Sheppard, Madden, Bruening, and more get ready for a four-race weekendMIDDLETOWN, NY – AUG. 16, 2021 – Four races. Four tracks. Three States. That’s what awaits the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models as they prepare for the final Northeast swing of the season. The Series will run four 40-lap Features, each paying $10,000-to-win.  The grueling stretch starts with a return to the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, NY, on Thursday, Aug 19. It’s the first time the Series has raced at the “House of Power” since 2004.  Tickets: https://bit.ly/3xHwNOj Then, the Series moves west to the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA, on Friday, Aug. 20.  Tickets: https://bit.ly/3scMWKc On Saturday, Aug. 21, The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet visit the Buckeye State for the first time in 2021, with a stop at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH.  The weekend finishes with one more trip to the Keystone State and a trek to Eriez Speedway in Erie, PA.  If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month. Here are the top storylines to watch for this week: Keystone Contingent: When the World of Outlaws Late Models head to the Northeast, they know stout regional competitors aim to keep them out of Victory Lane.  Rick Eckert, the 2011 Series champion, and Max Blair are two drivers to keep an eye on this weekend as the Series returns to the area.  From York, PA, Rick Eckert won the last time the Series raced at Orange County Fair Speedway in 2004. “Scrub” already has a win in 2021, besting the World of Outlaws in June at Plymouth Speedway in Indiana.  Max Blair is coming into the weekend with momentum, finishing sixth at the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway.  The Centerville, PA driver is looking forward to Sunday’s event at Eriez Speedway, where the Viper Motorsports team has already won three times in 2021.  Freeze Warning: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driverStewart Friesen will make his second appearance of the season with the World of Outlaws Late Models Thursday at Orange County Fair Speedway.  He has more laps around the track than any other driver in the field and won a Super DIRTcar Series race last week at the “House of Power.”  The Sprakers, NY driver, will make history if he can win Thursday’s race. He’d be the first driver to win a Super DIRTcar Series, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Cars, and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Feature.  Friesen tested his Longhorn Chassis at Orange County last week, hoping to gain some knowledge before Thursday’s return to the speedway. Rocketing to History: As the season moves toward Labor Day weekend, Brandon Sheppard continues his climb to the peak of World of Outlaws Late Models history. And this weekend he might have an edge over the field, having won at three of this weekend’s four tracks – Williams Grove, Sharon and Eriez. A win this weekend would give the New Berlin, IL driver 74 career Victories, tying him with fellow three-time Series Champion Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list.  But the driver he’s trying to track down is Josh Richards—who’s at the top of the mountain with 78 Morton Buildings Feature wins.  The three-time and defending champion is also trying to match Richards for the most Series Championships. He has a comfortable advantage entering the Orange County Fair Speedway—102 points ahead of Chris Madden.  Chasing the “1”: Chris Madden has been consistent throughout the season but is still trying to gain ground on the Rocket1 racing team.  The good news for Madden is he’s found success in the Northeast in 2021 and on tracks a half-mile or bigger – like Orange County and Williams Grove. “Smokey” won twice at Port Royal Speedway and hasn’t finished outside the top-10 at tracks in New York or Pennsylvania.  He’s also found success on 3/8-mile tracks – the size of Sharon and Eriez, winning at Mississippi Thunder Speedway and finishing on the podium at Gondik Law Speedway and Red Cedar Speedway last month.  Madden has 20 top-fives and 28 top-10s this season.  He’s also tied with Sheppard for the most wins (4).  Hawkeye State Rookie Battle: Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 will go to a driver from Iowa. The question is, will it be Tyler Bruening or Ryan Gustin.  Bruening, from Decorah, IA, leads the battle by 132 points entering this weekend. He extended his advantage over Gustin after engine troubles sidelined the Marshalltown, IA driver during Thursday’s portion of the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway.  The two “Hawkeye State” standouts are each looking for their first career Series win, which could give either one of them momentum toward being the Top Rookie when the season ends.  “The Reaper” has one more podium finish in 2021 than Bruening, but the Skyline Motorsports team has been more consistent. When and WhereAug. 19: Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, NY Aug. 20: Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA Aug. 21: Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH Aug. 22: Eriez Speedway in Erie, PAAbout the TracksOrange County Fair Speedway is a .625-mile oval   Williams Grove Speedway is a 1/2-mile semi-banked oval Sharon Speedway is a 3/8-mile oval Eriez Speedway is a 3/8-mile semi-banked ovalPrevious Orange County Fair Speedway winners 2004- Rick Eckert on June 20 Previous Williams Grove Speedway Winners 2020 – Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 21  2019 – Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 16 1988 – Larry Phillips on April 22 Previous Sharon Speedway Winners2019- Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 30 Previous Eriez Speedway Winners 2020- Dennis Erb Jr. on Aug. 222018- Chase Junghans on Aug. 19 2017- Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 20 2016- Josh Richards on Aug. 14 2015- Josh Richards on Aug. 23 OnlineOrange County Fair Speedway: https://orangecountyfairspeedway.net  Williams Grove Speedway: http://www.williamsgrove.com  Sharon Speedway: http://www.sharonspeedway.com  Eriez Speedway: https://www.myracepass.com/tracks/1501 Track RecordOrange County Fair Speedway: Not Registered Williams Grove Speedway: 19.500 by Jason Covert Sharon Speedway: 14.842 by Brandon Sheppard Eriez Speedway: 14.522 by Josh RichardsOn the Internet World of Outlaws Morton Buildings 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 head to Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA for the Quad Cities 150 presented by Hoker Trucking on Aug. 26-28.  Feature Winners: (19 Drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsChris Madden, Gray Court, SC-4 Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-4Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-3 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-3Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-2 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-2 Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-2 Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL-2 Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-2Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-1 Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1 Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV-1 Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-1 Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL-1 Rick Eckert, York, PA-1 Dave Hess, Waterford, PA-1 Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA-1 Ashton Winger, Senoia, GA-1 Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-1 DRYDENE HEAT RACE WINNERS (50 Drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsBrandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-14Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-12Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-8Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-7 Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-7Rick Eckert, York, PA-5 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-5 Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-5Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-4 Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-4 Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-4 Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI-4Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-3 Ricky Weiss, Headingley, MB-3 Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA-3 Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL- 3 Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-3 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH- 2 Ross Bailes, Clover, SC- 2 Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN-2 Mason Zeigler, Chalk Hill, PA-2 Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN-2 Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-2 Chad Simpson, Mt. Vernon, IA-2 Ashton Winger, Senoia, GA-2 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-2 Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN-2Dale Mcdowell, Chickamauga, GA- 1 Darell Lanigan, Union, KY-1 Parker Martin, Milledgeville, GA-1 Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-1 Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1 Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ-1 Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL-1 Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL-1 Taylor Scheffler, Waukesha, WI- 1 Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1 Kevin Weaver, Gibson City, IL-1 Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV-1 Dan Stone, Thompson, PA-1 Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR-1 Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL-1 Dave Hess, Waterford, PA-1 Chris Hackett, Erie, PA-1 Spencer Hughes, Meridian, MS-1 Mike Norris, Sarver, PA-1 Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1 Chub Frank, Bear Lake, PA-1 Max Blair, Titusville, PA-1 Stormy Scott, Las Cruces, NM-1 Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, NC-1 Last Chance Showdown Winners (39 drivers) Rank- Driver- Hometown-WinsRicky Weiss, Headingly, MB-4Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-3 Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA-3 Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-3Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-2 Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA-2 Rick Eckert, York, PA-2 Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-2 Dennis Erb, Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2 Chad Simpson, Mount Vernon, IA-2Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE- 1 Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN-1 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-1 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA- 1 Mike Norris, Sarver, PA- 1 Stacy Boles, Clinton, TN-1 Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC-1 Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-1 Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-1 Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA-1 Jake Timm, Winona, MN-1 Taylor Scheffler, Waukesha, WI- 1 Gordy Gundaker, St. Charles, MO-1 Tyler Bare, Rockbridge Baths, VA-1 Trevor Gundaker, St. Charles, MO-1 Greg Oakes, Franklinville, NY-1 Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1 Jared Miley, Pittsburgh, PA-1 Mike Benedum, Salem, WV-1 Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-1 Gregg Satterlee, Indiana, PA-1 Chad Mahder, Eau Claire, WI-1 Cole Schill, West Fargo, ND-1 James Giossi, New Richmond, WI-1 Kevin Eder, Ashland, WI-1 Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL-1 Nick Hoffman, Mooresville, NC-1 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-1 Lukas Postl, Shawano, WI-1 Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL-1 PODIUM FINISHES (39 drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – PodiumsBrandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-17Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-11Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-5 Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL- 5 Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL-5 Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA – 5 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA – 5Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-4Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC – 3 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH-3 Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-3 Shannon Babb, Moweaqua, IL-3Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL – 2 Rick Eckert, York, PA-2 Scott Bloomquist, Mooresburg, TN – 2 Jimmy Mars, Menomonie, WI-2 Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA-2 Ashton Winger, Senoia, GA-2Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY – 1 Hudson O’Neal, Martinsville, IN – 1 Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chandler, AZ – 1 Dale McDowell, Chickamauga, GA – 1 Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN-1 Ryan Unzicker, El Paso, IL-1 Mike Spatola, Manhattan, IL-1 Josh Richards, Shinnston, WV-1 Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY-1 Ross Bailes, Clover, SC-1 Ricky Weiss, Headingly, MB-1 Scott James, Bright, IN-1 Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR-1 Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-1 Dan Stone, Thompson, PA-1 Dave Hess, Waterford, PA-1 Max Blair, Titusville, PA-1 Mike Norris, Sarver, PA-1 Mark Whitener, Middleburg, FL-1 Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA-1 Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS-1HARD CHARGER (21 drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.Ricky Weiss, Headingly, MB – 4Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL – 3Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS – 2 Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-2 Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-2 Darrell Lanigan, Union, KY-2 Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-2 Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA – 2 Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-2Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-1 Ricky Thornton Jr., Chandler, AZ-1 Jason Jameson, Lawrenceburg, IN-1 Logan Martin, West Plains, MO-1 Dan Stone, Thompson, PA-1 Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE-1 Gregg Satterlee, Rochester Mills, PA-1 Frank Heckenast Jr., Frankfort, IL-1 Pat Doar, New Richmond, WI-1 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-1 Ron Berna, Green Bay, WI-1 Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL-1 Jason Feger, Bloomington, IL-1 SLICK WOODY’S QUICK TIME Award (18 drivers) Rank – Driver, Hometown – QTsBrandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL-4Chris Madden, Gray Court, SC-3Kyle Strickler, Mooresville, NC – 2 Brandon Overton, Evans, GA-2 Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL – 2 Dennis Erb Jr., Carpentersville, IL-2 Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA-2 Brent Larson, Lake Elmo, MN-2Kyle Bronson, Brandon, FL – 1 Devin Moran, Dresden, OH – 1 Donald McIntosh, Dawsonville, GA- 1 Taylor Scheffler, Waukesha, WI- 1 Billy Moyer, Batesville, AR-1 Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA-1 Rick Eckert, York, PA-1 Dave Hess, Waterford, PA-1 Mike Norris, Sarver, PA-1 Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA-1 Cade Dillard, Robeline, LA-12021 World of Outlaws Late Model Schedule & WinnersNo./ Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Thursday, Jan. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Bronson (1) 2. Saturday, Jan. 16 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Strickler (1) 3. Wednesday, Feb. 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Kyle Strickler (2) 4. Thursday, Feb. 11 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Devin Moran (1) 5. Friday, Feb. 12 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Brandon Overton (1) 6. Saturday, March 6/ Smoky Mountain Speedway/ Maryville, TN/ Chris Madden (1). 7. Friday, March 26 / Cherokee Speedway / Gaffney, SC / Jimmy Owens/Brandon Sheppard 8.Friday, April 2/Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/ Mike Spatola(1) 9. Saturday, April 3/ Farmer City Raceway/Farmer City, IL/Bobby Pierce(1) 10. Friday, April 9/Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN/Josh Richards(1) 11. Sunday, April 11/Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN/Devin Moran(2) 12. Friday, April 23/Richmond Raceway, Richmond, KY/Tim McCreadie(1) 13. Friday, April 30/Boone Speedway, Boone IA/Cade Dillard(1)/Shannon Babb(1) 14. Saturday, May 1/Boone Speedway, Boone IA/Bobby Pierce(2) 15.Friday, May 7/Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI/Brandon Sheppard(1) 16.Saturday, May 8/Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain City, WI/Chris Madden(2) 17. Friday, May 21/ Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA/Chris Madden(3) 18. Saturday, May 22/Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA/Chris Madden (4) 19. Friday, June 4/Circle City Raceway, Indianapolis, IN/Dennis Erb Jr. (1) 20. Saturday, June 5/Plymouth Raceway, Plymouth, IN/Rick Eckert (1) 21. Thursday, June 17/Stateline Speedway, Busti, NY/Dave Hess(1) 22. Thursday, June 24/Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA/Brandon Sheppard(2) 23. Friday, June 25/Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA/Brandon Overton(2) 24. Saturday, June 26/Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, PA/Brandon Overton(3) 25. Friday, July 9/Jackson Motorplex, Jackson, MN/Frank Heckenast Jr. (1) 26. Saturday, July 10/Jackson Motorplex, Jackson, MN/Dennis Erb Jr.(2) 27. Tuesday July 13/Gondik Law Speedway, Superior, WI/Brandon Sheppard (3) 28. Friday, July 16/River Cities Speedway, Grand Forks, ND/Dennis Erb Jr. (3) 29. Saturday, July 17/I-94 Sure Step Speedway, Fergus Falls, MN/Frank Heckenast Jr. (2) 30. Sunday, July 18/Red Cedar Speedway, Menomonie, WI/Brandon Sheppard (4) 31. Saturday, July 31/Fairbury Speedway, Fairbury, IL/Kyle Larson(1) 32. Tuesday, August 3/Outagamie Speedway, Seymour, WI/Cade Dillard (2) 33. Friday, August 6/ Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, WI/Ashton Winger (1) 34. Saturday, August 7/ Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, WI/Jonathan Davenport (1)

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans a

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – August 16, 2021 – Austin Cindric won in his home state of Indiana, marking his fifth win and first road course win of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

“Congratulations to Austin, Brian, Roger, and the entire No. 22 crew,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “The road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a new and unique track with its own set of challenges. I am proud of Brian and Austin for a well-executed race and a monumental win for Roger Penske, Team Penske, and the Cindric family.”

Cindric started the race in 2nd position and was able to maintain his spot at the front of the field avoiding a multiple car incident at the turtle in Turn 6 early in the race. After taking the lead in Stage 3, Cindric pulled away from the rest of the field and led a race high 29 out of 62 laps, winning the race by 2.108 seconds.

“I am so proud to be a part of this Penske family with PPG and Ford and everyone that has put so much into my career. This racetrack is so much deeper than just that with my family history and what this place means to me. I can’t even put into words what it means to win at Indianapolis,” commented Cindric.

Ford Performance teammate Riley Herbst with Stewart-Haas Racing finished in P8.

The NASCAR Cup Series raced on Sunday where Cindric also took home a 9th place finish. Ford teammates Ryan Blaney with Team Penske finished P2, Matt DiBenedetto with Wood Brothers Racing finished P5, and Ryan Newman with Roush Fenway Racing finished P10.

The NASCAR Cup & Xfinity Series is headed to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan this weekend. The NACAR Cup Series has two remaining races left before the 2021 playoffs stage is set.  33 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 422 WINS – 383 POLES!

Top Fuel — Brittany Force, 3.783 seconds, 324.75 mph def. Clay Millican, 3.830 seconds, 288.58 mph. 

Funny Car — John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.019, 321.04 def. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 4.453, 199.29. 

Pro Stock — Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.681, 205.01 def. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.651, 206.13. 

Top Alcohol Dragster — Rachel Meyer, 5.258, 276.58 ARP car def. Jasmine Salinas, Foul – Red Light. 

Top Alcohol Funny Car — Sean Bellemeur, Chevy Camaro, 5.511, 265.64 def. Kris Hool, Camaro, Foul – Red Light. 

Competition Eliminator — Greg Kamplain, Dragster, 6.955, 188.10 def. Travis Gusso, Pontic Sunfire, 8.262, 163.69. 

Factory Stock Showdown — John Cerbone, Chevy Camaro, 7.912, 174.32 def. Leah Pruett, Dodge Challenger, 8.808, 169.76. 

Super Stock — Wyatt Wagner, Chevy Camaro, 9.843, 131.96 def. Justin Lamb, Camaro, 8.418, 144.98. 

Stock Eliminator — Chris Knudsen, Chevy Camaro, 10.910, 105.31 def. Randi Lyn Shipp, Pontiac Firebird, Foul – Red Light. 

Super Comp — Austin Williams, Dragster, 8.944, 164.19 def. Christopher Dodd, Dragster, 8.947, 169.23. 

Super Gas — Collin Becker, Chevy Camaro, 9.901, 163.41 def. Jaron Miller, Chevy Corvette, Foul – Red Light. 

Top Sportsman presented by Vortech Superchargers — Dusty Meyer, Chevy S-10, 7.055, 189.68 def. Kyle Firestone, Chevy Bel Air, 6.955, 196.64. 

Top Dragster presented by Vortech Superchargers — Danny Nelson, Dragster, 6.124, 213.30 def. Prescott Dean, Dragster, 6.351, 215.55.

• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 20 appearances at Le Mans: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2000-04), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2014-2019). The Corvette C8.R makes its Le Mans debut this year.• 3: Number of wins for the Corvette C5-R – 2001, 2002, 2004.• 4: Number of wins for the Corvette C6.R – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011.• 7: Number of Le Mans victories for Corvette Racing’s lineup.Antonio Garcia: 3     Tommy Milner: 2       Jordan Taylor: 1        Nick Tandy: 1• 8: Class victories for Corvette Racing at Le Mans – all since 2001.• 9: Number of drivers who have won races at Le Mans for Corvette Racing – Olivier Beretta, Ron Fellows, Antonio Garcia, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Tommy Milner, Johnny O’Connell, Scott Pruett and Jordan Taylor.• 13: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.• 20: Number of drivers to compete for Corvette Racing at Le Mans. That number grows in 2021 with Nick Tandy, Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims joining the lineup.• 25: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.• 26: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014.• 117: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 109 in North America and eight at Le Mans.• 245: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 98,770.18: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Le Mans. That represents 11,718 laps… or nearly four full trips around the Earth at its equator. The two Corvettes need to complete 1,229.82 miles to reach the 100,000-mile mark at Le Mans.• 132,000: Approximate freight weight in pounds (60,000 kgs!!!) sent by Corvette Racing to Le Mans by air and by sea! The first shipment left Detroit in mid-February and the last left Sunday just after the Road America IMSA race.• 324,915.91: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – covered “just” 248,655 miles. Simply put, the program has raced to the moon and back… and then some.

Corvette Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (wins in bold)2000No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 4th in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS 2001No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Scott Pruett – 1st in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS 2002No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS 2003No. 53 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTSNo. 50 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS 2004No. 63 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTSNo. 64 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTS  2005No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 2006No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 7th in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 2007No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 14th in GT1 2008No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 3rd in GT1 2009No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GT1 2010No. 63 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 12th in GT2 (DNF)No. 64 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 10th in GT2 (DNF) 2011No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 14th in GTE Pro (DNF) 2012No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 5th in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 6th in GTE Pro 2013No. 73 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 4th in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 7th in GTE Pro 2014No. 73 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTE ProNo. 74 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GTE Pro 2015No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – DNS (Qualifying crash)No. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTE Pro 2016No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ricky Taylor – 7th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Jordan Taylor – 10th in GTE Pro (DNF) 2017No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM 2018No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 15th in GTE Pro (DNF) 2019No. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE ProNo. 64 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 16th in GTE Pro (DNF)

TOPEKA, KS (August 15, 2021) — Tim Wilkerson and the Levi, Ray & Shoup Summit Racing Ford Mustang Funny Car team escaped the Menard’s NHRA Nationals presented by Pet Armor and will focus on the final two regular season races and the Countdown to the Championship. Wilkerson suffered one of the most bizarre incidents of his storied career during the second round of qualifying when his Funny Car lost cylinders and moved across the center line, eventually making contact with his qualifying partner Cruz Pedregon as the race cars slowed down at the top end. Both drivers avoided physical injury but each race car suffered significant damage.

 Wilkerson’s team immediately pulled out the back-up car and set about refreshing it for the final qualifying session and eventually race day. The team along with assistance from Del Worsham, John Force Racing and a handful of other teams prepared their back-up car and began evaluating the damaged Funny Car.

“I can’t thank Del and the guys at John Force Racing for their help,” said Wilkerson. “We have to figure some things out and we are going to send this chassis back to Murf McKinney and see what we can do so we can avoid these kinds of incidents.”

The third qualifying session gave the team information and the confidence to head into race day and a match-up against Pedregon. Both teams had worked well into the night to prepare back-up race cars and compete in the first round. Wilkerson was down to his last carbon fiber body.

Pedregon and Wilkerson were the next to last pair of Funny Cars in the first round and their side by side race was one of the closest of the session. Unfortunately, even with the shakedown run on Saturday Wilkerson’s back-up car still had some issues. Both Funny Car launched together and he was pulling away but three seconds into the run his Funny Car lost power. He coasted across the finish line as Pedregon drove past him for the win 4.014 to 4.044 seconds. 

“We will get the back-up car ready for Brainerd and Indy,” said Wilkerson. “I love the NHRA community. In Sonoma Ron Capps’ guys and Doug Stringer’s Parts Plus guys helped us out between rounds and this weekend Del and Force’s guys are offering help. We help guys out whenever we can too. We will get this sorted out and I have to thank Richard and the guys on this team for all their hard work too.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.969 sec, 301,67 mph; Qual. 8

Q2: No Time; Qual. 9

Q3: 6.715 sec, 97.45 mph; Qual. 10

Bonus Points: 0

Race Results

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH 
Tim Wilkerson                  10           .091       4.044     286.68

Cruz Pedregon                  7             .089       4.014     316.01 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1.          John Force                                      816

2.          Ron Capps                                       787

3.          J.R. Todd                                         778

4.          Bob Tasca III                                  766

5.          Robert Hight                                  748

5.          Matt Hagan                                    748

7.          Alexis DeJoria                                691

8.          Cruz Pedregon                               610

9.          Tim Wilkerson                               584

10.       Blake Alexander                            417

• Don Schumacher Racing’s (DSR) Leah Pruett earned her second consecutive runner-up finish aboard her 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak in the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown competition at the Menards National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals in Topeka, Kansas
• Cruz Pedregon powered his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car to a semifinal appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park
• Ron Capps and his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat remain second in Funny Car championship standings and clinch a berth in 2021 NHRA “Countdown to the Championship” after a close quarterfinal battle
• No. 4 qualifier Matt Hagan drove his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car to the quarterfinal appearance, set low elapsed time of the day and stays in the top-five in Funny Car points with two events remaining before the playoffs begin

Aug. 15, 2021, Topeka, Kansas – Don Schumacher Racing’s (DSR) Leah Pruett powered her 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak to her second consecutive runner-up finish in Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) competition this weekend at the 32nd annual Menards National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals Presented by PetArmor in Topeka, Kansas.

Following up her FSS runner-up performance at the Dodge//SRT Mile-High Nationals in Denver last month, Pruett began her charge from the tenth place on the eliminations ladder at Heartland Motorsports Park against No. 7 seed Doug Hamp, immediately moving on to the quarterfinals due to her opponent’s red-light start. Her Mopar Drag Pak then turned on the win lights against No. 15 seed Daniel Condon with a 7.987-second run at 174.35 mph to beat his 7.993 sec./172.85 mph pass to advance to the semifinals.

Once again, Pruett was ready to challenge for a round win and hit the throttle with a 0.011-second reaction time, clocking a 7.929 sec./174.77 mph run to earn a solid holeshot victory over No. 3 seed David Barton’s 0.069-second start and 7.883 sec./175.66 mph pass to move on to her second final round battle of the year.

The final showdown pitted her against No. 1 qualifier John Cerbone but this time, even after posting another quick reaction time, an immediate loss of traction derailed the run and gave her opponent the lead and eventual win. Despite the loss, Pruett’s runner-up finish moved her up in the FSS championship battle into third place with three events remaining.

Also in FSS action, Pruett’s FSS teammate Mark Pawuk qualified 13th aboard his 2015 Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag to pair him with the points leader, defending FSS champion and No. 4 qualifier Aaron Stanfield for his opening round match-up. Wheeling his Mopar Drag Pak to its best run of the weekend with an 8.020-second pass wasn’t quite enough to catch Stanfield, who posted a 7.974 elapsed time run to move on.

Pruett and Pawuk were joined this weekend by a third DSR-prepared FSS entry with the addition of David Davies and his 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak. Davies, whose company Constant Aviation signed on to sponsor the FSS series in May, made his NHRA debut with the new generation Mopar Drag Pak at the Norwalk national event in June before joining the DSR roster. While Davies did not qualify for this weekend’s elimination rounds, he will return with the DSR team at the next FSS event next month at the Dodge//SRT U.S. Nationals.

In Funny Car action, hard work by the Cruz Pedregon Racing team throughout the weekend at Heartland Motorsports Park gave driver Cruz Pedregon the opportunity to go rounds on Sunday aboard his Snap-on Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. They overcame the challenge presented by a top-end incident in the second qualifying session when lane mate Tim Wilkerson’s race car crossed the center line and collided with Pedregon’s before both hit the wall. While both drivers emerged unhurt, both teams took out their back up vehicles for the balance of the weekend. 

Despite the setback, Pedregon, a four-time winner at the Kansas event, was able to qualify seventh and was once again paired with No. 13 qualifier Wilkerson for the opening round. Pedregon earned the first round win by posting a 4.014-second run at 316.01 mph to beat his opponent’s 4.044 sec./286.68 mph pass and advance to a quarterfinal battle against No. 2 qualifier Alexis DeJoria. Pedregon’s HEMI®-powered machine sped to a holeshot win thanks to his 0.091-second reaction time and an identical 4.006-second run to beat DeJoria’s 0.111-second start and send him into the next round to face No. 6 seed John Force. The semifinal battle was close and hard fought with Pedregon’s Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat clocking another solid 4.063 sec./303.91 mph run in a losing effort to Force’s 4.005/321.35 winning pass. With the result, Pedregon moves up a spot into eighth place in the Funny Car championship standings.

Coming into Topeka as the Funny Car points leader, Ron Capps was looking to continue his season-long string of qualifying his DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat in the top-five and perhaps extend his No. 1 qualifier streak to three, while making every effort to once again advance to the semifinals or beyond like he had at four previous events. While things didn’t go quite as planned in qualifying with a seventh place seeding, Capps advanced to the quarterfinals with his best pass of the weekend, a 3.955-second run and round win over Chad Green. The DSR veteran driver lined up against J.R. Todd, against whom he laid down another respectable 3.994-second lap. Unfortunately, Todd’s quicker start gave him the edge at the stripe despite running a slower 3.996-second lap to take the holeshot win and bring an end to Capps’ run through the eliminations. However, with the result, Capps becomes the first Funny Car driver to clinch a berth into the 2021 “Countdown to the Championship” playoffs and he heads to the next event second in points.

Defending Funny Car champ Matt Hagan qualified fourth and got right down to business in the opening round by taking his DSR Performance Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a quickest elapsed time lap of the day at 3.920 seconds at 323.89 mph and turn the win lights on against No. 13 seed Jack Wyatt. 

Hagan, who won this event in 2016, had a more eventful run in the quarterfinals against fifth seed Blake Alexander. Hagan was once again quickest on the start but both drivers had to pedal their way out of trouble en route to the finish line. Hagan hung on to cross the stripe with a 4.193-second lap but it wasn’t quite enough to catch Alexander’s 4.126-second run. While it brought his day to a premature end, Hagan remains in the top-five, tied for fifth (with Robert Hight) in the points standings with two events left before the points reset for the playoffs.

Top Fuel pilot Leah Pruett brought her DSR Cookie and Candy Pop Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster into Topeka riding the momentum of two consecutive final round appearances in California. Her runner-up finish at Sonoma and the Wally Trophy in Pomona also moved her up from an eighth place position in the championship standings to the fourth spot behind points leader Steve Torrance. 

In Top Fuel action on Sunday, Pruett found herself matched up with No. 4 qualifier Torrence for the opening round of eliminations after qualifying 11th with a 3.897 sec./314.31 mph run set on a hot track on Saturday, after not getting in a good lap on a cooler track in the prior evening’s session. Pruett’s HEMI-powered dragster made the first move and posted a 3.776-second elapsed time run at 319.75 mph in a good, close race that saw Torrence edge her at the line with a 3.736 sec./325.61 mph pass. While that brought a quick end to her day and any opportunity to pack a few more points, Pruett remains fourth in the Top Fuel standings

Mopar and Dodge supported entries will be back on track next weekend in Brainerd, Minnesota, for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 12th of 20 NHRA national events this season.

ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES

FUNNY CAR:

Matt Hagan, DSR Performance Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye

(No. 4 Qualifier – 3.911 seconds at 325.14 mph)

Round 1: (0.071-second reaction time, 3.920 seconds at 323.89 mph) defeats to No. 13 Jack Wyatt (0.203/4.263/243.28)

Round 2: (0.081/4.193/276.13) loss to No. 5 Blake Alexander (0.096/4.126/252.95)

“It’s the middle of the summer, it’s hot and tricky out here and the race tracks are changing. We had a really good qualifying session and had a great last run and we had a lot of confidence, but it gets hotter and hotter out there and the track is more marginal when you try to apply all that power that we make with these DSR performance parts and this Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye. It bit us today, but we’re back in less than a week at Brainerd (Minn.) with the Mopar colors and we’ll put on a show and get back to winning rounds.”

Ron Capps, DSR NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 9 Qualifier – 3.968 seconds at 324.36 mph)

Round 1: (0.071-second reaction time, 3.955 seconds at 325.92 mph) defeats No. 8 Chad Green (No time)

Round 2: (0.076/3.994/317.49) loss to No. 1 J.R. Todd (0.059/3.996/318.99)

“You wait until all the hurt goes away, and my team and the whole DSR organization, we put so much into what we do and winning races. It’s tough to lose those close ones. As good as our car and this NAPA team is, that’s tough to go up there with a .76 light and run a great lap and lose, but we’re going to see a lot of that going into the playoffs with teams as good as J.R.’s (Todd). Like I always brag about with ‘Guido’ (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen, and their NAPA Know How, again we went down the race track at a very good pace. When you do as well as we have this season and rank high in the standings, it puts a bullseye on your back because the teams know they have to show up and perform and give it their best, and we’ll continue to see more of that as this season continues. It hurts a little bit right now, but it didn’t hurt us too badly in the Camping World points. We’re going to another great track at Brainerd that will have great conditions with great people and a great bunch from NAPA, and it’s one we enjoy so much. It’s nice to have a back-to-back races before we get to Indy and the U.S. Nationals, and then the Countdown.”

Cruz Pedregon, Cruz Pedregon Racing Snap-on® Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

(No. 7 Qualifier – 3.962 seconds at 322.19 mph)

Round 1: (0.089-second reaction time, 4.014 seconds at 316.01 mph) defeats No. 13 Tim Wilkerson (0.091/4.044/286.68)

Round 2: (0.091/4.006/311.20) defeats No. 2 Alexis DeJoria (0.111/4.006/319.52)

Round 3: (0.063/4.063/303.91) loss to No. 6 John Force (0.059/4.005/321.35)

“Let me just say this about Topeka; There was great fan engagement and a lot of fans here. Topeka was a good race for us. We qualified seventh and went to the semifinals by beating some really good cars which was a good result for us. We had the lead against John Force in the semifinals but had a clutch issue that was completely on us as we didn’t execute the adjustments properly but overall it was a really good event for us. It was a key race for us in terms of points and taking our Snap-On Tools Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for round wins over Tim Wilkerson and Alexis DeJoria. Obviously we had the issue in qualifying with Tim (Wilkerson) on Saturday, but you know, it was one of those racing things that happens and luckily neither one of us were hurt. Brainerd is up next and we’re going to go back to the shop to regroup, get some things replaced that we damaged body-wise and get everything ironed out before we head up on Wednesday.”

TOP FUEL:

Leah Pruett, DSR Cookie and Candy Pop Dodge//SRT Dragster

(No. 11 Qualifier – 3.897 seconds at 314.31 mph)

Round 1: (0.067-second reaction time, 3.776 seconds at 319.75 mph) loss to No. 4 Steve Torrence (0.074/3.736/325.61)

“Man, what a drag race that was. Not the result we wanted with this Candy and Cookie Pop car. We really felt like we had a race car to go rounds today, and we did. We would’ve beaten many other cars if you look at the ladder, except for Steve Torrence. There’s a reason that team is leading the points and he is a three-time champion. We overcame our challenges in qualifying and this isn’t going to get us down. We ran a great .77 and the team did their job. We left first and made a clean lap. It’s a great, friendly rivalry, but we were on the wrong end of that drag race. Brainerd (Minn.) is just around the corner and we found that we were down on power a little bit this week. We just need to give it a little more going into Brainerd next weekend. We’ll put all the nitro to it.”

FACTORY STOCK SHOOTOUT:

Leah Pruett, 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak 

(No. 10 Qualifier – 8.011 seconds at 175.64 mph)

Round 1: (0.057-second reaction time, 8.986 seconds at 113.00 mph) defeats No. 7 Doug Hamp (-0.056/8.093/172.19)

Round 2: (0.056/7.987/174.35) defeats No. 15 Daniel Condon (0.052/7.993/172.85)

Round 3: (0.011/7.929/174.77) defeats No. 3 David Barton (0.069/7.883/175.66)

Round 4: (0.052/8.808/169.76) loss to No. 1 John Cerbone (0.016/7.912/174.32)

“What an outstanding performance by this Dodge Factory Stock Drag Pak team all day long here at Topeka, adapting to challenging track conditions, being aggressive as the day got longer and hotter, and working on our performance window of this Mopar Drag Pak. I’m so proud of Kevin (Helms), A.J. (Berge), Mark Pawuk and this entire team here at DSR for sticking together. For me, it’s the fourth final in two different classes in the last four races, and two straight Factory Stock finals. We’re building momentum and we have plans to test and get better before the Indy U.S. Nationals. We’re back in the hunt and No. 3 in the points, and it’s very reminiscent of our 2018 season where we came on strong in the last half of the season and that was by no accident then or now. There’s been a lot of hard work by this DSR team and crew. I’ve had a smile on my face all day. I’m having a lot of fun driving this Drag Pak and we’re so looking forward to Indy.”

Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment 2015 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak

(No. 13 Qualifier – 8.102 seconds at 173.07 mph)

Round 1: (0.054-second reaction time, 8.020 seconds at 172.78 mph) loss to No. 4 Aaron Stanfield (0.043/7.974/171.34)

“Certainly not the weekend we were hoping for here at Topeka (Kan.) with this Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak. Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify as well as we’d hoped and we got stuck running Aaron Stanfield again and it seems like we get him at every race. He’s about 40 years younger than me and a very tough competitor doing very well in two classes, Factory Stock and Pro Stock. We’re going to keep working on this Dodge. We did make some headway last night and this morning and we’re really looking forward to bringing our new 2021 Drag Pak out at Indy in a few weeks. It’s going to be busy testing and getting ready for the U.S. Nationals.”

David Davies, D H Davies Racing 2021 Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak

(Did Not Qualify – 10.492 seconds at 139.60 mph)

“It was very exciting to have our first event with DSR this weekend at Topeka. The crew did a fantastic job. We learned a lot and made progress on every hit. I’m looking forward to going to Indy in a few weeks and making more progress with the new 2021 Mopar Drag Pak and getting this thing dialed-in so that it’s faster and faster.”

NHRA Championship Points Standings:

Following the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park

FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)

1. John Force – 816 (3)

2. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 787 (1)
3. J.R. Todd – 778 (1)

4. Bob Tasca III – 766 (2)

5. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 748 (1)

5. Robert Hight – 748 (2)

7. Alexis DeJoria – 691

8. Cruz Pedregon (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 610 (1)

9. Tim Wilkerson– 584

10. Blake Alexander– 417

TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)

1. Steve Torrance – 1090 (6)

2. Brittany Force – 748 (1)

3. Antron Brown – 736 (1)

4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 611 (1)

5. Shawn Langdon – 587

6. Mike Salinas – 571

7. Justin Ashley – 523

8. Billy Torrence – 510 (1)

9. Clay Millican – 482

10. Doug Kalitta – 471

Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown Series:

1. Aaron Stanfield – 420

2. David Barton – 359

3. Leah Pruett (Mopar Drag Pak)– 280

4. John Cerbone – 270

5. Stephen Bell – 255

6. David Janac – 243

7. Jesse Alexandra – 236

8. Doug Hamp – 200

9. Arthur Kohn   – 200

10. Mark Pawuk (Mopar Drag Pak)– 197

 
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.

Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) offers exceptional service, parts and customer care. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete vehicle care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.

Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era with performance parts to enhance speed and handling for both on-road and racing use. Later, the brand expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.

Mopar 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. 

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS PRESENTED BY PET ARMOR HEARTLAND MOTORSPORTS PARK IN TOPEKA, KANSAS AUG. 15, 2021                                                       • John Force wins for 154th time, takes Funny Car points lead• No. 1 qualifier Brittany Force claims first Top Fuel victory of season• Dallas Glenn earns second Pro Stock win in all-KB Racing final• John Cerbone wins Factory Stock Showdown in COPO Camaro TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 15, 2021) – John Force, gripping the Funny Car Wally he won minutes earlier, was the first to greet Top Fuel winner Brittany Force at the top end of Heartland Motorsports Park.
“Way to go girl,” the patriarch of John Force Racing exclaimed.For the first time, the 16-time champion shared the winner’s platform with his daughter.
“This is something I’ll never forget. Doubling up with my dad has been on my bucket list since 2013 and we finally did it,” said Brittany, who recorded her first victory of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) season in the Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster and 11th of her career by defeating Clay Millican in the final.
John, driving the PEAK/BlueDEF Platinum Chevrolet Camaro SS, claimed his third win of the season and 154th of his illustrious career by getting past No. 1 qualifier JR Todd in the final.
Dallas Glenn completed the Chevrolet sweep of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series races in the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor as the first-year Pro Stock driver used a perfection reaction time to score a holeshot victory over KB Racing teammate Kyle Koretsky.
“It’s amazing,” said Glenn, the No. 4 qualifier who picked up his second victory in 10 Pro Stock races. “To get this race win, against your teammate Kyle, I know he was really wanting it. Everybody at KB Racing has been supporting me for so long. This feels real good.”
Brittany Force’s race day started as the No. 1 qualifier for the fourth consecutive Top Fuel event – a streak last accomplished by Larry Dixon in 2009. She moved to second in points with two races left in the regular season and secured a spot in the Countdown to the Championship.
“We’ve been chasing this first win of the season since the beginning,” said Force, who has been the No. 1 qualifier in six of the 11 events. “It’s been a tough road. When you get those No. 1 qualifiers and you come up short on Sunday, there’s nothing tougher than that. Today we were pushing and we got the job done.”
John Force, competing in his 800th NHRA Funny Car event and 260th final, picked up his 1,9966th elimination round win in the final. He rose to the top of the standings.
“I want to thank all my sponsors for giving me a chance. I want to thank my team, Daniel Hood who runs my car, and all of my teams. I love what we do. I got to double up with Brittany, so that’s really special,” said Force, who also shared the winner’s stage with daughter Ashley in 2007 when she won in the Sportsman Top Alcohol category.
In the quarterfinals, Force defeated teammate Robert Hight, who was the last Funny Car winner at Heartland Motorsports Park in 2019. Hight was the No. 14 qualifier in the Automobile Club of Southern California Camaro SS.Glenn, the No. 4 qualifier in the Rad Torque Systems Camaro SS, earned his second Pro Stock win of the season in 10 career races. He eliminated No. 1 qualifier Troy Coughlin Jr., driving the JEGS.com Camaro SS, and Koretsky defeated reigning champion Erica Enders in the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Camaro SS in the semifinals.
Koretsky, driver of the Lucas Oil Camaro SS, stopped No. 2 qualifier and KB Racing teammate Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, from advancing to the semifinals by one-thousandth of a second. Anderson, the No. 1 or 2 qualifier in every race this season, is seeking to tie Warren Johnson’s class record of 97 career wins.
John Cerbone, the No. 1 qualifier in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, won the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. It was Cerbone’s first national event victory and the fourth in five Factory Stock Showdown events this season for drivers of the COPO Camaro.
Five-time national champion Justin Lamb, driving the Larry Stone Chevrolet COPO Camaro, was runner-up in Super Stock.
Chevrolet Top Fuel and Funny Car drivers will compete in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals on Aug. 18-19 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota. The event was not contested in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
In 2019, Brittany Force was the No. 1 qualifier in Top Fuel and Jason Line won the Pro Stock race in his KB Racing Camaro SS. The U.S. Nationals on Sept. 3-5 will be the next event for Pro Stock racers.
An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/ FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 1 qualifier):WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DOUBLE UP WITH YOUR DAD?“This is something I’ll never forget. This has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and there have been so many close calls where we thought, ‘Hey, this could be our day that we could double up,’ and just to get a race win is hard enough. Then you want to do it with your teammate, it’s almost impossible. So, you almost put it on the back burner; it’s too much to double up with your dad. You both run well all weekend long and you double up, it almost seems impossible. Today, we pulled off the impossible. It’s pretty cool that we’ll always share this. It’s a special racetrack for us and it’s pretty cool to have that with him.”HOW DOES IT FEEL?“It feels great. We came out strong, we’ve had a good season. We’ve had a bunch of No. 1 qualifiers; we just keep getting stuck on race day. That’s hard for a driver, a crew chief, our entire team. That’s where you really want to excel, when you really want to do well. We have a closet full of No. 1 hats, but we don’t have those race day hats. I know it was right around the corner for us. Over the last few races, it’s been driver error, it’s been team error. Little things kept getting us. We knew eventually our luck was going to turn around.”WHEN HE LIT THE SCOREBOARD, YOU KNEW IT WAS ON YOU. TAKE ME TO THAT MOMENT.“I don’t really see it that way. When I’m in that car, I knew he was in the lane in front of me but it’s no different from before when I sat behind him or any other run when there’s somebody in front of me my focus is not there. Yes, I could see the excitement. I could see what was going on. But in that moment, I was on the radio talking to (David) Grubnic about what our plan was, where they wanted me to point the car, what are we doing at the starting line.”WAS THERE A POINT TODAY THAT FELT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RACES?“Definitely that run against Steve (Torrence) was a huge one for us. He’s the guy that we’re chasing down, and we knew that was going to be a tough one for us to get past. But we had a consistent race car all weekend long. The only run we didn’t make was Q2. Just solid passes down the racetrack. That Q3 run in the heat was big for us, to set us up for today. That’s where we’ve struggled.”HOW GRATIFYING IS IT THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER ANY MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT RACE DAY?“It was starting to get a little old. No. 1 qualifiers is exciting, but the big excitement is on race day. For a while, I thought the No. 1 qualifiers were jinxing us. I didn’t want them anymore. Today we turned it around and we got the win.”HOW MUCH IS IT A BOOST TO GET THE NO. 1 QUALIFIER ON THE LAST RUN?“It’s all David Grubnic. Every run we make he never wants to play it safe. He always wants top push and he wants to see how far he can push this car, this team and see what we’re capable of. He’s afraid of backing down; that’s what it really is. He wants to push all the way and he excels.”DO YOU FEEL LIKE NOW THE TEAM IS HITTING ITS STRIDE AS YOU ARE GETTING READY FOR THE COUNTDOWN?“I feel like we’ve been hitting our stride all year long. We stepped out for an entire season. Every single guy returned with me – top to bottom – this season and we’ve had a number of No. 1 qualifiers, we’ve run well, we just keep missing out on race day somehow. Sometimes it’s simple mistakes and sometimes it’s driver errors. Today we were pushing and we got the job done.”YOU AND STEVE TORRENCE HAVE A BIG RIVALRY AND I KNOW HOW BIG THAT IS WHEN YOU BEAT HIM.“Absolutely. That was a big round win for us that semifinal. We knew it was going to be tough; he’s been running good all weekend and he’s bene running good all year. We knew it was going to be a tough one but we got around him and then (Clay) Millican in the final.”THIS PLACE IS SPECIAL TO YOUR FAMILY. TO GET THE JOB DONE MUST BE EXTRA SPECIAL.“Absolutely. Also, I found out that my crew chief, David Grubnic, his first win as a driver was here. It’s a very special track. Courtney (Force) has done well here, my dad and now for us to double up is pretty outstanding.”An interview with Funny Car winner JOHN FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, PEAK/BLUEDEF PLATINUM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier): NO EASY RUNS IN YOUR DAY.“I had a good day. Robert (Hight, second round) was probably my toughest race because it’s hard to beat Robert. I just had a car that was pretty fast. Got the win. What was special was I finally got that double up with Brittany. It means a lot for a family of racers. It was a great day with all the people I raced.”HOW COOL IS THAT TO LEAD IN POINTS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2014?“I don’t even want to look at the points. They told me in the semis that I had taken the lead. That will jump around; it is what it is.”WHAT’S GOT YOU FIRED UP AGAIN?“I just do what I do. I want to race. I’ll be crying tonight (after doubling up with daughter Brittany). A statement was made to me, are you trying to fool somebody? Not really. I’ve got my own self confused. But if you really think about it, why does a quarterback fake a handoff? To fake you out.”TALK BIG PICTURE.“I’m going after wins. I don’t talk about it because when you do you get lost why you came and you start focusing on that. No, what you do is you drive your car. You love life and I fight. My race car keeps me alive and the cheer of the crowd. So, if it’s in the cards, we’ll win a championship. And if we don’t, I’ll be the first over there to congratulate who does. Because that is what it really is all about. The competition makes you better. Every time they beat me, they make me better.”YOU WON HERE IN 2008 AFTER THAT BIG ACCIDENT. HOW DOES THIS COMPARE?“Just because they told me I was finished. I was looking at my daughters coming up, dad, you can’t be finished. I wanted to be around to teach them. Now, they’re teaching me. Love it here. Glad to be here. Let’s pack the stands everywhere we go. That is what brings us alive.”IN THIS SEASON, WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?“I want to thank all my sponsors for giving me a chance. All the people who make this possible. People ask me every week, what do I really want? I want to see Indy packed again from the hood of my car on race day. Because that’s what we live for the crowds. It ain’t just winning because if you win and nobody’s there it doesn’t matter.” THIS PLACE IS AWFUL SPECIAL TO YOU. (HEARTLAND MOTORSPORTS PARK OWNER) CHRIS PAYNE CAME IN AND BROUGHT US ALL BACK.“That’s what it’s all about because without the fans we don’t exist. Without the tracks, we don’t exist. I just want to personally thank Chris Payne for putting all this together and giving us a great facility. What’s awesome is our crowds are starting to come back and I’m exciting about that. I want to thank my team, Daniel Hood who runs my car, and all of my teams. I love what we do. I got to double up with Brittany, so that’s really special. They keep asking me, what do you want most in life – another win, another championship? No, I want to see crowds. You people keep me alive. I want to see Indy packed this year because it’s not just to make me and my drivers feel good, it’s to make all the teams – we will work for you, we will entertain you. Let’s fill ‘em at Brainerd, let’s fill ‘em at Indy. That’s what I want.”An interview with Pro Stock winner DALLAS GLENN, KB RACING, RAD TORQUE SYSTEMS CAMARO SS (No. 6 qualifier):WALK US THROUGH YOUR RACE DAY.“I feel like I just raced teammates all day with the exception of Troy (Coughlin). The car was excellent all day. It wasn’t the two greatest runs in the semis and final, but as long as it was good enough to get the win light that’s all that matters. I felt like I did my job really well and the car is just working well right now. I’m really excited for the Countdown coming up here because we have a really fast car.”CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW TO KEEP YOUR MINDSET, YOUR FOCUS?“When we went into Q3 and stuck that other motor in and they told me I went to No. 1, I went back and saw that it really wasn’t that good of a run. That got me excited because I know there’s a lot left in it and I’m going to come and surprise them. And I think that’s what we did. All the KB cars are running really good right now and I think it’s a good time to start getting your stride.”WHAT HAS THIS SEASON BEEN LIKE FOR YOU WITH TWO WINS IN THREE FINALS?“It’s hard to put into words. I got to experience it with Jason (Line) and KB for years. I’m still working the same as I did last year. This is like a dream come true. This season has taught me a lot. I’ve had some highs and I’ve had some lows where I’ve been struggling. We’ve gotten a little taste of everything this year.”DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD TO PULL OFF SOMETHING GOOD IN THE FINAL ROUND?“I knew that Kyle had lane choice and I was going to the right lane and my car was not as happy over there, and I didn’t make a really good run in the semis. I knew that Kyle was really good and had a fast car and he was going to be really on it because I know how bad he wants that first win.”CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPITFUNNY CAR:ROBERT HIGHT, JOHN FORCE RACING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 14 qualifier, fell in second round to teammate John Force): “We had some things figured out in that first round. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham turned this car around. Just wasn’t our race this weekend. Luckily, We get to redeem ourselves right away and head to Brainerd next weekend. Leaving here lower in the points that we want but we’re in the Countdown and we have two races to make up some points. I’m not worried. This Auto Club team always comes through.”PRO STOCK:GREG ANDERSON, KB RACING, HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier, fell in second round, clinched Countdown spot, points leader): “It’s always a good feeling to know you get to race for the championship, and I’ve been fortunate in my career to have been in this position a few times before. As long as you’re in the Countdown, you have a chance at winning it all, but with this format, the higher your position, the greater your advantage. You want that advantage.”
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 3 qualifier, fell in semifinals, clinched Countdown spot): “(Grading performance) I’d say a C minus. We’ve had two wins and it’s been great for Melling and Gallagher and all the people who make it possible, but I’ve not been driving really trick and we’ve bene fighting this race car. We have big smoke under the hood with Elite horsepower.”
MATT HARTFORD, HARTFORD RACING, TOTAL SEAL CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 5 qualifier, fell in second round): “This Total Seal Camaro, we have a lot of support from a lot of people. The road to get to the next round is always hard.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 15, 2021) – It was a historic winners circle at Heartland Motorsports Park for the Menards NHRA Nationals. For the first time in their careers Brittany Force, in her Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster, and her father, John Force, in his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, won in their respective categories. Along with the wins, Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy had a quarterfinal finish. It is the fourth time John Force Racing has had a Funny Car / Top Fuel double-up. Brittany first did it with Hight in Dallas 2017 and again in Houston 2019 before John Force and Austin Prock won together for John’s 150th in Seattle 2019. John and daughter Ashley Force-Hood, who married his now crew chief Danny Hood, doubled up at the Auto Club Finals in Pomona when she raced Top Alcohol in 2004. “This is something I’ll never forget. This has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember and there have been so many close calls where we thought, ‘Hey, this could be our day that we could double up,’ and just to get a race win is hard enough. Then you want to do it with your teammate, it’s almost impossible,” Brittany Force said. “So, you almost put it on the back burner; it’s too much to double up with your dad. You both run well all weekend long and you double up, it almost seems impossible. Today, we pulled off the impossible. It’s pretty cool that we’ll always share this. It’s a special racetrack for us and it’s pretty cool to have that with him.” Starting race day from the No. 1 spot for the sixth time this season, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team laid down a 3.774-second run at 328.86 mph to end Scott Palmer’s day, he ran a 3.892 at 299.06. Her first-round win put her in position for a bye in the quarterfinals where she managed a 3.747 pass at 329.02 to earn lane choice heading into the semifinals. Force would take the Monster Energy dragster to a 3.769-second pass at 326.24 mph to take out points leader and three-time champion Steve Torrence and his 3.814 at 317.87. Entering into her third final round of the season, 26th of her career, Force would have lane choice over Clay Millican. Force would even her record against Millican to 9-9 with a 3.783-second pass at 324.75 mph. She would beat Millican on the starting line and never trail with his dragster going 3.830 at 288.58. The victory is Force’s first of the season, 11th of her career and first at Heartland Motorsports Park. The last time Force picked up a win was in the fall race in Las Vegas 2019. “It feels great. We came out strong, we’ve had a good season. We’ve had a bunch of No. 1 qualifiers, we just keep getting stuck on race day,” said Force who is now second in the points standings. “That’s hard for a driver, a crew chief, our entire team. That’s where you really want to excel, when you really want to do well. We have a closet full of No. 1 hats, but we don’t have those race day hats. I know it was right around the corner for us. Over the last few races, it’s been driver error, it’s been team error. Little things kept getting us. We knew eventually our luck was going to turn around.” John Force and the PEAK Camaro kept up their consistency from qualifying with a first round win over Paul Lee. Force would go 3.975-seconds at 326.08 mph to better Lee’s 4.163 at 267.16. The win would set him up for a second-round match-up with teammate and president of John Force Racing, Robert Hight. The 16-time champion would handle his PEAK Chevy to a 3.959-second pass at 324.56 mph to better Hight’s 4.007 at 312.86. In the semifinals, Force was matched with long-time rival Cruz Pedregon. Force would extend his winning record against Pedregon to 76-36 when he powered the PEAK Camaro to a 4.005-second run at 321.35 mph. Pedregon would go 4.063 at 303.91. The win gave Force lane choice over J.R. Todd in the finals. It would be Force’s fourth final round of the year and 260th of his career. Lining up with 2018 Funny Car World Champion J.R. Todd in the final, Force would maneuver the PEAK Chevy to a 4.019-second pass at 321.04 mph that better’s Todd’s 4.453 at 199.29 after he smokes the tires mid-track. This is Force’s 10th win at Heartland Park Topeka, 154th of his career and third this season. The last time Force won at this facility it was 2008 and his first victory after his devastating crash in Dallas 2007. The victory gave Force the points lead for the first time since October, 5, 2014, 135 races ago. Force has now led the points in 22 different seasons. “I had a good day. Robert (Hight, second round) was probably my toughest race because it’s hard to beat Robert. I just had a car that was pretty fast. Got the win. What was special was I finally got that double up with Brittany. It means a lot for a family of racers. It was a great day with all the people I raced. “I’m going after wins. I don’t talk about it because when you do you get lost why you came and you start focusing on that,” Force continued. “No, what you do is you drive your car. You love life and I fight. My race car keeps me alive and the cheer of the crowd. So, if it’s in the cards, we’ll win a championship. And if we don’t, I’ll be the first over there to congratulate who does. Because that is what it really is all about. The competition makes you better. Every time they beat me, they make me better.” Coming into the No. 14 spot, Robert Hight and the Auto Club Chevy turned things around in a hurry powering to a 3.936-second pass at 323.58 mph for the first-round win over Bob Tasca III’s 3.970 at 322.04. In the second round, Hight found himself line up with team owner John Force where he would come up short with a 4.007 at 312.86 to Force’s 3.959. “We had some things figured out in that first round. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham turned this car around. Just wasn’t our race this weekend. Luckily, we get to redeem ourselves right away and head to Brainerd next weekend,” said Hight who leaves Heartland Park Topeka tied for fifth in points. “Leaving here lower in the points that we want but we’re in the Countdown and we have two races to make-up some points. I’m not worried, this Auto Club team always comes through.” The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series continues August 18-22 with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.

TOPEKA, Kan. (Aug. 15) – Troy Coughlin Jr. became the fourth member of his legendary family to earn the No. 1 qualifier designation, highlighting a steady race weekend that ended with a third-place finish in the Pro Stock category. Coughlin coaxed a 6.600-second pass at 205.07 mph out of his JEGS.comElite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro Saturday to edge points leader Greg Anderson out of the top qualifying position. That placed the 31-year-old, third generation pro alongside his six-time champion uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr., his three-time champion father Troy Coughlin and his three-time divisional champion uncle Mike Coughlin as family members who have topped a pro field at an NHRA national event. “All the credit in the world goes to this team,” Troy Jr. said. “Our crew chief Mark Ingersoll, along with Steven Hurley, Kelly Murphy, Kyle Bates and Eric Luzinski earned that No. 1 qualifier, for sure. Their relentless pursuit of perfection yielded the results they deserve. I just wish I could have carried that momentum all the way through race day.”

Even though Troy Jr. didn’t hoist the trophy Sunday at the conclusion of the 32nd annual Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor, his semifinal finish at Heartland Park Topeka validated his qualifying performance and kept confidence levels high in the JEGS pit. “One of the hardest things in this sport is matching the race car and the horsepower to the conditions on the racetrack, but I’d say my guys are the best at doing that,” Troy Jr. said. “It was steamy hot out there and that calls for a special blend of aggressiveness where you have to keep your mind on maximum traction at the same time. “You also have to factor in how the track changes each session, between the temperature changes and the track surface changing its consistency. It’s probably the toughest thing to figure out yet my JEGS Camaro was ready every time. Once I tighten up my race day driving routine we’ll be complete.”

As top qualifier, Troy Jr. opened eliminations against 16th-ranked Cristian Cuadra, who tried too hard to overcome his performance deficit and jumped the green light by -.113 seconds, drawing an immediate disqualification. Regardless of the start, Troy Jr. probably had too much horsepower for Cuadra anyways as he went on to post a 6.607 at 205.22 mph against Cuadra’s 6.692 at 205.41 mph. By the rarest of circumstances, Troy Jr. had a bye run in Round 2 due to the fact the two opponents on the opposite side of the ladder decided to have a lengthy staging duel in Round 1. Even when the NHRA starter ordered them to fully stage and race, neither driver would budge, forcing officials to DQ them both. “That was one of those deals where the competitive juices get flowing and both drivers obviously decided they weren’t going to stage first,” Troy Jr. said. “I was behind them in the lanes when it happened and my first thought was, ‘Well, if I can win my first-round race I’m automatically in the semis.'”

That’s exactly how it turned out, so after posting a solo run of 6.649 at 205.04 mph in the quarterfinals, Troy Jr. drew red-hot Dallas Glenn in the semis, who ended Coughlin’s day with a 6.659 at 206.92 mph to Troy Jr.’s 6.683 at 204.54 mph. Up next over Labor Day weekend is the biggest drag race of them all, the U.S. Nationals, where Troy Jr. hopes to pick up his third trophy from the sport’s most prestigious and longest-running event. “We have everything here and Indy has been great to us in the past so we will continue to build on what we have and try to win ‘the Big Go’ in a Pro Stock car,” Troy Jr. said. “That would be the ultimate.”

(Aug.15, 2021) – AJ Allmendinger is no stranger to road course racing. But heading into this weekend’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Cup Series, Allmendinger and his No. 16 Hyperice Camaro ZL1 1LE team were not sure how the cars and the competitors were going to adapt to tackling the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Allmendinger qualified well, starting eighth, but suffered a speeding on pit road penalty and had to come back up through the field. After surviving six cautions for 25 laps involving multiple cars in each incident, the veteran driver found a way to weave his way through one melee after another to lead one lap, the final one, and capture his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory. The win is the13th of the season for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in 24 races, and the 808th for the Bowtie Brand in NASCAR’s premier series. Team Chevy drivers claimed six of the top-eight finishers. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, finished third and was credited for leading twice for 26 of the 95-lap race. He continues to lead the point standings for the regular season championship. Chase Elliot, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1 1LE finished fourth. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, Erik Jones, No. 43 Petty’s Garage Camaro ZL1 1LE and Justin Haley, No. 77 Fraternal Order of the Eagles Camaro ZL1 1LE finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Next on the schedule on August 22, 2021 at Michigan International Speedway. 
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:AJ Allmendinger, Matt Kaulig, Chris RiceTHE MODERATOR: We’re going to start with our post-race presser here this afternoon for today’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for the NASCAR Cup Series. We’ve now been joined by our race winning team, including driver AJ Allmendinger, team owner Matt Kaulig and president of Kaulig Racing, Chris Rice.First of all, AJ, you’ve made several comments in your interviews before that you’re only going to keep doing this as long as it’s fun, so my question is, was that fun?AJ ALLMENDINGER: That was fun. Yeah, I mean, it was — that was chaotic. Honestly we didn’t really have a race-winning car on outright speed, probably about seventh to tenth. I sped on pit road, so I just kind of carried on for how I felt yesterday, so put us in the back there, and we were just fighting hard.I thought we probably maybe would get in the edge of the top 10 and have a solid day. For a makeshift really pit crew — I shouldn’t say makeshift, but a crew that we don’t work with all the time, they did a fantastic job, great pit stops.But yeah, once that chaos started happening and we started getting close to the front, I had a really good restart on the front. I think we were restarting 17th with eight to go and was able to get to seventh through all that mess and thought, all right, now we’re at least in shouting distance of it.Knew a couple of the cars had older tires, and that second restart, got to third, and it’s like, okay, now we’ve got a shot at this.The best part is when you’ve got Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice on the radio just going, Hey, we’re not here for friends, we’re not here for points, we’re here to win this race, so win it or basically bring it back on the hook. That kind of frees up a race car driver to go after it.I just can’t believe the way it played out. I had a great restart. I thought I might take the lead off Turn 2, and Denny kind of leaned on me, which he should; I would have done the same thing.I saw Chase come back on the racetrack. Well, at that point they were just telling me that he had a penalty, so I thought, all right, maybe I can kind of make a run for the last lap and a half here with Denny, and then had contact, and all of a sudden the seas parted and then from there it was just run like hell because I knew Kyle and Chase and Ryan were back there and they were pretty good all day. I put in about as good of a lap and a half as I could. THE MODERATOR: Matt, congratulations on this NASCAR Cup Series victory. You guys had so much fun kissing the bricks and enjoying the celebration. Just give us a quick recap of what it feels like.MATT KAULIG: Well, it’s a really surreal situation. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. I lived in Cincinnati, grew up in Cincinnati and then lived in Chicagoland, so we’d come down to the Indy 500 every year, and just to be — and I was at the very first — the Brickyard 400, that inaugural race, I think, back in ’94. So I’ve been to several of those.To actually be the team that gets to do that is just — it’s actually surreal. Even just sitting in front of you guys right now and looking at the empty track and knowing that we were just out there and have this trophy now is just — I’m really excited for these guys that have been doing this.These guys have been doing this their whole life. I’ve been doing it for six years. Just really proud of you guys and all of our teammates that have made racing their life and NASCAR their life.So the fact that we were able to deliver this is really cool. THE MODERATOR: Chris, give us your thoughts. I was afraid there for a minute you might fall off the pit box when AJ crossed the finish line. Tell us what it means to bring home today’s victory.CHRIS RICE: It’s unbelievable. I thought I was going to throw up walking down pit road.The day AJ walked in I didn’t know who he was. I knew I liked AJ and I liked his fire, and I knew we needed somebody to help us grow our program with Justin Haley, Jeb Burton and all those guys, and I knew AJ if he came and had fun would win races for us. He made us so much better at these right-hand turns and left-hand turns and he’s made us great.To win a Cup race and to sit in an amazing venue like this and think about it, I don’t even know what to say.I told somebody down there just a minute ago, they said, just soak it all in, and I said, I can’t; I don’t even know what to do. I still have cold chills.I love these guys. AJ knows how much I love him. He was at my house the other day. And yeah, to win a race here, I still want to cry, but I can’t — everybody at Kaulig racing, my wife that’s here and put up with me when we didn’t even have nothing. When Matt Kaulig said, Hey, you want to start a race team? I’m like, You’re crazy; it’s October 31st. He said, No, let’s do it. To win it at Indy five and a half years later, I love it. Thank you. Q.Dinger, how special is it to get your first win here the same year that your good friend Mike Shank won his first INDYCAR race, the Indy 500?AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, Memorial Day weekend there I sat in my house bawling, like watching — when Helio won, just knowing everything that Mike had been through, I like literally just couldn’t stop crying during the day because I was so happy for him. I just remember thinking, God, I wish I could just share that with him.Like to show who Mike Shank is, he came to our race at Mid-Ohio the next week. He had better things to do, but came and supported us, and we won there.I mean, it’s just unbelievable to be able to like now have this rich history and be able to share that with him and do it in the same year, it’s like both of these — I drive for Mike and it’s the same thing with Matt and Chris. Like I drive for them, but I’m not the driver and they’re my bosses. Like they’re — we’re all brothers and close friends, and you want success for that, and you want to be able to share that.Like to be able to do this now on the same year, it’s like — I’m sure me and him are going to — we actually have his golf tournament tomorrow so that’s going to be fun. Like I don’t know what to do. Like it’s going to be insane. We’re going to be sitting there like, really? Like the same year we just did this?It’s so — special is not even — like the biggest understatement in the world. Q.Also you drove for Roger Penske in NASCAR. You led laps here in the 2013 Indy 500 and now you were able to basically get the trophy from him in Victory Lane. How cool is that?AJ ALLMENDINGER: Well, I saw him right before the race. As I was getting in the car, he hugged me, and I said, Roger, I love you because everything that Roger has always done for me. At that time I was like, I’m not a big fan of yours right now because you beat me yesterday in the Xfinity race, so I wasn’t a big fan of that.But no, I mean, it’s — what Roger has always done for my life and my career and what he’s done for this place, it’s always been so beautiful, but now you look at it with all of his staff and the IMS staff that have really upgraded this place, it’s so cool looking.CHRIS RICE: The bathrooms are really nice. I’m going to give him that.AJ ALLMENDINGER: It’s quite amazing. 2013 happened and it’s always in the back of your mind, was that my real chance to win at Indy. I was so disappointed yesterday because I thought, man, maybe that was my closest chance to win at Indy and we didn’t make it happen.Even after at Watkins Glen, all the ups and downs through the next couple years, kind of like, I’d like to win another Cup race but it’s freaking hard. It’s hard to win a Cup race, and we did here at Indy. Q.AJ, the emotions you’re feeling right now, how do they compare to what you experienced in Watkins Glen seven years ago now?AJ ALLMENDINGER: Well, I think Watkins Glen was something that — I mean, it was amazing to go through all the ups and downs and win that race and for Tad and Jodi and Brad. But in a way it was kind of almost like a relief, as well, like I don’t ever have to be asked about will you ever win a Cup race.So you enjoy it, but at the same point you’re kind of like, okay, thank goodness now, the relief is gone, I don’t have that hanging over me anymore. So it kind of takes a little bit of the enjoyment away.This is, I’m like, I don’t even know — we know showing up at the road course races we have fast race cars, but like at Indy, the way that played out, I mean, this is just pure enjoyment that I don’t — I’m going to tell them I’m retiring now. Sorry, guys. I’m done, I’m out. I’m not going to Michigan next week.I’m kidding, by the way. I’m going to Michigan. We’ve got a championship to win.Q.Matt, this team is basically eight months away, whatever, from starting its first full-time campaign in the series. Does this feel like you announcing your arrival moment? Is this like a shot across everyone’s bow? What does this mean in that sense?MATT KAULIG: No, I’m really proud of the team. We went into this season knowing that we were going to run a handful of Cup races, maybe eight or ten. We’re running the road courses, we’re running the superspeedways.One of the reasons that Chris and I talked about doing that is just to get — just almost to get familiar with the Cup Series. It’s a little bit different than the Xfinity Series, and the garage is different and people — we wanted people to know who we were and what we’re all about.We knew putting AJ in the car every week at these road courses would actually give us a chance to run really well, and so I don’t think it’s — it’s not an announcement to the sport or to other teams that we’re here. I mean, we’ve been here — we feel like we’ve been here and growing towards winning this championship in the Xfinity Series and then being able to compete in the Cup Series.But you know, what it does allow us to do is it more legitimizes us as a successful race team so that you get — it’s better for your employees, it’s better for your drivers, it’s better for your crew chiefs and engineers. It allows you to get more and better people. It allows sponsors to trust that you’re going to show up and be great.So for me, it shows that more than anything, and that’s what I’m really happy about. All the success that we’re having on the track, I get happy for all of our teammates, but I’m really — it’s growing our business as Kaulig Racing. So that’s really exciting. Q.AJ, you kind of had a front row seat for a lot of that late race chaos that went down. I was kind of curious to hear your opinion on this. You won at Watkins Glen and throughout all of NASCAR they tend to allow drivers to use as much and as all of the track as they possibly can. After what you saw today, do you think that NASCAR should continue to allow for you to use any part of the track, or would you like to see them maybe police track limits a little bit more?AJ ALLMENDINGER: No, I mean, I think it’s tough with these cars. I get it in the sense that we’ve all got to race within the limits of the racetrack, too, but these cars are so big, and it’s not — and haven’t driven an INDYCAR. When these things get out of control, like you’re along for the ride at times. In INDYCAR you can kind of correct and save sometimes and it’s a little easier. These things, when you get side by side, they’re wide, you’re beating on each other. Like you need room to be able to maneuver, to make a mistake and get away with it.I mean, I thought today with the curbing out like from the Xfinity race yesterday, that was a good call, and I thought the track limits were fine. The biggest problem obviously was the curbing that was coming up.I was shocked where they were having to fix it because you get shoved over there sometimes or you start using more of it, and that’s when it becomes a problem because I felt like I was hitting the curbing, like I never had an issue with it. Where they were having to fix it was almost like way before where cars were kind of jumping over the top of it.But the thing is with those curbs you pay a price anyway, and we saw it. When you hit them wrong, you pay the price.Now, unfortunately today it was a huge price for a lot of cars, and we don’t need that. We don’t need to be tearing up race cars that much. I mean, that’s a lot of money that these team owners have to go through. I was sitting under red like watching it, like holy moley, we’re going through a lot of money right now.But at the same point, it’s our own job to not run over it that way. So there’s a fine line. Like you can’t just drive wherever you want to.But this racetrack doesn’t allow that because it has grass. You get off in the grass, it tears stuff up.I thought the racetrack has the right limitations. It’s just unfortunately the curbing was starting to come up in the wrong spot when he hit it. Q.AJ, your progress through the field after the caution for the second stage break, how were you able to manage your way through the field like that the way you did before everything went crazy?AJ ALLMENDINGER: Chris going, Hey, don’t tear off the front of this car. Still need the front of it.That was actually a pretty good impression right there. Feel good about that one.You know, like it’s — at the end of the day it’s still important to get the best finish possible. Even if you don’t — like at that point I didn’t really feel like we had a shot to win. It’s still big for the team to run inside the top 10 so that’s always my goal is to try to get the most out of the race car and get the highest finish possible, whether that’s 20th that day, 10th or whatever.So it was just trying to be smart, get up through the field. I thought we were going to get to maybe 12th, 11th and thought, okay, I cost us some track position. I thought we were like a seventh- to tenth-place car. So I’m like, all right.And then once the restarts happened, when you’re restarting 17th, winning was not even in my mind, but after that first restart with all the chaos that happened, getting up to seventh at that point, there was only about three cars that were ahead of us that were on good tires, and at that point it was game on.But that’s always the way I feel. Like for these guys and for all the men and women at Kaulig Racing, no matter how it’s going, I still want to get the best finish possible. That’s how I look at it, no matter what’s going on, whether it’s a chance to win or you’re running 15th and you have a chance to finish 13th. That’s the goal is finish as high as you can. Q.You have a long relationship with Michael Shank. You’ve seen him build up his INDYCAR program from a part-time program to a one-car full-time, now two cars next year. Do you believe that this is the right way that your team owner is doing it now? How well do you think he’s doing it the right way?MATT KAULIG: How am I doing?AJ ALLMENDINGER: It’s going all right. I think it’s okay.No, like all joking aside, I didn’t know Matt, I didn’t know Chris. When they called me at the beginning of 2019 and said, Hey, will you run some races for us, I said, Sure.Now, I had watched the program for three years. They were a single-car team, and I liked that because I thought, okay, they’re at least building it the right way because you can start trying to just add cars to it and make it better, and that becomes worse.In 2019 we ran one full-time car, as a part two cars, and obviously at Daytona it was three cars when Ross won, and then the next year it was kind of starting to add more and then this year the right people in place, and you have the right resources to run three full-time Xfinity cars, and then you start the Cup program.So I’ve always thought the way Matt and Chris go about it are the right ways because you’re not trying to get too big too early because that can really kill a program, and that’s part of the attraction to the team, as well. Q.AJ, you talked about when Shank won that you cried. Why didn’t you cry for yourself today?CHRIS RICE: He will. Just give him a minute and a couple more beers.AJ ALLMENDINGER: Because Matt would make fun of me if I started crying is the biggest thing. Yeah, that’s true.MATT KAULIG: You’re a race car driver.AJ ALLMENDINGER: Because it means — like I’m going to really enjoy this; don’t get me wrong when I say this. But it means more to me to watch my close friends, my brothers have success than it does for me because I’m okay in life. Like life is good. I’ve got a great wife. My parents have been fantastic. I love driving for them. Like life is good.Seeing especially like Mike and me and him having our ups and downs together where there was times he had to pull me up, like Dude, come drive for me, and there was times where he was like, I can’t pay you, and I’m like, I don’t care, I’ll drive for you, like whatever you need.That means more to me than anything is to see my friends and my close brothers have success, especially at the Indianapolis 500, you can argue the biggest race in the world so that’s what meant so much to me, and that’s why I was just lost for emotion there because it’s huge for him.I love what we’re sitting here being able to do right now, but for me I’m like, this is awesome for me, but for them, I’m like, they deserve it because he puts so much of his own money into it. He puts every — you can ask Tammy — every dying moment into this race team and all the men and women.I love it for myself, but I always say I drive really for a couple of people. I drive for myself because it’s pure enjoyment, challenging myself, and it’s really pushing myself for all the men and women at that race team because they’re the ones putting their heart and soul and really my life in their hands.That’s why I enjoy it so much really. Q.AJ and Matt, you’ve talked about for next year AJ would be in a partial Cup ride at this point. Obviously things can change. Does this give you consideration to change, and AJ, would you even want to –AJ ALLMENDINGER: I’ve retired. I’m done.MATT KAULIG: He’s done.AJ ALLMENDINGER: Before Matt answers, I will do whatever they want me to do. I’ve told them that from day one. Whatever they feel like I can help raise the organization and help push it, I’ll do that, whatever that may be. Whatever program we’re on, like I’m enjoying it.MATT KAULIG: Yeah, and we’re working on it, and he does say that, and he has said that, and he truly will. We’d have to make sure whatever the situation is — we would like to run two full-time Cup cars next year, and we’re working out the details as far as drivers and sponsors and just how all of that looks.CHRIS RICE: You opened up a can of worms, by the way.MATT KAULIG: You think?CHRIS RICE: He’s done talking right now.MATT KAULIG: All right, I’m done talking. (Laughter.)AJ ALLMENDINGER: Hey, good luck tomorrow.Q.You had a great view of the 14 getting into the 11 –CHRIS RICE: Did they fight, by the way? Q.No, they didn’t. We were trying to egg them on but it didn’t happen. You had a great view of that; what went through your mind when you saw that?AJ ALLMENDINGER: I honestly didn’t — I saw that as it happened.I was kind of more worried about — I think Blaney at that point was right behind me because they were telling me that the 14 had a penalty, and I knew Denny was on old tires, so in my mind I was like, I made a run at Denny on the restart and he used me up, and I’m like, okay, that’s fair, I would do the same thing.I was trying to hold Ryan back, and I thought, okay, if I can just get through these couple of corners, maybe I can make a run, like a last-lap run at this and go for it. Well, when I saw the 14 hook the 11, I was like, well, okay, that’s easier.At that point I knew the 14 they were still saying had a penalty. In my mind I figured he wasn’t going to stop, he was going to run it out, and if I caught him that was going to cause a problem with Ryan behind me or whoever was going to be behind me.I didn’t really see how it happened. I just saw the aftermath of it. And then thank goodness Chase went down in the next corner and overshot it, so at that point it was just trying to put in like the best last lap of my life and try to get away, because here at the Brickyard I think all bets are off. Anybody behind you is going to come send it and move you out of the way, so I was just trying to make sure I got out of that area of that happening. Q.And when they dropped the green flag to restart, was there a lot of blocking and tackling between you and Chase and –AJ ALLMENDINGER: Actually, no, not really. Denny had a good restart. I had a good launch with him, and I kind of went low and he defended it, and Ryan kind of stuck to my bumper. I think we were all trying to get the inside row to go, and I shot the middle and got in there, and Denny got in wide and I got to the outside of him, and that’s when he kind of used me up, which, like I said, I’d have drove myself straight into the field if I had to. But it was fair.You know on the restarts anything goes, especially here because it’s a long straightaway into a hairpin corner. I was just happy to get through the first couple of corners clean and then from there see what was really going to happen. Q.Matt, you have three cars probably in the Xfinity playoffs. I assume you came into the season looking for an Xfinity championship, but does this win no matter what else happens this year does this win make this a successful season math?MATT KAULIG: Yeah, it’s been a very successful season. We’ve got three wins. AJ has got two in the Xfinity Series and now this. This is like — we wouldn’t have dreamed this — literally wouldn’t have dreamt that even this could happen this year. It wasn’t even part of the plans. You’re trying to run well.But no, so it’s — again, a surreal experience to be — we’ve got a bunch of races left. We feel like we’re, what, halfway — we’re more than halfway through the season, but no, we’re completely focused on the Xfinity Series. We’re completely focused on winning a championship in the Xfinity Series.We’ll run a couple more Cup races. Obviously we’ll go out there and try to win those, but believe me, the focus is 100 percent on getting these guys, whoever it is, if it’s AJ or Jeb or Justin, an Xfinity championship, and that’s what we’re doing. That’s what we want. That’s what we want for us. Q.Chris, was there any thought, did you think that NASCAR might just stop the race with the issues with the curbs, and if they did would you have been okay with it?CHRIS RICE: I would have been fine with it, but I didn’t think they would. It was the first race here on the road course, the inaugural race. I felt like they wanted to finish it.You don’t know what the challenges are that they’re going to have with these cars that are low. We ran here for two races and had no issues with that. Our cars don’t have — well, the Xfinity cars are not low-ride cars.They did a great job. I mean, I applaud NASCAR for even coming here to try something different, so I would have been fine with it, but I applaud them for letting us race it out obviously because we won, but I was happy sitting there seventh to be honest with you. No, I never had a thought in my mind that they would quit it.Q.Matt, you mentioned you’ve been coming here since you were a kid. Could you share what is your absolute earliest memory attached to this facility or the first time you ever stepped foot on the property?MATT KAULIG: Let’s see. The race that I remember most was when Danny Sullivan won. What was that, ’85? So I think that’s my earliest recollection of actually — we’d come to the track. It’s huge and fun. But I don’t think I was a giant fan of all the racers.But I remember — and I actually got to have dinner with Danny a couple of years ago and met him. We were sitting at a reception in New York City, and he and I just started talking about racing, and it was just really cool because I didn’t know it was Danny Sullivan. He looks different than he looked in 1985.So I’m talking to him, and I said, Hey, what’s your name? He said, Danny. I said, Well, what kind of work do you do? And he said, Well, I was a race car driver. I’m like, Well, that’s cool, like what kind. He’s like, like INDYCAR. I’m like, what’s your name? He said, Danny Sullivan. I’m like, What? Why didn’t you say you were Danny Sullivan?I still talk back and forth. I’m sure he’ll text me tonight congratulating us on the win. But that’s my earliest memory. AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, for me, I grew up watching the Indy 500, and I think the one that always stood out to me as a kid was little Al and Emo going through Turn 3 there and having the contact and just the battle.And I was always such a huge Jeff Gordon fan growing up. That was my guy was Jeff Gordon. Through sprint cars, I just loved watching him in sprint car racing and then when he got in NASCAR and obviously the inaugural race here watching him win that on TV as a kid I was really excited.First time here honestly for me was like walking into the place was 2007, my rookie year in Cup, and I remember I smashed the wall off of Turn 4 trying to hold it wide open to try to make the show. By the way, that didn’t work out very well; I didn’t make the race.I remember people always telling me like you walk into it but on race day it’s different. I got to experience that in 2008 here, but really what stood out to me was 2013, like walking through Gasoline Alley for the Indy 500 and I had Roger Penske next to me; he was going to call my race.Good or bad, I don’t mean it when I say this, but it was like, I’m like, I’m walking with God right now. Like this is what God feels like. I’m walking with Roger Penske, Indy 500, and he’s calling my race, and I’m driving for Roger Penske.Like that moment will always stand out to me as like I felt like I was an out-of-body — I was watching myself walk with Roger, and it was so special to me.The way the race played out was crazy, and I remember leading, taking the lead, and in the car I kind of lost my mind, and almost like, Oh, my God, I’m leading the Indy 500. There was still 130 to go. I had to calm down. But all of a sudden, I go, Okay, now I get it; this is what it means here with the packed house and running the Indy 500 for Roger Penske.That memory will always be special in my mind.Part of the reason why people ask me if I’ll ever run the Indy 500 again, part of the reason is I don’t ever want to mess that memory up. It’s true because it was so special to me. CHRIS RICE: Mine is probably more NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt, I think it was ’95 he won his first one. Is that right? And deep down inside I’m a huge Darrell Waltrip fan. Y’all know if you watch my social media how mouthy I am, how wide open I am. That’s the way Darrell Waltrip was.But Dale Earnhardt winning here probably meant more to me as a little kid than I can remember. Elliott Sadler and myself won a bunch of races that year and won championships, and I always said, hey, we were the Dale Earnhardts of late model stock car racing then.I remember that race and I remember those cars, and I remember how cool it was to watch all the fans.The first time I came here I think I was working with the Pettys, and I walked in and I think we tested, I told my wife this story this weekend, and I walked in and I go, holy moley, this place is amazing. It was just how — we would go to St. Elmo’s and you do things like that. I had raced at ORP a bunch of times, but walk in here and see all this and think about thousands and thousands of people packing in here.I still sit here and cannot believe we kissed the bricks, and just something, that fame. That’s something that is unbelievable.So probably the Dale Earnhardt win.Richard Childress Racing being a very, very crucial partner of ours, helping us get to the level we’re at and being part of us is probably something that we failed to talk about today. But they’ve been very crucial. Richard is a good friend of ours. Matt now owns about 14 acres down there and owns a couple buildings.But Dale Earnhardt probably, the late Dale Earnhardt is probably my favorite memory. I think he won three races here, and every time he won I kind of got cold chills. THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations. We hope you guys enjoy this one, and we appreciate you spending some time with us.FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

August 15, 2021

Matt DiBenedetto drove a battered No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang to a fifth-place finish in a chaotic Verizon 200 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was his third top-five finish of the season, his sixth top-10 and his fifth-straight finish of 11^th or better.

DiBenedetto started Sunday’s inaugural Cup Series run on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 15^th place. His Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang sustained body damage on the start, and he and the team battled to overcome that throughout the race.

Crew chief Jonathan Hassler, who had a stellar day as a race strategist, brought his driver to pit road with three laps remaining in the opening Stage. That set DiBenedetto up to start the second Stage from 14^th place.

Just after that restart, DiBenedetto was involved in a fender-banger with Christopher Bell, briefly drove off the track but recovered to rejoin the race in 21^st place.

Hassler adopted a different strategy for the end of the second Stage. By staying on track throughout that run, DiBenedetto finished Stage Two in fifth place and earned six Stage points.

As the third and final segment of the race got underway, DiBenedetto, after a pit stop, began working his way forward.

As others ahead of them pitted under the green flag, Hassler left DiBenedetto on the track as long as possible. He took the lead on Lap 63 but yielded to drivers on fresher tires. He was still running seventh when he finally headed to pit road with 11 laps remaining.

As luck would have it – good luck that is – the yellow flag flew with DiBenedetto on pit road. When most of the rest of the field made pit stops under the ensuing caution period, DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang cycled up to third place for a restart with six scheduled laps remaining.

Despite the damage to his Mustang, DiBenedetto was running fourth when the caution flag – and eventually the red flag – was displayed for a multi-car crash in Turn Six. The Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang received more damage, including to the front suspension, but DiBenedetto stayed on track in fourth place for the first attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag run to the finish.

Then came another multi-car crash in Turn Six.

In the second and final attempt at an overtime finish, DiBenedetto held on to finish fifth.

In his post-race comments, DiBenedetto credited Hassler with putting the team in position to capitalize on the late-race chaos.

“All the credit goes to crew chief Jonathan Hassler for knowing the strategy and the spot we were in and throwing a Hail Mary and running all the way until we were about out of fuel and knowing that if any caution came out we could stay out and get all the track position,”

DiBenedetto said. “This is all him. All I had to do was kind of hang on until the end, hang onto the position.  
 
“Obviously, our car was missing some pieces on it, so I just had to hang on for whatever we could get.
 
“We actually had a shot at [a win] there at the end. I couldn’t believe it. It’s just a testament to this team.”
 
DiBenedetto added that he hasn’t given up on putting the No. 21 Mustang in Victory Lane before the season ends.
 
“We need to keep digging,” he said. “We need to win one of these races.”
 
Next up for DiBenedetto and the Wood Brothers team is the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday Aug. 22.
 

TOPEKA, KS (August 15, 2021) — With a quarterfinal finish today at the NHRA Topeka Nationals Alexis DeJoria secured her fourth career playoff start for the 2021 NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Ten Funny Car drivers will be eligible to race for the championship when the points are restructured following the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Labor Day weekend. Once again DeJoria set herself up for race day success qualifying No. 2 with a blistering 3.894 second pass on Friday night in her Bandero Premium Tequila/ROKiT Toyota Camry Funny Car.

“With everything we’ve accomplished so far this year I knew coming into this race we were going to do something and right out of the box we ran a 3.89,” said DeJoria, who has qualified top three or better seven times this season. ”We weren’t expecting it. We thought we were going to run a 3.92. It’s our sixth number two qualifier of the season. I’ll take that.” 

On race day DeJoria drew rookie Chris King who was making his second start on the NHRA tour at this event. DeJoria got the jump off the starting line and was pulling away as her race car was dropping cylinders and started moving towards the centerline. King lost traction immediately and DeJoria was able to keep her Toyota Funny Car in her lane for the win.

“The first round was a crazy one and we got away with it,” said DeJoria, after the wild round win.

In the second round DeJoria paired up with veteran Cruz Pedregon for a shot at her fifth semifinal of the season. In one of the closest races of the day DeJoria did not get the win in a race where both race cars lit up the Topeka Motorsports Park scoreboards with identical 4.006 second elapsed times. The race was decided on the starting line with Pedregon leaving first, .091 to DeJoria’s .111 reaction time.

“It is upsetting because he was there for the taking,” said DeJoria. “If I would have had one of my normal lights from this weekend we would have won on a hole shot. That hurts more than anything.” 

For the length of the race track both cars were welded together and it looked like either driver could pull away, but the nose of Pedregon’s Funny Car had just enough to get to the stripe first.

“That four flat was probably the longest run ever,” said DeJoria. “Just seeing the hood of his car out my side window the entire way down was tough. I was hoping I would pass him but I never did. I was upset with myself when I got back to my lounge and my guys said I could have five more minutes to be mad and then I needed to shake it off.” 

The five-time Funny Car national event winner knows there are frustrating days at the track. DeJoria is already turning her attention to the next event in five days in Minnesota.

“I am tough,” said DeJoria. “That’s racing. I am mad because I am tired of losing. We all are. We have the team and the car and everything it takes right now to win. Luckily, we have a race in few days in Brainerd, Minnesota.”

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.894 sec, 329.67 mph; Qual. 2

Q2: 4.635 sec, 178.07 mph; Qual. 2

Q3: 3.975 sec, 322.34 mph; Qual. 2

Bonus Points: +2 (2^nd quickest of Q1)

Race Results

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   2             .064       4.811     190.86 (W)

Chris King                           15           .086       7.384     88.94

Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Alexis DeJoria                   2             .111       4.006     319.52

Cruz Pedregon                  7             .091       4.006     311.20 (W)

Camping World Funny Car Top Ten

1.          John Force                                      816

2.          Ron Capps                                       787

3.          J.R. Todd                                         778

4.          Bob Tasca III                                  766

5.          Robert Hight                                  748

5.          Matt Hagan                                    748

7.          Alexis DeJoria                                691

8.          Cruz Pedregon                               610

9.          Tim Wilkerson                                584

10.       Blake Alexander                            417

NASCAR CUP SERIES VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES & QUOTES AUGUST 15, 2021
TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1st       AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE3rd       KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE4th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE6th      KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE7th      ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS.  DRIVER1st       AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)2nd      Ryan Blaney (Ford3rd       Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)4th       Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)5th       Matt DiBenedetto (Ford) The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series continues with the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, August 22. NBCSN will telecast the event at 3pm ET.  Live coverage can also be found on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES: AJ ALLMINDINGER, NO. 16 HYPERICE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner:Q.When you think about what this moment means for AJ Allmendinger, he’s going to take a moment to soak it in. An open wheel driver for much of his career, he came here, almost won the Indy 500 for Roger Penske. That fell short, but today he finally gets his Brickyard win. Probably had no idea it would come in a Cup race on the road course, but he’ll take it. The fans know his history with open wheel at this racetrack, and I would argue knowing AJ there’s no racetrack that means more to him than this one. AJ, could there be a more significant place for you to get a win? A.J. ALLMENDINGER: No. Oh, my gosh, I was so mad yesterday. I wanted to win so bad. I mean, this is unbelievable. In my wildest dreams I could never imagine the way that just played out.Matt Kaulig, I don’t even know what he’s doing right now. He can’t — he’s almost in tears. Chris Rice, the Hyperice Chevy was so good. We had to fight hard. Robin Miller, I saw him this morning, this one is for you, baby. We love you, Robin, everything that you do. In memory of Bob Jenkins. Baby, I love you so much. Mom and Dad, all my friends and family, oh, my God. We just won at Indy.Hey, Shank, I just wanted to be like you, baby. I just wanted to be like you. Q.His good friend Michael Shank won the Indy 500 this year with Helio Castroneves. Is there a way to describe the chaotic race that was today?A.J. ALLMENDINGER: No, I mean, it was survival of the fittest. We probably had like an eighth-, tenth-place car, sped on pit road. I thought we were going to finish 12th to 15th, and then those restarts were just insane. It’s great when you have a car owner that just says, Go get me trophies. He doesn’t care if that thing is torn up. Chevy, ECR horsepower, RCR, everybody that allows us to do that, all of our sponsors on the Xfinity side of it, we just won at Indy. What’s up! Thank you everybody for coming out. Let’s go! KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 3rdQ.How would you begin to describe the racing today, Kyle?KYLE LARSON: It was wild there at the end. My car was extremely good. Really proud of everybody on our Hendrickcars.com team. We had the best car for sure throughout the second and third stage, and then just we had the caution there with like 10 to go or something and then we had to come down, put tires on, and some guys gambled and stayed out, and that kind of just got us in the mess a little bit. Was able to find my way to the front row and then just got shoved around and put in the grass. Kind of ended my shot to win there.But able to salvage a third, so happy about that, and a good points day. Q.How different was the track once they pulled those curbs out of 5 and 6?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know, we didn’t really get enough time. We were kind of all battling there, and the track was really dirty at that point, too.Yeah, the curbs, I feel like we need the curb there, but I don’t know if they can just make it out of concrete or something just because that leading edge of the lip seems to pull up and destroy race cars. I’m sure they’ll figure it out for next time. CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 4thTHAT WAS A CRAZY FINISH. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE DAY?“It was a wild day, but I finished fourth. It could have been worse.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th“I swear I saw a hole on the outside down the front straightaway to go to the outside of (Kyle) Larson, who blocked us a little bit. We rubbed the fence and got a little hole here but had a shot on the front row with old tires. We did all we could to battle. I put us in a hole by flat-spotting a right front early in the race with the Monster Energy Chevy. But the track has so many slow areas, there’s so much time for trouble. But all in all, we’ll take this. It’s a 6th place finish. We had a couple shots at winning but we were really just trying to navigate the day after we were one set of tires less after I made a mistake early on. But, thanks to my guys, we’ll keep digging and learn from this and find what we need to do better on some of these right-handers.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 PETTY’S GARAGE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 7th“It was a major day of attrition for us in the Petty’s Garage Chevy. We didn’t really have the car we needed but kind of stuck with it all day and things played out for us, and guys were getting into wrecks and into trouble and making a lot of crazy moves. We just stuck through it and stayed on the straight and narrow and kept our car fairly clean and came home with a 7^th. We’ll take a Top 10 any day and hopefully it’ll be a good stretch for us coming up with some good tracks for me and some good tracks for Richard Petty Motorsports and keep this string of good runs going.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 21st“We had a fast No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend, just ended up needing a little more luck. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is a lot of fun, really flat and tricky at first. I really started to get the hang of it during the race and was able to attack more and more during the turns as the race went on. It’s great that we were able to capture two Stage wins during today’s race. That will help with our Playoff situation and hopefully gained us some points to close the gap on the No. 4 car. I’m disappointed we got that damage in the closing laps of the race, since killed the momentum we had after a great pit stop and cost us a shot at a top-10 finish. The positive is that we were one of the teams able to continue on to the end. Every single point matters, and I know this team will continue to fight as the Playoffs approach.” ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 29th“I have no words. That’s one of the craziest races I’ve been in. It ripped the paint off one of those times the curbs came up and started losing oil at the end, so I pulled off. I don’t know. But we were okay. We were pretty fast. The Clover Chevy was okay. We were probably a 10th place car and yeah, on to Michigan.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined in multi-car accident on Lap 77 – Finished 33rd“It was so weird. I’ve never had that experience. Like, I come through that corner the same every single lap. We were running fourth there behind (Kyle) Larson, and he gets over the curb in the same spot and something, like after he hit with his right rear, it like peeled up. And as soon as I got there I hit something and it just threw me completely off line. It tore the front end right off of it. Yeah, I wasn’t offline at all. I was actually safe because I saw what happened to him and it looked like he jumped in the air with his right rear. And so I was like, man, let me try to get a little bit further left and I obviously nailed something that came up off the track. Just a bummer. This Axalta Chevrolet was really fast. We weren’t as fast as the No. 5 car (Kyle Larson), but we were a second-place car and made a couple of mistakes early that cost me some track position that we got back. I think we were poised to finish in the Top 5 there. It’s definitely a bummer.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 COMMSCOPE CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Sidelined in multi-car accident on Lap 77 – Finished 37th“Somebody wrecked the lap before. I didn’t know who it was. But the lap before, I went through fine. I was on my line. I was making sure I was on the right line because I wanted to keep that car on the right side. I was on the regular race track and I hit something almost like the curb was on the race track. I have no idea. I haven’t seen the replay really, I just know that the curb came apart.” So, in your opinion, you were on the safe part of the race track and whatever you hit came apart on the race track? “Yes.”

Austin Dillon’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Race Cut Short in No. 3 Dow MobilityScience Chevrolet Following Late Race Incident

31st

23rd

13th

“We knew strategy would be important today so our RCR team worked hard on a plan and adjusted throughout the race, and our hard work and preparation paid off. The Dow MobilityScience Chevy was tight on the lefts and loose on the rights to start the race, but by Stage 2 handling was pretty good and we were able to finish the stage second to grab some valuable Stage Points. Stage 3 was nothing short of wild. I had nowhere to go and ended up with too much damage to finish the race. Honestly, it was frustrating and disappointing. We took a historic race like the Brickyard and turned it into a demo derby. Truthfully it’s not the track’s fault. It’s the drivers’ fault. Everyone wants to just run over curbs. I do hope the fans loved it though. With only two races remaining in the regular season, we’ll be bringing our A-game to try and get wins at Michigan and Daytona to lock ourselves into the NASCAR Playoffs.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Captures Two Stage Wins with the No. 8 BetMGM Team During Wild Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Debut

21st

11th

11th

“We had a fast No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE this weekend, just ended up needing a little more luck. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course is a lot of fun, really flat and tricky at first. I really started to get the hang of it during the race and was able to attack more and more during the turns as the race went on. It’s great that we were able to capture two Stage wins during today’s race. That will help with our Playoff situation and hopefully gained us some points to close the gap on the No. 4 car. I’m disappointed we got that damage in the closing laps of the race, since it killed the momentum we had after a great pit stop and cost us a shot at a top-10 finish. The positive is that we were one of the teams able to continue on to the end. Every single point matters, and I know this team will continue to fight as the Playoffs approach.” -Tyler Reddick

LE MANS, France (Aug. 15, 2021) – At long last, Corvette Racing sent the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for its first laps around the Circuit de la Sarthe during nine hours of testing Sunday ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tommy Milner led the Corvette Racing effort in the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R on Sunday with a lap of 3:53.440 (130.550 mph) in a highly competitive GTE Pro field. Less than a half-second separated the top seven cars, which bodes well for a thrilling race in less than a week’s time. Milner shared the No. 64 Corvette on Sunday with Nick Tandy; the duo will welcome back Alexander Sims into the fold following a prior racing commitment earlier in the day. The No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R had an up-and-down day that included an engine change following an electrical issue that stranded Antonio Garcia on-course in the third hour of the morning session. Four hours later and after hard and thorough work, the No. 63 re-emerged from the garage to continue its test program.  Nicky Catsburg, driving with Garcia and Jordan Taylor, was the quickest driver in the 63 entry at 3:54.281 (130.115 mph). The trio are back together after winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona earlier this season. Corvette Racing will return to the track Wednesday for two free practice sessions and qualifying.  The 24 Hours of Le Mans on Aug. 21-22 with the green flag set for 4 p.m. CET and 10 a.m. ET. MotorTrend TV will air the race live with the MotorTrend App adding coverage of official practices and qualifying on Aug. 18 and 19. Live audio coverage will be available from Radio Le Mans starting with Sunday’s Test Day

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 64 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We had a bit of a slow start today with some issues here and there. But the afternoon was really strong for us on the 64 side. As far as setup goes, we didn’t do lots of work – thanks to a lot of that being done on the simulator. It really felt like we have been racing this car at Le Mans for many years. That’s my first impression. Setup-wise and balance-wise, things felt pretty good. There’s still some work to do, for sure. But I’m happy with where we are. We were able to get more tire data and more car data so that when we come to the race here in a few days that we can find-tune the setup and get everyone comfortable and happy with the Corvette.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s been a long day and we’ve had a few hiccups – things to iron out. But that’s why you do a test before the race week where we try to do a roll-out and fully use that test day. We managed to work through a good program of what we wanted to get through on the 64 side. It would have been nice if the 63 had run fully and we could have compared what we had planned to test throughout the day. Nevertheless, the good thing with the heat and weather today is that we were able to run different tire compounds and have a comparison of that. Of course we missed having Alexander here. I know he will seamlessly transition into the team for the first practice session Wednesday. What that did mean is that Tommy and I got to focus on what we were doing between the two of us rather than driver familiarization work, which we will do Wednesday. It won’t take Alex many laps. I think the most positive thing for me is how comfortable the C8.R is to drive around this circuit. I know and Corvette Racing knows what requirements are needed for a car on this type of circuit – fast, relatively low-grip, big braking zones and a pretty flat track, if you like. The car is everything I expected. It gives me good visions going into race week of being able to operate at a very high level for a number of stints without too much hassle. That is what endurance racing is all about… going round and round as consistently as possible.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I would have liked to do some more laps for sure since it’s the first year with the C8.R in Le Mans. But mostly out of the box it felt pretty decent, pretty good. We know which way to go; the things we worked on in the simulator seem to be working, which is a good thing. We’ll now try to get as much data as possible from both cars and work our way forward toward this week.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We didn’t do as many laps as we wanted to get in today, but the guys did a good job to give us as many laps as possible. It’s the first day of the new car at Le Mans, so every lap is important to get our data and to understand where we’ll be next week. Each driver got some laps – in traffic and in clean air – which is important for the race. We probably have a lot of things we want to tick off the list still come free practice, but I think it’s good to get this under our belt, get a couple of days off and look at all the data and understand where we are.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 63 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Not an easy day with the issue in the morning session which took a long time to repair, but the guys worked super hard and luckily we managed to get out near the end of the afternoon session. We got some laps in, the car felt pretty good. The sister car was running all day so we’ll be able to get some valuable information from them and we can learn from that. In summary, we survived the Test Day feeling pretty good, so we’re all good for the race.”

Martin speaks after early incident while leading, Feger 15th-sixth

PEVELY, MO – Aug. 14, 2021 – Bobby Pierce has conquered many of DIRTcar’s most historic venues across the Midwest over his young career, but one track had continuously excluded him from Summer Nationals Victory Lane.

Saturday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, the three-time Hell Tour champion finally checked the third-mile, high-banked oval off of his list with a victory in the 40-lap Feature event, worth $10,000 and his 39th career victory with the tour.

For as many times he’s raced I-55 with the Summer Nationals but never won, some might think he’d dread coming to the place every year. But in reality, it’s one of his favorites.

“This is definitely one of the top-three of my favorite tracks, if not, my favorite,” Pierce said. “Throughout the years of coming here for Summer Nationals, if it hasn’t rained out, it’s been really tough competition every time.”

But to reach Victory Lane, he had to do what he failed to the night before at Highland Speedway – defend the lead from a hungry Brandon Sheppard.

Pierce inherited the lead after an unfortunate incident on Lap 8 between polesitter and race leader Logan Martin. He and Jeff Roth came together in Turn 3 as he was trying to make the pass to put him a lap down, leaving Martin in the wall and off on the hook.

“I went in there, and he didn’t hold his line. He started at the bottom of Turns 1-2 and exited on the top, and I about got him, so I exited on the bottom because I thought he was going to run the top. Then we get down into 3-4 and he turns left to go to the middle, and we ended up in it,” Martin said.

“It’s just super frustrating for our race team when we put a ton of work and effort into this. You try and do everything you can to try and put yourself in position to win those races and end up losing it on a deal like that, it’s just super frustrating.”

“I saw that almost before it happened, luckily,” Pierce said of the incident. “I had the car checked-up, or else, I would have been in that, probably.”

Now with the lead and a clear track ahead of him, Pierce went back to work. As did Sheppard’s B5, who moved up to second by Lap 13.

Several caution flags were seen over the course of the race, but Pierce held strong on the restarts. Sheppard gave chase in the closing stages, chopping the lead down to under a full second in traffic, but was unable to catch Pierce at the checkers.

“With Brandon [Sheppard] behind me, he’s one of the best in the biz… last night, we had a hell of a battle. I didn’t want to give that to him again,” Pierce said.

Sheppard crossed in second, Ashton Winger in third, Shannon Babb in fourth and Gordy Gundaker the top-five.

UP NEXT

The Late Models now get three days off before kicking off Championship Week on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at Butler Motor Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps) 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger[5]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[6]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker[8]; 6. 25-Jason Feger[15]; 7. 81E-Tanner English[7]; 8. 26M-Brent McKinnon[11]; 9. 54-Dane Dacus[10]; 10. 74- Mitch McGrath[9]; 11. 44-Blaze Burwell[17]; 12. 23-Paul Roider[14]; 13. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[20]; 14. 33-Rickey Frankel[16]; 15. 14R-Jeff Roth[12]; 16. 14G-Joe Godsey[19]; 17. 248-Brandon Lance[22]; 18. 10-Daryn Klein[2]; 19. 14- Paul Kuper[18]; 20. 16-Rusty Griffaw[13]; 21. 36-Logan Martin[1]; 22. 6K-Michael Kloos[21]

HOLY HIGHSIDE: Bollinger Wins First Career Summit Modified Feature in Thriller at I-55

Drivers never forget their first time in Victory Lane. UMP Modified rookie Brandon Bollinger made his first trip a memorable one Saturday night, putting on a stellar show in the final laps with Will Krup to score his first career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals victory.

“It feels good to be able to run with Will Krup and Mike Harrison and my buddy Hunt Gossum all up there,” Bollinger said. “I’m still speechless from it.”

As were most of the fans in the grandstands at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, who watched Bollinger make a stellar move for the lead on a restart in the closing laps.

After Mike Harrison brought out the caution with just four laps remaining for a flat RF tire while running second, the field was restacked, and Bollinger assumed second from the pitside-Harrison. He mashed the gas on the bumper of Krup as the green dropped and went right for the high side.

“I came down the front stretch and my [crew guy] Dakota just told me to hammer the high side,” Bollinger said. “He just said go up there and hit it. I had to do it right then and be able to hit my marks up there and I knew I’d be able to do it.”

With some nice momentum out of Turn 2, Bollinger threw his #242 hard down low in Turn 3 and slid right up in front of Krup to grab the lead. But Krup didn’t just lie down, he came back at Bollinger on the low side with some solid speed around the third-mile oval.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to clear him or not, but then I saw him get on the brakes just a little too hard, and [Krup] looked like he was about to push,” Bollinger said. “I knew if I could just send it in there good, I knew I could get it right then.”

But in the end, it just wasn’t enough to catch the #242. Bollinger crossed the stripe and completed the upset against the Modified veterans of Krup, Harrison, Kyle Steffens and more.

A graduate of the DIRTcar Pro Modified ranks, 2021 is only Bollinger’s first year in a full-size DIRTcar UMP Modified. Saturday night was his ninth start of the season with the tour, notching only one other top-5 finish before Saturday night.

UP NEXT

The Summit Modifieds now get three days off before kicking off Championship Week on Wednesday, Aug. 18, at Butler Motor Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (25 Laps) 1. 242-Brandon Bollinger[5]; 2. K19-Will Krup[1]; 3. 327-Chuck Goodman[8]; 4. 8-Kyle Steffens[2]; 5. 14C-Rick Conoyer[13]; 6. 13-Charlie Mefford[6]; 7. J82-Treb Jacoby[14]; 8. 82Q-Cole Queathem[15]; 9. 9H-John Demoss[12]; 10. 99- Hunt Gossum[4]; 11. 87Z-Zeb Moake[11]; 12. 59R-Jacob Rexing[19]; 13. 4G-Paul Schrempf Jr[22]; 14. 4T-Jake Trebilcock[17]; 15. 21-Randy Dickman[20]; 16. 44R-Anthony Reams[21]; 17. 1D-Dean Hoffman[9]; 18. 24H-Mike Harrison[7]; 19. 11X-Don Grimm[18]; 20. 4UW-Bobby Regot[16]; 21. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 22. 77-Rick Steveson[10]

$176,000 is Richest Victory in World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series History

KNOXVILLE, IA – August 14, 2021 – Kyle Larson first attended the Knoxville Nationals in 2005 when he was 13-years-old. He instantly fell in love with the auora of the place.

For 16 years since, the Elk Grove, CA kid has dreamed of standing on the stage at the race they call The Granddaddy of ‘Em All. On Saturday night, that childhood dream became a reality, and Larson won the biggest race of his life.

What made it even sweeter for the 29-year-old sensation is that he had to beat Donny Schatz to do it. The Sprint Car superstar turned NASCAR Cup ace has made it clear in years past that he wanted to beat the 10x Knoxville Nationals champion at his own game while the Tony Stewart Racing #15 legend was still in his prime.

In front of a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000+ spectators, Larson did exactly what he dreamed of. He beat Schatz heads up on the Knoxville 1/2-mile, but Donny gave him everything he could handle.

A near last-lap, last-corner pass resulted in a margin of victory of 0.478-seconds, which ultimately netted Larson a cool $176,000, the highest-payday in the history of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

His breakthrough makes him the 27th different champion in 60 runnings of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey’s General Stores.

“I’ve always dreamed of winning this race,” Larson shouted in victory lane. “The atmosphere this week was unbelievable. I felt the energy all week long from you fans. It kept me excited and pumped up. I hadn’t been this nervous leading up to a race in a couple of years. I had butterflies all day and during [NASCAR] Cup practice all I could think about is what I needed to do here at the Knoxville Nationals.”

Before Larson stood on stage and soaked in the glamour, a 50-lap war had to be run first. He started the race from third while 19-year-old Giovanni Scelzi and his brother-in-law Brad Sweet occupied the front row.

From the jump, Scelzi took his KCP Racing #18 to the lead and paced the opening 10 laps, which was worth an extra $10,000 thanks to Knoxville’s lucrative lap bonus money.

On Lap 11, fifth-starter Donny Schatz roared to life and rocketed from third-to-first in almost one full swing. He stormed by Larson and promplty passed the teenager prodigy down the backstretch to lead Lap 11. The Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing #15 proceeded to control the next 14 laps, until Larson went by on the 25th circuit.

Watching as Schatz slipped off the bottom, Larson railed the high side and drove his Paul Silva owned Finley Farms, Hendrick Automotive Group #57 to the lead off turn two as the crowd erupted. The halfway #OpenRed made it interesting when Silva elected to only change the right rear tire, while the TSR squad threw two new rear tires on the #15.

Larson ran the second half of the the race unchallenged, until the five-to-go signal was given and Schatz kicked it into high gear. The 10-time Knoxville Nationals champion erased a 3+ second lead and cut Larson’s advantage down to a single-car length as the white flag waved on Lap 49.

Schatz gave it his all and pulled alongside Larson out of turn four, but fell short by a mere 0.478-seconds.

“I was thinking about how to beat Donny all day,” Larson mentioned. “We’re just a little California team. Paul Silva is the best there is. I’m so fortunate to be with him.”

Schatz settled for a second-place result worth a record $89,000. The Ford Performance, Carquest #15 driver extended his miraculous stresk to 18 top-two finishes in 23 A-Main starts at the Knoxville Nationals.

Brad Sweet ended up third with a $37,500 check in hand. The Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 now turns attention to finishing the chase for a third-straight World of Outlaws championship next weekend.

Rounding out the top-five at Knoxville Raceway was Giovanni Scelzi in fourth and Logan Schuchart in fifth.

Closing out the top-ten at the Knoxville Nationals was Brent Marks making $20,000 in sixth, James McFadden banking $19,000 in seventh, Kasey Kahne earning $18,000 in eighth, Carson Macedo cashing $17,000 in ninth, and Sheldon Haudenschild scoring $16,000 in tenth.

UP NEXT – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will run three races through the Dakota’s next weekend. The Greatest Show on Dirt will visit River Cities Speedway on Friday, August 20, then Red River Valley Speedway on Saturday, August 21, and Huset’s Speedway on Sunday, August 22.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (50 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [3] [$176,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [5] [$89,000]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [2] [$37,500]; 4. 18-Gio Scelzi [1] [$36,000]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8] [$21,000]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [4] [$20,000]; 7. 9-James McFadden [13] [$19,000]; 8. 83-Kasey Kahne [7] [$18,000]; 9. 41-Carson Macedo [17] [$17,000]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [20] [$16,000]; 11. 14-Kerry Madsen [18] [$15,000]; 12. O-Brooke Tatnell [11] [$14,000]; 13. 73-Justin Peck [15] [$13,000]; 14. 71-Shane Stewart [23] [$12,000]; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [24] [$11,000]; 16. 49X-Ian Madsen [10] [$10,500]; 17. 39M-Anthony Macri [22] [$10,000]; 18. 2-David Gravel [6] [$10,000]; 19. 7-Justin Henderson [14] [$10,000]; 20. 21-Brian Brown [9] [$10,000]; 21. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [12] [$10,000]; 22. 26-Cory Eliason [19] [$10,000]; 23. 24R-Rico Abreu [21] [$10,000]; 24. 48-Danny Dietrich [16] [$10,000]. Lap Leaders:Giovanni Scelzi 1-10, Donny Schatz 11-24, Kyle Larson 25-50. KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+10]

Union, KY (August 14, 2021) – Brandon Overton continued his outstanding 2021 racing season by winning the 39th Annual Sunoco Race Fuels North South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil on Saturday Night at Florence Speedway. Overton took the lead on lap 22 from Tim McCreadie and pulled away for a $50,000 victory in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned event. McCreadie, the current championship point leader and Jonathan Davenport battled side-by-side for several laps towards the end of the race, but McCreadie edged out Davenport at the finish for second. Davenport finished just a tenth of a second behind the defending race winner. Jimmy Owens charged from 12th to cross the line in fourth. Josh Rice, the 2021 Ralph Latham Memorial winner, came home in fifth after running as high as second in the race. Looking to become just the third driver in event history to win the race three times, McCreadie got off to a good start by grabbing the lead at the outset from the pole position. Overton started third but quickly moved into second on the opening lap and stayed glued to the back of McCreadie’s bumper for the first 21 laps of the race. Overton made the move for the top spot over McCreadie on the 22nd circuit. McCreadie lost ground to Overton as Rice was making his way into the top three, and into second on lap 61. Rice would try to chase Overton down, as he held the second position until lap 95. With five laps to go Rice started to fade from contention as Davenport moved around him lap 96. Davenport brought along McCreadie as their battle went down to the final lap. McCreadie edged out Davenport for the runner-up spot at the finish. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the second time this weekend at Florence Speedway and for the 11th time in his career, Overton added another crown jewel victory to his sparkling 2021 season. “The car was awesome. I think anybody could have drove it tonight, we’ve been working really hard on it, and it definitely paid off. Man, this is cool with al of these people here and you all pumping us up before the race this is awesome. I love coming here, I appreciate every one of you.” Overton’s 21st overall win of the year was special for his car owner David Wells, a native of Hazard, Kentucky. “This is for my car owners, David and Eric Wells, I know this place means a lot to them. I have been a nervous wreck all day because I really wanted this win one really bad, I know it’s special to them.  It makes me happy to see them happy. It is a dream to drive this thing. I just don’t want to stop.”  The winner’s Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Allstar Concrete, Convenient Lube, Crossfit Overton, Garnto Southern, Big Dog Stump and Tree, R.W. Powell Construction, Dirt Mafia, Clean Way Clearing and Grading, EZ0GO, ATC Site Construction, and Hurst Construction. With his second-place finish, McCreadie extended his championship point lead over Davenport. “I did the best I could. Brandon wasn’t waiting around tonight, he figured he needed to get control of the race. That Rice kid is such a battler. I maintained but I wasn’t good enough. Really, I just got lucky at the end. To be sandwiched between these two guys tonight, they are the two winningest and hottest cars this year.” Davenport will maintain second in the championship points chase as the series heads to Batesville, Arkansas next weekend. “Me and Timmy had a pretty good race going there. It would have been awesome if it would have been for the lead. Congratulations to Brandon, he’s been rolling pretty good this year. We just tightened up the car a little too much. The guys gave me another good race car, we just missed a little bit.” Completing the top ten were Kyle Bronson, Nick Hoffman, Tyler Erb, Stormy Scott, and Ricky Thornton Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Sunoco North South 100 Presented by Lucas Oil Race Summary Saturday, August 14th, 2021Florence Speedway – Union, KY LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (15 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1G-Devin Gilpin[2]; 2. 83-Scott James[1]; 3. 0H-Nick Hoffman[4]; 4. 11H-Spencer Hughes[5]; 5. 33-Jesse Lay[9]; 6. 7R-Kent Robinson[3]; 7. D8-Dustin Linville[7]; 8. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[8]; 9. 25-Shane Clanton[6]; 10. 12J-Jason Jameson[13]; 11. 4G-Kody Evans[10]; 12. 1GK-Grant Garrison[12]; 13. 21H-Robby Hensley[11]; 14. 23T-Ethan Toedter[14]; 15. (DNS) 7F-Jeremy Freeman UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (15 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[5]; 3. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 4. 15-James Rice[10]; 5. 17M-Dale McDowell[2]; 6. 11B-Tommy Bailey[7]; 7. 66C-Matt Cosner[4]; 8. 20B-Todd Brennan[8]; 9. 16-Justin Rattliff[9]; 10. 17C-Jeremy Creech[13]; 11. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[12]; 12. 13-Vern Lefevers[14]; 13. 18L-Trevor Landrum[11]; 14. (DNF) 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 15. (DNF) 8A-Curt Addison[15] Non-Qualifier Race Finish (30 Laps): 1. 17M-Dale McDowell[4]; 2. 15-James Rice[2]; 3. 11H-Spencer Hughes[1]; 4. D8-Dustin Linville[7]; 5. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[8]; 6. 16-Justin Rattliff[10]; 7. 11B-Tommy Bailey[6]; 8. 33-Jesse Lay[3]; 9. 12J-Jason Jameson[11]; 10. 20B-Todd Brennan[9]; 11. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[14]; 12. 17C-Jeremy Creech[12]; 13. 8A-Curt Addison[20]; 14. 23T-Ethan Toedter[18]; 15. 13-Vern Lefevers[16]; 16. (DNS) 7R-Kent Robinson; 17. (DNS) 4G-Kody Evans; 18. (DNS) 1GK-Grant Garrison; 19. (DNS) 21H-Robby Hensley; 20. (DNS) 7F-Jeremy Freeman

Myatt Snider and the No. 2 Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Team Record Seventh-Place Finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course

7th

8th

13th

“Today was a great day for our No. 2 team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. The Richard Childress Racing guys put together an awesome Louisiana Hot Sauce Chevrolet Camaro, and we had a lot of speed throughout the entire race, but especially in the last stage. We just needed a little more longevity out of the car. I tried to baby it as much as I could and be easy on the throttle pedal, but we still lost a little bit of drive and ended up crossing the finish line in seventh. It’s a good sign that we were able to keep up with the No. 22 for a while since he ended up winning the race. Just really proud of all the hard work these guys continue to put in each and every week. We will keep building on this momentum and be in a really good spot to start the playoffs next month.”  -Myatt Snider

CHEVROLET RACING NTT INDYCAR SERIES THE BIG MACHINE SPIKED COOLERS GRAND PRIX THE ROAD COURSE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAPAUGUST 14, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 14, 2021) – Will Power turned a front row starting position into a win.  The former NTT INDYCAR Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner led 56 of the 85-laps of The Big Machine Coolers Grand Prix on the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is the fifth win of the season for Team Chevy in INDYCAR. It is Power’s 5^th win on the technical 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that incorporates Turns 1 and 2 and the front stretch of the famed oval. It is his 40^th career win and the ninth victory for Chevrolet on the IMS Road Course. Pole Winner Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP, finished fifth and vaulted himself back to second in points, just 21 points out of the lead with four races to go. Two-time champion Josef Newgarden finished eighth to give Chevrolet drivers three of top-eight. He was the biggest mover of the race, starting 20^th and driving forward to eighth. He remains fourth in the standings, just 55 points out of the lead. The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix is part of an historic triple-header weekend on the Road Course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In addition to the NTT INDYCAR Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Cup Series will each take a turn on the track. Romain Grojean and Colton Herta completed the podium for the race that was slowed twice by caution for five laps. TEAM CHEVY FINISHING RESULTS:WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Race Winner PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 5^th JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 8^th CONOR DALY, NO. 20 U.S. AIR FORCE CHEVROLET – Finished 11th FELIX ROSENQVIST, NO. 7 VUSE ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET – Finished 13th SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 14 ROKiT AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 15^th SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 16^th MAX CHILTON, NO. 59 GALLAGHER CARLIN CHEVROLET – Finished 20^th SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 CARSHOP TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – Finished 23rd RINUS VEEKAY, NO. 21 SONAX/AUTOGEEK CHEVROLET – Finished 24^thDALTON KELLETT, NO. 4 K-LINE INSULATORS AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 26thRC ENERSON, NO. 75 TOP GUN RACING CHEVROLET – Finished 28^th Next on the schedule is Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway just east of St. Louis, Missouri on August 21, 2021 Chevrolet IndyCar V6 Year-By-Year Results since 20122021 ­– 4 wins, 5 poles in 11 racesWins – Pato O’Ward (Texas2, Detroit2); Rinus VeeKay (Indy RC1); Josef Newgarden (Mid-Ohio). Pole – Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Detroit1); Josef Newgarden (Detroit2, Road America, Mid-Ohio).2020 – 7 wins, 11 poles in 14 racesWins – Simon Pagenaud (Iowa1); Josef Newgarden (Iowa2, St. Louis2, Indy RC2, St. Petersburg); Will Power (Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3, St. Petersburg). Poles – Josef Newgarden (Texas, Road America1, Iowa2), Will Power (Indianapolis road course, St. Louis1, Mid-Ohio1, Indy RC3; St. Petersburg), Pato O’Ward (Road America2), Conor Daly (Iowa1), Rinus VeeKay (Indy road course October)2019 – 9 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesDriver/owner championship (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske); Indianapolis 500 win (Simon Pagenaud)2018 – 6 wins, 9 poles in 17 racesIndianapolis 500 win (Will Power)2017 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 17 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Josef Newgarden/Roger Penske)2016 – 14 wins, 13 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Simon Pagenaud/Roger Penske)2015 – 10 wins, 16 poles in 16 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Scott Dixon/Chip Ganassi);Indianapolis 500 win (Juan Pablo Montoya). First manufacturer to capture all titles since Chevrolet returned to INDYCAR in 20122014 – 12 wins, 14 poles in 18 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Will Power/Roger Penske)2013 – 10 wins, 11 poles in 19 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; Indianapolis 500 win (Tony Kanaan)2012 – 11 wins, 10 poles in 15 racesEngine Manufacturer Championship; driver/owner titles (Ryan Hunter-Reay/Michael Andretti)Total – 94 wins, 105 earned poles in 161 races  DRIVER QUOTES: WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER: 
ON WINNING AT IMS ROAD COURSE: “ I can’t begin to tell you what it means to win these days. When you are in your 40s and still kicking butt-it’s awesome. You can’t doubt yourself, you just have to keep digging. I wan’t feeing safe until there was literally one to go. The misfortunes we’ve had at times have been a struggle it’s a tough series. There are many many components that have to right. Everyone has to do their job perfectly and that’s what we did today. Winning is important for Roger Penske, especially here. Very very happy.” HOW BADLY DID THIS RACE TEAM NEED THIS MOMENT?“We needed it as a group. I can’t tell you how good these (crew) guys have been this year; flawless on pits stops. They’ve given me the car and we’ve just had some bad luck and obviously I’ve made some mistakes as well. I’m stoked to get the Verizon 5G car in Victory Lane because we’ve haven’t done that ever. I’d been thinking about that coming into this weekend. Can’t thank Chevy enough for the engine and all the work those guys have done. What a relief. When the yellow came and another one … but we had a really good car. It was tough to get by lapped traffic but the car was solid up front.” WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE TODAY?“I was very focused coming in here today. I did a lot of homework for this race. We weren’t quite strong in the May race and just put it all together. I was aggressive at the start to hold that position and held off Pato (O’Ward) on the blacks, so a very good day.” YOU BRING ROGER PENSKE HIS FIERST WIN AT INDIANAPOLIS SINCE HE HAS OWNED THIS FACILITY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?“That’s awesome. Roger has had a rough year as far as the team goes. I’m really happy for the whole group. Because it’s not for lack of effort. They worked really hard during the Month of May and we were all scratching our heads at the end. I’ve been here six times now (five for road course wins, one Indy 500 win) in this Victory Lane; pretty special place for me. This win goes to the whole group; they deserve it more than me.” PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET, FINISHED 5^TH: “I think this is the start of a momentum that we wanted. I think Gateway next week is going to be great for us. And today, we didn’t have it. I’m glad we didn’t finish on the podium because I don’t think we deserve it.” REALLY? WHY IS THAT?“Because we just didn’t have the pace. Everyone in front of us was better than us. And, it’s tough to drive your nuts off for a 5^th, especially when you start up front. You want to stay there when you start there.” HOW COOL WAS IT TO HANG OUT WITH DANIEL SUAREZ, YOUR MATE FROM BACK HOME. HE WAS HERE AND WATCHING YOU. HOW COOL WAS IT TO HANG OUT WITH HIM TODAY?“It’s so great. I haven’t seen him in so long and it was really, really nice to see him. And I hope I can have him at like more races or something because Daniel and I started at the same go-Kart track in Monterrey, Mexico. He was always running older than me because he was quite a bit older. Not much, but I’m assuming he’s probably got five or six years on me. But a great guy. Great family. I’ve always really enjoyed having him around.” WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO FIND YOUR SPOT TO WATCH THE XFINITY RACE?“Probably on TV because I’m tired.”  JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 XPEL TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8^TH: “Not the result we were dreaming of starting 20^th, but ended up a good points day. I had to avoid some chaos at the beginning. I got sideswiped by two or three cars so just worked to save our car. That put us further back a little just trying to avoid people. Then got cleared so we could march forward and finally got in the top-10, and ended up eighth. It was a good day for points, Xpel and Team Chevy. If we had started a little farther forward, we had a better car. But was pretty good for us. Pretty happy. See you next week.” PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTWILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5g TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLETTHE MODERATOR: Will Power has joined us, the champion of the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix. First win of the season, fifth now on the IMS road course, 40th career win as the NTT INDYCAR Series has now picked up their ninth different winner this season. 11 different winners is the modern day record. One other stat I’ll throw your way: This is your sixth total win here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway between the oval and the road course, and that means now you tie Kyle Busch for most wins ever.WILL POWER: Let’s hope he doesn’t win this weekend. (Laughter.)THE MODERATOR: Obviously the difference for you, having clean air. That was big for you today, wasn’t it?WILL POWER: It was, yeah. Once we got out in clean air, we were going. I don’t think anyone had a better car than us.So back markers certainly make it tough in this series, and it’s a simple fix. You simply give those guys their lap back when it goes yellow and they won’t fight you. You don’t even have to mandate a blue. Jay? Jay Frye? Is he here?THE MODERATOR: He’s not here.WILL POWER: I’ve mentioned that to him from time to time.THE MODERATOR: It was almost a 10-second advantage there, but whittled away as you had –WILL POWER: Hinchcliffe.THE MODERATOR: Hinch in front of you, and Herta –WILL POWER: Yeah, I think he needed some coverage for his sponsor, so he was like, I need to be last but leading.THE MODERATOR: Obviously getting off the schneid, as they call it, getting a win this season, how big is this for you?WILL POWER: Oh, man, it’s a big relief. I think it’s great for the team, especially the guys on my car. They’ve been working hard. They’ve been flawless this year. They’ve really done the job, and I haven’t — if we’d had that sort of performance in the pits and just prep and all that last year, we probably would have won a lot more races.Yeah, very happy for those guys, and just happy to be in Victory Lane, man. You always start to wonder when is the next one coming. It always comes down to doing your homework, working hard and putting it together, staying focused.THE MODERATOR: This 40th win, by the way, breaks a tie with Al Unser Sr. for fifth on the all-time NTT INDYCAR Series list.Q.What is it like, obviously you said relieved to win, but to have that car on a day like day and just basically be in control, those are rare moments. What’s it like in the cockpit, et cetera?WILL POWER: It’s just great when you get in that zone where you’re just seeing the tenths grow behind you because you have it on your dash, you can see, and you just start getting a little nitpicking, like little tiny details and slowly pulling away. It’s a great feeling. It’s right in my zone, right in my wheelhouse when I’m like that. That was another day like that for me.Yeah, love it. It’s my life. Like I just love competing, but it’s just winning is absolutely what makes me happy. I’m very moody when I haven’t won for a while; just ask my wife.Q.Seems like every time you do something really good, you carve a deeper niche into INDYCAR racing history. What does that mean to you?WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, you look at the stats for sure when you’re up there, and you’re aware. I’m aware how far I am off Mario for all-time poles and I’m aware where I sit now in the all-time win list. I know that Michael Andretti is on 42, and that’s a pretty — Mario Andretti I think I can catch on poles, which can be very tough these days, but man, I was very close to getting another one yesterday, and Michael is 42 on wins. Two heroes of mine and two absolute legends of the sport, and just blows my mind that I have a name close to them in the record books. Crazy. That was some serious name dropping, but my name is there. It’s crazy. Who would have thought?Q.With your off-track performance, you may be a duo with your brother in stand-up.WILL POWER: No, stand-up is way harder than it looks. I may give it a go, but much harder than it looks.Q.Race drivers have superstitions; when you see a late-race caution this year, did you have any superstitions today like what happened earlier, like Detroit and things?WILL POWER: Oh, no, you just — you certainly have those thoughts because it just blows my mind some of the things that can go wrong at such a critical time, but all I was thinking about is I’m getting this bloody restart; there’s no way I’m giving this win up. So you know, I just focus hard on where I’m going to go and play a bit of a game to make sure I get a bit of a jump.Q.After you won this race last year you were talking about how you want to drive well into your 40s, you feel like you’re at your peak. You signed the contract extension right before the season starts and then things just kind of tailed off –.WILL POWER: I know.Q.You said you don’t ever know when that next one is going to come, but did thoughts creep into your mind a little bit this year?WILL POWER: It was such a weird slump for me because normally when I’m not winning it’s not because of lack of pace, but there have been times this year where it’s been a struggle to get the pace, the car right. I start digging a lot deeper and trying to understand like what is going on, why am I not fast? I couldn’t just lose it all in a year.So yeah, you just start going back to your old ways of doing stuff when you were super quick, and yeah, you can’t leave anything on the table. Yep, weird slump. I have to say it’s the first sort of slump I’ve had as far as performance has gone in my career, where — I wouldn’t say it’s exactly a lack of pace. It was doing mistakes in qualifying, which is very unusual for me. I’d usually really put it together.Last year I put it together the best I ever had putting laps together, like zero mistakes and was so good at just getting it done, and this year I’ve been on laps that will get me through each round and then I’ll make a little mistake or something will go wrong, I’ll get traffic. All that is so important to control, and I wasn’t.Q.So when you dug into it, what did you find? Was it just technique? Was it mental prep?WILL POWER: Well, it’s things — it’s a bit of mental prep and it’s also last week when you have three laps to do your lap, and on a street course it can go yellow pretty easy, and that’s exactly what happened. I was on a lap and I aborted it, and next lap I started which would have got me through, Josef went in the wall and went yellow. I should know that. I should know that you cannot ever be out of that top six. Every lap you’ve got to update yourself into the top six, and it’s just not being on the game, on the ball. You should know that. It cost me a potential chance to be in the Fast Six.It’s little details. I came in here and it’s like, I am not — every lap counts, simply, until I feel comfortable again, and that’s what I did.Q.Speaking of last week, you had a couple of incidents in the race with teammates. Was it a difficult week from that perspective?WILL POWER: Well, it was, yeah. Certainly the incident with McLaughlin was not good, and yeah, I didn’t see Roger after the race a good hour there and said, I need to win a race before I speak to him again, so fortunately I came here and did that.Q.Speculation was there was a chat with Roger after last week’s race.WILL POWER: I didn’t see him, no. I kind of saw Tim and it was like, yeah, I’ve got to go.Q.Will you go see Roger now?WILL POWER: I explained myself the best I could to Tim what happened and then went to my bus and didn’t come back. I wasn’t avoiding him, I just didn’t go see him.Q.Obviously there’s some frustration being behind Hinchcliffe during that time. How were you able to keep in check and under wraps and be able to focus on running?WILL POWER: Well, I actually thought, the way I caught him, I thought, we could probably get past him no problem. When I got to him and I saw he was using Push-to-Pass to keep me behind, I’m like, it’s just insane that we have this in INDYCAR. Even the second-place guy doesn’t like it, and the third-place guy because if I get past him then they’ve got to work to get past him. It just ruins races. I don’t even think the guys that are trying to stay on the lead lap like it because they don’t want to be a pain in the ass. They would like to get out of the way, and it’s such a simple fix. Just bloody give them their lap back if it goes yellow. Give anyone who’s a lap down their lap back. Give them one simple fix. It just blows my mind that we are at such a competitive series, you have nine different winners already, and no one consistently gets on pole, and it’s just a different pole sitter every week, and yet you’ve got to come around and fight someone who’s the last guy? I mean, there’s no series in the world that does that.And we’ve asked for this. They’ve got to do something. They need to change it. They should change it. There’s a simple fix. It’s just — it pisses me off, man. Like just crazy that you’re racing someone who’s a lap down, it’s insane, or going a lap down. It’s too competitive to do that. Everyone works too hard, spends way too much money to be racing some guy that’s a lap down that’s having a bad day.Anyway, it was a good day to win, though. (Laughter.) I just thought I’d get that point across when I can.Q.When you came in the pit at the end, it also happened to be when James pitted, and for a moment it looked like you had a little bit of a —WILL POWER: It was in second gear. I stalled and then I re-clutched and let go and fortunately it started.Q.And I think we heard you over the radio say something like, oh, Christ, when you realized you were behind Hinch.WILL POWER: Yeah, when he was pitting, that’s when I’m like, we are going to be behind this dude. I was kind of relieved when the yellow came, like thank God he’s gone, but yeah, I don’t reckon he wants to do that. I don’t reckon he’d like to do it, it’s just the rule and he can fight to stay on the lead lap. It’s just a bad rule.Q.We tried this format last year, only no fans were allowed. This year fans are here and everybody is here. What do you think of it so far?WILL POWER: Oh, I think it’s cool to really the top-level motorsports in the U.S. to bring them together as a double-header. But the fans see both — you see a lot of fans with NASCAR shirts on, a lot of fans of INDYCAR, and they’re all mixed in. I think it’s really — only Roger would come up with that. What a great idea.Q.We’ve seen drivers, too, hang out in the garages, so they’re as curious as maybe the fans are.WILL POWER: Yeah, actually I saw — that’s the first time I’ve ever seen the NASCAR Penske Cup drivers in our transporter, and they were like, wow, this is amazing, all joined together, because their trucks all join together. We’re like, we’ve got to upgrade. It’s going to cost Roger money, this.Q.An expensive weekend perhaps?WILL POWER: It’s like, yeah, we need what these guys have. They’ll say, well, we can have what we have as long as you give us the paycheck you get.Q.I wanted to ask about whether there was any difference in the Chevrolet and Honda performance today or whether the speed down the straight was more governed by which tires you were on and how much momentum you could take off that great kind of sweeping last corner.WILL POWER: Yeah, I think — well, the tires made the biggest difference. I think the manufacturers are so close right now. You only see a difference when you’ve got some really slow corners where I think Honda has a little bit more torque, but as far as just power level, they’re very close, very close. Yeah, you don’t really see a performance difference in engines at all.Q.And also, I don’t want to say it was easy. Obviously it wasn’t easy. But how easy was it for you to keep like 75 —WILL POWER: (Answers phone.) It’s Alex Rossi, sorry. Thanks, man.ALEXANDER ROSSI: I’m happy for you. I’m also glad I’m going home, so have fun with that.WILL POWER: Please tell me you didn’t have another bad race.ALEXANDER ROSSI: No, I finished fourth.WILL POWER: I was like, man, if you had another bad race, I was going to be like — I broke the spell, though, dude. I spoke the spell. You’ve got to win now. Hey, I’ve got to get back to press conference. Thanks, man.Sorry, David. I had to answer. Rossi and I have been just having the most horrible time, so I’m glad I broke the spell.THE MODERATOR: Whatever you brought to the table you should take to Rossi next weekend.WILL POWER: No, I want to win, so screw him.THE MODERATOR: This is like the 800-pound gorilla off your shoulder; you finally got a win this year.WILL POWER: Man, I am absolutely going hard when I go to sleep tonight, like just going to sleep. That’s what I do. That’s a big night for me. Definitely going back, good food, green tea with the peppermint in it, just go to sleep. It’s an awesome night. How people do it differently, they go out and absolutely get slaughtered, but yeah. Conor Daly, Scott McLaughlin — no.Q.I think you should bring back the ice bath, Will.WILL POWER: Yeah, I’ve got it there. I’ve got to get my bus driver to get it ready, man.Q.To go back to the Hinch thing, I wanted to ask you sort of a post-race interpretation about that again because I know when you were on the radio and just after the race things can be quite heated and you get caught up in the moment, there’s a lot of adrenaline going on. But do you think there was a predetermined move from Andretti to slow you down? Do you think it was all planned and that’s what they were trying to do, or do you feel like it was happenstance, circumstance that that’s just how the race played out?WILL POWER: Yeah, I mean, obviously Andretti wouldn’t be telling him to get out of the way. I think if it was a Chevy engine, whoever — if it was someone at Chevy, probably would. Hinch was just fast enough for me not to get close enough to kind of have a run when I did. He’d use Push-to-Pass.You know, you can’t blame the driver. It’s the team that would be telling him stay on the lead lap in case it goes yellow, which it did, and it’s just a really bad rule. I wish I could come on the radio and say, look, if Hinch lets me go, I will let him go when it goes yellow. He can have that position back. That’s literally what you’d be doing is all they’d have to do is just give him the lap back. It would just stop it completely.You have a gentlemen’s agreement amongst drivers, hey, if the leader comes up on you, you let him go; you’re getting your lap back anyway. And second place and third place.Q.Will, looking forward to next week, how excited are you now to get this off your back and head to the next track? And two, does this win smooth over things between you and Roger?WILL POWER: Smooth? I don’t even know if there needs to be any smoothing. Like I said, I never spoke to him. Roger loves when you win, let me tell you. He loves when you win. It would hopefully — yeah, Roger has been around so long, he’s had teammates take each other out, he’s had everything thrown at him over his 50-plus years in motorsports. I don’t think it was a huge surprise to him. Yeah, just bad call from me to do that in that situation.But yeah, teammates, we’re all good. We have no problem. No problem. Scott — we all talked, and yep, all good. I’ll go see Roger after this, now I feel confident that I’ll be okay. I’m just making a bit of a joke of it because it kind of is funny.Q.I’m glad you can laugh about it.WILL POWER: Yeah, I laugh about everything now. Once you’re 40 you don’t care. It’s like, you’re going to be dead soon anyway.Q.Names like Mario and Michael, I think you’re probably okay.WILL POWER: Yeah, this 40 years to get to here went really fast, so I’m sure the next 20 to 40 is going to go even faster. Going to be dead soon, so it doesn’t matter. Say what you want, do what you want. That’s the best way.