Alberson Uses Rain Sprinkles, High-Side Speed to Win MARS Thaw Brawl Finale at LaSalle Defending Series champ Shirley leads early, Alberson takes it away on rainy restart   LASALLE, IL – May 8, 2021 – Thirty laps down, 30-to-go. A roomy two-second lead on the quarter-mile LaSalle Speedway. Brian Shirley appeared to be well on his way to a second career Thaw Brawl title.   Garrett Alberson, with an assist from Mother Nature, had other plans.   Alberson took to the high side on a restart after halfway and used a rain-dampened track surface to make the pass on Shirley, driving away in the home stretch to score $12,000 and the first green-gold Thaw Brawl title belt of his career Saturday night with the MARS Racing Series.   With wet weather overhead and the race lead in-hand past halfway, most drivers would be looking for an instant downpour to cut the race short and declare them the victor. But not Alberson – he wanted to go the full 60 laps.   “I was glad it ran the rest of the way. It gave me a chance to actually win the race, I feel,” he said.   Alberson, of Las Cruces, NM, now residing in Dubuque, IA, took the initial green from inside Row 2 and watched as Shirley, of Chatham, IL, jetted out to a two-plus-second lead in traffic; outside polesitter Tanner English, of Benton, KY, just ahead of him.   A caution flag on Lap 31 broke the leaders’ hectic chase through lapped traffic, giving the impending rain sprinkles a chance to fall. Which, they did – benefitting none more than Alberson as he lined up third for the ensuing restart.   The green flag dropped. Alberson got a great launch off Turn 4 and threw it way up the banking in Turns 1-2 as Shirley stuck to his guns down low. While he was unsure of whether the top would work, Alberson knew that he was all done waiting for someone else to make a mistake out front.   “I didn’t really know if the track was going to hold-up or be slimy or not. When we took off, I was on the outside row there and I hadn’t been to the top in a few laps, but I just said, ‘to heck with it, I’ve got to go for it right now,’” Alberson said.   With some great momentum on the top lane, Alberson blasted off Turn 2 and beat Shirley to Turn 3, moving down to protect the pass as he rounded Turns 3-4.   “It just kept sprinkling ever so slightly and seemed like it really helped my tire take back off. After that, the car just felt super balanced,” Alberson said.   The yellow came back out one lap later, but Alberson made the middle groove work to his advantage on the restart and proceeded to put some distance between he and his opponents, being careful not to overdrive.   “I still felt like I had some in the tank,” Alberson said. “I was just trying to take it easy a little bit on my tires there – we were a little bit softer than those guys were.”   Some smooth driving in lapped traffic as the race wound down helped him maintain the lead as he jetted across the finish line, fist in the air out the window, a first-time Thaw Brawl main event winner.   Shirley crossed the line in second, just 1.3 seconds shy of his second Thaw Brawl belt. Tanner English came across in third, matching his finish from Friday night. Though he was happy to know Alberson got a big win, even English himself was surprised to see Alberson’s speed on the moist track conditions.   “It was like he had rain tires on. As soon as that hit, he took off and left us there. We caught back up to him at the end, but he was gone,” English said.   UP NEXT   The MARS Racing Series is back in action next Friday and Saturday night with two big-money shows on tap. The annual Farmer City 74 hits the Farmer City Raceway on Friday night, May 14, with $10,000 in-store for the winner. Fairbury Speedway then hosts the MARS DIRTcar Late Model stars Saturday night in the $15,000-to-win Spring Showcase.   Stay tuned to DIRTcar Racing’s social media channels and website for updates throughout the weekend.   FEATURE RESULTS   1. 59-Garrett Alberson, 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 3. 81E-Tanner English, 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 5. 25-Jason Feger, 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 7. 4-Travis Stemler, 8. 4G-Bob Gardner, 9. 73-Ryan Weistart, 10. 3-Dale Markham, 11. 28M-Jake Miller, 12. 9-Jeff Ridell, 13. 4B-Kyle Cooper, 14. 21B-Rich Bell, 15. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh, 16. 1-Mike Mataragas, 17. 2-Mike Chasteen Jr. DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.Alberson Uses Rain Sprinkles, High-Side Speed to Win MARS Thaw Brawl Finale at LaSalleDefending Series champ Shirley leads early, Alberson takes it away on rainy restart LASALLE, IL – May 8, 2021 – Thirty laps down, 30-to-go. A roomy two-second lead on the quarter-mile LaSalle Speedway. Brian Shirley appeared to be well on his way to a second career Thaw Brawl title. Garrett Alberson, with an assist from Mother Nature, had other plans. Alberson took to the high side on a restart after halfway and used a rain-dampened track surface to make the pass on Shirley, driving away in the home stretch to score $12,000 and the first green-gold Thaw Brawl title belt of his career Saturday night with the MARS Racing Series. With wet weather overhead and the race lead in-hand past halfway, most drivers would be looking for an instant downpour to cut the race short and declare them the victor. But not Alberson – he wanted to go the full 60 laps. “I was glad it ran the rest of the way. It gave me a chance to actually win the race, I feel,” he said. Alberson, of Las Cruces, NM, now residing in Dubuque, IA, took the initial green from inside Row 2 and watched as Shirley, of Chatham, IL, jetted out to a two-plus-second lead in traffic; outside polesitter Tanner English, of Benton, KY, just ahead of him. A caution flag on Lap 31 broke the leaders’ hectic chase through lapped traffic, giving the impending rain sprinkles a chance to fall. Which, they did – benefitting none more than Alberson as he lined up third for the ensuing restart. The green flag dropped. Alberson got a great launch off Turn 4 and threw it way up the banking in Turns 1-2 as Shirley stuck to his guns down low. While he was unsure of whether the top would work, Alberson knew that he was all done waiting for someone else to make a mistake out front. “I didn’t really know if the track was going to hold-up or be slimy or not. When we took off, I was on the outside row there and I hadn’t been to the top in a few laps, but I just said, ‘to heck with it, I’ve got to go for it right now,’” Alberson said. With some great momentum on the top lane, Alberson blasted off Turn 2 and beat Shirley to Turn 3, moving down to protect the pass as he rounded Turns 3-4. “It just kept sprinkling ever so slightly and seemed like it really helped my tire take back off. After that, the car just felt super balanced,” Alberson said. The yellow came back out one lap later, but Alberson made the middle groove work to his advantage on the restart and proceeded to put some distance between he and his opponents, being careful not to overdrive. “I still felt like I had some in the tank,” Alberson said. “I was just trying to take it easy a little bit on my tires there – we were a little bit softer than those guys were.” Some smooth driving in lapped traffic as the race wound down helped him maintain the lead as he jetted across the finish line, fist in the air out the window, a first-time Thaw Brawl main event winner. Shirley crossed the line in second, just 1.3 seconds shy of his second Thaw Brawl belt. Tanner English came across in third, matching his finish from Friday night. Though he was happy to know Alberson got a big win, even English himself was surprised to see Alberson’s speed on the moist track conditions. “It was like he had rain tires on. As soon as that hit, he took off and left us there. We caught back up to him at the end, but he was gone,” English said. UP NEXT The MARS Racing Series is back in action next Friday and Saturday night with two big-money shows on tap. The annual Farmer City 74 hits the Farmer City Raceway on Friday night, May 14, with $10,000 in-store for the winner. Fairbury Speedway then hosts the MARS DIRTcar Late Model stars Saturday night in the $15,000-to-win Spring Showcase. Stay tuned to DIRTcar Racing’s social media channels and website for updates throughout the weekend. FEATURE RESULTS 1. 59-Garrett Alberson, 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 3. 81E-Tanner English, 4. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 5. 25-Jason Feger, 6. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 7. 4-Travis Stemler, 8. 4G-Bob Gardner, 9. 73-Ryan Weistart, 10. 3-Dale Markham, 11. 28M-Jake Miller, 12. 9-Jeff Ridell, 13. 4B-Kyle Cooper, 14. 21B-Rich Bell, 15. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh, 16. 1-Mike Mataragas, 17. 2-Mike Chasteen Jr.

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

Myatt Snider and the TaxSlayer Chevrolet Team Show Speed Early at Darlington Raceway19th10th8th“We definitely started out strong today in our TaxSlayer Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway. We steadily picked up spots during the opening stage and I was able to stay consistently inside the top-10. My Richard Childress Racing pit crew posted a really fast stop at the stage break, which propelled us inside the top-three. From that point forward our race was an uphill battle. The car became very loose on entry and exit and I was getting everything I could out of it. Our right front fender had some damage from hitting the wall early and we think that could have affected us in those later stages. Our Camaro definitely had top-five speed at the beginning though, so I wish we could have held on for a better finish in our beautiful throwback design. We will go back to the shop, learn from today and be prepared for Dover next week.” -Myatt Snider

Gravel Gets QuickTime, Eldora Set for Saturday DoubleheaderQualifying Completed on Friday, Finishing Both Shows on Saturday at The Big EROSSBURG, OH – May 8, 2021 – #LetsRaceTwo has turned into #LetsRaceFour as Saturday’s slate at Eldora Speedway will now include four features, two for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.After a five-hour rain delay pushed the beginning of Friday’s show into the wee morning hours on Saturday, The Greatest Show on Dirt was able to complete Hot Laps and Slick Woody’s Qualifying before postponing the remainder of the program to Saturday afternoon.David Gravel of Watertown, CT earned his Series-best fifth Slick Woody’s QuickTime of the season with a lap of 12.608 seconds, only 0.009 seconds shy of his very own track record at The Big E. Already a two-time winner on 1/2-mile ovals this year, Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports #2 will look to back up their Bristol Throwdown sweep with another potential double at Eldora tomorrow.Timing in behind Gravel was a trio of invaders all hoping to breakthrough for their first World of Outlaws win at Eldora. Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) was second at 12.721 in the FVP Parts #21, Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, IN) was third at 12.745 in the NOS Energy Drink #7BC, and Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, IN) was fourth at 12.795 in the CJB Motorsports #5. Rookie of the Year contenders James McFadden was fifth-quick at 12.831 in the Kasey Kahne Racing #9.Entering on a three-race winning streak, two-time Series champion Brad Sweet suffered his worst qualifying result of the season as the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 was buried in 23rd of 30 cars that timed in.Other storylines ahead of Eldora’s doubleheader include Tony Stewart Racing’s Donny Schatz chasing his 1,900th career Feature start, among other accomplishments, and 2013 Series champion Daryn Pittman returning to action with the Swindell SpeedLab #39 camp.On Saturday, pit gates will open at 12:00pm with spectator gates opening at 1:00pm and Hot Laps scheduled for 2:30pm with Friday’s Heat Races to follow. Once the first program is done, the facility will be swept and track will be re-worked with the second program slated to begin at 6:00pm.All tickets and pit passes from Friday will be honored for the afternoon show, and all tickets for Saturday’s originally scheduled show will be honored for the 6:00pm event. A limited number of tickets remain available to purchase for both shows.Friday Night – Qualifying Times:#2 David Gravel (12.608)#21 Brian Brown (12.721)#7BC Tyler Courtney (12.745)#5 Spencer Bayston (12.795)#9 James McFadden (12.831)#13 Justin Peck (12.837)#41 Carson Macedo (12.838)#11 Ian Madsen (12.858)#14 Kerry Madsen (12.861)#3Z Brock Zearfoss (12.872)#39 Daryn Pittman (12.884)#17 Sheldon Haudenschild (12.888)#15 Donny Schatz (12.894)#10 Zeb Wise (12.904)#2C Wayne Johnson (12.919)#83 Aaron Reutzel (12.922)#1S Logan Schuchart (12.930)#1A Jacob Allen (12.930)#26 Cory Eliason (12.932)#7S Jason Sides (12.940)#19 Parker Price-Miller (12.946)#11K Kraig Kinser (13.007)#49 Brad Sweet (13.058)#24 Rico Abreu (13.067)#W20 Greg Wilson (13.067)#22 Jac Haudenschild (13.083)#19M Brent Marks (13.104)#18X Cole Macedo (13.154)#97 Cole Duncan (13.183)#18S Bryce Schmitt (14.406)

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

Unzicker Escapes Shirley’s Clutches in Traffic to Win MARS Prelim Feature at LaSalleDefending champion Shirley pulls early slide job, Unzicker quickly denies and holds on for $3,000 victory LASALLE, IL – May 7, 2021 – In a great short-track battle through lapped traffic Friday night, The El Paso Express was the fastest train on the track. Ryan Unzicker, of El Paso, IL, made the right moves in traffic and held off a hungry Brian Shirley and Tanner English for over 25 laps to score the Feature win in Friday’s Thaw Brawl preliminary night of action with the MARS Racing Series at LaSalle Speedway. “Any time you can beat English and Shirley, that’s something that we need to be proud of because those are two top-notch teams,” Unzicker said. Unzicker, Shirley and English were the three cars to beat all night long – top three in Qualifying, three Heat Race winners and first three on the starting grid. At the drop of the green, they each jumped out front and began their 30-lap throwdown on the fast quarter-mile. English, of Benton, KY, led the first two circuits from the pole before Unzicker found some great grip on the very bottom lane and beat English to the line on Lap 3 before the caution came out. Shortly after the ensuing restart, Shirley, of Chatham, IL, made the move for second around English and got a full head of steam on the top side as he charged after leader Unzicker. It wasn’t until he realized his eyes were deceiving him that Unzicker felt Shirley’s charge from behind. “We got to playing around with the lapped traffic people, and I thought I had a decent lead, five-or-six car lengths or so,” Unzicker said. “[Turns out] I was looking at the wrong darn stick guy.” “I was riding pretty comfortable for a little bit, and I saw a nose pop into the corner of my eye when I looked over at a car. Then I tried to focus back on where my stick guy was and he had the sticks closed, so I was like ‘oh, s*** he’s right here!’” With some big momentum from his drive out of Turn 2, Shirley dove deep under Unizcker into Turn 3 and threw a big slide job to take the lead, but Unzicker was steady and crossed back underneath Shirley’s #3s to regain the spot at the stripe. “I got that run in 1 and 2, and I just went in too hard,” Shirley said. “The problem was I didn’t think [Unzicker] could see me if I would’ve went in slow and he would’ve come down, so I went in too hard and slid up. “If I could’ve passed him, I just should’ve whoa-ed the brakes and stayed on the bottom there, but I just pushed up enough where he could run back by us.” Unzicker kept Shirley at bay until the final laps set in. With six-to-go, Unzicker caught the tail end of the field and was forced to make some quick and risky decisions with Shirley now right on his bumper. With cars both high and low, Unzicker chose the bottom lane in Turns 3-4 to get by two slower cars, then pushed up to the top in Turns 1-2, leaving the door open for Shirley down low. However, he was unable to capitalize. “It left a lane open because they guy had actually pushed [Unzicker] up, but I had pushed in 1 and 2 and it just left too much gap there, so I couldn’t make a move on him,” Shirley said. Now with only a single slower car ahead, Unzicker overtook him quickly and drove away from Shirley’s grasp to the $3,000 victory – the fourth of his MARS career. “The car was really balanced to where I could go top and bottom, really just put the car wherever I needed to. I think that’s what won me the race,” he said. English crossed the line in third after holding off Jeremiah Hurst in fourth and Jason Feger fifth. Feger had started fourth before falling back to seventh and made a nice recovery to seal the top-five. Garrett Alberson, of Las Cruces, NM, made a terrific charge through the field to finish seventh after riding as far back as 15th in the opening laps. UP NEXT The MARS Racing Series action continues from the 10th annual Thaw Brawl at LaSalle Speedway on Saturday, May 8, with the 60-lap, $12,000-to-win finale. Grandstand gates open at 3pm, Hot Laps are scheduled for 6pm. FEATURE RESULTS 1. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 2. 3s-Brian Shirley, 3. 81E-Tanner English, 4. 41-Jeremiah Hurst, 5. 25-Jason Feger, 6. 91-Rusty Schlenk, 7. 59-Garrett Alberson, 8. 89-Mike Spatola, 9. 4-Travis Stemler, 10. 2-Mike Chasteen Jr, 11. 15-Kolby Vandenbergh, 12. 4G-Bob Gardner, 13. M27-Mike Provenzano, 14. 44-Collin Shipley, 15. 3-Dale Markham, 16. 73-Ryan Weistart, 17. 76-Titus Sneed, 18. 9-Jeff Ridell, 19. 21B-Rich Bell, 20. B14-Victor Benedetto, 21. 79w-Greg Wagner, DNS-28m Jake Miller

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

Sheppard ends drought at Dairyland Showdown It’s the New Berlin, IL driver’s 70th career World of Outlaws victory FOUNTAIN CITY, WI – MAY 7, 2021 – Holding his hands together, Brandon Sheppard raised them to the sky in thanks of the gift before him. Victory. Relief… Finally. The three-time and defending champion ended his longest drought of starting a season without an official World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model win (15 races) by finding Victory Lane Friday night at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. Along with it came a $12,500 top prize, as well. It was also the New Berlin, IL driver’s 70th Series win. He’s now eight wins away from tying four-time champion Josh Richards for most all-time (78).  Sheppard felt a victory was coming after several consistent runs over the last month.  “Everybody’s been working together really hard trying to figure out what we need to do to get back to Victory Lane,” Sheppard said. “I know we’ve been close the last month, but we’ve been just trying to find that little bit of extra, and we’re getting things back to normal.”  While Sheppard added to his impressive list of accolades, he also kept another driver from taking his first checkered flag.    Lake Elmo, MN driver Brent Larson got off to a fast start, keeping his car locked on the bottom.  He powered past six drivers in the first 10 laps and grabbed the lead.    Larson opened a sizeable advantage in traffic, but Sheppard started to reel him back in. That’s when the “Rocket Shepp” made his move, driving around Larson on the outside. It wasn’t something Sheppard could do early in the race.  “At the beginning of the race, the bottom was blowing crumbs up to the top, so I knew the top wasn’t the best place to be,” Sheppard said. “Once we got into lap traffic, we got up there and started hustling and it worked out for us.”  When the top groove came in, it may have signaled the end of Larson’s chances to win. He knew he couldn’t come off the bottom if he wanted to keep his momentum going.  “The top came in, and I was really too tight to be up there,” Larson said. “I didn’t cut our tire up to take that much abuse. We didn’t see any tire wear [Thursday] when we were testing, and tonight we blistered.”  Even though Larson didn’t get to Victory Lane, second is still important for the Minnesota campaigner. It’s his best finish on the World of Outlaws Late Models Series, so far. “It’s a great feeling,” Larson said. “It’s a great accomplishment for our team. It’s a good reminder to us that we can do this, and show other people the same thing.” Jimmy Mars finished third, Cade Dillard was fourth, and Chris Madden crossed the line fifth.  Sheppard and Larson weren’t the only contenders for the win. Both had late challenges from Ryan Gustin, who was running third until his night took an unfortunate end due to a mechanical failure with five laps to go. “The Reaper” had a lot of damage including a broken driveshaft.  He was disappointed because it was a car he felt could win.  “I’m not sure what tires the other two were running, but that caution toward the end didn’t help us,” Gustin said. “We should be able to get it back together and hopefully be there at the end tomorrow.” UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on The Planet return to Mississippi Thunder Speedway Saturday, May 8, for night two of the Dairyland Showdown presented by Dynamic Concrete Resurfacing.  Saturday’s Feature is 60-laps, paying $22,500-to-win. If Sheppard wins again, he’ll get a $5,000 bonus.  Morton Buildings Feature (40 Laps)-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$12,500]; 2. B1-Brent Larson [7][$6,000]; 3. 28M-Jimmy Mars [11][$3,500]; 4. 97-Cade Dillard [4][$2,800]; 5. 44-Chris Madden [12][$2,500]; 6. 25-Chad Simpson [10][$2,300]; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler [5][$2,200]; 8. 32-Bobby Pierce [6][$2,100]; 9. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [9][$2,050]; 10. 18B-Shannon Babb [14][$2,000]; 11. 10S-Taylor Scheffler [8][$1,600]; 12. 49-Jake Timm [18][$1,400]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb [20][$1,200]; 14. 7-Ricky Weiss [23][$1,100]; 15. 99B-Boom Briggs [15][$1,050]; 16. 74-Mitch McGrath [13][$1,000]; 17. 11-Gordy Gundaker [22][$1,000]; 18. 29-Spencer Diercks [19][$1,000]; 19. 55C-Chad Mahder [21][$1,000]; 20. 19R-Ryan Gustin [3][$1,000]; 21. 16-Tyler Bruening [1][$1,000]; 22. 20-Rodney Sanders [16][$1,000]; 23. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck [24][$1,000]; 24. 32S-Chris Simpson [17][$1,000] Hard Charger: 7-Ricky Weiss[+9] Qualifying Flight-A –1. 74-Mitch McGrath, 13.743; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening, 13.821; 3. 8-Kyle Strickler, 13.822; 4. B1-Brent Larson, 13.837; 5. 97-Cade Dillard, 13.842; 6. 32S-Chris Simpson, 13.85; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast, 13.896; 8. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 13.934; 9. 3-Brett Swedberg, 13.963; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs, 13.964; 11. 77-Jordan Yaggy, 14.067; 12. 25J-Jared Siefert, 14.098; 13. 66-Ron Berna, 14.223; 14. 29-Spencer Diercks, 14.284; 15. 10-Paul Parker, 14.459; 16. 24-Brad Waits, 14.519; 17. 10C-Chad Olsen, 14.589; 18. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 14.71; 19. 55C-Chad Mahder, 14.738 Qualifying Flight-B-1. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 13.504; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce, 13.638; 3. 10S-Taylor Scheffler, 13.698; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 13.706; 5. 25-Chad Simpson, 13.75; 6. 44-Chris Madden, 13.788; 7. 18B-Shannon Babb, 13.815; 8. 19-Dustin Sorensen, 13.854; 9. 49-Jake Timm, 13.864; 10. 76-Blair Nothdurft, 13.911; 11. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 14.009; 12. 28-Dennis Erb, 14.013; 13. 15-Nick Anvelink, 14.166; 14. 20-Rodney Sanders, 14.21; 15. 90-Lance Matthees, 14.322; 16. 7-Ricky Weiss, 14.324; 17. 43-Jeremy Grady, 14.453; 18. 6M-Jeff Massingill, NT; DNS. 39-Tim McCreadie, NT   The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis. Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

May 8 marks 1-year anniversary of World of Outlaws’ ‘Return to Racing’ Not only did the World of Outlaws find a way to return to racing during a pandemic, it was able to strive through the uncertaintiesBy Nick GrazianoROSSBURG, OH – May 7, 2021 – An extraordinary day in the midst of silence…That’s how World of Outlaws CEO Brian Carter described May 8, 2020 – the day the World of Outlaws became the first racing organization to emerge from the trap door COVID-19 laid under every racing series, and the entertainment industry as a whole, in 2020.A year later, on May 8, 2021, the silence will be masked by the harmonizing of 900hp Sprint Cars and thousands of race fans yelling to the world dirt racing is well and thriving. The day will not only celebrate the World of Outlaws’ one-year anniversary of returning to racing, but it’ll also celebrate the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars’ return to Eldora Speedway (May 7-8) for the first time since 2019 – with fans.“May the 8th really rings the fact that we were able to break through before anybody else and go racing,” Carter said. “We raced in the time frame up to May 8, virtually (with iRacing events), but putting those race cars back on the track (at Knoxville Raceway), sitting there watching… the quiet… it was surreal. Surreal that we not only pushed our way through that crisis but that we succeeded at the same time.”Hours before the start of the Sprint Car’s fourth race of the 2020 season at Cotton Bowl Speedway in late February, the event was hit by the wave of cancellations across all major sporting events caused by the pandemic. Initially, it was assumed racing would resume a week or two later. That turned into months.The only thing certain was uncertainty.“That was the biggest thing,” Carter said. “Never in our history have we not known when we’re going racing again. I heard someone else say this, ‘Humans loath uncertainty.’ That definitely rings true with me. I hated not knowing. We were throwing things at the wall trying to get them to stick at the time. We thought we were close to getting something done in April, but it didn’t pan out and we had to be a little more patient for a couple more weeks.”When the world shut down and racing was put on hiatus, the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar team immediately looked into addressing the two major questions: When can we go back racing? And where can we go back racing?While answers were sought after, a weekly iRacing series was organized, featuring several drivers from the World of Outlaws, Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar ranks. Along with giving fans and drivers some form of normalcy, it also became a tool to introduce the drivers and cars – albeit virtual – to a new audience with the races being broadcast nationally on Fox Sports and CBS Sports Network. The popularity of the events led to CBS broadcasting an hour-long World of Outlaws “Return to Racing” documentary and CBS Sports Network broadcasting a couple of live World of Outlaws races.The virtual racing served as a solid placeholder while plans for a return to real racing found momentum.Knoxville Raceway – famously known as the Sprint Car Capital of the World – was identified early on as a venue with the best infrastructure to accommodate what was needed for a safe return, according to World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Director of Business Development Melvyn Record. A variety of plans were developed to make that happen.“We were working directly with Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Health, the racetrack and Marion County to see what they were comfortable with if we went back to racing,” Record said. “We came up with three different scenarios… Could we do a race with 50 people at the venue? Could we do a race with 250 people? Could we do a race with 500 people? Obviously, doing an event with 50 people at the facility would be a challenge. How many cars would that look like and logistically what would that look like?“We ended up with a plan that was less than 400 people (in total, including drivers, crews, staff and safety, and no fans). We had an A and B team at the track, which was Carlton (Reimers, the Series Director), myself and others who were outside of the track in case anybody on the staff caught COVID so we could quickly jump in and replace that person and still have the event.”Before then, a Return to Racing Resource Center with a 10-Step Guide for a safe return was developed by World of Outlaws and DIRTcar personnel. It was created with the help of motorsports experts Agajanian & Anthony, P.C., Mr. Jeff Ladd at Sports Insurance Specialists, LLC and Dr. Jack Faircloth, MD. The purpose of it was to provide, not only the series but tracks around the country a helpful resource to safely return to racing. It’s still available to everyone on the World of Outlaws website.“A handful of racing organizations reached out to see if they could use it,” Record said. “The document was written with the specific intention that anybody could use it.”The procedures were put to the test at Knoxville and proved beneficial as the event went on with no issues, giving hope during a dark time. Adding to that, everyone watching on DIRTVision was treated to a stellar race.Even with the grandstands empty – a first in the history of the World of Outlaws – the adrenaline rush of excitement provided by David Gravel and Ian Madsen’s late-race battle for the win created an electric atmosphere around the half-mile track that felt like 20,000 fans were there cheering at the finish.As DIRTVision pit reporter Dave Rieff said after the race, “It was quiet… But it was cool.”Its success became a launching point for the Series and dirt racing in general. It laid a path for motorsports to return to a world starving for entertainment.“We were faced with a situation that we never dreamt of being faced with,” World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers said. “We weren’t the only ones, obviously. I’m pretty proud of our company. We had a choice to make. We could either sit back and see what other people did or, I think we were in a unique situation where we were in a position to lead in some areas. That’s what we decided to do. We got out there and led. We got out front and dealt with things we never had to deal with before.”COVID didn’t go away after Knoxville. Each series faced varying restrictions and guidelines from state to state and county to county. In the early stages of the pandemic, those restrictions tended to change week to week, as well. But with the Return to Racing safety guidelines already established, racing was able to occur every weekend – leading to full schedules being secured this year – fans were able to return and drivers were paid a full points fund at the end of the year.However, questions still lingered about what fan attendance would look like once restrictions lifted. Would fans still want to come to races in large crowds? This year, the answer has emphatically been, “yes.” Stands have been full each week and record numbers of merchandise have been sold.“It’s been actually really incredible to see how much has really changed,” Two-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Champion Brad Sweet said. “Obviously, we had great momentum at the end of 2019 (ending the season with the closest points battle in Series history), and obviously with COVID in 2020 we weren’t sure how we were going to recover. The crowds have been unbelievable. The fans have been energetic. It’s so great to be racing in front of the big crowds again. I honestly feel like they’re bigger than they’ve ever been before. It’s really awesome to be a part of the World of Outlaws right now.”There’s a pent-up demand to see racing, according to Carter. Those who could only watch World of Outlaws events on DIRTVision, either as a new or current fan last year, are now taking advantage of seeing them live.“The crowds have been remarkable,” Carter said. “The reception has been remarkable. People want to wear the T-shirts and wear their favorite driver’s T-shirts and they want to let the world know they’re at a dirt track having fun.”Eldora Speedway still has to adhere to local COVID restrictions with limited fans in attendance this weekend, but the World of Outlaws’ return to the “Big E” will mark the first time in about 20 months the famed track has been able to host an event with fans. It’s a sight everyone at Eldora will be celebrating.“It’s huge,” Eldora Speedway Promoter and General Manager Roger Slack said. “It’s going to be emotional for everybody. Everybody that works here, from our concession workers to our ticket folks and safety team and everybody that is here full-time, we have a great passion for this place and great pride. To not be able to host events last year, that’s what we all live to do. It’s a lot of work to put it on the way we are.”For years to come, May 8 will represent an important part of World of Outlaws, dirt racing and motorsports history.“May the 8th, it was an extraordinary day in the midst of silence. It was crazy and something I’ve never experienced before,” Carter said. “I’ll never forget that. But it was a good day for dirt track racing and in particular the World of Outlaws. It was going back to what we all wanted to so badly do.”For tickets to World of Outlaws events, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can 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.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

River Cities and Granite City Kick Off Busy June Slate for World of Outlaws10-Time Series Champion Donny Schatz Heads Home, Where He DominatesGRAND FORKS, ND – May 7, 2021 – We’ve rolled through the Dirty South, we’ve roared through the Midwest, and soon we’ll be rumbling along the East Coast, but this time next month we’ll be getting our first taste of the Northern Tour in 2021.Scheduled to make the first appearances of the season in both North Dakota and Minnesota, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will open a busy month of June at River Cities (ND) Speedway on Friday, June 4 and Granite City (MN) Speedway on Saturday, June 5.RIVER CITIES TICKETS (6/4) GRANITE CITY TICKETS (6/5)In recent years, both northern establishments have groomed themselves into two of the most-anticipated tracks on the 80+ race schedule. In fact, they both offered race of the year vibes in their most recent appearance with The Greatest Show on Dirt.Granite City’s 2019 show saw Brad Sweet & David Gravel trade the lead over the closing laps all while bouncing it off the fence. In River Cities’ 2020 thriller, Kyle Larson stunned Logan Schuchart and the world with his miraculous last-lap pass at the checkered flag.For 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, the Northern Tour is always a welcomed sight for the Fargo, ND. Not only does he lead the way with the most wins at both River Cities and Granite City, but it’s a chance to go back home for the pilot of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Ford Performance, Carquest #15.The weekend begins at River Cities, where Schatz has amassed a staggering 12 victories in 26 World of Outlaws events at the 1/4-mile. His 46% winning percentage at the Grand Forks, ND bullring is far and away better than his closest challenger. In fact, Craig Dollansky (3 wins), Steve Kinser (2 wins), and Joey Saldana (2 wins) are the only other multi-time winners at the track.Outside of Schatz, only three of the current 15 full-time competitors have made the trip to River Cities victory lane. Logan Schuchart of Shark Racing, David Gravel of Big Game Motorsports, and Kraig Kinser of Kinser Racing each have one triumph to their name.“You always look forward to getting to race close to home,” said Schatz. “You get to sleep in your own bed. See all the local fans, friends and family. It’s the highlight of the year for me. I can’t wait. We are pretty lucky that we get to go home twice. We race there in June and August.”When it comes to Granite City Speedway, the Sauk Rapids, MN track is still relatively new to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. Only four previous events in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 have been held at the 3/8th-mile venue.Like River Cities, Schatz is the winningest driver at Granite City as well, with breakthroughs in 2015 and 2017 during his championship campaigns. The only other victors at the Minnesota facility are Shane Stewart in 2016 and Brad Sweet during the last visit in 2019.As far as the championship chase is concerned, Brad Sweet and the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49 are continuing the same onslaught they’ve laid on the World of Outlaws for the past two years. The Big Cat has topped eight of the first 18 races (fourth time in history) and currently leads David Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports #2 by 90 points.Also in the mix as we enter the month of May is Carson Macedo’s Jason Johnson Racing #41 (-110 PTS), Sheldon Haudenschild’s Stenhouse Jr. Marshall Racing #17 (-142 PTS), Aaron Reutzel’s Roth Motorsports #83 (-180 PTS), Donny Schatz’s Tony Stewart Racing #15 (-198 PTS), and Logan Schuchart’s Shark Racing #1S (-206 PTS).All four Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contenders will enter on equal footing as all have little-to-no experience at River Cities and Granite City. Through the first 18 of 83 events this season, Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) of Roth Motorsports and James McFadden (Alice Springs, NT, AUS) of Kasey Kahne Racing are the only rookie winners. Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN) and Brock Zearfoss (Jonestown, PA) have had some strong runs to their own credit as well.Fans who can’t make it to the track can catch all of the action on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.RIVER CITIES SPEEDWAY WINNERS: 12 wins – Donny Schatz (Fargo, ND) 3 wins – Craig Dollansky (Elk River, MN) 2 wins – Steve Kinser (Bloomington, IN) 2 wins – Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, IN) 1 win – Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, CA) 1 win – Logan Schuchart (Hanover, PA) 1 win – David Gravel (Watertown, CT) 1 win – Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK) 1 win – Cody Darrah ( 1 win – Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN) 1 win – Sammy Swindell (Germantown, TN)GRANITE CITY SPEEDWAY WINNERS: 2 wins – Donny Schatz (Fargo, ND) 1 win – Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 1 win – Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, CA)

Baggsy

The Navara-R 1000bhp VR41

Here it is..

The Navara-R 1000bhp VR41! Built by Paul Cheshire.

The VR38 4.1L @runbc engine, built by the amazing team at @pcheshire_ap with over 160 hours build time to complete this epic engine.

This is a real a perfectionists masterpiece.

With the build being handled by Paul Cheshire, we couldn’t have made it this far without all our incredible partners coming on board and supporting us with the Navara-R, and we thank you!

@supertechperformance valve train, Tomei camshafts, @arpbolts, @kingbearings,  @asnu_fuel_injection inlet manifold, @samcosport hoses, @forgemotorsport intercooler & radiator pipework, @walton_motorsport custom made exhaust manifolds with full system using @vibrant_performance tube,  holding up a pair of @garrettmotion G30 660 turbos with @knfilters & @turbosmarthq wastegates.

Alongside our engine release this week, we also had another monthly instalment of the Mission CTRL: Navara-R Livestream last night, catching the viewers up on the antics at UKDC Round 1, the VR38 engine build and some more weird challenges imagined by @ctrl_sport‘s Mat McCallum, for Baggsy and Ian to do whilst live!

Baggsy – “I can’t be happier with the Navara-R engine build! Paul worked his magic and I just can’t wait to hear it fire up for the first time!”

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my amazing partners for getting us this far & we are very excited about the next few weeks”

www.baggsyboy.com

www.sbmotorsport.com

NASCAR CUP SERIESKANSAS SPEEDWAYBUSCHY MCBUSCH RACE 400TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTAPRIL 27, 2021
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: YOU HAVE SOME EXCITING SPONSORSHIP NEWS FOR YOUR TEAM. CAN YOU GIVE US A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THAT, ALONG WITH YOUR THOUGHTS LEADING INTO KANSAS THIS WEEKEND?”“We are partnering up with The Lonely Entrepreneur for three races. The first is this weekend in Kansas and then on to COTA and Nashville, as well. So, it’s a pretty cool company. I’m learning more about them and what they really are. But they provide resources to entrepreneurs who are trying to get their footing in the business world and helping them out; and we’re also really spotlighting black entrepreneurs as well, which is going to be a cool program and one that I’m excited to work with and have learned a lot about here in the last, really, just a few days. So, it’s been cool to learn more about it and get to know them a little bit.”
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD AT TALLADEGA WHEN YOU WERE LEADING THE FIELD?“Well, I was hoping it was going to stay green. I thought that was our best shot to try to win. Unfortunately, we had that yellow come out. But, just trying to defend the line and what was coming and just trying to keep that lead. So, I was just happy though to get up front and lead some laps with the Air Force on the car. That was our first race this year, so it was cool to get them up front. Obviously, I wish we could have closed the race out a little bit better. But overall, I thought it was a good race for us.”
IT WAS A STRONG WEEKEND FOR YOU BUT THE FINAL RESULT DIDN’T REFLECT THE GREAT DAY YOU HAD. WHAT DO YOU TELL YOU TEAM AFTER A ROUGH FINISH LIKE THAT?“Well, I think you just have to keep your head up and know that we did bring a fast car; one that was quick enough to win the race obviously. We were up front and leading laps. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt. It’s Talladega and that’s how things go there sometimes but I definitely just want to keep those guys motivated and inspired and I think they’ve been doing a really good job and giving me some good cars. So, things come together. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing, really; and wait for the rest to kind of fall into place for us.”
TEN RACES INTO YOUR RPM TENURE ON VERY UNIQUE TRACKS ON THIS SCHEDULE. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF RPM AND WHAT CAN YOU GUYS BE DOING BETTER AT THIS POINT?“I think it’s been good. I think overall we just want to consistently improve each week and still find our footing. We are getting better and better. With no practice it takes time to get to know each other and figure out what we need out of the race car and how we’ve got to go through the weekend. But I think we’ve been doing a good job and I think RPM does a good job. They’ve got good equipment and we just have to take advantage of what we have. We don’t have the same number of people as a lot of these bigger teams, but I think we’ve got really people in the people that we do have. So, we’re just doing what we can to take advantage of that and making the most of every week.”
DO YOU HAVE ANY RACES YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM SHOULD FOCUS ON AS FAR AS TRYING TO GET A WIN TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?“Yeah, Talladega was one of those races that we wanted to try to win. I thought we had a good plan and did have a shot. But moving forward, with Daytona coming up and obviously the season finale a little way out; but Darlington is in a couple of weeks and is a great race track for me. I won there a couple of years ago so we’re really putting a lot of weight on that one. So, that’s probably the next one on the schedule, I would say, is Darlington; that we’ve got to focus hard on and hope we can take advantage of that place.”
TEN RACES IN, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE FOUND TO BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN YOU ANTICIPATED?“Well, I think just no practice has been more of a challenge. Last year, I didn’t really think much of it, but I’d also been with that organization for a few years with the same crew chief. So, we had a lot of notes. We’re kind of going in a little bit blind this year with a new team and a new crew chief and a new car and a new manufacturer. Everything is a lot different. So, having no notes has made the no practice just stand out more for me this year over last year.”
GIVEN WHAT YOU JUST SAID, HAVE YOU HAD TO TEMPER EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR?“I don’t think so. I think we just go out every week with the hope to run a Top 10. We’ve done that a few times. I think we are probably capable of doing it a few more; we just didn’t have things really work out for us. So, I think we’ve kept our expectations pretty similar to what we began the year with. And that’s just going out and trying to obviously, get those Top 10’s and take advantage of the places we know we can go up front and try to win at.”
WE ARE GOING TO DARLINGTON THIS YEAR WITH THE HIGH HORSEPOWER PACKAGE. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WILL DO FOR THE RACING AND DO YOU THINK THAT PACKAGE WILL BE BETTER SUITED FOR DARLINGTON?“Yeah, I think so. It’s been a few years now since we’ve ran it, but I was trying to look back through my mental notes of what the track was like last time we ran the low downforce package there. I thought the racing was good both ways; but I think the low downforce is going to be fun. As a driver, it’s definitely a challenge there with how slick and worn out that place is. So, I’m excited to get there and to give it a shot again. We were on the simulator today doing some laps and just kind of getting reacquainted with it and it was fun. I always like Darlington. We ran good there with the low downforce package. We were Top 5 I think, in all those races; so hopefully we can keep that trend going.”
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE DIRECTION AND PROGRESS YOU ARE SEEING AT RPM SINCE YOU’VE BEEN THERE AND WHERE YOU GUYS ARE HEADED IN THE LONG RUN?“Yeah, I’ve been happy with how it’s been going, I think. Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) have worked well together and what we’ve done this year has been good. So, I think we’re making gains and doing the right things we need to do to keep getting the cars better and keep getting the team better. It’s not a fast process. You’re trying to get a lot of different gears moving along in different directions, but overall, I’ve been pretty happy with the progress we’ve been making.”
YOU SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF SPEED ON THE SUPERSPEEDWAYS AND SOME OF THE LARGER TRACKS. WHAT TYPE OF ADJUSTMENTS DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM NEEDS TO MAKE SO YOU CAN HAVE THAT SAME SPEED ON SOME OF THE SHORTER TRACKS?“Yeah, I mean the draft is kind of a great equalizer. Obviously, I thought we brought a good superspeedway car but you’ve always kind of got a shot to go up and contend there, no matter what you do. But you know, it’s just more development on the intermediate side of things. We’ve got obviously some different kinds of cars that we run at different 1.5-miles, from Atlanta to Vegas. We struggled at Atlanta but ran really well at Vegas. But those were two totally different cars. So, I think we’ve changed our mindset a little bit on some of those tracks. And, going into Kansas this weekend, we’re running a car real similar to what we had at Las Vegas, so I think that’ll be pretty good. But just learning and trying to get a notebook together for what works and what doesn’t. I think we’ve done a good job of that and I think it’s going to start to show here as we start to go back to more of these 1.5-mile tracks.”

COMMERCE, Ga. (April 28, 2021) – Sixteen-time Funny Car world champion John Force will make his 38th and final appearance at historic Atlanta Dragway when he visits the facility in his PEAK / BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro Funny Car April 30-May 2 for the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals.  “Atlanta Dragway has a lot of history for me. We’ve been racing there for a long time. It’s going to be sad to see it go but I have a lot of good memories there,” Force said. “Ashley got her first win there; she beat me in the finals. Courtney has won there too, and Brittany is knocking on the door for a win. I’m looking forward to racing there one more time and then say goodbye to a piece of history.” In 37 years of competing in the Southern Nationals, Force has earned seven event wins in 14 final round appearances with eight No. 1 qualifying positions. For nine straight years, 1992-2000, Force was a finalist and in those final rounds he was victorious in six, his seventh win came in 2005. Atlanta Dragway was also the location of Force’s two closest races; he defeated Whit Bazemore by .001-seconds in 1991 and Robert Hight by .002-seconds in 2005. Heading into the 39th annual NHRA Southern Nationals, Force is sitting seventh in the points standings after a No. 2 Qualifying effort at the Las Vegas Four Wide Nationals where he was only bettered by teammate and company president, Robert Hight. Opening the season at the Gatornationals, Force was qualified No. 5 qualifying and quarterfinal finish at the hand of Hight. “All of John Force Racing is looking good. Just two races in with some testing and we’re going to continue to be in the hunt this season. This PEAK / BlueDEF Chevy is right there with Robert and Auto Club and Brittany with Monster and Flav-R-Pac are just as fast and quick as ever,” Force said. “We’re going to get to Atlanta and do our job, qualify well and make our fans and sponsors proud. They all stuck by us and I owe them that.” The final Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway will take place over two days. Qualifying for the event will start Saturday at 1:15 p.m. ET with a second session at 5:15 p.m. ET. Eliminations will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the action Sunday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying coverage at 10:30 a.m. ET and eliminations coverage at 11:30 p.m. ET.

COMMERCE, Ga. (April 28, 2021) – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team have come out swinging to open the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season. Heading into the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals, the final event at Atlanta Dragway, April 30-May 2, they’ll look to continue to do the same this time ending the weekend with a victory. Force and her David Grubnic and Mac Savage led team opened the season at the Gatornationals with a consistent race car snagging top speed of the event in the first round of eliminations at 331.94 mph. At the Vegas Four-Wide Nationals, Force tallied the 21st No. 1 qualifying position of her career and ended the weekend with the top speed and lowest elapsed time when she ran 3.722-seconds at 330.80 mph to open eliminations.  “Overall, we’ve started the season running well. We looked good in testing and at the Gatornationals and qualified No. 1 in Vegas,” Force said. “We did some testing on Monday and the team, David Grubnic and Mac Savage, they’re feeling good. Worked out some things so we’re looking forward to Atlanta next.” In pursuit of her first win at historic Atlanta Dragway, Force has had recent success at the venue. The last time the Southern Nationals were contested in 2019, Force picked up her first No. 1 qualifying position at the track and powered her way to her first final round defeating Cameron Ferre, Antron Brown and Jordan Vandergriff before exiting to eventual world champion Steve Torrence in the finals. “Heading into the final Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway this weekend. Our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team is looking for our first win of the 2021 NHRA season. We’ve been qualifying well and running very consistently. Winning Atlanta this year would be so much more significant since we won’t be returning. This team wants to take home the last and final win at Atlanta Dragway this weekend!” The Force Family has had notable success at Atlanta Dragway that Brittany and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team will look to cap off. Not only has Force’s father, legendary Funny Car driver John Force, had wins at the venue but her older sister Ashley Force-Hood picked up the first win of her career in Atlanta when she defeated her father in the 2010 final and younger sister Courtney Force-Rahal tallied a win in what was her final season as a driver, 2018. The final Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway will take place over two days. Qualifying for the event will start Saturday at 1:15 p.m. ET with a second session at 5:15 p.m. ET. Eliminations will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the action Sunday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying coverage at 10:30 a.m. ET and eliminations coverage at 11:30 p.m. ET.

ROBERT HIGHT AND AUTO CLUB CARRYING MOMENTUM INTO NHRA SOUTHERN NATIONALS

COMMERCE, Ga. (April 28, 2021) – Sitting third in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series points standings, three-time world champion Robert Hight and his Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro have quickly shown they have what it takes to be the Funny Car to beat. This weekend, at the final running of the Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway, Hight and the Auto Club boys will once again flex their muscle as they chase their first win of the season. In just two events Hight has recorded a runner-up finish, a No. 1 qualifier and had low elapsed time (ET) of an event. At the Gatornationals, Hight raced his way to the final round and at the Vegas Four-Wide Nationals he was quickest each of the qualifying rounds and bettered himself with low ET of the event during the first round of eliminations on Sunday. “This Auto Club car has what it takes. We’ve been working out some gremlins, did some testing Monday after the Vegas race,” Hight said. “Vegas went really well for us, we looked great through qualifying and that first round. We ran into some trouble at the end of that low ET run and these guys, myself included, had to put in the work for the next round and it just wasn’t quite enough.” Heading into what will be the final NHRA national event at the storied Atlanta Dragway, Hight will be racing for his fourth win at the facility. He has earned the No. 1 qualifying position twice, most recently in 2019, and his six final round appearances match his most at any event, the others include the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif. “I still think this Auto Club Chevy is the best Funny Car out there. We had some bad luck, but things are falling into place. I have no worries at all that we’ll be going rounds and picking up wins starting this weekend at Atlanta Dragway,” said Hight who set the track ET record at 3.880-seconds during the 2017 event. “We’ll keep doing what we know how to do, being quick and fast. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham will have this thing tuned in.” The Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway will take place over two days. Qualifying for the event will start Saturday at 1:15 p.m. ET with a second session at 5:15 p.m. ET. Eliminations will take place Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the action Sunday on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying coverage at 10:30 a.m. ET and eliminations coverage at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Jamy Begor embarks on milestone year during DIRTcar Sportsman Airborne returnBegor’s silver anniversary racing season at Airborne Speedway starts May 1 with race one of the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series: East RegionPLATTSBURGH, NY – The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series return to Airborne Speedway, May 1, will represent a milestone moment for veteran racer Jamy Begor. It’ll kick off his 25th year of racing at Airborne as he begins his assault on the newly formed East Region championship. Even better, he’ll have a home-field advantage when he goes after the $1,000 top prize.“Airborne’s been my home track for the past 25 years and we’ve had a lot of success,” Begor said. “Our last full season there we had a dominating August, winning three Features. We were able to race there a couple times in 2020 and finished second and seventh. It’s a place that we have a lot of laps around and feel comfortable there.”Begor drives the #19 Begor’s Supply, Gioioso’s Wine & Spirits DIRTcar Sportsman Modified at Airborne Speedway and Mohawk International Raceway. The 47-year-old Mooers, NY native raced on asphalt most of his career. In 1997 he began racing street stocks and had back-to-back championships. From 1999 to 2014 he competed in the Flying Tigers division on the Airborne Speedway asphalt surface.Then came the itch for dirt racing.“2015 is when I started getting into modified racing,” Begor said. “I raced dirt at Mohawk on Friday nights and asphalt at Plattsburgh Saturdays. We started really liking the dirt business and the change came at Airborne and they went to dirt in 2017. It worked out well getting the experience at Mohawk.”On April 9, Begor hauled south to Albany-Saratoga Speedway – where the East Region championship will run on Sept. 10 – for the track’s season opener with a massive car count of 59 DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds in the pit area. It was his first time there but it didn’t show. He won his Heat Race, and finished fourth in the Feature.“With names like Senecal Construction, J&S Steel, and Huntley Trucking on the car, I need to come out strong and I think I proved that going to a new track and having success right off the bat proves we can live up to it,” Begor said of his hot start. “A lot of people help put this car on the track too like Holly and Rod Coupal. It’s a huge team effort.”Between that early strong performance and his experience at Airborne, Begor is positioning himself as an early favorite to take the East Region championship.Also on the card at Airborne on May 1 are the Limited Sportsman, Renegades, and Four-Cylinders. Hot Laps start at 5:00pm ET with racing at 6:00pm ET. Go to Airborne’s website for more information regarding entry. EAST REGION SCHEDULE May 1 – Airborne Speedway May 15 – Bear Ridge Speedway June 27 – Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Sept. 10 – Albany Saratoga Speedway Sept. 12 – Glen Ridge Motorsports ParkFor the full schedule of DIRTcar Sportsman Series events, CLICK HERE.Follow Jamy Begor Racing on Facebook to keep up with his 2021 season. We will have coverage of the Series race on Saturday, May 1 on Twitter and Facebook as well as a race report on DIRTcar.com. PHOTO: Rebecca Eisele

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

Jackson makes wild pass for DIRTcar eSports Street Stock win Tuesday’s race at Lernerville Speedway was one of the closest finish in the history of the Series CONCORD, NC – April 27, 2021 – Tyler Jackson wrote a new definition for the term “go where they aren’t” during Tuesday night’s DIRTcar eSports Chevrolet Performance Street Stock race at Lernerville Speedway.With nine laps to go, Carl Kilgore left a crack in the doorway to the lead with a patch of grass in the opening. For Jackson, that was good enough. He tossed his #25 underneath Kilgore in Turn 3 and ran his way through the grass to complete the pass off Turn 4.His daring move secured him the win and the $100 check that comes with it.Before then, Jackson and Kilgore put on a barnburner throughout the 30-lap iRacing event. Jackson got the early lead and held it for the early portion of the race, but 21 never let him out of his sight.By the halfway point, Kilgore scared Jackson into moving his line. The #25 ripped the top for the majority of the race, but after Kilgore snuck underneath him the lap prior, Jackson dove to the bottom in Turns 1 and 2 to block Kilgore’s momentum. That moved hindered his run off the corner, though, and gave Kilgore another opportunity to pounce.When they entered Turn 3, Kilgore dove underneath Jackson and claimed the lead. On the next lap, Jackson’s loss of momentum continued as Payton Gries also dove underneath him and stole second. However, Jackson wasn’t willing to lay down.He dove underneath Gries in Turns 1 and 2, and the two slammed doors all the way down the backstretch. Jackson’s relentless drive won the battle as he drove back by Gries for second.The hunt was on. Jackson got his feet back underneath him and began running Kilgore down. A caution with nine laps to go further assisted with his efforts.When the green flag initiated the continuation of the race, Jackson found the crack in the doorway and went where Kilgore wasn’t – further than anyone had gone. But he wasn’t going to let the win slip through his fingers.Kilgore fought back, staying on Jackson’s bumper on the final lap and attempting a slide job in Turns 3 and 4 with the checkered flag in the air. Jackson was able to get the better run off the turn and edge Kilgore at the line by 0.097 sec. – one of the closest finishes in DIRTcar eSports Street Stock history.Due to unfortunate technical difficulties, the winner was unable to be interviewed.The DIRTcar eSports Street Stock action continues next Wednesday, May 5, with the Chevrolet Performance Street Stocks at Limaland Motorsports Park.Check out the entire race broadcast livestream for FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene or on the DIRTcar Facebook page at 7pm ET.

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

Dylan Houser rides high line to DIRTcar eSports Midget victory  The DIRTcar eSports Midget debut at Lanier provided a plethora of exciting moments from start to finishCONCORD, NC – April 27, 2021 – Dylan Houser stuck to his plan and became victorious. He didn’t let the pressure of others sway his mentality. Nor did he buckle under that pressure either.He demonstrated the importance of a smooth and steady race during the first-ever DIRTcar eSports Midgets presented by NOS Energy Drink event Tuesday night at Lanier National Speedway, and became $250 richer because of that.Mason Hannagan and Kendall Tucker were the class of the 24-car field, leading the majority of the race between them. Hannagan took the early lead but was unable to shake Tucker. While Hannagan rolled the bottom, Tucker found virtual grip around the top of the track and drove by him for the lead on Lap 4.There was then a war, worthy of a Game of Thrones episode, from second to seventh with drivers crisscrossing every turn. Their bumpers were used as swords, for both attack and defense, and there was little care for personal space as they slid within inches of each other.Hannagan had to fight off the likes of two-time iRacing World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car World Championship titleholder Alex Bergeron, Evan Seay and Houser – making his way from seventh in his #2 Midget – for second. He was able to do so for the majority of the event, especially when Bergeron was spun late in the event.However, while everyone moved to the top during the second half of the event, including the leader, Houser committed himself to the top. Up there, he looked like a man running a mountain top while everyone else was at the base. But with an easy throttle and steady hands, Houser was flawless around the high line. He made his way to second and Tucker’s bumper as the checkered flag neared.While Tucker continued to run the bottom, Houser slowly edged his way further and further alongside Tucker’s #00 Midget. He edged him by a nose for the lead and was able to hold it for a late-race caution.When the race resumed, Houser returned to the top of the track and cruised his way to a big win in DIRTcar eSports competition with Tucker second and Hannagan third.He stuck to his plan… and became victorious.Due to unfortunate technical difficulties, the winner was unable to be interviewed.The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday, May 5, with the return of the Big Blocks presented by Hoosier Racing Tires at Cedar Lake Speedway.Check out the entire race broadcast livestream for FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene or on the DIRTcar Facebook page at 7:50pm ET.

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bassett, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux (SDS), Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory (SDS), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics and Velocita USA.

NASCAR CUP SERIES KANSAS SPEEDWAY BUSCHY MCBUSCH RACE 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 27, 2021 ERIK JONES, NO. 43 BLACK ENTREPRENEUR INITIATIVE CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Teleconference Transcript: YOU HAVE SOME EXCITING SPONSORSHIP NEWS FOR YOUR TEAM. CAN YOU GIVE US A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THAT, ALONG WITH YOUR THOUGHTS LEADING INTO KANSAS THIS WEEKEND?”“We are partnering up with The Lonely Entrepreneur for three races. The first is this weekend in Kansas and then on to COTA and Nashville, as well. So, it’s a pretty cool company. I’m learning more about them and what they really are. But they provide resources to entrepreneurs who are trying to get their footing in the business world and helping them out; and we’re also really spotlighting black entrepreneurs as well, which is going to be a cool program and one that I’m excited to work with and have learned a lot about here in the last, really, just a few days. So, it’s been cool to learn more about it and get to know them a little bit.” WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD AT TALLADEGA WHEN YOU WERE LEADING THE FIELD?“Well, I was hoping it was going to stay green. I thought that was our best shot to try to win. Unfortunately, we had that yellow come out. But, just trying to defend the line and what was coming and just trying to keep that lead. So, I was just happy though to get up front and lead some laps with the Air Force on the car. That was our first race this year, so it was cool to get them up front. Obviously, I wish we could have closed the race out a little bit better. But overall, I thought it was a good race for us.” IT WAS A STRONG WEEKEND FOR YOU BUT THE FINAL RESULT DIDN’T REFLECT THE GREAT DAY YOU HAD. WHAT DO YOU TELL YOU TEAM AFTER A ROUGH FINISH LIKE THAT?“Well, I think you just have to keep your head up and know that we did bring a fast car; one that was quick enough to win the race obviously. We were up front and leading laps. You’ve got to take it with a grain of salt. It’s Talladega and that’s how things go there sometimes but I definitely just want to keep those guys motivated and inspired and I think they’ve been doing a really good job and giving me some good cars. So, things come together. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing, really; and wait for the rest to kind of fall into place for us.” TEN RACES INTO YOUR RPM TENURE ON VERY UNIQUE TRACKS ON THIS SCHEDULE. WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF RPM AND WHAT CAN YOU GUYS BE DOING BETTER AT THIS POINT?“I think it’s been good. I think overall we just want to consistently improve each week and still find our footing. We are getting better and better. With no practice it takes time to get to know each other and figure out what we need out of the race car and how we’ve got to go through the weekend. But I think we’ve been doing a good job and I think RPM does a good job. They’ve got good equipment and we just have to take advantage of what we have. We don’t have the same number of people as a lot of these bigger teams, but I think we’ve got really people in the people that we do have. So, we’re just doing what we can to take advantage of that and making the most of every week.” DO YOU HAVE ANY RACES YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM SHOULD FOCUS ON AS FAR AS TRYING TO GET A WIN TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?“Yeah, Talladega was one of those races that we wanted to try to win. I thought we had a good plan and did have a shot. But moving forward, with Daytona coming up and obviously the season finale a little way out; but Darlington is in a couple of weeks and is a great race track for me. I won there a couple of years ago so we’re really putting a lot of weight on that one. So, that’s probably the next one on the schedule, I would say, is Darlington; that we’ve got to focus hard on and hope we can take advantage of that place.” TEN RACES IN, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE FOUND TO BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE THAN YOU ANTICIPATED?“Well, I think just no practice has been more of a challenge. Last year, I didn’t really think much of it, but I’d also been with that organization for a few years with the same crew chief. So, we had a lot of notes. We’re kind of going in a little bit blind this year with a new team and a new crew chief and a new car and a new manufacturer. Everything is a lot different. So, having no notes has made the no practice just stand out more for me this year over last year.” GIVEN WHAT YOU JUST SAID, HAVE YOU HAD TO TEMPER EXPECTATIONS THIS YEAR?“I don’t think so. I think we just go out every week with the hope to run a Top 10. We’ve done that a few times. I think we are probably capable of doing it a few more; we just didn’t have things really work out for us. So, I think we’ve kept our expectations pretty similar to what we began the year with. And that’s just going out and trying to obviously, get those Top 10’s and take advantage of the places we know we can go up front and try to win at.” WE ARE GOING TO DARLINGTON THIS YEAR WITH THE HIGH HORSEPOWER PACKAGE. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT WILL DO FOR THE RACING AND DO YOU THINK THAT PACKAGE WILL BE BETTER SUITED FOR DARLINGTON?“Yeah, I think so. It’s been a few years now since we’ve ran it, but I was trying to look back through my mental notes of what the track was like last time we ran the low downforce package there. I thought the racing was good both ways; but I think the low downforce is going to be fun. As a driver, it’s definitely a challenge there with how slick and worn out that place is. So, I’m excited to get there and to give it a shot again. We were on the simulator today doing some laps and just kind of getting reacquainted with it and it was fun. I always like Darlington. We ran good there with the low downforce package. We were Top 5 I think, in all those races; so hopefully we can keep that trend going.” ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE DIRECTION AND PROGRESS YOU ARE SEEING AT RPM SINCE YOU’VE BEEN THERE AND WHERE YOU GUYS ARE HEADED IN THE LONG RUN?“Yeah, I’ve been happy with how it’s been going, I think. Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) have worked well together and what we’ve done this year has been good. So, I think we’re making gains and doing the right things we need to do to keep getting the cars better and keep getting the team better. It’s not a fast process. You’re trying to get a lot of different gears moving along in different directions, but overall, I’ve been pretty happy with the progress we’ve been making.” YOU SEEM TO HAVE A LOT OF SPEED ON THE SUPERSPEEDWAYS AND SOME OF THE LARGER TRACKS. WHAT TYPE OF ADJUSTMENTS DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM NEEDS TO MAKE SO YOU CAN HAVE THAT SAME SPEED ON SOME OF THE SHORTER TRACKS?“Yeah, I mean the draft is kind of a great equalizer. Obviously, I thought we brought a good superspeedway car but you’ve always kind of got a shot to go up and contend there, no matter what you do. But you know, it’s just more development on the intermediate side of things. We’ve got obviously some different kinds of cars that we run at different 1.5-miles, from Atlanta to Vegas. We struggled at Atlanta but ran really well at Vegas. But those were two totally different cars. So, I think we’ve changed our mindset a little bit on some of those tracks. And, going into Kansas this weekend, we’re running a car real similar to what we had at Las Vegas, so I think that’ll be pretty good. But just learning and trying to get a notebook together for what works and what doesn’t. I think we’ve done a good job of that and I think it’s going to start to show here as we start to go back to more of these 1.5-mile tracks.”

Inside Line Promotions – WATSONVILLE, Calif. (April 26, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi improved his feature finish during a pair of visits to Ocean Speedway the last two weekends.

Scelzi invaded the bullring for Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo action, scoring a sixth-place showing during his season debut on April 16 before topping that with a fifth-place run last Friday.

“We want to run there three times before the NARC Series goes there so we have a good game plan,” he said. “They have changed the shape of the track and cut some banking out of it. I was expecting it to be a little different, but it was a lot different. We had really good speed and the car felt good last Friday so that’s a positive.”

Scelzi qualified 11^th quickest and won a heat race before he placed fifth in the dash on April 16. That lined him up on the inside of the third row for the main event. He battled for a top five throughout the feature before ending sixth, which was his 12^th top 10 in 13 races to start the season.

“We weren’t very good in qualifying, but that started us on the front row in our heat race,” he said. “We won that to get into the dash, but we weren’t very good in the dash or in the feature. The track was hooked up and rough. We went back this week to try to get ourselves a little better and we were a lot better.”

Scelzi qualified sixth quickest to open the program on Friday.

“We went out pretty early and the track still had some grease so that hurt us a little,” he said. “We finished third in our heat race and that lined us up 10^th for the feature. We just worked our way forward throughout the race. We were all over second, third and fourth at the end. It was really hard to pass. I felt like pretty much every yellow fell at the wrong time for us. We’d get by someone and the yellow would come out. There wasn’t room to get by guys until late in the feature. We were pleased to make the progress we did.”

The fifth-place outing was Scelzi’s ninth top five of the season.

The team plans on heading to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., this weekend for the Spring Nationals Bill Brownell Memorial on Friday and the David Tarter Memorial on Saturday with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour.

“I wasn’t there all of last year so I’m not sure if the track has changed,” Scelzi said. “It’s good to see these places for the first time with Jimmy (Carr). We’re also racing there a couple of times with the NARC Series this year so we want to get dialed in before those races.”

QUICK RESULTS –

April 16 – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 5 (6); Feature: 6 (5).

April 23 – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 5 (10).

SEASON STATS –

14 races, 4 wins, 9 top fives, 13 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 13 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Spring Nationals Bill Brownell Memorial and David Tarter Memorial with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Scelzi Enterprises

Scelzi Enterprises builds the finest utility truck bodies in the USA, including flatbed bodies, water truck bodies, custom truck bodies, service truck bodies and more. After nearly 40 years in business Scelzi Enterprises occupies 20 acres in South Fresno with additional pool and assembly locations in Oregon, Washington, and Southern California. For more information, visit http://www.SEInc.com. 

“Scelzi Enterprises is a family business that has been around far before I was born,” Scelzi said. “Now I have a role there. It’s my daily job and something I really enjoy being a part of. It gives me a lot of pride to represent our family business on the side of our race cars.”

Scelzi would like to thank Red Rose Transportation, Inc., Whipple Superchargers, Red Line Oil, Fuel Delivery Services, Inc., Roth Motorsports, FK Rod Ends, NAPA Auto Parts, Todd Jorgensen, Schoenfeld Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Auto Meter, K&N Filters, Sparco, Allstar Performance, Meridian Steel, Kenny’s Components and Worldwide Bearings for their continued support.

NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA Southern Nationals – Atlanta

Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and team head to Atlanta with the fresh energy of finishing in the top half of the field, two races in a row. The goal now for Cruz, Crew Chief John Collins, and the team is to close the gap and move the Snap-on Makers & Fixers Dodge^® to the top.

“We’re only 14 runs into the season, so we’re in what I’d call fine tuning mode,” Cruz says. “We stayed after the Vegas race to get in a couple of testing runs and we like the numbers we’re seeing.”

Test times were 3.98 and 3.99, so Cruz says to look for the car to start having more consistent runs, especially toward the middle of the season and, ultimately, for the team to finish the season strong.

“The hardest part beyond making good runs is making good runs consistently, and that’s what we have to look forward to with our group…a team that will get the numbers down and know how to keep them down,” Cruz says. “That’s the part I’m looking forward to the most.”

Cruz says he’s excited to be back concentrating on the driving while the team focuses on tuning. He says it’s the kind of work he did back in the 90’s, and it’s the kind of work that will help him put all his energy into winning.

Follow Cruz and Snap-on on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

To see the latest Cruz news, like his Facebook page, where you can also check out his Vlog “Kickin’ It With The Cruzer.” Follow Cruz on Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow @MakersandFixers on Instagram and share your stories at makersandfixers.com.

Sheppard, Madden, Weiss, Bruening and more tackle Boone Speedway for the first time

BOONE,IA– April 26, 2021 – The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will make its first ever appearance at Boone Speedway April 30-May 1, for the highly anticipated Hawkeye 100.   

It’s the richest event in the history of the Boone, IA oval, and one driver could walk away with $33,000 if they win both nights. 

Friday’s event starts with Slick Woody’s Qualifying, splitting the field into two 25-lap “Twin Hawk” Features, each paying $3,000-to-win. Drivers will earn points in both Qualifying and their Twin Hawk Feature, setting the lineups for Saturday’s Drydene Heat Races. 

The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet return Saturday for Drydene Heat Races and Last Chance Showdowns.  Those events will set the stage for the unprecedented three-wide start of the Hawkeye 100, paying $30,000-to-win, and $1,500-to-start. 

Joining the World of Outlaws Late Models this weekend is the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, and IMCA Stock Cars. All three divisions will chase more than $31,000 in purse money. 

If you can’t make it either night, 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 stories to follow this weekend:

Chasing the Champ: Three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard widened the gap between himself and second place in the point standings. But now, he has more challengers gunning to knock him off his throne.   

There’s only 66 points separating Sheppard and fifth-place Ricky Weiss. The New Berlin, IL driver has a 46-point lead on Chris Madden and Kyle Strickler, who are currently tied for second. Tyler Bruening is fourth, 64 points behind, and Ricky Weiss is fifth. 

Sheppard is still chasing his first official World of Outlaws win of 2021. If he gets it during Saturday’s Hawkeye 100, it’ll be the 70th of his career. It would put him eight wins behind Josh Richards for most all-time (78).

The Hawkeye state has been good to Brandon Sheppard lately. He won all three events at Davenport Speedway in 2020. 

Smokey Stays Hot: Chris Madden has been on a hot streak the last four races. 

He has three top-fives, and two of them are second-place finishes. The only event he didn’t finish in the top-five was April 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway, when he finished sixth. Madden has more top-fives (5) than any other driver this season. 

One of Madden’s strengths is his performance early in the night. He also currently has more Drydene Heat Race wins than anyone else (5). 

Sniper Engaged: Another driver with some momentum after a couple of good runs is Ricky Weiss. 

The Headingly, MB driver has back-to-back top-five finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway. It’s propelled him to fifth in points, 66 back of Sheppard and put him on a path to nearing his first win of the season, which would also be the first win for his self-built Sniper Chassis.

So far this season, Weiss has three top-fives, and six top-10s in 12 starts. 

Home for the Hawkeye: This weekend’s Hawkeye 100 has been on Tyler Bruening’s radar since the beginning of the season. 

Boone Speedway is a short drive for Bruening, with the track about three hours from his Decorah, IA home. He hopes for some home cooking as he pushes for his first career World of Outlaws victory. 

Bruening is also making a push in the hunt for Rookie of the Year. His six top-10 finishes, and top-five at Richmond Raceway have put him only 16 points behind leading rookie contender Kyle Strickler. 

When and Where

April 30- May 1 at Boone Speedway in Boone, IA. 

About the track

Boone Speedway is a 1/4 mile high-banked oval

Online: www.raceboone.com

On 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 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models head to Mississippi Thunder Speedway, May 7-8, in Fountain City, WI for the Dairyland Showdown presented by Dynamic Concrete Resurfacing.

CLICK HERE for tickets.  

Batavia, OH (April 26, 2021) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is excited to have a new young gun taking on the grueling demands of the nation’s premier dirt late model tour in 2021. There is no better way to get the experience to win championships than to set sights on Rookie of the Year.  Ricky Thornton Jr. has a long list of dirt modified accolades, but is fairly new to the dirt late model scene and hopes to capitalize on his new successes with the Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year title in 2021. There are numerous drivers that are second generation drivers, but Thornton’s story is a little different, “I got started in racing because both parents (Ricky Sr and Tonja) raced.” Not only did both of Thornton’s parents race but he also has two brothers, Jeremy and Justin, that race. The 30-year-old, Chandler, AZ native pilots the Todd and Vickie Burns-Owned SSI Motorsports Longhorn Chassis, powered by a Clements Racing Engine. He receives sponsorship from Dyno One Inc, Excel Floor Covering, Certified Inspection Service Co, D & E Outside Services, Deines – Nitz Solutions & Powdercoating, West Side Tractor Sales Co, Hoker Trucking, Shelby Materials, EMD Wraps, Midwest Sheet Metal, Simpson Race Products, Sub-Surface of Indiana, and Penske Race Shocks. “I’m extremely excited to be able to compete in the 2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series with SSI Motorsports. I am hoping I can bring them another Rookie of the Year title, since they already have one with Hudson O’Neal in 2017.” In 2021, along with $100 cash per race, the Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year will receive the following at the year-end banquet: a check for $10,000, $500 product certificate from Earnhardt Technologies, one Carbon Driveshaft from Fast Shafts $750 value, $500 product certificate from Keyser Manufacturing, product certificate for new nose/graphic kit from Performance Bodies, $300 product certificate from Schoenfeld Headers, one free car wrap from Slicker Graphics, product certificate from Thermo-Tec Cool-It, 10 sheets of aluminum from Wrisco Industries, Inc., and a set of wheels from Vahlco Wheels. “We want to thank all the sponsors of the Rookie of the Year program and their support of the series. We would especially like to thank David Cardey at Eibach Springs for their title sponsorship of the Rookie of the Year Program for the third year now. Eibach is a great company and a great partner of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series,” stated Wayne Castleberry, Corporate Sales and Marketing for Lucas Oil Motorsports. Eibach’s production technology is recognized worldwide as leading its field, from their high-strength spring-steel alloys, advanced CNC winding process, high-quality corrosion protection and the legendary longevity of all of their springs and components. To learn more about Eibach, visit their website at www.eibach.com.

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2021, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 59 events across 18 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package filmed, produced and edited by Lucas Oil Production Studios. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events will broadcast on four networks including CBS, NBC Sports, CBS Sports Network and the MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, d