March 8, 2023

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging team, along with their peers in NASCAR’s Cup Series, will run their first race under the circuit’s new rules for short track races in this weekend’s United Rentals 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

Brian Wilson, crew chief of the No. 21 DEX team, expects the new aero package to bring substantial changes to racing on the shorter tracks like the one-mile oval in the Arizona desert.

“The biggest storyline this week will be the new short-track aero package,” Wilson said. “This includes a large reduction in the rear spoiler as well as multiple changes to the under body. 

“The result is much less overall downforce on the car. Everyone expects that the cars will be a handful for the drivers, which should lead to passing opportunities and a great race.”

Wilson said the DEX Imaging team will have data to rely on in preparing their Mustang for the weekend at Phoenix.

“Through Ford we’ve received all the wind tunnel information we need to know what to expect when we unload for the extended practice time at Phoenix,” he said, adding that he and the team also can look back to their notes from the season finale last year.

“Last fall’s race at Phoenix was a great end to the season for the No. 21 team. We qualified sixth and raced in the top 20 for most of the day. We’ll look to build off those notes this weekend.”
 
Wilson also said that he and the DEX team, as well as most others in the garage, will have this year’s fall race at Phoenix – the championship-deciding season finale – on their minds as they compete this weekend.

“Everyone knows how important Phoenix is in the fall, so with our Team Penske alliance we’ll collect as much information as we can to ensure a Ford victory this weekend and when we return for the Championship,” he said.

A practice session is set to start at 4:35 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (6:35 p.m. Eastern Time) on Friday. FOX Sports 2 will pick up the TV coverage.

Qualifying is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. with FOX Sports 1 carrying the TV coverage beginning at 2:05 p.m. Eastern.

The 500-kilometer (312-mile) United Rentals 500 is scheduled to get the green flag just after 12:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time) on Sunday with TV coverage on FOX.

Stage breaks are planned for Laps 60 and 185. 

 

WRAPPING UP OUT WESTCarrying the momentum from three consecutive trips to victory lane, Chevrolet drivers and teams in the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) will head to Phoenix Raceway for the final stop of the western swing. The one-mile Arizona tri-oval will not only host the first short-track race of 2023, but also feature the highly anticipated debut of a new aerodynamic rules package that will be run on the series’ short ovals and road courses this season.  Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 will mark the NCS’s 54th appearance at Phoenix Raceway. Chevrolet is heading to the venue with a series-leading 25 wins. The manufacturer’s most recent NCS win at the track came in November 2021 when Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson clinched Chevrolet’s 33rd driver’s championship in NASCAR’s premier series.  The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will also make the trek to Avondale, Arizona, with Saturday’s United Rentals 200 kicking-off the doubleheader race weekend. Both series will take on Phoenix Raceway twice this season with the venue returning as the site of NASCAR’s championship weekend for the fourth consecutive season.

CHEVROLET LOOKING TO GO FOUR-FOR-FOURHendrick Motorsports’ William Byron continued Chevrolet’s early-season success by leading the manufacturer to its third consecutive NCS victory of 2023 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 25-year-old North Carolina native became the third driver from the third different Chevrolet team to collect a win in NASCAR’s premier series this season.

“I think since the beginning of last year, Chevrolet has had a really good product, a really good car,” said Rudy Fugle, crew chief of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team. “That group just did a really good job of giving us a good body. We have great engines. Either camp you get engines, they work together.” Byron joins fellow Chevrolet drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1) and Kyle Busch (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1) on the season’s win list, making it the first time since 2010 that the same manufacturer has won the first three points-paying races of a NCS season. Chevrolet was the last manufacturer to accomplish that feat with wins recorded by Jamie McMurray (Daytona – Feb. 14, 2010) and Jimmie Johnson (Fontana – Feb. 21, 2010; Las Vegas – Feb. 28, 2010). “We’ve got good teams and the teams are working together better now than we ever have,” continued Fugle. “I think there’s something to be said for that. Eric Warren (Chevrolet’s Director of NASCAR Programs) is pushing all of that. Just really proud of the Chevrolet bunch and how they’re pushing us to work together to get better as a group.”

BOWTIE’S BACK-TO-BACK PODIUM SWEEPSWilliam Byron not only led Hendrick Motorsports to its first NCS win of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but also a sweep of the top-three finishing positions. Kyle Larson (No. 5 HendrickCars.comCamaro ZL1) took the checkered flag in the runner-up position with Alex Bowman (No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1) finishing third, marking the third time in the organization’s history that the Chevrolet team swept the top-three spots in a race. The organization’s last podium sweep happened at Dover Motor Speedway in May 2021, with the team taking it one step further to place all four of its drivers in the top four (Bowman – race winner; Larson – second; Chase Elliott – third; Byron – fourth).  Chevrolet has now taken the top-three finishing positions in two of the three points-paying NCS races this season, with the manufacturer also claiming a one-two-three-four finish at Auto Club Speedway just one week prior.

WEEKEND SWEEP IN THE DESERTThe Bowtie brand took control of the tripleheader race weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, claiming the victories across all three NASCAR national series races at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval last weekend.

In his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCTS) start of the season, Kyle Busch drove his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) Silverado RST to the win, extending Busch’s series-leading NCTS win count to 63. The triumph also marked KBM’s first win under the Chevrolet banner after the organization joined the manufacturer at the beginning of 2023.

NXS points leader Austin Hill became the first repeat winner of the season, taking his No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS team to victory lane in Saturday’s NXS Alsco Uniforms 300.

William Byron’s win in Sunday’s NCS Pennzoil 400 capped off Chevrolet’s weekend sweep. The victory was Byron’s first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and his fifth career victory in 183 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

On three separate occasions in 2022, Chevrolet drivers powered the Bowtie brand to a weekend sweep when all three NASCAR national series contested on the same weekend: NCTS at Mid-Ohio (July 9, 2022): Parker Kligerman, No. 75 Henderson Motorsports Silverado RSTNXS at Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 9, 2022): Austin Hill, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SSNCS at Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 10, 2022): Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 NCTS at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (July 29, 2022): Grant Enfinger, No. 23 GMS Racing Silverado RSTNXS at Indianapolis Road Course (July 30, 2022): AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro, SSNCS at Indianapolis Road Course (July 31, 2022): Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 NCTS at Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 2, 2022): Matt DiBenedetto, No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. Silverado RSTNXS at Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 2, 2022): AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Camaro SSNCS at Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 3, 2022): Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1

WINNING WAYS WITH RCRWith the 2023 season in full swing, a common force has been at the top of the leaderboard: Richard Childress Racing. The Chevrolet team has made it’s way to victory lane in either the NCS or NXS in each of the first three race weekends this season. The impressive streak started with Austin Hill’s win in the NXS season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, marking the 28-year-old Georgia native’s second consecutive triumph in the event. The following weekend, Kyle Busch claimed the win at Auto Club Speedway in just his second points-paying start with the organization. Most recently, Hill became the first repeat winner of the NXS season, making a last-lap pass to take the victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With a combined three wins and two drivers already locked into a playoff spot in their respective series, Richard Childress Racing is proving to be an early force to be reckoned with this season.  PACING IN THE STANDINGSTrackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain took over the top spot in the NCS points standings following a third-place finish at Auto Club Speedway, marking the first time in his career that he has led the standings in NASCAR’s premier series. Chastain will head to Phoenix Raceway maintaining the lead after accumulating points in both stages and taking home a 12th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Other Chevrolet drivers holding a top-five position in the standings are Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez, sitting in the second and fourth positions, respectively. Bowman and Suarez are the only two drivers that have yet to finish outside of the top-10 in the series’ first three races this season.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       NASCAR Cup Series victories by active Chevrolet drivers at Phoenix Raceway: Kyle Busch – 3 (2019, 2018, 2005)Kyle Larson – 1 (2021)Chase Elliott – 1 (2020) ·       In 53 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Phoenix Raceway, Chevrolet has recorded a series-leading 25 victories. Chevrolet team Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at the track with 12, recorded among seven drivers: Terry Labonte (1994), Kyle Busch (2005), Jeff Gordon (2007, 2011), Jimmie Johnson (2007, 2008 sweep, 2009), Mark Martin (2009), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2015), Chase Elliott (2020) and Kyle Larson (2021). ·       William Byron delivered Chevrolet its third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, making it the first time since 2010 that the same manufacturer has won the first three points-paying races of a NCS season. ·       Chevrolet’s first three NASCAR Cup Series wins of 2023 have been recorded by drivers from three different Chevrolet teams: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (JTG Daugherty Racing), Kyle Busch (Richard Childress Racing) and William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports). ·       Chevrolet drivers swept the top-three finishing positions for the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race. Hendrick Motorsports recorded a one-two-three finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking the third time in the organization’s history to accomplish that feat. ·       Chevrolet drivers have taken at least 50 percent of the top-10 finishing positions in each of the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of 2023, with at least three different Chevrolet teams contributing to the manufacturer’s top-10 finishes in each of those races. ·       Chevrolet drivers Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez are the only two drivers to record top-10 finishes in each of the first three NASCAR Cup Series races this season.  ·       With three races in the books for the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, Chevrolet leads the manufacturer and driver points standings in both series. The reigning Manufacturer Champion leads the NCS manufacturer points standings by 22 points, while also leading the NXS manufacturer points standings by nine points. ·       With its 41 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer’s Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s Championships, and 836 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.  ·       Chevrolet will pace the field at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. The Camaro SS will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday’s United Rentals 200 and the Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500.  FOR THE FANS·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Phoenix Raceway. ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles the Fan Midway including: Silverado ZR2, Blazer RS, Silverado 1500 2LT, Camaro ZL1, Corvette 2LT Convertible, Tahoe Z71 and Equinox 1LT.·       Fans can also view Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Camaro ZL1 show car at the Chevrolet Display in the Fan Midway. Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Saturday, March 11·       Parker Kligerman: 12:30 p.m.·       Daniel Hemric: 12:45 p.m.·       Chandler Smith: 1 p.m. ·       BJ McLeod: 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12·       Daniel Suarez: 9:15 a.m.·       Corey LaJoie: 9:30 a.m.·       William Byron: 9:55 a.m.·       Ty Dillon: 10:15 a.m. Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: Friday, March 10: 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.Saturday, March 11: 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12: 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.Tune In: ·       NASCAR Cup Series – United Rentals Work United 500; 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12(FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).·       NASCAR Xfinity Series – United Rentals 200; 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 11(FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

QUOTABLE QUOTES:  ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1How do you feel going into Phoenix this weekend?“We’ve been back to Phoenix since the fall race last year and tested with NASCAR. We’ll have a different aero package with less downforce that we’ll be working through this weekend. It’s a steep hill we are going to have climb to be as competitive as we were in the fall at Phoenix. It’s going to feel like a different racecar this weekend. I think the topic will be how much less downforce we all have and how much we are all sliding around. We will find out if it actually makes the racing better.” Qualifying was admittedly a challenge last year. Anything different at Phoenix this year?“I just try to wrap my head around putting the car at the limit for one lap. Its high risk, but it is high reward to start up front. Last fall at Phoenix it obviously took us a while to get up front and we don’t want that to happen again.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM MARCH MATCHUPS CAMARO ZL1 What are your thoughts on Phoenix Raceway?“Our RCR teams have had a strong start to the 2023 season and we’re looking to keep the momentum up this weekend. Phoenix Raceway is a tough short track and one of those places where you hit it, or you don’t. This track is challenging. I’m looking forward to it though because it’s such a fun track for drivers. It could be a good place for the No. 3 BetMGM team.” How do you feel about the whole West Coast swing?“I like the West Coast swing. The first race can be pretty tough. I usually come back home after that one, but my family and I stay out between Las Vegas and Phoenix. It’s a fun trip for us. We get some good racing in to start the season. You can really see and evaluate where you are at compared to the competition. We get to race on three different types of tracks. Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway are all quite different. It’s a good start to the season on the West Coast.” Phoenix Raceway can bore a lot of fruit for the end of the season since that is where the Championship race is held. How important is Phoenix Raceway’s Spring race for the end of the season?“Our goal is to get to the Championship, so Phoenix Raceway should be a very important race for us. I want to go out there and perform. Phoenix Raceway hasn’t been a great place for us recently, so we’ve got to get our cars better for that type of track.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Larson on racing at Phoenix Raceway: “I enjoy Phoenix (Raceway). 2021 was a great ending for us there, getting the win and (NASCAR Cup Series) championship. I feel like we’re usually on the cusp of being able to lead laps and win races there. It’s a unique track. Different than any other race track we go to. The shape of it, the size of it, the banking, etc. is unique to Phoenix. I also bought a place out here (Scottsdale) a handful of months ago, so it’s kind of like a home race for me now and I really enjoy going there.” CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1Daniels on the benefit of extra track time at Phoenix: “This past Sunday was good for us. I really felt like we would have had a great day in California but unfortunately, we missed out on that. Taking the momentum that we’ve had of those good performances (and) a little bit of confidence built from Vegas will be good going into Phoenix. Phoenix is still going to be a big unknown with the new package. None of the Hendrick (Motorsports) cars got to test in January with the new package. We haven’t had our hands on it or been able to touch it and feel it at the track. We will have to make best use of our practice time at the track on Friday and hopefully get it dialed in.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1 How critical are managing the restarts at Phoenix?“Phoenix restarts are fun, they’re challenging but fun. You know you have that big, wide front straightaway where the dogleg is that you can go all the way to the flat down on the apron and be five, six, seven wide or whatever and then you have to funnel down into a two-wide turn. That gets a little dicey but you know it’s cool when you can run different lines and kind of be out of the crowd a little bit and make some passes on some restarts and get some positions on that. I’ve been fortunate to be fast on some restarts in years past and that kind of helps me get some spots right off the bat on a restart. And then you kind of settle in line and you go racing from there.”  Is it easy to get a speeding penalty on pit road at Phoenix?“To me I don’t think speeding on pit road is that easy or different at Phoenix versus Bristol or Martinsville or even Richmond for that matter. The timing lines are all pretty well written out and you kind of have an idea of what you’re supposed to do when you roll through the corners and stuff like that but yeah it’s a little dicey with having to lower and raise your speed for the different sections of pit road. I think that’s where the good guys really excel and I feel like I’m one of those good guys.” JOSH BERRY, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1Berry on preparing for Phoenix: “Alan (Gustafson) and the entire team have been great to work with this week in getting me prepared for Phoenix (Raceway). Last week was a last-minute situation and my first time in a Next Gen, so to get the opportunity this week to be at the shop and sit down and talk through a lot of things with everyone on the team has been extremely helpful. This is still a really difficult situation and we’re all thinking about Chase (Elliott). We want him back and healthy as soon as he’s able. In the meantime, I’m thankful for the opportunity to fill in for him on the ovals.” ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1Gustafson on preparing for Phoenix with Josh Berry: “This week there’s still been a lot of work to do, but we have a much better idea of what Josh needs for the cockpit, his seat and everything around that. Just going through all of that and being able to spend some time with Josh has been good. Having driven this car is the biggest thing for him and we’re now going to be more prepared heading to Phoenix (Raceway). Having that practice will be a big deal. Having those 50 minutes will help a bunch because we don’t really know his tendencies and driving style – what he would need relative to some of the other drivers. It will be nice to get that time and be able to draw some correlation and understanding.” AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 ACTION INDUSTRIES CAMARO ZL1“Phoenix will be interesting with the new, lower downforce aero package they are coming out with. Practice will be very important to go out there and get a good feel for it with the new car. I felt like we learned a few things in the fall race last year, so hopefully we can take what we learned and match it up with the aero package and try to make our short track program better. I felt like that was our weakness last year, so we are definitely going to focus hard on that to get ready for the short tracks we have coming up.” WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1Byron on the importance of track position at Phoenix: “I think that the craziest thing at Phoenix (Raceway) is the restarts. It’s all about lane choice and setting yourself heading into turn one. Track position is important throughout the whole race. Once you lose it, it’s hard to gain it back. We’ll be running the new short-track package for the first time this weekend and I’ll be interested to see how it does since I wasn’t one of the drivers to test it earlier this year. We have momentum on our side after the win last week, but we want to keep that going for sure.” RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1Fugle on what he expects for this weekend at Phoenix: “I’m interested to see how this weekend goes. We have a very small taste of what happened at the organizational test that happened in January. They never tested exactly what we’re racing. We don’t know what to expect honestly. It’s like a simulation game and we hope we just have all the right information to work from. We’ll do our best to make all our changes during practice Friday.” JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1“As an organization, Phoenix is one of our weaker tracks, but it’s also a track that you have to go into with a new mindset. Phoenix is always changing, due to the resin formula, as well as the new, short-track package, so there are some unknowns going into the weekend. I feel like we’ve had decent speed at Phoenix in the past, so hopefully we are able to get a feel for the track early and execute.” NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKER RESORTS CAMARO ZL1“I’ve had some great success at Phoenix and we have some good notes from the No. 43’s test earlier this year. We had a tough race in Vegas last week and have some things to work on, but I love going to Phoenix and have had some really great runs there. We need a solid weekend – a good qualifying session and a good race – and that is our focus.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 ALLEGIANT CAMARO ZL1You and your team were able to test back in January. What are some key takeaways from your time spent in the session to help your team prepare for this weekend?“Yeah, hopefully we are able to take some of what we learned from the test there as far as this new aero package goes. It’s nice to have some at least have some laps on it compared to the rest of the field and have somewhat of an idea of how the car is going to drive and handle. We did a couple of long runs as well at the test, so we have a baseline of where our car is going to trend. You know, Phoenix was a tough track for our LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team last year, but we got better in the second race, so hopefully with some of this extra knowledge, we can go out there and have a solid run with the No. 43 Allegiant Chevy.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 THOMAS’ CAMARO ZL1 “Phoenix, not real sure there’s a lot that is new with the downforce package. We have some notes from the test, and we have some ideas that should make us good. We will see how it shakes out in practice.” ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1Bowman on his expectations heading to Phoenix: “We have started off this season really strong and Phoenix (Raceway) is a place I have circled on my calendar. I ran good there once and haven’t had that kind of performance since then, so I am always eager to get back there and try to find success with it being my home track. Blake (Harris) and I are doing all we can to get ready for the race. I know the team is putting in the work to get our No. 48 Ally Chevy ready to hit the track. I am just ready to get hit the track and get my redemption.” BLAKE HARRIS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1Harris on the start of the 2023 season: “When you look back at the start of our season, it starts with Daytona (International Speedway). We missed all the wrecks and scored some good stage points – it was a good points day. At the last two intermediates, we have had a lot of speed in our race cars. We had a solid day on pit road in Las Vegas. Having fast race cars and track position is really giving us the chance to capitalize early in the season. We focused on execution throughout the races and have been able to stay up front. We have scored stage points in every stage expect one at Daytona. Being able to get a top 10 in the first three points races this season is really important. You have to be able to score stage points and have to have good finishes to put yourself in a prime position to make the playoffs, which is our focus. That is certainly something we plan on continuing at Phoenix (Raceway). Our expectation is to run in the top 10 and be able to capitalize at the end of the race.” DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1How is your season so far?“We are off to a good start. We have had rocket ships at most of the races. You can always be better, but Trackhouse Racing is giving us great equipment and our pit stops have been really fast this season.” Three top-10s in three races. Is a top-10 the expectation in each race now?”“No. It’s to win.”How helpful will be Friday’s practice in Phoenix?“It will be helpful for everyone as we try to get used to the new low downforce package and try to get into a rhythm. I don’t really have an answer on what is going to happen. It’s going to be different but we won’t know until Friday.” How do you feel the response has been to you as far as attracting your fellow Hispanics into the sport? But how much do you think you have helped being at the Cup level?“You know, it helps a lot. I’ve been doing this already for several years. I have noticed that every year, with a lot of work from myself, NASCAR, my sponsors, the racetracks, the Daniel’s Amigos, every year we get better, every year we have a bigger community on the track. “But something I learned is that consistent work is paying off, is getting better. But success on track just brings it to a whole different level. At the end of the day you are going to be way more attached to something if you know that your guy and your person that is just like you – in my case obviously Hispanic – is being successful. In my opinion, winning races, being in the Playoffs, contending almost every weekend, that played a huge role.  “And in my opinion, 2022 has been the biggest step I have seen in my racing career in Cup when it comes to the Hispanic community. So it’s amazing. I feel like we are in a huge momentum right now. Obviously 2023 we’re expecting to be an even more successful season.  “I think myself, NASCAR, Coca-Cola, Freeway Insurance and all the people that helped me put these things together, we are definitely moving the needle.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2022): 41First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2023 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 3Poles: 1Laps Led: 425Top-five finishes: 9Top-10 finishes: 16Stage wins: 5·       Ross Chastain – 3 (Daytona)(Auto Club x2)·       William Byron – 2 (Las Vegas x2)  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 836 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 735Laps led to date: 245,969Top-five finishes to date: 4,230Top-10 finishes to date: 8,728                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,170           Chevrolet: 836           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 820                                                                      Ford: 720           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 170

Photo Credit: Jared Tilton/Getty Images

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track is thrilled to announce that NASCAR superstar Kurt Busch will serve as the Grand Marshal for the DAYTONA Short Track I & II presented by Daytona Dodge on Thursday, March 9, and Friday, March 10, in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, who most recently drove the #45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing, knows exactly what it takes to reign supreme at Daytona International Speedway. Chief among the extensive list of accomplishments he’s garnered during a lifetime of racing is his 2017 DAYTONA 500 victory. In addition to his NASCAR Cup title and DAYTONA 500 victory, Busch boasts 34 Cup victories, has won in all three of NASCAR’s top divisions – the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series – and was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year in 2014. The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 andFriday, March 10. Get your tickets now at https://www.tixr.com/promoters/americanflattrack. For those that can’t catch the live action from Daytona International Speedway, 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 Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere onFS1 from the Daytona Short Track I on March 18 at 10:30am ET (7:30am PT) and Daytona Short Track II on March 19 at 12:30pm ET (9:30am PT).

Inside Line Promotions – FRESNO, Calif. (March 8, 2023) – Dominic Scelzi is bound for Arizona this weekend to start the 2023 campaign.

Scelzi will make his debut at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande during an ASCS Southwest Region doubleheader running Friday and Saturday.

“I’m excited to get the season underway and to return to the state of Arizona, where we had a great trip last winter,” he said. “Jimmy (Carr) and the guys have worked hard so we hope to start the season by running up front right out of the box.”

Scelzi swept an ASCS Southwest Region two-day event at Cocopah Speedway last November during his most recent trip to Arizona. It marked his first-ever visit to Victory Lane in ‘The Grand Canyon State.’

“It was a great weekend that put us in double digits in terms of wins last season,” he said. “It also was special to add another state to our wins list. The goal is to continue that fortune this Friday and Saturday.”

This weekend will serve as an opportunity for Scelzi to knock the offseason rust off so to speak with marquee events in his home state of California on the horizon. The NARC 410 Sprint Car Series starts the season on March 18 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for the $6,000-to-win Mini Gold Cup followed by the High Limit Sprint Car Series season opener on March 21 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, where the feature winner will earn $23,023.

“We’ve won the NARC championship the last two years and will return to the series this year to go after another title,” Scelzi said. “The High Limit event will be neat as well. Racing in Chico and Tulare is always a blast so I can’t wait for both of those big events.”

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Ariz., with the ASCS Southwest Region

The Rookie of the Year Contender will have the benefit of receiving guidance from veteran teammate Jimmy Owens

MARYVILLE, TN– March 8, 2023 – Jordan Koehler’s racing career took a significant jump in 2023.  

Not an easy one. But he knew that going in. 

The Mount Airy, NC driver took the step from regional Crate Late Model racing to a national tour with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series this year, driving the #114 Longhorn for Koehler Motorsports. 

“Everything’s just a lot faster, and the competition’s a lot tougher,” Koehler said about his new venture. “It still is in Crates; it’s just that everybody has good stuff here, so you’re racing with the best in the world.” 

Koehler had a handful of Super Late Model starts coming into the 2023 season. And the step up to the premier league with the World of Outlaws has already shown its challenges in the first four races of the year, making one Feature, so far. 

However, racing against the best drivers in the country has also paired him with one of the best drivers in the country. Koehler is teammates with 21-time World of Outlaws Feature winner Jimmy Owens. 

For the 21-year-old, Owens is a textbook of knowledge he can lean on throughout the year, especially for the Series’ next tripleheader weekend in Owens’ home territory at Smoky Mountain Speedway, March 16, and Boyd’s Speedway, March 17-18. 

“When we get to the track, [Owens and I] work together a lot,” Koehler said. “He gives me pointers on what he thinks I need to do and if I’m any good or not any good. He can relate to what I’m feeling, and he can progress us a lot faster than a lot of other people have had the chance to get.” 

That guidance paid off for the Rookie of the Year contender at the first race of the season, making his first World of Outlaws Feature.  

Despite finishing 26th in the season opener, he said being able to run against that caliber of drivers gives him confidence for what’s to come. 

“Everybody probably thought we’d get blown out of the water like I’m sure a lot of them do when they start,” Koehler said. “It helped our whole team a lot, just showing up out of the gate and being good. The first night just making it into the show was a huge deal. 

“I think we started like 11th and ended up wrecking, but we ended up running with them for a lot of laps before that happened.” 

As Koehler continues through his first season with the World of Outlaws, he’s trying to maintain a balance on and off the track. 

When he’s not working on his race car, he’s helping his dad with the family’s business—Ultimate Towing and Recovery. He also started his own trash company—a sponsor you’ll see on cars racing with the World of Outlaws. 

“If you look for Capital Waste, you’ll see on Tanner [English’s] car and other cars that are just running with the World of Outlaws,” Koehler said. “I have a great deal of people helping me with that, so I can really get away.” 

That help with his business, plus the guidance from Owens allows Koehler to focus on the significant jump he’s taking into this season. 

He’ll get another learning experience when the 2023 World of Outlaws CASE Late Model tour heads to the Southeast for three nights of action.  

The weekend starts with a trip to Smoky Mountain Speedway on Thursday, March 16, for the Tennessee Tipoff. Then, the Series moves South to Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, GA, on Friday and Saturday, March 17-18, for the Shamrock 100. 

Smoky Mountain Tickets: bit.ly/3IdAwdx 

Boyd’s Tickets: bit.ly/3m346eB 

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

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – Progressive American Flat Track is pleased to introduce the Pronto/Parts Plus Pole Award for the 2023 season.  At each of the season’s 18 rounds, the fastest qualifier in both Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle andParts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER will be awarded a $500 “Big Check” during Opening Ceremonies.  “We are excited to continue our support of motorsports and its fans of two- and four-wheel racing,” said Robert Roos, President of the Pronto Network. “Progressive AFT is growing significantly every year, and 2023 looks to be the breakout season. We want to be part of the story along with our 4,300 partners across the United States.”  Pronto Auto Parts and Parts Plus are members of the Pronto Network, by far the largest and most diverse automotive program distribution group in North America. The Pronto Network includes more than 200 wholesale distributors, 1500 auto stores, and 4000 service centers.   The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10. Get your tickets now at https://www.tixr.com/promoters/americanflattrack.  For those that can’t catch the live action from Daytona International Speedway, 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 Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv. FOX Sports coverage, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1from the Daytona Short Track I on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT) andDaytona Short Track II on March 19 at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).

The Largest Team In Professional Drag Racing Is Ready To Tackle 2023 With Gusto

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – Entering the 2023 season with five Pro Stock world championships and having won 15 of the 19 Pro Stock events contested last year in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, the Elite Motorsports team knows precisely what it takes to create a winning season. The members of the largest professional team in drag racing have been preparing throughout the offseason to do just that. Professional drag racing kicks off this weekend for what is anticipated to be one of the most competitive seasons in NHRA history at the 54th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla. The Elite Motorsports crew plans to continue its powerful legacy in the sport and the excitement has been palpable as the team tested in nearby Bradenton, Fla. earlier this week.  “Coming off of such a phenomenal season means we’ve got a target on our backs,” said team owner Richard Freeman. “The competition in all of our categories – Pro Stock, Pro Mod and Mountain Motor Pro Stock – is going to be fierce this year. But this team thrives under pressure. Tell us we can’t do something and this team will find a way to get it done. The talent we have at Elite Motorsports is second-to-none, across the board. Every member of that team has been working during the offseason to make us even better. But we know that our competition has been doing the same. It’s going to be an exciting year for everyone.” The Elite Motorsports fleet is comprised of eight Pro Stock, one Pro Mod and two Mountain Motor Pro Stock machines. Five-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders is returning along with her teammates Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra Sr., Fernando Cuadra Jr., and Cristian Cuadra. New to the Pro Stock ranks this season is rookie Jerry Tucker. Piloting the Pro Mod entry will be sportsman veteran Mason Wright. Enders will compete alongside Freeman in the two Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars, new to the Elite fleet this season. In the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, David Cuadra will be debuting a new Elite Motorsports Top Sportsman Mustang. Qualifying for the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals begins on March 9 for sportsman and March 10 for the pro categories. Follow Elite Motorsports online for updates throughout the event.  ***

Driver Quotes

Erica Enders”Last year we started the season by winning the Winternationals and we’re ready to start 2023 in the same fashion. We’ve won five world championships but have yet to claim a victory in Gainesville. Winning the Gators would be the best way to kick off this season and begin the hard work of defending this title.”

Aaron Stanfield”We are excited to get the season started! The team has been thrashing hard over the winter and we are ready to come out strong in Gainesville.”

Troy Coughlin Jr.”It’s been a long winter. Everyone at the shop has worked really hard and it’s time to let the clutch out! We have some wonderful partners on board with JEGS and White Castle. We’re ready to go after a Camping World championship.”

Bo Butner”All I can say is it’s time to race! The JHG cars are ready and I know this driver is very hungry!”

Fernando Cuadra Sr.”The Cuadra Boys are ready to attack the track this weekend in Gainesville. This is the most confident I’ve ever felt going into a season and I’m just very grateful to get to compete alongside my sons.”

Fernando Cuadra Jr.”For this season I have strong wishes to finish in the Top Ten. Last season I made all kinds of mistakes, but they helped me become a better driver. I know more this season and understand what I need to do not to make the same mistakes again, especially with the help of all of the Elite guys. I know I have a fast car and I’m really looking forward to this season.”

Cristian Cuadra”I’m really excited about this season – 18 new races but the goal stays the same. I want to bring a Wally home. That’s my personal dream and I really expect to achieve it. The car is working well and we all have more experience now. I’m coming into Gainesville with really high hopes.”

Jerry Tucker”Driving a Pro Stock car has been a lifelong dream of mine and I’m just in awe that it’s actually coming true. This team is incredible. I’m learning a lot from everyone and excited to see it all coming together.”

Photos

Erica Enders takes to the track in her JHG Camaro for testing in Florida prior to the Gatornationals. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Aaron Stanfield tests his Janac Brothers Camaro in Florida prior to the Gatornationals. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Troy Coughlin Jr. piloting his JEGS Camaro. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Fernando Cuadra Sr. is back in black for the 2023 season in his Corral Boots Mustang. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Fernando Cuadra Jr. fires up his Corral Boots Mustang for a test session in Florida. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Cristian Cuadra stages in his Corral Boots Mustang. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Bo Butner approaches the line in his JHG Camaro during testing. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

New to the Elite Motorsports Pro Stock team this season is Jerry Tucker. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Mason Wright will make his Pro Mod debut this weekend in his Elite Motorsports machine. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

David Cuadra prepares to launch his new Top Sportsman machine. (Photo credit: Elite Motorsports)

Pre-Race Notes

Elite Motorsports: Pre-race notesAmalie Motor Oil NHRA GatornationalsGainesville, Fla. (March 9-12) The Elite Motorsports team, the largest team in professional drag racing, has expanded for 2023 and will field a total of 9 entries for this weekend’s season-opening Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. The Elite Pro Stock team features eight drivers including reigning and five-time world champ Erica Enders, Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr., Bo Butner, Fernando Cuadra and his two sons, Fernando Jr. and Cristian, as well as newcomer Jerry Tucker. The team will also field a Pro Mod entry for Mason Wright. In the 19 Pro Stock events contested last season, Team Elite won 15 times and appeared in 26 of 38 possible final rounds. In addition to Enders’ 10 wins, Aaron Stanfield collected three victories while Troy Coughlin Jr. earned his first two professional victories. Enders is coming off the most dominant season of her career that produced ten wins in 13 final round appearances and an astounding 55-9 record in elimination rounds. This season, Enders’ impressive roster of supporters includes Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage, Melling Performance, SCAG Mowers, PeopleLease and JEGS. During her professional career, Enders has accumulated 43 wins in 74 final rounds and has a round-win record of 439-240 for a .646 win percentage. Enders has won at least one event at 17 different venues but has not previously won at Gainesville Raceway. In addition to Gainesville, the only current track on the circuit where she has yet to claim a win is Bandimere Speedway in Denver. Enders currently holds both the elapsed time and speed record for the NHRA Pro Stock class with bests of 6.450-seconds and 215.55 mph. The elapsed time record was set at the 2022 Gatornationals last March. If Enders wins four events this season, she will surpass three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Angelle Sampey as the sport’s winningest female driver. Sampey currently has 46 wins while Enders has 43. Following an impressive fourth place finish in 2022, Troy Coughlin Jr. will begin his fourth full season behind the wheel of the familiar yellow and black JEGS.com Camaro. Coughlin enjoyed a breakout season last year with back-to-back victories in Seattle and Topeka. Coughlin also went to final rounds in Phoenix, Reading and Las Vegas. In addition to his two Pro Stock victories this year, the multi-faceted Coughlin has won in Top Alcohol Dragster, Super Comp, and Super Gas. Coughlin’s father, Troy Sr., is a 15-time national event winner in Pro Stock, Pro Mod, and Super Gas. Including his uncles, John, Mike, and Jeg Jr., the Coughlin family has combined to win 130 national event titles. Coughlin’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.521-seconds and 211.93 mph, set last year in Sonoma and Gainesville, respectively. Aaron Stanfield will also return to the Elite team for another season behind the wheel of the Janac Bros/JC3 Energy Camaro. Stanfield, the son of five-time Super Stock world champ Greg Stanfield, is coming off a season where he was the third-ranked driver in Pro Stock. Last year, Stanfield earned Pro Stock wins in Phoenix, Bristol and the Fall Charlotte race to go with four runner-up finishes in Pomona, Epping, Norwalk, and Denver. Stanfield finished the season with a 38-16 record in elimination rounds. Stanfield won back-to-back titles in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown class in 2020-21. He will continue to drive his Janac Bros. owned COPO Camaro in that class and will also continue to race in the Wright Trailers Top Dragster class. All told, Stanfield has 21 career wins in Pro Stock, Factory Stock, Super Stock, and Top Dragster. Stanfield is also a previous winner in Gainesville, having claimed back-to-back Factory Stock wins in 2020-21. Stanfield’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.457-seconds and 213.47 mph, both set last year in Gainesville. Bo Butner is a two-time NHRA world champion in Pro Stock (2017) and Comp Eliminator (2006). He joined the Elite team last season as the driver of the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Camaro. Last season, Butner drove to a ninth-place finish in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock standings. While he did not win a Pro Stock event last year, the multi-talented driver did earn a pair of victories in the Super Gas class in Indy and Reading. Butner has 29 career national event victories including 11 in Pro Stock. He also has wins in Comp, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas, and Super Street. Butner has also enjoyed success as a big-money bracket racer with a victory at the K&N Spring Fling Million in Las Vegas in 2021. Butner won the Pro Stock title in Gainesville in 2019 and also won the Gatornationals in Stock Eliminator in 2013. Butner’s career bests in Pro Stock are 6.475-seconds and 214.28 mph, set in Dallas (2015) and Gainesville (2017), respectively. The Cuadra family including Fernando Sr., and his sons Fernando Jr. and Cristian, have returned to Elite Motorsports again this season with their three-car Corral Handcrafted Boots team. The Cuadra family will race Ford Mustangs under the Elite banner. Fernando Sr. is a two-time national event runner-up with final-round appearances at the 2019 races in Reading and Pomona. Cristian Cuadra was also the runner-up to Enders at the 2022 Four-Wide event in Las Vegas. The Cuadra family has career-best elapsed times of 6.515 (Fernando Jr.), 6.524 (Fernando Sr.) and 6.528 (Cristian) – all of them recorded at the 2022 Gainesville event. Their career-best speeds are 212.13 (Fernando Sr.), 211.43 (Cristian), and 210.73 (Fernando Jr.). Cristian Cuadra went to the final round of the Four-Wide event in Las Vegas last season where he finished second to teammate Enders. He finished the season as the sport’s No. 8 ranked driver in Pro Stock. Collectively, Elite drivers have combined to win 103 NHRA national event titles across all classes including 63 in the Pro Stock class. New to the Elite Pro Stock team this year is Jerry Tucker, who recently upgraded his NHRA license in anticipation of his debut in Gainesville. Tucker, of Lindsay, Okla., has spent the last 30 years racing everything from Sprint cars to Midgets and has also enjoyed success in drag racing. Tucker previously raced in the Top Sportsman class. Tucker is expected to be one of the leading contenders for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award. The Elite team is also welcoming Mason Wright as its newest driver in the Pro Mod class, which is also making its season debut in Gainesville. Wright, of Odessa, Texas, is a graduate of the Top Sportsman class. He will be racing a supercharged Camaro as part of the Elite team. Justin Elkes of Modern Racing will serve as Wright’s crew chief this season. Pro Mod will be showcased at 10 NHRA events this season beginning in Gainesville and it was recently announced that the class will be part of the NHRA on Fox Sports television broadcasts from each event.

Media Contacts:Jessica Hatcher – Imagination 9 jessica@imagination9.com Scott Woodruff – Elite Motorsportswoody@elitemotorsportsllc.com Courtney Enders – Elite Motorsportscourtneyenders@icloud.com

About Elite

Elite Motorsports, LLCElite Motorsports, LLC is the leader in motorsports transportation needs. With a large inventory of new and used trailers, motor coaches, semi-transporters, and more, the experienced team at Elite Motorsports works tirelessly to deliver tailored racing solutions for each customer’s changing needs. Elite Motorsports also operates the largest professional drag racing team in the NHRA featuring Erica Enders, Bo Butner, Troy Coughlin Jr., Aaron Stanfield, Jerry Tucker, and the Cuadra family race team.

Elite HPElite HP is dedicated to the sale of new and used high-performance parts as well as used race cars, collectible cars, and racing engines. You can trust Elite HP because we are operated by racers, for racers, and each of our highly-skilled team members understands the real-world challenges that racers experience. They are uniquely positioned to steer customers in the right direction to meet their specific motorsports needs. Located in Wynnewood, Oklahoma on the Elite Motorsports campus.

Elite PerformanceElite Performance is an engine-building organization focused on professional drag racing engines. Owned and operated by Elite Motorsports, LLC., Elite Performance builds engines that can hold their own in the ultra-competitive Pro Stock and Pro Mod categories.

Patterson-Elite PerformanceWith an international reputation for excellence spanning back to 1960, Patterson-Elite Performance builds drag racing engines for sportsman categories including Stock, Super Stock, Competition Eliminator and Factory Stock. In addition to developing some of the best-performing engines in the sport, Patterson-Elite also operates a sportsman drag racing team competing in the NHRA Stock and Super Stock categories as well as big-money bracket races throughout the U.S.

Elite Cultivation & Processing Elite Cultivation & Processing is a state-of-the-art cannabis grower. Under the experienced leadership at Elite Motorsports, LLC, Elite Cultivation & Processing brings the same appetite for excellence, attention to detail, and precision-based engineering to the cannabis industry. With extraordinary customer service and professionalism, Elite Cultivation & Processing is setting a new standard for developing high-quality cannabis-based products.

The final two rounds of the Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown will be at Williams Grove Speedway, March 17, and Lincoln Speedway, March 18PORT ROYAL, PA (March 8, 2023) – Keeping fans and teams in mind, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Port Royal Speedway officials have been forced to cancel this weekend’s Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown due to unstable weather conditions – including rain, snow, wind and temperatures below the freezing point throughout the weekend.The decision comes after working closely with Meteorologist Wayne Mahar from Precision Weather Service and monitoring the local weather over the past 48 hours.If you purchased a ticket in advance to the Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown at Port Royal, March 10-11, you will receive a face-value credit to your MyDirtTickets.com account – good for two years – to be used toward any World of Outlaws event available at WorldofOutlaws.com/tix. If a credit to your account does not work for you, then you have until April 8 to request a refund.Teams and fans will now set their sights on the final two rounds of the Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown at Williams Grove Speedway, March 17, and Lincoln Speedway, March 18. At the conclusion of the mini points battle, the driver with the most points earned across the two races at Volusia Speedway Park (March 5-6), Williams Grove and Lincoln will receive $10,000. The driver with the second most points will earn $6,000 and third will get $4,000.Current World of Outlaws points leader David Gravel and Carson Macedo are tied for the lead in the Low-E Insulation Spring Showdown points battle. Macedo won the first round with Gravel finishing second and then Gravel won the second round with Macedo finishing second.For tickets to the events at Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway, CLICK HERE.Fans can also keep their plan of watching DIRTVision this weekend with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota set to commence its 2023 season at the Southern Illinois Center, Friday and Saturday, March 10-11.

F1 Champion Will Race March 26 at Circuit of the AmericasLed 39 Laps To Win 2018 U.S. Grand Prix at Austin, Texas Track

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA –The Iceman is returning to NASCAR and this time at a track he knows quite well. Trackhouse Entertainment Group today announced 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen will return to the NASCAR Cup Series on March 26 at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas to race PROJECT91’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The race will mark Räikkönen’s second Cup Series race after debuting with PROJECT91 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on Aug. 21 last year. Unlike the Watkins Glen track, Räikkönen is familiar with COTA, racing on the road course eight times during his Formula One career. One of Räikkönen’s 21 Formula One victories, and most recent, came at COTA on Oct. 21, 2018, when he led 39 laps on his way to victory driving a Ferrari.

“I had a fantastic time in NASCAR,” said Räikkönen. “There was a lot to learn in a very short amount of time, but everyone was very helpful, the competition was a big challenge. This time I get to race on a track I am familiar with so there won’t be as steep of a learning curve. I want to have fun, but also do as well as we can.”Trackhouse Racing – a division of Trackhouse Entertainment Group – fields the No. 99 and the No. 1 Chevrolets with drivers Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kimi Raikkonen

Trackhouse Owner and Founder Justin Marks created PROJECT91 last year intent on expanding the organization’s global reach by fielding a Cup Series entry for renowned international racing drivers. “When we announced Kimi last year I said he was the global superstar I had in mind when we created PROJECT91. I think you saw the fan reception across the world and Kimi’s performance in the car was proof of the concept. Kimi’s following is massive and it’s great for NASCAR, Trackhouse plus I think Kimi really enjoys our racing.”

Räikkönen, Marks, Suárez & Chastain at Watkins Glen in August

Räikkönen will race the No. 91 Onx/iLOQ Chevrolet Camaro at COTA fielded by a Trackhouse crew led by 23-time wining crew chief Darian Grubb who won a Cup Series title with Tony Stewart in 2011. Onx is transforming how the world builds homes and neighborhoods through X+ Construction, a fully integrated system that merges high-end design and leading technology, delivering more value at every step of the homeowner journey. The company served as the primary sponsor on Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet when he won the COTA race last year as well as Daniel Suárez’s victory at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in June. iLOQ, the Finnish pioneer of smart and mobile locking systems, is present in the American market with its battery-free technology that ensures secure and intelligent access management for people and businesses.Last summer, Räikkönen became the first PROJECT91 driver visiting the team’s Concord, North Carolina race shop and testing with the team at Virginia International Raceway. At the Watkins Glen race, Räikkönen qualified 27th then raced in the top-10 most of the afternoon before a late race accident caused by another driver ended his day. Marks said Räikkönen will again visit the shop in the days before the Austin, Texas event, but no test sessions are planned before the COTA race. “I’m sure there are a lot of drivers that would like to have a chance to try NASCAR,” said Räikkönen. “It’s not very easy, so maybe it will open some doors in the future for more chances to try and get more Europeans into the sport.” The native of Espoo, Finland retired from Formula One in 2021 after competing with the Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Alfa Romeo teams since he started in 2001. His Formula One highlight came in 2007 when he won the F1 World Driving title for Scuderia Ferrari.He competed in the Xfinity and Truck Series races at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2011.

PLAINVIEW, NY (March 8, 2023) — As the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series opens this weekend with the NHRA Gatornationals, March 9-12, championship contender Justin Ashley and his Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster team will be looking to start the season once again with a victory. Last year the fourth-year pro won the historic Winternationals in Pomona the first race of 2022 and went on to his best season collecting two more wins and seven total final round appearances. Ashley was in championship contention until the final day of the season, ultimately finishing No. 4 in the Top Fuel point standings. This year Ashley has even loftier goals for his experienced and enthusiastic team.

“I can’t wait to get the season started,” said Ashley. “We’ve had a productive offseason on and off the racetrack. Gainesville is our first opportunity to see the results of that production and evaluate our performance when it matters most. I am very much looking forward to kicking off 2023 with our Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster team.”

The Phillips Connect Top Fuel team will have a busy weekend schedule in addition to the four qualifying sessions Ashley and seven other championship caliber Top Fuel teams will be competing in the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout. This race within a race will award the winner an $80,000 top prize and bragging rights at the start of the season. The race will be contested during the Saturday qualifying sessions and on Friday drivers will “call-out” their opponents. As the No. 3 qualifier Ashley could have the chance to choose his opponent unless the No. 1 or No. 2 qualifiers select him.

Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster and Justin Ashley, photo credit Ron Lewis

“I love everything about the Pep Boys All-Star Callout,” explained Ashley. “The field is loaded with talent and the unique format creates an even higher-level energy and excitement. We’re racing for the big money on FOX, but more importantly we’re racing for our teams, sponsors and fans. This race brings out the best in everybody.” 

Last year only one round of the Pep Boys All-Star Callout was contested as the Gatornationals due to torrential rains which upended the schedule throughout the weekend. This year’s event looks to have a favorable forecast and Ashley is ready to spend three days at Gainesville Raceway making quick passes and spending time with the fans and sponsors.

“Last year the rain really impacted the race,” said Ashley. “We still had success, which speaks volumes about our team. But I am certainly looking forward to a more normal race this year. You’re going to get everyone’s best shot in great conditions and in front of a huge crowd of fans.” 

As a fan favorite Ashley continues to build his team with a positive attitude and hard work. Throughout the off-season Ashley was working with sponsors to make sure he was positioned to make another run for the Top Fuel championship. As a team owner as well as a driver Ashley keeps his head on the business and operations side of the team as well as his performance behind the wheel. The 2020 NHRA Rookie of the year is recognized as one of the top drivers when it comes to average reaction time and Ashley continues to hone his skills as a young Top Fuel driver.

“I try to compartmentalize and eliminate all distractions inside the race car,” said Ashley. “My goal is to do the same thing every time whether it’s qualifying or race day. Fortunately, I have a great team on and off the racetrack who help me to do so. Mike Green, Tommy DeLago and Dustin Davis are at the forefront of a truly amazing group. We will be ready to go starting on Friday with that first round of qualifying.”

The NHRA Gatornationals will feature two rounds of Top Fuel qualifying on Friday and two sessions on Saturday. During the qualifying sessions on Saturday Ashley will also be competing in the Pep Boys All-Star Callout. The final round of the Callout will be contested on Saturday night with a winner-take-all $80,000 race that will not count towards qualifying position. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday March 12 at 10 a.m. ET with FOX broadcasting the race nationally from noon-3:00 p.m. ET.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2023) – AMA Pro Racing is pleased to announce that Progressive Insurance® will continue to serve as the title sponsor of American Flat Track in the seasons ahead thanks to a new multi-year renewal of their landmark sponsorship. Founded in 1937, Progressive is the nation’s leading motorcycle insurer. That status was earned through decades of supporting the two-wheeled and motorsports communities, granting it a unique understanding on how to best meet the needs of motorcyclists. Progressive was first named Title Sponsor and Official Insurance Company of Progressive AFT in 2020 and has expanded their support of the sport over the years through digital and experiential activations at events. “Progressive has played an integral role in accelerating American Flat Track’s growth over the last few years and we truly appreciate their continued partnership,” said Gene Crouch, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “It’s great to work with a brand that shares the same values that we have; we are likeminded in the desire to engage with our customers in entertaining and memorable ways. We’re excited to kick off the next chapter of our partnership and working together with Progressive to make our races and the stars of the sport as memorable as the stars of Progressive’s ad campaigns.” “We are thrilled to continue our support in growing this sport by serving as the title sponsor of American Flat Track,” said Todd Matthews, Progressive Acquisition Specialist. “As the No.1 motorcycle insurer, we recognize the passion, enthusiasm and commitment riders possess, and we are excited to see what’s in store in the seasons ahead.” The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10. Get your tickets now at https://www.tixr.com/promoters/americanflattrack. For those that can’t catch the live action from Daytona International Speedway, 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, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 from the Daytona Short Track I on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT) and Daytona Short Track II on March 19 at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).

OCALA, FL (March 8, 2023) —Third year Top Fuel driver Josh Hart has been waiting for the start of the 2023 NHRA Gatornationals since he pulled the chutes for the last time at the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona last November. The young driver from Ocala, Florida, battled through a tough sophomore season that saw the two-time Top Fuel winner only advance to two final rounds and his R+L Carriers/TechNet team chased consistency for 22 races. This weekend is a fresh start for one of the teams tabbed as a championship contender led by a rising star in the NHRA.

“I am putting 2022 behind me and totally focusing on racing for the championship in 2023,” said Hart. “I have a brand-new race car that I have never been more comfortable in. My crew chief Ron Douglas and the crew guys have been working their tails off all off-season. I am mentally ready to go out there and win races. I have won the Gatornationals before and I would like to get back into that winner’s circle.”

Hart stood in the Gainesville Raceway winner’s circle at the conclusion of his first Top Fuel national event as a professional, something only six other drivers have ever accomplished. In 2021 the successful Top Alcohol Dragster racer made the jump to Top Fuel, qualified No. 8 and then outran Clay Millican, Steve Torrence, Justin Ashley and Shawn Langdon to capture the Gatornationals Top Fuel title. Hart’s friend and NHRA legend Don “Big Daddy” Garlits was in attendance and shared the moment with the new star.

Josh Hart and new look 2023 R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, photo credit Josh Hart Racing

“It was amazing to win that first race and to have Don there,” said Hart, who went on to win another race in a partial season of competition in 2021. “We only raced about half the season in 2021 and we had so much success. This sport is very humbling and last year was tough. We know what we need to do this season and I think we will be a tough team. I want to race, beat the best drivers in the world and I think they will all be at the track this weekend. It is going to be a lot of fun.”

In addition to the Gatornationals competition Hart and the R+L Carriers/TechNet Top Fuel team will be competing in the Pep Boys Top Fuel All-Star Callout specialty race. This will be Hart’s first big money Top Fuel specialty race and he is ready for whatever comes his way.

 “It’s going to be an awesome Callout and I’m super stoked,” said Hart. “There are no participation trophies here and every one of these drivers is tough. I learned a lot last year and I’m ready to roll. I’m proud to be a part of this group.”

In advance of the season kick-off race Hart and the NHRA will be hosting a Gatornationals FanFest event at Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, Florida, Wednesday, March 8, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. The free event will feature a car show, live music, food trucks and a driver autograph session with some of the biggest names in the sport as well as many former Gatornationals winners. The drivers will be signing autographs beginning at 7 p.m. and fans are welcome to join the FanFest and get revved up for an exciting weekend.

“We wanted to host an event to build some excitement for the race and give back to our fans in Ocala and from all over Florida,” said Hart. “My wife Brittanie has been doing an amazing job of pulling this event together. I want to thank all the drivers for participating and we are just trying to make this event bigger and better every year. We will be donating proceeds from the car show and 50/50 raffle to Racers For Christ so we would love to see a big crowd.”

With good weather in the forecast for the weekend the NHRA Gatornationals should also see record attendance. Getting to spend time with the fans has been a bonus for Hart as he steadily becomes more of a well-known name on the NHRA tour. The soft spoken but not shy driver is looking to start making a run for his first championship on Friday when qualifying begins in earnest.

“We had a good couple of days of testing and our R+L Carriers/TechNet dragster is ready to roll,” said Hart. “The Gatornationals is my home race track so we will have a lot of our team from Burnyzz Speed Shop at the race as well as more sponsors. It will be a busy weekend.”

The NHRA Gatornationals will feature two rounds of Top Fuel qualifying on Friday and two sessions on Saturday. During the qualifying sessions on Saturday Hart will also be competing in the Pep Boys All-Star Callout. The final round of the Callout will be contested on Saturday night with a winner-take-all $80,000 race that will not count towards qualifying position. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday, March 12 at 10 a.m. ET with FOX broadcasting the race nationally from noon-3:00 p.m. ET.

MOORESVILLE, NC (March 8, 2023) — After a busy off-season that saw the 2022 NHRA Rookie of the Year join a new team and renew multiple sponsors Camrie Caruso is ready to get back behind the wheel of her Right Trailers Chevrolet Camaro race car at the NHRA Gatornationals this weekend. The rising star in the NHRA will roll into Gainesville Raceway as part of the newly established KB Titan Racing team with teammates Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn and Kyle Koretsky and a new crew chief in veteran tuner Dave Connolly. Caruso is eager to continue her improvement behind the wheel and pursue her first Pro Stock world championship.

“My goals haven’t really changed for this year,” said Caruso. “I want to win races, get No. 1 qualifiers and contend for the championship. I achieved a lot of my goals last year and I am very excited to be the Rookie of the Year but now we have to continue to keep improving. I think the move to KB Titan Racing will be huge for that and I have already learned so much this off season from Greg and Dallas just being around them in the shop.”

Last year in her first experience at one of the most historic races on the NHRA tour Caruso qualified No. 7 and raced to the quarterfinals. The experience was a positive step for the young driver and one that she will be looking to improve on this weekend.

“Last year we qualified in the top half and got a first round win,” said Caruso. “The was a lot of rain and it was crazy cold on race day so I think the weather is going to cooperate better this year so I am excited to get the full Gatornationals experience. The fans here are amazing and I think we will have a great weekend.”   

The Right Trailers Chevrolet Camaro Caruso will roll into the Gatornationals with a race car that has been completely reconfigured for driver comfort and performance. Caruso also spent time testing leading up to the Gatornationals in Bradenton, Florida, with a host of other Pro Stock teams in advance of the first race of the season.

“Testing was so critical this season, almost more so than last year,” said Caruso. “I knew a lot more coming into this season, but I also had to make some adjustments. The focus you need to drive this Right Trailers Camaro is intense. Our races are won or lost on the starting line a lot of the time, so you want to do everything right from the burnout to staging. The test session really helped.”

Prior to testing Caruso raced in the NHRA divisional race known as the Baby Gators last weekend driving a Top Dragster owned by Right Trailers sponsor Mike Smith. The seat time in the dragster was a great experience for Caruso to knock some of the off-season rust off.

“I loved racing in the Baby Gators and I have to thank Mike from Right Trailers for giving me the opportunity,” said Caruso. “Just getting back into a race car and going through my routine was huge. Also you just start reacclimating yourself to hitting the tree and that amazing launch sensation. It helped me get prepared for testing and I am ready to start racing.”

A busy off-season of sponsor renewals also kept Caruso active after the final race of the season in 2022. Right Trailers has returned joined by Powerbuilt Tools and VP Racing Lubricants. This week Caruso will be hosting a tequila tasting at Hotel ELEO on Thursday night from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. with returning sponsor Tequila Comisario. The rising star will also be participating in the NHRA Gatornationals Fanfest that is being hosted at Top Fuel driver Josh Hart’s Burnyzz Speed Shop in Ocala, on Wednesday from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

“This is a busy week of sponsor and fan activities and I love it,” said Caruso. “I am looking forward to the FanFest at Burnyzz Speed Shop on Wednesday and the tequila tasting with Tequila Comisario will be a great event at the Hotel ELEO. I also have media day which is always a good time. The season is starting a little later than usual but I needed all that time to work with renewing sponsors and some new marketing partners we will be announcing soon.”

The NHRA Gatornationals will feature two rounds of Pro Stock qualifying on Friday and two sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday March 12 at 10 a.m. ET with FOX broadcasting the race nationally from noon-3:00 p.m. ET.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 7, 2023) – This weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park Chris Dyson will be looking to bounce back from mechanical problems that knocked him out of last month’s series opener at Sebring and prevented the two-time defending Trans Am champion from joining his CD Racing teammates – eventual race-winner Matthew Brabham and runner-up Adam Andretti — in an unprecedented Trans Am podium sweep. “How could my emotions after Sebring be anything but mixed?” Dyson said. “Great for the team; disappointing for me personally. Still, in racing everyone has good luck and bad. I think it’s better to get misfortune out of the way early.” Dyson said he was pleased to have Brabham back for NOLA. At New Orleans Dyson will be behind the wheel of the #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang while Brabham will be driving the team’s #20 GYM WEED Ford Mustang. “Matty has done such a great job for us when we’ve needed him,” Dyson said. “Beginning at the 2021 season final, he’s raced with us six times. Sebring last month was his fourth win and in his other two races he finished second. We are still developing our new Riley-chassis car and comparing it with our double-championship Meissen. I’ll be driving the Riley car this weekend while Matty will be using the Meissen. Clearly they both are fast enough to win, but I think it’s important that both Matty and I be making input on the development of the Riley.” Dyson has not previously driven at NOLA but Brabham has, and his previous experience and input will no doubt be helpful for the New York-based organization. Dyson says he’s looking forward to racing there. “It looks to me like it’s got good flow,” Dyson said. “I expect it will be a bit like VIR and Mid-Ohio. We don’t have a book on the circuit, so we’re going to have to make the most of the test and practice sessions so we’ll be ready for qualifying on Saturday.” Dyson said he expected stiff competition for the pole and for the race. “Tomy Drissi overcame some challenges at Sebring and scored a solid finish in the end,” Dyson said. “He’s going to be tough this weekend and so will Justin Marks, who’s going to be racing with us all year.” Dyson noted that Marks had taken pole at Sebring and was battling Dyson for the race lead before they both had mechanical problems. NOLA Schedule Qualifying takes place Saturday, March 11, 3:35 – 3:50 p.m. CT (4:35 – 4:50 ET) The 100-mile race takes the green flag Sunday, 12 at 12:30 p.m. CT (1:30 ET) Broadcast Schedule The race will be livestreamed on both the Trans Am and SpeedTour’s YouTube channels.  Additional Broadcast Coverage On MAVTV In addition to the livestream, 60-minute feature produced by Greenlight TV will be broadcast the following Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.

Media Q&A ahead of Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for defending GTD PRO co-winner Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia was part of a media Zoom today to talk about next week’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He will team with Jordan Taylor and Tommy Milner in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. The trio finished second in the GTD PRO class to open the season at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RYOU’VE HAD A LOT OF GREAT HISTORY AT SEBRING. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT NEXT WEEK?“Coming from a good race at Daytona, we should be up there. Corvette Racing always has had quite a bit of success in this race. We weren’t there (at Sebring) for the last (IMSA) test but we were there in December. Although it was with the new GT3 car, we still got some good information. It’s a new year and we had a lot of data to analyze from last year’s race. It was kind of a surprise for us to be that good, especially in the day. So I’m looking forward to getting back there. I’ve always loved this race. The Corvette fans will be out there, too. It’s always a great event for us as Corvette drivers and another one for me.” BEFORE THE FIRST TIME YOU RACED AT SEBRING, WHAT DID A FELLOW DRIVER OR TEAM OWNER TELL YOU ABOUT THE TRACK? WAS IT THE BUMPS OR SOMETHING ELSE?“It was 2006 or 2007… I definitely was younger! I think it was the bumps, mainly the trickier parts of the racetracks. Everyone tries to explain to you where to go and what to hit or not to hit, but it’s almost impossible to figure out what to expect until you do a few laps. It’s a tricky track to learn. After a few laps, it doesn’t feel like you can go around fast but then you get in a groove and everything comes easier. Now that I’ve done it for so many years, it feels like I know every single bump around the track. It’s much easier now.”

DO YOU APPRECIATE THAT THE TRACK HAS THIS KIND OF CHARACTER TO IT?“I think you do. It’s the whole environment there. You start early in the morning almost with the sunrise for warmup. Most of the race is super-hot in the middle of the day and then you go straight into the night with a classic March sunset where you don’t see a thing going into Turn 17 and Turn Seven. Every single aspect of that race is unique. Even if at times it feels like it is undriveable, it’s one of my favorites if not my favorite race of the year.” WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE TRACK AND YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART OF THE TRACK?“At sunset and going into Turn 17 and Turn Seven, you’re hoping (the sun) gets in the clouds. With a full bright sky, you know it’s going to be really, really tough. At times, I got into the car with three hours to go so that means you get the sunset and then you go full into the dark. You need to pick the right visor and everything needs to be perfect. I’ve been in every single condition around there but for sure in the sunset – if it’s full bright – it’s tricky. That’s a time where you don’t want to be fighting too much with somebody or if traffic gets very, very tricky in those conditions because someone may not see you. It’s only 20-25 minutes, but it’s very, very tricky.”“But I love the whole racetrack at night. When it’s full dark and you know it’s coming to the end of the race, the grip is usually back in the car. That’s the most joyful time of the race. No matter how tired you are, if you are in contention for the win then that’s when the whole magic of Sebring comes. That’s what we all remember… those last stints at Sebring and when you are in contention or winning the race.” WHICH RACE IS TOUGHER TO GET ON THE PODIUM: DAYTONA 24 HOURS OR SEBRING 12 HOURS?“I think probably Sebring is a bit tougher to get everything in the right spot. Everything is different. You finish in the dark, which is tough for everybody. Traffic is really bad at that point. For me, it seems like I’ve had more success at Sebring, but I think I would consider Sebring a little bit tougher than Daytona. If you have the pace at Daytona, it’s easier to pace yourself to be in contention at the end of the race. At Sebring, it’s not only pace. The weather changes more. You’re finishing in the dark, and you only run that for two hours. It’s a bit trickier, I think.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 7, 2023) – The world’s greatest motorcycle dirt trackers are now just days away from kicking their 2023 Progressive American Flat Track campaigns off in supreme style, as the series revives a hallowed Daytona Bike Week tradition. The chase for the Championship is set to begin in electric fashion as the sport takes center stage under the lights of the Flat Track at Daytona International Speedway not once, but twice, with the DAYTONA Short Track I & II presented by Daytona Dodge on Thursday, March 9, and Friday, March 10, in Daytona Beach, Florida. The return of the DAYTONA Short Track season launch reconnects the series with a previous era. Progressive AFT made 0.25-mile circuits in Daytona Beach the annual home for its opener from 1989 through 2016, first at Municipal Stadium, before moving to the DIS Flat Track – located just outside NASCAR Turn 2 at the World Center of Racing – in 2010. The event’s return is an apt way to open what promises to be a special season, featuring jammed packed entry lists loaded up with an incredible array of talent and equipment. Over the decades, the DAYTONA Short Track opener shined a spotlight on flat track’s most legendary riders, with Hall of Famers Scott Parker, Chris Carr, Will Davis, and Kenny Coolbeth all standing atop the podium. One of the sport’s all-time greats who has yet to triumph at the venue, however, is reigning Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Rogers Racing/SDI Racing FTR750). As a result, Mees will be properly motivated to add the DAYTONA Short Track to his extensive list of career victories while simultaneously kickstarting his title defense. He’ll need to conquer a 25-rider deep pool of challengers that’s absolutely brimming with talent. Headlining that list is two-time series champion and ‘22 runner-up Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing KTM 890 Duke). Bauman comes in just days removed from the major announcement that he’ll be competing aboard KTM equipment, backed by the powerhouse Rick Ware Racing operation that enters the sport after previously making its mark in NASCAR, IndyCar, IMSA, NHRA, and AMA and FIM Supercross, among others. Other expected frontrunners include Estenson Racing teammates Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) and JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT), who come into the season looking to take yet another step forward following a breakthrough ‘22 campaign, and Brandon Robinson(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), who has taken multiple wins in each of the past four seasons. Another rider to keep tabs on this week is Sammy Halbert (No. 69 Martin Trucking/Castrol Yamaha MT-07). While no longer a full-time series contender, Halbert owns a sparkling history at the venue, boasting four prior DAYTONA ST wins. While no one will be shocked if any of the aforementioned six stand atop the podium this week, the DAYTONA Short Track is also famous for delivering massive upsets to start the year. In fact, before they were established title fighters, Bauman and Robinson each earned their first career premier-class wins at the event. There’s a long list of dark horse picks to back, even if it’s not exactly accurate to cast the likes of Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Indian FTR750), Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Fastrack Racing KTM 890 Duke), Johnny Lewis (No. 10 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650), Mikey Rush (No. 15 Maxwell Industries/Triumph Bob Harley-Davidson XG750R), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), and Kolby Carlile (No. 36 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) as underdogs. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER 2022 Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champion Kody Kopp (No. 1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) will brandish the #1 plate for the first time at the DAYTONA Short Track where the prodigy’s prospects for successfully defending his crown will immediately be put to the test.The class field is 44 riders deep and stocked up with the best 450cc dirt trackers the world has to offer, representing six different nations with a bevy of titles to their names. Kopp’s biggest rival might just be his teammate, Australian Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE), a two-time championship runner-up. Meanwhile, Whale’s compatriot, Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), is widely expected to be an instant contender as flashing incredible speed in limited appearances last season, as he joins multi-race winner Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) at Estenson Racing. That international flair is further enhanced this week by the entrances of the reigning FIM Flat Track World Champion, Spaniard Gerard Bailo (No. 317 Asap Risk Brokers/Noyes Camp Honda CRF450R) and the world’s third-ranked rider, Ervín Krajčovič (No. 341 Moto Racing Group Honda CRF450R) from the Czech Republic, along with Briton Gary Birtwistle (No. 111 Happy Trails Racing/Jeffrey Carver Husqvarna FC450), the defending UK DTRA Pro Singles and Twins champion, and Canadian Hunter Bauer (No. 24 KTM 450 SX-F), who scored his maiden Progressive AFT podium last season. The most imposing threat of all may hail from closer to home, however, as the American Honda-backed Turner Racing squad goes from strength to strength. It will once again field a talented trio, adding Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) to holdovers Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) and Chase Saathoff (No. 88 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R). 2019 Parts Unlimited AFT Singles champion and ‘22 runner-up Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Racing/Certified KTM 450 SX-F) will be a championship favorite again in 2023, while 2018 class king Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Construction Yamaha YZ450F) is doing double duty in DAYTONA, competing in both classes. Of course, fans will be thrilled to witness the return of the class’ all-time winningest rider, Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Rick Ware Racing KTM 450 SX-F), who will look to add to her historic Parts Unlimited AFT wins tally immediately. Meanwhile, Texter-Bauman’s brother Cory Texter has graduated to management duties this season as he oversees a revamped 1st Impressions Race Team that will field Chad Cose (No. 49 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450) and James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team/Husqvarna Racing FC450). Considering the full list of realistic podium hopefuls – many of whom have gone unmentioned – just making the Main Event will be an accomplishment of its own this week. No matter how it all shakes down, the season is guaranteed to open on a high note as ‘22 champions Mees and Kopp will be awarded their handcrafted championship rings custom designed by Thom Duma Fine Jewelers (TDFJ) during Thursday’s Opening Ceremonies. The action will be further enhanced by the inclusion of the Grand National Hooligan Championship on Thursday with the Astros Invitational adding to the show on Friday. There will be plenty to keep fans entertained off the track as well, including numerous vendors, plenty of food and beverage options, live music, and extensive motorcycle parking. Upper Rim Road – Standing Room Only tickets are just $25 (kids 12 and under just $5), while Reserved Grandstand tickets start at $40. Purchasing tickets for both days in advance provides a Multi-Day Discount that takes $10 off the final ticket price. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-i-59082 to purchase tickets for the DAYTONA Short Track I presented by Daytona Dodge. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-ii-59083 to purchase tickets for the DAYTONA Short Track II presented by Daytona Dodge. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/daytona-short-track-i-and-ii-59081 to purchase tickets for both rounds in order to take advantage of the Multi-Day Discount. Additionally, Progressive AFT has teamed up with MotoAmerica to offer the America Super Ticket, which provides race fans admission to the DAYTONA Short Track I & II and the DAYTONA 200 for $100. You can purchase the America Super Ticket at https://bit.ly/3XSrSaj. Paddock Access 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. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. PT with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on both days. You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FansChoice.tv. FansChoice.tv provides free-to-view livestreaming of Practice and Qualifying. FansChoice.tvsubscribers will then be able to watch the drama unfold from Opening Ceremonies through the Heats, LCQs, Main Events, and podium celebrations. FansChoice.tv offers two subscription options, granting unlimited access to premium AFT content. Monthly subscriptions start at just $7.99, while a six-month subscription is available for $44.99. FOX Sports coverage, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 from the Daytona Short Track I on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. ET (7:30 a.m. PT) and Daytona Short Track II on March 19 at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT).

tMedia Q&A with Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating, Nico Varrone Corvette Racing FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone answered questions today from media members ahead of this weekend’s WEC Prologue at Sebring International Raceway. They will open the season in the 1,000 Miles of Sebring on Friday, March 17 in the No. 33 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R as part of the GTE Am field. Full transcript:

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RAFTER WINNING LAST YEAR IN THE SEBRING 12 HOURS, HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO REPEAT THAT IN THE WEC ROUND?“Last year was super nice, winning the race. I also remember the year before, we were incredibly close in winning it that year as well but a late-race crash with another competitor took us out of the lead. I cannot wait to drive the GTE-spec car again. I personally like it a little bit better than the GT3-spec. I cannot wait to try and win it without ABS; in general I just enjoy driving the GTE car a lot, so hopefully we can repeat that win from last year.”

CORVETTE RACING WEC ZOOM FILES Video and audio replays of today’s Corvette Racing WEC Zoom are available for download: · Corvette Racing Zoom video file (.mp4)· Corvette Racing Zoom audio file (.mp3)

THERE’S ONLY AN HOUR OR SO OF DARKNESS IN THE SEBRING RACING, BUT CAN YOU GO THROUGH THE CHALLENGES OF RACING IN THE DARK AT SEBRING AND OTHER PLACES?“Some places are more difficult than others, and I would say Sebring is one of the more difficult ones. Specifically, kind of Turn 10 through Turn 14 gets really, really dark and there’s one part where you really struggle to see how close to the outside of the track you are. Navigating there with traffic makes it very, very difficult because you just don’t see so much. We have great lights on the car but it’s not nearly enough to really see what’s going on. Then you have a lot of bright headlights in your rearview mirrors constantly flashing, which makes it very, very hard to see where you’re going. I must say that doing it more often does help you get better at it and to remain more calm. “For example in the Sebring 12 Hours, you would kind of keep one driver for the end of the race and that driver would then also do more in the night practice so he is more prepared for finishing the race in the dark. I would say it’s the most difficult part of the race to do. If I had to compare it, the (Nürburgring) Nordschleife is very dark but somehow not as dark as Sebring, which is hard to imagine! The same goes for Le Mans. I always find that relatively easy in the dark. Spa-Francorchamps is more difficult again. I don’t know really why this is, but some tracks are just more difficult in the dark than others. Sebring has a lot of bumps everywhere. Already in the daylight it is difficult to see sometimes where you are, let alone in the dark. So Sebring is definitely difficult.” ON BEING THE TEAM LEADER AS THE MOST EXPERIENCED DRIVER IN THE CORVETTE.“It’s definitely going to be different. I was always the third driver at Corvette so I was filling in for the few endurance races – Daytona, Sebring, Petit Le Mans and Le Mans. So this is the first time I’m doing a full season with Corvette Racing with two new teammates. I feel like I’m the one with the most experience in the car, which is a first for me. It’s definitely going to be a change. But I feel with this team and the support I have from my teammates in the past years, I hope I can do the same job now for Ben and Nico. Ben is incredibly experienced in these races and Nico – I don’t want to raise the expectations too much! – but he was nothing but amazing in the tests that we did. I don’t feel like they will need too much help from me. It is a bit of a change for me, but we will be fine.” BEN KEATING, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RHAS YOUR ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR THIS RACE CONTINUED TO BUILD OVER THE MONTHS AND WEEKS?“No, not at all. I would even say it’s greater than it’s ever been for several reasons. One is that it’s obviously my first race with Corvette Racing, and that’s enough anticipation on its own. Then in addition to that, it’s the only WEC race that is on home soil in the US, which puts a little more importance up there for me. Lastly, I would say that last year doing the double between the Aston Martin and the LMP2 in the 12-hour race, it was one of the most difficult and physical endeavors I’ve ever done. I’m hoping I prepare a little bit better for it this year. But I still have a little bit of that anticipation for how I will feel in the 12-hour. I’m not worried that much for the WEC race. So there are a lot of different reasons for all the anticipation building up.” WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN TESTING PREPARATIONS WITH THIS CAR AND ADAPTING TO THE C8.R?“I got to do a few laps on the Rookie Test Day after Bahrain. I got to do 10 laps exactly; we were more focused on testing Silvers and watching Nico go fast around Bahrain. When I first got in the car at Bahrain, I know looking at it that it’s a mid-engine car, so I kept trying (think about) how I’m supposed to drive this car. Am I supposed to drive it like a Ford or like the Porsche or like the Ferrari, those being other mid-engine cars. I will say that I was quite disappointed with my performance in Bahrain. I came back and looked at the data and realized that you drive this car completely differently than any of those. So while I was leaning on my experience of how to go fast in all those other cars, I wasn’t able to find it. Then fast-forward another couple of months and we went testing at Sebring. It was incredible. The speed came pretty quick for me, I would say. I felt very comfortable in the car, and I feel like I made some huge steps in learning how this car likes to be driven. It’s significantly different than all the others. For me personally, it’s taken a little bit to get used to. I’ve been in a turbo car for the last couple of years, and the big V8 has a lot more torque instantly at low RPMs than having to wait for that big turbo to wind up, so you don’t have that lag which takes a little while to get used to. The year before, I was in the Porsche RSR and again it doesn’t have the same level of torque that a big V8 has. They all have slightly different handling characteristics. “After Bahrain I was worried, but after Sebring I’m excited! I made the transition and was really happy with my performance after the test. After that, I’ve been testing in the LMP2 there as well, and I feel there is a decent crossover between the two cars at this particular track. I’m ready.” AT THE SEBRING TEST, HOW MUCH TIME DID YOU GET IN THE CAR?“I don’t remember a specific lap count. The three of us were all there, and we all got quite a few laps.” TALKING ABOUT THE PROGRESSION OF THE GTE FORMULA SINCE YOU STARTED RACING IN GTE AND HOW THE CARS HAVE MOVED ON.“I’ll say this specifically for GTE Am, because that’s what is important to me and that’s what makes this class special. As all of you are aware, in every GTE Am car it requires one Bronze, one Silver and one either Gold or Platinum (driver). What I love about the GTE Am class and racing the GTE car is that it doesn’t have ABS, as Nicky started talking about. It really separates the Bronze drivers between those who can drive well without ABS and those who can’t or struggle with it. The difference in laptime gets to be larger based on the skill that you acquire over time. That’s one big piece of it for me, specifically in GTE Am. I don’t think you saw that big of a difference in GTE Pro. The thing I’ve loved about it for years… what really got to me about racing in GT3 is that there were all these BoP changes all the time. You never knew if you were going to have a chance or not to do well in the race. I didn’t like spending dollars, and blood, sweat and tears at a track not knowing if we weren’t going to have a chance.“What I really love about the GTE Am setup has been that all of the BoP is set off the Pro class from the previous year. We’re racing a previous year’s car so we rarely get BoP changes in GTE Am, and they allow the rewards weight or success ballast to level the playing field. Clearly if you get 40 kilos in the car, it’s going to cost you a half-second a lap at most of the tracks we go to, but you can still have a chance and you can have a competitive car. Lastly, I love racing with a confidential tire. The Michelin confidentials are just that good. It’s so nice to race with a tire that has been built and designed around your car and different circumstances. I’m going to be sad to see it go, is my answer. I’m sad to see GTE go. For me personally, it doesn’t have anything to do with the GT3 cars. It just has to do with the class. I think you’re taking something away when you add ABS and every driver out there can be a hero in every brake zone.” YOUR TIME WITH TF SPORT THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WHILE MOVING ON TO CORVETTE RACING.“That team is special. They are great people. That’s hard to walk away from. It’s hard to walk away from that much success… second place at Le Mans and second place in the championship (in 2021) and then a win at Le Mans and winning the championship in the second year. Clearly we were on a roll. But I pay for all this by selling cars, and I don’t sell Aston Martins. I’ve got nothing bad to say about TF Sport other than they are not racing a Corvette!” IS THERE A DIFFERENCE IN RACING A GT CAR AND AN LMP2 CAR IN THE DARK?“There are three major things that make Sebring difficult at night. One is it is so flat that it’s hard to get a reference of what you’re looking at it. Yes it’s dark, but it’s no more dark than any of the other tracks that Nicky mentioned. It’s just really flat, which makes it hard to get a reference of knowing exactly where to turn in, exactly where the brake point is, exactly where the exit of the corner is and those kinds of things. The other two things that come to mind is that we are going to have the largest Hypercar field that we have ever seen in the World Endurance Championship. My only protest in the Hypercar class is that the LED lights that they have when they flash are unbelievably bright; they’re ridiculously bright and they will blind you. It’s not as bad when you had three or four cars there to contend with. Knowing that we are going to have eight or 10 of those going around the track, it’s going to mean that you’re going to have one of those behind you more often. That is going to make it quite a challenge.“The other thing that isn’t thought of very often is that there are quite a few pavement changes at Sebring. It goes from concrete to asphalt to sealed concrete. It’s one thing when the bright Florida sun is shining down on all the track, it can get really hot. But when the sun goes down, each one of those pavement surfaces changes quite a bit. I think it changes the handling of the car quite a bit. The only thing that matters obviously is the end of the race. This is more of an issue on the IMSA side of things because of the safety cars and more time in darkness. But I think it’s wise to do a lot of setup work and a lot of running night practice specifically because you have to make sure you have a car that is set up to do well when the sun goes down because the track changes a lot more than you might think.” ON WEC BANNING TIRE WARMERS FOR THIS YEAR WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE OF NOT HAVING THEM IN IMSA. DOES THAT GIVE YOU AN EDGE OVER THE OTHER BRONZE DRIVERS?“I hope so but we will see. I think everybody is going to be learning a lot, and it’s a great question. It’s going to be one of the major challenges for all teams in WEC. I feel like the confidential tire we are running is designed to be heated, and it’s designed to be warm when you take off. I think about at Le Mans in the night when it’s cool outside and you have a safety car period or a long full-course yellow, it’s really, really difficult to get those tires back up to temperature and back up to where they’re hot enough that they are in the right operating window. Sometimes I wasn’t able to get them there, especially at Le Mans where you have the long straightaways. It can be a big challenge to get the heat back in the tires. So when you’re starting off from ground zero of having an absolutely cold tire, it will be a big challenge for all the teams to get those tires up to temperature. Yes, I think it’s an advantage for me. I enjoy watching all the European teams, especially in LMP2, come in for the 24 Hours of Daytona. They’re all used to having tire warmers and they go out and spin in Turn Three very often because they’re not used to what it takes to deal with cold tires. I think it’s easier on the GT cars than the prototypes, but I think we’re going to see quite a few more issues and incidents with all the classes as everyone gets used to what it’s like to go out and deal with cold tires. It’s a significant change. It’s interesting to me that we’re getting this significant change in the last year of the class; maybe they’re saying it’s the first year of Hypercar. It’s interesting. I think it’s less of an issue, in my opinion, with the customer tire that a lot of the teams are running. It might be less of an issue with the Goodyears on the LMP2. I don’t know. I just know that my experience in the night at Le Mans would suggest that it’s pretty difficult to go out on a confidential tire that’s cold. I think we’ll see more teams running a softer compound, seeing if they can get away with doing a double-stint on a softer compound just because that may be the only tire they can figure out how to get heat in over a stint. It’s going to be an interesting change for this season.” NICO VARRONE, NO. 33 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.REXPECTATIONS FOR SEBRING IN YOUR FIRST RACE IN THE CORVETTE C8.R.“First of all, this will be one of my best experiences ever. To be joining Corvette Racing is a dream for me to be part of a factory team with Ben and Nicky. It will be amazing. I’m really excited about it. I did some laps in Bahrain and Sebring, and I was really comfortable with the car. I personally enjoyed driving the Ferrari GTE, but with the Corvette I feel there is something special in the first moments. It suits really well my driving style. We have a really good lineup and a really good car. I hope we can have a clean race, a clean weekend and take the most out of it.” YOU COME OFF WINNING LMP3 AT DAYTONA, SO HOW DIFFICULT WILL IT BE LEARNING ALL THE PROCEDURAL CHANGES LIKE FULL-COURSE YELLOWS AND CAUTIONS WITH THE WEC VERSUS IMSA?“That’s a good question. Last year, I raced in the ELMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so I have experience. I didn’t do a full season in WEC but doing races in both championships helped me quite a lot. I don’t think it will be a big change for me. I feel ready for the challenge. I think I will have to learn a bit more on my side to know more about the car and to know what the car likes, setup changes and other stuff that will be new for me. We have a long season ahead and the Prologue this weekend, so that will help me a lot to get up to speed and try to be the best version of myself.” COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THE CORVETTE AND FERRARI GTE CAR THAT YOU’VE DRIVEN BEFORE.“I was really impressed at the Bahrain test. As Ben said, I was trying to use all my experience with the Ferrari and put it in the Corvette, and it wasn’t working on the first outing I did. I was really struggling with low-speed corners with some oversteer. I worked with the engineers on the data, and they told me it was a completely different way of driving. Once I started working on it through the laps and over the runs, I really improved on it. I have to say it’s a different concept to drive it and you have to get used to it. And when I got to Sebring, I already had this experience from Bahrain and I got used to it. It wasn’t a big challenge for me because I got used to it really quickly. Because of my driving style, I liked the way of driving it. But it’s really different to other cars I’ve driven in the past.”

DU QUOIN, IL – March 7, 2023 – The wait is over. The Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota is back for its sophomore season Friday-Saturday, March 10-11, beginning with its indoor debut at the Southern Illinois Center.

Five months after a successful inaugural season, the Series embarks on its first full-length national schedule, featuring 35 races at 25 different tracks across the nation. It all begins with the two-day Xtreme Outlaw Midget Showdown inside the Southern Illinois Center – a temporary, indoor, 1/6-mile oval dirt track located on the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.

Both Friday and Saturday programs will be conducted nearly identically, with Group Qualifying and Heat Races (both with passing points), Last Chance Showdowns and a Feature. Friday’s 30-lap Feature is $4,000-to-win, while Saturday’s 40-lap Feature will pay $5,000 to the winner.

Eight drivers have already announced their commitments to the full schedule. Zach Daum, Chase McDermand, Kyle Jones, Jade Avedisian, Gavin Miller, Ethan Mitchell, Cannon McIntosh and Hayden Reinbold make up the early full-time driver roster, each chasing a share of the all-new $80,000 points fund. A $25,000 check is set to be awarded to the Series champion at season’s end, while the rest of the top-10 in points will collect a check for their season-long efforts as well.

Tickets for this weekend’s events in Du Quoin will be available at the door on race day – $25 for General Admission; kids 12-and-under are free. Friday Hot Laps set for 5:30pm; Saturday Hot Laps at 5pm. If you can’t be there in person, DIRTVision has live coverage throughout the weekend and at all 35 Series events in 2023.

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

THE KING AND HIS CAR – Inaugural Series champion Zach Daum begins his title defense this weekend, five months after clinching his fourth national Midget points championship.

Daum, the 31-year-old open-wheel veteran, will represent his home state of Illinois and begin his new journey with his self-owned team and self-built race car. He’s partnered with New Zealand fabricator Justin Insley to bring the Chili Bowl Nationals-winning brand King Chassis to the States, building them in his Greenville, IL-based 5d Speed Shop.

After going winless through the first seven Xtreme Outlaw races last year, Daum broke through to Victory Lane at Port City Raceway in October, taking the lead just past the halfway point to bag his first Series victory. He comes into Du Quoin among the most experienced drivers at the track in the projected field, with several Feature starts in the building, multiple top 10s and a best finish of fourth in the 2019 Shamrock Classic.

WHAT A DAY FOR A DEBUT – Keith Kunz Motorsports’ newest racing sensation is here, and she’s ready to chase a championship.

Sixteen-year-old Jade Avedisian, of Clovis, CA, makes her KKM debut this weekend behind the wheel of the Mobil-1, Spike/Toyota #71. She made Midget history driving for Chad Boat Industries last year, becoming the first female to take the checkered flag in a national Midget Feature and then the Series’ winningest driver. Along with her first Series win at Jacksonville Speedway, she also won the season finale at I-44 Riverside Speedway.

She’s since partnered with KKM to take on the entire Xtreme Outlaw schedule in pursuit of her first national championship, which begins with her first-ever appearance at Southern Illinois Center. Though largely unfamiliar with the venue, her indoor racing resume is already star-studded, having captured a Restricted A-Class trophy at the 2020 Tulsa Shootout and a spot in the A-Main as a rookie at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January.

MAC ON THE ATTACK – When it comes to indoor Midget races, Cannon McIntosh is always one driver to keep an eye on.

McIntosh, 20, of Bixby, OK, is one of the more accomplished drivers in the Center with three podium finishes since 2019, including a Feature win in the 2019 Shamrock Classic, a runner-up at the 2020 Jason Leffler Memorial, and a third-place finish in last year’s Shamrock Classic Prelim Feature.

He’s also coming off his third career Chili Bowl Nationals prelim night victory and an A-Main podium in January, making him one of the winningest and highest-finishing indoor Midget racers over the last five seasons.

He’ll also be chasing the 2023 Xtreme Outlaw title with Dave Mac-Dalby Motorsports.

CENTER OF ATTENTION – No other driver in the last three years has won more Features at the Center than local standout Daniel Robinson.

Robinson, of Benton, IL, has amassed 14 Feature wins in the building since the 2021 season began, driving a variety of different car types to Victory Lane. He cleaned house last year, winning seven times in six different classes, and topped it all off with a Midget victory in the Junior Knepper 55 in December.

Last weekend, he picked up Feature wins in both the Winged and Non-Wing divisions of A-Class Micro Sprints as part of the Midwest Winter Nationals. He’ll pilot a Bill Ecker-owned #57 to race with the Xtreme Outlaws Friday and Saturday – the same car he drove to victory in December.

T-MEZ IN THE BUILDING – A winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series last year, Thomas Meseraull makes his Xtreme Midget debut with RMS Racing this weekend.

Meseraull, the 42-year-old open-wheel veteran from San Jose, CA, has won twice at the Center in his career – first breaking through to Victory Lane in the 2018 Junior Knepper 55, and again one year ago in the Shamrock Classic Prelim Feature.

Recently, Meseraull’s been keeping his Midget skills sharp while racing in Sydney, NSW, in the Australian Speedcar Championship at Eastern Creek Speedway. He bagged two podium finishes in the two-day event last weekend and is headed back States-side for Xtreme Outlaw competition Friday and Saturday.

AMA Pro Racing Names Bryan Smith as the Series Director of Progressive American Flat Track

AMA Pro Racing Names Bryan Smith as the Series Director of Progressive American Flat Track

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 7, 2023) – AMA Pro Racing is pleased to announce the appointment of Bryan Smith as the Series Director of Progressive American Flat Track. Smith will transition immediately from his current role as the Director of Industry Relations to the expanded role of AFT Series Director.

“Over the last year, Bryan has consistently demonstrated the leadership capabilities that are necessary to take on even greater responsibilities with the series,” said Gene Crouch, CEO of AMA Pro Racing. “Bryan’s ability to leverage the knowledge he’s gained over the course of his motorcycle racing career as both a factory rider and championship-winning privateer will also be critically important as we form future strategies for the sport.”

Smith first joined AMA Pro Racing in 2022 following a decades-long career as one of the sport’s leading competitors. His accolades include winning the Grand National Championship as a Kawasaki-mounted privateer in 2016 before becoming a Factory rider, racing on the Indian Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson squads in subsequent seasons. His understanding of the sport as a competitor, tactician, historian, mechanically minded rider, and now series’ staffer make him uniquely well suited to tackle his new role as Series Director.

“When I joined the Progressive AFT management team a year ago, I said my goals were to give back to the sport and see it grow,” said Smith. “That’s even more true today. I’m encouraged by what we’ve accomplished already, and I’m excited to embrace this new opportunity to create an even greater impact. I feel certain we’re on the right path to take the sport to the next level.”

In his new role, Smith will be responsible for managing all competition aspects of Progressive AFT, including season calendar and event planning, event operations, safety and track prep and series rules development. Smith will also continue to manage rider & team relationships and new rider evaluation.

“We are very excited to move Bryan into this new role,” said Kevin Crowther, Chief Competition Officer of AMA Pro Racing. “Bryan has a wealth of knowledge from all levels of competition, and the experience he gained last year working with the paddock and the Progressive AFT staff has given him the tools that he needs to make a positive impact on the sport.”

The 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season will launch with the hugely anticipated return of the DAYTONA Short Track I & II at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, March 9 and Friday, March 10. Get your tickets now at https://www.tixr.com/promoters/americanflattrack.

For those that can’t catch the live action from Daytona International Speedway, 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 Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://www.fanschoice.tv.

FOX Sports coverage, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 from the Daytona Short Track I on March 18 at 10:30am ET (7:30am PT) and Daytona Short Track II on March 19 at 12:30pm ET (9:30am PT).

For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.

Sent on behalf of HappyTrails Racing DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 6, 2023) – Jeffrey Carver’s Happy Trails Racingis thrilled to announce it will field reigning British National Champion Gary Birtwistle at the DAYTONA Short Track doubleheader, which kicks off the 2023 Progressive American Flat Track season this Thursday, March 9, and Friday, March 10.  Birtwistle with compete in the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER class aboard the #111 Happy Trails Racing/Jeffrey Carver Husqvarna FC450.  Birtwistle is one of the most accomplished flat track riders currently racing outside of the United States. He’s set to make his Progressive AFT debut fresh off claiming both the Singles and Twins DTRA national championships in 2022. Previously, he earned multiple Hooligan titles, including the UK and European championships.  Carver elected to support Birtwistle after first being impressed by the British rider’s skill and later suffering an injury that derailed “the Wizard’s” own plans to return to the Progressive AFT scene full-time in 2023.  “Going into 2023, my goal was to race the full Progressive AFT circuit again,” Carver said. “Unfortunately, events happen, and I suffered a severe injury in December. Acknowledging my position in life, I have decided to step back from racing Progressive AFT for 2023 to heal my body properly. In the process of this new shift, Gary reached out looking for support to come race the first two rounds. For me, it has been a dream to support riders from other countries to come race in America after my flat track school “Happy Trails Racing” has taken me around the world sharing my gifts. I won’t be on the bike this time, but I will be casting my spells to give Gary the best opportunity to live out his dreams.”  “When Jeffrey came over to ride the last round of our championship, I had no idea how fast I was going to be compared with a top U.S. pro – I was pretty scared to be honest,” Birtwistle admitted. “But we ran pretty similar lap times and went back and forth a bunch of times in our semi. That ride gave me the confidence to want to enter a Progressive AFT round. I’m super excited to be taking on this challenge with the help of Jeffrey – it’s a huge bucket list tick for me. I don’t expect to set the world alight, I just want to take in the experience and enjoy myself.”  Carver will serve as Crew Chief with Jason Watkins onboard as Mechanic.  Carver and Happy Trails Racing would also like to thank their sponsors REZRO, Bell Helmets, Carvers BBQ, Dirt Craft, Pro Plates, Kullyco, Oakley, MyPITBOARD, and Woody Kyle Racing.