(7/8/23 – Ben Deatherage) Petaluma, CA … Chase Johnson brought the house down at Petaluma Speedway Saturday night with an impressive NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory at the Salute To Baylands Raceway Park. Johnson won his first series race since 2019 after powering his way to the front on lap 19 of the 30-lap headliner aboard the potent Toyota of Marin, Walnut Creek, and Sunnyvale/Price Family Dealerships #24 Maxim.

“I tell you what, there’s nothing better than winning in front of you fans,” said the pumped-up Sonoma County native. “I travel all across the country racing cars, and to do it in front of the home fans, there’s nothing like it.”

“I just really wanted to win,” he continued. “I was waiting for traffic, I love traffic here, but clean air is what you need with these cars, and that helped us out a ton. As I said, it’s so awesome to be here, and I’m blessed for this opportunity.”

Polesitter and Sunnyvalley Bacon dash winner Dominic Scelzi set the tone of the main event on the initial green flag. Two caution periods slowed the field down in the first five laps of the race, but once the field came back to green, Scelzi was electric on the restarts. The driver of the Scelzi Motorsports/Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim set a wicked pace and reached lapped traffic first as a long green flag run developed, which got the entire field elbows deep with slower cars.

Slowly but methodically, the ninth starting Johnson began to reel in Scelzi. Johnson would pounce on the two-time defending series champion with only 11 laps remaining to secure the coveted top spot. The only thing to slow him down would be one more caution flag.  However, Johnson answered the call with the back of the running order one last time to secure his third NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win, all of which came at Petaluma.  He also earned the Williams Roofing Hardcharger award.

Justin Sanders, who also earned the ARP Fast Qualifier award, was the runner-up in the Demo Mittry-fielded Farmer’s Brewing/North County Plastering #2X Maxim. 

“I tried making something happen on the top,” explained Sander. “I got next to Dominic on the restart and tried to keep up there, but I stayed up there too long. When (Chase) got by me, it looked like a slot car. It would have taken something miraculous to get around him.”

Despite dropping out of the top five briefly, Corey Day roared back in the Jason Meyers Racing-owned Meyers Constructors/Four C’s Construction #14 KPC, to finish third. Sean Becker scored his best NARC run of the season aboard the Bjork Construction/Kaeding Performance #7B Maxim with a fourth-place effort. The Dave and Debbie Vertullo-owned Starr Property Management/Air One Racing #83V Maxim, chauffeured by Dylan Bloomfield, scored his second career NARC top five finish.

Justyn Cox rallied in the Bates-Hamilton Racing entry from fourteenth to end his evening in sixth. Billy Aton beat out 2017 champ Bud Kaeding for seventh. John Clark made a home track appearance for his first career NARC top ten by finishing ninth. Nick Parker rounded out the top ten.

Heat races were picked off by Becker, Scelzi and Stephen Ingraham. 

A-FEATURE (30 Laps): 1. 24-Chase Johnson [9]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 3. 14-Corey Day [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [5]; 5. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [2]; 6. 42X-Justyn Cox [14]; 7. 26-Billy Aton [7]; 8. 69-Bud Kaeding [11]; 9. 12J-John Clark [10]; 10. 115-Nick Parker [8]; 11. 2R-Richard Brace Jr. [17]; 12. 551-Angelique Bell [18]; 13. 93-Stephen Ingraham [6]; 14. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 15. 92-Andy Forsberg [15]; 16. 7H-Jake Haulot [11]; 17. 4-Burt Foland Jr. [16]; 18. 51-Gary Paulson [15]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Dominic Scelzi 1-18; Chase Johnson 19-30

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Chase Johnson +8

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (18 Cars): Justin Sanders, 12.690

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 7B-Sean Becker [3]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 3. 115-Nick Parker [1]; 4. 7H-Jake Haulot [2]; 5. 42X-Justyn Cox [5]; 6. 4-Burt Foland Jr [6]

KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 26-Billy Aton [2]; 3. 12J-John Clark [5]; 4. 14-Corey Day [4]; 5. 92-Andy Forsberg [3]; 6. 2R-Richard Brace Jr [6]

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 93-Stephen Ingraham [3]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 3. 24-Chase Johnson [2]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [1]; 5. 51-Gary Paulson [5]; 6. 551-Angelique Bell [6]

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [5]; 5. 14-Corey Day [3]; 6. 93-Stephen Ingraham

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 8, 2023) – Bobby Pierce edged Hudson O’Neal at the finish line to win the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 on Saturday night at Deer Creek Speedway. The winning margin was 0.002 seconds which equaled the closest finish in Lucas Oil Late Model Series history. Pierce earned $50,000 for his biggest win thus far in 2023 and earned an additional $1,000 from NAPA Auto Parts for his first career victory in the crown jewel event. O’Neal was ahead at the white flag, but he bobbled in turn two allowing Pierce to close on him heading into the last two turns. Pierce through a slider on O’Neal heading into turn four to take the lead. O’Neal would turn down the track and the two-drag raced to the finish with Pierce scoring the victory. Brandon Sheppard came home in third followed by Chris Madden and Jonathan Davenport. Madden, the 2018 NAPA Gopher 50 winner, sprinted to the lead from his pole starting spot ahead of his fellow front row starter in Davenport, who was looking for his first win in the crown jewel event. Madden and Davenport ran first and second for the first 21 laps of the race when O’Neal grabbed the second position from Davenport. O’Neal then hounded Madden for the race lead until he was able to make the pass for the top spot on lap 37. O’Neal then had to deal with Tim McCreadie as he moved into second, but Pierce was the car on the move as he came from his outside fifth row starting spot to take second by lap 41. Sheppard then started to show some strength as he and his fellow Illinois competitor raced hard for second with Sheppard gaining the spot from laps 49 through 55 when Pierce got back by him. A caution with ten laps to go set up what would become a showdown between O’Neal and Pierce. Just when it looked like O’Neal was opening enough breathing room Pierce would close the gap. When O’Neal stumbled in turn on the final lap it was the opportunity that Pierce was looking for as he slid O’Neal heading into turn four to take the lead heading to the checkered flag. Pierce in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the second time this season and for the 14th time in his career came from the tenth starting spot to get the lucrative win. “I think everything had to play its part there. All the glory to the Holy Spirit and everything there. I had to have everything go my way. It was just one of those deals where Hudson just pushed, it was just bad timing on the last lap. I have had it happen to me plenty of times when you get to those last couple of laps and you’re leading, and you just want the race to be over. He [O’Neal] made a little push and every time he would pull me off two I knew three and four was going to be the one I was going to slide him. I am not going to lie I was scared to send that slider in there after what happened Thursday night.” Pierce referring to Thursday night’s preliminary feature where he got into the wall while going for the lead on Daulton Wilson ending his night. Pierce, who only led the final lap went for it in the final corner. “It was like well he bobbled, and I’ve got to go for it, it’s the last lap like people were going to ask me why I didn’t do it if I didn’t take it like I did. I took it in there, I am sure I was slow, and I might have bottled him up in turn four and I got the cushion pretty good. I was worried about the wall because it kind of sticks out.  I got the cushion, and the car was pointed down the hill and then I thought I was going to go for it and shoot it straight and gas it to the line. I heard Hudson to my left and we were both probably turning 9500 rpm’s coming to the line,” said the 26-year-old Oakwood, Illinois native. O’Neal was heartbroken in his post-race interview as he had led from lap 37 to the last lap. “I knew I had a good enough lead, and the top was so dominate. I knew if I didn’t mess up that I was probably going to have it and that’s exactly what I did. I was going down the front straightaway and thought about it too much and I don’t know it’s the biggest heartbreak I have ever had in my life. I don’t really have any words. I definitely gave one away. In this big of a race to be leading and in that position, you don’t get those very often. I don’t hate it for me I hate it for my team. We’ve had a good race car and I felt like we had potential there and every time we got on the racetrack, we would get a little bit better and better. We had a heck of a hot rod all weekend.” Sheppard, who was the first driver among the top three finishers to have won the race before rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “We definitely had a really fast race car we were really maneuverable around the racetrack. I was a little bit snug around the cushion. I couldn’t really keep up with them two once they got their speed picked up when they were able to rip around the wall. Overall, we had a great weekend I feel like. The car’s phenomenal.” The winner’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Mesilla Valley Transportation, Rio Grande Waste Services, PureMax Racing Oil, Toyota of Danville, Leka Tree Service, Carnaghi Towing and Repair, Extreme Electric, A Plus Vacuum, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint and Body Shop, and Bloomington-Normal Truck Performance. Completing the top ten were Tim McCreadie, Garrett Alberson, Earl Pearson Jr., Dustin Sorensen, and Chad Simpson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 – Night 3Saturday, July 8, 2023Deer Creek Speedway – Spring Valley, MN Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25C-Shane Clanton[2]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 4. 32C-Chris Simpson[3]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 6. 77-Jordan Yaggy[7]; 7. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[10]; 8. 11L-Lance Hofer[8]; 9. 15-Nick Anvelink[6]; 10. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 11. 90-Lance Matthees[11] UNOH B-Main Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 2. 8-Dillon McCowan[3]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 4. 15J-Justin Duty[5]; 5. 7-Ross Robinson[10]; 6. 10-Garrett Smith[4]; 7. 55C-Chad Mahder[8]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 9. 10P-Paul Parker[9]; 10. 49T-Jake Timm[2] NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Night 3 Feature Finish (75 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 38Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Chris Madden       Lap Leaders: Chris Madden (Laps 1-36); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 37-74); Bobby Pierce (Lap 75)Wieland Feature Winner: Bobby PierceArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: Bobby PierceBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Bobby PierceMargin of Victory: 0.002 secondsGorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Stormy Scott (Lap 18); Spencer Hughes (Lap 26); Shane Clanton (Lap 35); Ross Robinson (Lap 37); Max Blair (Lap 38); Tyler Erb (Lap 41); Dillon McCowan (Lap 48); Devin Moran (Lap 55); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 65)LOLMDS Provisionals:  Ross Robinson; Boom BriggsLOLMDS Emergency Provisionals: n/aMLRA Provisionals: Chris Simpson; Daniel HilsabeckMLRA Emergency Provisionals: Trevor Gundaker; Justin DutyTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon SheppardPenske Shocks Top 5: Bobby Pierce, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Chris Madden, Jonathan DavenportTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Justin Duty (Advanced 13 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Chris SimpsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (38 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Chris Madden (Lap 8 – 14.485 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr. Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Bob Pierce (Bobby Pierce)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Vic Hill Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (14.567 seconds)Time of Race: 42 minutes 49 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 8, 2023) – Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) claimed sole possession of the career Grand National Championship Half-Mile wins record with a showcase performance in Saturday night’s Orange County Half-Mile as Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, returned to Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York, for the first time in 35 years. The combination of Mees’ immense ability, experience, and support provided the reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion with a decisive edge on a hyper-slick surface that tested the upper limits of the field’s collective skill. Even a late red flag that wiped out the multi-second lead Mees had diligently assembled did little to dent the factory Indian star’s dominance on the evening. He simply powered off the staggered start and marched away while his primary rivals waged war for second behind him. The last time the series visited the century-old venue, the legendary Scott Parker earned one of his record-setting 35 career Half-Mile wins. Mees’ victory tonight was his 36th HM win, which established the new all-time mark. Mees’ monumental night also saw him wrest the points lead away from Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) for the first time this season. Prior to the red flag, the young title hopeful was caught up in a heated scrap for second with the rolling Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke). After the restart, his season-long podium streak came under serious threat with the additions of Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) to the fray. Bauman slashed up to second and controlled the spot to the flag. Afterward, the Rick War Racing ace proclaimed himself a contender from here on out now that the bike is properly dialed, a sentiment backed up by a win, two seconds, a third, and a fourth in his last five attempts. Daniels, meanwhile, had to hustle his way back past Robinson over the race’s final two laps to narrowly finish third, upping his active podium streak to 12 in the process. Still, it wasn’t quite enough to retain his championship standing, as Mees now leads the chase 257-255. After claiming his seventh victory of the season, Mees said, “We’ve just got to keep plucking away. Dallas has been riding phenomenally all year. It’s almost underrated how consistent he’s been this season. It’s making me dig down as deep as I can, and I’m really enjoying the battle. We’ve got a lot of racing to go, and I’ve got a couple tracks coming up that are more his forte than mine with the TTs. It’s an honor to keep the ball rolling, really.” Robinson and Beach completed the top five, while Billy Ross (No. 109 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Kawasaki Ninja 650) took the best finish of his premier-class career in sixth. Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750) finished seventh, followed by Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), and Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke), in that order. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) claimed the 13th victory of his Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER career in Saturday’s Orange County Half-Mile, and this one may have been the best yet. The entire evening felt as if it was shaping up as a collision course between Kopp and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F). While that initially proved true, what wasn’t expected was that their clash would be for second with Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) blasting away a couple second out in front. Saathoff’s long-awaited maiden Progressive AFT victory was delayed yet again, however. Once in the clear after shaking free of Drane, Kopp set about tracking the Turner Honda pilot down. The KTM star quickly gobbled up the gap and then searched for a way into first. He found one quickly enough although perhaps not exactly as scripted. The defending champ caught a rut in the middle of the corner and was sent wide, forcing Saathoff to chop the throttle to prevent contact. Once into first, Kopp flexed his sheer pace advantage and walked away with his sixth victory of the season. “In clay car-track racing you have to go for those little sliders,” Kopp said of his overtake for the lead. “It worked out. My bike just wheelied and put me straight into the wall. I reached out on the straightaway – put a hand out apologizing. But that’s racing. He’s in the pro class. I guess he was mad about it, but all right.” Drane held on for third ahead of Sathoff’s teammate, Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). Fifth went to a strong-running Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), who pushed his way into the early podium battle before settling in for his best career Parts Unlimited AFT Singles finish to date. Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) ended up sixth with Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/Eric Hoyt Honda CRF450R), Hunter Bauer (No. 24 BigR Racing/Little Deb Racing Honda CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/3 Bros KTM 450 SX-F) rounding out the top ten. Kopp’s big title lead got that much bigger with his triumph. He now leads Saathoff by nearly two full races (241-194). Kopp’s teammate, Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), could only muster an 18-place finish after crashing on the opening lap and then soldiering on less than 100% following the restart. As a result, he dropped all the way from second to seventh in the tight race for position behind Kopp. Next Up: Progressive American Flat Track will return to action on Saturday, July 22, for the inaugural Bridgeport Half-Mile at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/bridgeport-half-mile-60826 to reserve your seats today. For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage of the Orange County Half-Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, July 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m

July 9, 2023 — BOWMANVILLE, Ont

• Tom Blomqvist claims pole in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
• Ricky Taylor completes sweep with front-row start for #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura
• Third pole of 2023 for the electrified Acura ARX-06 prototype

For the second year in a row, Acura drivers and teams dominated qualifying at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, as Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist led an Acura 1-2 front row sweep in preparation for Sunday’s sixth round in the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Blomqvist’s pole qualifying time of 1:05.653 in the #60 MSR Acura edged Ricky Taylor’s #10 ARX-06 from Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport by just 81-thousandths of a second
around the challenging 2.459-mile CTMP road course as the pair of Acura heads the prototype field for the third time in 2023.

Previous poles this year came at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona [Meyer Shank Racing] and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach [WTRAndretti].

In the production-based GTD category, the #66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 from Gradient Racing will roll off 13th in the hands of Sheena Monk and Katherine Legge.

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Acura Qualifying Results

•   1st overall – Tom Blomqvist, #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
•   2nd overall – Ricky Taylor, #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06
• 13th GTD –  Sheena Monk, #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22

Fast Facts

• Acura Motorsports has recorded six previous victories at CTMP, all in the prototype categories of the former American Le Mans Series championship.
• Acura is a three-time series champion in the premier prototype division since joining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2018, claiming the Manufacturer, Driver and Team Daytona Prototype International (DPi) titles in 2019-20 and again in 2022 with the Acura ARX-05.
• For 2023, the new, electrified Acura ARX-06 GTP effort continues to be spearheaded by a pair of IMSA championship-winning teams:  Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport.

Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06) Pole qualifier: “Really happy to get the pole today. The car’s been quick, so that was the aim. We knew it was possible. Colin [Braun, co-driver] has been doing a fantastic job. But to be honest, I was struggling a little bit with the car. We just made some little tweaks and then with [new] tires and low fuel [for qualifying], I always have faith in what I can do in those situations, and thankfully it worked out. Just really happy for everybody at MSR. Everybody has been on it this weekend. Tomorrow is the important one though—we just have to convert it and hopefully it all works out.”

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06) Qualified second: “It was nice to get an all-Acura front row. Our ARX-06 is very strong this weekend.  I think we had a car for the pole, but I don’t know if I put it all together.  It’s okay, we have a long race tomorrow and I have a lot of confidence in the pace of the car.  There are a lot of cars on track, and the closing speed [to cars in the other classes] is substantial. I think the race tomorrow is going to come down to who can best get through traffic cleanly and quickly.” 

Sheena Monk (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) Qualified 13th in GTD: “The nature of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is a bit difficult. It requires a bit of bravery so getting everything out from the Acura has been a bit of a challenge. Looking at the season as a whole, I would say that I am making improvements but I want so much more. The pace in practice this morning feels like it didn’t translate into qualifying later in the day. So, I’m a bit frustrated with that, but it’s a learning experience at the moment and I’m just trying my best to always push my limit a little bit further and just try to get myself as close to Kat [co-driver Katherine Legge] as possible. This morning I felt like I was making some headway—but then the track conditions changed a little bit, it got a little warmer, and the behavior of the car changed slightly and I just wasn’t able to adapt and put the power down in a way that felt as comfortable as this morning.”

Where to Watch Sunday’s Race
Live, flag-to-flag coverage from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park will be available on NBC starting at 12 p.m. EDT Sunday.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links can be found on:

• Instagram        (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd)
• TikTok             (www.tiktok.com/hondaracing_hpd)
• Twitter             (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_Hpd)
• Facebook        (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD)
• YouTube         (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV)

NASCAR CUP SERIES

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

QUAKER STATE 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JULY 8, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Press conference transcript: 

HOW DO YOU FEEL ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY HAS MATURED NOW HAS A SUPERSPEEDWAY TRACK? 

“I don’t think we’ve seen its full potential yet. It still probably has a lot of grip where you’re really not fighting getting out of the throttle yet a whole lot. Old Atlanta (Motor Speedway), being as slippery as it was – if that was a zero on the grip scale, I think we’re still up in the nine or 10 right now. So it’ll take a little bit before we get to the five or six range when racing typically starts to get pretty good.”

HOW DO YOU THINK GOING 90 MPH ON THE APRON UNDER GREEN ENTERING PIT ROAD CHANGE MUCH, AS FAR AS STRATEGY? 

“I don’t think it changes much on strategy. When we were here in the spring, it seemed to be about equal for a lap and a half or something like that – where you would go down about a lap and a half. You know I think this time around might be a little bit less than that, obviously, but not by much. It’s just going to be a different rate of what you have to slow down to under green because under yellow, it’s still the same 45 mph all the way around. Everybody has probably looked ahead to that and planned – at least they should have – with their lights and everything else. So we’ll just see what that looks like getting out here and going.”

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE, THERE’S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RACES – WHETHER IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST, WHEREVER. DO YOU SEE THAT HAVING A PLACE IN NASCAR AT ALL IN THE FUTURE? 

“I have a really funny answer, but I’m going to leave it alone (laughs). 

Yeah, I do. I feel like there’s definitely the potential for that – whether it’s North America, South America, even a different continent. I think there’s some opportunities that are out there, so it will be interesting to see where we land with that. I think last week kind of showcased that you can do a street event. And we’ve also kind of proven the stadium aspect, as well, with the (Los Angeles) Coliseum. I think that opens up a huge playbook.”

NOW A WEEK REMOVED FROM CHICAGO – ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON HOW THAT WEEKEND WENT WITH HAVING TIME TO PROCESS IT? 

“Yeah, I thought it went well. Considering where the team hotels were, we were in walking distance and that was pretty close. There was just a lot of walking from the garage area to pit road for the teams. Where the haulers were parked was a little bit of a walk, as well. Especially with the rain because your notice that you get for ‘drivers to your cars’ is about four minutes, so it’s almost where you have to get into a trot to get out there on time. But probably the only negative was just the weather. I thought everything else about it was really good. Practice went off pretty well. There was definitely some areas of the track where you could use a tire barrier – I obviously was a tester of those, and they seemed to work really well and that our cars can continue on with little damage. But just a couple of spots that probably could use more or any to begin with.”

IT’S BEEN A YEAR NOW THAT KURT (BUSCH) HAS BEEN OUT OF THE CAR. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT AND WHAT IT’S BEEN LIKE THE LAST YEAR WITH KURT AND HIM RECOVERING? 

“Yeah, I got to work with him on the sidelines last year being with the Toyota camp for the last half of the year, but really haven’t seen a whole bunch of him and haven’t talked a whole bunch with him – just not working with that group anymore. Being with Team Chevy, we’ve kind of I guess re-distanced a little bit. But you know, it was not due to what he wanted as a timeline of stepping aside and being out of the car. But the way it all went down, the way he’s handled it, the way he’s still been a part of 23XII and working with Tyler (Reddick) and Bubba (Wallace) over there – I think he’s an instrumental part to some of the success they’ve had early on. We’ll see what his choices are going forward on if he continues that.”

(NO MIC.)

“Yeah, so I was born in 1985 – I think Bobby (Allison) was done in ’88, so I never watched him race, but obviously I’ve seen the highlights and stuff like that. He was an amazing competitor. I always remember him being fast in that No. 12 Miller car. Just being a historian of the sport for the little bit that I am, it’s always really neat to just kind of see some of that. I know with Davey coming in and being here – those two guys racing with each other, running well with each other, working together and all that, was really cool as a father-son duo. Hopefully one day I can do some of that with my son, as well. He was an instrumental part of the growth of the sport during that time – stayed around a lot and kept his face in the business to just continue to elevate everything that they all were doing.”

JUST WITH THE DIFFERENT TRACKS AND HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED WITH THE SCHEDULE THE LAST FEW YEARS – HOW DOES THAT CHALLENGE YOU AS A DRIVER AND THE DIFFERENT SKILL SETS OR DEMANDS REQUIRED? AND TWO – WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR SON AND AS YOU PLOT A COURSE FOR HIM TO WORK HIS WAY UP, WITH NASCAR’S EVOLVING SCHEDULE, DOES THAT START TO CHANGE OR MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WANT TO PLOT HIS DIRECTION OR THINGS YOU WANT TO INCLUDE IN HIS DEVELOPMENT? 

“Yeah, obviously there’s a lot of change happening right now with different venues and things like that. Atlanta (Motor Speedway) turning into a speedway. You’ve got, I’d call it, six I guess superspeedway races, and then you’ve got seven road course races. You’ve got intermediates; you’ve got short-tracks. Now you have a street course. So there’s a lot going on with the different avenues that you can go and the training you can do with driver development. 

Yeah, I’m a proponent of getting him in as much stuff that I possibly can. Some people tell me that they think that’s hurting his development or slowing his development down in particular cars. And I’m like – well, yeah, but he can go run against any kid in the country and run top-three everywhere we go in any vehicle that we run in. I feel like that’s a Kyle Larson-type thing – where we’re not just focused on quarter midgets or outlaw karts.. he only does that and he’s really good at that. But then we can’t even make an A-main in a quarter midget race at a national event. The one thing that we’re a little bit short on right now is just the road course kart stuff that Keelan has been really high on. We haven’t done as much of that and Brexton keeps asking me about doing it and why we haven’t done it. And I’m like – bro, there’s only so much time in the day (laughs).. we’re pretty slammed as it is. But hopefully being able to get out to Trackhouse Motorplex a little bit more, especially as the off-season gets there – that’s sort of the time where I always ran road course stuff was always winter races. So I’d love to take him out there and just kind of get his feet wet more in that.”

HOW MUCH IS IT CHALLENGING FOR YOU? YOU HAD THE DEVELOPMENT AND SKILL SET, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE TALENTED IN A LOT OF THINGS, BUT A LOT OF THINGS ARE GETTING THROWN AT YOU. HOW IS THIS CHALLENING YOU? 

“You know, the only thing that’s been challenging to me and I don’t know how to be get better at it besides just doing it more often – is the street course last week. I came out of the gate my first lap on the track and boom – I shot up to third quick on the board. And then everybody started getting braver, pushing the brake limits more and getting better and better, and I started falling back. But when you go to the Clash at The Coliseum, that reminds me of going to Star Speedway up in Epping, New Hampshire – we’re close to there next week. It’s a little, tight, three-eighths mile bullring with really tight corners. So places like that where I grew up racing late models at remind me of that. The superspeedway here is a little bit different, but it’s really close to Daytona (International Speedway). And then all the rest of the stuff that we obviously do. Traditional road courses are traditional road courses – it’s just about finding your way around those. So again, the street course stuff – not having much experience in that or racing in the rain for that matter, too – is probably my worst trait at the moment.”

WHAT’S YOUR RECOVERY PROCESS FOR ANY WRECK, IN GENERAL? 

“It depends on the wreck. Last week, running into the tires at Chicago was great (laughs).. it was nice, it wasn’t really that bad. I was petrified going into that, that it was going to hurt a hell of a lot. But then the tire pack, you kind of just slowly accordion into it and it was fine. I think that was a good learning for us that we can do that at a lot more races maybe – not ovals, but road courses that don’t maybe have tire packs that have some gravel run-offs that don’t catch a car that you can still achieve the fence. I don’t think there’s a depth of tire pack that’s too thick, honestly. So I think that’s kind of a learning curve that I tested out last week. 

Other than that, yeah wrecking at superspeedway races – hitting the wall, breaking my leg, foot and stuff at Daytona (International Speedway) was no fun. It’s all about the hit that you get. But being in decent shape I think allows you to come out of those a lot faster. Just talking with Scott Borchetta, who is a TA2 driver who I’ve been friends with for a long time – he was in a bad accident and hurt pretty bad. He’s healing a lot faster than the doctors expected because he was like – yeah, I was working out, I was training, I was trying to keep up with these young kids to go race with. I think it’s just all about your body composition and makeup.”

HALFWAY THROUGH YOUR FIRST SEASON AT RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU CAN TELL US THAT YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT RICHARD (CHILDRESS) AS YOUR CAR OWNER THAT MAYBE YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT HIM IN PREVIOUS YEARS?

“To me, it’s just that he’s involved. He’s involved in a lot of different ways. He’s involved at the race shop – he’s there a lot, talking with upstairs people, downstairs people, into the competition meetings, talking with the pit crew coaches. He’s also doing some other outside business stuff with the spring company that he’s got, as well as the ECR engines and things that they’ve been doing. Not since I’ve been there, but the last couple of years they were the Cadillac engine supplier for the IMSA stuff for Cadillac. It’s just really cool to see all the different stuff that they have all up at their campus, and what all he’s involved in and how much he really pays attention to all of that. He’s an instrumental part to why we want to win races and why we’ve won races. And I feel like we’ve lived up to that to this point, which has been amazing and really, really good. It’s just a matter of carrying that forward and continuing to work together. He and I – we’ve exchanged a lot of text messages, phone calls and all that stuff on areas of things that we can do. I’m trying to push on him a little bit so he can go deliver those messages and push on it from his side because he’s always told me – just come to me.. bring me anything, whatever you’ve got, come to me.”

Cadillac V-Series.Rs qualify third and fourth for the 2-hour, 40-minute sprint

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (July 8, 2023) – Cadillac Racing will occupy the second row for the start of the Chevrolet Grand Prix on Sunday at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Pipo Derani, driving the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, posted a quick lap of 1 minute, 05.829 seconds to qualify third in the nine IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype field. Derani’s best lap of 10 on the 2.459-mile circuit was 0.176 of a second off the pole-claiming lap of the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 driven by Tom Blomqvist and 0.095 of a second from a front-row start.

Sebastien Bourdais followed 2 minutes later in the 20-minute session with a lap of 1:06.266 in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to claim the outside of Row 2 for the 2-hour-40-minute race. Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will seek to successfully defend their 2022 victory in the twilight of the DPi era. The tandem is fourth in the GTP standings through five races. Derani, who drove to a third-place finish last year at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, and teammate Alexander Sims are coming off a runner-up finish two weeks ago at Watkins Glen International that vaulted the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R into the GTP Driver and Team Championship standings. Cadillac leads the GTP Manufacturer Championship. NBC will telecast the Chevrolet Grand Prix at noon ET Sunday, with additional coverage in the U.S. on Peacock Premium. Live broadcast of the race will also be on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM (XM 207, Internet/App 992). What they’re saying

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:05.829: “I think we did a good job from free practice 2 to qualifying. The car was really good yesterday, and we tried a couple of things that didn’t go as planned for practice 2. We were able to turn the tables around again and come back to qualifying with a strong car. To be that close to the Acuras after what they displayed in practice 2, I think it shows that we are on the right path. So, thanks to the team for providing me with a good car. Starting on the second row is good, especially on a track that is difficult to pass. We have a strong package for the race and I’m looking forward to the 2-hour, 40-minute race and add points to our championship lead.” No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:06.266: “It’s a good Cadillac day. Pipo (Derani) put a very strong lap out there to get P3. The competition up front seems to be strong, but it’s close enough that things will equal out in the race. It will be interesting and hopefully we have a flawless day and just get it done.

BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will try to make it a dozen victories at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Sunday from fourth place on the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO grid for Sunday’s Chevrolet Grand Prix.

Jordan Taylor qualified on the third of 10 GTD category rows for the sixth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a lap of 1:15.494 (117.260 mph). He and teammate Antonio Garcia hope to win for the first time this season in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and give Corvette Racing its first victory at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit east of Toronto since 2014. The duo is coming off a third-place GTD PRO finish at Watkins Glen two weeks ago and came in second last year at CTMP in the C8.R’s first race at the historic Canadian circuit.  In addition to winning the race, Garcia and Taylor aim to close the gap in the GTD PRO championship standings. The drivers, the No. 3 team and manufacturer Chevrolet enter CTMP third in their respective GTD PRO points standings. Only 73 points separate second through fourth with a maximum of 385 points available this weekend. Lexus and its No. 14 drivers and teams lead the class by 172 points after five races and with six events left in the season. The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. The race will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.comoutside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air the call of the race on IMSA.com, XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FOURTH IN GTD PRO: “I don’t know. Something was off in that session. I don’t know if we missed something on the setup or if there was something else. We are still struggling in the last two sectors where you make your speed compared to the leaders. This track is about speed and track position. Unfortunately we don’t have very much of either right now.”

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of this weekend’s IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix and FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Monza. Materials include race advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography.

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After five of 11 events)Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1,7952. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 1,6823. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1,6234. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 1,6095. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 1,408 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1,7952. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,6823. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 1,6234. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 1,6095. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 1,408 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 1,7952. Mercedes-AMG – 1,6823. Chevrolet – 1,6234. Porsche – 1,6095. Aston Martin – 1,419 CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP & MONZA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at CTMP since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2016-2019). The Corvette C8.R raced at the track for the first time last season.• 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R.• 6: Hours difference between the IMSA team competing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the Corvette Racing WEC team competing at Monza on the same days.• 7: Number of drivers who have won races at CTMP for Corvette Racing. Johnny O’Connell (six), Jan Magnussen (five), Oliver Gavin (four), Ron Fellows (three) and Olivier Beretta (two) each have multiple wins there with the team.• 7: Pole positions for Corvette Racing drivers at CTMP. Oliver Gavin leads with three with Antonio Garcia (2016) being the most recent.• 11: Class victories at Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – all since 2001.• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.• 125: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, nine at Le Mans – including two weeks ago – and three in the FIA WEC.• 275: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 11,080.25: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. That represents 4,506 laps.• 358,144.93: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon… and then some! Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (wins in bold)2000No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole, fastest race lap) 2001No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2002No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 2nd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap) 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 7th in GTS (Gavin pole) 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 4th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)No. 33 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GT1 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Beretta fastest race lap) 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 3rd in GT2 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell – 5th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GT2 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GT 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia pole)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM 2023No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualifies fifth, only three-tenths of a second off pole time

MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R qualified fifth of 13 FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar entries and will start on the third row for the 6 Hours of Monza on Sunday. Alex Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 35.720 seconds with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left in the 15-minute session on the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn (seven right, four left) Autodromo Nazionale di Monza circuit.

Lynn’s lap was only .362 of a second off the pole-winning time of former Cadillac DPi endurance driver Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Lynn, Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook sharing the driving duties, has been consistent throughout the exceptionally warm race weekend in Italy by running in the top five in two of the three free practice sessions preceding qualifications.  Entering the fifth of seven races in its maiden tour of the WEC calendar, Cadillac Racing has also displayed consistently solid qualifying results: fifth at Monza, sixth at Le Mans, fourth at Spa-Francorchamps, eighth at Portimao and fourth at Sebring. More impressive have been the race results: third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, fifth at Spa, fourth at Portimao and fourth at Sebring.The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a fast-flowing circuit, with tight, technical corners separated by lengthy straights during which “you can stretch your legs,” according to Westbrook. The 13-car Hypercar field is augmented by LMP2 and LMGTE Am categories for a 36-car lineup at the “Temple of Speed.” MotorTrend will telecast the race live in the U.S. starting at 6:30 a.m. ET Sunday, July 9. Discovery Velocity holds the rights for Canadian broadcast, while Eurosport and L’Equipe will broadcast to much of Europe. Action can also be viewed on the FIA WEC app. RadioLeMans.com will also call the action. Fans can also get a driver’s view of the action via the live No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in-car camera. HERE.

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.RAlex Lynn drove in the 15-minute qualifying session with a best lap of 1:35.720 for fifth in the 13-car Hypercar field: “I think overall it was a decent qualifying for the No. 2 Cadillac, P5 and only three-tenths away from pole position. Again, another strong showing by the Cadillac V-Series.R, so from our side we’re happy. We know our strength lies in our race pace, so we’re excited to go racing tomorrow.”

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

Keating qualifies sixth in GTE Am with an eye toward championship clinch MONZA, Italy (July 8, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTE Am grid Sunday in its push to wrap up FIA World Endurance Championship class titles at the Six Hours of Monza.Ben Keating qualified the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R sixth with a lap of 1:48.519 during Saturday’s 15-minute session at the 3.60-mile, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza circuit with a red-flag period in the middle. He, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone can wrap up the Drivers and Teams championships in a number of different scenarios – the easiest being finishing first or second in class Sunday. Keating ended 0.887 seconds off Sarah Bovy’s class pole-winning time in the No. 85 Porsche. The trio and the No. 33 Corvette team have been nearly perfect all season with three wins and runner-up finish in four races. It’s a remarkable achievement for a first-year trio and the team’s first season in GTE Am.  A podium finish this weekend would be just as impressive. The Corvette will carry 40 additional kilograms of “success ballast” in accordance with GTE Am sporting rules. That is due to the victory in the previous race at Le Mans, 10 kilograms for taking the runner-up spot at Spa (the race prior to Le Mans) and another 15 for leading the championship. In addition, the C8.R received 10 additional kilograms of pre-event weight by the rules-makers, making the Corvette 50 kilograms (110 pounds) heavier than how it began the season at Sebring. On a positive note, the No. 33 C8.R raced at Spa with 45 extra kilograms over its minimum weight and placed second, highlighted by a furious late-race defense by Catsburg to hold on to the second position. In addition to a championship, Corvette Racing is going for its second straight class win at Monza. It was the site of the program’s lone 2022 WEC victory in GTE Pro for the duo of Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy. The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of the race, as well.

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTE AM: “I had hoped we would be higher than P6. It was an unfortunate red flag in the middle of qualifying. I was on my best lap at the peak of the tire and had the best sector one and a pretty good sector two before I had to shut it down at the end. I think that was going to be a really good lap. Because we’re at the end of pitlane, we made the decision to go to the pit exit and queue up there rather than go to the box and change tires. It’s hard to know whether having track position is more important or having the peak of the tire one more time is more important. Hindsight being 20-20, I think I would have preferred to have new tires. The tires just didn’t feel the same to get those last three- or four-tenths out of a lap. We’re carrying 50 kilograms more weight than we were at the beginning of the season. That’s the penalty of the amazing success that we’ve had. If you look at how much 50 kilograms is worth around this track, it’s probably not far from the pole. From a points perspective, I’d rather Sarah Bovy got the pole instead Ahmad Al-Harthy. That gives us a little bit more margin in the championship, but the fact that both will start up front means they will have a little bit of an advantage at the beginning of the race. We’ll see. We have a really, really good racecar. As a team and a car, we carry the weight well. We’ll have to work our way up one hour at a time. We’ve got a lot of experience doing that.”

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Monza. Materials include race advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies, Corvette Racing photography

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After four of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 1332. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 593. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 564. Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr/Davide Rigon – 475. Alessio Rovera/Lilou Wadoux/Luis Perez Companc – 43 Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 1332. No. 25 ORT by TF – 593. No. 85 Iron Dames – 564. No. 54 AF Corse – 475. No 83 Richard Mille AF Corse – 43

FARMER CITY, IL (July 7, 2023) – Nine minutes and 52 seconds is all Brian Shirley needed to assert his dominance over the star-studded DIRTcar Summer Nationals field at Farmer City Raceway.

Shirley, the four-time Hell Tour champion from Chatham, IL, put on a clinic Friday night, leading all 40 laps of the caution-free Feature en route to his fourth victory of the summer and 42nd of his career.

A stacked field of 44 DIRTcar Late Models lined the pit area for the third race of Week 4. Shirley won his Heat Race, which set him up to redraw the pole for the Feature. He took full advantage of his starting spot at the drop of the green and immediately jumped to the early lead over Dennis Erb Jr. and Ryan Unzicker.

Unzicker, winner on Thursday night at Macon Speedway, had a fast car on the bottom around the 1/4-mile track and got by Erb Jr. for second on Lap 14. While Shirley ripped around the top side and began to sort his way through lapped traffic, Unzicker began to close the gap behind him.

Within three laps, Unzicker had completely erased Shirley’s lead and nearly pulled even with him at one point, looking for a way around to take the top spot. Shirley acknowledged that somebody was knocking on the door and quickly cracked the whip.

“That was the biggest nerve wrack of it all, to be honest,” Shirley said. “I didn’t know who was in second, I just knew, at times, second was right there.”

After a few smart moves in traffic, Shirley was able to shake Unzicker’s wrath and sped away, stretching his lead out to over a full second again as the laps continued to wind down.

“I was more worried if I picked the right lane coming up on lapped traffic,” Shirley said. “I wasn’t worried about how good my car was. I felt like my car was good enough to win the race. Luckily, when I did get by them guys, I got to get back into my rhythm and get back in the lane I was running.”

From there on out, Shirley was never challenged again. He completed all 40 circuits around and crossed under the checkered flag in an elapsed time of nine minutes and 52 seconds to claim his second career Summer Nationals Feature win at Farmer City.

UP NEXT

Week 4 of the 38th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals continues Saturday, July 8 with a visit to Highland Speedway in Highland, IL. Get a ticket at the gate or stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[7]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[4]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 5. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 6. 25-Jason Feger[6]; 7. 33-Mike Harrison[8]; 8. 42-Mckay Wenger[9]; 9. 26H-Kyle Hammer[12]; 10. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[13]; 11. 18-Shannon Babb[20]; 12. 4G-Bob Gardner[10]; 13. 91-Rusty Schlenk[17]; 14. 22H-Dustin Hodges[11]; 15. 31AUS-Kye Blight[19]; 16. 33H-Roben Huffman[21]; 17. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[14]; 19. 1M-Mike Mataragas[16]; 20. B12-Kevin Weaver[15]; 21. 29-Spencer Diercks[18]; 22. 162-Logan Moody[5]

McKinney Goes Back-to-Back with Summit Modifieds After Late Pass at Farmer City

Starting from the sixth position, Mike McKinney said after the race, “I didn’t think I’d be able to do it.” And then, a door opened right in front of him.

McKinney, the 30-year-old UMP Modified ace from Plainfield, IL, had worked his way to third with 10 laps remaining in Friday’s DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature at Farmer City Raceway. The two drivers ahead of him – race leader Blake Brown and points leader Tyler Nicely – were in an intense battle for the lead when McKinney caught them in traffic and looked to the inside to make a move for the top spot.

As Brown and Nicely both pushed up the track through Turns 1-2, McKinney used the grip on the bottom lane and slipped past both of them out of Turn 4 to take the lead.

“The bottom was just the only lane open,” McKinney said. “There was a lot of grip down there. It was a little choppy, but I was able to make it work.”

McKinney sped away in traffic, but faced one final challenge in a green-white-checkered finish after the caution was thrown as McKinney was coming for the white flag.

“I really didn’t feel nearly as good,” McKinney said. “I don’t know if I had my tire kinda seal-up there a little bit, but I was really struggling those last few laps. I just knew that if I could keep running my line and hit my marks, I felt like we’d be pretty good.”

Despite his concerns, McKinney was able to hold on for his 18th career Summit Modified victory and second of his career in Summit Modified competition at Farmer City.

UP NEXT

Week 4 of Summit Modified racing continues Saturday, July 8 with a visit to Highland Speedway in Highland, IL. Get a ticket at the gate or stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[6]; 2. 37L-Michael Ledford[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[18]; 4. 99B-Blake Brown[1]; 5. 66-Cole Falloway[8]; 6. 5CS-Curt Spalding[9]; 7. 89-Austin Friedman[2]; 8. 13-Charlie Mefford[5]; 9. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[11]; 10. 5-Steven Brooks[10]; 11. 50-Tyler Weiss[13]; 12. 24T-Trevor Ringle[12]; 13. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 14. 130-Chase Allen[24]; 15. 99T-Tyler Loughmiller[22]; 16. 10K-Kelly Kovski[19]; 17. 150-Collin Alexander[20]; 18. 25-Tyler Nicely[4]; 19. 94-Tom Pasek[14]; 20. 0-Travis Kohler[16]; 21. 54-Zachary Hawk[21]; 22. 25W-Allen Weisser[15]; 23. 14-Caden McWhorter[23]; 24. 36-Kenny Wallace[17]

June 2023

Setting up the month of June with a clean slate, our journey began in Springfield MO, where the King of Springfield is held by MAP Motorsports. The track was set up with dirt jumps sprinkled about the black top surface. The asphalt hindered the trucks performance during racing due to the tires hooking. We did not want to push racing the truck too hard, and risk more parts be broken. Overall, the team placed 6th out of the 12 trucks that competed.

A couple hours from Springfield was our next event that located in Miami OK. During one of the rounds of racing, both our truck and Dozer, the truck we were competing against, came off the jump crooked enough to jar them off course at the exact same time. The two were catty corner from each other. As they were both backing up, Dozer was heading towards the pits as RJ re-positioned to finish the race. As he crossed the finish line, the announcer had demanded a re-run. We refused to race again because RJ had crossed the finish line, granting him the win. Because of this, the venue took this as a forfeit and advanced Dozer in racing.

Hickory NC is where things start to head south for the month. In the middle of our first freestyle of the weekend, RJ pits the truck due a valve dropping in the motor. On top of this, we were fighting with a constantly leaking tire that had dropped down to 13 PSI during intermission. We made the executive decision to swap the new motor out with ole Frankenstein, causing us to stay up until 3 in the morning. We oped out of racing because we weren’t too entirely sure about how the motor would preform after not running for a few months, but we still participated in the wheelies competition and freestyle. Almost running the truck for 4 consecutive minutes, RJ had fans chanting his name as he walked to collect his trophies for wheelies and freestyle.

TICKETS| STANDINGS | SCHEDULE| VIDEOS | RIDERS| MERCH

FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive American Flat Track. Complete coverage of this Saturday’s Orange County Half-Mile at Orange County Fair Speedway will kick off with the day’s first practice session at 4:30 p.m. ET (1:30 p.m. PT). Catch every second of on track action on FansChoice.tv

Event Rewind: West Virginia Half-Mile

Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

Progressive AFT Returns to Orange County Fair Speedway for First Time in 35 YearsJared Mees is in position to rewrite history when Progressive AFT returns to Middletown, New York, for the first time in more than three decades. Read More… A Tribe of GOATs Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) is one checkered flag short and perhaps only days away from doing what was once unthinkable: relegating Scott Parker to second place on the all-time Half-Mile wins list. Read more…Black Hills RisingSpeaking of, everything seems to be going Mees’ way these days, including an updated ‘23 slate.  In addition to closing to within five points of the championship lead, Mees’ title defense looked just a bit stronger as an unintended consequence of the news that the Black Hills Half-Mile would replace the Buffalo Chip TT during this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally due to inclement weather preventing the construction of the latter’s purpose-built TT course. Read More…Put Some Respect on His Name On more than one occasion in the past, Dan Bromley (No. 62 HRP Racing/Memphis Shades/Mike Vinson/Corbin Yamaha MT-07) has used his time on the mic during a podium ceremony to cast shade on his doubters after feeling overlooked. Read More…Backstretch Brunner Last weekend, Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) looked like the rider everyone expected to see from the start of the ‘23 season as he fought for victory in West Virginia. It took Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) being Kody Kopp to prevent the Estenson Racing pilot from earning his first win of the season. Even that might not be enough in the near future if Brunner continues to replicate his 2022 trendline.  Read More…Battle for Second While Kopp currently enjoys a substantial title lead, the chase for second is cracking.  40 points separate Kopp from his second-ranked teammate, Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Meanwhile, just 12 points separate Whale from countryman Tom Drane(No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who is ranked seventh. Read More…

Oh Yes, They Call Him the Streak Jared Mees and Briar Bauman have combined to own the top of the Grand National Championship standings since 2017 due to their respective ability to finish on the podium with stunning regularity.   Read More…Mission Improbable Kody Kopp continues to climb the career Parts Unlimited AFT Singles wins list. With a victory this weekend, he’ll slot into a tie for second place on the all-time order and move that much closer to the mark posted by Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F).  Read More… Championship Points Standings

Upcoming Broadcast & Livestreaming Schedule

MACON, IL (July 6, 2023) – For the second time in his career and first in eight years, Ryan Unzicker is victorious in one of Illinois dirt track racing’s most prestigious events – the Herald & Review 100.

Unzicker, the 2011 DIRTcar Late Model national points champion from El Paso, IL, won a late-race duel with Brian Shirley, retaking the lead for good on Lap 85 and holding off Shirley and Jason Feger to bank the $7,500 grand prize and his first win in the 100-lap event since 2015.

“It feels good, honestly,” Unzicker said. “Macon’s one of my favorite places. What better way to win at one of your favorite tracks. It races so well.”

Unzicker took the green from third on the starting grid and stayed patient through the first half of the race, keeping pace with the leaders until it was time to strike. After getting by Feger for third after a Lap 63 restart, Unzicker got that chance as he continued to hammer the extreme bottom around the 1/5-mile oval.

“The car was just good enough to roll that bottom enough to where we weren’t getting too tight, and we could hug that left-rear [tire] into the traction and shoot off there where some of the other guys couldn’t,” he said.

Unzicker pulled even with five-time event winner Shannon Babb and took the runner-up spot from him on Lap 68. Then, he set his sights on leader Brian Shirley, who had been in control since before the halfway point.

With a head of steam and plenty of traction on the bottom, Unzicker nipped Shirley at the start/finish line to take over the top spot on Lap 80. Shirley was pounding the cushion on the top side and took the lead back the next time around, but Unzicker was not done yet. He battled back on the inside and beat Shirley to the line to take the lead back on Lap 83.

Shirley retook it once more on Lap 84 but made significant contact with the outside wall in Turn 2 on Lap 85, scrubbing off major speed and allowing Unzicker to sneak past him on the bottom.

From there on out, it was all Unzicker out front. Even a last-laps push from Feger on the top side was not enough for another good bid for the lead as Unzicker cruised across the line to take the win.

“I knew somebody was there, but I didn’t know it was Feger,” Unzicker said. “I could hear him just a little bit. I went up there one time and was like, ‘Oh boy, I better get back down.’”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models are back in action Friday, July 7 at Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, IL. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available at DIRTVision.com.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (100 Laps): 1. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[9]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[1]; 5. 1-BJ Robinson[5]; 6. 38J-Jake Little[8]; 7. 12-Ashton Winger[7]; 8. 4G-Bob Gardner[16]; 9. 44-Blaze Burwell[13]; 10. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[18]; 11. 9Z-Jayme Zider[11]; 12. 99-Jeff Larson[6]; 13. 31AUS-Kye Blight[12]; 14. 30-Mark Voigt[19]; 15. 15-Clayton Stuckey[15]; 16. 16-Rusty Griffaw[20]; 17. 6JR-Parker Martin[21]; 18. 5-Austin Vincent[10]; 19. 21B-Rich Bell[17]; 20. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 21. 51-Dean Carpenter[14]; 22. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]

Mike McKinney Leads Summit Modifieds Flag-to-Flag for First Career Win at Macon

For only having raced the Mighty Macon Speedway twice before in his career, you wouldn’t have known it watching Mike McKinney’s night of domination at the 1/5-mile bullring Thursday night.

McKinney, 30, of Plainfield, IL, bagged his first career Feature win at Macon and his first DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals win of the season with a clean sweep of the evening – setting Quick Time and a new track record in Qualifying, winning his Heat Race and leading all 25 laps of the Feature to collect his 17th career Summit Modified trophy. Not bad for a driver who hadn’t graced the black dirt high banks in some time.

“I came in here with zero expectations,” McKinney said. “We were gonna come here and just say we were here; I was just hoping to make it out of here in one piece. To set that new track record, win the Heat Race and lead every lap in the Feature, it was the last thing on my mind, for sure.”

Though no driver was able to seriously challenge him for the lead, McKinney endured race-long pressure from podium finishers Zeke McKenzie and Ray Bollinger, which he fended off, though it was no cakewalk.

“The bottom had a lot of grip,” McKinney said. “I figured if I could marry myself down there, it would take a hell of an effort to drive around me.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Modifieds are back in action Friday, July 7 at Farmer City Raceway in Farmer City, IL. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available at DIRTVision.com.

FEATURE RESULTS

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 96M-Mike McKinney[1]; 2. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[3]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[2]; 4. 4T-Guy Taylor[6]; 5. 24T-Trevor Ringle[7]; 6. J24-Jeremy Nichols[17]; 7. 130-Chase Allen[14]; 8. 13-Charlie Mefford[9]; 9. 94-Tom Pasek[12]; 10. 72A-Austin Lynn[22]; 11. 19-Chad Bauer[15]; 12. 82S-Todd Sherman[10]; 13. 82-Dalton Lane[8]; 14. 99-Tim Luttrell[20]; 15. 18S-Jarrett Stryker[13]; 16. 87C-Alan Crowder[21]; 17. 37L-Michael Ledford[11]; 18. 43-Jared Thomas[5]; 19. 21-Steve Myers[16]; 20. 5CS-Curt Spalding[23]; 21. 28S-Joe Strawkas[18]; 22. 99B-Blake Brown[4]; 23. 54-Zachary Hawk[19]

SPRING VALLEY, Minn. (July 6, 2023) – Devin Moran survived a wild 25-lap preliminary feature on Thursday night at Deer Creek Speedway to earn his second Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season. Moran took the lead on lap 12 when the first and second place running cars of Daulton Wilson and Bobby Pierce were forced pit side. Wilson suffered a flat tire while leading and Pierce after hard contact with the turn four wall. Jonathan Davenport would come home in second followed by Brandon Sheppard, Tim McCreadie, and Tyler Erb. Piece, who started from the pole led the opening lap until Wilson, who was seeking his first career win in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series picked up the lead on the second lap. Wilson and Pierce ran first and second until lap 11 when Wilson slowed with a right rear flat tire and Pierce developed issues after slamming into the turn four wall while racing the lead. Wilson would pit for a new tire, but Pierce kept going as he was the new leader of the race. On the restart to begin lap 12 Pierce slowed bottling up the field as he would exit the track with right rear axle issues on his car. Moran then picked up the lead of the race and pulled away from Davenport to take a 2.66 second advantage at the checkers. Moran, who started fifth picked up the eighth win of his Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series career. “The Double Down Motorsports Longhorn car was phenomenal tonight. This Deer Creek, it has owed me a win since about 2017. I about had one then. I hadn’t really been back except one time since and what a phenomenal racetrack, phenomenal facility and it’s going to be a lot of fun racing all weekend,” said the 28-year-old Dresden, Ohio resident in Lucas Oil Victory Lane. Moran explained his move to the front after Wilson and Pierce headed pitside clearing the way for Moran. “I had just got by Overton for fourth and the the caution came out. Then Daulton and Bobby and all that happened to them, and I got by JD. It’s a super bummer especially for Daulton he is still looking for his first Lucas Oil win and I thought he might have one tonight. They’re a great team. I don’t know what happened to Bobby whether it was an axle that broke or something when he smoked the wall and, on that restart, he just couldn’t go, just one wheel looked like it was driving.” Davenport who is seeking his first NAPA Gopher 50 win on Saturday night was one of the three different race leaders came home in second. “I guess I needed one more person to fall out of the race to be able to win tonight. Daulton had bad luck and the 32 went sliding when the caution came out, he hit the wall pretty hard he must have broken an axle or something. The previous restart Devin got by me. He was a little bit better than we were. He was a lot different on tires than we were. We were trying some different things for the big race on Saturday. Last year we were really good in the prelims and then we struggled in the big race. Everything we did last year just doesn’t seem to cut the mustard this year.” Sheppard driving the Kevin Rumley-owned entry rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you know I have got big shoes to fill in this thing, but the car was really good all night. Kevin and the guys gave me a great race car. I messed up a little bit there in the heat race, but we salvaged a really good run.” The winner’s Roger Sellers, Double Down Motorsports owned Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Lazydays RV, C&W Trucking, Bilstein Shocks, CarSourceAuto.com, Red Oak Pub, Lucas Oil Products, Smoky Mountain Speedway, Lincoln Smith Racing, Midwest Sheet Metal, and McHugh Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. Completing the top ten were Chris Madden, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Dustin Sorensen, and Spencer Hughes. Following the checkered flag, Ricky Thornton Jr. made contact with another car resulting in his disqualification. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 – Night 1Thursday, July 6, 2023Deer Creek Speedway – Spring Valley, MN Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Bobby Pierce / 14.587 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Daulton Wilson / 14.820 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 25-Chad Simpson[4]; 4. 25C-Shane Clanton[3]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 6. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[9]; 7. 42-Terry Casey[8]; 8. 10P-Paul Parker[10]; 9. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 10. 7-Ross Robinson[6] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 11-Spencer Hughes[2]; 2. 5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 5. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 6. 15-Nick Anvelink[6]; 7. 1ST-Johnny Scott[7]; 8. 99B-Boom Briggs[8]; 9. 11L-Lance Hofer[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 4. 49T-Jake Timm[5]; 5. 111B-Max Blair[4]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[6]; 7. 2S-Stormy Scott[10]; 8. 32C-Chris Simpson[7]; 9. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 10. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[8] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 4. 10-Garrett Smith[7]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[8]; 6. 77-Jordan Yaggy[5]; 7. 55C-Chad Mahder[6]; 8. 15J-Justin Duty[4]; 9. 90-Lance Matthees[9] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 3. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[9]; 4. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[3]; 5. 15-Nick Anvelink[4]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[6]; 7. 99B-Boom Briggs[8]; 8. 11L-Lance Hofer[10]; 9. 10P-Paul Parker[7]; 10. (DNS) 42-Terry Casey; 11. (DNS) 7-Ross Robinson UNOH B-Main Race #2 (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[1]; 2. 32C-Chris Simpson[7]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[2]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 6. 77-Jordan Yaggy[4]; 7. 15J-Justin Duty[8]; 8. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[9]; 9. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[11]; 10. 55C-Chad Mahder[6]; 11. (DNS) 90-Lance Matthees NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Night 1 Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 38Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Bobby Pierce        Lap Leaders: Bobby Pierce (Lap 1); Daulton Wilson (Laps 2-11); Devin Moran (Laps 12-25)Wieland Feature Winner: Devin MoranArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 2.663 secondsGorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Shane Clanton (Lap 8); Chad Simpson (Lap 11); Bobby Pierce (Lap 11 Restart)Fast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon SheppardPenske Shocks Top 5: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard, Tim McCreadie, Tyler ErbTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Hudson O’Neal (Advanced 14 Positions)Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’NealDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Chris SimpsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (14 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Bobby Pierce (Lap 6 – 15.353 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Daulton WilsonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Chuck Kimble (Devin Moran)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Chad Simpson (14.460 seconds)Time of Race: 17 minutes 49 seconds

July 6, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team are setting up for a superspeedway-style race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The venerable intermediate-length track races like Daytona and Talladega since a 2021 reconfiguration that raised the banking in the turns and narrowed the straightaways.

That change to the track, one of the cornerstone speedways on the circuit having hosted its first race in 1960, has produced some results that have crew chief Brian Wilson hopeful for a strong weekend for his No. 21 team. 

“The last time we visited Atlanta, it was a very successful weekend for Ford Performance,” Wilson said. “Eight of the top 10 qualifiers were in Fords, including the pole sitter, and our manufacturer was able to get the win as well.”
 
To tune the DEX Imaging Mustang for Sunday night’s Quaker State 400, Wilson is using data gathered at the two bigger superspeedways, Daytona and Talladega, as well as from the race at AMS back in March.
 
“As we prepare to head south this weekend, we’re studying all of our notes from superspeedway-style races from this year,” he said. “Often these races have been highlights for us, as we’ve led and raced up front often at Daytona and Talladega.
 
“Between Ford’s success at Atlanta and our super-speedway notebook, we have reason for optimism in our preparations.”
 
(Burton led nine laps at Daytona and 11 at Talladega this year.)
 
Wilson said the choice of tire compounds by Goodyear, the exclusive supplier for the Cup Series, is always a factor as is the weather at the track.
 
“The tire combination that Goodyear is bringing is the same as the first race in March,” he said “The main difference will be the hot July temperatures. 
 
“This tire has proven to be durable enough to allow for two-tire and fuel-only calls. The question is will the hotter temps make the handling gain of four tires pay off in the long run.”
 
Those answers won’t come until Sunday night. There will be no practice for the Quaker State 400, as is the procedure for superspeedway races, and qualifying is set for Saturday at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
 
Sunday’s 260-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 7 p.m., with TV coverage on USA Network. Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 160.

 

The Pennsylvanian has helped maintain KKR’s championship pedigree halfway through 2023WEST BURLINGTON, IA (July 6, 2023) – Team chemistry is one of the most important parts of Sprint Car racing. Each individual piece of a team contributes toward building a championship formula. And with four straight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championships entering 2023, it’s a formula Brad Sweet and his Kasey Kahne Racing crew have mastered.But heading into this season, a gap needed filled. Joe Mooney, who was the car chief in the four-time championship trio with Eric Prutzman (crew chief) and Andrew Bowman (tire specialist) accepted an opportunity to fill the crew chief role for Anthony Macri.Insert, Tye Wolfgang.It was an in-house hire as Wolfgang worked on Kasey Kahne’s #9 last year. But before that, he was on a winding road prior to landing at KKR.Like his predecessor, Mooney, Wolfgang hails from Pennsylvania and fell in love with the sport early in his life. He dabbled working on a team with his cousin before getting his first true crewing opportunity as a teenager with a local driver.“My first job, I guess, in racing was when I went to work for a local guy named Colby Womer,” Wolfgang recalled. “I just kind of started out there when I was probably like 13 or 14, sweeping the floors and doing whatever. That was my high school job. It beat working at McDonald’s.”With the help of parents who supported his dreams, Wolfgang made the switch to online schooling midway through high school to more heavily focus on racing. Eventually, Wolfgang’s efforts led to what he considers one of his most beneficial opportunities. His phone rang and esteemed mechanic – Shane “Noisey” Bowers – was on the other end.“I got talking to Shane Bowers, “Noisey,” who at the time had just gotten hired by Brock Zearfoss to start building a road program,” Wolfgang said. “Shane called me up and was like, ‘Hey, I know you want to go do this. Would you be interested in coming on board? Let’s try to build this deal to go race on the road.’“Everybody that’s every given an opportunity to work on their stuff or help me is important, but “Noisey” probably got me further ahead in the shortest amount of time… He really took me under his wing. He took a chance on a kid – 16 years old – a high school kid and took me on the road with him full-time and was like ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’ He gave me the structure and kind of showed me what it really took to race on the road.”After an educational stretch with Zearfoss and Bowers, Wolfgang worked in a few different places before another key phone call. Kahne gave him a ring to see if he’d be interested in joining KKR. The two talked further that weekend at Williams Grove Speedway, and Wolfgang was brought aboard. His time with the #9 team further highlighted his potential and earned him the spot with the NAPA Auto Parts #49 crew when Mooney departed. But with the opportunity also came pressure. Pressure he didn’t let sink in. Wolfgang said he knew if he did his part, there shouldn’t be any disruption in the formula that won the #49 team four straight titles.“It’s extremely big shoes to fill,” Wolfgang said of moving to his current role. “Obviously, what these guys have done the last four or five years is absolutely incredible. You’re walking in to what’s the best program in motorsports, in my opinion. There’s a lot of pressure there, but you’re still just racing. It’s still the same. You’re still just racing Sprint Cars.”The results so far illustrate Wolfgang fits right in. With 36 of 80 races in the books, Sweet leads the standings as he continues his “Drive for Five.” The Grass Valley, CA native has already surpassed his 2022 win total as he’s tallied six victories this season. He’s on pace to have more podiums and laps led this year, too.Wolfgang credits much of his success to the already established standard by the #49 team. Working alongside Prutzman and Bowman has made his job easier. He’s simply trying to pick up where Mooney left off.“The wins this year, that’s not a credit to me,” Wolfgang said. “I just show up and try and do my job. That’s what Eric and Brad and Andrew and these guys have built over the last five years just paying off. They’ve made my transition easy. Eric, in my opinion, is the best crew chief in the country. Brad Sweet is the best Sprint Car driver in the country. Andrew is the best tire guy in the country. And hopefully we continue to progress with what we’re doing and guys will say I’m the best car guy in the country at some point. I don’t feel I’m there yet, but hopefully we’re working towards people feeling that way.“These guys are the bar. I didn’t have to raise the bar. These guys have already set it. I’m just trying to maintain it for these guys. I don’t want to be the piece that lets this program or these guys down or anything like that. When I say pressure, that’s what I mean. It’s not actual pressure. Eric knows what he’s doing. Andrew knows what he’s doing. Brad is great at what he does. So, it’s just showing up and filling the slot that was left to the best of my abilities.”Half a season remains, but the #49 is in position again to battle for the title until the end. And if they come out on top at the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Nov. 1-4) it’ll be five straight titles for Sweet, Prutzman, and Bowman – and a meaningful first for Wolfgang.“I think it would probably mean a little bit more to me than anybody else just because that would be my first,” Wolfgang said. “Growing up in central Pennsylvania, all I cared about was winged Sprint Car racing. And all I ever wanted to do was be an Outlaw, win Outlaw races, win an Outlaws championship.”Wolfgang and the KKR crew continue their hunt for a championship this weekend at 34 Raceway (July 7) in West Burlington, IA and Wilmot Raceway (July 8) in Wilmot, WI. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY / MID-OHIO SPORT CAR COURSEOn the brink of another tripleheader race weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is set to take on the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway, while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) returns to the 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Chevrolet will look to perform its fifth tripleheader sweep of 2023 – a feat no other manufacturer has been able to accomplish this season.  This weekend’s trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway will mark the series’ first repeat visit to a track this season. The Bowtie brand will look to extend its series-leading win count at the Georgia venue in both of NASCAR’s top series with the manufacturer heading into the weekend with 43 NCS wins and 19 NXS wins.  For only the second time this season, the NCTS will make left- and right-hand turns as the series makes only its second-ever appearance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Chevrolet will return to the challenging natural-terrain course as the circuit’s defending winners after Parker Kligerman and the No. 75 Henderson Racing Silverado RST team stole the victory from series’ champion Zane Smith last season.

HOME SWEET HOMEChevrolet is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series winners in the summer Atlanta Motor Speedway race – courtesy of Georgia natives Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS).

His first-career victory at his home track, Elliott also added his name to the record books as only the second Georgia-born driver to win in NASCAR’s premier series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The only other driver in series’ history to accomplish that feat was Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott. In addition, the Elliott family also became the third father-son duo to win at the 1.54-mile oval – joining the company of Ned and Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Winston, Georgia, native Hill has also been a familiar face in victory lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway – heading into the weekend looking to make it three-in-a-row at his home track. Following suit to fellow Team Chevy driver Elliott – Hill collected his first career win at the Georgia venue in July 2022, going on to defend his win in the series’ most recent appearance at the track in March 2023.

STYLIN’ ON SUPERSPEEDWAYSWhile classified as an intermediate-sized oval, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s complete reprofiling now produces superspeedway-style racing. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron’s win at the Georgia venue in March 2022 started a dominant run for Chevrolet in superspeedway competition – with six drivers from four different Chevrolet teams collecting a combined seven wins in the series’ past eight superspeedway-style races:

Atlanta Motor Speedway (Mar. 20, 2022) – William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Talladega Superspeedway (Apr. 24, 2022) – Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 10, 2022) – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Daytona International Speedway (Aug. 29, 2022) – Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 2, 2022) – Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Daytona International Speedway (Feb. 19, 2023) – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1Talladega Superspeedway (Apr. 23, 2023) – Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1

PLAYOFF PICTUREWith eight races remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular season, the Bowtie brand continues to pace the field across a variety of statistical categories. Shane van Gisbergen’s history-making victory in the Chicago Street Race brought Chevrolet to its 11th points-paying victory of the 2023 season – a number more than its manufacturer competitors combined. Team Chevy drivers have also powered the manufacturer to a series-leading six poles, 43 top-fives, 80 top-10s, 17 Stage wins and 2,195 laps led. The series’ winningest manufacturer has also maintained the top position in the manufacturer points standings throughout the entire season – extending its lead to 56 points following the sport’s street race debut.

CONTINUING A HOT STREAKFresh from an off-weekend, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be faced with a trio of very different race track configurations to close out the series’ regular-season. The next opportunity for drivers to secure a playoff berth comes in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The series’ defending winner at the Ohio circuit, Chevrolet, is heading into the race weekend with extra momentum – taking the win in five of the series’ past six races.  With the final push to the playoffs, the series’ standings sees five drivers from five different Chevrolet teams sit above the cutline including GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger (third), McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes (sixth) and Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar (seventh) – all of which have secured a playoff berth by virtue of a win. Rackley WAR’s Matt DiBenedetto sits in the eighth position and 14-points above the cutline, while Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez holds onto the 10th position and six-points above the cutline.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       NASCAR Cup Series victories by active Chevrolet drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Kyle Busch – two (2013, 2008)William Byron – one (March 2022)Chase Elliott – one (July 2022) ·       In 118 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 43 victories – most recently one year ago by Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team.  ·       Chevrolet has won seven of the past eight superspeedway-style races in NASCAR’s top series – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet teams.  ·       Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to record a sweep of the weekend’s wins when all three NASCAR national series are in competition on the same weekend. The feat was most recently accomplished at Nashville Superspeedway – marking the manufacturer’s fourth tripleheader sweep of the season.  ·       Only four drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series are repeat winners this season – three of which come from Team Chevy (William Byron – Las Vegas, Phoenix & Darlington; Kyle Larson – Richmond & Martinsville; Kyle Busch – Auto Club and Talladega). Byron and Busch are tied atop the leaderboard with three wins each.  ·       In 18 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (11), top-fives (43), top-10s (80), stage wins (17) and laps led (2,195). ·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 11 victories in 18 NASCAR Cup Series races, nine victories in 16 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and eight wins in 13 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a win percentage of more than 50%.  ·       With Grant Enfinger’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at World Wide Technology Raceway, GMS Racing is now the winningest Chevrolet organization in NCTS’ history with 44 all-time wins in the series.  ·       With William Byron’s win at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports now sits at 296 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories – all recorded with Chevrolet.  ·       Chevrolet’s series-leading 11 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) and Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing).  ·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 17 of the 36 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (seven; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (two), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (one).  ·       Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 56 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 55 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 38 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 844 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

FOR THE FANS·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  ·       Chevrolet will pace the field at Atlanta Motor Speedway – with the Camaro SS 1LE leading the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 250 and the Camaro ZL1 leading the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Quaker State 400.  Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Saturday, July 8·       Blaine Perkins: 1:30 p.m.·       Jeremy Clements: 1:45 p.m.·       Parker Kligerman: 2 p.m. ·       Sheldon Creed: 2:15 p.m.·       Chandler Smith: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9·       Corey LaJoie: 1 p.m.·       Austin Hill: 3:25 p.m.·       Justin Haley: 4:30 p.m. Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: Saturday, July 8: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday, July 9: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.

TUNE IN: NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday, July 9, at 7 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250  Atlanta Motor SpeedwaySaturday, July 8, at 5 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseSaturday, July 8, at 1:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1Last year you had runner up finishes at Atlanta, does that give you confidence going into this weekend, especially with the streak Trackhouse Racing is on with wins right now?“Well, I’ve been pretty close to winning at Atlanta the last few times. Just a little bit more and we’ll be there. For whatever reason with this version of the car, I’ve been pretty strong at Atlanta. I have full confidence in my crew chief Phil Surgen and our engineers that we’ll have another great opportunity to go to victory lane this weekend.” How good does it feel to have that first win under your belt this season?“Having a win is great for everyone at Trackhouse Racing and our partners, but we can’t let up. It’s important for us to get as many points as we can each week because those are so valuable in the playoffs. So as much as a win is nice, we still want to put our best foot forward when it comes to the playoffs and going for a championship.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 DOW SALUTES VETERANS CAMARO ZL1What are you anticipating in the Atlanta Motor Speedway race on Sunday?“Atlanta Motor Speedway has that superspeedway feeling to it, so you know what you’ll get. Guys are bump drafting, racing two and three wide through the whole field. Pack racing is going to be tough so you will need to have your car handling well to make passes in the draft. Track position seemed very important in the last race, as well. Atlanta Motor Speedway is a fun race for sure. It’s a tight speedway.” Atlanta Motor Speedway is an intermediate track designed to race like a superspeedway. Do you prepare differently than you would at Talladega and Daytona?“Atlanta Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway share similarities with me the most. The biggest difference is that you’ll be drafting during the entire race since Atlanta is a smaller speedway than what we’re used to, so it is important to put your car in a good position. There is a lot of drafting occurring at Atlanta Motor Speedway, so you have to be aggressive. Pit road can be very difficult to navigate, especially if you have a green flag stop. Atlanta Motor Speedway is an opportunity for our No. 3 Dow Chevrolet team to win a race. We will be aggressive like many other drivers and will be getting closer to making the playoffs.” How mentally draining is the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway?“I think it’s a lot like the superspeedway racing we do on the larger tracks, except that since the track is smaller, we have to be on the defensive a lot more because runs happen a lot faster, so we have to be more careful when running on that tight track. The workout routine I follow is the same as if I were heading to Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway to race. Speedway racing is something that I enjoy a lot, which is why I’m looking forward to a night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and I think the fans are going to enjoy seeing it as well.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1What are your expectations entering Atlanta this weekend? “The first time around at Atlanta we had a good race and we had decent speed. Nobody could really compete with the Fords; they were super-fast. Just going back there this time and trying to re-evaluate where we stood the first time around and make some improvement and make some gains on setup stuff and the car being faster will allow us to hold a front spot better. The spring race we kind of set up more for handling and I felt like that was a good idea even though it cost us a little bit of speed. I think the same thing will be said for this weekend.” What is more important: a better handling car or one with more speed?“Even though it’s under the lights I think it’s still going to be important to have good handling over outright speed. Any time you get higher track temperatures there’s always going to be a concern for grip and what that grip level is and how fast the grip level is deteriorating from the repave down at Atlanta. We’ll have to see when we get there in the race because we only get one lap of qualifying before going into the big show.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA / CHILDREN’S CAMARO ZL1Elliott on returning to Atlanta as the defending July race winner: “That was a really nice weekend. Obviously, it’s a little different than having a dominant performance at a track that’s not a (super) speedway, but we were really solid. It’s not like you’re getting out to a four- or five-second lead. We just had a car that had the ability to be on offense all day. When you’re on offense and you can be that guy to make lanes move forward and make a difference and pushing somebody to the front, it just puts you in a different league. It puts you in a really nice position to have a good day. We’ve certainly been on both sides of that fence. I missed Atlanta the first time this year, but hopefully we can go back and have a good run again like we did last year. I know a lot of the people around home are super excited about it being a night race, and getting under the lights down there I think is a really big deal. So I’m looking forward to that.” Elliott on this year’s DESI9N TO DRIVE program taking place at Atlanta: “I’m excited for the return of the DESI9N TO DRIVE program to my home track since it really shines a light on the positive impact Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has on the region. With the race being run at night, I hope it creates an even greater atmosphere than years past. I can’t wait for everyone to see these summer nights-themed designs come to life at the racetrack.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 FARMSMART CAMARO ZL1“Our superspeedway program has been pretty good. There’s just a different way you race at Atlanta now with the aero package that we run. Track position is really critical; it’s really tight so it’s hard to maneuver around. It’s very important to stay up front and I think handling will be a key because it’ll be hot and the track will be really slick. I felt like we learned some stuff at the first race there this year so we can come back and be better for this race.” JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1“We’re going into Atlanta with some confidence as a team after having an opportunity to go for a win on Sunday in Chicago. Atlanta has always been one of my favorites in both the Xfinity and the Cup Series. With it being a speedway track, it has been one we have adapted well to at Kaulig Racing. It’s such a fun and unique track with high speeds and shorter distance. I’m super excited to log some more laps in the Xfinity Series as well this weekend!” NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1“We had a really fast car last time out in Atlanta – we passed so many cars, the pit crew was fast, it was one of our most well executed events. This race is so much like a plate race, and I had so much fun in the spring. It was one of those races you wanted just a few more laps to see what we could have done. I’m looking forward to it and it should be exciting under the lights.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1“Atlanta has been good to us ever since they reconfigured last year. We had two strong performances the year before and earlier this year with an 8th place finish, so I am always looking forward to getting back there. I think our superspeedway package is always pretty strong, and Atlanta is a bit different in the fact that there is some handling that comes into play more than your typical Daytona or Talladega. I think it plays out well for us. I hope we have similar speed, I felt we needed a bit more in the spring, we made a good run to the finish and picked up a lot of spots. So, overall, I think we just need a little more speed, but I believe we will have a shot of performing really well.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / SLIM JIM CAMARO ZL1“This race will be exciting for NASCAR, and I think the cars will look better under the lights and any time we bottom out obviously sparks will show. For the fans, they will appreciate it being a night race because I’ve sat in the grandstands for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and the sun just beats down on the front straightaway grandstands for a long time. For the drivers, I’m sure the track will have more grip. So, we should be able to run closer together than we normally do. The summer race compared to the spring race is always a lot harder to get traction. So, I think the night race will help that.” AUSTIN HILL, NO. 62 BENNETT TRANSPORTATION / BEARD CAMARO ZL1This will be your first time in a Cup Series car at your home track. How do you anticipate you’ll feel when you get into that Cup Series car at home? And what are your expectations for the race?“It’s a really cool opportunity to show up at my home track and compete in the top series of NASCAR. It’s special to be able to race against the best in the Cup Series, but especially at home. My expectation for Sunday is a little less than my expectation for the Xfinity side, where I expect nothing short of winning. On the Cup side, the goal is to race our way forward from wherever we start, make all the laps, contend, and be there at the end. If we can get inside the top-20 and get experience to see how Cup drivers race, it will go a long way. We struggled a little bit at Talladega with not getting right in the front or middle of the pack to race with others and see how the car reacts in comparison to the Xfinity car. At the end of the Cup race, if we have competed, got inside the top-20, and been in contention, whatever happens at the end of the race happens. It’s a superspeedway-style race, so anything can happen when you get close to the checkered flag. Even if we run really well, get into the front half of the field, and end up wrecked at the end, I’m not going to be disappointed, simply because we showed speed and that we could run up front. I would be more disappointed if we ran in the back all day and finished the race but didn’t really get anything out of it. I’m trying to get as much experience as I can.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 QUAKER STATE CAMARO ZL1Thoughts on Atlanta?“Obviously, you know what is going on off the track, so you know it is an important weekend for us. On the track we have lots of work to do. We have run well at Atlanta. I think both Trackhouse cars had finished in the top five until the March race. We were looking good but got caught up in a wreck. That’s the secret here, survival. Avoid the wrecks and we’ll have a good finish Sunday.” GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 SUNSEEKER RESORTS SILVERADO RSTWhat are your thoughts and expectations heading into Mid-Ohio and the last few races before the playoffs?“I am excited to return to Mid-Ohio this weekend. Last year we learned a lot for our first time being on the track. The most important takeaway was being adaptable to different racing conditions. I feel like the track provided good racing. Hopefully we can take what we learned last year and use it to gain some more points towards the regular season championship and the playoffs. Our No. 23 team has worked hard this year and put in long hours lately to make sure we have a fast Chevrolet to compete with. Looking forward to making the awesome people at GMS Racing proud.” RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 WENDELL SCOTT FOUNDATION SILVERADO RSTWhat have you done differently to prepare for the road course race at Mid-Ohio than you would for a typical oval track?“In preparation for Mid-Ohio this weekend, I can’t say I’ve done much different. I have just increased some things from my side from the amount of iRacing and the type of racing I do at home on my simulator to my preparation for the Chevrolet DiL simulator when I go with my crew chief and engineer. I’ve also been heavily reviewing the past few years’ races in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series and even the NASCAR Xfinity Series. I’ll be relying on my experience in the ARCA car last year in both the rain and dry. I feel really good about this weekend; I think we have a really good shot with our Wendell Scott Foundation Silverado.” DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 GIUSEPPE’S STEEL CITY PIZZA SILVERADO RSTWhat did you learn about Mid-Ohio last year in the ARCA car that you can apply to this weekend?“So much about road course racing is being comfortable at that specific race track. Between the ARCA race last year and our training with the Chevrolet drivers earlier this year in street cars, I’ve had two weekends on the race track and I am looking forward to getting back to it. It is a really fun race track. I am looking forward to seeing what we can do with our No. 43 Giuseppe’s Steel Pizza team. I’m hoping the rain stays away and I hope we can get a couple of good finishes before the regular season ends.” CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RSTHow does Mid-Ohio compare to other road courses that you’ve raced at?“I like Mid-Ohio. In a weird sense it races kind of like a short track but it’s a road course – as weird as that sounds. It’s very hard on tires and there will be some beating and banging and sliding around, so it makes for great racing and a good show for the fans. It kind of gives you that short track feel with some bump and runs. It’s definitely my favorite of the road courses that we go to in the Truck Series.” You were able to go to Mid-Ohio for a track day earlier this year. How beneficial will that be with limited practice time?“I think any time you can go and get laps, get an idea of the track layout and the feel of things, find certain patches and grooves before you go there for the real thing is always beneficial no matter what type of vehicle you are in. I’m not really a road course expert but having already been there is a big advantage. I ran decent there last year and hoping to do a lot better this year in KBM equipment.” JACK WOOD, NO. 51 ROWDY MANUFACTURING SILVERADO RSTAre you looking forward to your first road course race in the Truck Series this year?“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve ran a couple road course races this year with the Lagasses (TeamSLR) and was able to win the Trans Am race back in April at Sonoma. I’m excited to try something different and the KBM road course package showed that it was strong at Circuit of the Americas with Kyle (Busch). Mid-Ohio is a fun road course and a place that I’ve put a lot of work into with different tests and what not. I’m running the ARCA race on Friday so that’ll get me some extra laps before the Truck Series race on Saturday as well.” How different is a truck on a road course compared to the other vehicles you’ve driven this year?“It’s quite a bit different I would say, the center of gravity in the truck is so much higher than in the Trans Am car and even the ARCA car. I think you have to minimize mistakes even more because of that, but the things that you have to do to go fast on a road course apply across really any vehicle. I just have to be adaptable any pay attention to what we are going to need to do to make speed.” How does Mid-Ohio compare to other road courses you’ve raced at?“There isn’t a lot of elevation change at Mid-Ohio, but there are some really heavy braking zones and other cool stuff. It’s got a little bit of everything but there isn’t a lot of room to race side by side, so qualifying is going to be really important especially with not having live pit stops. Our pit crew has been really good and usually helps us out with a couple spots every time down pit road and we’re not going to have that advantage this week. It’s going to be important to get 100 percent out of the vehicle every chance you get. I think we’ll have a good weekend!”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2023 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 11Poles: 6Laps Led: 2,195Top-five finishes: 43Top-10 finishes: 80Stage wins: 17·       Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)·       William Byron – 7 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte)·       Kyle Larson – 2 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt)·       Chase Elliott – 1 (Talladega)·       Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 844 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 740Laps led to date: 247,739Top-five finishes to date: 4,264Top-10 finishes to date: 8,792                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,178           Chevrolet: 844           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 822                                                                      Ford: 722           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 175

PEVELY, MO (July 6, 2023) – The fan-favorite Ironman 55 weekend at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 returns Friday-Saturday, Aug. 4-5, with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.For the World of Outlaws, it’s a continuation of its biggest Summer of Money yet with Friday’s Feature paying $10,000 to win and Saturday’s 55-lap finale paying $20,000 to win.Four-time and reigning Series champion Brad Sweet has been a recent master of I-55, scoring six wins at the 1/3-mile track since 2019 – including last year’s Ironman 55 and the I-55 Outlaw Showdown in April.Along with Sweet, Sheldon Haudenschild (2019 & 2021 Ironman champion), Kyle Larson (2020 Ironman champion) and Carson Macedo are the only drivers to have won a Series race at I-55 since 2019.The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets will race for a $4,000 payday on Friday and a $5,000 payday on Saturday.What you need to know: Track: 1/3-mile in Pevely, MO Track Record: 9.995 seconds by Kyle Larson on May 22, 2020 More Event InfoTimes (CT): 2 p.m. Pit Gates open 5 p.m. Grandstand Gates open 6:30 p.m. Hot Laps/Qualifying -Racing to followTickets: Available HEREPrevious winners: 2023 – Brad Sweet on April 14 2022 –Carson Macedo on April 16 & August 5, Brad Sweet on August 6 2021 – Brad Sweet on April 2, Brad Sweet on April 3, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 6, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 7 2020 – Brad Sweet on May 22, Kyle Larson on May 23, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 7, Kyle Larson on Aug. 8 2019 – Brad Sweet on Aug 2, Sheldon Haudenschild on Aug. 3 2018 – Daryn Pittman on April 21, Rico Abreu on Aug. 3, Logan Schuchart on Aug. 4 2017 – Daryn Pittman on Aug. 4 2016 – David Gravel on Aug. 5, Rico Abreu on Aug. 6 2015 – Christopher Bell on May 2, Donny Schatz on Aug. 7, Shane Stewart on Aug. 8 2014 – Sammy Swindell on April 26, Paul McMahan on Aug. 1, Kerry Madsen on Aug. 2 2013 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 3 2012 – Craig Dollansky on Oct. 13, Jason Sides on Oct. 13 2011 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 5 2010 – Joey Saldana on April 17, Tim Shaffer on Aug. 6, Jason Meyers on Aug. 7 2009 – Craig Dollansky on Aug. 7, Joey Saldana on Aug. 8 2008 – Jason Meyers on April 5 2007 – Joey Saldana on July 7 2006 – Donny Schatz on April 1, Brooke Tatnell on July 8 2005 – Kraig Kinser on April 2, Chad Kemenah on July 8 2004 – Craig Dollansky on April 17, Danny Lasoski on Aug. 7 2003 – Steve Kinser on April 12, Tyler Walker on July 12 2002 – Jac Haudenschild on March 30, Daryn Pittman on July 13 2001 – Randy Hannagan on March 24, Stevie Smith on July 14 2000 – Jac Haudenschild on July 22 1999 – Jac Haudenschild on July 24 1998 – Stevie Smith on July 25, Andy Hillenburg on Oct. 10 1997 – Mark Kinser on May 18, Sammy Swindell on Oct. 11 1996 – Mark Kinser on June 12 1992 – Steve Kinser on June 10 1991 – Sammy Swindell on May 4 1990 – Sammy Swindell on April 14 1989 – Doug Wolfgang on April 15, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 11 1988 – Steve Kinser on April 23 1987 – Brad Doty on April 22, Steve Kinser on Sept. 25If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

Insights from team members on last year’s heartbreak, this year’s redemption

DETROIT (July 6, 2023) – Winning a race as big of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is something special. It’s the culmination of a year’s worth of work, preparation and execution.  In the case of Corvette Racing, winning this year’s GTE Am class didn’t just validate all of that effort. It also exorcised some very painful memories of near-misses, most notably the team’s end to the 2022 race. Ahead of this weekend’s Six Hours of Monza in the FIA World Endurance Championship, a few Corvette Racing team members shared their thoughts on a sweet and redemptive victory…NICKY CATSBURG, DRIVER, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We’ve been trying to win Le Mans with the C8.R for a couple of years. We managed to get P2 in 2021, and last year Alex (Sims), Tommy (Milner) and Nick (Tandy) seemed to have it all sorted before a crazy spell of bad luck took them out of the race. We knew this was our last chance for our car to win it before the end of the GTE category. It’s clear with Ben and Nico that we have a strong lineup, and we had an insanely successful season in WEC going into Le Mans. But that never means winning there is easy. All the ingredients were there, but you still need to make it happen. We lost a lot of time at the beginning of the race, and I really felt like that was the end of it. But this team never gives up. Corvette Racing is an insane team with a lot of young guys so incredibly eager to win races. They were on top of their game! The flawless pitlane work and flawless drives by both Nico and Ben brought us to the top step of the podium. It was the one big 24-hour race that I didn’t have on my CV, and now I do. I can’t begin to thank everyone on this program enough. The whole team has such a good dynamic going on, and the atmosphere is so cool. I’m very thankful and grateful.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “Any Le Mans win is incredible, but this year’s was above and beyond. After the heartbreak of 2022 and with this year being the last year of the C8.R, the win was extra special to honor the team and our Corvette racecar. From the first hour, I think many believed there was no possibility for us to overcome the time we spent in the garage. But by sticking with the plan and staying focused, we again demonstrated that never-give-up spirit that defines Corvette Racing. What a great way to close the chapter at Le Mans with the C8.R while we look forward to writing the next one with the Z06 GT3.R.”KYLE MILLAY, CORVETTE RACING CHIEF ENGINEER: “This Le Mans had a much different feel than years past. We always had the same two-car effort, garages, engineering offices, hospitality, driver rotations and so on. This year, not having that feel of familiarity while not impacting our approach added to the feeling of finality from the 2022 event. With about six hours to go we found ourselves with a comfortable lead that would have allowed us to easily bring the car home. I can distinctly remember feeling the buzz that we can win this race from here, but tempering that with knowing that six hours is a long way to go. What seemed like not five minutes later, I happened to look up at the TV feed and saw a yellow car spearing into the wall. I quickly glanced at my telemetry screen and confirmed it was us. The next thing was the radio call to Sims asking if he was ok and confirming our day was done. After sitting there for a few minutes letting it sink in, you close your computer and walk back from the wall. It went the way a lot of Le Mans have gone for us: with good cars not making it to the end. For me personally, it stung as much or more than 2017 when we lost the lead coming to the white flag. “As with all Le Mans I headed into this year’s race anticipating some kind of setback that we would need to recover from. It came in Hour Two with a suspension issue. When something like that happens, you assess the situation and move on. In this case, I felt we had 22 hours to make up two laps and with the new safety car regs, that was a possibility. Everyone kept focused and knew that we still had options to get us back in the fight. We stuck to our plan to try and execute our driver and tire strategy as planned and see what would happen. We didn’t have to wait too long when the first of a few rain storms came to bring out a safety car. This was our first opportunity to get one of our laps back except race control executed the pit exit sequence incorrectly and it kept us trapped two laps back. The weather of the next few hours was pretty messy with car starting to drop out due to heavy accidents and issues. Nico had to drive a crazy stint in mixed conditions and then heavy rain while on slick tires after a gamble didn’t pay off. Over the next few hours, we just slowly narrowed the gap, and more cars dropped out. We luckily caught another safety car which did bring us a lap closer. That was it for safety cars giving us the freebies, and we had to race are way back for the rest. The car was fast and we were in a position with the driver rotation where we could really take out massive chunks of time to the leaders. We raced ourselves back on the lead lap, and then got the lead while building the gap. “In the last few hours of the race, time seems to slow to a crawl when you are at the front. The last hour can be excruciating because there is nothing left to do but watch and think about everything that can go wrong. This time it was smooth sailing. This win had some extra meaning for the guys who had been so close over the last eight years, the ones who worked so hard to develop and build the C8.R and to see it check this one off the list. It was super special, and I was glad I could be a part of it.”TIM KAVANAGH, CAR CHIEF, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “For me, the events of last year at Le Mans served as a reminder of how tough this race can be. It’s just like the events of our crash at the end of the first practice this year and the suspension issue early in the race. This group never gives up. We don’t know how.“Our success in Le Mans came down to every single person involved executing to their maximum potential and staying determined to achieve our goals together.  This is truly the best group of men and women I have ever had the privilege to work with.“We came into the 2023 season not knowing what to expect but proud to be part of the final season of GTE competition and of the C8.R. So many people at GM and Pratt Miller have poured their hearts and souls into this project. A proper send off with a Le Mans win and championship is the only option.”

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Monza and the Chevrolet Grand Prix for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Materials include: Race advances and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography

The Six Hours of Monza is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CET / 6:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream audio coverage of qualifying and the race.

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After four of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 1332. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 593. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 564. Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr/Davide Rigon – 475. Alessio Rovera/Lilou Wadoux/Luis Perez Companc – 43 Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 1332. No. 25 ORT by TF – 593. No. 85 Iron Dames – 564. No. 54 AF Corse – 475. No 83 Richard Mille AF Corse – 43 CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP & MONZA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at CTMP since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2016-2019). The Corvette C8.R raced at the track for the first time last season.• 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R.• 6: Hours difference between the IMSA team competing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the Corvette Racing WEC team competing at Monza on the same days.• 7: Number of drivers who have won races at CTMP for Corvette Racing. Johnny O’Connell (six), Jan Magnussen (five), Oliver Gavin (four), Ron Fellows (three) and Olivier Beretta (two) each have multiple wins there with the team.• 7: Pole positions for Corvette Racing drivers at CTMP. Oliver Gavin leads with three with Antonio Garcia (2016) being the most recent.• 11: Class victories at Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – all since 2001.• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.• 125: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, nine at Le Mans – including two weeks ago – and three in the FIA WEC.• 275: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 11,080.25: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 20 previous trips to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. That represents 4,506 laps.• 358,144.93: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon… and then some! Corvette Racing at Monza (wins in bold)2022No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 1st in GTE Pro

A trip to Iowa and final Wisconsin visit keeps the summer stretch rollingThe World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car summer stretch rolls into another exciting doubleheader this weekend.After two nights in Wisconsin, The Greatest Show on Dirt is bound for West Burlington, IA’s 34 Raceway on Friday, July 7, before returning to “The Badger State” on Saturday, July 8, for a stop at Wilmot Raceway where the Federated Auto Parts Larry Hillerud Memorial Badger 40 will take place. The latter will be the final Series appearance of 2023 in the state of Wisconsin.Both tracks are relatively new to the circuit. 34 Raceway first hosted the World of Outlaws in 2008 while Wilmot welcomed the nation’s top drivers for the first time in 2006. Friday will mark 34’s seventh World of Outlaws race, and Wilmot’s tally will grow to 11. With a tight championship battle featuring a trio of drivers that refuse to back down, the weekend promises plenty of action. Brad Sweet continues to lead the standings but with a narrow four-point lead over David Gravel. Behind that duo, Carson Macedo remains within reach – 54 points to Sweet.BUY 34 RACEWAY TICKETSBUY WILMOT TICKETSLet’s look at some of the weekend’s top storylines:SUMMERTIME SIZZLE: Over the last few weeks, David Gravel has established himself as the hottest driver on tour.In the last nine races, Gravel has posted a trio of wins, seven top two finishes, and a 2.1 average finish. The Watertown, CT native’s worst result over that stretch is fifth. The impressive batch of outings has pulled Gravel up to Brad Sweet’s tail tank in the title battle.Looking ahead to this weekend, Gravel hasn’t won at 34 Raceway, but he’s been solid with three top 10s in four attempts including a 2021 podium. At Wilmot, the Big Game Motorsports driver has been dominant. In nine races at the Wisconsin 1/3-mile, Gravel owns four wins including a previous run of three straight. SIX RACES, SIX WINNERS: The World of Outlaws brief history at 34 Raceway has been defined by parity. Through six races, no driver has been able to win multiple times. Tony Bruce Jr. topped the Series debut at 34 for his first career Series victory. Since then, wins have been claimed by Joey Saldana (2009), Craig Dollansky (2013), Donny Schatz (2014), Parker Price-Miller (2020), and Brad Sweet (2021).Schatz and Sweet will both be vying to become the first to a pair of 34 Raceway victories on Friday. Each half of the duo that’s combined for 14 titles has been close to breaking through for a second win. Schatz owns two runner-ups (2009 & 2020). In 2020, Sweet was right behind Schatz at the finish line finishing third. WINNIN’ IN WISCONSIN: With Saturday’s visit to Wilmot being the last Series race in Wisconsin for the year, it’s Brad Sweet’s final chance of the season to add to his astonishing “Badger State” résumé. The four-time champion is fresh off a Friday triumph at New Richmond, WI’s Cedar Lake Speedway, giving him a dozen Wisconsin World of Outlaws wins. “The Big Cat” hasn’t had quite the success at Wilmot like he has at Cedar Lake and Beaver Dam, but he does own a single Wilmot win – topping the 2021 World of Outlaws visit.Sweet will be joined by fellow Wilmot winners – Carson Macedo (2022) and Donny Schatz (2019) – as they all three look to join David Gravel as multi-time World of Outlaws victors at the facility.BANGING ON THE DOOR: The driver who appears most poised for a breakthrough victory this season is Spencer Bayston.The Lebanon, IN native is on his best roll of the season by far. Bayston has put together nine consecutive top 10 finishes including podiums in two of the last four. During the most recent race, Bayston led 19 laps at Cedar Lake before finishing a season-best second.The driver of the CJB Motorsports #5 has limited experience at both tracks ahead. Bayston has never competed with the World of Outlaws at 34, but he did pick up a 2021 top five there with the All-Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC). Last year at Wilmot with The Greatest Show on Dirt, Bayston started on row two but an opening lap crash ended his night.JAWS MUSIC: With much of the Summer of Money still ahead, the Shark Racing cars are getting hot at the right time. Logan Schuchart carries a streak of 12 consecutive top 10s into the weekend with a 5.2 average finish over that span. Seven of the top 10s have been inside the top five including a win at Huset’s. The Hanover, PA native looks to keep rolling at 34 Raceway – where his best finish is 10th – and Wilmot – where he’s podiumed twice.In his last six Feature events, Jacob Allen hasn’t missed the top 10 and is fresh off his third podium of the season on Saturday at Cedar Lake. Looking ahead to this weekend, Allen has earned one top five in three attempts. Wilmot hasn’t traditionally been his best track, but he did collect his first top 10 there during the 2022 visit.LOCAL CROPS: With two tracks in two different states, each race is expected to attract a diverse group of supporting locals with some drivers attending both.34 Raceway will welcome Knoxville regulars such as Austin McCarl and Chase Randall. McCarl already topped a race there this season in April co-sanctioned by the Interstate Racing Association (IRA) and Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA).West Burlington’s own Josh Schneiderman plans to compete at his home track. Back in 2008 – making his first career World of Outlaws Feature start – Schneiderman earned a podium at 34 Raceway. His third place run that night remains his best career Series finish.Over at Wilmot, IRA regulars like Bill Balog and Blake Nimee could make some noise. Balog claimed Wilmot’s opening night this season. Nimee won an IRA race there in late May. If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCEWHEN AND WHEREFriday, July 7 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, IASaturday, July 8 at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, WION THE INTERNETWorld of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Twitter – @WorldofOutlaws Instagram – @WoOSprint Facebook – Facebook.com/WorldofOutlawsSprintCarSeries YouTube – Youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com – Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/monthCURRENT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (36/80 Races):1. 49 – Brad Sweet (4844PTS) 3. 2 – David Gravel (-4PTS) 3. 41 – Carson Macedo (-54PTS) 4. 1S – Logan Schuchart (-182PTS) 5. 15 – Donny Schatz (-260PTS) 6. 17 – Sheldon Haudenschild (-262PTS) 7. 18 – Gio Scelzi (-280PTS) 8. 5 – Spencer Bayston (-354PTS) 9. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss (-596PTS) 10. 1A – Jacob Allen (-636PTS)NOS ENERGY DRINK FEATURE WINNERS (13 Drivers):8 wins – David Gravel (Big Game Motorsports #2)6 wins – Brad Sweet (Kasey Kahne Racing #49)4 wins – James McFadden (Roth Motorsports #83)3 wins – Rico Abreu (Rico Abreu Racing #24), Carson Macedo (Jason Johnson Racing #41)2 wins – Donny Schatz (Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15), Sheldon Haudenschild (Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17), Logan Schuchart (Shark Racing #1S)1 win – Buddy Kofoid (CMS Racing #11), Brady Bacon (TKH Motorsports #21), Anthony Macri (Macri Motorsports #39), Brian Brown (Brian Brown Racing #21), Gio Scelzi (KCP Racing #18), Kyle Larson (Silva Motorsports #57)FEATURE LAPS LED (18 Drivers):177 laps – Brad Sweet149 laps – David Gravel144 laps – Rico Abreu134 laps – Carson Macedo133 laps – James McFadden93 laps – Buddy Kofoid80 laps – Logan Schuchart70 laps – Sheldon Haudenschild43 laps – Brent Marks41 laps – Donny Schatz39 laps – Gio Scelzi24 laps – Brian Brown23 laps – Spencer Bayston11 laps – Anthony Macri10 laps – Cory Eliason7 laps – Kyle Larson3 laps – Brady Bacon1 lap – Austin McCarlSIMPSON PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS QUICKTIME AWARDS (13 Drivers):11 QuickTimes – Carson Macedo7 QuickTimes – David Gravel4 QuickTimes – Logan Schuchart2 QuickTimes – Anthony Macri, Rico Abreu, Sheldon Haudenschild1 QuickTime – Brian Brown, Donny Schatz, Buddy Kofoid, Gio Scelzi, James McFadden, Jacob Allen, Bill BalogHEAT RACE WINNERS (32 Drivers):21 Heat Wins – Carson Macedo20 Heat Wins – David Gravel9 Heat Wins – Buddy Kofoid8 Heat Wins – Donny Schatz7 Heat Wins – Brad Sweet, Gio Scelzi6 Heat Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart5 Heat Wins – Rico Abreu4 Heat Wins – Brent Marks, James McFadden, Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston3 Heat Wins – Anthony Macri, Brian Brown2 Heat Wins – Parker Price-Miller, Justin Peck, Brock Zearfoss, Noah Gass, Bill Balog1 Heat Win – Danny Dietrich, Freddie Rahmer, Cory Eliason, Tim Kaeding, Mark Dobmeier, Kasey Kahne, Austin McCarl, Lachlan McHugh, Kerry Madsen, Ryan Timms, Tim Estenson, Sam Hafertepe Jr.TOYOTA DASH APPEARANCES (36 Drivers):26 Dashes – Carson Macedo, David Gravel21 Dashes – Brad Sweet18 Dashes – Logan Schuchart14 Dashes – Donny Schatz, Gio Scelzi12 Dashes – Sheldon Haudenschild, Rico Abreu10 Dashes – James McFadden9 Dashes – Buddy Kofoid, Spencer Bayston7 Dashes – Jacob Allen6 Dashes – Brent Marks, Brock Zearfoss5 Dashes – Anthony Macri4 Dashes – Brian Brown3 Dashes – Justin Peck, Danny Dietrich, Cory Eliason, Robbie Price2 Dashes – Parker Price-Miller, Tyler Courtney, Garet Williamson, Austin McCarl1 Dash – Kasey Kahne, Freddie Rahmer, Devon Borden, Aaron Reutzel, Brady Bacon, Chad Trout, Dylan Norris, Cap Henry, Stuart Brubaker, Kyle Larson, Bill Balog, Sam Hafertepe Jr.MICROLITE LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINS (26 Drivers):4 LCS Wins – Sheldon Haudenschild2 LCS Wins – Robbie Price, Parker Price-Miller1 LCS Win – Brock Zearfoss, Gio Scelzi, Noah Gass, Hunter Schuerenberg, James McFadden, Wayne Johnson, Ryan Timms, Ayrton Gennetten, Spencer Bayston, Logan Schuchart, Kraig Kinser, Freddie Rahmer, Henry Malcuit, Cole Macedo, Tim Estenson, Aaron Reutzel, Kerry Madsen, Sye Lynch, Cory Eliason, Donny Schatz, Tyler Courtney, Rico Abreu, Jacob AllenKSE HARD CHARGER AWARDS (25 Drivers):4 Hard Chargers – Sheldon Haudenschild3 Hard Chargers – Tyler Courtney, Brad Sweet2 Hard Chargers – Brock Zearfoss, James McFadden, Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart1 Hard Charger – Gio Scelzi, Robbie Price, David Gravel, Justin Peck, Blake Hahn, Buddy Kofoid, Joe B. Miller, Kyle Larson, Hunter Schuerenberg, Kyle Moody, Freddie Rahmer, Skylar Gee, Cole Duncan, Austin Pierce, Brenham Crouch, Tim Kaeding, Spencer Bayston, Jacob AllenPODIUM FINISHES (22 Drivers):20 Podiums – David Gravel15 Podiums – Brad Sweet10 Podiums – Carson Macedo9 Podiums – Rico Abreu7 Podiums – Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart6 Podiums – Buddy Kofoid5 Podiums – Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden3 Podiums – Brent Marks, Brian Brown, Kyle Larson, Jacob Allen, Spencer Bayston1 Podium – Danny Dietrich, Kasey Kahne, Devon Borden, Parker Price-Miller, Brady Bacon, Anthony Macri, Garet Williamson, Gio ScelziTOP 10 FINISHES (45 Drivers):32 Top 10s – Carson Macedo, Brad Sweet, David Gravel29 Top 10s – Logan Schuchart24 Top 10s – Gio Scelzi, Spencer Bayston23 Top 10s – Sheldon Haudenschild19 Top 10s – James McFadden18 Top 10s – Donny Schatz16 Top 10s – Rico Abreu15 Top 10s – Buddy Kofoid14 Top 10s – Jacob Allen8 Top 10s – Justin Peck7 Top 10s – Tyler Courtney6 Top 10s – Brent Marks, Brian Brown, Cory Eliason4 Top 10s – Kasey Kahne, Danny Dietrich, Brock Zearfoss, Kyle Larson3 Top 10s – Anthony Macri2 Top 10s – Aaron Reutzel, Blake Hahn, Brady Bacon, Parker Price-Miller, Robbie Price, Bill Balog1 Top 10 – Zeb Wise, Devon Borden, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Joe B. Miller, Hunter Schuerenberg, Brandon Rahmer, Chad Trout, Lance Dewease, Cap Henry, Cole Macedo, Stuart Brubaker, Skylar Gee, Cole Duncan, Austin McCarl, Garet Williamson, Tim Kaeding, Chase Randall2023 WORLD OF OUTLAWS SPRINT CAR SCHEDULE & WINNERS:No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)1. Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (1)2. Fri, Feb 10 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (2)3. Sat, Feb 11* / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / James McFadden (1)4. Sun, March 5 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Carson Macedo (1)5. Mon, March 6 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / David Gravel (3)6. Sat, March 18 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Rico Abreu (1)7. Fri, March 24 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL / Buddy Kofoid (1)8. Sat, March 25 / Magnolia Motor Speedway / Columbus, MS / Brad Sweet (1)9. Fri, March 31 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / Brad Sweet (2)10. Sat, April 1 / Devil’s Bowl Speedway / Mesquite, TX / James McFadden (2)11. Fri, April 7 / U.S. 36 Raceway / Osborn, MO / Sheldon Haudenschild (1)12. Sat, April 8 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS / Rico Abreu (2)13. Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Brad Sweet (3)14. Fri, April 28 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL / David Gravel (4)15. Sat, April 29 / Tri-State Speedway / Haubstadt, IN / Brady Bacon (1)16. Fri, May 5 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Logan Schuchart (1)17. Sat, May 6 / Eldora Speedway / Rossburg, OH / Rico Abreu (3)18. Wed, May 10 / Lincoln Speedway / Abbottstown, PA / Anthony Macri (1)19. Fri, May 12 / Williams Grove Speedway / Mechanicsburg, PA / Brad Sweet (4)20. Fri, May 19 / Attica Raceway Park / Attica, OH / Donny Schatz (1)21. Sat, May 20 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH / Donny Schatz (2)22. Fri, May 26 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Brad Sweet (5)23. Sat, May 27 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Carson Macedo (2)24. Mon, May 29 / Lawrenceburg Speedway / Lawrenceburg, IN / James McFadden (3)25. Fri, June 2 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND / David Gravel (5)26. Sat, June 3 / Ogilvie Raceway / Ogilvie, MN / Carson Macedo (3)27. Fri, June 9 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / Brian Brown (1)28. Sat, June 10 / Knoxville Raceway / Knoxville, IA / David Gravel (6)29. Fri, June 16 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Gio Scelzi (1)30. Sat, June 17 / Beaver Dam Raceway / Beaver Dam, WI / Sheldon Haudenschild (2)31. Wed, June 21 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Kyle Larson (1)32. Thurs, June 22 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / James McFadden (4)33. Fri, June 23 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / Logan Schuchart (2)34. Sat, June 24 / Huset’s Speedway / Brandon, SD / David Gravel (7)35. Fri, June 30 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / Brad Sweet (6)36. Sat, July 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI / David Gravel (8)