CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: WIN NO. 9… AT LONG LAST

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

Stunning comeback story for No. 33 Corvette C8.R at Le Mans

• Keating, Catsburg, Varrone capture GTE Am class victory• First win in the final Le Mans appearance for Corvette C8.R• Crew, engineers, drivers come back from early two-lap deficit LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – Corvette Racing has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans… again!
Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone drove the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to the program’s ninth class victory at Le Mans and first for the mid-engine Corvette sports car.
The victorious trio won for the third time in the FIA World Endurance Championship this season and increased its points lead to sxx with three events and 91 remaining in the season.

“Corvette Racing has won Le Mans in class for the ninth time, and it is even more special during the centenary celebration of this race,” said Mark Stielow, Chevrolet Director, Motorsports Competition Engineering. “The skill by the drivers, the strategic decisions by the engineers and the execution of the Corvette Racing pit crew all came together for this GTE Am victory in the final race at Le Mans for the Corvette C8.R. Congratulations to everyone at Corvette Racing!”
This weekend’s Le Mans marked the 23rd start of Corvette Racing’s successful run at Le Mans. Its last victory came in 2015 with the seventh-generation Corvette, although the mid-engine C8.R led each of the last two years. The 2022 race was particularly cruel as the No. 64 Corvette was knocked out of the race with six hours to go.
Keating captured pole position Thursday, the second time this year the Corvette started a WEC race out front. Disaster struck not long after as the Corvette crew had to replace the right-front damper after Catsburg, who started the race, radioed in that something didn’t feel right.
The service in the garage was a quick change but it still put the C8.R down two laps. Class pole-winner Keating – who got in the Corvette while the damper was still being fixed – began to claw back time before heavy rain pelted parts of the circuit.
Keating survived the deluge, and Corvette race engineers called him to the pitlane for wet tires. The race’s second safety car period came out moments later, giving the team hope of gaining a lap back because the C8.R would be ahead of the class leader in a train behind one of the three safety cars. For reasons unknown to the team, a group of cars – including the GTE Am leader – were allowed to exit pit lane before the next of the three safety cars came around. The mistake meant that the Corvette was trapped behind the class leader and couldn’t advance around the track to catch back up after all the safety car queues moved.
Undeterred, Varrone drove a speedy triple stint that saw him make up more than a half-lap on the field with times between four and seven seconds quicker than the rest of GTE Am.
The heroics continued into the overnight session as Keating drove a triple-stint in the middle of darkness and kept hope going for a miraculous turnaround. It eventually came – albeit gradually – through fast laps by all three drivers, quick decisions by the engineering team and fast pit stops by the Corvette Racing crew, which never had to bring the C8.R back in the garage, change brakes or do anything much beyond adding fuel and tires.
Daybreak saw the Corvette come alive as the gap came down to one lap, then two minutes, then less than 60 seconds as the drivers, crew and engineers worked their magic. Critically, the No. 33 C8.R gained a full pit-stop advantage over the other GTE Am contenders inside the final hours to give Corvette Racing a lead they didn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
Corvette Racing’s next event in the FIA WEC is the Six Hours of Monza – where it won a year ago in GTE Pro – on Sunday, July 9.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION
Corvette Racing media information in both English and French is updated and available ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Materials include, Le Mans race advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts and driver biographies

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE AM WINNER: “This is the one race that I wanted. Now I have all the big ones, so this is super awesome. Even yesterday afternoon, I didn’t think this was possible. But somehow we made it back to the front. These two guys drove unbelievably fast and all of a sudden we were back in contention and won with a massive lead. It’s an unbelievable feeling.“I could see we were very fast. The only really worry was that I didn’t use our Bronze yet. But whenever we put him in the car, he’s just as fast as anyone else. All of a sudden, there was no deficit anymore.”(Taking the finish at Le Mans): “This was awesome. I’ve never taken the finish here. I didn’t know it was so super-crazy on the in-lap, so that was nice. That it’s the 100th anniversary makes it special. That it’s the last year of GTE makes it extra special. That it’s the last year of the C8.R makes it extra special. I’m so happy for the whole team because I feel like we should have already won it in the years before. So it’s sweet for this to happen this year.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE AM WINNER: “You can look at all the stats about it being the last year of GTE, the Centenary of Le Mans, the 25tth season of Corvette Racing, an American driver racing an American car with an American team… that even doesn’t do this justice. After the first hour when we had to replace the right-front damper, I thought there was no chance. Even when I went to sleep at midnight angry because we didn’t get our lap back because race control messed up, I thought it was over and I was so mad. To wake up and I think we were running in P4 a few hours later, I was baffled. I didn’t understand how in the world we were there. All of our strategy completely went out the window. We had everything lined up and planned exactly how we were going to do it. Nico got sick and I didn’t plan on doing any driving, and I ended up driving from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. I didn’t plan on doing any driving in the rain, and I ended up having a stint in the rain. Everything got turned on its head. It turned out that it was exactly what we needed to get our laps back. The way we won it is special. To feel like it was out of reach and then watch this team claw back and get victory out defeat’s grasp was really special. It was really nice to feel like I was a part of that. It’s one of those deals where you can look at every member of the team on this win, and you know everyone contributed. That makes it special.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTE AM WINNER: “I have no words even though it’s only just been an hour from the end. It’s just been incredible. Our race basically started two laps down early, but the team was so fast in managing to repair it. We went back out and had great pace and a great car. The Corvette Racing team, the engineers and strategy, my teammates Nicky – he’s a legend and did a lot of stints and was really quick – Ben – even though he’s a Bronze, he was flying – all of GM and Chevrolet, my family and everyone… there are a lot of people involved in this. It’s a dream come true.”(On garage reception from the crew) “They are amazing. The support I get from them is great. It’s like a family here. Every time I jump in the car or when I get out, they’re always there hugging me. Even on the pit stop, they are telling me that I’m doing great. This is really good for a racing driver and for your feelings. It’s great.”(Did you think you’d be in this position after your first stint?) “I thought it was OK and it’s a long race and we would maybe have a chance. But it was really optimistic to think it would be like this. We are in this position and have to try to manage it and get to the end

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Cadillac at Le Mans: Podium finish in return

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R shows strong pace to place third; No. 3 Cadillac is fourth

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – In a season of firsts, Cadillac scored its first podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday.
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook, boosted by reliability, the ability to run a relatively clean race and consistent pit stops earned third place in the iconic endurance race.
Briggs Cunningham and S.H. Allard would be among the legions proud of the accomplishment. As a privateer, Cunningham entered two Cadillac 61 Coupes in the 1950 race with much fanfare but not sought-after results. Allard, who owned a low-volume car manufacturing business, finished third in the race with a Cadillac 5.4-liter V8 engine in his Allard J2.

——-C’était un plaisir. Les conditions étaient exigeantes, la course difficile et la compétition féroce. Je suis un peu déçu pour la voiture n°3. Nous avons eu deux incidents où nous avons été touchés, sans que ce soit notre faute, et ensuite nous avons eu une pénalité. Sans cela, je pense que nous aurions pu nous battre pour une place sur le podium. C’était génial de voir la voiture n°2 finir sur le podium. Je sais à quel point tout le monde chez Cadillac, GM et Chip Ganassi Racing a travaillé dur. C’est vraiment spécial pour eux de revenir et de réaliser ce qu’ils ont fait après avoir été absents et avoir affronté les meilleurs constructeurs du monde jamais vraiment à quoi nous attendre. C’est une étape importante pour l’ensemble du projet et pour Cadillac Racing de faire quelques tours en tête au Mans. C’est une bonne chose à faire. Ensuite, nous nous sommes retrouvés dans une sorte de troisième position solide. Nous avons tous beaucoup appris en tant que groupe et la voiture est très fiable. Je pense que nous pouvons en tirer quelques bonnes leçons pour l’améliorer et revenir pour atteindre notre objectif final.”
Alex Lynn: « Nous savions en arrivant que nous devions faire notre course. Nous devions rouler proprement parce que nous savions que Ferrari et Toyota seraient super rapides et que nous devions être la voiture qui ne commet pas d’erreur et qui est toujours là. C’est le thème de notre saison. Nous nous efforçons toujours d’obtenir un résultat. C’est pourquoi je suis si fier de cette équipe et de cette voiture de course Cadillac. Elle ne rate jamais un battement, et maintenant nous pouvons dire sur la plus grande scène qu’elle ne l’a jamais fait au cours de la première année du programme. Elle ne peut que s’améliorer. »
Richard Westbrook: « Cela fait cinq fois que je termine troisième. Ce n’est pas un record dont je suis fier. Mais cette fois-ci, honnêtement, je suis fier. Nous avons été les meilleurs parmi les autres. Dans ces conditions où il faisait si mauvais à certains moments de la nuit, et où nous avons vu tant de voitures sortir. Au mérite, je pense que nous méritions la troisième place. Nous avons été rapides dans certaines conditions, mais il nous a manqué un petit quelque chose. Néanmoins, l’écart avec le leader n’était pas énorme. Cela nous donne beaucoup de travail pour revenir l’année prochaine encore plus forts. »
No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.RRenger van der Zande: « Nous avons parcouru un long chemin dans le développement de cette voiture avec toutes les personnes impliquées. Je suis fier de mes troisième et quatrième places, qui témoignent de la fiabilité de la voiture. J’ai fait mes derniers tours et j’ai suivi Richard (Westbrook) pendant un long moment, c’était génial. Je suis heureux de l’effort fourni par tout le monde. »
Scott Dixon: « C’était un plaisir. Les conditions étaient exigeantes, la course difficile et la compétition féroce. Je suis un peu déçu pour la voiture n°3. Nous avons eu deux incidents où nous avons été touchés, sans que ce soit notre faute, et ensuite nous avons eu une pénalité. Sans cela, je pense que nous aurions pu nous battre pour une place sur le podium. C’était génial de voir la voiture n°2 finir sur le podium. Je sais à quel point tout le monde chez Cadillac, GM et Chip Ganassi Racing a travaillé dur. C’est vraiment spécial pour eux de revenir et de réaliser ce qu’ils ont fait après avoir été absents et avoir affronté les meilleurs constructeurs du monde. »
No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RAlexander Sims: « Cela a été une expérience énorme pour toute l’équipe Whelen Engineering Cadillac. C’est la première fois qu’ils viennent au Mans et c’est une courbe d’apprentissage énorme pour nous tous. C’est dommage que les choses se soient passées ainsi. Cela aurait été cool de rester dans la bagarre et de voir ce que nous pouvions faire. Très vite, notre attention se porte à nouveau sur le championnat IMSA, où nous nous retrouverons tous à Watkins Glen dans peu de temps. Nous sommes en plein dans le championnat IMSA, nous prenons le temps de piste que nous avons eu ici, nous en tirons les leçons et nous retournons directement dans l’IMSA. »
Pipo Derani: « C’est une expérience formidable. En étant ici avec l’équipe pour la première fois, nous avons accompli tant de choses ensemble. Nous savions qu’en arrivant à cette course, nous allions devoir apprendre énormément de choses pour la première fois. Le Mans n’est pas une tâche facile. Il y a tellement de choses à apprendre, et je pense que nous avons beaucoup appris. Malheureusement, il y a eu un incident au début de la course. Mais nous avons quand même mis à profit les 23 heures de course pour apprendre des choses qui nous seront peut-être utiles, que ce soit en IMSA à Watkins Glen dans deux semaines ou si nous revenons ici l’année prochaine. Je suis fier de l’équipe, fier d’avoir franchi la ligne d’arrivée après une course aussi difficile. Personne n’a abandonné et je suis fier de la Cadillac 311 Whelen Engineering”.”S

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Davenport Fends Off Madden for $129,000 Dream Payday at Eldora

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

DIRTcar’s richest 2023 event kicks off huge summer racing season on DIRTVision

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 10, 2023) — Nobody knows his way around Eldora Speedway better Jonathan Davenport, and he proved it again Saturday night by holding off Chris Madden and Bobby Pierce to bank $129,000 and his second Dirt Late Model Dream victory to go with his five World 100 wins.

But to be the first to the checkered flag in DIRTcar Racing’s summer kickoff, Davenport needed the pieces to fall his way. From Brian Shirley’s tire going down while leading their heat race earlier in the night to Eldora’s half-mile taking rubber in the low groove as he moved to the point, everything was going Davenport’s way.

After sweeping past Pierce to lead Lap 30, sixth-starting Davenport had to survive only a Lap 62 restart that helped World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series points leader Madden move past Pierce into second and a chance to put an end to his series of frustrating Eldora finishes.

Madden could close to Davenport’s tail, but if he got even a little out of line seeking a path to the lead his car would push up the track. He could do nothing but keep the pressure on to the checkered flag as Davenport was faced with trying to figure out how he was going to navigate through the tail of the field in the closing laps.

“It was definitely hectic where I was,” said Davenport, of Blairsville, GA. “I couldn’t go full speed because I couldn’t get caught up behind those lapped cars, it was rubbered just enough. I held my breath for the last two laps.

“We sure had a lot of luck this whole weekend from Shirley blowing a tire to getting the right lane on the restart, getting to draw the number three pill [for the heat race inversion], the racetrack slowed down, getting in the right heat … just so many different things.

“We hadn’t been on these tires all weekend so I thought it would take a little longer to get there. I was patient at first and just tried not to burn the edges off and tried to take advantage of other people’s mistakes and when somebody would slip, I’d try to go ahead and go. I guess I got to the lead at the right point, but Madden followed us up through there. I just bided my time.”

It was Madden’s third runner-up finish and his sixth top-five overall in the Dirt Late Model Dream. Tremendous results no doubt in an event that routinely draws nearly 100 cars, but it was little consolation as he was chasing down Davenport and hoping the Eldora master would make an unlikely mistake.

“I just sit there and say, second again … I tried,” said Madden, of Gray Court, SC. “I stepped out down there a few times to see if I could find anything and there wasn’t anything to get it done. All you can do is get back in line and try to stay right on his bumper and pressure him a little bit. I didn’t know how tire wear was going to be so you can’t be too stupid and wear your stuff out. I was just hoping he was going to push out of the rubber and I was going to be right there to get beside him and take the spot. … I was able to run on his bumper so I had a really good racecar. A lot of times it’s hard to do that in that condition. There’s just nothing you can do, absolutely nothing. … It takes a lot of luck here. You can try your best, but sometimes your best isn’t good enough.”

Davenport knew if he simply hit his marks, there would be little his rival could do, but at the same time understood Madden wouldn’t let up.

“He’s been so good here, so close so many times,” Davenport said. “I can remember one of the first times I came here to race and he ran over a header or a muffler coming off of Turn 4, I just remember that and that was before I could even make the race here. So I know he’s had a lot of frustration, and the way the racetrack was once he got to second it was kind of locked down. Unless I made a big mistake he wasn’t going to pass me. I’m sure he’s like, ‘Dammit, I probably had a better car and if it stayed slick we could have raced all over it.’ Just one more that got by him. Hell, Dale Earnhardt never won the 500 for however many tries at Daytona. He’s going to get one, he’s way too good here not to win.”

While Pierce has a World 100 victory at Eldora, this is only his second top-five finish in the Dream. He led laps 26 through 29 and ran second to Davenport until the Lap 62 restart when Madden slipped past him.

“By far my best finish in the Dream,” said Pierce, a five-time DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion who is tied for second in the World of Outlaws CASE Late Model championship behind Madden. “I was right there with JD for a little then he pulled away from me. I was making the top work until the bottom rubbered, but we’ll take it.”

The Dirt Late Model Dream kicks off the busy summer season, with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals beginning on Wednesday at Peoria Speedway and the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models racing seven times in nine nights during the Heartland Speedweek beginning June 23 at 81 Speedway. Madden owns a 40-point advantage over Pierce, Kyle Bronson, and Nick Hoffman, who was the Dream’s hard charger after racing from 22nd to 13th.

“It’s early and we’re leading the points and got a little bit of a lead, but we have been terrible so when we do get our program running, we’ll be all right,” Madden said.

After winning the past two DIRTcar Summer Nationals titles, Pierce is focused on battling Madden for the World of Outlaws CASE Late Model title this season.

“I think it made a pretty good statement for us to finish on the podium at one of the biggest races this year,” said Pierce, of Oakwood, IL. “We know that we’re good, we know we have a good team and we’re capable of winning this race, we were right there. It boosts our confidence a little bit knowing we could be up there. Hopefully it intimidates some others. Madden was good, he went out there and tracked JD down, he tracked down the best driver there is on this stuff. That goes to show if we can hang in there and keep chugging along, maybe we can catch him in points and beat him.”

One driver leaving the Dream weekend and heading to Peoria on Wednesday with positive momentum is Ashton Winger, who was runner-up to Pierce in the 2021 DIRTcar Summer Nationals championship. Winger was one of the most consistent drivers across all three nights of the Dream, finishing the main event in 15th.

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals begins Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, Thursday at Kankakee County Speedway, Friday at Tri-City Speedway, Saturday at Fairbury Speedway, and Sunday at Sycamore Speedway. Follow all 28 races over the five-week tour by watching the action on DIRTVision. For more info, visit DIRTcarSummerNationals.com.

RESULTS

29th Annual Dream Feature (100 Laps): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[6] [$129,000]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[9]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[10]; 5. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[1]; 6. 1T-Tyler Erb[12]; 7. 1-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 8. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 9. 25-Shane Clanton[11]; 10. 2S-Stormy Scott[14]; 11. 157-Mike Marlar[18]; 12. 93-Carson Ferguson[13]; 13. 9-Nick Hoffman[22]; 14. 17M-Dale McDowell[23]; 15. 12-Ashton Winger[8]; 16. B5-Brandon Sheppard[21]; 17. 18D-Daulton Wilson[7]; 18. 96V-Tanner English[24]; 19. 11R-Josh Rice[4]; 20. 19R-Ryan Gustin[16]; 21. 39-Tim McCreadie[19]; 22. 8-Kyle Strickler[15]; 23. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[25]; 24. 20-Jimmy Owens[20]; 25. 40B-Kyle Bronson[17]; 26. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[26].

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18-hour report: Cadillac ready for title fight

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

Nos. 2 and 3 Cadillac V-Series.Rs running third and fourth heading into fourth quarter

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – Cadillac Racing held steady through the overnight and remains in contention for the overall victory in the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
A dry racing surface in the third quarter of the race – in contrast to wet sections of the 8.45-mile Circuit de la Sarthe from twilight downpours that made driving treacherous – helped the drivers of the three Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercars click off laps and hold position.
Media resources: Cadillac Racing information, photos, history at Le Mans and much more

What they’re saying
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R: “The car is unbelievable. We’ve been the quickest car, or one of the quickest cars out there and it’s been an awesome day driving. Just not the right circumstances for us. We had one opportunity to get back on the lead lap, which I took. I overtook the leader and started to pull away. I had about a 30-second gap and then that P2 just turned on me. I wasn’t taking any prisoners at that stage. The guy is responsible for the incident, but it doesn’t give us our lap back. Now we’ve been trapped for a long time behind the leaders a lap down. If this was the U.S. I would be feeling really good about this because we’d be back in the race at some point. But at Le Mans it’s pretty tough to do, so we’ll keep on pushing and try to put ourselves in a position to get that lap back and get on with it.”
Cadillac au Mans: Prêt à se battre pour la victoire
LE MANS, France (le 11 juin 2023) – Le Cadillac Racing a tenu bon pendant la nuit et reste en lice pour la victoire au classement général des 24 Heures du Mans, qui célèbrent leur centenaire.
Une piste sèche dans le troisième quart de la course – contrairement aux sections mouillées du circuit après les averses du crépuscule qui ont rendu la conduite dangereuse – a aidé les pilotes des trois Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercars à enchaîner les tours et à conserver leur positions.
La Cadillac V-Series.R n°2 pilotée par Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn et Richard Westbrook est en troisième position à la 18e heure. La Cadillac V-Series.R n°3, copilotée par Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande et Scott Dixon, est quatrième.
Au début de la course, Bamber a eu l’honneur de donner à Cadillac son tout premier tour en tête dans cette course d’endurance emblématique. Bourdais détient le tour le plus rapide de la course avec 3 minutes, 28,298 secondes au 12e tour.
La Cadillac V-Series.R n°311 du Whelen Engineering, qui a connu un incident au premier tour qui a mis les pilotes Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims et Jack Aitken dans une situation délicate, était en 13e position.Ce qu’ils dissent:Sébastien Bourdais, Cadillac V-Series.R n°3: « La voiture est incroyable. Nous avons été la voiture la plus rapide, ou l’une des voitures les plus rapides, et ce fut une journée extraordinaire. Les circonstances n’étaient tout simplement pas idéales pour nous. Nous avons eu une opportunité de revenir dans le tour de tête, et je l’ai saisie. J’ai dépassé le leader et j’ai commencé à prendre de l’avance. J’avais environ 30 secondes d’avance, puis cette LMP2 m’a tapé. Je ne faisais pas de prisonniers à ce moment-là. Le gars est responsable de l’incident, mais il ne nous rend pas notre tour. Nous sommes restés longtemps coincés derrière les leaders, avec un tour de retard. S’il s’agissait des Etats-Unis, je me sentirais très bien, car nous serions revenus dans la course à un moment ou à un autre. Mais au Mans, c’est assez difficile à faire, alors nous allons continuer à pousser et essayer de nous mettre en position de récupérer ce tour et de continuer. »

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Burton Qualifies 36th At Sonoma

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

June 10, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 36th in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course at Sonoma Raceway.

Burton got that spot with a lap at 89.148 miles per hour in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

He was 32^nd in practice earlier in the day, posting a best speed of 89.439 mph on the third of the seven laps he ran in the session.

Sunday’s 110-lap, 219-mile affair, is set to get the green flag just after 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (3:30 Eastern) with TV coverage on FOX.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 25 and 55.

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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Sixteen-Hour Update

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

The drive back through the GTE Am field still under way

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – Dawn broke at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Corvette Racing continuing to scratch and claw and fight its way back onto the lead lap of the GTE Am category.
Ben Keating drove a triple-stint in the middle of the night, and Nico Varrone added a double as the sun came up at the Circuit de la Sarthe with the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and Nicky Catsburg running seventh in class. That was a far cry from 21st barely two hours in when the Corvette went into the garage to replace a broken right-front damper.
That and a safety car miscue by race officials – allowing a group of cars including the GTE Am leader leave the pit exit ahead of the Corvette instead of behind – put the C8.R down more than two laps, but solid driving by all three drivers before, during and out of the night had the Corvette charging toward the class leader and – finally – the lead lap.
The next Corvette Racing update will come after the race.

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I love doing long runs at Le Mans. I literally think I would do my whole six hours at once if they’d let me. I get into a groove then go and go and go. It’s not a track that’s super physical so I don’t have a problem going a long time. I feel like doing a triple at Sebring is a big deal, but doing a triple here is no big deal. It’s a weird year in terms of the rules. In the all the previous years with the old safety car rules, you never get a chance to make up a lap. I’d always do all of my drive time at the end of the race. Because of the new safety car rules, we decided to try and switch it around. Because of the rain, I did an hour and 15 minutes, and I didn’t want any more! It felt like the car was really hard to drive. The plan was to wait until it got light on Sunday morning to use Nicky and Nico back-to-back-to back to get our lap back because when the sun comes up, I can be quicker than I can be quicker than I can at night. So it wasn’t ideal but we did what we needed to do. Nico wasn’t feeling good (after his first stint). The good news is he is feeling a lot better and is quick in the car. We’re hanging around. At this point in time, you don’t want to give up any time that you have to go give up. I think we would have been in a better position if I had done my drive time in the daylight, but we didn’t have that luxury. We’re rolling with the punches, and we’ll see where that ends up.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s nice out there. I started in the night and now we’re in daylight, which is nice to see the sun come up and us back in this position. I think everyone is pushing and we are doing the same. We are pushing and have to catch up. There is no time to rest or time to do anything except go as fast as we can. Those were two good stints, I think. Our team has done a great job. We need to keep pushing and see where we end up.”

CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: Après 16 heuresLe retour à travers le plateau GTE Am est toujours en coursLE MANS, France (le juin 2023) – L’aube s’est levée sur les 24 Heures du Mans et le Corvette Racing a continué à se battre pour revenir dans le tour de tête de la catégorie GTE Am. Ben Keating a réalisé un triple relais au milieu de la nuit, et Nico Varrone a ajouté un double relais lorsque le soleil s’est levé sur le Circuit de la Sarthe avec la Corvette C8.R Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet n°33 et Nicky Catsburg à la septième place de la catégorie. C’était bien loin de la 21e place occupée à peine deux heures plus tôt, lorsque la Corvette était rentrée au garage pour remplacer un amortisseur avant droit cassé. Cette situation et une erreur des commissaires de course, qui a permis à un groupe de voitures, dont le leader du GTE Am, de quitter la sortie des stands devant la Corvette au lieu de la suivre, ont fait perdre plus de deux tours à la C8.R. Mais la conduite solide des trois pilotes avant, pendant et après la nuit a permis à la Corvette de se rapprocher du leader de la catégorie et, enfin, de la tête de la course. Le prochain update du Corvette Racing aura lieu après la course. BEN KEATING, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°33: « J’adore faire de longs relais au Mans. Je pense littéralement que je ferais mes six heures d’affilée s’ils me laissaient faire. Je me mets dans le bain, puis j’y vais, j’y vais, j’y vais. Ce n’est pas un circuit très physique, donc je n’ai pas de problème à faire de longs relais. J’ai l’impression que faire un triple à Sebring est une grosse affaire, mais faire un triple ici n’est pas une grosse affaire. C’est une année bizarre en termes de règles. Les années précédentes, avec les anciennes règles de la voiture de sécurité, on n’avait jamais l’occasion de rattraper un tour. Je faisais toujours tout mon temps de conduite à la fin de la course. Avec les nouvelles règles de sécurité, nous avons décidé d’essayer d’inverser les choses. À cause de la pluie, j’ai fait une heure et quart, et je n’en voulais pas plus ! J’avais l’impression que la voiture était vraiment difficile à conduire. Le plan était d’attendre qu’il fasse jour le dimanche matin pour utiliser Nicky et Nico dos à dos pour récupérer notre tour parce que quand le soleil se lève, je peux être plus rapide que je ne le suis la nuit. Ce n’était donc pas idéal, mais nous avons fait ce que nous devions faire. Nico ne se sentait pas bien (après son premier relais). La bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’il se sent beaucoup mieux et qu’il est rapide dans la voiture. Nous sommes dans le coup. A ce stade, vous ne voulez pas perdre de temps. Je pense que nous aurions été en meilleure position si j’avais roulé de jour, mais nous n’avons pas eu ce luxe. Nous faisons avec, et nous verrons bien où cela nous mènera. » NICO VARRONE, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°33: « C’est agréable. J’ai commencé dans la nuit et maintenant nous sommes en pleine lumière, ce qui est agréable de voir le soleil se lever et de nous retrouver dans cette position. Je pense que tout le monde est en train de pousser et que nous faisons de même. Nous poussons et nous devons rattraper notre retard. Nous n’avons pas le temps de nous reposer ou de faire quoi que ce soit d’autre que d’aller aussi vite que possible. Je pense que ce sont deux bons relais. Notre équipe a fait du bon travail. Nous devons continuer à pousser et voir où nous en sommes. »

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chevy racing–nhra–bristol– qualifying

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

CHEVROLET IN NHRA

2023 NHRA NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS FINALS, 2023 NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING RECAP

BRISTOL DRAGWAY

BRISTOL, TENNESSEE

TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT

JUNE 10, 2023

JOHN FORCE LEADS TEAM CHEVY IN EPPING FINALS AT BRISTOL WITH

265TH FINAL ROUND APPEARANCE

John Force takes BlueDef Camaro SS to Final Round in Epping Finals at Bristol
Robert Hight claimed the No. 1 Qualifier for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, his 2^nd of the season and 79^th of his career
Brittany Force posted No. 2 Qualifier in Top Fuel for the Thunder Valley Nationals

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 10, 2023) – In a first-ever combined NHRA race weekend to finish the weather-interrupted New England Nationals from New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire while simultaneously running the qualifying rounds for the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tennessee, John Force led the way for Team Chevy in final eliminations for Epping.

After defeating Tim Wilkerson in Elimination Round One, with a 4.063 seconds , 324.36 mph to Wilkerson’s 4.004, 318.99, Force went on to face Alex Laughlin in Round Two. The 16-time champion downed Laughlin with a 4.090. 318.54 to move to the semi-finals.

JR Todd on deck for the Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history. With a little baby holeshot, Force topped Todd with a 4.105, 319.07 to a 4.098, 319.90 to send Force to his 265^th final round appearance and his first of the young 2023 NHRA season.

Lining up alongside Bob Tasca III, Force staged his Blue Def Camaro SS Funny Car deep and posted a .045 reaction time to Tasca’s .065 and the race was on with Tasca pulling ahead to post a 4.032, 322.96 for the win to Force’s 4.085. 320.51.

For making it into the semifinals of the New England Nationals Force automatically competed in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and finished runner-up to earn two championship points to be added at the conclusion of the regular season and $3,000.

“It would have been nice to have won the Epping, N.H. NHRA New England Nationals race and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but I didn’t get the job done,” Force said. “We had a good race BlueDEF race car which keeps Chevrolet, PEAK, and all our sponsors happy. Cornwell was out at the track with a lot of their customers this weekend too. We’ll get back in the game tomorrow morning. It’s a new day and a new race tomorrow morning.”

Robert Hight behind the wheel of his AAA of New England Camaro SS scored a Round One win over Alexis DeJoria 3.938, 321.35 to 3.999, 322.88. Round Two provided drama with both cars hazing the tires and then Bob Tasca III ultimately blowing an engine near the top-end of the track. Tasca took the W with a 4.418, 267.69 to Hight’s 4.441, 202.00.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve crossed the finish line like that. It happens, you’re out here racing for a round win and it’s greasy. We put four cylinders out on one side so it turned on me in a hurry. Usually, you can catch it pretty quick but that one got me,” Hight said. “Anyways, sorry to the fans, to AAA and Cornwell and Chevy, we could have gotten another round win there.”

Defending Top Fuel Champions Brittany Force, Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel car bested Josh Hart 3.747, 334.48 to 4.201, 202.85 in Round One of Final Eliminations. Round Two was a pedal-fest between B. Force and Justin Ashley, eventual winner of the New England Nationals, with Brit going down with a 4.322, 274.05 to Ashley’s 4.097, 255.92.

“Epping, the New England Nationals was a little bit of a struggle for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team,” Force said. “We got beat in the second round, but we still had a couple of good laps under our belt that set us up for qualifying for Bristol and hopefully a long race day.”

In Top Fuel Round One Elimination, Austin Prock piloting the Montana Brand Chevrolet Top Fuel car put down a stellar run of 3.787, 326.08. However, he lined up next to Steve Torrence who laid down a 3.753, 329.10 to end Prock’s Epping make-up early.

“It was a tough first-round loss last night for this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. There was a lot on the line that round and we came up short,” Prock said. “It’s frustrating but we will bounce back.”

THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING:

When track conditions were optimal, Robert Hight drove the Cornwall Tools Camaro SS Funny Car to the No. 1 Qualifier for Sunday’s finals with a pass of 3.938, 321.35 on Friday night under the lights. The run held on Saturday with much warmer air and track temperatures.

John Force ended the four qualifying sessions in 10^th spot for Sunday’s Finals at the track they call Thunder Valley in his BlueDef Camaro SS Funny Car with a pass of 4.063, 324.36.

Brittany Force piloted the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel car to the No. 2 qualifier spot, also maximizing the cooler Friday night conditions with a pass of 3.747, 334.48.

Austin Prock will stage in 8^th tomorrow in the cockpit of his Montana Brand Chevrolet Top Fuel car after putting down a run of 3.787, 326.08.

Erica Enders broke through to capture her first No. 1 qualifier of the 2023 NHRA Pro Stock Season. Piloting her familiar red Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance Elite Motorsports Camaro SS a run of 6.627, 205.88.

It is the reigning world champion’s 30th No. 1 of her career.

And closing out a very busy day on-track, Aaron Stanfield claimed his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty win piloting his Janac Brothers Chevrolet Camaro, going 6.637, 206.32 to claim the additional prize money and valuable championship points. His win came over fellow Team Chevy driver and three time Pro Stock winner this season, Dallas Glenn.

THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS RACE DAY INFORMATION

Due to the threat of inclement weather late in the day, the NHRA has moved the start time to 10:00 AM ET.

Round 2, Semifinals, and Finals of the New England Nationals makeup event will air Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on FS1. A recap of Saturday’s Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying airs Sunday, June 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Thunder Valley Nationals Finals will wrap up the stacked weekend, airing on FS1 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. Coverage streaming live throughout the weekend can be found through NHRA.tv, available via AppleTV, Android TV and Roku devices.

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12-hour report: Cadillac in mix at halfway mark

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

Nos. 2 and 3 Cadillac V-Series.Rs in lead pack in early morning at Circuit de la Sarthe

LE MANS, France (June 11, 2023) – Carefully working through a wet racing surface that created issues for drivers in all three classes in the opening stints of the second quarter of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercars remain in contention for the overall victory.
The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, co-driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook, was running a strong third through 12 hours at Circuit de la Sarthe. The No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon sharing turns in the seat, was running fifth.
Media resources: Cadillac Racing information, photos, history at Le Mans and much more

The No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R, which encountered a Lap 1 incident that put drivers Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken in a tough spot, was running 14th.
Multiple downpours on different areas of the 8.45-mile course combined with nightfall to make for hazardous driving conditions, which led to numerous incidents and a full-course yellow and multiple local slow zones.
Early in the race, Bamber had the distinction of giving Cadillac its first-ever laps led in the iconic endurance race. Bourdais owns the fastest lap of the race at 3 minutes, 28.298 seconds on Lap 12.
MotorTrend is telecasting the race in its entirety in the U.S. along with Velocity in Canada and Eurosport across Europe. Radio Le Mans has the call, too. Viewers can get a different perspective through in-car cameras of the three Cadillac V-Series.Rs at Cadillac.com/live.

What they’re saying
No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.RRichard Westbrook, No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R: “It’s been a crazy first half of the race. Visibility was so bad; the worst I’ve ever been in at Le Mans anyway. It’s the fist time I’ve ever done a lap in the wet in this car.”
Alex Lynn, No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R: “Tricky conditions out there. We’re fighting for this victory and the No. 2 Cadillac is going great. We just need to stay in the fight and don’t give up.”
No. 3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.RRenger van der Zande, No. 3 Cadillac V-Series.R: “Really tricky; I had some big moments, even hydroplaning. Not so much fun when you can’t see anything on the track. The grip feels good and suddenly it’s gone. Hopefully, we can make some moves.”No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RAlexander Sims: “All sorts of conditions out there. Pretty treacherous out there. The car was working quite well but it was just so difficult to judge the conditions and actually see the wet spots on the dark as well. In some places it was full dry and other places it was still damp. I had a few spins and thankfully kept the car out of the barriers. It was crackers. The car, considering the hit that it had, was all pointing in the right direction. I was able to put in some good laps in between the spins. Great effort by the team to get us back out and we can get a load of experience for the team. It’s one I wish we were fighting near the front, but frankly it’s still pretty cool to drive around here.”
Pipo Derani: “The car feels good. It’s nice to get some rhythm. The first stint I did was behind a full-course yellow and slow zones, so that’s worse than driving flat out. Once I got going, second stint and third stint I had some fun driving the car around Le Mans. We’ll see what we can do toward the end of the race.”Cadillac au Mans: Toujours aux avant-postes à la mi-course
LE MANS, France (le 11 juin, 2023) – En dépit d’une surface de course mouillée qui a posé des problèmes aux pilotes des trois catégories lors des premiers relais du deuxième quart des 24 Heures du Mans, deux Hypercars Cadillac V-Series.R restent en lice pour la victoire finale.
La Cadillac V-Series.R n°2, copilotée par Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn et Richard Westbrook, occupait une belle troisième place après 12 heures de course sur le circuit de la Sarthe. La Cadillac V-Series.R n°3, pilotée par Sébastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande et Scott Dixon, est cinquième.
La Cadillac V-Series.R n°311 Whelen Engineering, qui a connu un incident au premier tour qui a mis les pilotes Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims et Jack Aitken dans une mauvaise position, était 14ème.
De multiples averses sur différentes zones du circuit, en combinaison avec la tombée de la nuit, ont rendu les conditions de conduite dangereuses, ce qui a entraîné de nombreux incidents, un full course yellow et de nombreuses slow zones locales.
Au début de la course, Bamber a eu l’honneur de donner à Cadillac ses premiers tours en tête dans cette course d’endurance emblématique. Bourdais a réalisé le tour le plus rapide de la course en 3 minutes et 28,298 secondes au 12e tour.
Ce qu’ils dissent:Pipo Derani, Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R n°311: « La voiture marche bien. C’est bien d’avoir un peu de rythme. Le premier relais que j’ai effectué s’est déroulé pendant un full course yellow et des slow zones, donc c’est pire que de rouler à fond. Une fois que j’ai commencé à rouler, le deuxième et le troisième relais m’ont permis de m’amuser en conduisant la voiture au Mans. Nous verrons ce que nous pouvons faire vers la fin de la course. »
Alexander Sims, Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R n°311: « Les conditions (en piste) sont très variées. C’est assez dangereux. La voiture fonctionnait plutôt bien, mais il était difficile d’évaluer les conditions et de voir les zones humides dans l’obscurité. À certains endroits, c’était complètement sec et à d’autres, c’était encore humide. J’ai fait quelques tête-à-queue et j’ai heureusement réussi à éviter les barrières. La voiture, compte tenu du choc qu’elle a subi, allait dans la bonne direction. J’ai pu faire quelques bons tours entre les tête-à-queue. L’équipe a fait un gros effort pour nous permettre de repartir et d’acquérir de l’expérience. J’aurais aimé me battre aux avant-postes, mais franchement, c’est quand même cool de rouler ici. »
Renger van der Zande, Cadillac V-Series.R n°3: « J’ai eu des moments difficiles, j’ai même fait de l’aquaplanage. Ce n’est pas très amusant quand on ne voit rien sur la piste. L’adhérence est bonne et soudainement elle disparaît. J’espère que nous pourrons faire des progrès. »
Richard Westbrook, Cadillac V-Series.R n°2: « La première moitié de la course a été folle. La visibilité était très mauvaise, la pire que j’ai jamais eue au Mans en tout cas. C’est la première fois que je fais des tours sous la pluie avec cette voiture. »
Alex Lynn, Cadillac V-Series.R n°2: « Les conditions sont difficiles. Nous nous battons pour cette victoire et la Cadillac n°2 fonctionne très bien. Nous devons juste rester dans la bataille et ne pas baisser les bras. »

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ROBERT HIGHT AND CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVY EARN

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

NO. 1 SPOT AT NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 10, 2023) – Robert Hight and the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS team earned their second No. 1 of the season and 79th Hight’s career and second of the 2023 Camping World Drag Racing Series season Saturday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac dragster are No. 2 while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team are No. 8 and John Force will start the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy from the No. 10 spot.
In the third qualifying session, Hight had his hands full with his Chevy Camaro Funny Car making a move to the left and ultimately crossing the centerline. The mishap disqualified the three-time champion’s run. Still sitting No. 1 from his Friday night run of 3.938 seconds at 321.35 mph, Hight closed out qualifying with a 4.046 at 304.32. With the No. 1 spot, Hight will take on Alex Laughlin in the first round of eliminations.
“I don’t think we’re that far off from having the runs we want. We need to fix a few problems, cylinders dropping. In that last run, it dropped a cylinder early and still ran 4.04 seconds. If we had all eight cylinders, there was a 3-second run out there. Tomorrow is a new day. We’re starting from a good spot. We’re back with Cornwell Tools and we need to get them their first win,” Hight said. “My Cornwell Tools / AAA team has a good handle on all different conditions. We have a lot of data we can look at. We are running a new combination that we’re trying to work through. Once we get the cylinder situation figured out we’ll make three-second runs every run tomorrow, especially the first round and that’s probably what it’s going to take to get the win. When you have Jimmy Prock as your crew chief, it always feels like you’re just one run away from winning the race.”
Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team opened up qualifying on Saturday with a pedalfest. Force would handle the Monster dragster to a 4.322-second pass at 274.05 mph. In the final Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying session, Force handled her hotrod to a solid 3.828 pass at 328.38 mph. Force will face drag racing veteran Antron Brown in the first round of eliminations.
“We came into Bristol with two races in one, the New England Nationals and the Thunder Valley Nationals. Into the Bristol race this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team is currently qualified No. 2. We face Antron Brown tomorrow and we are still hunting for that first win,” Force said. “We’ve learned a lot this weekend and I feel like we’ve turned our car around a little bit. We’ve made some solid passes and I’m looking forward to race day tomorrow.”
The Montana Brand / RMT team had to shut off early in the third qualifying session after driving into tire smoke early on the run. Prock would cross the finish line to record a 7.412-second pass at 83.99 mph. In the final qualifying session, Prock had a cylinder out at the hit but would get the Montana Brand dragster to the finish line in 4.015 seconds and 276.41 mph.
“We haven’t had the weekend we’ve wanted but tomorrow is a new day. We’ve learned from each session and will get this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist hot rod running with the best of them,” said Prock who will race Cameron Ferre in the first round. “I’m ready to get started bright and early tomorrow morning.”
John Force and the BlueDEF Chevy were consistent during qualifying on Saturday with two solid passes. First a 4.090-second pass at 318.54 mph in the afternoon followed by a 4.085 at 320.51. He stays No. 10 from his Friday run of 4.063 at 324.36 to line up against J.R. Todd in the first round.
“It was a busy day, a lot going on, a lot on the line. We had some decent runs in the mix of everything. So we have some good data,” Force said. “You know, it’s another race day, back-to-back, hopefully we can get the job done and get in the winner’s circle here in Thunder Valley, get the job done for PEAK, Chevy, BleuDEF and all our partners who let us do what we love. Hope tomorrow continues to be a good show for all these fans that have come out.”
The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway continues with eliminations set to begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Television coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) continues Saturday with the remaining NHRA New England Nationals coverage at 10:30 p.m. ET. Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET will be a second Thunder Valley Nationals qualifying show and at 7:00 p.m. ET will air the Thunder Valley Nationals eliminations.
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ROBERT HIGHT AND CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVY EARN NO. 1 SPOT AT NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

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JUSTIN ASHLEY WINS DELAYED NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

BRISTOL, TN (June 10, 2023) — For the third time this season Justin Ashley and Maynard Ashley Racing Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster defeated a gauntlet of tough NHRA Top Fuel competitors and world champions enroute to victory. The second-generation driver moved into the NHRA Top Fuel points lead with his win at the postponed and relocated NHRA New England Nationals outrunning Dan Mercier, two-time world champion Brittany Force, four-time world champion Steve Torrence and finally in an all JCM Racing final eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher.

Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team, New England Nationals winners, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

“Everybody out here is tough,” said Ashley, who was competing in his 14th career Top Fuel final round. “I don’t think about it during the race, but after, I think it is important to reflect and appreciate when you go up against some of the best in the world. Each one of these drivers is fantastic. Each one of these teams is great. It’s an honor just to line up next to them, so to turn on a win light with Mike Green, Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs), and the guys is truly special.”

During two days of qualifying last week Ashley was able to get his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster qualified in the No. 10 spot and into a first round race with Canadian Dan Mercier. During the second round of qualifying at the Thunder Valley Nationals on Friday night Ashley began his pursuit of three wins in one weekend. The 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year was first off the line with a strong .038 reaction time and never trailed in the race. It was Ashley’s second consecutive win over Mercier and set up and tough match-up with Force.

In the second round today, Ashley was once again first off the line but his Phillips Connect Toyota dragster ran into problems wounding itself as it powered down the track. Force lost traction but pedaled her race car as she tried to chase down Ashley. He was able to keep momentum and get to the finish line stripe first for a win that came at a cost.

Moving into the semifinals facing Torrence for the second time this season Ashley was looking for another win light. The last time these two drivers faced off was the semifinals of the Arizona Nationals which Ashley won. He was able to repeat history getting his third win light of the day and moving into the New England Nationals final round and the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final round.

“It has been a long week to get to this race,” said Ashley. I feel so grateful. When you come to a race – anytime there is an opportunity to win it is special – but when you have the opportunity to win three races in one weekend, especially at a historic facility like Bristol, it just makes it that much more special. The semifinal against Steve was a big round win because it turned into two final rounds.”

In the final round of the day Ashley was first off the line again and used that advantage to squeeze out a small hole shot win over Schumacher with his 3.846 second run getting to the finish line first in front of Schumacher’s quicker 3.835 second pass. Ashley’s reaction time was .041 to Schumacher’s .061. The was a complete team effort according to Ashley as he spoke to the assembled media after a long and productive day.

“The key word for today’s success is team,” said Ashley. “You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. I feel more than confident in saying I have the best group of people behind me. I am just grateful for everybody on this Maynard Ashley Racing, Phillips Connect, Toyota team. Even going into the third round, it was a little wacky. It was a quick turnaround, and we did some damage, which we never normally do, but thankfully we got the win. I just have to credit the guys for putting everything together in time. The job that they always do is phenomenal, but especially this weekend working in the heat and getting it done on a Saturday, really is just amazing.”

With the Thunder Valley Nationals looming tomorrow the possibility of three wins is on the horizon. Ashley was philosophical about the prospect of sweeping the weekend. He knows that the support he gets from all his partners like Toyota, KATO Fastening Systems, Strutmasters.com, Lucas Oil and Mac Tools all play into race day win lights.

“Our plan and our objective coming in – was to win everything, like it is every race, but it is so, so difficult out here,” said Ashley. “Now our focus is just on the here and now, in the present, enjoying this win because they are so hard to come by, but come tomorrow, it’s in the past. We can only enjoy this for a short period of time, but yeah, I think we have a great opportunity to win tomorrow, but there are 15 other cars that feel the same way. I know we are going to put on a really good show for the fans.”
Qualifying Results
Q1: 4.807 sec, 155.61 mph; Qual. 9
Q2: 9.632 sec; 68.78 mph; Qual. 10
Bonus Points: 0
Race Results
First Round
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, (.038), 3.755, 327.74 mph def. Dan Mercier, Ross Pistons/Amalie Motor Oil dragster, (.084), 3.768, 317.72 mph
Second Round
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, (.058), 4.097, 255.92 mph def. Brittany Force, Monster Energy dragster, (.083), 4.322, 274.05 mph
Semifinal Round
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, (.051), 3.892, 319.29 mph def. Steve Torrence, CAPCO dragster, (.096), 3.915, 311.13 mph
Final Round
Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, (.041), 3.846, 324.12 mph def. Tony Schumacher, SKAG Power Equipment dragster, (.061), 3.835, 323.66 mph
Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel
1.         Justin Ashley             518
2.         Steve Torrence           510
3.         Brittany Force             472
4.         Leah Pruett                 462
5.         Austin Prock                443
6.         Mike Salinas               414
7.         Antron Brown             408
8.         Josh Hart                     378
9.         Shawn Langdon          335
10.       Doug Kalitta                325

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HART OUT EARLY AT POSTPONED EPPING NATIONALS

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

BRISTOL, TN (June 10, 2023) — A week later Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team were able to complete the 10^thNHRA New England Nationals. After battling the elements in Epping, New Hampshire for four day and only reaping two qualifying runs the championship contending team from Florida moved south with the rest of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series to Bristol Dragway to wrap up the seventh national event of the season.

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

Hart’s two runs at New England Dragway had the two-time Top Fuel national event winner sitting in the No. 4 qualified spot. On Friday at Bristol Dragway the team was afforded one qualifying run to get a baseline to go into elimination rounds Friday night. Hart posted the quickest run of the first session and was ready to take on two-time Top Fuel champion Brittany Force.

Under drastically different conditions Hart and Force launched together and as they approached halftrack Hart’s R+L Carrier Top Fuel dragster lost traction as Force powered past him on a clean run for the win. Hart was able to immediately turn his attention to the Thunder Valley Nationals today and made two quality passes. He will head into his second race of the weekend sitting No. 12 and looking at a first round match-up with Mike Salinas tomorrow.

“I am glad we didn’t try to finish the race in Epping,” said Hart. “It was cool to go right into eliminations on Friday night, but I would have of course wanted a better result. This R+L Carriers team isn’t going to hang our heads. We have the Thunder Valley Nationals tomorrow, so we put Epping behind us this morning and moved on.”
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.902 sec, 317.27 mph; Qual. 3
Q2: 6.838 sec, 93.54 mph; Qual. 4
Bonus Points: +1 (3^rd quickest of Q1)
Race Results
First Round

Brittany Force, Monster Energy dragster, .050, 3.747, 334.48 mph def. Josh Hart, R+L Carriers dragster, .051, 4.201, 202.85 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel
1.         Justin Ashley               518
2.         Steve Torrence           510
3.         Brittany Force             472
4.         Leah Pruett                 462
5.         Austin Prock                443
6.         Mike Salinas               414
7.         Antron Brown             408
8.         Josh Hart                    378
9.         Shawn Langdon          335
10.       Doug Kalitta                325

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JOHN FORCE AND BLUEDEF CHEVY REACH 265TH FINAL ROUND AT NEW ENGLAND NATIONALS

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 10, 2023) – John Force and the BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS team raced their way to the final round of the postponed NHRA New England Nationals contested at Bristol Dragway. Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team as well as Robert Hight with the AAA Northern New England Chevy had quarterfinal finishes while Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team had a first round exit.
After picking up a first-round victory on Friday night over Tim Wilkerson, Force and the BlueDEF Chevy matched up with Alex Laughlin for the quarterfinals. Laughlin was the 150th different driver Force has faced in his career. The 16-time champion driver would have a 4.090-second pass at 318.54 mph to defeat Laughlin’s 5.204 at 153.06 after he smoked the tires.
In the semifinals, Force lined up next to J.R. Todd. With a .049-second reaction time and 4.105-second pass at 319.07 mph, Force and the BlueDEF team defeated Todd on a holeshot. Todd would have a 4.098 at 319.90.
Racing against longtime rival Bob Tasca III in the finals, Force would classically stage deep looking for the starting line advantage. His starting line strategy wouldn’t be enough for Tasca. Force would cross the finish line at 4.085 seconds and 320.51 mph but fall short to Tasca’s 4.032 at 304.32. For making it into the semifinals of the New England Nationals Force automatically competed in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and finished runner-up to earn two championship points to be added at the conclusion of the regular season and $3,000.
“It would have been nice to have won the Epping, N.H. NHRA New England Nationals race and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, but I didn’t get the job done,” Force said. “We had a good race BlueDEF race car which keeps Chevrolet, PEAK, and all our sponsors happy. Cornwell was out at the track with a lot of their customers this weekend too. We’ll get back in the game tomorrow morning. It’s a new day and a new race tomorrow morning.”
Already with the first-round win over Alexis DeJoria, Robert Hight and the AAA Northern New England Chevrolet Camaro SS finished the NHRA New England Nationals in the quarterfinals with a 4.441-second pass at 202 mph which wasn’t enough for eventual race winner Bob Tasca III’s 4.418 at 267.69.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve crossed the finish line like that. It happens, you’re out here racing for a round win and it’s greasy. We put four cylinders out on one side so it turned on me in a hurry. Usually, you can catch it pretty quick but that one got me,” Hight said. “Anyways, sorry to the fans, to AAA and Cornwell and Chevy, we could have gotten another round win there.”
After defeating Josh Hart in the first round on Friday, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team wrapped up the New England Nationals with a quarterfinal exit running a 4.322-second pass at 274.05 mph that was bettered by eventual race winner Justin Ashley’s 5.097 at 255.92.
“Epping, the New England Nationals was a little bit of a struggle for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team,” Force said. “We got beat in the second round, but we still had a couple of good laps under our belt that set us up for qualifying for Bristol and hopefully a long race day.”
Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / RMT dragster had their try at the NHRA New England Nationals victory come to an end on Friday night. They lined up against Steve Torrence and came up short with a 3.787 at 326.08 to Torrence’s 3.753 at 329.10.
“It was a tough first-round loss last night for this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team. There was a lot on the line that round and we came up short,” Prock said. “It’s frustrating but we will bounce back.”
The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season continues with eliminations for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway Sunday, June 11 at 10 a.m.
-30-

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Lee Hartman Wins Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty with First Round Win at Bristol Dragway

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 10, 2023) – For the first time in two races, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown will have a new winner on Sunday at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. Lee Hartman and his Carrier Services Group Dodge Drag Pak ended Lenny Lottig and his ITI Trailer & Truck Bodies COPO Camaro win streak with a first-round victory Saturday.

Lee Hartman, winner of $2,000 Flexjet bounty, photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

Qualified No.16, Hartman would pick up the first-round win against Lottig before leaving the starting line. Lottig would move too early by .006-seconds for a redlight start. Officially, Hartman ran 7.953-seconds at 172.81 mph, the quickest pass of the round.

“Getting that first round win was awesome. We have been struggling but we have been chipping away at this tune up for a while. We had the power we were just trying to get it to the ground. We have a fast racecar and you saw that in the first round,” Hartman said. “Lenny has been tearing it up the last couple of races. This was a great win, and I am looking forward to going after three more win lights tomorrow. We won best appearing car this race too, so I would love to get a double win.”

The victory came along with a $2,000 pay day thanks to the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program.

“I knew the bounty was out there when I pulled up beside Lenny. Lenny has been running really well but this Dodge can run with anyone out here. When I saw my win light, I was pretty excited. I am not sure what I will do with the $2,000 bounty money but I am sure I will find a way to put it back into this race car. There is always something. I want to thank everyone that has been helping me. This was a great way to get the race started.”

Coming into the session, Lottig had picked up his third consecutive No.1. qualifying position thanks to a 7.803-second pass at 175.48 mph on Friday afternoon.

Lenny Lottig, Thunder Valley Nationals No. 1 qualifier, photo credit NHRA

“It’s all thanks to my guys, Tommy and Dave. They have been so great, and the Ray Barton Racing engines have been running so strong for us,” Lottig said. “I had never been on a roll like this, the wins and No.1s. It was a first-time experience, and I was really liking it. Hopefully, we can pick it back up again at the next one.”

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chevy racing–nascar–sonoma–qualifying

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES SONOMA RACEWAY TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT JUNE 10, 2023

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 STARTING LINEUP: POS. DRIVER5th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GABRIEL GLAS CAMARO ZL19th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL110th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL111th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BREZTRI CAMARO ZL112th KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 MCLAREN CUSTOM GRILLS CAMARO ZL113th RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / COTTONELLE CAMARO ZL114th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY PRIDE CAMARO ZL115th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL116th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL119th COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 SCHLUTER SYSTEMS CAMARO ZL1 TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP: POS. DRIVER1. Denny Hamlin (Toyota)2. Tyler Reddick (Toyota)3. Michael McDowell (Ford)4. Christopher Bell (Toyota)5. AJ Allmendinger (Chevrolet)

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 – Qualified 10th ELLIOTT ON HIS QUALIFYING RUN: “It was really good to get into the second round (of qualifying). I feel like the first lap of our session was solid. I missed a couple of areas. That was going to be the big thing – was if you were going to be able to get it done on the first lap and not have to run again. I made a pretty big mistake on my second run and I was honestly surprised we got through, so that was encouraging. And then I about wrecked there in (turn) four on our last lap. I wish we could have gone a little faster, but I’m glad I didn’t wreck it because I was very, very close to not driving this car tomorrow. But like I said, definitely good to get through. We haven’t had a nice second round in a while, so that was nice.”
GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1 – Filling in for Noah Gragson at Sonoma Raceway this weekend, Enfinger made his first-ever laps in a Next Gen Camaro ZL1 ahead of his first career NASCAR Cup Series start. Post-qualifying quotes: OVER THE RADIO, THE TEAM SAID YOU WERE DOING A GOOD JOB WITH YOUR PACE. WHAT WAS IT LIKE FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT? “Yeah, it definitely took awhile to get comfortable with things just with it being a new car. I was really concentrating on the tire – just trying to feel the tires and trying not to do anything incredibly dumb early on. Definitely taking it slower to get up to speed. I felt more and more comfortable the more laps I ran. I felt like we were struggling a little bit on the backstretch there, but I got more and more comfortable there on my side, and I feel like we’ve made it a little bit better in qualifying, as well. Definitely need a few more laps before I can give them some good feedback, but overall, just getting more and more comfortable. I’m concentrating on my shifting, especially from second to third gear there. But overall, had a fun day here. I want to send a big ‘thank you’ to Noah (Gragson). He’s been trying to walk me through this for the last couple of days – about kind of transitioning from the truck to here and what that experience will be like, and how close the simulator world would be to where we are. I appreciate all of his help.” DID YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE IN THE SEAT? “Yeah, definitely I felt comfortable in the seat. Overall, the way the pedals feel, the throttle and the brake pedal – everything is a lot different than what I’m used to in my truck, but I’m comfortable in there.” WAS IT LIKE YOU’RE DRINKING FROM A FIRE HOSE WITH THE DIFFERENCES WITH THE SHIFTER AND ALL OF THE OTHER FACTORS YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH? “I think anytime you’re racing in the Cup Series for your first time is drinking from a fire hose. But to me, I think the biggest thing I’ve been concentrating on, that Noah (Gragson) wanted us to hone into during practice and go back and look at data on, is the tire. I remember right at the beginning of last season; I feel like you couldn’t slip these things at all. Obviously the crew chiefs and these teams have made those cars better and better. You still have road blocks you have to worry about and stuff like that in different parts of the track. I was trying to get used to the curbs and trying to see what I could and couldn’t take advantage of. And yeah, I definitely know already without looking at SMT, a problem spot I have. And then I’m sure Luke (Lambert) and the guys on the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevy team will be able to help me dial in some of the other little fine tunes.” WAS IT STRESSFUL OR WAS IT MORE LIKE – I FEEL SO GOOD IN THIS VEHICLE. “I think it was stressful leading up to it. But yeah, once practice started, it was like – let’s feel this thing out. Mike Beam, Luke Lambert and everybody did I think as good of a job as they could about not putting any extra pressure on me and just trying to let me learn a new car. It’s obviously an overwhelming experience through the course of the last few days, but Noah (Gragson) told me a few times and my wife told me a few times to just try to enjoy it. So I’ve been trying to do that and I was out there in practice.” WAS SHE STRESSED FOR YOU? “I think she didn’t like seeing me a little stressed. I think she could see that I was just trying to prepare as much as I could. I wasn’t spending quite as much time with her in the evening times – just been a little bit of an overwhelming last couple of days. But like I said, the first lap of practice, all of that kind of went away. It’s just a race car and trying to learn a new car. So thank you to Maury (Gallagher), Mike (Beam), Sunseeker Resorts and Jimmie (Johnson) – who’s ever there at Le Mans – and everybody that allowed this opportunity. Incredibly unfortunate circumstance with Noah (Gragson), but appreciate his help through this whole transition, as well.” WOULD YOU SAY THAT NOAH GRAGSON WAS MOST GIVING IN ALL OF THIS? I KNOW HE HAS TO FEEL TERRIBLE.. “He definitely feels terrible for missing the race, but I feel like above all, he’s been the most genuinely happy that I get to experience this opportunity. He’s mentioned that to me a few times about just soaking in the moment and enjoying it. He means that from the heart, so that’s pretty cool.” ENFINGER ON THE OPPORTUNITY: “I don’t think anything can really prepare you for this, but I’ve been racing my whole life and it’s just a new race car. I’ve very much enjoyed practice and qualifying. And like I said, I have a lot to learn for tomorrow, but I’ve enjoyed everything to this point.”

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JUSTIN ASHLEY EARNS DELAYED EPPING VICTORY

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

Torrence, Capps lead Toyota in qualifying

BRISTON, TENN (June 10, 2023) – Justin Ashley’s continued strong performance at the starting line came in clutch as the New York-native delivered a hole-shot victory over Top Fuel legend Tony Schumacher in the rain-delayed New England Nationals. Ashley defeated Canadian Dan Mercier in the first round that was ran on Friday, before besting Brittany Force, Team Toyota teammate Steve Torrence and Schumacher on Saturday. It is Ashley’s third win of the season, and helps Toyota get ever closer to the 200-win mark as Ashley’s victory is Toyota’s 197th NHRA win.

In Bristol qualifying, Torrence, Ashley and Doug Kalitta all will pick their lanes in the first round of eliminations that will now begin at 10am local time.

In Funny Car action, J.R. Todd earned his first semi-final round appearance since advancing to the final round in Gainesville. Todd defeated Cruz Pedregon and points leader Matt Hagan before coming up just short of John Force in the semi-finals. Todd qualified seventh for Sunday’s Bristol eliminations. Ron Capps (second) and Alexis DeJoria (fifth) also will have lane choice in the first round tomorrow.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Bristol Dragway

Race 8 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Leah Pruett*	Rush Truck Center Top Fuel Dragster	1st (3.745)	S. Massey
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	3rd (3.753)	S. Langdon
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	4th (3.755)	D. Foley
Doug Kalitta	Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	6th (3.764)	C. Millican
Shawn Langdon	Bounty Hunter Kalitta Air Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	14th (3.842)	S. Torrence
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	15th (3.907)	B. Force

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

Name	Car	Qualifying Position	First Round Opponent
Robert Hight*	Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro Funny Car	1st (3.938)	A. Laughlin
Ron Capps	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	2nd (3.962)	D. Richards
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	5th (3.999)	C. Pedregon
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	7th (4.025)	J. Force

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Race Winner – Epping

TF Qualifying Result: 4th

What have the past two days been like?

“It has been a long week to get to this race. I feel so grateful. When you come to a race – anything there is an opportunity to win it is special – but when you have the opportunity to win three races in one weekend, especially at a historic facility like Bristol, it just makes it that much more special. It has been a whirlwind of a two days already – a little bit exhausting, a little bit tiring, but it is so, so worth it for our Phillips Connect Toyota team.”

Do you even think about all of the world champions that you beat today?

“Everybody out here is tough. I don’t think about it during the race, but after, I think it is important to reflect and appreciate when you go up against some of the best in the world. Each one of these drivers is fantastic. Each one of these teams is great. It’s an honor just to line up next to them, so to turn on a win light with Mike Green, Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs), and the guys is truly special.”

This was a team win. Can you talk about what that means to you?

“The key word there is team. You are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. I feel more than confident in saying we have the best. Just grateful on everybody on this Maynard Ashley, Phillips Connect, Toyota team. Even going into the third round, it was a little wacky. It was a quick turnaround, and we did some damage, which we never normally do, but thankfully we got the win. I just have to credit the guys for putting everything together in time. The job that they always do is phenomenal, but especially this weekend working in the heat and getting it done on a Saturday, really is just amazing.”

Do you think it is in the cards to sweep this weekend?

“I don’t know. That was our plan. That was our objective coming in – was to win everything, like it is every race, but it is so, so difficult out here. Now our focus is just on the here and now, in the present, enjoying this win because they are so hard to come by, but come tomorrow, it’s in the past. We can only enjoy this for a short period of time, but yeah, I think we have a great opportunity to win tomorrow, but there are 15 other cars that feel the same way. I know we are going to put on a really good show for the fans.”

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

Epping Result – Semi-Final

FC Qualifying Result: 7th

Did today feel pretty good, being able to get a couple round wins?

“Yeah, it was nice to go some rounds. We’ve definitely been struggling on that end. The car has gone down the track every run, just need to be a tick quicker. We didn’t qualify like we had hoped, but at the end of the day, we’ve gone down the track every run so far. That is something to build off of. You learn every time you go down the track.”

Is it nice to feel some consistency starting to show up?

“For sure. It is something that we’ve been lacking here lately. Going down the track like that, you learn every time. Our DHL Toyota GR Supra has definitely been consistent. That’s a good thing, just hoping we can put some consistent runs together on race day when it matters.”

Are you fired up with your rematch with John Force tomorrow?

“I get fired up whoever I race. It doesn’t matter. It’s race day. I don’t care if it’s John Force or Laurie Force, I want to beat whoever is in the lane next to me.”

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chevy racing–nascar–sonoma–kyle busch

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES SONOMA RACEWAY TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 10, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 MCLAREN CUSTOM GRILLS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway. Press Conference Transcript: THE LACK OF STAGE BREAKS ON ROAD COURSES.. HOW WILL THAT IMPACT WHAT WE SEE HERE AT SONOMA RACEWAY? “Yeah, I mean to hear whether or not it’s a two-stop or a three-stop race, I think is still kind of to be determined based on pace fall-off and things like that. But that’s what the guys are initially looking at and see where that kind of falls. But yeah, you would always jump the stages and then you’d have the cautions, and then you’d have to go back green and all that sort of stuff. So I feel like making it a more traditional road course race lends itself – and we kind of saw it at COTA too – where there was actually still a lot of cautions, where maybe guys kind of knew or felt the pressure that if it gets too strung out, there’s no chance for me to keep it closed up and they’ll run into somebody and create a yellow. So that could certainly sometimes be the case as well here at Sonoma (Raceway). The leader here, until he runs into lap traffic, typically has a good advantage of just having that clean air and everything else to kind of walk away a little bit. So it makes it a lot tougher to try and come from the back without restarts.”
NASCAR ANNOUNCED SOME CHANGES TO THE CARS EFFECTIVE AT ATLANTA (MOTOR SPEEDWAY) BASED ON WHAT THEY SAW FROM THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE NO. 5/NO. 41 ACCIDENT. I’M CURIOUS WHAT YOU THINK OF THOSE AND ANY LINGERING CONCERNS AS FAR AS REAR IMPACTS WITH (NOAH) GRAGSON BEING OUT THIS WEEK?“Yeah, bummer for him. We saw a few big impacts last weekend and his seemed to be the worse, just after the brunt of how it all transpired – not being able to just get up beside the wall and not take a huge hit. The safety advances of the car and things like that – that’s all great, right. We needed to withstand big hits and hits like that and whatnot. I feel like we keep adding material and keep adding material and keep making these things heavier. We used to run 3,400 pound cars and now we’re at 3,600 pound cars, so what’s the limit? What’s the level of how heavy is too heavy?
Just talking to some of the engineers that I’ve spoken to – there are a few areas of the car that are really, really, really stiff and don’t have any sort of crush zone like the old car used to, and that’s why those bars broke. And so we didn’t look at any of that.. we didn’t cut any stuff out to soften up the frame rail, for instance, to let the frame rail flex. All we did was add stiffeners to make it even heavier and stiffer. So again, I’m not a genius, but at some point we all have to reimagine some things.”
YOUR WIN AT WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY WAS YOUR 63RD. NEXT ON THE LIST ABOVE YOU IS DALE EARNHARDT SR. WITH 76 AND JIMMIE (JOHNSON) AND CALE YARBOROUGH WITH 83. DO YOU LOOK AT THAT AS REALISTIC GOALS THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE?“Yeah, I mean I would have said during the 2015 to 2019 timeframe, when I was winning five or six a season, that it was definitely attainable. And then we kind of slowed down the last few years and I would have probably told you I didn’t know if I’d get there. And then this year, we’ve got three and I feel like there’s plenty more. So hopefully we can continue to showcase that at RCR and with the No. 8 Chevy to go out there and win some more. I think anything is possible. I think it would be more fair to talk about it when I at least hit 70, which that could probably happen by the end of next year, so hopefully it does.”
NOW THAT YOU’VE GOT THREE WINS, PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO SAY THAT WE THOUGHT AUSTIN DILLON WOULD LEARN MORE FROM KYLE (BUSCH) OR HE WOULD WIN. IS IT HARD FOR HIM AND THEN HOW DO YOU BOOST HIM AND HELP HIM? “Yeah, I would say Austin (Dillon) is actually – given his finishes and they’re probably not as good as he wants them to be – but where he comes from in a race, starting deep in the field, he’s been in some unfortunate circumstances on Friday’s or Saturday’s to get himself not qualified well. He flat out out-ran us at Bristol (Motorsport Speedway) Dirt, Martinsville (Speedway), North Wilkesboro (Motor Speedway).. the places with the low downforce stuff that us on the No. 8 are struggling with. Like last weekend, for instance, he ran in the teens for a while and he was slated to run probably eighth to tenth. So I don’t think that’s out of the ordinary for him and those guys. They are with a new crew chief with Keith (Rodden) coming over and getting ingrained into the system.. it’s probably a little bit more difficult on that side with those guys. But I still think there’s time and Austin is fine. He’s a competitor. He’s got a lot going on behind the scenes, as well. But I really enjoy working with him. He’s been a great teammate. We say a lot of the same things and talk a lot about how to continue to improve and make our stuff go, so that part of it has been really fun.”
I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE CURVE IS OF YOU BRINGING STUFF UP.. “No.. I mean I would say obviously he looked to me and wanted me to help elevate RCR and also help elevate himself. I feel like I’ve been able to do both of those things. I just don’t know the results are necessarily indicative to Austin’s (Dillon) standards or maybe to our other stands, and I think they’re still a work in progress on that front.”
WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE CHICAGO STREET COURSE RACE? “(laughs).. to hit the walls minimally, where you don’t create too much damage and you can still continue, and hopefully you don’t get pile-driven into a wreck if the track gets blocked.
I don’t know.. it’s going to be tight; it’s going to be narrow. So we’ll just kind of have to see when we get there about what exactly it looks like. Looking at it on the simulator is probably entirely different than what it might feel like or be like when you get out there on the race track.”
AS THE ONLY ACTIVE DRIVE IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES WITH TWO CHAMPIONSHIPS RIGHT NOW, HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE PLAYOFFS? WITH THREE WINS, YOU’RE LOCKED-IN, BUT CAN YOU TAKE EVERYTHING THAT YOU’VE LEARNED FROM THE OTHER TWO, EVEN THOUGH YOUR WITH ANOTHER ORGANIZATION, AND HAVE YOUR STRATEGY MENTALLY GOING IN THERE TO KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO APPROACH IT THIS YEAR? “Yeah, I mean I feel like the consensus of how we’ve done things when I had Adam was always really good. We came up with a good system, good format, that we looked at and kind of followed and it seemed to work really well. I need to talk to Randall (Burnett) about that.. haven’t really gotten that far ahead yet. But it would be a good discussion point to look at some of that stuff; some of the same things we did there.
It’s all about maximizing stage points, whether you’re winning stages and getting those points, which is awesome. Or just maximizing your stage points throughout a race to get the best finish possible all day long to get those all-important points. That’s probably one thing that we really executed well with at World Wide Technology Raceway – going one, two, one. But weeks prior to that, we’ve kind of been on the struggle bus with being able to maximize our stage points through the year. If I could have gone back and recalculated all of the stage points that we’ve probably lost, we’d be the points leader, you know what I mean. So it’s just a matter of hitting it perfect.”
WE’VE GOTTEN TO SEE SOME OF THE PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN CONFISCATED RECENTLY WITH NASCAR DISPLAYING THEM. FROM A DRIVER’S PERSPECTIVE, ARE YOU GUYS INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT OTHER TEAMS HAVE BEEN DOING, LIKE THE PART FROM THE NO. 14? “(Laughs).. I wish we had a ‘what an idiot’ award. I mean even if you can’t find that part, you know you can call one of the other race teams and say – hey, do you guys have this.. can we buy it from you? That blows my mind.. I don’t get it. For as little as that probably meant, that was a huge fine to the pocket book and points book.
So yeah, anyways – I think it’s kind of cool that they show all of that stuff; show exactly what’s going on and what guys are doing. What’s crazy about it, though, is all the penalties that have come out of the R&D center – I guarantee you that you could take 15 of them after every single race and there would be something wrong with 14 of them, you know? It’s all the tricks and what you’re trying to do and what you can get away with, all of the time.”
DID YOU ENJOY INDUCTING KURT (BUSCH) INTO THE WEST COAST HALL OF FAME THE OTHER NIGHT? “Yeah, thank you for bringing that up. Congratulations to Kurt (Busch) to being inducted into the West Coast Motorsports Hall of Fame. That’s really, really cool. Something special I remember years ago was seeing some of the names that were getting enshrined and inducted in. It’s really neat to have Kurt be a part of that and hopefully one day obviously me be a part of that.
But growing up in Las Vegas as two little punk kids and making it big time with not a lot of money and just a lot of talent – it was certainly really special. He did a great job of kind of paving the way for me through other circumstances also to get to the levels that he was able to get to, and beat the doors down that he was able to beat down and become a champion and a driver with a bunch of success. It’s been fun to see that, although I’m sure he kind of wished he could have ran out the rest of his time in his Cup career like he wanted to, but I think he’s made a lot of the right decisions in all of that. It’s good to see him rewarded for his time spent here in NASCAR.”

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6-hour report: Cadillac leads first-ever laps

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

Nos. 2 and 3 Cadillac V-Series.Rs in lead pack on changeable Circuit de la Sarthe

LE MANS, France (June 10, 2023) – Cadillac led its first-ever laps in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Saturday.
Earl Bamber had the distinction of driving the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, to the front of the 62-car field in the second hour of the endurance classic.
Media resources: Cadillac Racing information, photos, history at Le Mans and much more

What they’re saying
No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.REarl Bamber: “It was great to finally get the big race underway. The whole team at Cadillac Racing has been working toward this since mid-2021 and to be at the front and fight is fantastic. It’s been a long, hard race already. There are a lot of cars that have fallen out. Hopefully we’ll stay clean through the night and can fight for the lead and chase some of our dreams.” (About his stint): “Tough start to the race. We led off and were about P5 or P6. It was difficult with the track as green from the rain earlier, but second and third stint we know our Cadillac is really strong in those stints. So, as we started to get there, we started to move forward and led the first ever laps for Cadillac at Le Mans. Proud of that.” (About the No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R incident): “It was a real shame for the 311; I think they were going to be a really strong car. The guys did an amazing job repairing it. They are going to stay in the race and help us out with tire compounds and stuff and give us maximum info because the most important thing is one of these Cadillacs wins. It doesn’t matter which one because we’re all here as Cadillac Racing’s three-car effort.”
No. 3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais: “We have a good car and it’s just a matter of running a clean race, and we did but we can’t control the outside factors. It’s a shame. The right-rear puncture didn’t seem to impact us so much with the slow zone and the tire deg on the first stint is always pretty high, so putting new tires on helped us catch up pretty quickly. And then the real bummer is the GT car that got it all wrong in between the slow zones, drove right through and hit us in the right rear.”
Scott Dixon: “Definitely a tough first stint just with weather and a lot of slow zones. Pretty much the only drive time I had was in slow zones. With that massive downpour, I actually spun the car and was worried I was going to get hit from behind like two or three other cars behind me. Luckily, I just grazed the wall and I had a flat tire. We had to pit that lap anyway. Nothing really lost there, and the next hour or so was just under the Safety Car. Hopefully we get some dry running and show what this Cadillac can do. The car is great.”No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RChris Mitchum, No. 311 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R director of operations: “I commend the guys for their composure. We’ll just keep working at it and see what we get. These things happen and we’re regrouping. Unfortunately, heavy suspension damage to the left-front, bodywork also had to be replaced and some things under the car were knocked loose.”Après six heures: Cadillac mène ses tous premiers tours au Mans
LE MANS, France (le 10 juin, 2023) – Cadillac a mené ses tout premiers tours aux 24 Heures du Mans.Earl Bamber a la distinction de conduire la Cadillac V-Series.R n°2 en tête du peloton de 62 voitures dans la deuxième heure de la classique d’endurance.
Après six heures de course dans des conditions changeantes, la Cadillac V-Series.R n°2 occupait la sixième place avec Alex Lynn au volant. La Cadillac V-Series.R n°3 – qui a dû s’arrêter une fois pour changer l’aileron arrière et une seconde fois pour changer l’avant après des incidents et une pénalité d’une minute pour une infraction technique concernant la pression des pneus – est neuvième avec Renger van der Zande au volant.
La Cadillac V-Series.R n°311 de Whelen Engineering a été endommagée lors d’un incident au 1er tour à la sortie de la chicane de Daytona. L’équipe a travaillé rapidement et sans interruption pour remettre la voiture sur la piste. Les réparations et le remplacement des pièces ont duré environ 1 heure et 18 minutes. Avec Alexander Sims aux commandes, l’Hypercar comptait 17 tours de retard.
Earl Bamber, Cadillac V-Series.R n°2: « Cela a été formidable d’entamer enfin la grande course. Toute l’équipe de Cadillac Racing travaille dans ce sens depuis le milieu de l’année 2021 et c’est fantastique d’être aux avant-postes et de se battre. La course a déjà été longue et difficile. Il y a beaucoup de voitures qui sont sorties. J’espère que nous resterons ‘clean’ toute la nuit et que nous pourrons nous battre pour la tête et poursuivre certains de nos rêves. »« Le début de la course a été difficile. Nous avons pris la tête et étions aux alentours de P5 ou P6. C’était difficile avec une piste verte à cause de la pluie, mais dans les deuxième et troisième relais, nous savons que notre Cadillac est vraiment forte dans ces moments-là. Nous avons donc commencé à avancer et avons bouclé les tout premiers tours en tête dans l’histoire de Cadillac au Mans. J’en suis fier. »« C’est vraiment dommage pour la 311, je pense qu’elle allait être une voiture très forte. Les gars ont fait un travail remarquable pour la réparer. Ils vont rester dans la course et nous aider avec les compounds des pneus et nous donner un maximum d’informations parce que le plus important est que l’une de ces Cadillac gagne. Peu importe laquelle, car nous sommes tous ici dans le cadre de l’effort des trois voitures de Cadillac Racing. »
Sebastien Bourdais, Cadillac V-Series.R n°3: « Nous avons une bonne voiture et il s’agit juste de faire une course impeccable, ce que nous avons fait, mais nous ne maîtrisons pas les facteurs extérieurs. C’est dommage. La crevaison à l’arrière droit n’a pas semblé nous affecter outre mesure avec la slow zone et la dégradation des pneus lors du premier relais est toujours assez élevée, donc le fait de chausser des pneus neufs nous a permis de rattraper notre retard assez rapidement. Et puis, ce qui est vraiment dommage, c’est qu’une voiture GT, qui s’est trompée entre les slow zones, a roulé à fond et nous a percuté à l’arrière droit. Nous aurons une vraie Cadillac une fois que nous aurons repris la course. »
Scott Dixon, Cadillac V-Series.R n°3: « Le premier relais a été certainement difficile à cause de la météo et des nombreuses slow zones. C’est à peu près le seul temps de conduite que j’ai eu dans les slow zones. Avec cette pluie diluvienne, j’ai fait un tête-à-queue et je craignais de me faire percuter par deux ou trois autres voitures derrière moi. Heureusement, j’ai juste frôlé le mur et j’ai crevé. De toute façon, nous devions rentrer au stand ce tour. Il n’y a rien de vraiment perdu, et l’heure suivante s’est déroulée sous la safety car. J’espère que nous pourrons rouler sur le sec et montrer ce que cette Cadillac peut faire. La voiture est géniale. »Chris Mitchum, Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R director of operations: « Je félicite les gars pour leur sang-froid. Nous allons continuer à travailler et nous verrons ce que nous obtiendrons. Ce sont des choses qui arrivent et nous nous regroupons. Malheureusement, la suspension de l’avant gauche a été lourdement endommagée, la carrosserie a dû être remplacée et certains éléments sous la voiture se sont détachés. »

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CORVETTE RACING AT LE MANS: Six-Hour Update

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

No. 33 C8.R driving back through field after early-race mechanical, safety car issues LE MANS, France (June 10, 2023) – Corvette Racing on a mission – attempting to drive back through the field after a couple of issues in the opening quarter of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Ben Keating was back in for his second run the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, which ran 15th in the GTE Am class as the Centenary Le Mans race entered the seventh hour. Keating, Nico Varrone and starting driver Nicky Catsburg rotated through the Corvette as dusk began to fall on the 8.5-mile track.
Catsburg established a strong pace early from the lead before the first of two safety-car periods in the first six hours. The team elected to take fuel early to gain an advantage in the first stint and re-emerged in 12th. Disaster struck not long after as the Corvette crew had to replace the right-front damper after Catsburg radioed in that something didn’t feel right.
The service in the garage was a quick change but it still put the C8.R down two laps. Class pole-winner Keating – who got in the Corvette while the damper was still being fixed – began to claw back time before heavy rain pelted parts of the circuit.
Keating survived the deluge, and Corvette race engineers called him to the pitlane for wet tires. The race’s second safety car period came out moments later, giving the team hope of gaining a lap back because the C8.R would be ahead of the class leader in a train behind one of the three safety cars. For reasons unknown to the team, a group of cars – including the GTE Am leader – were allowed to exit pit lane before the next of the three safety cars came around. The mistake meant that the Corvette was trapped behind the class leader and couldn’t advance around the track to catch back up after all the safety car queues moved.
Undeterred, Varrone drove a speedy triple stint that saw him make up more than a half-lap on the field with times between four and seven seconds quicker than the rest of GTE Am.
The next Corvette Racing update is scheduled for 4 a.m. CT/10 p.m. ET.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION
Corvette Racing media information in both English and French is updated and available for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Materials include Le Mans race updates and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts and driver biographies

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was very strange. Everything was going fine. The car was running great and was all good. Out of nowhere, prototypes passed me and after that I had a weird feeling. Maybe this was because I had to go off-line and had some pickup, but it wouldn’t disappear. The car was moving around a lot and it wouldn’t disappear. The car was moving around a lot under braking and at all speed. So I told the guys that I think we had an issue. When we got it into the pitlane, it was the damper and we lost two laps. The crew still did an awesome job and couldn’t have done it quicker. It’s really tough, though, to come back from this spot. It seems like a disastrous race with the safety cars. But our main competitors in the championship are out of the race, so even with zero points we will still lead the championship. So we need to focus and get as many points as possible. Maybe we can get back on the lead lap. I kind of doubt it, but we will never give. Let’s see. The car is definitely fast, and everything went well. So I know we have a good car.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We had a great start but also an unexpected mechanical issue on the car. We are racing back. The team decided that I should get some of time out of the way. It was so treacherous. There were cars going off everywhere. Before they said anything about rain, I went into the Porsche Curves and it was a downpour. I just went straight and didn’t want to turn the wheel because I was afraid I’d be afraid. The next time around there, I was tip-toeing around and told the guys that I thought I was giving up too much time. They told me I was going to box and have a driver change, and I was very grateful for that news! The moved looked brilliant at the time. We put wet tires on and everyone else should have had to stop for wet tires. But the long safety car and the officials’ messing up the safety car procedure at pit exit didn’t help us and we didn’t get our lap back. But there’s a lot of time left. We’ll keep going.”

CORVETTE RACING AU MANS: Après six heuresLa C8.R n°33 revient dans la course après des problèmes mécaniques et de sécurité en début de course LE MANS, France (le 10 juin 2023) – Le Corvette Racing a une mission – tenter de revenir dans le peloton après avoir connu quelques problèmes dans le premier quart d’heure des 24 Heures du Mans.Ben Keating était au volant de la Chevrolet Corvette C8.R Mobil 1/SiriusXM n°33 pour son deuxième relais. La Corvette C8.R était 15ème de la catégorie GTE Am à la septième heure de la course. Keating, Nico Varrone et le pilote de départ Nicky Catsburg se sont relayés dans la Corvette alors que le crépuscule commençait à tomber sur le circuit. Catsburg était en tête avant la première des deux périodes de voiture de sécurité au cours des six premières heures de course. Le team choisissait de prendre de l’essence tôt pour prendre l’avantage dans le premier relais et repartit en 12ème position. La catastrophe survient peu après, lorsque l’équipe de la Corvette doit remplacer l’amortisseur avant droit après que Catsburg ait signalé par radio que quelque chose ne tournait pas rond. L’intervention dans le garage a été rapide, mais la C8.R a tout de même perdu deux tours. Le poleman de la catégorie, Keating, qui était monté dans la Corvette alors que l’amortisseur était encore en cours de réparation, commençait à gagner du temps avant qu’une pluie battante ne s’abatte sur certaines parties du circuit. Keating survit au déluge, et les ingénieurs de course de Corvette le font entrer au stand pour chausser des pneus pluie. La deuxième période de voiture de sécurité de la course est apparue quelques instants plus tard, donnant à l’équipe l’espoir de gagner un tour car la C8.R serait devant le leader de la catégorie dans un train derrière l’une des trois safety cars. Pour des raisons inconnues à l’équipe, un groupe de voitures – dont le leader de la catégorie GTE Am – a été autorisé à sortir de la voie des stands avant l’arrivée de la prochaine des trois safety cars. Cette erreur signifiait que la Corvette se retrouvait coincée derrière le leader de la catégorie et qu’elle ne pouvait pas progresser sur la piste pour le rattraper avant la fin de l’intervention des safety cars. Sans se décourager, Varrone a réalisé un triple relais rapide qui lui a permis de gagner plus d’un demi-tour sur le peloton, avec des temps au tour de quatre à sept secondes plus vite que le reste de la catégorie GTE Am. NICKY CATSBURG, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°33: « C’était très bizarre. Tout allait bien. La voiture fonctionnait très bien et tout allait bien. Des prototypes m’ont dépassé et j’ai eu une sensation bizarre. C’est peut-être parce que j’ai dû sortir de la ligne et que j’ai pris un peu de ‘pickup’, mais ça n’a pas disparu. La voiture bougeait beaucoup et ça ne disparaissait pas. La voiture bougeait beaucoup au freinage et à toute vitesse. J’ai donc dit aux gars que je pensais que nous avions un problème. Lorsque je suis arrivé au stand, nous avons constaté qu’il s’agissait de l’amortisseur et nous avons perdu deux tours. L’équipe a tout de même fait un travail formidable et n’aurait pas pu aller plus vite. C’est vraiment difficile de revenir de cette position. La course semble désastreuse avec les safety cars. Mais nos principaux concurrents au championnat sont hors course, donc même avec zéro point, nous restons en tête du championnat. Nous devons donc nous concentrer pour marquer le plus de points possible. Peut-être pourrons-nous revenir dans le tour de tête. J’en doute un peu, mais nous ne renoncerons jamais. Nous verrons bien. La voiture est vraiment rapide et tout s’est bien passé. Je sais donc que nous avons une bonne voiture. » BEN KEATING, MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R n°33: « Nous avions pris un bon départ, mais nous avons eu un problème mécanique inattendu sur la voiture. Nous sommes en train de revenir. L’équipe a décidé que je devais prendre mon temps. C’était tellement dangereux. Il y avait des voitures qui partaient dans tous les sens. Avant qu’ils ne parlent de pluie, je suis entré dans les virages Porsche et il pleuvait des cordes. J’ai continué tout droit et je n’ai pas voulu tourner le volant parce que j’avais peur d’être effrayé. La fois suivante, j’ai avancé sur la pointe des pieds et j’ai dit aux gars que je pensais que je perdais trop de temps. Ils m’ont dit de rentrer au stand pour changer de pilote, et j’ai été très reconnaissant de cette nouvelle ! La manœuvre semblait brillante à ce moment-là. Nous avons mis des pneus pluie et tous les autres auraient dû s’arrêter pour cela. Mais la longue voiture de sécurité et l’erreur des officiels dans la procédure de la voiture de sécurité à la sortie des stands ne nous ont pas aidés et nous n’avons pas récupéré notre tour. Mais il reste beaucoup de temps. Nous allons continuer. »

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chevy Racing–nascar–sonoma–kyle larson

June 12, 2023 ARP Trish

NASCAR CUP SERIES

SONOMA RACEWAY

TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

JUNE 10, 2023

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway. Press Conference Transcript:

YOU WERE FASTEST IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES’ PRACTICE YESTERDAY. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO LEARN TODAY FOR XFINITY AND FOR CUP?

“I don’t know.. I mean obviously I get excited about qualifying here because we’ve done so well in it the last handful of years. And then excited to run the Xfinity race later on, just to try and learn as much as I can. I qualify well here, but I don’t typically race the best. So yeah, there’s still a lot of areas to improve on and get better. I’m excited for the opportunity and hoping for a good weekend.”

I KNOW YOU’RE A HUMBLE GUY, BUT AFTER XFINITY PRACTICE YESTERDAY, A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SAYING EVERYBODY WAS PICKING KYLE LARSON TO WIN HERE. DID YOU THINK THE EFFORT WAS REALLY GOOD YESTERDAY IN XFINITY, AND ARE YOU FEELING LIKE YOU’RE GOING TO BE REALLY STRONG TODAY?

“Yeah, I know we’ll have a shot, for sure. I don’t get too overly excited because I think I was like 1.2-seconds faster in practice at Road America too, and I wasn’t even the fastest car in the race and got beat.

Yeah, I don’t know. This is the first time for a lot of the guys here (in the Xfinity Series), so I know the spread will get much tighter after they’ve had a night to sleep on it. But yeah, regardless, I know that No. 17 Chevy is fast every time it hits the track, so we’re going to have a good shot to have a good run.”

WITH NO CAUTIONS AT THE STAGE ENDS, DOES THAT MAKE THINGS A LOT SIMPLER FOR YOU, OR DO YOU NOT REALLY GET INTO TIRE STRATEGY AND JUST PIT WHEN CLIFF (DANIELS) TELLS YOU?

“Yeah, I don’t know.. I just go until they say to come in. But I think, yes – it makes it simpler. It makes qualifying even more important I think because hopefully you qualify well and the race could potentially run out.. I know that won’t happen, but yeah you just have a better shot of staying towards the front. Rather than with the stage breaks before – if you stay out, then you’re restarting like 20-something and it’s just hard and you’re in the hornet’s nest. So it should be a little bit more straight forward, hopefully. But depending on when cautions fall, it can still get kind of mixed up.”

NASCAR ANNOUNCED MORE CHANGES TO THE CARS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE FOR ATLANTA (MOTOR SPEEDWAY) BASED ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF YOUR WRECK WITH RYAN PREECE. HAVE YOU SEEN THE CHANGES AND ANY THOUGHTS ON HOW NASCAR WENT ABOUT FIGURING THOSE OUT?

“Yeah, I mean not an engineer, so I don’t know. I can’t look at it and really give you an opinion on how well they did with the changes or what not. But I am very happy that me being in that wreck at Talladega (Superspeedway) and seeing how close it got to being really bad – seeing them go straight into action, compile data and make quick moves on improving the safety was something I was happy to see.

Yeah, I think it’s a great thing and great for them to move along quickly.”

FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, IT APPEARS THAT THE DRIVERS HAVE A LITTLE MORE EXCITEMENT ABOUT SONOMA RACEWAY BECAUSE IT DOESN’T HAVE THAT INHERENT CHAOS OF LIKE INDIANAPOLIS. IS THAT TRUE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AS WELL?

“Sure.. I mean I think there’s a little bit of that, yeah. I mean there’s no 90 degree corner directly after restarts, so yeah I think this is more of a true road course race than the newer ones on our schedule. But I think everybody looks forward to Sonoma (Raceway) because of the area – the region that we’re in and the stuff to do outside of the race track, as well. But then yeah, the the race track is flowy. It’s got pace fall-off, which is a lot of what we like as drivers. Yeah, it’s just a good track.”

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS WON HERE, DO YOU HAVE A LAYOUT THAT YOU PREFER?

“I like the layout with the carousel, personally. But I think for viewership-wise for the fans, I think this layout is a little bit better maybe. I don’t know.. I like the carousel because you can kind of reshape that corner a few different ways and set people up either for the next braking zone and stuff like that. Where with turn four and how it is now, it’s not really very easy to pass. It’s kind of a fast corner, too. And then that leads into turn seven, which is a passing zone.

I just feel like there’s a little bit more room for mistakes with the carousel with it being really bumpy getting in and you can kind of reshape that corner and setup some passes. But like I said, I think viewership-wise, it sounds like it’s maybe better this way.”

HOW HAVE YOU GROWN AS A ROAD COURSE RACER THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER? OBVIOUSLY YOU GOT THE POLE HERE (SONOMA RACEWAY) A COUPLE OF TIMES AND YOU’VE WON HERE AND AT WATKINS GLEN (INTERNATIONAL). HOW HAVE YOU ADAPTED AS A ROAD COURSE RACER – FROM WHERE YOU STARTED TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve always qualified well at road courses. COTA (Circuit of The Americas) is probably the only one that I don’t really qualify that good at, for whatever reason. But I don’t know.. I’ve always qualified well. And when I was at Chip Ganassi Racing, I didn’t race good at all, especially here (at Sonoma Raceway). We would qualify on the pole and then run like 20th in the race. At Watkins Glen (International), I would qualify good and we could race better there.

But since I got to Hendrick Motorsports, I still qualify well and our race car is good. I’m not sure where I’ve developed. I think our race cars are just really good and can kind of handle me being crazy, abusing my tires and stuff.

I don’t know.. I look forward to road courses just because it’s different – it’s fun and it’s something I feel like I’m good at.”

ON THURSDAY, ONE OF THE DRIVERS SAID THAT BECAUSE THIS HAS SO FEW PASSING OPPORTUNITIES, THAT YOU ALMOST HAVE TO BE AGGRESSIVE TO TRY AND CREATE SOME PASSING ZONES SOMEWHERE ON THE TRACK. HOW DO YOU BALANCE BEING AGGRESSIVE ON A RACE TRACK WITH BEING CAUTIOUS ON A TRACK WHERE IT’S PRETTY NARROW AND YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIRE WEAR?

“I don’t know.. every road course is tough to pass on, so I’m not sure. Honestly, I feel like maybe there’s a little more passing zones here (at Sonoma Raceway) than some others. Like Watkins Glen (International), kind of turn one, maybe.. the bus stop is really tough to pass in (turn) two. That’s it, really. Turn one is really the only good passing zone. Where here, you kind of have a little bit in (turn) four. (Turn) seven is obviously really good. (Turn) 11 is obviously really good. Restarts and stuff, you can make some moves. Off of (turn) eight to nine.. and off of (turn) two to three. So I feel like there’s more passing zones here if your car is good. But hell, ovals are tough to pass on, too. It’s just racing.”

THEY KIND OF PATCHED AN AREA IN TURN THREE AND BY THE CURB IN TURN EIGHT. DURING XFINITY PRACTICE, DID YOU NOTICE MUCH DIFFERENCE IN THOSE AREAS?

“I thought that in (turn) three that you would feel it.. feel the new patch. But I didn’t really feel a grip change there, which was kind of nice. And then yeah, (turn) eight is where I think they added it right next to the curb, and again, you don’t really have much weight in your left-front tire right there, so you don’t feel the grip of the patch.

But yeah, I don’t know. Maybe as it rubbers in (turn) three, maybe you’ll feel some grip there, but it didn’t feel any different. So, it was fine.”

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Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team, New England Nationals winners, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

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

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Lee Hartman Wins Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty with First Round Win at Bristol Dragway

Lee Hartman, winner of $2,000 Flexjet bounty, photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

Lenny Lottig, Thunder Valley Nationals No. 1 qualifier, photo credit NHRA

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Racer News and Results

June 10, 2023

Justin Ashley and Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel team, New England Nationals winners, photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

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

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel1. Justin Ashley 5182. Steve Torrence 5103. Brittany Force 4724. Leah Pruett 4625. Austin Prock 4436. Mike Salinas 4147. Antron Brown 4088. Josh Hart 3789. Shawn Langdon 33510. Doug Kalitta 325

Lee Hartman, winner of $2,000 Flexjet bounty, photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

Lenny Lottig, Thunder Valley Nationals No. 1 qualifier, photo credit NHRA

Racer News and Results

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel
1. Justin Ashley 518
2. Steve Torrence 510
3. Brittany Force 472
4. Leah Pruett 462
5. Austin Prock 443
6. Mike Salinas 414
7. Antron Brown 408
8. Josh Hart 378
9. Shawn Langdon 335
10. Doug Kalitta 325