IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIPnDAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA CORVETTE RACING HALFWAY REPORT JANUARY 31, 2021

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 31, 2021) – Corvette Racing continued its strong showing past the halfway point of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The pair of mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs ran first and second in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Nick Tandy ahead of Jordan Taylor entering the race’s second half. The GTLM field was in the midst of a nearly 90-minute, green-flag run as the Rolex 24 moved into the final 12 hours. Tandy, in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, led by a little more than five seconds over Taylor and the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. The pair of Corvettes led all but two laps in the first 12 hours, a testament to the development and execution by the group of six drivers, the engineering team and crew members. Tandy took over in the No. 4 Corvette after a triple-stint from Tommy Milner. The No. 4 Corvette moved into the lead on pit strategy near the nine-and-a-half-hour mark as Tandy was able to get out of the pitlane and up to speed before Taylor could come around at speed. He had taken over two laps earlier from Garcia, who finished a triple-stint of his own. Both Tandy and Taylor were in the middle of their own triples at the halfway mark before handing over to Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg, respectively.

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It’s going fairly well so far, I would say. I had my first two stints in the Corvette at Daytona, and I feel like I’m learning a lot still. Those were the first two full stints I’ve done, and I learned a lot about the evolution of the car over that stint. So we’re at the front of the field. It may look like it’s all under control, but we’re pushing hard and not leaving much on the table. We’re in the right position at the moment.”STAYING OUT FRONT: “Minimizing mistakes is the first crucial point that we need to execute properly. Beyond that, the class is so incredibly competitive despite there only being five cars on the lead lap – all five are absolutely in the hunt. It’s going to be about that… making sure we don’t make any major mistakes and keeping the car in one piece for the end.”BALANCE OF THE CAR FROM DAY TO NIGHT: “I didn’t drive in the day yet, but from the laps we did in practice I wouldn’t say things change a huge amount. The track temperature dictates what tire spec we can run. But no the car seems be reacting well to the temperatures in the night and I think the other guys were pretty happy with the Corvette in the day at the start of the race.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Things are going OK at the moment. We are fighting hard with our teammates as well as with the Ferrari and two BMWs not far behind. The cautions bunch us all up again so it will stay close all the way to the end. We are struggling with a gearbox gremlin which hasn’t become more than a nuisance yet, but it’s something we need to keep an eye on. The crew are making great pit stops, and Alexander and Nick have hardly missed a beat. We have a really good Corvette. I hope we can keep up this fight all the way to the end.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We’re doing OK. We are 1-2 in class, which is always good. And I feel like I am learning still. The first stint I did wasn’t the best one. I was struggling with car balance, but we made some changes and the second one was better. So we are still working on the car even during the race. I feel like we are making improvements. It was fun to be following Alexander for almost two hours. We did OK but we need to keep our heads cool and focus on the last couple hours of the race. For that, we need to make it there.”ON THE RACE START: “As far as I can judge, if you’re the leader then you are deciding the pace. So whatever happens behind you is not your fault. Obviously you should not slow down, but I don’t think we did. The BMW was going a bit too soon and touching the Porsche. It was very unfortunate. I don’t think it was no one’s intent to hit anyone there before the actual green flag, but these things happen in motorsport. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. I don’t think the two Corvettes were over-slowing, and I think the BMW meant to hit anyone there. It happened, so let’s focus on the race ahead of us.”STAYING OUT FRONT: “We really need to focus now on keeping our heads cool. It’s nice to be ahead now but it really doesn’t mean anything. There are going to be so many yellows and more incidents. We need to stay out of trouble and make sure we have a Corvette to be fast at the end of the race.”BALANCE OF THE CAR FROM DAY TO NIGHT: “I do feel a slight change when the temperature drops. It’s nothing huge and nothing we don’t know. We can make some small adjustments to the car to help that, so no big surprises for us.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We just keep running and changing the car. The track conditions have been changing quite a bit… the temperature, especially. We are trying to react to that. There were a few stints where the car felt good and some others where it wasn’t as good. We are still up there, which is the main thing. It’s difficult not to push and wanting to be up front, but there is a long way to go. We’ll see, but so far I think we can continue this. I don’t know what our competitors have for us in the end. They may be good, too. We’ll continue to be as clean as possible.”FUTURE CHANGES TO THE CAR: “The guys will carry on making their changes. The track will continue to develop. I don’t think it’s going to be any colder the rest of the way. We’ll continue to follow the track. I don’t know what to expect yet. I’ll probably get the sunrise stint depending on the schedule. We will see where we are then.”

Feb 1, 2021 | Featured, Rachel Meyer, Special Announcements

Randy Meyer Racing didn’t have to look far to find a new primary driver when Megan Meyer announced her retirement last year, as her sister, Rachel, has been named Megan’s replacement. Rachel will drive the newly rebranded NTK Sensors A/Fuel dragster tuned and owned by her father, Randy Meyer. 

“This is something I have always dreamt of doing with my family and I’m excited I finally get the chance,” said Rachel Meyer, a product design engineer. “I’m lucky to have bosses who will work with my work schedule and allow me to take off to go racing, as well as NGK and Lucas Oil for helping me out this upcoming season.”

NTK Sensors, the world’s largest OE oxygen sensor manufacturer, is the sister brand to NGK Spark Plugs, which served as Megan’s primary sponsor from 2018 through the end of her second NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster world championship season in 2020. 

“NGK is pleased to sponsor the Randy Meyer Racing team for the 2021 season,” said Beth Skove, General Manager-Marketing, Aftermarket Division, NGK Spark Plugs (U.S.A.) Inc. “It has been an honor to help support Randy’s team over the years, and last year was especially exciting with Megan Meyer breaking two (elapsed) time records and holding the world champion title for the second year in a row. We know Randy has a talented race team and crew, and we’re looking forward to another winning year with Randy Meyer Racing and Rachel Meyer.”

Racing on a part-time basis, Rachel won the 2020 NHRA Central Region championship on the strength of two wins and a runner-up finish. She also reached the semifinals in her second JEGS Allstars appearance. 

“Winning your first championship is something everyone dreams of and I can’t believe I finally got it done,” Meyer said. “I knew it would be hard to win one, especially with only racing part time, but thanks to my dad and crew for giving me a great, competitive car I got it done. I’m hoping one day I can win a world championship, then maybe try for a championship in other classes.”

Meyer’s 2021 schedule will be her most ambitious season yet, with 10 national events and six regional races on the itinerary. She’s chasing her first national event victory and her fifth win on the Lucas Oil Series regional level while trying to improve on a No. 11 finish in the national points standings. 

“My biggest goal is to finally get that national event win,” Meyer said. “I came close in my first-ever national event and made it to the finals, but I have never been able to get that Wally. Another goal would be placing top 10 in the national points. I came close a few times, but since I was limited to just a few national events each year it made it hard to place top 10.”

On top of racing the NTK Sensors A/Fuel dragster, Meyer also plans to continue bracket racing at local tracks like Mo-Kan Dragway, where she started the 2020 season with a win. 

“It’s going to be a hectic year working and racing full-time, as well as finishing my truck and racing it on the weekends I’m not racing the alcohol car, but I’m very excited,” Meyer said. 

Meyer, who services the clutch in addition to a number of other driver duties between rounds, will work alongside her dad and the team he’s assembled to work on Randy Meyer Racing’s A/Fuel cars. Megan will also join the team at a few races to handle media duties, while the sisters’ mom, Mary, helps out as well. 

“I would like to thank my mom, dad, and sister Megan for everything they do for me on and off the track,” Meyer said. “I couldn’t do this without any of them. I also want to thank all the crew guys who have helped me in the past – Ted, Howard, Craig, Kevin, Kris, Roy, JJ, Rob, Jeff, and Rich – for helping me at the races.”

Meyer will begin her 2021 season in the NTK Sensors dragster at the NHRA South Central division’s season opener, Feb. 26-27, at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, La.

TAMPA, FL (January 30, 2021) – Tyler Erb became the first repeat winner this season on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series tour as he won the Saturday Night finale at East Bay Raceway Park before a packed house. The 24-year-old Texas native stormed to the lead after a lap 32 caution and held off Jonathan Davenport for the win. Davenport finished .322 seconds behind Erb at the finish line. Brandon Sheppard was third, followed by Tim McCreadie, and Hudson O’Neal in the Wrisco Industries Winternationals. Sheppard led the first 13 laps of the race until Erb was able to get by him on lap 14. Erb held the point until a lap 19 restart when McCreadie took over the lead. McCreadie started to pull away from the field when a caution appeared with 32 laps scored. On the restart Erb went from third in the running order to the lead. A caution for debris on lap 35 halted the action one final time. Erb stretched his lead out over Davenport, but Davenport made it close at the end, coming to within one car length of the winner at the checkers. Erb made his way to Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 11th time in his career after starting fourth on the grid. “The top was pretty hard to run and I gave up the lead on a restart by running up there. I was like man, that could have been the race! McCreadie drove off and he was good. I really didn’t have much traction on the restarts, and I picked the top. I had a really good run on those guys, but needed a little luck. He [McCreadie] just kind of missed the bottom getting into one and I was able to get by him.” “Randall [Edwards] was showing me that my lead was getting a little close at the end, so I just tried to hit my marks. I got real wide on that last corner and hoped for the best. I just tried not to burn my stuff up.  This is the first time we ever put a different tire on here and it worked out. I am just super excited to win.”  Davenport recorded his best LOLMDS finish so far during Florida Speedweeks with his runner-up placing.  “He [Erb] was pretty good. We were reeling him in at the end and I should have moved around a little bit earlier. I thought we could get by him on the last lap. I just tried to throw a Hail Mary at him, but I came up short. We’ve got something wrong with the other car, so I didn’t want to tear this one up.” Sheppard, who ran most of the race up top came home in third. “We had a good car at the beginning of the week and then we struggled in the middle of the week. We finally got it going again here at the end. I am proud of my guys for sticking with me and working their tails off to give a fast race car. We had fun out there tonight. We got into heavy traffic when I was leading and then Terbo and McCreadie passed me. Congratulations to Terbo, he did a great job. We never got in to lapped traffic again so we could dice it up, but the cautions kept coming out.” The winner’s Eric and Kelly Brock-owned Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and is sponsored by Industrial Resourcing Group, Roberts Bee Company, First Class Septic, Go Lithium, Bazell Race Fuels, Sunoco, Keyser, Lucas Oil Products, Franklin Enterprises, KBC Graphics, Boxo, and Corey Frazier State Farm Insurance. Completing the top ten were Bobby Pierce, Boom Briggs, Brandon Overton, Josh Richards, and Ricky Thornton, Jr.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Wrisco Industries 45th Annual Winter Nationals – Presented by Lucas Oil
Saturday, January 30, 2021
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Overton / 14.544 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Sheppard / 14.644 seconds 

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[2]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[3]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 4. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 5. 12D-Doug Drown[11]; 6. 111-Steven Roberts[6]; 7. 2D-Dan Stone[5]; 8. 6B-Adam Boyd[12]; 9. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[8]; 10. 311-Ken Monahan[9]; 11. 1G-Ryan King[7]; 12. 18J-Chase Junghans[10]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 99B-Boom Briggs[4]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 6S-Blake Spencer[11]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 6. 11H-Spencer Hughes[9]; 7. 20B-Todd Brennan[8]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[10]; 9. 27J-Joe Denby[12]; 10. 2X-Devin Dixon[5]; 11. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[7]; 12. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[6]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 385-Mark Whitener[2]; 2. 14B-John Baker[3]; 3. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 4. 22-Gregg Satterlee[9]; 5. 94M-Jason Miller[7]; 6. 6T-Zack Dohm[6]; 7. 58-Ross Bailes[10]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[5]; 9. 4S-Danny Snyder[11]; 10. 00H-Wil Herrington[8]; 11. 00R-Richie Stephens[12]; 12. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 3. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 4. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[4]; 5. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 6. 51-Dean Carpenter[12]; 7. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 8. 36-Matt Irey[7]; 9. 8A-Rob Anderzack[9]; 10. 111M-Matthew Lux[10]; 11. 3W-Brennon Willard[11]; 12. 24D-Michael Brown[8]
MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 5. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[9]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[7]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 8. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 9. 14R-Jeff Roth[11]; 10. 995-Manny Falcon[10]; 11. 33-Jeff Mathews[8]; 12. (DNS) 7R-Ross Robinson
Fast Shafts Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[3]; 4. 48-Colton Flinner[4]; 5. 0E-Rick Eckert[7]; 6. 212-Josh Putnam[6]; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler[5]; 8. J8-Jadon Frame[8]; 9. C4-Freddie Carpenter[9]; 10. KB0-Kerry King[10]; 11. 29-Larry Grube[11]

LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 6S-Blake Spencer[2]; 3. 81-Jason Riggs[10]; 4. 12D-Doug Drown[3]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott[4]; 6. 2X-Devin Dixon[14]; 7. 20B-Todd Brennan[8]; 8. 2D-Dan Stone[7]; 9. 6B-Adam Boyd[9]; 10. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[18]; 11. 311-Ken Monahan[13]; 12. 27J-Joe Denby[12]; 13. 111-Steven Roberts[5]; 14. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[16]; 15. 51B-Brandon Carpenter[11]; 16. 11H-Spencer Hughes[6]; 17. (DNS) 1G-Ryan King; 18. (DNS) 18J-Chase Junghans

UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 22-Gregg Satterlee[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 6T-Zack Dohm[5]; 5. 00H-Wil Herrington[13]; 6. 58-Ross Bailes[7]; 7. 94M-Jason Miller[3]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[9]; 9. 111M-Matthew Lux[14]; 10. 36-Matt Irey[10]; 11. 3W-Brennon Willard[16]; 12. 4S-Danny Snyder[11]; 13. 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 14. 51-Dean Carpenter[6]; 15. (DNS) 8A-Rob Anderzack; 16. (DNS) 24D-Michael Brown; 17. (DNS) 20-Jimmy Owens; 18. (DNS) 00R-Richie Stephens

Wrisco Industries B-Main #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 2. 48-Colton Flinner[2]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[7]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[1]; 5. 0E-Rick Eckert[4]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler[8]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 8. 212-Josh Putnam[6]; 9. 14R-Jeff Roth[11]; 10. C4-Freddie Carpenter[12]; 11. KB0-Kerry King[14]; 12. 29-Larry Grube[16]; 13. 66C-Matt Cosner[9]; 14. J8-Jadon Frame[10]; 15. 33-Jeff Mathews[15]; 16. (DNS) 995-Manny Falcon; 17. (DNS) 7R-Ross Robinson

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA CORVETTE RACING SIX-HOUR REPORT JANUARY 30, 2021 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 30, 2021) – Corvette Racing ended the first quarter of the Rolex 24 At Daytona just as it started: first and second place in its class. Alexander Sims led Nicky Catsburg by less than two seconds as the pair of Chevrolet Corvette C8.Rs flexed their muscle in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Both Corvettes swapped the lead in the first six hours as they avoided much of the same trouble that befell other cars in the opening portion of the race. A total of 46 cars took the green flag, which saw Tommy Milner hold the lead from the GTLM pole in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette for the first 20 minutes before Antonio Garcia moved ahead in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM C8.R for the bulk of his stint.  Both Milner and Garcia drove three stints before handing over respectively to Nick Tandy and Jordan Taylor. The two Corvette teammates took turns in the lead before Tandy regained the advantage for the No. 4 Corvette team just past the four-hour mark. The two C8.Rs ran in that position through the six-hour mark.

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It was a pretty eventful start for some of the cars behind us, and we had some good racing for two or three stints. There is a long way to go, but so far the Corvette C8.R is fast and comfortable. Our guys are doing a great job in the pits so far. We need to keep all this up and see where we are in 18 hours or so.”ANY SURPRISES IN THE OPENING STINT: “I think with the P3 cars we maybe expected a little bit more trouble with them in some sense. But so far on the restarts when we’ve been close to them, it’s been hectic for sure but everyone is driving within their limits it seems like. We haven’t had too many problems. Hopefully it stays that way.”ON THE UPSHIFT GLITCH EARLY IN THE RACE: “Coming out of Turn 6 we had a false neutral with the gearbox. We had changed some procedures in the car where if that did happen to make it faster for us to get it back in gear. We’re still struggling with that so it took me a little bit longer to figure out how to get the car back in gear. Once I was able to do that, I didn’t lose too much time and I was able to close the gap again with traffic. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. It could have been worse but for sure it’s something we’ll have to keep an eye on.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “My stint was pretty much the same as Tommy. We went through every single position, I think – leading, second, third and fourth. Everything has been decent so far… no big deals. There is still quite a long way to go, and as we have seen there will be lots of mistakes out there with a lot of traffic. We need to be fast and keep track position, but we also need to be very smart, too.”ANY SURPRISES IN THE OPENING STINT: “Not really. Everything is running as we expected. GTLM is pretty close. We didn’t know how the contraction would be with LMP3. We seem to be a little bit faster. So far it hasn’t been too super difficult with them. Once the good guys in the P3s get to drive, maybe the pace will be a little bit closer. Other than that, it’s a close battle as always in GTLM and it will probably stay that way all the way through.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Generally that stint was OK. I was just sort of seeing how things were in the first stint. Definitely we are having to be careful on traffic this year with some of the new drivers and cars out there. I think we’re in a good spot right now, taking minimal risk and trying to take care of the C8.R to make sure we’re in for the fight at the end.”

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “The Corvette is great. This is the first time we really put a full stint on a set of tires in race conditions. We didn’t really know what to expect. The car is good and the tire is good. The day is a very different thing as we look ahead to tomorrow. It’s a new toy for me and it’s fun.”ON TRAFFIC: “The trouble comes when you get a certain class that comes around on a pit sequence. So you might get two or three GTDs that come out on cold tires or a couple of P3s out on cold tires, and that’s when it gets really nerve-wracking. You can kind of get stuck in there in a big group with eight or 10 cars together. So that’s something new and something to look out for. But so far it’s been pretty good.”IMPROVEMENTS FOR NEXT STINT: “We need to work a bit on how the car is over the course of a stint. So we might have one type of balance in the chassis in the beginning when the tire is fresh and then an evolution of that as the tire gets older through a stint. We can work with the engineers and try to trim the car to be more consistent over a longer run. This is something we can look for.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2021) – Corvette Racing’s No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg won the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Sunday for the first long-distance victory for the mid-engine Corvette race car. Taylor led a 1-2 Corvette C8.R finish to the checkered flag ahead of Tommy Milner’s No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R that he drove with Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims. This is the fourth Rolex 24 victory for Corvette Racing and first since 2016.  JIM CAMPBELL, CHEVROLET U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, PERFORMANCE AND MOTORSPORTS: “Winning the opening race in the 2021 IMSA season keeps momentum going from the end of last season,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president Performance & Motorsports. “What a difference a year makes! I am so proud of the progress Corvette Racing team has made since last year’s race to win the 2021 Roles 24 At Daytona with the Corvette C8.R. It so special to win this endurance race at Daytona for the fourth time in our class.” LAURA KLAUSER, CHEVROLET SPORTS CAR PROGRAM MANAGER: “What an amazing team effort by everyone at Corvette Racing to get the Corvette C8.R to Victory Lane with a one-two finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. It was a hard-fought battle for this incredible result. The months of work and preparation by everyone associated with this program were evident today on both sides of the Corvette garage. This truly is One Team. I’m proud and pleased for the teams, our Corvette owners and our fans. This is the best possible way to start a new season, and we are going to work hard to capitalize on this momentum.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM RACE WINNER: “This is both one of the best days of my career but also one of the most frustrating and disappointing. I did have COVID in late December with some symptoms. I isolated until I fully recovered, and followed all Spanish and CDC protocols to be cleared for traveling. It’s frustrating but there are protocols that are in place for this. It’s painful not to be able to celebrate with Jordan, Nicky and the rest of the team. We worked so hard over the past months and weeks to achieve an endurance win like the Rolex 24. We didn’t make mistakes, we had good pace with the Corvette. After winning the championship a year ago, this was the type or result we all wanted for the start of a new season.”Ever since we started at Daytona with this new car, we knew it would be fast and competitive. Obviously, the preparation we had last year wasn’t enough to win this race. But after the lockdown, that gave us an opportunity to develop the C8.R and we went on to win six races as a team and the championship. Last year, we didn’t manage to win a long race so it was still in our minds to get this, and now we’ve started with a big one like the Rolex. We proved today that Corvette Racing was the strongest team.”I have to say this was a flashback to the 2016 race (a runner-up finish in a Corvette 1-2). It was pretty nerve-wracking when it looked like it could happen again but I’m glad we came out on top this time.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It is definitely different. My two previous ones were in prototype with my Dad’s team. I never had a chance to finish the race when we won, so I think that part of it was definitely daunting and intimidating. I was extremely nervous the hour leading up to my last stint, just knowing what was at stake and how big of a deal this race is for Corvette Racing and to Chevrolet. To have everyone here and seeing the history of the team at this event… the success is kinda down to your hands in that last couple of hours when you are in the car. I wanted to do my job well and hit my marks and not make mistakes. I had an amazing battle with Tommy (Milner)… super respectful. I thought it was a great race. I’m just so happy. It’s my first class win at Daytona and third Rolex. So unbelievable and I never could have dreamed it any better to be honest.“It is just a testament to Corvette Racing. It just speaks volumes about the team and proof of what they’ve done in the past and how well they execute these big events. The Corvette C8.R has only done one 24-hour race, and that was last year. So to come back in their second year and finish one-two with no issues is just unbelievable. We had perfect strategy, perfect pit stops and none of the drivers made mistakes. It’s all down to the team and execution and teaching the drivers what they need to do to win these events. It’s an honor to be a part of it. The driver is just a small piece of the whole puzzle. We get to stand on the podium but all the people on the team deserve it. They are the ones that put in the hard work in the offseason to make it all possible. “It was bittersweet to end the day like we did with Antonio having to leave the track after the test. I was super upset and disappointed for him when I got out of the car after what I thought was my last stint and was told he couldn’t get back in the car. He lives for these events, especially this one.  He really wanted to finish this race to capitalize on when they finished second in 2016 to kind of make up for that. So I felt bad for him in that respect, but he should be unbelievably proud of this whole team. He is the leader of this No. 3 car. He’s the one that drives the setup of it which is why we were so quick at the end of the race. He’s taught me so much as a driver, understanding the tires, how to do drive the car and understanding this new GT world that I’m in. If it wasn’t for Antonio, there’s no way I would have driven that last stint the way I did. Huge thanks to him. I know I’ll see him in a couple weeks when he can come back into the country and we can hang out and celebrate in person. I know he will hold this Rolex proud. I’m so honored and happy to be a part of this with him. We’ve never won an endurance race as teammates so this is the first one and very special.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “This feels amazing. The Rolex 24 is a race I always wanted to win, and now we did it. It’s a little weird with what has happened with Antonio, but we still did it together and it is an awesome victory. It’s the first endurance win with the Corvette C8.R so yes, this is amazing!”DID THIS COME AS A SURPRISE: “It doesn’t come as a surprise but you still need to make it happen, drive for 24 hours and make no mistakes. The C8.R showed it could do it. It won the championship last year. After a year of development and coming back to Daytona, I always knew we were going to have a shot at this one. The team, the car, the drivers… everything needed to work perfectly and it did.”

Ryan Eversley, Todd Lamb and Greg Strelzoff score second place in caution-marred season opener
16-year-old Noaker stars with pole position before the #84 suffers mid-race contact

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2021) – Atlanta Speedwerks kicked off the 2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season with a qualifying pole and podium finish for their Honda Civic Type R TCRs in Friday’s four-hour race at Daytona International Speedway.

Just 16 years old, Robert Noaker scored pole position for Friday’s event in the #84 Civic Type R TCR, but it was the sister #94 car out of the Atlanta Speedwerks stable that crossed the line second and took home the hardware for the team. Driven by team owner Todd Lamb alongside Ryan Eversley and Greg Strelzoff, the #94 started the race in 12th place, working their way through the field, and utilizing a well-timed splash of fuel with just over an hour to go to secure their podium finish.

Though they started on pole position and led for much of the early part of the race, the #84 of Noaker and Brian Henderson did not share its sister car’s luck, getting taken out with just over an hour left to run in a multi-car incident, resulting in the sixth of seven yellows during the four-hour event. The #73 LA Honda World entry of Mike LaMarra and Mat and the new-to-IMSA #88 Civic Type R TCR from VGMC Racing of Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias both exited the race early with mechanical issues.

IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Daytona Race Results
2nd TCR – #94 Todd Lamb, Ryan Eversley and Greg Strelzoff, Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR [led race-high 60 of 104 laps]
11th TCR – #84 Robert Noaker and Brian Henderson, Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR
15th TCR – #88 Victor Gonzalez and Ruben Iglesias, VGMC Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR
16th TCR – #73 Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra, LA Honda World Honda Civic Type R TCR

Quotes
Ryan Eversley (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR) finished second: “We had a really great Roar [pre-race test], the car was really fast every session. I was proud of how fast I got up to speed, and how fast Greg [Strelzoff, co-driver] got up to speed. The Atlanta Speedwerks guys were fast all last year, I saw that when I raced against them [in previous seasons]. They were always tough to beat. So I knew when I got to join them that we would have fast cars. We proved that here by having one of the fastest Hondas. We just lost the win at the end, but [due to the late caution] I don’t think we got beat by anything in our control. We did the best job we could, and I’m proud of everybody on this team. We’ll go to [the next race at] Sebring and try to win!” 


Todd Lamb (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished second: “We’re extremely happy to be running two Hondas this year, full time, it’s a big step up for the team. We couldn’t do this without the support of HPD, Sabelt, Lemons of Love and all of our other supporters that have been there for us. I’m really proud of everybody on the team. We thrashed and thrashed and thrashed in that very short off season and the guys did a great job prepping the cars. We’re looking for big things this year. Very excited to get this season going.”

Greg Strelzoff (#94 Atlanta Speedwerks Honda Civic Type R TCR), finished second: “Not only first race of the year, it’s my first professional race in five and a half years, coming out of retirement. I was able to work with a great team in Atlanta Speedwerks. They were able to get me up to speed quickly, even faster than I thought I could. At the start of the race I was able to make a lot of moves, the equipment really worked well, the team really worked, the strategy was really well called and I felt super comfortable in the car. I love racing the Honda Civic, it was a great car to drive.” 

Next
The Michelin Pilot Challenge travels to Sebring International Raceway, in central Florida, March 17-19 for the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120. The race can be streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.

HPD has three ready-to-race Civic models for touring car competition. The line starts with the affordable and reliable Civic Si TCA race car, then leads to the Civic Type R TC racer that puts legendary Type R performance on track, and culminates with the no-compromise, championship-winning Civic Type R TCR race car. Our unparalleled trackside support at every level from HPD engineers is a unique benefit that no other manufacturer can offer. Find out more about these cars and our touring programs at: https://hpd.honda.com/Motorsports/Touring

TAMPA, FL (January 29, 2021) – Current Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Championship Point Leader Brandon Overton picked up his first win of the season on Friday Night at East Bay Raceway Park. Overton grabbed the lead from Tim McCreadie on the 27th lap and went on to claim his eighth career series win. A spirited battle for the lead consumed over half the race with more than five different race leaders. Tyler Bruening started 11th and charged to second at the finish for his best career LOLMDS finish.  McCreadie came home in third followed by 21st starting Devin Moran, and Shane Clanton. Brian Shirley started on the pole and led the first eight laps until Jimmy Owens took over the lead, but a few laps later Shirley regained the point. Shirley stayed in front until lap 26 when Mike Marlar took over the lead. Marlar’s lead was short-lived as he held the lead for just one circuit until McCreadie charged ahead after a restart. McCreadie could not hold off Overton who charged around him with 22 laps to go. Overton, in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the fourth time, became the sixth different winner in six LOLMDS events in 2021. “After the heat race, I said this one is going to require a lot of luck. I got the lead at the right time. I knew if I just kept hanging around the top three that I would get a win before the end of the week. I started to feel like I was going to leave here without winning and that wasn’t going to sit well with me.” Bruening was elated on the podium with his highest finish in LOLMDS competition. “We have been really good, but we’ve gotten tangled up in some stuff that wasn’t our doing this week. We have had some really good speed. Now it’s up to the me to put it all together as the driver, because this car is fantastic. Thanks to my dad [Greg] and Marshall Green at Capital Race Cars. I am thrilled to be up here on the podium.” McCreadie had his best finish of the 2021 campaign as he rounded out the podium. “We have all been chasing our tails all week and we’ve just been behind in our plans. We had a good run tonight, so that’s cool. We just need to be a bit better.”  The winner’s Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by Clements Racing Engines and is sponsored by Allstar Concrete, Crossfit Overton, Garnto Southern, EZGO, Big Dog Stump and Tree, R.W. Powell Construction, Hurst Construction, Dirt Mafia, Clean Way Clearing and Grading, and ATC Site Construction. Completing the top ten were Mark Whitener, Hudson O’Neal,  Earl Pearson Jr., Billy Moyer, Jr., and Josh Richards.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Wrisco Industries 45th Annual Winter Nationals – Presented by Lucas Oil
Friday, January 29, 2021
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brian Shirley / 14.548 seconds
Fast Time Group B: Brandon Overton / 14.673 seconds (overall)

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie[3]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[2]; 4. 81-Jason Riggs[5]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[8]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[7]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 8. 6S-Blake Spencer[12]; 9. 94M-Jason Miller[10]; 10. C4-Freddie Carpenter[11]; 11. 29-Larry Grube[9]; 12. 14R-Jeff Roth[13]; 13. 48-Colton Flinner[6]

Summit Racing Equipment Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99B-Boom Briggs[2]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[3]; 5. 33-Jeff Mathews[7]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 14G-Joe Godsey[5]; 8. 8-Kyle Strickler[8]; 9. 1G-Ryan King[9]; 10. 8A-Rob Anderzack[10]; 11. 51-Dean Carpenter[12]; 12. 4B-Richie Edwards[13]; 13. 311-Ken Monahan[11]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 25-Shane Clanton[1]; 2. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 3. 385-Mark Whitener[2]; 4. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[6]; 6. 58-Ross Bailes[12]; 7. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[9]; 8. 3W-Brennon Willard[10]; 9. 18X-Michael Page[11]; 10. KB0-Kerry King[13]; 11. 311A-Ashton Winger[5]; 12. 00H-Wil Herrington[8]; 13. 54-David Breazeale[7]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 3. 56JR-Tony Jackson Jr[7]; 4. 71-Hudson O’Neal[4]; 5. 22-Gregg Satterlee[9]; 6. 111-Steven Roberts[2]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[12]; 8. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 9. 20B-Todd Brennan[8]; 10. 995-Manny Falcon[13]; 11. 14B-John Baker[10]; 12. 4S-Danny Snyder[11]; 13. 2X-Devin Dixon[3]
MyRacePass Heat Race #5 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[7]; 3. 81E-Tanner English[3]; 4. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[6]; 6. 212-Josh Putnam[8]; 7. 27J-Joe Denby[12]; 8. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 9. 00S-Jesse Stovall[11]; 10. 40C-Joel Callahan[10]; 11. 18J-Chase Junghans[5]; 12. (DNS) 6B-Adam Boyd; 13. (DQ) 1T-Tyler Erb[1]
Fast Shafts Heat Race #6 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 3. 11H-Spencer Hughes[4]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 5. 7R-Ross Robinson[5]; 6. 6T-Tim Dohm[7]; 7. 2D-Dan Stone[9]; 8. 36-Matt Irey[11]; 9. 111M-Matthew Lux[8]; 10. J8-Jadon Frame[10]; 11. 18S-David Seibers[12]; 12. 24D-Michael Brown[6]

LINE-X B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 2. 14-Josh Richards[2]; 3. 1ST-Johnny Scott[5]; 4. 81-Jason Riggs[1]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 6. 12D-Doug Drown[6]; 7. 8-Kyle Strickler[10]; 8. 14G-Joe Godsey[8]; 9. 48-Colton Flinner[19]; 10. 51-Dean Carpenter[16]; 11. 4B-Richie Edwards[18]; 12. 311-Ken Monahan[20]; 13. C4-Freddie Carpenter[13]; 14. 8A-Rob Anderzack[14]; 15. 33-Jeff Mathews[4]; 16. 14R-Jeff Roth[17]; 17. 29-Larry Grube[15]; 18. 1G-Ryan King[12]; 19. 94M-Jason Miller[11]; 20. 6S-Blake Spencer[9]

UNOH B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 4. 22-Gregg Satterlee[4]; 5. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[10]; 6. 00H-Wil Herrington[17]; 7. 3W-Brennon Willard[9]; 8. 111-Steven Roberts[6]; 9. KB0-Kerry King[13]; 10. 0G-Deshawn Gingerich[7]; 11. 58-Ross Bailes[5]; 12. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[3]; 13. 20B-Todd Brennan[12]; 14. 18X-Michael Page[11]; 15. 54-David Breazeale[19]; 16. (DNS) 995-Manny Falcon; 17. (DNS) 311A-Ashton Winger; 18. (DNS) 14B-John Baker; 19. (DNS) 2X-Devin Dixon; 20. (DNS) 4S-Danny Snyder

Wrisco Industries B-Main #3 Finish (12 Laps, Top 2 Transfer): 1. 9-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 0E-Rick Eckert[2]; 3. 7R-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 6T-Tim Dohm[6]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[3]; 6. 36-Matt Irey[10]; 7. 40C-Joel Callahan[13]; 8. 2D-Dan Stone[8]; 9. 111M-Matthew Lux[12]; 10. 18S-David Seibers[16]; 11. 24D-Michael Brown[18]; 12. 27J-Joe Denby[7]; 13. 212-Josh Putnam[5]; 14. (DNS) 6B-Adam Boyd; 15. (DNS) 1T-Tyler Erb; 16. (DNS) J8-Jadon Frame; 17. (DNS) 18J-Chase Junghans; 18. (DNS) 76B-Blair Nothdurft; 19. (DNS) 00S-Jesse Stovall

Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 to start fourth, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura fifth, for 24-hour endurance racing contest
Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo starts 12th in GTD
2021 IMSA season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona begins Saturday

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2021) – The 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicks off tomorrow with a new look for the Acura Motorsports effort, as two championship-winning teams – Wayne Taylor Racing and Magnus with Archangel – make their debut for the manufacturer. They join reigning GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing, which continues with Acura in 2021 but now in the premier prototype division.

Defending two-time Rolex 24 winner Wayne Taylor Racing will join two-time Acura GTD series champion and 2012 Rolex winner Meyer Shank Racing to field Acura ARX-05 prototypes in this weekend’s season-opening endurance contest. Completing the Acura lineup for 2021 is Magnus with Archangel, fielding an Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the production-based GTD class.

Acura Rolex 24 Starting Positions
4th overall – #60 Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
5th overall – #10 Filipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
12th GTD – #44 John Potter and Andy Lally, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Magnus with Archangel Video
To mark their switch to Acura Motorsports and the start of the 2021 season at Daytona, Magnus with Archangel co-owner/driver John Potter has produced a cartoon video, shot in the style of the famous “Speed Racer” animated racing program of the 1960s.

Acura Rolex 24 Fast Facts
Acura comes to this year’s Rolex 24 as two-time defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the premier DPi category with the Acura ARX-05 prototype, and defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the production-based GTD class with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo.

All three Acura teams at this year’s Rolex 24 are previous winners of the endurance racing classic. Wayne Taylor Racing won the Rolex 24 in 2017, 2019 and 2020; Meyer Shank Racing was victorious in 2012; and Magnus with Archangel have combined for three wins in production-based GT categories.

In a new format for 2021, starting positions for this year’s Rolex 24 at Daytona were set according to the results in a one hour, 40-minute race that concluded the “Roar Before the 24” series open test last weekend.

Acura Motorsports Rolex 24 Pre-Race Quotes
Mike Shank (co-owner #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): will start fourth in Saturday’s Rolex 24 at Daytona: “We’re really happy where the car is right now from a handling/balance perspective. All the drivers like the car, and they’re all incredibly fast. I don’t think we could be happier at this point. We even had time to practice some ‘bad scenario’ pit stops – what to do if things go wrong during the race. To have that kind of relaxation is really valuable going into the race. We’re ready.”

Wayne Taylor (owner, #10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) will start 5th: “I think, relative to the [qualifying] race last weekend, we’ve improved quite a bit. I feel as if we have a car now that is competitive enough to win the race. It’s been a pleasure to receive such great support from HPD, it just pushes all of us to do a better job. Obviously, lots of things can happen during the course of a 24-hour race, but I’ll put our four drivers up against any other lineup in the field. They’ve got the experience and the knowledge, and there’s no egos involved at all. So now we’re just waiting for the start, but we’re going into the race feeling good.”

David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on this weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24: “Firstly, before we get to the Rolex, we need to give a huge ‘thank you’ to Team Penske and their great people, for three years of awesome racing, helping us develop the ARX-05. They helped us achieve enormous success in our IMSA program and were great in assisting us in the transition [to Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing]. Right now, there’s been a huge amount of work from everyone at HPD, and on the part of WTR and MSR getting us ready, despite the shortened off-season. We’ve got a fantastic driver lineup and some awesome cars. Now, let’s go race. Anything can happen in a 24-hour race, and probably will.”

Where to Watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Television coverage of the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona starts Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST on NBC, and continues on the NBC Sports Network from 4:30 – 8 p.m.; 11 p.m. – 3 a.m.; and 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. Coverage concludes with the final hours of the race on NBC from 2 – 4 p.m. Sunday. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBCSN Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Daytona are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter at (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).

TAMPA, FL (January 28, 2021) – Josh Richards joined both Tyler Erb and Stormy Scott as drivers who started ninth but came home with the win at East Bay Raceway Park. The 2017 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion started inside of the fifth row to score a feature win this week. Richards took the lead on lap seven from Mark Whitener and then proceeded to lead the rest of the way to score his 32nd career win on the LOLMDS tour and his eighth career triumph at East Bay Raceway Park. Brandon Overton crossed the finish line a little over a second behind the winner, in second. Hudson O’Neal finished in third followed by Brian Shirley and Devin Moran. Whitener was looking for the biggest win of his super late model career and bolted to the lead at the start on the second main event of the night. Richards quickly went to the front and was second by the fourth circuit. Richards made his move on Whitener, grabbing the lead with seven laps scored. Overton moved to second on lap nine while Whitener remained in the top three until he suffered a flat tire with five laps to go. A caution with one lap to go set-up a dash to the finish with Richards holding off Overton for the victory. Richards went to Lucas Oil Victory Lane piloting a brand new race car. “I was really frustrated in that first race. I felt like we had a really good car, but we had to take a provisional and we moved up a little and then we just ended up destroying our primary car in a wreck. I can’t thank the Mason Zeigler crew enough for all of their help in getting this thing ready for the second feature. I felt like in then first few laps it was going to be critical to get to the front and it paid off.” Overton is the current series Point Leader heading into the final two nights of racing this week. “I tried to not make any mistakes and then had to hope we still had enough air in the tires to make it to the end. I was worried about my left rear tire, we went soft on it, but it held up. I was scared to death I was going to get a flat. So, I just eased up on the restarts to try and save them.” O’Neal earned his second podium finish for Double Down Motorsports so far this week. “I was very concerned about my tires. You try to drive it straight and keep my tires underneath of me for a good part of the race. We didn’t have a very good first feature tonight, but we rebounded nicely in the second round.” The winner’s Clint Bowyer Racing Rocket Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and is sponsored by iRacing, Rush Truck Center, Big River Steel, Cometic Gasket, and Ford Performance. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr. Frank Heckenast Jr., Kyle Bronson, Brandon Sheppard, and Jimmy Owens.

West coast swing to Sonoma Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca canceled for F4 U.S. and FR Americas

INDIANAPOLIS (January 27, 2021)- Parella Motorsports Holdings announced amendments to both the Honda-powered Formula 4 United States and Formula Regional Americas Championships 2021 calendars today, canceling the early season west coast swing for both series due to challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

PMH will revert to a more traditional schedule for the championships in 2021, comprised of six tripleheader events at top venues located on the Eastern half of the United States and Canada.   

The back-to-back events at Sonoma Raceway (April 23-25) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (April 30-May 2) have now been replaced with F4 U.S. and FR Americas both opening their seasons at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as part of the Atlanta SpeedTour March 26-28.

The championships will then run in tandem with the Road America SpeedTour May 14-16 for the next three championship rounds. The visit to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Wisconsin road course will be a first for F4 U.S. teams and drivers. 

With the reshuffling of the schedule, FR Americas will now also join F4 U.S. at Brainerd International Raceway July 16-18 to complete its revised 18-round calendar. Brainerd is currently undergoing FIA certification to become the country’s newest FIA graded circuit to host both F4 U.S. and FR Americas this summer.

Preseason testing, the championships’ visits to Virginia International Raceway and Circuit of The Americas, the tripleheader event for F4 U.S. at Mid-Ohio and FR Americas’ international street-race fixture at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières will remain on the previously announced dates.

“The decision to realign the 2021 race schedule for F4 U.S. and FR Americas was an extremely difficult one,” said PMH CEO and President Tony Parella. “We were really excited to take both championships out west for the first time this season to create a true National Championship, but with the increased number of COVID-19 cases, California has implemented gathering restrictions for events which will close the gates to fans and limit the number of event entries. Sonoma and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca have some of the best fans in the world and PMH is excited to introduce its newest junior open wheel championships to them. Our goal is to add a west coast visit back to the championships’ schedules in 2022.”

All SpeedTour events will still include a built-in track test day for F4 U.S. and FR Americas drivers, and all national rounds for both championships will be live streamed to a global audience. 

The SpeedTour events at Sonoma and Laguna Seca in April will still continue without spectators, featuring SportsCar Vintage Racing Association and Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli on the program. 

For tickets: www.SpeedTour.net/events

For more information: www.F4USChampionship.com or www.FRAmericas.com

F4 U.S. REVISED 2021 Schedule

·         VIR: March 6-7 (Rookie School)

·         VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)

·         Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)

·         Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)

·         Mid-Ohio: June 24-27 (Test day June 23)

·         Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)

·         VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)

·         COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov. 4)

FR Americas 2021 REVISED Schedule·         Sebring: February 18-21 (Winter Warm Up, non-points)·         VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)·         Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)·         Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)·         Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)·         Grand Prix de Trois-Riveres : August 13-15·         VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)·         COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov.

Cancelled in 2020, the FIM-Europe Drag Bike Championship is set to resume in 2021 with six provisional rounds:
Rnd.130 April-2 MayKunmadaras, Hungary (SuperStreet Bike only)
Rnd.229-31 MaySanta Pod Raceway, UK
Rnd.310-13 JuneTierp Arena, Sweden (to be confirmed)
Rnd.48-10 JulyKauhava, Finland (to be confirmed)
Rnd.527-29 AugustHockenheimring, Germany
Rnd.69-12 SeptemberSanta Pod Raceway, UK
The FIM-Europe Drag Bike Championship is contested in four classes:
Top Fuel BikeSuperTwin BikePro Stock BikeSuperStreet Bike.
The Junior Drag Bike Cup will also be contested at the Swedish, Finnish and both Santa Pod rounds.
With the 2020 championship cancelled owing to Covid, 2019’s reigning FIM-Europe champions are:
Top Fuel Bike:  Filippos Papafilippou (Greece)SuperTwin Bike:  Marcus Christiansen (Denmark)Pro Stock Bike:  Fredrik Fredlund (Finland)SuperStreet Bike:  Steve Venables (UK)Junior Drag Bike Cup:  Blade Dummer (UK).

TAMPA, FL (January 26, 2021) – Tyler Erb made a late-race pass on Brandon Overton to win Tuesday Night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at East Bay Raceway Park. A caution flew on the final lap for Brandon Sheppard just before the checkered flag, setting up a duel between Erb and Overton for the top of the podium. The victory for Erb was his 10th career win in Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Competition, his third career win at “The Clay by the Bay”, and his third overall win of 2021. Shirley jumped to the lead at the start of the race and led the first nine laps. Overton moved up from his fifth starting spot to grab the lead. A three-car battle for the lead ensued between Overton, Shirley, and Erb for the remainder of the race. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the first time this season Erb commented that the finish would have made for a great television ending. “I thought that would have made a great tv thing. We were able to pull through. It made my heart skip a beat when I headed to the checkered and then the caution came out. I was not happy about that. We definitely had to work for everything we have gotten this week. I can’t thank the crew enough for all they do. Eric Brock gave me the opportunity of a lifetime to drive his car and we hope to be in for a long time.” Overton was in the hunt once again for a victory at the 1/3 mile oval track. “It’s just hard to make that right call every night on the car because the track changes so much. We just want to keep it on the podium.” Shirley was the overall fastest qualifier for the 74 entrants and was looking for his first career win in the series and at East Bay but came home third. “I don’t have a ton of experience here. We have run just a few times up front. It is not one of my better tracks. I was set up for the track to get a little blacker where I could steer a little better. I couldn’t hug the corners where I needed to.” The winner’s Eric and Kelly Brock-owned Best Performance Motorsports Rocket Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and is sponsored by Industrial Resourcing Group, Roberts Bee Company, First Class Septic, Bazell Race Fuels, Lucas Oil Products, Sunoco Race Fuels, Keyser, Franklin Enterprises, KBC Graphics, Boxo, and Corey Frazier State Farm Insurance.  Completing the top ten were Tanner English, Johnny Scott, Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, and Tyler Bruening.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series 
Race Summary 
Wrisco Industries 45th Annual Winter Nationals – Presented by Lucas Oil
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL

ZOOM CONFERENCE TEAM PENSKE TEAM CHEVY INDYCAR DRIVERS JANUARY 26, 2021

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, NO. 2 HITACHI TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET:YOU HAD A GREAT YEAR IN 2020. YOU HAVE A PRETTY SPECIAL RACE COMING IN AUGUST ON THE INDYCAR SCHEDULE WITH RACING ON THE STREETS OF YOUR HOMETOWN IN NASHVILLE. TALK ABOUT THAT A BIT.“Yeah, I’m extremely excited about Nashville. I think the NASCAR guys are, too. Obviously, they are different tracks but it’s certainly a city that supports events I think almost better than anywhere. It’s growing in population and popularity among sports fans and it’s a perfect destination as far as visiting a city for tourism and to see an event like INDYCAR and NASCAR for that matter, I think it’s just the best destination. So, I’m very excited about INDYCAR coming back. I would never have dreamed of that happening when I was a kid, growing up in the northside of Nashville, that we would one day have a street course race in the downtown streets of Nashville. So, it’s going to be fun. I think it has big potential to become one of the marquis events on our calendar and certainly a blockbuster for a street course race.” YOU’VE BEEN WORKING A LOT WITH GAVIN WARD RECENTLY. IS HE GOING TO BE YOUR RACE ENGINEER AGAIN THIS YEAR? AND HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT BRING YOU GOING INTO THE SEASON GIVEN YOUR STRONG YEAR LAST YEAR?“Yes, confidence is big. I agree with Ryan (Blaney) in saying you’ve got to feel good about your ability in the car and the people around you. Gavin Ward is stellar. I’m such a fan of Gavin. He’s brought a lot to our team specifically being in the Formula 1 world. In a lot of ways, INDYCAR and Formula 1 are very similar and in other ways they’re very different. They approach a race car a little different than we do. They’re both open-wheel cars, so a lot of it transfers, but they may be focusing on one area of the car that we would never look at. “So, for me, that’s brought a lot of confidence to our team to try and open up our scope in how we’re developing the cars in the off-season and what we’re thinking about over race weekends. And when it just comes to race day execution, he’s really good. He’s a great collaborator for me, to figure out what we need on the car specifically for each session and then maximizing race day. So yeah, he’s going to stick around. We’ll have the same program as last year and obviously just trying to up our game in all areas. That’s the goal every season. I’m hoping we can find that extra that we need.” YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT SMALL DETAILS IN THE OFF-SEASON AND THERE’S NO ONE THING YOU CAN DO TO FIX EVERYTHING. BUT IS THERE A PARTICULAR AREA YOU HAVE FOCUSED ON WHERE YOU FEEL YOU CAN IMPROVE DURING THE OFF-SEASON?“Yes, we definitely have. We’ve put a ton of emphasis on the Indianapolis 500 as far as the way we build the cars, what we’re looking for in qualifying; I think we’ve definitely marked that even as we always do, even if we won the race by a mile, I think you’d be looking at how to be even better at Indy. I think after last year we really want to up our game. When it comes to qualifying, we want to be up higher. We know we can do that. We know that we have people to make it happen. So, we’ve spent a tremendous amount of time on that, which I think is very encouraging. I’m really excited to get to the month of May, to be honest with you. So, that’s number one.  “Then with myself, I think the biggest area that I can improve is qualifying. There are some places where maybe we were just a little behind as a team and ultimately, we got what we got out of a particular qualifying session. But then there’s other times I think that I can still contribute a little bit more. And I can still maximize those starting placements just a bit better. It’s not that we were bad in 2020, but if there’s an area to improve I think that’s the place to push forward. I think our race performances were very strong. Circumstances didn’t always fall in our favor, but if we can just give ourselves a little better starting spot every single weekend, I think that’s going to go a long way in helping our cause for the championship.” ALONG WITH YOUR TWO INDYCAR CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORIES IN YOUR CAREER, YOU HAVE BEEN SEMI-CLOSE SOME OTHER TIMES, BUT HAD NEVER FINISHED SECOND PLACE AND BEEN QUITE AS CLOSE AS YOU WERE AS RUNNER-UP IN 2020. AFTER HAVING SOME TIME TO REFLECT OVER THESE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, HAS THE REFLECTION AND DRIVE YOU’VE GOTTEN ANY DIFFERENT THAN WHERE YOU FINISHED?“I think for me, if anything, in all honesty, I was really just disappointed. I felt like we had a championship performance last year. Circumstances didn’t always fall our way. It was one too many times that circumstances went against us. And I think ultimately that’s what kind of decided our fate with the title. But we fought all the way. We got pretty close. We fought our way back every time. It was just too big of a deficit at the end of the day to make up, especially with a competitor like Scott (Dixon). I think if you give him too much of a window sometimes you dig a hole that’s too big to claw your way out of. But yeah, I was disappointed. For me, as a competitor, it would have been nice to knock off the third championship and then this year I would like to be working on the fourth. And so now you’ve got to re-set. We didn’t win the third; we’ve got to try and win the third this year. And that’s the way my mind works.  “For me I want to figure out how we can win as many championships as possible. And the Indy 500 is still on that list. I have not been able to personally knock that race off and get one on the board. So, I’m focused on that, but I’m definitely focused on us trying to find this third championship. I thought we had the performance for it last year and we’ve just got to maintain that and continue to up our game. That’s the mentality ever season. So, I’m just more determined and more focused after the disappointment of falling short last year.” SCOTT MCCLAUGHLIN, NO. 3 PPG TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: TALK ABOUT COMING TO INDYCAR WITH A PENSKE LEGACY PARTNER SUCH AS PPG: “I think it is fantastic that we were able to announce that PPG will join us for 10 out of 17 races in 2021. For me, to race car No. 3 was very special from what Rick and Helio have done for the team, but also to carry on a 37 year legacy with PPG and be a part of that in some way is going to be very cool, and hopefully I can add to what has already been achieved in the P, PG INDYCAR with people before me. We went though video on the announcement which I thought was very cool. It brought back some goosebumps. Danny Sullivan then Al Unser, Jr., Rick Mears , Juan Montoya, Josef (Newgarden) who have run these colors. To be a part of this legacy is very cool for me and it is starting in my rookie season. I appreciate the trust that PItPG put in me and my program.” WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON IN THE OFF SEASON TO GET READY FOR INDYCAR? “A lot of things. Trust in the car and what it does. Trust the aerodynamics. It’s the first race car I have ever driven that relies on the aerodynamics and trusting within the car. The grip level you get. It can also bite pretty quick so learning that and learning the limit is quite difficult, but I’ve had some good analysis with my engineers and working a few things out. Making sure I am comfortable in the car. Another thing as well, and I noticed this in St. Petersburg, learning the tire in qualifying conditions, it takes time for the tire to come up to temp and it is a very short window where you can get the ultimate grip for the fastest laps. That is something I think I am going to have to learn over the race period, over the journey. We only get to run the red tires in qualifying or at the race track at the race meeting so I am going to have to learn that over time and test in them. I think our learning develop[ment has been going okay but time will tell and we will try to learn as much as w can.” WHAT ARE Y0UR EXPECTTIONS? “It’s one of those of those deals to say exactly what my expectations until we get on track and see where we are at. Like Will said, I think we are going to have a real strong race car and three strong teammates to push me. I think that will accelerate my process. If I get to the end of the year and I’m in the top-10 of the championship or the top-eight in the championship that would almost be a win for me. I am realistic about my expectations. But I am impatient. I’m competitive and I want to make sure we get to the front as quick as we can. I’ve got a massive amount of expectations from the sponsors that partner with us including PPG and some to be announced. It’s an exciting period but there is a pressure there and I am excited to take that on board and move forward with it.” WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET: ON HIS RECORD SETTING CAREER SO FAR BEING LISTED ALONG SOME OF THE GREATS IN THIS SPORT: “It’s amazing. It’s something that I would have never thought when I first started my career. To be five poles away from equaling Mario Andretti for all-time poles. Up there with Michael Andretti-three wins away from him to be fourth on the list. It’s reall cool-the Andretti name is such a legendary name in the sport. I’m still as motivated as ever. Love it as much as I ever have. So I expect to keep going here and have a real shot at the championship this year. Planning on having a good start to the season I think that is what has made it difficult for us the last few years. I have a very good crew. Obviousuy being with my engineer (Dave Faustino)  for over a decade, we know each other so well. I have three very good teammate. Three very strong guys so I expect the team to be very strong this year as a whole.” WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE GIVEN SCOTT? “I told him when he was initially getting into it was just to creep up on it all. Because there is nothing worse than going into the wall, having a crash and losing your confidence. That certainly puts you back a few steps.   He’s driven in a very high-profile series at a very professional level for a number of years so he knows all that. I think he knows the process he needs to take. There’s not really much you can give him. He’s got to really take from real-life experiences from here out honestly.” WITH THE NEW ENGINE WHAT WILL CHANGE WITH PUSH TO PASS. HAS INDYCAR TOLD YOU IF YOU CAN DO IT DEFENSIVELY AS WELL OFFENSIVELY?  “No, I don’t think they know how that is going to work until we get around the engine to see how it all going to work when it is actually physically on the track. I’m guessing-I expect them to use the electric motor for the curves for push-to-pass. Not the engine, not the boost. Because I think you will have plenty of options for push-to-pass in two different ways obviously amounts of horsepower. What I’ve been for is when we go to a track like Mid-Ohio or St. Pete where there are short straights to me you should have a no reply system. Maybe on some of the bigger tracks where it is easy to get around. Them you could tailor that to the amount of horsepower you get. Because you don’t want to make it a brainless pass where it is easy like DRS in Formula One. I think you want to make it where it is still difficult but you can get a legitimate run on someone.” HAVE YOU ALREADY BEEN TOLD THAT THEY AREN’T GOING TO USE THE ENGINE POWER TURBO BOOST FOR PUSH TO PASS ANYMORE? “No, I haven’t been told that. I expect them to use the electrical engine for push-to-pass for practical reasons and it has to make sense to the manufacturers. If they are talkimg about the electrical side being used as a device during the race, its good for the manufacturers.” WHEN WE HAVE SUCH A CONDENSED AT BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS TO PREPARE FOR THE SEASON EARLY ON? “After reviewing the previous seasons, we’ve made adjustments. Obviously we struggled in the pit quite a bit. I’ve reviewed the mistakes I’ve made as well and I have a slightly different crew this year. I think the cars will be better as well. I’m pretty confident in that, the team has done very good development in the off season. The first three tracks, I feel like they are difficult tracks for us.  The are strong Honda tracks.  It’s going to be a very tight first three races. I think, as we do every year to win the championship and for me personally, I just have to make sure we are in the hunt. Properly in the hunt.  Not clawing my way back from a terrible start to the season. For one reason or another, you can’t really pinpoint the same reason we have lost too many points in the first four races. That is a big focus.” IS THE BROAD AGE BAND IN INDYCAR WITH TALENT YOUNG AND OLD,. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? “I think it is a sign of the times, If you look at football, Tom Brady is going to the Super Bowl at 43 years old. I feel like you can be as competitive and strong until you are 45 or so. I’ve been there so I know but certainly in your early 40s.  But also drivers starting so young now. There are kids getting in cars when they are 12 or 13 years old. It’s crazy. So by the time they are 18 it’s a matter of experience of racing cars as we have seen with Colton Herta. Yes, it is a huge spread in age, but not in competitiveness as far as the level of skill. It is a very competitive series over a 20 year or more age group. Which bodes very well for those young guys. They can have a really long career. It certainly put us in pretty big numbers if you look at Colton Herta starting where he is.”  SIMON PAGENAUD, NO. 22 MENARDS CHEVROLET:YOU ARE BUSY GETTING READY FOR DAYTONA FOR THE ROLEX 24. YOU ARE A BIG PHYSICAL FITNESS GUY. DO YOU FIND IT AN ADVANTAGE TO START YOUR SEASON WITH AN ENDURANCE RACE. DO YOU SEE AN ADVANTAGE TO THAT?“Yes, I think it’s mostly just having a calendar in place and being able to have deadlines and knowing when you’re going to be in the car. It’s an assessment, Daytona is for me. It’s really an assessment of my work that I’ve done over the winter mentally, and also physically. It’s also, you’re kicking off a new season and it’s exciting. New car. New gears. New everything. You just get going. I’m very excited for 2021. I feel very refreshed. Obviously, the only advantage of COVID is really to stay home and really rest and focus on training. So, I really feel ready for 2021.” HOW BENEFICIAL IS IT FOR YOU, OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE RACING THIS WEEKEND LIKE A KANAAN SEASON IN INDYCAR?“Yes, anytime you’re in the race car it is beneficial. The sports cars, the prototypes, the way they are these days, they’re pretty close to an INDYCAR. The braking power and downforce level are similar. Obviously different tires and a bit of a different feel, but the driving is very close. And the fact that you’re passing people really allows you to work on those details. At the end of the day, I think the work of a race car driver is all about working on the little crafts, the little details for your craft. So, the more you think about it and practice it, the better. I really enjoy doing it. You know, my roots originally, came from sports cars. So, it’s good to go back and forth and keep me current in sports cars.” HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT APPROACHING THE SEASON NOW WITH YOUR WORK DURING THE OFF-SEASON? ARE YOU CONFIDENT MOVING FORWARD?“Yes, it’s been an interesting off-season, for sure. I think as a team we were able to re-center on the No. 22 car. I’m pretty excited about this season coming up, really. There’s a big focus on Indianapolis. Personally, I want to go back there and try to go for another win. We know its Team Penske’s number one goal and the whole team has put a lot of effort into it. So, let’s cross fingers and hope that we get the speed that we want out of the cars. Certainly, on the road course, we just need to find some speed in qualifying for us. We’ve been working hard on that with my engineer, Ben Bretzman. We can’t wait to go to Sebring and get to test the car. We’ve got a few items that we want to try and see if that gives me feel that I want from the car to just extract the best out of it every time we go out on track. I think St. Pete was pretty good for us. We improved the car massively, so I think we’re on the right path. We just need to get going quite frankly. It’s been a long off-season and I just hate not driving. So as soon as we get to Sebring we’ll have a better understanding.” AS YOU LOOK AT THE INDYCAR SERIES DRIVER LINE-UP FOR THIS YEAR, WHAT STANDS OUT TO YOU MORE? THE YOUTH AND TALENT OF THE DRIVERS OR THE NUMBER OF GUYS STILL RACING AT LATE 30’S EARLY 40’S CONTINUING TO RACE AT A HIGH LEVEL?“Straight answer is I don’t care. I’m focused on myself (laughs). That’s it.”

Inside Line Promotions – QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (Jan. 26, 2021) – Dominic Scelzi earned a trio of top-10 results last weekend during the inaugural Schaeffer’s Wild Wing Shootout.

Scelzi won a heat race each of the three nights at Arizona Speedway before improving his feature finish each night, culminating with a runner-up result on Sunday.

“We got better throughout the weekend and Sunday was our best day,” he said. “I felt like we were in a good position the first half of each night, but we really made gains in the feature during that final night.”

Scelzi qualified seventh quickest out of the 26 drivers on Friday. A heat race victory locked him into the feature redraw and he pulled the No. 3 to line up on the inside of the second row for the main event.

“They worked the track,” he said. “We figured it’d go away and kept the car pretty tight, but the track never went away. I fell to fifth right away and ran fifth for a while. I started moving around to run the top and middle. I just wasn’t making the right moves and we were too tight and unfortunately dropped to ninth.”

A ninth-place qualifying effort and another heat race win placed Scelzi in the feature redraw on Saturday. He drew the No. 4 to start the main event fourth and duked it out for a top five throughout the race.

“We were better,” he said. “I felt really, really good the second night. We freed the car up, but we changed some stuff around trying to get the tire spin under control. In the heat race we did it and it worked really good. The track was even slicker and we thought it would probably get slick in the feature so we left the engine detuning on and freed the car up. The track stayed wet again and we couldn’t move forward.”

Scelzi placed sixth and entered the event finale on Sunday aiming for continued improvement. He timed in seventh quickest and won his heat race for the third straight night. The No. 4 in the feature redraw lined him up on the outside of the second row for the 35-lap A Main.

“The track was in the best shape it had been in all weekend,” he said. “We qualified better and won the heat race. I felt like we knew where the track was and knew what we needed to do with the car. We raced really, really well.

“It was up against the fence in turns one and two. In turns three and four you could run against the fence, but there was moisture across the track. I went fourth to third right away and I was pressuring D.J. Netto for second. We had a restart with 10 laps to go. At that point I had figured out the middle in turns three and four. I slid him into one and cleared him. I felt like I closed on Tony Stewart (for the lead) in turns three and four. I continued that line and was able to get to him. I felt like I’d have one shot at him, but I got into the cushion too hard in turns one and two on Lap 34. That gave Tony enough room that I couldn’t get back to him. I was pleased with improving to a second-place finish and the gains we made.”

Scelzi plans to return to action on Feb. 20 at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif.

Series Chip Ganassi Racing showcases GMC’s first all-electric supertruck in 2021 international series

DETROIT – GMC announced today a new multiyear sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing for the team’s first electric racing venture in the inaugural Extreme E season in 2021. CGR’s 550-horsepower electric SUV, which features a unique grille, graphics and bodywork, was inspired by the GMC HUMMER EV, the world’s first all-electric supertruck.  “I can’t think of a better fit than showcasing the look of GMC’s HUMMER EV in Extreme E with Chip Ganassi Racing,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. vice president, Performance and Motorsports. “Both GMC HUMMER EV and the Extreme E series are designed to be revolutionary – to challenge perceptions of electric vehicles and to showcase their true capability.” Noted off-road racers Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price will serve as drivers for CGR in the series.  “It’s truly an honor to represent GMC, especially during such an exciting time in auto racing,” said Chip Ganassi, CGR team owner. “The new GMC HUMMER EV is going to be a game changer in terms of how the world views off-road EV capability, and we couldn’t be more proud to represent GMC in such an innovative new series.” The Extreme E five-race global championship will take place in some of the world’s most remote locations and promotes the adoption of electric vehicles. Fans can follow along on GMC’s social channels. Season 1 Calendar Desert X Prix: AlUla, Saudi Arabia: April 3-4, 2021Ocean X Prix: Lac Rose, Senegal: May 29-30, 2021Arctic X Prix: Kangerlussuaq, Greenland: Aug. 28-29, 2021Amazon X Prix: Para, Brazil: Oct. 23-24, 2021Glacier X Prix: Patagonia, Argentina: Dec. 11-12, 2021 “We feel very proud to welcome GMC and its iconic GMC HUMMER EV to the Extreme E family, as it joins forces with our Chip Ganassi Racing team,” said Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E. “Not only will Extreme E be a thrilling motorsport, it will also showcase the performance and benefits of electric vehicles.” Reservations are being accepted for select trims of GMC’s new supertruck, the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV, which will launch with initial production this fall. The HUMMER EV will be a fully electric addition to GMC’s portfolio powered by General Motors’ new Ultium battery system. The HUMMER EV Edition One will offer a three-motor e4WD propulsion system with GM-estimated best-in-class 1,000 horsepower and a GM-estimated 11,500 lb-ft of torque. With 800-volt DC fast charging capability, the GMC HUMMER EV is expected to have industry-best charging capability at any of the new 350-kilowatt high output public DC fast charging stations — the fastest method supported by current charging standards. CGR Making History While celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2020, Chip Ganassi Racing has compiled historic victories in some of the most iconic races around the globe. CGR has claimed eight wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, four Indianapolis 500s, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, making Chip Ganassi the only owner in history to score wins in those iconic races. In total, CGR has now tallied 20 series championships and more than 225 race victories.  About GMCWith a strong foundation of manufacturing trucks since 1902 and now selling in a dozen countries across the world, GMC offers purpose-built vehicles designed and engineered to the highest standard. From the all-new compact SUV Terrain to the Sierra HD, our trucks and crossovers deliver GMC’s signature combination of intuitive technologies and premium execution, with the popular Denali representing the pinnacle of GMC design, performance and amenities. Details on all GMC models are available at www.gmc.com, on Twitter at @GMC or at www.facebook.com/gmc.

IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA NO. 3 CORVETTE C8.R MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 26, 2021 Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg – teammates in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R – met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Rolex 24 At Daytona, expectations following the 100-minute race during the Roar Before the 24, transitions of new team members into the No. 4 Corvette and other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT: ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RIMPRESSIONS FROM THE ROAR BEFORE THE 24: “I didn’t do as much as Jordan and Nicky since they did the race. A 1-2 for Corvette, though, is all you can ask for. Everyone ran smooth, we had good strategy and everything ran according to plan. We still don’t know where our competitors are (on pace) but we need to focus on our program, what we do and try to learn as much about the C8.R as we can. Doing all that should make us prepared for the big one Saturday.” IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUITY ON THE 3 CORVETTE SIDE: “It’s good to have this team of crew and engineers. Initially last year was a big shift between the Rolex 24 and our first race after the lockdown. Now things are running very smooth. It’s a good starting point to have everyone on the same page – same drivers, same mechanics and same engineers. We just need to keep the momentum going and winning races.” TAKING CORVETTE RACING’S FIRST ROLEX 24 WIN SINCE 2016: “Every time you come back here, you want to win. The last time we won the race for us on the 3 car was 2015, and the 4 car won in 2016. We want to be back up there and get a watch, for sure. I think the C8.R is the car to do it. I just hope this past year of racing helped us to develop it in order to compete and win a long race like this one. You never know what is going to happen and how the car will behave. I think we did all we could to be as prepared as possible. Let’s hope to be up there right at the end and be able to fight for the win again.” BIGGEST CHANGE IN THE C8.R SINCE ITS DEBUT A YEAR AGO: “Everything changes. There is constant development going on every day. Each time we hit the track, there is something to learn. There is input from the drivers and data to analyze. So the car improves every day. Now with more tools like the simulator and some other things, the C8.R is far away from being fully developed. The guys at Corvette Racing are still working flat-out on that… not only on performance but also on reliability. Everyone is working as a group to make it faster and more reliable. Things are going in the right direction. We need to see where we are Sunday morning and if we are able to carry on and win it again.” ON ADDTIONS OF NICK TANDY AND ALEXANDER SIMS TO THE NO. 4 CORVETTE SIDE: “Coming from other manufacturers, you get to know where the strong points are on other cars. Once they drove the Corvette, they could figure out the good points of this car but they also may have some new ideas about how to make this car better. It’s not only about the current setups but also how you work with the car, how you work the tires… all that additional experience helps a lot. Corvette Racing has been very consistent with the same guys, so getting new guys coming in from other teams helps a lot to get a wider view and more input on how to improve things. These additions are big gains for Corvette Racing to get these guys who have a ton of experience to help improve the car and the whole team.” JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RIMPRESSIONS FROM THE ROAR BEFORE THE 24: “We’re going in with some good momentum after last year, winning five races and the championship. It was a strong showing for the C8.R. Coming back to Daytona having a year under our belt with this car, a lot of development and winning the sprint race here last year gives us confidence. This year with new cars and new classes, it’s definitely going to change the game a bit with how careful and cautious you are going to be through the night with some new drivers in new cars. At the end of the day, it’s the same style of racing where you have to survive to the end. It could be a little extra important in making sure you get to the end of race with a very strong car and a very fast car. You know that at the end of these races, you can get a late yellow and go racing at the end. We learned a lot this past weekend that can help us with it.” TEAM AND CREW CHANGES ON THE 3 CORVETTE AFTER NEW FACES LAST YEAR: “It’s the same crew. All of the same guys are still there. Some of the truck drivers moved around and a couple of guys retired in the off-season. But our engineer is still John Lankes, we have the same car chief (David Marin) and same crew guys going over the wall. There are no big changes on the crew side, just the management side (Marc Maurini as team manager).” ROLEX 24 OUTLOOK FOR THE CORVETTE C8.R: “It has all the right pieces to get the Rolex. Last year when we hit Petit Le Mans and the Sebring 12 Hours, those were big on our list because we wanted to get an endurance win with the C8.R. The Rolex 24 is like a championship in itself; if you win it, it’s such a big prize and huge honor. I know everyone’s focus is on the Rolex on the one hand, and after that you start looking at the championship as a whole.“We had the right pieces last year. We had a very good race and finished fourth with no major issues. Coming out of the box like that and not having much development on the setup side, the crew not having a lot of pit stop experience and strategy with a new car, and maybe not understanding fuel mileage and drivability… now we are way more prepared and it gives us a lot of confidence that we had such a strong race last year. I think of how far the car has been developed, even during the couple of months that we were in lockdown. I think we have all the right pieces. It’s just down to things going our way, getting traffic in the right places and not getting caught up in other people’s races. It’s always difficult to win these races, but we do have the right pieces at Corvette Racing. All we need to do is stay out of trouble for 20 hours and hopefully go racing for the last couple.”  CHANGES ON THE NO. 4 CORVETTE SIDE: “It’s been good. They obviously are professionals, so they’re coming in and were up to speed right away. It’s always interesting to have new guys coming in to have a different perspective. We drove the car all year, and some of the guys have been developing it over a couple of years. It’s interesting to have gotten to this point and have some fresh faces come in and give it a different perspective. They can see things from the outside now that maybe we are used to, maybe some habits that we’ve developed. It’s always good to have that, and it will be good for the rest of the year for us to keep developing this car.” NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RTHOUGHTS ON BEING PART OF THE RACE AT THE END OF THE ROAR: “It was a bit different this time. Normally we don’t go racing before we go into the actual Rolex 24. I must say I was a bit skeptical at first but I actually really liked to do this race. It gave me an opportunity to get a stint under my belt and do some driver changes, and it feels like very good preparation for the event. To come back with a 1-2 result was very good for us. It was very good preparation for the Rolex.” TRAFFIC WITH LMP3 CARS AND HOW IT COULD IMPACT THE RACE: “I was quite surprised at the Roar. I was kind of expecting it to be very difficult, but then it turned out not to be. I do feel like it will be more difficult (in the race) than other years. The LMP3 cars seem to be doing exactly the same speed in any particular sector. We are pretty much the same speed everywhere. After every restart, it will mean we will behind the LMP3s. So it will be intense. As Jordan mentioned earlier, I think we have to be more careful than previous years and try to make it to the end because there will be a lot of action.” DOES THAT MAKE RESTARTS THE MOST CHALLENGE PART: “I definitely think restarts and in the night, as well. I think some of the LMP3 drivers might be new to night racing. Going out on cold tires for some of those guys is difficult just like it is for us. I think we have to really take care and try to make it until the last hours before we start pushing.” PROGRESS OF THE CORVETTE C8.R FROM LAST YEAR’S ROLEX TO THIS YEAR: “My breaks between the races I do are a bit bigger than the other guys. So every time I step in the C8.R, I feel like a big step has been made. If I compare it to Daytona from last year, I can feel things like general car balance is better, drivability is better. If I look at myself, I feel more comfortable within the team and with the car now. I feel more ready for this race in general. Those are the two biggest things.”

Cameron, Pla lead Acura Effort in Rolex 24 Qualifying Race
Dane Cameron, Olivier Pla will start fourth in next weekend’s 24-hour contest
John Potter, Andy Lally bring their Acura NSX GT3 Evo home 12th in GTD
2021 IMSA season begins Saturday with the Rolex 24 at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 24, 2021) – Two veteran sports car racing teams made their Acura debut this weekend at the “Roar Before the 24”, the official pre-season test prior to next weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, while the reigning GTD champion Meyer Shank Racing continues with Acura in 2021, but now in the premier prototype division.

Defending two-time Rolex 24 winner Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing joins two-time Acura GTD series champion Meyer Shank Racing to field Acura ARX-05 prototypes in the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. Also joining the Acura lineup for 2021 is Magnus with Archangel, fielding an Acura NSX GT3 Evo in the production-based GTD class.

This weekend’s three-day test concluded Sunday with a 100-minute sprint race to set the grid for next weekend’s season-opening Rolex 24. Meyer Shank Racing with drivers Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla led the way for Acura Motorsports, finishing fourth overall in their SiriusXM AutoNation Acura ARX-05, earning the team the fourth starting position for the Rolex 24.

Finishing just two seconds behind in fifth were Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerque in their Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05. In GTD, the Magnus with Archangel duo of John Potter and Andy Lally persevered after an early race penalty, for a caution flag infraction, to finish 12th.

Rolex 24 Qualifying Race Results
4th overall – #60 Dane Cameron and Olivier Pla, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
5th overall – #10 Felipe Albuquerque and Ricky Taylor, Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi
12th GTD – #44 John Potter and Andy Lally, Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo

Fast Facts
Acura comes to this year’s Rolex 24 as two-time defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the premier DPi category with the Acura ARX-05 prototype, and defending Manufacturers’ Champion in the production-based GTD class with the Acura NSX GT3 Evo.
All three Acura teams at this year’s Rolex 24 are previous winners of the endurance racing classic. Wayne Taylor Racing won the Rolex 24 in 2017, 2019 and 2020; Meyer Shank Racing was victorious in 2012; and Magnus with Archangel have combined for three wins in production-based GT categories.
New for 2021 Type S graphics on the two ARX-05 prototypes are intended to reinforce the connection between Acura’s racing and productions vehicles, and our theme of Precision Crafted Performance.
Acura has recently announced production plans for Type S versions of the TLX performance sedan and MDX. Both models will be powered by turbocharged V6 engines, similar to the production-based engine used in the ARX-05 prototype.

Quotes
Dane Cameron (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-05): finished 4th in qualifying race; Rolex 24 co-drivers include Olivier Pla, Juan Pablo Montoya and A.J. Allmendinger: “Yeah, the first ever qualifying race for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, so fourth for [Meyer Shank Racing] is not too bad on our first time out with the ARX-05 prototype. We’ll definitely take it. We’ve made some real strides in the last day or two [of testing], working to make the balance better. Today’s race was a chance for the drivers to do live driver changes, for the team to do live pit stops, and for Ollie [Pla, co-driver] to do a full stint in the car under race conditions, and get to understand the [chassis adjusting] tools and electronics a lot better. It’s a little different to have this type of [qualifying race], but for us it was super helpful.”

Felipe Albuquerque (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-05) finished 5th in qualifying race for next weekend’s Rolex 24; race co-drivers will include Ricky Taylor, Alexander Rossi and Helio Castroneves: “We finished fifth after starting seventh, and actually, I’m quite happy with my job in the car. I didn’t know what to expect [before the race], since it was my first time in the Acura on rain tires and in the rain, but we had the car up to P3 at one point. That’s pretty solid. We were putting up a strong fight [at the front]. After the driver change, Ricky [Taylor, co-driver] had a tough time, as he went out on slick tires on a still damp track. Now we’ll start the 24 hours from fifth. Now let’s learn more about the car and have a strong race next weekend.:

Andy Lally (#44 Magnus with Archangel Acura NSX GT3 Evo) qualified 12th in GTD for the Rolex 24; co-drivers include John Potter, Spencer Pumpelly and Mario Farnbacher: “For as much as this team had to do in preparing for this season, I’m thrilled with how the car ran this weekend. The preparation from the Magnus with Archangel crew was nothing less than extraordinary, this is a brand-new chassis and there was a lot to accomplish in a very limited amount of time. They used their experience and ingenuity to come up with methods to get us through this test is good shape for next weekend.”

David Salters (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s qualifying race: “I’m grateful for the effort our new teams and our associates at HPD put in to get their new Acura’s so well prepared during what was an incredibly brief off-season for everyone. It was a huge undertaking on the part of Wayne Taylor Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Magnus with Archangel and HPD. But we didn’t quite get the results in today’s qualifying race that we were hoping for prior to the start of the test. So now, we need to have a good look at everything, understand it, and come back fighting next weekend.”

Where to Watch the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Television coverage of the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona starts Saturday, January 30, at 3:30 p.m. EST on NBC, and continues on the NBC Sports Network from 4:30-8 p.m.; 11 p.m.-3 a.m.; and 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Coverage concludes with the final hours of the race on NBC from 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Live flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the NBC Sports App and NBCSN Gold with NBCSN Trackpass authentication.

Fans can listen to audio commentary via IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and Sirius XM Radio; and follow the race live via in-car cameras, IMSA Radio and timing & scoring available worldwide on IMSA.com and the IMSA mobile device App.

Acura Motorsports social media content and video links from Daytona are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter at (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).

, Rolex 24 Pole Position for No. 4 Corvette C8.R Tandy, Sims win Corvette Racing debut in No. 4 C8.R; Catsburg and Taylor place second1-2 finish in GTLM for Corvette C8.R and first two grid positions for Rolex 24Corvette Racing, Chevrolet coming off 2020 sweep of full-season GTLM titles

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 24, 2021) – Corvette Racing took first and second in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) category of Sunday’s 100-minute qualifying race for next weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona as Nick Tandy and Alexander Sims won in their debut with the team. The victory for Tandy and Sims in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R means they and Tommy Milner will start from the GTLM pole position for Saturday’s Rolex 24 – the opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The Roar Before the 24 test weekend also ended with Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg coming home second in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette. They will drive with Antonio Garcia in the Rolex 24. Tandy won by 12 seconds over Catsburg as the two Corvette teams played the strategy perfectly during a race that started damp but ended under sunshine. Sims began third but took the race lead on the opening lap with the GTLM field on wet-weather tires, and Taylor ran fifth during a hectic opening . Two full-course caution periods interrupted the early going, and the two Corvettes pitted during the second yellow and went to slick Michelin tires. Tandy emerged first out of pitlane but third on the track as two other GTLM cars elected not to stop during the yellow, with Catsburg in fifth. He made quick work of the fourth-place car, and the two Corvettes moved to first and second shortly thereafter when the two leaders stopped for the first time. The No. 3 Corvette team elected to be the first car to make their second and final fuel-only stop with 50 minutes to go while Tandy came in with 43 minutes left. That allowed both cars to bide their time and wait for the then-leading Porsche to stop for its final time with 17 minutes remaining. Both Corvettes comfortably went back through to first and second to the end. Sunday’s race wrapped up three days of testing and development at Daytona ahead of the Rolex 24. Both Corvettes went through various chassis and suspension adjustments, among other  Corvette Racing is a three-time winner of the Rolex 24: it won the race overall in 2001 and scored back to-back GTLM wins in 2015 and 2016. A year ago, the team debuted the C8.R with a fourth-place finish for Garcia, Taylor and Catsburg as the No. 3 Corvette recorded more miles than any Corvette in the race’s history. The mid-engine C8.R and Corvette Stingray street car were developed simultaneously, and the race car and production vehicle share more technology and parts than any previous-generation Corvette. When initial Corvette C8.R design and development work began more than six years ago, Corvette Racing engineers worked closely alongside Corvette production personnel with a heavy emphasis on wind tunnel and simulation testing. Corvette Racing will open its 2021 season with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31, which will air beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 30 across NBC, NBCSN, TrackPass and the NBC Sports App. IMSA Radio will air full practice and race coverage at IMSA.com.

NICK TANDY, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM WINNER: “It was awesome. The car was really good. It’s great to work with my new teammates – Alex (Sims), Tommy (Milner, full-season teammate) and all the boys and girls at Corvette Racing. The car went round and round for an hour and 40 minutes. We’ve now got a week to sit on the pole for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. So that’s pretty cool.””It was fun, actually. Like Alex says, I think it’s been really good for the Roar. It enables you to get some sort of different testing in, but it’s obviously meaningful. Everyone wants to start the Rolex 24 from pole position, and we got to do this in a pressure situation and run through all the procedures. The Corvette was great. We have been working through a program as normal. Even working with the strategists and things like this is something we don’t expect to go through before our first race with a new program. It was good to race with the other GTLM cars, and I’m sure it will be equally fun and probably a lot more close this time next week. It obviously is a great start for me and Alexander to kick off our time with Corvette Racing.”IMPACT OF NOT HAVING AS MANY FANS AT THE TRACK: “One hundred percent, it takes away from the event. Our sport is based on people’s excitement of the competition and watching and following. A lot of us get to go racing because people enjoy watching what we are doing. Car brands and companies get behind our sport as such. I think I said to Alexander when we walked in the track on Friday, it’s very strange not to have people around. Once you get into the race, when you put on your helmet on and you’re in a competitive environment, you concentrate on your team’s job – and that’s to do the best for your car and for the people that are following you racing. The rest of the week outside the car, it’s very different. I’ve made a lot of friends here in Daytona at this event and in the area over the last few years; it’s a shame not to see them. Hopefully we are back here in 12 months’ time and I’ll get to say hello to a lot of them again.”THOUGHTS ON FIRST RACE WITH THE CORVETTE C8.R AFTER RACING AGAINST IT: “Racing against it last year, it looked like a car that could go around and around doing great lap times pretty consistently. Sure enough, these guys at Corvette Racing know a thing or two about building endurance race cars. Everything is slightly different than what I’m used to, but ultimately it’s designed to a similar set of regulations. The two of us have watched it race last year, and it’s as I expected. The team that work around it are champion class; they are multi-time champions for a reason. We’re both very lucky to be part of this program and hope we can carry on and take the C8.R to its first proper endurance, long-distance victory. That is the plan.”ONE THING TO REMEMBER 10 YEARS FROM NOW AFTER WINNING YOUR FIRST RACE WITH CORVETTE: “I hope that it was the beginning of many. That it was the first time we sat in front of the media and you guys after winning a big race. Hopefully we will be here in seven days’ time also.”CONCERNED ABOUT THE PORSCHE COULD MAKE IT ON ONE STOP: “Yes because if there was a heavy crash and a long caution period, it was possible for cars to stretch their fuel a lot. They had already made their stop and driver change. I think their plan was to stay out, hope for a lot of yellows and roll the dice that way. We rolled the dice and went with the slick tires on our first stop whereas a couple of the other cars kept their wet tires. It proved to be a great strategic call from Corvette Racing to get us the 1-2 in the end.” WAYS TO IMPROVE CORVETTE RACING AND THE C8.R AFTER ITS FIRST YEAR: “At the end of the day, Corvette Racing had a fantastic season with the C8.R in the debut year of the car with a ton of race wins and championships. I do know they are keen to score a long-distance victory, and it’s something we obviously are keen to help with. How we go about that is difficult to say other than just being consistent. From what I’ve seen in our limited together, it’s doing things the Corvette Racing way – going out and consistently being in and around the pace of the front-running cars. As we all know in longer races, you have to have a bit of luck come the end of the race. That’s the plan for this season: try and get a few marquee event wins.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM WINNER: “It was an interesting first taste of the conditions in the Corvette. Very quickly, I was given a lot of confidence from the car as to how to push. I was able to get around the BMWs on the first lap and then really just find my feet lap by lap. With the couple of cautions, it didn’t feel like there was a huge amount of laps but nevertheless it was nice to get some experience in the wet and get a feeling for how the C8.R was working. Doing a hot pit stop under a reasonable amount of time pressure was nice; not a lot of the race had gone so we didn’t need to fuel up too much. It was nice to go through all the procedures and have a taste of it before the 24 Hours.”IMPACT OF NOT HAVING AS MANY FANS AT THE TRACK: “I echo what Nick said. It’s strange, particularly the pre-race procedure… you normally have the grid with all the fans. Thinking ahead to next week and not having that sort of awesome fan interaction is a shame. But it’s how it is and it’s the right thing for the moment. We’re all looking forward to getting back to those days.”THOUGHTS ON FIRST RACE WITH THE CORVETTE C8.R AFTER RACING AGAINST IT: “I only drove against the C7. I remember a month or two ago from my first time in the C8.R at Sebring, it was super impressive… it really exceeded my expectations and was very, very good in many different phases of the corner. Working here this week so far, things have gone pretty well. Here in Daytona with the different conditions and the track being green, there have been some things to work on. But the Corvette Racing team has been doing a fantastic job of getting the car and us up to speed.”CORVETTE WON THE LAST TWO SPRINT RACES AT DAYTONA. CAN IT WIN THE ROLEX: “Personally I think it’s definitely possible. The competition is always strong in GTLM. We’ll have to keep working hard to improve things. But for me, everything is pointing in the right direction. We’ve done some good learning over the last few days. We need to keep things clean the first 16, 18, 20 hours to make sure we are there to fight at the end.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “Great job today by everyone at Corvette Racing. It’s great to see Nick and Alexander get a win in their first race with the team, and we are on pole as a result. You couldn’t ask for much more. We had a little bit of a bumpy start to the weekend, but since then the Corvette and the crew have been spotless. It’s been a great test. It’s been good to get Nick and Alexander some quality time in the car. We’ve all been happy with the balance and the changes that we are making;  we are seeing good progress on all fronts. The C8.R is getting better, we are getting our processes down better with driver changes and every aspect to be as successful as we can for be ahead of a 24-hour race… trying to go through all the details, shore up processes and those type of things. This is what the Roar is good for when you have new teammates, new crew guys and that kind of thing – anything that’s new from years past. It’s good opportunity for everyone to get comfortable again with their jobs and roles. I think we can that for us on the 4 car side, we’ve had a very productive test.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM:“The name of the game for us was getting into next weekend with this Corvette in one piece. I think we’ve done a good job of that. We used today as a test session for the Rolex 24, and everything went really well. We did try some different setup stuff to help prepare us for next week so we can pick one. When we came back here in July last year, we showed everyone how much we were able to develop the C8.R since the Rolex 24. It was a little bit of a short offseason, and we went back and looked everything again. We came here with whole new philosophy on the car. Some things worked and some things didn’t, so I think it’s good we had these test days to try things. We continued to try thing today and I’m sure we’ll be able to come back with a couple of new options come next week.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM:“The race was awesome. It was a good start to our weeks here at Daytona. It’s always good to come off with a 1-2 finish, and now we get to start ahead of everyone else in the Rolex 24. The team did a good job with the strategy calls, and the Corvette was good in both the wet and the dry. We learned some stuff and have some items to improve on in the car. But this has been a great way.”

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “We were able to cycle through all three drivers this weekend, which is good. Knowing that I wasn’t doing the race today, I had a little bit of limited time but did get almost half of the night practice Saturday. That was good. Our goal was to carry on to know where we are in testing different things in order to have the most data we can headed into the race. We still don’t know what next weekend will bring with track conditions, the weather and the like to know how to react. It was a classic Roar because you get track time but it’s limited because there are three of you in the car. It is a continuous working effort between all three drivers. In a way, it’s good that the car is going in one direction. We are starting to know what we need to do ahead of Saturday.”

LAKE CITY, FL (January 23, 2021) – Kyle Larson scored the victory in the first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event of the season on Saturday night at All-Tech Raceway. The 28-year-old California native earned his second career win in a dirt late model. On his way to Lucas Oil Victory Lane he took the lead from Tyler Erb on lap 14 and proceeded to lap up to the eighth-place finisher, eventually winning the race by a stout 15 seconds. There was a tight battle for the lead for the first 14 laps as Larson, Erb, and Devin Moran battled for the lead. Larson started sixth and passed Erb for the point, completely dominating the rest of the 50-lap race which went caution free. Moran moved into second on lap 16 and stayed there the rest of the race. New track record holder Mike Marlar came home in third followed by reigning Series Champion Jimmy Owens, and Brandon Sheppard. Erb started from the pole and looked strong early on, but he couldn’t hold off the hard-charging Larson who skated past Erb and pulled away from the entire field. Marlar got around Erb late in the race as Erb lost three spots in the closing laps to finish sixth. Owens came from the 13th starting spot to salvage a good finish taking fourth, after a good battle with Sheppard. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane Larson was in amazement of his performance. “I have been asking a lot of people how to run the bottom. I have been really bad every time in a late model about moving around. I can run the top good but moving around I haven’t been very good. So, I just tried to be a lot smoother.  Gosh, my race car was so fast. I could go anywhere I wanted.” Larson, who in 2020 captured 46 feature events and was the open wheel driver of the year, praised his car owner Kevin Rumley for the win. “Kevin Rumley and everyone who works on this thing, it’s such a pleasure to drive. I cannot believe I won Port Royal last year, and I can’t believe I won here. This is awesome. Thanks to all of the fans in the stands and the ones watching at home.” Moran was pleased with his second place run in the Tye Twarog-owned entry. It was Moran’s first race since last October after having off-season wrist surgery. “I lost all of my tearoffs early in the race. I couldn’t see the 6 car anyways, he was too far out in front. We will take this top two finish heading to East Bay next week.” Marlar, who is attempting his first full season with the series was pleased with his opening night performance. “As the track moved around a little bit, I got better. I want to thank Ronnie Delk for giving me this opportunity, my wife Stacy, and my crew for giving me such a good car tonight. Thank you to all of my sponsors and to the fans for everything that you all do for us.” The winner’s Rumley Engineering owned Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Cornett Racing Engine and sponsored by Bilstein Shocks, JVI Group, Mega Plumbing of the Carolinas, Hot Rod Septic Treatment, and D&E Marine. Completing the top ten were Tyler Erb, Gregg Satterlee, Jonathan Davenport, Kyle Bronson, and Brandon Overton.

Batavia, OHIO (January 20, 2021) – Dirt Draft entered the fantasy sports world as the first of its kind in July of 2019, covering grassroots short track racing events of all types. Since then, Dirt Draft has prided itself on working strategically with national series’, regional tours, racetracks, and drivers to enhance overall fan engagement across the nation.

After a successful 2020 season, Dirt Draft and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series have come to an agreement that positions Dirt Draft to remain the “Official Fantasy Sports Provider” of the series in 2021. Dirt Draft and the LOLMDS are excited to continue working together and already have an array of exciting additions in the works for this coming season. These additions cater to not only the users and fans, but to the drivers following the series as well. Much like last year, both parties are eager to work together as there is collectively a thriving desire to progress the overall fan experience in the racing industry as a whole. For the fans, the opportunity to be crowned the 2021 LOLMDS Dirt Draft Fantasy Champion seems to be in the spotlight of ‘what to pay attention to’. Not only does this title come with bragging rights, but the fantasy champion will be invited to the LOLMDS banquet in December to be recognized in front of and alongside some of the nation’s most elite teams and drivers.

For the drivers, have you ever heard someone say, “you can’t win Hot Laps?”, well now you can. In 2021, Dirt Draft is fixed to become a contingency sponsor of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series by introducing the Hot Lap Award. The driver with the most overall fastest lap time in Hot Laps at the conclusion of the season will be presented with a $500 check courtesy of Dirt Draft Fantasy Racing. For more information regarding Dirt Draft, visit DirtDraft.com or download the DirtDraft app. Also, be sure to follow along on Social Media for the latest news and updates via Twitter @DirtDraft and Facebook.com/DirtDraftFantasyRacing