Valerie Thompson returns to Ohio Mile with hopes of setting new 200 mph ECTA land speed record and joining 200 MPH Club

(Scottsdale, AZ) – June 4, 2014 – Five-time land speed record holder and one of the world’s fastest BMW motorcycle racers, Valerie Thompson, will return to the Buckeye state for the East Coast Timing Association’s Ohio Mile land speed racing competition June 7-8 with hopes of setting new speed records with her BMW S 1000 RR.

The ECTA hosts four different speed trial events at the Airborne Park facility in Wilmington Ohio each year.  The upcoming Ohio Mile competition offers car and motorcycle racers more than 4,400 classes in which to compete. Prior to moving to the Airborne Park location in 2012, the ECTA held the competition in Maxton North Carolina from 1995 through 2011 and was named the Maxton Mile.

“I really look forward to racing at the Ohio Mile. The ECTA knows how to put on a first class speed competition and it’s the home state of one of our sponsors, CTEK Battery Chargers. It’s a wonderful track surface and we have run well here in the past. We have set 3 speed records here over the last 2 years and one is still standing in the Production Class,” said Thompson. “This year we hope to surpass the 200 mph mark and become one of the newest members of the prestigious Ohio Mile 200 MPH Club,” added Thompson.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
FEDEX 400 BENEFITING AUTISM SPEAKS
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
MAY 30, 2014
 
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 CODE 3 ASSOCIATES/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Dover International Speedway and discussed getting back in a sprint car for the first time since his accident last year, his outlook for Dover this weekend and many other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
YOU GOT BACK IN A SPRINT CAR THIS WEEK HOW DID THINGS GO FOR YOU?
“Just fine it was just like when I got in the Cup car it felt like I hadn’t been out of it.”
 
HOW NICE WAS IT TO GET BACK ON DIRT FOR YOU?
“It was fun.  Obviously, it’s been nine and a half months since I got a chance to run one.  It felt good we actually did a full blown test it wasn’t just going out and making laps.  We actually got a chance to run through a lot of shock stuff and set-up stuff.  Ready to go again.”
 
DOVER HASN’T BEEN THE BEST PLACE FOR YOU UNTIL LAST YEAR WHEN YOU WON.  YOU ARE SECOND FASTEST IN PRACTICE HERE DOES THAT GIVE YOU SOME OPTIMISM?
“Yeah, it does.  A cool day like today we are all going to be flying around here.  It was really good in qualifying trim.  I’m not sure it’s where we want to be in race trim yet.  If we can get a decent starting spot that will make the day a lot easier at least get started.”
 
HOW ABOUT KEVIN (HARVICK) AND THE PIT CREW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK IT IS TO KEEP THE PIT CREWS RIGHT AND UP AND WHAT YOU DO ABOUT THAT?
“We had the same thing on our last stop too it just wasn’t as big a penalty for us I guess.  Man it is very hard.  The good thing is that is something that you can fix pretty easy.  It’s not that you are searching trying to find something it is cleaning things up a little bit.  They are a good group of guys.  They are a group that can shake things off pretty easy so I don’t think that will be an issue for them.”
 
NOW THAT YOU HAVE BEEN IN A SPRINT CAR AND TESTED HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT COMPETING IN A RACE ANYTIME SOON?
“Yes I have.”
 
CAN YOU TELL US WHEN?
“Nope, I will be able to tell you how it went.  Let’s put it that way.  You won’t know when it’s coming.  When I do go nobody is going to know about it.  I’m going to just slide in and do it.  I want to enjoy it.  I don’t want it to be a cluster.  Judging off the fact of how many people showed up just to talk to me about going and testing for a couple of hours I can imagine what the group is going to be like after I run my first race.”
 
YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR SMILE RIGHT NOW. WHAT IS IT YOU LOVE SO MUCH ABOUT SPRINT CAR RACING?
“I’m smiling because I am laughing at you guys because it’s like my God I went and tested a sprint car.  I still laugh about how big a deal this has all been made.  We had Cup drivers get hurt last year.  One had a broken wrist, one had a broken back and nobody said anything.  It was all minor news.  I’ve made more news by getting hurt in a dirt car than any of these guys.  It’s bigger news than the guy that had the same injury I had falling off a bicycle last week.  I get chuckled.”
 
DID ANYONE TRY TO TALK YOU OUT OF GETTING BACK INTO A SPRINT CAR? WOULD IT OF DONE ANY GOOD IF THEY HAD TRIED?
“Nope, it’s my life.  I’m going to live my life.  It’s nobody else’s decision, but mine.  I think there are a lot worse things I could be doing with my life than what I choose to do.”
 
IS THAT PART OF THE RECOVERY PROCESS FOR YOU A LITTLE BIT GETTING BACK INTO A SPRINT CAR?  IS THAT PART OF THE CHECKLIST?
“No, it’s just what I wanted to do.   It wasn’t really part of a checklist.  Daytona was the checklist of being able to get back in. Once we did that we knew we could do this it was just a matter of when to do it.”
 
ARE YOU ON SCHEDULE YOU THINK WITH HOW YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD FEEL OR HOW YOU HOPED YOU WOULD FEEL AT THIS POINT BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY?
“I honestly thought I would be done with all this by now.  As far as rehab, pain, all that stuff I thought it would all be done.  I thought we would be healed 100 percent by now.  But keep going to the doctor on our scheduled appointments and they keep updating us on how it’s going and what they think the outlook is for it.  We just adjust it.  When you haven’t gone through something like this you don’t know what to think and don’t know how to feel about it.  You don’t know what to judge for recovery times and this and that because you’ve just never been through it.  If it ever happens again I will have a better idea of how to answer that.  You just take it a day at a time still.”
 
WOULD THE BEST PART OF FINALLY WINNING AGAIN WOULD THAT BE THE BEST PART US LEAVING YOU ALONE WITH THE QUESTION?
“I can pretty much make you leave me along anyway without having to win a race.  The best part of winning a race would be winning a race.  Trust me you guys think that you guys weigh too much on my opinion and views about things.  It’s not going to be about you guys trust me.”
 
HAVE YOU EVER WORKED OUT THIS MUCH IN YOUR LIFE AS YOU HAVE DOING REHAB FOR THIS INJURY?
“No, I hate it.  You sweat; you get out of breath it is crazy.  Then you feel sore.  I don’t know anything about this that is good, but I know at the end of the day it’s going to make me feel a lot better.”
 
IT APPEARS LIKE YOU HAVE A GOOD TEAM AROUND YOU:
“Yeah, we have fun.  They work me hard in therapy, but it’s kind of like everything else you do in life.  If you are not having some fun while you are doing it there is no reason to make yourself miserable doing it.  We have a lot of fun.  We joke around, we kid and we laugh a lot.  That laughter covers up a lot of pain in therapy.”
 
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT HERE ON THIS RACE TRACK IN DOVER?
“I would like to see it really get hot and slick.  It’s cool and has a lot of grip right now.  Everybody can go fast when it’s like that.  I would just like to see it get really hot and slick like it normally does.”
 
ARE YOU ENJOYING HEARING FROM YOUR FANS ON TWITTER?
“Yeah, I am.  There are times when you get some down time and you are not really doing anything and it’s kind of neat to just go and read what is on their mind.  I realize what I have been missing a long time, but I realize why I have been missing it too.  You say 100,000 things that are right and fun and then you say one thing that is bad and destroy everything.  The risk versus reward isn’t very good on this deal for people in our position, but you realize why it’s cool for the fans too.  It’s cool for me to see what is on their minds.  I think I’m having as much fun reading what they are writing as they are about what I’m putting on there.”
 
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR GUYS LIKE YOU AND OTHERS TO GO BACK AND RUN INDYCAR TO KIND OF SHARE THE NASCAR SPOTLIGHT WITH OTHER FORMS OF RACING AND KIND OF CREATE A UNIFIED RACING COMMUNITY?
“I thought the racing community was unified all along.  I didn’t know it was ever divided.”
 
IT’S LIKE AN US VERSUS THEM MENTALITY:
“I’ve never really heard that.  I think that is more on the media side.  Anytime you have seen guys do the double the IndyCar guys were behind Kurt (Busch) and kind of followed what he did in the evening and all the NASCAR guys followed what he did there.  I don’t think it’s ever really been as divided as everybody thinks it’s been.  It’s been more perception than anything.”
 
WAS KURT (BUSCH) AS INVOLVED WITH THE CUP TEAM AS HE NEEDED TO BE DURING THE DO
UBLE PREPARATION?
“I don’t know I was too busy with my team. You would have to ask him and his crew chief that.”
 
HOW CLOSE DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE TO GETTING A WIN?
“We luckily have been able to win at least one race a season my entire Cup career.  I don’t think there is ever a point where especially with this format that you get panicked.  Because you don’t have to be stellar in the points you just have to get a win.  Our track record shows that we can get it.  It’s just a matter of when is it going to happen.  Especially with the new rules package this year I don’t think anybody is in panic mode I think it’s more just everybody is still learning.  We are still right at the end of May right now so everybody is still learning these cars and going to tracks for the first time in the season. I think you get six or eight weeks before Richmond then you start panicking if you don’t have that win.  I think it’s still too early to panic at least for us.”
 
TALK ABOUT DANICA PATRICK’S MATURITY AS A DRIVER:
“She’s much better than the media and some of the fans give her credit for.  They are not there when we are in our debriefs.  Most of the people that are sitting there saying she is not doing a good job have never set foot in a race car to begin with.  I don’t really pay attention to that too much.  I think she is doing a good job or we wouldn’t have her here.”
 
 
 

Norrköping, Sweden, May 23, 2014 – Eight-time FIA Pro Stock champion Jimmy Alund is thrilled to announce a multi-race sponsorship with Summit Racing Equipment. Alund will fly the Summit Racing colors in 2014 as he chases a historic ninth FIA Pro Stock championship.

This comes after Jimmy returning to Sweden after substituting for Greg Anderson in his Summit Racing Camaro for the first five races of the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. Ålund gathered not only qualifying and round points but capped of his 2014 season in the USA with a win at
the 5th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. Ålund being the first European driver to win a Wally in an NHRA professional class.
 
“I am stunned, these positive hits from Summit Racing keep coming”, says Jimmy about the news, “when the Summit pro stock racing team asked me to drive one of their cars it took me by complete surprise and last week Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s Motorsports and Events Manager called and politely asked if I would accept an associate sponsorship for 2014”.
 
Jimmy continues, “The 2014 season has been a dream so far and to get to drive for such a legendary team sponsored by the finest business in the industry is a great honor. Add to that a sponsorship from Summit Racing for the European racing season… I’m at a loss for words.”
 
“Jimmy Alund filled in for Team Summit’s Greg Anderson while the four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion recovered from heart surgery at the start of the 2014 season. Greg’s are big shoes to fill; and fill them Jimmy did, taking his first NHRA win in Charlotte, NC at the NHRA 4 Wide Nationals in April. Summit Racing is very excited to extend the relationship as Jimmy competes in the 2014 FIA Drag Race Series in Europe” said Jim Greenleaf, Summit Racing’s Motorsports and Event Manager. Greenleaf added “We’ve learned that the eight-time FIA Pro Stock Champion is very interested in American muscle cars. It’s a great fit!”

MONTEREY, Calif., May 3, 2014 – Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) showed its speed on Saturday afternoon at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with pole position for Sunday’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race. Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 2 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b was the fastest qualifier in a battle between the two ESM prototypes.

The Oakland, Calif., driver won his first overall pole position with a time of 1:18.561 (102.555 mph), which established a Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca qualifying record for the Prototype category. In addition, it was ESM’s first overall TUDOR United SportsCar Championship pole position. Back in 2012, van Overbeek earned a GT class pole at Virginia International Raceway.
 
During the brief 15-minute qualifying session, van Overbeek and Ryan Dalziel in the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD ARX-03b swapped the lead several times. Dalziel eventually qualified with the third-fastest time with a 1:18.788 (102.259 mph) lap around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn circuit. 

Ed Brown will start Sunday’s race for the No. 2 team and van Overbeek will drive second. Scott Sharp will start in the No. 1 machine and Dalziel will drive second.

The day didn’t start as the team planned. Following a traffic-filled opening session, ESM was uncertain about the performance of the prototypes and were fourth and sixth in class. In the second session, both machines shot to the top of the charts. In a preview of what was to come in qualifying, the two black and green machines traded the top spot several times. When the second session was complete, van Overbeek was quickest and Dalziel was third. 

Alund Earns First NHRA Win at Four-Wide Nationals
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 13, 2014 – Sweden’s Jimmy Alund had an extraordinary day at the 5th annual NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway. The Summit Racing Pro Stock driver, filling in for KB Racing’s Greg Anderson, knocked out a string of respected competitors on the way to earning his first trophy on American soil driving the powerful Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
 
With his triumph, Alund became the first European winner and only the fourth non-American winner in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
 
“To be able to outrun nine cars in one day – and against drivers and teams that I’ve been looking up to [while] racing in Europe is pretty awesome,” said Alund, who defeated runner-up Shane Gray and semifinal finishers Vincent Nobile and Erica Enders-Stevens in the final with a 6.562 at 211.59 mph that was a thousandth quicker than Gray in terms of elapsed time.
 
“Greg told me in Pomona to ‘drive like I stole it,’ and I’m actually thinking about stealing it right now,” joked Alund, who will race for Anderson at the Houston event in two weeks before handing the reins back to the four-time world champ, who is recovering from heart surgery performed earlier this season.
 
For Alund, who was contracted to race six events for Summit Racing, the clock was ticking. He had consistently made progress though, qualifying for each event on the tour beginning with the season-opener in Pomona, setting and resetting his career best numbers, and seeing his first win light in competition at the last race on the tour, the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
During qualifying at the Four-Wide Nationals, Alund recorded a best time of 6.550 at 211.96 mph to earn a position in the top half of the field for the second consecutive event. Starting eighth, Alund was second-quickest in his quad in the first round of eliminations on Sunday to advance, topping V. Gaines and Larry Morgan with a 6.554 at 211.53 that was only bested by No. 1 qualifier Chris McGaha.
 
In the second round, Alund saw another win light by putting up the best number in his quad, a 6.563 at 211.43, to advance along with second-quickest Shane Gray (6.555, 211.96) and put McGaha and Jeg Coughlin on the trailer.
 
The final in Charlotte was Alund’s first on the NHRA Mello Yello Series tour, and with only six allotted races to get the job done, it seemed a long shot for many. Alund, however, was powered by KB Racing and supported by a team that welcomed him with open arms and immediately accepted him as one of their own.
 
“This means a lot,” said Alund. “It really hasn’t sunk in yet; let’s put it that way. I have a lot of wins in Europe, but this is something special. It will be hard to climb out of the seat. We have a really great group of people in Pro Stock, and I’ve had a great time. The Summit Racing guys are awesome, and everyone is laughing and having a good time. I think that’s a very key ingredient.”

Tracy Hines Finishes Ninth on Both Nights of the Oval Nationals
By Tracy Hines Racing PR
 
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — Nov. 3, 2013— Tracy Hines always wants to race against the best competition, no matter what type of vehicle he is competing in. He was able to do that this past weekend as one of the largest fields of the year assembled for the 2013 season-ending Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction for the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series at Perris Auto Speedway in California, with over 50 cars present at the half-mile for the two-day event. The veteran driver came away with a pair ninth-place finishes aboard the Hansen’s Welding Inc./The Carolina Nut Company DRC.
 
Hines was quickest in qualifying on Saturday, Nov. 2, with a total of 45 drivers taking to the clock. The top-six finishers from the preliminary feature the night before were already locked into Saturday’s main event, and thus did not take part in time trials.
 
The native of New Castle, Ind., lined up 15th for the 40-lap main event and used a strong second half of the race to work his way into the top-10, ultimately finishing ninth for the second straight race. A total of four caution periods slowed the event at the high-banked half-mile.
 
Hines finished third in the first heat race earlier in the evening, but with just the top-two transferring to the main event, he found himself in the first B-main. He would win that 12-lap contest to secure a spot in the A-Feature.
 
In the opener of the Oval Nationals on Friday, Nov. 1, Hines came home ninth in the 30-lap preliminary feature. He lined up 15th in the feature that saw a red flag on the fifth circuit, followed by a 10-lap stretch of racing and another caution flag period on lap-15. The remaining 15 circuits went non-stop. Hines worked his way into the top-10 in the opening four laps.
 
The 2002 Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series champion was 16th-fastest in time trials on the first night of the Oval Nationals. He lined up third in the first heat race and came home fourth in that 10-lap contest to earn a spot in the 30-lap preliminary feature.
 
Hines wrapped up the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series season sixth in points. He was victorious twice, with both of those wins coming in the season-opening three-night event at Bubba Raceway Park in Florida. In his first season driving his self-owned machine, Hines picked up 19 top-10 finishes, with eight of those being top-five performances.
 
“For the first year of running our own deal, it was a respectable season,” said Hines. “We a couple of wins early and would have liked to have won a few more. We had a few chances and things just didn’t fall into place. With the level of competition we face every night, it’s no easy task and we know some of the things we have to work on in the winter and when we get home in a few weeks, we’ll get on it and start getting ready for next season.”
 
After taking next weekend off, Hines will return to action the following week at Canyon Speedway Park in Arizona, in the running of the famed Western World Championships, which will feature the Honda USAC National Midget Series and the USAC Southwest and West Coast Sprint Car Series.

Missing Spring Rubber Leads to a Tough Day in Texas For Motorcraft/Quick Lane Team
November 4, 2013

Trevor Bayne and the crew of his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion struggled with an ill-handling car through the early portions of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Long green-flag runs hampered the crew in its attempts to diagnose the problem, which also caused tire issues that forced unscheduled pit stops that led to lost laps.

 Finally, a late caution period allowed the Motorcraft/Quick Lane crew time to carefully inspect the car, and the problem was located.

 “A spring rubber had fallen out of the right-rear spring,” team co-owner Len Wood. “They replaced it, and it made a different car out of it.”
 
Spring rubbers are pieces of rubber inserted into the coils of a spring to change its affect on the car’s handling. They’re also useful during races because they can be quickly inserted or removed, thus providing a significant chassis adjustment. With the spring rubber back in place, Bayne was able to run competitive laps and race with those around him, but by that time he had lost four laps to the leaders and wound up finishing 29th.

Wood said the chassis adjustments the crew made during the race didn’t produce the expected results because the missing spring rubber so adversely affected the chassis set-up of the No. 21 Ford Fusion. “It would take three times the usual adjustment,” he said.

Wood and the rest of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team had praise for Bayne and his handling of the challenges of the afternoon, especially the issues with the tires, which wore excessively due to the missing spring rubber. “He caught it each time and did a nice job of getting the car to pit road,” Wood said, explaining that a blown tire likely would have meant a wrecked car especially at a high-speed track like Texas Motor Speedway.

 Now Wood and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team turn their attention to the season-ending Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in two weeks.

 “We tested there last week, and we’ve got a good plan and a different car for the Ford 400,” Wood said. “We’ll see what happens.”

ARP sponsored Miss GEICO earned her 7th World Title this weekend in Ocean City MD!

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
GEICO 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY POST RACE DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
 
CHEVROLET SS DRIVERS GRAB FOUR OF THE TOP SIX AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
 
JOLIET, IL – September 16, 2013 – Following lengthy rain delays before and during the opening round of the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Kevin Harvick led the way for Team Chevy in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet SS at the GEICO 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway with a third-place finish.  It was Harvick’s seventh top-10 finish of the season and eighth top-10 finish at Chicagoland.
 
A mid-race five-hour red flag changed track conditions from day to night, which created a challenging situation for all. But Team Chevy Chase contenders made a strong showing with four drivers finishing in the top-10 overall.
 
Kurt Busch continued to impress in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Serta Chevrolet SS as he came home in fourth position and now moves to sixth in the standings with nine races to go in the Chase for the championship.  Busch was followed by Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet SS and Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet SS, who finished fifth and sixth respectively. 
 
Johnson is third in points in his quest for a sixth NSCS title, while Gordon moved up to seventh after being added to the Chase field on Friday at Chicagoland Speedway after NASCAR ruled to include the No. 24 team as the 13th contender in this season’s Chase field.
 
Behind the wheel of his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet SS, Ryan Newman came away with a 10th-place finish after the post Richmond International Raceway shuffle that put him in the Chase. He sits eighth in the standings. Contact on pit road forced Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS, to the attention of his pit crew several times under caution for repairs, but he rallied to a 12th place finish in the 267-lap/400-mile race. He is 10th in the standings.
 
A mechanical issue forced Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Time Warner Chevrolet SS to the garage on lap 224. He was scored 35th and sits 13th in the standings.
 
Matt Kenseth (Toyota) was the race winner and Kyle Busch (Toyota) was second to round out the top five.
 
The next race on the tour and the second race of the Chase is September 14th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
 
KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER DESIGNATE A DRIVER CHEVROLET SS – FINISHED THIRD
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:          
 
 
KERRY THARP:
Joining us now, we have Kevin Harvick. Let’s hear about the race tonight. Currently in fourth place in our Chase standings is Kevin Harvick. Kevin, talk about your run out there tonight and maybe how the track obviously changed from the beginning first segment, then after that and finishing it out.
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah, the first half of the race for us, we were really tight, struggled with the handling of our car to be able to get the car to turn through the center of the corner.  We sat down, the engineers and Gil sat down in between the rain delay there and came up with some good adjustments and we were able to make some good ground.
 
 
Our car was really good on the restarts, so you could pick a bunch of them off pretty easy there going into turn one and two.  All in all, it was a good night, just too loose at the end to run with those guys up off the corner, but still a good night.
 
 
KERRY THARP:  We’ll take questions for Kevin.
 
 
Q.  Did you notice anything different in terms of the radio communications with the digital access for spotters being gone, generally the restarts, all the changes?
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah, I mean, we didn’t really have anything different that affected what we did in the car.  I didn’t notice anything different.
 
 
Q.  Restarts pretty much the same?
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah.  I think everybody can be a little bit more aggressive as you saw at the end, not worrying about shoving the other guy in front.  I think when the green flag goes, you just start going and make a decision as to whether you want to go low or push the guy in front of you.
 
 
Q.  Kevin, what happened on pit road?  Can you talk about virtually everybody in the top six had something possibly happen to them tonight.  You were able to get through it.
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah, we went from top five three times to 16th or 18th.  Once was just everybody took two tires.  Another time was the 7 coming into his pit stall, stopped and going.  We all stacked up and had to stop to not crash.  The rest of it was just bad performance on pit road.
 
 
Q.  Kevin, you gave Matt the push.  Did you feel you were going to be able to follow him through and challenge him later on?
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  I didn’t know.  Looked like the run before, Kyle was a little bit better than the 20.  They were evenly matched.  I was hoping they would get side‑by‑side, you have one of them slide up, able to get three‑wide or something happen.  I figured that was better than going to the bottom and getting three‑wide and being pinned on the bottom and getting passed by two or three cars on the top. I figured that was my best option.      
 
 
Q.  Kevin, five hours of rain delay.  How do you keep yourself in focus, ready to get back behind the wheel?
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Honestly, I just went back and hung out with DeLana and my son, ate some dinner, relaxed and watched football.  That’s what I did; really not think about racing.  When it was time to go, you get back into the right frame of mind.
 
 
Q.  Did the track conditions change after the rain delay?  Track temperature went down 17 degrees.        
 
 
KEVIN HARVICK:  Yeah, I mean, the pace definitely picked up.  My car was way better in the night than it was in the day.  I mean, there was a couple times three‑quarters down the straightaway, sit on the rev limiter, I hadn’t touched it all weekend.          
 
 
KERRY THARP:  Kevin, thanks for putting on a great performance for us today.
            
     FastScripts by ASAP Sports
 
 
ADDITIONAL POST RACE COMMENT FROM: Mark Martin, No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet SS – Finished 17th
ON HIS RACE:
“I felt like we had a better racecar than that, but I feel like we had a great effort. Made a couple of mistakes on the racetrack, but we recovered from them. Like I said, we had a pretty good Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. That last run, the car got tight. I think I could’ve passed a couple more cars there if it hadn’t tightened up on me, but for some reason, after that last stop, it tightened up on me. I feel good about the speed we have. We know where we need to work now. We’ve been together long enough to know what we need. We’re building a foundation and we’ll keep learning. It was a good effort.”

Marstons Mills, MA -July 17, 2013-Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team heads to its home track, New England Dragway, for this weekend’s Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event fresh off a win in its last series start, four weeks ago at Lebanon Valley Dragway in upstate New York. Follow A Dream set the Top Alcohol Funny Car track record at the Epping, N.H., facility in 2010 and reached the final round at this event in 2011.

“This is a big race for us every year, and especially this year because some folks from Porter & Chester are coming,” Blake said. “A couple of instructors from the school and five students who’ve done exemplary work and had 100-percent attendance all year will be our guests for the weekend.”

“I can’t wait to see the improvements the track made for its inaugural national event last month,” said driver Todd Veney. “New England Dragway is exactly 1,000 miles from home for me, but for everybody else on the team it’s a ‘home game,’ and we’re all looking forward to it.”

Qualifying sessions are scheduled for 1:00 and 6:00 Friday afternoon, and eliminations are under the lights Saturday night at 5:00, 7:00, and 9:00.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
QUAKER STATE 400
KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 28, 2013
 
DANICA PATRICK, NO. 10 GODADDY CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Kentucky Speedway and discussed practice, the learning curve switching from IndyCar to NASCAR, Kyle Petty’s recent comments and other topics.  Full Transcript:
 
HOW HAS PRACTICE BEEN?
“I think that we unloaded a little bit better than we have lately or well, in general. A little bit closer to start and made a nice change the first time and ran a little bit quicker and then we have just been trying to search and find some front grip out there. Made a few good changes. It’s hot and slippery and this is a bumpy old track and it’s slippery, especially as the sun beats down on it and rubber gets laid down and the rubber gets slippery.  I think we’ve got a general direction and we’ve been loose in for the most part everywhere we go and this was the first time that we’ve been a little tight in.  We’re just trying to address our issues, but then they present new issues.”
 
REACTION TO THE BLACKHAWKS WINNING THE STANLEY CUP:
“I tweeted, ‘Hawks win, Hawks win,’ because who is the Cubs guy that said, ‘Cubs win, Cubs win?’  Harry Carey — that’s why I did it.  It was a really good game and it was a good series.  They were playing really, really hard that’s for sure.  Fast and hard and I’m sure some people lost teeth, but it was exciting to watch.”
 
REACTION TO KYLE PETTY’S COMMENTS:
“Read it yes. I just think that it’s funny how he said that I could qualify, but I can’t race because those of you that actually watch what I do would know that I can’t qualify for crap. In the race things go much better. It’s a little bit funny, but the most important thing to me is that I can keep my team happy, we’re moving in the right direction, that Go Daddy is happy and that when you walk out of the garage or walk around the track and meet a little girl that wants to grow up to be like you then you’re doing something right — those are the things that feel right.”
 
DOES IT MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS ABOUT YOU AND DOES IT MOTIVATE YOU IF PEOPLE TALK NEGATIVE ABOUT YOU?
“Thanks Kyle (Petty) thanks for motivating me. I really don’t care, I don’t, it’s true that there are plenty of people who say really bad things about me, I hear about them or I read about them or read them on Twitter. People want me to die. At the end of the day, you just get over that kind of stuff and all you can do is trust that you’re doing a good job and that’s all that matters and the people around you believe in you.”
 
WHERE ARE YOU ON THE LEARNING CURVE AND HOW MUCH BETTER DO YOU EXPECT TO BE?
“This is my second full year in NASCAR and it’s in the Cup Series so it’s definitely jumping in the deep end on some level. I’m grateful that I was recommended to do Nationwide before Cup, I think that was a good idea. You talk about the curve and the curve is different for everybody.  I think at times on some level I think I am ahead of it and at times I feel like I am behind it.  And that is just because the curve is different for everybody and I don’t know at what time it flattens out and you are where you are, but it’s not yet.  I know from my perspective that I feel like I am feeling the car better and I think that over time being able to feel the car better is going to result in a car that is set up for me and will allow me to driver harder and faster and to be better.  So that what I am learning now, the feelings about the car.  Shoot if I got tight off the corner last year, or any other time I drove the car, I would have said it was just ‘tight off’.   I would have had no idea the splitter was coming up.  Now it just seems simple and straightforward to me.  These are the things you learn over time and there is no se amount of time that you get to flatten that curve out, but it will someday.  I have no idea when.”
 
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO SILENCE THE NAYSAYERS?
“You really think that I will silence naysayers?  That is the answer, you don’t.  I am sure every driver has them on some level.  There are going to be people that believe in you and those that don’t.  You surround yourself in people that believe in you.  And that is what matters.”
 
YOU HAVE RACED HERE WITH YOUR INDYCAR, NOW YOU ARE HERE IN THE CUP CAR.  HOW DO YOU PREPARE DIFFERENTLY AT THIS TRACK?
“It’s a whole different thing.  It’s a different line and it’s completely different.  For me it’s not about coming here in a different car, it’s about me coming here and spending my first time driving around here in a Cup car for the first time and getting used to how that feels.  That is it and there is almost no comparison.  You are still driving around the track, but they are completely different animals.”
 
CURIOUS IF YOU HAVE TO CHANGE WHAT I ASSUME WAS RICKY’S (STENHOUSE) CAR INTO THE PARKING LOT AFTER LAST WEEK?
“I think you just explained the scenario.  For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you would have seen that it was taking a really long time to get into the track, and he (Ricky Stenhouse) had a team meeting at the top of the hill.  That was a long walk and he was going to be late if we parked down in the paddock area so being the nice girlfriend that I am, I said I would just drive the car down and park it and you get on with your meetings.  So, it was really as simple as that.”
 
DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE AN ADVANTAGE AT KENTUCKY SINCE YOU ARE ONE OF THE NEWER DRIVERS AND NO OTHER DRIVERS HAVE HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HERE?
“I suppose there aren’t as many set ups to fall back on and trends of the track and things like that on some level.  But at the end of the day, no matter what the scenario is, or what weekend we go to, you tend to see the order fall in a similar fashion.  That is just the way it goes, and it takes time to move it, so I guess on some level.”
 
HOW EAGER ARE YOU TO GO BACK TO DAYTONA NEXT WEEK AND HOW WELL DO YOU ANTICIPATE DOING THIS TIME?
“Well, we lost that poor car at Talladega.  So we are going back with our backup which is a really good car anyway.  We tested with it at the beginning of the year and I expect it to go in a similar fashion.  I think we will still be pretty fast.  Will we qualify on the pole and run in the top-3 or five all day?  I don’t know, maybe.  But the heat always changes a little bit but it’s a different car, and it’s going to be a different Hendrick engine.  All that stuff just leads to a slightly different weekend.  But I expect it to be somewhat similar at least from a good standpoint in my head.”
 
DO YOU FIND IT ENJOYING TO LEARN A NEW TYPE OF CAR OR DO YOU FIND IT FRUSTRATING?
“It’s frustrating.  It takes time and you always want to get to the ultimate where you kind of end up running well every weekend.  I would imagine if you asked the guys that run up front if they would like to be back in their first years and learning again if they find that more fun than to be running where they are at, then I would imagine they would say they were having more fun running up front.  It’s a process and that is what makes doing well feel so good – is the improvement that you have.  It’s far more exciting to run better every weekend.
 

SUMMERNATIONALS SUNDAY FEATURES JFR BATTLE

ENGLISHTOWN, NJ (June 1, 2013) – As qualifying came to a close on Saturday at the 44th annual Toyota NHRA Summernationals John Force Racing was trying to avoid a head to head team match-up in the first round. Unfortunately while the Funny Car teams improved their performance they did not create enough separation to avoid a John Force, No. 10, versus Robert Hight, No. 7, first round battle. One the other side of the ladder Courtney Force will have to race one of the hottest teams in Funny Car Johnny Gray if she hopes to win her first race at Raceway Park on Sunday. In Top Fuel Brittany Force bounced back from a tough Friday recording two solid runs and qualifying in the No. 13 spot.

The Castrol EDGE Top Fuel dragster was one of the quickest dragsters under the toughest conditions today posting a 3.921 second time in the opening session today to solidly get into the show. The Dean Antonelli and Eric Lane tuned dragster stepped up in the final session and ran 3.908 at 315.78 mph.

The rookie of the year candidate who is vying for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award will face veteran Doug Kalitta in the first round. The last time these two drivers met was the spring event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Force won her first round as a professional that day.

“I’m happy we came out and we definitely improved since yesterday. We had two really good consistent runs. We have Doug Kalitta tomorrow in the first round. I’ve run him before and I’m excited to run him again and hopefully we can go some rounds,” said Brittany Force.

The biggest turn-around in the Funny Car category from Friday to Saturday had to be in the Auto Club Ford Mustang pits. Robert Hight and his team dominated in Topeka both in qualifying and on race day but on Friday at Raceway Park they struggled to get to the finish line under power. Hight was undeterred at the end of the day and his confidence was rewarded with solid runs in both sessions, 4.267 and 4.121 seconds.

His Auto Club Mustang was the quickest Funny Car of the final session and those conditions will be consistent for the first round and race day on Sunday as temperatures will continue to cover in the low 90s.

“Today did not surprise me. I knew we were capable of running quick in the heat. On Friday we just had a couple things bite us on the tune up side. I knew (crew chief) Jimmy Prock would give me a good race car. The only downside is we have to race a teammate tomorrow in the first round. I would have liked for both of us to be higher in the qualifying order but you have to race the ladder,” said Hight.

“This is one of those tracks that has so much history you want to have a win on your resume. I lost in the final last year to Johnny Gray. John Force has won here so many times both at NHRA National events and at match races he will be very tough tomorrow. It will be any ones race tomorrow. I just hope we can keep running like we did today,” said Hight.

John Force and the Castrol GTX Ford Mustang team made a quality run on Friday night and today his team took an aggressive approach on the track. In the first session his Mike Neff tuned Castrol GTX Ford Mustang ran 4.274 as it hazed the tires at the top end. In the last qualifying session they were trying to run a quick time to bust up the first round match-up with Hight and overpowered the hot track early, smoking the tires at about 200 feet and running 7.327 seconds.

“Robert has the fast race car right now. I should have stepped up on that last pass, but didn’t. That’s racing. I’m fighting to stay in the top ten and he’s fighting to get the points lead. We can give the fans a great race tomorrow, and that’s all we can do,” said Force, a four-time Summernationals champion.

Courtney Force and her Traxxas Ford Mustang team improved today and ended qualifying in the No. 9 spot with a 4.125 second at 307.09 mph run. Force was able to rack up two extra bonus points in the last qualifying session for being the second-quickest, making that five total qualifying bonus points for the weekend.

Force will face Johnny Gray in the opening round on Sunday. Force is 0-2 against Gray in previous match-ups.

“It feels good to close out qualifying with a good run. We made the show, had two solid passes during qualifying, and picked up bonus points, which is all really great. I’m excited for our team. We’re trying to pick up as many points as possible where we can. I’m excited to go into tomorrow. We have Johnny Gray in the opening round, so we’re going to go there and do the best we can. We’ll take our Traxxas Ford Mustang down there and I hope to get that win light,” said Force.

Lucas Oil 200   
Dover International Speedway
 
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series  
Dover International Speedway     
May 31, 2013  
 
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fifth (Brendan Gaughan) and 31st (Ty Dillon).
Gaughan now ranks third in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings, trailing leader Matt Crafton by 35 markers, while Dillon ranks 7th, 57 points back.
The No. 62 Chevrolet team ranks fourth in the Camping World Truck Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 3 team 8th.
According to NASCAR’s post-race loop data statistics, Gaughan tied for second in Laps in Top 15 (198).
Gaughan earned the sixth-best Average Running Position (7.470), had the seventh-best Driver Rating (100.2), was the seventh-Fastest Driver Early in a Run (145.488 mph), seventh-Fastest on Restarts (142.027 mph) and posted six of the Fastest Laps Run, tying him for eighth in the loop data category.
Dillon made 13 Green Flag Passes during his 23 laps of competition, eight while running in the top 15 (Quality Passes).
Kyle Busch earned his second victory of the 2013 Camping World Truck Series season and was followed to the finish line by Matt Crafton, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Gaughan.
The next Camping World Truck Series race is the Texas 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, June 7. The seventh race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on SPEED beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Satellite Radio.
 
 
 
Motor Problems Make for a Short Day for Dillon at Dover International Speedway
 
Ty Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado team had a great race going for the first portion of the 200-lap NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Dover International Speedway on Friday afternoon After qualifying sixth earlier in the day, Dillon had to start near the rear of the field for not being on time for the driver’s meeting, which was immediately after he climbed from the No. 33 Chevrolet in Nationwide practice. It didn’t take the NCWTS regular long to show he was undaunted by his new starting spot and ready to contend on the high banks of the one-mile concrete oval. He went from 36th to 23rd in the first seven laps, then up to 15th by lap 15.While coursing through turns one and two on lap 21, he lost power and radioed to crew chief Marcus Richmond about the problem. After bringing the Silverado to pit road, the crew lifted the hood to see if the problem could be rectified. Realizing it needed a more thorough look, the crew pushed the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet into the garage. Upon further inspection, it was determined the motor would not function and Dillon was forced to accept a 31st-place finish.
 
Start – 6         Finish – 31          Laps Led – 0          Points – 7th
 
Ty Dillon Quote:
“That was not the finish we were looking for or what this Bass Pro Shops team deserved. We worked hard in practice and qualifying and looked pretty strong in the early laps of the race. I came out of two there (lap 21) and it just lost power. I brought it to pit road and Marcus (Richmond, crew chief) pushed it to the garage and the team said we were done. I hate it, but the good news is we’ll be back again and race even harder to make up what we lost today.”
 
 
 

Gaughan Finishes Fifth at “The Monster Mile”, Earning Fourth-Consecutive  
Top-Five Finish
 
Brendan Gaughan and the No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet team collected their fourth-consecutive top-five finish on Friday in the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway. The Las Vegas native started the 200-lap event from the 15th position and quickly began his charge toward the front of the field, settling into the top 10 by lap eight. Gaughan remained in the top 10 for the majority of the race as he battled a loose-handling black and gold Chevrolet. The pit crew made chassis adjustments during two scheduled four-tire pit stops, on laps 46 and 121, in an effort to remedy the handling issue. The problem persisted for the duration of the event as Gaughan worked his way into the top five during the final laps, crossing the finish line fifth. Following the sixth race of the season, Gaughan gained one position moving up to third in the Camping World Truck Series driver championship point standings.  
 
Start – 15          Finish – 2         Laps Led – 0          Points – 3rd
 
BRENDAN GAUGHAN QUOTE:
“This was another great job by Shane (Wilson, crew chief) and the entire team. Our South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet was fast all day, but just a little too loose. My pit crew did a great job today along with my spotter. I’ve got to thank all of them for helping us bring home this top-five finish.”
 

Casey Currie and the Monster Energy/General Tire Nissan team started the season off on a high note this weekend, leaving Phoenix’s Firebird International Raceway second in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite standings. Despite having to pass nearly the entire field on both Saturday and Sunday, Currie brought home finishes of third and fifth, respectively.

After dialing in his Monster Energy/General Tire Nissan during Friday’s practice, Currie was excited to get the season started. A small change before qualifying didn’t work as well as he hoped, resulting in the 10th fastest time. Despite the mid-pack start, Currie worked his way to the front of the field and into the top five. Near the halfway point of the race, Currie was t-boned in a corner, cutting down a tire and forcing him into the hot pit during the full-course yellow. After the restart, he methodically carved his way up from 29th all the way to podium where he finished third.
 
“The race didn’t go exactly how we planned it,’ said Currie. “But we showed everyone out there that the Monster Energy/General Tire Nissan is going to be a fast truck all year long.”

During the second round of competition on Sunday, Currie was able to qualify fifth and patiently waited to get into the lead. As the race wore on, he tried to make a pass for third with an “outside/inside” move and was black-flagged by the race officials. With a limited amount of laps left, Currie raced hard to salvage as many points as possible and by the time the checkered flag flew, he had raced his way into fifth.
 
“I thought I had a good line going when I tried to make the pass into third,” said Currie. “He moved over on me a little because he knew I was going to be able to get him and the contact spun him out. Having to restart from the back of the field twice during the weekend is frustrating, but our results show we have the right equipment to win races.”

Currie and the team are now getting ready for Rounds 3-4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 26-28. During the upcoming month, Currie will continue to work on his Monster Energy/General Tire Nissan as he looks to hit the jackpot in Vegas.

2JZ-GTE Engine Build on Motoiq.com

Check it out on Enginelabs.com- LSX Tall Deck

LSXTV.com 502 C.I. LSX

Nationwide Series- Drive4COPD 300- Tony Stewart Winner

Westfall Motors to UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Gator Qualifier Triumph

Ohio driver locks into Monday night’s $5,000-to-win Gator Championship Redraw at Volusia
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 17, 2013 – Matt Westfall blazed a fast path to victory lane and earned the $700 winner’s check Sunday night during the second Gator Championship qualifier in the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park.

“We had a good evening, I qualified good enough to put it on the front row,” said Westfall, of Pleasant Hill, Ohio. “The track was fast tonight and difficult to pass. Reminded me of Eldora Speedway where we usually run.”

Westfall started outside of the front row and held off NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader of Concord, N.C., who made several valiant attempts to pass Westfall during the 20-lap main event. Schrader settled for second, which locks both drivers into the redraw for Monday night’s Gator Championship.

“This week we’ve had brand new cars so we’ve struggled a little bit,” Westfall said. “Tonight we finally found something. It feels real good just to win!”

Dale Mathison of Clearwater, Minn., NASCAR Nationwide driver Justin Allgaier of Springfield, Ill., and DIRTcar Summit Modified Nationals Champion Kenny Wallace of Fenton, Mo., rounded out the top five and also secured a spot in the redraw for Monday night ensuring they’ll start no worse than 10th.

Brian Shaw of Robinson, Ill., Camping World Truck Series Champion Austin Dillon of Welcome, N.C., Bart Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio, home-state driver Wayne Hammond of Riverview, Fla., and Richard Michael Jr. of Ischua, N.Y., locked into outside rows 6 through 10 for Monday night by finishing in the top 10.

Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa, and Todd Neiheiser of Panama City, Fla., claimed Last Chance Showdown victories.

There were 37 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on hand for the second of two Gator Qualifying nights of competition. Monday night’s racing program will feature the first night of DIRTcar Late Model action as well as the $5,000-to-win DIRTcar UMP Modified Gator Championship.

 
Poel Powers to UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Gator Qualifier Victory

Michigan racer locks into Monday night’s $5,000-to-win Gator Championship
BARBERVILLE, Fla. – Feb. 16, 2013 – Jacob Poel made his first visit to the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment a memorable one by capturing the Gator Championship qualifier Saturday night at Volusia Speedway Park.

“We just swapped a motor out yesterday, after having one problem after another,” said Poel, of Spring Lake, Mich. “I ran third in the heat and I don’t know where we started in that feature but the car was just absolutely perfect. I don’t know really what else to say. It was an amazing feeling. I’m just glad to be able to come down here with all the people that have supported me and got me here.”

Poel and Matt Cooper, of McKenzie, Tenn., split leader Bryce Jewell of Madisonville, Ky., on lap 9 before trading the top spot the following two laps. Poel distanced himself after taking the lead from Cooper on lap 11 of the 20-lap main event. The win earned Poel a nice $700 paycheck and a spot in the redraw for Monday night’s Gator Championship, where he can start no worse than 10th.

“I’ve got my confidence and that’s all I need,” Poel said. “I didn’t need to win tonight, but I wanted to. I just needed something to give me confidence after the week we’ve had down here and I definitely got that tonight.”

Cooper finished second and was one of four other drivers who also earn a spot in Monday night’s redraw by finishing in the top five. Dirt late model standout Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark., was third. Friday night’s winner and defending Gator Champion Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., finished fourth. Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas who won the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals opener in his first visit to Volusia Speedway Park on Tuesday night rounded out the top five.

Jewell, UNOH DIRTcar Nationals point leader Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., Jake Griffin of Quincy, Ill., Ty Dillon of Welcome, N.C., and Danny Schwartz of Ashmore, Ill., locked into inside rows six through ten for Monday night by finishing in the top 10 Saturday.

J.E. Stadler of Martins Ferry, Ohio, and Donovan Lodge of Moline, Ill., claimed Last Chance Showdown victories.

There were 42 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds on hand for the first of two Gator Qualifying nights of competition. Sunday night’s racing program will feature the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series as well as the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds Gator Championship Qualifying Night Two.