Both Z06 GT3.Rs make Hyperpole for first time this season SĀO PAULO, Brazil (July 12, 2025) – TF Sport’s pair of Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will fill the fifth row of the LMGT3 class for Sunday’s Six Hours of Sāo Paulo and the resumption of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The No. 33 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella, Jonny Edgar and Ben Keating – class winner to start the season in Qatar – lines up ninth after Keating advanced to the 10-car Hyperpole session for the first time this year to put both TF Sport entries into the final round of qualifying. Teammates Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Tom Van Rompuy will start 10th in the No. 81 Corvette with the driving trio looking to continue the momentum from a third-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Eastwood and Andrade were winners in the European Le Mans Series last weekend at Imola in another TF Sport Corvette. Van Rompuy also advanced to Hyperpole for the fourth time in five races. The improved pace of the Corvettes from the last six-hour race at Spa was evident from Friday’s first session. Juncadella and Eastwood were third and fifth, respectively, in LMGT3 at the end of the day, and Edgar improved on both his teammates with the weekend’s fastest Free Practice time in class. Entering Sāo Paulo, the No. 33 Corvette sits third in the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams standings with the No. 81 Z06 GT3.R sixth. The Six Hours of Sāo Paulo is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. Full live streaming coverage will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the United States.

TF SPORT QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES JONNY EDGAR, NO. 33 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s the first time our car has made it into Hyperpole this year. Even when we haven’t done that we have had good races. So I’m quite confident for tomorrow. It’s a shame not to be higher up but one-lap pace is never our strongest point; we’re always much better in the race so our pace will be much better tomorrow. I’m happy to make it any Hyperpole and the car was great to drive again, as it usually is.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 33 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Traditionally in the World Endurance Championship, I would say one of my specialties has been qualifying. So far this entire season, this is the first time I’ve put Jonny into Hyperpole and my first time in the top-10. I’ll just say it feels good!”

RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We wanted to aim a little bit higher for the grid but it is super close between everybody. I think we do have a good racecar even if we are lacking a little bit in our qualifying setup. We are quite good on our tires in what will be a long race. Let’s see what we can do from here.”

TOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m quite happy with the first session. To get both cars into Hyperpole is quite nice. I think we have a really good racecar for the race, so I think we can progress through the order. We have to keep it clean, do our own thing with good strategy. I think we have a good weapon in-hand to make up some positions tomorrow.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES SONOMA RACEWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 12, 2025

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Sonoma Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

The 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native returns to his home track as a two-time winner in NASCAR’s top division, including the series’ most recent appearance at the circuit one year ago.  Media Availability Quotes:  How’s it like to be back here where it all began for you?“Yeah… or near where it kind of began because I didn’t grow up doing this stuff. But, no, it’s good to be back home, or close to it, and good to be in the Napa Valley;  hanging out with friends and doing all the fun stuff that Napa has to offer. And yeah, come back to a track that I enjoy and have ran decently at in the past. Hopefully we can have another solid weekend.”   Your qualifying average here is 3.8, which is absolutely ridiculous. How are you such a good qualifier here?“I really don’t know…. I’m not sure. But yeah, it’s always gone well for me here — from the first times I’ve been here to qualify, and then we went on a string of, I don’t know, four or five poles in a row. Last year, I think we qualified fifth. So, I don’t know. We had one where we were pretty bad, I think, in the Next Gen car and qualified in the teens. But other than that, it’s been really good.”   Your crew chief, Cliff Daniels, is known for his motivational pep talks, sometimes, you know, before races and during races. As a driver, how do they resonate with you? Are there times where they really kind of, like, pump you up, or are there other times when you’re, like, you just kind of shrug them off? What’s your reaction to those in general?“I think he’s really good at articulating words and thoughts and all that. He seems to always know kind of the right thing to say at the right time. So, yeah, I would say, if anything, not that it gets me pumped up or anything, but it just kind of gets me refocused or more focused on what’s ahead. I would say the same goes for probably everybody on our team, you know, that works with Cliff.”   Kyle, this battle for the regular season championship has really tightened up over the last couple of weeks. There are now five guys within 48 points. How do you perceive that battle, especially with a couple of road courses like here and Watkins Glen still to come where there are points on the table if you don’t want to flip the stages? What’s your perception on how that battle has shaped up now with seven or eight races left?“Yeah, it’s really tight. Hopefully we can kind of get back on a run of being consistent and getting stage points. I feel like, you know, we’ve still kind of been consistent. We just haven’t finished as high as we have early in the year, and then we’ve been missing out on stage points. So, you know, we’ve kind of lost track a little bit there, and others have been doing a good job. Chase (Elliott) is always consistent, so he’s just quietly kind of there. You know, after his win that he had, I was shocked. I didn’t even know he was that close in points. And then, yeah, William’s (Byron) been really strong, but he’s had some bad luck here in a couple races lately. So it’s just kind of, when the leader of the points can’t really get away, it just kind of brings it all together.  There’s still a lot of racing left, though. If you go on a good run, you can stretch out here pretty quickly.”   Is there anything you can point your finger toward as far as like why you guys as a team have maybe, I don’t know —  you guys have set such exceptionally high standards for yourselves over these past couple of years. Is there anything you can point to in this recent stretch that you feel like you haven’t been executing collectively at that same level?“I don’t know. Honestly, I feel like we’ve been — for what we have on the racetrack, I feel like we’ve executed really well. You know, just on paper, it looks like we’re just very average, which we have been. But, you know, we’ve taken days where we’ve been not a top-ten car and finished in the top-10 or even top-five. And, you know, those days, although they’re not fun, they are rewarding at the end of it because I think , a lot of times in my past, I’ll try even too hard and make big mistakes and crash, which I’ve done that here lately some also. But, yeah, I don’t know. We just haven’t been as strong as we’ve wanted to be here lately. We’ve gone to some tracks where when you look at results from the past, we haven’t been quite competitive or have race winning speed and it’s kind of carried over to this year at some of those places too.  I’m confident when we come here to Sonoma. It’s a good track for us. But, you know, it’s a different tire than we had here last year, so I’m sure that will present some differences and challenges. But yeah, just got to try to have some car speed and then execute along with it.”   Cliff (Daniels) decided to pit you kind of late last year. You had fresher tires than the guys that you were attempting to pass there at the end. How did that help you attack in the closing laps?“Well yeah, I mean any time you’re on a tire advantage like that, it helps. But, you know, at any point it can kind of go sideways if a caution comes out, so then you’re restarting mid-pack again. So, yeah, the race just kind of played out in our favor last year with the strategy that we committed to. And, yeah, you know, it just worked out. We had a great car, too, so we could have been on other strategies and probably would have been okay also. But the strategy that we were on, without having the cautions at the end, it really helped me be on offense and make the moves I needed to. And really when I had that much of an advantage, people weren’t really fighting me off. You know, I’d catch them and they’d just let me go, so it didn’t really limit me on lap time as I was coming through.”   Since you grew up in Northern California, and I think you came out Tuesday or something, what do you do up here to have fun, relax, just kind of get away from the grind?“Yeah, you know, it’s definitely been a grind for me lately, so it was good to get out here and not have any extra races and whatnot. So, yeah, we came out on Tuesday; met up with Abreu’s, had dinner at Mustard’s Grill, and then Wednesday laid by the pool. Rico, David and their family, they had like a fundraising thing that they had sold earlier in the year or last year. So we got to run go-karts at their track and they had dinner on their property with a lot of people, so that was a lot of fun. On Thursday, we did some wine tasting, and yesterday we didn’t do anything. I brought my bike out here, so I rode my bike, so that was nice and relaxing, too.”  Did this week kind of help your mindset a little bit preparing for this weekend and kind of how you plan to break some of the issues you’ve had in the past and help you reset maybe in a way to kind of prepare for this weekend? How did that kind of affect your overall mindset?“I mean, we’ll see. A lot of times, I don’t think it matters, you know, for results on the track. But for me, I think Sonoma kind of always falls at a good time of year to enjoy some nice weather and things off the track to kind of just be a normal person again and take your mind off competition because it’s so easy to just immerse yourself in it every day. Some people thrive on that, and I would say I typically am that guy, too. But a lot of times, it’s good to get away from racing. I think that can really recharge you. So, yeah, I feel ready to go. I’m happy to be here and happy to be back on the track that we ran so well at last year.”   What can you tell me just about the track — what you like about it, where you found success, and really what you think probably separates you from the other drivers and the reason why you’ve had so much success? “Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I definitely enjoy it. It’s a flowy track, and although you can call it a lot of corners, there’s really not.  I feel like the less corners on a road course, the better off I am. But yeah, I think the repave really helped me. I don’t think I excel at tracks on road courses that wear out tires because I just sling the car around a lot, so I feel like I’m hard on the tires. So the repave I thought last year really helped me, and we’ll see if it does again this year. But yeah, it’s just a good track.”   As you bring your dirt racing and you’re bringing other guys into NASCAR, such as Corey Day and guys like that, how do you think your influence is effecting both sports? And also, I see we also understood Roto Rooters is also sponsoring your dirt racing. How does that affect you as, obviously, you being a champion in NASCAR, and, you know, you’ve been through all these things. How does that work with you? “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve always kind of done it, so I don’t really think or feel like I’m doing anything different. Since joining Hendrick Motorsports, I’ve had a lot of success, and then now there’s more eyes, I feel like, on me in both NASCAR as well as dirt racing. And then, yeah, guys like Corey Day — he’s young and up and coming, and it was great. It wasn’t just me that got him into Hendrick Motorsports, his family had a relationship with Jeff Andrews and Jeff Gordon and all that. So, yeah, it’s neat to see him here and learning. Trying to get better and learn a completely different discipline, especially with the road course stuff. It’s always neat when you can see other dirt racers try and find their way up the ladder.”    You’re a world-class driver. When you see a guy like SVG come along, are you kind of amazed at his technique and his race craft?“Yeah, absolutely, for sure. You know, he’s so good, and it’s rare that you see somebody stand out and distance himself from the competition as much as he is. You know, he’s way, way, way better than us at the road course stuff. And he’s got his own technique, you can call it. Not his own because the rest of the world does it – you know, right-foot braking, clutching and all that stuff. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks… like there’s zero chance I can learn how to do that. And even if I did, like there’s zero chance that I can have it be better than what I’m probably doing with left-foot braking. So yeah, he’s just so good. He’s still new to the oval stuff, so he’s going to continue to get better at that. And, yeah, I mean, if he can figure out the ovals, he’s going to be dominant.”   Do you think here at Sonoma, the rest of the Cup Garage has a little bit more forshame because this is a track that we’ve been coming to for a really long time, and this will be the first time that he’s (Shane van Gisbergen) racing in a Cup car here?“I’d hope that we’re a little closer, but he’s still going to be the fastest, I think. You know, you look at Xfinity – he dominated the weekend here last year, and he’s going to dominate it again today, you know, being on the pole and all that. I don’t know why he would be any different in the Cup car. I would say the competition’s a little closer to him as we come to more normal road courses, like COTA and hopefully Sonoma. Watkins Glen, he was still the fastest there last year, but it’s a race. But yeah, in Mexico, he was super good. And then, yeah, Chicago, I think he’s just really, really, really familiar with the size of his car and what it takes to push the limits and not be over the limit. So, yeah, I don’t know. We’ll see. I hope that we’re much closer to him this week, but as good as he is, I expect him to be fastest in qualifying and execute in a good race again.” 

CRYSTAL, MI — July 11, 2025 — Through Zack Mitchell’s first four starts in the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models, he has shown his presence in the final week of 2025.

After going fastest in his Qualifying group and winning his Heat race, the Enoree, SC native had to fend off 2025 Hell Tour title contender Tyler Erb to lead every lap for his second career tour win on Friday night at Crystal Motor Speedway.

Commencing the 40-lap Feature from the Pole Position, Mitchell led the opening portion of the Feature on the bottom, with Tyler Erb and Mark Whitener following behind the No. 57 Coltman Farms Racing Longhorn Chassis.

As Mitchell approached the lap traffic, Whitener began to attempt different lines around Erb, while Mitchell placed lapped cars between them to hold the lead position.

On Lap 34, the caution waved as Mitchell held a two-second gap over the Best Performance Motorsports No. 1. The upcoming restart set up a six-lap duel between the two drivers for the stop to Victory Lane. 

Erb tried to get the jump on the gas pedal, but it was Mitchell who outdrove Erb into Turn 1 and kept him away from taking the lead as he drove away to a 1.7-second lead for the triumph in the Hell Tour’s final Michigan race of the year.

“Man, this thing was on a rail tonight,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t want to see that last caution ‘cause I thought I had a pretty decent lead, and I felt like I could pace myself around there. We fired off pretty good and everything clicked. It was just our night.”

Overall points leader Jason Feger had a hard-charging night at the 3/8-mile, working his way up to sixth at the finish from a 19th-place starting spot. The Bloomington, IL driver’s recovery keeps him in front of Erb by 56 points as the final two races of the season await. In the Week 5 campaign, Trey Mills leads Mitchell by 16 markers.

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals enter the last two races of Week 5 with a trip to the Buckeye State’s Birthday Race at Oakshade Speedway on Saturday, July 12.

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

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 57-Zack Mitchell[1]; 2. 1-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 75-Dillon McCowan[9]; 4. 27-Eric Spangler[10]; 5. 5-Mark Whitener[3]; 6. 25F-Jason Feger[19]; 7. 14JR-Trey Mills[4]; 8. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[7]; 9. 51-Devin Shiels[8]; 10. M14-Brandon Thirlby[12]; 11. 16-Garrett Wiles[15]; 12. 29-Christian Hanger[22]; 13. 1E-Jeffrey Erickson[17]; 14. 31M-Tyler Millwood[14]; 15. 91-Rusty Schlenk[5]; 16. 18-Jacob Stuhr[11]; 17. 42-Chad Finley[20]; 18. 19X-Cody Bauer[13]; 19. 4-Travis Stemler[6]; 20. 41-Mike Vandermark Jr[21]; 21. 55W-Brenten Deyoung[18]; 22. 21N-Logan Nickerson[16]

Tyler Nicely Scores 17th Career Summit Modifieds Trophy in Michigan Finale at Crystal

Tyler Nicely is within striking distance of his second career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals championship.

On Friday night at Crystal Motor Speedway, the Owensboro, KY native bagged a pivotal sixth win of the season after taking risks for the lead with differing strategies.

Nicely rolled off from the outside of the front row, with polesitter Dillon Nusbaum taking the lead off the bottom of the track through Turns 1-2 on the opening circuit.

Though the Warsaw, IN driver led through the first half of the 25-lap Feature with his No. 17N UMP Modified, Nicely kept his car close to the back bumper of Nusbaum.

When lapped traffic began to affect Nusbaum’s pace around the bottom lane, Nicely took his chance for the lead by shifting his No. 5 Elite Chassis to the middle line while Nusbaum attempted to block Nicely’s charge by running towards the top down the back straightaway.

Nicely continued to push the issue as he created momentum around the middle lane, passing Nusbaum with a run around the top of the backstretch on Lap 17 to take over the Feature’s lead.

With the 2023 champion cementing his spot at the top on Friday night, Nicely drove to over two seconds on the field as he parked in Summit Modified Nationals Victory Lane for the 17th time in his career. The win places him 16 points away from Trevor Neville for the points lead entering the Ohio swing.

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Nicely said. “We just went to work a little bit there, and it just took off. Once we got to lap traffic, I knew I needed to make a move, and I got a heck of a run off (Turn 2), and was able to get it done.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals enter the last two races of Week 5 with a trip to the Buckeye State’s Birthday Race at Oakshade Speedway on Saturday, July 12.

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

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[4]; 2. 4-Michael Ledford[2]; 3. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[1]; 4. 777-Trevor Neville[3]; 5. 75-Daniel Adam[6]; 6. 74M-Manix Furqueron[5]; 7. 65-Todd Sherman[7]; 8. 60-Shannon Fisk[10]; 9. 43-Mark Anderson[12]; 10. 9R-Garrett Rons[11]; 11. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[9]; 12. 12M-John McClure[8]; 13. 14T-Mario Toniolo[13]; 14. 09-Dan Price[15]; 15. 65X-Aaron Orr[14]

WHEATLAND, MO (July 11, 2025) – Ricky Thornton Jr. returned to Lucas Oil Victory Lane on Friday night as he won night one of the 19th Annual CMH Diamond Nationals presented by Wieland. Thornton’s winless drought with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing extended back to his last victory with the series on May 17 at Eagle, Nebraska. Thornton led all 40 laps to secure his 10th Series win of 2025, earning $15,000. Jonathan Davenport finished second, while Clay Harris moved up from the 11th starting position to earn his first Big River Steel Podium of the season. Garratt Alberson, who won the previous night at 34 Raceway, finished fourth, and Devin Moran rounded out the top five. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 52nd time in his career, the defending series champion, now trailing Davenport by 50 points heading into Saturday night’s $25,000-to-win main event. “Man, I felt like I was on different tires than he (Davenport) was, and I was thinking, man, he’s so good here. Did I really make a bad decision to be on different tires? We took off, and he was a little better than I was at times, which kind of surprised me. I felt like I should be a little better on the bottom. I almost overdrove the straightaways, and it was wheelspinning really bad. That caution kind of saved me. It calmed me down and let me think about what I needed to do. I had a good restart and thought the top in one and two looked really good, but it was right on the edge. One time when I entered three, I felt like I was going to end up in the wall,” said the Chandler, Arizona native. Davenport, who is aiming for his record-tying fourth National Championship, finished second after initially fighting off Brandon Overton early in the race and Clay Harris in the final laps. “I think it was about tires. It’s so crazy. I don’t know; you think you know a little about tires, and then all of a sudden, something like tonight happens. Clay did an awesome job coming from where he did on as soft as tires as you could run. Ricky did a good job too, and he had on soft tires as well. I really thought we were sitting in the catbird’s seat with the hard tires, but it was just a little different night. They had a lot of water on the track, and obviously, you can still see it’s kind of brown all the way across; it was quite shiny black, yet. Hats off to the track crew.” Harris, who earlier in the day took delivery of another engine after mechanical issues on Friday night at 34 Raceway, nearly matched his best career finish with the series by finishing second at Ocala in 2024. “It means a lot to come home third tonight. We worked all day, and without Cameron and Chad, I wouldn’t be able to run this well. I didn’t think we’d finish the Lucas season because we broke a motor last night, but the guys stepped up and bought us a new motor today, so we ran good, and I’m happy about it.” The winner’s Koehler Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Ultimate Towing and Recovery, Knight’s Companies, Hoker Trucking, Coltman Farms Racing, Elite Ready Mix, Capital Waste, Bilstein Shocks, Sunoco Rae Fuels, EMD Wraps, and Certified Inspection Services. Completing the top ten were Brandon Overton, Daulton Wilson, Hudson O’Neal, Cade Dillard, and Brandon Sheppard. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 19th Annual CMH Diamond Nationals presented by Wieland | Night 1Friday, July 11, 2025Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton Jr. | 15.012 seconds (Overall)Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport | 15.073 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 3. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[2]; 4. 93L-Cory Lawler[5]; 5. 50-Kayden Clatt[3]; 6. 4W-Tyler Wolff[9]; 7. 15-Clay Stuckey[7]; 8. 65-Jon Binning[8]; 9. 96-Dalton Imhoff[4] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 4. 79-Donald McIntosh[4]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5]; 6. 11-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 7. 98-Justin Wells[9]; 8. 31C-Cole Henson[7]; 9. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel[8] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[4]; 4. 97-Cade Dillard[2]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[6]; 6. 56-Tony Jackson Jr[5]; 7. 15L-Payton Looney[8]; 8. 0-Jake O’Neil[7]; 9. 28-Jim Greenway[9]  Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[2]; 2. 19M-Spencer Hughes[1]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 4. 93-Carson Ferguson[4]; 5. 60-Dan Ebert[5]; 6. 87-Darron Fuqua[7]; 7. 7J-Ryan Johnson[6]; 8. 3W-Brennon Willard[8]; 9. (DNS) 805-Rob Hough Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 11-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 2. 50-Kayden Clatt[1]; 3. 98-Justin Wells[6]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 5. 4W-Tyler Wolff[3]; 6. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel[10]; 7. 15-Clay Stuckey[5]; 8. 65-Jon Binning[7]; 9. 96-Dalton Imhoff[9]; 10. 31C-Cole Henson[8] UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[1]; 2. 56-Tony Jackson Jr[3]; 3. 15L-Payton Looney[5]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 5. 0-Jake O’Neil[7]; 6. 3W-Brennon Willard[8]; 7. 7J-Ryan Johnson[6]; 8. 87-Darron Fuqua[4]; 9. (DNS) 28-Jim Greenway; 10. (DNS) 805-Rob Hough 19th Annual CMH Diamond Nationals presented by Wieland | Night 1 Feature Finish(40 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $15,0002 – 2 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $7,1003 – 11 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $5,0004 – 10 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $4,0005 – 7 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,0006 – 3 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $2,5007 – 6 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $2,4008 – 12 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $2,3009 – 14 – 97 – Cade Dillard – Robeline, LA – $2,20010 – 5 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,10011 – 15 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,00012 – 16 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,80013 – 19 – 50 – Kayden Clatt – Edina, MO – $1,60014 – 17 – 11 – Gordy Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $1,50015 – 24 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,40016 – 23 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,30017 – 9 – 1XM – Aaron Marrant – Richmond, MO – $1,20018 – 8 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $1,10019 – 4 – 8K – Tyler Kuykendall – Warsaw, MO – $1,00020 – 13 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $1,00021 – 21 – 98 – Justin Wells – Aurora, MO – $1,00022 – 20 – 56 – Tony Jackson Jr – Lebanon, MO – $1,00023 – 18 – 11T – Trevor Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $1,00024 – 22 – 15L – Payton Looney – Republic, MO – $1,000 Race Statistics  Entrants: 36Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton Jr.MD3 Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton Jr. (Laps 1 – 40)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Ricky Thornton Jr.Wieland Feature Winner: Ricky Thornton Jr.Margin of Victory: 3.26 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Kayden Clatt (Lap 3)Series Provisionals: Daniel Hilsabeck, Dan EbertFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Ricky Thornton Jr., Jonathan Devenport, Clay HarrisPenske Shocks Top 5: Ricky Thornton Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Clay Harris, Garrett Alberson, Devin MoranPEM 4th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonDMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Devin MoranWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Daulton WilsonWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Donald McIntoshDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Kayden ClattMD3 24th Place Feature: Payton LooneyHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Dan Ebert (Advanced 9 Positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton Jr.Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan DavenportO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Donald McIntoshPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Jonathan Davenport | Lap 2 | 16.444 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Clay HarrisFresh Roof Hard Luck Award: n/aOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Zach FrieldsARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Trevor Gundaker | 15.848 secondsTime of Race: 13 minutes 51 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Pay1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 5285 – $258,4002 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 5235 – $281,4503 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 4980 – $190,4494 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 4945 – $146,4755 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4770 – $114,3506 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 4645 – $122,5007 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 4565 – $98,7008 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 4305 – $80,3259 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 4115 – $67,92510 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – 3960 – $53,90011 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 3855 – $49,72512 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – 3560 – $47,62513 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 3525 – $40,70014 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 3395 – $43,45015 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 3110 – $30,725

HARTFORD, OH (July 12, 2025) – New car or not, Bobby Pierce knows exactly how to get to the front at Sharon Speedway.

In his first night behind the wheel of his new Longhorn Chassis he named “Nitro,” Pierce looked like he had some of that in the tank as he dominated the Friday Feature at the Battle at the Border for his seventh win of the year with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

“This is what we do it for, to get these wins,” Pierce said following his 20th overall trip to Victory Lane of 2025. “Lots of long hours in the shop this week for sure. This car, it did have a deck and some of the body on it from Longhorn, a lot of the suspension, so they made it pretty easy on us, but it still took a few days to get it ready. It’s just awesome to take a brand new car out and be fast with it.”

After drawing the Bilstein Pole Award, Pierce shared the front row with local star Jared Miley and didn’t waste any time taking sole possession of the top spot. Third-starting Ryan Gustin got around Miley on the opening lap to slot into second before Miley’s promising night came to an end when he pounded the Turn 1 wall and slowed to bring out the caution on Lap 2.

Drake Troutman was running third at the time of the yellow, giving him the outside of Row 2 on the restart. That put him in position to ride the cushion around Gustin in Turns 1 and 2 to get to second and go to work on getting around Pierce.

The “Smooth Operator” pulled away to a lead of nearly a second in clean air, but the gap evaporated once he caught the tail end of the field. Troutman got his chance at the lead when Pierce got caught behind a slower car on the inside, leaving the top open for Troutman to get side-by-side off Turn 4. That battle didn’t last long though, as Pierce quickly put a pair of lap cars between himself and Troutman and checked out from the field.

Two laps later, the margin between Pierce and Troutman was up to two seconds. By the halfway point, it was nearly four seconds. The only thing that could have stopped Pierce would have been a caution, and it never came, as Pierce took the checkers by over five seconds at the end of the 40-lap contest.

The win cemented Pierce’s status as the man to beat at Sharon after he swept the weekend last year and stood on the podium twice in three years in 2023. Despite the success, he admitted that the Hartford, OH facility has been an acquired taste.

“Honestly, two years ago here, I didn’t really like the track a whole lot,” Pierce said. “It was pretty hard to get a hold of. Not that I didn’t like the track, it was just hard to get a good setup for it. It was a good track, just kind of had to build a notebook. Last year we came here and won both races, it kind of took me by surprise. Coming in, I had a lot of pressure on myself to outperform that, and the only way to do it is to match it.”

Troutman’s runner-up effort was his first podium appearance since he won his first World of Outlaws race at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park three weeks ago, extending his lead atop the MD3 Rookie of the Year standings.

“I think we’ve got a really good balance on the car, obviously Bobby, he’s on a different level for sure,” Troutman said. “I feel like there at the beginning we could pace him there a little bit, but once we got into lap traffic, I just couldn’t move around quite like he could.”

Brian Shirley made his way from seventh to third for his fourth podium of the year as he continues to chase his first World of Outlaws win since Rocket Raceway Park last October.

“It was a good step forward,” Shirley said. “First you must finish to figure out how to finish first. We haven’t been doing that lately, some bad luck, some of my own doing. We’re going to just try and get back to the basics, and we’ll hopefully get there eventually like we did last year.”

Gustin brought his No. 19R home fourth for his fourth-straight top five, while Nick Hoffman matched his Sharon career-best in fifth.

RACE NOTES:

Nick Hoffman set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.

Nick Hoffman won the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Ryan Gustin won Real American Beer Heat 1.

Jared Miley won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Drake Troutman won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Bobby Pierce won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Bobby Pierce won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Dustin Sorensen won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.

Drake Troutman won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.

Ryan Gustin was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Nick Hoffman was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Tim McCreadie was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Dennis Erb Jr. was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Mason Zeigler was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.

Dustin Sorensen was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Chub Frank was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision wraps up the weekend at Sharon Speedway with the 50-lap, $15,000-to-win, Battle at the Border finale on Saturday night. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 6. 9M-Tim McCreadie[18]; 7. 74X-Ethan Dotson[9]; 8. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 9. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[16]; 10. 19-Dustin Sorensen[23]; 11. 96-Tanner English[10]; 12. 1*-Chub Frank[8]; 13. 157-Mike Marlar[12]; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs[14]; 15. 111-Max Blair[20]; 16. 2-Cody Overton[11]; 17. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 18. 49-Jake Timm[17]; 19. 555-Brock Pinkerous[22]; 20. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[13]; 21. 55-Chris Schneider[19]; 22. 33-Josh Ferry[24]; 23. 10M-Jared Miley[2]; 24. 66-Justin Kann[21]

CHEVROLET IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIESNewton, IowaFriday Report July 11 NEWTON, Iowa (July 11, 2025) – Prior to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the 14 Chevrolet-powered drivers and teams could get on track for their lone practice, a Tornado and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings at the Iowa Speedway brought an early and loud end to the first day of the Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend.  Saturday’s packed schedule includes the following track activity:8:55 am – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Install Lap9 am – 9:15 am – NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Group A Highline Practice9:15 am – 9:30 am – NTT INDYCAR SERIES – Group B Highline Practice9:45 am – 10:30 am – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice11:05 am – noon – INDY NXT by Firestone Race12:35 pm – 1:30pm – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying4:30 pm – Green Flag Synk 275 Powered By Sukup (275 laps) Tune-In Alert Saturday NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice – 10am (ET)/9am (CT)/8am (MT)/7am (PT) – FS2 FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am(MT) /10:30am PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218Synk 275 Powered By Sukup (275 laps) – 5pm (ET)/ 4pm (CT)/3pm (MT)/2pm (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 SundayFarm To Finish 275 (275 laps) – 1pm (ET)/ noon (CT)/11am (MT)/10am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218

Chevrolet at the Iowa Speedway Chevrolet wins at Iowa Speedway: 13 2024 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske 2024 Race #1 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske (pictured above)2023 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2023 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2022 Race #2 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2022 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2019 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2017 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2016 – Josef Newgarden – Ed Carpenter Racing2013 – James Hinchcliffe – Andretti Global2012 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global Chevrolet poles at Iowa Speedway: 14 2024 Race #2 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2023 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske2023 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2022 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske2022 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Conor Daly – Carlin2019 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2018 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Will Power – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2015 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2014 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing2013 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske  Chevrolet Podiums at Iowa Speedway: 36 Chevrolet podiums at the Iowa Speedway by driver: Josef Newgarden (8), Will Power (6), Scott McLaughlin (4), Pato O’Ward (4), Tony Kanaan (3), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2), Marco Andretti (1), Oliver Askew (1), Helio Castroneves (1), Scott Dixon (1), JR Hildebrand (1), James Hinchcliffe (1), Sage Karam (1), Simon Pagenaud (1), and Spencer Pigot (1).  Chevrolet podiums at the Iowa Speedway by team: Team Penske (18), Arrow McLaren (5), Andretti Global (4), Chip Ganassi Racing (4), Ed Carpenter Racing (4) and KV Racing Technology (1).  Chevrolet Laps Led at Iowa Speedway: 3831 Chevrolet laps led at Iowa Speedway by driver: Josef Newgarden (1847), Helio Castroneves (434), Will Power (400),  Tony Kanaan (317), Scott McLaughlin (260), James Hinchcliffe (245), Pato O’Ward (97), Simon Pagenaud (97), JR Hildebrand (38), Ed Carpenter (20), Scott Dixon (18), Conor Daly (17), Ryan Hunter-Reay (15), Oliver Askew (10), Sebastien Bourdais (6), Marco Andretti (3), Ryan Briscoe (2), Max Chilton (2), Felix Rosenqvist (2) and Rubens Barichello (1). Chevrolet laps led at Iowa Speedway by team: Team Penske (2649), Ed Carpenter (451), Chip Ganassi Racing (337), Andretti Global (263), Arrow McLaren (107), Carlin (17), and KV Racing Technology (7). Manufacturer History at Iowa Speedway Wins (with competition) 13 – Chevrolet (2024 Race #2, 2024 Race #1, 2023 Race #2, 2023 Race #1, 2022 Race #2, 2022 Race #1, 2020 Race #2, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012)3 – Honda (2018, 2014, 2014) Poles (with competition) 14 – Chevrolet (2024 Race #2, 2023 Race #2, 2023 Race #1, 2022 Race #2, 2022 Race #1, 2020 Race #2, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2016, 2013)2 – Honda (2024 Race #1, 2012)

WEST BURLINGTON, IA (July 10, 2025) – It was finally Garrett Alberson’s night on Thursday at 34 Raceway as the Las Cruces, New Mexico native won his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season. Alberson, who entered the event leading in most feature laps this season without a win, earned $15,000 for his second career Series victory. Alberson led the first 35 laps of the race and the final four as he held off Hudson O’Neal and Brandon Overton for the victory. Jonathan Davenport finished fourth and regained the championship points lead from Ricky Thornton, Jr., who failed to finish the race. Carson Ferguson rounded out the top five drivers. Alberson, who led 39 laps total, fell to third with 10 laps remaining but rallied using the top side of the race track to go from third to first in the final five laps of the race. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the first time since winning at Port Royal in August of 2024, Alberson came home with the win in dramatic fashion, “That was a crazy race right there. You know, we went hard on tires, and on some of those restarts, the track kept hacking. At first, I thought it was going to go our way, and then later I started skating around a little bit, and it was a little dirty here and there. It was like that last run we actually cleaned it up on the top and got that right rear going, and we just never quit,” said Alberson, who currently sits fifth in the championship points. “I could get in there in the bottom with Hud, but I couldn’t really leave out of there quite as nice as I needed to carry my speed, so I just got up there where I tried to get my right rear hot and try to get my momentum back up. At first, I didn’t really feel like I was getting anywhere, it was kind of a treacherous feeling, but then after a couple of laps, I just started to make up some ground, and it just worked out right.” O’Neal, who won the last series race at Muskingum County on July 5, came from 11th to claim the runner-up spot. “We raced all over this thing, from wall-to-wall and uke tire to uke tire. Man, 34 put on a show tonight. I really feel like I had something there. I was rolling on Brandon (Overton) and he went down there to protect and he kind of just shut it down on that bottom. Then I heard a motor firing up there outside of me and I thought oh no and then we got to the center of the corner, and I saw the white nose and I figured it was Garrett. He (Alberson) made a great move he just kind of took advantage of Brandon trying to protect a little bit and he was able to make the winning move.” Overton, who led 11 laps, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “I zigged when I should have zagged, I guess. Hats off to the race track, man that was an awesome race. You could go wherever you wanted to. I seen Hudson and I’m like man just get down and kind of block him and run back to the top and as soon as I moved down, I stalled out and I saw Garrett come around me. I didn’t know he was still there. It is what it is. We have been struggling, but we’re all working together, tonight I feel like was a big step. I am always on Burroughs, and I’m doing this and doing that; we are still learning each other. It has taken us a lot longer than we wanted to, but that’s alright, we are just going to keep working.” The winner’s Roberts Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Low Voltage Solutions, Inc., Mesilla Valley Transportation, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, Titan Racing Products, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Bill’s Sport Shop, Dickie’s Doghouse, Cheap Cars, Done Right TV, Roemer Machine, Denago Powersports, Mitchell Ranch, and Fertilizer Equipment Specialists. Completing the top ten were Chad Simpson, Daniel Hilsabeck, Tyler Bruening, Brandon Sheppard, and Devin Moran. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacingRace Summary Thursday, July 10, 202534 Raceway – West Burlington, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsTyler Bruening | 14.683 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 3. 32-Chris Simpson[2]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[6]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[7]; 6. 25-Chad Simpson[8]; 7. 19M-Spencer Hughes[5]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 9. 25B-Chevy Boyer[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 60-Dan Ebert[5]; 8. 51-Matt Furman[8]; 9. 17-Tim Simpson[9] Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 93-Carson Ferguson[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 3. 93L-Cory Lawler[4]; 4. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 5. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[7]; 6. 43-Derrick Stewart[6]; 7. 79-Donald McIntosh[3]; 8. 33-Rickey Frankel[9]; 9. (DNS) 50-Kayden Clatt Feature Finish (50 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Pay1 – 1 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $15,8002 – 11 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $7,8003 – 6 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $5,7004 – 8 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $5,1005 – 3 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $3,7006 – 16 – 25 – Chad Simpson – Mt. Vernon, IA – $2,5007 – 15 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $3,2008 – 22 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – $2,3009 – 4 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,90010 – 5 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $3,10011 – 12 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $2,70012 – 10 – 15 – Clay Stuckey – Shreveport, LA – $1,80013 – 18 – 43 – Derrick Stewart – Ainsworth, IA – $1,60014 – 21 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $2,20015 – 14 – 11 – Gordy Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $1,40016 – 13 – 11T – Trevor Gundaker – St. Charles, MO – $1,30017 – 19 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $1,90018 – 9 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – $1,80019 – 25 – 25B – Chevy Boyer – New Haven, MO – $1,00020 – 2 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,20021 – 20 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,70022 – 24 – 33 – Rickey Frankel – Quincy, IL – $1,00023 – 26 – 17 – Tim Simpson – Iowa City, IA – $1,00024 – 23 – 51 – Matt Furman – Iowa City, IA – $1,00025 – 17 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,70026 – 7 – 32 – Chris Simpson – Oxford, IA – $1,000 Race Statistics  Entrants: 27Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Garrett AlbersonMD3 Lap Leaders: Garrett Alberson (Laps 1-35); Brandon Overton (Laps 36-46); Garrett Alberson (Laps 47-50)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Garrett AlbersonWieland Feature Winner: Garrett AlbersonMargin of Victory: 1.482 secondsColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Rickey Frankel (Lap 1); Brandon Sheppard, Chris Simpson, Clay Stuckey (Lap 4); Clay Harris (Lap 6); Matt Furman (Lap 8); Gordy Gundaker (Lap 10); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 15); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 18); Devin Moran (Lap 30); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Lap 39)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Garrett Alberson, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon OvertonPenske Shocks Top 5: Garrett Alberson, Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, Carson FergusonPEM 4th Place Feature: Jonathan DavenportDMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Carson FergusonWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Daniel HilsabeckWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Daulton WilsonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Derrick StewartMD3 24th Place Feature: Matt FurmanHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: MD3 Most Laps Led: Garrett Alberson (39 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Garrett AlbersonMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Daniel HilsabeckPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Garrett Alberson | Lap 2 | 15.354 secondsSlicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Garrett AlbersonFresh Roof Hard Luck Award: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Zach HustonARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Ricky Thornton Jr. | 14.616 secondsTime of Race: 43 minutes 31 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Pay1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 5045 – $251,3002 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 4975 – $266,4503 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 4775 – $187,4494 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 4755 – $144,1755 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 4560 – $110,3506 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 4465 – $120,4007 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 4365 – $96,2008 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 4110 – $77,9259 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 3945 – $66,12510 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – 3785 – $51,90011 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 3705 – $48,42512 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – 3420 – $46,52513 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 3370 – $39,30014 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 3175 – $38,45015 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 2980 – $29,725

Mark Whitener Breaks Through to First Career Summer Nationals Feature Win at Butler Motor Speedway

QUINCY, MI — July 10, 2025 — Throughout the 2025 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models season, Mark Whitener has been in the fight for a win late in several Features that saw him come up short of the win.

On Thursday night, the Middleburg, FL driver did not have to wait any longer for his moment to come with a career night at Michigan’s Butler Motor Speedway by setting the new track record, the Heat 1 win, and led 29 of 30 laps in the Feature for his first career Hell Tour win.

Whitener began the race from the Pole Position, with Week 2 champion Ryan Gustin and Thursday’s winner Cody Overton going to an early battle for the lead. Gustin ran the bottom lane while Overton used the top side to follow Whitener. While Gustin led the opening lap, Whitener bested him on Lap 2 by running the cushion through Turns 1-2 to secure the spot. 

Whitener and Overton’s running of the cushion proved to outmatch the Todd Cooney Motorsports No. 19R as the Tri-Star Motorsports No. 2 took over second place, while the three drivers maintained the top three spots through the first 10 laps. 

The Thomson, GA driver found momentum at the top and chased down Whitener while Trey Mills passed Gustin for third place through a crossover move from running to the top and sliding under Gustin to take the spot.

Whitener’s lead began to widen as Overton lost momentum off of Turn 4, which gave way for the Jacksonville, FL driver to pull up alongside his border-state rival for second place.

As Mills and Overton continued to battle behind the No. 5 Longhorn Chassis, the “Magic Man” became the 120th different Summer Nationals winner in history after completing a dominant track at a new track for him.

“S***, it means a lot,” Whitener said. “This first one’s hard to get. Hopefully, they come easier. Listen, it was tough. We gave it everything we had, we didn’t give up, and we’re in Victory Lane.

“Down at home, the tracks are kinda dirty. The clay is like sandy, so it’s familiar with this Michigan clay, really a little bit of Indiana clay, too. It’s dirty, crummy, and I’m kinda familiar with it. So it kind of fits me as it fits my car’s setup. I ain’t took a shock off my car all night. We’ve been pretty good since we unloaded it, so we left it alone.”

With three races to decide the newest champion of the Summer Nationals, Bloomington, IL’s Jason Feger leads by 76 points over New Waverly, TX native Tyler Erb. In the Week 5 chase, the two Sunshine State drivers of Mills and Whitener hold the top two positions, with Mills ahead by 32 markers.

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals finish the Michigan swing with Crystal Motor Speedway on Friday night, July 11.

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

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 5-Mark Whitener[1]; 2. 2-Cody Overton[4]; 3. 14JR-Trey Mills[3]; 4. 75-Dillon McCowan[9]; 5. 57-Zack Mitchell[6]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 7. 1-Tyler Erb[12]; 8. 71R-Rod Conley[5]; 9. 25F-Jason Feger[10]; 10. 42-Chad Finley[8]; 11. 91-Rusty Schlenk[16]; 12. 31M-Tyler Millwood[19]; 13. 17SS-Brenden Smith[13]; 14. 46-Colin Shipley[11]; 15. 4-Travis Stemler[21]; 16. 38-Thomas Hunziker[20]; 17. (DNF) 29-Christian Hanger[22]; 18. (DNF) 41-Mike Vandermark Jr[18]; 19. (DNF) 51-Devin Shiels[15]; 20. (DNF) 07-Rylee Knoll[7]; 21. (DNF) 27-Eric Spangler[17]; 22. (DNF) 21N-Logan Nickerson[14]

Michael Ledford Dominates Butler Motor Speedway for Second Summit Modified Triumph of 2025

In his first trip to Butler Motor Speedway, Michael Ledford battled through unfamiliarity to leave the track as a winner.

In the Thursday night battle around the 3/8-mile high banks, the Pontiac, IL driver took home his third career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals win after leading flag-to-flag through the 25-lap Feature.

Todd Neiheiser led the field to the green flag as Michael Ledford used the middle lane to stay beside the No. 72 UMP Modified. In Turns 3-4, Neiheiser lost his footing on the bottom and gave way for David Stremme and Tyler Nicely to take second and third, respectively.

Ledford made hay around the Michigan facility by running the middle as Stremme used every inch of the bottom lane to keep Ledford within his sights.

When Ledford approached lap traffic, Stremme chopped the gap by running down to the bottom lane while Ledford had to mix around the top, middle, and the bottom to create obstacles in Stremme’s way.

While Stremme’s No. 35 Lethal Chassis closed the distance to Ledford in the final five laps of the Feature, he was too far back to attempt a pass for the lead as the No. 4 Royal Racecars pilot captured his second win of the 2025 tour.

“I started running what I ran in the Heat race through the middle,” Ledford said. “It seemed like it was the smoothest part, but then once a lot of that blowed off, you had to go down to the bottom. Luckily, I’ve raced long enough to know when to make that switch, but I had a good car.”

Entering the final five races of the Summit Modifieds Nationals season, Tyler Nicely’s fourth-place finish helped him pass Chase Holland for second place in the standings while sitting 91 points back from Trevor Neville, who finished in third.

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals finish the Michigan swing with Crystal Motor Speedway on Friday night, July 11.

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

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 4-Michael Ledford[2]; 2. 35-David Stremme[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 4. 25-Tyler Nicely[4]; 5. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[13]; 6. 45H-Chase Holland[6]; 7. 24-Zeke McKenzie[9]; 8. 74M-Manix Furqueron[14]; 9. 96S-Terry Sroufe[7]; 10. 14-Dalton Lane[22]; 11. 75-Daniel Adam[8]; 12. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[19]; 13. 21B-Hunter Breland[16]; 14. 9R-Garrett Rons[18]; 15. (DNF) 5CS-Curt Spalding[10]; 16. (DNF) 65-Todd Sherman[12]; 17. (DNF) 23Z-Austin Self[21]; 18. (DNF) 72-Todd Neiheiser[1]; 19. (DNF) 7-Brad Deyoung[17]; 20. (DNF) 463-Daniel Sanchez[15]; 21. (DNF) 117-Kevin Reeve[11]; 22. (DNF) 8C-Corey Bevard[20

CONCORD, NC (July 10, 2025) — Good drivers rarely have success without a dedicated, knowledgeable crew. Sam Hafertepe Jr. has found his this year with the new additions he’s made to his branch of Hill’s Racing Team.

Hafertepe, 39, of Sunnyvale, TX, has built a career of over 20 years in 360 and 410 Sprint Car racing with numerous accomplishments and trophies to show for his efforts. Five American Sprint Car Series championships, a ranking of second on the all-time wins list, and multiple high-paying Feature wins on some of the sport’s biggest stages.

In all of his time spent behind the wheel, Hafertepe has seen several crew members come and go. But after a second Feature win of the season in May at Dodge City Raceway Park, he took a moment in Victory Lane to express his gratitude for his two primary crew members — AJ Butler and Cody Fidler.

“For the first time in probably a long time, I feel like I actually have a team behind me,” Hafertepe told DIRTVision cameras. “I have two guys that want to be here, and that’s really hard to find.

“A lot of these guys, they jump from team to team. And [Butler and Fidler], this is where they want to be. That means a lot to me.”

Together, Hafertepe, Butler and Fidler have put together a season of five wins, nine top-fives, and 10 top-10s in the first 11 Series races of the schedule and currently lead the points standings by 126 in the chase for Hafertepe’s record-breaking sixth Series championship.

Throughout his career, Hafertepe has always preferred to assemble his own operation. From cars, setups, and crew members, he’s enjoyed the freedom to make his own decisions for the team since joining the Ontario-based Hill’s Racing in 2018.

“It’s kind of the special thing that we do have with (team owner) Miles Hill — he allows me to manage and run the whole operation down here,” Hafertepe said. “It allows me to hire the guys I think we need to hire and put the people in the right places that we need and see fit for our team.”

Two years ago, Hafertepe brought Washington-native AJ Butler on board to take the role of car chief. Butler had previously worked as part of a team around home for former local driver Michael Millard. When Millard received the opportunity to race 410 Sprint Cars in Pennsylvania, Butler moved out to the East Coast with him, and the two spent two seasons in competition around the local tracks before the partnership ended.

Butler soon joined fellow Washington native JJ Hickle’s team to follow the All Star Circuit of Champions circuit, but only for a single season. Through Hickle’s relationship with Hill’s crew member Daryl Turford, Butler later received a call to join Hill’s Racing as part of Hafertepe’s operation in 2023.

Butler has now clocked two calendar years taking care of the No. 15H and has found his place sharpening his skills under the tutelage of Hafertepe.

“Since I came to work for Sam, my knowledge has increased 100-fold, there’s no question,” Butler said. “Sam’s a great teacher. Any question you have, he’ll explain it in a way that’s easy to understand. Or, if he needs to go into details, he’s able to do that and break it down for a guy to understand.”

Likewise, Fidler, a 21-year-old Pennsylvania native, earned his first crew member position as part of a local operation for friend Riley Emig. After the sudden passing of Emig last July in a motorcycle accident, Fidler was left looking for a new full-time role as a crew member.

During their time spent at the track in Pennsylvania, Fidler and Butler became acquainted, which led to Fidler answering Butler’s job posting to join the Hill’s team in January 2025.

Packing up and leaving home to go on the road crewing for a national Sprint Car team is no easy task for a 21-year-old, but Fidler never shied away from the challenge.

“I had a lot of people backing me and supporting me to do it,” Fidler said. “I knew I loved racing, always being around it, and I thought if I can go do this and can get paid to travel and go to the races every weekend and do what I love at the same time, why wouldn’t I?”

They’ve been at work on the No. 15H for only a short time compared to the sport’s veteran mechanics, but Butler and Fidler have thrived under Hafertepe’s experienced teachings.

“You’ve got to be able to deal with the pressure of Sam watching you and do things the way he wants them done,” Butler said. “Obviously, the way he wants them done is — there’s proof in the pudding — it’s the right way.

“It has its challenges, but at the end of the day, you know that if he tells you to do something, it’s the right way and it normally seems to work.”

Since he began his driving career, Hafertepe has shown he knows the path to success and is now taking two of his best workers along with him as he chases American Sprint Car Series history.

“I’ve done this so long, I have a way that I do things, and you have to have two guys that respect that,” Hafertepe said. “You have to have two guys that respect you and know your capabilities and have no doubts in what you’re trying to do.

“That does truly allow me to be the best version of me. To have two guys behind you that believe in what you’re doing and believe in the direction that the team’s going, that can either make or break a race team.”

Hafertepe and Hill’s Racing continue their march toward a sixth Series championship in the next races — this Friday–Saturday, July 11–12, at Lakeside Speedway and 81 Speedway.

Tickets for both events will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be at the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Detroit (July 10, 2025) The NTT INDYCAR SERIES, along with the 14 Chevrolet-powered drivers, visit the Iowa Speedway for the 11th and 12th rounds of the season. The Synk 275 Powered By Sukup and Farm To Finish 275 Powered By Sukup are the second and third races across nine weeks that will bring the 2025 season to a close.  Team Chevy has excelled at the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway short oval, specifically winning 13 of 16 races and 14 of 16 poles since 2012.  Generally, ovals 1.33 miles in length and shorter have been friendly to Team Chevy. Cars adorned with Bowties have 77.8% of the trips to victory lane, sat on 77.8% of the poles, stood on 72.2% of the podiums and led 80.1% of laps in races held at Iowa Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway, Phoenix International Raceway, The Milwaukee Mile, and World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway. Across Chevrolet’s history in the INDYCAR SERIES, the brand has won 52 short oval races, with George Follmer first winning with Chevy power at Phoenix International Raceway in 1969.  All of INDYCAR SERIES Chevrolet’s Short Oval Wins Jim Hurtibise at Langhorne Speedway in 1963 won the first of Chevrolet’s 53 INDYCAR SERIES short oval poles.  All of Chevrolet’s INDYCAR SERIES Short Oval PolesAppreciating PatoWith the NTT INDYCAR SERIES visiting a track where Team Chevy’s top points scorer, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, has had past success with a win in 2022 and four podiums, it’s a good time to appreciate the consistency of his 2025 season to date.  Through last weekend’s fifth-place finish at Mid-Ohio, the popular Mexican driver has scored 305 points, the most he’s collected after ten races since the series ended double points for the Indianapolis 500.  That leaves the 26-year-old third in points, only 12 points behind second-place Kyle Kirkwood, but 125 points behind runaway leader Álex Palou. After ten races last year, O’Ward had scored 299 points and trailed leader Palou by only 37 points. So far this season: O’Ward is only one of three drivers to complete all 1135 lapsHis four podiums, five top fives and average finish of 6.8 rank second behind only Palou in those categoriesHe’s gained 30 spots from where he started, which ranks third overall He had the fastest lap of the race at The Thermal Club, the second quickest lap of the race at the Indianapolis 500, and has only been outside the top ten fastest laps twice The No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet crew is only eight points out of the lead of the Firestone Pit Performance Award standings, were the quickest at St. Pete and Road America and are the only crew to be one of the ten quickest every race Chevrolet at Iowa Speedway The twin-turbo 2.2L V6 (Chevy Indy V6) has powered drivers to 13 (81.3%) of the 16 races at Iowa Speedway since the introduction of that engine formula in 2012. That includes nine straight trips to victory lane and six wins by short oval master Newgarden. Will Power leads all drivers in the Chevy Indy V6 era with six poles on the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway short oval, with the Detroit, Michigan manufacturer starting on the pole for 14 (87.5%) of the 16 races since 2012. Team Chevy’s dominance since 2012 continues with 75% of the drivers standing on the podium (36 of 48) wearing a Chevrolet Bowtie. That total includes 15 drivers among six teams. Newgarden has led a whopping 1,847 laps powered by the Chevy Indy V6, and Team Chevy has led a dominant 87.1% (3,831 of 4,400 laps) since 2012.  Leading the field to the green flag for both Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend races will be the Corvette E-Ray, featuring eAWD capability, 655 horsepower and a lightning-fast 0 to 60mph time of 2.5 seconds. Tune-In Alert FridayNTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice & Highline Session – 3:30pm (ET)/2:30pm (CT)/1:30pm (MT)/12:30pm (PT) – FS2/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218  SaturdayNTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying – 1:30pm (ET)/12:30pm (CT)/11:30am(MT) /10:30am PT) – FS1/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218\SYNK 275 (275 laps) – 5pm (ET)/ 4pm (CT)/3pm (MT)/2pm (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 SundayFarm To Finish 275 (275 laps) – 1pm (ET)/ noon (CT)/11am (MT)/10am (PT) – FOX/INDYCAR Radio Network/SIRIUSXM 218 WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):A.J. FOYT RACING David Malukas, No. 4 Clarience Technologies/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet: What do you like about Iowa Speedway and why does it suit your style?”Well, Iowa, obviously, being another short oval is something that I feel like with my history on short ovals, we have a good history, and it seems that performance continues through Iowa. The racing and the strategies have always been fun to work around. It’s something that I feel like I’ve managed to pick up and find good success with. Iowa changed the past two seasons with the repavement. So, we’ll see how things shape up, especially with the new packages that IndyCar has coming out.” With Iowa’s different passing lanes and an increase in downforce, will qualifying still be important?“Qualifying is always important. No matter what the situation is on an oval, you can always make passes, but passing becomes very difficult once that second line gets a lot of marbling. So, the better you can qualify, the easier the race is going to be, and the less passes you’re going to have to make.” Will different fuel strategies come into play? If so, how do you decide on which one to use?“Well, we’ll have to see if the passing is still going to be limited with the new package because of that pavement up top, and not being able to use a second lane, then fuel is going to be really important. It’s probably going to be a fuel code race and who’s going to be able to save fuel and go longer. Obviously, that’s going to be more on the strategist to call; from my side, I’m just going to focus and try to make sure that we can go as fast as possible, going left.” How difficult is it to use a tire at a track like Iowa that you haven’t tested?“It’s difficult in the fact that you don’t get any data from previous runs to figure out how it’s going to handle. You’re going in completely fresh, straight into a race weekend so there’s going to be that difficulty there. We’re going to have a lot of unknowns that we’re going to have to try to figure out as quickly as possible, but everybody’s going to be in the same boat. Whoever can figure it out quicker is going to be the one that could be on top so hopefully we can be on that end.” Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Sexton Properties/A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet: What do you like about Iowa Speedway and why does it suit your style?“Man, I like Iowa. It’s a tough track to be honest. Yeah, Mike, I don’t think, as far as ovals go, it’s definitely one of the more difficult ones. I feel like we did a really good job last year. It’s a fast Bowl ring, just enjoyable as a racer. And last year it came with the repave and made everything a little bit tricky. But we had a couple of good races.” Why? Didn’t it eliminate the bumps?“Yep, but you can’t pass anymore because they repaved it, Do you remember there’s only 20 passes in the entire race, and I had like half of them. It was really entertaining. Now it’s just really boring because they repaved the track and got rid of all the bumps and there’s no more tire deg.” Iowa’s different passing lanes and an increase in downforce, will qualifying still be important? If so, why?“I think qualifying is definitely important at this track, or only this track, just because it’s difficult to pass. But I also did come from a lap down last year, and I came back to finish sixth. So, at the end of the day, perhaps it’s not really that important on an oval. I think it’s just more important to take care of the car than it is to qualify really well.” Will the different fuel strategies come into play?“I don’t think there will be a fuel strategy in Iowa. I think the races are pretty straightforward. I just pit when you’re out (of fuel). I think it’s going to be a pretty standard three or four stop race for us, even with the yellows. I also don’t remember Iowa being a big fuel save race in all of my years there either.” How difficult is it to use a tire at a track like Iowa that you haven’t tested?“Even though we didn’t test there, it’s a different tire again for everybody, so they’ll still have a kind of level-ish playing field. Obviously not having laps around there this year is tricky, but it is an easy track to pick back up again, since it is only 7/8 mile and you can run 15 laps pretty quickly.” ARROW MCLAREN Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: “Back to the cornfields for two races, the only double weekend that we have. The cars have new downforce levels and different tires, so hoping to get a good second groove going. We should make it very entertaining for everybody thats watching the races.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet: “Off to Iowa for a doubleheader. It’s going to be very interesting because they’ve changed aero configuration and tires from last year, and again from testing a week ago. Nobody really knows what to expect. We’re hoping that we’ll be stronger than other cars right out the gate, because there is not a lot of practice time to figure it out. There are lot of things to learn, and we will do our best with whatever we roll off with.”  Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“Doubleheader in Iowa, which I’m obviously looking forward to. Following the test a lot of changes have been made, so I think practice will be very beneficial to see if we can get a second groove going. Qualifying will be very important. We’ll take it as it comes, but hopefully we’ll have good Arrow McLaren Chevrolets this weekend.” ED CARPENTER RACING Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Java House Chevrolet:“I can’t wait to get to Iowa this weekend. We had a very positive test there and with the strength of our short oval package, it’s a great opportunity for us as it’s a double header. We will need to execute in all phases of the weekend and if we do that, there are a lot of points up for grabs.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet:“This will be my first time racing an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car at Iowa Speedway, but it’s not my first time at the track! I’ve had good experiences there in the past, including a win in the Indy NXT race in 2023 during my championship season. I’m looking forward to going back, especially since we’ve shown we have a strong short oval package—something we proved with a podium at St. Louis.”

Chevrolet at the Iowa Speedway Chevrolet wins at Iowa Speedway: 13 2024 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske (pictured above)2024 Race #1 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2023 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2023 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2022 Race #2 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren2022 Race #1 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2019 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2017 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2016 – Josef Newgarden – Ed Carpenter Racing2013 – James Hinchcliffe – Andretti Global2012 – Ryan Hunter-Reay – Andretti Global Chevrolet poles at Iowa Speedway: 14 2024 Race #2 – Scott McLaughlin – Team Penske2023 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske2023 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2022 Race #2 – Will Power – Team Penske2022 Race #1 – Will Power – Team Penske2020 Race #2 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske2020 Race #1 – Conor Daly – Carlin2019 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2018 – Will Power – Team Penske2017 – Will Power – Team Penske2016 – Simon Pagenaud – Team Penske2015 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske2014 – Scott Dixon – Chip Ganassi Racing2013 – Helio Castroneves – Team Penske  Chevrolet Podiums at Iowa Speedway: 36 Chevrolet podiums at the Iowa Speedway by driver: Josef Newgarden (8), Will Power (6), Scott McLaughlin (4), Pato O’Ward (4), Tony Kanaan (3), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2), Marco Andretti (1), Oliver Askew (1), Helio Castroneves (1), Scott Dixon (1), JR Hildebrand (1), James Hinchcliffe (1), Sage Karam (1), Simon Pagenaud (1), and Spencer Pigot (1).  Chevrolet podiums at the Iowa Speedway by team: Team Penske (18), Arrow McLaren (5), Andretti Global (4), Chip Ganassi Racing (4), Ed Carpenter Racing (4) and KV Racing Technology (1).  Chevrolet Laps Led at Iowa Speedway: 3831 Chevrolet laps led at Iowa Speedway by driver: Josef Newgarden (1847), Helio Castroneves (434), Will Power (400),  Tony Kanaan (317), Scott McLaughlin (260), James Hinchcliffe (245), Pato O’Ward (97), Simon Pagenaud (97), JR Hildebrand (38), Ed Carpenter (20), Scott Dixon (18), Conor Daly (17), Ryan Hunter-Reay (15), Oliver Askew (10), Sebastien Bourdais (6), Marco Andretti (3), Ryan Briscoe (2), Max Chilton (2), Felix Rosenqvist (2) and Rubens Barichello (1). Chevrolet laps led at Iowa Speedway by team: Team Penske (2649), Ed Carpenter (451), Chip Ganassi Racing (337), Andretti Global (263), Arrow McLaren (107), Carlin (17), and KV Racing Technology (7). Manufacturer History at Iowa Speedway Wins (with competition) 13 – Chevrolet (2024 Race #2, 2024 Race #1, 2023 Race #2, 2023 Race #1, 2022 Race #2, 2022 Race #1, 2020 Race #2, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012)3 – Honda (2018, 2014, 2014) Poles (with competition) 14 – Chevrolet (2024 Race #2, 2023 Race #2, 2023 Race #1, 2022 Race #2, 2022 Race #1, 2020 Race #2, 2020 Race #1, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2016, 2013)2 – Honda (2024 Race #1, 2012) Historical Chevrolet Information INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturer Championships (since 1979) Chevrolet-Powered Wins in the Twin-Turbo 2.2L V6 Era (2012-present) Chevrolet-Powered Wins (All-time)

MONTPELIER, IN — July 9, 2025 — In the second chapter of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models at Indiana’s Montpelier Motor Speedway, it was the Tri-Star Motorsports No. 2 that was parked in Victory Lane.

After going winless since March 1, Cody Overton had a major morale boost on Wednesday night after winning his first career Hell Tour Feature in hard-working fashion around the bottom lane.

Reigning champion Tyler Erb jumped out to the early command over Zack Mitchell as the two distanced themselves by over five seconds on third-place Rusty Schlenk and Overton in fourth.

After the Thomson, GA, pilot passed Schlenk on the bottom lane for third place on Lap 9, the first caution of the night was flown on Lap 12 to reset the pace.

On the restart, Overton used his momentum on the bottom to get by Mitchell for second place on the first lap, but the Coltman Farms Racing No. 57 retook the spot with a slide job while “Terbo” grew the distance from the two battling drivers to 4.6 seconds.

On Lap 23, the complexity of the Feature changed when a lapped car spun to the top of the track in Turn 4. Erb, who was behind the car on the cushion, made contact and spun down the track, ending his chances to earn a pivotal win towards his championship chase.

The caution gave way to new contenders for the win as Mitchell led to the restart over Overton, Trey Mills, Mark Whitener, and Jason Feger. The restart saw Mitchell lead into Turn 1, but Mills threw a slide job on Mitchell through the corner to take the lead. 

While Feger and Whitener ran to the cushion, Overton glued his car to the bottom lane as the top five ran four-wide entering Turn 3 while Mills chose the top to block Feger and Whitener’s momentum. 

Overton, who quietly kept his car to the bottom, snuck by Mills off of Turn 4 to take the lead on the restart while the Jacksonville, FL driver kept his No. 14JR Longhorn Chassis to the top in his attempt to stay even with Overton.

The World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Models presented by DIRTVision sophomore outmatched the 17-year-old and held onto the lead for the final six laps to score his first career Hell Tour Feature race. He becomes the second Peach State driver to win in 2025, and the 119th different winner in history.

“Oh man, God was looking out for me,” Overton said. “We definitely gambled on tires tonight, and I don’t think it was right the longer I ran. I was like ‘I’m SOL, I’m just gonna ride, but whatever.’

“I wasn’t too worried about the restarts, ‘cause I knew I could probably get back out front, but it was just a matter of time, and they could start circling and getting their hard tires back good. I mean, sometimes, you just gotta be lucky.”

While Erb made a hard-charging effort in the remaining laps to finish in sixth, he sits 80 points back from overall points leader Jason Feger, who finished in third place.

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals enter the final four nights of Week 5 with a trip to Michigan’s Butler Motor Speedway on Thursday, July 10.

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

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 2-Cody Overton[5]; 2. 14JR-Trey Mills[6]; 3. 25F-Jason Feger[9]; 4. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[14]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[11]; 6. 1-Tyler Erb[1]; 7. 5-Mark Whitener[8]; 8. 51-Devin Shiels[18]; 9. 71R-Rod Conley[3]; 10. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 11. 42-Chad Finley[16]; 12. 46-Colin Shipley[10]; 13. 29-Christian Hanger[7]; 14. 31M-Tyler Millwood[13]; 15. 75-Dillon McCowan[12]; 16. 38-Thomas Hunziker[22]; 17. 18-Jacob Stuhr[15]; 18. 17SR-Brody Smith[17]; 19. 57-Zack Mitchell[2]; 20. 07-Rylee Knoll[20]; 21. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[21]; 22. 114-Clayton Bryant[23]; 23. 17SS-Brenden Smith[19]

Tyler Nicely Wheels His No. 5 Towards Fifth Victory of 2025 Summit Modified Nationals Season

Since Tyler Nicely joined the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals campaign in 2025, he’s finished within the top two through eight of the nine Features he’s started.

On Wednesday night, the Owensboro, KY native piloted his No. 5 Elite Chassis to the fifth win of the season at Montpelier Motor Speedway as he enters the picture towards the championship finale at the Prairie Dirt Classic.

Polesitter Brennan Sherman claimed the lead of the Feature first, with Nicely using the middle lane to stay even with the No. 82.

The two stayed side-by-side as Sherman held an advantage off Turn 4 to lead the first seven laps, but Nicely’s hustle through the middle lane paid off by taking the lead on Lap 8 and getting clear of Sherman.

Dalton Smith followed Nicely’s shadow as he passed Sherman for second place as the two drivers separated from the field by over five seconds.

While Smith’s No. 05 UMP Modified kept a 0.5-second gap after losing the lead, the Richmond, IN driver began to lose touch with Nicely as the 2023 Summit Modifieds champion drove towards a 1.9-second gap.

Though Smith shrank the interval as Nicely struggled to maneuver around the lapped traffic in the final laps, he was too late to attempt a pass as Nicely secured his 16th career win in the first visit to Montpelier for the Summit Modifieds.

Despite missing the first two weeks of Summit Modified competition after having a newborn son, Nicely moves up to third place in points, 144 markers back from points leader Trevor Neville, moving into the final six events of the season.

“We really didn’t plan on running the whole thing,” Nicely said. “I just had a new boy back home, so that’s why we missed the first few weeks, and luckily, my wife let me come out here. We’ve had such a good week, you know we figured we’d just come out here and just keep trying to knock off some wins.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals enter the final four nights of Week 5 with a trip to Michigan’s Butler Motor Speedway on Thursday, July 10.

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

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 25-Tyler Nicely[2]; 2. 05-Dalton Smith[7]; 3. 45H-Chase Holland[5]; 4. 35-David Stremme[16]; 5. 777-Trevor Neville[10]; 6. 3W-Dylan Woodling[11]; 7. 4-Michael Ledford[6]; 8. 82-Brennan Sherman[1]; 9. 75-Daniel Adam[19]; 10. 65-Todd Sherman[13]; 11. 1TS-Tyler Spalding[4]; 12. 45P-Brian Post[17]; 13. 21C-Drew Charlson[15]; 14. 22T-Tony Anderson[18]; 15. 9R-Garrett Rons[20]; 16. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[22]; 17. (DNF) 28-Mason Lobb[8]; 18. (DNF) 80-Cole Sink[21]; 19. (DNF) 24-Zeke McKenzie[12]; 20. (DNF) 21B-Hunter Breland[14]; 21. (DNF) 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[9]; 22. (DNF) 114-Clayton Bryant[3]

CONCORD, NC (July 9, 2025) – On May 17 at Marion Center Raceway, the last engine in Tanner English’s trailer went up in smoke with the next race less than 24 hours away.

It was another hit in an already tough start to the season, with one top 10 finish in the first five months. But it was also the start of his turning point with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.

Help first came in the form of family friend Jim Bernheisel, who let English race his car at Bedford Speedway to maintain his full-time status and not be “SOL,” as English said.

Then, it was all hands on deck once the hauler returned from Bedford. The break in the schedule before the Dirt Late Model Dream at Eldora Speedway and the next World of Outlaws event at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Coltman Farms Racing crew went into overdrive rebuilding their inventory ahead of the busiest portion of the season.

“First off, we had to pull motors and get them shipped off,” English said. “Clean oil systems, stuff like that. That’s the stuff people don’t see, you can’t just slap a motor back in. I wish you could, but when you blow one up, you’ve got to do a whole switch. We got those shipped off, Glen [Clements] had actually just finished a motor of mine, so I had one motor two or three days later when we got back home.

“Brett [Coltman] knew the situation we were in, so we actually were able to buy another new motor, so then we had two. We had that new car on order at Longhorn, and it was actually done that next week also, so we had a really busy week that next week. Went to Longhorn, built that car and raced once before Eldora at Brownstown [Speedway]. Ran that car at Eldora also, ran good there and was good from there.”

A strong performance at Eldora and finishes of fifth and sixth with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals showed early signs that English and the No. 96 team were turning the corner in their performance.

Then, they took the confirmation a step further when the World of Outlaws tour resumed in June. He earned back-to-back top-10 finishes at I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park to start a run of six top 10s in the last seven events, including back-to-back fourth-place finishes last weekend at Deer Creek Speedway.

“I feel like I’m kind of hitting a reset button, mentally and setup-wise,” English said. “When we went to Longhorn and we built that car, I told them I wanted to leave there like they want me to leave setup-wise and everything like that. Kind of just washed my hands of it so I could just think about driving and not think about the car. Did that and it was good right out of the box. I really haven’t changed much since then, just tweaked a few things here and there, been in close contact with Matt Langston. Just trying not to mess it up, that’s the main thing, just don’t overthink everything.”

English has been adamant since joining Coltman Farms Racing in 2024 about how the team provides more quality equipment, funding, and other ingredients for success than any other organization he’s raced with. He knew the results early on weren’t reflective of the amount of time and effort going into the program, but that looks to be changing entering the second half of the year.

“You want to perform to what you feel like you’re equipment is capable of,” English said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t feel like I need any coaching or anybody telling me to pick it up, because I’m constantly feeling like I need to improve and be better. It takes some stress off of you just knowing that you’ve got new stuff, and you know it’s going to make it. You’re not looking for little things that could be wrong when trying to find some speed. You try to find new ways to do different things, and it takes your mind off of stupid stuff.”

The upcoming slate of races are right up English’s alley as he aims to keep the momentum rolling, starting with Sharon Speedway this weekend. He’s never finished worse than eighth in five World of Outlaws starts at the track and picked up a career-best second in his most recent visit two years ago.

“When I first went there, I was like, ‘this is an odd joint,” English said. “It’s just really slick and you can get up there by the wall and really get after it sometimes. More than anything, it just slows down and gets really technical, and that’s what I like to do. Everybody knows I’m not really a bounce-off-the-cushion kind of guy, so anytime it gets like that, I seem to do better than if there is a cushion and a really aggressive-type track.”

From there, English will chase his second podium appearance in both the Prairie Dirt Classic (July 25-26) and USA Nationals (July 31-Aug. 2) on back-to-back weekends, with his first trip to Wilmot Raceway (July 28) since 2014 on the itinerary between them.

Three drivers are within 24 points of English in the standings, meaning a few more solid finishes in the coming weeks could elevate English several places up from his current 10th spot in the points table. That gives English all the motivation he could ask for as the road to World of Outlaws World Finals rolls on.

“We’re in striking zone right now anyways to maybe get to sixth,” English said. “That’s kind of my goal to get there. Maybe even further if we can, but we’ve had such a bad start that you’ve got to kind of set realistic goals. I feel like we can do that, and we’ve set ourselves up in a good spot in the year, good tracks that I feel like we can make up some ground and get on up there in points.”

The 2025 World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision season continues with the Battle at the Border at Sharon Speedway on Friday and Saturday, July 11-12. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.

If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/after-hitting-a-reset-button-english-on-the-rise-again-in-world-of-outlaws-return-season/

EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/latemodels/schedule/event-info/?event=4547676
TRACK INFO: https://www.sharonspeedway.com/

FAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

July 12-13, 2025

Fresh off a weekend sweep, Chevrolet’s drivers and teams in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series will venture back across the country to make the sport’s annual visit to Sonoma Raceway.

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Nestled within the southern Sonoma Mountains, the 1.99-mile road course will mark back-to-back events featuring left- and right-hand turns for both divisions. Road racing continues to be a strong suit for the Bowtie brigade, with the manufacturer heading into the weekend with wins in five of the six road course events in NASCAR’s top-two divisions this season.

DEFENDING WINNERSThere’s no better momentum than a trip to victory lane, and the Bowtie brand has just that. Chevrolet will enter the Sonoma race weekend boosting two-straight road course weekend sweeps – a feat that dates back to a pair of victories by Shane van Gisbergen and Daniel Suarez at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez one month ago. The opportunity to go three-in-a-row in road course weekend sweeps comes at a circuit where Chevrolet reigns as the most recent winner in both of NASCAR’s top-two divisions courtesy of Kyle Larson (NCS) and Van Gisbergen’s (NXS) wins at the Northern California venue in 2024.

In 35 NASCAR Cup Series races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet paves the way with 14 all-time victories. Just three of the track’s past winners are entered in Sunday’s event – all of which come from the Chevrolet camp including two-time winners, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson, and Daniel Suarez.

RACKING UP ON ROAD COURSES Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen yet again proved his road racing prowess at the site that started his NASCAR career. Taking the checkered flag in the third rendition of the Chicago Street Race, the 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, become just the fourth repeat winner of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. The victory further added onto Chevrolet’s lead in wins on left- and right-hand turns in the Next Gen era, with the manufacturer sitting at 14 wins in 20 races (total including traditional road courses and the Chicago Street Course).  Van Gisbergen is one of 10 Team Chevy drivers entered in Sunday’s race that have earned either a road course or street course win in NASCAR’s top division. Among those includes Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who leads the series’ active drivers with seven road course wins – enough to put the 29-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native third on the series’ all-time wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine wins) and Tony Stewart (eight wins). Other multi-time Cup Series road course winners include Kyle Larson (six wins), Kyle Busch (four wins), AJ Allmendinger (three wins) and William Byron (two wins). Also adding to the list is the 2024 Chicago Street Race winner, Alex Bowman; the 2023 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course winner, Michael McDowell; and the pair of Trackhouse Racing teammates, Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, who each earned their first career Cup Series win on a road course.

TOP-10 TALLIESIt’s been a trio of strong performances for the Bowtie brigade on road courses in NASCAR’s top division this season. In addition to its back-to-back victories, Chevrolet has owned at least half of the top-10 finishing positions in each event, including a best-finish of six top-10 results at the Chicago Street Course. With three road races in the books, five full-time Chevrolet organizations have already earned at least one top-10 finish.

ALLMENDINGER, BUSCH EYE OPPORTUNITY TO SHAKE UP PLAYOFF STANDINGSThe playoff pressure continues to build for NASCAR’s top division, with the trek out west marking the seven-race countdown to the end of the series’ regular season. With just four provisional points positions left up for grabs, a win is on every driver’s mind to solidify their chances at a shot for the championship title. With a pair of road course races on the horizon, Team Chevy’s AJ Allmendinger and Kyle Busch are among those on the outside looking in that eye the opportunity to shake up the playoff standings.

A sixth-place result at the Chicago Street Course was enough to push Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger to the 18th position in the playoff standings and just 43-points below the cutline. The 43-year-old Santa Clara, California, native is among the series’ top road course ringers, with the Chevrolet driver earning all three of his NASCAR Cup Series wins making left- and right-hand turns. While still looking for his first win at the 1.99-mile Northern California venue, consistency has been key for Allmendinger and the No. 16 Chevrolet team – entering the weekend with a pair of back-to-back sixth-place results at the circuit.

Despite a roller-coaster day in the “Windy City”, Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team rebounded for a top-five finish at the Chicago Street Course. Putting together a strong 41-point day – the second-highest of the race – Busch had a big boost in the playoff standings, with the 40-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada, native heading to the west coast ranked 19th in the playoff standings and 46-points below the cutline. His championship-earning career has seen a great amount of success on road courses with four wins in NASCAR’s top division – two of which have come at Sonoma Raceway. His second win at the circuit in June 2015 started a string of impressive finishes that included six-straight top-seven results. His first Sonoma start with Richard Childress Racing ended with a runner-up result (2023).

VAN GISBERGEN SETS SIGHTS ON SECOND SWEEPIn just two years, Shane van Gisbergen went from making his NASCAR debut to a full-time career in NASCAR’s top division. The road racing ace is already a seven-time winner in the NASCAR national ranks – all of which have been earned making left- and right-hand turns. The 36-year-old Auckland, New Zealand, native made his return to the Xfinity Series for the first time this season at the Chicago Street Course – driving the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the pole and the race win. Following suit in his full-time ride in NASCAR’s top division, Van Gisbergen became just the second driver in NASCAR history to sweep both the pole and race wins in both the Cup and Xfinity Series in a single weekend.  Van Gisbergen will have the opportunity to make history again this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Returning to the JR Motorsports entry for another double-duty weekend, Van Gisbergen could potentially become the only driver in history to sweep the pole and race wins in NASCAR’s top-two divisions more than once. The only driver to have ever accomplished the feat was fellow Chevrolet driver, Kyle Busch, who swept the weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016.

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 19 NASCAR Cup Series races complete: Wins: 8Poles: 9Laps Led: 2,352Top-Fives: 39Top-10s: 84Stage Wins: 17

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 18 NASCAR Xfinity Series races complete: Wins: 16Poles: 11Laps Led: 2,296Top-Fives: 62Top-10s: 119Stage Wins: 27

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 15 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races complete: Wins: 6Poles: 2Laps Led: 854Top-Fives: 35Top-10s: 71Stage Wins: 7

BOWTIE BULLETS:·        Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:  Kyle Busch – two wins (2015, 2008)Kyle Larson – two wins (2024, 2021)Daniel Suarez – one win (2022) ·        Chevrolet has earned 21 victories in the past 28 NASCAR Cup Series races on the series’ traditional road courses – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in Aug. 2019, to Shane van Gisbergen’s win at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in June 2025. Van Gisbergen and Alex Bowman have added three more triumphs on left- and right-hand turns by keeping Chevrolet undefeated in the Chicago Street Race.  ·        In 17 NASCAR Cup Series races on traditional road courses in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with 11 victories – recorded by seven drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. ·        Chevrolet has entered a double-digit win streak in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, with Shane van Gisbergen and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet team’s win at the Chicago Street Course marking the Bowtie brand’s 10th consecutive triumph. The victory – Chevrolet’s 16th in 18 Xfinity Series races this season – have been earned by 10 drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.  ·        Chevrolet has earned at least half of the top-10 finishing results in 11 of the 19 points-paying races thus far this season, including a season-high seven top-10 finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.  ·        In 127 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 60 victories – a winning percentage of 47.2%.  ·       With its 43 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 874 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Series Challenge Round 3 – Toyota / Save Mart 350Sunday, July 13, at 3:30 p.m. ET(TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)  NASCAR Xfinity SeriesPit Boss / FoodMaxx 250Saturday, July 12, at 4:30 p.m. ET(CW, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletDoes it help any that Sonoma makes it two road course races in a row for you guys?“Two weekends in a row road course racing, so I should really be in a groove (laughs). Even though its two road courses, they are both so very different. Chicago is a narrow street course presents a lot of challenges and now we are headed to a very familiar track at Sonoma. I’ve had some good finishes at Sonoma the last couple of years but I just need to fine tune a few things to really get those next few positions. I have two great road course teammates to lean on and Shane is coming off of a great weekend at Chicago.” Do you enjoy going out to California – it’s the furthest you guys go to race?“There’s a ton of agriculture in California and I really enjoy getting out there and learning about ag in their climate. We have Kubota on the car this weekend and they are so ingrained in the ag world, so it’s a great, authentic partnership. I’m going to visit a Kubota dealer on Friday which is always fun. I know some farmers out there and there’s obviously great racing at Sonoma, but there’s so much to see and do in California which makes it fun.”   Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWhat’s the most challenging part of the Sonoma Raceway layout for you—Turn 11 hairpin, the esses, or something else?“Turn 11 has always been the most challenging aspect of Sonoma Raceway. You’ve got to have patience and make a really good arch on entry. You know that drivers are going to be attacking that corner, so you don’t know what’s going to happen at times. The best thing to do is to roll the curb as fast as you can and pick up the throttle early to get off the corner. We’ve put a lot of effort into Sonoma Raceway on the simulator.” How do you manage brake wear and overheating with all the heavy braking zones?“You try not to overlap on two pedals and use the brakes efficiently. Sonoma Raceway is a track where you can overheat your brakes very fast, and there’s not much time to cool them down with the long runs we’ve seen over the last few races. You want to keep as much rear brake in the car as possible, and you can have a good day.” What is your assessment of the No. 3 team heading into the final stretch of the regular season?“I think the consistency of our team is getting better. I would love to bring more speed to some of the races. We’ve been very close in qualifying, and qualifying at the Chicago Street Race was a huge improvement. We’ve been on the outside looking in at a lot of these places. I was pumped after our recent race at Atlanta Motor Speedway because we had really struggled at Atlanta in the past, but this year we had a racecar that was capable of possibly winning the race. Now, going back to Atlanta next year, I feel like we have a notes package we can build on and I feel really good about that. We have to develop some better setups that give me confidence as a driver. I’m excited about going back to Richmond Raceway, we’re always decent at the speedways, and Iowa Speedway is coming up, too, and that’s a place I’ve always run well at in the past. Sonoma Raceway will be intense and the key will be being disciplined and doing my job to get the most out of the car.” How much of racing to you is strategic, and how much is instinct?“A lot of racing is instinct, especially during restarts, because you’re trying to react to what the guy ahead of you is doing, and if you can time it right, you can get an advantage. Your reaction to their move or knowing the guy and what he’s going to do is really important. You’re trying not to give up any information yourself. Your instincts and the strategy behind it really plays into it. We do a lot of studying on what lines to choose. You make multiple mistakes throughout a race, but you just hope that you make the right choices at the right time to put yourself in position.”.   Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat are your thoughts heading to Sonoma?“I feel like Sonoma is a good road course for me. We need to execute on Saturday during qualifying. That race is always about track position. We’ve had good cars at all the road races this season and I think if we can do a good job in qualifying on Saturday, we can be competitive and pick up a good finish on Sunday. The trip to Sonoma is always a lot of fun and it’s a track I enjoy.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing ChevroletWe’re headed west to Sonoma this weekend. What are your thoughts?“I’m looking forward to Sonoma this weekend. We’ve had some good runs on road courses as of late. We had a fast car in Mexico and another last weekend at Chicago. We need to keep our good runs at road courses coming together. The guys have done a great job of putting together good stuff at them, so I’m excited about that. I always enjoy going to wine country, it’s a great place to go for a race and all the other cool reasons that everyone looks forward to getting out to Sonoma. I’m looking forward to getting back on the twisty roads of wine country and having a good race. We’ve been fast there in the past, I’ve won there a couple of times, so I hope we’ll be able to capitalize on a fast car and put ourselves in a position to win.”   Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet“I’m looking forward to getting to Sonoma this weekend, a track where I have a lot of confidence going to. I’ve been in the sim this week and working with my teammate AJ (Allmendinger), one of the best in the business, to try to learn as much as I can to be prepared this weekend. I didn’t race on the track last year, so this will be the first year for me on the new pavement which will bring its own challenges, but I’m looking forward to taking advantage of this weekend and having a strong run.”    AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet“Sonoma’s always a very important race to me, being what I consider my home race. Every year I have a lot of family and friends come out and this year we’re bringing a new sponsor, Big Sipz. It’ll be a busy weekend, but it’s always a lot of fun. I love the racetrack; it would mean the world to me to be able to have an opportunity to win a race there. In the past, we’ve been very competitive, and we’ll continue building on what we’ve learned so far with our road course program. I’m working hard to go out there at my best and put together a solid weekend for our team.”   Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet“I’m looking forward to getting out to Sonoma this weekend. It’s one of the most demanding tracks we race on, and it really challenges you as a driver. It’s great to have Real American Beer on board with us again. They bring a lot of pride and passion to the sport, and we’re hoping to give them something to cheer about this weekend in wine country.”   Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletWhat are the keys to getting around Sonoma?“Sonoma is a lot of fun. It’s one of those tracks where I have a lot of seat time and spent a lot of time there. Before going NASCAR racing, my wife and I actually lived not too far from there for a season of life. When I was young and kind of coming up through formula cars, I worked outside of Turn 11. For me, the track is super straightforward. It’s one line, there’s not a lot of tricks, You have to manage your tires and be technical to be fast. So, I enjoy it, and it’s been good for us the last couple of years. I think we finished second and third the last few years. I think we are close. So, it’s just a place that I am comfortable with. I know my marks, I know my rhythm, and it all comes together well. I do think it’s still one of the tracks if you save your tires, it will pay off. At Watkins Glen now, every lap is like qualifying, just hammer down, which is fun, too. Sonoma is its own fun where you still have that technical aspect where you have to manage everything pretty well to have a shot at the end.”   Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports ChevroletSonoma was repaved prior to last season’s visit. Does the newer surface make you adjust your approach?”It is different than what it used to be, but I thought it was fun last year with how much grip there was. I do miss how worn out it was before. I think it has its own challenges. You are going faster and have to be more aggressive to be on the limit with that speed, but have to avoid overdriving the corner.”   Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletYou and your team seem to be clicking on the road courses…“We have been getting a lot better on the road courses as a team. Just doing really good work with the car setup and development on it, and the preparation has just been so intense heading into Mexico City and Chicago, but good at the same time. In Chicago, once we got on track, the car felt great. It was incredible to have two flawless days there. Really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together this weekend in Sonoma.” How are you feeling about Sonoma this weekend?“I’m excited to get there! I’ve never raced that track in a Cup car, so it’s going to be interesting to see how it races and what it’s like. I did the Xfinity race there last year and had a great time. It will be interesting with it being my second time in the Xfinity car and trying to understand how to make that car better. Then in the Cup car, it’s obviously a track everyone is going to be strong at because they’ve had so many reps there it’s going to be interesting to see if we still have a speed advantage. But looking forward to running double duty again. Excited to have Quad Lock on the Xfinity car and Red Bull on the Cup car. Both cars look epic!”   Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletThoughts on returning to Sonoma?“Definitely excited, man. Every time we head to a road course, whether it’s Sonoma (Raceway) or somewhere else, I am excited. I feel at home, and I am excited to go back to a place where we had great memories, and hopefully, we can repeat it.” On recent bad luck?“Man, we have been at the wrong place at the wrong time the last two weeks. That’ll even out eventually, and we’ll be able to demonstrate our capabilities. We’ve won in Sonoma before and we can do it again.” What are the goals for the remainder of 2025?“We want to win. That’s the number one goal. A win gets us in the playoffs. We can do it. This weekend is a great track for us and I feel like we will be one of the favorites.”   Connor Zilisch, No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet“Sonoma is one of the most beautiful tracks that we go to. I circle all the road courses on the calendar, but this one is going to be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of elevation at Sonoma and a lot of opportunity to make up time. Sonoma is a track where the driver can make a difference and that’s something I really enjoy. It’s another road course for me and that means another opportunity to win. I have a lot of confidence every time we go to a road course and Sonoma is a track that I’ve really enjoyed going to in the past. We have six top-fives in a row entering this weekend and I’m looking forward to back up that momentum.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 43First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15)Most recent: 2024 Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2024): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2025 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 8Poles: 9Laps Led: 2,352Top-Fives: 39Top-10s: 84Stage Wins: 17 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 874 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 762Laps led to date: 255,063Top-fives to date: 4,408Top-10s to date: 9,091                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,208           Chevrolet: 874           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 844                                                                                          Ford: 744           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 196

After promising speed in Chicago was wiped out by early misfortune, Josh Berry and the No. 21 eero team are heading west to Sonoma Raceway with a renewed drive to bounce back and deliver a strong result.Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 marks the fourth of six road or street course events on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. The 1.99-mile, 12-turn layout through the heart of California’s wine country presents a unique challenge with elevation changes, tight corners, and technical braking zones, demanding both patience and precision.Berry, who was sidelined early in Stage 2 of last weekend’s race on the streets of Chicago, is looking forward to rebounding in Sonoma with a strong performance.“It was frustrating to get caught up in something so early at Chicago,” Berry said. “Getting knocked out that quickly is never how you want to end a weekend. That’s behind us now, and I’m focused on Sonoma. The team has been working really hard, and I believe we’ve got a group capable of putting together a solid run.”Practice and qualifying are both set for Saturday, with the on-track activity kicking off at 1:30 p.m. ET on truTV.The 110-lap, 218.9-mile race is scheduled to take the green flag just after 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, with stage breaks planned for Lap 25 and Lap 55. Broadcast coverage will be carried on TNT.

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. As everyone knows, it’s a hectic month of July, and back to an oval this weekend for the NTT INDYCAR Series and the return to Iowa Speedway, the fastest short track on the planet, for the Sukup INDYCAR race weekend. Saturday it’s the Synk 275 presented by Sukup, Sunday it’s the Farm to Finish 275 presented by Sukup. David Malukas returns there after leading a race-high 67 laps at Worldwide Technology Raceway, and before that a second-place finish at the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The driver of the No. 4 Clarience Technology Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing joins us this afternoon. David, thank you for your time. DAVID MALUKAS: Thank you for having me. Very excited heading to Iowa. Q. How much are you looking forward to getting back to the oval program this weekend? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I’m very excited. There’s questions that we need to figure out for a road course setup and road course race strategies, but it’s going to feel good. We can put that on hold and go back to a short oval environment that I know I’ve loved and the team is going to be doing pretty well at. Q. To that point, you’ve had a couple of top 10s at Iowa and a second-row start just a couple years ago. How is racing at Iowa different than St. Louis or Milwaukee, certainly Nashville? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, it feels like it’s probably the shorter one out of the few when it comes to short ovals. It really takes that short into perspective. I’ve always enjoyed it. The racing has just been chaotic. I think it’s one of the very few races that you’re passing so many cars and you don’t even know what position you’re in. You’re just having a good time. I’m very excited to see how things are going to come out for us this year. Q. I’m curious how much, if any, is there an unknown going into this weekend just with kind of uncertainty of what aero package and new right front tire? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, obviously a lot of unknowns going into it. But the good news is everybody is kind of going to be in that same format, so we’re going to have to kind of be battling each other on who can figure it out the quickest. But obviously all these changes are made for better racing at Iowa. I’m excited to get into it and see how things are going to be. Hopefully fingers crossed the weather comes out for us because it looks like Friday there’s going to be some rain, so hopefully that can go away by the time we get there. Q. Would that mean a potentially bigger difference between race 1 and race 2 just as far as what people potentially learn about the car? DAVID MALUKAS: Could be. Normally for Iowa in the past, anytime we’ve had double-headers, there’s always is a big differential from race 1 and race 2. You already learn so much. With it being a lot of new questions needing to be answered, that could be very true, and it could be a bigger differential. Q. David, at Mid-Ohio, you kept asking me about this famous gas station in Iowa, and I told you it was the world’s largest truck stop in Wolcottville off I-80. Have you done any research on that since you do come from a very big trucking family? DAVID MALUKAS: I haven’t done more research but it seems like you’re setting me up for something that I think you’ve done some more research on. Q. I stop all the time; where else can you get a haircut and get a dentist visit? You’ve got to get a dentist visit at a truck stop, maybe get your teeth cleaned or whatever. To follow up on a question I asked you at Mid-Ohio, young guy, there’s a lot of speculation going on about your future, and you’re having a pretty good run here with AJ Foyt Racing. How do you compartmentalize the future from the present so you keep your focus? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, I guess that’s just no matter the rumors or no rumors, I think everybody is trying to strive to always live in the present instead of stressing about the past and the future. I’ve always gone about that no matter what the situation may be. I’ve had a mental coach training me to always stay and live in the present, and as of right now, I’m with the AJ Foyt team and we’re focused on our successes and what we’ve accomplished so far this season, and there’s a lot more coming and a lot more results that’s going to be here very soon. We’re learning so much every single race that goes by, and even from Mid-Ohio, I actually just came back from the shop earlier today, and there’s a lot that we’ve already learned from that one race. We’re taking it a step at a time but we’re always going on an upward trajectory. Q. And the ability to be able to share some engineering information with Team Penske, you as a driver, how do you see that? What are the details that you see that might be different from when you joined the operation? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, the more, the merrier. The more data that we can get, especially when it comes to as many drivers as possible, that’s better for me, for my driving performance, and for us. It’s a lot of good drivers that we can trust each other and try different setups and try to get a better result come after the short few practice sessions that we have in a weekend. It’s been my situation coming through 2024. I’ve seen a lot of different drivers in the paddock, pretty much half the field now, I’ve seen their different driving styles. So seeing all of that and putting it all in one giant pile to collect some data and make myself better, it comes out better in the end. Q. Last year when NASCAR repaved the inside lanes in the turns, it helped their race, but it really hurt the INDYCAR race. Do you see any improvement in that, any potential improvement? You tested out there with a new package but a lot of drivers say the grip level is still going to be an issue when you get off one type of pavement on to the other. DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, we’ll see. INDYCAR is trying to do everything that they can, so for us, we didn’t do the test, so there’s more unknowns for us. We’re going to be going into it with a clean slate really and hopefully the results get better. Obviously Iowa used to be an incredible circuit for us with many, many passes, so hopefully with these changes and the new package that INDYCAR is working on, hopefully we can get back to the old ways. Q. The team have had a turnaround in fortunes since Indianapolis 500; obviously Santino has got quite a few top 5s, and I know the results haven’t quite gone your way at times, but generally it’s been improved. I think you said spending time with the team during the month of May really helped you, but how do you think that’s progressing to the team turning their form around so much in the last couple of races? DAVID MALUKAS: You know, it’s just coming into a new team and just even from my side being new, we’ve had a lot of new guys just join from the crew side, the mechanics, new engineering being switched around. There’s a lot of new chemistry and builds that need to happen. I always say month of May, when there’s a new group of new guys, that always is a big turnaround for us because having a full month where you wake up every morning, you go to bed every night, you’re always there with the crew, you’re seeing the same guys, and you can learn on what I like from the car, what we need from the car. It helps a lot, and obviously just even confidence overall, everybody has consistency of build, so that foundation is built in the month of May and you can finally work towards something for the rest of the season. We have had that. Like you said, the races, things happen always in the races. That’s what INDYCAR is. That’s why no matter where you qualify you can always have a good result; one yellow here or there and the results can change. But we’ve been on an upward trajectory. We just keep getting quicker and quicker. Qualifying performances have been consistently better. The trajectory is going up, so hopefully we can keep that going and start getting some better results come these races. Q. You just mentioned about using a mental coach as part of your team these days. I know a lot of drivers are using mental coaches more than previously. What’s the importance of having someone like that in your team, and how does that affect your development? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, it’s incredibly important. When you talk with drivers all the time, they’re always talking about the physical and you see all these cuts of them in the gym working their arms, showing the triceps, biceps; yeah, we’re getting strong. Obviously that’s always important, but I feel like the mental aspect hasn’t really been spoken about too much. Like you said, I feel like that’s something that’s starting to trend more recently. It’s tough; you look at INDYCAR and motorsports in general, it’s a sport where you’re surrounded with fans and PR all the way until the very start of the race really. You get in the car five minutes and now you need to be focused, when I think in other sports you have time to go in the locker room, have time to recollect. A lot of strategies that we do to switch into racing mode to get focused just because there’s that very short period of time. I think it’s very important. There’s a lot that we can learn from it, and it’s still kind of a new environment for me that I’ve gone into and I think the sport in general. Q. David, we found out a few weeks ago you’re a bit of a Football Manager player. Just wanted to find out how you’re save is going; I heard you’re with Nottingham Forest. How is that going and what’s the target? DAVID MALUKAS: I was with Forest, it was kind of impulsive just because I saw the good season that they had in the Prem this season, so I got to play with them. But starting with the Premier League team, I’m pretty sure if you’ve played, it gets a bit easy. After a few seasons I kind of dropped that one, and now I’m actually playing Dorking Wanderers from the National League South, so I’m trying to work them up into the Premier League, which has been a tough struggle but I’m in season three right now, but we’re getting there. I’m still very much addicted. I’m putting in a lot of hours into that. Anytime, the flying in between, those few hours on the plane, you can knock that out. It’s pretty good. Q. You mentioned it earlier, but we talked in April and you said the early part of the season the 14 car setups and kind of mindset as far as what they were working on and month of May you were going to transition to what you liked in the car. Has that happened since the month of May? DAVID MALUKAS: Yes, it very much has. It’s kind of gone exactly to what we spoke about. We’re kind of building a car based off of the 14 setup and trying different directions and now we finally can say, okay, now this is David’s setup, this is the No. 4 setup and we can build off of that foundation and work from there. We’ve just been on a really good trajectory. I think every session that we do, I think the one question that we really still need to figure out are the road courses. We’ve made a big chunk at Road America, made a little bit more at Mid-Ohio. Other teams still seem to have a bit of an advantage for us. Laguna is going to be another big question mark that we need to figure out, but other than that, the car has been in a very good spot for us. I’m just happy with the positive progression that we’ve been having, and hopefully we can continue going forward. Q. Now that you have setups under you, you kind of have both philosophies on the car, what are your thoughts of AJ Foyt Racing 10 races in, now that you’ve been through road and street courses and ovals and superspeedways, what’s your overall thoughts so far? DAVID MALUKAS: As of right now, I think the car has been in — if you look at Santino’s results in the races, he’s been on a really good trajectory. He’s had good results when it comes to short ovals from a road course and from a street course. It’s not where the car is just good in one circuit. We’re making a car that’s just built all around. That’s what you need to have good performances here in INDYCAR and be performing in the championship. I think we’re starting to show things from that direction, and I’m just very excited to be a part of it. The chemistry that the team has right now has been at an all-time high. I’m enjoying my time there, having a really good time with all the guys. Confidence, the team morale is high, so I think that’s one of the basic things we need to work on when it comes to the team. So the basics are there, and we’re starting to work up, and hopefully we can start working these finite details to have an ultimate car all around. Q. There’s another driver in the paddock that through his first 54 starts, similar stats to you, two runner-up finishes, top 5s, top 10s similar, and he won his 55th start, that driver is Josef Newgarden, and you’re coming into your 55th start on Saturday. Do you believe this could be a potential breakout race-winning weekend for you? DAVID MALUKAS: We’ll see. Winning at INDYCAR, especially the time that we’re at now, I think the level of drivers, it’s at an all-time high. Even I remember the first season you could go into qualifying and say, hmm, group 1, group 2, maybe we have a better group here, better group there. You go into qualifying now and we don’t even look at what groups we’re in; just knowing we have to go out and try. But when you look at the lineup, okay, that driver is very good, he’s very good, he’s very good, this guy is really good. Everybody is just incredible, so no matter who you’re going up against, everyone is at their all-time high. They’re just performing at an all-time peak. Going out now, it’s very tough. Things need to really go your way. You need to have luck. You need to be at your ultimate performance, the best car to really get that win. We’ll see. Things need to come together for us. But do I think that we can get a good result out of this weekend? 100 percent. I think the team has been on that upward trajectory. Like I said, we’re very positive, morale is high, and that’s what you need to go out there and get a win. Q. David, you’re already in your fourth INDYCAR season at only age 23. When you look at where you are as a driver, it’s not necessarily uncommon to see drivers like yourself get into the series at such a young age, you look at guys like Kyffin Simpson, but you already having that experience, how do you reap the benefits of having that experience that other drivers, your peers at that age, might not have had when they were 23 years old? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, I think experience is king, especially with the skill being so high from all the drivers. I think the experience is where that’s going to really come out and shine. Looking at a positive from what has been a rough previous season of mine with 2024, I’ve already been with multiple different teams and felt different setups and seen a lot of different data from all different drivers. Having that experience is what’s going to make me a better driver at the end of the day, and still being 23, my mind is still fresh for learning and trying to absorb as much information as I can to make myself a better driver. But when you look at these veteran drivers, Scott Dixon, Will Power, these guys that have been around for a long time, that experience is what comes in handy. You hit fuel codes, you hit all these numbers, they’re able to just know off the top of their head because they’ve done it for such a long time. That’s what we’re all trying to learn and trying to get better at, and obviously experience is going to be key for me. Q. When you look at where David Malukas was in 2022 compared to where you are now, what would you tell your younger self? How do you think you’ve grown as a driver, and what advice do you think you’d give your younger self as a driver when you were just breaking into the series? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, I mean, it’s definitely patience, if I would tell something to my younger self. It would definitely be patience. When you’re a young driver, you want things to come quickly, get results no matter what it may be, and just seeing how these past two seasons have come out, I feel like I’ve matured 40 years in one really. It’s been a big one for me. I feel like I’m at a much better state when it comes to driving as I was when back in 2022, a lot less hotheaded and more kind of calculated when it comes to things I want to do. I’m already starting to build an understanding of how races are going to go, depending on the yellows and what situations are happening. But yeah, if there’s one word, I’d say that to have some patience. That’s definitely very key for my younger self. THE MODERATOR: Just imagine how wise you’re going to be when you’re, like, 28. DAVID MALUKAS: I know, I’m just going to be so wise. Maybe my new nickname is going to have to be Yoda. Q. One of the things I love about covering motorsports in Iowa is we’ve got the infield of dreams here. First of all, what would a win here in Iowa mean for you and for your career? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, it would be massive. It would be my first one for INDYCAR, so that would be obviously a big one. But it also would be a really good, I guess, turnaround point. We’ve been on this upward trajectory, like I’ve been saying, but when it comes to the races, things don’t really play out with the yellows, whatever it may be. So a good qualifying performance can get kind of hidden away. If we could come out with a win this weekend, that would be a big turnaround for us and make, I think, the confidence just skyrocket even higher than what it already is now. That would be fantastic. Q. Unfortunately one of the things about covering motorsports here in Iowa the past couple years is that we have to keep asking INDYCAR drivers and NASCAR drivers about the repave and what it did to the track. What do you think should be done to the track? Last year Scott Dixon talked about how when the track first opened it was pretty close, single-file kind of pack racing before it got to the place it was before this repave. What do you think should be done to it? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, from my end, I just trust whatever INDYCAR is trying to do. Obviously the repavement is outside of our hands. We have to deal with the situation. Going off of last year, things ended up being a little bit different than what they were, what they used to be. But I trust in INDYCAR, obviously this new package. Hopefully it’s going to help. They’re trying to do what they can. So we’ll have to go out there, and hopefully things are going to be a little bit more toward what they used to be at Iowa. Q. Despite being the shortest track on the calendar at .875 miles, the Iowa Speedway runs a lot like the superspeedway. Given how you did so great at the Indy 500 and at Gateway, do you feel like it gives you a good baseline heading into this weekend? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, of course. We’ve had some good results when it comes to the ovals, just even before ovals have kind of been my spiel. I’ve kind of understood them a little bit more when it comes to the driving perspective, and there’s a lot more opportunity when the races start to play out. I think with a combination of, like you said, the results that we’ve been having and the good performances on top of this new package that INDYCAR is coming about, hopefully we can use all of that to look forward and go forward come Iowa. Q. What are your hopes for this weekend given your performance at ovals? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, obviously we want to continue this qualifying performance that we’ve been having, to be more on the top half. So as long as we can get through that, then it comes down to having good consistency in these races, making sure no mistakes from our end, have a consistent race, get a good result because I feel like our qualifying performances we’ve been there but kind of missing out here and there, these little kind of finite things that happen and kind of spiral us into losing a few spots. As long as we can keep up there, that will be a happy weekend for me. Q. What TikTok trend or social media trend sums up your feelings heading into this weekend? DAVID MALUKAS: Oh, boy. I think it’s that Aura Farming video with the kid on the boat. That has kind of been the energy that we’ve been on. Shwartzman did an incredible job on that one. He beat us to it. Yeah, that’s definitely some of the energy that we’ll be carrying, and hopefully we can have that confidence going into the race. Q. Were you thinking that direction for a TikTok and Shwartzman beat you to it? How did that pan out? DAVID MALUKAS: So we recorded practice 1, and we were thinking, okay, we’ll just post it tomorrow, and then we do the debrief, everything, come out, and I go back into the bus and see that he’s already recorded it. So I was like, he’s kind of beaten us to it, I don’t think we should post, but content guy was like, no, it’s still okay, we’ll post it, it’s a little bit different. I was like okay, all right. They beat us to it. They did it better too. They get the props on that one. Q. Obviously Iowa Speedway is one of the shortest tracks in the tri-oval. How does it differ in terms of your approach to driving and racing around it? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, I mean, I think with Iowa actually being a short oval compared to let’s say Gateway, Gateway Turn 1 and 2, 3 and 4 have a very big differential with the way the car setup is. Iowa I feel like between 1 and 2, 3 and 4 has a more similar feeling, so the racing tends to be very different in that perspective. You end up having to be more consistent on both sides with setup. You don’t need to be making big swings in between, which helps because it’s a very short runway. By the time you’re out of Turn 2 you’re already into Turn 3. I remember my first qualifying I did in Iowa I was just getting warmed up and I remember by the time I was ready to go and do some qualifying laps, I heard on the radio they were saying checkered flag. It went by a lot quicker than I was expecting. There’s a lot of key differences that we need to take into account going into the race. Q. With INDYCAR announcing the races are going to be 275 laps this year, are you expecting any big differences coming into the race being that much longer? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, normally any changes that they make for lap counts helps with trying to create different strategies, different perspectives. I trust with INDYCAR’s perspective that things should hopefully change. So I think with the combination of that, package change, they’re clearly putting effort into making sure that Iowa comes back to being a strong race for us. I trust them. I think it will definitely be different. We’ll see what happens, and we’ll wait until that time comes. Q. This weekend is a chance to go back in the top 10 on the points between Santino, Scotty Mac and you. Can you talk a little bit about that? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, it’s a good opportunity. I feel like we’ve had a pretty good — no matter what the situation is going to be, Ohio we had some really unlucky timings with things that played out, so we only came out with a P17 but we actually managed to salvage that a little bit from the situation we were initially in. We’ve had these few races when things don’t really play out for you, you try to salvage as many points as you can, so going into Iowa, we know short ovals the results are going to be there. We can be higher up. We just need to make sure that in these races we can have clean pit stops. That’s always a big deal for these ovals, and try to secure some points. Obviously points is always key for us. We want consistency, especially at a time like this. With everything being so close, maybe making a risky pass to try to go for some short-term success through a long-term perspective might go into play for a few passes. Q. We spoke about the drivers’ physical condition, but how important is it, no scratch on the car on Saturday because the second race will be 20 hours after the checkered flag. DAVID MALUKAS: It’s going to be — yeah, I was actually already just talking with my trainer trying to figure out a recovery plan. It’s going to be a very tight turnaround. The races are going to be longer. This package is probably going to be even heavier on the wheel. It’s going to be a very tough challenge for all of us physically. I think a lot of the preparation that we did in the off-season into this season, I think a lot of it’s going to come down to this weekend. It’s going to be our toughest weekend by far, I’m pretty sure, and it’s going to be hot on top of all of it. So you’re having the trifecta of it — it’s going to be a tough race for sure. All the training we’ve prepared for, it’s going to come down to this. Q. The last one is a friendly reminder; how will be the qualifying lap 1 to the great race 1 and lap 2 the Sunday grid? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, I think for the way this package is going to be and how short the oval is, tires pretty much come in right away. And having that short lap count, the tires end up being the same by the time the run is over. So consistency is going to be key between the two laps. I don’t think if you push so hard on the first lap that the second lap could slow down. I think people are going to be full push to two laps and securing those good lap times for the races. Q. David, you talked about your success at ovals. Is there anything specific about Iowa that caters to your driving style? DAVID MALUKAS: Hmm, I mean, I wouldn’t say anything too specific. I think more of the perspective of short ovals. I think for me, it’s always been, I like to say, a game of chess. When do you want to attack, when do you want to be defending. I think with Iowa always being more of an enticement of trying to push and make these runs, I think it can prefer a little bit more of my driving style of maybe not taking the attack initially, playing it a little bit more safe, and letting the guys ahead waste their tire life to where we can attack more later on. That could come into play when it comes for Iowa. But that’s a little bit of a stretch. I wouldn’t say there’s anything specific. Q. Team Penske has showed much success at Iowa in the past. Is there anything you can take away from this technical partnership heading into this race weekend? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, yeah, of course, for the partnership and just Foyt in general, I think the success has always been there for Iowa, so I’m very excited to see how that short oval car is going to be comparing when it comes to Iowa and we get there and see. But it definitely feels good going into Iowa knowing we’re going to have a pretty good car. Q. David, with over halfway done with the season, to this point do you think you’ve overexceeded your original expectations for the season? DAVID MALUKAS: Have I overextended? Well, when it comes to the 500 I would say so for sure. That 500, going into that month of May, I wasn’t expecting, especially missing out from the previous season. I don’t think halfway through that month realizing that the car that the Foyt team has given me, I knew, okay, this is actually a good opportunity for us to be up there. They’ve given me a rocketship here. That one was a big excitement. But I think when I look long-term from the season, it kind of went to how I was planning, being a little bit more trying to figure out our path in the first half. Once the month of May came around and we had that full month, confidence builds up and we understand what we need from the car, we can use that to start working on our setup and making sure that the car has better performances for the second half. I feel like that trend has followed to what I expected. Q. Your best finish here at Iowa is eighth. What really makes Iowa more challenging compared to some of the other ovals which you really exceed at overall in the season? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, I just think with it being such a short oval and before the repave, after the repave, it’s a chaotic race. Like I said, it’s one of those races you go into it, green flag starts, you do one pit cycle, and you don’t know what position you’re in, what’s going on, who’s in front, who’s behind. You’re just enjoying it, just going round and round. With all that chaos going on, to go on top of it and try to be pushing forward and making these moves, it gets tough. I think that’s why for Iowa no matter how hard you push, it’s going to come down to the wire for making sure that we can get a good result out of it. Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, what is your confidence level, specifically with the new package INDYCAR is bringing to hopefully help with the product that we see this weekend at Iowa? DAVID MALUKAS: I mean, it’s tough for me to say. We didn’t do the test with everybody else, so we’re kind of going into it with really big question marks. But yeah, I mean, I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m very 50/50. We’ll see if INDYCAR can do it. Obviously, like I said, we didn’t get any testing, so it’s hard for me to put any perspective on it. We’re going to be going into it blind. Q. It seems that this first half of the season for you has been the best of your career, but the second one looks to be even better. Four ovals coming up. You love ovals; you have done amazingly in the past at the Toronto street circuit. Now that you are a few points shy of the top 10, now that you have this great first season, how do you see finishing the rest of the season? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, that’s a good question there. I think the second half of the season is going to be more of our stronger suit. Going off of even last year, I didn’t really start driving the last season until right around this period. I went into Laguna, Mid-Ohio, now we’re going into races that I’m only one year behind like everybody else. We’ve had good results in the past. We have a very good street course car that I think we’ve done a good job finding. Short ovals is something that I’ve always enjoyed, found success in. Our car is very good. Like I said, the last check box we really need to figure out is Laguna Seca, our road course car, so that’s something we’ll be focused on to make sure that we can get that right. So I’m very excited to see the progress that we can make from that perspective. But for the rest of the other races, we’re looking for a lot more consistency up there. I think the second half is going to be a very good finishing for us. Q. I was thinking during this press conference, something Dave remarked on is the fact that you don’t have a lot of time to rest, that you have a very busy schedule right now, and there is a very important part of the season with five races in four weeks starting from Mid-Ohio. How challenging is the fact that you have to manage these weeks, not just only in the racing aspect but also in the mental aspect and in your life aspect? How demanding, how challenging is that part of the season, and how important is it to get the consistency in that part of the season? DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, good question. It’s very easy to kind of get overrun with thoughts. Just even going off of Mid-Ohio, I just left the shop this morning trying to figure out strategies of what we can do when it comes to the post event at Mid-Ohio, how things went, and looking forward to Laguna. But now we kind of need to put that on hold, switch up and get ready for Iowa because that’s coming up here in the next few days. There’s a lot of different aspects that we need to figure out from the mental aspect and from the mental side and even physical. I feel like with my trainer there’s been more talks of how to recover than how to train this next month, especially with all the heat. It’s a new perspective on things, and we’re trying to make sure we can capitalize because I think the better you can capitalize on the off days you’re going to be better on the on days when you’re racing. I think the biggest shout-out goes out to the crew members of all teams. Those guys are — we still get to be a little bit spoiled and get to just relax, recover, say we’re athletes and go into the sauna, cold plunge, and okay, yeah, but this is my recovery. Those guys, they worked their butts off all weekend, and then they go to the shop, flip the car around nonstop, have a little bit of food here and there, and jump back to the next race. Those guys are nonstop on it. Yeah, it’s going to be a tough month for us and the team. Big shout-out to everybody involved. Q. Speaking of the season, we’ve seen an incredible performance from Alex Palou, who is the leader of the championship, a clear leader of the championship. How motivating is it for a driver to see a driver who excels from the rest of the drivers and to get to a level that Alex has right now? Also you had the opportunity to race against him in the Indy 500, to try to win the Indy 500 this year. DAVID MALUKAS: Yeah, when it comes to being competitive in any aspect, if that’s sports, when it comes to commercial products for consumers, if you make a product and there’s just one company owning that product, it’s not going to really excel forward. Competition is always good. It makes everybody better and it raises the whole field up. So to be able to race with Palou when he’s at this peak of racing that is kind of just smoking the field in a field that’s already so strong and so powerful, he’s just making everybody else better. The amount of things that I learned just being with him the entire race when it comes to the 500 was massive, and at the age of 23 I can take a lot of that knowledge into making myself better and pushing forward. I think that’s happening from the entire field as a whole. Everybody is studying it. Everybody is trying to close that gap on him. Obviously he’s been doing an incredible job this season, pulling far away from the rest of the pack. All it’s going to do is just make our competition that much better, which is insane to say because I do truly think this INDYCAR paddock is the best of the best it’s been. Man, it’s crazy to be competitive here. Q. With so many back-to-back races this month, what’s your secret to stay focused and performing at your best? DAVID MALUKAS: Well, with a combination of my trainer and the mental coach, there’s a lot really that we’ve been doing from a recovery aspect. Pretty much doing everything that we can when it comes to resting from a physical standpoint, making sure that we can be fully recovered in the next few days, and hydration. It’s not that you just drink water before the race and some electrolytes and you’ll be good to go. A lot of your electrolytes and body absorption starts a few days even earlier, so doing a lot when it comes to that side of things. And from a mental aspect, trying to be able to not think about the previous race that much. It’s already hard that let’s say you’ve had a bad race, bad races tend to stick with you a little bit harder. It’s always hard to move on from that perspective. So I think that’s the big challenges, within the next few days, between all these races, if we have a bad one, if a mishap happens, to make sure we can do a full reset, don’t think about the past, don’t let the past race influence this race coming up, make sure we can be fully recharged, reset and go out there and give our 110 percent performance for the next one.

July 9, 2025

Newton, IA
Saturday July 12 at 4 PM CT / 5 PM ET & Sunday July 13 at 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET
Live on Fox

What to Watch for at Iowa Speedway

• Eleven would be heaven, and we’d like 12 for ourselves: Honda has gone 10 for 10 so far in the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. 10 races in a row in a single season is an IndyCar record since the series returned to multi-manufacturer competition in 2012. Honda is looking for a first win at Iowa since 2018 when James Hinchcliffe took victory, marking his sixth IndyCar win. Honda currently leads rival Chevrolet by 214 points in the manufacturers’ points, 915-701.
• Three’s company: All 10 races this year have been won by just three drivers—with Alex Palou scoring victory at St. Petersburg, Thermal, Barber, the Indy GP, the Indianapolis 500 and Road America; Kyle Kirkwood took wins at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Detroit Grand Prix and World Wide Technology Raceway; and Scott Dixon broke through last Sunday to add his name to the list of winners with a stellar fuel mileage victory at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport. Palou currently leads Kirkwood by 113 points in the drivers’ championship standings, while Dixon’s win moves him up to fourth, 148 behind Palou.
• Double the races, double the fun: The Sukup INDYCAR Race Weekend is the only doubleheader race weekend on the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, and presents a unique challenge for the teams and drivers. Saturday’s Synk 275 goes green after 4 PM CT / 5 PM ET, while Sunday’s Farm to Finish 275 is in the early afternoon (12 PM CT / 1 PM ET). The schedule gives teams a very small window to rebound from any potential issues from race one to race two.

2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Honda Lineup

Andretti Global	#26 Colton Herta (W)
	#27 Kyle Kirkwood (W)
	#28 Marcus Ericsson (I) (W)
Chip Ganassi Racing	#8 Kyffin Simpson
	#9 Scott Dixon (C) (I) (W)
	#10 Alex Palou (C) (I) (W)
Dale Coyne Racing	#18 Rinus VeeKay (W)
	#51 Jacob Abel (R)
Meyer Shank Racing	#60 Felix Rosenqvist (W)
	#66 Marcus Armstrong
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	#15 Graham Rahal (W)
	#30 Devlin DeFrancesco
	#45 Louis Foster (R)

C—Series Champion I—Indianapolis 500 winner W—Race Winner R—Series Rookie

Where to Watch

• Saturday’s Synk 275 will air live on Fox at 4 PM CT / 5 PM ET.
• Sunday’s Farm to Finish 275 airs live at 12 PM CT / 1 PM ET, also on Fox.
• Friday’s practice will air on FS2, while Saturday’s qualifications can be found on FS1.

Corvettes look to extend strong history of success at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park DETROIT (July 9, 2025) – In the long and storied history of Corvette Racing, no single racetrack has witnessed more success for the program than venerable Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The track just to the east of Toronto has been the backdrop for 13 Corvette class victories dating back to 2001. The 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit – formerly Mosport International Raceway – is the backdrop for what Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams hope is another winning weekend during the Chevrolet Grand Prix. This year’s race – in which the Corvette GT3 car scored its first win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – features four Corvette entries across the two GT classes: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in GTD PRO along with AWA and DXDT Racing in GTD.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports (GTD PRO)·       No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims·       No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg

CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFORMATION Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of this weekend’s IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix and the FIA WEC’s Six Hours of Sāo Paulo.  Materials include Corvette Racing event advances and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, factory driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.

All 13 victories for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing at CTMP have come from the Pratt Miller-run team, including last year’s dominating weekend for Garcia – now a three-time winner there – and Sims. The pair led a 1-2 finish as Sims claimed pole position and set the fastest race lap along the way. Garcia and Sims also come into this weekend with additional momentum from four podium finishes in five races and the GTD PRO championship lead. Along with a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen for the No. 3 Corvette, Milner and Catsburg recorded their best finish of the season in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R – fourth place in class and just missing the podium. The duo was the closest challenger to the sister car at CTMP a year ago. Milner is a past class-winner at the track with Corvette Racing, and Catsburg made his first start at the circuit last year. AWA (GTD)·       No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani AWA’s Fidani and Bell aim to make up for last year’s race at CTMP, where a collision forced the No. 13 Corvette out of last year’s Chevrolet Grand Prix. This time around, the team will contest its home race in the special Canadian-themed livery that proved immensely popular last month at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to posting a solid result in its home race, AWA hopes to use the CTMP round to bolster its chances in claiming a second consecutive Bob Akin Award for Fidani. The honor goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD and was AWA’s ticket to Le Mans after winning the season-long championship in 2024. AWA also has given the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its only IMSA win this year at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. DXDT Racing (GTD)·       No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Alec Udell, Robert WickensThe Chevrolet Grand Prix marks Robert Wickens’ return to DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette that is equipped with the newest generation of Bosch’s electronic braking system. Wickens made his high-profile debut in the Corvette and in the WeatherTech Championship at Long Beach and also competed at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.  A two-time winner at CTMP in Michelin Pilot Challenge, Wickens rejoins Alec Udell in the DXDT Corvette following a near-miss at Watkins Glen. Udell qualified on the GTD front row for the second year in a row, and the team challenged for the class win until a mechanical issue sidelined the No. 36 Corvette with 10 minutes to go. The Chevrolet Grand Prix is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. The race will air live on USA from 2 to 5 p.m. with full streaming coverage on Peacock inside the U.S. and IMSA.com outside the U.S. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER PRE-EVENT QUOTESANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I think we can challenge for the win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. I don’t know if we will have enough or not but we will definitely go for it. We just need to wait and see what we actually have. We’ll do what we always do and go as fast as we can with whatever we have. We’ll try to find our weak spots and especially where we might be ahead of our competition so we can take advantage of that. We just need to play things smart again and see what this race brings.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Honestly I enjoy every single event in IMSA, but this is really the sweet spot in terms of hitting awesome tracks week after week. Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is up there with the absolute best of the tracks in North America for me personally. I love it there. It’s where we were able to put it on pole and win last year, and it would be amazing if we could do the same again this time around. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s realistic or not.“These are the standout tracks and why I want to come and race in IMSA. It’s a really nice part of the year. CTMP also is important in this phase to maximize each race and keep the championship challenge going. But from that point of view it’s about focusing on every single race. We’ll focus on the moment and enjoy what we’re doing.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This is the real meat of our schedule. Watkins Glen obviously set off a nice sequence of just classic North American road courses. Next for us is Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, which is consistently my answer for whenever I’m asked what is my favorite racetrack. It just has all the right characteristics, all the right rhythm and flow and challenge and everything that you want in a racetrack. It’s a lot of fun, especially these days in these GT3 cars. We’ve been successful there. I think it really suits the Corvette. It’s a place where the fast-flowing, high-speed nature of the track really is this car’s sweet spot. I’m hoping that that continues to stay true. We’ve seen all last year and still this year that we struggle a little bit in straight-line speed but hopefully we have just enough to keep anybody behind us if we are toward the front. But yeah… just love racing there. The fans there are great, as always, real diehard sports car racing fans. It’s just a big challenge – one that I think every lap, you kind of hold your breath in a couple places, and that’s what makes it fun.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I got to discover CTMP for the first time last year, and the track is just incredible. It’s another of the classic North American tracks that I really enjoy. I would say that it lived up to my expectations last year with the fast corners, elevation changes and a really nice flow. Certainly we were fast there last year in the Corvette which is encouraging. The team obviously knows the track really well and has a lot of wins and experience. So all that makes me pretty confident going into the weekend. We had what I would say was a decent result at Watkins Glen so let’s see if we can make the improvements we need to be higher up the order.”

MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is one of my favorite tracks from anywhere in the world, and we’ve been eagerly waiting to race there again! I’m really looking forward to the team’s home race and to bringing back the fan-favorite livery from Le Mans. We felt we had a very strong car at CTMP last year, so I’m confident we’ll be competitive. Hopefully we’ll be able to bring the Canadian-flagged Corvette Z06 GT3.R over the line with a strong result in front of a great crowd.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “This race means so much to the whole team. CTMP is an extremely special place for me, it’s where this whole journey began and it’s very sentimental to be able to compete at my home track in front of friends and family. After seeing the massive amount of support we received in Le Mans, we knew we had to bring back the red livery for the Canadian crowd. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car and we’ll be doing everything we can to put on a good show and get a great result here.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m excited to return to a sprint format together with Robert in the DXDT Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It’s a race on home turf for him, and it’s been a good place for the Corvettes in the past. It feels like we’ve got a lot of positive momentum coming into the race, so I can’t wait to get on track and give all Robert’s supporters up there, and our DXDT team, an effort to root for!”

ROBERT WICKENS, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I couldn’t be more excited about being a part of the headline race, driving a Corvette Z06 GT3.R at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It’s a big race for myself, as well as my team, DXDT Racing. We feel like a podium is just around the corner, and there is no place I would rather achieve that than at home at CTMP. The Corvette has always been a fan favorite. Ron Fellows put Corvette Racing on the map in Canada with all of his success with Pratt Miller. Ron has had a huge influence on CTMP and on my career. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to from a very young age, and he’s helped me, and other Canadian drivers progress from karts to cars. Now to return and drive a Corvette just like Ron has done for so many years holds a special place for me.”

2025 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PointsGTD PRO Drivers Standings1. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 16322. Klaus Bachler/Laurin Heinrich – 15803. Albert Costa – 15184. Mike Rockenfeller/Sebastian Priaulx – 15175. Dan Harper/Max Hesse – 15107. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 1372 GTD PRO Teams Standings1. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 16322. No. 77 AO Racing – 15803. No. 81 DragonSpeed – 15184. No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports – 15175. No. 48 Paul Miller Racing – 15107. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 1372 GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings1. Chevrolet – 16682. BMW – 16383. Porsche – 16264. Ford – 16245. Ferrari – 1565 GTD Drivers Standings1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 15502. Casper Stevenson – 14903. Jack Hawksworth/Parker Thompson – 14744. Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer – 13625. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 13298. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 122020. Alec Udell – 816 GTD Teams Standings1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 15502. No. 27 Heart of Racing Team – 14903. No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing – 14744. No. 120 Wright Motorsports – 13625. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 13297. No. 13 AWA – 122013. No. 36 DXDT Racing – 999 GTD Manufacturers Standings1. Mercedes-AMG – 17342. Lexus – 15773. Aston Martin – 15714. Porsche – 15585. Ferrari – 15546. Chevrolet – 1434 CORVETTE RACING AT CTMP: By the Numbers• 4: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at CTMP since 2000 – Corvette C5-R (2004), Corvette C6.R (2005-13) and Corvette C7.R (2016-2019). The Corvette C8.R raced at the track for the first time in 2002• 8: Pole positions for Corvette Racing drivers at CTMP. Oliver Gavin leads with three with Alexander Sims (2024) being the most recent• 8: Number of drivers who have won races at CTMP for Corvette Racing. Johnny O’Connell (six), Jan Magnussen (five), Oliver Gavin (four), Ron Fellows and Antonio Garcia (three), and Olivier Beretta (two) each have multiple wins there with the team. Alexander Sims scored his first Corvette win at the circuit in 2024• 13: Class victories at Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – all since 2001• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 31: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Chang International Circuit (Thailand), Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Imola, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 38: Number of drivers to win races in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list were Charlie Eastwood, Rui Andrade and Hiroshi Koizumi at Imola in ELMS• 70: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. The latest to join the list was Ben Green in GT World Challenge Asia for Johor Motorsports Racing at Mandalika (Indonesia)• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 145: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC, 12 in GT World Challenge America and two GT World Challenge Asia• 334: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999 (as of the IMSA event at Watkins Glen)• 12,248.28: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 21 previous trips to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. That represents 4,981 laps• 441,296.99: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles Corvette Racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (wins in bold)2000 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 2nd in GTS (Fellows pole, fastest race lap) 2001 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 3rd in GTS 2002 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins – 2nd in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap) 2003 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins – 7th in GTS (Gavin pole) 2004 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2005 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GT1 2006 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell – 4th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 2007 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap)No. 33 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GT1 2008 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 (O’Connell pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 2nd in GT1 (Beretta fastest race lap) 2009 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell – 1st in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin – 3rd in GT2 2010 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Johnny O’Connell – 5th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GT2 2011 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner – 6th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT 2012 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 10th in GT 2013 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GT 2014 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM 2015 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2016 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTLM (Garcia pole)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2nd in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM 2018 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 3rd in GTLM 2019 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLM 2022 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTD PRO 2023 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTD PRO 2024 – No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims – 1st in GTD PRO (Sims pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg – 2nd in GTD PRONo. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani – 13th in GTD (DNF-crash)

MEDARYVILLE, IN — July 8, 2025 — First start. First win.

Zack Mitchell entered Tuesday night wondering how he fared with the competitors of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.

Leaving the 30-lap Feature at Shadyhill Speedway, the Enoree, SC driver can now call himself the Hell Tour winner for the first time after a dominant performance in the Hoosier State.

Mitchell and Colin Shipley led the field to the green flag, with Mitchell taking the lead off the top side of Turns 3-4 to take command on the opening circuit.

Mitchell held a one-second advantage until he approached the tail end of the lapped traffic, allowing Shipley, Trey Mills, and Rusty Schlenk to join the fight for the lead.

Stuck in traffic, Mitchell held a slight buffer of 0.5 seconds over Shipley until Mills forced his way around Shipley by pushing him up the track in Turn 4.

The resulting contact kept the No. 46 stuck to the top side, then spun across the frontstretch with a flat right rear tire on Lap 28, setting up a last-gasp effort from Mills and Schlenk towards the end.

While the two drivers chased down Mitchell on the three-lap dash, they were the first to witness the Coltman Farms Racing No. 57 Longhorn Chassis cross the finish line as the 118th different winner of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Mitchell also becomes the first driver from South Carolina to win on the tour.

“It feels really good,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think I had that on my bingo card for tonight, but we put together a good night. A solid night put ourselves in position to do this. I know the racetrack kinda rubbered up, but I had a really good piece all night long.” 

Leaving the Week 5 opener, Jason Feger holds a 65-point gap over Tyler Erb entering the final five races of the 2025 season.

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals visit Montpelier Motor Speedway for the final Indiana visit of 2025 on Wednesday night, July 9.

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

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Zack Mitchell[2]; 2. 14JR-Trey Mills[3]; 3. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 4. 55-Eli Johnson[6]; 5. 75-Dillon McCowan[8]; 6. 5-Mark Whitener[10]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[5]; 8. 25F-Jason Feger[7]; 9. 41-Mike Vandermark Jr[12]; 10. 89-Mike Spatola[9]; 11. 1-Tyler Erb[16]; 12. 17SS-Brenden Smith[18]; 13. 17SR-Brody Smith[14]; 14. 31M-Tyler Millwood[19]; 15. 1G-Devin Gilpin[13]; 16. LIL91-Carter Schlenk[11]; 17. 29-Christian Hanger[22]; 18. 06-Jake Rendel[20]; 19. 07-Rylee Knoll[17]; 20. 38-Thomas Hunziker[21]; 21. 46-Colin Shipley[1]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[15]

Curt Spalding Secures Third Summit Modifieds Triumph at Shadyhill, First Since 2021

Never give up.

While Curt Spalding dealt with troubles that saw him swap out haulers, and questioned his and son Tyler Spalding’s arrival at Shadyhill Speedway on Tuesday, the Watervliet, MI driver left with his third career DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals trophy in hand.

Wheatfield, IN’s Nick Allen and Spalding led the field to the opening green flag, with Allen securing the top spot on the bottom before a multi-car pileup on Lap 2 involved several drivers inside the top-10.

Allen held the lead on the restart, while Spalding stayed glued to his back bumper throughout the first half of the 25-lap Feature.

Spalding stayed within striking distance of Allen’s No. 21A, but could not find any room to create an opportunity for a pass around him as third-place runner Tyler Nicely placed heat on Spalding’s No. 5 Lethal Chassis.

A caution with three laps to go gave Spalding one last chance at snagging the win away from Allen. Spalding carried more speed into the restart than Allen, as the two went side-by-side for the lead. Spalding slid under Allen through Turns 1-2 to take the race lead while Allen lost a right rear tire that took him out of the Feature.

Spalding nailed the restart over Nicely by jumping out to a one-second lead as he scored his first Summit Modified Nationals win of 2025 at the Indiana racetrack, and his first since Fairbury Speedway in 2021.

“Well, I was pretty frustrated,” Spalding said. “The first couple of restarts, I had Nick (Allen) beat. But, that’s what you call never giving up. I just kept dialing breaks, and that was my only shot, right? He knew I wasn’t gonna go in there and blast him out or anything like that. We just dragged race down in there, and we got it done.”

Up Next: The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals visit Montpelier Motor Speedway for the final Indiana visit of 2025 on Wednesday night, July 9.

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

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[2]; 2. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[4]; 4. 4-Michael Ledford[6]; 5. 7-Brad Deyoung[8]; 6. 27-Beau DeYoung[10]; 7. 28M-Frank Marshall[15]; 8. 9R-Garrett Rons[20]; 9. 28-Mason Lobb[17]; 10. 757-Bradley Jameson[9]; 11. 25B-Greg Belyea[14]; 12. 51T-Tim Walter[21]; 13. (DNF) 21A-Nick Allen[1]; 14. (DNF) 23B-Ethan Boomsma[13]; 15. (DNF) 1TS-Tyler Spalding[5]; 16. (DNF) 14-Dalton Lane[22]; 17. (DNF) 0-Garrett Jameson[7]; 18. (DNF) 75-Daniel Adam[11]; 19. (DNF) 15-Chris Kittle[12]; 20. (DNF) 25S-Jake Straka[16]; 21. (DNF) 35-David Stremme[18]; 22. (DNS) 45H-Chase Holland

As the NDA is lifted, we can proudly share with you the epic events of the past seven days. SB Motorsport undertook a huge task to deliver an activation for Lando Norris and the Monster Energy team.

With the Festival of Speed looming, we weren’t sure if this activation would even be possible. A wrap and a de-wrap alone would normally be tight on time. However, FLS rose to the challenge, adapting Lando’s livery to fit the iconic lines of the Liberty Walk-kitted GTR, all while Baggsy was committed to his scheduled events in Europe and the team at SB base camp handled the logistics.

The premise of the week was to create pre-content through London ahead of the Grand Prix, with Lando himself doing a burnout to close the edit. Three days of 3:00 AM call times in London, managing the logistics of transporting the GTR on a MAN military truck, along with a fleet of Monster Energy vehicles, was no small task. Every member of the team rallied together to ensure the GTR was maintained and performed flawlessly when needed. Many of the locations only allowed for a single take, so credit goes to all our partners for providing us with products we can rely on with full confidence.

On Thursday morning, the GTR sat proudly above a strong army of fluorescent fans as they eagerly awaited Lando’s arrival at his merch store. Sky TV and F1 media zoomed in on the car in anticipation of the stunt. Lando, a petrolhead who owns an R32 GTR, was keen to get behind the wheel and experience 1000hp under his foot, lighting up the Tirestreets rubber on the one-off custom-forged Strom wheels. Smiles beamed as the smoke filled the cabin, and Lando asked when he could fully drift the GTR. As the flames popped and the smoke cleared, we thought we were done. The crowd erupted as Lando headed back to the paddock, but Sky TV requested another burnout with lead host Natalie Pinkham to open the F1 show. When broadcast, Baggsy and SB Motorsport had a strong presence throughout an impressive 3-minute segment, reaching over 10 million outlets.

Click here to watch the Sky F1 feature

While our usual livery wasn’t on display, we want to thank you all for your continued support. Unfortunately, the livery was mandated by Team Lando, and graphics and partner logos had to be kept off the car per McLaren’s requirements. However, the car is back today in its regular look, and we’d love you to feel as proud as we were in this project, knowing it’s our partnerships that make it possible for us to work with F1 stars and teams at a truly professional level.F1 was a minefield and a learning curve for us, teaching us much about what we could and couldn’t do, even Baggsy’s wardrobe was decided by production.Once again, a heartfelt thank you from SB Motorsport for your support. While this surprise event was out of the ordinary, we hope you’ll find a story in it and be able to connect your parts to the images attached.With less than 10 hours of sleep, Baggsy was already attending the TeamSport Karting Black Flag event in Warwickshire with the Navara, supporting the entire staff from across EMEA, just ahead of the Festival of Speed.

ENNIS, TEX. (July 8, 2025) — Today at the Texas Motorplex track owners Billy Meyer and Christie Meyer Johnson welcomed media members, social media influencers, sponsors, along with city and county officials to a specialty event at the historic track located south of Dallas. The event featured Funny Car driver Buddy Hull executing a ceremonial race-opening burnout in a special 40th anniversary-themed Funny Car, the unveiling of the throwback Stampede of Speed event logo, the introduction of the specialty “Burnout Bun” signature dessert and thoughts and insight from six NHRA personalities including world champions and Texas-based drivers.

 
“The Stampede of Speed is official off the starting line,” said Christie Meyer Johnson, following Hull’s burnout and launch to start the event. “We are thrilled to have so many significant drivers join us to share their stories leading up to the 40th NHRA Texas Fall Nationals. We are excited for people to see the new-look Stampede of Speed logo as well as the special Funny Car which will go on tour across the Metroplex to promote the Stampede of Speed and Texas Fall Nationals.”

 
Drivers from across the spectrum joined the Meyers including Texas Motorplex Legends 8-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher and 6-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson. Four Texas-strong drivers were also in attendance including 6-time Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders, 4-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence, Hull and Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey, who grew up racing at Texas Motorplex.

 (from left) Texas Motorplex PR rep Elon Werner talks to Steve Torrence and Erica Enders about their significant wins at the Texas Fall Nationals, photo credit Werner Communications

“It was a real thrill to make the ceremonial burnout to get the Stampede of Speed and NHRA Texas Fall Nationals started,” said Hull, who races on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series for famed Jim Dunn Racing. “To be able to have a Stampede of Speed themed Funny Car do a burnout and then go on tour is cool and I don’t think any other track has done anything like this. I have a ton of memories from racing at Texas Motorplex in my Top Fuel dragster and Funny Car. I have raced in the Texas Invitational and the Street Car Shootout as well as the Texas Fall Nationals as part of the Stampede of Speed.”