Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Nov. 4, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi posted his 18th top-five outing of the season last Friday during the inaugural Tom Tarlton Classic.
Scelzi piloted his family owned car during the event at Keller Auto Speedway, where he opened the night by qualifying eighth quickest out of the 30 competitors. The heat race inversion put him on the outside of the front row, side by side with Kyle Larson.
“It was greasy for qualifying and when I qualified I was second quickest, but the track got faster and we weren’t able to keep that time,” Scelzi said. “We ended eighth quickest, which put us on the front row in the heat. I had a good start. Kyle slid me into turn one and I was able to turn underneath him. We won the heat race, which was great.”
Scelzi’s heat race triumph earned a spot into the dash. He then gained a position to finish second, which lined him up on the front row for the A Main. Dash winner Carson Macedo got lane choice and chose the outside lane for the initial start of the main event.
The top lane prevailed throughout the race. Scelzi rode in second early before he began searching the track in an effort to find a way to pass for the lead.
“I was getting really good restarts, but Macedo was way faster than everyone else,” he said. “I tried to slide him into turn one and he drove around me. I got tight against the cushion, which allowed Kyle and Brad (Sweet) to get by me.”
Scelzi finished fourth.
The season concludes this Friday and Saturday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., during the World of Outlaws Last Call with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. Scelzi will drive for Roth Motorsports at the event. It marks his first time racing at The Dirt Track at Charlotte since May 2019 and only his third visit to the oval.
“I’m excited to head to North Carolina and get more laps at The Dirt Track at Charlotte,” he said. “Hopefully we can put together a strong weekend to wrap up the season on a positive note.”
ZOOM TRANSCRIPTComments from Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor
Corvette Racing drivers Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor (No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R) met with members of the media during a Zoom conference call Tuesday to discuss clinching the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers title in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the development of the first-year C8.R and next week’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, among other topics. FULL TRANSCRIPT: ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RON WINNING THE GTLM TITLE:“It wasn’t very easy. First of all, we started with the toughest race of the year in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. We obviously didn’t run a perfect race and didn’t win it. We came out with fourth place, which was good points for the C8.R in its first race. After that was when the COVID situation hit, right before Sebring. Up to that point, we had tested at Sebring in February in order to improve our car from Daytona. When the lockdown happened, we still improved a lot and didn’t lose any time waiting for the next race. We as a team kept preparing our cars and developing new things that needed to be done. All the work that the mechanics, the engineers and everyone did worked out because the first race after lockdown, we started winning. I don’t know if it helped us not running a normal season – the Sebring 12 Hours, Long Beach and so on. Maybe in a normal situation we wouldn’t have had the same amount of time to prep the cars toward the rest of the season. It’s been a very difficult and unique season. After the restart, the team didn’t have any time to really do anything else; we went race to race and couldn’t develop anything else… just some simulator work. Corvette Racing did an outstanding job at that. We kept the momentum going. I don’t know if the other manufacturers had time to react, but for us it has been close to a perfect season. Winning five races already with one to go is very, very remarkable – probably my best ever season. Let’s see where we end up, but hopefully we can win one more at Sebring.” DOES CLINCHING THE CHAMPIONSHIP CHANGE THE OUTLOOK FOR SEBRING:“We knew we had locked down the championship after Petit Le Mans. But Jordan and I were very careful with that because we knew all we had to do was start the last two races. Before this year, it would have been a no-brainer and easy to do. But in this COVID period, it’s risky to think that. You can get unlucky, become sick and then you’re not able to compete. I was very, very stressed about that. These are the new things you need to consider. But now it’s a relief that we are champions. When we hit the track at Sebring, that will be out of our heads because the championship is locked up. So I’m glad the championship is decided before Sebring.“Knowing that we only needed to start the race, maybe the approach to Sebring would have been different. But now that we are champions, we can go back to a normal Sebring mindset. It’s usually the second race of the year, and no one would think about the championship that early. So we are back to that normal preparation. This race is later in the year, so the night period will be longer and temperatures are going to be lower. Those will be things we need to react to. Considering most of this year has been that way, it’s back to a normal race mindset and less question marks as we go into the race.” COMPARING THE CORVETTE C8.R VS. THE PREVIOUS C7.R, AND AT WHAT POINT WAS A CHAMPIONSHIP POSSIBLE?“I probably thought about it at the Rolex 24. In every single aspect, this car is better than the C7.R. That car was very old and we couldn’t really develop anything new. So while we saw the newer competition get better and better, we were kind of stuck. At the Rolex, I saw the potential of the C8.R and knew that once we fixed some issues from that race, the car would be very strong. Right after the lockdown, the step forward at Daytona and Sebring was huge – on tire degradation and the way the car reacts to every single thing we do. It’s better everywhere. We are still kind of early with this car, so we need to run every single racetrack so when we come back next year we can improve on what we have done this year. Obviously the starting point we had with the C8.R was already a big step forward.” ON PERSONNEL CHANGES WITHIN THE TEAM:“It was very different. After the lockdown, the 3 car side went upside-down on many team members. Our regular engineer Kyle (Millay) moved to a different position (chief engineer). Our new race engineer John (Lankes) stepped in, so there was a shift on the engineering side. It was the same on the car side where Dan Binks wasn’t there but we had Dave (Marin) come over from the 4 car as our car chief. There weren’t new members because they were already on the team, but there were a lot of people reassigned within the team as part of the preparation done during the lockdown. Initially it was very hard because the combination we previously had on the 3 car between Kyle and I was very strong. The work system was way easier because he knew me and I knew him. So we had to develop new relationships between engineers and us as drivers, and it was the same with the mechanics. As everyone saw, we seem to work really, really well. Race by race, we kept improving. There were little things we needed to address, and so far it’s all been very good. So the 3 car was completely new with Jordan joining but also a big shift in personnel and in a good direction. I’m very happy and grateful for these changes. Now we see the end result.” JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.RON THE MOVE FROM PROTOTYPES TO GTLM AND WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE FIRST YEAR:“It means a lot. When I made the move from GT to prototype in 2013, I was disappointed to move away from GT racing and not win a championship. We finished second in 2011 in the GRAND-AM GT points and one point off a championship. I always loved GT racing, so it was a missing point in my career on the championship side of things. It definitely was on my radar to get back to GT racing, and having the relationship with Corvette Racing all those years as a third driver… to have that come full-circle and be a full-time driver was a huge honor to get that ask last year. Coming in with a new car in the C8.R, there were a lot of question marks and it was a big unknown jumping in. Having seen what Corvette Racing has done in the past with C6.R, C7.R and now C8.R, they always come out strong. This is the most unique car where a lot of it was designed in the simulation process on computers, proven in the Chevrolet simulator and developed that way before it hit the track. A fourth-place at Daytona may not have looked fantastic, but for a brand new car to come out and be that strong and competitive out of the box was huge. It gave a lot of people some confidence heading into the rest of the year. The pandemic shutdown gave us extra time to do our homework and some extra time for the crew to work on the car when they were allowed to, and for us as drivers to do more time in the simulator to develop it. That time and the preparation from all the guys really is what made our year so successful with the limited track time we had. Big thanks to everyone. Obviously it was great to drive with Antonio all year. He’s someone I’ve always wanted to be with for a full season and learn from. I definitely learned a lot, and thankfully everything worked out. Definitely, the Sebring 12 Hours is still high on the list for us to try and win.” WOULD THE OUTCOME HAVE BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT THE COVID SHUTDOWN:“It’s hard to say. The shutdown definitely didn’t hurt us in having that extra time, plus going back to Daytona after having a 24-hour race there. We did a two-day test at Sebring right after the Rolex 24, so I think we would have been ready for the 12 Hours but it still would have been an unknown. When we did go there for the sprint race, we were competitive. It’s hard to say what in the season would have been different having tracks like Watkins Glen and (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) on the calendar, which we missed out on plus Long Beach. Those were tracks the C8.R hadn’t been to, but looking at how we ran at Charlotte and some places we didn’t expect to go to and how strong we were, I’d like to say we would have had a similar outcome. But I’m glad things have gone the way they have.” WHO TO PULL FOR IN THE PROTOTYPE CHAMPIONSHIP: BROTHER OR DAD:“I’d better be careful what I say! I haven’t finished the past two races so I was able to watch both finishes. Watching our car is stressful, and watching them is stressful. It’s not really fun watching them race, especially going to Sebring where they are separated by a couple of points. It’ll be good and it’s be great for the fans. If I were watching as a fan, this is exactly what I’d want. You want the championship to come down to the wire. It should be a good fight. They’re both strong at Sebring. We (Wayne Taylor Racing) won there in 2017, and the Penske cars are always strong there. It will be a good fight. I don’t think I could pick one over the other, otherwise I’ll get in pretty big trouble, especially that it’s my brother in an Acura and my dad with a Cadillac! So maybe I’ll be politically correct and pull for the Cadillac.”
NASCAR CUP SERIESnPHOENIX RACEWAY SEASON FINALE 500 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 2, 2020
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF FOR THE NO. 9 HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, AND JEFF ANDREWS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER FOR HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS, met with media via teleconference to discuss the anticipation leading into the Championship Four race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, what it takes to prepare for Chase Elliott’s first appearance in the Championship Four, and more. Full Transcript: THE MODERATOR: We are now going to be joined by Alan Gustafson and Jeff Andrews. We will go ahead and start questions. Q. Alan, this is Jimmie’s last race. I’m curious if there’s anything that he did or that the team did that you tried to emulate, especially in this kind of championship run?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Wow, that’s a great question. Yeah, I try to be like Jimmie Johnson every day. He’s a really amazing individual, competitor. To think about one thing, it’s hard to say. But I think his tenacity, his never‑say‑die attitude is probably the biggest thing. I can remember he told me a story one time. We were at Kansas Speedway. He was in the middle of his runs of the championships. I can’t remember what circumstance we were. We were racing. He said one of the biggest lessons he learned in his career, he started the Chase off really bad, I don’t know if they had crashes or DNF’s, thought they were out of it. He started racing with reckless abandon and ultimately won that championship. He was just describing the fact that you’re never out of it and you’ve got to race every race like it’s your last. That stuck with me for a long time. It was a great lesson. That’s something that I’ll remember. I think his tenacity, just never‑say‑die attitude, his willingness to just cut loose and race as hard as he can race. Q. Alan, how important was it to get a Hendrick and a Chevrolet into the finals? It had been a long drought since Jimmie’s last title?ALAN GUSTAFSON: To me, yeah, I think it’s important. It’s always important. It’s what we do, right? I don’t know, this year specifically, I can’t say for Jeff, but for me, I just felt like we’ve been right on the cusp for so many years the last three years or so, we needed to get over the edge. You keep swinging at ’em, keep swinging at ’em, finally hit one. Yeah, I think it was time. Certainly, there was some urgency from Mr. Hendrick, from Chevrolet, that we needed to be represented in the championship. I would say every year’s important, but certainly the one you’re in is the most. JEFF ANDREWS: I think Alan answered the question well. Certainly, for Chevrolet we’ve consistently gotten to that Round of 8. Getting past that point into the Round of 4 has been very important for Mr. Royce and Jim Campbell and everybody at Chevrolet to get a car to Phoenix, compete for a championship. We were excited to do that, be a part of that for them. Certainly, part of a greater effort in general from Chevrolet here in the last two years to get these teams together, specifically the Childress and Hendrick and Ganassi groups, get everybody working together on different initiatives, different projects, talking to each other. I think what’s happened here in the last eight or nine weeks have been a culmination of that. There’s been a lot of working together to accomplish this goal of getting a car to Phoenix, so… Q. Did you feel that sense of urgency from Mr. H that Alan mentioned?JEFF ANDREWS: Absolutely. We left last year all very disappointed, and Mr. Hendrick let us know that he was disappointed. It was essentially one of our worst years in quite some time from a points position. I don’t want to say there’s nothing worse, but in the past we’d go down to Homestead, to go down there and not be part of that, it’s just a totally different feeling after having been a part of it for so many years. To go down there, just kind of not be a part of that, go down there to run a race and be competitive, but for Mr. Hendrick as well, to put him back in the middle of that, we’re awful proud. He’s been on the phone all night long. I was getting texts, I’m sure Alan was, at 1:30, 10 minutes to 2 last night. He’s excited. He’s pumped up. We’re happy to go down there, go to Phoenix and fight for him for that. Q. Jeff, how evenly matched are the four that are competing for the championship, would you say?JEFF ANDREWS: I think it’s an interesting question. I mean, certainly the Penske Fords have been good at that track, talking specifically about Phoenix. No doubt they will be good. I think from our perspective, when we saw the schedule change, saw we were going to end up at Phoenix for the finale, I think we felt all along obviously we wanted to get a car there, but certainly knowing how Chase runs there, how good he and Alan are there, have been there in the past, that was one that came up on our radar pretty quick. If we could get to Phoenix, I don’t even want to say we’ve got a shot, we are legitimate contenders. Alan and Chase run very well there. We’re excited to get out there. Obviously I think the 11 car’s record speaks for itself through the years here. Personally, I’m excited we’re in it, of course. I think we’ve got a great Final 4 going into the Phoenix weekend. I think it’s going to be a great show. Q. Jeff, you wanted all the Hendrick cars in. Is there any advantage to not being like Logano and Keselowski where you have to race a teammate when there’s only four running for a championship?JEFF ANDREWS: I don’t know that there’s an advantage. Obviously our shop and Alan and the 9 team and those racecars, engines and things, are going to get a lot of attention here in the next three to four days. Not that we would have treated it differently. Given everything that’s on the line, sure there is going to be an extra effort here and long nights before we send haulers out the door on Thursday evening. Yeah, I think certainly having a multitude of cars in obviously helps your chances when you’re there at the racetrack. Having one car in, certainly we have a lot of focus now, a lot of resources to put towards that one car here. Q. Jeff, obviously after this weekend this will be Knaus’ final race before he steps into his new role. What legacy does he leave behind as a crew chief?JEFF ANDREWS: Well, I think he leaves behind probably one of the greatest that will ever sit on top a pit box from his wins and accomplishments. I think for us, the people that work day in and day out with Chad, I mean, he’s an extremely strong leader. He has thrived at putting a young group of guys together, young drivers, putting a goal in front of them, building a true team environment. That’s something that Chad is really, really good at, in motivating his guys. From our perspective, we hate to lose that depth on top of the pit box, kind of that strength in building a team. But certainly, that’s a trait that he’s going to bring to us out in the shops, putting groups together, making our group in the shop and making our competition group stronger, getting them focused, getting better racecars at the end of the day to Alan and the teams to go race with. Q. Alan, this is your first appearance in the Championship 4. What do you think this week is going to be like, this weekend for you going into the race, maybe not knowing how this has worked before, what the experience is going to be like?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s not my first actually. It’s my second. Q. My bad. My notes are wrong. First with Chase then. What can your experience bring to Chase as he now shifts from an emotional race at Martinsville going into his first championship contention?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I don’t think you can really be prepared for it until you go through it. It’s certainly a different situation. He’s raced to transfer into the Final 8. He’s been in the Round of 8 now I guess, I don’t know, for the last three years or four years. He knows what it’s like to be in kind of that must‑win situation. This is really no different. There’s a lot of focus on the four cars. That’s the majority of the focus from the press and the media and the TV and everybody around. Ultimately you’ve got to win. You don’t have to win, but most likely you’re going to have to win to be the champion. There’s a lot of pressure that went through that. Going through this weekend, we can help prepare him for it. Yeah, it’s a unique experience. I think you have to go through it to really understand it and learn how to manage it. Q. Alan, with all the years you’ve served as crew chief, you’ve competed against these other crew chiefs, maybe not Gabehart, but as you study yourself, any competitor studies their competition, is there anything that you’ve seen out of those three guys through the years of competing with them that you picked anything up or pushed you a little bit more to help you become even more successful?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think all of them are very talented guys. Off the top of my head, I’ve probably had the most battles or many situations with Paul. Paul is obviously very successful, has done a great job. I think each one of the crew chiefs have their strengths, each one of the teams have their strengths, and they’re all different. Each competitor has a different area that they excel at. It’s going to be all about who can optimize their strengths the most, shield their weaknesses the most. It’s going to be an interesting part of the dynamic. I think everybody kind of has tendencies, they have strengths and weaknesses. I think we all know what those are. We’ll do the best we can to compete and take advantage of them. Yeah, I have a lot of respect for all those guys. Certainly, it’s extremely difficult to get here. You can’t do it unless you’re at the top of your game. Certainly, going to be great competition and looking forward to it. THE MODERATOR: Alan, Jeff, thank you guys for joining us. We wish you the best of luck this weekend. JEFF ANDREWS: Thank you. ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thank you.
Houston native sets mark for most championships by a female driverLAS VEGAS (Nov. 2, 2020) – First female with four championships has a nice ring, but it wasn’t top of mind for Erica Enders entering what appeared to be a normal National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing Series season. But because of COVID-19, nothing has been normal. Two races were in the books when racing was halted until July because of the novel coronavirus. Now, nearly nine months and only 10 Pro Stock races later, Enders can wrap her mind around earning the distinction. The Houston native, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, added to her 2019, 2015 and 2014 Pro Stock championships in the Dodge NHRA Finals presented by Pennzoil at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Enders overtook Shirley Muldowney, who won Top Fuel titles in 1977, ’80 and ’82, and Angelle Sampey with Pro Stock Motorcycle championships in 2000, 2001 and ’02. A year earlier at Las Vegas, Enders earned the 150th professional category victory for a female driver. In 298 career races, she has 29 wins and 349 elimination-round victories. “Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them,” said Enders, who picked up her first Pro Stock Wally in 2012 at Chicago. Enders also joined Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), Don Prudhomme (Funny Car), Gary Scelzi (Top Fuel/Funny Car), Lee Shepherd (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) with four titles on the all-time list. No one was as dominant in the 2014 and ’15 seasons as Enders, who won 15 races on the way to back-to-back Pro Stock world championships. In 24 races in 2015, Enders qualified No. 1 six times and started from the top half of the field 22 times in her Camaro. Two wins in the six-event Countdown to the Championship spurred Enders to the 2019 championship. This season, Enders won the second race (Phoenix). Victories at Indianapolis and St. Louis followed the long layoff. She entered the finale with a 55-point lead over Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin Jr., who promptly lost their first-round matchups that handed Enders the championship. She raced to the final, defeating Kyle Koretsky’s Chevrolet Camaro for her series-high fourth victory. “What an unbelievable day,” said Enders, who won for the sixth time at The Strip. “This place has been so good to me but I couldn’t do it without my team. I’ve not had the best year, but this is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last. “Richard Freeman gave me this opportunity and I’m a blessed girl.”
After running in mid-pack for most of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team worked on their Mustang, hit on some speed and surged forward to finish 10th. It was their second-straight top-10 and their 10th of 2020.
DiBenedetto started the 500-lapper at the Wood Brothers’ home track from 12th place, and ran mostly inside the top 15 for the first Stage before ending that run in 16th place.
In Stage Two, it was more of the same as he once again finished 16th.
Then, as the third segment of the race began to unfold, the situation began to improve. With 135 laps to go, DiBenedetto moved into 14th place. Three laps later he was 13th, and with 70 laps to go he was 12th.
With 47 laps remaining, he moved into the top 10 and except for a couple of exchanges, ran there until the checkered flag fell.
“We kind of missed it on the set-up,” DiBenedetto said. “There were some things we would have changed if we had practice, so we were kind of stuck with what we had.
“But, in what I’d call a “blue-collar day’ we worked on the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang, got it the best it could be and got a top-10 out of it.”
DiBenedetto said that’s what a good race team needs to do.
“When you can have what looks like it’s going to be a bad day and make a top-10 out of it, it shows the progress we’re making with this team,” he said. “We’re getting better.”
With Sunday’s race setting the field for the Championship Round of the Playoffs, DiBenedetto said he had to be careful racing around drivers trying to advance in the playoffs.
“I tried to be really aware of their situations,” he said, adding that there are risks to his team in racing around drivers in desperate circumstances. “I didn’t want to do something that would mess up our day, and I also didn’t want to interfere with the outcome of the playoff battle.”
The No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang did have some close calls, including one at the finish line when Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch spun as Harvick made a last-ditch attempt to secure a spot in the final four. DiBenedetto moved high, then low, to motor by Harvick and preserve his top-10 finish.
“There was a lot of smoke when I came off Turn Four, but I was able to get by him,” he said.
DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team remain 14th in the Cup Series points standings, one point behind William Byron in 13th place and 11 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer.
The finish at Martinsville, specifically the runner-up run by Ryan Blaney, clinched the 2020 Manufacturers’ Championship for Ford Motor Company. It was Ford’s second crown in three years, and it’s the first for the Mustang since it joined the Cup Series last year. Mustang drivers have 18 wins so far this season and have one more chance in next Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
Eddie Wood said he salutes all the drivers and teams that were a part of the championship effort.
“It’s a great accomplishment, and with two Team Penske Mustang drivers in the Final Four at Phoenix, hopefully there will be another big trophy in the Ford camp a week from now,” he said.
Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Matt Hagan earns 2020 Funny Car World Championship aboard his “demon-possessed” Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye and wraps up the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series season with a win at the Dodge NHRA Finals
Hagan won his third career Funny Car world championship and took home his third Wally trophy of the season
DSR drivers Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman and Ron Capps dominated the Funny Car class to finish 1-2-3-4 and combined for a NHRA season sweep by winning all 11 national events
A DSR Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car won every race of the 2020 NHRA season and extended the team’s undefeated streak to a record 14 consecutive victories since October 2019
Hagan earned his 35th career win against No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps in the seventh head-to-head Dodge final round battle of the year
Leah Pruett drives Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel dragster across the 2020 season finish line to a fourth place finish in championship for a third straight year
Mark Pawuk wheels his Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak to a third-place result in the 2020 Factory Stock Showdown championship
November 1, 2020, Las Vegas, Nevada – Matt Hagan and his “demon-possessed” Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye have earned the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series Funny Car World Championship title and the national event win at the season-ending Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil in Las Vegas. It is Hagan’s third championship crown after title wins in 2011 and 2014 and the sixth Funny Car class victory for the Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) team in 18 years.
From the No. 2 position on the eliminations ladder, Hagan earned his third Wally trophy of the year in a season dominated by the DSR stable of HEMI®-powered Funny Cars. The DSR foursome of Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr., Jack Beckman and Ron Capps finished 1-2-3-4 atop the Funny Car standings and combined for a NHRA season “sweep” in which a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat won every national event to extend the team’s undefeated streak to a record 14 consecutive victories since October 2019.
“It’s been just an unbelievable season,” said Hagan. “My guys have put an unbelievable car behind me with Pennzoil, Dodge SRT and Mopar. Everybody who supports us. It’s great to win for Camping World and their first championship. My guys have worked so hard all season long. I can’t say enough about them and thank them. Three wins, a championship, it’s just special. I can’t wait for next season.”
“To have Matt Hagan win the championship at the Dodge NHRA Finals and cap off it off with an undefeated season and record 14th straight victory is a testament to the team’s hard work and the pure performance of the Charger SRT Hellcat,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Global Head of Alfa Romeo and Head of Passenger Cars – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA – North America. “It is really satisfying to watch our quickest, fastest and most powerful production vehicles represented so well on the race track.”
“On behalf of all of us at Mopar, congratulations to Matt Hagan on a well-deserved third NHRA World Championship and a dominating performance in Funny Car competition this season,” said Mark Bosanac, Head of Mopar Service, Parts and Customer Care for FCA – North America. “Reflecting on Mopar’s long-standing involvement in the NHRA, including 18 successful years in partnership with Don Schumacher, we take great pride in this title win.”
With a two-round lead over his closest championship challengers, teammates Johnson and Beckman, Hagan clinched the crown after wins over Cruz Pedregon and Paul Lee in the first two rounds and just prior to staging his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye for his semifinal match-up against Alexis DeJoria. The deal was sealed after Beckman was upset in the opening round against Paul Lee and No. 1 qualifier Capps defeated Johnson as the first semifinal pair to take the track.
With the 2020 Funny Car championship secured, all that was left to determine was who would take home the Dodge NHRA Finals Wally trophy as Hagan and Capps lined up for the seventh head-to-head Hellcat final round battle of the year.
While Capps had the early lead his efforts went up in smoke at half-track as Hagan took his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat for a solid 3.914-second final lap to earn his 36th career victory and defend his 2019 win at The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway and tie the NHRA reco
“Dodge and the DSR fab shop, they’ve put a great race car underneath us,” said Hagan. “My crew chief Dickie Venables, I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s won me two world championships (2014, 2020) and we’ve runnered-up a few times. There’s a handful of guys on this team who haven’t won a championship before. I’m just so proud to give them that opportunity and I know how bad everybody wanted it.
“For us to have won three world championships now in this sport, it’s incredible,” added Hagan. “It all comes back down to my guys and the car they put under me. It’s not just me. I try not to mess it up. This is one of the most humbling sports I’ve been involved in and it always seems to come down to the last race and that certainly doesn’t make me look any younger. Thank you to everyone who supports what we do and we hope we made you proud to be a part of this.”
The Top Fuel season wrapped up with Leah Pruett racing her Mopar Dodge//SRT dragster to semifinal finishes in three of the first five races, a runner-up finish at the U.S. Nationals, and another semifinal finish at the Gatornationals, making her a top-three championship contender for most of the year. Pruett remained in the hunt until the penultimate race of the year when eventual title winner Steve Torrence’s points lead was insurmountable. Pruett turned her focus to finishing strong by taking her fierce-looking Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye dragster to the quarterfinals in the season finale to match her career-best fourth place finish in the Top Fuel standings for the third consecutive year.
Pruett also spent time behind the wheel of her Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak alongside teammate Mark Pawuk in Factory Stock Showdown (FSS) competition in 2020. Winner of the 2018 class title in her rookie year, Pruett took on the challenge of battling against a competitive field of 30 entries by scoring two round wins, but is now looking forward to making a return to competition next season aboard a new 2021 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak.
Pawuk made positive gains aboard his Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak throughout the six-race season as he battled atop the Factory Stock Showdown standings with a runner-up finish at U.S. Nationals and back-to-back semifinal results at the Dallas FallNationals and Houston’s Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals (rescheduled to the Fall). Pawuk’s solid performances garnered him a third place finish in the Factory Stock Showdown championship won by Aaron Stanfield.
The Mopar Dodge//SRT contingent will return to competition in the spring for the NHRA’s 70th anniversary season. The 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season with feature a 22-race schedule that will kick-off on March 12-14 at the 52nd annual Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 10 Qualifier – 3.996 seconds at 309.70 mph) Round 1: (0.072-second reaction time, 3.975 seconds at 317.05 mph) lost to No. 7 Paul Lee (0.079/3.933/327.82)
“We lost the war, but I’m going to have to be comforted by the fact that we won a lot of battles this year. We won the Winternationals, we won the U.S. Nationals, we won at Dallas, those are all huge races. We had a fantastic year. We had a car that contended up to the last day. I can’t put a positive spin on losing the championship. I truly thought we were going to do this. I thought it would be the most fitting way as a tribute to the Chandler family going out and perhaps the end of my career. I’m just going to have to step back and get my perspective and remain an adult about this. As disappointing as it is, it’s been a fantastic year. It’s been a fantastic ride with the Infinite Hero Foundation and the Chandler’s and if its ended it’s been a fantastic career.”
Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car (No. 2 Qualifier – 3.911 seconds at 327.82 mph) Round 1: (0.067-second reaction time, 3.901 seconds at 328.38 mph) defeated No. 15 Cruz Pedregon (0.066/4.034/312.35)
Round 2: (0.092/3.934/321.81) defeated No. 7 Paul Lee (0.081/4.181/258.57)
Round 4: (0.110/3.914/326.40) defeated No. 1 Ron Capps (0.067/4.463/173.70)
“It’s been a fight all year long. With Covid, not know when we’ll start racing again, where the season will end, it’s just been very challenging mentally, for my guys, our sponsors, but thank you to everyone at Dodge SRT, Mopar and Pennzoil and everyone for sticking by us. Dodge and the DSR fab shop, they’ve put a great race car underneath us. Dickie Venables, I can’t say enough about the guy. He’s won me two world championships and we’ve runnered-up a few times. There’s a handful of guys on this team who haven’t won a championship before. I’m just so proud to give them that opportunity and I know how bad somebody wants it, especially the first time.
“For us to have won three world championships now in this sport, it’s incredible. It all comes back down to my guys and the car they put under me. It’s not just me. I try not to mess it up. This is one of the most humbling sports I’ve been involved in and it always seems to come down to the last race and that certainly doesn’t make me look any younger. Thank you to everyone who supports what we do and we hope we made you proud to be a part of this.”
Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 4 Qualifier – 3.915 seconds at 319.14 mph)
Round 1: (0.090-second reaction time, 3.942 seconds at 323.74 mph) defeated No. 13 Jim Campbell (0.096/5.047/153.56)
Round 2: (0.074/3.939/323.81) defeated No. 5 Bob Tasca III (0.066/3.960/324.12)
Round 3: (0.090/3.943/324.20) lost to No. 1 Ron Capps (0.068/3.906/329.8)
“It was a great season, we came close. Matt (Hagan) and his team did a great job this season. I’m just so proud of my guys on this MD Anderson team. It was a very difficult 2020 year and to come down to the last few rounds of the year and to have a shot of winning the championship is nothing to hang our heads about being second. It’s disappointing to get so close and not get it, but at the same time it was a great season to finish second. Hopefully something comes around and we can have a shot again next year. All-and-all a great season. Very happy for the Chandlers and to have their cars finish second and third is pretty outstanding.”
Ron Capps, Pennzoil NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 1 Qualifier – 3.902 seconds at 327.98 mph) Round 1: (0.097-second reaction time, 6.031 seconds at 109.69mph) defeated No. 16 Chris Morel (No Time)
Round 3: (0.068/3.906/329.83) defeated No. 4 Tommy Johnson Jr. (0.090/3.943/324.20)
Round 4: (0.067/4.463/173.70) lost to No. 2 Matt Hagan (0.110/3.914/326.40)
“What a weekend. It all came to plan. Especially getting the No. 1 qualifying spot and that Camping World hat. We did get a lucky break first round, but Rahn Tobler and the NAPA/Pennzoil guys, what a job they did. It went almost to plan until the final round. It was running great and I’m not sure what happened, but another one of those pretty big explosions. Thanks to Impact for great safety gear and everyone at the DSR fab shop for mounting a great Dodge body. Two wins this year, some finals, a pole, not a bad ’20 season for this NAPA team.”
Leah Pruett, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel Dragster (No. 6 Qualifier – 3.791 seconds at 322.04 mph)
Round 1: (0.116-second reaction time, 3.753 seconds at 317.64mph) defeated No. 9 Chris Karamesines (0.447 /4.260/203.00)
Round 2: (0.091/3.810/321.65) lost to No. 12 Justin Ashley (0.061/3.777/320.36)
“Our fourth place finish on the season is a direct reflection of our overall performance. It’s very respectable of course not the best on the track and we truly feel like we were completely in stride and making progress as a championship contender and once our St. Louis incident happened we lost our consistency. It’s like we had a broken link in our system that we’re working to get back. A scuffed piston on our round two lap put us behind and we’re trying to find the confidence we once had to get back our complete performance package and we know that’s possible. I think overall the beauty of the 2020 season for us is that we had shown glimpses of a championship caliber performance and we’ll be working to get it back. We made it the entire season and didn’t lose first round and next year we have to make it to at least the semis at every race.”
Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak– Factory Stock Shootout (No. 15 Qualifier – 9.346 seconds at 168.22 mph)
Round 1: (0.048-second reaction time, 8.003 seconds at 170.90 mph) lost to No. 2 Aaron Stanfield (0.027/7.929/172.50)
“It ended up a great season for this Empaco Equipment Dodge Drag Pak. We struggled in (Las) Vegas at the last race unfortunately not being able to get down the track in qualifying which had us running the series champ in the first round and going out. We had a shot to finish second in points which would have been my best ever finish in NHRA competition, but just got bumped down to third today. Still a great season. We were down on power early, but Kevin Helms, Terry Snyder, Kyle Pawuk did a tremendous job to get us competitive. The driver did ok and finishing third ain’t bad. We’re really looking forward to bringing out the 2021 Drag Pak next year and hopefully Leah and I can go out and do some damage.”
Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak – Factory Stock Shootout (No. 3 Qualifier – 7.976 seconds at 170 mph) Round 1: (0.046-second reaction time, 7.940 seconds at 171.27 mph) defeated No. 14 Kevin Skinner (0.054/8.104/168.03)
Round 2: (0.036/8.056/168.05) lost to No. 6 John Cerbone (0.004/8.064/169.21)
“What a table-turn of events this weekend. We had a very competitive car all weekend at Vegas with very tight racing. Of course, if we would have raced anyone else that second round we probably would have won. When your competitor has a .004 light against you, sometimes it makes it difficult to put on your win light. It was a proper finish for El Bandito. He finished off strong and the new Drag Pak is very exciting and we’re ready to show off some new Mopar-muscle.”
2020 NHRA FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
FUNNY CAR (season wins in parentheses)
1. Matt Hagan (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 1020 (3)
2. Tommy Johnson Jr. (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 915 (3)
3. Jack Beckman (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 848 (3)
4. Ron Capps (Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat) – 828 (2)
5. Bob Tasca III – 679
6. J.R. Todd – 663
7. Tim Wilkerson – 615
8. Alexis DeJoria – 605
9. Paul Lee – 464
10. Cruz Pedregon – 436
TOP FUEL (season wins in parentheses)
1. Steve Torrance – 1015 (4)
2. Doug Kalitta – 822 (1)
3. Billy Torrence – 793 (1)
4. Leah Pruett (Mopar Dodge//SRT) – 754
5. Antron Brown – 709 (1)
6. Shawn Langdon – 595 (1)
7. Justin Ashley – 594 (1)
8. Clay Millican – 493
9. Tony Schumacher – 464 (1)
10. Terry McMillen – 436
DodgeGarage: Digital Hub for Drag Racing News Fans can follow all the NHRA’s action this season at DodgeGarage, the one-stop portal for Dodge//SRT and Mopar drag-racing news. The site includes daily updates and access to an online racing HQ, news, events, galleries, available downloads, and merchandise. For more information, visit www.dodgegarage.com.
@DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram The @DodgeMoparMotorsports Instagram channel continues to share content capturing Dodge//SRT Mopar drivers on the track. Fans can see action from the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and NHRA Sportsman grassroots racers competing in classes such as Factory Stock Showdown, Stock and Super Stock, as well as additional motorsports series.
Another Runner-Up for GTLM Champions Garcia, Taylor· Garcia, Taylor take second consecutive runner-up finish· Chevrolet on verge of clinching GTLM Manufacturers championship· Technical infraction spoils run for Gavin, Milner
MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor recorded their eighth podium finish of the season Sunday as the pairing finished second in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class of the Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Garcia and Taylor placed second in the category with their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R for the second race in a row. The result also sealed the GTLM Drivers and Team titles in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In addition, Chevrolet moved into position to clinch the GTLM Manufacturers title as long as either of Corvette Racing’s two mid-engine Corvettes starts the final race of the year – the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in two weeks. It would be the third time since 2014 that the program has swept the full-season GTLM championships in the same year. Corvette Racing’s second C8.R – the No. 4 of Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner – finished a hard-fought third in class Sunday. Unfortunately, the car was found to be out of technical compliance in post-race inspection and was relegated to sixth place. Sunday’s race featured a myriad of tire strategies on the dusty and slippery Laguna Seca circuit. After starting on pole position, Taylor led for the first 16 laps before making the first of three pit stops in the No. 3 Corvette. He cycled back through to second place, which is where he and Garcia stayed most of the day. Gavin and Milner finished on track in the same position the No. 4 Corvette started. With the team deciding to run a slightly longer opening stint, Gavin pitted from the lead five laps after Taylor as the No. 4 team eyed a potential two-stop strategy. Those plans went by the wayside just past the halfway point. Garcia took over the second-place No. 3 Corvette with 86 minutes left in the two-hour, 40-minute event and attempted to regain the lead from Earl Bamber’s Porsche 40 minutes later by going a lap longer before making the final stop. Traffic stymied Garcia’s progress before he took his last service. Milner, who got in the No. 4 Corvette with 82 minutes left, came in a lap later and cycled back to fourth. A full-course caution with 25 minutes remaining brought the top four GTLM cars – both Corvettes and both Porsches – together for a late-race dash. Milner came out the biggest winner, moving from fourth to third with a nifty move inside the final 15 minutes, and he set the fastest GTLM lap of the race shortly after the pass. Meanwhile, Garcia got as close as a half-second to the leader but settled for second and ultimately the class championship. The final round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring from Nov. 12-14 at Sebring International Raceway.
ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “Today was a good race, and we maximized everything we had. We lost track position to the 912 at the start, and it was tough to get that back. The safety car mixed things up a little bit and it gave me a chance to get closer, but they were able to open up the gap a little bit. The pace was very fast, and I couldn’t use the traffic in my favor. I pressured as much as I could, but they didn’t make any mistakes. Maybe I had one or two chances where I could have gone for it, but it wasn’t the right time or place to try something crazy. In that situation there is nothing you can do. It wasn’t easy to pass on this track. There was a ton of pressure on the crew guys to do three separate tire changes when we were relying on tires to be finished instead of fuel. I think we ran a perfect race. Unfortunately for us the 912 did, too. There was nothing I could do, and that’s why I congratulate them.”
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SECOND IN GTLM: “It was a difficult race today with the tire wear and traffic that we expected. We can be happy with the result, especially not having been on this track before with the C8.R It continues to show the value of the simulator work we do. We will take this good momentum on to Sebring and hopefully close out the season with another strong run there.”
OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “We were a little up and down with pace during the day. At the end, Tommy drove his last stint really well and was strong. My first stint was about managing the tire and looking after everything in thinking about how far we needed to go in the stint. But things were constantly developing and changing throughout, so we had to be flexible with the strategy. We hit a bit of a rough patch at that first stop. I had to go through some GTD traffic before the first stop, and that lost us some time. We didn’t necessarily get the rub with the traffic today, but as things turned out we got into that final 25 minutes in good position. Tommy drove well after the caution, and the cooler track temperatures seemed to suit our car.”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED SIXTH IN GTLM: “This race and this track always provide some tricky conditions with tire degradation for everyone. Trying understand the best strategy is always a head-scratcher early in the weekend. As the race plays out, it becomes more and more obvious what the right decision was. We had a good day going, for sure. We called an audible on our original plan and ended up going to a three-stop strategy, which I ultimately think was the right thing to do. More importantly, we were keying off what the BMWs were doing since they are the ones closest to us in the championship. All in all, we covered them and had a good strategy for the race anyway. I was super happy with the balance of the Corvette, and the pace in the car at the end was really strong. Olly drove more than he was expecting to, and he did an awesome job in those two stints.”
CHEVROLET RACING IN NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION DODGE NHRA FINALS PRESENTED BY PENNZOIL THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY NOV. 1, 2020 Chevrolet powers Enders to record fourth Pro Stock titleFirst female to win four championships closes season with victory LAS VEGAS (Nov. 1, 2020) – A social media post by Erica Enders leading up to the Dodge NHRA Finals presented by Pennzoil was self-motivational and prophetic. “I can and I will. Watch me.” Enders became the first female in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Camping World Drag Racing history to win four championships as the Houston native wrapped up the Pro Stock title at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Enders, driving the Melling Performance/Elite Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS, brought a 55-point lead into the finale of the 10-race season abbreviated because of effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. After Enders won her first-round elimination race, elation quickly and surprisingly replaced anxiousness when closest challengers Jason Line and Jeg Coughlin Jr. both lost their opening-round matches. “On behalf of Chevrolet, congratulations to Erica Enders, Richard Freeman and everyone at Elite Motorsports for winning the 2020 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Pro Stock championship for the second consecutive year and record fourth time overall for a female driver,” said Roger Allen, NHRA program manager, Chevrolet. “It was a challenging year for all teams and drivers in all professional categories. “Not only is Erica a standout driver, she is a tireless champion for the sport, her team sponsors and for Chevrolet. We’re proud that all four of Erica’s Pro Stock championships have been won in a Chevrolet Camaro.” Enders surpassed Shirley Muldowney, who won Top Fuel titles in 1977, ’80 and ’82, and Angelle Sampey with Pro Stock Motorcycle championships in 2000, 2001 and ’02. “It’s a goal I set,” said Enders, who previously won the Pro Stock championship in 2019, 2015 and 2014. “Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them.” Enders also joined Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), Don Prudhomme (Funny Car), Gary Scelzi (Top Fuel/Funny Car), Lee Shepherd (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) with four titles on the all-time list. “It’s no secret that I’ve struggled this year, the last couple of years honestly,” said Enders, who won her initial Pro Stock race at Chicago in 2012. “It’s been an uphill battle. I speak so highly of my team from the bottom of my heart. (Team owner) Richard Freeman organized the most amazing group of people. All of these guys, they give their lives to this. I could not be more proud. I’m so happy. I’ve never been in a situation like that where I’ve depended on other people to handle it for us.” Enders recorded four victories, including the season finale when Kyle Koretsky (NitroFish Chevrolet Camaro SS) tripped the red light in his first Pro Stock final, and a 25-6 round record during the season shortened by eight races. She has 29 career wins in 55 finals. “This is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last. I’m a blessed girl,” Enders said. Coughlin and Line were completing their final season of full-time Pro Stock competition. They have combined for eight championships, 106 victories, 1,328 round wins and 92 top qualifier honors in Pro Stock competition alone. “On behalf of Chevrolet, thank you Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Jason Line for many years of exciting Pro Stock competition in your Chevrolet Camaros, your engagement with fans and your support of Chevrolet Racing. Congratulations on championships you’ve won and treasure the memories and positive impact you’ve had on the sport you love,” Allen said. Aaron Stanfield, driving a Janac Bros. Chevrolet COPO Camaro, earned his fifth consecutive victory in the SAM Tech.edu NHRA Factory Stock Showdown series. A week earlier at Houston, the 25-year-old from Bossier City, Louisiana, wrapped up the championship. Justin Lamb of Henderson, Nevada, drove his 2019 Chevrolet COPO Camaro to victory in Stock Eliminator. CHEVROLET FROM THE COCKPITPRO STOCK:
ERICA ENDERS, ELITE MOTORSPORTS, MELLING PERFORMANCE/ELITE MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS:WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEADING MEMORY OF TODAY?“Being able to lock up our fourth world championship and becoming the winningest of all time for females. Shirley Muldowney and Angelle Sampey mean a lot to me and I’m in good company with them. I’ve not had the best year, but this is a lesson that you dig deep, you fight and pray with all the heart you have every single chase you get because you never know when it’s your last. Richard Freeman gave me this opportunity and I’m a blessed girl.” WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR STRENGTH FROM?“The good Lord, honestly. It’s no secret that I’ve struggled this year, the last couple of years honestly. It’s been an uphill battle for me. I have to give a lot of credit to my sister. She stands beside me; she stands behind me. She’s the best friend I could ever ask for, as well as my father who gave me the mental strength to get through any of this. I speak so highly of my team from the bottom of my heart. (Team owner) Richard Freeman organized the most amazing group of people. All of these guys, they give their lives to this. I could not be more proud. I’m so happy. I’ve never been in a situation like that where I’ve depended on other people to handle it for us. I’m so blessed.” JEG COUGHLIN JR., ELITE MOTORSPORTS, JEGS.COM/ELITE PERFORMANCE CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “We’ve had one heck of a good time out here racing NHRA – Pro Stock in particular. I’ve always enjoyed the challenges of the day, of the event and of the year, and to do as well as we’ve had, to win the races and championships we have has been nothing short of phenomenal. We’ll step away with pride. I’m sure we’ll tip toe in and out back here.” JASON LINE, KB RACING, SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS: “I have no regrets, no complaints. I’ve gotten to do more, see more, and be with some really good people. It’s been a good ride. It’s been an interesting season, without a doubt, and I’m thankful to have had my family with me so much this year. The circumstances that made that possible weren’t great, but having them with me out here was special.”
LAS VEGAS (Nov. 1) — Third-generation driver Troy Coughlin Jr. concluded his first year in the Pro Stock class Sunday with a quarterfinal finish at the 20th annual Dodge NHRA Finals. Coughlin trounced Chris McGaha in the opening round of action at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before dropping a nail-biter to newly re-crowned world champion Erica Enders in Round 2. “I’m very grateful for the incredible opportunity I’ve had to race with Elite Motorsports this year,” Coughlin said. “This is such a class organization with the best crewmen in the sport and it’s no surprise to me to see the team win another Pro Stock championship. Congrats to everyone, especially Erica Enders and her guys, and thank you for letting me be a part of it all.”
After winning back-to-back Top Alcohol Dragster regional championships in the last two seasons, Coughlin moved to Pro Stock this year to race alongside his uncle Jeg Coughlin Jr., who retired from full-time competition at the conclusion of Sunday’s race. Prior to his successful stint in Top Alcohol Dragster, Coughlin raced in Top Fuel, Pro Mod, Top Dragster and Junior Dragster. Even while racing Pro Stock this year, he continues to compete in Super Comp and Super Gas and at various E.T. Bracket events. “I’ve said since the beginning I’m the luckiest kid in the pits and I still feel that way,” said Troy Jr., who drove the JEGS.com Elite Motorsports Ford Mustang this season. “Having had the opportunity to drive so many different cars in a bunch of different classes, and to have had the crews I’ve worked with through the years, is just incredible. “This year was probably the pinnacle because, without question, Pro Stock is the most challenging category of all. It’s the most cognitive workout you can have in a racecar between executing good burnouts, working the clutch and hitting the shift points just right, to keeping the car straight all the way down the track. It’s such a challenge to try to make a perfect lap every time knowing a perfect lap doesn’t really exist.”
The highlight of the 2020 season for Troy Jr. was reaching the final round of the third Indy race, where he lost to his uncle Jeg Jr. That big day helped him finish 13th overall, despite missing the first two of 10 nationals events. “Special thanks to (crew chief) Rick Jones, Mike DePalma, Eric Luzinski and Robert Freeman for their help on my car,” Troy Jr. said. “They had it hopped up today and I got past Chris McGaha with a nice, smooth pass. We were set for the second round also against Erica but my left leg (clutch) was a few thousandths of a second slower than it needed to be and she beat us on a holeshot by .002 of a second. “It’s been emotional today seeing Uncle Jeg roll down that return road for the last time. I shed a few tears watching that and thinking about all the things he’s taught me. He’s always been a hero to me and he definitely earned ‘The Natural’ nickname because he’s the best we’ve ever seen. I still have plenty to learn from him and I know he’ll always be there for me. “I’m not sure what’s next for me but whatever it is, it can’t come soon enough.”
ChampionshipsBanner season in first year for mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor clinched the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers title Sunday in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – the 13th for Corvette Racing and with one event still to go in the season. The two finished the Monterey Sports Car Championship second in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Garcia and Taylor have teamed to win five races in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R entry – which also landed the GTLM Team Championship for Corvette Racing. It is the 14th time the program has claimed that honor since 2001 and comes near the end of the first year for the new, mid-engine Corvette race car. Garcia is now a four-time IMSA Drivers’ champion – all coming with Corvette Racing – while Taylor added his first in GT competition to a pair from the prototype ranks. Following the return of racing in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair won at Daytona to give the Corvette C8.R its first victory as well as the 100th in IMSA competition for Corvette Racing. Garcia and Taylor went on to win races at Road America, Virginia International Raceway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Charlotte Roval. Taylor captured pole position at Sebring, Mid-Ohio, Charlotte and Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as did Garcia in the previous IMSA event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for Petit Le Mans. Garcia also set fastest GTLM race laps at Daytona, Road America and Mid-Ohio. Chevrolet can complete a sweep of the full-season GTLM championships and wrap up the Manufacturers title by having one of the two Corvettes start the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Acura Team Penske scores fourth IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory of 2020 with 1-2 finish, claims Drivers’ Championship lead Meyer Shank Racing completes winning day for Acura and returns to the top of the championship points table with 1-3 result in GTD Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ championships to be decided at Sebring season finale
MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2020) – Acura resumed its race-winning ways in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, scoring its second sweep of the 2020 season with a 1-2 finish overall and in DPi for Acura Team Penske, and a 1-3 result in GTD for the Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evos.
As a result of today’s wins – the best combined finish for Acura in the three years the company has been contesting both DPi and GTD – Acura goes to the season finale at Sebring International Raceway leading the IMSA Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ championships GTD; and the Drivers’ Championship in DPi; while trails in the DPi Manufactuers’ Championship by just a single point.
Acura Team Penske Pole qualifier Juan Pablo Montoya and co-driver Dane Cameron dominated today’s two-hour, 40-minute contest, leading 104 laps before allowing teammate Ricky Taylor to move to the front for the final minutes, as Taylor and co-driver Helio Castroneves are better placed in the overall championship battle.
The late-race swap enabled Castroneves and Taylor to score their fourth win from eight races this season, moving the pair to the top of the championship with 242 points to 240 for Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Renger van der Zande and Ryan Briscoe, who finished sixth today.
Montoya took charge of the two-hour, 40-minute contest in the #6 Acura ARX-05 right from the green flag, while outside front-row starter Castroneves slotted into second as the pair of Acuras led the 29-car starting field. Montoya soon established a comfortable, eight-second lead before handing off the driving duties to Cameron at the first scheduled pit stop. Cameron maintained the advantage for the #6 Acura ARX-05 throughout the next two stints, building a lead of as much as 12 seconds.
Meanwhile, Castroneves survived an early scare when contact with the GTLM Corvette of Jordan Taylor resulted in the Acura losing a front aerodynamic “dive plane” in Turn 11. Despite the resulting understeer, Castroneves and co-driver Ricky Taylor were able to fend off the frequent advances from the #31 Cadillac of third-running Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr until the first and only caution flag of the race – for debris on track – waved with just over 20 minutes remaining.
However, when green flag racing resumed, both Cameron and Taylor were able to gap the field, enabling Cameron to let his teammate into the lead in the #7 Acura for the final two laps. The 1-2 finish for Acura Team Penske move Castroneves and Taylor into the Drivers’ Championship lead with 242 points to 240 for van der Zande and Briscoe; and takes Acura to within one point of Cadillac [263-262] with just the season finale at Sebring remaining.
Acura NSX GT3 Evo Teams Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher scored their second victory of 2020 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the #86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo to complete a double-win, quadruple-podium day for Acura in IMSA competition.
Leading the GTD field from the class pole, McMurry held off a challenging BMW in the hands of Robby Foley at the start, and established a commanding lead through the first stint of the race before handing over to teammate Farnbacher with under two hours to go.
Farnbacher continued to hold the advantage in his Acura, despite traffic that allowed the BMW, now with Bill Auberlen driving, to close the gap through the middle stages of the race. But once in clear air, Farnbacher was able to extend the lead until a late-race caution bunched the field up again. When the green waved once more in the final 15 minutes of the race, Farnbacher again stretched the lead to more than 10 seconds at the checkers.
The #57 Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian Acura of Misha Goikhberg and Alvaro Parente had their best result of 2020 with a third-place result. Goikhberg had a stellar start from fourth, getting around the #63 Ferrari for third. He and co-driver Parente would maintain their rapid pace throughout the day, finishing third to give Acura four podium-finishing cars today.
The Sprint Championship-contesting Gradient Racing #22 Acura NSX GT3 Evo ran their final IMSA race of the season, highlighted by a season-best eighth in qualifying by starting driver Till Bechtolsheimer. Although co-driver Marc Miller was shuffled back to a 12th-place finish late in the contest, their NSX showed strong pace in the race, with Miller setting a best race lap of 1:25.922, a time eclipsed by only two other GTD entries.
Today’s class victory by McMurry and Farnbacher catapulted them back to the lead of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Drivers’ standings by seven points, and gives Acura a two-point advantage in the Manufacturers’ title heading into Sebring.
Next The 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now takes a weekend off before resuming November 12-14 for the season-ending Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at the famed Sebring International Raceway in central Florida.
Acura Motorsports Social media content and video links from this weekend’s Acura Sports Car Challenge are available on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (www.twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).
Quotes Ricky Taylor (#7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05) race winner, Fourth IMSA victory of 2020, moves into the DPi Drivers’ Championship lead with co-driver Helio Castroneves: “It was them [teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron] being nice guys for us. We were strong all the day, but the No. 6 [Acura] was super, super strong. At the end of the race, we weren’t specifically asking [for a pass around], but when you work for such a strong team like Acura Team Penske, all eyes are on the big goal, the championship. They really were the class of the field this weekend, they really earned the win, but they thought about us and our championship situation.”
Mario Farnbacher (#86 Meyer Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo) Second GTD win of 2020, returns to the lead of GTD Drivers’ Championship with co-driver Matt McMurry: “That’s exactly what we needed. Last year, we had such a hard race here [finishing eighth] and in a million years I wouldn’t have thought our Acura would perform as well as it did today. I really have to thank Matt [McMurry], because being on the pole here is at least 80% of the job, since [the race here is] all about track position. Our engineer [Ryan McCarthy], he made a ‘masterpiece’ out of the car. He did a [setup] change overnight and it improved everything – tire wear, pace, overall pace. I’m so incredibly happy that we’re back in the lead of the championship because that’s the important part going into the last race. Bringing home the championship, especially in the last year of the car, means everything.” David Salters (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today’s double victory for Acura: “Laguna Seca is one of the world’s most iconic race tracks, it’s great to show Acura’s world-class ‘Precision Crafted Performance’, and to take the fight to our very skilled competitors here today in both DPi and GTD. Our drivers and teams had a superb weekend, with pole positions and victories in both classes; and our best combined result since we returned to DPi competition, along with GTD, in 2018. Massive thanks to the team of committed associates at HPD who engineer and support these projects. We race to grow our people and technology at HPD, and weekends like this really reward everyone’s efforts and competence. Coming into this weekend, our goal was to put ourselves in position to take the championship fight to the last race. So lets go race and entertain the fans at Sebring.”
CHASE ELLIOTT, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLETeam Chevy Heads to the Championship Four RIDGEWAY, VA (November 1, 2020) – It was a weekend of ‘firsts’ for Chase Elliott when he powered his No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the elimination race for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of Eight. Elliott not only scored his first-career victory at the .526-mile oval of Martinsville Speedway, but also punched his ticket to his first-career appearance in the Championship Four to battle for the title of the NASCAR Cup Series Champion. The win was his 10th victory in 185-starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. With the stage two win and 236-laps led, Elliott’s victory during the 500-lap, 263-mile event marked his fourth points-paying win of the season, the most in one season during his career in NASCAR’s premier series. The triumph at the Martinsville, Virginia, circuit is Chevrolet’s eighth victory of the 2020 season and the manufacturer’s 794th all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series. Elliott’s win gives the Bowtie brand its 57th victory at Martinsville Speedway, continuing Chevrolet’s lead in Martinsville victories of all manufacturers. The win is the 262nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series triumph and 25th win at Martinsville Speedway for Hendrick Motorsports, leading all teams in the series at the track. Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, concluded his first-career Playoffs’ Round of Eight run with a sixth-place finish in his No. 88 Planters Camaro ZL1 1LE, his ninth top-10 finish in the last 11 races. Fellow Chevrolet driver, Kurt Busch, brought his No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE across the line in the fifth position to give Team Chevy three of the top-10 spots in the final running order. Ryan Blaney (Ford) was second, Joey Logano (Ford) was third, and Brad Keselowski (Ford) was fourth to round out the top-five finishers. The NASCAR Cup Series season concludes next weekend at Phoenix Raceway with the Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8, at 3:00 p.m. ET, the first time in NASCAR history that the 1-mile Arizona venue will host the Championship event. Live coverage of the 312-lap, 312-mile race can be found on NBC, NBC Sports Gold, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: Congratulations, Chase. Thank you for taking the time to join us. We will get right into questions for our race winner, Chase Elliott. Q. With the Championship 4 set, is there one team you see as the biggest threat? If so, why?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think the worst thing we can do is worry about everybody else all week. But for right now, I’m just enjoying the night. This is a big moment for us, having to perform in a tough spot. We had to, didn’t have a choice. I think that’s something we’ve been missing as a team, something we haven’t been able to achieve over the last handful of years. To be in the position tonight to have to perform, to go perform, to win the race, lock ourselves into Phoenix, have a shot for a championship, these are all moments that I’ve never experienced, moments we haven’t done yet as a team. I’m just enjoying that right now. I know the week is short. I’m going to enjoy that for sure for a little while. We’ll go to work on Phoenix starting tomorrow. Q. Is this the biggest win of your career?CHASE ELLIOTT: Hands down, I think, absolutely. Q. What do you think it means kind of getting over the hump of getting into the Final 4, doing it this way, doesn’t just mean for the next six days but for years to come?CHASE ELLIOTT: I think you hit it. I think it’s huge. I think it’s huge for me personally. I think it’s huge for our team as a whole, each and every person that puts in time and effort to try to make our program work. I think when you’re able to be in a position that we were in, like we were tonight, have to go to perform, go and do that, I think everybody gains a lot of confidence from it. We proved to ourselves that we can do it. I think we have always believed we can do it. But to go out there and achieve it certainly is something we haven’t experienced yet as a group. To win a championship in this series, you have to make the Final 4. We’ve seen the same crowd make the Final 4 since this deal has been implemented. We want to assert ourselves amongst the people who can make it consistently. I feel like we’re very capable of doing that. We just have to seize the moment, enjoy it. This is a huge week. I’m just excited to get out there and try to have the best race we can. Q. In a massive moment like this that you’ve never been in before, is there any extra composure that you have to have in the final laps, when you’re making the pass to lead, to calm yourself down? How do you stay focused, keep your lunch from not coming up, things like that?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, good question. I think for me and kind of the experiences that I’ve kind of had handed to me over the past number of years, since I’ve been in Cup, have taught me a lot of lessons that the race is not over. I think we’ve all kind of seen that, different positions we’ve been in, races we lost. For me, I don’t have to think back into my head very far to realize that the race isn’t over till it’s over. Just to be prepared for another caution, another restart, whatever it takes to try to get the job done. I knew everybody had their last set of tires on. We were going to be riding that set to the end. If we had a caution there with just a couple laps to go, everybody was going to be restarting on old tires. Certainly challenging. I was trying to think about that, tried to be prepared for what was going to come. I felt like the odds of a caution coming out were better than not to have one, to be honest. I was surprised to see it go green. Q. Not only is this a big day for you, but it will be the first time Chevrolet has had a driver competing in the Championship 4 since 2016, who happened to also be the last Hendrick driver, which is Jimmie Johnson. It’s probably a pretty big deal for manufacturers not to have a chance to win the championship. What are your thoughts on being able to do that?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, absolutely, man. It’s a huge deal for everybody involved. Obviously me personally, it’s a huge deal. Never been in this position before. That’s exciting. But for everybody that is a part of our organization, obviously NAPA is a huge partner, super pumped to have them on the car tonight, a big moment. They’ve been a big piece of my career. Hendrick Motorsport, everyone that lays a hand on our cars. It’s a big deal for everyone to have a chance to win a championship. For Chevrolet to have a shot again this year I think is important for them, for sure. I’m excited for everybody. I’m excited for myself. I’m going to enjoy it, then we’ll go to work tomorrow and get ready for the big day. Q. Your thoughts on Phoenix being the decider? When you look at your competition, do you think you’ll stack up pretty good?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, I think the worst thing we can do is to sit back and worry and watch everybody else. I just think we need to focus on ourselves this week and really think about what we struggled with there at the first race this year, what we might need to do to be better, put our best guess on that, go run the race. I think if we sit back, start worrying about who is favorite, who is not, who is the underdog, getting everybody running their mouths deal, I’m just not about that. I think it’s unproductive. We’re going to worry about ourselves, try to give it our best shot to win. Q. Normally championship contenders have the whole weekend to run through and get themselves in championship mode. You got to take the green on Sunday with no practice. What do you think this week is going to be like in terms of anxious, being excited, especially moments before the green flag?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I mean, I think just excited, looking forward to the opportunity. I think the more that you can enjoy that moment, enjoy being backed up against a wall, having to perform, the more you can enjoy that, the better off you’re going to be. That’s something we put a lot of emphasis on, something I personally put emphasis on to try to get better in those moments. That’s what we had to do today. I think moments like tonight prepares you for moments like what we’re going to see next week and I’m excited about it. Q. Is Sunday going to be a backs‑against‑the‑wall moment for you again?CHASE ELLIOTT: Well, you got to win to win the championship, so I would say so. Q. Given that a driver like Kevin Harvick, who had nine wins this season, completely missed out on the Playoffs, he would have won the championship a few days ago at Texas if the points went the full season, what does it say about the integrity or legitimacy of the championship?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, the rules are the rules. I don’t get a vote in that. I don’t want a vote in that. I know they’re the same for everybody when you start the year. Whether you might agree or not agree with it, that’s just what it is. I’m focused on ourselves and enjoying tonight. Had to come out here and perform, and we did. I think worrying about other competitors is just not going to get us anywhere. I’m just excited for us, looking forward to a great opportunity next week. Q. What was your message to the team once you got to greet them at the end of the race? You proved tonight that NASCAR is a team sport, good pit stops, appealing the penalty. What did you say to your team?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, just a lot of yelling and screaming and happy people. This is a moment that we haven’t experienced together. I said that a few times tonight. You just don’t know those emotions until you go through it, are able to experience it. We obviously all put a lot of effort in to try to do our jobs to the best of our ability. T.J. made a mistake. He was heads up enough to go back and fix it, not to have to go to the back of the field. If he hadn’t have done that, I don’t think we’d have been able to win. There just wasn’t enough time left. That’s super heads up. It absolutely is a team sport. We can’t do it on our own. I can’t do it by myself. No one on our team can do it alone. We recognize that. Feel like we have a great group, a group that’s capable of winning. I thought we showed that and proved that tonight. I think we can have a great shot next week. Q. Have you had any chance to check in with your father and get reaction? If not, what do you suppose the reaction is going to be back home?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I’m excited. I don’t have my phone on me. He’s not here. My family isn’t here. I wish they were. So hard, right, to come to these races by yourself some weeks, not have that support group around you. But I certainly wish they were here, wish we could have shared this moment together. Looking forward to seeing them tonight. Yeah, be headed home here just in a little while. THE MODERATOR: Chase, congratulations. Thank you so much for taking the time. We’ll see you at Phoenix. CHASE ELLIOTT: Thanks, guys.ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race winning crew chief, Alan Gustafson. Congratulations on heading to the Championship 4. We’ll get right into questions. Q. On the pit stop when your jackman came back to the wall, you were aware of that? Is that something you drilled into those guys?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, we were certainly aware of it. I can’t take the credit for coaching that into those guys. I think that credit goes to Chris, our pit department. They did a good job of instructing those guys, T.J., what to do. It’s a new rule. Man, I want to say it’s new this year or last year. It’s certainly an adjustment that NASCAR has made to give those guys a little bit of forgiveness if that was to happen. Yeah, they did a great job. It was a huge moment in the race. Certainly we didn’t need the mistake. For T.J. to have the wherewithal to go back to the wall and reset was great. Q. How much stress was there tonight with the way it was going up and down?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I mean, it’s an intense race. It’s a lot of fun. This is a great track. It’s a good place to do this. For us, I had my mind made up we were going to have to win. I didn’t really see any way to get in on points. Especially when the 2 and the 11 and some of those guys did a fairly decent the first stage, it was going to be all about winning the race. We were able to do that fortunately. That was our focus. We didn’t get too caught up in the back and forth of it. Q. The rule said you have to reestablish yourself to the wall. Did you know you just need to touch the wall? Is that an interpretation that NASCAR described to you or your pit coaches?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Basically, yeah, yes. I don’t know the exact language they described it to us. Yeah, you just got to get back on the wall, your foot back on the wall. I don’t think it’s a judgment call in my opinion. I think it’s pretty straightforward. He did what he was supposed to do, took the time to reset. It’s the way the rule is stated. Q. What do you think this win means not for next week but for Chase and your team in the years going forward?ALAN GUSTAFSON: We’ve been trying to take this step now for the last two or three years. I feel like we’ve been really ready to do it, able to do it. We just have not done it when it mattered. Today we were able to. We were able to overcome some pretty tough circumstances at Texas, come here really in a must‑win situation. Being able to do it was great. It’s great for the team. Super proud of those guys. Everybody at HMS essentially delivered. Brand‑new car, great car. Tons of speed obviously. Great engine. Pit crew did what we had to do. Yeah, it’s a good day. Q. I heard you get pretty hot about guys running in to you purposely to try to cut the tire using the fender. That’s always been a practice in short‑track racing. Is there any way to police it?ALAN GUSTAFSON: I think it’s self‑policing, in my opinion. There’s a couple guys that consistently do it, at least to us. You just get tired of getting raced that way. Yeah, I was pretty upset about it. If that ultimately was a tire rub, would have cut our tire down, it was going to get ugly in a hurry. It happens, right? I get it, you’re racing. I think you see guys when you’re racing them, things happen. You might get into each other. When it happens consistently from the same person, you’re just over it. Q. What do you believe sets the No. 9 team apart from the other three championship contenders?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, our objective is to have the fastest car. That’s going to be the key. That’s certainly what we’re going to try to do. I think the person with the fastest car has a significant advantage in the race. That’s what we’ll focus on trying to do. That’s going to be our objective. Q. Chase mentioned the importance of he called it to be able to perform when you have no choice. Would you agree with that assessment as an accomplishment tonight?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s a tough thing to describe. I’m trying to think of the best way. You have one shot. I mean, that’s it, right? I never played in the Major Leagues or whatever, but you think about the World Series, you’re up to bat, this is it, right? Bottom of the ninth, two outs. It’s up to you to make it happen. Those pressure situations in sport are great. I think that’s what draws so many fans and gets everybody so excited. It’s such a special moment. That’s what you have to do. You have to be able to deliver. That’s it, it’s your last shot. It’s time to go, time to do it. There’s no tomorrow. To be able to do it, like I said earlier, I felt confident we had to win. All week I didn’t have any designs of anything but winning. We knew that was what it was going to take. The competition is too good to make up 25 points in a race. That’s just not going to happen. We knew we had to win. Everybody did. It’s a huge effort. You see what goes on here at the track. What you don’t see is everybody in the shop midnight Friday getting the car ready to go, making sure every single circumstance in the car is as good as it can be, putting their hearts and souls into it. That’s a huge thing for us to be able to pull it off. THE MODERATOR: Alan, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today.
NASCAR CUP SERIES XFINITY 500 MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES NOVEMBER 1, 2020 TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:POS. DRIVER1st CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE 5th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE 6th ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE14th MATT KENSETH, NO. 42 CLOVER CAMARO ZL1 1LE16th TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS: POS. DRIVER1st Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)2nd Ryan Blaney (Ford)3rd Joey Logano (Ford)4th Brad Keselowski (Ford)5th Kurt Busch (Chevrolet)UNOFFICIAL CURRENT PLAYOFF RANK (Following Race 9 of 10 / Entering into the Championship Four)POS. DRIVER (* = Chevy Contender) 1st Joey Logano (Ford)2nd * Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)3rd Brad Keselowski (Ford)4th Denny Hamlin (Toyota) The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series seasons concludes at Phoenix Raceway with the Season Finale 500 on Sunday, November 8,, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. TEAM CHEVY NOTES AND QUOTES:CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Race WinnerAT THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME, YOU SEE YOUR FIRST VICTORY AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY. YOUR CREW IS A LITTLE EXCITED, AS YOU ARE TOO, RIGHT CHASE?“Oh, my gosh. This is the biggest win ever for us. I’m just so proud to be able to be backed into a corner like that and have to win tonight. I feel like that’s what we’ve been missing these past four or five years and perform when we don’t have a choice. And, to do that tonight; we couldn’t ask for a better night. This is unreal. Thanks to the fans for coming out. They’re here and I love to see it! I’ve just got to catch my breath. This is just unbelievable. We’re going to Phoenix with a shot to win a championship and have a beautiful blue NAPA Camaro headed out there with a shot to win a title. What more could you ask for? WHEN YOU HAD YOUR CAR BACK IN THE PACK A LITTLE BIT AND A COUPLE OF MISCUES ON PIT ROAD, WHAT CONCERNS DID YOU HAVE?“Yeah, I didn’t think our car was driving as good there at the end as it was at the beginning of the race. But those last couple of pit stops made some really good changes and had a good pit stop on that last one and a good last restart. And that was the difference. Everybody makes this possible. This is unbelievable. I’m just at a bit of a loss for words. Like I said, this is the piece we’ve been missing. I feel like we’ve had the group to do this. We just have to go make it happen and we did tonight.” KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 5thKURT BUSCH FINISHES FIFTH, BUT THAT DOESN’T FULLY EXPLAIN THE DAY YOU HAD. YOU GUYS PUT A VALIANT EFFORT TO PUT YOURSELF IN POSITION TO WIN THIS RACE. WHAT MORE DID YOU NEED? “We gave it all we had. I’m really proud of my guys. Chip Ganassi Racing put up a really good fight this year to get this far, to win and to post top-five’s through the Playoffs. We crossed over our threshold. Last week, we finished seventh at Texas, fifth tonight and we’re walking around kind of kicking the ground – like that wasn’t our best effort or we could have done this or could of done that. When I started here two years ago, we finished in the top-five and were celebrating. We’ve come that far in this short amount of time and I’m really proud of everybody back at the shop, Chevrolet, thankful for Monster Energy, GEARWRENCH and all of our partners at Chip Ganassi Racing. To come here with a shot at it, we knew we had to win. It takes a team all the way through. The driver has to make good decision – spotter, pit crew, crew chief and adjustments. We just came up a little shy. Our weakest area was pit road and we know that we need to work on that. But all-in-all, I can’t thank everybody enough. It’s cool to see the evolution of where we’ve come in two years.” YOU’VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY YOU GUYS ARE AN UNDERDOG COMING INTO THIS ROUND OF EIGHT. I KNOW YOU GUYS MAYBE HAD A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE THAN THAT. DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU SHOWED THAT WITH THOSE TOP-FIVES AND THE SPEED YOU HAD HERE IN THE ROUND OF EIGHT?“You’re an underdog when you go in ranked eighth out of eight. We had an engine problem at Kansas and that just kicked us straight in the shin. From there, we had to win. Texas, we just didn’t get the job done – we got seventh. Today, we got fifth. Those are great quality finishes, but you can’t rely on those in the Playoffs against the best of the best. Right now, (Kevin) Harvick’s not in. That just shows you how tough this competition is. ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 88 PLANTERS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 6th“I drive this place so wrong. I try to roll the center really fast and then I am like oh we don’t have any drive off. You would think I would figure it out, but I kind of know what I need to do. All in all, a good day for our Planters Chevrolet. Mr. Peanut looked pretty cool. Really proud of Chase (Elliott) and making the final four there. Bummed we aren’t a part of it, but I think we have a solid shot at getting fifth in points. The progress this team has made over the past two months has been incredible. This is something they really deserve.” TY DILLON, NO. 13 GEICOWEEN CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 16th “Today was a good day for our Germain Racing team. Our GEICOween Chevrolet Camaro would build tight over the run, but Matt (Borland) and the guys continued to make it better with every adjustment. Our team never gives up and I had a lot of fun behind the wheel today. To finish 16th is a great way to end our final Martinsville start together as a team. We are going to head to Phoenix next week and give it everything we have to make the last race for Germain Racing a memorable one.” TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 MOTORTREND CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 24th “This was only my second time at Martinsville Speedway in four years, and I definitely learned a lot today in the No. 8 MotorTrend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We fought pretty much the same problem all day, just too tight in the turns from about two-thirds of the way in through the exit. My team did everything they could today, and we tried every adjustment we could think of to loosen our car up but nothing seemed to stick. Our changes would help for a handful of laps on each restart, but then the track would rubber up and the tightness would return every time. Not our day, but I’m thankful for my team for sticking with it all race long and continuing to fight. We’ll look to finish out the season strong at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.”
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Hang On at Martinsville Speedway For 23rd-Place Finish
23rd 14th
“That’s not the finish we wanted in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road/E-Z-GO Chevrolet at Martinsville Speedway tonight, but we hung on all race and tried our hardest. We just missed the balance. For most of the race, we were too tight and the car just wouldn’t turn. Even though our team worked on our Chevy all race, we never got it. It’s not what we wanted, but I’m proud of this team for never giving up. We’ll go to Phoenix Raceway and finish this season off.”-Austin Dillon
Tyler Reddick and No. 8 MotorTrend Team Show Perseverance During Martinsville Speedway Run
24th 17th
“This was only my second time at Martinsville Speedway in four years, and I definitely learned a lot today in the No. 8 MotorTrend Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. We fought pretty much the same problem all day, just too tight in the turns from about two-thirds of the way in through the exit. My team did everything they could today, and we tried every adjustment we could think of to loosen our car up but nothing seemed to stick. Our changes would help for a handful of laps on each restart, but then the track would rubber up and the tightness would return every time. Not our day, but I’m thankful for my team for sticking with it all race long and continuing to fight. We’ll look to finish out the season strong at Phoenix Raceway next weekend.” -Tyler Reddick
NARC NEWSLINE – November 1, 2020, By Jim Allen… Here’s something that has never been said in the 61-year history of the Northern Auto Racing Club during the month of October: “Welcome to our third race of the season!” Such was the case when the King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Seriespulled through theKeller Auto Speedwaypit gate in Hanford on October 10th. Rest assured, we all agree that having only three races before Halloween sucks on many different levels, but what we have lacked in quantity, we have made up for with quality. I know that sound like a cliché’ marketing slogan but it would pass my polygraph test. And be thankful because without that, we would all be shuffling like a Zombie down the Tequila aisle at Bevmo! or be in desperate need of strong prescription meds.
The inaugural Morrie Williams Legends Tributelived up to that mantra of a good quality event. For the first time since … well … I really can’t remember … if ever… we ran a pair of twin 20-main events on the same program. The first one straight up by times, and the second completely inverted by the finish of the first 20. Yup, the fast guys charging from the back reminiscent of the 1970’s non-wing days of NARC. If you were nostalgic enough, you were probably walking through the pit area looking for the likes of LeRoy Van Connect, Hank Butcher, Rick Horton, and Johnny Anderson.
It’s not every day that you can drop this type of event on a NARC King of the West racing schedule. But without a 2020 championship being pursued, and everyone eager to honor the late great Morrie Williams,it became a reality. It started at the top with promoter Peter Murphydoing what he does best by putting on his “Sprint Car Ambassador”hat and talking it up. This included many conversations with local officials who are basically handcuffed by PP (Pandemic Politics) in Sacramento. But with less than a month remaining before the scheduled race day, it was cleared for launch. At that point, Ashley Smithcaffeinated-up and hustled extra sponsorship support for the show that eventually sported a healthy $28,000 purse. Not bad for having to run only 10 extra action-packed feature event laps.
What made this event really, really work was an exceptional multiple-line racing surface that promoted great wheel-to-wheel racing. Although he will never admit it before the event, Peter Murphywas a little stressed because he knew an excellent track surface was 100% mandatory for this 20/20 in 2020. A hooked up first 20, followed by a rubber-down back 20 would have been disastrous. In the end, Murphy deserved a nice frosty Fostersbeer for what he delivered! Drivers were charging from deep in the pack and it was “edge of the seat” type of open wheel entertainment.
One of the best things about this show was it had a storybook ending that few could have predicted. After all, what are the odds of two different Williams Motorsports white ZERO cars winning the two features? (Well, that one might actually have good odds.) And what is the numerical probability that one of those winning cars was towed to Hanford on an open trailer? That hasn’t happened at a NARC race since the early 1990’s. Kyle Hirst’s cushion-riding final lap, wheel-hopping photo finish over Mitchell Faccintohad America vaulting off their couches with a massive beer-spilling adrenalin rush. It was the sixth lead change in the first 20-laps. Dominic Scelzi’ s methodical charge to the front in the second main after starting 11thwas a gem also. You can chalk up some of that success to a pair of master crew chiefs by the name of Sean GrealyandAshley Smith. In the end, it was a great Katie Scott, Hirst, Scelzi, Grealy, Smith& crew photograph in victory lane that served as a perfect legends tribute to Morrie Williams. Two races, two winners. Kyle Hirst and Dominic Scelzi got it done! Photo by Ashley Grealy.
MORRIE WILLIAMS RACE NOTES: One of the more impressive performances was by 2005 series champ Sean Beckerin the Dan Monhoff#35 machine. He started 10thand took the lead from Kyle Hirstin the late going of the first event, only to have the caution wave and revert back a lap. That got Hirst sitting high in the seat with his elbows-up the rest of the way. Becker ended up with a front row seat for the crazy Hirst/Mitchell Faccintowheel-to-wheel scuffle at the checkered. The “Shark” started 17thin the second feature and fought his way to fourth. That was good enough to finish second in the overall standings, only one spot behind Tim Kaeding. … Speaking of Kaeding, he was on a mission during the final laps of the night, getting past Becker and Ryan Robinsonduring the last 1 ½ laps. That was worth an additional $1000 and something everybody needs, a Budweiseracoustic guitar. … Iowa’s Austin McCarlwas the featured driver in the Roth Motorsports 83JRand was a rocket from the first second he stomped on the loud pedal. He set quick time, picked off his heat race, and claimed the Sunnyvalley Bacondash to start on the pole. At this point, it looked like he was going to pull a “Spencer Baystonrepeat of June 20th” and sweep the night. But racing is unpredictable, otherwise we would be doing something else on our weekends. He ended up eighth and fifth in the two 20’s. …
… Earning the Hardcharger award proved to be lucrative. Sean Becker(10thto 3rd) and Tim Kaeding(16thto 2nd) ended up with the honors. Each pocketed $400 from Swift Metal Finishingand Alan Cade, plus a Hoosierright rear tire. … Two-days before the event, Tarlton Motorsportsannounced that Bud Kaedingwas their driver for the Morrie Williams event. Wasn’t expecting that? The familiar BK Racing 69sported a 360 powerplant which he used to claim the Kings of Thunder 360 Cotton Classicrace over Mr. Scelzi. … Yes, that was Sean Grealy sporting white coveralls honoring Mr. Williams. … No tire changes were allowed during the intermission unless the team wanted their car to start the second 20 at the very back (even behind the lapped cars). Most knew it, but some got sidetracked. The Country Buildersteam inadvertently changed a LR tire and had to start dead last in feature number two. Otherwise, Kyle Offillwould have started in the fourth row. … When Stan Greenbergand Mitchell Faccintowere asked if they were considering a RR tire change during intermission, they answered they couldn’t if they wanted to. Their spare was on their 360. The Williams Motorsports team changed the RR on Hirst car after the win figuring they had nothing to lose. Hirst pulled off only 11 laps in with motor issues. … Yes, that was Burt Foland Jr.driving a 410-powered sprint car. … Ryan Robinsonled the first 15-laps of the second feature in Mike Phulps #56. … Blake Carrickwas impressive battling for the lead midway through the first main. He finished fifth. Tanner Carrickfinished sixth in the second race. … Kyle Hirst captured Friday nights Kings of Thunder 410 feature at Hanford. Yes, that was Sean Watts who set quick time. …
… We would like to thank all the sponsors of the event once again. They include: EMADCO, Southern Pacific Farms, Fujitsu General, Tiner/Hirst Enterprises, Ashley Smith, Johnstone Supply, Floracing.com, Kistler Racing Engines, Prior Engineering, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, Hoosier Tire West, Roth Motorsports, Dan Bandy, Kevin Shearer Design and Peter Murphy. …
NARC NOTES: We know there isn’t a NARC-KWS championship points race this season due to the COVID challenged schedule. But, if there was, Tim Kaedingand car owners Joshua Bates/Roger Hamiltonwould be on top of the standings. Kaeding leads Mitchell Faccintoby five points and the car owner duo has a three-point advantage over Tarlton Motorsports. Kaeding will be competing with the Outlaws at the season finale, so the mythical 2020 championship driver’s battle is up for grabs. The Bates-Hamilton team is expected to announce their cameo driver soon. No matter what happens, this will be a great trivia question a decade or two down the road: “Who won the 2020 NARC King of the West championships that didn’t count?”… Dennis Rothwas presented with the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Inspirational Trophyat Hanford. Roth’s contributions to sprint car racing could easily fill a Hall of Fame. Team Manager Todd Venturaaccepted the award on his behalf because Dennis was home nursing a sore back. However, he was watching the presentation on Floracing.com.…
… It’s also time for a random shout out to Keller Motorsportsmotor sponsor Mike Mitchell Construction. He is a General Contractor out of Paso Robles who actively supports the 410-motor program of the Keller’s and driver JJ Ringo. This sport isn’t cheap, and we need all the Mike Mitchell’s we can get. Thank him if you get a chance (www.mitchellconst.com). Better yet, do business with him if the opportunity presents itself. Please support those who support sprint car racing. … Mike Andreettaand Chris Goodwill be presenting the Billy Albini Mechanic of the Year Awardat the season finale. Expect this award to recognize past crew chief superheroes as well as current ones because there are a lot of noteworthy candidates that need to be put on a pedestal. … Enjoyed a nice conversation with Greg DeCairesin the Hanford pits. DeCaires just finished up radiation cancer treatments and is now in the recovery mode – ready to tackle regular life again and go back to work. What started out as a little lump became serious, but he got a jump on it and got treated We traded cancer recovery stories and concluded that we were glad we both acted fast. Not to provide any medical advice here, but we ask that all of you race fans do the same. Go to the doctor and get a physical once a year. You’ll live longer! … The 2021 season opener? How about March 13that Kern County Raceway Park!…
WHAT’S NEXT? Well, the only thing better than three NARC King of the West410 races in 2020, would be four. Stockton Dirt Trackpromoter Tony Noceti, who has been chomping at the bit since March to get the lights turned on, finally got an approval to stage a racing event (without mufflers no less.) It will be the November 7thTribute to Gary Patterson. Are the grandstands open for front gate general admission? NO …, BUT …, that’s not any fault of anyone in the racing community. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, there will be two types of pit passes offered to accommodate an “in person” experience. Stay with me here and read between the lines. All racing team participants, diehard fans and people staying in the pit area will purchase the normal (HOT) pit pass. For this event, there will also be a COLD PASS sold at the front gate tunnel for race fans/sponsors/fanatics. A $30 cold pass will get you into the pits until racing gets underway around 5:00 p.m.
At that point, all “Cold-Passers” will be funneled back into the main grandstand area, where they can safely enjoy the 37thAnnual GP race, along with 360 racing on the 4/10thmile dirt oval. Make sense? It’s what has to be done to play within the regulations that were provided.
As part of our standard public service announcement, please note that the normal California COVID-19 safety protocols are in full effect: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, and don’t sing, chant, chew tobacco, bob for apples, share a Kleenex, sit at a bar, spit out your gum or sunflower seeds, French kiss a homeless person, play a kazoo, get your nails done, trade bodily fluids in the parking lot, travel to Wuhan, use a friends toothbrush or earplugs, pick your teeth with a business card, work out with gym equipment, cough, sneeze, touch your face, hold hands, or … use a plastic straw or bag. And for God’s sake, if you don’t feel good, please stay at home, and watch the festivities on Floracing.com
NASCAR CUP SERIES XFINITY 500 MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 1, 2020 JIMMIE JOHNSON, ALLY ‘SIGN FOR JIMMIE’ CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media and discussed nearing the end of the 2020 season, his goals looking ahead, his primary sponsor for 2021 INDYCAR and partners for other special events on his wish list, and more. Full Transcript: WHAT EMOTIONS ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?“I’m excited, honestly. It’s been an amazing journey and one that I could have never dreamed of; and to be here at the end of it going out on my terms and when I choose to go out. With the great support of Hendrick Motorsports, Ally, friends & family, partners, and everybody involved, I’m excited. I’m happy. I’m in a great head space. I’m excited to be at one of my best tracks. The sun is out, thankfully; unlike last week and I’m excited to get going.” YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT MAYBE DOING SOME ONE-OFF NASCAR RACES IN THE FUTURE. NOW THAT YOU’VE GOT THE SPONSORSHIP SORTED OUT ON THE INDYCAR SIDE OF THINGS, HAVE YOU HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND WHERE DOES THAT STAND?“Yeah, nothing directly. The whole group understands some options that could be out there, but we’ve all been so busy trying to finish up the current NASCAR season and just trying to get prepared for the start of the INDYCAR season for next season, that nothing has really materialized yet. So, to be determined. I hope to get something kind of moving on the Rolex 24. That’s certainly high on my list for next year. But again, with my plate being so full wrapping up and then just trying to get started on the INDYCAR side, I haven’t had a chance to work on much of that, either.” WHEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR TWO DECADES IN THE CUP SERIES, DO YOU HAVE ANY REGRETS? DO YOU WISH YOU COULD GET A DO-OVER ON ANYTHING OR WISH YOU COULD RE-DO AN ENTIRE SEASON OR WISH YOU COULD HAVE ONE RACE BACK?“I think do-overs; I’m not sure about regrets. I’ve always felt like mistakes made really give you a chance to learn and grow. And although the last three years really haven’t been how I wanted them to go or expected them to go. I’ve done a lot of learning and soul searching on my own and feel like I’ve had a lot of personal growth through it all. So, I’m thankful for that. There are some moments in time that I wish I could do over or handle differently, but no real regrets at the end of the day.” EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT WHAT A NICE GUY YOU ARE. PEOPLE ALSO SAY THAT NICE GUYS FINISH LAST. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO MESH THE TWO?“I think if you just be yourself, ultimately you’re going to be the best that you can be. Anybody that’s trying to be nice and isn’t, is going to fall short. And it plays the same way in the other direction. And I think you’re personality and the way you treat people and handle things, not only impacts your live specifically, but it also attracts like-minded people to be around you and the teams that you drive for and the sponsors that you have. When I look at the big picture you see all these other variables where like-minded people have assembled together and we’re able to do what we do. So, it’s a saying and I think I understand why; because competition is fierce and you have to be cutthroat at times, but I think I’m one of quite a few examples that if you just be yourself, and do your thing, you can be respectful and kind to others and still succeed in a competitive sport.” DO YOU THINK THAT WAS PART OF YOUR ATTITUDE EARLY JUST BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T HAVE SUCCESS IN THE XFINITY SERIES?“Yes, Xfinity; and then I would back up to my ASA days, different moments in time in my off-road days, my motocross days; I’ve had patterns my whole life where things started slowly and then I was able to have my moment. And it goes all the way back to my earliest years of racing on dirt bikes. And then I’d also have to put my family dynamic in there; how I grew up and my parents and my siblings and just the way we lived our lives and interacted with others.” ON THE SPONSOR-SIDE, YOU’VE BEEN PRETTY FORTUNATE WITH LOWES AND ALLY. HOW DID THE CARVANA SPONSORSHIP COME TOGETHER FOR YOU IN INDYCAR AND WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE IN THAT? HOW SATISFYING WAS THAT TO PUT TOGETHER?“It was certainly satisfying. And, as I understood the hurdles, I had in front of me to go INDYCAR racing, I went to my contact lists and my friends, far and wide; some in North Carolina, some in New York, and some out in Colorado. I just started conversations with people that I knew were plugged into corporate America, if you will. And that led to some other phone calls and eventually phone calls to the Carvana folks. And quick in the conversations with them, I could sense that Ernie Garcia, the founder of Carvana, could really identify the opportunity here. Although he is not very familiar with auto racing and sports marketing in that sense, he could understand kind of the life story going on or my journey and the opportunity within all of that. And within short order, they expressed a verbal interest and wanted to move forward with things. “So, I’m very pleased, obviously, to have them. It’s a tough world out there right now with the pandemic. And to find such an amazing sponsor with such reach and understanding of this opportunity was really special to us. And then we’re certainly looking forward to a few more partners to come on-board with the INDYCAR program; and then as I move into some other one-off events, we’ll need other partners for that stuff as well. Through our search in my office and the contacts that we have, what I’ve accumulated on a digital platform standpoint, clearly success on track, and this opportunity to tell a story in transitioning from NASCAR to other forms of racing, creates a unique opportunity for many marketers, that at least I could call on and they would listen to you. Finding those right partners are just so important.” WAS THERE EVER A FEAR THAT YOU MIGHT NOT COME UP WITH SPONSORSHIP? WOULD THAT HAVE DE-RAILED THE INDYCAR DEAL OR WERE YOU JUST THAT CONFIDENT YOU WOULD FIND SOMEBODY?“I’ve really felt good about things. I wasn’t sure, I didn’t feel in my heart that we would have a sole primary sponsor for INDYCAR. I felt like selling it in three, four-race blocks or four, three-race blocks, might be the way to go about it and the way we would get to the finish line. But as soon as we spoke to Carvana, we understood that if they came in they would come in on a big level. And that kind of changed our thought process then.” YOU MENTIONED THE ROLEX 24 EARLIER. DO YOU WANT TO RUN IT AGAIN BECAUSE IN EIGHT STARTS YOU STILL HAVEN’T GOTTEN THE WATCH? TO GET THAT WATCH, WOULD THAT JUST BE SOMETHING YOU COULD ADD TO YOUR RESUME? IS THAT IMPORTANT TO YOU?“Oh, without a doubt. The fact that I’ve been second twice fuels that fire a bit more (laughs). And, in these bucket lists items involve marquee events and Le Mans and the Rolex 24, those are on the top of any auto racer’s list. They’re still on mine although I’ve been in the Rolex 24 quite a few times; I just want to go back and do it. These marquee events and unique opportunities like this really sound fun and exciting to me moving forward.” OTHER THAN THE INDY 500, IS THERE ONE TRACK IN PARTICULAR, FROM AN INDYCAR STANDPOINT, THAT CALLS YOUR NAME OR SOMETHING YOU’VE ALWAYS SAID, THAT’S THE ONE?“There are quite a few that are really interesting. But as a kid, I just knew so much more what was going on in California. And the track in Monterey was always so picturesque and unique and different with the corkscrew; so that was really high on my list. But then as I started dreaming of a professional racing career, the Long Beach Grand Prix was an event that I would go to in order to get face time with everyone at Chevrolet. Showing up there and thinking of racing and wondering if I could have a professional career, changed my experience at that track. So, I think those two tracks are probably the most meaningful ones for me right now as I look forward to my schedule next year.” TWO YEARS AGO, THIS WAS THE RACE WHERE YOU ANNOUNCED THE ALLY PARTNERSHIP. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? WHAT HAS YOUR RELATIONSHIP BEEN LIKE WITH THEM? DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM AFTER YOUR NASCAR CAREER?“I really do. We’re working on what that arrangement will look like. I feel like we just have so many synergies together and share so much in common with our identity or brand identity if you will. I’ve become very close with the executive staff at Ally. They’re not only working friends, but I have friendships and relationship with them and have been integrated into their company in a very unique and fun way. So, I really see the relationship continuing on longer. And I’m very happy for Mr. Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports and the long relationship that they’ll have with Ally. I think they’re signed-up through 2023, if I remember right. It clearly makes a lot of sense from a B-to-B standpoint. But then again with Ally’s presence in Charlotte and their CEO living there in town and just the relationship we’ve all built; especially Rick (Hendrick) and the Ally folks. I would anticipate Ally being around at Hendrick Motorsports for a long time and hopefully with me, for many years to come, as well.” REGARDING THE CHOOSE RULE, THE WAY THE CARS HAVE BEEN LINING UP HAS BEEN RATHER EVEN. WHY HAS THAT BEEN THE CASE?“I don’t know. I’m running it through my mind. I think you’re probably right. You probably have stats to prove that (laughs). I don’t know. I think ultimately, we just wanted that opportunity to choose what happens. You see some of these races play out because you had a strong car and you didn’t have a chance to pick the right lane or you didn’t come off pit road in the right spot or drivers were dragging their feet to try to be even or odd for what needed on that particular race track. So just to take all that out seemed like a cleaner and easier way to go about it. And the conversation was bounced around for quite a few years. In the end, once we tried it, we realized there wasn’t a great affect and it’s pretty simple to manage. And everybody feels like they chose their own destiny. So, it just kind of negates any reason to argue and it’s turned out really well.”
Taylor Sets GTLM Record in Pole Position RunGavin to start third in another strong showing for Corvette C8.R at new track
MONTEREY, Calif. (Nov. 1, 2020) – Corvette Racing’s Jordan Taylor captured pole position and set a GT Le Mans track record in the process Sunday morning ahead of the Monterey Sports Car Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Taylor, driving the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, set the fastest time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTLM category – 1:21.483 (98.876 mph) – as he and teammate Antonio Garcia look to close out the class Drivers and Team championships. It was the fifth pole position of 2020 for Corvette Racing, fourth in a row for the No. 3 Corvette and fourth of the season for Taylor. He broke the previous GTLM qualifying record by 0.074 seconds. Oliver Gavin will line up behind Taylor on the GTLM grid after qualifying third in class with the No. 4 Corvette. His best lap of 1:21.853 (98.429 mph) was only 0.370 from the other C8.R and barely a tenth-of-a-second from starting second with teammate Tommy Milner; the No. 4 pairing is second in GTLM points heading into today’s next-to-last round of the season. The Monterey Sports Car Championship is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET today with same-day television coverage on NBCSN beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will offer live streaming of the full race starting at 4 p.m. ET. In addition, IMSA Radio will broadcast the race on IMSA.com, which also will host live timing and scoring. The race also will air on XM channel 202 and SiriusXM Online 972.
JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – GTLM POLE-WINNER: “It was good. This is more of a championship-focused weekend, but we have a competitive Corvette and we saw that right out of the box. We led both practice sessions and obviously we led qualifying. The C8.R is definitely quick and has pace. The race will be a much different story with tire degradation and things like that. We wanted to get track position early on like this, so the qualifying went well for that. The year has been going incredibly well… our fourth pole in a row. We’re trying to close out the season on a strong point.” MOOD OF THE TEAM CLOSING IN ON CHAMPIONSHIP BUT SEEING NEWS ABOUT OLIVER GAVIN IN 2021:“It’s business as usual. The news about Oliver was disappointing for everyone, but he’s in great spirits. He’s a racer and is at the track wanting to win the race. It was a small talking point at the start of the weekend, but once the weekend started with practice, it was back to business as usual, trying to work on the cars and race strategy. Sebring will be his last full-time race with the team, so that one might be a little bit different. But it’s almost more special to have that one be his final race.” ADAPTING TO THE TRACK WITH NO PREVIOUS TESTING: “It’s similar to Mid-Ohio. The track is low-grip so the car is moving around a lot more. The tire compounds are similar for what you want to use. We were able to do a day at the simulator, which was a big help to get the setup in the window where we wanted it. I think we’ve tried two setup changes on our car and have gone back to where we started the weekend. It was crucial to have that day to get up to speed for Tommy and I. When we got here, the car was right where we wanted it and we were strongest right out of the box. This was good proof of the simulator working again.” ON POTENTIALLY CLINCHING THE GTLM CHAMPIONSHIP TODAY: “The week off between Petit Le Mans and now, it was on my mind. But as soon as you’re in the car, you want to do the best job possible and be quickest. Now we’re on pole and our mentality is to win the race. We have a competitive car so we can race for the win. I don’t think points are going to be really at the top of our minds most of the day. It’s going to be about maximizing the results with what we have.”
2020 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship – GTLM Standings (After Nine of 11 Events) Driver Standings1. Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2932. Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 2653. Jesse Krohn/John Edwards – 2614. Bruno Spengler/Connor De Phillippi – 2595. Fred Makowiecki/Nick Tandy – 2326. Earl Bamber/Laurens Vanthoor – 222 Team Standings1. No. 3 Corvette Racing – 2932. No. 4 Corvette Racing – 2653. No. 24 BMW Team RLL – 2614. No. 25 BMW Team RLL – 2595. No. 911 Porsche GT Team – 2326. No. 912 Porsche GT Team – 222 Manufacturer Standings1. Chevrolet – 3042. BMW – 2883. Porsche – 2514. Ferrari – 28 CORVETTE RACING AT WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA: By the Numbers• 1: As in one team, one manufacturer and one model of car for more than 20 years: Corvette Racing, Chevrolet and the Chevrolet Corvette.• 3: Generations of Corvette Racing entries at Laguna Seca since 1999 – Corvette C5-R (1999-04) Corvette C6.R (2005-2013) and the Corvette C7.R (2014-2019). The new mid-engine Corvette C8.R will make it four starting this weekend.• 4: Career victories at Laguna Seca for Oliver Gavin – all with Corvette Racing.• 7: Number of Laguna Seca victories for Corvette Racing dating back to 2004.• 10: Laguna Seca victories for the current Corvette Racing for the current driving lineup – Oliver Gavin (four), Antonio Garcia (three) and Tommy Milner (two) and Jordan Taylor (one).• 11: Drivers who have competed for Corvette Racing at Laguna Seca. Of those, seven went on to win at Monterey.• 11: Victories at Laguna Seca for Chevrolet in IMSA competition.• 12: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001.• 21: Number of GT Le Mans wins in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing since the start of 2014.• 25: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen.• 29: Number of drivers for Corvette Racing since 1999.• 113: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 105 in North America and eight at Le Mans.• 236: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999.• 12,292.10: Number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing in its 19 previous trips to Laguna Seca. That represents 5,575 laps or nearly 725 trips along historic 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula.• 310,644.74: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing since its inception. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is nearly halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history – at 622,268 miles.
· Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) driver Ron Capps drove his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the No.1 spot in the final qualifying session of the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing season at the Dodge NHRA Finals Presented by Pennzoil
· Capps earned his first No.1 qualifier position of the season and taking it away from the provisional pole sitter and points leader Matt Hagan at The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway
· No. 2 qualifier Hagan leads No. 4 seed Tommy Johnson Jr. and No. 10 Jack Beckman into the final elimination rounds of the 2020 season to determine the NHRA world champion among the top-three DSR Dodge Funny Cars
· Leah Pruett will launch her Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel dragster from the No. 6 position in her quest to secure a top-three finish in the championship
· Pruett starts her Mopar Drag Pak from No.3 spot in Factory Stock while teammate Mark Pawuk looks for runner-up finish in the Factory Stock Showdown championship to close out the 2020 season.
October 31, 2020, Las Vegas, Nev. – The final qualifying sessions of the 2020 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Drag Racing Series season have been completed at the Dodge Finals Presented by Pennzoil with Don Schumacher Racing (DSR) Funny Car pilot Ron Capps taking his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat to the No. 1 qualifier position. Capps and his DSR teammates, Matt Hagan, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman head into the final eliminations rounds of the season battling for the Funny Car world championship with a points-a-half format to determine the winner among them.
Capps earned his first No.1 qualifier honors of the season, the 25th of his career, in the final session with a 3.902-second elapsed time pass at 327.98 mph to dislodge the provisional pole sitter and the defending race winner Hagan. Capps has taken home five Wally trophies (2001, 2005, 2009, 2011 and 2012) from The Strip at Las Vegas Speedway and will start his quest for another against Chris Morel in the first round.
With the qualifying result Capps added four bonus points to his total which has him fourth in the standings that the four DSR Dodge Funny Car have dominated all season-long with an undefeated streak of 13 national event wins that stretches back to October 2019.
Hagan’s 3.911-second pass at 327.82 mph was enough to keep his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye No. 2 on the ladder. Looking to secure his third championship title, the Mopar driver will begin his drive through eliminations with a first round match against Cruz Pedregon.
Should he be successful, the biggest challenge of the day could be a quarterfinal pairing with teammate and fellow championship contender Beckman who qualified tenth and would need to beat Hagan for his own chance to vie for the title.
Johnson Jr qualified fourth with a solid 3.915-second pass at 319.14 mph aboard his MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, earning bonus points in both sessions for posting the fourth and third quickest runs, respectively, and will look to turn on four win lights on Sunday to earn his first Funny Car championship title.
Trailing the points leader by 45 and 52 markers respectively, Johnson and Beckman would both have to finish two rounds ahead of Hagan for a chance to win the Funny Car crown. With both on opposite sides of the ladder, that could also set up an all-DSR Dodge final round showdown for both the national event win and the Funny Car world championship.
Last year’s No. 1 Top Fuel qualifier at the Fall Vegas event, Leah Pruett set the second quickest run in the first session by driving her “Demon-possessed” Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye dragster to a 3.791 sec./ 322.04 mph run. That lap was good enough to keep her in the top half of the ladder when her second run didn’t go as planned and will see her line up against Chris Karamesines in the opening round. From her No. 6 position, Leah hopes to make a run for her first event win of the season and boost her back into the top-three in the standings to finish the season in which she was part of the championship conversation until the very end.
Pruett will also close out the season with a No. 3 Factory Stock Showdown starting position for her Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak after setting the second quickest run in the first session and then improving on her second lap with a 7.976 sec./170.00 mph pass. She’ll meet up with Kevin Skinner in the opposite lane for her first run on Sunday.
Meanwhile, her Factory Stock Showdown DSR Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak teammate Mark Pawuk, after two difficult qualifying sessions without a clean run, finds himself starting from 15th place on the ladder. He will line up his Empaco Equipment Drag Pak against No. 2 qualifier Aaron Stanfield who clinched the Factory Stock Showdown championship last weekend after their semi-final match-up at the Mopar Express Lane Spring Nationals. Pawuk will be looking to win that rematch to help him secure a runner-up finish in the Factory Stock Showdown championship.
The 2020 NHRA season concludes at the Dodge NHRA Finals in Las Vegas with FS1 broadcasting the action on Sunday, Nov. 1. Qualifying highlights will air from 2-4 p.m. ET and then eliminations from 4- 7 p.m. ET will feature live coverage of the final rounds.
ADDITIONAL NOTES and QUOTES:
Jack Beckman, Infinite Hero Foundation Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 10 Qualifier – 3.996 seconds at 309.70 mph) Qualifying 1: 4.983 sec./ 153.37 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.996 sec./ 309.70 mph
“You can strategize and worry yourself into the ground trying to figure out where you should qualify to be the most advantageous. Sometimes it’s easier to put your blinders on and go up there and try to get data for the car. Low and behold, the ladder turned out exactly the way we needed it. If we go out and win the race we will be the champions. We will get to face Matt Hagan early in eliminations and if they beat us more power to them. And if we beat them we’re going to keep marching on. This is going to be one of the most exciting Sunday’s of my entire career. This is the site where I got my first nitro win back in 2006 and if this is the end of my career this would be the perfect place to close it out.”
Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Funny Car (No. 2 Qualifier – 3.911 seconds at 327.82 mph) Qualifying 1: 3.911 sec./327.82 mph
Qualifying 2: 6.026 sec./ 113.06 mph
“We ended up No. 2 and made a great first run out here at (Las) Vegas and ended up No. 2. If we get there, we could see (Jack) Beckman second round. We just need everything to fall in place. We have a great opportunity with a great race car and Vegas has been very kind to me. We’ve been lucky. We want to keep that going, but it’s drag racing and you just never know and that’s why the fans buy tickets to see what’s going to happen. This Dodge SRT Redeye Hellcat is hauling the mail and I’m fortunate to be driving it.”
Tommy Johnson Jr., MD Anderson Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 4 Qualifier – 3.915 seconds at 319.14 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.939 sec./ 310.98 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.915 sec./ 319.14 mph
“I’m happy with how qualifying played out. We have a really good, consistent race car and we’re ok for tomorrow to go some rounds. So far, everything is going as planned and we’ll go out tomorrow and see if we can click off four more like we did the last race and see how it all falls after that.”
Ron Capps, Pennzoil NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Funny Car (No. 1 Qualifier – 3.902 seconds at 327.98 mph) Qualifying 1: 3.958 sec./ 324.20 mph
Qualifying 2: 3.902 sec./ 327.98 mph
“A great job (Rahn) Tobler, Dustin (Heim) and the guys. We obviously brought this car out under extreme circumstances for the final round in Gainesville and it won, and then we brought it out again in Houston and came close to winning last Sunday. Honestly, we had never warmed the car up until today. Both those final rounds we didn’t get to warm the car up because we were under such pressure and time constraints. Tobler decided to run this car and I kept telling him how much I like this car and I love driving it and my lights are good and it feels right. Low and behold, it went out and made a nice, safe run. We had some DSR parts we wanted to try on the first lap, so we had to back it down a bit and just get down there. And then everything was right to plan with the NAPA Know How we talk about and it went up there and leaned on the tune-up and that number popped up. It probably had more in it, but at the time that’s what he was trying to do. For me, I wanted to get a Camping World hat and obviously a win would be great, but to steal the No. 1 spot at the last race of the year is a big feather in the cap. Now time to do some big stuff tomorrow.”
Leah Pruett, Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Top Fuel Dragster (No. 6 Qualifier – 3.791 seconds at 322.04 mph)
Qualifying 1: 3.791 sec./ 322.04 mph
Qualifying 2: 6.414 sec./ 103.29 mph
“One of our favorite things to do is race at (Las) Vegas. We have a strong history of qualifying well and going deep into the rounds. We laid down a solid Q1 pass and were excited about the foundation that allowed us to put the coals to it for Q2. Unfortunately, we had about 24 extra seconds on the line idling which drowned more than a gallon of fuel and these cars are very sensitive to weight and I had the front tires in the air much longer than normal and when they came down we smoked the tires. We had it set up to run a high .60, low .70 and go to the No. 1 spot. We can’t change the variables from that Q2 run, but we are ready for a very long Sunday and finish the season in a strong manner.”
Mark Pawuk, Empaco Equipment Mopar Drag Pak– Factory Stock Shootout (No. 15 Qualifier – 9.346 seconds at 168.22 mph)
Qualifying 1: 9.346 sec./168.22 mph
Qualifying 2: 21.467 sec./ 47.63 mph
“Coming into the last race of the season, we were really looking forward to making some good laps, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the car to hook up either session today. So, the car is going to have to go down the race track tomorrow. We qualified way down in the field and we’ll be running one of the fastest cars in round one. I’m going to do the best I can. I know my crew will be there for me and we’ll tune this Drag Pak Hemi up and try to knock out one of the top qualifiers.”
Leah Pruett, Mopar Dodge Challenger Mopar Drag Pak – Factory Stock Shootout (No. 3 Qualifier – 7.976 seconds at 170 mph) Qualifying 1: 7.989 sec. /170.17 mph
Qualifying 2: 7.976 sec./ 170.00 mph
“The car ran really good on both runs and that puts us deep in the field like we want. We’ve never race El Bandito in (Las) Vegas before. We need some win lights on Sunday and a little gold man. We’ve got the car and the setup for it just like we’ve been preaching all season and it’s finally here. This would be a good way to wrap up this 2020 Factory Stock (Showdown) season. We have a lot of confidence heading into Sunday. We want a strong day in both Factory and Top Fuel and I feel good.”
Late Race Incident Spoils Top-10 Run For Myatt Snider and The No. 21 TaxSlayer Chevrolet Team at Martinsville Speedway
23rd 22nd
“It felt really good to be back with Richard Childress Racing and this entire No. 21 TaxSlayer team today at Martinsville Speedway. We had great speed, but we battled the handling of our TaxSlayer Chevrolet throughout the day. I just could not get the car to rotate through the center how we needed it to. My crew chief, Andy Street, played some great strategy to get us towards the front in the final stage and I was able to drive up inside the top-five. We ended up getting turned around in the pack after a pit stop, which really set us back. That incident led to us losing a lap, but we battled back to be in position for the free pass. I was really hoping we would catch a late yellow, so we could get our lap back and make our way back towards the front, but unfortunately, it just didn’t play in our favor. I am still really proud of our team. We had a really nice looking Halloween TaxSlayer scheme this weekend and I wish we could have gotten the finish we deserved. I am looking forward to finishing the year strong next weekend at Phoenix.” -Myatt Snider
Longest serving, most accomplished driver in Corvette Racing program history
DETROIT (October 31, 2020) – Chevrolet and Corvette Racing are paying tribute to the accomplishments of Oliver Gavin, who will step away from full-time competition with the program at the end of 2020. Gavin, one of sports car racing’s biggest stars, has been part of Corvette Racing since 2002 and will complete his 18th full-time season with the team at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in two weeks. The first race for Gavin with Corvette Racing took place at Sebring in 2002, and he was promoted to full-time status the following year. Gavin’s list of accomplishments with Corvette Racing is unmatched. He has more starts (201), championships (five), race wins (51), 24 Hours of Le Mans victories (five) and pole positions (25) than any other driver in program history. He also has won five times at both Sebring and Petit Le Mans with Corvette Racing and captured the Rolex 24 At Daytona in 2016 to begin his latest championship run. “To have been with the same team for 19 seasons has been an immense privilege, and I thank from the bottom of my heart each and every person who has shared that journey with me,” Gavin said. “It’s been an amazing run, and I’ve been very lucky to have been able to drive at such a high level for so long. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved together, especially the championship wins and milestone victories at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring, among others. I’m also very proud of the part I played in developing four generations of Corvette race cars for both IMSA and at Le Mans, and I look forward to exploring opportunities to represent Chevrolet and Corvette Racing in the future.”
In addition to his competitive record, Gavin also has been a fundamental part in the development of every generation of racing Corvette during his tenure with the program. His efforts in the Corvette C5-R laid the groundwork for the GT1- and GT-spec versions of the C6.R. Gavin was heavily involved in testing and development of the C7.R and mid-engine C8.R. He won an IMSA championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring with the Corvette C7.R. “Oliver Gavin is a name that is synonymous with Corvette Racing,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “He has been one of the sport’s greatest drivers and a fantastic representative of Chevrolet for nearly two decades – on the track, working with our Corvette production engineers, and engaging Corvette owners and fans around the world.” Gavin claimed the first pole position for the C8.R at Daytona in July, and he and Milner won the next event at Sebring in their No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R. They stand second in the GT Le Mans Drivers’ Championship entering this weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event at Laguna Seca. “All of us at Chevrolet thank Oliver for his nearly 20 years of contributions to Corvette Racing,” Campbell added. “No driver at Corvette Racing has started more events, captured more championships or won more races. Oliver’s success has brought great improvements over the years not just to Corvette Racing, but also to every Corvette that sits in an owner’s driveway. We are hopeful of creating more of those opportunities with Oliver into the future.”Details on Corvette Racing’s complete driver roster for 2021 will be confirmed at a later date.
After running in mid-pack for most of Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team worked on their Mustang, hit on some speed and surged forward to finish 10th. It was their second-straight top-10 and their 10th of 2020.
23rd 
14th
