TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE WISE POWER 400 AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY FONTANA, CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 27, 2022

NASCAR TAKES ON THE WEST COAST SWINGWith the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season officially underway, the series heads to the west coast to take on three-consecutive race weekends: Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The first stop on the west coast swing is the much-anticipated return of Auto Club Speedway where NASCAR’s Premier Series will take on the 2-mile California D-shaped oval for the first time since 2020. Auto Club Speedway first hosted a NCS race in 1997, with Career Chevrolet driver Jeff Gordon capturing the inaugural victory. The Wise Power 400 will mark the 32nd NCS event held at Auto Club Speedway after the track was removed from the schedule for the 2021 season due to state COVID restrictions. 
Joining the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will head to Auto Club Speedway to make for a doubleheader race weekend. The Production Alliance Group 300 on Saturday, February 26, marks the second race on the series’ schedule. The 2022 season started off strong for the NXS Chevrolet drivers and teams with NXS rookie, Austin Hill, capturing the victory at Daytona International Speedway. With the Camaro SS taking four of the top-five and eight of the top-10 finishing positions at Daytona, momentum is on Team Chevy’s side heading into the three-race west coast swing.  CHEVROLET LEADS IN NCS POLE WINS, RACE WINSTeam Chevy returns to Auto Club Speedway as defending winners after Alex Bowman powered his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane in the series last appearance at the track in 2020. The bowtie brand is no stranger to victory lane at the 2-mile California venue. In 31 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Auto Club Speedway, Chevrolet has captured the victory 15 times, leading all manufacturers. Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with six victories at Auto Club Speedway – including back-to-back wins (2009-2010) – making him one of only two drivers in the series’ history to become a consecutive winner. With a victory, Kyle Larson could potentially become just the fifth reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion to win at Auto Club Speedway in the following season, joining the elite list of Tony Stewart (2012), Jeff Gordon (1999), Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), and Martin Truex Jr. (2018).
A Chevrolet has sat on the pole at Auto Club Speedway 15 times to top all other manufacturers. Chevrolet drivers have earned the pole in four of the past six years at the track. In 2017, California native Kyle Larson won from the pole, making the 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver just one of three drivers in NCS history to make his way to Victory Lane from the pole position.  CHEVROLET WINS IN XFINITY AT DAYTONA:Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill claimed the victory last weekend at Daytona International Speedway in his debut start with the team, giving Chevrolet its 478th all-time win in NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) competition. The victory was the first for the 2022 NXS rookie driver in just his 16th-career start in the series. Chevrolet drivers led 114 of 120 laps in the 300-lap event; 95 percent of the total laps completed. Hill led a Team Chevy podium sweep, with AJ Allmendinger in second and Noah Gragson in third. Eight of the top-10 finishers were behind the wheel of a Camaro SS. Daniel Hemric captured the pole win for Kaulig Racing and swept the stages to claim valuable stage points heading into the Fontana race weekend.   BY THE NUMBERS:·       Victories by current NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet drivers at Auto Club Speedway:Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, has one win (March 2020)Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, has one win (March 2017)
·       Of the 31 appearances made in NASCAR’s premier series at Auto Club Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 15 wins, 15 poles, 70 top-five’s, 134 top-10’s, and led 3,442 laps. 
·       Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations in NASCAR Cup Series wins at Auto Club Speedway with 11: Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999, 2004), Kyle Busch (2005), Jimmie Johnson (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016), Alex Bowman (2020).
·       Chevrolet has won 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships and 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, the most of all manufacturers.
TUNE IN:FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Wise Power 400 live at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 27. FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 at 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 26. Live coverage of both events can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 CASA DEL SOL TEQUILA CAMARO ZL1DESCRIBE AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY.       “Fontana is a little outside of Los Angeles. It’s the coolest two-mile track we go to as a driver. If you’re a fan of racing and enjoy watching guys struggle to drive cars, then Auto Club is the place.”
YOU’VE DRIVEN AN XFINITY CAR AND KNOW WHAT IT CAN DO, AS FAR AS FLEXIBILITY. HOW DO YOU SEE THAT PLAYING OUT FOR THE CUP CARS THIS YEAR? “I think that’s to be determined. This car is evolving. Generally speaking, when we have a fender knocked in, it should hold up a lot better.”
WHAT LESSONS DID YOU LEARN FROM LAST SEASON THAT CAN CARRY OVER TO 2022? “I felt like I took a lot of things on the chin. It wasn’t just the race craft in the Cup Series. I had 70-something starts in the Cup Series going into the 2021 season. I was always just a guy in the pack though. Always a guy racing in the 20s and 30s, and through attrition we would get up in the high 20s. When I was driving the No. 42 car in 2021 it was just different. I had no idea how hard it was. I watched stuff and thought, I’ll make this move or that move and watch film back and SMT, but until you get out there, there’s just no way to know. Especially when it comes to how to race people and make passes. Cup races are long races mentally, you have to be sharper, stay as close to 100 percent as you can, and stay good across 500 miles and not just be good for 200 miles and make a mistake.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW COATINGS CAMARO ZL1DESCRIBE THE RACING AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY. “Tire wear is the biggest part. You’re running all the way against the fence, and all the way against the bottom. There’s a good mixture. You have to have speed at the beginning of a run and then hold it for a long run. If you can’t take off you get beat on the restarts and if you can’t hold on they’re going to lap you at the end of a run. You have to have a good balance between the short and the long run. If you can do that, you’ll be pretty good. We’ve done pretty well in the past there, but it’s been a while since we’ve raced at Auto Club Speedway and there are quite a few unknowns this year heading into the race with the Next Gen for the first time. I love the track, though, and feel pretty good about it. The fans are amazing at Auto Club Speedway. Actually, the fans are amazing at all of the races during this west coast stretch so I’m looking forward to getting out there.” WHERE DOES AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY RANK FOR YOU AMONG THE WEST COAST SWING RACES? “I think my favorites now are between Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway. I like Phoenix Raceway, too, but between Vegas and Fontana it’s a tight race. WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU ABOUT THE NEXT GENT CAR? “It’s very futuristic compared to what we’ve been driving. I think it’s going to be a breath of fresh air. We have a lot of kinks and things to work out right now. There are a lot of unknowns, but I think that change is good for the sport. I think a lot of the fans are going to love to see the different things we do with the car. We’ll figure a lot out as we go. We had so much time and effort put into the old cars. We’re still figuring out things to make the old cars faster, which is crazy to think about when you look at how long we’ve had them. With the Next Gen, I think the engineers in our sport are going to be learning at a very fast pace, and we’re going to have to try to keep up with them as drivers.” ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT THE INVENTORY OF CARS? “I think it goes back to short track racing. When you are coming up through the ranks short track racing you do not have the inventory of cars that we’ve always had in the NASCAR Cup Series. If you wrecked your car, you could be out the next weekend. I don’t know that the inventory situation with the Next Gen car is that serious, but a wreck early in the season definitely could put you behind and put your team in a bind early in the season. Until we get more inventory of these cars, you want to take care of your equipment, but you also want to win and put it all out on the line.”
WHEREVER IT MIGHT BE, IT COULD BE A MARKET, IT COULD BE A TRIP; BUT DOES AUSTIN DILLON HAVE A GO-TO PLACE? WHAT IS IT AND WHY? “When we’re out on the west coast, we like to stay out there for the entire west coast swing. Last year, my wife Whitney and I took my son Ace, and we took our motorhome to a road course that Ron Fellows runs for Chevrolet. We spent a day at road course school out there. Then, we went to Phoenix Raceway early because I love the Phoenix area. Goodyear, Arizona is a cool area. We stay at the Wigwam and it’s nice and relaxing. It has a couple golf courses that we hit up. I like traveling the west coast swing at the beginning of the year because it gets the year going. When we come home, we don’t do a lot of traveling after that. We don’t do many road trips, but the west coast is the one that I stay out since we’re out there for several weekends in a row.”
KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1LARSON ON WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “I don’t know what to expect. Obviously, we will all learn a lot during practice and qualifying on Saturday. We used to run low for a few laps then move up a couple lanes. Then after seven or eight laps you could run all over the place. But I believe they put resin down, so I don’t know how that will affect it.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1DANIELS ON PREPARING FOR THE WEST COAST SWING: “The West Coast swing is certainly a lot of work for the teams, but we have gotten accustomed to it over the years. There’s a lot of moving parts and pieces to get the cars and teams back and forth across the country. We don’t have an abundance of Next Gen parts right now, and we’re trying to be smart and diligent about the spare parts we do have. Everyone here at Hendrick Motorsports has done a great job of managing it (the West Coast swing) logistically in the past, and I know we will do so again in the coming weeks.”
DANIELS ON AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “It’s been a couple of years since we have been to Fontana, and I am definitely looking forward to it. Last time we were there (in 2020), we qualified on the front row with Jimmie (Johnson) and had a really strong race but missed an adjustment late that we needed. Now it’s a completely different car, different tire – everything is different. NASCAR is applying resin, which will change the characteristics and dynamics of the track surface. It’s going to be a big ‘guess’ for everyone in the field. And it’s a new weekend format with the short warmup followed by qualifying, but I have a lot of confidence in this HendrickCars.comteam that we will be well prepared.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 LENOVO CAMARO ZL1DESCRIBE WHAT YOU THINK THE RACING IS GOING TO BE LIKE THIS WEEKEND AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY. “Heading back to Auto Club Speedway for the first time in two years and with the new Next Gen car will bring a lot of unknowns. I’ve only been to Auto Club in the Cup Series once and it was in 2020. It’s just that type of racetrack, even when you’ve got the best car, it’s easy to make mistakes and step over the line. This car has already proved it’s unforgiving, you’ve got to drive the daylights out of it, but it will fight you if you don’t respect it. Maybe the drivers will play it safe, maybe I’m wrong, but I expect some mistakes. I’m expecting a tire management approach. You’re going to really have to keep the tires underneath you, especially because it hasn’t been run on in so long. All of it is going to play out really quickly in our warmup and leading into qualifying but it’s going to be an exciting start to this format that we have because you’re only going to really get maybe 10 to 12 laps, maybe 15 laps, in a practice session. That’s a good amount of time to kind of get an idea of what your comfort level is but it’s barely enough time to know if you have the right setup underneath you.” WHERE DOES AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY RANK FOR YOU AMONG THE WEST COAST SWING RACES? “Auto Club is my favorite track on the West Coast swing because of the many racing lanes.” EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT WITH THIS NEW CAR. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST THING YOU HAD TO ADAPT TO WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR? “For me, the biggest challenge is pit road. All aspects of pit road, but especially entering pit road. Exiting pit road at a speedway is about the same- you just hammer down and get through gears as fast as you can, but entering the box is certainly more challenging. Just as the car is more of a fine line and less forgiving on the racetrack, it’s less forgiving on pit road, too. Once you lock up the tires coming in, you want to lock them up when you get about one pit stall away, but it’s much easier to lock them up three or four pit stalls away and then you’re rolling too fast and you roll through the pit box. I actually had that happen to us on our last yellow flag stop at Daytona International Speedway before we were out of the race. Your marks, everything, are so different. It happened a lot throughout the Duels and throughout the race. Drivers were using their old marks from the old car and they’re not even close anymore. It’s been fun learning and getting up to speed on that, but I think it’s going to play a huge role in how the races play out in the first two months of our season. Whoever can clean up the details on pit road the best will find themselves in Victory Lane.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1ELLIOTT ON RETURNING TO AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “It doesn’t feel like it’s been two years. If you had told me we went there last year, I probably would have believed you. That’s how fast things have gone by the past couple of years. With these cars and what we’re doing setup-wise, it will be interesting how teams prepare for this track to not tear the underneath off the car and have it travel the way you need it to travel through the corners. I think that’s going to be a pretty steep learning curve for all of us. Somebody’s going to get it right and hopefully it’s us.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1GUSTAFSON ON RETURNING TO AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “This race is one that I’ve been concerned about for a while. Not that I don’t love racing there. My first win was there. It’s a great track and fun to race on. The surface is really worn out. The back straightaway, they ground it down and are trying to rectify it as much as possible. We haven’t been there in two years, and we have a new car. So just a lot of unknowns, and with just 15 minutes of practice, it’s going to be really hard to get it right.” GUSTAFSON ON THE TEAM’S EXPECTATIONS FOR THE WEEKEND: “Our expectation is to be perfect off the truck, but if not, we definitely have the mindset to be able to work through the weekend. For California and these next races coming up, guys are going to work on their cars more through the race and kind of evolve. It’s going to be a very tough race. Nobody’s car is going to drive perfect. Drivers will be able to move around and find some time in different lanes. They’re going to have to manage what they’ve got and get the most out of it. It’s going to be fun, but it’s going to be a challenge.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1BYRON ON WHY HE FEELS OPTIMISTIC RACING AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “It hasn’t been the best track in Cup for me, but I feel like that will likely change this year. I think I’ll have a better shot to compete there for a good finish if not the win. It’s a dynamic track that you will have to run in every lane to be successful. Honestly it drives a little bit like a short track in the corners. You have to revert back to what that feels like, but it’s also very fast down the straightaways. It’s a tough track that brings the best out of you.” BYRON ON HOW IMPORTANT LANE CHOICE IS AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “You spend a lot of time listening to your spotter and your team on where other guys are running and what the data says. I think you also can feel a lot and see where other guys are running on track around you. It’s a track where you try to get out of the wake of the guy in front of you and try to find a lane that has clean air. I think that’s what makes it such a good race, you can find different lanes to run and you’re not dependent on the guy in front of you holding you up. It’s fun in that aspect. It really is a race-the-racetrack type of place. You can’t air-block somebody because they’re just going to find a new lane.” RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 FUGLE ON WHY HE LIKES AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY: “This used to be one of my favorite tracks and I’m excited to get back there. It’s been a while since I’ve been and I’m sure the track characteristics have changed a lot, but that’s what I love about it. This is a track where it takes everything to have a good run. You need the right car setup, great pit stops, the right strategy with tires being such a big factor, and a driver who knows when to be aggressive. It’s really a track that highlights who has it all clicking. One mistake shows a lot. This will be my first Cup start at Auto Club, but I’m more than ready to get there and see what we have.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1BOWMAN ON DEFENDING HIS 2020 FONTANA WIN: “I’m excited to get back to Fontana. I feel like we had the best car we have had ever when we raced there in 2020. I love the track and how big it is, so going back with a win in my last appearance and a lot of good thoughts gives me a lot of confidence. Obviously, the car is different so we can’t lean too much on our notes from last time, but I know our team will put together a great car for this year’s event.” GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1IVES ON RETURNING TO FONTANA: “When Fontana came off the schedule, I was pretty bummed about it especially with the way we ran in 2020. When I saw we got the chance to go back there, I was obviously pretty excited. We are still expecting to race well even though we have the Next Gen car, which is not the same as the Gen Six car. The racetrack is fun to drive. There is a lot of character to it, and you are able to run the bottom apron all the way to the wall, so it gives us a lot of options. There will be a lot of tire wear and I’m sure pit strategy will come into play. I’m looking forward to bringing a lot of speed with another great No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with this high-horsepower package.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1 ARE YOU READY FOR FONTANA? “It’s been a while since we have been there, but I think it is a fun track. I’m looking forward to the weekend. We have a busy weekend plan and I hope we get to meet some of our fans at the Freeway Insurance store Saturday afternoon. “ WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AFTER DAYTONA? “We were disappointed with the speeding penalty and a loose wheel put us behind and we couldn’t make up the two lost laps. If we can bring that fast of a Chevrolet to the track each weekend we are going to have a great 2022 season.” HOW IS ROSS CHASTAIN DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TEAMMATES THAT YOU HAVE HAD?  “Well, I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been part of some teams that have a lot of teammates and some of them with a lot of experience, some of them with not so much experience, and everyone is different. Every team is different. Something that I mentioned to (Trackhouse founder) Justin (Marks) and to (President) Ty (Norris) since the very beginning about Ross is that I like ‑‑ at the time I just didn’t know Ross to the point where I know him today, but I knew that he was hungry, and for me and for our team, I think that’s extremely important, having somebody that wants to do something, somebody that is hungry. “There is a lot of drivers that are talented out there, and not all of them put actually the work to be better. I feel that it’s always good to have a good teammate because you start pushing each other. You start trying to find out what he’s doing better than me and what am I doing better than him and then trying to push each other and in that way be able to bring Trackhouse to the next level.
“Right now we have a lot of good things coming our way in Trackhouse Racing, but the reality is that the plan is to do all our talking on the track, and that is going to be with trophies. The better the work together, the better that journey is going to be.”
Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series StatisticsManufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 40First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2022 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 0Poles: 1Laps Led: 22Top-five finishes: 0Top-10 finishes: 1Stage wins: 0  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 814 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 724Laps led to date: 241,358Top-five finishes to date: 4,138Top-10 finishes to date: 8,556                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:           General Motors: 1,148           Chevrolet: 814           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 812                                                                    Ford: 712           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 162

NASCAR CUP SERIES AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY WISE POWER 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 24, 2022  ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1, Press Conference Transcript:  ALEX, UNTIL 2020 THIS HADN’T REALLY BEEN A GREAT TRACK FOR YOU, BUT OBVIOUSLY YOU GO OUT WIN THE RACE LAST TIME, LEAD OVER HALF THE RACE, WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO LEARN LAST TIME HERE AND CAN AND OF THAT TRANSLATE TO THE NEW CAR? “Yeah, it’s been, it feels like it has been forever. I’m not quite sure really what particular thing we learned. I feel like our mile and a half program had gotten really good at that point, which I guess you would call it the intermediate program in general which applies to there. So, just feel like we had a really good car, and we were really good the entire weekend from the time we unloaded. Made my job a little bit easier than normal and just really had a good car the entire time we were there. As far as applying that to this year’s car, a couple years down the road. I don’t think you can drive this year’s car as loose as you could with the previous gen car. I was really loose that whole weekend, it was really fast. I think kind of going a little different direction than we were then. This car is so different every way so it’s hard to apply much. So excited to get back to it. It’s a really fun and technical racetrack.” ANY EXPECTATIONS ON HOW THE RESIN IS GOING TO INTERACT WITH OR AFFECT THE WAY YOU DRIVE THE RACETRACK? “Yeah, it’s definitely laid out in a strange manner. The way it is kind of tapered into Turn 1, I feel like it might make passing harder on entry to one just because if you are inside of somebody you are going to be out of the resin, and they are going to be in it. So, it’s going to be a little interesting to see how it all kind of works out. But yeah, I think we haven’t been there in a long time, we need the track to rubber up quickly, kind of limited practice before we are on track. Hopefully it does what they want it to do and hopefully it works out well, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how it holds up. That place is super abrasive, super high tire wear and it might change that for sure.” YOU MENTIONED THE LIMITED PRACTICE TIME. I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF DISCUSSIONS HAVE YOU HAD WITH GREG (IVES) ABOUT IN SUCH A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AS A DRIVER WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TRY TO FOCUS ON IN THAT TIME TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE COMFORTABLE AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HE’S MENTIONED THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW AND FEEDBACK FROM YOU BECAUSE I AM SURE THAT HE HAS ALREADY SPELLED IT OUT FOR YOU? “Yeah, I mean the biggest thing is you know we really can’t make changes in that amount of time; we might have time make one change. So, kind of just getting a handle on what you have, and you know you can’t go through a normal practice agenda like that. It’s definitely an interesting schedule, really compact when it comes to on-track race time, but the guys are there all weekend anyway so it’s kind of interesting how that played out. Just trying to figure out what we can learn. The racetrack is going to change a lot as it rubbers up, the resin comes in, so kind of seeing the progression of that and seeing how the car drives. Obviously, William (Byron) was there with it a couple of years ago when it was pretty new. It has changed a lot since then, so just trying to get a handle on it at a place it hasn’t been to and a place that is super rough, super slick, got seams all over the place. There’s so many aspects that are really going to test the car and test how the set-up is. Trying to be on the right side of it is going to be key and hopefully we’re guessing at it better than the rest of them.” EVEN MORE SO THAN DAYTONA, PARTICUARLY IN LIGHT OF YOU GUYS HAVEN’T HAD ANY RECENT ON-TRACK, LIKE YOU MENTIONNED TESTING AT A 2-MILE OR PARTIUCLARLY HERE SUCH WILLIAM’S (BYRON) TEST WAY BACK, DO YOU CONSIDER THIS THE FIRST BIG TEST OF THE CAR AS FAR AS DURABILITY GOES AND ON RACETRACK CONDITIONS? “I think the car is super durable. I don’t think anybody’s really worries about the durability side of things. I think this is going to be a big test on how it drives and how we I guess, guess at the best set up and how we stack up to start the year. It drives so different than what we have had in the past and obviously not having been there before and how slick of a race it is we haven’t really been to a place like this with yet so just trying to figure it out quick because it’s going to be tough. As far as durability stuff goes, I think that thing is stout. It should be just fine.” ALEX I WAS TALKING WITH TYLER REDDICK YESTERDAY ABOUT THE APPLICATION OF THE RESIN AND HE SAID SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT THAT DEPENDING ON WHERE IT’S PUT DOWN YOU COULD ACTUALLY CHANGE THE RACING WE SEE AT FONTANA WHERE AS TRADITIONALLY YOU WOULD SEE EVERYONE FAN OUT ALL THE WAY FROM THE INSIDE OF THE RACE TRACK UP TO THE OUTSIDE WALL WHERE AS KNOW YOU CAN THE INSIDE NOW BECOME A DOMINATE GROOVE THERE AND THE OUTSIDE BECOME LESS OF A STRENGTH. I HOPE I AM REPRESENTING THAT RIGHT, BUT DO YOU FORESEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING OR DO YOU THINK THE GROOVE IS GOING TO WIDEN OUT LIKE WE NORMALLY SEE IT DO? “Well, Fontana is really wide, and I think the way the racetrack is laid out it favors itself to widening out. These cars are really aero critical. The dirty air is tough, so I think we will widen it out regardless of the resin. I think you know the way the resin was put down and laid out is interesting. I don’t necessarily know that it’s going to be great right away, but I think as it wears out it’ll make you move around. You know we saw in Nashville kind of like right at the end of practice it really started to come on but then we kind of wore it out in the race and had to move around. It will still be wide like normal. You’ll still use the seam. You’ll still be slipping and sliding all over the place. It just might take a little bit of time to get there, which I mean it’s a green racetrack, so it is going to take time to get there kind of regardless.” ALEX, CHASE (ELLIOTT) WAS ON THE MORNING DRIVE THIS MORNING AND CLEARLY FROM HIS PRESPECTIVE GROWING UP IN THE SPORT HE’S FAMILIAR WITH NASCAR’S BOOM, THE HIGHS, THE LOWS IT HAS GONE THROUGH AND HE SAID HE CAN’T REMEMBER A DAYTONA 500 LIKE WE HAD SINCE THE TIME HE WAS A CHILD. KIND OF WONDERING ABOUT WHEN DID NASCAR FIRST HIT YOUR RADAR AND DO YOU KIND OF SHARE HIS SENTIMENTS FIRST OF ALL? “Um, so yeah I watched NASCAR a lot as a kid. Obviously was not around it in any sort of capacity like he (Chase Elliott) was but watched on TV a lot as a kid, went to a lot of races at Phoenix (Raceway), couple races at Fontana, so was a fan for a long time. Yeah, I think the Daytona 500 was great. There were a ton of people there. I drove since I was down there kind of all month and leaving you knew there was a lot of people. You knew there were a lot of people there kind of all-day but trying to get out there you extra knew there was a lot of people. So, I think it was great, great for the sport, great to see. Happy to be a part of it. It’s definitely refreshing to see that many people at a racetrack, especially after COVID and not having anybody there and then some people allowed back, to see a packed house like that was really cool.” AND SECONDLY HOW DO WE CONTINUE THE MOMENTUM THAT WE STARTED AT THE LA COLISEUM BUILT INTO DAYTONA AND NOW CARRY IT THROUGH THE WEST COAST SWING? “I’m glad there are people way smarter than me trying to figure that one out. I am just trying to figure out how to drive the racecar. Yeah, I mean I think as long as we keep putting on good shows and being exciting that’s the biggest thing. You know keeping fans involved, controversy is always great for the sport, and I am sure there will be some of that this year. I think the perception of everything right now is really good, so props to NASCAR for doing a great job at everything they are doing. It’s been really good.” SO, GOING BACK TO WHAT YOU SAID BEFORE ABOUT OBVIOUSLY FONTANA IS SUPER ROUGH AND OF COURSE THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT TIRE WEAR WITH THE NEW CAR, DIFFERENT TIRE, SO DO YOU ANTICIPATE MAYBE HAVING TO BE A LITTLE MORE AWARE THAN NORMAL OF YOUR TIRE WEAR AND KIND OF HOW HARD YOU ARE RACING SUNDAY TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU GUYS DON’T RUN OUT OF TIRES AND THINGS LIKE THAT? “Well I think that is why they have the resin on the racetrack to get the track to rubber up quicker and to be better on the tires, but yeah, I mean I think you are still going to drive the car hard. The way Cup racing works, I think you could conserve tires man seven or eight years ago but as the racing has progressed people have stopped kind of letting people go and racing each other easy. Everybody runs each other hard all the time now and I think if you save tires you have to run people so hard to get back by them that you just burn the tires up even worse. I’m not sure there’s much that we can really do as drivers anymore, obviously driving the thing sideways and trying to smoke the right rear tire off of it or just putting a ton of wheel in it and killing the right front is bad, but it’s not like we can ride around and save our stuff and come back through the field at the end because passing has gotten so difficult.” I WANTED TO ASK, I’M PRETTY SURE YOU LIKE THE 2-MILE FONTANA OVAL, SO WILL YOU BE DOING ANY LOBBYING GOING FORWARD AS NASCAR STILL TRYS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO WITH THIS RECONFIGURATION? “Yeah, you know I think it is an amazing racetrack. Super bumpy, really slick, the seams add a whole other element to it. It’s a track that drivers really like, but at the same time it typically gets won by like 10 seconds. Once a guy gets out there, dirty air is bad in any type of racecar. You can’t unlearn aero stuff and once you take the air off of them tire wear gets even worse, so the leader just gets a big advantage. It’s tough, so I think I totally understand why they want to go to a short-track. I think the Next Gen car is way better suited to the shorter tracks, so I am all good for a short-track. I love the track the way it is, but I think a short-track will be great for everybody as well.” CAN YOU GIVE ME A SENSE OF PRESPECTIVE, THIS CHALLENGE THIS WEEK WITH THE NEW CAR, YOU HAVEN’T RUN AT THIS TRACK IN TWO YEARS, YOU GET 15 MINUTES OF PRACTICE, CAN YOU GIVE ME A PRESPECTIVE OF HOW CHALLENGING THIS IS? IS THIS SOMETHING LIKE MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER CHALLENGE OR IS THIS JUST A NORMAL WEEK AS A DRIVER IN A TOP SERIES OR ONE OF THE TOP SERIES IN AMERICAN AUTO RACING? “It’s a big challenge for sure. Just we’ve never been there with this car. We haven’t been there with a high horsepower, lower downforce package in a couple years, so just trying to know what I need to do to start practice. Lift points, basic stuff is a big question mark right now. Hopefully I adapt to it as quick as anybody and I think it’s difficult from the team side too, right? Like you have your simulation and all that, but until you go do it who really knows? Hopefully our stuff is accurate, and we are good when we get there.” ALEX, YOU ARE KICKING OFF YOUR WEEKEND BY ENTERING THE WALK OF FAME. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO JOIN THAT GROUP THAT ALSO INCLUDES LIKE MARTIN TRUEX, TONY STEWART, AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON)?  “Yeah, it’s really cool. Kinda cool to get to go back somewhere that I have won. We tend to not let me do that. I got to go back to Richmond last year, but other than that I haven’t gone back anywhere as a winner. Cool to be able to do that and excited for that experience.” DO YOU HAVE ANYMORE TATTOO WAGERS THIS YEAR? “No. No and that question has come up a lot this week and I had completely forgot about it. But yeah, we are just going to blame Covid on that one.” WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT AUSTIN CINDRIC’S MOVE AT THE END OF THE DAYTONA 500? WOULD YOU WRECK YOUR TEAMMATE TO WIN THE GREAT AMERICAN RACE? “Yeah, I don’t really think he wrecked his teammate. I think, obviously, he made a block and did what he had to do to win the race. I don’t think he did anything wrong there. I don’t think, he definitely didn’t do anything that Ryan (Blaney) wouldn’t have done. I don’t think you can really say that he wrecked him. He put him in a situation where he could have lifted and he didn’t and ended up crashing, but he still finished well in the 500 and a Penske car still won. I don’t think either one of them did anything wrong. I think that was just racing.” I WAS WONDERING WE HAD THIS BIG RACE WEEKEND, SOME OF THE STATISTICS ARE STILL COMING IN. ONE THING THAT HASN’T BEEN TALKED ABOUT A LOT IS TWO AUSTINS THAT WERE ROOKIES WON THE RACE. I GO BACK TO HENDRICK’S STRATEGY, HOW YOU GUYS WERE LOOKING AT STARTING UP FRONT MAKING EVERYTHING WORK. WAS THERE A STRATEGY THERE ANYWHERE WHERE YOU GUYS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO BASICALLY THE SAME THING THAT THE PENSKE GUYS WERE DOING SAFELY? MOST OF THE BUMP DRAFTING I SAW IT WAS REALLY BORDERLINE DANGEROUS. SO, I DIDN’T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAD TALKED ABOUT A SAFER WAY TO HANDLE THE BUMP DRAFTING OR IF IT WAS JUST KIND OF WINGING IT AS YOU GO? “Yeah, I mean anytime that you have two cars pushing each other to go faster it is going to look like that. I mean we tried, obviously at the start trying to work with the five and it didn’t work out. Tried to do our best to make it happen, but it didn’t work out. Obviously two of us crashed out early so our numbers went down from there. The five and the nine were still in it and then the five ended up getting crashed late too. It was definitely a bummer. Not the day that Hendrick Motorsports wanted, but yeah, we definitely tried out best to work together. Just didn’t work out.” YOU GO INTO FONTANA AS THE DEFENDING RACE WINNER, BE IT TWO YEARS AGO, WHAT’S THE SECRET TO GETTING AROUND THERE? “Nothing from 2020 is going to apply to 2022 I don’t think. I wish there was a secret. I think the secret is a fast racecar that works really well. That’s what we had in ’20 and hopefully we have a similar thing in ’22. I think it is going to take a much different balance than it took back then. We are doing our best to make that happen.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT A PRACTICE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET THIS WEEK GOING TO BE BEING THAT IT IS THE FIRST RACE AT AN INTERMEDIATE TRACK WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR? “It’s definitely important, but at the same time when it happens you can’t really change much. We’re pretty locked in with what we have when we get there. Hopefully it works out and it’s the right direction because once you get on track you know we don’t have much time to change anything. Looking forward to it. It’s going to be a big challenge and I know I have some of the best in the business working on getting it right.” CHASE (ELLIOTT) JUST RE-SIGNED TO STAY WITH HENDRICK (MOTORSPORTS) FOR FIVE MORE YEARS AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WILLIAM BYRON IS NEXT IN LINE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO HAVE THOSE GUYS STICK AROUND AS YOUR TEAMMATES, RATHER THAN LIKE HAVING NEW TEAMMATES COME IN? “Yeah, I think the four of us work really well together so it’s been fun to be teammates with these guys. We all kind of bring our own unique point of view to the table, so it’s good. I think between the four drivers and the four crew chiefs, the communication is really good. We are all friends. I definitely lean on all of them and I think we can all definitely count on each other.”

Mar 4, 2022 | Featured, Pre-Race Releases

Originally published on Drag Illustrated

For the fifth consecutive year, Matt Sackman will be behind the wheel of the Randy Meyer Racing Team’s second championship-winning Top Alcohol Dragster and will make his 2022 season debuts this weekend, March 3-6, at the sixth annual NHRA Baby Gators Division 2 race at Gainesville Raceway alongside Julie Nataas. (Click here to watch for FREE from NHRA.tv!)

Matt, 28, will race with primary sponsorship from Hangsterfer’s Laboratories, a New Jersey-based metalworking lubricants manufacturer. He will also continue to share driving duties of the family’s Sackman Boyz Racing Top Dragster with his brother, Zach Sackman, 26.

“I’m excited to get back into the seat of one of Randy Meyer’s cars,” Matt said. “I’ll be driving the car I won the Joliet regional in a few years ago. It’s a proven winner with a lot of history. Between the great conditions at Gainesville and Randy’s tuning, I’m sure we’ll run fast. I’m grateful to have Hangsterfer’s on board with us again to help us chase our racing goals while we try to help them expand their business in the motorsports industry on the B2B side.”

Hangsterfer’s Laboratories, a New Jersey-based company specializing in the research, development and manufacturing of metalworking lubricants, first signed on as the primary sponsor of the Sackman Boyz Racing Top Dragster in 2017. The company has been on board for a number of accomplishments for the brothers, including Zach’s handful of wins in Top Dragster, Matt’s pair of regional event wins in Top Alcohol Dragster, and Matt’s NHRA Top Fuel licensing in 2019.

“It’s an honor to represent Hangsterfer’s and the Jones family for our sixth season together,” Matt said. “They’ve helped to make our racing dreams come true, and they’ve treated us like family since day one. Mike Ditzel, Bill Jones, Ann Jones, Ed Jones, and everyone at Hangsterfer’s have been incredible supporters and we’re proud to fly the Hangsterfer’s banner again.”

“The continued support of Hangsterfer’s gives me added confidence going into the season,” Zach added. “It means a lot that they believe in what we’re doing and want to help us accomplish our goals.”

The brothers also thanked their parents, Darren and Marie, as well as team partners like Novak Electric, T&E Auto Haulers, Gemini Farms, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Rolla Competition Engines, Harmonic Designs Inc., and TMS Titanium.

Zach Sackman and the Hangsterfer’s Laboratories Top Dragster will begin qualifying Thursday, March 3, at the NHRA Baby Gators divisional race. Qualifying for Matt Sackman and the Hangsterfer’s Laboratories Top Alcohol Dragster will follow on Friday, March 4. Final eliminations are scheduled for Saturday. (Click here to watch for FREE from NHRA.tv!)

Sent on behalf of JCS Racing

DALLAS, TX. (February, 24 2022) – JCS Racing, in coordination with its partners Mission Foods and Hudson Roofing Carmel IN, proudly announced today another massive lineup of sponsored talent for the 2022 Progressive American Flat Track season.

The formidable duo of Brandon Robinson, who finished third in the 2021 Grand National Championship, and Jarod Vanderkooi, who earned five premier-class podiums in ‘21, return to fly the Mission Roof Systems/Hudson Roofing Racing banner in the premier Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S class.

The two will again be supported by Crew Chiefs Ben Evans and Jay Maloney, who have recommitted to the task of perfecting the team’s fleet of Indian Motorcycle FTR750 machines for its 2022 championship contenders.

“It’s great to be back with this team for the third consecutive year,” said Robinson. “We’ve got great chemistry, and everyone here feels like family – I love these guys. I’m looking forward to building upon the success we’ve had over the past two seasons and making 2022 the best one yet!”

JCS Racing and Mission Foods will also continue to support defending Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion Cory Texter and perennial title contender Ben Lowe.

And reconfirming its support of the sport’s rising stars, JCS Racing will once again sponsor Billy “The Kid” Ross in the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER class. Joining the team’s 450cc effort for ‘22 are sixth-ranked Trent Lowe and his up-and-coming younger brother, Jared Lowe, along with multi-time race winner Kevin Stollings and former Spanish Flat Track National Champion Ferran Cardus.

“I am very proud of the team we’ve put together,” said Jerry Stinchfield, team owner of JCS Racing. “2021 was a great year for our riders as we welcomed Mission Foods as a partner. I cannot thank Juan Gonzalez, CEO of Mission Foods, enough for the support he has given our race team and we could not put a program together like this without Jim Hudson, CEO of Hudson Roofing, and all our associate sponsors. We look forward to continuing these partnerships and as well as our track record of success for the season ahead.”

“We are excited to continue our partnership with JCS Racing,” said Juan Gonzalez, Mission Foods Chief Executive Officer. “Jerry has put together an amazing team of riders that will provide lots of excitement for all Progressive American Flat Track race fans.”

In addition to its nine full-time riders across all three classes, JCS Racing, and Mission Foods have pledged substantial support to additional notable names within the Mission SuperTwins and Parts Unlimited AFT Singles class. Brandon Price, Tyler Scott, Sammy Halbert, Davis Fisher, Larry Pegram, and four-time Daytona 200 Champion Danny Eslick will all don the unmistakable Mission Foods logo throughout the 2022 season.

The JCS Racing program is most grateful for its dedicated family of partners to include Mission Foods, Roof Systems Dallas, TX, Hudson Roofing Carmel IN, Ben Evans Racing, Al Lambs Honda, LIQUI MOLY, Maloney INC, Richard Betchkal Racing, Brad Baker Racing, REKLUSE, G&G Racing, Goon Glass & Rubber, S&S, Full Spectrum, Cometic Gaskets, Evans Coolants, ARC Levers, and D.I.D. Chains.

February 24, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford team are preparing for this weekend’s 400-miler at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif, the two-mile oval where Burton got his first major NASCAR victory in an Xfinity Series race in 2020.

Burton, then a rookie in NASCAR’s No. 2 series, started on the outside pole, led three times for a total of 40 laps, took the lead with 20 laps to go and held on to win the Production Alliance Group 300. 

It was just his 12^th start in that series. Trailing him across the finish line were Riley Herbst and this year’s Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric.

Burton, while familiar with the track that sat idle last year due to the coronavirus, knows that competing at Auto Club Speedway in the elite Cup Series in a new car is a big step up from his previous race there.

“I’m super excited to get to Fontana and race on that old worn-out surface,” Burton said. “It’s an awesome race track full of character and lane choices. That really puts it in the drivers’ hands.

“The last time I was there I won my first Xfinity race. so that naturally makes it one of my favorites.”

He said there will be lots to learn once he hits the track in the DEX Imaging Mustang.

“One of the biggest challenges I expect is learning how this Next Gen car will handle slipping and sliding and which tools can the driver use to help get through those moments,” he said.

Practice for the Wise Power 400 is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. (2 p.m. Eastern Time), and that will be followed by qualifying at 11:35 (2:35 Eastern).

Sunday’s 200-lap race is scheduled to start just after 3:35 p.m. Eastern Time, with TV coverage on FOX.

 

CHEVROLET AT PHOENIX What: NHRA Arizona NationalsWhen: Friday, Feb. 25-Sunday, Feb. 27Where: Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, ArizonaTV: FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb.27                                                                       Team Chevy ready to run fast at Wild Horse PassMomentum from Funny Car, Pro Stock wins and Top Fuel runner-up carry over

DETROIT (Feb. 24, 2022) – Inconsistency, acknowledges Robert Hight, was the main culprit preventing the three-time NHRA Funny Car champion and the Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS from contending for the 2021 title. “That wasn’t a lot of fun last year,” he said. “Since Jimmy (Prock) came back, we’ve been in the thick of things every year. Won two championships, set records. But the guys stayed focused, worked really hard and looked at what bit us last year.”

After qualifying No. 2 in the season opener at Pomona, California, Hight laid down runs of 3.890, 3.893, 3.861 and 3.861 seconds in winning for the 54th time in his Funny Car career. It was the 147th Funny Car victory for Chevrolet, including 67 with the Camaro model and 20 by Hight, since 1967.  “If you look at our runs in testing and our runs here, I think they’ve found it,” he added. “We have to work race by race, run by run. This is a long road to win this championship. It’s not going to be easy. We’re up for the task. We on a mission, we’re focused and we’re going to do the best we can.” Hight and rest of the Chevrolet contingent turn their attention to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in suburban Phoenix for the NHRA Arizona Nationals. The event was not held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hight’s teammate at John Force Racing, Austin Prock, also found consistency in the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster. Qualifying fourth, Prock was the runner-up in the Winternationals for the second time in three appearances. After racing to the NHRA rookie of the year award in 2019, Prock competed in only three races the past two seasons. His season debut was just about all that he could ask for. “This is my dream to drive this race car, and to be back and doing what I love again, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. Brittany Force, driving the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster, claimed the top qualifier honor at Pomona. It was the 11th No. 1 in the past 14 races for Force, who owns both ends of the Wild Horse Pass track records for Top Fuel (3.643 seconds and 337.92 mph, both set in February 2020). Four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders dominated the opening weekend, riding the No. 1 qualifying spot to victory in the Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS.  Coming up short a semifinal matchup with Enders, reigning and five-time Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, will seek his 100th career victory. She won the 2020 race at Wild Horse Pass. Chevrolet has recorded 348 wins, including 229 with the Camaro model, in 900 Pro Stock races since 1970. FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, Feb. 27. CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPITTOP FUELBRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier and semifinalist at opener): “This team is off to a great start. We ran well during qualifying, got the No. 1qualifier, and made a semifinal-round appearance. We have a great team around us with David Grubnic, Mac Savage, and all our guys with two new additions.” AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 4 qualifier and runner-up at opener): “Great start to the year. This team got put together about three to four weeks ago, and I thought we did an excellent job this past weekend. It’s going to be a long, fun year, and I’m really looking forward to it. This is my dream to drive this race car, and to be back and doing what I love again, it’s a lot of fun.” FUNNY CARJOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (has eight wins at the track): “Ron Capps won the championship last year, but I don’t quit because he won the championship. I won’t quit because I lost first round (at Pomona). I drive this PEAK BlueDEF Chevy because I love driving race cars and I will fix it. It will only make me stronger.” ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier and winner at opener): “It’s one of many battles, the first race of the year. To get the job done is a big day. We’re going to have a lot more of those this year.” PRO STOCKERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier and winner in opener): “We opted not to go to Phoenix (for testing in early February) because with all the fuel cars there we would probably only make three runs per day. With seven cars and 45 crew guys, we kind of wanted to make our own cluster at Bakersfield. We were able to do really well. We knew when we got our butts whipped here last year at the world finals that we had to go to work, and the guys did just that.” GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 4 qualifier and semifinalist at opener; seeking to become fifth driver with 100 wins): “We did OK, but that’s not good enough. We have to go back to work. It’s obvious that some of the other teams have gained on us. We can run as fast as anybody right now, but we can’t run faster. We want to outrun everybody, like we did last year, so we have to get back to work and figure out how to find more power. The HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro is fast, and that’s great. But we need it to be faster. That’s what we’re going to work on.” DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (semifinalist in opener): “It was nice to get behind the RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro last weekend. I wish we would’ve come back with the win the first race out, but I have to stay realistic with this new, to me, car. We’re getting the kinks out of it one lap at a time, and I think we will have a successful weekend in Phoenix.” KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier in opener): “It was definitely a good start to the season. We’ll go to Phoenix and be ready to take it to the winner’s circle. (Testing two weeks ago at facility) The track is definitely not all there. We’ll continue to work on it, and I think we have enough data from the test session to really come out swinging. I was pleased with how we started out. We qualified out good and every round we got better.” MATT HARTFORD, HARTFORD RACING, TOTAL SEAL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “(Arizona) is our hometown race and we’ll have a lot of friends and family and a lot of the employees come down, so it’s really important that we get to have a race in our hometown. We want to win everywhere, but we really want to win at home. We’re going to try to do better tomorrow than we did today, and we’re going to focus on exceeding our own expectations.” TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “Phoenix will be the perfect place to get past (early exit at Pomona because of a loose nut in right rear shock) and turn in a big result. It’s a long season and there will always be races that don’t live up to your expectations. How we react is key. I fully expect us to be back in contention this weekend. We’ll take nothing for granted and do all the work we need to do each round to put ourselves in the best position possible come race day.” CAMRIE CARUSO, CAMRIE CARUSO RACING, POWERBUILT TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (qualified seventh in Pro Stock debut at Pomona): “I think when you look at the whole weekend, this Powerbuilt Tools team did really well. We made some big strides, and we just have to take the positive from this race to Phoenix and beyond. Our biggest takeaway headed to Phoenix is we want to keep making good runs and just get that first win light in Arizona. We tested in Phoenix, but I think the national event will have a different feel. I am looking forward to getting back out there.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FL TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE FEBRUARY 23, 2022 STREET FIGHT: Chevy INDYCAR Teams Open 2022 at Familiar Spot11 Chevrolet-powered entries set to take on St. Peterburg Grand PrixDETROIT (February 23, 2022) – For the first time since 2019, Chevrolet and its teams in NTT INDYCAR SERIES will open their season at the series’ traditional starting spot: St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. A total of eleven Team Chevy drivers and their Indy Cars – each powered by a 2.2-liter, twin turbo-charged Chevrolet V6 – will line up on the grid at St. Petersburg. Due to maneuvering within the IndyCar schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Petersburg featured on the series schedule the last two years: the season finale in 2020 and the second race of 2021.  Nestled along the harbors of Tampa Bay, the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit runs beside the waterfront and along the Albert Whitted Airport runway to create one of the most unique and scenic layouts in American racing. More often than not since 2012, fans at St. Petersburg have witnessed Chevrolet’s Bowtie-badged IndyCars running up front. Since rejoining the series as an engine supplier 10 years ago, Team Chevy has won seven times on the streets of St. Petersburg and claimed pole position on six occasions. Six of Chevrolet’s St. Petersburg victories have come from the Team Penske camp, including two from two-time INDYCAR Series champion Josef Newgarden in 2019 and 2020. His Penske teammate Will Power has been just as strong at the circuit with Chevrolet power adding a victory (2014) and five pole positions dating back to 2012. “It’s great to go back to St. Petersburg as the season-opening race for the NTT INDYCAR Series,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR Series. “It just feels normal and right to hold a three-day festival of speed in St. Pete to get everything going for a new year. This is an important season for Chevrolet in INDYCAR. It’s the final year of the current engine package with our 2.2L, twin-turbo V6 motor. Obviously we all want to go out on top with the goals of winning another Manufacturer Championship along with the Driver Championship and Indianapolis 500. I’m confident we can with our lineup of Chevrolet teams. “St. Petersburg is always a challenge from an engineering perspective,” Buckner added. “There are limited passing opportunities but yet some fast sections for a street circuit. Getting a car to work on multiple tarmac surfaces is always a big challenge. Like most street circuits, tire and power management from our Chevrolet engines will be keys to success. We have enjoyed a lot of great moments at St. Petersburg, and there’s no reason to expect anything different this year.” Chevrolet is coming off a season in which it won six times and claimed eight pole positions. Five separate Chevy-powered entrants – Team Penske, AJ Foyt Racing, Arrow McLaren Racing SP, Ed Carpenter Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing – will look to better that mark in the 17-round championship and help the Bowtie Brand to its seventh Manufacturer Championship in a decade. Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series begin the 2022 season at noon ET on Sunday, Feb. 27 from the St. Petersburg Street Circuit. The race will air live on NBC, the Peacock streaming service and SiriusXM IndyCar Nation (Channel 160). Live timing and scoring will be available at racecontrol.indycar.com. TEAM CHEVY QUOTESJOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “I’m 10 years into this journey now, and when I look at myself and have to think about my perspective and experience that I’m bringing to the table with a new engineer, I think about confidence more than anything. That’s a big deal in racing. Trying to project the confidence you need to show up with on a weekend and the confidence you should or shouldn’t have in certain situations as you progress through a weekend. It’s really important. When you have a new engineer, it definitely shifts that confidence to my side in needing to be really clear and concise. That goes both ways. I need to be really clear on when we should be confident or when we shouldn’t. It’s OK to have not to have some confidence in something. If I’m not sure where we’re going or I don’t feel like it’s the right direction, I’m going to say that I don’t feel good in this. But if I see something that is clearly that the right way to do something or this is to me the path we need to be going down, I going to display to confidence and I need to hold true on that.” SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “We’ve always been very quick in practice and right there or there about, the top-eight, top-six. You sort of hit qualifying and it sort of just goes down a hole a little bit. We feel like we got a few ideas why that was. Potentially going the wrong way with some setup. What was very interesting, I went through the whole year with some engineers. I felt like we worked out – there was a common trend going on. I felt like we were being a bit too aggressive on a few things that made the car really hard to drive when I needed to hit it at peak speed in qualifying. It was nice to go through all that and certainly have a focus area. I feel like we’re in a good understanding of where we need to be come practice to qualifying, especially at St. Pete this year.” DALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “I love street circuits and St. Pete is a classic venue. It has everything you would want from a racetrack: good flow, technical sections, some good passing zones, and great fans! It is always an exciting start to the season, and I can’t wait to get on track. I’m feeling good about our street course package and would like to continue from where I felt we left off at the end of 2021. Looking at that year overall, I think qualifying was the Achilles heel, so there’s focus on improving there. That will in-turn help us in the races and it’s all about consistent, fast stints in the race.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 McLAREN VUSE CHEVROLET, ARROW McLAREN RACING SP: “It’s been a long offseason but the entire Arrow McLaren SP team has put in so much work to be ready for the first race of the season. I left St. Petersburg last year with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but I’ve always really enjoyed racing there so I’m looking forward to turning it around. I’m excited to see where we are and make the first race one to remember.” FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 McLAREN VUSE CHEVROLET,ARROW McLAREN RACING SP: “The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the first race of the year and one of my absolute favorite tracks and cities that we go to. It is a really special event every year. St. Petersburg has everything that you want and it’s a perfect way to start off the year. I’ve had very good races here but last year wasn’t the strongest result for us. I think we’re really motivated to come back stronger this year and start off the season in a good way. That way, we can travel to the next race with some points in the bag.” TATIANA CALDERON, NO. 11 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “We need to get as many laps as possible to get all the info and experience, so for me I would like to just get a feel for where we are at in the first race and go from there to put some realistic goals in place. Of course, as a racing driver you always want to win. It’s the closest race we have and a lot of Latino presence so for sure I’m looking forward to the extra support and energy that they bring! My family will be there as it’s a great new experience to be in the INDYCAR field. I’ll be missing my brother, but he will for sure be awake in Europe following the race. Having my family on site and more support around me can only be positive. I feel more relaxed because I have everything I need around me.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G CHEVROLET, TEAM PENSKE: “I’m very focused on the beginning of the season. I feel like I’m fitter than I was last year. The team has done some development and Chevy has found some good stuff as well on the drivability side. There’s been a race (at St. Petersburg) in many different styles of cars as IndyCars have evolved and changed over the years. The setups have been quite different. It’s a technical track, but it’s like any other in that you have to get all the little bits right and all the sectors right. Obviously you have to get the setup right. Then it’s up to you to put the lap together. I’ve had more poles there than at any other track. It might be just that it flows well for me there. That does happen at some tracks.” KYLE KIRKWOOD, NO. 14 ROKIT CHEVROLET, AJ FOYT RACING: “The first thing I noticed when I jumped behind the wheel of the No. 14 car was power. The power delivery from Chevrolet is incredible. The car as a whole compared to what I have driven in the past isn’t massively different to other open-wheel cars, but if I were to take all the best attributes of every open-wheel car I’ve driven, it would come out to be the Indy car. I personally love the city of St. Petersburg. It’s a short drive from home for me so this allows a lot of friends and family to come out to my INDYCAR debut. I grew up near the water fishing, diving, surfing etc. in Florida with my family and given the fact that the track runs right along the Tampa bay, I feel right at home. Execution is key. Making sure we maximize our practice runs and come into qualifying with a good balance will be super important. As many know, these street course weekends are very dependent on how you roll off the trailer. I feel confident that we will be towards the front, but expectations will be made as the weekend progresses.” CONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING:“St. Petersburg marks the start of an incredible new partnership and a new adventure with our friends at BitNile. Having had a nice test at Sebring last week, I feel very, very excited about it. St. Pete is one of the best possible places to start off the season! I know Ed Carpenter Racing has been working hard over the offseason to show up competitive. I can’t wait!” RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX CHEVROLET, ED CARPENTER RACING:“I am very excited to go to St. Petersburg again and begin my third season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES! I am just so happy to start driving again, get back in the rhythm and show how much Ed Carpenter Racing has improved over the offseason. We had a great Sebring test, we have made some really good changes for this year.” CALLUM ILOTT, NO. 77 DYNAMIC EDGE CHEVROLET, JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING: “I am ready to get in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy and kick off the season this week. It will be nice to be out in the sun and to be down in Florida in St. Petersburg. It will be a new track for me, but I think it’s one you can get to grips with hopefully quickly. I am excited to see how competitive we are as a new team and look forward to a great event!” BY THE NUMBERS: CHEVROLET IN INDYCAR· 2: Wins by Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in the last three years at St. Petersburg· 5: Number of drivers to win at St. Petersburg with Chevrolet power· 5: Different Chevrolet drivers to win races dating back to the start of 2012· 6: Number of Manufacturer Championships in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012· 6: Number of Team Chevy Driver/Entrant championships since 2012· 6: Pole positions for Team Penske’s Will Power at St. Petersburg dating back to 2012· 7: Wins for Chevrolet drivers since 2012 on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit in St. Petersburg· 9: Wins from pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver· 13: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including past 10 with Chevrolet· 19: Podium finishes (out of 30) by Team Chevy drivers at St. Petersburg since 2012· 25: Wins by Will Power since 2012. All have come with Chevrolet, giving him the most of any driver with same manufacturer· 39: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver· 95: Chevrolet victories in NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012· 107: Earned poles by Chevrolet since 2012· 165: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR 

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 23) — A loose nut inside of the right rear shock was determined to be the culprit in a forgettable start to the 2022 season for Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. Fortunately, the problem has been quickly corrected, leaving the third-generation pro anxious to prove himself at this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals. “It was a fluke thing, something that rarely happens, but it’s been fixed by our good friend Adam Lambert at Precision Racing Suspension and we are all very determined to rebound with a big weekend at Wild Horse Motorsports Park,” Coughlin said. “Once the guys started analyzing the data it became apparent something was hurting us early in each pass. It was a simple process of elimination from there and they discovered that loose nut in the right rear shock that had backed-off, which was throwing off the balance of the car. “Phoenix will be the perfect place to get past this and turn in a big result. It’s a long season and there will always be races that don’t live up to your expectations. How we react is key.”

Sun Devil Auto, a local group of service centers in the Phoenix area, will ride prominently on the rear quarter panels of the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro in Phoenix. The Elite team also will host a group of Sun Devil Auto employees on race day to show appreciation for their hard work and dedication to the company. “Great to have Sun Devil Auto on board,” Coughlin said. “We all share a love of drag racing, automobiles and the inner workings of engines and such and it’ll be fun to show them the extreme edge of mechanics we have in our Pro Stock car. It always blows people away, especially those with knowledge of engines, to see the pieces of these massive 500-inch Pro Stock motors. I’m happy to have them come visit. “Mark Ingersoll and the rest of the crew, Kyle Bates, Ricky Calloway, and Kelly Murphy, are the best the business and I fully expect us to be back in contention this weekend. We’ll take nothing for granted and do all the work we need to do each round to put ourselves in the best position possible come race day.”

World of Outlaws CASE Late Models to run at The Rev, March 11-12

MONROE, LA – Feb. 23, 2022 – With traveling teams and fans in mind, heavy persistent rainstorms throughout the week creating oversaturated grounds at Magnolia Motor Speedway and The Rev have forced World of Outlaws and track officials to cancel this weekend’s events.

Both events will not be made up. However, fans can look forward to the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models doubleheader at The Rev, March 11-12.

Those who purchased a ticket in advance to Friday’s event at Magnolia Motor Speedway and Saturday’s event at The Rev will receive a face-value credit to their MyDirtTickets.com account to be used towards any World of Outlaws event available at WorldofOutlaws.com/tix. That credit can be used toward the upcoming World of Outlaws CASE Late Model event at The Rev.

If a credit to your account does not work for you, then you have until March 23 to request a refund. For more details email tickets@dirtcar.com if you have further questions. Click here for refund request.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series 2022 season resumes at Cotton Bowl Speedway, in Paige, TX, for the Texas Two-Step on March 4-5. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 27, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team earned their second consecutive victory Sunday at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. John Force moved the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy Camaro SS to seventh in points with a semifinal finish while Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team had a quarterfinal appearance and Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster had a first round exit. For the first time in his career, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy team have started the season with back-to-back victories as they worked their way to the 55th win of Hight’s career, his second at the Arizona Nationals. The three-time championship team started the day in the No.2 qualifying position racing Paul Lee. Hight would handle his Chevrolet to a 3.864-second pass at 329.42 mph while Lee would smoke the tires for a 9.484 setting Hight up to run against long-time rival Bob Tasca III. The Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham led Auto Club team would rally to 3.855-second pass at 330.55 mph to send Tasca’s 3.922 at 332.84 packing. With the win, Hight would have a semifinals battle against boss and 16-time champion John Force. Hight would keep it consistent, taking his Auto Club Funny Car to a 3.847-second pass at 326.63 mph while Force would struggle keeping traction to run 7.231 at 86.59. In the finals it would be John Force Racing versus Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) as Hight lined up with Matt Hagan. Hight would deliver another on par run at 3.837-seconds and 330.39 mph to deny TSR their first team win. Hagan would have a 4.045-second pass at 267.00 mph after shutting off near the 600-foot mark. “This is amazing. You have no idea what it’s like to win one race. I still feel that the Funny Car class is the toughest class out here. From top to bottom, it’s stacked and any given weekend, anyone could step up and win. So, to go and win two in a row in this day and age, that is amazing,” Hight said. “And if you look back to this strong string of runs that we’re on: five in a row at Auto Club Raceway in the .80s, come her and have seven runs in the .80s, that’s pretty impressive what Jimmy and Chris and the whole Auto Club team came up with over the winter. Even yesterday when the track was 107° and we went up there and ran .84, you don’t surprise Jimmy very often, and that run surprised him, and it surprised me too. I’m very fortunate to drive this thing right now. It’s what you dream about and it’s not going to get any easier from here on out. You’ve got big battles – last weekend with Capps, this weekend with Hagan, and you’re going to see a lot of these battles all year long. We just hope we’re up for it.” The turnaround continued for John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy as they pedaled their way to a 4.250-second pass at 211.93 mph to better Jeff Arend’s 5.950 at 116.09. In the second round, Force would catch reigning world champion Ron Capps on the starting line. Force’s 3.902 at 329.42 with a .052 reaction time would better Capps’ 3.869 at 327.74 and a .121 reaction time.  The win pitted Force against teammate and president of John Force Racing Robert Hight in the semifinals. Force would run into tire smoke for only a 7.231-second run at 86.59 in the PEAK Chevy while Hight would run 3.847 at 326.63. “Not a bad weekend for this PEAK Chevy. Qualified decent you know, right there at No. 3,” Force said. “We went some rounds and if I have to lose, well then, I’d rather it be to Robert and that Auto Club car. They’re really something right now, and Brittany and Austin, they’re right in it too. We’ll keep on building, keep working. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, they really pour themselves into this car. So, I’m looking forward to getting to Gainesville and going after it again.” Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team picked things up from qualifying to lay down an impressive 3.694-second pass at 321.96 mph in their first round of eliminations to end the day for Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team and their 4.105 at 248.02. The victory would line Force up with rival and four-time reigning champion Steve Torrence in the quarterfinals. Despite having solid reaction times throughout the start of the NHRA Camping World season, Force would come up short on a hole shot loss to Torrence. Force would handle the Flav-R-Pac dragster to a 3.709-second run at 330.31 mph with a .132 reaction time but be bettered by Torrence’s 3.710 at 325.92 with a .075 light. “Tough day for this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team out here in a Phoenix. We qualified sixth and lined up with Austin Prock first round. We got past him but got beat in the second round. It was driver error. It’s tough – I got beat on a holeshot. We’ll pack up and head to the next one, put this one behind us and move forward.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team have their race day cut short after their woes from qualifying follow them into first round. Qualified No. 11 and matched with teammate Brittany Force in the first round, Prock would pedal to a 4.105-second pass at 248.02 mph but it wouldn’t be enough for Force’s 3.671 at 333.49. “Not the weekend we wanted but it was a weekend of growth. We learned a lot and had a tough first round match-up with Brittany. We had to go out there with our guns loaded and try to run a 3.65. We left hard and had the best sixty-foot on anyone all weekend, but the tires just came loose,” Prock said. “It was a good opportunity for me to learn and I got it to recover and got it down there. I learned a little bit on my end and the crew chiefs learned. We’re going to go to Gainesville and try to go to the finals again.” The 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season continues March 11-13 with the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 26, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team were consistent throughout qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park to secure the No. 2 position on Saturday evening. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy are just behind Hight sitting No. 3. In Top Fuel, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy dragster improved to No. 6 while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team are No. 11. Hight and the Auto Club team continued to perform at a high-caliber Saturday going 3.848-seconds at 330.47 mph to be quickest of the session and gain three bonus qualifying points. In the final session, just after being bumped into the No. 2 spot, Hight would maintain his consistency to take the Auto Club Chevy to an impressive 3.839 pass at 333.00 mph that would come up second quickest for an additional two points. They’ll enter race day No. 2 off their Friday night 3.838-second run.  “I said I didn’t think that 3.838 from Friday was going to hold, but I’m proud of how this Auto Club Chevy is running,” said Hight who will face Paul Lee first round. “It’s all about being consistent. That’s how you win races and how you win championships. Right now, after these two weekends so far, we have the best of both worlds, quick and consistent. It’s a dream come true to drive a car like this. It’s been a while.” John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM team are qualified No. 3 thanks to their 3.851-second run at 332.02 mph from Friday night. Saturday, the PEAK team had a couple of bouts with tire smoke first going 8.530-seconds at 74.66 mph and then 9.074-seconds at 78.11 mph. “We’ll get it figured out. This PEAK team with Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi. We’ll be okay. We’re in the show, might not have been pretty but we made it,” said Force who will line up with Jeff Arend first round. “We’re all in. Just going to keep fighting our way through. Robert looks good over there with Auto Club and Brittany with Flav-R-Pac and Austin with Montana Brand, the have Frank Tiegs here getting to see his cars run. We’ll put on a show tomorrow for all these fans that came out here.” Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac dragster team improved Saturday going 3.694-seconds at 321.96 mph to start the day as the quickest of the pack and pick up three-bonus points. They would move themselves into the No. 3 position before putting a holeout to run 3.799 at 300.20 in the third session and being bumped to No. 6. “Wrapping up qualifying and ended up number six so, unfortunately, we face our teammate Austin Prock,” Force said. “Overall looking at the weekend, yes, we did struggle, but we also qualified No. 2 for the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Top Fuel Callout that’s happening in Gainesville in a couple weeks so that’s good news. Even though we struggled, anything can happen. I’ve got a solid team with David Grubnic and Mac Savage. We have some things to work out, and I’m hoping we can do that tomorrow first round and have a long race day.” Coming into the day sitting No. 13, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT team kept things interesting by going 4.915-seconds at 145.52 mph and being bumped out of the top-16 in their first run of the day. In their last effort, Prock handled the Montana Brand / RMT dragster to a 3.739 pass at 324.83 with an engine explosion to jump into the No. 11 spot. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team struggled the first two runs this weekend,” Prock said. “We made a decent last one, but we destroyed pretty much every component on the race car, so we’re pretty frustrated with that. But we’ll be here late tonight and be ready to go in the morning.” Eliminations at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage of eliminations will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 25, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team found themselves in the low qualifier position once again Friday night at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy picked things up to land in the No. 2 spot. In Top Fuel, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team are currently No. 4 while Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team are sitting No. 13. Coming off a win and No. 2 qualifying position at the season-opening Winternationals, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy team didn’t skip a beat rocketing to a 3.838-second pass at 332.18 mph, mimicking their efforts from one week prior when they ended Friday night in the No. 1 spot. “It’s a good feeling to have this Auto Club team come out here and run like this. Just about every run we’ve made down the track this whole year has been in the 3.80s, so that’s pretty impressive, but we’re under really good conditions. You know when you come to Phoenix and the temperatures are like this, you better hold on,” Hight said. “Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham did a really good job and hit it just right. We had a really good run to come off of, the final round we ran 3.861 in Pomona, and we had just been here two weeks ago testing and we ran 3.86. We knew we were going to have to step it up but we also had the luxury, when you’re in the back of the pack, to be able to watch what the other cars are doing and plan ahead, and we did that.” Looking to make a complete turnaround from their season opener results, John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF Chevy laid down a stout 3.851-second pass at 332.02 mph as the second pair down the racetrack. Their pass would put a target on their back as the rest of the 16-car field took their try. It would take teammate Robert Hight as the last pair to bump the 16-time champion into the No. 2 spot. “I’m alive. It was a good day. That’s better,” Force said. “Unless something crazy happens, we’re in the show. That’s all that matters. Let’s you breathe easier knowing you have two passes tomorrow that you can use to get ready for race day. This PEAK Chevrolet, it ran good, consistent, here at testing too so I’m feeling good.” After finishing runner-up a week prior, Austin Prock and his Montana Brand / RMT dragster team ran into tire smoke but they weren’t alone. Their 5.886-second pass at 107.56 mph was still enough for the No. 4 position. “Not the ideal start, especially coming off of last weekend, but we got thrown some really tough track conditions. It was getting cool, and the track was getting really tight really fast with the sun coming down,” Prock said. “We made it through the trouble areas where everyone else was throwing up, tried to send a bomb at it and the track wouldn’t take it. For not going down the track, this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team is pretty happy because we know why. Tomorrow we’re going to go up there and do what we did in Pomona.” Most of the 15-car Top Fuel field had issues with the cooling racetrack. That included track record holder Brittany Force and her Flav-R-Pac dragster team. It would be almost immediate smoke as they coasted to an 8.667-second pass a 78.28 mph to sit No. 13. “Coming out of Pomona, we found some problems with this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy dragster that we think we’ve fixed coming into Arizona,” Force said. “Unfortunately, we struggled on that first run, a lot of people did. It was a great track, but we didn’t get the car down there. We get two more tomorrow and we’ll push and get it moved up.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb 24, 2022) – Now in his 47th career NHRA season, John Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS team enter this weekend’s Arizona Nationals optimistic as they head to a track at which Force has unprecedented success. Coming off a disappointing performance in the season-opening Winternationals where hequalified 16th and had a first-round exit, Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy team will try to get back on track at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, a track on which he was quickest in pre-season testing just two weeks ago. “Pomona, home track, that was difficult. Not the showing we wanted but as a team owner, it was a good weekend, Brittany with Flav-R-Pac and Monster No. 1, Robert and Auto Club with the win and Austin getting Montana Brand into the finals,” Force said. “This PEAK BlueDEF team, we know we’ll be okay. Something just didn’t quite add up in Pomona, but I know Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi, they have this Chevrolet dialed in. We showed what we could do at testing. So, I’m not worried. I’m excited.” Force not only dominated testing, but he has won more races at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park than anyone else. His eight wins (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005) are three more than anyone else in any category. From 1994 through 2002, he missed the final round only once in 1998. In addition to his eight wins, he has been runner-up six times, most recently in 2016. He has started the Arizona Nationals from the No. 1 qualifying position eight times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2010 and 2014). In 2020, his most recent appearance at Phoenix, he reached the semifinals. “A lot of good racing at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park,” Force said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the fans, we haven’t had the chance to put on a show for them in two years. It’ll be good to be back. We’ll put on a show and hopefully get this PEAK Chevy in the winner’s circle. It’s the plan, it’s always the plan, just gotta go out there one run at a time and get it done.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team are mixing things up in the NHRA Top Fuel category. Heading to the NHRA Arizona Nationals, the second race on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour, sitting No. 2 in points, Prock and his team are proving they more than deserve to be amongst the Top Fuel elite. After nearly two years out of the seat, Prock raised eyebrows on the final day of pre-season testing when his Montana Brand / RMT dragster team made two promising passes, including a 3.685-second pass at 333.66 mph that would be the best of the Top Fuel class. The testing performance was only a prerequisite to what the team would accomplish at the season-opening Winternationals. Prock would qualify No. 4 before taking the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster to the runner-up finish, only narrowly dropping the final to Justin Ashley in a battle between the 2019 and 2020 winners of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future Award.  “It’s been a great start to the year. This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team was pulled together quickly but we’ve put in the work and I thought we did an excellent job in Pomona,” Prock said. “I’m really happy with how this year has started. It’s going to be a long, fun year and I’m really looking forward to it. We have some good momentum coming from the last two weekends.” This will only be Prock’s third competitive appearance at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, however, Prock made his first pass in a Top Fuel dragster at the facility. Prock earned his Top Fuel license in a frenzy ahead of his rookie 2019 season on the final day of testing in Arizona. In his first competitive try at Wild Horse Pass, Prock would qualifying sixth before making a quarterfinal appearance. In 2020 Prock would have a first-round exit. “I’m looking forward to Phoenix. It’s a special spot for me, it’s where I got my Top Fuel license in 2019,” Prock said. “Now I’m back, living my dream again and I’m pumped. We’re coming off two really good weekends including testing here. It’s going to be a good weekend. I think this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team has a lot of really good weekends in its future.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Brittany Force will change things up at this weekend’s NHRA Arizona Nationals running her Flav-R-Pac Frozen Fruits and Vegetables livery for the first time in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Heading to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park sitting No. 3 in the points standings, the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team will be looking to capitalize on their season-opening success. Seeming to pick up right where they left off, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac team are coming off a strong season-opening performance at the Winternationals. The David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team entered race day from No. 1 for the 33rd time in Force’s career and the 19th time in her last 30 starts. “I’m glad to have the first race of the season under my belt. This Flav-R-Pac team had a good weekend at our season opener in Pomona with a No. 1 qualifier and semi-final round appearance,” Force said. “We have a great team around us with David Grubnic, Mac Savage and all our guys. We’re working well together and I’m very proud of what we accomplished at the Winternationals.” Force will be trying to earn John Force Racing’s first win at the Arizona Nationals outside of the Funny Car class. Although she has not yet won the event, she did reach the final round in 2014, 2016 and 2017. In her most recent appearance, she set both ends of the track record (3.643 seconds at 337.92 mph on Feb. 23, 2020) before a quarterfinal exit. “Our Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team just came from testing at Wild Horse Pass and David Grubnic and Mac Savage liked our numbers. So, we all feel confident returning to that track,” Force said. “I’m looking for a strong weekend and our first win of the season.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET.

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Feb. 24, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team are on top of their game as they head to the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Feb. 25-27. The Auto Club team enter the second of 22 events on the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season riding the momentum of a win at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. It was a statement 54th career victory for Hight and the Auto Club team at the NHRA season-opening Winternationals after finishing 2021 unsatisfied in the No. 8 position. Now the points leader, Hight, with Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham at the helm of his Chevrolet, has already extended to 17 the number of seasons in which he has won at least one tour event. The three-time championship team heads to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park just two weeks after a successful pre-season test session at the facility that led to their victory last weekend. “That wasn’t a lot of fun last year. Since Jimmy Prock came back, we’ve been in the thick of things every year. Won two championships, set records,” Hight said. “These Auto Club guys stayed focused, worked really hard in the off season and looked at what bit us last year. If you look at our runs in testing and what we did in Pomona, I think they’ve found it and they’ve fixed it. I’m happy. We definitely have more consistency than we had last year. I can only see it getting better.” Hight has won at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports once in an all-JFR showdown with then teammate Mike Neff in 2012. He was the runner-up at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in 2007, 2008 and 2014 and was the No. 1 qualifier in 2007 and 2019. He earned the No. 1 spot in 2007 with a time of 4.636 seconds that remains the quickest ever at the quarter mile distance at which races were contested until June of 2008. In his most recent Arizona appearance in 2020, he qualified No. 3 before being upset in the first round. “I feel really good about going to Arizona this weekend. It’s hard not to. We had a great test session here just a couple weeks ago and last weekend with the win,” Hight said. “We know it’s not going to be easy, going after wins and ultimately a championship. We have to work race by race, run by run. This Auto Club Chevy team is up to the task though. We’re on a mission, we’re focused and we’re going to do the best we can.” Qualifying at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park begins Friday with the first session at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday with runs at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) beginning with qualifying shows Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Feb 22, 2022 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Race Results

Randy Meyer Racing’s Julie Nataas started her 2022 NHRA season with a quarterfinal finish this weekend at 62nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals after defeating Trevor Larkin in the first round.

Nataas started out qualifying with two tire-smoking efforts, but Randy Meyer dug deep for the final session and tuned her dragster to a 5.289-second pass at 277.20 mph.

Going into raceday in the No. 5 qualifying spot, Julie faced up against No. 12 qualifier Trevor Larkin. Julie crossed the finish line, going low the round, with a stout 5.214, 276.92 to defeat Larkin’s 5.539, 248.02. That run would give her lane choice over her second-round competitor Madison Payne. 

Second round, Julie unfortunately turned on the red light against Payne. Although she went red, Julie still laid down an exceptional 5.294, 241.41 to Payne’s 5.619, 221.38.

“I always love starting the season at my favorite track, but we didn’t have the weekend we wanted,” said Julie. “We struggled a little getting down the track in qualifying. Randy turned it around for our last qualifier and we were able to qualify in the top part of the field. Unfortunately, we had an early exit with a red light DQ. It was not the way I wanted to start the season. At least we know we have a really good car going into Belle Rose, LA this weekend.I have put the red light behind me and ready to put the OTG/Right Trailers/Lucas Oil dragster in the winners circle for the first time in 2022.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, FL TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 22, 2022 WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, was the guest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES ZOOM conference with motorsports media. Full transcript: THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Great to see everyone here today. As you know, it’s race week for the NTT INDYCAR Series. Sunday the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete presented by RP Funding.
Our guest today know a thing or two about winning at St. Pete. Joining us, Will Power, who will be in the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Power won at St. Pete back in 2014, but also a remarkable nine-time pole winner on the street layout, and it is great to have Will with us.
THE MODERATOR: Will, the wait is over. How much do you look forward to going back to St. Pete for the opener?WILL POWER: Yeah, very much looking forward to it. I’ve been training very hard in the off-season. I reckon the team has found some pretty good stuff, so has Chevy, so it’s a track I love.I didn’t have a very good qualifying there last year, so looking to make it to that Firestone Fast Six and more so looking to contend for the win.
THE MODERATOR: I’m assuming that is a treasured item behind you; is that the St. Pete surfboard you’ve got there?WILL POWER: Yes, it is. It’s right there. I want to get another one. Helio has got three of them, if you can believe it. And he’s got four 500s. Just between them, three of them and four 500s.  He’s still going, still going. It’s unbelievable, man.
Q.Obviously you’ve been in this a long time, still competing, eyeing records, Will the all-time pole record in the NTT INDYCAR Series, do you ever get nostalgic about the way your career has gone and continued to go?WILL POWER: Yeah, I look back on my career and I just feel so blessed and lucky to have had a career in INDYCAR and have been successful. And to be with the team, with Penske for this long, yeah, I look back and feel like, man, it’s just very, very fortunate.And also to have raced and been teammates with guys like Helio who will be regarded as one of the all-time greats, four Indy 500 wins, and he taught me a lot. I always say it, when he left Penske, he was the quickest I had ever seen him.When I first came there I was very fast, and Helio kept getting quicker and quicker and quicker and I couldn’t match him when he was at his best. Yep, cool for him to be back full time. I think it’s great at his age. I think that is just so awesome that he’s still performing at this level.
THE MODERATOR: Man, I just heard the phrase “at his age” about Helio. Just sayin’.WILL POWER: I think it’s great for anyone in their 40s. If Helio is still as fast as he is, I have zero, he, no excuses, no excuses.
Q.To be able to start the season the week after the Daytona 500, it kind of adds a little momentum for the INDYCAR start because the two big races in the same state separated a week apart. What do you think of having it like that from here on out?WILL POWER: Yeah, I didn’t even — yeah, okay. Yeah, usually we’re a week or two later than this.
Q.Sometimes even later.WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s good. I think now that NASCAR and INDYCAR has collaborated a little bit with the INDYCAR road course race, there’s a little bit of crossover there with the fans.Hopefully that brings more viewers and more spectators to the track. Yeah, it’s good for motorsport as a whole. The more popular motorsport becomes, the better it is for all of us, not matter the series.Yep, hoping to see a full crowd there, full capacity. It’s been a couple years. I think it’ll be a great weekend.
Q.Will, obviously you’ve been extremely successful at St. Pete. What do you put that down to?WILL POWER: Yeah, you can never put it down to just one thing. I’d say there’s been — I’ve raced there in many different styles of cars, as INDYCAR has evolved and changed over the years. The setups have been quite different. It’s a technical track, but you know, it’s like any other track. You’ve got to get all the little bits right, all the sectors right, and obviously the setup right. Then it’s up to you to put the lap together.Yeah, I think that track I’ve had more poles there than any other track, so there might be something to just — flows well for me there that those happen. Like Indianapolis for Helio, just seems to flow well for him. But, yeah, I can’t really say there’s one particular thing that makes me quick there.
WILL POWER: I was going to say to you I can’t believe — Helio has been up on me and he’s about to get the pole, and I get him always in Turn 10. I don’t know what it is. I did that to Newgarden, as well, got him by 100th. Last year I didn’t see the exit wall and I bent the toe link and I crashed over the finish line. I tried to get it flat and it was all wobbly and I it spun, so it finally got me.
Q.I know you think very highly of INDYCAR and you believe it’s one of the strongest series in the world. It’s at this weird place right now where it’s growing and it’s bigger and European drivers want to come to INDYCAR. But at the same time, Herta and O’Ward want to go to F1. What is INDYCAR right now to you guys? When you look at the series, where do you think it stacks up?WILL POWER: Yeah, you know, obviously Formula 1 is the pinnacle when you look at the level of money and television coverage around the world that it has. So if you’re a young driver, it’s somewhere you would love to go and have experienced that series.But as far as competing and competition and parity, there’s no other open wheel series in the world like INDYCAR. It is more competitive than Formula 1, not because the drivers are better but simply because the cars are all exactly the same. You’ve got so many drivers and teams that have been around for so long in these same cars that it is really, really tough.You don’t even have to take my word for that. Just look at the practice sheets and the qualifying times. You can mathematically work that out yourself, that INDYCAR is more competitive than Formula 1.Formula 1 you compete possibly just against one person, which is your teammate, but maybe this year they have more parity. The drivers are not — I’m not saying that INDYCAR drivers are better. That’s not true. I’m just saying that the formula is more competitive, and I think the formula is better for fans, honestly. You never know who’s going to win.However, because of the different styles of tracks, with ovals, with short ovals, with street courses, you definitely blend so many different talents, and you can still have, as we have today, drivers just not going for one style of racing.You create more competition, create more buzz, and yes, that’s why INDYCAR has continued going on the right direction.Now, with Penske Corp taking care of the series, hopefully now with the pandemic just passed over, I do believe INDYCAR can concentrate to becoming what it used to be 30 years ago, 30, 40 years ago.
Q.Will, it seems like over the last few years you’ve really come on strong the middle to the end of the season, and you’ve always felt that if you had a strong start to the season you’d be more of a championship contender. Is that your mindset going into this weekend, is you have to fire off on the season really, really well?WILL POWER: Yeah, I was like that last year, as well. Yes, very focused on the beginning of the season. I have to say I feel like I’m fitter than I was last year. I feel — like I said before, I think the team has done some good development.I think Chevy has found some good stuff, as well, on the drivability side. We’ll see. I’m maximum effort. Every race counts for the same amount of points. But that is true, for whatever reason we have struggled early in the season.Not last year. I guess we had a couple of good results early on and then it wasn’t that special. But, yeah, can’t really — we’ve looked at every reason why that is. I feel like I’ve got a very good crew. I’ve got all the stuff, all the tools available to start really strong, and, yeah, be a contender from the beginning.
Q.Why do you feel like you’re more fit than you’ve ever been? Did you change something up over the off-season? Are you doing a different workout routine?WILL POWER: Yeah, well, slightly different, yes. You know, obviously the science is changing all the time and there’s new ways, better ways, more efficient ways to work out.Definitely stronger and fitter than I have been. I wouldn’t say ever. I’ve been pretty high at some times, but right there. I’m stronger for sure and just as fit.
Q.The last three years, the winner of the season opener has gone on to win the championship. Do you feel like — one, why is that, and do you think that that can be the same case again this year, that our winner this weekend could eventually be the champion?WILL POWER: Yeah, I reckon what happens is that you don’t — for one, you’re way more focused because you’re leading the championship and you’re focused on not making a mistake instead of focused on trying to win.I think that’s some of the psychology behind it, is that you’re not trying to claw back. You set a pretty good base, boom, you’ve got big points and you adjust, nicely maintaining those points instead of desperately trying to claw back to get back in the game.I reckon that’s some of the reason that that happens.
Q.The new marketing campaign target fans not just in the Midwest, but seems to challenge fans outside of that market from where I am in New York to Texas. And if you had to let’s say have 15 to 30 seconds to pitch the series to someone that doesn’t know about INDYCAR, what would you say and what can fans expect to see in 2022?WILL POWER: Yeah, you’re not going to find a more competitive racing series in the world. You know, it’s open wheel racing, so they’re purpose-built race cars. We go to tracks like Indianapolis where in qualifying we’re doing 240 miles an hour and 300,000 people will be watching on race day.We need to get it out there as much as possible because the product is so good and you race on so many different disciplines. You have road courses, street courses, superspeedways, and Bullring short ovals.You never know who’s going to win, you never know who’s going to be on pole, and you really don’t know who’s going to win the championship until the last race and sometimes the last lap.It’s a great product, and it has been growing over the last decade. It’s like significantly grown since I started in INDYCAR, and the teams and the drivers are the highest standard that I’ve ever seen.It’s a great series. It really is. It’s a great series, and I hope that we continue to push to get it out to the public.
Q.Will, what do you think about the situation that befell you’re your compatriot Oscar Piastri? Year after year this guy became the F2 and F3 champion and still didn’t get to Formula 1. Wouldn’t it be better for Europeans if Oscar was in an INDYCAR this season?WILL POWER: Yeah, I think I understand your question. Yeah, Oscar Piastri certainly deserved to be in Formula 1 this year having won back-to-back titles in Formula 3, then F2 first year out as a rookie.And then not to be in Formula 1, to me the system is sort of broken. Why? Why do they spend all this money to run something like F2 and you win the championship the first year, and I’m going to say the budget for that has got to be 2 million Euros or something like this, and not get a Formula 1 seat?I think he deserves to be in Formula 1. He should be in Formula 1. I can understand why he wouldn’t want to come over to INDYCAR, because he’s worked his whole career. I’d have to say I was kind of disappointed that he didn’t get a ride.So we’ll see what happens. It’s a total travesty if he doesn’t end up in Formula 1 next year because then he’ll probably won’t ever end up in Formula 1, which is just such a shame.
Q.What have you and Team Penske learned from the race in Detroit last year?WILL POWER: I heard Detroit, so it must have had something to do with the car not starting. Yeah, that was massively disappointing. I so badly wanted to win that. It was such a hot day, too, so I would have got to go dive in that fountain.It would have been perfect. I don’t want to win on a cold day where you’ve got to get in the fountain. I want to win on a hot, hot day like that. Had I won, man, five to go, I mean, Ah, how bad is that?
Q.We have a Chevy driver here. How do you think the engine competition is going to play out this season? Do you feel it in general depends on the type of tracks? Have you in the Chevy camp found something?WILL POWER: Yeah, it’s definitely — I would say it’s very close. Very, very close. Yes, we have definitely improved our engine on the drivability side, there’s no question. We certainly have more tools at our disposal in that respect.Very close. Very, very close. I mean, we’ve seen Honda be a bit better at some of the tighter street courses, but obviously in qualifying at Indy, a Honda has been better recently. But it’s very close. No one has a big advantage. It’s pretty good.It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be definitely a big battle again this year, Chevy against Honda. That’s why it’s become so competitive, the series, because even the best scenario, INDYCAR makes sure that everybody is running really, really close and it comes up to the teams, it comes up to the drivers in the end, and that’s why it’s competitive.
Q.Will, your reflection on Penske culture?WILL POWER: Yeah, it starts from the top down. You see the way Roger runs his corporation, the business, any business that he’s in, and like he always says, it’s human capital. It’s the people that you invest in. He always has a very good team at the top, and that filters all the way down through the whole organization to really anyone doing anything within the shop.Great people preparing the cars. You’ve got great people doing development behind the scenes, and you’re expected to win. Roger expects the team to win. That’s why last year was so disappointing on the INDYCAR side, because we did win but we didn’t win enough, and we weren’t competitive enough at Indianapolis.Certainly went into this last off-season really, really digging deep, and the whole team looked at everything and has done some great development.Hopefully that translates on to the track. It’s a super competitive series and environment right now, so you can never know. But Roger expects all of us on the INDYCAR side to be contending for a championship.
Q.It was March 13, 2020, when this race got shut down because of COVID. At that time I think there was like five cases in Hillsboro County and there was a lot of panic back then. At that particular time only the die-hards knew who Alex Palou was and Jimmie Johnson was a NASCAR driver. Here we are two years later, Jimmie Johnson is an INDYCAR driver, Alex Palou is an INDYCAR champion. Talk about how different the world is today in INDYCAR than it was at this point two years ago before the shutdown.WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, it’s not really — I would say it’s only got more competitive. I mean, yeah, obviously Palou is a champion. No one knew who he was in 2020, and Jimmie Johnson is running full-time in INDYCAR, even doing the ovals. Yeah, things changed very quickly.But as far as the competition and the teams, it’s pretty similar. Everyone has had this car for quite a while, and they’ve developed it to the nth degree. That’s why you’re seeing these ridiculously close qualifying sessions and a different winner every week and different pole sitter every week. Yeah, it’s making a very interesting series.
Q.Are you amazed in spite of the pandemic that INDYCAR flourished both on track and financially?WILL POWER: I reckon you couldn’t really name — well, you could name more than 10 drivers almost. You could almost name 10 guys that you would say would be a contender for the championship, so it’s anyone’s guess really.You know Newgarden will be up there. You know that Palou coming in for his third year will be up there. Herta, Rossi, the two McLaren drivers, the Rahal drivers, the Shank drivers. There’s so many good guys now, it’s really, really, really hard to pick.
THE MODERATOR: One of the best in St. Pete. Hopefully that continues this weekend. Thank you so much for your time.

The Greatest Show on Dirt Returns to Two Early-Season Favorites

COLUMBUS, MS – February 22, 2022 – One weekend on the sidelines was more than enough; It’s time to get the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series back on track.

A Dirty South doubleheader awaits The Greatest Show on Dirt this weekend with a pair of second-ever appearances coming in Mississippi and Louisiana. It’s the first of 36 consecutive weeks of racing as the Series’ 90-race grind gets underway.

Magnolia Motor Speedway has first honors with a Friday night under the lights in Columbus, MS. A four-hour ride to the west takes teams to The Rev in Monroe, LA for a Saturday night showdown.

MAGNOLIA TICKETS (Friday)
THE REV TICKETS (Saturday)

Before DIRTVision brings you all the coverage, let’s look at some of the top storylines entering this weekend.

WHO’S NEXT: For the 27th time in 45 seasons and third consecutive year, the World of Outlaws has opened a season with at least three different winners to get the ball rolling. Fresh off the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, fans saw a trio of triumphs split by Donny Schatz, Sheldon Haudenschild, David Gravel.

Plenty of other stout options remains viable to keep the streak alive with names like Brad Sweet, Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, James McFadden, Kasey Kahne, Spencer Bayston, Kraig Kinser, Jacob Allen, Brock Zearfoss, Jason Sides, Bill Rose, Noah Gass, and others still chasing their first checkered flag of 2022 this weekend.

The all-time record remains eight different winners to start the 2015 season – Pittman, Schatz, Sweet, Stewart, McCarl, Brown, Kaeding, Abreu.

MAG-NIFICENT: For being known as a Late Model track, The Mag sure brings the Sprint Car faithful out in droves when the World of Outlaws comes to town. Last year’s Series debut at the Mississippi gumbo 1/3-mile was met with plenty of fanfare as Logan Schuchart and Shark Racing saw their perfect night stopped by Sheldon Haudenschild thanks to a late-race slidejob in lap traffic aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17.

REV-VED UP: Transitioning from asphalt to dirt, The Rev enjoyed a national coming-out party last year when David Gravel & Brad Sweet fought tooth and nail in a race of the year contender which featured 13 lead changes. Both fans and racers alike have high hopes for this return to country-music star Dylan Scott’s promotion on Saturday night.

STARTING STRONG: Only four drivers escaped Volusia’s DIRTcar Nationals with a top-10 finish in every Feature, and more specifically, only one man left with a top-five finish from every night. That momentum will be crucial in carrying these teams through the early portion of the 90-race schedule.

• David Gravel and Big Game Motorsports unloaded out of the box with immense speed, scoring a fourth, a second with a broken shock, and a dominating win to start the year with the Big Gator Championship. Now the Watertown, CT native returns to the site of one of his most impressive 2021 victories with a chance to keep the streak alive.
• Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing backed up their second-half performance of 2021 by starting the new year with a season-opening win at Volusia. The 10-time Series champion is at full strength aboard the Advance Auto Parts, Carquest Auto Parts, Ford Performance #15 with wins and consistency the only thing on his mind.
• Sheldon Haudenschild and Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing had no luck at Volusia in 2021 but pulled a 180 to leave Florida with finishes of 10th, first & fourth this year. The NOS Energy Drink #17 now returns to The Mag as the defending winner with a chance to become the first repeat winner of the new season.
• James McFadden and Roth Motorsports immediately clicked with their new partnership beginning with runs of ninth, sixth, and third at Volusia. After missing the opening six races of last year, the Australian is bound and determined to fully capitalize on a complete World of Outlaws campaign in 2022.

REDEMPTION: For Kasey Kahne, this weekend allows an opportunity to redeem himself from last year’s trip to these tracks and his last run at Volusia. He suffered a violent crash into the fence during the Last Chance Showdown on Saturday, February 12, but has taken his extra time off to recover and make sure he’ll be at 100% for round four of 90+ in his first full-time attempt with the World of Outlaws.

When it comes to The Mag & The Rev, these southern venues saw two of Kahne’s most brilliant moments in 2021 when he subbed for James McFadden aboard the Karavan Trailers #9. The Enumclaw, WA native drove all the way from 23rd to fifth at The Mag and earned the pole position at The Rev before finishing sixth. This year, it’s about finishing the job and securing his first-career Series win.

‘TIL YOU CAN’T: The Dirty South Swing brings Noah Gass of Mounds, OK back to the site of his first-ever World of Outlaws appearance at The Mag and his first-ever World of Outlaws Feature start at The Rev. The only difference in that 365-day span is this time the ambitious 18 year old is returning as a full-time competitor with the Series.

Along with crew chief Cody Cordell & Robby McQuinn, Gass’ decision to dive headfirst into the pool of Outlaws can be as simple as looking at Cody Johnson’s hit single ‘Til You Can’t. They’ve got a chance and they’ve taken it.

REBOUND RATE: For half of last year’s top-10 championship finishers, it wasn’t exactly the start to 2022 they had dreamed of at DIRTcar Nationals. This weekend’s stop at Magnolia and The Rev is their next chance to rebound and build their momentum with a long season ahead.

• Fresh off a championship podium in 2021, Carson Macedo and Jason Johnson Racing struggled to get the new year going with the only highlight of Volusia being a fourth-place finish on Friday. The Albaugh #41 boys look for new at The Mag and The Rev, where a DNF & seventh-place run plagued them in 2021.
• A DNF in Friday’s Feature at Volusia stole Logan Schuchart’s chance at scoring three top-10 finishes to start the year. The good news for the Shark Racing, DuraMax #1S is that this team was dominant at Magnolia last year, nearly sweeping the night before ending up second to Haudenschild.
• Kraig Kinser’s results of 22nd, 19th & 23rd are not indicative of the speed in the Mesilla Valley Transportation #11K. The Bloomington, IN native was running second on the final night at Volusia and tracking down leader David Gravel before a lost tire sent him careening into the wall.
• Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, PA consistently improved at Volusia, upping his game from 17th to 14th to 11th by the final night. The #3Z driver ended 2021 with a stellar runner-up result at Charlotte and looks to relocate that speed and build his momentum sooner rather than later in 2022.
• Jacob Allen battled an up-and-down week between DNFs and top-five finishes at Volusia. The Mag and The Rev offer a chance at consistent stability for the Hanover, PA native as he continues to run the Bobby Allen #1A tribute design in 2022.

NEW CHALLENGE: Of 15 full-time Outlaws, Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, IN, Bill Rose of Plainfield, IN, and James McFadden of Alice Springs, NT are the only three that will face The Mag and The Rev for the first time this weekend. That number was drastically different last year when the Series debuted at both tracks, but now the majority have turned laps and built a notebook at these southern circles.

For Bayston, the leading Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender can at least lean on his CJB Motorsports #5 crew chief Barry Jackson, who raced at both tracks last year with Brent Marks at the wheel. For Rose, who is returning to full-time status after a 2021 season spent recovering from surgery, he’ll head into this weekend looking to regain some momentum. For McFadden, he missed last year’s race while traveling from Australia, but has the advantage of building off strong runs by Kahne in the #9.

OUTSIDERS VS. OUTLAWS: Along with the standard cast of characters of full-time Outlaws, a group of invaders will join the swing through the Dirty South this weekend at Magnolia and The Rev.

Among the expected are headliners like Rico Abreu, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Brent Marks, Brian Brown, Giovanni Scelzi, Aaron Reutzel, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Ayrton Gennetten, Derek Hagar, Carson Short, Carson McCarl, Brian Bell, and more.

This Week at a Glance – When and Where

Friday, February 25 at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS
Saturday, February 26 at The Rev in Monroe, LAB

On 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/month

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (3 Drivers):
1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
1 win – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17
1 win – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2

FEATURE LAPS LED (4 Drivers):
52 laps – David Gravel
25 laps – Donny Schatz
7 laps – Brad Sweet
1 lap – Sheldon Haudenschild

SLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (3 Drivers):
1 QuickTime – David Gravel, Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason

HEAT RACE WINNERS (11 Drivers):
2 Heat Wins – Aaron Reutzel
1 Heat Win – Jacob Allen, Carson Macedo, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Brad Sweet, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden, Kraig Kinser

PODIUM FINISHES (8 Drivers):
2 Podiums – David Gravel
1 Podium – Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet, James McFadden, Sheldon Haudenschild, Kyle Larson, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks

2022 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 Spe

Bailes, Ferguson and Watkins separated by 13 points

LAVONIA, GA – Feb. 22, 2022 – Break’s over. The Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series is back in action this weekend with a doubleheader at Lavonia Speedway.

The stars of the Southeast Super Late Model racing scene will converge on the familiar red dirt surface for two separate 40-lap, $5,000-to-win shows this Fri-Sat, Feb. 25-26, for the fourth and fifth races of the 2021-22 campaign.

Lavonia has been a stop on the Xtreme circuit in each of its first two seasons, spawning two different winners – Zack Mitchell won in 2019 and Michael Brown took the checkers in 2020. If completed, this will be the first two-day stretch of action at the same track in Series history. This will add a unique element not yet seen on the tour, giving teams the opportunity to improve on their performance from the first night on the same track.

Stock 8s and 602 Chargers join the Super Late Model program on Friday, while Modified Streets and 602 Late Models will support on Saturday. Tickets will be on sale at the gate each day; gates open at 4pm Friday and 3pm Saturday. If you can’t make it out to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch for and the storylines to follow this weekend…

TOP DOG – Current Series points leader Ross Bailes takes an eight-point lead into the weekend, aiming for his second career regional Super Late Model championship and first with the Xtreme Series.

He’s been strong at Lavonia over the past 12 months, winning two of his last three starts at the three-eighths mile. He conquered former Xtreme Series winner Michael Brown in a 40-lap, Carolina Clash-sanctioned event at the track last April, then came back in July and scored another win against several of the same Southeast Super Late Model regulars he’ll face again this weekend.

BACK IN THE SADDLE – Super Late Model rookie Carson Ferguson continues his chase for the championship after a couple of weeks out of the driver’s seat.

Ferguson took a Derek Dent-owned, Crate-engine Late Model to Victory Lane at Golden Isles Speedway in late January to kick off his Georgia-Florida Speedweeks run, followed by an appearance at All-Tech Raceway in the Paylor Motorsports #93 Super Late Model the following weekend. He again showed strength against a national-level field, qualifying for two of three Features he attempted that weekend.

FLASHBACK – Sitting 13 points out of first place, Ben Watkins has a big opportunity to make up ground in the standings this weekend at a track he’s had prior big-stage success at.

The 33-year-old racer from Lancaster, SC, scored the biggest win of his career last September at Lavonia, defeating the big guns of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series in a 40-lap shootout for $10,000. He led every lap and held off Rookie of the Year Tyler Bruening and defending Outlaws champion Brandon Sheppard to do it.

Though he’s never competed with the Xtreme Series at Lavonia, finishes of second, sixth and fourth in the first three races thus far have poised him to be up front once again.

GOIN’ DOWNTOWN – The last time the Xtreme stars visited Lavonia, Michael Brown went to Victory Lane and claimed his first career win with the Series. He’s projected to defend the trophy this weekend against many of the same names he beat that day.

His first outing of 2022 did not go as expected – dropping out after two laps of the Winter Freeze event at Screven Motor Speedway – but the McLeod Racing #2,4-D team does have two top-five finishes in two Xtreme starts thus far and is poised to back them up at Lavonia.

WHITE/BLUE DEBUT – Cody Overton is expected to make his Xtreme Series debut this weekend behind the wheel of the Jeff Mathews Motorsports Rocket Chassis #97.

The 25-year-old from Evans, GA, is taking on his first full-time year of Super Late Model racing after several years in the Crate-engine ranks. He’s looking to build off a Georgia-Florida Speedweeks campaign that saw him make multiple Features against a slew of national-touring stars. It’s back to the red dirt, Southeastern facilities he’s more used to racing on this weekend, which should put him right in the hunt for a Super Late Model win.