Milner, Tandy start FIA WEC title hunt at familiar spot for Corvette Racing DETROIT (March 10, 2022) – Competing at Sebring International Raceway is nothing unusual for Corvette Racing. Competing there in the FIA World Endurance Championship… that’s a different story. Nevertheless, this is the latest chapter for Corvette Racing as it begins its first full season in the FIA WEC. Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy will team together in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for all six rounds of the World Championship – starting with the 1,000 Miles of Sebring – in the GTE Pro category for factory race teams. Ahead of the March 18 are two days of testing at the 3.7-mile, 17-turn Sebring circuit Saturday and Sunday. It’ll be the first time that the No. 64 mid-engine Corvette will run in a primary yellow livery after two years in silver during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 64 will run in the same configuration as the last two seasons in IMSA’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) category as well as GTE Pro at Le Mans last August. Sebring and Corvette have a rich history going back nearly 25 years with more than 51,000 miles worth of racing and at least 10 times that in testing and development over the last quarter-century. Part of that total came during the 2019 season when Corvette Racing entered one C7.R in the FIA WEC round at Sebring in a one-off in addition to entries in that year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Both Milner and Tandy are no strangers to competition in the FIA WEC, albeit in differing degrees. This will be Tandy’s third full-season campaign in the WEC with the British ace claiming a pair of victories and four pole positions in 19 starts. Milner has two starts in the FIA WEC outside of the 24 Hours of Le Mans: 2014 at Circuit of The Americas and 2018 at the Six Hours of Shanghai – each in a Corvette C7.R. To prepare for its World Championship challenge, Corvette Racing has a full-time crew and engineering team that is dedicated to the full season, all of whom have logged significant time with Corvette Racing in IMSA and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The lessons learned and data gained at Sebring and the next WEC round at Spa-Francorchamps will go a long way toward Corvette Racing’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the FIA World Endurance Championship is scheduled for noon ET on Friday, March 18 from Sebring International Raceway. Qualifying is set for 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 17.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I’m really excited about our full-season run in the WEC. Something about each event is exciting. They’re all new tracks for me – outside of Sebring and Le Mans. I’ve raced in Europe and Japan before but not the tracks on our calendar. So starting that off at Sebring is a cool throw-back to how it used to be for us in the American Le Mans Series. Once we get to Sebring, I’m sure it will feel different. It will be a different path for us. For personally, I’m excited to do this and race in a new championship on some new racetracks. It’s a great chance to show off the mid-engine Corvette to fans all around the world.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “In our usual season, Sebring is our second event which is kind of normal. But for the WEC, it’s the start of our season. We plan to take the whole Prologue event as a testing event, but this the start of the WEC season. Sebring is a bit like Daytona. You look at it and it feels familiar with how the structure of your season is playing out. Everything beyond that is different. There is something exciting about doing something different like this. One of the things I’m really looking forward to in seeing how it’s going to work, we’ll have our whole Corvette Racing family together, racing in two events separately for the first time. I’m really glad that the first time we split off as single-car entries, we’re actually all going to be there together. That’s very cool. It’s not a situation where what we do with one car will necessarily help the other, but at the same time we’ll have multiple sets of eyes on two sets of situations that are happening on the same track throughout the weekend. Corvettes will be on track a lot over the two days. Hopefully that will be a benefit; I can’t think of a way it’s a determent. It is interesting to start our full-season begins at Sebring again and not Daytona. It’s for a very good reason: the fact that we’re doing something new and different in going for a World Championship, and the good thing is that it starts in North America.”

March 9, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are headed to Phoenix Raceway, hoping to build on their most recent performance at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where they recovered from some mid-race misfortunes to post a 16th-place finish.

Burton, making his first appearance at Phoenix in a Cup Series car, said he believes his past races at the unique one-mile track will be a confidence booster for him and the DEX Imaging team. In his four Xfinity Series starts there he has a runner-up finish and a third-place finish, along with a sixth-place run and a 12th. He also has a third-place finish at Phoenix in NASCAR’s truck series.

“Phoenix is a great track for me personally,” Burton said. “I love it there, and building on the past race at Vegas is important.”

“Obviously 16th isn’t what our goal was, but to finish the race and show flashes of the speed we need was great.”

“I’m excited to move forward with the group and carry the momentum.”
 
He’s also proud to be representing DEX Imaging, which has been his primary sponsor in all but one of his prior Phoenix races, including two in the K&N Series.

“Every time DEX is on the car it’s pretty special,” Burton said. “They have been with me since I was a kid, so to get to try to have success with that group in Cup is very fun.”

Practice for the Ruoff Mortgage 500K is set for Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to be followed by qualifying at 12:05 (2:05 p.m. Eastern).

Sunday’s 312-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 12:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Eastern) with TV coverage on FOX. Stage breaks are set for Laps 60 and 185.

Full-Time Outlaws Prepare to Battle California’s Best Sprint Car Drivers

TULARE, CA – March 9, 2022 – After three complete years (almost 1,100 days), the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is finally bringing the spring swing back to life in California.

The Greatest Show on Dirt will host six events at five tracks over the next three weeks, and it all starts this Friday & Saturday, March 11-12 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA. The Series has visited the thrilling 1/3-mile on 27 occasions since debuting at the facility in 2003. You can find EVENT INFORMATION HERE and watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision if you’re unable to make the trip.

As always, any race in California for the World of Outlaws means squaring off with one of the toughest local scenes in the country when it comes to Sprint Car racing. You’ll see full-timers like Sweet, Schatz, Haudenschild, Macedo, McFadden, Schuchart, Gravel & more battle against California’s best including Scelzi, Abreu, Larson, Golobic, Eliason, Copeland, Sanders, Faccinto & more.

Here’s what to watch for this weekend:

HOMECOMING: The upcoming spring swing offers two World of Outlaws championship contenders the chance to stay close to their California homes, and this weekend specifically presents an opportunity for their first wins at Tulare.

• Brad Sweet of Grass Valley, CA hails from a NorCal background but has enjoyed his fair share of racing in the San Joaquin Valley while growing up. The three-time and defending Series champion has yet to win through the first five races, only the fourth time that’s happened since he first went full-time in 2014 with Kasey Kahne Racing. He’s scored nine of his 74 career World of Outlaws wins in his home state, but none have come at Tulare. On a streak of five top-five finishes in his last six starts at Tulare, The Big Cat has a chance to finally get that first Thunderbowl triumph this weekend.
• Carson Macedo of Lemoore, CA grew up a half-hour down the road from the Thunderbowl and still considers it one of his favorite tracks worldwide. The Jason Johnson Racing #41 driver enters as the most recent Series winner, topping the finale of the Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway. The 25-year-old has earned World of Outlaws wins at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway and Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway, but his Tulare career-best is currently fifth. He did win at the track last fall in Kings of Thunder competition but now searches for his first Series win at the 1/3-mile.

HOT START: Through the first five races in 2022, only two drivers have finished in the top-10 of every NOS Energy Drink Feature, and both are former World of Outlaws winners at this week’s destination of Thunderbowl Raceway.

• David Gravel of Watertown, CT has produced his strongest start ever and in turn, leads the championship standings for the first time in his career. The Big Game Motorsports #2 pilot owns an average finish of 3.8, highlighted by his DIRTcar Nationals championship with his worst result in seventh. The 29-year-old already owns a pair of Tulare triumphs, coming in back-to-back fashion during the spring of 2016 and 2017.
• 10-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND is leading a resurgence in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 camp. The Ford Performance (FPS410) powered team topped the season-opener at Volusia and has yet to finish worse than eighth this season. The 303-time Series winner scored three of those victories at Tulare with scores coming in 2004, 2007, and 2017.

IN THE MIX: For almost a decade the trio of Schatz, Sweet & Gravel have been staples near the top of the World of Outlaws standings, but in the mix with them to start off 2022 is two fearless gassers who have the potential to shine in Tulare.

• Sheldon Haudenschild of Wooster, OH became the first repeat winner of the season last weekend, following his Volusia victory with a Cotton Bowl score. The Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17 is currently second in points ahead of a Tulare trip, where he’ll be a contender both nights. In four previous starts, Haudenschild has been battling at the front in every single Feature with finishes of fourth, fourth, third, and 19th due to a DNF while leading.
• James McFadden of Alice Springs, NT, AUS may have had his first win of the year in the bag last Friday at Cotton Bowl had it not been for a flat right rear tire while leading. Other than one small slice of misfortune, the Roth Motorsports #83 has been a model of consistency with their new driver at the wheel. The pairing enters the west coast swing tied for fourth in points with hopes of scoring a home-state win for Dennis & Teresa Roth.

SHARK ATTACK: In their respective rights, the stock of both Shark Racing drivers is trending in an upward direction.

• Jacob Allen currently leads the league in NOS Energy Drink Heat Race Wins (3) and DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash Appearances (4) through the first five races. Excluding some tough luck come Feature time, the Hanover, PA native has been on rails aboard the old school #1A in honor of his father Bobby Allen. Historically, Allen has struggled at Tulare with a career-best of 26th, something he aims to change this weekend.
• Logan Schuchart started his 2022 campaign with an up and down trip to Volusia’s DIRTcar Nationals. Cotton Bowl’s Texas Two-Step offered some much needed consistency with a pair of fourth-place finishes for the DuraMax, Drydene #1S. The 30-time World of Outlaws winner owns a Series best of second at Tulare, and even led laps during his debut at the track in 2014.

FIRST GLANCE: Three of this year’s 15 full-time travelers will encounter Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway for the first time in their career.

• Brock Zearfoss of Jonestown, PA no longer dons the rookie stripes on his Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill #3Z, but he will get his first taste of Tulare this weekend. Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Zearfoss’ 2021 rookie campaign only saw a fall trip to California, but this yea the sophomore will get the full Outlaw experience with a spring swing included. The second-year driver is already showing signs of improvement, recording a season-best of sixth last weekend, a spot it took him 58 races last year to reach.
• Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, IN currently owns the top spot when it comes to the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award through the first of 85+ races. The 23-year-old established his season-best of ninth last weekend at Cotton Bowl, and now prepares for his first California swing. He’s yet to compete at the Thunderbowl, but his CJB Motorsports #5 has enjoyed Tulare victory lane on several occasions with Barry Jackson turning the wrenches.
• Noah Gass of Mounds, OK continues his learning curve as the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender faces his third new track of the season. It will be his first time racing in the state of California, let alone Tulare’s 1/3-mile, as he, Cody Cordell, and Robby McQuinn battle their next challenge.

CALI CLIQUE: A group of five California natives who have dethroned the World of Outlaws are expected to be in action this weekend chasing another Series win.

• Kyle Larson, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and 25-time World of Outlaws winner, is expected to be in action at least one of the two nights at Tulare. Although hard to believe, the 29-year-old native of Elk Grove, CA hasn’t raced at the Thunderbowl since he won the 2013 Trophy Cup title in remarkable fashion over brother-in-law and World of Outlaws champion, Brad Sweet.
• Rico Abreu returns to the site of his first and second career World of Outlaws victories this weekend in Tulare. The St. Helena, CA native topped spring shows in 2014 and 2015 at the Thunderbowl, and returns as one of only three multi-time winners (Schatz, Gravel) racing this weekend. He’ll be in the Rowdy Energy #24 with “Tricky” Ricky Warner calling the shots as crew chief.
• Giovanni Scelzi has beaten the Outlaws on three occasions (Williams Grove, Charlotte, Lakeside), but has yet to score one in his home state of California. The Fresno, CA 20-year-old has topped Tulare with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour & NARC King of the West Series, but now turns his attention to beating The Greatest Show on Dirtin his own backyard.
• Shane Golobic of Fremont, CA owns a pair of World of Outlaws wins at NorCal venues Antioch and Placerville, and now wants a Central Valley victory to his credit. The two-time Trophy Cup champion is already a winner in 2022, winning at Keller Auto in February aboard the NOS Energy Drink #17W with hopes that momentum will lead into a stellar spring swing against the Outlaws.
• Cory Eliason of Visalia, CA earned his two World of Outlaws wins both in 2018 and both in his home state of California at Stockton and Calistoga. That was with Roth Motorsports and it was 78 Series starts ago, but the now pilot of the Rudeen Racing #26 appears closer than ever to claiming a third win. He was fast all weekend, led laps, and contended for the win at Cotton Bowl, and now brings that confidence out west.

DON’T COUNT ‘EM OUT: Outside of the aforementioned winners, a whole handful of California locals are eager and plenty capable of scoring their first-ever World of Outlaws win this weekend in Tulare.

• Justin Sanders of Prunedale, CA pieced together a masterful 2021 campaign with 20+ wins on the west coast. In limited World of Outlaws competition, he’s nailed down three podium finishes in only 15 starts with a career-best of second-place.
• Dominic Scelzi of Fresno, CA recorded the best year of his career in 2021, winning six times at Tulare alone. He’s as sharp as ever with Jimmy Carr on the wrenches of the #41 and extra motivated to join brother Giovanni Scelzi as a World of Outlaws winner. Dominic’s Series best is a third-place finish.
• Mitchell Faccinto of Hanford, CA is the most recent winner in the state, topping last weekend’s Silver Cup at Silver Dollar. He and brother-in-law Drew Warner are building a potentially lethal combination with the Tarlton Motorsports #21. Mitchell’s World of Outlaws career-best is eighth-place.
• Colby Copeland of Roseville, CA notched his career-best World of Outlaws run last year at Silver Dollar, leading laps and ultimately finishing runner-up to David Gravel. He owns several runner-up finishes at Tulare with hopes of adding one more spot up top.
• Chase Johnson of Penngrove, CA will wheel his family-owned #24 this weekend in hopes of a 10th career World of Outlaws start. He’s made three previous appearances at Tulare with the Series, resulting in a career-best of 15th.
• DJ Netto of Hanford, CA is a former NARC winner at Tulare and enters the weekend with a World of Outlaws career-best of third-place in the #88N.

OUTSIDERS: They aren’t full-time Outlaws, nor are they locals to California, but these three drivers are proven gassers in some of the Golden State’s finest equipment this weekend.

• King Sunshine XXXVIII is making the flight from Indianapolis to Fresno to pilot the Kevin Kozlowski owned #57 in four starts with the World of Outlaws, including both nights at Tulare. Tyler Courtney will have Paul Silva on the wrenches for him, and now has Thunderbowl experience after reaching a best of seventh during last year’s Trophy Cup.
• Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, NSW, AUS won three World of Outlaws Features last year while aiding Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing with the Ford Performance FPS410, and now he’s assisting Roth Motorsports in developing the Toyota Racing Development 410 engine. He’ll be trying to join younger brother Ian Madsen, who won the most recent World of Outlaws race at Tulare, as a Thunderbowl winner.
• Austin McCarl of Altoona, IA continues his relationship with the Country Builders #88 this season. He matched his World of Outlaws career-best of second-place at Huset’s last summer, and following that bumped his Tulare career-best to fifth during late fall.

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: For some, turning 16 years old signifies the opportunity to obtain your driver’s license; for others, including Corey Day, it means you’re finally eligible to compete with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. The son of Ronnie Day, a former NARC champion and six-time podium finisher in 70 World of Outlaws starts, Corey represents the next generation and will officially begin his career with The Greatest Show on Dirtthis weekend at Tulare.

The Clovis, CA native made waves in 2021 by briefly becoming the youngest winner in USAC Midget history and winning several 410 events on the west coast, including a pair of NARC races at Keller Auto & Stockton. A prodigy of Jason Meyers, the 2010 & 2011 World of Outlaws champion, Day has a chance almost all season long (until October 18) to break Giovanni Scelzi’s record (16 years, 10 months, 21 days) as the youngest winner in World of Outlaws history.

This Week at a Glance – When and Where

Friday & Saturday, March 11-12 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA

On the Internet
World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series
Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws
Instagram – @WoOSprint
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

CURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (5/83 Nights):
1. 2-David Gravel (714 PTS); 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (-16 PTS); 3. 15-Donny Schatz (-16 PTS); . 49-Brad Sweet (-32 PTS); 5. 83-James McFadden (-32 PTS); 6. 41-Carson Macedo (-40 PTS); 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart (-60 PTS); 8. 26-Cory Eliason (-76 PTS); 9. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (-80 PTS); 10. 8-Aaron Reutzel (-84 PTS).

NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (3 Drivers):
2 wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing #17
1 win – Donny Schatz, Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15
1 win – David Gravel, Big Game Motorsports #2
1 win – Carson Macedo, Jason Johnson Racing #41

FEATURE LAPS LED (8 Drivers):
52 laps – David Gravel
26 laps – Sam Hafertepe Jr.
25 laps – Donny Schatz
13 laps – Cory Eliason
10 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild
8 laps – James McFadden
7 laps – Brad Sweet
4 laps – Carson Macedo

SLICK WOODY’S QUICKTIME AWARDS (5 Drivers):
1 QuickTime – David Gravel, Aaron Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Jacob Allen, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

HEAT RACE WINNERS (12 Drivers):
3 Heat Wins – Jacob Allen
2 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, James McFadden, Kraig Kinser, Aaron Reutzel
1 Heat Win – Jacob Allen, Carson Macedo, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Tyler Courtney, Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

DIRTVISION FAST PASS DASH APPEARANCES (18 Drivers):
4 Dashes – David Gravel, Jacob Allen
3 Dashes – Brad Sweet, Kraig Kinser, Cory Eliason, Aaron Reutzel
2 Dashes – Donny Schatz, James McFadden, Carson Macedo, Tyler Courtney
1 Dash – Sheldon Haudenschild, Brock Zearfoss, Kyle Larson, Anthony Macri, Kerry Madsen, Brent Marks

MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (4 Drivers):
2 LCS Wins – Ayrton Gennetten
1 LCS Win – Sheldon Haudenschild, Spencer Bayston, Anthony Macri

PODIUM FINISHES (11 Drivers):
2 Podiums – David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Brad Sweet, James McFadden
1 Podium – Donny Schatz, Carson Macedo, Kyle Larson, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks, Cory Eliason, Sam Hafertepe Jr.

TOP 10 FINISHES (20 Drivers):
5 Top 10s – David Gravel, Donny Schatz
4 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild, Brad Sweet, James McFadden, Logan Schuchart
3 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, Cory Eliason, Giovanni Scelzi
2 Top 10s – Brock Zearfoss, Jacob Allen, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney
1 Top 10 – Kyle Larson, Anthony Macri, Justin Peck, Brent Marks, Spencer Bayston, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Rico Abreu

2022 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Thur, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Donny Schatz (1)
2. Fri, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)
3. Sat, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)
4. Fri, March 11 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)
5. Sat, March 12 / Cotton Bowl Speedway / Paige, TX / Carson Macedo (1)
6. Fri, March 18 / Merced Speedway / Merced, CA
7. Sat, March 19 / Ocean Speedway / Watsonville, CA
8. Fri, March 25 / Bakersfield Speedway / Bakersfield, CA
9. Sat, March 26 / Perris Auto Speedway / Perris, CA
10. Tues, March 29 / Vado Speedway Park / Vado, NM
11. Fri, April 1 / Lawton Speedway / Lawton, OK
12. Sat, April 2 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX
13. Fri, April 8 / US-36 Raceway / Osborn, MO
14. Sat, April 9 / Lake Ozark Speedway / Eldon, MO
15. Fri, April 15 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
16. Sat, April 16 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
17. Fri, April 22 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
18. Sat, April 23 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN
19. Fri, April 29 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN
20. Sat, April 30 / Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, TN
21. Fri, May 6 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
22. Sat, May 7 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
23. Wed, May 11 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA
24. Fri, May 13 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
25. Sat, May 14 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
26. Tues, May 17 / Bridgeport Speedway / Swedesboro, NJ
27. Fri, May 20 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH
28. Sat, May 21 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
29. Sat, May 28 / Atomic Speedway / Waverly, OH
30. Mon, May 30 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN
31. Fri, June 3 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
32. Sun, June 5 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
33. Fri, June 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
34. Sat, June 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
35. Fri, June 17 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA
36. Sat, June 18 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, IA
37. Thur, June 23 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
38. Fri, June 24 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
39. Sat, June 25 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD
40. Fri, July 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
41. Sat, July 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
42. Fri, July 8 / 34 Raceway / West Burlington, IA
43. Sat, July 9 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI
44. Tues, July 12 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH
45. Wed, July 13 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
46. Thur, July 14 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
47. Fri, July 15 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
48. Sat, July 16 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
49. Wed, July 20 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
50. Fri, July 22 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
51. Sat, July 23 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
52. Sat, July 30 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY
53. Sun, July 31 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, NY
54. Fri, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
55. Sat, Aug. 6 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
56. Wed, Aug. 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
57. Thur, Aug. 11 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
58. Fri, Aug, 12 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
59. Sat, Aug. 13 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA
60. Thur, Aug. 18 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
61. Fri, Aug. 19 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
62. Sat, Aug. 20 / Jackson Motorplex / Jackson, MN
63. Fri, Aug. 26 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
64. Sat, Aug. 27 / Red River Valley Speedway / West Fargo, ND
65. Thur, Sept. 1 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
66. Fri, Sept. 2 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
67. Sat, Sept. 3 / Skagit Speedway / Alger, WA
68. Mon, Sept. 5 / Gray’s Harbor Raceway / Elma, WA
69. Fri, Sept. 9 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
70. Sat, Sept. 10 / Silver Dollar Speedway / Chico, CA
71. Fri, Sept. 16 / Keller Auto Speedway / Hanford, CA
72. Sat, Sept. 17 / Placerville Speedway / Placerville, CA
73. Fri, Sept. 23 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH
74. Sat, Sept. 24 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
75. Fri, Sept. 30 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
76. Sat, Oct. 1 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA
77. Fri, Oct. 7 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
78. Sat, Oct. 8 / Port Royal Speedway / Port Royal, PA
79. Fri, Oct. 14 / I-80 Speedway / Greenwood, NE
80. Sat, Oct. 15 / Lakeside Speedway / Kansas City, KS
81. Wed, Nov. 2 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
82. Thur, Nov. 3 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
83. Fri, Nov. 4 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
84. Sat, Nov. 5 The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

NASCAR CUP SERIES PHOENIX RACEWAY RUOFF MORTGAGE 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT MARCH 9, 2022

TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 GUARANTEED RATE CAMARO ZL1. met with media via teleconference in advance of this weekend’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Press Conference Transcript:
ANY PROGRESS ON THE LEG NUMBING ISSUES AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TRY THIS WEEK?“Yeah, so I just think with this new car there are some things (inaudible). The last car, from since I have been racing really stayed much the same. (inaudible) Yeah, you know just making some mistakes in how I think I needed to be sitting in this car. So, we’ve been able to, now that we are back home, came back from Vegas, been able to sit in the car and adjust some things. Pinpoint some areas where I think I just had my body in a bad posture, not really allowing the weight of my body in the seat being distributed the way it should. Nothing like to the extent of having to change inserts, do that sort of thing. Just moving some things around in the car seems to be better. Obviously, the reason this has been an issue is pretty challenging to understand sitting still you know with no load, no bumps, no heat, whatever it might be to really feel if there is going to be a problem. It’s hard to really understand what’s ok and what’s not. After we ran Fontana, you know we had our Vegas car right there, it was already in Fontana. Sat in it, moved some things around, thought I was going to be good to go in Vegas and obviously I was looking in the wrong places. We had some help this week and were able to make some adjustments and continue learning more and more about it. You know I just think I was in a really good place in that old car for such a long time and didn’t realize how easy or how bad you could end up missing it, the comfort side of things. Unfortunately going through that, that process right now (inaudible) a lot better.”
IS IT ABOUT KIND OF HOW THE PEDALS ARE MOUNTED AND HOW YOU POSITION YOUR FOOT? OR IS IT MORE KIND OF WHERE THE SEAT IS IN RELATION TO PEDALS AND MAYBE THE HEIGHT OF THE SEAT?“I think more than anything its just having you know no matter where you put your seat its kind of important to have your legs comfortable for you. You know, not too high, not too low. You don’t want to cut circulation off having the pedals too low, on the edge of your seat or having your legs really having a lot of weight or force on the bottom of your seat cutting your circulation off that way. Certainly, with this deeper car, or deeper driver area or cockpit (inaudible) with how ramming my current insert was. So, we made some adjustments there. Certainly, I think I have frustrated some things in my body by putting it through that the last two weeks in a row now. I normally don’t give myself a lot of rest time in between with exercising and everything, so just coming up with the best approach to get my body some time to get out some of the stress I’ve been putting it though the last two weekends.”
HOW WELL TIMED WAS IT TO GET THAT FIRST TOP 10 OF THE YEAR AT LAS VEGAS, GIVEN HOW CRAZY THAT RACE WAS FOR YOU GUYS?“It was important. I guess for our whole team it was an important thing to be able to come back from that. For me, personally too, I have a lot of distractions in the car. Just hard to give it my best effort with everything going on, not really allowing you to be 100 percent. To still get a top-10 was good, but certainly still I can’t let it keep taking away potential good runs for our team. I do think that it held me back in Vegas. Held us back in Fontana even though we were still really good, still able to execute fairly well on pit road and everything. After going through what I did in Vegas and not always having the track position all day long, it tells me that I was leaving some on the table in Fontana too. I mean I felt like I was and couldn’t really run the bottom because of what I was fighting, but we still had a pretty good car there. Yeah, it was good to get that top 10. The biggest thing that we’re focused on is making sure that we (inaudible) when we get to Phoenix, a place that requires a lot of braking, a lot of thinking about the car and its such a fine line balance wise at that place. It’s going to be very important to have all that worked out, so that is what we are going to try to do, my team is. Make sure that I can be 100 percent.”
WITH YOU HAVING THE FITNESS REGIMEN THIS OFF SEASON AND CHANGING YOUR BODY SO MUCH, DO YOU GUYS CHANGE THE SEAT INSERT FROM YEAR TO YEAR AND IS THAT KIND OF PART OF THIS SITUATION?“It could be, but weight wise I haven’t moved that much shape wise a little bit. In the areas that I have changed shape, I don’t think it would, well thinking about it off the top of my head I don’t think it’s where our issue is coming from. I think it just has more to do with it’s a brand new race car, it’s a lot more options of where you can put the pedals in relation to the seat and I just think that’s where some of it is. I guess, yeah, with where I end up putting my pedals for the last couple weeks yeah it could have added some material underneath me to help fill the gap that was there. Yeah, I mean it’s not like the insert itself doesn’t fit me too bad. If anything, I feel like I fit a little bit better, like snug in it than I did. It’s just those other things that we moved around unknowingly really.”WHAT DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO SEE NEXT WEEKEND?“I don’t know. It’s hard to say. These cars, it’s been a lot of fun. it’s been challenging to understand so far. I don’t know. I think the transitioning from straightaways to corners is going to be interesting. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. I haven’t even read on it. I have only heard you know a little bit about it, so I really can’t say. I have tried, for the most part, to go into a lot of the race weekends with not a lot of expectations so I can be ready to adapt to anything. That has been a good approach for me and I’m pretty much carrying that thought process, that approach, into Atlanta as well.”
JUST FOLLOWING UP ON THE LEG NUMBNESS, I’M CURIOUS IF ANOTHER SOLUTION YOU GUYS OR THE RCR CAMP HAVE THOUGHT OF WOULD BE GETTING THE BLOOD FLOWING IN THE LOWER EXTREMETIES BEFORE A RACE? COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE A SOLUTION TO THAT TOO OR NOT REALLY?“For the amount of time that you spend in a car, I think that could help in some sense, but I mean I was in the car for four hours in Las Vegas and to a degree it could help some, but when you are sitting in a car for a long period of time, I don’t expect that to be a fix. But I think it could be something, you know it certainly doesn’t hurt and you don’t necessarily want to get in a car for four hours and not be stretched out and have some good blood flowing anyway. You want to be ready at the start of the race, anything can happen. It certainly helps, but I think there’s some other things that we moved around that hopefully will take care of it.”
AS YOU ENTER THIS WEEKEND, CAUSE THIS IS A TRACK WHERE YOU HAVE TO USE BOTH PEDALS, IS THIS A TRACK WHERE YOU’RE REALLY CONCERNED THAT THE LEG NUMBNESS MAY BE HAPPENING ONCE AGAIN OR NOT REALLY WITH THIS ADJUSTMENT?“Like I said a little earlier, it’s really hard to tell at the shop sitting still. You can strap yourself in, you can sit there forever. Without the car moving, you know the loads. When I sat in the car in Fontana for Vegas, I thought it was going to be ok. That does make it a little concerning, but I know that we went the right direction. It’s just hopefully we have gone enough, hopefully we didn’t go too far. Its just kind of difficult to really know if we got it right, and you know we got, well I thought we had enough time at Las Vegas to get a feel for it but we had some pretty lengthy changes, I didn’t get to stay out on the track quite long enough for that really to take into effect. You know coming in and sitting for 10 minutes while we were making some changes to the car took away from that, so we had the opportunity with that practice to get an idea for if we were going to be ok or not. We just didn’t take advantage of it. You know at Fontana, we didn’t really get to run long enough in the 15 minute practice session, or group split that we had to figure it out, so that is a cause for concern. We could probably run that whole session straight through and still may not know if it’s ok or not for the race.”
ARE YOU GETTING TO A POINT WHERE YOU’RE STARTING TO KNOW WHERE THE EDGE IS, HOW FAR YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT? “It’s getting closer. The last two weeks have been a little more difficult to know, Vegas for sure was as well. (inaudible) You know in practice, you know just thinking we were balance wise pretty close and then figuring out as the race kind of unfolded that we were too loose and ultimately the car came around on me. There was a lot of learning left there, but it is hard to kind of get a feel for it with some of the things that we’ve been fighting. You know a place like Phoenix, when I tested there, I guess it would have been January, I actually felt like you could get away with more in this car than what we’ve ran there the last two years on short-tracks. This wider tire definitely adds a little bit different on a short-track than it does on some of the higher speed racetracks, so very interesting to see what that’s like in a lot more traffic, a lot more dirty air in full on racing versus what we were experiencing during the test. The cars definitely different, everyone’s seen that already, but I feel like we have been able to race pretty hard. It’s been kind of nice having a car that, in my opinion, doesn’t get as aero-loose when you’re on someone’s door. There’s a lot of things different about it, it’s been fun learning some characteristics early.”
YOU THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY IT SUITS YOUR STYLE?“I don’t know actually. I like having a car hung out and you can’t really have this car hung out anymore.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE ITS (NEXT GEN CAR) LIVED UP TO ITS EXPECTATIONS COMING IN?“I do. It’s definitely more difficult to drive. There’s so much to (inaudible) that you can’t rely on, your old senses or marks. I mean for me it has. It’s been a lot of fun. I really do like the things that are different about this car. As to be expected with it, you know you are going to have more difficult things than others, but I feel like everyone’s maximum potential is or starting point is with this car has kind of brought together. Throughout the field more people have more opportunities to hit it right and be able to run up with the best of the best at the front of the field. But at the same time if you miss it really bad, you’re going to have a really tough day. There’s a lot to learn and we are going to continue to learn with this car.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Mar. 09, 2022) – John Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS team will continue to build their performance heading to the historic Gainesville Raceway for the East Coast opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. The third of 22 events on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour has historically been good to the 16-time champion. No one has won more Funny Car races at Gainesville Raceway than Force (8). In one stretch, he reached the final round nine times in 11 years (1991-2001) and recorded a personal best when he won five straight times (1992-1996). He won the race for the first time in 1992 and most recently in 2017, a span of 25 years. He has started from the No. 1 qualifying position seven times, winning from that spot in 1992, 1995, 2001 and 2017. His other No. 1s came in 1993, 1996 and 1999.   “Getting things started on the East Coast. Always love coming out to Gainesville, the Gatornationals are a big deal, all the history. With the Hall of Fame induction, all the who’s who, they all come out. It’s a great time,” Force said. “I grew up watching these guys. Don Garlits is a legend and he’s done so much for the sport. It’s going to be something special to have all the greats out watching. The fans always come out strong here in Florida too. Going to be quite the show, hoping to get this PEAK BlueDEF Chevy in the winners circle, that’s the goal. Would be something special at the Gators.” Force had pre-season success at testing at Wild Horse pass Motorsports Park in Arizona but stumbled at the season opening Winternationals where he qualified 16th and had a first-round exit. The PEAK / BlueDEF team turned things around back at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the NHRA Arizona Nationals. Force would qualify No. 3 and have a semifinals appearance. “We’ve been running better. I know Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi have been putting in the work on this BlueDEF Chevy and we’re in the game,” Force said. “It’s early still and we have plenty of time to get things going. We’ve already started, coming off a decent weekend in Phoenix. I’m just excited to be out her doing what I love. I want those wins though, to do well for myself, my fans and my sponsors. Looking forward to chasing a win this weekend.” The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 11-13 begins with a single qualifying session on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at noon and 2:45 p.m. Gatornationals eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage begins Saturday with shows at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and eliminations air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 09, 2022) – At a facility filled with history and nostalgia, Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster team will hope to add their names to the list of winners this weekend at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, the third of 22 events in the 2022 Camping World season and the East Coast opener. Despite missing most of the last two seasons, Prock showed no ill effects from the layoff when he took the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster to the final round of the season opening Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. Gremlins created trouble for the Top Fuel standout at the most recent event in Arizona but the Montana Brand / RMT team are only 58 points back sitting sixth in the points standings. “We had a really strong start to the season at the Winternationals. This Montana Brand / RMT team was pumped and we still are,” Prock said. “Arizona was tough but it was also a learning experience, I learned a lot in the seat in that first round. It wasn’t the weekend we wanted but it was a weekend of growth and that’s important. We’ll take what we learned and go to Gainesville and try to get to the finals again.” The 2019 winner of the Auto Club’s Road to the Future as the NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year, Prock has a unique opportunity this week to become the third generation of the Prock family to reach the final round of the Gatornationals. His dad, Jimmy, crew chief on Robert Hight’s Auto Club Chevrolet Funny Car, has won the race five times, four with Hight, once with Top Fuel Hall  of Famer Joe Amato, and his grandfather, Tom, was runner-up to another Hall of Famer, Don Prudhomme, in the 1975 Gatornationals. Austin is making just his second appearance in the Florida race. As a rookie in 2019, he qualified No. 10 and had a first round exit. “It’s been a great start to the week attending the Hall of Fame inductions and celebrations. Listening to the wealth of knowledge of the inductees has been absolutely amazing. It already has me fired up and ready to continue to make my mark on the sport. I know my Montana Brand / RMT team will have the same energy rolling through the gates,” Prock said. “Hoping to get a win in Gainesville. It’s got a lot of sentimental value in my heart, with Eric Medlen. It would be cool to get it done for Eric.” The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 11-13 begins with a single qualifying session on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at noon and 2:45 p.m. Gatornationals eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage begins Saturday with shows at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and eliminations air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

CHEVROLET AT GAINESVILLE What: Amalie Motor Oil NHRA GatornationalsWhen: Friday, March 11-Sunday, March 13Where: Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, FloridaTV: FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 13          Team Chevy aims to continue momentum at GainesvilleChevrolet youth movement making a statement in Pro Stock class

DETROIT (March 9, 2022) – Reigning and five-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson could secure his milestone 100th victory this weekend, which would also mark Chevrolet’s 350th in Pro Stock competition since 1970. To join 16-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force as the only professional class drivers with 100 wins requires Anderson to navigate a deep, young and talented field dominated by fellow drivers of the Chevrolet Camaro SS.

“The competition out there is incredible; the talent level is incredible,” said Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS who has come up short in elimination rounds against the eventual winners of the first two races. “These young guys are not only talented, but they’re in top-shelf equipment, which you wouldn’t have seen 10, 15 years ago. They are a win waiting to happen every race they go to, and they are very disappointed if they don’t win. They have the right attitude. It’s hard racing every day against them.” Listen: An informative and insightful interview with Top Fuel champion Brittany Force Aaron Stanfield, who turned 27 on Feb. 10, is among the drivers of the Camaro SS heading into the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals aiming to make another statement for the Chevrolet youth movement. The class points leader is coming off a victory at Phoenix preceded by a runner-up finish in the season opener at Pomona in the Janac Brothers Camaro SS. “The younger generation is, I think, driving more fans back to Pro Stock,” said Kyle Koretsky, 32, who was the No. 1 qualifier at Phoenix in the KB Racing-prepared Lucas Oil Camaro SS and has advanced to five final rounds in 27 races. “It’s good for me and my marketing partners, it’s good for NHRA and it’s good for the class in general. “The rental programs that are out there these days are unbelievable. It’s not like it used to be when my dad raced, where if you didn’t have power, you weren’t winning and they wouldn’t give you power. Now, it’s more affordable than going out there and trying to R&D your own stuff.” Koretsky’s KB Racing teammate and 2021 NHRA rookie of the year Dallas Glenn is 31, as is Phoenix runner-up Troy Coughlin Jr. Second-year driver Mason McGaha is 20 and class first-year driver Camrie Caruso turned 24 on Feb. 14. “We’re proud to help the future of the class, and the future of the class was looking a little bleak a few years back and it’s absolutely done a 180,” Anderson said. “The sport in general is on the rise and getting stronger as the year goes by.” Added four-time Pro Stock champion and Pomona winner Erica Enders, driver of the Melling Performance Camaro SS: “The landscape has completely changed. In 2005, I was racing against a bunch of older guys. Now, it’s Greg Anderson and myself taking on this class of kids, and I think it’s so cool because we have all these kids interested in the class and it’s more affordable because of what (Elite Motorsports owner) Richard Freeman and the KB Racing guys have done.” Stanfield will pull double duty this weekend as he returns to the Janac Brothers Chevrolet COPO Camaro as the reigning and two-time champion of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. The event is the first of eight during the season. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “We’ve been working over the winter in our shop on the car. Thirty cars fighting for 16 spots will be pretty intense and there will be some really competitive races.”  Robert Hight will aim for his third consecutive Funny Car victory to start the season in the Auto Club of Southern California Camaro SS, while John Force seeks to extend his record with a ninth Funny Car win in the Gatornationals driving the PEAK BlueDEF Platinum Camaro SS. Brittany Force, the No. 1 qualifier at Pomona, and Pomona runner-up Austin Prock look to claim their first victory of the season. FS1 will telecast taped eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, March 13. CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPITTOP FUELBRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier and semifinalist at opener; holds both ends of the Top Fuel track record): “This Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac team has had a good start to the season. We are heading into the Gatornationals sitting fourth in points and we’re only two races in. I’m looking forward to building on what we’ve already done and moving forward. The Gatornationals is one of the biggest races on our circuit. It will always be a special place for me. I grew up going to that race and I got my first professional win at that track in 2016. (About the All-Star Callout) Out of the eight drivers, our team is qualified in the second position. We are all excited to be in the chase for this specialty race and the $80,000 prize. It’s going to be an eventful weekend.” AUSTIN PROCK, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONTANA BRAND/ROCKY MOUNTAIN TWIST CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 4 qualifier and runner-up at opener): “We’ve been making leaps every day it seems. We made a lot of headway at Phoenix and we’re learning something new every time up there. You’re going to have to be on your game at all times if you want to go for those Wallys. I visited the Garlits museum and it already has me fired up and ready to continue to make my mark on the sport. I know my team will have the same energy rolling through the gates. Hoping to get a win in Gainesville. It’s got a lot of sentimental value in my heart, with Eric Medlen. It would be cool to get it done for Eric.” FUNNY CARJOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (eight-time winner of event): “Getting things started on the East Coast. Always love coming out to Gainesville, the Gatornationals are a big deal, all the history. With the Hall of Fame induction, they all come out. It’s a great time. I grew up watching these guys. Don Garlits is a legend. He’s done so much for the sport. It’s going to be something special to have all the greats out watching. The fans always come out strong here in Florida too. Going to be quite the show, hoping to get this PEAK BlueDEF Chevy in the winner’s circle, that’s the goal. Would be something special at the Gators.” ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier in both races and winner of both races; holds both ends of the track Funny Car record): “It’s a great start to the season for this Auto Club team. We’ve ran well but we haven’t found the edge yet, there’s still more out there. This Auto Club team has to stay focused, we can’t get complacent. We have to continuously work hard, and the results will come. We know the rest of these guys out here are gunning for us and they’re going to be pushing hard. We’ve got to keep doing our job.” PRO STOCKAARON STANFIELD, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JANAC BROTHERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (winner at Phoenix, runner-up at Pomona, points leader): “At Phoenix, we had a fast and consistent hot rod all weekend long. It just felt smooth and fast. (About tightness of field in first two races) I think it’s a look into the rest of the season that nobody is safe even though you qualify on the pole, you still have to cut a good light and stay consistent to go some rounds. (About maintaining mental focus) Last year, we had a period where we were doing really well, but it’s about maintaining consistency throughout the year. (About being a new dad) You lose a little bit of sleep, but it’s worth it. It’s been great.” TROY COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (runner-up at Phoenix): “There’s definitely a lot of momentum in the camp and my crew chief Mark Ingersoll and the boys — Kyle Bates, Ricky Calloway and Kelly Murphy — certainly have the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ready to win. Why not Gainesville? It’s a very historic race, the first big one of every season that takes place on the East Coast, and one that all the legends have won. That includes my Uncle Jeg, who won Pro Stock there in 2001 and 2008. I’d love to win it again in the Pro Stock car.” GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (four-time winner of event, including 2021; seeking to become second pro driver with 100 wins): “We started the season there last year and won, so I’m going to consider the Gatornationals as the start of my season this year. My guess is we’re going to be shortened at least one, if not more, qualifying runs (because of inclement weather), so you better have your ducks in a row when you’re on the grounds because there won’t be a lot of time to get it right. You have to be ready to make your best run right off the trailer. We certainly didn’t perform like we should have or needed to at the first two races, so we’re going to act like those didn’t happen and we’re going to start our season this weekend in Gainesville.”  KYLE KORETSKY, KB RACING, LUCAS OIL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 1 qualifier at Phoenix): “Going into Gainesville, I know our car is fast and capable of the No. 1 qualifier but looking to go more rounds. A semifinal loss (at Phoenix) is a great outing, but it was straight driver error. They gave me a car to win and I let the team down. We’ll go to Gainesville with a clear head and give it our best. (About qualifying at Phoenix) The team hit it right and that’s why I went to the top.”  DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2021 NHRA rookie of the year): “I feel like I’ve got something to prove after Phoenix. I’m lucky I was able to race at all after having the car fall off the jack and onto my foot but as a racer, I want to win every time I get behind the wheel. I rested up and let my foot heal a little bit on our weekend off and I think I’m back in fighting shape for Gainesville.” DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (2021 NHRA rookie of the year): “I feel like I’ve got something to prove after Phoenix. I’m lucky I was able to race at all after having the car fall off the jack and onto my foot but as a racer, I want to win every time I get behind the wheel. I rested up and let my foot heal a little bit on our weekend off and I think I’m back in fighting shape for Gainesville.” CAMRIE CARUSO, CARUSO FAMILY RACING, RIGHT TRAILERS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (earned first round win at Phoenix): “March is Women’s History Month, so it was cool to make a little history of our own getting that win light in our second race. The NHRA has had so many amazing women competitors. I am proud to be out here competing against the Pro Stock guys with Erica Enders and other NHRA professional women drivers like Leah Pruett, Alexis DeJoria and Brittany Force. I have a great team and we are all working together every day to get better. I might be the one in the race car but there are guys back in the shop at Titan Racing Engines who put a lot of sweat into giving me the power to run in the top half.”

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (March 9, 2022) – Dominic Scelzi is excited to defend his home turf this weekend when the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series invades California for the first of three straight weeks.

The action begins Friday and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, where Scelzi was victorious six times last year.

“Any more I think you have to treat it like any race,” he said. “To win a local race or a national race, you have to put yourself in position. If we can qualify well and get ourselves in position in time trials that’s the biggest hurdle we’ll need to cross. If we can do that I think we’ll put ourselves in a good position to contend for wins. We’re in a good place as a team right now. I’m excited to get back to racing with the World of Outlaws.”

Scelzi posted a sixth-place result during his most recent World of Outlaws event last year and he rallied from 22^ndto 15^th during the last Outlaws show at Thunderbowl Raceway in March 2019. His career-best World of Outlaws result at the track was a fourth-place showing in 2018.

“I think we’ve been hot and cold there over the years,” he said. “That’s just been the results overall. I don’t think that’s mattered whether it’s an Outlaws race or a local race over the years. We’ve been a lot hotter there lately. We won races in the slick, won races when there was grip and won races when it was rough last year so that gives us a lot of confidence.”

Scelzi also plans to race with ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’ the following weekend at Merced Speedway in Merced and Ocean Speedway in Watsonville as well as at Bakersfield Speedway in Bakersfield and Perris Auto Speedway in Perris during the final weekend of the World of Outlaws spring swing through California.

“I love racing with the Outlaws,” he said. “I love when they are in town. I miss racing with them night in and night out. I had a lot of fun when I was traveling. It’s great being able to gauge how we are as a team and stack up with the best drivers in the world. If you’re good at something it will show and if you’re bad at something it’ll really show.”

SEASON STATS –

2 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 2 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 09, 2022) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS team are having a perfect start to their 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. They’ll head to the East Coast opener, the prestigious Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway, sitting No. 1 with a 65-point lead and nothing but motivation to keep it going.  Hight is off to the best start of his career and one of the best starts of all time after winning back-to-back races at the season-opening Winternationals and NHRA Arizona Nationals. Only 15 other drivers have started with back-to-back wins. Hight is just the fifth Funny Car driver to start the season with two wins, joining teammate John Force (1997), Don Prudhomme (1975, 1976), Matt Hagan (2015, 2017) and Ron Capps (2009). The consistency has shown through for Hight and his Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham led Auto Club team, they’ve run in the 3.8-second range 13 out 14 passes. “It’s a great start to the season for this Auto Club team,” Hight said. “We’ve ran well but we haven’t found the edge yet, there’s still more out there. This Auto Club team has to stay focused, we can’t get complacent. We have to continuously work hard, and the results will come. We know the rest of these guys out here are gunning for us and they’re going to be pushing hard. We’ve got to keep doing our job.” Hight has four wins at the NHRA Gatornationals, most recently in 2019 when he was also the No. 1 qualifier alongside teammate Brittany Force in Top Fuel. Hight also has two additional No. 1s at the facility where he set the track records on March 19, 2017 when he ran 3.828-seconds at 334.82 mph. “I am excited about getting to some different conditions in Gainesville. We haven’t raced in any humidity yet and you get that at the Gatornationals,” Hight said. “I’m excited to get back in the Auto Club car, when you’re on a role like this you want to just keep racing, so I tried to enjoy my weekend off but I’m ready to work hard and try and do it again at the Gatornationals.” The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 11-13 begins with a single qualifying session on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying continues Saturday with sessions at noon and 2:45 p.m. Gatornationals eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage begins Saturday with shows at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and eliminations air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 09, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team have shown that performance will once again be no issue for them in the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. They enter this weekend’s prestigious Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway with confidence after opening the season with two promising performances.  Seeming to pick up right where they left off, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team started the 2022 off with a strong season-opening Winternationals. The David Grubnic and Mac Savage led tuned team entered race day from No. 1 for the 33rd time in Force’s career and the 23rd time in her last 46 starts. At the Arizona Nationals, Force and the Monster Energy team showed some consistency when they were quickest during the warmest run of qualifying and picked up their performance during eliminations despite a second-round exit.     “This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team has had a good start to the season. We are heading into the Gatornationals sitting fourth in points and we’re only two races in,” Force said. “I’m looking forward to building on what we’ve already done and moving forward.” Force and the Monster Energy team will be building on an already well-established base as they head to Gainesville Raceway. Force set the track elapsed time record at 3.860-seconds in 2019 when she and Robert Hight both were No. 1 qualifiers, one of only 12 times that John Force Racing drivers have occupied the No. 1 positions in both nitro categories at the same event. She also set the track speed record at 331.94 mph in her most recent appearance in 2021. “The Gatornationals is one of the biggest races on our circuit. It will always be a special place for me. I grew up going to that race and I got my first professional win at that track in 2016. I’m excited to be heading there with my Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team this weekend,” Force said. “This weekend also holds a race within a race with the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout on Saturday. Out of the eight drivers, our team is qualified in the second position. We are all excited to be in the chase for this specialty race and that $80,000 prize. It’s going to be an eventful weekend, I’m excited to be in the mix.  I’m looking forward to being back in Florida and in the mix of such an eventful weekend.” Force is the No. 2 qualifier for the inaugural Pep Boys All Star Callout. She’ll be racing for her first win in a shootout competition. From 2013 to 2017, Force qualified four times for what was then the Traxxas Shootout held at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway March 11-13 begins with a single qualifying session on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Qualifying continues Saturday with round one of the Pep Boys NHRA All-Star Callout serving as round one of Top Fuel at 11:45 a.m. The final session of qualifying will either be second round of the Pep Boys Call out at 1:30 p.m. or regular session at 2:45 p.m. The finals of the Callout will take place between Top Fuel and Funny Car qualifying at 3:15 p.m. Gatornationals eliminations are slated for 11 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage of the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout airs at 2 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcast Network. Qualifying airs Saturday at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and eliminations air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 9, 2022) – The Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown begins its eight race NHRA season at historic Gainesville Raceway for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals, March 11-13. After a lengthy off-season, past rivalries and heated competition will once again be front and center for the class showcasing Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Cobra Jets and Dodge Challenger Drag Paks entries.

“We’ve been at the shop working hard for the start of the season. We’re ready to get it started in Gainesville,” said two-time defending class champion and driver of the Janac Bros. COPO Camaro, Aaron Stanfield who already in 2022 has a win and a semifinal appearance in the NHRA Pro Stock category. 

Aaron Stanfield, defending Gatornationals winner, photo by Auto Imagery

“We’ve been working on some longevity things on the engine, overall, trying to find a little bit more power on the dyno. We know we have targets on our backs. That’s our goal every time we show up, to win. I know everyone else wants to, too, but we’re hoping to make that bounty larger and larger, just come out and get the win every time.”

Stanfield started his 2021 championship campaign with a win at the Gatornationals. He didn’t see the winner’s circle again until back-to-back wins at the final two races of the season secured him the championship and racked up his bounty to $2,000entering the Gatornationals. Introduced in 2021, the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program has increased fan and driver interest in the class. The bounty on Stanfield will increase until another driver defeats him during eliminations.

One driver looking to cash in on that bounty is manufacturer rival, Mark Pawuk, a six-time Pro Stock national event winner who honed his drag racing skills bracket racing in Norwalk in the 1970s and joined the Factory Stock Showdown class in 2018.

“We’ve had some pretty good results in testing this off-season. Obviously, everything resets coming into the Gatornationals. That’s one race I’ve really wanted to do well at over my entire career. It’s one of my favorite events,” said Pawuk, driver of the Empaco Equipment Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak for Don Schumacher Racing. “I’m just really looking forward to going out and being able to build on what we learned this winter when we were doing our testing. We have a new teammate in Warren Welcher and David Davies is back. So, I’m looking forward to us working together and building off each other and hopefully bringing some wins to Don Schumacher Racing this year in the Dodge.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Dodge Drag Pak

Pawuk finished the 2021 season with eighth in points and will be looking to lead a strong contingent of Don Schumacher Racing Dodges into the 2022 season.

Norwalk winner Chuck Watson II will once again be racing his Ford Mustang Cobra Jet, and he knows how big a win at the season-opening Gatornationals could be.

“I’m super excited. I just checked the car counts and we’re at or over 30,” said Watson. “That’s phenomenal, and all three major manufacturers, that’s fantastic. It’s a nice spread. It’s what makes our class so exciting. On the outside, minus the stickers, these cars look like production cars, even on the interior. It would mean everything to come out to win the Gatornationals. I’m truly just thankful and excited to be participating in this class. Like I said, it’s extremely competitive, with a lot of experienced drivers, a lot of cars competing. To walk away with a win this weekend would be super exciting.”

Chuck Watson, Norwalk Nationals winner, photo by Auto Imagery

Qualifying for Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway will begin Friday at noon followed by a second session at 3 p.m. Qualifying will continue Saturday at 9:30 a.m. before first round of eliminations at 1:15 p.m. Eliminations will continue Sunday at 12:55 p.m.

Ahead of the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts on March 19, drivers Sebastien Bourdais (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R) and Tristan Vautier(No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) met with the media March 8 via Zoom conference. They co-drove to the overall victory in the 2021 race. Bourdais also co-drove to the overall win in 2015 in a Corvette DP. For this year’s race, they will be competitors. Full transcript (by driver):

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 1 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R): TELL US HOW IT’S SHAPING UP FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE.“Great memories from Sebring. It couldn’t have asked for any better with the result from last year and I’m looking forward to giving it another go. I think it’s a track that I very much enjoy; probably one of the tracks that I enjoy the most out of the whole schedule. We haven’t had exactly the start of the season that we were hoping for, but we were really quick at Daytona in the Cadillac 01 and we can only hope that we turn the tables around and get a little bit better success on track and keep executing and results will follow.” YOU’RE FOCUSING ON A 12-HOUR. WAS THAT YOUR DECISION OR SOMETHING THAT (THE TEAM) WAS SUGGESTING YOU DO INSTEAD OF ALSO UNDERTAKING THE WEC RACE?“It was a Cadillac call, which I totally understand. If the 1,000 miles was after the 12 hours, that would have been a different story. The team was basically not super comfortable with me doing a 1,000-mile race before the 12 hours.” YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF MILES AT SEBRING, AND THE BUMPS ARE WHAT DEFINE THE TRACK. DO YOU THINK THE CADILLAC DOES A BETTER JOB OF HANDLING THE BUMPS THAT SOME OF THE OTHER PROTOTYPES?“There is no arguing that. Now it’s a two-manufacturer battle between Cadillac and Acura, but even when it was Mazda it’s pretty clear that Cadillac with the Dallara chassis has better characteristics for bumpy tracks. It’s a car that is less ride-sensitive than the competitors. We can see that we can run a bit softer, which at a place like Sebring is very beneficial. The drawback of that is the car doesn’t really have a big peak in downforce and therefore and is less sited to tracks where you can run low and stiff. It’s a balance, but obviously it’s won quite a few championships since 2017, so it seems to be working out pretty good.” TALK US THORUGH THE END OF THAT RACE LAST YEAR. WHAT TOOLS DO YOU HAVE IN THE CAR; WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO HANG ON AND BRING IT HOME?“I didn’t have a whole lot of time to figure out what was going on. Initially, I thought the front bar broke and I stiffened it up all the way and that helped. Full stiff front bar and full soft rear bar and I think 3 percent of full brakes to the front and just hang on. That’s pretty much all there was to do. It was far from ideal, but I was really quick in the straights. As long as I was not getting passed in the corner, it was pretty hard to get past.” HOW MUCH COMPROMISE DO YOU HAVE? DO YOU TYPICALLY SET UP THE RACE CAR FOR THE HEAT OF THE DAY AND COME GOOD FOR THOSE FINAL THREE HOURS?“I think everybody shoots for the end of the race. That’s when it’s go time. Usually you always have a two, three or one hour to the end to the last yellow and that’s when everybody is nose to tail. You obviously want track position, but you need to be in a strong position with the balance of the car. You can’t hope to win the race if you’re really struggling. If you’re going to be struggling, it’s going to be in the middle of the afternoon. You can always play a little bit with tire pressures and this and that, but it’s usually what you’re not shooting for. You’re shooting for the end of the race.” WITH THIS EVOLUTION (HELPING INDYCAR ROOKIE DRVER KYLE KIRKWOOD) HOW DO YOU FEEL THIS HELPS YOU RACING IN PROTOTPES AND HOW WOULD IT HELP YOU IN SEBRING?“I think it’s two separate things. I live in St. Pete (first INDYCAR race of season) and Kyle is a really good kid and was jumping in that 14 car and we were talking after Daytona and I said it you want me to be there I can try to be another set

Batavia, OH (March 8, 2022) – Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series officials are delighted to announce the Racing For Heroes organization as the sponsor for the start zone with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2022. The excitement and thrill of every start and restart by the stars of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will happen at the “Racing For Heroes Start Zone”. Racing For Heroes is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering the lives of our Nation’s Veterans through motorsports, health, wellness, and employment opportunities. Racing For Heroes helps Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), and drug addictions because of these neurological damages caused by trauma. Racing For Heroes provides Veterans a place to improve their health and wellness with employment opportunities, all while incorporating engagement in motorsports as real therapy. “We are proud to be partners with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. This partnership highlights our belief that engaging in motorsports provides catharsis and a sense of camaraderie to the Veterans we serve. We are looking forward to 2022 and beyond,” stated Dr. Brett Morash, Executive Director of Racing For Heroes. Racing For Heroes located in Alton, VA relies on contributions and donations from individuals and organizations to help fund their programs and provide Veterans rehabilitation through their services and operations. To learn more about Racing For Heroes visit www.racingforheroes.org. To make a donation to this great organization visit www.racingforheroes.org/donate.  “We are thrilled to be associated with Dr. Brett Morash, everyone at Racing For Heroes, and their organization. Helping Veterans and supporting our military in any way is important to Forrest Lucas and Lucas Oil Products. This partnership will help bring more awareness and hopefully more donations to this great organization to help Veterans all across our great country,” stated Wayne Castleberry, Corporate Sales and Marketing for Lucas Oil Motorsports. About Racing For Heroes: Racing for Heroes is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization supporting disabled veterans in the community through Advocacy, Engagement and Racing. Since the Organization’s inception in 2014, RFH has provided Veterans with medical assistance for PTSD, TBI rehabilitation, purchasing and supplying equipment that accommodates disabilities, suicide prevention and recognition to Veterans for their service. We have built a community who continues to care for each other and promotes continued patriotism through giving back to our community. Racing has positively impacted and saved the lives of many of our Veteran friends and patrons. RFH is dedicated to providing access to the thrills of racing and to team camaraderie for all who have served and benefit from a goal oriented, leadership environment. To learn more visit www.racingforheroes.org.

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2022, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 65 events across 18 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events will be streamed live on MAVTV Plus, with broadcasts on MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

2022 Official Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners

2022 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Partners Include:Advanced Powder Coating, Ag Protect 1, Allstar Performance, Arizona Sport Shirts, Armslist.com, Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Big River Steel, Black Diamond Chassis, Boyd Bilt Fabrication, Brandon Ford, Brodix, Capital Race Cars, Clements Racing Engines, Cornett Racing Engines, DirtCar Lift, Dirt Draft, DirtonDirt.com, Dirty Girl Racewear, Dixie Chopper, eBay Motors, E3 Spark Plugs, Earnhardt Technologies Group, Etchberger Trucking, Fast Shafts,General Tire, Heath Lawson Photography, Holmatro, Hoosier Tire, Hot Rod Processing, Keyser Manufacturing, K&N Engineering, Longhorn Chassis, Lucas Oil Products, MAVTV Motorsports Network, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Midwest S

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 8) — Feeling confident after a superb runner-up finish at the last NHRA tour stop in Phoenix, Pro Stock driver Troy Coughlin Jr. is hoping to extend a promising winning streak the Elite Motorsports team has put together by winning this weekend’s 53rd annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. Both of the races contested so far this year have been won by drivers from the Elite camp, with four-time world champion Erica Enders claiming the season-opening Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., and upstart Aaron Stanfield edging Coughlin himself for the trophy in Arizona. “There’s definitely a lot of momentum in the camp and my crew chief Mark Ingersoll and the boys — Kyle Bates, Ricky Calloway and Kelly Murphy — certainly have the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ready to win,” Coughlin said. “Why not Gainesville?”

There’s no reason to think Coughlin isn’t a top contender in the Sunshine State. Aside from coming a whisker away at the last meet, Gainesville Raceway is the site of the third national event victory of his career, which occurred in 2013 when he dominated the Super Gas class. “It’s a very historic race, the first big one of every season that takes place on the East Coast, and one that all the legends have won,” Coughlin said. “That includes my Uncle Jeg, who won Pro Stock there in 2001 and 2008. I’d love to win it again in the Pro Stock car.  “I know the group back in Oklahoma (where Elite Motorsports is based) have used the little bit of extra time between Phoenix and this coming weekend’s race to totally refresh all the motors, so we will literally be at full strength when we start. The goal is to take them one at a time and make seven strong runs down there.”

As usual with this event and the time of year, weather will likely play a big role in the action on the racetrack. Coughlin knows his group will be ready for whatever conditions they may encounter. “Overall, there are a lot of indications that we will have some very fast racing,” Coughlin said. “We’ll see a lot of 6.50s (second passes) and maybe even a few 6.40s, especially on Saturday and Sunday. The faster the better for me; I love it when conditions are optimal. “I’ve been hitting the practice tree to try and keep the laser focus it takes to win in this category. We’ve already experienced what it takes to turn on green lights this year and as a team, we’ve risen to the challenge. Hopefully, that won’t change this weekend.”

Coughlin currently is fourth in the Camping World Drag Racing Series points, trailing only Enders, Stanfield and rival Greg Anderson.

• Dodge//SRT and Mopar head to the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series’ traditional east coast season opener, the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals, at Florida’s Gainesville Raceway March 10-13
• Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) Funny Car driver Matt Hagan seeks his first Gatornationals Wally aboard the Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat
• TSR pilot Leah Pruett set to stage her Dodge Power Brokers dragster among eight competing in NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout specialty race during Saturday qualifying 
• Cruz Pedregon Racing looking to make gains with Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car at Gatornationals 
• Seven Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Paks to compete at Gainesville in first of eight Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown events this season and vie for new $10,000-to-win Direct Connection Contingency purse 
• Dodge//SRT and Mopar displays in the NHRA Manufacturers Midway will feature a Direct Connection performance vehicle along with a new look on the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car simulator for fans to experience the thrill of a nitro run
• Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP) will kick off the first of seven activations at national events this season at the Dodge//SRT and Mopar displays 

March 8, 2022, Auburn Hills, Michigan — The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series’ traditional east coast season opener takes place this weekend at the historic Gainesville Raceway with Dodge//SRT and Mopar racers excited to get staged for the Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals. Tony Stewart Racing’s Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett will seek a first win for their new team aboard their Dodge Power Brokers machines in their respective nitro categories, while both drivers are also looking to collect their first coveted Gatornationals Wally trophies.

Hagan, a three-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion, arrives in Gainesville, Florida, revving to go after powering his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car from the team’s first No. 1 qualifier position to their first final round appearance at the Arizona Nationals. 

“After spending three weeks on the west coast, we compiled a lot of data out there between one week of testing and two races,” said Hagan. “There is a fair amount of altitude in Phoenix, so we’ll have to transition to sea level in Florida. It looks like it may be a bit of a rainy weekend, so it will be fast and cool. I’m looking forward to it. Crew chiefs will have some big changes to make as far as compression and other things they do to make our cars run better at sea level.” 

Hagan’s drive for success at one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit is further amplified by the fact that it remains one of the few venues at which he has not yet turned on four consecutive win lights.

“Gainesville is a track that has always eluded me,” added Hagan. “I would like to be able to check it off. We are able to set track records if the temperatures and conditions are there, so I feel like we’re going into a racetrack where we can really lay down the performance that TSR is making with my Dodge Power Brokers Charger SRT Hellcat.”

Also ready to launch her Dodge Power Brokers Top Fuel dragster and the weekend on a positive note is Pruett, who puts an unfortunate pair of first round losses in the rearview mirror. Before setting her sights on going rounds in eliminations on Sunday, she’ll stage her 11,000-horsepower dragster for the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, a thrilling specialty race among eight competitors with a unique format. 

“I am probably more excited about the Callout for various reasons than all of my other competitors,” said Pruett. “I personally have been having trouble on the tree when it comes to Sunday eliminations. Therefore, us having ‘eliminations’ on Saturday will give me the opportunity for redemption I’ve been chewing on for weeks. That will subsequently make for the most extreme competition this team has yet to offer.

“Gainesville Raceway is one of the most historic tracks in the country,” Pruett added. “It’s relatively low sea level and high barometer make for recipes of fast passes but the humidity factor really tries to smother that extra horsepower. Given our unique weather forecast ahead, this weekend is definitely shaping up to be the ultimate horsepower war.”

Pruett is seeded sixth for the first of three shootout rounds set to take place as part of Saturday qualifying. The initial “callouts” will take place prior to the first round of Friday qualifying on March 11 at 5 p.m. Eastern. The quickest first-round winner will have their pick of the remaining semifinal opponents, automatically locking in the other pairing as well. FOX will provide TV coverage of the NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout, including live action of the final round, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, March 12. 

In addition to Hagan and Pruett competing in the nitro ranks, aboard the Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is two-time Funny Car world champion and 1998 Gatornationals winner Cruz Pedregon. With two drives to the winner’s circle last year, the Cruz Pedregon Racing team is continuing to perform well with two top-five qualifying efforts and five round wins in the first two of 22 NHRA events this season.

The 53rd edition of the legendary Gatornationals event also kicks off the Constant Aviation NHRA Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) eight-event series season which showcases Detroit’s finest drag-racing ready, factory-built vehicles. The Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Paks competing in FSS this year will have even more incentive to go for a Wally as a new Direct Connection Contingency Program will award them with a $10,000 purse, the largest available contingency award from any manufacturer, for earning a win in the exciting fan-favorite race. There are seven Mopar Drag Paks on the entry list looking to qualify for this weekend’s race.

Fans attending the Gatornationals are invited to visit Dodge//SRT and Mopar’s massive 4,800-square-foot display, one of the largest exhibits in the NHRA’s Manufacturers Midway, to check out a selection of performance parts and vehicles and meet their favorite Dodge//SRT drivers for autographs. Enthusiasts even get a chance to test their virtual race skills aboard the dueling pair of Dodge Challenger SRT Demon simulators or take to the driver’s seat in the Dodge Power Brokers Funny Car simulator to experience the thrill of a nitro run.  

This weekend the display will also host the Mopar Career Automotive Program (CAP), which launches its fourth season of activation at NHRA national events. The program offers immersive service technician courses through 100 certified training institutions, such as universities, colleges, community colleges and technical centers, with a curriculum designed to immediately place students in Stellantis dealerships upon graduation to meet the demand for new service technicians. 

“We’re looking forward to activating with Dodge//SRT and Mopar at the races. It’s a perfect fit for Mopar CAP,” said Keith Yancy, Director of Stellantis Performance Institute, which manages the program. “Students can turn their passion for automotive technology into a lucrative career working on the hottest cars in the industry.”

Mopar CAP information booths at the Dodge//SRT and Mopar display trailers will feature a subject matter expert, program information, games and giveaways. For information on the program and activation is available at Moparcap.com. 

Fans who can’t make it to the race track this weekend can stream all the Gatornationals action on their digital devices via NHRA.TV and tune in to FS1 for qualifying highlights on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern and broadcast elimination round coverage on Sunday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern.

DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News

Fans can follow all the NHRA action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.

@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram

The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers, competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.

Dodge//SRT

For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.

Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2022 model year, Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the Dodge Durango SRT 392, America’s fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.

In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). In 2021, Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market) — making it the only domestic brand ever to do so two years in a row.

Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2022) – One of the most anticipated seasons in Progressive American Flat Track history is only days away as the 2022 campaign is set to kick off in an epic Daytona Bike Week doubleheader. The 18-round fight featuring the world’s most elite motorcycle dirt track racers vying for the historic championship will begin this Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11 with the Mission Volusia Half-Mile I & II at Volusia Speedway Park in De Leon Springs, Florida.

The upcoming season will provide the latest chapter in what’s already established as one of the all-time great rivalries in a sport that has been defined by them over the decades. Over the past three seasons, former mentor Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) and protégé Briar Bauman (No. 3 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) have waged a titanic battle for supremacy that couldn’t possibly be any more evenly matched.

Since 2017, reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle Champion Mees has collected 932 points, 20 victories, and one championship. Bauman, for his part, has collected 932 points, 14 victories, and two championships. Already among the most talented, accomplished, and determined riders in recent memory, their rivalry fuels them both to ever greater heights.

That’s not to suggest the emergence of additional championship threats is out of the question. For long stretches of each of the past three seasons, Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) has looked every bit the equal of Mees and Bauman, and he has the potential to put an entire season together at that level. Robinson’s Mission Roof Systems teammate, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), meanwhile, has another year of seasoning and experience on the Indian FTR750 under his belt. Last year, Vanderkooi notched up four runner-up results in his quest for a maiden Mission SuperTwins win, and it was a relatively rare occurrence he didn’t finish in the top four.

The Estenson Racing Yamaha effort is expected to be more formidable than ever in 2022. JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) took a big step forward a year ago, starting with his runner-up result in the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park and ending with a fifth-placed championship ranking. With a leveled playing field working in his favor, Beach has all the tools necessary to crash the party.

That same reasoning extends to Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) as well. Bauman is only a couple seasons removed from finishing third in the Grand National Championship and will be well motivated to put Harley-Davidson back up front.

And we’d be remiss if we failed to mention the class’ most recent winner, Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), who claimed a maiden premier-class victory in stunning fashion at the ‘21 season finale.

Adding considerable excitement to this year’s Mission SuperTwins class is the addition of two riders who already rank as among the most decorated and popular riders in the sport. Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) – the all-time winningest rider in Parts Unlimited AFT Singles history – and Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) – that same class’ only back-to-back champion – are set to graduate to premier-class duty in equally high-profile fashion this season.

Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines

2022 marks the swansong season for the Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines category before it merges with Mission SuperTwins in 2023. That fact only increases its relevance this season, as it’ll serve as a preview for the premier-class production-based ruleset moving forward.

And those rules will be tested on track with the exciting introduction of the Mission Production Twins Challenge, in which the top four finishers in the Mission Production Twins Main Event gain entry into the Mission SuperTwins Main as well.

Even without that tie to the premier class, the ‘22 Mission Production Twins championship offers an abundance of intrigue. Persistent class power and defending champion Cory Texter(No. 1 G&G Racing/Mission Foods Yamaha MT-07) will put the #1 plate on the line as he looks to continue to rack up race wins along the way. Texter is long past his underdog days with the ‘19 and ‘21 championships on his résumé and last year’s season-long domination still fresh in his opponents’ collective memory.

He’ll face a multi-brand challenge right from the start with proven Mission Production Twins race winners representing three makes other than his own, including Chad Cose (No. 49 DPC Racing/Voodoo Ranger Harley-Davidson XG750R), Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield Twins FT), Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R), Ryan Varnes (No. 68 Schaeffer’s Motorsports/Rausch Fuel & Oil KTM 890 Duke) and Kolby Carlile (No. 36 KC36 Las Vegas Harley-Davidson XG750R).

Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

With the aforementioned Daniels and Texter-Bauman having graduated to Mission SuperTwins, this year’s Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER promises to be a wide-open affair.

Two-time championship runner-up Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) will do everything in his power to prevent that from happening; his ‘21 form suggests the Australian could be tough for the competition to deal with if he continues on his current trajectory.

That said, last year’s Rookie of the Year, Kody Kopp (No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE), is on an equally steep trajectory and comes armed with equal equipment.

There were times in 2021 when the American Honda-backed Turner Racing bikes looked to have speed on everyone else in the field. Riding the fleet of fast CRF450Rs in ‘22 is an all-new, ultra-talented trio in ‘19 class champ Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), last year’s third-ranked Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R), and heralded rookie Chase Saathoff (No. 106 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R).

Fast rising Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) – who won a pair of races for American Honda a year ago – was signed by Estenson Racing to fill the seat of reigning champion Daniels and represent Yamaha in the hotly contested class.

And Brandon Kitchen (No. 80 Vance & Hines/Husqvarna Motorcycles FC450), Trent Lowe(No. 48 Mission Foods/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda CRF450R), and Ferran Cardús (No. 377 Roof Systems of Dallas/Bullet Strong Racing Honda CRF450R) are just small sampling of other riders who harbor genuine race-winning aspirations in a class that consistently delivers fireworks.

Buy your tickets in advance for the Mission Volusia Half-Mile I & II at https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3666. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 and kids 12 and under are free when accompanied by an adult. Upgraded options include Reserved Grandstand, Premium Reserved Grandstand, and the Turn 1 Paddock Grandstand offering, granting fans all-day access to the pits along with exclusive access to the trackside grandstand located just outside Turn 1.

New for 2022, Paddock Access Upgrades are also available for purchase, providing all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Get a double dose of Progressive AFT action and save some cash with the Doubleheader Discount, which knocks $10 off a pair of Thursday and Friday tickets when purchased together.

Gates will open for fans at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on both days with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT ahead the evenings’ Main Event programs. You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities 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 Eventsfor $3.99 if purchased 24 hours or more in advance, or $4.99 if purchased on the day of the event.

The Mission Volusia Half-Mile I & II will premiere in back-to-back one-hour telecasts on FS1on Sunday, March 20, starting at 11:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m. PT., including exclusive features, cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage, and expert commentary.

For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com. To score the latest gear for the Progressive American Flat Track fan, visit our official merchandise store at https://store.americanflattrack.com.

How to Watch:

FOX Sports and Facebook are the official homes for coverage of Progressive American Flat Track. For the 2022 season, all 18 races will premiere in one-hour telecasts on FS1 during highly desirable weekend time slots. The complete schedule can be viewed at https://www.americanflattrack.com/events-foxsports. Viewers can watch livestream coverage of every round in the Facebook mobile app, Facebook desktop site or on the Facebook Watch mobile app. To watch the livestream on TV, fans can download the Facebook Watch TV app, or cast to a TV from the Facebook mobile app. Facebook Watch is available through Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and Xbox One.

Madden, Erb, Sheppard, Dillard, and more Prepare for return to The Pelican State, March 11-12

MONROE, LA– March 7, 2022– For the first time since 2007, the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models make their return to Louisiana for a trip to The Rev. 

The two-night spectacular kicks off Friday, March 11, as The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet battle in a 40-lap Feature, paying $10,000-to-win. Then, on Saturday, March 12, the Series superstars return to wage war in an epic $20,000-to-win, 60-lap finale.

One driver could end their trip to the bayou in style with a $30,000 payday if they sweep the weekend – and be the final driver in history to win a dirt race at the track as it will return to its original asphalt form after the weekend. 

Several local divisions will join the World of Outlaws Late Models throughout the weekend. On Friday the CRUSA Late Models and the USRA Limited Modifieds join the event, while Saturday the 604 Crate Late Models and USRA Factory Stocks are on hand. 

TICKETS: https://bit.ly/3Iti1AM

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

Here are some of the storylines to keep an eye on in Louisiana: 

Top Dogs on The Hunt: Through six races, Chris Madden and Dennis Erb Jr. have emerged as early contenders for the 2022 World of Outlaws CASE Late Model championship. 

Each driver scored a Series win at Volusia Speedway Park, and Madden leads the standings entering this weekend—38 points ahead of Erb. 

Both drivers are also rolling into Louisiana with momentum. Madden found Victory Lane at his home track Cherokee Speedway last weekend, while Erb won the preliminary Feature at Clarksville Speedway’s Toilet Bowl Classic. 

Madden has also found success on 3/8-mile tracks in the past, winning at Mississippi Thunder Speedway last May. 

Rocketing to the Rev: For the second straight season, four-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard failed to find Victory Lane at Volusia Speedway Park. 

Despite his drought at The World’s Fastest Half-mile, “The Rocket Shepp” enters the weekend with more wins than any other driver in 2022. 

Sheppard has six victories this season so far, including two at Vado Speedway—a similar 3/8-mile track.

In 2021, four of the New Berlin, IL driver’s eight wins came on tracks that size—adding 12 top-fives and 14 top-10s. 

If Sheppard grabs a victory at The Rev, he’ll make history tying Josh Richards for most World of Outlaws wins all-time (78).

Hometown Thriller: Cade Dillard finally gets his chance to run a national touring series event in front of his home state fans. 

The Robeline, LA driver, has already tasted Victory Lane at The Rev, winning two Mississippi State Championship Series events in 2020.

“The Thriller” is a multi-time World of Outlaws Feature winner, including two wins last season at Outagamie Speedway and Boone Speedway. 

He’s also found success on 3/8-mile tracks in the past, winning an event at Vado Speedway in 2020. Dillard had three top-fives and four top-10s on tracks that size in 2021. 

Rookie Battle: The chase for Rookie of the Year has two contenders fighting tooth and nail after leaving the Sunshine State. 

Both Max Blair and Tanner English have traded the top spot in the first six races. The Centerville, PA driver holds the lead entering the Pelican State—10 points ahead of English and 86 points ahead of Gordy Gundaker.

Despite Blair and English getting the early jump, Kyle Hammer also turned heads at Volusia Speedway Park. 

Hammer scored one top-five finish on the final night of DIRTcar Nationals and led 17 laps in a Feature earlier in the week before running into bad luck. 

The Rev provides a level playing field for the rookie class, as none of the drivers have turned a lap at the Louisiana facility. 

Man of Steel: Jonathan Davenport makes his return to World of Outlaws CASE Late Models competition this weekend at The Rev. If it’s anything like his last appearance, he’ll be the driver everyone is chasing. 

“Superman” ended the 2021 Series campaign by sweeping both World Finals Features at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. 

Davenport won three times with the World of Outlaws in 2021, including a $50,000 triumph at Cedar Lake Speedway’s USA Nationals. A win this weekend would give him 11 Series victories. 

Smooth Return: Bobby Pierce will join Davenport on the list of drivers hoping to take home $30,000 at “The Rev” this weekend. 

The “Smooth Operator” hasn’t been in action since January at the Wild West Shootout but, like Sheppard, had success at Vado Speedway. 

Pierce didn’t finish outside the top-10 during the eight-race event and added three top-fives. 

The Oakwood, IL driver won two World of Outlaws CASE Late Model Features in 2021—scoring a $20,000 win at the Illini 100 (Farmer City Raceway) and a $30,000 victory at the Hawkeye 100 (Boone Speedway). 

WHEN AND WHERE

March 11-12, The Rev in Monroe, LA

ABOUT THE TRACK

The Rev is a 3/8-mile Red Clay Oval
Online – https://www.therevdirt.com

TRACK RECORDS

The Rev- 14.654 set by Jon Mitchell on September 18, 2020

On the Internet
World of Outlaws CASE Late Models Series
Twitter – Twitter.com/WoOLateModels – @WoOLateModels
Instagram – Instagram.com/WoOLateModels – @woolatemodels
Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsLateModelSeries
YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month

Around the Turn: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return to Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC for the Rock Gault Memorial March 25-26. CLICK HERE for Tickets.

FEATURE WINNERS: (5 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA- 2
2. Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1
   Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1
   Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-1
   Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-1

HEAT RACE WINNERS (16 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Dale McDowell-Chickamauga, GA-6
2. Chris Madden-Gray Court, SC-5
3. Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-2
   Brandon Sheppard- New Berlin, IL-2
   Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-2
   Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2
   Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ-2
   Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-2
   Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-2
4. Devin Moran-Dresden, OH-1
   Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1
   Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE-1
   Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-1
   Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1
   Frank Heckenast, Jr., Frankfort, IL-1
   Max Blair, Centerville, PA-1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (12 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

1. Max Blair, Centerville, PA-3
2. Cade Dillard-Robeline, LA-2
   Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2
3. Hudson O’Neal- Martinsville, IN-1
   Logan Martin, Plains, MO-1
   Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-1
   Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA-1
   Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA-1
   Spencer Hughes, Meridian, MS-1
   Mike Norris, Sarver, PA-1
   Chase Osterhoff, Kankakee, IL-1
   Tyler Erb, New Waverly, TX-1

PODIUM FINISHES (11 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Podiums

1. Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-4
2. Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2
   Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2
   Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-2
   Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-2
3. Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA-1
   Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1
   Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1
   Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-1
   Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-1
   Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1

FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER (6 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.

1. Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN-1
   Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1
   Tanner English, Benton, KY-1
   Max Blair, Centerville, PA-1
   Gordy Gundaker, St. Charles, MO-1
   Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-1

SLICK WOODY’S QUICK TIME Award (5 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTs

1. Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-2
2. Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-1
   Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-1
   Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1
   Shane Clanton, Zebulon, GA-1

CASE FEATURE LAP LEADERS (8 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Laps Led

1. Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-65
2. Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-39
   Ashton Winger, Hampton, GA-39
3. Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-29
4. Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-25
5. Kyle Hammer, Clinton, IL-17
6. Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-15
7. Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-1

2022 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & Winners

No./ Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Thursday, Jan. 20 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Dale McDowell (1)
2. Friday, Jan. 21/Volusia Speedway Park/Barberville, FL/Ashton Winger (1)
3. Wednesday, Feb. 16/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Brandon Overton (1)
4. Thursday, Feb. 17/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Dale McDowell (2)
5. Friday, Feb. 18/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Dennis Erb Jr. (1)
6. Saturday, Feb. 19/Volusia Speedway Park, Barberville, FL/Chris Madden (1)

The new Midget series will make its debut at Farmer City Raceway, April 1-2CONCORD, NC – March 7, 2022 – The debut of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series this year will be accompanied by one of the most iconic brands in Midget racing and motorsports overall – Toyota.The manufacturer, which has elevated every series it enters, collecting multiple wins and championships across the motorsports landscape and dedicated time to developing drivers – highlighted in Midget racing – has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series. “Toyota has a rich history with Midget racing all across the country,” said Paul Doleshal, group manager of motorsports and assets, Toyota Motor North America. “From developing motors and providing engineering resources to growing and developing the drivers of tomorrow, Toyota’s dedication to grassroots motorsports is significant. The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series is an exciting opportunity to expand our passion for the division and help continue its growth.” The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets will make their debut with Toyota at Farmer City Raceway, April 1-2, to kick off the new Series’ 12-race 2022 tour. Twelve drivers have already committed to running the full schedule, including teenagers Jade Avedisian (15), Dominic Gorden (16) and Jace Park (15) – all driving for the Toyota-powered CB Industries team – and Toyota driver Cannon McIntosh. At the end of the season, $10,000 will be awarded to the 2022 Xtreme Outlaw Midget champion. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have a partner like Toyota want to be a part of our new Series,” said World Racing Group CEO Brian Carter. “Not only is the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series an exciting addition to the Greatest Shows on Dirt, giving talented drivers a new avenue to expand their career, it’s a Series that will showcase our future stars and with Toyota’s support we’ll be able to take that vision to the next level.” If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every Xtreme Outlaws Midget Series presented by Toyota event live on DIRTVision – either online or with the DIRTVision App. Stay tuned to XtremeOutlawSeries.com or @Xtreme_Outlaw on Twitter for more details as the inaugural season approaches. Full Xtreme Outlaw Midgets presented by Toyota 2022 Schedule:Fri-Sat, April 1-2: Farmer City Raceway (Farmer City, IL) – $4,000/$4,000 Mon-Tues, May 23-24: Millbridge Speedway (Salisbury, NC) – $4,000/$4,000 Sun, June 26: Jacksonville Speedway (Jacksonville, IL) – $4,000 Fri-Sat, August 5-6: Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 (Pevely, MO) – $4,000/$5,000 Fri-Sat, August 26-27: Davenport Speedway (Davenport, IA) – $4,000/$4,000 Thur, October 13: Port City Raceway (Tulsa, OK) – $5,500 Fri-Sat, October 14-15: I-44 Riverside Speedway (Oklahoma City, OK) – $4,000/$5,000

The Xtreme Outlaw Series is brought to fans by important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Low-E Insulation (Presenting sponsor of the non-wing Sprint Car Series), Toyota (Presenting sponsor of the Midgets Series), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier) and SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider). Other partners include:  DRC Chassis, K1 Race Gear, Pace Dyno Services, TJ Forged and Whitz Racing Products.

March 6, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team rode a late-race surge to a 16^th-place finish in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Burton started the race from 19^th place, and spent much of the race just outside the top 20. He had several close calls, which led to damage on the right rear of the No. 21 Mustang and a flat tire at one point.

The Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew rose to the occasion, made the necessary repairs and in the process also improved the handling of the car, even though poor track position often kept him from capitalizing on the improved performance. 

The Pennzoil 400 ended with a green-white-checkered-flag, overtime run to the finish. Crew chief Brian Wilson elected to bring Burton to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel for the final laps.

The rookie driver then used some impressive moves in the final laps to make his way to 16^th, his best running position of the day, at the checkered flag. 

“I felt like we had a real up-and-down day,” Burton told reporters at the track after the race.

“We ended up in the wall trying to miss a crash and then ended up hitting somebody trying to miss a crash.
 
“And every time we would get any track position we seemed to lose it. It’s a track-position race and lots of challenges trying to pass, but overall it was a pretty decent day for us.  

“The finish at least was better than where we had been at times and worse than what we had been quick enough to run at times.
 
“But, at the end of the day we’re building, so this is a step.”
 
He said it was important for him and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to be running at the checkered flag after being collected in crashes in the first two races of the season – at Daytona and Fontana.
 
“We actually finished the race and got some points,” he said. “We’re just trying to build towards the right direction as a group and trying to make our group better as quick as we can.”

The work continues next week at Phoenix Raceway.
 

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY PENNZOIL 400 MARCH 6, 2022

ALEX BOWMAN CAPTURES FIRST WIN OF 2022 AT LAS VEGAS Camaro ZL1 Takes Four of the Top-Five, Six of the Top-10 LAS VEGAS, Nev. (March 6, 2022) – In an exciting overtime finish, Alex Bowman and the No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 team earned their first victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) season in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A late-race caution with a two-tire pit strategy call made by Crew Chief, Greg Ives, put Bowman in a front row restart position alongside Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson. The two Camaro ZL1’s battled all the way to the checkered flag, with Bowman edging out Larson at the line by 0.178 seconds to capture his first victory of 2022 and his seventh-career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The feat secures Bowman’s NCS Playoff spot and his chance at the championship title. “I just can’t thank Ally and Chevrolet, everybody from Hendrick Motorsports enough,” said Bowman. “This thing was so fast all day. Never had the track position we needed to show it. Man, what a call by Greg Ives (crew chief) and the guys to take two (tires) there. Obviously it paid off. Racing Kyle (Larson) is always fun. Got to race him for a couple wins. We’ve always raced each other super clean and super respectfully. Just can’t say enough about these guys. It’s been a pretty awful start to the year, so to come out here and get a win on a last restart deal is pretty special.” The 28-year-old driver gave Chevrolet its 10th victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the second of the 2022 season for the Camaro ZL1. Chevrolet, the winningest brand in NASCAR, now sits at 816 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier division.  For the second week in a row, the Camaro ZL1 captured an impressive four of the top-five in the final running order. The win was celebrated by Bowman’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, who placed all four of their Camaro ZL1’s in the top-10; Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1, in second; William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1, in fifth; and Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, in ninth. Ross Chastain had a career day in his No. 1 ACM Awards Camaro ZL1, capturing his first-career NCS stage win and leading a career-best 83 laps en route to a third-place finish, giving Chevrolet a 1-2-3 finish. Tyler Reddick drove his No. 8 BetMGM Camaro ZL1 to a hard fought seventh-place finish, giving Chevrolet six of the top-10 finishers.  The NASCAR Cup Series finishes its three-race west coast swing next weekend at Phoenix Raceway with the Ruoff Mortgage 500 on Sunday, March 13, at 3:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1, RACE WIN PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: 
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the winner of today’s race, Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevrolet.
We’ll go straight to questions for Alex.
Q.Did you expect two tires to work as well as it did?ALEX BOWMAN: No. I was really surprised. On the front row there, you have to run so much throttle. We had been free on the short run, pretty good on the long run. I mean, I kind of feel like I know. Obviously a lot has changed with this race car, but typically two tires tighten you up a ton.
We were on old tires earlier in the day, like cold old tires. When we had the pit road issue, we came back and put old tires on. I was super tight the whole run. I was worried we were going to be super tight.On the front row, you got to drive it like it’s going to stick. Thankfully it stuck.
Q.Hendrick getting two of the first three races of the year, seems like you are the first to really take off with this car.ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think the 18 and the 19 were better than us at the end. Like if the caution doesn’t come out, I think I was going to get the 1, so probably finish third.
Yeah, I mean, I think Hendrick Motorsports, the depth of people and how good each and every person is there, pays off. We’re here with a new race car that has completely changed everything in our industry, from how they work on it, how they build it. Everything I touch is different, the pedals, shifter, the steering.Obviously it’s paying off, how good everybody is at HMS. I think we’re in a pretty good spot.
Q.The caution comes out. You’re on track thinking fourth. What are you hearing from Greg on the radio and how are you feeling at that point?ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, it’s somewhat similar to I guess two years ago here. We were the fastest car by a lot at the end. Ran down Blaney. We were probably going to get him, at least it was going to be a great race. The caution came out with a couple to go. We pitted. A bunch of people stayed out. We didn’t finish well at all.
I was just like, Man, same scenario all over again. But today so many people pitted – everybody pitted. It ended up working out for us. Obviously taking two got us on the front row. That’s why Greg gets paid the big bucks. I left the call up to him and he made the right call.
Q.How much of a weight off your shoulders is a win like this early in the year?ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, especially with how we started the year. Obviously Daytona and Fontana didn’t go well for us.
Happy to be able to get a win this early. The strength of the Hendrick cars this early has been great. There’s so many unknowns this year. There’s a lot going on. Excited to have the rest of the year to keep dialing these things in and be ready for the Playoffs.
Q.How excited were you that you had two teammates that took two tires as well?ALEX BOWMAN: Well, restart on the front row second to arguably the greatest race car driver of our generation. Tall task there. Greg made a great call. I was a bit worried we were going to be way too tight.But racing Kyle is hard. He’s so good. I just felt like when he took the top, I was way more confident. The bottom was where I wanted to be. It was where my car worked the best. I thought that gave me my best shot.
I’m glad it worked out, but I was definitely nervous. I wasn’t really thinking that the three teammates took two tires. I thought the 18 — honestly before the restart I thought the 18 would have won, just having four, being in a good spot like that.
I was able to run way more throttle than I thought I was going to on two tires. I felt like two tires on this race car just ended up being more grip than expected.
Q.Do you feel the talk that Rick Hendrick had with the drivers this week played into at all how y’all raced each other at the end?ALEX BOWMAN: Uhm, I don’t know. I don’t know that there was, like, really something Kyle could have done any differently, or even if he was trying to be dirty about anything. He was super tight on my door, side drafting me as hard as he could. He just ended up getting tight in three and four.I think the talk was a big wake-up call. Obviously when Mr. H calls a meeting like that, it gets your attention, it’s always going to. Anytime Mr. H talks, he’s got your attention, but especially in a situation like that.
I think Kyle and I historically have always raced each other really clean. I think that this was no different.
Q.There’s a lot of parity through three races. A lot of guys that don’t normally run up front are running up front. Is there anybody that surprised you?ALEX BOWMAN: I think last week was a good example of that. Erik I think surprised a lot of us being as fast as he was. I don’t mean that as him not being a capable race car driver or Dave not being a good crew chief. I’ve worked with Dave in the past. I think Dave is a phenomenal crew chief.
That’s a car that, like, historically hasn’t been there. Really cool to see that. I think that’s what this new car is all about. It was cool to see the 43 back up front with all the history behind that car.
So, yeah, to answer your question, I think there have definitely been people that have surprised people. My opinion is that you’ll have that a lot through the first half of the season. Once the bigger teams get time developing things, you’re never going to shut down the giant race teams, right?
I could be totally wrong on that. There’s people way smarter than me making decisions. It will be interesting to see how the course of the year plays out.
Q.I assume you like the car, wouldn’t tell me otherwise since you have a win. What do you like about it so far? Four wildly different tracks.ALEX BOWMAN: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is that it’s getting better, right? From where we started to where we are now, even where we started Fontana to where we are now, I think the cars have gotten better, the teams have gotten better at preparing them.
Yeah, I mean, there are things. We are race car drivers. We don’t want everything that we touch in the entire car to change all of a sudden. The pedals are weird. The steering is way different. The seating position is different. Absolutely everything that I do as a race car driver has completely changed.
Historically I’ve loved loose race cars. Cried like a little girl when I’m tight. I now have to figure out how to drive a tight race car because I can’t make a loose race car work anymore.
Just got to figure out new things, and it is hard. But, yeah, I think the car is doing what it’s supposed to. The races have been great. Fontana historically was always won by like this big margin. Now we have close races each and every week. It’s been really, really good.
THE MODERATOR: Alex, congratulations on the win. Good luck next week in your hometown.
ALEX BOWMAN: Thanks, guys.