ENNIS, TX (October 15, 2023) — Looking to become the first Top Fuel driver to win three NHRA Texas Fall Nationals titles in a row Justin Ashley brought the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster powered by Phillips Connect into eliminations with high hopes. As the No. 6 qualifier on the strength of his 3.661 second, 336.20 mph run Ashley matched up with veteran Clay Millican in a tough first round match-up between Countdown championship contenders. The team owner and driver was bringing momentum from a strong final round of qualifying pass that saw him earn a qualifying bonus point as one of the three quickest Top Fuel dragsters of the final session.

 Justin Ashley and the Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster powered by Phillips Connect,
photo by Gary Nastase/Auto Imagery

The Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster rolled up for the first round against Millican as the final pair of Top Fuel dragsters to open race day. In a wild first round several top contenders dropped races on a cool and quick Texas Motorplex all-concrete racetrack. Ashley continued his domination on the starting line getting a great start with a .037 second reaction time as his 11,000-horsepower race car launched off the line. As he accelerated his Goodyear slicks briefly overpowered the track while Millican was on a smooth run beside him. The momentary loss of traction robbed Ashley of critical momentum and allowed Millican to move in front. At the finish line stripe Millican earned the win light and Ashley turned his attention to getting ready for the Nevada Nationals in two weeks.
 
“We just missed it a little on that first run,” said Ashley, a six-time Top Fuel winner in 2023. “We are going to learn from this weekend and get ready for Las Vegas. Our Leatherwood Distillery Top Fuel dragster powered by Phillips Connect did some really good things in Dallas that we can take with us and apply moving forward. We’re excited to get back to work.” 
 
At the end of the day Ashley, who entered the Countdown as the No. 1 seed will move to the fifth race of the playoffs sitting in fourth place 108 points out of first with two races left in the season.
 
“We are not out of this championship hunt. The best thing we can do right now is win these last two races and let the points take care of themselves. It’s a tall task but there’s no quit in this team. Thank you to everyone from Leatherwood Distillery, Phillips Connect, Toyota and all of our partners that support us. We’re going to finish the season strong.”
 
Ashley will be on track again in two weeks at the NHRA Nevada Nationals from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
 
 
Qualifying Results
Q1: 3.741 sec, 330.96 mph; Qual. 9
Q2: 3.670 sec; 338.40 mph Qual. 4
Q3: 4.484 sec, 147.27 mph; Qual. 5
Q4: 3.661 sec, 336.20 mph; Qual. 6
Bonus Points: +1 (Third quickest of Q4)
 
Race Results
 
First Round

Clay Millican, Parts-Plus dragster, (.059), 3.789, 269.53 mph def. Justin Ashley, Leatherwood Distillery dragster powered by Phillips Connect, (.037), 4.356, 197.29 mph

Top Fuel Top Ten

1. Leah Pruett             2414
2. Doug Kalitta             2410
3. Steve Torrence       2401
4. Justin Ashley          2306
5. Antron Brown         2304
6. Mike Salinas           2283
7. Clay Millican           2270
8. Brittany Force         2249
9. Tony Schumacher   2195
9. Austin Prock            2195

NASCAR CUP SERIES LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY SOUTH POINT 400 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT OCTOBER 15, 2023

·       Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson claimed the first spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Four – driving his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to a sweep of the stage wins and leading a race-high 133 laps en route to the victory in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ·       The win in the Round of Eight opening race marked Larson’s fourth NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, and his 23rd career win in 328 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. ·       Hendrick Motorsports swept the NASCAR Cup Series races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this season, with Larson’s victory extending the Chevrolet organization’s win record to nine trips to victory lane at the track.·       The victory marks Larson’s second time taking the win in the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of Eight – last accomplished in his championship season (2021). ·       With 33 NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet continues to led the series with 17 wins this season – more than its manufacturer competitors combined. ·       With his series-leading 19th top-10 finish this season, William Byron and the No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1 will enter the second race of the Round of Eight in the second position in the playoff standings. ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 850 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER1st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL13rd      Kyle Busch, No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Camaro ZL15th      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL17th      William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1

Race two of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of Eight will get underway at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the 4EVER 400 Presented by Mobil 1 on Sunday, October 22, at 2:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES: Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 – Race WinnerKyle, it was a flawless, no-mistake day for the 5 team. A heck of a battle with Christopher Bell at the end of the race. Did the 20 surprise you there? Did you know he was coming that quickly?“I could see him coming in my mirror, for sure. Was hoping those lappers were going to give me the bottom. The 38 peeled off to the bottom. I knew I couldn’t follow him. I just didn’t want to go all the way to the top, leave the middle open. Thankfully, Christopher (Bell) always races extremely clean. Could have got crazier than it did coming to the start/finish line. Thank you to him for racing with respect there. What a job done by my team, too. Just a great race car. I almost gave it away there in one and two, getting sideways, hitting into the wall. Had to fight back there with our balance. They got it much closer there in the lead. I was happy to pull away as much as we did. Was hoping that was going to be enough to maintain, which it was. I thought they weren’t going to be able to get as close as they did there at the end. Nerve-wracking. Thanks to Chevrolet, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, everybody involved in this deal. This is really cool to get to race in the championship in a few weeks. Glad we don’t need to stress in the last two races.” Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL1Finished: 5th“It feels good to be competitive – just be able to drive by cars. We were just a couple of adjustments away and we got it there late in Stage Two. We drove from 12th to second, and from there, just both sides of the balance – too loose for our No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevy, and then too tight there at the end. If we nailed it, balance-wise, I think we had a shot. We had a failure of some sort with something in the driveline or in the gear box. My restarts were definitely down on power in second and third gear, not sure. Once I would get to fourth and fifth (gear), I’d be OK, but you had to get there and I was getting swallowed up on some of those restarts.  It was a heck of a fight. We had speed early and come back to finish fifth.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Camaro ZL1 Finished: 3rd“It was a really good day, a solid day, for the No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Chevy team. Really appreciate Randall (Burnett, crew chief) and all the guys giving me a great piece when we unloaded here. We qualified up front and ran top-10 all day. Our weak spots are just restarts. I just get into bad spots and lose spots at times and can’t get my way forward, like a couple of other guys can do a better job at doing that. But overall, just really pleased with the day. We made adjustments all day long. We rallied forward all day and there at the end, we were really good.” William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1Finished: 7th“We definitely need to just work on our build and how we build loose, but our No. 24 Relay Payments Chevrolet was solid. The points are a lot tighter than we would want them to be, so we just have to have two good weeks, and hopefully go to Homestead (Miami Speedway) and have a little bit better long run speed. But overall, happy with our execution. We kind of made the most out of what we had. I think at the beginning of the race, we were hovering around sixth to eighth, and we were able to finish there. Wish we could have gotten a little more stage points, but we’ll take it.” Carson Hocevar, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Camaro ZL1Sidelined by damage sustained from contact with the wall following a tire failure.Finished: 36thAnother tire goes down.. was it a hard hit?“It really wasn’t that hard, at least from the inside, but maybe it looked hard. Honestly, I thought I could have kept going, if anything, but it was a little more killed than I thought. It was a tough day. For as fast as we were, we got up to 14th at the end of the stage. I probably should have known something was going on. It was vibrating a little bit, but just thought I picked up some rubber. It’s part of it. I’m looking forward to Martinsville (Speedway) with this No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Chevy team. Hopefully we’ll have a good run there. Both of our cars were fast, it’s just unfortunate.” With all the struggles yesterday with tires, was there any concern that this would be an issue today?“I mean there was a little bit. Just tough to come down pit road when you’re not 100 percent sure. I wish I just did, but it’s part of it.” Did you have any indication before it happened?“I wasn’t going forward. I kind of had a small vibration, but it was just a tough spot to come down pit road there and lose a lap or two. Wish maybe I would have taken the risk a little bit more, but our car was really fast and that’s all we can say.” Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Camaro ZL1Finished: 28th“We just blew a tire early and didn’t really have much after that for the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. Not really sure what we had, but we just did some damage there with the blown tire and we were just off the pace after that. We tried to get it better, but just never really found anything. We’ll go to Homestead-Miami Speedway and hopefully put it together.”  Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two. Finished: 35thWas the car getting tight, or was it a tire going down? “I don’t really know one way or another for sure. We were really tight before that, so I want to say it was a slow leak on the tire or something two laps prior to that. And then all of a sudden, it swung a little loose, and when I entered the corner, I didn’t even have a chance to save it. I hate that for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports and the whole No. 48 Ally team. We had a really fast Chevy Camaro and our teammates have been really fast, as well.  I don’t know.. I’m not really a guy that spins out by himself, but maybe it just got away from me. It’s hard to say without looking at the car yet. It’s a bummer. The steering was also broke, so I’m glad nobody hit me. I was trying to go straight down the front straightaway with a wrecked race car that didn’t want to go straight. I hate it for all the guys, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.”

TEAM CHEVY RACE NOTES: STAGE ONE: ·       Team Chevy playoff driver Kyle Larson posted a top-two qualifying effort in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – leading the NASCAR Cup Series to the green-flag from a front-row starting position to start the Round of Eight. ·       Larson quickly made a pass for the lead on lap three, pulling away to a half-second lead over playoff contender Christopher Bell. Midway through the first run of Stage One, Larson reported to the No. 5 Chevrolet team that he was happy with the ride quality of his Camaro ZL1, but struggling with loose driving conditions. Continuing under green-flag conditions, Larson asked the team for a big adjustment as the field approached the race’s first round of pit stops. ·       Losing the lead on lap 29, Larson made just a handful of laps before crew chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road to open the green-flag pit cycle – taking four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. As the field cycled through the first round of pit stops, Larson reclaimed the top position on lap 42. ·       Looking for feedback following the first round of adjustments, Larson reported that he was still on the loose side in clean air, but he was able to use his front tires more. Navigating his way through traffic, Larson built a 2.5-second lead over runner-up Bell when the caution came out on lap 65. ·       Assuring Larson that more adjusts were on the way to help combat the loose handling of his Camaro ZL1, Daniels opted to pit under the caution – calling for four tires, fuel and another round of adjustments. With Bell utilizing a two-tire pit strategy, Larson was the second car off pit road to take a front-row position for the restart with nine laps to go in the stage. ·       Taking the green-flag, it was a drag race with Bell for the lead, but Larson was able to capitalize on four fresh tires to reclaim the top position with eight laps to go in the stage. Larson drove away to a 0.525 second lead before taking the green-white checkered flag to end Stage One – recording his sixth stage win of the season. ·       Team Chevy Stage One: Top-101st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL17th      Kyle Busch, No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Camaro ZL19th      William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL1 STAGE TWO:·       Under the stage break, Larson brought his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to pit road. Utilizing the stop for another round of adjustments to help improve the handling of his car, Larson was the seventh car off pit road for the start of Stage Two.  ·       Less than 15 laps into the stage, Larson re-entered the top-five of the running order. As the leaders approached traffic, the Team Chevy driver had made his way into the third position – progressively closing the gap to the leaders when a caution came out on lap 111. ·       The majority of the field came to pit road for another round of pit stops under the caution. Pitting from the third position, the No. 5 Chevrolet team pit crew powered off a quick four-tire and fuel stop – picking up one position in the race off pit road to take a front-row position for the restart. ·       Choosing the top lane for the restart, Larson raced side-by-side with Brad Keselowski before settling into the second position nearing the halfway point of Stage Two. While closing in on the race leader, Larson made contact with the wall in turn two, but was reassured by Daniels that the car sustained minimal damage. ·       Under caution on lap 146, the field hit pit road for another round of pit stops. While all competitors in front of Larson utilized a two-tire strategy, Daniels opted to make a four-tire stop on the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 – taking the sixth position for the restart with 16 laps to go in the stage. ·       With a fresh set of tires, Larson was able to quickly maneuver to the front of the pack – ultimately taking the lead with 11 laps to go in the stage en route to a sweep of the stage wins by the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 team. Larson lead Chevrolet to four top-10 finishes in Stage Two: 1st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL12nd      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Worldwide Express Camaro ZL16th      William Byron, No. 24 Relay Payments Camaro ZL17th      Kyle Busch, No. 8 Morgan & Morgan Camaro ZL1 FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES: ·       Looking to tighten up Larson’s Camaro ZL1 following contact with the wall in Stage Two, Daniel’s called for four tires, fuel and a round of adjustments under the stage break. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 lined up in the third position as the green-flag waved for the final stage. ·       Larson settled into the third position in the opening laps of the final stage when another caution flew on lap 210. Under the caution period, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 pit crew executed a strong four-tire and fuel stop – gaining Larson two positions on pit road to put the team back to the top position with 52 laps to go in the race. ·       Larson continued to pace the field for the remainder of race – taking the checkered flag for the team’s fourth win of the season and a ticket into the Championship Four. 

The car that started it all for Corvette Racing’s quarter-century of success BRASELTON, Ga. (Oct. 15, 2023) – A quarter-century after it first hit the racetrack for its competition debut, the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R has been honored as part of the inaugural class of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Hall of Fame. The enshrinement was made official at IMSA’s annual Night of Champions banquet near Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and site of the season-ending Petit Le Mans race.

Herb Fishel, former Executive Director of GM Racing, was on-hand to mark the C5-R’s induction as one of the first racecar in the IMSA Hall of Fame. Fishel led the team at General Motors that laid the groundwork for Corvette Racing and Chevrolet’s goal of returning to top-level sports car racing at the factory level in the mid-1990s. The C5-R was born to race, according to Fishel, and was the result of collaboration between many groups within General Motors to create a long-term, factory-level road racing program for Chevrolet. The goal was to position Corvette as competitor to the world’s best sports car manufacturers on the racetrack and in the showroom. So even before the fifth-generation Corvette rolled into dealerships, plans were well underway to return Chevrolet to professional endurance racing. What has developed from C5-R is an on-going Corvette Racing program where increasing synergies between racing and production engineering have become the norm – the latest examples being the eighth-generation, mid-engine Corvette production vehicles and the C8.R and the Z06 GT3.R that will make its competitive debut in 2024. “This was a very collaborative effort that established Corvette Racing as one of the premier sports car programs in the world,” Fishel said. “It started with GM and involved various groups from both production – including vehicle engineering, design and powertrain – and racing partners like Pratt Miller and Katech working hand-in-hand. Out of the efforts from each of these groups came the first factory-produced Corvette race car in almost 40 years, and one that changed the landscape of not just Corvette but sports car racing as a whole.”

The Corvette C5-R debuted in 1999 with a class podium finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and was a fixture of global GT racing for the next five years. From 1999-2004, Corvette Racing and the C5-R set the standard for racing success with 31 victories in the American Le Mans Series, along with an overall victory at the Rolex 24 in 2001.  Success wasn’t limited to North America. The C5-R scored the first of its three GTS victories at Le Mans in 2001, following with wins in 2002 and 2004. ALMS team and manufacturer championships came in 2001-04. Of Corvette Racing’s 127 victories, nearly 25 percent came with the C5-R. The C5-R also helped instill Corvette drivers such as Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell as faces of the team and the ALMS. Fellows won 21 ALMS races in the C5-R and captured the GTS drivers’ championship three times, including twice with O’Connell. It also helped launch the sports car careers for future stars like Oliver Gavin.  “It is a tremendous honor to see the Corvette C5-R go into the IMSA Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. Campbell was part of the leadership team that helped guide the C5-R to its racing debut at Daytona in 1999. “It also is an honor to have Herb Fishel here to represent the team that brought the C5-R to the track. When you look at what Corvette Racing represents – the synergy between motorsports and the showroom – it all began with the C5-R,” Campbell added. “The fans loved it. Our Corvette owners loved it. It helped set the standard for 25 years of Corvette Racing.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (October 15, 2023) – Jonathan Davenport, a three-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion, leads the current Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver Contest. Davenport holds a 99-vote advantage over newcomer to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in 2023, Max Blair. Ricky Thornton Jr. is currently third, with Tyler Erb and Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five. The winner of the Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver award will be announced during the annual Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Awards Banquet on December 8, 2023. The Most Popular Driver will receive a $500 cash bonus and product certificate from Deatherage Opticians. Voting will continue through December 1, 2023. Fans can vote for their favorite driver by visiting https://www.lucasdirt.com/most-popular-driver. To be eligible for the 2023 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – Deatherage Opticians Most Popular Driver Award, a driver must maintain 100% attendance on the tour. Fans may vote for one (1) eligible Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series driver per ballot submission. Voting is limited to one (1) vote per person. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com.

Daum clinches Challenge Series championship, runner-up in points with Miller third, McIntosh fourth OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (Oct. 14, 2023) – With everything on the line in the final race of the year, two of the sport’s brightest young stars rose to the occasion Saturday night in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season finale. Nineteen-year-old Hayden Reinbold led all 30 laps of the main event to score his first career national Midget series victory, winning the 19th annual Charlene Meents Memorial finale at I-44 Riverside Speedway and giving Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports their second Xtreme Outlaw Series winner trophy. “It’s amazing, I’ve been wanting it for so long,” Reinbold said. Beside him in the spotlight stood 17-year-old Jade Avedisian – who, with a third-place Feature finish, clinched the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw Series championship for Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) to become the first female national Midget series champion in motorsports history. “It means the world to me,” Avedisian said. “Not only to me, but my team.” From the announcement in early February that revealed Avedisian’s signing with KKM and their primary goal to win the Xtreme Outlaw Series championship, the hype for the season finale had been building. She and Cannon McIntosh emerged as early championship favorites after their wins to open the season at the Southern Illinois Center in March, and the battle came down to the 29th and final Feature event of the year Saturday night. Coming into the 30-lap finale, Avedisian held a 27-point gap over McIntosh. Starting on the outside pole, Avedisian held strong up front throughout while McIntosh ran into trouble, narrowly avoiding a massive pileup on the first lap but later retiring to the infield under green eight laps in with mechanical failure, shattering his chances for the championship. In Victory Lane, there were tears, smiles and hugs all around for Avedisian, her family and the KKM crew. She had widened her points gap to 59 over runner-up Zach Daum, who finished fifth in the Feature, and sealed the championship in her first season with Keith Kunz Motorsports. “I’m just so happy to do it for KKM, Mobil 1, Toyota Racing,” Avedisian said. “So many people believe in me, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. I’m truly grateful, and I’m excited to write my name in the history books.” On the track, Reinbold reigned supreme. Standing tall over each of the championship frontrunners, Reinbold drove a flawless race, taking the lead on the opening lap from the pole and going unchallenged for 30 laps to score the $5,000 grand prize. “I felt solid, Connor [Ridge, crew chief] was giving me signals that I was doing fine,” Reinbold said. “I just knew [to not] mess it up and I’d be fine.” In only his fourth season of Midget racing, Reinbold made leaps and bounds much larger this year than those previous, improving his skills behind the wheel immensely since the first race in Du Quoin. Though things were slow-going at first, he’s glad he stuck it out to get to this moment. “It goes back to 2020 – I went up to my dad and was like, ‘I wanna go race,’ and he sent me and Connor on the road,’” Reinbold said. “I struggled for a while, but Connor never gave up on me, my dad never gave up on me – they just kept believing in me. Finally, I felt like it all paid off for me and hopefully it paid off for them too.” Karter Sarff earned the DIRTVision Hard Charger honors in his drive from 18th up to second. He made a special effort just to get into the main event, grabbing the last transfer spot in the second Last Chance Showdown to punch his ticket in. Thursday night winner Ryan Timms finished fourth while Zach Daum completed the top five – clinching the Xtreme Outlaw-POWRi Challenge Series championhip and a runner-up finish in points in the process. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Driven 2 Save Lives Feature (30 Laps): 1. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[1]; 2. 21K-Karter Sarff[18]; 3. 71-Jade Avedisian[2]; 4. 67-Ryan Timms[8]; 5. 7U-Zach Daum[3]; 6. 97-Gavin Miller[9]; 7. 25K-Taylor Reimer[5]; 8. 7P-Kyle Jones[11]; 9. 19A-Daison Pursley[16]; 10. 13-Elijah Gile[21]; 11. 43-Gunnar Setser[13]; 12. 14R-Jonathan Beason[7]; 13. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[6]; 14. 97K-Cooper Williams[17]; 15. 32-Trey Marcham[20]; 16. 31K-Kyle Beilman[19]; 17. 08-Cannon McIntosh[15]; 18. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 19. 19K-Riley Kreisel[10]; 20. 26R-Corbin Rueschenberg[12]; 21. 5U-Peter Smith[14]; 22. 19U-Pierce Urbanosky[22]

Schatz sneaks by David Gravel in traffic to claim thrilling win in Lakeside’s Micro-Lite Harvest RumbleKANSAS CITY, KS (Oct. 15, 2023) – Time and time again in his career Donny Schatz has proven he can’t be counted out. The savvy veteran has found late race magic many times throughout the years. And on Saturday at Lakeside Speedway, “Don Don” delivered the latest testament to that ability.A win looked nearly out of reach for Schatz late in the 25-lap finale of the Micro-Lite Harvest Rumble. Schatz sat third with eight laps remaining, and even when he moved to the runner-up spot on the next circuit, leader David Gravel appeared potentially out of reach. But then little by little the lead began to vanish. And as the white flag was shown, Schatz capitalized when Gravel got stuck behind a lapped car to roll by for the lead. When the checkered flag flew, it was Schatz leading the pack to seal the victory with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars.After a pair of sub-20th place finishes last weekend at Port Royal, the night served as a revitalizing boost to Schatz and his crew.“Nights like tonight help us,” Schatz said. “We tore up a car last week at Port Royal pretty bad. These guys put a new car together, and it’s that time of year where you’ve got to start trying some things, and obviously it was pretty good. The goal is consistency. We’ve got a lot of great partners here, and we want to win races and do the best we can for them.”The win marked Schatz’s third with The Greatest Show on Dirt at Lakeside. He’s now up to 311 for his career with the World of Outlaws. Schatz snapped a 26-race winless streak dating back to July’s Kings Royal.The path to Victory Lane was up and down for Schatz aboard the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15. A second place effort in the Toyota Racing Dash lined him up on the front row of the main event. But after two laps, Schatz had fallen down the order to sixth.Pole-sitter Brian Brown powered ahead to the early advantage. Brown rolled the Casey General Store #21 around the low line of the Kansas City, KS oval. Fifth starting David Gravel quickly began to climb as he jumped into the runner-up spot on Lap 4. Right after taking over second, the Watertown, CT native began chopping into Brown’s advantage. While “Blackjack” remained committed to the bottom, Gravel opted for the cushion all the way around the 4/10-mile. The gap between the two on the fifth circuit was 1.2 seconds. Only two laps later, Gravel had slashed a full second off the margin. Then on the next trip around, Gravel ripped around Brown on the top.Once he snatched the top spot, Gravel began to construct a solid advantage as Schatz began to crawl back toward the front. On Lap 9 Schatz moved back into the top five. In two more laps he was up into fourth. With 10 laps remaining, Schatz engaged in a battle with Brad Sweet and Giovanni Scelzi for the runner-up spot. Schatz slipped ahead of Scelzi for third then traded second with Sweet multiple times over the next few circuits. On Lap 18, Schatz secured the spot and set his sights on Gravel.As the race dwindled, Schatz closed in. Gravel was forced to navigate traffic in the late stages causing his lead to slip away. Then coming to the white flag, Gravel found himself stuck behind a slower car on the top side.With Gravel being held up, Schatz saw his opportunity and pounced. The Fargo, ND native aimed the #15 machine low and rolled right by Gravel as he couldn’t find his way by the lapped car. By the time they reached the white flag, Schatz already led by roughly three quarters of a second and stretched the advantage even farther on the last circuit before taking the checkered flag.“I started out good. The guys unloaded, and we were right up there hot lapping and qualifying, so that always helps,” Schatz said. “It was really greasy on the top, and I knew it was going to come in at some point, but I don’t want to be the guy to find out. I’ve tore up enough stuff. I had to work the bottom in, and thank god we got it in before the rain. It worked out for us tonight.After leading laps 8-23, Gravel settled for a runner-up result, his Series leading 32nd podium of the World of Outlaws season. Gravel and his Big Game crew continue to put out their best efforts with their fifth second place finish in the last nine races as they try to chase down Brad Sweet in the championship battle.And speaking of Brad Sweet, “The Big Cat” rounded out the Micro-Lite Harvest Rumble podium on Saturday night. Sweet wheeled the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 to a third place run which allowed Gravel to only cut two points off the margin between the duo in the standings. The gap between them now sits at 66 markers.Giovanni Scelzi and Carson Macedo completed the top five. A 14th to seventh drive earned James McFadden the KSE Racing Hard Charger.Brad Sweet nabbed his fourth Simpson Performance Products QuickTime of the year and the 73rd of his career.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to Brad Sweet. NOS Energy Drink Heats Two and Three were topped by Brian Brown and Giovanni Scelzi.Dusty Zomer won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown. UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, TX for two final nights at the iconic track. The birthplace of the Outlaws welcomes the Series on Oct. 20-21 for the Sprint Car Stampede – the final event to be hosted by Devil’s Bowl. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz[2]; 2. 2-David Gravel[5]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet[3]; 4. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[7]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[6]; 7. 83-James McFadden[14]; 8. 21-Brian Brown[1]; 9. 9-Kasey Kahne[8]; 10. 84-Scott Bogucki[9]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart[11]; 12. 5-Spencer Bayston[10]; 13. 83JR-Michael Kofoid[12]; 14. 12X-Garet Williamson[21]; 15. 1T-Tanner Holmes[17]; 16. 3J-Dusty Zomer[19]; 17. 7S-Robbie Price[15]; 18. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[18]; 19. 81-Jack Dover[23]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee[22]; 21. 20G-Noah Gass[13]; 22. 19-Ayrton Gennetten[16]; 23. (DNF) 22X-Kameron Key[24]; 24. (DNF) 7W-Tasker Phillips[20]

BROCKVILLE, ON (OCT. 15, 2023) – Zach Sobotka was the DIRTcar Sportsman driver to beat Saturday night at Brockville-Ontario Speedway’s Fall Nationals.

The 50-lap, $2,100-to-win, Feature saw Shane Stearns and Nicholas Root on the front row to start the night off. Fresh off a second place finish during the Chevrolet Performance 75 at Super DIRT Week 51 at Oswego Speedway, Root found his way out in front by the end of the first lap. Sobotka trailed close behind, just as hungry to battle for a win. The Parish, NY driver was able to make his way around Root right before the half way point, taking the lead on Lap 23.

The maneuver ended up being the climax of the contention, as Sobotka ticked off the remaining 27 laps unchallenged, going on to score his second DIRTcar Sportsman Series win of the season and his first career win at Brockville-Ontario Speedway.

“I’ve had pretty decent runs here,” Sobotka said. “I figured it was going to rubber up there towards the end down there on the bottom. I was looking to get into the redraw and just have a good run. (Nick Root) was trying to pick the top there on some restarts. I wasn’t quite sure what to do there sometimes. I felt like the bottom was better on the restarts and it just worked out.”

Fifteen-year-old Root held on to post another second place finish behind Sobotka, continuing to show his future potential in the division.

“It was fun,” Root said. “This place is definitely one of the trickiest tracks I’ve raced. We’ll just come back here next year and hopefully try to race for a championship. We’ll just take what we learned here this week and take it to next year.”

Behind the two frontrunners, Bobby Herrington charged his way back from as far back as 20th place to third by Lap 20, and went on to round out the podium with a third place finish.

“It was tough track conditions early,” Herrington said. “We kind of expected that with the schedule today, but we’re happy with a top-three tonight.”

Andrew Buff finished in 11th place, officially capturing the 2023 DIRTcar Sportsman title.

“Yeah, thank God we had enough points to stay up top because the last two races we weren’t too good,” Buff said. “We got a lot of good stuff, we’ll take it back home and get ready for the next one.”

Jessica Power finished in fourth place and Tristan Ladouceur finished in fifth place.

DIRTcar Sportsman Championship (50 Laps): 1. 38-Zach Sobotka[4]; 2. 30-Nicholas Root[2]; 3. 88Z-Bobby Herrington[5]; 4. 52-Jessica Power[8]; 5. 92T-Tristan Ladouceur[6]; 6. 88K-Dylan Kirkland[14]; 7. 18E-Gavin Eisele[9]; 8. 38S-Sean Imbeault[12]; 9. 17F-Fire Swamp[16]; 10. 98-Domonick Merkley[7]; 11. 92-Andrew Buff[3]; 12. 91-Kraig Handley[20]; 13. 21T-Trey Ladouceur[25]; 14. 707-Greg Brinklow[18]; 15. 25-Pierre Picard[28]; 16. 11J-Justin Saunders[26]; 17. 03-Joshua Jock[13]; 18. 16-Matthew Prunner[19]; 19. 88F-Frederic Scott[24]; 20. (DNF) 23N-Nathan Peattie[30]; 21. (DNF) 21CL-Terry Ladouceur[15]; 22. (DNF) 21L-Skylar Ladouceur[23]; 23. (DNF) 32-Tyler Stewart[11]; 24. (DNF) 17M-Madie Wallace[29]; 25. (DNF) 23-Michael Dillon[21]; 26. (DNF) 18J-Jordan Wood[22]; 27. (DNF) 22S-Shane Stearns[1]; 28. (DNF) 39-Cory Lambert[27]; 29. (DNF) 35B-Brennan Moore[17]; 30. (DNS) 0M-Shane Pecore

• Release

October 15, 2023

• Drivers Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist and Helio Castroneves make late-race charge to victory in #60 MSR Acura ARX-06
• Second consecutive victory for MSR and Acura in season-ending IMSA endurance event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
• Third win for the hybrid-powered ARX-06 prototype in debut 2023 season

BRASELTON, GA – The 26th running of the Motul Petit Le Mans saw Acura teams and drivers take the battle for the IMSA Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Teams’ championships down to the final minutes of the 10-hour event today at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.  Meyer Shank Racing prevailed in a chaotic final hour to take a second consecutive victory for Acura and the team; with Acura finishing a close third in the Manufacturers’ Championship battle with three victories over the course of the nine-race season.

Acura ARX-06 Hybrid Prototype
The #60 Meyer Shank Racing and starting driver Tom Blomqvist lost time early in the contest when it was caught up in a multi-car nose-to-tail incident in traffic. Suspension repairs in pit lane cost the Acura two laps, but hard work from the team and co-drivers Colin Braun and Helio Castroneves saw the #60 back on the lead lap by half distance. 

With just over an hour remaining, the #60 Acura was running in seventh place; but a strategic pit call by the MSR team and a series of ultra-quick laps from Braun moved the ARX-06 up to second.  Following a caution in the final hour, Braun swept around leader Renger van der Zande on a restart to take the lead maintain that advantage to the checkers.

For the first nine hours of the 10-hour endurance contest, the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz was in contention for the victory, and the drivers’ and teams’ championships that would have accompanied a win.  But contact with the #31 of Pipo Derani sent the Acura – with Albuquerque at the wheel – hard into the Turn 1 barrier.  Albuquerque was transported to an area hospital for further examination.

Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
In the production-based GTD category, a strong run for the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Katherine Legge, Sheena Monk and Marc Miller came to a halt with just over an hour remaining with a transmission issue after regularly running in the top eight. 

The #93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti NSX suffered a long delay behind the pit wall to repair a steering issue, losing multiple laps in the process.  But the driver lineup of Ashton Harrison, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal pressed on regardless, and were rewarded for their efforts with a 14th-place finish along with the GTD fastest race lap of 1:20.248 for Marcelli.

Motul Petit Le Mans Acura Race Results

•   1st GTP – #60 Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun and Helio Castroneves; Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
•   9th GTP – #10 Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor and Louis Deletraz; Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 [Did not finish – contact]
• 14th GTD – #93 Ashton Harrison, Kyle Marcelli and Danny Formal; Racers Edge Motorsports with WTRAndretti Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
• 15th GTD –  #66 Katherine Legge, Sheena Monk and Marc Miller; Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 [Did not finish – mechanical]

Quotes
Colin Braun (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06) Race winner, third victory of 2023, his first victory in the Petit Le Mans:“Man, this took me back to the days of me and Renger [van der Zande] racing each other in LMPC. I’m super proud of the Meyer Shank guys, Acura and HPD.  They never gave up all year.  My newborn son Roxen’s here for his first race, so he’s a good luck charm.  What a day.  It was looking dicey for a little bit, but man it was a blast.  That was all I had at the end for sure.”

Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06) Race winner, his second consecutive Petit Le Mans victory with MSR: “We delivered once again, for HPD and for Acura.  The boys and girls at MSR, they never give up.  With a few hours to go, it looked like our race was done, but no, we made the right strategy calls and Colin absolutely killed it on that restart.  That guy is phenomenal on cold tires. I couldn’t be more proud of this entire team.”

Marc Miller (#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22) 15th in GTD [not running – mechanical]: “We had a strong car once night came, the track was really coming to us.  We were sitting in the top 10, just looking for a good result here in the last hour.  There’s always a lot of attrition here in the final two hours, and unfortunately this time we’re part of that attrition.  Sheena [Monk] did a great job. She actually got all of her drive time done straight through, while it was still hot.  Then Kat [Legge] and I did a string of single stints, which was fun.  But then she lost drive coming out of Turn 7.  It’s frustrating, as we’ve been strong in all of the long races this year.  Here again, we had good pace.  Maybe not race-winning, but we still looked set for a strong result. But it is what it is. Thanks to everyone at Gradient Racing, Acura and HPD for everything they’ve done for us this year.”

David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s second consecutive Acura Petit Le Mans victory and the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season:“Another dramatic season finale at the Petit Le Mans.  This is a truly stunning sports car venue and event, made so special by the fans and the spectacular racing.  We came away with a pole position and another win. Bravo! Hats off to the race craft and skill of the MSR team and its drivers. This is also a true testament to the skill of our amazing team at HPD together with the amazing team at ORECA to make a very fast, electrified Acura ARX-06 race car. It certainly attained our goal of precision crafted performance. I am especially proud of our work on the electrified power train, vehicle and control strategies – after a whole season of endurance racing we never missed a beat – what a testament to our engineering, manufacturing and assembly groups. We came here fighting for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.  Again, to be in the fight is a testament to our brilliant people and teams. We’re disappointed to fail at the end, but that’s racing, we lick our wounds and learn how to improve. I would sincerely like to thank from the heart our amazing people and our amazing fans and IMSA’s amazing team, what a season!”

Fast Facts

• Acura is a three-time series champion in the premier prototype division since joining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2018, claiming the Manufacturer, Driver and Team Daytona Prototype International (DPi) titles in 2019-20 and again in 2022 with the Acura ARX-05.
• The Acura ARX-06 is the first hybrid-powered racing car designed, developed and built by HPD, the North American racing arm for both Honda and Acura, in partnership with chassis supplier ORECA [ORganisation Exploitation Competition Automobiles].

Next
Today’s Motul Petit Le Mans was the final round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.  The 2024 season begins in January with the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.

BROCKVILLE, ON (Oct. 15, 2023) – Corey Wheeler came away victorious Saturday night at Brockville-Ontario Speedway, scoring the DIRTcar Sportsman win in the 100-lap, $10,00-to-win, Fall Nationals.

William Racine and Erick Rudolph occupied the front row to start the night’s matchup, followed by Wheeler and Ryan Arbuthnot behind them. At the drop of the green flag, Racine shot out in front to pace the field with Rudolph following close behind. Racine held the lead until Rudolph made his way around him on Lap 25 to find clean air.

The Ransomville, NY driver commanded the lead for majority of the race, remaining largely unchallenged until 15 laps remained. Williamson followed behind in second, and Wheeler remained close to the front in third. After Williamson and Rudolph made contact in Turn 1, Wheeler was given space to shoot out in front. It was all that the Cornwall, ON driver needed, as he stayed steady for the remaining 15 laps to score his first DIRTcar 358 Series win.

“Sometimes you need a little luck to get these big wins,” Wheeler said. “When I saw Mat (Williamson) and Erick (Rudolph) get together, I just went for it and it worked. It really is a dream come true.”

Williamson was able to untangle himself from the contact and break free, following behind Wheeler. He held on to finish runner-up and officially capture the 2023 DIRTcar 358 Modified Series title.

“Second place isn’t bad, congrats to Corey (Wheeler) and his team, it’s a cool win for them, and we’ll take it.”

Arbuthnot rounded out the podium, finishing in third-place.

“I kinda got one lane there at the end and everyone was just hanging on,” Arbuthnot said. “A top three is still a good night.”

Kyle Dingwall came in fourth place and Brian McDonald finished in fifth place to round out the top five.

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

Updated with additional quotes, information

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

The No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R secured both driver/team titles. Pipo Derani, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Oct. 12, earned his second Driver Championship in the past three seasons. “You can’t ask for better than straight As. This program has been a challenge of resilience, and everyone has stepped up — all of the partners that are involved from GM, Dallara, our race teams, our hybrid-supplier partners. We delivered excellent results,” GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser said. “It was not an easy year. We had our ups, and we had our downs. Ultimately our eyes were on the prize, and we were ready to seize any opportunity that was thrown at us.” The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, with Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon sharing duties behind the wheel, finished second to the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 under yellow. Derani, Alexander Sims and Jack Aitken drove the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R to sixth place.A Cadillac led more than half of the 397 laps over the course of the 10-hour race on the 2.54-mile, 12-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta course, and van der Zande set the fastest lap of 1 minute, 10.917 seconds on Lap 312. It was the fifth time in the nine races that a hybrid Cadillac set the GTP pace. van der Zande drove the final stint — more than 90 minutes — without making a service stop. Less than 16 months since making its on-track test debut and 37 weeks since the opening race, the Cadillac V-Series.R has proven its reliability and performance on the variety pack of North American road and street courses. The Cadillac V-Series.R features an all-new Cadillac 5.5-liter DOHC V8 engine developed by GM’s Performance and Racing propulsion team based in Pontiac, Michigan, paired with the common energy recovery system. “It’s amazing; what a season,” Derani said. “It was up and down but up there when it mattered for the overall championship, the endurance championship and the manufacturer championships. I’m proud of all the work behind the scenes by so many people to get to this point in the first year of GTP. There are so many things out of your control in a race like this. The end of the race was very tense. I overtook both of the BMWs and came away victorious.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No. 1 qualifier Lenny Lottig, photo credit Werner Communications

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

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

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

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

NASCAR CUP SERIES

LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

SOUTH POINT 400

TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT

OCTOBER 14, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

Do you feel like a championship favorite?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Tim Kaeding +7

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

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

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Justin Sanders +9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UP NEXT

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

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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