events. Generally, travel will be east to west with DIRTcar OktoberFAST kicking off on Tuesday, October 6, at the ever-exciting Albany-Saratoga Speedway with Big Blocks, Sportsman and Pro Stocks. From there the action picks back up in Vernon, NY on the wide, half-mile Utica-Rome Speedway on Wednesday night with Big Blocks, 358 Modifieds and Pro Stocks. 

Fulton, NY has been quiet in 2021, but on Thursday, October 8, the Super DIRTcar Series will shake up the town once again on the high banks of Fulton Speedway alongside the DIRTcar 358 Modifieds and Sportsman. Then, it’s “The Nasty Track’s” turn as Big Block, 358 Modified and Sportsman teams tow up to Can-Am Speedway for a Friday night spectacular on their racy new surface and configuration. 

Land of Legends Raceway is the site of a Saturday night special. Big Blocks and Sportsman will tear up the historic half-mile oval in Canandaigua, NY on October, 10.

Sunday, October 11, the DIRTcar OktoberFAST finale takes the green for a 75-lap barn burner. Weedsport Speedway, the founding site of DIRTcar Northeast racing, will cap off this incredible one-time tour with a thrilling Sunday spectacular featuring Big Blocks, Sportsman and Pro Stocks.

Each night from Tuesday, Oct. 6 through Sunday, Oct. 11, will be highlighted by two or three feature events. No weeklong champion will be named, but drivers will battle for over $300,000 in purse and prizes. Fans and friends of DIRTcar will also have the opportunity to contribute to Special Awards for the entire week. 

Stay tuned for details on the purse structure, expanded digital fan interaction, Special Awards opportunities, and more. 

Competitors will be asked to pre-register for each event. An email will be sent to DIRTcar members with the link and more information. 

2020 has become the most challenging year on record for racing and individuals alike. DIRTcar is proud to put together a program that tracks, competitors, and fans can enjoy as much as possible under the restrictions deployed by New York State at this time. 

Unfortunately, the remaining races on the Super DIRTcar Series schedule in September have been canceled as a result of the COVID-19 crowd restrictions. Because of the limited racing, there will be no Series champions crowned in 2020. The spotlight will shine on the Hoosier Weekly Championship chase.

The canceled races were scheduled for Sept. 6 at Utica-Rome Speedway, Sept. 12 at Weedsport Speedway, Sept. 19 at Land of Legends Raceway, and finally September 26 at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Series officials and track promoters are looking forward to getting back to Series racing in 2021.

Honda Civic Racers Dominate Road America With A Four-Win Weekend
Scott Smithson earns his first two wins of the season in Civic TCR
Kevin Boehm takes Civic Si to his first two TCA victories
Victor Gonzalez scores two podiums and a pole in TCR competition
Jonathan Newcombe earns TCA podium result for VGMC in Civic Si.

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (August 30, 2020) –The three Civic race cars available from Honda Performance Development – After multiple podiums, the Type R TCR, Type R TC and Si – have been knocking on the door for their first wins throughout the early part of the SRO Motorsports Touring Car America season.

This weekend at Road America in picturesque Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, the Honda-powered machines blew the doors to victory wide open.

The DXDT Racing Honda Civic Type R of Scott Smithson earned his first-ever series wins, scoring victories on Saturday and Sunday. Smithson won Saturday’s race by nearly three seconds, while C.J. Moses snared a podium finish for his Honda with a third-place run. Sunday’s race was much closer, as Smithson had to fight off pole sitter and fellow Honda Civic Type R pilot Victor Gonzalez Jr. for the win.

Gonzalez had run the fastest lap of the race in Saturday’s race and appeared to have the race in hand, until he suffered a cut tire that promoted Smithson to the lead. Sunday, Smithson wrested the lead from Gonzalez and held him at bay over the final laps to win by 1.4 seconds.

“He (Gonzalez Jr.) had some pace, and I kept making mistakes. I was really wearing my front [tires] down,” said Smithson. “Luckily for me, in the back section [of the circuit] I had the carousel and the kink to just pull on him. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten by me.”

Honda power had similar results in the TCA class, as Kevin Boehm set the tone early in his Boehm Racing HPD Civic Si. Boehm won the pole for Friday’s race and led wire-to-wire in an event that was plagued by a pair of late-race cautions. Boehm followed Friday’s romp with another win, as he outdistanced the field by more than 11 seconds to take his second victory of the weekend – and his season.

“It feels overdue! It’s great to finally put it together this weekend. We had a great qualifying run, and luckily we were able to keep it together here today and grab the win!” said Boehm. 

Jonathan Newcombe backed up his Honda stablemate in his own VGMC Racing Civic Si, claiming his first podium finish of the season with a third-place result on Saturday.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring.

Scott Dixon Runs Fifth for Honda To Close Out Doubleheader Weekend
Scott Dixon wins on Saturday, finishes fifth Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway
Late-race wall contact drops Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato to ninth
Third NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend of 2020

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 30, 2020) – Hot and humid conditions led to a contest of strategy and track position in the second race of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, with Honda’s Scott Dixon backing up his win in Saturday’s opener with a fifth-place finish in today’s 200-lap event.

Dixon moved to fourth in the opening laps, and then extended his opening stint in an attempt to make up ground on the leaders when they made initial pit stops. However, lapped traffic affected that strategy. After falling to seventh following the first round of stops, he then made an early final stop, putting him back near the leaders, and ultimately a fifth-place finish. He ends the weekend with a 96-point lead in the drivers’ championship [416-320] over race winner Josef Newgarden.

After claiming a second-place finish yesterday, Takuma Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan team adopted the same strategy today, but also fell back in the field as a result. Recovering to seventh, he made light contact with the wall on Lap 197, leading to a finish under the caution flag.

Colton Herta combined a sixth-place finish with a fourth on Saturday for a strong overall weekend result, surviving contact with rookie Rinus Veekay in the closing laps as the pair battled for position.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from WWT Raceway is available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 6th, finished 5th; scores his 50th IndyCar win in Saturday’s race; leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by 96 points after 9 races: “The PNC Bank crew did a great job today, and we’re always proud to be powered by Honda and HPD. We got into a little bit of traffic in those [mid-race] sequences and that totally screwed us. A guy was laps down, and was totally slowing everyone [else] down. I’m not sure if he was trying to help his teammate but he screwed my race and [Takuma] Sato’s race. It was a decent point’s day and we just made the most of what we had.”

Colton Herta (Andretti Harding Autosport Honda) started 10th, finished 6th today; finished 4th in Saturday’s race: “I think we had a really good car today, again, and a really good opportunity to get on the [victory] podium. But our qualifying just hindered us, starting in 10th. We made it up about sixth, and then slowly made up [a few more] spots in stops and led some laps. We were looking pretty good there toward the end but had some contact [while fighting for position with Rinus VeeKay] that shuffled us back to sixth. It’s unfortunate, but that’s kind of how racing is. Sometimes it’s brutal. Until next time, hopefully we’ll be back at a racetrack real soon.”

Allen Miller (Race Team Principal, Honda Performance Development) on Sunday’s race at WWT Raceway: “This was a race of track position and strategy, and unfortunately none of our teams caught any breaks today. Things didn’t go our way in this race, but we come out of the weekend with a great 1-2 result from Saturday, and solid leads in the Manufacturers’ Championship for Honda [747-674 over Chevrolet] and drivers’ for Scott [Dixon]. We’ll regroup and be ready for the next one.”

Earlier this summer the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals saw several changes to its schedule when the Ford Motorsports Nationals was rolled into the NMCA All-American Nationals and eventually bringing the double race to US 131 Motorsports Park. Ultimately, the event became known as the Arrington Performance NMRA/NMCA All-American Nationals Presented by Force Engineering and it was spectacular with a record setting 653 vehicles in competition between the two sanctioning bodies, all fighting to celebrate in the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle. The VP Racing Maddatives/Mickey Thompson Street Outlaw was fast-paced with a few heavy-hitters looking to play spoiler with Rob Goss and Ron Rhodes making an appearance in the crossover category. Goss made his presence known quickly by walking to the top of the ladder with a stout 4.28 at 171 mph. The Mustang crowd was armed with plenty of firepower from the likes of Dom DiDonato, Tony Hobson, Alan Felts, and many more. Goss took on all defenders with his 2010 Dodge SRT Challenger Drag Pak and found himself in the finals against Alan Felts. It was the classic supercharger vs. turbo match-up with Goss packing a ProCharger and Felts a turbo. The Dodge racer overcame a slight holeshot to drive past Felts with a 4.27 at 169 mph to a 4.35 at 168 mph. It was Goss’ first trip into the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle in nearly a year.

The other crossover category that mixes NMRA and NMCA class cars is the Edelbrock Xtreme Street/Renegade eliminator. The 275 radial category was insanely competitive with the top 16 cars spread out by just 1.5-tenths with 23 total entries! Brian Keep pushed his Chevy Camaro to the top of the heap in qualifying with a 4.66 at 149 mph and it was a bare-knuckle brawl during eliminations. Defending Modified Street champion Martin Connelley made an impressive display and consistency on his way to the finals in the crossover class. He met George Farkouh and his 2010 Camaro, carrying sponsorship from American Racing Headers. Connelley unleashed low ET event with a 4.64 at 153 mph to beat Farkouh’s 4.65 at 152 mph. A wide mix of combinations continues to be the theme in the JDM Engineering Limited Street class with several quick entries using Roots-blown Coyotes to centrifugal supercharged rides, and now nitrous-powered machines. Bill Putnam continued his hot streak in the category when he pushed the UPR Products SN95 Mustang to the top line of the qualifying sheet thanks to an 8.52 at 161 mph, edging out Chad Wendel who posted an 8.55 performance. Wendel and Putnam nearly match the other’s performance round after round until they found themselves in opposite lanes for the finals. Putnam used a perfect reaction time and record breaking 8.51 at 161 mph effort to visit the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle for the fourth straight event. He also locked up his first NMRA national championship this weekend, as if his performances didn’t solidify his dominance in 2020. Richmond Gear Factory Stock continues to go quicker and quicker each passing event and Mark Anderson pushed the class to the cusp of the 10-teens when he cranked out a 10.20 at 128 mph performance to lead the field of Coyote 5.0 cars with his 4.6L Two-Valve combination. The fast weekend ended with veteran John Leslie Jr. grabbing the win over Anderson and making a big move in locking down his first championship title. Leslie took the strip with a 10.28 at 129 mph to Anderson’s 10.35 at just 115 mph. Moving over to G-Force Racing Transmissions Coyote Stock, the field was all about #TeamBev and keeping the Lamb family in their thoughts as they power-shifted to low 10-second runs. It was practically a wheelie competition on Saturday night qualifying and it was Drew Lyons piloting Clair Stewart II’s notchback to the top qualifying position with a 10.13 at 130 mph. His luck continued on Sunday as he matched up against Nate Stymiest in the finals. Lyons got the automatic win when Stymiest went red at the launch. It would’ve been a close final as Lyons unleashed a 10.14 at 130 mph and Stymiest ran 10.20 at 130 mph. The ARP Open Comp brought out 27 fierce competitors in the unique category that blends index racing and bracket racing on a Pro tree. Joe Talarico cracked off a .0004 reaction time, it was one of three near perfect reaction times in qualifying with Bill Jones scoring the second best with a .0007 from his “Dirty Bird” Ford Falcon and the third was Steven Daniels with a .0009. Kentuckian Gordon Harlow emerged from the field as the leader when he dispatched Scott Dronkers in the finals. Harlow ran 10.19 on a 10.14 index to best the local racer who ran 10.11 on a 10.02 index.

The overhead camshafts in modern Ford V-8 engines filled Exedy Racing Clutch Modular Muscle and the most unique car in competition, a 1973 Mercury Capri, driven by James Meredith sat alone on top of the ladder thanks to his .0007 reaction time. The final paired two veterans of the category, defending series champion Charlie McCulloch who lined up against Adam Cox. The defending champion put together a great package when he nailed an 11.08 on a 10.96 to beat Cox to the stripe, who had run 10.26 on a 10.18. ROUSH Performance Super Stang is designed for 2005 and newer Mustangs that compete in an Index format, attracting street and hardcore strip stormers to its ranks. Full time scribe and part-time racer Kevin McKenna worked his way to the top with his 2013 Mustang GT thanks to a .0122 reaction time, which is impressive for a footbrake street car. As the day wore on it became apparent that Levi Wendel was the one to beat in the eliminator. He took down Don Helms and McKenna to earn a spot in the finals. Wendel met defending world champion Larry Firestone in the big money round and drove right into the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle thanks to an 11.38 on an 11.29 index. The Detroit Locker Truck & Lightning category saw the prominent three-time champion, Randy Conway, run the table on the category. The Coyote-powered Ranger helped deliver Conway to the top of the 12-car ladder thanks to a .007 reaction time. He would add another Edelbrock Victor trophy to his collection as he faced Mike Roup in the final round. Conway nailed a 10.29 on a 10.27 index to turn on the win light over Roup, who posted an 11.39 on an 11.33 in his 1970 Ford Ranchero. Race Pages Ford Muscle operates off pre-determined indexes that competitors declare before qualifying ends. David Mormann continued his championship-leading performances in Michigan. He would face former champion and the number one qualifier Danny Towe in the final round. Mormann posted a 16.14 on a 16.00 index to take his second trip to the Aerospace Components Winner’s Circle of the year; Towe cranked out an 11.91 on an 11.75 for a runner-up finish. Drivers in and QA1/TorqStorm True Street took a 30-mile cruise in the surrounding area, which is scenic with hills and heavily wooded areas, and when they returned to the track, they made three back-to-back passes. Rick Baum blasted to the overall win with a 9.23 in his Mustang, while Shawn McAlees secured the runner-up finish with a 9.75 average in his Firebird. Other standouts included Jason Wagoner, the 10-second winner in his GT500, Bob Hoffman, the 11-second winner in his Buick, Billy Meier, the 12-second winner in his Mustang and Michael Town, the 13-second winner in his Challenger. Also going all the way were Cody Dronkers, the 14-second winner in his Mustang and Rodney Ward, the 15-second winner in his Fusion. The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals resumes October 1-4, 2020 for the biggest Ford motorsport event of the year, the Nitto Tire NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN TAKES CHEVY TO VICTORY LANE TEAM CHEVY RACE TWO NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 DOUBLE HEADER PRESENTED BY AXALTA & VALVOLINE WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY MADISON, ILLINOIS AUGUST 30, 2020
Josef Newgarden Wins Race Two, Closes Points Gap to LeaderChevrolet scores top-four finishers, and five of top-eight finishers Two-time and defending NTT INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden took his No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet to Victory Lane in Race Two of the Bommarito Auto Group 500 doubleheader at World Wide Technology Raceway just east of St. Louis. It was Newgarden’s second victory of the 2020 season, and the second win for him and his Team Penske crew at the 1.25-mile track. Newgarden led a brigade of Team Chevy teammates to the checkered. Pato O’Ward improved his podium finish from yesterday by one with a strong runner-up position. O’Ward, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, was matching Newgarden lap for lap to the finish. Completing the podium was Newgarden’s teammate Will Power in the No.12 Verizon Chevrolet.
Rinus VeeKay continued his impressive rookie season after an initial rough debut at Texas with a strong fourth place finish behind the wheel of the No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet to again be the highest finishing rookie. Conor Daly brought the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet to the finish in eighth position.
Newgarden led twice for a total of 48 laps of the 200-lap that ended under yellow when a car made contact with the wall on lap 197. It was the only yellow under competition. Lap one was under caution due to track clean up from a safety vehicle dropping fluid prior to start of race. The win strengthened Newgarden’s hold on second in the standings and pulled him closer to leader Scott Dixon who finished fifth. O’Ward is solidly in third in the standings as the season continues winding down. 
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1^st       JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET2^ND      PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET3^RD      WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET4^TH      RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET8^TH      CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET 16^TH    SIMON PAGENAUD NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET17^TH    OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET18^TH    CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET19^TH    TONY KANAAN, NO. 14 BIG MACHINE VODKA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET21^ST    ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER                                                             1^st       Josef Newgarden (Chevrolet)2^nd      Pato O’Ward (Chevrolet)3^rd       Will Power (Chevrolet)4^th       Rinus VeeKay (Chevrolet)5^th       Scott Dixon (Honda) 
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race Winner“This is all a pit stop win here for me. We got pretty dicey with Will (Power) and Pato (O’Ward) there on track. My guys have been amazing in the pits. Put me in the position every time. It was really fun racing Pato (O’Ward) out of the pits there. That was for the win there. He did an amazing job. He is going to do great things in this sport. Good job to him. I know it is a smaller crowd, we weren’t allowed to have as many people here. But thank you for coming out. I hope you had a great Sunday and enjoyed the race.
“But like I said, this is all down to my team. Team Chevy did an amazing job and good to have Hitachi on the car this weekend. They do a lot of us. But really proud of my team. They won the race. I didn’t win it, they did!
“We can’t give up on the championship yet. Yesterday was a pretty big blow. We’ve been bitten by bad luck this year. The yellows have gone against us in three or four of the eight races. But what are you going to do? Sometimes they come to you, sometimes they don’t. But that is racing. You just have to get on a good cycle. Maybe this will be a kick start as we head toward the end of the season.”
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 2^ndYOU WERE THIRD YESTERDAY AND SECOND TODAY. DO YOU WISH WE WERE RACING AGAIN TOMORROW?“We had a great weekend. Our objective was to come in a try to score two podiums and we did that. It would have been great to score a win, but we were so close. This Arrow McLaren SP No. 5 Chevrolet was very strong. Right out of the gates we were super, super competitive. And we’re knocking on the door, man. I mean we’re very close and we’re going to keep pushing. I know our time will come so we have to stay there.”
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO WEEKS WE ENDED UNDER CAUTION. WITH ABOUT FOUR LAPS LEFT, DO YOU THINK YOU HAD ANYTHING FOR JOSEF NEWGARDEN IF IT HAD STAYED GREEN?“It would be great to say that I did but honestly I was really struggling. Whenever I got the countdown for 10 laps to go, I was pushing and pushing and pushing to try and get close to him to try and strike, but I just couldn’t quite do it. Today was, I think, harder than yesterday for passing. The asphalt on the track was quite a bit harder, so that makes it quite a bit tougher with big trains of cars. And we got to the back of the pack and just kind of got stuck there.”
WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 3^rdWE THINK MAYBE YOU’RE NOT A HAPPY PODIUM DWELLER AT THIS POINT“Yeah, we had a very good car. I felt like we had the car to win. Obviously, it’s a traffic game. I’ve got to thank all the guys, and the Verizon 12 car Chevy was really strong today. We had great starts. A great car. The strategy certainly didn’t work out, obviously, at the end. But, I’m still very happy to get a podium.”
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF BAD LUCK RUNNING THROUGH THE PADDOCK. BUT THIS IS MAYBE SEVEN NOW WHERE YOU COULD HAVE WON IF THINGS HAD WORKED OUT DIFFERENTLY. HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH THAT?“Yeah, we’ve certainly had a lot of potential this year; and a very strange year. But I feel very fortunate that I get to drive the Verizon car and we get to do this, and we can actually have some fans here. It’s a fantastic job and I’d obviously would love to win but it wasn’t today.”
RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 4thTELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY AND THAT BATTLE YOU HAD WITH COLTON HERTA LATE IN THE RACE“So, I started 18^th. But the race pace was great. I had a really good first lap. I got around on the outside by a lot of guys and then it was just really a team effort after that first stop. It was strategy. A shout-out to the team for giving me such a good car. And then we were in the top three for that final time and at the end I got a little close with Colton. And you know, it’s tough. It’s really hard to pass here and it was really my only chance to pass Colton. So, I moved to the outside. And you know, there’s marbles. A lot of marbles. And they are dangerous here. So, I tried to stay out of them. And of course, you’re fighting for your position, so you’re not given a lot of room and I think this was just enough.
“It was a great race, one of the best races I have ever driven! Yesterday, I started 14th and finished 6th so today, starting 18th, I was aiming for a Top 10 finish. I had an amazing first lap, got around a lot of guys. The strategy was brilliant, so shout out to my team for making this possible! Those last few laps were very tough, everyone was all over the place. Just missed out on the podium but I don’t care about that right now, P4 was the best I could do!”
CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – Finished 5th“It was a pretty good day for us today starting 15th. There was a lot of chaos at the front with the oil dry on the track, so that was hectic. We lost a little bit because we got stuck on the inside at the beginning, but we gained a lot coming back on the outside in turns 3 and 4 on the first lap. The No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet was just fantastic. We worked our way forward every stop and the guys did a great job in the pits. We were just so fast. We got all the way up behind Dixon, but just at the end we had a big moment of understeer on the last stint which put us back one position. To start the race in 15th and finish eighth here today and to have four of the five races together with Carlin all with top-10 finishes is just really awesome. I’m just happy and thankful to be here and to have had the opportunity to be competitive with this team and get so close to a podium so many times.” 
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 16th“Yeah, the whole weekend didn’t go well. Yesterday really put us on the back foot, and we didn’t get to really feel the race car. Today, Turn 1 just obviously got us shuffled and sandwiched and didn’t want to end my race in the first corner, so I slowed down and lost all momentum. It caused a freight train around me. We had a really good car the whole race; we were just stuck at the back. I was super happy with the Menards Chevy, but I think we had one of the fastest laps of the race. We just got stuck in the back, so let’s regroup and go to the next race. I guess it’s that kind of a season where you just have to take every race as it comes.”
OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 17th“We just got passed by too many cars at the start. That made it really tough to get through the field. I feel like we had the car to maybe get into the top-10 or top-5. The No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet was fast in clean air, when we had it. Just disappointed with the start that made our race really difficult from there. Looking forward to hopefully getting back on a road course in a couple weeks.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished – 18th“Well kind of a tough day for the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet car. We started 21st, kind of ran around there, made a couple of passes at the start and then settled into our pace. I think everyone was really struggling with passing. There wasn’t a whole lot of over-taking but I know my guys in pit lane got me at least two spots that I know of, so big ups to them as normal. They did a great job in pit lane and we’ll learn from this and moved forward.”
TONY KANAAN, NO. 14 BIG MACHINE VODKA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 19th“Track position was everything. We had a pretty decent start, moved up a little bit but honestly, I think it was pretty boring race–but it was a boring race for everyone. Mixed feelings on my last one. I wish I could have given the boys and A.J. and Big Machine a better result but the rest of the day was fun. It was a good way to end it. I want to thank my fans, my team and everyone who has been involved in this journey, my family. It’s been good. I’m done for this year but hopefully not done totally but we’ll see. My fingers are crossed that maybe I could come back for a proper last lap with my fans but for now, drop the mic.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 21st“I am pretty bummed out. Second race in a row that I’ve been representing one of the Forces, the U.S. Air Force this weekend. I was basically out of the race before it started, also for the second race in a row. Zach Veach is the current theme right now. He obviously didn’t see the yellow flag or the bright yellow car spinning on the track.”

August 30, 2020

With the pressure of an extremely close battle for the final spot in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs squarely on their shoulders in the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the crew of the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Mustang came through when it counted and now head to Darlington Raceway among the elite 16 teams in the sport.

DiBenedetto dodged several multi-car crashes in Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 to finish 12th and secure his first Playoff appearance and the second for his Wood Brothers team in five full-time seasons under the current playoff format. The final margin was just six points, as DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy team earned the 16th and final Playoff berth, fighting back a spirited charge from seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 team. 

“First off, I’m so happy for this team and Menards, Dutch Boy, the whole Menard family, Motorcraft/Quick Lane and the Wood Brothers, Ford, our alliance with Team Penske, you name it,” DiBenedetto told a network TV audience upon climbing from the No. 21 Mustang. “This means so much to get this for them.”

“I’m glad we were able to take it home. I wasn’t happy with the finish, but I came in here saying all that mattered was I just wanted to make these Playoffs, and the finishing position didn’t matter too much.”

DiBenedetto, who picked up four Stage points as the team employed a fuel-saving strategy in the second Stage and ran in the lead pack for most of the race, said the moment of making the Playoffs was made more special by the fact that his parents drove down from North Carolina and were in the stands at Daytona along with his brother who is in the United States Air Force and was accompanied by his girlfriend. 

“This is very big, really special, and I’m glad we’ll be able to get to work and do the best we can the rest of the season,” he said. “We have a lot of really good tracks and short tracks coming.”

DiBenedetto said that he and the No. 21 team are in a good position, performance-wise, as they start the Playoffs

“I knew at the start of the season that we had work to do as a team, and this year, 2020, is crazy,” he said. “We kept getting better and better, and through the mid part of the stretch I feel like we hit our stride as a team and were running up front weekly.  

“We hit a few tracks that were a struggle, but overall we are as ready as ever to contend for a championship, especially when we are at our best, working together as a team. 

“It is perfect timing for us. That is why it was so important for us to make the playoffs, because we knew that if we made them that we deserved every bit to be in them as a team and that we can really compete and make a heck of a splash and contend down to the end.” 

DiBenedetto acknowledged that luck was on his side as he dodged one wreck after another at Daytona, but Eddie Wood said there was more to the team’s success than good fortune. Wood said he was proud of the way DiBenedetto and the Menards/Dutch Boy crew led by Greg Erwin stepped up at Daytona. 

“They had the weight of the world on them, but Matt drove a great race, and Greg made some great calls,” Wood said. “They handled the pressure like the professionals they are. They had a plan and they stuck to it.”

But that didn’t mean Wood was relaxing during the race as DiBenedetto battled Jimmie Johnson and eventual race winner William Byron for one of the two remaining Playoff berths.

“Matt was close to all the wrecks but managed to avoid getting damage,” he said. “And it seemed like he was always around the two drivers he was battling for the Playoff spots.”

Wood said that in the minutes after the checkered flag fell, his phone lit up with 60 messages and showed no signs of slowing up.

Most were from people that support the team and have become more like family members than business associates.

“Playoffs or no Playoffs, there are so many people that have helped to put us in this position. Edsel Ford, Jim Farley, all the people at Ford Performance, Motorcraft/Quick Lane, Menards, the Menard Family, John and Paul Menard and all the great people at Team Penske. It’s a long list, but when you boil it all down, good things happen when you are surrounded by good people.” 

“They all treat us like family, and they always have.”

DiBenedetto will start the 10-race, season-ending run to the championship, which begins Sunday night at Darlington Raceway, from 16th place. His points total will be reset to 2,000, and he starts the Playoffs 57 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. In between them are six other Ford drivers, giving the Blue Oval contingent half of the Playoff spots.

“We’re excited for Ford to be so well represented in the Playoff field,” Wood said. “And we’re proud to be a part of that.”

###

PORT ROYAL, PA (August 29, 2020) – In only his second career start in a dirt late model, Kyle Larson led all 50 laps to win Saturday Night’s Rumble by the River Round 3 at Port Royal Speedway. Larson crossed the finish line .499 seconds ahead of Silver Dollar Nationals winner, Brandon Sheppard to become the 17th different winner this year in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. Gregg Satterlee crossed the finish line in third followed by Chris Ferguson and Thursday Night’s winner, Tim McCreadie. Larson had already claimed three wins in a winged sprint car at Port Royal in his career, entering the event. He had to contend with tough challenges from Sheppard and Hudson O’Neal for the first 27 laps of the race, until O’Neal slowed with a flat right rear tire. That left Larson and Sheppard to battle it out for the win, but Satterlee and Ferguson joined in on the fray to try to make it a four-man battle. With less than five laps to go there were three other drivers chasing down Larson in traffic in the closing laps. The 28-year-old California native has recorded 34 wins in open wheel racing this year and has now added a dirt late model win to his impressive resume this year. “No doubt this is probably one of, if not the biggest wins ever of my career. I thought we would be okay, but I didn’t think I was going to win a race. To climb into something that’s way different than I have ever been in and to have success with a great team just means a lot,” said the winner, whose first career start in a late model came on Thursday at Port Royal where he finished fifth. Sheppard entered the event with 25 overall wins on the season, and closed on Larson in the late going. He came up just short of his fifth LOLMDS win of the year. “I felt like I was closing in on him [Larson].  I was good on the longer runs. I really couldn’t take off very well on the restarts and we had a bunch of restarts tonight. That wasn’t helping me. Kyle did a really good job; he does a good job in anything he drives.” Satterlee had his personal win streak snapped at four on Thursday Night, but fought hard and was in contention for the win. “It was tough to gain on those guys up front. Congrats to Kyle for beating everyone here on the first weekend he has ever driven one of these cars. I had a really good car. I survived those restarts, they were a little sketchy. I wish I could have more chances at the leaders while in lapped traffic. I think it would have really been interesting.” Ferguson, who ran fourth in Thursday’s feature earned the Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race as he came from the outside of row eight to take fourth at the finish. “I can’t say enough about my guys, they work their tails off every time I am out on the track. Man, I love this place. This is the first time we have been here and I wish it were a 100-lap race. The car was flawless.” McCreadie dominated the LOLMDS event on Thursday Night, but still came home in fifth tonight. “We just missed it tonight. I just couldn’t get the car to do what I wanted to. They are all first class drivers that finished in front of me.” The winner’s Lee Roy and Kevin Rumley Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by D&E Marine, Rumley Engineering, Lucas Oil Products, Bilstein Shocks, and Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas. Completing the top ten were Earl Pearson Jr., Jimmy Owens, Kyle Strickler, Mason Zeigler, and Rick Eckert.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Rumble by the River – Round 3
Saturday, August 29th, 2020
Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard / 19.135 seconds 
Fast Time Group B: Kyle Larson / 19.430 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[5]; 5. 25A-Andy Anderson[6]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[8]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 8. 05-Roy Deese Jr[9]; 9. (DNS) 76-Andy Haus

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):  1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[2]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 5. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[5]; 6. 33-Trent Brenneman[6]; 7. 94M-Jason Miller[8]; 8. 9T-Will Thomas[7]; 9. (DNS) 86B-Austin Berry

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 3. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 5. 4-Gary Stuhler[7]; 6. 9H-Hayes Mattern[6]; 7. 76-Andy Haus[9]; 8. 7D-Drake Troutman[5]; 9. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[8]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 6-Kyle Larson[1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton[2]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[3]; 4. 88-Trent Ivey[5]; 5. 2D-Dan Stone[6]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[7]; 7. 17-Nick Dickson[8]; 8. 2T-Kyle Lee[4]; 9. (DNS) 24-Dylan Yoder

MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[4]; 4. 43-Jason Covert[5]; 5. 3W-Tim Wilson[7]; 6. 20F-Trever Feathers[2]; 7. 72-Michael Norris[3]; 8. 06-Mike Lupfer[8]; 9. (DNS) 39T-Tim Smith Jr 

LORTV Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 22-Gregg Satterlee[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 3. 93-Bobby Pierce[4]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 5. 43A-Tyler Bare[6]; 6. 66C-Matt Cosner[5]; 7. 15F-Scott Flickinger[7]; 8. 32-Travis Stickley[8]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 0E-Rick Eckert[1]; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 4. 25A-Andy Anderson[4]; 5. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[5]; 6. 33-Trent Brenneman[8]; 7. 4-Gary Stuhler[6]; 8. 76-Andy Haus[12]; 9. 9H-Hayes Mattern[9]; 10. 69-Jon Hodgkiss[17]; 11. 94M-Jason Miller[11]; 12. 05-Roy Deese Jr[13]; 13. (DNS) 12D-Doug Drown; 14. (DNS) 7-Ross Robinson; 15. (DNS) 9T-Will Thomas; 16. (DNS) 7D-Drake Troutman; 17. (DNS) 86B-Austin Berry

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 88-Trent Ivey[1]; 2. 43-Jason Covert[2]; 3. 43A-Tyler Bare[6]; 4. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[3]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner[7]; 6. 2T-Kyle Lee[13]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 8. 3W-Tim Wilson[5]; 9. 15F-Scott Flickinger[12]; 10. 2D-Dan Stone[4]; 11. 06-Mike Lupfer[14]; 12. (DNS) 20F-Trever Feathers; 13. (DNS) 17-Nick Dickson; 14. (DNS) 39T-Tim Smith Jr; 15. (DNS) 72-Michael Norris; 16. (DNS) 32-Travis Stickley; 17. (DNS) 24-Dylan Yoder

NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 30, 2020

WILLIAM BRYON SCORES FIRST CAREER VICTORY AT DAYTONA FINALEClaims Berth in NASCAR Cup Series 2020 Playoffs
DAYTONA, FL. – (August 29, 2020) – William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE, won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) race at Daytona International Speedway in a wild overtime finish, and secured a spot in the upcoming 10-race season-ending Playoffs. The victory was Byron’s first in 98 NCS races, and ninth top-10 finish in 2020. He led 24 of the 164-laps and scored a .119-second victory at the checkered flag. It was the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s first win in six races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Hendrick teammate, Chase Elliott, claimed second place in the No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE, and Bubba Wallace finished fifth in his No. 43 World Wide Technology Camaro ZL1 LE. Alex Bowman, in the No. 88 Axalta Camaro ZL1 1LE for Hendrick Motorsports, finished seventh, and Brendan Gaughan, in the No. 62 Beard Motorsports/South Point Camaro ZL1 1LE was eighth, to give Team Chevy five of the top eight finishing positions. 
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE, was involved in an 11-car crash with two laps remaining before the ultimate overtime finish. The Hendrick Motorsports driver rallied to 17^th place overall, but fell just short of joining the 16-driver Playoff field. 
Byron’s win marked the fifth of the 2020 season for the Camaro ZL1 1LE; the 49th win at Daytona for the Bowtie Brand, and 791st all-time for Chevrolet in NASCAR’s premier series. 
Byron becomes only the second driver to earn a Cup Series victory in the No. 24 race car following Jeff Gordon, who took the No. 24 to Victory Lane 93 times. The win is the 260th triumph for car owner, Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports. 
Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex, Jr. finished third and fourth, respectively, at the finish.
Of the 16 drivers now secured in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, five are Team Chevy contenders: Joining Hendrick Motorsports teammates Elliott, Bowman, and Byron, are Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Dow VORASURF Camaro ZL1 1LE for Richard Childress Racing, and Kurt Busch, aboard the No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing.
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Darlington Raceway with the Cook Out Southern 500, the opening round of the 2020 Playoffs, on Sunday, September 6 at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will air on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Thank you for taking the time to join us. Congratulations on the win, the Playoff berth, everything. Can you walk us through how you’re feeling right now?             WILLIAM BYRON: Well, incredible. On Cloud 9 for sure. There was a point in that race that I didn’t really think things were going to work out in our favor to make the Playoffs, really have an opportunity next week. This was kind of one of those do‑or‑die situations. Kind of crossed that fork in the road tonight. We were able to be aggressive and make it happen.           Really just the final probably 10 laps of the race I was on offense, trying to just win the race and take whatever run I could. Luckily was able to make the moves that I needed to. Got just enough daylight between the 22 and the 43 to kind of split that gap. I pushed the 43 really aggressively up, and he had done a great job to hold onto his car, get us to that place and position.           From there, the next restart got a great push from the 14. I was fortunate that things worked out to where I had the 9 with me on the last lap, was able to make it work.           Just incredible. Don’t even know what to say really. It’s a huge blessing.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll open up the floor for questions.            Q. Can you describe your emotions from the first red flag where things didn’t look that great to the finish where you score your first career win and get in the Playoffs?WILLIAM BYRON: Honestly the emotions for me were just to make it happen, try to get where I needed to be. I was taking every single run in the last five, six laps of that race. I think that’s what you’re supposed to do. It’s what Dale Jr. has taught me at JRM days. Really was able to work it out.           Very fortunate that the runs did work out because a lot of times they don’t. This time they did, so it was great.            Q. The first year that this race was at Daytona, end‑of‑the‑season race. Can you imagine it being more pressure filled or were you relaxed throughout?WILLIAM BYRON: You couldn’t have picked a more pressure‑packed race. When you’re at a superspeedway, the running order changes every two laps practically, it’s incredible to put that much pressure on a couple of points. You really can’t points race, which I think is probably what they want us to do. They want us to go for wins, try to compete hard. It was a perfect format for that.           I’m fortunate that worked out for us. I probably would have been frustrated if it didn’t. It really forces your hand to go for the win. You just got to go all out. Pretty incredible.           Kind of elimination style race this was tonight. I think it prepares us for the future eliminations coming up in the Playoffs. Really had the feeling of what it was like being in the Xfinity championship race. Was pretty crazy out there.            Q. Back to Dover, first race, it was a struggle for you guys. On the radio you were pretty frustrated with each other. Was there a conversation between you and Chad after that race to clear the air?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I mean, I think through those situations, they’re not pretty. It was the worst time of the year to have a bad race like that. We learned more about each other in those moments, in those situations.           I think I learned a little bit about him, what things I could learn, how to communicate better. He learned a little bit about me, as well. I think that’s what’s propelled us into this hot streak we’re on.           We had a fourth on Sunday, then under pressure ‑‑ both races were under extreme pressure and we executed. That’s a good sign for what’s coming up.            Q. You talked about learning. What did you learn about him and he about you?WILLIAM BYRON: Just tones, what information is helpful, what’s not. It’s not personal by any means. It’s just what’s helpful. What can I do to help him get the car better, and what can he do to help me.           We had a phenomenal run on Sunday at Dover, drove from I think we started 23rd and finished fourth. That was a great run. Come here and win the race is incredible. Thankful for his support. Just really blessed.            Q. Chad is an intense competitor. Is it hard to match that intensity, have a crew chief that is telling you what to do, sometimes maybe too much?WILLIAM BYRON: It’s not hard. He just wants it as bad as I do. Some crew chiefs I guess are a little bit more laid back. I don’t know. We both want it really bad. We want to try to win races and keep it going.            Q. We’re going back a couple years, but when you first entered the Cup Series, did you imagine getting your first win a little bit earlier? Did you ever question yourself and think if you could really get it done?WILLIAM BYRON: No, I think you just got to capitalize, given the opportunity. The opportunities in the Cup Series to win races, it’s hard. You just got to capitalize. It came together tonight. We capitalized.           I don’t know. It’s the best series, really it’s tough out there. You got to fight really hard. I’ve learned a lot, learned a lot about how to get to that next step. So hopefully we just keep it going.            Q. After 98 tries, when you crossed the finish line, what was the first thought that popped into your head?WILLIAM BYRON: The Playoffs. I guess just thinking about that. Honestly the first thought probably was just how excited I knew that my team was, how excited Tab was on the radio, how excited Chad was, how excited I was.           That feeling of coming off four, it’s just a shot of adrenaline right into your arm, it really is. It’s just an incredible feeling. I can’t describe winning a race in NASCAR. It’s been a while, so it just is an awesome feeling.            Q. Before today where would you have expected to get your first Cup win if not Daytona?WILLIAM BYRON: I didn’t really expect it anywhere. I think this was probably a great opportunity for it. I didn’t really expect it anywhere. I think we came really close at Martinsville last year racing Truex, ironically racing Martin again tonight.           I don’t know. Whenever you’re really, really close, you got to capitalize. Definitely thankful that it worked out tonight.            Q. With 15 to go, late in the race, the call to bring your car down pit road, was there any emotions behind the wheel thinking the chance to make the Playoffs was out the window at that point?WILLIAM BYRON: No. I mean, I think Chad and I had a good plan going in that we wanted to be able to be aggressive. We ran quite a bit of laps on those tires, some pretty hard ones, two‑ and three‑wide at the front. I think it was the right call.           Yeah, it was pretty jammed up and hard to get back up towards the front. But there’s always a lot of laps left at these tracks. I really think the good fortune of the race was when we missed that wreck. I just had a feeling after missing that wreck that we were in a good position. We kind of crossed that one hurdle that seems to take at this track to really win races. As soon as you do that you kind of got to capitalize on it.           I knew once we got to two or three to go we had a great opportunity. Typically, there’s some things that happen on that final restart that I’ve noticed. We were just in the right position. Kind of being second there might have been the better position to be in. We’re really fortunate that worked out, the 14 was pushing us, then just had to be aggressive.            Q. With all of the strategizing on superspeedways, how important is the spotter and the crew chief encouraging you on?WILLIAM BYRON: I think it’s probably the most critical thing on the speedway, knowing where other cars are in terms of whether that comes from your spotter or the mirror. I feel like it’s a little bit of both. You use your spotter as a guide. It’s kind of 50% of the equation. The other equation is your mirrors.           I think we try to spend a lot of time in the shop getting that stuff right. It paid off tonight, just knowing where other cars are, especially in the last couple laps, being able to watch your mirrors.           iRacing has some good programs on there for the realism aspect of the visuals. Kind of learned some things off of that, too.            Q. Do you feel if you had not taken the move between the 22 and the 43 that you would have likely been involved?WILLIAM BYRON: I don’t really know what happened. I don’t know if I directly caused it or not. Sure I had a role because cars were bouncing off me both sides.           They bounced off each other. The 22 made a late block. They bounced off each other. I had already pushed the 43 into that hole, so I was committed.           At that point not the middle but daylight opened up between the two cars after they bounced off each other. They kind of separated. I had enough of a run to stick in it there and complete it practically. I was going to go for that because I needed the points and I needed to try to finish the race in first, second or third. I really had that in mind.           As soon as that happened I really went for it. Then the final restart was really me versus Denny and the 19. It came down to just a couple guys. I had to try to make it happen there, too.            Q. How much information did you get from Tab to get through that wreck? Did you go through it with both eyes open?WILLIAM BYRON: I did. Tab played a really big role there. I mean, he said to go low before I even thought about going low. I was kind of in the middle of the track. I was on the top of three‑wide. I just made a move on the 19 to get to the outside of him into turn three. I saw the 18 start to smoke up there. I was hoping he would hold it against the wall and not cause a wreck. I think a wreck happened right behind him.           However, it formed, those guys just started to kind of go up against the wall. I still had enough momentum to kind of try to get by it. Tab said to go low and gas it up. He was really on his game there. You just got to go for any daylight that you see, just hope it works out.           Luckily the 37 kind of went back up the track, I gassed it up to get by. It just worked out. It was incredible really. I think that was a turning point for sure. Very fortunate that worked out to allow us to have an opportunity.            Q. You alluded earlier how the first thought in your mind was you were in the Playoffs. That starts next week. Is it difficult to get your first win, have to quickly shift focus to race in the Playoffs?WILLIAM BYRON: I mean, fortunately we have pretty long weeks now with no practice and qualifying. Kind of get a few days to take it in. I think we get two more days than normal. Got Sunday tomorrow, which I’m probably going to hang out with some buddies, try to have a good time. Then Monday, Tuesday we’ll get ready for Darlington.           We had a pretty good car there. We’re going to make some improvements. Darlington is a track we traditionally have run well at. Looking forward to that one, for sure.            Q. When you look back on this race 20 years down the road, what are you going to remember most about it?WILLIAM BYRON: Just the excitement of crossing the line. It’s been a long time coming for this win in the Cup Series. I was thinking the other day before this race actually just how long it’s actually been since I’ve won a race. I’ve really been wanting to win and have that feeling again of adrenaline.           The Duel this year was kind of half of that, I’d say, three‑quarters of that feeling. I just want that feeling again. This is awesome, man. It’s going to be great to celebrate with my family. Just extremely blessed and fortunate that it worked out.             THE MODERATOR: William, thank you so much for taking the time to join us. Congratulations on the win. We will see you at Darlington.             WILLIAM BYRON: Thanks, guys.
CHAD KNAUS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR: Chad, thank you for joining us. We are joined by the crew chief of the winning No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team.           Walk through what it feels like to be with William to get that first win and the Playoff berth.
CHAD KNAUS: The emotions obviously have run rampant over the last few weeks with the position we’ve been in. It’s been unfortunate the 24 has been back this far, needing to battle so hard for the Playoff spot.           Coming into the weekend we were optimistic. We felt like we were going to have a good race car. Felt like the car was going to perform well. We knew William was really good at superspeedway racing. He’s done exceptionally well at the restrictor plate tracks, been able to get a lot of stage points.           Going into today we really didn’t know what was going to happen, obviously. There was a lot of excitement and energy coming into the track this weekend. To be able to get out there and race competitively all race long, William doing a really good job of missing some critical crashes out there, put us in a good spot to get the victory, for Liberty and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.           It was a long time coming. Obviously the goal for me was to try to get to Victory Lane with this 24 car again. To be able to do it here in Daytona is really special.
THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Chad.            Q. You’ve been part of a lot of big moments, big‑time performances. How big is this in the sense of Byron with all the pressure on winning?CHAD KNAUS: I think it’s really big obviously. The one thing to be selfish from my standpoint is I wanted to get to Victory Lane with a car number as a crew chief without Jimmie Johnson on top of the door. Nothing against Jimmie or any of that, but just to do it, to see if I could accomplish it.           We’ve come close, had some really solid runs with the 24 car. Not as many this year as we would have liked to have had. To do it really means a lot, to be able to bring this team into the Playoffs again. Last year in the Playoffs we performed really well. I’m really excited about the Playoffs this year. I think we have some racetracks at that we’ll run competitive. We’ll see what goes.            Q. What were your thoughts on the first red flag?CHAD KNAUS: Obviously we were curious of what was going to happen. We knew there’s a long ways to go before the race was over with.           Laps here at Daytona just take forever. There’s so many opportunities for guys to be aggressive, push. We knew there was going to be a lot more action before the race was over with. We needed to get ourselves in a position to get out there and battle with it.           William held true and did a really good job of keeping focused, keeping his eyes forward, watching the guys behind him. Tab, our spotter, did a good job of keeping him informed of what was happening around us. We were in a real good position after skirting that crash.            Q. How do you move forward and try to make sure this team advances?CHAD KNAUS: It’s all in the details, right? We have to make sure that we execute properly. Going to Darlington, a great racetrack for us. We’ve run well there. Sat on the pole there last year, ran up front. Ran up front in the first race in the spring this year. Unfortunately, we had a loose wheel and crashed. Second race we ran reasonable. But we didn’t execute the details as well as what we needed to.           Getting back to Charlotte, getting back to work on Monday, executing the way we need to to make sure we take a race car over there, I think we have a competitive opportunity to go there and run up towards the front. That’s what we need to do.           I’m not sure where we start. I’m sure somebody could tell me what our starting position is. That’s going to be critical with pit selection. If we can be up towards the front, get our legs out from underneath us, get going, we’re going to be okay.            Q. You mentioned the Jimmie aspect of this, trying to win without him. How do you handle the emotions of this win, having a role in excluding Jimmie from the Playoffs in his final season?CHAD KNAUS: Man, c’mon. I feel awful. Let’s be quite honest, right? Jimmie shouldn’t be in this position. If it hadn’t been for COVID, him missing a race, he should have been solid in the Playoffs. That hurts.           I hate it for Jimmie. He’s one of my best friends. He was the first guy that came by pit road and looked up at me, revved up the engine, gave me a thumbs up. He means the world to me. He’s a great man and brother of mine.           It hurts me, but it is what we do, we compete. We’ve got to go do what we need to do.            Q. The red flag, you seemed to be going back and forth on pitting, tire rub or not. Seemed like there was some indecision. Walk me through that.CHAD KNAUS: Oh, man, it was tough. It was tough. Obviously we knew we had some damage on the left rear tire, at least some contact. The lettering was rubbed off the sidewall of the tire. There was some contact there. We didn’t really know how bad it was. It was a tough spot, right?           We knew we were ahead of the 48 at that point. We should have been obviously, we would have been, if we came down pit road. There was the opportunity for the 95 or the 17 up there to maybe push through and get the win, which would have then bumped us out. We had to make a decision on whether to go for it, see if we could make it for the two laps or pit.           With the way our luck has been this year, quite honestly I was leaning towards pitting, making sure the fenders were clear from the tires, getting out there and get a good finish, making sure we finished five or six spots ahead of the 48.           As we ran around, got some help from our TV partners out there, they took the drone, running around the car, I was able to see what the damage looked like. It helped us realize that we felt we were clear and we could make it a couple laps.            Q. Does this prove to yourself that you can win without Jimmie Johnson?CHAD KNAUS: It makes me feel good, for sure. Jimmie could have probably won a lot more races if he had a better crew chief than me. How is that (smiling)?            Q. On the radio after you won the race, you’re still being a crew chief, reprimanding. You seemed subdued. That is a fair assessment?CHAD KNAUS: Big dummies. I told them to go out there so they would get on TV and get a good picture of themselves. I told them to stay six feet apart. The first thing they did was go over there and picked up the driver. We’re going to hand out some team fines out. Just kidding (laughter).            Q. Is it that you have a young team, have to mold them?CHAD KNAUS: You have to do that with any team. Any head coach or coach does that, right, if you’re trying to keep your guys safe and do what’s right. In this situation we’ve got to make sure we’re being smart about how we approach everything at the racetrack. Yeah, I was just telling them to give each other some space, still enjoy the time, but get some space.            Q. After how long it took William to get this win, how do your feelings tonight compare to what you experienced with Jimmie back in 2002 at Fontana?CHAD KNAUS: Oh, geez. I don’t know if I can remember back that far. That was a long time ago.           It’s a different emotion. It’s a different time. Obviously in 2002 it was just different. It was so raw and so pure, just a different time. William is experiencing those emotions right now obviously. I think it’s fantastic. We’ve got a handful of guys on the team that have never won a Cup race before. They’re going through those same emotions.           For me it’s quite honestly a little bit more of a relief than maybe the elation of victory. I’ll be honest with you. I really wanted to get to Victory Lane with this 24 car again. To be able to do it with the legacy that Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham started with this car, at Hendrick Motorsports to get it back to Victory Lane, follow suit with what Chase was able to do with the 24 car, to put William’s name up there, it’s a lot of pressure. I feel really happy about it and definitely a lot of relief.            Q. Throughout this race obviously it stayed calm for the most part. Daytona typically plays out, you get some big wrecks at the end. Did you see this playing out or did it have a different feel?CHAD KNAUS: I think it definitely had a little bit more ‑‑ it depends on the situation. If you’re a guy that is locked into the Playoffs, you have a bunch of wins, don’t have to worry, it probably felt like it did in July from their perspective.           For myself and the 21 and the 48, the handful of guys trying to win a race to make it into the Playoffs, I guarantee you the intensity was way higher. The pressure that they all felt was significantly different.           For me it was high. It was really high. But quite honestly, I love it. That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we compete. If it was easy, nobody would want to do it. Yeah, it felt really good after the race when we got that checkered flag.            Q. Chevrolet’s performance at the start of the year, looked like you were back. COVID, summer months. Where do you feel you are competitively, close that 50‑point gap to Harvick?CHAD KNAUS: Gee, whizz, already asking me that question?           I think our superspeedway program looks fantastic, really good. I think we can go to Talladega and race well there. Our road course package obviously is really good. I feel comfortable with that. Darlington, I think we get around there pretty well. Martinsville we get around really well.           Probably the sticking point for me right now is Richmond. I’m really not certain about that. Some guys run really well there, we haven’t as of late. Phoenix I think we can run pretty well.           Man, I think we got a shot. Our package is picking up speed. I think we’ve seen that based off the performance at Dover last weekend. I think we ran really well along with our teammates. I think that kind of shows what we’re capable of. We ran well on Sunday, not on Saturday, but I think you get my point.           I think we’ve got a shot to get up there, fight with these guys a little bit. I’m not going to say we can’t, but we haven’t shown we can get out there and run races with those guys as consistently as they can, finish in the top five as consistently as they can. Sometimes it only takes a little spark to light a fire, and maybe this is just that spark.            Q. I read something that said you have now made every single Playoffs. Explain how that feels to you with some of the greatest crew chiefs.CHAD KNAUS: I think it’s great. Obviously it’s an honor to be able to be in this position, battle year in and year out for the championship. Some of them better than others obviously.           But I do feel that some of the guys that I’ve seen come and go through our sport were better crew chiefs than myself. I maybe just had a little bit of luck on my side from time to time to get us to this position.           It’s pretty cool. Hopefully that will go on my plaque one day when they hang it on the wall. Who knows.            Q. With 15 to go, bringing William down pit road, cost a lot of track position at the time, but was there any doubt William was going to be stuck back there?CHAD KNAUS: Man, I was kicking myself in the butt right after we did it. I was a little frustrated. Man, maybe we shouldn’t have done that. Maybe we should have stayed out.           Quite honestly, I see maneuverability be so important at the end of these races. Getting tires at this track on a short run like that I think is a good thing. I feel like we were going to get back up there and run. Crashes happen. Having fresh tires, it’s easier for the drivers to navigate around the crashes. We opted to do it. We’ve had success in the past making some decisions like that.           Even though at one point there it wasn’t looking great, it panned out. It kind of happened the way we thought it would have. If we were up front, we would have been swept up with the 3 and the 1. I think it was the right call now looking back. It was the right call at the time.            Q. You’ve faced a lot of questions concerning Jimmie Johnson, but one more. What was it like, the transition between being the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson and now William? Did you have to change the way you were a crew chief for the different drivers?CHAD KNAUS: Yeah, of course, obviously. I also had to change the way I was a crew chief for Jimmie from the way we started in 2002 to when we ended in the middle 2015s.           I think, look, like I’ve said, I’m a good crew chief, I’m not the best crew chief that’s ever walked out there by any means. I think a good coach understands the situation and understands how to morph and adapt to the circumstances you’re in. Working with William is a completely different set of circumstances than what it was working with a seven‑time championship driver.           I think we’ve done a pretty good job. Great, no. But we’ve done a pretty good job. We have been able to make the Playoffs both years. Now we are fortunate enough to have a victory. Hopefully we can get out there and have some success in the final 10 races.
THE MODERATOR: Chad, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.
CHAD KNAUS: Thank you.

NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES AUGUST 29, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE2nd     CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th      BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      William Byron (Chevrolet)2nd     Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)3rd      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)4th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)5th      Bubba Wallace (Chevrolet)TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:POS.  DRIVER5th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE9th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th    KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
16 UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:POS.  DRIVER1st      Kevin Harvick (Ford)2nd     Denny Hamlin (Toyota)3rd      Brad Keselowski (Ford)4th      Joey Logano (Ford)5th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)6th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)7th      Ryan Blaney (Ford)8th      Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)9th      William Byron (Chevrolet)10th    Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)11th    Cole Custer (Ford)12th    Aric Almirola (Ford)13th    Clint Bowyer (Ford)14th    Kyle Busch (Toyota)15th    Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)16th    Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at Darlington Raceway with the Southern 500 on Sunday, September 6,^, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES (Including post-race press conference transcripts for Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson):WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerWHAT A DAY TO GET YOUR FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES CAREER WIN! YOU PITTED FOR FOUR TIRES, GOT BACK IN TRAFFIC. AT THAT MOMENT, DID YOU THINK A WIN WAS EVEN POSSIBLE?“Oh, yeah! I had confidence in (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and the guys that we could get four tires and make the most of it. So, I’m just extremely blessed, and this is incredible. It’s been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and gel with this team. These guys did an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs and it’s amazing.” HOW INTENSE WAS THE RACING TONIGHT AND RACING YOUR TEAMMATE, JIMMIE JOHNSON, KNOWING IT WAS A POINT OR TWO, IT COULD SWING EITHER WAY? WHAT WAS THAT LIKE IN THE PACK ALL NIGHT LONG?“This is probably the hardest track to points-race. We had a great Stage 2 and kind of got back in the pack and got shuffled when everyone went single file. I thought my hopes were up there. And we were racing around the No. 21 (Matt DiBenedetto) and the No. 48 (Johnson) in the final stage and I was like man, I’ve got to really make something happen. Luckily, I was able to push the No. 43 (Bubba Wallace) and he and the No. 22 (Joey Logano) made some contact and opened up a hole for me, and I wasn’t going to lift. It was awesome. Thanks to Liberty University, Chevrolet, and it’s amazing.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndHOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING TONIGHT, CHASE?“It was pretty wild from my seat. I was surprised it took us as long as it did to wreck, for sure. But I’m really proud of our Hooters team. I feel like we had faster Chevrolet’s than we’ve had in the last couple of trips, which was good. It didn’t drive as good as I think it probably should have, but I do think we were better by a pretty large margin, so that was nice. Congratulations to William (Byron) – getting your first win is something he’ll never forget and that’s a really special moment for him. He’s worked really hard for that. I’m happy for him, Chad (Knaus) and all of the 24 team. They’ve done a good job.” WAS THAT YOUR FOCUS, TO JUST STICK WITH WILLIAM AND MAKE SURE HE STAYS UP FRONT?“To a point, yes. If I had a run to do something on my own, I certainly would have like anybody else. But I just never had an opportunity that wasn’t going to hurt both of us. I feel like if it could have ever just been he and I one-on-one or put myself in a position to get around him, it would have been good and nothing wrong with that. But just the way it all kind of worked out, my best option for my best finish was to push him. I certainly would rather push him than some others, for sure. ” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“Super pumped for William (Byron) and the entire No. 24 team. Really cool to see them get the win. Bummed for Jimmie at the same time. It is a big mix of emotions there for Jimmie to miss it. Overall, not a bad day for the No. 88 team. Had a really fast car, didn’t drive really well though. I have no clue how we didn’t crash some of those times. We got really lucky there at the end and ended up with a solid top-10 finish.” BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“The Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro had a heck of a run tonight. We saw pay dirt there at the end – third place coming out of turn four. The 19 car just side drafted us and pulled us back. I didn’t have any help behind me but what a night. I just have to say thank you so much to the Beard family, Darren Shaw (crew chief) and Ron Lewis, my spotter. I also want to say thank you to Richard Childress and ECR motors for all they do for us. Two top-10s this year at Daytona – what a way to go out. It was so much fun. We will see everyone in Talladega and we’ll actually be able to take the same racecar because it’s in one piece.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17thHOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE DAY?“First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate getting his first Cup win like that. This setting and the drama to go with it – that’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron. I’m really happy for those guys. I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in the way it went in the first two stages. Things just got ugly down in turn one. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing.” YOU SEEM LIKE YOU HAD THE SPEED TODAY. THE 48 CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS A POTENTIAL RACE WINNER, AT LEAST A TOP-FIVE CAR. “Yeah, we had a really good car. The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Definitely disappointed to not be in the Playoffs – that was the number one goal to start the year. But when I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team. Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.” YOU MENTIONED CLIFF – I KNOW HE SAID NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR SEASON AND IT CERTAINLY WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR CAREER. IS THAT ACCURATE? “Yeah, it’s not fair to put on it. The last three years have been tough – we all know that. I think we’ve shown some bright spots and Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) has done a really good job of leading this team and taking this team in the right direction. I think we can show that and close out the year.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 25th“Pulling into Daytona International Speedway for the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 400 tonight and seeing fans really pumped me up. It was great to have them at the track, and I think they were treated to quite the show. We had a fast Dow VORASURF Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Even though we had to start at the back of the field, we were able to work our way into the top-five and we had speed and handling. Things were getting exciting with less than 15 laps to go. I thought there was going to be a big run and I was going to be in the clear but it didn’t work out that way. I was on the high line and had nowhere to go when everyone started crashing in front of me. I should have known better. If you stay on the bottom you have an out. We ended up with a lot of damage to our Chevy and survived several additional end-of-race wrecks to nurse it home to a 25^th-place finish. Obviously, not what we were hoping for but it’s just the situation. It’s the last race before the NASCAR Playoffs and we knew the action would be wild. I’m thankful we are locked into the Playoffs and I’m looking forward to running for a championship for everyone at RCR and ECR and all of our partners.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 158; Finished 29th“Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet team came out today with one goal, and that was to win. We gave it our all and came close to making the NASCAR Playoffs during my rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast tonight and handled really well too. I have to thank RCR and ECR for always bringing such great engines and cars to the superspeedway races. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, and crew chief, Randall Burnett did a great job calling a race that got me up towards the front with 10 laps to go. I tried to make a move for the lead with about eight laps to go, and it didn’t work out like I planned. It unfortunately hurt our car and chance to win. I was clear for about a second when I went to make it, but it’s Daytona and things change quickly. There weren’t a lot laps left at that time, and you have to do what you can to try to win to make the Playoffs. I can’t thank KCMG, Caterpillar, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Alsco, Chevrolet and all our partners at RCR and ECR enough for their support during my rookie season. I promise we’re still going to be fighting hard every week for the next 10 weeks to get our first win in the Cup Series.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 32ndYOU WERE HANGING IN THE BACK MOST OF THIS RACE AND YOU DECIDED TO GO TO THE FRONT AND THE AGGRESSION PICKED UP. DID YOU HAVE THE SPEED TO STAY UP THERE AND DO YOU THINK IT GOT A LITTLE IT AGGRESSIVE?“No, I think the race kind of played out similar to what we thought it was going to. Starting in the back, we decided we would just kind of cruise in our Kroger Camaro. It was nice running the bottom there in that final stage with the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 88 (Alex Bowman) behind us. I felt like we were making headway, got up beside the 18 (Kyle Busch) for the lead and it was tough with the 18 and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) together. But I thought with us, the 9 and the 88, I thought that we could keep our momentum up. Something happened behind them and they got shuffled and separated from me. Then there at the end, we were just running the top lane. It looked like the 8 (Tyler Reddick) tried to pull a slider, didn’t quite have him cleared and we all just kind of bunched up. Our Kroger Camaro was fast again. I had a lot of fun, but it sucks not to get the finish out of it.”  KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 34th“We were just digging on the bottom – I thought that was the best spot to be. Our Monster Energy Chevy was fast and we were all in the right spot, I thought, for what we needed to get done. Just got clipped from behind and our day is done. But, all-in-all, we’ve been coming together as a team – we just haven’t had the results to show it. I like the clarity and focus that we have on the No. 1 car heading into the Playoffs. It’s been a consistent season all the way until these last few, but now it’s time. Now we have to lay down everything we’ve got with Darlington, Richmond and Bristol coming up.”
“Thanks to Monster Energy, Chevrolet, GEARWRENCH. Sorry Ganassi guys – I didn’t bring it on home, but we were racing hard with nothing to lose. I thought the bottom was the safest spot, we just got clipped from behind.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:THE MODERATOR: We’re now joined by Chase Elliott, our second‑place finisher in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.           Talk us through the final laps, getting this second‑place finish.             CHASE ELLIOTT: It was obviously pretty wild there at the end, like it always is. Really hard to know what’s going to go, what isn’t. Really unpredictable from my vantage point.           Just kind of happened to be at the right place I feel to make up some spots on that last lap. Was in a position where I didn’t think me making a move on William was going to benefit myself. It was better to kind of stick to him, get him shoved out in front of the 11 and those guys, hope he would be able to hold on from there.             THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions for Chase.            Q. Jim Campbell made it clear the last couple years for the Chevys to work together at the restrictor plate tracks. Did that plan work out as well as you had set in place? Do you feel you had to go with whatever line was moving, who there was to work with?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, honestly this week was a little different from our vantage point. I felt like it was less this is what we have to do, but it was more of this is the objective. Kind of left it to the drivers, which I thought was a little better personally.           Not every circumstance is always going to work out when you’re just trying to stay nose to tail the whole time. There are instances where you can pick and choose who you want to help and who you don’t. I think just knowing the objective, kind of letting us have a little bit of free rein there was really good.           Jim has been really laid back and open to trying new things. I thought it was better as a group for us tonight, not because we won, but in general we were a little more fluid which I think is a good thing at these races.            Q. We heard on the radio to stay with your teammate. Was there any other thought in your mind?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, yeah, I was looking for an opportunity for myself, for sure. I never saw an opportunity that I thought was going to benefit me. There were a couple opportunities that would have probably hurt both of us. I didn’t see a scenario. Maybe there was. I’m certainly not the best plate racer, maybe there was a spot for me to make it work for me and go on to win.           At the moment in time I didn’t see that developing. Tried to give William the best shove I could, go on down the road.            Q. You had a front row seat for the incident between Reddick and Kyle. Many guys were criticizing him for being too aggressive. What is your opinion?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, yeah, it was aggressive for sure. The same guys who complain about aggression are the ones who are rooting and shoving you out of the way at the next plate race. I’ve been on the other end of that, people jumping down your throat about that stuff. They’ll be the ones doing it to you and taking advantage of you if you don’t give it back to them.           Yes, it was a little aggressive. At the same time I think the guys who win those races are aggressive, too.            Q. Do you think the date change for Daytona being the last regular‑season event had any effect on the intensity later in the race?CHASE ELLIOTT: Certainly made for better storylines leading in. This race being in July, I feel like it just kind of got I don’t want to say swept under the rug, but it was just one of those things that kind of came out in the wash by the end of the regular season.           But with where it was tonight, it obviously put a lot more emphasis on tonight and the situation the guys around the bubble are in. That’s really tough. That’s a tough thing to come down here and have to perform. I think it’s really honestly near impossible to guarantee that.           Ultimately there were however many races before tonight to get yourself in a good position to not be on the bubble like that. Ultimately that’s what it comes down to.           To me the one person I feel the worst for is Jimmie, not because he didn’t get in, but because the guy had to miss a race, how much of a setback is why he was on that bubble position. That’s the guy I feel for through all that.            Q. What do you think this win can do for William Byron?CHASE ELLIOTT: I thought he did a really good job. He performed under fantastic pressure I feel like in the Xfinity Series, too, when he was coming along. If you’re racing for wins, you’re never going to escape those situations, which is a good thing. It’s a privilege to be in those spots.           Yeah, he did a good job. He had good opportunities there at the end of the race and made the most of them, went on to grab his first win. More than anything, I’m just happy for him. I felt like they’ve ran well over the years and been close at times. Cool to see that team go to Victory Lane.           I know some of their pit crew guys were guys I worked with when I was racing the Xfinity Series. Kind of a small community there. Yeah, just happy to see him get a win in the 24 car. That was something I really wanted to do because the only other guy to win was Jeff in that car. I thought that would have been a really neat honor to join him.           I think he should really embrace that. That’s a really cool thing, in my opinion, that he should definitely think about or one of y’all should mention to him when you interview him.            Q. Looking ahead to the Playoffs, what will be the key to get over the hump of getting to the championship?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think just winning more consistently. We see the 11 and the 4 and those guys winning about every other week. When they’re not winning, they’re running second or third, right? You got to be doing that. You got to be up front more often. You can’t hit it one week, then be off for three weeks, then hit it again, then be off for another three weeks, expect the cards to fall your way.           I think for us, I look back to how we started the season, and I thought we were running really competitively. Is that a word? I felt like we were really close to where we needed to be.           After the break I feel like we fired off good. Seems like we got behind a little bit. Then this past week at Dover I thought we were better than what we had been. We just got to get that consistency we had at the beginning of the season and when the break was over. I think we could compete with really whoever.             THE MODERATOR: Chase, thank you for taking the time to join us. We will see you at Darlington. JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE SITUATION AND FEELING? AT THIS POINT, IS IT JUST SHOCK MORE THAN ANYTHING? EVEN TO BE SO CLOSE AFTER ALL YOU’VE GONE THROUGH. HOW DO YOU JUST DESCRIBE HOW YOU’RE FEELING?“Yeah, that’s the disappointing part. To look back at the ones that got away, the ones I never got a shot at, like the Brickyard, and to only miss it by six points – I knew it was going to be an emotional couple of weeks going down this stretch. I knew the position we were in, so it’s not like this is a shocker or a surprise. So, my emotions are what I would have expected. I’m definitely disappointed, but we’ve been running well, still know I can win a race and there’s still races to win. A couple of beers and a flight home, I’ll get a good nights rest, try to shake it off tomorrow and just focus on the next race.” JUST DESCRIBE WHAT YOU SAW IN THE WRECK AND KIND OF YOUR FEELING WAS ONCE YOU KNEW YOU HAD SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.“As we came by the start-finish line, I could see some rooftops moving around and I knew something was going on. I saw the 43 car on the outside wall, but he gathered it up and we all kind of got rolling again down into turn one. And then I could not see what really started things on the lower lanes. I got into the right-side wall just a little bit and then someone clobbered me from the bottom. Something happened in the lower lane that I didn’t see and somebody spun up into me.” IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR LAST SEASON?“I don’t know. I guess it’s very similar. I have not put as much on this being my last year as others have. It’s been about performing, it’s been about being competitive, it’s been about getting this race team back to where it deserves to be. Last year, we were in a rebuilding phase and had to overcome a lot. This year, I feel like we don’t really have much to rebuild – we just need to execute. So, I think I had more optimism this year to make the Playoffs than I did last year. If I go out and win a couple of races down the stretch, I’ll be really disappointed I’m not in the Playoffs. So, we’ll have to see how my emotions feel as the final 10 go on.” HOW DO YOU PREVENT THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THIS FROM LEAKING INTO THE REST OF THE SEASON OR EVEN NEXT WEEK? HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT NOW AND STOP IT FROM GOING FORWARD?“It’s really this team. If our DNA was different, if our bond and relationship was different, we would have started crumbling a couple of weeks ago when the pressure was really on. You could tell from our performances that hasn’t been the case. The accountability and belief we have in one another really carries the tempo and the mindset for the team. The guys were bummed out on pit lane as I was getting out of the car – my team members were. But we all know that there’s 10 more races to try to win. That’s where everybody’s focus is – to try to send me out with a trophy.” WHAT DO FEEL SEEING CHAD KNAUS CELEBRATE IN VICTORY LANE WITH A DRIVER OTHER THAN YOU?“I’m so happy for him – I really am. He is a brother to me. The bond, relationship and friendship we have – I am genuinely so happy for Chad Knaus, William Byron and that entire 24 team. For one, Chad and my relationship with him and two, they’re my teammates. I’m in the trenches with them week in and week out. William I’ve known for a long, long time. Many of you will remember me telling a story about him trick-or-treating at my house when he was a kid. So, to see him win his first race on this big stage with all the pressure, I’m really happy for both of them. I knew there was a path in to make the Playoffs if William did win and I felt like we were in a really good position to do that. But that crash that we got caught up in really took our chances away.” HAVE YOU SEEN CHAD (KNAUS) TAKE ON A DIFFERENT PERSONA WITH WILLIAM (BYRON) THAN HE HAD WITH YOU AS A CREW CHIEF? HE SEEMS MORE HANDS-ON EVEN MORE THAN HE WAS AND KIND OF MORE OF ALMOST A TASK MASTER, A TEACHER KIND OF THING.“Honestly, that’s one of Chad’s strengths and what he’s always done so well. I feel like his wisdom, experience, accountability and the bond that you have with him being his driver – he’s a great teacher. I think at some point where he and I went wrong with the pressure and our success, a lot of different things kind of weighed on us. And when the performance wasn’t there, the decay started and we had our issues. When Mr. Hendrick chose to put William with Chad, I knew why and I knew they were going to be good. I expected them to win a little sooner, but I’m so happy for them that they did get this win on such a big stage.” WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE RIGHT NOW TO BOTH THE NO. 48 TEAM, WHO DID JUST EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO GET YOU BACK IN THE RACE WHEN THAT WRECK HAPPEN, AND THE NO. 48 FAN BASE?“There’s 10 more chances to take a trophy home. That’s all we’re focused on at this point. Nothing else matters – it’s about winning races and finishing up this year as we should.”

Austin Dillon and the Dow VORASURF Chevrolet Team Conclude NASCAR Regular Season on a High Note Dillon One of 16 Drivers Advancing to 2020 NASCAR Playoffs

25th   12th  10th

“Pulling into Daytona International Speedway for the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 400 tonight and seeing fans really pumped me up. It was great to have them at the track, and I think they were treated to quite the show. We had a fast Dow VORASURF Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Even though we had to start at the back of the field, we were able to work our way into the top five and we had speed and a good handling car. Things were getting exciting with less than 15 laps to go. I thought there was going to be a big run and I was going to be in the clear but it didn’t work out that way. I was on the high line and had nowhere to go when everyone started crashing in front of me. I should have known better. If you stay on the bottom you have an out. We ended up with a lot of damage to our Chevy and survived several additional end-of-race wrecks to nurse it home to a 25th-place finish. Obviously, not what we were hoping for but it’s just the situation. It’s the last race before the NASCAR Playoffs and we knew the action would be wild. I’m thankful we are locked into the Playoffs and I’m looking forward to running for a championship for everyone at RCR and ECR, Dow, Bass Pro Shops, TRACKER Off Road, E-Z-GO, American Ethanol, AstraZeneca, RigUp, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet and all of our partners.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and No. 8 KCMG Team Show Speed and Lead Laps Before Being Swept Up in the ‘Big One’

29th   18th   19th

“Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet team came out today with one goal and that was to win. We gave it our all and came close to making the NASCAR Playoffs during my rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast tonight and handled really well, too. I have to thank RCR and ECR for always bringing such great engines and cars to the superspeedway races. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, and crew chief, Randall Burnett, did a great job calling a race that got me up towards the front with 10 laps to go. I tried to make a move for the lead with about eight laps to go, and it didn’t work out like I planned. It, unfortunately, hurt our car and chance to win. I was clear for about a second when I went to make it, but it’s Daytona and things change quickly. There weren’t a lot laps left at that time, and you have to do what you can to try to win to make the Playoffs. I can’t thank KCMG, Caterpillar, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Alsco, Chevrolet and all our partners at RCR and ECR enough for their support during my rookie season. I promise we’re still going to be fighting hard every week for the next 10 weeks to get our first win in the Cup Series.” -Tyler Reddick

NASCAR CUP SERIES COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES AUGUST 29, 2020

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE2nd     CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE5th      BUBBA WALLACE, NO. 43 WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      William Byron (Chevrolet)2nd     Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)3rd      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)4th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)5th      Bubba Wallace (Chevrolet)TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:POS.  DRIVER5th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE8th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE9th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE10th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE15th    KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
16 UNOFFICIAL PLAYOFF CONTENDERS:POS.  DRIVER1st      Kevin Harvick (Ford)2nd     Denny Hamlin (Toyota)3rd      Brad Keselowski (Ford)4th      Joey Logano (Ford)5th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)6th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)7th      Ryan Blaney (Ford)8th      Alex Bowman (Chevrolet)9th      William Byron (Chevrolet)10th    Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)11th    Cole Custer (Ford)12th    Aric Almirola (Ford)13th    Clint Bowyer (Ford)14th    Kyle Busch (Toyota)15th    Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)16th    Matt DiBenedetto (Ford)
The NASCAR Cup Series seasons continues at Darlington Raceway with the Southern 500 on Sunday, September 6,^, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBCSN, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerWHAT A DAY TO GET YOUR FIRST NASCAR CUP SERIES CAREER WIN! YOU PITTED FOR FOUR TIRES, GOT BACK IN TRAFFIC. AT THAT MOMENT, DID YOU THINK A WIN WAS EVEN POSSIBLE?“Oh, yeah! I had confidence in (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and the guys that we could get four tires and make the most of it. So, I’m just extremely blessed, and this is incredible. It’s been a hard couple of years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and gel with this team. These guys did an awesome job today and got us in the Playoffs and it’s amazing.” HOW INTENSE WAS THE RACING TONIGHT AND RACING YOUR TEAMMATE, JIMMIE JOHNSON, KNOWING IT WAS A POINT OR TWO, IT COULD SWING EITHER WAY? WHAT WAS THAT LIKE IN THE PACK ALL NIGHT LONG?“This is probably the hardest track to points-race. We had a great Stage 2 and kind of got back in the pack and got shuffled when everyone went single file. I thought my hopes were up there. And we were racing around the No. 21 (Matt DiBenedetto) and the No. 48 (Johnson) in the final stage and I was like man, I’ve got to really make something happen. Luckily, I was able to push the No. 43 (Bubba Wallace) and he and the No. 22 (Joey Logano) made some contact and opened up a hole for me, and I wasn’t going to lift. It was awesome. Thanks to Liberty University, Chevrolet, and it’s amazing.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2ndHOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING TONIGHT, CHASE?“It was pretty wild from my seat. I was surprised it took us as long as it did to wreck, for sure. But I’m really proud of our Hooters team. I feel like we had faster Chevrolet’s than we’ve had in the last couple of trips, which was good. It didn’t drive as good as I think it probably should have, but I do think we were better by a pretty large margin, so that was nice. Congratulations to William (Byron) – getting your first win is something he’ll never forget and that’s a really special moment for him. He’s worked really hard for that. I’m happy for him, Chad (Knaus) and all of the 24 team. They’ve done a good job.” WAS THAT YOUR FOCUS, TO JUST STICK WITH WILLIAM AND MAKE SURE HE STAYS UP FRONT?“To a point, yes. If I had a run to do something on my own, I certainly would have like anybody else. But I just never had an opportunity that wasn’t going to hurt both of us. I feel like if it could have ever just been he and I one-on-one or put myself in a position to get around him, it would have been good and nothing wrong with that. But just the way it all kind of worked out, my best option for my best finish was to push him. I certainly would rather push him than some others, for sure.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“Super pumped for William (Byron) and the entire No. 24 team. Really cool to see them get the win. Bummed for Jimmie at the same time. It is a big mix of emotions there for Jimmie to miss it. Overall, not a bad day for the No. 88 team. Had a really fast car, didn’t drive really well though. I have no clue how we didn’t crash some of those times. We got really lucky there at the end and ended up with a solid top-10 finish.” BRENDAN GAUGHAN, NO. 62 BEARD OIL DISTRIBUTING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 8th“The Beard Oil Distributing Chevrolet Camaro had a heck of a run tonight. We saw pay dirt there at the end – third place coming out of turn four. The 19 car just side drafted us and pulled us back. I didn’t have any help behind me but what a night. I just have to say thank you so much to the Beard family, Darren Shaw (crew chief) and Ron Lewis, my spotter. I also want to say thank you to Richard Childress and ECR motors for all they do for us. Two top-10s this year at Daytona – what a way to go out. It was so much fun. We will see everyone in Talladega and we’ll actually be able to take the same racecar because it’s in one piece.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 17thHOW DO YOU EVALUATE THE DAY?“First and foremost, congratulations to my teammate getting his first Cup win like that. This setting and the drama to go with it – that’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron. I’m really happy for those guys. I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in the way it went in the first two stages. Things just got ugly down in turn one. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing.” YOU SEEM LIKE YOU HAD THE SPEED TODAY. THE 48 CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS A POTENTIAL RACE WINNER, AT LEAST A TOP-FIVE CAR. “Yeah, we had a really good car. The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well. Definitely disappointed to not be in the Playoffs – that was the number one goal to start the year. But when I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team. Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.” YOU MENTIONED CLIFF – I KNOW HE SAID NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR SEASON AND IT CERTAINLY WOULDN’T DEFINE YOUR CAREER. IS THAT ACCURATE? “Yeah, it’s not fair to put on it. The last three years have been tough – we all know that. I think we’ve shown some bright spots and Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) has done a really good job of leading this team and taking this team in the right direction. I think we can show that and close out the year.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW VORASURF CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 25th“Pulling into Daytona International Speedway for the Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 400 tonight and seeing fans really pumped me up. It was great to have them at the track, and I think they were treated to quite the show. We had a fast Dow VORASURF Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Even though we had to start at the back of the field, we were able to work our way into the top-five and we had speed and handling. Things were getting exciting with less than 15 laps to go. I thought there was going to be a big run and I was going to be in the clear but it didn’t work out that way. I was on the high line and had nowhere to go when everyone started crashing in front of me. I should have known better. If you stay on the bottom you have an out. We ended up with a lot of damage to our Chevy and survived several additional end-of-race wrecks to nurse it home to a 25^th-place finish. Obviously, not what we were hoping for but it’s just the situation. It’s the last race before the NASCAR Playoffs and we knew the action would be wild. I’m thankful we are locked into the Playoffs and I’m looking forward to running for a championship for everyone at RCR and ECR and all of our partners.”TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 KCMG CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 158; Finished 29th“Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet team came out today with one goal, and that was to win. We gave it our all and came close to making the NASCAR Playoffs during my rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series. Our No. 8 KCMG Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was fast tonight and handled really well too. I have to thank RCR and ECR for always bringing such great engines and cars to the superspeedway races. My spotter, Derek Kneeland, and crew chief, Randall Burnett did a great job calling a race that got me up towards the front with 10 laps to go. I tried to make a move for the lead with about eight laps to go, and it didn’t work out like I planned. It unfortunately hurt our car and chance to win. I was clear for about a second when I went to make it, but it’s Daytona and things change quickly. There weren’t a lot laps left at that time, and you have to do what you can to try to win to make the Playoffs. I can’t thank KCMG, Caterpillar, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Alsco, Chevrolet and all our partners at RCR and ECR enough for their support during my rookie season. I promise we’re still going to be fighting hard every week for the next 10 weeks to get our first win in the Cup Series.”
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 32ndYOU WERE HANGING IN THE BACK MOST OF THIS RACE AND YOU DECIDED TO GO TO THE FRONT AND THE AGGRESSION PICKED UP. DID YOU HAVE THE SPEED TO STAY UP THERE AND DO YOU THINK IT GOT A LITTLE IT AGGRESSIVE?“No, I think the race kind of played out similar to what we thought it was going to. Starting in the back, we decided we would just kind of cruise in our Kroger Camaro. It was nice running the bottom there in that final stage with the 9 (Chase Elliott) and the 88 (Alex Bowman) behind us. I felt like we were making headway, got up beside the 18 (Kyle Busch) for the lead and it was tough with the 18 and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) together. But I thought with us, the 9 and the 88, I thought that we could keep our momentum up. Something happened behind them and they got shuffled and separated from me. Then there at the end, we were just running the top lane. It looked like the 8 (Tyler Reddick) tried to pull a slider, didn’t quite have him cleared and we all just kind of bunched up. Our Kroger Camaro was fast again. I had a lot of fun, but it sucks not to get the finish out of it.”  KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined by accident on lap 151; Finished 34th“We were just digging on the bottom – I thought that was the best spot to be. Our Monster Energy Chevy was fast and we were all in the right spot, I thought, for what we needed to get done. Just got clipped from behind and our day is done. But, all-in-all, we’ve been coming together as a team – we just haven’t had the results to show it. I like the clarity and focus that we have on the No. 1 car heading into the Playoffs. It’s been a consistent season all the way until these last few, but now it’s time. Now we have to lay down everything we’ve got with Darlington, Richmond and Bristol coming up.”
“Thanks to Monster Energy, Chevrolet, GEARWRENCH. Sorry Ganassi guys – I didn’t bring it on home, but we were racing hard with nothing to lose. I thought the bottom was the safest spot, we just got clipped from behind.”

Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato Score Another Honda 1-2
Scott Dixon holds off Takuma Sato to score Honda’s sixth win of 2020 at WWT Raceway
Win is Dixon’s 50th, third all-time and highest among current drivers
Second round of NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend runs Sunday

MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 29, 2020) – Scott Dixon vaulted into the lead following the final round of pit stops in today’s opening round in the doubleheader Bommarito Auto Group 500 race weekend, then held off a charging Takuma Sato to score Honda’s sixth NTT INDYCAR SERIES race victory of the season.

The win is Dixon’s fourth in eight races this season, and the 50th of his career, leading all active drivers. Honda, with six wins in 2020, now leads the INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship by 101 points over rival Chevrolet (688-579); while Dixon opens up a 117-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with 386 points to 269 for the second-ranked Josef Newgarden.

Today’s 200-lap contest started on a rough note, with three Honda drivers – Alexander Rossi, Zach Veach and Marco Andretti – among those eliminated in a multi-car crash just moments after race start.

After starting third, Dixon kept the leaders in sight throughout the first two-thirds of the race on the 1.25-mile oval. Sato meanwhile, fell back to midfield in the early stages, but made improvements to the handling of his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda during each pit stop, and returned to contention for the win in the closing stages.

During the final round of pit stops on Lap 177, Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing team enabled him to leapfrog O’Ward for the lead, with Sato emerging in third. Sato then executed a thrilling outside pass of O’Ward for second on Lap 179 and began his chase of Dixon for the victory. At the checkers, Dixon held on for the win by the narrow margin of just 14 hundredths of a second.

Behind the lead trio at the finish, Colton Herta continued his run of consistent results this year, ending the day fourth, with Markus Ericsson making it four Honda drivers in the top five at the checkers.

Next
Today’s race was the opening round of a doubleheader NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. Tomorrow’s 200-lap finale starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Honda Racing social media content and videos from WWT Raceway is available on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD) and on Twitter at (https://twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD).  Produced by the CoForce Digital Media, YouTube videos can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.  

Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 3rd, finished 1st; scores his 50th career Indy car victory, his 4th and Honda’s 6th win of 2020; leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by 117 points after 8 races: “I can’t thank the PNC Bank crew enough. It was a superb race all day. I knew [Takuma] Sato was going to be strong at the end, but I didn’t realize how strong he was coming. We were kind of going into a reserve mode, looking after the engine, and he was there with a head of steam. [the margin of victory was just 0.1404 seconds] I am just so happy for this team. Last week at Indianapolis [when he finished second to Sato] was a bit of a bummer. So, it was nice to get a win. Fifty career-wins – that sounds awesome. We’ve got to keep on truckin’ and get a few more. But I can’t thank Honda and HPD enough. I’m proud to be powered by them. What they’ve done, especially this year, is just phenomenal, and how quick their cars have been. This is just awesome.”

Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda) Indianapolis 500 winner last weekend, started 5th, finished 2nd: “Obviously, the team did a fantastic job. From last week [winning at Indianapolis], we carried a lot of momentum. We lost some places at the beginning of the race. I wasn’t entirely comfortable in the car. But we made improvements to the car at every [pit] stop, and by the end were strong. My Abeam car was phenomenal, and the Honda power was exceptional, again. Big congrats to Ganassi and [Scott] Dixon. Fantastic win for them.”

Allen Miller (Race Team Principal, Honda Performance Development) on Saturday’s Honda win at WWT Raceway, Honda’s 6th win in 8 races this season: “Today’s final 50 laps looked like a continuation of last weekend’s Indianapolis 500, with Scott [Dixon] and Takuma [Sato] once more fighting for the victory. Congratulations to Scott on his milestone 50th career Indy car victory, to Chip Ganassi Racing for their fifth win in eight races this season and to Takuma for a well-earned podium result following his win last week at Indy. This has been an incredible season for Honda and everyone at Honda Performance Development should be proud of these achievements.”

PATO O’WARD SCORES PODIUM FINISH TEAM CHEVY RACE ONE RECAP NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 DOUBLE HEADER PRESENTED BY AXALTA & VALVOLINE WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY MADISON, ILLINOIS AUGUST 29, 2020TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3^rd       PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET6^th       RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET9^th       TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BIG MACHINE VODKA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET10^th     CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET12^th     JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET13^th     CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET14^th     OLIVER ASKEW NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET17^th     WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET19^th     SIMON PEGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET20^th     ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET            TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL FINISHING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER                                                             1^ST      Scott Dixon (Honda)2^nd      Takuma Sato (Honda)3^rd       Pato O’Ward (Chevrolet4^th       Colton Herta (Honda)5^th      Marcus Ericsson (Honda) PATO O’WARD TURNS FRONT ROW START INTO PODIUM FINISH As the 21 year old Pato O’Ward continues his inaugural season behind the wheel of his No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, he also continues to move closer and closer to his first win. Starting on the outside of the front row, O’Ward led a race-high 94 laps to finish third in Race One of the Doubleheader weekend. O’Ward will start Race Two from the second row with another opportunity to get that first trip to NTT INDYCAR Series Victory Lane. After a multi-car crash that eliminated several contenders including Team Chevy’s Ed Carpenter and Simon Pagenaud, and a short delay for light rain, the 200 lap race was caution-free as the battle for the Championship ratcheted up to incredible competition. Rookie Rinus Veekay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing C hevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie in the race. Tony Kanaan, No. 14 Big Machine Vodka and Conor Daly,, No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet finished ninth and 10^th respectively to give Chevy four of the top-10. The NTT IndyCar Series season continues on Sunday, August 30^th, with Race #2 of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Doubleheader at World Wide Technology Raceway. NBCSN will telecast the event at 3:00 p.m.ET. Live coverage can also be found on Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying is available on XM 205, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.
TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:
PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 3^rd“I thought we had very strong pace all race. We rolled out of the gates with this Arrow McLaren No. 5 Chevrolet very strong. The guys gave me a very, very strong car right off the bat. It was very consistent throughout the run. But, in the end, I don’t know what these guys do; but (Scott) Dixon obviously got in front of us in the pits and then he left us. And then when I saw Taku (Sato) coming by, I didn’t think he had so much more pace than us. But as soon as he passed us, left us. I was kind of in a race on my own then towards the end trying to defend from (Colton) Herta and Marcus (Ericsson) that was behind him. But we got some very solid points for the championship. We’ll be working for that win tomorrow. Hopefully we can be fighting for it closer to the end of the race.”
WHERE ARE YOU AT NOW COMPARED TO THIS TIME LAST YEAR?“I think we’re in a fantastic place. I really owe a lot to this Arrow McLaren SP group. They are the ones that gave me the chance. They are the ones that believed in me and ultimately gave me a chance to showcase and to push forward with what we can do. And I truly think we can achieve great things. We’re working on it. But Dixie and Sato, they’ve been in the series so long and they are guys that are not easy to beat. So, we’re just going to keep working at it and I’m sure our win will come, and we just have to keep adding on points. In the end, every point is gold.”
WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY THAT MIGHT HELP YOU GET THAT FIRST WIN TOMORROW?“I think just fine-tune the car a little bit and try to get it a bit more into a window where it can be a little bit easier to drive, especially in the end when you’re really pushing. But you know, I was pretty happy out there. I think we ran a very solid race. Just toward the end is where we kind of just have to look back and really see what happened because I truly thought we had a great pit stop. We had a good in-and-out lap. But apparently, it wasn’t good enough.” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET- Finished 6^th:“Stellar race! We were on our way to the podium I think, but that yellow kind of screwed me. I kept my chin up and had a great car to make passes with! The No. 21 SONAX Chevrolet was great in the second lane when there were no marbles. I’ve learned luck really isn’t our thing, but we did the best we could with the circumstances. It did get a little sketchy on the last run, I almost lost it a few times! It was 200 laps of experience today and some good points. I’m very happy and I am looking forward to tomorrow!”
TONY KANAAN, NO 14 BIG MACHINE VODKA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 9^th: “Very good result for us. Best result for the team this year. Obviously this place, I had a podium here last year. We have one more tomorrow. Awesome, awesome result. The guys had good pitstops. Thanks to Big Machine Vodka for the help and nice to see some fans in the stands too. Emotional day for me — one more day, so I’ll see if I can sleep tonight. Good day for us.” CONOR DALY, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – Finished 10^th:“I think we had a great car today in the race with the No. 59 Gallagher Carlin Chevrolet. Qualifying was a bit confusing for us. We aren’t really sure where our pace went, but once we got to the race we were fantastic, strong, and able to pass cars. The rain was a huge factor for us – no idea where that came from. We were making all the right strategy calls and decided to pit a little early to undercut Colton. When we came out of the pits we ran the three fastest laps of the race at that point and then unfortunately there was the yellow for the rain. It just absolutely killed our race and from then on we were really just trying to recover. We were able to still finish in the top 10 which is great for us, but I really think without the rain we could’ve been on the podium or at least in the top five since we were faster than Colton who finished fourth. Thankfully we know we have a fast car and we get another chance tomorrow to do it again.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 1 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 12^th:“That was a frustrating race for the Hitachi team. That caution came out totally at the wrong time and we lost all of our track position and everything we’d worked for up to that point. The team had great stops and we gained some positions on each of our first two pit stops. I think without the caution, we would have cycled out in the right position and been up there in the top-three and got to battle it out. Instead, the caution ruined our day and we were just fighting from behind. The Hitachi car was good and Chevy brought some great power. Just nothing you can do when the caution falls. This just makes me more hungry to go out there tomorrow and win the race.” CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 4 TRESIBA AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 13^th:  “I feel pretty good about the race for the No. 4 Tresiba Chevrolet. Went off strategy early, it paid off with the yellow for the little bit of rain, got some track position and was able to hold that track position. On that last stop, the 14 and the 4, we kind of split strategies so it felt really good to see them come in the top 10. We didn’t quite get the top 10 that was there but had the yellow fallen right, we’d have had a really good result. Great strategy, great pitstops all day long. We’ll figure out how to make the car better overnight and do it again tomorrow.”
OLIVER ASKEW, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 14^th:“A really rough start today. Everyone seemed to check up in front of me in the midfield and made some contact with the front wing. Luckily the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet crew were able to replace the wing and keep me on the lead lap. Our race was compromised from the start, but we salvaged what we could. I’m looking forward to tomorrow with a better starting position.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 17^th:“That was not the race that Verizon, Chevrolet or my team deserved out there today. Our car was pretty good. It was really hard to get close to guys and hard to pass when you got around them. A lot of us were just running the same speed. So when its like that, its all about track position and we lost ours with that caution. The race was over after that. Then we had a tire go down and that was that. We just have to go back after it tomorrow at this point.”
SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 19^th: “Definitely not fun out there. I just feel sorry for Chevy and for Menards. I think we had a good car today and never even got a chance to really test it for tomorrow. That was a little too much excitement for the start of the race at the back. The front of the pack slowed down, I don’t know if it was the accordion affect or whatever that was. We had to pull out of line and all of a sudden someone hit us from behind. It is what it is, but it’s very unfortunate. You aren’t going to win the race in the first corner. People just need to be more patient. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
ED CARPENTER, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 20^th:“I am pretty bummed out. Second race in a row that I’ve been representing one of the Forces, the U.S. Air Force this weekend. I was basically out of the race before it started, also for the second race in a row. Zach Veach is the current theme right now. He obviously didn’t see the yellow flag or the bright yellow car spinning on the track.”

WILL POWER WINS NTT P1 POLE FOR RACE ONE PATO O’WARD MAKES ALL-CHEVY FRONT ROW JOSEF NEWGARDEN STARTS SECOND FOR RACE TWO ON SUNDAY TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING RECAP NTT INDYCAR SERIES BOMMARITO AUTOMOTIVE GROUP 500 DOUBLE HEADER PRESENTED BY AXALTA & VALVOLINE WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY MADISON, ILLINOIS AUGUST 29, 2020 Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, continues his march toward NTT IndyCar Series history by grabbing NTT P1 Pole for Race One of the Doubleheader weekend at World Wide TechnologIy Raceway. It is the 59th pole for the former Series’ champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner. He is currently second all time behind Mario Andretti at 67.
Starting alongside Power will be Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden, No. 1 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, will start on the front row for Sunday’s Race 2 after turning in the second quickest time. Power and O’Ward will make-up row two.
NBCSN television broadcasts: Race 1, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 29 (live); Race 2, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 30 (live);
 All NTT INDYCAR SERIES races are broadcast live on Pennzoil INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, IndyCar.com and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA. Live coverage of NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying is available on XM 205, IndyCar.com and the INDYCAR Mobile app.