BAYTOWN, TX (April 23, 2022) — Justin Ashley and the Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel dragster powered by Vita C Shot showed they will continue to be a team to be reckoned with as the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series heats up. Today at Houston Raceway Park Ashley, who qualified No. 4 raced to the final round coming up a few feet short of his second victory against new points leader Brittany Force. In the opening round Ashley took out Doug Foley, then Austin Prock and reigning world champion Steve Torrence to reach his sixth career final round. 

Justin Ashley semifinal win over Steve Torrence, photo by Ron Lewis

“That was a tough final round and the truth is there are no gimmes out here,” said Ashley. “The entire Top Fuel field is so tough. The guys did a great job today. We had some issues after the semis and they were able to turn it around and get to the final on time. I didn’t do my job. I have to learn from that. Hats off to Brittany and her team. Our Phillips Connect, Vita C Shot Toyota team did a great job this weekend. The good news is we only have to wait a few days until we get to Charlotte.”

In the first round Ashley came into race day hot getting a starting line advantage over Foley, .046 to .092, and he never trailed in the drag race crossing the finish line with a strong 3.740 second pass at 329.26 mph. In the quarterfinals facing his Winternationals final round opponent Austin Prock Ashley had lane choice and once again he grabbed his second win light of the day when Prock redlit with an early start. Ashley’s winning time of 3.792 seconds at 326.79 mph wasn’t enough for lane choice in the semifinals against four-time world champion Steve Torrence.

It was another epic battle for Ashley racing against Torrence, a native Texan and the No. 1 qualifier. Ashley jumped off the line with a .051 reaction time and never trailed in the race. He got to the finish line first with a winning time of 3.760 seconds to Torrence’s 3.778 seconds. His time gave him lane choice heading to the final with his dragster which also enjoys backing from Auto Shocker, KATO Fastening Systems and Lucas Oil.

Just before the team was set to roll out for the last national event pass at Houston Raceway Park Ashley’s Top Fuel dragster had a problem on the warm-up that was recognized as an issue with the lifters. The team quickly replaced the motor and the 2020 Rookie of the Year made the call. As Ashley and Force sat in the water box for the Funny Car final to conclude they had to wait to follow an incident with Funny Car driver Bobby Bode who was unhurt following a dramatic engine explosion that shredded his Mustang Funny Car body.

After the NHRA Safety Safari cleared the track Ashley and Force took the final green light. Unfortunately, for the first time on Sunday Ashley was second off the line. As the 11,000-horsepower dragsters crossed the finish line at over 320 mph respectively it was Force who got the win light.

Ashley will be back in action on Friday for the Circle K Four-Wide Nationals with two qualifying sessions on Friday followed by two more sessions on Saturday before final eliminations at noon on Sunday, May 1.

Qualifying Results

Q1: 3.697 sec, 330.80 mph; Qual. 2

Q2: 6.815 sec, 86.20 mph; Qual. 2

Q3: 3.737 sec, 325.45 mph; Qual. 4

Bonus Points: +2 (2nd quickest in Q1)

Race Results

First Round 

Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Vita C Shot, 3.740, 329.26 mph def. Doug Foley, Mooresville, NC, Protech Construction, 5.078, 139.65 mph

Second Round 

Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Vita C Shot, 3.792, 326.79 mph def. Austin Prock, Pittsboro, Ind., Montana Brands dragster, red-light DQ

Semifinals 

Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Vita C Shot, 3.760, 327.51 mph def. Steve Torrence, Kilgore, Texas, Capco dragster, 3.778, 323.43 mph

Final Round 

Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Monster Energy dragster, 3.767, 321.42 mph def. Justin Ashley, Phillips Connect Toyota dragster powered by Vita C Shot, 3.763, 329.58 mph

Camping World Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel

1. Brittany Force                        420

2. Steve Torrence                      388

3. Justin Ashley                         367

4. Mike Salinas                          349

5. Clay Millican                          281

6. Austin Prock                           253

7. Tony Schumacher                  227

8. Josh Hart                                220

9. Doug Kalitta                           206

10. Antron Brown                      19

CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION NHRA SPRINGNATIONALS HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK IN BAYTOWN, TEXAS APRIL 24, 2022 Chevrolet drivers make history in Houston finale • Erica Enders prevails in the first all-female Pro Stock final• No. 1 qualifier Camrie Caruso finishes second in fifth race• Brittany Force earns second consecutive Top Fuel victory• Brandon Bakies is Stock Eliminator runner-up in COPO Camaro

Erica Enders picks up her third Pro Stock trophy at her home racetrack.Brittany Force drives to her third Top Fuel victory at Houston Raceway Park.

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 24, 2022) — Among the 36 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Wallys that Erica Enders has hoisted to the heavens in celebration, the most recent – in the final national event at her hometown dragstrip – is the most satisfying. The four-time NHRA Pro Stock champion defeated first-time finalist Camrie Caruso with a pass of 6.568 seconds at 210.24 mph in the Melling Performance Chevrolet Camaro SS for Elite Motorsports to win the NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. It was the first all-female final round in more than a half-century of Pro Stock competition.

After 35 years in operation, the track will close after its 2022 season. “To win in Houston, my home track, I’m so proud,” said Enders, who recorded her third victory in five races and roared to the top of the Pro Stock standings. “Thank you, Houston. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Brittany Force moved to the top of the Top Fuel standings with her second consecutive win in the Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet dragster. Force, the No. 2 qualifier, registered a 3.767-second run at 321.42 mph for career victory No. 13 that includes three at Houston Raceway Park. “I love Houston and winning here with our teams over the years. We won in ’18 and ’19 – one followed a terrible wreck (in Pomona) of mine — and only four races later did we win and it was an emotional win for me because I didn’t know if we would ever get back,” Force said. “Then we came back in ’19 with David Grubnic and Mac Savage and now I’m with them celebrating another win. It’s just incredible to be able to do it here in Houston in the final race. This Monster Energy team, we wanted to go out on top and we did it to close out Houston.” Enders, who watched her father compete in the Sportsman ranks at the track, started racing in junior dragsters at the track at age 8 and picked up her inaugural national event win in 2004 in Super Gas at the track, claimed her third career Pro Stock victory in Houston.

Caruso, driving the Sand Haulers Camaro SS, secured her first No. 1 qualifier in her fifth race, tying 2021 rookie of the year Dallas Glenn for quickest to that honor. She became the first female to qualify No. 1 in Pro Stock at the track. Caruso dispatched reigning and five-time champion Greg Anderson, driving the HendrickCars.com Camaro SS, on a holeshot and Enders defeated Kyle Koretsky in the Lucas Oil Camaro SS in the semifinals. “I just trust my guys and I trust my car,” Caruso said. “My guys are amazing. I’m just happy that we’ve come for far for a team that was put together just 60 days before the first race of the season.” Robert Hight, who won the past two races he competed in at Houston (2021, 2019) and earned his initial NHRA Funny Car win in the 2005 race at the track, was the No. 2 qualifier in the Auto Club of Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS. He fell in the second round. Teammate John Force, who earned the 100th of his 154 NHRA Funny Car wins at Houston in 2002, lost in the first round in the PEAK BlueDEF Platinum Camaro SS. Austin Prock, the No. 5 Top Fuel qualifier in the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster, won his first-round match but was eliminated in the second round. Brandon Bakies of Alexandria, Louisiana, was runner-up in Stock Eliminator competition in his Chevrolet COPO Camaro. The Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals on April 29-May 1 at zMAX Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, is the next event for Chevrolet Top Fuel and Funny Car teams. The event will also feature drivers of the Chevrolet COPO Camaro in the second round of the Constant Aviation Factory Stock Showdown. FS1 will telecast eliminations at 7 p.m. ET Sunday, May 1.

An interview with Top Fuel winner BRITTANY FORCE, JOHN FORCE RACING, MONSTER ENERGY/FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET DRAGSTER (No. 2 qualifier): YOU WON ON A HOLESHOT.“My Monster Energy/Flav-R-Pac boys always have my back and they are the reason we got here today. Luckily, we got the job done in the final round. It wasn’t easy. It was a lot of me sitting down and trying to figure (things) out before going into the final round because it was a tough day for me. But we battled it out and got it done in the final when it mattered.” WHAT WERE YOU THINKING WHILE WAITING FOR THE TRACK CLEANUP BEFORE YOUR FINAL?“I’m trying not to think about anything. I’m just staring down that racetrack and making sure I keep my game face on. You can’t get distracted. It’s getting up there and doing your job the way you know how and, for me, having to majorly improve where I had been all day with reaction time. We figured it out. I knew David Grubnic and Mac Savage, all the boys, would figure it out; they always do.” HOW IMPRESSED ARE YOU ON A 130-DEGREE RACETRACK THAT YOU GO DOWN THERE AT 330 MPH?“We did it last weekend when we won at Vegas; we went 333 in the final. Pretty outstanding run, put enough on the board, but really just putting on a great show for our Houston fans in the final race here.” HOW CONFIDENT WERE YOU COMING INTO RACE DAY?“We looked at the ladder and we felt confident coming in. We wanted to be No. 1, but we got moved to second but still thought we had a good shot at it. We also didn’t make every single qualifying run but it didn’t seem to hold us back. We’ve just been working so hard to get where we are. This is for all those runs where my guys gave me the car to win, and I didn’t give it back to them. This is for them.”

An interview with Pro Stock winner ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS (No. 2 qualifier): WHAT DOES WINNING HERE TODAY MEAN TO YOU?“Thank you for coming out for the last hurrah at Houston. I grew up drag racing here. I made my first passes down this racetrack when I was 8 years old and prior to that my sister and I grew up watching our dad race Sportsman out here. This is so epic. I watched the Sportsman finals before Pro Stock and I think there’s like seven people from Houston that won today. H-town wrecked shop today.” YOU WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAD THE TROPHY LEAVING HERE TODAY.“We were going to do our darndest. I said in my interview at the top end that my day did not start out stellar for me, but we turned it into something epic. We were able to execute perfectly today. I was watching on the big screen in the final round Camrie muffed her burnout twice and I’m like ‘just go green. Maybe she doesn’t have fourth gear. Just make a nice, clean, smooth run.’ Hats off to Mark Ingersoll. I’m so proud.” YOU HAD ACTUALLY STARTED A CAREER PATH TO GET INTO THE NITRO RANKS AFTER WINNING YOUR SUPER GAS WALLY IN 2004. WHAT CHANGED THAT?“I just graduated from Frank Holley’s Funny Car alcohol school. Robert Hight was in my class and it was a super cool experience. I was working with a nitro Funny Car team to go nitro Funny Car racing. We came out here, won this home event in Super Gas for my first national event Wally. Raced my best friend at the time in the final and I go up in the press room and say I want to drive Pro Stock. Bob Frey, Victor Cagnazzi and Steve Johns all heard that and that’s what got me my start in Pro Stock. Here we are 18 years later with so many people’s help.” WHAT ABOUT THE JOB CAMRIE CARUSO DID THIS WEEKEND?“Camrie is doing a really good job in the car. These cars are not easy to drive. She worked for us a little bit at Elite Motorsports and her family put her behind the wheel. You have to pay your dues and you have to work really hard and you have to learn how to handle these (competitors). They are pretty tough on you.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES APRIL 24, 2022 
 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL12nd     AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL14th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL16th      ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL19th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL112th    JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL114th    COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 RAZE ENERGY CAMARO ZL115th    WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER1st      Ross Chastain (Chevrolet)2nd    Austin Dillon (Chevrolet)3rd      Kyle Busch (Toyota)4th     Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)5th      Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota) The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Dover Motor Speedway with the DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne on Sunday, May 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 1stRoss Chastain with his patented watermelon celebration. You were a lap down at one point in this race. Talk me through the crazy last lap. You stayed on the bottom. Things just opened up for you. “Holy cow. I’m always the one going to the top too early, making the mistake. There at the end it was like eight to go, I was like, I’m not going up there again. I did that a couple times today. I was like, I’ll just ride on the bottom. If it works, I’m not going to lose the race for us, I’ll just let them.  This Moose fraternity, almost a million Moose members across the world, in the country, I know there’s some out here at Talladega, to win with the Moose onboard, they’ve been with me for a few years now, supported me everywhere I went.  I have no idea. They kept going up, kept moving out of the way.” You come to Trackhouse Racing this season. Could you ever imagine this amount of success this early on in your tenure here? “No. Are you kidding me? You know me. I’ve wrecked myself so many times and gotten into it with guys. I’ve probably got a watermelon seed. This is a true seedless.  Yeah, I mean, Justin Marks and what he laid out for us was ambitious. I had no idea, you know, what to expect other than I knew I had my group from last year, I had AdventHealth, the Moose, now with Worldwide Express and Jockey coming onboard, we’ve got partners. They’re believing in us. We started the year with a lot of races open. We’re almost full now. It’s because of the vision of Justin Marks. Pitbull, Armando, we won, yeah!” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 2nd“We came from eighth there on that last lap, just kind of rode the bottom and got people baited off the top. We had a good push there at the end. I think I was actually the one to push the one to the win. I gave him a good shove off of four and he kind of just drove away.” KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 4thWhen you got out of the car, you said, I made a mistake. What would you have done differently? “I feel like I did a pretty near perfect job for me at a superspeedway until the last lap there. Yeah, I should have, like, I think just kind of faked going high, then went back low. I had that run. Ross helped me with that run. It kind of baited me into going to the outside. Just a little inexperience probably there.  But really proud of my team. We did a great job executing all race long. The car was great. I felt like we could push people great. I felt like we could receive pushes well. Yeah, like I said, really proud of them.  Honestly, the first time I’ve had a legit shot at winning a plate race in the Cup Series. Happy about that. When you’re close, I was in the exact position I wanted to be in, I didn’t want to be leading. I felt like I did a good job with patience and stuff. Made one small mistake there and it cost me the win.” ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6thOn the other side of that celebration is Erik Jones. Such a strong run today. Where did it go wrong? “I mean, just the last lap, right? It’s typical here. Been close here so many times, in this race and the fall race. U.S. Air Force Chevy had good speed, felt good to be up front.  Coming there that last lap, we were single file. I felt pretty good about it. They kind of doubled up behind us. That top lane was getting some momentum. Looking back, I wish I would have stayed at the bottom and let the 1 push me. I didn’t realize they were coming with that much speed.  But try to defend on the 5, you’re too far ahead already right here. Obviously a defense on the 5 kind of gives the door to the 1.  It is what it is. You’re trying to just win the race. You can only see how much is going on from the seat. You’re trying to make the best decision you can the last 1500 feet.  Happy to run up front, lead laps. Would really love to get the 43 in Victory Lane. I thought today might be the day. All day long we were fast and had speed. Especially being up front there at the end, the last 10, I knew we had a shot, but just couldn’t quite close it out.”
JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 12th “It was a good day in our No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Camaro ZL1. We stayed clean, we just didn’t execute at the end. I’m proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing for working hard and helping us to be able to stay up front and have an opportunity to contend for the win.” RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SUNNYD CAMARO ZL1, sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 89. SOME OF THE GUYS SAID THEY COULD KIND OF SEE THIS ONE COMING. COULD YOU, JUST WITH THE WAY THE ENERGY OF THE PACK WAS GOING? “I thought it was fairly smooth, really. I didn’t even see what happened, so I’ve got really no clue what actually happened. You wouldn’t think on a restart that you would have any issues, but apparently someone didn’t push in the right spot I guess. Again, I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know. I thought it was pretty calm, really, the whole race. Just kind of two-by-two. We really couldn’t get the third lane going. 
I felt like our No. 47 Kroger/SunnyD Camaro was really good. I really wanted to get up and lead one of the lines. I felt like we had a car capable of pulling up and leading. I felt really fast and it drove really good. Just a bummer that we didn’t really get that opportunity.”
WERE YOU CLOSE TO BEING ABLE TO GET IT FIXED?“No, I was just riding around so we could beat a few of the people that were already in the garage. It destroyed the right-front. So, not close at all.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 89.YOU LED SOME LAPS TODAY AND HAD A SHOT AT A WIN. “Our Camaro was fast. I was really happy with how the car was driving. I wasn’t good in traffic. I felt like we needed to make an adjustment or two. We made an adjustment and the car was much better by the end of the run. We just needed a little track position.  I felt like we were being patient, just trying to wait for the right time to try and get aggressive and get in the right position. I don’t even know what happened. I just saw the No. 22 (Joey Logano) sideways, wrecking, in the top lane. Unfortunately, we were just in a bad position.” WAS THERE NO WAY TO AVOID IT?“No, there was nothing I could have done, unfortunately. I wish there was something I could have done different, but unfortunately not.” THE TEAM WAS TRYING TO REPAIR IT, BUT WAS THERE JUST TOO MUCH DAMAGE?“Yeah, I couldn’t keep the car straight. I don’t know, something broke in the steering. The car was going left and right by itself. I wasn’t going to be able to stay on track.” TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 89. WELL, TY DILLON HAD A GOOD RACE GOING, TALKED ABOUT YOU GUYS EARLIER AND WE SAW IT ON THE REPLAY YOU WERE JUST AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER. WHAT DID YOU FEEL THERE?“Yeah, that was tough. I felt like I shifted to fifth gear to get in high gear and then all of a sudden, I saw the 22 and there was no where I could go. Just a bystander. As soon as Stage Two started, I could feel the energy just wasn’t the same and it had ramped up for whatever reason with way too many laps to go. Every year we come back; you have to finish the race to have a chance. So, we are bump drafting doing silly things with way too many laps to go. I’m bummed for our guys at Black Rifle Coffee and our guys at Petty GMS. We had a fast, fast Camaro and couldn’t keep it outside the top 15 and just kind of doing my thing that I’d been successful doing here at these speedways. Trying to be smart and stay out of trouble and manage the race. It’s a chess match and you’ve got to use your brain a little bit at these races to have a shot and some people don’t ever realize that every time we come back.” DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 16 MAJESTIC STEEL CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on lap 56. “We were up there mixing it up, pushing and getting a little more aggressive. That had nothing to do with us getting crashed. We were simply riding in the bottom lane. We had been flirting on temperatures the whole run. I was able to poke my nose in and out enough to cool it down. It definitely got probably 10 to 15 degrees hotter than it had been all race. I tried to make a valid effort there to get it halfway lower on the back straightaway to get clean air to the motor. I had a tone change in the engine. We didn’t lose power, so I assumed it was just myself getting my car in clean air. As soon as that thought crossed my mind, then I lost a cylinder and the engine blew up. I ran out of time to get my hand out. To slow down at such a rapid pace, the No. 3 (Austin Dillon) got into me and I was just trying to catch it from there on.  I hate it for everybody that got caught up in that. There were a couple of big hits it looked like; it felt like anyways. I’m disappointed, for sure. I’m super thankful for the opportunity with Kaulig Racing. Just not the way you want it to go.” YOU TRIED TO CORRECT IT. WHAT IS IT LIKE JUST TRYING TO KEEP IT OFF THE BANKING? “These cars, in general, are very, very sensitive to sitting back on the left rear. That’s just naturally the way all teams go about trying to make speed with them. I couldn’t get it off the left rear enough and it steered right. When that happens, you know whatever comes next is not going to be good. I’m glad everyone is OK.”
TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 – Sidelined due to mechanical failure. “Just an unfortunate day for our No. 8 BetMGM team. We started 10th and were just focused on staying out of trouble and running with the pack. As a driver, you know you need to be there at the end. We started falling back and just weren’t able to come back from it. I felt like we were starting to make up some ground in the middle of Stage 1 but then we had an engine failure. We have run thousands of miles without an issue so it’s just tough. But, we have a team that doesn’t give up. Everyone at RCR and ECR work so hard each week to bring us fast and competitive racecars, we’ll bounce back and come back stronger at Dover next week.”

April 24, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team left Talladega Superspeedway with a 34^th-place finish after being swept up in a multi-car crash on Lap 90 of Sunday’s GEICO 500.

Burton started 25^th and ran inside the top 20 for most of the first half of the race.

He lined up 20^th for a restart following a spin by B.J. McLeod, but as the cars got up to speed, Joey Logano was knocked into the wall. That triggered a nine-car crash that saw the No. 21 Mustang sustain race-ending damage to its front end.

“Unfortunately we were just kind of a victim there,” Burton told reporters after exiting his damaged Mustang. “I tried to be smart all race and bailed out of a pack for like the first time in my superspeedway career but still found a way to crash. 
 
“That is frustrating because I always want to try to learn to get better, but I don’t know what I could have done differently there.”
 
Burton said the racing at Talladega was a good bit different than at Daytona, Talladega’s sister track, back in February.
 
“The top wasn’t quite as fast as it was at Daytona,” he said. “I felt like when I got out in front at Daytona I wanted to maintain the outside. 
 
“Here it was like the bottom was chugging along pretty good. It was hard to get runs. 
 
“The bottom had about 10-15 cars lined up and it was hard to leapfrog all those guys.”
 
Burton and his Wood Brothers team will try to bounce back next weekend at Dover International Speedway.

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY RACE WINNER QUOTE & NOTES APRIL 24, 2022 
  ROSS CHASTAIN TAKES THE WIN AT TALLADEGATeam Chevy Scores Sixth NCS Victory of 2022 Behind the wheel of his No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1, Ross Chastain scored his second NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win of 2022 at the Talladega Superspeedway. ·       The win is Chastain’s second victory in 125-career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. ·       It also marks the second NASCAR Cup Series triumph for Trackhouse Racing in just the organization’s second season of competition. ·       The triumph makes Chastain just the second driver to become a repeat winner in the NASCAR Cup Series thus far this season. ·       Chastain’s triumph is also the sixth of the season for the Camaro ZL1, and the 42nd victory for Team Chevy at Talladega Superspeedway, to lead all manufacturers. ·       The winningest brand in NASCAR, Chevrolet now has 820 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.
ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner Quick Quote Q. Ross Chastain with his patented watermelon celebration. You were a lap down at one point in this race. Talk me through the crazy last lap. You stayed on the bottom. Things just opened up for you. “Holy cow. I’m always the one going to the top too early, making the mistake. There at the end it was like eight to go, I was like, I’m not going up there again. I did that a couple times today. I was like, I’ll just ride on the bottom. If it works, I’m not going to lose the race for us, I’ll just let them.
This Moose fraternity, almost a million Moose members across the world, in the country – I know there’s some out here at Talladega. To win with the Moose onboard – they’ve been with me for a few years now, supported me everywhere I went.
I have no idea. They kept going up, kept moving out of the way.” Q. You come to Trackhouse Racing this season. Could you ever imagine this amount of success this early on in your tenure here? “No. Are you kidding me? You know me. I’ve wrecked myself so many times and gotten into it with guys. I’ve probably got a watermelon seed. This is a true seedless.
Yeah, I mean, Justin Marks (Owner, Trackhouse Racing) and what he laid out for us was ambitious. I had no idea, you know, what to expect other than I knew I had my group from last year, I had AdventHealth, the Moose, now with Worldwide Express and Jockey coming onboard, we’ve got partners. They’re believing in us.
We started the year with a lot of races open. We’re almost full now. It’s because of the vision of Justin Marks. Pitbull, Armando, we won, yeah!”

J.R. Todd’s GR Supra to Semi-Finals

HOUSTON (April 24, 2022) – Justin Ashley drove his Toyota Top Fuel dragster to the final round in Sunday’s final NHRA national event at Houston Raceway Park. Ashley lost to a holeshot by race winner Brittany Force. J.R. Todd made a semi-final appearance with his GR Supra while Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria was involved in an accident in Round 1, but was okay following the incident.

Toyota Post-Race Recap

NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series

Houston Raceway Park

Race 5 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS  —  Race Winner:  Brittany Force

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
Justin Ashley	Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Final Round	W. 3.74 vs. 5.078 (Foley)W. 3.792 vs. 3.803 (Prock)W. 3.760 vs. 3.778 (S. Torrence)L. 3.763 vs. 3.767 (B. Force – holeshot win)
Steve Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Final	W. 3.711 vs. 4.041 (Hull)W. 3.744L. 3.778 vs. 3.760 (Ashley)
Billy Torrence	Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Semi-Final	W. 3.726 vs. 3.772 (Kalitta)W. 3.799L. 3.924 vs. 3.848 (B. Force)
Shawn Langdon	DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 2	W. 4.774 vs. 4.973 (Pruett)L. 5.589 vs. 3.773 (B. Force)
Doug Kalitta	Mobil 1 Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 3.772 vs. 3.726 (B. Torrence)
Antron Brown	Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster	Round 1	L. 5.439 vs. 3.754 (Millican)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS  — Race Winner: Matt Hagan

Name	Car	Final Result	Round-by-Round
J.R. Todd	DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Semi-Final	W. 4.008 vs. 5.475 (Tasca III)W. 4.004 vs. 4.074 (Campbell)L. 10.851 vs. 3.937 (Hagan)
Alexis DeJoria	Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car	Round 1	L. (accident) vs. 3.957 (Bode)

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports

Final Result: Final Round

Can you talk about the day overall and specifically the run in the final round?

“It was a good day. Truthfully, I didn’t do my job in the final round and that cost us the win and it’s very disappointing. We gave it all that we had today and the team did a great job. We had a little bit of an issue ther in the semi-finals and they were able to turn the car around and make it happen in time, which is just incredible. It’s a testament to the team and the entire group that I have. This one’s on me. We’ll regroup and get to Charlotte to get after the win.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Semi-Final

How do you feel about your progress in today’s event?

“This race track can definitely be the equalizer that we need, especially when the sun can get on the track. It has bumps and a lot of character. We’ve won here in the past so we know how to get it done. This is some good momentum with our GR Supra, but we’re still learning but making progress. Thank you to everyone at DHL and Toyota Gazoo Racing North America for the support.”

SHAWN LANGDON, DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Round 2

In Round 1, you won a ‘pedalfest’ against Leah Pruett, what was that like from the driver’s seat?

“Well I didn’t show it, but we got the win light which was good. It’s so hard at this track — it’s a good track, but it’s just getting through the whoop sections out there is a little bit difficult to navigate. I was just a little aggressive on getting back on the pedal and it kept smoking the tires and I really got lucky to get that round win. I didn’t really do a great job but better than our opponent and that’s all that matters. Got a round win and that’s good. We need that for DHL and CMR Roofing and Toyota, everybody. Everyone that has stuck with us through some challenges in recent races.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

Final Result: Round 1

What happened in Round 1 when the car made contact with the wall?

“I’m mad at myself. I just tried a little too hard and the backend came out on me and I hit the wall. Sorry to my guys. They have a lot of work to do. I think the chassis is messed up so that’s never a godo day. Just really mad and just sorry to everybody, especially my team. Just tried really hard and missed it.”

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 24, 2022) – Chris Dyson extended his series championship lead at this weekend’s WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca round of the 2022 Trans Am by Pirelli, sweeping the available points for pole position, fastest race lap, most laps led and the race win. It was a particularly satisfying victory for 2021 Trans Am titlist Dyson after having dominated last season’s Laguna Seca race until being crashed out by a competitor on a late race restart, Dyson’s worst result in his championship run. It was also Dyson’s first overall triumph in his career at the famed California venue.  “It feels great to finally win one here,” Dyson said exultantly after climbing from his #20 ALTWELL Ford Mustang following the race. “This place has sure served up its share of disappointment in the past. But the team gave me such a great car today. I was determined to win here – and we did.” The Laguna Seca victory marks Dyson’s third win in the four races run this season, adding to first-place finishes at Sebring and Road Atlanta. After losing the drag race to the first corner, Dyson shadowed early leader Tomy Drissi for the first quarter of the race. Then, taking advantage of lapped traffic, Dyson slipped by Drissi and into a lead that was never threatened, even by a pair of full-course caution periods that each time bunched up the field. Dyson’s CD Racing teammate, Humaid Masaood had a more adventuresome afternoon, dropping to last place after a first-lap miscue and then battling back through the 100-mile sprint to second place under the checkered flag after a hard-fought battle with former series champion Amy Ruman, Simon Gregg, Ken Thwaits and Drissi. Unfortunately Masaood was demoted by series officials to fourth-place in the TA Class after a ruling of avoidable contact during the close racing. On To Sonoma The fifth round of the Trans Am series takes place next weekend up north of San Francisco Bay at Sonoma Raceway. Dyson and Masaood swept last season’s Sonoma race, which was part of the Trans Am West Coast Championship last year and so paid no national championship points. This year it counts, a lot. “Sonoma is the last race in the first half of the season,” Dyson said. “Our home race is at Lime Rock Park over the Memorial Day weekend. It would be terrific to be coming off another good weekend before we race in front of all our family and local friends at Lime Rock.” Sonoma has figured prominently in the Dyson family’s racing history, stretching back to when Rod Dyson celebrated his 1986 victory there aboard a Dyson Racing Team Porsche 962 during the legendary IMSA GTP days. In the intervening 36 years the team scored a pair of wins in the ‘90s before Chris took a race victory there during his 2003 American Le Mans Series championship-winning season. Sonoma Race Schedule Qualifying is Friday, April 29, 3:55 to 4:10 p.m. PT. The 40-lap (100-mile) race runs Saturday, April 30, with the green flag scheduled for 1:15 p.m. PT (4:15 p.m. ET) Video Coverage The Sonoma TA race will be streamed live and free on the Trans Am Series by Pirelli YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/TheTransAmSeries). Sonoma live-stream coverage begins at 12:45 p.m. PT, 3:45 ET) on Saturday, April 30.

REACHING THE PEAK: Sheppard Holds off Erb at Atomic, Ties Richards for Most World of Outlaws Wins

WAVERLY, OH – April 24, 2022 – Actor Tom Hiddleston once said, “You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back, and you’ve climbed a mountain.”

Since 2012, and his first Series victory at Belle-Clair Speedway, Brandon Sheppard has climbed the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series Mountain. 

He finally reached the peak of all-time wins Saturday night at Atomic Speedway, holding off a late charge by Dennis Erb Jr. to win the Outlaw Invasion—his 78th Series triumph. He’s now tied with Josh Richards for most wins all-time, a milestone that each four-time champion holds.

For Sheppard, it’s a moment he cherishes, and he is thankful for everyone that’s helped him on his journey.

 “When I started, my dad and grandpa gave me everything I needed to get going, “Sheppard said. “I’m just thankful for them and Mark Richards picking me up back in 2012, and everyone that’s backed me for my whole career.

“I think it’s my first win [at Atomic], so that’s exciting, too. I feel like I’ve had a fast car here a lot and just haven’t been able to get the job done.”

Sheppard seemed poised to dominate the $15,000-to-win Feature after wrestling the lead away from Max Blair on a Lap 16 restart. The New Berlin, IL driver, pulled away from the field until he couldn’t carry the same momentum he had early in the race. That’s when Erb set himself up to strike. 

The World of Outlaws points leader locked his car to the bottom of the track, pulling even with Sheppard a few times down the backstretch. Erb’s best shot came with three laps remaining as he slid the reigning champion in Turn 2, but Sheppard crossed him back over to keep control. The Illinois veteran may have had another shot, but a caution came out, putting Erb directly behind Sheppard on the restart.

“The Rocket Shepp” held on during the final three laps to win his first World of Outlaws Feature of 2022. Sheppard stated that his charge toward the front early in the race impacted his tires toward the end.

“I think I burned my tires up pretty early in that race trying to get the lead,” Sheppard said. “It was cleaning up and starting to take a little rubber getting into [Turns 1 and 2], and I think I was using a bit too much, and that slowed me down a bunch.

“I was kind of stumped out there, I didn’t know which way to go [in lap traffic], and then Dennis showed me the nose, and I was trying to change what I was doing, but he always races me clean.”

Erb crossed the line second—his fifth top-five of 2022. He felt the last caution took away his opportunity to get by Sheppard.

“The car was working really good while we were under green,” Erb said. “I really didn’t want to see that caution there at the end but [Sheppard’s] car was good too, and we fired off real good and gave it a shot.”

Erb’s runner-up finish extended his points lead for the second consecutive night—44 points ahead of Max Blair, who finished third, rounding out an all-Rocket Chassis podium.

The Centerville, PA driver thundered from his ninth starting position to the lead in 15 laps before falling to third at the checkered flag. Blair’s car got tighter as the race went on. 

“If it was a 20-lap race, I feel like we had a car we could’ve won with,” Blair said. “Once the bottom started to give up a little bit, and I had to move up, I was just a little too tight to roll the center as good as what Brandon could.”

Gordy Gundaker crossed the line fourth, his first top-five of 2022. It’s the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year contender’s best finish of the season.

“At the end, it seemed like we were just better than everyone in front of us,” Gundaker said. “I just had to pick and choose, and I got my way around Josh [Rice] and Devin [Moran] those last few laps to run fourth.”

Dresden, OH driver Devin Moran rounded out the top five.  

Brandon Sheppard’s win on Saturday is one of many historical milestones in his career. But this time, it’s at the top of a mountain, cementing his place as one of the best in World of Outlaws Late Model history. 

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models join the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars for the Bristol Bash April 28-30 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. 

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

CASE Construction Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 3. 111V-Max Blair[9]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 5. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[11]; 7. 11R-Josh Rice[5]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[23]; 9. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 10. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 11. 81E-Tanner English[21]; 12. 29-Darrell Lanigan[16]; 13. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[17]; 14. C9-Steve Casebolt[10]; 15. 44B-Colten Burdette[19]; 16. 71R-Rod Conley[22]; 17. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[24]; 19. 1R-Josh Richards[13]; 20. 1T-Tyler Erb[8]; 21. 53C-Andy Bond[18]; 22. 37-Jacob Hawkins[7]; 23. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[14]; 24. 1AM-Austyn Mills[20] FOX Factory Hard Charger: Tyler Bruening [+15].

Next Stop for The Greatest Show on Dirt is the Much-Anticipated Bristol Bash

HAUBSTADT, IN – April 23, 2022 – When you’re hot, you’re hot; and Carson Macedo is scorching when it comes to Tri-State Speedway.

The Lemoore, CA native made a little history on Saturday night by becoming the first driver in World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series history to win three consecutive races at the Haubstadt, IN bullring. A feat that the likes of Wolfgang, Hillenburg, McMahan, or the Kinser clan could pull off at the 1/4-mile.

Much like his last two triumphs at the track, this one came down to the final few feet before the checkered flag. After surviving a chaotic five-car battle for the lead at halfway, Macedo emerged in command and fended off one last-ditch effort by Brad Sweet to win it by 0.249 seconds at the line.

The Jason Johnson Racing, Albaugh #41 is now at four wins on the 2022 season, twice as much as anyone else on tour. After winning back-to-back shows in Missouri and Indiana, they’ll head to next week’s Bristol Bash with their head held high in pursuit of a $50,000 weekend at The Last Great Colosseum. 

“It’s extremely tough to win these World of Outlaws races, so going back-to-back is always big,” Macedo mentioned. “It’s so competitive right now that you can’t slip an inch, I mean you make one mistake on this tour and you can feel guys breathing down your neck. I was running it as hard as I possibly could there at the end to make sure Brad and Sheldon couldn’t get a run at me.

Haubstadt is always an exciting place. It never fails to send my heart rate through the roof here. That was one hell of a race. It’s pretty cool to be the first to win three in a row here considering how long we’ve been racing and all the legends from here.”

From the jump of the 40-lapper, Macedo’s shot at a three-peat looked bleak as The Big Cat Brad Sweet immediately settled into a comfortable lead from the outside pole. He stretched his advantage to more than 3+ seconds before taking the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Parts #49 into lap traffic.

While controlling the first 23 laps, Sweet saw a swarm of challengers step up as traffic tightened things and created a five-way battle for the lead. James McFadden was the most notorious contender early on, but bringing the heat along with him was Macedo, Indiana’s own Spencer Bayston, and the always-exciting Sheldon Haudenschild.

Amid a torrid fight in traffic, McFadden snuck the Roth Motorsports #83 into the lead at several points, but never officially led a lap. The race went sideways on Lap 27 when the first caution included second-running McFadden with nowhere to go as four backmarkers piled up in turn two.

The complexion of the race changed as Macedo had just barely stripped the lead away from Brad Sweet and restarted in command of the field. He cruised through the opening half of the restart with 13 to go, but the pressure amped up as the #49 caught the #41 in the closing moments.

Sweet had one last shot at Macedo but fell short by 0.249-seconds as Carson stole Haubstadt honors for the third year in a row. For Sweet, the Grass Valley, CA native banked his eighth podium through 15 races and extended his streak to 14 straight top-10 finishes to start the year as he vies for a fourth consecutive World of Outlaws championship.

“I don’t think I was aggressive enough in lap traffic, honestly,” Sweet admitted. “I was a little too conservative and you really need to get your elbows up at this place. I kept waiting for gaps and my patience opened the door too much. When you’re in second it’s easy to pick and choose lanes, but you’re a sitting duck in the front. It just came down to decisions, I don’t think my car was any worse at all.”

Sheldon Haudenschild, who suffered a heartbreaking loss at Tri-State last year, rounded out the podium with a third-place effort for the Stenhouse Jr. / Marshall Racing, NOS Energy Drink #17.

“At the end of the day, I finished a race here and we were on the podium, so I’ll take it and move on to Bristol,” a relieved Sheldon said.

Closing out the top-five in Haubstadt was Lebanon, IN’s Spencer Bayston with another stellar finish for CJB Motorsports, and Shark Racing’s Logan Schuchart with an impressive top-five at a track the team has struggled at in the past.

David Gravel, Carson Short, Jacob Allen, Tanner Thorson, and Sam Hafertepe Jr. rounded out the top-10 on Saturday.

NOS NOTEBOOK (Tri-State Speedway, 4/23/22)

In the 42nd visit to the track, Carson Macedo became the first driver to win three-straight World of Outlaws Features at Tri-State Speedway. He’s tied with Mark Kinser at three wins, while Steve Kinser remains on top with eighth Outlaw triumphs in Haubstadt.

Macedo’s 21st career World of Outlaws victory brings him to a tie for 28th on the All-Time Win List alongside Tim Kaeding and Rick Ferkel.

A unique notch occurred on Saturday with a different driver winning every single racing event in the program. Bayston led Qualifying, Allen/Schuchart/Sweet won Heats, McFadden topped the Dash, and Macedo mastered the Feature.

David Gravel earned his 699th career start with his milestone 700th set to come Friday night at the Bristol Bash, where he enters as the defending winner after sweeping last year’s return to the dirt-covered 1/2-mile.

A pair of proven non-wing stars Carson Short (Marion, IL) and Tanner Thorson (Minden, NV) both recorded their first top-10 finishes of the season with the World of Outlaws.

UP NEXT (Thur-Sat) – The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series prepares for a historic weekend with the Bristol Bash from Thursday-Saturday, April 28-30. They’ll join the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway for a pair of $25,000-to-win Features at The Last Great Colosseum. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE, or watch every lap LIVE on DIRTVision.

NOS Energy Drink Feature Results (40 Laps) – 1. 41-Carson Macedo [3][$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$6,000]; 3. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [7][$3,500]; 4. 5-Spencer Bayston [5][$2,800]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6][$2,500]; 6. 2-David Gravel [9][$2,300]; 7. 21-Carson Short [12][$2,200]; 8. 1A-Jacob Allen [4][$2,100]; 9. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [10][$2,050]; 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [16][$2,000]; 11. 83-James McFadden [1][$1,600]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [8][$1,400]; 13. 20G-Noah Gass [18][$1,200]; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [19][$1,100]; 15. 5C-Kyle Cummins [15][$1,050]; 16. 24-Rico Abreu [11][$1,000]; 17. 11K-Kraig Kinser [14][$1,000]; 18. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [20][$1,000]; 19. 6-Bill Rose [22][$1,000]; 20. 7M-Geoff Dodge [23][$1,000]; 21. 17K-Kendall Ruble [24][$1,000]; 22. 7S-Jason Sides [21][$1,000]; 23. 5K-Jason McDougal [13][$1,000]; 24. 51B-Joe B-Miller [17][$1,000]. Lap Leaders: Brad Sweet 1-23, Carson Macedo 24-40. KSE Hard Charger Award: 15H-Sam Hafertepe[+6]

NEW Championship Standings (After 15/81 Races): 1. Brad Sweet (2,116); 2. Carson Macedo (-44); 3. David Gravel (-56); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (-74); 5. James McFadden (-138); 6. Donny Schatz (-142); 7. Logan Schuchart (-142); 8. Spencer Bayston (-170); 9. Jacob Allen (-216); 10. Giovanni Scelzi (-282).

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 23, 2022) – Progressive American Flat Track superstar Jared Mees (No. 1 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) added to his legend in a thrilling inaugural I-70 Half-Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle of Kansas City on Saturday evening in Odessa, Missouri.

The Kansas City-area fans who waited 17 years plus one long day of largely inclement weather to see the world’s greatest motorcycle dirt track racers do battle, were rewarded for their patience with an instant classic featuring the Mission SuperTwins presented by S&S Cycle class’ modern-day titans.

Briar Bauman (No. 3 Indian Motorcycle/Progressive Insurance FTR750) powered into the lead at the start, followed closely by JD Beach (No. 95 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT). Mees didn’t waste any time dispatching Beach to prevent Bauman from getting any thoughts of running away out front, and then used that momentum to rail his way into the lead for good measure.

Bauman seemed happy enough to let Mees lead; he spent the bulk of the race sizing his rival up and trying out some lines in advance of the inevitable late-race confrontation.

And Bauman’s studies nearly paid off with a win. In the race’s final laps, he attempted inside and outside maneuvers, pulling up alongside Mees more than once. However, his final shot was foiled as Mees expertly positioned a lapper between them in the race’s final corner, providing Bauman no realistic path to steal away the victory at the flag.

As a result, I-70 Motorsports Park stands as the 32nd venue conquered by Mees, tying him with the iconic Chris Carr for most in premier-class history.

“What a day,” Mees said. “Mother Nature actually played a good hand for the racetrack for us. Thankfully we got the racing in before the next storm came in. These races that are quick with just one round of qualifying and right into a Main Event are hectic. You’ve got to be on point from word go.

“What a hectic Main Event with Briar. I felt him breathing down my neck the entire time. A track like this makes for a lot of tiny little mistakes, but everybody has their fair share of them, and we stuck it out and got to the checkered flag first.”

Despite enjoying a quick start, Beach was also ultimately overhauled by Brandon Robinson(No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) and Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) before ending his slide in fifth.

Once through, Robinson teased the potential to turn the race into a three-way affair before finally settling into third to secure his first podium of the ‘22 season.

Daniels came home fourth, which means the heralded rookie stands as the only rider other than two-time champion Bauman to have finished fourth or better in every race this season.

Bronson Bauman (No. 37 Latus Motors Racing Harley-Davidson XG750R) finished sixth, followed by Mission Production Twins Challenge entry Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R). Together the two ensured that a pair of Harley-Davidson XG750Rs would finish inside the top seven alongside the three Indians and two Yamahas ahead of them.

The talented Davis Fisher (No. 67 Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750), and Brandon Price (No. 92 Briggsauto.com/Martin Trucking Indian FTR750) finished eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively, underlining the depth of talent in the field this season.

Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines

Jesse Janisch (No. 33 Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson XG750R) took his Texas frustrations out on the field in the form of outright dominance of the evening’s Mission Production Twins presented by Vance & Hines. The Vance & Hines pilot stormed to the front off the line and effectively removed all doubt within a matter of laps.

While Janisch established order at the front, the remainder of the positions shook out behind him in a manner more akin to chaos.

Ben Lowe (No. 25 Helipower Racing/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson XG750R), who topped the opening practice by nearly a half-second, was removed from podium contention early with a mechanical issue. In his absence, the young and aggressive trio of Billy Ross (No. 109 Mission Foods/Roof Systems Kawasaki Ninja 650), Kolby Carlile (No. 36 KC36 Las Vegas Harley-Davidson XG750R), and Cole Zabala (No. 51 Memphis Shades/Corbin/Vinson Yamaha MT-07) threw haymakers at one another in their scrap for second.

Despite a smoking machine, Ross made a late escape and appeared to have the runner-up position all locked up… That is, until his ailing bike finally expired with less than a minute remaining on the clock. To add to the late-race drama, Zabala and Carlile suffered massive crashes in quick succession with just over a lap left to be run.

That development forced an early end to the contest while remaking the podium rather significantly.

In the race’s early stages, Janisch seemed primed to make huge strides in the standings following his 14th-place result in Fort Worth, with title leaders Nick Armstrong (No. 60 Competitive Racing Frames/Lessley Brothers Yamaha MT-07) and Cory Texter (No. 1 G&G Racing/Yamaha Racing Yamaha MT-07) mired down at the tail-end of the top ten.

It didn’t turn out that way, however, as the two kept their heads down and quietly fought their way up the order. And by the time the red flag concluded their charge, Armstrong and Texter found themselves in second and third, respectively.

Texter only narrowly earned that spot on the box, edging fourth-placed Jeremiah Duffy (No. 42 Sammy O Racing/Arai Helmets Kawasaki Ninja 650) by 0.087 seconds with fifth-placed Jordan Harris (No. 77 Roy Built/S&J Coal Mine Kawasaki Ninja 650) another 0.319 seconds back.

Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER

Minutes before Mees pulled off the same feat, it was actually Kody Kopp (No. 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE) who became the first repeat winner of the Progressive AFT season when he took the checkered flag in the Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Main Event.

And as with Mees, the achievement didn’t come easily. The race began precisely as the previous Parts Unlimited AFT Singles showdown ended – with Kopp draped all over Morgen Mischler (No. 13 American Honda/Progressive Insurance CRF450R) and searching for a way past and into the lead.

This time, however, he managed to pull it off. Kopp showed a wheel on the inside several times before the two finally circulated the D-shaped oval side-by-side. A bobble on Mischler’s part allowed Kopp to seal the overtake and provided the rising star a clear run to victory.

However, Kopp’s decorated teammate, Max Whale (No. 18 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 450 SX-FFE), nearly had a say in that. The Aussie swallowed up Mischler after coming from well back and then tried to do the same to his young KTM stablemate, simply running out of time as he continues to seek his first win of the year.

“I’m feeling really good,” Kopp said. “Hats off to my entire Red Bull KTM team. We put a ton of work in this offseason, and I think it’s showing to start the season. It was clean racing out there, and I couldn’t be happier to pull off our second win.”

Mischler held on for third while Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) and James Ott (No. 19 MediaHT/G&G Racing KTM 450 SX-F) completed the top five.

The I-70 Half-Mile will premiere on FS1 on Sunday, May 1, at 10:00 a.m. ET/7:00 a.m. PT., including exclusive features, cutting-edge aerial drone and onboard footage, and expert commentary.

Next Up:

Progressive AFT will do battle at a Mile for the first time in 2022 and do it twice with the Mission Red Mile presented by Indian Motorcycle of Lexington doubleheader on Memorial Day weekend at the the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 28-29. Visit https://store.americanflattrack.com/ebooking/ticket/view/id/3722/ to reserve your tickets today!

For those viewing from home, you can catch the livestream free via Facebook up until Opening Ceremonies. Fans can then purchase access to watch Opening Ceremonies, Semis, Main Events, and podium celebrations via Facebook Paid Online Events for $3.99 if purchased 24 hours or more in advance, or $4.99 if purchased on the day of the event.

BAYTOWN, TX (April 23, 2022) — After two days of tough Pro Stock qualifying at the 35^th NHRA SpringNationals rookie Camrie Caruso secured her first career No 1 qualifier in just her fifth race which ties her with last year’s Rookie of the Year Dallas Glenn as the quickest driver to earn their first career No. 1 in Pro Stock. She also became the first female to qualify No. 1 in Pro Stock at Houston Raceway Park’s NHRA SpringNationals. Driving the Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro with Titan Racing Engine power under the hood Caruso posted her quickest elapsed time of the event on Friday night with a 6.547 second pass at 209.39 mph. The 2022 Rookie of the Year favorite then withstood two rounds of qualifying today to hold onto the top spot. 

Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro, photo by Auto Imagery

“This means the world to me, my team and everyone who backs me,” said Caruso, a third-generation racer. “I am thankful and happy to head into race day as the No. 1 qualifier. I am super grateful for the opportunity to be the first female to qualify No. 1 at Houston Raceway Park. I never would have thought we would have achieved such a cool record so early. I know we had the capabilities, but this was just a great team accomplishment.”

In the final session Caruso was paired beside four-time Pro Stock champion Erica Enders for the second session of the day since they were 1-2 in the qualifying order. Caruso was lined up in the left lane with Enders occupying the right lane. Caruso posted a solid 6.605 seconds at 209.56 mph with Enders lighting up the scoreboard with a 6.556 second at 210.54 mph. As both drivers approached the top end Enders’ parachutes caught Caruso’s rear wing as the veteran driver darted around the rookie driver. Caruso’s Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro sustained some damage to the rear wing and rear end.

No. 1 qualifier Camrie Caruso, photo by Auto Imagery

“The race car needs to be fixed but we can get that handled,” said Caruso in the Houston Raceway Park media center. “We crossed the finish line and we both pulled the chutes. As we were approaching the top end the Safety Safari had their hands up so I stopped. It didn’t go as planned. The car will be all good and will be ready for race day tomorrow. It could have been anybody in the other lane. She is a great racer. I am sure she didn’t want this to happen either. It sucks that the incident happened and that’s just racing.”

Caruso becomes the fifth driver to earn their first career No. 1 at Houston Raceway Park. She joins a list comprised of Larry Morgan (1989), Mark Pawuk (1990), Ronnie Humphrey (2011) and Glenn (2021).

“The competition out here is crazy good. Anyone could have taken this No. 1 today. It doesn’t matter that we were No. 1 yesterday. We had to hang onto that top spot through Q3,” said Caruso.

This season Caruso has qualified for every national event she has entered with her previous best qualifying effort of No. 7 at the season opening Winternationals and Gatornationals. She qualified No. 8 at the Arizona Nationals and two weeks ago she was No. 9, her only effort outside the top half, at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals. She has advanced to the quarterfinals twice with first round wins over Cristian Cuarda at the Arizona Nationals and Gatornationals.

Veteran Pro Stock driver and tuner Jim Yates has been incredibly supportive and instrumental in her development behind the wheel. Throughout the process Yates has worked with Caruso to strategically develop a driving strategy that began well before the first race of the season.

“My goals at the start of the season were to be No. 1 qualifier, win races and win the championship. Jim was like you need to chill. We have done just that and we are really heading in the right direction. It is all because of my team and sponsors like Sand Haulers of America, GESi, Powerbuilt Tools, Right Trailers, Titan Racing Engines and VP Racing Lubricants.”

“We just want to keep making good passes up and down the track. We want to be consistent and keep working as a team. I have said it from day one I don’t want to disappoint any of them. They don’t put pressure on me. I put more pressure on myself. They have done so much for me. I really just want to make them all proud. This is my career and business. I remind myself of that every day. It is so much fun and to be able to do it with the support of my family. I wouldn’t want to be on this journey with anyone else.”

Caruso will face Fernando Cuadra, the No. 16 qualifier in the first round tomorrow. Final eliminations will begin with Top Fuel at 11:30 a.m. which is a revised time pushed back 30 minutes to allow expected increased fan traffic to enter the historic Houston Raceway Park for their final NHRA national event.

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 23, 2022) – Robert Hight and the AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro SS team will head into the final race day at the NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park sitting No. 2. Brittany Force and her Monster Energy dragster team will also get things started from No. 2 with Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team securing the No. 5 spot. With his specialty paint scheme celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 100th win, John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy will begin race day from No. 9. The second qualifying session of the NHRA SpringNationals was rough for the majority of the Top Fuel and Funny Car fields. Robert Hight and the AAA Texas Chevy followed trend finding tire smoke in the left lane and going only 4.414-seconds at 197.91 mph. In their final pass, the AAA Texas Camaro would have a solid 3.866 at 328.78 to be quickest of the session and earn three bonus qualifying points. They’ll start from No. 2 off of their 3.865 run at 331.36 from Friday night. Hight will be going after his fifth win at Houston Raceway Park, which is the site of his first career win in his rookie season in 2005. “When the temperature was cool, we had as good of a car as anyone out here. We really hoped we could get this AAA Texas Chevy down the track Q2 but we went a long ways and got some good data,” Hight said. “I feel that tomorrow, in the heat, we’ll be able to tune for the run we had in Q2 and it’ll go down the track and hopefully get a win here in Houston to send this race out with a bang. I honestly feel really good here at Houston Raceway Park. We’ve had a lot of really good success here.” Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team would run into tire smoke near half-track to coast to a 4.979-second run at 141.21 mph Saturday afternoon but, for the time being, would hold onto the No. 1. With some cloud cover in the third qualifying session, Force would handle the Monster Energy dragster to a good looking 3.714 pass at 329.50 mph. The most recent event winners would be narrowly bumped from the top spot with their 3.695 pass on Friday earning them the No. 2 position where they’ll face Josh Hart in the first round. “We finished qualifying here in Houston at the NHRA SpringNationals. We moved down to the No. 2 spot but it’s still a great position for this Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac team. Still a great starting position for tomorrow,” Force said. “We’ll take a look at the ladder and make some decisions. It’s tough running in the heat but we’ll figure it out going into race day.” Austin Prock and the Montana Brand dragster had to shut off early after driving into tire smoke in the first go on Saturday afternoon. They’d go 5.340-seconds at 132.96 mph. They’d find a little more power in the final qualifying try going 3.831 at 311.27 but wouldn’t better their Friday night 3.701 that earns them the No. 5 starting spot and a race with Alex Laughlin. “We had one of our better qualifying efforts of the year with this Montana Brand / RMT dragster. We started out really strong but stumbled in the heat with a lot of the other cars. But for the last run we weren’t going for the hero run. We were trying to set ourselves up for a good race day set up,” Prock said. “It was on track to run a mid 3.70 which would be a good, competitive run tomorrow but we dropped some cylinders. So, we’ll get the final system dialed back in tomorrow and we should be in good shape to go for a Wally. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF Chevy would see improvement in his time despite also having tire smoke in the second session. Their 4.695-second run at 174.19 mph still had them sitting in the No. 15 spot with one session to go. The PEAK / BlueDEF Camaro would jump into the No. 9 spot thanks to a 3.945 pass at 324.12. Force will take on Matt Hagan in the first round of eliminations. “Well we got it down there, we’re in the show. This PEAK Chevy, celebrating my 100th win, I’m really hoping I can get that win tomorrow, cap things off here in Houston,” Force said. “Going to be tough to say goodbye to this place but I think we all want to send it out on a high note. Really feels good to see all the fans here packing the stands, that’s what we want. We’ll see you all tomorrow and hopefully in the winners circle.” Eliminations at the NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park are scheduled for Sunday at 11:30 a.m. CT. Television coverage will continue on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET. -30-

AUSTIN PROCK, 26, Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist DragsterQualifying:5th; 3.701-seconds; 330.15 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+1 (3rd quickest Q1)BRITTANY FORCE, 35, Monster Energy DragsterQualifying:2nd; 3.695-seconds; 333.58 mphBonus Qualifying Points: +3 (quickest Q1)JOHN FORCE, 72, PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevrolet Camaro SSQualifying:9th; 6.334-seconds; 108.71 mphBonus Qualifying Points: 0ROBERT HIGHT, 52, Auto Club of Southern California Chevy Camaro SSQualifying:2nd; 3.865-seconds; 331.36 mphBonus Qualifying Points:+5 (2nd quickest Q1, quickest Q3)

Sheldon Creed and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet Run Strong at Talladega Superspeedway Before Late-Race Incident

24th

4th

14th

“We had a fast Whelen Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway. We ran well today and were in contention until the crash that took us out of the race early. I was three or four-wide in the middle and our Whelen Chevrolet just got hooked in the right-rear. I don’t know what they were doing outside of me; I couldn’t see ‘em. The next thing I knew I was getting hooked straight into the fence. I made some mistakes early in the race and learned from them. I thought I did a lot of the right things at the end to put myself in contention. I missed the block off of Turn 2 and back I went. It’s unfortunate but that’s part of speedway racing.” -Sheldon Creed

Jeffrey Earnhardt Races the No. 3 ForeverLawn Chevrolet To Second-Place Finish at Talladega Superspeedway

2nd

1st

N/A

“I think it’s mission accomplished coming here to Talladega Superspeedway in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 ForeverLawn Chevrolet. We wanted to sit on the pole and win this thing and fell short by one spot. I knew on that last restart we had a shot. I just didn’t know how it was going to play out. I knew it was going to break apart and I knew we had some help from out back. I didn’t know if it was going to be enough to get us to second, but I knew we had a shot. We just didn’t have anybody close enough out back to create a run to get to his back bumper. I’m just very thankful for ForeverLawn and everyone that’s given me this opportunity. From the word go Larry McReynolds immersed himself at RCR and figured out how they go about a race weekend and how he was going to come in and be successful. This has been a dream of mine for years.”  -Jeffrey Earnhardt

Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet Lead Laps at Talladega Superspeedway Before Late-Race Wreck Eliminates Them from Contention

27th

2nd

9th

“We were having a solid day in our Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevy Camaro. RCR brought a bad fast car to the racetrack. I couldn’t keep the No. 27 car with me on that restart for whatever reason. I don’t know if his car wasn’t good enough or what the deal was there. I kept trying to drag back to him and that allowed the No. 7 car to clear me on the top and the No. 1 car was about to clear me. I guess the 1 just got hit from behind, got out of shape and then he hit us in the right-front. Once he did, we were just along for the ride. I don’t know if I could have done anything different to save it. I was trying to get turned back around to the right so I kind of got off the brakes a little bit to try to get turned to the right and by the time I got turned I hit driver’s side on the inside wall. I’ll have to go back and look at it to see if I could have done something different to save the car. You can have the best car all day and dominate and end up with nothing to show for it. It’s just tough when you run up front all day and that happens.” -Austin Hill

April 23, 2022

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang are set to start Sunday’s 53^rd annual GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway from 25^th place.

Burton posted a speed of 178.112 miles per hour on his qualifying lap on a weekend in which there was no practice session prior to time trials.

The weekend format means team are not risking damage to primary cars at a track that is known for multi-car crashes.
 
Sunday’s race marks Burton’s second Cup start at the 2.66-mile speedway as he made his Cup debut there last year.

His Wood Brothers team will be making its 99^th Talladega start, the first coming in 1970, with Cale Yarborough driving the No. 21 Mercury.

The 188-lap, 500-mile race is set to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX.

Stage breaks are set for Laps 60 and 120.

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY POST-QUALIFYING NOTES APRIL 23, 2022
FIVE TEAM CHEVY DRIVERS QUALIFY IN THE TOP-10 AT TALLADEGA
TOP-10 TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS:POS.   DRIVER3rd     DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 16 MAJESTIC STEEL CAMARO ZL14th      DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIES ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1 5th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL18th      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 10th    TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 BETMGM CAMARO ZL111th    JUSTIN HALEY, NO. 31 LEAFFILTER GUTTER PROTECTION CAMARO ZL114th    AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1 16th    ERIK JONES, NO. 43 U.S. AIR FORCE CAMARO ZL1 19th    ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 MOOSE FRATERNITY CAMARO ZL1 20th    TY DILLON, NO. 42 BLACK RIFLE COFFEE COMPANY CAMARO ZL1 26th    RICKY STENHOUSE JR., NO. 47 KROGER/SUNNY D CAMARO ZL1 27th    ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 28th    CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 31st    NOAH GRAGSON, NO. 62 WENDY’S $5 BIGGIE BAG/BEARD OIL CAMARO ZL1 33rd   COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 RAZE ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 35th    GREG BIFFLE, NO. 44 MOREHOUSE COLLEGE CAMARO ZL1 39th    LANDON CASSILL, NO. 77 FOX NATION CAMARO ZL1  TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL QUALIFYING RESULTS: POS.  DRIVER1st      Christopher Bell (Toyota)2nd     Martin Truex Jr. (Toyota)3rd     Daniel Hemric (Chevrolet)4th      Daniel Suarez (Chevrolet)5th      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet) ·       Daniel Hemric, No. 16 Majestic Steel Camaro ZL1, led Chevrolet in qualifying results in third with a lap of 53.221 seconds at 179.929 mph.  ·       Five Camaro ZL1’s made it to the final round of qualifying and secured a top-10 starting spot in tomorrow’s race.  

NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY GEICO 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 23, 2022  WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Press Conference Transcript:  WHEN WE WERE IN ATLANTA WE HEARD A LOT ABOUT DRAFTING THERE AND IT WAS LIKE A SUPERSPEEDWAY. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LEARNED THERE THAT YOU CAN APPLY HERE? DOES ANYTHING CARRY OVER?“I think, I mean Atlanta was just more intense than here I would say just in the fact that it was really narrow, and you had a lot of things going on fast. The corner exits would come up fast. Guys would merge off the bottom and it was harder to hold the bottom. It was harder to predict where guys were going to end up on corner exit. I think my general thoughts about here is I think you’re going to see some tandem for half a lap or three quarters: maybe a full lap. I think that’s going to be the difference here is handling is not as big of a deal and you might see that play out more.” A FEW YEARS AGO WE WERE AT DAYTONA AND YOU AND BRAD (KESELOWSKI) HAD A DISSAGREEMENT OVER BLOCKING AND DRAFTING. HOW HAS YOUR CONFIDENCE IN THE DRAFT GONE AND YOUR MOVES THAT YOU MAKE AND KNOWING WHEN TO BLOCK? HOW HAS THAT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS, HOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE ARE YOU NOW GOING INTO SUPERSPEEDWAYS?“I think knowing what I need, what I need to do. When that deal happened with Brad (Keselowski) I was in my second year and I was fast on the superspeedways, but I wasn’t making all the right moves. I thought I was making the right amount of right moves. It was a good learning experience and Brad (Keselowski) is always good at these tracks and I feel like we are always usually around each other at these tracks. I think it’s just experience like you just get with your spotter and understand what moves are going to happen. As much as the rule’s packages do change the drafting a little bit, it’s nothing I feel like is massive. If anything, probably my rookie year was the weirdest package because we had lower downforce and there was a big bubble behind the car so you could basically lead the whole race which we saw with Stewart Haas the one time. I think now there’s so many comers and goers that you just have to learn throughout the race and get better.” YOU GUYS WERE AT MARTINSVILLE, YOU GO TO BRISTOL AND NOW HERE. CAN YOU JUST GIVE ME A SENSE OF THE CHALLENGES FOR A DRIVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS AT THESE THREE PARTICULAR TRACKS? IT WOULD SEEM TO BE AMONG THE MORE CHALLENGING STRETCHES FOR YOU GUYS.“It’s probably among the more unpredictable stretches of the season for sure. You know Martinsville was great for us, obviously. Bristol was not great. I was under the weather all weekend and I don’t have a ton of dirt experience, so that one’s kind of a wildcard for us. I think for this weekend a little bit back to normal. This is an important race in the fall. We can talk about how you just kind of don’t know where you are going to finish here, but this is the race last year that knocked us out of contention. So, I feel like we want to do well this weekend for that reason, to be able to be ready for the fall and know what we need to do. Once we get into Dover and then Darlington, I think it will kind of be back to a little bit of normalcy.” GIVEN THE NEW CAR, HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH NOT HAVING PRACTICE AT TALLADEGA?“I mean it would be pointless to have practice. There’s literally nothing that we do here that would relate in practice. You’re basically just wearing off the underside of the car for a couple of laps. I always thought practice was really difficult here to get a feel for what you are going to need in the race. I would like to do some procedural things like hot pit entries and exits, but I think this is a good format for sure.” INITIALLY THERE WAS TALK ABOUT HEAT IN THE CAR WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR. IT’S GOING TO BE HOT THIS WEEKEND. WHAT ABOUT THE CAR ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT AS YOU ROLL INTO THE RACE THIS WEEKEND?“We’ve been working through a couple of different things. One of them was carbon monoxide intake and how the fumes that were coming in the car were affecting me at COTA. Just trying to work on where the helmet was mounted, where the fan was mounted to go into my head. At COTA I got a little bit of a headache, so I think that has been pretty common throughout the field just trying to figure out air intake stuff to make sure we don’t have issues. As far as the heat goes it’s been great. I’d say it is probably similar to the old car, that’s all we wanted. In pre-season testing it was really hot and pretty unbearable. I think they’ve gotten it now where it’s similar to the old car, it’s just about the fumes.” DO YOU KIND OF FEEL LIKE YOU KNOW HOW THIS CAR WILL HANDLE HERE?“I think the little bit that I did race the DAYTONA 500, I think I was 60 laps in, I felt like the car handled better than the old car. It accepted the pushes better than the old car too. Both things were good for competition because you could just be aggressive with pushes. That was probably the most aggressive 500 that we’ve seen with pushing. I think that had a lot to do with the car.” WILLIAM, NOT A NASCAR QUESTION FOR A SECOND HERE. WE ONLY HAVE A WEEK LEFT UNTIL THE NFL DRAFT. YOU’VE BEEN PRETTY KEEN ON THE MALIK WILLIS TO THE PANTHERS. HAS ANYTHING CHANGED SINCE THEN?“Yeah, I would love that. That makes the most sense for Liberty (University) as a whole. I would love it. I think Malik is a great talent. I’ve watched him play in person, watched him play a couple of games up there over the last few years and feel like he was well coached up there with Hugh Freeze. That would be a really cool pic. I don’t know what they are going to do. I try to follow it. It looks like the Hornets fired their coach, so I don’t know. Hopefully we just get it all turned around. It’s been a rough few years in the Charlotte sports, but hopefully we can get it rolling here soon.” IS THERE ANY SITUATION WHERE YOU WOULD BE OK WITH THEM NOT TAKING A QUARTERBACK AT SIX?“We need a lot of pieces. I mean, I’d look at offensive line but that’s always a boring pick to take in the draft. It’s important. They did get a couple of free agent offensive lineman that I think will be good. A guy from the Rams I think, so yeah I think they need pieces but quarterback is probably the easiest fix first.” BACK AT DAYTONA, THE FORDS WERE MOST ORGANIZED FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK. DO YOU THINK CHEVY HAS CAUGHT UP TO WHAT THEY WERE DOING?“We’ll just have to wait and see. I think it’s not for lack of effort for sure. I think there’s some really aggressive Chevy drivers when you look at (Tyler) Reddick and Ross (Chastain) and Chase (Elliott). I think there’s some really good drafters that we can work with. I felt Erik Jones too has been great at the speedways. I felt like at Atlanta we were better. We were improved. That’s probably the closest thing to this weekend. I know those guys can tandem really well, even at Atlanta for a lap of so they could stay connected and that’s something that we have to work on. I don’t know if that will be different, but I think we’ve got the aggressive guys to push each other as much as we need to.” I HAD WATCHED YOUR PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER MARTINSVILLE AND YOU SPOKE ABOUT HOW JEFF GORDON HAD GIVEN YOU ADVICE ABOUT HOW TO GET AROUND THE TRACK. DO Y’ALL STILL TALK ON A WEEK TO WEEK BASIS ABOUT ADVICE LIKE THAT?“Yeah, I’d say all the time. I usually fly with him at some point every couple of weeks. It just works out that way. You know he comes to quite a few races now, so I try to get advice from him that’s going to pay off. He’s pretty direct with his advice and he’s good with the crew chiefs too. I’ve noticed at times he’ll be talking to Rudy (Fugle) on his own that isn’t with me. It’s good to kind of get his opinion as a driver too. I think there’s things that Rudy (Fugle) can use from him to set up the car that might help at certain tracks. I’m very confident in the feels that I have at tracks I have run well, but there’s a few tracks that I haven’t run as well that maybe Jeff (Gordon) can be good advice for the crew chief as well.” HAVE YOU PLAYED ANY IRACING THIS WEEK AND HOW ACCURACTE DO YOU FEEL LIKE THEIR DRAFT MODEL IS GOING TO BE TO WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE ON SUNDAY?“Yeah, from what I’ve watched it looks really similar. With my guys that race in the Coke Series over there, I’ve kind of learned from them some little bits of advice. No, I haven’t been able to race on there this week. I was gone in Orlando, so I haven’t been able to. Hopefully I remember what I’m doing when I get out there, I guess lap one.” WE ARE 1/3 OF THE WAY THROUGH THE SEASON, SO AT THIS POINT WITH THE NEXT GEN CAR HOW MUCH DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE HAVING TO RE-LEARN TRACKS OR RE-LEARN SPECIFIC STYLES OF RACING ON A WEEKLY BASIS WITH THIS CAR?“I’d say every week is a new week. It really is. We look at our old notes for balance and things like that, but even that’s kind of changed. I think Dover’s going to be eye opening to see how this car gets around Dover, because you know it has way less downforce. Downforce is key at Dover. I’m very interested to see how that feels and how that plays out, because I don’t know what to expect. Darlington it sounds like is really difficult with this car. Lots of spins and wall contact just by yourself, so I am sure you guys will see a great race the next few weeks.”

Runner Up Sheppard Disqualified in Post-Race Tech

WAVERLY, OH– April 22, 2022 – While many things have changed in the 1,031 days since the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models last raced at Atomic Speedway, one thing remained the same — Tyler Erb finished on top.  

Erb, of New Waverly, TX, held off a monster challenge from four-time and defending Series champion Brandon Sheppard in Friday’s Feature to win the opening night of Atomic’s Outlaw Invasion. 

Through the first 30 laps of Friday’s Feature, Erb couldn’t be touched before Sheppard challenged him late. Sheppard, a four-time Series champion from New Berlin, IL, tried high and low to sneak by Erb, but the Lone Star State competitor stayed one step ahead.

The victory is Erb’s third career World of Outlaws triumph — all coming at Atomic Speedway. He stated he needed a strategy to walk away with the $10,000 prize in the closing laps.

“I could see in [Turns] 1 and 2 obviously he was beneath me, but I couldn’t figure out how [Sheppard] was getting a run on me,” Erb said. “Before that, I was entering in the middle/top of 3 and 4 and just kind of carrying my momentum. Then when I seen him beneath me, I just kept chopping the corners.

“I was really searching in 3 and 4, and I could never really figure out the right line, and I figured if I ran on top in 1 and 2 the last 10 laps, he’d have to be really good in 3 and 4 to pass me.”

The Texas campaigner stated he loved the banking Atomic offers and ran well on that type of track in the past.

“I really enjoy this place; I don’t know what it is,” Erb said. “I don’t know why it is. Any place that’s got banking like this, I tend to run well. It’s been good to me, and it’s been really good to Devin Moran, too. Hopefully, I’m taking a little money out of the pot.”

Sheppard crossed the line second, but was disqualified after failing the droop check in post-race technical inspection. He’s credited with a 25th-place finish.

Sheppard’s disqualification moved Josh Rice to second — his first top-five with the World of Outlaws in 2022. Rice, of Verona, KY, felt his car’s handling was off, otherwise he would’ve contended for the win. 

“We started out really good, I thought we had a shot out there to start,” Rice said. “The left rear was kind of chewed up after that Heat Race, so we grounded it down to make it work the best we could. 

“I have to get where I can just steer a bit better [Saturday]. I feel like I have to sling it very hard to get it to turn, and then I’m just free after that.”

The Rookie of the Race, Tanner English, was credited with a third — his first top-five of 2022. English, of Benton, KY, debuted a new Rocket XR1 Friday, a car he was pleased with for its first night out. 

“I felt like we were running the same speed as the leaders,” English said. “I felt like we had a car to win, but I got together with another car early in the race and knocked the toe out. I’d like to have known what it was like if that hadn’t of happened.”

Series points leader Dennis Erb Jr. was credited with fourth, his fourth top-five of 2022. The Carpentersville, IL driver stated he needed a better start to the night to help his chances of finding Victory Lane. 

“I wish we would’ve started up a little closer tonight, but the car worked real good, and I was able to maneuver up through there,” said Erb, who is not related to the winner despite sharing the same last name. “We’ll take it and go on to [Saturday] night, and hopefully, we can be up there again and hopefully start closer to the front to make it a little easier.”

The fourth-place finish helped Erb gain points in the Series standings. He’s now 42 points ahead of rookie Max Blair. 

Jacob Hawkins, from Fairmont, WV, rounded out the top five.

Tyler Erb now has the most wins in World of Outlaws history at Atomic Speedway — a number he’d like to add to. Another win on Saturday gives him two-weekend sweeps — four years apart. 

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to action Saturday, April 23, at Atomic Speedway for the Outlaws Invasion finale — a 50-lap Feature paying $15,000-to-win. 

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

CASE Construction Feature (40 Laps): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 11R-Josh Rice[3]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[9]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 5. 37-Jacob Hawkins[6]; 6. 111V-Max Blair[15]; 7. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 8. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 9. 29-Darrell Lanigan[10]; 10. 1R-Josh Richards[8]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker[24]; 13. C9-Steve Casebolt[17]; 14. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 15. 99-Chub Frank[19]; 16. 16-Tyler Bruening[23]; 17. 29C-Clint Keenan[16]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[11]; 19. 95-Jerry Bowersock[21]; 20. 45-Kyle Hammer[20]; 21. 53C-Andy Bond[14]; 22. 20-Todd Brennan[25]; 23. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[22]; 24. 1AM-Austyn Mills[18]; 25. (DQ) 1-Brandon Sheppard[2] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Gordy Gundaker +12

BAYTOWN, Texas (April 22, 2022) – As the final pair down the Houston Raceway Park track on Friday night, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy / Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel team went low of the session to take the provisional No. 1 qualifying position at the NHRA SpringNationals. Austin Prock and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team sit No. 3 and in Funny Car, Robert Hight has the AAA Texas Chevrolet Camaro in second while John Force sits 15th with his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy. With header flames lit under a Texas sunset, Brittany Force and the Monster Energy team laid down a stellar 3.695-second pass at 333.58 mph to go to the top of the Top Fuel qualifying sheet. “That was just huge for our team, and everyone that’s part of tonight. All of the fans who are out here at the final race in Houston, really glad to be able to put on a show for them like that, it’s pretty exciting for all of us. And we hope it holds,” Force said. “That was our target. That was the number we were aiming for and we were right on it. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, we get two more, but those will be the ones that really matter. We still possibly can get knocked out, but we feel safe. It’s an 18-car show, that was our biggest concern, making sure we’re in the show.” Coming off a successful test session in Las Vegas, Austin Prcok and the Montana Brand / Rocky Mountain Twist team had an impressive first go at Houston Raceway Park. Prock will earn a bonus point for being third quickest with his 3.701-second pass at 330.15 mph. “Good start to the weekend for this Montana Brand / RMT team. I’m not surprised, we had a really successful test in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago on Monday and figured a lot of things out,” Prock said. “Everyone did a great job. The engine looks amazing, and the parts look brand new out of it. That’s a big step in the right direction. We’ve been fighting that all year and made a nice clean pass. It felt really, really safe and comfortable all the way down the racetrack. We’re hoping for a little bit quicker ET, but definitely a great start with this new package. It ran within a hundred of what we thought it was going to run. It would have been nice to go one, two with my teammate, Brittany Force, but all in all, a good day for John Force Racing, and looking forward to Saturday and hopefully we can leave here with a Wally on Sunday.” Defending event champion Robert Hight and his AAA Texas Chevy just narrowly missed being low of the session with their 3.865-second pass, but they would be fastest at 331.36 mph. “It’s great to be out here in Texas running the AAA Texas Chevy and that was a pretty good way to start the weekend. Jimmy Prock and Chris Cunningham are always dialed in when we’re here. They know this track,” said Hight who is looking for his fifth. “Tomorrow will be important, running in the middle of the day, similar to Sunday race day. We’ll get set up and be ready to go.” Celebrating the 20th anniversary of his 100th win that came in 2002 at Houston Raceway Park, John Force and the PEAK BlueDEF Chevy had a slight misstep in their first qualifying try. Force would smoke the tires early to run 6.334-seconds at 108.71 mph. “It’s all good. We’ll be fine. Still have two more tries tomorrow. We tested well after Las Vegas, really had some good runs, so we know it’s there,” Force said. “Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi and these guys will have it all figured out and then I just need to be on my game. Have to say thank you to the Angel Family for all they’ve done for this sport, really sad to see this track go. We appreciate all these great fans out here packing the stands.” Qualifying at the NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park continues with sessions at 2 and 5:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. Eliminations are scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. Television coverage will continue to be on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with a second qualifying show Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and eliminations at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ROOKIE STANDOUT CAMRIE CARUSO RACES TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 AT SPRINGNATIONALS

BAYTOWN, TX (April 22, 2022) — Rookie sensation Camrie Caruso, drove the Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro to the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot today at the 33^rd annual NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Caruso took off with a great 6.547 second pass at 209.39 mph to lead the Pro Stock field. The first-year driver from Denver, North Carolina, had to wait as five pairs of cars ran behind her. For her efforts Caruso picked up three qualifying bonus points and will be in the back of the pack tomorrow for the second qualifying session.

“It was really exciting,” said Caruso in the Houston Raceway Park media center. “I didn’t know what I ran until I got out of my Chevrolet Camaro. It felt so smooth, and I wasn’t expecting to be that quick. I am so thankful for my guys and everyone on this Sand Haulers of America team. I am not sure if it will hold up through tomorrow. We are going to be looking to improve.”

Sand Haulers of America Chevrolet Camaro with driver Camrie Caruso, photo by Auto Imagery

As a rookie driver competing in just her fifth professional NHRA national event has confidence in her team and her personal skills.

“I really like to upset the apple cart,” said Caruso. “I am quite excited for it to be honest. Everyone is a strong competitor out here and it will be tough for the rest of this event and season. I am looking forward to the challenge. I always have confidence in my car and my team because they do a great job. One of our goals in Q1 at every race is to get a good A to B run. We can improve off that. I wasn’t expecting Non. 1 but I will take it.”

Caruso’s team is led by veteran Pro Stock driver and tuner Jim Yates and is the only Pro Stock team racing Titan Racing Engine power. The combination of Titan Racing Engine power which has qualified Caruso for every event and steered her to two quarterfinal finishes already this season combined with the tutelage from Yates has made Caruso a tough competitor.

“I think it is awesome to be the only car out here with Titan Racing Engine power. It goes to show you it is OK to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. When I first met Jim he told me my goals were too high,” said Caruso, who had one win in Top Alcohol Dragster before making the move to Pro Stock. “I asked him under the tower were we ready to go to No. 1. He was like how about we just go down the racetrack. I told him we have to aim higher than that. I always aim way higher than I should. At the shop before PRI I told Jim I wanted to win the championship and win races. He told me that could happen in maybe five years. I told him I would not take that answer.”

With two more qualifying runs tomorrow, Caruso will enjoy this moment and focus on the task at hand pursuing her first Pro Stock victory on Sunday. The third-generation driver continues to share the success with her team. The youthful confidence has served her well through four races and into the SpringNationals.

“I have a great team and I am lucky to have them behind me. If we can’t aim for the championship, I don’t see the point of being out here,” added Caruso.

(4/22/2022 – Alex Nieten)… When the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars arrive at Chico, California’s Silver Dollar Speedway for the David Tarter Memorial next Saturday, it won’t be just another race for the series and racetrack.

While the sanctioning body has made more than 200 trips to the historic facility, April 30th will mark NARC’s first visit since SLC Promotions took command of the bullring. Last November when it was announced that the group composed of California-born racers Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, and Colby Copeland would collectively handle promotional duties, a palpable excitement swept across the Nor-Cal sprint car scene.

The trio have set high expectations for themselves with ushering in a promising new era at Silver Dollar Speedway and helping the racing landscape in its entirety. With their racing schedules taking Larson and Sweet across the country throughout the year, Copeland has been spearheading the hands-on efforts over the past few months and looks to continue doing so for the foreseeable future.  

For the Roseville native, an important role at the Butte County facility that has close ties to his family and helped shape him as a racer is a special opportunity.

“It’s been cool. My dad was actually real close with Alan Handy and John Padjen,” Copeland explained. “So, I actually started racing in the outlaw kart there in the pavilion at Silver Dollar Speedway… Justin Grant and I would race there every weekend, and I’d go back and forth with him.

“The outlaw kart deal kind of moved out of there,” Copeland continued. “And then when I started racing sprint cars that was where my first race was when they did 410 Friday nights at Chico. That’s where we mostly ran.”

As he progressed through his early racing career Copeland developed lasting friendships with both Larson and Sweet. The three grew an interest in promoting as an avenue to get more involved in the racing scene of their home region. Copeland dabbled in promotion on a smaller level, and the desire to try more intensified.

“I’ve actually done a couple of outlaw kart races up there at Red Bluff,” Copeland said. “It turned out really well. There were great car counts. The events were cool, I thought. It’s cool to try your different ideas and see them come to life.”

When it comes to ideas for Silver Dollar Speedway, SLC Promotions has wasted no time in making some of their visions a reality. After the deal became official, the new crew surveyed the facility and immediately got to work.

“It was a lot of clean up at first, trying to organize and just really see what we had bought and what we had. Those are the kind of upgrades a lot of people don’t see but we see, just cleaning and organizing,” Copeland commented. “And then we got the new fencing going and brought in some new dirt. In the concession stand we bought new equipment and brought our guy Julio in to try and make the food better. Those are definitely a few upgrades, I think, that have helped and made that area more inviting.”

Copeland and company have no intentions of slowing down on improving the Butte County bullring. They’ve prioritized hearing out feedback from both racers and fans and acting accordingly. Copeland says they’re already focused another major project.

“One that we’re trying to work on, but it’s just so expensive is getting a new sound system in there,” Copeland said. “The whole place is just hurting badly on sound. In the grandstands the amp gets too hot, and then the volume loses. It’s got no bass. The pit speakers, we hear from everybody, are horrible. You can’t hear anything in the pits to call races up or anything, so the sound system is another upgrade we’re trying to work on. It’s just super expensive, but hopefully one of these days soon we can get something new in there.”

Another potentially beneficial element of Copeland’s promotional style is his approach to race day. At the John Padjen Classic Silver Cup back in March, Copeland showed his intentions to be a diligent promoter that helps wherever he can.

On the first night of the Silver Cup rain pummeled Chico for about an hour in the afternoon. Once the skies cleared Copeland climbed aboard a tractor to help roll the surface in with the rest of his track crew. Over the course of the night, he jumped around wherever he was needed in the pit area and helped check on drivers following crashes and assisted in the ensuing clean up. Copeland takes inspiration from the better promoters he’s studied.

“People that see a promoter that puts effort into it, they want to support them,” Copeland said. “If you get a promoter out there that’s working hard, wanting a good track surface, wants the show to run great, smooth, and all that kind of stuff that’s a guy that I want to go support.”

On the actual racing side, SLC Promotions is shooting for the stars as well. One way they hope to help both the racing events at Silver Dollar Speedway and across the West Coast is add to the ongoing effort to build momentum for 410 sprint cars in the region. While all three of them have made plenty of 360 starts, the 410 division is what most helped their driving development, and it’s seen as the premier class of sprint cars in the country.

They’ve already announced plans to revive the Gold Cup Race of Champions featuring the World of Outlaws into the hugely prestigious event it once was. On a more local note, they hope to heighten NARC’s car count by offering more lucrative events that make running a 410 more worthwhile.

“We want to pay a respectable purse,” Copeland said. “We want people to think, ‘man, I’m going to move from the 360 up to the 410 to the next level.’ That’s the biggest thing is to try and get the car count up. I know the NARC series has seen some struggles but also the strides they’ve made getting more cars. So, hopefully at the show at the end of the month we can get a bunch of cars to celebrate the Brownell and Herseth Classic on Friday, and then obviously the David Tarter Memorial is usually pretty big for Saturday.”

With all these new responsibilities and major aspirations for Silver Dollar Speedway, it begs a big question – when will Copeland have time to race? The 30-year-old proved just two weeks ago that he’s got plenty of quality laps left in him by winning the NARC season opener. Unfortunately, there will be times where he’s forced to miss an occasional race. Obligations in Chico would’ve kept Copeland away from Hanford two weeks ago even if dangerous winds hadn’t forced the cancellation of the Anthony Simone Classic.

“I guess with Hanford being canceled I was probably the only one to be happy about that,” Copeland said with a laugh.

Fear not, though, Colby Copeland fans. Even though he’ll be busy with the process of revitalizing Silver Dollar Speedway, Copeland plans to strap into a sprint car any chance he gets with his sights on more checkered flags.

“I’m just going to try and race as much as I can,” Copeland said. “I just want to support all the other tracks as much as I can.”