BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 16, 2023) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster team are having their patience put to the test as they head into this weekend’s Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway looking for their first win of the season. Sitting third in points, the reigning world champions are ready to show they’ve finally turned a corner in the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season. Force and the Monster Energy team are coming into Brainerd International Raceway off a promising runner-up finish at Heartland Motorsports Park. After qualifying eighth, Force and her Monster Energy team put on a show Sunday winning on a holeshot against four-time champion Steve Torrence and recording the second-quickest elapsed time of the weekend, falling just short in the finals. Already with four No. 1 qualifiers this season, Force is looking for her first win to solidify her team in the championship hunt. “Our Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team is ready to head to Brainerd International Raceway after a strong and eventful weekend in Topeka, Kansas. We really stepped it up on race day, ran killer all day long, went to the finals and I was strong on the tree. We didn’t get the win but we had a great weekend,” Force said. “Carrying that over to Brainerd, it just motivates you, it pumps you up. This Monster Energy team wants to win Brainerd. We’re inching closer and closer. We are so close to that first win of the season. It would be coming at the perfect time to get the win this weekend right before we head to the U.S. Nationals and these points reset for the Countdown to the Championship.” Through two days of qualifying, Force will be trying to extend to four the number of consecutive times she has qualified her Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac dragster No. 1 at Brainerd International Raceway. She’ll also be looking for her second win at the facility, her first came in 2016 after finishing runner-up in 2015. For the last two seasons, Force has made it to the semifinals and in 2021 she set the track speed record at 334.98 mph. Competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway begins with four rounds of qualifying Friday at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 and 4:15 p.m. Eliminations are slated to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event begins with qualifying shows Friday at 8 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Eliminations will air Sunday at 4 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcasting Network.

NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA Nationals – Brainerd

Pre-Race Report

Cruz Pedregon and team are headed to Brainerd International Raceway with plans to use the heat-plagued conditions of the past two races as learnings for the weekend ahead in Minnesota. This track was a winner for Cruz in his early career and the place he’s twice been runner-up. So, the team and the Snap-on^® “Makers and Fixers” Dodge^® SRT^® Hellcat^® are ready to bring the heat rather than just endure it.

“We’re working hard to get it right with the challenges the heat has thrown at us,” Cruz says. “We’re going to be calling on the energy we have from four competitive runs at Night Under Fire a few weeks ago to fuel our hopes for a better performance this weekend.” 

Cruz fans will be seeing double this weekend if they travel through the Indianapolis airport. The team’s show car will be on display at the Indianapolis International Airport for the next three weeks.

For fans watching NHRA racing from stands and via the television and online broadcasts, they’ll see the name of Snap-on Nitro Franchisee Joey Roberston on the Snap-on Funny Car. Joey was an auto technician after leaving the Marine Corp, eventually becoming a Snap-on franchisee two years ago. He was even named franchise Rookie of the Year last year in his region and says he’s already been in the Top 100 franchises…something he attributes to his positive attitude. When he’s not calling on customers, you’ll likely find Joey autocross racing a car he owns, but this weekend he’ll be feeling the nitro with us here at the track. 

Along with Joey’s name, the paint scheme on Cruz’s car will honor all the “Makers & Fixers” among us and offer a call-to-action for them to share stories of their critical work at makersandfixers.com. 

NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD TEAM CHEVY POLE WIN REPORT AUGUST 12, 2023 Suarez, Chevrolet Takes NASCAR Cup Series Pole at IndianapolisCamaro ZL1’s Eighth NCS Pole of 2023

·       Daniel Suarez posted a best lap of 87.968 seconds, at 99.814 mph, in the final round of qualifying to capture the pole position for tomorrow’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.   ·       The feat marks Suarez’s first NASCAR Cup Series pole win of the season; and his third career pole win in 239 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.    ·       This is Chevrolet’s eighth NASCAR Cup Series pole of the season; the manufacturer’s third NCS pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course; and its 742nd all-time pole in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Chevrolet drivers swept the pole wins across both of NASCAR’s top two series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course with AJ Allmendinger (No. 10 Kaulig Racing Camaro SS) taking the pole for today’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER1st      Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL13rd      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL15th      Kyle Busch, No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL16th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL18th      Shane van Gisbergen, No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL19th      Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL STARTING LINEUP:  POS.  DRIVER1.        Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet) 2.        Tyler Reddick (Toyota)3.        Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)4.        Michael McDowell (Ford)5.        Kyle Busch (Chevrolet)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Aug. 12, 2023) – For the third consecutive year, a Chevrolet will lead the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) field to the green flag at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Posting a best-lap of 87.968 seconds, at 99.814 mph, in the final round of qualifying; Daniel Suarez took his No. 99 Freeway.com Camaro ZL1 to the top of the speed chart to claim his first pole win of the season. The 31-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, native has proven his prowess in road course racing as a winner in NASCAR’s top series (Sonoma Raceway – June 2022), but the feat marks Suarez’s first career NCS pole win on a road course circuit.  “Today is a tribute to all the men and women at Trackhouse Racing,” said Suarez. “They gave me a rocket ship today and it feels really good to be at the front of the field. It’s good to be out front and hopefully we can stay there tomorrow.” Already with a storied history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has continued to build its legacy at the “racing capital of the world” – taking the win in the series’ two appearances on the venue’s road course. As the manufacturer looks to make it three-in-a-row at the circuit, six drivers from three different Chevrolet teams will lead the field to the green from the top-nine positions in the starting lineup. Suarez’s Trackhouse Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen (No. 91 Enhance Health Camaro ZL1) will take the green flag for his second career NCS start from the eighth position. Three Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1’s posted a top-10 qualifying effort, led by Chase Elliott (No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1) in third, Kyle Larson (No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1) in sixth and Alex Bowman (No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1) in ninth. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (No. 8 3CHI Camaro ZL1) rounded out the top-five.

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes

(NO MIC.)“I think the mentality of the No. 99 team hasn’t changed in the last couple of months. We have to continue to focus on one race at a time – try to maximize the potential of the race car and try to win a race. We had a couple of weeks that were pretty rough on us, and then we had Michigan (International Speedway) and I was pretty happy with that result, especially with the car that my team was able to bring to the track. I told my team last week – this was exactly what we needed. Just a little bit of momentum heading into road course season because we have two in a row, and here we are right now. The energy has been great. The guys have been working very hard. I’ve been working very hard and it shows. We have to continue to work and execute tomorrow.” (NO MIC.)“We spent a little bit of time in the simulator working together, but honestly, we didn’t spend as much time together working as we did for Chicago. But we did spend some time together in the simulator. It was good. I think that – between the No.1, 91 and the 99 teams – they work together to bring similar setups to the race track based on what we learn in the simulator. It was good, it was very helpful. For Shane (van Gisbergen), he’s new at this race track, so I feel like he’s been learning a lot. We’ve been here before, so he’s been learning a lot – understanding what he needs from his car to be able to go fast.” HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO WIN A POLE AT A PLACE LIKE HERE WHERE TRACK POSITION WILL BE KEY? “Yeah, you know I was rewatching the race again actually last night and track position was unbelievably important. So you have to get it anytime you can and try to keep it. I knew that Saturday was going to be extremely important for this race, and I’m glad we were able to show up with a good balanced race car and have good speed. I’m happy for that.  With that being said, we still have some work to do. I feel like our race pace actually was pretty good. I was pretty happy with the race pace. I have to meet with my team right after here and talk about what we’re going to adjust for tomorrow, but overall, I feel like the potential for our race car is pretty good. I’m happy for where we’re at and we just have to make sure we make the right adjustments and we execute tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be about execution.”  HOW DID TRACK CONDITIONS TODAY FAVOR YOUR SETUP – WERE THEY WHAT YOU EXPECTED? “Yeah know, I thought the race track was getting faster and faster. I noticed that in practice when I went out, the race track was actually getting a little bit better. But I wasn’t 100 percent sure because also the tires were getting some temperature and wear. And then the second group went a good amount faster than the first group; I was in the first group. And then at that point, I realized – you know what, maybe we’re at a little bit of a disadvantage because the race track is going to continue to get better and better.  And then we went to qualify in the first round – I put down what I thought was an OK lap. It wasn’t great, but it was good. And then in the second round, everyone was faster than that. The second round was so much faster, so I knew that the second group was just getting more speed for track positions. But then in the last round, once everyone went at the same time, I felt like that was an even field for everyone and I felt like at that point, we were able to show up in the same circumstances as everyone else and that benefited us a little bit.” TOMORROW, THE THREE GUYS THAT ARE RIGHT AROUND THE BUBBLE ARE ALL GOING TO BE STARTING IN THE TOP-10. ARE YOU GOING TO WANT TO KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING THROUGHOUT THE RACE? “I don’t care (laughs).. they have to worry about the No. 99.  I mean I say I don’t care, but in reality, I care like .5 percent (laughs), so I care very little. I knew that we were going to be good. (Michael) McDowell is a great road course driver. (Ty) Gibbs, I think he’s pretty good. He’s still learning, but he’s pretty good. I’m actually surprised AJ (Allmendinger) is not up there, as well. But no, in reality, once the race starts, I have to make sure I don’t care because I cannot control what they do or don’t do. I can only control one car, and that’s the No. 99 car. I have to put all my energy and focus into the No. 99 car, and everything else has to take care of itself. Obviously if I’m racing with them at one point in the race, I have to make sure I get them because I know one point can be a difference when we go to Daytona (International Speedway). But hopefully I can stay away from them.” YOU HAD A TREMENDOUSLY FAST CAR LAST WEEK. IT WAS FUN WATCHING YOU, AND YOU COULD DO REALLY AMAZING THINGS. JUST CURIOUS, HAS IT PULLED YOUR TEAM TOGETHER? HAS IT MADE YOU STRONGER BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN FACING ADVERSITY OF LATE TO KIND OF BATTLE THROUGH THIS AND GET TO THE OTHER SIDE SO YOU CAN GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE?“You know, I think that my racing has come through a lot of adversity this year. We have had a few mistakes on execution. I have made some mistakes. In the first quarter of the year, we were extremely fast, but we were making a lot of mistakes – in execution and myself. We were not having clean weekends. And then we started getting cleaner and then the speed wasn’t there anymore. You have to have everything together and it’s not easy. It’s not easy to put everything together. I can tell you in the last few weeks, it’s been tough at Trackhouse. I say that they’ve been tough because we’ve had long meetings – we’ve had difficult conversations to be better because we showed up a few weekends and we were not good at all. Pretty much after Nashville (Superspeedway), if you look at our results, they were not very good.. besides Atlanta (Motor Speedway) where we finished second. But overall, we needed more speed. We were lacking some speed, so we had to go to work and we had to get out of our comfortable zone. We had to get out of that box. I’m really proud of how we’ve been reacting to that and it’s definitely showing the last couple of weeks.” I EXPECT YOU TO BE FAST. YOU EXPECT TO BE FAST IN THE NEXT TWO RACES ON ROAD COURSES. YOU HAD A CAREER-BEST SEVENTH-PLACE FINISH AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY TO KICK-OFF THE SEASON. CAN YOU KIND OF REPEAT THAT TYPE OF PERFORMANCE, OR DO YOU THINK THAT RACE BEING THE CUT-OFF WILL BE SO CHAOTIC THAT IT’S GOING TO BE EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF?“Honestly, I’m not thinking that far ahead. But I think Daytona (International Speedway) is going to be a little bit more crazy than before because there’s so many good drivers, good teams, good cars that are on that bubble. I mean you have the No. 48 (Alex Bowman), the No. 9 (Chase Elliott), myself, the No. 54 (Ty Gibbs) – you just have too many. We talk a lot about manufacturers working together, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to work together. But if I can beat the No. 9 and the No. 48, that would be nice too because they’re right there in the fight. It’s one of those things where we’re going to have to wait and see. Hopefully, knock-on-wood, we execute tomorrow and we don’t have to worry about it. That would be the plan. I would love to kiss those bricks downstairs.” YOU LEAD THE FIELD TO THE GREEN ON THE FIRST START WITH THE NEW ZONE AND THE RULES OF WHERE PEOPLE CAN CHANGE LANES AFTER YOU EXIT THE ZONES. DO YOU HAVE A GOOD FEELING OF WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN, OR IS IT STILL A LITTLE BIT OF A MYSTERY? “I think I have an idea of what is going to happen, but the reality is that I’m really looking forward to watching the Xfinity Series race and see how that works. That’s going to give me a better idea of how things are going to work, even though the cars are very different. We’ll see.. we’ll see how things work. I can tell you that there’s one place to be to try to figure it out and it’s in the front, so I think I’m in a good position to be able to go out there and try to take advantage of things. Hopefully we can learn and adapt as quick as possible of that new restart zone.” THIS RACE OFTEN COMES DOWN TO THE RESTARTS AT THE END. HOW DO YOU REALLY GET PREPARED FOR THAT AND ALL THE CONTACT THAT USUALLY HAPPENS WITH THAT HARD RIGHT-HANDER INTO TURN ONE? “Yeah, I mean it’s difficult because I feel like in the past, in my opinion, we’ve done too much of that. I was rewatching the race last night and like I said, it was a little bit too much – too much contact, too much bumping cars, in my opinion. That’s why we had some good conversations with NASCAR, and we were able to together come up with the idea of moving the restart zone to provide better racing. The fans – they love action and they love excitement, but there is a line, too. I felt like last year, in the last couple of races, we crossed the line. It was a little bit too much.. it wasn’t real anymore. But I’m glad we did it and we’ll find out how things work out. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be much cleaner than what we’ve seen in the past. How much? We’re going to find out, but I think it’s going to be much cleaner.”

August 12, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 24th in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.

Burton took that spot on Saturday with a lap at 98.661 miles per hour around the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course inside Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

His qualifying speed represented an improvement from practice earlier in the day when he was 28th on the speed chart with a best lap at 97.309 mph. That came on the eighth of 10 laps he ran in the session.

Sunday’s 82-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBC. Stage breaks are planned for Lap 15 and 35.

NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 12, 2023

BRODIE KOSTECKI, NO. 33 MOBILE X CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Media Availability Quotes:  Tell us a little bit about this week, what it’s been like getting ready for the Indianapolis Road Course?“It’s been a real experienced for myself. I landed here on Friday, and been working closely with everyone from Richard Childress Racing and also with everyone at Chevy as well. I’ve been at the GM Tech Center quite a bit. I’ve done around 13 to 14 hours in their simulator there, and just trying to be a sponge and get up to speed as quickly as possible in the short amount of time I have.” What are your early impressions of the Next Gen car so far?“I didn’t get the pleasure of doing an on-track test. I’ve only done time in the simulator at the GM Tech Center. Honestly, there are a lot of similarities between the Camaro I’m racing today and what I race back home in Australia. First time on track will be on track in practice, so I’ll let you know after that.”  What did you think of the simulator? What did you gain from it?“It’s something that we don’t do back home at all, so obviously, GM built the Tech Center 11, 12 months ago. I was pretty amazed by the amount of technology that’s in there. It really helped my learning curve trying to understand the car, the track as well. I’ve also been working closely with the team on setups as well. I’m looking forward to jumping in the car and seeing the correlation.”  There’s a lot of talk about the physicality of these races and how it’s full-contact racing. Coming in, are you ready for that?“Yeah, I think what we do back home I quite similar in a way. There’s probably a little bit more rules around our racing back home, but it is pretty similar in a way. I’ll do what I do best and drive the car and see what happens.”  Have you watched tapes of the races from here from the first two years, and what did you think of the carnage?“I was actually pretty scared after I found out I was doing this race. I went back through the last two years to study pretty quickly on how the race played out and what it was like in Turn 1. Obviously, this weekend, there have been changes to the restart zone. It was a bit interesting going back through and watching how the races played out. I honestly think it will be quite a bit different this weekend with the restart zone.” Talk about when you wanted to be a racecar driver, was NASCAR something you considered when you were younger?“I spent around four to five years in America. I came over in 2012, I believe, and raced NASCAR late models, raced in the K&N East series, so it’s funny how the world works, and it’s come around full circle. I went back home and competed in Austrailian Supercars Championship, and leading up to this moment. To get this opportunity with everyone at RCR, and Richard (Childress), to get my Cup debut. I guess it’s sort of done full circle which is pretty cool.”  Talk about your preparation for practice. It’s very short. What are your thoughts on qualifying?“The procedure and format here is a lot different than back home. We’re still similar to how NASCAR was prior to COVID. Not much time to get accustomed to everything. Being able to spend 30 to 40 hours at the GM Tech Center in the simulator has been pretty crucial in how practice is going play out. We’ve only got 20 minutes in practice then it’s straight into qualifying. So, we’ll just have to make sure I hit my marks early. I’ve been given all the tools and everything around me to be able to perform well. I’m pretty confident going into practice that as long as what happens with the weather, we’ll see what happens.”  With (Shane Van Gisbergen) winning, did it bring more attention to your doing this?“No. We’ve been working on this for about two years now with everyone at RCR. We sort of looked at the calendar, and my options for doing a race were quite limited on the fact that back home we race as well. So, there were only a few races that weren’t conflicting. One was Chicago and the other one was Indy. With how RCR performed here last year, we circled that on the calendar quite a while ago. Obviously, what Shane (Van Gisbergen) did at Chicago was quite amazing, but I think it’s very different circumstances here this weekend.”  When SVG won in Chicago, there was a lot of focus on his heel-toe right-foot braking. Are you a heel-toe guy?“Yeah. Pretty much 90 percent of everyone back home in Australia right-foot brakes. It’s something we have to do back home with our cars. It’s sort of been the fastest way we get our Supercars around, so if you don’t do it back home, you don’t really make it.”  Do you think it’ll be an advantage tomorrow? Was it something of focus back home?“It’s quite amazing. Each sport is different in their own way. Tomorrow, I don’t know if it’s going to help me or may hinder me. I won’t know until I drive it in practice. We’ll just sort of have to see. It seems it’s pretty cool that it’s different over here to right-foot brake and heel-toe. It was pretty cool to see the onboard (camera) of Shane.”  Shane set the bar pretty high. For road course ringers coming in and winning races, it had been a long time since anyone had been competitive. Do you anticipate that going into Sunday’s race, not just to run laps but to also be competitive? “I think there’s no secret there have been ringers in before. I’ve been fast at times but I haven’t won races. Then Shane came over, first time on a street circuit and the weather and whatnot. That’s sort of our bread and butter back home, racing on a street circuit. It’s something that you can’t actually go and practice on. It was pretty cool to see. Honestly, with how many road courses that are on the NASCAR schedule now, a lot of drivers have put in the effort into their road course program. It’s definitely not going to be easy and these guys are really good at what they do.”  It’s one step at a time, but you talk about taking this two years in the making to get this done, is this something you want to do more of?“I just want to see how this weekend sort of plays out. Just see what opportunities come up, if they do after this weekend. I sort of live one day at a time, so yeah, we’ll see what happens.”  Scott McLaughlin has had a lot of good things to say about you. How much have you spoken to him and, when did you first become aware of Indianapolis Motor Speedway?“I’ve known about Indianapolis since I was quite young. I’ve always watched the Indy 500, and I was able to come over last year and watch Scotty (McLaughlin) do his thing in IndyCar which was really cool. He’s someone I’ve leaned on quite a bit when I made my debut back home for the Supercars Championship. I haven’t asked him too much about the NASCAR side of things, coming over and doing this. It seems like two different worlds in a way.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY R.C.VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 12, 2023

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1, met with the media prior to the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Media Availability Quotes:  THE LAST THREE YEARS, INDYCAR AND NASCAR HAVE BEEN AT THE SAME TRACK RACING AT THE SAME TIME. ARE YOU A FAN OF THAT WEEKEND.. HAVE YOU ENJOYED IT? “Yeah, I would say so. I think it’s pretty cool – kind of unique. But you know, if I’m being selfish, I think many of us drivers, crews and everything else, we’d rather be coming here and racing around the oval with the prestige and the history of what the oval is. Even though we’re at Indy, it just doesn’t really feel like it’s the same thing going the wrong way.” LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE NEXT YEAR, YOU GUYS ARE MORE THAN LIKELY GOING TO BE ON THE OVAL AND THIS WEEKEND IS PROBABLY GOING AWAY, AT LEAST HERE. IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU’D LIKE TO SEE INCORPORATED ELSEWHERE, WHATEVER TRACK THAT IS? IS IT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CONTINUED GOING FORWARD, EVEN IF IT CAN’T BE HERE?“Well that’s for way smarter people in higher powers than me to make that decision. If it works for INDYCAR and it works for NASCAR, then I would say sure.. why not. There’s plenty of places that we can do it – we can do it together, stuff like that. You could even do it at Watkins Glen (International) together if you wanted to – where all you have to do is move some cones and the INDYCAR guys can run the boot and we can run our normal course, but you can be on the same essential track during the weekend. So there’s definitely plenty of opportunities to continue the comradery between the paddocks and garage area to have an INDYCAR / NASCAR double.” YOU’VE BEEN VERY OUTSPOKEN IN THE PAST ABOUT RESTARTS ON ROAD COURSES, INTO TURN ONE PARTICULARLY, WHETHER IT’S HERE OR COTA. WITH THE RESTART ZONE BEING BACKED UP BETWEEN (TURNS) 13 AND 14 THIS WEEKEND, IS THERE ANY OPTIMISM THAT WILL HELP AT ALL FOR TURN ONE? “Possibly a little bit. I think the only other way to help it even more would just call it right now and just go single file, and make it single file starts going down the frontstretch into turn one. You have to separate these guys and give them some separation because they have absolutely no respect and they just drive over each other. We see it every week. We see it on ovals. (Ryan) Blaney wanted to be mad last week, and yet he crashed me and he almost crashed the No. 7 (Corey LaJoie) and he’s mad, so it makes no sense. The fact of the matter is – yeah, everybody goes down into turn one, they know you have to be on the inside and you just pile-drive through from the inside and push people off.” ON THE SINGLE FILE RESTARTS, ELTON SAWYER HAD SAID ON SIRIUSXM RADIO EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT IS SOMETHING THEY WILL KEEP IN THEIR BACK POCKET FOR THIS WEEKEND – NOT JUST FOR WEATHER. SO YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO CONSIDER THAT MORE, MAYBE ON THESE ROAD COURSES IF IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S GETTING OUT OF CONTROL TO KIND OF SAVE YOU GUYS FROM YOURSELVES?“1,000 percent, no question. Yep, got to make the call. Don’t be afraid to make the call.” TO ADD ONTO THAT, IN ADDITION TO THE ROAD COURSES, ESPECIALLY THE ONES WITH A WIDE TURN ONE, ANY LATE-RACE CAUTION CAN OFTEN LEAD TO SOME PRETTY CHAOTIC RESULTS. YOU MENTIONED BEING IN SUPPORT OF SINGLE-FILE RESTARTS. IN THAT CASE, WOULD YOU BE SUPPORTIVE OF SINGLE-FILE RESTARTS REALLY UNDER 10 LAPS TO GO AT ANY RACE?“No, no I don’t think so. Obviously, yes – it would be easier if you’re the leader, but it would probably diminish the show. We’re in an entertainment business, I’m learning. We want to be able to put on, whether it’s a good show or a bad show, it’s debatable between opinions, right? But we want to be able to put on the best possible show for the fans that we can. I think that would be a deterrent to many of the races that we go to, but like Kelly said, save us from ourselves to just now allow calamity to ensue.”  WHEN SVG WON AT CHICAGO, THERE WAS A LOT OF FOCUS ON HIS RIGHT FOOT, HEEL-TOE BRAKING TECHNIQUE. DO YOU KNOW HOW TO HEEL-TOE? “No, not successfully. I know how to do it and I can do it, but it’s very clunky. I am not a smooth operator when it comes to having to do the heel-toe. I did it years ago when I first kind of came in – like I was learning from Boris Said, Ron Fellows and a couple of those guys, just talking with them. Wheel-hop issues with the old car, it would really kind of help subside that. But then we just went to work on the car, the braking and everything else. To me, every time I’m able to just maximize my left foot for brake, I’m way better off, so I’ve kind of gotten away from it.” SO IT WOULDN’T EVEN REALLY BE WORTH THE TRADE OFF OF TRYING TO DO IT OR TRYING TO LEARN IT? “Right, yeah. For me, no. The Chevy guys – thanks to Chevy for letting us come over here – we ran some street Camaro’s around here and I tried it. Like I tried to do the right foot over, brake, use the clutch, do the downshifts and stuff like that. I was like a half-second slower than just using the brake and matching the RPM’s for the downshifts.”

After bad luck struck in the prelim, both Reutzel and Gravel rebound for top two spots with Bogucki and Heskin joining themKNOXVILLE, IA (August 11, 2023) – Misfortune is bound to strike a contender or two during their prelim at the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store. There are too many variables in racing to allow all of them to get through smoothly. And FVP Parts Hard Knox Night is about allowing those World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car heavyweights a chance to regroup and potentially lock in to the Knoxville Nationals finale.And that’s exactly what happened Friday night at Knoxville Raceway.Bad luck bit a pair of favorites in Aaron Reutzel and David Gravel on Wednesday night, leaving them forced to compete on Hard Knox Night. And the two did exactly what they’re supposed to do. Reutzel wheeled the Ridge & Sons Racing #8 to the victory while Gravel finished a close second. Their finishes secured them spots 21st and 22nd in the lineup for the $185,000-to-win, $15,000-to-start finale.It was a comfortable drive for Reutzel as he led the field to green and never looked back. The result looked slightly in doubt coming to the checkered as Gravel got a run off the final corner but Reutzel held on. The Clute, TX native entered the night confident that if he did his job, they should have no issue locking in.“It’s fourth or nothing here,” Reutzel said. “I don’t know where fifth lines you up here, but I know it ain’t good. I had tough luck. Same with David, tough luck… I just kind of put myself in a bad spot (on Wednesday) and got caught up in a wreck, but my guys did a great job getting the car back together. We had a fast race car. We knew we just needed to come into tonight and get a good (Qualifying) time, get through our heat where it started us up front and do what we did.”For Gravel, Wednesday’s troubles left him a little weary entering the Feature, especially with having to start seventh. But the Big Game Motorsports driver did what he needed to do to lock into his 11th Knoxville Nationals finale.“I’m just happy to get in the show,” Gravel said. “We’ve been fast. We had a plenty fast enough car to lock in on a prelim night, but that’s racing sometimes. Happy to bounce back with a different car, different engine. We just threw these body panels on there and were fast. I was bummed to start seventh in that Feature. I knew we’d be good enough to get up there, but again you just never know. It’s racing.”There’s another element to Hard Knox Night. It’s not only about giving the titans of Sprint Car racing a second chance. It’s also an opportunity for some speedy underdogs to potentially sneak in. And Friday at “The Sprint Car Capital of the World” delivered on that storyline as well. After battling some recent adversity, Scott Bogucki drove an excellent 25 laps aboard the Liebig #10 to finish third, earning a spot in The Granddaddy of “Em All for the first time in his career in his seventh attempt.“I really don’t have the words,” Bogucki said of his emotion. “It’s pretty emotional. I came over here 10 years ago as a crew guy, and this was always the dream. We missed it by one car two or three times now. Same thing Wednesday night. We qualified good and missed the Heat transfer by one. After last week and all of the disasters that have gone on, it’s so nice to rebound. I can’t thank Shane enough and all of the guys with the #10 for believing in me.”Behind Bogucki came another feel-good story. Davey Heskin started 10th and spent the race moving forward and took over the final transfer in the closing laps. The St. Michael, MN driver locked into the sport’s biggest race for the first time in 11 years. The moment left Heskin full of emotion.“Honestly, it’s just unreal,” Heskin said. “It’s a blessing to have everything we have. On Wednesday I was pretty down but we came back. I think tonight was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been for a Heat Race. I think that kind of showed the last few laps. It’s just unreal to lock in. Everybody here knows how much time and effort is put into these things. Just to do it with your family and friends is something unreal.”The spots are secured for the four individuals who emerged from Hard Knox Night. Now, they can rest easy and focus on all that remains for them – the 62nd Knoxville Nationals finale on Saturday.Parker Price-Miller owned the misfortune of finishing fifth to complete the top five. While it was a strong outing, it left the Kokomo, IN native without a guaranteed position in the Knoxville Nationals finale. The difference between finishing fourth and fifth in the Hard Knox Feature is starting 24th in the Saturday finale or 11th in Saturday’s Last Chance Showdown.On top of winning the NOS Energy Drink Feature, Reutzel also claimed the Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award for the first time this year and the eighth time of his career.Brent Marks was the KSE Racing Hard Charger by virtue of his run from 19th to 6th in the main event.CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One went to David Gravel (231st Heat Race win of career). Your Life Iowa Heats Two through Six were claimed by Parker Price-Miller (22nd of career), Cory Eliason (20th of career), Chris Windom (first of career), and Tim Kaeding (77th of career).UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take on the $185,000-to-win, $15,000-to-start finale of the 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals on Saturday, August 12. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to Knoxville, catch all of the action live on DIRTVision.RESULTS:A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 8-Aaron Reutzel[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[7]; 3. 10-Scott Bogucki[2]; 4. 2M-Davey Heskin[10]; 5. 9P-Parker Price Miller[9]; 6. 19-Brent Marks[19]; 7. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer[3]; 8. 5T-Ryan Timms[5]; 9. 1-Justin Henderson[8]; 10. 11-Cory Eliason[17]; 11. 26-Zeb Wise[22]; 12. 22K-Kaleb Johnson[15]; 13. 21H-Brady Bacon[21]; 14. 4W-Jamie Ball[4]; 15. 3-Tim Kaeding[14]; 16. 39M-Justin Sanders[16]; 17. 49X-Tim Shaffer[11]; 18. 2K-Lynton Jeffrey[18]; 19. 4CW-Chris Windom[12]; 20. 5C-Dylan Cisney[13]; 21. 7S-Robbie Price[24]; 22. 17W-Shane Golobic[23]; 23. 17B-Bill Balog[6]; 24. 42-Sye Lynch[20]

Avedisian seven points back of McIntosh after runner-up finish, McDermand takes third at -74

SPRING RUN, PA (Aug. 11, 2023) – For the first time in his young career, Daison Pursley is a Feature winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

Pursley, the 18-year-old open-wheel standout from Locust Grove, OK, wheeled the Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports #19 to victory Friday night at Path Valley Speedway Park, holding off a fierce challenge from Jade Avedisian in the closing laps to score the win in the Appalachian Midget Week finale.

“Ever since they started coming out last year that they were going to create a new series, I knew I wanted to put my name in the record books of winning a Feature,” Pursley said. “Pretty cool to get that job done with Reinbold/Underwood Motorsports. It shows how good their cars are and how hard they work week-in and week-out.”

Right behind Pursley in third place came Chase McDermand, who wrapped up the Appalachian Midget Week championship by 51 points over Zach Daum with his third-straight podium finish. For never having raced in the State of Pennsylvania before the week began, McDermand made his sudden impact felt with back-to-back victories Tuesday and Wednesday before the endcap on Friday to secure the $2,500 champion’s check.

“It feels really good, especially just to know that we have our speed back,” McDermand, 22, of Springfield, IL, said. “It feels really good for me, and I know it feels really good for Jay [Mounce] and Gavin [Stout] to know that their program is back on track.”

While both drivers started and finished inside the podium, both faced heavy resistance to keep their spots up front.

Pursley started outside the front row and took off in the first half of the race, setting a quick pace around the 1/4-mile. He defended on restarts and cut through lapped traffic without much issue in the first half, then came his biggest challenge of the race.

Avedisian, the 16-year-old Keith Kunz Motorsports standout from Clovis, CA, was riding second on a Lap 31 restart and got a great run on Pursley down the backstretch. Though she couldn’t make the slide job work in Turns 3-4, she set it up again in Turn 3 the next time by and held it briefly out of Turn 4 as Pursley crossed her over to regain control. The two traded sliders and crossovers a few more times before the caution was displayed with four-to-go.

“Thankfully, the yellow came out because I made a wrong decision trying to block her,” Pursley said. “I thought I was a little ahead of her, but I wasn’t ahead of her enough. She actually slid me and was probably gonna take the spot.”

The next restart, Pursley grabbed hold of the line Avedisian was running in Turns 1-2, counteracting her advantage through those corners and leading the field back around to the checkers to score the win.

“I kinda thought he was gonna figure out what I was doing in Turn 1-2,” Avedisian said. “Once he did that, I kinda had no shot; we were about the same speed.”

Avedisian crossed the start/finish line in second, wrapping up what was a tough week for her and her KKM crew. Two flips in the Feature on Tuesday and a 10th-place run Wednesday slipped her back in the Series points championship. But after Friday’s finish, she’s closed the gap to leader Cannon McIntosh back up to only seven points with 12 races left.

“We haven’t had the best week, especially after Tuesday night, flipping twice and then [the KKM crew] having to work all morning just to get me back out on Wednesday,” Avedisian said. “Can’t say enough about how good this team is.”

McDermand rounded out the podium and a great first venture into the Keystone State. He broke out of a multi-week slump that began before the summer break and is now only 74 points out of first place in the Series standings, displaying the grit and integrity of he and the Mounce/Stout Motorsports team.

“It’s a lot between Mounce/Stout and their crew – traveling from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania is probably about an 18-20-hour drive,” McDermand said. “Between that and me and my mom driving out here, it’s pretty tiring racing and then driving to the next one.

“I’m fortunate enough this year to have Jay and the crew to take a little bit of a load off me, so I don’t have to do as much on the car in terms of the maintenance stuff so I can get a little rest and be more of a driver.”

UP NEXT

The Series now takes a two-week break before returning to action Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 24-26, at Davenport Speedway (Davenport, IA) as part of the World of Outlaws CASE Late Model Series’ marquee Quad Cities 150 event.

Tickets for the three-day event are on sale now at XtremeOutlawSeries.com. If you can’t be there in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 19-Daison Pursley[2]; 2. 71-Jade Avedisian[3]; 3. 40-Chase McDermand[1]; 4. 7U-Zach Daum[5]; 5. 97-Gavin Miller[16]; 6. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[4]; 7. 98-Briggs Danner[8]; 8. 25K-Taylor Reimer[9]; 9. 60X-Kyle Jones[22]; 10. 08-Cannon McIntosh[10]; 11. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[13]; 12. 55-Trevor Cline[7]; 13. 23-Preston Lattomus[18]; 14. 25-Derek Sheaffer[17]; 15. 11-Eric Heydenreich[19]; 16. 75-Michael Markey[20]; 17. 0W-Kevin Woody Jr[14]; 18. 76-Michael Smith[12]; 19. 17B-Austin Barnhill[6]; 20. 46-Kenney Johnson[11]; 21. 44-Adam Andretti[21]; 22. 4-Ayden Hare[15]

The 11-time NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals champ survives a fierce battle with Chase Randall for opening night win

KNOXVILLE, IA (August 9, 2023) – Plenty of eyes were on Donny Schatz entering this week’s 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store. Even more eyes than normal. Schatz has an opportunity to tie Steve Kinser’s record of 12 Knoxville Nationals titles. Wednesday’s prelim showed no signs of him feeling any pressure. 

The 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car champion drove an excellent 25-lap main event on the opening prelim night at Knoxville Raceway. On the day before his 46th birthday, Schatz rolled from seventh on the grid to the front and sealed the deal by besting Chase Randall in a late battle. The win marked his first in a Knoxville Nationals prelim in 20 years.

Not only did Schatz come out on top of the NOS Energy Drink Feature, but his point total of 479 also placed him atop the Knoxville Nationals points. There’s still another prelim to be run, but Schatz has set himself up nicely to have a shot at “The King’s” record on Saturday.

“I remember when I first came here, we were really good on the prelim nights but couldn’t ever put it together on Saturday to get the win, and we took a little bit of that emphasis off,” Schatz said. “I don’t think you can leave anything on the table anymore. We qualified 10th. I think being in that fifth Heat was really key to get through there. The longer you run the more the track widens out, and the track was great all night. Man, my race team, these guys. We didn’t run that good when we were here in June, and we tried a few things. We’re always trying things. Kind of went back to square one, and that’s what you saw. The car feels really good. I can still move around some power, so hopefully we can be in a good spot Saturday.”

While it was Schatz who surged ahead late, the early story of the Feature became about two drivers new to the Nationals. In only his second attempt at The Granddaddy of ‘Em All, Blake Hahn earned the pole of the prelim. Lining up directly behind him in third aboard the TKS Motorsports machine was JETCO Rookie of the Year contender – Chase Randall.

When the green flag dropped, Hahn pulled ahead with the lead while Randall quickly worked his way into second on the second circuit.

Early on Hahn gapped Randall with clean air. While the lead duo had space between, the battles were plentiful inside the top 10 as drivers jockeyed for spots. Schatz began to come to life as the race approached lap 10. After moving into sixth at the initial start, Schatz cracked the top five on the ninth lap. One circle later and he was into fourth. Schatz looked like his peak self as he searched for grip in various lines and often found it.

A red flag on lap 17 for a flipping Justin Peck set up an eight-lap shootout to the finish. Randall took the opportunity to flex his muscle as the Waco, TX native slid by Hahn in Turns 3 and 4 to take over the top spot.

Behind that battle, Schatz quickly moved into third on the opening lap of the restart and then into second a lap later. Schatz began to close on the 18-year-old and pulled the trigger on a slide job on Lap 21 only to have Randall cross him over down the back straightaway and return the favor in the next set of corners.

“I didn’t really have any rhythm going when I got to him and got past him. I kind of went for it and really thought he’d look at me like a senior citizen and give me a pass, but he didn’t,” Schatz said with a laugh. “He went right back on by. That’s cool to see. That’s why we’re here. This is the Knoxville Nationals.”

On the next lap, Randall slid himself in Turns 1 and 2 allowing Schatz to get a run heading into Turn 3. This time, Schatz executed a slider that Randall couldn’t find the momentum to counter.

With the lead secured, Schatz went on to roll to a comfortable victory on the opening qualifier night. When the checkered flag flew, Schatz led Randall by roughly a second and a half to cement a statement win. Now, the focus shifts to Saturday’s finale for the pilot of the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15.

“I just wanted to get locked in the show,” Schatz said. “That’s kind of the goal. Once you get yourself in a position where you get qualified, you can kind of move that goal post.”

Randall’s runner-up was the latest testament to his continued strides. The Texas talent went wheel to wheel with a living legend for a win on the sport’s grandest stage. Being that close to a win could’ve left a slightly bitter taste for the Knoxville Nationals rookie, but the overall feeling was primarily prideful.

“I feel pretty good about it,” Randall said. “It’s hard to be mad about it, finishing second like that after coming so close. I’m really proud of it and how we did and how the team made the right decisions throughout the night to set us up and put ourselves in position to be that close. And it kind of shows how much hard work they’ve been putting in to get better each and every week. Running here we’ve had really good speed here this whole year, and to be running up front in our prelim night at the Knoxville Nationals is pretty cool.”

Charging from 12th to third to complete the podium was Sheldon Haudenschild aboard the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Drink #17. The Wooster, OH native even moved around eventual winner, Schatz, early on but couldn’t keep him behind him to contend for the victory.

“I knew once I got by Donny early that I needed to keep him back there,” Haudenschild said. “I kind of got hung up on the #39 a little bit, and Donny was able to get by and gap us. All in all it was a good night… I feel pretty good. This is the best I’ve felt in my car in a long time. Getting on the podium was a great night.”

Kerry Madsen and Blake Hahn rounded out the top five.

Tasker Phillips claimed the KSE Racing Hard Charger with a run from 24th to 11th.

The night’s Simpson Performance Products QuickTime Award went to David Gravel for the ninth time this season and the 106th of his career.

CASE No.1 Engine Oil Heat One was claimed by Brady Bacon (fourth Heat Race win of career). Your Life Iowa Heats Two through Five were topped by Sheldon Haudenschild (94th of career), Justin Henderson (33rd of career), Sye Lynch (third of career), and Carson McCarl (second of career).

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars are back at Knoxville Raceway on Thursday, August 10 for the second and final prelim night to finalize the top 16 starters for Saturday’s finale. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

RESULTS:

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15-Donny Schatz[7]; 2. 2KS-Chase Randall[3]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[12]; 4. 55-Kerry Madsen[4]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn[1]; 6. 42-Sye Lynch[9]; 7. 39-Hunter Schuerenberg[6]; 8. 7W-Dustin Selvage[2]; 9. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer[14]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[21]; 11. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips[24]; 12. 21H-Brady Bacon[16]; 13. 9-Kasey Kahne[5]; 14. 14-Corey Day[22]; 15. 83-James McFadden[23]; 16. 21T-Cole Macedo[13]; 17. 1-Justin Henderson[18]; 18. 22-Riley Goodno[10]; 19. 1X-Jake Bubak[11]; 20. 1M-Don Droud Jr[19]; 21. 7S-Robbie Price[17]; 22. 27-Carson McCarl[20]; 23. 83T-Tanner Carrick[15]; 24. 13-Justin Pe

KUTZTOWN, PA (Aug. 9, 2023) – Before the start of Appalachian Midget Week, Chase McDermand had never once competed in the State of Pennsylvania. Two races in, and he’s got two Feature wins.

With a swift move in traffic around the bottom of Action Track USA, McDermand took the lead from polesitter Kyle Jones before the halfway point and held the field off the rest of the way to secure his second win in two nights with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota.

“I’d be lying if I told you I expected to win the first two,” he said.

A win in similar fashion Tuesday night at Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway started McDermand and the Mounce/Stout Motorsports team off on the right foot, taking the lead in the first half of the race and holding on for the win. He began Wednesday night’s main event almost identically, starting from outside Row 2 and quickly advancing inside the top two spots in the first 15 laps.

Once McDermand made the move to take second three laps in, he was a second-and-a-half behind Jones. As Jones dipped into lapped traffic, McDermand began to rapidly close the gap.

“I was really trying to watch the lapped traffic probably even more than I was watching [Jones], just to figure out where they were gonna go,” McDermand said. “The lapped traffic was having their own race, too, switching lines up, so I was mainly just trying to stay out of trouble and figure out how to get a run on [Jones] at the same time.”

By Lap 10, McDermand had closed all the way in on Jones. Coming across the stripe to complete the lap, Jones reached a cluster of slower cars all racing for position. McDermand drove it in hard on the bottom and Jones slid up slightly, opening the door for a pass for the lead.

“We were dicing in lapped traffic, and I saw him get underneath me, and I was trying to pass a lapped car at the same time,” Jones said. “It was getting pretty hairy, but it was all clean. Can’t ask for a cleaner racecar driver than Chase.”

McDermand got a great run out of Turn 2 and down the backstretch, taking the spot away for good on Lap 11. Now in control of the race, McDermand hit the nitrous and scampered away from the field, opening up a three-second advantage on Jones before the first break in the action came with a red flag on Lap 20.

Before the red, McDermand was turning some of the fastest laps on the track.

“I was just trying to find a smooth line, trying to avoid all the holes, trying to upset the car as little as possible, and we were able to do that,” McDermand said. “The car had good drive in it to where I could really switch up my lines, and it was pretty much good everywhere.”

McDermand was forced to survive multiple restarts in the final 10 laps, defending the top spot from several challengers behind him. One of which was Keith Kunz Motorsports entrant Taylor Reimer, who was hot on Jones’ trail for second in the final laps.

“I saw on the board that Reimer was in second, so I was trying to play offense just as much as I was defense those last few laps,” McDermand said. “Try to play it smart and not be vulnerable to her sliding me on those last couple laps.”

Reimer, 23, of Tulsa, OK, was busy in the final 10 laps fending off Series points leader Cannon McIntosh behind her, as well as looking for a way by Jones to take second.

“Once I was able to get going and I got Cannon behind me, I was able to enter high in Turns 1-2 and diamond it off a little bit,” Reimer said. “That’s where [Jones] slid-up into 2.

“I got a run off of 2 and slid him into 3, hit a rough patch, but I didn’t see him after that.”

Reimer crossed the stripe in second, tying her best Xtreme Outlaw finish of the season. The run marked her eighth-straight top-five finish, and though she’s happy with the results, she still hungers for her first national Midget series win in proper fashion, crossing the finish line first.

“I’m getting tired of seeing everyone get the confetti and just watching them,” Reimer said. “My goal was to be more consistent, and to win. But in order to win, you have to be consistent, running up in the top. Super proud of my team, they’ve done a great job all year, and I finally feel like our results are showing.”

Jones was able to hang onto third in the end in the John Levecque-owned #60x. The 29-year-old Texan linked up with the North Carolina-based team specifically for Appalachian Midget Week, and despite some concerns in the closing laps, Jones still bagged his second podium of the season with the Xtreme Outlaws.

“At the end there, I think we were a little low on fuel,” Jones said. “It started sputtering, and that’s how Taylor got by me. Chase was just in a league of his own; he was gone as soon as he got by us.”

UP NEXT

Appalachian Midget Week continues Thursday, Aug. 10 with a visit to Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, PA. Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate. If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 40-Chase McDermand[4]; 2. 25K-Taylor Reimer[2]; 3. 60X-Kyle Jones[1]; 4. 97-Gavin Miller[3]; 5. 08-Cannon McIntosh[8]; 6. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[10]; 7. 19-Daison Pursley[6]; 8. 7U-Zach Daum[7]; 9. 29-Tim Buckwalter[13]; 10. 71-Jade Avedisian[5]; 11. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[9]; 12. 23-Preston Lattomus[11]; 13. 25-Steve Buckwalter[21]; 14. 76-Michael Smith[12]; 15. 17B-Austin Barnhill[14]; 16. 75-Michael Markey[17]; 17. 55-Trevor Cline[16]; 18. 98-Briggs Danner[18]; 19. 0W-Kevin Woody Jr[15]; 20. 50-Mark Sokol[20]; 21. 4-Ayden Hare[19]

TOPEKA, Kans. (Aug. 09, 2023) – Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy Chevrolet dragster team sit third in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series points standings as they head to the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park still looking for their first win of the season. Force sits 199 points behind the lead, 167 behind second place on the efforts of four No. 1 qualifying positions including the final event at Bandimere Speedway, the Mile High Nationals, where she set her 14th NHRA track speed record. “Headed to the final national event at Heartland Motorsports Park. I’m really sad to see it go away. That’s a racetrack I raced A-Fuel in the sportsman divisions and I had my first ever double up with my dad in 2021 there. It’s a very special track with a lot of memories,” Force said. “Our game plan going in with this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team is to go out on a strong note. We want to qualify top five and go some rounds on race day.” Force picked up her first victory at Heartland Motorsports Park in 2021 when she doubled up with her father, John Force, for the first parent-child victory in the professional categories. She qualified No. 1 in three of her nine appearances at Heartland Motorsports Park, in 2014, 2016 and 2021. In 2014 she and her sister Courtney Force shared No. 1 qualifying status with Courtney taking the Funny Car top spot. Last year, Brittany Force qualified sixth but had a first-round exit. The Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park begins with three rounds of qualifying Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will be air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

TOPEKA, Kans. (Aug. 09, 2023) – Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster team are on the path to success as they head to the next stop on the Camping World Drag Racing Series tour, the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Off the efforts of a win at the Four-Wide Nationals at Charlotte, a runner-up finish at the Winternationals at Pomona, California and the second No. 1 qualifying position of his career in Sonoma, California, Prock will start at Heartland Motorsports Park in sixth place in Camping World points but only 22 points out of third. Despite early exits during the famed Western Swing, Prock’s Montana Brand dragster has purely been victim to being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At both Seattle and Sonoma, Prock had the second-best passes of the rounds, unfortunately, he faced the drivers with the best runs. “I’m excited to get back in the seat of my Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster. We’ve had a great car the last few weekends and are looking to prove that to everyone this weekend,” Prock said. “John Force Racing has had a history of wins in Topeka and I would like to add our Montana Brand team to that list for the last stand at Heartland Motorsports Park. My team and crew chiefs are confident and so am I. Excited to see how the cards fall.” In his first start at Heartland Motorsports Park, Prock reached the semifinals after qualifying No. 3. Last year, after qualifying 14th, he lost to Josh Hart in the opening round. The Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park begins with three rounds of qualifying Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will be air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE AUGUST 11-12, 2023 CHEVROLET RACES BACK TO INDIANAPOLIS FOR THE GALLAGHER GRAND PRIX AT THE FAMED INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DETROIT (August 9, 2023) – For the second time this season, the Chevrolet drivers and teams of the NTT INDYCAR Series will compete on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of a triple-header event weekend with NASCAR’s Xfinity and Cup Series. With a stacked weekend on deck for the Bowtie brand, the INDYCAR Series will share its Saturday race day with the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Rain or shine, the Gallagher Grand Prix will showcase 85 laps, or 207.32 miles, of exciting open-wheel action Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network from Indianapolis. Defending winner of both the 2020 and 2021 events, as well as a two-time NTT P1 Pole Award winner in 2020 and 2021, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet said of the upcoming weekend, “I’m really excited to get to Indianapolis. It’s my favorite road course on the calendar, one that I’ve won five times and have a lot of pole positions. It’s always good racing. It’s also really cool to be on the same weekend as NASCAR. I think it helps both of us, and it’s a weekend I look forward to each year. It’s the only time I’ve seen them (our Chevrolet NASCAR teammates) at the same track, and it’s the only time it ever happens. It’s so cool to see those guys race, and they get to watch Indy cars go around on track. It’s awesome.” With three pole awards total to the Chevrolet brand (2020 – Will Power, 2021 – Pato O’Ward, and 2022 – Felix Rosenqvist), in addition to 18 podiums and 630 laps led on the road course, Team Chevy looks to the weekend with anticipation in capturing victory once again this year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Most recently, Arrow McLaren INDYCAR’s O’Ward and Alexander Rossi took to the second and third steps on the podium, respectively, in the spring event this year for the Bowtie brand banner. Rob Buckner, IndyCar Program Manager at General Motors, said “Returning to Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the second time this season is a welcome stop for most of the Chevrolet-powered teams that are based in and around Indy. Even though it is a very compressed two-day race schedule, it is a big opportunity for the teams to put their best foot forward.” “Over the years, Chevrolet has had great success on the road course at Indianapolis, but it is always a different set of challenges from spring to late summer. It’s a different time of year, so the track and air temperature will influence tire performance, which tasks our engineers to work closely with the Chevrolet-powered team engineers to get a solid setup package. We’ll also have different brands and compounds of tire rubber on the track throughout the weekend with NASCAR sharing the course, but changing track conditions aren’t unusual in the NTT INDYCAR Series and we are prepared for it.” Adding another element of excitement to the weekend, Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren INDYCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, and Chevrolet are proud to unveil his 2024 Indianapolis 500 car in Pagoda Plaza at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday, Aug. 13 at 11 a.m. ET. Leading the field to the green in Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix, the powerful white Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 convertible with black and yellow trim will pace the NTT INDYCAR Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course. Finally, the Team Chevy display will be open all weekend long at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, greeting both INDYCAR and NASCAR fans alike starting Friday, Aug. 11 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Power will join Team Penske teammates Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin on the Team Chevy stage in the midway Friday, Aug. 11 from 3:05 to 3:20 p.m. ET. Ed Carpenter Racing drivers Rinus VeeKay and Ryan Hunter-Reay will kick off Saturday’s appearances from 11:15 to 11:30 a.m. ET. Callum Ilott and rookie Agustin Canapino from Juncos Hollinger Racing will follow from 11:45 a.m. to noon ET. Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi, and Tony Kanaan of Arrow McLaren INDYCAR will appear from 12:30 to 12:45 p.m. ET prior to the race.  The Gallagher Grand Prix on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course starts with the first practice session on Friday, Aug. 11 at 9 a.m. ET, qualifications and the Firestone Fast Six on the same day at 12:30 p.m. ET. Wrapping Friday, the NTT INDYCAR Series sees a final practice session at 4 p.m. ET. Saturday’s 85-lap event takes the green flag live on USA Network at 2 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying will be live on Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 160.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“Back in May, we had the best performance we’ve ever had on the Indy road course. It will be awesome to go back to try and repeat that podium.” Felix Rosenqvist, No. 6 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”I’m happy to be back at our home track. We had a great race here in May with all three cars. I love this track, and we’ll do everything we can to have that same success and get that first win for the team.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Chevrolet at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:”Over the past few races, we’ve experienced a few struggles. But motorsport is never a straightforward journey; it’s a test of resilience. As we return to the site of our last podium, it reminds us that every race is an opportunity to learn and grow. We’re going to harness that past success “ Gavin Ward, Race Director at Arrow McLaren INDYCAR:“We’re back to the Indy road course this weekend where we had a strong outcome in May across the team. We know what it takes to race well here, so after a tough weekend in Nashville, we’re ready for our momentum to swing the other way as we head into the final races of the season.” Ryan Hunter-Reay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“It’s always special going to back to Indy! This will be my first attempt at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with ECR. I am looking forward to developing the team’s setup package there to suit my driving style.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Chevrolet at Ed Carpenter Racing:“I am very excited to get back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, can never have enough races there! I have had lots of firsts there, first Top 5, first pole, first win. It’s a great place for me! Hopefully we can get a little redemption from earlier this year, from the Indy 500, we’re just going a different direction this weekend. We learned a lot from the Indy GP during May that should help us now in August. It’s good to be back on a road course for the first time in a while, no crazy bumps on this one! It’s going to be exciting and hopefully it’s a really good race for us and BITNILE.COM!” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“I’m very much looking forward to this weekend at the Brickyard. I did race there last year, but in the Xfinity car not in the Indy car. It’s a lot of fun to be partnered with NASCAR on a race weekend and I wish we would do it more often. “I’m just a very big fan of the flow of the road course here at IMS. It has a little bit of everything from high-speed chicanes to low-speed hairpins with big brake zones. This track also races very well and we were pretty good here in May. This track is very similar to Road America and I think having a good rhythm here and understanding how to build the tire temperature for qualifying and then having a very good long-run car will be the key to getting a solid result.” Benjamin Pedersen, No. 55 Chevrolet at AJ Foyt Racing:“With the Gallagher Grand Prix this weekend at the Brickyard, I’m very excited to return to a very smooth, permanent road course. There have been a lot of street courses lately, and bumpy ovals such as Iowa, so happy to get back to Indianapolis. This track whether it’s the oval or the road course is always special in an Indy car. I look forward to seeing all the fans and reminiscing on the strong month of May we had.” “The last time we were there was very promising. Actually, we finished with the best car we had all week in the GP so we’re going to be starting with that package. It was definitely very competitive in the race. Unfortunately, we had to serve a penalty due to some radio issues and we got a couple laps down, so it didn’t show the pace that we had but we’re looking forward to redeeming ourselves this weekend.”

CHEVROLET AT INDIANAPOLIS (ROAD COURSE – V6 era, since 2012):Wins at Indianapolis Road Course: 92015: Will Power2016: Simon Pagenaud2017: Will Power2018: Will Power2019: Simon Pagenaud2020: Josef Newgarden (Race 2)2020: Will Power (Race 3)2021: Rinus VeeKay (Race 1)2021: Will Power (Race 2) Pole Awards at Indianapolis Road Course: 92015: Will Power2016: Simon Pagenaud2017: Will Power2018: Will Power2020: Will Power (Race 1)2020: Rinus VeeKay (Race 2)2020: Will Power (Race 3)2021: Pato O’Ward (Race 2)2022: Felix Rosenqvist (Race 2) Podiums at Indianapolis Road Course by Team Chevy since 2012: 18 total, 5 in the Fall (since adding a second event in 2020) Laps Led on the Indianapolis Road Course by Team Chevy since 2012: 630 total, 229 in the fall (since adding a second event in 2020).**Note: Will Power led every lap of 75 laps for Team Chevy in the 2020 INDYCAR Harvest Grand Prix Race 2.

2023 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:195: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  111: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.  125: Earned poles since 2012.  7: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  12: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 5: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 26: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.  14: Consecutive seasons with at least one win by Will Power, including the past 11 with Chevrolet power.  9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.  46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

ROBERT HIGHT AND CORNWELL TOOLS LOOKING FORPOINTS JUMP WITH VICTORY AT HEARTLAND MOTORSPORTS PARK

TOPEKA, Kans. (Aug. 09, 2023) – Robert Hight and the Cornwell Tools / AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS team are looking to build momentum as they head into this weekend’s Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Hight has three wins to his credit at Heartland Motorsports Park (2010, 2011 and 2019). The last two years Hight has ended his race day to boss and teammate John Force. Last year, he qualified second before facing Force in the semifinals. Hight was runner-up in 2013 and in 2018 when he lost to teammate Courtney Force in the first of four all-John Force Racing finals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Hight has also started from the No. 1 position four times in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010. “Winding down on the regular season as we head to Topeka. It’s a great race track, there should be a lot of quick runs, fast runs, hopefully the weather cooperates,” Hight said. “We’re not in a bad spot. This Cornwell Tools team, we’re in the top half but we know we need to give ourselves the best chance to be in the best position possible when the Countdown comes around. We’ve got some work to do these next couple of races, but I have no doubt we’ll be ready to get the job done. I have faith in Jimmy Prock and all of these guys.” Coming off a victory at the famed Night Under Fire match race at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, Hight is bidding to become just the fourth driver to win as many as four NHRA Funny Car championships (after Force, Kenny Bernstein and Don Prudhomme). Hight will start the race in fourth place in the Camping World Series points standings on the strength of wins at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals and the return of the national event in Chicago. The Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park begins with three rounds of qualifying Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will be air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

FOUNTAIN CITY, WI – August 9, 2023 – Class is back in session, and Milton Hershey School is bringing the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series to Mississippi Thunder Speedway to kick off an epic Labor Day Weekend doubleheader. 

The updated weekend schedule begins Friday, Sept. 1, at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, WI, for the now one-day Milton Hershey School Back to Class Showdown, paying $20,000-to-win and $1,500-to-start. 

Earlier this season, the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models battled in split-field Features at Mississippi Thunder, with Brandon Sheppard and Cade Dillard coming out on top, showing them the path to Victory Lane when the Series returns in September. 

The event initially scheduled on Thursday, Aug. 31 will no longer take place.

Another $20,000 is on the line Saturday, Sept. 2, when the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, MN, for the first time since 2019 for the Labor Day Duel.

Sheppard is the most recent winner in World of Outlaws competition at Deer Creek, besting a hard-charging Ricky Weiss in race’s closing stages. Series points leader Bobby Pierce scored a win at the track earlier this season and aims for another as he moves closer to his first World of Outlaws championship.

A total purse of $163,000 will be paid out across the two days. 

“Milton Hershey School has been a great World of Outlaws partner, and we’re excited to connect racing and the return of school through this event at Mississippi Thunder Speedway,” World of Outlaws CASE Late Model Series Director Steve Francis said. “It’s going to be a big weekend, for sure.”

 

CREW CHIEF, ROB FLYNN, FOCUSED ON COUNTDOWN

Event: 

Menards NHRA Nationals by PetArmor

            Heartland Motorsports Park; Topeka, Kansas

Scrappers Racing Competitors:

            Mike Salinas, Top Fuel

TOPEKA, Kan. (August 9, 2023) – Mike Salinas and the Scrappers Racing team set the top speed of the weekend at Sonoma Raceway during the first round of eliminations on Sunday morning. The Valley Services Top Fuel dragster posted a speed of 335.65 mph at 3.717 seconds to capture the Top Fuel category’s top speed. Salinas had Antron Brown in the other lane and unfortunately the top speed was not enough to see the win light as he lost to Brown on a holeshot.

But the Scrappers Racing team and specifically crew chief Rob Flynn, sees the number one qualifier earned in Seattle and that round one speed in Sonoma as positive momentum for the team and their performance as the Countdown approaches.

“When I look back, Seattle was good for us and we ran well and of course qualified low there,” said Rob Flynn. “When we made the first qualifying run at Sonoma, the car was running really good, but unfortunately we smoked the tires down track. But we thought we had the right setup to be ready for the night run and really thought we were going to be good, but our setup wasn’t where it needed to be. And then in the third qualifying round, we were back in the right lane and then in the final run, the car was running good.”

“As crew chiefs, we follow a path,” continued Flynn. “Last year, obviously we did really well. This year, we are making more power, which is obvious after the first round, but it’s been obvious for a long time. We just haven’t had the right setup. So going into first round at Sonoma, I just said, what we’re doing is we’re chasing this totally wrong because every time we do anything, it’s been spinning the tires. So for that first round in Sonoma, we just took a whole different path. We tuned it back up like we know it should be to run 335 and let the clutch slip and we knew it would run. And it did.”

At Heartland Motorsports Park last year, Salinas set the top ET of the event for Top Fuel with a time of 3.754 seconds. Salinas would make it to the semi-finals before losing. With the focus on the Countdown, Salinas and the Scrappers Racing team currently sit eighth in the point standings with three events prior to the resetting of the points. Flynn and his team are focused on the challenges at Topeka, but also getting positioned to begin the Countdown and the team’s quest for a championship.

“We’ve got nine races left and three prior to the Countdown,” said Flynn. “We have a test session after Brainerd and then get ready for the U.S. Nationals. After that, everything happens in a hurry. We’ve got six races in eight weekends so it’s pretty much crunch time. For the next six races anyway, then you see where everyone stands at that point. Last season, we were strong early and winning races prior to the Countdown, but this year we were trying not to peak too early in the year, but of course we didn’t want to struggle either. We’re going into this stretch with all our new parts and we know we’re a team capable of going rounds, winning races and contending in the Countdown.”

The NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsport Park will kick off with the first round of qualifying on Friday evening at 8:00 PM CT.

TOPEKA, Kans. (Aug. 09, 2023) – John Force’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car will have a special “Happy Birthday” message to PEAK’s parent company, Old World Industries, founder and Chairman Tom Hurvis at this weekend’s Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park, the final NHRA Camping World Series National event that will be held at the racetrack. To commemorate his 85th birthday that just passed on Monday, August 7th, the hood of Force’s Funny Car will feature Hurvis’ photo and recognize him as the “Ultimate PEAK Performer” alongside a “Happy 85th Birthday” message.   “I’m excited to have this tribute to Tom Hurvis on my car for his birthday. He’s an individual that built a great company with his partners. He’s unbelievable. I learn so much from him, I’m taking notes on how he’s building his legacy. The different foundations he works with to educate the youth. I read his book, which I’m glad I did because he quizzed me on it after,” Force said. “I have a lot of love and respect for him and his family. I want to make him proud with the way I drive this PEAK Camaro.” This will be the final national event hosted at Heartland Motorsports Park with the track closing at the end of the year. Force will hope to close the track with a third consecutive trip to the finals. Force has taken his PEAK Chevy to the final round the last two years, finishing runner-up in 2022 but winning alongside daughter Brittany Force in 2021 to make it the first time a parent-child duo had won together in the professional categories. “This has been a great racetrack for a lot of years. I know it’s not easy keeping a track going so I’m sad to see this one go,” Force said. “I have a lot of memories here, a lot of wins, but 2021 was special, to share the winner’s circle with my daughter, Brittany, that was something else, that was a dream. Maybe we can do it at Heartland Motorsports Park one more time. I have a fast race car, this PEAK Chevy, now it’s just about getting the job done.” John Force’s 10 career wins in Topeka include three in the spring race only contested from 1993 through 1997. He won both the spring and fall races in 1996, the year he was named Driver of the Year for all of motorsports after winning 13 of 19 starts. In addition to 1996 and 2021, his wins at the Menards Nationals came in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2008. Force has started from the No. 1 qualifying position seven times (1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2013). He also was the No. 1 qualifier in four of five years in the spring race (1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996).  The Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park begins with three rounds of qualifying Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Eliminations will begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the event will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with qualifying shows Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Eliminations will be air Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

Aug 4, 2023 | Featured, Julie Nataas, Race Results

Julie Nataas expands her points lead in the 2023 season driving Randy Meyer’s nitro-injected Top Alcohol Dragster after winning last weekend’s regional event held in Topeka, Kansas. This was Julie’s first win for the regional event; she won here for the first time last year for the Menards Heartland Nationals in 2022. Joining Julie on the team was Deni Jensen who was making her rookie debut after licensing earlier this year with the team.

Julie and Deni started off qualifying well but could not improve in the heat. Their pair of dragsters finished 3rd and 4th in standings, pairing them up for a first round face-off. Julie had the holeshot advantage and won with a 5.40 ET at 266 mph while Deni chased her down with a 5.43 ET at 264 mph. Julie went on to face Shane Conway in second round running her best pass of the weekend crossing the finish line with a 5.28 ET at 273 mph to pair her up against the number one qualifier, Aaron Cooper. Both cars slowed down in the final but Julie held on with her lead for the win with a 5.36 ET at 271 mph to Cooper’s 5.50 ET at 249 mph.

“It feels great winning the Kansas regional race knowing we’re going back here for the national,” said Julie. “When we won the Kansas regional race we also locked up the regional championship which means we only have the national championship to think about. Of course we would have liked the last regional win come earlier in the season so we could benefit from it in the national, but it’s not over yet. We won the Topeka national last year and I’m definitely looking to win it again and its going to be our last shot at it at this track. I want another sweep this season. This could be it. I know we can do it.”

The historic Heartland Motorsports Park will host it’s final NHRA drag racing event on August 11-13 for the Menards Heartland Nationals. Randy will have both Julie and Hunter Green driving his Top Alcohol Dragsters in hopes to collect their 5th national event win and 3rd consecutive win.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 9, 2023) – A year ago, Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its long-awaited return to Castle Rock Race Park in glorious, sell-out fashion. This weekend, the series will only build on that success by bringing twin A1 stories to the 29th CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers in Castle Rock, Washington, on Saturday, August 12. The headliners are obvious. Last year’s winner and Washington native, JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), arrives at the venue where he grew up racing with designs on winning a ninth TT in his most recent ten attempts. Meanwhile, reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) comes to Castle Rock holding a mere five-point advantage over up-and-coming challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) in their season-long struggle for the 2023 Grand National Championship. Those two storylines are intertwined as Beach’s TT excellence potentially positions him as a points buffer should either Mees or Daniels manage to get in front of him to slot between themself and their title rival. Such an outcome could prove the difference this season, particularly for Daniels who is desperate to make up the deficit ahead of September’s Springfield doubleheader finale. Daniels showed the outright pace to seriously challenge Beach at Castle Rock a year ago, only to have his chances end when his bike stalled off the start. Despite being forced to line up on the back row for the restart, the ascendant ace somehow slashed his way up to fourth on a track that proved extremely difficult to overtake on. Mees, meanwhile, used that fact to his advantage, holding another TT extraordinaire, Briar Bauman(No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), at bay to finish as the ‘22 race runner-up. Bauman, meanwhile, leads an impressive line-up of potential spoilers who could yet play a pivotal role in the championship battle. Others who have demonstrated the chops to run up front this weekend include another Washingtonian, three-time Castle Rock TT winner Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/Castrol Yamaha MT-07), and Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), the series’ all-time winningest TT rider. Meanwhile, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman(No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke) and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750) all registered top-ten results here a year ago and will no doubt look to push their way even further up the order in the ‘23 rematch. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER This weekend, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) will be presented with the rare opportunity to earn his first-career TT victory, tie Dallas Daniels’ record for most wins in a single Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER, and sew up his second-consecutive championship, all in front of his home crowd. All he has to do now is go out and win. If he does, all of the above are guaranteed to happen. Easier said than done, however. Kopp showcased the speed and style to stand atop the box here a year ago, but poor starts and a costly crash prevented it from transpiring. Now he returns motivated, confident, and boasting a 49-point advantage to work with. Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) took the victory and will be a favorite to fight up front again this time around. So too will Estenson Racing teammates, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who currently rank 2-3 in the points, respectively, after finishing 1-2 in the opposite order a couple weeks back at the Peoria TT. Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) all enjoyed strong outings at Castle Rock a year ago and there’s no reason to think they won’t be factors again this time around. Another rider to keep tabs on is the ultra-versatile Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GASGAS MC 450F), who makes his Progressive AFT return following a near-two-year absence. The multi-discipline hero already boasts two prior TT wins on his Hall of Fame worthy résumé and would only add to his legend by securing a third this weekend. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors and free motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), and there are a variety of General Admission Parking and Multi-Day Camping Passes options to select from. Pit Pass Upgrades are also available for purchase, which provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/sdiracing/events/castle-rock-tt-59623 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT). For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage of CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, August 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

Storylines Collide as Progressive AFT Invades Castle Rock

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 9, 2023) – A year ago, Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its long-awaited return to Castle Rock Race Park in glorious, sell-out fashion. This weekend, the series will only build on that success by bringing twin A1 stories to the 29th CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers in Castle Rock, Washington, on Saturday, August 12. The headliners are obvious. Last year’s winner and Washington native, JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), arrives at the venue where he grew up racing with designs on winning a ninth TT in his most recent ten attempts. Meanwhile, reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) comes to Castle Rock holding a mere five-point advantage over up-and-coming challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) in their season-long struggle for the 2023 Grand National Championship. Those two storylines are intertwined as Beach’s TT excellence potentially positions him as a points buffer should either Mees or Daniels manage to get in front of him to slot between themself and their title rival. Such an outcome could prove the difference this season, particularly for Daniels who is desperate to make up the deficit ahead of September’s Springfield doubleheader finale. Daniels showed the outright pace to seriously challenge Beach at Castle Rock a year ago, only to have his chances end when his bike stalled off the start. Despite being forced to line up on the back row for the restart, the ascendant ace somehow slashed his way up to fourth on a track that proved extremely difficult to overtake on. Mees, meanwhile, used that fact to his advantage, holding another TT extraordinaire, Briar Bauman(No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), at bay to finish as the ‘22 race runner-up. Bauman, meanwhile, leads an impressive line-up of potential spoilers who could yet play a pivotal role in the championship battle. Others who have demonstrated the chops to run up front this weekend include another Washingtonian, three-time Castle Rock TT winner Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/Castrol Yamaha MT-07), and Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), the series’ all-time winningest TT rider. Meanwhile, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman(No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke) and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750) all registered top-ten results here a year ago and will no doubt look to push their way even further up the order in the ‘23 rematch. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER This weekend, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) will be presented with the rare opportunity to earn his first-career TT victory, tie Dallas Daniels’ record for most wins in a single Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER, and sew up his second-consecutive championship, all in front of his home crowd. All he has to do now is go out and win. If he does, all of the above are guaranteed to happen. Easier said than done, however. Kopp showcased the speed and style to stand atop the box here a year ago, but poor starts and a costly crash prevented it from transpiring. Now he returns motivated, confident, and boasting a 49-point advantage to work with. Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) took the victory and will be a favorite to fight up front again this time around. So too will Estenson Racing teammates, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who currently rank 2-3 in the points, respectively, after finishing 1-2 in the opposite order a couple weeks back at the Peoria TT. Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) all enjoyed strong outings at Castle Rock a year ago and there’s no reason to think they won’t be factors again this time around. Another rider to keep tabs on is the ultra-versatile Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GASGAS MC 450F), who makes his Progressive AFT return following a near-two-year absence. The multi-discipline hero already boasts two prior TT wins on his Hall of Fame worthy résumé and would only add to his legend by securing a third this weekend. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors and free motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), and there are a variety of General Admission Parking and Multi-Day Camping Passes options to select from. Pit Pass Upgrades are also available for purchase, which provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/sdiracing/events/castle-rock-tt-59623 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT). For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage of CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, August 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

Storylines Collide as Progressive AFT Invades Castle Rock DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 9, 2023) – A year ago, Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its long-awaited return to Castle Rock Race Park in glorious, sell-out fashion. This weekend, the series will only build on that success by bringing twin A1 stories to the 29th CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers in Castle Rock, Washington, on Saturday, August 12.   The headliners are obvious. Last year’s winner and Washington native, JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), arrives at the venue where he grew up racing with designs on winning a ninth TT in his most recent ten attempts.   Meanwhile, reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) comes to Castle Rock holding a mere five-point advantage over up-and-coming challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) in their season-long struggle for the 2023 Grand National Championship.   Those two storylines are intertwined as Beach’s TT excellence potentially positions him as a points buffer should either Mees or Daniels manage to get in front of him to slot between themself and their title rival. Such an outcome could prove the difference this season, particularly for Daniels who is desperate to make up the deficit ahead of September’s Springfield doubleheader finale.   Daniels showed the outright pace to seriously challenge Beach at Castle Rock a year ago, only to have his chances end when his bike stalled off the start. Despite being forced to line up on the back row for the restart, the ascendant ace somehow slashed his way up to fourth on a track that proved extremely difficult to overtake on.   Mees, meanwhile, used that fact to his advantage, holding another TT extraordinaire, Briar Bauman(No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), at bay to finish as the ‘22 race runner-up.   Bauman, meanwhile, leads an impressive line-up of potential spoilers who could yet play a pivotal role in the championship battle. Others who have demonstrated the chops to run up front this weekend include another Washingtonian, three-time Castle Rock TT winner Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/Castrol Yamaha MT-07), and Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), the series’ all-time winningest TT rider.   Meanwhile, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman(No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke) and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750) all registered top-ten results here a year ago and will no doubt look to push their way even further up the order in the ‘23 rematch.   Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER   This weekend, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) will be presented with the rare opportunity to earn his first-career TT victory, tie Dallas Daniels’ record for most wins in a single Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER, and sew up his second-consecutive championship, all in front of his home crowd.   All he has to do now is go out and win. If he does, all of the above are guaranteed to happen. Easier said than done, however. Kopp showcased the speed and style to stand atop the box here a year ago, but poor starts and a costly crash prevented it from transpiring. Now he returns motivated, confident, and boasting a 49-point advantage to work with.   Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) took the victory and will be a favorite to fight up front again this time around. So too will Estenson Racing teammates, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who currently rank 2-3 in the points, respectively, after finishing 1-2 in the opposite order a couple weeks back at the Peoria TT.   Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) all enjoyed strong outings at Castle Rock a year ago and there’s no reason to think they won’t be factors again this time around.   Another rider to keep tabs on is the ultra-versatile Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GASGAS MC 450F), who makes his Progressive AFT return following a near-two-year absence. The multi-discipline hero already boasts two prior TT wins on his Hall of Fame worthy résumé and would only add to his legend by securing a third this weekend.   There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors and free motorcycle parking.   General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), and there are a variety of General Admission Parking and Multi-Day Camping Passes options to select from.   Pit Pass Upgrades are also available for purchase, which provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport.   Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/sdiracing/events/castle-rock-tt-59623 to reserve your seats today.   Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT).   For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv.   FOX Sports coverage of CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, August 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (August 9, 2023) – A year ago, Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, made its long-awaited return to Castle Rock Race Park in glorious, sell-out fashion. This weekend, the series will only build on that success by bringing twin A1 stories to the 29th CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers in Castle Rock, Washington, on Saturday, August 12. The headliners are obvious. Last year’s winner and Washington native, JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), arrives at the venue where he grew up racing with designs on winning a ninth TT in his most recent ten attempts. Meanwhile, reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle king Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750) comes to Castle Rock holding a mere five-point advantage over up-and-coming challenger Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) in their season-long struggle for the 2023 Grand National Championship. Those two storylines are intertwined as Beach’s TT excellence potentially positions him as a points buffer should either Mees or Daniels manage to get in front of him to slot between themself and their title rival. Such an outcome could prove the difference this season, particularly for Daniels who is desperate to make up the deficit ahead of September’s Springfield doubleheader finale. Daniels showed the outright pace to seriously challenge Beach at Castle Rock a year ago, only to have his chances end when his bike stalled off the start. Despite being forced to line up on the back row for the restart, the ascendant ace somehow slashed his way up to fourth on a track that proved extremely difficult to overtake on. Mees, meanwhile, used that fact to his advantage, holding another TT extraordinaire, Briar Bauman(No. 3 Parts Plus/Jacob Companies KTM 790 Duke), at bay to finish as the ‘22 race runner-up. Bauman, meanwhile, leads an impressive line-up of potential spoilers who could yet play a pivotal role in the championship battle. Others who have demonstrated the chops to run up front this weekend include another Washingtonian, three-time Castle Rock TT winner Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/Castrol Yamaha MT-07), and Henry Wiles (No. 17 BriggsAuto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750), the series’ all-time winningest TT rider. Meanwhile, Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman(No. 37 Fastrack Racing/2 Wheelz KTM 790 Duke) and Ben Lowe (No. 25 Rackley Racing/Mission Foods Indian FTR750) all registered top-ten results here a year ago and will no doubt look to push their way even further up the order in the ‘23 rematch. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER This weekend, Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F) will be presented with the rare opportunity to earn his first-career TT victory, tie Dallas Daniels’ record for most wins in a single Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER, and sew up his second-consecutive championship, all in front of his home crowd. All he has to do now is go out and win. If he does, all of the above are guaranteed to happen. Easier said than done, however. Kopp showcased the speed and style to stand atop the box here a year ago, but poor starts and a costly crash prevented it from transpiring. Now he returns motivated, confident, and boasting a 49-point advantage to work with. Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) took the victory and will be a favorite to fight up front again this time around. So too will Estenson Racing teammates, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), who currently rank 2-3 in the points, respectively, after finishing 1-2 in the opposite order a couple weeks back at the Peoria TT. Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-F), Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450), Aiden RoosEvans (No. 26 A1R Racing/FRA Trust Honda CRF450R), and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) all enjoyed strong outings at Castle Rock a year ago and there’s no reason to think they won’t be factors again this time around. Another rider to keep tabs on is the ultra-versatile Ryan Sipes (No. 264 Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull GASGAS MC 450F), who makes his Progressive AFT return following a near-two-year absence. The multi-discipline hero already boasts two prior TT wins on his Hall of Fame worthy résumé and would only add to his legend by securing a third this weekend. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained at the track on Saturday as well, including numerous vendors and free motorcycle parking. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), and there are a variety of General Admission Parking and Multi-Day Camping Passes options to select from. Pit Pass Upgrades are also available for purchase, which provide all-day access to the pits where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/sdiracing/events/castle-rock-tt-59623 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT). For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FansChoice.tv is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage of CertainTeed Castle Rock TT presented by Law Tigers, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, August 20, at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

TOPEKA, Kan. (August 9, 2023) – After a tremendous performance in Denver, the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team will roll into Heartland Motorsports Park prepared to continue their hot streak this weekend at the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor. This will be the last time that the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series competes at this iconic facility and everyone has their sights set on nabbing that final Wally.  Troy Coughlin Jr. leads the Elite Motorsports team in points as he’s currently sitting in third place thanks to a win in Denver in his JEGS.com / White Castle Camaro. He also won the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge at the event, so he’s in a great position heading into the competition this weekend. Coughlin won the national event in Topeka last year and hopes to make it two in a row.  Five-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders has been on quite an upswing as of late. She got her second No. 1 qualifier of the season in Denver and she’s eager to parlay that momentum into a stellar performance in front of the midwest fans. Thanks to a semifinal finish in Denver, she will join her teammate Coughlin in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge during qualifying on Saturday.  Aaron Stanfield, driving the Janac Brothers Racing / JC3 Energy Services / Melling Engine Parts Camaro, and Bo Butner, the driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro, have both been on the verge of nabbing a win this season. They feel positive after spending time fine-tuning their programs during a gap in their competition schedule. Their teammate, rookie driver Jerry Tucker, is looking for the same in his Outlaw Mile Hi Light Beer Camaro.  The Cuadra Boys, featuring patriarch Fernando Cuadra Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr., Cristian and David, will all be competing in their Corral Boots Mustangs. They spent time testing in Tulsa during the break, making runs as late as 1:00 AM in order to avoid the daytime heat. As they examined their runs, they found opportunities for improvement that they are excited to put into practice this weekend in Topeka.  There are only three races left in the regular season, so points are at a premium. The competition will be fierce this weekend and Elite Motorsports is as ready as they’ve ever been to face that competition head-on.  In the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, the Patterson-Elite team is ready to show up in full force for an exciting weekend of racing. The team includes Jay Storey, who recently won in both Stock Eliminator and Super Stock at a Division 5 Points Meet in Topeka. Also competing in Super Stock are Aydan Patterson, A.J. Patterson, Ryan Montford and Tim Nicholson. Kent Claassen will compete in Stock Eliminator while Allen Firestone, Kyle Firestone and Mike Morehead are competing in the Top Sportsman category.  Competition for the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented By PetArmor will run from Friday, August 11 to Sunday, August 13 at Heartland Motorsports Park.  ***

Driver Quotes

Erica Enders”Topeka has been good to me and our team in the past. It’s close to our shop in Oklahoma, so we always have a lot of friends, family and Elite racers competing in this event, in all classes. The summer swing is winding down and it’s time to get serious. Topeka would be a great race for us to get our second win of the season, to set the pace for the rest of the year. Being the last race at Heartland Motorsports Park, it would make a win that much more special as well. We’ve had a bit of time and my guys and I are fresh and ready. We’ve tested, spent time in the engine shop, and are ready to go show the world why we are Team Elite.”

Aaron Stanfield“We’ve been working hard during this break in the schedule and we are ready to give it everything we’ve got in Topeka. This part of the season gets really heated as everyone is trying to get a spot in the Countdown to the Championship. I’m looking forward to the competition.”

Troy Coughlin Jr.“Team Yellow is ready and excited as always! A lot of hard work has been done during the time off and we’re ready to put it to use! We love the process and the journey! Hopefully, we can repeat what we did in Topeka last year and land this JEGS.com Camaro in the winners circle!”

Bo Butner“Last year, we almost got the win in Topeka in Super Gas, and Randi Lyn [Stock Eliminator racer and wife] has been to the final here a couple of times. It seems like this is a track that almost wants us to win, but there’s always been something holding us back at the national events. This is our last time coming here, so of course you want to win. You always want to bring home the trophy, and we’ve been waiting for our Pro Stock win for JHG a long time. It’s been coming, and it would be great to get it done this weekend. Topeka is a track we need to check off our list before it’s gone, and this is our last chance, so a win there would be very special.”

Fernando Cuadra Sr.“Much of this break was spent on testing, trying to learn new things and improve our performance. I’m feeling positive about Topeka and I think it’s going to be a great weekend!”

Fernando Cuadra Jr.“We’ve been learning a lot this season and the time we spent testing during this break has definitely helped us. It went so well, that now I’m feeling really excited about putting it all into action this weekend. I’m like a kid on Christmas morning!”

Cristian Cuadra“I’m currently in ninth place in the points. But I’m going to have to work hard to stay in the Top Ten as the competition is getting intense. Our crew is amazing and I’m excited to do my job on the track.”

David Cuadra“Going back and forth between Top Sportsman and Pro Stock has given me a really unique perspective. I intend to use that to my advantage in Topeka. The competition is going to be tough but I’ve got a positive mindset and we are ready to go far.”

Jerry Tucker“I’m feeling more comfortable behind the wheel with every round, and this crew is absolutely phenomenal. It’s getting down to crunch time right now and everyone is hustling to land in the Top Ten. It’s an honor to have Outlaw Beer riding with us once again as we roll into Heartland Park.”

Photos