NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes

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Q. Can you give us a timeline on what you were first contacted, how long it took you to make a decision to do this? A month? Two months? A week?  HELIO CASTRONEVES: We’ve been kind of, like, seeing each other, me, Justin and Don Hawk for quite some time.  It wasn’t just six months ago, it was probably like a year and a half ago. We had an opportunity to come here with a team, Conor Daly ended up driving. We didn’t think it was going to be a good opportunity, so we decided not to do it.   Because of the whole scenario that Don was working with Justin, finally came through the whole deal with Project 91 and Wendy’s. We just follow through.   It was interesting. It wasn’t like that. I’m glad it did. The program, as you guys noticed, I’m not the only one doing this. It’s been very well-made, it takes a lot of, a lot of effort from a lot of people. I’m glad that everything fit perfect.   To be in the biggest race, one of the biggest races of the world obviously, Indy 500 and Daytona 500 are the biggest. What an opportunity to be here and do that.   Q. Do you race tomorrow or do you sit back knowing you’re already in? HELIO CASTRONEVES: No, I need practice. I need to run. I don’t have any experience at all. Today is my second time in the car, so…   I think every moment that I’m actually jump in the car, I will learn something. And I need it. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a different beast. It’s an amazing car. It’s completely different rules.   I think the competition also different around what I’m used to. Every time in the car, I’m going to learn. No matter what happen, I’ll be running.  Q. You’ve been a part of a lot of big races. How are the emotions coming here to the Daytona 500 compare to your first Indy 500? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Right. It’s interesting. I don’t know what to expect because this is the first time for everything. Definitely the butterflies in the stomach are flying right now.   Information… I trust my guys. I’m seeing a lot of good friends, old friends, from over the years give me some tips. Some give me a hard time, which is okay. I can take it (laughter).   Look, this is incredible. This is an amazing opportunity. I believe only two guys in the planet were able to win the Daytona 500 and Indy 500. I know it’s very hard. I know it’s tough, like I said, different style racing that I’m used to.   You’ve got to be there. Whatever it is, at the end of the day it could be great. As of right now, I’m taking step by steps so I get every time more familiar and better.   Today I’m not even knew how to get out of the garage. Normally with INDYCAR, you just go to the pits and that’s it. Every step has been a learning process. Q. You did the ARCA test.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Yeah, but it was in a different building. I’m finding roads here in Daytona that I’ve never been to.   Q. You were on the track? HELIO CASTRONEVES: On the track I was, yes. Only five laps until people start crashing (laughter). I didn’t have much of a time of practicing in the pack.   It’s okay. Like I said, I’ll have plenty of time.  Q. What do you remember about IROC racing? HELIO CASTRONEVES: A lot. Oh, my God. Special racing with those incredible drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman. It was incredible to race with all those.   I learned a lot, to be honest. I don’t know if it will be familiar. I don’t know yet. I’ll tell you after the first race.   Q. You don’t make the rules. There’s controversy that you’re locked in. Guys like Jimmie Johnson are not. Have you heard about that? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Yeah, I didn’t hear much about it except last night one comment.  I said, Look, in the end of the day, I understand. I didn’t write the rules, by the way. I didn’t know actually these rules exist.   When we accepted this opportunity, we accept to go and race, race to race. However, obviously if whatever happens in the Duel, whatever happens there, if I have to take it, I’ll take it.   You’ve got to remember, Indy 500 is the same similarity rules: you have to race for it, but you have a week to adapt to the car, understanding, get into it. Here, I only have 50 minutes.   At the end of the day I didn’t know the rules exist. If I have to take it, I won’t deny that I will take it.  Q. You’re new to NASCAR. Why do you never correct people when they call your name wrong? HELIO CASTRONEVES: They call me Julio, Hello. As long as they call my name, it’s okay. It’s definitely unique, I’ll get used to it.   Q. Four Indy 500s, Dancing with the Stars, personally blessed by a Pope. What is left on your bucket list?  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Hopefully we’ll be celebrating the Daytona 500 win (laughter).  I know it’s a tough deal, don’t get me wrong. Obviously if I didn’t trust the people behind me, obviously the team… My team, I have experienced guys that know what to do and they give me the right rules. I got to go with the mentality like I’ve always been to a race.   What left? I don’t know. As long as I still have the fire like I have right now, I going to keep it going?  Q. (Question about the ARCA race.)  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Great question. I don’t know. It will be a unique. From the practice, I see it’s going to be very interesting.   Speaking with drivers that did the experience between the NASCAR and the ARCA, the Cup and the ARCA, they seem to be very different.   I will learn a lot.   Q. You have a bright personality. When it comes to racing, you take this very seriously. Talk about what your preparation has been.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: I’ve been watching a lot of in-car cameras, a lot of the rules to understand the rules. I been in touch with the guys, as well, to make sure that we are on the same…   The lingo is different. Face it, when you come out of the pits, in INDYCAR they say, Go, go, go. Here it’s, Dig, dig, dig. I know it sounds interesting or different. It’s completely the opposite that I’m used to. I have to adapt. Pit stops here, for example, you have to stop a little bit away from the wall because you have to have the jack guy have space for them to raise the car. INDYCAR you get close so the fuel gets as quick as possible.   All these little details, even it’s a race car, it’s very different. To be in a big race like this, every detail matters. That’s why I’m trying to study all of these details to make sure that at least I’ll take out of the way and know what to do.   Looking forward, for sure. Every time I said I’m in the car, I’m going to take the learning.  Q. Have you gotten any advice from Juan? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Not Juan. Dale Jr., we spoke quite a lot. I got to find my friend Jimmie Johnson. Not sure he’s going to give me any tips, but I’m definitely going to talk with him about.  I talk with Austin Cindric, Blaney, Joey Logano. I’ve known those guys for a long time. Now I’m in their world. I would have done the same thing if they were in my world.  Q. Does 195 feel slow compared to what you’re used to? HELIO CASTRONEVES: In terms of speed you’re talking about?   Q. Yes.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: You don’t see it. Even 240 and 190 or 200. You only see when things go bad. I don’t want to see that.   Q. There’s going to be a lot of eyeballs watching from around the world. Very few international drivers have had the opportunity to run Daytona. What would it mean to you knowing there’s going to be a lot of people walking, the second Brazilian to ever compete in the Daytona 500? HELIO CASTRONEVES: This is a great exposure. This is one of the biggest race in the world. You want to have as much exposure as possible.  It’s very smart that Trackhouse are doing that. Not many people able to see it. When I was testing Talladega, people in Talladega were exciting. I’ll be watching for you, I’ll be cheering for you. It gives opportunity for foreign people, Brazilian people, people from other series to watch it. I’m just happy to help this scenario.   But in the end of the day, I’m not here just to call attention. I want to do everything I can to do a good job.   Q. (Question about helmet.) HELIO CASTRONEVES: You should see. The helmet, I think the camera cannot see the smile behind my helmet. It was so cool. I’m like, Oh, man, this is tough. Oh, no, I actually got this stuff. Here we go.  It was really fun. Yeah, super, super excited. Can’t wait to go back out there again.  Q. What other road course drivers would you suggest do this? Give us three or four names.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Oh, my God. That’s a great one.  From friends that I know, Scott Dixon is one of the guys that in my time, it’s incredible driver. Montoya already did that, so… I check that out of the list.   Q. Any Formula 1 guys? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I think Formula 1, Lewis tried once. Was it Hamilton?   Q. Kimi.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Who drove in Watkins Glen?   Q. Jensen.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Was it Jensen? Okay. Fernando Alonso would be great. I think he would like it.   Q. You said Cup drivers have been giving you some inside tips. If the shoe was on the other foot, if they were coming over, how much would you divulge to those guys? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I would have done the same, even more. I know how difficult when you go to a different series to another, how tough it is. I just don’t want to be on the way.   You don’t want that, as well. Sometimes you see it takes time to adapt. These guys been doing this for years. You jump in the first time, it takes a little time. Some drivers are quicker learners than the other. I’m probably slower. I’m getting there.   My team, the Project 91, are experienced people. They’ve done this before. They really give me the right tools to adapt fast.  Q. Did you bring any Indy 500 rings? HELIO CASTRONEVES: It’s in my shoes in my locker right now.   Q. (No microphone.) HELIO CASTRONEVES: I think it’s great. First of all, Jay Frye has been incredible for the series. Doug also has been doing an amazing job with the speedway. I feel the speedway automatically is going to be on autopilot. So many years, running in an incredible way, he has a lot to offer. Great job for INDYCAR to also have someone that knows the sport, knows the racing, and can bring a lot to elevate the series.   Q. Were you surprised at the change? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I was. Nobody mentioned anything the last year. A little bit was surprised.  Q. Do you have a place in your mind that you’d like to qualify, where you might like to start the race?  HELIO CASTRONEVES: I would love to be in the top 15. That would be great. Able to do speed-wise, that’s great. Give me at least understanding I’m not so much farther back. I understand if you lose the draft here, it’s a big deal.   Yeah, that’s the goal. Nothing’s going to change if that doesn’t happen. That will be my goal.   Q. Have you spoken to Justin Marks about driving any additional entries? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I think one step at a time. A lot’s going to be determined after this race. Yeah, we have all our focus on the big one.  Q. (No microphone.) HELIO CASTRONEVES: I have not. I heard about it. I want to see him (laughter). Love to meet him, for sure.   Q. How important was practice today? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I mean, huge. I mean, just my first out hitting a little bit of the limiter, things like that. If you’re thinking about it, that would hurt the lap time in qualifying. So all of these details, it’s important for you to get out of the way, learn what it is.   Honestly, even if the guys are here for many years, they were happy to have practice, which you should. You can’t just go out there and go straight. Those cars are fine machines, they got to be on top of it.   Q. (Question about the differences in cars.)  HELIO CASTRONEVES: The stock car moves a little bit different. You have a power steering wheel. The car, when it turns, it’s a little delay. Speed difference, you don’t feel it.  INDYCAR, because of no power steering wheel, it turns a little quicker. It’s heavier, you feel more everything into the steering wheel.   Now, when you’re talking about AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti, you’re talking about the gods of racing, right? Wow, in this time of era, winning both, it would mean a lot to history in racing. I would be very blessed to be in this position.   Q. Do you have a little bit of race fan in you when you walk through this garage and see some of these names?  HELIO CASTRONEVES: I mean, Jimmie Johnson is one of them. We became friends.   Q. You raced against him.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: But Jeff Gordon is another one. He’s not as a driver anymore, but he’s a team owner or president.   I mean, I raced with Kyle Busch at SRX, which was super cool. Kevin Harvick is not here anymore.  You’re talking about old-timers here. There’s so young guys now. They probably looking at me… I was actually talking to Byron, and he’s 27. I’m like, Man, you were probably five years old. Not even, thank you (laughter).  Look, in the end of the day, it’s super cool to be in this environment. My teammates are great. Daniel Suarez and Ross and Shane. Shane actually I raced a long time ago in V8 Supercar in Australia. He still gave me great tips. I’ll follow him because his tips seem to be working, not only for him but for me, too.   Q. There is something to be said for people that feel comfortable racing with you, and you feel comfortable racing with them.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Right.   Q. How do you develop that? How do you earn the trust of somebody? HELIO CASTRONEVES: You got four hours to trust. I’m sure I’m going to be dropped down if I’m pushing someone, helping them, which is part of this game I guess. Until I prove that I can run with everyone and gain their trust, nothing that I can do.   I’m sure I will get there. That will be the time for me to take advantage of it.  Q. Do you have to race Thursday to prove to them you can race? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Absolutely. And I will race as of right now, I need experience. I need to run. I haven’t run with anybody in the pack. I understand it’s a big difference. So that’s why I’m doing ARCA, too. Different cars. At least give me a little bit more knowledge when I come to the Sunday what to do.  Q. You belong to a professional driving club. How fast do you go on an interstate? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I respect the rules (laughter). Let’s put it this way. Q. Are you saying that or are you doing that? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I am saying that (laughter).  Q. Do you get adrenaline when you go out? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Absolutely, absolutely. Unless I’m a little late (laughter). Did I say that out loud?   Q. Are race car drivers athletes? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Absolutely. I don’t care what kind of car you do, it takes a lot of effort to turn the car. The speeds that we go, especially the time that we stay. They are.  Q. Open-wheel guys…  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Still practice a lot. Still train a lot, very hard. In the ovals not so much because you have the headrest. In the road course, huge.   Q. What did you think about the Daytona 500 having watched it but never been in it? What were your thoughts about it? HELIO CASTRONEVES: It’s a big race. It’s an historic race, right? Just to be in it…  I had the opportunity because when I used to work with Team Penske, when I drove for IROC, I had opportunity to see the race. I’m like, I wish I be there. Unfortunately RP never allow me to do it, which is okay. I understand wasn’t my time.   I’m so glad that this opportunity right now, it’s just came through because this is huge. Probably is the right time for me, too. I’m more experienced driver, so I understand what I need to be.   Yeah, this is huge.   Q. NASCAR asked you or told you what you think you need to learn or what they want you to learn or do or show? Do you know exactly what you have to show? HELIO CASTRONEVES: No, they never told me what to do. We did have meeting before so I understand the rules. They don’t want me to get caught in very simple rules, crossing over the yellow line, the back straight, things like that.   All those details, I mean, look, I feel that everybody wants me to do well, right? Again, it’s a big race. It’s a lot of attention from everybody. I want to do well, too.   I can’t thank enough for everyone with arms wide open to receive me. I’ll do everything I can to own that.   Q. (No microphone.) HELIO CASTRONEVES: They’re innovating. This project, I would say I don’t think a Team Penske or MSR or any other big team would be able to do it. They are thinking outside the box, which I like that.  In terms of organization, the people that Justin also have the past and hire, wow, it’s incredible. As I said, my crew chief is a Daytona 500 winner. It’s not like a B team when you’re thinking about. This is a real deal and I’m glad they put this group together.  Q. What do you think of Justin? He’s a big-picture guy? HELIO CASTRONEVES: You said it, a big-picture guy, thinking of the future. Sort of like I would say, it’s not his style, but I feel the team is more like this new upcoming TikTok guys that push forward. Not TikTok, but you know what I mean. Social media, you know?   Q. Influencers.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: Thank you. And they are. And they are. And I like it. Not only that, they’re getting the results and I’m so glad to be part of it.  Q. If you have a good experience, if you enjoy this, if it goes well, is there the desire to not have this be a one-and-done sort of thing? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I’ll let you know after the last lap (smiling).   Q. You’re running the other 500, too? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Yes. I’m running both 500s.  Q. That’s a big deal.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: It’s huge. In fact, the helmet I’m using will be the same colors from here to there. I want to create both 500s in the same year, which is unique.  Q. Did you steal that design from Rahal? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I had nothing to do with the marketing with Wendy’s. But I tell you what, it works.   Q. He had the bowtie.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: The little bowtie. I agree with you (laughter).   Q. (No microphone.) HELIO CASTRONEVES: Very close. We text each other. Nothing big ’cause the car changed anyway. Different style. As well, the racing.   I feel right now it’s a much closer pack than when Christian 20 years ago ran.   In the end of the day I’m having a great group behind me from Trackhouse and Project 91 to give me the right tools to adapt as quick as I can.   Q. What do you think of your teammate over here from New Zealand? HELIO CASTRONEVES: I know, he’s pretty darn good, I telling you. Like I said, takes a lot of advice. He went through this last year. He was able to give me a great picture of what’s happening.  Not to talk about, like I said, I met him a long, long time ago, 15 years ago, when I did the V8 Supercars. It’s cool to see him doing well.   Q. He won his first race.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: All right. He put me in the spot now. No pressure. I’ll do everything I can to repeat what I did (laughter).  Q. And Scottie Rutherford.  HELIO CASTRONEVES: See, that’s great. I’m just having an amazing opportunity here to do something huge.  Q. You’re here as a driver, but what has it been like since you stepped into the ownership waters? HELIO CASTRONEVES: Look, it’s been amazing. Mike and Jim, I’m learning so much with them on the other side of the helmet, the cockpit I would call. They’re able to really show me a lot of things that I never understood ’cause when you’re a driver, you’re focusing obviously go fast, whatever it takes to be in that number one spot.   Here, the performance, the employees, the sponsor, the whole dynamic, it’s been just absolutely incredible. I’m just glad I was able to help, just switch from Andretti technical alliance to Ganassi. Yeah, we looking forward to the beginning of the season, for sure.   Q. The first time in the ARCA car, first time in the Cup car…  HELIO CASTRONEVES: It’s fun. It was awesome. The car’s different. The braking is much better on the Cup car. I feel that the driving, as well. The car seems to be responding a little bit quicker than the ARCA car. I’m not sure if it’s style, the tires, what it was.   Wind was a similar scenario. Same push I had before, which is great. Now I can read a little bit better for what the car is doing.   It’s much more comfortable. You’re shifting the sequential gearbox rather than an H pattern.

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Is this the year for your Daytona 500 win?“You’d certainly like to hope so. Twenty years of trying. There was another storied racer of the past that won on his 20th try and that was a pretty big deal. He was a former RCR driver as well so it’d certainly be nice to win that race and do it with RCR in the No. 8 Zone Chevrolet. So that would be pretty cool.” You’ve been good on superspeedways since you got to RCR. How has that changed your mindset preparing for the 500?“We’ve had really good speed being down here. These guys build great restrictor-plate program racecars, so when we go to Daytona, Atlanta, Talladega, we feel like those places are really good for us. We’ve got really good speed. I just told someone that it’s 80 percent luck/20 percent skill race. Others would disagree but I feel like you have to have a lot of things go your way and you have to have the stars align. Being able to lead off the final pit stop is certainly going to put yourself in a really good position.” Does the 2015 crash in this race still impact your mentality?“I don’t feel like it does anything. You have to go out there, race and run hard, and try as best you can to make the best decisions. It’s a lot like a chess match in trying to make sure you put yourself in the right positions to get yourself up front when it matters most. Two years ago we led mile-marker 500 but unfortunately we were coming to the yellow. Been there, been right and there and been close… finished second, finished third, finished fourth and all the top-five spots. So there’s definitely some angst over trying to win this one.” There was great improvement in the RCR after the summer break last year and you added new people in the offseason. How effective will that be for 2025?“Certainly any time you add more people or new people, you hope it’s for the betterment of your team and organization. I’m excited for it and looking forward to it. I wouldn’t say revamping but definitely changing some personnel in some places and being able to put some better cars on the racetrack. For myself and Austin Dillon, we want to go out and win races for RCR, for RC, ECR and of course Team Chevy. We have some great partners and some people there that get us to the racetrack each and every week. It’s all about winning, and the time is now to get that done.” How important is it to get off to a good start this year?“It’s really important. The biggest thing is that I always love it when we are able to start strong and have good strong starts to the year. It helps your mojo a little bit, helps you build a foundation and gets you a good points start. But you have to keep that momentum going also. Two years ago when I joined RCR in ’23, we had a really good first 16 races. I think we won three of the first 16 but then kind of (fell off) after that. You’ve got to keep that strength all year long. You can’t blunder, fumble, whatever it is. That’s when these other guys will take advantage of you, and obviously stage points in this era are very important.” When do you get a feel for that with the first two races being speedways and then a road course…“I feel like Daytona and Atlanta are some really good shots for us to win races. So the first two weeks are good with our RCR speedway program. From there I enjoy the road-course stuff. Of course being able to get back out to Vegas… we ran strong there last year and we were probably one of the only cars that could keep up with the 5 car in that race. It’d be nice to get that momentum rolling at the start of the season and really try to run stronger each week and score those stage points, get ourselves in running sixth to 10th each week, pick up some spots on pit road and put ourselves in position to get good finishes.” As a veteran, what’s it like to have practice and qualifying back again, and did it help your team out?“Here I think it’s nice to get out there and shake it down. There were a couple of other guys that had oil leaks and whatnot, so certainly they benefited from it and were able to get on the racetrack… I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Just a short 20 to 30-minute thing to shake your car down. Here it’s good for qualifying for later, and at Atlanta I feel like it’s important to get a couple of laps in because the balance at that place is going to change the most over the next few races because of the asphalt wearing and whatnot. As you get into the races, it doesn’t really matter where you start. It’s a matter of how you get through traffic.” That 80/20 ratio, is that consistent or was it different years ago?“I feel it’s probably more 80/20 now than what it was. I feel like it’s gotten more luck-induced. We’re all dealing with the same Legos. You see it sometimes when you get later in the going when you’re in the middle of the race or early in the race and you’re fuel-mileage racing and you can run three-wide and you’re side-by-side. But then when it gets down to the end and the bottom picks up and everybody is running wide-open, that top lane just falls. You can’t keep up up there so you have to be in those first two lanes to make sure you’re toward the front. Trying to make a move and you’re trying to hang somebody out… that’s just a part of what we’ve got right now. It’s tough to make headway.” On contending at Atlanta this year after a close finish last year.“You have to be in position. I felt like we were pretty fast there both races last year. I had a big run down the backstretch and knew I needed to make it three-wide. I should have cut my speed going into Three when I was three-wide because I told myself before the race do not be leading getting into Three coming to the checkered. I messed that up. When I saw that hole, I jumped to the middle and my momentum carried me through to the lead. Those two cars side-by-side will just pull you back through the middle. So messed up on that a little bit but all in all, it’s circumstantial. You have to be right all the time.”

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 12, 2025) — Terry Easum checked off a bucket list item during his rookie campaign with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour last year — win a Series race. This year, he’s determined to further make his name known nationally during his sophomore year with the Series.

“We raced a lot locally for several years here, and we just enjoy getting to go to a lot of new racetracks and see new places,” Easum said. “Really, we just want to be better, and the only way you’re going to get better is racing guys like that.”

The 32-year-old from Broken Arrow, OK, is set for his sophomore season of competition with ASCS behind the wheel of the Premier Self-Storage, Don Ott Racing Engines-powered Triple X Chassis No. 88.

His rookie season started with quick success, winning the second race of the season at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, OK — less than 90 minutes from his house. From seventh on the starting grid, Easum raced his way to the lead in 13 laps, using the bottom lane around the 1/4-mile track to hold off all challengers for the win.

“Really, it was a dream come true,” he said. “It was something I had always dreamed of doing, and I was able to do it there with so many people there that we knew. It was kind of unreal for a few days the number of people that called.

“But that was one race. We’ve got to move on and get better.”

Despite the early success, struggles in various areas slowed Easum’s progress, garnering only two more top-10 finishes through the remainder of the season to rank him 10th in the final points standings. The winter break bought him time to fix those issues, and he’s ready to return to the track.

“We’ve made a lot of big changes in our team, switching our engines over to Don Ott,” Easum said. “We had some issues with Qualifying and it just kinda hindered the middle to the end part of the year; we never could get them running where we needed to. We’ve corrected that, and hopefully, that’ll help to start off the night better and put ourselves in position to win races.”

In addition to the equipment upgrades, Easum has recruited the help of veteran crew chief Jimmy Jones to lead his operation at the track and in the shop going forward. Jones, an experienced wrench who won three World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championships as a mechanic for Steve Kinser, has also worked with open-wheel standouts Mark Kinser, Aaron Berryhill, Robert Ballou, and most recently Ryan Timms.

“Having Jimmy Jones there in the shop during the week is going to be a huge help with him going over everything and taking some weight off of Kacee [Frazier] and I’s shoulders,” Easum said. “We raced together years ago, and it was a lot of fun. We’re kinda like a family; he’s kinda like a second dad to me.”

Easum and Jones have their goals set for 2025 — ones that aim to land the team a higher championship points standing at season’s end.

“Mainly get more aggressive; we need to get in the top 10 and top five every night,” Easum said. “Last year, we were just all over the map, really. But we just need to get more consistent.”

Easum begins his second season on the ASCS National Tour full-time roster at the next event — Saturday, April 12 at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, OK.

Tickets for this event will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Carson Hocevar, driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

REGARDING MICHAEL MCDOWELL JOINING THE TEAM AND HIS IMPACT “I think he has been big, especially for here. That is the biggest thing, especially for the race because he runs good. I think Travis has played more of a role personally because he knows what was on the cars. I like to do my own thing, and my strategy was to always ride in the back at superspeedways anyway. We haven’t really got enough races for me to pick Michael’s brain or him to pick mine. I normally like to go out there and just run and don’t like to talk about anything anyways. I like to just go see if I am any good or not.  But having Michael just adds depth and adds to our allotment that if I struggle, or if I can lean on him if he is running good, and that type deal. He is going to fill our gaps and as a team owner, you are trying to run first-second-third.  But if your cars struggle and they have their strong suits, like Michael’s is superspeedways and road courses is hopefully where he is going to elevate our program.” SO WHEN YOU ARE GOING MORE OFF THE FEEL OF THE TRACK THAN THE DATA, DOES THAT PLAY AT OTHER TRACKS MORE THAN LIKE DAYTONA? “Yeah, for me I almost look at these two, especially more now, that I look at them more as an off week. Just hang out and be like, ‘man, I am just going to enjoy the week’. There is not a whole lot more you can prepare for….the last couple of years it was super draggy, but now we are trying to be fast everywhere.  I think we are a lot closer to the Hendrick cars based on the lap time there with the single car alone. It was like a second difference from last year to this year, so I am super pumped about that. So, the biggest thing they want to do right is to try and get my head ready if we are up front and give me all the info that we have. But yes, for me it is like so much more laid back. There are about two instances that I study for here and I just hang out the rest of the time. I have an iRacing rig on my hauler so you probably won’t see me much until race time and I will be driving on superspeedways and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars. HOW MUCH CAN IRACING HELP YOU IN REACTIONARY MOVES AND MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES AT THE RIGHT TIME? “I think iRacing on superspeedways is more 1 to 1 and is light years ahead of any other (track). I don’t learn a lot doing anything else, but for superspeedways its huge. I had to leave the race with five to go, I was leading, and had to go practice. All my guys were having fun. We were maintaining lanes in a truck, manipulating lanes and its fun. But yeah, I am going to take advantage of it before the Duel and try a bunch of stuff, hit people, have them hit me, and change lanes. I am more than happy to wreck over there than out here.” REGARDING GETTING ANOTHER SHOT AT THIS RACE AFTER WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR “I mean I am not a superspeedway guy, and I don’t want to say I have been so anxious, but it would be cool to finish, right? But we ran good and we finished 11th in July. So at least I finished. Regarding last year, I haven’t got it out of my system, but I kind of want to finish all the laps and be there at the end. I am excited to go, but at the same time I do not love these superspeedways, so I don’t get too excited. You know what I mean?  If I win the race and we figure out how to maintain lanes and we run really good, then I am going to be really excited to come back next year. But for me, I need a little bit more superspeedway racing to get excited.” HOW ARE THE EMOTIONS COMING BACK FOR YOUR SECOND YEAR AS OPPOSED TO YOUR FIRST LAST YEAR? “I think its more about being more confident and being a lot more decisive about the decisions you are making and decisive on how our cars are being developed. I think it adds……there’s not really any pressure and as Dan Campbell said one time, there is no weight, he just felt the wind underneath him. That is the motto we have been going with.” HOW ABOUT THE CONFIDENCE IN HAVING JUSTIN AND MICHAEL OUT THERE? “Yeah, it definitely helps to have friends out there for sure. But I don’t know. I will let you know after the Duels and Daytona 500 go for sure. At the same time, we have a lot of Chevy friends that hopefully we will work closely with. So, there is a lot of depth out there already.” WHAT HAS THE TEAM ENVIRONMENT BEEN LIKE THIS YEAR AND HOW BIG ITS GOING TO BE? “It’s been good and all the teams have been working very closely and there is a lot of depth. For me, there are more researches than excuses in my mind. There is a lot more brainpower, there is a lot more depth, and I think the biggest hire we got was Matt McCall. I think it’s super important that we are racing with him and not racing against him.  We have two crew chiefs that are super talented sitting on the sideline too.” A BIG STORY LAST YEAR WAS THAT YOU WERE OUTPERFORMING YOUR SPIRE TEAMMATES. DOES THAT ADD PRESSURE GOING INTO THIS YEAR?  “No, not really. I don’t know why we were so good last year, I just drive. I don’t know why I was good in the 42 car when I first got in it, and I don’t know why I was good in the 7 when I first got in it. I just drive and we were either fast or we were slow. For me, it was about less excuses and more brain power. We were fast in The Clash, which I didn’t expect to be in the Clash. Just because that is not our forte and I thought we would be like, ‘let’s get through the Clash and we will be okay’. I thought we would make it, but I didn’t think we would be the third fastest car on lap times. We were super-fast which makes me excited to go to places like Martinsville and other places where we struggled. The Clash was the race for me that told me we were headed in the right direction.” HAVE YOU SEEN A DIFFERENCE IN SPIRE SINCE RODNEY CAME OVER?  “Well, when Rodney walked in, so did four other crew chiefs too.  So, I think it’s just the combination and everybody. I mean Rodney is great, but for me it’s Matt McCall, Travis Peterson, Nick Case and Ryan Sparks getting off the box. In my mind, we have five crew chiefs for three cars that are super talented. We have way more smarter people for their specific roles to make these cars go fast.  You know, Mr. H and Hendrick Motorsports continue to help us through their programs.  With Jeff Dickerson and that whole group, they are just rocking. I think it’s just the whirlwind of people that came in and not anyone specific. That is why I think we are going to be successful, and Spire is going to be successful. We are not relying on one person, we are relying on the whole group. I think that is what is really cool, they work super well together.” HOW HIGH HAVE YOU SET YOUR GOALS THIS YEAR? “Well, our boss wants all three of us in the Playoffs this year and I know how high that one is.  But you have to have tip top goals. For me it’s that I want to run good, and I want to run top 15 every race and if you keep doing that, you are going to win a race.” WHAT IS THE CRAZINESS FACTOR IN GOING FROM SOMEWHERE LIKE DAYTONA TO ATLANTA NEXT WEEK? “I think this place is more unpredictable in my mind because the wrecks don’t happen from back blocks anymore, they happen from back pushes. At Atlanta, you are more chaotic, and you can see wrecks happening but here you are just sitting in line and saving fuel and then somebody wants to hit somebody a little too hard and they spin. For me, I think its more unpredictable for something to happen here.” DOES IT GIVE YOU ANYMORE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU ARE GOING INTO YOUR SECOND FULL TIME SEASON WITH HOW COMPETITIVE THE CUP SERIES IS AND YOU ARE GOING IN WITH A GROWING TEAM? “For me, I like to finish well. I like to maximize my finish. So, for me, I don’t have a lofty goal like let’s go make the Playoffs. Theoretically you can be third in points and miss it, right? So, it worked well for me saying last year our goal was 20th in points and my goal for this year is 15th in points. You might be close in points, you might not be, depending on who wins and who doesn’t. But if we can be there and finish around 15th every race, then we are going to be exactly where we want to be.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 12, 2025

Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

With this particular car, what is the strategy to survive the draft coming from behind or get the lead being in the draft from behind?“I live and believe that you are safest out front. We were living proof of that last year in that we got clipped in the rear bumper but it didn’t spin us. There were a lot of cars behind us that got taken out in that final wreck before I spun. I think the safest spot is up front but I can’t figure out how to live up front in the beginning of the stage and end of the stage. At some point you have to be in the pack.” With four drivers from a diverse set of backgrounds on the team, does it make it harder to coordinate how you work the draft?“Not with Daniel (Suarez) and Shane (van Gisbergen) because we’ve been around each other now for… Daniel for a couple of years and Shane for a little over a year. A couple of months of knowing we would be doing this together, us three, all year. Shane and I made some big steps through last summer for our preparation, and Daniel is part of that now, as well. Helio (Castroneves) is a bit of an anomaly. This is it for him that I know of. It was hard to talk to him about drafting when he hadn’t even driven the car. Now we can talk ahead of the Duals. But the Duals will be where he’s going to learn the most. Whatever I can talk to him now about, I’ll be able to talk to him 10 times more after he feels tight, loose, side drafting, getting pushes… we can talk through the real granular details of what it takes to be successful or successful in moving our line forward. Not saying we can’t talk about how to win. We think we can but how to move the line forward.” What do you think about his personality?“He’s a hero, first of all, of mine. I’ve almost watched him my entire life race professionally. He won the first (Indy) 500 in 2001 and I was born in ’92. I was still waddling around with a four-wheeler in the yard. It’s incredible. I got to meet him at Homestead last year, so that was cool. He blended right in with the team. I didn’t even know why he was there at the time, and they told us right after. So that was cool to have that experience of shaking his hand and getting to know him, not knowing why he was there. He used a lot of my seat and cockpit stuff… parts and pieces inside. We’re similar size and build so I was happy to lend him some stuff.” How do you think SVG has progressed on ovals?“With the Clash and All-Star, he’s got 38 at-bats to show up at the racetrack and prepare. The way we do it at Trackhouse we’ve evolved. The 1 and 99 used to do it a certain way but now with three teams every week we’ve evolved that, and I like it a lot better. It’s more driver-focused. Shane and I are literally from opposite sides of the world, but we think about things in a similar way but we’re just different enough where he can all me out on my issues and I can call him out on his. The early-morning sim sessions together is the name of the game for us. I don’t know what the end results will be each week. It’s easy to look at and see it – he’s helping on road courses and I hope to help him on ovals.” More on the diverse background on the four Trackhouse drivers.“It’s a cool thing that we’re all from our different countries. That’s what Justin (Marks) wanted when he did this. He wanted to be different. This is a way to do that. Just look worldwide and see what’s out there. Helio was in Miami, so America is home for him. South Florida guy so we have that in common. How to look at it from a bigger picture – that will probably hit me on Sunday when I realize that little old Trackhouse that I remember was a one-car team. I remember when Justin was just a driver – not just – but when he was a driver and an owner. Then when he hired me to be the second driver, I remember how big of a deal that felt. And now we’ve doubled that size. It’s going to be a cool moment on Sunday.” With NASCAR racing in Mexico City and being exposed to the international side, is there any other place you’d be interested in racing?“Take us back to Road America. Worldwide, I don’t know. I don’t know tracks anywhere else. I’ve never flown east or west of North America.” On the Daytona 500 vibe.“It’s never felt the same. I remember the first time that I crossed from the grandstand side across the fence, that was on a bicycle and I was sneaking across. The first time I drove through it was I believe for a New Smyrna banquet. Then I remember first time I came through as a competitor, being around the Truck Series in 2012. Every time it’s a great feeling. Yesterday we landed and went straight over to the hauler parade coming in at One Daytona, so I got to see Mike Helton and Frank Kelleher, the track president, and talked to them a little bit and see some friends. The biggest thing I took away from it is that the 22 was pulled up to the front of the line. That’s one of those little motivating things… that I want the 1 truck  to pull up front. I want the 1 truck to be the first one to pull into the garage for the Daytona 500 the next year. That means you did something really special the last year. That’s the goal and what I took away from it. Then I drove around into the infield after that… incorrectly! I went to the wrong spot to be honest. Drove through the Turn Four tunnel, and that’s a special feeling. It’s something I think to myself driving through and hope that special feeling never goes away.” How much are you a different driver than when you first came here?“The way all these media days and production days, they’ve definitely evolved. The pre-Daytona 500 weekend kind of was a chance for Trucks and Xfinity drivers to be in front of media used to be something that my team never signed us up for. We didn’t know. I’d come down early for it, and there would be Xfinity drivers in it – this is the Daytona 500 media day now, so it’s a different thing – but I’d walk into the production day but I’d put my suit on and walk in and tell the girl at the front table that I was driving the 4 car all years. She’d look down and I’d ask where do you want me to go first and she’d point me in a direction and I’d hit the whole room. Now I don’t have to sneak in any more. Yes, I’ve definitely changed and I’m not the same driver I was last year, let alone 10 years ago.” Is the track as rough and bumpy as it looked on your on-board camera?“Our car is rough. Our Busch Light Chevy is finding all the bumps. It’s a fine line here having the car as low as you can. We’re dealing with thousandths of an inch to get it down on the rear stops and shocks, and  get the spoiler out of the air  and all that and still have it drive OK. We’re going to raise it up for qualifying. We can’t be that rough. I can drive it but only by myself, and I don’t think it’s as fast when it’s bouncing like that. The track’s not where it was when I watched back to pre-repave, which I think was in 2011. So I’ve only driven on the repave. It’s not that rough. When I watch it back and understanding how those cars were built and setup, the track was a lot rougher. By now means is it what it was in 2010 and before. So this was a one-car special.” On fastest race lap getting an extra point in 2025.“If it’s there for us to take, we’ll take it. You can’t give up a position to do it, but if you can’t gain or lose positions, we’ll go for it. We’ll do it on the road course and here if you’re playing the game where you’re a lap down you’ll play the game at the back of the end trying to time it right and get big runs. Do I think it’s necessary? No I don’t think it’s necessary. But hey… if Xfinity’s happy then I’m happy.” It’s been four years in the Gen-Seven car. General thoughts on the first three years?“So much progress. Coming into it, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. It was like the wild west. You saw us spinning out and crashing. I don’t think that’s always a terrible thing, to be honest. Some of those early practice sessions and early races were just crazy to watch. Nobody could keep up with it because there was so much happening. You had champions the year before and race-winners in the back at the beginning of ’22. You’ve definitely seen them figured it out, and we all figured it out. I’m glad I got to be a part of that because that’s a time in my career in the sport that I’ll always look back on and remember.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY DAYTONA 500 MEDIA DAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES FEBRUARY 12, 2025

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – DAYTONA 500 Media Day Quotes

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

Is the drive to win the Daytona 500 the same motivation, same desire now that you already have one?“Yeah, I do. I have more joy coming down here than I did before. I have more passion and excitement for this race than I did before. I feel like having experienced it the way it was last year really changed my perspective on the race as a whole in a good way, obviously. I feel that’s created some more motivation to get another one. This race, it’s a lifetime achievement. It’s something people reference everywhere you go. It’s something that the first time in my career I’ve had something like that. It makes it cool, it makes it more special, because you can tell people care about the race.” What are the things at Daytona as a driver you can control?“I think there is so many aspects. The way that you position yourself at the end of the race. It starts tonight. You can get yourself on the front row, and that gives you a great opportunity to not have to stress about the Duels. And then if you’re not locked in on the front row, you have to race the Duels and understand what your car has and try to keep it in one piece. It’s a process throughout the week, then obviously, Sunday is about positioning yourself as the stages go along and really like the last 20 laps of the race essentially. It’s just a process. You really can’t think too far ahead. I’m not thinking about Sunday at all yet. Just trying to get through tonight and check the boxes that I need to to have a good qualifying lap.” As the track surface gets older, has handling become more of a premium since you started at the Cup level?“Yes and no. This car has a lot of drag, so with that comes lower speeds and more downforce. This car doesn’t really require as much handling, but it’s still going to matter. If we were back on the old surface or with the old Gen 6 car, yeah, we’d be slipping around quite a bit. This car is pretty stuck to the track here. It’s all relative, though. I think that the cars are going to get more and more trimmed out as the teams get smarter, so we’re probably going to have something a bit more unique here than we’ve seen in years past with the way it handles.” How does the lack of practice here affect you?“It doesn’t affect us at all. Practice here is like such a façade, really. You’re not around enough cars There’s not enough energy in the pack to really know what the car is going to do. The Duels are your best practice. That’s when everyone is at ten-tenths. The thing about practice at a speedway is like, especially if you’re going out drafting, guys are pulling on and off the track, so the energy is changing every lap. That’s not really conducive to what the race is like. The Duels are our best chance to learn, and then really like maybe some laps on Friday, you might learn here or there. But you’re going to learn mostly in the Duels and obviously, in the race on Sunday.” Is it kind of cool to race against a four-time Indy 500 champion (in Helio Castroneves)?“It is sweet. The funniest thing about that is I look over next to my bus right when I got back from practice, and it’s Helio’s bus. I didn’t even realize that when I got here, but that’s pretty neat to have an Indy 500 champion like that next to you in the bus lot, and then obviously, racing on the racetrack. Yeah, it’s awesome.” Talk about the entry list and the wide variety of drivers…“Yeah, it shows kind of the momentum of the sport really. We went through a dip where we didn’t really have a lot of open drivers or people trying to make the race, and now we’re back to having a few more. It’s awesome. It’s good that it’s quality cars, and I’ll be excited to look and see what’s going on. I’ve got to understand the system and how it all works, because apparently one guy is locked in but I’ve got to understand who is on the bubble to watch that race when I’m not racing myself.” Depending on where you qualifying, how much will you be aware of other open cars trying to qualify?“I don’t have any awareness of that. For me, if I’m on the racetrack, I’m just going to try and win. If they’re racing in the other Duel or if I get out of the car, I’ll look at it.” Having such a marathon week to start the season, does that help with the suddenness of the grueling schedule?“It does. I honestly look forward to this week. It’s kind of like a little bit of a Spring Break. You’re down here forever, and you have obviously a lot of obligations, but I enjoy it because it’s a nice lead in versus The Clash. It’s so sudden, and you’re in such a different environment. You don’t have the garages or your hauler. This race gives you a chance to kind of settle in, get all of your stuff acclimated, and then you hit the road after that.” Is there anything cool you get now rather than before you won the Daytona 500?“I think just the trophy itself is probably the coolest thing. The side effect I always thought about was all the media you had to do and what that would feel like, but it’s honestly been great. It’s not bad, but just the trophy itself is such a historic trophy and it’s unlike any other one I’ve had.” Is there anything you can learn from this race and take to Atlanta?“I don’t know. I don’t feel like the answer for me is no because I feel like here, you really have to… it’s a totally different positioning race. Atlanta has that hybrid effect where you have a little bit of drafting but you also have lifting, and it’s kind of that five-fifty style mile-and-a-half race.” Does your confidence go up on speedways after winning this race?“Not exactly, no. I feel like for me, it was honestly the success we had after that throughout the year on drafting tracks where I felt like we were constantly up to the front. It wasn’t instant, perse, but as soon as we continued to have a good year on drafting tracks, I felt like that built some confidence.” Talk about the case of NASCAR athletes being athletes…“That’s a great question. I think with the way tech is now, like having my Whoop band on when I’m in the racecar, it’s one of the hardest workouts that I do throughout my week. Your heartrate is elevated, you’re in this kind of iso-position, which nowadays with yoga and everything people are doing, they understand how difficult that is to kind of fight the g-forces and hold yourself in that position. You’re making micro-adjustments all the time. I think that ten years ago, it was ‘Oh, drivers aren’t athletes,’ but if you’re not an athlete nowadays, you’re going to have a tough time. It’s just the nature of these cars and how rigid they’ve got, and how close the racing gets.” What does it feel like coming back here after August?“I feel like in the summer, it’s just kind of weird because you’re so in the middle of your season, you’re focused on that. Coming back here, being back for the (Daytona) 500 definitely feels special. Just have that excitement and genuine joy for the race. I think I’m just excited for the week.” How much has the racing changed in the last three years here at Daytona?“The racing has just got really tight and competitive, and everybody is sort of in a really tight gridlock. So it’s really hard to make moves. Three-wide is tough to make. I feel like you’ve got to be up towards the front. Track position is really important, and you have to be towards the front side coming down to the end. I think in the past, that was the case, but you could see a guy win from 10th on the last lap. I just don’t think that’ll happen in this package anymore.” How do you approach the “Big One?”“It’s just the nature of the race. I think, for me, I don’t really focus on that aspect. It’s just the nature of the event and I feel like it makes it exciting.” With being close to the championship the past few years, how big of a deal is it to you to get started off right?“It’s not a huge deal. I think that this season is really long. I would like for us to continue to improve. I think that’s the biggest thing. Yeah, you want to get a win in early. It takes some pressure off from the outside, but really you continue to strive for more. Sometimes you don’t see the champion get really hot until the second half of the year. Not saying that’s the right formula, but I’m just saying you’ve got to be consistent throughout the year and try to win every week. That’s our goal. We’re not really thinking about trying to make a statement or anything like that, it’s just trying to go out there and execute every week.” How much does a really good paint scheme affect you walking up to your car? Does it affect your psyche?“It does. You know when you’re stepping into a really nice looking racecar and something that you’re proud of. Also, the attention and the craft with my guys and how much effort they put into the racecar. It does. For me personally, it affects how I feel getting into the racecar. Obviously, once I put the helmet on, it is what it is, but I think having a good-looking racecar, having a car that your guys have put a lot of effort into, that means a lot.” Have you thought about what a back-to-back Daytona 500 would mean to you?“No, I don’t really think about the history. There are so many things, so many boxes to check as this week goes. Obviously, that’d be a great footnote after the race is over, but right now, there are so many things to get to that point. It’s just thinking about all of my processes to get to the end on Sunday.” One more win gives Hendrick Motorsports the most all time. You’re known to win some big races. Where would that factor in if winning another one?“Hendrick Motorsports has so much history as it is, and I feel like they just add in another win would be more to that. I’m excited for the week. I’m really ready to get going. I feel like all of our teams are really prepared and we’re just ready to go.”

BARBERVILLE, FL – What a difference three weeks makes.

Ricky Thornton Jr. got his 2025 season rolling with a DNQ and a 19th-place run at Volusia Speedway Park during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals, and looked lost in the woods after winning 26 Late Model races a year ago.

But when the calendar turned to February and the Koehler Motorsports No. 20RT team returned to Barberville for Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, “RTJ” once again looked like one of the top dirt Late Model drivers in the nation. Following a runner-up to open the week on Monday, Thornton put on a masterclass in Tuesday’s DIRTcar Late Model Feature.

“I feel like we’ve been really good,” Thornton said. “We changed our program up a lot after we were here earlier this year and I feel like we’ve gotten a lot better. My boys aren’t going to shy away from work, we’ve destroyed two race cars and they put them back together and we’ve been just as good.”

Thornton won Heat 1 earlier in the night to claim the pole for the main event alongside reigning DIRTcar Summer Nationals champion Tyler Erb. “Terbo” was able to rip the cushion around Turns 1 and 2 to take the early lead and force Thornton to settle into second.

While Erb worked to build a gap, Thornton came under fire from fourth-place starter Bobby Pierce, who threw a slider on Thornton to steal second before a slowing Brenden Smith brought out the caution with four laps complete.

That gave Thornton the chance to get the second spot back on the restart, and from there he set his sights on the leader. With 11 laps down in the 25-lap affair, Thornton dove to Erb’s inside entering Turn 3, raced side-by-side with the No. 1 down the frontstretch and cleared Erb in the next set of corners to take command of the race.

“Really, [Erb] lasted way longer than I thought he was going to,” Thornton said regarding Erb’s decision to opt for a softer tire for the Feature. “I started moving around, Bobby got by but the yellow came out, lucklily. I knew the top was going to get a better restart and luckily Bobby picked the bottom for me. Got a good start, got back to second, tried to keep pace with Terbo so whenever he did slow down, I was able to capitalize on it.”

From that point forward, Thornton was off like a rocket. The gap to Erb was already over a second two laps after Thornton completed the pass and grew as large as 3.5 seconds before Thornton caught thick lap traffic. The slower cars didn’t deter him though, as Thornton went unchallenged for the remainder of the race on his drive to victory.

Thornton said he still isn’t entirely comfortable racing around Volusia despite the fact that Tuesday’s win netted him his third Gator in the past four years. However, his speed so far this week has him feeling optimistic about his progress.

“I just struggle here as a driver,” Thornton said. “I feel like we finally got the package that we need. I can qualify well, and that puts you so much further ahead later in the night. Had a couple good Heat Races, winning both of them put us up front for the Feature. I just feel like our overall balance is getting better and better every time we come here.”

After falling back to third on the only restart of the night, Pierce spent most of the race riding behind Thornton and Erb until the final circuit, when he snuck by Erb to take the runner-up spot.

“I wasn’t wanting to settle for third, I was either going to jump the cushion or we were going to get second,” Pierce said. “It ended up turning good, I didn’t really lift much and I got around him. I wish I could have figured it out a little earlier, but my air kind of got spoiled a couple times. All in all, a great night for us.”

While Erb was frustrated to fall back to third in the waning moments of the race, his fourth podium of the season had him excited about the speed his Best Performance Motorsports machine has shown so far in 2025.

“Got nipped on the last lap there by Bobby,” Erb said. “Nothing to hang our heads about. Got a lot of speed, actually am enjoying racing here at Volusia. We had good runs at Sunshine Nationals and to get a third here tonight is pretty good. Excited for the rest of the week.”

Jonathan Davenport finished fourth to stay perfect in Volusia top fives on the year between Sunshine Nationals and DIRTcar Nationals, while Brandon Overton picked up his first top five at Volusia this season in fifth.

Thanks to his back-to-back top-two finishes, Thornton now leads the Late Model Big Gator standings by 20 points over Davenport with four more nights of racing to go.

RACE NOTES:

Tyler Bruening set the overall fastest lap in Hot Laps.

Ryan Gustin laid down the quickest lap of the night in Qualifying.

The six Heat Race wins went to Ricky Thornton Jr., Tyler Erb, Jonathan Davenport, Bobby Pierce, Brandon Overton and Cade Dillard.

Brandon Sheppard, Chase Junghans and Ashton Winger won the three Last Chance Showdowns.

Brian Shirley drove from 16th to sixth in the Feature to claim the Hard Charger Award.

UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Late Model portion of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals wraps up on Wednesday with a trio of 20-lap Features. Get your tickets by clicking here.

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

BARBERVILLE, FL – Many drivers who make the trek south to Barberville, FL each February dream of hoisting just one Gator Trophy.

And then there’s Nick Hoffman, who snagged the reptilian award for the 25th time in his career in Monday’s DIRTcar Late Model Feature at Volusia Speedway Park.

“It’s awesome, especially to start the week this way,” Hoffman said. “It’s so tough to come down here, this is one of the toughest fields we see all year. To stand on the top step of the podium is pretty cool.”

Hoffman started the race on the outside of polesitter Cade Dillard and fell in line behind the No. 97 for the opening circuits.

As the race progressed, the bottom of the track became the preferred groove, with Dillard and most of the field opting to hug the inside wall around the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.” That opened the door for Hoffman to ride the cushion and get side-by-side with Dillard for the top spot.

“I let Cade get out front there and control the pace for a little bit,” Hoffman said. “Once we got close to lap traffic, it was time for me to go. Felt like our car was really good, very maneuverable where I could kind of go anywhere and make speed.”

After taking the crossed flags in the 25-lap affair, Hoffman cleared Dillard entering Turn 1 and never let go of the top spot. The win was his second Late Model win during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in as many years to go along with 23 DIRTcar UMP Modified victories in the event, expanding his Gator collection that was already the largest of any driver in any division.

“I feel like I just know what to expect out of my car here,” Hoffman said regarding the reasons behind his Volusia success. “I know what it should feel like to be good, and I feel like that’s translated from the Modified to the Late Model. Knowing what I need to do to make raw speed, I’m just good at big, sweeping ½-miles. It’s something that I’ve always been good at. Finally got this thing where it steers and I can maneuver wherever I want, I feel like that’s the most important thing about this place.”

“The Thrill From Mooresville” didn’t go unchallenged in the late stages of the race though, as Ricky Thornton Jr. got within a car length of the No. 9 but was unable to make the pass in traffic. His runner-up effort was still a stark contrast from his Sunshine Nationals results, as Thornton missed the Feature on Friday night before finishing 19th on Saturday.

“I feel like there’s a little bit of an area where we can be a little bit better, but I feel like we’ve gained a lot of speed since we were here last month,” Thornton said. “I thought I had a shot for a minute in traffic, I kind of figured whoever got past the two lap cars and got out was just going to take off, and I couldn’t even see him at the checkers.”

Coming home in third was Jonathan Davenport, who is now three-for-three in Volusia podiums in 2025 after finishing second on both nights of Sunshine Nationals.

“We got to second one time, and as soon as we got to second, I pushed out of the bottom there and let two more back by me,” Davenport said. “We were definitely going back and forth through the lap cars there. Every time I’d get a good run, I’d run up right behind a lap car and have to maneuver around them. But I’m sure that’s what everyone else was doing too.”

Max Blair drove from ninth to fourth to collect the Hard Charger Award, while Ryan Gustin completed the top five.

RACE NOTES:

Austin Smith laid down the overall fastest lap in Hot Laps.

Cade Dillard collected the Quick Time Award for going fastest overall in Qualifying.

Cade Dillard, Nick Hoffman, Mike Marlar, Ricky Thornton Jr., Jonathan Davenport and Ryan Gustin won the six Heat Races.

Three Last Chance Showdowns were won by Brent Larson, Mark Whitener and Tyler Erb.

UP NEXT: Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals continues on Tuesday night with another full program for the DIRTcar Late Models. Get your tickets by clicking here.

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

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 3. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[5]; 4. 111-Max Blair[9]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 6. 76-Brandon Overton[10]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[1]; 8. 1-Brandon Sheppard[8]; 9. 32-Bobby Pierce[11]; 10. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 11. 99-Devin Moran[16]; 12. 16-Tyler Bruening[12]; 13. 58-Garrett Alberson[14]; 14. 96-Tanner English[13]; 15. 44-Chris Madden[18]; 16. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 17. 18-Chase Junghans[17]; 18. 1T-Tyler Erb[21]; 19. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[15]; 20. 12-Ashton Winger[24]; 21. 49-Jake Timm[23]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[22]; 23. 5-Mark Whitener[20]; 24. B1-Brent Larson[19]

Tennessee racer begins championship chase April 12 at Salina Highbanks Speedway

CONCORD, NC (Feb. 10, 2025) — Since the turn of the decade, Landon Britt has turned Sprint Car racing into his primary passion. He’s staying dedicated in 2025 with his commitment to a fourth season chasing the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour championship.

The former rugby player from Memphis, TN, rekindled his own racing roots in the late 2010s, racing Sprint Cars regionally before embarking on his first campaign with the Tour in 2022. Britt broke through for his first career Tour victory in 2023 and garnered a seventh-place finish in the championship standings last year.

“In the 360 scene, if you want upper-caliber racing, the National Tour is just the way to go,” Britt said.

The 27-year-old totaled five top-fives last season, compared to the eight he had in 2023, but posted more top 10s — 19 of them. That was the result of some experimentation he hopes will benefit him in the new year.

“We spent a lot of 2024 kinda changing some things around and getting out of our comfort zone a little bit more,” Britt said. “I think 2024 was a really good testing season for us, and I think what we’ve learned along the way will greatly benefit us in 2025.”

Not only did he learn more about his LB Motorsports, Moss Racing Engines-powered J&J Chassis No. 10, he’s set new goals for the new year in his efforts to become a more regular contender for Feature wins.

“I’d like to see myself get more aggressive in traffic,” Britt said. “I think last year, I could have made better positioning just being more aggressive to lapped cars and hitting those tight holes that would get me by them, but it’s a higher risk factor. So, I guess just taking the more higher-risk moves and pushing myself as a driver to the edge of it.”

Like several of the veteran ASCS rivals he competes against, Britt has been around to see the transition of the National Tour as it continues to evolve into 2025, and he takes pride in his allegiance to the brand.

“I think it’s great that we’re being looked out more for than just letting it die out,” Britt said. “I think it will take time to get back to what ASCS used to be. It all just takes time, it takes support of World Racing Group, the support of racers, fans — pretty much anything anyone can do to get it out there just builds it bigger.”

Britt begins his fourth season on the ASCS National Tour full-time roster at the next event — Saturday, April 12 at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, OK.

Tickets for this event will be sold at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 10, 2025) – With two weeks of Sprint Car and DIRTcar UMP Modified action in the books, The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet will thunder back into Volusia Speedway Park to put a bow on the 54th annual Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

The week will open with three nights of DIRTcar Late Model competition Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 10-12, before the World of Outlaws Late Models take over for the final three nights of the event, Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 13-15. Thursday and Friday’s programs will both wrap up with 35-lap, $12,000-to-win Features, while the weekend culminates with a 50-lap, $20,000-to-win main event and the crowning of a Big Gator champion on Saturday night.

Drivers will collect points from all DIRTcar and World of Outlaws Features for the DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator championship, awarded at the end of the week. Wednesday’s DIRTcar Late Model event will see the field split into three Features for the night.

The Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds will join the Outlaws on all three nights to make for a high-horsepower doubleheader at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”

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WATCH LIVE ON DIRTVISION

Here are the top storylines entering the weekend:

FIRST PITCH HOMER: Out of all the new driver-crew chief combinations in the pits this season, none have gelled quicker than Ryan Gustin and Cody Mallory.

Less than three weeks after Mallory officially joined the Todd Cooney Racing squad, he guided Gustin to his first World of Outlaws win at Volusia on the first night of the new season at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals.

“The Reaper” may have been unable to replicate that performance on Saturday with an 18th-place finish, but he still finds himself fourth in the standings entering DIRTcar Nationals, eight points behind leader Cody Overton. And since a competitor’s three best finishes between Sunshine Nationals and DIRTcar Nationals are the only ones that count toward the season-long points, some strong runs this week could allow Gustin to discard his Saturday finish and further improve his position in the championship chase.

SOPHOMORE STAR: Following a 13th-place points finish in his rookie season with the Outlaws, Cody Overton expected to make major improvements in his second year on tour. What he didn’t expect, though, was to be leading the points after two races.

The Thomson, GA driver had his picture taken on the podium for the first time after finishing third on Friday before barely missing the top 10 on Saturday in 11th, enough to claim the top spot among all signed World of Outlaws drivers.

However, it wasn’t the first time Volusia was kind to Overton, as he won a Crate Late Model Feature during Sunshine Nationals in 2020, his first of five top 10s in the event prior to making the jump to the Super Late Model division.

Overton has kept his hot streak going in the weeks since, as he piloted the Big Frog Motorsports Crate Late Model to Victory Lane at All-Tech Raceway on Feb. 1 before scoring his first Super Late Model win in three years at Screven Motor Speedway last weekend against many of the same drivers he’ll face again this week at Volusia.

BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME?: If there was anyone at Sunshine Nationals who had race-winning speed on both nights but walked away with little to show for it, it would be Nick Hoffman.

The Tye Twarog Motorsports gasser picked up a Heat Race win on Friday and drew the pole for the main event, setting up a fierce battle with Gustin for the top spot. But just past halfway, Hoffman got loose on Gustin’s inside entering Turn 1 and his car snapped around. After going to the tail of the field for the restart, Hoffman made his way back up to ninth by the checkers.

When Saturday rolled around, Hoffman’s speed early in the night was still there as he claimed the Simpson Quick Time Award in Qualifying and led every lap of his Heat Race. Misfortune struck once again in the Feature though, as Hoffman’s right-rear tire gave out while running fourth, forcing him to come from the back for the second night in a row. Hoffman climbed up to 10th at the end of 50 laps, leaving him fifth in the standings with two nights in the books.

“The Thrill From Mooresville” may not have strapped a helmet on since the Sunshine Nationals finale, but he’s stayed plenty busy in the Volusia pits assisting his Elite Chassis customers during nine nights of DIRTcar UMP Modified competition. There’s a reason so many competitors turn to Hoffman for advice at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile,” as his incredible resume at the track includes seven-straight Big Gator championships between 2016 and 2022, two Reutimann Memorials and more than a dozen other Feature wins.

The most recent of those came last year when Hoffman picked up his first World of Outlaws trophy from Volusia, and he’ll look to further expand his Gator collection this week.

BOUNCING BACK: When Brian Shirley’s engine expired while he was running fifth with four laps to go in the Saturday Feature at Sunshine Nationals, he was hopeful that would be the end of his bad luck during Speedweeks. As it turned out, it was only the beginning.

While leading his Heat Race in a Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series event at Needmore Speedway, Shirley’s powerplant once again began to smoke. Once he brought the car to a stop, the smoke turned to fire and the No. 3S became completely engulfed in flames. Thankfully, Shirley emerged from the car uninjured.

The two weeks since the incident have brought even more attrition, as Shirley has battled through more engine problems, tire failures, crashes and more. Multiple trips have been made up Interstate 95 to Longhorn Chassis and Durham Racing Engines in North Carolina to keep Shirley’s trailer stocked. With a return to World of Outlaws competition on the horizon, Shirley would love nothing more than an uneventful DIRTcar Nationals to get his season back on track.

GATOR HUNTERS: While plenty of teams are rolling into DIRTcar Nationals looking for a turnaround, several others are ready to let the good times keep rolling in the “Sunshine State.”

Eleven years removed from his World of Outlaws debut at I-30 Speedway in 2014, Garrett Alberson finally won with the Series for the first time three weeks ago. It was his second win of the season after getting his first in New Mexico at the Wild West Shootout, placing him alongside Bobby Pierce, Ricky Thornton Jr., Devin Moran and Jonathan Davenport as the only drivers with multiple Super Late Model wins in 2025.

All five drivers are expected to be in attendance this week aiming to add to their totals. Pierce leads the way with four wins so far this year, but he failed to crack the top five in two attempts at Volusia. The record books show that those runs were the exception rather than the norm, as the 2023 Series champion is a four-time Feature winner at Volusia between World of Outlaws and DIRTcar competition.

For Moran, Sunshine Nationals was a tale of two nights, as he missed the Feature on Friday before finishing fourth on Saturday. “The Mailman” has won five times with the Outlaws at Volusia since 2021, more than any other driver in that span.

Thornton’s first trip to Volusia last month was nothing short of a nightmare, as he was a DNQ on Friday and finished 19th on Saturday. However, his Koehler Motorsports teammate Jimmy Owens led the first 41 laps of Saturday’s Sunshine Nationals Feature.

Davenport will return to Volusia this week after doing everything but win a race at Sunshine Nationals. Not only did he pick up a pair of runner-ups in his first trip to the event, he was the only member of the field to finish in the top five on both nights. “Superman” finally found the top step of the podium at Ocala Speedway twice last week after four second-place finishes on the year, and he’s looking to carry that momentum into DIRTcar Nationals as he chases his first Volusia win since 2018.

WHEN AND WHERE:
Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 13-15 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL

CURRENT POINT STANDINGS:
1. Cody Overton (572 points)
2. Ethan Dotson (-4)
3. Brandon Sheppard (-4)
4. Ryan Gustin (-8)
5. Nick Hoffman (-10)
6. Bobby Pierce (-12)
7. Drake Troutman (-14)
8. Kyle Bronson (-20)
9. Cade Dillard (-20)
10. Max Blair (-24)

FEATURE WINNERS (2):
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 1

HEAT RACE WINNERS (10):
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 2
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – 1
Ethan Dotson – Bakersfield, CA – 1
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1
Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 1
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 1

LANDA PRESSURE WASHERS LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (5):
Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 2
Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – 1
Mike Marlar – Winfield, TN – 1
Dustin Sorensen – Rochester, MN – 1
Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1

PODIUM FINISHERS (5):
Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 2
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 1
Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1

FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGERS (2):
Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – 1
Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 1

SIMPSON RACING PRODUCTS QUICK TIMES (2):
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 1
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1

BILSTEIN POLE AWARD (2):
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 1
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 1

FEATURE LAP LEADERS (4):
Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 41
Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 19
Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – 16
Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 9

2025 WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODELS SCHEDULE & WINNERS
Friday, Jan. 24 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Ryan Gustin (1)
Saturday, Jan. 25 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL / Garrett Alberson (1)
Thursday, Feb. 13 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL
Friday, Feb. 14 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL
Saturday, Feb. 15 / Volusia Speedway Park / Barberville, FL
Friday, Mar. 14 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN
Saturday, Mar. 15 / Smoky Mountain Speedway / Maryville, TN
Friday, Mar. 21 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA
Saturday, Mar. 22 / Swainsboro Raceway / Swainsboro, GA
Friday, Apr. 4 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH
Saturday, Apr. 5 / Atomic Speedway / Chillicothe, OH
Thursday, Apr. 10 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL (Practice)
Friday, Apr. 11 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Saturday, Apr. 12 / Farmer City Raceway / Farmer City, IL
Friday, Apr. 25 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Saturday, Apr. 26 / Talladega Short Track / Eastaboga, AL
Thursday, May 1 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Friday, May 2 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Saturday, May 3 / Mississippi Thunder Speedway / Fountain City, WI
Thursday, May 15 / Raceway 7 / Conneaut, OH
Friday, May 16 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Saturday, May 17 / Marion Center Raceway / Marion Center, PA
Sunday, May 18 / Bedford Speedway / Bedford, PA
Friday, June 20 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
Saturday, June 21 / Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 / Pevely, MO
Monday, June 23 / Independence Motor Speedway / Independence, IA
Thursday, June 26 / I-94 EMR Speedway / Fergus Falls, MN
Friday, June 27 / River Cities Speedway / Grand Forks, ND
Saturday, June 28 / Norman County Raceway / Ada, MN
Sunday, June 29 / Nodak Speedway / Minot, ND
Thursday, July 3 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 4 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Saturday, July 5 / Deer Creek Speedway / Spring Valley, MN
Friday, July 11 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Saturday, July 12 / Sharon Speedway / Hartford, OH
Friday, July 25 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Saturday, July 26 / Fairbury Speedway / Fairbury, IL
Monday, July 28 / Wilmot Raceway / Wilmot, WI
Thursday, July 31 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Friday, Aug. 1 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Saturday, Aug. 2 / Cedar Lake Speedway / New Richmond, WI
Wednesday, Aug. 13 / Highland Speedway / Highland, IL
Thursday, Aug. 14 / Spoon River Speedway / Lewistown, IL
Friday, Aug. 15 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Saturday, Aug. 16 / Maquoketa Speedway / Maquoketa, IA
Friday, Aug. 22 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Saturday, Aug. 23 / Arrowhead Speedway / Colcord, OK
Friday, Sept. 12 / Needmore Speedway / Norman Park, GA
Saturday, Sept. 13 / Senoia Raceway / Senoia, GA
Friday, Sept. 26 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Saturday, Sept. 27 / Tri-City Speedway / Granite City, IL
Friday, Oct. 3 / Humboldt Speedway / Humboldt, KS
Saturday, Oct. 4 / 81 Speedway / Wichita, KS
Friday, Oct. 10 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Saturday, Oct. 11 / Boothill Speedway / Greenwood, LA
Wednesday, Nov. 5 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Thursday, Nov. 6 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Friday, Nov. 7 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC
Saturday, Nov. 8 / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, NC

DETROIT – The 2025 Blazer EV SS – the quickest SS model Chevrolet has ever produced1 – will pace the 67th DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) on Sunday, February 16, 2025. The Blazer EV SS, set to go on sale later this quarter, is equipped with Wide Open Watts (WOW), which propels the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds2, and produces 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft torque. The pace car set for the DAYTONA 500 is a production vehicle with no performance upgrades and features custom graphics and embedded strobe lighting.“Chevrolet has a long history with racing – it’s in our DNA – and the Blazer EV SS is a testament to that,” said Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet. “We’re excited for customers to watch the Blazer EV SS — the quickest SS we’ve ever produced — pace such an iconic race this weekend.” The Blazer EV SS also features front Brembo brakes, a sport-tuned chassis, a best-in-class317.7-inch-diagonal color touchscreen4, standard Super Cruise driver assistance technology5 and offers an EPA-estimated 303 miles of range.6“We’re honored to have Chevrolet as a founding partner of Daytona International Speedway, and that the iconic brand chose to feature the all-new Blazer EV SS at the DAYTONA 500,” said DIS track president Frank Kelleher. “The Blazer EV SS is surely going to set the pace for another exciting race.” This marks the first time a Blazer has paced “The Great American Race,” the first time an EV has paced the race and the 16th time Chevrolet has led the DAYTONA 500 field to green. Another Electrifying Surprise Planned for Daytona

Chevrolet will also debut its Blazer EV.R NASCAR Prototype ahead of the DAYTONA 500. The prototype represents a joint effort between NASCAR and OEM partners, with the intent of exploring new and emerging automotive technologies.  “Our Chevrolet V8 engines continue to be an important part of NASCAR. Racing has always been an important platform for Chevrolet to test, learn and explore new technologies,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president – GM Performance & Motorsports.  Chevrolet will also pace the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck races at DIS that weekend. Corvette Stingray will be the pace car for the Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on Saturday, February 15.Chevrolet Silverado RST will be the pace vehicle for the Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 on Friday, February 14.  “Chevrolet is extremely proud to be a part of NASCAR’s season openers by pacing all of the events this year at the famed World Center of Racing,” said Campbell. “We are privileged to continue our relationship with Daytona International Speedway again in 2025.” Race fans can get a close-up look at all four models – Blazer EV SS, Blazer EV.R, Corvette Stingray and Silverado RST – at various Chevrolet display properties at DIS. Chevrolet swept all three NASCAR Manufacturers’ Championships in 2024 for the second year in a row. Across the three NASCAR series, Chevrolet has 102 wins at Daytona International Speedway including winning the DAYTONA 500 26 times – more than any other manufacturer.  William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is the defending DAYTONA 500 champion.

After struggling at Volusia in the past, the Californian conquered the Florida half mile this week

BARBERVILLE, FL (February 8, 2025) – Volusia Speedway Park can elude Kyle Larson and Paul Silva no more.

The potent pairing rolled into Federated DIRTcar Nationals week with no trips to Volusia Victory Lane. Larson had tried and tried and come close but fallen short. He’d been on the podium but not the top step. In a couple short days, “Yung Money” completely changed his narrative at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.”

After a third and second on Wednesday and Thursday, Larson finally broke through on Friday to wave his first Volusia checkered flag. But he wasn’t done there.

Larson and the Silva Motorsports crew returned just as strong for Saturday. They entered the night needing to finish third or better to secure the coveted Big Gator. They opted for the better option to get the job done. Winning.

The Elk Grove, CA native was unstoppable in the event finale. David Gravel got the initial jump and took the lead from the second starting spot, but it only took Larson five laps to wheel his way from fourth to the top spot. He ripped the cushion around Gravel to claim the lead and drive. Logan Schuchart looked to challenge him late but ultimately couldn’t make the move. Larson grabbed the win, a $20,000 payday, and the Big Gator.

“This has just been a track that’s historically and statistically been probably our weakest,” Larson admitted. “It’s been great to come here and have speed every time we hit the track, and to cap off the week with a Big Gator is something I’ve honestly dreamt about for a long time just because of how bad we’ve been here. Great to get the win there.”

All it took for Larson to get the advantage was Gravel leaving the door open once. When Gravel chose not to use the top in the early laps, Larson knew he couldn’t be stopped. Once he got the lead, it was simply a matter of taking care of business in lapped traffic.

“I don’t know if he could hear me or maybe thought I was down there, but he peeled down and I was like, ‘You’re done,’” Larson said. “Then I felt like I did a decent job in traffic there. But it got so single file, and the air becomes so bad and your tires are getting hot and losing grip. It’s just tough.”

Larson upped his total to 37 career victories with the World of Outlaws. A day after he added Volusia to his list, he made it the eighth track in which he’s won at multiple times with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He’s also the 12^th driver to top at least two World of Outlaws Feature at Volusia. Larson is just the sixth competitor to claim two straight at Volusia, joining Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Brad Sweet, Daryn Pittman, and David Gravel.

After passing Gravel late, Logan Schuchart brought the Shark Racing No. 1S home second. He continues an encouraging start to 2025 after a discouraging 2024. The Hanover, PA native leaves Volusia with finishes of fourth, third, eighth, and second. He had only three podiums last season, and he’s already up to a pair with only four races in the books. Schuchart thought he might’ve been the one standing in Victory Lane if not for a late caution.

“I kind of wanted to push the issue there at the end,” Schuchart said. “I was kind of hoping the caution wouldn’t come out because I felt like we were really closing. Kyle was still kind of searching around a little bit, and I felt like maybe I could capitalize. But after the restart, I just wanted to play the tire game. I knew it was important to finish the race. Right there at the end he tried to go around a lapped car on the outside, and I thought I might be able to stick my nose in there, but I wasn’t quite close enough to make that happen.”

Rounding out the podium was David Gravel as he and Big Game Motorsports continue the strong start to their title defense. The Watertown, CT native finished no worse than fourth all week in Florida. He’ll leave as the de facto points leader. While he found himself wishing he could’ve found a way to win once, Gravel left the week happy with his team’s consistency.

“Being the leader there under the red Cody (Jacobs) told me he was kind of running below me and I was running the middle,” Gravel explained. “And on that restart, Kyle started pounding the top and drove around me. Sometimes it’s better running second. I’m kind of disappointed I lost second place there to Logan. I didn’t really have a shot to win the race after that. We had the track position tonight and couldn’t capitalize. Sometimes that’s the way racing goes, but I’m very proud of the week we had.”

Carson Macedo and Tyler Courtney completed the top five.

Ryan Timms claimed his second KSE Racing Hard Charger of the week with a drive from 19^th to sixth.

Logan Schuchart claimed his 37^th career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to Logan Schuchart, Kyle Larson, and Bill Balog. WIX Filters Heat Three went to David Gravel.

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Tyler Courtney.

Courtney also topped the Toyota Racing Dash.

Garet Williamson won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars take three weeks off before returning to Barberville, FL’s Volusia Speedway Park for the Bike Week Jamboree on March 2-3. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap all season long on DIRTVision.

For the entire 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car schedule, CLICK HERE.

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 3. 2-David Gravel[2]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[10]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 6. 10-Ryan Timms[19]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz[12]; 8. 83-Michael Kofoid[6]; 9. 71-Parker Price Miller[8]; 10. 26-Justin Peck[11]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[9]; 12. 24D-Danny Sams III[16]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich[20]; 14. 49-Brad Sweet[14]; 15. 21-Brian Brown[7]; 16. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[25]; 17. 1A-Jacob Allen[17]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl[24]; 19. 5-Brenham Crouch[15]; 20. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[18]; 21. 7S-Chris Windom[23]; 22. 6-Zach Hampton[26]; 23. 23-Garet Williamson[21]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[27]; 25. 39M-Anthony Macri[13]; 26. 28-Conner Morrell[22]; 27. 17B-Bill Balog[3]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

OCALA, FL (February 8, 2025) – Devin Moran outdueled Jonathan Davenport to claim victory in the 50-lap Wieland Winter Nationals finale on Saturday night at Ocala Speedway after starting from the inside of the fourth row. This event marked the largest payout in track history, with Moran taking home $25,000 for his third series win of the season. Davenport crossed the line in second, followed by Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Overton, and Garrett Alberson. Davenport seemed to control the race until Moran went to the top side of turns one and two, successfully tracking down Davenport to take the race lead for good with about 12 laps remaining after the two had exchanged the lead several times. Moran had claimed the second position from Thornton following a caution at the halfway point and then aggressively pursued Davenport after the last caution occurred with 20 laps left. Moran, in Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 18th time in his career, came from the seventh starting spot to claim the win. It was Moran’s third career win at Ocala. “I just gassed on it. This is why we come to Florida for Speedweeks. Everybody has been talking about this or that, and obviously, we aren’t at East Bay. We all love East Bay, but this is my favorite time of year. We just put on one hell of a show for the crowd here and everyone watching home,” said the Dresden, Ohio native. “My the biggest problem was that I just couldn’t restart well all week; however, I finally found the track that could help me restart better. I went wherever they were, and JD was turning down just enough for me to get a run. That last one was really good, but I needed the long runs. We kept having caution after caution, and I was worried about Ricky underneath me. I didn’t expect to finish seventh to win tonight. Last night had the best track conditions, but they still needed to work on it a little, and they did that. They provided us with an amazing experience racetrack.” Davenport, who led the most laps during the race, came home with his third runner-up finish during Speedweeks. “We I went with a soft tire there, and I think we were the only car in the field to do so. I don’t know if that played a role, but I probably wouldn’t have gotten the lead without the soft tire. Devin did a great job; I knew it was going to be moving around. I just got slower and slower on the bottom, and I was kind of stuck there with that tire, so I couldn’t really move around a lot. Once I moved all the way to the top, I was okay, but it was a long way around and pretty treacherous. What a cool racetrack to be that wide! It actually raced a lot better than I thought it would there.” Thornton, the defending series champion, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. “The the racetrack was awesome! Bubba told us he was going to get us to where we were running the wall, and I literally think I was on the wall. It was probably the best racetrack we had all week. In the end, I think I made the wrong tire call; we went hard, and the track didn’t slow down as much as I needed it to. Congrats to Devin and JD; they each drove a great race. I almost wish I had in-car camera because it was pretty fun watching those two race it out out.” The winner’s Double Down Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Lazyday’s RV, C&W Trucking, Bomag, Millwood Plumbing, Refuel Wellness, Phillips CPA, Bilstein Shocks, Red Oak Pub, Pee Wee’s Wrecker Service,CarSourceAuto.com, McHugh Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, Haulin’ Haskell’s, Phillips CPA, Eibach Springs, Smoky Mountain Speedway, and Anthony’s Pizza. Completing the top ten were Drake Troutman, Hudson O’Neal, Max Blair, Mark Whitener, and Tanner English. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 5Saturday, February 8, 2025Ocala Speedway – Ocala, FL Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Garrett Alberson | 14.398 seconds (overall)Fast Time Group B: Jonathan Davenport | 14.497 seconds  Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[5]; 4. 5-Mark Whitener[4]; 5. 96-Tanner English[3]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 7. 15K-Wil Herrington[9]; 8. 8-Dillon McCowan[8]; 9. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 10. 81J-Jack Riggs[10]; 11. 81-Jason Riggs[11]; 12. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[12] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 17SS-Brenden Smith[4]; 4. 18D-Daulton Wilson[3]; 5. 111-Max Blair[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[9]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs[6]; 10. 57-Matt Tifft[11]; 11. 09-Michael Leach[10]; 12. (DNS) 000-Matt Nailor Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 3. 9-Tim McCreadie[5]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[9]; 5. 79-Donald McIntosh[7]; 6. 24-Tyler Wyant[10]; 7. 7-Ross Robinson[3]; 8. C4-Freddie Carpenter[8]; 9. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 10. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 11. (DNS) 11-Austin Smith; 12. (DNS) 18-Chase Junghans Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 6. 60-Dan Ebert[9]; 7. 19M-Spencer Hughes[7]; 8. 28B-Carson Brown[10]; 9. 93L-Cory Lawler[8]; 10. 43-Derrick Stewart[6]; 11. (DNS) 32J-Jason Jack Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 96-Tanner English[1]; 2. 111-Max Blair[2]; 3. 6-Clay Harris[3]; 4. 15K-Wil Herrington[5]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[9]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 8. 57-Matt Tifft[12]; 9. 17Z-Seth Zacharias[15]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 11. (DNS) 32-Bobby Pierce; 12. (DNS) 8-Dillon McCowan; 13. (DNS) 81J-Jack Riggs; 14. (DNS) 81-Jason Riggs; 15. (DNS) 09-Michael Leach; 16. (DNS) 000-Matt Nailor UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 2. 79-Donald McIntosh[1]; 3. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 4. 28B-Carson Brown[8]; 5. 93L-Cory Lawler[10]; 6. 19M-Spencer Hughes[6]; 7. 24-Tyler Wyant[3]; 8. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[11]; 9. 43-Derrick Stewart[12]; 10. 7-Ross Robinson[5]; 11. (DNS) C4-Freddie Carpenter; 12. (DNS) 3S-Brian Shirley; 13. (DNS) 11-Austin Smith; 14. (DNS) 32J-Jason Jack; 15. (DNS) 18-Chase Junghans Wieland Winter Nationals | Night 5 Feature Finish (50 Laps): Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 7 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $26,0002 – 2 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – $11,2003 – 1 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $7,0004 – 6 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $4,0005 – 5 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $4,2006 – 4 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $3,4007 – 12 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,3008 – 19 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $3,0009 – 13 – 5 – Mark Whitener – Middleburg, FL – $2,20010 – 17 – 96 – Tanner English – Benton, KY – $2,10011 – 23 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $2,70012 – 16 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,90013 – 14 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – $1,80014 – 21 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $2,40015 – 9 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,60016 – 15 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $2,20017 – 3 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $2,20018 – 11 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $2,20019 – 18 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $1,50020 – 20 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – $1,50021 – 25 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – $10022 – 22 – 20 – Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – $2,30023 – 10 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – $2,60024 – 8 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,20025 – 24 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – $2,200 Race Statistics  Entrants: 47Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.MD3 Lap Leaders: Jonathan Davenport (Laps 1-37); Devin Moran (Laps 38-50)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Jonathan DavenportWieland Feature Winner: Devin MoranColtman Farms Racing Cautions: Carson Ferguson (Lap 16); Brandon Sheppard (Lap 17); Daniel Hilsabeck (Lap 25); Dan Ebert (Lap 27); Tyler Erb (Lap 29); Tim McCreadie (Lap 30)Series Provisionals: Ross Robinson; Boom BriggsFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisional: Spencer HughesTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Penske Shocks Top 5: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Brandon Overton, Garrett AlbersonPEM 4th Place Feature: Brandon OvertonDMI Rearends 5th Place Feature: Garrett AlbersonWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Hudson O’NealWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Ross RobinsonDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Dennis Erb, Jr.MD3 24th Place Feature: Carson FergusonHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Ross Robinson (Advanced 12 Positions) MD3 Most Laps Led: Jonathan Davenport (37 Laps)Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport Pro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard (Lap 16 | 15.434 seconds)Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Devin MoranHard Luck Award: Brandon SheppardOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Chuck KimbleARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Tim McCreadie (14.526 seconds)Time of Race: 35 minutes 27 seconds Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 49 – Jonathan Davenport – Blairsville, GA – 1165 – $51,4002 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 1160 – $64,5003 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 1150 – $48,3004 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1055 – $24,3505 – 18D – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – 1020 – $22,4756 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 980 – $18,4507 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – 970 – $17,9008 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 965 – $21,2259 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 965 – $20,95010 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 965 – $16,70011 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 900 – $12,00012 – 16 – Tyler Bruening – Decorah, IA – 895 – $20,00013 – 19M – Spencer Hughes – Meridian, MS – 875 – $9,80014 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – 850 – $16,75015 – 20 – Jimmy Owens – Newport, TN – 820 – $12,80016 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 805 – $12,37517 – 9 – Tim McCreadie – Watertown, NY – 800 – $16,15018 – 79 – Donald McIntosh – Dawsonville, GA – 785 – $6,40019 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 780 – $6,70020 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – 765 – $11,10021 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 740 – $8,82522 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – 685 – $6,35023 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 680 – $5,72524 – 19R – Ryan Gustin – Marshalltown, IA – 680 – $3,80025 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – 670 – $4,27526 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 660 – $4,05027 – 5 – Mark Whitener – Middleburg, FL – 635 – $5,92528 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 635 – $3,97529 – 17SS – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 615 – $5,60030 – 99B – Boom Briggs – Bear Lake, PA – 540 – $4,800

Photography: John Force Racing / Auto Imagery / Gary Nastase

PROCK FALLS IN FINAL ROUND AT PRO SUPERSTAR SHOOTOUTBeckman, Brittany Reach Semifinals in Pre-Season Event at Bradenton

BRADENTON, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2025) – Ron Capps spoiled Austin Prock’s otherwise perfect week Saturday, beating the reigning NHRA Funny Car Champion and his Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS in the final round of the second annual PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Despite the final round outcome, it was a solid preparatory week for all three of the teams representing John Force Racing in the 20-race NHRA Mission Foods Series that begins March 7-9 with the 56th Gatornationals at Gainesville, Fla. In addition to Prock’s performance, which included a best-in-history 3.791 second run in the final qualifying session, Jack Beckman reached the semifinals from a No. 2 start in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevy, and after failing to make the eight-car feature a year ago, Brittany Force put up impressive numbers in the Monster Energy dragster before she, too, exited one round before the big money. It also was a big week for the team’s founder and CEO, 16-time series champion John Force, who was a welcome presence in the JFR compound even though he still is receiving treatment for the Traumatic Brain Injury he suffered in a crash last June at Richmond, Va. “My wife, Laurie, told me I needed to get back in the game,” said the 157-time NHRA tour winner. “And being here in Bradenton was just good for my heart. Watching everybody work, watching the cars and the teams and seeing old friends like Capps, it was just special. “We didn’t win, but I was excited just to be where I need to be,” he said. “Running my teams and supporting Cornwell, PEAK, Monster, HendrickCars.com and all our other partners. I can’t wait to get to Gainesville. To tell you the truth, this is the first time since Richmond I really felt alive again.”  After posting the best number during testing (3.805) and after making the quickest run in each of the four qualifying sessions (3.861, 3.882, 3.860 and the aforementioned 3.791), Prock’s Chevy wasn’t the quickest car in any round on Saturday including the final in which it experienced clutch issues and slowed to 4.003 while Capps powered through to a time of 3.870 at 330.47 mph. “Another great start to the year,” Prock said. “We made it to the final round and ran some pretty competitive ETs throughout the day (3.876 and 3.883 in the first two rounds). The thing left hard. It was marching but by the time I got past the Christmas Tree, the clutch broke and it was essentially running in neutral all the way down there. “Tough way to lose,” he said. “But I guess better here than at the NHRA event in a few weeks. Really proud of this Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS team. They did an outstanding job all weekend. We have four people who are in new positions on this team and one of them is totally new to Funny Car racing and they all did a great job.  “Really proud of my crew chiefs, my dad, brother (Thomas) and Nate (Hildahl). This thing was on kill all weekend. To lay down the quickest pass in Funny Car history and to have the fastest one as well, maybe one day we’ll get those two numbers paired up.  But great start. We’ve got a lot of work to do in this next month to get ready for Gainesville and I’m chomping at the bit.” The last Funny Car driver to break 3.80 seconds was Matt Hagan, who ran 3.799 to qualify No. 1 for the Labor Day U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in 2017. The official NHRA record remains 3.793, the time recorded by Prock’s predecessor, JFR President Robert Hight, on Aug. 18, 2017, at Brainerd, Minn. Last November, Prock equaled the fastest speed in Funny Car history when he accelerated to 341.68 mph at the In-N-Out Burger Finals at Pomona, Calif., setting the official NHRA record in the process. The only other driver to break the 340 barrier is Bob Tasca III, who did so at last year’s PRO Shootout.   Coincidentally, Prock and Tasca were paired in Saturday’s first round through the unique chip draw system the Shootout uses to determine who races whom. Prock powered away in that one, beating Tasca at the start (.056 to .069) and at the finish (3.876. 330.71 mph to 3.917, 324.67 mph). After qualifying in the No. 3 position, Brittany delivered big in her first round of racing in the Shootout, beating 2023 World Champion Doug Kalitta to the finish, 3.736, 332.08 mph, to 3.768, 325.37 mph. Unfortunately, she ran afoul of Shawn Reed’s .054 reaction time in round two despite a slightly quicker 3.752 track time. “After this weekend, this Monster Energy, David Grubnic-run team is in a very good place,” said the two-time Top Fuel World Champion who, at Gainesville, will be racing on the track on which she won her very first race in 2016. “We are way ahead of ourselves from where we were last season.  “We were here for five days; we tested all week long and made some killer and consistent passes,” she said. “We qualified third for this PRO Superstar Shootout and made a semifinal appearance.  “We had one of the top-running cars (and) should have turned the win light on in the semifinals, but I was slow off the light,” she said. “That’s something I’ve struggled with, but that’s something I can fix and will figure out going into this season. I’m pumped with this new group and excited to see what we can accomplish.” Beckman, who was the color commentator at last year’s Superstar Shootout, may not have been as quick this week as his Funny Car teammate and may not have made it to the final round, but he was no less enthusiastic about his race car and the upcoming season, the first in five years in which he will race the entire NHRA schedule in pursuit of a championship he last won in 2012. “Remember, coming out here was for pre-season testing,” he said. “We brought out a brand-new race car that had never been down the racetrack. We tested superchargers, we tested clutches, we tested some more spare parts. And we get to cross all of that off the list. That’s done; that’s ready to go race.  “We lost a close race against Capps, but we were only a hundredth behind them (3.860, 336.07 mph to 3.871, 330.55 mph) and we didn’t have lane choice,” he said. “Nobody is going to leave here with their head hung low.   “In fact, maybe it gives us a little more extra incentive in four weeks in Gainesville. So, I think this PEAK Chevy SS looked good this weekend. We have one new crew member and he got a chance to get up to speed in race conditions; everything we tested works and now we get to start the season and race for points.”

BRADENTON, FLA. (February 8, 2025) — Josh Hart entered the 2nd annual SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout looking to build momentum for a 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship chase. After three days of testing and three days of racing the team owner of the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster is encouraged by what his team accomplished even though they came up just short of a victory against Shawn Reed.

“I can’t really put it into words. The team did 14 or 15 passes, and that’s more than I’ve ever done in my career in one session,” said Hart. “The fact that nobody complained, and everybody kept working. We were up at seven, we were going to bed at midnight, and essentially, we never really got a break to get much sleep. It was constant. To see the car go from a 3.79 to a 3.75 to 3.74, 3.73, 3.72, we’re right there. We knew when it got cool out, we needed to bring it. And we’re working on that, that’s what I’m trying to tell everybody. We’re very, very happy with where we’re at.”

Josh Hart takes off in final round of PRO Superstar Shootout, photo courtesy of Auto Imagery

In the first round Hart dispatched NASCAR Hall of Famer turned drag racer Tony Stewart. Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner was first off the line with a .061 reaction time and he never trailed in the race. His winning elapsed time of 3.726 seconds was quickest of the session and gave him lane choice over Justin Ashley in the semifinals.

Racing fellow championship contender Ashley, he was again at the top of his game off the starting line leaving with Ashley, .054 to .051 seconds and taking the lead by 100 feet. Hart continued to pull away with a winning elapsed time of 3.721 seconds, his quickest run of the week in the warmest conditions, to advance to the final round. Hart would face Shawn Reed in a battle of independent team owners.

Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster runner-up at PRO Superstar Shootout, courtesy of Auto Imagery

The final round was a race that the fans in attendance at Bradenton Motorsports Park will be talking about for years. Both dragsters left the starting line together and as they powered down the track the lead was changing as the finish line rushed to greet the 11,000-horsepowered Top Fuel dragsters. At the finish line stripe, it was Reed getting the nose of his dragster to the line first winning for the first time in his career. The final numbers had Reed posting the only run in the 3.60s, a strong 3.699 second run beside Hart’s 3.724 second run. It was another strong run for Hart whose goal for the weekend was consistency and team building. 

“We didn’t hurt a bunch of stuff, other than a rear end breaking,” said Hart. “It’s a great group of guys, the morale is different. The vibe is different. It was a lot more fun. As a team owner, I’m hoping that it just went full circle, and now we’re riding the wave up.”

Hart will be back on track in Florida at the historic Gatornationals, an event he won in 2021, March 6-9, 2025 at Gainesville Raceway.

Race Results

First Round

Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.061), 3.726 sec, 319.67 mph def, Tony Stewart, Mobil 1 Top Fuel dragster, Brownsburg, Ind., (.074), 4.974 sec, 142.40 mph

Semifinals
Josh Hart, R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.054), 3.721 sec, 318.77 mph def. Justin Ashley, SCAG Power Equipment Top Fuel dragster, (.051), 3.767 sec, 327.59 mph

Finals
Shawn Reed, Reed Trucking and Excavation Top Fuel dragster, (.065), 3.699 sec, 330.39 mph def. Josh Hart, R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster, (.067), 3.724 sec, 321.27 mph

Top Fuel
First Round
Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., (.086), 3.736 sec, 33.08 mph (W) 
Doug Kalitta, Ypsilanti, Mich., (.064), 3.768 sec, 325.37 mph

Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., (.061), 3.726 sec, 319.67 mph (W)
Tony Stewart, Brownsburg, Ind., (.074), 4.974 sec, 142.40 mph

Shawn Reed, Seattle, Wash., (.076), 3.785 sec, 326.24 mph (W)
Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., (.073), 4.769 sec, 155.58 mph

Justin Ashley, Plainview, NY, (.033), 3.943 sec, 279.679 mph (W)
Shawn Langdon, Avon, Ind., (.050), 8.088 sec, 85.70 mph

Semifinals
Shawn Reed, (.054), 3.768 sec, 320.66 mph (W)
Brittany Force, (.096), 3.752 sec, 327.51 mph

Josh Hart, (.054), 3.721 sec, 318.77 mph (W)
Justin Ashley, (.051), 3.767 sec, 327.59 mph

Finals
Shawn Reed, (.065), 3.699 sec, 330.39 mph (W)
Josh Hart, (.067), 3,724 sec, 321.27 mph

Funny Car
First Round
Chad Green, Midland Texas., (.057), 3.991 sec, 323.43 mph (W)
Bobby Bode, Villa Park, Calif., (.083), 4.074 sec, 269.89 mph

Ron Capps, Carlsbad, Calif., (.087), 3.863 sec, 333.41 mph (W)
Daniel Wilkerson, Springfield, Ill., (.087), 3.892 sec, 315.34

Jack Beckman, Yorba Linda, Calif., (.085), 3.875 sec, 331.04 mph (W)
Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., (.065), 3.938 sec, 325.14 mph

Austin Prock, Brownsburg, Ind., (.056), 3.876 sec, 330.72 mph (W)
Bob Tasca III, Hope, R.I., (.069), 3.917 sec, 324.67 mph
 
Semifinals
Ron Capps, (.073), 3.860 sec, 336.07 mph (W)
Jack Beckman (.085), 3.871 sec, 330.55 mph

Austin Prock (.065), 3.883 sec, 332.02 mph (W)
Chad Green (.003),, 4.035 sec, 323.04 mph
 
Finals
Ron Capps (.066), 3.870 sec, 330.47 mph (W)
Austin Prock (.040), 4.003 sec, 316.60 mph

Pro Stock 
First Round 
David Cuadra, McAllen, Texas, (.043), 10.270 sec, 130.39 mph (W) 
Matt Latino, Port Perry, Ontario, (.044), 13.528 sec, 73.39 mph 

Jeg Coughlin Jr., Delaware, Ohio, (.006), 6.578 sec, 209.82 mph (W) 
Dallas Glenn, Mooresville, N.C., (.009), 9.575 sec, 97.29 mph 

Greg Anderson, Charlotte, N.C., (.014), 6.533 sec, 210.57 mph (W)
Erica Enders, Houston, Texas, (.021), 6.559 sec, 210.18 mph 

Aaron Stanfield, Bossier City, La., (.039), 6.559 sec, 210.18 mph (W) 
Chris McGaha, Odessa, Texas, (.037), 6.616 sec, 209.59 mph 

Cristian Cuadra, Edinburg, Texas, (.014), 6.564 sec, 209.10 mph (W)
Fernando Cuadra Jr., Leon, Texas, (-.006), 6.569 sec, 206.26 mph 

Troy Coughlin Jr., Columbus, Ohio, (.023), 6.555 sec, 209.23 mph (W) 
Bo Butner, Sanibel Island, Fla., (.054), 6.607 sec, 208.68 mph 

Cory Reed, Kannapolis, N.C., (.017), 6.545 sec, 209.52 mph (W) 
Mason McGaha, Odessa, Texas, (.044), 6.597 sec, 206.48 mph 

Greg Stanfield, Bossier City, La., (.026), 6.595 sec, 209.59 mph (W) 
Deric Kramer, Sterling, Colo., (.022), 7.325 sec, 158.93 mph
 
Second Round 
Troy Coughlin Jr., (.041), 6.609 sec, 209.23 mph (W) 
Greg Anderson, (.034), 6.619 sec, 205.69 mph 

Cory Reed, (.019), 6.567 sec, 209.23 mph (W) 
Jeg Coughlin Jr., (.028), 18.705 sec, 38.15 mph 

Greg Stanfield, (.018), 6.592 sec, 209.01 mph (W) 
Aaron Stanfield, (.039), 6.588 sec, 208.62 mph 

David Cuadra, (.036), 6.602 sec, 208.65 mph (W) 
Cristian Cuadra, (-.003), 6.590 sec, 207.78 mph 
 
Semifinals 
Cory Reed, (.021), 6.563 sec, 209.43 mph (W) 
Greg Stanfield, (.036), 6.582 sec, 208.68 mph 

Troy Coughlin Jr., (.064), 6.571 sec, 208.97 mph (W) 
David Cuadra, (.039), 6.598 sec, 207.50 mph 
 
Finals 
Troy Coughlin Jr., (.034), 11.859 sec, 121.67 mph (W) 
Cory Reed, (-.017), 12.897 sec, 67.15 mph 
 

 

BRADENTON, FLA. (February 8, 2025) — The 2nd annual SCAG Power Equipment PRO Superstar Shootout concluded tonight with Shawn Reed capturing his first professional Top Fuel career win, Ron Capps defeating Austin Prock in an epic Funny Car final and Troy Coughlin Jr., winning Pro Stock over No. 1 qualifier Cory Reed. A near capacity crowd at Bradenton Motorsports Park was treated to a full day of elimination rounds and a free concert from Andy Ross, the American Rebel, at the conclusion of the three-day mega racing event.

SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout winner (l to r) Pro Stock, Troy Coughlin, Jr.; Funny Car, Ron Capps; Top Fuel Shawn Reed, photo courtesy of Krista Zivcic

In the Top Fuel final Reed was facing Floridian and multi-time Top Fuel national event winner Josh Hart. Hart had posted the two quickest elapsed times in the first and second round of race day. Both 11,000-horsepower Top Fuel dragsters jumped off the starting line together and it was Reed getting to the finish line first with a strong 3.699 second run at 330.39 mph just in front of Hart’s equally impressive 3.724 second run at 321.27 mph. Reed’s pass was the quickest of the day in Top Fuel as cooler temperatures created optimal racing conditions.

“This is flat out incredible right now,” said an exuberant Reed at the top end. “It’s impossible to think ahead because you haven’t done anything. I have to thank Red Line Oil, Matco Tools, All American Automotive. Thanks to all the fans. Man, it’s been great with all these people out here. I’m more than blessed right now, and I’m probably happy as I’ve been in a long, long time.”

Top Fuel winner Shawn Reed, photo courtesy of Krista Zivcic

“I’m so happy for my crew guys. They put up with a lot last year. I lost a lot of races for them,” said Reed. “We won a race, and they can’t take that back from us. And this is a pretty big race, too, by the way, it’s the eight best, guys in the NHRA.”

Three-time Funny Car world champion Capps was looking to stop the Funny Car driver with the most momentum heading into the final in Austin Prock. As the defending event winner and reigning Funny Car champion Prock was looking to go back-to-back in Bradenton, but Capps and crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli took the win in a spectacular final round. Capps turned on the win light with a 3.870 second run at 330.47 mph to get to the stripe first in front of Prock’s 4.003 second, 316.60 mph pass. 

Funny Car winner Ron Capps thrilled with win at PRO Superstar Shootout, photo courtesy of Krista Zivcic

At the top end Capps was overjoyed and surprised to realize he had stopped one of the hottest drivers in the category. Nice new-look NAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra started the season with three win lights and a trip to the PRO Superstar Shootout winner’s circle.

“This event is special. It’s the second year we’ve done anything like this, but you have an all-star cast,” said Capps. “Back in the day, as a kid, you know, I read about the Orange County races and all the stuff, where everybody showed up. This SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout is what it’s all about. A lot of our sponsors are big supporters of this event, so thank you, SCAG, for putting all that money up. We’re gonna love it, but our NAPA guys, (crew chief) Guido. I cannot say enough about how hard he’s worked, and this is the fruit of our team’s labor.”

The professional final rounds started with Pro Stock showcasing the young talent of Cory Reed, driving for KB Titan Racing and Troy Coughlin Jr. representing Elite Motorsports. Reed, a second year Pro Stock driver, was looking for his first career win after a dominating performance on the track over the past two days. Coughlin Jr. secured the win immediately when Reed jumped the starting system, forcing a red-light disqualification. His winning time was a pedestrian 11.859 seconds at 121.67 mph after his yellow JEGS Chevrolet Camaro overpowered the track just as he was passing the Christmas Tree. 

Troy Coughlin Jr. celebrates Pro Stock PRO Superstar Shootout win with family and Elite Motorsports team,
photo courtesy of Auto Imagery

“You know winning this race is so surreal,” said Coughlin Jr. “I haven’t even really let it sink in yet. We’re gonna enjoy this. Thank you to the PRO group, and all the sponsors involved especially SCAG. This was a huge win and it’s a great way to start the season. Cory is a great guy and a tough competitor, and this class is awesome.”

The SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout was a showcase event from PRO Promotions. Over three days race fans were treated to autograph sessions, driver Q&As, pit access and a free concert tonight. For more results and information visit www.prosuperstarshootout.com.

BARBERVILLE, FL (Feb. 8, 2025) – Federated Auto Parts’ iconic blue and orange branding will continue to don DIRTcar Nationals as the company has signed a new multi-year agreement to be the title sponsor of the prestigious Florida event.

The company will also continue its support of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series and Sprint Car racing in 2025 with its Federated Car Care brand sponsoring the Work Zone at every race and by sponsoring several marquee events throughout the year like DIRTcar Nationals and the Ironman 55.

“Federated Auto Parts is excited to continue our partnership with DIRTcar Nationals and the World of Outlaws,” said J.R. Bishop, director of event marketing and member services for Federated Auto Parts. “Dirt racing is all about passion, and we love being part of an event that brings so much energy to the fans and competitors alike. With our Federated Car Care brand backing the Work Zone and our continued involvement in marquee events, we’re looking forward to another thrilling season ahead.”

Federated Auto Parts – celebrating its 40th anniversary this year – first partnered with DIRTcar Nationals and the World of Outlaws in 2023. This year, the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park brought fans an extra week of racing as the event added the American Sprint Car Series at the end of January to help kick off the event.

Fans still have another week of racing to enjoy at Volusia (Feb. 10-15) with the DIRTcar Late Models, USAC Non-Wing Sprint Cars, Super DIRTcar Series and World of Outlaws Late Models.

All will return for the 2026 edition of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, Jan. 29-Feb. 14, which fans can now renew their tickets for either online, by calling 844-DIRT-TIX or at the track.

“Federated Auto Parts has been the perfect partner for DIRTcar Nationals and the World of Outlaws as they share our same values of providing for the race fans and supporting race teams,” said Brian Carter, World Racing Group CEO. “We’re thrilled to continue working with Federated Auto Parts for several more years and have their brand attached to marquee World of Outlaws events.”

Tickets to Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals and World of Outlaws events can be purchased at the DIRTcar Nationals and World of Outlaws websites.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

CONGRATULATIONS Mr. William Harley, WINNER #2 VEGAS Vacation Mr. Willy Ray, WINNER #1 VEGAS Vacation  You could be our next Winner, enter before February 17th. *MuscleCars At The Strip Pre-Entry Contest.  **WIN A VEGAS VACATION** * You could WIN your weekend stay at the Host Hotel-Santa Fe Station  *  2 VIP Tickets to the Saturday March 8th Concert featuring American Eagle USA. (A Tribute to The Eagles). * Plus 2 VIP MuscleCars At The Strip tickets.* *Plus 2 Event T-Shirt vouchers. **CONTEST RULES** 1. Reserve your Room at the Event Host Hotel-Santa Fe Hotel & Casino by calling 1-866-767-7771 use code ACMUCAR. 2. Purchase your MuscleCars At The Strip Tickets or entry fees at www.matslv.com. Remember you have to reserve both your room at the Santa Fe, plus purchase event credentials to be eligible to Win our Final VEGAS VACATION.

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BARBERVILLE, FL (February 7, 2025) – Of the 106 DIRTcar UMP Modifieds that made the trek to Volusia Speedway Park for the 54th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, 18 have clinched a spot in Saturday night’s Big Gator Championship Feature.

While Friday did not produce a first-time winner with the Modifieds on Friday night, it did see the return of George Dixon to Volusia Victory Lane for the first time since 2023. Other drivers adding another Gator trophy to the record books included Trevor Neville, Will Krup, Curt Spalding, Kyle Strickler, and David Stremme.

FEATURE #1 

Betting odds would’ve favored Cole Falloway in the first DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature of the night as he’s won five races in his first eight starts at Volusia Speedway Park and started on the pole. However, Trevor Neville didn’t care about the odds. 

Starting outside Falloway, Neville darted ahead of the No. 66 when the green flag flew and pulled away by five car lengths after the first lap. 

From there, Neville entered a league of his own. Three cautions slowed the program, bringing the field back to Neville, but he was again untouchable each time the race resumed. 

While he pulled away, Falloway – who entered as the Big Gator points leader – struggled. Todd Neiheiser passed him for second on Lap 10 and then Kenny Wallace passed him for third on Lap Lap 19, placing Falloway in fourth at the finish – one spot out of the transfer into tomorrow’s Gator Championship Feature. 

Neville, Neiheiser, and Wallace are locked into to compete for the $5,000 top prize and the Big Gator trophy. 

“It feels good,” Neville said about putting himself in contention for the Big Gator title and Gator Championship win. “I don’t know how the points are going to fall, but we get a redraw and I’ll probably get to redraw somewhere in the back. That’s kind of my luck this week. But we’re having fun and that’s all that matters.” 

RESULTS: 

Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 777-Trevor Neville[2]; 2. 72-Todd Neiheiser[4]; 3. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 4. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 5. 88-Matt Crafton[5]; 6. 0K-Damian Kiefer[14]; 7. 43A-Mark Anderson[16]; 8. 6-Ryan Fowler[15]; 9. 21-Scott Ladner[10]; 10. 114K-Evan Koehler[8]; 11. 07K-Curtis King[11]; 12. T9-Zack Tate[12]; 13. 01-Brayden Weller[9]; 14. 35A-Michael Altobelli[6]; 15. 25-Greg Belyea[7] 

FEATURE #2 

The second DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature of the night was all about Will Krup. 

The five-time Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals winner won everything he could in the Feature. He started on the pole, led all 20, won the race and took the Big Gator points lead. 

“High confidence here, especially to get a win before the big race,” Krup said. “The car is pretty good. We just got to see what this redraw has in store for us. Hopefully get a good redraw and start up front and hopefully be there at the end.” 

While he stole the show out front, Ryan Thomas and Cole Czarneski – both fighting to hold a podium spot to lock into Saturday’ Feature – had the battle of the race. Czarneski passed Thomas for second at the start of the Feature, but Thomas never let him get away. 

Thomas’ best shot to reclaim the runner-up shot came on Lap 11 when a caution brought them back together. 

Czarneski pulled ahead of the No. 9T on the restart, but not far enough. Chipping away at the gap each lap, Thomas found the grip he needed and passed Czarneski to take back second and hold on to the spot until the end. 

Krup will compete for his first Big Gator title and Gator Championship Feature win, along with Thomas and Czarneski. 

RESULTS: 

Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. K9-Will Krup[1]; 2. 9T-Ryan Thomas[2]; 3. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[3]; 4. 15X-Justin Stone[4]; 5. 60-Shannon Fisk[7]; 6. 7D-Brad Deyoung[5]; 7. 114B-Clayton Bryant[6]; 8. Z1-Zac Oedewaldt[18]; 9. 21B-Hunter Breland[11]; 10. 155-Gavin Shaw[12]; 11. 3S-Josh Sanford[10]; 12. 3F-Rob Fuqua[14]; 13. 18-Miles Beaulieu[8]; 14. 321-Denny Schwartz[13]; 15. 10X-Billy Uptegraff[16] 

FEATURE #3 

Celebrating the seventh anniversary of the day Curt Spalding and Chris Terry started their dirt racing venture together, the Watervliet, MI driver honored it with another Golden Gator trophy – his third win in eight races. 

To do so, Spalding put on another dominating performance, leading all 20 laps of the Feature. 

“This is pretty surreal with all of this stuff happening,” Spalding said. “Obviously, we have a good hot rod, right? I can pretty much drive… I was messing around there, trying some stuff and kind of got in trouble and I said, ‘Hey, just get back to what you know and get this thing won.’ 

“We can still lose in the redraw tomorrow. You start 12th, that’s a tough hill to climb with this crowd. It doesn’t matter. We’re singing and this thing is cooking along.” 

Behind him, Charlie Mefford and Colton Profitt argued for the runner-up spot, not wanting to be the vulnerable driver in third that could fall out of a transfer spot. 

The two spent more time side by side during the 20-lap event than they did single file. Profitt ran low while Mefford ran high. Then they’d trade lanes once, twice, three times throughout the race until Mefford won the battle in the second half of the race. 

Once in second, Mefford started to gain ground on Spalding as he was “messing around” with different lines. But once Spalding got back in his groove, he expanded his gap to Mefford and grabbed the victory. 

Spalding, Mefford, and Profitt joined the list of drivers looking for their first Gator Championship win and Big Gator title. 

RESULTS: 

Feature 3 (20 Laps): 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[1]; 2. 13-Charlie Mefford[2]; 3. 56-Colton Profitt[3]; 4. 19-Dustin Sorensen[6]; 5. 45-Chase Holland[4]; 6. 17C-Coleman Evans[7]; 7. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[11]; 8. 70H-Jim Britt[15]; 9. 60M-Jim Manka[9]; 10. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[13]; 11. 11N-Gene Nicholas[8]; 12. 7-Evan Taylor[5]; 13. 81K-Kyle Cole[17]; 14. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[14] 

FEATURE #4

Kyle Strickler’s plan for DIRTcar Nationals was to put himself in position for Saturday’s Big Gator Championship Feature.

He executed the plan to perfection with a flawless performance, commanding the 20-lap Feature for his 17th Gator trophy – his third of 2025.

“When you’re running all these days in a row, you wanna make sure your stuff’s there,” Strickler said. “Especially for the Big Gator tomorrow, that’s kinda my cup of tea. I’ve always planned all week to win the Big Gator come Saturday, so we put ourselves in position, and the guys are all doing a great job working on this thing and having a lot of fun down here in Florida. We got us a lock-in redraw spot, so we’ll see how it plays out.”

From the drop of the green flag, the Mooresville, NC outran Thursday night winner Lucas Lee through the first two turns, then used the remaining laps of the race to find his rhythm and separate himself from the field by over two seconds for the Friday night win.

“It took me a little bit to get my momentum going,” Strickler said. “Later on in the week, we were getting the car better and keep on tuning on it. The motor was running a little hot last night, but tonight we changed stuff around and got it to where the temperature came down.”

The podium of Strickler, Gregory Moore, and Lee are set in stone to race in the Gator Championship on Saturday. 

RESULTS: 

Feature 4 (20 Laps): 1. 8S-Kyle Strickler[1]; 2. 8W-Gregory Moore[4]; 3. 12L-Lucas Lee[2]; 4. 77-Ray Bollinger[5]; 5. 97-Mitch Thomas[10]; 6. 90K-Ray Kable[8]; 7. 5-Jonathan Taylor[18]; 8. 49-Brian Ruhlman[3]; 9. 0-Glenn Styres[6]; 10. 11-Aidan Hinds[9]; 11. 99-Jimmy Wagner[11]; 12. 77C-Jason Cox[16]; 13. 463-Daniel Sanchez[7]; 14. (DNS) 2J-Troy Johnson; 15. (DNS) S8-Jordan Stotts; 16. (DNS) 41-Brad Goff; 17. (DNS) 8-Dave Pinkerton; 18. (DNS) 26-Adam Ogle

FEATURE #5

David Stremme felt mixed emotions about his performance throughout the running of DIRTcar Nationals.

Though he hasn’t finished outside of the top five once throughout the previous seven nights of racing, Stremme knew there was room for improvement behind the wheel of his No.35 Lethal Chassis.

Not letting an opportunity for a Gator slip by him once more, Stremme went to work by beating reigning Summit Modified Nationals champ Mike McKinney to the jump on the start, then extending his early gap to three seconds while McKinney and Jordan Koehler dueled for second place.

Koehler got the best of McKinney by taking second until the caution waved on the fifth lap. The ensuing restart saw McKinney retake the position but lose touch with Stremme by a one-second gap.

In the remaining laps, McKinney cut the distance down to half a second on Stremme, however, it was too late for the No.96M to make a move on Stremme as he took the checkered flag for his eighth career DIRTcar Nationals Feature win.

“It was better resolved because the last two nights I’ve sucked,” Stremme said. “I felt like I haven’t been able to capitalize and the balance of the car was loose to where we weren’t stuck. Tomorrow’s gonna be a whole different deal. It always is, so we’re in the redraw. Curt (Spalding) did well, we’ll see if (George Dixon) gets it, but I’m pretty proud of all our efforts. We’ll just see how lady luck deals us tomorrow.”

McKinney and Koehler’s second and third-place finishes joined Stremme in claiming a spot to Saturday night’s finale.

RESULTS: 

Feature 5 (20 Laps): 1. 35-David Stremme[1]; 2. 96M-Mike McKinney[2]; 3. 114-Jordan Koehler[4]; 4. 24-Zeke McKenzie[6]; 5. 65-Matt Miller[13]; 6. 2K-Taylor Kuehl[9]; 7. 23T-Ryan Toole[18]; 8. 29C-Joey Cotterman[15]; 9. 99W-Wade Olmsted[16]; 10. 5B-Bobby Bagley[10]; 11. 10Y-Trent Young[3]; 12. 23Z-Austin Self[5]; 13. 11J-Jesse Rupe[7]; 14. 11L-Jimmy Lennex Jr[8]; 15. 45H-Kyle Hammer[12]; 16. 11D-Brian Diveley[14]

FEATURE #6

Despite four top-fives, six top-10s, and two podiums scored, George Dixon was still looking for the Golden Gator to catch in 2025.

That wait ended on Friday night for the Shirleysburg, PA driver as he picked up a second career DIRTcar Nationals Feature win.

Dixon got the jump on Wednesday night Gator winner Michael Long on the initial start and immediately broke away from the pack.

Long had to deal with a tough set of competition as fourth-place starter Austin Holcombe took third place on the opening lap, then chased down the No.18L for the second position.

Halfway through the Feature, Long, and Holcombe battled for the spot, with Holcombe’s No.8A sliding down the bottom of Turns 3 and 4 to clear Long.

Their battle hurt their chances of catching Dixon, who extended the lead to over 1.3 seconds and crossed the twin checkered flags for victory.

“I’m super happy,” Dixon said. “We unloaded fast on Thursday and we had a lot of speed then, and it didn’t work out. But you wonder if that’s gonna be the only night you get a chance, but luckily, we hung on in all week long, some seconds, thirds, fourths, and then tonight ended up working out and we pulled it off.”

Dixon, Holcombe, and Long’s finishes in the final Feature gave them the reward of a guaranteed place in the Gator Championship.

RESULTS: 

Feature 6 (20 Laps): 1. 77D-George Dixon[1]; 2. 8A-Austin Holcombe[4]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[2]; 4. 05-David Wietholder[9]; 5. 7J-Justin Allgaier[5]; 6. 27G-Jason Garver[11]; 7. 1H-Ben Harmon[8]; 8. 17-Chris Wilson[13]; 9. 51-Dalton Lanich[6]; 10. 81C-Christopher Cole[16]; 11. 57-Charlie Sandercock[3]; 12. 27-Michael Turner[7]; 13. 72S-Eric Shepherd Jr[12]; 14. 32-Chad Roush[14]; 15. 28C-Jeff Cotterman[15]; 16. (DNS) 16-Shawn Deering; 17. (DNS) 90-Jason Beaulieu

Up Next: The final night of DIRTcar UMP Modified racing at the 54th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals will see the determination of a UMP Modified Speedweeks and Big Gator champion on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tickets are available here:

DIRTCAR NATIONALS TICKETS

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