NASCAR CUP SERIES

NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

ALLY 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 24, 2023

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway. Media availability quotes: 

YOU’RE STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN THIS YEAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SPEED IN YOUR NO. 1 CAR EACH WEEK? 

“I feel really good. I feel the continued evolution of the car as the whole garage continues to find ways to take the same piece that we started with last year and make it faster, handle a little bit better and a little more forgiving. I feel like we’re on the leading edge of that and that showed yesterday. One of the few times we’re looking at a 50 minute practice, we go out and we plan making a nice 20 lap run if it’s good. If not, we’ll stop and work on it. We ran 20 and then we ran until the caution came out. We were going to run 30. That was a good sign that we didn’t have to change much. We’re unloading really close; it’s just those fine details and we’re tuning on it. I feel good.”

FOR A WATERMELON FARMER, WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE LIKE TO DRIVE THROUGH THE CITY OF CHICAGO IN A RACE CAR?

“It’s going to be new. It’s new.. it’s totally different. Not like the roads in Alva, for sure. It’s a way to move the needle with our sport. I think over three-quarters of the tickets already sold are new fans, and I’m sure a lot of people are just going to walk-up when they hear the engines fire up. I think there’s signs all over town so they’ll at least know about it. And then when we go roaring down through there, there are going to be so many new fans. I’m bought-in. It doesn’t matter, for me, how my personal race goes or my weekend goes. I could very easily drive it into the tire barriers about every corner if I’m not careful. I’ve done that on the simulator quite a bit. You make the brake zone by just a few feet and there’s no run-off. Yes, I want points and I want to win, but I’m more looking at it from the big picture of us as a whole and if it elevates all of us, it’ll pay off for me in the long run.”

THIRD YEAR HERE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY. PRACTICE YESTERDAY.. HOW DID THE TRACK FEEL AND HOW DID YOUR CAR FEEL? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GOING INTO QUALIFYING LATER THIS AFTERNOON? 

“It felt just as unique as I remembered it. This place is unlike any other. When I go down the straightaways, I feel like I’m on a 1.5-mile track, and then I get to the corner and I brake like I’m at a short-track. Like I’m braking for the corner and overdriving. I have to consciously get myself to slow down early enough. Slower on entry really is faster. 

I don’t feel great making laps. And then we’re quick – we show good in all measurable aspects. The car isn’t really doing anything too crazy, but it just doesn’t feel good because there is so little banking and such tight corners. It’s not pleasant to drive. I feel like I’m not hustling it because you’re on a flatter track, even though to me the way it’s laid out – the garages, media center – it’s a 1.5-mile foot print that’s shrunk. So every lap, I have to consciously remind myself of that. I’m ready to hustle it like I’m at Kansas (Speedway).”

JUSTIN (MARKS) MADE THOSE VERY PUBLIC REMARKS AFTER DARLINGTON. IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT SINCE THEN, THERE SEEMS TO BE THE ROSS CHASTAIN THAT WAS PRE-DARLINGTON AND MAYBE, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, YOU’VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE SINCE THEN? 

“Well I think it’s exactly that.. it is the outside and what we do at Trackhouse Racing – say, talk about and plan for is what’s so cool about sports is that we’re enclosed in our own world of 140 men and women, and it’s up to us to go about our business however we see fit. I’m definitely going to learn from Darlington (Raceway). I don’t want to wreck myself. I want to win races. Whatever I can do to wreck less and win more will definitely be top of mind and priority. I take what people say to heart though, especially my boss, my owner. The guy that hires me and guides me. He’s a racer himself, so we’ve talked as just racers and buddies just as much as we’ve talked as owner and driver. People can think what they want. I know what our path is, has been and is currently in what we’re planning, and I’m totally comfortable in the spot we’re in.”

CAN YOU SHARE WHAT IT’S BEEN LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND MAYBE A DIFFERENT RHYTHM OR A DIFFERENT WAY TO APPROACH THINGS ON THE RACE TRACK? 

“I’m trying to find victory lane. I found it.. it’s right here. I was there last night with Carson Hocevar and I’ve got to get back myself. 

Yep, that’s all we’re trying to find.”

YOU ARE HIGH UP IN POINTS. I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO WIN EVERY RACE YOU COMPETE IN, BUT YOU ARE HIGH UP ENOUGH IN POINTS. IS THERE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT GIVES YOU SOME COMFORT ANYWAYS? IF NOT, ARE THERE CERTAIN TRACKS THAT YOU REALLY FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SCORING A WIN AT BETWEEN NOW AND THE PLAYOFFS? 

“Chicago is a huge question mark, so I don’t really know where to rank that one, even though we’ve been really good on road courses. 

No.. there’s none that I really put above the others. Gateway, we weren’t that good in the race, but I thought if we were slotted in 10th, we could run 10th. I just got kind of beat up on restarts and that’s just part of it. 

There’s none that I really hold any higher than the others. With this car, it’s the same car every week. Like we literally change a few settings of the geometry and the body, but it’s so small that you can’t even see the difference. Where with the old car or any other race car, you bring it to a superspeedway, you can tell in the fenders, the body lines and the way the car sits that it’s built for Daytona (International Speedway). And then when you take it to Martinsville (Speedway), you can tell it’s a totally different built race car. Ours look the same, to me. I can’t see the differences. So with that, it shrunk the window for highs and lows of tracks that seem to be better or worse because we’re running truly the same car. 

Yeah, I don’t have any higher or lower, really.”

(NO MIC)

“I want to grab, scrap and pickup any points anybody drops.. anytime and all the time. The most points will be better. But no, we want to win and that’s the focus. That’s the goal. That’s the objective and that’s where our sights are set.”

CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE ON CHICAGO? YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE 50 MINUTES OF PRACTICE, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE CAUTIONS POTENTIALLY IN THE PRACTICE SESSION, SO YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE LIMITED TIME AND MAYBE GET TWO OR THREE RUNS, IF THAT. AND THEN WHEN YOU GO TO QUALIFY, YOU’LL HAVE TO BUST OUT A REALLY STRONG LAP BECAUSE TRACK POSITION IS GOING TO MATTER. WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR FOR QUALIFYING NEXT WEEK, HOW NERVE-RACKING IS OR HOW MUCH DO YOU EMBRACE THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A BIG MOMENT? 

“That’s NASCAR racing.. that’s every week. That’s what’s so cool about this series and this level is that there’s so much pressure involved with everything. I do wish that we did focus more on the cool factor of driving the car and how on-edge we are. You see a champion of our sport spin out in practice yesterday. If you watch the in-car, it looks innocent all the way to the point that it snaps. We’re all on that edge and we’re fighting that every lap, especially with the bump down in turn four there at Nashville (Superspeedway). There’s one big bump here. We have no idea at Chicago. They’ve repaved some, but we’ve all driven on repaved roads – sometimes it’s worse than it used to be. So I have no idea what to expect, but yeah when we go out, it’s going to be who can learn the fastest. We’re all logging laps in our simulators, but until you actually get on the surface – we don’t even have the most accurate renderings in for the walls because it’s going to be evolving as they put them in. A big ask of the operations team building the track because they’re just figuring it out as they go. 

A lot of times, I wish this room could ride with me physically in the car because it’s incredible what’s happening in there. And I remember growing up, just watching and viewing these drivers as these larger than life figures because if you can ever see the car wiggle, it’s crazy inside for the driver. And if you were in there, you could feel it. More two-seaters need to be available to give rides. When we do that, I’ll gladly signup to drive everybody in this room around these tracks.”

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO AS YOU’RE TRYING TO WORK YOUR WAY UP INTO NASCAR – NOW A FEW YEARS LATER, YOU’VE DRIVEN INSIDE A STADIUM, A CUP CAR ON A DIRT TRACK, DRIVEN AT NORTH WILKESBORO AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE DRIVING ON A STREET COURSE. THE IDEA, THAT CONCEPT AND HOW QUICKLY THINGS HAVE CHANGED – WHAT COMES TO MIND IN TERMS OF THAT YOU’RE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ERA THAN WHAT YOU WERE FIVE YEARS AGO AND WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE IF YOU REACH THIS LEVEL? 

“I’ll have to quote one of my guys, David, when I got in the No. 42 car in 2021. We were super excited and then we happened to be on the phone one day and we looked at the schedule together, and he’s like- ‘there’s seven road course races.. I didn’t know this. Why did we signup to drive a Cup car the first time that there’s seven when there was always two.’ And we were honestly a little scared and I had to go to school. I still go to school to learn. It is what it is. I wanted to be a Cup driver. I sacrificed a lot to get here, and whatever it means to be a Cup driver, I want to be that. This level, this garage – I want to be in there with the other teams and competing at this level. This is all I’ve wanted. 

Yeah, wherever we go – we go across the world, it doesn’t really bother me. I signed up for this and I’m here for it.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SUNDAY?

“After driving the rocket ship I had yesterday in practice, my expectations are high. We’ll have a shot. We’ll be able to go and wherever we qualify, we’ll be able to race throughout tomorrow night’s race and put ourselves in position. 

Yeah, expectations are to go compete. We have fast cars. We have good support. Trying to tie up all the little loose ends. We just want a shot.. that’s it. It’s going to come down to restarts throughout the final stage and adjusting our car throughout the night. I feel like that’s been a bit where I struggled. I feel like when we’ve been better throughout the weekend or early in the race, I get kind of complacent because I’m not sure what to tell them. I’m pushing the car; I have good balance. And then somebody nails their balance – it’s been a little bit slower and they’ve nailed it because they kept firing changes at it. I’m a little more reserved in my desire – as long as it’s close, I’ll go get the rest. But at this level, at the end of these races, it has to be pretty darn perfect. I feel like we’ve been beat there, so I’ve worked on just mentally, how do I push myself past where I’m comfortable with the car. I feel like I’ve got everything I need to go win. There’s probably something else I could ask for to make it a little bit better. The risk is that it could be worse, but let’s work on it – whether it’s air pressure or wedge. Our options are pretty small in the race, so what I’m looking for is small, little crumbs at the end of the race to be able to go fight for it.”

WHAT TONY STEWART SAID HE’S LOOKING FOR IN A DRIVER IS WORK ETHIC. YOU REALLY DIDN’T GET YOUR FIRST SHOT UNTIL 28 WHEN YOU GOT WITH A BIG TEAM AND YOU’VE MADE THE MOST OF IT SINCE. DOES WORK ETHIC STILL MATTER IN THE GARAGE? DO YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY DUES AND SHOW THAT YOU’RE COMMITTED?

“I’m so happy for Josh (Berry). I hate that we’re going to lose him at GM. I’m not going to be able to go to the gym in the morning and see him next year. But gosh, being friends, its been so cool to see his emotion as it’s come through and got done. There were times where I could tell he was working out a little extra because that carrot was out there, and it’s everything he’s ever wanted and worked for professionally. And same with me – it’s my life, it’s what we wanted. I’m sad I’m going to have to race against him, but I’m happy for the guy and his family. 

What the owners look at, I’m not sure. I’m not a race team owner, so I don’t even begin to think that I understand how their brains work. I don’t own race cars, I drive them. Everybody had to pay something.. everybody had to write a check. The amount might have been one or two zeros different, but it’s the dark side of our sport that not a lot of people like to talk about. Yes, I had to spend money, my family had to spend money, to get me into the sport. Somebody had to pay for every driver that’s racing a car anywhere – I don’t care if you’re running a rental go-cart race. The $20 for the 10 minutes you run in a rental go-cart, you have to pay for it.. somebody has to pay for it. Whether it’s that or to the Cup Series, yes – I don’t know everybody’s details, but I know mine. Yes, we had to spend money. I’m not going to hide from that. I’ve been able to pay that back now and I’m proud of that. The thought that people are here on zero dollars is not true. Whether it was truly you or your family or somebody that was like family – they had to be like family if they’re going to spend the money it takes to get into any kind of racing. If you race local late models these days, it’s a lot of money. It’s the dark side of our sport. I live in it; I work in it. I’m in the trenches on it for me and other people trying to figure out how to pay for this stuff. I’m not a sponsor finder.. I don’t want people to think that. I don’t find money for anybody. But the dark side is – everybody pays, it’s just a matter of if it pays off.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES

NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

ALLY 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 24, 2023

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway. Media availability quotes: 

YOU’RE STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN THIS YEAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SPEED IN YOUR NO. 1 CAR EACH WEEK? 

“I feel really good. I feel the continued evolution of the car as the whole garage continues to find ways to take the same piece that we started with last year and make it faster, handle a little bit better and a little more forgiving. I feel like we’re on the leading edge of that and that showed yesterday. One of the few times we’re looking at a 50 minute practice, we go out and we plan making a nice 20 lap run if it’s good. If not, we’ll stop and work on it. We ran 20 and then we ran until the caution came out. We were going to run 30. That was a good sign that we didn’t have to change much. We’re unloading really close; it’s just those fine details and we’re tuning on it. I feel good.”

FOR A WATERMELON FARMER, WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE LIKE TO DRIVE THROUGH THE CITY OF CHICAGO IN A RACE CAR?

“It’s going to be new. It’s new.. it’s totally different. Not like the roads in Alva, for sure. It’s a way to move the needle with our sport. I think over three-quarters of the tickets already sold are new fans, and I’m sure a lot of people are just going to walk-up when they hear the engines fire up. I think there’s signs all over town so they’ll at least know about it. And then when we go roaring down through there, there are going to be so many new fans. I’m bought-in. It doesn’t matter, for me, how my personal race goes or my weekend goes. I could very easily drive it into the tire barriers about every corner if I’m not careful. I’ve done that on the simulator quite a bit. You make the brake zone by just a few feet and there’s no run-off. Yes, I want points and I want to win, but I’m more looking at it from the big picture of us as a whole and if it elevates all of us, it’ll pay off for me in the long run.”

THIRD YEAR HERE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY. PRACTICE YESTERDAY.. HOW DID THE TRACK FEEL AND HOW DID YOUR CAR FEEL? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GOING INTO QUALIFYING LATER THIS AFTERNOON? 

“It felt just as unique as I remembered it. This place is unlike any other. When I go down the straightaways, I feel like I’m on a 1.5-mile track, and then I get to the corner and I brake like I’m at a short-track. Like I’m braking for the corner and overdriving. I have to consciously get myself to slow down early enough. Slower on entry really is faster. 

I don’t feel great making laps. And then we’re quick – we show good in all measurable aspects. The car isn’t really doing anything too crazy, but it just doesn’t feel good because there is so little banking and such tight corners. It’s not pleasant to drive. I feel like I’m not hustling it because you’re on a flatter track, even though to me the way it’s laid out – the garages, media center – it’s a 1.5-mile foot print that’s shrunk. So every lap, I have to consciously remind myself of that. I’m ready to hustle it like I’m at Kansas (Speedway).”

JUSTIN (MARKS) MADE THOSE VERY PUBLIC REMARKS AFTER DARLINGTON. IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT SINCE THEN, THERE SEEMS TO BE THE ROSS CHASTAIN THAT WAS PRE-DARLINGTON AND MAYBE, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, YOU’VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE SINCE THEN? 

“Well I think it’s exactly that.. it is the outside and what we do at Trackhouse Racing – say, talk about and plan for is what’s so cool about sports is that we’re enclosed in our own world of 140 men and women, and it’s up to us to go about our business however we see fit. I’m definitely going to learn from Darlington (Raceway). I don’t want to wreck myself. I want to win races. Whatever I can do to wreck less and win more will definitely be top of mind and priority. I take what people say to heart though, especially my boss, my owner. The guy that hires me and guides me. He’s a racer himself, so we’ve talked as just racers and buddies just as much as we’ve talked as owner and driver. People can think what they want. I know what our path is, has been and is currently in what we’re planning, and I’m totally comfortable in the spot we’re in.”

CAN YOU SHARE WHAT IT’S BEEN LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND MAYBE A DIFFERENT RHYTHM OR A DIFFERENT WAY TO APPROACH THINGS ON THE RACE TRACK? 

“I’m trying to find victory lane. I found it.. it’s right here. I was there last night with Carson Hocevar and I’ve got to get back myself. 

Yep, that’s all we’re trying to find.”

YOU ARE HIGH UP IN POINTS. I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO WIN EVERY RACE YOU COMPETE IN, BUT YOU ARE HIGH UP ENOUGH IN POINTS. IS THERE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT GIVES YOU SOME COMFORT ANYWAYS? IF NOT, ARE THERE CERTAIN TRACKS THAT YOU REALLY FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SCORING A WIN AT BETWEEN NOW AND THE PLAYOFFS? 

“Chicago is a huge question mark, so I don’t really know where to rank that one, even though we’ve been really good on road courses. 

No.. there’s none that I really put above the others. Gateway, we weren’t that good in the race, but I thought if we were slotted in 10th, we could run 10th. I just got kind of beat up on restarts and that’s just part of it. 

There’s none that I really hold any higher than the others. With this car, it’s the same car every week. Like we literally change a few settings of the geometry and the body, but it’s so small that you can’t even see the difference. Where with the old car or any other race car, you bring it to a superspeedway, you can tell in the fenders, the body lines and the way the car sits that it’s built for Daytona (International Speedway). And then when you take it to Martinsville (Speedway), you can tell it’s a totally different built race car. Ours look the same, to me. I can’t see the differences. So with that, it shrunk the window for highs and lows of tracks that seem to be better or worse because we’re running truly the same car. 

Yeah, I don’t have any higher or lower, really.”

(NO MIC)

“I want to grab, scrap and pickup any points anybody drops.. anytime and all the time. The most points will be better. But no, we want to win and that’s the focus. That’s the goal. That’s the objective and that’s where our sights are set.”

CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE ON CHICAGO? YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE 50 MINUTES OF PRACTICE, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE CAUTIONS POTENTIALLY IN THE PRACTICE SESSION, SO YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE LIMITED TIME AND MAYBE GET TWO OR THREE RUNS, IF THAT. AND THEN WHEN YOU GO TO QUALIFY, YOU’LL HAVE TO BUST OUT A REALLY STRONG LAP BECAUSE TRACK POSITION IS GOING TO MATTER. WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR FOR QUALIFYING NEXT WEEK, HOW NERVE-RACKING IS OR HOW MUCH DO YOU EMBRACE THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A BIG MOMENT? 

“That’s NASCAR racing.. that’s every week. That’s what’s so cool about this series and this level is that there’s so much pressure involved with everything. I do wish that we did focus more on the cool factor of driving the car and how on-edge we are. You see a champion of our sport spin out in practice yesterday. If you watch the in-car, it looks innocent all the way to the point that it snaps. We’re all on that edge and we’re fighting that every lap, especially with the bump down in turn four there at Nashville (Superspeedway). There’s one big bump here. We have no idea at Chicago. They’ve repaved some, but we’ve all driven on repaved roads – sometimes it’s worse than it used to be. So I have no idea what to expect, but yeah when we go out, it’s going to be who can learn the fastest. We’re all logging laps in our simulators, but until you actually get on the surface – we don’t even have the most accurate renderings in for the walls because it’s going to be evolving as they put them in. A big ask of the operations team building the track because they’re just figuring it out as they go. 

A lot of times, I wish this room could ride with me physically in the car because it’s incredible what’s happening in there. And I remember growing up, just watching and viewing these drivers as these larger than life figures because if you can ever see the car wiggle, it’s crazy inside for the driver. And if you were in there, you could feel it. More two-seaters need to be available to give rides. When we do that, I’ll gladly signup to drive everybody in this room around these tracks.”

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO AS YOU’RE TRYING TO WORK YOUR WAY UP INTO NASCAR – NOW A FEW YEARS LATER, YOU’VE DRIVEN INSIDE A STADIUM, A CUP CAR ON A DIRT TRACK, DRIVEN AT NORTH WILKESBORO AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE DRIVING ON A STREET COURSE. THE IDEA, THAT CONCEPT AND HOW QUICKLY THINGS HAVE CHANGED – WHAT COMES TO MIND IN TERMS OF THAT YOU’RE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ERA THAN WHAT YOU WERE FIVE YEARS AGO AND WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE IF YOU REACH THIS LEVEL? 

“I’ll have to quote one of my guys, David, when I got in the No. 42 car in 2021. We were super excited and then we happened to be on the phone one day and we looked at the schedule together, and he’s like- ‘there’s seven road course races.. I didn’t know this. Why did we signup to drive a Cup car the first time that there’s seven when there was always two.’ And we were honestly a little scared and I had to go to school. I still go to school to learn. It is what it is. I wanted to be a Cup driver. I sacrificed a lot to get here, and whatever it means to be a Cup driver, I want to be that. This level, this garage – I want to be in there with the other teams and competing at this level. This is all I’ve wanted. 

Yeah, wherever we go – we go across the world, it doesn’t really bother me. I signed up for this and I’m here for it.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SUNDAY?

“After driving the rocket ship I had yesterday in practice, my expectations are high. We’ll have a shot. We’ll be able to go and wherever we qualify, we’ll be able to race throughout tomorrow night’s race and put ourselves in position. 

Yeah, expectations are to go compete. We have fast cars. We have good support. Trying to tie up all the little loose ends. We just want a shot.. that’s it. It’s going to come down to restarts throughout the final stage and adjusting our car throughout the night. I feel like that’s been a bit where I struggled. I feel like when we’ve been better throughout the weekend or early in the race, I get kind of complacent because I’m not sure what to tell them. I’m pushing the car; I have good balance. And then somebody nails their balance – it’s been a little bit slower and they’ve nailed it because they kept firing changes at it. I’m a little more reserved in my desire – as long as it’s close, I’ll go get the rest. But at this level, at the end of these races, it has to be pretty darn perfect. I feel like we’ve been beat there, so I’ve worked on just mentally, how do I push myself past where I’m comfortable with the car. I feel like I’ve got everything I need to go win. There’s probably something else I could ask for to make it a little bit better. The risk is that it could be worse, but let’s work on it – whether it’s air pressure or wedge. Our options are pretty small in the race, so what I’m looking for is small, little crumbs at the end of the race to be able to go fight for it.”

WHAT TONY STEWART SAID HE’S LOOKING FOR IN A DRIVER IS WORK ETHIC. YOU REALLY DIDN’T GET YOUR FIRST SHOT UNTIL 28 WHEN YOU GOT WITH A BIG TEAM AND YOU’VE MADE THE MOST OF IT SINCE. DOES WORK ETHIC STILL MATTER IN THE GARAGE? DO YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY DUES AND SHOW THAT YOU’RE COMMITTED?

“I’m so happy for Josh (Berry). I hate that we’re going to lose him at GM. I’m not going to be able to go to the gym in the morning and see him next year. But gosh, being friends, its been so cool to see his emotion as it’s come through and got done. There were times where I could tell he was working out a little extra because that carrot was out there, and it’s everything he’s ever wanted and worked for professionally. And same with me – it’s my life, it’s what we wanted. I’m sad I’m going to have to race against him, but I’m happy for the guy and his family. 

What the owners look at, I’m not sure. I’m not a race team owner, so I don’t even begin to think that I understand how their brains work. I don’t own race cars, I drive them. Everybody had to pay something.. everybody had to write a check. The amount might have been one or two zeros different, but it’s the dark side of our sport that not a lot of people like to talk about. Yes, I had to spend money, my family had to spend money, to get me into the sport. Somebody had to pay for every driver that’s racing a car anywhere – I don’t care if you’re running a rental go-cart race. The $20 for the 10 minutes you run in a rental go-cart, you have to pay for it.. somebody has to pay for it. Whether it’s that or to the Cup Series, yes – I don’t know everybody’s details, but I know mine. Yes, we had to spend money. I’m not going to hide from that. I’ve been able to pay that back now and I’m proud of that. The thought that people are here on zero dollars is not true. Whether it was truly you or your family or somebody that was like family – they had to be like family if they’re going to spend the money it takes to get into any kind of racing. If you race local late models these days, it’s a lot of money. It’s the dark side of our sport. I live in it; I work in it. I’m in the trenches on it for me and other people trying to figure out how to pay for this stuff. I’m not a sponsor finder.. I don’t want people to think that. I don’t find money for anybody. But the dark side is – everybody pays, it’s just a matter of if it pays off.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES

NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

ALLY 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 24, 2023

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Nashville Superspeedway. Media availability quotes: 

YOU’RE STILL LOOKING FOR YOUR FIRST WIN THIS YEAR. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SPEED IN YOUR NO. 1 CAR EACH WEEK? 

“I feel really good. I feel the continued evolution of the car as the whole garage continues to find ways to take the same piece that we started with last year and make it faster, handle a little bit better and a little more forgiving. I feel like we’re on the leading edge of that and that showed yesterday. One of the few times we’re looking at a 50 minute practice, we go out and we plan making a nice 20 lap run if it’s good. If not, we’ll stop and work on it. We ran 20 and then we ran until the caution came out. We were going to run 30. That was a good sign that we didn’t have to change much. We’re unloading really close; it’s just those fine details and we’re tuning on it. I feel good.”

FOR A WATERMELON FARMER, WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE LIKE TO DRIVE THROUGH THE CITY OF CHICAGO IN A RACE CAR?

“It’s going to be new. It’s new.. it’s totally different. Not like the roads in Alva, for sure. It’s a way to move the needle with our sport. I think over three-quarters of the tickets already sold are new fans, and I’m sure a lot of people are just going to walk-up when they hear the engines fire up. I think there’s signs all over town so they’ll at least know about it. And then when we go roaring down through there, there are going to be so many new fans. I’m bought-in. It doesn’t matter, for me, how my personal race goes or my weekend goes. I could very easily drive it into the tire barriers about every corner if I’m not careful. I’ve done that on the simulator quite a bit. You make the brake zone by just a few feet and there’s no run-off. Yes, I want points and I want to win, but I’m more looking at it from the big picture of us as a whole and if it elevates all of us, it’ll pay off for me in the long run.”

THIRD YEAR HERE AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY. PRACTICE YESTERDAY.. HOW DID THE TRACK FEEL AND HOW DID YOUR CAR FEEL? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR GOING INTO QUALIFYING LATER THIS AFTERNOON? 

“It felt just as unique as I remembered it. This place is unlike any other. When I go down the straightaways, I feel like I’m on a 1.5-mile track, and then I get to the corner and I brake like I’m at a short-track. Like I’m braking for the corner and overdriving. I have to consciously get myself to slow down early enough. Slower on entry really is faster. 

I don’t feel great making laps. And then we’re quick – we show good in all measurable aspects. The car isn’t really doing anything too crazy, but it just doesn’t feel good because there is so little banking and such tight corners. It’s not pleasant to drive. I feel like I’m not hustling it because you’re on a flatter track, even though to me the way it’s laid out – the garages, media center – it’s a 1.5-mile foot print that’s shrunk. So every lap, I have to consciously remind myself of that. I’m ready to hustle it like I’m at Kansas (Speedway).”

JUSTIN (MARKS) MADE THOSE VERY PUBLIC REMARKS AFTER DARLINGTON. IS IT A COINCIDENCE THAT SINCE THEN, THERE SEEMS TO BE THE ROSS CHASTAIN THAT WAS PRE-DARLINGTON AND MAYBE, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, YOU’VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE CONSERVATIVE SINCE THEN? 

“Well I think it’s exactly that.. it is the outside and what we do at Trackhouse Racing – say, talk about and plan for is what’s so cool about sports is that we’re enclosed in our own world of 140 men and women, and it’s up to us to go about our business however we see fit. I’m definitely going to learn from Darlington (Raceway). I don’t want to wreck myself. I want to win races. Whatever I can do to wreck less and win more will definitely be top of mind and priority. I take what people say to heart though, especially my boss, my owner. The guy that hires me and guides me. He’s a racer himself, so we’ve talked as just racers and buddies just as much as we’ve talked as owner and driver. People can think what they want. I know what our path is, has been and is currently in what we’re planning, and I’m totally comfortable in the spot we’re in.”

CAN YOU SHARE WHAT IT’S BEEN LIKE THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS? ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND MAYBE A DIFFERENT RHYTHM OR A DIFFERENT WAY TO APPROACH THINGS ON THE RACE TRACK? 

“I’m trying to find victory lane. I found it.. it’s right here. I was there last night with Carson Hocevar and I’ve got to get back myself. 

Yep, that’s all we’re trying to find.”

YOU ARE HIGH UP IN POINTS. I UNDERSTAND YOU WANT TO WIN EVERY RACE YOU COMPETE IN, BUT YOU ARE HIGH UP ENOUGH IN POINTS. IS THERE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT GIVES YOU SOME COMFORT ANYWAYS? IF NOT, ARE THERE CERTAIN TRACKS THAT YOU REALLY FEEL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SCORING A WIN AT BETWEEN NOW AND THE PLAYOFFS? 

“Chicago is a huge question mark, so I don’t really know where to rank that one, even though we’ve been really good on road courses. 

No.. there’s none that I really put above the others. Gateway, we weren’t that good in the race, but I thought if we were slotted in 10th, we could run 10th. I just got kind of beat up on restarts and that’s just part of it. 

There’s none that I really hold any higher than the others. With this car, it’s the same car every week. Like we literally change a few settings of the geometry and the body, but it’s so small that you can’t even see the difference. Where with the old car or any other race car, you bring it to a superspeedway, you can tell in the fenders, the body lines and the way the car sits that it’s built for Daytona (International Speedway). And then when you take it to Martinsville (Speedway), you can tell it’s a totally different built race car. Ours look the same, to me. I can’t see the differences. So with that, it shrunk the window for highs and lows of tracks that seem to be better or worse because we’re running truly the same car. 

Yeah, I don’t have any higher or lower, really.”

(NO MIC)

“I want to grab, scrap and pickup any points anybody drops.. anytime and all the time. The most points will be better. But no, we want to win and that’s the focus. That’s the goal. That’s the objective and that’s where our sights are set.”

CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE ON CHICAGO? YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE 50 MINUTES OF PRACTICE, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPECT THAT THERE WILL BE MULTIPLE CAUTIONS POTENTIALLY IN THE PRACTICE SESSION, SO YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE LIMITED TIME AND MAYBE GET TWO OR THREE RUNS, IF THAT. AND THEN WHEN YOU GO TO QUALIFY, YOU’LL HAVE TO BUST OUT A REALLY STRONG LAP BECAUSE TRACK POSITION IS GOING TO MATTER. WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR FOR QUALIFYING NEXT WEEK, HOW NERVE-RACKING IS OR HOW MUCH DO YOU EMBRACE THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A BIG MOMENT? 

“That’s NASCAR racing.. that’s every week. That’s what’s so cool about this series and this level is that there’s so much pressure involved with everything. I do wish that we did focus more on the cool factor of driving the car and how on-edge we are. You see a champion of our sport spin out in practice yesterday. If you watch the in-car, it looks innocent all the way to the point that it snaps. We’re all on that edge and we’re fighting that every lap, especially with the bump down in turn four there at Nashville (Superspeedway). There’s one big bump here. We have no idea at Chicago. They’ve repaved some, but we’ve all driven on repaved roads – sometimes it’s worse than it used to be. So I have no idea what to expect, but yeah when we go out, it’s going to be who can learn the fastest. We’re all logging laps in our simulators, but until you actually get on the surface – we don’t even have the most accurate renderings in for the walls because it’s going to be evolving as they put them in. A big ask of the operations team building the track because they’re just figuring it out as they go. 

A lot of times, I wish this room could ride with me physically in the car because it’s incredible what’s happening in there. And I remember growing up, just watching and viewing these drivers as these larger than life figures because if you can ever see the car wiggle, it’s crazy inside for the driver. And if you were in there, you could feel it. More two-seaters need to be available to give rides. When we do that, I’ll gladly signup to drive everybody in this room around these tracks.”

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN YEARS AGO AS YOU’RE TRYING TO WORK YOUR WAY UP INTO NASCAR – NOW A FEW YEARS LATER, YOU’VE DRIVEN INSIDE A STADIUM, A CUP CAR ON A DIRT TRACK, DRIVEN AT NORTH WILKESBORO AND NOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE DRIVING ON A STREET COURSE. THE IDEA, THAT CONCEPT AND HOW QUICKLY THINGS HAVE CHANGED – WHAT COMES TO MIND IN TERMS OF THAT YOU’RE IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ERA THAN WHAT YOU WERE FIVE YEARS AGO AND WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE IF YOU REACH THIS LEVEL? 

“I’ll have to quote one of my guys, David, when I got in the No. 42 car in 2021. We were super excited and then we happened to be on the phone one day and we looked at the schedule together, and he’s like- ‘there’s seven road course races.. I didn’t know this. Why did we signup to drive a Cup car the first time that there’s seven when there was always two.’ And we were honestly a little scared and I had to go to school. I still go to school to learn. It is what it is. I wanted to be a Cup driver. I sacrificed a lot to get here, and whatever it means to be a Cup driver, I want to be that. This level, this garage – I want to be in there with the other teams and competing at this level. This is all I’ve wanted. 

Yeah, wherever we go – we go across the world, it doesn’t really bother me. I signed up for this and I’m here for it.”

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR SUNDAY?

“After driving the rocket ship I had yesterday in practice, my expectations are high. We’ll have a shot. We’ll be able to go and wherever we qualify, we’ll be able to race throughout tomorrow night’s race and put ourselves in position. 

Yeah, expectations are to go compete. We have fast cars. We have good support. Trying to tie up all the little loose ends. We just want a shot.. that’s it. It’s going to come down to restarts throughout the final stage and adjusting our car throughout the night. I feel like that’s been a bit where I struggled. I feel like when we’ve been better throughout the weekend or early in the race, I get kind of complacent because I’m not sure what to tell them. I’m pushing the car; I have good balance. And then somebody nails their balance – it’s been a little bit slower and they’ve nailed it because they kept firing changes at it. I’m a little more reserved in my desire – as long as it’s close, I’ll go get the rest. But at this level, at the end of these races, it has to be pretty darn perfect. I feel like we’ve been beat there, so I’ve worked on just mentally, how do I push myself past where I’m comfortable with the car. I feel like I’ve got everything I need to go win. There’s probably something else I could ask for to make it a little bit better. The risk is that it could be worse, but let’s work on it – whether it’s air pressure or wedge. Our options are pretty small in the race, so what I’m looking for is small, little crumbs at the end of the race to be able to go fight for it.”

WHAT TONY STEWART SAID HE’S LOOKING FOR IN A DRIVER IS WORK ETHIC. YOU REALLY DIDN’T GET YOUR FIRST SHOT UNTIL 28 WHEN YOU GOT WITH A BIG TEAM AND YOU’VE MADE THE MOST OF IT SINCE. DOES WORK ETHIC STILL MATTER IN THE GARAGE? DO YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY DUES AND SHOW THAT YOU’RE COMMITTED?

“I’m so happy for Josh (Berry). I hate that we’re going to lose him at GM. I’m not going to be able to go to the gym in the morning and see him next year. But gosh, being friends, its been so cool to see his emotion as it’s come through and got done. There were times where I could tell he was working out a little extra because that carrot was out there, and it’s everything he’s ever wanted and worked for professionally. And same with me – it’s my life, it’s what we wanted. I’m sad I’m going to have to race against him, but I’m happy for the guy and his family. 

What the owners look at, I’m not sure. I’m not a race team owner, so I don’t even begin to think that I understand how their brains work. I don’t own race cars, I drive them. Everybody had to pay something.. everybody had to write a check. The amount might have been one or two zeros different, but it’s the dark side of our sport that not a lot of people like to talk about. Yes, I had to spend money, my family had to spend money, to get me into the sport. Somebody had to pay for every driver that’s racing a car anywhere – I don’t care if you’re running a rental go-cart race. The $20 for the 10 minutes you run in a rental go-cart, you have to pay for it.. somebody has to pay for it. Whether it’s that or to the Cup Series, yes – I don’t know everybody’s details, but I know mine. Yes, we had to spend money. I’m not going to hide from that. I’ve been able to pay that back now and I’m proud of that. The thought that people are here on zero dollars is not true. Whether it was truly you or your family or somebody that was like family – they had to be like family if they’re going to spend the money it takes to get into any kind of racing. If you race local late models these days, it’s a lot of money. It’s the dark side of our sport. I live in it; I work in it. I’m in the trenches on it for me and other people trying to figure out how to pay for this stuff. I’m not a sponsor finder.. I don’t want people to think that. I don’t find money for anybody. But the dark side is – everybody pays, it’s just a matter of if it pays off.”

BROWNSTOWN, IL (June 23, 2023) – Jason Feger knew his first DIRTcar Summer Nationals Feature win of the season had to be right on the horizon. If three-straight podium finishes in his last three races was any clue, then he was due any day. Friday night at the Brownstown Bullring, he finally broke through to Victory Lane.

In dominant fashion, Feger – the 2010 Hell Tour champion from Bloomington, IL – led all 50 circuits around the 1/4-mile, formerly known as Fayette County Speedway, and bagged the $10,000 grand prize.

“It feels really good, especially being a $10,000-to-win,” Feger said. “That’s kinda like winning two.”

Feger started on the outside front row, won the mad dash into the first corner and began pacing the field around. The laps clicked off as fellow Summer Nationals champions Billy Moyer Sr. and Shannon Babb followed close behind.

Only one caution slowed the action and restacked the field right before the halfway point, but little changed out front as Feger continued to show the way.

As the final laps closed in, so did Moyer and Babb to the rear of Feger. Soon, the lapped traffic in front of Feger became undeniable, but he chose to stay put instead of making the risky move with the other leaders right on his tail.

“It’s nice knowing you’ve got guys back there that probably aren’t going to make bonehead moves and race you clean,” Feger said. “They know when it might not be their night, and they’re just going to get their money and keep everything in one piece. That was definitely peace of mind.”

Feger elected to chase the lapped cars back to the finish line, scoring his 24th career Summer Nationals Feature win. He came into the night leading both the Week 2 and overall points standings and has since expanded that gap with the victory.

Two races remain on the docket in Week 2, but Feger likes his chance to be there with a shot at the $10,000 weekly champion’s check come Sunday night. Though, he does acknowledge the pitfalls that beset so many teams on the road.

“We’ve just gotta stay focused,” Feger said. “You’re one flat tire away, or broken motor, or big wreck – anything can happen. We’ve just gotta keep digging away and take it one night at a time.

“Obviously, everything’s rolling good. But you never know when the bad luck’s gonna come get you.”

UP NEXT

Week 2 on the Summer Nationals Late Model trail heads to Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO, on Saturday, June 24, joined by the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (50 Laps): 1. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 2. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[4]; 3. 18-Shannon Babb[1]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[6]; 5. 21J-Billy Moyer Jr[7]; 6. 7T-Drake Troutman[11]; 7. 14M-Morgan Bagley[3]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[10]; 9. 12-Ashton Winger[24]; 10. 33-Mike Harrison[16]; 11. 36-Logan Martin[5]; 12. 24-Ryan Unzicker[19]; 13. 94-Austin Rettig[9]; 14. 26H-Kyle Hammer[12]; 15. 31AUS-Kye Blight[20]; 16. 38-Thomas Hunziker[13]; 17. 4G-Bob Gardner[21]; 18. (DNF) 42-Chad Finley[18]; 19. (DNF) 35-Claude Walker[23]; 20. (DNF) 11D-Brian Diveley[17]; 21. (DNF) 54-Dane Dacus[14]; 22. (DNF) 21N-Logan Nickerson[8]; 23. (DNF) 16-Rusty Griffaw[22]; 24. (DNF) 6K-Michael Kloos[15]

Harrison Wins Brownstown for 58th Career Summit Modified Victory

For the second time this season, Mike Harrison has put his new Longhorn Chassis in DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Victory Lane.

Leading all 25 laps, Harrison took command at the drop of the green and held off current DIRTcar UMP Modified national points leader Tyler Nicely and the rest of the field to score his 58th career victory with the series.

Several cautions littered throughout the race gave Nicely, Cole Falloway and others chances to make a move for the lead, but six-time Summit Modified champion Harrison was too fast through the middle.

“I knew I had to get the jump on [Nicely], and that was my whole goal,” Harrison said. “Then, it was just a matter of doing all the right things, get through lapped traffic and come out on top.”

UP NEXT

The Summit Modifieds are back in action Saturday, June 24 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, MO, for the sixth race of the 2023 season.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[1]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[2]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway[7]; 4. 8-Kyle Steffens[8]; 5. 14C-Rick Conoyer[6]; 6. 13-Charlie Mefford[4]; 7. 28-Michael Bolyard[5]; 8. 1S-Brian Shaw[17]; 9. 787-Cody Zobrist[10]; 10. 128-Zach Schantz[9]; 11. 12L-Lucas Lee[15]; 12. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[12]; 13. 82-Dalton Lane[13]; 14. 54-Zachary Hawk[20]; 15. 66W-Tyler Worley[22]; 16. 51M-Joe Mercurio[19]; 17. 27H-Keith Harre[21]; 18. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[11]; 19. 45M-Jared Morrison[18]; 20. 95-Rick Salter[14]; 21. 27-Michael Turner[23]; 22. 21M-Willy Myers[3]; 23. 87Z-Zeb Moake[16]

Huset’s win puts the Shark Racing driver in prime position for Saturday’s $250,000 finaleBRANDON, SD (June 23, 2023) – Logan Schuchart has put himself in a position to make Sprint Car history.Entering this week, the Hanover, PA native didn’t own a top-five finish at Huset’s Speedway. On Thursday night he changed that with a strong fourth. And then on Friday the driver of the Shark Racing #1S turned in a masterful drive to top the final prelim night of the Billion Auto Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards.Schuchart slipped around the outside of Spencer Bayston on lap five, fended off a few challenges from Buddy Kofoid, and cruised to his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car victory of 2023 and the 37th of his career and pocketed $20,000. That mark gives him sole possession of 19th on the all-time Series win list. Huset’s is now the 21st different track he’s won at in World of Outlaws competition.But the larger picture is the more important one for Schuchart and his Shark Racing crew. The back-to-back effective prelim outings positioned them atop the points heading into Saturday’s finale where a $250,000 payday – the largest in World of Outlaws history – awaits the winner. He’s guaranteed a spot in the King of the Hill that will line up the front four rows of the Feature. The Pennsylvania team that joined the World of Outlaws tour in 2014 with an uncertain future ahead now has a chance at the biggest paycheck in the World of Outlaws’ more than 45 years of history.“Happy we were able to hold on. $20,000 is a lot of money, but we’re focused on $250,000 tomorrow,” Schuchart said. “I feel like I roll this racetrack really good right now when everything is right. I feel like we have as good of a shot as anybody. For any big race, it feels good to roll into with confidence.”Schuchart began the 35-lap main event next to pole-sitter Spencer Bayston. When the green lights flashed, Bayston was able to slide ahead for the early advantage. But Schuchart didn’t let him get far away.Bayston worked the bottom line aboard his CJB Motorsports #5 while Schuchart explored the high line. Almost immediately, Schuchart began to close in. The 30-year-old ripped around the cushion and moved in on Bayston’s tail tank. On the fifth circuit, Schuchart found the run he needed to power into the lead.For Schuchart, he actually felt that not getting the lead on the initial start was beneficial to knowing where he needed to be on the track and moving into the top spot.“There in the beginning I was kind of happy to not get the lead there at the start,” Schuchart explained. “I wanted to see how the racetrack was moving around for a little bit. Then once we got to the top, I could kind of gauge how I wanted to do my starts, and once we got going, I could get to the top and start making momentum.”Once Schuchart snagged the lead, he pulled ahead while behind him, Buddy Kofoid rolled into the runner-up spot by Bayston.As the laps clicked away, Kofoid stayed roughly a second behind Schuchart within striking distance. When Schuchart would clear a lapped car, Kofoid would follow suit. Each time there was restart, Kofoid didn’t let Schuchart get too far ahead.One last stoppage in the race set up a three-lap dash to the finish, and Schuchart saved perhaps his best restart for last. He roared away from Kofoid and drove with a comfortable advantage to the checkered flag for the win and the High Bank Nationals points lead.“Yeah, it’s huge,” Schuchart said of being atop the standings. “It’s big. We want to be able to be there at the end of the night, put ourselves in position. If you’re starting 10th or 15th or wherever it’s going to be tough, but we have a great shot.”For the second straight night, Buddy Kofoid wound up on the podium with Roth Motorsports. The Penngrove, CA native improved his finish from Thursday by a spot to claim the runner-up position for his sixth World of Outlaws top-three of the season. Only one spot on the podium remains for Kofoid to stand on this week. And if he can do it, he’ll be $250,000 richer.“Dennis and Teresa Roth gave me a really good opportunity to drive such a prestigious car,” a grateful Kofoid said. “I feel pretty good about my odds. We were third yesterday, second today, and I hope we can be one better tomorrow.”Rounding out the podium was the race’s pole-sitter – Spencer Bayston. It marked the Lebanon, IN native’s second podium of the year aboard the CJB #5. His efforts through the week have landed him fourth in points, and he’s entirely focused on the major prize that awaits on Saturday.“We had, really, two good first nights,” Bayston said. “And coming here tonight it’s one of those to see if we can pick up on a few little things and improve and we certainly did that. We should be sitting really good for points. There’s a lot on the line tomorrow, so I felt like we made a really good gain tonight the Heat Race with our balance and my feel and then again in the Feature.”Brad Sweet and David Gravel completed the top five.A run from 24th to eighth earned Tyler Courtney his third KSE Racing Hard Charger of 2023.Sheldon Haudenschild began the night by earning his second Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award of the season and the 27th of his career.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Ryan Timms (first Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Six were topped by Spencer Bayston (16th of career), Tim Estenson (first of career), Jacob Allen (56th of career), Sam Hafertepe Jr. (50th of career), and Gio Scelzi (29th of career).Donny Schatz won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: History will be made as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will race for $250,000 on the final night of the Huset’s High Bank Nationals on Saturday, June 24. 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 (35 Laps): 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1]; 2. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[3]; 3. 5-Spencer Bayston[2]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[8]; 5. 2-David Gravel[7]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 7. 21-Brian Brown[9]; 8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[24]; 9. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 10. 9R-Chase Randall[12]; 11. 5X-Kerry Madsen[13]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu[10]; 13. 88-Austin McCarl[11]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[20]; 15. 5T-Ryan Timms[16]; 16. 15-Donny Schatz[21]; 17. 17B-Bill Balog[17]; 18. 7S-Robbie Price[18]; 19. 83H-Justin Henderson[15]; 20. 52-Blake Hahn[23]; 21. 9-Kasey Kahne[19]; 22. 22K-Kaleb Johnson[6]; 23. 29-Sye Lynch[22]; 24. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[14]

(6/23/23 – Ben Deatherage) Algers, WA … Corey Day’s supreme reign in the Pacific Northwest remains intact as he collected his second straight win at the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup to pocket another $4,100 winner’s check with the NARC 410 Sprint Series. The Jason Meyers Racing Meyers Constructors/Four C’s Construction #14 KPC seized the lead on lap six and went practically untested the remainder of the 30-lap contest at Skagit Speedway to capture his eighth series win of 2023.

“We set out a goal at the beginning of this year that we wanted to get double-digit wins,” said the now fourteen-time NARC main event winner. “I’ve never done that before, and this is my tenth one this year, and it’s only June, so I didn’t expect that we’re on a roll. I owe it to Shane (Bowers), Jason (Meyers), Preston, HP, Eddie, Stephan, and Kenny, and everyone that works their butt off on the race car.”

Unlike the previous night, stoppages and restarts proved to be a factor in the35-lap main event. Tanner Holmes put his Shane DeWald Trucking/NexGen Diesel Exhaust Fluid #18T KPC in front of the rest of the pack, only to have the field try it again after a caution. Lighting struck twice when the Oregon traveler regained the lead again. 

Almost immediately, Holmes would be put under significant pressure. Day motored his way around Holmes on the sixth circuit before dealing with lapped traffic. The yellow flag would fly on lap eight before the rematch between the two could be had.  

On the following restart, Day checked out from the competition, but yet again, the field was slowed down, this time for a red flag crash with 12-laps completed. Day hit traffic again on the 17th circuit and cut his way through the tail end of the pack effectively.

The final stoppage would take place with only three laps remaining which set up Day with an open racetrack. He would power his way to the finish line to add to his incredible tally of three-straight NARC and five in his last six starts.

Holmes would finish the race in second, followed by the night’s Williams Roofing Hardcharger Dominic Scelzi. The two-time defending series champ started his Whipple Superchargers/Red Rose Transportation #41 Maxim in 13th and wound up third. Zeb Wise made some late race moves to put the Rayce Rudeen Foundation/Hager Reality Services #26R Maxim in fourth. Washington native Trey Starks completed the top five, in fifth, in the T&C Concepts/Fisher Racing Engines #55 J&J.

“It’s been a much better Dirt Cup for us than last year,” commented Holmes. “I have no complaints about our speed; we’re right where we need to be; we just need to be that one tick better to be with the #14. I felt like my car was good enough; I couldn’t get consistent enough laps to get to him when he got to traffic.”

“We were really good,” stated Scelzi. “I felt we had a really good car last night and a really good car tonight. I feel good, and I feel competitive. The preliminary nights have played out in the #14’s favor, but I think there are a lot of good guys out there, and I think we’re one of them. Jimmy’s got the race car really good, and the guys have been working hard.”

Justyn Cox posted a sixth-place result for Bates-Hamilton Racing, while Justin Sanders gained nine positions successfully to earn seventh and earn the top points position entering Saturday night’s $62,000 to win finale. 

The remainder of the top ten include 14th starting Jason Solwold, 17th starter Cole Macedo and D.J. Netto. K

Aussie Karl Hoffmanns had a hard flip in qualifying, Billy Aton took a tumble in the B Main, while Shane Golobic got upside down in the main event. All drivers were uninjured.

Chase Johnson picked off the B-main.  Aaron Reutzel earned the ARP Fast Time award, besting the 41-car field in qualifying.

A-FEATURE (30 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day [2]; 2. 18T-Tanner Holmes [1]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi [13]; 4. 26R-Zeb Wise [11]; 5. 55-Trey Starks [10]; 6. 42X-Justyn Cox [7]; 7. 2X-Justin Sanders [16]; 8. 18-Jason Solwold [14]; 9. 21-Cole Macedo [17]; 10. 88N-DJ Netto [8]; 11. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [9]; 12. 19-Colby Thornhill [4]; 13. 44W-Austen Wheatley [5]; 14. 73-Chase Johnson [21]; 15. 29-Willie Croft [6]; 16. 8-Aaron Reutzel [18]; 17. 69-Bud Kaeding [23]; 18. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [24]; 19. 7-Tyler Thompson [12]; 20. 2L-Logan Forler [20]; 21. 96-Greg Hamilton [22]; 22. 16A-Colby Copeland [15]; 23. 115-Nick Parker [3]; 24. 17W-Shane Golobic [19]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Tanner Holmes 1-5; Corey Day 6-35 

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Dominic Scelzi +10

KAEDING PERFORMANCE CENTER B-FEATURE (12 Laps): 1. 73-Chase Johnson [1]; 2. 96-Greg Hamilton [2]; 3. 69-Bud Kaeding [6]; 4. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [5]; 5. 53-Jessie Attard [11]; 6. 95-Justin Youngquist [3]; 7. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr [7]; 8. 9A-Luke Didiuk [9]; 9. 99-Eric Fisher [8]; 10. 17-Cam Smith [10]; 11. 2JR-Kelly Miller [12]; 12. 10G-Dana Glenn [17]; 13. 14B-Bailey Jean [14]; 14. 9-Sean MacDonell [15]; 15. 0-Ashleigh Johnson [16]; 16. 57-James Bundy [19]; 17. 00S-Corey Summers [18]; 18. 1M-Mike Brown [20]; 19. AU96-Andy Caruana [13]; 20. 26-Billy Aton [4]

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (41 Cars): Aaron Reutzel, 11.537

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [3]; 2. 96-Greg Hamilton [2]; 3. 46JR-Joel Myers Jr [1]; 4. 8-Aaron Reutzel [8]; 5. 115-Nick Parker [5]; 6. 16A-Colby Copeland [7]; 7. 29-Willie Croft [6]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [4]; 9. AU96-Andy Caruana [9]; 10. 10G-Dana Glenn [10]

KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 73-Chase Johnson [2]; 2. 2L-Logan Forler [3]; 3. 9A-Luke Didiuk [1]; 4. 19-Colby Thornhill [5]; 5. 26R-Zeb Wise [6]; 6. 21-Cole Macedo [8]; 7. 95-Justin Youngquist [4]; 8. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [7]; 9. 9-Sean MacDonell [9]; 10. 57-James Bundy [10]

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 7-Tyler Thompson [5]; 2. 18T-Tanner Holmes [4]; 3. 53-Jessie Attard [1]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [2]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto [6]; 6. 41-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 7. 99-Eric Fisher [3]; 8. 14B-Bailey Jean [9]; 9. 00S-Corey Summers [10]; 10. 55-Trey Starks [8]

LIFELINE USA HEAT FOUR (8 Laps) 1. 14-Corey Day [4]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [5]; 3. 21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [2]; 4. 18-Jason Solwold [7]; 5. 44W-Austen Wheatley [6]; 6. 2X-Justin Sanders [8]; 7. 17-Cam Smith [3]; 8. 2JR-Kelly Miller [1]; 9. 0-Ashleigh Johnson [9]; 10. 1M-Mike Brown [10]

SARVER, Pa. (June 23, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. and Max Blair won two exciting feature events on Friday night at Lernerville Speedway. Thornton, the current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series championship points leader won the first 25-lap main event and Max Blair, who currently sits atop the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year chase earned his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win by taking the 25-lap nightcap main event.                     Thornton regained the lead from Jonathan Davenport with three laps to go to take the first feature which went down to the wire. Brandon Overton got by Davenport at the end to take the runner-up spot. Davenport crossed the finish line in third followed by Gregg Satterlee, and Hudson O’Neal. Thornton led the first 21 laps until Davenport seized the point on lap 22. Thornton rebounded coming off turn four on lap 23 as he went on to pick up his first-ever win at Lernerville and his ninth this season with the series. “I just didn’t know where to be,” said Thornton in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 14th time in his career. “The lapped cars were all running around the bottom. I heard JD on the bottom, and I knew he was going to slide me. I about ruined his night over there in turn two. I didn’t really want to slide him. I just wanted to get alongside of him and then my right rear caught his left front. Hopefully I didn’t really ruin his night. I saw he ended up third.” Thornton rebounded from a DNF in the first 25-lap feature of the day to post the win. “I mean it was my own fault earlier. I should have just settled for where I was at and instead, I made it a really long night for us tonight. I really had to perform tonight to put us in a good spot for tomorrow night.” Overton made his second Big River Steel Podium of the day with his runner-up finish. “It was a heck of race. I got to watch a lot of it. Congrats to Ricky and JD. We are getting closer. We were a little bit better today and will try again tomorrow. The track just hasn’t gotten slow,” said the driver seeking his third-career Firecracker 100 win on Saturday night. “This place is always slow and slick. We haven’t seen that yet, so we are just going to have to get a good game plan for tomorrow and hopefully the rain stays away and it get slick.” Davenport, who earlier in the day won one of the 25-lap features came home in third in his Friday night main event. “I got run off the track over there pretty much. I thought I cleared him [Thornton] pretty clean down here. It’s all right, it’s 50 grand tomorrow. But it is what it is. He’s got a fast car. We have been trying to throw everything at him to beat him. He’s been doing a good job. He was probably clear from his vantage point.”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, D&E Outside Services, Certified Inspection Service Company, Inc., Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Midwest Sheet Metal, and Murty Farms. Completing the top ten in the 25-lap Group A feature were Tyler Erb, Spencer Hughes, Darrell Bossard, Trevor Collins, and Chub Frank.

Like the first feature the second came down to the end with Blair holding off a hard-charging Daulton Wilson for the win. Devin Moran, who led the first 19 laps was third at the finish with Michael Norris passing Tyler Bruening on the final lap for fourth. The 33-year-old Blair, a third-generation racer from Centerville, Pennsylvania, became the 15th different winner of the season with the series and the 89th different driver in series history to win a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race. “Man, this is awesome. I don’t even know what to say. I started running Devin down a little bit there and I thought no way I was going to pass him – then I was thinking I was a little better than him and then I passed him. I messed up every corner for the next three laps so then I finally calmed myself down and just rode it to the end. I can’t thank Boom and Steve Briggs enough for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime. This is a great partnership and I think it’s going to be a really good fit.” “I didn’t feel secure until I crossed the checkered flag. I felt like I had a car capable winning all day. We have been pretty good all weekend. Everybody thinks this is like my local racetrack it’s not. We have raced the Firecracker and I have been to the Stampede a couple of times, but I do love this place. I love coming here. Hats off to Lernerville they have worked their tails off to get these races in. There is a lot of places that wouldn’t have done what they did. We sure appreciate that too.” Wilson equaled his best career finish with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series by coming home in second behind Blair. “We got hung up there on the outside and didn’t really know where to be. I finally got down on that bottom and I got to rotating around there pretty good. I didn’t realize what lap we were on until I seen the white. Hats off to Max he drove a good race and Devin, too.” Moran rounded out the podium for the second time on Friday by taking home third in the last feature of the day. “I mean cautions just killed me right there. I felt like I could make really good time the whole race and then the top just slowly started going away. I got my tires a little hot, but Max and those guys did a great job and so did Daulton. I mean two third-place finishes today, were happy with that.”  The winner’s Briggs Transport-owned, Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Excess Storage, Corry Rubber Corporation, Meridien Hardwoods, Valvoline, Penske Racing Shocks, Creekside Auto Sales, Tucker Drums, Murphy’s Logging, C&J Dairy, Northeast Bus Service, Three Rivers Karting, Chub Frank Racing, and Privity Auto Wrecking. Completing the top ten in the 25-lap Group B feature were Tim McCreadie, Colton Flinner, Garrett Alberson, Ryan Montgomery, and Logan Zarin. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Night #2Friday, June 23, 2023Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brandon Overton | 15.736 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Michael Norris | 16.417 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 3. 22B-Darrell Bossard[4]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 5. 1*-Chub Frank[6]; 6. 11T-Trevor Collins[5]; 7. 20N-Nicholas Eck[8]; 8. 96-Mike Smith[7] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 22-Gregg Satterlee[2]; 3. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[6]; 5. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[3]; 6. 1C-Alex Ferree[7]; 7. B22-Bump Hedman[5]; 8. AUS1-Brent Vosbergen[8] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 11-Spencer Hughes[1]; 2. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[2]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 4. 77-Tyler Dietz[6]; 5. 55-Benji Hicks[8]; 6. 10L-Gary Lyle[5]; 7. 8K-Kyle Strickler[4]; 8. 20D-Doug Eck[7] Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 2. 10-Michael Norris[1]; 3. 15K-Cody Overton[3]; 4. 9Y-Levi Yetter[4]; 5. J4-John Garvin Jr[5]; 6. 11P-Joshua Powell[6]; 7. 01-Ron Hall[7]; 8. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[8] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. 1Z-Logan Zarin[4]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 25S-Cory Sines[6]; 5. 9-Breyton Santee[8]; 6. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[3]; 7. 55C-Chris Schneider[7]; 8. 97-Kevin Smith[5] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[1]; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 3. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[4]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[6]; 7. 14-Braeden Dillinger[7]; 8. 1L-Chuckie Lepsch[8]; 9. 66-Todd Bachman[9] 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Group A Feature Finish (25 Laps):

17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Group B Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 48Group A Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Group B Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Devin MoranGroup A Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-21); Jonathan Davenport (Lap 22); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 23-25)Group B Lap Leaders: Devin Moran (Laps 1-19); Max Blair (Laps 20-25)Group A Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Group B Wieland Feature Winner: Max BlairArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aGroup A Margin of Victory: 1.886 secondsGroup B Margin of Victory: 1.149 secondsGroup A Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Nicholas Eck (Lap 19); Earl Pearson, Jr. (Lap 20)Group B Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Dan Angelicchio (Lap 1); Jared Miley (Lap 2); Chuckie Lepsch (Lap 7); John Garvin (Lap 12)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aGroup A Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Jonathan DavenportGroup B Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Max Blair, Daulton Wilson, Devin MoranGroup A Penske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Hudson O’NealGroup B Penske Shocks Top 5: Max Blair, Daulton Wilson, Devin Moran, Michael Norris, Tyler BrueningGroup A Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Tyler Collins (Advanced 7 Positions)Group B Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Colton Flinner (Advanced 11 Positions)Group A Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Spencer HughesGroup B Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Colton FlinnerGroup A Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Alex FerreeGroup B Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Boom BriggsGroup A Earnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (24 Laps)Group B Earnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Devin Moran (19 Laps)Group A Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Group A Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Garrett AlbersonMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairGroup A Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 2 – 15.849 seconds)Group B Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Max Blair (Lap 2 – 16.479 seconds)Group A MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Earl Pearson, Jr.Group B MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Mason ZeiglerGroup A Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.)Group B Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Rob Blair (Max Blair)Group A ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesGroup B ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesGroup A Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisGroup B Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Max Blair (15.399 seconds)Group A Time of Race: 17 minutes 02 secondsGroup B Time of Race: 19 minutes 48 seconds Penske Shocks Heat #1 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

Summit Racing Equipment Heat #2 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

Simpson Race Products Heat #3 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

AP1 Insurance Heat #4 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

Lucas Oil Heat #5 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

Lucas Oil Heat #6 (10 Laps | Top 3 Transfer) Line-Up

17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Point Standings

**Ties broken by highest points night first, then by fastest qualifying lap either day.**

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2023, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 56 events across 16 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package streamed live via MAVTV on FloRacing, with select broadcasts on MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.

WICHITA, KS – June 23, 2023 – A pair of Illinois drivers opened the Wichita Late Model Showdown at 81 Speedway for the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models with a trip to Victory Lane.   

Brandon Sheppard and Bobby Pierce each made strong early moves that propelled them to their preliminary Feature wins and a $4,000 prize Friday night. 

They also earned the pole of their Heat Races on Saturday, as they aim for $30,000 and a strong start to the World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek. 

FEATURE 1: Brandon Sheppard took advantage of a miscue by Kyle Bronson to keep his undefeated streak alive in World of Outlaws competition at 81 Speedway. 

Bronson led the first six laps, pounding the cushion and pulling away from the field until his fortune changed on Lap 7. 

The Brandon, FL driver got too high entering Turn 4, sending him up the racetrack and into the wall.  

Sheppard rushed past him on the bottom, taking the lead as they exited the corner and held on to win Friday’s first preliminary Feature.  

The New Berlin, IL driver understood the importance of finishing up front and what it meant for his chances on Saturday. 

“We knew we needed to be out front tonight because it sets us up for tomorrow night for the big money,” Sheppard said. “We had a really good car tonight. We didn’t change a lot. It was a brand-new Longhorn Chassis, so hats off to them guys who build a really great race car. It’s a team effort, and it means a lot to be out here doing what we love.” 

Ryan Gustin crossed the line second, taking the runner-up spot from Bronson on a Lap 13 restart.  

The “Reaper” dove to the bottom from the outside starting spot in Turn 1, clearing the #40B’s nose as they exited the corner.  

Gustin closed the gap on Sheppard but didn’t have enough to catch him. 

“I tried to cut to the bottom, thinking maybe I could get a good run and maybe get a slider on him,” Gustin said. “It was right around the cushion, which was fun and exciting. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to run a cushion like that. [Taylon Center] changed some things on the race car to where I can do that again.” 

Bronson fell to third, unable to challenge the top two. He said he knew one turn was enough to cost him the $4,000 prize.  

“I just kind of missed my marks twice in one lap, and that gave the race away,” Bronson said. “Congratulations to Brandon. He did everything right. And Gustin ran second. Then I got back there and got quarter-paneled and banged around a little bit. We got to get up on the wheel tomorrow and throw some quarter-panels back.” 

Brian Shirley crossed the line fourth, while Series points leader Chris Madden finished fifth. 

FEATURE 2: Bobby Pierce has navigated a course to Victory Lane at 81 Speedway before, but his journey to do so again Friday night came with new adversities. 

Tanner English drove around him on the outside to lead Lap 1, but that’s when the Oakwood, IL, moved to the bottom, giving him momentum. 

Pierce only needed six laps to regain the lead, as he passed English on the bottom in Turn 4 on Lap 7.  

The “Smooth Operator” looked like he would cruise to the win until Germfree Labs Rookie of the Year contender Nick Hoffman found the outside.  

Hoffman picked off cars one by one on the top, moving into second with 10 laps to go and closed on Pierce in traffic. 

However, his charge was slowed by a late race caution for Jacob Magee, setting up a green-white-checkered finish.  

From there, Pierce held on for the final two laps to earn the $4,000 win in the second preliminary Feature.  

Pierce said he was comfortable running the bottom despite losing the lead on the first lap. 

“It felt really good down there,” Pierce said. “I was pretty chill and content running down there. But then Hoffman started pressuring us, and the track started really moving around to the bottom, middle, and top.  

“It got really good. It was a really good racetrack there. And I’m excited for tomorrow.”  

English snuck by Hoffman on the race’s final restart to climb back to second. The Benton, KY driver said he needed that caution to move up another position on the podium. 

“The car felt really good,” English said. “But I had a bit of a carburetor stumble, and that was killing me. Especially when I was slowing down really bad there in the middle of the race, I’d let off, and it would fall on its face.  

“I don’t think I really had anything for Nick or Bobby until that restart happened. I just sent it in a little harder than I had been, and it stuck.” 

Hoffman settled for third, ultimately losing second to English on Lap 24. 

“My give-a-shit level went to nothing, and my meter got pegged out,” Hoffman said. “I was getting frustrated racing with some of them guys who were sweeping the whole racetrack, and I fell back to probably sixth or seventh. I just wasn’t very good, so I just got pissed off and started hammering the top and made a lot of speed.  

“Then I found that middle in [Turns] 3 and 4 and made a lot of gains there. And get back by Tanner for a second.” After that, I was trying to run Bobby down, and I made gains, but he was on a harder tire than me.” 

Defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and Cade Dillard rounded out the top five. 

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to 81 Speedway for night two of the Wichita Late Model Showdown. Drivers will battle for $30,000 in a 60-lap finale—the highest paying Feature of World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek.  

 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 Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 5. 44-Chris Madden[8]; 6. 174-Ethan Dotson[11]; 7. 1ST-Johnny Scott[9]; 8. 54-David Breazeale[5]; 9. 60-Kip Hughes[14]; 10. 04-Tad Pospisil[10]; 11. 99-Jesse Sobbing[6]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 13. B1X-Dustin Bolster[15]; 14. 76-Blair Nothdurft[12]; 15. 19M-Colby Moore[19]; 16. 18-Chase Junghans[4]; 17. 47-Chris Kratzer[17]; 18. 229-Damian Patocka[16]; 19. 18B-Bob Bills[18]

CASE Construction Equipment Feature 2 (25 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[2]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 6. 11-Gordy Gundaker[9]; 7. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[6]; 8. 25-Shane Clanton[7]; 9. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[12]; 10. 7D-Dusty Leonard[10]; 11. X-Jacob Magee[11]; 12. 30-Todd Cooney[8]; 13. 92S-Delbert Smith[14]; 14. 12-Scott Crigler[13]; 15. 14W-Dustin Walker[15]; 16. 112-Tyler Smith[18]; 17. 15B-Braxton Berry[19]; 18. 10-TeeJay Janousek[17]; 19. (DNS) 27-Rayce McCord

NORWALK, Ohio (June 23, 2023) – After rain cut qualifying to just one session, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster team ended the night in the provisional No. 6 qualifying position Friday at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. John Force has the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy Camaro SS are sitting No. 9 while Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Chevy Camaro SS are No. 12 and Austin Prock in the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster is No. 11. Looking for her first victory at the fan-favorite racetrack, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team had a solid 3.709-second run at 329.75 mph to land in the No. 6 qualifying position. Force will attempt to improve on Saturday hoping for a repeat of her No. 1 qualifying position from 2022. “Another weekend and we come right into the rain. It was unfortunate because we lost one of our qualifying runs. So, we started Friday, 9 p.m., and got a good solid run, a 3.70 that put us at No. 6,” Force said. “Good start to this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team’s weekend, it’s exactly what we wanted. We’re safe in the show and we get two more tomorrow to see if we can step it up any. I want to thank Bill Bader Jr. for keeping the fans here, keeping the show alive all into the night, and thanks to the fans for sticking around.” Debuting the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS, a change from the BlueDEF PLATINUM livery, John Force would have a clean 3.957-second pass at 323.19 mph in his first qualifying try. Force would finish the night in the No. 9 qualifying spot. Defending event winner Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Camaro ran into tire smoke mid-track on Friday night. They would coast to 7.860 seconds at 85.44 mph to end up in the No. 12 spot. Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT dragster ran into similar trouble shutting off half-track to go only 6.932 seconds at 146.83 mph. Racing at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park will continue Saturday with qualifying at 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. Eliminations for the event are slated for Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Television coverage of race weekend action begins with a qualifying show Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will air on FOX Broadcasting Network Sunday at 4:00 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 27, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:11th; 6.932-seconds; 146.83 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 BRITTANY FORCE, 36, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:6th; 3.747-seconds; 329.75 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:9th; 3.958-seconds; 323.19 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0ROBERT HIGHT, 53, AAA Ohio / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:12th; 7.860-seconds; 85.44 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0

NASCAR CUP SERIES NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY ALLY 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 23, 2023    KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 – Media Availability Quotes HAVE YOU STARTED ANY PREPARATION FOR THE CHICAGO STREET COURSE, WHETHER IT’S SIM OR GOING OVER THINGS WITH THE TEAM? “Yes.”  WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE CIRCUIT AND WHAT ARE YOUR TAKEAWAYS? “It’s really rough. It’s bumpy. It’s slippery. There’s some corners that are very challenging.. some blind ones at that. When you’re going around the Bean on the left-hander, that’s really, really slippery and there’s a huge bump going through (turn) nine before you get into (turn) 10. The wall in (turn) eight before you go around the left-hander is, to me, really narrow over there. You’re barely trying to miss getting your right front ripped off; not bouncing off that and killing your car on the left side. So there could be more room given over there, I feel like. That’s probably a really tight spot that could use a little bit of help, just based off of what the simulator is telling us. But other than that, it’s going to be a tight street course. That’s what tight street courses are.” WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RACE IS GOING TO BE LIKE? “Survival.. it’s going to be a survival race. I feel like we had a couple of those – I can’t remember the last one that we had, but I want to say it’s like turn one at Indy (Road Course). If you start 20th, you might as well not even accelerate to get to turn one because it’s probably going to look like the (Charlotte) ROVAL restart that we had when we all went off into the barrier in turn one, you know what I mean. It’s survival.” WHAT WILL MAKE A GOOD EVENT AT CHICAGO? DOES IT NEED TO BE A SPECTACULAR FINISH OR WHAT WILL MAKE IT A SUCCESSFUL RACE FROM A COMPETITOR’S STANDPOINT? “To me, action – having a good race and story to tell about a street course. You know, I looked at the INDYCAR race from Nashville the first year they did it. They had that big pileup and about blocked the track.. things like that. It’s not action that us drivers want to see, but fans kind of sometimes enjoy calamity. And that then turns into a social moment where they’re like – hey, check this out. If we’re those guys, then so be it and that’s kind of where it’ll lay.  It’s a spectacle, right? It’s something that I don’t think NASCAR has ever done in a long, long time – the Cup Series, if ever, I’m not sure. I know the Southwest Tour ran the streets of LA a long, long time ago in 1998. I actually spotted for my brother there. But this will be my first time ever racing on a street course and something of this nature.” HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THE MUFFLERS YOU’RE GOING TO BE USING AT CHICAGO, AND HAVE THEY DONE ANYTHING AS FAR AS THE HEAT COMPARED TO WHAT YOU WERE FEELING IN LA? “I’m not sure. I can’t say… I don’t know. I know Jeff Burton was working on that for us – trying to reduce some of the in-car heat. We were all kind of talking about that because some guys kind of felt a little bit hot at the Coliseum. I felt fine at the Clash.. I didn’t even run my cool shirt. I predict it’s going to be warm, but wearing a cool shirt, you should be fine.” WHEN YOU CAME TO RCR THIS YEAR, YOU EASILY COULD HAVE SAID – I CAN’T DO CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU WANT ME TO DO.. I NEED TO DO IT MY WAY BECAUSE I’VE BEEN DOING IT SO MANY YEARS AND I’VE HAD SUCCESS. QUITE FRANKLY, THEY PROBABLY WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED ALONG WITH IT. THEY’VE TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU HAD BOUGHT ALL-IN AND SAID – LOOK, I’M GOING TO DO IT YOUR WAY. WE’RE NOT GOING TO MEET HALFWAY.. I’M GOING TO GO ALL THE WAY WITH YOU. HOW CHALLENGING WAS IT AND WHY DID YOU EVEN DO IT LIKE THAT? “To me, yes – I came over to RCR wanting to buy-in and just kind of understand and get into the Chevy system; be a part of the key partner deal and understand the Hendrick Motorsports side, the Trackhouse Racing side and the RCR side. But also the RCR team, as well – the engineering department and everything they have going on over there.  The buy-in, yeah – Randall (Burnett) is a smart guy. We’ve got some really good people over there. I really enjoy working with Justin Alexander, as well as Keith Rodden. All of those guys are pretty sharp guys. Buying into their way and their system because that’s how they’ve done it for so long was me getting an understanding and just being like – let’s go to work. But also, to just say too that I’ve brought a lot to the table, as well – from where I’ve been and some of the ways that I’ve done things before, too. We talked about that and we’re intermixing a lot of that. Whether it’s 60/40 – their way, my way – or vice versa.. I don’t care, it doesn’t matter. It’s whatever works. So how we get through those things that work for them, and then the things that I always bring up that I’m still pushing for. There’s probably, I don’t know, how many items on my checklist, but at least five that are top priority that I’m really still forking them with and trying to get them to accomplish.” (NO MIC)“It’s a longer process. It takes a longer time. I wouldn’t call it short-staffed.. there’s plenty of people around. Those people have jobs right. I’m asking for engineering things.. I’m looking for data sheets and things like that. It’s not just coming either A – as fast as it should; or B – at all some weekends. So really just trying to be like – look guys, this is important and this stuff can help, and it’ll give us a good basis of what we need to work on overnight going into the race. And we’re just not getting that right now. I think that’s going to be an overall help for the whole Chevy team on being able to get some of that.” YOU TWEETED ‘NOW IT’S HAMMERDOWN UNTIL PHOENIX’ WHEN YOU GOT BACK FROM VACATION. DO YOU HAVE TO PUT THE BINDERS ON AND JUST GO STRAIGHT THROUGH THE LAST 10 AND INTO THE PLAYOFFS? “Well, yeah.. there’s no more off weeks. I think that’s basically what it meant.. we’re going straight through from now to Phoenix (Raceway). There’s 18 races left, so that means there’s eight and then the final 10. So we’ve got eight weeks to prepare ourselves, get ready and build our program stronger and as good as we can for the start of the playoffs. Once we get to Darlington (Raceway), it’s going to be no miss. We’ve kind of been a little bit dirty to start, if you will. We haven’t had clean races a lot, and then the last three or four, we’ve had some pretty clean races respectively. So keep that momentum going for the next eight and maybe tack on another win or two and be perfect by the time the playoffs come.” AS YOU AND RANDALL (BURNETT) LOOK AT THIS PUSH TO THE PLAYOFFS – YOU JOKINGLY SAID AFTER SONOMA (RACEWAY) THAT MAYBE YOU DON’T WANT AN OFF-WEEKEND WITH THE STRETCH OF FOUR TOP-10 FINISHES. WHERE IS THIS TEAM IN TERMS OF HOW YOU STACK UP? HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO A CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDING TEAM? “Yeah, I mean looking at the last 10 weeks of the schedule, I would say that we feel pretty confident about how we can go about those weeks and those races. The only one that you kind of circle right now that’s a question mark, maybe two, is obviously Bristol (Motor Speedway) and Martinsville (Speedway) with the short-track package and us not being great with that. But the rest of the races, I’m looking forward to them. There’s an even slate there for us to be as good as we’ve been this year, and go out there and score some good, strong runs.  Championship-caliber team, I would say our guys are super good at building some really good cars. We’ve had some really clean stuff. The job that each member on the team has been doing has been top-notch. I get in the car, all my stuff is there – the windshield tear-offs are right, the black-out’s good.. like details. It comes down to the details. So to me, from what I can tell, it’s where we need to be. Praises to them and I’m looking forward to racing out the rest of the year with the way that we’ve had our start.” AS WE GO INTO THE SECOND-HALF OF THE REGULAR-SEASON, HAS THERE BEEN ANYONE THAT’S SEPERATED THEMSELVES AS FAR AS WHO’S GOING TO BE THE CONTENDERS? “No.. I mean honestly, last year the No. 22 (Joey Logano) won the championship out of nowhere. They were terrible through the summer and it kind of looks the same right now. So anything can happen.  It’s hard for me to answer that question. Like are you a championship-caliber team? Well yeah, but I think there’s probably 12 others, you know what I mean? It’s a lot more unknown with the Next Gen car, and how you go to these race tracks and how sporadic finishes can be. You think somebody is going to go out and win a race and they get wrecked, and then somebody else does that’s a surprise winner. So you just never know.. you just have to play it out.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES

NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

ALLY 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 23, 2023

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Nashville Superspeedway. Press conference highlights:   

WHAT’S ALAN (GUSTAFSON) BEEN LIKE THIS SEASON WITH THE UPS AND DOWNS AND EVERYTHING THAT’S BEEN THROWN YOUR WAY? 

“Yeah, it’s definitely not been normal for sure over the first six months of the year. But you know, it’s the reality of where we are now. And for me, I’m just focused on only the things I can control, which is what’s ahead and what’s in front of us right here. Really no need to complicate it more than that. Obviously if I could go back and change a lot of the things, I would. But I can’t, so we’ll just try to make the most of these next 10 weeks or so and try to get in the show.”

WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN FROM ALAN (GUSTAFSON) LEADING THIS TEAM THIS YEAR? ANYTHING DIFFERENT, SAME APPROACH, ANYTHING OF THAT NATURE? 

“Yeah, I mean obviously he’s had a challenge and I’ve put him in that situation more this year than I would have liked to, for sure. But you know look – he’s a top notch guy, first and foremost, and he’s a good leader. He’s somebody that has enough experience to be able to plug someone into his system. That was really all I did when I came in – I was just plugged into the system that he had already created. I think that’s a good thing. It’s really always been the same. Our approach has been the same. Our preparation has been the same. Obviously we talk about different things, but just that week-to-week schedule is very similar and it has been for eight years now at the end of this year. I think it’s a good approach. I think he’s led our team really well through a tough situation. Obviously still a lot of the season left and a lot of opportunity to get things going like we want to, but I think he’s done a great job, as I’ve always thought about him. Looking forward to continuing to go to work.”

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT LAST YEAR’S RACE WITH THE WEATHER DELAY – BEING ABLE TO GRIND IT OUT AND COME OUT ON TOP? 

“Yeah, it was good. I remember it being really good for us. We started the race last year and we were actually pretty bad. And usually when that happens – you start a race and you’re struggling, it doesn’t typically get better. With the rain, I think we ended up having a bad pit stop there at one point and we just decided we’re going to take some time – try to think through some adjustments and do some things that we wouldn’t necessarily do during a normal situation because you would lose a lot of time on pit road doing it. So yeah, we just kind of – I don’t want to say swing for the fence.. it was a thought out process. But we just took the time to do what we thought we needed to do and fortunately we hit the nail right on the head. I couldn’t really ask for much more after that. 

It was crazy – I’m not really sure I’ve ever been part of a race where we were that bad and then we were all of a sudden that good. So yeah, hopefully we miss the bad part and we can just be good. But a lot’s changed in the course of the year. At this point last year, I think we were running better, as it pertained to just the results on-track. I think people’s approach kind of changed throughout the year and that’s where we started struggling a little bit was really right about this time last year. Just been trying to kind of scratch and claw and get back to where we need to be and catchup to where we feel like everybody else got a little better.”

LAST YEAR, WE WENT FROM DAY TO NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE DELAY. THIS YEAR, YOU WILL GO FROM DAY TO THE NIGHT BECAUSE OF THE START TIME. DID LAST YEAR GIVE YOU ANY INDICATION OF HOW THE TRACK WILL CHANGE, OR WITH THE WEATHER IS THAT NOT COMPARABLE?

“I don’t think so. I remember last year, kind of thinking back through it – we were already moving up the track. The race track was really widening out before the sun went down before that last rain delay, if I remember right. I thought we started moving up and it started to get really wide, and the race kind of looked like that for the rest of the night. I personally don’t think it will change a whole lot. They said they did the same track prep to the surface, so I think if that’s the case, it will move up at some point. There was a lot of pace when we moved up the track last year, so I think you’ll see more of that. But I don’t think it’ll change much day-to-night, other than it will be just a little nicer for the fans and the people watching here.”

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE NEXT WEEK AT CHICAGO? WHAT WOULD MAKE THAT A GOOD EVENT.. DOES IT JUST NEED TO HAVE SOME EXCITEMENT? DOES IT NEED TO BE A GOOD RACE? WHAT DOES IT NEED? 

“I don’t know.. that’s a good question. I think it depends on which hat you’re wearing. If you’re wearing a competitor’s hat – for me, it’s us going up there and trying to put ourselves in position to win. From a fan standpoint, you’re tapping into a part of the country that I think has a lot of race fans, a lot of NASCAR fans, but into city limits that a lot of those people might not typically come out to Joliet or somewhere up there like it typically would have been the case. For them, I think it’s about it being a good event and it being exciting for them; there being a lot of stuff going on for them and they feel like they’re at the event. That needs to feel like the event that weekend over a Cubs game or whatever it may be. I think that will make it successful from a promoter’s standpoint. From the racing side, I don’t think I have to leave the race track and think – oh wow, that was a really great race for it to be successful to the viewership or the people that show up in attendance.”

I WANTED TO ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF PERSEVERANCE. DOES THIS SEASON BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T GOT THAT WIN, ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT JUST KEEPING THINGS THE SAME AS YOU WOULD ALWAYS GO ABOUT IT, OR IS THERE A LITTLE EXTRA SENSE OF ‘COME ON GUYS, LET’S RALLY AND SHOW WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE HAVE TO’?

“Not really, honestly. I feel like a lot of times when you put yourself in those situations, it doesn’t always get better when you’re 11 out of 10, right. I think just being in that nice sweet spot of pushing but not pushing too far, and pushing yourself and your team, but not pushing them too far. So I think there is a balance there where I feel like we’ve done the best and had the best results, and I think that’s just where we need to stay, personally. When we do our jobs at that level and to the best of our abilities, I feel like it’s been plenty good enough to go and contend. We just have to fall into that rhythm and just do our thing.

I guess, short answer – no, I don’t think we need to push too hard or do anything crazy. I think our approach needs to be the same and just make sure we’re executing the things that we talk about and the things we’re zoned in on. No, I don’t think we really need to change anything. But personally, I’m looking forward to it. As bad as the year has been to a lot of people, I feel like it’s kind of fun. We’ve got 10 weeks left and you either get in the show or you don’t. The playoffs are kind of like that. When you get in those last 10, you either have to run well the next week or you go home. So it’s kind of that way now. For me, I kind of enjoy it. I’m kind of looking forward to just the challenge and seeing if we can figure it out.”

IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU DON’T SEE THIS AS PRESSURE, BUT MAYBE COMING OFF THE WEEK OFF AND COMING TO A PLACE WHERE YOU WON LAST YEAR, IS IT KIND OF THE PERFECT COMBINATION TO JUST RESET AND DO A PLAYOFF CHASE AT THIS POINT? 

“Yeah, I think so. Sonoma (Raceway) was a nice run for us. We didn’t win or anything, but I think we just had a good, solid weekend. We got into the second round of qualifying and that was a great thing. We hadn’t been doing a lot of that for quite a while. Just thought we did a lot of little things good last weekend and I felt like I kind of just plugged right back into a good stride and a good cadence. I think that cadence and that stride that we executed with in Sonoma can result in great results from here to Daytona (International Speedway). Like I said, we’re in a tough spot, but I think it’s a great opportunity to go and have some fun and embrace the challenge. That’s really kind of where my head’s at.”

YOU TALKED ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE LAST YEAR. I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CAN TAKE FROM THAT, BUT CAN YOU JUST SPEAK TO THE EVOLUTION OF FIGURING OUT HOW TO RACE ON THIS CONCRETE OVAL THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? 

“Yeah, this track I would say a lot of the Cup garage had a lot of laps at prior to running this race – probably more than we had at any new race track that we’ve gone to over the last couple of years because this was a testing facility for us and we came here a lot in the winter. Even before I was driving in Cup, we came up here and tested a bunch. On the Xfinity side, I did some tests with the No. 24 team when Jeff (Gordon) was still driving, too. This was a place that was a really hot stop for everyone to come up here and run at. It was a place that you could come repeat lap times. It wasn’t super hard on tires. It was just a popular testing facility, so I don’t really think anything has jumped out at anyone because of that. It’s just been about putting together a good weekend and finding your balance. No different than anywhere else.”

A NUMBER OF DRIVERS ARE IN THE SAME POSITION YOU ARE AND NEEDING TO WIN AT THIS POINT WITH 10 RACES TO GO IN THE REGULAR-SEASON TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. THEY DON’T ALL HAVE YOUR KIND OF RACE TEAM. HOW DOES IT MAKE YOU FEEL TO HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT AT ANY TRACK ALONG THE WAY IN THESE NEXT 10 RACES THAT IT WOULDN’T BE SHOCKING FOR YOU TO WIN? 

“That’s a good thing, for sure. And I agree – I think our team has been really, really strong for the majority of the season. I think back to some of the races that I’ve been a part of – a lot of those races I feel like our race team has been better than I have done for them throughout the year. So if we could just combine our efforts, I think it would be really good. If I can bring to the table what they’ve been bringing to the table – on pit road, race strategy and things – I think we’d be in really, really good shape. I feel like I’ve very capable of doing that – just putting the right pieces of the puzzle together at the right now and just getting in a bit of a rhythm. There’s been some high spots.. Kansas (Speedway) was a high spot. Fontana (Auto Club Speedway) was a high spot. Sonoma (Raceway) was also very good. Three very different style of tracks, so that brings some positivity to my mind that it’s there. We just have to extract it here every week for the next 10. Certainly don’t want to go to Daytona (International Speedway) and be in the position to have to win a speedway race to get into the playoffs. Odds are if you’re in that position, you’re probably not going to be much of a threat anyway, in my opinion. We want to be a threat each week from here on, and I intend to do that.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING, IF ANYTHING YET, TO PREPARE FOR THE CHICAGO STREET COURSE RACE? DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’LL APPLY YOUR ROAD COURSE CRAFT NEXT WEEKEND? 

“Yeah, I mean honestly we haven’t dove in completely. We’ll be diving in deep next week, for sure. Really all eyes have been on Nashville (Superspeedway), and that’s just kind of how we do things. Just take it a week at a time. I think it’s very easy to get too far ahead. 

Outside of just running some laps on iRacing, really just familiarize with literally what turns are where. That’s the biggest thing I think I can do for myself right now, and certainly going to dive more into that next week – start talking about setup stuff and things that we feel like we need to do well out there to be good. 

It’s going to be different. From my understanding, the surface is pretty rough. A lot of 90 degree corners. I’m sure it’s going to be very hot. All those things certainly are a factor, but we’ll dive in next week and go to work.”

SARVER, Pa. (June 23, 2023) – Two former Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champions, Jonathan Davenport and Tim McCreadie each went to Victory Lane during Friday afternoon’s two preliminary features. Davenport claimed his fourth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season, leading all 25 circuits for his 69th career win in the Series. Michael Norris fought off several contenders for second place, finishing ahead of Brandon Overton, Max Blair, and Mason Zeigler. McCreadie claimed his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season, leading the entire distance as the reigning Firecracker 100 winner becomes the 14th different winner this season on the tour. A heated battle for second on back the entire way saw Spencer Hughes grab the runner-up spot ahead of Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, and Daulton Wilson. Davenport returning to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series full-time in 2023 picked up his first career win at Lernerville. “Man, I sure hope we can get us one here tomorrow night. This place here hasn’t been very good to me, but it’s special to my heart. A few weeks after my best friend died in 2013, his dad and I came out here and we put his ashes around the top of this place. Ever since then this place has eluded me. It’s awesome that we got the win today. I never came off the top. I was thinking about my old friend Peanut the whole time. I just have to thank my crew for this win. This is a brand-new car. It wasn’t much more than a frame to start the week.” Norris gained the runner-up spot in front of his home track fans. “I hope this is the year we can finally get that Firecracker victory. I have got a pretty good piece under me. We were a little tight in that feature. I really had to hang onto to it. Kudos to the track crew. The track is actually pretty nice considering all the rain we got last night. I hope it’s our year, but every time somebody asks me it’s like yeah, I hope so. I guess I won’t know until we start the feature and do the first lap and I see how I feel.” Overton coming off a rough three weeks will be looking for his third career Firecracker win on Saturday night. “We have got a little bit of work to do. At least we are up here towards at the front. We have been pretty bad here lately. We have had a lot of bad luck as well. It’s just been hard to get caught up. We haven’t quit and we are not going to.” The winner’s Double L Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Nutrien Ag Solutions, Dyna Gro Seed, Lucas Oil Products, Bilstein Shocks, VP Fuels, Mark Martin Automotive, ASC Warranty, and Midwest Sheet Metal. Completing the top ten finishers in the Group A feature were Tyler Bruening, Boom Briggs, Earl Pearson Jr., and Ken Schaltenbrand.

McCreadie’s 35th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win came in a caution plagued Group B 25-lapper. “It’s a little treacherous on the cushion and there’s slick spots everywhere. It’s not an easy track to race on. It was probably to my benefit to be out front to be able to see where every little nook and cranny of the cushion is and be smooth. I struggled a little bit in traffic there. Lernerville did a very good job on the track. The place when I got here this morning, I thought maybe it wasn’t even going to be ready. It had a little bit of a cushion but that’s part of racing, but the rest of it’s nice. Hopefully we keep running good.” Hughes continues to edge closer to his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win, surviving a race-long battle with several other drivers to grab the runner-up position. “We just need to keep tuning on it. I wasn’t quite as good up against the cushion there at the end. I was just a little too free. Most of the time I am not that good up on a big curb like that anyway. It was just a real good run for us.” Moran was also in the hotly contested race for a podium spot as he came home in third. “Hudson [O’Neal] messed up right there a little bit at the end. Spencer and Hud were crossing each other over and I just stayed committed to that top. Man, that was a lot of fun. There was a lot of cautions unfortunately, but we were racing all over, it was a blast.” The winner’s Paylor Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Racing for Heroes, Bilstein Shocks, Armslist.com, Baker Mitchell Company Integrous Risk Solutions, Brad Benton Trucking Inc., and The Aesthetic Haus. Completing the top ten in the second feature were Ross Robinson, Garrett Alberson, Kyle Strickler, Chub Frank, and Alex Ferree. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Night #1Thursday, June 22, 2023Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Jonathan Davenport | 15.155 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Spencer Hughes | 15.494 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 10-Michael Norris[3]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 4. 11T-Trevor Collins[5]; 5. 55C-Chris Schneider[7]; 6. 25S-Cory Sines[8]; 7. 22-Gregg Satterlee[2]; 8. 9-Breyton Santee[6]; 9. 11P-Joshua Powell[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 3. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 4. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 5. 1Z-Logan Zarin[5]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[9]; 7. B22-Bump Hedman[8]; 8. 10L-Gary Lyle[7]; 9. 10K-Zachary Kane[6] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 – Group A Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 2. 111B-Max Blair[1]; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 4. J4-John Garvin Jr[4]; 5. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[5]; 6. 22B-Darrell Bossard[6]; 7. 96-Mike Smith[7]; 8. 20N-Nicholas Eck[8] Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 11-Spencer Hughes[1]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 1C-Alex Ferree[3]; 5. 1*-Chub Frank[6]; 6. 77-Tyler Dietz[5]; 7. 66-Todd Bachman[8]; 8. 01-Ron Hall[9]; 9. 20D-Doug Eck[7] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 15K-Cody Overton[4]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 4S-Ryan Montgomery[5]; 4. 55-Benji Hicks[3]; 5. 8K-Kyle Strickler[1]; 6. 14-Braeden Dillinger[6]; 7. 97-Kevin Smith[8]; 8. (DNS) 184-Kyle Lukon Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 – Group B Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 9Y-Levi Yetter[2]; 4. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[5]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 6. AUS1-Brent Vosbergen[7]; 7. 14A-Dan Angelicchio[6]; 8. 1L-Chuckie Lepsch[8] 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Group A Feature Finish (25 Laps):

17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Group B Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics Entrants: 51Group A Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Jonathan DavenportGroup B Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Tim McCreadieGroup A Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-25)Group B Lap Leaders: Tim McCreadie (Laps 1-25)Group A Wieland Feature Winner: Jonathan DavenportGroup B Wieland Feature Winner: Tim McCreadieArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aGroup A Margin of Victory: 3.964 secondsGroup B Margin of Victory: 3.259 secondsGroup A Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Colton Flinner (Lap 7); Ricky Thornton, Jr., Cory Sines (Lap 16)Group B Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Kevin Smith (Initial Start); Dan Angelicchio (Lap 2); Ryan Montgomery, Alex Ferree (Lap 3); Cody Overton, Daryl Charlier (Lap 4); Alex Ferree (Lap 5); Braeden Dillinger (Lap 6); Debris (Lap 19); Debris (Lap 20)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/Series Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aGroup A Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Jonathan Davenport, Michael Norris, Brandon OvertonGroup B Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Tim McCreadie, Spencer Hughes, Devin MoranGroup A Penske Shocks Top 5: Jonathan Davenport, Michael Norris, Brandon Overton, Max Blair, Mason ZeiglerGroup B Penske Shocks Top 5: Tim McCreadie, Spencer Hughes, Devin Moran, Hudson O’Neal, Daulton WilsonGroup A Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Gregg Satterlee (Advanced 8 Positions)Group B Todd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Levi Yetter (Advanced 9 Positions)Group A Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Tyler BrueningGroup B Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonGroup A Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Bump HedmanGroup B Deatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Brent VosbergenGroup A Earnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (25 Laps)Group B Earnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Tim McCreadie (25 Laps)Group A Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Earl Pearson Jr.Group A Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max BlairGroup A Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 3 – 15.794 seconds)Group B Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Cody Overton (Lap 2  – 17.582 seconds)Group A MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Group B MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Cody OvertonGroup A Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Cory Fostvedt (Jonathan Davenport)Group B Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Scott Fegter (Tim McCreadie)Group A ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesGroup B ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesGroup A Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisGroup B Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ryan Montgomery (15.228 seconds)Group A Time of Race: 13 minutes 41 secondsGroup B Time of Race: 32 minutes 26 seconds 17th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel Point Standings:

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Press Conference Transcript

Chevrolet and Pratt Miller officials met with members of the media Friday at Watkins Glen International to announce the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports GTD PRO program for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class:

Christie Bagne, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager

Brandon Widmer, Vice President, Pratt Miller Motorsports

Marc Maurini, Corvette Racing Program Director, Pratt Miller Motorsports

Full transcript:

CHRISTIE, THIS IS A BIG DAY FOR EVERYONE AT CHEVROLET AND PRATT MILLER.

C. Bagne: “We’re proud to announce that next year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, we will be running two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in GTD PRO as Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. We’re looking forward to working with the same team that has designed and built these GT3 cars, knows them intimately and will now be racing the cars in IMSA. We’re looking forward to this program benefitting our entire customer program as this team races these cars, learns about them and efficiently transfers those learnings into the customer race program in order to elevate the level of all Z06 GT3.Rs on the grid globally.”

THIS IS NOT THE ONLY TEAM RUNNING CORVETTES NEXT YEAR?

C. Bagne: “You can look forward to more team announcements next summer. We’re continuing to target four cars on the grid in IMSA at the Rolex 24 and throughout the season, as well as two cars in the FIA WEC and two Corvettes in SRO Motorsports America.”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS GOING FORWARD?

B. Widmer: “It’s definitely a very exciting day for us at Pratt Miller Motorsports. For us, it’s the next chapter in a very storied history with Corvette Racing, this year being the 25th season of racing continuously. The relationship will continue very strongly with Chevrolet and everyone at Corvette. We’ll continue to work with all the great folks on the engine side from Chevrolet as well, plus all the technical partners that we’ve worked with for many years. For us on the way we will operate, it will be very similar to what we’ve done for many years at Pratt Miller Motorsports – running out of New Hudson, Michigan. We’ll be back with a two-car effort in IMSA, which will be welcomed by a lot of our friends in North America who ask us at every race why there is only one car. Certainly we are enjoying our time in the World Endurance Championship, as well, and having a lot of great success there. But we’re very excited to have two cars running in GTD PRO here in IMSA next year.”

CAN YOU GIVE A SENSE OF WHERE TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE Z06 GT3.R IS RIGHT NOW?

M. Maurini: “Currently the car is undergoing final homologation in Europe. We have a group of individuals from both Pratt Miller and Chevrolet who are supporting that… a lot of the same folks that you’d typically see in both the IMSA paddock and the WEC paddock. It’s a pretty matrixed team from the crews to the engineers, as well. Regarding the testing, the car has gone through a pretty extensive testing and development program. We’ve tried to take all the learnings from the past 25 years of Corvette Racing and apply that to the test program. The car has run more than 5,500 miles on tracks varying from Daytona, Sebring, Mid-Ohio and Road Atlanta, and we have two additional track tests upcoming in the next 30 days. We’re proud to be able to present a car that is at the top level of sports cars and, as just announced, we’re proud to be racing it ourselves, as well.”

LOOKING BACK A LITTLE BIT, HOW SPECIAL WAS THE WIN AT LE MANS?

M. Maurini: “That was a pretty big effort by the entire team. I’m really proud of everyone at Chevrolet and Pratt Miller to be able to get the job done and get the victory with the C8.R and the ninth one for Corvette Racing. It was a year’s worth of effort to get there. The 2022 race didn’t end the way hoped, so to go back in 2023 and get the victory was a job well done by everyone involved.”

B. Widmer: “I’ve been quite a few times at Le Mans, and we’ve had a lot of success there and a lot of ups and downs. This year, it felt like all those emotions were rolled into one race. We had a fantastic season leading up to Le Mans in leading the championship with two wins and a second-place. So we felt really confident going into the race. We showed great pace, but we also had some challenges. We had a crash a few minutes before the end of practice Wednesday. The team rallied and scrambled to get the car back together and we were able to get a few laps in during qualifying to get us into Hyperpole, then we went out and set the fastest lap time to start the race in first. We had a good race going for the first hour and 35 minutes but had to pull the car in the garage for some suspension repair. The guys did a phenomenal job, but we still lost around nine minutes so there was a lot of digging to do. Between the execution, the strategy, the driving in some challenging conditions from wet to dry. … It was quite an emotional one to overcome all that adversity and go out and win the 100th anniversary of the race with the C8.R. It was an amazing day for the team. It definitely ranks up there at the top as one of the greatest wins we’ve had.”

C. Bagne: “This whole team worked together so well as they’ve done in the WEC to overcome that adversity. It was a well-deserved win for the team and important for the legacy of the C8.R program. The C5-R won at Le Mans, the C6.R won at Le Mans, the C7.R won at Le Mans and we fought so hard to for that win with the C8.R. Last year obviously was very challenging for the team, so it’s a testament to the strength of this team that every time you throw adversarial events at them, they just dig deeper. Everyone came together, rallied like Brandon said in the week leading up to the event and in the race. It definitely was an emotional win for all of us.”

GM AND PRATT MILLER HAVE BEEN INTERTWINED FOR 25 YEARS. CAN YOU CLARIFY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS ARRANGEMENT AND A FULL FACTORY TEAM?

C. Bagne: “As we move into the GT3 space, in general there are often other commercial partners working teams in GT3. This is an opportunity for us to expand our presence, expand the Corvette Racing umbrella, bring in more customer teams and have more Corvettes on the grid for our fans. It’s also an opportunity for Pratt Miller Motorsports to expand their commercial opportunities, whereas in the past it’s been a fully controlled GM program.”

B. Widmer: “For us, it’s a new chapter. We’ve been quite happy being the name behind the scenes and the Corvette Racing name in the forefront. We spent quite a bit of time with the Chevrolet folks on what this team name should be. It sounds pretty simple, but Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports actually took a lot of time. For us, it’s important to have that continuation of the heritage of Corvette Racing and all the success we’ve had collectively for the last 25 years, but also put the Pratt Miller Motorsports name out there as well in the headlines. As Christie said, we’ll be bringing on commercial partners to help with the program. It’s a great opportunity for our company directly and for partners that have shown interest in the past and maybe those opportunities just weren’t quite there with the way the program was structured. For us, it’s not only a new chapter with the new GT3 car but it’s also a new chapter for our business as well. We’re excited with how it’s structured and how we are moving forward.”

IS THERE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO MAKE PRATT MILLER MORE OF A HOUSEHOLD NAME OUTSIDE OF ITS CONNECTION TO GM?

B. Widmer: “We started in motorsports and we’ll be in motorsports as long as we can. But we have been sort of the silent partner in the background, so for us part of the excitement is to get the name out there a little more. We have other divisions within the company outside of motorsports. Motorsports is a great platform for us to market those other segments, to attract talent and retain talent, and also technology transfer. Obviously technology has transferred with GM and Chevrolet for many years on the Corvette Racing program. It’s always been the case behind the scenes with our other business segments as well in terms of tools and processes, not necessarily the hard parts coming off the racecars. So absolutely this gives us the opportunity to expand the brand and name for Pratt Miller as a whole and certainly for Pratt Miller Motorsports.”

June 22, 2023

After a rare off week, the drivers and teams on NASCAR’s Cup Series will be back at work this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, the 1.3-mile concrete oval located in the Nashville suburb of Gladeville.

Brian Wilson, crew chief of the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang driven by Harrison Burton, said he and the crew are refreshed and ready to get back on the job.

“Everyone on the Wood Brothers team enjoyed the off weekend last week,” Wilson said. “The guys all spent time with their families. A lot of the group went fishing at different places, and I think there was a little competition over who caught the biggest fish.
 
“We can’t get away from competing I guess!”
 
But now it’s time to return their focus to the DEX Imaging Mustang.
 
“After recharging, the No. 21 DEX crew is excited to get to Nashville,” Wilson said. “The last three intermediate races at Kansas, Darlington and Charlotte give us reason for optimism. During each of those races we’ve shown improved speed and had a great result in Darlington.”

This weekend’s race schedule is a little different as is the tire compound that will be used.
 
“The schedule in Nashville features an extended practice session,” Wilson said. “Goodyear will bring a different tire than last year, and we have three sets to use during the open practice. We’ll use this opportunity to build on our recent competitiveness.”
  
Wilson said the right-side tire is the same that has been run at all the intermediate-length tracks this year, while the left-side tire has been run at Kansas, Las Vegas and Fontana. 
 
“I believe we have a strong notebook on the cambers, toes and pressures that this tire combination performs well at,” he said.
 
Practice for the Ally 400 is set to start at 5:30 p.m. (6:30 Eastern Time) on Friday and run until 6:20 (7:20 Eastern).
 
Qualifying will begin on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. (1:05 Eastern), and Sunday’s 300-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to get the green flag at 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern) with Stage breaks at Laps 90 and 185.
 
This weekend, TV coverage switches from FOX to NBC.
 

Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, TennesseeJune 23-25, 2023

TRIPLEHEADER IN TENNESSEE With the series-wide off-weekend in the rearview mirror, all three NASCAR national series will make their return to competition this weekend to take on Nashville Superspeedway. The longest concrete-only oval in NASCAR, the 1.33-mile track was revived when it welcomed NASCAR back in 2021 – also marking the return of racing at Nashville Superspeedway for the first time in a decade.  While the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) have a history at Nashville Superspeedway that dates back to the track’s grand opening in 2001, Sunday’s Ally 400 will mark only the third-ever appearance by the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) at the Tennessee oval – with Chevrolet looking to make the trip to victory lane for the third consecutive season.

TARGETING A THREE-PEATSince the NASCAR Cup Series first made its mark at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021, Chevrolet has been the only manufacturer to hoist the custom guitar in victory lane. The Bowtie brand’s back-to-back triumphs at the Tennessee oval came alongside Hendrick Motorsports – with Kyle Larson taking the win in the inaugural event in June 2021, followed by teammate Chase Elliott’s victory in June 2022. On top of the victory, Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team have proven to be a top contender at the track. With a series-best average finish of 2.5, the 30-year-old California native is one of only two drivers to have finished inside the top five in both NCS races at Nashville Superspeedway – with fellow Team Chevy driver Ross Chastain joining Larson on that list. Larson also leads the series in laps led with 264 of the 600 laps completed at the track – posting an impressive laps led percentage of 44%.

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Nashville SuperspeedwayJune 20, 2021Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Nashville SuperspeedwayJune 26, 2022

NASHVILLE KNOW HOWThe NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ roots run deeper at Nashville Superspeedway – previously competing at the track from 2001 through 2011. Eight active NASCAR Cup Series drivers have posted a win in NASCAR’s national ranks at Nashville Superspeedway with four coming from the Bowtie brigade. Joining Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott on that list includes another set of teammates – Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. Busch has claimed four victories at the Tennessee oval throughout his storied career with two NXS wins (April 2010 & April 2011) and two NCTS wins (June 2009 & June 2021) to his name. Chevrolet’s most recent NCTS winner at the track, Dillon drove the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Silverado to the victory in July 2011.

STENHOUSE JR. BUILDING MOMENTUM JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started the 2023 season in the best way possible by claiming the victory in the season-opening Daytona 500 and an early berth into the playoff field. The 35-year-old Mississippi native followed up that victory with an impressive campaign throughout the first-half of the regular-season. Stenhouse Jr. has driven his No. 47 Camaro ZL1 to five top-10 finishes thus far with each recorded on a different race track configuration – superspeedway (Daytona International Speedway), road course (Circuit of The Americas), dirt track (Bristol Dirt), short-track (Martinsville Speedway) and a 1.5-mile oval (Charlotte Motor Speedway). Heading into the final 10-race stretch of the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular-season, Stenhouse Jr. is one of four Team Chevy drivers that have already clinched a playoff spot by virtue of a win – joining William Byron, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson.

LOOKING BACK AT A RECENT MILESTONEAfter a two-week break in the schedule, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to the track with just four races remaining in its regular-season. Chevrolet is the series’ most recent winner courtesy of Grant Enfinger and the No. 23 GMS Racing Silverado RST team’s victory at World Wide Technology Raceway.  The victory – Chevrolet’s seventh in 12 NCTS races – also marked a milestone victory for GMS Racing. With now 44 all-time NCTS wins, GMS Racing has earned the title of the winningest Chevrolet team in NCTS history. A partner with Chevrolet since the team’s inception in 2012, GMS Racing has also accounted for two of Chevrolet’s 14 NCTS Driver Championship titles (2016 and 2020).  “Maury Gallagher, Mike Beam and everyone at GMS Racing have been great partners to Chevrolet since the organization entered the Truck Series a decade ago,” said Dayne Pierantoni, GM Racing Program Manager for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. “We’ve had an incredible history together both on and off the track, and their partnership has been a key component to Chevrolet’s success in the series.”

Austin Dillon, No. 33 Chevrolet SilveradoGMS Racing’s First NCTS WinNew Hampshire Motor Speedway – Sept. 26, 2015Grant Enfinger, No. 23 Chevrolet Silverado RSTGMS Racing’s 44th All-Time NCTS WinWorld Wide Technology Raceway – June 3, 2023

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to win in the NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville Superspeedway: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – June 2022Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – June 2021 ·       Of the eight active NASCAR Cup Series drivers that have won in the NASCAR national ranks at Nashville Superspeedway, four come from Team Chevy: Kyle Busch – Four (NASCAR Xfinity Series – April 2010 & April 2011; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – June 2009 & June 2021)Chase Elliott – One (NASCAR Cup Series – June 2022)Kyle Larson – One (NASCAR Cup Series – June 2021)Austin Dillon – One (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – July 2011) ·       Only four drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series are repeat winners this season – three of which come from Team Chevy (William Byron – Las Vegas, Phoenix & Darlington; Kyle Larson – Richmond & Martinsville; Kyle Busch – Auto Club and Talladega). Byron and Busch are tied atop the leaderboard with three wins each. ·       In 16 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (nine), top-fives (35), top-10s (68), stage wins (17) and laps led (2,032). ·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with nine victories in 16 NASCAR Cup Series races, eight victories in 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and seven wins in 12 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a win percentage of more than 50%. ·       With Grant Enfinger’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at World Wide Technology Raceway, GMS Racing is now the winningest Chevrolet organization in NCTS’ history with 44 all-time wins in the series. ·       With William Byron’s win at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports now sits at 296 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories – all recorded with Chevrolet. ·       Chevrolet’s series-leading nine NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by drivers from three different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports). ·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 17 of the 32 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (seven; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (two), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (one). ·       Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 39 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 47 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 33 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 842 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TUNE IN: NASCAR Cup Series: Ally 400   Sunday, June 25, at 7 p.m. ET(NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series: Tennessee Lottery 250  Saturday, June 24, at 3:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Rackley Roofing 200Friday, June 23, at 8 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1How big is the off weekend so you can prepare to go hardcore into the 10 races before the playoffs?“I feel like my life is pretty relaxed as it is. I get up every day and try and drive a racecar to the best of my ability, but I fit enough downtime in the week to be comfortable with myself. I feel prepared for the race when I drive to the airport each week.” Is there any added pressure because you’re going into Nashville?“I don’t think there is any added pressure. We do a lot of extra activities there but as far as competition, it’s a pretty normal weekend. It’s a unique track but I prepare for it just like any other track.” How would you prioritize stage points versus wins? Of course the goal is to win the race but are you conscious of stage points throughout the race?“Ultimately everything is built for the end of the race for our strategy. But when we run good we get more stage points and that’s why we’ve been able to rack up regular season points. We haven’t really been biased to get more stage points and give up the end result of a win because it’s about the end for us.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 HUK PERFORMANCE FISHING CAMARO ZL1 Do you expect the track to change a lot during the weekend?“I think the track is going to change quite a bit. It changed in the past when the PJ1 track spray was applied. As the track rubbers up, you can move up or down as needed. Since the Nashville Superspeedway is a concrete track, you want to race on a clean track. Once it rubbers up, you can make up time by racing in a lane without rubber build-up.” When you think of Nashville Superspeedway, what are some of the memories and experiences that come to mind for you?“It’s always fun to race at Nashville Superspeedway, and it’s even more special to race under the lights. I love the atmosphere that the Nashville race fans bring to the race weekend. I was fortunate to get a win there in the NASCAR Truck Series, and I would love to get to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series. Nashville Superspeedway has one of the coolest trophies on the circuit, and I hope we can bring it back to North Carolina.” What are your expectations for Nashville Superspeedway this weekend?“My expectations are to qualify in the top 10, have a great run try and win the race in the No. 3 Huk Chevrolet, be aggressive with pit strategy when we can, and take home one of those guitars.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Larson on racing at night at Nashville Superspeedway: “I think more night racing is better. It’s a better show for the fans. You get some sparks and stuff like that. It should be cooler at night too, so that will be good. I do love night racing.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Daniels on how the team is preparing for the Nashville race: “We are certainly looking forward to going to Nashville (Superspeedway). Love going there. Love the track. It’s a super unique track. It’s concrete and both ends are a little bit different from each other, which adds character and is a little bit fun. We are certainly studying everything we can from recent intermediate races and our experience there last year to try to get it all right for this weekend. A lot of it is going to be about execution at the end. The race starts in the evening, so the sun will be out and then it will transition into nighttime, which is a little bit different of an aspect. I think it’s going to be fun and we are just trying to check all the right boxes.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1What are the main things that you’ve learned about Nashville Superspeedway in two previous races? What are the main things you need from your car?“The big thing about Nashville Superspeedway is its different characteristics from other mile-and-a halves or mile-and-a thirds that we race on, which are primarily asphalt. Nashville is all concrete so that surface is definitely different than the rest of them and what transpires throughout a run with the tire wear and things like that is definitely interesting. The biggest things that you need to be fast at Nashville are good brakes, good stopping power, being able to get to the bottom of the track, turn the center of the corner, throttle up and exit out of the corner without being too tight or too loose. Being able to have a good car that can roll the bottom has been really good for me at Nashville over the years. A lot also depends on if they put resin down or spray the track with any traction compound, because that also kind of changes whether you let the car move up the racetrack any or not.” Can you tell a significant difference between the concrete surface at Nashville Superspeedway versus other tracks like Dover Motor Speedway or Bristol Motor Speedway?“I don’t know that I can necessarily pick out the differences between the concretes at those tracks. I would say that they’re probably the most similar versus talking about worn-out Auto Club Speedway asphalt track versus a brand-new Atlanta Motor Speedway. Those are vastly different than each other, but with concrete I don’t think you can really tell much difference.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1Elliott on racing at Nashville:“Much like Dover (Motor Speedway) and the other concrete tracks, it’s very tough to get the balance right. It doesn’t feel as fast as a place like Dover. Nashville actually feels kind of slow, to me at least. The corners are sharper than similar track layouts we race at. That kind of stood out to me last year. I was like, ‘man, the corners are sharper than I remember them being,’ but we got that figured out.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1Gustafson on heading back to Nashville after last year’s win: “The tire is significantly different than our last visit. It changes a lot of the set-up philosophies and what you’re trying to accomplish. I think for us, winning there obviously was great. We got DQ’d in the race the year before, so to go back and win and kind of vindicate ourselves was really nice. Unfortunately, I just don’t think that with the tire change there’s going to be a lot that carries over. I think it’s going to be – I don’t want to say starting over, that’s a bit dramatic – but certainly quite a bit different setup wise. Everybody will kind of be back on level ground trying to understand what this tire needs for the track. It’s a great race. In the short time we’ve run there, it’s become one of the more marquee events. So, to have won there and get the guitar trophy is super cool.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 CELSIUS CAMARO ZL1“Last year we had a good run in the Cup car at Nashville. It feels like another unique oval which make it a lot of fun for me to drive. It’s not your typical short track; it’s like a crossbreed. Nashville has some speed, but it drives like a short track, and you can maneuver around the racetrack as it widens out. I’ve had a lot of fun the last couple years between Xfinity and Cup. Hopefully, we can go there and do the same; it’s definitely a race track I’ve looked forward to going to over the last two years.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1Byron the team’s goal for the rest of the regular season: “Obviously, Sonoma (Raceway) didn’t go the way we would have liked heading into the off weekend, but I also don’t think that one race defines where we are as a team. I’m glad to be going to Nashville (Superspeedway), a track that I feel like we can run really well at. With 10 races left in the regular season, the goal now is to gain as many points as possible to either secure the regular season championship or at least get ourselves the highest seeding we can for the playoffs. With the way we’ve been running this season, I think we have a good chance to do that.” RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1Fugle on having a longer practice session this weekend: “Having a Friday practice gives us a good chance to try a thing or two that we normally wouldn’t have time to do. We can try different springs or different geometry that we haven’t run or been able to run before. It’s not a bunch of time to try a lot of things, but we’ll take that opportunity to make ourselves better. Nashville (Superspeedway) has always been kind of its own animal. The banking is similar to some other tracks, the corners are narrow and it’s concrete. When they put the resin down, it’s really a race-y track. I’m excited to get there and hopefully put on a good show, especially with it being a night race now.” NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1“Nashville in one of my favorite cities so to race there is really cool. I’m feeling better and so happy to return this weekend. I’m thankful to Grant (Enfinger) for helping us out at Sonoma, it’s very hard to step away, but I was able to rest and recover and I’m ready to get after it.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1“Nashville is a track where we don’t have as much on track experience as the rest of the Cup Series tracks, but I have gotten the chance to work the simulator and try to learn the track a little more over the past week and I feel confident in what we have. Obviously, things are a little different on track and in the car, I hope we can compete and bring home a solid finish for the No. 43 Allegiant team.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1Bowman on heading to the Ally 400 this weekend: “It is really cool to have Ally have such a big presence at Nashville (Superspeedway). I think that they go all in on everything they do and to have this race be such a big weekend is really neat. We flew in a couple of weeks ago and built bikes for the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee, so it goes to show that Ally is committed to making a difference in the sport of NASCAR. I think it is really cool that I get to help them build the sport I love.” BLAKE HARRIS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1Harris on heading to Nashville for the first time with the No. 48 team: “I think this weekend means a lot to me. Obviously, it is my first time at the Ally 400 with the No. 48 team and knowing how much Ally puts into this weekend, I want to do well for everyone at Ally and Hendrick Motorsports. Last year, we did okay with the No. 34 team and got a top-10 stage finish, but I think we are capable of doing better. Overall, I am excited to go and hoping to get Alex (Bowman) the guitar in victory lane.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1What is going to happen in these next 10 races?“There are a lot of things still to happen. We have a lot of wildcard races coming up like the Chicago Street Circuit, road courses, things like that. I think we will be OK. We are getting better and better. Points wise we are about the same as we were last year, but speed wise we are probably a bit better. Our challenge has been execution this year. We have been fast at 90-percent of the tracks.” Are you thinking about points and playoffs?“No, I try not to even think about those things. My belief is if you focus on today, not tomorrow or next week or next year, then everything will take care of itself. If we run good Sunday and follow it up with more good runs then we will be fine playoff and points wise.” How do the short practice times impact race weekends?“When you have limited practice there are two things that matter. The drivers don’t have much time to familiarize themselves with the track and you have little time to make major setup changes. That’s why you see drivers entering the Xfinity, truck and ARCA races some weekends. We also put a lot of time in the simulator back at the shop. As for making changes, the winning car usually shows up at the track that way. We put a lot of work into getting the car right before we get to the track. You can make changes at the track, but it it’s the work at the shop that matters most.” GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RSTWhat are your thoughts and expectations heading into the last few races before the playoffs?“We are heading into the last few races of the regular season with confidence. We are trying to collect as many points as we can so we are in a good spot when the playoffs start, but our main goal is still to win more races. Our GMS Racing guys are building good Chevys, and our No. 23 team is starting to hit our stride. Track position and clean air is important at Nashville so hopefully we can unload close and qualify well. We will have a lot of our friends from Champion Power Equipment in attendance so hopefully we can give them a reason to celebrate.” RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 BORN DRIVEN SILVERADO RSTNashville is another one of those facilities that you have yet to make a start at, so what has been the biggest key in preparing you for this race weekend?“One of the biggest keys for preparation this weekend since I haven’t been to Nashville before stems from the fact that it’s a concrete surface. I’ve raced a lot at Bristol and Dover in my short career already, and I felt like I’ve been pretty solid at those tracks. I’m definitely relying on that experience as well as a lot of iRacing to help get me ready and know where I’m at visually on the track for Friday. At the same time, it’s no different than any other race for our No. 24 team. We treat every race like it’s a playoffs race and give it our best. I’m confident that we will have a fast Wendell Scott Foundation Chevrolet this Friday night.” DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 CHAMPION CONTAINER SILVERADO RSTYour performance in Gateway had to be a big confidence booster to you, so how do you think your first start in Nashville will go knowing that you are capable of running up front?“Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to going back to another intermediate track. I think after St. Louis, we’re feeling pretty good about what the No. 43 team is capable of doing each and every week. We’re going to be racing the same truck as what we ran at Kansas, so hopefully some of our speed can translate there since we were able to have a good run with it in Kansas City. I’m thankful for having Champion Container onboard our Chevrolet this weekend for the second time this year; the truck looks good and we are going to try our best to give it a good run!” CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RSTHow will you approach the final four races of the regular season with currently being below the cutoff?“Obviously, we need to take it race-by-race, but everyone on this Bama Buggies team knows that we have a goal to accomplish and the only way to accomplish that goal is to go out there and be able to run up front and collect as many points as possible the next four weeks.” Nashville is a unique track. How do you approach racing there?“It’s a fun race track that I personally really like. It’s definitely a track that is full of its own challenges. One being that it’s not like our typical ovals, this one is concrete, so in my opinion there is going to be a lot of rubber laid down. By the time we get to our race Friday evening, both Xfinity and Cup will have had hour-long practice sessions after our practice and qualifying. What I remember from last year is that after we got through the first stage, you could run a little bit of the second groove in Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4. We preach that track position is key every week, but I think that track position is going to be even more important this week at Nashville.” JACK WOOD, NO. 51 ROWDY MANUFACTURING SILVERADO RSTNashville is a unique track. How do you approach racing there?“From the first time I went there it was kind of a place that clicked with my driving style. In the Truck Series there is so much on-throttle time at most the intermediate tracks that we go to, but Nashville is definitely a little different in how you drive it. It’s a place that fits what I do well and ever since the first time I raced there I feel like it’s a place that I understand. I’ve been trying to study up on the things that I’ve done right in the past as well as the things I’ve done wrong and I’m trying to go into this race more prepared than ever — hopefully it will pay off.” With Nashville being a concrete track, how does that affect the racing?“It affects things quite a bit with the way that the rubber goes down and how temperature sensitive it is. I think it makes it fun because the place widens out a lot more over the course of the race compared to other places that we go to and it’s a lot smoother too. I think it creates side-by-side racing, which is better, and it just creates more opportunities to work yourself up through pack. A lot of the other tracks that the Truck Series goes to, track position is important and not that track position isn’t important at Nashville, I just think if you have a fast truck it’s probably going to show a little better than say a track like Texas.” CHRISTIAN ECKES, NO. 19 INSTACOAT PREMIUM PRODUCTS SILVERADO RSTOn racing at Nashville and the final four races of the regular season:“Nashville is going to be important for our team as we get down to the end of the regular season. We’ve done a good job at scoring some playoff points, but we always want more and that’s what we’re going to try to do this week with our Instacoat Premium Products Chevrolet. Every point counts and we’d love to gain another spot or two in the point standings to finish the regular season as good as we can. Nashville can be a good track for us to hopefully challenge for another win. It’s similar to some of the intermediates that we’ve been fast at all year. It’s a much different surface with the concrete and it’ll be a fun challenge for our team.” JAKE GARCIA, NO. 35 QUANTA SILVERADO RSTOn the stretch run in the regular season and making his Nashville debut:“Nashville is a unique, shorter intermediate than what we’re typically used to. The corners are a little flatter and it seems like clean air and track position have always been critical there. We’ve worked hard on our Nashville package in the sim, so hopefully we’ll unload close with our Quanta Services Chevrolet. We still want to make the playoffs, but the best way to do it would be to continue to improve and run in the top-five to give ourselves a shot to win a race. Our team has done a good job of closing out races with good finishes most of the year, so hopefully we can do that again on Friday night.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2023 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 9Poles: 5Laps Led: 2,032Top-five finishes: 35Top-10 finishes: 68Stage wins: 17·       Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)·       William Byron – 7 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte)·       Kyle Larson – 2 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt)·       Chase Elliott – 1 (Talladega)·       Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma) CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 842 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 739Laps led to date: 247,576Top-five finishes to date: 4,256Top-10 finishes to date: 8,780                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,176           Chevrolet: 842           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 822                                                                      Ford: 722           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 175

Mat Williamson Masters Fulton Speedway High Banks For DIRTcar 358 Series WinFULTON, NY (JUNE 22, 2023) – Mat Williamson came from his fifth place starting spot, passing track favorite Larry Wight midway to win Fulton Speedway’s 60 lap High Bank Hold-Up, DIRTcar 358 Series event on Wednesday night.The win was his 16th on the 2023 campaign and netted him $4,100.  The event was a make up from the original April 29th date and produced a whopping 58 car field.While some of Williamson’s wins have made headlines in how dominating they were which included a Super DIRTcar Series feature where he lapped all but the top four finishers, this was far different.When starter Ricky Breed displayed the five-to-go sign, the S&W sponsored #6 had four lapped cars right in front and Wight closing in behind.  “I actually had no clue where to go!” exclaimed Williamson, “They were in every lane racing each other and I had to find a way to get by them.  I knew with the caliber of field tonight someone was probably behind me.”That someone was indeed Wight who closed in several car lengths rapidly.  “I took a chance going in the middle of them in one and two and then kind of doing a slider there in three and four,” summed up the St. Catharines, ON star, “I was just hoping not to make contact and have something happen to the car.  Luckily it didn’t.  It always fun to come here and tonight’s win is special.”For Wight, he lead a good portion of the event early on after passing the pole sitter in Mike Mahaney.  While it looked like he would have to settle for second, those lap cars gave him some hope.  “Yea, when I saw the lapped cars up ahead I was thinking I might have a chance,” Wight went on, “He then made a move and got through and then I had to do the same.”It was a $2,500 runner-up for the former track champ, “He (Mat) could roll the middle just a little bit better than us.  But, we made some good changes and had a good run.”When DIRTcar 358 Series announcer Tim Baltz announced the third-place finisher’s name in Amy Holland, a big roar came from the crowd.  The second-generation driver is in her rookie year running DIRTcar 358’s and a the podium finish was news worthy.Running the bottom of the speedway from green to checkered, Holland fell back to fifth from her second place starting spot but as the race went on, picked off a few cars to climb her way back to third on lap 60.“I just have to thank everyone for helping me to where I am.  The car today was really good and was getting faster as the race went on,” said the 28 year old driver, “I just tried to stay smooth on the bottom, keep the car strait and it worked.  I’m very happy to be here on the front stretch with these guys.”Behind the podium finishers was Mahaney and Jimmy Phelps in fifth.  The next five were made up of current speedway point leader and defending champion Tim Sears Jr., Tim Fuller, Felix Roy, Billy Dunn and Jordan McCreadieThe multi-grooved Fulton Speedway saw cars running three wide at times.  The event was slowed by only two cautions on lap 38 and 39.The 58 car field needed six heats and three last chance showdowns to trim the field to the 30 starters.  Take the $100 to win heats were won by Dalton Slack, Holland, Wight, Fuller, Williamson and Mahaney.  Winning the last chance showdowns were Willy Decker, Darren Smith and Rocky Warner.With his 14th place finish, the free Hoosier Tire was won by Dave Marcuccilli.DIRTcar 358 Modified Series Finish – (60 Laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson[5]; 2. 99L-Larry Wight[3]; 3. 5H-Amy Holland[2]; 4. 35-Mike Mahaney[1]; 5. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[9]; 6. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[7]; 7. 19-Tim Fuller[6]; 8. 91-Felix Roy[18]; 9. 49-Billy Dunn[14]; 10. 28M-Jordan McCreadie[11]; 11. 3RS-Dalton Slack[4]; 12. 31W-Lance Willix[10]; 13. 713-Tommy Collins[17]; 14. M1-David Marcuccilli[12]; 15. 12-Darren Smith[20]; 16. 11T-Jeff Taylor[15]; 17. 27Z-Dylan Zacharias[24]; 18. 18-Scott Webb[8]; 19. 3B-Chad Brachmann[27]; 20. 39-Ryan Bartlett[30]; 21. 7Z-Zachary Payne[16]; 22. 21R-RJ Tresidder[13]; 23. 37-Mathieu Desjardins[22]; 24. 34-Andrew Ferguson[26]; 25. 06J-Jordan Bennett[23]; 26. 29K-Willy Decker[21]; 27. 38-Jarrett Herbison[29]; 28. 01-Chris Raabe[25]; 29. JS98-Rocky Warner[19]; 30. 9-Tyler Meeks[28]

DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Chevy Performance (Official Vehicle), DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race. Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, CASE No.1 Engine Oil, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, KSE Racing Products, Lifeline, MSD, Multi FireX, Quarter Master, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Swift Springs, Velocita USA, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wieland Metal Services (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne. Along with manufacturer sponsors, including: FIREBULL, Intercomp, and Simpson Racing Products.

NORWALK, Ohio (June 22, 2023) – Elite Motorsports, the largest professional team in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, is primed and ready to defend its Pro Stock title at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals this weekend. Five-time world champion Erica Enders triumphed at this event last year and is hoping for a repeat when her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance Camaro takes to the track at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. The talented standout recently achieved her first win of the 2023 season at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tenn. and is looking forward to taking that momentum into the rest of the season. She will have her work cut out for her as this year’s field is proving to be one of the most competitive in recent memory. With five drivers in the Pro Stock Top Ten, the entire Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team is looking to make some powerful moves this weekend. Cristian Cuadra will join his Elite Motorsports teammate Enders in the NHRA Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge, a race-within-a-race taking place on Saturday during qualifying wherein all semifinalists from the previous event compete for extra points and prizes. Aaron Stanfield won the specialty event in Bristol and Elite will be aiming to make it two in a row. Stanfield will be pulling double duty as he competes in both the Pro Stock and Factory Stock Showdown categories. He won the Factory Stock Showdown event in Bristol. Troy Coughlin Jr. is looking forward to hitting the track in his home state of Ohio in his JEGS.com Camaro. He will be showing the ropes to rookie competitor Jerry Tucker, who will race for the first time at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. Bo Butner recently showcased his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro alongside Enders’ car at an open house event hosted by JHG owner Jason Johnson. Butner won the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in 2017. The Cuadra camp is making some changes this weekend starting with patriarch Fernando Cuadra Sr. who will be driving his son David Cuadra’s Corral Boots Mustang. D. Cuadra is returning to his sportsman roots for this event as he vies for the title in Top Sportsman. Meanwhile, Fernando Cuadra Jr. will be behind the wheel of Elite Motorsports owner Richard Freeman’s red Ford Mustang built by RJ Race Cars. The crew is working on a few different combinations with power and weight. Changing cars will allow for more flexibility as they determine what will work best for these powerful machines. C. Cuadra will remain in his original car which has been performing well this season.  To kick things off for the weekend, the entire Elite team attended a special event hosted by Elite Motorsports Branding and Motorsports Director Scott “Woody” Woodruff where they enjoyed kickball, bucket golf, food trucks and more. NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, June 23 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, June 24 at 1 and 4 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 25. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday, and then eliminations on FOX at 4 p.m. ET Sunday. ***

Driver Quotes

Erica Enders”It’s no secret we needed that change of momentum with our first win of the season in Bristol two weeks ago. Momentum is huge in these summer months of NHRA drag racing and my guys and I are ready to ride it out and continue to capitalize. Heading to Norwalk is exciting. The track is incredible, fans are second to none and we’ve traditionally done well there with quite a few ice cream scoop trophies through the years. I’d love to add one more to my shelf!”

Aaron Stanfield“We had a fast race car and some unfortunate luck on race day in Bristol, but we are ready to get after it in Norwalk!”

Troy Coughlin Jr.”Nothing beats drag racing in the great state of OHIO! There’s a lot of Pro Stock history that lives in this state! Team Yellow has been working hard keeping the car in good shape and ready for some laps! We’re focused on the summer and going to give it our all to make some nice, solid laps.”

Bo Butner“Norwalk has been good to us in the past and I’ve got a fast car moving into this weekend. This crew has been working hard leading up to this race. Now it’s time to turn on some win lights!”

Fernando Cuadra Sr.”I’m going to be behind the wheel of David’s Pro Stock car this weekend as we seek to find ways to improve our program. It’s great to be on the Elite team and have opportunities like this to try new things.”

Fernando Cuadra Jr.”I’m swapping race cars to try something. Richard Freeman gave me the opportunity to run his Rick Jones Mustang just to try to mimic something from Cristian’s car that is proven to be really fast so I’m really excited to always try something to go faster.”

Cristian Cuadra”This is going to be a really fun race. Since I made it to the semifinals in Bristol, I get to compete in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge so that’s going to add another layer of intensity to qualifying. I can’t wait!”

David Cuadra”I’m returning to Top Sportsman this weekend and I’m very excited. I really have a heart for sportsman racing.”

Jerry Tucker“The race in Norwalk is legendary. From the $1 ice cream to some of the best fans in the country, everyone loves this event. I’m excited to experience it for myself this weekend.”

CHEVROLET IN NHRA

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT NHRA NATIONALS

SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT MOTORSPORTS PARK

NORWALK, OHIO

JUNE 23-25, 2023

DETROIT (JUNE 22, 2023) – The ninth round of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Series season sees Team Chevy back in action near the northern coast of Ohio, with the drivers and teams in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown taking on Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk.

In multiple categories, Chevrolet has seen success on-track with John Force Racing (Funny Car) and Elite Motorsports (Pro Stock). Entering as defending winners in last year’s Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, Robert Hight, driver of the AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing, looks to this weekend to go back-to-back in northern Ohio.

“Racing in Norwalk is always a highlight. There’s a lot of history there, the Bader family has created a tradition of putting on great events for fans,” Hight said. “It should be a good weekend. We’ll have AAA out and we’re right in Cornwell Tools’ backyard. It would be great to get AAA their first win of the season and share the winner’s circle with them.”

Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, enters this weekend defending her No. 1 qualifier from 2022, and is seeking her first win of the 2023 season.

“Norwalk is next for our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team. With four qualifying runs, we have a better shot at getting qualified in the top three and figuring the track out with a little less pressure. You change your game plan with fewer qualifying runs and debate pushing for the top spot. With fewer runs it’s riskier so it’s nice to have an extra run this weekend,” Force said. “This team is staying positive, we are narrowing in on this car and its performance. In the past at Summit Motorsports Park we’ve qualified well and last year we were No. 1, set the track record and had a semifinal exit. Our history gives us some good data to pull from and get set up for the weekend. We are still on the hunt for the first win of the season and looking forward to getting back to Norwalk.”

Erica Enders, driver of the Johnson’s Horsepower Garage Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car, carries into the Summit Motorsports NHRA Nationals event weekend momentum after racing to her 44th career Pro Stock win in Bristol, all with Chevrolet. Approaching a major milestone, Enders only needs two more victories to tie Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle, 46) as the female leader in victories in NHRA Pro classes.

“It’s no secret we needed that change of momentum with our first win of the season in Bristol two weeks ago,” said Enders. “Momentum is huge in these summer months of NHRA drag racing and my guys and I are ready to ride it out and continue to capitalize. Heading to Norwalk is exciting. The track is incredible, fans are second to none and we’ve traditionally done well there with quite a few ice cream scoop trophies through the years. I’d love to add one more to my shelf!”

Rounding out representation for Chevrolet at Norwalk, the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown is also back in action this weekend for their fifth round of the 2023 season. On a roll this year, Lenny Lottig looks to earn a third victory this season in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro after racing to the Winner’s Circle at Charlotte (Four-Wide) and Chicago. Aaron Stanfield enters Norwalk looking to go back-to-back for Chevrolet after capturing the Factory Stock Wally trophy most recently in Bristol.

The 2023 Summit Motorsports Equipment NHRA Nationals action from Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio airs first with qualifying Friday, June 23, at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Saturday qualifying airs Saturday, June 24 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Sunday’s Finals will air on FOX Sunday, June 25 starting at 4 p.m. ET. Coverage streaming live throughout the weekend can be found through NHRA.tv, available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:

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

“I’m looking forward to heading back to Norwalk. We had a pretty good race car there last year and hopefully, we can have that right at the first qualifying session to start off a strong weekend. We have a new front half on the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster that the guys worked on after Bristol. We’re looking forward to debuting the fresh pipe this weekend.”

John Force, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car for John Force Racing:

“I’m looking forward to going back to Norwalk. Summit Motorsports Park is an amazing facility. The Bader family knows how to do it right. I’ve been coming here for a lot of years. I know the family well, Bill Bader Sr., he built something great and now his family has continued the tradition and grown the vision, it is spectacular really. Every weekend I race, I want to win. It’s why I do it, why I’m still out here. So, I’m hoping this PEAK team puts on a good show for these Ohio fans.” 

Camrie Caruso, driver of the Tequila Comisario Chevrolet Camaro Pro Stock for KB Titan Racing:

“I set a lot of goals for our team and last year we accomplished some of them, but I knew this year I wanted to start winning races and chase that Pro Stock championship. We picked up the win in Arizona and then another No. 1 qualifier at the Winternationals. This Tequila Comisario team is moving in the right direction. I felt we had a Camaro that could have won Bristol, but we had a bad second round that really wasn’t our fault. I am not going to make any excuses, but we have a good race car, and I can’t wait to get to Norwalk.”

Aaron Stanfield, driver of the Stanfield Racing Engines Chevrolet COPO Camaro in FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown:

“Getting that win in Bristol was big. We have been working really hard to get back into the winner’s circle. Now we have the bounty and some momentum going into Norwalk. We want to keep the points lead and maybe stretch it out a little bit. The competition will be tough with over 20 racecars on the property. Everyone is going to have to be at the top of their game.”

TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS

1,432: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time)

603: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 619.

373: Number of wins in Pro Stock since 1970; 254 won in the Chevrolet Camaro body

165: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time)

157: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 1967

79: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time)

77: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro body

45: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Brittany Force

27: Number of NHRA championships Chevrolet holds as a manufacturer since entering the first in 1966. No other manufacturer has won it more than Chevrolet.

24: Wins by John Force in a Chevrolet-bodied Funny Car

18: Number of Pro Stock championships

20: Chevrolet career Top Fuel wins in NHRA

16: Number of Chevrolet career wins by Brittany Force

7: Number of Funny Car driver championships

2: Number of Top Fuel driver championships

UPCOMING NHRA MILESTONES

950: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) is second all-time with 919 elimination round wins. He could reach 950 round wins with a decent run in the 18-race schedule.

603: Robert Hight achieved 603 Funny Car elimination wins in Chicago to rank 13th on the all-time NHRA list; Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) sits 12th with 619.

442: By qualifying for his next race, Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) will extend his NHRA record to 442 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2002 at Pomona 2, and he holds the longest career qualifying streak in NHRA.

138: Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) ranks third on the NHRA all-time list with 121 No. 1 qualifiers. He will tie Warren Johnson (Pro Stock, 138) for second to John Force (165) on the list.

267: By qualifying for his next race, Robert Hight will extend his NHRA record to 266 consecutive race day appearances. His first appearance came in 2010 at Pomona 2, and he currently sits seventh in career qualifying streaks in NHRA (Doug Kalitta is sixth at 275).

65: Robert Hight moved into the top 10 on the all-time NHRA victory list with his win in Pomona 1 with 63. Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock, retired) is next ninth on list with 65.

46: Erica Enders has 44 career Pro Stock victories (all with Chevrolet, first win coming at Chicago, 2012 and last win at Las Vegas 2, 2022). Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) is the all-time NHRA female leader with 46. 

18: Brittany Force (16 Top Fuel career wins) will move past Shirley Muldowney (18 wins) into third on the NHRA all-time victory list for females. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 44) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle, 46) are ahead.

6: Erica Enders (Pro Stock) could tie Warren Johnson (6 Pro Stock championships) for second on the class list. The same holds for Greg Anderson. Bob Glidden is the leader with 10.

3: Brittany Force (Top Fuel, 2 championships) would tie Shirley Muldowney (Top Fuel) and Angelle Sampey (Pro Stock Motorcycle) for second on the NHRA all-time championship list by females with another title in 2023. Erica Enders (Pro Stock, 5) is the leader.

The Elk Grove, CA native makes a strong statement to begin the lucrative eventBRANDON, SD (June 21, 2023) – Yung Money has no intentions of sharing the wealth at the Billion Auto Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards.Kyle Larson was nearly perfect on Wednesday night at Huset’s Speedway with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Cars. Second quickest in Qualifying. A sixth to third charge in his Heat Race. And then a masterful drive from fifth to the lead in the Feature, sealing the deal with a perfect slider on Rico Abreu with seven laps to go on his way to Victory Lane where a $20,000 check awaited him.Not only did Larson win, he took a commanding lead in the points that play an important role in positioning for Saturday’s $250,000 finale. The Elk Grove, CA native tallied 443 points on Wednesday with Rico Abreu – his closest competition – 17 markers back. For reference on how dominating that advantage is, only 16 points separate positions two through six.For Larson, who has to miss Friday’s prelim for NASCAR obligations, getting a strong start was vital in his effort to claim the High Bank Nationals title.“Good to have a good first night,” Larson said. “I only get to run two of these prelim nights so I’ve got to make them count. We had a great night tonight. Qualified good, went forward in the Heat race, and then obviously won the Feature. Hopefully we have another good run tomorrow.”Larson’s first victory of 2023 with the World of Outlaws came in only his third start. He now sits at 29 career Series wins in 130 starts with The Greatest Show on Dirt – a nearly 10-percent clip. The 30-year-old is two for five at Huset’s in World of Outlaws competition.“They do a great job with this event, this racetrack,” Larson said. “We all appreciate the big money. I’m glad Tod (Quiring, track owner) did this. I hope all of the fans enjoy it.”The race began with a front row consisting of Rico Abreu and Cory Eliason leading the field to green. After battling a pair of caution flags on the opening lap, Abreu powered ahead of Eliason to take the early lead. As the first laps clicked off, Abreu stretched his advantage heading into traffic. As he was facing a hornet’s nest of lapped cars, another yellow flag flew. On the restart Larson picked off his first car by ripping around Spencer Bayston for fourth.It was another restart a few laps later when Larson slid Lachlan McHugh to climb onto the podium. While the cautions disturbed the flow of the race, they proved to be a helpful factor for Larson as he made his way forward.“The restarts definitely helped me,” Larson admitted. “The engine took off really good, and I was able to get good runs in the first laps and move forward.”Another restart slightly beyond the halfway point gave Larson the opportunity to move by Eliason for second and bring a hard charging David Gravel – who started 12th – with him.Once Larson moved into the runner-up spot, Abreu was unable to pull away like he had previously. Larson kept the Silva Motorsports #57 only a few car lengths behind as they worked their way into traffic.With seven laps remaining, Larson saw the chance he needed with a run out of Turn 2 and down the backstretch. As the duo entered Turn 3, Larson pulled the trigger on a slide job and cleared Abreu in the center of the corner. He got to the cushion quick enough to build speed on the corner exit preventing Abreu from crossing him over.“Once I got to second there behind Rico, I could pace him,” Larson explained. “I felt really good behind him. I could close on him a good bit in (Turns) 1 and 2. He’d pull away a little bit in (Turns) 3 and 4, but he looked like he was getting tight as he got to traffic. I started cheating my entry a little bit and making sure I didn’t make mistakes and get good runs on exit, enough to clear him there into (Turn) 3.”After Larson passed Abreu, Gravel wheeled his Big Game Motorsports/Billion Auto #2 into second and began to run Larson down. On the final lap, Gravel looked under Larson in the last set of corners but couldn’t quite get by as Larson raced to the checkered flag.“I know Gravel was probably really close to me there at the end,” Larson admitted. “I just kind of stuck in traffic. Those guys were running two-wide in front of me, and I just didn’t want to give up the top.”Gravel’s second place run was his third consecutive runner-up and fourth straight top two. While the Watertown, CT native was satisfied with he and the Big Game Motorsports team’s continued speed, he really wanted to start the week off with a win.“Damn I wanted to beat Larson there,” Gravel said with a smile. “I was definitely motivated. The Heat Race was something to forget about. We had a pretty solid car there (in the Feature). I’m glad we had the open red. Cody (Jacobs) was able to work on it and get it better. I had great restarts there, starting on the top and going through that middle. That middle was actually pretty good there. I wish I was closer to him earlier to give that a try. Lapped traffic was just starting bunch things up on that last lap.”After leading the opening 28 laps, Rico Abreu completed the podium for his eighth top three of the year with the World of Outlaws. A few missteps late in the going kept the St. Helena, CA native from collecting his fourth Series win of 2023.“I didn’t really execute that well at the end of the race,” Abreu said. “I felt like when I caught traffic my pace really slowed down. It’s just things I’ve got to work on as a driver, just executing the back half of these races and keeping the speed of the car up.”Carson Macedo and Cory Eliason completed the top five.Tim Kaeding claimed the KSE Racing Hard Charger with a drive from 22nd to 10th in the Lunstra #3.Kaeding also topped CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One (76th Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Six went to Brad Sweet (223rd of career), Mark Dobmeier (18th of career), Kasey Kahne (18th of career), Noah Gass (second of career), and Austin McCarl (fifth of career).David Gravel claimed his seventh Simpson Performance Products QuickTime of the season and the 104th of his career.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are right back at Huset’s Speedway for night two of the Billion Auto Huset’s High Bank Nationals presented by Menards on Thursday, June 22. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[5]; 2. 2-David Gravel[12]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[9]; 5. 11-Cory Eliason[2]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[10]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[8]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog[17]; 9. 5-Spencer Bayston[3]; 10. 3-Tim Kaeding[22]; 11. 25-Lachlan McHugh[4]; 12. 5X-Kerry Madsen[11]; 13. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[7]; 14. 13-Mark Dobmeier[14]; 15. 20G-Noah Gass[18]; 16. 49-Brad Sweet[24]; 17. 7S-Robbie Price[20]; 18. 19-Ayrton Gennetten[16]; 19. 21-Brian Brown[13]; 20. (DNF) 88-Austin McCarl[23]; 21. (DNF) 29-Sye Lynch[21]; 22. (DNF) 10-Matt Juhl[6]; 23. (DNF) 14T-Tim Estenson[15]; 24. (DNF) 5T-Ryan Timms[19]

DAVENPORT, IA (June 21, 2023) – After blowing tires, breaking internal components and a couple DNFs, Ashton Winger knew his luck on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals trail had to turn around some place at some point. Davenport Speedway was that place, and Wednesday night was that point for the Hell Tour championship contender.

In a span of the final 20 laps of the race, Winger, 23, of Senoia, GA, had passed polesitter Chad Simpson for the lead, lost it to his brother, Chris Simpson, then drove back by him to retake it with only four circuits left. Ripping the top side of the 1/4-mile, Winger held off the Simpson brothers to score the win – the seventh of his Summer Nationals career and first on tour since August 2021.

“This is my favorite racetrack,” Winger said. “This place is just so tough to get around, and it puts on really good racing 90 percent of the time.

“For me to be able to win at my favorite racetrack is really awesome.”

Winger started his run to glory from sixth on the starting grid, climbing up to third in only five laps. Directly ahead of him was Chris Simpson, who he put in the rearview with a slide job through Turns 3-4 on Lap 10.

A caution on Lap 20 restacked the field and gave Winger a chance at the leader on the restart, which he took full advantage of, digging down low underneath Chad Simpson through Turns 1-2 and taking the spot out of Turn 4.

“I think there was just a little bit more brown [dirt] leaving Turn 2 to catch when I got by Chad,” Winger said. “I just blew the bottom, honestly.”

Winger paced the field out front until the next restart with 11 laps left on the board, when Chris Simpson showed his hand down low with a powerful run off Turn 2 and into the lead down the backstretch.

“I figured [Winger] would go and try to protect the top,” Simpson said. “When I saw him slide across the middle in the crumbs, I knew if I hit the bottom in Turns 1-2 really good, I could get by him.”

Now at the head of the field, Chris Simpson became the proverbial sitting duck in the final laps. Though he initially gapped Winger with good speed on the bottom after taking the lead, Winger quickly looked to the high side for a way back around the native Iowan.

“I got up there and I felt where it latched,” Winger said. “It was kinda one of those 50/50 things where I was really glad I found it, but also when you find it – nature of the game, we’ve got stick signals.”

Winger shot back to the top lane through Turns 1-2 on Lap 36 and narrowly drove around Simpson, using what little room was available between Simpson’s right side and the edge of the track to complete the pass down the backstretch.

“It was only a matter of time until [Simpson’s] stick guy moved him up, and his stick guy moved him up literally 10 feet too late,” Winger said. “If he would’ve just laid his entry out getting into Turn 1, there’s nothing I could have done.”

“If I had just moved up a lap earlier, it would’ve been game-over,” Simpson said.

Winger kept the speed and momentum up around the high side and led the field back around to the checkers to collect a $5,000 check and his first Feature win of the 38th annual Summer Nationals campaign.

“When good things happen, I tend to look back at what’s got me here,” Winger said. “It’s just really good to have really good people.”

The win comes as the first for Jeff Mathews Motorsports on the Hell Tour – a team Winger joined late last season. The last time Winger ran an entire Summer Nationals schedule was in 2021, when he took every bit of his family-owned equipment out on the road and scored six wins over the two-month stretch. This time around, however, Winger’s feeling even more confident, despite a few early struggles.

“I think we started out better than we did in 2021, and I stand by that,” Winger said. “But at the same time, we feel like we should be better than we were in 21.

“I’m thankful and I’m lucky – I’m way better funded now than I was in 21. We have way more stuff that I need, thanks to Jeff Mathews and everybody involved in that deal down in Florida.”

UP NEXT

Thursday’s originally scheduled visit to Spoon River Speedway in Lewistown, IL, has been canceled due to track equipment malfunctions deemed unrepairable before race day, leading DIRTcar and track officials to cancel the event.

The Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals pick the action back up Friday, June 23 at Brownstown Bullring in Brownstown, IL. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available at DIRTVision.com.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 12-Ashton Winger[6]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[9]; 4. 25S-Chad Simpson[1]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[4]; 6. 4G-Bob Gardner[7]; 7. 21J-Billy Moyer Jr[12]; 8. 7-Drake Troutman[3]; 9. 31AUS-Kye Blight[8]; 10. 14M-Morgan Bagley[11]; 11. 57-Carson Brown[21]; 12. 58-Tyler Clem[5]; 13. 30-Mark Voigt[20]; 14. 15-Clayton Stuckey[13]; 15. 5-Austin Vincent[17]; 16. 99-Jeff Larson[15]; 17. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[14]; 18. 4D-Doug Tye[22]; 19. 101-Forrest Trent[19]; 20. 19X-Cody Bauer[16]; 21. 21N-Logan Nickerson[18]; 22. 15K-Justin Kay[10]