Alex Palou scores first NTT INDYCAR SERIES win at Barber Motorsports Park
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing win Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola
Jeff Procter, Honda Off-Road Racing Team score win in San Felipe 250

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 18, 2021) – Alex Palou completed a “Hat Trick” of international racing victories for Honda today by claiming his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Palou’s win at Barber Motorsports Park completed the weekend sweep for Honda, which included wins by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull Racing Honda in the Formula One race at Imola, Italy; and the Jeff Procter-led Honda Off-Road Racing Team claiming the Class 7 victory in the SCORE International San Felipe 250 in Baja, Mexico.

Starting third in today’s season-opening, 90-lap contest, Palou was flawless in claiming victory in just his 15th INDYCAR start, and his first with Chip Ganassi Racing. At the checkers, Palou held off former series champion Will Power by four-tenths of a second to claim the win, with his Ganassi teammate and defending series champion Scott Dixon, third.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Results
1st Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
3rd Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
7th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
8th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
9th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
10th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
11th Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
15th Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
19th Jimmie Johnson-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
17th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda
22nd Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
24th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship (unofficial, after 1 of 17 rounds)
Honda 90 pts
Chevrolet 73

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship (unofficial, after 1 of 17 rounds)

1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 53 pts.
2. Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet 41
3. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 35
4. Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 34
5. Sebastien Bourdais, A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 31

Quotes
Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) started 3rd, finished 1st, first career NTT INDYCAR SERIES win in his 15th race start. “We knew we’re with the best team, and had a great car today. So we knew a win was possible. Everyone on the team did an amazing job. The team was telling me on the radio ‘keep doing what you’re doing’. It was one of those days when everything went well. We had good fuel mileage, good tire management and good pace. This team is amazing. Honda gave us a great engine. Honda and Chip Ganassi Racing, what else can I ask for?”

Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda) started 7th, finished 10th in his INDYCAR debut, top rookie race finish: “What a day! My first race in INDYCAR, and my first top-10 result. We can be very happy with that. We fought for a long time with the top four, and we did our best. There’s a lot that we learned today, so we’ll move on to St. Pete and keep working to improve. I still need to get used to rolling starts [as used in INDYCAR, Formula One uses a standing start], but it was a lot of fun!”

David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama: “It was a good day for Honda Power here in Alabama. A big ‘thank you’ to the amazing team at HPD, who worked tirelessly to provide the best possible performance for our teams. It was particularly rewarding to see our colleagues here from Alabama, who manufacturer rugged vehicles such as the Pilot, Passport and HPD Ridgeline. A big thanks to our teams, who all raced well, and a big hug to race winner Alex Palou, who drove simply outstanding all day to record his first INDYCAR victory. We all extremely proud to represent Honda in what was a great weekend of racing for the company.”

Fast Facts
Honda takes the initial lead in the 2021 INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship with an unofficial total of 90 points to 73 for rival Chevrolet. Honda is seeking the company’s fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in 2021.
Alex Palou also takes the early-season lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings, with 53 points to 41 for Team Penske’s Will Power. Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, defending and six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, is third with 35 points.
Seven wins in 2020 brought Honda the company’s ninth INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship, and third consecutive title, with Honda driver Scott Dixon prevailing to win his sixth Drivers’ Championship, highest among all active drivers in the series.

Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES now heads southeast to Florida for next weekend’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, April 23-25.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from Barber Motorsports Park can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race Winner Quote LAST WEEK, ALEX BOWMAN WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST CARS AND IT ENDED IN HEARTBREAK FOR YOU GUYS. YOU COME BACK AND YOU SEAL THE DEAL TODAY, AFTER OVERCOMING A PIT ROAD PENALTY. HOW DID YOU GUYS OVERCOME THAT?“We just had a great race car; it’s as simple as that. Greg Ives (Crew Chief) and all the guys, they have to deal with me at short tracks and I drive these places really wrong. We kind of instead of trying to make me figure it out, we went to work on getting the race car where I needed it to be. Greg has done such an amazing job at making that happen.”
“First and foremost, got to thank Ally and Chevrolet; everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. This one is for Rowdy and his family. Miss him and Blakley every day. Just means the world to be able to win for Ally. It’s definitely emotional, obviously, with how hard the off-season was on us. Appreciative for the opportunity and we have more races to win this year.” HE’S TALKING ABOUT HIS PIT CREW MEMBER THAT LOST HIS LIFE IN THE OFF-SEASON. LET’S GO BACK TO THE END OF THIS RACE. YOU’RE BATTLING TWO GUYS THAT, COMBINED, HAVE WON IT FIVE TIMES. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AT THAT MOMENT?“To be honest with you, we were terrible on short runs. We restarted third and I’m like man, if we get out of here with a solid top-five, we’ll be good. We’ve overcome a lot today. I don’t know if Greg pumped the pressures way up or what he did, but that’s more grip than I’ve ever had in a race car at Richmond and it worked out really well. Getting to race a guy like Denny (Hamlin) at a place that this is really cool. I feel like we raced each other really clean, so I’m appreciative of that. It means a lot.”

Series Champions Discuss This Weekend’s Bristol Throwdown

BRISTOL, TN – April 18, 2021 – There’s Eldora, Knoxville, Williams Grove, Port Royal, Bulls Gap, and many more, but nothing is quite like Bristol Motor Speedway.

For the first time in 20 years, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is returning to race at The Last Great Colosseum, and it all goes down this weekend with the Bristol Throwdown on Thursday to Saturday, April 22-24. Fan can BUY TICKETS HERE.

Before the highly-anticipated show kicks off on Thursday night with an evening of practice, we heard from two World of Outlaws champions on what they’re expecting. Here’s what Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet had to say…

“I was a lot younger back then,” Schatz said. “I remember the atmosphere was just incredible. Being inside a stadium like that, the colosseum is an accurate name. I had never seen so many people at a dirt race in my life. It’s hard to put into words what the banking and the speed looks like until you see it with your own two eyes; the camera does it no justice.”

While Schatz is a World of Outlaws winner on the Bristol half-mile, Sweet will be making his first laps in a Sprint Car.

“It’s exciting from a standpoint that we never get to race in venues quite that large,” Sweet mentioned. “You also feel like you’re going to see a huge crowd due to the anticipation of waiting 20 years. On the drivers side, it’s a bigger, more banked half-mile so you’re a little nervous. Once we get there and practice, we’ll feel good about it hopefully.”

When asked for comparisons to the Tennessee speed plant, both focused on Eldora, but offered up another analogy as well.

“Eldora is probably the closest comparison, or Bulls Gap in Tennessee has some massive banking as well,” Schatz offered. Sweet concurred: “Eldora has pretty good banking and it’s obviously fast, but Port Royal up in Pennsylvania has similar type length of straightaway. But as far as length, banking, and unknowns of red dirt, this will be a different animal.”

One of the most talked about subjects of Sprint Cars at Bristol is the raw speed. Schatz weighed in on that.

“Sprint Cars are a lot more notorious for the overall average speed,” Schatz noted. “I think the average was like 151 MPH, but that was 20 years ago and now we have better motors, better shocks, and everything is better in today’s age. I don’t think there’s any question that the speeds are gonna be up there. If I remember right the top speed on straightaways was like 168 MPH last time.”

For Sweet, he’s had the benefit of leaning on his brother-in-law Kyle Larson. He’s raced both Late Models and NASCAR on the dirt half-mile, and will make his season-debut with the World of Outlaws this weekend.

“I’ve been talking to Kyle [Larson] a good bit,” Sweet said. “He kind of made us all feel a little bit better going into it. He said once the track slicks up, it feels a lot more like a normal race track. That was reassuring.”

Practice is something the World of Outlaws don’t see often, so they’re taking advantage of Thursday’s session.

“Obviously we’ll use Thursday as an important practice day,” Schatz agreed. “We’ll have plenty of things to change be it aero, durability, engine, and a lot of other things to fine tune. The tire situation is also going to be crucial. All we can do is make a determination from there. We can’t speculate how it’s going to race until we actually hit the track.”

Sweet agreed the practice day is something new, but something appreciated.

“This is what we do for a living,” Sweet insisted. “We do this night-in and night-out. We don’t know the speeds we’re up against, though, and how the parts, tires, etc. will withstand it. Normally, we’ve got hot laps, qualifying, and we’re racing. The practice day will hopefully give us more time to process everything. We’re bringing our strongest, most durable stuff.”

With last week’s rain out, Bristol Motor Speedway could be the site of Schatz’s 300th career World of Outlaws win.

“The bigger tracks do seem to be more suiting to our situation and where we’re at right now,” Schatz  mentioned on the half-miles. “I just want to get over that hump. I know a lot of our partners at Sage Fruit, Ford Performance, Carquest, Advanced Auto Parts, and more are going to be there. I would love to get it done with them in attendance.”

For Sweet, a five-time winner in 2021, he knows the competition will be as stout as ever at Bristol.

“I know he’s having a down year, but I always regard Donny as my toughest competition,” Sweet said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that are getting better like Logan Schuchart, he’s been unreal on the half-miles the past few years. Sheldon Haudenschild has been much more consistent and developed a lot as a driver. You’ve got David Gravel, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, and so many more. Plus Kyle Larson will be with us this weekend, and all of the other outsiders. I feel like this Series is as strong as ever.

This week’s festivals at Bristol include practice night on Thursday, a $10,000-to-win program on Friday, and a $25,000-to-win finale on Saturday. Fans can BUY TICKETS HERE to this can’t miss event.

Fans unable to make it to the track can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

Hagerstown, MD (April 17, 2021) – Tim McCreadie became the ninth different winner of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series this season. He made a dramatic last lap pass on Ricky Thornton Jr. to win the Red Nininger Tribute Race on Saturday Night at Hagerstown Speedway. McCreadie crossed the line .424 seconds ahead of Thornton, who suffered the heartbreak of leading 49 of 50 laps only to come up short of his second LOLMDS win of the season. Jonathan Davenport, who started 16th charged the field to finish in third. Gregg Satterlee finished fourth and Tyler Erb rounded out the top five. Thornton grabbed the lead at the start of the race with McCreadie in second. The first 26 laps of the race went caution-free. Just as the leaders were starting to race in heavy traffic, fourth place running Matt Cosner slowed on the frontstretch with smoke billowing out of his car. Late in the race, the lead dwindled for Thornton. McCreadie dove to the inside heading into turn one on the bottom and fired better than Thrornton off of turn two for the pass, for a thrilling victory. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 23rd time in his career, McCreadie also became the 12th different winner in 13 appearances at Hagerstown. “I had nothing to lose on that last lap and rolled the dice to go for the win. I am sure Ricky feels terrible. He probably had a better car and he didn’t have to move that much. I had to spend a lot of the race diving into this corner and that. Another lap and it might have been all three of us reversed and JD might have won.” Thornton finished second in his debut at the half-mile speedplant. “I could hear him [McCreadie] more than anything. I kind of screwed up a little bit, and I got too close to Devin [Moran]. It’s just part of the growing process as a driver. Congrats to Tim! It’s tough to lose on the last lap, but we have got really good equipment. This is a three-year old car that Hudson [O’Neal] drove.” Davenport came into the night on a 2-race win streak but came home in third. “They had a little harder left rear tires on than we did. Once we got rolling there it made me lose at the end. I tried to roll the outside and my tire just got overheated. I probably needed a caution with about ten to go.” The winner’s Donald and Gena Bradsher/Paylor Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Bilstein Shocks, New Point Lighting and Design, D&E Marine, Racing for Heroes, and The Aesthetic Haus.  Completing the top ten were Josh Richards, Tyler Bare, Chris Ferguson, Kyle Bronson, and Hudson O’Neal. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Nininger TributeSaturday, April 17, 2021Hagerstown Speedway – Hagerstown, MD Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Kyle Larson / 17.680 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Shane Clanton / 17.700 seconds  Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 24-Dylan Yoder[3]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 3. 14-Josh Richards[5]; 4. 22F-Chris Ferguson[2]; 5. 71-Hudson O’Neal[7]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[9]; 7. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 8. 32-Travis Stickley[10]; 9. 94M-Jason Miller[8]; 10. 112-Brandon Little[11]; 11. (DNS) 6-Kyle Larson Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 22-Gregg Satterlee[2]; 2. 66C-Matt Cosner[1]; 3. 2D-Dan Stone[4]; 4. 43A-Tyler Bare[3]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[8]; 6. 4-Gary Stuhler[6]; 7. 7R-Ross Robinson[5]; 8. 48-Colton Flinner[7]; 9. 17-Nick Dickson[9]; 10. 17T-Tim Vance[10] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[3]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[4]; 4. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 5. 72-Michael Norris[5]; 6. 72C-Jason Covert[6]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[9]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar[7]; 9. 1K-Pancho Lawler[8]; 10. (DNS) 0G-Deshawn Gingerich; 11. (DNS) 6J-Jamie Lathroum Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[2]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert[6]; 3. 0H-Dale Hollidge[1]; 4. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 5. 9-Devin Moran[7]; 6. 10-Jared Miley[8]; 7. 41-Justin Weaver[9]; 8. 20F-Trever Feathers[5]; 9. 4S-Danny Snyder[10]; 10. 32J-Shaun Jones[4] LINE-X B-Main #1 Running Order (8 Laps to go Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 2S-Stormy Scott[2]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 4-Gary Stuhler[4]; 5. 48-Colton Flinner[8]; 6. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 7. 7R-Ross Robinson[6]; 8. 32-Travis Stickley[7]; 9. 17-Nick Dickson[10]; 10. 17T-Tim Vance[12]; 11. 112-Brandon Little[11]; 12. 94M-Jason Miller[9]; 13. (DNS) 6-Kyle Larson UNOH B-Main #2 Line Up (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[2]; 2. 72-Michael Norris[1]; 3. 72C-Jason Covert[3]; 4. 10-Jared Miley[4]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[5]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[7]; 7. 20F-Trever Feathers[8]; 8. 1K-Pancho Lawler[9]; 9. 4S-Danny Snyder[10]; 10. 41-Justin Weaver[6]; 11. (DNS) 0G-Deshawn Gingerich; 12. (DNS) 32J-Shaun Jones; 13. (DNS) 6J-Jamie Lathroum

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

Race StatisticsEntrants: 42Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton Jr. (Laps 1 – 49); Tim McCreadie (Lap 50)Wrisco Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts CJC – Presented by DirtOnDirt Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 0.424 secondsStop Tech Brakes Cautions: Matt Cosner (Lap 26)Series Provisionals: Brandon Sheppard, Mike MarlarFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: Earl Pearson Jr.Track Provisionals: Gary StuhlerBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Tim McCreadie, Ricky Thornton Jr, Jonathan DavenportPenske Shocks Top 5: Tim McCreadie, Ricky Thornton Jr, Jonathan Davenport, Gregg Satterlee, Tyler ErbOptima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Jonathan Davenport (Advanced 13 Positions) Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Hudson O’NealHot Rod Processing Most Laps Led: Ricky Thornton Jr. (49 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Tyler ErbEibach Springs Rookie of the Race: n/aDirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Ricky Thornton Jr. (Lap #18.636 –  seconds)Fast Shafts Tough Break of the Race: Matt CosnerOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Philip Snellen (Tim McCreadie)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Cornett Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Mike Marlar (17.955 seconds)Time of Race: 23 minutes 23 second

LAS VEGAS (April 17, 2021) – There was nothing but improvement for the John Force Racing teams on day two of the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Brittany Force and her Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster and Robert Hight and his Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car took the top spots in their respective categories and John Force with his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Camaro landed in the No. 2 position.  After overpowering the track on the lone run of Friday, Brittany Force and the Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team saw the most improvement for John Force Racing. Their 3.766-second pass at 325.53 mph moved them nine spots into No. 2, just behind reigning and three-time world champ Steve Torrence. To cap off qualifying, Force and her David Grubnic and Mac Savage led Flav-R-Pac team blasted to a 3.732-second pass at 320.66 mph to steal the No. 1 qualifying position, the 21st of her career, second at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and first at the spring event. “We made big jumps on our runs today. First No. 1 qualifier of the season for this Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team. We are pumped to be here in Vegas. [Crew chiefs] David Grubnic and Mac Savage said they were going to hall ass on that run, said they were going to step it up. And we did just that,” said Force who collected six bonus qualifying points. “Obviously tomorrow we are focused now on winning. We put today behind us, move into tomorrow and go after a win. That’s our primary focus. “I have lots of confidence in this team,” continued Force. “Returning with the entire Flav-R-Pac / Monster Energy team that we had from 2019 and beginning of 2020, I think, speaks a lot for itself. It shows how much loyalty this team has for John Force Racing and they stood by us and we returned together and we’re stronger than ever.” Force will begin eliminations facing off against Antron Brown and Justin Ashely. With only 15 Top Fuel cars entered into the event their quad has one bye. Coming into the day already in the No. 1 position, Hight and the Auto Club team bettered their Friday night performance with a 3.918-second pass at 325.77 mph during the final quad of the second session. In their last run of qualifying, Hight completed his sweep with another stand-out run of 3.882-seconds and 331.85 mph to ensure his 69th career No. 1 qualifier, seventh at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fifth at the spring event and first in the four-wide format. The team’s speed was also quickest of the event and only one of two teams who reached the 330-mph mark, the other was team owner John Force. “[Crew chief] Jimmy Prock basically called every single run we’ve made here this weekend at the Las Vegas Four Wide Nationals. He and [crew chief] Chris Cunningham really have this Auto Club Chevy working great. You know, in the last year we took off I don’t think there was a day that these guys didn’t look at the computer and think about what they could do to make this car better and the results are right here,” said Hight who earned nine bonus qualifying points. “We have to go three rounds tomorrow and I think we are in a good position to do that.” Hight will race against Cruz Pedregon, J.R. Todd, and Jonnie Lindberg in his first quad of eliminations on Sunday. He will be chasing his first four-wide win at The Strip but his fourth at the spring event and sixth overall at the facility. Already with a strong performance on Friday evening, John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM team jumped one spot from No. 3 to No. 2 with their Q2 run of 3.936-seconds at 325.22 mph. Wrapping up their qualifying efforts, the 16-time champion’s Chevrolet Camaro stayed consistent with their improvement powering to a 3.898-second pass at 330.72 mph to secure the No. 2 qualifying spot. “Well I thought I could get low in this PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy, it rattled a little bit but got through it and ran .89-seconds. Of course, Robert went .88, expected. I was excited to see Brittany go low with Flav-R-Pac. It’s good for us, makes us feel strong for being gone for a year. But tomorrow is an all-new ball game, and it’s four wide,” Force said. “PEAK / BlueDEF, Auto Club, Flav-R-Pac, Monster, Chevy, all of our sponsors, I want to thank you for sticking by us through the hard times. We’re back to doing some drag racing and we’re going to get back to winning.” Chasing his 152nd NHRA victory, Force will start eliminations running against Matt Hagan, Blake Alexander, and Chris Morel. Eliminations at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will kick off at noon PT on Sunday. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.

CHEVROLET RACING IN THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA POWERED BY AM FIRST BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA QUALIFYING RECAP APRIL 17, 2021 Chevrolet earns 100th pole as O’Ward rises to the top BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 17, 2021) – Chevrolet earned its 100th pole start in 150 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races since returning to engine manufacturer competition in 2012 as Pato O’Ward rose to the top of the field in qualifications for the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
O’Ward, 21, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 05.8479 seconds in the six-minute Firestone Fast Six session to claim his second NTT P1 Award. In the second knockout qualifying session, O’Ward reset the track record on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course that was repaved in 2019 with a lap of 1:05.5019. The event was not held in 2020 because of COVID-19. 
“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped,” said O’Ward, who will be making his 23rd NTT INDYCAR SERIES start. “We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires), and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole.
“It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.”
Looking ahead to the 90-lap/214.2-mile race, Chevrolet drivers have won 21 times when starting from the pole since 2012. Will Power with nine leads the way.
Power, a two-time winner of the event, qualified fourth with a best lap of 1:06.1186 in the Firestone Fast Six driving the No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske Chevrolet. Teammate and two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified eighth. He is the only three-time winner of the race. 
Conor Daly, competing at the racetrack for the first time since 2017, qualified 10th in the No. 20 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing.
NBC will telecast the 90-lap/214.2-mile race at 3 p.m. ET April 18. The race will also be broadcast live on INDYCAR Radio Network affiliates, Sirius 211, XM 205, Indycar.com, and on the INDYCAR Mobile app powered by NTT DATA.Team Chevy qualifiers:1st       Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP4th       Will Power, No. 12 Verizon 5G Team Penske8t         Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske10th      Conor Daly, No. 20 U.S. Air Force Ed Carpenter Racing12th     Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 PPG Team Penske14th     Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Sonax/Autogeek Ed Carpenter Racing15th      Simon Pagenaud, No. 22 Menards Team Penske16th      Sebastien Bourdais, No. 14 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing22^nd      Dalton Kellett, No. 4 K-Line Insulators USA AJ Foyt Racing23rd     Felix Rosenqvist, No. 7 Vuse Arrow McLaren SP DRIVER QUOTES:PATO O’WARD, NO. 5 ARROW MCLAREN SP CHEVROLET — POLE WINNER:WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIFYING?“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires) and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole. It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.” THIS HAS TO MEAN A LOT TO BOTH YOU AND THIS TEAM. YOU ARE THE FOCAL POINT OF IT.“Oh man, these guys deserve it. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season. We had great testing and now it was time to put it to the work. Zak Brown, Ric Peterson and Sam (Schmidt) are here; all the big guys are here. What a better place to try and put it on the pole, which we achieved that now. Man, I am so happy for them. I’m happy for myself, It’s the best view that you can get into Turn 1 tomorrow and let’s go win this race, man. We’re hungry. We’re really hungry and I love this place. I love this place to death. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT SUITS YOU SO WELL?“Ah, cojones! (laughs). Yeah, it takes big ones to throw down a lap around this place. But man, it feels good when you nail it.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON 5G TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 4^TH:“Hey guys, I just completed qualifying, and we made it to the Fast Six, and we qualified fourth. Obviously, it’s a very tight field and very tough to get though each round; but we probably didn’t quite have the tire strategy in the Fast Six. Maybe we should have waited and done two laps at the end. But I’m pretty happy with the Fast Six. There are a lot of quick guys there and I look forward to a good day tomorrow.” SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 12^TH. CONTENDING FOR ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR:“Unbelievable to get back in the PPG Chevy in full-on race conditions. Coming to a track I know, I tested here twice, gave me with some bit of confidence. Came here with a really good car. Jonathan my engineer gave me a really good car felt like a pretty good car initially. Picked my way through practice one and two. It felt really strong for qualifying and our goal was to make it to the second round and the top-12, and we did that. Probably not so proud of my Q2 run. Probably not the best run of my life, but, to get our first goal for 2021 is good for this whole group, and we can build on it from there. Looking forward to a good race tomorrow” 

Alexander Rossi qualifies second for season-opening NTT INDYCAR SERIES race
Honda drivers claim four of the top six starting positions
Chip Ganassi Racing places three Honda drivers in the top six

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 17, 2021) – Alexander Rossi led the way for Honda today in qualifying for Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, opening round in the 17-race 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Advancing through all three rounds of “knockout” qualifying, Rossi set his best time, second overall, on his penultimate lap in the “Firestone Fast Six” final round to claim the outside front row starting position for tomorrow’s 90-lap contest.

Making his first start for Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou will start his Honda from the inside of the second row, third; and defending and six-time series champion Scott Dixon starts fifth. Marcus Ericsson qualified sixth in another Ganassi Honda.

Former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean just missed making the final qualifying round in his INDYCAR debut, and will start seventh in his Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda. Grosjean led the three series “rookies” in the field, while Colton Herta was the sixth Honda driver to qualify in the top nine, for Andretti Autosport.

Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama Qualifying Results
2nd Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
3rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
5th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
6th Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
7th Romain Grosjean-R Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda
9th Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda
11th Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda
13th Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
17th Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda
18th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
19th Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
21st Jimmie Johnson-R Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
24th James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Honda

Quote
Romain Grosjean (Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda) qualified 7th in his INDYCAR SERIES debut: “I had a bit of traffic [on his fastest lap], but it doesn’t really matter today. I’m very proud of the boys getting me to P7. I was just thinking, Josef Newgarden [who qualified eighth] is one of the stars of the series and knows Barber very well. So, I think we can be super happy with [out-qualifying Newgarden]. I think we’ve shown the work we’ve done in [pre-season] testing worked well.”

Fast Facts
Honda is seeking the company’s fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers’ Championship in 2021.
Seven wins in 2020 brought Honda the company’s ninth INDYCAR Manufacturers’ Championship, and third consecutive title, with Honda driver Scott Dixon prevailing to win his sixth Drivers’ Championship, highest among all active drivers in the series.
Honda has been a fixture in North American open-wheel racing since 1994, and has played an active role in the growth of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as both a Manufacturers’ Championship competitor and single engine supplier, with a record that includes eight Manufacturers’ Championships. Honda’s Indy car total of 252 wins in 27 years of North American open-wheel racing – including 13 Indianapolis 500 victories since 2004 – is unmatched by any other manufacturer in the same period.
Since the return of multi-manufacturer INDYCAR competition in 2012, Honda has scored five more Indy 500 triumphs, by Dario Franchitti in 2012, Hunter-Reay in 2014, Rossi’s dramatic victory in 2016’s historic 100th race and Sato’s popular victories in 2017 and 2020. The 13 wins by Honda at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway lead all other major automobile manufacturers.

Where to Watch the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama
Sunday’s 90-lap Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama starts at 3 p.m. EDT, with live network television coverage on NBC. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC Peacock, the NBC Sports App and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from Barber Motorsports Park can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDY GP OF ALABAMA – APRIL 17-18 BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK LEEDS. ALABAMA POLE WINNER QUICK QUOTE APRIL 17, 2021
Chevrolet earns 100th pole as O’Ward rises to the topBIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 17, 2021) – Chevrolet earned its 100th pole start in 150 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races since returning to engine manufacturer competition in 2012 as Pato O’Ward rose to the top of the field in qualifications for the season-opening Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
O’Ward, 21, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, recorded a lap of 1 minute, 05.8479 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six session to claim his second Series pole. In the second knockout qualifying session, O’Ward reset the track record on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course that was repaved in 2019 with a lap of 1:05.5019.
WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALIFYING?“We made some changes after Practice 2 that helped. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season and we’re clicking. Everybody on the team is working well together and I knew exactly what time I needed to get out of the reds (alternate tires) and we just had to maintain pace on (primary) blacks because I thought we were pretty strong. We did that and we’re starting on pole. It feels good. These guys deserve it and we’ve got a race to win tomorrow. I’m really hungry and I love this place to death.”
THIS HAS TO MEAN A LOT TO BOTH YOU AND THIS TEAM. YOU ARE THE FOCAL POINT OF IT.“Oh man, these guys deserve it. We’ve been working so hard in the off-season. We had great testing and now it was time to put it to the work. Zak (Peterson) and Sam (Schmidt) are here; all the big guys are here. What a better place to try and put it on the pole, which we achieved that now. Man, I am so happy for them. I’m happy for myself, It’s the best view that you can get into Turn 1 tomorrow and let’s go win this race, man. We’re hungry. We’re really hungry and I love this place. I love this place to death. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK THAT SUITS YOU SO WELL?“Ah, cojones! (laughs). Yeah, it takes big ones to throw down a lap around this place. But man, it feels good when you nail it.”

LAS VEGAS (April 16, 2021) – Robert Hight and the Automobile Club of Southern California Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car team arrived at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and picked up right where they left off powering to the No. 1 qualifier spot. John Force and the PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM team had a strong performance landing in the No. 3 spot and Brittany Force and her Flav-R-Pac Top Fuel dragster team will head into day two of qualifying in the No. 11 position. After a month off since the NHRA Camping World Series season opening Gatornationals, Hight and his Auto Club team wasted no time asserting dominance over the Funny Car class. The three-time world championship team laid down an impressive 3.922-second pass at 327.59 mph in the final quad of Funny Car qualifying landing them solidly at the top of the pack. “I’m glad to be back in the race car. Glad that we’ll be racing a little bit more of a normal schedule because that month off was just too long, especially after a runner-up finish. I’ve thought about that final round a lot in the past month,” said Hight, who earned three bonus points. “I’m happy to be back with my Auto Club team and be able to redeem ourselves. We’re doing just that. That was a good run and we’ll look for more tomorrow.” John Force and his PEAK / BlueDEF PLATINUM Chevy Camaro didn’t miss a beat. The 16-time champion raced his way to a clean 3.954-second pass at 324.75 mph that earned the PEAK / BlueDEF team an extra bonus point for being third quickest of the session. “I love my job. Driving this PEAK / BlueDEF Chevy. We’re back racing, this is great. Bruton Smith making this happen and it’s four-wide. I tried not to think about it too much but then I got up there to the starting line and I really had to focus. You have to get your mind set right,” Force said. “I’m excited to be out here, I’ve got all my sponsors out here. Frank Tiegs who owns Flav-R-Pac will be out here with me tomorrow. It’s exciting to have all these Funny Cars, 19 Funny Cars are racing. There are people her from my past that I raced with. This is totally awesome.” In her Flav-R-Pac livery, Brittany Force and her Top Fuel team overpowered the track in their first go at The Strip ending the evening with a 5.067 pass at 133.74 mph, temporarily landing them in the No. 11 spot. “We won four-wide in 2016 in Charlotte so I’m comfortable with the set up. It’s not my favorite. Looking at a tree with four bulbs all the way across, it’s something different. You have to find your focus and know what lane you’re in,” Force said. “Q1 we struggled, we overpowered the track and it went up on smoke right before half-track. Going into tomorrow we get two runs before race day. Currently No. 11 but we will step it up.” Qualifying at the DENSO Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway continues Saturday with sessions at 1:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. PT. Eliminations will take place Sunday at noon PT. Fans can catch the action on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) Sunday at 5 p.m. PT.

Track officials hope to make the event a spectacle 

RICHMOND, KY– APRIL 16, 2021 –  It’s only April, but the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models have already seen a lot of firsts this season. There’s been two first-time winners, and the first trip to Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Another one will be checked off Friday April 23, as the Series visits Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY for the first time. It’ll be the 191st track the World of Outlaws Late Models have raced at.  

It’s also a historical moment for “The Beast of the East,” as the Series is the first National tour to race there.    

It’s something track owner and promoter Bill Lupinos is really looking forward to. 

“Having the Series at [Richmond Raceway] is just an awesome thing,” Lupinos said. “The quality of drivers, the quality of racing, having the national exposure and DIRTVision, I think it’s just fantastic.” 

Lupinos is doing what he can to make the event memorable. He’s bringing in American Idol contestant Alex Miller to sing the National Anthem, and “Ms. Motorsports” Andrea Cap. 

“We’re just trying to make it a spectacle for everyone that comes out,” Lupinos said.

While it’s the first time the World of Outlaws Late Models will race at Richmond Raceway, it’s not the first time they’ve battled in the Bluegrass State. The Series has run eight Features in Kentucky, with Rick Eckert winning more than any other driver (2). 

Current tour regulars Darrell Lanigan and Shane Clanton also have victories in Kentucky. “The Bluegrass Bandit won at Bluegrass Speedway in 2011, while Clanton’s win came at Ponderosa Speedway in 2016. 

Three-time and defending Champion Brandon Sheppard enters Richmond Raceway at the top of the Series standings, just 20 points ahead of Kyle Strickler. The New Berlin, IL driver will try to extend that lead, while still searching for his first victory of the season. It’s the longest Sheppard’s gone without winning a race to start the year.  

The Most Powerful Late Models On The Planet will run a 40-lap Feature Friday April 23 at Richmond Raceway, paying $10,000 to the winner. 

The new marquee event for the World of Outlaws will have an overall purse of nearly $200,000

BURLINGTON, WA – April 16, 2021 – Skagit Speedway’s crisp new Skagit Nationals continues to grow into one of the biggest events of the year with the track announcing Sage Fruit as the title sponsor.

The Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals, Friday to Sunday, Sept. 3-5, is a new marquee event, kicking off the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ Fall West Coast Swing with an overall purse of nearly $200,000. Friday and Saturday’s events will pay $10,000-to-win and Sunday’s finale will pay $25,000-to-win. All three nights will also pay $1,000-to-start.

“Sage Fruit has always been a big supporter of motorsports and we’re excited to have them join this exciting event,” Skagit Speedway Promoter Steve Beitler said. “Sage Fruit, which is also based in Washington, is well known for high-quality products and Skagit Speedway is known for its high-quality racing. It’s a great partnership.”

The company, based in Yakima, WA – about three hours south of Skagit Speedway in Burlington, WA – is a grower, packer and shipper of the world’s finest apples, pears and cherries. It’s been involved in motorsports for several years, including providing sponsorship for World of Outlaws teams like Kasey Kahne Racing and Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing.

When Sage Fruit heard about Beitler’s ambitions of creating a marquee event for the West Coast, it saw the Skagit Nationals as an exciting new opportunity in its own backyard, according to Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing for Sage Fruit.

“We’ve been a part of several Sprint Car events but have never been on a stage like this for a World of Outlaws event,” Sinks said. “When we heard about the Skagit Nationals, we saw it as a perfect opportunity to showcase Sage Fruit like never before and help grow the Skagit Nationals into something special. Race fans are loyal followers and great consumers of ours. This is also a way for us to give back and help support Sprint Car racing.”

Elite drivers such as two-time defending champion Brad Sweet, 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, 2019 Knoxville Nationals champion David Gravel, two-time Skagit winner Logan Schuchart and more will battle to mark their name in the history books as the first Sage Fruit Skagit Nationals winner.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE TOYOTA OWNERS 400 RICHMOND RACEWAY RICHMOND, VIRGINIA APRIL 18, 2021

RACE #9 – RICHMOND RACEWAYFor the third consecutive race, NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) drivers will compete on a short track. Richmond Raceway, a .75-mile D-shaped oval, will host the Toyota Owners 400 at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 18.
Chevrolet has amassed 38 victories on the racetrack to lead all manufacturers. In the September 2020 race, Austin Dillon finished fourth and Chase Elliott advanced seven positions from his starting spot to place fifth in his Camaro ZL1 1LE. Elliott, the reigning NCS champion, will start third in the 400-lap/300-mile race. 
The past two outings – on the .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway dirt oval and the .526-mile Martinsville Speedway oval – Chevrolet drivers have scored runner-up finishes (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Bristol and Elliott at Martinsville). Overall, Chevrolet registered five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
After a couple of weeks off, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) returns to action with the 250-lap/187-mile ToyotaCare 250 on Saturday, April 17. Reigning NCWTS champion Sheldon Creed, No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado, is third in the Driver Standings heading into the Series’ sixth race of the 2021 season.
STEADY CLIMB FOR BUSCHChevrolet driver Kurt Busch, competing in his 22nd Cup season overall, is 22 starts from 750. The driver of the No. 1 Tubi TV Camaro ZL1 1LE for Chip Ganassi Racing will tie Bobby Labonte (729) for 13th on the all-time list by taking the green flag at Richmond Raceway. Sterling Marlin currently sits 12th on the list with 748 starts. Career statistics of note for Busch: 
First start – 9/24/2000 DoverFirst pole – 9/2/2001 DarlingtonFirst win – 3/24/2002 BristolWins – 32, most recently in September 2020 at Las Vegas
Busch has won at Richmond in 2015 and 2005.
LARSON REMAINS FOURTH IN STANDINGSKyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE, is fourth in the NCS Driver Standings for the second consecutive week. With his fifth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway, Larson has recorded six top-10 finishes in the eight races. He won at Richmond Raceway in September 2017 in a Camaro.
William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 LE, is sixth and Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE, moved from ninth to seventh with the runner-up finish at Martinsville. Byron has scored six top-eight finishes in a row.
ON THE WAY TO THE GREENWith no practice or qualifying for the race, the starting lineup is determined by NASCAR’s metrics system that was introduced to the series last year and incorporates results from both individual races and season-long results. Team Chevy’s top-20 starters:3rd      Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE4th      William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1 1LE6th      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 1LE11th    Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE13th    Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Camaro ZL1 1LE14th    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Nature Valley Camaro ZL1 1LE17th    Kurt Busch, No. 1 Tubi TV Camaro ZL1 1LE18th    Ross Chastain, No. 42 McDonald’s Camaro ZL1 1LE20th    Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 1LE
CHEVY SWEEP AND FIRST WINChevrolet NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Josh Berry and Noah Gragson finished 1-2 in the 250-lap race April 10 at Martinsville Speedway. It was the inaugural win in just 13 starts in the series for the Late Model star. Driving the No. 8 Camaro SS for JR Motorsports, Berry led a field-high 95 laps on the .526-mile oval and held off teammate Gragson by .590 of a second.
Chevrolet leads the NXS Manufacturer standings. Talladega Superspeedway will host the next race for the Series on April 24.
BOWTIE BULLETS.·       Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 36 top-10 finishes.
·       Chevrolet has 797 NASCAR Cup Series wins to lead all manufacturers.
·       In addition to its 38 NCS wins at Richmond Raceway, Chevrolet has amassed 236 top-five and 487 top-10 finishes. Chevrolet drivers have led 15,382 laps.
·       Kyle Larson leads all drivers with 518 quality passes – five more than Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott in second – and in fastest laps run with 258.
·       Austin Dillon and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have completed all but two of the 2,194 laps. 
·       Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads all drivers with 799 green flag passes.
·       Chase Elliott (Daytona Road Course), William Byron (Homestead-Miami Speedway) and Kyle Larson (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway 2) have stage wins.
TUNE INFOX will telecast the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 18. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. FS1 will telecast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ToyotaCare 250 at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, April 17.
QUOTABLE QUOTESKYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 4th IN STANDINGSLARSON ON POSTING GOOD FINISHES AT RICHMOND: “Richmond is kind of a hit-or-miss track for me. Even though I have a victory and some good finishes, I haven’t had too many great runs there. It seems like there have been several times I have been average at Richmond but then come home with a top-five finish. I’m really looking forward to this weekend because we have had speed it seems like every week this year.”
CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1 1LEDANIELS ON CHALLENGES OF THE FIRST DAYTIME RACE AT RICHMOND IN SEVERAL YEARS:  “Even with cool temperatures expected Sunday that could compare to a night race, the sunlight exposure does change the way the track behaves – the way the rubber lays or doesn’t lay. The rubber typically doesn’t stack anywhere, it just smears across the track and becomes slimy and greasy. Even if the ambient temperature isn’t very high, the sunlight exposure on the track will do that. In 2015 and 2016 in the daylight, we had great runs with (former Hendrick Motorsports driver) Jimmie (Johnson) and finished top three in both of those races. So, we have a little bit of a feel for what the track does in those situations and what we need to look for to be in contention on Sunday.”
WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 6th IN STANDINGSBYRON ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RICHMOND RACEWAY: “I think Richmond is really its own beast. It’s similar to Atlanta with the surface but then you have aspects that are similar to Phoenix as well. It’s really just its own animal. It’s a very low grip track with even lower grip in the race car than it looks. Plus, it’s always a challenge to manage the throttle there. Sometimes you’re running half-throttle down the straightaway just to keep the tires under it later on in a run. It’s just a challenging place.”
BYRON ON THE RACING AT RICHMOND DURING THE DAY: “I’m interested to see what this weekend’s race will be like. Normally, we run at Richmond at night, so it’s going to be a different challenge this year racing during the day. It’s already so low on grip that you’re going to be moving around no matter what. I feel like the track is going to change a lot as the race goes on as well. It’s going to be a learning curve as the run goes on to keep up with what your car needs.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 7th IN STANDINGS“I don’t feel like Richmond is a very good track for us. It seemed like the last time we were there we were a little more solid than we have been. But like I said, it’s been a really tough track for me. It’s so hard to be great at that track. It’s really difficult to be different there because everyone is running the same line. Everyone knows how to drive the car to get around there properly. I think that’s why it’s produced good races over the years because it’s so hard to be different than the next guy and to be better. I say that and people are like, ‘Eh it’s not boring’ but just from a driver’s perspective, there’s just not a lot to it and you have to be perfect from a setup perspective and behind the wheel to be really good there.”
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 12th IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON RICHMOND RACEWAY?“Richmond Raceway is one of the tracks the No. 3 team has circled as a definite place where we can gain maximum points and compete for a win. It’s funny because there was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We ran really well there last year, and I’m excited to get back there and see what we can do this time around.”
KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 TUBI TV CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 15th IN STANDINGS“Richmond has a lot of different attitudes, about whether it’s a day race or a night race. The tires seem to be dropping-off more and more each year. The asphalt keeps aging and Goodyear keeps trying new and different combos, trying to find better side-by-side racing action. It has forced us all, it seems, to racing in the bottom groove and trying to get that drive off of the corners. The outside line just hasn’t come into play. So, each time you go there you don’t know what you’re gonna get and you have to learn, now with no practice, all that in Stage One. Lots of things to digest and analyze before we race at Richmond Raceway.”
ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 17th IN STANDINGS“Obviously, Sunday’s race was great until it wasn’t. Things out of your control can ruin a really great day, but our team is extremely pumped about how well we were running at Martinsville before the incident on track. Going into another short-track this weekend, means we have some good momentum. We have struggled at Richmond before, but had a solid top 10 run last fall at the track. This Ally team has a good notebook going into the race and Greg (Ives) keeps reminding everyone to keep your focus set forward. We can’t get back the Martinsville race, so we are going to focus forward and have a solid day on Sunday in Richmond.”
GREG IVES, CREW CHIEF, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE “We have carried some of the same philosophies from Martinsville to Richmond as far as tuning the car to Alex’s needs. You can spend so much time overhauling every set up every week and it gets exhausting. You definitely don’t learn what you need to if it doesn’t work out for the next time. I feel like the last time we were at Richmond we had a solid run, not a race winning run by any means. We were able to continuously fine tune on that. Definitely looking forward to getting there and our confidence is high on Alex’s side. I feel like we have a team capable of coming out of there with a solid day. Starting mid-20s doesn’t help and maybe not getting the best pit stop won’t help, we have to focus on the positives of what this team has been able to do. Two steps forward and four steps back, we are continuing to march forward and keep looking ahead.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT #WHATPOWERSYOU CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 21st IN STANDINGS“For me, some of the things I was able to learn from Richmond last year I didn’t really apply to Martinsville later that season, but I did bring some of those learnings back into this past week’s Martinsville race and I think that helped make a difference. As much as the tracks are different, I have a similar approach to both. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, does a really good job of giving me a car at these short tracks that I can be aggressive with at times, which is nice. Generally, though, I try to save a little bit of my tires at these tracks. My team had a really good car at Richmond last year. We had a similar situation of having to start in the back and move our way forward but had a really promising run during the final stage of our race last year. We came out right behind the leaders and were able to drive away from the pack for a while, so if we can bring some of that back and be that good all day, it’s really promising and we’ll have a shot to contend for a top five in our No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet.”
DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 CAMPING WORLD CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 23rd IN STANDINGSDO YOU LIKE RACING AT RICHMOND?“I’ve always liked racing at Richmond. I feel it’s a good track for me and I have had some pretty good results there the last several years in Cup and Xfinity. It’s a track where you really have to work hard to take care of your car all through the run because you can use it up pretty quickly. That’s important pretty much everywhere we race, but it’s especially important at Richmond.”
ERIK JONES, NO. 43 MEDALLION BANK CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 26th IN STANDINGSWHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE AT RICHMOND?“Richmond (Raceway) has kind of been an up-and-down track for me as a driver. I have had some good runs there and ran towards the front. It is always a fun track. I do really enjoy Richmond. It is a unique place. When you look at it from the outside, you think it is a typical easy short track. And then you go out there and race, and it is challenging. Richmond Raceway is one of the tougher tracks that we go to all season – between the way tires fall-off and the grip level that it has. It is always hard to get your car to drive really well there.“You have to stay with it all night. I think that is the biggest thing – to try and keep up with the race track and the adjustments that you have to make, and figure out how to get your car to just drive the best that it can.”
COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 SCHLUTER SYSTEMS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – 30th IN STANDINGS“Looking forward to getting the Schluter Systems’ Chevy Camaro on track for the first time this year. They’ve been amazing for my career over the years and I’m proud our partnership has continued over to Spire Motorsports this season. We’re headed to our third short track in a row. Judging by our performance at Martinsville last weekend, I’m confident we can put together a good day.”

CHEVROLET RACING IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES INDY GP OF ALABAMA – APRIL 17-18 BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK LEEDS. ALABAMA MARK STIELOW AND ROB BUCKNER ZOOM CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT APRIL 15, 2021
MARK STIELOW, DIRECTOR OF MOTORSPORT COMPETITION FOR INDYCAR, IMSA,NHRA (CHEVROLET AND CADILLAC) AND ROB BUCKNER, CHEVROLET RACING ENGINEERING PROGRAM MANAGER FOR INDYCAR MET WITH MEDIA VIA ZOOM AND DISCUSSED OUTLOOK FOR NEW INDYCAR SEASON STARTING WITH THIS WEEKEND AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK, THE INDY 500 AND OTHER TOPICS. ZOOM VIDEO LINK AND AUDIO LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF FULL TRANSCRIPT:
THE MODERATOR:First of all, some introductions of two people who you probably have heard of but may not have met yet, we’re going to make that right today. The first is Mark Stielow, the Director of Motorsport Competition Engineering for the INDYCAR Series, IMSA, and NHRA for Chevrolet and Cadillac. We also have Rob Buckner, the Engineering Chevrolet Program Manager for the INDYCAR Series, as well.  Mark, let’s start with you. Please talk to us about what your overall expectations and goals are for the Chevrolet INDYCAR program ahead of the opening weekend at Barber. MARK STIELOW:“I joined the team back in September and am getting up to speed. We kind of got INDYCAR racing going after the COVID-19 hibernation we did; so, I got to the last couple of races in the season and then went into the off-season. There was a lot of work done by our engine partners and our teams to get us ready for this season. And I think we’re going to have some strong teams and I think things are going to look pretty good for us this year.” Rob, it’s been a long time since we’ve been in action, but you were in Indianapolis recently for the open test. Talk with us about some of the highlights of that session and what you think we can look forward to in the opening couple of rounds. ROB BUCKNER:“Thank you everyone for taking the time to talk with us today. I know a lot of familiar faces, and miss seeing you on pit lane. We’ve been so limited. We used to do these types of things in person and now everything is a video call. Thank you for everything you have done to try to cover motorsports during COVID-19 and people not being at the track. Going into this year, it’s always great for us when we can run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Track time testing there is very limited. We had a great two days there. We’ve already run over 8500 miles on our 2021 race engines and 4900 of those came from Indianapolis. So, we really ran a lot of miles over those two days in preparation. I think we learned a lot. We’re always working with our teams. Our engine program is always looking for any opportunity to improve and we’re excited to get going.” Q&A’s:A RECENT GENERAL COMMENT BY PENSKE DRIVERS WAS THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE TORQUE OUT OF THE HONDA ENGINE OVER THE CHEVY ENGINE. WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON THAT EVEN THOUGH WE ALL KNOW THE ENGINE PERFORMANCES ARE EXTREMELY TIGHT AND EXTREMELY CLOSE? ROB BUCKNER:“Yeah, it’s interesting. The 2.2 liters have been in competition for 10 years. And I think over that time, both us and our competitors have recognized and addressed some weaknesses that we’ve had, individually. Or, sometimes we’ve got a slight advantage somewhere and they always catch up. The general thought is we’ve always had a very strong top end and they’ve always had a very strong mid-range. I think we’ve kind of converged to a very similar torque delivery but all we can control is our own power profile going into this weekend, and I think we’ve got a very robust package for Barber. To Will’s comments, the surface has a lot of grip. A lot of times at road courses we’re struggling to put power down and Barber is kind of unique in that I think this weekend, the car and the tire is going to be able to take all that the engine can give it. And that’s what we’ve been preparing to do. I think we’ll be in a pretty good place come this weekend.” YOU COVER ALL THE OTHER MAJOR RACING CIRCUITS HERE IN AMERICA, WHETHER IT BE IMSA OR NHRA OR NASCAR OR WHATEVER; WHAT DO YOU SEE AS YOURBIGGEST CHALLENGES OVERALL? MARK STIELOW:“The biggest challenges that we’re working on right now is you know, folks spend a lot of time on Sports Car racing. So, the GTLM class is going to converge into GT Daytona Pro. So, we’ve been working a lot on a conversion package for that. And there has been a lot of investigation, a lot of work has been done, on our end studying the LMDh proposal. LMDh is very interesting to us and there’s going to be a lot of manufacturers in that space, so we’ve been heavily looking at that. So, there’s a lot of activity going on in that space. My counterpart, Eric Warren, has got all the NASCAR stuff and with all the work going into NG7 car, and with that getting ready to launch next year, there’s a lot of activity in that space also. So, there’s going to be some exciting stuff going on in motorsports in the next few years.” ON THE CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX WEEKEND, IT’S BEEN A BIG INCONVENIENCE WITH THE RE-SCHEDULING OF EVENTS THIS PAST YEAR. RECENTLY WE’VE LEARNED DETROIT WILL BE THE TRADITIONAL IMSA/INDYCAR DOUBLEHEADER AND A HOMETOWN DEBUT ON THE CORVETTE C8.R. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT WEEKEND TO SHOWCASE GM RACING’S TECHNOLOGY WITH CADILLAC, CORVETTE, AND CHEVROLET? MARK STIELOW:“It’s always good to play on a home field. We’ll be racing in the shadow of the Ren Cen. In my previous jobs at GM, I’ve actually driven some of the parade cars down there. So, it’s nice to run that event and for us to do well. Unfortunately, our competitors won’t be showing up to race against the Corvettes, so we’ll be running exhibition only. There are some prior commitments that Porsche has that they can’t get out of, so we’ll be running the Corvette exhibition. And the Cadillacs will be there strong and INDYCAR also. It’s always a fun event. I’m hoping that COVID-19 turns around and we can have it be a well-attended event, but that’s still kind of up in the air right now.” ONE OF THE BIG QUESTIONS WE’VE GOTTEN SINCE LAST YEAR’S INDY 500 IS WILL WE HAVE CHEVY BACK, HOPEFULLY ON EQUAL TERMS; MAKING IT A TRUE QUESTION MARK AS TO HOW THE 2021 EVEN WILL PLAY OUT. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WERE ABLE TO TAKE FROM THE OPEN TEST HERE THAT MIGHT LEAD BOWTIE FANS TO HOPE AND BELIEVE THAT THERE COULD BE A REALLY HARD AND COMPETITIVE RUN HERE IN MAY THAT MIGHT LEAD INTO A REVERSAL OF FORTUNE FROM LAST YEAR’S EVENT? ROB BUCKNER:“I think so. I always joke with our group that hope is a very bad plan. So, we’ve had to really dig deep and try to look at where we missed it last year. Collectively, our groups have never worked better together when you look across the Chevrolet performance team with Ilmor and Pratt & Miller and everyone at Chevy, and then our race teams. I can’t thank them enough for all that they’ve contributed in the off-season. And we didn’t play a blame game. We just left there frustrated with our overall performance and have done everything we could since late August there to address it for this year. I think that the cars have changed enough that it’s kind of a re-set from 2020 when you look at the new aero parts that INDYCAR is introducing there. It seemed like at the test that guys could follow closer is maybe a little easier to pass with the barge boards and some of the different floor configurations that INDYCAR has come up with. But that was a pretty favorable day. It was cool and cloudy. I’m sure if we have a 95-degree sunny race day it’s still going to be really difficult. So, we’ve put a lot of emphasis on how we are going to qualify better, how are we going to get the most out of our engine package; like I said, we’ve visited every area of performance and tried to polish on everything. Our group is very detail-oriented, so I think we’re going to have a strong package.” THE END OF 2022 IS THE END OF THE CURRENT INDYCAR ENGINE REGULATIONS. YOU ARE PROBABLY WORKING RIGHT NOW ON THE NEW ENGINE CONFIGURATION. BUT FOR THIS CURRENT ENGINE, IS THERE STILL DEVELOPMENT GOING ON? ROB BUCKNER:“Yeah, we’re very fortunate to have a lot of depth and talent and motivated people. So, there’s still things we can work on in the 2.2 liter. There are some areas that are always open. And we’re running 2.4 liters now. We have our first engines on the dyno. We’re very happy with where that program is at and we’re multi-tasking. It’s very busy times for the engine program. We still have to go to the track. We’ve got to race the 2.2 liter approximately 32 to 34 more times. We’re not looking to give up anything there. And then we’ve got to have a prom debut in 2023 as well. So, the engine-side of things is flat out at the moment.” JOSEF NEWGARDEN WAS TALKING LAST MONTH ABOUT HOW THE COVID RESTRICTIONS HAVE REQUIRED THEM TO WORK SMARTER AND MORE EFFICIENT AND THAT THEY STRUGGLED WITH THAT LAST YEAR AND WEREN’T ABLE TO USE OPTIMIZATION ACROSS ALL THE CARS. FROM A CHEVROLET PERSPECTIVE, HOW ARE YOU APPROACHING THESE CHALLENGES? ROB BUCKNER:“COVID-19 has affected motorsports and everyone in the paddock kind of the same. We don’t look at it as an excuse that we have less track time because it’s the same for all the competitors. There has been a trend in the last five years that track time is reduced and you have to roll off the trailer very, very strong. If you’re completely lost Friday morning or Saturday morning, it doesn’t make that much difference. But overall, we’re all recognizing come P1, you really need to be in the window, you need to be close; and then just polish on it. Ideally, you don’t make many changes. So, the pre-event preparation, I think, circuit by circuit, how we use our DIL simulator working with teams and drivers before we ever get to the race track; all those things were already trending in this direction, and then with the COVID-19 reductions in track time, it’s really just amplified it. I don’t think anyone would have ever thought two years ago that NASCAR would only have really four practice sessions in an entire year. So, even within NASCAR, that’s the extreme; and then specific to INDYCAR, we have a reduction but not an elimination of practice. So, we still have an opportunity to learn and improve; especially at street courses where you cannot test. But Jay Frye and his group have done a great job of putting together a pretty logical plan of street courses. They’re mostly three-day events. Road courses are two days. If you really struggle at a road course you can test there in the off-season. So, I think we’re really pleased with how INDYCAR has handled this and the direction that it’s going. For us, it just amplifies the work you do before getting to the race track really matters and needs to be correct.” WHAT’S THE BREAKDOWN BETWEEN ILMOR ENGINEERING AND GM IN TERMS OF WHAT DO THEY DO AND WHAT DO YOU DO ON THE ENGINE? AND WHEN IT COMES TO THE HYBRID THAT’S COMING IN, WHO IS GOING TO DO THE HYBRID PIECE? WHO IS GOING TO INTEGRATE IT? ROB BUCKNER:“Our technical group tries really hard to not operate in silos or individual company-type thinking. So, we all work for the Chevrolet program. We’re all pulling in the same direction all the time. So, we really blur those lines. A lot of times the collaboration amongst the group has been spectacular. And even breaking down, just beyond the engine program, of bringing in the race teams to these conversations and where we want things to progress over time. So, I would like to think, internally, that Ilmor and GM are all just one engine program working together to try to have the best package we can. There are certainly strengths Ilmor has that we don’t have and vide-versa. We have some analysis and tools that as General Motors and Chevrolet is very useful. And Ilmor is a very competent, excellent engine supplier in motorsports. So, I think we try to put all that together and that makes us have an overall really good engine package.” HOW POSSIBLE IS IT TO TEST THE 2.4 LITER ENGINE WITHOUT THE HYBRID SYSTEM HOOKED UP? ARE YOU ABLE TO PUT A FIGURE ON HOW MUCH THE INCREASED DISPLACEMENT OF THE ENGINE AND HOW MUCH WOULD COME FROM THE HYBRID? MARK STIELOW:“On the hybrid-side we could emulate that. Before we get the hybrid unit, we can run some simulations on our dyno to simulate that. On the power-side of the equation, I’ll let Rob answer that. I haven’t really been in all the details of that yet.” ROB BUCKNER:“I think somewhat lost in the 2.4 liter transition is the fact that we’re going up in base boost as well. So, the easy thing is to think we’re going up roughly 10 percent in displacement. We’re going to go up 10 percent in power; but also, we’re going to start operating at 1.6 bars, the standard for street courses instead of 1.5 bar. And you put all that together with the hybrid unit, I think fans will be pleased with the power projections and where the engine programs are headed overall. To answer your question, we can’t run a 2.4 liter with a hybrid. Once you delete an alternator it is gone for good. So, I think all of us, INDYCAR, Honda, Chevrolet are all in for the hybrid unit to run the 2.4 liter is going to be required, not optional.” THE 900 HP TARGET AT INDYCAR, WHEN DO YOU THINK WE’LL SEE THE ENGINES HITTING THAT MAGIC MARK? ROB BUCKNER:“I’m not sure. I think a lot of that depends on the finalized specs of the hybrid unit, which is really INDYCAR’s area of development during this. On the engine-side, we’re just going to focus on getting all we can out of the 2.4 liter at all the various race levels of boost.” IN THE PAST YOU HAVE USED THE INDYCAR ENGINE PROGRAM TO HELP DEVELOP THINGS LIKE DIRECT INJECTION TECHNOLOGY AND TO RUN ENGINEERS THROUGH. WITH THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE IN POWERING CARS, IS THAT STILL THE MAIN PURPOSE FOR BEING PART OF A SERIES LIKE INDYCAR? MARK STEILOW:“Yeah, my counterpart, Russ O’Blenes, has the propulsion-side of motorsports, and there are a lot of young engineers in that space that learned about racing and there’s also joint development work being done both at Ilmor like Rob talked about Ilmor and GM up at Pontiac for motorsports powertrain development. So, there is still a lot of technology transferred between the two. It’s still a viable training ground for us to learn more things and for us to develop people, processes, and tools to become better. General Motors and Chevrolet are still going to keep on making internal combustion engines for a while; so, we’re going to keep on pushing it as far as we can.” I WON’T ASK ALL THE NAMES OF THE TEAMS AND ENTRIES YOU’LL BE ENGAGED WITH FOR THE INDY 500, BUT CAN YOU TELL US THE ANTICIPATED FINAL NUMBER OF CHEVY-POWERED ENTRIES? AND IF YOU ARE UN-SIGNING TEAMS OR IF THERE ARE STILL POSSIBILITIES FOR MORE TO BE HAD FOR THE MONTH OF MAY? ROB BUCKNER:“That’s a very good question given the time of year. I think that’s the most cars last week we’ve ever run at Indy during an open test which, for our group…. It’s a difficult expansion when you go from running 10 to 11 full-time cars and then I think last week we had15 and then that’s kind of an incremental step. We expect we may add another one. We’re not completely sure. But it’s getting close to crunch time, so we’re close to finalizing. For us it’s really do we have the parts and the people to do it. And if race teams put something together, we try to be good partners with our teams; and we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.” REGARDING 2023 HYBRIDIZATION AND INDYCAR, GENERAL MOTORS HAS NOT CONFIRMED ANYTHING IN REGARD TO IMSA AND LMDH, BUT BY CHANCE BOTH CLASSES WILL INDEED BE GOING HYBRID AT THE SAME TIME. AT LEAST WHILE PLANNING TO BE IN INDYCAR, CONSIDERING BEING IN IMSA, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO AS A MANUFACTURER KNOWING THAT NASCAR IS ALSO LOOKING AT HYBRIDIZATION? WHAT DO YOU DO AND HOW DO YOU TREAT ALL THESE POSSIBILITIES FOR THE PLACES WHERE YOU ARE RACING, COULD BE RACING, SWITCHING TO THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY WITH POSSIBLY EACH ONE A BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER? DO YOU WORK WITH THESE SANCTIONING BODIES AND SAY HEY, DON’T ASK US TO BUY THREE DIFFERENT ONES OF THE SAME UNIT? HOW DO YOU TREAT WHAT COULD BE THREE VERY DIFFERENT THINGS?MARK STIELOW:“Right now, all the conversations I’ve been in and everything we’ve seen, there is very little sharing between the sanctioning bodies. So yeah, in a utopian world, it would be awesome if those guys all worked together, and we could come up with a common solution. But for a lot of reasons, everybody wants their own special mousetrap. So, what I’ve seen so far is everybody is heading down a slightly different path. But that stuff seems to be changing all the time. These meeting are constantly evolving.” THERE HAS BEEN SOME TALK OR RUMORS ABOUT WHAT F-1 DOES. THEY CAPTURE MGU-H TO TAKE THE HEAT OFF THE ENGINE AND CONVERTING THAT TO ENERGY IN THE BATTERY. IS THAT ANY TALK OF DOING THAT FOR INDYCAR OR IS THAT STRICTLY A KINETIC ENERGY SYSTEM? ROB BUCKNER:“Yeah, it’s been an interesting conversation with INDYCAR because we would be the first series to run a Hybrid on an oval. So, a lot of this is very conceptual. To your point, INDY qualifying engine duty cycle is ideally 100 percent if you never lift. So, how do you get any kinetic energy from that? Other times during the race, the engine duty cycle is not 100 percent when you’re in traffic. So that does open up the possibility of the car wasting some energy there. In the end it’s an energy balance equation that INDYCAR is going to need us or going to need to tell us how that want this. It also adds a layer of complexity and cost that I’m not sure is the right fit for INDYCARS. So, I think we’re leaning more toward it’s going to be a kinetic recovery system primarily.” THE PUSH TO PASS WE HAVE TODAY, IS THAT COMPLETELY GOING AWAY WITH THE HYBRID? OR WILL THERE STILL BE A TURBO BOOST PUSH TO PASS IN COMBINATION WITH THE HYBRID SYSTEM?ROB BUCKNER:“The nice thing is with our boosted engines is if any point during the development and first test of the hybrid unit we need more or less power, the engine programs function on electric wastegates. So, it’s relatively easy to change the boost limitations if INDYCAR desires that. I think that. If they need us to help push with a little bit more boost, I’m sure we would easily be able to do that.” YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT YOU’VE DEVOTED A LOT OF TIME LATELY TO IMSA AND THE LMDH AND GTD-PRO. CAN YOU GIVE US AN IDEA ON WHEN GM MIGHT REACH A DECISION OR MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ON FUTURE PARTICIPATION THERE? MARK STIELOW:“I would say it would be in the next 45 days.” CONCERNING THE NEW ENGINE WITH THE HYBRID 2.4 LITER, CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE MEASUREMENTS? ROB BUCKNER:“INDYCAR and us are working around the assumption that it will be around the same size engine, physically. We’re going up in bore size but 2.4 is not a huge architecture change. Our engine is going to be all-new. I don’t know of any carryover components that we’re taking from the 2.2 liter. So, from that perspective, it’s a clean sheet design; but fitting in the same envelope, if you will.” ON THE ISSUE OF COST, IF YOU HAD TO GUESS, WHAT INCREASE WOULD THERE BE TO THE TEAMS WHEN THE HYBRID SYSTEM IS IMPLEMENTED, PER SEASON? ROB BUCKNER:“That’s pretty open-ended and not really defined at the moment as the early hardware and INDYCAR is still working through what that system is going to look like. It’s really not going to be a part of our relationship with the teams, so I’m not really familiar. I know that Jay Frye and Darren Samsum are leading that program for INDYCAR and they’re very cost-conscious; and they’ve been involving the teams in these discussions. So, we think overall, the paddock will be able to make that work. But I can’t say I know any exact figures or details as of today.”

AUSTIN, TX (April 15, 2021) — Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria will be heading to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway focused on adding one more accomplishment to her impressive record.  She will be looking for her first career four-wide national event win at a track where she has had success in the past. DeJoria celebrated victories in the desert in 2014 and 2016 at the Las Vegas NHRA Nationals before the track underwent a major reconstruction to add two additional lanes. DeJoria will be looking to keep her ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Camry Funny Car on the right track this weekend.

“I am looking forward to racing Vegas because it will be my first Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip,” said DeJoria. “I’ve had success there before but I have never won an actual four-wide race yet. My dad turned 80 this week on the 13th and he will be at the races. I would love to give him a Wally as a present.”

It has been over a year since any professional driver has tackled the unique four-wide racing format and DeJoria will be right in the thick of the competition. Her best four-wide performance was 2014 when she raced to the final quad at the Carolina Nationals. 

At the season opening Gatornationals the ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila Toyota Funny Car team qualified No. 2 on the strength of their 3.914 second pass and DeJoria advanced to the quarterfinals. In the first round she posted a 3.918 second run mirroring her best qualifying effort. The confidence in her team led by crew chiefs Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante has DeJoria thrilled to get to the second race of the season.

“Del and Nicky work so well together and they have an amazing handle on the tune-up on this Toyota Funny Car,” said DeJoria. “When I get strapped in I know I am going to have a great shot at a top qualifying spot or a round win. Having them on my team lets me focus on my job as a driver. This whole ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila team really came together down the home stretch of last season and we got off to a solid start in Gainesville. I am expecting great things this season starting in Las Vegas.”

DeJoria finished the 2020 season with five consecutive Top Five qualifying starts. No other driver can boast that consistency and she kept the streak alive with a No. 2 start at the Gatornationals this season. The ROKiT Bandero Premium Tequila team has also avoided any first round losses over the last six races with three semifinal finishes.

Qualifying for the 21st NHRA Las Vegas Nationals will begin Friday, April 16 and continue into Saturday April 17. FS1 will televise one and half hours of live qualifying coverage at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday.  Final eliminations will start on Sunday, March 18 at 3 p.m.  (ET) and will be broadcasted beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) on FS1.

NASCAR CUP SERIES RICHMOND RACEWAYTOYOTA OWNERS 400TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPTAPRIL 15, 2021 AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE, Press Conference Transcript:  JUST MOMENTS AGO, YOU UNVEILED YOUR PAINT SCHEME FOR THE NASCAR ALL-STAR RACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY; SPONSORED BY ANDY’S FROZEN CUSTARD. AUSTIN, IT’S A COOL LOOKING CAR. ALSO, YOU HAVE A COOKIE DOUGH FLAVOR THAT INCLUDES BANANA AND PEANUT BUTTER, AS WELL. WALK US THROUGH ALL THAT.“Our relationship with Andy’s Frozen Custard goes all the way back to 2015, where I met Andy. We’ve created an awesome relationship. Their family loves racing and I knew that Terry Phillips, he always had Andy’s on his dirt car. We started talking and we were able to strike up a conversation; and eventually led to putting Andy’s on my gloves. We went to Daytona; had an in-car camera and it was a great deal for not only myself, but for Andy’s. We’ve just grown this relationship. It’s what you want to do – you want to start from the ground up and build it together. I think both companies have really worked well together. Now, we’re getting the first paint scheme in a Cup race. It’s cool to bring them from my gloves all the way to a Cup race. And being the All-Star Race, we’re racing for a million dollars; I think that’s awesome. And a place where Andy’s also wanted to be at; Texas Motor Speedway, around the Texas area.”“It’s exciting. And my “3-Crete”, obviously you already called me cookie dough. You heard the story. I loved cookie dough as a kid. My couch called me that because he knew I loved it and I think it was a motivational thing to get me to work harder or something. But the banana and the peanut butter comes from my grandmother because when I’d go to my grandma’s house, it was either a banana peanut butter sandwich or the tomato. And I didn’t feel like tomatoes would go good in custard, so we just stuck with the banana peanut butter that she used to make me.” HOW DO YOU APPROACH A TRACK LIKE RICHMOND THAT ISN’T YOUR GREATEST TRACK, BUT YOU COME OUT OF MARTINSVILLE, YOU’RE PROBABLY EXCITED FOR IT. AND YOU WILL START ELEVENTH – WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?“Claire, Richmond is now like my favorite track in the world. I finished fourth last year and I’ve had three consecutive top-seven finishes. You know that’s like my best now. But it was my least favorite, I will give you that. You got that right; I sucked there at the beginning of my career. I dreaded going there. I said I wished Richmond would just not be a track anymore. And somehow, over the years, I’ve made it into a good place for us. We had a really strong run last year there and I sped on pit road in the Playoffs. So, it was what kind of locked us into that second round, was the solidifying after Darlington going to Richmond and having a good run. We really looked at everything we did last year and didn’t change a whole lot. But we went back over some things in the simulator and I think it should be a good one. Obviously, starting 11th helps. We have a good pit stall and we’re just going to go after it. We need to lock ourselves into the Playoffs or better ourselves in points this weekend.” YOUR NUMBERS ARE GOING UP, AS FAR AS YOUR AVERAGES, BECAUSE YOU’VE HAD SOME GOOD FINISHES. HOW DO YOU TURN THAT AROUND AT A TRACK? “It’s a tough place. I think at Richmond, you look at the people that run well that – there’s a lot of people that have been racing in NASCAR for a long time. A lot of the veterans do well there. I think the hardest part is learning how to adjust to that track; making the right adjustments throughout a run because it kind of just tricks you a little bit. It can because you start on a green track sometimes and rubber gets laid down. But I found something I felt like that worked for me along the line and I’ve just kind of stuck to it. Same with the setup – Justin (Alexander, Crew Chief) has done a good job of finding a setup that works for our RCR No. 3 Chevrolet. We’ll get after it.” CHASE ELLIOTT SAID YESTERDAY THAT ONE THING ABOUT THAT TRACK IS THAT EVERYBODY RUNS THE SAME THERE. YOU CAN’T FIND DIFFERENT AREAS TO RUN LIKE YOU CAN AT MARTINSVILLE AND THAT MAKES IT HARDER. DO YOU FIND IT THAT WAY?“Yeah, I think you see the middle and the top come in for a short period of time. But it kind of goes back to being the bottom being the dominate line. But I definitely think that there are things you can do to move around and find speed as the tires wear.” LAST SEPTEMBER, WITH THE WAY THESE STAGES ARE, THERE’S TWO PRETTY LONG STAGES IN THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGE. IF THEY ARE LONG, GREEN FLAG RUNS, SOME TEAMS WERE DOING ONE PIT STOP; SOME WERE DOING TWO PIT STOPS. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE WILL HAPPEN ON SUNDAY?“Looking at that strategy, it worked out for some guys; short-pitting works out. I think it puts a little more pressure on the crew chief to make a call, whether your car is going to be able to hold on for a complete run or you need to come and get tires; split it up and come down pit road twice. I think it’s really kind of based off of how good your car is in that moment. I think it’s obviously easier to take a pit stop out and run long. It’s less chance of having a catastrophic mistake on pit road; a lot of things can go wrong there. And then a caution flies when you’re on pit road, it’s double-whammy. I personally like less pit stops. But if it’s something that we have to do for the ability of our car, then we have to do it.” LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA – THE WHOLE DYANMIC OF NEEDING A TEAMMATE TO WORK WITH OR AT LEAST A MANUFACTURER TEAMMATE AND HOW THAT CAN GET ALL JUMBLED UP IF YOU GET TOWARDS THE END OR YOUR CAR HAPPENS TO WORK BETTER WITH A DRIVER OF A DIFFERENT TEAM OR MANUFACTURER. HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL THAT?“It’s definitely pretty tough to manage. The best thing about a speedway is taking a fast car and trying to keep it up front. When you get up there and keep up there, then everybody wants to work with you because they know you’ve got speed. The manufacturer stuff is really tough. I think for us, the Chevy’s have been working well together. Chase (Elliott) and I worked pretty good there at the Daytona 500. Had a chance to get up there and mixed up. But we’ve got to do a better job this time. I think the Ford’s had us covered late in that race and we’ve got to figure that out – which we lost some of our bullets early in a big wreck.” “We love Talladega. I think we’re taking our same Daytona 500 car there and we’ll see how it lines up.” YOU GUYS HAVE RACED MOST OF THE TIME AT NIGHT AT RICHMOND. HOW MUCH VALUE DO YOUR NOTES HAVE WHEN YOU’RE GOING TO RACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON?“That’s a good question. We have some day-race experience and we can look back on that stuff. Each year, NASCAR has subtly changed packages. This is the first year where we’ve had the same package back-to-back. Heat factors into every race track; the temperature. So, we’ll definitely try to make the best adjustments we can to keep up with the track. Hopefully what we have in it right now is just a good starting place and we don’t have to do a whole lot.” THERE’S TALK ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY ABOUT VACCINATIONS AND GETTING BACK TO NORMAL. IN NASCAR, ESPECIALLY WHERE YOU GUYS LIKE TO SPEND FACE-TIME WITH PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT YOU, HAVE YOU GUYS AS A TEAM COME UP WITH A STRATEGY OR IS IT ALL INDIVIDUAL? HOW ARE YOU GUYS GOING ABOUT THAT?“I think it’s mostly individual. We all want to do the best to be the safest, but I think it’s our own opinion in the direction we go from here. I think it’s individually made, but definitely want to think about the future and be as safe as possible.” GOING BACK TO RICHMOND, WHERE YOU’VE HAD SOME SUCCESS AS OF LATE. HOW DOES THAT TRACK IN PARTICULAR FIT WITH YOUR DRIVING STYLE? “In the past, it clashed I thought (laughs). But now, we have longer runs; I feel like I’m a strong guy when it comes to long runs and taking care of my tires. I do a pretty good job of that. It was definitely tough early in my career; just trying to figure out what the car wanted. I don’t think I ever went the right direction on an adjustment. But now, as things have progressed, it’s kind of come to me in a good way. It’s one of those places that match what I think I’m good at.” LEADING 55-LAPS AT RICHMOND LAST YEAR, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN THINGS THAT RCR TOOK AWAY FROM THAT RACE HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND?“Well, it was a strong presence for RCR there. It was in the Playoffs; we needed to show up. We won that first stage; kind of drove off that first stage. The second stage, I finished second with a penalty. I think I got the penalty at the end of the first stage. So, we somehow drove from dead last back up to second and led. I think we just had to short-pit and that gained some of our track position back. Brad (Keselowski) caught me with probably 10-50 laps to go; I couldn’t hold him off to win both stages.” “Hopefully, with the weather change being a day race, we make the right adjustments and are in the same position and I just don’t make a mistake like I did.” BETMGM HAS YOUR ODDS THIS WEEKEND AT 40:1. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS AN UNDERDOG ENTERING THIS WEEKEND?“I’m probably looked at as the underdog most of the time. I think in my wins, I’ve been the underdog. 40:1 is probably better than I usually get. I like sneaking up on the competition sometimes. So, when they’re sleeping on me, it’s a good thing.” WE’RE COMING UP TO A BIT OF A LANDMARK IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE; A QUARTER OF THE WAY DONE THIS WEEK. WE’VE SEEN ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF TRACK, WHICH IS UNUSAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. HOW DO YOU ASSESS RCR’S PERFORMANCE AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR, PARTICULARLY WITH YOUR NO. 3 TEAM? “I think we’ve had some really good runs this year. Coming up to that mark in the season, we’re in a good place as far as points goes. I definitely wish I could have the finish back at the (Daytona) Road Course. But you have to move on from some of those things. It’s a long season; there’s no perfect season. I feel like we need to keep adjusting and making our stuff better. When the time comes where we need to be our best, we are the best. So, we just keep doing our thing. I think we’re moving in the right direction. Obviously, our car has had speed since last year and we’ve been able to maintain some of that. There are certain places where I feel like we can get better all around. But we’re in a good spot. We could be in a way worse spot. There are some guys back there in points that are looked at as favorites and are just in a bad position. We’re in a better position than what we have been at this point in the season before.” “On the odds question, I think I was one of the best odds for the (Bristol) Dirt Race and we were absolutely terrible. So, I’m kind of glad we’re not the best odds at Richmond.” YOU’RE IN A BIT OF AN UNUAL SPOT FOR YOU, IN THAT YOU’RE ALMOST AN ELDER STATESMAN OF SORTS AT RCR FOR A CHANGE. WHEN TYLER (REDDICK) WAS STRUGGLING, WAS THERE ANY SORT OF ADVICE YOU COULD OFFER TO HIM TO HELP HIM GET BACK ON THE RIGHT TRACK?“Yeah, I think the biggest thing is just when you’re young or younger – I feel like I’m still young – is getting everything outside of your life going in the right direction because everything bleeds over into that race car. When you get in there, you’ve got to have a clear mind and really focus on what you have going on. For Tyler (Reddick), he had so much success in his Xfinity career and as soon as he got into the Cup Series, he did a great job. In the Cup Series, you’re going to have lulls and it’s how you handle them and how you bounce back from them. Luckily, you get to race every weekend and you can kind of wipe out some of those bad days. But I think he’s doing a good job. Like you said, he’s back on track. He’s been tough and it’s good to see where he was at Martinsville. I think we can use some of that when we go back to Martinsville; some of the setups and stuff they used. It’s just better for all of us at RCR when he runs well and I do, too.” YOU’VE RAN SOME OF THE BEST PAINT SCHEMES THIS SEASON. I’VE ENJOYED THE BETMGM, THE BASS PRO, AND I’VE NOTICED YOU’VE ONLY RAN THE DOW AT THE DAYTONA ROAD COURSE. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN ELABORATE ON? “Dow still has some races coming; they just kind of have races later in the season. And thank you for the shout-out on the paint schemes. I do think that RCR does the best paint schemes. As you can tell, the Andy’s Frozen Custard paint scheme looks great. We do a really good job at RCR on graphics and everybody working together to get the best we can out of our cars. I would be biased towards that, too. Bass Pro Shops – I see it on your hat there – they’re a big supporter of ours. We have the majority of our races with them (inaudible). We’re really thankful for all of our partners at RCR.”

In 177 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has scored nine wins, 38 top-five, and 72 top-10 finishes. The Welcome N.C. organization has also found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Virginia short track, capturing six wins, 32 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. Catch the Action… The NASCAR Cup Series Richmond 400 will be televised live Sunday, April 18, beginning at 3 p.m. ET on FOX and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

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Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Austin Dillon’s best NASCAR Cup Series finish at Richmond Raceway is a fourth place result he earned last fall in the NASCAR Playoffs. He also has a pair of consecutive sixth place finishes in April 2019 and September 2018. He has 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Richmond Raceway, acquiring seven top-10 finishes and one pole award. About Team Chevy… Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 75 countries with nearly 4 million cars and trucks sold in 2019. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value.  Chevrolet is Richard Childress Racing’s longest-standing partner and has been directly involved in each of the racing organization’s more than 200 victories and 16 championships. Chevrolet is the winningest brand in motorsports.  AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:What are your thoughts on Richmond Raceway?“Richmond Raceway is one of the tracks the No. 3 team has circled as a definite place where we can gain maximum points and compete for a win. It’s funny because there was a time in my career when I did not run well at Richmond at all. It was a thorn in my side, but over the years that has changed. Richmond has become a much better place than it used to be for me. We ran really well there last year, and I’m excited to get back there and see what we can do this time around.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Richmond Raceway… Tyler Reddick has one previous NASCAR Cup Series start at Richmond Raceway, finishing 11th at the track last year. Reddick also has five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 0.75-mile track, collecting one top-five and four top-10 finishes there. #WhatPowersYou… We’ve all been there, especially this year. Our batteries are running low, and we need a little more power to get the job done – whatever that job is. Everyone has someone or something that helps them recharge, get into gear and do the thing. A hike. Your pump-up song. Winning that bid. Quality time in the dirt. Caterpillar wants to know… What Powers You? Share your story on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with #WhatPowersYou and tag @CaterpillarInc. You’ll have a chance to win a $200 gift card for Cat merchandise. About Caterpillar… Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping our customers build a better world – making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2020 sales and revenues of $41.7 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle, cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our customers succeed. The company principally operates through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. TYLER REDDICK QUOTE: Last year we only raced at Richmond once in the Cup Series due to COVID-19 schedule adjustments, but your team came home with an 11th-place finish that weekend. Does that help your confidence while also coming off top-10 finish at another short track the weekend before? And are the two tracks at all similar to each other?“For me, some of the things I was able to learn from Richmond last year I didn’t really apply to Martinsville later that season, but I did bring some of those learnings back into this past week’s Martinsville race and I think that helped make a difference. As much as the tracks are different, I have a similar approach to both. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, does a really good job of giving me a car at these short tracks that I can be aggressive with at times, which is nice. Generally, though, I try to save a little bit of my tires at these tracks. My team had a really good car at Richmond last year. We had a similar situation of having to start in the back and move our way forward but had a really promising run during the final stage of our race last year. We came out right behind the leaders and were able to drive away from the pack for a while, so if we can bring some of that back and be that good all day, it’s really promising and we’ll have a shot to contend for a top five in our No. 8 Cat #WhatPowersYou Chevrolet.”

The Short Track Incident Response Program provides the same level of safety training given to crews with Formula 1, IndyCar and more CONCORD, NC – April 15, 2021 – The world watched in silence and fear as Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean and his car disappeared in a hellish dome of fire after a crash during the Bahrain Grand Prix last year. While the imagery froze onlookers, track and safety officials rushed to Grosjean’s aid.Their response was praised and hailed as a factor in Grosjean’s survival. It’s the same kind of training and response you’ll see from World of Outlaws and DIRTcar officials at every dirt racing event. And it’s the same kind of training and response Series officials hope to see from safety workers at every track they go to.The World of Outlaws and DIRTcar have partnered with ESI Equipment Inc. and the International Council of Motorsports Sciences to make racetrack and safety officials aware of the SFI accredited Short Track Incident Response Program in an effort to have those officials properly trained in how to handle any kind of race car accident.“Back in the day, there are racetracks, you’d call them and you would ask them if they had an ambulance on site. They’d say, ‘Yes,’” World of Outlaws and DIRTcar Safety Director Tyler Bachman said. “They did not lie to you. The ambulance was there. But it hadn’t been moved in seven years. So, we’ve come from that five years ago to always having an ambulance there. Now, we’re trying to get the people in those ambulances to understand the cars.“Someone on the safety crew may have never sat in a Late Model before. They might not realize there is so much sheet metal around it. Or a Big Block, they might not realize the driver sits in the middle of the car. Most of the time, if the car went for a wild ride, flipped, or hit the wall, there’s a good chance the sheet metal has folded and made for a not an easy way to get out.”The program tackles everything from putting out various types of fires to helping extricate a patient from a race car and different methods of properly flipping race cars over so the driver doesn’t sustain any further injuries. Sprint Car, Late Model and Big Block chassis are on site of each course – and they’re always looking for more used chassis to be donated, wrecked or not – so participants can see what it’s like to sit in the cars, practice getting patients out of the cars and practice where they’ll need to cut the chassis if the driver can’t get out on their own power.In a recent class with 25 participants from the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company – who serve as safety workers at Lernerville Speedway – they got to be strapped into a car, flipped over, and taught the variety of different style safety harnesses drivers where and how to undo them. Some drivers may wear a Simpson Hybrid, while others may wear a HANS device. And different models between those brands have different ways of being disconnected.“So, a safety person, if you haven’t raced you probably don’t know how to take that off,” Bachman said. “If you look at a Simpson Hybrid Pro, which a lot of our guys have, you might not know you have to pull the strings (to get it off). You could look at it for 20 minutes and not realize how to get it off. Just stuff like that. It’s really a big awareness.”Doing stuff in the fire service with vehicle rescue and car crashes… race car rescues are a lot different. You can’t just open a door. They don’t have a door. Fuels are different, too. With the Sprint Cars, you have methanol. You may run up to the car and not even know it is on fire. So that’s a big thing too.”Every official with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model, Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar took the course last year, and are certified by SFI – a non-profit organization established to issue and administer standards for the quality assurance of specialty performance and racing equipment. The crew from the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company is the latest affiliation with the Series to take the course. The goal is to have three to five courses a year, Bachman said, for tracks across the country. He’d like to eventually see every track the series race at go through the program.“I thought it was very comprehensive and really opened my eyes to how intricate extricating a driver can be,” World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers said after participating in the program last year. “I mean, who would have thought that a Sawzall with a special tipped blade was faster at cutting through a frame than the Jaws of Life. That’s only in certain situations, of course, but I would have never known. I hope we do more of this training in the future.”There are various versions of ESI’s Race Track Safety Services to accommodate a variety of series like Formula 1, IndyCar and NHRA. While the techniques may differ from series to series and track to track with each having its own idiosyncrasies, the level of training is the same throughout them all.“The information is consistent throughout whatever series we’re doing,” said John Evans, president of ESI Equipment Inc. and facilitator of the programs. “It’s like, why should a Formula 1 driver get something different than a dirt driver? Technically, they shouldn’t. You’re not going to get any different treatment on the street depending on what kind of car you drive. Whether you’re in an Audi or a Volkswagen, if you crash on the street, you’re going to get the same level of care no matter who is coming in that ambulance.“That’s kind of where our thought process is. Why should it be different? It shouldn’t be different. We should all have that same knowledge and skills and technical information that make us all good responders on the track.”In a similar program for Formula 1 safety workers, the class convinced the doctors who tail the field on the first lap to carry high-flow fire extinguishers with them. That type of extinguisher was what they used to help clear a path for Grosjean to get out of the fire, according to Evans.“That’s the kind of information and training that we are providing,” he said. “Not only in an FIA Formula 1 situation, put to people who are responding on dirt tracks.”He knows how important that is firsthand. One guy in his group faced an incident where a Sprint Car was upside down and on fire with the driver still inside. The fire department on site didn’t have the proper training or equipment to give the safety worker a clear path to the driver. He tried 16 times to get to the driver, Evans said. Fortunately, the driver survived but suffered 95% burns on his body. Those are the kinds of situations Evans knows need to be corrected at every level of racing.The Short Track Incident Response Program has been around for only a few years now but has become one of the most popular classes, according to Evans. More than 200 people have gone through the course, so far. Before teaming up with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar, the majority of trainees came from the program being put on during PRI in Indianapolis. That’s where Bachman first found out about the course and realized it was something the series needed to be a part of.Bachman has worked with the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar for nine years and has worked in the fire service since 2007. While he’s been through courses and experienced several accidents throughout his career, he said the Short Track Incident Response Program was still eye-opening.“Any class you take, from a structure fire to a car wreck class, you learn something every time,” he said. “I learned a new technique on how to get [drivers] out. There’re new boards out called med boards. We just saw them when we were down there (in Volusia for the class) and loved how they work to get a driver out of the car. So, we actually ordered one for each Series.”The same sentiment was shared by those who participated in the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company class.“A couple of the guys said to me going into this, ‘Ah, it’s going to just be another fire class. It’s just going to be another race car rescue class.’ Well, at the end of it, they all said they learned some new technique,” Bachman said. “They hadn’t realized you could do that, or they didn’t realize they could roll over a car that way. Most people who are doing this are volunteer firemen, or paid firemen, or doctors. If there’re one or two things every time that they go, ‘Wow, I never realized that or, Wow, that’s a lot quicker,’ I think this class is incredible and I wish every racetrack would do it.”Another class is being scheduled during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in November, then, next year, Bachman would like to see the expansion of several classes in each region of the country.“I think the more people that take this in our sport, in the World of Outlaws and DIRTcar racing, it will benefit our drivers that travel with us,” he said.The course is available for track owners, local rescue crews, and any other motorsports affiliated company that might benefit from it. To request a Short Track Incident Response Program at your facility, or attend a scheduled class, contact:USA: ESI Race Track Safety Services; 1-800-574-8228 | info@esiequipment.com  Canada: CMRT;  info@cmrt.ca | 905-914-0261 | 514-434-6911RELATED: In addition to the Short Track Safety Program, the World of Outlaws has worked with the Med-Star Dirt Track Rescue team for several years and will utilize their services during the World of Outlaws Bristol Throwdown at Bristol Motor Speedway, April 22-24, which features the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and Super DIRTcar Series.Led by Jay Masur, CEO and President of Med-Star Paramedic and Ambulance, Med-Star Dirt Track Rescue has more than 40 years of dirt track experience and has been commended as one of the best safety teams due to their extensive knowledge and quick response times. They regularly work with the World of Outlaws during Northern Midwest events. Along with providing rescue support at the track, like the Short Track Safety Program, they also train safety workers on the proper ways to handle a wreck and how to attend to a driver.For the full World of Outlaws Sprint Car and Late Model schedules, CLICK HERE. For the full Super DIRTcar Series schedule, CLICK HERE. And for the full schedule of DIRTcar events, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NOS Energy (Official Energy Product), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); contingency sponsors include ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, KSE Racing Products (Hard Charger Award), MSD and Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award); manufacturer sponsors include FireAde, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, and Racing Electronics.

The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), Drydene (Official Motor Oil), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing (Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider) VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, MSD, Penske Racing Shocks, Quarter Master, Slick Woody’s (Quick Time Award), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, FireAde, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, K1 Race Gear, Racing Electronics, Reliable Painting, and Rocket Chassis.

REAPING THE BENEFITS: Gustin taking first year with World of Outlaws in stride 

“The Reaper” hopes for more consistency as the Series moves closer to home

CONCORD, NC – APRIL 15, 2021 – Anytime you make your first attempt at something, there’s likely some growing pains you’ll have to deal with. 

That’s what 2021 Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Gustin is going through in his first year with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models. The Marshalltown, IA driver knows the struggles are part of a learning curve. 

“It’s a tough deal, it’s about as hard as it gets out here,” Gustin said. “We’re just taking our whooping’s one night at a time.” 

Despite those struggles, Gustin is currently 11th in the points standings, with four top-10s in his first 10 starts. It’s not something “The Reaper” expected when the year started. 

“This isn’t local racing by any means, so we didn’t really have high expectations,” Gustin said. “But at the same time we have good stuff, so we feel we can also run good.”

That feeling is something Gustin hopes to turn into better finishes as the grueling World Of Outlaws schedule continues. 

“The season has had its ups and downs so far, but hopefully it’s kind of a turning point to run more consistent with more top-10s and top-fives,” he said. 

While he hopes for more consistent finishes, Gustin hasn’t set a goal for the 2021 season. 

“We’re just out here trying to learn, we’re rookies right now so we’re just trying to do the best we can every night, and just get better,” Gustin said.

He may not have a set goal, but Gustin still has his eyes on winning Rookie of the Year. Since DIRTcar Nationals in February, he’s closed the gap on leading rookie contender Kyle Strickler. He hopes to narrow it even more with trips to the Midwest on the horizon. 

“That would be a cool accomplishment for sure, but it’s going to be tough,” Gustin said. “We gave up a lot of points at [DIRTcar Nationals], but hopefully we can get back to our neck of the woods with tracks he’s not familiar with and make up some ground.” 

One of those tracks near Gustin’s Iowa home is Mississippi Thunder Speedway. The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will visit the Fountain City, WI track for the first time on May 7-8. “The Reaper” hopes there’s another first at the Dairyland Showdown doubleheader. 

“I have a lot of laps around [Mississippi Thunder Speedway] and a lot of success. Hopefully we can get our first win there, if it doesn’t happen before that,” Gustin said.  

If that first win comes in front of his home crowd, it’ll be a good way to show how he’s fighting through the growing pains of running a full-time Series schedule.  

Gustin and the rest of The Most Powerful Late Models On The Planet return to action April 23-24 for a swing through Kentucky and Ohio.  

Friday, April 23, the Series makes its first-ever trip to Richmond Raceway in Richmond, KY. Then on Saturday, April 24, it’ll move to Brushcreek Motorsports Complex in Peebles, OH for the first time since 2006. 

Kilgore, Hackney collide in closing laps, Bellomy Hard Charger in 24th-7th drive APRIL 14, 2021 – DIRTcar eSports’ all-time winningest Dirt Street Stock driver is back. Tyler Jackson, of Rockford, IL, put it in Fairbury Speedway Victory Lane Wednesday night, winning the fourth race of the Chevy Performance Street Stock League for his fourth career victory with the League in a very rough-and-tumble Feature event. “I’m not gonna lie, it took a little longer than I would have liked it to in race #4,” Jackson told DIRTcar eSports announcer Chase Raudman in the DIRTVision post-race interview. “But the competition level is a lot higher than it was last year. It was a great race – I’m still catching my breath.” While Jackson started inside Row 2, just ahead of him was last week’s Feature winner and Street Stock bigwig, Carl Kilgore. He and his #021 took off from the pole and appeared to have the car to beat until Jackson’s car came in and took the lead just slightly past the halfway point. The two played cat-and-mouse around the virtual quarter-mile before a dramatic ride to the finish presented itself on a restart with just three laps remaining. Jackson took the inside lane for the restart and threw a big slide job on Kilgore in Turns 1-2. Kilgore, of Greenville, MS, turned it back underneath him and returned the favor in Turns 3-4, but only slightly. Jackson kept his foot in the accelerator on the very top side and retained the spot as they crossed the stripe. “That’s what won me the race,” Jackson said. “I knew I had to get a good start with him.” Two more slide jobs by Kilgore on the following lap were unsuccessful in stealing Jackson’s spot. But as he prepared for what was likely going to be a third, Kilgore received a rear bumper full of former Extreme Savage teammate, Keith Hackney. Hackney’s and Kilgore’s bumpers met at the entrance to Turn 1, sending Kilgore around, collecting several other cars. “I got into him a little bit. I apologize for that, majorly. I didn’t want to have second that way, by no means,” Hackney said after the race. As Hackney, of Calhoun, GA, drove away with the spot, several other wrecks unfolded around the track, and Kilgore was left with a 17th-place finish. Hackney was later penalized to the tail of the lead lap (21st) by League admins in post-race examination for the incident. This moved Nathan Lemons up into second and Jamie Massey into third, marking the best finishes of their DIRTcar eSports careers. The Chevy Performance Street Stock League action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 25-Tyler Jackson (3); 2. 225-Nathan Lemons (6); 3. 2-Jamie Massey (9); 4. 54-Larry Barber Jr. (7); 5. 26-Sean Stevens (13); 6. 003-Thorne Zimmerman (15); 7. 002-Clifford Bellomy (24); 8. 029-Lane Phillips (17); 9. 546-Randy Axner (16); 10. 260-Sage Luther (10); 11. 717-Bobby Rafferty (12); 12. 48-Kyle Vaughn (19); 13. 23-Brayden McMahan (18); 14. 29-Joshua Divine (23); 15. 21-Jim Reavis (14); 16. 021-Carl Kilgore (1); 17. 18-Justin Henson (21); 18. 04-Joshua Dennison (20); 19. 111-Jaron Valley (8); 20. 121-Eddie Farness (5); 21. 69-Keith Hackney (4); 22. 53-Aidan Skraha (22); 23. 077-Holden English (2); DQ. 005-Devin Ramsey (11) Hard Charger: 002-Clifford Bellomy (+17) CHAMP DEFENDS TURF: Tucker Wins in Back-to-Back Seasons with Pro Late Models at CharlotteHouser leads most laps, finishes fifth, Matjoulis rebounds with second podium Forty laps in Wednesday’s DIRTcar eSports Tour Feature at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Kendal Tucker only needed one to steal the show. In one of the most exciting finishes in DIRTcar eSports history, Tucker, the defending Tour champion and Pro Late Model race winner at Charlotte from Season 2, pulled a rabbit out of his hat in the closing laps of Wednesday’s Drydene Pro Late Model Feature and beat Alex Bergeron and Tyler Schell to the line to win his third career Tour Feature. “That was a wild one right there, to say the least,” Tucker said. Dylan Houser, of Ocala, FL, led the majority of the race on iRacing’s new dirt tire model – a total of 33 under his belt by race’s end – and maintained the lead as he came to three-to-go with Bergeron and Tucker right on his heels. Tucker, of Mt. Airy, NC, took the most advantage of Houser’s scrubbing of the outside Turn 2 wall by throwing a wicked slide job as the three dove into Turn 3. He clipped the infield tractor tire, somehow stayed with it, and raced side-by-side with Bergeron for the lead as they crossed for two-to-go. Houser jumped underneath each of them and slid his way back to the lead while Bergeron and Tucker crossed it back underneath him on the backstretch. Lead in-hand as they took the white flag, Bergeron rolled high coming out of Turn 2. Houser drifted up into him and made contact as Tucker re-entered the picture underneath them both, also banging off Houser as they entered Turn 3. A final slide job from Tucker in Turns 3-4 on them both sealed the deal as he crossed the stripe and collected $250 for the epic victory from the 10th starting spot. “No matter how far back I start, it definitely makes it a lot harder,” Tucker said. “But with these longer-distance races, it kinda bails you out if you can keep the car clean coming up through the field.” With all of the insanity between Tucker, Houser and Bergeron in the final three circuits, Tyler Schell and Blake Matjoulis had been on a mission to capitalize. Which, they did, taking advantage of further contact between Houser and Bergeron to grab third and fourth at the line. Bergeron had also made significant contact with the outside Turn 4 wall coming to the checkers. It was later determined that he scrubbed the wall through the entire corner and was therefore penalized two spots post-race for wall-riding. This awarded Schell and Matjoulis the final two podium spots and a career-best finish for Schell. The DIRTcar eSports Tour action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, with the Hoosier Racing Tire Big Block Modifieds at Lernerville Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene. Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker (10); 2. 85-Tyler Schell (16); 3. 127-Blake Matjoulis (7); 4. 12-Alex Bergeron (5); 5. 2-Dylan Houser (2); 6. 115-Boddie Parker (23); 7. 1-Jesse Enterkin (21); 8. 80-Dylan Wilson (3); 9. 17-Brett Rowles (15); 10. 48-Dylan Yeager (1); 11. 71-Keven Hebert (12); 12. 41-Logan Rumsey (18); 13. 09-Tanner Tomasi (8); 14. 717-Bobby Rafferty (20); 15. 37-Randall Carter (17); 16. 033-Richard Murtaugh (13); 17. 4-Huey Quillen (24); 18. 8-Tyler Jackson (9); 19. 13-Damian Kiefer (4); 20. 000-Kevin Dedmon (11); 21. 101-Brent Evans (22); 22. 331-Dustin Hall (14); 23. 33-Evan Seay (6); 24. 5-Nathan Waddell (19)

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First of 11 Pennsylvania Races at Lincoln (May 12) & Williams Grove (May 14-15)ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – April 14, 2021 – It’s the biggest rivalry in Sprint Car Racing: The PA Posse vs. The World of Outlaws.The greatest band of full-time drivers traveling the nation against the most prideful and passionate set of local racers. The Outlaws want to come in and steal in the loot, but the Posse take defending their porch to the next level.LINCOLN TICKETS (Wed, May 12) WILLIAMS GROVE TICKETS (Fri-Sat, May 14-15)In 2021, the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will make 11 appearances in Pennsylvania, and it all starts next month.On Wednesday, May 12, The Greatest Show on Dirt rolls into Abbottstown, PA for a one-night only event at Lincoln Speedway. Labeled the Gettysburg Clash presented by Drydene Performance Products, this $10,000-to-win mid-week special marks the 49th Outlaws / Posse soiree at Lincoln.A one-day break ensues before the Morgan Cup fires off on Friday & Saturday, May 14-15 at Williams Grove Speedway. The iconic Mechanicsburg, PA 1/2-mile will reach a milestone 220th World of Outlaws event during the finale, which offers a $17,000-to-win prize.One of the eight tracks to grace the schedule during the Outlaws’ inaugural year in 1978 and still hold races today in 2021, Lincoln’s history ranges far and wide with some holes in between. It started in year one when Steve Smith swept four shows over seven nights to shoo the Outlaws from his home turf.The Abbottstown 1/4-mile was a yearly tradition until 1999, when a 14-year dormant period began. In 2012, the track returned to Outlaw competition with a hot start for the Posse as Danny Dietrich of Gettysburg stood tall with the first two of his five-career World of Outlaws win.In 10 total dates since returning in 2012, the Posse have had the Outlaws’ number with six wins to four at Lincoln. Donny Schatz (2016), David Gravel (2017) and Sheldon Haudenschild (2020) are the only full-time Outlaws to beat the Posse of late.The competition has been stout in one month of local competition at Lincoln this year. Through seven races, six winners have risen to the occasion with Aliquippa, PA’s Tim Shaffer being the only repeat winner in the Heffner #72. Danny Dietrich, Billy Dietrich, Alan Krimes, Jim Siegel & Tim Wagaman also have wins.”We definitely take a lot of pride in defending our state,” Danny Dietrich said. “The World of Outlaws are the best in the country, but we’ve still got the best local scene of all 50 states. I think that’s why it is always so amped up when they roll into town. They want to beat us, but we want to beat them more. They bring in a little extra money and more glory, which is always nice too.”Transitioning to the Morgan Cup on May 14-15, Williams Grove Speedway will continue to stretch its advantage as the most-visited track in World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series history. Along with Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, they’re the only two tracks to host World of Outlaws events every single year since the inception of the Series in 1978.Although Outlaws Steve Kinser (38 wins), Donny Schatz (21 wins), Mark Kinser (18 wins) and Sammy Swindell (16 wins) have dominated the 1/2-mile, the Posse’s brightest have put up a strong fight including Lance Dewease (14 wins), Fred Rahmer (9 wins), Greg Hodnett (9 wins) and Don Kreitz Jr. (8 wins).For Dewease, a win in next month’s two-night Morgan Cup would prove especially meaningful if he goes winless at the half-mile until then. As of now, the 55-year-old legend from Fayetteville, PA owns 99 career wins at Williams Grove, which is good enough to be the all-time leader over Fred Rahmer (90) & Greg Hodnett (73). However, win #100 being against the Outlaws sure would be special.Of the current 15 full-time drivers, only Donny Schatz (18 wins), David Gravel (8 wins), Brock Zearfoss (1 win) and James McFadden (1 win) have World of Outlaws wins at the track.Some of the other local stars that have turned in strong performances in 2021 include winner Freddie Rahmer, Brandon Rahmer, Dylan Cisney, T.J. Stutts, Chase Dietz, and Steve Buckwalter, among others.”It’s hard to put that place into words,” Zearfoss, a native of Jonestown, PA said. “It’s just so special. I mean they’ve been racing Sprint Cars for almost a century soon. Williams Grove just has so much history, and especially with the Outlaws. I’ll never forget my first win there in 2017. Hopefully we can get another one next month.”As strong as they are, the PA Posse still went winless in 2020 against the Outlaws. They had nine chances between Lernerville, Williams Grove, Lincoln, and Port Royal, but loss all nine of them. It was the first time they were shut out on their home turf since 2008.With that as motivation, they’ll be sure to come out of the gates swinging when the 2021 chapter of Outlaws vs. Posse begins.Still a month away, Brad Sweet currently leads the World of Outlaws championship standings in pursuit of his third-straight title in the Kasey Kahne Racing, NAPA Auto Parts #49. The Big Cat is currently being chased by Sheldon Haudenschild (-92), David Gravel (-98), Carson Macedo (-110) and Logan Schuchart (-110).Fans who can’t make it to the track can catch all of the action on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.Photo – Trent Gower