No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R finishes second in pressure-packed Petit Le Mans

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 14, 2023) – Cadillac Racing closed the inaugural IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype season with multiple trips to the trophy stage following the 26th Motul Petit Le Mans. Cadillac clinched its fourth IMSA Manufacturer Championship, fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Championship, fourth Driver/Team Championship, fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championship and third IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championship since entering IMSA prototype competition in 2017.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R secured both driver/team titles. Pipo Derani, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Oct. 12, earned his second Driver Championship in the past three seasons. “You can’t ask for better than straight As. This program has been a challenge of resilience, and everyone has stepped up — all of the partners that are involved from GM, Dallara, our race teams, our hybrid-supplier partners. We delivered excellent results. It was not an easy year. We had our ups, and we had our downs. Ultimately our eyes were on the prize, and we were ready to seize any opportunity that was thrown at us.” The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon sharing duties behind the wheel, finished second to the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 under yellow. Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken drove the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R to sixth place.A Cadillac led more than half of the 397 laps over the course of the 10-hour race on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta course, and van der Zande set the fastest lap of 1 minute, 10.917 seconds on Lap 312. It was the fifth time in the nine races that a hybrid Cadillac set the GTP pace. Less than 16 months since making its on-track test debut and 37 weeks since the opening race, the Cadillac V-Series.R has proven its reliability and performance on the variety pack of North American road and street courses. The Cadillac V-Series.R features an all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan, paired with the common energy recovery system. “It’s amazing; what a season,” Derani said. “It was up and down but up there when it mattered for the overall championship, the endurance championship and the manufacturer championships. I’m proud of all the work behind the scenes by so many people to get to this point in the first year of GTP. There are so many things out of your control in a race like this. The end of the race was very tense. I overtook both of the BMWs and came away victorious.”

The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season begins Jan. 19-21 with the Roar Before the 24, which includes practice and qualifications to set the starting lineup for the Jan. 27-28 Rolex 24 At Daytona.Cadillac Racing podiums at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta since 2017:Wins: 2020 (Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe)          2019 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran)          2018 (Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Hunter-Reay)Second: 2023 (Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon)2022 (Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike Conway)              2021 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway)              2019 (Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Matthieu Vaxiviere)              2017 (Dane Cameron, Eric Curran, Mike Conway)Third: 2022 (Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Rockenfeller)         2020 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque)* Six-hour race Cadillac Racing notes * Cadillac has won at least two races each season since entering IMSA prototype competition with the start of the DPi era in 2017. It won three times this season.* Sebastien Bourdais drove the initial 2 hours, 57 minutes in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R before yielding to Renger van der Zande, leading the GTP field for a total of 1 hour, 21 minutes.* A Cadillac V-Series.R started on the front row in five of the nine races, including poles for the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R at Sebring International Raceway and Road America.No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: “Helping clinch the overall GTP championship and IMEC championship for Cadillac is great because we didn’t have many great moments this year aside from Laguna Seca this year. To have the championships with Cadillac is a testament to the whole program. The car was really fast today, and in the last race of the season after having so much bad luck we put it all together. We can be all proud of this type of racing. You can see in endurance racing on what a lift we are and you see how many people are here. It was sold out already in February here. Le Mans was sold out. Endurance racing is on an all-time high. I’m super proud to be part of it. If you look back at the season, the championship was so tight because a lot of people had different issues and problems, which makes it a typical season for new technology, new cars and all that. It looks like the teams have their cars sorted in terms of reliability. I’m looking forward to next season. It’s been a bit of a frustrating season for us. On the other hand, finishing third and fourth in Le Mans also shows what the American brand of Cadillac can do. Winning all the championships here again is quite impressive and makes me proud to be part of that.” Sebastien Bourdais: “It was a great day for Cadillac in the first season of GTP. We managed to not get hit and stay out of trouble, which put us in good shape. It’s a shame the way the yellows fell. It seemed like it was ours to lose and coming in second really hurts. Overall, the package was strong during the day when the sun came out and stronger when night fell and temperatures came down.” Scott Dixon: “For me, the goal was to off-load the car to my teammates in one piece. The Cadillac has been super fast all race, really consistent and good all-around effort by the team. Being the third guy, you want to make sure you’re up to speed because these cars are pretty technical. My two stints I had a lot of fun. Led the first one and got beat out on the second, and just tried to bring the tires in slowly and save them. Our pace was really good; we could have pushed a lot harder. Congrats to Cadillac and the championship for the 31. It definitely was a pretty wild day. I’m bummed for our day. I think we deserved to win, and we had the pace to win. Unfortunately, we were in a bit of an energy crisis there and couldn’t warm up the tires. Obviously we lost first place on that restart there and had a couple of cautions after. Frustrating, but that’s racing.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani: “It’s amazing; what a season. It was up and down but up there when it mattered for the overall championship, the endurance championship and the manufacturer championships. I’m proud of all the work behind the scenes by so many people to get to this point in the first year of GTP. There are so many things out of your control in a race like this. The end of the race was very tense. I overtook both of the BMWs and came away victorious.” Alexander Sims: “It’s been an incredible year. It’s pretty mad to think we’ve wrapped it up. A crazy race as we expected coming into this. Such a rollercoaster. Just so proud of the job that everyone has done. Pipo and Jack have done an insane job all year long. I really felt like I’ve been the third wheel a bit… just do my solid job each time and bring the car in and let them get in the car and do the job. The team has been flawless. So many good pit stops. I’m so, so proud of everyone.” Jack Aitken: “Alex really underplays himself as always. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with everybody. This is a championship that everyone deserves. (On the late-race contact review and the final hour) “We were extremely nervous, not only for that but also how the final pit stop played out. Pipo really had to win that one track with how the BMWs were working together. He did an amazing job and pulled it out when he needed to.”

ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 14, 2023) – In danger of going winless for just the second time in his last 37 seasons on the NHRA pro tour, John Force took a big step toward changing that dynamic on Saturday when he drove the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS to a time of 3.823 seconds, the quickest of the final session and the quickest of his career.  As a result, he and his PEAK team will start Sunday’s 38th annual NHRA Texas Fall Nationals from the No. 2 qualifying position.  After a pair of runs that pushed the envelope, including the first run on Saturday, Robert Hight and the AAA Texas / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS team rallied in the final session to qualify third, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team took the No. 4 spot in Top Fuel and Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team will start eighth. For Force, Saturday night’s monster run lowered his average for four weekend qualifying runs to 3.860 seconds and sends him into Sunday eliminations against No. 15 qualifier Jeff Diehl against whom he is 10-0 in his career. “We found something in our race car (that had been problematic),” Force said.   “Robert jumped up and was right there, too.   We were all right there together, but my car is getting faster.  I really want to thank (crew chiefs) Danny Hood and Tim Fabrisi.  We go round-and-round trying to straighten me out. “In addition to running the fastest run of my entire career, our PR lady that is very important to all of us and our sport, Sara Slaughter, and her guy, Mark, this is their wedding today.  I just felt like that was a great thing for me to run my best ever on her special day. I’m happy for everyone (because) we definitely all do this as a team!”Hight, in the middle of a battle that could secure his fourth series championship, will face Texan Terry Haddock in the Sunday’s first round after a Saturday evening run of 3.832 seconds propelled him from sixth to third in the final order.  He is seeking his fifth win at the Motorplex where he last won from the No. 6 qualifying position in 2018. “I’m really proud of the AAA team for getting the third spot,” Hight said.  “Going into the last qualifying session, it was really a do or die run.  We needed that run. Otherwise, we were going to be faced with eighth or ninth qualifier and that’s not where we want to be.  We also pushed (the limit on) a couple of runs, so we kinda know where the edge is for Sunday. I like the way the ladder sets up.  It looks really, really good.  All of the guys that are in the hunt are on the other side of the ladder. We’ll let them duke it out and hopefully we will face one of them in the finals.” After a broken hose put liquid under the rear tires and forced Brittany to abort, she and her Flav-R-Pac team made two strong Saturday runs, one at 3.666 seconds at 327.92 mph and the other at 3.657 seconds at 335.72 mph, the latter enabling her to grab up two more qualifying bonus points. “Overall, it has been a good two days of qualifying for this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team,” Force said after her strong showing on Saturday.   “We’ve been running pretty consistent, a 3.67, a 3.66 and, in the last session, a 3.657 at 335mph.  That’s outstanding for this team. A killer run.  I’m looking forward to race day tomorrow. It’s a new ball game. Conditions are going to be great.  We face (No. 13 qualifier) Spencer Massey first round and we are looking for four win lights and our first win of the season.  We’ve been closing in on it.” Although they didn’t quite match the numbers put up by the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team, Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist made a pair of representative runs Saturday that thrust them prominently into contention for their first Texas Fall Nationals title.  The first run on Saturday produced a time of 3.689 seconds at 333.27 mph out of the right lane and moved them up into the top half of the field and a following run of 3.669 at 327.89 mph on the left side kept them there.  Prock will race three-time world champion Antron Brown, the No. 9 qualifier, in the first round. “Another solid two passes today,” said an upbeat Prock.  “We’ve made three competitive runs so far.  I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made this weekend. Sitting No. 8 we will have the choice of lanes tomorrow morning.  We’re looking forward to a strong Sunday in Dallas!” Final eliminations in the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex are set for a 12 noon start on Sunday.  Television coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) begins at 1:00 p.m. ET Sunday with two hours of qualifying highlights followed at 3:00 p.m., ET by three hour of single elimination racing. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 28, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:13th; 3.669-seconds; 327.89 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 37, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:4th; 3.657-seconds; 335.72 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+4 (2nd quickest in Q3 and Q4)JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:2nd; 3.823-seconds; 328.56 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +6 (3rd quickest Q1, 2nd quickest in Q3, Quickest in Q4)ROBERT HIGHT, 54, AAA / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.832-seconds; 327.75 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+4 (2nd quickest Q1 and Q4)

BRASELTON, Ga. (October 14, 2023) – The Chevrolet Corvette C8.R ended its run in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship leading Petit Le Mans on Saturday, but unfortunately that happened just past the halfway point of the 10-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Corvette Racing’s mid-engine challenger retired with a yet-to-be-determined engine issue that caused Tommy Milner to lose power while leading the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class with less than five hours left in the race. He, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor had dominated the race up to that point by leading 87 of the Corvette’s 189 laps.

The C8.R has one more race left in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but it has compiled an impressive record of 20 victories in 80 races – including Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring – and IMSA Manufacturers, Drivers and Team championships in 2020 and 2021. It will give way in 2024 to the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which will see four cars running in the WeatherTech Championship next season. On Saturday, it appeared early that the C8.R would add a long-sought Petit Le Mans victory to the honor roll. Garcia began the race second in class but moved to the GTD PRO lead just past the one-hour mark. He drove a double-stint to open before handing off to Taylor for his own double. The Corvette ran fourth just shy of the three-hour mark, but a sterling pit stop by the Corvette crew during the race’s fifth full-course yellow leap-frogged Taylor – making his final start with Corvette Racing – back to the lead. That’s where he ran before handing over the C8.R to Milner four hours into the race. The Corvette Racing effort transitions into the Corvette Z06 GT3.R era starting with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Saturday, Jan. 27.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was looking quite good. I was surprised how competitive we were right away. My double-stint was good. Jordan’s double-stint was really good. Tommy was leading. Everything was kind of falling in the right places for us. We had little things with strategy where we might have lost the lead, but we were up there and executing another great Corvette race. Even if most of the cars had more pace than us, it would have been difficult for them. It’s a shame to end this way. I wish we had another result and another way to do our last race with Jordan and this car. But it feels like another Petit Le Mans where I go away not winning it! It’s disappointing, but I’ll never give up trying to win this one.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s sad and a bittersweet ending. We went out leading, which is a positive. It’s too bad the fans didn’t get to see us finish one last race in IMSA in the C8.R. It’s been an amazing run with this car – two GTLM championships, we’ve won the WEC championship this year, a Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring… we were just missing Petit Le Mans. It’s been an amazing run for this generation of Corvette, and hopefully the next one can get this one checked off the list.“This isn’t a farewell. I won’t be driving for the team any more, but I’ll still be around. I don’t want anyone to not come around and say hello. I’ve been here for 12 years now, and I’ve grown up in this program. With these team members, the crew members, the engineers, management, the race fans – they’ve all seen me grow and progress. I wouldn’t want any of that to change. These people will be family for the rest of my life.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “At the end of the day, it’s not the result we were hoping for and on track for. The car was great today. Antonio and Jordan did a phenomenal job today. The engineering guys made the right pit calls, even a little risky setup call for the race today that we weren’t totally confident in. But those guys worked hard to give us a great Corvette today, and they definitely did. So I’m disappointed with the finish but I’m super proud of what this team has achieved from the very beginning of the C8.R’s life – not just the guys here but the guys in WEC and a lot of guys in Michigan who have spent a long many years working on this car, developing the car and making it better. It’s not how we wanted to end it all, but I’ve excited for what’s to come with the Corvette GT3 racecar.  It took me a little bit to get used to this car because I’ve driven the GT3 for so long, and it does so many things really well. I’m really excited for the future.”

ENNIS, TX (October 14, 2023) – Veteran driver Lenny Lottig earned his second career Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifier today at the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals. Earlier this season Lottig drove his ITI Trailers and Truck Bodies Chevrolet COPO Camaro to the top spot at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals. This weekend at the Texas Motorplex Lottig came off the trailer ready to race grabbing the provisional No. 1 qualifier on Friday night and holding onto the No. 1 spot through the third round of qualifying.
 
“The conditions today were awesome with exceptionally good weather and the track was good enough to hold it coming off the starting line. It’s been a good fast day,” said Lottig. “Being the No. 1 qualifier is always a good position to be in. It’s an honor to get the yellow hat on Saturday, but we really like it in the black hat on Sunday. There’s great competition here and the field is the tightest I’ve ever seen. It’s gonna take everybody being on their A Game to get through this. We’re hoping we can bring everything we have to the table when the race starts.”

 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifier Lenny Lottig launches during Texas Fall Nationals,
photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

Lottig will face stiff competition from the rest of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown class with point leader Aaron Stanfield, looking to wrap up his third Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown world championship. In an epic first round tilt Stanfield, the No. 9 qualifier will face No. 8 qualifier Stephen Bell, his closest opponent in a battle of COPO Camaros. If Stanfield prevails, he will need to gain a 139-point advantage to lock up the championship. He currently has a 112-point lead.
 
The latest Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown winner, Mark Pawuk, will enter race day as the No. 13 qualifier and will face No. 4 qualifier David Janac in the first round. If Janac can take out Pawuk who won his first Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown title two weeks ago at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in St. Louis he would pocket the $1,000 Flexjet Bounty.
 
“I want to hold onto this bounty title for a while,” said Pawuk. “I want to see how big this Flexjet Bounty can get. The first round is always the toughest, but we will be ready.”
 
The Chevys or the Fords or the Dodges are nothing to take lightly. Everyone is making good power and you have to take everyone seriously whether they are the No. 16 qualifier or the No. 1 qualifier.
 
It is so fun because this is a crazy class. You have to be able to read what the tracks want to hold and then you have to know how much power we put down to it. We have to look at the weather, too. All the planets have to align to be able to go and get down the track. I’ve been fortunate and blessed enough to have a great team behind me. It takes an army to make these things go.”

No. 1 qualifier Lenny Lottig, photo credit Werner Communications

Competition for the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown class in the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex continues with eliminations Saturday and continue Sunday with the semifinals and finals. Winners are slated to be crowned Sunday at 4:20 p.m.
 
 
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown First Round Matchups
No. 1 Lenny Lottig vs. No. 16 David Barton
No. 2 Jesse Alexandra vs. No. 15 David Davies II
No. 3 Lee Hartman vs. No. 14 Scott Libersher
No. 4 David Janac vs. No. 13 Mark Pawuk
No. 5 Ricky Hord vs. No. 12 Anthony Troyer
No. 6 Conner Statler vs. No. 11 Kevin Skinner
No. 7 Doug Hamp vs. No. 10 Chris Hall
No. 8 Stephen Bell vs. No. 9 Aaron Stanfield
 

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SOUTH POINT 400 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT OCTOBER 14, 2023 Larson Puts Chevrolet on Front-Row at Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayFour Camaro ZL1’s Qualify in Top-10

·       Team Chevy playoff contender Kyle Larson drove his No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1 to a runner-up qualifying effort at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – posting a best lap that was just 0.010 seconds shy of the pole position at 28.990 seconds, 186.271 mph.  ·       Fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate and Team Chevy playoff contender William Byron posted his 21st top-10 qualifying result in the NASAR Cup Series this season – clocking-in a best lap of 29.004 seconds, 186.181 mph, to take the third position in the starting lineup for tomorrow’s South Point 400.  ·       Four drivers from three different Chevrolet teams will lineup in the top-10 for the Round of Eight opening race at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval. Joining Larson and Byron includes Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch in sixth and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain rounding out the Team Chevy top-10. 

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER2nd     Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL13rd      William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL16th      Kyle Busch, No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Camaro ZL110th    Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 – Qualified 2nd“Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) is a good track for the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy team. I felt really good in practice. I was able to get lucky in avoiding a tire failure, so I feel good about that. And then in qualifying, getting on the front-row is good, as well. We’re off to a good start. We just have to piece it all together tomorrow.” Did you feel a vibration in practice? “I did, yeah. I felt a vibration and I felt like my car yawed out a little more off of (turn) two. I just pulled in and thankfully we did because it wouldn’t have made it through three and four.”  How comfortable do you feel in this round? “Yeah, it’s a good round of tracks for us. With Las Vegas (Motor Speedway) and Homestead (Miami Speedway), I would love to get off to a good start; get some solid points. If you can get a win, obviously that would be amazing. But just want to put in some solid races and try to give ourselves a good opportunity when we get to Martinsville (Speedway).”  Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1 – Practice Accident QuoteAre you OK, and did you and your crew chief Travis Mack talk about what you had seen earlier and what you were going to do differently? “We did. We saw what happened to the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) and we saw what happened with the No. 9 (Chase Elliott). We were adjusting a little bit based on that, but it looks like it didn’t matter. We ended up having a tire issue anyways. I felt like our No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevy was good. I wasn’t pushing too hard; I was just trying to get into a rhythm with the car. We were running long there, so we were just trying to get a rhythm. Right in the center of (turns) one and two, I had a big vibration. I didn’t even have a warning. I had a big vibration and I already knew what it was. The next thing you know, just a split second after that, it just blew.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES

LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SOUTH POINT 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

OCTOBER 14, 2023

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RELAY PAYMENTS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Media Availability Quotes:

What’s it like for you as a young many coming up through the sport and doing very well, to now being what I keep hearing over and over again as really the championship favorite? How’s that been for you and are you approaching things any differently? 

“It’s been nice. We’ve put a lot of work into getting to this point. I feel like it’s just been a slow evolution and process to get to this spot. I don’t reflect a whole lot, but I am proud of the work that we’ve put in and the fact that we’ve got our race team to where it is. Now is a good chance to show all that we’ve done to this point. I’m excited for it. I still have a lot of years ahead of me. I feel like I’m really young in this sport and it’s just starting to really click, so that’s nice.”

There’s two 1.5-mile tracks in the Round of Eight. You’ve got the two wins and four top-fives on top of that. What’s been the difference maker for you at these styles of tracks? 

“I feel like our simulation is good for these tracks. We’ve been able to lean pretty heavily on Chevy for advice and information on these tracks and I think that’s helped us. I feel like that’s probably where it started early in the year – back in January and February when we started working on Vegas. And then we just started to develop a consistent package for all of these tracks. I’d say we lost our way a little bit in the summer on some of the faster tracks, but I feel like after that, we kind of went right back into what we know, improved it slightly and here we are. You never know what to expect. Just kind of intrigued to see how we unload and how that balance is, and then we just have to fine tune from there. With this car, luckily you’re never really too far off, so you just have to fine tune those little details to get better.”

Do you feel like a championship favorite?

“I don’t know yet.. that’s for you guys to decide. I just go out there and drive. For me, it’s one step at a time, it really is. So for me, it’s all about practice here today. I don’t know what we’re going to unload with. I feel confident in how we’ve prepared and what it feels like. It feels great in the virtual world and hopefully that applies. It felt great here last time, so we just have to wait and see. Take it one step at a time in each race of this round. I’m not looking too far ahead, honestly.”

We’re going next weekend to Homestead-Miami Speedway and then to Martinsville Speedway. Talk about tackling Homestead – it’s a track that some drivers like to run really high at. I don’t know if that’s really your style, but your thoughts on going to Homestead.

“Yeah, I mean I’ve done it before, but I don’t think in the Cup car. It’s not maybe as comfortable for me, but I do feel like I’m capable of running well at Homestead. I’ve won a Cup race there and last year we qualified on the pole. It’s a place that is within our wheelhouse, it’s just a matter of how good we can be there. I think we can realistically have a chance to compete and fight for a win there, but we just have to kind of focus on that next week and see where we’re at after Vegas. I don’t know yet, but I feel like we can be pretty solid at Homestead, for sure.”

We’re in a stretch now where you’ve won at each of the next four tracks. What’s the confidence like for you personally? I know you’re not looking too far ahead, but does that help boost the hope to get the championship and where maybe a championship is kind of the only acceptable outcome for this No. 24 team?

“Yeah, I mean I think the blue print is there for success. But the thing I always caution is that things change and evolve, and teams and drivers improve. So we have to kind of take that next step at all of these race tracks coming up. 

But yeah, it’s nice to have a blue print of – hey, we’ve been here before.. we’ve been fast. We kind of know what balance is achievable and what we want to have in our car, but getting there is definitely a different challenge. Yeah, I don’t maybe look at it that much, but it is nice to know and have that comfort that I know how to get around these tracks.”

Last year, obviously with the first year of the Next Gen car, the setups were changing so fast. Do you have any idea of the pace of how things are changing this year, setup-wise? If you guys brought back your winning setup from the spring race, would it still do OK here? 

“Yeah, things have evolved, for sure. I don’t think it’s at the rate that it was last year by any means, but I think that it’s still definitely different. For us, we’re not bringing a similar car. I’m sure there are characteristics in the car that are similar or the same, but I’m sure there’s also a lot of things that are kind of different in their own right. So it’s probably more so little details and last year, it was more big things – kind of learning the aero balance of the car and all those things. But I think this year, it will be quite a bit different than the spring race because of the weather, too. It’s 86 degrees tomorrow and in the spring, I think it was around 65, so it’s going to be different.”

You won here in the spring, so are you basically starting from a blank slate this weekend? 

“Yes and no. Obviously I know how to get around the race track and that’s nice. I know where I want to hit my marks and how I want the car to feel, but the grip in the track is probably going to be different. It’s probably going to be less and the bumps might be worse. All those things might factor in. It’s going to take something a little bit different. The groove might move up or move around. In the spring, it was middle in (turns) one and two, and bottom in three and four, mostly. So it could be different.. it could be bottom in one and two or top in three and four. So you just have to figure out what those lines are and what your car is going to need to have.”

With the bonus points and being the number one seed coming into the playoffs, the first two rounds obviously went really well for you guys. Were you 100 percent those two rounds, or because you had the bonus points, were you maybe 80 to 90 percent – not needing to hit homeruns, we just need to not shoot ourselves in the foot? How did you guys approach those two rounds? 

“The first round, we were kind of finding our way a little bit with the setups and our car. I thought we definitely had potential and we were OK with that. I think we were OK with running seventh, eighth, ninth and getting a top-five here and there and just advancing. In the second round, we knew we needed to take it another step up and we did. I think this next round is the same thing. It’s going to take another step to be better. We’re going to have to be faster. We’re going to have to execute better races. It’s just going to take one more step of what we’ve already done. Although the last round was amazing, we can’t look back at that and say – oh we just need to do exactly like that. We probably need to do that and maybe a little bit better.”

Now with this round being make or break to make it into the championship race, does this round have to be 100 percent or 110 percent from here on out.. it has to be everything? 

“Yeah, I mean it’s just all the details, right. I don’t push the car any harder. I don’t drive any differently, but it’s all the details that makeup the car in the race. Yeah, I mean we don’t want to show up today and over push or do anything that would make a mistake. But we just know that the details are that much more important.”

(10/13/23 – Ben Deatherage) Hanford, CA … Justin Sanders conquered the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series, presented by NAPA Auto Parts, at the Fourth Annual Morrie Williams Memorial at Kings Speedway.  The Mittry Motorsports/Farmers Brewing #2X Maxim pilot captured the opening 20-lap feature and backed it up with a fifth-place result after starting 14th in the second inverted-field main event.

DJ Netto, driving his Netto Ag/Penny Newman Grain #88N KPC, held off a hard-charging Cole Macedo to open his 2023 NARC winning account by finishing first in the second 20-lap NAPA Auto Parts A-Main.

“I had a really fast car and could run anywhere, and I was able to carry a lot of speed,” said a triumphant Sanders after earning his second overall title, his first since 2021. “Our car was really good all night and solid. I have to thank all my guys, Demo Mittry, Hunter Brady, Joel Myers Jr., and my fiancée Brooke. We’ve run a lot of second places lately, and I couldn’t get a win here to save my life, so I’ll take this and try and carry it on.”

Dominic Scelzi led the opening stanza of the first feature in his Scelzi Motorsports/Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim. He was run down on lap four by Justyn Cox and challenged heavily.  Driving the Benefit RFP/Lippert Constructions #42X Maxim for Bates-Hamilton Racing, Cox overtook Scelzi for the top position on the fifth trip past the flag stand.

Cox took off with the lead, but lapped traffic threw a twist into things, allowing Sanders to reel in the trailblazer. Sanders would challenge on the 14th circuit but was denied, only to obtain first place position on the time by the finish line.

Cox answered with a counterattack to reclaim the coveted spot on lap sixteen. Sanders rallied to get back in front of Cox on the eighteenth lap to stay ahead the rest of the way to earn his second NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win of 2023 and the first time since the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway back in June. It is his 15th career series victory.

Cox finished a respectable second, while Chase Johnson put the Toyota of Marin, Walnut Creek, and Sunnyvale/Price Family Dealerships #24 Maxim across the line third. After starting eleventh, Tim Kaeding earned Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors with a fourth-place result in the Morrie and Katie Williams/Dalton’s Landscaping #0 Maxim. Wrapping up the top five was the Luxton Real Estate/David Cry General Engineering #3 Maxim, piloted by Kaleb Montgomery in fifth.

Iowa traveler Austin McCarl wound up sixth over a seventh-finishing Sean Becker. Cole Macedo charged from fourteenth to eighth while Billy Aton was behind him in ninth. Bud Kaeding completed the top ten, in tenth.

After the inversion of the finishing order of the first main event, Gauge Garcia turned some heads with a magnificent effort as the race leader in the second feature. Racing the Keller Motorsports/Monarch Ford #2K XXX, Garcia remained out front for quite some time. However, even with a long green flag run, he was eventually hunted down.

Hometown racer Netto performed the exciting pass on the fifteenth circuit. The two briefly clashed wheels, but both kept going on. Despite a late caution, which produced a late-race restart, Netto procured his seventh NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory and his first since shattering his collarbone last October.

“It’s been a work in process trying to get back in the swing of things,” commented Netto, “We got a new car that’s different than our 360 car, and we’ve been working on it all year.  I really got to thank my dad and uncle for standing behind me all these years, pushing through what happened last year, and going with the swings.”

Macedo was a close second.  Garcia earned his first career NARC podium, followed by Kaeding and Sanders in fourth and fifth. Sanders was the Williams Roofing Hardcharger with a gain of nine positions and made the most passes between the two features with eleven total in aggregate.

Dylan Bloomfield was credited with sixth, and veteran racer Sean Becker ended his night seventh. Aton had another top 10 effort with his eighth-place result. At the same time, Johnson and Cox completed the rest of the highest ten finishers.

NARC championship point leader Corey Day flipped in the first NAPA Auto Parts feature but was unharmed.  McCarl was the fastest driver in ARP Qualifying. Heat race victories were collected by Montgomery, Sanders, and Johnson.

NAPA AUTO PART A-FEATURE 1 (20 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 24-Chase Johnson [4]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [5]; 6. 88-Austin McCarl [6]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [10]; 8. 21T-Cole Macedo [14]; 9. 26-Billy Aton [13]; 10. 69-Bud Kaeding [7]; 11. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [9]; 12. 121-Caeden Steele [12]; 13. 88N-DJ Netto [16]; 14. 2K-Gauge Garcia [15]; 15. 115-Nick Parker [17]; 16. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 17. 10-Dominic Gorden [18]; 18. 14-Corey Day [8]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Dominic Scelzi 1-4; Justyn Cox 5-14, 16-17; Justin Sanders 15, 18-20

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Tim Kaeding +7

NAPA AUTO PARTS A-FEATURE 2 (20 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto [2]; 2. 21T-Cole Macedo [7]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [1]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [5]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders [14]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [8]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 9. 24-Chase Johnson [12]; 10. 42X-Justyn Cox [13]; 11. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 12. 88-Austin McCarl [9]; 13. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 14. 115-Nick Parker [15]; 15. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [10]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Gauge Garcia 1-14 ; D.J. Netto 15-20

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Justin Sanders +9

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (18 Cars): Austin McCarl, 13.476

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [2]; 2. 88-Austin McCarl [1]; 3. 69-Bud Kaeding [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [3]; 5. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [5]

KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders [1]; 2. 41-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 3. 14-Corey Day [4]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding [3]; 5. 21T-Cole Macedo [5]; 6. 115-Nick Parker [6] 1. 88N-DJ Netto [2]; 2. 21T-Cole Macedo [7]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [1]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [5]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders [14]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [8]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 9. 24-Chase Johnson [12]; 10. 42X-Justyn Cox [13]; 11. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 12. 88-Austin McCarl [9]; 13. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 14. 115-Nick Parker [15]; 15. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [10]

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 24-Chase Johnson [1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 4. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 5. 2K-Gauge Garcia [6]; 6. 10-Dominic Gorden [5]

SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (4 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 4. 24-Chase Johnson [3]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [6]; 6. 88-Austin McCarl [5]

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Oct. 13, 2023) – He broke through to Victory Lane for the first time in August. Now, Gavin Miller is a two-time Feature winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

The 16-year-old from Allentown, PA, wheeled the Eibach Racing, LynK/Toyota #97 for Keith Kunz Motorsports to I-44 Riverside Speedway Victory Lane in the first round of competition of the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial Friday night.

“I knew we had the speed all night – practice, Qualifying, Heat Race,” Miller said. “Just put a whole night together, really.”

The win vaulted him back into third-place in the Series points standings, where he now sits only 44 points out of the lead with one race left. Now a five-time winner between all three national Midget tours in 2023, Miller briefly reflected on his path to national Midget racing success since his debut in the division last year.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words; I feel like I’ve come so far in a short amount of time,” he said.

From inside Row 2 on the starting grid, Miller took advantage of a restart two laps in, throwing a slider on Karter Sarff to take second on Lap 3 and making beeline for polesitter Zach Daum leading the way.

“The yellow came out, and I just had to think, ‘Calm down, I know I’m just as good around that top,’” Miller said. “I knew I’d eventually get by him, and that’s what I did.”

Miller threw a slide-job first in Turns 3-4, then Daum returned fire in 1-2. But Miller was prepared, crossing Daum over with speed out of Turn 2 to take the lead heading into Turn 3.

From there, Miller was smooth sailing out front while the battle for a spot in the top five raged on behind him.

A caution flag at the halfway point paused the action and restacked the field, where seventh-starting Daison Pursley restarted from fourth in line. He, Daum and Thursday night winner Ryan Timms soon locked themselves into a lap-after-lap battle for second as the sliders went flying in every corner.

“I knew that [Timms] was going to try and slide Zach into Turn 1; I kinda just minded my time on the bottom,” Pursley said. “It wasn’t great down there, but as long as people got racing up there, you could just kinda just inch your way forward, like I’ve seen Zach Daum do.”

Pursley soon broke away from his opponents with a slide-job on Daum on Lap 18. Though Daum came back at him on the inside in Turns 3-4, Pursley kept the momentum up as he switched to the top side and skated around him to complete the lap and take second away for good.

With only Miller ahead of him now, Pursley pinned the throttle and made slight headway on the leader but was unable to catch him by the checkered. Instead, the native Oklahoman settled for runner-up and his second podium finish of the season with the Series.

“It was just a matter of how fast-paced Gavin got out there and set,” Miller said. “He was clicking off laps consistently; he got to the lead very quickly and was able to calm down and control the race.”

Further back in the field, Daum continued his efforts to stay inside the top five but encountered heavy resistance from Jade Avedisian, Cannon McIntosh and Chase McDermand with the laps winding down. A four-car battle ensued inside of five-to-go, with more sliders and lap-after-lap passes being made amongst each of them.

Avedisian was able to seal the fourth spot with a return slide-job on McIntosh in Turns 3-4 on Lap 26 and some good defense of the position through Turns 1-2. McDermand also got a piece of McIntosh before the checkered, laying down a slide-job of his own to take the fifth spot.

By the checkered, McIntosh had slipped back to sixth with Daum back in seventh.

Avedisian’s fourth-place run was enough to add an additional six points to her advantage in the standings before the final race of the season on Saturday. She’ll take a 17-point lead over McIntosh into the season finale in pursuit of her first national Midget series championship in her first year with Keith Kunz Motorsports.

UP NEXT

The 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season comes to a close on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the second night of the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial at I-44 Riverside Speedway. In conjunction with the POWRi National and West Midget Leagues, another $5,000 check will be on the line for the Feature winner, followed by a special championship presentation following the night’s events.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Toyota Racing Feature (30 Laps): 1. 97-Gavin Miller[3]; 2. 19A-Daison Pursley[7]; 3. 67-Ryan Timms[4]; 4. 71-Jade Avedisian[5]; 5. 40-Chase McDermand[8]; 6. 08-Cannon McIntosh[6]; 7. 7U-Zach Daum[1]; 8. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[11]; 9. 21K-Karter Sarff[2]; 10. 25K-Taylor Reimer[19]; 11. 13-Elijah Gile[17]; 12. 14R-Jonathan Beason[10]; 13. 28-Ace McCarthy[16]; 14. 43-Gunnar Setser[13]; 15. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[15]; 16. 97K-Cooper Williams[21]; 17. 5U-Peter Smith[12]; 18. 98-Ryan Padgett[18]; 19. 19K-Riley Kreisel[14]; 20. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[22]; 21. 7M-Kyle Jones[20]; 22. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[9]

ENNIS, Texas (Oct. 13, 2023) – John Force laid down a pair of 3.80 second qualifying runs Friday at the Texas Motorplex, propelling his PEAK Coolant and Antifreeze Chevy Camaro SS team to the provisional No. 4 position after the first day of the 38th annual NHRA Texas Fall Nationals.  Robert Hight and the AAA Texas / Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro SS team held down the No. 5 spot.  In Top Fuel, Brittany Force was fifth in the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster and Austin Prock 13th in the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster with two qualifying attempts left. Force, a seven-time winner at the Motorplex, opened with a 3.887 at a finish line speed of 325.95 mph and followed Friday night with a 3.871-second run at 325.71 mph, earning qualifying bonus points on both runs.  “Daniel Hood and Tim Fabrisi, and the whole team did their job and I did my job,” Force said of the Friday effort.  “We just still got some things in the driver’s seat that I’ve gotta get straightened around and I’m working on it, but It was good to get up there to the top, not at the top, but at least pretty close to it.  I hope we can stay up there tomorrow because that will give us a good start to get up there and start winning some rounds. The Countdown is here and we gotta see where it goes.” Hight, bidding this year to become just the fourth Funny Car driver to win as many as four NHRA series championships, directed his white AAA-branded Camaro to a time of 3.878-seconds at 328.37 mph in the opening session but experienced problems on the night run and slowed to 7.123 seconds at only 91.41 mph. Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team battled back from a bad break in the first qualifying session to record a Friday night run of 3.675 seconds at 333.85 mph that put her back in the hunt for a second win at the Motorplex.  In the first session, a broken component led to a loss of traction that slowed her to 9.590 seconds at only 61.68 mph. Unlike Brittany, Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team started strong with a run of 3.738 seconds at 327.11 mph, but had trouble on the second attempt, slowing to 6.646 seconds at 86.97 mph.   The NHRA Texas Fall Nationals continues at the Texas Motorplex with qualifying sessions Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Eliminations will begin Sunday at 12 noon.  Television coverage of the event will be consolidated into one five-hour block on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying highlights from 1-3 p.m. ET, followed by three hours of elimination coverage from 3-6 p.m. ET.

AUSTIN PROCK, 28, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragsterQualifying:13th; 3.738-seconds; 327.11 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0BRITTANY FORCE, 37, Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragsterQualifying:5th; 3.675-seconds; 333.85 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0JOHN FORCE, 74, PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:4th; 3.871-seconds; 325.71 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +2 (3rd quickest Q1 and Q2)ROBERT HIGHT, 54, AAA / Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:5th; 3.879-seconds; 328.37 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+2 (2nd quickest Q1)

DALLAS, TX (October 13, 2023) — With spectacular conditions and a historically quick race surface, multiple track records were set tonight at the Stampede of Speed Friday Night Live event part of the 38th annual Texas Fall Nationals. Top Fuel and Funny Car No. 1 qualifiers Steve Torrence and Bob Tasca III grabbed the $15,000 top prize cash, respectively. Deric Kramer grabbed the Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier spot along with the $7,500 prize and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera continued his domination of the class winning $5,000 with the quickest run of the second session and day. Each of the cash winners also won a custom pair of CORRAL boots.
 
Torrence made the quickest and fastest run of his career, 3.636 seconds at 336.62 mph to run to the top of a stacked Top Fuel field. In Funny Car Bob Tasca III ran 3.822 seconds at 335.55 mph, both career best marks for the driver from Rhode Island. It also established Tasca as the quickest and fastest Ford Mustang driver in the history of the manufacturer.
 
“The is a special night because I am a Texan and this is the premier track in Texas,” said Torrence, a four-time Top Fuel world champion. “I have to thank the Meyer family for all they have done with the Stampede of Speed and the Texas Fall Nationals. This is a critical time in the playoffs and this race is a great event top to bottom. These Capco Boys are awesome. You always want to do well in front of your hometown fans. At the end of the day, we were the most consistent car across the board. This race is important, and we had a great day today.”

 Steve Torrence (center) accepts $15,000 cash prize for running low ET in Top Fuel at the Friday Night Live event during Stampede of Speed, photo by Creative Innovation Experts

In the Pro Stock ranks Herrera ran to the top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle class with a strong 6.689 second pass at 203.41 mph. He made the quickest run of both qualifying sessions and grabbed six qualifying bonus points in addition to the cash and CORRAL boots. Kramer turned heads in the Pro Stock class with his 6.486 second pass at 209.50 mph to set a career best mark. He made the run early in the session and he had to wait and watch five pairs of competitors take their best shots at his elapsed time.
 
“I knew it was on a good run,” said Kramer. “I didn’t expect that run to hold. I thought other people would be able to step up. I thought we would be close. I didn’t think it would hold but I am glad it did. Night runs are my favorite.”

Tomorrow the rest of the competitors will take their best shots at Torrence, Tasca, Kramer and Herrera to see if they can unseat the No. 1 qualifiers during the final two qualifying runs.

Bourdais drives through wet qualifying for second in the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans

BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 13, 2023) – Sebastien Bourdais recorded a lap of 1 minute, 15.632 seconds in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R to secure a front-row starting position for Saturday’s 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans. The 20-minute session for Grand Touring Prototype cars was run almost entirely with wet tires on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta course as a drizzle that moved across the area 90 minutes before qualifications restarted at the green flag and intensified.

Bourdais, who will share driving duties with Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon in the day/night race, posted his best time on Lap 12 of 13 on the grooved tires the Chip Ganassi Racing crew put on with 15:30 left. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R also qualified second for the Twelve Hours of Sebring. The second-place starting position cut Cadillac’s deficit in half in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Manufacturer race to four points. Additional points are accumulated by race finishing position. Cadillac leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer standings entering the fourth and final race of the season. The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R also started on slicks but quickly switched to the wet Michelin tires. Pipo Derani posted a best lap of 1:17.657 to qualify eighth.

Derani and co-drivers Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken sit atop the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver/Team standings and are second in full-season Driver/Team Championship points. The No. 10 Acura ARX-06 set the pace in qualifying with a lap of 1:15.402.Cadillac Racing is aiming for its fourth IMSA Manufacturer Championship and fifth IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturer Championship since 2017. Cadillac Racing has also recorded three Driver/Team Championships, four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Driver Championships and two IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Team Championships since 2017. Cadillac Racing notes * Derani finished second the past two years in the 10-hour race, sharing the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. He won in 2019 in the same Cadillac DPi.* van der Zande won in 2020 and 2018 and was runner-up in 2019 – all with Cadillac.* Bourdais paced the GTP field in the two daytime practice sessions, clocking a lap of 1:09.671 that stands as the best of the weekend.* Cadillac Racing podiums at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in the DPi era:  Wins: 2020 (Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe)            2019 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran)           2018 (Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Ryan Hunter-Reay) Second: 2022 (Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike Conway)              2021 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Mike Conway)              2019 (Renger van der Zande, Jordan Taylor, Matthieu Vaxiviere)              2017 (Dane Cameron, Eric Curran, Mike Conway)Third: 2022 (Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Rockenfeller)         2020 (Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Filipe Albuquerque) * Six-hour race Peacock will provide flag-to-flag coverage Saturday for U.S. residents (IMSA.com/TVLive outside the U.S.) starting at 11:35 a.m. ET. USA will telecast the race from 6:30-10 p.m. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com. The race broadcast on SiriusXM begins at 11 a.m. Saturday (XM 207 and web/app 992). Spectators can also tune in to 98.1 FM. What they’re sayingNo. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais drove in the 20-minute qualifying session: “It’s a shame with the weather. I think we had a really good car for the dry and then everything goes up in the air and you don’t know what you got. I’m happy for the guys; they’ve all worked so hard this weekend and throughout the season. We’ll start P2, which is a good place to be. It would have been good to be on pole for the first time this year, but it is a strong starting position and we have a strong car for tomorrow.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani drove int the 20-minute qualifying session: “It was a bit of a chaotic run. We went out on slicks and then had to move to rain tires. I think we got caught a little off-guard with tire pressures, which didn’t help the final result of qualifying. But it’s a 10-hour race and qualifying didn’t mean much for the championship. I think we have a good car for the race in the dry and we’ll be ready tomorrow to fight for the championship.”

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA END OF DAY REPORT October 13, 2023 Will Power, of Team Penske, and David Malukas, of Arrow McLaren, represented Chevrolet amongst the four cars testing INDYCAR’s 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine with hybrid technology at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday.Today’s sessions saw drivers working together during multi-car simulation runs to learn how INDYCAR’s hybrid technology performs in traffic, as well as single-car simulation runs to replicate no-tow laps on the famed superspeedway.Manufacturers and teams will continue to work with INDYCAR to test the series’ hybrid technology in the upcoming offseason months.

David Malukas, driver of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet – Driver Media Availability Transcript:Q. You’re getting a chance to drive with a team, but you’re also testing a new device. How do you separate and learn from the two?DAVID MALUKAS: Well, I mean, at the end of the day it’s really good for me. I get to learn new hybrid stuff, get to be a part of the new Arrow McLaren team, get a feeling of the car. But, yeah, it’s a bit of a challenge trying to figure out this feels different. Is it because of the hybrid changes or because of the new team? Talking with Rossi and the other driver, just kind of trying to figure out, hey, this is actually something that sounds like a setup of ours compared to something this is new. Q. After being with Dale Coyne Racing the last couple years, how difficult is it to learn a new environment, new team, personnel, procedures, new everything?DAVID MALUKAS: Yes, there’s many new people that I feel like we’ve been doing a pretty good job getting to know everybody, getting connections. The way we’ve been doing the structures, it’s been different engineers and performance engineers going to each test. Kind of getting a feel for everybody and making relationships, building chemistry. The main thing is just trying to get used to all the new tools and resources that I have at hand. Arrow McLaren gives a lot, and I’m just trying to make sure I can use all of it to help on my side of things. It’s been very good. Q. Who is your crew, your engineer, chief mechanic? Who are the guys?DAVID MALUKAS: Still undecided. For this test I have Will (Andersen) as my main engineer and Brian as my performance engineer. Q. Obviously these are important tests for feedback. Going into your third year, does it feel like an honor to be able to give that feedback?DAVID MALUKAS: Yes, it’s does feel good. Will actually earlier was saying in the car, Have you ever done Firestone testing before? I’m like, No, they don’t like me (laughter).No, it’s good now. It feels good. They’re trusting me. I can give the feedback. From my side I just get to do laps, more and more laps. At the end of the day the more practice, the better. Q. How does the hybrid feel to you so far?DAVID MALUKAS: I find it very good. I’ve been enjoying it. It has more tools for the driver. I feel like it can kind of separate the drivers from the top to the — the best to the worst on when it comes to hybrids. It’s another tool, time to regen, deploy, set up passes. I think it’s going to have a bit of a play here at the 500. Q. McLaren has so many more resources to do things with from where you came from. How as a driver do you look at that in terms of, ‘Wow, I’ve got all these things now that I didn’t have before?’DAVID MALUKAS: Exactly. I walked in, and every are corner I look around, I’m like, ‘Whoa. Shining gold, so much stuff’ (laughter). Coming in, I don’t even know how to use it all. But thankfully they have a good crew. Everybody has been super friendly, introducing everything to me, making me get comfortable. Specifically Tony Kanaan. Tony Kanaan has been showing me the ropes and saying like, Hey, this is how you use this resource, this is what I think you should do, just getting me comfortable on getting used to all these spoiled resources that they keep giving me. Q. How intrigued were you yesterday with Kyle Larson’s rookie test?DAVID MALUKAS: It was very good. It was very impressive. He’s all over when it comes to racing. That’s kind of been his motto of trying many different sorts of things. It feels good to see him in Indy. I think it’s going to be good for INDYCAR, it’s going to be good for the 500 and of course Arrow McLaren. Q. (Question regarding trust and having resources available.)DAVID MALUKAS: Of course, I mean, yeah, I have really good teammates, (Alexander) Rossi and Pato (O’Ward), who have shown a lot of success in the series. For me to come in and them put me already into their first few hybrid testings, it feels good. It feels like they trust my word, they ask me all the same questions, what I think about the car, the new hybrid stuff. From a driver’s standpoint, my confidence just goes through the roof. I trust them, they trust me. I know going into next season we’re going to do what it takes to get up to the top. Q. Do you know how many more days in the car you’ll have this off-season between any more manufacturer testing you’re doing or actual private testing?DAVID MALUKAS: Not a specific number, no. It’s all kind of been still pretty hectic. They’ve already kind of had things scheduled out. I don’t really know myself because I haven’t managed to look, anything from two weeks out. Q. How much do you perceive tires being a thing? More horsepower is going to be more downforce, a little bit more tire falloff, too. Do you foresee over a stint fuel saving but you have to be cognizant of tires as well?DAVID MALUKAS: I think so. I mean, it kind of depends. I think we’ll see kind of the end of today once we start doing longer runs, being in traffic, seeing how it’s going to play out.It all depends on when you want to use that extra power. If you want to save the tire, use it on the straight, not through the corner. You’re kind of saving the tires.I think it all is going to be a bit of a play. We’ll see.

INDYCAR and Manufacturer Media Availability Transcript:Q. We haven’t been a part of hybrid testing, but you guys have been doing it for quite a while. If you could walk us through the progress you made since you first started testing.JAY FRYE: I think, first off we want to thank both of these guys with Chevrolet and Honda (for helping us get) to this point. Today and tomorrow at IMS is actually the final kind of, from a certain perspective, this is our first superspeedway test. Again, great job from everybody at Chevrolet, Honda. So far, so good. Q. On the oval, because there’s very little braking, how did you come up with the idea of the paddle system?JAY FRYE: I’ll let these guys (elaborate)… Q. How did you come up with the idea?MATT NILES: We had paddles on the car already. Using that for regen seemed like the natural thing to do. We had to do some software trickery to reassign the clutch paddle for use while out on track. But it seems like it could work, and that’s what we’re trying to figure out here today and tomorrow, is get the drivers out there together and (indiscernible) see if we could get it to work in a pack and add some excitement to the show. Q. From the Chevrolet perspective?ROB BUCKNER: Very similar. When we were looking at how we could make this work at a superspeedway, the paddle was a fit for the way the drivers could manage the energy in the system, and out of the system. Kind of plays into the hands of the drivers with how this place historically races. Seems like a good starting point for first couple days here. I think we’re all learning a lot. There’s a lot of details to come on that, but all good so far. Q. Two months into this, having this 2024 spec out on track, can you talk us through how this is different in basic terms.MATT NILES: Basically what we’re adding is an energy storage, which uses super capacitors, which is kind of a different thing than you might find in a road car except for a couple extreme examples. At any rate, we have an energy storage on the car, basically like a battery, but using super capacitors. Then there’s an electric motor. All of that is fit inside the bell housing which is a piece that fits between the engine and the gearbox at the back of the car.We’re adding in that energy storage and the electric motor, and tying it straight into the drivetrain of the whole vehicle. Then going out here we’re using a paddle, the driver can say, I want to charge up the battery, They push a button and it uses the electric motor to add power to the car. It’s similar at a road course, kind of the same thing. We can use either automatic regeneration or you can have the driver involved pulling the paddle. From our side, I think we’re just interested in getting involved in different, sustainable technologies out there. Allowing our engineers to develop them and work on them, and then come here to this extreme environment to test them in a race, how that all plays out for the future. JAY FRYE: It’s quite a packaging marvel. It’s got a lot of horsepower, safe, low voltage. That was something that was important. How that works without batteries or cap backs. High horsepower, all this fits inside the bell housing. Obviously, the packaging on an INDYCAR has to be very small. That’s got to be one of the biggest challenges is the packaging of it into this car. Q. What are things over the last two months that you have either figured out or finalized of this package? What are you still in the process of learning or deciding on a rules or technical standpoint?MATT NILES: I think, yeah, we’re pretty set on where we are with the energy storage. I think we’ve been finding out how all these different components survive in this environment. The vibration is unique. Also the temperatures that we deal with. We’ve been learning a lot about that. But I think going forward, a lot of it is really how we use the system and the parts and pieces we have, and how that’s regulated on track and how the drivers use it, how the engineers interface with it, how we go racing. That’s where we’ve been going through sort of street course at the short course at Sebring. We’ve been running short ovals, road courses, and now we’re here at this hallowed ground to see how it works here. We just kind of have to go back through all the data, start making some decisions on how we go to St. Pete. ROB BUCKNER: It’s similar for us; a massive learning curve every time we go testing. It’s a productive day and a new knob to turn in terms of race cars are giant energy balance equations. This is another new factor in that. We found it could change car balance. The drivers have been enjoying having a different experience in the car beyond what a 2.2 liter package has always been engine-wise. We’ll keep learning and go from there. Q. How much of this is collaborative and how much is proprietary?JAY FRYE: It’s great collaboration. That’s one of the things I mentioned to begin with, the way these two have worked together on this project. We’ve been working at this for some time, obviously. We got to a certain point and we looked to our two car partners to finish the thing off and make it raceable. So, that’s what’s happening. They’ve taken this idea we have collectively had, got it to a certain point, and have the real experts in now to get these things to where we can race them. Q. Is there room for proprietary innovation?JAY FRYE: It’s going to be a spec piece, the hybrid part, at this point, yes. The drivers will have a tool that they can use differently. I think that will be something that will separate how that works for the drivers. Q. Rob and Matt, if you had the spec piece, does it come down to you guys still optimizing the actual 2.2 liter engine that you’ve had for the last decade? Is that where your camps sort of branch off?MATT NILES: Yeah, I mean, we’re still trying to get more power, squeeze more that we can out of that every year. Then, yeah, I mean, it’s a new piece, it’s a new bit of energy. So even though we kind of all have the same system, there is some differences in how you might use it, how a driver might interface with it. Our engineers are able to, sort of dig, into that and try to figure out the best way to go forward. Yeah, I mean, like Jay (Frye), you were was saying as far as the collaboration, normally we’re out here, it’s cutthroat, which we love competing out here. We’ve been able to wave the white flag for a bit and get this done, which has been really good.It’s been a great collaboration. Q. Is it odd when either of the two of you call each other to talk about the hybrid assist piece because normally I doubt the two of you call each other?JAY FRYE: There’s weekly calls, daily calls, group calls. We have an IEC – INDYCAR Engine Committee. That’s been another thing that the hybrid part has been another extension of that. They talk a lot. ROB BUCKNER: It’s not as awkward as people would think because it’s easy to overlook. General Motors and Honda are developing fuel cells together, electric vehicles together. This isn’t our only joint venture, if you will. We still compete in the showroom, compete on the racetrack, but this is a project that teaming up together has made a lot of sense. It helps the series that we’re competing in. It’s been a good joint collaboration project. Q. Tech transfer has always been important to you as manufacturers. Is this something that can move over to road cars? What have you learned that can move over to road cars?ROB BUCKNER: I think we’re always trying to compare simulation tools and how we compare coming to the racetrack. I don’t know if capacitors would power an all-electric vehicle, which is where we see GM going simply because they’re kind of high power for a short duration, which isn’t a good fit for an all-electric vehicle in terms of range. I think the whole EV space, everyone is learning a lot. You don’t want to turn away from any opportunities to build upon that skill set for the company, for the program, for motorsports or anything. Q. You both have two complete cars that you can use in the testing process right now. When do you expect every team to be able to have their hands on this? Are there any concerns on being able to get all the parts and pieces ready?MATT NILES: I think to get all the teams have their hands on it, our goal is to have that before the end of the year. I think getting all the parts and pieces in place by St. Petersburg is going to be a challenge. But that’s what we do here, is challenges. So, we’re going to keep pushing ahead and get it done. Q. Jay, you’ve been through that before with other parts, aero kit parts, aero kit era, aeroscreen, parts availability…JAY FRYE: In addition to Honda and Chevrolet, Dallara is involved, Xtrac is involved, we’ve got skeleton (indiscernible). We’ve got (indiscernible), PVG with the screen, upper frame. There’s a lot of people involved. Obviously, it’s all going to come together and fall together. We had a team manager meeting the other day, had some presentations with Xtrac and Dallara and where we’re at. I think we’re into a good spot. Again, how do you organize it? Is it by points? Do you get one per team? I think the next big test will be a 10-car test, first part of November, which will be one car per team. We got a couple more four-car tests coming up. The next plateau will be the 10-car test. MATT NILES: December. Q. What’s the time frame for having the rules set in place?JAY FRYE: Like Rob (Buckner) said, we’re learning stuff today, right? Again, we’ll get to a certain point. This thing will evolve over the next couple years even, right? As you learn, we go. This is a ‘24, ‘25, ‘26 thing right now, program. How does the program change in ‘24, ‘25 and ‘26? It will probably be much different in ‘26 than it is in ‘24. Again, that’s what we do – we evolve. We have these groups, like I said the IEC, groups like that. We talk about this stuff, come up with a consensus, and there we go. Q. Could be good for competition?JAY FRYE: Yeah. Like I said, it’s going to give the drivers a new toy, a new tool. Some of them are going to like it probably more than others, some will like part of it more than others. It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Remember, three or four years ago, we ran a push to pass test here, remember? So we’ve done something kind of similar to this. Obviously, we’ve never run anything like this on an oval before or anywhere before, an oval for sure. We have push to pass on road and street courses. It will be interesting to see how this afternoon plays out. Again, it’s a new tool. We got amazing drivers and amazing teams, competitors, they’ll figure it out.

Damp, traffic-filled time trials ahead of 10-hour enduro to close the C8.R era BRASELTON, Ga. (October 13, 2023) – Corvette Racing will start second in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class after qualifying for Saturday’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Antonio Garcia qualified the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R on Friday with a time of 1:24.009 (108.728 mph) in the entry he will share with Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner. It was the last qualifying run in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the C8.R, which will give way to the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R in 2024.

Garcia was sixth-fastest among all GT drivers Friday in a damp but drying 15-minute qualifying session. A persistent light rain eased just before the start of the session with the Corvette going out on rain tires – like the rest of the GTD PRO field. A combined 25 GTD cars were on track at the same time for the qualifying session, making it challenging to find space and a clear track.  Saturday’s weather should be much improved, which could swing a little bit of momentum toward Corvette as Garcia was quickest in class during Thursday afternoon’s dry practice session. There would no better way to end the season and the life of the C8.R by winning Petit Le Mans for the first time since 2010. A victory at 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta would mean a first victory in Petit Le Mans for both Garcia and Milner, plus give Taylor a victory in his final event with Corvette Racing before returning to prototype competition next year. Corvette Racing also can win the class title in the Michelin Endurance Cup – a four-race championship made up of the WeatherTech Championship’s long-distance rounds: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Petit Le Mans. Garcia and Taylor, Chevrolet and the No. 3 C8.R squad sit second in the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams standings, respectively, with three points to lead. Points are awarded at the four-, eight- and 10-hour marks of Petit Le Mans. The 10-hour Petit Le Mans from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is scheduled for 11:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 14. The race will air live on USA beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET and with the full race stream beginning at 11:35 a.m. on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air the race at IMSA.com with the race call also on XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of IMSA’s Petit Le Mans from Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Not a good session. It was pretty bad not knowing where I was. We went out thinking we would have a shot but right away I saw that the track was very dry. I was out on the track with everyone coming, so I played nice and let everybody by to the point where I launched myself in second gear coming to start/finish instead of accelerating out Turn 12 because I was still kind of moving out of the way. My first lap was a 24.6 but I caught traffic and would have probably been an easy 1:23. It was just a point of where everyone was, trying to play nice and getting out of the way of everyone. By the time I could push again, the grip in the tires was not back to what I had on the very first lap.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After 10 of 11 events)Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 3,4952. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3,3073. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 3,2684. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 3,2305. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 3,122 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 3,4952. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 3,3073. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 3,2684. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 3,3205. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 3,122 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 3,4952. Chevrolet – 3,3073. Mercedes-AMG – 3,2684. Porsche – 3,2305. Aston Martin – 3,133 CORVETTE RACING AT ROAD ATLANTA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its 25 years: Sebring International Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and as of this weekend Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Road Atlanta since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013), Corvette C7.R (2014-2019) and the new-generation Corvette C8.R (2020-current), which made its Road Atlanta debut at September’s six-hour IMSA race in 2020• 10: Number of Road Atlanta victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2000 – eight of those at Petit Le Mans• 10: Petit Le Mans wins for Chevrolet – eight in GT and two in Prototype. That ranks third among manufacturers in event history• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 282: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 41,826.42: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 27 previous trips to Road Atlanta. That represents 16,690 laps or more than 653 trips around Atlanta’s Interstate 285• 360,734.30: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back! Corvette Racing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta1999No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 5th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Scott Sharp – 4th in GTS  2000No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 3rd in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS 2001No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Scott Pruett – 9th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 1st in GTS (Pilgrim pole) 2002No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 3rd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap) 2003*No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 3rd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 1st in GTS 2003No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 5th in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS 2004No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2005*No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 2005No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 6th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (Beretta pole, Gavin fastest race lap) 2006No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1 (O’Connell pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2007No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2008No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole, Magnussen fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1 2009No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GT2 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Emmanuel Collard – 1st in GT (Magnussen fastest race lap) 2011No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 17th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT 2012No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 12th in GT 2013No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GT (Garcia/Magnussen ALMS GT title)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 10th in GT 2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 4th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Ryan Briscoe – 3rd in GTLM 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 3rd in GTLM (Gavin/Milner clinch GTLM title) 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM (Garcia/Magnussen clinch GTLM title)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 7th in GTLM 2020**No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 5th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2020No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 4th in GTLM 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 6th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 4th in GTLM (Sims fastest race lap) 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTD PRO * Two-hour, 45 minute races** Six-hour race

SENOIA, GA – OCTOBER 13, 2023 – With more than three inches of rain in the Atlanta area this week, and more expected today, World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model, Senoia Raceway, and Rome Speedway officials decided in the best interest of fans and competitors to cancel this weekend’s Billy Clanton Classic and World of Outlaws ARP Southeast Showdown.

The decision comes after working closely with Meteorologist Wayne Mahar from Precision Weather Service and monitoring the local weather for the past 24 hours.

The events will not be made up, as there is not a viable date remaining in 2023.

The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will continue its high-octane show on Nov. 1-4 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the World of Outlaws World Finals. 

Bobby Pierce enters the final three Features of the 2023 season with a 156-point lead over Chris Madden, as he aims for this first Series championship. The battle between fourth-ninth in the standings will also be one to watch, as six drivers are separated by 42 points. 

Don’t miss the excited conclusion to the 2023 season along with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds. FOR TICKETS, CLICK HERE.

For the latest on the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models, make sure to follow on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, and at www.WorldofOutlaws.com

TULSA, OK (Oct. 12, 2023) – Flat tires. Mechanical failure. Late-race passes. Ryan Timms has been through it all this year with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

But those struggles are all behind him now. He’ll simply be known as a Feature winner.

Timms, the 17-year-old rising open-wheel star from Oklahoma City, OK, had led a total of 72 Feature laps and finished runner-up twice coming into Thursday’s events at Port City Raceway, but still hungered for that elusive first career Series win.

For 55 laps around the 1/8-mile oval, Timms plowed his way through heavy lapped traffic, denied slide-jobs and even made some contact with his opponents, but was able to pull through and take the checkered flag in the fourth running of the Donnie Ray Crawford Sooner State 55, co-sanctioned by the POWRi National/West Midget Leagues.

“It’s a race of mine that I really wanted to win growing up here,” Timms said.

At the drop of the green, Timms grabbed the lead from polesitter Trey Marcham on Lap 2 and proceeded to build a five-second advantage in traffic before the race’s second caution period on Lap 34. On the ensuing restart, fifth-starting Daison Pursley entered the frame with a slide-job on Marcham to take second, and soon came after Timms with urgency.

In less than 10 laps, Pursley – of Locust Grove, OK – had reeled-in Timms, and was about to catch a slide-job attempt for the lead before they crossed the stripe to complete Lap 49.

“My line started to go away, and Daison found the bottom in Turns 1-2,” Timms said. “I think he was following the top all the way around in 3-4, and I was sliding myself up to it. Whatever he was doing, he was faster.”

Timms crossed back underneath Pursley to deny his pass attempt and continued on. But Pursley was not done.

Coming back to green with four laps remaining, Pursley followed Timms on the bottom through Turns 1-2 and saw an opening entering Turn 3. He slid the AME Electrical #19A underneath Timms’ JBL Audio #67 with speed in Turn 3 and the two made contact in Turn 4, sending them both washing-up the track on corner exit.

“[Timms] was letting it float up pretty high down the back-straightaway in the slick, and I thought I had a good enough run to get him completely cleared,” Pursley said. “I thought I was definitely clear, and I guess [that was] what he was not happy about. We just went down in there and made contact.

“It’s just part of it. I’m not here to run second.”

It didn’t take long for Timms to return the contact. He crossed the start/finish line and drove back into Turn 1 with a full head of steam, tagging Pursley on the bumper and sending him around to bring out the yellow flag once again.

After the checkered, Timms revealed that his frustrations with Pursley stemmed from prior run-ins earlier in the season.

“[Pursley] tried to slide me in Turns 3-4 and completely doored me,” Timms said. “Typically, I kinda understand. It’s close racing. One time, whatever. I’ll get over it. But he drove through me at Gas City, drove through me at Eldora, and we’d never had any issues up until those two races.

“After he drove through me again, I was fed up with it. If you don’t do something about it, then he’s going to keep doing it.”

Pursley restarted from the tail of the lead lap cars and was able to climb back to finish sixth, despite his own frustrations with Timms.

“I guess he wasn’t too happy about my move in 3-4,” Pursley said. “If that’s how he’s wanting to retaliate in 1-2, I’ll take it with my chin up and move on to I-44.”

The final restart of the race was smooth sailing for Timms as he led the final three circuits and crossed the line to collect the $5,555 grand prize.

Directly behind him came defending Series champion Zach Daum, who advanced from 13th on the starting grid to finish second. The 32-year-old veteran from Pocahontas, IL, showed his prowess on the tiny bullring, backing up his Sooner State 55 victory from last year by sticking to his preferred line on the bottom throughout the 55-lap main event.

“Experience in racing here, especially in long races, typically the top gets so far around that it’s really hard to run,” Daum said. “Normally, the bottom is so good here that it comes back.”

With the runner-up effort, Daum collected his 13th podium finish of the season and chopped his points deficit nearly in half – gaining 29 points in the standings, vaulting him into third place where he now sits only 38 points out of the lead with two races remaining.

“We’ll try to keep giving ourselves a shot – that’s all I can ask for,” Daum said. “We beat everybody that we’re trying to race for in points.”

Fourteen-year-old Midget rookie Gunnar Setser, of Columbus, IN, crossed the stripe in third to collect his first career national Midget series podium. POWRi regular Karter Sarff advanced from his 14th-place starting spot to finish fourth, while Tanner Thorson Racing entrant Ace McCarthy rounded out the top five.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series meets POWRi again Friday, Oct. 13, at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City, OK, in the kickoff to the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; streaming is available on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Toyota Racing Feature (55 Laps): 1. 67-Ryan Timms[2]; 2. 7U-Zach Daum[13]; 3. 43-Gunnar Setser[3]; 4. 21K-Karter Sarff[14]; 5. 28-Ace McCarthy[12]; 6. 19A-Daison Pursley[5]; 7. 40-Chase McDermand[6]; 8. 97-Gavin Miller[15]; 9. 32-Trey Marcham[1]; 10. 71-Jade Avedisian[7]; 11. 08-Cannon McIntosh[4]; 12. 25K-Taylor Reimer[8]; 13. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[11]; 14. 97K-Cooper Williams[18]; 15. 5U-Peter Smith[22]; 16. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[17]; 17. 14-Jonathan Beason[9]; 18. 7M-Kyle Jones[19]; 19. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[16]; 20. 19K-Riley Kreisel[10]; 21. 19-Landen Adams[20]; 22. 51B-Joe B Miller[21]

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Oct. 12, 2023) – Kyle Larson made his much anticipated on-track debut behind the wheel of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet this afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, turning his first-ever laps behind the wheel of a NTT INDYCAR SERIES car as part of the Rookie Orientation Program. The mandated test marks a big preliminary milestone in Larson’s quest to complete the “Hendrick 1100” – the Team Chevy driver’s attempt to compete in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion turned in a fastest lap of 217.898 mph.  The test also marked Rick Hendrick’s on-track debut as a team owner in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, who partnered with Arrow McLaren to field the No. 17 Chevrolet INDYCAR entry. The NASCAR Hall of Famer is no stranger to success on the famed 2.5-mile oval with Hendrick Motorsports holding the title as the winningest NASCAR Cup Series organization at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 10 victories in the Brickyard 400.

Larson is looking to become just the fifth driver in history to accomplish the Memorial Day weekend “double” – a feat last accomplished by the former NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch in 2014. Other drivers that complete the elite list include John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon.  Competing in both crown jewel events is a feat only Chevrolet can complete, being the only manufacturer to compete in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. To-date, Chevrolet has earned 849 all-time victories, 33 driver’s championships and 41 manufacturer’s championships in NASCAR’s top series – all of which are series-leading records. Just one month ago, Chevrolet earned its eighth NTT INDYCAR SERIES manufacturer’s championship since returning to the series in 2012. The manufacturer has also amassed 111 all-time wins, including five Indianapolis 500 triumphs, and seven driver’s championships in the series.  Following completion of the Rookie Orientation Program, Kyle Larson (Driver of the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet), Rick Hendrick (Owner of Hendrick Motorsports), Jeff Gordon (Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports) and Tony Kanaan (Sporting Director for Arrow McLaren) were made available to the media. Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Wrapping up day two of the INDYCAR Indianapolis Motor Speedway rookie orientation program. Currently joined by two men who are no strangers to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 10-time winner as an owner, Brickyard weekend at the track, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick is here with us. And the man who has five of those 10 wins, now the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon. Rick, we’ll begin with you. It’s great that you were here to witness this firsthand, but to see Kyle out there finishing rookie orientation, what were your thoughts watching it today?RICK HENDRICK: I guess today it was kind of a dream and something we were going to do. Today, you just kind of officially pull the trigger for the rookie test.Seeing the Arrow McLaren guys working, the team, the preparation, everything has been very impressive. It’s really cool to be here. I really want to thank Roger for the name on the pylon out there. I thought that was quite an honor. I was surprised to see that. He told me today the track was mine (smiling). But anyway, no, this is like home for Jeff. This track’s got so much history. Never think we’d do this. But to be here today and watch it unfold is pretty special. THE MODERATOR: That was all RP. Pretty cool.Jeff, Kyle has been looking forward to getting in a car, really get going in this program. I’m sure you’re a little jealous looking back at your career, your feelings about the Indy 500. To see this first step, how important and successful was it?JEFF GORDON: Yeah, hard not to really get excited for this opportunity for Kyle. Somewhere deep inside wish I had gotten an opportunity. But I’m absolutely having a blast watching Kyle go through this process, seeing Rick here in Indianapolis, a part of an INDYCAR going around, being an owner and sponsor in this event. It will be his first time witnessing this event at the same time. I’m so excited to see it through that lens. As Rick mentioned, there’s been a lot of discussions, a lot of planning, and today we’re really seeing it unfold in reality. Couldn’t be more thankful of INDYCAR, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, certainly Roger. What an amazing facility this is that he has. To go out there and see what Arrow McLaren did, as well, to just get Kyle up to speed and through the test was great. On the other hand, Kyle, watching him in his craft, his element. I could tell he was a little bit nervous. My palms were sweating before he got out on track, as well. Immediately you just see it click when he made those first few laps and went into Kyle Larson mode of how do I get up to speed, go fast. He doesn’t want to just come here and compete, he wants to come here and compete competitively. THE MODERATOR: 10 for 10 on the first laps. Went right out and knocked it out. Pretty impressive. 72 total laps for Kyle today. 217.898 miles an hour his fastest. We’ll open it up for questions. Q. You guys are in the business of getting race fans goose bumps. In a lot of ways was it a goosebump for both of you when you saw the car coming down the stretch at speed for the first time today?RICK HENDRICK: Yes, it didn’t really hit me till I saw him. We had the car here when we had the unveiling. But when you hear it and see it come by and he’s in it, it was goose bumps. It was goose bumps, it was pride. Happy for him because it’s on the bucket list for him. Probably Jeff and I, too. But, no, to hear it, see it, watch the speed when it came by, that brought it all to life. JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I mean, again, for me, I come to this place, it’s just so special to be here. I go back as a kid, the first time I came here. My memories of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, my heroes, seeing my first Indy 500 live, going to the museum. It seems so surreal here we are having Kyle Larson and Rick and Hendrick Motorsports be a part of this effort. I mean, I think next May is going to be just an experience I’ll never forget. It definitely was different walking in here today. It’s one thing to be a competitor on your own, it’s another thing to be supporting an effort, a team like Arrow McLaren, just seeing how well they prepared for today, how smooth it went. Q. You guys have a NASCAR Cup Series championship to contend for this week at Las Vegas. To be able to come here on Thursday before heading to Las Vegas, how difficult is that from the goal at hand to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship and how much does it emphasize how important this program is going to be?JEFF GORDON: Getting Mr. Hendrick here, his schedule, to work around, he’s a busy guy, I think it shows how much he cares about this experience, supporting Kyle. For Kyle, that guy is off racing all the time. He’s all over the place. The team is well-prepared. He and Cliff have been prepping and planning for this weekend. They’re very well-prepared for this next round. Feel very good about this next round. The last round, that was the nerve-wracking one. We saw it all the way down to the final lap at the Roval. From our standpoint, we’re fortunate to have enough people and depth at our organization to be able to prepare for what’s ahead and really make sure that’s the priority and the focus for the company, to go win a championship this year, get through this next Playoff round and go to Phoenix, but also be up here and be able to enjoy a day like today. RICK HENDRICK: To tell you how important it is, our president of Hendrick Motorsports is standing back there, Jeff Andrews. When I asked him on the box if we’re going to win Vegas, he said, Yeah. Then Gary Davis, our COO from the automobile side here, sponsorship. This is a big deal for us and the company, everyone involved. We want to do it right. We don’t want to come up here and stub our toe. We know how hard it is. Thank goodness we are teamed with someone like Arrow McLaren, watching the professionalism out there, just the tools and techniques they use. This is very, very important to us, no different than Garage 56. When we said we were going to do it, we spent a year, whatever it took, to do it. Although we don’t have as much to do in this situation as we did in that one, but still we want to look the part, be the part, and put our best efforts into it. Q. Jeff, you were talking about having sweaty palms being nervous for Kyle. How are those feelings and nerves in your role now different from nerves or excitement that you would have had as a driver in Kyle’s shoes if you were doing something like this new?JEFF GORDON: I think some of my nervousness was in conversations with him, putting myself in the driver’s seat of what would I be going through right now when this is the very first time he’s ever been an INDYCAR, he’s going to go out there and go 220 miles per hour, only being here in a stock before that and a simulator. I think, Rick kind of alluded to this, but making sure we’re doing it right. We’re partnering with a great team to be sure this goes smooth and we’re aligned in a way that we can make it successful, as well. We know what Kyle’s capabilities are. We’ve seen him drive everything and anything, succeed at it. But this is different. We’re going to recognize that. He’s going to get a limited number of laps and experience before they’re ready to start qualifying and get him prepared to compete in this race. It’s exciting on one hand and nervousness on the other. But I’m certainly going to live vicariously through Kyle a bit, through this experience, and just see how excited he is about it. He clearly is. Q. Looking ahead to the coming months, quite a while before May, does this mark an end for a heightened focus on this, you ramp back up in the spring? Take me through if you know yet the next couple steps of this process.JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I don’t even believe we’ve gotten to the point of logistics of what’s going to happen next May, right? We’re taking it one step at a time, getting Kyle fitted in a car.We came up and visited with Arrow McLaren guys, had lunch with them, just walked around their shop, just talked about the opportunity and the ways we can support it.It’s a nice collaboration that we’re going to learn from one another from what they do in INDYCAR, what we do in NASCAR.This was certainly an important step. We mainly were praying for good weather. We got that, perfect weather, as a matter of fact. I haven’t even had a chance to download with Kyle of getting him in that car.It’s nice to see that first run, him clip off those laps, getting through phase one as quickly as he did. I think we’re on our way here to a smooth day. THE MODERATOR: Joining us this afternoon, 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, this coming May will drive the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren, Kyle Larson. To the far right, the newly named sporting director for Arrow McLaren, the 2013 winner of the Indy 500, Tony Kanaan.Kyle, a big day today. How do you sum it up? KYLE LARSON: It was fun. I guess mostly what I anticipated in a way, the speed and the grip didn’t feel thankfully scarier than what I thought it might. But just like how much the car wants to pull left, you have to fight it back to the right on the straightaways. All that was something I didn’t expect. The way the wheel was lighter, a lot lighter than the simulator, but still a little heavier than what I expected. Other than that, I thought it went really smooth. I think more of the pit road side of things is where I’ll have to work more on. Just the steering is so slow, you have to turn so far getting in and out. If you’re coming in around someone, leaving out around someone. Getting used to the steering at the slower speeds will be something to get used to. Then maximizing the apron, braking for pit road, stuff like that, is stuff I’ll have to really focus on and work on, maximizing potential. Overall it was a great day. Felt like everybody at McLaren did a really good job prepping me to make things easier to get up to speed. Thanks to everybody there. Yeah, glad to be through today and look forward to the open test in April. THE MODERATOR: Tony, you’ve been with Kyle almost every step of the way during this journey so far. How did he do?TONY KANAAN: I mean, it makes my life easier when you have a superstar, so it makes me look good. I woke up this morning, I was actually nervous. I didn’t know why. There’s no reason for me to be.Yeah, awesome day. I think the good thing is Kyle and I were teammates back in the day. We won the 24 Hours of Daytona together, so we knew each other. We fit in each other’s seat. It was seamless. I think we did what we were supposed to do today. It was a lot of information that I was trying to filter and tell people to stop talking to him about. He doesn’t have to worry about that.Yeah, come back here in April and get on. JEFF GORDON: Tony, you’re the first guy I ever met that can fit in Kyle’s seat. That’s the most impressive thing you’ve said so far (laughter). THE MODERATOR: We’ll continue with questions. Q. Kyle, you mentioned you feel like you’re working on things on pit lane. Towards the end of your last session when you stalled it, what happened there?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t think I was doing anything different leaving. I think when I hit the first gear shifting on the way by, because the pit road speed limit, pit road whatever deal, is on the back of the wheel. I think I hit that also and turned that off, so then it was doing some anti-stall things. It wouldn’t let me go. TONY KANAAN: He did not stall, by the way. KYLE LARSON: It just wouldn’t go (smiling). No, so I think those are, like, little things maybe to adjust on the wheel, as well. I’m glad that I did that today because we’ll probably move that button to the front of the wheel so I don’t make that mistake again. Yeah, I think other than that, it went smooth. Q. Especially through phase two, you went 15 for 15 on hitting the laps, five miles an hour range you were supposed to be in. Phase one was a little bit up and down. What was the difference in your comfort going through phase one through phase two?KYLE LARSON: When you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to kind of hit your target. So the slower the speed, it was just kind of hard for me to, like, figure out my timing. I would roll out on the straightaway, then I’d run wide open through one or two. I’d look at my dash. Okay, I think I’m okay for three and four, run some draw. I come off of four, I’m too fast, have to slow down a lot. Vice versa, I’m having to play catch-up on other laps, barely getting by. Once you went faster, you’re running more throttle, it’s easier to stay within that window. Q. Rick, once upon a time, a lot of Hendrick Motorsports drivers raced outside of the Cup Series. You’ve had a change of philosophy. Your thoughts behind that, how to keep somebody like Kyle sharp running extra races outside of a Cup car?RICK HENDRICK: We always did not want them in anything other than a Cup car or Xfinity car. When I first started talking to Kyle, he convinced me that it made him sharper. One of the shows I watched, they had a clip on Kyle Larson crashes. I called him. He said, You weren’t supposed to see that. No, I think it does make our guys — it helps them. William has followed in his steps, run other cars. Chase, too. Alex got hurt this year, a pretty bad example. Alex gets hurt in a car, he’s done racing those cars. Then Chase gets hurt on a snowboard. They’ve got to have a life. Jeff and I have talked about it. I think it does make him sharper to get in other things and drive ’em. I know one thing, he would be hard to handle if he wasn’t in those kind of cars. I’d have more problems with him, I think (smiling). KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I might be skiing or snowboarding more often (smiling). Q. Kyle, you mentioned in May about how much this meant to your dad. Have you talked to him last night or this morning about this test?KYLE LARSON: I mean, they were here this week. I was surprised when they weren’t sticking around for today. They had to get home to California. Yeah, I was surprised that they go to so many of my things. Knowing how big this was, I thought they would… They had to get home because their dog, my aunt was watching the dog, and she’s going to Hawaii. They had to go back to get the dog. If not for that, they would have been here. No, I’m sure I’ll get to talk to them. I don’t know if I’ll get to see them this week in Vegas. I’ll call them and talk to them on the phone. It’s going to be exciting next year when April or May comes around because it’s going to be real then, race time, getting ready for the race then. Yeah, this is such a huge race to myself and my family and so many people that I’m glad I get to do it. Q. Rick and Jeff, once y’all conduct the postmortem of this next year, next June, July, whenever it is, if everything goes well from a commercial standpoint, competition standpoint, could we see Hendrick expand their involvement in INDYCAR or even just outside of NASCAR overall?RICK HENDRICK: I’ve learned not to commit, not commit, say I’m not going to do anything. I made a statement I wouldn’t run Indy, and 30 days later I had to back it up and say I am going to do that. I think as opportunities present themselves, we kind of look at ’em, Jeff and I talk about ’em a lot, with all of our other teammates back at Motorsports. We like to race. We enjoy the IMSA racing. We enjoyed Garage 56. I wish we had more places to run that car. Our main goal is to win championships in NASCAR. But I’ve learned never say never because he’s got a lot more gas in his tank than I do in mine (smiling). But we’re always looking at options. Q. Kyle, what is the best piece of advice you’ve been given about racing in the Indy 500 and who gave you that advice?KYLE LARSON: A lot of people have said the same thing, like trusting your instinct. If something doesn’t feel right, at least during practice and testing, the couple weeks leading in, you’ve got plenty of time. If something doesn’t feel right, just pit. I think me even just feeling the car today, like, it feels so stuck, I can tell where your confidence could get too high, then you’re back into the wall the next corner. So I think if you feel something, just pit. Tony told me that. Danica was texting me last night, same thing. Kurt, Jimmie. They’ve all said the same thing. I’ve got a lot of people I can talk to. I’m sure I’m going to be able to soak in more and more information now that I got to drive the car once. Q. Jeff, you alluded at the beginning of the press conference being the kid from Indiana that grew up just outside the racetrack, dreaming of coming to this venue. Having your hands so deep in this program, talk about what it means to you personally to see this program finally hit the track now.JEFF GORDON: Yeah, I think for me, my dreams came true in the inaugural Brickyard 400, racing here in a stockcar. Of course, I wanted to race here in an INDYCAR early on, but the opportunity just was really never there. When Kyle came onboard, he made it clear that this is something he’d like to do, and he’d like to do it before he feels like he’s outside of his prime, I guess, is the best way to put it. I got excited about that. I didn’t know how Mr. Hendrick was going to feel about that. I think between Kyle, myself, just the history of this place, it eventually kind of came together. Yeah, this is definitely going to be living out a dream of mine through this experience. I’m equally excited to be a part of it in the capacity that I am, see it and hear about it through Kyle’s eyes and experience. We want to come here and make a mark. We also know this is one of the most competitive forms of motorsports and racing in the world, and it’s not going to be easy. Q. Every time NASCAR comes here, we always hear the drivers talk about the appreciation they have with this track. Now that you’ve taken that first step, do you find yourself having a new appreciation for this venue?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t really know if my views of this place have changed. I really love this facility. I think every time I come in, I realize more and more this is the most beautiful racing facility that we get the honor to go to. I think Mr. Penske has done a great job with it since he’s taken over. Yeah, I mean, obviously getting to turn laps around here in an INDYCAR, getting to, like, feel what that feels like, it makes it even more special. I’ve gotten the chance to race here on the dirt track, I ran the road course, the oval. We get to thankfully come back on the oval in the Cup car. This place is just awesome. Golf course is amazing, too. Love playing golf here. It doesn’t get much better than this place. Q. Kyle, you talk about your appreciation for this place. How special was it for you when you actually hit the track in an INDYCAR doing those laps?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, it was really cool. I don’t know. I wanted to get up to speed. I didn’t want to take too long to get up to the 205 mark. I didn’t want to get made fun of, Why did it take you so long? I did put pressure on myself to get your confidence built up here pretty quickly. Thankfully, after three or four laps, I was able to judge off the tach, we were in there. The ROP was nice because I was not ready to go flat for a while. Building up to that speed and pace and confidence was nice to do in ROP. Yeah, just going to feel what an INDYCAR feels like, be low to the ground, feel the acceleration through the gears was pretty crazy. All of that was eye-opening and an experience that I know for sure I’ll never forget. I look forward to kind of getting around cars, feeling how the dirty air affects things. Q. Jeff and Kyle, what impresses you about the ability to get in anything and go quickly? Jeff talks about Kyle Larson mode. Where does that come from and how does it develop?JEFF GORDON: I followed Kyle’s career from when he was first getting into Sprint cars. The first time you watch him behind the wheel of a race car, it’s hard not to be impressed with the talent and his abilities. I only got to race against him a couple years in the Cup Series. But having him now at Hendrick, now I see how serious he takes it. You heard here he’s a humble guy as well. Those two things, talent and confidence and humble, usually don’t come in one package. I’ve just gained a great appreciation for him. We’re certainly fortunate to have him at Hendrick as one of our drivers. Arrow McLaren and this whole team is going to feel the same way about having him in an INDYCAR. KYLE LARSON: I don’t know what Kyle Larson mode is (smiling). I feel like Kyle Larson mode is lot of overdriving and a lot of mistakes (smiling). I don’t know. I’m just fortunate I get to drive really good race cars in all forms of racing that I compete in with great crew chiefs, car owners. Rick Hendrick, his equipment is as good as it gets. Cliff Daniels, in my opinion, is the best crew chief in the Cup Series. Sprint car stuff. Paul Silva is the best team owner, greatest crew chief in sprint car racing. Dirt models I run for Kevin Rumley, top of his game, considered the best, if not the best. Yeah, I’m just very lucky that I get to be driving these cars. Obviously it takes a lot of hard work on my part, all that, to get to that point. But still, I’m very fortunate to be in the position that I am in all different types of racing. Q. Kyle, I’m going to assume that’s the fastest you’ve ever been in a race car. I just wanted to confirm that. Also, was there any difference in the sensation of speed in this car versus other cars you’ve driven?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I remember testing in Michigan maybe in an ARCA car like right after they repaved it. That was back when ARCA had the big horsepower. I think we went 220 something into turn one at Michigan. I think we were about that in INDYCAR. I would say both, because you’re running by yourself. Like, both times it didn’t feel like… 220 on paper is like crazy fast. Obviously it is. But when you’re out there by yourself, this track is so smooth, it doesn’t feel like you’re going 220, or it doesn’t feel any different than going 195 at Daytona or something. I did look at the wall one time thinking, like, man, that would really hurt if I hit it (smiling). So things are obviously happening quickly. Yeah, I think when you get around cars, you get passing… These INDYCARs make some big runs because the tow is so big. I think when people are blowing by you so fast on a straightaway or you’re doing the same with the tow that you get, I think that’s when the sensation is – Tony can probably speak on it – but I think the sensation is more when you’re around other cars. And probably too when you go into qualifying trim, that’s when it’s going to be crazy. I think going another 20 miles an hour faster… 220 to 240-plus is a big difference in sensation. I’ll get to experience that next year. TONY KANAAN: It feels fast when you see the wall coming and it’s not going to stop, so… That’s how you know how fast you’re going. It’s a unique place. It’s definitely, like Kyle said, you put 33 cars around, 20 laps to go, I think the sensation of speed and dynamic of the race changes. That’s something you will experience, as well. Q. Tony, what’s your evaluation of Kyle Larson, the INDYCAR driver? Second of all, you fit in his seat. Does that mean when it rains at lap 80, you’re the relief driver?TONY KANAAN: I don’t think Kyle Larson needs an evaluation as an INDYCAR driver. He’s a complete driver. Out of his generation, it’s the best I’ve seen. I’ve tasted a little bit what these guys do, like he does, trying different cars. I know how much I struggle, and he wins and everything. He’s just one of the best race car drivers in the world right now. I’m very fortunate to actually get the chance to work with him. If I can contribute… When we win this one, I’ll still get a ring, and I can say I have two 500s instead of one. The other question, if it rains at lap 80, Mr. Hendrick either let me drive the car or not. My helmet and suit will be in the truck (smiling). Hopefully it won’t happen and Kyle will get to enjoy the whole thing. I’ve had pretty good runs here. I love this place. Although nobody believes me, I’m good with my decision this year, so… Q. Kyle, we’ve heard so much about the development of the Gen 7 Cup car, the similarities to an INDYCAR. Did you notice any similarities?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. It’s hard to say. I mean, you’re processing a lot while you’re out there. You’re by yourself. I think there was times when I got a lot of wheel in it, and I would say yes, like the steering is quick until you get to a point, then it’s not dead, but you can keep turning and it’s not obviously as effective. That maybe in a way, I could tell some similarities. I think from talking to people, where it’s become more similar is just the aero balance shift between clean air and traffic. I think it’s obviously something I didn’t get to experience today because I was by myself. Yeah, I think as I get to being around cars, I think the difference in balance is where it’s gotten a lot closer. I think the style of our racing has trended more to them. Maybe not every weekend, but a lot of places, especially like Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, you’re saving fuel to have a shorter pit stop and kind of get track position that way, where it sound like that is what INDYCAR guys do a lot. Just the overall strategy of the race has trended more like INDYCAR. I think the cars in traffic has, as well. Q. Mr. H, we saw Will Power give you a helmet. Can you comment on that situation.RICK HENDRICK: Yeah, Will, his wife was real ill in Charlotte. She was going the wrong way. He called, and we got her moved into another hospital, had some of the doctors join in. She came out of it. I was surprised to get the helmet, but I was more than happy to help them through that difficult time. I’m glad she’s okay. But the helmet was a real surprise and a real gift. I told him I love trophies and helmets. He said, This one hasn’t won a race this year, but I did wear it in the Indy 500. I said that was good enough. That was a great gift. Q. Jeff, I think under normal circumstances when you’re helping a younger driver for a day like today, you might have something insightful to say and experience. What did you have to say to him?JEFF GORDON: I’m looking forward to downloading with him a little bit further, just about the process and what does that grip feel like the first time going into a corner, cold tires on the apron. More just race chat stuff. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable in the new role that I’m in. Being a race car driver, not being in the current cars, in the competition that they’re currently in, my input is more of what can we do to make the race team stronger and better, the communication, the people around him, the tools, just provide the resources. That’s what Rick taught me in his role as an owner. That’s what I want to be there for. I’m probably more focused right now on looking at the car, how do we position the logos and the sponsorship. We’re capturing it all to create some content. What can we do with that. When me and Kyle talk, how was your last Sprint car race, about the experience today, then we’ll do the same when we get to Las Vegas, talk about the Cup car this weekend. Q. Tony, you talked about shutting down some of the chatter around Kyle. From an INDYCAR perspective, what were they trying to feed him that maybe he’s not ready for yet?TONY KANAAN: Think about you have a wheel with 25 buttons, then you have the weight jacker, front bar, rear bar. You have telemetry you can analyze. Engineers, they’re just trying to give you all that, which it’s way too much information. I know for a fact, because the past four years, three years, since Jimmie and I got together to do what we did here in INDYCAR, I started racing other series. Every weekend I had to reset my head, different wheel, different car. Especially him, he just raced two nights ago, won the championship, then he comes here, you get the thing. It’s too much overthinking. Then why are we going to feed him all that right now, because we’re going to come back here next April. We’re not going to remember that. It’s too long. He has a championship to win. I mean, I was like, I let them talk. He went to change. Don’t worry about it, just enjoy the racetrack. I didn’t want him to miss the first moment because I think it’s extremely special. I remember my first time here. But also he was here to pass ROP. The wheel, we have six months to figure out. We’ll talk now that he physically saw it as a driver. We probably understand a lot more than the engineer giving you the data, the picture of the wheel. Go feel the buttons. Hey, do you want the pit lane speedometer back here? Now it’s not okay any more. You have to have experience. That’s why I was trying to tell them just to let him enjoy the game, now we’ll start working. Q. Kyle, did it feel natural to you out there at that speed in this car?KYLE LARSON: Yeah. I mean, it was harder to go slow, like I said earlier. It was hard to get yourself to run 205. I felt like I was happy with that because I felt like it felt fairly comfortable. Like I said, honestly for the most part it was kind of everything I expected. I watched a lot of onboard video, all of that. We got to work on my line a little bit today. Yeah, I mean, nothing jumped out like it was too much of a surprise, so I was happy about that. Q. The last time the Brickyard 400 went around the oval here was 2020. The late John Andretti used to say the comparison between the two cars almost doesn’t look like the same racetrack. Did you get that sensation?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. The stockcar stuff, the track conditions are really good obviously today, but the stockcar stuff is slow. I just remember being really tight through one. You’re off the gas a lot. Two would be tight. Three and four would have a better balance. In the INDYCAR, I think the track was really good. You have more downforce probably than what we’re going to have coming back, all of that. Obviously, way more downforce and speed than a Cup car. The balance of all four corners felt way more similar than the stockcar. So that’s nice, I guess. Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, overall width and stuff, the track didn’t feel real different. Q. Mr. H, you have every type of trophy you can get in NASCAR. Where would you put a Baby Borg?RICK HENDRICK: That would go right in the middle. That would be something pretty special. I don’t even let myself go there, think about that. First I want to make the race. Just to say you could win this race, could win it, would win it, you might be able to build off of that, just that trophy and the car, because it would be that special. I wouldn’t do that. I’m not going to build a car. JEFF GORDON: Don’t say things that you’re going to take back later (smiling). Q. Looking ahead to these next months till the open test, are there plans to do any other oval running or the on-track plan is practice in May? What will you focus on and work on before the race?KYLE LARSON: I just learned there was an open test like yesterday. I don’t know what other plans there are, at least for me in the car, before then. TONY KANAAN: We have plans. That’s all I’m going to tell you (smiling). No, we have plans. Obviously there’s a lot of things we’re going to talk about. Hopefully get him on track before that open test again. Not finalized yet, but give him as much time as he can to feel comfortable. I’m confident that we will, so… THE MODERATOR: We will leave it there. Another step towards the 108th running of the Indy 500 Presented by Gainbridge.

The Missouri native’s route has led him to a potential historic rookie season as crew chief with Giovanni Scelzi behind the wheelWICHITA, KS (October 12, 2023) – Plenty of focus has been on Giovanni Scelzi as he’s delivered one of the best rookie campaigns in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car history. But there’s been another impressive rookie season taking place within his team.Adam Clark, crew chief of Scelzi’s KCP Racing #18, is not only in his first year with the World of Outlaws, but also in his first full year as a crew chief in general.Long before he landed at his current role, Clark’s interest in the sport began like many – as a fan in the stands. He grew up in Savannah, MO, roughly an hour north of Kansas City, and joined his father on trips to tracks such as Knoxville Raceway, Eagle Raceway and I-80 Speedway.But it wasn’t until after college that he began to dabble in working on race cars. Upon paying off his tuition, Clark purchased a Micro Sprint. Balancing a full-time job with racing as a hobby, the hunger grew to make racing the focus of his life. Around that time, an ad appeared on a popular racing website from a team seeking help. Clark answered to knock down the first domino on his path to today.“It just seemed like throughout time I had more fun working on my race car than my full-time job at the time,” Clark recalled. “And there happened to be a post or something on Hoseheads, I think. Matt Wood Racing was looking for someone to come out on the road and work for them, and I decided I might as well give it a try and see if I like it. I answered him, and within a month I was in a car heading out to California to go work for him.”Oddly enough, Clark’s first race with Matt Wood’s team led to meeting Scelzi. Wood brought his fleet of Midgets to the 2014 Chili Bowl Nationals where Scelzi’s brother – Dominic – was going to be driving one and Gio came along.Clark’s career blossomed over the next handful of years as he worked for the organization through its evolution into Stenhouse Jr.-Wood Racing and Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing. Eventually, he went on to make the move to KCP Racing in 2020 to serve as a dual car chief and tire specialist. During that time frame, Clark was able to work under the wing of a variety of mechanical minds like Shane Bowers, Tyler Swank, Bernie Stuebgen, and Dylan Buswell. Then, in June of last year, Clark was on the way to Beaver Dam Raceway for the World of Outlaws race when KCP owner – Matt Barbara – called to let him know he’d be the crew chief for that weekend. He held the position through the end of 2022, and heading into 2023 that status was officially cemented as they readied to take on the World of Outlaws tour.For Clark, who didn’t grow up in a family embedded in racing, it marked a major moment in his life.“It was really rewarding just for the fact that you work your ass off on these teams,” Clark said. “You sacrifice time with your family and friends. You sacrifice a normal life, really, to work on these teams. To keep moving up like that and ultimately getting handed the reins and being able to see firsthand making changes and actually seeing what those changes do is so rewarding.”Clark’s first full season has been nothing short of success, highlighted by a win with Scelzi at Beaver Dam Raceway in June – roughly one year since he got the opportunity to fill in as crew chief. Both Clark and Scelzi agreed their strength has been built through a fair dynamic.“Everywhere that he’s (Scelzi) driven he’s kind of had to work on the car as well as part of the crew and even had to do that here when he first started,” Clark said. “So, he knows his way around the car. As far as making changes throughout the night, his butt is the one in the seat. He’s feeling what’s going on, so I obviously rely firsthand on what he’s saying and what he needs. Obviously, I don’t know everything about Sprint Car racing and the mechanical side of the thing, and he doesn’t know everything about what each thing does to the car. So, we work pretty damn good together as far as discussing, ‘OK, this is what the car’s doing. Let’s just take a swing at it and put this in and see what it does.’ And he’s got really good feedback for a young kid like himself.”“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met and someone that’s willing to be open minded and never say, ‘I know better than you.’ I appreciate that a lot, especially with it being my rookie year because we both are learning together,” Scelzi said. “I think it makes our learning curve faster. I’ve been in the dynamic where there’s a crew chief and a driver, and you both kind of don’t cross those paths. I think Adam’s done an incredible job with helping me with driving and giving the input as a crew chief as well.”Only seven races remain before the 2023 World of Outlaws campaign comes to a close. Scelzi, Clark, and the rest of the KCP crew currently sit fourth in points. If they stay there, Scelzi will match the best Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year season ever. But no matter where they finish, the year has been undeniably impressive with not only a rookie driver, but also a rookie crew chief with Clark on the wrenches.“Where I kind of thought we’d be finishing is around sixth or seventh or so,” Clark said. “To be fourth right now, I didn’t expect it. I thought if you can even get close to the top five your rookie year, you’d be doing pretty damn good. To be fourth, Gio’s first year and my first year, and to think about the teams we’re beating is pretty incredible.”Clark and the KCP team continue the year this weekend at 81 Speedway (Friday, Oct. 13) and Lakeside Speedway (Saturday, Oct. 14). For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the racing live on DIRTVision.

The Zebulon, GA driver is two wins away from becoming the fourth driver to earn 50 Series wins

SENOIA, GA– October 12, 2023 – Shane Clanton has a chance to make World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series history this weekend in Georgia.

If he can sweep the Billy Clanton Classic at Senoia Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 14, and the World of Outlaws ARP Southeast Showdown at Rome Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 15, he’ll become the fourth driver in Series history to reach 50 wins.

It’s an opportunity the Zebulon, GA driver is excited for, as he gets the chance to race close to home for the first time with the Series in 2023.

“I’m excited,” Clanton said. “Especially with one of them being my Dad’s memorial race. I’ve won it a couple of times, and hopefully, we can get back in Victory Lane at Senoia. It’s one of my favorite racetracks. It has new dirt on it. 

“I’d like to win at Rome, too. So, hopefully, with family being close and lots of family and friends being there, we can put a good show on for them.”

One of the advantages the “Georgia Bulldog” has entering the weekend is his experience at both tracks. With wins at both, the 2015 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models champion knows what to expect when his Capital Race Car hits the track and what makes it unique.

“It’s the dirt (at Senoia),” Clanton said. “Whatever mine they got it from east of Macon there, it’s like chalk. It’s very slippery when it gets dry, and it’s got all the grip you want when it gets wet. Rome, you carry a lot of speed, and you get some traction with it. Both are unique in their own aspect, but we’ve been pretty good at both of them.”

Sunday’s World of Outlaws ARP Southeast Showdown at Rome brings another unique aspect. While it’s hosted national touring Series events in the past, it’s the debut for the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models.

“I think it’s cool,” Clanton said. “They’ve had the World of Outlaws (NOS Energy Drink) Sprint Cars there but never the Late Models. It’s a changeover from Lucas Oil to the World of Outlaws. It’s a great move, and hopefully, it’ll bring a lot of fans.”

As the Series prepares for its Georgia doubleheader, Clanton and team members Wyatt Eichelberger and Darien Rucker are preparing for their shot at history in front of family and friends. The former Series champion said he knows what it’ll take to grab that 50th career World of Outlaws victory.

“I need to have consistency,” Clanton said. “Right now, we’re either hit or miss, and we’re searching like everyone else in this sport is. There’s a couple of drivers at the top of their game, and we’re trying to get there.”

The World of Outlaws kick off their Georgia weekend with a stop at Senoia Raceway for the Billy Clanton Classic on Saturday, Oct. 14. Then, they’ll head north to Rome Speedway for the World of Outlaws ARP Southeast Showdown on Sunday, Oct. 15. It all leads to the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Nov. 1-4.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.

ENNIS, Texas (October 12, 2023) – The Elite Motorsports team is ready to take to the track this weekend for the Texas NHRA FallNationals, affectionately coined the “Stampede of Speed,” at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, just outside of Dallas. Elite Motorsports operates the largest professional team in drag racing with eight powerful Pro Stock machines in its arsenal.  Elite Motorsports pilot and five-time world champion Erica Enders is currently leading the points in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs. Enders has powered to the top of the ladder in the past three consecutive events, demonstrating that consistency is key in the Countdown. Enders won the Texas NHRA FallNationals in 2022 and her team is looking for a repeat.  Aaron Stanfield made some impressive Countdown moves at the most recent event in St. Louis where he reached his first final round of the season. He is currently fifth in the championship standings. Right behind him in sixth place is Troy Coughlin Jr. Both talented Elite Motorsports drivers are working hard to improve their standings and this weekend’s event will be key to Countdown success. While 2017 Pro Stock world champion Bo Butner won in Super Stock at the Texas Motorplex in 1999, he’s looking for his first Pro Stock win at the iconic facility. With multiple wins across several NHRA drag racing categories, Butner’s experience and familiarity with the track will serve him well this weekend. The Pro Stock category is packed with heavy hitters and rookie Jerry Tucker has managed to hold his own all season long with the help of his Elite Motorsports team. Tucker is originally from Oklahoma and would love nothing more than to get his first win at a track so close to home. The Cuadra Boys are looking forward to being relatively close to home as well. The Mexico-based family team has been making more consistent passes in both Pro Stock and Top Sportsman. Patriarch Fernando Cuadra Sr. will be competing in Pro Stock alongside his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian. David Cuadra will be seeking his second national event win in Top Sportsman.  NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 13, and the final two qualifying rounds on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 15.  ***

Driver Quotes

Erica Enders“This is always a fun event, and the Texas Motorplex is basically my home track now. The Meyer family does a great job with the Stampeded of Speed. Dallas is different for so many reasons. We may not have won a race in the Countdown yet but we’ve collected a bunch of qualifying points and have made it to the semis at each event. Consistency pays off here but we are ready to kick it up a notch and let the momentum run through these last three races. After getting the points lead back, our only goal is to keep and extend it.”

Aaron Stanfield“This is one of those races that everyone wants to win. We are in the heat of the championship battle, fighting for every point we can get. I would love to win this one for everyone on the team who’s worked so hard all season. Reaching the final round in St. Louis was a big confidence boost for everyone. We are ready to get it done in Dallas!”

Troy Coughlin Jr.“The men on Team Yellow are all in and working their hearts out. It’s time to focus and execute one lap at a time.”

Bo Butner“After St. Louis, we’re really looking forward to getting to Dallas with our JHG Chevy. This is a fun race, and with the JEGS Allstars taking place this weekend, too, there will be a lot of awesome racing for the fans to watch. Randi Lyn (wife and Stock Eliminator competitor) and I both had a good race in St. Louis – we’re looking for Dallas to be great.”

Jerry Tucker“I can’t believe there are only three events left in the season! This entire experience has been incredible. I’ve learned so much and have had the honor of working with the best in the business. We want to finish this season strong and I hope to turn on a few win lights this weekend at the Stampede of Speed!”

Fernando Cuadra Sr.“Our program is getting stronger and we are learning a lot. I’m so proud of our team and my sons for all they’ve accomplished this year. We are ready to turn on some win lights this weekend!”

Fernando Cuadra Jr.“We need to make some big moves this weekend. I’m confident in what this team can do, and I need to focus on doing my job behind the wheel. If we can keep things moving in the right direction, I think it will be a turning point for our team.”

Cristian Cuadra“We are completely focused on going rounds this weekend to get back into the Top Ten. I know that we can do it as long as we remain vigilant out there. This is going to be a fun weekend full of really good competition. I’m looking forward to it!”

Photos

The Elite Motorsports team is ready to compete in Texas. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Erica Enders in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Melling Performance / SCAG Power Equipment Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Troy Coughlin Jr. behind the wheel of the JEGS.com Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Aaron Stanfield in the Janac Bros. / Melling Engine Parts / JC3 Energy Service Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Cristian Cuadra pilots the Corral Boots Mustang. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Bo Butner competes in the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Fernando Cuadra Jr. in his Corral Boots Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Jerry Tucker drives the Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer Camaro. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Fernando Cuadra Sr. pilots the Corral Boots Mustang. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

David Cuadra in his Corral Boots Top Sportsman machine. (Photo credit: Auto Imagery)

Pre-Race Notes

Elite Motorsports: Pre-race notesTexas NHRA FallNationals Stampede Of SpeedTexas MotorplexEnnis, Texas (October 12-15) The Elite Motorsports team, the largest team in professional drag racing, has expanded for 2023 and will field a total of eight entries for this weekend’s Texas NHRA FallNationals Stampede of Speed at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, just outside of Dallas. At this event, the Elite Pro Stock team will feature eight Pro Stock drivers including reigning and five-time world champion Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra Sr. and his sons, Fernando Jr. and Cristian, as well as newcomer Jerry Tucker. In the 19 Pro Stock events contested last season, Team Elite won 15 times and appeared in 26 out of 38 possible rounds. In addition to Enders’ 10 wins, Stanfield collected three victories while Coughlin earned his first two professional victories. In 2022, Enders had the most dominant season of her career with ten wins in 13 final round appearances and an astounding 55-9 record in elimination rounds. This season, Enders’ impressive roster of supporters includes Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, Melling Performance, SCAG Power Equipment, Peoplease and Gallagher Global. During her professional career, Enders has accumulated 45 wins in 76 final rounds and has a round-win record of 461-253 for a .646 win percentage. Enders also has a win in Super Gas (2004 Houston) bringing her career total to 46 national event victories. The Dallas event will mark Enders’ 350th career race in the Pro Stock category. She made her first start at the 2005 Winternationals in Pomona and qualified for her first event one race later in Phoenix. Enders recorded her first round win at the 2005 Reading event by beating Rickie Smith. Enders won her first race in Chicago in 2012, beating Greg Anderson in the final. Enders won two events this season in Bristol and Topeka. She defeated Deric Kramer in the Bristol final and topped Greg Anderson in Topeka. She currently has a 22-13 record in elimination rounds this season. At the most recent event in St. Louis, Enders qualified No. 1 and reached the semifinals to retake the championship lead. Heading into the final three events of the Countdown to the Championship, she holds a 25-point lead over Greg Anderson and is 38 points ahead of third-ranked Matt Hartford. All eight Elite drivers are eligible to win the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock title. In addition to Enders, Stanfield is in fifth place and Coughlin is sixth, while Butner is tenth. Enders has won at least one Pro Stock event at 17 different NHRA venues including the Texas Motorplex. Enders is the defending event champion, having defeated Greg Anderson in last year’s final. She also defeated Jonathan Gray to win the 2015 event. Enders currently holds both the elapsed time and speed records for the NHRA Pro Stock class with bests of 6.450-seconds and 215.55 mph. The elapsed time record was set at the 2022 Gatornationals. If Enders wins one more event this season, she will surpass three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey as the sport’s winningest professional female driver. Sampey currently has 46 wins while Enders has 45 professional wins and one sportsman win, tying her with Sampey. Following an impressive fourth-place finish in 2022, Troy Coughlin Jr. is enjoying similar success in his fourth full season behind the wheel of the familiar yellow and black JEGS.com Camaro. Coughlin enjoyed a breakout season last year with back-to-back victories in Seattle and Topeka. He also went to final rounds in Phoenix, Reading and Las Vegas. Coughlin heads to Dallas as the No. 6 ranked driver in the championship points standings after posting wins at the season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals and the Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals in Denver to go with a runner-up at the Four-Wide event in Las Vegas. Coughlin, a semifinalist in Reading, has an 18-13 record in elimination rounds this season. He is just 107 points out of first place. Earlier this season at the NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix, Coughlin became the first winner of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge. He defeated Greg Anderson in the final with an elapsed time of 6.57, compared to Anderson’s 6.60, to capture the inaugural event victory. In addition to his four career Pro Stock victories, the multi-faceted Coughlin has additional wins in Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp and Super Gas. Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., is a 15-time national event winner in Pro Stock, Pro Mod and Super Gas. Including his uncles, John, Mike, and Jeg Jr., the Coughlin family has combined to win 133 national event titles. Coughlin’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.515-seconds and 212.29 mph, set earlier this year at the season opener in Gainesville. Aaron Stanfield has also returned to the Elite team for another season behind the wheel of the Janac Bros / Melling Engine Parts / JC3 Energy Service Camaro. Stanfield, the son of five-time Super Stock world champ Greg Stanfield, is coming off a season where he was the third-ranked driver in Pro Stock. Last season, Stanfield collected victories in Phoenix, Bristol, and this fall event in Charlotte to go with four runner-up finishes in Pomona, Epping, Norwalk and Denver. Stanfield finished the season with a 38-16 record in elimination rounds. Stanfield went to the final round at the most recent race in St. Louis and he has four semifinal and seven quarterfinal finishes to his credit this year. He’s currently the No. 5 ranked driver in the class, 73 points out of the lead. Stanfield has also qualified a season-best of No. 2 at the race in Bristol. Stanfield was recently named the overall season Pro Stock winner of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge, a specialty event that featured a rematch between the semifinalists from the previous event. Stanfield won back-to-back titles in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown class in 2020 and 2021, and he is the current championship leader in that class, following his most recent win at Maple Grove Raceway. The Texas FallNationals will be the penultimate race for Factory Stock and it’s possible that Stanfield may clinch his third title this weekend. All told Stanfield has 23 career wins in Pro Stock, Factory Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster. Stanfield’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.457-seconds and 213.47 mph, both set in Gainesville 2022. Bo Butner is a two-time NHRA world champion in Pro Stock (2017) and Comp Eliminator (2006). He joined the Elite team last season as the driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage / Jim Butner Auto Group / Summit Racing Equipment Camaro. Last season, Butner drove to a ninth-place finish in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series standings. Earlier this season in Phoenix, Butner drove to a runner-up finish in Pro Stock, reaching the final for the first time since the 2019 Richmond event. Butner defeated Erica Enders, Fernando Cuadra Jr. and Kyle Koretsky to reach his 26th career Pro Stock final. Following a semifinal finish in St. Louis, Butner moved into the Top Ten in Pro Stock, just two points behind Camrie Caruso in ninth place. Butner recently won his 30th national event title when he claimed the Super Gas victory at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals. Butner also won the Super Gas title at Indy in 2022. Butner has 30 career national event victories including 11 in Pro Stock. He also has wins in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas, and Super Street. Additionally, Butner has enjoyed success as a big-money bracket racer with a victory at the K&N Spring Fling Million in Las Vegas in 2021. Butner has won at least one national event title at 14 different venues including the Texas Motorplex. He won the 1999 Super Stock title by beating five-time world champ Jimmy DeFrank in the final. Butner’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.475-seconds and 214.28 mph, set in Dallas (2015) and Gainesville (2017), respectively. The Cuadra family includes Fernando Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian. The Cuadra family is backed by Corral Handcrafted Boots. Fernando Sr. and Cristian will continue to race Ford Mustangs under the Elite banner while Fernando Jr. recently made the switch to a Chevy Camaro. Fernando Jr. is driving an Elite entry previously raced by five-time world champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. Fernando Sr. is a two-time national event runner-up with final-round appearances at the 2019 races in Reading and Pomona. Fernando Jr. raced to the final round of the prestigious U.S. Nationals last month. Cuadra Jr. is the sport’s No. 12 ranked Pro Stock driver. Cristian Cuadra was also the runner-up to Enders at the 2022 four-wide event in Las Vegas and he was a semifinalist earlier this year at the Bristol race. He comes into this weekend as the No. 11 ranked driver in Pro Stock. Earlier this season in Phoenix, Cristian Cuadra became the first Mexican-born NHRA racer to qualify No. 1 in a pro category when he drove his Elite-powered Corral Handcrafted Boots Mustang to a 6.552 pass. C. Cuadra is one of just 11 non-U.S.-born drivers to qualify No. 1 in a professional NHRA class and the only one to accomplish the feat in Pro Stock. The third Cuadra brother, David, recently claimed the first win for the family when he won the Right Trailers Top Sportsman title at the betway NHRA Carolina Nationals in Charlotte. He will once again be competing in the Top Sportsman class this weekend. The Cuadra family has career-best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.), 6.527 (Cristian) and 6.578 (David). Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), 210.73 (Fernando Jr.) and 209.39 (David). New to the Elite Pro Stock team this year is Jerry Tucker, who enjoyed a memorable debut in Gainesville. Tucker qualified his Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer / Elite Motorsports Camaro in the No. 15 spot with a 6.573 and won the first round after teammate Enders encountered a mechanical issue. Tucker has a semifinal finish from Chicago and is No. 13 in the standings. Recently, at the event in Reading, Tucker made the quickest pass of his career when he went 6.535 at 210.14. Tucker, of Lindsay, Okla., has spent the last 30 years racing everything from Sprint cars to Midgets and has also enjoyed success in drag racing. Tucker previously raced in the Top Sportsman class. Tucker is one of the leading contenders for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award. Collectively, the nine current team Elite drivers have combined to win 111 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 67 in the Pro Stock class.

TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCELas Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas, NevadaOctober 14-15, 2023

AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT..Coming off yet another weekend sweep by the Bowtie brand, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will make the trek out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first race of the Round of Eight. A win by a Team Chevy playoff driver at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval would guarantee his spot in the Championship Four and the opportunity to compete for the coveted title in their respective series.  The checkered flag at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course last weekend determined the eight drivers in each series that remain in title contention. In NASCAR’s premier series, Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson will represent Chevrolet in the Round of Eight as the pair inches closer to competing for the manufacturer’s 34th NCS driver’s championship title. In the NXS, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer turned a must-win situation into a ticket into the next round with his third win of the season. Five drivers from three Chevrolet teams have advanced into the Round of Eight with Mayer joined by his JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier; the pair of Richard Childress teammates Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed; and Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith.

DEFENDING IN THE DESERTNASCAR’s most recent visit to Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March saw a Chevrolet-powered machine in victory lane across all three national series.

In the NASCAR Cup Series, William Byron picked up his first of a now series-leading six wins on the season at the Nevada oval – delivering Hendrick Motorsports its third consecutive triumph in the series’ spring appearance at the track. The 25-year-old North Carolina native led the Chevrolet organization to a podium sweep with Byron leading playoff contender Kyle Larson in second and Alex Bowman in third. The win marked Chevrolet’s 11th victory in the series’ 31 race history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Austin Hill made a late-race charge in his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS – ultimately taking the lead as the field approached the white flag to claim his second triumph of the season. The victory marked Chevrolet’s series-leading 16th NXS victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – four of which have come in the series’ past five appearances at the track. All five Team Chevy NXS playoff contenders are returning to the track with the momentum from top-10 finishes in the March event.

In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS), Kyle Busch put Chevrolet back in victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first time since 2015 – driving his No. 51 Silverado RST to a nearly five second lead en route to the Bowtie brand’s 10th all-time NCTS win at the track. The dominating performance led to a monumental victory for Kyle Busch Motorsports – marking the organization’s first victory since it began competing under the Chevrolet banner at the beginning of the season.

BYRON, LARSON SET FOR STRONG TRIO OF TRACKSWith the playoff standings reset, William Byron maintained the top position after a nearly perfect showing in the Round of 12. In arguably the most diverse and unpredictable round of the postseason, Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team posted a series-best average finish of 1.67 after their series-leading sixth victory of the season at Texas Motor Speedway and a pair of runner-up finishes at Talladega Superspeedway and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The 25-year-old North Carolina native enters the penultimate playoff round with an extra boost with the Team Chevy driver returning to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the series’ most recent winner. In addition, with back-to-back intermediate ovals, Byron has already proven to be an early favorite with an average finish of 4.40 on 1.50-mile tracks this season with results that include two wins and four top-five finishes. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson also finds himself reseeded in the top-four of the points standings. Larson is one of only two former series champions that remain in title contention, and despite an up-and-down second round, the 31-year-old California native has demonstrated that he’s more than capable of becoming a repeat champion in NASCAR’s top series. Larson opened up the postseason with a win at Darlington Raceway, going on to post an average finish of 2.33 in the opening round.  During his tenure at Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has one win and three top-two finishes in five starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team are also the series’ most recent winners at two of the three tracks in this round with a win at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October 2022 and a win at Martinsville Speedway in April 2023.   A look at Team Chevy’s playoff contenders heading into race one of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 1st in Playoff Standings; 20 points above the cutlineVictories: 6 (series-leading)Poles: 3Top-Fives: 13Top-10s: 18Laps Led: 895 Average Finish: 11.5Stage Wins: 8 (series-leading) At Las Vegas Motor Speedway: Wins: 1Top-Fives: 2Top-10s: 4Average Finish: 16.273Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 4th in Playoff Standings; three points above the cutlineVictories: 3Poles: 2Top-Fives: 13 (series-leading)Top-10s: 15Laps Led: 898 (series-leading)Average Finish: 15.1Stage Wins: 5 At Las Vegas Motor Speedway:     Wins: 1 Top-Fives: 6 Top-10s: 10Average Finish: 10.5

TALLYING PODIUM SWEEPSThe Team Chevy one-two-three finish courtesy of AJ Allmendinger, William Byron and Kyle Busch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course marked the manufacturer’s sixth podium sweep of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. Chevrolet was first able to accomplish the feat in only the second points-paying race of the season at Auto Club Speedway, going on to reciprocate the podium sweep the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The manufacturer hit a season-high finish in the series’ debut on the Chicago Street Course with drivers from four different Chevrolet teams taking the Camaro ZL1 to a sweep of the top-five.

KAULIG RACING MAKES FIVE TRIUMPHANT CHEVROLET TEAMS AJ Allmendinger became the first driver to score a playoff upset this season – claiming his third career NASCAR Cup Series win at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. The 41-year-old California native became the seventh different Chevrolet driver to reach victory lane in NASCAR’s top series this season. In only the organization’s second season in the series, Kaulig Racing is the fifth different Chevrolet organization to contribute to the manufacturer’s series-leading 16 NCS wins this season, continuing to prove the strength across the Bowtie brigade.

MAYER CAPITALIZES ON MUST-WINEntering the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course below the playoff cutline, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer was faced with a must-win situation in order to keep his title hopes alive. Unphased by the pressure-packed weekend, the 20-year-old put his No. 1 Camaro SS on the pole – going on to lead 50 of the 67 laps completed to earn the victory and the final position in the Round of Eight. The walk-off win marked Mayer’s third career NXS victory – each recorded on a different road course this season. With 29 NXS races complete, Chevrolet now sits at 15 victories – more than its two OEM competitors combined.

LOOKING BACK ONE YEAR AGOOne year ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports’ Josh Berry drove Chevrolet to a memorable trip to victory lane. The win marked Chevrolet’s 500th all-time NASCAR Xfinity Series win, with the milestone victory also clinching the manufacturer’s sixth consecutive – and 24th all-time – NXS manufacturer’s championship. Returning to the Nevada oval one year later, Chevrolet is trending towards keeping its title streak alive with the manufacturer heading into the weekend with an 81-point lead in the series’ manufacturer points standings.

BOWTIE BULLETS: ·       Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: William Byron – 1 (March 2023) Alex Bowman – 1 (March 2022)Kyle Larson – 1 (March 2021)Kyle Busch – 1 (March 2009) ·       Chevrolet’s two NASCAR Cup Series playoff contenders are the series’ most recent winners at each of the four tracks remaining on the postseason schedule: William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 2023)Phoenix Raceway (March 2023) Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Homestead-Miami Speedway (October 2022)Martinsville Speedway (April 2023) ·       In 31 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 11 victories. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with eight, recorded among five drivers: Jeff Gordon (2001), Jimmie Johnson (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010), Kyle Larson (2021), Alex Bowman (2022), William Byron (2023).  ·       In 32 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (16), top-fives (69), top-10s (136), stage wins (22) and laps led (3,038). ·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 16 victories in 32 NASCAR Cup Series races, 15 victories in 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 12 wins in 21 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a winning percentage of at least 50 percent.   ·       Chevrolet’s series-leading 16 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by seven drivers from five different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports), Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) and AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing).  ·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 22 of the 64 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (eight; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (five), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (two). ·       Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 76 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 81 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 60 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.  ·       Chevrolet has swept the Manufacturer Championships across all three NASCAR national series in a single season four different times (2012, 2005, 1998, 1996). ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 849 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: South Point 400  Sunday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET(NBC, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 302Saturday, October 14, at 3:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1Now that you’re not in the playoffs, how do you approach the remaining races?“The prep is the same every week whether or not we are in the playoffs. Everyone works hard every week to put the best prepared car out there, the engineers and Phil (Surgen) work hard on the setup and I continue the work with all of the different things I do. So even though we aren’t in the playoffs, we’re all still working very hard to finish out the season strong and go for wins.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Larson on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:“I’m looking forward to the next Round (of 8). It has some good tracks (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway) for us. We really hope to have a solid next few races that can advance us into the Championship 4 and then I feel like we could have a really good shot at Phoenix (Raceway). Thank you to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. It’s the best organization in NASCAR and I’m very grateful to be at such a great place.” Cliff Daniels, Crew Chief, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Daniels on racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:“The No. 5 HendrickCars.com team is headed to (Las) Vegas (Motor Speedway) looking for a really solid weekend. Our intermediate package has been close lately and the Hendrick Motorsports cars have had speed. Our team has been doing a really good job on pit road and a lot of things have been coming together. Our focus is making sure that we put the good things that we have together to execute a good race. You’re never out of it as long as you are able to execute and put the right things in the right place at the right time.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Nutrien Ag Solutions Camaro ZL1“Las Vegas is your traditional mile and a half racetrack. Both ends are a little bit different, it’s a very smooth racetrack through (turns) three and four, a little bit of bumps through (turns) one and two. We’ve had good speed there and ran near the front, earning a top-10 finish in the fall race last year. I think we can go there, be competitive and keep building on the speed that we’ve had in our cars. We have the potential to have a strong finish to the year and Vegas is one of those races I have circled as an opportunity to run upfront and put ourselves in position to have a solid run.” Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1“I like running at Las Vegas. We’ve been quick there and have had some speed in the truck. With that race being at the start of the year for us in the Truck Series, it’s been a tougher race balance wise to try and win the race or go for stage points. It’s always a fun track, one that you can move around a little bit. The Cup cars look like they can be a lot of fun there. Luke (Lambert) and this No. 42 group feel pretty confident about going back to Vegas after their spring outing, the post-work they’ve done, and everything that the team has put together on their mile-and-a-half package. We’re all excited to go there and excited to get to work.” Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1“I am really looking forward to Vegas. Our mile-and-a-half stuff has been really good most of the year, but especially in the last half of the season. Texas was a good day for us with a lot of speed, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out for us in the end. I think our Vegas car has been given a lot of extra effort and preparation to make sure that we are bringing a really good piece. So, I am excited to get out there and see it play out. I like the track a lot as well, so I am really looking forward to Vegas.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Tootsies Orchid Lounge Camaro ZL1“We certainly deserved a top-10 and maybe a top-five at Charlotte. But you forget about last week and focus on this week. We have four races remaining in the season and we want to win as badly now as we did when the season started in Daytona. We have run better the last three races and I expect that to continue Sunday. There is a lot of racing left in 2023.”

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: 16Poles: 8Laps Led: 3,038Top-five finishes: 69Top-10 finishes: 138Stage wins: 22·       Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)·       William Byron – 8 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte), (Watkins Glen)·       Kyle Larson – 5 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono), (Kansas), (Texas)·       Chase Elliott – 2 (Talladega), (Charlotte RC)·       Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 849 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 742Laps led to date: 248,582Top-five finishes to date: 4,290Top-10 finishes to date: 8,850                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,183           Chevrolet: 849           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 827                                                                      Ford: 727           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 179