Final laps for Corvette C8.R in the hands of Corvette Racing  SAKHIR, Bahrain (November 5, 2023) – The championship-winning No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R turned its final laps in the hands of Corvette Racing on Sunday as part of the annual FIA World Endurance Championship Rookie Test, with two drivers new to the mid-engine GTE car having the opportunity to sample it the day after the Eight Hours of Bahrain: · Antoine Doquin: Nominated by the WEC following an LMP3 championship in the Asian Le Mans Series and a strong showing in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP3 category· Timur Boguslavskiy: GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup champion in 2023 and GTWC Europe Sprint Cup runner-up in 2020, 2022 and 2023

Corvette Racing and program management used Sunday’s pair of sessions to test and evaluate each driver for potential future opportunities with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which will begin competing next year in the WEC, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Fanatec GT World Challenge America. In the next garage over from the C8.R, Corvette Racing’s Nico Varrone received the opportunity to test Cadillac Racing’s Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar a day after his GTE Am championship season closed. Varrone won three times this year with Corvette Racing – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and teammates Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg, who also turned his final laps in the C8.R on Sunday. Varrone, who drove for the first time with Corvette Racing at last year’s Rookie Test, will be part of AWA’s GTD full-season lineup in the WeatherTech Championship as the team transitions to Z06 GT3.R with two entries in 2024, starting with the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. NICKY CATSBURG: “To me, the best thing about today was to look at my teammate Nico and see how he did in the Cadillac Hypercar. We all have high expectations for him, so it’s very cool for him to get this opportunity. For me, it was nice to turn my last laps in this car before it goes into Ben Keating’s garage! That’s always a pleasure. I loved this car right from the start when I first drove it four years ago. It always has been a car that suited my driving style and I always felt comfortable in it. On one hand, I feel like next year’s Corvette GT3 car is going to be similar so it doesn’t feel like a final goodbye. I enjoyed today as much as I could and see if I could help the rookies out a little bit.” NICO VARRONE: “Bahrain continues to be very special to me! I have been dreaming of the opportunity to drive a Hypercar, but I thought it would never come so early in my career. It has been great. It’s a different car, full of power and in the top class of endurance racing. The high-speed corners with the aero was really nice. Braking was a little bit difficult, of course, and it was one of the main things. But it was so nice to drive!”GM is like a family. At Le Mans and this season, we shared a lot of time and space together. You get to know everyone, even if it’s just saying hi. It was quite relaxing rather than coming into a new place. They were all very nice, I have to say. It was great. I’m really thankful to the entire Cadillac team, to GM, to Laura (Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager), Christie (Bagne, Corvette Z06 GT3.R Program Manager) and many others. This is an opportunity I will never forget.” ANTOINE DOQUIN: “That was really, really fun and I enjoyed that a lot! Thank you to the WEC and Corvette Racing for the opportunity. This was my first time in a GTE car, and I absolutely loved it. It’s a GT3 car but 10 times better without ABS, so it’s all about the braking. It was a very good day but very tough with tire management. The track is quite tough for a stint with the tire degradation. I learned a lot and know now how the Corvette team works. I’m really happy and we will see what the future brings us. I would love to be with Corvette. There is such a great atmosphere with the team and the mechanics. I have been with them for two days, and they are very, very kind… always funny and always with a smile! A big thanks to all of the team from the mechanics to the engineers for this moment because I really loved it.” TIMUR BOGUSLAVSKIY: “This was my first ever in a Corvette, and I like it quite a lot. I have tested three cars in my life, and this is more like a prototype than any GT3 car I have tested – a proper racing car. I enjoyed how the team works and you can see immediately why they have so much success. With the car, I feel I was struggling with the brakes because I am normally driving with ABS. To go to a car without it, you have to change your style and you are going to be inconsistent. At the end of the day, I don’t think I did a bad job. This track is not easy. Overall this was a great feeling and I hope to continue to work together again with Corvette in the future.”

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 4, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. has had an unforgettable year – one he made sure he and the SSI Motorsports team will never forget, going back-to-back to cap the 2023 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series season Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Thornton’s 33rd overall Feature win on the national dirt Late Model scene this year was one of his most impressive, wheeling the Dyno One, Longhorn/Clements No. 20RT from 10th on the starting grid up to the lead in 27 laps to bank the $25,000 grand prize in the World of Outlaws World Finals finale.

Race after race, track after track, big payday after big payday, Thornton and the SSI Motorsports team have dominated 2023. But as they closed out the season with Thornton’s fourth career World of Outlaws victory and third this year, surely, they’ve had a moment to let all their accomplishments soak in, right?

“Definitely not,” Thornton said. “My guys bust their butts. You figure every down day is a day you’re not getting better.”

One thing Thornton got much better at over the four-day race weekend – far more than any other driver – was getting around on the high side. Early on in the 50-lap main event, Thornton began ripping the top line around the 4/10-mile, red clay oval and worked his way up to third by Lap 17.

“I started losing track of the guys on the bottom,” Thornton said. “I’m like, ‘You know what, the top looks pretty good.’ I could see [Brandon] Sheppard running up there and figured if I was gonna have a shot to win it, I just gotta go now.”

Soon, Thornton had closed in on the rear bumper of Chris Madden and dove underneath him in a bid for second going into Turn 3 on Lap 24. He slid up in front of Madden out of Turn 4 to seal the pass and immediately set his sights on leader Cade Dillard, who was less than a second ahead.

In only three laps, Thornton reeled Dillard in and put the same move on him as he did for Madden with a deep dive down low going into Turn 3, then sliding back up in front of him out of Turn 4 to take the lead.

Now with the lead, it seemed like nothing could slow Thornton’s pace – not even the race’s only caution flag with 33 laps complete. He and Madden broke away from the field on the ensuing restart and battled side-by-side for the top spot briefly, but Thornton was too quick.

By this time, Mike Marlar had climbed back up into the top three, getting by Dale McDowell for third on Lap 37. After catching his rear bumper, Marlar as well dove underneath Madden in Turn 3 to grab second out of Turn 4.

He closed slightly in the final laps, but Marlar came up one spot short of his third career win at Charlotte. Madden hung on for third while McDowell and Garrett Smith completed the top five.

Crossing the line behind Smith in sixth was Bobby Pierce, who had drove up from 11th on the starting grid and was later crowned with his first dirt Late Model national championship in his first season aboard the World of Outlaws tour.

Pierce, the second-generation racer from Oakwood, IL, had mathematically clinched the points title Wednesday after taking the green flag in Qualifying, which put him more at ease racing against 74 other cars throughout the weekend.

“This has been a great weekend for us, just learning this track,” Pierce said. “But I definitely wouldn’t have liked to head into this deal with a tight point battle. We were very relaxed.”

At 26 years old, Pierce already solidified himself as an undeniable talent several years ago with his abundance of DIRTcar Late Model national points titles, DIRTcar Summer Nationals titles and several marquee event wins at the national level – most notably his win in the 2016 World 100 at Eldora Speedway at the age of 18.

Now, he’s a national Late Model series champion. But even with all of those accomplishments as such a young age, he said he’s nowhere close to being done.

“It’s definitely an uplifting thing to know,” Pierce said. “I’ve got a lot more years to go – just a lot more years to learn. Heck, a lot of times, you don’t figure things out ‘til late in your life. I feel like, especially this weekend, taught me there’s lot I have to learn still.

“We’re gonna come back next year, try to get another one. See how many of these we can get.”

While the points championship stayed locked-up over the weekend, the battle for fourth and several thousands of dollars in points fund checks was settled.

Kyle Bronson came into the weekend holding the fourth spot and retained it with a 10th-place finish in Saturday’s Feature. 2023 Germfree Rookie of the Year Nick Hoffman finished seventh Saturday and advanced two spots in points up to fifth.

While Brian Shirley’s ran 22nd Saturday, he did retain sixth place in points after jumping up one spot earlier in the week, and Ryan Gustin fell two points positions after taking a DNF Saturday. Dennis Erb Jr. jumped up one spot in points to eighth, while Tanner English rolled back to ninth after a trying weekend of no finishes better than 20th.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

CASE Construction Equipment  Feature (50 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[10]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[2]; 5. 10-Garrett Smith[6]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce[11]; 7. 9-Nick Hoffman[9]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard[1]; 9. 20-Jimmy Owens[16]; 10. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 11. 49-Jonathan Davenport[19]; 12. 18D-Daulton Wilson[4]; 13. B5-Brandon Sheppard[25]; 14. 16-Ben Watkins[12]; 15. 0-Scott Bloomquist[14]; 16. 79-Donald McIntosh[23]; 17. 39-Tim McCreadie[13]; 18. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[17]; 19. 1T-Tyler Erb[22]; 20. 96V-Tanner English[26]; 21. 25-Shane Clanton[27]; 22. 8-Brian Shirley[18]; 23. 93-Carson Ferguson[24]; 24. 76-Brandon Overton[8]; 25. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 26. 57-Zack Mitchell[21]; 27. 22-Chris Ferguson[20]; 28. B1-Brent Larson[28]

Sweet slips by Rico Abreu late to top final night of the 2023 season and clinch fifth championship

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 4, 2023) – Brad Sweet could’ve been careful. He could’ve put the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 in cruise control. With a front row starting spot, all he needed was to finish 22nd or better to seal a fifth consecutive World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championship.

But “The Big Cat” had no intentions of taking it easy to close out 2023. He gave the sold-out grandstands what they paid for.

Sweet slipped back slightly to start the 25-lapper on Saturday night. But the Grass Valley, CA native rallied back to snatch the lead late from Rico Abreu after a side-by-side duel. Sweet then held on to put the exclamation mark on his title campaign with his first win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“Just happy to be here in front of this large crowd,” Sweet said. “Happy we were able to get our NAPA Auto Parts car in Victory Lane. We’ve been trying here for a long time. I think with the points you’re always so conservative, but tonight we had a car capable of doing it. I was able to be pretty conservative on the bottom and keep my tires under me and just kind of snuck by Rico there at the end and tried to just hold him off there coming to the checkered.”

Sweet’s 11th victory of 2023 with The Greatest Show on Dirt elevated his career total to 90, moving him within five of Dave Blaney’s total of 95, which is eighth all-time. It was also his first triumph at the Charlotte oval in his 38th attempt. With the fifth consecutive championship, Sweet equaled the second longest streak of all-time and is one away from Steve Kinser’s record mark of six straight.

Brian Brown and Sweet brought the field to green for the season finale, and it was Brown leading the way on the opening lap. On the second circuit, Abreu ripped the top around Sweet to take over the runner-up spot.

Abreu quickly began his pursuit of Brown and closed in little by little over the next few laps. The St. Helena, CA native attempted a slider on Brown early but couldn’t clear him. Only a couple laps later, traffic presented an issue for Brown and allowed Abreu to roar around him on the top for the lead.

Behind the two leaders, Friday’s winner – Brent Marks – was coming to life as he rolled by Sweet for third on Lap 9. Then only one lap later, he slid Brown to take control of second. Sweet followed suit by making a move on Brown to climb into the third spot.

Both Marks and Sweet began pursuit of Abreu as the race crossed the halfway point. The Pennsylvanian trimmed Abreu’s lead all the way down to barely more than two tenths on Lap 16. But he saw a surging Sweet drive by him for second on the next time around.

RELATED: Pierce, Sheppard, Sweet Crowned 2023 Champions at World Finals

Sweet then began to cut into Abreu’s lead as the two used entirely different lines. Abreu pounded the top around the fence while Sweet patiently rolled the bottom. With only four laps remaining, Sweet had knocked Abreu’s lead under two tenths of a second as the two went side by side.

“I think it takes two different setups. You’re either set up to run the top and go real fast, or you’re set up to go real slow around the bottom,” Sweet said. “I just felt like we needed to be on the bottom there with everything we had going. I feel like you can keep your tires under you and keep them cool down there, and it seems to pay off. It seems like passing lapped cars is even harder on the top when the guy is real patient on the bottom. So, I just tried to be patient.”

Ultimately, patience paid off for Sweet. Coming out of Turn 4 on Lap 23, Abreu didn’t hit the top as smoothly as he had been, and Sweet capitalized by completing the pass on the front straightaway. 

With the lead in his possession, only two more laps stood between him and closing out his title campaign with a trip to Victory Lane. He wheeled the Napa Auto Parts #49 smoothly around the 4/10-mile two more times to claim the checkered flag. 

“It’s just really neat to cap it off with a win like this, and it’s basically like a walk-off homer,” Sweet said. “It just feels really good, and were going to celebrate… I’m just super happy. It’s just such a relief. These seasons are so long and so grueling and so hard. It’s just unbelievable that we’ve been able to accomplish what we’ve been able to accomplish.”

For the second time in three nights, Abreu brought home the runner-up spot, marking his 17th World of Outlaws podium of the year – by far the most for any competitor not running the full schedule. Despite losing out on a potential win late, Abreu kept his head up and looked at the result as an opportunity to absorb a lesson.

“I think you learn more losing these races than you do winning them,” Abreu said. “You’re racing the best in the country, so your margin for error is so minimal. You have lapped traffic running side-by-side in front of you eight laps into the race. You’re just trying to manipulate and pick and choose which lanes to run. My car was set up to run the top, and I committed up there. You win and lose those races. It’s just part of it.”

Rounding out the final podium of the 2023 World of Outlaws season was Logan Schuchart aboard the Shark Racing #1S. The result helped him lock up the fifth spot in points as he entered the night in a close battle with Donny Schatz for the spot. The Hanover, PA native found speed on the top and stuck to it throughout the race.

“When I was racing with Carson a little earlier in the race, he kind of went to the bottom and that’s why I got by him. It looked like he slipped off the bottom a little bit,” Schuchart explained. “So, I didn’t want that to happen to me, and I didn’t know what it felt like. I didn’t want to go somewhere I didn’t want to go. So, I just kind of stuck to pounding the top of the racetrack and seeing what I could make happen up there. Once the tires started going away the last couple laps, I couldn’t run it in there as hard as I wanted to anymore. But all in all, a great end to our season to finish on the podium.”

Brent Marks and Tyler Courtney completed the top five.

David Gravel drove from 21st to seventh to earn the KSE Racing Hard Charger. Gravel’s result made the final margin between himself and Sweet 60 points, which is the fifth straight year it has been within 100 and the eighth closest ever.

Giovanni Scelzi completed his Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year campaign with a fourth place finish in points, equaling both Jeff Swindell (1981) and Brad Doty (1982) for the best debut season in Series history.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Rico Abreu. NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were topped by Brent Marks, Tyler Courtney, and Brad Sweet.

David Gravel won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

Brian Brown claimed the Toyota Racing Dash.

UP NEXT: The 2024 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car campaign will begin on with the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals on Feb. 8-10 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL.

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet[2]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu[4]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 4. 19-Brent Marks[3]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[9]; 7. 2-David Gravel[21]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[8]; 9. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[10]; 10. 21-Brian Brown[1]; 11. 5-Spencer Bayston[16]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen[15]; 13. 15-Donny Schatz[13]; 14. 13-Justin Peck[6]; 15. 83-James McFadden[25]; 16. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[23]; 17. 2MD-Cap Henry[12]; 18. 69K-Justin Henderson[18]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[20]; 20. 8-Cory Eliason[14]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11]; 22. 1T-Tanner Holmes[17]; 23. 99-Skylar Gee[19]; 24. 9-Kasey Kahne[22]; 25. 7S-Robbie Price[26]; 26. 42-Sye Lynch[24]; 27. (DNS) 20G-Noah Gass

(11/4/23 – Ben Deatherage) Stockton, CA … Buddy Kofoid was in a class of his own at the Stockton Dirt Track to best the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series and win the 30-lap Tribute To Gary Patterson. 

Kofoid, piloting the Toyota Racing Development/Roth Enterprises #83JR Maxim for car owners Dennis and Teresa Roth, had to hold off a pair of hard-charging contenders and fight through some busy traffic to secure the victory. 

Corey Day and car owner Jason Meyers, who experienced mechanical issues early in the main event, claimed the 2023 NARC championship.

When the initial green flag dropped, Kofoid sprinted past DJ Netto in the Netto Ag/Penny Newman Grain #88N KPC to pace the field. Four caution periods during the first six circuits disallowed the leader from developing any safety margin on the rest of the field.

After the fourth and final caution period, Kofoid managed to set a fast pace on an open racetrack and it only took a handful of laps before he reached the tail end of the field.  Heavy traffic made things interesting and made the eventual winner work hard for his money.  His brief inability to get around some cars mid-race brought Netto and Shane Golobic, wheeling the NOS Energy Drink/Southern Pacific Farms #17W KPC, into the mix to challenge.

Having to time his moves in traffic carefully, Kofoid made some brilliant maneuvers, despite almost getting overtaken around the halfway mark by Netto.  However, that served as a wake up call for Kofoid who pulled away and comfortably scored his second career NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win. It was his first triumph since winning the Howard Kaeding Classic in July 2017 at Ocean Speedway.

“That was the most physical race I’ve ever run here,” said a worn-out winner.  “I think the last fifteen laps I was holding on thinking “this is going to be the white” then next lap “this is the white,” and then I got stuck behind some guys and began to get tired and started making mistakes but then I was able to eventually pick them off.”

“I’m super happy to win a NARC race, especially when we’ve run second a couple of times and finally get a win, especially in a 410, at this race. I got to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth for the opportunity to drive such an iconic and beautiful car. I’m extremely proud to have this Toyota under the hood.”

“I found a lane that I was able to make it work, then once I got to traffic and found out that it was dictating the speed of the entrance into the corners, it got a little fluffier, and I got tight,” stated second finishing Netto, “I decided to get behind (Buddy) and see if I could capitalize on a mistake. I feel fortunate to finish in second and would have really loved to win for my guys.”

Golofic was third. Dominic Scelzi finished fourth in his Scelzi Motorsports/Whipple Superchargers/Red Rose Transportation #41 Maxim while the Mittry Motorsports-fielded MittryConstruction.com/Framers Brewing/North County Plastering #2X Maxim in fifth.

 Justyn Cox managed to end the night sixth over Bud Kaeding. Colby Copeland would beat out teenager Dylan Bloomfield for eighth. Tanner Carrick rounded out the top ten finishers.

Kofoid set a quick time in ARP Qualifying, while heat winners were Golobic, Netto, and Sanders.

 NAPA AUTO PARTS A-FEATURE (30 Laps): 1. 83JR-Buddy Kofoid[2]; 2. 88N-DJ Netto[1]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic[5]; 4. 41-Dominic Scelzi[7]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders[6]; 6. 42X-Justyn Cox[8]; 7. 69-Bud Kaeding[3]; 8. 16A-Colby Copeland[10]; 9. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[12]; 10. 83T-Tanner Carrick[11]; 11. 26-Billy Aton[15]; 12. 115-Nick Parker[16]; 13. 17M-Kalib Henry[9]; 14. 5T-Ryan Timms[14]; 15. 7-Ashton Torgerson[13]; 16. 2R-Richard Brace Jr[17]; 17. 14-Corey Day[4]

 METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Buddy Kofoid 1-30

 WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Billy Aton +4

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic[2]; 2. 41-Dominic Scelzi[1]; 3. 83JR-Buddy Kofoid[4]; 4. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[3]; 5. 5T-Ryan Timms[5]; 6. 115-Nick Parker[6]

 KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto[1]; 2. 17M-Kalib Henry[3]; 3. 14-Corey Day[4]; 4. 83T-Tanner Carrick[2]; 5. 26-Billy Aton[5]; 6. 2R-Richard Brace Jr[6]

 BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps):  1. 2X-Justin Sanders[2]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox[1]; 3. 16A-Colby Copeland[5]; 4. 7-Ashton Torgerson[3]; 5. 69-Bud Kaeding[4]

 SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto[1]; 2. 83JR-Buddy Kofoid[4]; 3. 69-Bud Kaeding[2]; 4. 14-Corey Day[3]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic[5]; 6. 2X-Justin Sanders[6]

ARP QUALIFYING QUICK TIME: Buddy Kofoid, 13.261 (17 Cars)

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 4, 2023) – All dirt roads led to the brightest lights, the largest fireworks, the biggest stage and the most prestigious trophies at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Saturday night.

Basking in the rays of those glowing honors were Brad Sweet, Matt Sheppard and Bobby Pierce.

For the first two drivers, it was a familiar sight as Sweet scored his fifth straight World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series title and Sheppard earned a historic 10th Super DIRTcar Series championship. But for Pierce, it was a moment like no other: his first national championship in his first full season with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models.

It’s a moment many wrote off before the season even started.

“It was really nice proving everybody wrong, all the naysayers and all that,” Pierce said. “And not just proving them wrong but winning the whole thing and dominating toward the end.

“I don’t doubt them for having disbeliefs. I only ran a full series one time. It was a long time ago. It was 2018. You see it all the time, guys drop off and they go run Summer Nationals or whatever they might do, and it just doesn’t work out. We knew we had a set mind that we were going to do it.”

Pierce ended the World of Outlaws season with 14 wins 25 top-five finishes and 32 top 10s – he had four Series wins in 77 starts before the 2023 season.

With his title, he becomes the fifth driver in Series history to win the championship in their first full season, joining Billy Moyer, Scott Bloomquist, Mike Marlar and Brandon Sheppard in that category. The Oakwood, IL native also becomes the fifth straight Series champion from Illinois. Brandon Sheppard, of New Berlin, IL, won 2019-2021 and Dennis Erb Jr., of Carpentersville, IL, won his first Series championship last year.

“Man, it’s just, it’s really a goal that came true,” Pierce said. “We set out with our goal at Volusia (Speedway Park in January) to run the whole Series, and then when we noticed we were pretty fast the goal quickly changed to win the series. We had a lot of points to make up at one time and we did that. Yeah, just a crazy effort by everybody.

“The car was really fast all year. Won a lot of races. Just been one of them monumental years for us. It’s pretty crazy. The Outlaw title is something that, for me… I never knew when I was going to run a national Series again. So, like, when we ran it this year, at first, I wasn’t sure we would even be in the hunt to win this thing. To come out on top was very very special for us. The history with the World of Outlaws, I think it is one of the best Series of racing in the world. It’s pretty cool.”

While Pierce soaked in the championship glory for the first time, Sheppard hoisted the Super DIRTcar Series championship trophy for the 10th time in his career, solidifying himself as the winningest champion in Series history.

“Ten is a big number, it’s a lot of championships,” Sheppard said before pausing, trying to comprehend the significance of his achievement. “It’s just a huge accomplishment for myself and my team.”

It’s not only a milestone moment with the Series, but a historic moment in motorsports as Sheppard joins a small elite list of drivers who have reached 10 or more titles, joining the likes of 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and 10-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz in the dirt racing landscape.

“It really is (cool),” Sheppard said about being in the same company as the two legends. “Every year it seems like we enter our name in the record book a little further. It’s probably something I’ll look back on more when I’m done racing. I would like to think I still have some good years in me.”

Sheppard, of Waterloo, NY, capped off the 2023 season by winning the final night of the World of Outlaws World Finals – his second win in three days at the Charlotte track – bringing him to five wins for the season and 94 Series wins overall.

Milestone moments continued with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series as Brad Sweet, of Grass Valley, CA, clinched his fifth straight Series title by also winning the final night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte ­– his first win at the track. He, again, wrote his name next to Kinser and Schatz in the history book, joining them under the category of drivers who have won five straight championships.

“Really excited we’ve been able to make these accomplishments,” Sweet said. “It is certainly not easy. Every year presents new challenges. Man, I can’t really believe it.”

Sweet’s triumph also marked a significant milestone for Kasey Kahne Racing. By bringing the team its sixth World of Outlaws title (Daryn Pittman in 2013 and Brad Sweet 2019-2023), KKR is now tied with Steve Kinser Racing for third most championships with the Series.

“It’s a team effort,” Sweet said. “You can’t do it without good people, a good car owner, good sponsors. When one thing is out of whack it doesn’t work. To win a championship means you’re the best overall team.”

Coming down to the final Feature in the 72-race season, Sweet beat David Gravel by 60 points to win the championship, finishing the season with 11 wins, 44 top-five finishes and 64 top 10s.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series will commence its 2024 season during the DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, Jan. 17-20.

Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 5-17) at Volusia Speedway Park will open the 2024 season for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series (Feb. 8-10) and Super DIRTcar Series (Feb. 14-17). It will also welcome the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models, Feb. 15-17. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

November 4, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motocraft/Quick Lane Mustang are set to start 25th in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. Burton took that spot with a lap at 131.286 miles per hour in qualifying Saturday afternoon.

In practice on Friday, Burton was 14th fastest, with a best lap at 129.744 mph. He posted that speed on the third of 55 laps run in the session. Among drivers who ran 10 consecutive laps he was 22nd best, averaging128.371 mph from his 15th through 24th laps. 

When Burton and his fellow drivers strap in for Sunday’s championship-deciding season finale they’ll get the command to fire engines from a group that includes Giselle Hicks, a fourth-generation member of the Wood Brothers racing family.

Hicks is part of a group of four former Cup Series champions and four young racers who will share the duties.

Hicks is the nine-year-old great granddaughter of the Wood Brothers team founder, the late Glenn Wood. Her dad, Michael Hicks, also is a racer as he’s a tire changer on the No. 20 of championship contender Christopher Bell.

Hicks, now in her third year in the sport, races a wing kart and finished fourth in points this year at MillbridgeSpeedway in North Carolina. She has multiple wins to her credit.

Sunday’s 312-lap race on the one-mile oval is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time), with TV coverage on NBC. 

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 185. 

Byron Claims Pole Position for NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix RacewayTeam Chevy Championship Four Drivers to Start in Top-Four Positions

·       In his first career appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four, William Byron posted a best-lap of 27.15 seconds, at 132.597 mph, in the final round of qualifying to claim the pole position for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.  ·       The feat marks Byron’s fourth pole win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his 12th career pole win in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Team Chevy is the only manufacturer to have its Championship Four drivers represented in the final round of qualifying, with Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team posting the fourth-fastest qualifying lap.  ·       Byron delivered Chevrolet its ninth NASCAR Cup Series pole win of the 2023 season, and its 743rd all-time pole win in NASCAR’s top division.  ·       NBC will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 5. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER1st      William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL14th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL17th      Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Allways Rewards Camaro ZL18th      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1 TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP: POS.  DRIVER1st      William Byron (Chevrolet)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd      Kevin Harvick (Ford)4th      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)5th      Bubba Wallace (Toyota)

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA CAMARO ZL1 – Post-Qualifying Media Availability Quotes:  Q. William, do you feel like you guys have the race pace to match that? Obviously looking at the practice speeds yesterday, it seemed like the 20 and 12 had long run speed. Do you feel like you guys have that in the 24 car?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I don’t know. I think we were right there in the mix. We definitely needed to connect our corner a little bit better and just kind of get our overall balance a little bit closer. Felt like we leaned heavily on some of the Chevy teammates, so thanks to Kyle Busch and RCR for some of the changes they made, also the 1 car.Feel like we have something to race with. Q. Knowing the 24 car’s legacy, the championship dry spell, what are your thoughts?WILLIAM BYRON: I don’t really think about that. I think, I mean, maybe when I got in the car it felt that way and thought about that, but not at this point. It’s just all about our team that we’ve built.Yeah, it’s great to have Jeff here and his support, and we share a bond, but I’m not thinking about that when I’m driving. Q. William, I don’t know if you know, the restart zone was in one area yesterday, they moved it back. You’re leading the field on the initial restart. Did that matter that they moved it back to where it was? Do you practice that?WILLIAM BYRON: I think it would have definitely been an adjustment given where it was, I mean, just watching the Truck race, kind of seeing how that played out.I think moving it back to the traditional spot is great. Kudos to them for doing that, recognizing it. I think yeah, I won’t do anything different on the initial start. Just try to have a good start, I guess, get through the gears. Q. We’ve been through press conferences after press conferences to get to this point. Is this like a relief that now you get to get in the car and go race?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, for sure (smiling). I mean, it’s nice to be done with all the hoopla. It’s going to be great to get in the car.I mean, it’s been nice. I love it out here. We’ve done a lot of fun things. My friends are here. I’m just excited to kind of do normal stuff for the next 24 hours. Q. In the past races, it’s come down to a final pit stop and a short green-flag run. How do you feel about confidence-wise your speed in the short run versus the long run? What’s more important?WILLIAM BYRON: Try to be good the whole run.Honestly, for us it’s not really that focused until maybe we see in the race what our weaknesses are. In practice, nobody ran 60 laps on tires to know what that falloff is going to be like. I felt like  Q. William, your first time in the Championship 4. Have you gotten any advice from Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, the guys that have done it?WILLIAM BYRON: No, not really. I mean, I haven’t really asked. I feel like it’s just trying to experience it for myself. That’s the best way you can learn.I feel like for me, I kind of go back to Xfinity days, what that felt like, because it was the same format, albeit a lot different competition. Yeah, I just kind of go back to my own experience because I feel like that’s all that really matters. Q. I’m struck by seeing the two of you guys sitting up there. You’re each respectively potentially the future of these two iconic teams, could go on to become a great rivalry. I’d like to hear you talk about each other as a driver, how the future feels like it’s here.WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, Christopher and I have known each other since Truck. We spent a lot of time racing each other. I feel like that has continued into the Cup Series. We got in a little bit different time, a little bit different path. We’ve always raced really hard and with respect.It’s good to race people all the way up through the ranks because I feel like you really respect those kind of people more so than just someone I guess who came in and you don’t know anything about, so, yeah. Q. William, you talked about being in this format before in the Xfinity Series. There’s a lot of talk about first-timers, pressure. Do you feel any pressure? Is it any different or a normal weekend in a lot of respects?WILLIAM BYRON: Yeah, I mean, you’re going to be nervous because that’s normal. I think that having that experience was something that really stuck with me to get in the Cup Series.Yeah, no, I don’t feel any different this week. I feel like it’s a lot of pressure to get to the Final 4. I feel like all of us would say that it’s a big accomplishment to get here. You’d like to have this every year. You’d like to this the same meaning behind the championship weekend.I’m excited. I feel like we have a great opportunity.

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COMCAMARO ZL1 – Post-Qualifying Media Availability Quotes:  THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Kyle Larson. We’ll get right to questions. Q. Yesterday Cliff said that them having to revinyl part of the car, that just means they’re in the right spot for the weekend. How important is it for you to have him, that support?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I mean, that’s good. I don’t think any team would be upset if their driver scuffs the wall on the straightaway. As often as I do it, it doesn’t seem to annoy him as much as maybe it would annoy some other crew chiefs.No, I mean, yeah, I feel like I have the support of my whole team, even when I make dumb mistakes. But, yeah, I don’t know really where I’m going with it… It’s just a scuff (smiling). Q. Was that just a mistake and was there any concern about the handling of the car?KYLE LARSON: I barely touched the wall. Q. The fact that you and William are top four in this, is this a Hendrick Motorsports race I don’t want to say to lose, but do you feel you have shown that you haven’t lost a step since the spring?KYLE LARSON: I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I think we all saw the practice sheets yesterday. I think the 12 and the 20 looked a step better than especially me and even William a little bit. Was honestly surprised that they didn’t make the final round there, all that.So, no, I’m not counting out Blaney or Bell at all. It’s a long race, so they’ll overcome wherever they start. I’m sure they’ll drive through the field. The Final 4 guys, most everybody respects or shows a lot of respect to on the racetrack and gives a lot of space.I think they’ll find their way to the front pretty quickly. Q. New tire this weekend. How did it feel out there compared to the spring?KYLE LARSON: I mean, the spring has been so long ago, I don’t really remember how I felt in practice. Yesterday I was just struggling for entry grip a lot. We made a lot of adjustments overnight. I felt much better there in qualifying. It’s qualifying trim versus race trim. Still don’t know how I’ll be compared to yesterday.I think the entry grip was better with the other tire. I don’t even know the differences within the tire. Yeah, no, I mean, lap times seem to be a little bit faster, at least in qualifying trim. I don’t know what that means, though, for the race. Q. You talked about the 12 and the 20 had what seemed good long run speed yesterday in practice. How do you expect the conditions and what you learned in the practice session yesterday to translate to tomorrow?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m not sure. I miss practice. It was great to have practice. 50 minutes at night, three sets of tires, it was just chaos yesterday (smiling).I don’t know. I’m not saying I miss the three practice sessions that we used to have, but I thought it was just really chaotic yesterday. I felt like there was may more chaos than a 20-minute session just because three sets of tires, it’s like you’re always in traffic. You were either catching somebody or you were in the way of somebody, being on different laps on tires. Yesterday’s practice was difficult. Nighttime, we don’t race anywhere close to nighttime tomorrow, so…Yeah, I left last night just basically being more confused I think than had I just not practiced at all. Yeah, that was interesting and makes the weekend kind of more difficult. I guess that part of it’s good. Q. You have seven top-five finishes here at Phoenix. You looked good in qualifying. How confident are you going into tomorrow?KYLE LARSON: I don’t know. I mean, last night I was not too confident, just more so confused. We qualified better today than I thought we would. I think my race car is quite a bit better than we were yesterday.I understand it’s going to be a tough race. I don’t know. I mean, yeah, past results help confidence, but it’s a different race every time you come back. Q. You’ve been here before. You’ve won a championship. What experiences can you draw on from then to now?KYLE LARSON: Nothing. I mean, it’s a totally — I said it a lot on Media Day, but it’s a totally different series than it was two years ago. The cars are different. Restarts are different. Just the style of racing is different. The way cars react around other cars is different.There’s not really anything I feel like I can take from a couple years ago, other than just knowing that we’ve done it before so we can do it again. But that really doesn’t mean anything either. Q. A few years back in the championship race, you talked about really not wanting to upset things and being very respectful. Does that era still exist in this series like in that Homestead race? Is the expectation that people will race you as you raced a few years back in Homestead?KYLE LARSON: Yeah, I’m not sure. I think circumstances are different. I think then, that race you’re speaking of, I was running third, and I was really fast catching Martin, who was leading, but catching Kyle as well. I knew if I passed Kyle, I was going to screw his chance at winning a championship. I kind of wanted to leave it to those two to race it out.I think it just varies from driver to driver. I think there is a handful of drivers in the field that would have the Championship 4 drivers in mind, and then there’s probably a handful of drivers that are going to race hard, which you can appreciate both ways.Everybody wants to win a Cup race. They’re hard to win. Phoenix, I feel like there’s more opportunity for people to win than at Homestead back then. I think because of that, yeah, the people will be more aggressive in the way that they race or just race more normal probably.Like I said, every circumstance is different. You don’t really know until you get out there and get in those situations. Q. Blaney is 15th. Bell is 20th. You’re 4th. Byron is 1st. Does any of that really matter? The race comes down to the last pit stop. Does any of that help you? At the end of the race, what are you looking for to make sure you get off pit road?KYLE LARSON: Well, I mean, even though they start 15th and 20th, they still get to pick third and fourth pit stall selections. They’re going to end up in a good stall. Their car obviously was really good in practice yesterday, so they’re going to find their way to the front.I don’t view anything about where they qualified. I wish I would have got the pole. Just was a little bit off of William there. I think honestly if I would have qualified a little bit better the first round, I think what I did in the second round would have caught him off guard a little bit sooner than it did, and I probably would have beat him, gotten the first pit stall selection.Yeah, just got to execute every chance you get. I just didn’t execute quite good enough the first round. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Kyle.

Catsburg, Keating, Varrone, No. 33 Corvette team wrap up historic season SAKHIR, Bahrain (November 4, 2023) – Corvette Racing finished seventh Saturday at the Eight Hours of Bahrain to close the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship and put a cap on a historic season. Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone battled challenging conditions throughout the season finale in hopes of securing a GTE Am podium finish in the final contest for the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R and the rest of the GTE machinery in WEC.

The championship season included three victories – Corvette Racing’s ninth class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the 1,000 Miles of Sebring in the U.S., and the Six Hours of Portimão – three pole positions for Keating and a championship clinch at Monza in July with two races to go. It was a fitting way for the C8.R and Corvette Racing to close their campaigns in the WEC. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is slated to be part of the WEC grid next year in the hands of TF Sport for the LM GT3 category while the No. 33 C8.R team transitions back to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports banner. Keating qualified the C8.R fifth in class Friday, and hopes were high for a run at a sixth podium finish this season. The green flag brought rare misfortune to Corvette as Keating had to avoid multiple cars when prototype entries spun and went off-track in front of the GTE Am field. The C8.R rejoined the track in ninth place and mired in traffic. It didn’t help that the Corvette faced an uphill battle on the performance front with the C8.R 15 pounds heavier than any other GTE Am car and a pre-event reduction in power. Keating made his first stop just past the 30-minute mark in a strategic call to free him from class traffic. The off-strategy call saw him run as high as fourth in his final two stints of the season before swapping over to Varrone just shy of three hours. A year after his first laps in the C8.R at the WEC Rookie Test at Bahrain, Varrone rejoined the race in 10th place with the goal of managing the Corvette’s tires, a tough task on a track notorious for high degradation due to its rough surface. Again, the Corvette got up as high as fourth in Varrone’s three stints, and he swapped to Catsburg for the final run with less than two hours to go. Rejoining eighth in class, Catsburg gained one spot inside the final hour but didn’t have the performance to get any higher in the order before the finish.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “The result of today isn’t important. If we couldn’t win today, it’s great to see the Iron Dames win. I think they deserved one all season. But we deserved the championship. We celebrated it once, and it was nice to celebrate it again tonight with the team. On the cool-down lap, I was thanking them and I realized that the stuff we accomplished this year was really cool. We did it with two races to go but that doesn’t make tonight any less special. I’m super happy and super proud of the entire team, and I can’t wait to work them again in America next season.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “I didn’t have any contact at the start. There were cars everywhere. I lost a lot of positions but avoided any contact. It was a green and clean race, and unfortunately we didn’t have the pace this weekend. I think it was the price for having really good strategy all year. It was a magical season and a magical time – the last race for GTE, the last race for me with Corvette Racing and the last race for me in World Endurance Championship. It’s still surreal and magical when you think about this season. To have won the championship, to have won Le Mans and had such great results all season long… it’s pretty hard to sit back and enjoy it when you’re as busy as I was out there in the race. But I tried to remind myself of it as often as I could. It’s been a lot of fun.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “I’m really happy to finish the season with Corvette Racing. It was an amazing year and a fairytale story. Driving the C8.R for the final time in Bahrain was really nice, and I’ve enjoyed every minute. This race was tough for us with tires and our performance. Other cars were passing us easily, and we had no power in a straight line. The only chance we had to match them was trying to save our tires and see if that worked. I tried to be consistent and not make mistakes to lose as little time as possible. Other than that, the Corvette was good. Always here it is tricky with traction and grip. We were just missing power. That’s just how it was. We cannot complain too much. We’ve had an amazing season.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “There aren’t enough words to describe how proud we are for everyone on the Corvette Racing team for an incredible season. Winning the final GTE Am championship is great, winning three races – including Le Mans – is something you never will forget. But to do all that in one year with this group is indescribable. I’m confident we are only getting started with WEC championships and wins with more to come with the Z06 GT3.R in the future.”

Catsburg, Keating, Varrone, No. 33 Corvette team wrap up historic season SAKHIR, Bahrain (November 4, 2023) – Corvette Racing finished seventh Saturday at the Eight Hours of Bahrain to close the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship and put a cap on a historic season. Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone battled challenging conditions throughout the season finale in hopes of securing a GTE Am podium finish in the final contest for the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R and the rest of the GTE machinery in WEC.

The championship season included three victories – Corvette Racing’s ninth class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, at the 1,000 Miles of Sebring in the U.S., and the Six Hours of Portimão – three pole positions for Keating and a championship clinch at Monza in July with two races to go. It was a fitting way for the C8.R and Corvette Racing to close their campaigns in the WEC. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is slated to be part of the WEC grid next year in the hands of TF Sport for the LM GT3 category while the No. 33 C8.R team transitions back to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports banner. Keating qualified the C8.R fifth in class Friday, and hopes were high for a run at a sixth podium finish this season. The green flag brought rare misfortune to Corvette as Keating had to avoid multiple cars when prototype entries spun and went off-track in front of the GTE Am field. The C8.R rejoined the track in ninth place and mired in traffic. It didn’t help that the Corvette faced an uphill battle on the performance front with the C8.R 15 pounds heavier than any other GTE Am car and a pre-event reduction in power. Keating made his first stop just past the 30-minute mark in a strategic call to free him from class traffic. The off-strategy call saw him run as high as fourth in his final two stints of the season before swapping over to Varrone just shy of three hours. A year after his first laps in the C8.R at the WEC Rookie Test at Bahrain, Varrone rejoined the race in 10th place with the goal of managing the Corvette’s tires, a tough task on a track notorious for high degradation due to its rough surface. Again, the Corvette got up as high as fourth in Varrone’s three stints, and he swapped to Catsburg for the final run with less than two hours to go. Rejoining eighth in class, Catsburg gained one spot inside the final hour but didn’t have the performance to get any higher in the order before the finish.

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “The result of today isn’t important. If we couldn’t win today, it’s great to see the Iron Dames win. I think they deserved one all season. But we deserved the championship. We celebrated it once, and it was nice to celebrate it again tonight with the team. On the cool-down lap, I was thanking them and I realized that the stuff we accomplished this year was really cool. We did it with two races to go but that doesn’t make tonight any less special. I’m super happy and super proud of the entire team, and I can’t wait to work them again in America next season.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “I didn’t have any contact at the start. There were cars everywhere. I lost a lot of positions but avoided any contact. It was a green and clean race, and unfortunately we didn’t have the pace this weekend. I think it was the price for having really good strategy all year. It was a magical season and a magical time – the last race for GTE, the last race for me with Corvette Racing and the last race for me in World Endurance Championship. It’s still surreal and magical when you think about this season. To have won the championship, to have won Le Mans and had such great results all season long… it’s pretty hard to sit back and enjoy it when you’re as busy as I was out there in the race. But I tried to remind myself of it as often as I could. It’s been a lot of fun.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SEVENTH IN CLASS: “I’m really happy to finish the season with Corvette Racing. It was an amazing year and a fairytale story. Driving the C8.R for the final time in Bahrain was really nice, and I’ve enjoyed every minute. This race was tough for us with tires and our performance. Other cars were passing us easily, and we had no power in a straight line. The only chance we had to match them was trying to save our tires and see if that worked. I tried to be consistent and not make mistakes to lose as little time as possible. Other than that, the Corvette was good. Always here it is tricky with traction and grip. We were just missing power. That’s just how it was. We cannot complain too much. We’ve had an amazing season.”

LAURA WONTROP KLAUSER, GM SPORTS CAR RACING PROGRAM MANAGER: “There aren’t enough words to describe how proud we are for everyone on the Corvette Racing team for an incredible season. Winning the final GTE Am championship is great, winning three races – including Le Mans – is something you never will forget. But to do all that in one year with this group is indescribable. I’m confident we are only getting started with WEC championships and wins with more to come with the Z06 GT3.R in the future.”

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 3, 2023) – Prior to this week, Ricky Thornton Jr. hadn’t raced at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in nine years. But on Friday night, he drove around it like it was his home track, scoring his first career World of Outlaws World Finals Feature win and the $15,000 grand prize.

“I’ve only been here two other times – 2010 and 2014 – and I think out of those six nights, I only made one show,” Thornton said. “We did a lot better this year.”

Over 30 Feature wins in 2023 has dubbed the Arizona native one of the most dominant dirt Late Model drivers in the nation. He and the team at SSI Motorsports faced one of the biggest and most competitive fields they’d seen all year with 74 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models in the pits, on a track they’d yet to race together at.

But that didn’t scare Thornton at all. He embraced the bright spotlight.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Thornton said. “There’s a lot of people in attendance, and it’s one of the biggest races of the year.”

Of those 74 entrants, his biggest challenge in the Feature was one of the best red-clay oval racers in the Southeast – Chris Madden. The South Carolina racer took the lead from the pole at the drop of the green and paced the field in the opening laps while Dale McDowell and Thornton followed.

A caution flag on Lap 10 restacked the field for what was the race’s only restart. Thornton devised his plan to get around McDowell under the yellow and quickly sprang into action.

“I just kinda Hail-Mary’d the top in Turns 1-2 and was able to get back to second,” Thornton said. “I was able to get back down in front of Dale and just kinda blocked him for a few laps until I got my stuff going again.”

Now with only Madden in front of him, Thornton tightened his grip on the steering wheel and began to close the gap.

Madden crossed the line at the halfway point with a line of lapped traffic in front of him. He entered low in Turn 1 behind the first lapped car but drifted up off the bottom lane at the exit of Turn 2, opening the door for Thornton right behind him to slip by underneath.

“I was just trying to negotiate lapped traffic there and I rolled out to the outside, and [Thornton] filled the hole,” Madden said. “I really wasn’t tight enough to be where I needed to be. Sometimes, it’s hard to lead in this lapped traffic in the conditions that we’re in here.”

They drag raced down the backstretch, but Thornton had the speed and the preferred line on the bottom as he rounded Turns 3-4 and took the lead on Lap 19.

“The more my car stayed the same, the more [Madden’s] kinda slowed down,” Thornton said. “He got to traffic, made one little mistake and slid off the bottom. I knew I had to go for it then.”

Thornton maintained the advantage over Madden as the laps wound-down under five-to-go and encountered some lapped traffic of his own in front of him – a cause for a bit of concern in the final laps.

“I was just worried we’d get too close, and we’d have a freight train with five or six of us,” Thornton said. “Usually, that’s when the guy in second can try and move around and find a way to get around you.”

That guy in second was Madden, who did move off the bottom once more in Turn 2 on Lap 33 in a last-chance attempt to get back by Thornton. But instead, the car behind him took the open door underneath him once again.

McDowell had been patiently waiting in tow for a mistake from Madden and took advantage of it by slipping by him on the bottom and into second place off of Turn 2.

“I felt like I may could have done something in Turns 3-4, so I was gonna try to ease out there and see if we could do it in 1-2, and I lost a spot there,” Madden said.

McDowell hung on to finish second for his second top-five finish, while Madden came home third – his second podium of the week.

UP NEXT

The 2023 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series campaign comes to a close in the World Finals finale Saturday, Nov. 4 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. A 50-lap, $25,000-to-win main event will headline the event, racing alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds.

Tickets and more information are available at WorldofOutlawsWorldFinals.com. Can’t be at the track? Stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

CASE Construction Equipment Feature (35 Laps): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell[2]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[8]; 5. 8-Brian Shirley[9]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[11]; 7. 0-Scott Bloomquist[7]; 8. 10-Garrett Smith[5]; 9. 97-Cade Dillard[4]; 10. 18D-Daulton Wilson[19]; 11. 32-Bobby Pierce[15]; 12. 1-Hudson O’Neal[24]; 13. 20-Jimmy Owens[14]; 14. 9-Nick Hoffman[10]; 15. 93-Carson Ferguson[12]; 16. 19M-Spencer Hughes[16]; 17. 22-Chris Ferguson[22]; 18. 76-Brandon Overton[13]; 19. B5-Brandon Sheppard[25]; 20. 40B-Kyle Bronson[18]; 21. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[21]; 22. 25-Shane Clanton[17]; 23. B1-Brent Larson[28]; 24. 49-Jonathan Davenport[20]; 25. 96V-Tanner English[27]; 26. 174-Ethan Dotson[23]; 27. 19R-Ryan Gustin[26]; 28. 7T-Drake Troutman[6]

Marks, Peck, and Courtney trade the lead multiple times before Marks secures his second win of the year

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 3, 2023) – The World of Outlaws World Finals means only a few chances remain to pick up a World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car win this year. And that also means the intensity rises each and every lap.

That heightened intensity was on complete display Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. An all-out war erupted between Brent Marks, Justin Peck, and Tyler Courtney for a $15,000 payday and a trip to Victory Lane.

Sliders. Crossovers. More sliders and crossovers. Cars using multiple grooves. Endless action led to a thrilling 25-lap main event on the penultimate night of the 2023 campaign for The Greatest Show on Dirt. 

When the dust settled, Brent Marks claimed the checkered flag narrowly ahead of Peck to snag a win for the Pennsylvania Posse. As Marks rose atop his wing in Victory Lane, the massive crowd on hand erupted in appreciation for the show he and his fellow competitors had delivered. 

“It feels amazing,” Marks said. “To win in front of this crowd is an amazing moment. Standing up here on this stage at this racetrack means a lot to me. To get another World of Outlaws victory also means a lot to me. That was a really fun race.”

The win was Marks’ second of the season, marking the third consecutive year he’s notched multiple World of Outlaws wins. Adding to his 2021 Charlotte victory, Marks became the 12th driver to own multiple Series triumphs at the 4/10-mile. His win also completed a clean sweep of the program as he set QuickTime, won his Heat, topped the Dash, and finished it off with the Feature victory.

Marks earned the pole of the Feature after topping the Toyota Racing Dash. Courtney slid ahead of “The Myerstown Missile” in Turns 3 and 4, but Marks dipped under him to lead the opening lap by a hair and slide back in front in Turns 1 and 2.

As the early laps unfolded, Marks couldn’t shake Courtney as Marks opted for the cushion while “Sunshine” tiptoed the bottom. Courtney pulled alongside Marks multiple times within the first handful of laps but couldn’t quite make the move.

But then on the 10th lap, Marks tripped up in traffic as he went through the slick in Turns 3 and 4, allowing Courtney to sneak by on the bottom and claim the top spot aboard the Clauson Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink #7BC.

Quickly changing track conditions allowed Peck to surprise both Marks and Courtney. While the lead duo committed to the bottom, Peck ripped the top in the Buch Motorsports #13 and went around Marks on Lap 12. One lap later, Peck blasted by Courtney for the lead.

Two laps later, Marks surged back into contention as he rolled the bottom to pass Courtney coming to the line and pull alongside Peck, In Turns 1 and 2, Marks pulled the trigger on a slide job to reclaim the lead. Peck returned the favor the next time around in the same set of corners. Marks crossed over out of Turn 2 and aimed for the top in Turn 3, so Peck threw another slider. Marks again dipped under Peck and then fended off his next move in Turn 1.

“I was running the top there in the beginning and saw Tyler down on the bottom there a couple times,” Marks recalled. “So, I switched my line up and felt pretty good. And then I think I slipped up and he got by me and fell back to second. I just tried to work that in down there a little more, and Justin railed around both of us on the top, so I fell back to third. I just started moving around just trying to figure out what was going to work best for my car. I felt like I could go anywhere but was definitely better up top. I just knew we needed to stick to that, and that’s what we did and ended up racing our way back up through there.”

Following the intense battle with Peck, Marks built a decent lead as the laps faded late in the going. But suddenly lapped traffic became an issue again.

Marks stared down cars using both his preferred high line and the low line. Peck chipped away at the gap, and when the white flag flew he found himself within striking distance. Marks thought the lapped car ahead would go low in the final set of corners but guessed wrong, causing him to drift through the slick in Turns 3 and 4. Peck closed fast and looked under Marks coming to the checkered flag but came up slightly short as Marks grabbed the win.

“I felt like the track crew did an amazing job there at getting the track two lanes of racing and getting it pretty tricky around the top,” Marks said. “Man, I just got to lapped traffic there and wanted to make sure I didn’t get off the top. I just felt like my pace slowed up too much. I was getting a little worried about Justin behind me closing in on us. Then I had a run on Logan (Schuchart) going down the backstretch on the last lap, and last minute he pulled off to go to the bottom, and I had already set up to try to slide him. That just kind of got me stuck in the middle a little bit. I knew he was going to have a head of steam. Fortunately, we hung on there at the end and won us this race.”

A second place run for Peck equaled his best World of Outlaws finish. While proud of he and the Buch team’s efforts, Peck couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed with coming so close to what’s become an elusive first Series victory.

“My guys gave me a really good race car,” Peck said. “Me, Brent, and Sunshine raced each other pretty hard there. It’s just one of those deals where it’s got to come sometime, right? It feels like we’ve run second quite a few times now and been on the podium but just can’t seem to pull off a win.”

Courtney rounded out the top three to post his sixth career World of Outlaws podium. The Indianapolis, IN native felt he was missing just a little speed to lock up his second Series win of the year.

“Once Brent cleared Justin there, we just got back around the top,” Courtney said. “We were running really fast laps up there. We’re set up a little bit more to run down off the top, so I was a little too tight to run around the top there.”

Brad Sweet and James McFadden completed the top five. Sweet’s result combined with David Gravel’s sixth place run pushed Sweet’s lead atop the standings to 46 points. Sweet now needs a finish of 22nd or better in the season finale to lock up his fifth straight championship with Kasey Kahne Racing.

Donny Schatz earned the KSE Racing Hard Charger with a 25th to 13th drive.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Rico Abreu (48th Heat Race win of career). NOS Energy Drink Heats Two through Four were topped by Brian Brown (82nd of career), Brent Marks (29th of career), and Tyler Courtney (13th of career).

Hunter Schuerenberg won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete the 2023 season with a $25,000 to win finale at The Dirt Track at Charlotte’s World Finals on Saturday, Nov. 4. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 19-Brent Marks[1]; 2. 13-Justin Peck[5]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[11]; 5. 83-James McFadden[10]; 6. 2-David Gravel[9]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu[6]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[15]; 10. 69K-Justin Henderson[4]; 11. 41-Carson Macedo[13]; 12. 21-Brian Brown[3]; 13. 15-Donny Schatz[25]; 14. 5-Spencer Bayston[22]; 15. 9R-Chase Randall[7]; 16. 14-Cole Macedo[17]; 17. 88-Austin McCarl[8]; 18. 8-Cory Eliason[20]; 19. 39M-Anthony Macri[16]; 20. 71-Parker Price Miller[24]; 21. 2MD-Cap Henry[19]; 22. 9-Kasey Kahne[18]; 23. 1S-Logan Schuchart[14]; 24. 7S-Robbie Price[27]; 25. 20G-Noah Gass[28]; 26. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[21]; 27. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[26]; 28. 99-Skylar Gee[23]

Chevrolet clinched three championship titles before entering NASCAR’s season finale race weekend at Phoenix Raceway – claiming its 42nd NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship; its 25th Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series; and its 11th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturer Championship.

This marks Chevrolet’s fifth time sweeping the manufacturer championship titles across all three NASCAR national series – also accomplishing the feat in 2012, 2005, 1998 and 1996.

Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to sweep the manufacturer championship titles across the NASCAR national ranks in the same season on multiple occasions.

This marks the third consecutive year, and 42nd time overall, that Chevrolet has won the manufacturer championship title in NASCAR’s premier series.Chevrolet won its first manufacturer championship in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1958, later recording a streak of 13 consecutive titles between 2003 – 2015.

This marks Chevrolet’s series-leading 25th time receiving the Bill France Performance Cup. Since the Camaro made its debut as Chevrolet’s flagship vehicle in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2013, the manufacturer has earned nine titles with 2023 marking its seventh consecutive title-winning season.

Competing in the series since its inception in 1995, the Silverado claimed the manufacturer championship title in the series’ inaugural season, with Chevrolet going on to win four-straight.This marks Chevrolet’s 11th time earning the manufacturer championship title in the series.

Chevrolet is the only manufacturer in NASCAR history to sweep both the manufacturer championships and the driver championships in all three NASCAR national series in the same season – accomplishing the feat in 1998 and 1996.

1996 Driver Champions: NASCAR Cup Series – Terry Labonte (Hendrick Motorsports)NASCAR Busch Grand National Series – Randy LaJoie (BACE Motorsports)NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Ron Hornaday, Jr. (DEI)

1998 Driver Champions: NASCAR Cup Series – Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports)NASCAR Busch Grand National Series – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (DEI)NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – Ron Hornaday, Jr. (DEI)

Chevrolet is heading into the 2023 NASCAR season finale race weekend at Phoenix Raceway with 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, 21 NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Championships and 14 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver Championships.

Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to have two drivers represented in the Championship Four across all three NASCAR national series:

NASCAR Cup Series

Kyle LarsonNo. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1William Byron No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Sam Mayer No. 1 JR Motorsports Camaro SSJustin Allgaier No. 7 JR Motorsports Camaro SS

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Carson Hocevar No. 42 Niece Motorsports Silverado RSTGrant EnfingerNo. 23 GMS Racing Silverado RST

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R to start third in the eight-hour season finale

SAKHIR, Bahrain (Nov. 3, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R started the day at Bahrain International Circuit with a first — topping the lap time chart in free practice – and rounded out track time with its best qualifying position in its initial season of FIA World Endurance Championship competition. Alex Lynn recorded a lap time of 1 minute, 47.265 seconds in the hybrid Cadillac Racing entry on the challenging 5.412-kilometer (3.36-mile), 15-turn circuit to qualify third for the Eight Hours of Bahrain on Saturday. Cadillac Racing’s previous best in six races was fourth at Spa-Francorchamps in April.

“Excited and thrilled for the performance today,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “Alex had a terrific drive. The team set it up and everyone has been working so closely together to get it sorted for Bahrain. Our goal was to finish on a high note here and we’re in process for doing it.” The stats: Cadillac Racing WEC qualifying The No. 2 Cadillac team of Lynn, Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook is aiming to tap into the success it experienced at the start of the season, which included top-five finishes at Sebring, Portimão and Spa ahead of their podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Using the hard Michelin tire compound in the 15-minute session at sunset, Lynn took the provisional pole in the 12-car Hypercar field with 8:50 remaining. He totaled five laps before pitting and exiting the car with just under 5 minutes left. The No. 8 Toyota moved to the top in the final 6 minutes with a lap of 1:46.564. “It was a really positive day,” Lynn said. “We were quick on one lap and we’re quick on the long run, too. I’m proud of our team and we’re motivated to have a good day tomorrow.”

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R began on-track preparations at Bahrain International Circuit with an impressive set of free practices. In the midday session preceding qualifications, Lynn’s lap of 1:49.512 was quickest of all Hypercars, which was a first for the program in a timed session. “Everyone has played the tire strategy differently, but I think we are in a good spot,” Lynn said following the session. Cadillac was third quick in the second session a day earlier under the lights and with cooler temperatures in the desert at 1:47.690. The initial session was interrupted early on by a 45-minute red flag period because of strong winds that blew banners onto the track at Turn 1, prompting race control to extend the session. Heavy rain with 30 minutes remaining also impacted the lap times. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage of the race (2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 7 a.m. ET Saturday) in the U.S., as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream coverage of the race. Additionally, watch the eight-hour race unfold from the driver’s point of view inside the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R HERE.

What they’re saying Alex Lynn: “I think it was a really positive day. Quickest in free practice three, long-run pace looked really strong and consolidated with P3 in qualifying. Really happy for Cadillac Racing. The main thing I think is we’re quick on one lap and we’re quick on the long run. I’m proud of our team and motivated to have a good day tomorrow. I’m excited to have a good race because I think we’re going to have a good one and challenge for the podium.” Earl Bamber: “I think we rolled out with a good car and did our homework. I think this track suits us and we’re in the mix for that podium spot. Now we just need to do the final preparations and try to make that next little step to hopefully finish off the season well.” Richard Westbrook: “I’d say we’re in a much stronger position than we have been in the last few races. We seem to have good one-lap pace and good long-run pace. We all know Bahrain is very hard on the tires and it’s all about how you can preserve your tires better than your competitors. The car feels nice in old tire conditions when you’re lapping considerably a lot slower than you would on new tires. I’m really encouraged for the race and we’ll be going all out for a strong result.”

One last ride for Corvette C8.R in GTE race finale SAKHIR, Bahrain (November 3, 2023) – Corvette Racing will close its FIA World Endurance Championship season with a third-row start in the GTE Am field for Saturday’s Eight Hours of Bahrain. Ben Keating set a best lap of 1:59.412 (101.408 mph) during Friday’s 15-minute session to qualify fifth in the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. As he has all season, Keating will team Saturday with fellow GTE Am champions Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone with the trio going for its fourth win of 2023. The Thursday and Friday practice sessions were each in dramatically different conditions, which – if nothing else – gave the Corvette team and the rest of the WEC paddock and opportunity to explore a variety of setups and options ahead of Saturday’s 2 p.m. local start.

Thursday’s practice was interrupted first by a severe wind and sand storm and then by a steady rain shower. The day’s night practice was in dry and cooler conditions while Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions were in more typical conditions for Bahrain – hot and sunny. The latter gave teams a read on likely conditions for the start of Saturday’s race and the level of tire degradation that will ultimately play a large role in the race’s outcome. This is the second year at Bahrain for the C8.R, which finished second in GTE Pro in 2022 with Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy sharing the Corvette. Saturday’s race and Corvette Racing’s presence is notable for a number of reasons. The Corvette team is aiming to cap off a banner season in which it already has claimed the GTE Am Drivers and Teams titles, three race wins – including the 24 Hours of Le Mans – and three pole-position runs for Keating. Another win Saturday would give the C8.R a total of 21 victories worldwide in 82 events and close Corvette Racing’s two-year campaign in the FIA WEC with a fifth victory. It also would send Corvette out as the final race-winner of the GTE class. One of the mainstays of GTE racing since the category was introduced in 2011, the Corvette program also has been one of the most successful with 48 of its 127 worldwide victories coming with GTE machinery – which also includes North American wins in the American Le Mans Series’ GT class as well IMSA’s GT Le Mans category. As much of a coronation as this weekend is for the Corvette program, it also serves as a transition point. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R is slated to be part of the WEC grid next year in the hands of TF Sport for the LM GT3 category while the No. 33 C8.R team transitions back to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports banner. As in previous races, the C8.R is running at Bahrain with a level of rewards weight due to its successes earlier this year: 15 kilograms for leading the championship and 10 kilograms for finishing second in the previous race at Fuji on top of 10 extra kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight ahead of the Monza round for a total of 35 kilograms – five less than at the Japanese round but still the heaviest car in class. The Corvette also received a two-liter decrease in fuel capacity and a 0.6mm restrictor adjustment to limit engine power. The Eight Hours of Bahrain is scheduled for 2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 7 a.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app. Radio Le Mans will stream live audio coverage of the race.

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the FIA WEC’s Eight Hours of Bahrain. Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Racing racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED FIFTH: “More than where we qualified, I’m happy with the lap time. That was one second quicker than anything than did in my qualifying simulation. There is so much tire degradation here that it’s a balance between taking care of the tire – because we have to race on these same tires – and trying to hit the peak of the tire. I think the reason I was able to put that lap together was because it was my third one and on the peak of the tire. I kept trying to repeat it, and I couldn’t. It just wasn’t there in the tire. It’s really interesting how my two laps that were closest to that were seven-tenths of a second off. It’s worth that much time. I’m happy with the time but also with the result. Tyler (Neff, race engineer) said before qualifying that he thought a top-five result was possible, and he nailed it.”Final GTE qualifying session: “I’m sure this will be going through my head the entire weekend. I’m driving around at the end of qualifying, and I’m thinking that this is the last time that I’m qualifying this car in GTE. It’s the last time I’m going to qualify in WEC. It’s been such a special year this year with the Corvette. Even when you qualify fifth and it’s your lowest result of the entire year, it’s still special.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “I feel like everyone will struggle with tires here. Historically, this track is really rough on tires and everyone will have that issue. But if you take away that issue, we still have quite a bit of deficit in terms of pace. So we need to understand where we can gain little bits of time to reduce that gap. As always, I do believe that with our lineup we do have a bit of an advantage over some of the other teams. We need to remain calm and be focused on the race. This will be more difficult than all other events we’ve done. I’m just going to do my best for the team and enjoy this last GTE race.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “For me, this place is very special. Not even one year ago, I arrived here for the rest time and met the Corvette Racing team for the first time. I was shy at the beginning, I didn’t speak too much and had pressure because I knew this could be big for me. It was a really good opportunity. I had the desire to do well but also some pressure that goes on inside. But everything went well. I got the drive and what has happened after that was amazing – winning Sebring, Portimao and Le Mans for Corvette on the 70th anniversary for Corvette and the Centenary Le Mans. And now we are champions. That’s why being here and this whole atmosphere being at this track means so much.”

2023 FIA World Endurance Championship – GTE Am (After six of seven events)Driver Standings1. Ben Keating/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone – 1642. Michelle Gatting/Rahel Frey/Sarah Bovy – 793. Davide Rigon/Francesco Castellacci/Thomas Flohr – 734. Christian Ried/Julien Andlauer/Mikkel Pedersen – 685. Ahmad Al Harthy/Charlie Eastwood/Michael Dinan – 65 Team Standings1. No. 33 Corvette Racing – 1642. No. 85 Iron Dames – 793. No. 54 AF Corse – 734. No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing – 685. ORT by TF – 65 CORVETTE RACING AT BAHRAIN: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for 25 years of racing: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette• 3: Positions gained in GTE Pro by Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy in last year’s Bahrain race in the No. 64 Corvette• 3: Number of GTE Am wins in four FIA WEC races this season for Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone with the No. 33 Corvette C8.R• 7: Hours difference between Manama, Bahrain and Detroit in the Eastern Time Zone• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 34: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999. Ben Keating and Nico Varrone joined that list with their participation – and victory – in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for the World Endurance Championship• 35: Kilograms of success ballast for the Corvette C8.R at Fuji – 10 for finishing second at Fuji, 15 for leading the GTE Am championship and 10 additional kilograms added to the car’s minimum weight by the organizers• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 283: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 6,883: Approximate mileage from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Bahrain International Airport, one way. That’s a greater distance than the No. 33 Corvette C8.R has raced this year in WEC competition• 361,214.36: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles. That means Corvette Racing has raced to the moon and more than halfway back! Corvette Racing at Bahrain2022No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE Pro

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R places third on time sheet in first day of practice

SAKHIR, Bahrain (Nov. 2, 2023) – The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R began on-track preparations for the FIA World Endurance Championship season-concluding 8 Hours of Bahrain with an impressive first day outing. With Richard Westbrook, Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn sharing seat time, the hybrid Cadillac recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 47.690 seconds on the challenging 5.412-kilometer (3.36-mile), 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit in the second free practice session for third best of the 12 Hypercar entries.

“Good start for the team; we managed to get through most of our race prep. Also did some qualifying work, so we’re going into free practice 3 and qualifying prepared,” team manager Stephen Mitas said. “Still some work to finish off before the race, but it’s looking good.” The No. 7 Toyota led the way at 1:46.851 under dry track conditions after sunset.

Media resources * WEC statistics* On-track photos* Driver candids* Cadillac sweeps IMSA GTP championshipsShift your focusWatch the eight-hour race unfold from the driver’s point of view inside the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R HERE.

The No. 2 Cadillac team is aiming to tap into the success it experienced at the start of the season, which included top-five finishes at Sebring, Portimão and Spa-Francorchamps ahead of their podium finish in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  Cadillac Racing is in its first season of WEC competition with the Cadillac Hypercar that features a purpose-built 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Michigan. Lynn and Bamber combined to turn 22 laps in the initial free practice that was interrupted early on by a 45-minute red flag period because of strong winds that blew banners onto the track at Turn 1, prompting race control to extend the session. Heavy rain with 30 minutes remaining also impacted the lap times. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R recorded a best lap of 1:50.542 — .686 of a second off the session-leading time. A one-hour free practice Friday precedes the 20-minute qualifying session under the setting sun. Radio Le Mans will stream coverage of the final practice and qualifying in addition to the race (2 p.m. Arabian Standard Time / 7 a.m. ET Saturday). MotorTrend and MotorTrend Plus will provide both live television and streaming coverage, as will the FIA WEC app.

Marlar fast in debut with Skyline Motorsports, McDowell claims Friday Heat pole

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 1, 2023) – Scott Bloomquist is back. Back to the top of the leaderboard with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series alongside Brandon Overton, who were both fastest on Low-E Insulation Qualifying Night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Bloomquist, the 59-year-old National Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer from Mooresburg, TN, laid down a lap of 15.648 seconds in Wednesday’s second Qualifying session, earning him the Simpson Race Products Quick Time Award and putting him on the pole for CASE No. 1 Engine Oil Heat Race #1 for Friday’s portion of the World of Outlaws World Finals.

“It makes me feel pretty good, really,” Bloomquist said.

It’s been tough sledding for the former World of Outlaws champion this year, as effects from multiple health issues have kept him sidelined for nearly the entire season. Last month, Bloomquist made public his plans to return to the seat for the first time since early January, piloting a Team Zero Race Car owned by former Florida racer Devin Jones.

In only their second race weekend together, against a deep roster of the nation’s best dirt Late Model racers, Bloomquist sent an early, strong message to all 73 other competitors in the pit area – he’s still here, still capable, and still giving it everything he’s got in pursuit of victory.

“I’m absolutely sure we’re going to be able to contend – I’ve never had a doubt,” Bloomquist said. “I go to a race to win it. I felt like we came here and did everything we could do to win this race.”

It’s been since 2018 The Dirt Track at Charlotte was treated to a Bloomquist Feature win. He’ll continue to fight for another win through injury this weekend as he still deals with the effects of a race shop incident that crushed his left foot before returning to action last month.

“Beautiful thing about right now I that I don’t have to use it much because you hardly lift at all,” Bloomquist said. “What braking there you do is very light.

“My biggest issue is I’ve got the broken toes, and then back from the toes is still broken. I’m going to put something in my shoe tomorrow where I can’t bend my toes at all, because if I have to bend them with the brake pedal the entire Feature, I’m sure they’re going to be all swollen again, and most of the swelling has gone away. So far, I haven’t had to take any pain pills, and I feel pretty comfortable looking forward to it.”

On the pole for the fourth Heat Race of Thursday’s World Finals program is Brandon Overton, who also collected a Simpson Race Products Quick Time Award with his best lap of 15.091 in Group B of the first Qualifying session.

Overton, 32, of Evans, GA, has grown to be one of dirt Late Model racing’s most dominant drivers since his days as the 2015 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year, with several high-profile event wins over the past three seasons. But he and Wells Motorsports have experienced cooler temperatures in 2023 with limited success on the national Late Model scene compared to years previous. Still, he and the team continue the fight and feel good about their chances this weekend.

“We need a good run – for my team and all our supporters,” Overton said. “It ain’t no secret we haven’t done as good as we have the last couple years, so to end it off strong here would be nice for all of us.”

Other notable Qualifying efforts include a Group-A quick time from Mike Marlar in the Thursday session, turning a best lap of 15.117. The 2018 Series champion from Winfield, TN, is making his debut with Iowa-based Skyline Motorsports this weekend and will lead the first Heat to green on Thursday.

Dale McDowell, of Chickamauga, GA, claimed the pole of Heat 4 on Friday with a quick time in Group B, turning a lap of 15.696. The veteran racer seeks his first Series victory of the year and first with the Outlaws at The Dirt Track this weekend.

By taking the green flag in Wednesday Qualifying, Bobby Pierce has mathematically clinched the 2023 World of Outlaws points championship in his first season as part of the national tour’s full-time roster. However, he’ll have some work to do in his Heats on both nights, qualifying 12th in the Thursday session and 14th in the Friday session as he vies for his first career win at The Dirt Track.

Fellow first-year Series full-timer Nick Hoffman, of Mooresville, NC, has also clinched his special honor, officially locking up the 2023 Germfree Rookie of the Year Award. He’ll have a front-row starting spot for each of his Heats after a fifth-best lap in his Thursday Qualifying session and a runner-up to McDowell’s lap in Friday’s session.

Photo credit – Jacy Norgaard

Wednesday’s pair of Charlotte Qualifying sessions set the stage for Thursday and Friday Heat RacesCONCORD, NC (Nov. 1, 2023) – The on-track action of the World of Outlaws World Finals got rolling with Low-E Insulation Qualifying Night on Wednesday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. All 53 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car teams checked in took part in two split Qualifying sessions to set the lineups for Thursday and Friday Heat Races.In the opening session for Thursday’s lineups, Sheldon Haudenschild led the way with a 13.694 in Flight A. The effort marked Haudenschild’s fourth Simpson Performance Products QuickTime of the year and the 29th of his career.“That’s always the goal,” Haudenschild said of his QuickTime. “And it’s what we’ve been working on all year. We got some other pieces in place. We’ve been focusing on next year a lot and what we want to do, so this is steps in the right direction, and we’ll try to end this week on a high note.”In the second Flight of the first session, Tyler Courtney laid down the fastest lap with a 13.843. “Sunshine’s” lap gave the team NOS Energy Drink cars a sweep of Thursday’s Qualifying.Championship leaders Brad Sweet and David Gravel were right next to each other as Sweet set the third fastest lap with Gravel a spot ahead in second.Cory Eliason, making his debut in the Ridge & Sons Racing #8, timed in fifth quick in Flight A. Also worth noting was Justin Henderson going eighth fastest in the same flight aboard the Kreitz Racing #69K.The session to set Friday’s lineups belonged to the Pennsylvania Posse as Brent Marks put down a 14.149 in Flight B. With the lap, Marks nabbed his first Simpson Performance Products QuickTime of the year and the third of his career.“We’re starting this week off a lot better than we did last year,” Marks said. “Really proud of this Murray-Marks Motorsports team for working hard and giving me a good car tonight to qualify with. Our engine ran really good. It’s very cold and really good air, so to get out there and rip around the top and feel comfortable that close to the wall and our engines running really good with everything tuned up, it just felt effortless for me.”In Flight A of Friday’s session, Gravel topped the charts with a 14.163. He distanced himself a little from Sweet who’s 14.658 slotted him ninth fastest in Flight A.Knoxville Raceway regulars – Brian Brown and Chase Randall – claimed the second and third spots in Flight A. Over in Flight B, Courtney missed claiming both flights by one spot as he set the second fastest lap behind Marks with another Knoxville driver – Austin McCarl – in third.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to The Dirt Track at Charlotte for night two of the World of Outlaws World Finals, and first night of Feature action, on Thursday, Nov. 2. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.Qualifying A – Thursday: 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 00:13.694[12]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu, 00:13.722[27]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo, 00:13.847[16]; 4. 19-Brent Marks, 00:13.888[24]; 5. 8-Cory Eliason, 00:13.956[3]; 6. 14-Cole Macedo, 00:13.987[15]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 00:14.003[4]; 8. 69K-Justin Henderson, 00:14.023[26]; 9. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:14.036[23]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 00:14.056[21]; 11. 20G-Noah Gass, 00:14.064[11]; 12. 9-Kasey Kahne, 00:14.066[22]; 13. 1A-Jacob Allen, 00:14.077[19]; 14. 9R-Chase Randall, 00:14.113[9]; 15. 12-Lance Dewease, 00:14.162[17]; 16. 88-Austin McCarl, 00:14.189[1]; 17. 83-James McFadden, 00:14.200[18]; 18. 5-Spencer Bayston, 00:14.245[20]; 19. 7S-Robbie Price, 00:14.315[10]; 20. 42-Sye Lynch, 00:14.369[7]; 21. 18R-Ryan Roberts, 00:14.401[25]; 22. 12S-Brent Shearer, 00:14.419[6]; 23. 47-Eric Riggins Jr, 00:14.502[8]; 24. 33-Derek Hauck, 00:14.516[2]; 25. 14T-Tim Estenson, 00:14.669[5]; 26. 77-Geoff Dodge, 00:14.701[13]; 27. 17H-Wout Hoffmans, 00:15.268[14]Qualifying B – Thursday: 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:13.843[5]; 2. 2-David Gravel, 00:13.903[3]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 00:13.986[4]; 4. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, 00:13.987[6]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 00:14.069[9]; 6. 21-Brian Brown, 00:14.105[16]; 7. 13-Justin Peck, 00:14.279[14]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri, 00:14.279[26]; 9. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 00:14.283[1]; 10. 2MD-Cap Henry, 00:14.296[10]; 11. 23-Devon Borden, 00:14.319[19]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz, 00:14.356[24]; 13. 1T-Tanner Holmes, 00:14.505[21]; 14. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:14.548[12]; 15. 6Z-Zane DeVault, 00:14.715[8]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee, 00:14.729[18]; 17. 71-Parker Price Miller, 00:14.762[17]; 18. 20-Tim Buckwalter, 00:14.899[13]; 19. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, 00:14.963[23]; 20. W20-Greg Wilson, 00:15.004[7]; 21. 22-Riley Goodno, 00:15.015[15]; 22. 40-George Hobaugh Jr, 00:15.163[22]; 23. 7NY-Matt Farnham, 00:15.354[25]; 24. 24D-Danny Sams III, 00:15.429[20]; 25. 23M-Lance Moss, 00:15.530[2]; 26. 7N-Darin Naida, 00:15.817[11]Qualifying A – Friday: 1. 2-David Gravel, 00:14.163; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 00:14.175; 3. 9R-Chase Randall, 00:14.181; 4. 69K-Justin Henderson, 00:14.342; 5. 24-Rico Abreu, 00:14.427; 6. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, 00:14.457; 7. 41-Carson Macedo, 00:14.484; 8. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:14.527; 9. 49-Brad Sweet, 00:14.648; 10. 5-Spencer Bayston, 00:14.664; 11. 2MD-Cap Henry, 00:14.693; 12. 14-Cole Macedo, 00:14.743; 13. 23-Devon Borden, 00:14.747; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 00:14.785; 15. 99-Skylar Gee, 00:14.820; 16. 1T-Tanner Holmes, 00:14.842; 17. 6Z-Zane DeVault, 00:14.852; 18. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 00:14.858; 19. 42-Sye Lynch, 00:14.876; 20. 20G-Noah Gass, 00:14.977; 21. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, 00:15.173; 22. 23M-Lance Moss, 00:15.205; 23. 47-Eric Riggins Jr, 00:15.260; 24. 17H-Wout Hoffmans, 00:15.473; 25. W20-Greg Wilson, 00:15.635; 26. 7NY-Matt Farnham, 00:15.804; 27. 7N-Darin Naida, 00:16.161Qualifying B – Friday: 1. 19-Brent Marks, 00:14.149; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:14.259; 3. 88-Austin McCarl, 00:14.275; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri, 00:14.347; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 00:14.402; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 00:14.435; 7. 83-James McFadden, 00:14.445; 8. 13-Justin Peck, 00:14.531; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 00:14.582; 10. 8-Cory Eliason, 00:14.603; 11. 9-Kasey Kahne, 00:14.607; 12. 15-Donny Schatz, 00:14.617; 13. 71-Parker Price Miller, 00:14.735; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen, 00:14.746; 15. 7S-Robbie Price, 00:14.858; 16. 12-Lance Dewease, 00:14.895; 17. 77-Geoff Dodge, 00:14.962; 18. 22-Riley Goodno, 00:15.091; 19. 14T-Tim Estenson, 00:15.156; 20. 24D-Danny Sams III, 00:15.279; 21. 12S-Brent Shearer, 00:15.565; 22. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:15.571; 23. 18R-Ryan Roberts, 00:15.583; 24. 40-George Hobaugh Jr, 00:15.757; 25. 20-Tim Buckwalter, 00:15.818; 26. (DNS) 33-Derek Hauck, 00:15.818

Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Arizona November 3-5, 2023

AND THE 2023 CHAMPION IS… NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season will come to an end this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will head to Phoenix Raceway for the 2023 season finale. Six Chevrolet drivers will vie for the championship title across NASCAR’s top three divisions, including Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and William Byron; JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer; GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger and Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar.

With six championship titles up for grabs this weekend, Chevrolet has already claimed three – its 42nd NCS Manufacturer Championship, 25th Bill France Performance Cup in the NXS and 11th NCTS Manufacturer Championship. This marks Chevrolet’s fifth time sweeping the manufacturer championship titles across all three NASCAR national series – also accomplishing the feat in 2012, 2005, 1998 and 1996. A sweep of the trio of championship titles has only happened once by a competing manufacturer, making Chevrolet the only manufacturer to successful achieve this feat on multiple occasions.  Chevrolet claimed the top position in the NCS and NXS manufacturer points standings following a pair of wins in the series’ season openers at Daytona International Speedway courtesy of JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill. From then on, the Bowtie Brand never looked back – holding the lead through the entirety of the 2023 season en route to each championship title.

SIX CHEVROLET DRIVERS SET FOR TITLE RACEAmong the remaining championship hopefuls, Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to have two drivers in title contention in each of NASCAR’s three national series. Already locking-up all three manufacturer championships, Chevrolet has the potential to also sweep the driver championships across all three series – a feat that only Chevrolet has accomplished in NASCAR history (1998 and 1996).

NASCAR Cup Series:  Kyle Larson and William Byron will represent Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series’ title-deciding race as the pair of Hendrick Motorsports teammates will look to deliver Chevrolet its 34th Driver Championship in NASCAR’s premier series.  The only former champion left in title contention, this weekend will mark Larson’s second career appearance in the series’ Championship Four. Of his four points-paying wins this season, two have come in the postseason, including the Round of 16 opener at Darlington Raceway and the Round of Eight opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 31-year-old Elk Grove, California, native is the only Championship Four driver that has a playoff win at Phoenix Raceway – recorded in 2021 en route to his first career championship in the series. In his 18 career NCS starts at the one-mile Arizona tri-oval, Larson has posted an average finish of 11.7, which is the best among the Championship Four. Taking the 2023 title would make Larson just the third active driver – and 18th in NASCAR history – to win multiple championships in NASCAR’s top division.  In a total team effort at Martinsville Speedway, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team drove to a hard-fought 13th place finish to advance into the title-deciding race. In his fifth consecutive season competing in the NCS playoffs, this marks Byron’s first appearance in the Championship Four as the 25-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native will look to become the 36th driver to win the championship in NASCAR’s premiere series.  Byron’s first chance at a championship title comes in an already career season after earning six wins, 14 top-fives, 20 top-10s and an average finish of 11.2 – all of which are series-leading statistics. Continuing the trend, the consistency of Byron’s postseason performance has been unmatched – tallying one win (Texas Motor Speedway), five top-fives, seven top-10s and an average finish of 6.33 in nine playoff races. Byron will return to Phoenix Raceway with an added piece of momentum as the series’ most recent winner at the track (March 2023). In his 11 career starts at the Arizona venue, Byron has one win, six top-10s and an average finish of 11.9

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 Victories: 4Poles: 2Top-Fives: 14 Top-10s: 17Laps Led: 1,127Average Finish: 15.0Stage Wins: 8 At Phoenix Raceway:       Wins: 1 Top-Fives: 7Top-10s: 11Average Finish: 11.722William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 Victories: 6 Poles: 3Top-Fives: 14Top-10s: 20Laps Led: 921Average Finish: 11.2Stage Wins: 8  At Phoenix Raceway: Wins: 1Top-Fives: 1Top-10s: 6Average Finish: 11.909

NASCAR Xfinity Series: In dramatic fashion, NXS veteran Justin Allgaier was able to edge out fellow Chevrolet driver Sheldon Creed by a mere 0.032-second margin to take the win and a ticket to the Championship Four in the series’ Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. Allgaier joins his JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer in the Championship Four as the duo looks to give Chevrolet its 22nd NXS Driver Championship. The pair of JR Motorsports drivers enter the season finale race weekend sitting one-two in the playoff rankings after each recording a win in the Round of Eight to secure their spots in the Championship Four.

The youngest of the NXS Championship Four drivers, Mayer’s first opportunity to compete for the title comes in just his second full-time season in the series. The 20-year-old Franklin, Wisconsin, native become a first-time winner in the series at Road America (July), with the Chevrolet driver going on to reel off three more victories – highlighted by his victory in the second race of the Round of Eight at Homestead-Miami Speedway that secured his berth into the championship-deciding race. Allgaier will look to capitalize on his veteran playoff experience as he races for his first career NXS championship title. The 37-year-old Riverton, Illinois, native has now competed in all eight NXS playoffs since the format was introduced to the series in 2016, with this season marking his sixth appearance in the Championship Four. Allgaier knows his way to victory lane at the one-mile Arizona tri-oval, visiting victory lane twice at the track in his NXS career.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Similar to the NXS, a first-time championship contender and a series’ veteran will be vying for Chevrolet’s 15th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver Championship. Niece Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar and GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger will each enter the season finale race weekend eyeing their first career NCTS championship title.

Hocevar has competed in the NCTS playoffs in each of his three full-time seasons in the series, with 2023 marking his first career appearance in the Championship Four. The 20-year-old Portage, Michigan, native recorded each of his four career wins this season, highlighted by his victory in the series’ Round of Eight elimination race at Homestead-Miami Speedway that solidified his spot in the Championship Four. Enfinger will look to cap off GMS Racing’s final NASCAR start by delivering the Chevrolet organization its third championship title in the series. The 38-year-old Fairhope, Alabama, native has driven his No. 23 Silverado RST to three victories this season, one of which came in the postseason at the Milwaukee Mile (August).

BY THE NUMBERS AT PHOENIX RACEWAYThe NASCAR Cup Series made its first appearance at Phoenix Raceway in November 1988 and has since hosted 54 races for the division, including the past three championship-deciding events. Behind the wheel of the iconic No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Sr. carried the Bowtie Brand to its first trip to victory lane at the desert oval in November 1990. En route to a now series-leading 26 all-time victories at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet went on an impressive double-digit win streak from November 2005 to April 2010, with six different drivers earning a combined 10 wins under the Chevrolet banner. Chevrolet’s two most recent NCS winners at Phoenix Raceway are the manufacturer’s Championship Four contenders with Kyle Larson’s win in the title-deciding race in November 2021, as well as William Byron’s win in the series’ most recent appearance at the track in March 2023.

PIT ROAD PERFORMANCE

A key element in a championship-caliber team is performance on pit road, and Chevrolet’s two Championship Four pit crews know how to put their drivers in position to win. Heading into the season finale race weekend, the pit crews for the Hendrick Motorsports-prepared No. 24 and No. 5 teams rank first and second in the series in average four-tire stops this season. The No. 5 pit crew proved the importance of strong pit stops two years ago – taking Larson from fourth to first on the final stop of the day to put the Chevrolet driver in position to win the race and the championship title.

THAT’S A WRAP ON 2023 ‘MAKING STRIDES AGAINST BREAST CANCER’ CAMPAIGN For the 13th consecutive year, Chevrolet partnered with the American Cancer Society and its ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative. The specially-themed pink Camaro ZL1 served as the official pace vehicle for three NASCAR Cup Series races during the month of October, and for every caution lap the pink Camaro ZL1 completed, Chevrolet will make a donation of $350 (up to $50,000) to the American Cancer Society to honor the ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ initiative.  The third and final event of the initiative took place last weekend during the NCS Round of Eight elimination race at Martinsville Speedway. Heading into the weekend, the running total sat at $18,900 following the first two races of the campaign at Talladega Superspeedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. With 61 laps made under caution during the NCS Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet will contribute an additional $21,350, bringing Chevrolet’s total contribution to the campaign to $40,250 for 2023.

BOWTIE BULLETS: ·       Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Phoenix Raceway:  Kyle Busch – three wins (2019, 2018, 2005)William Byron – one win (2023)Kyle Larson – one win (2021)Chase Elliott – one win (2020) ·       In 54 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 26 victories. Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with 13, recorded by eight different drivers: Terry Labonte (1994), Kyle Busch (2005), Jeff Gordon (2007, 2011), Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep, 2009), Mark Martin (2009), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2015), Chase Elliott (2020), Kyle Larson (2021) and William Byron (2023).   ·       In 35 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (17), top-fives (74), top-10s (146), stage wins (25) and laps led (3,379).  ·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 17 victories in 35 NASCAR Cup Series races, 17 victories in 32 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 13 wins in 22 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races.  ·       Chevrolet’s series-leading 17 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by seven drivers from five different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports), Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) and AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing).  ·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 25 of the 70 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (eight), Kyle Larson (eight), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (two). ·       Chevrolet clinched three championship titles before entering NASCAR’s season finale race weekend at Phoenix Raceway – claiming its 42nd NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship; its 25th Bill France Performance Cup in the NASCAR Xfinity Series; and its 11th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturer Championship.  ·       This marks Chevrolet’s fifth time sweeping the manufacturer championship titles across all three NASCAR national series – also accomplishing the feat in 2012, 2005, 1998 and 1996. Taking it one step further, the Bowtie Brand is the only manufacturer in NASCAR history to accomplish this feat on multiple occasions.  ·       Chevrolet is the only manufacturer in NASCAR history to sweep both the manufacturer championships and the driver championships in all three NASCAR national series in the same season – accomplishing the feat in 1998 and 1996.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships and 850 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

FOR THE FANS:·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Phoenix Raceway. ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Team Chevy Racing Display including: 2024 Equinox RS, 2024 Silverado 1500 Crew LT, 2024 2500HD Silverado HC, 2024 Trax Activ, Tahoe, Colorado, Corvette·       Fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro ZL1 show car, as well as the actual Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 that competed at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.    Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:Friday, November 3·       Nick Sanchez: 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. ·       Christian Eckes & Jake Garcia: 10:45 a.m. – 11 a.m. ·       Stefan Parsons: 11 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. ·       Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth & Daniel Dye: 11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Saturday, November 4·       Justin Allgaier: 10 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. ·       Carson Hocevar: 10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. ·       Sam Mayer: 10:45 a.m. – 11 a.m. ·       Alex Bowman: 11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ·       Josh Berry: 2 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.·       Brandon Jones: 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ·       Daniel Hemric: 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Sunday, November 5·       Chase Elliott: 9:40 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.  ·       Kyle Larson: 10 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. ·       William Byron: 10:20 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. ·       Ross Chastain: 10:35 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. ·       Kyle Busch: 10:50 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.  Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: ·       Friday, November 3: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.   ·       Saturday, November 4: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.  ·       Sunday, November 5: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

TUNE IN: NASCAR Cup Series: Championship RaceSunday, November 5, at 3 p.m. ET(NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series: Championship Race Saturday, November 4, at 7 p.m. ET(USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Craftsman 150Friday, November 3, at 10 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTESROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1With one race to go, how do you look at your season?“We’ve had a good season. We got back to victory lane, had a good run in the playoffs, and made improvements throughout the season. You have to remember that it wasn’t that long ago that I was battling every week just to even get to the track (laughs). We have a great crew, great support from everyone at Trackhouse and our partners, and that’s all you can ask for. I’m getting to live my dream everyday by driving the No. 1 Chevy for Trackhouse with a great group of people.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Larson on racing at Phoenix Raceway: “I’m excited to go to Phoenix (Raceway) and hopefully have a good run. We were okay there (Phoenix Raceway) last year from what I remember. We were decent on the long run and not great on the short run. In the spring, we were good on the short run and not very good on the long run, so I don’t know what we will have going on there. Regardless, we’ve had speed this season. We are in the final four, so we’ve got a shot at the Championship.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Daniels on racing at Phoenix Raceway: “Our mindset is really to execute a good weekend. Starting with unloading on Friday, getting the car through tech and on track for practice. We really want to execute a good practice to get (Kyle) Larson’s Chevy comfortable. Of course, we want it to be fast. I think the best combination is going to be having a good car that has speed and good drivability. You’ve got to have a lot of versatility built into your car. We look to make good changes ahead of qualifying on Saturday, once we have a better idea of what is needed for race day. Our goal is to stay focused at each step along the way and hopefully that will set us up for a good day on Sunday.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1What is the key to running well at Phoenix? Does the car need to turn well in the center of the corner and be good on exit?“I would say the key to running well at Phoenix is just having grip. Obviously being able to roll the center of the corner. If you can have really good grip in your car where the car turns in the middle of the corner and then you can get the throttle down on exit that’s hugely important because that just makes up all your lap time.” How critical are managing the restarts at Phoenix?“Phoenix restarts are fun; they’re challenging but fun. You know you have that big, wide front straightaway where the dogleg is that you can go all the way to the flat down on the apron and be five, six, seven wide or whatever and then you have to funnel down into a two-wide turn. That gets a little dicey but you know it’s cool when you can run different lines and kind of be out of the crowd a little bit and make some passes on some restarts and get some positions on that. I’ve been fortunate to be fast on some restarts in years past and that kind of helps me get some spots right off the bat on a restart. And then you kind of settle in line and you go racing from there.”  CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1This is a big weekend for you in the Truck Series, but as you look ahead to your final Cup Series start with LEGACY M.C., what are some of the biggest takeaways that you can bring into your first full-time season next year? “I’m very excited, this is a big weekend I feel I’ve worked my whole career for. To be able to race in the Cup Series and know I’ll be in a Cup car full time after this weekend, but to also fight for a championship and do both in the same weekend is something I am very grateful and thankful for everyone that’s helped and pushed to get me here. It has been a great experience to be able to work with both LEGACY M.C. and Niece Motorsports this weekend and this year as a whole! We learned a lot this season and I am thankful knowing that I can have this experience heading into 2024, but am laser-focused on the task at hand.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT ALLWAYS REWARDS CAMARO ZL1“Phoenix is a good track, obviously finishing out the season here, and we want to go out on a good note and have a strong run going into the off-season. Obviously, the guys competing in the championship will be tough to go up against, but I think overall we should have a decent day in Phoenix with our Allegiant Allways Rewards Chevrolet team, and then go into our offseason strong.” CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RSTGive an evaluation of how your season has gone.“I definitely think that the back half of our season was better than the start, just with how far we’ve come as a group and what we’ve learned. I think that we have learned what we expect out of one another and the things that we want. I’m just excited that I’ve been able to work with this group of guys. I’m happy with how we’ve done things the last half of the year. I think that if we could start the season over, we would be playoff contenders and we would be going into Phoenix as a part of the Championship 4.” Phoenix is a unique racetrack, do you like racing there?“I do like Phoenix. I’m excited to go there in a KBM truck. It seems like every track that we’ve gone to has been significantly better than what I’ve had in previous years there. Phoenix is a cool track and I like racing it. I’m excited to see what it’s like in a KBM truck. What does it take to have a fast truck at Phoenix?“You have to have your truck turning good. You don’t want to be tight. My crew chief, Jimmy Villeneuve, has said that we haven’t been tight all year long, so I don’t expect it to be tight at Phoenix. I’m looking forward to it and excited about it.” How do you feel being one of the drivers to race in the final race for KBM?“I’ve definitely thought about it. I’m the last full-time KBM driver that there’s going to be at KBM. I just want to go out there and deliver a good race for KBM in the final race. I want to make the bossman and everyone else who has put their hard work, sweat, and tears into this proud. It’s my job to go out there and run well and win. “ CHRISTIAN ECKES, NO. 19 NAPA AUTOCARE SILVERADO RSTOn entering the season finale at Phoenix:“This race team and everyone at MHR deserved to be fighting for a championship this week, but we’re looking forward to another opportunity to race for another win. We’ve had a really strong year with three wins and making the run that we did in the playoffs. Our NAPA Auto Care team was really consistent with the speed we’ve shown all season and all playoffs. It’d be great to end the season on a strong note and get back to victory lane one more time heading into the offseason.” GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RSTNow that you’ve made it to Phoenix, what is it going to take to win the championship on Friday night?“I’d say the biggest thing for our group is just don’t beat ourselves. We have had great trucks all year and there’s been winning speed at a good amount of races. I feel like even though we might not have been the best truck at Gateway, we were a top-three truck at the end of it, and when we turned around to Milwaukee, I feel that no question we had the best truck out there. Gateway and Milwaukee aren’t exactly like Phoenix, but there are some characteristics there that translate well between the three. We’re taking the same truck that we ran with at Milwaukee, and I don’t think that there’s been too much of a change in the truck package and from the racetrack as a whole to where we know what to expect. It’ll be the same tire, and our guys have been preparing so much for this race. I’m going into this weekend with the mentality of we need to win this race to secure the deal. And I am confident in our team that we will have a Champion Power Equipment Chevy that can contend on Friday night.” How special would it be to send GMS Racing off by delivering them a championship in the team’s last race?“That is certainly what everybody desires. I know for Jeff and I personally, we both feel like we owe a lot to Maury and Spencer Gallagher, Mike Beam, and Ron Booth. They have been a big part of my career and gave me my first big break in the ARCA Series back in 2014. But not only that, they’ve given so much to the series as a whole. They’ve been so good and have helped so many drivers, teams, and crew chiefs along the way and it would be very special to get them one last championship in their final race. We want to send them off the right way for sure, but at the end of the day the guys that we are racing against want it too. I feel like we are in a position with our organization and the speed of our trucks that if we do everything right, I think we can beat the other three guys at their best. That’s been our focus to control everything we can control on our end. Now if we stumble some and show up with a top-five truck, we might need some help. But that’s not the mentality we’re going into it with.” RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 WENDELL SCOTT FOUNDATION SILVERADO RSTAs you look back on your rookie season, how would you assess how your year has gone?“I think this year, full of trials and tribulations has been rocky and testing for us in the first half of the season. But I’d say that the back-half of the year has been really strong for us. We’ve been completing races and getting top-10s and gaining spots in points along the way. I’ve been improving a lot as a driver and as a young man. Hopefully we can have one last good weekend with GMS to have a send-off where we can compete for the win with our Wendell Scott Foundation team, and hopefully Grant (Enfinger) can bring home the championship for everybody.” What are you going to miss the most about racing with GMS?“The biggest thing I am going to miss about GMS Racing will be the people. I haven’t even been here for a full calendar year yet, but the relationships I’ve built outside of just strictly professional wise have been great. They’ve helped me with everything – working on my personal car, putting stuff together at my house, and supporting me in all of my races; whether that be at the Late Model track or at the dirt track, or even in my Xfinity Series races. I’ve learned that at GMS in particular, everybody here is a true racer, but at the same time it has all been one big family. And I will always be thankful for that.” JAKE GARCIA, NO. 35 QUANTA SERVICES SILVERADO RSTOn wrapping up his rookie season:“It’s been a fun year and I’ve been able to get a lot of experience racing at all these tracks for the first time and seeing so many different situations. I have to thank everyone at MHR, our partners at Quanta Services and Adaptive One. After going to so many different tracks, it’s nice to finish the year at Phoenix since I was able to race there last year. We had a really fast Chevrolet at Gateway and Milwaukee earlier this year, both flat tracks, so hopefully that will translate to Phoenix this week so we can end the season on a positive note.” DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 GMS RACING SILVERADO RSTWhat has been your favorite moment about racing with GMS in the three years you have been here?“My favorite memory with GMS Racing is probably from when we won at Berlin Raceway in the ARCA Series. Either that or when we finished third last year at Daytona. Both were great memories for me. Berlin was really cool; we dominated the whole race and I remember Chad Bryant trying to teach me how to do a burnout over the radio. I remember banging it off the rev limiter and I had already unplugged my radio, and he was screaming at me to shift to second gear. I didn’t look like I was very experienced in the burnout department, but that was just a cool memory that I had of that win at Berlin.” As you look towards next season, what have you learned this year that can prepare you for your second year in trucks?“Man, just having the experience of running 23 truck races is going to be huge. Hopefully we will have success next year. Having Grant as a teammate this year and being able to lean off him as well as Rajah with both of us being rookies was very important. We didn’t have the year that we wanted, but definitely learned a lot and gained a bunch of valuable experience that can help our journey to win some races next year.” JACK WOOD, NO. 51 RUBBIN’ IS RACING SILVERADO RSTYou showed speed in the ARCA race earlier this year at Phoenix. Does that excite you for this race?“When you go to a place that you’ve run well at, it gets you excited about going back. Of all the tracks on the Truck Series schedule, Phoenix is the track that I’ve been to the most. It was close to home growing up and I got the chance to race there in an ARCA West car a couple times with my family. Of all the races on the schedule, I’ve probably looked forward to this one the most. Obviously, with this being the last race under the KBM banner, it has motivated me more to go out and get the last win in the last race for the organization. I’m excited about going there, our sim stuff has gone well and we’ve had speed there in the past as an organization.” Will doing double duty and getting extra track time driving the ARCA car benefit you this weekend?“I think it will help. I will end up with around 100 minutes of practice. When I’ve ran the ARCA car before a truck race it has helped knock the rust off and helps me fire off better on the short run in the truck. I’m lucky to be able to get in the No. 28 ARCA car, I think we will have a good shot at it there and hopefully it will be a good confidence builder going into the truck race that night.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2023): 42First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2023 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 17Poles: 8Laps Led: 3,379Top-five finishes: 74Top-10 finishes: 146Stage wins: 25·       Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)·       William Byron – 8 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte), (Watkins Glen)·       Kyle Larson – 8 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono), (Kansas), (Texas), (Las Vegas x2), (Homestead)·       Chase Elliott – 2 (Talladega), (Charlotte RC)·       Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 850 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 742Laps led to date: 248,923Top-five finishes to date: 4,295Top-10 finishes to date: 8,858                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,184           Chevrolet: 850           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 828                                                                      Ford: 728           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 180

November 1, 2023

For Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team, the goal for this weekend’s season-ending NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway is to build on their Martinsville run and end the season on the upswing.

Last Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Burton and the No. 21 team recovered from a mid-race setback that put them two laps down and raced their way to a 15th-place finish. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins is looking for another strong run this weekend in the season finale.

“I’m super proud of the way we battled last week at Martinsville,” Bullins said. “We made some spots early but got trapped on the outside for a while and hurt our right-rear tire and got loose at the end of Stage One. We wound up getting spun out battling to stay on the lead lap.”

But they didn’t let the set-back hold them down for long.

“We did what you have to do,” he said. “We stayed in the game all day, and got ourselves in position to come back for a top 15.”

The veteran crew chief said that was just what the team needs at this point.

“Races like that are the momentum we need as we keep building toward 2024,” he said. “I think we can do the same this weekend in Phoenix.”

Bullins said he’s encouraged by the way Burton raced at a similar track, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in July, when he scored a top-20 finish.  

“Harrison ran really well at Loudon earlier this year, and I think we can do the same at Phoenix,” Bullins said. “It’ll be an exciting season finale and hopefully a good finish for our Wood Brothers Ford and a championship for RB and everyone at Team Penske.”

Practice for the Cup Series Championship Race is set for 5:05 p.m. local time (8:05 p.m. Eastern Time) on Friday, with qualifying scheduled to start at 1:35 p.m. (4:35 Eastern) on Saturday.

USA Network will carry the TV coverage of practice and qualifying.

Sunday’s 312-lap race on the one-mile oval is set to get the green flag just after 1 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time), with TV coverage on NBC.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 185. 

CONCORD, NC (Nov. 1, 2023) – Rarely in professional sports does a player or team come along and transcend the boundaries of the game, accomplishing what was once only a passing thought or a dream in the minds of those involved.

American motorsports has found that player this year in 17-year-old Jade Avedisian – the first female national Midget series champion.

Avedisian claimed the 2023 Xtreme Outlaws Midget Series presented by Toyota championship in her first season with Indiana-based Keith Kunz Motorsports – breaking the mold for a rising presence of female drivers in motorsports.

“It’s a dream come true, honestly,” she said.

While Avedisian is the first woman ever to win a national dirt racing championship, her accomplishment expands upon the foundation laid by several women who have come before and found success in their own way.

Open the World of Outlaws history books to Oct. 29, 2004, and you’ll find another first for women in motorsports. On that day at Thunderbowl Raceway, Erin Crocker-Evernham became the first woman to win a World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Feature event.

At 23 years old, she beat Steve Kinser; she beat Danny Lasoski; she beat Donny Schatz. Evernham made her own mark in open-wheel racing, paving the way for a future generation of female stars in the sport like Avedisian.

“I do see a little bit of myself in her, and I think that’s why I’ve taken to following her and what she’s doing,” Evernham said.

Still an avid open-wheel racing enthusiast and present-day host of Winged Nation on the Motor Racing Network, Evernham kept up with Avedisian’s run to the Xtreme Outlaw Series title this year. While she immediately recognized the unprecedented achievement, she also noticed a striking resemblance.

“What she did this year is really significant and I think it truly shows the natural ability she has,” Evernham said. “I love the way she carries herself. She wants to be known as a racer, not as ‘I’m the woman racer,’ which is how I always felt throughout my career. Like, I want to be a racer, and I want to go out there and win. And I get that feeling from her.

“I think it’s huge – she gives me a lot of hope for women in the future.”

Avedisian’s road to the future began in February with the announcement of her signing with KKM – the 17-time national Midget championship-winning team – for 2023 and their plans to chase the Xtreme Outlaw Series title in its first full-length schedule. Fast forward eight months, and Avedisian was hoisting the championship trophy after a season of five Toyota Racing Feature wins, 16 top-five and 26 top-10 finishes.

“I’m just super grateful to even be in contention to win a championship,” Avedisian said. “To capitalize on it just means the world to me.”

For several weeks during the season, she questioned whether or not she’d even be in title contention by the end of the year.

A win inside the Southern Illinois Center in March bolstered her into the Series points lead to start the season, but an average finish of 8.9 and only one top-five result over the next eight Series races dropped her back to fourth in the standings – 180 points behind the leader.

With the schedule already a third of the way complete and a mountain in front of her to climb, Avedisian turned to the one mantra that’s repeatedly defined her season.

“I knew just had to put our heads down and never give up,” she said.

Standing right behind her was the deep roster of KKM crew members with a matching appetite for victory. For her first season with the team, Avedisian was paired with car chief Jarrett Martin – a five-year expert on the wrenches with KKM. Right away, and more frequently as the season progressed, he noticed Avedisian’s never-say-die mentality.

“She wants to make sure she never loses the will to always get better,” Martin said. “That’s one thing I’ve noticed about her that sets her apart – she never wants to give up, she never wants to slow down.

“She works at getting better and wants it as bad as us, so that makes it easier for all of us when we do have a bad night to know that she’s upset too. She’s working hard as well.”

Throughout the year, Martin also helped coach Avedisian through many of the darkest moments of her season – including the Appalachian Midget Week opener at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway, where she crashed and flipped while leading, then did it again from the tail of the field only two laps later.

“She’s up front leading the thing, and she said she just felt so good that she wanted to go faster and faster,” Martin said. “By the end of that night, we had the talk about knowing when to when to slow down and knowing when to push it.”

“I feel like those kinds of moments could’ve thrown the championship away,” Avedisian said. “Luckily, it didn’t.”

After several months of working together, the duo had made significant progress – improving their average finish to 4.6, collecting four additional Feature wins and climbing all the way back from 180 points down, up to the top of the Series points standings coming into the final race weekend of the season in Oklahoma.

“The second half [of the season], I really started to take the stuff I learned and apply it,” she said. “I feel like I was two different drivers from the first half to the second half.”

From 11 points up, Avedisian had expanded that gap to 59 by the time the weekend was out. In Victory Lane, she exchanged hugs, tears and endless smiles with the KKM crew and her family as the celebration began.

“To get it done for her, for the people around her and around us that wanted it just as bad as everybody else – that feels good, for sure,” Martin said.

But the next day, it was right back to business. Business with her future as part of the Toyota Racing Development lineup and working on what’s next for The First Lady of the Xtreme Outlaw Series. Life for the teenager from Clovis, CA has changed dramatically in the past year, and she’s taking it all in stride.

“To have Toyota give me a lot of opportunities… me doing a commercial the other day – obviously a lot has changed,” she said. “I’m a lot more busy now, but it’s a good busy, that’s for sure.”

While Avedisian spends the next few months solidifying exactly what her 2024 racing season will look like, one thing is for certain – she’ll have the attention of Evernham and her other female racers as the motorsports world awaits her next potential historic achievement.

“I’m really excited to watch her in the following years,” Evernham said.