CHICAGO, IL – July 3, 2023 – Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer won the inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicago following a rain-shortened Loop 121. This weekend’s win marked Stewart-Haas Racing’s 20th NASCAR Xfinity Series victory, Custer’s second victory of the season, and the 12th of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career.

“Congratulations to Tony, Gene, Joe, Jonathan, Cole, Ford Performance, and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing on the pole award and race win at Chicago,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “Thanks to NASCAR and the France family for pushing the boundaries of our sport to create this unique street circuit. It’s an honor to compete and win this inaugural event.”

“Today, we definitely wish we could have run all the laps. We don’t want to win it this way, but at the end of the day we had a really fast car and I think everybody knew that. I think this team can compete with anybody out there and we’re really hitting our stride, and I’m really proud of JT and all the guys at the shop who have worked so hard to put us in this situation,” commented Custer.

Cole Custer qualified on the pole for Saturday’s Loop 121 race. The race was scheduled to consist of 55 laps broken into three stages. Custer led every lap of the race to win the first two stages and collect 20 bonus points and two playoff points. With 30 laps remaining, the race was postponed until Sunday due to weather. After persistent rain and water pooling on the track, Sunday’s race was called and Custer was officially declared the winner. This race marked Custer’s 10th consecutive top-10 finish of the season.

Ford Performance teammate Brett Moffitt with AM Racing finished in P7.

The NASCAR Cup Series also raced at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday. After a late start due to weather, the race was shortened from 100 laps to 75. Four Ford Performance drivers finished in the top-10: Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P6, Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell in P7, Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P8, and Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing’s Chris Buescher in P10.  Both the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup Series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia this weekend.

35 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 450 WINS – 415 POLES

NEW RICHMOND, WI (July 3, 2023) – The Summer of Money hits another highpoint in August for the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series with a return to Cedar Lake Speedway for the marquee USA Nationals.

The three-day event in Wisconsin, Aug. 3-5, will boast a nearly $300,000 overall purse for the entire event – including the $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday – and see drivers contending for points all three nights now.

Thursday and Friday’s events will showcase 25-lap Features, paying $6,000 to win. They’ll also utilize the “Every Lap Matters” points format where drivers will be awarded event points for Qualifying, Heat Races, Last Chance Showdowns and the Feature. The top 16 in event points after those night will be locked into Saturday’s legendary 100-lap Feature – with all drivers staging heads up.

Of the current World of Outlaws championship contenders, Brandon Sheppard (2018) and Chris Madden (2019) are the only two to have won the prestigious event. Jonathan Davenport scored his third USA Nationals win last year – also his second consecutive USA Nationals win.

What you need to know:

Track:
3/8 mile in New Richmond, WI
Track Record: 12.972 seconds by Jason Rauen on June 17, 2011
More Event Info

Times (CT):
2 p.m. Pit Gates Open
5 p.m. Grandstand Gates Open
6:30 p.m. Hot Laps/Qualifying
-Racing to follow

Tickets: Available HERE

Previous winners:
2022- Mike Marlar on Aug. 4, Jonathan Davenport on Aug. 6
2021 – Ashton Winger on Aug. 6, Jonathan Davenport on Aug. 7
2020 – Ashton Winger on July 3; Brandon Sheppard on July 4; Brandon Overton on Aug. 8
2019 – Jonathan Davenport on Aug. 1; Chris Madden on Aug. 3
2018 – Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 4 & 6
2017 – Chris Madden on Aug. 4; Don O’Neal on Aug. 5
2016 – Josh Richards on Aug. 4; Josh Richards on Aug. 6
2015 – Shane Clanton on July 31;Jonathan Davenport on Aug. 1
2014 – Jimmy Mars on July 31;Jimmy Owens on Aug. 2
2013 – Brandon Sheppard on Aug. 1, Tim McCreadie on Aug. 3
2012 – Darrell Lanigan on Aug. 4
2011 – Josh Richards on Aug. 6
2010 – Scott Bloomquist on Aug. 7
2005 – Dale McDowell on Aug. 6
1989 – Billy Moyer on June 10, Aug. 11, Aug. 12; Donnie Moran on Aug. 10
1988 – Billy Moyer on June 10, Aug. 18, Aug. 19, Aug. 20; Rick Egersdorf on June 11

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

SPRINGFIELD, MO (June 27, 2023) – The midway point of the 38th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour has arrived as Week 3 commences, presenting a schedule of six races in four different states.

Jason Feger ruled over Week 2, posting top-five finishes in all five races and scoring two Feature wins. Though he leads overall points, Feger is expected to compete in only select events in Week 3, opening the door for projected Week 3 regulars Ashton Winger, Billy Moyer Jr. and Drake Troutman to capture the weekly points title.

The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds will take Tuesday off while the Late Models race Springfield Raceway and pick the action back up Wednesday at Adams County (IL) Speedway. They’ll then travel with the Late Models through the end of the week, headlined by division standouts Tyler Nicely, Lucas Lee and Trent Young.

Week 3 Schedule
Tuesday, June 27 – Springfield Raceway (Springfield, MO) [Late Models Only]
Wednesday, June 28 – Adams County Speedway (Quincy, IL)
Thursday, June 29 – Benton Speedway (Benton, MO)
Friday, June 30 – Paducah International Raceway (Paducah, KY)
Saturday, July 1 – Clarksville Speedway (Clarksville, TN)
Sunday, July 2 – Lake Cumberland Speedway (Burnside, KY)

Tickets for each Week 3 event will be sold at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to your favorite tracks, watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch and the storylines to follow this week:

BIG WILLIE STYLE – A string of five straight top-10 finishes in Week 2 competition brings Billy Moyer Jr. back on the Hell Tour trail for Week 3.

Moyer, of Batesville, AR, looks to expand on the momentum he built in Week 2, highlighted by his 11th career Summer Nationals victory Tuesday night at Moberly Motorsports Park. Coupled with a victory in the final week of competition last year in Michigan at Butler Motor Speedway, Moyer has been competitive in each of the last two seasons – when he competes on tour – and could translate his recent stretch of success into more wins in Week 3.

Of the six tracks on the Week 3 schedule, Moyer does not have a Summer Nationals victory at any, but did finish third to winner Bobby Pierce and runner-up Tanner English in the Summer Nationals event at Paducah last year.

SUMMER BREAK – After a successful second week on the trail of the Hell Tour, Week 2 points champion Jason Feger is headed back to the shop to prepare for select events in Week 3.

Feger, the 2010 Summer Nationals champion from Bloomington, IL, posted top-five finishes in all five races contested in Week 2, including two wins, earning him the $10,000 points fund check for topping the weekly standings. Currently, Feger and the team only have plans to compete Wednesday at Adams County (IL) Speedway and Friday at Paducah International Raceway but are projected to rejoin regular competition during Week 4.

Despite earning four consecutive victories in Paducah’s USA World 50 (2012-2015), Feger has yet to win a Summer Nationals Feature at the Kentucky 3/8-mile oval. He’s also winless in Summer Nationals action at Adams County but was runner-up to Ryan Unzicker there in MARS Late Model competition in May.

BUBBLING UNDER – It was a week full of ups and downs for Drake Troutman in his first full week on the Summer Nationals this season.

Troutman, 18, of Hyndman, PA, was running inside the top-three on three occasions over the five-race stretch of Week 2 but only managed one podium finish after blowing two right-rear tires on back-to-back nights (Moberly, Davenport). He was able to rebound on Saturday at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, crossing the line third after an intense battle in the closing laps with winner Stormy Scott and runner-up Ashton Winger.

More bad luck hit him on Sunday at Lincoln, when he was involved in a hard wreck in his Heat Race with Kye Blight, significantly damaging his car and forcing him to take a provisional to get into the Feature and keep himself afloat in the points standings. Despite his struggles, he’s shown speed with multiple top-10 finishes, putting him among the frontrunners to score his first career Hell Tour Feature win in 2023.

REBOUNDED – Like Troutman, Ashton Winger also ran into some misfortune early in Week 2 when an oil pump failure ruined his top-three run going in the opening laps Tuesday night at Moberly Motorsports Park.

Winger, 23, of Senoia, GA, rebounded quickly, however, going out the next night at Davenport and driving around Chris Simpson with four laps left to score his first Feature win on tour this season. He posted three-straight top-10 finishes to conclude the week – two of which were on the podium – and ended up third in Week 2 points, worth a $3,000 points fund check.

Now headed south, Winger could potentially be at his most competitive this week as he visits a few tracks he’s had success at before – specifically Clarksville, where he won the Summer Nationals race in 2021.

SOUTHERN MOD SQUAD – Several southern DIRTcar UMP Modified talents are expected to join the field this week as the Summit Modified Nationals heads into Kentucky and Tennessee.

• Tyler Nicely (Owensboro, KY) – Sitting second in Summit Modified points, Nicely earned two more runner-up finishes in Week 2, tightening his gap to Kyle Steffens – now 25 points back. Despite his numerous visits to the Kentucky and Tennessee venues, Nicely does not have a Summit Modified Feature win yet in either state.

• Lucas Lee (Paris, TN) – Five of Lee’s six career Summit Modified Feature wins have come in his home state of Tennessee; three of which were won at Clarksville, including last year’s race.

• Trent Young (Crofton, KY) – Young picked up his first career Summit Modified Feature win last year in his home state of Kentucky at Paducah. He already has two top-fives at Paducah this year and placed third on Plunger Night of the Tuckassee Toilet Bowl Classic at Clarksville in March.

DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models Overall Points Standings (view full standings)
1. Jason Feger – 675 points
2. Frank Heckenast Jr. – 582 points (-93)
3. Ashton Winger – 550 points (-125)
4. Bob Gardner – 482 points (-193)
5. Kye Blight – 426 points (-249)
6. Tyler Clem – 375 points (-300)
7. Brian Shirley – 352 points (-323)
8. Drake Troutman – 334 points (-341)
9. Shannon Babb – 329 points (-346)
10. Mark Voigt – 297 points (-378)

Inside Line Promotions – ALGER, Wash. (June 27, 2023) – Dominic Scelzi earned a top-five result during the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup finale for the third straight year.

Scelzi capped a busy 10-day stretch throughout the Northwest on Saturday by winning the pole shuffle to garner the Dick Wilskey Pole Award for the $62,000-to-win main event at Skagit Speedway.

“I felt we were really efficient every night,” he said. “On Saturday it was a little more top dominant and harder to race on than the two previous nights. The bottom wasn’t the place to start the feature. It went green and we ended up not getting the start we hoped for. The top had a lot more grip so we fell to second. We ran the leader down and got to racing with him. Then a yellow came out. We did that again and the yellow came out. We did it a third time and a red came out. The second half of the race went green to checkered I believe. We were maintaining with the leader. About 10 laps to go we started to fade a bit. We got stuck behind a lapped car and got passed by two cars. It was definitely a good weekend, but I’d be lying if I said I was happy with the result. I’ve already got the 2024 Dirt Cup circled on my calendar. I’m ready to go back next year.”

Scelzi was credited with a fourth-place result, which was his 15 ^th top five of the season. It also wrapped up a strong weekend at the high-banked oval, where he recorded a trio of top fives.

It began on Thursday when Scelzi timed in 11 ^th quickest out of more than 40 drivers. A run from sixth to third place in a heat race was followed by a charge from 10 ^th to fifth place in the main event.

“We went out kind of late and put down a good lap in qualifying,” he said. “It was good to go from sixth to third in the heat race. In the main event the track was really racy with grip on the bottom and the top. We were able to move our way up to a top five.”

Scelzi duplicated his success on Friday when he qualified seventh quickest and ended sixth in a heat race. The night concluded with Scelzi hustling from 13 ^th to third in the A Main to earn the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.

“We had a phenomenal race car,” he said. “We could run the top, the bottom and the middle a little bit as well. Both preliminary nights we got better and did what we needed to do.”

The three successful nights at Skagit Speedway was a nice rebound from how the previous weekend went during The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series.

Scelzi placed sixth on June 15 at Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Ore., where he was stymied by a flat tire in a heat race.

He was caught up in a crash in the feature the following night at Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, Ore., where he ended with a 12^th-place finish.

The highlight of the weekend was on June 17 at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., where Scelzi garnered a third-place result.

That weekend concluded on June 18 at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., where Scelzi’s bid for a win ended early when he ran out of fuel while leading. He was credited with a 15^th-place finish.

“I just have to laugh it off between the luck we had and some of the calls,” he said. “Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield. It’s unfortunate, but at the end of the day we’ve been on the other end of it. Our focus hasn’t changed. We just want to win races.”

The next opportunity for Scelzi is Saturday at Antioch Speedway in Antioch, Calif., with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour.

QUICK RESULTS –

June 15 – Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Ore. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 3 (1); Feature: 6 (8).

June 16 – Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, Ore. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 6 (5); Feature: 12 (6).

June 17 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 1 (4); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 3 (3).

June 18 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 15 (1).

June 22 –Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 5 (10).

June 23 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 6 (7); Feature: 3 (13).

June 24 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Pole shuffle: 1 (2); Feature: 4 (1).

SEASON STATS –

22 races, 5 wins, 15 top fives, 17 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 22 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Antioch Speedway in Antioch, Calif., with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

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

Championship battle resumes during Wisconsin’s summertime staple weekend

NEW RICHMOND, WI (June 27, 2023) – An Independence Day weekend tradition continues this week for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.

After making its first appearance of 2023 in Wisconsin less than two weeks ago, The Greatest Show on Dirt is returning to “The Badger State.” Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, WI) welcomes the World of Outlaws this weekend (June 30 – July 1) for the Independence Day Spectacular.

The doubleheader weekend boasts two $10,000-to-win events and brings the year to its halfway point, seeing Brad Sweet currently atop the points by a mere 10 points ahead of David Gravel in second and 40 points ahead of Carson Macedo in third.

Cedar Lake has hosted 49 Series races in the past, meaning Friday’s visit will make the 3/8-mile the 18th different track to reach 50 World of Outlaws races.

BUY CEDAR LAKE TICKETS

Let’s look at the top storylines to watch:

BROCK’S BREAKTHROUGH: Last year’s Independence Day Spectacular offered a memorable moment.

Brock Zearfoss’ perseverance paid off when he topped the final night. The win was his second with the World of Outlaws but first in five years and first with his family-owned team. The triumph led to an emotional Victory Lane.

The Jonestown, PA native returns to the site of that victory this weekend still seeking his first win of 2023. It’s been an up and down year for Zearfoss highlighted by a top-five effort at U.S. 36 Raceway in April. Repeating at Cedar Lake could serve as a boost for the remainder of his campaign as he continues his third year on tour.

BADGER BRAD: Brad Sweet owns a nearly impeccable résumé at Cedar Lake that he hopes to add to. 

“The Big Cat” already owns the record for the most consecutive victories at the Wisconsin oval – topping a whopping five straight from July of 2019 to July of 2021. In 18 Series starts, Sweet owns six wins, 11 podiums, and has only missed the top 10 once. If he can collect another checkered flag this weekend, he’ll equal Sammy Swindell as the winningest Series driver at Cedar Lake with seven. A weekend sweep would give him sole possession of that honor.

The four-time and defending champion enters the weekend as the points leader, hoping to turn his past succession into a chance to grow that lead.

DOUBLE SHARKS: Cedar Lake Speedway is one of three tracks that both Shark Racing teammates – Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen – have won at during their World of Outlaws careers.

For Schuchart, Cedar Lake is a special place. In 2016, the Hanover, PA native collected his first career victory with The Greatest Show on Dirt at the 3/8-mile. Schuchart is yet to claim another win there, but he’s been in the top five on three other occasions including twice in the last three races.

Allen’s Cedar Lake victory came last year as a part of his breakout 2022. The pilot of the Shark Racing #1A stood atop the podium on night one of the Independence Day Spectacular. Allen has also been consistent at Cedar Lake with nine top 10s in his last 11 starts.

WISCONSIN WINNERS: Two more current full-time Series competitors have found their way to Victory Lane at Cedar Lake – Donny Schatz and Sheldon Haudenschild.

Schatz is tied with Steve Kinser as the third winningest Cedar Lake driver with five victories apiece. The 10-time Series champion has won back-to-back races on two occasions and most recently triumphed in 2016.

Haudenschild, driver of the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17, found Victory Lane in 2019 and in his eight starts there since hasn’t finished worse than ninth.

GRAVEL’S MOMENTUM: There is no driver on the tour hotter than David Gravel right now.

The Watertown, CT native is fresh off earning the largest payday in Series history ($250,000) at the Billion Auto Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards. That win is part of a seven-race stretch consisting of two wins, six top-two finishes, and an average finish of 2.1 for Gravel.

Despite experiencing plenty of success at Cedar Lake, Gravel is yet to win at the facility. He has finished second on seven different occasions including during the most recent visit last year. Gravel looks for that elusive win this weekend as he continues to attempt to cut into Sweet’s championship lead. 

Gravel’s race team – Big Game Motorsports – is no stranger to winning at Cedar Lake, though. They scored a Victory Lane there with Kerry Madsen in 2018.

BAYSTON BUILDING: An effective four nights at Huset’s have Spencer Bayston and CJB Motorsports on their best stretch of the season.

Bayston finished no worse than ninth at the Brandon, SD oval and collected his second podium of the season on the penultimate night. The Lebanon, IN native is now on a seven-race top-10 streak – his best of the season.

The 24-year-old has had mixed results in four starts at Cedar Lake with two finishes both inside and outside of the top 10.

GAINS FOR GASS: This past week at Huset’s provided Noah Gass with one of his most encouraging outings behind the wheel.

Facing off against a massive field of some of the sport’s most talented competitors, the World of Outlaws sophomore made the main event on three of the four nights including the finale. On Thursday, he matched his season high with a 12th-place effort. Then, his 14th on Saturday was enough to net him $5,200. 

Gass now looks to keep rolling as he’ll take on Cedar Lake for the first time this weekend.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

WHEN AND WHERE

Friday-Saturday, June 30-July 1 at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, WI

YORBA LINDA, Calif. (June 27, 2023) – Brittany Force, two-time and reigning NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world champion, has been nominated for the 2023 ESPYS Best Driver Award for her performance in the 2022 season. This is the second time Force has been nominated for the Best Driver Award, she had her first following her 2017 championship season when she became just the second woman to win an NHRA Top Fuel championship and the first in 35 years. Force, driver of the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, finished the 2022 season with five victories and 10 No. 1 qualifying positions en route to the Top Fuel world championship. Force and her team led the points standings for a total of 12 races never dropping below fourth the entire season. Among their accomplishments was bettering their own national record speed to 338.94 mph in the season finale NHRA Finals at her hometown track of Pomona, Calif.  Force has handled her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac hot rod to 13 track speed records and nine track elapsed time records (ET) and also currently holds the national record for ET at 3.623 seconds a mark she set in the 2019 season. “I am so excited to be nominated for an ESPY. This is an honor not just for me but for my team, John Force Racing, and NHRA. I’m so proud of the season my team and I had in 2022 to get us this nomination,” Force said. “Out of all the different series and motorsports, to be one of only four drivers nominated is huge. That in itself really elevates the sport of NHRA drag racing.” Joining Force on the ESPYS Best Driver ballot are NASCAR’s Kyle Larson, IndyCar’s Josef Newgarden, and Formula1’s Max Verstappen. “It’s also a big honor to be recognized next to the other nominees,” Force said. “They’re all such big names in the sports world, they’ve set records, won championships and it’s pretty crazy to be listed alongside this group of athletes.” It is the ninth time a John Force Racing driver has been nominated for the award. Her father, John Force, has been nominated for the ESPYS Best Driver Award six times and her sister Ashley Force-Hood was a nominee in 2008. Past ESPY Best Driver winners include Lewis Hamilton, three-time winner Tony Stewart, four-time winner Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Jimmy Vasser, Al Unser Jr., Nigel Mansell, and Michael Schumacher. The ESPY Awards, an acronym for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly, were created by ESPN in 1993. Sports fans can vote for Force and their other sports heroes in a variety of categories via an online poll at: ESPN.com/ESPYS. Voting is underway and concludes at 8 p.m. (ET) on July 9. Fans can vote once per day. The ESPY Awards will air on July 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Brittany Force Career Highlights·     2017, 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Fuel World Champion·     Holds NHRA Elapsed Time National Record: 3.623 secs., Sept. 2019, Reading, Pa.·     Holds NHRA National Speed Record: 338.94 mph, Nov. 2022, Pomona, Calif.·     16 Career Victories·     45 Career No. 1 Qualifiers·     Made the top 10 fastest runs in NHRA history·     13 track speed records·     9 track elapsed time records Past 10 ESPYS Best Drive Award winners2022 – Kyle Larson, NASCAR2021 – Lewis Hamilton, Formula One2020 – Not Awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic2019 – Kyle Busch, NASCAR2018 – Martin Truex Jr., NASCAR2017- Lewis Hamilton, Formula One2016 – Kyle Busch, NASCAR2015 – Kevin Harvick, NASCAR2014 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, IndyCar2013 – Ryan Hunter-Reay, IndyCar

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 27, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, returns to West Virginia Motor Speedway for the first time in 17 years with this weekend’s All Seasons Powersports West Virginia Half-Mile in Mineral Wells, West Virginia, on Saturday July 1. Renowned for its mountainside setting and high-speed 5/8-mile track, West Virginia Motor Speedway has hosted the Grand National Championship on eight previous occasions, all coming in the ‘90s outside of a return visit in 2006. During that run, a number of iconic riders claimed victory in the event, including the likes of Scott Parker (‘94), Ricky Graham (‘93), and Will Davis (‘92, ‘97, and ‘98). Following a multi-year closure, the track was resurrected, renovated, and reopened in 2021, paving the way for Progressive AFT’s triumphant return. Despite the race’s proud history, the time between stops means it will be a new circuit on the tour for almost the entire field… but not the entire field. Reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) finished fourth when the series last visited in ‘06. Back then, he had three Half-Mile victories to his name. Now he returns with 34 and looking to add one more in order to equal Parker for most in GNC history. That was true this past weekend in Lima as well, and he’ll be facing a similar challenge. Mission SuperTwins points leader Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) has proven that he should be expected to contend for victory every single weekend as he comes in riding a ten-race podium streak. Meanwhile, two-time Mission SuperTwins champion Briar Bauman (No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke) is also back in the business of winning. One of the sport’s all-time great Half-Milers himself, Bauman enjoyed a breakthrough ride this past weekend, hustling the Rick Ware Racing KTM 790 Duke to its maiden victory with an inspiring ride at the Lima Half-Mile. Following a layoff of nearly two decades, not to mention recent track improvements, it’s difficult to predict exactly who’s bikes or styles might mesh best with West Virginia Motor Speedway. What is known is that JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), and Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750) all have what it takes to beat anyone on the planet when everything is clicking in their favor. The same can be said of Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke), who earned his best finish yet on the Fastrack KTM with a sixth-place finish at Lima. And don’t discount the chances of Kolby Carlile (No. 36 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07), Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750), Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke), all of whom have finished inside the top five already this season. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Defending Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champion Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) was less than two years old the last time Progressive AFT came to Mineral Wells, while key rivals Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) and Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) were not even one year old. But now the three rank among the fastest rising dirt track stars in the world and more than capable of putting on a spectacular show. Kopp put his title defense back in order with a clutch victory at the Lima Half-Mile, despite the best efforts of Drane, who has won two of the season’s most recent four races. Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), meanwhile, is still seeking his maiden pro win despite several near misses that came in a run of five-consecutive podium finishes. His motivation was further amped up after that podium streak ended due to a mechanical DNF that left him much work to do in order to claw his way back up to Kopp in the points standings. This trio of talented teens expect to be joined up front once again by the category’s contingent of more-experienced-but-still-young contenders, including Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450). Meanwhile, the class’ most prominent riders old enough to have been alive during the race’s heydays in the ‘90s – namely Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F), Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), and Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 450 SX-F) – all come into the weekend in need of a strong result if only to remind the field exactly what they’re capable of following some relatively quiet showings n recent weeks. All Seasons Powersports, which is located just a mile-and-a-half from West Virginia Motor Speedway, will host a Pre-Event Open House Party at the dealership on Friday, June 30, from 4:00 p.m. ET to 7:00 p.m. ET. There fans can meet and greet Progressive AFT stars and partake in food and drinks to get the weekend started off right. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors, expansive food and beverage options, and extensive motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under free with a paid adult GA ticket), and Single Day-General Admission Camping Passes can be purchased for Friday and Saturday at $25 per day. Pit Pass Upgrades are also available for purchase, which provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/west-virginia-half-mile-58480 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT). 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 All Seasons Powersports West Virginia Half-Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, July 8, at 11:30 a.m. ET(8:30 a.m. PT).

June 26, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team used a successful mid-race strategy play to overcome a poor starting position and post a 21st-place finish in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Burton lined up 31st for the start of the 300-lap run on the 1.3-mile concrete oval.

 The first 90-lap Stage ran caution free, and Burton moved up to 28th place before making a green-flag pit stop at Lap 42. He finished that segment in 28th but was one lap down to the leaders.

In the second Stage he was maintaining his position when the caution flag flew at Lap 140 during a round of green-flag pit stops.

Crew chief Brian Wilson elected to stay on the track during the ensuing caution period and take the wave-around, which put the DEX Mustang back on the lead lap.

Wilson’s gamble paid off almost immediately as the caution fell on the restart. That allowed the No. 21 crew to put fuel and fresh tires on their Mustang during the caution period.

That sequence of events propelled Burton into the top 20 and he ended Stage Two in 18th place.

Burton kept the DEX Mustang in the top 20 until making his final pit stop, under the green flag, at Lap 242. He came one spot shy of finishing in the top 20 but still wound up with his ninth top-25 finish in 17 races this season.

Burton and the Wood Brothers team now begin preparing for next Sunday’s street race in Chicago, the first event of its kind for the Cup Series.

Chastain Caps Off Chevrolet’s Weekend Sweep with Nashville Victory

·       The victory is Chastain’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season, and his third career victory in 168 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Chastain is the fifth driver from the fourth different Chevrolet team to record a NASCAR Cup Series win this season.  ·       The victory continued Chevrolet’s NASCAR Cup Series win streak at Nashville Superspeedway – marking the manufacturer’s third win in the series’ third appearance at the 1.33-mile Tennessee oval.  ·       Chastain brought Chevrolet to a double-digit win count in the NASCAR Cup Series this season with the manufacturer leading the series with 10 victories this season.  ·       The winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now sits at 843 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Chevrolet swept the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway with AJ Allmendinger (No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Carson Hocevar (No. 42 Niece Motorsports Silverado RST) in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  ·       This marks Chevrolet’s fourth tripleheader weekend sweep of the 2023 NASCAR season.

LEBANON, Tenn. (June 25, 2023) – Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain continued Chevrolet’s streak of dominance in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) at Nashville Superspeedway – driving his No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 to the victory in the Ally 400. His first victory of the season, the 30-year-old Florida native became the fifth driver from the fourth different Chevrolet team to find victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series this season.  Chastain led the field to the green from the pole position for the first time in his young NCS career. Taking the top position on lap one, the Team Chevy driver went on to collect a top-five finish in both stages and lead a race-high 99 laps en route to Chevrolet’s third consecutive NCS victory at the 1.33-mile Tennessee oval and the manufacturer’s 10th win overall on the season.  The victory was celebrated by another season-best feat for the Bowtie brand with the Camaro ZL1 taking seven of the top-10 finishing positions in the 300-lap event. The strength across the Chevrolet camp was showcased on the final leader board with five different Chevrolet teams contributing to those finishes including Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain (race winner); Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (fourth), Kyle Larson (fifth) and William Byron (sixth); LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’s Erik Jones (eighth); Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (ninth); and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (10th).  The victory capped off yet another weekend sweep for Chevrolet across NASCAR’s three national series –  a feat only the Bowtie brand has been able to accomplish this season. With Chastain’s victory in the NCS, AJ Allmendinger’s (No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) NASCAR Xfinity Series win and Carson Hocevar’s (No. 42 Niece Motorsports Silverado RST) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win – this marks Chevrolet’s fourth tripleheader weekend sweep of the 2023 season. The 2023 NCS season continues at the Chicago Street Course with the Grant Park 220 on Sunday, July 2, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 – Race Win Press Conference Transcript THE MODERATOR: We’ve now been joined by our race winner, Ross Chastain. Ross, congratulations. You spent some time with us on Saturday. You said your team was strong. You said your car had speed. Tonight you backed it up. ROSS CHASTAIN: Yes, ma’am. I felt the speed. I felt the grip. This or that happens and we don’t win. But I felt it again on Friday. Obviously felt it on Saturday. For me to tie together two laps – one lap, okay, I can probably do that sometimes, but the second-round lap, to not overdrive it, back up, go a few thousandths faster is a testament to the changes they made, our evolution and our processes paying off of this new car. It’s so different than anything I’ve ever driven. Learning it since the first time I drove it in 2021 at a test to now, to finally get an oval win on a circle track is absolutely incredible. THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. In light of everything in recent weeks since Darlington, does this feel like a statement win?ROSS CHASTAIN: Did you see the two cars I passed? Felt pretty good. Look, I first met Martin Truex Jr. at a Bass Pro Shops in Fort Myers, Florida when our local one opened. He signed a Chevy Trucks hat for me. Still have it on my childhood bedroom wall hanging up. The Sharpie has about faded off, barely still there. He was a hero, idol of mine. To go to battle against him, have criticism from him, go back and forth, then to have him air block me at Dover like he did, when I thought we were just as fast, was humbling. To go up against my heroes like that, to beat him tonight, drive by him and the 11, was definitely a statement. It felt good. I’m proud that we were able to do that. Q. What has been the message to your team, not them to you but you to them, in the last four, five weeks?ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, I’m not a big vocal rah-rah guy. I’m not telling them anything that they don’t already know. I think they see me going to work, just going through the processes that Trackhouse has in place for me, that GM and Wise Performance has for me. They see me, hear me go through business with MMI, what I’m trying to do outside of the race car. They know that I’m all in. I don’t have to tell them that. I don’t have to tell them, We’re going to be okay, guys. We look at each other, nod our heads, go about our business. My car chief David is big on positive affirmations, surrounding our minds with good thoughts about how we can be better. I am, too. I read books that show me and teach me little ways to bring it all back down, getting to neutral, something I’ve talked about before. They see me doing that. They know that I’m all in.I’m going to make mistakes. They’re okay with that. They tell me that. I know that I have the best team on pit road and I have the best team building my race cars. We just kind of go about our business. Q. You called your shot walking out of here on Saturday afternoon. What made you realize you could get it done?ROSS CHASTAIN: Nobody was actually really supposed to know that. That was kind of an off-the-shoulder in passing of the guitars. I didn’t really put too much thought into it. The words went out. I read the tweet whenever, I guess this morning. Oh, that is a little too confident I thought, a little too cocky for my taste. I told myself to not do that again, to just keep those thoughts internal, use them for fuel and fire. I don’t need to say that kind of stuff. I’m really glad it worked out, let’s just put it that way, because it was just — I look at a lot of y’all in here, when I’m on the microphone, I know the world is watching. When I’m walking out, whether I’m turning the lights off in the bathroom on one of y’all, it’s just friendly. For that to go out, it’s a reminder of they’re doing their job. What I do on the track is seen by the world. What I say to anybody in here, it’s their job to tell the world. I’m glad that it got out, glad that it worked out. I don’t like saying that kind of stuff. I’m sure glad that it worked out. I am glad that I said it. Q. Anyone who watched the whole race could argue you had the best car. Martin did start to gain on you with 25 to go. Is there a balance between hitting your marks, especially in dirty air yourself, looking out behind you, doing all the things you have to do to keep the car behind you? What is that balancing act like?ROSS CHASTAIN: It is. We got the lead early obviously with the pole, then we got passed pretty quickly. Martin and William were really fast. They were ahead of us, Tyler was ahead of us. Tyler had his issue. There were three of us. I knew there was one more that would come up and race, it was the 11. As we went into the night, as the sun went down, I was fast enough to catch the 11 and 19 for the end of stage two, but I couldn’t get by them. Martin air blocked me all over the track. All right, well, try to get him in stage three. Was clearly faster. Stage three fired off, we all singled out. I had a shot at Martin for a few laps. He got by me. He actually waved and gave me the peace sign when he cleared me early in stage three. Okay, he’s not mad at me, okay. The sun went down and our Worldwide Express Chevy came to life. Like a light switch, I flipped the switch and got more grip, filled the grip bottle up. From there I was able to drive by the 19 and the 11 before the pit stops, which I think was key. They put up a fight, but they let me race them. They didn’t just air block like they did at the end of the stage two, like Martin did, like he did at Dover. I think I’ve helped move the needle and teach some of these guys on track. He let it just naturally play out. The 11 did as well. When he got to me at the end, I air blocked him back. We got the gap. I was loose for sure. I think he was. I don’t know what he was. I got loose. The final set of tires, started off looser than the previous set. Just kind of hanging on there at the end. Q. Are you and Josevar going to start a band with the guitars?ROSS CHASTAIN: That would be a bad, bad band if we did. Nobody would want to hear that.Look, we drive the cars. We won the race. We can hire some talent to come play and guitars for us. I guess you plug this one in. I don’t know nothing about music. Riverhouse does, Grant, the boys and girls over there, can play us a tune tonight. Q. It was a good weekend for MMI. You’ve done work with Phil. What are you seeing out of Carson here the last couple of weeks and months towards the goals he set for him on and off track?ROSS CHASTAIN: We’re in a small capacity with Carson. But it is about managing the at-track stuff, just trying to manage his kind of larger-than-life, pun intended for his height, personality that carries him outside of the race truck and race car. I see a lot of myself in him. I see incredible speed and talent. I know the trucks he’s driving with Phil Surgen and that group, Al Niece, to have the Worldwide Express win the truck race, get the pole for the Cup race and win the Cup race, it’s absolutely incredible to be sitting here watching that confetti flying around the door knowing that was shot off for us. I was just so proud of the effort of Niece Motorsports on Friday night. Yeah, to see Carson keep growing, I’m growing as well. When we talk, we’re not that different, just different levels, ages, chapters of our life. We’re kind of fighting the same things. Make mistakes when we’re really fast. Should probably just let it play out. I’ve been open with him the things he needs to improve on. I’m looking at him at 30 years old, he’s so much younger, mentally we’re trying to get through this with a lot of criticism on him.I criticized him when I thought he needed it. I thought I explained my view of it. Yeah, we’ve seen obviously a 2.0 version of him. I’m working, maybe I’m at 1.8, but we’re going to get to 2.0 as I’m evolving. Q. This race two years ago, Phil brought you to pit road, I believe you said you kind of questioned that call. Turns out Phil was right. You finished second. How pivotal do you think that race was to developing the level of trust you’ve built with him?ROSS CHASTAIN: Yeah, some people might think that our radio is too quiet. It’s days like that and moments like that that are the cause. I described the car, and that’s all I did. I describe the track, car, what I’m feeling, what I need. Sometimes that’s not enough communication. They’re learning to poke me more because I’m just driving the car. There were times tonight where we were leading there at the end after the final pit stop, I thought Martin was catching me, I thought I needed another 10th, half a 10th of speed. I drove in 30 feet deeper and I didn’t make the corner. The whole time I could have been explaining the car, been in a better head space. I’m just driving. Trying to find every bit of hundredth of a second to manage my gap and go fast.I’ve learned that my boys and girls at Trackhouse and on the 1 car, they’re the smartest I could possibly ask for. I let them do their jobs, they let me do mine. Like I talked about earlier, I’m not a rah-rah guy. I don’t psych ’em up, they don’t psych me up. We joke. Our hauler is one of the most laid back I’ve ever been part of, pit road. I learned a lot that day and matured. That was half a season into my first Cup season. In Xfinity, in the 4 car, I would kind of learn from Landon Cassill, quarterback the car from there, we need to pit, stay out, wave around, take scuff tires now, we need to save our stickers for later. Not the case when you get to the Cup series. You let the smart boys and girls pick those calls. Q. Phil goes under the radar, big names among crew chiefs. Do you feel Phil still doesn’t get enough recognition?ROSS CHASTAIN: I think in the garage they know how fast his cars are. He’s been a journeyman of sorts, way longer than me. He’s been through teams and worked his way up from not being a crew chief to being a crew chief in the Cup Series and winning races now. It didn’t just happen overnight. The people in the garage know Phil Surgen. I’ll be honest, whenever they said he was going to crew chief the 42 Cup car, when Kenseth was driving it, I didn’t know who Phil Surgen was. I was tuned in on the 1 and 42, I was not driving in the building, but I was at CGR. I had to ask who is Phil Surgen. I felt silly saying that at the time. I’d been around him, I just didn’t know the name. I didn’t know the face with the name. I knew the face but I didn’t know the name. I love it. I love that he just goes about his business. He’s not flashy. I’ve learned to embrace the fandom and the front facing of Trackhouse and NASCAR that I’ve been fortunate to be given. I’m proud to be one of the faces on the broadcast when they put five racers up there on the football coverage or baseball or talking about the next race. I’m proud to be that guy, one of those five. I’m more like Phil than I am a rah-rah guy. I don’t really put myself out there. I got people that can do that for me. Q. From your win at Talladega to you taking the checkered flag at Nashville, you led 983 laps in the Cup Series. You said you made a statement win. How important is this win knowing how close you have been in the last 42 races?ROSS CHASTAIN: It’s bigger than anything. It’s an oval, a circle track. It’s lift, slide, hit the gas and brake, turn the wheel. My boys and girls on the 1 team have not let me forget that. They have been pushing me on that. Take you serious when you win on an oval track. This 1 team, before Trackhouse and I were a part of it, was very different iterations, but they were winning races in the Cup Series. They’ve been here and done it. They wanted to see me do it on a true oval.Yeah, I don’t know anything else other than that. I think about them and our conversations, how much work we’ve put into it, they’ve put into me to make me better on these types of tracks. Q. From our view, do you feel like you drove the perfect race?ROSS CHASTAIN: Never perfect. There’s lots of mistakes. When the sun went down, I had slipped off turn two several times earlier in the race, lifted, spin, about spun out. When the sun went down, it happened again. It was the first time that my spotter said, Easy, take care of your stuff. When I lifted, the fire shot out the left side exhaust from the fuel burn dumping out. In the daylight you can’t see it from that far away. As soon as he said that, I thought, The fire is telling on me. I’m sliding over here, now he knows it. There’s lots of mistakes. I thought I could have gotten by the 42 earlier in the race. I could have passed Martin on the final restart better, gotten that done. I didn’t. Other than that, though, there was a point in the race when I was running fifth, after Tyler had his issue, spun with the tire, we were fifth. I thought, Well, the 19 is better, the 24 is better. I kind of had a moment where I thought that. Then I thought, That doesn’t matter, I don’t care if they are better. What do I need to do next? The next thing is warm my tires, get a good restart. I’m fourth in the line for the choose. I chose second row inside. Get clear of the outside guy. Hopefully roll up to the next guy. I did that. What’s next? Didn’t get clear of the 19. So the moments that I questioned it, it was a self talk. I have a lot of conversations in my head. Try not to push the radio when I’m talking back to those voices. I need to speak about it in my head and have real dialogue. I talked myself to go getting a good restart, go from there. Sun went down. After that it was pretty darn good. There wasn’t many things that I would do different now. Q. Three-wide, three laps. Talk about that. Truex and Hamlin cut you some slack. Racing hard, but we didn’t wreck, I didn’t overstep. Do you feel those moment also help you long-term?ROSS CHASTAIN: For sure. I thought me and William lined up on the front row. I thought he chased me up a little too much in the moment. I haven’t watched the replay. To me he was worried about me, the 19 in turn one drove up underneath both of us. 19 cleared both of us. I thought, Dang, Will, you let the guy in third drive by both of us. 19 and 11 specifically, yes. There were times that they passed me. The 11 got by us on the strategy of the caution. When I got back to him, he raced me great. 19 did as well. That’s all I ask for. At the end of stage two when the points were on the line, the 19 ran me all over the track. I wasn’t going to pass that 19 no matter how fast I was. Luckily we were fast right after that. Drove by him after maybe 30 laps. The 11 a little bit later. I feel like if we would have pitted again the final pit stop and ran till the end and tried to pass him late, I don’t think I would have got the same courtesy. A little bit fortunate on the times. Also definitely they did it how they’ve said they would. I’ve been racing them with more room, and they gave it to me tonight. Q. Justin said this is his sweetest victory. How sweet is it to win in the boss’ backyard? Tell us the history of the watermelon smash.ROSS CHASTAIN: Hard to beat the first, the first win last year at COTA. Nashville is where the word Trackhouse was formed. Justin moved here with his family. Steve and everybody at Tootsies went to a meeting with them, take a chance on me, I will make it pay off for you. Tootsies was one of the early sponsors of the 99 in 2021. Justin told me that story. He still lives here. Ty lives here, Dean lives here with Trackhouse 360. It’s incredible the thought that we won here. It’s mind-boggling. It’s hard to line that up, have a fast car here. For us the 1 team, all three years we’ve been here with our group, has been capable of running in the top five. Tonight we put it all together. So incredible. Q. (No microphone.)ROSS CHASTAIN: We just carried watermelon. Publicity. The ag industry is what I sponsored me early on. My first races in 2011 was an investment by my family. The ag industry pitched in and sponsored me. Different companies all along the way. All with the goal of selling more watermelon. Definitely when we got the 42 Xfinity ride, we thought, Let’s have it there, raise it in Victory Lane. We won the darn second race we ever ran in that 42 car. I held it up. I didn’t really know what to do. I sat it down on the roof. We were in the media center. It was bending the glass at Las Vegas in the media center. Somebody in the room asked what I was going to do with it. Somebody asked me to move it. I think that glass is still bent. Smash it open and eat it, I guess. They asked if they could film it. We went out on the front stretch. It was born. It’s a natural feeling, not something that is sponsored in a sense that I have to do it. I don’t need chuck points and all that stuff.It’s a (indiscernible) watermelon. The watermelon varieties we grow at our farm. We’re done with our crop this year. The Georgia crop is being harvested now. So for those farmers, it’s a great year. It was a great growing season for us in Florida. They’re knocking it out of the park, breaking records in Georgia right now. Yosemite Fresh is harvesting out west in California. As I’ve grown in my racing, I’ve gotten to meet more farmers. Cool for me. All I wanted to be as a kid was a farmer. I wanted to be like my dad, uncle, grandfather, every Chastain eight generations before me that he were watermelon farmers. The first Chastain came over a long time ago, and not long after that they started farming. It’s all I ever wanted to be as a kid, wanted to walk in my dad’s footprints. For my brother to be able to run the farm at home, race a little bit, we get to promote watermelon, it’s our family’s business. Really the coolest part was after we won that first race, I wasn’t sure how the ag industry would think about it because I was wasting a watermelon. My granddad called me the next morning. He said, Ross, we will never know how many people in the world saw that watermelon smash. I saw it on my Facebook. I thought, All right, that’s all the affirmation. That’s the checkmark I needed to keep going. We have not looked back. Q. (No microphone.)ROSS CHASTAIN: Well, we didn’t slip. I was worried, too. Q. What song comes to mind for you to express your weekend and the importance of this victory?ROSS CHASTAIN: If you take the words I said walking out of that door it’s, I believe we will win. A little Pitbull action. Yeah, that’s not very Nashville. He’s definitely not here. He’s in Miami. Yeah, I don’t know. I’m ’90s country music, older country music fan. Only sing when I’m feeling good. I’m feeling good tonight. Yeah, I think the stuff on the frontstretch, I believe that. I’ve thought about that. It’s not just to say it when I have the spotlight. It’s a belief that you’ll be criticized. I think everybody in this room at some point has been criticized. If you want to keep doing it, if you want to be in this room, in this sport, you’ll keep going. No matter if it’s business or sports or your life, you just wake up and go to work. They’re not all going to be good days. We’re going to remember the old days better than they probably were. Just get up and go to work every day, see what happens. Q. You have top fives in all three races here. Why do you feel this track suits your driving style?ROSS CHASTAIN: I’ve heard other people in the sport say it: you cannot drive a slow car fast. I have had fast ones here. But I have had fast ones a lot of places and have not put together top fives and wins.I don’t know. I don’t. I don’t have a reason because I feel like we could have done this Dover, other tracks. It’s not just here, this is our bright spot of the year. Yeah, it’s showing. I’m not sad about it. I’ll take it. Q. Now that you’ve won, locked into the Playoff, how does this change your season?ROSS CHASTAIN: I felt confident we were going to make it. Everybody looks on the points every week. Based on our gap to the cut line, felt safe. Felt safe with the winners moving up the cut line. Wasn’t going to stay where it was at. Just keep acquiring points, bringing fast cars, we’ll go fight for it.Ultimately for us it’s a journey to get there, but it’s ultimately all about getting into the Playoffs. That’s definitely it. Personally it doesn’t change for me. I’m not going to start as early in the morning as I would have if I lost, okay? I’m not going to be at the tech center at GM at 8 a.m. with Dan. I’m going to get there at some point tomorrow and ask him to come in late with me and work through maybe tomorrow afternoon with me.We’re going to go right back to work. Celebrate this throughout the week, but there will still be the blocks of time that I will cut out for the competition and get ready for next week. It’s too important to miss out on an opportunity next week because you had good success this week. We want fast cars like this. If I don’t put in the work, I will not be ready when I pull on track next week. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. ROSS CHASTAIN: Thank you.

The Oakwood, IL driver is now second in points, four points behind Chris MaddenNORFOLK, NE– June 25, 2023 – In front of a record crowd at Off Road Speedway, Bobby Pierce saved his best weekend performance for last.The Oakwood, IL driver powered past Brandon Sheppard in Turn 4 on Lap 26 to score his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series victory of the season Sunday night. Kyle Bronson led the first two laps of the 40-lap battle before Sheppard jumped ahead of him in Turn 4 on Lap 3.  The four-time Series champion tried to get away from his competitors. But as Sheppard caught the back of the field, Pierce started to lurk behind him. Pierce tried to go around him on both the inside and outside, but Sheppard held his ground until a caution for Brian Shirley, who broke a driveshaft on Lap 16. On the next restart, Pierce got a great run and almost took the lead from Sheppard on the top, but the caution came out again for Ethan Dotson, who spun in Turn 4 before the lap was complete. When the green flag came back out, Sheppard pulled away from Pierce, who lost second to Clanton, and third to Cade Dillard. But as Pierce fell back, it allowed him to find the line he needed to rise from his fall. Pierce only needed a few laps to get by Dillard and Clanton, allowing him another chance to try and get by Sheppard.  It was a chance he wouldn’t waste.  On Lap 26, Pierce’s momentum gave him the breakthrough he needed, storming past Sheppard in Turn 4 to take the lead—one he wouldn’t relinquish. From there, Pierce led the final 15 laps to score his third World of Outlaws win of 2023 and the seventh of his career. The “Smooth Operator” thought his chances to win were gone after he fell to fourth. “Clanton had a good restart, and I didn’t,” Pierce said. “That bottom really came back to life, and I figured we were toast. We were fourth, and I figured I might not be able to do something with these guys. I started making that bottom work, and every time Sheppard went high, I just happened to get lucky and timed it perfectly.  “We just kept switching lanes, and it worked out. It was a lot of fun out there. I’m looking forward to the next time I come back here.” With his win, Pierce has more World of Outlaws wins than any other driver in 2023. He also moved to second in points—four points behind Chris Madden, who finished ninth. Despite closing the gap for the second consecutive night, Pierce’s focus is on staying consistent. “We try to be as consistent as we can be,” Pierce said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You just have to Qualify good and go into the redraw. And tonight, we finally put a whole night together. We just have to try and be as consistent as we can, and the points will come as they come.” Sheppard crossed the line second, narrowly missing out on his first World of Outlaws win of the year.  The New Berlin, IL driver said his Longhorn Chassis was good, but his tires were too hot in the race’s second half. “On one of those restarts, [Pierce] passed me on the top,” Sheppard said. “So, I was like, I better go to the top. Then I get up there on top, and you get your tires hot, and you start slowing down. And then I saw him down on the bottom, and at that point, you’re a sitting duck. You move down there, then your tires are hot, and you start sliding around.  “All in all, it was a good run after last night. We had some unfortunate stuff happen on [Saturday], and that sucked. We bounced back tonight, and the car was really good. We’ve been right there, and I think we were a lot better tonight than we’ve been in a while.” Shane Clanton, the 2015 Series champion, finished third—his third top five of the season. The Zebulon, GA driver tried to make his move on that second Lap 16 restart, but eventually lost the runner-up spot to Pierce. “I think I was trying to take Bobby’s line because I knew he was running the top,” Clanton said. “He just about got the lead in one lap, so I thought if I got a good restart, I could get by him and maybe take his line.  “We were a little bit off, but compared to what it has been the past month and a half, it feels good. We worked on some stuff this week, and I think we’re getting closer.” Germfree Labs Rookie of the Year contender Nick Hoffman finished fourth, earning his 11th straight top 10 finish.  Like Pierce, the Mooresville, NC driver also gained points on Madden. Hoffman is now third in points, six points behind the Gray Court, SC driver. Cade Dillard earned his first top-five of the season, finishing fifth. UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models continue World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek with a trip to Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, IA, on Tuesday, June 27.  Then, the Series finishes the inaugural Speedweek with stops at Red River Valley Speedway (June 28), River Cities Speedway (June 30), and I-94 EMR Speedway (July 1). For Tickets: CLICK HERE.   If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.  CASE Construction Equipment Late Mode Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[6]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[8]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 7. 96V-Tanner English[9]; 8. 1ST-Johnny Scott[10]; 9. 44-Chris Madden[17]; 10. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 13. 18-Chase Junghans[18]; 14. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 15. 04-Tad Pospisil[19]; 16. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 17. 30-Todd Cooney[16]; 18. 6-Cade Richards[21]; 19. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]; 20. 196-Jaxon Saathoff[20]; 21. 36-Chris Johnson[24]; 22. 07-Ben Sukup[22]; 23. 174-Ethan Dotson[15]; 24. 3S-Brian Shirley[11] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Chris Madden [+8]

The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: CASE Construction Equipment (Official Construction Equipment), CASE No.1 Engine Oil™ (Official Oil and Lubricant), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Simpson Performance Products (Preferred Safety Gear Partner), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Toyota (Official Vehicle), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fox Factory (Hard Charger Award), Low-E Insulation, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Swift Springs, and Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including, Behrent’s Performance Warehouse, Capital Race Cars, FIREBULL, Germfree, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, Rocket Chassis, and Sea Foam.

NASCAR CUP SERIESNASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAYALLY 400TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORTJUNE 25, 2023 Chevrolet Sweeps NASCAR Tripleheader

·       The victory is Chastain’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2023 season, and his third career victory in 168 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Chastain is the fifth driver from the fourth different Chevrolet team to record a NASCAR Cup Series win this season.  ·       The victory continued Chevrolet’s NASCAR Cup Series win streak at Nashville Superspeedway – marking the manufacturer’s third win in the series’ third appearance at the 1.33-mile Tennessee oval.  ·       Chastain brought Chevrolet to a double-digit win count in the NASCAR Cup Series this season with the manufacturer leading the series with 10 victories this season.  ·       The winningest manufacturer in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now sits at 843 all-time wins in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Chevrolet swept the NASCAR tripleheader race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway with AJ Allmendinger (No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Carson Hocevar (No. 42 Niece Motorsports Silverado RST) in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  ·       This marks Chevrolet’s fourth tripleheader weekend sweep of the 2023 NASCAR season.

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL14th      CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL15th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL16th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL18th      ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL19th      KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL110th    AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 CELSIUS CAMARO ZL1  TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)2nd      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd      Denny Hamlin (Toyota)4th      Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)5th      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner QuoteIt’s a hometown Nashville win for Trackhouse Racing, who likes to claim Music City as their hometown. What an impressive performance, Ross, by you and your group. After a rough month and a half for you and the 1 team, how is a win for a little medicine?“Georgia watermelon, I got to tell you, this is incredible.  This is why every little kid out there anywhere in the world, when you get criticized, and you’re going to if you’re competitive, they will try to tear you down. You will start believing you can’t do it. You have to go to your people, trust in the process, read your books, trust the big man’s plan upstairs, just keep getting up and going to work. I got to tell you, a lot of self-reflection throughout all this. I had a group that believed in me and they didn’t let me get down. They bring rocket ships and I just try to point them to Victory Lane.  How did you put the criticism behind you?“Trust in my people. My family back home. The agriculture industry, they’re always there for me.  Everybody at Trackhouse Justin Marks puts in place, Phil Surgen, on the 1 and 99. To win in Nashville is absolutely incredible. The WISE program, everybody at GM, Chevrolet.  I train with so many of my competitors, but it makes us better. Up against the best out there. For Worldwide Express Racing to sweep the weekend, get the pole, we won everything we could have with WWEX Racing. Jockey, Advent Health, the Moose. It’s absolutely incredible the fight that we have.” I love the emotion in the burnout. You said in the middle of it, This is so much fun. Is this born out of relief or…“That’s just a desire to win. I got to tell you, it’s just so hard at this level. It’s the best of the best. It’s where I’ve wanted to be since I was 18 years old, from studying for over 10 years just to qualify better let alone go race for a Cup race win.  Along the way, the journey, I’m so happy that my group is here, everybody that supports me. Yeah, look, it’s a Cup win. I don’t care what happened last month, the rest of my life, it’s a freaking Cup win.” The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at the Chicago Street Course with the Grant Park 220 on Sunday, July 2, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES: CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1Finished: 4th I KNOW YOU AND ALAN GUSTAFSON WORKED ON THE CAR ALL NIGHT AND IT SEEMED LIKE IT GOT BEST WHEN IT GOT DARK LIKE LAST YEAR WHEN YOU WON THIS RACE. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW THE 400 MILES WENT FOR YOU CHASE?“It was solid, but we still needed a little bit. I actually thought we were the best at the start of the race and then we kind of got off there in the mid-stage and I think we basically just kind of got back to where we were and everyone else got a little better. But yeah, proud of the effort and to get two top-fives in a row is a good thing for us. Trying to get things going, so we will try again in Chicago.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Finished: 5th HOW DID YOUR DAY GO AND WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED?“We were pretty bad all race long and I don’t know how we ended up fifth there. Our team just did a good job with the pit cycles to leapfrog a few guys, and then we were actually somewhat decent on that last run and passed a couple of cars. So, I am surprised we ended up fifth. Happy with the effort and happy with another week of keeping our heads in it and getting a good finish out of the day.  Proud of the team. We just have to get the race cars a little bit faster now or I need to look at data on what I need to do because we just haven’t been as strong as we were through the first couple of months. But now, I think we are executing way better than we did, you know, ever so far through the season. I am very happy with that; just wish we could have some of those early races back at this point. All-in-all, happy with a top five, just frustrated that we didn’t have the speed to really go battle.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 Finished 6th“We had decent balance once the sun was out and then okay through the middle portion of the race. Just not a lot of speed to catch those guys who were rolling the center, which is our weakness. We just got eaten up on the restarts not being able to roll into (turn) one.  The No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet was decent all night. The guys worked really hard, and it was just that last run where we needed a little bit more. It’s good to come home sixth and kind of be somewhat disappointed with that. We will go to work next week for Chicago and get a little bit better and see what we can improve. I thought the weekend was solid as a whole.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1Finished: 8th                                                                                  “It was a good day. We had a good No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We were able to run up towards the top-10 all day, so just need to build on that. If you can be up there and running competitively, it gives you something to work on. Today was the first day in a while that I felt like we were in the ballpark and where we need to be, so that’s a good step. I’m proud of the effort, for sure. We’re getting the cars better and where we want them to be, and hopefully just get them a little bit more moving forward.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1Finished: 9th “We had a really good No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevy, but just kept making mistakes again. We had a flat to begin the race, so that kind of set us behind, but we were able to recover from that. And then sped on pit road, so that set us back. We got involved in that wreck on the frontstretch, so we had some damage. By that time, the sun had gone down and everybody had picked up speed and worked on their cars, and it’s just really hard to pass. It just took us a long time to keep clawing back and getting back up as far as we could. Good finish overall, but definitely know there was more.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 CELSIUS CAMARO ZL1Finished: 10th “We had a really good day. Our car was really balanced all day; we didn’t have to make adjustments. We just couldn’t get the track positions and we lost spots on pit road and had to make up for it. At the end of the day, that probably cost up three or four spots overall. I’m proud of the team. We are making a lot of progress, we had a lot of speed all weekend. I’m looking forward to going to a street course here to hopefully make up some more ground.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1Finished: 12th“It wasn’t too bad. I thought we were going to be a little bit better than that, to be honest. I felt like our No. 99 Tootsies Chevy was a top-10 car most of the race. I don’t know what happened on the last run, the car was pretty bad. But very, very happy for Trackhouse Racing.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK CAMARO ZL1 Finished: 13th “It was a long, hot weekend in the No. 3 Huk Chevrolet at Nashville Superspeedway. Crew chief Keith Rodden and all the guys on the No. 3 team adjusted on our Chevy throughout the race to improve handling and try to make us better on the short run. It was frustrating because we had a lot of ground to make up after starting 26th and everyone is so similar, speed-wise, that it was difficult to pass at times. We got pretty tight as the race progressed, especially on take-off. We did make progress, though, and for a while I thought we were going to be able to get a top-10 finish. I did everything I could, but it’s just tough out there. We’ll regroup and head to the Chicago Street Race next weekend.” NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1 Finished: 26th“It was a smooth day. Proud of the No. 42 Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevy team’s effort. We brought the car home in one piece. A day like this is what we needed to build momentum on.”

JUSTIN MARKS, FOUNDER OF TRACKHOUSE RACING, and SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, DRIVER OF THE NO. 91 TRACKHOUSE RACING CAMARO ZL1, met with the media to preview the upcoming Chicago Street Race. Press Conference Transcript –  (No Mic)Van Gisbergen: “No Audio… I got fitted up in the car, met the guys and see how it all works. It’s really impressive. There’s a lot of anticipation from everyone for what the first street race is going to be like next. I’m looking forward to it. The track is similar in some ways to tracks we have, but also pretty different with not much run-off and how narrow it is in spots. It’s going to be intense. Just trying to take it all in. this week and see how it all works. The pit stops are quite different from what I’m used to, so just trying to understand that and how it works and get ready for it.” FOR SHANE, HOW DOES SOMEONE WHO SPENDS MOST OF THEIR LIFE IN NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRAILIA FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN NASCAR, BUT THEN ALSO THE DESIRE TO WANT TO COMPETE IN IT? Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, it’s on every Monday there. It’s funny.. I was a big Tony Stewart fan when he was racing, and then of course Darian (Grubb) was his crew chief. So now getting to work with him is very cool and getting to know him. But yeah, the last few years, still kept in touch. Then of course with the opportunity this year, I’ve been watching most races trying to study. Always been a fan of it, so to get to jump straight into the Cup Series is pretty exciting.” JUSTIN, LAST YEAR YOU COMPETED IN THE TRUCK RACE AT MID-OHIO. YOU SORT OF MADE IT KNOWN THAT YOU WEREN’T GOING TO BE DOING MUCH MORE RACING, BUT YOU’VE BEEN GETTING IN THE CAR A LOT MORE LATELY. WHAT HAS CHANGED YOUR MIND? Marks: “I tell people that I don’t know that I’ve actually really met a fully retired race car driver. Maybe Carl (Edwards), but other than that, once it takes hold, it’s hard. Me walking away from what was basically kind of full-time professional racing was to do this Trackhouse project. I maintain a love for racing and I wanted to be able to do it part-time and just have some fun. I’ve been able to do a lot of racing in my Trans Am car, which is a really fun car to drive.  Al Niece and the folks at Worldwide Express came to me and offered me that Mid-Ohio race last year. When someone says to come drive for me in NASCAR, you just say yes. I didn’t think it would ever happen again.  With Chicago, it’s interesting because I never really had an interest in coming back to the Xfinity Series or the Cup Series to do any racing. But street racing is pretty much my favorite type of racing that there is. I just kind of got this idea in my head like – I’ve been running my Trans Am Car and it would be fun to jump back in and experience that. I raced in the first race in the Xfinity Series that ran in the rain, and now to have this opportunity to race this first one on a street course was just something I wanted to put on my resume. I just sort of socialized it lightly and it really came together when we started talking to Kaulig Racing. They couldn’t put AJ (Allmendinger) in the No. 10 car since the Cup drivers can’t race. Obviously that’s the fastest road course car in the series and that opportunity was there. And then our partners at Jockey said – if that’s something you want to do, we’d love to be a part of it and came on board for it. It all just came together organically, so it’ll be fun.  And then beyond that, I do think it will be somewhat of an asset to Trackhouse on Sunday next week because I’ll be able to do the race and communicate with these guys about how the surface changed, how the race went, things that I saw, things that I experienced. Be able to finish that race and then go sit with the three of them and just talk about what I experienced and hopefully give them some information that will help them in the race on Sunday.” JUSTIN, WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE LOOKING LIKE FOR THE PROJECT91 CAR FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON? I’M GUESSING IT’S STILL GOING TO BE ROAD COURSES OR ARE YOU LOOKING AT DOING AN OVAL ANY TIME? Marks: “So there’s two things – one, it’s commercially driven. We need partners to be able to do it. We got really, really fortunate to have Enhance Health to be able to get the car on the race track at Chicago.  I would like to do another one. I wouldn’t like this to be the last one. I think obviously we got a lot of notes and data from Watkins Glen (International), so it would be nice to put something together there. We don’t have anything in stone right now. I think critical mass for PROJECT91 is probably three or four races a year, and then beyond that, you’re really starting to actually build a third team. So if we get a partner and they say – hey, we love PROJECT91 and we want to be a part of it across the board, then that gives us a piece of business where we can actually asset up around PROJECT91. We haven’t hired anybody for PROJECT91. We’re pulling people off of other jobs. I’m throwing Darian (Grubb) on top of the pit box to crew chief it. So that’s what will really determine it, is commercial. And then like I said, you get to a point pretty quickly where – I don’t want it to be a drain on the No. 1 and 99 teams, so I would say three to four races is probably our max. But as of right now, it’s just all about Chicago.” SHANE, WHAT’S KIND OF STOOD OUT TO YOU ABOUT THIS CAR THAT IS DIFFERENT? YOU’VE GOT MORE STREET COURSE EXPERIENCE THAN ANYBODY ELSE IN THE FIELD, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN OR WHY DOES THAT MATTER? Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, well the first thing is sitting on the other side of the car is tough. And then climbing through the window (laughs).. I’ve never done that before. Yeah, it’s quite different. But the technical side of things is pretty similar in the way the car is built. A big, heavy car. A lot of horsepower. It’s similar to what we have. It looks difficult. I’m going to find out tomorrow what it’s like at Charlotte (Motor Speedway) – I get a small run. But yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. I’m trying to keep my eyes open – try to learn this week and try to not have too many expectations about the street circuit. It looks so different to what NASCAR has done before. When you watch the COTA race and how crazy that was, it was a bit eye-opening. But I hope it’s not like that at Chicago.. that’d be crazy.” JUSTIN, OBVIOUSLY GREAT FOR YOU GUYS TO HAVE ROSS (CHASTAIN) ON THE POLE TODAY. THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF TALK OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS THAT THE RESULTS HAVEN’T BEEN THERE AND ROSS ISN’T AS AGGRESSIVE AND YOU’VE HAD THAT TALK WITH HIM. WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE HE IS AND FOR THOSE WHO SUGGEST THAT THIS IS LIKE LAST FALL WHERE HE BEING NOT AS AGGRESSIVE AND IT HURT HIM THAT HAS HE FALLEN INTO THAT TRAP AGAIN? Marks: “I think that the sitting down, the talking to and all that is a narrative that’s sort have taken on a life of its own over the last couple of weeks. I’ve not sat down with Ross (Chastain) and said – hey do this, do that, slow down. I’ve not had that conversation with him. The conversation has been – hey, let’s not waste opportunities we have to win because winning is so hard and we need to win right now and we don’t want to be losing opportunities. We want to be good partners with our key partners within the Chevrolet camp.  As of right now, I mean look – the last couple of weeks, we were really, really fast. We were fast at Charlotte (Motor Speedway). We’ve just had some things not go our way; not executed for him the right way. But I mean I think he’s in a really good headspace right now. Obviously we brought a really fast car here to Nashville (Superspeedway). He’s super motivated to win. I’ll just say the same thing that I’ve said for a while – he’s going through this process and it does take time. There are drivers that have gone through this before, a number of drivers that have gone through this before. We can all pull up footage of fights after races with guys that haven’t been in that fight for a long time now because they’ve sort of figured it out but it’s taken them some time. Us at Trackhouse, we’re huge fans of his talent – his drive, determination, passion and his possibility. So we’re trying to empower that. We’ve had a tough couple of weeks, just performance and execution-wise. But there’s obviously tons of speed there and I think he’ll be on-kill trying to win this race tonight.” SHANE, YOU MENTIONED CHARLOTTE TOMORROW. WHAT WILL YOUR WEEK OF PREPARTION ENTAIL?Van Gisbergen: “Yeah, so tomorrow, we’ve got a bit of short test – hopefully the weather stays fine for it. And that’s just to get a feel and make sure I’m comfortable in the car and everything’s working. And then it’s all simulator stuff, really. I think I get two sessions in the simulator – just trying to learn and just get comfortable with the car. And then also the dynamic of the team with the engineers and crew chief and working out how that communication works. The strategy is quite different, so I have to do a lot of study on that. The pits closed when the yellow comes out. Don’t have a pit speed speedometer and stuff like that, so just learning how to manage that side of the race. It’s quite different.  And then obviously we’re not racing for points, so we don’t have to focus on the stages and stuff like that. But yeah, going to come in and do our best, but also have to race with respect, as well. These guys are fighting for a championship every week. But yeah, got to come in and try to stay out of trouble I guess, too.” WHAT ARE YOUR REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS FOR THE CHICAGO STREET RACE? Van Gisbergen: “Well I don’t really have anything, results-wise. I just want to do my best. I’ve prepared as well as I can, and I know the Trackhouse team runs some awesome cars. Meeting everyone and seeing how motivated they are. They’re nothing wrong with the equipment and the preparation. So yeah, I have no expectations, results-wise, but if I’m prepared the best I can be, we can achieve anything.” YOU’RE ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE DRIVERS ON THE PLANET. ARE YOU GOING TO TRY TO TWIST HIS ARM FOR AN OVAL TRACK RACE? Van Gisbergen: “We had a small chat about that earlier. I’ve never really thought about ovals too much, but yeah you’d love to have a go at it. Like watching yesterday and how committed the guys were in qualifying – they had the practice and then you sit around all day and you get one lap. To see how committed everyone was and see who was braver than the others into turn one, it was pretty cool to watch. It sucked watching, I wanted to be out there. So, yeah I’d want to have a go at it one day.” SHANE, WHAT’S THE GOAL IN THE SENSE OF IS THIS A THING FOR FUN? IS THIS SOMETHING THAT IF IT GOES WELL, YOU’D COME TO AMERICA AND RACE WHETHER IT’S HERE OR INDYCAR?Van Gisbergen: “I think all of the above. It was a pretty exciting opportunity. I love Supercars and what I’m doing now, but starting to speak to Justin (Marks) about it last year and this year obviously sparked my interest in doing other things. I really just want to see how it goes. I haven’t been to America since before COVID time, so to be able to travel now and experience things again – yeah, we’ll see how it goes and maybe it will lead to more.” JUSTIN, WITH YOU BEING A COMPETITOR AND AN OWNER NEXT WEEK AT CHICAGO, HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS FOR NASCAR AND ITS FUTURE IN STREET COURSE RACING? WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FANS CAN EXPECT WITH THIS TYPE OF RACING? Marks: “There’s obviously a lot of unknowns. I’m generally a fan of street racing because you get to bring an exciting product to the people. I tell this story – I raced in the Long Beach Grand Prix in one of the support divisions six or eight years ago. I remember Sunday morning before the race, I sort of had this lightbulb moment where I was like this race works so well because there’s 100,000 people here and 95,000 of them aren’t race fans.. they’re here because something is happening in their town and it’s exciting and came right to their front doorstep. So I think that’s an important element of street racing. We run a race in Nashville and there’s so many people that come that don’t know much about INDYCAR racing. They just think it’s cool that there’s race cars coming to their city and racing through the streets and it’s quite a spectacle. So from that standpoint, I’m a huge fan NASCAR doing it.  As far as expectations, I don’t know. Street racing requires more discipline in patience and race craft in any kind of racing in the world. This group of guys have the tendency to waiver a little bit late in the race – we see that a lot of times with green-white-checkers on a road courses and stuff. My hope is that we get to see a lot of green flag racing. I think there’s a risk that a portion of the race, a substantial portion of the race, will be behind the safety car. I hope that’s not the case because I think street racing can put on some of the best racing than anyone can see. Especially late in the races when fuel is burned off and the tires are sliding around and people are getting more courageous. I think it’s really, really exciting. In talking to some of the other competitors, I mean it’s all over the map, as far as what people think we’re going to see, which I think is exciting.”

Semi-Finals Appearance Caps Off Successful Race Weekend

Event: Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals

Scrappers Racing Results:

·      Top Fuel – Mike Salinas – Round 2

·      Pro Stock Motorcycle – Jianna Evaristo – Semi-Finals

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Jianna Evaristo rode her Scrappers Racing Pro Stock Motorcycle to the semi-finals at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio on Sunday afternoon. 

After Friday night’s qualifying sessions for Pro Stock Motorcycle were canceled due to inclement weather throughout the day, Evaristo was able to qualify sixth with a time of 6.941 after two qualifying sessions on Saturday.

With more weather threatening Sunday’s eliminations, NHRA moved the schedule up by one hour to get the day’s activities completed. In round one, Evaristo would compete against Ryan Oehler and with a .017 reaction time and an ET of 6.903, she would punch her ticket to round two. 

In round two, Evaristo lined up alongside Gaige Herrara, who has had an incredible streak of wins until a red light in Bristol against Steve Johnson. But Evaristo became the first rider in four races to beat Herrara head-to-head dating back to the 2022 season. Evaristo had a .050 RT to Herrara’s .067. At the line, Evaristo’s ET was 6.897 to Herrara’s 6.988 – punching her ticket to the semi-finals where she would meet Steve Johnson.

“All of that right there is Matt Smith Racing,” said Evaristo, following her win in Round 2. “It’s Matt (Smith), Angie (Smith) and the whole team and all the hard work that they put in every day, 24 hours a day. I’ve had the pleasure of being able to work with them now and it’s really paying off. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m very excited about what’s to come.”

Unfortunately, in the semi-final round, Evaristo’s reation time proved too fast and she would red light at the starting line, ultimately resulting in a loss to Johnson. But Evaristo knows the results of the weekend in Norwalk are a showcase of the speed in her Scrappers Racing motorcycle and a good stepping stone as she continue to learn and gain momentum in the series.

“This is all definitely still a learning experience,” said Evaristo, following her semi-final race. “I’m definitely getting more comfortable on the bike, which is why I feel like I saw the light. I really feel like I was ready. I felt good about it and I swore I saw the light. The moment I went, I was like, ‘Well, shoot.’ But it was good. The run was good. I saw the bike drifting towards the wall, but the bike definitely had the ability to be able to win that round and now I know that I also have that ability and had that ability to win that round. All I can do is learn from today. I’m getting way more comfortable and that’s something that is a really big positive out of today.”

The NHRA Drag Racing Series and the Pro Stock Motorcycle class will return to action in two weeks at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado for the Mile High Nationals, July 14 to 16. The riders will start a three week stretch of events on the west coast from Colorado to Seattle and ending at the home track for the Salinas family at Sonoma Raceway.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES – JIANNA EVARISTO:

Can you talk about the momentum you’ve gained coming from this weekend?

“This is one of the very few races from when I first started this season, I told myself that one of my main goals was consistency. I always really struggled with Q1 with not making a consistent run and then struggling with the rest. For as little runs as we got, we only got the two, I’m really happy. My first run was a decent run, made it down the track, so that was a huge plus for me. I feel like I’m working toward that consistency and just making solid runs in eliminations also. Altogether, I feel like I achieved a big goal of mine with consistency.”

How do you feel about three events in a row for the west coast swing?

“I know, I’m going to get so much seat time, I love it! Seattle will be interesting because we’ve never raced there so I think it will be an interesting learning curve for everybody. But we’re also going to Sonoma, I love Sonoma and Sonoma is my home track so that one, I need to go big or go home. I would love to win that one for everybody. Denver is first and Denver is always a tricky track, but like I always say, I’m going to go out there and race my race and stay in my lane and just focus.”

Podium finish in wild Sahlen’s Six Hours for Garcia, Taylor, No. 3 C8.R WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2023) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor recorded their third podium finish of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. The duo drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to a third-place finish in GT Daytona (GTD) PRO, an improvement of three spots from their sixth-place starting position. Garcia and Taylor inched up a spot in the class Drivers Championship to third after five races.

Despite two penalties and a pace deficit to the class front-runners, Garcia found himself leading inside the final 30 minutes thanks to some great strategic calls, fuel-saving and maximizing performance out of the No. 3 Corvette. Nevertheless, the C8.R team left Watkins Glen encouraged with a solid points day. Three early full-course yellows and a pace deficit made it tough to establish a rhythm early. The Corvette pit crew did its part, however, and jumped three cars on the first pit stop at the 46-minute mark to move Taylor to fourth on the restart. Unfortunately for the Corvette squad, IMSA officials penalized the No. 3 team after the No. 23 Aston Martin drove through the Corvette’s pitbox and hit a tire that clearly was inside the C8.R’s pit space. The Corvette team provided the series with evidence that its tire was within the pitbox boundary, but the penalty stood. That knocked Taylor down one position in class but well down the order in the overall GTD category. Undeterred, he battled back through the slower traffic and passed eight GT cars prior to the halfway mark. Misfortune struck again as officials required the No. 3 Corvette to stop about seven laps early due to a faulty tire pressure sensor. The team elected to make the change from Taylor to Garcia, who was in the Corvette for the final three-plus hours. Despite the setback, the No. 3 Corvette cycled back up to fourth in class and gained back a considerable amount of track position due to the race’s fourth full-course yellow with a little more than two hours to go. That caution period moved Garcia to third when the No. 63 Lamborghini was caught up in a prototype crash that necessitated the full-course yellow. Garcia gained another spot when the then-second place Aston Martin had to pit to correct a tire pressure problem. The Corvette crew called him in with 62 minutes remaining – on the same lap as the class-leading No. 14 Lexus. However, it had to serve a penalty for a drive-through penalty, which elevated Garcia to the lead. It was a small lead, though, as the No. 14 re-emerged from the pitlane with 59 minutes left and right on the Corvette. Forced to save fuel and hold off the No. 14 and the hard-charger No. 62 Ferrari, Garcia did a masterful job keeping the two challengers at bay before they found their way past with a little more than 30 minutes left. Corvette Racing’s next event in GTD PRO is the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 9.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Corvette Racing has always been good at Watkins Glen. We usually are quite decent there, and it seems like we always have a chance in this race. Watkins Glen is a track that I’ve always liked, and it’s always good to turn laps there. Being part of the Michelin Endurance Cup adds something extra for us. We are in contention in that and in the regular championship, so this weekend has added importance. This is six hours, so it’s one of those races that has something extra for the competitors.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It feels like we haven’t been at the track in months since Laguna, so it’ll be great to get back to racing at Watkins Glen. We didn’t have the fastest car there last year, but we somehow found ourselves in contention. I feel like we’ve made some big gains this season that should benefit us there. We haven’t had the results to show our true performance this year, so hopefully we can have a clean weekend and start getting back into the championship fight.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R maintains endurance points lead

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2023) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R placed third for the second consecutive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race and strengthened its IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship points lead Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken, who combined to win at Sebring International Raceway in March, drove around and occasionally through the 57-car field in an action-packed race on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course for its third podium in five races.The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, which won the last IMSA GTP race with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande sharing time in the seat, finished four laps down in sixth place after multiple issues including two on-track incidents that resulted in damage and a penalty for tire requirements. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R added five points to its endurance championship advantage by pacing the field at the halfway point of the race, and leads the points heading into the season-closing Petit Le Mans in October that s the finale of the four-race endurance set. Aitken set the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 33.028 seconds) and the track race record during his stint, which included Laps 122-152 as the leader.  The No. 6 Porsche 963 made a pass for the lead with four minutes left and just before a full-course yellow resulted in the race ending under caution.

Cadillac Racing returns to competition July 7-9 with concurrent IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championship events: the 2-hour, 40-minute Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and the 6 Hours of Monza in Italy. Bourdais and van der Zande will seek to successfully defend their IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory at the 2.549-mile, 10-turn road course in Bowmanville, Ontario. It was their third victory of the season in the twilight of the DPi era. Derani, who drove to a third-place finish in 2022, will again be joined by Sims in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, coming off a podium finish in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans, is third in the team and driver WEC Hypercar standings. Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook will seek to continue the momentum as their first-year tour of the WEC schedule moves to the 5.793-kilometer, 11-turn Autodromo Nazionale di Monza.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: “I feel disappointed because we had bad luck, and the race just didn’t go our way. It was pure survival out there and that’s just not a nice feeling when you’re not in a competitive position.” Sebastien Bourdais: “We had a good start, and the car was strong. We were making some good numbers but halfway through the stint we had contact with the Porsche. That was disappointing and I thought we had gotten away OK but then we got run into by the BMW, which really sabotaged our race because the rear of the car was severely damaged. It was definitely one of those days where what could go wrong did go wrong.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani: “The car felt good all day. Unfortunately, on the second to last pit stop we had an issue with tire pressure which compromised our pace. And then the GT blocking and I made contact that destroyed the front splitter. By that point we were compromised and didn’t have enough to close on the leader. Overall, a good points day for us – especially in the endurance championship – and we’ll keep fighting.” Alexander Sims: “I really enjoyed driving the car here and it felt like one of my better races. I understood what the car was doing, so I was happy with it. We were fighting at the front the whole race. There was no luck involved. We were there on pace. Credit to the whole team and Cadillac, and another strong finish. Good day points for the championship, which is all you can ask for.” Jack Aitken: “I was just happy to experience Watkins Glen for a full stint. I had time to get into it and I was in a great position coming out in the lead under caution. Strategy was perfect, I ran a clean stint and held the gap to the 60. I think it’s a great result and we’re right in there for the championship and collected the endurance points as well.”2023 Cadillac V-Series.RWins: Sebring (Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken), Laguna Seca (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande)2 wins, 5 podiums (including wins) IMSA1 podium FIA WEC (Le Mans; No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Richard Westbrook) Cadillac total wins in all classes/series since 2004: 68Cadillac total podiums in all classes/series since 2004: 217IMSA GTP (5)IMSA DPi (85)FIA WEC (1)World Challenge (126)Cadillac Manufacturer Championships in all series: 8IMSA DPi (2021, 2018, 2017)Pirelli World Challenge GT (2014, 2013, 2012)SPEED World Challenge GT (2007, 2005)IMSA DPi Driver Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017IMSA DPi Team Championships: 2021, 2018, 2017IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Champion: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championships: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championships: 2018, 2017Pirelli World Challenge GT Driver Championships: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012SPEED World Challenge GT Driver Championship: 2005

 

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Stephen Bell and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevrolet COPO Camaro picked up their first victory of the season Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.
 
Bell earned his fourth career victory against Lee Hartman in the final round. Bell would be second to leave the starting line but take the lead immediately and he would never trail on a 7.783-second pass at 177.74 mph to Hartman’s 7.809 at 175.32 mph run.

Norwalk Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown winner Stephen Bell poses with NHRA Wally and commemorative Norwalk Ice Cream Scoop, photo courtesy of Innovative Creation Experts

 
“This means everything to me. As a child, I wanted to race cars. My family supported me, love my wife, I love my family and we’ve been blessed with a lot of success to be able to come out and do things like this, to race with the Stanfield family. I get to be the monkey in the seat that does a pretty good job and then wins one of these things. It’s like Christmas Day. I’m just the happiest guy in the world,” Bell said. “Lee Hartman, he’s a gentleman, he’s a friend and he’s got a fast race car. There was no room for error on our end. We just stayed levelheaded. We knew we had a fast race car and we just had to find out if we could keep it going. This team worked hard to make that happen.”
 
Before reaching the finals, Bell, who is now second in the championship points standings, had to face points leader and most recent event winner Aaron Stanfield and his COPO in the semifinals. With the $1,000 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown bounty on the line, Bell would run a 7.758-second pass at 178.14 mph beating Stanfield’s 7.790 at 174.62.
 
“When you race someone as tough as Aaron you know you have to be at the top of your game,” said Bell. “You add on the fact that there was the $1,000 Flexjet bounty on the line I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy win. There are no easy wins out here. I love the bounty program and I am looking forward to holding onto that bounty title for a lot of races and watching that bounty number go up.”
 
En route to the semifinals, Bell ran a 7.761 at 177.07 mph to take down David Davies and his Save Our Allies Dodge Drag Pak’s 7.821 at 176.40, then put up a 7.739 at 177.21 mph to send Ricky Hord and his COPO Camaro’s 7.875 at 172.76 home.
 
In the quarterfinals, Bell matched with Jesse Alexandra and his Camaro for a tight side-by-side drag race. Bell would take the win with a 7.801-second pass at 177.63 mph to Alexandra’s 7.803 at 176.47.
 
The Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown series will continue its season at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, August 31-September 4.
 
Flexjet Bounty Program
Gatornationals (Gainesville, FL)
$1,000 bounty collected by Joe Welch, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Dallas winner
Four-Wide Nationals (Charlotte, N.C.)
$1,000 bounty collected by Lenny Lottig, defeated Joe Welch, Gainesville winner
Route 66 Nationals (Chicago)
Bounty not collected
Thunder Valley Nationals (Bristol)
$2,000 bounty collected by Lee Hartman, defeated Lenny Lottig, Charlotte and Chicago winner
Summit Racing Equipment Nationals (Norwalk, Ohio)
$1,000 bounty collected by Stephen Bell, defeated Aaron Stanfield, Bristol winner
 
2023 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Results
Gainesville – Joe Welch, winner; Aaron Stanfield, runner-up
Charlotte – Lenny Lottig, winner; Aaron Stanfield, runner-up
Chicago – Lenny Lottig, winner; Doug Hamp, runner-up
Bristol – Aaron Stanfield, winner; Del Holbrook, runner-up
Norwalk – Stephen Bell, winner; Lee Hartman, runner-up
 
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Top Ten Points Standings:
 
1.       Aaron Stanfield       496
2.       Stephen Bell           386
3.       Lenny Lottig            357
4.       Mark Pawuk            311
5.       Joseph Welch         297
6.       Doug Hamp            286
7.       Del Holbrook           282
7.       Jesse Alexandra      282
9.       Lee Hartman           281
10.     David Davies III      278
 
 

NORWALK, OHIO (June 25, 2023) — Drag racing can be an incredibly humbling sport, and Top Fuel driver TJ Zizzo experienced that firsthand this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. Zizzo finished qualifying in the No. 17 spot, just barely missing the opportunity to compete on Sunday. It is the first time since the U.S. Nationals in 2013 that he did not make the top 16.

“I am fine, but I am a little emotional,” said Zizzo, who raced to the semifinals at the Route 66 Nationals earlier this season. “This was a tough weekend. You get humbled in this sport pretty quickly. We knew there were a lot of great cars coming to Norwalk and it would be a challenge to qualify. I am disappointed, but I am also out here with my entire family, and we are doing this together which is the best.”

Norwalk was Zizzo’s second race of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. In May, he competed in the Gerber Collision & Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance in his hometown of Chicago. There in an upset he defeated the No. 1 qualifier Mike Salinas, and then advanced to the semi-final round of racing. In one of the best performances of his career, he set a new personal best elapsed time of 3.712 seconds.

“This weekend was the first race in a long time for us to compete in the heat,” said Zizzo. “We learned a lot and I think if we could have had one or two more runs, we would have made some big strides.”

Prior to this season, Zizzo had not competed in an NHRA event since 2021. During that off-period, he made the decision to reinvest in his team with the addition of a new racecar, thanks to the generous support of NHRA Hall of Fame driver and team owner, Don Schumacher.

“We’re still learning how to work with this new car,” said Zizzo. “We will work through it and get better. This is the best car I’ve ever ran with, we just need to get more runs underneath our belts to figure everything out.”

The driver of the Rust-Oleum Rocket Top Fuel dragster made improvements with every round of qualifying. In round one he smoked the tires and lost traction early, and in round two he hazed the tires and had to click off. His third run started strong, until around half-track when the car began mixing up cylinders, resulting in a 3.963 second pass at 255.00 mph.

“Friday was very wet, which makes everything more difficult,” said Zizzo. “It’s frustrating to smoke the tires when my guys worked hard all day. But we kept going at it on Saturday and did make some improvements. That’s how I know we are on the up and up.”

Despite the frustrations and disappointments, Zizzo remains thankful for the support of his crew, his family and his sponsors, who he sees as true partners of his Rust-Oleum Top Fuel team.

“We have sponsors to represent but they know what we are all about,” said Zizzo. “One race isn’t going to change that. The biggest positive is I am surrounded by great people and that is hands down the best part of this team. Even when we didn’t perform how we wanted to, no one was pointing fingers or upset at anyone. We are all working together and staying positive.”

Zizzo will be back in action at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals on Aug. 30-Sep. 4. He’s excited to take what he learned in Chicago and Norwalk to the popular race in Indianapolis.

“Our competitors know what our team is about, and everyone has been super supportive since we came back this season,” said Zizzo. “Norwalk was just our second race, and I can’t wait to get to Indy. It will be a fun weekend.”

Zizzo is planning to race at three additional NHRA events in 2023, including the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis.

Qualifying Results
Q1: 9.582 sec; 78.54 mph; Qual. 16
Q2: 4.882 sec; 145.66 mph; Qual. 17
Q3: 3.963 sec; 255.00 mph; Qual. 17

CHEVROLET IN NHRA

2023 SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT MOTORSPORTS PARK

NORWALK, OHIO

TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT

JUNE 25, 2023

MATT HARTFORD WINS CHEVROLET’S 374TH NHRA PRO STOCK VICTORY SINCE 1970; THE 255TH PRO STOCK WIN IN THE CAMARO

• Racing from the No. 1 qualifier spot, Matt Hartford earned his sixth NHRA Pro Stock victory, his second of the 2023 season.
• For the fifth time this season in nine events, Dallas Glenn appeared in NHRA’s Pro Stock final round. This was Hartford’s second final round appearance of the year.
• With his win today, this marks Hartford’s sixth straight year capturing a win in NHRA Pro Stock competition.
• Both Austin Prock and Brittany Force represented Chevrolet in the Top Fuel semifinals at Norwalk.
• Chevrolet doubled up in Norwalk this weekend by capturing victories in both NHRA Pro Stock and FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown.
• Qualifying from Norwalk saw interruptions due to weather in Pro Stock, and after only getting two qualifying sessions in, Matt Hartford went No. 1 in his Chevrolet Camaro SS and earning Chevrolet’s seventh of the 2023 NHRA season.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Matt Hartford, driver of the Total Seal/CIP1 Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car, earned his sixth career NHRA Pro Stock victory while capturing Team Chevy’s 374th Pro Stock victory since 1970. In his second final round appearance of the year, Hartford faced off against Dallas Glenn, driver of the RAD Torque Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car for KB Titan Racing, who has four final round appearances in nine events and three wins so far this year.

“I have no idea what it was in the finals, but I’ll take it. Dallas (Glenn) is as mean as anybody gets out here,” reflects Hartford on the win. “You have no idea how much this means, because everybody kept saying you’ll win again this year, and we came out strong and then we fell off. Guess what? We can.”

“This is the nicest track on the circuit,” continued Hartford. “99 percent of Pro Stock took the left lane today, and we took the right every single time. We raced our own program, not what others were doing. Keep your head down, focus on what’s inside your car, your pits, your trailer, don’t let the noise bother you.”

“Well, the final round is like any other one. You’ve got to prepare knowing with the racetrack, and the bars and all that stuff like that,” noted Hartford’s crew chief Eddie Guarnacci. “We missed a lot of opportunities. Had really good cars so far, the engines have been really good. Matt’s (Hartford) been driving and tuning well, so it feels like we’ve finally got into a position we should be.” 

With qualifying interrupted by weather in Pro Stock qualifying on Friday, Hartford and the rest of the Chevrolet contenders in Pro Stock only had two sessions to try and capture the No. 1 qualifier at Norwalk. Hartford, with his best lap of 6.593 ET at 205.91 MPH captured his third No. 1 of his Pro Stock career and this season.

In Top Fuel, Team Chevy raced to the Semifinal round, with Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, and Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, both being eliminated by their opponents. They look to Denver and the Western Swing next to regain momentum to the final round.

With an early Round 1 end to John Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, his teammate Robert Hight, driver of the AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, faced off against Matt Hagan in Round 2 and was eliminated by .02 seconds in a close race to the finish line.

In his Chevrolet COPO Camaro, Stephen Bell raced to his first FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown victory of the 2023 season after qualifying No. 18, defeating Lee Hartman.

NHRA next heads to Denver to kick off the Western Swing, with Bandimere Speedway hosting the 2023 Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals July 14-16, 2023. Broadcast of Sunday’s eliminations will air live at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Sunday, July 16, 2023.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“I feel really good about this weekend overall. This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team has been working really hard, and our progress is definitely starting to show. We moved up in qualifying to the No. 3 spot this weekend and we had a tough lineup all day. We made it to the semifinals which is huge for this team. We did drop to fourth in the points standings but we’re still in a really good fighting position with a handful of races left before we get into the Countdown to the Championship.”

Austin Prock, driver of the Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster for John Force Racing:

“I’m proud of my Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team this weekend. We made another semifinal which keeps us in the points hunt. We made some really nice passes in conditions we don’t have much data in so we were all happy with that. I’m looking forward to the Western Swing. I hope these two weeks off fly by.”

Robert Hight, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“Frustrating for this AAA team. That first round, usually if the red light is close, it’s not that bad but it’s hard to just sit there. I feel bad for the AAA team, we could have used that data getting down the track for the second round. I feel bad I couldn’t keep it together and stay in that run. We just didn’t have enough in that race against Hagan. There are a lot of tough cars out here, and they’re one of them. This AAA Chevy, we’ll be good. I’m confident in my team and looking forward to the Western Swing.”

John Force, driver of the BlueDEF Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

On rolling in deep to the staging beams against JR Todd and changing thoughts on the start line…

“I never change my thoughts. I just try to do what my race car will do, and I didn’t mean to chuck it in that far. I did, but he always leaves on me, so I try to make some of it up and I didn’t get it done. He got it done. Congratulations to him. I want to think the whole Bader family and what they do. They give the fans a great show, and NHRA coming in here.”

Matt Hartford, driver of the Total Seal/CIP1 Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car – Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals Winner’s Press Conference:

ON CHOOSING NOT TO TEST THIS YEAR IN THE OFFSEASON…

“Had we went testing, we may not have had to wait until Q4 in Gainesville to qualify. Look, you need to test. If we would’ve went and tested, we could’ve come out in a little bit better of a position, but we were able to make some big swings, big moves quickly. We’ve had a great car all year long. Terry Haas has built such great tuning, and that thing, it ain’t the newest one out here, I promise you, but it’s one of the best.”

YOU TALK ABOUT HAVING A GREAT CAR ALL YEAR LONG. NOW THAT YOU’VE BROKEN THROUGH, TALK ABOUT YOUR CONFIDENCE MOVING FORWARD…

“Coming into here, we were already looking to Denver, because Denver we ran decent last year. We were thinking of getting through Norwalk, getting to Denver, two qualifying runs here. I’ll tell you what, after Q1, I said we have a car that can run here, so then we had Q2, man look at the four guys we beat today. I am… Dallas Glenn, I mean, he has had my number every time I’ve raced him this year. I’m glad to put a double-0 on him.”

GETTING THROUGH FERNANDO CUADRA, DERIC KRAMER, AND DALLAS GLENN, TALK ABOUT HOW MEANINGFUL IT IS TO GET THROUGH TO A WIN…

“It goes back to having nothing to do with me. It goes back to all the people in the trailer, and all the sponsors that support us, and the engine program and the chassis builder. We have just such a great group of people around us. They’ve always said to surround yourself with people that work harder than you, smarter than you, or more motivated than you, and you can be successful. That’s what I’ve tried to do, to put myself in a position where everybody around me can do so much that I can’t do. I think it’s started showing, just let everybody focus on their job and at the end of the day let the box score be where it may. It’s a team effort, and we’ve had a great car all year long, and to be honest with you, the races we haven’t won is driver error. We’ve given it up to Dallas now… The final in Pomona. We had him covered, and I just couldn’t learn how to drive. We gave that race up, which has still been a thorn in my side and thinking about it before I pre-staged today. It’s so rewarding to be sitting up here.”

WHEN YOU QUALIFIED NO. 1 IN VEGAS FOR THE FIRST TIME, DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU UNLOCKED SOMETHING MENTALLY FOR YOU?

“I will say that over the winter, my brother had a pretty milestone birthday, and for his birthday gift, after Gainesville, we sent him to Frank Hawley’s school to get his Super Gas license. Adam had never been down a racetrack in his life in anything, not even a moped. For the two days that he was there, immediately, Frank grabbed me from moment one to sit through his class. Unbelievable what you learn when you sit there and listen to a man like him. How to clear your head, the arrows. I came out of Gainesville going “there are so many things I know I don’t know, but this proves you don’t know.” I think that really helped me as a driver this year. I wasn’t in the class, I was just listening. So I think that that mentally really helped me. I think about it week in and week out with the stuff that I learned there.”

WHAT IS THE GAME PLAN HEADING INTO THESE HOT SUMMER MONTHS AND THE WESTERN SWING IN THESE REALLY TOUGH EVENTS HEADING INTO THE COUNTDOWN…

“We kind of have a liking to Denver. I’m hoping that our streak can continue. In the last eight elimination rounds we’ve had there, we’ve been in all eight of them. So one runner-up, and one win. I’m really hoping that all the parts that we put away, saying don’t touch those until we get to Denver next year, I’m hoping that’s all still there. Denver is such a fun place to go. To us, going up on a mountain, we’re looking forward to it. It’s always a challenge, and I love it up there. It comes down to momentum.”

WITH THE NEW CAR THIS YEAR, AND NOW WINNING AT NORWALK, DOES THIS ADD TO THE CONFIDENCE LEVEL OF THIS TEAM?

“It really does. It builds confidence. Driver confidence, anytime you go up there and struggle as a driver, obviously you start thinking. It goes back to when I was sitting there listening to Frank (at Frank Hawley School), you don’t clear your mind, a negative creates a double-negative. Before you know it, you’re so messed up that a one-hundred light is the best you’re going to get. You have to go up there with a clear mind every time. Today, it gives me a lot of confidence to get in the car. I’m ready to go for another run. It’s surreal to know we’ve won another race.”

Round 1 Recap:

Top Fuel:

• No. 5 Austin Prock defeated No. 12 Tony Schumacher after Schumacher smoked the tires; Prock ran a 3.740 ET at 319.45 MPH.
• No. 3 Brittany Force defeated No. 14 Shawn Langdon with her run of 3.711 ET at 332.18 MPH to Langdon/s 3.910 ET at 255.85 MPH.

Funny Car:

• No. 6 Robert Hight defeated No. 11 Mike McIntire Jr. after McIntire Jr. double-stepped and red-lit with Hight also double-stepping but making a winning pass of 8.139 at 85.21 MPH.
• No. 10 John Force fell to No. 6 JR Todd after a close race seeing J. Force running 4.001 ET at 322.42 MPH to Todd’s 3.972 ET at 326.16 MPH.

Pro Stock:

• No. 1 Matt Hartford defeated No. 16 Fernando Cuadra with his run of 6.615 ET at 206.45 MPH to Cuadra’s 8.257 ET at 120.17 MPH.
• No. 8 Deric Kramer defeated No. 9 Camrie Caruso after Caruso red lit on the starting line.
• No. 4 Aaron Stanfield defeated No. 13 Chris McGaha with his run of 6.628 ET at 206.23 MPH to McGaha’s 11.226 ET at 79.87 MPH, shaking the tires on his run.
• No. 5 Greg Anderson defeated No. 12 Kyle Koretsky with his run of 6.619 ET at 206.67 MPH to Koretsky’s 6.642 at 206.57 MPH.
• No. 2 Erica Enders defeated No. 15 Eric Latino on her run of 6.641 ET at 207.08 MPH to Latino’s 10.028 ET at 91.03 MPH and facing issues on his run.
• No. 7 Dallas Glenn defeated No. 10 Bo Butner, III with his run of 6.610 ET at 206.61 MPH to Butner’s 6.648 ET at 204.66, a reaction time difference of .002.
• No. 3 Troy Coughlin, Jr. defeated No. 14 Mason McGaha with his run of 6.607 ET at 207.95 MPH to McGaha’s 10.719 ET at 85.77 MPH, shaking the tires early on his run.
• No. 11 Jerry Tucker defeated No. Christian Cuadra with his run of 6.553 at 203.83 MPH to Cuadra’s 6.631 ET at 204.85 MPH.

Round 2 Recap:

Top Fuel:

• Prock defeated Mercier with his run of 3.763 ET at 318.84 MPH to Mercier’s 3.846 ET at 302.21 MPH.
• B. Force defeated Hart with her run of 3.729 ET at 333.58 MPH, setting top speed of the event with her Round 2 run, to Hart’s 3.774 ET at 328.54 MPH.

Funny Car:

• Hight fell to Hagan after his 3.931 ET at 322.81 MPH wasn’t enough for Hagan’s 3.912 ET at 329.18 MPH.

Pro Stock:

• Stanfield defeated Anderson with his run of 6.638 ET at 206.04 MPH to Anderson’s 6.709 ET at 205.85 MPH.
• Glenn defeated Enders with his run of 6.632 ET at 206.39 MPH to Enders’ 7.046 ET at 157.41 MPH.
• Hartford defeated Kramer with his run of 6.601 ET at 206.89 to Kramer’s 6.647 ET at 205.04 MPH.
• Coughlin, Jr. defeated Tucker with his run of 6.619 ET at 207.30 MPH to Tucker’s 6.661 ET at 204.11 MPH.

Semifinals Recap:

Top Fuel:

• Prock fell to Pruett after hazing the tires, with Pruett running 3.771 ET at 331.12 MPH to Prock’s 4.194 ET at 297.75 MPH.
• B. Force fell to Ashley with her run of 3.713 ET at 333.16 MPH to Ashley’s 3.711 ET at 331.94 MPH.

Pro Stock:

• Hartford defeated Stanfield with his run of 6.624 ET at 206.57 MPH to Stanfield’s 6.666 ET at 206.80 MPH.
• Glenn defeated Coughlin, Jr. after Coughlin, Jr. hazes the tires, Glenn running a 6.635 ET lap at 206.45 MPH.

Finals:

Pro Stock:

• Hartford defeated Glenn with his run of 6.624 ET at 207.02 MPH to Glenn hazing his tires early in the run.

AUSTIN PROCK AND BRITTANY FORCE MAKE SEMIFINALAPPEARANCES AT SUMMIT MOTORSPORTS PARK

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Austin Prock with the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster and Brittany Force with the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster made semifinal appearances Sunday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS had a quarterfinal exit while John Force with the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS exited in the first round. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team started race day from the No. 3 qualifying spot taking on Shawn Langdon. Force would be first off the starting line and never trail for a solid 3.711-second pass at 322.18 mph that bettered Langdon’s 3.910 at 255.83 after he puffed the tires near the finish line. In the second round, Force took on Josh Hart laying down another stout run at 3.729 and an event top speed of 333.58 to send Hart’s 3.774 at 328.54 home. Their performance would put Force and the Monster Energy team against points leader Justin Ashley in the semifinals. Force would stay consistent with a 3.713 at 333.16 but it wouldn’t be enough for Ashley’s 3.711 at 331.94. “I feel really good about this weekend overall. This Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team has been working really hard, and our progress is definitely starting to show. We moved up in qualifying to the No. 3 spot this weekend and we had a tough lineup all day. We made it to the semifinals which is huge for this team. We did drop to fourth in the points standings but we’re still in a really good fighting position with a handful of races left before we get into the Countdown to the Championship.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT dragster carried over momentum from a No. 5 qualifying effort into race day with a first-round win over Top Fuel veteran Tony Schumacher. Prock would have a clean 3.740-second pass at 319.45 mph while Schumacher smoked the tires early to coast to a 10.944 at 73.40. In the quarterfinals, Prock and the Montana Brand team would lay down a 3.763 at 318.84 to take down Dan Mercier and his 3.846 at 302.21. The victory would set Prock up with a semifinal matchup against No. 1 qualifier Leah Pruett. Pruett would have the starting line advantage for a winning run of 3.771 seconds at 331.12 mph while Prock and the Montana Brand team drove into tire smoke. Prock would try to pedal it but it wouldn’t be enough, crossing the finish line at 4.194 and 297.75. “I’m proud of my Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team this weekend. We made another semifinal which keeps us in the points hunt. We made some really nice passes in conditions we don’t have much data in so we were all happy with that,” Prock said. “I’m looking forward to the Western Swing. I hope these two weeks off fly by. Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Chevy kicked off race day with a first-round victory at the starting line. His opponent Mike McIntire Jr. left the starting line .305 seconds too early handing Hight the victory. After having to hold off to not also redlight, Hight would shut off early at mid-track for only an 8.139-second pass at 85.21 mph. In the second round, the AAA Camaro would face Matt Hagan. It would be a side-by-side drag race but Hight would come up short with a 3.931 pass at 322.81 to Hagan’s 3.912 at 329.18. “Frustrating for this AAA team. That first round, usually if the red light is close, it’s not that bad but it’s hard to just sit there. I feel bad for the AAA team, we could have used that data getting down the track for the second round. I feel bad I couldn’t keep it together and stay in that run,” Hight said. “We just didn’t have enough in that race against Hagan. There are a lot of tough cars out here, and they’re one of them. This AAA Chevy, we’ll be good. I’m confident in my team and looking forward to the Western Swing.” John Force and the PEAK Chevy wouldn’t have enough for J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations. Force handled his Camaro to a 4.001-second pass at 322.42 mph losing to Todd’s 3.972 at 326.16. “I just try to do what the race car will let me. This PEAK Chevy, it’s been consistent. I tried to get it there on the tree. Todd always leaves on me. I didn’t get it done. He did so good job to him and we’ll just get ready for the next one,” Force said. “Have to thank Bobby Bader and the whole Bader family. They’ve put on quite a show here for the fans, Bader Sr. would be proud.” Racing in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series continues July 14-16 with the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway just outside of Denver, Colorado. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 27, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:5th; 3.706-seconds; 323.97 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+3 (quickest Q3)Race Results: Beat: Tony Schumacher, Dan Mercier; Lost to Leah PruettBRITTANY FORCE, 36, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:3rd; 3.694-seconds; 332.10 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 Race Results: Beat: Shawn Langdon, Josh Hart; Lost to Justin AshleyJOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:10th; 3.934-seconds; 323.58 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0Race Results: Lost to J.R. ToddROBERT HIGHT, 53, AAA Ohio / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:6th; 3.915-seconds; 324.36 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+1 (3rd quickest Q2) Race Results: Beat: Mike McIntire Jr.; Lost to Matt Hagan

NORWALK, OHIO (June 25, 2023) — No car, race or driver can be perfect 100 percent of the time. That was the hard pill that Pro Stock driver Camrie Caruso had to swallow, when she red-lit in the first round of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park against Deric Kramer.
 
“That was a tough round to lose when you look at what happened in the other lane and how well we ran,” said Caruso, the 2022 NHRA Rookie of the Year. “I didn’t do anything differently in the first round and I wasn’t distracted, but it was still a learning opportunity for the next time I’m up against a tree.”

Camrie Caruso and Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro, photo credit Innovative Creation Experts

 
The second-year pro made two clean, solid passes during qualifying, entering Sunday in the No. 9 spot. Rain kept the Pro Stock category from being able to make qualifying runs on Friday. Caruso planned to keep that momentum going during the rest of the race, but her foot got the best of her.
 
“We had a good car in qualifying on Saturday,” said Caruso. “I wish the weather would have cooperated on Friday for us to get a couple of more passes. I think we could have qualified even higher with more runs. This Tequila Comisario Camaro with KB Titan Racing power is running really well. I felt good coming into the first round. I felt like I did before the Arizona Nationals but today didn’t go our way.”
 
Norwalk was the second time that Caruso and Kramer have went head-to-head. The most recent time was in the first round at the NHRA Arizona Nationals in Phoenix, where Caruso beat Kramer and went on to pick up her first-ever NHRA event win.
 
“Deric is a fantastic opponent and I’m sure we’ll have several more matchups,” said Caruso. “We are now tied in wins, which is even more motivation to be better and faster than him the next time.”
 
If not for the red light, Caruso’s first round pass would have been strong, going 207.53 mph and reaching an elapsed time of 6.657 seconds.
 
“It’s disappointing when one mistake messes up the entire run,” said Caruso. “But these things happen, and as my team likes to remind me, I can’t be too hard on myself all the time. I’m grateful for their support as I continue to improve as a racer.”
 
Even with a tough first round loss, Caruso still has an optimistic outlook on the weekend and the rest of the season. She participated in the 4^th annual #NorwalkNats Ice Cream Eating Contest and was able to interact with lots of fans.
 
“I am going to put this race behind me and get ready for the next one,” said Caruso. We didn’t get hurt too bad in the points. I hate that we didn’t go more rounds today because the fans this weekend have been great, and I always like to put on a good show for them. But we’ll get it done next time.”
 
Caruso is now No. 5 in points and is looking ahead to the Western Swing of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series season.
Qualifying Results
Q1: 6.652 sec; 207.69 mph; Qual. 5
Q2: 6.628 sec; 207.66 mph; Qual. 9
Race Results
First Round
Deric Kramer, Get Biofuels Chevrolet Camaro, (0.035), 13.450, 65.84 def. Camrie Caruso, Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro, DQ- Redlight
Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Pro Stock
1.         Dallas Glenn               729
2.         Matt Hartford             567
3.         Deric Kramer               552
4.         Troy Coughlin Jr          510
5.         Aaron Stanfield          501
6.         Greg Anderson           441
7.         Erica Enders                430
8.         Camrie Caruso            419
9.         Cristian Cuadra           405
10.       Bo Butner                   376