Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Run Strong at Talladega Superspeedway Before Late-Race Incident

24th

4th

14th

“We had a fast Whelen Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway. We ran well today and were in contention until the crash that took us out of the race early. I was three or four-wide in the middle and our Whelen Chevrolet just got hooked in the right-rear. I don’t know what they were doing outside of me; I couldn’t see ‘em. The next thing I knew I was getting hooked straight into the fence. I made some mistakes early in the race and learned from them. I thought I did a lot of the right things at the end to put myself in contention. I missed the block off of Turn 2 and back I went. It’s unfortunate but that’s part of speedway racing.” -Sheldon Creed

Jeffrey Earnhardt Races the No. 3 ForeverLawn Chevrolet To Second-Place Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

2nd

1st

N/A

“I think it’s mission accomplished coming here to Talladega Superspeedway in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 ForeverLawn Chevrolet. We wanted to sit on the pole and win this thing and fell short by one spot. I knew on that last restart we had a shot. I just didn’t know how it was going to play out. I knew it was going to break apart and I knew we had some help from out back. I didn’t know if it was going to be enough to get us to second, but I knew we had a shot. We just didn’t have anybody close enough out back to create a run to get to his back bumper. I’m just very thankful for ForeverLawn and everyone that’s given me this opportunity. From the word go Larry McReynolds immersed himself at RCR and figured out how they go about a race weekend and how he was going to come in and be successful. This has been a dream of mine for years.”  -Jeffrey Earnhardt

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Lead Laps at Talladega Superspeedway Before Late-Race Wreck Eliminates Them from Contention

27th

2nd

9th

“We were having a solid day in our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevy Camaro. RCR brought a bad fast car to the racetrack. I couldn’t keep the No. 27 car with me on that restart for whatever reason. I don’t know if his car wasn’t good enough or what the deal was there. I kept trying to drag back to him and that allowed the No. 7 car to clear me on the top and the No. 1 car was about to clear me. I guess the 1 just got hit from behind, got out of shape and then he hit us in the right-front. Once he did, we were just along for the ride. I don’t know if I could have done anything different to save it. I was trying to get turned back around to the right so I kind of got off the brakes a little bit to try to get turned to the right and by the time I got turned I hit driver’s side on the inside wall. I’ll have to go back and look at it to see if I could have done something different to save the car. You can have the best car all day and dominate and end up with nothing to show for it. It’s just tough when you run up front all day and that happens.” -Austin Hill

April 23, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang are set to start Sunday’s 53^rd annual GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway from 25^th place.

Burton posted a speed of 178.112 miles per hour on his qualifying lap on a weekend in which there was no practice session prior to time trials.

The weekend format means team are not risking damage to primary cars at a track that is known for multi-car crashes.
 
Sunday’s race marks Burton’s second Cup start at the 2.66-mile speedway as he made his Cup debut there last year.

His Wood Brothers team will be making its 99^th Talladega start, the first coming in 1970, with Cale Yarborough driving the No. 21 Mercury.

The 188-lap, 500-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX.

Stage breaks are set for Laps 60 and 120.

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES APRIL 23, 2022
FIVE TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS QUALIFY IN THE TOP-10 AT TALLADEGA
TOP-10 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3rd     DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 16 MAJESTIC STEEL CAMARO ZL14th      DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1 5th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL18th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 10th    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL111th    JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL114th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 16th    ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 19th    ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1 20th    TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1 26th    RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SUNNY D CAMARO ZL1 27th    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 28th    CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 31st    NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 62 WENDY’S $5 BIGGIE BAG/BEARD OIL CAMARO ZL1 33rd   COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 RAZE ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 35th    GREG BIFFLE, NO. 44 MOREHOUSE COLLEGE CAMARO ZL1 39th    LANDON CASSILL, NO. 77 FOX NATION CAMARO ZL1  TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Christopher Bell (Toyota)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd     Daniel Hemric (Chevrolet)4th      Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)5th      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) ·       Daniel Hemric, No. 16 Majestic Steel Camaro ZL1, led Chevrolet in qualifying results in third with a lap of 53.221 seconds at 179.929 mph.  ·       Five Camaro ZL1’s made it to the final round of qualifying and secured a top-10 starting spot in tomorrow’s race.  

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 23, 2022  WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript:  WHEN WE WERE IN ATLANTA WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT DRAFTING THERE AND IT WAS LIKE A SUPERSPEEDWAY. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LEARNED THERE THAT YOU CAN APPLY HERE? DOES ANYTHING CARRY OVER?“I think, I mean Atlanta was just more intense than here I would say just in the fact that it was really narrow, and you had a lot of things going on fast. The corner exits would come up fast. Guys would merge off the bottom and it was harder to hold the bottom. It was harder to predict where guys were going to end up on corner exit. I think my general thoughts about here is I think you’re going to see some tandem for half a lap or three quarters: maybe a full lap. I think that’s going to be the difference here is handling is not as big of a deal and you might see that play out more.” A FEW YEARS AGO WE WERE AT DAYTONA AND YOU AND BRAD (KESELOWSKI) HAD A DISSAGREEMENT OVER BLOCKING AND DRAFTING. HOW HAS YOUR CONFIDENCE IN THE DRAFT GONE AND YOUR MOVES THAT YOU MAKE AND KNOWING WHEN TO BLOCK? HOW HAS THAT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, HOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE ARE YOU NOW GOING INTO SUPERSPEEDWAYS?“I think knowing what I need, what I need to do. When that deal happened with Brad (Keselowski) I was in my second year and I was fast on the superspeedways, but I wasn’t making all the right moves. I thought I was making the right amount of right moves. It was a good learning experience and Brad (Keselowski) is always good at these tracks and I feel like we are always usually around each other at these tracks. I think it’s just experience like you just get with your spotter and understand what moves are going to happen. As much as the rule’s packages do change the drafting a little bit, it’s nothing I feel like is massive. If anything, probably my rookie year was the weirdest package because we had lower downforce and there was a big bubble behind the car so you could basically lead the whole race which we saw with Stewart Haas the one time. I think now there’s so many comers and goers that you just have to learn throughout the race and get better.” YOU GUYS WERE AT MARTINSVILLE, YOU GO TO BRISTOL AND NOW HERE. CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME A SENSE OF THE CHALLENGES FOR A DRIVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS AT THESE THREE PARTICULAR TRACKS? IT WOULD SEEM TO BE AMONG THE MORE CHALLENGING STRETCHES FOR YOU GUYS.“It’s probably among the more unpredictable stretches of the season for sure. You know Martinsville was great for us, obviously. Bristol was not great. I was under the weather all weekend and I don’t have a ton of dirt experience, so that one’s kind of a wildcard for us. I think for this weekend a little bit back to normal. This is an important race in the fall. We can talk about how you just kind of don’t know where you are going to finish here, but this is the race last year that knocked us out of contention. So, I feel like we want to do well this weekend for that reason, to be able to be ready for the fall and know what we need to do. Once we get into Dover and then Darlington, I think it will kind of be back to a little bit of normalcy.” GIVEN THE NEW CAR, HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH NOT HAVING PRACTICE AT TALLADEGA?“I mean it would be pointless to have practice. There’s literally nothing that we do here that would relate in practice. You’re basically just wearing off the underside of the car for a couple of laps. I always thought practice was really difficult here to get a feel for what you are going to need in the race. I would like to do some procedural things like hot pit entries and exits, but I think this is a good format for sure.” INITIALLY THERE WAS TALK ABOUT HEAT IN THE CAR WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. IT’S GOING TO BE HOT THIS WEEKEND. WHAT ABOUT THE CAR ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT AS YOU ROLL INTO THE RACE THIS WEEKEND?“We’ve been working through a couple of different things. One of them was carbon monoxide intake and how the fumes that were coming in the car were affecting me at COTA. Just trying to work on where the helmet was mounted, where the fan was mounted to go into my head. At COTA I got a little bit of a headache, so I think that has been pretty common throughout the field just trying to figure out air intake stuff to make sure we don’t have issues. As far as the heat goes it’s been great. I’d say it is probably similar to the old car, that’s all we wanted. In pre-season testing it was really hot and pretty unbearable. I think they’ve gotten it now where it’s similar to the old car, it’s just about the fumes.” DO YOU KIND OF FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW HOW THIS CAR WILL HANDLE HERE?“I think the little bit that I did race the DAYTONA 500, I think I was 60 laps in, I felt like the car handled better than the old car. It accepted the pushes better than the old car too. Both things were good for competition because you could just be aggressive with pushes. That was probably the most aggressive 500 that we’ve seen with pushing. I think that had a lot to do with the car.” WILLIAM, NOT A NASCAR QUESTION FOR A SECOND HERE. WE ONLY HAVE A WEEK LEFT UNTIL THE NFL DRAFT. YOU’VE BEEN PRETTY KEEN ON THE MALIK WILLIS TO THE PANTHERS. HAS ANYTHING CHANGED SINCE THEN?“Yeah, I would love that. That makes the most sense for Liberty (University) as a whole. I would love it. I think Malik is a great talent. I’ve watched him play in person, watched him play a couple of games up there over the last few years and feel like he was well coached up there with Hugh Freeze. That would be a really cool pic. I don’t know what they are going to do. I try to follow it. It looks like the Hornets fired their coach, so I don’t know. Hopefully we just get it all turned around. It’s been a rough few years in the Charlotte sports, but hopefully we can get it rolling here soon.” IS THERE ANY SITUATION WHERE YOU WOULD BE OK WITH THEM NOT TAKING A QUARTERBACK AT SIX?“We need a lot of pieces. I mean, I’d look at offensive line but that’s always a boring pick to take in the draft. It’s important. They did get a couple of free agent offensive lineman that I think will be good. A guy from the Rams I think, so yeah I think they need pieces but quarterback is probably the easiest fix first.” BACK AT DAYTONA, THE FORDS WERE MOST ORGANIZED FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK. DO YOU THINK CHEVY HAS CAUGHT UP TO WHAT THEY WERE DOING?“We’ll just have to wait and see. I think it’s not for lack of effort for sure. I think there’s some really aggressive Chevy drivers when you look at (Tyler) Reddick and Ross (Chastain) and Chase (Elliott). I think there’s some really good drafters that we can work with. I felt Erik Jones too has been great at the speedways. I felt like at Atlanta we were better. We were improved. That’s probably the closest thing to this weekend. I know those guys can tandem really well, even at Atlanta for a lap of so they could stay connected and that’s something that we have to work on. I don’t know if that will be different, but I think we’ve got the aggressive guys to push each other as much as we need to.” I HAD WATCHED YOUR PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER MARTINSVILLE AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT HOW JEFF GORDON HAD GIVEN YOU ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO GET AROUND THE TRACK. DO Y’ALL STILL TALK ON A WEEK TO WEEK BASIS ABOUT ADVICE LIKE THAT?“Yeah, I’d say all the time. I usually fly with him at some point every couple of weeks. It just works out that way. You know he comes to quite a few races now, so I try to get advice from him that’s going to pay off. He’s pretty direct with his advice and he’s good with the crew chiefs too. I’ve noticed at times he’ll be talking to Rudy (Fugle) on his own that isn’t with me. It’s good to kind of get his opinion as a driver too. I think there’s things that Rudy (Fugle) can use from him to set up the car that might help at certain tracks. I’m very confident in the feels that I have at tracks I have run well, but there’s a few tracks that I haven’t run as well that maybe Jeff (Gordon) can be good advice for the crew chief as well.” HAVE YOU PLAYED ANY IRACING THIS WEEK AND HOW ACCURACTE DO YOU FEEL LIKE THEIR DRAFT MODEL IS GOING TO BE TO WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE ON SUNDAY?“Yeah, from what I’ve watched it looks really similar. With my guys that race in the Coke Series over there, I’ve kind of learned from them some little bits of advice. No, I haven’t been able to race on there this week. I was gone in Orlando, so I haven’t been able to. Hopefully I remember what I’m doing when I get out there, I guess lap one.” WE ARE 1/3 OF THE WAY THROUGH THE SEASON, SO AT THIS POINT WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE HAVING TO RE-LEARN TRACKS OR RE-LEARN SPECIFIC STYLES OF RACING ON A WEEKLY BASIS WITH THIS CAR?“I’d say every week is a new week. It really is. We look at our old notes for balance and things like that, but even that’s kind of changed. I think Dover’s going to be eye opening to see how this car gets around Dover, because you know it has way less downforce. Downforce is key at Dover. I’m very interested to see how that feels and how that plays out, because I don’t know what to expect. Darlington it sounds like is really difficult with this car. Lots of spins and wall contact just by yourself, so I am sure you guys will see a great race the next few weeks.”

Runner Up Sheppard Disqualified in Post-Race Tech

WAVERLY, OH– April 22, 2022 – While many things have changed in the 1,031 days since the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models last raced at Atomic Speedway, one thing remained the same — Tyler Erb finished on top.  

Erb, of New Waverly, TX, held off a monster challenge from four-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard in Friday’s Feature to win the opening night of Atomic’s Outlaw Invasion. 

Through the first 30 laps of Friday’s Feature, Erb couldn’t be touched before Sheppard challenged him late. Sheppard, a four-time Series champion from New Berlin, IL, tried high and low to sneak by Erb, but the Lone Star State competitor stayed one step ahead.

The victory is Erb’s third career World of Outlaws triumph — all coming at Atomic Speedway. He stated he needed a strategy to walk away with the $10,000 prize in the closing laps.

“I could see in [Turns] 1 and 2 obviously he was beneath me, but I couldn’t figure out how [Sheppard] was getting a run on me,” Erb said. “Before that, I was entering in the middle/top of 3 and 4 and just kind of carrying my momentum. Then when I seen him beneath me, I just kept chopping the corners.

“I was really searching in 3 and 4, and I could never really figure out the right line, and I figured if I ran on top in 1 and 2 the last 10 laps, he’d have to be really good in 3 and 4 to pass me.”

The Texas campaigner stated he loved the banking Atomic offers and ran well on that type of track in the past.

“I really enjoy this place; I don’t know what it is,” Erb said. “I don’t know why it is. Any place that’s got banking like this, I tend to run well. It’s been good to me, and it’s been really good to Devin Moran, too. Hopefully, I’m taking a little money out of the pot.”

Sheppard crossed the line second, but was disqualified after failing the droop check in post-race technical inspection. He’s credited with a 25th-place finish.

Sheppard’s disqualification moved Josh Rice to second — his first top-five with the World of Outlaws in 2022. Rice, of Verona, KY, felt his car’s handling was off, otherwise he would’ve contended for the win. 

“We started out really good, I thought we had a shot out there to start,” Rice said. “The left rear was kind of chewed up after that Heat Race, so we grounded it down to make it work the best we could. 

“I have to get where I can just steer a bit better [Saturday]. I feel like I have to sling it very hard to get it to turn, and then I’m just free after that.”

The Rookie of the Race, Tanner English, was credited with a third — his first top-five of 2022. English, of Benton, KY, debuted a new Rocket XR1 Friday, a car he was pleased with for its first night out. 

“I felt like we were running the same speed as the leaders,” English said. “I felt like we had a car to win, but I got together with another car early in the race and knocked the toe out. I’d like to have known what it was like if that hadn’t of happened.”

Series points leader Dennis Erb Jr. was credited with fourth, his fourth top-five of 2022. The Carpentersville, IL driver stated he needed a better start to the night to help his chances of finding Victory Lane. 

“I wish we would’ve started up a little closer tonight, but the car worked real good, and I was able to maneuver up through there,” said Erb, who is not related to the winner despite sharing the same last name. “We’ll take it and go on to [Saturday] night, and hopefully, we can be up there again and hopefully start closer to the front to make it a little easier.”

The fourth-place finish helped Erb gain points in the Series standings. He’s now 42 points ahead of rookie Max Blair. 

Jacob Hawkins, from Fairmont, WV, rounded out the top five.

Tyler Erb now has the most wins in World of Outlaws history at Atomic Speedway — a number he’d like to add to. Another win on Saturday gives him two-weekend sweeps — four years apart. 

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to action Saturday, April 23, at Atomic Speedway for the Outlaws Invasion finale — a 50-lap Feature paying $15,000-to-win. 

If you can’t make it to the tracks, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.

CASE Construction Feature (40 Laps): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 11R-Josh Rice[3]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[9]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 5. 37-Jacob Hawkins[6]; 6. 111V-Max Blair[15]; 7. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 8. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 9. 29-Darrell Lanigan[10]; 10. 1R-Josh Richards[8]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker[24]; 13. C9-Steve Casebolt[17]; 14. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 15. 99-Chub Frank[19]; 16. 16-Tyler Bruening[23]; 17. 29C-Clint Keenan[16]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[11]; 19. 95-Jerry Bowersock[21]; 20. 45-Kyle Hammer[20]; 21. 53C-Andy Bond[14]; 22. 20-Todd Brennan[25]; 23. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[22]; 24. 1AM-Austyn Mills[18]; 25. (DQ) 1-Brandon Sheppard[2] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Gordy Gundaker +12

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 22, 2022) – As the final pair down the Houston Raceway Park track on Friday night, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel team went low of the session to take the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA SpringNationals. Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team sit No. 3 and in Funny Car, Robert Hight has the AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro in second while John Force sits 15th with his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy. With header flames lit under a Texas sunset, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team laid down a stellar 3.695-second pass at 333.58 mph to go to the top of the Top Fuel qualifying sheet. “That was just huge for our team, and everyone that’s part of tonight. All of the fans who are out here at the final race in Houston, really glad to be able to put on a show for them like that, it’s pretty exciting for all of us. And we hope it holds,” Force said. “That was our target. That was the number we were aiming for and we were right on it. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, we get two more, but those will be the ones that really matter. We still possibly can get knocked out, but we feel safe. It’s an 18-car show, that was our biggest concern, making sure we’re in the show.” Coming off a successful test session in Las Vegas, Austin Prcok and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team had an impressive first go at Houston Raceway Park. Prock will earn a bonus point for being third quickest with his 3.701-second pass at 330.15 mph. “Good start to the weekend for this Montana Brand / RMT team. I’m not surprised, we had a really successful test in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago on Monday and figured a lot of things out,” Prock said. “Everyone did a great job. The engine looks amazing, and the parts look brand new out of it. That’s a big step in the right direction. We’ve been fighting that all year and made a nice clean pass. It felt really, really safe and comfortable all the way down the racetrack. We’re hoping for a little bit quicker ET, but definitely a great start with this new package. It ran within a hundred of what we thought it was going to run. It would have been nice to go one, two with my teammate, Brittany Force, but all in all, a good day for John Force Racing, and looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we can leave here with a Wally on Sunday.” Defending event champion Robert Hight and his AAA Texas Chevy just narrowly missed being low of the session with their 3.865-second pass, but they would be fastest at 331.36 mph. “It’s great to be out here in Texas running the AAA Texas Chevy and that was a pretty good way to start the weekend. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham are always dialed in when we’re here. They know this track,” said Hight who is looking for his fifth. “Tomorrow will be important, running in the middle of the day, similar to Sunday race day. We’ll get set up and be ready to go.” Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 100th win that came in 2002 at Houston Raceway Park, John Force and the PEAK BlueDEF Chevy had a slight misstep in their first qualifying try. Force would smoke the tires early to run 6.334-seconds at 108.71 mph. “It’s all good. We’ll be fine. Still have two more tries tomorrow. We tested well after Las Vegas, really had some good runs, so we know it’s there,” Force said. “Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi and these guys will have it all figured out and then I just need to be on my game. Have to say thank you to the Angel Family for all they’ve done for this sport, really sad to see this track go. We appreciate all these great fans out here packing the stands.” Qualifying at the NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park continues with sessions at 2 and 5:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will continue to be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ROOKIE STANDOUT CAMRIE CARUSO RACES TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 AT SPRINGNATIONALS

BAYTOWN, TX (April 22, 2022) — Rookie sensation Camrie Caruso, drove the Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro to the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot today at the 33^rd annual NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Caruso took off with a great 6.547 second pass at 209.39 mph to lead the Pro Stock field. The first-year driver from Denver, North Carolina, had to wait as five pairs of cars ran behind her. For her efforts Caruso picked up three qualifying bonus points and will be in the back of the pack tomorrow for the second qualifying session.

“It was really exciting,” said Caruso in the Houston Raceway Park media center. “I didn’t know what I ran until I got out of my Chevrolet Camaro. It felt so smooth, and I wasn’t expecting to be that quick. I am so thankful for my guys and everyone on this Sand Haulers of America team. I am not sure if it will hold up through tomorrow. We are going to be looking to improve.”

Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro with driver Camrie Caruso, photo by Auto Imagery

As a rookie driver competing in just her fifth professional NHRA national event has confidence in her team and her personal skills.

“I really like to upset the apple cart,” said Caruso. “I am quite excited for it to be honest. Everyone is a strong competitor out here and it will be tough for the rest of this event and season. I am looking forward to the challenge. I always have confidence in my car and my team because they do a great job. One of our goals in Q1 at every race is to get a good A to B run. We can improve off that. I wasn’t expecting Non. 1 but I will take it.”

Caruso’s team is led by veteran Pro Stock driver and tuner Jim Yates and is the only Pro Stock team racing Titan Racing Engine power. The combination of Titan Racing Engine power which has qualified Caruso for every event and steered her to two quarterfinal finishes already this season combined with the tutelage from Yates has made Caruso a tough competitor.

“I think it is awesome to be the only car out here with Titan Racing Engine power. It goes to show you it is OK to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. When I first met Jim he told me my goals were too high,” said Caruso, who had one win in Top Alcohol Dragster before making the move to Pro Stock. “I asked him under the tower were we ready to go to No. 1. He was like how about we just go down the racetrack. I told him we have to aim higher than that. I always aim way higher than I should. At the shop before PRI I told Jim I wanted to win the championship and win races. He told me that could happen in maybe five years. I told him I would not take that answer.”

With two more qualifying runs tomorrow, Caruso will enjoy this moment and focus on the task at hand pursuing her first Pro Stock victory on Sunday. The third-generation driver continues to share the success with her team. The youthful confidence has served her well through four races and into the SpringNationals.

“I have a great team and I am lucky to have them behind me. If we can’t aim for the championship, I don’t see the point of being out here,” added Caruso.

(4/22/2022 – Alex Nieten)… When the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars arrive at Chico, California’s Silver Dollar Speedway for the David Tarter Memorial next Saturday, it won’t be just another race for the series and racetrack.

While the sanctioning body has made more than 200 trips to the historic facility, April 30th will mark NARC’s first visit since SLC Promotions took command of the bullring. Last November when it was announced that the group composed of California-born racers Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, and Colby Copeland would collectively handle promotional duties, a palpable excitement swept across the Nor-Cal sprint car scene.

The trio have set high expectations for themselves with ushering in a promising new era at Silver Dollar Speedway and helping the racing landscape in its entirety. With their racing schedules taking Larson and Sweet across the country throughout the year, Copeland has been spearheading the hands-on efforts over the past few months and looks to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.  

For the Roseville native, an important role at the Butte County facility that has close ties to his family and helped shape him as a racer is a special opportunity.

“It’s been cool. My dad was actually real close with Alan Handy and John Padjen,” Copeland explained. “So, I actually started racing in the outlaw kart there in the pavilion at Silver Dollar Speedway… Justin Grant and I would race there every weekend, and I’d go back and forth with him.

“The outlaw kart deal kind of moved out of there,” Copeland continued. “And then when I started racing sprint cars that was where my first race was when they did 410 Friday nights at Chico. That’s where we mostly ran.”

As he progressed through his early racing career Copeland developed lasting friendships with both Larson and Sweet. The three grew an interest in promoting as an avenue to get more involved in the racing scene of their home region. Copeland dabbled in promotion on a smaller level, and the desire to try more intensified.

“I’ve actually done a couple of outlaw kart races up there at Red Bluff,” Copeland said. “It turned out really well. There were great car counts. The events were cool, I thought. It’s cool to try your different ideas and see them come to life.”

When it comes to ideas for Silver Dollar Speedway, SLC Promotions has wasted no time in making some of their visions a reality. After the deal became official, the new crew surveyed the facility and immediately got to work.

“It was a lot of clean up at first, trying to organize and just really see what we had bought and what we had. Those are the kind of upgrades a lot of people don’t see but we see, just cleaning and organizing,” Copeland commented. “And then we got the new fencing going and brought in some new dirt. In the concession stand we bought new equipment and brought our guy Julio in to try and make the food better. Those are definitely a few upgrades, I think, that have helped and made that area more inviting.”

Copeland and company have no intentions of slowing down on improving the Butte County bullring. They’ve prioritized hearing out feedback from both racers and fans and acting accordingly. Copeland says they’re already focused another major project.

“One that we’re trying to work on, but it’s just so expensive is getting a new sound system in there,” Copeland said. “The whole place is just hurting badly on sound. In the grandstands the amp gets too hot, and then the volume loses. It’s got no bass. The pit speakers, we hear from everybody, are horrible. You can’t hear anything in the pits to call races up or anything, so the sound system is another upgrade we’re trying to work on. It’s just super expensive, but hopefully one of these days soon we can get something new in there.”

Another potentially beneficial element of Copeland’s promotional style is his approach to race day. At the John Padjen Classic Silver Cup back in March, Copeland showed his intentions to be a diligent promoter that helps wherever he can.

On the first night of the Silver Cup rain pummeled Chico for about an hour in the afternoon. Once the skies cleared Copeland climbed aboard a tractor to help roll the surface in with the rest of his track crew. Over the course of the night, he jumped around wherever he was needed in the pit area and helped check on drivers following crashes and assisted in the ensuing clean up. Copeland takes inspiration from the better promoters he’s studied.

“People that see a promoter that puts effort into it, they want to support them,” Copeland said. “If you get a promoter out there that’s working hard, wanting a good track surface, wants the show to run great, smooth, and all that kind of stuff that’s a guy that I want to go support.”

On the actual racing side, SLC Promotions is shooting for the stars as well. One way they hope to help both the racing events at Silver Dollar Speedway and across the West Coast is add to the ongoing effort to build momentum for 410 sprint cars in the region. While all three of them have made plenty of 360 starts, the 410 division is what most helped their driving development, and it’s seen as the premier class of sprint cars in the country.

They’ve already announced plans to revive the Gold Cup Race of Champions featuring the World of Outlaws into the hugely prestigious event it once was. On a more local note, they hope to heighten NARC’s car count by offering more lucrative events that make running a 410 more worthwhile.

“We want to pay a respectable purse,” Copeland said. “We want people to think, ‘man, I’m going to move from the 360 up to the 410 to the next level.’ That’s the biggest thing is to try and get the car count up. I know the NARC series has seen some struggles but also the strides they’ve made getting more cars. So, hopefully at the show at the end of the month we can get a bunch of cars to celebrate the Brownell and Herseth Classic on Friday, and then obviously the David Tarter Memorial is usually pretty big for Saturday.”

With all these new responsibilities and major aspirations for Silver Dollar Speedway, it begs a big question – when will Copeland have time to race? The 30-year-old proved just two weeks ago that he’s got plenty of quality laps left in him by winning the NARC season opener. Unfortunately, there will be times where he’s forced to miss an occasional race. Obligations in Chico would’ve kept Copeland away from Hanford two weeks ago even if dangerous winds hadn’t forced the cancellation of the Anthony Simone Classic.

“I guess with Hanford being canceled I was probably the only one to be happy about that,” Copeland said with a laugh.

Fear not, though, Colby Copeland fans. Even though he’ll be busy with the process of revitalizing Silver Dollar Speedway, Copeland plans to strap into a sprint car any chance he gets with his sights on more checkered flags.

“I’m just going to try and race as much as I can,” Copeland said. “I just want to support all the other tracks as much as I can.”

Logan Schuchart, David Gravel & Dave Blaney Enter as Defending Winners

SWEDESBORO, NJ – April 22, 2022 – Following a battle with the PA Posse next month, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will trek from New Jersey to Ohio with three races over five nights in the middle of May. It’s an element from the 2021 schedule that remains unchanged after a week full of thrilling battles and iconic moments.

The stretch begins with a midweek special at Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, NJ on Tuesday, May 17, and continues to The Buckeye State with stops at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, OH on Friday, May 20 and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH on Saturday, May 21.

BUY BRIDGEPORT TICKETS (5/17)
BUY ATTICA TICKETS (5/20)
BUY SHARON TICKETS (5/21)

Last year, this same trip saw Logan Schuchart top Carson Macedo in a brilliant Bridgeport battle, David Gravelovercome six lead changes to beat Donny Schatz at Attica, and of course, Dave Blaney’s epic last-lap pass on Sheldon Haudenschild at Sharon.

When the week begins at Bridgeport on Tuesday, May 17, The Greatest Show on Dirt will be making its 10th appearance at The Kingdom of Speed. Since reconfiguring to a 4/10-mile oval, winners have included Kerry Madsen, Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart with the World of Outlaws, and Dillsburg, PA’s Anthony Macri, who won at the track earlier this week and still chases his first-ever Series victory.

Macri’s fellow Posse member, Danny Dietrich of Gettysburg, PA, earned one of his five career World of Outlaws wins at Bridgeport when the track was in 3/8-mile form. Another central Pennsylvania star to watch will be Brent Marks of Myerstown, PA, who led 29 of 30 laps at Bridgeport earlier this week and has already beaten the Outlaws in 2022 aboard his Murray-Marsk #19.

Shifting to Attica on Friday, May 20, the leading Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender, Spencer Bayston, enters as the most recent winner after claiming his first-career World of Outlaws win in last year’s Brad Doty Classic. When it comes to the May date, though, David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports topped the 2021 race after last-lap heartbreak stole the checkered from a dominant Sheldon Haudenschild.

10-time Series champion Donny Schatz is still the winningest Outlaw at Attica, earning four victories at the 1/3-mile to Dale Blaney’s three triumphs. The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 has already collected one win this season and ran second at this race last year with hopes of finding one extra spot to put the Ford Performance 410 back in victory lane.

And then there is Sharon on Saturday, May 21, where one of the most memorable moments of the 2021 season happened. Dave Blaney was one of the biggest World of Outlaws stars of the 1990s, winning a championship and collecting 94 career wins, but it had been 24 years since he was last a winner with the Series.

That changed last May when The Buckeye Bullet drove by Sheldon Haudenschild’s NOS Energy Drink #17 on the final lap to earn his 95th career win. It was a special win for Blaney at his home track which sent the Sharon crowd into pandemonium and made the World of Outlaws trending worldwide.

With another month until this trip begins on DIRTVision, Brad Sweet and Kasey Kahne Racing lead the early-season championship standings with a fourth consecutive World of Outlaws championship on the line this season. The NAPA Auto Parts #49 has only one win (Vado, March 29), but remains the most consistent car on tour with 11 top-five finishes over the last 13 races.

Carson Macedo is now the winningest driver on tour at the moment with three victories aboard the Jason Johnson Racing #41. He sits second in the standings (-40 PTS) with two-time winner David Gravel (-48 PTS) behind him in the Big Game Motorsports #2. Sheldon Haudenschild in the Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 and James McFadden in his new ride at Roth Motorsports currently round out the top-five in points.

Fans who can’t make it to the track can catch all of the action on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

BRIDGEPORT MOTORSPORTS PARK WINNERS (9 Races):
5 wins – Sammy Swindell
1 win – Danny Dietrich, Johnny Herrera, Logan Schuchart, Steve Kinser

ATTICA RACEWAY PARK WINNERS (19 Races):
4 wins – Donny Schatz
3 wins – Dale Blaney
2 wins – David Gravel, Steve Kinser, Stevie Smith
1 win – Joe Gaerte, Joey Allen, Joey Saldana, Kyle Larson, Sammy Swindell, Spencer Bayston

SHARON SPEEDWAY WINNERS (10 Races):
4 wins – Steve Kinser
2 wins – Danny Lasoski
1 win – Dave Blaney, Jac Haudenschild, Jason Meyers, Joey Saldana

… Richard Childress began his driving career at Talladega Superspeedway in the inaugural Talladega 500 in 1969. Childress has won 12 NASCAR Cup Series victories as an owner at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt earned nine Talladega wins under the RCR banner, their first coming in 1984. Earnhardt scored his 76th and final Cup win in the 2000 fall race at Talladega which earned the team and a lucky fan each a $1 million bonus from the series sponsor. Other victories by Earnhardt include a sweep of both races in 1990 and 1999 plus 1991 (July), 1993 (July) and 1994 (spring). Clint Bowyer won twice for RCR (fall races in 2010 and 2011) while Kevin Harvick won the 2010 spring event.  Xfinity Series at Talladega … Richard Childress Racing has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with one win, 10 top-five, and 19 top-10 finishes at Talladega Superspeedway. Two-time Xfinity Series Champion Tyler Reddick drove his No. 2 Chevrolet to Victory Lane in April 2019. Catch Saturday’s Action … The Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live on Saturday, April 23 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  Follow Sunday’s Action in Talladega … The GEICO 500 will be televised live on Sunday, April 24 beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway … In 17 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Dillon earned his best finish at the 2.66-mile track in April 2016 when he finished third. His best starting position at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series is first. His best finish in four NASCAR Xfinity Series Starts is third, and he has two starts in the NASCAR Truck Series, earning a best finish of seventh in October 2011. Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology.  Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/. In The Booth … Dillon is scheduled to serve as a guest commentator in FOX’s Broadcast Booth for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The race airs live on Saturday, April 23 at 4 p.m. ET on FOX. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:What will it take to be successful at Talladega Superspeedway?“Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s a little bit of a coin flip, but my No. 3 team will be doing everything we can to try and win. In order to succeed at Talladega, you have to have a little bit of luck, and use momentum at the very end to take advantage of positions. It’s speedway racing. It’s drafting. And it’s chaos, but we’re up for the challenge.”

This Week’s BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Talladega Superspeedway … Tyler Reddick heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the fifth time of his NASCAR Cup Series career this weekend. He made his first Cup start at the track in 2020. In those four starts, he has two top-10 finishes and led 23 total laps. During his Xfinity Series career, Reddick has one win, one top five and two top 10s to his name at the superspeedway. His win came in 2019 after he started second. Reddick is still on the hunt for his first career Cup Series win and has come increasingly close each race weekend. Reddick has the fifth-best driver rating among all active drivers with a rating of 93.7. He is 13th in the Cup Series driver Playoff outlook following last weekend at Bristol Dirt, 29 points above the cutline. Roll the Dice with BetMGM … When a legendary global entertainment company joins forces with the world’s largest online betting technology company, the gaming world sits up and takes notice. BetMGM is a partnership between MGM Resorts International and Entain Holdings that is revolutionizing sports betting and online gaming in the United States. BetMGM is the exclusive sports betting division of MGM, both online and in MGM casinos nationwide. BetMGM is also the headline brand for online casino gaming alongside sister brands Borgata Online (New Jersey), Party Casino and Party Poker. We aspire to make unforgettable moments of sports and gaming even more personal, powerful, and fun through unmatched digital technology and evocative player experiences. For more information, visit betmgminc.com.  NASCAR Night at the USFL Game … Come join Tyler Reddick at NASCAR Night at Protective Stadium on Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. ET when Birmingham and Houston take the field. Reddick will drive his No. 8 Chevrolet on the field for the coin toss to get the game started. He will also participate in the fun during half-time and do a jersey swap. Everyone will have the opportunity to get a Tyler Reddick hero card and check out the No. 8 Chevrolet on display. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:How do you prepare for a racetrack like Talladega?“Talladega is one of the racetracks that we go to and you’ve just got to expect the unexpected. You can be running second with three laps to go and finish 20th and you can be running 20th with three laps to go and end up winning. My No. 8 team and I go into each race weekend with the same mindset and that is to run up front and win. Last weekend, we were really close to that first win and instead of using that as a reason to be frustrated, we’re using it as more momentum. As the driver, I’m going to focus on listening to my spotter and crew chief, hitting all my marks and staying out of trouble. Staying out of trouble is hard at these superspeedways but those drivers end up being at the front when the white flag waves. The schedule is also different this weekend with no practice and straight to qualifying so we’ll see how that goes for us. I’m looking forward to a good weekend at Talladega.”

This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Talladega Superspeedway … Creed will be making his first Talladega Superspeedway start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon. He was running inside the top 10 in the most recent Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway on April 8 before mechanical issues derailed his solid run. Creed has three Truck Series starts at Talladega with a best finish of ninth-place (2019) and led at least one lap in every race (36 laps total). He is 15th in the Xfinity Series driver’s standings, 54 points outside of the top 10.  CopsForKids … The No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet will carry a special decal this weekend at Talladega to honor CopsForKids. The purpose of the organization is to establish and maintain positive relationships between the police and families with children in our local community. CopsForKids achieves this through giving time, love, and knowledge to set a positive example that empowers kids to be safe, respectful, and law-abiding citizens. Special Guest at Talladega … Sgt. Jeremy March, Founder of CopsForKids, will be a special guest of the No. 2 team this weekend at Talladega. A native of Mobile, Ala., Sgt. March has been serving his community for the past 24 years. He was inspired to start CopsForKids four years ago to establish and maintain positive relationships between law enforcement and families with children in the local community and has impacted hundreds of children through his outreach efforts and is a beloved member of the community. Affectionately known around town as the “Dancing Cop,” from his enthusiastic participation in community events, March spreads joy and inspires connection between police officers and the youth of Mobile. About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce. SHELDON CREED QUOTES:Tell us about the CopsForKids organization that is on your car this weekend.“It’s really cool to honor the CopsForKids organization this weekend at Talladega and I’m looking forward to meeting Sgt. March. I feel like I learned a lot of what not to do back in February at Daytona and I think out teammates did as well and how we can work better together. I’m looking forward to taking what we learned at Daytona and applying it at Talladega. We can be there be there at the end and have a chance to win or get a good finish with our Whelen Chevrolet.” There is no practice before qualifying and then the race at Talladega. Is that a big factor? “I don’t think it really matters to not practice at Talladega. You could be a little free or a little tight your first run but you usually don’t change much anyways so it doesn’t really matter. It’s cool that Jeffrey Earnhardt is our teammate this weekend. More cars are only going to help us. It’s nothing but a positive to have another car out of our stable go to Talladega.”

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 21, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team are on a roll as they enter this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Coming off a powerful performance that led to their first victory of the season, the David Grubnic and Mac Savage tuned Monster Energy team will be looking to make a habit out of winning at the fifth event of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season, and the last at Houston Raceway Park. Force and the Monster Energy team started 2022 off strong, they secured the 33rd No. 1 qualifying position of Force’s career at the season-opening Winternatioanls, were quickest during the warmest run of qualifying at the Arizona Nationals and won the first-round of the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout at the Gatornationals, securing the No. 2 qualifying spot with the third fastest run in Top Fuel history. The Monster Energy team capitalized on their consistency and hard work at the most recent event, the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a dominant victory. The 12th win of Force’s career was her first at the spring Vegas race and set her up to enter this weekend’s SpringNationals sitting a measly four points out of the lead. “We’re coming off a win in Las Vegas and our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team heads to Houston this weekend still on such a high,” said Force. “There’s this momentum after a win that excites and motivates the entire team to get to the next race and chase down another win. Houston Raceway Park has carried my team to a winners circle two times in my career and we’re looking for back-to-back wins at Houston’s final NHRA national event. I’m looking forward to seeing what this team can pull off.” Force returns to Houston Raceway Park, where she won the SpringNationals back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. It is the only event in the NHRA series in which she has more than a single victory. Force set the current track records of 3.661-seconds, 332.18 mph on April 12, 2019. She is the ET record holder at 10 of the 17 tracks that currently host events in the Camping World series and the speed record holder at eight. Coming off an emotional win in the Las Vegas Four-Wide, she will be trying to win back-to-back events for the first time in her career in her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster. The NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park kickoff Friday night with the first round of qualifying at 7 p.m. CT. Qualifying continues with sessions at 2 and 5:15 p.m. CT. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. A second qualifying show will air Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE GEICO 500 TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY TALLADEGA, ALABAMA APRIL 24, 2022 RACE #10 – TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAYFrom the high-banks of “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile” to NASCAR’s longest oval, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) will make their way to the second superspeedway of the 2022 season: Talladega Superspeedway. Alabama’s 2.66-mile oval will be the host of two NCS races this season, with the second event holding a pertinent spot in the Playoff’s Round of 12. The bowtie brand heads to Talladega with their eyes set on extending its win lead, where Chevrolet has been victorious in 41 of the 105 NCS races held at the venue to lead all manufacturers. Of those wins includes a record streak of 13 consecutive trips to victory lane, captured by five different drivers in Chevrolet-powered machines from April 1999 to May 2005.  Returning from the off weekend, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will be back in action at Talladega Superspeedway with the Ag-Pro 300, the ninth stop on the series schedule. Chevrolet is no stranger to NXS victory lane at the famed Alabama superspeedway, recording 20 of the last 32 wins in the series at Talladega. Of those triumphs includes a streak of the past six, dating back to September 2018. That streak includes a sweep in 2020, captured by now NCS regular Justin Haley; Jeb Burton in the Spring 2021 race to secure his spot into the NXS Playoffs; and Brandon Brown in the Fall 2021 race to mark his first-career NXS victory.  STRONG IN THE STANDINGSWith nine events in the book for the NASCAR Cup Series, Chevrolet remains in a familiar spot in the standings: on top. Coming out of the Bristol race weekend with his sixth top-10 finish of the season, Chase Elliott continues to lead in the driver standings with a three-point advantage over second. The 26-year-old Georgia native has shown consistency this season, with a series- best average finish of 10.9 heading into the 10th points-paying race of the season. Elliott leads a strong showing by the bowtie brigade in the standings, with Chevrolet drivers occupying three of the top-five and five of the top-10 spots.  With eyes set on its 41st NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship, Chevrolet also continues to lead in the manufacturer standings by 23-points. Of the nine points-paying events thus far, Chevrolet continues to lead all manufacturers in race wins (5), top-five’s (25), top-10’s (41), laps led (1,374) and stage wins (10). Those wins have been captured on a variety of racetrack configurations, including a two-mile track (Fontana), two 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas, Atlanta), a road course (COTA) and a short-track (Martinsville). Chevrolet drivers have claimed a series-leading 10 stage wins by seven different drivers, recorded at seven different racetracks.  Chevrolet also continues to lead in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver and manufacturer standings. AJ Allmendinger, who secured his spot into the NXS Playoff field following his win at COTA, continues to lead the driver standings by 20-points. An impressive seven of the top-10 of the driver standings are held by Camaro SS drivers. As defending NXS Manufacturer Champions, Chevrolet remains on top of the manufacturer standings heading into the Talladega race weekend.  DEBUT ON DIRTIn the Next Gen Camaro ZL1’s debut on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway, the final running order saw Chevrolet takeover five of the top-10 positions, represented by three different Chevrolet teams. The Camaro ZL1 led 190 of the 250-lap race. Leading a race-high 99 of those laps, Tyler Reddick was en route to his first-career NCS victory after final lap, final corner contact took him out of contention. Rebounding to a runner-up finish, his fourth top-10 finish in 2022, the 26-year-old Richard Childress Racing driver is on the horizon of his first visit to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series.  Another notable finish that came from the bowtie brigade was posted by Ty Dillon, who drove his No. 42 Petty GMS Camaro ZL1 to a top-10 finish, his best non-superspeedway finish in his NASCAR Cup Series career. It was a strong weekend for the 30-year-old North Carolina native, who also captured the win in his qualifying race to later solidify his seventh-place starting spot in Sunday’s main event. Dillon went on to show speed early, recording a runner-up finish in stage one and securing valuable stage points.  BOWTIE BULLETS·       Victories by active Team Chevy drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway include:Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1, has one win (April 2019)Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1, has one win (May 2017) ·         Heading into the 10th NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2022 season at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in NASCAR Cup Series wins (5), top-five’s (25), top-10’s (41), laps led (1,374) and stage wins (10). 
·       In addition to its manufacturer-leading 41 NASCAR Cup Series wins at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet has also amassed 197 top-five’s, 381 top-10’s and 8,090 laps led. The bowtie brand has also recorded 37 pole wins to top all manufacturers.  ·       Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins by an organization at Talladega with 13 among seven different drivers, most recently by Chase Elliott (2019).  ·       Chase Elliott’s pole win in May 2016 makes him the youngest polesitter to date (20 years, 5 months, 3 days).  ·       Notable superspeedway racer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., is one of just two active drivers to have recorded their first-career win in the NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway.  ·       Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 10 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins: Tyler Reddick 2 – (Fontanax2)Alex Bowman 1 – (Las Vegas)Ross Chastain 1 – (Las Vegas)William Byron 2 – (Phoenix)(Atlanta)Daniel Suarez 1 – (COTA)Chase Elliott 2 – (Martinsvillex2)Kyle Larson 1 – (Bristol) ·       Chevrolet leads in the driver points standing in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Chase Elliott holds the top spot in the NCS standings with a 3-point advantage over second; and AJ Allmendinger continues to lead in the NXS standings by 20-points. The bowtie brand also sits atop both the NCS and NXS manufacturer points standings. 
·       Noah Gragson will be making his first-career start at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series behind the wheel of the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Camaro ZL1. Gragson has three starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, including one in the 2022 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. 
FOR THE FANS:·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Talladega Superspeedway.·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Tahoe RST, Silverado 2500 Crew Cab, Corvette Z51, Camaro ZL1, 1500 Crew Cab Custom Realtree, Blazer Premier AWD and Equinox RS. ·       At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 show car.  TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:Friday, April 22·       Bayley Currey and Ryan Vargas: 2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. ·       Jeremy Clements: 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Saturday, April 23·       Daniel Dye: 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. ·       Sheldon Creed: 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ·       Justin Allgaier: 12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. ·       Myatt Snider: 12:45 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ·       Josh Berry: 1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. ·       Sam Mayer: 1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.  Sunday, April 24·       Corey LaJoie: 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. ·       Chase Elliott: 11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. ·       Austin Dillon: 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ·       Alex Bowman: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. ·       Noah Gragson: 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:  Friday, April 22: 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 23: 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.Sunday, April 24: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. TUNE INFOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 24. FOX will telecast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at 4 p.m. ET Saturday, April 23. Live coverage of both events can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  QUOTABLE QUOTESAUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING CAMARO ZL1WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY?“Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s a little bit of a coin flip, but my No. 3 team will be doing everything we can to try and win. In order to succeed at Talladega, you have to have a little bit of luck, and use momentum at the very end to take advantage of positions. Its speedway racing. Its drafting. And its chaos, but we’re up for the challenge.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 LARSON ON HOW HE IS PREPARING FOR TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY: “I’ve watched a lot of superspeedway races to see what I can do differently to be in contention at the end of stages and at the end of the race. I just never seem to be in a good position at the end – when I make it to the end. Hopefully, we can battle for stage points and have the HendrickCars.com Chevy near the front toward the end of the race.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1DANIELS ON WHETHER HE PROVIDES SUPERSPEEDWAY STRATEGIC ADVICE DURING THE RACE OR LEAVES IT TO LARSON: “A little bit of both. If I see things developing that I can communicate to him to help his decision making in the moment, then that’s 100% my responsibility to do so. But some decisions are just dependent on what he sees on track. My responsibility it to make a fast car that can suck up well, push well, get pushed well, and we need to execute well during pit stops. We need to maximize what we can control since we are limited on superspeedways of where to get an advantage.” COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 RAZE ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 “Talladega is a race on the schedule that we always have circled on the calendar. The No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team had a strong run to start the year at Daytona (International Speedway), so it’s great momentum to build off of heading into another superspeedway race. I’m excited to have RAZE Energy come on board for the first time this weekend and hopefully we can be there at the end to have a shot at getting them to victory lane.”   TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A RACE TRACK LIKE TALLADEGA?“Talladega is one of the racetracks that we go to and you’ve just got to expect the unexpected. You can be running second with three laps to go and finish 20th and you can be running 20th with three laps to go and end up winning. My No. 8 team and I go into each race weekend with the same mindset and that is to run up front and win. Last weekend, we were really close to that first win and instead of using that as a reason to be frustrated, we’re using it as more momentum. As the driver, I’m going to focus on listening to my spotter and crew chief, hitting all my marks and staying out of trouble. Staying out of trouble is hard at these superspeedways but those drivers end up being at the front when the white flag waves. The schedule is also different this weekend with no practice and straight to qualifying so we’ll see how that goes for us. I’m looking forward to a good weekend at Talladega.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 ELLIOTT ON RACING AT TALLADEGA: “Talladega is one of those places where you just don’t know how your day is going to end up. I think that’s why driving smart and just doing what you can to make it to the checkered flag is the main focus. Your race can change so fast if you’re in the wrong lane or you get caught up in someone else’s mistake. I think if you can avoid those things and finish the race, you’re going to have a decent result.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1GUSTAFSON ON TALLADEGA: “A majority of things from Daytona correlate to Talladega, and we didn’t feel like we were as good as we needed to be in Daytona. So we’re going try to take a few different philosophies to Talladega and see if that works. Really, for us, this race will be in the playoffs, so this is a good opportunity to try some things and figure out what you need to do to be where you want to be here in the fall.” DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 16 MAJESTIC STEEL CAMARO ZL1 “I’m looking forward to our second speedway race together as a group and building on the solid foundation Kaulig Racing has established over the years at superspeedways. The engine package has changed some over the last year or so at these type of tracks, but the speed and teamwork within this organization hasn’t, and we are collectively excited about the opportunity in front of us as we head to Talladega. This group has been putting the work in, communicating, and doing the things you have to do to build for our future together both on the Xfinity side and the Cup side.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 BYRON ON HIS APPROACH TO RACING AT TALLADEGA: “Talladega is quite a bit different than Daytona even though they are both superspeedways. Talladega is a lot wider with more room for racing, but the handling of your car isn’t as important there as it is at Daytona. This race is more about how well you can push someone and how well you can receive a push. You need speed, but you need to be able to work well with others to get good runs to make it to the front and stay there. My approach doesn’t change though. You still want to be conservative at times to make sure you’re there at the end of the race, but you also need to push it early on to know what your car is capable of to set yourself up in the best position in the end. We’ve always seemed to run well at Talladega. We just haven’t always had the results to show it, but that’s part of superspeedway racing.” RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 FUGLE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SUNDAY’S RACE AT TALLADEGA:“We had a tough weekend on the dirt (at Bristol), but I’m proud of the effort the No. 24 team put in to keep getting us better as the weekend went on. We can put that race behind us now, though, especially since it’s not in the playoffs. I’m just ready to get to Talladega. This is a race that plays a factor in the playoffs, so it has a heavier importance in the notes we put together. Even though we only get one or two laps on track before the race, we do have some notes to work off of already. We’ll be running the same tire that we used in Daytona so that gives us a good starting point to build off.” JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 “Talladega is one of my best tracks, so I feel optimistic going into the weekend. I feel like we had good speedway speed at Daytona earlier this year, but we just didn’t get the finish we wanted after the issues we had. Going into the second speedway race of the year, we’re going to race hard all day to try and make up stage points. Hopefully we get good points finish out of it and stay out of the big one.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SUNNYD CAMARO ZL1“Looking at Daytona (International Speedway) and Atlanta (Motor Speedway), I felt like we had one of the best cars in both of those races. Now, we’re going to Talladega (Superspeedway) with the same optimism and plan, which is to lead laps, run up front and just try to get the job done. You only need one race to turn your season around and we’re looking to turn it around. We’ve had a lot of good races with good speed, but a lot of things have happened that’s taken us out of contention. We don’t know what Talladega holds, but we will have a car capable of running up front with our No. 47 Kroger/SUNNYD Camaro ZL1.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 BOWMAN ON HIS PREPARATION FOR TALLADEGA: “Talladega has been a place that we have had our struggles at. We ran second in 2019 and have been caught in someone else’s mess a couple of times. So this weekend, I hope that we can change our luck. We have had a couple of solid runs recently. That gives us confidence to go out there, be aggressive and try to get another win this year.” GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 IVES ON HOW THE TEAM’S CONSISTENCY IN 2022 WILL HELP THEM AT TALLADEGA: “I think any time you can put together a string of good runs together, it boosts your confidence. Being able to have a fast car to overcome the adversity we had at Bristol and take home a top-10 result is a testament to the hard work by this team and helps us carry momentum into the next weekend. Talladega is a place we have had fast cars as well, so that helps us as we get ready for race day.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1 ARE YOU READY FOR TALLADEGA?      “I don’t know if you are really ever ready for Talladega, but I am looking forward to it. At the beginning of my career I wasn’t a big fan of the superspeedways but I have begun to enjoy them. We had chances to win at Talladega in April and last fall at Daytona so I am optimistic about our chances this weekend.” ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT POINTS AND PLAYOFFS YET?               “Not right now. Right now, I’m focused on making our team the best it can be. What is the good of getting a playoff spot if you aren’t running good? If you get in the playoffs you want to win. I don’t think I will worry about points until five or six weeks before the playoffs. Right now we want to run as well as possible and the rest will take care of itself.”

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 21, 2022) – Austin Prock knows what victory at Houston Raceway Park feels like as a member of a crew but the young Top Fuel standout is hoping to get a taste as a driver with his Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team at this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals, the fifth event on the Camping World Drag Racing Series schedule and last national event at Houston Raceway Park. Prock’s second appearance as a Top Fuel pilot at Houston Raceway Park will be the last since the land on which the track sits has been sold for commercial development. He was the No. 7 qualifier at Houston in 2019, beating Jordan Vandergriff before falling short in the second round to Steve Torrence.  “I’m really looking forward to Houston, John Force Racing has had a lot of success and made history at this facility. I’d love to add my name to that list, especially with it being the final one,” Prock said. “I’ve got two wins as a crew guy at Houston Raceway Park, including my first ever in 2018 when I worked on Brittany Force’s dragster and the second, in 2021, was my first win with my dad on Robert Hight’s team, so it’s got a special place in my heart. I’m excited to get back in the seat, I feel like we’re on the right track to perform with the best. I can’t wait to see how our cards fall.” Prock kicked off his return to the seat of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster with a final round appearance at the season-opening Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif. He comes into this week’s race having made a jump from ninth to sixth in points after racing to the second quad at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park kickoff Friday night with the first round of qualifying at 7 p.m. CT. Qualifying continues with sessions at 2 and 5:15 p.m. CT. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. A second qualifying show will air Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia, who drives the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R with Jordan Taylor, met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Thursday to discuss next week’s Monterey Sports Car Championship, the team’s performance heading into WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and other topics. FULL GARCIA TRANSCRIPT: YOU HAVE THREE WINS AT LAGUNA SECA? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST GOING BACK THERE NEXT WEEK? “It has been good for me and always good for Corvette Racing. I’ve had a few wins there but also when we had two cars there, we won together there many times. I’m looking forward to it. This year as always, it’s a new challenge because we don’t know how this version of the car will behave. So far it’s been going really, really good. I don’t see anything going against us or that we won’t be able to fight for the win or a good result.” WHAT WAS YOUR SIDE AND REACTION TO THE WHEEL-NUT ISSUE AT LONG BEACH (WHICH EVENTUALLY LANDED IN THE FRONT OF THE PFAFF MOTORSPORTS AND PUCNTURED THE RADIATOR)? “After that, I felt like were on the lucky side of that because we weren’t the car that went out of the race. That’s something I said to the Pfaff mechanics after the race. I went over and apologized for this weird thing. I didn’t understand after the restart. We thought they had some issues with the refueling. I didn’t know. I was getting in normal rhythm of a stint and trying to keep control over the Aston Martin, which was really fast at the beginning. The team tried to explain why we had to serve a penalty but I couldn’t really figure out what happened. Until I saw the video, I couldn’t believe what actually happened. For sure, that’s the unluckiest thing… you can try that a million times more and never do that again. It was very unfortunate for what happened to the 9 car.” WHAT IS THE STRANGEST THING THAT HAS TAKEN YOU OUT OF A RACE? “I’ve had a few at Long Beach. I lost a race there at the Hairpin when the track was completely blocked. I was the only one not being able to move around the accident. Losing the race there… I don’t know. That one two weeks ago was probably the weirdest one. For sure we’ve had failures on some things but I can’t think of anything stranger than that.” THIS IS THE LAST GTD PRO RACE FOR TWO MONTHS. HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE A GOOD PERFORMANCE IN THIS ONE COMING UP BEFORE COMING BACK AT WATKINS GLEN? “For us, it will be a little different because we will head to Le Mans. All the mechanics need to change their minds back to WEC rules; however we have one car over there now so it won’t be much of a difference. Half of the team or most of the team is set to the WEC rhythm. It will be for more Jordan and I to get used again to the GTE/GTLM full spec car, back to confidential tires and no ABS. There will be a little bit of changing our driving style but having driven this car for so many years in GTLM spec, I hope it doesn’t take much to get back to that style. For us, maybe it will be more difficult for us to get back to The Glen and change again for GTD PRO.” SPEAKING ABOUT LAGUNA SECA, YOU AND JORDAN HAVE SAID THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN THE CURRENT IMSA CAR IS THE ABS AND TIRES THAT EVERYONE IS USING. HOW WILL THAT PLAY A ROLE IN THIS RACE? “For us, we’re always learning. We should have a little bit more time in free practice so we know how to make the tire to work over there. That’s the biggest thing for us. We’ve never run this tire at these racetracks. We need to know how to make it work. We struggled a little bit on that at Long Beach but figured it out. Laguna Seca will be a different temperature so we’ll have to figure that out and adapt to that. It’s not only the stint performance but we also need to find some peak performance for qualifying. We saw at Long Beach that there are some cars potentially a little bit faster than us. That’s something we need to learn during the weekend. Prior to that, we need to anticipate what’s going to happen but we don’t know how this car will react to the track and temperatures.” WITH THE NUMBER OF MANUFACTURERS IN GTD PRO, HOW TOUGH HAS THE SEASON BEEN SO FAR? “It’s definitely difficult. I’ve raced against many of these guys already, but it’s different in dealing with the GTD PRO field and then you have the regular GTD field in the mix. At Long Beach after serving the penalty, I was behind some GTDs. In a way you are mixed in but they are on the same level as you car-wise and performance-wise. That’s the most difficult thing to deal with. Finishing the race behind the leading GTD car and knowing you couldn’t really make up anything to move forward because you might do something wrong that will impact the other car. I found that way a little more difficult. Bryan (Sellers) was racing with us and we were fighting for third or fourth in overall GTD positions. But being mixed is a bit different. We will get a little deeper into the season and how to better interact between the classes. That’s what I’ve found most challenging so far.” ON THE AGING TRACK SURFACE AT LAGUNA SECA, IT BEING SLIPPERY AND HOW YOU ATTACK THE TRACK. IS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AN ADVANTAGE? “It’s an advantage if you know how to deal with it. The downside for us is that we’re going to be learning about the degradation is on this new tire for us. Over the years with the C8.R in GTLM, we saw that degradation wasn’t that bad. It’s more about different strategies maybe. Last year in fighting the 4 car, we were on a slightly different strategy on tire compound so that changes a lot. In a way, having just one compound makes it a little easier so you don’t have that fear of choosing the wrong compound. Laguna Seca is great for that. There are track limits everywhere; if you go wide, you’re off or in the dirt. There is reward if you keep your car on track and do things well. I hope there is an advantage for us in that matter. You never know. Strategy is a good point there and traffic is usually pretty bad. You face a lot of things around the race but we are looking forward to it.” IS BEING ABLE TO MANAGE THE SURFACE THE BIGGEST KEY TO SUCCESS? “This track has always had long stints. It’s almost always a very long last stint so you need to deal with very old tires at the end. If there is some kind of late yellow, the tension goes up after those restarts. It’s a track where strategy plays a part of it. I’m sure we will see a lot of people going off-sequence. Let’s see… we hope to be on the right one and we’ll see where we are at the end of the race.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 21, 2022 
  TY DILLON, NO. 42 PETTY GMS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media via teleconference in advance of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript:  THIS PAST WEEKEND AT THE BRISTOL DIRT RACE, YOU CAME HOME WITH A 10TH-PLACE FINISH. TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT RACE, BUT ALSO JUST WHAT THAT MEANS FOR YOUR TEAM. A NEW TEAM THAT IS BUILDING TOGETHER – WHAT IT MEANS TO TAKE HOME A TOP-10.“Yeah, that was a really big day for us – for Petty GMS and myself. First of all, winning the heat race was really cool. Anytime you cross the checkered flag first in any kind of Cup Series race, that’s a big deal and I don’t take that for granted. Especially doing it with the No. 42 – a number that Lee Petty brought to the series, made so famous and has passed down through so many drivers. And to do that on dirt in a heat race is kind of a cool throwback moment for me, personally. It was also a good boost of confidence. My goal was to go out there and win that heat race beforehand and I was able to do so against Kyle Larson, who is undoubtedly probably one of the best dirt racers out there, and racers in general; along with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chase Elliott is no slouch either on dirt. I think he spent most of the winter almost living with Larson and running midgets and different dirt cars. I figured when I saw that heat race – it was the most loaded heat race with a large amount of dirt background. So, that was a huge vote of confidence for me. 
And then starting the race in seventh after all the passing points and everything; driving straight up to second and getting our first stage points of the year with nine stage points, is huge for sure. That was a great start. We were just kind of checking things off our list. In the second stage, we were unfortunately hung on the bottom quite a bit and fell back. It was really tough in that race to restart on the bottom and go forward at all. I think if you go back and look at it, anybody who restarted on the bottom just fell back into the field. We were able to have a strong enough Gain Camaro that I was able to drive back up through the field, get a top-10 finish, which is another one of our goals. It’s always good when you set high goals and you are able to accomplish them in a weekend. So, we have a lot of confidence going into Talladega (Superspeedway), which is statistically probably my best track. Hopefully we’ll keep that rolling and just keep moving forward with momentum this year.”
YOU’RE 21ST IN POINTS. HOW WOULD YOU EVALUATE THAT, AS FAR AS THE SEASON GOES? WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE POINTS, IS TOP-20 A GOAL? OR FOR A NEW TEAM, IS STAYING IN THE TOP-25 THE GOAL? “Obviously we want to stay in the top-25. I think there are good financial benefits for the team and everyone involved. I think that’s an expectation. And then we have goals, right. So, being inside the top-20 would be a goal, along with trying to get into the Playoffs and winning a race. We just want to show progression. We want our team to get better week in and week out. We started pretty good. We fell back to 26th in points and now we’re kind of moving forward again. I think for a new team and a whole new situation – where we’re at and with the guys that are around us being a strong group of drivers – I think the full points layout is a little bit different for everyone this year. I think the field is very solid all the way back to 28th in points. If we can crack that top-20, I think that would be a great thing. We want to keep looking for more and we expect more out of it. I think especially with the speed that Erik (Jones) has shown this year at some of the tracks. I know myself and our No. 42 team expects to have that kind of speed week in and week out. And if we can do that, we can go even higher in points and be a Playoff-contending team and a winning-contending team. 
There are a lot of goals out there that we believe are achievable. But the expectation is to be inside the top-25 and show progression throughout the year and see where we end up at the end.”
AT TALLADEGA, WITH THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING CARS READY, IS IT THE SAME MENTALITY AS DAYTONA? IS IT 50/50 WHETHER YOU’RE GOING TO FINISH OR END UP WRECKED?“These weeks are always weird for me because I’m thinking the same things you guys are. What’s it going to be like – Is it going to be aggressive? Is it going to be calm? Speedweek (at Daytona) seemed calm up until the Daytona 500. And then we started the race and people were bump drafting on lap one. I’m a big proponent of feeling the energy of the race. I just got off a meeting with my guys and I said this is the hardest race for me to prepare for. I just go off of what I feel. It may change within a lap, but I feel like if we can get up there and put ourselves in a good spot to get stage points and run up front, that’s obviously where you’d like to be. Or do I feel bad energy in the pack and people are doing things they shouldn’t at a certain time. For me, I won’t know until I’m in the situation. I don’t think anyone showed much patience in the Daytona 500. But also, in my opinion, nobody showed any patience in the last three years of superspeedway races. If you look back, there’s maybe 15 cars that were on the lead lap due to crashes and issues every race. 
My strategy sometimes seems conservative, but I also have one of the best average finishes of the last four or five years at some of these speedways. So, until they prove me otherwise, I’m going to play a smart game – feel the energy of the pack; get stage points if it feels right and we have the speed to do it and in the right situation. But if not, I have to make sure our Black Rifle Camaro crosses the line on the lead lap and I can pretty much always guarantee us a top-15 or top-10 in that way.”
LOOKING AT THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE SEASON, EVEN WITH THE NEW CAR, IN ESSENCE YOU’RE SEEING THE SAME TOP TEAMS WIN. THE TOP-10’S FOR TEAMS ARE VERY SIMILAR FROM YEAR-TO-YEAR. IS THE NEW CAR AN EQUALIZER IN SOME WAYS THAT YOU CAN’T SEE MAYBE THROUGH WINS AND TOP-10’S? OR IS IT A CASE THAT MAYBE THESE BIGGER TEAMS HAVE THE BIGGER RESOURCES AND THE EXPECTATION WAS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO FIND THINGS BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE? “Yeah, I think that’s a good question. I think it’s a little bit of both. The top teams have always had the most money and resources, and that’s always helpful. But they also have some of the best people – best drivers and crew chiefs because they have the same amount of money to go out and pay for them. Not taking away from any other teams – they’re going to put a good effort forward. I think that’s why you see the top teams winning. Winning teams win races and no matter what you put them in; winning drivers will do the same. I think it’s a little bit of a balance there, but I think you’re seeing within teams – week to week – you don’t know which driver within that team might win or might be two laps down. It’s been quite fascinating. You see two Hendrick (Motorsports) cars run really well and two run bad. You’ll see one RCR car run well and one RCR run bad. Same thing with us at Petty GMS – it seems like we haven’t had really one weekend where we’ve both been really, really strong. But we’ve both had our strong weeks. This car has a really fine line and seemingly when the driver, crew chief, team combo hits the right setup at the right time, you take off and you can have a chance. I haven’t had a weekend where I’ve gone into it where I don’t believe that if we hit it right, we can win the race. I didn’t feel that way in the past and I think this car provides that for everyone. 
I feel very confident that at Petty GMS, when we hit right, we’re going to have a chance to win a race. I think this past weekend was a real showing of that. We could have won that race if we were in the right spot at the right time at the end of the race; and if different things would have worked out in our favor in strategy and rain-wise. I think you’re never out of it with this car, which is a welcoming sign. Obviously money always wins in everything and we need to continue to get more sponsorship for our team and provide more resources for everybody. We’re working hard at that. We’re a young, growing team. We’re doing really well. Maury Gallagher is putting so much into our program. It’s very exciting to be a part of this team because our goal is to win. And then you throw Richard Petty in there – he has that winning mindset. He’s the winningest driver in our sport. So, we have so much excitement and promise around our team. We’re very new and in a youthful stage as a team, and figuring a lot of things out. Both teams – my team and Erik’s – have had ups and downs throughout the season. We’re starting to leap back up in the points. 
To circle back and answer your question – the good teams are going to be good. But I think if you look within these teams and why we’ve had so many different winners is because you never know when the right person is going to hit the setup. I think Erik could have possibly won Fontana if things would have gone the right way. It’s an exciting time in our sport and I look forward to every weekend because I feel like I have a legit shot to win. I can see it as a driver. You can see speed differences. You can feel things of like – Ok, we’re just getting outdone by money or we’re just getting outdone by putting the right pieces together. I think every weekend we’ve hit this year – it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together. It’s all there for us. Certainly, Mike Beam, Maury and Petty GMS is giving us every opportunity to do that. And I feel like we’re right there. In the past – I feel like with the old car or the old system – even if we did everything perfect, maybe it was a top-15. But I feel like if everything is done perfect now, we can win races. So, that’s always exciting for a driver and I think you’re going to continue to see more new winners; and I think you’re going to have to win a race to be in the Playoffs this year.” THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TO WORK ON EASTER. OBVIOUSLY, THIS WAS A NEW THING FOR THE SPORT THIS YEAR WITH THE EASTER RACE. THE NUMBERS SEEM TO INDICATE THAT EASTER IS SOMETHING THAT WILL PROBABLY BE BACK ON THE SCHEDULE. WHAT KIND OF AN ADJUSTMENT IS THAT FOR THIS SPORT? “It’s a tough spot for our sport. I know our sport respects family, faith, and holidays of all of communities and cultures. It’s a tough balance. For me, I don’t know if I get to speak from a very fair vantage point, but I’m lucky enough to travel with my family. My brother and his family was there; my mom, dad and grandfather. So, I got to have Easter with my whole family. But I have a very unique situation. And then I look at my friends and the employees at Petty GMS and across the garage that didn’t get to have that for the first time in a long time – that’s tough. You hear from our sport and we’re in such a great point in our sport and everything is trending up; and we have our best viewership of a race at Bristol since 2016. It puts everyone in a tough spot. 
But I think there is a way to go about it. I think there’s a way to maybe schedule the Saturday events early enough – maybe do the heat races early in the morning on Saturday to give people time to go home. Most team members are within a two hour drive from home; or the owners of the sport should pay for the guys to fly home and fly back on Sunday. If we’re going to do a Sunday night race, plan everything to give the guys a 12 to 18 hour stretch where they can choose to go home and be with their families and be able to come back for the race that night. At Petty GMS, we flew, which was nice for the families to at least to get home Sunday night. But we still didn’t get to bed until 1:30 a.m. and there were teams that had to drive home. That’s a tough weekend and it definitely doesn’t help the families back at home. 
There’s a balance. I think we can work the schedule. I think the owners and NASCAR, in general, have to work together to do as much for their employees as possible in that situation. That’s the way I see it. But it’s a very positive thing that we had great viewership. I know next year, it’s going to be going up against the Masters, which will be interesting to see how that works out. So, we just have to work together to figure it out because these people that work so hard deserve time with their families, especially when you look at our schedule this year. We have one off weekend throughout this whole year and that is brutal. That’s really tough, especially with a new car and early in the season with a massive shortage in parts. There are still teams that are scrambling and working from 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 to midnight every night and then turning around and racing. It’s all good because we want the sport to succeed. But eventually you burn people out and we’ve got to take care of our people. That’s what makes this sport so important and we just have to look at some of these things to get some breaks for people, whether it’s the way that we travel or plan out weekends. I think there is plenty of time, especially this past weekend, to do a lot more for the people.”
BRISTOL, WHEN THEY SENT OUT TICKETS FOR POTENTIAL FOR SALES FOR NEXT YEAR, IT’S THE WEEK AFTER. MY QUESTION FOR YOU – I KNOW YOU AND YOUR BROTHER RACED A LOT OF DIRT BEFORE GETTING TO NASCAR – OVERALL, HOW DO YOU CHARACTERIZE THE RACE? THERE WERE A LOT OF OPPONENTS THAT WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DIRT TRACK RACING ELEMENT OF IT. DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED ON THE SCHEDULE AS A POINTS-PAYING RACE? “I do. I think a lot of our drivers just like to complain because they’re bored and sometimes just want something to talk about; just try to show emotion in that way. I think you just have to look at it a lot less selfishly. So what if you get a little dirty…inaudible. We’re all on the same track and we’re all doing it together. The only thing that’s going to make this sport continue to grow and be good for everyone is to have a positive outlook; see what worked and how we can make the things that didn’t work as good better and move forward positively. I’m never bashing anything unless it’s dangerous and there’s nothing about that race that’s dangerous. I thought it was fun. I think if you look at the first year to the second year, it massively improved. Sometimes people aren’t patient enough to let something kind of mature and grow into what it really can be. Sometimes we’re quick to snap judgement and say ‘this isn’t going to work’. That’s just not a healthy way to look at things in our sport. I enjoy the fact that NASCAR is choosing a different way to go about racing at different tracks and trying to do things for fans. 
I think if you take your driver selfishness hat off and look at it globally, that was an awesome event. You think of all the things that we fixed from the previous event, that was great. And there’s another list of things that we can continue to do to grow. To say this race isn’t worth it and hope we don’t go back – I think that’s kind of ridiculous. I was surprised by some of the comments from some of the drivers. I think if you look at the attitude of the drivers – the guys that liked the race ran well and the guys who didn’t like the race ran bad. Mindset of your approach of what you want to be a part of definitely helps in having a better weekend. 
I grew up dirt racing. I haven’t raced dirt in five years, so that was my first dirt race other than the Eldora truck races that I’ve ran, and I enjoyed it. Part of that element – when you go to a Saturday night dirt track or a weekend dirt track – is that things are moving. Things aren’t always the same. You don’t show up to the same track with the same bump and the same groove every single weekend. And in fact, it’s not the same from when you unload your car to the time that the checkered flag waves. Every lap you’re moving, changing and adjusting your car. It makes it tough, but that’s why we choose to go dirt racing – to throw something different at it. I think the big win was that the dust was down and the track had multiple grooves. There was passing. Was it hard? Yes. It’s also hard to pass at Bristol when it’s concrete. I think I had the most passes with 58 or 59. That’s a lot of passes, so it’s possible. You just have to be into it and embrace the fact that it’s good for our sport; and what’s good for our sport is good for us.”
MOTHER NATURE CERTAINLY HAD HER SAY THE FIRST YEAR WE WENT THERE AND IT WAS REALLY HARD TO GET THE TRACK CONDITIONED. BUT FROM THE DRIVER SEAT, YOU FOUND THE DIRT THIS TIME A LOT MORE COMPETITIVE TO RACE ON. DID THE BANKING HELP, AS WELL?“Yeah, I don’t know a whole lot about dirt, other than my background. Inaudible.. from what I noticed was different was they added some calcium into the dirt to hold moisture in it a little bit better. Whether that was the cure or not, I’m not sure. But our daytime practice got pretty dusty at one point. I think the biggest win was moving it to a night race. It holds more moisture.. inaudible.. 
I don’t know what metrics led into that, but they were right in taking banking out of the bottom and adding it to the top. I think it was a really good race. I thought everything went great and I think we can improve it even further.”
YOU’VE BEEN ON A SINGLE-CAR TEAM FOR MOST OF YOUR CUP CAREER. WHAT IS IT LIKE HAVING A TEAMMATE THIS YEAR? “It’s been great. It’s an adjustment for me. Like you said, I’ve been a single-car driver for my whole career. Just adjusting to that dynamic is not always easy. You’re learning personalities and the whole team isn’t centered around you. It’s around two cars. It’s helped me a lot to learn from Erik (Jones), Dave (Elenz) and the No. 43 team, who has had such good speed. They set a good expectation, which I really appreciate. The opportunity to know where your team can be is always so good. If they’re having a strong weekend, we can look at them and say ‘OK, this is where we need to get to’. I’m a very competitive person, but I also enjoy being a team player. I believe that together we can push each other to move Petty GMS forward. I’m enjoying having a teammate and having that dynamic. I can’t wait to see how we kind of grow in that together.”

Batavia, OH (April 21, 2022) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will make heads turn, heading to the “Land of Lincoln” this weekend. There is never a shortage of thrills for teams and fans alike when the series visits Tri-City Speedway and Macon Speedway.The weekend doubleheader will wrap up the month of April, kicking off on Friday, April 29th at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL, followed by Macon Speedway in Macon, IL on Saturday, April 30th. Both venues will host the nation’s top dirt late model drivers along with one of the strongest fields of local and regional standouts anywhere.Located just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, MO, Tri-City Speedway has gone through several changes in size since being built in 1961 but has settled in as a 3/8-mile oval. The Bullet Racing Engines 50 will include a complete program of: Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 50-lap, $12,000-to-win main event. The pit gate will open at 12:00PM CT (noon) with the General Admission gate opening at 5:30 PM CT. A 6:00 PM CT driver’s meeting will be conducted with on track action beginning at 6:30 PM CT. The Modifieds and B-Mods will also be in competition, each racing for a $1,000 pay day.The thrills won’t stop as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series teams make their way to Macon Speedway on Saturday night. Also rich in history, the 1/5-mile bullring that opened in 1946 is historically known to produce non-stop, door-to-door racing action. The event features Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, and B-Mains, highlighted by a 100-lap, $15,000-to-win main event. The pit gate will close at 2:30 PM CT and reopen at 3:00 PM CT. The general admission gate will open at 4:00 PM CT. A 5:30 PM CT driver’s meeting will take place before hot laps which begin at 6:00 PM CT. Pro Modifieds will be racing for $300-to-win while the Modified division will compete for $1,000-to-win.Track Information: Tri-City Speedway Phone Number: 618-931-7836 Track Promoters: Kevin and Tammy Gundaker Location: 5100 Nameoki Road, Granite City, IL 62040 Website: www.tricityspeedway.netMacon Speedway Phone Number 217-764-3000 Track Promoter: Bob Sargent Location: 205 North Wiles, Macon, IL 62544 Website: www.maconracing.comLucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series April 29th – 30th Purses: Tri-City Speedway Purse: 1. $12,000, 2. $6,000, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,800, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,100, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000,18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $52,800Macon Speedway Purse: 1. $15,000, 2. $6,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $3,000, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,400, 7. $2,300, 8. $2,200, 9. $2,100, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,300, 14. $1,200, 15. $1,050, 16. $1,000, 17. $1,000, 18. $1,000, 19. $1,000, 20. $1,000, 21. $1,000, 22. $1,000, 23. $1,000, 24. $1,000. = $57,050Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series April 29th – 30th Tire Rule: Left Rear/Fronts – Hoosier (90) LM20 Right Rear – Hoosier (92) LM40 *Must use the same set of 4 tires for Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains and A-Main *Flat tire must be replaced with a used tire of the same compound and construction to retain starting position.

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 21, 2022) – Reaching yet another milestone in his illustrious career, John Force will feature a special paint scheme on his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his 100th win at this weekend’s NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park, the final NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series event to be run at the beloved facility. John Force has won an event best six times in the SpringNationals (1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1999 and 2002) and seven times overall at Houston Raceway Park (the other win came in 1999 in the track’s short-lived fall race). He earned his historic 100th tour victory on April 14, 2002 when he beat Dale Creasy Jr., Del Worsham, Whit Bazemore and, in the final, Tommy Johnson Jr. Force would go on to win his 10th straight NHRA championship that season.Force has qualified No. 1 a total of 11 times at Houston Raceway Park, 10 times in the SpringNationals. Only at Indianapolis and the Texas Motorplex has he started more races from the front (12 at each venue). He set the SpringNationals qualifying pace 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2019 and was No.1 at the fall race in 1999. In 2019 he shared the top spot for the first time with daughter Brittany Force who secured No. 1 in Top Fuel. “Houston Raceway Park has been good to me over the years. I’m looking forward to getting back there. The Angel Family put on a great show and NHRA is working hard to make this one special,” Force said. “John Force Racing, not just me, has a lot of history here, a lot of wins here, a lot of success. PEAK, they wanted to do something special for the 20th anniversary of my 100th win and I’m excited to get out and show this Chevy hot rod off. Maybe it will bring me some good luck and get us a win We’re right there, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi all these young kids, they’re working hard and it’ll pay off. We just have to keep at it and I’ve got to keep doing my job.” Force had pre-season success at testing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Arizona but stumbled at the season opening Winternationals. The PEAK / BlueDEF team turned things around back at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the NHRA Arizona Nationals. They would qualify No. 3 and have a semifinals appearance. Quarterfinal finishes at both the Gatornationals in Gainesville and the most recent Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals would keep Force fifth in the points standings, just seven away from fourth.   The NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park kickoff Friday night with the first round of qualifying at 7 p.m. CT. Qualifying continues with sessions at 2 and 5:15 p.m. CT. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. A second qualifying show will air Sunday at 10:30 a.m. before eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET.

CHEVROLET AT HOUSTON What: 35th NHRA SpringNationalsWhen: Friday, April 22-Sunday, April 24Where: Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, TexasTV: FS1 will telecast eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET April 24                                                                       Team Chevy seeks to close out Houston Raceway Park in styleVenue has been the site of notable accomplishments for Chevrolet drivers over the years

DETROIT (April 21, 2022) – Erica Enders literally and figurately grew up at Houston Raceway Park, so the National Hot Rod Association’s swan song at the facility this weekend will be full of emotions for the four-time Pro Stock champion. After 35 years in operation, the track will close after its 2022 season.

“HRP has meant so much to me my entire life,” the Houston native said. “I literally fell in love with the sport watching my dad (Gregg Enders) race here before I was old enough to drive. When they first announced the junior dragster program, I couldn’t get down here fast enough to start racing myself.” That was at age 8. Enders won her first NHRA national event at Houston Raceway Park in Super Gas in 2004, and 10 years later claimed the Wally in Pro Stock against Allen Johnson. She also won in 2015 on the way to completing her second successive championship season. “It’s always been my home track and a place where I want to win more than any other. Winning the last race here would be huge,” she said. “All the steps I had to take to get to Pro Stock came at this track, so all those memories always come flooding back. The track has been good to me in the past and it’s my home turf, so we’re excited to get things underway and see what happens.” Enders, the most recent winner on the Pro Stock tour in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, is just three points shy of championship leader Aaron Stanfield in the Janac Brothers Camaro SS after four or the scheduled 18 events.

The track has been the site of many special moments in NHRA history, including Texan Lucinda McFarland driving a Chevrolet Lumina to the 14th qualifier spot in Pro Stock in the 1992 event to join Kim LaHaie (Top Fuel) and Paula Martin (Funny Car) as the first time three females qualified in all three pro classes. Notable accomplishments at Houston by current Chevrolet drivers: * Sixteen-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force earned his 100th victory at Houston in 2002. He is a seven-time winner and 10-time No. 1 qualifier at the track, most recently in 2019.* Brittany Force is a two-time winner at the track (2018, 2019) and holds the Top Fuel track records for elapsed time (3.661 seconds) and speed (332.18 mph) set in April 2019 on the way to the No. 1 qualifier. Road trip: John and Brittany Force pack up their Chevrolet Suburban and head to Las Vegas * Three-time NHRA Funny Car champion Robert Hight is a four-time Funny Car winner at the track, including the past two races (2021 and 2019) he has competed. Hight earned his initial NHRA Funny Car win in the 2005 race at Houston. He was runner-up in 2018 and ’17 and is a two-time No. 1 qualifier at the track.* Five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson is a three-time winner (2004, 2008, 2016) at the track and three-time No. 1 qualifier.* Four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Erica Enders is a two-time winner the track (2014, ’15) and runner-up in 2018. She holds the Pro Stock track speed record (213.37 mph) set in April 2013. She earned her first national event win at the track in Super Gas in 2004.* Pro Stock points leader Aaron Stanfield, who has a win, runner-up finish and a pair of No. 1 qualifiers through four races, earned his inaugural Pro Stock victory at the track in the penultimate race of the shortened 2020 season. Also, Bo Butner picked up his first Pro Stock win in 2017 and Matt Hartford got on the Wally tally sheet in 2018 at Houston.

Brittany Force, the 2017 Top Fuel champion, closed to four points of the championship lead with her victory in last race on the schedule in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. She defeated past champions Steve Torrence, Tony Schumacher and Antron Brown in the final of the four-wide event in Las Vegas with a 3.718-second pass at a blistering 338.00 mph. “It’s all about consistency,” crew chief David Grubic said. “We need the performance, but we also need the consistency and we need reliability as well. We’ve had our share of No. 1s. We want race day results now; that’s what it’s all about.” Hight, driving the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS, is aiming to retake the Funny Car championship lead with his third victory of the season. Reigning Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson will seek to join John Force as the only pro class drivers with 100 wins. Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, is sixth in points. CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPITTOP FUELBRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (winner at Las Vegas; two-time winner at the track; holds both ends of the Top Fuel track records set in 2019; second in points): “We’re coming off a win in Las Vegas and our Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team heads to Houston this weekend still on such a high. There’s this momentum after a win that excites and motivates the entire team to get to the next race and chase down another win. Houston Raceway Park has carried my team to a winner’s circle two times in my career and we’re looking for back-to-back wins at Houston’s final NHRA nationals event. Looking forward to seeing what this team can pull off.” AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (runner-up at Pomona opener): “I’m really looking forward to Houston, John Force Racing has had a lot of success and made history at this facility. I’d love to add my name to that list, especially with it being the final one. I’ve got two wins as a crew guy at Houston Raceway Park, including my first ever in 2018 when I worked on Brittany Force’s dragster and the second, in 2021, was my first win with my dad on Robert Hight’s team, so it’s got a special place in my heart. I’m excited to get back in the seat, I feel like we’re on the right track to perform with the best. I can’t wait to see how our cards fall.” FUNNY CARJOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (seven-time winner at the track; will have special throwback look to his Camaro): “Houston Raceway Park has been good to me over the years. I’m looking forward to getting back there. The Angel family put on a great show and NHRA is working hard to make this one special. John Force Racing, not just me, has a lot of history here, a lot of wins here, a lot of success. PEAK, they wanted to do something special for the 20th anniversary of my 100th win and I’m excited to get out and show this Chevy hot rod off. Maybe it will bring me some good luck and get us a win We’re right there, Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi all these young kids, they’re working hard and it’ll pay off. We just have to keep at it and I’ve got to keep doing my job.” ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (two-time winner this season; four-time winner at the track, including 2021, 2019 and his first-ever Funny car win in 2005; No. 1 qualifier at Gainesville): “Houston Raceway Park is a special place for me. It’s where I got my first win, it was really unbelievable, going from a crew guy and then, in my rookie season getting a win just four races in. Jimmy Prock, he has some magic at Houston, he has this AAA Texas Chevy dialed in here. We have some momentum already this year, those two wins to start the season, it’s a great start. Hopefully, with our past success, and what we have building already this season, we get this AAA Chevy in the winner’s circle.” PRO STOCKGREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time winner of event; seeking to become second pro driver with 100 wins): “Yes, we’ve done well there before, but it’s been a few years since I’ve seen the winner’s circle in Houston. But that distance between wins just makes you that much more hungry for it. Right now, we’re hungry. But we’ll try to be patient, we’ll continue to work on what we have, and hopefully we’ll get to Houston with everything we need to get the job done. Hopefully, we’ll put our name in the record book as the last winner there. We showed flashes of being back to on our game in Vegas and come race day I made a mistake as a driver. I made a couple of mistakes on the starting line and it definitely cost the car some ET. Definitely had a good car; we were the quickest car on both runs on Saturday. We’ve been home working for a couple of weeks here trying to make our engines run better yet, so hopefully we’ll not only run strong in qualifying we’ll race good on Sunday.” DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner at Gainesville; No. 1 qualifier at Houston in 2021): “We’ve had a few weeks off since Vegas and I’m rested and ready for Houston. I had my first No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock in Houston last year so it’s kind of a special place for my RAD Torque Systems team. Looking forward to this weekend.” KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier at Phoenix; runner-up at Gainesville): “I would love to win any race in general, but definitely the last one in Houston. The guys in the engine shop have gotten ready after Vegas and I’m ready to go racing. I don’t like these long breaks. Our car works well on the hot, greasy tracks so I expect us to compete for the win.” TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up at Phoenix): “It’s the last race ever at Houston Raceway Park and I’d love to get my first-ever win in Pro Stock to mark this really special occasion. My uncle Jeg won his first Pro Stock race here back in 1997 and went on to win 64 more in the class, including a total of five at this track, so this place has definitely been kind to Team JEGS through the years. Plus, my dad (Troy) made his Pro Stock debut there in 1994 and my uncle John won Super Gas here in 1995. There’s lots of history for the sport and for our family at HRP.” CAMRIE CARUSO, CARUSO FAMILY RACING, SAND HAULERS OF AMERICA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (first season in Pro Stock; quarterfinalist at Arizona and Gainesville): “I have never raced at Houston, so I don’t have any good or bad memories. We have had winning Houston as a goal. We are trying to win every race but getting that first win in Houston would be special for sure. Every race I feel like I am making progress as a driver. The support I am getting from my family and team has been so important.” BO BUTNER, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JOHNSON’S HORSEPOWERED GARAGE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2017 champion; earned first Pro Stock win at track same year): “A good friend of mine that’s a retired driver told me that it takes a minute to learn how to win, and once you get it, everything just clicks. That’s true, but you also need the right equipment and to be in the right place at the right time. I’m not 100% sure what it is about Houston Raceway Park, but I can tell you this: The fans there love this class, and it’s a fast racetrack. I’m happy to go back this year.”  MASON MCGAHA, HARLOW SAMMONS RACING, HARLOW SAMMONS OF ODESSA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (three-time semifinalist in four races; making 30th Pro Stock start; fifth in points): “I’ve gotten more and more runs. I feel comfortable. Last year was like my rookie year with 2020 being a short year with COVID. It allowed us to go into the offseason like a normal year and go into Pomona and not Gainesville like we did the year before. If we keep making good runs and I keep making good lights, at some point we’ve got to get that extra push.”

April 21, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are hoping that the speed they showed at Daytona International Speedway in February can be duplicated this weekend at Daytona’s sister track, Talladega Superspeedway.

Burton was leading the season-opening Daytona 500 when a wreck knocked him out of the race. Although races at Talladega, which is similar in size and layout to Daytona, often produces a different kind of race, crew chief Brian Wilson said he and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are aiming to execute the same strategy at Talladega on Sunday as they did at Daytona.

“Talladega is always chaotic and highly entertaining, but we also look at it as an opportunity to score Stage points and get a great finish,” Wilson said. “At Daytona things didn’t end how we wanted them to, but we qualified well, finished strong in the Duel and were at the front when we ultimately were involved in the wreck that took us out.”

Although Burton is a rookie, Wilson said he shows good instincts in the pack racing that occurs at Daytona and Talladega. And he does have a previous Cup Series start at Talladega, where last fall he made his debut in NASCAR’s elite series.
 
“Harrison’s thought process in the draft and decision making put us in good positions at Daytona,” Wilson said. “The wreck was certainly not due to our approach. We’ll go into this weekend with the same mindset of trying to run up front but also keep ourselves in good positions as the draft plays out.”
 
There will be no practice prior to Saturday’s qualifying session for the GEICO 500, which means teams won’t have to worry about wrecking primary cars before the start of the race.
 
Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (11 a.m. Eastern Time), and Sunday’s 188-lap race is set to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX.
 
Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 120.

 

Series Returns to Illinois’ Tri-City Speedway for First Time Since 2008GRANITE CITY, IL – April 20, 2022 – The Illini State and the Hoosier State await The Greatest Show on Dirt this weekend.The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will conclude a three-week swing through the Midwest with a long-awaited return to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL on Friday night, followed by an exciting night at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN on Saturday.TRI-CITY TICKETS (Friday) TRI-STATE TICKETS (At-Track Saturday)Here’s what to watch for this weekend:LONG TIME, NO SEE: For the first time since 2008, the World of Outlaws return to Tri-City Speedway this Friday night. Albeit absent from the schedule for the last 14 years, the Granite City, IL oval is still the 13th most visited track in Seris history with 55 appearances dating back to the first in 1979.When the Series last ran at the 3/8-mile in 2008, it was 10-time champion, Donny Schatz, earning the fifth of 221 victories driving the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15. The Fargo, ND native returns to Tri-City as one of the most experienced racers at the track with 16 starts between 1997 and 2008. He’ll look to use that to his advantage with his second win of 2022 on the line this Friday night.Along with Schatz, only Kraig Kinser and Jason Sides have previously raced at Tri-City with the World of Outlaws. Both drivers finished in the top-five in 2005, and both enter this weekend vying for their first top-10 effort of the new season.ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE: Following a trip to Tri-City, Tri-State takes center stage on Saturday night. The Haubstadt, IN bullring will become the 20th most visited track in Series history with their 42nd World of Outlaws race since 1979. It’s a high-banked 1/4-mile known for producing off-the-wall action, first-time winners, and pure mayhem at times.Carson Macedo of Lemoore, CA has topped the last two races, joining Doug Wolfgang, Andy Hillenburg, and Paul McMahan as the only back-to-back winners at Tri-State. The Jason Johnson Racing #41 pilot is the Series’ most recent winner at I-55 and already leads the league with three wins with the potential to add a fourth this week. Along with Macedo, David Gravel is the only other full-time driver to win in Haubstadt, claiming two victories as well.The track has seen five first-time winners with Lee James & Larry Gates in 1979, The Texan Gary Wright in 1991, and recent occurrences with Parker Price-Miller in 2017 and Carson Short in 2020.SEVEN-HUNDRED: David Gravel of Watertown, CT will reach the first of several upcoming milestones this weekend with his 700th World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Feature on Saturday night. The Big Game Motorsports #2 is only four wins away from a 75th career victory, six finishes away from a 300th career top-five, and four runs away from a 500th career top-10.The Big Game Motorsports #2 has collected a pair of wins, six podium finishes, and 11 top-10 runs as Gravel continues to fight for his first World of Outlaws championship.HOME SWEET HOME: A pair of Indiana natives in Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, IN) and Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN) will race in their home state for the first time in 2022 this weekend as the Series travels to Haubstadt’s Tri-State Speedway. Neither driver has yet to win at the 1/4-mile with Kinser’s best run coming in fourth and Bayston’s best result in 11th.For Bayston, he’s been on the verge of victory lane all season in the CJB Motorsports #5. The leading Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender enters this weekend on a streak of five straight top-10 finishes. For Kinser, the #11K has been quick throughout 2022 with little luck to show for it. He hopes to turn that around this weekend in the Hoosier State.SINK OR SWIM: The Shark Racing team was maybe only one lap away from scoring back-to-back World of Outlaws wins with both Jacob Allen and Logan Schuchart. After a rocky start to the season, both the #1A and #1S have rebounded with impressive runs including Jacob’s Jason Johnson Classic victory and Logan’s near-win at I-55.The duo will look to keep building momentum this weekend and next at Bristol as the Series heads east towards familiar territory in Ohio and their native Pennsylvania in the month of May.MOWA MASTERS: Although the World of Outlaws hasn’t been to Tri-City since 2008, the Midwest Open Wheel Association has raced regularly at the 3/8-mile oval over that span. Ayrton Gennetten of Versailles, MO is unbeaten in his Tri-City career, winning each of the last two MOWA races. He’s looking to top his World of Outlaws career-best of fourth, which came at Devil’s Bowl when he led 20+ laps last fall.Rico Abreu of St. Helena, CA is a former MOWA winner at Tri-City as well, and he owns a USAC National Midget victory at the venue as does Tanner Thorson of Minden, NV. Both will be in action this weekend following a pair of strong finishes at I-55 last weekend.ON THE VERGE: Sheldon Haudenschild and James McFadden both returned to the top-five last week at I-55 as their strong runs continue in 2022.Haudenschild is a two-time winner already this year, but it has been 10 races since the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 last visited victory lane. The Wooster, OH native mounted a magnificent charge from the tail to finish fourth last week and hopes that momentum carries him to a third win of 2022 and 25th of his career.McFadden nabbed his fourth top-five in the last six races aboard the Roth Motorsports #83, but the Australian is still searching for his first win of the season. The reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has been a contender throughout the first 14 races and is on the verge of breaking through soon.THIS WEEK AT A GLANCEFriday, April 22 at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL Saturday, April 23 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, INOn the Internet World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthCURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (14/81 Nights): 1. 49-Brad Sweet (1,970 PTS); 2. 41-Carson Macedo (-40 PTS); 3. 2-David Gravel (-48 PTS); 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-72 PTS); 5. 83-James McFadden (-120 PTS); 6. 15-Donny Schatz (-122 PTS); 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (-136 PTS); 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-136 PTS); 9. 5-Spencer Bayston (-166 PTS); 10. 1A-Jacob Allen (-204 PTS).NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (9 Drivers): 3 wins – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41 2 wins – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2 2 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17 2 wins – Giovanni Scelzi, KCP Racing #18 1 win – Brad Sweet, Kasey Kahne Racing #49 1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 1 win – Jacob Allen, Shark Racing #1A 1 win – Brent Marks, Murray-Marks Motorsports #19 1 win – Kyle Larson, Kevin Kozlowski #57FEATURE LAPS LED (17 Drivers): 71 laps – David Gravel 65 laps – Carson Macedo 58 laps – Brad Sweet 55 laps – Giovanni Scelzi 27 laps – Brent Marks 26 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr. 25 laps – Donny Schatz 23 laps – Spencer Bayston 21 laps – Brady Bacon 17 laps – Kyle Larson 13 laps – Cory Eliason 10 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild 9 laps – Dominic Scelzi, Brady Bacon 8 laps – James McFadden 3 laps – Brian Brown 1 lap – Corey DaySLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (10 Drivers): 3 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo 2 QuickTimes – David Gravel, Jacob Allen 1 QuickTime – Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brad Sweet, Giovanni Scelzi*, James McFadden, Rico Abreu * Denotes New Track RecordHEAT RACE WINNERS (20 Drivers): 6 Heat Wins – David Gravel, Jacob Allen 5 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, James McFadden 4 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo, Giovanni Scelzi 2 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Brock Zearfoss, Kraig Kinser, Rico Abreu, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason 1 Heat Win – Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart, Spencer Bayston, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Dominic Scelzi, Kerry Madsen, Corey DayDIRTVISION FAST PASS DASH APPEARANCES (28 Drivers): 10 Dashes – Brad Sweet, Jacob Allen 9 Dashes – David Gravel 7 Dashes – Carson Macedo, Spencer Bayston 5 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden, Donny Schatz, Cory Eliason 4 Dashes – Kraig Kinser, Giovanni Scelzi 3 Dashes – Logan Schuchart, Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney, Aaron Reutzel 2 Dashes – Brock Zearfoss, Kyle Larson, Kerry Madsen, Dominic Scelzi, Corey Day, Brent Marks 1 Dash – Anthony Macri, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Colby Copeland, Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto, Brian Brown, Brady BaconMICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (9 Drivers): 3 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild 2 LCS Wins – Logan Schuchart, Ayrton Gennetten 1 LCS Win – James McFadden, Spencer Bayston, Anthony Macri, Mitchell Faccinto, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Kerry MadsenKSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (8 Drivers): 4 Hard Chargers – Logan Schuchart 3 Hard Chargers – Sheldon Haudenschild 2 Hard Chargers – James McFadden 1 Hard Chargers – Carson Macedo, Donny Schatz, Tanner Thorson, Rico Abreu, David GravelPODIUM FINISHES (17 Drivers): 7 Podiums – Brad Sweet 6 Podiums – David Gravel 4 Podiums – Carson Macedo 3 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild, Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi, Kyle Larson 2 Podiums – James McFadden, Corey Day, Brent Marks 1 Podium – Logan Schuchart, Spencer Bayston, Jacob Allen, Cory Eliason, Aaron Reutzel, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brian BrownTOP 10 FINISHES (27 Drivers): 13 Top 10s – Brad Sweet 11 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudencshild 10 Top 10s – Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi 9 Top 10s – James McFadden, Logan Schuchart 8 Top 10s – Spencer Bayston 7 Top 10s – Jacob Allen, Cory Eliason 6 Top 10s – Rico Abreu 4 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney 3 Top 10s – Brock Zearfoss, Kyle Larson, Brent Marks 2 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Dominic Scelzi, Kerry Madsen, Corey Day 1 Top 10 – Anthony Macri, Justin Peck, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Shane Golobic, DJ Netto, Brian Brown, Hunter Schuerenberg2022 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS: No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Thur, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1) 2. Fri, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1) 3. Sat, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1) 4. Fri, March 4 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2) 5. Sat, March 5 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Carson Macedo (1) 6. Fri, March 11 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (1) 7. Sat, March 12 / Thunderbowl Raceway / Tulare, CA / Kyle Larson (1) 8. Fri, March 18 / Merced Speedway / Merced, CA / Carson Macedo (2) 9. Fri, March 25 / Bakersfield Speedway / Bakersfield, CA / Giovanni Scelzi (2) 10. Sat, March 26 / Perris Auto Speedway / Perris, CA / David Gravel (2) 11. Tues, March 29 / Vado Speedway Park / Vado, NM / Brad Sweet (1) 12. Sat, April 2 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brent Marks (1) 13. Sat, April 9 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO / Jacob Allen (1) 14. Fri, April 15 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Carson Macedo (3) 15. Fri, April 22 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL 16. Sat, April 23 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN 17. Fri, April 29 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN 18. Sat, April 30 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN 19. Fri, May 6 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 20. Sat, May 7 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 21. Wed, May 11 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA 22. Fri, May 13 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 23. Sat, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 24. Tues, May 17 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ 25. Fri, May 20 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH 26. Sat, May 21 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH 27. Sat, May 28 / Atomic Speedway / Waverly, OH 28. Mon, May 30 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN 29. Fri, June 3 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND 30. Sun, June 5 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD 31. Fri, June 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 32. Sat, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 33. Fri, June 17 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA 34. Sat, June 18 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA 35. Thur, June 23 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD 36. Fri, June 24 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD 37. Sat, June 25 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD 38. Fri, July 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI 39. Sat, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI 40. Fri, July 8 / 34 Raceway / West Burlington, IA 41. Sat, July 9 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI 42. Tues, July 12 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH 43. Wed, July 13 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 44. Thur, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 45. Fri, July 15 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 46. Sat, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 47. Wed, July 20 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA 48. Fri, July 22 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 49. Sat, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 50. Sat, July 30 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY 51. Sun, July 31 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY 52. Fri, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO 53. Sat, Aug. 6 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO 54. Wed, Aug. 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 55. Thur, Aug. 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 56. Fri, Aug, 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 57. Sat, Aug. 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA 58. Thur, Aug. 18 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN 59. Fri, Aug. 19 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN 60. Sat, Aug. 20 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN 61. Fri, Aug. 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND 62. Sat, Aug. 27 / Red River Valley Speedway / West Fargo, ND 63. Thur, Sept. 1 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA 64. Fri, Sept. 2 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA 65. Sat, Sept. 3 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA 66. Mon, Sept. 5 / Gray’s Harbor Raceway / Elma, WA 67. Fri, Sept. 9 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA 68. Sat, Sept. 10 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA 69. Fri, Sept. 16 / Keller Auto Speedway / Hanford, CA 70. Sat, Sept. 17 / Placerville Speedway / Placerville, CA 71. Fri, Sept. 23 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH 72. Sat, Sept. 24 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH 73. Fri, Sept. 30 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 74. Sat, Oct. 1 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA 75. Fri, Oct. 7 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA 76. Sat, Oct. 8 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA 77. Fri, Oct. 14 / I-80 Speedway / Greenwood, NE 78. Sat, Oct. 15 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS 79. Wed, Nov. 2 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC 80. Thur, Nov. 3 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC 81. Sat, Nov. 5 The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC