NHRA^® Team Report

NHRA FallNationals – Texas Motorplex

Pre-Race Report

Heading to Texas after his best run of the season, Cruz Pedregon and team are hoping to repeat his two-time history of winning this race. His win in Dallas in 1992 is one of the most legendary in NHRA history and one that energizes Cruz and the crew. 

“Locking up the World Championship here in the early 90’s and the energy that memory holds is our real motivation heading to Dallas this week. It’s something that will forever stay with me and something many NHRA fans remember,” Cruz says. “Testing in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago helped us out in qualifying in the last race, and we plan for it to pay off this weekend where it looks like the weather is going to be a lot more in our favor than it was in St. Louis.”

Cruz’s Snap-on Dodge will be again decked out in The Pink Fund tribute paint scheme in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Snap-on, the team’s primary sponsor, is dedicating a portion of the sales of a themed promotional mini-diecast set of all six Funny Car paint schemes dedicated to The Pink Fund, bringing its total donation to the organization over the past six years to more than $475,000. Team Manager Caleb Cox says fan reaction to the pink car has been very positive and that the team will run the scheme through the end of the season. For more information, check out ThePinkFund.org.

NASCAR CUP SERIES HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400 KANSAS SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 15, 2020 CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the upcoming races in the Round of Eight, the leadership of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, his focus on advancing to the championship round, and more. Full Transcript: IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU’VE SEEN AS JIMMIE JOHNSON’S TEAMMATE THAT MAKES YOU THINK OH YEAH, THAT’S WHY HE WAS ABLE TO WIN FIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN A ROW?“Yeah, that five in a row thing was unbelievable. I watched it for sure, and was around there when he won his seventh, so I can imagine what it felt like to lose to him five times in a row as a competitor. Jimmie is just, I don’t know, everybody says it all the time about how good of a guy he is on the race track and off the race track. But he just has everything prioritized the right way, I feel like. His work ethic is extremely high. He’s a very competitive person. But, he’s competitive in his own way. He’s not the kind of guy that’s picking fights every week. He’s just the kind of guy who just wants to beat you. And, I think that’s why it rubbed so many of his competitors bad over the years because he was just better than they were; and they were better as a team. But he wasn’t flaunting it all the time or getting up to peoples’ faces about it. He just carried himself well and competed at a very high level for a very long time. The way I see him as a teammate and how great of a leader he is, I can totally understand where that came from.” HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF THIS ROUND OF EIGHT THAT YOU’VE BEEN IN THREE TIMES BEFORE? IS YOUR TEAM FOCUSED OR DOING ANYTHING TO GET YOU PAST THIS ROADBLOCK?“For us, we’re not going to try to reinvent the wheel. That’s number one. I think another thing that we don’t want to do is to get too far off the beaten path. I feel like for us, when we’ve been at our best and as a team, myself included, performing at the level that we’re all capable of doing, I feel like we’ve contended with the best of the series this year, in my personal opinion. And, I think we’re capable of doing that again. So, from my situation, I’m just trying to sit back and trying to do exactly that; and trying to perform at the level I know we can. And I think if we perform at that kind of level, I think that we can move on and give ourselves a shot. So, I’m just trying not to get trick or smart or reinvent things, I think, is the best way to move on.” IS THERE ONE TRACK IN THIS ROUND THAT PARTICULARLY CONCERNS YOU?“Well Texas has been a struggle, as you all (media) know, for us, since the repave. So, that one for sure, sticks out. I’m not thrilled about going there. But the people who win a lot of races and win championships don’t have bad race tracks and that’s just a fact. Kevin (Harvick) and Denny (Hamlin) and those guys who have been winning all these races this year, they can win about every week. So that’s kind of where we need to get to. And I think that’s been where I feel like some of our issues have been over the years is just a little inconsistency. And I think cleaning up those bad race tracks is a thing that we have to do. And it’s something I think we’re capable of doing; we’ve just got to hit on something there at Texas and eliminate bad tracks and I think we’ll be fine.” WITH CLINT BOWYER ANNOUNCING HIS RETIREMENT LAST WEEK, CAN YOU REFLECT ON THE ENERGY AND EXUBERANCE HE’S BROUGHT TO THE SPORT AND HIS LEGACY WITH THE GAME?“Yeah, I think Clint is obviously a very loud individual and he’s a very competitive guy all at the same time, but he’s certainly the life of the party. He always has been. I think his attitude and just the way he is has really made it a lot of fun for all the people over the years in certain environments. So, I’m going to miss that about him. He can make light of a very serious situation sometimes; which, sometimes that’s what people need. But yes, it’ll be interesting to see how he does. I think he’ll be a great addition to the booth, or wherever they put him, I guess. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining.” DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SPECIFIC MEMORY OF HIM?“I can’t say I do. I’m not best buddies with Clint, or anything along those lines and I’ve never been a teammate, or anything. I feel like I see him at events that we have to do with the other drivers, but that’s really about it. So, in those types of things, he seems like a fun guy. All the things that you see on TV, I think that’s very much his personality. But I don’t know that I know Clint well enough to give you a good story.” LOOKING AT THE PAST FEW YEARS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN TAKE FROM THOSE EXPERIENCES TO APPLY THIS TIME?“Yeah, I think much like the other question. We’re just trying to build on what we have, you know, and get better and not try to recreate or re-do things or do things different. I feel like our approach is plenty good enough to compete and be a contender. We just have to improve in certain areas. And I think inconsistency has been a problem. We want to be able to win races everywhere. And, I think there have been certain tracks over the years that have stood out consistently year after year, that have kept us from having good runs in places that we are not the most excited about going to. And you just can’t have that. The people who win all the time, people who are championship, and people that contend every week don’t have bad race track and they have an opportunity to win every single week. And we all know that. It’s not something that’s out of the realm, a possibility. If you want to be a top dog in this deal, you’ve got to be able to win every week. And that’s the way it’s been; and I don’t see that changing.” ARE YOU FEELING MORE PRESSURE, EITHER INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL, TO MAKE THE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR?“Personally, and as a team, there’s nothing anybody outside of myself or my team is going to say to me to make we want to win a championship more. So, that should answer that.” WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON LEAVING, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THERE WILL BE A VOID IN LEADERSHIP. AND IF SO, ARE YOU TRYING TO FILL THAT ROLE?“I think from my perspective, I’m certainly not trying to replace Jimmie. I feel like everybody kind of has their own way of leadership and their own way of carrying themselves. I’m certainly not Jimmie. And, I’m not going to ever act like I am. He is just such a stand-up individual. He’s the kind of guy that you want on your team. He’s the kind of guy to look up to as far as how he leads his life off the race track with his family; just the whole nine yards. But, from a leadership perspective and trying to fill that role, I don’t know that I’m going to be very productive in trying to be him or try to fill that. I think the best thing I can do is be myself. I think there’s a lot of attributes that he has taught me over the years that I can carry forward and maybe make myself better and maybe make me a better race car driver and maybe make me a better person, but I’m certainly not going to try to fill anybody’s shoes or fill the role.” IS THERE MORE CONCERN ABOUT COVID-19 OR IS THERE MORE PRESSURE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU’RE STAYING IN AND NOT GOING OUT ANYWHERE TO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T GET IT DURING THESE LAST FOUR RACES?“Yeah, it’s a good question. I think just practicing all of the things that they tell us to do every day is the best thing you can do. It’s a difficult thing to just completely avoid the world and avoid people; especially when you have to travel from state to state. We have a lot of traveling coming up for these final races. So, I think it’ll be important to practice those things. You’ve got to wash your hands and be as safe and as clean and sanitary as possible. And from that perspective, I think that’s really all I can do; and hope for the best.” IN YOUR MIND, WHAT TYPE OF VALIDATION DOES A CHAMPIONSHIP PROVIDE A DRIVER?“That’s a good question. I don’t necessarily know that I; when you’re on the hunt for one or you’ve never done it before, I’m not sure I’m thinking about the validation it’s going to give me on the back side. I think I’m really just thinking about that being the goal and that being what I want to achieve and being that next step or the next thing that our team wants to go and have a shot at trying to make the Final Four. So, I’m not sure. I feel like that’s something you kind of reflect on after you do something like that. I’m not sure you really know what it feels like or what validation it might give you internally unless you’ve achieved it; which I obviously have not. So, I think that’s more of a back-end question if you get there.” AS AN ATHLETE, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS SIMILARITIES BETWEEN WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH IN THE PLAYOFFS AND WHAT THE BRAVES ARE; OR WHAT THE LAKERS WENT THROUGH RECENTLY? DO YOU, AS AN ATHLETE, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION OR IS THAT MORE RELAXATION WHEN YOU’RE WATCHING THOSE EVENTS AND YOU’RE NOT TRYING TO GET THINGS FROM OTHER ATHLETES OR TEAMS?“Yeah, I definitely do. I try to learn and I think it’s a great thing to sit there and watch certain players and how they handle adversity and how they deal with bad times; or, how some guys can deal with being really good for a long period of time and how they can continue to sustain that type of performance over the long haul and how they deal with the media. All those small things, I think you can learn from. I enjoy watching the sport. Obviously, I’m a Braves fans and they have a game today, and that’s why I’m wearing the hat. To be honest with you, I forgot I had this media availability today; but I am sponsored by NAPA, if anybody doesn’t know. They were on our car last weekend. But yeah, I think you can learn from that kind of thing and whatnot, too. So, as much as I enjoy watching I do try to learn.” YOU MENTIONED TEXAS EARLIER, WHERE IT’S BEEN A STRUGGLE; BUT MARTINSVILLE HASN’T BEEN. WITH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MARTINSVILLE’S MORE TRADITIONAL NATURE VERSUS THE LAST TWO ROUNDS AT TALLADEGA AND THE ROVAL, WHAT’S YOUR COMFORT LEVEL?“I feel like this round has kind of had a similar look to it over the past years. Certainly, Phoenix has been in there. But Texas has also been in there, which has been a poor race track for us. I feel like the same challenges are still kind of in this round as what they have been. Does that make sense? So, I don’t necessarily think it has a different complexion from what we’ve seen in the past couple of years. But I definitely think it’s going to be tough. You’ve got to execute these races and like I said, you’ve got to eliminate those bad tracks. You can’t have them. And, hopefully we can get things going at Kansas and have something to build on for Texas. But a week at a time and I’m focused on Kansas right now.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (October 15, 2020) – Going into the final race of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season, the battle for the Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup – Presented by DirtonDirt.com is far from over. The mini-series within the full Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule consists of events that pay a minimum of $15,000 to the winner. 

The top three in the Crown Jewel Cup standings are separated by only 75 points. Tim McCreadie leads the latest standings by just 25 points over the defending Crown Jewel Cup winner, Jimmy Owens, with Josh Richards in third.

The 2020 Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup – Presented by DirtonDirt.com Champion will receive a $10,000 bonus. The drivers who finish second through fifth in the Crown Jewel Cup will earn $5,000, $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 in cash, respectively.

About Arizona Sports Shirts:
Founded more than four decades ago, Arizona Sport Shirts has provided bold, unique and effective apparel for race teams, businesses, and special events. Today, Arizona Sport Shirts continues its commitment to providing cutting edge apparel and merchandise found nowhere else. More information on Arizona Sport Shirts, including online ordering details, is available at: www.ArizonaSportShirts.com.

Richard Childress Racing at Kansas Speedway… In 87 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, Richard Childress Racing has one win with Kevin Harvick (2013), five top-five, and 23 top-10 finishes. The Welcome, N.C. organization also picked up a NASCAR Xfinity Series win with Harvick in 2006. Additionally, the Richard Childress Racing Xfinity Series program has earned 16 top-five, and 26 top-10 finishes in 50 starts.  Catch the Action… The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway will be televised live Saturday, October 17, beginning at 7 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.  The NASCAR Cup Series’ Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway will be televised live Sunday, October 18, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

This Week’s American Ethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Kansas Speedway… Dillon made his career-first start in the NASCAR Cup Series at Kansas Speedway in 2011 and has made a total of 14 NASCAR Cup Series starts the 1.5-mile track, earning his best finish of sixth in May and October 2016. He has also made five NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the track, earning one pole award (2013) and a best finish of second (2012). In three NASCAR Truck Series races, Dillon has earned one pole award (2011) and a best finish of fourth (2014). Delivering Performance on and Off the Racetrack… Austin Dillon races on Sunoco Green E15 fuel made with 15 percent American Ethanol. Ethanol is the most effective and least expensive source of octane available and it also burns cleaner and cooler than gasoline. All those factors mean that ethanol helps drive peak engine performance whether you’re in a racecar or on your way to the grocery store. And, ethanol helps keep our air cleaner and our environment healthier by reducing toxic and greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about why ethanol is the smart choice for your engine, your wallet and our environment at americanethanolracing.com. 17 Billion Miles on E15 … American drivers have now logged more than 17 BILLION miles on E15. That’s the equivalent of 682,703 trips around the earth, every single person on earth driving two miles on E15, or 711 trips from earth to the moon. Last week’s announcement of USDA grants for retailers across the country to invest in E15 infrastructure will only keep up the momentum. And despite the most challenging fuel market drop in 30 years, retail adoption of E15 has already increased 10% and is on track to reach 20% by the end of the year. It’s clear that drivers who choose E15 not only see the more affordable price, but also feel good about fueling up with an earth-friendly biofuel and keep coming back for more. Now that’s something to celebrate! NASCAR Playoffs… Dillon was knocked out of contention from the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs following Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, where he finished 19th and missed the Round of Eight cutoff by 38 points. Dillon’s fourth appearance in NASCAR’s postseason was highlighted by strong performances in the Round of 16, including top-three finishes at both Darlington and Richmond. AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:How is Kansas unique compared to some of the other 1.5-mile tracks?“Kansas Speedway has done a really good job with their banking. There’s a line right up by the fence that has a little extra grip. There’s an angle up there that I don’t think many tracks have figured out yet, but Kansas got it right. You can run from top to bottom there. The bottom groove is the preferred groove at the beginning, but it becomes too tight to try and run around there in turns one and two sometimes depending on what the balance of your race car is. I’ve enjoyed that track a lot ever since they repaved it. I wish every track could do as good as a job as Kansas has with repaves.” How will you approach this race now that you are no longer competing in the NASCAR Playoffs?“I don’t think the mentality changes, too much. The goal remains the same, and that is to go out and win. My RCR team has been really strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this season, and I know that we have everything we need to try and get another win before the end of the season. We can take some chances and try some things now that maybe we wouldn’t have if we were still in the NASCAR Playoffs, but overall the goal is still the same.”October is national “name your car” month. Do you ever name any of your cars or have names for them?“When I was in the NASCAR East Series, we had a car called Midnight Rider because we worked all night on it. It ran a lot of races and was a solid car for us.”

Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE at Kansas Speedway…Tyler Reddick has two NASCAR Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway, earning a best finish of ninth there in the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 last year for RCR. The finish was Reddick’s first Cup Series top-10 finish in just two series starts. Reddick also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the 1.5-mile speedway and has not started or finished outside the top-10 in the series. Reddick picked up the pole award in the Xfinity Series in 2017 and has a best finish of second (October 2017 and October 2019). Reddick also has two NASCAR Truck Series starts at Kansas Speedway. About NMC Cat… As one of the longest operating Caterpillar dealerships, NMC has proudly served customers with equipment and service solutions since 1938. Our team works hard each day to build long-lasting relationships with our customers – and we strive to be the first choice for the equipment and services they need for the many industries we serve, including construction, power generation, on-highway truck and agriculture. After more than 80 years since the first NMC location opened for business, there is still a can-do spirit leading the way. There is a continuing focus to help our customers succeed and a determination to create new opportunities for today as well as for the next 80 years. About Caterpillar… Since 1925, Caterpillar Inc. has been helping our customers build a better world – making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2019 sales and revenues of $53.8 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. Services offered throughout the product life cycle, cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise set Caterpillar apart, providing exceptional value to help our customers succeed. The company principally operates through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and provides financing and related services through its Financial Products segment. TYLER REDDICK QUOTES: We return to Kansas Speedway this weekend after racing there at the end of July. Are there any takeaways from that race that you can use this weekend?“Honestly, that race was a tough one for us where we were going through a patch of learning how to adjust on these Cup cars to get me what I need. None of the adjustments we made that weekend seemed to help, so we’ve been working hard on our game plan for this weekend when we return to Kansas Speedway with our No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet. I think we’ve made a lot of good headway over the past couple of months on making adjustments that help me. With this Sunday’s race being a day race and not bleeding into the night, I think the track will still change but not go through as big of a swing as it did during the July race. We’ll have a little more consistency during the day, which will help us. We just have to manage everything the best that we can and not lose any track position we get, since it’s so hard to get that back in these races.”

Anthony Alfredo and the No. 21 Andy’s Frozen Custard Chevrolet Camaro at Kansas Speedway… Anthony Alfredo will make his first career start this weekend at Kansas Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Five of Alfredo’s eight top-10 finishes have come on 1.5-mile tracks this season. He also has one career ARCA Series start at Kansas Speedway from 2018. About Andy’s Frozen Custard… Andy’s Frozen Custard has always been fanatical about custard and has served it with pride since March 19, 1986. For more than three decades, only the freshest ingredients have been used for a frozen custard experience you can’t get anywhere else. Andy’s number one focus is product quality. We use only the finest ingredients in our mix. The custard is always  served within one hour after it is made.  Our approach has been fairly simple: Hire great people, treat them right, and try to get the product in as many mouths as possible. Andy’s Frozen Custard focuses on three main things: product quality, customer service, and community involvement. Our efforts in these areas are what make us unique in the markets we serve. It is this commitment to quality that allows us to be confident in saying that Andy’s makes the best frozen treat in the entire world! Drop by your local Andy’s or visit us at eatandys.com. Fast Start for Fast Pasta… Running a limited schedule in the No. 21 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing, Alfredo has secured eight top-10 finishes. He also won an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Saturday Night Thunder Race at Dover International Speedway during NASCAR’s hiatus from on-track competition. ANTHONY ALFREDO QUOTES:What are your expectations coming into Kansas Speedway this weekend?“I am really looking forward to Kansas this weekend. It seems like the 1.5-mile tracks have really been where our team has been the most competitive this season. We have a lot of momentum that we are still carrying from places like Bristol Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway. Our Richard Childress Racing team has been bringing fast Chevrolet Camaros every week to the track. I believe Kansas is a place where we can grab our first top-three of the year, if not a win. Hopefully, I can adapt to the track quickly and communicate well with my crew chief, Andy Street, so my team can make good adjustments to put us in position at the end.”  This will be your first start at Kansas since you ran an ARCA race there a few years ago. What have you been doing to best prepare yourself for this weekend with limited experience? “I’ve definitely been leaning on my RCR teammates, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick. They have both been very insightful and an open book for any of my questions all year long. I’m thankful to Richard Childress Racing and Chevrolet for all the resources I’ve been able to utilize. Our team simulator has been a great tool for me to study and understand the data, so I have an idea of not just the line I need to run, but what the balance of the car is going to be for both short and long runs heading into these races.”

October 14, 2020

In their first year together, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Wrangler RIGGS team have scored three top-three finishes, all on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks. There have been two runner-up finishes at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and a third-place at Kentucky Speedway.

So it’s not surprising that DiBenedetto is optimistic headed into Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, one of his favorites among the intermediate tracks due to its slick surface and multiple lanes. 

Tracks like Kansas Speedway allow DiBenedetto to capitalize on one his driving strengths, which is gaining positions on restarts through aggressive tactics.
 
“Mile-and-a-half tracks are a strong point for us this year for sure,” DiBenedetto said. “The Menards/Wrangler RIGGS team has learned what feel I need, and we have gotten very strong at those type places.
 
“We also have had strong restarts which help us a lot.”
 
In his last appearance at Kansas, in July’s Super Start Batteries 400, DiBenedetto was able to make up numerous positions on restarts, taking advantage of the track’s multiple grooves, only to see his night ended when he was swept up in a chain-reaction wreck.
 
But that experience didn’t dampen his enthusiasm over Sunday’s race.
 
“Kansas is one of the most fun mile-and-a-halfs for all the lane choices you have there,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
 
DiBenedetto and the Menards/Wrangler RIGGS Mustang will start 18^th in Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400, which is set to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverag

Batavia, OH (October 14, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is proud to announce the 2021 schedule, with a lineup that hosts 62 feature events, at 32 different venues, across 21 states. The news all race fans have been waiting for, all 62 events will be live streamed in conjunction with four live on the MAVTV Motorsports Network. There will be 37 original events televised on MAVTV, three events televised on CBS Sports Network, one event televised on CBS, and 14 events televised on NBC Sports Network. 

In 2021, the tour will launch with thirteen feature events during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks, at four different venues. The Series kicks off the season January 22nd – 23rd at Golden Isles Speedway; January 25th – 30th at East Bay Raceway Park; February 1st – 2nd at Bubba Raceway Park; and February 4th – 6th at All-Tech Raceway. In traditional fashion, the 2021 championship battle will conclude October 15th-16th at the 41st Annual Dirt Track World Championship at Portsmouth Raceway Park. Next year’s schedule is highlighted by a generous number of increased purses throughout the season. The richest Crown Jewel events of the tour’s schedule includes: Lucas Oil Speedway’s Show-Me 100 ($30,000 to win); Smoky Mountain Speedway’s Mountain Moonshine Classic ($20,000); I-80 Speedway’s Silver Dollar Nationals ($53,000); Florence Speedway’s North/South 100 ($50,000); Batesville Motor Speedway’s Topless 100 ($40,000); Port Royal Speedway’s The Rumble by the River #3 ($30,000); Tyler County Speedway’s Hillbilly Hundred ($30,000); Knoxville Raceway’s Late Model Nationals ($40,000); Brownstown Speedway’s Jackson 100 ($20,000); Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway’s Pittsburgher 100 ($20,000); and Portsmouth Raceway Park’s Dirt Track World Championship ($100,000).

2020 was a challenging year for many, including all of us in the racing industry. The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series would like to thank all of our team owners, drivers and crew members, our event promoters, our loyal fans, and our tremendous marketing partners for your continued support. It is because of each of you, along with the hard work and determination of series officials and the unwavering support of Lucas Oil Products, the series will be able to complete 46 feature events, during the 2020 season, after this weekend’s $100,000 to win Dirt Track World Championship at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, OH. 

2021 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Schedule:

Date	Track	Event	Location	To Win	A-Main Purse	Laps
1/21	Golden Isles Speedway	Super Bowl of Racing	Brunswick, GA	Practice
1/22	Golden Isles Speedway	Super Bowl of Racing	Brunswick, GA	$12,000	$47,050	50
1/23	Golden Isles Speedway	Super Bowl of Racing	Brunswick, GA	$15,000	$54,550	50
1/24	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	Practice
1/25	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$5,000	$23,050	30
1/26	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$5,000	$23,050	30
1/27	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$7,000	$30,775	40
1/28	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$7,000	$30,775	40
1/29	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$12,000	$47,050	50
1/30	East Bay Raceway Park	45th Annual Wrisco Winternationals Presented By Lucas Oil	Tampa, FL	$15,000	$54,550	50
2/1	Bubba Racway Park	Winter Nationals	Ocala, FL	$10,000	$43,575	40
2/2	Bubba Racway Park	Winter Nationals	Ocala, FL	$10,000	$43,575	40
2/3	All-Tech Raceway	Winter Nationals	Lake City, FL	Practice
2/4	All-Tech Raceway	Winter Nationals	Lake City, FL	$10,000	$43,575	40
2/5	All-Tech Raceway	Winter Nationals	Lake City, FL	$12,000	$47,050	50
2/6	All-Tech Raceway	Winter Nationals	Lake City, FL	$15,000	$54,550	50
3/19	Atomic Speedway	Buckeye Spring 50	Chillicothe, OH	$12,000	$52,800	50
3/20	Brownstown Speedway	Indiana Icebreaker	Brownstown, IN	$15,000	$57,050	50
4/9	411 Motor Speedway	Tennessee’s Action Track 50	Seymour, TN	$12,000	$52,800	50
4/10	Talladega Short Track	E-Z-GO 50	Eastaboga, AL	$15,000	$57,050	50
4/17	Hagerstown Speedway	Nininger Tribute	Hagerstown, MD	$15,000	$57,050	50
4/18	Port Royal Speedway		Port Royal, PA	$10,000	$48,575	40
4/23	Tri-City Speedway	Bullet Race Engines 50	Granite City, IL	$12,000	$52,800	50
4/24	Macon Speedway		Macon, IL	$15,000	$57,050	100
4/30	Ponderosa Speedway	17th Annual John Bradshaw Memorial	Junction City, KY	$12,000	$52,800	50
5/1	Florence Speedway	35th Annual Ralph Latham Memorial	Union, KY	$15,000	$57,050	50
5/21	300 Raceway		Farley, IA	$12,000	$52,800	50
5/22	34 Raceway	Triple 777 Trucking Lucky 50	Burlington, IA	$15,000	$57,050	50
5/27	Lucas Oil Speedway	8th Annual Cowboy Classic	Wheatland, MO	$6,000	$26,750	45
5/28	Lucas Oil Speedway	The Tribute to Don and Billie Gibson	Wheatland, MO	$6,000	$26,750	40
5/29	Lucas Oil Speedway	29th Annual Lucas Oil Show-Me 100	Wheatland, MO	$30,000	$128,700	100
6/17	Magnolia Motor Speedway	Clash at the Mag presented by Big River Steel	Columbus, MS	$5,000	$25,000	25
6/18	Magnolia Motor Speedway	Clash at the Mag presented by Big River Steel	Columbus, MS	$5,000	$25,000	25
6/19	Magnolia Motor Speedway	Clash at the Mag presented by Big River Steel	Columbus, MS	$15,000	$63,450	60
6/25	Deer Creek Speedway	NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50	Spring Valley, MN	$12,000	$52,800	50
6/26	Deer Creek Speedway	NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50	Spring Valley, MN	$15,000	$57,050	50
7/2	Portsmouth Raceway Park	Independence 50	Portsmouth, OH	$12,000	$52,800	50
7/3	Muskingum County Speedway	Freedom 50	Zanesville, OH	$15,000	$57,050	50
7/8	Cherokee Speedway	23rd Annual Grassy Smith Memorial	Gaffney, SC	$10,000	$48,575	50
7/9	Smoky Mountain Speedway	Mountain Moonshine Classic	Maryville, TN	$12,000	$52,800	40
7/10	Smoky Mountain Speedway	Mountain Moonshine Classic	Maryville, TN	$20,000	$73,400	60
7/16	Tri-City Speedway	NAPA Know How 50	Granite City, IL	$12,000	$52,800	50
7/17	Lucas Oil Speedway	15th Annual Diamond Nationals	Wheatland, MO	$15,000	$57,050	50
7/22	I-80 Speedway	Dirt Track Bank Go 50	Greenwood, NE	$12,000	$52,800	50
7/23	I-80 Speedway	Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals	Greenwood, NE	Prelim
7/24	I-80 Speedway	Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals	Greenwood, NE	$53,000	$181,350	80
8/12	Florence Speedway	Sunoco North/South Shootout	Union, KY	$10,000	$48,575	50
8/13	Florence Speedway	39th Annual Sunoco North/South 100	Union, KY	Prelim
8/14	Florence Speedway	39th Annual Sunoco North/South 100	Union, KY	$50,000	$160,050	100
8/19	Batesville Motor Speedway	29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions	Batesville, AR	$5,000	$25,000	30
8/20	Batesville Motor Speedway	29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions	Batesville, AR	$5,000	$25,000	30
8/21	Batesville Motor Speedway	29th Annual COMP Cams Topless 100 Presented by Nutrien Ag Solutions	Batesville, AR	$40,000	$129,275	100
8/26	Port Royal Speedway	The Rumble by the River #1	Port Royal, PA	$10,000	$48,575	30
8/27	Port Royal Speedway	The Rumble by the River #2	Port Royal, PA	$12,000	$52,800	40
8/28	Port Royal Speedway	The Rumble by the River #3	Port Royal, PA	$30,000	$118,650	50
9/4	Portsmouth Raceway Park	River Days Rumble Presented by Pepsi	Portsmouth, OH	$15,000	$57,050	50
9/5	Tyler County Speedway	53rd Annual Hillbilly Hundred	Middlebourne, WV	$30,000	$91,125	100
9/16	Knoxville Raceway	Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals	Knoxville, IA	$7,000	$28,230	25
9/17	Knoxville Raceway	Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals	Knoxville, IA	$7,000	$28,230	25
9/18	Knoxville Raceway	Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals	Knoxville, IA	$40,000	$180,250	100
9/24	Brownstown Speedway	Night Before the Jackson	Brownstown, IN	$10,000	$48,575	40
9/25	Brownstown Speedway	42nd Annual Jackson 100	Brownstown, IN	$20,000	$73,400	100
10/1	Raceway 7	Great Lakes 50	Conneaut, OH	$12,000	$52,800	50
10/2	Pittsburgh Motor Speedway	33rd Annual Pittsburgher 100	Imperial, PA	$20,000	$73,400	100
10/9	The Red Clay at Woodstock – Historic Dixie Speedway	Lucas Oil Dixie Shootout	Woodstock, GA	$15,000	$57,050	50
10/10	Rome Speedway	Lucas Oil Rome Showdown	Rome, GA	$10,000	$48,575	50
10/15	Portsmouth Raceway Park	41st Annual Dirt Track World Championship	Portsmouth, OH	Prelim
10/16	Portsmouth Raceway Park	41st Annual Dirt Track World Championship	Portsmouth, OH	$100,000	$191,485	100

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Oct. 13, 2020) – Dominic Scelzi will finish the 2020 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series season driving the famed Roth Motorsports No. 83.

It begins this Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., prior to the Jason Johnson Classic at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., on Saturday.

“We won seven or eight races with Roth Motorsports last year,” Scelzi said. “We’ve been really good together and I’m really excited to finish the year out with them. This is a big opportunity to me. I’m excited to help them finish the World of Outlaws season and it’s helping provide me more opportunities.”

Scelzi ranks 18^th in the World of Outlaws championship standings thanks to four top 10s during limited starts with the series this year.

The big news comes on the heels of one of Scelzi’s most successful weekends of the season. He picked up a win, a pair of top fives and a trio of top 10s in four features last Friday and Saturday at Keller Auto Speedway.

Scelzi piloted a sprint car for Williams Motorsports for the first time in his career on Friday. He qualified eighth quickest, won a heat race and finished fourth in the A Main after leading early.

“I took the lead on Lap 5 and led until Lap 11,” he said. “I was running around the top and it laid rubber on the bottom. I didn’t know it and went from first to third in the same corner. I tried to get back to second and slipped out of the rubber, which dropped me to fourth.”

Scelzi also led laps on Saturday during the 360ci sprint car feature. After setting quick time out of 31 drivers during qualifying and advancing from sixth to fourth in a heat race, Scelzi, who was driving his family car, won the dash to garner the pole position for the main event.

“We were really good and we led the first 15 laps,” he said. “I was running the bottom in turns one and two and the middle in turns three and four. Bud (Kaeding) got the top cleaned off and was able to rip around us so we ended up second.”

Scelzi also drove for Williams Motorsports during the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Series portion of the night, which began with him qualifying eighth quickest. A third-place outing in a heat race lined him up eighth for the first of two, 20-lap features.

“I was running between sixth to eighth,” he said. “I biked up on the cushion in turns one and two. We slid to a stop and I had to restart at the back. We drove up to ninth. Then we made some changes during the 10-minute stoppage since we were too tight.”

The changes worked perfectly for Scelzi, who lined up on the inside of the sixth row for the final feature.

“We worked the bottom in turns one and two and the middle in turns three and four,” he said. “There were a couple of times when I’d pass two cars off turn two. People were struggling to stay on the bottom. We were able to slide them into turn three or we could roll the middle to the outside. The track was really, really slick and I feel like we were really good in the slick.”

Scelzi led the final handful of laps en route to his third triumph of the season. The win also came during the Morrie Williams Memorial – named in honor of the man who owned the team Scelzi drove for during the 410 races last weekend.

“It was so neat,” he said. “What was so cool about it was Friday, my first night in the car, we led laps and we were really fast. Kyle (Hirst) getting around me was a bummer, but Kyle was in the other Williams car. On Saturday Kyle won the first feature and I won the second. If you wanted to win a race you had to be in a Williams car. It’s something very special and I’ll never forget it.”

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 9 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 4 (4).

Oct. 10 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (360 sprint car) – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 4 (6); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1).

Oct. 10 – Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, Calif. (410 sprint car) – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature #1: 9 (8); Feature #2: 1 (11).

SEASON STATS –

59 races, 3 wins, 17 top fives, 29 top 10s, 42 top 15s, 4 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., and Saturday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., for the Jason Johnson Classic with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

BATAVIA, Ohio (October 13, 2020) – The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is set to cap off the whirlwind 2020 season with one of the most anticipated events of the year. The 40th Annual General Tire Dirt Track World Championship – Presented by Optima Batteries – will take place October 15th-17th, at Portsmouth Raceway Park in Portsmouth, Ohio. The weekend will get underway on Thursday night with preliminary events for the Open Wheel Modifieds. On Friday, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will Hot Lap, Time Trial, and compete in a single set of 15-lap Heat Races. Additionally, the Limited Late Models will have their preliminary events, along with the main event for the Open Wheel Modifieds. A complete program for the Legend Cars is also on tap for Friday night. Saturday’s festivities kick off with a Dirt Racing Outreach Service at 3:30 PM EDT, with hot laps at 6:00 PM EDT, followed by the awards presentations for Eibach Springs Rookie of the Year and National Champion. Consolation events for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series are set to begin at 7:00 PM EDT, followed by the 100-lap, $100,000-to-win Dirt Track World Championship. After that, the Limited Late Models will compete in their 25-lap feature event, followed by the 25-lap, $3,000-to-win Jim Dunn Memorial Non-Qualifiers Race. For more information on the 40th Annual General Tire Dirt Track World Championship – Presented by Optima Batteries, visit: www.thedtwc.com; www.portsraceway.com; or call (740) 354-3278. For fans unable to make it out in person, Friday and Saturday night’s events will go live on LucasOilRacing.tv at 6:00 PM EDT for yearly subscribers.  

(10/10/20) Jim Allen, Hanford, CA …  Kyle Hirst and Dominic Scelzi each drove matching Williams Motorsports team cars to exciting victories in the twin-20 NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series main events in the Morrie Williams Legends Tribute races at Keller Auto Speedway.  Tim Kaeding, on the basis of a second and fourth place finish, was crowned the overall champ of the inaugural event in the Bates/Hamilton Maxim.

Hirst started on the outside of the front row of the first feature and spent the first seven laps tailgating Iowa visitor Austin McCarl.  After mounting a several challenges, Hirst finally managed to motor his way into the lead going down the backstretch a lap later.  However, he had to survive three caution flag restarts and a barrage of attacks by Blake Carrick, 10th starter Sean Becker and Mitchell Faccinto before claiming this hard fought victory.

Carrick actually took the lead away twice, but was unable to make it stick at the flagstand as the four-time King of the West champion kept battled back.  A caution flag on the final lap set the stage for a green-white-checkered shootout.  With the leader running the low groove, Mitchell Faccinto rode the cushion around Hirst to steal away the on the 19th circuit.  The two swapped lines on the final lap and Hirst ended up beating Faccinto to the checkered by a few feet while also making contact with both the front straightaway concrete and Faccinto in a wild finish.  Becker filled out the podium finishers, chased by Tim Kaeding, and Carrick.  Hirst’s 30th career King of the West victory was worth $3000.  Becker was named the Swift Metal Finishing hardcharger.

The second feature was lined up totally inverted based on the finish of the first race.  In this one, Polesitter Ryan Robinson set the standard at the green, leading a freight train that included JJ Ringo, Stephen Ingraham and Craig Stidham.  Robinson grew his advantage to a healthy 12-car lengths as the field sliced and diced for positions behind him.  The caution appeared on lap eight for Sean Watts, which changed the entire dynamic of the race.  Eleventh starter Dominic Scelzi had the fastest car on the track and had already negotiated his way into third behind Tanner Carrick and the leader for the restart.  Scelzi would pick off Carrick four laps later and claimed a drag race down the front to take the top spot away on lap 13.  At that point, Scelzi put his sprint car in cruise control and went on to claim his ninth series win of his career.

Kaeding, who began the second 20-lapper in the 16th spot, methodically worked his way through the field to finish second, ahead of Robinson, Becker, McCarl, and Tanner Carrick.  Kaeding’s effort earned the $400 hardcharger award and ultimately the overall points title for the night, worth another $1000.

McCarl set the standard aboard the Roth Motorsports sprinter to set quick time at 14.573 run around Peter Murphy’s 3/8 mile dirt track.

FUJITSU FEATURE EVENT #1 (20-laps):   Kyle Hirst, Mitchell Faccinto, Sean Becker, Tim Kaeding, Blake Carrick, DJ Netto, Bud Kaeding, Austin McCarl, Dominic Scelzi, Andy Forsberg, Kurt Nelson, Jake Hagopian, Tanner Carrick, Sean Watts, Kyle Offill, Craig Stidham, JJ Ringo, Adam Kaeding, Stephen Ingraham, Ryan Robinson, AJ Bender, Burt Foland Jr.

LAP LEADERS: McCarl 1-7, Hirst 8, B. Carrick 9, Hirst 10-18, Faccinto 19, Hirst 20.

FUJITSU FEATURE EVENT #2 (20-laps):  Dominic Scelzi, Tim Kaeding, Ryan Robinson, Sean Becker, Austin McCarl, Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto, Mitchell Faccinto, Bud Kaeding, Blake Carrick, Andy Forsberg, Stephen Ingraham, Jake Hagopian, Kurt Nelson, JJ Ringo, Kyle Offill, Adam Kaeding, Craig Stidham, Kyle Hirst, AJ Bender, Sean Watts, Burt Foland Jr.

LAP LEADERS: Robinson 1-15, S

Brenda’s article on Stock Eliminator Driver, Bobby Devine was published in the August 28th issue of National Dragster. This is a feel good story and Bobby was excited for his story to be told. An inspiration to many drivers, Bobby’s story is heartfelt and includes how he came to own his car thru the contributions of numerous racers. His story shows what the sport is really about. Brenda is currently working on another article which should be submitted in the coming weeks.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Time Slip

Volume 9, Issue 2

Race Update

October 2020

New England Dragway

With Denver, Brainerd, Topeka and Atlanta cancelled, the race rig headed to New Hampshire to capitalize on Bill’s preplanned vacation time. Since Brenda grew up in NH, it was a great opportunity to visit family, eat lobster, and race.

Arriving in New England, the rig headed north to spend a
few days in Freeport, Maine to enjoy the weather and
wonderful food. After Bill ate his weight in lobsters and
steamers, the rig headed to New England Dragway (NED)
to compete in the Divisional and SportsNationals. As a
teenager, Brenda worked in the tower at NED and watched
her Dad race. Several friends came to the track, along with
Brenda’s Dad. Her Dad was looking forward to watching the Super Stocker run, unfortunately extremely high oil pressure kept the car from competing. Brenda went several rounds at the Divisional race in Stock and lost first round in the SportsNationals. Plans to hit the Bowling Green race on the way home were cancelled due to the hurricane forecast and a broken Super Stocker.

Dallas Double Divisional

The Dallas Double Divisional saw more round wins in Stock and chassis challenges in the Super Stocker. Affectionately named “the problem child”, since putting in the powerful Line motor, a few

chassis challenges continue to plague the car. With the help of Jason Line, the car has a set up to help eliminate tire spin off the line allowing the car to complete the season. Once the season is over, the issue will be addressed; and fixed.

Gator Nationals

The rescheduled Southern Nationals held at the rescheduled Gator Nationals secured a final round finish for Brenda in Stock. Unfortunately, at the start of Sportsman final rounds, the rain came, in buckets. The drivers in each class were given the choice of where to complete their final. Stock will be completed at the Houston National event later this month. This is the second final round for the Stocker at the Gator Nationals. Brenda secured the Stock runner-up at the 2006 event.

Dallas Open & National Event

Houston National Vegas National

Oct 14-18

Oct 23-25

Oct 29- Nov 1

www.BrendaGrubbsMotorsports.com

www.BrendaGrubbsMotorsports.com bdgrubbs@aol.com

October 11, 2020

Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team were fast early in Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway but after being involved in some chain-reaction crashes wound up with a 22^nd-place finish.

Sunday’s 109-lap race started in rainy conditions, but the sun soon began to break through. Sensing the rain was ending, crew chief Greg Erwin was among the first to bring his driver in for regular, treadless racing tires.
 
As the track began to dry, DiBenedetto, who started 20^th, was able to motor by his competitors still running grooved rain tires and take third place in the first 25-lap Stage.
 
At the start of Stage Two, DiBenedetto continued to race among the leaders until Lap 34, when he had to stop to avoid contact with Brad Keselowski, his Ford teammate who spun around backwards ahead of him.
 
That evasive move cost him 12 positions and set the pattern for the remainder of the race.
 
One incident damaged the right front of the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang. The crew made repairs and got DiBenedetto up to speed only to see the left front damaged in another incident. 
 
DiBenedetto was able to briefly rejoin the top 10 in the third segment of the race, but the incidents on restarts caused him to lose track position he was never able to regain.
 
“We had about everything go wrong,” DiBenedetto said. “We just couldn’t dig ourselves out of the hole we were in. It was just a long, rough day.” 
  
Eddie Wood, who joined his son Jon and brother Len in watching their first race in person since attendance was strictly limited due to the coronavirus, said it was good to be back at a race track.
 
“I wish we’d had a better day,” he said. “We did get some stage points, and Greg made good calls all day, but racing on the Roval is tough.”
 
DiBenedetto and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are 15^th in the Cup Series points standings heading into the next race, at Kansas Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 11, 2020
 CHASE ELLIOTT, CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 1LE SCORES VICTORY AT CHARLOTTETeam Chevy Takes Four of Top-10
CONCORD, NC (October 11, 2020) – Chase Elliott became a back-to-back Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course winner, taking his No. 9 NAPA Auto Part Camaro ZL1 1LE to victory lane at the 61st annual Bank of America ROVAL 400, his third points-paying victory and 19th top-10 finish in 2020. The win, his ninth career victory in 182 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, secured Elliott’s spot into the Round of Eight of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. 
Elliott’s impressive road course streak continues, as the victory made the Hendrick Motorsports’ driver just the 2nd driver in NASCAR history to win four road course races in a row. The victory at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile North Carolina circuit is Chevrolet’s seventh triumph of the season and the manufacturer’s 793rd all-time win in the NASCAR Cup Series. 
The win is the 20th road course victory and 261st all-time win for Hendrick Motorsports, which was also celebrated by Elliott’s teammates William Byron, who finished sixth in his No. 24 Hendrickcars.comCamaro ZL1 1LE, and Alex Bowman, who crossed the line in the eighth position in his No. 88 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 1LE. Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Camaro ZL1 1LE, took the checkered flag in the fourth position, giving Team Chevy four of the top-10 finishers in the race.  Joey Logano (Ford) was second, Erik Jones (Toyota) was third, and Ryan Blaney (Ford) rounded out the top-five finishers of the race. 
The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Kansas Speedway with the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday, October 18, at 2:30 PM ET, kicking off the Round of Eight for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Live coverage can be found on NBC, the NBC Sports Gold app, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. 
CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by our race winner, Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.           Chase, we’ll start with questions for you.            Q. Do you enter these road courses just knowing that you’re going to have a great car? Do you enter these now with some sort of swagger? Does this success even surprise you? Because it’s so rare to rattle off this many road course wins.CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, no, we definitely don’t show up just expecting to be good. We show up trying to be better than we were last time. I thought we did that today.           I thought our car was better than it was here last year. I thought I was better than I was last year. Didn’t pile drive the barriers this time. That was good. Was able to finish it off the right way, which is always encouraging.           Looking forward to this next round, trying to make some noise.            Q. I think you were 12th at Texas and Kansas. Do you feel like you have improved on your program enough to be able to make some noise?CHASE ELLIOTT: I hope so. 12th certainly isn’t going to cut it. We’ve been working tirelessly to try to improve. Kansas has historically been a decent track for us. We struggled there the first race this year. We know we got to be better. Looking forward to the challenge.            Q. Two years in a row that you’ve had some type of issue about the halfway point of the Roval. Is this going to be a trend having to come from 28th or back to win?CHASE ELLIOTT: Hey, as long as the result stays the same, I don’t really care (laughter). It worked out. We’ll take it for sure. Those bonus points are big, can be a difference maker.           Like I said, just excited to have some momentum going into the next round. Wins are huge. Too hard to get to get picky with them. Looking forward to the opportunity, trying to make some noise and move on.            Q. With the road courses, tying Jeff Gordon, that result, have you talked to Jeff about the road course success? How do you feel in that portion of history with road courses?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, to be honest, we haven’t talked all about it. I know he had a great run. I think we all respect his career beyond just that. Yeah, just trying to get better.           Jeff is a four‑time champion. We don’t remember him for his four road course victories in a row, although it was great. Being a champion and trying to have the next level of success that he had is certainly a goal. Just trying to improve.            Q. You came down with the loose wheel, you came out 38th or something, pretty far down there. At what point did you feel like you were still going to have a shot to win? Was it immediately you were picking through cars?CHASE ELLIOTT: I mean, you never know, to be honest. I was just focused on trying to move forward. Felt like our car was driving well. Certainly a setback. Got a caution I thought at a really good time, kind of bunched us back up. We had made our way through there some. That kind of allowed us to reset.           I felt like at that point we were in a position that we were kind of back to where we were or close to it with the way the strategy was working out. I felt like we just needed to be smart, try to keep our eyes forward and make the next right call, whatever that was. Putting on tires at the caution or not.           Alan made a great call, called a good race. I had a fast car. Things went our way. That’s all we could ask for.            Q. What is the level of frustration inside the car? You put the blame on yourself last year. This year, not your fault. What happens inside the car that you can rebound from that?CHASE ELLIOTT: It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. The end result is the setback. That’s really the bottom line. Blaming or being upset, as much as sometimes you might want to be, it’s really unproductive.           Looking ahead, those guys weren’t cussing me when I ran through the barrier. I wasn’t going to cuss them for a mistake either. I think we just needed to keep our eyes forward, heads down, focus on trying to get back up front and have a shot to win.            Q. Would you compare your dominance on road courses to Kirby Smart’s defense?CHASE ELLIOTT: They’ve had a nice run, for sure. Yeah, I don’t know. Hard to compare I suppose. Yeah, hope they can have a good game next week.            Q. (Question about the Braves and the Dodgers.)CHASE ELLIOTT: I can’t hardly hear you. Something about the Braves and the Dodgers.           Looking forward to watching for sure. I think they’re going to have to definitely be on their A game. I’m excited to watch.            Q. In the lead‑up to road course events, mentally is your preparation any different than other weeks considering your track record at them or is it the same?CHASE ELLIOTT: It’s honestly not. I feel like we approach every week the same, to be honest. There’s certainly areas that we want to try to improve on all the time. Like I said a minute ago, I don’t think you can just come to these places and be the same as you were last time and expect to have the same results.           I thought our car was better today than last year. I thought I did a better job today than I did last year. I think that’s why we were able to get a good result.            Q. Do you wish there were more road courses in the Playoffs?CHASE ELLIOTT: No, I don’t. I would just like to be good at all the tracks.            Q. You’ve got Texas, Kansas and Martinsville in the next round. Your thoughts on how you are going to perform, make it to the Round of 4?CHASE ELLIOTT: You never know. That’s why we go race, is to find out who wins and who loses. Just excited to have the opportunity. I think it’s going to be a really big challenge for us to move on, as I think it is for everybody in this round, unless you just have a bunch of wins.           I think today’s win is big. Getting those extra five points can be the difference. We just have to bring our A game, push ahead, really try to execute three solid weeks.            Q. What were the conditions like? Did watching what happened yesterday in the Xfinity race put you on edge for what might have come today?CHASE ELLIOTT: For sure. I mean, I was shocked it didn’t rain really at all. Feel like we got really lucky that that didn’t happen in a lot of ways.           Yeah, I tried to be as prepared as I could be for that if it happened. I felt like the biggest challenge today was that transition period when the track was wet, as it was drying out, understanding which areas were still damp and which areas weren’t.           The track kind of has like a sealer to it, when you see a fresh driveway or a big parking lot resealed. It’s kind of like it has that all the time, which makes it dark and kind of hard to differentiate what’s dry and what’s not. That was the biggest challenge, was just understanding where to be, where not to be, trying to stay on the road.            Q. A lot of drivers learn how to go racing schools to be a better road course racer or driving instructors like Boris Said. Where did you learn to drive on road courses?CHASE ELLIOTT: I feel like I’ve done all those things. I remember going to Bondurant out there as a kid, driving Corvettes. I remember going to Spring Mountain and spending a lot of time with Ron Fellows. Boris Said is a friend. I feel like dad was a really good road racer, too. I felt like there’s small things that he’s talked about over the years that have helped me, too.           I don’t know. I feel like I’ve had an opportunity to be around some guys who have really good knowledge. If you can just pick things from everybody, try to take small little tidbits there, small little tidbits there, put it into one effort I think it’s helpful.           I have been fortunate to have some good people to look up to. Still a lot of room for improvement I think on my end, but definitely a good day today. Want to enjoy it.            Q. It can be a bit premature to look ahead to 2021, but how thrilled are you to take on a brand‑new unknown with the Circuit of the Americas?CHASE ELLIOTT: Great question, man. To be honest, I’m so focused on this year right now, whatnot, I haven’t spent a lot of time going through the schedule for next year.           I think it’s a good addition. It’s a nice course out there. I feel like it’s been quite the spectacle from the F1 side. Obviously that’s a whole different ballgame.           Looking forward to going. I think it’s going to bring new challenges and things none of us have ever seen before. I look forward to it, see what happens.            Q. Given the race form that’s been implemented, how have you and crew chief embraced this challenge to keep elevating your performance and now be rewarded with the Round of 8?CHASE ELLIOTT: Just trying to get better. We’ve been fortunate to get to the Round of 8 the last couple years. That’s kind of been our stopping point. For us, we’re just eyes ahead trying to assert ourselves amongst that next group.           We tend to see the same guys make the Final 4 every year, the same group fighting for those spots. I think for us, we’re very capable of asserting ourselves amongst them. We just have to be a little better, a little more consistent, eliminate those bad racetracks, and I think we can run with whoever when we’re at our best. I’ve said that before. I really believe it. I’m looking forward to the opportunity and ready to move on.            Q. You’ve talked about the people that you’re around, good road racers that you’ve learned from, the schools. You’ve always been very smooth on the road courses. Has that been a natural for you? Did you ever struggle with the road courses when you first began?CHASE ELLIOTT: Yeah, I honestly don’t know. I didn’t feel like we did very spectacular on the Xfinity side when I ran over there. I feel like my first year in Cup, we didn’t run all that good on road courses. It wasn’t like it hasn’t been a work in progress. We’ve just been trying to chip away at it, get better. I think we have a package that works at some of these racetracks pretty good. We just try to improve that.           Like I said, I’m not sure that you can just do the same thing every time and get the same results. I think we improved today from where we were last year. I try to make my craft a little better, minimize mistakes. We were fortunate that things were in our favor today.            Q. Through today’s victory and being strong in the Playoffs, is there anything you feel you need to improve on as you inch closer to the Championship 4? What do you think your chances are of being in the Championship 4?CHASE ELLIOTT: Like I said, we made the Round of 8 the last couple years. That’s a great thing. That’s a great achievement. But we always want more. Like I said a minute ago, too, we see the same people make the Final 4 every year. We’ve been very close to asserting ourselves amongst that group. I think we’re very capable of it. I think when we’re at our best, we run with those guys. I think we’ve proved that in the past.           We just have to be a little more consistent, eliminate those bad racetracks, I think we can make some noise.            THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Chase. Congratulations on the win today and good luck with the Round of 8 starting next week in Kansas.            CHASE ELLIOTT: Cool, thanks.
ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1, PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT: THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet.              We’ll get started with questions.            Q. Do you have something for road courses? Is there something you do that Chase takes advantage of that isn’t able to be replicated now by anybody, including your teammates?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think it’s him. I think we have Chase Elliott. That’s the difference. He’s really, really good. Yeah, I don’t know what else to say.              I think his performances speak for themselves.            Q. You were 12th at both Texas and Kansas earlier this year. Do you feel like you’ve gotten better? How much better will you need to be to have a shot at Martinsville to advance without a must‑win situation?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, both races were disappointing for us. I think we were slightly better than that at Texas, if you look at kind of average run, speed, whatever. We didn’t get great finishes either place. We just weren’t very good at Kansas which was extremely disappointing because that’s historically a pretty good track for us, a track that we enjoy going to race at, have had success in the past.              I think we have to be top five every stage and every finish. That’s the only way you’re going to get through that, or win. It just comes down to the number 4, right? You need to be really, really close to that or on that every time points are offered.            Q. This is the fourth year that the 9 car made it to the Round of 8. You guys have been good, but you haven’t gotten to the final step yet. What does it take to get you through this round? Where do you think this team ranks with the last three, four years?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I feel like there’s always ifs and buts. I feel like there’s certainly a couple times that I think we could have advanced. Last year was pretty disastrous for us with the Martinsville parts failures and the issue with the tire failure at Phoenix.              Phoenix has been tough on us. That fall race for whatever reason, we were in a position to win it a few years back, spin on pit road. Had some trials and tribulations there.              Yeah, we got to find a way to get through. Certainly, winning one of these three, or as I mentioned before, running at the sharp end of the spear, is going to be what it takes. I think we can do it.              We’ve progressively gotten better and better and better. I think we were much better than our results showed last year, our performance in the Round of 8 showed last year. We just had really, really bad rounds.              Yeah, I think we can do it. We’re going to work really hard to do it. We have great support behind us. Everybody at HMS is doing a great job. Greg and Alex did a great job getting through. We have two with a shot to make it through. Certainly, we’d like to get them both through.            Q. Are you a Final 4 team?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think so.            Q. After watching yesterday’s Xfinity race, seeing the rain, what was going through your mind as far as planning for today’s race? Do you feel your car would have been just as good in the rain if it would have continued all day?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Man, it’s tough. That’s a tough one. I watched that race yesterday. I saw everybody making some error at some point in time that was detrimental to their finish. A.J. spun, Briscoe spun. Everybody who ran at the front had some type of issue. The 9 spun, the 7 spun. Everybody did.              If we were racing in that sort of downpour, the way the water can puddle, the way things can happen, it’s just really random.              No, I can’t tell you with any confidence that we could have performed the same way in those conditions. I don’t know that anybody can, to be honest with you. I think it’s just super tough circumstances I felt. I felt for those guys yesterday, for sure.            Q. Where do you feel the team’s weaknesses are right now that you need to improve on going into this next round?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, it’s just always the same things. You have to have faster cars, bring faster cars to the track, have faster pit stops, execute the race better. All the above. You just always are continuously trying to improve those areas. Certainly, never satisfied.              I don’t feel like there’s a glaring weakness in our team. I don’t feel like we have something that we can’t overcome. You just have to continuously improve. We have to have our four best races these last four races. That’s kind of what it comes down to. We have to operate at our maximum potential. Certainly, we’ll try to improve and do the best we can.              Right now, it’s probably about getting 100% of what you’ve got. The teams are going to be in a position that I think it’s going to be more about execution than developing something or coming up with some more performance.            Q. It wasn’t the smoothest of days, as you had the loose wheel. What was going through your mind at that point?ALAN GUSTAFSON: It certainly wasn’t good. We couldn’t take a chance on it. We had to protect our position in the Playoffs first and foremost. That weighed pretty heavy on us all day long. I think some of our early performance was, or lack of performance, based on us trying to protect that position.              We need a little better situational awareness in that case and shouldn’t have had that happen. That goes back to something that we’ve got to execute on and improve.              I was just trying to get video of it to know if I had to come back down. I should have just come right away. It took too long. You don’t get too many opportunities, the caution laps are so long, you get one shot to pit and then you’re coming to the green. That was a little bit of a rough patch, but everybody kept their wits about them and overcame it.            Q. You won a protest last week that gained you a lot of spots. How surprised were you to win a protest? How much did that impact any of your strategy or preparation for today?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, yes, yes on all accounts. I was disappointed we got penalized, for sure. I feel like if you watch that race over, that Chase threw the least amount of blocks and impeded anybody’s progress the least of any car on the track. Never once threw a block when he was leading, never once put anybody in a dangerous situation. Then when we get the penalty, I was kind of dumbfounded.              The 17 made a pretty aggressive move to the bottom. Certainly, yeah, we can probably slam on the brakes or crash him. I don’t feel like it’s good to put the drivers in a position where they have to decide if they want to take a penalty or they want to send a fellow competitor through the infield.              I was disappointed in the penalty. I was very appreciative of the way that NASCAR was willing to review it, the fact that they overturned it. Everybody has their opinions and their sides of the story. I feel like it was pretty obvious once you watched enough replays to see how that all transpired. We certainly didn’t deserve to lose all those points.              Yeah, as far as does it impact the way we come here? Certainly. That was a lot. I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was 16 points or something. Yes, it definitely impacted the way we came here.            Q. Does the Hendrick Motorsport track attack program help the organization on road courses at all or are they completely unrelated to what you do?ALAN GUSTAFSON: I’m not really sure what they do, so I can’t answer that question really.            Q. Does anything feel different this year about Chase specifically as a driver? Do you sense any more confidence from him?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Yeah, I think the experience, the trials and tribulations, the successes and failures, they all cumulatively add up.              He’s a great driver. He’s a really, really intelligent person. The more opportunity he has to race and go through these situations, compete and win, yeah, he’s just going to get better and better. I think with that brings some confidence.              There’s nothing quite like living through the different circumstances and the pressure of having to race your way in or having to protect a lead to get in. All that stuff’s really unique and really tough to manage. I think the more you go through it, the better you get.            Q. How does one go about an at‑track appeal? How do you make that happen at Talladega?ALAN GUSTAFSON: Well, that’s interesting. The way it transpired, I knew from Dustin Shoulders, my race engineer back at the shop, I asked him where we started. He typically calculates the starting positions for us. He told me he couldn’t give me the exact starting position because the results were under review, which I understood, as chaotic as it was.              I saw on the front straightaway we were very close to the line. I couldn’t see from my perspective if we crossed the line.              Long story short, I never heard anything, didn’t know. We were waiting on pit road to go through inspection. I was watching the Jumbotron. It had us only 20 something points above the cut line. I was like, there’s no way, there’s some bad math, but that’s really bad math.              I went to TV and they told me we were last on the lead lap. At that point in time I told Jeff Andrews, started calling everybody I knew saying, Man, we got to do something with this because that’s not right.              Jeff did a great job of knowing who to see, what to do. That’s all him. He took care of it from there.               THE MODERATOR: Alan, thanks for joining us. Good luck as the Round of 8 starts next week.               ALAN GUSTAFSON: Thank you, appreciate it.                

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 TRACKER Off Road/Bass Pro Shops/E-Z-GO Chevrolet Team Fight Their Way to Top-20 Finish at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL But Come Up Just Short of Advancing in the NASCAR Playoffs

19th   6th  9th

“We tried our hardest, but nothing fell our way today on this No. 3 TRACKER Off Road/Bass Pro Shops/E-Z-GO Chevrolet team. We were looking pretty good at the end of Stage 1. We took tires and got to fifth by the end of the stage, but an unlucky caution happened and that cycled us. We knew we were dead meat at that point because we didn’t have dry tires on, so we pitted at the end of Stage 1 to try and jump some people. That backfired on us because we had to go to the tail end of the line since pit road wasn’t open. We just had a lot of stuff happen to us today. Again, a caution fell late in Stage 2 while we were running 12th. We had no help from cautions. The race just didn’t play our way. I’m actually pretty happy with our performance as far as my road course racing has been. I feel like I’ve improved. I raced hard all day. We finished 19th, and that shows some progress. I think if we would have been up further in the field and had track position, we would have maintained just fine. I’m proud of this team, and even though we are no longer in the NASCAR Playoffs, we still have several races to go in the season and will do our best to get another win. We’re already looking forward to next season.” -Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Team Earn Hard-Fought 12th-Place Finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL

12th   16th   19th

“Every time I come to a road course, I grow as a driver. We had a great No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet today, and I want to thank my team for working with me all day long. It wasn’t an easy day, but we all kept with it and improved throughout the race. It took a little bit of Stage 1 to re-familiarize myself with the course, so I spent a lot of that stage being careful to not overstep and wreck. After a pit stop and adjustment during the second stage, I was able to rotate a lot better all throughout the track, which helped me gain a lot of traction on the field. We had a couple cautions fall later during the race that helped us with some track position a little bit, overall, it was a really good effort by my No. 8 team today. They kept with it and remained patient with me throughout the day, while relaying information on areas of the track to continue to work on. I definitely learned more about this track today and will put that in the notebook for next year.” -Tyler Reddick

NASCAR CUP SERIES CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE BANK OF AMERICA ROVAL 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 11, 2020 KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE, met with media via teleconference and discussed the weather and challenges of today’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL, upcoming races at Kansas, Texas, and Martinsville, mentoring his future teammate, Ross Chastain, and more. Full Transcript: IF YOU’RE GOING TO WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP, IT WILL BE YOUR SECOND TITLE, 16 YEARS APART. IF YOU EMERGE WITH THIS, IS IT YOUR BEST CASE FOR THE HALL OF FAME?“I feel like you’re going to have to win out in this Round of 8 and the championship race in Phoenix. This group, the elite eight, that will make it, are the best of the best; and can win each and every week. And so, with Kansas not being one of my best tracks, but it is a 1.5-mile, where we have won twice at Chip Ganassi Racing. Texas is a 1.5-mile that we’ve been very good at. And Martinsville has been a nice surprise since I switched to Ganassi. I’ve been running much better with the balance of the car that they have there. And then with Phoenix, if we can get there, that would be huge. It would give me an opportunity to win the championship for Chip Ganassi Racing, my second title. Those things and Hall of Fame talk will all handle itself after my racing career is done. I just keep plugging away and adapting. I’ve got a great sponsor with Monster Energy to help. YOU HAVE NOT WON AT KANSAS. HOW CAN YOU PULL THIS OFF?“It’s been a tough track for me. I’ve got a couple of second place finishes, I believe. And one of them was a set-up that (Kevin) Harvick happily agreed (laughs) to run when we were running with Furniture Row. We were at RCR together. And, that’s what it takes. It takes that comradery and balance of teamwork and also pushing the envelope. Kansas is one of those very aero-dependent tracks. And so, you’ve got to be on top of your game with the aero side of it to win there.” LOOKING AT THE CONDITIONS TODAY, THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF RAIN. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND AT WHAT POINT DO YOU SAY WE CAN’T KEEP DOING THIS AND WE NEED TO STOP?“We had the Daytona Road Course a month or so ago and I didn’t even send my motor home down there as far as pre-race or normal sequence, because I’m like, we have rain tires. We’re going to race. And so today, yeah, this is a little bit different with battling remnants of a hurricane. And if it’s consistent light rain, we’re good to go. If we have our downpours, we’re going to have to red flag the race. I think NASCAR learned a lot watching the Xfinity guys and calling that race. It’s still, again, whatever it takes to adapt and to be there to win. That’s what I’m doing today. I’m ready to race no matter if we’re hydroplaning or if the sun comes out and we’ve got to switch to the dry (tires). You’ve got to be ready for any condition change.” HOW MUCH IS YOUR MINDSET IMPACTED BY THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN THE ROUND OF 8 REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS TODAY?“Yeah, I’m on easy street. Me and Denny (Hamlin) might be the happiest guys to talk to. Harvick is probably pretty good in points. This race was positioned on the calendar for this reason; to be a cutoff and to create all the anxiety and all of this stress. And so that’s what that win at Vegas did for us at Chip Ganassi Racing is that it gave us an ease of operation today; and hopefully that loose, fluid feel will stay with us and we’ll make the right calls to win this.” YOU SEEM TO BE A PRETTY HAPPY GUY RIGHT NOW. WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE KURT BUSCH AT THIS STAGE IN YOUR LIFE?“Just racing with Chip Ganassi Racing and a great sponsor with Monster Energy and a manufacturer with Chevrolet, and the teamwork. The team comradery is a different element for me now. I love to teach young engineers and young crew members how to evolve in this sport and to do it at a championship level. And so just being older and wiser, and still having that passion and that drive to adapt to the new technology and the new ways of winning, that’s something that my father instilled in me, that work ethic, from a young age. And with my wife, Ashley, she loves sport. She’s an athlete herself. And her support and her love has been a new direction for me these last five years.” ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MENTORSHIP YOU’LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE TO ROSS CHASTAIN, YOUR NEW TEAMMATE NEXT SEASON?“Yeah, that will be a big part of how this season concludes and how the off-season progresses, and preparations for next year. Ross Chastain is a good kid. He’s worked hard. And he’s gone through some setbacks and he continues to persevere. And he’s put himself in position for a top tier ride at the NASCAR level. So, I feel like it’s a perfect fit to help mentor him, and to coach him, and to give to a driver that I think will have a long career in this sport.” YOU MENTIONED WHAT NASCAR LEARNED FROM THE XFINITY RACE LAST NIGHT. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM THAT AND WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?“This track, even when it’s dry, is like a bull in a china shop. It’s a big heavy stock car with all this horsepower and there are tons of braking zones and tons of turning in and trying to accelerate. And the tires will only handle so much. Sprinkle in the rain, with the rain tires with having hardly any data at all; and then watching the race, you know how there were these slick areas of the track. There was water standing in certain spots that you have to avoid; the treachery of the oval section, it looked like. And our cars have way more horsepower than the Xfinity cars. We have the possibility of looping it on the oval if we’re not careful. Today will be one of the most historic days of NASCAR, with racing these big, heavy cars on a road course; and this isn’t just a normal road course. This is a ROVAL. So, there are lots of things to watch out for and hopefully we protect our car to put it in position to win it.” WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE HARDEST PART ABOUT TODAY’S RACE?“I think the toughest part will be visibility. Our cars generate a lot of heat. And the windshields are prepped as best as they can be, but this is our first time. And throughout Chip Ganassi Racing, we’ve relied heavily on the IndyCar guys to help us. Common sense is the key, as well. But then there are so many areas that these cars aren’t sealed off and I think visibility will be tough with the windshield wiper and the mist and the rooster tail from the other cars; and just how the water gathers in certain spots at this track. And also, the radar. The radar looks relentless right now. It’s not giving up. And so, we’ll see how that plays out.”

Fifth win for GTLM leaders, sixth for first-year Chevrolet Corvette C8.R

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2020) – Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor’s charmed season continued Saturday as they claimed another victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a victory in their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Garcia passed John Edwards for the lead with 21 minutes left and held on despite a late-race caution on a tricky and treacherous night at the Roval – the first time for Corvette Racing at the venue.. The duo extended their GTLM Drivers’ Championship lead to 24 points over their Corvette Racing teammates Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, who finished fourth in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R.  Chevrolet also saw its lead grow in the Manufacturers standings to 14 points. Garcia and Taylor have now won five of eight races this year and four of the last five in the first year of the mid-engine Corvette C8.R. Taylor began on pole position Saturday for the second consecutive race, but conditions were much different at the green flag with a steady rain having pelted the track since mid-afternoon. The first 16 minutes featured two full-course cautions, and both Corvettes came in at 20 minutes running for fuel, tires and driver changes – Taylor to Garcia and Gavin to Milner.  On the restart, Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette ran second while Milner made a big move on the inside of the first corner to move from fourth to third. He fell back a few laps later before the track began to dry somewhat, and the Corvettes grew stronger during a long-green flag run. It culminated with Garcia moving in front with a move on Edwards to the inside of Turn 8 just before the infield section rejoined the banked oval part of the track. Garcia pulled away quickly and led by as much as five seconds a handful of laps later. Milner, too, was making a charge back to podium position before part of the No. 4 Corvette’s right-rear suspension broke with 11 minutes remaining. Milner went hard into the outside wall but got out of the car under his own power and later was evaluated and released from the infield care center. The race began again with five minutes to go, and Garcia pulled out to a one-second lead with a lap to go and rain falling again. He crossed the finish line with a 1.474-second margin of victory. Corvette Racing heads back to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for next week’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans on Oct. 15-17.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER: “It was super, super stressful. Even if it felt like I was just following the 24, I was really hanging on. I probably crashed four or five times, just like everyone else. Jordan gave me some very good indications before he jumped out and before we went green to give me confidence in following the BMW. They were really strong right away, but I didn’t really give up. As soon as I felt like we stabilized on lap times, I kept pressuring him and using traffic to close up. They were very strong as you saw with their sister car. As soon as I saw they were struggling a little bit with tires – especially the 24 – I stayed patient even when the 25 was coming. I saw my opportunity and went for it. I don’t know if it was risky move or not, but at that point I didn’t think about the championship. I wanted to win the race. As soon as I got past, I put my head down, tried to open a gap and it worked. I’m very happy for Corvette Racing and Team Chevy. I’m glad Tommy is OK. We have a very fast car but also a very safe car. That’s a magnificent combination of car here. It’s great to be driving for the best team out there and keep winning races. We need to keep this mentality and go all the way to the end.” DID THE TRACK IMPROVE FROM THE START? “The first two laps was close to how we finish. It was very difficult at the beginning. There was a massive river going across at Turn Three, and I almost lost it two or three times there. The conditions definitely improved, but lap by lap you know where to place your car, and following someone opens the water a little bit for you. Once we got into a rhythm, the track improved for sure but it started to rain at the end. Being in the wet in the dark also makes it difficult to spot standing water.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER: “At the beginning of the race, there obviously was a lot of water on the track, and with the lighting it was hard to see where the standing water was. Considering our championship position, it was kind of damage control for me, trying to stay on the track and handing off the car in one piece. It was easy to get caught up in battling with people at that point of the race, but there was really no point. You weren’t going to win the race in the first 20 or 30 minutes. I was glad to get through that phase and hand over the car to Antonio and let him go for it. He did a great job of keeping the car out of the wall for those first few laps and putting the pressure on the BMW. We would have been happy leaving here with a podium given the championship position with three races to go. But he kept the pressure on, never put a wheel wrong and was able to get by. It’s really awesome to maximize the points when we didn’t expect it. We can go into the last three races and race for the win, as well. It’s another great day for Corvette Racing. It’s good to see that Tommy walked away from that big hit at the end. It says a lot about Chevrolet and Corvette Racing and how safe they build the race cars and how strong they are. It give us a lot of confidence when we strap in that we’re going to be safe.” ROLE OF THE CHEVROLET SIMULATOR IN RACE PREP: “If it wasn’t for the simulator, we probably wouldn’t have been able to put it on the pole and been able to stay out of trouble like that. So the simulator was a big tool for us. I’m glad this all worked out.” LOOKING TO PETIT LE MANS: “We’re already thinking about it. It’s at the top of Antonio’s list of races to win. The focus has already shifted. The guys are driving to Atlanta tomorrow to prep the cars, but unfortunately they’ll have a lot to prep on the 4 car. We did a test day there last week where Nicky (Catsburg) and Marcel (Fassler) were able to get some laps. At the Six-Hour, we struggled with a few things and I think we found a few things at the test for some long runs and working on the different compounds of tires. This weekend was good to get in some mixed conditions. We haven’t had a lot of rain and mixed conditions in a race setting other than Road America. It was good to get a bit of everything. Now no matter what we see at Petit Le Mans, we feel pretty well prepared.” DID THE ADDITIONAL INFIELD LIGHTING HELP? “Yes, we tested here about a month ago and the lighting was pretty difficult to see where you were going. They’ve definitely made some nice improvements. If it had been a dry race, the visibility would have been great. When you add in the water with the type of surface they have here, it’s very reflective when there’s a lot of water on it. It’s hard to distinguish what’s a damp section and what’s a deep section. It’s hard to pick out what’s what at night. It took some getting used to, but it probably made a good show on TV. It looked pretty spectacular when I got out and watched all the headlights reflecting off everything. This was definitely a cool event, and I’m glad we were able to win the first one back here.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH: “This whole weekend has been a massive challenge. The format of this race and the way it has happened made for some quite difficult sessions. Then you add in the extra element of the weather conditions, it just seemed like it was culminating in somewhat of a bit of a perfect storm for us. The  start of the race for me was crazy. There were massive amounts of standing weather everywhere. I was just hanging on, just driving the car around and trying not to crash. I had multiple moments every single lap thinking well I could finish the race by doing something daft, so I just got myself into a position where I could sort of survive. Others were spinning off and crashing, and we ended up in third when we came in for the pit stop and hand it over for Tommy to drive. It was looking okay for awhile and Tommy had pretty good pace. Then we had the issue at the right-rear. We still are trying to figure out what exactly happened. It just seems if something can go wrong, it will go wrong for us unfortunately. But I am very happy Tommy was able to walk away. It was a pretty high-speed accident so that’s a great testament to the guys at Chevrolet and Corvette for how well they’ve engineering the road car and the race car. That was a really big hit and Tommy was able to walk away on his own. And of course I’m happy for Jordan and Antonio in picking up another win. It’s another positive outcome for the team.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – FINISHED FOURTH: “I didn’t have any indication at any point that there was something going wrong. Everything felt totally normal up until it wasn’t. I had almost finished on the banking, which is more G-loading than Daytona. It doesn’t really explain the problem, it seems like. At first I thought I lost a tire, like it just overheated or something like that for how quickly it went around. The first indications were that wasn’t the case. The track had some pretty gnarly weeps in the seams of the race track that would get you a little bit loose sometimes, but it was never really a huge deal. Upon further inspection it looks like once the car got back to the trucks, we did have something at the right-rear and the wheel came off. Fortunately this is a really strong and safe Corvette that we have and it held up really well. Selfishly I’m glad it is nothing I did wrong, but that doesn’t change the outcome. There is still a lot of work for the guys to get the car fixed and get ready to go to Petit Le Mans in less than a week. I feel bad for the guys for the amount of work they have to do. Obviously the first thing we do as a team is figure out what the failure is, how it happened and make the necessary changes to prevent that from happening again. The guys will go through that in the next couple of days and come up with a good plan.”In the last part there, I don’t know if it was the BMW kind of fading or us getting better. I got a little bit unlucky at the start of my stint with traffic. I got balked pretty bad there going into Turn One and had a little moment and the No. 25 got around me. We knew that was going to be a big deal here. It seemed like the car was getting better toward the end. Once Antonio got around the No. 24, he was able to pull away with a little bit of a gap. I was just trying to put  a little pressure on the two cars in front of me and see if we could make them make a mistake again to get around. Passing is very difficult here, but it never quite got to that point unfortunately for us. It just wasn’t our day today. I felt like we had a pretty good car. We were fast in practice and it looked like we were making decent progress at the end, but we never got there.”

Alvaro Parente, Misha Goikhberg recover from qualifying crash to finish fifth
Late-race contact drops Acura of Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry to seventh

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2020) – The #57 Heinricher Racing with MSR pair of Alvaro Parente and Misha Goikhberg led the way for Acura tonight with a fifth-place finish in a rain-impacted sprint contest on the “Roval” at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The 100-minute, GT-only sprint race, is the shortest on the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule, and the second of two GT-only rounds. Changing weather conditions throughout qualifying and Saturday night’s race contributed to multiple incidents on the 2.32-mile road course.

A crash in qualifying left Parente and Goikhberg 12th on the starting grid for the GTD field. Starting driver Goikhberg survived an early-race spin without contact and brought the #57 Acura NSX GT3 Evo up to ninth before pitting and handing the driving duties over to Parente. For his part, Parente made additional gains in the final hour, and took the checkers in fifth.

Teammates, and championship leaders, Matt McMurry and Mario Farnbacher started third and quickly moved up to second with McMurry at the wheel of the Meyer Shank Racing Acura. Typically-quick pit work from their Meyer Shank Racing crew saw Farnbacher emerge from the only scheduled stop of the night in the lead.

Late in the race, Farnbacher lost the GTD lead and served a brief stop-and-go penalty for missing the chicane, then was the victim of contact from Jack Hawksworth that sent the #86 Acura spinning, and an unrepresentative seventh-place result.

Despite tonight’s result, Farnbacher and McMurry still lead the GTD Drivers’ Championship standings with 200 points to 196 for Aaron Telitz, Pat Long and Ryan Hardwick [a three-way tie]. Acura is second in the GTD Manufacturers’ title chase, three points out of first, with three races remaining.

A strong seventh-place qualifying effort from Gradient Racing’s Till Bechtolshiemer came to naught, as the #22 Acura pilot spun exiting Turn One following an early-race restart, and made solid contact with the barriers. The resulting damage ended the race for Bechtolshiemer and co-driver Marc Miller.

Next
The Meyer Shank racing team will next be in action next weekend, October 17, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans 10-hour endurance race. Contesting only the shorter, Sprint Cup rounds on the schedule, Gradient Racing will return to competition for the November 1 Monterey Sports Car Championship event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

Acura Team Penske
IMSA’s Prototype category was not a part of this weekend’s race at Charlotte, which featured the GTD and GTLM classes only. The Acura Team Penske ARX-05s will return to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the next weekend’s Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2020) – Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor won another round in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on Saturday with a victory in their No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Garcia passed John Edwards for the lead with 21 minutes left and held on despite a late-race caution. The duo extended their GTLM Drivers’ Championship lead to 24 points over their Corvette Racing teammates Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, who finished fourth in the No. 4 Corvette C8.R. Chevrolet also saw its lead grow in the Manufacturers standings to 14 points.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R – RACE WINNER: “It was very stressful right away. The BMWs were really fast when there was a ton of standing water. But the C8.R ran again perfectly in the end. I got up to the 24 and he started to lose pace. We gained some time and I saw my chance. He was struggling with tires, but so was I. I stayed calm and knew the section at Turn Five, Six and Seven was going to be my chance. As soon as he made a little mistake, I went for it, kept my head down and it’s another victory for Corvette Racing.”

JORDAN TAYLOR, NO. 3 MOBIL 1/SiriusXM CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8.R: “It wasn’t easy. It was the same for everyone in that situation. For us leading the championship, it was all about minimal risk at that point. You weren’t going to win the race in those 20 or 30 minutes. It’s all going to be about survival, handing off the car to Antonio and waiting for it to dry out. Thankfully it did, the track conditions came to our Corvette, and Antonio never put a foot wrong to bring home another win. It’s an amazing year for the new C8.R and we’re going to Petit Le Mans with some nice momentum. Six wins for a brand new car, no one would have ever expected this. Hats off to Corvette Racing. I’m sorry to see what happened to the No. 4 car, but I was glad to see Tommy get out.”

31st    12th  9th

“What a crazy race today at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. I’ve never raced a stock car in such wet conditions, and it definitely made for an interesting day in the No. 21 Ruedebusch.com Chevrolet. We started out the race 12th and drove up and won Stage 1, which was really cool. That was my first Stage win. I feel like we had a lot for these guys today, and they all certainly knew that we were there. Unfortunately, at the beginning of Stage 2 we caught a puddle the wrong way and ended up catching the wall at the wrong angle, which broke a bit of the suspension. That eventually ended our day. I hate it for everyone at RCR, because I really wanted to end the year on a strong note. However, I think we can leave the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL with our heads held high. We earned a Stage win and we were a solid contender for the win. It wasn’t our day, unfortunately, but I’m hopeful for the future and appreciate everyone’s support.”-Kaz Grala

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 10, 2020) – Jordan Taylor captured his second consecutive pole position Saturday afternoon ahead of tonight’s 100-minute, GT-only race for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Taylor set a best time of 1:14.278 (112.442 mph) in the No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R that he shares with Antonio Garcia in the 15-minute session for GT Le Mans (GTLM) competitors. It was Taylor’s third pole of the season – Sebring and Mid-Ohio were the others – as he and Garcia look to extend their GTLM Drivers Championship lead. Oliver Gavin was the early pace-setter in the No. 4 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R before a red-flag stoppage halted his momentum. He will start the race fifth and shares his Corvette with Tommy Milner; they sit second in GTLM points heading into tonight. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s race at Charlotte is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with live television coverage on NBCSN and live streaming via TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold. 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 a stressful session. Everyone was kind of waiting and knowing that it was only going to take a couple of laps to maximize the tires and then you have a small drop-off. Most everyone was waiting toward the end to go out. We waited one or two minutes and then the red flag came out on our first timed laps. It was very poor timing for us. The 4 car had put in a quick lap; putting a heat cycle in a tire like that can take a knock on the performance. No one knew what they had going back out. Our Corvette performed really well. We haven’t done much light-fuel running; most of it has been race prep. So it really came alive. It’s been good all weekend no matter if it’s dry or wet, so whatever the weather brings tonight, we should be alright.” DIFFICULTY OF MANAGING THE CHANGING CONDITIONS: “It’s tricky, especially here at the Roval. There is no room for error. Everyone has been talking coming into the weekend how it feels like a street course and you’re on the edge everywhere. When you mix in rain and those conditions being on slick tires, it makes it pretty hectic. This morning’s practice gave us a little bit of a warm-up for the race to get an idea of what it will be like. It’ll definitely be tricky. With it being only 100 minutes, I still think it will be about execution and minimizing mistakes to maintain track position. I’m happy that we have the pole and can have some clear track at the beginning and hopefully control it from there.” DO YOU WANT IT TO FULLY RAIN, FULLY DRY OR IS THE CAR IS GOOD IN THE MIXED CONDITIONS? “I think any driver, and they may not admit it, is a little stressed if it’s a little rainy or mixed. I think our Corvette suits all the conditions pretty well. As a driver, I’d rather it either rain or be dry to minimize the risk of being out on slicks in mixed conditions. We had a little bit of running this morning to understand what it would be like. Thankfully the track grip level is pretty good in those conditions, so it should be an interesting race no matter what we see.” DO YOU EXPECT THE TRACK TO CHANGE MUCH AFTER THE XFINITY RACE? “I think everyone has a big question mark of what it’s going to be like. We haven’t run after Goodyear has put rubber down on a track in awhile, so no one knows what to expect. The difference from last night when we were putting our own Michelin rubber down to this morning when it was all washed away, the track was completely different. When you mix the rain with two different types of rubber, it’ll be something new to learn as well.”

It’s hailed as the greatest Ford motorsport spectacle EVER and it returns to Beech Bend Raceway Park in 2021. The Holley NMRA Ford Nationals will once again complete its season with the blowout bash known as the NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival the weekend of September 30 thru October 3, 2021. The NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival combines NMRA championship drag racing, QA1 True Street, and the UPR Products Car Show together with the biggest party in the Ford world including celebrity drifting and special appearances, Grand Champion competition, autocross, legendary burnout contests, and much more. This destination event is a must-attend festival for any Ford or Mustang fan with record-breaking action and the biggest crowds.

“Our partnership with Holley has been awesome feeding off each other’s energy and excitement to bring NMRA and Holley events to another level. Holley’s been a great partner and the record-breaking attendance proves it,” said Rollie Miller, General Manager and National Event Director of the Holley NMRA Ford Nationals. “Beech Bend Raceway’s been NMRA’s home for over 20 years and it’s the perfect location and facility to host the biggest and baddest race on our schedule.” NMRA kicks off its season in grandeur with the Spring Break Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park the weekend of March 4-7. The tour heads north to Atlanta Dragway (Commerce, GA) April 8-11 for the NMRA/NMCA All-Star Nationals. The new home of the NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing is World Wide Technology Raceway (Madison, IL) as the team challenge continues May 13-16! In a glorious move for 2021, the NMRA Ford Nationals makes its return to the legendary Summit Motorsports Park (Norwalk, OH) the weekend of June 10-13. US 131 Motorsports Park is once again on the schedule with the NMRA/NMCA Power Festival, going down July 22-25. Racers and fans have a two months to prepare for the finale at Beech Bend Raceway September 30th thru October 3rd with the NMRA World Finals + Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival.