| Lexington, OHIO – June 25, 2022 – Ken Thwaits picked up the Masters Award and claimed a terrific P4 in Round 7 of the 2022 Trans Am presented by Pirelli Championship at Mid Ohio today. He went on to cement second place in the Drivers’ Championship behind only reigning Champion Chris Dyson. The 23 points Ken picked up for P4 put him on 158 for the season, two points ahead of Tomy Drissi. Commentator Kerry Hitt alluded to Ken’s huge progress in the Series and the Tennessee based driver went into the weekend with a level playing field in the Drivers’ Championship on 135 points with former TA Champion Tomy Drissi. Sure enough it was the man dubbed “The Rockin’ Moroccan” who proved his closest rival on the track as the two men went head-to-head from flag fall. Drissi’s aggressive driving meant that they almost came together on Lap 3 but thereafter Ken was able to gradually draw away from the Californian and assert his superiority. Driving the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Showtime Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro, Ken had opened up a sizable advantage over his competitor but a spin on Lap 29, very well managed by Ken in the circumstances, allowed Drissi to close the gap right up. Drissi attempted to pass on the following lap before a couple of cautions that included the retirement of second placed Kaz Grala settled the field and confirmed Ken in P4. Speaking from the top step of the podium as he collected the Masters Award Ken was clearly thrilled with the afternoon’s work, “It was a great race. Tomy and I were having a showdown from the beginning. He didn’t give up. During the middle of the race I was trying to run down David Pintaric. It was just awesome. These cars are just awesome. Thanks to my crew and all of you guys that support us. We work so hard and will be back next weekend again to put in the work.” In a field that featured an increase in car count and talent this weekend at the Mid Ohio Sportscar Course, Ken did extremely well to qualify in P5 in 1:22:852, ahead of Tomy Drissi, his closest competitor this season for second place in the Drivers’ Championship. The Franklin Road Apparel team are in action again tomorrow when Cameron Lawrence takes to the track in the TA2 Class. Ken himself will be back in action at Road America next weekend when the Ryan Companies present the Trans Am 100 July 1 to 3. Here is your CBS Sports television broadcast schedule from Mid Ohio for all classes: TA2 – July 2, 7:30p.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA2 (Encore Presentation) – July 3, 11:30 a.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA/XGT/SGT/GT – July 3, 2:00p.m. ET on CBS Sports NetworkTA/XGT/SGT/GT (Encore Presentation) – July 4, 1:00 a.m. ET on CBS Sports Network Fans can find the Franklin Road Apparel Trans Am clothing here: https://www.franklinroad.com/search/trans+am/ Visit the team’s website for Showtime Motorsports showtimemotorsports.net. Learn more about the Showtime Motorsports team partner, Franklin Road Apparel, at franklinroad.com and keep up to date with the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at gotransam.com. #GoTransAm Check out the Showtime Motorsports Facebook page: facebook.com/showtimemotorsp/ and @ShowtimeMotorsp on Instagram. |
BRITTANY FORCE AND MONSTER ENERGY CAPTURE TOP SPOT SATURDAY IN OHIO
| NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2022) – Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster rallied to their third No. 1 qualifying position of the season Saturday at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. John Force had four solid qualifying runs landing the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SS in the No. 2 spot with Robert Hight and the AAA Ohio Chevy right behind in No. 3. Austin Prock rounded things out for the John Force Racing teams putting the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster in the No. 5 spot. To start Saturday qualifying, Brittany Force handled the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster to a solid 3.835-second pass at 324.83 mph in much warmer conditions than Friday evening. The Monster Energy dragster would misstep in the final qualifying session, smoking the tires for only a 6.133 at 101.22. Force’s track record 3.666 pass at 333.08 from Friday night landed Force her third No. 1 of the season and second at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. “I haven’t won at this track so that’s definitely our plan coming out here. We had three solid runs in qualifying, just didn’t quite make it down in that last one. We knew after that .83 we could push it a little bit more, see what was out there,” Force said. “That 3.666 from last night puts this Monster Energy team No. 1 That’s really awesome and I’m proud of these Monster Energy guys. These runs today, they were important. We love the late night runs with those outstanding numbers but it doesn’t really help for race day. Today was important, getting that dragster down in the heat of the day in Q3, that was important for tomorrow.” John Force and the PEAK Chevrolet were one of only two Funny Car entries to make it down the track under four seconds in third qualifying session and the only to do it in the final session. The BlueDEF Camaro would go 3.984 at 325.85 mph for two bonus qualifying points to start Saturday and then would lay down a stellar 3.950 at 326.79 to earn three points for being quickest of the session. Force would stay No. 2 from his 3.903 at 330.15 from Friday night. “Really good weekend so far with this PEAK Chevy. We’re running well. Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi, all my guys, they have us consistently getting down the track and we’re quick,” Force said. “I just need to do my job and we’ll go out there tomorrow and keep doing what we’re doing. We’ll see what happens.” Robert Hight and the AAA Chevy would run into tire smoke down track for only a 4.765-second pass at 170.86 mph in their first run on Saturday. Hight would pick things back up taking his Camaro on a 4.048 at 311.63 ride. He’ll remain in the No. 3 qualifying spot thanks to his 3.907 at 327.59 from Friday night. “We missed it this afternoon, but today’s weather is closer to what we will see tomorrow, warm temperatures. That second pass was a decent run in these conditions,” Hight said. “I’m confident going into tomorrow. It’s hard not to be with Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham running your car. We’ll be ready to go tomorrow and hopefully get this AAA Chevy in the winner’s circle.” The Montana Brand / RMT dragster had cylinders out on their first attempt Saturday. Austin Prock would cross the line at 3.981-seconds and only 262.39 mph. In their final qualifying attempt, Prock would have a clean 3.888 pass at 322.65 mph. They’ll stay No. 5 off of their 3.745 at 328.78 from Friday night. “This Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist dragster made some progress today but the 1000ft elapsed time didn’t really show what we needed it to. We made gains in areas, just need to put the whole package together tomorrow. We made a good run when it counted to get us in the top half of the field. I know the ‘silver stallions’ (aka crew chiefs Joe Barlam and Rahn Tobler) will keep at it tonight and have a solid game plan for the morning. Looking forward to going some rounds tomorrow and parking this Montana Brand / RMT car where it belongs, the winners circle.” Eliminations at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals are slated to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage of the race weekend will be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) continuing with a qualifying show Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Eliminations will air Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET. -30- |
  AUSTIN PROCK, 26, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist DragsterQualifying:5th; 3.745-seconds; 328.78 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 BRITTANY FORCE, 35, Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy DragsterQualifying:1st; 3.666-seconds; 333.08 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +7 (quickest Q1 & Q2, 3rd quickest Q3) JOHN FORCE, 73, PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:2nd; 3.903-seconds; 330.15 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +10 (quickest Q1&4, 2nd quickest Q2&3) ROBERT HIGHT, 52, AAA Ohio Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:3rd; 3.907-seconds; 327.59 mphBonus Qualifying Points:0 |
RCR NXS Post Race Report: Nashville
| Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Team Sidelined by Incident at Nashville Superspeedway |
 |
 36th |  19th |  17th |
| “The results don’t show how fast our Whelen Chevrolet was today at Nashville Superspeedway. Our Richard Childress Racing pit crew did a great job. Those guys gained us positions every time we came to pit road. My crew chief, Jeff Stankiewicz, kept working to make all the right adjustments and we had worked our way into position to score a top-10 finish. Unfortunately, I sped on pit road after Stage 1 and that put us behind but we fought our way back into contention. Then, we got caught up in a wreck and weren’t able to salvage our No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Camaro. It stinks our day ended early but we’ll bounce back next week at Road America.” -Sheldon Creed |
| Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Team Fight Hard for Top-10 Finish at Nashville Superspeedway |
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| 8th | 4th | 8th |
| “It was a hot one in the Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet today at Nashville Superspeedway. I felt like I did a pretty decent job hydrating but I might need to work on it a little bit. In the middle of the race, I got pretty hot. I had to do a reset. I got some ice and got to feeling better again to finish the run. All in all, it was a decent day for us. We fought a loose entry. Our Chevy would get tight across the middle and we never found the right balance. On the last pit stop towards the end of the race I went for a call that I thought would help us, but it didn’t. We lost some speed on the long run so we’ll reevaluate this week. Our RCR Chevrolet was good. I thought we were pretty decent on a short run. As the run went, we would start getting free and then tight across the middle. I feel like we got our front ends working pretty decent now, we just have to get the rear back in the race track.” -Austin Hill |
Burton Qualifies 26th At Nashville
June 25, 2022
Harrison Burton and the No. 21 DEX Imaging Mustang are set to start 26th in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Burton turned a lap at 157.133 miles per hour in Saturday’s qualifying session on the 1.3-mile concrete oval.
In an extended, 50-minute practice session on Friday, he had a best lap at 157.989 mph, which he posted on the 14th of the 39 laps he ran.
Sunday’s Ally 400 is set to get the green flag just after 5 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBC. Stage breaks are set for Laps 90 and 185 of the 300-lap race.
CAPPS CLAIMS FIRST NO. 1 QUALIFER FOR THE TOYOTA GR SUPRA FUNNY CAR
Ashley follows win with a strong second-place starting position in Top Fuel
NORWALK, Ohio (June 25, 2022) – Ron Capps earned the first no. 1 qualifier for the Toyota GR Supra Funny Car in just its 10th event with a stellar 3.901 second pass in the second qualifying session. In Top Fuel, Bristol winner Justin Ashley continued his strong performance with a second-place starting position as all six Toyota-backed teams qualified inside the top-11.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park
Race 10 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Brittany Force* | Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster | 1st (3.666) | K. Wurtzel |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 2nd (3.707) | L. Pruett |
| Doug Kalitta | SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 6th (3.759) | A. Brown |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 7th (3.768) | B. Torrence |
| Shawn Langdon | DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 9th (3.774) | T. Tatum |
| Billy Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 10th (3.779) | S. Torrence |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 11th (3.808) | D. Kalitta |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Ron Capps | NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra | 1st (3.901) | D. Creasy Jr. |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 6th (3.932) | P. Lee |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 7th (3.933) | B. Alexander |
TOYOTA QUOTES
JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports
TF Qualifying Result: 2nd
Do you look at your last qualifying run as something that can give you momentum for tomorrow?
“Of course. I think the conditions are going to be similar tomorrow throughout the day as we saw here. Q4 is important for us to go down the racetrack, go a-to-b and collect that data and information. As a driver, you are going up there knowing that you are not going to necessarily go up there and improve on your position, but you want to maybe pick up some bonus points. That is goal number one and then goal number two is to be able to set yourself up for tomorrow. I think that .84 was a good lap. I know (crew chiefs) Tommy (DeLago) and Mike (Green) wanted to go a little bit faster than that, but all-in-all, heading into tomorrow, it gives us something to work with.”
You had four qualifying sessions this weekend. How do you approach each qualifying session?
“It is a little different because we do have that extra qualifying session. I love that as a driver, because, first of all, the more times I get to go down the track, the better because I can feel and experience different things on that particular racetrack. It also gives me a chance to work on my reaction time and the tree a little bit more, which is nice. It gives us some more leeways to see – when you have these three sessions and there is 21 cars coming into the weekend, you look at it and you can already see where the bump spot is going to make it a tough field to make. From a drivers perspective, it just gives me another opportunity to get after it and feel certain things in the race car and feel more prepared for raceday on Sunday. I think from a tuning perspective – it just helps them feel more comfortable to have that extra session just in case things don’t necessarily go as planned.”
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
FC Qualifying Result: 1st
What have you learned with this new GR Supra?
“It would have been a very steep learning curve had we not had the help from Del Worsham’s team and the Yella Fellas on what they’ve learned all season long. We definitely would not have had the success we’ve had right away – the win in Bristol and the first pole for the GR Supra, which is awesome. I said last night – it was going to take a while to figure this car out, get it trimmed out to where that (crew chiefs) Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John (Medlen) felt comfortable. Bristol was about as demanding raceday that we’ve seen with the bumps in the track, the heat and humidity, all of that together made it – for any team, if you go ask any team, that was probably the most difficult, demanding, fun race all season long. We knew coming here – and hats off to first off, Safety Safari, are the best in the business, but the Bader family – have you seen so many side-by-side runs like we’ve seen today and yesterday, it’s been unbelievable. This is a great race track. They do a great job, so the fans are going to get a great show, but that being said, it is hot and humid. It’s just like it was in Bristol, but you are seeing great runs. Tomorrow, cloud cover is going to come in and the reason that I bring that up is the adaptation of John Medlen and Guido have in super hot, tricky conditions and then when it cools off, like it did last night, we are going to see it do that again tomorrow. We are going to see some cloud cover. It’s going to be a cooler racetrack. It’s definitely going to be faster. That’s definitely what won the championship for us last year and I think our success so far this year has been due to the fact that they can adapt. We just threw another crazy thing at them when we brought the Supra body out in Charlotte. It’s been fun to watch them do that. If I can do my job as half as well our NAPA Auto Care guys do their jobs, we are going to win a lot more races. I was out of the groove the first run yesterday and I didn’t do my job, I don’t think in the right lane earlier today. It’s a tricky racetrack. You have to be on your toes as a driver. It’s going to be fun to see how tomorrow plays out though.”
How do you get in the right mindset of racing drivers like Matt Hagan and Robert Hight?
“We got here and the TV people came over and did an interview about us being disrespected because all they talked about was the two cars – Robert (Hight) and (Matt) Hagan – and for good reason. They’ve really been doing really well. They are probably two of the best cars. I look back at points last year – the top-five at this time last year, nobody in the top-five or maybe one, ended up being in the top-five at the end of the year. (Bob) Tasca was leading earlier on. A lot can happen. We saw (Tim) Wilkerson in the final with us in Bristol. I think teams are going to start hitting their stride, but when I made any comments about I didn’t feel like we were being taken as serious when runs come up, but I’m wearing another yellow hat again. That is four no. 1 qualifiers – that’s astounding for a new team like this, but together this year. I’m not surprised. When I get up and do that, I’m the voice of our team. Our team can’t speak. I feel confident, so happy for what they do in giving me these yellow hats, that I want to get up on the biggest speaker I can get and yell about how good they are. The win was great, but let’s not discount how good Jimmy Prock and Dickie (Venables) have been. They have set the bar, but we are just as good. It all started at the 4-Wides with Brian Lohnes. He wasn’t talking about our car. We had fun with Brian about it later. Then we won and he was like I wasn’t even talking about Ron Capps. It was just that. You have to earn that. Dickie and Jimmy Prock have earned that. That is why they have been talked about, but we are just as good I think, with conditions good and tricky one. It doesn’t matter. We got the big trophy at the end of the year last year. That’s what we are trying to do again this year. Teams can throw their big numbers out, but it’s going to be fun. It’s fun to battle those guys.”
Meyer Shank Racing Leads Acura Qualifying Sweep at Watkins Glen
Tom Blomqvist’s lap-record run secures pole for Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 in the Sahlen’s Six Hourse of the Glen
Filipe Albuquerque completes Acura sweep in his Wayne Taylor Racing Acura
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2022) – Tom Blomqvist took his Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 to a new track record Saturday at Watkins Glen International Racing, securing the pole and leading an Acura sweep of the front row in qualifying for tomorrow’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.
It is the third IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole of the season for Acura and the first for Meyer Shank Racing and Blomqvist, who will share driving duties tomorrow with Oliver Jarvis for the six-hour endurance sports car race.
Felipe Albuquerque completed the front row qualifying sweep for Acura, and will start second in the Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05 he shares with Ricky Taylor.
In the production-based GTD division, the #66 Gradient Racing NSX GT3 Evo22 of Mario Farnbacher, Till Bechtolsheimer Kyffin Simpson will start 17th after it was damaged in a collision during the final practice session, and was unable to make a qualifying run.
Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen Qualifying Results
1st overall – #60 Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi [new lap record]
2nd overall – #10 Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
No time GTD – #66 Till Bechtolsheimer, Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22
Quotes
Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05) Pole qualifier, new lap record; third consecutive pole for Acura at Watkins Glen: “Our Acura is quick! I have to say thanks to everyone at Meyer Shank Racing, Acura and HPD. We prepared for this event really well and tested here. That put us in a really good position to capitalize on the strengths of our ARX-05. After leading both of the practice sessions earlier this weekend, there was a bit of extra pressure going into qualifying, but thankfully we were able to capitalize on it and I think that bodes well for tomorrow’s [six-hour] race.”
Filipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) Qualified 2nd: “”The car was pretty good. But, unfortunately the [chassis setup] window was really narrow in qualifying when it came to the peak [performance] of the tire—particularly with the hot weather we’re feeling here. So, I tried to push more later in the session, but unfortunately the tires were already gone by then and I wasn’t able to improve. It is what it is, the front row is still really good for a six-hour race. I think we have a good car for the race and we’ll see how it goes!”
Fast Facts
This is the third IMSA pole of the season for Acura. At the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, Albuquerque and Taylor combined to win the qualifying race that set the starting field; and Taylor led another Acura front-row qualifying sweep at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Acura Motorsports has recorded five previous victories at Watkins Glen, including three consecutive Camel Lights class wins (1991-93) and GTD class victories in 2017 and 2019.
Acura’s initial Watkins Glen success came in 1991, with Parker Johnstone taking the Comptech Acura Spice SE90P to the Lights class victory in a three-hour IMSA Camel GT race. After the race was expanded to six hours in 1992, Johnstone teamed with Dan Marvin to repeat as Camel Lights class winner. Acura’s third consecutive class win came in 1993, as Bob Earl and Bob Schader paired up for the victory in their Brix Racing Acura Spice SE91P.
Katherine Legge and Andy Lally took their Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 to the GTD victory in 2017, marking the second consecutive race win for the pair that season and the second-win worldwide for the then-new NSX GT3 race program.
Two years later, Mario Farnbacher, Trent Hindman and future NASCAR Cup team owner Justin Marks combined to claim GTD honors in 2019, taking their Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 from the class pole to victory en route to GTD Drivers’ Championship for Farnbacher and Hindman.
Cadillac occupies Rows 2 and 3 for start of race at The Glen
| Sebastien Bourdais qualifies third in the No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R |
| WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 25, 2022) – Cadillac Racing full-season DPi entries will occupy the third and fourth rows for the start of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 26. Sebastien Bourdais, who has added four pole starts and two race victories to his career ledger this season, drove the No. 01 V-Performance Cadillac DPi-V.R to the third starting spot with a best lap of 1 minute, 30.048 seconds on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course. Teammate Earl Bamber qualified fourth in the No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R with a lap of 1:30.242. |
| Cadillac Racing media links * Watkins Glen International resource guide: Notes, statistics, driver and team profiles and more* 2022 media guide: Historical statistics, technical transfer, why we race and more  Coming in 2023: Gallery of images of the Project GTP Hypercar that previews the race car for IMSA and WEC events |  “It’s all about where you catch traffic and when you get the yellows and if you get a lucky undercut or something happens,” Bourdais said of the race that is scheduled to take the green flag at 10:40 a.m. ET.“It’s six hours of chaos with 48 cars out there. Keeping your nose clean is going to be key.” |
| Added Bamber, who tested at The Glen earlier this month: “We had a good test day and I think it’s converted into some strong results. It’s going to be all about track position and traffic is a bit wild out there.” Olivier Pla, competing in his second race with Action Express Racing, qualified fifth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering DPi-V.R with a lap of 1:30.500. Entering the third of four rounds of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R is the points pacesetter, with Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval co-driving the JDC-Miller MotorSports entry. Vautier qualified sixth with a lap of 1:31.059. Kamui Kobayashi, coming off a runner-up finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, qualified seventh in the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R. He completed only three laps because of an issue with the front brakes. Kobayashi will share driving duties with Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller. The team is competing in the endurance races this season. Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, did not drive at Sebring because of an INDYCAR race weekend conflict. “It’s great to be back with the race team and the cars are extremely fun to drive. I’m excited to be back with Action Express,” he said. Tom Blomqvist produced a track-record lap time of 1:29.580 in securing the Motul Pole Award in the No. 60 Acura. The previous record of 1:29.639 was set in 2019. The USA Network will telecast the race live at 2 p.m. ET, with Peacock providing flag-to-flag coverage starting at 10:30 a.m. IMSA Radio will broadcast the race at IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992. |
| Cadillac Racing lineup, starting position and notes No. 01 V-Performance Academy Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Renger van der Zande, Sebastien BourdaisBourdais drove in the qualifying session (start third, 1:30.048). “Happy with the car, just not quite there yet with the balance. It’s much more comfortable and we will see what tomorrow brings. It will be a long day and usually a lot of things happen in the race. Hope to be consistent, keep our nose clean and we’ll see what we get at the end of the day.”Van der Zande and Bourdais co-drove the No. 01 Cadillac DPi-V.R to victory on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 and on the Belle Isle street circuit June 4 after starting from the pole in both races with qualifying track-record lap times. … Bourdais set the qualifying lap record time in earning the pole for the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the May 15 Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio. … Bourdais is a four-time INDYCAR champion.Car chief-Phil BinksLead engineer-John HennekRace strategist-Peter Baron No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R (Chip Ganassi Racing)Earl Bamber, Alex LynnBamber drove in the qualifying session (start fourth, 1:30.242): “I think we had a good car in qualifying. The No. 02 Cadillac was strong. I think we made the right choices, just got blocked twice with traffic. I think all things considered, we’re in a good spot for tomorrow and we’ll definitely tune it up and be ready for tomorrow.”First-year entry in expanded Cadillac Racing DPi program. … Bamber and Lynn co-drove to a runner-up finish on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting second. … They, along with Neel Jani, co-drove to victory March 19 in the Twelve Hours of Sebring. … Bamber salutes his home country with a silver fern design on the sides of his helmet — a quasi-national emblem used for various official New Zealand symbols. … Bamber tested at Watkins Glen earlier this month.Car chief-Jamie CoatesLead engineer-Danielle ShephardRace strategist-Michael Harvey No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing)Pipo Derani, Olivier Pla, Mike ConwayPla drove in the qualifying session (fifth, 1:30.500).Pla is making his second start in the No. 31 Cadillac. … Derani and Felipe Nasr won the 2-hour, 40-minute race at Watkins Glen in 2021. … Derani and Tristan Nunez co-drove to third place on the Laguna Seca road course after starting sixth. They followed with a third-place finish May 15 at Mid-Ohio. … Derani and Nunez, joined by Conway, started second and finished third in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring. … The three-driver team started seventh and finished fourth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to open the season. … Derani and Felipe Nasr were the 2021 IMSA DPi Driver Champions and Whelen Engineering/Action Express Racing was the Team Champion. … Conway co-drove to a runner-up finish at Le Mans two weeks ago.Car chief-Bill KeulerTechnical director/lead engineer-Iain WattRace strategist-Tim Keene No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R (JDC-Miller MotorSports)Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook, Loic DuvalVautier drove in the qualifying session (start sixth, 1:31.059): “It’s not where we want to be. It’s not great for Cadillacs with the BoP, but we have some work to do to catch the others. We know where to look, we haven’t found a solution yet to fix what we want to improve on the car. Tomorrow is a long race that doesn’t rely only on pure speed. We’ll focus on our execution and look forward to a strong race tomorrow.”The team leads the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup standings through two of the four races. … Vautier and Westbrook co-drove to third place on the streets of Long Beach on April 9 after starting fifth. … Vautier and Westbrook, joined by Duval, drove to second place in the March 19 Twelve Hours of Sebring and opened the ’22 season by starting second and finishing third at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. … Westbrook is a three-time winner at The Glen (2014 and ’15 in a Corvette DP; 2016 in GTLM).Car chief-Josh KerriganLead engineer-Rick CameronRace strategist-John Church No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R (Action Express Racing) Jimmie Johnson, Kamui Kobayashi, Mike RockenfellerKobayashi drove in the qualifying session (start seventh, 2:17.096).Team is running the four endurance races this season. … Team of Johnson, Kobayashi, Rockenfeller and Jose Maria Lopez opened the season by starting third in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Repairs in 13th hour necessitated by being bumped off course negated a strong showing, and team placed 11th overall. … Lopez was the third driver for the Sebring race, sitting in for Johnson, who had a conflicting INDYCAR race weekend. … The team started fifth and finished sixth at Sebring. … Kobayashi co-drove to a runner-up finish at Le Mans two weeks ago.Car chief-Scott DarnellTechnical director/lead engineer-Iain WattRace strategist-Chad Knaus See the Cadillac lineup Spectators can view an array of Cadillac vehicles, including the exciting CT5-V Blackwing, CT4-V Blackwing and the 2023 Escalade-V, at the Cadillac display in the midway. Hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. The 2023 Escalade-V — the industry’s most powerful full-size SUV that goes on sale late this summer – expands the V-Series lineup. Now in its fourth generation, Cadillac’s V-Series represents ultimate performance, the epitome of Cadillac’s engineering capability, with unrivaled sophistication and comfort for everyday driving. In adding Escalade-V to the lineup, the V-Series family continues to expand, while consistently combining power, luxury, thoughtful technology and athletic refinement for the discerning enthusiast. |
CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Tough Going in Qualifying
| Garcia, Taylor start sixth in GTD PRO for Sahlen’s Six Hours |
| WATKINS GLEN, NY (June 25, 2022) – Corvette Racing will roll off from the seventh row of the GT Daytona (GTD) category and in sixth position among GTD PRO entries for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday. Jordan Taylor set a qualifying lap of 1:46.259 (115.190 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R around Watkins Glen International during Saturday afternoon’s 15-minute session. He will start Sunday’s race – the first for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTD PRO class in nearly two months – as the pairing of Taylor and Antonio Garcia go for a second straight Sahlen’s Six Hours class victory and third straight at The Glen. The No. 3 Corvette was 1.5 seconds off the GTD PRO pole time. Garcia and Taylor arrived at The Glen second in GTD PRO points and first among GTD PRO competitors in the Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship made up of the WeatherTech Championship’s four long-distance races. The No. 3 Corvette already has an endurance victory this year to its credit: the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March. Corvette Racing has three victories at Watkins Glen since 2014 – including two last year. Garcia and Taylor won in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category in last year’s Sahlen’s Six Hours as well as the WeatherTech 240 sprint race a week later. Garcia is one of nine drivers to win more than once in the Sahlen’s Six Hours and has five podium finishes in his last five races at The Glen, while Taylor won for the first time in the event a year ago. Chevrolet has a strong history of success in the race with 18 victories – second among active manufacturers. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 26. The race will stream live on Peacock with USA’s live television coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio’s streaming audio coverage begins at 9:55 a.m. ET on IMSA.com along with XM 207 and SiriusXM Online 992. |
| JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – QUALIFIED SIXTH IN GTD PRO:“Frustrating… the car actually feels pretty good. We’ve made some improvements and picked up time from the practices. But it wasn’t enough to gain 1.5 seconds around a place like this. We have a few things we can try for the warmup tomorrow but the track conditions won’t be anything like what we’ll have in the race. Strategy might be our way to gain track position. It’s gotten us out front before this year when we were down on performance, but you can’t plan for that at every race.” |
chevy racing–nascar–nashville–qualifying notes
NASCAR CUP SERIES
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
ALLY 400
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING NOTES
JUNE 25, 2022
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-20 QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
3rd KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1
4th CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1
5th DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1
7th ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1
12th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY MUSIC CITY CAMARO ZL1
13th WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1
14th AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 16 GOLD FISH CASINO SLOTS CAMARO ZL1
16th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1
20th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1
TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
2nd Joey Logano (Ford)
3rd Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)
4th Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
5th Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)
· Following Round One of qualifying for both Group A and B, rain prior to the start of Round Two forced qualifying to be concluded.
· The starting positions for the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 were based on the lap times posted in Round One of qualifying.
· Four Camaro ZL1’s will start in the top-10, led by Nashville Superspeedway defending winner Kyle Larson and the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 in third. This marks his 11th top-10 start of 2022.
· NBC will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 live at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 26. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
DESTROYED IT: Conoyer Wins at I-55, Snaps Hoffman’s Win Streak
PEVELY, MO – June 24, 2022 – Rick Conoyer has competed all season long at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 but had yet to go to Victory Lane. That was, until Friday night, when he led every lap of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Feature, collecting his second career victory with the tour and snapping four-time and defending champion Nick Hoffman’s perfect season.
“To beat those guys, it’s phenomenal,” Conoyer said.
Prior to Friday night, The Destroyer had only one other Summit Modified victory in his career – June 30, 2018, right at I-55. Nearly four years in the making, and the Wentzville, MO-native drives back to Victory Lane in the biggest way, defeating the most stacked field of DIRTcar UMP Modifieds the track has hosted all year.
The race was 25 laps, but it seemed like an eternity in the cockpit for Conoyer, knowing Hoffman started one row behind him at the drop of the green.
“That whole race I was driving out there, the car was so good,” Conoyer said. “I was on like a Sunday cruise. But I kept looking over my shoulder like, ‘Where’s the 2 car? Where’s the 2 car? He’s gotta be coming, because I’m running like quarter-throttle, half-throttle tops.’”
Crossing the stripe with two-to-go, polesitter Will Krup was right on Conoyer’s rear bumper with a small cluster of lapped traffic in front. Conoyer dove into Turn 1 in the middle, opening the door for Krup down low. Conoyer defended down the backstretch and through Turns 3-4 with Krup right on him, using the lapped car as a pick.
“Then we got into lapped traffic and I was like, ‘Oh boy, just don’t make a stupid move,’” Conoyer said. “Will [Krup] came in there and ran me clean as a whistle, and I can’t be more happy. I just can’t.
“I just about gave it up when I saw the white flag. I was on the outside of that lapped car, and I just about went around the outside of him. If I would’ve, I’d have slid up, and he would’ve got me. So, I dove down to the bottom and just protected.”
Hoffman crossed the line right where he started, in third. This effectively ends his perfect season at seven-straight victories, though he still sits way out front in Summit Modified points.
“I just needed to be a little bit more compliant,” Hoffman said about what his car needed in the Feature. “I was way too stiff. I never really felt like my right-rear tire was in the racetrack.”
At various points through the Feature, Hoffman did get a look underneath Krup for second, but couldn’t get the bite he needed to make the pass. He eventually faded back comfortably in third, and crossed the stripe to complete the podium.
“My only shot was to try and clean that one lane up a little bit and get underneath [Krup], because he wasn’t gonna leave that middle where most of the grip was,” Hoffman said.
UP NEXT
The Summit Modifieds are back in action Saturday night at I-55 for the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale; watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)
Feature 25 Laps | 00:09:28.266
1. 14C-Rick Conoyer[2]; 2. K9-Will Krup[1]; 3. 2-Nick Hoffman[3]; 4. 8-Kyle Steffens[13]; 5. 36-Kenny Wallace[4]; 6. 1D- Dean Hoffman[10]; 7. 25-Tyler Nicely[7]; 8. 10X-Jim Black[6]; 9. 59R-Jacob Rexing[8]; 10. 12L-Lucas Lee[9]; 11. J82-Treb Jacoby[16]; 12. 130-Chase Allen[11]; 13. 4T-Jake Trebilcock[17]; 14. 327-Chuck Goodman[20]; 15. 24D-Jesse Dill[12]; 16. 18L-Michael Long[19]; 17. 1A-Steve Meyer Jr[18]; 18. 7P-Dennis Ponder[14]; 19. 23-Dylan Sharp[15]; 20. 77S-Rick Stevenson[5]; 21. M41-Steve Maisel[21]; 22. 96-Curtis Rodenhaber[22]
SCORE ONE FOR WASHINGTON: STARKS OUTDUELS SCELZI TO CLAIM NARC DIRT CUP NIGHT TWO
(6/24/2022 – Alex Nieten) Burlington, WA… California might’ve claimed round one of the 50th Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, but Washington would not be denied as the bell rang for round two.
Fireworks boomed above the backstretch, and the Northwest crowd roared as Puyallup, Washington’s Trey Starks climbed atop his car in Skagit Speedway victory lane having emerged as Friday’s winner of the second and final Dirt Cup preliminary with the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars.
It was a special night for the 26-year-old. While he’s won dozens of races in his home region, Starks had never taken a Dirt Cup checkered flag in the finale or a prelim. It also marked his seventh win in 10 total races in 2022 and his second in three races with NARC this year.
As a bonus, Starks got to battle his good friend, Dominic Scelzi, for the victory.
“It was a really good race,” Starks said. “I’m so happy to be back up on stage in front of the hometown crowd.”
Starks began the race outside the front row with Garen Linder on the pole. Starks ripped the outside in his T&C Concepts No. 55 to lead the opening circuit as Scelzi quickly jumped from sixth to third in the opening laps.
A red flag flew with 36 to go as Tanner Holmes made contact with another car out of turn four, sending Holmes on a wild flip, his second nasty crash in as many days. Holmes walked away under his own power.
On the restart Scelzi wasted no time clearing Linder with a slider to move into the runner-up spot and setting his sights on Starks. As the lead duo began to work through traffic 10 laps in Scelzi closed in. Scelzi threw his first slider attempt at Starks but couldn’t clear him.
Then, Scelzi regrouped and sent another slide job, making the pass this time and leading lap 15. Starks, though, rallied and returned the favor with his own successful slider to take the lead back.
Starks began to build a small advantage over Scelzi, but with 19 to go the red flag flew again as Zeb Wise got above the cushion in turn three and climbed the fence before getting upside down. Wise was okay.
On the ensuing restart Scelzi slid Starks in turn three, but Starks again answered, perfectly rolling the bottom in turns one and two to edge ahead of Scelzi.
“I saw Dominic more than a few times,” Starks said of their battle. “And we were able to combat every one of his moves.”
Starks took off after snagging the lead back from Scelzi. He found himself in heavy traffic as the race dipped inside 10 laps to go. Scelzi took a peak to his inside on multiple occasions in traffic but couldn’t quite challenge him.
A couple of late yellows bunched things up, but Starks pulled away each time and ultimately held on to win by just under eight tenths of a second. With how his points situation had been at the time the Fujitsu Feature started, Starks knew he needed to win to stay alive in Dirt Cup standings head into Saturday’s $50,000 to win finale..
“I knew starting on the front row we were basically going to have to win to put us in any decent position for points tomorrow,” Starks expiated “It was a hard fought race.”
Scelzi held on for second in his Red Rose Transportation/Whipple Superchargers No. 41, his 10th NARC podium of the year. Scelzi thought a longer green flag run might’ve allowed him a chance at the lead.
“I would’ve liked to have seen traffic stay,” Scelzi said. “I think in open air he (Starks) was probably better for the first four or five laps, and then I seemed to start coming back to him. The car was perfect tonight.”
Completing the podium was Shane Golobic in his NOS Energy Drink/Elk Grove Ford No. 17W. While he would’ve liked to win, Golobic stayed focused on the big picture.
“Third is not exactly what we came for,” Golobic said. “But in this format points are everything and we had a decent points night, going seventh to third. We’ll take it.”
The remainder of the top-10 included Corey Day, Tyler Courtney (from 20th), Tim Kaeding, Jason Solwold (from 17th), Justin Sanders (from 16th), Greg Hamilton, and Jesse Schlotfeldt.
Tyler Courtney is the high point man heading into Saturday’s finale and will be guaranteed a front row starting spot in the 50-lap main event.
*The Feature was shortened by three laps due to tire wear concerns.
FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE (37 laps): 1. Trey Starks 55 2. Dominic Scelzi 41 3. Shane Golobic 17W 4. Corey Day 14 5. Tyler Courtney 57W 6. Tim Kaeding 42X 7. Jason Solwold 18 8. Justin Sanders 2X 9. Greg Hamilton 96 10. Jesse Schlotfeldt 21 11. Kerry Madsen 83JR 12. Tanner Carrick 83T 13. Max Mittry 2XM 14. Willie Croft 29 15. Jonathan Allard 0 16. D.J. Netto 88N 17. Blake Carrick 38B 18. Garen Linder 22 19. Tyler Thompson 7 20. Logan Forler 2L 21. Cory Eliason 26C 22. Mitchell Faccinto 21T 23. Zeb Wise 26R 24. Tanner Holmes 18T
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Starks, 1-14, Scelzi 15, Starks 16-37
ARP QUICK QUALIFIER (44 cars): Dominic Scelzi – 11.311 seconds
BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 laps): Netto, Linder, Mittry, Golobic, Madsen, Croft, Fauver, Caruana, Aton, McGhie, Goetz
KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 laps): Starks, Day, Wise, Courtney, Faccinto, Schlotfeldt, Parker, Kaeding, Johnson, Allard, Robinson
DIRT.TRAVEL CLUB HEAT THREE (8 laps): B. Carrick, Sanders, T. Kaeding, Solwold, Holmes, Thompson, Heath, Glenn, Jacobson, Didiuk, Becker
KAEDING PERFORMANCE HEAT FOUR (8 laps): Hamilton, Scelzi, Eliason, T. Carrick, Forler, Ringo, Youngquist, Richman, Myers, Gomes,
STARR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SEMI (15 laps): Allard, B. Carrick, Netto, Thompson, Gomes, B. Kaeding, Fauver, Youngquist, Myers, Aton, Heath, Glenn, Didiuk, Johnson, McGhie, Jacobson, Ringo, Goetz, Parker, Caruana, Becker.
Alex Bright Wins Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series Feature at I-55
| ROLL BOTTOM: Bright Low-Lines to Win STL Firecracker Faceoff Night 1 at I-55 PEVELY, MO – June 24, 2022 – In his pursuit of the Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Car Series presented by Low-E Insulation championship this year, Alex Bright took a big step toward that ultimate goal Friday night, winning night #1 of the inaugural St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55. The Hummer Motorsports pilot from Collegeville, PA, topped the 26-car field, scoring his first career Xtreme Outlaw Series victory and gaining some valuable points in the championship standings. “I can’t thank Hummer Motorsports and everybody from the Hummer family enough for the opportunity,” Bright said. “We just had this Rodota Trucking & Excavating, CRC Auto, driveWFX car rolling on the bottom.” Coming from seventh on the starting grid, Bright got on his horse quickly, passing his way to fourth in the first four laps. For the next 10 laps, he had the best seat in the house to watch a three-way battle for the lead between Mario Clouser, Jake Swanson and Isaac Chapple. Clouser had taken the lead from Chapple on Lap 5 and was ripping around the top side of the third-mile, keeping the cars behind him at bay with the speed he carried on the top. Clouser looked to have the best line until he got over the cushion in Turns 1-2 on Lap 16 and ramped-up the outside wall, spinning and bringing out caution. “I saw the top was definitely getting treacherous,” Bright said of his view from the cockpit. “Before I even got to [Clouser], the other guys that were running the top were making mistakes, so that’s why I just kept working the bottom, and we were good down there too.” By that time, Bright had just made the move for second, which meant he had the lead for the next restart. The green flag dropped, and Bright took off and began his defense of the top spot. Multiple caution flags fell over the course of his time at the head of the field, meaning Bright had to be sharp on restarts. In the end, he was flawless, nailing the bottom line for each of the remaining laps to score the $5,000 victory. “I honestly had no idea where anybody behind me was running,” Bright said. “[Whether] they were running the top, if they were running the bottom, middle or lower, because I got by Isaac Chapple trying to work the middle line. I had no idea where anybody else was. I just kept it smooth, kept the car underneath me and tried not to make any mistakes.” Nick Bilbee, of Martinsville, IN, crossed the stripe second in his first start with the Series. Overall Fast Qualifier (pres. by Whitz Racing Products) Zach Daum, of Pocahontas, IL, rounded out the podium. UP NEXT The Xtreme Outlaw Sprint Cars return to I-55 on Saturday, June 25, for the $6,000-to-win St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff finale. If you can’t be at the track, stream it live on DIRTVision. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature 30 Laps | 00:25:40.2831. 20-Alex Bright[7]; 2. 17-Nick Bilbee[2]; 3. 5D-Zach Daum[11]; 4. 33M-Matt Westfall[12]; 5. 52-Isaac Chapple[1]; 6. 66- Shane Cockrum[5]; 7. 16-Anthony Nicholson[23]; 8. 99X-Dalton Stevens[19]; 9. 28-Kory Schudy[9]; 10. 2-Chase Johnson[22]; 11. 2B-Chad Boespflug[8]; 12. 1JR-Steven Russell[16]; 13. 34-Sterling Cling[17]; 14. 0-Steve Irwin[18]; 15. 6- Mario Clouser[4]; 16. 13-Chase Howard[21]; 17. 21AZ-Jake Swanson[6]; 18. 24-Landon Simon[14]; 19. 17GP-Kyle Shipley[3]; 20. 77-Jack Wagner[10]; 21. 99-Korey Weyant[20]; 22. 33-Rece Wommack[15]; 23. 44-Wesley Smith[13] |
The Xtreme Outlaw Series is brought to fans by important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Low-E Insulation (Presenting sponsor of the non-wing Sprint Car Series), Toyota (Presenting sponsor of the Midgets Series), Racing Electronics (Official Radio Supplier) and SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider). Other partners include: DRC Chassis, K1 Race Gear, Pace Dyno Services, TJ Forged and Whitz Racing Products.
FOREVER 41: Carson Macedo Earns Emotional Win for Jason Johnson Racing at Huset’s Speedway
Gravel, Macedo, Kofoid & Zearfoss Locked-In for Saturday’s $100,000/Win Finale
BRANDON, SD – June 24, 2022 – Exactly four years to the day of Jason Johnson’s passing, Carson Macedo brought the famed #41 back to victory lane.
With some help from above, the Lemoore, CA superstar used a little late-race magic to steal the lead away from Brian Brown on Lap 33 of 35 with $20,000 on the line in Friday’s Feature at Huset’s Speedway. His win tallied enough points to lock-in for Saturday’s $100,000-to-win High Bank Nationals finale along with David Gravel, Buddy Kofoid, and Brock Zearfoss.
It was a symbolic win in many fashions for the Albaugh #41 team. Friday marked the first-ever trip to victory lane for Jace Dietz, the newborn son of owners Philip & Brooke Dietz, who ironically enough was originally due on June 24 of all dates. With Jace in arms, a little bit of Jason was taken to the winner’s circle.
As championship leader Brad Sweet suffered more carnage, Macedo made the most of his opportunity and cut the championship lead down to a mere 12 points with his sixth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the 2022 season.
More importantly, he’s put himself and the JJR squad in a prime position to contend for $100,000 on Saturday night at the state-of-the-art Brandon, SD facility. It’s the first of four six-figure paydays for The Greatest Show on Dirt this summer and would top the National Open ($75,000) as the richest win of Macedo’s career at 26 years old.
“I think I had a co-pilot in there tonight,” Macedo said. “Winning today on June 24th, four years after we lost Jason, is pretty special. He was an incredible man and built an incredible team, and I’m privileged to continue honoring his legacy with these guys. From Craig & Deborah and Bobbi & Jaxx to now Philip & Brooke, carrying on this legacy means a lot to all of us.”
Winning it from the fifth spot, Macedo was far from the story early on in Friday’s 35-lapper.
Knoxville, IA native Riley Goodno, in his seventh-career World of Outlaws start, earned the pole position in his family-owned #22. The 19-year-old quickly deterred any “fluke” narratives as he beat Brian Brown on the opening lap and ensued to lead the first eight circuits while only building his advantage over the best Sprint Car drivers in the world.
Goodno’s pace was erased when Brad Sweet & Rico Abreu brought out the red flag on Lap 8 and created a double-file restart. This time, Brown wasn’t messing around and throttled around the top to put the Casey’s General Stores, FVP Parts #21 in command of the race lead on Lap 9.
Brownie, of Higginsville, MO, controlled the top spot for another 24 laps until Macedo tossed a big move his way and made it stick to steal the lead with three laps left.
“Once I got behind Brown, I was hustling extremely hard, probably too hard,” Macedo contained. “I finally calmed myself down and set up that big slider on him in turns one and two. I know it was a big flyer to throw, but this is for a lot of money this week so I had to try it. It feels good to just finally get a win at Huset’s after this place had my number for so long.”
Blackjack Brian Brown completed a miraculous turnaround with a runner-up finish for the #21, finishing 1.046-seconds behind Macedo. In only 24 hours, the Knoxville Raceway ace took his 1/4-mile program from struggling into the Last Chance Showdown to competing for the $20,000 victory.
“A lot of the credit goes to Danny [Lasoski] tonight,” Brown said on his comeback. “He made a ton of big changes to this car from last night, and I just let him do his thing and kept my nose out of it. It’s no secret this is a place that has always had my numbers over the years. We were 16th in the LCS last night, I mean terrible honestly, and tonight we almost won it. We’ve got a lot of work left to do tomorrow, though.”
Rounding out the podium was the feel-good story of the night with Riley Goodno claiming a career-best third-place finish with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. It was a drastic improvement for the 19-year-old, who entered Friday with a career-best of 18th in six starts with the Series.
“This is a dream come true,” Goodno said on the frontstretch. “I can’t thank my mom and my dad enough for everything they’ve done for me. Driving me up and down the road allowing me to chase my dreams is something I appreciate so much. My dad and I have always wanted to travel as much as possible, learn as much as possible, and be the best team that we could be, I think that is starting to show.”
Closing out the top-five at Huset’s was Spencer Bayston in fourth-from-11th aboard the CJB Motorsports, TrueTimber #5, and David Gravel in fifth in the Big Game Motorsports #2. The Watertown, CT native collected 852 total points across the two preliminary nights (6th Thursday, 5th Friday) to earn high point man honors and guarantee himself a front row start in the $100,000-to-win Feature on Saturday.
Finishing the top-10 on Friday was Logan Schuchart, Sheldon Haudenschild (from 25th), Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi, and Brock Zearfoss.
NOS NOTEBOOK (HUSET’S SPEEDWAY, 6/24/22)
Carson Macedo’s 23rd career World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory brings him one away from Ron Shuman (24) for 27th on the All-Time Win List. In his eighth start at the track, Friday marked Macedo’s first-career win at Huset’s Speedway, the 17th different track he’s won a World of Outlaws race at.
For the third consecutive night, a driver earned his first-career World of Outlaws podium finish. It was Kasey Kahne (3rd) on Wednesday after leading lap, then Buddy Kofoid (1st) winning for the first time on Thursday, and now Riley Goodno (3rd) leading laps and finding the frontstretch on Friday.
David Gravel, Carson Macedo, Buddy Kofoid, and Brock Zearfoss are locked-in for Saturday’s King of the Hill, already guaranteeing a top-five starting spot for each of them in tomorrow’s $100,000-to-win High Bank Nationals finale.
The likes of James McFadden, Logan Schuchart, Giovanni Scelzi, and Hunter Schuerenberg are expected to lead Saturday’s four Qualifiers to the green flag with each winner earning a spot in the King of the Hill alongside the locked-in drivers.
Macedo earned his sixth Slick Woody’s QuickTime Award of the season, the most on tour. He was followed by six new NOS Energy Drink Heat Winners Riley Goodno, Matt Juhl, Jack Croaker, Paige Polyak, Carson McCarl, and Marcus Dumesny.
For the second consecutive night, Sheldon Haudenschild earned the KSE Hard Charger Award, his Series-best sixth of the season. This one came with a monumental 25th-t0-7th run, the largest of the season at +18 positions after he needed to take a provisional.
UP NEXT (Thur-Sat) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will conclude the inaugural High Bank Nationals on Saturday with a $100,000-to-win finale awaiting racers at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, SD. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE, or watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.
NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (35 Laps) – 1. 41-Carson Macedo [5][$20,000]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [2][$10,000]; 3. 22-Riley Goodno [1][$7,000]; 4. 5-Spencer Bayston [11][$6,000]; 5. 2-David Gravel [6][$5,500]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$5,000]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [25][$3,000]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [13][$4,000]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi [21][$3,500]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [9][$3,000]; 11. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$2,500]; 12. 83-James McFadden [17][$2,400]; 13. 11-Buddy Kofoid [8][$2,300]; 14. 1A-Jacob Allen [14][$2,200]; 15. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [24][$2,100]; 16. 88-Austin McCarl [20][$1,500]; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [12][$1,500]; 18. 16-Brooke Tatnell [18][$1,500]; 19. 1AU-Marcus Dumesny [15][$1,500]; 20. O9-Matt Juhl [7][$1,500]; 21. 7S-Robbie Price [22][$1,500]; 22. 19-Paige Polyak [16][$1,500]; 23. 24-Rico Abreu [4][$1,500]; 24. 11P-Parker Price-Miller [23][$1,500]; 25. 27-Carson McCarl [19]. Lap Leaders: Riley Goodno 1-8, Brian Brown 9-32, Carson Macedo 33-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+18]
NEW Championship Standings (After 31/77 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (4,266); 2. Carson Macedo (-12); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (-24); 4. David Gravel (-46); 5. Logan Schuchart (-54); 6. Donny Schatz (-148); 7. Spencer Bayston (-156); 8. James McFadden (-214); 9. Jacob Allen (-354); 10. Brock Zearfoss (-486).
ULTIMATE OPPORTUNIST: Erb Scores Night 1 of St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff
The Carpentersville, IL driver passed Billy Moyer Jr. with 12 Laps to go to earn his third World of Outlaws Triumph of 2022
PEVELY, MO – JUNE 25, 2022 – A second chance isn’t something that slips away from Dennis Erb Jr.
However, the veteran Late Model driver needed that second chance Friday at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 after a caution negated his pass for the lead.
Erb found another opportunity to strike 18 laps later, as race leader Billy Moyer Jr. caught the tail of the field. That’s when Erb dove to the bottom, splitting Kye Blight’s car as Moyer tried to pass him on the outside. Erb took the advantage, thundering past both of them with momentum to take the lead with 12 laps to go.
This time, a caution wouldn’t get in Erb’s way as he bested the top drivers with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series and DIRTcar Summer Nationals to earn the $10,000 prize on night one of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff.
Erb stressed the importance of hitting his marks as a key to finding Victory Lane.
“We really would’ve liked to have gotten [the lead] earlier, but you know we were able to just wait and got it at the right time and was able to make a move on [Moyer],” Erb said. “Our car was working really good around that bottom, and we just had to hit our marks real good.
“Once I got out front, I was able to move up and move around. It was a little slippery tonight, but we were able to go out and get it.”
Erb’s win is his 12th World of Outlaws victory and 24th DIRTcar Summer Nationals triumph.
The four-time Hell Tour champion stated his time running Summer Nationals events the past two weeks gave him the chance to get better, despite his consistency in the first half of the season.
“We spent the last week or so going out and running [DIRTcar Summer Nationals] races,” Erb said. “We tried a few different things to see if we can make ourselves better. So, we picked up on a few things, and hopefully, it’ll help us out the rest of the year.”
Erb’s win extends his World of Outlaws CASE Late Models points lead—122 points over Max Blair, who finished 12th.
Billy Moyer Jr. settled for second after leading the race’s first 28 laps.
The Batesville, AK driver stated he had a good car but started to tighten up once he reached traffic.
“If the whole time we are in clean air, I don’t know if [Erb] would’ve got us,” Moyer said. “His car was just way better than ours maneuverability-wise.
“I couldn’t run that bottom like he did, and hell, I felt like I had a parachute back there. So, I just moved back up and tried to use the whole track. All in all, the car is good, just not as good as his around the bottom.”
Frank Heckenast Jr. crossed the line third, his first podium with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Summer Nationals in 2022.
Despite coming home third, the Frankfort, IL driver said his finish felt like a win.
“I screwed up in the Heat,” Heckenast said. “I didn’t screw up in the Heat; I just mean [Shannon Babb], and I had such a good race, and I have so much respect for him. I could’ve tried to slide him, and then I would’ve had the last pill for the fourth heat and started second.
“This feels like a win. We just had so much stuff going wrong lately. When you get that close, it really just tears at you that you had a shot to win.”
Jason Feger finished fourth, his fifth DIRTcar Summer Nationals top five this season, and first with the World of Outlaws—after starting 12th.
“Once we got rolling, the car was pretty good, and it came to life,” Feger said. “It felt really good on the restarts, and we were rolling by guys. We couldn’t get by Frankie at the end, and you know we were probably a little too nice to him.
“But I’m really happy; 12th to fourth against this bunch of guys. The car is fast and in one piece, and maybe we have something for them [Saturday].”
Four-time Hell Tour champion Brian Shirley rounded out the top five.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals points leader Bobby Pierce finished eighth, extending his lead over Ryan Unzicker.
Dennis Erb Jr.’s ability to take advantage of a second chance allowed him to get the edge on the competition Friday at I-55. If having that edge pays off on Saturday, it could be another $20,000 in his bank account.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models and DIRTcar Summer Nationals return to I-55 on Saturday, June 25 for the second night of the St. Louis Firecracker Faceoff.
Marlar Goes Back-to-Back at Lernerville
| Sarver, PA (June 24, 2022) – For the second night in a row Mike Marlar won a preliminary feature at Lernerville Speedway. Marlar took the lead from Ricky Thornton Jr. on lap 14 to score the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win on Friday night; setting himself up for a good starting spot in one of the six heat races to be contested Saturday night for the 16th Annual Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River Steel paying $50,000-to-win. Marlar fought off Tim McCreadie, who had raced from the ninth starting spot to challenge for the lead at the end but fell a few car lengths short at the checkers. Thornton, who led the first 13 laps from the pole finished in third. Mark Whitener, who had an impressive run in his heat race climbing from seventh for the win came home fourth in the feature just ahead of fifth place Hudson O’Neal. Thornton and O’Neal started on the front row and paced the field for the first four laps until Marlar took over second from O’Neal on the fifth circuit. The race went the first 12 laps caution free just as Thornton was about to pick up the tail end of the field. On the restart it took Marlar just two laps around the legendary racetrack to get the lead, which he held until the end to keep him a perfect two-for-two on the weekend so far. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 18th time in his career Marlar has his sights set on his third career $50,000 payday on Saturday night. “It was just so slick I was just kind of driving different most laps actually and I probably changed up what I was doing six or seven times in 30 laps. I saw him (McCreadie) flash under me in one and two, after about four or five laps my tires would get a little hotter and they’d give up some grip, so I think he preserved his tires a little better.” Marlar started third in the race and tracked down Thornton, overhauling for the lead one lap shy of the halfway mark. “He had the bottom and he wasn’t going to move; I was just waiting on that brown ring on the bottom to wear out. It was getting thinner and thinner so then on that one restart I found some crumbs out here kind of in the middle leaving four, so I got on the outside and it worked for me, I barely got by him. It’s definitely been a good weekend so far. The trip is paid for and tomorrow will be the cherry on top. It will be tough. You know we have a good 30-40 lap car; it slides around on me once the tires get warm. So tomorrow we will get a harder tire and see if that helps the situation too.” McCreadie, the reigning Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion took the runner-up spot as the 2019 Firecracker 100 winner charged from the inside of the fifth row. “This will give us a better shot in the heats tomorrow night which is what you are working for. The track’s been tough. It’s been way different each night and it just shows this Mega Plumbing team is doing a good job in trying to adapt. To be able to run well both nights and be competitive, it’s all you can ask for. I need some help over in one and two, I can’t get where I want the car to be activated. To come home second to Mikey, he’s really good. We need a little more we will just keep working hard it’s all we can do.” Thornton was denied his first series win of the year as he will try to score another crown jewel victory on Saturday night to go along with his Dirt Track World Championship win last October. “I didn’t really know if I needed to move out or not. He (Marlar) was really good through the middle just like T-Mac was. I felt like we had a really good car. We’ll take a third, it should set us up in good position for tomorrow’s heat races.” The winner’s Ronnie Delk-owned Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Delk Equipment, Tri-Rivers Enterprises, Rockets Convenient Plus, Bilstein Shocks, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Can-Am Salvage, and Capital CapSigns.com. Completing the top ten were Garrett Alberson, Jonathan Davenport, Earl Pearson Jr., Michael Norris, and Brandon Sheppard. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Firecracker 100 Presented by Big River SteelFriday, June 24th, 2022Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Earl Pearson, Jr. / 15.659 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Rick Eckert / 16.026 seconds Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 2. 46-Earl Pearson Jr[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[4]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 5. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[7]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[8]; 7. 22F-Chris Ferguson[2]; 8. 14-Dan Angelicchio[9]; 9. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[6] Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 4. 1*-Chub Frank[3]; 5. 1Z-Logan Zarin[5]; 6. 22B-Darrell Bossard[8]; 7. 77-Tyler Dietz[6]; 8. 66-Todd Bachman[7]; 9. 10-Gary Lyle[9] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 72-Michael Norris[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 4. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[5]; 5. 10G-Garrett Smith[7]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[4]; 7. 9-Breyton Santee[8]; 8. 44-Joe Petyak[6]; 9. 17SS-Brenden Smith[9] Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert[1]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 4. 20-Jimmy Owens[5]; 5. 1C-Alex Ferree[8]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 7. 94C-Charles Powell[2]; 8. 25S-Cory Sines[7]; 9. 11H-Gale Huey[9] Wrisco Industries Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 58W-Mark Whitener[7]; 2. 1CJ-Ryan Montgomery[1]; 3. 22-Gregg Satterlee[3]; 4. 8-Kyle Strickler[2]; 5. 10M-Jared Miley[6]; 6. 5L-Jonathan Lee[8]; 7. 21L-Matt Lux[4]; 8. 9Y-Levi Yetter[5]; 9. 11J-Joshua Powell[9] Lucas Oil Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 89-Ashton Winger[2]; 2. J4-John Garvin Jr[1]; 3. 11-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 5. 0-Scott Bloomquist[6]; 6. 11AC-Trevor Collins[7]; 7. 2D-Dan Stone[3]; 8. 17T-Tim Vance[8]; 9. 112-Brandon Little[9] Fast Shafts B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 7-Ross Robinson[1]; 2. 1*-Chub Frank[2]; 3. 22B-Darrell Bossard[6]; 4. 77-Tyler Dietz[8]; 5. 22F-Chris Ferguson[7]; 6. 48-Colton Flinner[5]; 7. 14-Dan Angelicchio[9]; 8. 1Z-Logan Zarin[4]; 9. 9Z-Mason Zeigler[11]; 10. 66-Todd Bachman[10]; 11. 10-Gary Lyle[12]; 12. 3RK-Daryl Charlier[3] UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 1C-Alex Ferree[4]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 4. 10G-Garrett Smith[3]; 5. 12D-Doug Drown[5]; 6. 94C-Charles Powell[8]; 7. 29-Ken Schaltenbrand[1]; 8. 9-Breyton Santee[7]; 9. 17SS-Brenden Smith[11]; 10. 44-Joe Petyak[9]; 11. 11H-Gale Huey[12]; 12. (DNS) 25S-Cory Sines Lucas Oil B-Main #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 10M-Jared Miley[3]; 2. 8-Kyle Strickler[1]; 3. 0-Scott Bloomquist[4]; 4. 21L-Matt Lux[7]; 5. 11AC-Trevor Collins[6]; 6. 5L-Jonathan Lee[5]; 7. 7T-Drake Troutman[2]; 8. 2D-Dan Stone[8]; 9. 17T-Tim Vance[10]; 10. 9Y-Levi Yetter[9]; 11. 11J-Joshua Powell[11]; 12. 112-Brandon Little[12] |
chevy racing–nascar–nashville–ricky stenhouse jr.
NASCAR CUP SERIES
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
ALLY 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 24, 2022
RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER / ENTENMANN’S CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Nashville Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript:
BEFORE WE GET STARTED WITH QUESTIONS, I’M GOING TO HAND THE MICROPHONE OVER TO YOU TO MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF AN ANNOUCEMENT ON YOUR END.
“It’s always good to be in Nashville, especially after last year. We obviously had a really good run here in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race. I’m hoping we can translate that into this new car and you continue that success that we had here last year.
It’s been a good week, so far. Myself and everybody at JTG Daugherty Racing inked a new contract for me for a multi-year contract. That’s been something that we’ve been working on. I know that a few people have asked me over the last few weeks kind of where that was. But we had been working on that. I’m very thankful for Tad (Geschickter), Brad (Daugherty), Jodi (Geschickter), Gordon (Smith), everybody in the ownership group. And then obviously everybody in the race shop. We have so many people that don’t get to travel with us every weekend that put their heart and soul into this organization and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO STAY?
“I really have enjoyed my time at JTG Daugherty Racing. I feel like we haven’t had the end results, points-wise. But I feel like we’ve had so many bright spots throughout our first few seasons together. I feel like with this new car – we were hoping to have it last year and continue to build on that. Obviously, this is the first year with it. So I know for me and the way this car has been, I feel like at certain race tracks we kind of have it figured out. And then there are other race tracks where we’re pretty out to lunch and we’re still looking for those parts and pieces to be in the right spot to be fast.
But I feel confident with the people that we have that we will be able to do that. Tad and everybody at Kroger has put a lot of faith in me to come over here and drive the car and I think we’ve shown some really solid strong runs this year. I had opportunity to win at Dover, I felt like. Charlotte, we had a really fast car. So, I think that’s the reason why. I just really enjoy the family atmosphere from the top, down. Everybody in our shop, our partners – it’s been a really good relationship.”
INAUDIBLE
“I don’t actually know where anybody else’s contracts are (laughs).
Like I said, from the top to bottom, obviously I’ve had a super long relationship with Brian (Pattie). And you look at people in the shop, Mike Kelley. Ernie (Cope) and I, even though we haven’t worked together for a long time, we’ve had really good relationships when we raced against each other. I just feel like everybody believes in each other there and I think that’s what I look for in our group going forward. This car is supposed to stay the same for years to come and I think that’s only going to help us build our notebook going forward.”
IS THIS KIND OF LIKE A HOME GAME FOR YOU? DO YOU HAVE MORE PEOPLE WANTING TO COME AND JOIN YOU AT NASHVILLE THAN NORMAL RACES SINCE IT’S PRETTY CLOSE TO HOME?
“For sure. You know, in the XFINITY series, this was my home race track; I guess once Memphis was off the schedule. So yeah, it’s close to home. I have a lot of friends and family that live in the area. And then obviously, for my family coming up from home, it’s four and a half hours. So, really close to home. They’ve got a few spots on the backstretch, so we’ll go and watch the Truck race with them. It’s always nice to have family around and friends that want to come out and support you. And then obviously friends in the music industry that they want to come out here, as well. It definitely feels like a home game. I wouldn’t say that Nashville in my Xfinity Series career was top of the list. But after last year, I had a lot of fun, so hopefully it stays there.”
I TALKED TO (BRIAN) PATTIE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND HE SAID YOU GUYS DISCOVERED SOMETHING WITH THE CAR’S GEOMETRY AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU ALL HAD BEEN RUNNING SO WELL. BUT HE SAID IT’S LIKE A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, WHERE AS MUCH HELP AS YOU GET FROM CHEVROLT, WHEN YOU GUYS HIT ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE GROUP. HOW FRUSTRATING IS THAT BEING A SINGLE CAR TEAM, NOT HAVING THE DEPTH OF ENGINEERING THAT SOME OF THESE GROUPS HAVE – HITTING ON SOMETHING AND KNOWING IT’S GOING TO BE SHORT TERM BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO SHARE IT WITH THE GROUP?
“Obviously we were really good at the faster race tracks, like Fontana and Vegas. We had strong runs there. And then, we really didn’t get back to those tracks until Dover and then we had that really good stretch of runs.
Yeah, we hit on something and definitely you get asked to share those things. I wish we got as much information back the other way. I think that would really help our program a lot. I feel like our group of guys really work hard together to come up with any setup that we can that’s going to move the needle in the right direction. And we take all the information that we get – whether it be a lot or a little – and we try to make the most of it. Our guys are doing a great job with that.
Like I said, the short track stuff, we’re still trying to figure out. We know that we have a lot of work to do there. But if we can continue to be as strong as we have been on the 1.5-mile tracks, that will kind of get us through the season and hopefully we figure that out on the short tracks before too long.”
WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ATLANTA AND THE FACT THAT IT NOW HAS THAT SUPERSPEEDWAY FEEL. DO YOU GO THERE PRETTY CONFIDENT?
“Heck yeah. I’m looking forward to going back to Atlanta. Our car was so fast there earlier this year. It handled really well and I felt like it was the class of the field; and then obviously we blew that tire leading. So hopefully we learned a little bit throughout the season on the tire issues that we can maybe help ourselves. Again, that’s some of the information that we didn’t have before the race that we got after the race; on some tire pressure, camber, things that definitely would have helped if we had them before the race. Instead, we found out the hard way. But obviously it being hot and slick when we get to Atlanta this time versus where we were at the beginning of the season, I think a good handling race car is going to be even that much more important. I know Brian Pattie and my guys will give me that.”
JUST A MOMENT AGO TALKING TO TYLER (REDDICK), HE TALKED ABOUT NOT ONLY THE MENTAL DRAIN OF A SUPERSPEEDWAY RACE, BUT THERE WAS ALSO A PHYSICAL COMPONMENT TO IT THAT HE DIDN’T REALLY ANTICIPATE. DID YOU FIND THAT RACE MORE MENTALLY DRAINING THAN MAYBE SOMETHING AT DAYTONA OR TALLADEGA? HOW DID THE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DRAIN FEEL?
“I guess you could say mentally it was a little bit different than Daytona and Talladega, just because we weren’t 100% sure what to expect. It was a brand new race track. There was some bumps off the turn four on the top side that we were trying to navigate and figure out what the car was going to do over those bumps. There’s kind of the narrow entry into turn three. Obviously in practice, when you’re by yourself, the bottom was by far the fastest lane around the racetrack; and then it ended up being kind of in the middle to the top during the race. I felt like as a driver, you’re just trying to figure out that new track. We weren’t 100 percent sure it was going to race like a speedway until we got out there. In practice it did, but nobody was really pressing the issues. Once we all started going flat out and really racing, we weren’t sure if that was going to be the case and then obviously it was. So just trying to learn the track physically. I didn’t think the track was much more demanding physically. I did have a headache when the No. 2 hit me in the door when we blew a tire. But other than that, I felt like the car was similar at Daytona and Talladega, physically-wise.”
INAUDIBLE
“Yeah, I would say it was more compressed and definitely things happen quicker. The track is a little bit narrower than what we’re used to for a speedway, which obviously makes it a little bit more tricky, as well. And then, when you have such high banking and you’re going into the corner and the radius is tighter, it’s harder to see out the corner. I would say that’s maybe the biggest difference.”
OBVIOUSLY, THE NO. 10 IS OPEN FOR NEXT YEAR. I’M CURIOUS, DID YOU HAVE ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH STEWART-HAAS ABOUT THAT CAR? WERE YOU NERVOUS AT ALL WHETHER JTG DAUGHERTY WOULD KEEP YOU?
“I let Josh at KHI kind of handle everything off the race track, as far as contracts go and talking to other teams. We feel like we have a really good fit and felt like JTG Daugherty Racing was where we wanted to be. I feel really confident in who we have and what we’re doing right now; and want to continue to grow that can keep that going. I don’t want to bounce around from team to team. I don’t think that does myself or anybody really any favors. So I want to build on what we’ve started.
Yeah, we haven’t had consistently the runs that we want. But I think we’ve had a lot of shining moments, especially this year. We know those race tracks and we know where we struggle. Was I worried? I try not to worry too much about that. I feel like I have a really good relationship with our whole organization, especially Tad. He comes to every race track and I feel confident with everything that he does. He believes in me and like I said earlier, I think everybody at our company believes in each other. We go to battle together. So, I was never really worried. I felt really good about it.”
YOU HAD A STREAK OF FOUR TOP-10 FINISHES. DID THAT REALLY SEAL THE DEAL FOR YOUR CONTRACT TO BE RE-SIGNED WITH JTG DAUGHERTY RACING?
“I’m not sure – that would be a Tad question (laughs). Tad and myself have been chatting about this since the beginning of the season. Tad’s always working on getting funding for our car and working on things probably a little more important than my contract, as far as making the team go around. Tad does a great job with that.
Yeah, good runs never hurt. But I think that stretch of races we kind of had circled as race tracks that we felt like we could do exactly what we accomplished. I know a lot of people were kind of surprised that we were able to do that, but internally, we felt like we were capable of doing that. It was cool to feel that way and actually fulfill that thought process.”
YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT YOU HOPE THAT THE CAR IS AROUND FOR YEARS TO COME. HOW MUCH MORE SECURE WERE YOU IN SIGNING THIS DEAL WITH THE NEXT GEN THIS YEAR? DID THAT GIVE YOU A LOT MORE SECURITY IN KNOWING THIS IS A PLACE YOU COULD BE?
“Obviously I’ve been in the Cup Series for quite some time now. I felt like if you weren’t spending a ton of money or had all this information coming in and trying to develop new parts and pieces, you really weren’t going to catch-up when something’s always evolving and always changing. And so, obviously when I first signed my contract at JTG Daugherty Racing, our second year we were supposed to have that car and that’s what I was really looking forward to. Like hey, we might not be exactly where we want to be our first year, but this new car is coming in. We can learn it, more of the pieces are going to stay the same from season to season, and let’s try and build on that. We had to wait an extra year for that. So, for me, I was very thankful that we were able to add another year to our contract to run this year with this race car. It definitely gave me the confidence running this car so far this year that I feel like being here, we can still do great things and contend for wins.”
chevy racing–nascar–nashville–tyler reddick
NASCAR CUP SERIES
NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
ALLY 400
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 24, 2022
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 3CHI CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Nashville Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript:
YOU ARE SITTING 11TH IN THE STANDINGS BUT YOU BASICALLY ARE ON THE BUBBLE. OTHER THAN GETTING A WIN, DOES THE SITUATION HAVE YOU DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO FIND YOUR WAY INTO THE PLAYOFFS?
“No. But it’s definitely crazy how things can change in the matter of one race. We were in a place where I think we were in good position to make our way in on points and I feel like that has drastically changed. So, certainly as the mindset shifts more to winning. But if I am being honest, we have been trying to do that all year long. So, in reality, not a whole lot changes for us. But certainly, I don’t think we are as worried about points going forward.”
YOU PARTICIPATED IN THE MARTINSVILLE TEST RECENTLY AND I AM CURIOUS WHAT ALL THE CHANGES THAT YOU GUYS WENT THROUGH AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE DIRECTION THAT YOU GUYS LEARNED?
“It was a tough test. Just with the setting and the circumstances with weather. You know, we raced there when it felt like it was in the 40s or right around there and we went back and tested and it was in the 90s. So, the control tire that we raced on in March laid plenty of rubber. But the three cars laid more rubber than the entire race. The different tire combinations all seemed to work pretty well, but it seems like the car is in this weird spot where its got plenty of mechanical grip, but it just doesn’t seem like we have enough power for the grip we have in the tires for in the driver’s seat to make the mistake of burning the rear tires off and making throttle and tire management a part of the Martinsville game that I think has been a part of it since I have been driving in Trucks or watching the Cup races. So, that is an interesting spot that we are in. I am not sure where we came away from that, but the underbody stuff that was tried certainly helped the situation. We are just missing the racing product a little bit, I think. Still, at the end of the day, the cars have a lot of grip at the short tracks and I don’t think we have enough power to rip the tires off if we make that mistake.”
DID YOU GUYS PLAY WITH THE GEAR RATIOS AND TRY TO CHANGE THE SHIFTING RULES?
“As crazy as this may sound, in my opinion, if we changed the gear and we made it to where we are just running one gear, that makes our problem worse in my opinion. Because then, you could run 150 laps and never burn the tires on the car off if you are not shifting. When you are downshifting, eventually you know 50-60 laps into the run you know you can start feathering the tire on corner exit, but in my opinion just running it for whatever gear it would be, we are never going to spin the tires. So, I don’t think a gear change would be the solution.”
DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS CUP CAR IS IN A GOOD PLACE AS FAR AS RACING TODAY?
“Yeah, for the most part. The bigger tracks that have less side force its more treacherous to drive but at the short tracks you are never really on the edge of the car quite like that. You know, we are more fighting mechanical grip, and the car has more mechanical grip everywhere we go. For the most part it has been better and it’s been better at a majority of the places, its just unfortunately put the short track racing where none of us wanted it to be.”
DID THEY TRY ANYTING WITH ENGINES AND USING MORE HORSEPOWER ON THE TRACK?
“Yeah, it wasn’t tried. But I am not one to say what we should or shouldn’t do there because there are a lot of moving parts and pieces. A lot of time, research and development have gone into the horsepower package that we are at now and you can’t just flip a switch or change the tapered spacer or go to a different horsepower level and have the same engine reliability across all the engine manufacturers. So, as much as it would be nice to have that option, I can’t really say whether that is an option or not because there is a lot that goes into that unfortunately.”
WHAT ADVANTAGE TO YOU THINK CAN BE GAINED AT GOING BACK TO ATLANTA AND THE FIRST TIME RETURNING TO A TRACK FOR A SECOND TIME WITH THIS CAR?
“That one is an interesting one in my opinion because it’s a speedway type race. I thought we were actually pretty good when we were there the last time. We had the tire go that really took us out of that race. You will be able to look at some gains, right? But its more on speedway-type racing gains that really only apply to the six speedway races now that we have in counting Atlanta. So, I wouldn’t say that its an A to B that we can take to one place or the other necessarily, but it will be interesting to see from the first time we were there what improvements have been made. It sounds like they made a number of them to the racetrack and to some of the bumps that were in place at the speedway. So, it will be interesting to see how some of those details to the track have been changed and hopefully improved.”
HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR SEASON SO FAR?
“Frustrating. That is probably the best way to put it, yeah. You know, it’s everything you hoped for at times, but unfortunately things go wrong.”
DO YOU LOOK BACK AT SOME OF THE RACES AND SAY WOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE OR JUST LOOK FORWARD AND BE POSITIVE ABOUT IT?
“It’s important to go back in the days after and look back on it and take away the positives for sure so you can grow and get better for hopefully the next race and the next weekend. But after that you are telling yourself should have, would have, could have and saying the what ifs if you will. If you get caught up in that, then you lose sight of what is important and that is the next week ahead.”
HOW DO YOU STAY POSITIVE AND BELIEVE YOU ARE GOING TO TURN THIS AROUND AND GET IN THE PLAYOFFS?
“Through the speed that we have had. The things that aren’t going our way are the things that we can learn from and correct. Eventually, as frustrating as these things have been to us, we are going to learn from them, and I would rather go through this now than in the Playoffs. If it turns around and we work all the kinks out that we have been going through, hopefully the right time of the year comes and we put all this behind us.”
GOING BACK TO THE MARTNSVILLE TEST, YOU SAID THERE WERE CHANGES TO THE UNDERBODY. HOW DID IT FEEL DIFFERENT?
“Well, that was the great thing. The feel of the car wasn’t much different, it just felt like a little bit less downforce. You didn’t feel as tight behind the car ahead of you and that was one of the things we were feeling at Martinsville when we raced there. When we had the different underbody, it didn’t seem to be as bad. I didn’t get to run up behind cars as much as Austin Cindric or Kyle Busch did, but they certainly thought it was better too. So, that is something that is certainly interesting and hopefully if we can apply it the right way, it will help the racing when we go back.”
HOW MUCH DO YOU SEE THE OFF WEEK LAST WEEK AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF RESET THE STREAK OF RUN WELL GET A GOOD FINISH, RUN WELL, DON’T GET A GOOD FINISH AND RUN WELL AND GET A DNF?
“Yeah, it was good to have. Anytime we have a bad week, it would be kind of nice to have a moment to gather ourselves up and get back going, but the nature of the schedules is that you don’t have that. So to have that off weekend last weekend for all of us was good. We only get one, so we have to make the most of it and a lot of us did. You don’t want to have a bad race, but if you are going to have a flip like we did of being in a really good points position going into Sonoma and having a first-time winner now being 18th or wherever we are in points, to have that off weekend in between Sonoma and here was good timing.”
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE MORE OFF WEEKS AS NASCAR LOOKS TO THE FUTURE FOR THE SCHEDULE?
“I mean, I would be up for having more off weekends in the year if we raced more. If this is how we get all the races in, then I am good with it. I used to race 100 times a year, so more races the merrier for me.”
WILLIAM BYRON SAID WHEN HE GOT OUT OF THE CAR IN ATLANTA THAT HE FOUND THAT TO BE ONE OF THE MOST MENTALLY DRAINING RACES HE HAD BEEN IN. DID YOU FIND THAT TO BE THE CASE AND IF SO, WHY?
“Physically it was too. We are zipping around a mile-and-a-half at really high speeds, high average speeds, running upper 180s the entire lap. Not a lot of rest down the straightaways because the corners were so long and the aggressive pack racing that we had just really drains you mentally. But certainly, after that race I felt like I was surprised physically of the toll that it had. Normally at speedways its purely a mental drain, but it seemed like at Atlanta it was a little bit of both and that was surprising. When we go back and its even hotter, there is going to be more of that.”
NASCAR CUP SERIES NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY ALLY 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT JUNE 24, 2022
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Nashville Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript: DANIEL, JUST TO START US OFF BEFORE WE GO TO OUR MEDIA FOR QUESTIONS, GIVE US A RECAP OF WHAT LIFE HAS BEEN LIKE THE LAST WEEK OR SO.“Yeah, it’s been fun and it’s been busy at the same time. I feel very fortunate that I got some extra time to enjoy the moment a little bit more. As you guys know, we had the off week and I got the opportunity to celebrate with my team Sunday night on the plane. But also Monday night, I was able to celebrate with my mom, my dad, my sisters, friends and family. So, it was special. If it was any other week besides Sonoma, it wasn’t going to be like that. It worked out like that and it was great. I’ve been trying to digest every single moment of it because your first win only happens once. But it’s been good. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, but now my focus is here at Nashville.” THE PINATA – WHEN DID YOU COME UP WITH THAT IDEA?“A few months ago, I had a few conversations with a few friends in Mexico about a piñata. They asked me what my celebration was going to be and I had no idea; and then a piñata came into the conversation. Then, I had a similar conversation with my teammate, Ross (Chastain), about it. Slowly, it just started making sense. Matt Norris, he works at Trackhouse Racing – he went to check for a piñata. He sent a few pictures of piñatas and a taco piñata was there, so we decided to pick the taco piñata. It’s been with us in the hauler for six or eight weeks, so it was about time to smash it.” WHAT WAS IN IT?“The one from the race track, there was candy in it. In Mexico, that’s a big culture thing. Since I turned one year old and all the way to 30 years old, for every birthday, I’ve had a piñata. And I will say that every kid does it; it’s a big culture thing. It was fun. In Mexico, they put candy in the piñata. You break the piñata and everyone jumps in to get the candy. It’s kind of like that idea and it worked out great, really. It was pretty cool to see the comments from people connecting very well with the piñata idea.” AND THEN YOU GOT TO GO TO THE SHOP AND PITBULL THROWS YOU A PINATA. YOU SMASH IT AND IT HAS MONEY IN IT. HOW WAS THAT?“It was cool. I didn’t know that piñata had money. They told me it had something in it. I lifted it at one point and it was heavy (laughs). It was good. I have to say, thank you to Pitbull for throwing the piñata the right way because if it wasn’t for him, I was probably going to miss. But he threw it very, very good. It was great. That day was also very special for me. That was the last day of celebration for me because that was the last day that I got to enjoy it with Pitbull and my team again. That night, I put it in my mind to flip the page. I enjoyed every second of it, but for me, it’s in the past. Now, it’s time to get some more.” DANIEL, NOW THAT YOU’VE WON, YOU’VE QUALIFIED FOR THE PLAYOFFS. ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? “Yeah, honestly, I haven’t thought about the Playoffs yet. We still have 2 ½ months before that. I feel like there is still a lot of things to be done before that. It feels good to know that we’re locked-in. But as a race car driver, at least for me, we know that being locked-in doesn’t mean a lot. For me, it means a lot when you have a lot of points in the bank – when you have more than a win, but also at least a few Playoff points. That’s when you start becoming a strong contender in the Playoff races. That’s the goal. We still have 2 ½ months to work on that. Hopefully we can get a couple more wins and some more Playoff points. That would be nice.” LOOKING AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK, YOU RAN WELL AT COTA – YOU WON A STAGE, HAD A CHANCE TO WIN AND THINGS DIDN’T GO YOUR WAY. YOU SMOKED THEM AT SONOMA. FOR ROAD AMERICA, EVERYBODY IS GOING TO SAY YOUR THE NUMBER ONE GUY NOW GOING INTO THE ROAD RACE. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE THE NUMBER ONE GUY?“Honestly, I don’t know. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter to me. I think at COTA, we we’re extremely strong. Our car broke early and we did what we had to do to finish the stage and survive. But in my opinion, we were very, very strong; even stronger than Sonoma. In Sonoma, we had a very good car. We did a very good job calling the race. It’s been good. I would be lying to you if I told you I’m not extremely excited about every single road course because I believe that we can win in every single one of them. We have good cars. I have a very good team behind me. I feel like I’ve done a good job with the tools that have been given to me and it’s been fun. So, I’m really looking forward to it. Right now, I’m trying to put all my energy into here at Nashville. But next week at Road America, I know it’s going to be a lot of fun for me; and hopefully we can have another strong shot.” WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN HERE AND DO IT IN THE TOOTSIES CAR? “Yeah, that would be really cool. I was at Tootsies last night. It’s been a long week, but it’s been fun. It would mean a lot for Tootsies, for Steve (Smith), the owner of Tootsies; and also for Trackhouse Racing. The whole idea of Trackhouse was actually born here. This is one of the homes of Trackhouse, so it would be very special. If you think about it, last year, Ross (Chastain) and I, we both had a pretty solid performance here at Nashville. So, why not? We really have come from a good couple months of racing, speed-wise. We haven’t had the results that we’ve wanted; but speed-wise, we’ve had speed for two months. So, I’m really looking forward to hopefully be contending for a win on Sunday.” HOW MUCH MORE CONFIDENT DO YOU FEEL COMING INTO SUNDAY COMING OFF OF THE WIN AT SONOMA?“Honestly, the people that know me, they would tell me that I’m very confident before or after the win. The biggest change for me is just that I feel relief. I feel more relaxed. I feel that now, I don’t have to answer the question of ‘when are you going to win’. I feel like I got that one out of the way, but I do feel more relief. Confidence-wise, honestly I feel just as confident right now as I did two months ago. I knew that I could win races. Now, the only difference is that everyone knows that other than just me. Hopefully we can carry that over and get a few more.” WHAT WAS YOUR RECEPTION WHEN YOU WALKED INTO TOOTSIES?“Everyone was having a good time last night when I walked in. It was good. It was a great time. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with my team, with my pit crew. And with a lot of media; a lot of media were there. A lot of folks from NASCAR. It was very, very cool to see a lot of people from this industry outside of the race track. Personally, I don’t get to see that very often. And the couple times that I have seen it has been at Tootsies (laughs). It’s been fun. I’ve had a good time.” WE KNOW THE THING ABOUT THESE NEW CARS – AND WE HEARD EARLY ON ABOUT GETTING AIR TO THE DRIVERS AND HOW TO KEEP THEM COOL – THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE HOTTEST RACES THAT YOU’VE HAD SO FAR THIS SEASON. WHAT DO YOU DO EXTRA, THAT YOU CAN DO, TO COMBAT THAT?“Luckily, I was just in Mexico for a week and it was hot down there (laughs). So I feel like I came here a little acclimated for the heat. But the reality is, I feel like every driver in the field prepares themselves for this situation. Try to get a lot of fluids. Try to do different exercises in the heat to prepare for this weekend. But it’s going to be fun. Honestly every time that we get to the summer part of the race season, I get excited because I personally try to prepare myself as good as I can to perform as good as possible in this part of the season. I’m excited. Hopefully it gets very, very hot; and hopefully everybody gets very, very tired.” HOW WAS THE RECEPTION FOR YOU BACK IN MEXICO GOING BACK WITH A CUP WIN?“It was quite a special moment. It was probably the most special trip I’ve ever had to Mexico. Everybody was very, very excited for me. The people that have been with me on this journey for 10 years now in the U.S., they know how hard its been on this journey. They’ve known me when the lows were low; and known me when the highs are high. It was a lot of fun to see all the people that have stuck with me. All the people that I love. Honestly, if I could write down everything I wanted it to be for that first win, it’s exactly how it happened. So, I’m very, very blessed and very fortunate. I enjoyed it a lot, but that’s now in the past. Now, I’m looking forward to this weekend.” 12 WINNERS IN 16 RACES – FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS PLAYOFF FORMAT HISTORY. IT MIGHT TAKE MORE THAN ONE WIN. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S IN THE BACK OF YOUR MIND?“It’s not. I think that it’s very cool to see what is happening in the Playoffs right now. I feel like a big reason for this is the Next Gen car. These Next Gen cars really came to the game to change everything. The way that we work, the way that we approach things. Everyone is out there playing with pretty much the same tools and we’re seeing those results on track. You never know who’s going to be competitive. It can be a Chevy; it can be anyone really. That’s fun and I really enjoy that. Maybe I’m a little biased because we’ve been strong lately, but it’s been a lot of fun. For me, I really try to focus on one week at a time. There is nothing I can do about Road America right now or the following race. I’m trying to put all my focus into Nashville. I take it one day at a time. I feel like we’re in a good spot. I believe that we can actually contend for more wins before the Playoffs start, so hopefully we can do that and put ourselves in a better position for the last few months of the season in the Playoffs.” IT WASN’T ONLY YOUR FIRST WIN, BUT THE FIRST WIN FOR YOUR SPOTTER, FRANKIE KIMMEL. YOU AND FRANKIE DIDN’T REALLY KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE YOU WERE PAIRED TOGETHER AND YOU GUYS HAVE HIT IT OFF REALLY WELL. WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE WORKING WITH FRANKIE?“Yeah, it’s been really special. I have quite a special team. And I say team because it’s everyone – Frankie (Kimmel II); Travis (Mack), my crew chief; Jose (R. Blasco-Figueroa) and Dusty (Zacharyasz), my engineers; my mechanics; pit crew and PR people. Everyone that makes Trackhouse what it is, is very special. I feel very, very proud to have such an amazing group of people around me. I was actually talking to Travis, my crew chief, on the plane back going home from Sonoma. For most of the guys on our team, it was the first win in the Cup Series in the position they have. Travis has won races in the Cup Series, but never as a crew chief. Frankie, the same thing. It’s very special because everyone now knows what it feels like. Everyone knows what it’s like to do that and what it takes. So, I feel like not just myself, but my entire team is way more relaxed and way more relieved. That’s quite exciting to know.” YOU DON’T HAVE A NEW CONTRACT EXTENSION TO ANNOUCE, DO YOU?“I’ve been so busy doing interviews the last week that I haven’t even had time to answer Ty Norris’s calls (laughs).” |
HE’S BACK: KAEDING WINS THRILLING NARC DIRT CUP OPENER
(6/23/2022 – Alex Nieten) Burlington, WA… Just one month ago, Tim Kaeding wasn’t sure he’d ever climb back in a sprint car.
Three straight incidents in a week span left him bruised and battered, but not broken.
Kaeding took a month off to heal up, contemplating whether or not racing sprint cars, something he’s spent the last 25 years doing, was something he’d be able to continue. Well, not only did he return, he came back in ideal fashion, leading flag to flag in Skagit Speedway’s 50th Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup 30-lap opener Thursday night and holding off D.J. Netto to win in thrilling fashion.
Emotions flowed after the checkered flew. TK gave the fans a show with some donuts on both ends of the track, car owner Josh Bates shook with excitement, and the rest of the Bates-Hamilton crew celebrated with shouts and hugs.
The victory marked Kaeding’s 72nd NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car victory and his first prelim win at Dirt Cup since 1999.
“To win, knowing a month ago I possibly wasn’t ever going to get back in a race car, means so much,” a choked up Kaeding said in victory lane..
The field was led to green by pole sitter Joel Myers Jr. with Kaeding to his outside. Kaeding rocketed around Myers Jr.’s to lead the opening lap. The San Jose native wasted no time in building a wide advantage, stretching his lead to nearly two seconds just a few laps in.
Just as Kaeding was about to encounter traffic, the race’s first caution flew on seven for Jonathan Allard slowing in turns one and two with front end issues.
On the restart a quick red flag on the next lap brought things to a halt as Cory Eliason, Ryan Robinson, Jesse Schlotfeldt tangled in turn three. All drivers were okay, and the stoppage became an open red as teams refueled and made adjustments.
Kaeding got a solid jump on the restart, jumping ahead as the race established a rhythm. After a couple of laps, Myers Jr. began to reel Kaeding as the race approached the halfway mark. With traffic looming and Myers Jr. on TK’s tail, a battle for the lead seemed to be brewing. However, that potential duel was derailed when Myers Jr. got above the cushion in turn three on lap 14 and hit the wall, sending him flipping and ending his night.
The incident gifted D.J. Netto the runner-up spot.
When racing resumed the action was again quickly halted for a violent crash. Austen Wheatley made contact with Kerry Madsen on the backstretch, causing Wheatley to get upside down and leaving Tanner Holmes nowhere to go as Holmes came into turn three and slammed into
Wheatley. Holmes was shaken but exited the car under his own power, and Wheatley was transported to a local hospital after complaint of back pain.
One last caution for a spinning Willie Croft on lap 20 set up an 11 lap sprint to the finish.
Kaeding initially jumped ahead to a comfortable advantage, gapping Netto by over a second as the race dipped inside 10 laps to to go. As the duo approached the tail of the field, Netto began to cut into the lead each lap, until finally pulling right on Kaeding’s tail tank as the white flag flew.
Netto dipped to Kaeding’s inside in turn one, but Kaeding powered ahead down the backstretch. In turn three Netto threw one last haymaker, sticking the bottom perfectly and even inching ahead about midway through turns three and four. As the two exited turn four Netto drifted high, and Kaeding slipped through the narrow gap between Netto’s machine and the wall to win by a mere nine one-hundredths of a second in the Teichert/Vinyltech No. 42X.
“I knew D.J. was back there, I heard him coming,” Kaeding said. “I’ve got to thank the entire Bates-Hamilton team, Brad, Roger and Lori Hamilton, and Josh Bates. These guys bust their butts.”
With a prelim victory under his belt, Kaeding now has the ultimate goal in the crosshairs. The two-time NARC champ is yet to win a Dirt Cup championship, but he has three runner-ups at the Northwest’s premier event. He’s tired of playing bridesmaid.
“I can run second at this place better than anybody,” Kaeding said. “This year I’m going to win this son of a b***h because I’m taking it back to California.”
Netto, making his Dirt Cup debut this week, brought his Netto Ag No. 88N home in the runner-up spot to kickoff the weekend strong.
“We needed traffic to start moving around,” Netto explained. “We got to it right there at the end, and I was like, ‘well, I’ve got one shot at this’ when I was coming to the white (flag). I was able to hit the bottom really good in (turns) one and two, which I was doing early in the race, so I knew the speed I could carry. And I thought I could get him cleared down there (turns three and four), but the top was still really fast.”
Completing the podium was Tarlton Motorsports pilot Mitchell Faccinto. The strong run was a much needed one as he ended a recent stretch of bad luck.
“I was really happy with it,” Faccinto said of his night. “It’s miles ahead of where we’ve been the last couple weeks. We’ve just been struggling a little bit, but I felt really good all night.”
The balance of the top-10 included Justin Sanders, Corey Day (from 23rd), Tyler Courtney (from 16th), Tyler Thompson, Zeb Wise, Kerry Madsen, and Jason Solwold.
FUJITSU GENERAL USA FEATURE (30 laps): 1. Tim Kaeding 42X 2. D.J. Netto 88N 3. Mitchell Faccinto 21T 4. Justin Sanders 2X 5. Corey Day 14 6. Tyler Courtney 57W 7. Tyler Thompson 7 8. Zeb Wise 26R 9. Kerry Madsen 83JR 10. Jason Solwold 18 11. Shane Golobic 17W 12. Dominic Scelzi 41 13. Nick Parker 115 14. Trey Starks 55 15. Blake Carrick 38B 16. Willie Croft 29 17. Bud Kaeding 69 18. Jonathan Allard 0 19. Austen Wheatley 44W 20. Tanner Holmes 18T 21. Joel Myers Jr. 46JR 22. Ryan Robinson 56 23. Cory Eliason 26C 24. Jesse Schlotfeldt 21
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: T. Kaeding 1-30
ARP QUICK QUALIFIER (43 cars): Dominic Scelzi – 11.311 seconds
BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 laps): Sanders, Allard, Myers Jr., Day, Scelzi, Starks, Croft, Lemley, Linder, Jacobson, Fauver
KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 laps): Eliason, T. Kaeding, B. Carrick, Courtney, Faccinto, Ringo, Solwold, Holmes, Caruana, Aton,
DIRT.TRAVEL CLUB HEAT THREE (10 laps): Hamilton, Schlotfeldt, Wise, Netto, Golobic, Becker, Robinson, Didiuk, Gomes, Youngquist, Johnson
KAEDING PERFORMANCE HEAT FOUR (10 laps): T. Carrick, Thompson, Wheatley, B. Kaeding, Mittry, Parker, Forler, Glenn, Sucich, Madsen
STARR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SEMI (15 laps): Eliason, Allard, Day, Schlotfeldt, T. Carrick, Mittry, Didiuk, Linder, Forler, Aton, Tingo, Gomes, Johnson, Jacobsen, Youngquist, Becker, Lemley, Caruana, Glenn
RCR Event Preview – Nashville
| Richard Childress Racing at Nashville Superspeedway … Nashville Superspeedway opened for business in 2001 and hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series event in 2021. Austin Dillon led RCR in the inaugural Cup Series event with a respectable 12th-place finish. Dillon also owns a victory in the Truck Series at Nashville in 2011. He won the pole, leading 56 of 150 laps with an average running position of 2.207. Racing in Music City … NASCAR has a rich tradition in Nashville with the Cup Series competing at Fairgrounds Speedway dating back to 1958. Car owner Richard Childress made 20 starts at the .596-mile oval as a driver from 1971-1981. He had six starts there as an owner with drivers Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt from 1982-1984. The duo combined to score three top-five finishes led by Earnhardt’s third-place effort in July 1984. RCR In the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Nashville … Richard Childress Racing has 38 starts in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at Nashville Superspeedway. The organization has three wins at the 1.33-mile track with three different drivers: Kevin Harvick (2001), Clint Bowyer (2005) and Scott Wimmer (2008). RCR owns two 1-2 finishes at Nashville: Harvick and Bowyer in 2006; Wimmer and Bowyer in 2008. The Welcome, N.C., based organization has 16 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes entering Saturday’s race. Introducing the Carolina Cowboys … Driven by the same passion for performance that guides his race team, Richard Childress’ latest endeavor brings Professional Bull Riding to the Carolinas. The Carolina Cowboys represent Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the PBR Team Series, an elite new league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing in games beginning in July 2022. The team is operated by Richard Childress Racing with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon serving as General Manager. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys inaugural “Cowboy Days” Home Stand September 9-11 at Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster. Catch the Action … The Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway will be televised live on Saturday, June 25 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Follow Sunday’s Action at Nashville … The Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway will be televised live on Sunday, June 26 beginning at 5 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. |
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| This Week’s Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Nashville Superspeedway … Austin Dillon raced in the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway in 2021, finishing 12th after starting 28th. He made two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts for Kevin Harvick, Inc. at the track in 2011, earning a third-place finish among two top-10 finishes. In Four NASCAR Truck Series starts at Nashville, Dillon has earned one win and one pole award. Tracker Off Road … Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 prominently features TRACKER ATVs, a game-changing new line of all-terrain vehicles and side-by-sides offering breakthrough performance, service and value in the off-road industry. TRACKER OFF ROAD was born out of a powerhouse partnership formed between Bass Pro Shops and TRACKER founder Johnny Morris and Textron Specialized Vehicles, bringing together the undisputed world leader in boating with a global leader in innovation and technology. Bass Pro Shops … Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Founded in 1972 when avid young angler Johnny Morris began selling tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, today the company provides customers with unmatched offerings spanning premier destination retail, outdoor equipment manufacturing, world-class resort destinations and more. In 2017 Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s to create a “best-of-the-best” experience with superior products, dynamic locations and outstanding customer service. Bass Pro Shops also operates White River Marine Group, offering an unsurpassed collection of industry-leading boat brands, and Big Cedar Lodge, America’s Premier Wilderness Resort. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Forbes as “one of America’s Best Employers.” Bass Pro Shops has a long relationship with NASCAR, dating back to 1998. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com/. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:When you think of Nashville Superspeedway, what are some of the memories and experiences that come to mind for you?“Nashville Superspeedway kicked off my NASCAR Cup Series career. One of my first Cup tests was at Nashville. I remember going there to test with the team leading into the season and having a really good time. We won there in the NASCAR Truck Series and finished third there in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with KHI. We had fun at Nashville. It was a good track for me. I didn’t feel like the Cup race at Nashville was as good for our team as I had expected going into the race. We finished decent. I think we were 12th. But I know we are capable of running better than that at Nashville so I’m looking forward to going back.” What is cool about Nashville Superspeedway?I think what’s cool and what I enjoyed about Nashville is people fought for that bottom line and you really had to be disciplined and not miss your exit leaving the corner at Nashville. The car that rotated the most was pretty good. It’s been a good track for us in the past, and I think it will be interesting to go back there with a year of Cup racing under our belt at the track.” |
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| This Week’s 3CHI Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Nashville Superspeedway … Tyler Reddick has one start at Nashville Superspeedway, finishing 18th in the inaugural event in 2021. Reddick has four top-10 finishes on super speedways this season, ranking him fifth overall among active drivers on tracks over one mile in length. Reddick is also scheduled to compete in the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event this weekend at Nashville. 3CHI Blazed the Trail for Another Industry First … 3CHI and Richard Childress Racing created another first with their partnership for the 2022 NASCAR season. 3CHI began with roots as a CBD producer and quickly became a pioneer in science-based hemp and cannabis innovation. The company was the first to commercially develop and market Delta 8 THC, and today, 3CHI is an industry leader with unsurpassed product quality and purity as verified by top independent labs and benchmark organizations. 3CHI products are sold in a majority of the United States, and the company produces and markets a variety of gummies, tinctures, lotions, edibles and vape products. All 3CHI products meet federal requirements for full legal compliance, with a commitment to promoting responsible adult use. See 3CHI.com for more information. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES:What are your expectations for Nashville this weekend?“Nashville Superspeedway is going to be really hot and slick this weekend. We saw last year that the track was physical and hard on the race cars. The track time that I’m getting in the Xfinity Series will certainly help on the Cup side. It’s a new car with the new track again and we’ve been going through that a bit this year. We’ve been pretty good at races like that. The Next Gen car has been good pretty much everywhere we’ve been so our confidence is high. We’ll see how the heat and this new car come into play at Nashville. We’ve struggled a little bit on the concrete tracks so we’ll see if we’ve made that a little bit better. Nashville was good for us last year. We had a strong car and it will be good to get the extra seat time.” Do you expect the track to change a lot during the weekend?“We’ve got to keep an eye on how much the resin is going to wear off of the track during the race weekend. We saw that in the Cup and Xfinity races last year. It will start wearing out from the bottom up as the Goodyear tires burn the resin off. Most likely that’s going to move the line on the racetrack around as the race goes. The track should change a lot throughout the race. We’ll just have to keep up with it with our 3CHI Chevrolet as always.” |
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| This Week’s Whelen Engineering Chevrolet Camaro SS at Nashville Superspeedway … Sheldon Creed will make his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday. Last season, he made his first and only national series start at the Tennessee track in the Truck Series. He started 24th and finished 14th, completing all 150 race laps. In his rookie season, Creed has six top-10 finishes in 14 starts with an average start of 9.9 and an average finish of 19.0. He’s led 28 laps and completed 92.4 percent of laps attempted. The Xfinity Series had the last two weekends off and the team heads to Nashville Superspeedway in search of their first victory and punching their ticket to the Playoffs. Currently, Creed is 17th in the driver standings. About Whelen … Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce. SHELDON CREED QUOTES:You’re making your first Xfinity Series start at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. What are you looking forward to?“When we went to Nashville Superspeedway last season in the Truck Series, it was a really fun race. The atmosphere was awesome and you could tell how excited people were for the race. With it being my first time in an Xfinity car at the track, the only thing I can really take from the truck race is the track itself. Our team has been taking a lot of notes and preparing for the race. It’s nice that we’ve got practice and qualifying to make sure our car is where we want it for the start of the race. I’m excited to get to Nashville. The off week has been really special for me as I welcomed my son, Axel, to the world with my wife, Cami. They’re both doing great and I’ve gotten to spend some quality time with them and now I’m ready to get to the track and go win for my team. We’ve had a really up and down season so far but ours win is coming.” |
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| This Week’s Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet Camaro SS at Nashville Superspeedway … Austin Hill will make his second Xfinity Series start at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday. Last season, he competed in the race and started 15th and finished ninth. Saturday afternoon’s race will be his first at the Tennessee track as a full-time Xfinity Series driver for RCR. Hill has one win so far this season as well as six top fives and seven top-10 finishes. He’s led 146 laps and completed 98.7 percent of laps attempted. The Xfinity Series had the last two weekends off and the team heads to Nashville Superspeedway looking for redemption after a hard-found third-place finish at Portland International Raceway. Currently, Hill is eighth in the driver standings. About Bennett Family of Companies … McDonough, Ga.-based Bennett Family of Companies is a woman-owned, Women’s Enterprise Business Council (WBENC) certified, diversified transportation and logistics company. Through its 12 affiliated operating companies, the Bennett Family of Companies delivers integrated transportation and supply chain management solutions worldwide. The company will use race experiences to recruit and retain hundreds of truck drivers for their organization in 2022. For more information, visit www.Drive4Bennett.com. AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:You ran in the Xfinity Series race at Nashville last season and had a very decent result. What are you looking forward to for this weekend’s race?“Last season’s race was a lot of fun and I was able to take home a ninth-place finish in a car that I didn’t drive every weekend. It’s nice to be able to have some notes from that race and use them for this weekend. The racetrack was really fun to run on and it felt like once you could get your car dialed in and figure out the best place to run on the track, you could move around in traffic. Hopefully it’s the same this weekend and we can be the car up front. Practice will be helpful and then we qualify on Saturday and jump right into the race so there will be some track changes to keep an eye on. I’m looking forward to getting back after these two off weeks. I think our team has really been dialed in and we’re ready to go.” |