Ashton Winger, Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Dennis Erb Jr. and Nick Hoffman talk what it takes to survive on the Hell Tour 

CONCORD, NC — March 17, 2025 — Running every DIRTcar Summer Nationals Hell Tour race is not a task for the faint-hearted. 

This year’s edition of the famed tour resembles the schedule of years past with a grueling pace of 31 races in 34 days. Not all have the resources or stamina complete it in full, but those who have took away lessons for their career and life. 

In Part I of this series, Summer Nationals champions Ashton Winger, Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., Nick Hoffman and Tyler Erb talked about their path to the Hell Tour. Here, several of them expand on what it took to be successful on the tour. 

Learning Yourself Through Hell 

The challenge of taking good care of the race car and parts day in and day out teaches drivers about their work ethic and living lessons they’ve used throughout their careers on national dirt Late Model tours. 

2022 World of Outlaws Late Model champion Dennis Erb Jr took his lessons of mixing the positive and negatives he experienced from the time spent with the Summer Nationals that helped prepare him better for national dirt Late Model tours. 

“There were a lot of things there (to learn),” Erb Jr said. “Going up and down the road, taking care of all the equipment while racing near 30 nights in a row. You obviously had to make good decisions, definitely mixing good and bad, but there’s a lot of things that went on through that time. 

“It was a learning curve to be able to learn how to race for points, know where to pick your battles throughout that month or two. There was a lot there that helped me as far as learning how to be consistent, finishing races, and being up front. That was one of the biggest things, where you can group them all together to concentrate on being consistent, because that’s what wins championships.” 

Nick Hoffman had a special challenge in 2019 when it was just, he, his two-month-old son, Maddox, and his wife, Lacy, on the Hell Tour. Hoffman got by with only family by his side, recording 13 Feature wins and his second-career Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals title. 

“It definitely teaches you to work hard because you ain’t got a choice,” Hoffman said candidly. “Very grueling days, long weeks, but as long as you can put nights together and have a little bit of success, it makes it a hell of a lot easier. It’s very rewarding, but it can also beat you down pretty quick. 

“Maddox, my firstborn, the first year I did it with just my wife and him, he was only two months old. So, it was just us three on the road, and that’s a memory that I’ll never forget as we were able to win the championship and race every single race. That will always be special to me.” 

Ashton Winger noted the difference in competition from traditional national tours. In 2023, he had to square up against Bloomington, IL’s Jason Feger for his Hell Tour championship while racing against other prominent “Illinois Bad Boys” through the summer. 

Winger compares the caliber of drivers to racing against southeastern staples Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport, and Chris Madden. 

“I definitely think Feger has picked it up in the last few years,” Winger said. “He’s definitely gotten way better, but you’re gonna have to race (Shannon) Babb everywhere, (Ryan) Unzicker’s fast, obviously “Squirrel” (Brian Shirley) and Bobby (Pierce) have gone onto the Outlaws. 

“I mean, hell, when I go, I feel like me and Terbo are probably the adopted sons of Illinois. You’re gonna race some guys that are coming up and the usual veterans, it’s like going to race (Brandon) Overton, (Jonathan) Davenport, and (Chris) Madden at Cherokee (Speedway). You go race with (Midwest) guys every single night in their backyard, and we always get to enjoy that.” 

Before scoring his first World of Outlaws Late Model championship in 2023, Bobby Pierce made a name for himself on the Summer Nationals tour, collecting five championships – his last coming in 2022. When he moved to the World of Outlaws full-time in 2023 – his first full year with the tour – he was already driving and winning like a champion early in the season due to his experience gained on the Hell Tour. 

“I feel like Summer Nationals makes you better when you’re racing all the time like that,” Pierce said. “Everyone gets into the routine more, and it’s like a muscle memory thing too when you’re racing every time and it’s like riding a bike the next time you race. When you can do it, I think it just makes you better and gave me the confidence to go out and win.” 

Since scoring his lone Summer Nationals championship in 2013, Brandon Sheppard has gone on to hold the most victories and championships with the World of Outlaws Late Models. He too cited his acceptance of the grind on the Hell Tour as a key factor for his success on the national tour. 

“Basically, the experience [helped me],” Sheppard said. “What it takes to go up and down the road, and race night after night with no breaks, no days off, and even the days off were harder work than the days we raced. At the end of the day, it is the experience that if you’re a young racer getting into the sport and need to gain experience in a short amount of time, [Summer Nationals] is a good way to do it for sure.” 

There’s no easy road on the Hell Tour. Not all can do it, but those who do find they leave a better driver and a better person. In Part III of this series – out Monday, March 24 – these champions share what it meant to win their first Hell Tour race and title and what those milestones meant to their careers. 

The 2025 edition of the Hell Tour begins at the Brownstown Bullring in Brownstown, IL on Tuesday, June 10 – kicking off a stretch of 31 races in 34 days. For the full series schedule, visit the Summer Nationals website.  

Cruz Pedregon

Arizona Nationals – Firebird Raceway

Pre-Race Report

News Note: 2025 Season Primary paint scheme images.

Quotes for Arizona Nationals, Firebird Raceway

Cruz Pedregon, two-time Funny Car World Champion

Firebird Raceway is one of my top five all-time favorite races & tracks. It’s where I won my first race in an Alcohol Dragster. Fast forward to this weekend in the Snap-on^® Dodge^® Hellcat^® Funny Car, we’re looking for fast runs on the Raceway’s newly resurfaced track.

We hoped to do test runs in Gainesville, but the weather didn’t cooperate. So, when we’re out west, we look forward to getting our full complement of runs in to get the car consistent. The team is fired up, and so am I. The group we’ve put together, plus all the new components on the car, has us very excited.  We’re ready for the season, and I feel really good about the team as a whole. 

One thing I love about this race is its close proximity to where my dad was born and raised in nearby El Paso, Texas. We get a lot of family and friends who attend, making their way from Western Texas through New Mexico to the track. It’s a great opportunity for them to come watch us race, and I say there’s nothing like having family cheer us on and support our team. 

Snap-on has a great group of franchisees around the track that supports our double Pit-side hospitality. We’re going to make sure we’re hitting on all eight cylinders and letting it rip, trying to win one for the home crowd.

Name on the side of Cruz’s car – Snap-on Nitro Franchisee Jason Tatarski

●      The name of this week’s Snap-on Nitro Franchisee on the side of Cruz’s car is Jason Tatarski.

●      Jason used to go to the Pomona races with his dad growing up and will get to meet Cruz for the first time when they do a ride-along Thursday prior to the race in Arizona. They’ll be visiting local automotive shops owned by NHRA fans.

●      Jason says one of his favorite things about his Snap-on^® franchise is that he gets to include his family in his work, and his children get to see what it’s like to be a business owner.

Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry won Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, earning his first NASCAR Cup Series victory. The triumph marked Ford’s 742nd all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory and the 101st Cup Series win for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team — all achieved with Ford Motor Company.

“Congratulations to Leonard, Len, Eddie, Jon, Kim, Miles, Josh, and everyone at Wood Brothers Racing on the race win at Las Vegas” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “For Josh to capture his first Cup win in the iconic Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford Performance Dark Horse Mustang during their 75th anniversary is incredibly special. Our team at Roush Yates Engines works hard to deliver the power and reliability needed to win at this level, and today it all came together. We couldn’t be more excited.”

“I’m just really proud of everybody on this team. This is a great group. They build great race cars and it’s just been a privilege to drive for them. I’m just so really thankful to be here. There are so many people I could thank for this moment, but to be a Cup Series winner is really special,” commented Berry.

Four Ford Performance drivers started Sunday’s race in the top 10: Team Penske’s Joey Logano in P2, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P3, Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry in P7, and Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith in P9. Team Penske’s Joey Logano quickly took the lead after battling with Michael McDowell in the opening laps. After an early caution, teammate Austin Cindric surged to the front, leading over 40 laps and winning the first stage of the race. Multiple cautions in the second stage created various pit strategies, shuffling the drivers at the end of the stage. Ryan Blaney finished the stage in P6 and Josh Berry finished in P8. The action-packed race featured 13 different race leaders, a record 32 lead changes and nine cautions for 53 laps. During the ninth and final caution of the race, Josh Berry pitted and took four fresh tires. When the race restarted with 18 laps remaining, Berry battled Daniel Suárez side-by-side for 3 laps until Berry took the lead on lap 252. After clearing Suárez, Berry widened the gap in clean air and crossed the finish line 1.358 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

A total of three Ford Performance drivers finished in the top-10: Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry in P1, RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece in P3, and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric in P6.

The Xfinity Series also raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, where four Ford Performance drivers finished in the top 10. Haas Factory Team’s Sam Mayer finished in P5, RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg finished in P7, AM Racing’s Harrison Burton finished in P8, and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed finished in P10. Both the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series head to Homestead, Florida this week and race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

41 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 478 WINS – 437 POLES

Suarez Leads Chevrolet with Runner-Up Result at Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayChevrolet Claims Seven Top-10 Finishes

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS: POS.     DRIVER2nd – Daniel Suarez4th – William Byron5th – Ross Chastain7th – Alex Bowman8th – AJ Allmendinger9th – Kyle Larson10th – Chase Elliott

MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom

·       Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez drove his No. 99 Chevrolet to his best finish of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – leading Chevrolet to the checkered flag with a runner-up result in the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube.  ·       A series of cautions in the final stage made pit strategy the name of the game. With a caution on lap 244, the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet pit crew put down a monster performance on pit road to give Suarez the win off pit road and a front-row starting position for the restart with 20 laps remaining. Suarez battled side-by-side with race winner, Josh Berry, for a handful of laps before settling into the runner-up position.  ·       The Bowtie brand had a monstrous presence in the top-10 of the final leaderboard, with Suarez leading the manufacturer to seven top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval – a season-best for Chevrolet with five points-paying races complete. Among those results were representation by three different Chevrolet organizations including two top-five finishes for Trackhouse Racing; all four Hendrick Motorsports entries with top-10 results; and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger in the eighth position.  ·       Larson proved to be a contender all race long, with the 32-year-old Elk Grove, California, native also collecting his second stage win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, making the Chevrolet driver the first repeat stage winner in the division with now five points-paying races complete.  ·       In just his fifth points-paying start with Spire Motorsports, Michael McDowell earned the pole position for today’s 267-lap race – laying down a lap of 28.883 seconds in his No. 71 Chevrolet. The lap delivered Chevrolet its second-straight pole win of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as Spire Motorsports’ first-ever pole win in NASCAR’s top division.

UP NEXT: The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday, March 23, at 3 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Finished: 5th“Yeah, it got him (Daniel Suarez) clear to the lead. I was fully committed to him and happy to do it. Got him a good push down the frontstretch and through the restart zone; another one into (turn) one and another one into three. We stayed connected well. It was aggressive, but it got him to the lead. And then he just bottomed out too hard with his car and let Josh (Berry) inside of him a couple laps into that run. Bummer because he had a better car than we did and had a shot to win. It just slipped away from us.”  How important was this day for Trackhouse Racing to get both cars into the top-five here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway? “Yeah, it’s huge. That’s what I said to Daniel (Suarez) – it’s pretty cool to be talking about what we could do better than second and fifth and legitimately running up there. It’s so frustrating though because you could see how close Daniel was. He had the better Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet today, and for him to be so close, it’s a bummer.” Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing ChevroletFinished: 21st“Our Sea Best team battles and fights and gets better and better every time, every minute we work together. We’re developing a trend of getting stronger as we go, so that’s exciting for the future. We had some opportunities to probably have a better finish there, but from where we were at the beginning of the race to the end, it was a lot better. I’m very happy with our effort. We’ll keep going and getting better. I’m very pleased.” William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 4thHow much of an issue were tires today, and how much were you conserving it? How much did that strategy play into your finish today? “Yeah, when everything got flipped with the fuel strategy – not really pit strategy, but you had to pit to make it to the end of the race. Everything just got flipped around and we were on the bad side of that, having to restart in the 20s and then have to drive back through the field. I thought we did a good job getting back through the field. Our car was a lot tighter in traffic. There’s definitely some things for us to improve and work on because I feel like once we lost the first couple of rows, it was a completely different race car. We just have to continue to improve on that.  Overall, happy with the result for the No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet team. We had a good car. We definitely had one of the best cars, if the race would have played out normally. We just didn’t really have a chance to get back up there at the end.” Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports ChevroletFinished: 16th“It was an up-and-down day for the No. 71 Group 1001 Chevy team. We had a little issue there early on with the diffuser flap falling down. We didn’t figure it out until about the end of Stage Two. Once we got that back, we were kind of back in the game but just a couple adjustments behind. I thought we would have a shot at the top-10, but on the last run, the car just got really tight. It’s unfortunate to lose spots there at the end.. you never want to do that. But we’ll keep building and keep working on it; keep making notebooks and get it right.” Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 34th “Our day was going pretty good there at the start. I was learning to move around and started to go forward. Just made an adjustment that didn’t go our way and never recovered. It’s a shame, my Red Bull Chevrolet had plenty of potential and I felt like I could’ve been okay. My teammates ran really well, so our car was good. Just learning to put myself in the right spots. We’ll be ready for Homestead next weekend.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing ChevroletFinished: 2nd“Definitely a little disappointed, but first of all, congratulations to Josh Berry and the No. 21 team. They did a great job and they’ve been fast. The No. 99 Freeway Insurance Chevy team did everything right. The pit crew did an amazing job with the pit stops. We did everything right with the strategy. Our Chevy was fast, but we just struggled a little bit on the short runs. I mentioned to my crew chief – before the last run, I told him that if we’re going to be up front, we’re going to need a better car for the short run. I was having too much contact over there in (turns) one and two. Unfortunately, I think that’s why we lost the race. We just had a little bit too much contact. I almost wrecked in one and two.  But overall, just very, very proud of everyone at Trackhouse Racing. The entire organization has been working very hard and it’s showing. Thank you to Chevrolet, Freeway Insurance, Coca-Cola, Quaker State – all of our partners that help us to get to the track every weekend. It was a solid effort.”

The Series sophomore comes out on top of a Kennedale barnburner for his 11^th career win

KENNEDALE, TX (March 15, 2025) – The 2025 World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car season didn’t start the way Michael “Buddy” Kofoid would’ve liked, but he’s quickly turning things around.

The Penngrove, CA native entered 2025 with many viewing him as a championship contender after a stellar ending to 2024. He and Roth Motorsports closed out last year’s campaign with six wins in the final 16 races, but the pairing missed the top 10 in the first three nights of this season.

Kofoid rolled into Saturday’s Cowtown Classic finale with some momentum built back up courtesy of six straight top 10s, and the recent strides culminated in his first trip to Victory Lane of the year at Kennedale Speedway Park.

The 23-year-old started on the front row of the 30-lap Feature, but it was Sunnyvale, TX’s Sam Hafertepe Jr. taking the early advantage from the pole. After a fierce battle with Logan Schuchart for second, Kofoid chased Hafertepe down and cleared the Texan with a Lap 10 slider, but the race was far from over. Hafertepe refused to go down without a fight in front of home state fans. The pilot of the Hills Racing No. 15H hounded Kofoid as the two ripped through heavy traffic, but Kofoid had enough to hold on and secure an encouraging checkered flag.

“All year we’ve just been off a little bit,” Kofoid admitted. “We just kept working hard at it, and we just want it really bad. We weren’t going to let it get to us. Obviously, it’s a long, grueling, so it’s nice to get a win somewhat early on and change some things for this to happen today. I just want to thank them (team) for their hard work. It goes into a lot. We changed cars today, and this was actually the car we ended the year with last year, so I’m really happy about that.”

Kofoid’s first win of the season gave him 11 for his career with The Greatest Show on Dirt and made him the seventh different winner through 10 races. The first of the year for Roth Motorsports was the 115th for Dennis and Teresa Roth’s team and made it 15 consecutive seasons in which they’ve won at least one World of Outlaws Feature.

The No. 83 could move all around the Texas bullring on Saturday, and Kofoid was quick to credit his crew for the maneuverability that guided him to victory.

“A really good one,” Kofoid said of his car. “Going into today, even yesterday even though the track was vastly different, with seeing how heavy it was probably going to be, I told Dylan (Buswell), ‘I think to be good you’re going to have to be able to move around and be able to run lines that are kind of goofy.’ I was running a big diamond in (Turns) 1 and 2 or could run in the middle through the holes. I was just really good anywhere. That’s just a testament to Dylan, Nate, and John. They’ve been doing a really good job.”

Hafertepe Jr. held on to the runner-up spot, marking his first World of Outlaws podium since March of 2022. He badly wanted to win in front of a his home state fans that made Saturday the largest crowd in Kennedale Speedway Park history, but overall he was happy with the impressive outing against the sport’s toughest competition.

“I just didn’t get through traffic the first time right,” Hafertepe Jr. said. “I didn’t pick my spots right then got too tight off of (Turn) 4 here and gave him a pretty good lane to get by us there. Nothing to hang our head about. I really wanted to win this race starting up front like that and leading a lot of laps. We don’t run with these guys all the time. Two California guys running first and third, this is a California-style racetrack. Definitely not a track that I’m used to racing on.”

Completing the podium was Giovanni Scelzi in the KCP Racing No. 18. “Hot Sauce” capped a stout weekend in Texas with Friday’s win coupled with Saturday’s third. After a rough start to 2025, the Fresno, CA native has now bagged podiums in three of the last five races.

“I felt a little free in the Heat Race,” Scelzi explained. “And then we snugged up for the Dash, and it really got tighter. I felt like there was more mud on the race car in the Dash than there was in the Heat Race, so I don’t know if the moisture kind of came back or we finally blew all that slime off where it got to grip. Hats off to the track crew. I feel like they worked really hard through the night and today to give us a racetrack to race on.”

Logan Schuchart and David Gravel completed the top five.

A 26th to 13th run gave Skylar Gee the KSE Racing Hard Charger.

David Gravel grabbed his 127th career Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to Bryce Lucius, Sam Hafertepe Jr., and Conner Morrell. WIX Filters Heat Three went to David Gravel.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. topped the Toyota Dash.

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to Logan Schuchart.

Donny Schatz won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Bryce Lucius.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars finish up a two-week stay in the “Lone Star State” with a trip to Paige, TX’s Cotton Bowl Speedway on March 21-22 for the Federated Auto Parts Texas Two-Step. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 83-Michael Kofoid[2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[1]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[5]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 5. 2-David Gravel[4]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[14]; 7. 28M-Conner Morrell[6]; 8. 41-Carson Macedo[16]; 9. 39M-Anthony Macri[9]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]; 11. 23-Garet Williamson[17]; 12. 6-Zach Hampton[10]; 13. 99-Skylar Gee[26]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz[21]; 15. 22M-Rees Moran[13]; 16. 40-Howard Moore[11]; 17. 7S-Chris Windom[19]; 18. 2KS-Cory Eliason[20]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn[18]; 20. 24T-Christopher Thram[7]; 21. 6G-Cody Gardner[15]; 22. 2C-Cole Macedo[22]; 23. 27-Emerson Axsom[24]; 24. J2-John Carney II[23]; 25. 17B-Bill Balog[25]; 26. 32-Bryce Lucius[8]

Late-race dramas bite Corvette contingent in 12 Hours SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s quartet of Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams suffered cruel ends to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday with misfortune ruining chances for GTD PRO and GTD victories in America’s oldest sports car race.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette was the highest-finishing Z06 GT3.R with a seventh-place GTD PRO finish for Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. The result marked an unfortunate turn of fortunes for the group of four Corvettes – all of which led their respective classes on multiple occasions. The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone – also in GTD PRO – ran a clean race for the first three-quarters and ran second when it had to stop for a repair to the IMSA-mandated scrutineering logger. It cost the Corvette three laps and dropped Varrone to 10th in class. Catsburg made up a spot near the end to move himself, Varrone and Milner to ninth at the end. DXDT Racing appeared set to challenge for its first podium in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. However a late-race mechanical issue knocked the No. 36 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell and Salih Yoluc – who drove a triple-stint to start – from the top-four in GTD down to eighth at the finish. AWA’s hopes of a second straight GTD victory took a huge hit with damage to the right-front of the No. 13 Corvette on a restart with a little less than three hours remaining. Orey Fidani drove three of the first four stints, and Lars Kern and Matt Bell steadily worked their way forward and into the class lead on multiple occasions. Subsequent stops for repairs dropped Bell from seventh to 12th but the Corvette remained on the lead lap up until being hit late by the leading LMP2 entry. It relegated AWA to 10th in GTD. Perhaps the Corvette in the best position late in the race was the No. 3 of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. After a strong run through the day and some clever strategy, Sims worked his way up from sixth to fourth inside the final 90 minutes and was on a fuel strategy that likely would have had him challenging for the victory. However, the Sebring circuit bit the Corvette as Sims had to pit for a rear with a little more than an hour with a broken right-rear suspension component. It knocked him from third in class and in the podium fight to seventh and two laps down. Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Long Beach Grand Prix from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on April 11-12.

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTESALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“A bit of a bummer, this one. Our Corvette had pretty good pace to be honest. Going into the night, it seemed to come alive a bit. We had good pace and I was able to get up to third before we had the rear suspension problem. It did seem the leaders at the end had pace that we didn’t, to be honest. I don’t think we would have gotten any better than that. Even holding on to third would have been a struggle. Full credit to the Pratt Miller guys for getting it turned around quick and salvaging what we could. We didn’t give up and still managed seventh place, which could have been worse if they weren’t as quick in the pits as they were. On to the next one.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “An unlucky race. I think we had an OK Corvette but not fast enough to challenge for the win. I feel like we are on a bit of an unlucky streak at the moment. It’s not anyone’s fault. We have to take things as they come and ride those waves. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a great race. We got a little unlucky with the second-to-last yellow because we had a good fuel advantage and it got wiped out. We hung in there and crept from eighth to third. It was very enjoyable being in the middle of the fight. We just got very unlucky at the end when what we thought was a comfortable P4 – which turned out would have been a podium with the Ferrari boxing on the last lap. I’m gutted for the team. They’ve worked so hard since Daytona. We just didn’t have the pace there and came here with a lot more. They deserved more, unfortunately. They worked tirelessly between now and then to make sure we had the Corvette that we had in the race. Such a shame but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side and we’ll be right there.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We were having a good race once again up until we had the little incident in the final stages. We had a very strong car, and I’m proud of the team and their efforts. We know what we’re capable of. We’ll take this finish and move forward to the next one.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finishes fourth after starting 13th in GTP class

SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – After 12 hours of hard-fought, entertaining and occasionally chaotic racing, Cadillac Racing finished 7.6 seconds short of a podium finish in the 73rd edition of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started 13th on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) grid because of a software issue in qualifications Friday, nonetheless battled its way to the front early in the race and contended for the victory until the final 40 minutes and finished fourth. Drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, making his competitive debut on the 3.74-mile course, combined to lead 155 of the 353 laps. Starting 13th, Aitken quickly made up six spots in the first hour and moved to the front for the first time with 10 hours, 21 minutes left. From there, Vesti and Bamber inherited the lead on their first stints and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R remained in or near the lead through no unforced errors, penalties or contact necessitating repair. The No. 6 Porsche 963, which overtook Vesti for the point for the final time with 2 hours, 7 minutes left, went on to claim the victory.

Media resources: Photos for editorial use | 2025 Cadillac Racing IMSA statistics

The Nos. 10 and 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs effectively fell out of contention in the first five hours because of various on-track issues. The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, which qualified eighth in the 13-car GTP roster, was handed a stop and hold penalty by IMSA Race Control for incident responsibility in the second hour that dropped it two laps down and mired in 12th place in the running order. Drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens clawed back to finish a solid seventh. The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R that qualified seventh slid into the Turn 17 tire barrier with 7 hours, 43 minutes left, necessitating a swap of the nose assembly and front tire change. But the GTP entry incurred a stop and hold penalty for more than emergency service in a closed pit, which dropped the hybrid racecar to 13th in class. Drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley recovered to finish 11th.

After two endurance races totaling 36 hours to start the season, Cadillac Racing teams will be in action next April 12 for the 100-minute race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach (California) street circuit. Cadillac Racing swept the top two spots in 2024, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R leading the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R across the finish line by 0.564 of a second. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earned the pole – its third in a row to start the season. Cadillac has won six of the IMSA races in Long Beach since joining prototype competition in 2017. What they’re saying No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.RJack Aitken: “The race started really well for us today and we managed to stay in those top positions for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, we were just a little bit off sequence to the leading Porsches and it just caught us out a bit at the end when we had to take a splash. I think when they night came around, we didn’t have that extra gear that the others did. We missed out on the podium; it’s tough to take. But there are positives from this – coming from the back to the field is still not a bad result.” Earl Bamber: “We had to come in for a splash with about 40 minutes left and we tried to take the alternate tire strategy, but we thought it might work but the dirty air was just too much. We just didn’t make our way forward. The car was good, so it is bittersweet that we didn’t get a podium. We’ll just have to roll into Long Beach.” Frederik Vesti: “IMSA just keeps impressing me with how chaotic and crazy it is to race this year. I really enjoyed my time in the car today. I left everything out on the track and it’s painful not to get the podium. I really felt like we had the car to win or be on the podium today. Really proud of Cadillac Whelen. Having the issue in quali starting out, I think Jack did a great job in stint one to get us in the lead. I enjoyed lots of laps in the lead today and I had a lot of restarts from the lead, which is fun and I learned a lot. We’ll be back. I’m already looking forward to Laguna.”No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Ricky Taylor: “Another tough day. It started off really bad and we were hopeful that it was a long day and that we would get back in it. The yellows just didn’t come our way. I think know if we had the winning car, we had a car maybe for the podium, the Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing team did a great job and never gave up. We will go to Long Beach and hopefully get some success there.” No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R Louis Delétraz: “A difficult race, obviously not the race we wanted. We had to retire the car early at the end due to an issue that will have to be investigated. A little bit disappointed bit I think we had a rough first day then improved the car a lot for the race, but still not enough to fight for the win. But we were there for good points and running at the front then had a couple of issues in a row which put us at the back and ultimately retiring. So, not much positive but we definitely learned a lot and will be back stronger in Long Beach.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
MARCH 15, 2025

 
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st – Michael McDowell
4th – Kyle Busch
6th – Alex Bowman
8th – William Byron
10th – Kyle Larson
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Chevrolet Newsroom

 
 
· For the second-straight weekend, Chevrolet earned the pole position in NASCAR’s top division. Laying down a lap of 28.883 seconds, at 186.961 mph, Michael McDowell and the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet team earned the top position of the qualifying speed chart and will lead the field to the green flag in tomorrow’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube.

· The feat – McDowell’s seventh career pole in the division – marks his first pole win in just five starts with Spire Motorsports after joining the Chevrolet organization at the beginning of the 2025 season.

· McDowell delivered Chevrolet its sixth all-time NASCAR Cup Series pole win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with this marking the manufacturer’s second pole triumph in the Next Gen era at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval.

· Chevrolet earned five of the top-10 starting positions for tomorrow’s 267-lap event, with McDowell leading the hometown hero, Kyle Busch, who qualified fourth in his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Hendrick Motorsports’ three past Las Vegas Motor Speedway winners also posted top-10 qualifying efforts, with Alex Bowman qualifying in the sixth position, William Byron in eighth and Kyle Larson rounding out the top-10.
Chevrolet’s all-time NASCAR Cup Series statistics at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

Wins: 13
Poles: 6
Top-Fives: 72
Top 10s: 137

Chevrolet’s season statistics heading into the fifth points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race:

Wins: 1
Poles: 2
Top-Fives: 8
Top-10s: 18
Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet – Pole Win Press Conference Quotes

Looking at the ghost car, you did something in three and four that no one else could come close to matching. What was it?
“Well, this is where I always say being a student and studying matters.

Christopher Bell, last year in round two, just kept it a little bit lower off of turn four and that’s how he was able to get the pole. And so when my car went through (turns) one and two and it had a lot of grip and I didn’t feel like I used it all up, I knew that I had an opportunity to potentially do that without scrubbing speed and without putting myself into a bad spot. Because that’s the chance you take, right? You put wheel into it; it gets loose and you start tracking up. The car had a lot of speed and, obviously, a lot of grip. And just from studying and seeing how C-Bell was able to do that last year in round two, and that was the difference between him getting the pole and not, I felt like it was the right move to make.”

Spire Motorsports has had speed all year. Specifically in qualifying, the organization has had a lot of good results. To finally get a pole, how important is it for the team’s momentum?
“Well, I mean, anytime you’re building positive momentum, it’s great in our sport. And it does matter. I mean, all of it matters. And last week was good for that, too. We got all three cars in the top-10.

You know, the race didn’t go well, right? I mean, two of our guys crashed in the same crash, so that’s no fun. And we had to go to the back with that steering rack change that we made. And then we ended up cutting a tire and that kind of ended our day. And, you know, when you look back at Sunday last week, you’re like — oh man, we had such fast cars and we don’t have anything to show for it. But that’s what’s great about our sport, is you get to re-rack them and get ready the next week.

And, you know, this was the true test for us. I really felt like that. I think I talked about it a little bit last week — this will be the test because Las Vegas, places like this, they challenge everything, right? Aerodynamics, engine, setup.. you have to hit everything just right to be fast here. And so this was kind of that unknown coming into it of — you know, will we have the speed that we’ve shown at other places? And obviously we did.

I’m just really proud of everybody at Spire Motorsports. We’re building something and we know that. And that’s kind of the mindset that we have. This is just one of those next steps that help us get to the next step that’ll help us get to the next step.”

Michael, this is now your seventh career pole, seventh in the last two seasons. What does it mean just to have kind of found that speed during qualifying and start getting these poles?
“Yeah, it’s cool. It’s great. I mean, it’s a lot of fun to come here and have a shot at being at the pole and executing everything perfectly, which is really tough in our sport. You have to hit everything perfectly. You guys saw how tight the times were. You know, one little mistake and that’s it. I’m proud of the effort that goes into making these cars fast. I think that one of the funny things that my crew chief, Travis Peterson, said like — you know, we got a pole at Gateway. We got obviously a lot of poles at the superspeedway’s. And then we got a pole in a mile-and-a-half. The only place I haven’t got a pole is a road course, which that’s supposed to be my thing, you know? We’ve been close. Hopefully this will be the year, right, that we can go get a pole at a road course as well and try to close out all types of tracks. But poles are fun and it is fun. Today will be great and everybody’s going to go to the hotel; be excited and be pumped up for tomorrow. But wins are what matter, right? And so tomorrow’s what matters. And so, you know, it’s a much tougher challenge to go win that race tomorrow, but that’s the goal. And I think we’ll have a race car to contend.”

I’m watching you on the TV as the other drivers are all going through their laps. You were exhaling and inhaling constantly and stressing out. What was the mood like when it finally was over and you were in?
“No, it’s great. I mean, it’s hard to watch when you go out early just because you know so many fast cars are coming. And with the times as close as they were — I mean, it’s literally hundreds and thousands of a second as you’re watching the tracker. And, you know, the tracker’s not always 100 percent. So you’re watching on TV and you’re seeing guys start to slide wide and things like that.

I’ll tell you one thing that was nice is normally you go out there and you put up a big lap, right? And you’re shaking and, you know, you got the adrenaline pumping and you execute it. And then you have to get ready to do it again because we used to have two rounds, right? And so when I got out, I was like — whew, I don’t have to do that again. So there’s a little bit of relief, as far as that goes. I think that over the years, too, we’ve been really good round one. I think that we’d probably would have a lot more poles if it was just round one. And then round two, we seem to, you know, slip back. So I think this new format might help us a little bit or help me. Maybe I’m good at executing it once but not twice. But, yeah, it’s nerve wracking watching everybody go. I think once the Penske cars went, I sort of felt a little bit of relief because typically they’re the fastest, as far as, trimmed out and straight line speed. And so once we had beat those guys, I felt like we were in a pretty good spot.”

Michael, the transition from Front Row to Spire Motorsports with Travis, is there any surprise from where you guys are already, speed-wise? What you are bringing to the team this year is already translating into speed on the racetrack. Just because you guys are, you know, different manufacturers, different teams, different processes..
“It’s so hard to answer that because as racers, we’re so unrealistic. Yes, we thought we would do this. We thought we’d sit on the Daytona pole, you know? I mean, that’s just the mindset. It doesn’t mean that it’s right and it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen because it is a lot to learn the tools and the processes.

What I would say is that Spire Motorsports had a really good baseline before we got there. I mean, you guys saw last year, at the end of last year — Carson (Hocevar) was rattling off top-10s, and him and Luke (Lambert) were qualifying in the second round and doing all the things. So, it’s not like we came there and we had a lot to go forward to be in this spot, you know? It’s details and it’s people and processes, and we still have a lot to do. I mean, we are not where we want to be. I mean, today the speed is where we want to be but there’s so many things that have to happen over the next 30 days, 90 days, six months, year to put us in a real position to contend week in and week out. But we’re moving in that direction. And so, I’m glad we are where we are but I’m not surprised by it. But I probably should be, if that answers it.”

You may not know yet but last fall the polesitter didn’t pick pit stall one, they picked pit stall six. And I’m curious if you know which one you’re going to pick..
“You know, it’s one of those things that I study all aspects of driving. I do not study aspects of strategy or pit stall selection. I let the smart people do that and they tell me where we’re going to be and how we’re going to go. And so, I’m not sure what Travis’ game plan is on that. But I do know that he’s prepared and he always thinks we’re going to get the pole, so he’s not surprised by it. He already has a plan, so we’ll see which one he picks here.

Honestly, I stay out of those types of things, unless I have an opinion with just track history and things like that. So, we’ll see.”

There’s been a conversation this year ongoing about the approval process between Mike Wallace, Helio Castroneves and Katherine Legge. Casey Mears is now also involved. Where do you see the approval process at NASCAR? You’ve obviously raced multiple different kinds of cars. You made the leap from ARCA yourself to Cup. Do you think there needs to be a different process? Are you fine with how things are? How do you see it?
“Well, I can tell you what my process was, as far as back then and I don’t know if it’s the same now. I signed my Cup deal with MWR before I ever stepped into a truck or Xfinity car or a Cup car, right? So, I knew I was going Cup racing. We just didn’t know how we were going to actually get there.

And so, I had to run a truck race at Martinsville to be approved to run an Xfinity car or Nationwide car or whatever it was at the time at a bigger track. And I think I ran Phoenix in the Xfinity car. And then I ran Texas in the Xfinity car.

And before I could run the Cup car at any of those other tracks, I had to run Daytona in an Xfinity car. Like, that was the process. I had to do all the different tracks in lower series in order to do that. And so, that was the approval process then. And I don’t know if it’s the same.

And, you know, I know what you’re asking. It’s a tough question to ask because, you know, Helio (Castroneves) is a world-class race car driver, and he should be approved. I mean, it would be crazy to think that he wouldn’t.

Now, does that mean that he has a ton of experience in our cars and is prepared for every single situation and every single dirty air situation and all those things? No. But either was Kyle Larson at the Indy 500, right? There are certain things that, if you don’t do it all the time, you’re just not going to know and you’re not going to have. Mike Wallace, he’s a tremendous speedway racer. Out of all the places that you could run him, you could probably run him there pretty confidently and not think about it. It’s just the amount of experience he has in all the different situations. Casey Mears, I mean, I have no problem with Casey Mears driving. He’s done 490 Cup starts and is a great race car driver. And he’s not that far removed from it. So I don’t think we’ve missed it. I don’t think it’s an issue. But you’re putting a lot on a driver to know all these different aspects in a one-off situation. Same with Katherine (Legge), too. She’s a world-class race car driver. Driven all over the world in all different types of race cars. I don’t feel like she’s underqualified.

But she doesn’t have the experience, situationally, in our cars. And I don’t know how much racing would — if she did an Xfinity race at Phoenix, I don’t know if that would change anything.”
 

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Media Availability Quotes:  Kyle, many consider you the king of restarts in NASCAR. For a track like Las Vegas, where restarts are so hectic and crazy, just take me through a restart here on a race weekend..“Yeah, I mean, restarts are sort of the name of the game, I guess, now, because once you get single-filed out and spread out a little bit, it’s hard to make up time and make up ground unless you’re really, really good. And to get by guys that you’re around or in front of you, as well. So you try to get as many as you can and whatever you can. It’s kind of tough, you know, with the defense being as good as the defense can be with guys, where they pull up in front of you and block your air and things like that, where you’ve got to, you know, get out of the gas and whatnot. So, you know, it’s definitely changed over the years. This car has changed it again. But it seems like, more and more times, guys are more amped up and more — not amped up, but more ramped up to just be ready to defend and make it harder for guys to make ground as much as you used to when we first went to some of the double-file restart stuff.” This is your home track. You’ve won here once before.. all the way back in 2009. What are some of the most challenging things about getting it done here at Las Vegas? “I would say Vegas is challenging just because of the time of the year. You know, we’re coming off of winter time for this race, obviously, so we cold weather, things like that. So the track reacts differently versus the fall race here, where you’re coming off of summertime; all the summer heat, the ground being hotter, the track being different, the bumps being different. So, just kind of getting accustomed to all of those things and getting reacclimated with all of that. You know, the springtime, the speeds are very high. I feel like you run a faster lap time in the springtime, and I feel like the aero deficiencies become greater in the springtime. So, you know, the track doesn’t quite widen out as much as you want it to. I feel like we have a greater sense of track wideness more so in the fall. But, you know, that could always change, just depending on if it gets upwards in temperature on race day.”  There was a lot of discussion this week on the approval process to race in Cup after what happened last week. I’m curious if you feel like there needs to be more structure, and how do you balance or how should NASCAR balance it? You know, you have SVG come in. Granted, it’s a road course, but in his first race, he was able to win. How do you balance, you know, somebody who’s so accomplished in another series and trying to figure out if they’re able to race Cup?“Yeah, I don’t have a great answer. I feel like I’ve questioned the approval process for a long, long time. Being an owner in the Truck Series and seeing some young drivers get opportunities at different tracks versus my drivers that I was trying to get them opportunities at some of those same tracks getting denied. So I was very confused, and probably I’m even more confused now on how it all works. I think it’s broken. I think there’s a lot of work that could be done to make it better. I also do feel as though it shouldn’t be ‘suit and ties’ making the decisions always. Certainly there can be some that need to be involved, but I do feel like there needs to be fire suits involved in some of those decision-making processes on those that need to be approved or not approved for various activities. And I’ll even go so far to say, too, that I feel the same way on driver penalties. The Austin Cindric deal.. I don’t think ‘suit and ties’ should be making that. I think you should get penalized by your peers.” We talked extensively at COTA and you really felt like things were going in the right direction. In that period of time, you’ve had three top-10s. Do you feel like the No. 8 team has kind of turned the corner? “A little bit, yeah. I mean, certainly we’ve had some good races, so far. We’ve had some good speed. We’ve had the cars driving much more to my liking than what we’ve had in past. So I’ve been able to get more from the race car as well, too. So that’s all a net positive. Everyone at RCR should be proud of the efforts and all the things that we’re doing behind the scenes to get us to where we’re at right now. So I’m grateful of that. I do feel like there’s more to go get. You know, if we had the gains that we made at Phoenix from last year to this year — if we could have another step of that, you know, then there’s going to be reason for us to race for wins. And so I’m optimistic about here this weekend and seeing what we can do this week in putting ourselves in position to race up front; challenge for stage points, challenge for a win, put ourselves in a position to go out there and continue our decent start to the season of top-10s.” Given the gains you mentioned at Phoenix, does that kind of, you know, portend well for when you go to Martinsville, which is another shorter, flat track? Since you’ve been in the No. 8 car, that is one of the places where you had had lots of success but struggled with RCR. “Yeah, each week’s different, right? We have a small sample size right now with the start of the season and only having a few races. So as we continue to add to that sample size of Las Vegas, Homestead and go to Martinsville.. you know, hit a Bristol, a Darlington, I feel like then you’ll really start to see where you stack up. The seasons change so fast also. You don’t want to start hot and then, you know, have NASCAR looking over you with a microscope, and then you have different issues getting through tech each week that then kind of derail your summer. So, you know, you’ve got to be careful and be patient with everything that you’ve got going on. But that sometimes can be a defining factor, as well too, to your season and how you play it out.” Given that it’s been a while since you won a race, is it difficult to keep your emotions in check and not push too hard when you feel like you’ve got a car that’s capable of winning?“It is. I would say, you know, when I was winning a lot, you were doing it quite often. You were in position quite often. And so you could harness those emotions and those feelings; be able to go out there and just do your job and kind of let it come to you. Kansas last fall, I felt rushed. I felt hurried. I felt like I needed to get through the traffic as fast as I could, and I put myself in a bad spot; we hit the wall and lost the race. So, you know, those things are certainly on your mind as you come to them, especially with as close as the competition is today. It’s rare that you see — I guess unless you’re tiny Kyle (Larson), it’s rare that you see, you know, three-second gaps to the next guy behind you. You know, you’re always kind of fighting within that one-second gap that you have to a guy behind you. You can lose a half a second in one lap, if you get the wrong lane through a corner and you get in somebody else’s wake. So, you know, you don’t have much room to breathe.”  When you were talking about the approval process, does the sport need to go back to looking at how much practice that includes on a race weekend when somebody is in a car for the first time, as well as the testing policy where teams being able to take someone and put them in a car during the week and run laps with them beforehand?“Yeah, I agree. That can definitely be a good piece of what we can do with individuals that, you know, want to come run. Testing is tough because, obviously, I would say that if we’re talking about Katherine’s (Legge) situation, I don’t know how much extra funds there are there with that situation to be able to go out to Phoenix a week early and go test, you know what I mean? But that obviously would be beneficial to not only the team, but also the driver in that case to just go out there and get some reps; get some laps, get some seat time, feel the car out, get it more comfortable than probably what she was able to do in just the short practice that we have. So how that all works, I’m not exactly sure. If it’s a four-hour session on Thursday or Friday or, like, the day before or something, I think that that could certainly be a waiver piece that is allowed for, you know, some first-timers.”  Talking about your performance, the three straight top-10s and the direction this team is going – how much do you want to see from this team or have early season success as it pertains to then when you start weighing your future and what you’re seeing from this team and how much that’s going to weigh in?“Yeah, I mean, obviously having good runs and solid race cars; cars that feel like they should and drive like they should is a big important piece to all of that. So, so far so good. I mean, from last year to this year — just, you know, Legos being the same, apparently they’re not because we’re doing something different and cars are driving much better. So, again, I just appreciate the efforts and values of everyone at RCR putting all that in. And so, you know, there’s not a team out there that will outwork us, that’s for sure. We’re going to continue that grit and continue to go out there and make sure that we have good pieces and, you know, keep performing.” With Auto Club Speedway gone and the loss of so many tracks in Southern California, how important is it to you to keep Las Vegas thriving for NASCAR? And do you think that maybe you miss Fontana or that NASCAR might have to do something to fill that gap now that it’s not on the schedule?“This is a really tough question to answer. Fontana was always one of my favorite places. I love that track. Even though it started off really rough for me, of getting kicked out of there when I was 16 years old, it certainly ended very well winning the final race there a couple years ago. So that place has a special meaning in my heart and, you know, all of Southern California does. You know, I remember Irwindale. I remember Orange Show. I remember Blythe. I think Blythe is still there. You know, you’ve got Madera. You’ve got Altamont. I don’t know if Altamont is still going or not.. that’s more Northern California. But, you know, there’s some really good racetracks that have been through California that I’ve been around and at least have been to or Kurt has been to. And I don’t know how to make it go. There’s so many people around that area that, you know, for a local short track with 5,000 seats to not fill those seats, it’s just not the interest of the fan in those areas. So that’s why they die. I mean, if you’re full every week and you’ve got standing room only like Eldora in Ohio, there’s no problem that you’re going to keep your doors open, you know?  But I understand the Fontana piece — the land value is worth much more than what you were ever going to make in ticket sales. So, you know, eventually there becomes an economic decision and it overpowers us being racers that want to go race at those tracks. It overpowers that.” Regarding your season, and you and Randall (Burnett) sitting down at the beginning of the year and figuring out which tracks you’re going to –- I know you’re going to try to win every week, but do you focus on certain tracks that you may have a better shot at? And does that morph throughout the year? As you perform well here, you might think that — hey, we learned something that we can apply at X track down the road..“No, we don’t circle any venue or anything like that to say — hey, this is a place that we want to go win. We know we can win here. Nuh-uh, no. Like, we just try to elevate the whole program. If you elevate the whole program, the whole program is going to, you know, bring yourself to the front and being able to capitalize on good runs. And honestly, like a lot of times, with the way pit stops are, with the way sometimes strategy goes, with the way restarts are, with the way calamity is — if you are running between fourth and seventh every single week, you will at one point or another in the race be eligible or be racing for a win. And so, yeah, obviously you’ve got to race for the win at the end. But, you know, if you’re within that position, there’s going to be some guys that falter. Literally a lot more times than not, guys beat themselves out of a win. So you just can’t be that team that does that. So I feel like getting to that level of, you know, that fourth through seventh, fourth through eighth range, where we’ve been just on the outside brink of last week at Phoenix, then we’ll have a shot.”  And a follow-up, this week is the last Cup race for Chris Powell, also Jeff Motley leaving. You built your career here racing around this area. What does that mean for the track, the community, to lose those guys? And for you personally, knowing what you’ve done? “Yeah, I mean, obviously, a great career for those two guys. So I’m probably a little closer to Jeff than Chris. But, you know, it’s cool to see their tenure here as long as it’s been, as great as it’s been, and for the success of this racetrack; seeing all the different peaks and valleys that it’s been through has been really, really cool. So congrats to them. I wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors. I’ve heard some cool things that Jeff’s looking at doing. So, you know, it’s going to be neat to see whoever comes in next to keep this place going and keep it where it’s at or grow it.”

Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Media Availability Quotes:  A lot of discussion this week on the approval process to be in a Cup race after last weekend. I’m curious, like for High Limit, do you get involved in like – should this person be allowed to race or should they not? Do you feel like there needs to be a little more structure for Cup? “Yeah, at least on the sprint car side of it, I don’t know if there’s anything in place. There could be at times, but I feel like most of the time — sprint cars are crazy (laughs). So if you’re not capable of it, you usually don’t get in it. I think in NASCAR, I don’t know what the approval process is, so I can’t really speak on what needs to change. But it is surprising sometimes when some drivers are not allowed to run and then others are. So yeah, I don’t know.. maybe there just needs to be a better something in place. I know when you’re a rookie, you have to go run an ARCA race or you’ve got to build up to the size of the track and stuff like that. So you have to run like three or four races before you can run an Xfinity car or something on an intermediate or superspeedway. So yeah, maybe there needs to be more of that.”  Curious about Travis Pastrana.. how did that all came about and what were your early thoughts?“Yeah, that was pretty neat to have him get to check something off of his bucket list, especially a guy that’s done so much in action sports, motorsports and all that. So yeah, I’m not exactly sure how it all started. I think there was a connection between the Ridge & Sons Racing Team and Travis. I think they have a mutual sponsor maybe or something. So yeah, I’d heard about that, and then JP and I were able to just call Travis and kind of organize the logistics of it and get the ball rolling a little bit faster. Yeah, so that was neat to have him come out and have some fun in his sprint car. Yeah, he looked smooth. I mean, the track was obviously in not great shape, just with it being during the day and all that. But he was smooth, built up to speed and had a good time. So that’s great.” You’ve won two of the last three races here. What’s the key to getting around this place?“Yeah, I don’t know. I think as far as getting around the track and being fast, your car’s got to obviously be fast, have a lot of grip, but get through the bumps, I feel like, really well in (turns) one and two to just kind of carry momentum around the whole track. Three and four are really slick corners, as well. And then to win, you got to have all of that, but your team has to execute. I feel like when we have won the races here, our team’s done a really good job, on pit road especially. So more of all that and hopefully we’ll have a good shot.”  Kyle, for most teams, like two third place finishes in the first month of the season is a pretty good start. But you mentioned last week like it hasn’t been a good start. So what is your perspective on where the No. 5 team sits a month in?“Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I think like Daytona just was rough. Like we just were buried in the back the whole time. So that was frustrating to start your season off like that. I would have rather been up front and got crashed, but never got to see the front. And then, yeah, Atlanta was good. You know, I was happy. I was like — oh, great. You know, I expected to go there and crash, and we got a good finish. So I felt like we were a week ahead of schedule. And then, you know, we went to COTA and had good speed and all that. I just didn’t do a great job behind the wheel. And then we had the right front wheel fall off and that buried us. And then finally had a chance to overcome it and then got spun. And then Phoenix last week, we just weren’t fast. Like we weren’t very good. But our team did an amazing job executing — pit stops, restarts, all of that stuff kept us in the hunt. And yeah, I don’t know.. I just feel like we haven’t had consistency really to start, whether that be kind of everything coming together. So I’m hoping that this week, a track that we have success at in the past, you know, we can kind of put it all together and you have a solid weekend. And then go to another track next week where I’m really confident at and try and just put a few good races in a row together.”  With the High Limit,  you just happened to have the track in the backyard. I understand Texas is similar. Do you have like a blueprint going forward where you might be able to have, you know, tracks that are somewhere close to where you’re racing in NASCAR and kind of have some cross-promotion or be able to appear at more races? Is that part of your blueprint? “I don’t know. I mean, I think when it works, like it works. You know, here getting our season started across the street. And then, when we go to Texas, as well. I believe when we’re at Kansas Speedway, we get to race at Lakeside one of the nights.. maybe Thursday or Friday night. But then, I mean, it’s hard. There’s already races in place, you know, events in place throughout the year. So, like, logistically it doesn’t make sense. And you don’t want to piggyback off NASCAR, you know, all the time. So, there’s great sprint car fans throughout the country. So, no..  we don’t have to rely on coming to venues like this. But it is nice, you know, when you can get the cross-promotion and all that. But it’s not something that we look at trying to do a ton of.” Kyle, when one of your competitors has won three-straight races, how much do you look at that with respect, as well as — okay, we need to stop this guy?“I don’t know. I mean, I think we had a great season in 2021 and was able to win three points-paying races in a row, twice, that year. And four in a row once, you know, with the All-Star race in there. So, I think having lived through it on my own, I can respect it a lot more and it doesn’t bother me. You know, when I see somebody else having success like that. So, if he wins this weekend, maybe it’s like — all right, this is getting annoying. But I think for me, as like a competitor and a fan, I think it’s really neat because this sport is so tough, especially in the Next Gen era. So, I respect it more than anything currently. But if it keeps going on too long, it’ll get annoying.” If the third-place finish at Phoenix was a struggle, do you have any concerns about Martinsville, where you’ve been great in the Next Gen era with a win and five top-six finishes in the last five races?“I don’t know. I would say as a team and organization, we’re much better at Martinsville than we are at Phoenix. So, yeah, we had hopes of being better than we were at Phoenix across the board, you know, the four of us. William (Byron) was pretty decent, but the rest of us were pretty average. Where I feel like when we go to Martinsville, we have a package that we can probably look back on and build our car off of that and be competitive. So, I don’t have as much concern going to Martinsville as I do Phoenix right now. But Martinsville is Martinsville, and it is a tough track still for me, even though it’s crazy to think that it’s probably our statistically best track on this circuit. So, we’ll see. But, yeah, Martinsville is still not a place where I’m like — I can go there and lead every lap. You know, I feel like I can come to Vegas or Homestead and I can lead every lap. But Martinsville is a tough place. Even if I had the best car in the field, which I probably do have the best car in the field, and I’m bringing it down to sixth.” You did just bring up Homestead. Your last win there came I think two, three races ago. You had a consistent string of top-fives for a while. How do you feel going in next week for Homestead? “Yeah, I mean, I feel good. I always feel good going to Homestead. It’s probably the track that suits me the best, you know, being comfortable running against the wall and stuff like that. So, yeah, I mean, the last two finishes we’ve had there don’t reflect how we’ve ran. You know, we’ve been the best every time we go there. We were stupid fast there the second- half of the fall race last time we were there with a bunch of damage underneath the car that you can’t see. So that was a satisfying run to almost have a shot to win there. But, yeah, hopefully this year it goes smooth; we have a good handling race car, which I know we will, and we can just hammer away at the wall and be fast.”  So if Christopher Bell wins here this weekend, you can break the streak next weekend? “I’m hoping to break the streak this week.”  

The Californian comes out on top at Kennedale for his 10^th career win 

KENNEDALE, TX (March 14, 2025) – Texas might be known for barbecue sauce, but it was all about “Hot Sauce” on Friday night in the “Lone Star State.”

Giovanni Scelzi wasn’t about to let victory slip away as the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars kicked off the Cowtown Classic at Kennedale Speedway Park. Less than two weeks ago he and his KCP Racing team were forced to settle for second at Volusia Speedway Park after leading the opening 14 laps. It was the defending Series champion David Gravel prying the win away that night, and a similar situation looked to be shaping up Friday.

But Scelzi wouldn’t let it happen again.

The Fresno, CA native led from the pole as the 25-lap main event began, but the second-starting Gravel wasted no time mounting a charge. The driver of the Big Game Motorsports No. 2 found some speed in the middle and began to pressure Scelzi. Gravel put his nose next to Scelzi down the back straightaway several times, but Scelzi closed the door. Ultimately, Scelzi had just enough to hold on for his first win of 2025.

“I feel like the outside lane was better in (Turns) 1 and 2 than it was in (Turns) 3 and 4,” Scelzi explained. “The bottom of 3 and 4 had so much grip that it was kind of no man’s land to get out of it. I thought I heard someone at one point down the backstretch, but I didn’t know if I should risk it and try to get around him and get hung out or just follow them. Glad it went there from five laps on to the end. I’m just proud of my guys.”

Scelzi’s score bumped him up to 10 career victories with The Greatest Show on Dirt, making him the 51^st different driver to reach double digits. KCP Racing climbed to a dozen World of Outlaws wins as a team. It’s the second straight year Scelzi has won in the state of Texas to go along with his Cotton Bowl Speedway checkered flag from 2024.

“Adam (Clark) has worked extremely hard,” Scelzi said of his crew chief. “It’s been I feel like a lot of swings here. We’ve only raced eight or nine times and went from DIRTcar (Nationals) to being fast at Bike Week to then being fast at Magnolia and making mistake and got one back in the Heat Race. Just super proud of Blake and Harley and getting, I think, both of their first Outlaw wins. Very cool.”

Gravel settled for second as his incredible start to 2025 continued. The Watertown, CT native still hasn’t missed the top five, and Friday’s runner-up gave him seven consecutive podiums. His point lead is now at 58 markers.

“I ran hard there for a while on that one restart, and I was really close, and he was using up the whole racetrack,” Gravel said. “He obviously heard and saw me and just was racing defensive and did what he had to do to win the race. We had a couple shots. During the last corner I drove in a little bit too hard and slid up in the middle and thought I was going to be able to try something there at the end. But I didn’t want to risk blowing a tire or risk crashing there.”

Rounding out the podium was Carson Macedo in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41. It was back-to-back top threes for the Lemoore, CA native has he looks to build some momentum and erase Gravel’s early advantage atop the standings.

“Hats off to Philip Dietz, Adam Zimmerman, and Robby McQuinn” Macedo said. “I thought we were decent there early. We were able to sweep into third right away and try to transition. It’s tough to know where you’re at, so I started getting my wing back forward because I was getting tight.”

Sheldon Haudenschild and Bill Balog completed the top five.

Balog wheeled his way to fifth from 12^th to earn the KSE Racing Hard Charger.

Anthony Macri earned the seventh Simpson Quick Time of his career in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Two, and Four belonged to Anthony Macri, Garet Williamson, and Carson Macedo. WIX Filters Heat Three went to Sheldon Haudenschild.

Gio Scelzi topped the Toyota Dash.

The SPA Technique #1 Redraw went to David Gravel.

Christopher Thram won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Conner Morrell.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete the Cowtown Classic at Kennedale Speedway Park on Saturday, March 14. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[1]; 2. 2-David Gravel[2]; 3. 41-Carson Macedo[4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog[12]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 7. 23-Garet Williamson[6]; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri[8]; 9. 27-Emerson Axsom[7]; 10. 83-Michael Kofoid[10]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[13]; 12. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[16]; 13. 2C-Cole Macedo[14]; 14. 7S-Chris Windom[15]; 15. 6-Zach Hampton[11]; 16. 28M-Conner Morrell[9]; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[17]; 18. 2KS-Cory Eliason[18]; 19. J2-John Carney II[23]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee[20]; 21. 52-Blake Hahn[22]; 22. 24T-Christopher Thram[21]; 23. 17GP-Landon Crawley[24]; 24. 20G-Noah Gass[19]

MARYVILLE, TN (March 14, 2025) – In 11 previous World of Outlaws Late Models races at Smoky Mountain Speedway, no driver from the Midwest had ever rolled into Victory Lane.

That was until Bobby Pierce came to town.

In his first trip to Maryville, the driver of the No. 32 led every lap of the Tennessee Tipoff on the way to win number 32 with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet.

“A lot went through our minds coming here, thinking if we could come away with a top 10, that would be good, top five would be great,” Pierce said. “Definitely would not have imagined winning this race. I’ve never been here, but on top of that, it is red dirt, that’s not what I’m from and everyone knows that. We had a good car, that’s all I can say.”

Pierce began the 35-lap showdown from the outside of the front row next to Bilstein Pole Award winner Nick Hoffman. A strong run around the outside propelled the “Smooth Operator” to the early advantage while Hoffman raced Devin Moran for second behind him.

The gap between Pierce and Hoffman began to close once Pierce caught the tail of the field, but by that point, all eyes were on Jonathan Davenport, who drove from eighth to third in nine laps and was quickly running down the leaders.

Twelve laps in, “Superman” dove to the bottom entering Turn 3 and slid up in front of Hoffman to take over second. At that point, a head-to-head duel between two of dirt Late Model racing’s winningest drivers over the past decade was on.

Davenport got within range of Pierce on multiple occasions in the closing laps, but as the racing groove began to narrow late in the going, he ran out of opportunities to make the winning move as Pierce cruised to his first World of Outlaws win of the season.

Despite a winless start to the Outlaw season at Volusia Speedway Park, the win netted Pierce the Series points lead by 12 markers over Hoffman. Given the circumstances of racing on a new track that was wildly different than anything the Series typically faces, the win proved that Pierce and team have both the speed and versatility to vie for a second title in three years.

“If we can win on tracks we don’t think we’re going to be good at, that’s what it takes,” Pierce said. “I just want to be top five on tracks I’m not good at and then hopefully win the tracks I’m good at, that’s how you win the points.”

After an unlucky Redraw, Davenport took his chances with his tire choice in an effort to get to the front as soon as possible. He did just that, but was ultimately unable to get past the last car on his list in Pierce.

“I was just going where they weren’t,” Davenport said. “We went for a little bit different tire combination, started so far back. Short race, I didn’t figure there would be a lot of cautions with how slick the place was. We gambled a little bit and it paid off, got us close. I just needed the lap cars to work out a little bit different a time or two.”

Hoffman rounded out the podium in third for the second-straight race. After a week that included a last-minute trip to Illinois to pick up a substitute toter home, the strong run and subsequent second spot in points was exactly what Hoffman needed to make the extra effort worthwhile.

“I felt decent at the beginning of the race, just keeping pace with Bobby,” Hoffman said. “JD just blew my doors off and slid me there and then we just got in a train. I peeked the nose a couple times, got him to move down and debated on going back to the middle to try and roll back around him and it just didn’t play out.”

Dale McDowell finished fourth in his first start of the year in the Shane McDowell Racing No. 17M, while Devin Moran completed the top five.

RACE NOTES:

Jonathan Davenport picked up the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap and the Simpson Quick Time Award.

Jimmy Owens won Heat 1.

Devin Moran won STAKT Products Heat 2.

Bobby Pierce won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.

Nick Hoffman won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.

Brandon Overton and Ryan Gustin won the two Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.

Jonathan Davenport won the Bilstein Pole Award.

Brandon Sheppard drove from 24th to 17th for the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.

Carson Ferguson was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.

Jonathan Davenport won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.

Dale McDowell was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.

Devin Moran was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.

Jimmy Owens was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.

Mike Marlar was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.

Carson Ferguson was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.

Garrett Alberson was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.

Camaron Marlar was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Models season resumes next Friday and Saturday, March 21-22, with the Battle at the Crossroads at Swainsboro Raceway. For more event information, click here.

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

Feature (35 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 49D-Jonathan Davenport[8]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[1]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[5]; 5. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 6. 20-Jimmy Owens[4]; 7. 16-Sam Seawright[6]; 8. 157-Mike Marlar[7]; 9. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 10. 58-Garrett Alberson[12]; 11. 96-Tanner English[11]; 12. 57M-Camaron Marlar[14]; 13. 23V-Cory Hedgecock[9]; 14. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[20]; 15. 2-Cody Overton[16]; 16. 111-Max Blair[15]; 17. B5-Brandon Sheppard[24]; 18. 76-Brandon Overton[17]; 19. 19R-Ryan Gustin[18]; 20. 9M-Tim McCreadie[13]; 21. 3S-Brian Shirley[26]; 22. 12-Ashton Winger[19]; 23. 74X-Ethan Dotson[21]; 24. 22*-Drake Troutman[23]; 25. 40B-Kyle Bronson[25]; 26. 6-Hudson O’Neal[22]

(Pictured: Senoia 2024 – Dallas Daniels #32, Brandon Robinson #44, & Johnny Lewis #10) Daytona Beach, Fla. (March 14, 2025) – Progressive American Flat Track is excited to unveil a brand-new schedule for the 2025 Yamaha Senoia Short Track, set for March 29. Developed in close collaboration with riders, team owners, and promoters this innovative schedule aims to provide the best possible racing surface, particularly for the night program—while immersing fans in America’s Original Extreme Sport like never before. New Mid-Event Break for Fans The heart of this pilot program is an extended break between daytime and nighttime action. This pause not only allows track crews to perform effective prep work but also sets the stage for a high-energy fan experience. Whether it’s chatting with riders, exploring the pit lane, or simply soaking up the excitement in the paddock, fans will have unparalleled access to all the behind-the-scenes action in the pits and much more with details coming on the “Fan Party”. Grandstand & Trackside Parking Gates Gates will open at 2pm EST on March 29, giving attendees first dibs on prime seating and trackside parking. Arrive in time to feel the electricity in the air as Practice begins at 2pm, teams fine-tune their machines, and the riders prepare to push the limits on Senoia’s legendary clay. Open Paddock – Pit Pass Included Further underscoring the sport’s devotion to fan access, Progressive AFT is continuing its open paddock policy for the Senoia Short Track. Every admission doubles as a “pit pass,” granting you a close-up view of the teams, bikes, and the personalities fueling the sport of Progressive American Flat Track. The Paddock opens at 4:30pm but there are plenty of activities before then along with Practice and Qualifying. Yamaha Continues as Official OEM Partner This fresh format at Senoia is also supported by Yamaha’s ongoing role as an Official OEM Partner. Their involvement ensures even greater excitement throughout the day, though the spotlight remains firmly on the new schedule and its fan-focused enhancements.  Stay Tuned With this new program, Progressive AFT is pushing boundaries to deliver the highest-quality racing and the most fan-friendly event experience possible. Keep an eye on AmericanFlatTrack.com and our social channels for forthcoming announcements, including ticket details and additional fan activities. Tickets can be purchased for the 2025 Yamaha Senoia Short Track event taking place on Saturday, March 29 by clicking HERE.

Three Cadillac V-Series.Rs look at long game in 12-hour race at Sebring
SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2025) – Four of Cadillac Racing’s five victories in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring since 2017 have been achieved from starting on the second row or lower.

That’s some consolation and motivation for drivers of the three Cadillac Racing Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) entries following qualifications for the 73rd edition of the iconic North American endurance race.

Louis Deletraz, who co-drove to victory in the 2024 race with Jordan Taylor, recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 48.126 seconds in the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R to place seventh in the disjointed session on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring International Raceway course.
Ricky Taylor qualified eighth in the No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R with a lap of 1:48.171. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R driven by Jack Aitken, which topped the lap time chart in the practice session the night before, encountered a mechanical issue at the outset of the 15-minute session that brought out a red flag and will start 13th in the order.

Cadillac Racing has recorded five overall victories, including three in a row (2021-2023), and finished runner-up in 2024 and 2018 in the races at Sebring since joining IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship prototype competition in 2017. The 2022, 2021, 2019 and 2017 victories came from qualifying fourth or lower.

The 2023 victory by the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R – in Aitken’s second IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship start – came from the pole. The No. 31 entry campaigned by Action Express Racing also earned the pole in 2024.

Media resources


• Event guide: Sebring notes, driver CVs, statistics and more
• Cadillac at Sebring results 2024-2017
• Cadillac all-time statistics
• 2025 IMSA statistics
• Driver photos
  The No. 24 BMW M Team RLL earned the pole with a best lap of 1:147.091.

The 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing will be the official Safety Vehicle for the race.

What they’re saying
Louis Delétraz, No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R: “Not an easy session and I think we all wanted better results, obviously. But qualifying doesn’t really matter at Sebring, it’s all ab out the last three laps of the race. I think we worked mostly on our race car, and we didn’t focus on qualifying. We definitely can still improve. We’re still learning and getting better every time out. We have to look at some data and be fully ready for tomorrow to get a strong race car and a strong night race car and hopefully defend our win.”

Ricky Taylor, No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R: “I think we are learning every time we drive the Cadillac V-Series.R. It’s amazing even with a 15-minute session and this one was hectic for 15 minutes to just have a two-lap sprint to the end. It’s so conditional on what everybody else is trying to do to get clean laps. We can always try to position ourselves better and can’t completely blame the situation. So, it is what it is. The car has run flawlessly, and it needs to do the same for tomorrow. I think we have worked a lot on our race car. It’s a long race and people have won further back, and we will just keep positive for tomorrow.”
Cadillac Racing Twelve Hours of Sebring overall victories 2024-2017
2023: No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, start first – Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, Jack Aitken
2022: No. 02 Cadillac Accessories Cadillac DPi-V.R, start fourth – Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Neel Jani
2021: No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R), start sixth – Tristan Vautier, Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais
2019: No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R),start fifth – Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, Eric Curran
2017: No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, start sixth – Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Alex Lynn
Runner-up
2024: No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R, start second — Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, Scott Dixon 2018: No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, start 10th – Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande, Ryan Hunter-Reay

CONCORD, NC (March 14, 2025) — For the first time in almost 30 years, the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) National Tour will race the famed high banks of I-55 Federated Auto Parts Raceway Park on Saturday, Sept. 20.

The 1/3-mile oval located in Pevely, MO, has been a staple of dirt track racing since its establishment in 1977, hosting some of the sport’s most prestigious events including the annual Ironman 55, featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. ASCS will return to the St. Louis-area facility with a $10,000 check on the line — the seventh event on the 2025 schedule with a five-figure winner’s share.

The first and only past ASCS appearance at I-55 came on Sept. 24, 1995, when inaugural National Tour champion Garry Lee Maier took the checkered flag. The 2025 visit will mark nearly 30 years to the date of that night.

Present-day National Tour stars Seth Bergman, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Matt Covington, Jason Martin, Blake Hahn and the rest of the 16-car full-time roster will lead the charge into I-55, marking the second of two events on the calendar in the state of Missouri and the second of two events currently scheduled to race in September.

I-55 will also look comparatively different in 2025, having recently undergone a change in ownership for the first time since the late 1990s. Following the purchase of the facility over the winter by Midwest racing promoter Josh Carroll, multiple track and fan experience upgrades have been planned, according to a December press release.

“We couldn’t be more excited to bring the National Tour back to I-55 and the Missouri–Illinois Sprint Car fans,” said Series Director Lonnie Wheatley. “Sprint Car racing has a long history in Pevely, and we wanted to make ASCS a part of that with World Racing Group’s great relationship with the track.”

Tickets for the event will be on sale at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live to your device with a subscription to DIRTVision.

Mobil 1 Corvettes on GTD PRO third row; AWA and DXDT Racing aiming high SEBRING, Fla. (March 14, 2025) – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ two Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will start side-by-side Saturday on the third row of the GTD PRO class for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring following qualifying time trials Friday.

Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette will start fifth alongside teammate Tommy Milner in the No. 4 entry as the Corvette Racing program looks for its 13th program victory in America’s oldest sports car race. Both Pratt Miller Corvettes are running special Mobil 1 liveries this weekend and hope to recapture the magic previous years at the circuit. Garcia’s best lap was a 1:59.897 (112.296 mph) effort in the Corvette he’ll share with Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. The trio was second in class to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Milner was an eyelash back at 1:59.926 (112.268 mph) in the Z06 GT3.R that he will drive with Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone – all three previous winners at Sebring in either IMSA or FIA World Endurance Championship competition. In GTD, Salih Yoluc was the quickest Corvette driver with a 2:01.814 (110.538 mph) in DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Z06 GT3.R, just ahead of AWA’s Orey Fidani in the No. 13 Corvette at 2:02.274 (110.113 mph). Although both entries were down the order in class, they will have an advantage in the race as most teams elected to qualify their Pro-level drivers in the session. With the expected number of safety car periods, Both DXDT and AWA will be able to run their higher-ranked drivers against the Bronze drivers from other entrants. The momentum of the second-year Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is sky-high even after only two months of racing. At Daytona, AWA captured a landmark first 24-hour win for the Corvette in GTD, the No. 3 Corvette from Pratt Miller Motorsports finished second in GTD PRO and the No. 4 sister Corvette led seven times in class. In addition, the Corvette GT3 won in FIA World Endurance Championship competition for the first time with TF Sport taking the LM GT3 class victory with Juncadella as part of the driving lineup. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15. The race will air live flag-to-flag on Peacock in the United States and YouTube outside the U.S. beginning at 10 a.m. ET. IMSA Radio will have the race call on XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996, 99.9 FM in Sebring and 107.9 FM at the circuit.

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTESANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “It’s not bad when you are involved in the fight for pole, for sure. So it’s not that I wasn’t going for it. I definitely liked the times we were able to start from that position, but today we probably didn’t have the ultimate pace against the cars ahead of us. But I would say car balance isn’t bad, so we kept working throughout yesterday and I think we made progress last night. It was improving, and maybe we tried a few other things in qualifying just to validate or discard toward the race. So even if the car wasn’t what I wanted it to be, I think it gave us that good information for tomorrow. I’m still happy with that. It’s not the front row. It’s the third row but I’m sure we can still win this race from there.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Qualifying was okay. I would say probably are kind of close to everybody except really the Ferrari and the Porsche. I had a feeling just based on practice that we don’t have the ultimate pace of the other guys. We’re super heavy, so that doesn’t usually bode well for tire wear either, so we’ve been put in a box here that’s not ideal. But obviously, we’ve been in this situation multiple times, so we’ll do our best, work on the strategy and things like that toward the race. Last night was important. That’s when all the magic happens… Sebring at nighttime, good and bad. I thought our Corvette was decent last night but it’s also hard to gauge against what everybody else does with tires and things like that. They have such an impact on your pace. To be honest I feel like we certainly don’t have the fastest car and probably not even really the second- or third-fastest car. We’re down a little bit on pace. But from our side, the car feels good generally. We have a little bit of work to do, but we’re not far off. So yeah, I think for us it’s going be a strategy race tomorrow.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m happy with the car and the session. I think I had a little bit more left in the tank. The car just had a tad bit of understeer, so I couldn’t put it together at the end of the session. But we have a good car that will only get better once it cools down.”

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: By the Numbers• 1: As in one manufacturer and one model of car for the 27th year at Sebring: Chevrolet and the Corvette• 2: Number of wins for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R already in 2025 – the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the GTD class for AWA and the FIA WEC’s 1812 Km of Qatar for TF Sport in LM GT3• 3: Tracks where Corvette Racing has competed in each of its previous 26 years: Sebring, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.• 4: Sebring race wins for Antonio Garcia – the most among drivers entered in this year’s 12 Hours• 4: GT class pole positions at Sebring for Oliver Gavin and Ron Fellows, tied for most in event history• 8: Sebring victories – a race record – for Johnny O’Connell, a Sebring Hall of Famer who drove for Corvette Racing from 2001-10. It includes one overall and seven class wins• 14: Number of Sebring victories for Corvette Racing – the most of any venue in program history. Twelve of those have come in the 12 Hours, including 2022 in GTD PRO• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 28: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Lusail International Circuit (Qatar), Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 60: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999. TF Sport’s Jonny Edgar joined the list at the FIA WEC”s 1812 Km of Qatar in a race-winning effort• 72: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 140: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 117 in IMSA, nine at Le Mans, four in the FIA WEC and 10 in GT World Challenge America• 311: Event starts by Corvette Racing entries since 1999, starting with that year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona. No. 300 came in early August 2004 at Road America in IMSA• 59,092.16: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries at Sebring since 1999. The program will eclipse the 60,000-mile mark when the four Corvettes combine to complete 243 laps• 410,323.38: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles Corvette Racing at Sebring International Raceway (wins in bold)1999 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/John Paul Jr. – 4th in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Scott Sharp/John Heinricy – 7th in GTS (Pilgrim fastest race lap)  2000 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Justin Bell – 6th in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 5th in GTS 2001 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Chris Kneifel – 3rd in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 2nd in GTS 2002 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Oliver Gavin – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Andy Pilgrim/Kelly Collins/Franck Freon – 4th in GTS 2003 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Franck Freon – 1st in GTSNo. 4 Corvette C5-R: Oliver Gavin/Kelly Collins/Andy Pilgrim – 3rd in GTS (Gavin pole) 2004 – No. 3 Corvette C5-R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 1st in GTS (Fellows pole)No. 4 Corvette C5-R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 6th in GTS (Gavin fastest race lap) 2005 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GT1 2006 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Max Papis – 4th in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1 2007 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GT1 (Magnussen pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 1st in GT1 2008 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Ron Fellows/Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Max Papis – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin fastest race lap) 2009 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 1st in GT1No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Marcel Fässler – 2nd in GT1 (Gavin pole, fastest race lap) 2010No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connell/Antonio Garcia – 8th in GT2No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin/Emmanuel Collard – 9th in GT2 2011 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner/Antonio Garcia – 3rd in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Jan Magnussen/Richard Westbrook – 4th in GT 2012 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GT (Magnussen pole)No. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 3rd in GT 2013 – No. 3 Corvette C6.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 11th in GTNo. 4 Corvette C6.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook – 1st in GT 2014 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Robin Liddell – 6th in GTLM (Gavin fastest race lap) 2015 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe – 1st in GTLM (Daytona/Sebring double)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud – 9th in GTLM 2016 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 9th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 1st in GTLM (10th Sebring team win; Daytona/Sebring double) 2017 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 1st in GTLM (3rd straight Sebring team win)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 10th in GTLM 2018 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM 2019 – No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 8th in GTLMNo. 63 Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Mike Rockenfeller – 8th in GTE Pro (FIA WEC) 2020* – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 2nd in GTLM (Taylor pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 1st in GTLM 2020 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 5th in GTLM (Garcia pole, Catsburg fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Marcel Fässler – 6th in GTLM 2021 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 4th in GTLM (Taylor pole, Garcia fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy/Alexander Sims – 5th in GTLM 2022 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Nicky Catsburg – 1st in GTD PRO (IMSA)No. 64 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTE PRO (FIA WEC) 2023 – No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTD PRO (IMSA)No. 33 Corvette C8.R: Nicky Catsburg/Ben Keating/Nico Varrone – 1st in GTE Am (FIA WEC) 2024 – No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella – 10th in GTD PRONo. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Earl Bamber – 11th in GTD PRONo. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Matt Bell/Orey Fidani/Lars Kern – 9th in GTDNo. 17 Corvette Z06 GT3.R: Nico Varrone/Anthony Mantella/Thomas Merrill – 22nd in GTD * Two-hour, 40-minute race

The Series rookie grabbed a personal-best World of Outlaws finish at Magnolia during what’s been a strong beginningKENNEDALE, TX (March 13, 2025) – Not long ago, Zach Hampton was selling his equipment, unsure of the direction of his Sprint Car career. He knew there was a chance he might not be in a Sprint Car in 2025, but how quickly things can change.Hampton linked with Bill Rose Racing for his debut season with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, and he’s fresh off a run that put his six fellow rookies on notice.Saturday at Magnolia Motor Speedway began on a low note for the Mooresville, IN native as rear-end troubles knocked him out of the Heat Race, but it was all up from there. He started last in the Last Chance Showdown and advanced to fourth to transfer. Then, in the Feature, he took the No. 6 all the way from 22nd to seventh for his first top 10 with The Greatest Show on Dirt. A run that has Hampton even more ready for the tour’s next stop this weekend in Texas at Kennedale Speedway Park.“It obviously feels great,” Hampton said. “It’s a huge confidence boost for both Bill and I. I feel like we were progressively getting better every night leading up to that. I don’t think either of us expected that run, especially after blowing up a rear-end in the Heat Race then going from the back of the LCS to a transfer. We were decent in the LCS but nothing crazy. It all just kind of went my way in the Feature.”The night marked a culmination of recent strides Hampton and Rose have made. It’s a dynamic both sides are still adjusting to. Injuries in recent years have forced Rose into a crew chief role from time to time, but his experience behind the wheel still far outweighs his time only on the wrenches. For Hampton, he’s accustomed to driving and calling his own shots, so he’s still finding the fine line of how much feedback to offer Rose on the car’s direction.“It’s definitely different,” Hampton said. “I’ve been doing it the last couple years and my first two years on my own. It’s a big learning curve, I think, for Bill transitioning from mostly a driver to a crew chief. And it’s a big change for me to go from both to just focusing on being the driver, not having the input on what changes we make.”Even with those challenges, there’s another side that’s greatly benefitted Hampton. Not having to worry about setting up the car and the day-today maintenance has kept him sharp. He can get a little extra sleep. He can focus on one job and one job only – driving the race car.“It’s an insane amount of pressure lifted,” Hampton noted. “It’s definitely weird even throughout the week and in between nights. Unless something happens and they need me like when we blew up the rear-end I’m there to help, but on the normal operations I’m not working on it. I can sleep in a little bit later. Drivers get hate for that, but there’s no need to be up at 7 a.m. So, being able to sleep in a little bit later, be less tired at the end of the night, and just not have to have all those other thoughts and so much going on, it makes it so much easier.”Hampton also had a little fun on social media after Saturday’s charge. He opened X (formerly Twitter) to share his thoughts and couldn’t help but note his “haters have been uncharacteristically quiet lately.”Like many racers, Hampton is one who’s faced criticism online. But his run over the weekend brought overwhelming support.“It absolutely can be pretty brutal,” Hampton admitted. “I would say I read a lot even when there’s negative stuff only because I’m pretty good at going, ‘This person is either fake, or they rarely know what they’re talking about.’ It can be brutal, and nobody wants to read that stuff about themselves, but the positivity was definitely nice to read. It’s always nice to have a little bit of affirmation, support, or positivity from other people feeling happy for myself or for Bill and I. It’s always nice to have a little bit on the outside, especially in a place that’s usually a lot more dark and gloomy.”Looking ahead, Hampton isn’t getting ahead of himself. The personal-best run with the World of Outlaws was nice, but there’s a long season ahead. He doesn’t want Magnolia to be the highlight of his season. He wants a year defined by progression with many moments to be proud of.“It’s definitely exciting, and I’m looking forward to it and happy with the progress we’ve made,” Hampton said. “But I think we’ve got to keep doing what we have been doing, which is just trying to improve even just one thing every night, whether it’s on the track or with the trailer organization or preparedness. I think if we can make one thing better every night, then we can keep trending in the right direction and by the end of the year we can have a better foundation.”Hampton’s rookie World of Outlaws campaign continues with a two-week trip to Texas beginning with this weekend’s Cowtown Classic (March 14-15) at Kennedale Speedway Park. Then it’s south to Paige, TX’s Cotton Bowl Speedway for the Federated Auto Parts Texas Two-Step on March 21-22. For tickets, CLICK HERE.For the complete 2025 schedule, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/one-thing-better-zach-hampton-on-impressive-start-team-dynamic-silencing-critics/EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=4547713 TRACK INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/tracks/?track=Kennedale%2BSpeedway%2BParkFAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

Force Looking Forward to Addressing New Challenges as Team Owner

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (March 13, 2025) – Robert Hight confirmed Thursday that he is stepping down as President of John Force Racing, confident that the company is in capable hands moving forward. “I had 30 great years at JFR,” Hight said. “But being out of the car last year made me realize there are other things I want to do, especially with my wife Leslie and my family.  John opened so many doors for me and I’m just glad I was there to help him and the company through everything that happened last year.” The 55-year-old Hight began his career as a crew member on Force’s championship-winning Funny Car in 1995. Later he was the Facilities Manager at JFR before becoming the company’s first designated test driver in 2004. He made his competitive driving debut in 2005, winning in just his fourth career start. Force promoted him to company president in 2011.   Driving primarily for crew chief Jimmy Prock, Hight won 65 tour events and Funny Car World Championships in 2009, 2017 and 2019. He was runner-up to Matt Hagan in his final season (2023) before being sidelined with a medical issue in 2024. The driver who replaced him, Prock’s youngest son Austin, won the championship last season. “Family is everything,” Force said. “So as much as I’ll miss Robert, I understand that he has some other things he wants to do. He was a big part of the success of John Force Racing for more than 25 years. I love him and I wish him well in whatever he decides to do. Down the line, we’ll name a new President, but right now we’ve got a great team in place and I’m looking forward to working closer with everyone.   “We just signed new deals with PEAK, Cornwell Tools and HendrickCars.com,” said the Hall of Fame team owner and driver. “And I’m really excited about being back at the track with all of them, with our race teams and with all our other partners including Chevrolet and Monster. “Jimmy and Thomas Prock, Nate Hildahl, my son-in-law Daniel Hood, Chris Cunningham, Tim Fabrisi, David Grubnic and John Collins. That’s our brain trust,” Force said. “They run the race cars, but they also work with Sam Fabiano at Force American Made, our company in Brownsburg (Ind.) that makes all our parts, everything from chassis to engine blocks to cylinder heads to superchargers. It’s why we stay on top.  “With Robert leaving, Bob McAleer will be my go-to guy,” Force said, referring to JFR’s Brownsburg-based Director of Business Operations. “He already works closely with our partners. Now, he’ll be working with me a lot more, and with the brain trust, to keep this machine firing on all cylinders.”

The North Pole Nightmare drives by Macedo and survives Gravel’s late charge for popular victory

EASTABOGA, AL (March 7, 2025) – There might’ve been small earthquakes registered on the Richter scale in Alaska and Wisconsin on Friday night thanks to Bill Balog.

Balog did it. He finally made his way back to World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Victory Lane at Talladega Short Track, and the entire sport united in joy for the 45-year-old. Not a single fan disapproved. Not a single competitor wasn’t happy for their fellow driver.

After snowmobile racing in his youth and not getting in a Sprint Car until 20 years old, the Hartland, WI resident by way of North Pole, AK scratched and clawed and built a career in the sport. He racked up 10 Interstate Racing Association (IRA) titles and made the choice last year to join The Greatest Show on Dirt. This win was a culmination of that decision.

Sure, he had a previous World of Outlaws win under his belt, but that was as a local defending home turf in 2016 at Beaver Dam Raceway. This was in unfamiliar territory. Balog had just one prior Talladega race on his résumé. This was charging forward from fourth. This was holding off defending Series champion David Gravel. This win was everything.

“It’s unbelievable,” Balog said. “I can’t tell you how hard these things are to win. I’ve been doing this a long time, on and off with the Outlaws and stuff. Just unbelievable. We had a great car. We made the right decisions. I didn’t think we were quite good enough there a couple times throughout the night in the Heat Race and Dash. So, we did a couple things we do at other tracks with similar shapes.”

The “North Pole Nightmare” had to earn this victory by giving everything he had behind the wheel. A hungry Cole Macedo led the field to green in search of his first World of Outlaws win. Sprint Car titans Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo started ahead of Balog in second and third. He wheeled his way by all of them by Lap 17 after a thrilling duel with Cole Macedo to secure the top spot.

But it was far from over. Gravel and his Big Game Motorsports team are at the top of the sport right now, and the No. 2 grabbed the runner-up spot on Lap 23, but Balog couldn’t be rattled. He stayed smooth, hit his marks, and held off the champion for his first World of Outlaws win in 3,177 days.

“I think we were just a little bit better kind of there through the middle,” Balog said of the early battle with Macedo. “He wasn’t going to cut under me. We were just really good on entry and could kind of baby it through the middle, and with our HP Engine, we could step on the gas and it would just go. It was awesome.”

Gravel settled for the runner-up spot as he and the Tod Quiring-owned team continue their early season tear. The Watertown, CT native has been on the podium in six of this season’s seven races, and the one time he wasn’t he finished fourth. His average finish is 2.29.

“I saw Bill move up the racetrack, and it worked out really well for him,” Gravel said. “Everybody was just around the bottom, so I tried it as well and got a couple guys. Man, those two lapped cars were hitting the bottom just good enough that I couldn’t clear them. Once I got clear of them, it seemed like the track kind of cleaned up and was officially one lane on the bottom. I felt like when Bill made those moves the track was still multiple grooves. We were just a little too late.”

Completing the podium was Logan Schuchart and the Shark Racing crew. They continue to piece together the foundations of a bounce back campaign after a subpar 2024. The third place effort marked their fourth podium of 2025, which already surpassed the total they had all of last year.

“It’s nice to be in the mix running around there with Cole for a little bit,” Schuchart said. “I knew I probably wasn’t going to get him in open air, but I was hoping once we got to traffic I could move around a little bit. That restart when Bill drove around the outside of me in (Turns) 3 and 4, I knew he was really good because he was floating the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2. I think I tried it one lap, tried to get the wing back a little bit and float the middle, and I definitely didn’t feel the same way that he looked.”

Brothers Cole Macedo and Carson Macedo completed the top five.

Chris Windom earned his second consecutive KSE Racing Hard Charger.

David Gravel claimed his third consecutive Simpson Quick Time in Honest Abe Roofing Qualifying.

NOS Energy Drink Heats One and Two belonged to David Gravel and Carson Macedo. WIX Filters Heat Three went to Bill Balog.

Cole Macedo topped the Toyota Dash after receiving the SPA Technique #1 Redraw.

Giovanni Scelzi won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Chelby Hinton.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars complete a weekend in the “Dirty South” on Saturday, March 8 at Columbus, MS’s Magnolia Motor Speedway. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

FEATURE RESULTS:

NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog[4]; 2. 2-David Gravel[5]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart[2]; 4. 2C-Cole Macedo[1]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[3]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz[8]; 7. 83-Michael Kofoid[7]; 8. 14-Spencer Bayston[6]; 9. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[9]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee[10]; 11. 19-Brent Marks[15]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[13]; 13. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 14. 6-Zach Hampton[16]; 15. 9-Kasey Kahne[12]; 16. 7S-Chris Windom[22]; 17. 39M-Anthony Macri[14]; 18. 28M-Conner Morrell[20]; 19. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[19]; 20. 88-Austin McCarl[23]; 21. 32-Bryce Lucius[17]; 22. 73-Logan Julien[24]; 23. 40-Howard Moore[18]; 24. G6-Chelby Hinton[21]

(Pictured: Dallas Daniels #32 and Briar Bauman #3) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 7, 2025) – Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) opened his 2025 Grand National Championship campaign in perfect double-victory fashion by completing the Royal Enfield Short Track at DAYTONA I & II sweep on Friday night. However, he was forced to do so in a manner that yet again promised an incredible Progressive American Flat Track season, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, to come.  After stealing Thursday’s victory from Briar Bauman (No. 3 RWR/Parts Plus/Latus Motors Harley-Davidson XG750R) despite struggling pretty much all day long, Daniels was more in his expected Mission AFT SuperTwins title favorite form throughout Friday’s program.  Daniels continued that trend by breaking free early in the Main Event while Bauman found himself caught up in a four-rider melee that also included Henry Wiles (No. 911 J&M Logging/Ray C’s Harley-Davidson Kawasaki Ninja 650), Sammy Halbert (No. 69 OnlyFans/Castrol Kawasaki Ninja 650), and Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing KTM 790 Duke).  By the time Bauman established himself in second, Daniels had a cushion of nearly 1.4 seconds at the front. But just when Bauman started to whittle away at that advantage, he was forced to play defense after Fisher came charging up in third. That chase/defend accordion continued to play out in both directions, with Bauman freed up again when Wiles closed on Fisher from fourth.  But Bauman’s golden opportunity to give the XG750R its maiden premier-class win didn’t come until the leaders hit traffic – the exact situation that cost him Thursday’s win with their positioned swapped.   And in fact, the RWR star managed to momentarily grab the lead with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock. However, his Estenson Racing Yamaha-mounted rival countered in the very next turn and managed to hold his adversary at bay over the final two laps to prevent the reversal of fortunes.  Daniels said, “Man, I thought last night was the toughest I ever had to ride, but I think tonight beat that. I had a really good night going – won the heat race, won the (Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge). I was feeling really good. I got a really good start and was out front. But I could just feel the pressure coming in. I was keeping an eye out, and I knew he was getting closer and closer… It was just such a nailbiter. Brian rode a hell of a race, gave me a good battle, and it was super fun.”  Fisher came home in third, equaling his ‘24 podium total in the season’s opening week. Combined with his Thursday fourth, Daytona proved a seamless transition for Fisher who was expected to take more time to come to grips with his Rackley Racing KTM after spending the previous seven seasons on an Indian.  The experienced duo of Wiles and Halbert earned fourth and fifth, respectively, pushing down a handful of strong title contenders in the process. That list was headlined by Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Harley-Davidson XG750R), who took sixth, and Jarod VanDerKooi (No. 20 Fastrack Racing/Wally Brown Racing KTM 790 Duke), who finished seventh.  Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson Construction Suzuki GSX-8S) returned to action after suffering a laceration to his foot on Thursday and did so most impressively with an eighth-place result aboard his Suzuki.   Meanwhile, Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Progressive Insurance Honda Transalp) and Max Whale (No. 18 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) made it a remarkable seven different manufacturers in the race’s top ten as the premier class’ new production-only ruleset shine in their debut.  Daniels has the early title advantage following Rounds 1 & 2 after grabbing the maximum of 46 points in Daytona. He’s followed by Bauman at 38 with Fisher and Wiles locked even in third at 30.  AFT Singles presented by KICKER  24 hours spent by the field hoping to find a solution to combat the Thursday form of reigning-but-not-defending AFT Singles presented by KICKER champion Kody Kopp (No. 1 Bob Lanphere/KTM/Fastrack Racing KTM 450 SX-F) ultimately proved fruitless. In fact, the class’ three-time champ was even more dominant on Friday night.  An increase in the level of difficulty with the track’s surface and visibility only served to widen the margin separating Kopp from his would-be challengers. Operating on another level, the new Talent Cup competitor was quite easily the fastest rider in every practice and qualifying session and then won both his heat and the 1st Impressions AFT Singles Challenge going away.  The only hitch in his evening was a shock crash he suffered while working the sighting lap ahead of the Main Event. No worries – Kopp popped back up, straightened out his handlebars, grabbed the holeshot, and pulled an immediate gap at the front.  Up by 1.5 seconds in the race’s opening minute, Kopp continued to pile it before finally taking the checkered flag with nearly five seconds in hand.  Already the all-time winningest rider in AFT Singles history, Kopp came into the week with 21 wins to his name and leaves Daytona with a career tally of 23. That puts him four victories up on second-ranked Shayna Texter-Bauman and a full ten ahead of the next closest riders (premier-class ace Daniels and ‘19 class champ Gauthier).  Five of those wins came here in Daytona. After earning the latest of those triumphs, he said, “I’ve never won a race after crashing on the sight lap! There’s a first for everything. That start was hectic because my lever was bent to the moon, so I couldn’t really feel anything. But we straightened it out and went for it. I couldn’t ask for a better week to come back and have some fun with the boys. Now it’s time to go lean on the asphalt and keep learning over there.”  Even beyond Kopp’s runaway, the contest was a rather processional one; the entire top five – Chase Saathoff (No. 88 RWR/Parts Plus Honda CRF450R), Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F), Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 D&D Certified Racing KTM 450 SX-F), and Bradon Pfanders (No. 83 Hannum’s HD/Pfanders Racing KTM 450 SX-F) – ran their own races pretty much throughout.  There was more significant (and more typical) fighting further down the field. Tyler Raggio (No. 55 Raggio/Sluggo/Unsettled Racing KTM 450 SX-F) held off Trevor Brunner (No. 21 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), while Tarren Santero (No. 75 Mission Roof Systems Honda CRF450R) slashed his way up from the back of the field after being forced to burn his provisional start in the season’s opening week.  Evan Renshaw (No. 65 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450) was the final rider remaining on the lead lap in ninth, while rookie Ethan Kitchen (No. 105 Lucky Thumb M/C Yamaha YZ450F) rounded out the top ten.  Even though Kopp technically leads with a perfect 46-point opener, the effective title lead falls to Drane, who put together a solid effort to open his ‘25 title campaign with 35 points. Gauthier is next with 30, one point up on championship hopeful Saathoff at 29.  Meanwhile, in the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Main Event, Taia Little (No. 11 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited) got her revenge in the rematch, narrowly fending off Thursday winner Emma Gottsch (No. 5 Royal Enfield/Parts Unlimited) to take the checkered flag first. Mya Maffei (No. 28 Royal Enfield) completed the podium in third.  Next Up:  The 2025 Progressive American Flat Track season will resume in three weeks’ time with the Yamaha Senoia Short Trackon Saturday, March 29 at Senoia Raceway in Senoia, Georgia. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/senoia-short-track-122449 to secure your tickets today.  For those that can’t catch the live action from the circuit, FloRacing is the live streaming home of Progressive AFT. Sign up now and catch every second of on-track action starting with Practice & Qualifying and ending with the Victory Podium at the end of the night at https://flosports.link/aft.