J.R. Todd scores his second semi-final finish in the last three events in Funny Car

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Justin Ashley continued his recent strong performance with a runner-up finish at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park on Sunday afternoon. Ashley defeated Clay Millican, Team Toyota’s Steve Torrence, and Brittany Force, before coming up short against Leah Pruett in the final. With the final round appearance, Ashley extends his points lead to 97 over Torrence.

In Funny Car, former champion J.R. Todd earned his second semi-final appearance in the last three races. Todd defeated the top-two winningest drivers in NHRA Funny Car history – John Force and Ron Capps – in the first two rounds before coming up just short against points leader Matt Hagan. All three Toyota GR Supra drivers – Todd, Ron Capps and Alexis DeJoria – earned at least one round win on Sunday. 

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park

Race 9 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Finalist	W. 3.715 v. 6.782(C. Millican) W. 3.721 v. 3.703(Holeshot – .039 v. 081 – S. Torrence) W. 3.711 v. 3.713(B. Force) L. 4.497 v. 3.761(L. Pruett)
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Second Round	W. 3.735 v. 4.237(D. Foley) L. 3.703 v. 3.721(Holeshot .081 v. .039 – J. Ashley)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 5.182 v. 3.760(M. Salinas)
Doug Kalitta	Applied Innovation Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 7.702 v. 3.892(D. Mercier)
Shawn Langdon	Bounty Hunter Kalitta Air Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	First Round	L. 3.910 v. 3.711(B. Force)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS 

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Finals	W. 3.972 v. 4.001(J. Force) W. 3.950 v. 3.912(Holeshot .036 v. .092 – R. Capps) L. 3.954 v. 3.959(Holeshot – .067 v. .057 – M. Hagan)
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.930 v. 4.119(A. Laughlin) L. 3.912 v. 3.950(Holeshot .092 v. .036 – J. Todd)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Second Round	W. 3.923 v. 12.466(P. Lee) L. Foul v. 4.412(Red Light – B. Alexander)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Maynard Ashley Racing

Final Result: Finalist

Can you talk about the final round?

“This was a great weekend at the racetrack for our Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma. Our entire team did a fantastic job, and I could not be prouder. This was a team effort from the start to the finish. To be able to turn on so many win lights in a row is something that is so difficult to do in a sport that has so much competition. Today and the rest of the season we will have our guardian angel Cathi Maynard riding with us.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Finals

How was your race?

“It was a good day, but I’m bummed to lose on a hole shot. When you lose on a hole shot, that’s on the driver. I feel like I should have been better than I was that round. We ran 3.95 (3.954 seconds at 324.20 mph), but we were trying to run better than that. I feel like we missed a good opportunity to win, and those opportunities don’t come around that often. It would have been pretty cool to win that 200^th race for Toyota, but at the end of the day, it was a good effort. The car is definitely getting more consistent going down the track, and when you get down the track you learn. We just need to pick things up on my end, and we’ll be ok. Two semifinals in the last three races means we’re getting better going down the track and not beating ourselves. You have to go down the track to give yourself a fighting chance, and that’s pretty much all I can ask for as a driver. We have a great group of guys on this DHL Toyota team, and I know all their hard work will pay off – hopefully soon.”

NORWALK, OH (June 25, 2023) — Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster team were racing the shadows of a major distribution hub for his primary sponsor this weekend at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Last year Hart raced to a runner-up finish and the owner of Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, was looking to grab one more win light this year. Through two days of qualifying Hart entered race day at the No. 6 qualifier with a strong racecar.

Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, photo credit Auto Imagery

 
“We lost a session on Friday because of the rain, but we got two shots at the track yesterday,” said Hart. “We are tracking down a few issues with the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster and I felt good going into race day. There are no easy rounds so we were ready for Spencer Massey in the first round.”
 
In the opening session both dragsters left the starting line and Massey almost immediately overpowered the racetrack. Hart made a smooth run that got him to the finish line 3.785 seconds after he launched at 326.643 mph. His winning effort set up a quarterfinal race with the reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force.
 
Hart was first off the line but as he was accelerating Force pulled beside him and eventually pulled away for the win. She made the quickest pass of the round and matched the track speed record on her pass. Hart crossed the finish line with a 3.774 second pass at 328.54 mph just behind Force’s 3.729 second run.
 
“We are fighting an issue with our clutch and that had hurt us the past couple of races,” said Hart. “The good news is we have some time before the Western Swing starts for the team to figure it out. I feel really comfortable in the car and I know once we get past this issues we’ll be in good shape. We were right there in the Chicago final and we have made good runs in Bristol and here in Norwalk.”
 
The R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be back in action at Bandimere Speedway for the final Mile-High Nationals, July 14-16, in Morrison, Colorado.
 
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.707 sec, 328.14 mph; Qual. 4
Q2: 3.796 sec, 324.59 mph; Qual. 5
Q3: 3.771 sec, 327.27 mph; Qual. 6
Bonus Points: 0
Race Results
First Round

Josh Hart, R+L Carriers dragster, (.079), 3.785, 326.63 mph def. Spencer Massey, Commercial Metal Fabrication dragster, (.053), 4.576, 172.10 mph

Second Round

Brittany Force, Monster Energy dragster, (.071), 3.729, 333.58 mph def. Josh Hart, R+L Carriers dragster, (.068), 3.774, 328.54 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten - Top Fuel
1.         Justin Ashley               726
2.         Steve Torrence           629
3.         Leah Pruett                 620
4.         Brittany Force             590
5.         Austin Prock                588
6.         Antron Brown             531
7.         Mike Salinas               504
8.         Josh Hart                    487
9.         Doug Kalitta                442
10.       Shawn Langdon          398
 

NORWALK, OH (June 25, 2023) — Justin Ashley raced the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma to his fifth final round of 2023 and for the first time the 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year did not emerge victorious exiting Norwalk with a runner-up finish. Throughout the season Ashley had established a pattern of racing to the final round and securing victory capturing four national event wins and four Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories including one yesterday at Summit Motorsports Park. Ashley dropped the final round to No. 1 qualifier Leah Pruett after he defeated Clay Millican, Steve Torrence and Brittany Force throughout the day.  Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma, photo by Auto Imagery“This was a great weekend at the racetrack for our Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma,” said Ashley, who has raced to 16 final rounds in his Top Fuel career. “Our entire team did a fantastic job and I could not be prouder. This was a team effort from the start to the finish. To be able to turn on so many win lights in a row is something that is so difficult to do in a sport that has so much competition. Today and the rest of the season we will have our guardian angel Cathi Maynard riding with us.”   In the first round Ashley drew veteran driver and No. 10 qualifier Millican to get his race day started. Both drivers were strong off the starting line with Ashley getting a slight edge .041 to .044 but Millican smoked the tires almost immediately. Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma made a smooth run at 3.715 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals.   Facing four-time world champion and fellow Toyota driver Torrence in the quarterfinals Ashley had lane choice. When the tree flashed amber Ashley once again showed his driving skill leaping off the line with a strong .038 reaction time and that advantage held up at the starting line getting the four-time national event winner in 2023 a hole shot win 3.721 to 3.703 seconds over Torrence. After the win light fired off in Ashley’s lane his crew chief Mike Green had nothing but praise for his driver.   “He’s doing such a great job, he’s learning every day,” said Green. “He’s great on the tree. Racing the Torrence family, you know, Richard, Bobby, Steve, Billy and Kay, they’re just a great team. They’ve obviously been one of the best teams out here for a long time. Racing them, they flat out outran us that time, but luckily enough Justin did a great job on the tree and we got the win.”   The win advanced Ashley to another semifinal and secured his spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the fifth time this season. To race to his fifth final round Ashley would have to defeat the reigning Top Fuel champion Brittany Force who was also racing a strong Top Fuel dragster. In the semifinals Ashley continued to be locked in off the starting line with a .038 reaction time which put his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster out front and he never trailed in the race winning 3.711 to 3.713 seconds with both 12,000-horsepower Top Fuelers hitting over 330 mph.   “It’s so much fun to be able to drive this Phillips Connect Toyota Racing Top Fuel dragster,” said Ashley, after his semifinal win. “I love putting our Mac Tools and Lucas Oil to work each round. The team does such a great job and everyone is focused on us, but how about the competition? It’s so close, racing with such small margin of error. Everyone knows I love our marketing partners, but I love my mother. Happy birthday, Mom, I love you.”   Throughout the season Ashley has had the support of marketing partners including KATO Fastening Systems, Lucas Oil, Mac Tools, Toyota and this weekend Okuma. In the final looking to turn on his 14th consecutive win light with his fifth win of the season Ashley pulled beside Pruett. Ashley was first off the line for the fourth consecutive time on race day with another stellar reaction time, .043-seconds. Ashley was on a strong run, but he had to pedal his race car, losing some momentum and opening the door for Pruett to drive around him. He was not able to get his dragster to hook back up and he had to watch Pruett pull away for the win.   The team will leave Norwalk with the points lead which they stretched to over 100 points over Torrence in second place. They will be back on track at the NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway, July 14-16.   Qualifying Results Q1: 3.708 sec, 332.59 mph; Qual. 5 Q2: 3.743 sec; 329.34 mph; Qual. 6 Q3: 4.063 sec, 228.61 mph; Qual. 7 Bonus Points: 0 Race Results First Round Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.041), 3.715, 329.34 mph def. Clay Millican, Parts Plus dragster, (.044), 6.782, 67.91 mph Second Round Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.039), 3.721, 328.06 mph def. Steve Torrence, CAPCO dragster, (.081), 3.703, 331.77 mph Semifinals Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.038), 3.711, 331. 94 mph def. Brittany Force, Monster Energy dragster, (.059), 3.713, 333.16 mph Finals Leah Pruett, Dodge Direct Connect dragster, (.081), 3.761, 326.79 mph def. Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.043), 4.497, 198.90 mph  Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel 1.         Justin Ashley              726 2.         Steve Torrence           629 3.         Leah Pruett                 620 4.         Brittany Force             590 5.         Austin Prock                588 6.         Antron Brown             531 7.         Mike Salinas               504 8.         Josh Hart                     487 9.         Doug Kalitta                442 10.       Shawn Langdon          398

The Largest Professional Team In Drag Racing Secures Two Semifinal Finishes

NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Elite Motorsports experienced the power in numbers today at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Only one-tenth of a second separated the top rung of the ladder from the bottom in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock field creating fierce competition among this incredibly talented pool of drivers. Four Elite Motorsports Pro Stock drivers made passes powerful enough to qualify in the top half of this impressive field – Erica Enders (No. 2), Troy Coughlin Jr. (No. 3), Aaron Stanfield (No. 4), and Cristian Cuadra (No. 6).  In the first round of Pro Stock competition, Elite Motorsports drivers Bo Butner and Fernando Cuadra Sr. made early exits against Dallas Glenn and Matt Hartford, respectively. In an all-Elite Round One matchup, Pro Stock rookie Jerry Tucker defeated C. Cuadra.  Stanfield faced Chris McGaha and got the win light in his Janac Brothers / JC3 Energy Camaro. Coughlin then faced the younger McGaha, Mason, who left first but Coughlin managed to outpace him for the win. Enders and her JHG / Melling Performance Camaro defeated Eric Latino in the final matchup of this exciting round of competition.  In the quarterfinals, Elite Motorsports Pro Stock machines made up half of the remaining field. Stanfield got the jump on Greg Anderson and held on to the lead to race his way into the semifinals, securing a spot in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty event in Denver. Glenn defeated five-time Pro Stock world champion Enders. She was ahead of him at 300 feet but she was down on speed by the eighth-mile marker.  Coughlin powered past his teammate Tucker in the quarterfinal round to join his teammate Stanfield in the semifinals where they would face Hartford and Glenn, respectively. Unfortunately for Team Elite, it would be Hartford and Glenn advancing to the final round of competition at Summit Motorsports Park where No. 1 qualifier Hartford snagged the Wally. In Pro Mod, Mason Wright returned after an incident in Chicago to qualify in the No. 13 position before making an early exit in the first round of competition. In Top Sportsman, No. 2 qualifier David Cuadra turned on one win light in eliminations. The next event for the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series will be the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals, July 14-16 in Denver.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 25, 2023) – Chris Dyson conserved his #16 GYM Weed Ford Mustang while battling pole-winner Justin Marks and veteran Boris Said for the first half of Saturday’s 100-mile Trans Am feature race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, running a close third before seizing the lead just before the halfway mark of the 45-lap contest and then holding it to the checkered flag. Dyson’s  teammate, defending Mid-Ohio race winner Matthew Brabham, completed a team sweep of the top of the podium by finishing second in his #20 GYM Weed Ford Mustang after carving his way through the field from his 16th position on the grid. “That was Trans Am racing at its best,” Dyson said directly after climbing from his car in the winner’s circle. “The car was just magical! Thanks to my guys for the great job they’ve done since Lime Rock. We tested at Watkins Glen and made a lot of progress on setups. We struggled here in qualifying in the rain, but the car was so good today.” “I was just biding my time,” Dyson said of the first half of the race, when he was shadowing Marks and Said before slipping past both in traffic and into the race lead just before the race’s only full-course yellow. “I saw an opening and I took it. When the opportunities come up against talent like this, you have to pounce because you might not get another shot. And then I was able to successfully defend on the restart and settle into a nice rhythm.” For Marks the restart was a major setback; attempting to pass Dyson he instead flew off the track and was fortunate to emerge in eighth place, 20 seconds behind Dyson, but at least not stuck in a gravel trap. Brabham’ didn’t set a time in qualifying and so he started 16th on the 21-car grid. “I had so much fun coming up through the field,” Brabham said following the race. “I had to use up my tires getting back to the front and I just didn’t have enough left at the end. But I had a perfect view an amazing race (between Dyson, Marks and Said). They were side-by-side and going down the inside. And the restart was pretty interesting!” CD Racing drivers Dyson and Brabham now hold a commanding lead in the drivers’ National point standings after six rounds, with three victories for Dyson and two for Brabham. Dyson’s Trans Am victory at Mid-Ohio was his 22nd and tied him with Scott Pruett for 5th in the series’ all-time win category. For more on Chris Dyson Racing, visit chrisdysonracing.com

Gravel capitalizes on Kofoid’s misfortune to bank $250,000 at Huset’sBRANDON, SD (June 24, 2023) – The stage at Huset’s Speedway couldn’t have been set any better for David Gravel. Competing at the racetrack owned by his car owner – Tod Quiring. A stretch of tough-to-swallow second place finishes that continued into the week. And the biggest payday in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car history on the line. The Billion Auto Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards began with a pair of close runner-ups for Gravel on the Wednesday and Thursday prelims. Those came after two more second place finishes at Beaver Dam the weekend before.Despite the disappointment of those results, Gravel remained focused and hungry heading into Saturday’s $250,000 finale. A win with the biggest stakes in The Greatest Show on Dirt’s history on the line would erase the bitter taste of so many second places. A record crowd filled in to watch what would unfold. The stage was set and Gravel delivered.The Watertown, CT native seized on a perfect opportunity when an expired engine on Buddy Kofoid’s machine late in the 40-lap Feature gifted Gravel the lead. From there, he never looked back as he went on to etch a place in Sprint Car history.In Victory Lane, Gravel and his crew and family erupted with joy. Gravel climbed all the way atop the wing. The rest of the cast celebrated with shouts and hugs as the reality sunk in. A win worth a quarter of a million dollars.“I guess all the seconds (places) paid off. One of these times I was going to win one, so this is a good one to win,” Gravel said. “We’ve been really good here. Last year we had the gate deal. I thought we had a really good shot at winning last year. To come back and win with Levi (son), my whole family, for Cody (Jacobs, crew chief), Tod and everything he does for the sport. The crowd was amazing. T-shirt trailer was crazy. It just shows you when a track owner commits to trying to build an event here at a racetrack it pays off. He’s paying money. There’s big fans. It was a great event.”The win upped Gravel’s tally with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars to 83 – one behind fellow full-timer – Brad Sweet’s – count of 84. Gravel extended his lead in 2023 wins with his seventh of the season. The 31-year-old now owns a trio of Huset’s victories in World of Outlaws competition, making it the ninth different track where he’s won at least three times.Gravel’s story with Big Game Motorsports came full circle. Years ago, well before he established himself as one of the nation’s best Sprint Car drivers – Gravel approached Tod Quiring about driving for him. The two couldn’t work out a deal at the time. But as the years passed and Gravel’s win column skyrocketed with other teams, Quiring brought him aboard ahead of 2021. Two years later, Gravel drove to Victory Lane in the marquee event that Quiring has crafted at Huset’s.“It’s good to take some of the boss’ money tonight,” Gravel said with a laugh.When the green flag flew, Gravel started from the fourth spot aboard the Billion Auto #2. Right off the bat he surged into the second spot with an excellent start. The race went green for more than 30 laps, and Gravel struggled to challenge pole-sitter – Buddy Kofoid – for the top spot. When it looked like he might close in heavy traffic Kofoid would slip by another lapped car for breathing room. Kofoid’s hopes were dashed, though, when smoke began to rise from under the hood of the Roth Motorsports #83. The Penngrove, CA native came to a stop with an expired engine less than 10 laps away from what would’ve been the biggest day of his racing career.“Buddy had a really fast car,” Gravel noted. “That race could’ve went green to checkered, and he could’ve potentially won the race, but it’s a shame for him. He was running really, really good and setting a really fast pace.”Kofoid’s devastation was Gravel’s gain as he inherited the lead for the restart. One more race stoppage occurred with eight laps remaining for a pileup in Turn 4. But it made no difference for Gravel who went on to cruise to one special victory.Behind Gravel, Rico Abreu claimed the runner-up spot for his second podium over the four nights. The St. Helena, CA native pocketed $50,000 for his efforts. Abreu continues to credit his dynamic with his crew for their steady speed in 2023.“I’m just thankful to my crew for never giving up on me,” Abreu said. “It’s just shows with these results here. We were kind of mediocre all week to be honest. We had a good run Wednesday night then struggled the last two nights. Then Ricky (Warner, crew chief) really made a big swing at our car and made some big changes which allowed us to get in the hunt here.”The final step of the podium belonged to Kyle Larson. “Yung Money” wheeled his way from the third row to position three for a $25,000 payday. With starting where he did, Larson felt he simply needed more laps to have a shot at coming out on top and also couldn’t help but think about his late misfortune on Thursday that potentially cost him a better starting spot.“Once we got the cautions there, the track kind of switched over and my car got really good, just ran out of time there,” Larson explained. “I thought we could catch traffic a little quicker and maybe get those guys racing in front of us but just a little too late. Honestly, I look back at Thursday night, and if I don’t get into Rico off of (Turn) 2, I finish better and probably starting further forward in the Feature and giving myself a better shot.”Rounding on the top five was Logan Schuchart and Carson MacedoWith a run from 22nd to seventh, Brad Sweet earned the KSE Racing Hard Charger.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Qualifier One went to David Gravel. NOS Energy Drink Qualifiers Two through Six were topped by Gio Scelzi, Kyle Larson, Carson Macedo, Sheldon Haudenschild, Rico Abreu.Tyler Courtney claimed the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars travel to New Richmond, WI where Cedar Lake Speedway will host the Independence Day Spectacular (June 30 – July 1). For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action on DIRTVision.RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[4]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[3]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson[6]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[2]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 7. 49-Brad Sweet[22]; 8. 5-Spencer Bayston[10]; 9. 11-Cory Eliason[9]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen[11]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[13]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[21]; 14. 20G-Noah Gass[16]; 15. 3-Tim Kaeding[18]; 16. 7S-Robbie Price[19]; 17. 11S-Parker Price Miller[17]; 18. 21-Brian Brown[12]; 19. 25-Lachlan McHugh[23]; 20. 83-James McFadden[14]; 21. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[1]; 22. 83H-Justin Henderson[15]; 23. 88-Austin McCarl[24]; 24. 17B-Bill Balog[20]

PEVELY, MO (June 24, 2023) – When the air temperature rises on the Hell Tour, so does the action on track. Stormy Scott served up a blazing hot plate of excitement Saturday night with a last-lap, last-corner pass on Ashton Winger for his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win.

“To win at I-55 – it’s more exciting because everybody knows the history of this place,” Scott said. “Everybody knows who half of one of the owners is, the track is on the video game… It’s awesome to get a win here, for sure.”

After Winger took the lead from Shannon Babb just past the halfway point, Scott and Drake Troutman had ascended into the second and third spots and were hot on Winger’s tail as the laps clicked off. Babb had broken drivetrain components immediately after taking the green on a Lap 25 restart and drew a caution, retiring to the infield under yellow.

Though Scott had got to the runner-up spot first, Troutman found some speed on the cushion and drove around Scott to take second. A couple caution flags in the few laps that followed gave Scott and Troutman some more chances at the leader, but they went uncapitalized as Winger continued his charge out front.

At its largest, Winger’s lead stretched to slightly over a full second as the leaders prepared to enter lapped traffic in the final 10 laps.

“I felt like when I had a gap, I actually tried to slow my pace down ever so slightly to not catch that lapped car,” Winger said. “I saw where the lapped car was running, and I didn’t have it in my mind how I was going to pass him when I got to him.”

That’s when Scott and Troutman began to close back in on Winger, shrinking the gap to less than a car length at its closest. Troutman tried several lanes on the track to make the pass but Winger was able to hold him off. Scott, however, was not to be tamed.

“We all got to racing, and I saw where Troutman got by me on the bottom,” Scott said. “I tried running that line for about three laps and I kept missing it. I knew I had to be patient and figure it out.”

“I knew that as long as I could keep a good run going, if I could keep my tires cooler than theirs at the end, they’d come back to me.”

Armed with a good car and the right strategy, Scott stuck to the bottom and pulled nearly even with Winger down the backstretch as they headed for the white flag.

Winger was forced to make a quick move around a lapped car out of Turn 4 and did so without issue, though he said it did slow his progress slightly.

“I really had to throw a haymaker on that lapped car coming to the white,” Winger said. “I misjudged my entry a little bit – it just barely hindered my rhythm a little bit.”

Scott was unaffected by the slower traffic and continued getting faster on the bottom. He got a run on Winger out of Turn 2 and down the backstretch, came into Turns 3-4 with the speed he needed to get under Winger, held it to the bottom and snuck past him just before the start/finish line by .224 seconds to bag the $10,000 check.

“I knew that if we could be door-to-door getting into Turn 3, I knew the spot where we were all entering, and I was gonna enter as hard as he went,” Scott said. “I was afraid that if I let off too early and he got too much momentum going, I wouldn’t beat him off the corner.

“I didn’t plan on dooring him or anything like that, but I knew that I needed to drive in with him and keep up my speed so I could at least have a shot at it to get off of Turn 4 and we could drag race in.”

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals action continues with the final race of Week 2 on Sunday, June 25, at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL. Tickets will be available at the gate; streaming is available on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[3]; 4. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[7]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[8]; 6. 21J-Billy Moyer Jr[10]; 7. 33-Mike Harrison[6]; 8. 36-Logan Martin[1]; 9. 2-Tyler Stevens[18]; 10. 31AUS-Kye Blight[16]; 11. 16-Rusty Griffaw[20]; 12. 58-Tyler Clem[17]; 13. 4G-Bob Gardner[19]; 14. 30-Mark Voigt[22]; 15. 19X-Cody Bauer[14]; 16. 15-Clayton Stuckey[13]; 17. 10-Daryn Klein[12]; 18. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 19. 94-Austin Rettig[9]; 20. 54-Dane Dacus[15]; 21. 4-Jason Suhre[11]; 22. 6K-Michael Kloos[21]

Harrison Retakes Lead from Wallace in Closing Laps to Win I-55

After getting out to a sizable lead in traffic on the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field, it appeared to be in the bag for six-time champion Mike Harrison. But the race was far from over.

With only six laps remaining, Harrison had a lead of almost two seconds built up on fellow Summit Modified champion Kenny Wallace when he suddenly ended up in the Turn 2 wall, allowing Wallace to close the gap.

“The car just took off in a bad push and I couldn’t steer out of it,” Harrison said. “Finally, by the time I did gas/brake and got it to steer out of it, I was in the wall.

Wallace, powering around the lowest lane on the track, took the lead with two-to-go and did his best to defend on the bottom, but was unable to hold back the No. 24H. Harrison wound it up on the top side of the track and carried enough momentum to get back by Wallace for the lead coming to the white flag.

“Kenny was underneath me and I just had to go into full-send mode, otherwise I was gonna lose,” Harrison said.

Harrison drove it back around to the checkers ahead of Wallace by less than a car length to score his 59th career Summit Modified Feature win.

UP NEXT

The DIRTcar Summit Modified action continues on Sunday, June 25, at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, IL. Tickets will be available at the gate; streaming is available on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[1]; 2. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[6]; 4. 8-Kyle Steffens[4]; 5. 1D-Dean Hoffman[7]; 6. 14C-Rick Conoyer[5]; 7. 12L-Lucas Lee[11]; 8. 25-Tyler Nicely[13]; 9. 66-Cole Falloway[16]; 10. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[9]; 11. 10X-Jim Black[2]; 12. 00S-Chris Spalding[10]; 13. 00Z-Steve Picou[8]; 14. J82-Treb Jacoby[18]; 15. 13-Charlie Mefford[17]; 16. 9-Chad Cornett[21]; 17. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[15]; 18. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[12]; 19. 77D-Drake Stevenson[14]; 20. 51M-Joe Mercurio[19]; 21. 66W-Tyler Worley[20]; 22. 82-Dalton Lane[22]

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.”

SARVER, Pa. (June 24, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. pulled away on lap 81 from an outstanding battle for the lead with Hudson O’Neal to win the 17th Annual Firecracker 100 presented by Big River Steel on Saturday night. Thornton earned $50,000 for his 10th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of 2023. Thornton and O’Neal battled side-by-side for several circuits with the two exchanging the lead at least six times during that span. Thornton was able to eventually shake O’Neal and pull away to nearly a straightaway lead as the checkered flag fell. Jonathan Davenport, who led the first 44 laps was third with Gregg Satterlee and Devin Moran rounding out the top five drivers. Thornton, who entered the event as the #1 ranked dirt late model driver in the nation, proved why with another crown jewel victory that he adds to his growing resume. “I really didn’t know what to do on those restarts and I’m like you know what I was running around the bottom and if I could keep him [O’Neal] pinched him down there maybe late in the race I could get rolling through the middle and get back by him. I don’t know I guess I just saved my stuff long enough and whenever I needed to use it I really could. I know it’s cool because there is a bunch of Big River Steel employees here.” “I really don’t know how I pulled away from him [O’Neal]. I felt like I had a really good race with JD [Davenport] for a while and then Hudson got by me, and I just rolled through the middle, and he [O’Neal] got behind a lapped car. I wasn’t positive what tires he had on. I know they had talked about going soft there and they were kind of committed to the bottom and I don’t know what they ended up on. I felt like I gave the race away once he got by me. I got behind Earl [Pearson Jr.] and I just kicked it into another gear and I through a Hail Mary to the top and it stuck. I was able to run there for a long-time and then with about 15 to go I moved back down to the middle” said the 32-year-old Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader.    O’Neal, who like Thornton was seeking his first career win in the Firecracker 100 ended up nearly five seconds behind Thornton at the finish as they fought tooth-and-nail for the race lead for several laps. “I don’t know if I had anything left for him [Thornton]. I was just so married to that bottom it was just hard to deal with some of those lapped cars because I just couldn’t quite get a run on them like I needed. Then that bottom got so thin it made it even harder. Ricky had harder tires and was able to move out on the race track a little bit. Maybe I didn’t give it a fair enough shot. We have kind of been behind the eight-ball all week. We struggled to find our stride and I just felt like we just got better and better as the week along.”  Davenport rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “Hudson was on a little bit different tire than me, and Ricky was. Me and Ricky were on the same tires I believe. We were just a little too tight and once it got slicker and slicker it showed up more and more. I couldn’t turn down in the corner like I needed to. This was a brand-new car. That is the best we have ever been here by far. So, we will take a top three it was a good points night for us in the big scheme of things. Congrats to Ricky he’s just really, really good right now.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Dyno One Inc., West Side Tractor Sales Company, Certified Inspection Services Company, Inc., Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Midwest Sheet Metal, and Murty Farms. Completing the top ten were Brandom Overton, Michael Norris, Ken Schaltenbrand, Mason Zeigler, and Max Blair. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Night 3Saturday, June 24, 2023Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[2]; 4. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[7]; 5. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 6. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[4]; 7. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[6]; 8. (DNS) 96-Mike Smith; 9. (DNS) 66-Todd Bachman Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 2. 111B-Max Blair[1]; 3. 1Z-Logan Zarin[4]; 4. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 5. 9-Breyton Santee[6]; 6. 55C-Chris Schneider[7]; 7. (DNS) 22B-Darrell Bossard; 8. (DNS) 97-Kevin Smith; 9. (DNS) 10K-Zachary Kane Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 4. 15K-Cody Overton[6]; 5. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[4]; 6. AUS1-Brent Vosbergen[5]; 7. 1L-Chuckie Lepsch[8]; 8. (DNS) 25S-Cory Sines; 9. (DNS) 184-Kyle Lukon AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 1*-Chub Frank[3]; 3. 1C-Alex Ferree[4]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 5. B22-Bump Hedman[5]; 6. 14-Braeden Dillinger[6]; 7. 11P-Joshua Powell[8]; 8. (DNS) 01-Ron Hall Lucas Oil Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 10-Michael Norris[1]; 2. 48-Colton Flinner[3]; 3. 9Y-Levi Yetter[5]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 5. 20D-Doug Eck[7]; 6. 10L-Gary Lyle[6]; 7. 8K-Kyle Strickler[8]; 8. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[4] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 22-Gregg Satterlee[2]; 3. J4-John Garvin Jr[6]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[5]; 6. 77-Tyler Dietz[8]; 7. 11T-Trevor Collins[4]; 8. 20N-Nicholas Eck[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 2. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[6]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 4. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[1]; 5. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[7]; 6. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[10]; 7. AUS1-Brent Vosbergen[9]; 8. 55C-Chris Schneider[8]; 9. 9-Breyton Santee[5]; 10. 1L-Chuckie Lepsch[11]; 11. 15K-Cody Overton[3] UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 2. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[13]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[6]; 6. 11P-Joshua Powell[10]; 7. 14-Braeden Dillinger[7]; 8. 11T-Trevor Collins[12]; 9. B22-Bump Hedman[4]; 10. 20D-Doug Eck[5]; 11. 20N-Nicholas Eck[14]; 12. 10L-Gary Lyle[8]; 13. 77-Tyler Dietz[9]; 14. (DNS) 8K-Kyle Strickler 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Feature Finish (100 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 51Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Jonathan DavenportLap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-44); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 45-52); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 53-56); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 57-70); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 71-74); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 75-100)Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Brandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Margin of Victory: 4.912 secondsStop-Tech Brakes Cautions: Tim McCreadie (Lap 31); Logan Zarin (Lap 33); John Garvin, Earl Pearson, Jr., Garrett Alberson, Alex Ferree (Lap 33 restart)Series Provisionals: Tyler BrueningFirecracker Points Provisional: Ryan MontgomerySeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: Tyler Dietz; Gary LyleBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Devin MoranTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Mason Zeigler (Advanced 15 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Michael NorrisDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Daulton WilsonEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (47 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairEtchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 6 – 16.680 seconds)MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Tim McCreadieOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Spencer Hughes (16.247 seconds)Time of Race: 55 minutes 52 seconds The Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

(6/24/23 – Ben Deatherage) Algers, WA … After being denied a of NARC victory lane appearance in 2023, Justin Sanders finally broke through and scored a huge signature victory at the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup finale. Piloting Demo Mittry’s Farmer’s Brewing/North County Plastering #2X Maxim, the California hot shoe collected $62,000 for the triumph and became the 28th different winner in event history. Sanders also cashed in an additional $20,000 by leading the entire 40-lap distance at Skagit Speedway.

“I can’t even talk,” said an emotional Sanders in victory lane. “First off, I got to thank (car owner Demo Mittry, Wayne Pirdy for coming out, my fiancé Brooke, and Hunter Brady for always busting his ass. He’s stuck with me all year when we’ve been struggling, and now to turn it around here at his home track is pretty cool!”

“We had to change motors before the feature,” he continued, “and we’d never run it before. It ran good, and I almost gave the race away when I smacked the wall in two and bent the ladder or knocked it out because the car was way different after that.”

After hurting their primary powerplant in the trophy dash, the Sanders squad scrambled to put the backup engine between the frame rails just in time. He would seize the lead on the initial start and take off in the open race track after starting on the outside of the first row. Sanders was seriously challenged after reaching the tail end of the field on lap seven by Dominic Scelzi in the the Scelzi Enterprises/Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim.

As the laps progressed, Scelzi was forced to go on the defense as he was pressured by Corey Day driving the Jason Meyers Racing-fielded Meyers Constructors/Four C’s Construction #14 KPC.  Those two would battle ferociously before a stoppage on the 11th circuit. Traffic would become a factor again on the 14th circuit, but the red flag appeared for an upside down Andy Caruana.  He was uninjured in the melee. 

When racing resumed for long green flag run, Sanders powered his way back to slower traffic at the 25th lap mark. The highspeed game of cat and mouse intensified when Indianan Zeb Wise, in the Rayce Rudeen Foundation/Hager Reality Services #26 Maxim, made a push to the front with only 10-laps remaining.

On the 33rd circuit, Wise made a well-timed attack on Sanders, only for the leader to find another gear. They would battle again with three circuits remaining on an open race track, but Sanders answered the call to score his 14th career series win.

Sanders continued, “Once I saw (Zeb Wise’s) nose in one and two, I knew I had to go no matter what it took to get through those lapped cars. I had to throttle down as hard as possible and run the middle or bottom. I don’t know how I did; I just happened to come away with it.”

Wise finished a very close second, with Day filling the podium in third. Scelzi would come across the wire in fourth, followed by the Shane DeWald Trucking/NexGen Diesel Exhaust Fluid #18T KPC of Tanner Holmes in fifth.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” commented Wise. “I wanted to win that race pretty bad. We had a good car for the night. I just wished some of those cautions hadn’t come out so early.  We needed to get to traffic, and we had the best car in traffic. My guys worked hard to give me a good car all weekend, and we made the best of it.”

“There’s nothing to complain about running third to these two guys,” stated Day. “I wish we could have swept the whole thing, but we just didn’t have the race car that they did. I struggled really bad in three and four, and getting to lapped traffic and slowing the pace down was my only chance, but every time we got there, a yellow came out.”

Cole Macedo and Jason Solwold finished sixth and seventh, chased by Shane Golobic. Colby Copeland and sixteenth starter D.J. Netto completed the top ten. Justyn Cox earned the Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors after climbing ten positions in the running order from his 12th row starting spot.

Colby Thornhill and Trey Starks were also involved in red-flag incidents in the feature. Nobody was hurt.

(Photo by Wildlight Motorsports Photography)

 A-FEATURE (40 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders[2]; 2. 26R-Zeb Wise[4]; 3. 14-Corey Day[6]; 4. 41-Dominic Scelzi[1]; 5. 18T-Tanner Holmes[8]; 6. 21-Cole Macedo[5]; 7. 18-Jason Solwold[9]; 8. 17W-Shane Golobic[10]; 9. 16A-Colby Copeland[11]; 10. 88N-DJ Netto[16]; 11. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt[18]; 12. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[13]; 13. 42X-Justyn Cox[23]; 14. 8-Aaron Reutzel[7]; 15. 29-Willie Croft[14]; 16. 73-Chase Johnson[20]; 17. 2L-Logan Forler[15]; 18. 96-Greg Hamilton[19]; 19. 7-Tyler Thompson[12]; 20. 95-Justin Youngquist[21]; 21. 115-Nick Parker[17]; 22. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[25]; 23. 53-Jessie Attard[24]; 24. 19-Colby Thornhill[22]; 25. 55-Trey Starks[3]; 26. AU96-Andy Caruana[26]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Justin Sanders 1-40

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Justyn Cox +10 

KAEDING PERFORMANCE CENTER B-FEATURE (20 Laps): 1. 96-Greg Hamilton[2]; 2. 73-Chase Johnson[1]; 3. 95-Justin Youngquist[6]; 4. 19-Colby Thornhill[4]; 5. 42X-Justyn Cox[7]; 6. 53-Jessie Attard[8]; 7. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr[11]; 8. 69-Bud Kaeding[5]; 9. AU96-Andy Caruana[14]; 10. 17-Cam Smith[9]; 11. 99-Eric Fisher[10]; 12. 2JR-Kelly Miller[13]; 13. 14B-Bailey Jean[16]; 14. 9-Sean MacDonell[15]; 15. 0-Ashleigh Anstensen[19]; 16. 1M-Mike Brown[21]; 17. 57-James Bundy[18]; 18. 00S-Corey Summers[20]; 19. 10G-Dana Glenn[17]; 20. 44W-Austen Wheatley[3]; 21. 9A-Luke Didiuk[12]

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” POLE SHUFFLE: 
Round 1- Trey Starks def. Corey Day
Round 2- Trey Starks def. Cole Macedo
Round 3- Trey Starks def. Zeb Wise
Round 4- Dominic Scelzi def. Trey Starks
Round 5- Dominic Scelzi def. Justin Sanders 

Nick Hoffman finishes second, cutting Chris Madden’s points lead to 16 points

WICHITA, KS– June 24, 2023 – With one of the biggest paydays of the year on the line, Dennis Erb Jr. returned to familiar form Saturday night at 81 Speedway.

The defending World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Series champion stormed past Ryan Gustin on Lap 22 and held off a hard-charging Nick Hoffman to win the Wichita Late Model Showdown.

Polesitter Kyle Bronson grabbed the early lead, holding the top spot for the first six laps before a caution for Dustin Walker slowed the field. 

On the restart, Ryan Gustin challenged Bronson for the lead, powering underneath the Brandon, FL driver, and taking the lead in Turn 4 on Lap 7.

But as “The Reaper” pulled away from the field, Nick Hoffman and Dennis Erb Jr. moved to the front, taking over second and third as Bronson fell out of the top five.

Hoffman started to close on Gustin but missed his mark in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 20, opening the door for the defending Series champion.

Erb snuck under the Germfree Labs Rookie of the Year contender for the position and set his sights on Gustin.

He only needed two laps to get within a few car lengths of the #19R as Gustin started to work through lap traffic. 

Then, in Turn 2, Erb found the daylight he needed on the bottom, diving under Gustin and taking the lead down the backstretch on Lap 22.

From there, Erb held off a challenge from Hoffman and was cruising to victory until a caution for Chase Junghans flew on the final lap, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

Hoffman tried to go around Erb in Turn 2, but Erb drove away down the backstretch, holding on to score the $30,000 prize.

“To get out here and win again is a really good feeling,” Erb said. “Things haven’t been going well this year. The car’s been good, but we’ve been caught up in some things. To get back here and get a win really feels good.”

Erb’s win is the 14th World of Outlaws CASE Late Models win of his career and the first in 364 days.

He took a patient approach despite only needing 22 laps to move from seventh to the lead.

“The car was running really good, and I was trying to pace myself and watch what them guys were doing,” Erb said. “I was able to get underneath them and get a clean track, and everything was really good there until that last lap. That caution at the end got me a little nervous. Luckily, everything fired off good, and we were able to hold them off.”

Hoffman settled for second, earning his fourth straight top-five, and 10th consecutive top 10 finish.

The Rookie of the race said once he left the bottom open for Erb on Lap 20, he knew he’d have a tough time getting back around the defending champion.

“No one remembers who runs second,” Hoffman said. “But we were really good, and I feel like we were keeping pace with Gustin. But obviously, Dennis just slipped by me. We missed the bottom one time, and he never misses the bottom. 

“I tried the middle for quite a bit of time, and with like 10 to go, I went and blitzed the top and almost wadded her up. So, I thought I just better cut my losses here and run second.”

Hoffman’s runner-up finish broke a three-way tie for second in points between himself, Bobby Pierce, and Bronson.

The driver of the Tye Twarog Racing #9 is now second in points, 16 points behind Chris Madden, who finished 14th.

For a complete look at the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models points standings: CLICK HERE.

Tanner English rounded out the podium, moving from fifth to third on the race’s final restart.

The Benton, KY driver took advantage of a battle between Gustin and Pierce and seized an opportunity on the final lap.

“Gustin went in there and missed the bottom, and Bobby went underneath him in the next corner and got a little tight,” English said. “Both of them missed the bottom then, and I got a really good run off [Turn 4] and just snuck up underneath Bobby. Then I got a run on Gustin on the backstretch, and it all worked out perfectly. I needed a restart earlier, 

“I felt like I was faster with them but couldn’t do anything with them. It just didn’t fall my way.”

Gustin, who led 15 Laps slipped to fourth, and Bobby Pierce rounded out the top five. 

Early race leader Kyle Bronson finished 24th after breaking a rear-end on Lap 24.

UP NEXT: World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek continues as the Series heads north to visit Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, NE, on Sunday, June 25.

Then, the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models head to Mason City Motor Speedway (June 27), 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 Model Feature (60 Laps): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[3]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 7. 1ST-Johnny Scott[9]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[23]; 9. 174-Ethan Dotson[11]; 10. 54-David Breazeale[15]; 11. 25-Shane Clanton[12]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker[16]; 13. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[18]; 14. 44-Chris Madden[8]; 15. 97-Cade Dillard[10]; 16. 30-Todd Cooney[24]; 17. 18-Chase Junghans[19]; 18. 14W-Dustin Walker[25]; 19. 92S-Delbert Smith[22]; 20. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[14]; 21. 99-Jesse Sobbing[21]; 22. 60-Kip Hughes[17]; 23. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 24. 7D-Dusty Leonard[20]; 25. B5-Brandon Sheppard[13] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Brent Larson [+15].

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 24, 2023) – Two-time Grand National Champion Briar Bauman(No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke) took an emotional and historic victory in Saturday night’s Mission Lima Half-Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle and Drag Specialtiesat the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio. Following an often challenging half-season spent developing an all-new racebike for an all-new team, Bauman kicked off the second half of 2023 by claiming the first premier-class victory for a KTM twin in the history of Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. And that win came at the conclusion of a thrilling Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S CycleMain Event. Bauman, who earned the crown in 2019 and 2020, spent all ten minutes plus two laps embroiled in a non-stop dogfight with the rider who currently has the inside track on this year’s title, Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT). Bauman and Daniels alternated high and low lines as theft continually swapped the lead, running side-by-side when one or the other wasn’t making a futile attempt to shake loose at the front. And all the while, their engagement threatened to transform the race for the win into a three-rider affair with reigning king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) lurking right around one second back and just waiting for his chance to strike. Finally, with less than minute to go, Bauman seized the upper hand and then refused to allow Daniels a last-gasp bid to steal away his hard-earned win for Rick Ware Racing. The emotion of the victory was further amplified as Bauman reflected on both the recent passing of his mother as well as his triumphant performance at the scene of his maiden Mission SuperTwins win. He said, “I think these guys are probably going to start making fun of me because I think I cry every time I win. But aside from all that, my brother (Bronson) and I lost our mom six months ago last Sunday, and this is where I got my first Twins win. The love that everyone gives in this sport no matter how hard you’re going up against one another… We’re fighting for everything we can get. I just appreciate all these guys a lot more than maybe I used to. “There are so many people who have supported us. To actually get this done… It’s an honor to be a part of this program. I’m just proud, and I know my mom is proud. We did it.” Last year’s Lima HM winner, Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), outlasted JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) as the two finished fourth and fifth, respectively, just over eight seconds behind the fight for the win. Sixth went to Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke), who quietly earned his best result yet aboard the Fastrack KTM. Just behind in seventh and eighth were Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750) and Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750). Kolby Carlile (No. 36 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) finished ninth, while Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) completed the top ten in his return to action even after suffering an ugly heat race crash earlier in the evening. Despite falling short of victory, Daniels maintained his season-long perfect podium record and picked up some points in the title fight in the process. He now leads Mees by 12 points (219-207), while Bauman has moved ahead of Beach to take control of third (166-161). Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Reigning Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champ Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) notched up a timely victory on a night that proved to be a huge boon for his title defense. Kopp came to Lima as the odds-on favorite due to his performance here a year ago, along with his general Half-Mile mastery, but this one did not come easily. Kopp took the holeshot but soon found himself in second and losing ground to rising star Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F). The KTM ace regrouped and successfully countered Drane’s bid to shake free, clawing his way back to the Australian at mid-distance. The two then wove the lead back-and-forth with around three minutes remaining on the clock before Kopp finally got a firm grip on the position. He then stretched open his advantage as the two slithered through lapped traffic, ultimately claiming his fourth victory of the season with more than two seconds in hand. “That was a tough one,” Kopp said. “I got a good start and led it for a couple laps, but Tom is so fast on this stuff, it’s really underrated. We had a heck of a fight, and it was really fun. A lot of hard work went into this one. Those last three Miles were really frustrating as a team in general, but we never gave up and we’re here to fight for a championship.” Kopp and Drane were joined on the podium by the resurgent James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), who fought off second factory KTM pilot Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) to register his second trophy-earning ride of the season. Drane’s teammate, Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), rounded out the top five. Kopp’s championship outlook was further enhanced by the misfortune of Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), who entered the weekend having closed to within ten points of the title leader. That advantage is significantly greater now, as Saathoff’s momentum was slammed to a halt by a mechanical DNF suffered while running in third position. Kopp’s lead more than tripled as a result, expanding from just nine points to 29 (191-162). His closest challenger shifted as well, with Whale taking over second from Saathoff, who is now ranked third with 158 points after being credited with 19th place in the Main. Next Up: Progressive American Flat Track will now travel to Mineral Wells, West Virginia, for the All Seasons Powersports West Virginia Half-Mile at West Virginia Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 1. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/west-virginia-half-mile-58480 to reserve your seats today.

June 24, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 31st in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Burton took that spot with a lap at 156.922 miles per hour during time trials on Saturday afternoon.

In practice on Friday evening, he ran a best lap at 159.308 mph, which put him 27^th on the speed chart. His best lap came on the 27^th of the 29 laps he ran in the session.

Sunday’s 300-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks at Laps 90 and 185.

This weekend, TV coverage switches from FOX to NBC.

Burton Qualifies 31st at Nashville 

June 24, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 31st in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Burton took that spot with a lap at 156.922 miles per hour during time trials on Saturday afternoon.

In practice on Friday evening, he ran a best lap at 159.308 mph, which put him 27^th on the speed chart. His best lap came on the 27^th of the 29 laps he ran in the session.

Sunday’s 300-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks at Laps 90 and 185.

This weekend, TV coverage switches from FOX to NBC.

June 24, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 31st in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Burton took that spot with a lap at 156.922 miles per hour during time trials on Saturday afternoon.

In practice on Friday evening, he ran a best lap at 159.308 mph, which put him 27^th on the speed chart. His best lap came on the 27^th of the 29 laps he ran in the session.

Sunday’s 300-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks at Laps 90 and 185.

This weekend, TV coverage switches from FOX to NBC.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 24, 2023) – Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car raced to a runner-up finish in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge while also qualifying No. 6 for the Summit Racing Equipment NRHA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster will start race day from No. 3 with Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster sitting No. 5 and John Force driving the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS in 10th. Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Chevy had a lot on the line in the second qualifying session. Not only would the three-time champion be running to improve his qualifying effort, but he was also competing in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in a rematch of the semifinals from Bristol against Alexis DeJoria. Hight would win the first round of the challenge at the starting line with DeJoria red-lighting while also moving into the No. 6 spot with his 3.915-second pass at 324.36 mph. In the final qualifying session and finals of the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Hight would be lined up against reigning world champion Ron Capps. Hight would leave first but his 3.933-second pass mph wasn’t enough for Capps’ 3.887. Hight will still earn $3,000 and pick up two championship points that will get added to his total to start the NHRA Countdown to the Championship in September with his runner-up finish. The AAA team will start race day from the No. 6 spot to take on Mike McIntire Jr. in the first round. “Not a bad weekend so far for this AAA Chevy. We missed it Friday night but we managed to work our way buck up a little bit. It’s not exactly where we want to be sitting but anything can happen on race day,” Hight said. “Came up short in the specialty Mission Foods race, but earned some points that will matter later. Jimmy Prock, this AAA team and I will be ready for tomorrow. We want to defend our win from last year and celebrate with AAA in the winners circle again.” Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team open Saturday qualifying with a statement. The David Grubnic and Brandon Hazleton tuned hot rod ran 3.694 seconds at 332.10 mph to be the quickest of the session and move from No. 6 to No. 3. In the final session, Force ran into tire smoke and had to shut her dragster off early for only a 4.911 at 141.97. She kept a hold on the No. 3 spot and will race Shawn Langdon in round one. “Qualified in the No. 2 position after two solid runs out of three. We were pretty consistent with a 3.7 and 3.69. We pushed it harder in that final run to see what we could get away with and the car drove into smoke and didn’t make it down there. But now we know we need to pull it back tomorrow. We learned from the run, that’s the most important thing,” Force said. “We’re lined up against Shawn Langdon tomorrow first round. We’re looking for our first win of the season and my first win in Norwalk, Ohio. We definitely want that ice cream scoop. Austin Prock and the Montana Brand Rocky Mountain Twist team picked things up in their second qualifying attempt. Prock would handle his dragster to a 3.751-second pass at 323.97 mph but it wouldn’t be enough to win the first round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge. Prock would still earn a bonus championship point for being the quickest of the Challenge losers, a point that will be added ahead of the countdown to the Championship. In the final qualifying session, Prock and the Montana Brand dragster maintained their performance going 3.706 at 323.97 and would be quickest of the session to jump them into the top half of the field at No. 5 to face Tony Schumacher in the first round. “It was a great ending to our qualifying efforts. This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team made two really nice runs today. We couldn’t get the job done in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge but we did pick up a championship point and that will be important down the road,” Prock said. “I’m really proud of the progress this team has made. I’m looking forward to race day tomorrow.” John Force and the PEAK Chevy would stay consistent from Friday night with a 3.956-second pass at 236.08 mph in his second qualifying attempt. Going into the last session on Saturday evening in the No. 11 spot Force would have another solid pass at 3.834 at 323.58 and move one spot into No. 10. “What a great day. These fans really turned out. Even yesterday, they stuck around, the rain, it didn’t stop them and Bader and NHRA, they made the show happen,” Force said. “This PEAK Chevy, we made it down the track, pretty consistent, no incidents, so that’s good. We need consistency. Going to be an interesting race day, the weather will be a factory, track conditions but I feel good. We’ll see what happens.” Racing at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park will continue Sunday with eliminations at 10:00 a.m. Television coverage of race weekend action continues with eliminations on FOX Broadcasting Network Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 27, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:5th; 3.706-seconds; 323.97 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+3 (quickest Q3) BRITTANY FORCE, 36, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:3rd; 3.694-seconds; 332.10 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:10th; 3.934-seconds; 323.58 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0ROBERT HIGHT, 53, AAA Ohio / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:6th; 3.915-seconds; 324.36 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+1 (3rd quickest Q2)

NORWALK, OH (June 24, 2023) — Justin Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma continued their hot streak in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge winning the big money race for the fourth time in 2023. Ashley drove the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team to two winlights today outpacing Austin Prock and Doug Kalitta to ultimately set his team up as the No. 7 qualifier at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.

Justin Ashley wins Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in Norwalk, photo credit Auto Imagery

 
“It’s very exciting for myself and all of the drivers – setting ourselves up for Sunday,” said Ashley, who has won four Top Fuel national events this season. “We can kind of get in the right mindset. It is so important to collect those championship points now. It is a blast. It’s a fun race. Knowing you are racing the semi-finals from the race before, makes it that much more difficult. There are no easy rounds in Top Fuel. You have four of the best out there – it’s going to be a tough run every time. I’m happy to collect those points and get another win.”
 
The win streak Ashley is in middle of includes two national event wins two weeks ago at Bristol Dragway and another Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win as part of the Thunder Valley Nationals. For the third-year pro who is one of the leaders of the Maynard Ashley Racing team this kind of success is something he only dreamed of and planned for.

Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Okuma take fourth Mission #2Fast2Tasty win today at Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, photo credit Auto Imagery

 
“Being at many, many tracks as a kid, watching my father (Mike Ashley) make passes in Pro Mod and Funny Car and feeling like I was in the car with him. These are the moments that you dream about, and I have so much gratitude just to be here,” said Ashley. “To be able to turn on so many win lights that we have is really a dream come true for myself and a lot of the guys on the team. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs) they do a great job at bringing that championship experience and it resonates throughout the rest of the team.”
 
Ashley picked up the win on a day the entire organization was racing with heavy hearts. Earlier this morning news broke that Cathi Maynard, one of NHRA’s biggest fans and supporters, passed away after a courageous battle with multiple sclerosis. Maynard was a driving force behind the creation of Maynard Ashley Racing.
 
“We have been fortunate to win several races, and this year, several Mission Food Challenges, but this one stands out,” said Ashley. “Believe it or not, this win is more significant than any of the others we’ve had this year – for that reason. We all got together this morning, and RFC (Racers for Christ) did a great job of saying a team prayer, and a bunch of teams were involved with it. It was an emotional day. We know we have an angel with Cathi (Maynard) us. Joe (Maynard) Joe (Maynard) Sr. – we are all thinking about them. It’s an emotional day – a tough day, but to be able to turn on another win light for Cathi, all that she’s done for so many of us out here, really is tremendously, tremendously meaningful.”
 
Throughout this stretch of race wins Ashley has heaped praise on his Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team powered by Okuma. The young group has been led by Green, DeLago and Dustin Davis and continues to operate at a high level in a variety of conditions.
 
“It’s very impressive. The team put a lot of work in the offseason to be able to perform like we are doing this season, but to be able to execute on it is a different story,” said Ashley. “You are talking about changing track conditions, really hot racetracks and times where we have had to make really quick turnarounds. It speaks volumes to the team that we have and to the mindset that we have. It is very easy to win races and then get complacent, but that is not what this group is about. All of this winning stuff is great, and it’s far from just me. It’s a full team effort.”
 
Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota team will head into eliminations versus Clay Millican at 10 a.m. ET.
 
Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge Results
Semifinals
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.036), 3.742, 329.34 mph def.Austin Prock, Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster (.049), 3.751, 328.70 mph
Final
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Okuma, (.049), 4.063, 228.61 mph def.Doug Kalitta, Applied Innovation Toyota dragster, (.033), 5.288m 135.40 mph
 

NORWALK, Ohio (June 24, 2023) – Del Holbrook secured the first No. 1 qualifying position of his career in the driver’s seat of the Varsity Ford / Holbrook Racing Ford Mustang Saturday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park.
 
Holbrook, a third-generation Ford racer, earned his first No.1 with a 7.668-second run at 181.72 mph in the first qualifying session on Saturday morning. In the second session, Holbrook would stay consistent running quickest of the pack again with a 7.760 pass.

Del Holbrook, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series No. 1 qualifier in Norwalk, Ohio

 
“Man, this team is so pumped. We didn’t expect this coming in but it’s our home track, it is the closest we get to home and so it’s just a great feeling. We live in Michigan, and we have quite a few family members and friends here. This has been a great day and we are looking forward to getting into the race,” Holbrook said. “This is my first season and just my fourth Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series national event. This is a lot tougher competition and is a big jump from the National Mustang Racing Association that I was racing in. We were running nitrous then but racing in this class in the NHRA has been a lot of fun and a challenge.”
 
Holbrook has earned a bye in the first round of eliminations in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown. After taking the tree, he’ll face the winner of a Chevy vs. Chevy matchup between Anthony Troyer and Jesse Alexandra.

Del Holbrook and the Varsity Ford / Holbrook Racing Ford Mustang raced to No. 1 today at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, photo credit Auto Imagery

 
“It’s always a big rivalry from the start between all the manufacturers. It’s just a great way to get all the fans enthused. After the first qualifier, we had some idling issues and we fixed that before the second qualifier. All good and ready for the first round. We are working our tails off and we are ready for eliminations.”
 
Points leader Aaron Stanfield, who has the $1,000 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown bounty on his back after winning the most recent event in Bristol, Tennessee, and his Stanfield Racing Engines Chevy Camaro qualified No. 10. He will take on Jason Dietsch and his Mustang in the first round of eliminations.
 
“The bounty is a cool deal, and it makes every round feel that much more important. I want to hold on to the bounty, so we just need to keep turning on win lights,” Stanfield said. “You look at the competition and there are no easy rounds. The COPOs are all strong but you also have the other two brands running pretty well too. This will be an exciting race.”
 
The weather has affected the qualifying sessions throughout the weekend in Norwalk, Ohio and the NHRA is evaluating the run order moving into race day on Sunday. With over 20 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series competitors on the property, they will face five rounds of stiff competition. The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA nationals will be broadcast tomorrow from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET on FOX.
 
First Round Match-Ups
No. 1 Del Holbrook vs. bye
No. 12 Anthony Troyer vs. No. 13 Jesse Alexandra
No. 6 Lenny Lottig vs. No. 19 Ricky Hord
No. 7 David Davies vs. No. 18 Stephen Bell
No. 3 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 22 Kim Shirley
No. 10 Aaron Stanfield vs. No. 15 Jason Dietsch
No. 4 Joe Welch vs. No. 21 Tony Scott Jr.
No. 9 David Barton vs. No. 16 Raymond Nash
No. 2 AJ Berge vs. No. 23 Peter Gasko Jr.
No. 11 David Janac vs. No. 14 Doug Hamp
No. 5 Kevin Skinner vs. No. 20 Scott Libersher
No. 8 Lee Hartman vs. No. 17 Don Belles
 

Torrence, Capps lead Toyota in qualifying for tomorrow’s final eliminations

NORWALK, OHIO (June 24, 2023) – Justin Ashley’s team continued to run strong when it counts defeating fellow Team Toyota driver Doug Kalitta and earning his second consecutive Mission Foods Challenge win on Saturday afternoon to earn three bonus points for the Countdown for the Championship. It is Ashley’s fourth Challenge win this season.  For Sunday’s eliminations, Ashley is seeded seventh, joining Steve Torrence (second) and Doug Kalitta (fourth) with top-half qualifying efforts. 

In Funny Car, Ron Capps followed his Bristol win with his second Mission Foods Challenge win. The reigning Funny Car champion starts second tomorrow with his Team Toyota teammates Alexis DeJoria (fourth) and J.R. Todd (seventh) also in the top half of the field as Toyota searches for its 200th NHRA victory.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park

Race 9 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Leah Pruett*	Dodge Direct Connection Top Fuel Dragster	1st (3.684)	K. Wurtzel
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	2nd (3.688)	D. Foley
Doug Kalitta	Applied Innovation Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	4th (3.700)	D. Mercier
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	7th (3.708)	C. Millican
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	9th (3.730)	M. Salinas
Shawn Langdon	Kalitta Air Bounty Hunter Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	14th (3.777)	B. Force

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Bob Tasca III*	Motorcraft Ford Mustang Funny Car	1st (3.884)	B. Bode
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	2nd (3.887)	A. Laughlin
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	4th (3.901)	P. Lee
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	7th (3.918)	J. Force

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Maynard Ashley Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 7th

How exciting is this?

“It’s very exciting for myself and all of the drivers – setting ourselves up for Sunday. We can kind of get in the right mindset. It is so important to collect those championship points now, early on in the year. It is a blast. It’s a fun race. Knowing you are racing the semi-finals from the race before, makes it that much more difficult. As is, there is no escaping. There are no easy rounds in Top Fuel. You have four of the best out there – it’s going to be a tough run every time. I’m really happy to collect those points and get another win.”

Is this what you dreamed of?
“Yes, absolutely. Being at many, many tracks as a kid, watching my father make passes in Pro Mod and Funny Car and feeling like I was in the car with him. These are the moments that you dream about, and I have so much gratitude just to be here. Then to be able to turn on so many win lights that we can. It is really a dream come true for myself and a lot of the guys on the team. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs) they do a great job at bringing that championship experience and it resonates throughout the rest of the team.”

Can you talk about what it means to win for the Maynard family?

“We have been fortunate to win a number of races, and this year, a number of challenges, but this one stands out. Believe it or not, this win is more significant than any of the others we’ve had this year – for that reason. We all good together, and RFC (Racers for Christ) did a great job of saying a team prayer, and a bunch of teams were involved with it. It was an emotional day. We know we have an angel with Cathi (Maynard) us. Joe (Maynard) Joe (Maynard) Sr. – we are all thinking about them. We are all praying about them. This is the least we can do. We can’t wait for them to get back out here and join the family again with us. It’s definitely an emotional day – a tough day, but to be able to turn on another win light for Cathi, all that she’s done for so many of us out here, really is tremendously, tremendously meaningful.”

How impressed have you been with your team?

“It’s very impressive. The team put a lot of work in the offseason to be able to perform like we are doing now this season, but to be able to actually execute on it is a different story. You are talking about changing track conditions, really hot race tracks and times where we have had to make really quick turnarounds. It speaks volumes to the team that we have and to the mindset that we have. It is very easy to win races and then get complacent, but that is not what this group is about. Just each race in its own sphere – we don’t worry about the future, we don’t worry about the past, but taking one round and one race at a time. All of this winning stuff is great, and it’s far from just me. It’s a full team effort.”

How have you been able to stay so locked in?

“Well I think when you surround yourself with so many good people – good things happen. So just leaning on others that have experience is helpful. Just trying to do everything that we can to learn from each run, up and down the race track. Myself, looking at the data, looking at the situation – focused on continuous improvement. We are focused on getting better – not worrying about what is going on off the race track, but just focused on what is happening in the driver’s seat. It has resulted in a lot of success.”

Can you talk about the will your team has and staying locked in?

“It’s a tough thing to do, because this is a grueling stretch. The weather starts to get hot. The conditions are really tricky, so I think the reason we’ve been able to do it – and are going to continue to do it – is because of the experience that we have. Not only Mike Green and Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs), but a lot of the personnel that we have working on the race car have championship winning experience. They’ve done that. You can’t buy experience. They’ve been there, done that, everything you can imagine, before. We are just going to take what they can apply and do the same moving forward.”

RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 2nd

How cool is it to pick up another Challenge win?

“It’s pretty cool. I would love to give the trophy right now to Mr. Bader (Bill Bader, track owner) and these fans. The fans here are unbelievable. The championships, races – everything has to go through that car. Jimmy Prock and Robert Hight. I would like to think most of the teams say the same thing about our NAPA car. Toyota really helps us a bunch. You are going to have to go through (Matt) Hagan and (Bob) Tasca, but when you are up there and you are waiting and you are running Prock and Hight, and it’s for – I don’t even know what the money is – but it is for points that go in our bank for the Countdown. That is huge. I can’t thank Mission Foods enough for spicing up our lives with this whole thing all year. 2Fast2Tasty has really changed the whole outlook of the weekend. It has got you up there and got you up on the wheel on a Saturday, which is awesome. Toyota, Revchem on board this year – a new partner. Anytime a Toyota can outrun the Chevys is a feather in our cap, so great job Slugger (Labbe) and the boys.”

DEAN ANTONELLI, crew chief, NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports

Can you talk about what this win means?

“Mission Foods put together a great program out here for all of the teams. We have just been fortunate to capitalize on the last couple. It’s not often when you get one by on Jimmy (Prock), so I’m sure he didn’t try to run .93. Tomorrow is when the real points are, and we will try again.”

What would it mean to your team to win the 200^th for Toyota?

“Our association with Toyota has not been long, but if we can help hit that milestone it would be really special. They’ve developed a great body with the Supra. We are just happy to have it on our car and have them as partners.”  

NASCAR CUP SERIES NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY ALLY 400 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT JUNE 24, 2023 Team Chevy’s Sixth NCS Pole of 2023

·       Ross Chastain (No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1) posted a lap of 29.797 seconds, at 160.687 mph, in the final round of qualifying to capture the pole position for tomorrow’s  Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway – the first pole win feat for Trackhouse Racing. ·       The pole win is Chastain’s first career pole in 168 starts in NASCAR’s premier series  ·       This marks Chevrolet’s sixth NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season; the manufacturer’s first NCS pole at Nashville Superspeedway; and its 740th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series. ·       Three drivers from three different Chevrolet teams posted a top-five qualifying effort including pole winner Chastain (Trackhouse Racing), Justin Haley in third (Kaulig Racing) and William Byron in fifth (Hendrick Motorsports). ·       Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to have a NASCAR Cup Series win at Nashville Superspeedway – taking the win in the inaugural event in 2021 (Kyle Larson), and most recently in 2022 (Chase Elliott).

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER1st      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL13rd      Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL15th      William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL17th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL110th    Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1  TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:  POS.  DRIVER1.        Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)2.        Tyler Reddick (Toyota)3.        Justin Haley (Chevrolet)4.        Joey Logano (Ford)5.        William Byron (Chevrolet)

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Winner  TAKE US THROUGH THAT QUALIFYING LAP. YOU TALKED EARLIER TODAY ABOUT HOW STRONG YOU FELT YOUR CAR WAS AND YOU GUYS WERE ABLE TO BACK THAT UP DURING QUALIFYING. “Yes, ma’am. In round one for us over the last two years with the new car has been relatively, at times, strong. Definitely qualifying as a whole has not been my strong suit in my life, so a lot of work has went into it and not a lot of payoff.. not a lot of reward. Even the times that we do tie together round one, I’ve never been able to put round two together in a way that I’m proud of and that I feel like I’ve done right. I usually overdrive and when I should just go the same speed, or a little slower even and be fine, I usually slow down even more because I try to go faster. Today was all about minimizing the loss. Round one, I felt pretty good. I over slowed turn one – basically slowed down too fast in turn one. I wanted to make that better – I have no idea if I actually did, I haven’t looked at any of the information or data yet.  We’re pretty pumped up that we got this pole. I know that I didn’t mess it up too bad, obviously. I ran basically the same lap time, which was really challenging with it getting hotter and the second lap on tires.” YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD LAP. COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS FOR TRACKHOUSE – THIS BEING THE FIRST POLE FOR THEM AND IT BENIG THE FIRST POLE FOR YOU? “Yeah, I mean look – we’re in Nashville. This is where Trackhouse was formed. It was started here with Justin (Marks) living here. We are Nashville’s team. With the Tootsies group with Steve and everybody, it’s incredible to have it happen here. It’s amazing. For me, personally, it’s amazing that it hasn’t happened before with how strong Daniel (Suarez) is at qualifying. Since I’ve become teammates with him, at road courses, my margin is two-tenths. If I’m within two-tenths of Daniel, I’m pretty happy. At intermediates and stuff, we’re kind of 100th for 100th with each other, and we saw that in round one. So for me, it’s been a labor of a lot of work and schooling, personally, to try to be better. We did a mock run yesterday just to keep working on it. It’s not necessarily the best thing to do for race-wise, but my team has put a lot of work into me. My engineers have done a really good job of explaining where I’ve went wrong in the past, even in times that I wasn’t driving the No. 1 car but with other teams. They’ve looked at that and tried to understand my philosophy when we go to qualifying – which has generally been more gas, less brake, go faster. That doesn’t always work… most of the time it doesn’t work. So they’ve been on me to literally, as simple as it sounds – less gas, more brake, earlier brake, later on throttle and let the car work. I’ve struggled with this single-lap qualifying. If we have two laps, I would say my numbers are a whole lot better. Group qualifying when we had minutes to go, I could take a couple of laps and I’d be really good. One lap, coming to the green and checkered, has been so frustrating for me for my entire career.. definitely in NASCAR.  It’s so rewarding right now. This is a day I will never forget.” FIRST POLE MEANS YOU’RE GOING TO GET THE COVETED P-1 PIT BOX. HOW BIG OF AN ADVANTAGE WILL THAT BE AT A PLACE LIKE NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY? “I don’t know, I’ve never been there (laughs). I’ve never gotten it in Cup, so I have no idea. Trackhouse Racing has never had it either. We do our pit road studies every week; we know the numbers and the math. We’re going to have to go and whatever pit box is best – I’m assuming it’s going to be the first one, but that’s up to Phil Surgen and our group at Trackhouse Racing and GM to decide.  But yeah, I have no idea what it’s going to be like, but it feels pretty good right now.” WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT TOMORROW – BEING ON THE POLE OR BEING SECOND IN 10-LAP AVERAGE AND SPEED YESTERDAY? “Yeah, long run speed, for sure. It’s nice that we’re not going to have to pass a bunch. Hopefully everything stays how it is and we get out to a lead there. But race trim-wise, it’s super strong. Really good balance. It doesn’t feel great. Going through the corners here, they always feel slow to me because there’s not a lot of banking and it’s concrete. But it shows really good. I would rather have good average speed than single lap, but we put a lot of work into single lap, for sure.” YOU WERE REALLY EMOTIONAL WHEN YOU GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND WAITING FOR THE POLE TO BE DECIDED. TEARS OF JOY, TEARS OF RELIEF?“The tears out there were of joy and satisfaction; just happiness that it’s paid off. All this comes down to speed; hundreds and thousandths of a second and that we were able to do it. So much work for years and it didn’t pay off, and it paid off. That’s what those were.  Everything else, I’ve learned at 30 years old to embrace this room. Embrace everybody that throws opinions and thoughts my way. I take them and I bounce them off my team, personally and professionally; with my family and my group both in Trackhouse and out. They help me walk through that. But mentally, I just form my own opinion. I take everybody’s little bits and I make my own thoughts.  Look, we’re all human. When people tell you that you’re slow, then it’s easy to think that you’re slow. I have a good support through and they like to remind me why we’re here; that we’re in the Cup Series and this is where we wanted to get to. We did not have a clear path here, but we got here and now we’re going to stay here.  Personally, I’m happy for my team and me. I mean I’m selfish – this was about the work that we’ve put in. How many times I’ve had cars capable of qualifying on the pole in the Cup Series, and then down through every rank from the very first pro truck division that I did at 12 years old. There were times, so many, that should have been pole laps and I messed them up. So this today, on this stage, we are able to do it. All that said, I could have very easily spun out. So glad I made it.” IS THIS POLE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIAL KNOWING THAT IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE YOU’RE BACK IN THE POSITIVE LIGHT AND THE POSITIVE HEADLINES? HOW MUCH MOMENTUM DOES SOMETHING LIKE A FIRST POLE CARRY FOR YOU GOING INTO SUNDAY? “Personally, it’s a day that I will truly never forget. No matter how the weekend goes or the rest of the year, I will always have a memory of today. We all have key, core memories within our lives and in our minds.  I don’t really know how this changes in the spotlight and things like that. I’m me. Trackhouse gets the good and the bad, and our sport as a whole gets me for who I am. Everybody expects me to just be like very repeatable and robotic, I feel like. That I should just be one way or the other. I’m human.. I’m going to do things different each time and try to be better. I’m not going to do the same thing over and over because if I want to do that, I’d be really good at failing and I don’t like failure. I don’t like crashing. I want to win. I will continue to evolve to do that. I’ve got a really good group around me that gets me through the bad days. We celebrate the good days and work through the bad ones, and keep working in the good ones, as well.” AVERAGE FINISH HERE IS 3.5 IN THE CUP SERIES. WHAT IS IT ABOUT YOU AND NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY THAT YOU SEEM TO ADAPT SO WELL? “I’ve got a really good crew chief and engineers that give me rocket ships. This was our, really I would say, arrival to the fast club in the No. 42 car in 2021. The high power, low downforce package that year was definitely our stronger suit. But we unloaded here second quick – raced up in the top-10 all day and came home second. Last year, it was similar. Had a lot of speed. I thought we had a pole qualifying car and I just went 2.5 mph too fast through turns one and two; I got tight, slid up and lost two-tenths. I tried to go too fast. So today was all about keeping that speed down in the critical parts. Obviously going faster the whole lap, but giving up some to gain it back later. We’ve had speed all three years. I prepare just like any other track. I don’t put any track ahead of the others, but it starts with Phil Surgen and our support group at Trackhouse and GM. They’ve got a good handle on this place and it shows. You saw both Daniel (Suarez) and I were two of the fastest cars in round one.”  JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified third, Haley’s first top-10 qualifying effort this season“Just hats off to everyone at Kaulig Racing. They’ve just worked so hard to this point. Everyone at RCR has done a tremendous job in helping us. I feel like over the past month, we’ve really gotten our program into a spot where I feel better driving the car. The car reacts to what I’m doing.  Just super proud of everyone. It’s been an awesome weekend and hopefully we can stay up there. I feel like qualifying is the most important part with track position because passing is so difficult at this top level of motorsports. Excited for tomorrow.” YOU’VE PRACTICED AND QUALIFIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. IT’S GOING TO BE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS TOMORROW NIGHT FOR THE RACE. ARE YOU EXPECTING THE RACE TRACK TO CHANGE DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED SO FAR? “Well hopefully our car is better in the nighttime. Last night it got a little bit cooler in practice, but you just don’t know. We’ll just have to go back through our notes and see what the track does. It’s a concrete track, so it’s a little bit different. I wish I could give you a better answer, but I just don’t know.”

Nine-car GTP grid set by championship points as rain washes out qualifications

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 24, 2023) – The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R will start on the front row for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday as IMSA canceled Grand Touring Prototype qualifications when a deluge created a slick racecourse. The nine-car GTP grid was set by IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship points, which placed the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken second. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, will start fourth.

Media resources Weekend guide:* Driver and team bios* Cadillac pit notes* Cadillac at The Glen* A look at the V-Series.R* History of winningFor editorial use:* Driver headshots* Driver candid photos* Watkins Glen photos

Cadillac has won two of the four IMSA GTP races and paces the Manufacturer Championship entering the six-hour race on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course. Bourdais and van der Zande, who earned a podium finish at The Glen in 2022, are the most recent IMSA GTP race winners – at Laguna Seca in mid-May before teaming with six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon to place fourth overall of 62 entries in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Cadillac hybrid prototype. Derani, Sims and Aitken, buoyed by their victory in March at Sebring International Raceway, lead the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup GTP standings heading into the third of four long-distance races on the schedule.The No. 6 Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsport will start on the pole. Teams were prepared with Michelin rain tires for the 20-minute session, but the sanctioning body called off qualifying before the green flag after the joint LMP2 and LMP3 session was impacted by rain. No car completed a timed lap. A 20-minute warmup is scheduled for 8 a.m. ET Sunday. Green flag is set for 10:40 a.m. Peacock will stream flag-to-flag coverage of the race in the U.S. starting at 10:30 a.m. ET, with IMSA.com/TVLive providing streaming coverage outside the U.S. USA Network will telecast the race from 2-5 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on IMSA.comand RadioLeMans.com, with SiriusXM live broadcast of the race on XM 207 and Web/App 992.

What they’re saying

No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “We made some adjustments from the morning session, so it would have been nice to know what they felt like. It’s likely to be a chaotic race tomorrow with the weather forecast what it is. If it rains, it’s going to be a race of attrition and survival. We’ll try to be smart, stay out of trouble and hopefully be up front.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani: “The car feels like it rolled off the truck with a good setup and it felt good in the morning practice. I was looking forward to getting out there and qualifying even though it’s raining. They called it off but it’s part of the game. We’ll be starting second, which is a good place to start. It will be a long fight tomorrow, but it looks like the car is good either on the rain or on the dry. We’ve had both in practice, so looking forward to the race and hopefully get a clean six-hour race.”Cadillac Racing DPi-V.R Watkins Glen results 2022-2017 2022: Third (No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande         Fourth (No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn         Fifth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike Conway         Sixth (No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Rockenfeller         Seventh (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic Duval 2021 (2-hour, 40-minute race): First (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr        Second (No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen        Fourth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval2021 (6-hour race):  Fourth (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway        Fifth (No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud, Kamui Kobayashi        Sixth (No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Renger van der Zande, Kevin Magnussen        Seventh (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais2020: No race2019: Fourth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fifth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor         Sixth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque, Mike Conway         Seventh (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start seventh – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran        Eighth (No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Will Owen, Rene Binder        Ninth (No. 84 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Simon Trummer, Stephen Simpson, Chris Miller        11th overall (No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi-V.R) start eighth – Tristan Vautier, Misha Goikhberg, Juan Piedrahita2018: Fifth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor         Sixth (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 12th – Gabby Chaves, Filipe Albuquerque, Christian Fittipladi         Seventh (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start ninth – Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran, Mike Conway         11th overall (No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi-V.R) start 10th – Tristan Vautier, Matthew McMurry2017: First (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R) start third – Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa, Filipe Albuquerque         Sixth (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R) start fourth – Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor         16th overall (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R) start sixth – Dane Cameron, Eric Curran, Filipe Albuquerque 2023 Cadillac V-Series.RWins: Sebring (Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken), Laguna Seca (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande)2 wins, 4 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: 216IMSA GTP (4)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

Fifth in GTD PRO, ninth in GTD category for No. 3 Corvette WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 24, 2023) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the third row of the GTD PRO grid Sunday for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen – the fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – following a challenging qualifying session Saturday. Jordan Taylor drove the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R in the 15-minute session and posted a best lap time of 1:46.168 (115.288 mph) to start the race fifth in class and ninth among all GTD cars. He’ll drive Sunday with Antonio Garcia as the duo looks for its second victory in the Six Hours in three years. It was a tough qualifying in a couple of ways. The ultimate pace of the Corvette has it nearly two seconds off the overall GTD pole-winning Lamborghini, which took three of the top six positions. The track also was partially dry and partially wet with rain impacting both prototype sessions after the GTD qualifying concluded. The No. 3 Corvette team and its drivers sit fourth in GTD PRO points after four rounds. They are second, however, in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings following long-distance races at Daytona and Sebring. The IMEC is a four-race championship made up of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Watkins Glen and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans to end the season. At The Glen, points are earned at three and six hours with strategic decisions factoring in for both points in the IMEC as well as the regular class championship. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 25 and airs live on USA from 2 to 5 p.m. ET with full streaming coverage on Peacock beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will have live audio coverage on XM 207, SiriusXM Online 992 and IMSA.com, which will have IMSA Radio coverage.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Materials include:  · IMSA race advance and quotes· Corvette Racing stats and figures· Corvette Racing racecar comparisons· Corvette Racing Fast Facts· Driver biographies

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “You always want to be competing at the front. I feel like we haven’t qualified well here in a couple of years now, so it’s all down to race pace, strategies and pit stops. It’s a good thing our guys are always strong at that, but it’s always a little demoralizing leaving a qualifying session almost two seconds off the pace. I don’t think we’ve forgotten how to drive or set up a car. It felt good, there’s just no laptime in it.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After four of 11 events)Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 1,4152. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 1,3743. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 1,3244. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1,2975. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 1,136 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 1,4152. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 1,3743. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 1,3244. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 1,2975. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 1,136 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 1,4152. Mercedes-AMG – 1,3743. Porsche – 1,3244. Chevrolet – 1,2975. Aston Martin – 1,146 CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 2: Wins at Watkins Glen International in 2021 for Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor: the Sahlen’s Six Hours and the WeatherTech 240 in consecutive weeks• 2: Wins and pole positions in the Sahlen’s Six Hours for Antonio Garcia. He won GTLM in 2014 and 2021 and was the GTLM pole-sitter in 2019 and 2021• 3: Victories at Watkins Glen for Corvette Racing since its debut there in 2014: 2014 and 2021 Sahlen’s Six Hours, and 2021 WeatherTech 240• 5: Consecutive podium finishes for Antonio Garcia at Watkins Glen from 2017-2021• 9: Class victories for Corvette Racing at Le Mans – all since 2001. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone from this year’s GTE Am-winning Corvette are entered in separate entries at Watkins Glen• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 18: Victories for Chevrolet in the Sahlen’s Six Hours, ranking second among all manufacturers• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship.• 125: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 113 in North America, nine at Le Mans – including two weeks ago – and three in the FIA WEC.• 274: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 8,976: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its nine previous trips to Watkins Glen. That represents 2,640 laps… or 1,360 laps around the original Watkins Glen historic circuit.• 357,522.73: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon… and then some! Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen (wins in bold)2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTLM (Team’s first race at Watkins Glen)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM (Ret., Accident) 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM (Accident on first lap) 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Garcia pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 4th in GTLM (Tandy fastest race lap) 2021*No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Taylor pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTLM 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GTD PRO * Two-hour, 40-minute sprint race