READING, Pa. (Sept. 16, 2023) – Del Holbrook and his Big Pulley No Power Ford Mustang Cobra Jet secured their second No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
 
Holbrook, who is in his rookie season driving in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown class, earned his No. 1 position in the third and final qualifying session on Saturday. Coming into the session sitting in the No. 14 spot, Holbrook handled his Cobra to a stout 7.642-second pass at 181.20 mph to top the competition.

Del Holbrook, Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 qualifier, photo courtesy of Werner Communications

 
“I knew the conditions were out there to run well, but I didn’t think we really had the shot to go No. 1. I was really kind of surprised at the top end. But the whole ride I’m like, ‘This is going to be a good one.’ It felt fast but I didn’t think it was going to be that good,” Holbrook said. “This is my first time here at Maple Grove Raceway, so racing in front of packed grandstands is awesome. It’s a nice atmosphere around here, and it’s going to be great getting to race eliminations in front of so many people.”
 
Holbrook opened qualifying on Friday with a 7.858-second run at 176.07 mph before improving to a 7.797 at 178.57 later in the evening. He’ll match-up against No. 16 qualifier Carl Tasca in the first round of eliminations.
 
“I mean, it’s always cool to be number one, but at the end of the day you really want to qualify and then get into the winning mindset for eliminations,” Holbrook said. “You have to be ready when it is time to race. I am looking forward to the first round.”

Del Holbrook and his Ford Mustang Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown entry at Maple Grove Raceway, photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

 
Sitting No. 2 after also having a jump in performance in the third session is veteran racer Mark Pawuk and his Empaco Equipment Dodge Challenger Drag Pak. Pawuk started qualifying with a 7.816 at 178.35 before improving to a 7.797 at 178.97. Ultimately, it would be a 7.667-second run at 181.67 mph on Saturday that would land him No. 2 and set up a first-round match up with reigning world champion and defending Pep Boys Nationals Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown winner David Barton.
 
“We had a new motor we put in for this weekend. It looked really good, but it just didn’t seem to accelerate. We made two decent looking runs yesterday, but the car just didn’t pick up. We ended up going over to David Barton’s shop last night until 1 a.m. in the morning and we put the motor in we ran in Indy,” Pawuk said. “I need to do a better job of driving, but I got the car under me to do well. I’m happy with my crew and with Barton Racing. David Barton has been a huge asset to this program along with Michael Viaro and my son Kyle. NHRA did a really nice job of prepping the track.”

Mark Pawuk, No. 2 qualifier at Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown, photo credit Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

 
Due to impending weather, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown action at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway continues with eliminations beginning Saturday and continuing as needed on Sunday.
 
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown First Round Matchups
No. 1 Del Holbrook vs. No. 16 Carl Tasca
No. 2 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 15 David Barton
No. 3 Lee Hartman vs. No. 14 Kevin Skinner
No. 4 David Janac vs. No. 13 David Hamp
No. 5 Anthony Troyer vs. No. 12 Ricky Hord
No. 6 Aaron Stanfield vs. No. 11 Scott Libersher
No. 7 Lenny Lottig vs. No. 10 Stephen Bell
No. 8 Jesse Alexandra vs. No. 9 David Davies III
 

Cadillac V-Series.Rs qualify fourth and eighth for 2-hour, 40-minute GTP race

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 16, 2023) – Cadillac Racing’s Grand Touring Prototype racecars qualified fourth and eighth Saturday for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the penultimate race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Sebastien Bourdais, driving the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 13.939 seconds during the 20-minute session on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course to place fourth in the 10-car field. The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R has started in the top half of the field in all but one of the eight races.

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Pipo Derani qualified eighth with a best lap of 1:14.284 for the 2-hour, 40-minute race Sunday. It will mark the first time the premier North American sports car racing series competes on the IMS road course since 2014. The event will expand to a six-hour race in 2024. Bourdais was 0.267 of a second off the pole-winning lap time of the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports entry. The field was separated by 0.960 of a second. Bourdais is no stranger to the Brickyard. The four-time CART champion has made 10 INDYCAR starts on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (best finish of fourth in 2014, ’15 and 2018) and nine Indianapolis 500 starts. He also co-drove a Daytona Prototype with Alex Popow to victory in the 2012 NASCAR Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series race and co-drove a Chevrolet Corvette DP to 11th place in 2013 on the previous (2.534-mile) circuit configuration.

NBC will telecast the race live at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 17. Peacock streaming in the U.S. begins at 1 p.m. ET, while viewers outside the U.S. can tune in to IMSA.com. IMSA Radio will air the race at IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992.What they’re sayingNo. 01 Cadillac V-Series.RSebastien Bourdais drove in qualifying: “We had a really great car at the test in July and then I saw the temperatures on the forecast and said this is going to be a tough one. I wish it was hotter because if it was I think we’d be in a better spot. But the conditions being what they are, we’ll get on with it. A little sad about that but the team is executing well and I think we’re doing everything we can maximize the result. Tomorrow will be a chaotic day. I think the weather is going to come into play as well. We’ll try to stay out of trouble and see what comes our way.”

No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.RPipo Derani drove in qualifying:“Considering what happened in the (first) practice, when we were basically one practice session behind everybody else, the field is so tight that it’s hard to catch up if you lose 90 minutes (sorting out a brake issue). All in all, we improved from practice 2 but it didn’t look like it was enough. Balance-wise, the car is OK, but we were just not able to extract what we wanted out of it in qualifying conditions. For race conditions, I thin our car is fast. Last time we qualified first and finished sixth, so we’ll try to reverse that this time out. Hoping we can come out with some good points.”

(Sept. 16, 2023) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor qualified fifth in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class Saturday ahead of the team’s return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Sunday’s TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

It’s a key weekend for Taylor and teammate Antonio Garcia in the GTD PRO title race. The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R won in its last race at Virginia International Raceway to solidify the Corvette program’s second-place standing in the Drivers, Manufacturers and Teams points battle with two races left in the season. The weekend marks the first time in nearly a decade that Corvette Racing has turned laps around the famous Yard of Bricks but first trip with the mid-engine C8.R. The engineering and crew teams spent practice sessions Friday and Saturday tuning and tweaking the Corvette to the track surface and the 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit. The goal was to validate the pre-event virtual work, much of which was focused on efforts in the Chevrolet Driver in the Loop simulator. That – plus feedback from the manufacturer’s IndyCar program, which raced twice this year on the IMS Road Course – aided the team in establishing its baseline setup along and looking at the effects of predicted changes to help bridge the gap to the rest of the GTD PRO field.  Corvette Racing finished fourth and fifth in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class in 2014 in the team’s only previous IMS appearance. The TireRack.com Battle of the Bricks is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept.17. The race will air live on NBC beginning at 1 p.m. ET and stream live on Peacock inside the United States and IMSA.comoutside

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of IMSA’s TireRack.comBattle of the Bricks. 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.

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Not what we wanted but what we kind of expected. Practices were tough and that carried over to qualifying. The car feels good and pretty solid. We’ve gone quicker each session and we’re getting closer to the front. But the gap in performance between us and the rest of the class is evident, though. We will see. It will take a perfect race, which we are capable of doing. After that, things are out of our control.”

2023 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTD PRO (After nine of 11 events)Driver Standings1. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 3,1652. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3,0213. Klaus Bachler/Patrick Pilet – 2,9154. Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon – 2,8865. Alex Riberas/Ross Gunn – 2,774 Team Standings1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 3,1652. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 3,0213. No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports – 2,9154. No. 79 WeatherTech Racing – 2,8865. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 2,774 Manufacturer Standings1. Lexus – 3,1652. Chevrolet – 3,0213. Porsche – 2,9154. Mercedes-AMG – 2,8865. Aston Martin – 2,785 CORVETTE RACING AT INDIANAPOLIS: 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• 5: Combined starts for Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor at Indianapolis in IMSA competition. Both placed fourth in their class in the 2014 event• 9: Years since Corvette Racing’s only other appearance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014 with the C7.R• 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• 47: Combined victories for Chevrolet at Indianapolis in stock car (23), open-wheel (21) and sports car racing (three)• 127: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans and three in the FIA WEC• 281: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 360,480.64: 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 Indianapolis2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM

JACKSONVILLE, IL (Sept. 15, 2023) – Jade Avedisian crossed the finish line a second ahead of her opponents. Animated fist pumps soon followed.

At only 15 years old, she’d made history. National history. With her car parked in Victory Lane in front of a packed Jacksonville Speedway grandstand, and a shower of confetti around her, Avedisian became the first female to take the checkered flag in a national-level Feature event, winning with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

Over one year later, she can still recall her jubilation in the moment.

“It meant the absolute world to me,” Avedisian said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve seen all these kids get on top of the cage and celebrate. It’s always been a dream of mine to get on top of the cage and celebrate as a Midget winner.”

The Series returns to the 1/4-mile oval in Western Illinois for the first time since that evening on Friday, Sept. 15, in the first of a three-day stretch of racing that also includes visits to Highland Speedway on Saturday (Sept. 16) and Red Hill Raceway on Sunday (Sept. 17).

Avedisian, the 17-year-old Californian now residing in Mooresville, NC, has seen and won at several other bullring-style tracks this year, but Jacksonville is one that’s been circled on her calendar since the start.

“I’m super excited to get back to Jacksonville,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks and it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Looking back, she said it’s still a surprise that she was able to pull off the win that night, considering the three-straight DNFs she suffered that week.

“To pick that week as a bad week and then end it on such a high note on Saturday night was truly just the best feeling,” she said.

The win at Jacksonville, which was co-sanctioned by the Xtreme Outlaw Series, fell on the fifth night of the POWRi National Midget League’s annual Illinois SPEEDWeek event. After a 12th-place run in the opener at Charleston Speedway, Avedisian did not finish the main event in any of the next three nights due to on-track incidents, forcing her to go to a backup car later in the week.

After a third-straight DNF at Macon on Saturday, she drove the backup Spike/Toyota #84 for Chad Boat Industries in for the finale in Jacksonville and turned her fortune around in dramatic fashion, fending off the field for all 30 circuits to secure the win.

“I think I just wanted it so, so bad,” Avedisian said. “At the beginning of the week, we flipped almost every single night. Just realizing that, and kind of backing myself down for Saturday night… going out there and clearing my mind from the past week because it wasn’t a good week, and just retrying on Sunday night.”

This time around, she’ll make the trek back to site of that historic moment for the first time with her new team at Keith Kunz Motorsports, aiming for another win to kick off a crucial stretch of races that will set the scene before championship weekend in Oklahoma next month.

“It’s going to be up to me to make sure I put myself not in bad situations on the racetrack,” Avedisian said. “Thirty laps in the Feature may not seem like a long time, but 30 laps – I feel like it is.”

Seven points is all that separates her from the Series points lead. With six races to go and several opponents within striking distance in the points standings around her, any of the top-five drivers can make a run for the championship.

“I feel pretty confident going back there, just because I’ve won there before,” Avedisian said. “I’m gonna go in there with my best foot forward and be super smart.”

Tickets for each of the remaining races on the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series schedule can be purchased at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to your favorite track, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

JACKSONVILLE, IL (Sept. 15, 2023) – Jade Avedisian crossed the finish line a second ahead of her opponents. Animated fist pumps soon followed.

At only 15 years old, she’d made history. National history. With her car parked in Victory Lane in front of a packed Jacksonville Speedway grandstand, and a shower of confetti around her, Avedisian became the first female to take the checkered flag in a national-level Feature event, winning with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

Over one year later, she can still recall her jubilation in the moment.

“It meant the absolute world to me,” Avedisian said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve seen all these kids get on top of the cage and celebrate. It’s always been a dream of mine to get on top of the cage and celebrate as a Midget winner.”

The Series returns to the 1/4-mile oval in Western Illinois for the first time since that evening on Friday, Sept. 15, in the first of a three-day stretch of racing that also includes visits to Highland Speedway on Saturday (Sept. 16) and Red Hill Raceway on Sunday (Sept. 17).

Avedisian, the 17-year-old Californian now residing in Mooresville, NC, has seen and won at several other bullring-style tracks this year, but Jacksonville is one that’s been circled on her calendar since the start.

“I’m super excited to get back to Jacksonville,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks and it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Looking back, she said it’s still a surprise that she was able to pull off the win that night, considering the three-straight DNFs she suffered that week.

“To pick that week as a bad week and then end it on such a high note on Saturday night was truly just the best feeling,” she said.

The win at Jacksonville, which was co-sanctioned by the Xtreme Outlaw Series, fell on the fifth night of the POWRi National Midget League’s annual Illinois SPEEDWeek event. After a 12th-place run in the opener at Charleston Speedway, Avedisian did not finish the main event in any of the next three nights due to on-track incidents, forcing her to go to a backup car later in the week.

After a third-straight DNF at Macon on Saturday, she drove the backup Spike/Toyota #84 for Chad Boat Industries in for the finale in Jacksonville and turned her fortune around in dramatic fashion, fending off the field for all 30 circuits to secure the win.

“I think I just wanted it so, so bad,” Avedisian said. “At the beginning of the week, we flipped almost every single night. Just realizing that, and kind of backing myself down for Saturday night… going out there and clearing my mind from the past week because it wasn’t a good week, and just retrying on Sunday night.”

This time around, she’ll make the trek back to site of that historic moment for the first time with her new team at Keith Kunz Motorsports, aiming for another win to kick off a crucial stretch of races that will set the scene before championship weekend in Oklahoma next month.

“It’s going to be up to me to make sure I put myself not in bad situations on the racetrack,” Avedisian said. “Thirty laps in the Feature may not seem like a long time, but 30 laps – I feel like it is.”

Seven points is all that separates her from the Series points lead. With six races to go and several opponents within striking distance in the points standings around her, any of the top-five drivers can make a run for the championship.

“I feel pretty confident going back there, just because I’ve won there before,” Avedisian said. “I’m gonna go in there with my best foot forward and be super smart.”

Tickets for each of the remaining races on the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series schedule can be purchased at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to your favorite track, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

JACKSONVILLE, IL (Sept. 15, 2023) – It takes guts to challenge some of the best Midget racers in the country. It takes even more guts to try and drive around the national points leader on the top for the win in the final laps, but Karter Sarff never thought twice about going for it.

From over a second behind with 10 laps remaining, Sarff reeled-in leader Cannon McIntosh in five laps, ripping the top side around the 1/4-mile Jacksonville Speedway. With the momentum wound-up through Turns 1-2, Sarff zipped past McIntosh and led the final five circuits to bag his second Feature win of the year with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

“I’ve always wanted to win a national Midget race at Jacksonville, it’s basically my home track,” Sarff said. “To finally be able to get it done, to win an Xtreme race with everyone here and passing Cannon for the win is a huge deal for us.”

The 20-year-old from Mason City, IL, won for the first time with the Series in August, driving around defending Series champion Zach Daum for the win at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. While he admits that one was sweet, Sarff said winning at Jacksonville is something different.

“Jacksonville – it’s everything,” he said. “You’ve gotta be hammer-down, balls-to-the-wall. It’s just so cool to win here.”

From sixth on the starting grid, Sarff gradually made his way up through the field in the first half of the race, advancing to fourth by the halfway point, putting himself in position to make a late-race dash for the lead. A multi-time Feature starter at Jacksonville, Sarff figured out the best line right away and used it to his advantage.

“Everyone was running the bottom, so I wasn’t gonna follow them down there,” Sarff said. “I just kept working it and working it until I finally figured out how to rip around there with a bunch of momentum and not make mistakes.”

Out front, McIntosh had taken the lead after finding a magic lane on the bottom, zooming by both Jade Avedisian and Hayden Reinbold to take control of the race on Lap 11. But after several caution periods, McIntosh said the track began to dry-out, and the struggle for grip became a factor for the Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #08.

“I tried to hit my marks better and better, but I just started to slow down a little bit,” McIntosh said. “[Sarff] was just living and dying by the top. He just made it work.”

Following the final restart with 16-to-go, McIntosh soon dipped back into lapped traffic. He reached the back of a slower car on Lap 24, who was running right in front of him. Though McIntosh held his line and drove by down the backstretch, so had Sarff.

“As the bottom got worse and worse and I got in traffic, he just ripped by us,” McIntosh said. “I think by then he had enough momentum, it didn’t matter what I did. He was just going to get away.”

McIntosh gave it everything he had on the bottom to try and fend Sarff off but was unable to escape the #21K’s wrath the next time by in Turns 1-2. Sarff used the momentum from the top side and completed the pass out of Turn 2.

Though he settled for runner-up, McIntosh did consider what moving up a lane earlier in the race might have done for him in the end.

“I knew in the back of my head that the top is always good here, and I should’ve known that more in the Feature,” McIntosh said. “I didn’t really know if it would come in or not – it seemed so built-up and hard against the wall.”

Crossing the stripe with the final podium spot was 16-year-old Pennsylvanian Gavin Miller, who came all the way from ninth on the grid to finish third. Avedisian held on for fourth while Daum completed the top five after having to restart from the tail, following contact with Avedisian early in the event.

UP NEXT 

The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets are back in action Saturday night, Sept. 16, in the Series debut at Highland Speedway in Highland, IL. Tickets will be on sale at the gate; stream will be live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 21K-Karter Sarff[6]; 2. 08-Cannon McIntosh[7]; 3. 97-Gavin Miller[9]; 4. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 5. 7U-Zach Daum[4]; 6. 56-Mitchell Davis[13]; 7. 25K-Taylor Reimer[8]; 8. 16-Kyle Jones[10]; 9. 1K-Brayton Lynch[18]; 10. 97K-Cooper Williams[11]; 11. 50-Daniel Adler[5]; 12. 40-Chase McDermand[1]; 13. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[2]; 14. 7X-Korey Weyant[17]; 15. 31B-Kyle Beilman[14]; 16. 81-Dakota Gay[19]; 17. 17B-Austin Barnhill[20]; 18. 16C-David Camfield Jr[16]; 19. 55-Trevor Cline[12]; 20. 53-Miles Doherty[21]; 21. 17C-Devin Camfield[23]; 22. 43-Gunnar Setser[15]; 23. 51R-Patrick Ryan[22]

KNOXVILLE, IA (September 15, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. made it back-to-back in preliminary features at Knoxville Raceway as he led wire-to-wire in the 25-lap $7,000-to-win event on Friday night. The win was his 19th of the season for the Martinsville, Indiana racer and former Iowa resident. Thornton will try to become only the second driver in the history of the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals to sweep the weekend if he can capture the 75-lap A-Main on Saturday night. Billy Moyer is the only driver to do so in 2010. Chad Simpson, the current Lucas Oil MLRA points leader finished in second followed by 12th place starter Devin Moran who rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Brandon Overton, who ran as high as second in the race was fourth with Kyle Bronson completing the top five drivers. Thornton jumped to the lead at the start of the race and the only time he was slowed was for the lone caution of the race with 16 laps complete. Chad Simpson held the second spot for 24 of the 25 laps as the only time he didn’t was when Overton got by him on lap 16, before the caution came out. On the restart Overton fell back to fifth which allowed Simpson and two other drivers to get by. Overton was able to get by Bronson on the final lap to salvage fourth. It was Thornton’s 24th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of his career as he looks to complete a possible $64,000 weekend out of a $262,000 total purse. Thornton’s winning margin was a convincing 3.815 seconds when the checkers flew. “I didn’t know if I needed to stay around the top. I got to [Todd] Cooney and [Daniel] Hilsabeck and I went to the bottom, and I felt like I made a better lap, but [Christopher] Jayco said lap time wise I was better where I was. It’s cool to win on Burroughs’ [crew chief Anthony] birthday so hopefully we will party a little bit tonight. We were thinking about just testing earlier tonight after last night, but we were going for it. We went with a completely different set-up from last night and I think we picked up a little bit of speed there. I think we know what we need to do tomorrow.” Chad Simpson, who won a preliminary night race in 2015, took back the second spot from Overton after a lap 17 restart. “We were chasing it all night long last night we chased it early tonight, but everything then fell through and the car got good. We started so deep then tonight we put ourselves in a good position we timed better and raced better,” said the three-time and reigning Lucas Oil LMRA champion. “Man there at the end of that race I was really good, so we can go a little longer tomorrow night and see what happens. It would be awesome to win here tomorrow night. To be honest with you it’s probably the best feeling race car we have had in a long time. So, it’s exciting and we are pumped up, that’s what we come here for.” Moran, who comes into the weekend sixth in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series standings rallied from his outside sixth row starting spot to take third. “You’ve got to drive hard every lap you know. It’s obviously not like Volusia, but these big half-miles, you’ve got to hit the grip. I love racing on these kinds of tracks. This place is awesome, it was a lot of fun tonight. We’ve got to conserve ourselves tomorrow night you can’t drive that hard for 75 laps around here, we need to stay in the top five,” said the Ohio native who is making just his second start at Knoxville. He finished fourth in 2019 in his only other appearance at the Marion County Fairgrounds track. The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Dyno One, Inc., West Side Tractor Sales Company, D&E Outside Services, Certified Inspection Service Company, Inc., Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Midwest Sheet Metal, Excel Floor Covering, and Murty Farms. Completing the top ten were Daulton Wilson, Spencer Hughes, Brandon Sheppard, Hudson O’Neal, and Ryan Gustin. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Knoxville Late Model Nationals | Prelim Night 2Friday, September 15, 2023Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brian Shirley | 17.294 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Brandon Overton | 17.344 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 22F-Chris Ferguson[3]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 5. 30-Todd Cooney[2]; 6. 8S-Brian Shirley[6]; 7. 7W-Ricky Weiss[8]; 8. 39-Tim McCreadie[7]; 9. 1X-Aaron Marrant[9]; 10. 10W-Junior Coover[10] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 2. 25-Chad Simpson[5]; 3. 157-Mike Marlar[6]; 4. 98-Cory Hedgecock[7]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 6. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 7. 32-Chris Simpson[4]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[9]; 9. 17-Tim Simpson[1]; 10. 22M-Charlie McKenna[10] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 111B-Max Blair[2]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[5]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[4]; 5. 4-Brandon Overton[6]; 6. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 7. 62-Justin Zeitner[7]; 8. 51-Matt Furman[8]; 9. 21M-Luke Merfeld[9]; 10. (DNS) 6-Al Humphrey AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 6. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[4]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[7]; 8. D45-Dan Battaglia[9]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs[8] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 8S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 3. 7W-Ricky Weiss[3]; 4. 39-Tim McCreadie[5]; 5. 32-Chris Simpson[4]; 6. 1X-Aaron Marrant[7]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 8. 10W-Junior Coover[9]; 9. (DNS) 17-Tim Simpson; 10. (DNS) 22M-Charlie McKenna UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 62-Justin Zeitner[3]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 51-Matt Furman[5]; 5. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 6. D45-Dan Battaglia[6]; 7. 99B-Boom Briggs[8]; 8. 21M-Luke Merfeld[7]; 9. (DNS) 6-Al Humphrey Knoxville Late Model Nationals | Prelim Night 2 Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 39Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-25) Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.rizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 3.815 seconds Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: n/aSeries Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chad Simpson, Devin MoranPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Chad Simpson, Devin Moran, Brandon Overton, Kyle BronsonTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Advanced 10 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Spencer HughesDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Chase JunghansEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (25 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max Blair Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 2 – 18.358 seconds) MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Tim SimpsonOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Jonathan Davenport (17.083 seconds)Time of Race: 11 minutes 27 seconds Fast Shafts B-Main Line-Up (15 Laps, Top-6 Transfer):

Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals A-Main Line-Up (75 Laps):

Knoxville Late Model Nationals Prelim Points Breakdown

**Ties Broke by Combined Points Total**

NASCAR CUP SERIES BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY BASS PRO SHOPS NIGHT RACE TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 15, 2023

COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 NEGU CAMARO ZL1, met with the media ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Bristol Motor Speedway. Media Availability Quotes:  YOU HAVE A SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME HONORING PEDIATRIC CANCER AWARENESS. WHY IS THAT CAUSE SPECIAL TO YOU?“The paint scheme is the same, it’s just the number to gold foil number. The gold ribbon signifies Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month which is September. We were at a Pediatric Cancer center giving out some joy jars, so it was fun doing that, interacting with the kids and giving out some stickers. Passing out some smiles. That was good stuff. It actually helps me, too, keeping in perspective how much of a blessing it is to do to what I do each weekend. We’ve got families with kids that are fighting for their lives. It’s a nice perspective adjustment before rolling into the racetrack for a race weekend.” LAST WEEK, YOU HAD YOUR 18TH LEAD LAP FINISH OF THE SEASON WHICH IS A NEW CAREER HIGH FOR YOU. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT YOU’VE BEEN RIGHT AT THE FINISH OF EVERY RACE THIS SEASON. THE WAY SPIRE IS GROWING, WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE STATUS OF THAT AS YOU APPROACH THE END OF THE SEASON?“It’s certainly something I’m proud of, being the only car so far, knock on wood, sitting here at Bristol where anything can happen in a split second. That was our biggest objective in the offseason leading into this season, where we ran only eighty-three percent of laps last year. That’s part driver mistake, a lot mechanical issues with the new car trying to figure out the weak links there. The growth of the small team, there’s a lot of growing pains there we’ve ironed out. We’ve got the right people in the right positions to negate all of those mechanical failures we had. If we continue that, keep executing, not putting ourselves in bad spots, I feel like I’ve been as focused as I’ve ever been in my career and getting more experience. We’ve had some decent pace over the last six or seven weeks, and we just need to do a better job of executing when we do have pace. I think that starts this weekend. If, for us, to be the only car so far 28 weeks in, we’re certainly proud of that as a team.” “It’s certainly not all that we’re looking for. We’re looking for some better runs, better qualifying efforts. I feel like a normal day for us right now should be top-20. If we execute, we have the pace to generally to finish between 16th and 18th, and that’s a big step from where we were the last couple of years. If we continue that trend in that direction, there’s a lot of growth to be had within Spire Motorsports and I’m excited to be a part of it.” THE NO. 77 HAS ALSO HAD SIGNIFICANT PACE THIS SEASON. HOW HAS THAT HELPED THE NO. 7 OUT?“It’s something I realize more so than ever, when I was getting a cup of coffee over at Hendrick (Motorsports) driving the No. 9, all four of those teams, the engineers, drivers and crew chiefs are consistently setting a higher watermark. When you’re in an environment like that where every team is pushing the entire team forward, that’s where the biggest growth and biggest development happens. I feel like, for us, the business model that Spire has had to have with part-time guys on the No. 77, it kind of slowed our rate of how much we collected data. It’s been nice to have a veteran guy like Ty (Dillon) and refine our baseline setup. I think that having more points of data over the course of the week and the course of a 20-minute practice session, you have to collect data fast and be efficient with applying it in your race car. That’s nice to be able to see improvements over the last two months.” YOU LOOK THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENSE BEING THE SON OF A CHAMPION. TALK ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO KNOW YOU’RE TRYING TO REACH A PINNACLE OF WHAT YOUR DAD REACHED. OR MAYBE NOT, MAYBE YOU JUST WANT TO BE COREY. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT?“It’s not like we’ve all sat around a campfire and sang Kumbaya and talked about it. But you look at certain guys, there are so many father and son relationships in this sport that have been prominent. The biggest one was Chase (Elliott) and the driver, son complex. I can relate somewhat, and even though Dad (Randy LaJoie) was voted in the top 75 greatest NASCAR drivers. Bill (Elliott) was known as ‘Million Dollar Bill.’ In my case, specifically in my opinion, no matter what I do in this sport, it’ll never be up to as good as my dad. My dad is my idol, my hero growing up. There’s a little bit of no matter what you achieve in this sport, you’re not going to be as good as your dad.” “I feel like that’s some of the things where Chase (Elliott) is the way he is, Ryan (Blaney) is the way he is. Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) has been pretty vocal about that as well of his dad (Dale Earnhardt). I think as much as you’re under a microscope growing up as the son of a famous racecar driver, you still put that as much pressure and expectations on yourself to try to live up to what people expect you do being the son of somebody who has an established career. I’d be interested in hearing what those guys have to say on it, if it affects their psyche or not, but I think whether or not they acknowledge it, it shapes who you are and what kind of career you have.” THIS WEEKEND, EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM IS PAYING ATTENTION TO THE PLAYOFF AND THE CUTOFF POINTS AND SO FORTH. YOU’RE KIND OF IN A BATTLE FOR 25TH. THAT’S NOT AS SEXY AS OTHERS, AND YOU’D LIKE TO BE HIGHER. HOW DO YOU VIEW WHAT THAT MEANS?“I don’t feel like our place is under any pressure. The guys we are in striking distance of shouldn’t be back there with us anyway. A lot of those guys get eaten up a spot, it’s more fire under their seat. I’ve challenged our team, even though we’re not in the top-16 and resetting those points for a championship, I challenge my guys to reset the points of those four or five guys in front of us and the couple behind us, and have our own little Playoff points structure and see if we can chip away at them with the time with 10 races left. I don’t know for certain, but there is a big monetary difference at the end of the year with points payoff between 25th and 26th. Our car, too, is in different spots as the No. 7 finished last at (World Wide Technology Raceway) when it broke a rotor, so it’s 20 points behind where I am in drivers’ points. So I naturally look at drivers’ points because that’s where I compare and see my name on it, but the one that pays is the one that I need to go get a little more effort and get 20 more spots throughout the year. There are certainly three cars in the crosshairs that I feel like, when we execute, we can beat each and every week and we’re going to have to, we can’t have any off weeks if we want to go get those guys.” BRISTOL DIRT IS NOT COMING BACK. WHAT DO YOU THINK?“Halleluiah.” “I was at the Trackside Live stage earlier, and Alex Weaver mentioned that. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, but it was the first official announcement and there was a majority of fans were excited. I said ‘Guys, you guys have to come to the race or else they’ll put ice or gravel or some sort of funky substance to make it a flash in the pan. So the people who are clapping, you better be here in the spring with your butt in a seat so the race doesn’t move somewhere else or they don’t figure out some other substance to put (on the track).’”

Thornton’s Last Lap Pass Nets Knoxville Preliminary Victory

KNOXVILLE, IA (September 14, 2023) – Ricky Thornton Jr. made a last lap pass for the win on Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway. Thornton, the current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Chase for the Championship leader went by Brandon Overton on the white flag lap and went on to score his 18th series win of the season. It was the first of three nights of racing that will conclude on Saturday night with the 19th Annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals paying $50,000 to win out of a $196,000 feature purse.  The 25-lap preliminary night feature saw four different race leaders. Daulton Wilson, who led 19 laps, the most during the race, edged out Overton at the finish line for second. Overton was third followed by Devin Moran and 3-time Late Model Knoxville Nationals winner, Mike Marlar. Wilson powered to the lead at the start of the $7,000 to win preliminary feature and opened an advantage over Jonathan Davenport, the defending race winner. Those two ran first and second until Davenport went to the outside on lap 17 to take over the race lead. Unfortunately, Davenport got to high exiting turn four and got into the front stretch guardrail which sent him hard into the turn one wall ending his night.  When the race resumed Wilson was back out in the lead and would hold the point until lap 21 when Overton, who had started 11th on the grid, moved to second. Overton was one of the fastest cars on the track as he moved by Wilson for the lead on lap 21. Overton looked to be on his way to his first Knoxville victory as he opened up a three to four car length lead, but Wilson and Thornton started to close the gap and as the trio took the white flag it would be a three-car battle for the win. Thornton would come from third to second on the white flag lap as then moments later he passed Overton to take his first and only lead of the race to win by 0.517 seconds over Wilson and 0.520 seconds ahead of Overton. Thornton, whose only previous win at Knoxville was in 2018 in a Harris Clash race for modifieds, went to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 23rd time in his career. The victory was special for Thornton who lived a little over an hour away in Adel, Iowa for a few years. “It’s awesome to win here at Knoxville, whether it’s a prelim race or not all the best drivers are here so, to be able to do it from eighth, it’s like we never passed any cars. I think after tonight it should put us in a good position for Saturday. Hopefully we can do it. I have a lot of wins here in Iowa. I think it’s my second Knoxville win, so we want that big Knoxville win.”   Wilson continues to get closer to his first career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory came home in second after leading the most laps. “We got up there in those lapped cars and when you are out front you really don’t know where the racetrack is at. I thought that middle looked like it was coming back around. You just can’t leave that bottom; we fell back and then I thought we had a chance for the lead coming to the white and I overshot the corner down there, but we’re hanging around the front, we are learning a lot, getting better, and if we keep putting ourselves in this position maybe we will be up there soon getting our picture taken.” Overton rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “I went with a two compound on the right front and both of them had three’s on the right front. I just worked my right front way too hard to get around Daulton on the top. So, we’ll take it. I didn’t think I was going to get up that far. It was a good run for us. Shoot Ricky’s running good and so is Daulton so just to be up there with them, we’ll take it.”  The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns-owned, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms, Sub-Surface of Indiana, Dyno One Inc., West Side Tractor Sales Company, D&E Outside Services, Certified Inspection Service Company, Inc., Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Midwest Sheet Metal, Excel Floor Covering, and Murty Farms. Completing the top ten were Chris Ferguson, Tyler Erb, Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard, and Earl Pearson Jr. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Knoxville Late Model Nationals | Prelim Night 1Thursday, September 14, 2023Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Mike Marlar | 17.109 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 17.396 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 111B-Max Blair[3]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[5]; 3. 8S-Brian Shirley[4]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[6]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 6. 32-Chris Simpson[2]; 7. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[8]; 8. 21M-Luke Merfeld[9]; 9. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[10]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs[7] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 22F-Chris Ferguson[6]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 4-Brandon Overton[4]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 6. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[9]; 8. 6-Al Humphrey[10]; 9. 21B-Rich Bell[8]; 10. (DNS) 22M-Charlie McKenna Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[5]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 4. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[4]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 6. 62-Justin Zeitner[7]; 7. 39-Tim McCreadie[8]; 8. 48-Tim Lance[9]; 9. 10W-Junior Coover[10]; 10. 7W-Ricky Weiss[1] AP1 Insurance Heat Race #4 Finish (12 Laps, Top 5 Transfer): 1. 25-Chad Simpson[3]; 2. 11-Spencer Hughes[4]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 5. 1H-Hudson O’Neal[6]; 6. 98-Cory Hedgecock[7]; 7. 51-Matt Furman[9]; 8. 30-Todd Cooney[5]; 9. 1X-Aaron Marrant[8]; 10. 17-Tim Simpson[10] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 32-Chris Simpson[1]; 2. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[7]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs[9]; 7. 6-Al Humphrey[6]; 8. 21M-Luke Merfeld[5]; 9. 22M-Charlie McKenna[10]; 10. (DNS) 21B-Rich Bell UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (15 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 2. 48-Tim Lance[5]; 3. 30-Todd Cooney[6]; 4. 62-Justin Zeitner[1]; 5. 7W-Ricky Weiss[9]; 6. 51-Matt Furman[4]; 7. 98-Cory Hedgecock[2]; 8. 1X-Aaron Marrant[8]; 9. 17-Tim Simpson[10]; 10. 10W-Junior Coover[7] Knoxville Late Model Nationals | Prelim Night 1 Feature Finish (25 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 40Terminal Maintenance & Construction Pole Sitter: Daulton WilsonLap Leaders: Daulton Wilson (Laps 1-20); Brandon Overton (Laps 21-24); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 25) Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 0.518 seconds Gorsuch Performance Solutions Cautions: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 17); Hudson O’Neal (Laps 22)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Daulton Wilson, Brandon OvertonPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton, Jr., Daulton Wilson, Brandon Overton, Devin Moran, Mike MarlarTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Tyler Erb (Advanced 11 Positions) Wilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Tyler ErbDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Spencer HughesEarnhardt Technologies Most Laps Led: (Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr. O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Max Blair Etchberger Trucking Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Lap 10 – 18.215 seconds) MD3 Tough Break of the Race: Jonathan DavenportOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Ricky Thornton, Jr.) ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Jonathan Davenport (17.484 seconds)Time of Race: 16 minutes 50 seconds Knoxville Late Model Nationals Prelim Points Breakdown – Night 1:

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2023) – With only four races left in the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown 2023 NHRA season, competition amongst Chevrolet COPO Camaros, Ford Mustang Cobra Jets and Dodge Mopar Challenger Drag Paks is at an all-time high heading into this weekend’s Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway.
 
Coming off a monumental win at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park over Labor Day weekend, Jesse Alexandra and his Barton Engines COPO Camaro are more motivated than ever to close the 172-points gap between himself in fourth place and Aaron Stanfield in the lead.

Jesse Alexandra, Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown U.S. Nationals winner, photo courtesy of Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery
 

“I am still walking on a cloud for sure after that U.S. Nationals win. Surrounding myself with good people has really made this all happen. I am only the guy pushing on the go pedal but I’m very lucky to have great people around me,” Alexandra said. “We have been moving up the last few races for sure. There is a massive amount of talent in this class that can make a move forward at any time. We just have to keep working hard and do our best. Hopefully we get a little luck, too.”
 
Alexandra will also enter the weekend with a target in his back thanks to his most recent victory. With the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Bounty Program, whoever defeats Alexandra in eliminations will earn a $1,000 bonus that can carryover from race to race and increases by $1,000 as it does. Alexandra is the most recent winner of the bounty after he defeated Stephen Bell in the finals. Bell was the Norwalk, Ohio event winner.
 
Hoping for some hometown luck to repeat as event champion is reigning world champion David Barton and his Retail Fixture / Sawmill Auto Chevy COPO. Barton is currently sitting 10th in the points standings, 272 behind Stanfield and looking for a late season surge to keep his chances of repeating his world title.
 
“This season we have been working on a number of things and I feel like we are making progress,” said Barton, a Robesonia, Pa. native. “I have been coming to Maple Grove Raceway since I was a little kid. Last year it was cool to have all our friends and family here as well as the employees from the shop when we won and basically clinched the championship. The competition is so fierce in this class. This year everyone has stepped up and we have four races to make a move.”

David Barton, 2022 Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Pep Boys NHRA Nationals winner, photo courtesy of Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

 
Point leader Aaron Stanfield is followed by Norwalk Nationals winner Stephen Bell as the tour heads to Maple Grove Raceway. Stanfield has been holding off a handful of drivers for the points leading including Alexandra and Barton, with two runner-up finishes to start the season and a win at the Thunder Valley Nationals. Bell will be looking for his second Wally trophy this weekend.  
 
Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown action at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway begins with qualifying Friday at 1:15 and 4:45 p.m. Eliminations will begin Saturday at 5:30 p.m. following a third round of qualifying at 11:45 a.m. Sunday will feature the final three rounds with the quarterfinals at 12:10 p.m., semifinals at 1:30 and finals at approximately 2:35 p.m.
 

Bristol, TennesseeSeptember 14-16, 2023

CUE THE LIGHTS With all three NASCAR national series now officially in playoff competition, the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will head to one of the most iconic short-tracks in motorsports – Bristol Motor Speedway. The first time this season competing on the track’s concrete surface, the 0.533-mile Tennessee oval holds an integral position on each series’ playoff schedule – opening the Round of Eight for the NCTS, the first race of the NXS playoffs and the first elimination race of the NCS playoffs.

Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway: Chevrolet is the winningest manufacturer across all three NASCAR national series at Bristol Motor Speedway – earning 46 NCS wins, 36 NXS wins and 10 NCTS wins. The manufacturer has been victorious in the past two NXS visits to the Tennessee short-track with Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger in 2021 and, most recently, one year ago with JR Motorsports and Noah Gragson.

FIRST ELIMINATION RACE FOR THE NCS PLAYOFFSSaturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race will mark the first elimination race for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs – determining the 12 drivers that will continue in the championship title run. Only two drivers have solidified their spots into the Round of 12, including Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson, who claimed an early ticket to the next round with his win in the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway. The 31-year-old California native followed up the win with another strong run at Kansas Speedway – recording a stage win and leading a race-high 99 laps en route to his series-leading 12th top-five finish of the season. Larson was able to maintain the top position in the points standings, now holding a six-point lead over second.   The current points standings sees four Team Chevy playoff contenders at a double-digit advantage over the playoff cutline. Despite suffering from a spin early in last Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, William Byron was able to rally back to a 15th-place finish – still holding the fourth position in the standings with a 41-point cushion above the cutline. Kyle Busch was also able to overcome early weekend struggles in the Midwest – starting from the rear of the field and driving to a seventh-place finish, leaving Kansas Speedway seventh in the standings and 24-points above the cutline. Rounding out the top-eight of the standings is Ross Chastain, entering this weekend’s elimination race 18-points above the playoff bubble.

A look at Team Chevy’s playoff contenders heading into the Round of 16 elimination race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 1st in Playoff Standings* Advanced to Round of 12 by virtue of a win at Darlington RacewayVictories: 3Top-Fives: 12 (series-leading)Top-10s: 14Laps Led: 778Average Finish: 15.1Stage Wins: 4 At Bristol Motor Speedway: Wins: 1Top-Fives: 4Top-10s: 9Average Finish: 12.786 (second-best) Of Note: ·       The 2023 season marks Larson’s seventh appearance in the NCS playoffs. ·       Larson has one NCS Regular Season Championship and one NCS Driver Championship title to his name – both coming in 2021. ·       The 31-year-old California native has made it to the Championship Four once – the season that delivered the Team Chevy driver his first championship title in NASCAR’s top series (2021). In his other playoff appearances, Larson reached the Round of Eight (2019), Round of 12 (2017, 2018 and 2022) and Round of 16 (2016).·       During the playoff era (2004-present), the 2021 season saw Larson earn a series-leading five post-season victories – tying the record set by NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart in 2011.

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 4th in Playoff Standings; 41 points above the cutlineVictories: 5 (series-leading)Top-Fives: 10Top-10s: 14Laps Led: 877 (series-leading)Average Finish: 12.6Stage Wins: 8 (series-leading) At Bristol Motor Speedway: Top-Fives: 2Top-10s: 3Average Finish: 16.250 Of Note: ·       The 2023 season marks Byron’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs. ·       Bryon’s career-best finish in the NCS playoffs came in 2022, finishing the season sixth in the final points standings.·       Among Byron’s nine career wins in NASCAR’s premier series, five have come at tracks in the playoffs, including each of the final four races.·       While he was eliminated in the Round of Eight last season, it’s projected to be his strongest trio of tracks in the post-season – having found victory lane at all three venues (Las Vegas Motor Speedway – March 2023; Homestead-Miami Speedway – Feb. 2021; Martinsville Speedway – April 2022).

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 – 7th in Playoff Standings; 24 points above the cutlineVictories: 3Top-Fives: 8Top-10s: 15Laps Led: 233Average Finish: 13.8Stage Wins: 2 At Bristol Motor Speedway:  Wins: 8 (series-leading)Top-Fives: 14Top-10s: 19Poles: 2Average Finish: 13.667 Of Note: ·       In his debut season with Richard Childress Racing and his return to the Bowtie brigade, 2023 marks Busch’s 16th appearance in the NCS playoffs. ·       Busch is one of only two active drivers with multiple championships to his name – taking the title in 2015 and 2019. ·       In Busch’s 63 career wins in NASCAR’s top series, eight of those triumphs have come in the post-season. ·       The 38-year-old Nevada native has made it to the Championship Four on five different occasions – most recently in 2019 en route to his second title.

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 8th in Playoff Standings; 18 points above the cutlineVictories: 1Top-Fives: 7Top-10s: 10Laps Led: 482Average Finish: 14.9Stage Wins: 5 At Bristol Motor Speedway: Top-10s: 1Average Finish: 23.333 Of Note: ·       The 2023 season marks Chastain’s second appearance in the NCS playoffs. ·       Chastain’s first time competing in the NCS playoffs came in 2022 – going on to advance to the Championship Four and ultimately leading Team Chevy with a runner-up finish in the final points standings.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1 – 15th in Playoff Standings; 22 points below the cutlineWins: 1Top-Fives: 2Top-10s: 7Laps Led: 25Average Finish: 16.9 At Bristol Motor Speedway:  Top-Fives: 4Top-10s: 6Average Finish: 18.278 Of Note: ·       The 2023 season marks Stenhouse Jr.’s second appearance in the NCS playoffs. His first time competing in the playoffs came in 2017, ultimately ending the season 13th in the final points standings.·       The 35-year-old Mississippi native was the first driver to claim a playoff berth this season following his win in the 2023 Daytona 500.·       One of Stenhouse Jr.’s three career NCS victories was recorded at Talladega Superspeedway (May 2017) – one of the three tracks in the Round of 12.·       Stenhouse Jr. has already put together a career season in 2023, heading into the post-season with a career-best average finish of 16.9.

BUSCH AT BRISTOL Undoubtedly a favorite to contend for the win at Bristol Motor Speedway is Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch. In his two-time championship career, the 38-year-old Nevada native has recorded a series-leading nine NASCAR Cup Series wins at “The Last Great Colosseum” – eight coming on the traditional concrete surface and one on the dirt. Of those wins included a milestone victory for Chevrolet in March 2007 with Busch taking a Hendrick Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet to the win in the debut of the “Car of Tomorrow” and delivering the manufacturer its 600th all-time NCS win. The former champion has found success across all three NASCAR national ranks at Bristol Motor Speedway, also adding nine NASCAR Xfinity Series wins and five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins to his resume. Within that time span, Busch successfully accomplished a “Bristol Triple” on two separate occasions – sweeping the NCTS, NXS and NCS events in a single weekend in the 2010 and 2017 seasons. The feat made Busch the first and only driver in NASCAR history to win all three national series races in a single weekend.

A WINNING PERCENTAGEFor much of the 2023 season, Chevrolet has led the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series. Taking it one step further, the manufacturer currently holds a win count that is double its manufacturer competitors combined. Chevrolet sits at 14 wins in 28 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races (Toyota – eight; Ford – six) and 13 wins in 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races (Toyota – 10; Ford – three) – a winning percentage of 50 percent in each series. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Christian Eckes’ win at Kansas Speedway last weekend delivered the manufacturer to its 12th win in 19 races (Ford – five; Toyota – two), bringing its winning percentage to 63.2 percent in the series. The season’s success has kept Chevrolet consistently atop each manufacturer’s points standings, with the Bowtie brand inching closer to its fifth-ever manufacturer championship sweep across all three NASCAR national series.

HILL CLAIMS FIRST NXS REGULAR SEASON TITLEIn only his second full-time season in the series, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Championship. Heading into the series’ regular season finale at Kansas Speedway last weekend, the 29-year-old Georgia native held a 23-point lead over second and was able to secure the title following his series-leading 15th top-five finish of the season. With the playoff standings reset, the Team Chevy driver will enter the opening round in the second position and just 10 points out of the lead.  The NXS’ seven-race post-season schedule sees each style of race track in which the series competes, but the diverse lineup of venues doesn’t phase Hill’s confidence in his title chances. In fact, among his eight wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and six in the NXS, he’s found victory lane at each race track configuration including superspeedways, 1.5-mile intermediate ovals, a short-track on dirt and a road course.  CHEVROLET DOMINATES NXS PLAYOFF FIELDFollowing the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season finale at Kansas Speedway, Team Chevy’s Daniel Hemric and Parker Kligerman nabbed the two remaining positions in the series’ 12-driver playoff field. Hemric, a former champion in the series, held a 55-point advantage over the cutline leading into Kansas and merely needed to start the event to clinch his playoff spot. It was a greater task at hand for Kligerman, who sat on the outside looking in ahead of the regular season finale. With no new winner, Kligerman was able to point his way into his first career NXS playoff appearance after driving his No. 48 Big Machine Camaro SS to a fourth-place finish.  With the addition of Hemric and Kligerman, nine Team Chevy drivers will compete for the 2023 NXS driver championship – giving the manufacturer 75 percent of the playoff field. Five different Chevrolet teams are represented in this season’s post-season competition, including Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed; JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Josh Berry and Sam Mayer; Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith and Hemric; Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton; and Big Machine Racing’s Kligerman.  The first opportunity for Team Chevy’s playoff contenders to claim an early berth into the Round of Eight comes in Friday’s Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. A very diverse opening round sees the series take on the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”, followed by the 1.5-mile intermediate oval of Texas Motor Speedway and concluding with the 2.28-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course.

AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT.. In a three-wide battle during the final restart of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Round of 10 elimination race at Kansas Speedway, it was Team Chevy’s Christian Eckes that came out on top – piloting his No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Silverado RST to the front and leading the final two circuits en route to his third win of the season. Eckes is now the third driver to hit the three-win mark in the series this season, joining the likes of fellow Team Chevy drivers Grant Enfinger and Carson Hocevar.   The series’ Round of Eight gets underway Thursday with the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway. With the playoff standings reset, Chevrolet continues to occupy 50 percent of the playoff field with Eckes, Enfinger and Hocevar sitting in the second and fourth positions, respectively. NCTS rookie Nick Sanchez also pointed his way into the round, entering Bristol in the eighth position in the standings and only 16-points below the cutline.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Chevrolet will pace the field in the tripleheader race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Silverado RST lead the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Thursday’s UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics; the Camaro SS 1LE will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Friday’s Food City 300; and the Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series in Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race. ·       Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway include:Kyle Busch – eight wins (2019, ’18, ’17, ’11, ’10, ’09 sweep, ’07)Kyle Larson – one win (2021) ·       Chevrolet has recorded a manufacturer-leading 46 NASCAR Cup Series wins at Bristol Motor Speedway. Chevrolet’s first win at the track came in July 1971 with Charlie Glotzbach, with the bowtie brand going on to win seven in a row.  ·       Since the debut of the 16-driver playoff field and elimination rounds to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014, at least five Chevrolet drivers were represented in the playoffs each season. ·       In 28 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race this season, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (14), top-fives (61), top-10s (119), stage wins (20) and laps led (2,730). Chevrolet’s 2023 NCS win count is double its manufacturer competitors combined. ·       Chevrolet leads the series in wins across all three NASCAR national series this season with 14 victories in 28 NASCAR Cup Series races, 13 victories in 26 NASCAR Xfinity Series races and 12 wins in 19 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races – all with a win percentage of at least 50%. ·       With Kyle Larson’s win in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, Hendrick Motorsports now sits at 299 all-time victories in NASCAR’s premier series – all recorded with Chevrolet. ·       Chevrolet’s series-leading 14 NASCAR Cup Series wins this season have been recorded by drivers from four different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing), William Byron and Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports) and Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing). ·       Chevrolet drivers have recorded 20 of the 56 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins this season: William Byron (eight; series-leading), Ross Chastain (five), Kyle Larson (four), Kyle Busch (two) and Chase Elliott (one). ·       Chevrolet continues to sit atop the manufacturer points standings in all three NASCAR national series, leading by 67 points in the NASCAR Cup Series, 72 points in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and 62 points in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. ·       Chevrolet has swept the Manufacturer Championships across all three NASCAR national series in a single season four different times (2012, 2005, 1998, 1996). ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 847 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 Bristol Motor Speedway.  ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles at the Team Chevy Racing Display including: Silverado 1500 ZR2, Silverado 2500HD High Country Diesel, Tahoe RST, Equinox Premier, Colorado Z71 2.7L, Corvette Coupe 3LT Z51, Camaro ZL1. ·       Fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro ZL1 show car.   Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:Thursday, September 14•          Nick Sanchez: 1 p.m. •          Grant Enfinger, Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye: 1:30 p.m. •          Matt DiBenedetto: 2 p.m. •          Christian Eckes & Jake Garcia: 2:15 p.m. •          Carson Hocevar & Bayley Currey: 2:30 p.m.  Friday, September 15•          Austin Hill: 1 p.m. •          Parker Kligerman: 4:45 p.m. •          Chandler Smith: 5 p.m.  •          Sheldon Creed: 5:15 p.m. •          Brandon Jones: 5:30 p.m.  Saturday, September 16•          Ross Chastain: 3:15 p.m. •          Austin Dillon: 3:30 p.m. •          Alex Bowman: 3:45 p.m. •          Chase Elliott: 4 p.m.  •          Kyle Busch: 4:45 p.m.  Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: •          Thursday, September 14: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. •          Friday, September 15: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. •          Saturday, September 16: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.

TUNE IN:NASCAR Cup Series: Bass Pro Shops Night Race Saturday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series: Food City 300Friday, September 15, at 7:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: UNOH 200 presented by Ohio LogisticsThursday, September 14, at 9 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1What are some of the challenges with Bristol?“You can’t control much at Bristol other than your own car, most of the time. It’s happening so fast and you can’t see around the corner to the next straightaway. Something silly can happen. The cars are under immense stress and we as drivers are under stress. Its so loud for the crew chiefs and engineers, spotters and everything is so tightly packed in there. We aren’t as in control at Bristol as we are at some of the other tracks.” Why do people like coming to Bristol so much?“It’s an awesome place. If I wasn’t driving in a Cup car, I would still be there because I went the Bristol night race before I ever raced. And then when I was running in the truck series, I would stay over for the Cup race because the race is so awesome. If I wasn’t racing in it, I would definitely be in the stands with friends.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1Larson on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:“The night race at Bristol (Motor Speedway) is one of my favorites. It’s such a prestigious track and race. The fans always show out there and it’s a great atmosphere. I’ve had some good runs on the concrete track, including a win in the Valvoline Chevy in 2021. Valvoline is back this weekend and it would be great to get another win before the round of 12!” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1Daniels on racing at Bristol Motor Speedway:“Our team has great momentum right now. It’s been nice to have two good runs the past two weeks, but there is certainly a lot of racing left ahead in the playoffs. We’ve got to stay focused and stay grounded. We take every week as it comes and this week is at Bristol (Motor Speedway) which is just an amazing track. I love Bristol, Kyle loves Bristol. He’s always just super good at Bristol in anything that he drives. The team’s been executing well and hopefully we have a fast Chevy to be in contingency there at the end. I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting race.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN / ALSCO UNIFORMS CAMARO ZL1Why is the Bristol pavement race your favorite?“Bristol concrete is my favorite track just because I’ve always enjoyed that racetrack. I’ve always enjoyed watching it as a kid on TV and seeing all the races there. And then it being a short track and high banked is cool and fun and reminds me of some tracks that raced at as a kid coming up through the ranks. I look forward to going there. Bristol is a challenging track. You’ve got to be on top of your game all the time. You can really push the car and try to get the most out of it on the bottom or on the top. I’ve always loved being on the bottom there and have found most of my wins from the bottom but still you’ve got to be agile and move around.” Pitting at Bristol is unique with the frontstretch and backstretch pit roads. How difficult is that and how big of a challenge is that since this is the only time all year you do it? “Pitting at Bristol is unique because you have two pit roads, the frontstretch and the backstretch. Typically, you don’t really pit there under green a whole lot but if you did you have only one pit road, so you’ve got to remember if you’re on the backstretch or frontstretch where you would come off of the racetrack and get down to get to pit road. It’s not that big of a deal but I’ve always had my pit selection be on the backstretch just so there’s never any confusion so we’ll see if we can get that pit selection that I prefer.” CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA GOLD FILTERS CAMARO ZL1Elliott on the unique environment of Bristol: “My favorite (track), I would say, and probably my favorite race of the year. I just think that the environment up there is so unique and it’s so different. I love going (there). It’s close to home and up in the mountains of Tennessee. It’s just a cool deal from top to bottom. And they’ve always done a good job up there making that environment fun and energetic for the drivers and the fans. I think when that’s the case, everybody has more fun.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA GOLD FILTERS CAMARO ZL1Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on the Next Gen car at Bristol and what to expect on Saturday night: “It’s hard to say. We’ve had one race there with this car and it seemed ok. The tire’s changing slightly for this race, so that’s always a bit of an unknown. We’ll see what that has in store for us and how it affects the racing. Hopefully, there’s multiple lanes. To me, when we have multiple lanes and the top comes in, the racing’s better and you have more opportunity to pass.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 BARGER PRECAST CAMARO ZL1“Bristol was a really good race for us last year. We had a really strong run, a top-10 finish, and I was very happy with the car. Over the last couple months, we’ve found more speed in our race cars, and I’m look forward to getting back to Bristol with the same aero package and everything as last year. I’m excited to get on track and hopefully have a strong run.” CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1You’ve had two top-20 finishes in two weeks with the Club, so what has been the biggest factor in acclimating yourself with the NextGen car? Do you think the Truck Series race will help you prepare for 500 laps on Saturday?“The last two weeks has been a lot of fun, being able to now race a Cup car and truck on the same weekend have just helped myself become better and more in the rhythm lately. Super excited to run a lot of laps at Bristol, the truck isn’t too far away from the Cup car in terms of throttle points and the track stays the same, so looking for a good showing on Friday to get me as up to speed as I can for 500 laps on Saturday night with my No. 42 LEGACY M.C. group.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1“Bristol has always been fun for me. I’ve come so close there a couple of times to winning that night race and really would love to close that one out. It is always one of my favorite races. The Bristol night race is one that I tell people all the time, ‘If you haven’t been to a NASCAR race, try and make it out to that one.’ It is one of my favorites of the year and one that I have been really close to winning before, so hoping we can close it out.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 SCOTT BRAND CAMARO ZL1“Going into Bristol, just survive. I feel like watching the Playoffs there last year, just surviving 500 laps really hits the nail on the head. There were so many parts failures and crashes in that race last year. For me, Bristol is by far my favorite racetrack, and I’m going to not overthink or overdrive my favorite track. I’ll make sure I put myself in a good position all night. I’ve never run Bristol in the Playoffs. So, it will be the first time for me to race it in the Playoffs at the Colosseum. It’s an intense racetrack. 15 second laps. You’re on edge all the time. You’re constantly pushing your car to its limits whether you run the bottom or top of the racetrack. You also have to look super far ahead. I’ve had a crash well in front of me take me out because you just can’t get slowed down in time. Every battle there is super intense and we’re ready for battle with our No. 47 SCOTT Brand Camaro.” CHASE PURDY, NO. 4 BAMA BUGGIES SILVERADO RSTEven though you didn’t get the result you wanted, does showing speed last week at Kansas build confidence?“I think some of the struggles I’ve had this year have been from some of my execution. We showed up for practice and we were fast in practice and the fastest one in qualifying and sat on the pole. Those are the kind of things that we’ve had to improve on, and we did a good job of that at Kansas. We’re hoping to bring that same pace and execution to Bristol.” Do you enjoy racing at Bristol?“Yeah, it’s a really neat place to go race. We had a lot of speed this past weekend at Kansas and the weekend before at Milwaukee. We’re hoping to bring that same speed into Bristol, a high-banked short track, more of my wheelhouse. Like I’ve mentioned before, Kansas and Bristol are two of my favorites. I’m really excited to get there and get a little redemption after our weekend in Kansas and have a race where we execute as a team to our capability and reach our full potential. It seems like we are a little bit snake bitten with our luck and the weeks that our Bama Buggies Silverado is really fast we have something go wrong like it did last week with the loose wheel. I’m just excited to get to Bristol.” What does it take to be fast at Bristol?“Well, if it’s anything like last year, I feel like the driver who qualifies up front and can wrap the bottom the best is going to be the one to beat there. It’s so hard to pass there, so qualifying is very crucial. Track position will be everything this weekend.” CHRISTIAN ECKES, NO. 19 GATES HYDRAULICS SILVERADO RSTEckes on beginning the second round at Bristol with momentum:“We performed really well as a team in the first round, but we need to do it all over again now. Bristol is one of the most demanding tracks that we go to, but I have all the confidence in our Gates Hydraulics Chevrolet, Charles (Denike), and our entire team that we can keep this momentum going. Last week was a big moment for our team to win a playoff race at Kansas after running so well for the last couple months. We’re all focused on continuing to do the things that got us here and hopefully we can be one of the trucks to beat at the end of the night at Bristol.” GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RSTHow much pressure, if any, are you putting on yourself in the Round of 8? Which race is going to be the most important to shine in?“Obviously this Round of 8 is tough, and we have three very different tracks in this round. Our GMS team puts a lot into every race, but we’ve put everything we have into Bristol. It’ll be important to have speed, but it’s just as important to have a truck that you can drive hard every lap. Everything happens so fast at Bristol so you have to be on your game all race long. GMS Racing has had a lot of success at Bristol in the past, and we are hoping to add to that on Thursday.” RAJAH CARUTH, NO. 24 WENDELL SCOTT FOUNDATION SILVERADO RSTHas anyone given you any advice for preparing for a double duty weekend at a physically-demanding track like Bristol?“Double duty shouldn’t be too much of a challenge this weekend. I prepare just as diligently as I would for any other race weekend, and having had a few doubleheaders under my belt certainly helps. This weekend at Bristol, I feel a really good opportunity is in place for us at a track that both myself and Chad have a great track record at.” JAKE GARCIA, NO. 35 QUANTA SERVICES SILVERADO RSTGarcia on his second start on Bristol’s concrete:“I love short track racing, so it’s always exciting when these races come up on the schedule. Bristol is such a different short track than most and everything happens so quickly. You really need to stay on your toes and be able to find a rhythm quickly once the green flag drops. Our Quanta Services Chevrolet has been really fast the last few weeks, but we need to execute through the whole race on Thursday. 200 laps goes by really fast at Bristol, but we’re looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can be up front at the end of the night.” DANIEL DYE, NO. 43 CHAMPION CONTAINER SILVERADO RSTYou’ve had the chance to race at Bristol a few times in the past, so do you like this track? What do you think is going to be the most important goal for you on Thursday night?“I like Bristol for the most part, for sure. Having two ARCA races under my belt is going to be helpful, I also ran fourth there in a Super Late Model as well a couple years ago, so I’ve got quite a few laps around that joint. Just looking forward to getting there with Champion Container on board. It’s their last race with us for this year, and it’s been a pleasure having them at the racetrack. I think one of the most important things will be track position. You hear that about a lot of places on our schedule, but Bristol is so tiny and fast, so we have to make sure that we can turn well enough to get under guys and pass them, but we also have to qualify good and maintain our track position.” JACK WOOD, NO. 51 ROWDY MANUFACTURING SILVERADO RSTWhere does Bristol rank on your list of favorite tracks?“I’ve run there a couple times. It’s a pretty cool venue, it’s tough to race around, it’s tough to pass there. I think our trucks are going to be good. For me, I am just mentally preparing on how I’m going to run up front and what I want to do on restarts. Running both the truck race and ARCA race will be a long day for me running 400 laps. I’m just trying to get prepared to go out and have ourselves a good weekend.” How beneficial will it be to you to run the ARCA race before the Truck Series race?“Hopefully it will be very beneficial. I think every time I’ve done it this year it has helped me knock the rust off, especially at a track that I haven’t been to since last year. Hopefully the ARCA car will be good, and we can go out and make laps and run up front the whole race. It’s really just to compliment what we’re doing in the truck and if it can help us just five percent than it’s more than worth it.” What are your goals for the rest of the season?“I just want to put together four solid races to end the year on a high note. I think we just need to turn the tide. We’ve shown speed most weeks and there’s just things that have happened that have kept us from reaching our full potential with our finishes — some of it being my own doing and some of them random things that happen like a pit gun breaking in the middle of a stop last week.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2023 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 14Poles: 8Laps Led: 2,730Top-five finishes: 61Top-10 finishes: 119Stage wins: 20·       Ross Chastain – 5 (Daytona), (Auto Club x2), (Dover), (Darlington)·       William Byron – 8 (Las Vegas x2), (Phoenix), (COTA), (Richmond), (Dover), (Charlotte), (Watkins Glen)·       Kyle Larson – 4 (Phoenix), (Bristol Dirt), (Pocono), (Kansas)·       Chase Elliott – 1 (Talladega)·       Kyle Busch – 2 (WWTR), (Sonoma) CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 847 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 742Laps led to date: 248, 274Top-five finishes to date: 4,282Top-10 finishes to date: 8,831                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,181           Chevrolet: 847           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 826                                                                      Ford: 726           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 178

The Californian is enjoying home stretch during a year filled with victories all over the countryHANFORD, CA (September 14, 2023) – On Friday night at Kings Speedway’s Tom Tarlton Classic, Rico Abreu returns to where his Sprint Car career began amid the best season of his career.And not just where his career began, but with the same Series. Believe it or not, the St. Helena, CA native’s first race behind the wheel of one of the winged beasts was against the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars. “March of 2011 at the Outlaw race in the spring was my first ever,” Abreu said. “We were actually going to rent the track on the day after. The Outlaws were going to Tulare the following day and started at Hanford. It was going to rain (the next day), so we just said we might as well buy a pit pass and go run laps. It was a pretty cool experience for me to have my first race be an Outlaw race.“I held off Donny Schatz in Hot Laps,” Abreu added with a laugh.Fast forward 12 years, and Abreu has come a long way. World of Outlaws victories. Chili Bowl triumphs. Wins all over the country from a career that blossomed in California. But with all of his accomplishments over more than a decade in a Sprint Car, no season can parallel his 2023 performance.Abreu has racked up 10 Sprint Car victories this season, half of which have come against The Greatest Show on Dirt. Entering this year, the 31-year-old owned nine Series victories and never tallied more than two in one season.In World of Outlaws competition, he’s making trips to Victory Lane at some of the toughest tracks to do so. Twice he’s topped battles against the Pennsylvania Posse including a night when a whopping 49 cars checked in at Lincoln Speedway. He bested a field of 41 at Eldora Speedway in May. The prestige of the Jason Johnson Classic also went to Abreu when he came out on top at 81 Speedway.And it’s not only that Abreu is winning at a high rate. His consistency is also as strong as ever. The Rico Abreu Racing #24 has been on the World of Outlaws podium 13 times in 2023. That’s enough to be tied for the fourth most even though he’s only competed in 63% of the races.“It’s definitely a career best year for me,” Abreu said. “The consistency and things I’ve learned as a race car driver developmental wise have just matured me and being able to process things while I’m racing and just focusing on not putting myself in bad positions on the race track and a little more give and take instead of forcing things to put us in bad spots.”That maturity has also extended beyond the racetrack itself for Abreu. While he’s normally running up front, he and the team value the down nights. Instead of being frustrated, they use them to learn for the next time.“Some nights you’re off a little bit, and there’s nothing to hang your head about those nights,” Abreu said. “They’re all just learning curves as a team. I think those nights are more important than the nights that you win because that’s what you learn the most from.”One of the largest contributors to Abreu’s success is Ricky Warner. The legendary crew chief joined his race team at the beginning of last year. The pairing began to gather momentum toward the end of 2022 before coming out of the gates hot this year and not slowing down. Listen to any of Abreu’s Victory Lane interviews this year, and he’s quick to credit Warner’s critical thinking abilities.“I think his attention to detail to little things throughout the race team when it comes to driver communication,” Abreu said of Warner’s qualities. “Ricky has a really good eye of seeing the balance of the race car where if I’m off a little bit on my communication side of setup to where I think we need to be. I think he just has a great system and gets along with everybody, which is a huge plus for the team. He’s just a good balance. I think he gets our car really close, but where he really excels is he keeps my confidence up as a race car driver. Confidence is so key in our sport.”With Warner leading the way, Zack Middlebrooks, and Brady Forbrook completing the trio working on the car, and Abreu behind the wheel, the #24 has become one of the fastest cars in the country this year.And now they head to the track where it all started for Abreu with as strong a shot as anyone at what would be a special win. He’s won at Kings Speedway three times with the Northern Auto Racing Club. He’s won there with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. And now he hopes to top The Greatest Show on Dirt and pocket $21,000.“The unique thing about Hanford is I was really hot and cold there,” Abreu said. “And then over the years as I’ve been there we’ve gotten better and better with different crew chiefs and myself as a driver. It’s such a tricky track with no walls and a fast paced (Turns) 3 and 4 and a slower speed (Turns) 1 and 2. I’m just really looking forward to getting there. They’ve got great car counts in that central California area. They’ve got really passionate race fans.”For tickets to the Tom Tarlton Classic at Kings Speedway, CLICK HERE. Abreu will also make the trip to Placerville Speedway on Saturday night for the Federated Auto Parts 49er Gold Rush Classic. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

The Robeline, LA driver is 11th in points entering the Outlaw Invasion at Atomic Speedway

CHILLICOTHE, OH – September 14, 2023 – The 2023 season isn’t Cade Dillard’s first full-time season with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series. But it’s been his busiest.

While many full-time drivers focus solely on racing, that isn’t true for the Robeline, LA Driver. He’s also balancing his time at the track with his business—CDR Race Cars. It’s one of his many challenges as the Series swings into fall at Atomic Speedway Sept. 29-30.

“It’s tough,” Dillard said. “It’s probably why you don’t see me run 100-plus races a year. I love racing and love what I do, but I’m lucky to be able to drive for someone like [Shane Sprinkle] who’s respectful of my time with my family and my business. 

“We take a lot of pride in what we do with our modified program. We started this deal about a year and a half ago with the intention of building a handful for some of my closer customers, and it blew up way faster than I intended. We’re on car number 25 right now, and with a lot of deposits in, it’s going to get us well into next year.”

That wide-open approach to his business and racing comes amid a mid-season chassis change. Earlier this year, Dillard bought a Longhorn Chassis, and It didn’t take long for him to find success. He won a preliminary Feature at the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway. 

Since then, he’s been trying to find the right comfort level behind the wheel.

“It was good right out of the box,” Dillard said. “I got a win, and from then on out, it’s just been getting myself comfortable, what I like, and what adjustments I make throughout the night. I just kind of did all of my setup-related stuff on my own, so the main thing is getting myself comfortable, and in the last few weeks, I feel like we’ve made a lot of headway.

“We’ve had good speed early in the night in Qualifying and Heat Races. But I had to figure out where I was going wrong with the adjustments I made later in the night. Hopefully, it’ll lead to some more speed in the Feature.”

One factor that has eased the stress of balancing a chassis change and his business is the consistency of his crew. Donnie Pederson has been his crew chief since 2016, and the two have found plenty of success together—including Dillard’s four World of Outlaws victories. Pederson is also responsible for the team’s weekly maintenance, a vital part of racing on a national tour.

“We’ve obviously shared a lot of success together,” Dillard said. “He keeps our stuff very nice, and we never have mechanical failures because of something falling off. Some stuff is out of our hands that may cause a DNF, but anything related to his job we’ve never suffered a DNF for. That makes a big difference in running for points.

“He’s been a huge part of our success. For a while, it’s been just me and him.”

However, in 2023, it hasn’t been just Dillard and Pederson.

Colbey Richman joined the team in 2023, bringing experience to Dillard’s racing operation after working with four-time World of Outlaws champion Josh Richards. Dillard said the addition to his team has been a great asset.

“He’s a hard worker. He keeps our rig and everything looking nice and clean,” Dillard said. “Our tires. He’s always ahead of them. He’s always looking for ways to improve what he does. Everybody just gets along good, and everything is clicking pretty good right now.

“I just have a really good group of guys right now. It’s a plus to have them, and it definitely makes my life much easier.”

As the team builds momentum toward the World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Nov. 1-4, Dillard isn’t satisfied with his 2023 results. However, he said he’s starting to feel more comfortable behind the wheel of his Longhorn, which has him looking ahead to 2024.

“It was a struggle swapping cars in the middle of the year,” Dillard said. “Before that, I felt like I’ve never been the best in Florida, so I always get behind there. Naturally, I’d like to have some better runs and more wins than we’ve had. My car owners deserve better results than we’re getting, but we’re working hard. 

“Am I satisfied right now? No. But getting acquainted with a new car in the middle of the season just took me time to figure out what I needed.  I wouldn’t give myself the best grade, but it’s definitely got me looking forward to next year. We’ve been building a notebook with these Longhorns, and I feel like we’ve found a lot of speed the last few weeks.”

Dillard is closing in on the end of his busiest season as a World of Outlaws CASE Late Models driver, with a chance to claim a top 10 spot in the final points standings. He trails 2015 Series champion Shane Clanton by 60 points with nine races remaining and has an opportunity to earn $40,000 at season’s end—a $3,000 bump from where he is now.

No matter where he finishes, though, he’ll work until that checkered flag flies at Charlotte.

We’re wide open all the time,” Dillard said.

Dillard and the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to action on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29-30, for the Outlaw Invasion at Atomic Speedway. For Tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

Inside Line Promotions – CHICO, Calif. (Sept. 14, 2023) – Dominic Scelzi has produced a pair of successful weekends with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series during its annual West Coast Swing.

Scelzi earned three top 10s in four races in Washington State before capturing back-to-back top fives last weekend in his home state of California.

Labor Day Weekend featured four races in a five-day span in The Evergreen State. Scelzi kicked off the Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Alger by advancing from 14 ^th to ninth on Aug. 31. The following night he maneuvered from 12 ^th to seventh before ending the event with a 16^th-place finish during the finale on Sept. 2.

“The goal was to be in the top 10 every night,” he said. “The first night the track was really rough and hooked up. We moved forward and I could run pretty much anywhere on the track. We were running seventh and I was trying for a top five. We hit a hole wrong and fell back. Thursday night was our best night. It was really slick and wide and we got going on the bottom early. We drove up to seventh and I was really happy with that. The last night we were passing for a dash spot in a heat race and got run through the infield. That took us from possibly being in the dash to finishing fourth in our heat. We had to start 15 ^th in the feature and it was really hard to pass. We were ripping around the top and it was the same speed as the bottom.”

Scelzi headed to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma on Sept. 4. He capped the night with a 10^th-place result.

“In the main event we ran between seventh and 10 ^th the entire race,” he said. “We’d get going and get by some guys and then fade and get passed. We had a really good restart to get to seventh with about 10 laps to go. Then we had a restart at the end and I tried to make a hero move to get to sixth and wasn’t able to clear the slider. When I slid up to the cushion I didn’t get off the corner well and got passed by a few cars.”

The team headed to Silver Dollar Speedway last Friday for preliminary action of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. Scelzi timed in 12 ^th quickest and advanced a spot in a heat race to finish third, giving him the 10 ^th starting position in the A Main.

“We didn’t have the speed we needed in qualifying,” he said. “When you’re not up to full potential the Outlaws expose that. Going 12 ^th quickest wasn’t anything to be too upset with, but I felt we should have been better. I fell back to fifth on the start of the heat race and had to race my way to third. In the feature the track was slick and wide. We were really, really good. I was able to run the top and the bottom. We were really solid and had good speed. At the very end we were pretty much on the bumper on the leader and second. If things go a little different maybe we win. I just wish we could have started a little further forward to have put ourselves in a better position to compete for the win.”

The third-place outing ranked Scelzi as the top driver not locked into Saturday’s program, but that changed as he won a heat race to advance into the dash.

“We did what we needed to do in the prelim night,” he said. “We had great speed on Saturday and won the heat race to make the dash. The curb was really treacherous in the dash. We made a pass for fifth through turns one and two and then a yellow flag came out. We restarted sixth and didn’t get a great restart and fell to seventh. In the main event they reworked the track too much and it was one lane around the bottom. We had to be patient and wait for guys in front to move up. Once we got to fifth the top started to come into play and I was able to get back by Brad (Sweet). The last five or six laps me and Buddy (Kofoid) were racing pretty hard and (Justin) Sanders was right in front of us, but I wasn’t able to put Buddy away and we finished fourth.

“We weren’t stellar in Washington. In Chico we were really strong. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t maximize our speed. We were better than third on Friday and fourth on Saturday, but when you race with the best in the world you have to maximize your performance. It was my best Gold Cup finish and the best month of September I’ve had in many years so there’s a lot to be happy with.”

The World of Outlaws West Coast Swing concludes with races this Friday at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., for the Tom Tarlton Classic and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic.

“We’re going to two places I have a lot of laps at,” he said. “I’m excited to get to Hanford and I’m really hoping we can continue the speed we’ve been having. Fingers crossed we can battle for at least a couple more top 10s.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Aug. 31 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 9 (14).

Sept. 1 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 7 (12).

Sept. 2 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 4 (4); Feature: 16 (15).

Sept. 4 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 10 (7).

Sept. 8 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 3 (10).

Sept. 9 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 7 (6); Feature: 4 (7).

SEASON STATS –

43 races, 11 wins, 29 top fives, 35 top 10s, 39 top 15s, 42 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., for the Tom Tarlton Classic and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., for the World of Outlaws 49er Gold Rush Classic with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.GaryScelziMotorsports.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DominicScelzi41

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scelzi41

CONCORD, NC (Sept. 13, 2023) – A tripleheader weekend in Illinois will set the stage for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota as drivers march closer toward the end of the season and championship weekend in October.

A return to Jacksonville Speedway (Jacksonville, IL) will kick things off Friday, Sept. 15, followed by first-time Xtreme Outlaw Series events at Highland Speedway (Highland, IL) and Red Hill Raceway (Sumner, IL) on Saturday and Sunday. Each program will pay $4,000 to the winner, featuring 30-lap events Friday-Saturday and a 25-lap main event on Sunday.

The points battle has tightened between Cannon McIntosh and Jade Avedisian, who are separated by only seven points with third-place Gavin Miller and fourth-place Zach Daum both inside of 75 points back.

With six races left, this weekend’s races will be crucial in setting up everyone’s scenarios heading into the final weekend next month as the chase the 2023 title, worth $25,000.

Tickets for all three of this weekend’s races will be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t make it to your favorite track, stream all the action live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch for and storylines to follow this weekend:

CLOSING IN – Only six races stand between Cannon McIntosh and his first career national Midget series championship. But his seat is getting warmer.

McIntosh holds the Series points lead by seven over Jade Avedisian coming into the weekend. That advantage once stood at 121 points over Gavin Miller prior to the summer break in June and has since been cut down as a result of only six top-five finishes and two podiums in the 13 races contested since then. Prior to the break, McIntosh had only two finishes outside the podium.

Despite he and Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports’ roller-coaster moments this season, they have plenty of reasons to be confident. In addition to winning a POWRi National Midget race at Jacksonville last year, McIntosh will finish-up the season in his home state of Oklahoma next month – a three-race swing that begins with his old home track Port City Raceway and ends with two races at I-44 Riverside Speedway, where he won on Friday night last year.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN – On Friday, Jade Avedisian returns to Jacksonville Speedway for the second time since her history-making first national Midget series Feature win in June of last year.

Since that night, the 16-year-old Californian has gone on to become the Series’ all-time winningest driver, compiling five Toyota Racing Feature wins this year to go with the two races she topped in 2022. Avedisian currently sits second in the Series points standings, only seven behind leader McIntosh.

She comes into the three-race weekend riding high on the momentum of a win in the last Series race at Paragon Speedway two weeks ago and will need to at least keep pace with McIntosh in all three races if she and Keith Kunz Motorsports are to have a shot as the points championship in Oklahoma next month.

BACK IN BLACK – For the first time since Appalachian Midget Week, Kyle Jones rejoins the Series roster Friday and Saturday night behind the wheel of the Dan Minear-owned, Spike/Stanton #16.

Jones, 29, of Kennedale, TX, has made 11 starts with the Series this season, compiling four top-fives and seven top-10 finishes in that span. He tied his best finish of the season on a national Midget tour on Aug. 9 at Action Track USA in Pennsylvania in a Ripper/PME #60x owned by North Carolinian John Levecque. That night, he led laps in the Feature and brought home a third-place finish.

The last time he drove the Minear #16, he led laps as well, spending most of the Toyota Racing Feature at Southern Illinois Raceway out front before Avedisian passed him on a late restart for the win. Though he did not get the result he was hoping for, the run showed his ability to be competitive in any car at any track – an attribute he’ll need to bring with him again this weekend as he shoots for his first career national Midget Series win.

HOME GAME – If there’s anything Zach Daum needs at this point in the season on his path to a possible repeat as Series champion, it’s a three-pack of races in his home state.

Daum, 32, of Pocahontas, IL, will get exactly that this weekend, piloting the Trifecta Motorsports #7U at a few tracks where he’s won before – Jacksonville and Highland. The open-wheel veteran won a POWRi Illinois Speedweek show at Jacksonville in 2016 and has notched multiple top-five finishes in Midget events there since. As for Highland, Daum once took the checkers in a local Micro Sprint event at the 1/4-mile oval nearly 10 years ago.

Lately, Daum has been on a remarkable surge, collecting six top-five finishes – including two wins – in the last seven Series events. These runs have been part of his larger, near season-long climb back up from the depths of the points standings, where he now sits fourth – 75 points out of the lead.

SHARK SIGHTING – Twenty-year-old Karter Sarff, of Mason City, IL, will join the Series roster this weekend, looking for a rebound from his last time out with the Xtreme Outlaws.

Sarff was victorious at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Aug. 4, winning the Toyota Racing Feature over Daum and Avedisian for his third national Midget series victory. His next Xtreme Outlaw weekend outing was not as fruitful, posting finishes of 18th and ninth three weeks ago at Davenport Speedway.

Sarff is trying to regain the POWRi National Midget League points lead that he once had after McIntosh took it with his top-five runs in Davenport. Though POWRi is not in action this weekend, Sarff will be tuning-up his machine for the final POWRi shows, co-sanctioned with Xtreme Outlaw championship weekend in October.

THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE

When and where
Friday, Sept. 15 at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, IL
Saturday, Sept. 16 at Highland Speedway in Highland, IL
Sunday, Sept. 17 at Red Hill Raceway in Sumner, IL

On the internet
Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota
Twitter – @Xtreme_Outlaw
Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw
Facebook – @XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG

Live broadcast
DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com. Platinum annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month.

Current championship points standings (view full standings)

1. Cannon McIntosh: 4742 points | Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #08
2. Jade Avedisian: 4735 points (-7) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #71
3. Gavin Miller: 4670 points (-72) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #97
4. Zach Daum: 4667 points (-75) | Trifecta Motorsports #7U
5. Chase McDermand: 4624 points (-118) | Mounce/Stout Motorsports #40
6. Taylor Reimer: 4486 points (-256) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #25K
7. Hayden Reinbold: 4063 points (-679) | Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports #19AZ
8. Austin Barnhill: 2999 points (-1743) | Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports #17B
9. Chance Crum: 2910 points (-1832) | Rudeen Racing #26
10. Ethan Mitchell: 2497 points (-2245) | Bundy Built Motorsports #19M

Toyota Feature winners (9 drivers)
5 wins – Jade Avedisian (Keith Kunz Motorsports), Zach Daum (Trifecta Motorsports)
4 wins – Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports), Chase McDermand (Mounce/Stout Motorsports)
1 win – Jesse Love (Chad Boat Industries), Daniel Whitley (Abacus Racing), Karter Sarff (Sarff Racing), Daison Pursley (Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports), Gavin Miller (Keith Kunz Motorsports)

Toyota Feature laps led (16 drivers)
101 laps – Jade Avedisian
88 laps – Zach Daum
80 laps – Cannon McIntosh
73 laps – Chase McDermand
72 laps – Ryan Timms
59 laps – Daniel Whitley
41 laps – Karter Sarff
36 laps – Gavin Miller
33 laps – Kyle Jones
30 laps – Daison Pursley
26 laps – Thomas Meseraull
22 laps – Shane Cottle
21 laps – Ashton Torgerson
11 laps – Hayden Reinbold
4 laps – Jesse Love
1 lap – Nick Drake

Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Awards (14 drivers)
4 awards – Cannon McIntosh
2 awards – Ethan Mitchell, Daniel Whitley, Chase McDermand, Zach Daum, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer
1 award – Gavin Miller, Hayden Reinbold, Jesse Love, Kevin Thomas Jr, Joe B. Miller, Corbin Rueschenberg, Briggs Danner

Heat Race winners (21 drivers)
9 wins – Jade Avedisian, Chase McDermand
8 wins – Cannon McIntosh
6 wins – Zach Daum
5 wins – Hayden Reinbold
4 wins – Gavin Miller
3 wins – Ethan Mitchell, Daison Pursley
2 wins – Chance Crum, Nick Drake, Corbin Rueschenberg, Andrew Felker, Daniel Whitley, Ryan Timms
1 win – Austin Barnhill, Shane Cottle, Thomas Meseraull, Kyle Jones, Rico Abreu, Briggs Danner, Chase Johnson

High-points honors (15 drivers)
4 honors – Cannon McIntosh
3 honors – Chase McDermand
2 honors – Daniel Whitley, Jade Avedisian, Gavin Miller
1 honor – Chance Crum, Rico Abreu, Landon Brooks, Briggs Danner, Hayden Reinbold, Kyle Jones, Andrew Felker, Daison Pursley, Zach Daum, Ryan Timms

Last Chance Showdown wins (12 drivers)
2 wins – Kyle Jones
1 win – Landon Brooks, Karter Sarff, Howard Moore, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer, Henry Chambers, Chance Crum, Chase Briscoe, Mitchell Davis, Cannon McIntosh, Corbin Rueschenberg

DIRTVision Hard Charger Awards (18 drivers)
2 awards – Hayden Reinbold, Kyle Jones, Taylor Reimer, Zach Daum, Cannon McIntosh
1 award – Mitchel Moles, Chase Johnson, Ryan Timms, Chance Crum, Gavan Boschele, Chase McDermand, Shane Cottle, Cooper Williams, Jerry Coons Jr, Jade Avedisian, Steve Buckwalter, Gavin Miller, Trevor Cline

Podium finishes (17 drivers)
11 podiums – Zach Daum
9 podiums – Chase McDermand, Cannon McIntosh, Jade Avedisian
8 podiums – Gavin Miller
5 podiums – Taylor Reimer
3 podiums – Daniel Whitley, Ryan Timms
2 podiums – Shane Cottle, Kyle Jones, Hayden Reinbold
1 podium – Thomas Meseraull, Ashton Torgerson, Landon Brooks, Jesse Love, Jerry Coons Jr, Karter Sarff, Daison Pursley

Top-10 finishes (45 drivers)
21 top-10s – Cannon McIntosh, Gavin Miller
20 top-10s – Jade Avedisian
19 top-10s – Chase McDermand, Zach Daum
15 top-10s – Taylor Reimer
9 top-10s – Chance Crum, Hayden Reinbold
7 top-10s – Kyle Jones, Ethan Mitchell
6 top-10s – Ryan Timms
5 top-10s – Landon Brooks, Daniel Whitley, Karter Sarff, Austin Barnhill
4 top-10s – Gavan Boschele, Thomas Meseraull, Corbin Rueschenberg
3 top-10s – Chase Johnson, Briggs Danner, Cooper Williams
2 top-10s – Shane Cottle, Chase Briscoe, Kevin Thomas Jr, Branigan Roark, Andrew Felker, Jerry Coons Jr, Mariah Ede, Daison Pursley, Tim Buckwalter, Mitchell Davis, Kyle Beilman, Trevor Cline
1 top-10 – Mitchel Moles, Daniel Adler, Sam Johnson, Rico Abreu, Ashton Torgerson, Don Droud Jr, Nick Drake, Jesse Love, Trey Marcham, Joe B. Miller, Preston Lattomus, Bryan Stanfill

2023 Schedule & Winners – Race No. Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins)
1. Fri, March 10 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Cannon McIntosh (1)
2. Sat, March 11 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Jade Avedisian (1)
3. Fri, April 14 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Cannon McIntosh (2)
4. Fri, May 5 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS / Chase McDermand (1)
5. Sat, May 6 / 81 Speedway / Park City, KS / Chase McDermand (2)
6. Tue, May 22 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (3)
7. Wed, May 23 / Millbridge Speedway / Salisbury, NC / Cannon McIntosh (4)
8. Thu, June 1 / Tri-City Speedway / Pontoon Beach, IL / Jesse Love (1)
9. Fri, June 2 / Wayne County Speedway / Wayne City, IL / Zach Daum (1)
10. Sat, June 3 / Wayne County Speedway / Wayne City, IL / Zach Daum (2)
11. Fri, July 21 / Doe Run Raceway / Doe Run, MO / Zach Daum (3)
12. Sat, July 22 / Southern Illinois Raceway / Marion, IL / Jade Avedisian (2)
13. Sat, July 29 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH / Jade Avedisian (3)
14. Sun, July 30 / Brushcreek Motorsports Complex / Peebles, OH / Daniel Whitley (1)
15. Fri, Aug. 4 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Karter Sarff (1)
16. Sat, Aug. 5 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO / Jade Avedisian (4)
17. Tue, Aug. 8 / Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway / Newmanstown, PA / Chase McDermand (3)
18. Wed, Aug. 9 / Action Track USA / Kutztown, PA / Chase McDermand (4)
19. Fri, Aug. 11 / Path Valley Speedway Park / Spring Run, PA / Daison Pursley (1)
20. Fri, Aug. 25 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Zach Daum (4)
21. Sat, Aug. 26 / Davenport Speedway / Davenport, IA / Gavin Miller (1)
22. Fri, Sept. 1 / Paragon Speedway / Paragon, IN / Zach Daum (5)
23. Sat, Sept. 2 / Paragon Speedway / Paragon, IN / Jade Avedisian (5)

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2023) – Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster team will be looking for some of that same magic they found last year as they enter this weekend’s Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway and the start of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Prock is the defending champion at Maple Grove Raceway, an event he won last year from the No. 4 starting position and in which he beat Steve Torrence, Antron Brown and Justin Ashley, the top three starters in this year’s playoffs, in the final three rounds. Prock starts the Countdown from the No. 7 position, that’s five better than he started a year ago when he finished third, equaling the most positions gained in the history of the playoffs, matching Robert Hight’s jump from 10th to first in 2009. “There’s no better feeling than coming into a race as the defending champ, especially when it’s the first race of the Countdown. I’m looking forward to Friday and getting odd on a good foot at Maple Grove Raceway,” Prock said. “We had another successful pre-Countdown test session in Indy and I believe it will show this weekend. We’re focused and ready to make another championship run with this Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team.” Prock earned the only Top Fuel win this season for John Force Racing when he doubled up alongside Robert Hight at the Four-Wide Nationals in Charlotte. It was Prock and Hight who also doubled up last season at Maple Grove. This season, the Montana Brand team also made it to the finals of the Winternationals and earned a No. 1 qualifying position at the Sonoma Nationals Competition at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway begins with qualifying Friday at 3 and 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations will be run Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Television coverage of the first of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship events begins with qualifying shows Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will be covered by FOX Broadcasting Network with shows Sunday at either 4:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET, check your local listings.

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2023) – Brittany Force and her Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster team aren’t letting their No. 5 points position put a damper on their shot at a second consecutive Top Fuel world championship as they kick off the NHRA Countdown to the Championship at this weekend’s Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Force won her first championship starting the Countdown from the No. 6 position in 2017. In that same year, she picked up the victory at Maple Grove Raceway. The Monster Energy team will be looking for their third consecutive No. 1 qualifying position at the facility. Force was also No. 1 in 2015 and 2019, when she set the current NHRA Top Fuel elapsed time national record at 3.623 seconds. “After a day of testing in Indy following the U.S. Nationals, our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team is ready to head to the first race of Countdown at Maple Grove Raceway. We figured out some of our issues and it was a very successful test session. Our goals haven’t changed heading into Reading and the Countdown; we want to make four solid runs to qualify in the top 5 and go some rounds on race day. We’re ready to start chasing down that No. 1 points spot. Going in No. 5 wasn’t our plan but we’re up for the challenge.” Force, who is one of only three women to win multiple Countdown to the Championship races, and the Monster Energy team are starting the Countdown on the hunt for their first win of the 2023 season. They earned their No. 5 starting spot with four No.1. qualifying positions, a runner-up finish at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas and four semifinal finishes. Competition at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway begins with qualifying Friday at 3 and 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations will be run Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Television coverage of the first of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship events begins with qualifying shows Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will be covered by FOX Broadcasting Network with shows Sunday at either 4:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET, check your local listings.

Season-long battles at tracks across the northeast have led to five new DIRTcar Hoosier Racing Tire Weekly champions.

Marc Johnson (DIRTcar Big Block Modified), Lance Willix II (DIRTcar 358 Modified), Andrew Buff (DIRTcar Sportman) Luke Horning (DIRTcar Pro Stock) and Daniel Joubert (DIRTcar 4-Cylinders) were declared the 2023 champions in their respective divisions. 

Johnson trailed leader Peter Britten by 10 points going into the final weekend of competition. The Guilderland, NY driver clinched his first Hoosier title with the Feature win on Sept. 1 at his home track Albany-Saratoga Speedway, giving him an eight-point advantage over Britten who was sidelined with a hand injury. 

“We’ve been consistent,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a lot of seconds, and a lot of top-fives.” 

The former full-time Series driver acknowledged the significance of his crew and their hard work helping him persevere through a challenging season. 

“My core guys stuck by me, and we plugged along,” Johnson said. “We were still consistent. I still know how to drive a race car. My guys still know how to work on cars. We were just spread a little thin this year.” 

Lance Willix II was the victor in the DIRTcar 358 Modified division, after winning a tight battle over runner-up Jordan McCreadie. It’s also the first Hoosier title for the Theresa, NY driver. 

“It means all the years of not running so good have finally paid off,” Willix II said. “This year I felt like we were more consistent, and it paid off. We were fast almost every night, and the end results show it.”

His Hoosier season saw success from the beginning, landing several victories early in the season. He finished with eight wins, 20 top-fives, and 24 top-10s in 31 starts. 

“We started the season off fast right out of the box, which is always good,” Willix II said. “We got wins at Can-Am, Airborne, and our home track Glen Ridge right off the bat. We had wins right there on opening night of each of them. We’re just trying to stay consistent. We had a few hiccups during the season of part failures, but we just tried to stay consistent and ended up getting the championship.” 

Willix II has now switched his focus to preparing his equipment for Super DIRT Week 51, Oct. 2-8, at Oswego Speedway. He’ll look to continue extending his impressive resume by battling for his first Salute to the Troops 150 title. 

Andrew Buff, of Latham, NY, edged out his younger brother Zach for the title in the DIRTcarSportsman. The 25-year-old delivered one of the most consistent seasons in the division, notching 34 top-five finishes in 42 starts. He also recorded nine wins. 

“Everybody in the northeast is involved in the (Hoosier title),” Buff said. “It’s basically who has the most consistent year…it’s awesome. The more racing you do, the better it helps. But it’s pretty cool to win it two times.” 

One of his favorite moments of the Hoosier season was when he and younger brother Zach scored wins on Sept. 2 at Fulton Speedway. The elder Buff won the makeup Feature, and the younger Buff took the checkers in the regularly scheduled Feature. 

“That was pretty cool that we were able to be on the front stretch down there together,” Buff said.

Transitioning towards the end of the year, Buff remains confident in his equipment and momentum going into the end of the year events like the Chevrolet Performance 75 at Super DIRT Week 51. 

“Knowing what a good race car we have together going into all the big races at the end of the year is definitely a confidence booster.” 

Over in the DIRTcar Pro Stock competition, “Cousin Luke” Horning took the title, defeating defending champion Chad Jeseo. Horning also saw a consistent season, finishing his Hoosier season with 10 wins and 17 top-five finishes in 25 starts. The Gloversville, NY driver was supported by a dominant run of six wins in a row at his home track Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. 

“Glen Ridge really helped me out a lot,” Horning said. “We’re really strong there. It’s been our home track for years. We have a lot of experience up there. We’re the all-time winner up there. We have six (wins) in a row right now, plus, we won three earlier in the season. So, we have a total of nine up there. That helped a lot with the Hoosier points. It’s a big deal. It’s a nice payout and a nice bonus.” 

Even though he came out on top, there were moments throughout the competition he wasn’t sure if he would. He said he felt the demands of the grind of the race season and how it affected his ability to compete up to his potential. But with a relentless attitude and a dash of luck at opportune moments, Horning was able to stay in the fight. 

“It seems like everything went well when we needed it to go well,” Horning said. “When we fell a little bit behind at Glen Ridge, the season turned around. We had someone buy us 10 tires. When things started to slow down a little bit, something came along to right the ship and get us in the right direction.” 

Securing the title has a significant meaning to Horning. It wasn’t just a race against local competitors. It was a race against the best DIRTcar Pro Stock drivers in the entire region.

“I really like (the Hoosier) title,” Horning said. “It’s the best of 16 races. You didn’t just beat your guys at Glen Ridge or (Albany-Saratoga). You beat the guys that run all the DIRT Series stuff and all their home tracks, even the places we don’t get to. It’s good to get your name out there a little more, too.” 

Along with finishing out DIRTcar Pro Stock Series action, Horning will also be preparing for another showing at Oswego Speedway for Super DIRT Week 51 to battle for his first DIRTcarPro Stock 50 title.

Daniel Joubert took the 4-Cylinders title, edging out runner-up Alex Riley by a mere three points. He finished with one win, nine top-fives, and 20 top-10’s in 20 starts.

To see Johnson, Willix, Buff and Horning compete in Super DIRT Week 51 at Oswego Speedway, CLICK HERE to get your tickets today. 

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2023) – Robert Hight and the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS team are well positioned sitting No. 3 in the points standings as they head into the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway, the first event in the six-race NHRA Countdown to the Championship. Hight and the Cornwell Tools Chevy return to Maple Grove Raceway as the defending Funny Car event champions. Hight had a commanding performance in 2022 with wire-to-wire success winning from the No.1 position. Hight also at Maple Grove in 2011 and qualified No. 1 in 2015 and 2017. The Cornwell Tools Camaro No. 3 points positioning comes off the strength of two wins at the Arizona Nationals and Charlotte Four-Wide events. He also has four No.1. qualifiers from the Route 66 Nationals, Thunder Valley Nationals, Heartland Nationals, and the most recent event, the U.S. Nationals where he also picked up a win in the All-Star Callout and had a semifinal finish. “I’m ready to get this Countdown going. This Cornwell Tools team is coming around at the right moment. We’ve found some consistency, the combination that Jimmy Prock is using, it’s responding to what he and Thomas Prock and Nathan Hildahl are doing,” Hight said. “It’s slight adjustments and it’s running well, the progress is showing and it’s perfect timing. Everything has reset and we’re sitting in a good spot to really take a swing at this fourth championship. I’m excited to get started.” Hight is looking to ride a No. 3 start to a fourth series championship that would put him in very select company. Only three Funny Car drivers have won as many as four championships – John Force, Don Prudhomme and Kenny Bernstein. Hight has won the opening event in the Countdown four times and twice has won the championship after doing so, both when the opening event was held in Charlotte in 2009, and 2017. Hight has won more Countdown races than any other Funny Car driver with 14 and he is the only driver in any category to have won the championship from a last-place start (No. 10 in 2009) and No. 1 (2019). He also won from No. 2 in 2017. Competition at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway begins with qualifying Friday at 3 and 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. Eliminations will be run Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Television coverage of the first of six NHRA Countdown to the Championship events begins with qualifying shows Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will be covered by FOX Broadcasting Network with shows Sunday at either 4:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m. ET, check your local listings.

JIANNA EVARISTO FOCUSED ON CONSISTENCY IN FIRST COUNTDOWN APPEARANCE

MIKE SALINAS AIMS TO BE HOT WHEN IT COUNTS IN THE COUNTDOWN

 Event: 

Pep Boys NHRA Nationals

            Maple Grove Raceway; Reading, Pennsylvania

Scrappers Racing Competitors:

            Mike Salinas, Top Fuel

            Jianna Evaristo, Pro Stock Motorcycle

READING, Penn. (Sept. 13, 2023) – This weekend’s Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway marks the kickoff to the 2023 NHRA Countdown to the Championship. For Scrappers Racing, it will be the fifth appearance in the post-season by Mike Salinas in the Top Fuel ranks. But for Jianna Evaristo, it will be her first quest at the Pro Stock Motorcycle championship in the post-season.

Evaristo has shown consistency during the 2023 season riding her Matt Smith Racing-powered Scrappers Racing Suzuki. The 26-year-old daughter of Top Fuel driver, Mike Salinas, has made two semi-final appearances this season including the season-opening race at Gainesville Raceway and then mid-season at Summit Raceway Park in Norwalk. While Evaristo is focused on her championship quest, maintaining that season-long consistency is the priority.

“I’m definitely excited about my first season competing in the Countdown,” said Evaristo. “But much of that excitement comes from earning my way into the Countdown this season. We’ve experienced a few hiccups this season too which have hindered our capability to go rounds like we know we can, but we feel we have those issues handled so we shouldn’t see those problems moving forward. This weekend’s event at Maple Grove really should be good if the weather forecast holds true with cool temperatures and low humidity. There will be some fast passes for sure if that’s the case. My main focus for this weekend and the races through the Countdown is really not the championship. Of course, I’ll be aware of it, but I need to focus on what I need to do to maintain my consistency and do what I need to do each time I go down the track.”

For the Scrappers Racing Top Fuel team and Salinas, this year’s Countdown is hopefully coming at a time where the team has been showcasing speed each time they take to the track. Salinas started the season with a win at the season-opening race at Gainesville as well as claiming the All-Star Top Fuel victory. From there, the team has acquired two number one qualifier spots at Chicago and Seattle, but a second win as eluded the organization after earning five victories in 2022.

But speed is something the team has certainly found and that was not showcased more than in Brainerd a few weeks ago when Salinas posted the fastest speed in history at the facility and third overall in Top Fuel in NHRA history with a speed of 338.26 mph. Salinas and crew chief, Rob Flynn look to use that speed to capitalize within the Countdown and contend for this year’s championship.

“We know we have the speed in our car and we’ve shown that in recent weeks,” said Salinas. “There have been some things we’ve worked on to get all the pieces working together with the speed that we’ve found and sometimes that results in tire shake or other issues and that’s what we’ve been working to rectify before we get into the Countdown. As a team, we know we can contend for this championship and that will all kickoff this weekend in Maple Grove. Of course, cool temperatures that are predicted would definitely be beneficial, but it would also help our competitors. Striking at the right time is key in this sport and we know we’re poised to get hot when we need to – hopefully starting this weekend!”

The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway will kick off on Friday afternoon with the first round of pro stock qualifying at 2:00 PM ET followed by the first round of nitro qualifying at 3:00 PM ET.