NASCAR CUP SERIES ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 20, 2022

 WILLIAM BYRON GIVES CAMARO ZL1 THE THIRD WIN OF 2022 AT ATLANTATeam Chevy Drivers Take Four of Top-Five, Six of Top-10 HAMPTON, Ga. (March 20, 2022) – In the debut of the repaved, revamped Atlanta Motor Speedway, William Byron drove the No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 to his first NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) victory of the 2022 season in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. In a race that saw 11 cautions and 46 lead changes – a record at Atlanta Motor Speedway – Byron led the final 10 laps of the 325-lap race to capture his third career victory in 149 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. “The Liberty University Chevrolet was awesome there,” said Byron. “We had a pretty rough practice; worked hard on it and got it handling well. Like I told you, it was kind of an intermediate style with a little bit of superspeedway to it, so it was lot of fun. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports.” Byron’s win gives Chevrolet its 42nd trip to victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway, extending its all-time win record lead over all manufacturers. The feat also marks the bowtie brand’s third NASCAR Cup Series victory thus far this season. The winningest brand in NASCAR history, Chevrolet now sits at 817 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series. In just the fifth points-paying race of the season, three different Chevrolet drivers have now secured their spots in the 16-driver NCS Playoff field, with Byron joining Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman.  For the third race this season, the Camaro ZL1 took four of the top-five and six of the top-10 of the final running order. Ross Chastain and his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team showcased their speed all day, rallying from a blown tire while leading to fight back to a back-to-back runner-up finish. Joining Chastain in the top-five was his Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez, who brought his No. 99 CommScope Camaro ZL1 to the checkered flags in the fourth position. Rounding out the Team Chevy top-five was Corey LaJoie, who drove his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Camaro ZL1 to his career-best finish of fifth. Byron’s victory was also celebrated by fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, who drove his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 to a sixth-place finish. Elliott, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, leaves his home state track in the lead of the driver standings, seven points over second-place Joey Logano. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1, finished 10th to give Chevrolet an impressive six of the top-10.  The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Circuit of The Americas with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday, March 27, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, RACE WIN PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: 
THE MODERATOR: We roll into our post-race media availability now with our race winner, William Byron. We will continue with questions.
Q.William, just kind of curious your thoughts overall after what we went through with the practice and getting through the race, getting the win? What was your overall thoughts on the track, the layouts, and this style of racing on a mile and a half, which we’ve never seen before?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, certainly a lot to learn this weekend. I think that through all the things that we did to prepare, like nothing came close to what practice ended up being like, so I was shocked how crazy it was, how big the runs were.
My spotter, we talked overnight. It was like you couldn’t talk fast enough to get all the things you needed to say. I thought he really worked hard overnight and got a clear idea of kind of what needed to be said so we could work on that.
But we were not very good in practice. I felt like we were really tight and had some things that we had to work through. And Rudy and my engineers and all the guys on the car worked extremely hard to get it better. And today was awesome, obviously. We led a bunch of laps. It felt like we had the best car the way we could move through the field, and just awesome to win on kind of the inaugural race of Atlanta in this style, so always cool to do something like that.
Q.With the way the Truck and Xfinity races ended, did you think you were in the best position there the last couple of laps or did you feel like that you were in trouble and/or did you see something in those races that you were able to apply to the finish here?WILLIAM BYRON: That’s a good question. I didn’t really have a chance to watch the races because I was racing last night at Hickory, but I watched a little bit of the Truck race. And I saw the last lap with Chandler leading and kind of how that developed.
So I was always trying to guard against getting too far out in front. But as soon as it got double file, I would say into turn one that really helped my cause to kind of be able to just manage the momentum. But single file, surprisingly, I mean, it might have looked like we were staying single file relatively easy, but it was hard to run single file.
It was difficult to manage the lead in the front and not have somebody get a run on you to easily pass you. So I think those things were interesting as the day developed. I felt like single file was my most vulnerable place to be, and then as soon as they would get kind of doubled up throughout the field, that was probably a little bit easier to handle.
Q.What is your QuikTrip pastry of choice?WILLIAM BYRON: It looks like one of those sour cream donuts, so I’m a big sweet tooth, so I — my girlfriend knows I just eat constantly. So it’s not great, but it’s the way it is.
Q.Two for you. Being able to go back and forth and win at Hickory last night and then win here today, it’s kind of old-school. It’s like the old Busch Series run at a short track and then come run the super speedway on a Sunday. What do you think of that experience, being able to fly back and forth and do that?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I love it. I think it was — I hope for my sake that it doesn’t get overcrowded and a bunch of guys start doing that because I think it’s unique and cool, but it was a lot of fun to go to Hickory last night. That was the most nervous Saturday I’ve ever had. I was nervous in the Cup car. How was that going to go? How was the travel going to be going back to the other race track, and what is that going to feel like once I get back on the track?
Really just having good people around me to calm my nerves and just get me in the right state of mind, it was really nice to have something to kind of fill the space and be able to put my mind to something on Saturday night.
Hickory is such an iconic track, and the tire management that I had to go through last night was such a cool thing to go do, and really kind of challenged my mind completely different than this, but at the same time just the ability to adapt to stuff I think was a lot of fun and definitely hope to do more of that.I hope to do Nashville in May, the Darlington weekend, and I think it’s just a lot of fun.
Q.You’ve worked with Branden Lines for a long time going back to your late model days. I believe this is his first Cup win. How cool is it to be able to give that to him after he has pretty much coached you throughout your career?WILLIAM BYRON: Very cool. I mean, he — yeah, you said it best. I feel like he has been there really every step of the way. I mean, we’ve always kept in touch. Very similar to Rudy. Now I feel like at the Cup level, I have that triangle that we talk about with the spotter, crew chief, driver.
I have people that I’ve known for most of my racing career, so I think that’s very, very cool. You don’t see that a lot, but for someone as young as me, I feel like it’s really critical because my comfort level with him is very high. I can tell Branden whatever, whatever I think, and I can tell Rudy whatever I think.
So, yeah, it’s cool to see him kind of break through that bubble that is your first Cup win because it’s hard to get that. He did a great job throughout the last few laps, and I just had a good feeling coming into this race that we could do something good and pretty awesome to pull it off.
Q.William, some tires were popping, particularly on the Chevrolets. Were you kept abreast of what was happening there, and did you have a concern about that?WILLIAM BYRON: So yes and no. I don’t think it was a Chevrolet thing. I think it was just the fact that whoever was leading for a long time when it got single file. Just the way that the cars felt on corner entry, you put a lot of load into the right-side tires a lot of time in the back traffic, you put a lot of load into the front, and that’s usually what you find on a repave is right front tire issues.
I think Goodyear has done a good job of working through and making sure that the right front does last, but the right rear is a little bit of an unpredictable thing because typically you’re not on the right rear that hard on a repave because you can’t be loose.
It was unique that that was an issue, but I’m sure it’s just something new with the track and something we’ll work through.
Q.I was just curious if today’s race was as mentally challenging or exhausting as Daytona or Talladega?WILLIAM BYRON: More. More, for sure. Daytona and Talladega, when you get single file, can you relax. Today when you were single-file, you were constantly working to stay single file so you didn’t lose the lead. I think that was a lot different. I’m not used to that.
And the way that you — I told Branden at one point and Rudy, I was, like, man, I can’t believe we’re not halfway yet because this is — this just feels long mentally. Just all the energy that I’m spending to do all the moves that we need to make. Pretty crazy race, but definitely good to come out on top.
Q.You mentioned a few minutes ago about the triangle and having the right people around you. At this point do you feel like this is the most comfortable that you have been as a Cup Series driver and one the Hendrick organization since you have been there?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, definitely. I think that comfort has come in the last few years. I would say even back to working with Chad I felt more and more comfortable in the debriefs, more comfortable at the shop, and it was kind of one thing after another.
I would say the first thing I felt comfortable was walking into the shop and feeling like I could speak my mind and say what the car did, be critical. Then I think it slowly trickled to Rudy coming on board, somebody that I’ve worked with in the past, and then Branden was a nice addition to somebody I’ve worked with in the past as well.
Then ultimately, just having that good group around you and people that you trust and can work with. It’s been a great start to the year. We’ve had a ton of speed. Obviously had some wrecks and things, but I felt like today was due.
Q.I’m just kind of curious. You said a couple of times after you were climbing from the car. I’ve got to say the excitement, the screaming and the yelling was pretty intense, but you also said you were out of breath. And I’m just kind of wondering, was the out of breath from the exertion, from the emotion, from just the intensity of the racing? And if it was the latter, where would this stack up as just being nerve-wracking compared to a Talladega or a Daytona?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I think the excitement was just from, obviously, winning a Cup race. Cup races are so hard to win, and I feel like anytime you win one it’s just such an exciting feeling.
It’s a little bit different, though, when you have a nice lead or you’ve got a dominant car all day, but when you come to a speedway, you really don’t know you’re going to win until you come on to the front stretch and if you are by yourself.
So it’s just a crazy, exhilarating feeling when you win at a kind of super speedway style race because you’re constantly working, and you never — it’s never really guaranteed. That was where the excitement I think came from. But, yeah, I think it was a lot of fun.
Q.You ran the lower horsepower package here this weekend. You guys come back in July. Would you be in favor of a higher horsepower package to kind of get the cars separated, or did you like what you had today and come back with the same package?WILLIAM BYRON: I doubt they’re going to change it after the way today was, but, yeah, I think repaves are tricky. You’re never going to — you’re probably going to have a hard time making the tires last for a couple of years with the pavement and the grip that this place would have if we had low downforce.It is what it is, and just learning to adapt as we go and try to be the best we can at it.
Q.There’s parts of this track that some people say are kind of angry. It has its own little nuances already, and one of those it seems to be coming out of two in the back stretch. I was back there on the terrace watching, and you could see the cars kind of bottoming out. What did you feel in the car when you were out there, and how did that throw you guys around?WILLIAM BYRON: Certainly the bump off two was kind of your lap counter because it was such a big bump that I felt like every time I got to that, it was like, all right, there’s another lap. Definitely kind of feeling it in your back. I’m sure they’ll smooth that out, and the cars are — as we saw at California, bumps are difficult sometimes with quick jolts, but overall I think that was the only thing I saw that was kind of puzzling, but I think the rest of the track definitely did have some character that I was interested the way it worked out.
The painted line definitely has a lot of grip. Not that you really need to use that, but certainly the way that the lanes work in the corner is kind of weird. There’s kind of like a snake effect to the lanes. It’s not just a smooth constant progression like it is at Daytona, so that’s a little different. I don’t know how that will change as the years go.
Q.First off, congratulations on your big win. I saw Alex Bowman come into victory lane congratulate you. Walk me through what he said to you, and how crucial is it to have such a tight-knit relationship in the Hendrick Motorsports family.WILLIAM BYRON: It’s great to have really awesome teammates. I feel like Kyle, Chase, and Alex are awesome teammates. They’re really good race car drivers, and I feel like we all learn things from each other. We all have kind of our — as I have spent more time around all of them, I feel like we all have our tendencies and tracks that we like or dislike. It’s cool to learn from each of them. I feel like we continue to strengthen each other because we’re constantly kind of learning from each other, which is good.
THE MODERATOR: William, that seems to be all the questions we have. Thank you, again, for joining us. Congratulations, again, on the win. We wish you the best of luck next weekend as well.
WILLIAM BYRON: Appreciate it.
RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1; AND RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS – PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
THE MODERATOR: We are going to go ahead and get started here with our post-race availability for this afternoon’s Fold of Honors 500 here at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We’ve been joined by our race-winning crew chief, Rudy Fugle.
First of all, congrats on the win. We appreciate you coming in and joining us after the victory lane celebration. Tell us just a little bit about those final laps from your vantage point.
RUDY FUGLE: Thanks for the congrats. It’s really exciting to be able to get a win. Just the restart and the final — led to the final set of laps, and then we had one of the strongest cars, if not the strongest car.But it’s all about getting the pushes and trying to stay ahead of that. So our spotter, Branden Lines and William did awesome. They were able to control the lanes and go back and forth. Even just getting the lead back was phenomenal.
Holding our breath, hoping to get back to the lead, and then once we got there, just holding your breath to control it. So super proud of everybody.
THE MODERATOR: We’ve now been joined by Rick Hendrick as well, so we’ll go ahead and open up for questions for both Rick and Rudy. I know I saw a few hands raised.
Q.Rudy, two things. First off, it was said over the radio after you won the race, and William said it in his TV interview, with the hard work that went in overnight in changing some things, working late. Can you walk us through the work that was done on this 24 car after what you saw in practice?RUDY FUGLE: For the first time this year really we were off in practice. Just had some wrong philosophies, wrong setup items, and the way practice was we were just trying to get laps so William could get comfortable. But we really needed to work on the car more, but needed to make a plan.Once we got out of here and got back to the hotel, our engineers, and even at the shop and here we worked until 9:00. We had some dinner, and then there was emails going out until midnight, so coming up with a plan.
Came up with a good plan thanks to — we used a lot of the 9 stuff to help guide us and made good decisions otherwise, and then give that to the guys to come in this morning. And they got an hour and a half to pretty much rebuild the race car.
So they did phenomenal getting the car built, getting through tech and put a race car on the track capable of winning, and not dominating, but being really, really fast. Close to dominating.
Q.Did you guys come here with a super speedway philosophy in car setup, or did you come here with the typical Atlanta setup?RUDY FUGLE: No, it was a blend. A lot of super speedway thoughts and then some Michigan, some Texas repave and just trying to — and this car is still brand new, so there’s a ton we’re learning that you’re trying to apply. So missed it on a couple of things, but it didn’t take much to get it where we needed to be.
Q.I have a question for each of you gentlemen. Rudy, from your perspective as a crew chief, old Atlanta configuration and type of racing versus what we saw today. Your thoughts?RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, it was — I thought racing really was really good today. There’s some things with the track, some big bumps and some character. It’s difficult. It’s stressful. It’s a different type of racing.Crew chiefs, we love coming to Atlanta just like drivers did because if you got it right, if you were perfect, you did your homework and you could go dominate. You could have eight, ten-second leads. That’s snoozers for TV, but it’s something to be proud of from our side of things.
So we really enjoyed that challenge of how hard Atlanta was and how much fun it was with tire falloff making it good. But when you have to repave tracks, this was a good product today. I thought it was really, really good.
Q.Rick, from a car owner’s perspective, Daytona, Talladega races tend to be expensive. You guys tear up a lot of equipment. It seems like this is going to be kind of in that same vein. As a car owner, are you okay with adding two additional super speedway type races to a schedule and what may be your bottom line?RICK HENDRICK: We have not had very good luck at finishing plate races. We’ve been in a great position, but we’ve seemed to get in wrecks all the time, and I don’t think this is going to be quite as bad.These cars are more durable, and you saw it today. Usually when you have a wreck down at Talladega, Daytona, it’s just trashed. But a lot of cars were able to finish, and also I think it’s going to be easier and better with this car and I think the speeds here at this track. I believe it’s going to be a great show.
Q.I have one for each. Rudy, were you concerned at all about right rears blowing after seeing what happened to the others, you know, Goodyear said they were looking at it, but they didn’t notice it was all Chevrolets and all ones who were running up front.RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, definitely. The speed and having to run pretty much wide open to lead compared to 70% throttle for a full lap to be second or third is definitely putting a lot more stress on the tires, so it’s kind of managing ourselves there.
I was trying to coach William into doing some lifts and just if we could lift a little bit and slow the pace down a little bit and not get passed, then we could save the tires. Definitely at a repave you are always worried about tires. You got hard tires because you have so much load, but eventually you put enough heat in them, and they blow out. Definitely on our mind.
We kind of knew because we share information. We kind of knew where some of these guys were and thought we may be — we weren’t in worse shape at least than they were. Just try to manage it.
Q.And, Rick, I would think that most of you feel that kind of four plate races is enough as far as when it comes to Daytona and Talladega. This kind of makes it six. Do you want to cap it, or is there any thought of some people say, well, if this works, then maybe they should do it at Texas or any of the other mile and a halfs?RICK HENDRICK: No, I vote to cap it. With our record at plate races with finishing, I just — I think this is enough.
Q.For Rudy. I believe this is the first win as a spotter for Branden Lines, so just the job that he did with a really chaotic style of race, and how important was it to get his first Cup win as a spotter?RUDY FUGLE: It’s huge. I’m really proud of Branden. I’ve known Branden for a really long time going back to Erik Jones’ late model and truck days and kind of been friends with him since. So getting a chance to work with him is really exciting.
How much passion he has for racing and how much hard work he puts in during the week. He has been working really, really hard. Him and William have a good relationship, so they’ve been working outside of even what I know and this lingo, you know, all these — like I said, he was — I think he changed two batteries today because he talked so much. He talked more here than you do at Daytona and Talladega because when you get in that top riding lane in Daytona and Talladega, you know what to expect, and the runs aren’t as quick. And here the runs were gigantic, and they were so fast, so spotter had to be on it, and Branden did a great job.
Q.Rudy, it looked like with about ten or 12 laps to go you might not want to be first the way the runs were taking place and all that, but William got out with some — got some space. Was that the approach you wanted to take, or were you feeling pretty safe being in front there in the last few laps?RUDY FUGLE: Yeah. William stated it during the first stage that he thought being second was a better spot to be, and we were — the 1 was fast, and we were fast. I think it was the 8 we were kind of all making runs and just kind of learning.
If you get the right run, it’s tough to be the leader for sure. But we just had a lot of things go right. And Mr. H talked about it before the race. Sometimes at some point things have to go right for you. We’ve had a lot of bad luck and bad circumstances this year that have kept us from winning races I feel like, and today we just had some things go right.
Some guys, Blaney and whoever got up together and got out a lane, and then the 20 going underneath the line with the 1 getting side-by-side, just kind of generated — it stopped the runs from generating. It kind of worked out for us. I’ll take anything we can get.
Q.I have one for Rudy and one for Rick. Rudy, two of William’s three Cup victories have been on super speedway style racing. What makes him so good at that?RUDY FUGLE: Yeah, no, he has become a great restrictor plate racer. He is really aggressive and knows how to use the runs and take the pushes and give pushes. I mean, it’s hard to say what makes somebody great. You know, everybody talks about Denny when we come to these places, but you have to have good cars, you have to have good engines, and then he has just done an awesome job of learning what makes the car stay up front at these places. When we’re not wrecked, he is usually up front.
Q.And, Rick, with William’s victory three of your four drivers have now won three of the first five races. It’s the first time that it’s been done since Carl Kiekhaefer did it in 1956. What does this mean to you?RICK HENDRICK: Well, you know, I’m awful proud of the organization and the guys the way they worked together, and we’ve been fortunate. We had a couple of breaks to win one of the races, but I’m proud of them.
And it’s really hard today with the cars that we have and everything is equal, but I think the talent of our guys, like Rudy said, William has just been unbelievable on the plate races. I’m just proud of them. We might hit a streak here and not win one, but I’m really proud of the speed and the way they’re staying up front, and hopefully we’ll continue to win more races.
Q.Rick, already this season there’s been a race in a stadium. You’ve got a super speedway race at a mile and a half track. You know, here in a couple of weeks you’ll be going back to a dirt track. What do these changes mean, and what do you hope to see or what are you looking forward to more as the sport seems to continue to evolve?RICK HENDRICK: I think it’s great for NASCAR. The stadium brought a lot of new fans in. The dirt track, I’ve got people coming out of the woodwork wanting to go to Bristol now for that race, and I think it’s exciting for the fans and the drivers are adapting well.
This car, we basically run the same car everywhere, and so I think it’s great for the sport, and I would like to see a street race. Hopefully we’ll just continue to work outside the box, and I think that’s growing a lot of new fans for us.
Q.Why do you want to see a street race? And also, secondly, I know the Texas race ended. This one got started. I don’t know if you had any contact with Jimmie or your thoughts of Jimmie having his top ten today?RICK HENDRICK: I did not see the race. What happened to him?
Q.He was sixth.RICK HENDRICK: We felt like when Jimmie got on oval he would be more competitive. I’m proud of him. I’m really proud of Jimmie for jumping into a sport and trying to relearn against all these guys or learn the sport. But I felt like when we got to ovals, when they got to ovals, he was going to be good.
Q.Why a street race?RICK HENDRICK: I just think it’s exciting. I think it’s different. I think it would be why the Coliseum race? I mean, if there’s a right street circuit that we could race on, I just think something different brings in a new level of fans. And it’s exciting. It’s something different to talk about.
I think keep changing it up, and it just seems to bring in a lot of new people that we haven’t seen. The age group at the Coliseum were people — I think they said, like, 60% had never been to a NASCAR race. I think just doing something different than you’ve done for years and years is good for the sport.
THE MODERATOR: For Rick and Rudy, congratulations again on the victory. Thank you, again, for joining us. 

 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL12nd     ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL14th      DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL15th      COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES CAMARO ZL16th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 10th    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1  TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      William Byron (Chevrolet)2nd   Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)3rd      Kurt Busch (Toyota)4th      Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)5th      Corey LaJoie (Chevrolet)
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Circuit of The Americas with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday, March 27, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner WILLIAM BYRON BRINGS IT HOME FOR HIS THIRD CAREER WIN. YOU JUST GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND SAID “THAT WAS FUN.” YOU HAVE A SUPERSPEEDWAY CAR, AN INTERMEDIATE SET UP – WHAT WAS THIS DAY LIKE IN THE END?“It was so different. You know honestly the last few laps there, just trying to manage the gap to Bubba (Wallace) and trying to not get too far out front. My spotter Brandon (Lines), it’s his first win so congrats to him and just thanks to this whole team. They’ve done a great job this year. There’s a lot of changes with the Next Gen car.  The Liberty University Chevrolet was awesome there. We had a pretty rough practice; worked hard on it and got it handling well. Like I told you, it was kind of an intermediate style with a little bit of superspeedway to it, so it was lot of fun. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Super exciting.” HOW ABOUT THIS CROWD? PACKED STANDS HERE TO SEE AN ATLANTA RACE LIKE WE’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.“It’s so cool. I think these fans saw one heck of a race. It was certainly long from my seat. It was mentally taxing. Just thanks to all the fans for coming out. Been an awesome weekend. I got the win last night in the Late Model too, so it’s been a lot of fun.”                                                                                                    ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2ndLOSE SOME LAPS, GET THE LAPS BACK. IN POSITION AT THE END OF THIS RACE, ENDED UP THIRD.“Maybe second. What a day, Regan. That’s the fight, that’s the fight in Trackhouse. This Gen 7 car to take a lick like that, blow a tire out of nowhere leading. Just cruising, blow a right rear, slam the wall, I thought our day was over. Our guys went underneath the car, got the tow closer and we got the balance back where I could drive it and this Advent Health Chevy was fast. It was so fast. I mean we were fighting with William (Byron) there at the beginning. So cool to race with buddies again. I only have a few, but the last two weeks I’ve been able to race with buddies. Can’t thank everybody at Trackhouse, the Moose, Advent Health, everybody that’s been on this car. Justin Marks and his family for what they do for me and Daniel Suarez. What a teammate to push me there at the end.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4th SECOND TOP-FIVE ALREADY THIS SEASON. YOU GUYS BOUNCED OFF THE WALL. YOU HAD A PENALTY ON PIT ROAD. WHAT WAS YOUR DAY LIKE? “It was just like that, up and down. Our No. 99 CommScope Chevrolet was fast. We did a good job on pit road. We had fast pit stops. When we have a fast Chevrolet Camaro, it makes things easier. Everyone at Trackhouse Racing has been working very, very hard to build cars like this. We just have to keep it up. We have a few trophies coming in the near future.”  COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 5th“We did exactly what we set out to do today. We made Atlanta Motor Speedway like a superspeedway. We missed the wrecks and put our No. 7 Fraternal Order of Eagles Camaro ZL1 there at the end and got a top-five finish. It’s great to start our season with three top-15’s and now one top-five. Hopefully, we can maintain the momentum over the next couple of weeks and put ourselves in a good points position through the summer. Thank you to everyone at Spire Motorsports and the No. 7 team for all the hard work to continue to build fast Chevy’s.”  CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th“It was crazy, for sure. Hopefully it was fun to watch because I felt like it was wild from my seat. It was very much so like a Daytona or Talladega. Just trying to position yourself there at the right spot and hope it goes your way.”  JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 11th“Obviously, Chris (Buescher) and I were going for the same real estate there at the end, so neither of us were really to blame. I did not want to be forced down below the red and white line. I have been bitten by that rule in the past, so I obviously did not want to go below it, and I was not going to check up either. We had a really strong No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1 all day, but we were just unlucky at the end.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined due to damage sustained in an accident on lap 208. “We were just coming to the end of the stage. He (Denny Hamlin) was just trying to help me get a run down the front stretch. He just got to me in the corner and got me loose. I hate that happened, but it’s a product of this racing and product of pushing; trying to draft and get your lane going. Nothing is intentional.  Obviously, I wish we were still out there and both of us racing. The good thing is we have a win already. Two DNF’s in a row isn’t what we want, but our No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy is fast. We were able to drive to the front a few different times and avoid a couple different wrecks. I was happy with the car. The handling was off early, but we got it better. I know the speed was there to contend. We’ll move along and go have some fun on a road course.”  RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SWEETLEAF CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 200. YOU WERE LEADING AND HAD A FAST CAR. I HEARD YOUR CREW CHIEF SAY ON THE RADIO THAT YOU HAD A TIRE GO DOWN. DID YOU HAVE ANY INDICATION?“No, I was just riding around and I felt really good with our No. 47. Kroger / SweetLeaf Camaro. It was really, really fast. We drove right up to the front from the back there at the start of the race. You saw a few tires let go with people leading, running in the front. I don’t know if with all the speed we have here, if the right rear can’t hang on or what.  The JTG Daugherty guys brought a really fast car. It was another race where I felt like we were running up front. We’ve done that quite often this year. We missed it last weekend in Phoenix, but we’ll go get them at COTA. Our guys are continuing to build really good race cars and that’s all we can ask for. We’ll keep trying to put ourselves in position. I had fun.”  AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 100. “William (Byron) and I had a good run through (turns) one and two. Got to the lead and he pushed me down the backstretch. I knew the Toyotas were going to go opposite of us, so I felt like having the No. 24 block bottom and me go to the top would keep the Chevy’s up front. The No. 18 (Kyle Busch) decided to stick with me. I know he probably thought he was doing us a favor, but you can’t push on the left rear on exit off turn four going as fast as we’re going. He just turned me and it took us both out of the race.”  “It was the end of Stage One. We were going to get a run down the front stretch right there, so I don’t know why he’s pushing dead center, at the three-quarter mark. It’s part of it I guess. It was fun racing there for a while with a really fast No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy. My feelings are hurt. Just two weeks in a row we’ve been taken out of the race.”  TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 100. WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE AND WHAT DID YOU SEE?“I don’t know. We were taking it easy. We had a penalty on pit road, so we had to restart last there. I was just kind of chilling. I was trying to slow down with the wreck and the No. 14 (Chase Briscoe), I don’t know what he was looking at or doing. He just ran right through me and ended our day. I knew we had a good enough No. 42 Alsco Uniforms Camaro ZL1 to hopefully get up front with good track position and good pit stops. Just hate that it ended our day early.”  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY? “It’s really hard to pass and you need help (to pass). I wasn’t up front enough to really tell you a lot, but it was really hard to pass. Even if you were handling better, if somebody could just stay in the middle lane, you could hardly get around them unless you had a massive run and they messed up. Track position matters. We were going to need to have good pit stops. Hopefully we would have been up front, but it wasn’t our day.”  NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 16 CHEVYLINERS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 24. “I just got loose there through (turns) one and two. It was still early in the race, so I wasn’t pushing it. I was just trying to bide my time and stay patient. It’s such a long race. It’s unfortunate. I hate it for the ChevyLiners.com team and everyone at Kaulig Racing. They’ve been putting in so many hours this year. My goal was to complete all the laps and finish the race. The No. 16 Camaro ZL1 was fast, it was just a mistake.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL 375 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY JUSTIN, TEXAS TEAM CHEVY RACE POST RACE RECAP WITH TRANSCRIPT MARCH 20, 2022

• JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, MADE LAST CORNER, LAST LAP PASS ON TEAMMATE SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN TO CAPTURE HIS 2ND WIN IN THE XPEL 375 AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. 
• CHEVROLET HAS CAPTURED TWO WINS, AND FOUR PODIUMS IN THE FIRST TWO RACES
• TODAY’S VICTORY ON THE 1.5-MILE OVAL IS NEWGARDEN’S 21ST CAREER WIN AND THE 600TH WIN FOR ROGER PENSKE AND TEAM PENSKE 
• ALSO IS THE 97TH VICTORY SINCE 2012 FOR THE CHEVY 2.2 LITER V6 TWIN TURBO DIRECT INJECTED ENGINE

FT. WORTH (MARCH 20,2022) – A lap and a half from the checkered flag, Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, was behind his teammate, race leader and St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, and had about decided to stay where he was, and take the second-place finish. 
But, as if commanded, the opportunity opened up for Newgarden to dare to take the highline around McLaughlin, knowing there was a risk of the resin that had bitten several other drivers earlier in the race could be his demise.
Coming out of turn four Newgarden completed the pass of McLaughlin for the win at the checkered by .0669 seconds to score the 21st win of his career, his second at Texas Motor Speedway and the 97th for Chevrolet since 2012. 
“Unbelievable (to have the) PPG car in victory lane,” said a jubilant Newgarden from Victory Lane. “Also, our XPEL car. How about Scott (McLaughlin)? I think he led like 95 percent of the laps. I hate doing that to a teammate, but I was going for it just like he was. We were driving hard. Man, I was loose. I was driving things sideways off of three and four every lap. I was trying to get a run, but Team Chevy what an unbelievable job right? We showed up, got the pole, got the win for Team Chevy’s camp, and just so pleased for everybody. It was so good to drive this PPG car again with Team Chevy.”
Two races into the 17-race 2022 NTT INDYCAR Series schedule, Chevrolet powered drivers have scored two wins, four podiums, four top-fives and six top-10 finishes. 
“Congratulations to Josef Newgarden on his exciting win,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Racing Engineering Program Manager for INDYCAR. “Great day again for Scott McLaughlin as well. I am so proud of the work that has been put in by the Chevrolet engineering group with our technical partners and teams that is giving us a strong start to the 2022 INDYCAR Series. It is awesome to help Team Penske capture its 600th win as an organization. What a tremendous achievement. Now we get ready for Long Beach but it is great to head to race three with momentum for all of our teams and drivers.”
With his second-place finish after leading 186 laps, McLaughlin leaves Texas with a 28 point lead in the standings. 
Team Penske’s Will Power just missed another podium with a strong fourth-place finish, and heads to Long Beach second in points to give Team Chevy the three of the top-four finishers in today’s 248-lap exciting race.
Rinus VeeKayf battled for the lead around the two-thirds point of the race, and brought his No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, finished in 10th position. 
Two Chevrolet drivers were forced to retire early from the race. Kyle Kirkwood driving the No. 14 Rokit AJ Foyt Chevrolet, was involved in a single-car incident on lap 113 making hard contact with the outside wall. He was checked and released at the infield care center and scored 25th in the final order. 
Pole winner Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, retired from the race on lap 138 with a non-engine related mechanical problem. He is credited with the 21st finishing position
Other Chevy powered drivers finished as follows:ED CARPENTER, NO. 33 ALZAMEND ED CARPENTER RACING, ., FINISHED 13thJR HILDEBRAND, NO. 11 ROKIT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 14thPATO O’WARD, NO.5 ARROW MCLAREN SP RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 15thCALLUM ILLOT, NO. 77 JUNCOS HOLLINGER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 16thDALTON KELLET, NO. 4 K-LINE AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17thCONOR DALY, NO. 20 BITNILE ED CARPENTER RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 18th
Next for Team Chevy in the NTT INDYCAR Series is the Streets of Long Beach on April 10, 2022.
Scott McLaughlinJosef NewgardenPress Conference
THE MODERATOR: We welcome in Scott McLaughlin, who almost went back to back. What happened at the end?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Looking back at it, if I would have thought about it in my head, which I already have done a million times, my car was tightening up, especially in traffic. It probably wasn’t handling exactly how it had at the start earlier in the race. I was sort of maxed out on my tools. I was trying to control the traffic, couldn’t catch the traffic too much. At the end the traffic checked up into me.I knew there were going to be dramas in three and four. I struggled with my turns at three and four. I guess I wasn’t prepared to take the risk on the outside at 3-4, which looking back at it I should have. My teammate Josef, obviously Josef chose to. Once he was on the outside of me, I can’t do anything.Yeah, look, I’m gutted. I’ll reevaluate everything over the next few days. But it’s funny, like last year I was fist pumping and jumping out of the car finishing second. I’m like today, It sucks. That’s how it is. That’s how we’re growing. I’ll learn from this, get better.Yeah, I probably just need to expand, maybe risk a little bit more when I need, to try different lines. I’ll learn for the big one coming up in May.One thing is great, 600 wins for the captain. Literally if anyone else beat me, I would be pissed. I’m kind of pissed now, but you know what I mean. 600 wins for the team. We led a lot of laps, extended the championship lead.Yeah, I’m a race driver. I want to win. It definitely hurts.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.Q.How do you feel the conditions were as the race went on?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, obviously the first stint went for a long time. I actually battled with the vibration on the run. We still had pretty good speed. I managed to pull away.But definitely the wind, the conditions, changed towards the end of the race. Very gusty off turn two, which made it quite loose. A lot of push, quite tight through 3-4.Maybe my car wasn’t quite set up for the gustier conditions, but all in all I think we had a really solid race car today. We were right there, thereabouts, throughout the whole race. I passed Dixon into one, a few others into one, able to demand track position when we needed to, that’s what we needed to do: get the right track positions at the right time.
Q.A little more in detail. When you’re coming around out of three, going into four, you know he is where he is, was there any possible thing you could have done to close the line without it being risky?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No. Like I said, I was battling already on the exit of three and four. It would have been risky for me, for both of us, if I had moved. I mean, when I got told that he’s in the second lane, I was like, Oh, here we go (laughter).Looking back at it, I was just too tentative. At the end of the day I’ll learn from that. I just didn’t want to go out the last corner, hit the fence, not have either of us win, because I quite easily could have taken Josef out.It is what it is. At the end of the day it’s one of those days when you look back at the end of the year, championship-wise it might work out very good.
Q.(No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, around when I was sort of like the leader, I had a good lead, I was sort of lapping him a little bit. He was fast. He was doing some really good moves. I saw him pass a guy on the outside in one, a few others.J.J., we hang out a bit. He’s certainly coming strong. I’m sure he feels a lot more confident on the ovals. He’s going to be good at Indy. I’m really excited for him. He’s in a good car. I’m excited for what’s ahead.For INDYCAR itself it’s exciting, a guy like that, with so much talent. There’s not many people in America who don’t know who Jimmie Johnson is. If he’s going to compete at the front of the Indy 500, hopefully just behind me, we’re good (smiling). I’ll lead him across the bricks at the end of the race, no dramas. Tuck in, mate, it’s good prize money.
THE MODERATOR: Probably that many people globally who don’t know who Jimmie is.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Everywhere has NASCAR on television knows who J.J. is. I flipped out when I got his mobile number. It was pretty cool.
Q.(No microphone.)SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know, maybe.
THE MODERATOR: Obviously Josef has his cowboy hat on.JIMMIE JOHNSON: Head it much bigger now.THE MODERATOR: Three laps led, but the most important ones.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Was it three? I thought I only got one.THE MODERATOR: Generally your thoughts coming up on Scott there on the last lap, what was going through your mind?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a race of patience, for sure, for us at least. We tried to manage all the way throughout. We had a lot of adversities to work through. We had a right front that was coming apart on the first stint. We got through that. It actually worked out pretty well. We cycled up to second. Scott was way up the road, started closing the gap. Obviously had the big yellow in the middle.Kind of the final restart, I just got my doors blown off by everybody. There was a ton of fuel to save at that point. Seemed like no one was worried about doing that right away. I must have went back to sixth or seventh. Kind of methodically got back forward.At the end I was like Scott is going to be hard to beat with traffic. He’s been strong this whole time. He was strong last year, strong at the test. I thought if we just had clear running, we would have a great fight. We probably would have been dicing back and forth the entire time.It gets so difficult when you have cars that are about to go a lap down, fighting each other. Scott is trying to manage that. Hurts me to be able to close up on end.At the end I literally conceded with two laps to go. It’s just not going to happen. I literally almost lost it off four pushing hard to go ahead close. He did a good job. He was in position. He’s in position, he’s going to win this rails, bring it home.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: You could have held on for one more corner.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I could have kept that mindset. But that mindset changed as soon as I got to corner three (laughter). The traffic just presented a great opportunity to really, I don’t want to say the words, but get after it, try to do something to win this race.I went high side. If I hit the fence, I hit the fence. Scott is still the winner, it will be a great day for the team. I was so pumped. I’ve never been so excited. I got on the radio like in the middle of 3-4, I was like, No way.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: One thing that was cool, almost like one of the old Penske races when they used de Ferran and Castroneves used to run across the line? At the end of the day it was kind of cool.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Much more old school. You might have had something like that even if there was no traffic to deal with, just Scott and me.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: The restarts, whoever led…JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you would have had a finish like that where it was real close. With two cars battling, you could really do a lot.The drag race down the frontstretch was big today. Because of headwind versus yesterday, you could get such a big run off of four. It would have been an exciting finish the other way around, but it worked out the way it did today.THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.Q.What did you learn today that will help you out for the next time you run into a situation like this on an oval? Can you think of another race in your career where you had a lead position and then you lost at the end?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I lost the championship on the last lap in 2017. That is very similar, but not as hectic.What would I do different? Probably take the high line. Like I said, I didn’t risk that today. I think, yeah, should I have? Yeah, probably. That’s an experience thing that I’ll learn and come back with, maybe think about that for next year.Like I said to you guys before, I was pushing out of three. I didn’t have the confidence to run that line, that groove behind those cars. Once he was up there, like I had nothing. I mean, it is what it is. I’ll learn from it.Yeah, that’s INDYCAR racing, oval racing. It’s why we love it. I think today’s package, I had a lot of fun out there regardless. Passing. When we ended up having the fuel race, I slipped back to fourth, had to work my way back to second, almost the lead. That was fun. It’s what I remember watching when I was a kid.I certainly hope we continue to build with this package and get this better. Once you have a bit of two lanes through this track, it’s going to be a lot of fun and we’ll have races like we did today.Q.Do you think racing in daytime played a factor seeing more passing than you had been in the past?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It wasn’t the daytime running, it’s the changes to the aerodynamic package. We were running quite a bit more downforce than last year. The wind direction was different today than normal. Normally we’re getting a tailwind down the frontstretch. Today we had a headwind. It aids the passing.I think the session they ran yesterday cleaned up a little bit of the second lane. It really did. I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did in three and four last year. There’s just no way. I would have hit the fence for sure.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: They almost need to do that not only here but everywhere. No one’s going to run the slower lane. People don’t do that. We’re focused. Like Gateway, I’m sure Iowa. I agree with Josef. I think extra downforce was helpful.Personally I like a night race. I think prime time is always awesome. But we don’t make those decisions. Our boss does, this bloke.Q.One year on now at Texas, how is racing on an oval now compared to coming in as a rookie?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s awesome. I enjoy oval racing. I wouldn’t say I prefer it. I love just INDYCAR racing. Like I said yesterday, INDYCAR racing is oval racing. I love it. I enjoy it. I learn off this car last year, Simon, some really good teachers that got me comfortable on the ovals, where I want the setup, where I want to go. I feel now I’m going a little bit my way with the step, which I think is helping the team overall.Yeah, look, I love it. I love it. I can’t way for more of it, can’t wait for May. As a team we’re going to have a very strong race car. Very exciting.Q.Your thoughts on the captain picking up win 600?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: The captain is so true to his word. He gave me $600 in pit lane, in cash. We’re going to In-N-Out is what we’re going to do.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: There you go, she said it.It’s funny. I was answering the question in pit lane. I wasn’t suggesting that.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: That sounds like a fun time. You, too?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: You guys should just go if we don’t make it. Send us photos. We were literally talking about it before the race in the trailer. I think we were just getting to the 400 point, 2017. You had just joined the team like a year before or something.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yes.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I came in in ’17, they ripped from 400 to 500 to 600. Amazing.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I said to Roger, let’s celebrate at 500. A testament to the team globally. The super car we had down under, NASCAR series. The best thing about it, everyone is a part of it, whether you’re on the NASCAR side, the INDYCAR side, the sports car side, back in the day the super car side. Whenever somebody wins, there’s an award for the whole organization. That’s what super cool about it. Happy for everyone at home. Hopefully I’m here for 700. We get 700, we’re going all right. Have like five kids.THE MODERATOR: Scott, we’ll cut you loose on that.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Thank you.THE MODERATOR: Questions for Josef.Q.In 2012, 2013, your first and second year of INDYCAR on an oval, would you in his situation have done the same thing?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Oh, yeah. I mean, look, Scott didn’t do anything wrong. I took a risk. I mean, I took a big risk there at the end. I just held it in 3-4 to see if it would work. If it didn’t work, it was going to be on me that I took a risk and I didn’t work out.I made that in a very split-second decision. I’m serious when I say I was pretty much conceding with a lap and a half to go. It was going to be what it was going to be. I wasn’t in position correctly for the final stint.I just went for it. He didn’t do anything wrong, up on traffic, getting loose. I was a little stronger than him at the end for sure. It would be unwise, it actually shows his wisdom. It would have been very unwise for him to take a flyer and go high side without knowing what’s going to happen. He won the first race, leading the championship. That would have been silly for him to do that decision.For me it was a risk but I think it was somewhat calculated. I saw people going up there toward the beginning and middle of the race. I took a calculated risk and it worked out.Q.How much (indiscernible) help you?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It helps tremendously. I have been here a lot more than he has. This is my 11th appearance at Texas. I have a lot more to draw from experience-wise. I’ve seen these situations a lot more than he has. From that standpoint, it’s an unfair advantage for me experience-wise on what to do or not do.Q.New team for you. New engineer. You had an average finish at St. Pete. You’re the two-time champion. You’re kind of protective of all these new people, make sure you’re the leader. What does this do to win in race two with a team for the most part that is pretty much brand-new?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: High turnover on the 2 car.It’s big. We’ve got a lot of people on that car that are just learning. I should temper that. We have people that have experience, too, that are bringing a lot to the table and trying to rally this new crew that we’re working together with.There’s a chemistry that you just have to build. Unfortunately I think for some of the people on the team that are new, less experienced in their roles, you can’t accelerate experience, you just can’t. You can try and talk about it. You can try and spend a lot of time, to develop it away from the track. You can’t replace going to the track and doing the job. The experience is what matters. You have to go through these times together.Getting a win so early is just going to help the overall morale. It’s going to help the confidence of everyone on the team.St. Pete was so incredibly disappointing to me. We had a great test going into it. I felt fantastic heading into the weekend. A lot of hurdles that weekend on the track. It wasn’t a good weekend.I tell everybody, These things happen. It’s not what we wanted, but it’s okay. We’re going to see this at times, so let’s just stay on our plan, keep moving forward, it will eventually get there.Some of these times, even if you don’t feel confident in the way things are going to come together, you have to stay positive because you’re in the situation together. You’re kind of with a brotherhood there almost. You have each other’s backs. You have to lift each other up.I’ve been trying to do that from my side. But it takes everybody. It’s not just me that is going to make the difference. You have to make everyone believe that. When they all do it, that’s what really accelerates the program.Q.You’re in more of a leadership role. Would you describe it as a little bit different? Do you relish it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t like saying that I am. It’s inevitable, right? This is my 11th year in INDYCAR. Of course I’m in more of a senior position, I would say, from an experience, observative standpoint. I’ve seen a lot more than some of these people on the team.Doesn’t matter that I don’t have an engineering degree, but I’ve been in the trenches working on this stuff with other people and knowing where we’ve been, how we got to where we have gotten to in 2021 or 2022.That inherently gives you more of a senior leadership role, I would say. But I don’t think we try and operate that way. Everyone is a leader in the team. You got to get buy-in from everybody. Can’t be just one person holding the torch. We all have to believe that and pick each other up.That’s more of the discussions we’ve had in the off-season, is getting everyone to buy into the program. A team effort. When you have the whole group feeling that way, that’s when magic happens.Q.Every driver dreams of winning a race in the fashion that you won today. How big of an adrenaline rush was it?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m telling you, I was yelling. I was on the radio way before the line, which I don’t normally do that. You don’t do that. You stay in the race. I was just so pumped up that, one, the car was sticking, I wasn’t flying towards the fence. But I’ve never had a race end that way. I’ve never been in a position to capitalize on that type of victory.I was really excited. Still really am. That’s one of the coolest wins, probably the coolest win I’ve ever had in the 2 car. Hopefully we have more of those. Yeah, really, really neat to be a part of that.Q.You had a competitor who ran his first oval race today and finished sixth. Jimmie Johnson.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Did Jimmie finish sixth?Q.He was fifth with a few laps to go.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That’s legit. Hard to finish sixth at Texas. It’s hard. Like, that’s really good.Q.You could say he’s a legit contender for an Indy 500. To add another guy like that into the mix, along with Scott McLaughlin, that race seems to get more difficult competitive-wise every year.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, look, not to take away from Jimmie, but it has been a steep learning curve. He’s had to unlearn an entire career of operating procedures. The INDYCAR is so removed from what a stockcar is. For him to be able to get on top of that so quickly, it makes sense it’s going better here at Texas, it’s closer to what he’s used to procedurally. I don’t want to act too surprised because he is a seven-time champ, incredible worker and teammate.Man, that’s really good, though. First INDYCAR oval race, sixth at Texas. These cars are hard to drive. The way that we draft, the way the groove works for us, you can’t go up a lane or two like in a stockcar. They’re scrubbing the car before he gets there. I need to watch this race back, see how he got there. I’m sure he’ll be a huge threat at Indy then. Great news.Q.Winning in your engineer’s second race as an engineer, tell us about that. Remarkable stuff.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Well, look, I don’t think you can discount the tall order that Eric has in front of him. I mean, he’s a very smart individual, really great person, good personality, total team player.Eric has never engineered a car like this. Not even anything close to this. He hasn’t been in an engineering position like this in, I don’t know, eight years. That position was very, very different than the position he’s in now.He’s had a lot to learn, a lot. He is just trying to soak up information from everybody. He’s been leaning on Dave, Ben, all the other engineers. They have done a great job of trying to inject as much knowledge into Eric as quickly as possible.The same point I was making before, you can’t force this stuff. You can give Eric a binder with every piece of information he would ever need, he could read the thing three times over before the season starts. Until he does it, he’s never really going to understand it, he’s not going to get good at that instinctual ability he has to have.He has a super tall order in front of him. He’s staying positive. A day like today is very validating for a person like Eric. I’m really happy for him. I’m happy for our group. It’s only one race, let’s not get too excited, but this is a good boost for everybody. Eric is doing a tremendous job of being a team player for all of us.Q.(No microphone.)JOSEF NEWGARDEN: We haven’t divvied out the amounts yet. It’s a gift. Clean and clear. Don’t have to pay taxes on this. What am I talking about? I should gloat more about this $600.We haven’t divvied it out. But we’re going to get burgers. I should give him one.THE MODERATOR: $10,000 to your favorite charity. What is your favorite charity?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I’m splitting it between (indiscernible) Network, who I have done a lot of work with, and Wags and Walks out of Nashville. Wags and Walks is a rescue organization, they started in L.A., actually where we got our dog. They do a really great job. Growing, but they’re really small. I hope this is going to help. That’s my plan, split it between those two.THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – Progressive American Flat Track superstar Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) rebounded like a champion with a convincing victory in Saturday night’s Mission Texas Half-Mile presented by Roof Systems at the Dirt Track at Texas Motor Speedway.

Few expected Mees to kick off his Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle title defense as a relative non-factor, running in fifth in last weekend’s season opener at Volusia Speedway Park. That muted performance made this weekend’s showdown all that more important, and given a second chance, Mees made clear the path to the #1 plate still goes through him.

Mees looked virtually unbeatable all night long, a trend he continued once he dove underneath a quick-starting JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to take control of the Main Event while still in its opening stages.

The defending champ pulled clear and cruised to the checkered flag, only suffering a minor scare when Beach and his Estenson teammate, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), used traffic and their own battle for second to reduce the gap to back under a second over the race’s final two laps.

“It felt really good,” Mees said. “Last weekend we were a little off for sure, but it felt good to rebound. That Main Event was really hectic with all the lappers, but the Indian Motorcycle backed by Progressive Insurance worked awesome tonight. It was so hooked up. My guys are all working so hard.

“I really wanted to come in and have a good result today with the break we have coming up. Last week didn’t sit well… I wanted this one bad.”

The Yamaha 2-3 was another sign that the series’ attempts to balance the field are working as hoped, while also providing positive feedback for Estenson Racing in regards to their offseason MT-07 DT upgrades.

It also underlined the potency of the talented Beach-Daniels tandem. That was made especially clear when Mission SuperTwins rookie Daniels not only diced with two-time class champion Briar Bauman (No. 3 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) but got the better of him.

A bobble on Bauman’s part put him out of podium contention, but he was well clear of the pack behind and finished alone in a safe fourth. Some five seconds back, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) won out over teammate Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) in their scrap for fifth.

Meanwhile, Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R), and Brandon Price (No. 92 Briggsauto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750) came home seventh through ninth, respectively, while Ben Lowe (No. 25 Helipower Racing/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson XG750R) turned his Mission Production Twins Challenge entry into a top-ten premier-class finish.

Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines

While reigning Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines champion Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) got his own title defense off to a bit of a quiet start last weekend, all it took was a return to the scene of his maiden class victory in 2019 to remind the paddock of the pecking order he’s worked so hard to maintain ever since. That and a lot of perseverance.

Texter was in control throughout the Main Event despite the numerous potential pitfalls thrown his way. Moments after he claimed the initial holeshot, Chad Cose (No. 49 DPC Racing/Voodoo Ranger Harley-Davidson XG750R)crashed after coming together with Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R), bringing out an early red.

Then after getting a second holeshot and opening up a healthy advantage, Texter was forced to do it a third time when a second red flag was shown following a Jeffery Lowery (No. 223 Lowery Racing/Gray Hogs Yamaha MT-07) fall. Make that a fourth time, as Billy Ross (No. 109 Pro 1 Industries/Campbells Services Kawasaki 650 Ninja) was the next to crash and cause another stoppage.

Texter then had to set the pace and avoid any mistakes of his own on an extremely tricky dry surface before at last securing his first win of the young 2022 season.

“You don’t like to see red flags when you’re leading,” Texter said. “When you have a gap, it’s like, ‘Man…’ But I’ve been in that situation before so I just stayed calm, had confidence in my starts, and trusted my instincts. The boys said to keep doing what I was doing, so at that point you just don’t want to mess up.

“This is such an emotional win for me. The last time we were here and I won, I gave my mechanic, Jon (Reid), the victory lap, and he passed away at the end of the season. So I really wanted to win this one for him. This one means a lot.”

Ben Lowe (No. 25 Helipower Racing/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson XG750R) kept Texter honest in the final leg of the Main and was well positioned to capitalize on any mistake. While that mistake never came, Lowe did finish as the runner-up, earning a strong result at his primary sponsors’ home round.

The still-mending Kolby Carlile (No. 36 KC36 Las Vegas Harley-Davidson XG750R) rounded out the podium. He did so only after fending off last weekend’s surprise winner, Nick Armstrong (No. 60 Competitive Racing Frames/Lessley Brothers Yamaha MT-07), who proved that his opening-weekend performance was no fluke with a close fourth.

New class contender Cole Zabala (No. 51 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Yamaha MT-07) made a late move around Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield Twins FT) to complete the top five.

Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

Best known for epic, come-from-behind rides exploiting the high line, Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) won in the complete opposite fashion on Saturday night. After beating polesitter Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) into the opening corner, Mischler immediately set about what would ultimately prove to be a race-long defense of the low line.

It was actually Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) who was the rider on the move in the early stages, blasting his way up from the third row and into third place on a track where no one else seemed to have much success overtaking.

However, the reason for that was made evident with the manner in which Brunner’s charge ended. His aggressive attempts to overhaul Whale for second concluded with the Yamaha pilot on the dirt. Making matters worse, Tanner Dean (No. 38 Waters Autobody Racing KTM 450 SX-F) had nowhere to go but over top of Brunner’s downed machine, the incident provoking a red-flag stoppage.

Mischler resumed the lead at the restart, but Whale lost another spot off the line. This time it was teammate Kody Kopp (No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) who displaced him, diving into second to take over the pursuit for the lead.

The three then raced in close formation for the remainder of the race. Despite Kopp sizing Mischler up for a final-lap attack, he thought better of it and accepted second rather than risk disaster.

Race-winner Mischer said, “Our team has a lot of great pieces that pull this whole program together. The whole Turner Factory Honda team is amazing and they have a wealth of knowledge. I felt really bad because in practice I wadded one of these bikes up pretty bad. This is actually my ‘B bike,’ but she got the job done today. Those guys put in a ton of work, and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Mischler’s teammate, Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), put in a relatively lonely ride to fourth, followed by Michael Inderbitzin (No. 54 1st Impressions Services of Florida Honda CRF450R) and Trent Lowe (No. 48 Mission Foods/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda CRF450R).

The Mission Texas Half-Mile will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, March 27, at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT., including exclusive features, cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage, and expert commentary.

Next Up:

Progressive AFT will make its inaugural stop at I-70 Motorsports Park in Odessa, Missouri, on Saturday, April 23. Visit https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3775 to reserve your tickets today!

For those viewing from home, you can catch the livestream free via Facebook up until Opening Ceremonies. Fans can then purchase access to watch Opening Ceremonies, Semis, Main Events, and podium celebrations via Facebook Paid Online Events for $3.99 if purchased 24 hours or more in advance, or $4.99 if purchased on the day of the event.

For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.

No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R races to victory in 70th annual event

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – The No. 01 V-Performance Cadillac DPi-V.R was quick as lightning in qualifications for the in the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V stole the thunder in the endurance race.

Led by the winning Cadillac Racing entry fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing, Cadillac swept the podium for the second time and won for the fourth time in the six 12-hour races on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway in the DPi era. The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R – the 2021 race winner – co-driven by Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval, finished second. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, co-driven by Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez and Mike Conway, placed third.

“We have tremendous teams that work with us and today was an awesome performance by Cadillac,” said Rory Harvey, Vice President (Global) Cadillac. “It is exciting times for us overall, and to be able to get a clean sweep is awesome. We went into today with strong ambitions and the teams delivered.” Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Neel Jani overcame drive-thru penalties, contact and the draining Central Florida humidity to earn the victory after starting fourth. Bamber overtook Westbrook in the No. 5 Cadillac with 45 minutes left, and after the top three Cadillacs pitted for the final time, Bamber held off the challenges on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway course to win by 6.471 seconds. “It comes down to the drivers. Those guys have to push the buttons and make it happen. They’re the ultimate quarterbacks for the team and we try to give them the tools they need to win races and today they did that,” said team principal Chip Ganassi of the first-year IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry. The JDC-Miller MotorSports No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R earned its second podium finish in as many races this season. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R was also in contention throughout the race that covered 351 laps. Mike Conway, whose father passed away early Friday, laid down the quickest race lap at 1 minute, 47.018 seconds on Lap 126. “It would have been nice to win this one,” Conway said. “It was hard. the first few stints, thinking of him out there. I was just trying to do him proud.” The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R, which started from the pole after Sebastien Bourdais recorded a qualifying lap-record time of 1 minute, 45.116 seconds, experienced a gearbox issue early on and finished several laps down. “We took the No. 01 to the garage and changed the gearbox after having downshifting problems. We tried a number of counter measures in the pits to correct, but later realized we needed to change the whole gearbox to eliminate the issue,” Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Steve Eriksen said. The No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R, which pitted from the lead on Lap 253, developed a left-front brake rotor issue and had to pit early on Lap 280 (2 hours, 9 minutes left in the race) and fell out of contention.  Next up for Cadillac Racing teams is the IMSA Sportscar Grand Prix of Long Beach on the 1.968-mile street course. Practice and qualifying are on April 8, with the 100-minute race April 9. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R was the 2021 race winner.

Cadillac Racing results: No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Neel JaniFinish: First. Start: FourthEarl Bamber: “Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac was amazing this weekend. We had such a good lead and I managed to throw it away twice. I’m just exhausted. To everyone from the team and Cadillac, thank you. I’m just so happy to get the first win for the 02. Thank you to Alex and Neel, who came in and did a great job.” Alex Lynn: “It was a great race to be honest. First, thanks to everyone on the 02 team. The car was flying all week and yeah, we got the strategy right there at the end. It was a fantastic result to win and thank you to the whole team. We were driving an amazing car today. It made our job behind the wheel that much easier, if it could ever be called easy. It’s a big result for us in the championship and it’s an iconic race, the 12 Hours. With Ganassi winning it once before, it’s a huge result for us as a team.” Neel Jani: “I had 30 laps before the race, but it couldn’t have been better. Two weeks ago I didn’t know I would be here. I’m hugely thankful to Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing to call me up and ask me to drive. We made it happen. We had a fantastic car and that made it easier for me. To drive that car is fantastic. My teammates did a fantastic job and the whole team welcomed me. That’s why it works. I know now why I miss prototypes. It’s where I belong and what I like. I loved every minute this weekend.”  No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic DuvalFinish: Second. Start: 10th overall, seventh in class Tristan Vautier: “We gave it a good go. Man, I drove my heart out in the last stint. I thought I had him (Bamber) for a while, but a couple of bad breaks catching GT cars in Turns 3, 4 and 5. We had the pace. I think we can be proud of what we achieved. We’re the smallest team here. Two amazing solid races at Daytona and Sebring. The team did an amazing job again, and just thankful to Cadillac and JDC-Miller MotorSports. I feels good to know I left it all on the racetrack.” Loic Duval: “It’s always difficult when you’re leading like an hour before the end and all the traffic. I think we drove the best we could and Ganassi deserved the win. I think we can be proud when you know the budget of our operation compared to the big boys and fight against them. Two podiums. We can be proud of that.” Richard Westbrook: “All you can ask is for us to be in the hunt. We were in the hunt for the whole 12 hours. We had some issues with the cooling in the car, so we could only single stint at the end. I found myself in the lead with an hour to go and I got (held up) by a GTD car in Turn 16. Do I try to overtake him on the outside in Turn 16? Second is really a good result. We’ve won a podium in both races. Everyone should be proud. Great day for Cadillac and a great day for JDC.” No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez, Mike ConwayFinish: Third. Start: Second Pipo Derani: “It was a tough day at the office, but it was a good points day. Unfortunately, we couldn’t win. We didn’t get a yellow at the end so we could try to catch the front runners. It was a Cadillac 1-2-3 (finish). We’ll take the points. It’s a long championship. I wanted my fourth (Sebring 12-Hour) win, but I will have to wait a little longer.” Tristan Nunez: “It was a long, hot day. It was a tough one from start to finish. The heat did not help with that. We had a great car all race. We just had a couple of bad luck moments throughout the race that affected us from taking the win. But no doubt, a podium is good. It was a Cadillac sweep. So, it’s good for the brand. Now we move onto Long Beach.” Mike Conway: “We were up there all day. We were going for the win, but we came up short at the end. It was a great job by the whole team. The car was really solid all day long. I think we had the car to win. But it just didn’t quite work out.” No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Mike Rockenfeller, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria LopezFinish: Sixth. Start: Fifth Mike Rockenfeller: “We knew we had an issue earlier in the day because we could see a lot of smoke coming out of our brakes. When I was in the car, I was thinking about it. I hit the brakes in Turn 7 and the front left rotor completely exploded. I was happy not to lose the car even though I went off. The race was over. It’s a shame because I think we had a chance, with a clean race, to fight for a podium or a victory.” Kamui Kobayashi: “We had a competitive Ally Cadillac throughout the race and then Mike had the brake issue. It put us down a few laps, but the team performed well, and we were competitive. It was tough to just jump in the car this morning and then run the race. But we showed good pace and teamwork, but it just wasn’t our day. Congratulations to the 31 guys on their podium.” Jose Maria Lopez: “It was very hot today. Every time I was in the car, I was able to find speed, be quick in the car and have that feeling that we had the pace to fight at the end. Unfortunately, we had a brake failure. That’s endurance racing. It can be tough sometimes” No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-ReayFinish: 35th overall, seventh in class Start: First

Garcia, Taylor, Catsburg, No. 3 Corvette C8.R take 12th victory in 12 Hours

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – Corvette Racing made it a dozen victories in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, the first victory in America’s oldest sports car race for the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg teamed for the landmark win with the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The trio combined to led 247 laps or 913.9 miles for Corvette Racing’s first Sebring 12 Hours win since 2017 and 12th since 2002. It also marks the first win for the GTD PRO-spec Corvette C8.R in its second race as part of the new class. The result goes along with a runner-up GTE Pro finish for Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy in Friday’s 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the FIA World Endurance Championship. “Congratulations to Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, Nicky Catsburg and everyone on the No. 3 Corvette C8.R team,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president, Performance and Motorsports. “Winning in class for the 12th time at the 12 Hours of Sebring is the result of great driving, race strategy and execution of pit stops. The Corvette C8.R’s 5.5-liter, flat-plane V-8 engine delivered the right combination of performance, reliability and efficiency throughout the race. “This win is even more special thanks to the support of so many Corvette owners and fans at the track and around the world,” Campbell added. “This has been a great weekend with a runner-up class finish in the World Endurance Championship on Friday and now this win in IMSA. I’m proud of everyone at Corvette Racing and our technical partners at Mobil 1 and Michelin.” The No. 3 Corvette also won the Sebring round of the Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship consisting of Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans. Points were awarded at the four-, eight- and 12-hour marks. Corvette Racing wasted little time going to the front in the race. Garcia set the table from the beginning as he advanced from his third-place starting position to the head of GTD PRO. He passed six cars in his opening two hours before handing off to Taylor for an impressive three-hour run. Catsburg drove an equally stirring three hours, 18 minutes in the middle of the race. He soldiered through four full-course caution periods and enjoyed a highlight-reel battle with Pfaff Motorsports’ Matt Campbell for the GTD PRO lead at the seven-and-a-half-hour mark. The two raced side-by-side for three corners before Catsburg pulled ahead. That left Taylor to drive one stint before Garcia closed with a triple-stint to score the victory. Corvette Racing engineers dedicated significant time at a February test to gain a better understanding of the performance and degradation levels of the GTD Michelin tires, which are different than what the team has used in past seasons. That combined with more than 51,000 racing miles across the familiar bumps around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit was the right combination. Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is April 8-9 at the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “We had to carry on after Daytona and do all we can. There we didn’t have the pace and little issues we had put us back and out of contention. The main thing here was to stay up front, don’t make any mistakes and have no failures that would set us back. That was the first goal. I was the first guy surprised about our pace. We started seventh and slowly started to make our way through. I wasn’t expecting to be leading after the first stop. I thought our car was the best during the day and when it was as warm as possible. I was a little bit afraid of the rest of the field at night. It seemed like everything was switching on for them, the track would go toward them and maybe all the advantage we had went away a little bit. It was up to us to control the pace and keep the gap. If we had been in a situation to catch another car, it would have been difficult. It was perfectly executed by everyone at Corvette Racing, good strategy and amazing drives by Jordan and Nicky.”ON 12TH WIN FOR CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: “It’s amazing. I said before the race that whenever you come to Sebring in a Corvette, it is always a good feeling. You know something good is going to happen. In the end and having the pace or not having pace, there is still a Corvette factor. It’s the best team to be on when you race here. I’m very happy with that.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “Daytona was frustrating for us. We lacked pace there and had a mechanical issue in the middle of the night. We learned a lot after that and used it as a test session. That really helped us here. Zero issues around here is a big feat in itself. Twelve hours at Sebring is tougher than 24 at Daytona or Le Mans. It’s a big accomplishment for the team. We won Daytona and the championship last year, so it’s nice to get another major endurance race for the C8.R and start our championship fight again.”HOLDING THE LEAD THROUGHOUT: “I was surprised how quick we were. I think we were quick in clean air. If we had been stuck behind guys, it would have been difficult for us to get ahead. Once we got to the front, the name of the game was to maintain our track position whether it be saving fuel and extending windows or saving tires. The guys nailed the strategy and kept us out front all day. That’s what really won us the race.”IMPORTANCE OF FEBRUARY TIRE TEST: “That was big for us. If we showed up here with no test time or setup and development for this track, we would have been out to lunch. Two days here of testing with the guys doing the development and going back and doing their homework really made our weekend.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTD PRO WINNER: “Daytona is a lot about going in a straight line on the banking. This was difficult for us. Sebring was always going to be a bit easier. At the start of the weekend, we really struggled. We got a little break which definitely helped us and brought us back into contention, but it wasn’t easy. Not at all… definitely not. I was struggling on the tires in the middle of the race. It was tough. You never know where you really are until the race. In practice, you don’t know what people are doing in terms of fuel loads, qualifying runs or race runs. It’s difficult to say how much we picked up.”GETTING THE CORVETTE BACK UP FRONT MID-RACE: “We stuck to our initial plan. We didn’t try anything too crazy. The Lexus and Porsche were going out of sequence but we always stuck to our original plan. It worked out well.”IMPORTANCE OF FEBRUARY TIRE TEST: “That was huge. It was a huge role. We are still quite new to this tire and to this class. The team had two really good days here. They learned a lot and turned the car around. If we hadn’t done that, we would have had to do it here this week and we probably wouldn’t have won the race. It made a lot of sense.”

Sheldon Creed Battles Back for Ninth-Place Finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway

9th

13th

12th

“We had a fast No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro today. During practice this morning, we spent a lot of time just trying to figure out the track and how to run in the pack. We were really confident heading into the race and then it just felt like we were playing catch-up. We had a really good stop after Stage 2, the pit crew was on it. My teammate, Austin Hill, had a great stop too, so we were able to start up front together. After that restart and running up front for a little while, all the cautions came out. We had that incident that forced us to come down pit road for some repairs to the right rear quarter panel and we had to restart pretty far back. This team really rallied back and to get a ninth-place finish is huge after a very up and down day. Proud of this team and everyone at RCR and ECR. We’ll learn from this and get ready for road course racing at COTA in a week.” -Sheldon Creed

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Chevrolet Fight Hard in Final Laps for Second-Place Finish at Atlanta

2nd

14th

8th

“We can’t hang our heads. We brought a really fast Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro today. Everyone at RCR put a very fast car under me and gave me everything we needed to win the race. The biggest difference was when we had the restart where the 39 [Ryan Sieg] edged me out and then the caution came out. If we had been able to have kept the lead there and controlled the restart, I think we had a fast enough car to get the job done. On that last restart coming off Turn 4, I was sloshing it back and forth seeing if I had fuel in the pickup and it started cutting in and out. I immediately came over the radio and said I was out, and I almost came down pit road, but I decided to go for it. We knew we were really close on fuel, but were fortunate to finish the race. Finishing second stings a little more since Atlanta is my home track, but again, we can’t hang our heads.” -Austin Hill

Charlotte, NORTH CAROLINA – March 19, 2022 – Driving the No. 6 Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, former TA2 Champion Cameron Lawrence toughed out a challenging and mixed weather weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Lawrence delivered a positive result in a race that put strength and endurance at a premium for the Franklin Road Tennessee team. After starting on the grid in P16, and in a surprisingly almost contact free event until the later part of the race, Lawrence climbed an impressive seven places to finish the TA2 race in P9 of 30 entrants. Lawrence posted up a best lap of 1:24:565. Cameron is still getting to know both the team and the car and the weekend could certainly be regarded as a successful building block towards success, “This started off as a character building weekend. We came off a pretty strong finish at Sebring but out of the gate we weren’t so sure and we didn’t have a lot of track time here. Little nagging issues kept us back from really getting a lot faster and making some big changes but the guys worked really hard. We kind of missed it in qualifying but saved the car and the tires for the race and I think that paid off.” Unusual for a big field TA2 event, the yellow flag was hardly seen, “I don’t think anyone expected a long green flag run in the race but it was green almost all the way to the end. I think everyone’s happy. The car is in one piece and there was no contact in the race.” The guys did a great job giving me a car that I could drive from start to finish and I’m happy with that. We got some useful points. We’re going to put our heads down now and focus on Atlanta.” The races at Charlotte and Atlanta form a unique spring double header with the teams moving straight across to Georgia this coming weekend. The TA2 race at Atlanta is on Saturday March 26 at 1pm and fans can buy tickets through this link: http://speedtour.net/events/ If you were unable to attend the Racing in person or watch the race live, you can catch up with all the action on YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/TheTransAmSeries Fans can find the Franklin Road Apparel Trans Am clothing here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/   Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm   Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram. About Showtime Motorsports: The Showtime Motorsports brand includes Ken Thwaits’ racing team and racecars, and an outstanding classic Camaro collection. Showtime Motorsports brings together a dynamic staff who employ diverse talents and share a passion for cars, racing and caring for clients like they are our own family members.

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL 375TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FT. WORTH, TEXAS TEAM CHEVY ALL CHEVROLET FRONT ROW MARCH 19, 2022 
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, AND SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, GIVE TEAM CHEVY SECOND CONSECUTIVE FRONT ROW IN 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES COMPETITION
TEAM CHEVY CAPTURES SIX OF TOP-10 STARTERS FOR XPEL 375
FT. WORTH (MARCH 19, 2022) – For the second consecutive event, Chevrolet power has occupied the front row for the start of the NTT INDYCAR Series race. Felix Rosenqvist captured his second-career, but first with Chevy power, NTT P1 Award in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Vuse Chevrolet. Streets of St. Petersburg winner Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet will start alongside Rosenqvist.
A total of six Chevrolet-powered drivers qualified in the top-10 for tomorrow’s 248-lap XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to Rosenqvist and McLaughlin, Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified fourth, Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, will roll off seventh of the 27-car grid with Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, starting in the eighth and 2021 Texas winner Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, rolling off 10th on the outside of the fifth row.
FRONT ROW QUOTES:FELIX ROSENQVIST:GOOD RUN THERE:“Getting that run that early is just killing you.  There are so many guys here close. I had a couple of guys within thousandths.  I just have to thank Arrow McLaren SP, Chevy, and Vuse. The car felt so good, and I knew that lap was pretty much as good as I could have made it.  It was just so hard to wait for so long to get it.  This is huge for the team andh for myself as far as a big confidence boost. Big comeback after some tough times.  I am really pleased for everyone on my team to get this result. It’s awesome. So now we will just switch focus to the race and see what we can do.”
A RACETRACK NEVER OWES YOU ONE HERE, BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT 2020 HERE. IT LOOKED LIKE YOU MIGHT WIN THAT RACE. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU REPLAYED THAT AND SAID I WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO VICTORY LANE?“At this race so many times we have been close, at the front and fighting for wins.  For whatever reason it hasn’t happened, but I feel this time we have a better chance than ever.  Its nice to start up front and I think we have every reason to be good.  We just need to keep executing the pit stops, the restarts and just take it one lap at a time.”
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN:ON QUALIFYING: “I certainly felt I had a little bit of scrub off turn one and two on that last lap, and that potentially — it may have cost me a little bit, scrubbed a little bit of speed there. I knew it, so on three and four I was like, oh, I’m making a little bit of a weight jack adjustment and bars, but then I looked at the score and I was, like, 209.9 at the end. That might not be enough, and then sure enough they said P2. Like I said, great job for Team Chevy to have a front row. I think it’s three in the top four, so it’s leaps and bounds, and we’re getting ready for Indy now.”
Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR Series continue the 2022 season at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20 from Texas Motor Speedway. 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.
Felix Rosenqvist and Scott McLaughlin Press ConferenceTHE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. We are joined by the front row — well, half of the front row, anyway, for tomorrow’s XPEL 375, soon to be joined by Felix Rosenqvist. Joined right now by Scott McLaughlin, suddenly on a roll now after a win a couple of weeks ago at St. Pete and now getting it done once again on the oval here at Texas Motor Speedway. Just your general thoughts about qualifying?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, thank you. It’s certainly good to be on the XPEL card and to be on the front row is certainly job security me. Certainly feel pretty feel strong in race trim and qual trim, and our test day last week really helped us hone in on some of the balance that we wanted, but Felix’s lap was really strong. From the outside I knew that was going to be pretty tough, but to be close to him and not far off it was a testament to us and how we were able to react to the temperatures and a few other things. Pretty happy just to put a time on the board.
THE MODERATOR: The difference being 3,000ths of a second.SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yes.
THE MODERATOR: You wonder what you could have done out there?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Oh, man, should have gone for a lead. (Laughing). You never know. No, sorry. I shouldn’t say that. That’s not very Penske.No, I certainly felt I had a little bit of scrub off turn one and two on that last lap, and that potentially — it may have cost me a little bit, scrubbed a little bit of speed there. I knew it, so on three and four I was like, oh, I’m making a little bit of a weight jack adjustment and bars, but then I looked at the score and I was, like, 209.9 at the end. That might not be enough, and then sure enough they said P2. Like I said, great job for Team Chevy to have a front row. I think it’s three in the top four, so it’s leaps and bounds, and we’re getting ready for Indy now.
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by some virtually. If you don’t mind those that are on the zoom, go ahead and you can type in those questions into the chat, and we will attempt to pass those along to Scott and Felix eventually. For those of you in person, let’s go ahead and begin with Q & A.Q.Scott, for this front row right after you had the great start to the season at St. Pete, how much of this is really keeping the momentum going, and how important is the momentum to continue to fight for the championship?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I know very well how much momentum is helpful towards a championship charge, and it’s all about consistency. I said to you guys at St. Pete that a top seven every race is really our goal. I think it’s going to be good for our points and everything like that, but knowing that we had a great car coming here, I knew that we could keep that momentum, so it helps coming to track set. Now I know, and now I know how we’re going to react. Look, the points are tomorrow, so we have to make sure we have a clean race and be solid. I feel like we’ve got a race car that can compete for the race tomorrow.
Q.Scott, you’ve got three Chevies in the top four there with Felix on pole and Power in fourth. How competitive do you think Chevy will be tomorrow in the race?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Hopefully decent. Who knows? I think it’s going to be interesting how the second groove rubbers in and where the runs come from, but I think certainly you can’t go any better. Everyone has got it on full steam for qualifying. Everything is turned up, so that’s a great testament to Chevy and a great sort of warm-up for the next time we qualify at that speed is Indy, so it puts a little bit of confidence there for everyone to make sure that there’s been good changes in the offseason. I know they’ve been working their tails off, so we’ll see what we’ve got on the race. Like I said, it’s going to be interesting how the draft works and lots of stuff. We’ll find out this afternoon how it is as well. I’m excited. I love racing here at Texas. Such a good place, so I think it’s going to be interesting.
Q.Scott, there’s always this age-old debate of momentum actually exists in motor sports. Some drivers say yes; some drivers say no. Do you believe in it, and have you sensed a difference in the team since the St. Pete win?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think there’s momentum and also self-belief and believing that you guys can do it as a squad, guys and girls. I think the Car 3 team, before we went to St. Pete we believed we could pop out a result here and there and be strong, but the way that St. Pete went for us was fantastic. Certainly when you have that confidence early, it’s a fantastic thing, but now it’s all about keeping that going, and, yeah, I believe the momentum is that. The momentum, you’ve got to — even if we did qualify a little bit further down today, I still think we would have rolled into tomorrow’s race feeling pretty good.It’s a good vibe on the team, and I put that down to Benny Bretzman. He is such a great team leader, great for the camaraderie between the guys and girls on the team. He puts a lot of confidence in me and my ability. That certainly is a momentum-builder for all, for sure.
Q.Building off of that, this was your best track in terms of results last year, so could you have picked a better place to go next after St. Pete, the place where you finished in second last year?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: It’s nice, certainly, and to roll out of qualifying the last car where the track is the best and all that kind of stuff. That helps, but for me I’m just kind of each track, I know what I did last year, but at the same time this is a new downforce package, that kind of stuff. I am taking it in that I have two race experiences here that can really bode me well for when I head out tomorrow.For instance, like going into practice today, last week we had five cars on track, and it was a bit busy, and then today we had 27, and it was madness. It was like L.A. traffic. It was crazy out there. Certainly for me as a rookie last year I probably would have flipped out a little bit going, well, this is crazy, but today I felt pretty comfortable and just picked my spots and got going.
Q.Scott, two questions ago you said, “I love racing here,” and you were second in your debut here, and it makes no sense at all that you would have never raced an oval and you ran well and you love it. Why? How does that happen?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I think I just — I don’t know. I just enjoy ovals. I enjoy the challenge. It’s very intricate. You have to think about all parts of the corner. There’s almost eight or ten parts of the corner that you have to really think about to give feedback for the engineer. We took turns one, two, three, four, but for me I break it up into almost 20 parts throughout the track, and I enjoy that.I guess one thing as well last year for me was I had bad habits on the road course, straight course that I had to iron out, and ovals I could come and just be brand new. I just learned off Will and Josef and Simon. I just copied what they were doing and found my own way, and I’m really enjoying it, and I just love the racing.INDYCAR is oval racing. I feel like we have to have ovals. I enjoy it. It’s part of our DNA, and that’s why I’ve come to America for INDYCAR racing for ovals.
Q.Talked to Roger briefly this morning, and once again he said how special he thinks you are. There’s a sentiment that you can get hot and just roll off a bunch of wins or great finishes. Do you ever have a feeling when you know that that’s about to happen for you?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: No, but like I said, it’s self-belief. You just go out and wheel the thing and see what you’ve got. I feel comfortable with what I’ve got, and I put myself down that I can be as good as anyone in this series, and that’s why I’ve come here to challenge myself. Yeah, confidence is a big thing, and I lost a little bit of that last year, and it’s nice to get some of that back, but we’ll see what we’ve got tomorrow. Yeah, all good.
Q.You were mentioning your love for racing here at Texas and with a lot of the talking being on if this race will be on the schedule after this season, how do you place that? How important is Texas Motor Speedway and this track on the INDYCAR schedule, in your opinion?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had my best result here last year, so it’s pretty important to me. Look, I enjoy racing. Like I said, I think oval racing is important for the category, and the people that are a lot higher pay grade will choose exactly where that needs to provide the best product for our fans, to our sponsors, all that sort of stuff.We certainly have a great — I feel like we are trying to get the racing a little better here. Last year it was hard with the one-lane groove, but hopefully this year it’s better, and especially when I’m set on P2 against Felix, I would love to be able to hold the outside and see what we’ve got. Who knows? We’ll see.
Q.Are you going to put that new aero piece on, and do you think everybody is putting it on tomorrow from this practice?SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I don’t know. I don’t know, man. I just drive the thing. I don’t know. Sorry.
THE MODERATOR: Scott, we’ll let you go. We will see you in the front row tomorrow. Obviously joined by Felix Rosenqvist, second career pole position. It’s been a couple of years now. 2019, IMS road course, first pole position.Coming back to an oval. Go ahead and have a seat if you want. Just your general thoughts about your qualifying run and maybe the tense moments to watch everyone else that went after you to go after that time.FELIX ROSENQVIST: I know, it was a bit of a torture to watch that thing unfold, and, yeah, it was two really good laps. I kind of felt already this morning, to be honest, you felt that the car was in the window. There wasn’t much balance changes needed, and it was the same thing during the qualifying laps. It was just kind of like in the zone where you wanted it.The first lap was a bit loose, and the second lap was a bit under-steered, but you’re never going to get it right. Yeah, it was good. It feels really good. I think for the whole Arrow McLaren SP Team and the 7 Car in general, it couldn’t have been better timing to get this pole. It’s a good boost mentally for all the guys and girls working on the car, and I think everyone just showed today that we refocused and came back. A little bit of a disappointment in St. Pete and, obviously, last year, but coming back here just fully focused and doing our own thing and putting the car on pole is really amazing.
Q.Felix, you may have just heard Scott say how last year he lost a little bit of confidence with the way he was performing, and I’m wondering if you had any of those same issues as you kind of struggled if had your move to McLaren?FELIX ROSENQVIST: Sure. When you don’t have a good result, there’s always excuses and reasons and things, but if you don’t have the result, then at the end of the day it’s going to eat away at your confidence, right? Definitely. I feel like I’ve done a good job recharging every weekend, and I’ve gone into every weekend positively, but you don’t actually have the confidence that you can do it in a way because the last time I had a good result was really a long time ago. Things like this is really important where you just kind of break the trend and like, hey, you can do this, we can do this. Our car is strong. We do a good job. We don’t need to focus too much on the others, and just do our thing. Yeah, confidence if something goes up and down for sure.
Q.Did you have to do anything, like any offseason reset, to come in fresh with a whole new approach or anything?FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, I think it goes from track to track. Particularly this track is a track where I feel very confident, and last year we had two really good races here. We just didn’t get a good finish for other reasons really, but yeah, I feel like you sometimes have to forget what happened and just kind of have fun with it. Don’t overthink things. You need to think — there are so many details you need to do right, but if you start thinking too much, you’re never going to get better, so at some point you just have to let go of the demons and just jump in the car and have fun, and I think that was a good example today.
Q.You’ve shown at practice you were quick and now qualifying, and with such a quick turn, what’s your major expectation going in the race with more traffic? It will be much warmer and the timing much different compared to what we’re going to do on race day in the morning.FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think everyone wonders how it’s going to race. It’s going to be interesting. First practice was more of a qualifying practice for everyone, so we didn’t really know how the cars raced, but obviously, we have that practice where we’re going to rubber in the high-line or try to at least. Yeah, I don’t know, man.I think we’re going to see. Whatever happens, I think we have a good package. That’s what I’m excited about that. We have a good car and race trim, and we kind of know what we need to do if we’re lacking something, what tools we can use. As a team we’re pretty confident that we can execute well, but, yeah, I have no idea how the race is going to turn out. At least we have the front row. That’s good.
Q.With as potentially difficult a pass as it’s going to in the race, not quite sure yet, did you focus more on qualifying setup versus race setup?FELIX ROSENQVIST: Our first practice was just all about qualifying. I don’t know, I think some cars that tested here previously went out and did some race running, but I think most of the field treated that as a Fast Friday or something like that, and then it will be race focus from here on out, but we had really good race — actually, I think we’re going to be even stronger in the race. I mean, I can’t promise that, but we have every reason to think that we have a good package overall, and I think the strength in our car here is very confidence-inspiring. It never really feels edgy. It’s just really good setup, so, yeah, we’re happy going into the race.
Q.Felix, you mentioned you had two good races here last year, and until the end, 2020 you ran really well too. Is there something about this place that clicked, and is this sort of like where oval racing kind of became second nature for you?FELIX ROSENQVIST: For sure. I mean, I remember the first time I came here. Then it was definitely not fun. I was really scared the first time I was here, and it was actually the first super speedway I ever did, but, yeah, I think from 2020 onwards it’s been a track where I feel really calm and confident, and I kind of know how to attack the race and how to work with the driving line and how the car needs to be set up, and I think it suits me pretty well naturally, and, yeah, definitely I feel like I have some unfinished business at Texas.
Q.Even though Scott would not admit and maybe none of the drivers will admit whether they’re going to use those extra aero pieces that INDYCAR has approved, there’s the side walls and the trim walls, and I understand it’s supposed to give you more downforce. Do you think that you would want that in the race? I assume you practice with it. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you’re going to do some this afternoon. I think it would help you have more stability in trying to overtake.FELIX ROSENQVIST: I mean, that’s normally the case, right? You want to have as much downforce as you can have. We haven’t tried it yet because we just have been focusing on qualifying, but I think it’s a good chance a lot of people will run it, but I honestly — as Scott said, I don’t really know what’s the plan in the engineering track right now. Just driving. (Laughing).
Q.Felix, going back to Nate’s question, you said this is the first super speedway you ever drove on. A little bit scared. How much have you learned about yourself as a driver and about driving a race car over the course of the few years you’ve driven here, whether it’s test sessions, practice, qualifying, or race?FELIX ROSENQVIST: I think a lot. On these kind of tracks you’re always your own worst enemy, right? You’re always debating with yourself. You know, should I trim out? Should I change my tools? Should I go freer? Should I go tighter? It’s always a constant mental thing, and I think it showed that just attacking it a bit more calmly has been good for me. Not overthinking it.Kind of same at Indy. Also getting better and better every year. I mean, you can really get deep inside your head on this these places and same thing there. You just have to, like, trust yourself and switch off and do it.
THE MODERATOR: Our friend on Zoom wants to know if your overall opinions of ovals have changed since you first arrived in the series?FELIX ROSENQVIST: For sure. It was a definite struggle for me in the beginning. It was my weakest point. My first year I was actually one of the better runners on the road courses, but my oval performance was really, and I think last year was pretty much opposite, and hopefully this year it will be a mix of both, but, yeah, I mean, we have days like this, and it’s fantastic, but when you have a rough day on Texas Motor Speedway, it’s not fun. That’s when you really see the true champions, I think, come out.

No. 3 Corvette C8.R leads early, in contention for another Sebring class win

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – Corvette Racing is in contention again at Sebring International Raceway with the team’s No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R leading throughout the first half of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday. Nicky Catsburg ran third in the GTD PRO class and was in the middle of his second stint as the race went yellow for the fifth time in six hours. A quick pit stop by the Corvette Racing crew – not the first one today – moved Catsburg up a spot to second before a restart with five hours, 35 minutes to go. All three Corvette Racing drivers – Catsburg, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor – each spent time at the front of the field. Garcia set the table from the beginning as he advanced from his third-place starting position to the head of GTD PRO. He passed six cars in his opening two hours before handing off to Taylor for a three-hour run. Corvette Racing has won 12 times at Sebring since 2002 with 11 of those coming in the 12 Hours. Garcia is a three-time winner at Sebring with Taylor winning once. Chevrolet ranks second in all-time manufacturer victories in the 12 Hours with 40.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Everything is running pretty smooth. There were lots of question marks coming into this race. We didn’t really know the best way to drive on this tire. We pretty much guessed and it went well, I must say. I started to see everyone else struggling a little bit more than us on the tire. Things ran well. I knew it was more about the last 10 laps of a stint than the first 20. I planned on that and it worked out. On the second stint we kind of kept the same gap, even if at times the other cars were faster and catching me. The biggest thing was the last 10 laps and opening the gap again. It’s difficult out there. The car is good in certain areas but the others are good in their own areas. It will be hard to race them later on but we’re in the best position right now.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “So far so good. When we’re out front and in clean air, the car is quick and competitive. I was having to hold cars behind me off and hold on for dear life on my first stint but the second stints went really well. We were able to save some fuel and push the stints a little bit longer. The full-course yellows seem to be really long. On one of the wave-around procedures, we ended up behind a bunch of the GTD cars. I think late in the race, the restarts are going to be really tricky and important to separate yourself from other cars. Hopefully that doesn’t manipulate the race too much. As long as we can keep the car up front and keep track position, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”SIMILAR FEEDBACK BETWEEN ALL THE DRIVERS: “We knew coming in that this was going to be a tricky car to drive in the heat. Relative to everyone else, we’re in pretty good shape. It seems like everyone is fighting the same issues. Antonio and I had a lot of the same feedback. On my first stint, I felt so lost out there with how tricky it was. Once I understood the style you needed to get the car around the track, things were pretty straight-forward and it seems like Nicky picked up right where we left off.”

SEBRING, Fla. (March 19, 2022) – Cadillac DPi-V.Rs held four of the top five positions halfway through the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R paced the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class at the six-hour mark. The No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R was running third, while the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R was fourth. The No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R – the 2021 race winner – was a close fifth. “This race is brutal,” said reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship driver champion Pipo Derani, a three-time overall winner of the race who drove the No. 31 Cadillac for Action Express Racing in qualifying to the outside of the front row. “You’re in the middle of the Florida heat, so the 12-hour race here is actually more demanding than the 24 hours at Daytona. It’s part of the job, and if you make it to the night, it cools off and you start to speed up again.” Cadillac has won three of the five 12-hour races on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway in the DPi era. Cadillac last swept the podium in 2017. The No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R, which started from the pole after Sebastien Bourdais recorded a qualifying lap-record time of 1 minute, 45.116 seconds, experienced a gearbox issue early on and was several laps down. Live coverage of the race continues on Peacock and USA Network through the checkered flag shortly after 10 p.m. ET. Driver quotes following early stints:

No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay (start first) Steve Eriksen (team manager): “We took the No. 01 to the garage and changed the gearbox after having downshifting problems. We tried a number of counter measures in the pits to correct, but later realized we needed to change the whole gearbox to eliminate the issue.” Chip Ganassi about having split pits between the Nos. 01 and 02 cars, with Corvette Racing in between: “With so many cars coming in and going out, the last thing we want to do is have one of our team cars be in the pits and hinder the other car coming in or having to wait another lap. So, it’s good that they’re split. They’re close enough to communicate.” No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Neel Jani (start fourth) Lynn: “The Cadillac is handling really well. No issues right now and the car is all in one piece thankfully. This race naturally grows in intensity, so we’ll keep ourselves calm and the car in one piece, then incrementally step it up.” No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Pipo Derani, Tristan Nunez, Mike Conway (start second) Derani: “Sebring is fantastic; it’s always a pleasure to drive around this track, especially with a fantastic car like the Cadillac. It’s a hot day, so pacing yourself will be worth it toward the end of the race. I have a great team and I’m enjoying the moment. It’s great to have the ability to share information with the 48 team for the end of the race. We just have to get there.” Nunez: “It was a tricky stint out there in the heat and the traffic. It’s got to be about 130 (degrees) in the car. The team has given me a good car. Had some back luck on the out lap on the second stint; I felt a little hip check on the exit of Turn 1 but we recovered and ended up fine. Will get ready for the next one.” No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Mike Rockenfeller, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez (start fifth) Rockenfeller: “The start was good. The car is excellent and I’m very happy. It’s brutal in traffic. We didn’t have any (full-course) yellow, so it was two stints flat out. I think we have a good car and just take care of it till the end.” Lopez: “The car felt great and I was able to pick up the pace and get back in the lead. I’m very comfortable with the car. We have time. I think we have a car to fight at the end.” Kobayashi: “I was happy with the car, moved to the front and everything was working good. It’s tough going in the afternoon, and I know we have a good car for the night part of the race and be there to challenge for the win.” No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic Duval (start 10th overall, seventh in class) Vautier: “The car is not bad at all. The start of the race was about management and we had to start with the qualifying tires that were damaged from the skid, so I had to be very conservative and make sure we keep the four tires safe. There was vibration and no grip. Traffic is sketchy, especially at the start of the race with those drivers with less experience in those LMP3 and LMP2 cars. I think we have a good car for the night, so head down and be there when it matters.” Westbrook: “It was typical Sebring during the day. Just hold your own and the real racing will start later. It’s a good car, had some good passes. To survive this place of the race is so important to be there at the end, but that is easier said than done. There’s so much traffic. Everyone, for the most part, has been respectful of the upper classes, so it’s been nice racing.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL 375 TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY JUSTIN, TEXAS TEAM CHEVY POLE WINNER QUICK QUOTE MARCH 19, 2022 
FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 ARROW MCLAREN VUSE CHEVROLET, WINS THE NTT P1 AWARD AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TO GIVE CHEVROLET TOW CONSECUTIVE POLES:
GOOD RUN THERE:
“Getting that run that early is just killing you.  There are so many guys here close. I had a couple of guys within thousandths.  I just have to thank Arrow McLaren SP, Chevy, and Vuse. The car felt so good, and I knew that lap was pretty much as good as I could have made it.  It was just so hard to wait for so long to get it.  This is huge for the team and for myself as far as a big confidence boost. Big comeback after some tough times.  I am really pleased for everyone on my team to get this result. It’s awesome. So now we will just switch focus to the race and see what we can do.”
A RACETRACK NEVER OWES YOU ONE HERE, BUT LET’S TALK ABOUT 2020 HERE. IT LOOKED LIKE YOU MIGHT WIN THAT RACE. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU REPLAYED THAT AND SAID I WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO VICTORY LANE?
“At this race so many times we have been close, at the front and fighting for wins.  For whatever reason it hasn’t happened, but I feel this time we have a better chance than ever.  Its nice to start up front and I think we have every reason to be good.  We just need to keep executing the pit stops, the restarts and just take it one lap at a time.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 19, 2022

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1, Press Conference Transcript:
YOU DID THE TEST HERE AND YOU WERE JUST ON THE TRACK IN A TRUCK. IS IT WHAT YOU EXPECTED?“Yeah, there were some differences. They smoothed out a lot of the issues that they had. The truck drives a lot different. I was at the limit of the rear tires the whole practice, so we were pretty loose. I didn’t have any of that with the Cup car. It was a handful in the truck and I think they did a good job smoothing out some of the bumps and dips.”
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHANGE YOU’VE SEEN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS FROM WHERE YOU’RE AT NOW, JUST WITH THE RACE TEAM AND HOW THINGS ARE CONDUCTED? YOU SEEM A LOT MORE CONFIDENT IN YOUR CRAFT. “I am, but I don’t get as high as I used to and I don’t get as low as I used to either. Truly, we had two good weeks this year; the last two. But the first two were terrible. We finished last in the Daytona 500. I crashed the car in practice and spun out in the race at California (Auto Club Speedway). These four weeks are a good example – two bad, two good. And I didn’t get too upset whenever we were bad; and I didn’t get too happy when we were good either. I’m an emotional guy, so I had to really control that and be more neutral on all that stuff.”
“As far as Trackhouse though, if that’s part of your question, the breathe of fresh air that is – it’s almost unmeasurable. I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s a lot of the same people. Justin (Marks) being young – the way he’s come in. The way he see stuffs that he does in other aspects of his life, now we’re a part of that at Trackhouse with the Cup team. We’ve seen it, we’ve heard about it. We’ve heard about Pitbull. Now that we’re truly getting to see what it’s like to actually work with Justin, it’s incredible. There are a lot of smiles.”
WHEN YOU COME SO CLOSE TO WINNING, IN THE LONGTERM THINKING, IS IT MORE OF A DISAPPOINTMENT OR ENCOURAGEMENT THAT YOU WERE THAT CLOSE? “It’s so awesome. People keep asking me if I keep finishing that close and not winning, would I get upset, and I don’t think so. I want to win; we’re preparing to win. We are prepared to win and we have everything we need to win. For me, I couldn’t be in a better spot. The resources that Chevrolet and Trackhouse are giving me – they’re putting us in a position to go win Cup races and that can’t be overstated enough. I’ve been to all of these places for years and was doing my deal; on my plan for that weekend. A big moment of a race weekend at Phoenix was trying to run 15th in Xfinity, which I don’t believe until 2020 I had ever done, and I had raced there for four or five years. I had never finished top-15 in the Xfinity Series. Now, to say in 2022 we are competing for a Cup win at Phoenix, it’s incredible.” WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM BEING IN THE TRUCK THIS MORNING?“I’m still getting over it. My heartrate was pegged. The Cup car at the test was easy, flat, three cars; it was cooler. The truck, even by myself, was a handful. It’s a different beast. I guess the biggest difference was in the truck, you hit the ground with like a truck on mounts and side skirts; the rocker box and splitter. You don’t do that with Cup cars… INAUDIBLE.”
“The truck, I picked up on a lot of different bumps that I didn’t feel before. The overall track felt smoother. The Cup cars were held up off the ground on purpose. Yeah, it was a handful. We had to work on the truck for two runs before I really wanted to get in the draft. We were too loose. In the Cup car, I had no feeling of that. I’m watching the Xfinity practice and they are tucked up behind each other. I think they’re slower than what we were in Trucks. They are under the limits of the tire. The trucks – everybody I saw besides (Ryan) Preece, was out of control sliding.” INAUDIBLE“It feels like the compression of Daytona, but you are turning around and going the other direction so much quicker. Where at Daytona, you’re like driving down the highway, it’s really like a sweeping turn. And this is like the interstate exit that creeps up – it says 25 mph and then you get there and everything is sliding in the car and you’re like ‘oh, I’m going too fast’. That’s what this feels like. Daytona is like that nice, long exit that you can see for a mile. This is just such a tighter radius. You feel like. The sensation of speed is high. It’s not just going to be single-file along the bottom. You’ll be able to move around and people will be lifting, in trucks anyways. I don’t know about the other stuff.” I THINK IT’S SAFE TO ASSUME YOU’RE RUNNING THE TRUCKS TO GET MORE LAPS AT ATLANTA THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, for sure. I want to race with Niece Motorsports as much as I can. I want to race. I love that. Justin (Marks) and Trackhouse are giving me that opportunity to race. They’re all for it.”“Yeah, we’ll have more. Not really ready to speak on exactly which ones; still working through all that. We know we can’t run Playoffs, triple truck challenge, or the regular season finale. We learned that the hard way last year the week of the race. We’ve buttoned up all the rules and I think we understand all of that, as far as eligibility. So, it’ll be stacked the first half of the year, but there will be more.” 

March 19, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang posted the fourth-best time in Saturday’s practice session on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Drivers, Burton included, used terms like “insane” and “wild” and “crazy” to describe the action on the track that has seen the banking in the turns increased from 24 to 28 degrees while the width of the surface has been reduced from 55 to 40 feet in the turns and 42 feet on the backstretch. The frontstretch has been widened to 61.5 feet.
 
With the Cup Series cars using a Talladega/Daytona horsepower and aero package, drivers ran in big packs during Saturday’s practice session, which was postponed from Friday to Saturday due to rain. That schedule change also means that the starting line-up was set by metrics based on recent results. Burton will start 31^st.
  
“This new track is wild!” Burton said after Saturday’s practice, which saw him post a speed of 181.121 miles per hour on the 43^rd of the 49 laps he ran. “It’s a super crazy racing style that was fun in practice.”

He said he feels good about his prospects for Sunday’s Fold of Honor/QuikTrip 500.

 “I’d say our DEX Mustang is pretty good,” he said. “We just need some more stability and we should be good to go.”
 
Sunday’s 500-miler is set to start just after 3 p.m., with TV coverage on FOX.

NASCAR CUP SERIES ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSRIPT MARCH 19, 2022 CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Press Conference Transcript:  WHAT’S THAT LIKE GOING OVER TO SENOIA, COMPETING AGAINST SOME LOCAL HEROS? ANY EXPECTATIONS COMPETING ON THE (INAUDIBLE) TONIGHT?“No. Definitely no expectations. Yeah, excited to go there. Bubba called me a couple weeks ago or maybe it was last week and asked me about it. I told him I’d love to. He and his family bought that track probably a couple years ago now and it seems like they’ve been doing a great job with it, getting some big shows in town and I think tonight is more local one of their local events. Excited to go race number one and drive one of his cars and have some fun. Obviously try to support a local short track that we all want them to do well and succeed close to here. So, feel like they will get a good crowd and good car count.” CHASE YOUR NAME HAS BEEN TOSSED AROUND IN CONNCECTION WITH THE HENDRICK TRIP TO LE MANS NEXT YEAR. DO YOU HAVE INTEREST IN THAT?“Yeah, you know I’m not super up to speed on it. Boss called me last week and said they were going to do it. I guess we are probably racing on that weekend, but I think it would be a lot of fun to go do that event one day. I’m not sure it’s really possible the way our schedule is. I don’t know 100 percent how that is going to line up, but certainly would have interest in it. I just don’t think logistically that’s going to work for any of us, but we’ll see.” IF THE OFF WEEK IS THAT WEEK?“Yeah, potentially. I don’t know. We will just have to wait and see how the schedule falls.” ASSUME YOU WATCHED SOME OF THAT TRUCK PRACTICE. DID THAT TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HOW YOUR CARS ARE GOING TO BE ON TRACK?“Yeah, I actually didn’t. I was working my way down here. I was keeping up with it from afar and it sounded like those guys were wide open and drafting. I would imagine we would be doing the same, which I think is what we all pretty much expected coming into this. You know I think there’s a lot of ways you can look at it. I really, for a repave and the situation for a mile and a half getting repaved and kind of the way these places drive to have the ability to you know move off the bottom and get rubber down in different lanes, I feel like this might be the best way to do that. I think it will be interesting for sure. I don’t exactly know what to expect but hopefully we have two solid lanes, and you can work them both and not think that the cars are probably going to drive good enough where you can do that. So, we’ll see. I don’t know man, I’m as open as anybody about it and I really don’t 100 percent know but I do think it will be kind of speedway-esque and just looking at it reminds me a lot of Turns 3 and 4 at Texas and I think it will be really similar to the All-Star race out there last summer on that end of the racetrack is kind of been my head space and how I would approach the weekend.” WILL YOU SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LOOKING FOR ROAD AMERICA KIND OF FOR PREP THIS WEEK OR WHAT WILL YOU TAKE IN TO COTA NEXT WEEK?“I mean, I think just learning. Obviously our first road course race with this car. I don’t think anybody has really driven it a lot on road courses. You know we had the test at Charlotte there early on, but it seemed like every team was they had a car at the track and they were kind of rotating drivers through. So, I don’t think any of us got a ton of time with it, but you know these cars, really a lot of the design pieces come from road race background some of the things they see and on the IMSA side of things. I really think they’re probably going to suit road racing well. I think they’ll be fine, and I don’t know that the race will look a ton different honestly. I think the cars will drive fine. Certainly, getting use to those small things that are going to be a little bit different and the shifting and the brakes. Just how they act at some of those different style of corners. You know COTA has a lot of different angles and weird off camera situations, so curious to see how it drives. I think it would be fine.” OVER YOUR LAST SIX YEARS HERE IN THE CUP SERIES, WHEN YOU LOOK BACK TO YOUR FIRST RACE TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DEVELOPMENT AS A DRIVER COMMUNICATION WISE WITH YOUR TEAM?“I would like to think it has gotten better. I hope, you know i feel like I’ve learned a lot for sure over the course of my time. I’m always learning, you know I don’t feel like I ever had it perfect. Somebody has it perfect, I’d love to meet them. I think it’s definitely a learning thing and you know the sports just always changing. I mean look at this year. We are coming in with a new car and these things drive different. Coming to a brand new Atlanta Motor Speedway here, things are just always changing. It’s like nothing is ever just going to stay the same always. So, I think just having an open mind and maybe taking some of those past experiences with you as you encounter new things and be willing to maybe break a habit or two to improve. Sometimes those things are hard to do. I feel like a lot of times, as a driver, you always kind of fall back into what is natural to you. But sometimes you have to adjust that, and you know like I said, break a habit which is tough. I think it’s necessary sometimes to be successful, so yeah just trying to take a weekend at a time and make the most of, like I say all the time, a great opportunity. I’ve got that right now, so I’m just trying to have some fun with it too.” YOU SAID SOMETHING INTERESTING YESTERDAY ON SIRIUS (XM NASCAR RADIO) THAT I HADN’T THOUGHT ABOUT. YOU SAID THIS IS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE GONE THROUGH A CAR CHANGE, I GUESS BESIDES OTHER THAN CHEVY WHEN THEY CHANGED THE BODY. SO, WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE, I GUESS MAYBE BREAKING OUT OF ANY COMFORT ZONES OR ANY WAYS THAT YOU’VE HAD TO ADAPT AND JUST TAKE ON A CHALLENGE LIKE THIS WITH A COMPLETELY NEW CAR?“Yes, first time I have been through it. You know I think some of the, there’s probably a handful of guys in the field that went through the COT change and then as the car transitioned to whatever they called the last one, but for me personally this is the first time I’ve kind of gone through that. I’ve had fun with it really just because it is different. This thing does drive different. I feel like it is a little less forgiving than what we had last year. You’re not really going any faster, but it’s just less forgiving which is interesting. Typically, with a lack of forgiveness comes extra speed, but that’s just not really the case with this car. It’s still very draggy, but there’s just not a lot of cushion to lean on with the right side from an aero standpoint. It’s just a different feel, but I think as you go through some of these changes as I said a second ago, you really have to have an open mind. I mentioned it yesterday, but I felt like California was a pretty natural feel to me and that seemed to work ok. Phoenix was kind of the same way. Vegas was not and I think that’s just something that I have to really think about how I go back and find that sense of comfort and still go fast. You might have to adjust that as you go from these different tracks, so yes that’s been my experience so far, but it has been fine and been fun and it’s been a challenge.” WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS? WHAT’S POSITIVE WITH THIS TEAM RIGHT NOW SETTING YOU UP FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON?“I mean like I said, I look at California I thought we were really solid there before I crashed the car the first time. I thought we were really good at Phoenix; you know in contention there for the majority of the day. We’ve had great pit stops for the most part all year. Like I said, the pace has been there when we get the thing driving like I want at some of those tracks too which is good. It’s nice to go to a place, like last week I thought was like a nice weekend builder to say hey we showed up, I was looking for a feel and we were able to achieve that with the car and then when we achieved that we had that pace comparison to the rest of the competitors. When those things happen, it’s a good thing and I feel like all the pieces to the puzzle had been there at different times, just not the end results. Certainly no wins, so we want to be better and try to check those boxes.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO CONTINUE TO RIDE THE MOMENTUM THAT NASCAR HAS RIGHT NOW BY YOU DOING THINGS LIKE THAT? FROM KYLE DOING HIS GRASSROOTS EFFORT, HOW MUCH DOES THAT HELP THE SUNDAY SHOW AND JUST BRINGING EYEBALLS ON IT?“I hope it helps. I feel like, speaking for myself, I do that type of thing because I enjoy it. You know, I enjoy going and racing and driving a different car and challenging myself in a different way. So it’s very naturally, I don’t do it because I’m trying to pull people from one area to the other. If that comes along with it though, I think that’s a great thing. That should be a natural thing too just like it’s natural for me to want to go do that stuff. You want someone to naturally have interest in watching us on Sunday if they are at the race tonight or vice versa, somebody is going to watch on Sunday maybe cruise over there tonight and check out the dirt track that’s only a half hour away. You want that to be a natural thing and I think that’s really my standpoint is I naturally want to go do it and if you pull some people with you to enjoy that crossover then great. Maybe you’ll make a new fan or two or have somebody take part in an event that they wouldn’t have before which would be positive as well.” ALAN GUSTFASON WAS ALSO ON THE CHANNEL THIS WEEK AND SAID SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF THIS CAR DOESN’T REALLY SUIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE. DOES THIS CAR REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING PERHAPS THAT YOU’VE DRIVEN BEFORE?“Not really, no. It’s definitely different for sure and I think most everything I have driven along the NASCAR side of things, look at truck they have the big flat right sides, a lot of forgiveness with the air from that standpoint. The Xfinity cars are really the same way. The Cup cars were that way you know and especially last year with the big spoilers on them. You can take advantage of that. You know guys can take advantage of that comfort on the right side of these things and this thing just does not, there’s not a lot extra there. Once you get past that slip of the tire on whatever is available grip wise in the right rear or the right side it seems like that’s kind of it. There’s nothing beyond that, so you know for me I think going to some of these places like a Las Vegas you know I was really loose and just couldn’t find that comfort. Potentially going to have to break some habits and that’s a part of the deal. I have no problems with that, it’s ok to have to challenge yourself in a different area to get better. I’m all good with it and I think it’ll be interesting. I think a lot is going to change throughout the year and I think right now there’s a lot of teams in a lot of directions right now and in six months I don’t that’s really going to be the case. I’m curious to see how the racing changes from now until mid-late summer.” THERE’S BEEN SOME TALK THAT DRIVERS WITH A DIRT BACKGROUND OR MAYBE WHO ARE WILLING TO KIND OF HOP INTO DIFFERENT CARS AND EXPERIEMENT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HAVE SUCCESS WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THAT LATELY IS THAT TRUE? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE FINDING?“Yes and no. I mean I think a guy can still be really good if you just race on Sundays and you’ve had success along the way and kind of learn the right tools, I guess, over the years to have this kind of bigger background. So, I don’t know that you really have to do that, but I definitely don’t think it hurts anything to go and run different style cars dirt or asphalt. I will say the one thing that has really stood out to me is anytime I’ve gotten into a car that you may or may not be going faster mile per hour wise, but when you’re in a car that is going fast for a certain style racetrack and it feels fast, things are happening really quick, I think anytime you can jump back into something that your surroundings are slowing down is a big help whether it is on dirt or asphalt. Certainly, searching around and finding the grip and all that’s good and is a helpful thing too, but I think anytime you can jump in something really fast and you can come back and slow your surroundings down, things happen slower for you and I think things get easier too.” AS THE BIGGEST BRAVES FAN IN THE GARAGE HAVE YOU BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO FREE AGENCY AND WERE YOU CRYING WITH FREEMAN LEAVING (INAUDIBLE)?“Yeah, no I think it was, look I get both sides of it for sure. I’ve enjoyed keeping up with it. I had a chance to spend some time with Freddy when we were out in L.A. and that was the first time that I had ever really been around him and he was just a super guy, which made me want him to stay even more. Obviously, he’s a great baseball player, but really an even better individual in my opinion. So, I hated to see that, but you know I knew as things were starting to get talked about around the All-Star break and what not it could go either way. I get it, it’s money ball. It’s part of it. The Dodgers certainly got a good one, so I hate to see him go but I’m excited about their team and I think they have been filling all the gaps well and I think they’ll be just fine. I’m excited to watch either way.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-PRACTICE MARCH 19, 2022

TEAM CHEVY: TOP-20 IN NASCAR CUP SERIES PRACTICE1st      RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SWEETLEAF CAMARO ZL1 7th      JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL111th    CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 12th    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 13th    DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 14th    ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1 17th    TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL119th    ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 ·       The NASCAR Cup Series participated in a 50-minute practice session, where Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger / SweetLeaf Camaro ZL1, was the fastest overall.  ·       Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s fastest lap was 29.708 seconds, at a speed of 186.616 mph.  ·       Due to inclement weather, qualifying is cancelled. The starting lineup for tomorrow’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is set per the rule book.  TEAM CHEVY TOP-20 UNOFFICIAL LINEUP: POS.   DRIVER5th      TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1 6th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL17th      ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 ADVENT HEALTH CAMARO ZL1 11th    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 12th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL113th    DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 17th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 18th    TY DILLON, NO. 42 ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1  TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL LINEUP:  POS.  DRIVER1st      Chase Briscoe (Ford)2nd     Ryan Blaney (Ford)3rd      Joey Logano (Ford)4th      Kyle Busch (Toyota)5th      Tyler Reddick (Chevrolet) 
FOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway live at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow, Sunday, March 20. Live coverage can also be found on PRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / SWEETLEAF CAMARO ZL1, met with the media after the NASCAR Cup Series practice as the fastest driver in today’s practice session. Press Conference Transcript: 
WALK US THROUGH WHAT YOU WERE GOING THROUGH OUT THERE. DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING AND WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FOR TOMORROW?“I think what you saw in practice is probably what you’re going to expect. For us, we made some laps on the simulator and kind of had an idea of what the car was going to drive like and what the track was like. And then obviously when we got out there, we learned a lot more at a pretty high rate of speed. I think the speeds, for me, I didn’t think they’d be as fast as what we were, as far as the single speed there in the draft.”
“The cars draft pretty good. It does get a little bit tight on entry, especially into turn three. I think you see a lot of people kind of drift up off the bottom until you kind of catch more of the banking, and then you can kind of turn back down and drive off. Two-wide is comfortable. I think center of the corner three-wide isn’t terrible, but the exit of turn two and the entry of turn three gets really narrow on the backstretch. It will be kind of tricky to see how that plays out. Obviously it was practice, so nobody was really trying to shove three-wide or get too aggressive.”
“It’s going to be a battle. I think for us, I felt like our car was really fast and really good. When you get out front, you’re going to be able to control the lanes a little bit easier than a Daytona or a Talladega. Daytona is easier to control a lane than Talladega because it’s so much more narrow. You take it another step further here on how wide the racetrack is compared to Daytona. So, you’ll be to maneuver and block those two lanes I think a little bit better, so I think track position is going to be important. We didn’t see a lot of tire wear, so I think that’s a good thing with how fast we’re going. We weren’t sure about that.” 
“All-in-all, it’s going to be about what you saw there.” 
THERE’S A BIG DEBATE ON SOCIAL RIGHT NOW; CHOAS OR CALM. WHAT’S YOUR PREDICTION? “It seemed kind of chaotic for a practice session. Obviously we’re all trying to learn as much as we could. We have 500 miles around here; it’s a long time. I think we ran 44 laps or so in that practice. Some guys ran 60-something laps, which I feel like you never see out of us in practice. So, everybody is just trying to learn.”
“I think that was fairly calm right there, even though it still felt intense. I think some of the drivers are going to be worn out come Sunday with just how intense and on top of the car you have to be. But I think one mistake, you’re going to wipe out the whole field if it’s at the front. It’ll be kind of crazy to watch this.”
YOU MENTIONED BLOCKING AND I’M CURIOUS ABOUT HOW YOU DO THAT WITH THE LINES. WHAT ARE THE RUNS LIKE AND WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES GOING TO BE IN BLOCKING, EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE AS MUCH GROUND TO COVER? “Yeah, the decision are going to still have to be made fast, for sure. But like I said, the room left to right is a lot smaller. But I do feel like, to your point, the runs can be bigger, depending on what happens. I think obviously we’re going to keep learning as we go through here. I watched the No. 48 (Alex Bowman) jump up in front of the No. 6 (Brad Keselowski) I believe. And then the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) was able to turn and just drive under both of them because it stalled both of them out pretty quick. Pretty much by himself, he cleared both of them. The runs are big, for sure.”
IN REGARDS TO THE END OF A GREEN FLAG RUN, NORMALLY WHEN YOU HAVE GREEN FLAG PIT STOPS AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA, THERE’S THAT STRAIGHT SHOT OFF OF TURN FOUR WHERE EVERYONE CAN GET TO PIT ROAD FAIRLY EASILY. HERE, IT’S RIGHT OFF THE CORNER. HOW DO YOU THINK GREEN FLAG STOPS ARE GOING TO WORK? “I don’t see handling being a terrible issue at the end of the run. Like I said, I think you saw a lot of guys run a lot of laps on tires and still felt like they were pretty competitive and handled really well. You brought up a good point. Coming to pit road is going to be super treacherous. Like you said, you’re braking in the corner and the corner isn’t that wide to begin with, so you can’t get off the racetrack to start your braking like you can at Daytona and Talladega. But I think it’ll break the field up. It’ll be exciting. You’re going to have to nail it right to continue to keep in the lead draft, especially if you’re in the front to retain the lead. It’ll be important to still pit with cars so you can go out and run fast laps. But I think you’ll see cars kind of break up and eventually get back together. Daytona, you kind of stay broken up. Getting to pit road is going to be tough.”
INAUDIBLE“Yeah, I agree with that. We’re all in the same box though. There are certain racetracks where it’s tough to miss wrecks. Martinsville, Bristol, are some of those. But with this new Next Gen car, we have pretty big brakes. I notice that at Daytona, when there is a crash, you can get slowed down pretty quick. But that’s the tightest I’ve seen all of us together in a small portion of a racetrack in a long time. That will be a factor and you’re going to have to be at the right place and the right time.”
I KEPT HEARING SPOTTERS TALK ABOUT THE BUBBLE. HOW DIFFERENT DOES IT FEEL THAN OTHER PLACES THAT YOU’VE DRAFTED AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE SENSATION FROM BEHIND THE WHEEL?“I felt like for us, our car was really good as far as the bubble goes around being able to get to the car’s bumper in front of us. I felt like we struggled – the Chevy’s in general – a little bit at Daytona with getting to someone’s bumper. But here, I felt like – I think it was Denny (Hamlin), (Daniel) Suarez, and myself – in a three car run. I was able to get to Suarez’s bumper without anyone behind me. So, I felt like I got through that bubble pretty good. But when you do catch up to someone, it really pushes you and that person to the cars in front of them a lot faster than Daytona and Talladega are going to be.”
AT DAYTONA AND TALLADEGA, WE SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MANUFACTURER CARS WORKING TOGETHER. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS HAVE ALREADY HAD MEETINGS ON OR WILL HAVE A MEETING ABOUT LIKE YOU WOULD AT DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA? “Yeah, I’m not sure exactly on our side what’s kind of going to go down. I think everyone kind of wanted to see how practice shook out first. Definitely when you have teammates or manufacturers with you at the front of the field, you can definitely control those lines a little easier when you have multiple people trying to help you do that. So, I think that’s still going to be a factor when it comes down to it. Everything I think is a little bit more tricky here at Atlanta than at Daytona, as far as Daytona is pretty straight forward with what the manufacturers are going to do to help each other. But here, I feel like there’s still so many unknowns that we’re still not 100 percent sure how that’s going to play out.”
WAS THERE ANY THROTTLE RESPONSE AT ALL TO HELP AVOID A WRECK; OR IS IT JUST KIND OF LIKE DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA?“I think on one hand, it could be a little calmer because you can lift and not really lose spots and kind of keep your position on track. Daytona, we were all worried about losing the draft and I don’t think we’re going to be worried about losing the draft here. I think that made everybody at Daytona pretty aggressive to make sure they stayed up in the pack. You didn’t want to be the last car. Here, I don’t think you’re going to have those issues. I wasn’t wide open every lap out there. I was playing around with the throttle. The front stretch kind of gets clogged up. I think I saw a few of you talk about that. Just the way the front stretch is and when you come off of turn four, for whatever reason, it seems like that second dogleg, things just kind of almost stack up a little. I was having to use the brake, get off the gas and really work the pedals, as well. I think the biggest asset for us to avoid wrecks are just the bigger brakes.”  

World of Outlaws West Coast Swing Concludes Next Week at Bakersfield & PerrisWATSONVILLE, CA – March 19, 2022 – An early morning storm parlayed with persistent showers throughout the day has forced the cancellation of Saturday’s World of Outlaws race at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA. The event will not be rescheduled.Those who purchased a ticket in advance to Saturday’s event at Ocean 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. If credit to your account does not work for you, then you have until April 19 to request a refund. For more details email tickets@dirtcar.com if you have further questions. CLICK HERE for a refund request.The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series now turns their attention to concluding the spring swing through California next weekend with stops at Bakersfield Speedway (Friday, March 25) and Perris Auto Speedway(Saturday, March 26). For tickets, CLICK HERE.The Greatest Show on Dirt has another four dates in the Golden State this fall with trips to Silver Dollar Speedway (Sept. 9-10), Keller Auto Speedway (Sept. 16), and Placerville Speedway (Sept. 17) on the schedule. If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch both nights live on DIRTVision – either online or with the DIRTVision App.

California Natives Sweep Podium with Macedo (1st), Sweet (2nd), Scelzi (3rd)

MERCED, CA – March 19, 2022 – For the third time in three nights of the west coast swing, a Californian walked away with the win; only this time, it was a full-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series driver getting the job done.

In true bullring fashion, Merced Speedway ended an eight-year absence from The Greatest Show on Dirt and promptly delivered a spectacular battle for the win between Lemoore’s Carson Macedo, Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet, and Fresno’s Giovanni Scelzi.

Friday’s 35-lapper officially saw two lead changes but featured off-the-charts action from green-to-checkered. Among many highlights included Scelzi’s top-shelf pass for the lead, an intense lap traffic battle at the front, and several sliders shared by Macedo & Sweet.

Ultimately, the 25-year-old rising star (Macedo) welcomed every attack that the 36-year-old wily veteran (Sweet) threw his way in the late stages. The Big Cat tossed several scenarios his way, forcing Macedo to cross over, stay in it, and make every difficult decision you could imagine while manhandling a 900+ horsepower beast.

The duo was ultra-close as the white flag waved, but Macedo slightly gapped Sweet to cross the finish line ahead by 0.559-seconds. The victory marks his second win of the season aboard the Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41, and brings Macedo to 19 career World of Outlaws wins with four of those coming in California.

“Wow, California Sprint Car Racing is awesome,” Macedo shouted. “It doesn’t get any better than bullrings like this. I was pushing it so damn hard those last 8-10 laps. I can’t tell you how nervewracking it is in lap traffic like that while you still have to battle for the lead. It’s a fine line between being aggressive enough to split cars, but patient enough to not give the win away.

“Racing at home is always so special. We’re not exactly down by Lemoore, but this is only an hour away and I still had so many people close to me make the drive up to support us. I’m thankful for every single one of these wins, especially ones like this.”

For the second time in as many races, Brad Sweet was again the bridesmaid, not the bride. The Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 controlled the opening 21 laps of the 35-lapper, but the final restart of the race spelled doom for the three-time and reigning World of Outlaws champion.

Choosing the inside on a double-file restart allowed Macedo to fire off on the outside and zoom by Sweet, and then go on the defense. The moment snatched The Big Cat’s 75th career win away and extended their dry spell to 24 consecutive races without a win.

“That’s my fault for choosing the bottom,” Sweet admitted. “I had a few shots at him there near the end, and I definitely think we had a better car. A little bit of rubber came in and kind of took away the technical aspect of it. You have to be perfect to win these Outlaw races, though, so we just need to get a little better.”

Rounding out Friday’s California podium sweep was Fresno’s Giovanni Scelzi aboard the KCP Racing #18. The 20-year-old shot by Sweet to take the lead on a Lap 13 restart, but a poorly timed caution negated the pass and hurt his chances at a second win in three races.

“I hate getting beat like that,” Scelzi said. “I got out-raced fair and square. The yellow didn’t help, but man that sucks. I was hoping they would slow each other down and get me back in the hunt, but I can’t be too disappointed. We have a great car, great crew, and we’re only getting better.”

Closing out the top-five was a pair of Indiana natives with Indianapolis’ Tyler Courtney in fourth aboard Kevin Kozlowski’s #57W and Lebanon’s Spencer Bayston in fifth with the CJB Motorsports #5.

Other top-10 finishers included Kerry Madsen in sixth in the Roth Enterprises #83JR, Logan Schuchart in seventh in the DuraMAX, Drydene #1S, Dominic Scelzi in eighth in the Scelzi Enterprises #41S, Rico Abreu in ninth in the Rowdy #24, and Sheldon Haudenschild with a KSE Hard Charger Award for driving from 21st-to-10th in the NOS Energy Drink #17.

NOS NOTEBOOK (MERCED – 3/18/22)

Carson Macedo’s 19th career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory pushes him beyond Brad Doty to reach 31st on the All-Time Win List. Brad Sweet’s dry spell is extended to 24 consecutive races since his last victory at Skagit (WA) on September 4, 2021.

Championship leader David Gravel was involved in a Lap 13 crash (running sixth) but rebounded from the work area to salvage a season-worst finish of 15th. He still holds the top spot in the standings with a 10-point margin over Brad Sweet.

10-time Series champion Donny Schatz was collected in a Lap 1 crash and returned from the work area to finish two laps down in 22nd-place. That’s three consecutive finishes outside of the top-10 for the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 since heading west.

Giovanni Scelzi established a new track record by turning in a lap of 10.057 seconds around Merced Speedway. He became the eighth driver in eight races to earn the Slick Woody’s QuickTime Award this season. NOS Energy Drink Heat Race wins went to Giovanni Scelzi (19th career), Kerry Madsen (186th career), David Gravel (185th career), and Tyler Courtney (8th career).

Brad Sweet scored the pole position after outrunning Giovanni Scelzi in an exciting side-by-side battle in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. Sheldon Haudenschild won his third MicroLite Last Chance Showdown of the year, a Series best mark.

16-year-old Corey Day (Clovis, CA) started his first-career World of Outlaws Feature and drove forward to finish 14th-from-22nd in the Jason Meyers owned #14.

UP NEXT – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series travels to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA tomorrow for a Saturday showdown on March 19. The west coast swing concludes next weekend at Bakersfield Speedway (March 25) and Perris Auto Speedway (March 26). Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE or watch every race LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (35 Laps): 1. 41-Carson Macedo (6); 2. 49-Brad Sweet (1); 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (2); 4. 57W-Tyler Courtney (3); 5. 5-Spencer Bayston (7); 6. 83JR-Kerry Madsen (8); 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart (13); 8. 41S-Dominic Scelzi (10); 9. 24-Rico Abreu (11); 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (21); 11. 26-Cory Eliason (17); 12. 16A-Colby Copeland (15); 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (18); 14. 14-Corey Day (22); 15. 2-David Gravel (5); 16. 17W-Shane Golobic (24); 17. 83-James McFadden (23); 18. 21-Mitchell Faccinto (14); 19. 88-Austin McCarl (20); 20. 1A-Jacob Allen (9); 21. 83T-Tanner Carrick (4); 22. 15-Donny Schatz (16); 23. 11K-Kraig Kinser (19); 24. 2X-Justin Sanders (12).

NEW Championship Standings (After 8/86 Races): 1. David Gravel (1,124); 2. Brad Sweet (-10); 3. Carson Macedo (-30); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-32); 5. James McFadden (-68); 6. Logan Schuchart (-88); 7. Giovanni Scelzi (-90); 8. Donny Schatz (-92); 9. Cory Eliason (-98); 10. Spencer Bayston (-124).

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE RUOFF MORTGAGE 500 PHOENIX RACEWAY AVONDALE, AZ MARCH 13, 2022 RACE #4 – PHOENIX RACEWAYThe NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Chevrolet drivers and teams look to make it three in-a-row for the Camaro ZL1 as NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend for the final race of the west coast swing. The 1-mile Arizona tri-oval will be the host of the fourth race of the 2022 season for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS). The NCS Ruoff Mortgage 500 will be broadcasted on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 13, with FS1 carrying coverage of the NXS United Rentals 200 at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 12. Chevrolet will be pacing the field at Phoenix Raceway, with a Camaro SS leading the field in both events. 
In the 51 NASCAR Cup Series races that have been held at the Arizona venue since November 1988, Chevrolet has recorded 25 victories to lead all manufacturers, including Kyle Larson’s win last November that clinched his first Driver Championship and 33rd for Chevrolet.  CAMARO ZL1 GOES BACK-TO-BACK ON THE WEST COASTIn the second of the three-race west coast swing for the NASCAR Cup Series, the Camaro ZL1 made its way to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking the second win on the season for Chevrolet. The 400-mile race at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval came down to a battle between teammates after a late-race caution pushed the finish to overtime, with a two-tire pit strategy putting a pair of Camaro ZL1’s on the front row for the final restart of the race. Alex Bowman battled Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, with the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 edging out Larson at the line to capture the win by 0.178 seconds. The feat gave Bowman his first win of the 2022 season; his seventh all-time in NASCAR’s premier series; and a guaranteed playoff berth and his chance at a run for NCS championship title. 20 different drivers have contributed wins for Hendrick Motorsports, who now sits at 282 all-time wins in NASCAR Cup Series competition and extending its record as the winningest team in NCS history. With Bowman’s victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the 28-year-old Chevrolet driver surpassed Kasey Kahne on the Hendrick Motorsports win list, where all seven of his NCS wins have been made with the organization behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. 
For the second week in a row, Chevrolet placed an impressive four drivers in the top-five and six in the top-10 of the final running order at Las Vegas. Three different Chevrolet teams were represented in the top-10: Alex Bowman (Race Winner; Hendrick Motorsports); Kyle Larson (2nd; Hendrick Motorsports); Ross Chastain (3rd; Trackhouse Racing); William Byron (5th; Hendrick Motorsports); Tyler Reddick (7th; Richard Childress Racing); and Chase Elliott. (10th; Hendrick Motorsports).
BACK ON TOPThe last time Kyle Larson was at Phoenix Raceway, the 29-year-old California native drove his Chevrolet-powered machine to victory lane, capturing his 10th victory on the season and his first-career NASCAR Cup Series championship title. Larson returns back to the 1-mile Phoenix tri-oval exactly where he left off: on top of the points standings. Following his runner-up finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Larson jumped from the eighth position to take the lead in the standings. With his win at Auto Club Speedway, Larson also secured his spot into the 16-driver NCS Playoffs field and his chance at defending the coveted championship title.
A Chevrolet driver not only took over the lead in the driver standings, but back-to-back strong weekends for the Camaro ZL1 has moved the bowtie brand into the lead of the manufacturer points standings. The winningest brand in NASCAR history, Chevrolet captured a milestone 40th NCS Manufacturer Championship title in 2021. 
BOWTIE BULLETS·       With its 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships; 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships; and 816 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet holds the title of winningest brand in NASCAR.
·       In addition to its 25 wins at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet has recorded 19 poles, 115 top-five’s, 225 top-10’s and has led 6,457 laps.  ·       Heading into the Phoenix race weekend, Chevrolet sits atop the NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer standings. Through three NCS races this season, the bowtie brand also leads in laps led (326), stage wins (4), top-five’s (8) and top-10’s (13).
·       With three races in the books for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Chevrolet leads in the manufacturer and driver points standings, with eight Chevrolet drivers making up the top-10 of the driver standings. In addition, the Camaro SS has gone three-for-three in pole wins thus far this year.
·       Ross Chastain captured a third-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after capturing a stage win and leading a race-high 83 laps, the most laps Chastain has led in his previous 117 NCS starts combined.
·       Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Phoenix Raceway with 12 victories among eight drivers: Terry Labonte (1994), Kyle Busch (2005), Jeff Gordon (2007, 2011), Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep, 2009), Mark Martin (2009), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2015), Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021).
·       Career Chevrolet driver Jimmie Johnson holds the qualifying record at Phoenix Raceway with a lap at 25.147 seconds, 143.158 mph (set in November 2015).
·       In the NASCAR Cup Series total laps led category for 2022, three of the top-five are Chevrolet drivers: Tyler Reddick (1st; 90 laps led); Ross Chastain (2nd; 83 laps led); and Kyle Larson (5th; 56 laps led).  FOR THE FANS:

• Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Displays in the Fan Midway at Phoenix Raceway. 
• Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Fan Midway including: Camaro LT1, Corvette 2LT Coupe, Equinox RS, Tahoe RST, Silverado Trailboss, and Traverse Redline. 
• At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro ZL1 show car.

TEAM CHEVY QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSIONS AT THE DISPLAY:Saturday, March 12·       Jeremy Clements: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.·       Sam Mayer: 11: 45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.·       Josh Berry: 12:00 p.m. – 12: 15 p.m. Sunday, March 13·       Ty Dillon: 9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.·       Erik Jones 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.·       William Byron: 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: 

• Friday, March 11: 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 
• Saturday, March 12: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 
• Sunday, March 13: 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

TUNE INFOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Ruoff Mortgage 500 live at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 13. The NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 200 will air on FS1 at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 12. Live coverage of both events can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. QUOTABLE QUOTESROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 K1 SPEED CAMARO ZL1TALK ABOUT YOUR LAS VEGAS RESULT.“The Next Gen cars are so different from what we are used to driving. The No. 1 car felt a lot like the No. 42 (Xfinity Series) car did when I won at Las Vegas. I have a lot of history at Vegas and that weekend changed my life. Its carrying on here at Trackhouse and what we’re building and Justin Marks believing in me. When I crashed the car at Auto Club and spun out in the race, Justin took me to lunch and gave me confidence. If we keep having cars like our Vegas car, we’re going to be strong.”  HOW ABOUT ALL OF THE BUZZ ABOUT NASCAR THIS SEASON? “This is my 11th year in the sport. I’ve just tried to be a sponge and watch these guys that have been here well before me and have seen a lot of change. If I can go out on the track and make a splash, that’s one thing. But off of the track I like to watch, listen and learn from the people who have been here before me. We’re all in, especially Trackhouse, on getting new people involved in the sport with the different sponsors and big named people from outside of the sport. We’ve seen that with (UFC) Dana White’s brand and (actress) Eva Longoria’s brand. Trackhouse Racing and Justin Marks want to bring in like-minded people.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 GET BIOETHANOL CAMARO ZL1WHAT DO YOU EXPECT THE RACING TO BE LIKE AT PHOENX RACEWAY? DO YOU EXPECT ANY NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES FROM HOW THE PREVIOUS CAR RACED THERE? “I tested one day at Phoenix Raceway, but we didn’t really get around a bunch of cars at the test. One thing about Auto Club Speedway, and a reason why I thought it was a solid race, is there’s a lot of options at that track and places to go find some air for these cars. I think short tracks are going to be great for this car. Tracks like Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway should be strong. Fans saw a great race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Phoenix Raceway is kind of in between a short track and a speedway, which will make it interesting. You start to get into a bit of an aero problem at Phoenix, and you start relying on downforce and different things so I feel like it’s going to be important to qualify well. I do think that tires are going to fall off a pretty good amount at Phoenix, which will be nice. You have to set up your car for that and hope you make it work. It’s going to be a race either way. I don’t know how great it’s going to be, but it’s performed well so far, so I wouldn’t underestimate it. It’s a challenging car to drive and it’s putting on a good show so far.” HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK YOU’LL BE ABLE TO TAKE FROM THE SPRING PHOENIX RACEWAY RACE WHEN WE GO BACK FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN NOVEMBER? SINCE WE’RE LEARNING SO MUCH ABOUT THE NEXT GEN RIGHT NOW, ARE WE GOING TO BE ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PAGE BY THE TIME NOVEMBER ROLLS AROUND? “I would say some things will probably change, but not a whole lot by the time we go back. We just need to take good notes. Anytime we go to the track, we’re going to be writing notes, talking about parts, pieces, and different thoughts on how to drive. It’s a whole new notebook this year. Even if you don’t go back to a track, or you change tracks that you’ll never see again, there’s something you can learn and take to the next event.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1LARSON ON JANUARY’S NEXT GEN TEST AT PHOENIX AND COMPARISONS TO LAST YEAR’S RACE CAR: “The balance of the car during the test didn’t change as much during a run compared to last November at Phoenix. My first time in the Next Gen car – well, at least my first time with the rules package as close to what we’re using this year – was at Phoenix in January, which was the freshest track in my mind. It helped me realize it didn’t drive too much differently.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1DANIELS ON HIS MINDSET ENTERING JANUARY’S NEXT GEN TEST AT PHOENIX AFTER WINNING THE 2021 TITLE THERE IN NOVEMBER: “Pulling into Phoenix for the test was definitely cool because winning the championship there in the fall was such a special moment for this team. Getting back there brought back some very special memories. But our focus changed quickly with the challenge this Next Gen car brought, and a lot of those challenges we were preparing for at the test. It’s going to be a fun weekend – I love the track and I love the area, and I am looking for a lot of good things out of our team.” COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 BUILT.COM CAMARO ZL1“We’ve had a good start to our season going into the final race of the west coast swing. We’ll be running the same car for all three, so it’s a testament to the hard work by our Spire Motorsports team. In the past, I’ve had some ups and downs at Phoenix, but I look forward to building on our good run in Vegas & having another solid day for our Built Bar Camaro. We didn’t participate in the Phoenix pre-season testing, so we’ll lean into our Chevy support going into the first true mechanical grip-heavy track where we’ve brought these cars.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 GUARANTEED RATE CAMARO ZL1 TALK ABOUT HOW YOU WERE ABLE TO RALLY BACK TO A SEVENTH-PLACE FINISH AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY LAST WEEKEND AFTER STARTING FROM THE REAR TWICE, SUFFERING LEG DISCOMFORT AND ON-TRACK OBSTACLES. “It was a pretty good recovery for our team. I guess if you look at where we started and where we finished, you’d think it was a pretty boring day because we were supposed to start seventh, but it was anything but that. We had a few issues throughout our weekend starting with some steering issues that ultimately led to us changing our steering rack, forfeiting our starting spot, going to the back. From there, we definitely had a car that was pretty good in clean air, which we practiced a majority in, but once you get back there in that bubble of 10th to 20th, it’s pretty vicious back there. We just needed something different to be able to handle better but we had good pit stops and got a couple of breaks on restarts where we were able to get ourselves in that fifth to 10th bubble and we were able to manage it to the finish. I’m proud of the fight our team showed throughout that whole race and feel like we have good momentum heading to Phoenix this weekend.” YOU GOT TO TEST THE NEXT GEN CAR AT PHOENIX A FEW MONTHS AGO. HOW DO YOU THINK THE RACING WILL PLAY OUT THIS WEEKEND WITH A LOT MORE CARS ON TRACK AT ONCE? “This weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway is going to provide some really entertaining and exciting racing, I think. When we were out there for the test, we didn’t get to run a lot in traffic but that will be different on Sunday. We’ve seen such solid and good racing at all the tracks we’ve visited so far this season and it feels like Phoenix is going to be the perfect mix of all of them. This car is so challenging to drive and with the aerodynamics at Phoenix, practice is going to be crucial to see what kind of speed and car you’ve got. Qualifying is going to be really important too, you want to have a good starting position especially as the tires start to give throughout the first stage or two. My team has been working really hard each and every week and I think we’ll have a good game plan put together for this weekend and hopefully we’ll be able to run upfront and put on a good show.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1ELLIOTT ON RETURNING TO PHOENIX AFTER TESTING THE TRACK IN JANUARY: “When we tested at Phoenix earlier this year, I felt like of all the tracks it was the most similar to how our old car felt when we were there. Obviously, testing is a little different than going out and racing, but I’m looking forward to getting back there and continuing the success we’ve had in the past.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 UNIFIRST CAMARO ZL1GUSTAFSON ON UNIFIRST’S FIRST RACE OF 2022: “I’m excited to have UniFirst with us for another season. They’ve been a great partner and we’ve had many memorable moments together over the years, including an All-Star Race win. I really like their new scheme and I’m looking forward to carrying their green and white colors this weekend at Phoenix. Hopefully we can create another winning moment for them and end Sunday in victory lane.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1BYRON ON THE CHALLENGE THAT PHOENIX BRINGS: “Even with the Next Gen car, I think restarts are going to be just as crazy at Phoenix (Raceway) this weekend. We’ve seen it the last two races, and I think this weekend will be no different. Choosing the right lane is going to be crucial to get yourself in a good position heading into turn one as well as maintaining track position overall throughout the race. Once you get back in traffic, the harder it is to make up ground, especially at a short track like Phoenix. We’ve had pretty good speed last year at Phoenix in the spring. We just need to make sure to keep up with the track and minimize mistakes to keep us up front and in contention at the end.” RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1FUGLE ON KEEPING MOMENTUM HEADING TO PHOENIX: “We had a good run in Las Vegas and got the result that we needed. It was a solid day overall, and I think it shows the strength this No. 24 team has. We had lots of positives in that race and loads of potential left. We just need to clean up the little things and I think we will be in contention to win every time we show up to the track. This is a team that is hungry for more. We’ve been good at Phoenix. We just need to be a little bit better. It’s a track that I really like overall in every series I’ve been, so I enjoy that we get two chances at it in a season. The goal is to be in the Championship 4 when we come back in November.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 FRY’S / NOS CAMARO ZL1“We feel good going into Phoenix. We’ve had some tough breaks, but the speed is there. At Vegas (Las Vegas Motor Speedway), we qualified ninth and ran in the top-15 all day. We just have to be consistent and keep getting after it with our No. 47 Fry’s/NOS Camaro.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY / BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1BOWMAN ON HIS WIN AT LAS VEGAS: “We had an amazing race car at Las Vegas. Greg (Ives, crew chief) made a great (two-tire) call at the end that gave me a chance to go out and get the win. I am super proud of my team, and I’m looking forward to getting out to Phoenix with the momentum our team has.” BOWMAN ON THE DONATION TO THE BEST FRIENDS PROGRAM AFTER HIS LAS VEGAS WIN: “It’s awesome to know that Ally will be making a bigger donation to help animals in Las Vegas. Having their support in helping animals is really neat. Last year, we were able to make a big difference with Ally’s support, so I am glad we are starting the year off on the right foot.” GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY / BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1IVES ON HIS MINDSET HEADING TO PHOENIX: “Whenever you get a win, it always helps carry momentum into the next week. Going into this week at Phoenix, we are focused on running a clean race and executing like we did in Las Vegas. It is one of Alex’s favorite tracks and a place that we always look forward to going to and improving. We continue to work hard to get more consistent and find that little bit extra each year. So I am excited and ready to get out to Phoenix and have another great weekend.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1IS RUNNING UP FRONT IN 2022 BUILDING YOUR AND YOUR TEAM’S CONFIDENCE?“Definitely a lot. I mean every time you get the opportunity to have a shot at winning, you get more confident. You get hungrier and that happens not just for me as a driver, but for the entire team. My engineers, my crew chief, my pit crew all can’t wait to race again.”Ross and I have amazing teams. All of them, they want to win, be competitive. And when you know that you can, you just show up to the racetrack even more excited. I’m very fortunate to be in this position. I think that we’re going to be able to do some fun things this year.”
WHAT WAS IT LIKE WATCHING YOUR TEAMMATE BATTLE FOR THE VICTORY?“It was great. I mean you wish it were you, but I was rooting hard for Ross and the No. 1. We work very well together and feel like we are one team. It gives you great confidence knowing how fast our Chevrolets have been in 2022.”
WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL WORK HARD TO DESERVE A VICTORY, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?“It’s a combination of many things you know. If you were asking me that question two years ago, I was going to tell you go work out, work physically and trying to watch some film as many hours as possible. But right now, I have learned and realized that it goes just way more than that. Trying to work with your team and trying to realize what we could have done different and better. I look back in California and we left a lot on the table. I did, the car did a little bit. We had a good car, but I believe that we are going to have such a better car this weekend and probably everyone is going to say that, but to our plan and the way that we are growing as a team I feel like we just keep getting better. Learning as we go and learning is a process and I understand that, but I think that you know working hard and smart is going to be very important. Doing that with a team like the one I have is going to be important and really fun at the same time.”
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: 2Poles: 1Laps Led: 326Top-five finishes: 8Top-10 finishes: 13Stage wins: 4

• Tyler Reddick (Fontanax2)
• Alex Bowman (Las Vegas)
• Ross Chastain (Las Vegas)

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 816 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 724Laps led to date: 241,662Top-five finishes to date: 4,146Top-10 finishes to date: 8,568                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:           General Motors: 1,150           Chevrolet: 816           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

Richard Childress Racing at Phoenix Raceway … In 130 starts at Phoenix Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored six NASCAR Cup Series victories led by Kevin Harvick with four victories (a sweep of both races in 2006 plus the fall races in 2012 and 2013). Dale Earnhardt won in 1990 while Ryan Newman claimed the win in the 2007 spring event. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, RCR has three wins by three different drivers: Elliott Sadler (2012), Clint Bowyer (2007) and Harvick (2006).  Introducing the Next Gen … NASCAR’s Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which officially debuted in 2022, is a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing. With technology at the forefront, Richard Childress Racing has played a unique and critical role in helping to bring this new on-track identity to life, working closely with OEMs, other teams and NASCAR to build and test the initial prototype.  Catch Saturday’s Action … The United Rentals 200 at Phoenix Raceway will be televised live on Saturday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1 and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  Follow Sunday’s Action in Phoenix … The Phoenix 500 will be televised live Sunday, March 13 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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This Week’s Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Phoenix Raceway … Dillon has 16 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway to his credit, earning two top-10 finishes. He earned his best finish of eighth at the track in November 2018. Delivering Performance On the Track and For the Planet … Austin Dillon will race the Get Bioethanol Chevy in Phoenix, showcasing the performance benefits of racing with earth kind and engine smart bioethanol blended fuel, Sunoco Green E15. Whether it’s delivering cleaner and cooler high octane on the racetrack or a more affordable option for spring break road trips, plant-based bioethanol makes a positive impact on our planet. Learn more about  bioethanol at getbioethanol.com.  AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:What do you expect the racing to be like at Phoenix Raceway? Do you expect any noticeable differences from how the previous car raced there?“I tested one day at Phoenix Raceway, but we didn’t really get around a bunch of cars at the test. One thing about Auto Club Speedway, and a reason why I thought it was a solid race, is there’s a lot of options at that track and places to go find some air for these cars. I think short tracks are going to be great for this car. Tracks like Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway should be strong. The fans saw a great race at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Phoenix Raceway is between a short track and a speedway, which will make it interesting. You start to get into a bit of an aero problem at Phoenix, and you start relying on downforce and different things so I feel like it’s going to be important to qualify well. I do think that tires are going to fall off a pretty good amount at Phoenix, which will be nice. You have to set up your car for that and hope you make it work. I don’t know how great it’s going to be. It’s performed well so I wouldn’t underestimate it. It’s a challenging car to drive and it’s putting on a good show so far.”  How much do you think you’ll be able to take from the Spring Phoenix Raceway race when we go back for the championship in November? Since we’re learning so much about the Next Gen right now, are we going to be on a completely different page by the time November rolls around?“I would say some things will probably change, but not a whole lot by the time we go back. We just need to take good notes. Anytime we go to the track, writing notes, talking about parts, pieces, and different thoughts on how to drive. It’s a whole new notebook this year. Even if you don’t go back to a track, or you change tracks that you’ll never see again, there’s something you can learn and take to the next event.” Outside of winning races and making the playoffs, are there any specific competition goals that the team has set for itself to achieve this year, especially with the new car?“For me it’s winning a championship. My goal is to be the first guy to win all three championships. That’s what I put the effort into. It’s what I spend my weekends for, to try and win all three. That’s why I wrote ‘Crazy Faith’ on the back of my helmet this year. I’m believing in the process. I’ve set goals throughout different seasons. In the past, I’ve set obtainable goals like a earning a couple of wins and getting in the playoffs. I want to start thinking about what I really want and having faith towards that. The championship is the only thing I wrote down as a goal.”

This Week’s Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Phoenix Raceway … Reddick will make his fifth start at the Avondale, Arizona track on Sunday, sporting the red, white and black Guaranteed Rate paint scheme on the No. 8 Chevrolet. Reddick made his Cup Series debut at Phoenix in 2020 and most recently, finished 19th in the 2021 season finale. He has a best finish of 19th twice, both in the Cup Series championship race, and he’s completed 95.6 percent of laps attempted. During his time in the Xfinity Series, Reddick made five starts at Phoenix and tallied a best finish of third in both of the races at the track in 2019. In total, he has four top 10s and two top fives and completed 999 of 1,000 laps attempted. Lastly, during his NASCAR Truck Series career, Reddick made three starts at Phoenix and grabbed a best finish of fifth in 2015.  Reddick’s Stats Improve … Reddick has led the most laps this season among all Cup Series drivers with 90. Prior to this season, Reddick had only led 73 laps total in 74 races. Last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Reddick grabbed his first top-10 finish of the season after overcoming some obstacles throughout the race. Reddick and the No. 8 team are looking forward to adding another great finish this weekend at Phoenix Raceway. About Guaranteed Rate … Guaranteed Rate is a leader in mortgage lending and digital financial services. Headquartered in Chicago, the company has more than 8,000 employees in 500 offices across the U.S., and is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Since its launch in 2000, Guaranteed Rate has helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners with home purchase loans and refinances, funding more than $95 billion in total loan volume in 2021 alone. Powered by its belief in positivity, the company has become one of the largest retail lenders in the nation. Guaranteed Rate delivers innovative technology, including the world’s first Digital Mortgage, low rates and unparalleled customer service. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:Talk about how you were able to rally back to a seventh-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend after starting from the rear twice, suffering from leg discomfort, and on-track obstacles.“It was a pretty good recovery for our team. I guess if you look at where we started and where we finished, you’d think it was a pretty boring day because we were supposed to start seventh, but it was anything but that. We had a few issues throughout our weekend starting with some steering issues that ultimately led to us changing our steering rack, forfeiting our starting spot, going to the back. From there, we definitely had a car that was pretty good in clean air, which we practiced a majority in, but once you get back there in that bubble of 10th to 20th, it’s pretty vicious back there. We just needed something different to be able to handle better but we had good pit stops and got a couple of breaks on restarts where we were able to get ourselves in that fifth to 10th bubble and we were able to manage it to the finish. I’m proud of the fight our team showed throughout that whole race and feel like we have good momentum heading to Phoenix this weekend.” You got to test the Next Gen car at Phoenix a few months ago. How do you think the racing will play out this weekend with a lot more cars on track at once?“This weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway is going to provide some really entertaining and exciting racing, I think. When we were out there for the test, we didn’t get to run a lot in traffic but that will be different on Sunday. We’ve seen such solid and good racing at all the tracks we’ve visited so far this season and it feels like Phoenix is going to be the perfect mix of all of them. This car is so challenging to drive and with the aerodynamics at Phoenix, practice is going to be crucial to see what kind of speed and car you’ve got. Qualifying is going to be really important too, you want to have a good starting position especially as the tires start to give throughout the first stage or two. My team has been working really hard each and every week and I think we’ll have a good game plan put together for this weekend and hopefully we’ll be able to run up front and put on a good show.”

This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Phoenix Raceway … Creed will be making his second start at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He scored a 10th-place finish this past November at the 1.0-mile desert oval. It was his first top-10 and came in his fourth career start in the series. He has two top-10 finishes in three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts this season and enters the United Rentals 200 on Saturday afternoon 14th in the series standings. The Alpine, Calif., native has made four NASCAR Truck Series starts at Phoenix, highlighted by his victory in 2020 that gave him the series championship. About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce. SHELDON CREED QUOTES: What is the key to running well at Phoenix Raceway?“You need to roll really good through the center of the corner and put the power down on exit. That was what I battled at Phoenix Raceway when I ran the NASCAR Xfinity Series car there in the fall. If we can just turn a little bit better that should help us get off the corner better and I think we’ll be faster.” How big of an advantage is it to have one NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Phoenix Raceway? “Having a little bit of experience in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Phoenix Raceway will be huge for us. I’m excited to be able to go there having laps in a NASCAR Xfinity Series car and knowing what to expect right off the bat for practice and feeling like I know what I need. I’ll be a lot more comfortable just having that prior experience. I’m excited to get into the race with the Whelen Chevrolet and to continue to learn as much as I can. It’s important get more comfortable and get up to speed. I’m just trying to learn and get comfortable these first few weeks of the season and get ourselves a good base. We all want to win, but I’ll take solid finishes early in the season and have solid races.”

This Week’s United Rentals Chevrolet Camaro SS at Phoenix Raceway … Hill will be making his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday afternoon. He won the pole at Phoenix in 2019 and has one top 10 (a 10th-place effort in 2021) in the NASCAR Truck Series. Hill is 10th in the Xfinity Series driver standings entering Saturday’s race and has led at least one lap in two of the first three races this season. With his victory in the season-opening event at Daytona, Hill has clinched a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs.  About United Rentals … United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,278 rental locations in North America, 11 in Europe, 28 in Australia and 18 in New Zealand. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 20,100 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners, and others. The company offers approximately 4,300 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $15.72 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com. AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:How important are restarts at Phoenix Raceway? “Restarts are huge everywhere but even more so at Phoenix Raceway. As soon as you get to the start-finish line on a restart, you’ve got to start looking in your mirror. You’ve got to be ready for the guy behind you. If you’re leading the bottom lane, you’ve got to be ready for the guy behind you to short cut the racetrack. When he does that, you’ve got to be ready to react and throw that block and run that shorter line. Getting through the gears with smooth shifts is crucial. It seems like once you get in the restart , people start playing some games and you have to watch out for that.”  You were able to watch the Phoenix race last fall. What did you learn?    “I was able to sit on the box and listen and watch last year when they ran at Phoenix. It just seemed like the way the cars were driving, the track fit my driving style well. They were a little on the freer side.”  How big of a factor is the PJ1?“I think the PJ1 has a lot to do with how the track is going to change throughout the race. As soon as the PJ1 gets activated, it then seems like you have to be up there to be fast. Sometimes your car works up there, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s one of those things that you’ve got to work through.”