CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY LEBANON, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT SEPTEMBER 14, 2024 JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND WILL POWER LEAD TEAM CHEVY IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES QUALIFYING AT NASHVILLEJosef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet, qualified second for Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at his hometown track of Nashville Superspeedway with his fastest two-lap average of 201.352 mph.NTT INDYCAR SERIES Driver Championship contender and Newgarden’s Team Penske teammate Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Chevrolet, qualified fourth for Sunday’s 206-lap, 267.8-mile race.Overall, Chevrolet finished Saturday’s qualifying session with six in the top 10, including Newgarden, Power, AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci (fifth), Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly (seventh), Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward (eighth) and Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin (ninth).Additionally, the Bowtie brand kicked off the race weekend with first practice Saturday morning at the 1.33-mile concrete D-shaped oval, finishing the session with five in the top 10 that included O’Ward (fourth), Power (sixth), McLaughlin (seventh), Ed Carpenter Racing rookie Christian Rasmussen (eighth), and Ferrucci (10th).The green flag for Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix from Middle Tennessee’s Nashville Superspeedway drops live at 3 p.m. ET on NBC. Additional coverage of the 206-lap, 267.8-mile main event broadcast via Peacock, as well as INDYCAR Radio and SiriusXM Channel 218.TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 QUALIFYING RESULT:Pos.  Driver2nd    Josef Newgarden (201.352 mph)4th     Will Power (200.628 mph)5th     Santino Ferrucci (200.497 mph)7th     Conor Daly (200.393 mph)8th     Pato O’Ward (200.294 mph)9th     Scott McLaughlin (200.230 mph) TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 FIRST PRACTICE RESULT:Pos.   Driver4th     Pato O’Ward (199.180 mph)6th     Will Power (198.942 mph)7th     Scott McLaughlin (198.470 mph)8th     Christian Rasmussen (198.338 mph)10th   Santino Ferrucci (198.001 mph)

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (QUOTES):Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Solid qualifying in the Sexton Properties Chevy. Pretty awesome to start fifth and slide the top five already — we’ve been on a roll! I think our keeping the momentum going is just huge. Obviously, we were disappointed with the qualifying results in Milwaukee. We kind of knew what we did wrong, so to improve on that, come here and end up where we did was pretty awesome — and there’s still a little bit more left in it. So we’ll see how we do in the final practice and in the race. “It was a great run, I had to crack the throttle one time, which I was a little annoyed about, but more for precautions than anything else. We had a really good run going and we didn’t want to ruin it by hitting the wall.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“Lost fuel pressure, we don’t know why yet but the car is obviously very good and I’m very, very disappointed to end the year’s last qualifying like that because I think that we would have been running top 10 in no time. When you have to do that (start last) at a race like this where it’s going to probably be more single file it really matters how we start.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m a little underwhelmed, to be honest. Pretty keen to be flat, and I was. Pretty bummed we didn’t get more speed out of it. I don’t know if it was trim or just missing a bit of speed, but I think we can fight from there. I think we’ll be alright. I think the race is going to be pretty tough passing-wise, but I’m looking forward to it. (Nashville) is quick. It feels a bit like Texas, to be honest. It’s probably the closest one that I can think of that’s somewhat similar to what I think we have now. This is concrete. It’s a concrete superspeedway and it’s different. It’s different on the tire. It’s quite bumpy. There are a few bumps here and there that make it pretty gnarly, so you just have to stay on top of it and really have it in the window alone and in traffic. The car changes in traffic significantly.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“So far, so good. I think it’s been a good day so far. I’ve kind of taken to (Nashville) pretty quickly never having been here before. I think I got everything out of it I could on this run, and I think maybe we were a little bit conservative on the setup side of things. But you never know. We went more aggressive than practice, and you never really know how big of a step you need to take. In hindsight, we could’ve gone a little bit more, but overall, I think it was a pretty strong run for us.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I mean, it’s sketchy out here. Basically, in turn one and turn two it’s pretty easy flat. It’s that notorious bump in (turns) three and four. We drove a little bit less downforce than I kind of practiced with this morning. I hit that bump, and on the warmup lap and starting my first lap, I got a pretty big bump, so I had to get out of it for a brief moment. It cost us a little bit of time. I stayed flat for my two push laps. A lot faster than we were this morning. Still a great job by the No. 21 Chevy crew. Looking forward to tomorrow. We’re hanging in pretty decently. I’m confident.” Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“I think the team has grown a lot, and I’ve done a very decent job behind the wheel. Still mad at myself for Portland, but I think the rest of the year has been fantastic, so I’m proud of my guys, proud of my season, and excited for this weekend. It’s a first (racing on a concrete oval), but it’s a great place and happy to be here. I think, hopefully, the grandstands get more and more full during the weekend, but INDYCAR has for sure has had an amazing race season. It’s good to be here. There’s still a chance tomorrow (to race to victory lane). I feel good. I’m proud of Juncos Hollinger Racing. I’m proud of the work that’s been done by Chevy this year to give us all we had from simulator to reliability, to good power on track.” Conor Daly, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“(The track) is interesting. It’s a real challenge in turns three and four, but it reminds me of the INDYCAR racing I used to watch as a kid. Really cool high-intensity oval racing, but in (turns) three and four, the bump, I wish that wasn’t there. I feel like we could be a little bit more aggressive if we didn’t have that, but it’s kind of wild so far. You never know where you’re going to end up on the other side of it. Our car has definitely improved over the bumps. We’re definitely going to need to work on it over a long stint and heavy fuel load are going to be really tough, too.” Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:“Wish we could have been more aggressive there at the end, but you’re taking a guess at it. We all are. So, it was a good run. Our car was really solid. Just probably could have been more aggressive after doing it. The bump in turn three is going to be  part of the challenge, but I think we’ll have a good car underneath us. Team Chevy’s done a great job, and I love driving the Astemo car. I think it’s good looking on the track. The race is hard to 100% say just now. I’m hoping we get a lot of drop off with the tires. That’s going to make the show good.  “Excited to be home so for me, just for qualifying, is like some of the most people I’ve seen. Milwaukee was similar, so I think Big Machine has done a great job I think we’re going to have a good crowd here, so thanks to them. I’m excited to see what tomorrow looks like.” Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:“Not the best run, chassis-wise. We were probably a little bit aggressive on some aero and stuff like that. We’ll see what we’ve got. We’re starting a little bit further back than we want, but I feel like we’ve got a reasonable DEX Imaging Chevy and we’ll see what we’ve got.” Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:“The lap, couldn’t have done anymore. That was as much as we had. It was as fast as we could go. Wasn’t quite good enough. It’s a different package (since last here in 2008), the car is ultimately just heavier now. The track I really like. It’s a really nice track. Really nice having a cement track. It’ll be interesting to see after practice how well it races. We have a high-line (practice), see if it’s nice in the high-line and rubber that in, make it a good race.”

JOSEF NEWGARDEN, No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet – Front Row Press Conference:THE MODERATOR: Josef Newgarden joins us. He’ll be on the front row for tomorrow’s race, driver of the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet, fourth front row start of the season, including the Indianapolis 500. Second straight going back to the Milwaukee race a couple weeks ago. Happy with that? Ready to start in the front row in your hometown? JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yes, I think it would be irresponsible not to be happy with it. I think it’s good. I’m a little disappointing. I wanted to preface it with we are happy, but I just think we — you can always look back at it after the fact and say we could have done this a little bit different. I think we had one limiter hit at the end of the second lap, and I think that second lap was actually going to be faster. It was trending faster after of Turn 2. Now that it’s all over and you look at it, you go, I wonder if that would have — I think it could have been the difference. The team did a great job. The car was really great to drive. Honestly, it was amazing. So comfortable and very simple to put the laps together. Probably could have been more aggressive, too. The track cooled off a lot, gained a significant amount of grip just from practice. So yeah, I think we’re happy with it. We’ve got at least a good field of view to start the race, which is fantastic, and now we get to go to work on the race car and try and figure that piece of the puzzle out. Team Chevy has done a good job for us so far this weekend and we’re going to go try to go get a win.Q. The option tires are the softer alternate tire. How do you think that’s going to influence strategy tomorrow?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think it’ll be quite pivotal. It’s a very big difference to anything we’ve had before on the ovals. I think it’s going to be critical to understand what you like and what you want to run. It’s going to be almost the name of the game in a lot of ways. Q. Do you think there’s a chance to — where do you see this track in terms of has it improved with this compound or —JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I don’t know. We’ll probably have a better idea after tonight. Q. Josef, front of the grid, we’ve got Willy P going for a championship, yourself and everybody else looking to win a race, just go get a victory. Talk about balancing that mindset. Obviously there’s a team goal championship potential, but you, McLaughlin, Kirkwood, Rosenqvist, you’d all love to go home with that P1 guitar. Talk about balancing those initiatives.JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Yeah, it’s a great question. I think for us, and I think I’ve answered this kind of a couple times in different iterations, but I think that it’s similar to Milwaukee. You’ve really got to run your program as normal as you can. You start trying to get too clever and orchestrate something, I think that’s when you get into trouble. The name of the game for us is to run a normal program, let’s try and do the best job in the 2 car. Of course the priority for us is if we’re in a position to win the championship, we need to try to seal that off, and we will all do that. We’re prepared to do what’s necessary to win a championship because we’re all in it together at the end of the day. But I think the way you get there is by running a normal race in a lot of respects. We’ve just got to go do our jobs, take care of each other, and hopefully the chips fall our way and we can button things up. If we can do that, it’ll be a good day for everybody. Q. Trouble spots on the racetrack, it seems like between 3 and 4 there were a couple INDY NXT cars and seemed kind of (indiscernible) out there. Is that kind of a place to worry about?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: The second lane so far was not friendly, just to be transparent. I got there pretty early once and it was tough to do a lot with it. It’s tough to see how that’s going to trend, but right now it was tough. Yeah, but I think the bump is definitely the overriding concern of everybody right now, and it’s kind of nice, it definitely has character. It’s not like all over the track, it’s just this one point, but you’ve got to make up for it, and some are setting the car up around it, too. It reminds me of Iowa in Turn 1, Turn 2 when you have huge big corner bump that everyone always had to account for, so it feels a little bit like that, but yeah, I think 3 and 4 will be the tougher spot. The second lane, it’s just hard to say right now. I don’t know if it’s going to come in. I really hope it does. Everyone does. Q. Qualifying second coming off — I presume is Milwaukee pretty much one you want to forget about? Is this a fresh start after what might be the worst weekend of your car?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Maybe so. That’s a good assessment. Things are going well so far. Let’s get through tomorrow and see what happens and then get to the off-season. Q. Josef, will the bump (indiscernible) create passing opportunities?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you’re going to need deg to have a race, and that’s only one factor in if this thing will race well. The likelihood of the second lane coming in, transparently it seems low, but these things are so difficult to predict. Here’s what I will say. This is very true. It’s sometimes tough to get this package right in the first go. This is a new car from a long, long time ago when we used to run here. We put our best foot forward as a series. I think Firestone has done a good job trying to assess and bring us something that’s going to work here. If we don’t get it right this weekend, we will get it right in the future. You’ve seen that we can do this. Gateway was a great show, Milwaukee was a great show. It is very possible for us to figure out the formula, but it’s a difficult formula to work out because it requires something different every week. It’s not plug and play for each track. It’s a tricky way to find solutions. Let’s see; I don’t know exactly how — I don’t know of us know exactly how this is going to trend yet, but we’ll get some tire degradation and we’ll see how the marbles play out and if we can use that second lane or if we can just pass using the second lane. Q. I wanted to know what it’s like over 206 laps for tomorrow’s race because in watching the practice this morning, it wasn’t just the bump over the tunnel, it just seemed like the drivers’ heads were bobbing. Is it a rough track being cement and does that affect your body more because of the 14 degrees of banking?JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It is a rough track. It’s quite wavy, if you think of it that way. It feels more like a street course surface throughout the whole thing. I don’t think it is more physical. You’re just kind of noticing the heaving motion of the car is different than what you typically get on an oval track, but it actually feels like it has pretty good grip on the surface. It’s more the second lane, does that have grip or not. But no, I don’t think it’s going to affect us.

READING, PA (September 14, 2024) —- Mark Pawuk and the Empaco Don Schumacher Memorial Dodge Drag Pak posted the quickest time in qualifying, 7.433 seconds, at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals from Maple Grove Raceway to grab his sixth career No. 1 qualifier. It was Pawuk’s second No. 1 of the season. Pawuk is followed by Jason Dietsch and Stephen Bell to round out the top three race cars. All three manufacturers are represented with Pawuk’s Dodge, Dietsch’s Mustang and Bell’s Camaro making quick runs all weekend in qualifying. Pawuk will face Doug Hamp in the first round with the winner facing either Scott Libersher or Ricky Hord.   “Right now, every point matters for this Flexjet championship,” said Pawuk. “Every round of eliminations means a lot. I need to go rounds here and rounds in St Louis. David Janac, Stephen Bell have been very tough competitors all year, and you even put Libersher in the mix. Nobody’s out of it (the championship). I have to have a couple good races and hope that things fall my way, so I have a shot at the championship. I’ve never won a championship. It’s always been in my dreams. And all can do is go out and do the best the I can.”   In the final qualifying session Pawuk jumped the tree and did not have a quality pass to close out qualifying. In the opening qualifying session point leader Pawuk ran his Empaco Don Schumacher memorial Dodge Drag Pak to the top spot with a strong 7.743 second, 173.07 mph pass. Dietsch, 7.753 seconds, and Bell, 7.799 seconds, landed right behind Pawuk in the No. 2 and No. 3 provisional qualifying spots in their Mustang and Camaro, respectively.  Mark Pawuk raced to his second Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 of the season at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals, photo credit Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase“I didn’t get down this last session, it was driver error,” said Pawuk. “That’s going to affect what we do here for first and or the second round. I just have to go out and race my race. Hopefully the win lights come out in my lane.”   The biggest jump of the second qualifying session was championship contender Janac jumping up to the No. 5 spot from the bottom of the field. His second run of 7.818 seconds at 175.30 mph put his Mustang Cobra Jet in the top half of the field. Throughout the day on Saturday in front packed grandstands Pawuk and the rest of the Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown Series competitors made solid runs but did not shuffle the field.   “This was always one of my favorite places to race back in the day when the Lewis family owned it, and now, obviously, with the Koretskys,” said Pawuk. “The fans up this way love these factory stock cars. They love Pro Stock. They always have. I never got a Wally from here.”   “This race has been great because you see the fans fill the grandstands and the support that we had from sponsors like Ohio CAD, Mr. Heater, Summit Racing, and Red Line Oil. This the home of Barton Racing Engines and David Barton who works on this car,” added Pawuk.   The elimination ladder is set and Jason Dietsch, the U.S. Nationals No. 1 qualifier will carry the Flexjet $1,000 Bounty. The two U.S. Nationals finalists Kevin Skinner and Raymond Nash were not able to attend the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals due to car issues following the biggest face of the season. Dietsch will face Anthony Troyer in the first round looking to hold onto the Flexjet Bounty.   First Round Match-ups No. 1 Mark Pawuk vs. No. 12 Doug Hamp No. 2 Jason Dietsch vs. 11 Anthony Troyer No. 3 Stephen Bell vs. No. 10 Pete Gasko Jr. No. 4 Jonathan Allegrucci vs. No. 9 Lee Hartman No. 5 David Janac vs. No. 8 AJ Berge No. 6 Scott Libersher vs. No. 7 Ricky Hord   2024 FLEXJET NHRA FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN SCHEDULE Sept. 27-29                  13th annual NHRA Midwest Nationals, St. Louis

NASCAR CUP SERIES WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

Chastain Claims First Pole Win of the Season at Watkins Glen

·       Ross Chastain, driver of the No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL1, laid down a best-lap of 72.130 seconds, at 122.279 mph, around the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen International to claim his first pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.  ·       Chastain’s pole – his second in NASCAR’s top division – marks Chevrolet’s eighth pole of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season; the manufacturer’s 17th pole at Watkins Glen International; and its 751st all-time in the division.  ·       Five drivers from three different Chevrolet organizations earned top-10 qualifying efforts, with Chastain leading Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen in third and AJ Allmendinger in sixth; Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman in fourth; and Chastain’s Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez, in eighth.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER1st      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL13rd      Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 WeatherTech Camaro ZL14th      Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL16th      AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 Go Bowling Camaro ZL18th      Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1  Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win QuoteWhat are the emotions you’re feeling right now? “So many. So much work has gone into this. Turning right seems simple, but it’s been something that’s been such a challenge for me. I’ve gone to Skip Barber’s Driving School to learn how to turn right. I’ve leaned on Josh Wise and Scott Speed so much. Chevrolet has taken us out to Spring Mountain and has done schooling with Ron Fellows and the instructors there. It wasn’t any one thing, it was just so many years of trying to learn how to do this.  For our No. 1 Busch Light Chevy team, it’s just a career moment, a lifetime achievement, to go faster than everyone in the Cup Series. It just unbelievable for Trackhouse Racing and myself.”

ERIC WARREN, Executive Director, Global Motorsports Competition at General Motors, met with members of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES media to discuss Chevrolet’s ninth Manufacturers Championship in the series since 2012 — Press Conference Transcript: THE MODERATOR: Good morning. Welcome to the Nashville Superspeedway and the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge. We’re celebrating champions this weekend. We wanted to start by celebrating Chevrolet as the 2024 manufacturer champion. Their third consecutive manufacturers championship in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, their ninth since they returned to INDYCAR in 2012. Of course, with one race remaining, they lead the series with 11 wins, eight NTT P1 awards. Here to talk about that is Eric Warren, executive director for general motorsports competition. Very successful season for you. Tell us how you guys did it. ERIC WARREN: Thanks, Dave. You took some of the stats there away from me (smiling). The manufacturers championship really comes down to performance and reliability. If you look at last year, we won the manufacturers championship by 12 points. As we sit here today, we’re up 150 points with still a race left. If you look at that, it really comes down to the quality of our teams, the performance of our teams. As we looked at this year and any year, manufacturer’s goals are to win the Indy 500, which we did with a great performance there; to win a manufacturers championship, which we’ve done. We got one goal left with the drivers, and the race is tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll have some good fortune there. The important part is looking at our teams. Really, if you go back to that important race in the month of May, the performance there of sweeping the Fast Six, we swept the podium at three different events. I think what’s really important is all of our teams, Team Penske, Arrow McLaren, Ed Carpenter, Juncos Hollinger, AJ Foyt, they’ve contributed to the manufacturers points. The strength of our teams, what we’ve been able to accomplish on the racetrack, has been the big difference this year. THE MODERATOR: Obviously INDYCAR is hugely competitive. We saw a record number of passing in Milwaukee. What does it take to succeed at this level certainly on a consistent basis like you have done this year? ERIC WARREN: Again, I think it’s our teams, our drivers, our ownership. We really invest a lot in those relationships. At the end of the day it’s about people and performing in the moment. Last year we really spent a lot of time as Chevrolet meeting with each of our teams and our drivers, really digging into the details of where we lost performance or where we needed to improve. If we look at our partners, our great engine partner with Ilmor, really the work that they did along with the propulsion group at GM, we closed that gap down where you could see it from the first race. Look at our road course performance this year compared to last year. That was a big part of it. It’s also deeper than that. We’ve invested a lot in our own personnel inside of GM and Chevrolet, engineering, the relationships with the teams. If you look at what it takes to win, as competitive as this series is, from different aerodynamic configurations and tweaks and simulation, all the things that modern racing requires with investment in simulators, it really comes down to the relationships between the teams and manufacturers, how we can support them in what they need, engineering, give the drivers the confidence to execute and the teams to make good decisions during races. THE MODERATOR: We’ll take questions. Q. Not only did you have a decisive season, but midway through you had a new formula with the hybrid engine. How proud are you of the effort with the motor generator unit, which was the part that General Motors was responsible for? I haven’t heard any issues that have happened with that unit.ERIC WARREN: Of course, I couldn’t be more proud, the fact we’ve won seven out of eight since that started. Again, the relationship with Ilmor, our engineering at Chevrolet, so much time was spent on that, again, in parallel with the engine development for the rest of the season. A lot of interaction with the series, INDYCAR, Honda and GM. As you look at this package, successful as it has been, it’s really that collaboration. It really comes down to not just Chevrolet, but Honda and INDYCAR, how we work together.I think as we look towards the future, that collaboration between that group and the industry as a whole is really what allows it to be successful and keep the competition as it is. But certainly the success of the hybrid, our performance, it was a big factor. I hesitate to call it a fear, but a focus of where we put our effort. Seeing the successful performance is because of our efforts. Q. (No microphone.)ERIC WARREN: No, I think I would say without any issue you get into the details. As an engineer you always look at it it’s not perfect. It has performed great. It’s a whole system. Certainly the MGU and the super capacitors and the whole package has really been flawless, if you look at it. Q. About the hybrid, so much was made of that in the pre-season, changing engine formulas halfway through. Can you expand on that? Was that a result of your preparation? Did we make too much of it, it wasn’t as big of a switchover as you thought it would be?ERIC WARREN: I think if you look at the amount of effort that the series put in in testing, making a decision to make sure it was all ready before we implemented was key to that, right? There was a lot of push early on to say, Let’s get it the beginning of the year. We really took our time, did it correctly. The amount of hours that were spent on dynos between all of us, Honda, Chevrolet, all the partners. There’s a lot of work that went on behind the scenes to make sure the package was ready. Then to actually perform better requires a lot, how do you implement the tools, teach the drivers, the teams learn how to use it. All that has to come together to be successful. I think everybody really did their homework and the results show it. Q. The communication with the teams, at St. Pete when Chevrolet had such a great start, Pato O’Ward talked about there was a meeting with McLaren. Is that something that continued throughout the year with all the teams? Was there an emphasis put on having that line of communication be more open this year?ERIC WARREN: I think our program across the board, we’ve really been investing in more engineering capabilities. Our Charlotte technical center, what we’ve done across all our series at GM races, we want to race with the teams, be there with them. We did have big meetings. Why are we losing? We don’t want to lose. Having that relationship and getting into where we can technically contribute really came down to quite a few items that we needed to be better at. The way we invested our effort, with the right areas, we had learned. Even you look at the Indy 500 from ’22 to ’23, we made the big step. We kind of learned. Again, you look at what we did this year, continued with that. It really comes down to making sure we’re giving the teams what they need and maximizing our resources. It is a lot of different pieces. Fuel mileage. A lot of strategic things the year before that Honda and some of the teams showed a big difference on fuel economy for the same horsepower, focused on that. Our road course performance, how we deploy the torque, how we get off the corner setups. It’s all of it together. I mean, I think the teams obviously are the ones that have to execute. They’ve done a great job. We just try to listen and help where we can. Q. Obviously this is great winning the championship. Still have a NASCAR championship, IMSA. You had the announcement with Cadillac on the IMSA side. Any updates there? Any updates on the Formula 1 side as you look forward?ERIC WARREN: Sports car, it’s great seeing sports car, all the manufacturers coming in. We talk about golden eras of racing. There’s a lot of excitement around sports car. Cadillac, what’s great about that vehicle is there’s a lot of elements where you can see the different styling and design, fans. Of course, the sound of it is very unique. It’s been an exciting program. The level of competition in there is something that requires continuous work. We’re not where we want to be certainly. Chasing the Porsches and Acura on the IMSA side, we’ve been competitive. Got a lot of work to do in the WEC series and continue to invest. On the pole in Fuji this weekend. Excited about making that progress. We have to keep investing in that to be competitive. We got into it globally to expand the Cadillac brand. We want to compete. We’ll continue to invest in that, both people, technology, team, drivers. Until we’re winning, we’re not going to stop. On the F1 side, been working on it two years. It’s a process. We’re developing heavily a power unit. We’re developing heavily the car. We will continue to go through the process. Had some positive meetings this past week. We’re not giving up on that one. We’ve made a commitment to enter. One way or another we’re going to be there. Q. Looking ahead to next year, there’s going to be a couple more Chevrolet-powered teams. Can you expand on how close to the limit maybe Chevrolet is on resources to supply that, but also trying to maintain this level of performance.ERIC WARREN: Anytime we get an opportunity to add a quality team, we want to take a hard look at it. With Prima, one of the things as we looked at them coming from Europe, the success they had in some of the lower series, their access to drivers, experience with drivers, is something that we felt like will add to the mix. It is difficult as we add teams because, again, as much as we as Chevrolet want the teams to work totally together for Chevrolet, they’re still racing each other and still competitive. It creates more mouths to feed, information. We see that as a positive. The more we can learn, more we can try different things. But there’s a limit of we don’t want to spread our resources out too thin and not be able to compete. Q. (No microphone.)ERIC WARREN: I always say we’re over the limit. Certainly I get told that by our finance people (smiling). But we keep pushing. We’re maxed out. Again, it’s important to us that the series is successful. Sometimes just the attrition of people and teams and everything, we have to keep investing in it. We try to look at each situation individually and whether we can handle it. I think we’re okay. Q. In terms of development, you never focus on one thing, what would be the key aims for next season where you’re focusing to improve?ERIC WARREN: I still think we have to improve on some of the road courses. When you look at the consistency of Palou, obviously he’s leading, we want to be leading. I think we understand that more. We still have work to do. I think, again, continuing working that with our teams, trying to figure out where to raise those deficiencies, I think we’ll continue to push. Q. Talks seem to be going pretty well for a new car. From your standpoint, how important would it be to maybe readjust the weight so the extra weight of the hybrid assist is more towards the center of the car? How much are the engine manufacturers offering ideas?ERIC WARREN: I think as an engine manufacturer, certainly we have involvement there. But we’re also, as Chevrolet, really partners in the series. Again, I think as we talked about the hybrid, as we look towards the future, what have we learned there? How do you improve the efficiency of the engine is really what we’re about on the engine side. How do we transfer technology to the production side? As we get opportunities to talk about that, it’s important that we all work together. There’s elements such as the weight, but it’s a whole system and whole package that we’re still working on. We’re excited to be a part of it. I think when we all work together, great things can happen. THE MODERATOR: It’s been a championship season. Congratulations. A chance this weekend to pad the stats a little bit. ERIC WARREN: Thank you.

NASCAR CUP SERIES WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Watkins Glen International.  Media Availability Quotes:  How has your team been preparing for the new tire that you guys are going to have this weekend? I know you haven’t been on track yet, but how have you guys been preparing for what could be three seconds of falloff? “Yeah, it’s a little bit tricky. I was fortunate enough to be here for the tire test a couple months ago, and I believe – I’m not 100 percent sure, but I’m 90 percent sure that all three drivers that were here, including myself, all spun out with this tire because the falloff was pretty big. But it’s going to create good racing. Obviously at the time during the tire test, we didn’t know what air pressures this tire likes. Since then, we’ve made some adjustments in the car to better. But overall, the tire is going to falloff more, which is going to create a better strategy when it comes to the stages and things like that. So yeah, we believe that we’re very well prepared. We’ll see where we stack up with everyone else.” Juan Pablo Montoya is going Cup racing this weekend. How much are you looking forward to being on the same track as him? “Yeah, I had an opportunity to meet Juan a long time ago. He’s an amazing racecar driver. Something I like about him is how versatile he is. He drives everything, or he used to drive everything.. from Formula 1, to NASCAR, to Prototypes.. things like that. He’s an amazing talent. I’m very happy to have him back. I had the opportunity to talk to him yesterday at the airport. But yeah, he’s excited. Obviously a lot has changed since he was here.. a lot. Not just in the cars, but with the drivers. So I’m really looking forward to see how it goes this weekend.” Where did you meet him? “I can’t remember.. probably at a race track somewhere. Yeah, probably at a race track when he was running full-time and I was just coming up through the series. At the time, I didn’t speak English and luckily he spoke Spanish to me (laughs).” Where did you guys spin out during the test? “I can’t remember where (Austin) Cindric spun out. I spun out entering the carousel and right at the entry of the bus stop with this particular tire. There were two tires that were very soft and they had a lot of falloff, and this was one of them. Yeah, after 10 or 15 laps, there was a big falloff. With that being said, maybe the cambers were not correct for these tires. Maybe the air pressure was not correct for these tires. So I’m pretty sure we’re going to be much better now. But still, a softer tire is going to falloff more. I think that’s a good thing. I like that.. a big falloff, I think, creates better racing.” Had the track changes been made before the test, with the recessed rumble strips in turn one and the different bus stop? “It did.. only like 20 percent of them. The reason why they increased them so much more is because we had those conversations at the time, that the two lanes weren’t doing anything. We were just going across them and it was exactly the same thing. So we had a conversation at the time a couple months ago, that if you really want to stop us, you have to do the entire thing. That’s what they did, and I felt like that was the right thing to do. So yeah, I believe that the ARCA guys and the Xfinity guys maybe have a shot to use it a little bit more than we will because they’ll have more tire and a harder tire. But I feel like in the Cup stuff, we’re going to pay a bigger penalty. That’s what I think.. we’ll find out in a couple of hours.” How do you imagine that it changes going into turn one, since you can’t get out as wide and you’re not able to use as much of the track? How does that change your entry and approach to everything in that corner? “Well now, it’s going to be a real corner, you know? Now, you actually have to slow down to make the corner and make an apex. Before, if you watch the restarts – and I spent a lot of time this week trying to watch and understand the restart trends – well, everything is going to be different now. Before, if you guys remember when (Kyle) Larson won here a couple years ago; he just overdrove the entry into turn one, and then both cars just went super wide. Well now, that won’t be an option.. or I don’t think it’ll be an option. We’ll see. But if it is an option, you’re going to pay a bigger penalty than before. I just think that now, you’re going to have to really slow down to make the apex of the corner. Which before, if you didn’t make the apex of the corner, it didn’t matter because you could reshape it somewhere in the Pennsylvania and then come back (laughs).” You’ve had a great start to your playoffs and you’re coming to a road course. How encouraged are you by everything, and what do you think about the weekend?“Yeah, obviously it was a good start at Atlanta (Motor Speedway). It was what we were hoping for. You always want a little bit more when you’re in that situation, but besides a win, I felt like it went as good as it could have been. It was a good start. But with that being said, we have another nine races. That was just week one of the playoffs, so we have to continue to stay focused; continue to move forward. We have to continue to learn what we could have done better as a group; myself, the team, everyone. And yeah, then come here to a road course, which obviously I enjoy and do well. I believe that we’re going to be hopefully contending upfront and hopefully we can have another shot at it.” There will be two Latinos starting in this race. What can you tell us about the diversity and inclusion in the sport? “Yeah, of course. Obviously being a Latino in NASCAR, for me, is a huge privilege. And also, it’s a huge responsibility. When you were asking the question, I was trying to think about the last time we had more than one Latino in the race. I mean obviously we had Aric Almirola, which is a descendant of Cuba. Juan Pablo Montoya, he speaks Spanish fluently. He grew up in Columbia, so it’s a little bit different. Yeah, I feel very, very fortunate to be one of the Latinos, and be the one that’s been here for a little while. It’s been a huge responsibility and a huge privilege. The Spanish Heritage Month coming up, that’s one of the months that for me personally, is the most fun of the year. As you can imagine, I feel very blessed that here in the United States, we get to celebrate Spanish Heritage Month every single year. It’s amazing. Obviously some of my sponsors, they’ve given me an opportunity to do different things on and off the track. Last week, I don’t know if you saw, but we had a super cool design on my Quaker State racecar. It was actually designed by a Mexican artist. So things like that. I know that last week wasn’t during Spanish Heritage Month, but it was thinking ahead, right? So just feel very, very proud to be here, and I’m very proud to be recognized during Spanish Heritage Month.” No mic…“Oh, of course. And really, NASCAR has been welcoming diversity and inclusion for many, many years. The only thing is that now – it always takes somebody to start breaking the mold, you know? Juan Pablo Montoya did an amazing job 10 years ago. It just takes a few people – drivers, mechanics, engineers, pit crew members – to start breaking that mold. For me, I feel very, very proud every time I go to the garage and I see my friends that work at Front Row, 23XI, all these guys are Hispanic and we communicate in Spanish. So for me, they’re not part of my team, but I consider them friends because we are together on this journey of the Latinos and Hispanics in NASCAR. It’s very special. We definitely have an interesting connection, even though we are on different teams, and I hope that just continues to grow. Obviously in the last five to seven years that I’ve been here, it’s definitely grown a lot.” You come into today 22 points above the cutline. Not knowing how much the tire will falloff, how will that effect your overall strategy?“Yeah, I mean honestly, the points situation – I’m not trying to really pay too much attention to that. I’m just trying to do the best race that I could possibly do here at Watkins Glen this weekend. And then, in my mind, everything else is going to take care of itself. Am I going to take major risks? Probably not.. I’m not in the position that I have to win the race to be able to advance. I have to be smart, but I also have to do my race. I cannot be thinking about the points because that’s not the best way to race, in my opinion. But yeah, definitely we’re in a good position with the points, but I’m just trying to focus on the race; focus in the car and how I can maximize the potential of our weekend. If that’s enough for a top-five, great. If that’s enough for a win, we’ll take it.  So we’ll see.. we’ll see where we stack up with everyone else.” Speaking of the points, I get you don’t really look at that or approach the race because of that. But given that you finished so well last weekend, does that impact how you guys decide to attack this race? Do you guys go through what your strategy is before the race, or is it more so you just do whatever your crew chief tells you to do and you trust him? “I honestly believe – I mean we had a conversation, but I believe that whether we’re plus-22 points or minus-15 points.. to me, we have to attack the race the same way. It doesn’t change anything because you have to continue to maximize what you have. Continue to maximize your points. Continue to maximize your finish. And you still have one more race to go. So it’s not like everything is on this race. If this was the last race.. if this was next weekend, probably you have to look at it as ‘all or nothing’. But we’re not there, you know? A lot of things can happen in two races, as you very well know. We just have to go out there and execute our race; maximize the potential of our racecar. I’m pretty sure that’s going to be pretty good. In the past, this has been a pretty good track for us. We’ve been good here in the past.. we’ve never been great. So hopefully we can be great this weekend.” We go to Bristol next weekend and that’s been a hard track for you. How many points above the elimination line would you feel comfortable with going into there? “Like 75 points.. so I can stay in the motorhome (laughs). No, honestly Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks. Every time people ask me, Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks. I wasn’t a fan of the dirt race there, but for whatever reason, I was good at it. We were always good.. better on the dirt than the concrete. But Bristol is one of my favorite race tracks. A few years ago, we were actually very strong there. And for some reason, the last few years have been a struggle. It’s been a struggle with the balance; tires, with this, with that. We’ve put a lot of effort this time around in Bristol, to be able to be better. We know that’s a little bit of a weakness that we have, and we’ve had as a team at Trackhouse for a couple of years. Hopefully we can be better. But when it comes to points, man honestly, I don’t know.. definitely more than 30 points, just to feel comfortable. But if we’re able to improve our package for Bristol and we can run top-15, we’re going to be plenty good, I think.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES SEPTEMBER 14, 2024

WILLIAM BYRON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 LIBERITY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1 AND THE NO. 17 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO SS, met with the media in advance of racing double duty in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen International.  Media Availability Quotes:  Do you have any idea what the changes in the track will be like now that you’ve had a chance to look at them and how it could impact how you drive the track?“Yeah, I mean it looks like, from the ARCA race; it looked like they used kind of that six feet of excess, between the curb and the rumbles. So I feel like that’s probably what it will do, especially starting out, and then we’ll kind of see from there. It looked pretty dirty within the rumbles that they cut in the track. It looked like there was a lot of residual dirt and dust. I mean yeah, we’ll just see. I think we’ll be still using some runoff, but obviously not to the level we were, probably.” Today, Connor Zilisch will make his Xfinity Series debut. Is there a lot of interest about him from the Cup guys, or are you not worried about someone like him yet until he starts running Cup? “Well, no – I mean I think he’s been really impressive. He’s doing all the right things and making a lot of speed out there. It’s hard to judge when you’re in an ARCA race, per say. But yeah, I feel like he’ll get out there today and I’ll be up against him, so I’m excited to see how he does.” I think you were the first one a few years ago to note that you can only get 40 points at a road course race with the stages the way they are, and now that there are two of those situations in the playoffs this year. With the situation you’re in, are you thinking more stage points or are you thinking more about going for the win? Do you know how you’re going to play it yet? “Yeah, I mean I hope there’s kind of a combination of both that works. I feel like for us, if we’re in position to win, we’re probably going to go for that because that’s going to mean more for us hopefully down the road. But yeah, hopefully with this tire, there could be a position where you can get Stage One points and still compete for the win, like we saw maybe way back when the stages kind of first came along. You could pit and then still get seventh or eighth place stage points and still kind of tally them up that way. Hopefully it’s not like a 40-point max day because that would be tough, for sure.” What is it about Bristol and you that you’re either hit or miss.. podium finishes or wrecking out? Is it simply because it’s racing and unpredictable, and what can you do to help your odds when we go there next weekend? “Yeah, I mean I don’t really feel like we’ve ever been the dominant car there. So that’s the goal; try to inch up on that and figure out what we need to be more competitive there. But yeah, we’ve had some really good runs.. like top-three’s, but never like leading laps. So yeah, I think going to Bristol, there’s definitely going to be a lot of studying this week to figure out what it is that we need to be a little bit better yet. And then you have the tire, so you’re not really sure what that’s going to do. For us, it would be nice to be under less pressure going there and hopefully have a buffer and cushion of who knows how many points or a win. So it would be nice just to race freely there. The spring was just a fluke situation. We got put into the wall there and broke the toe link. That was tough. But yeah, I think we’re usually pretty solid there. We’re usually like a top-10 car, we just have to figure out what it takes to have winning speed.” Hendrick Motorsports has won the last five races here. Why do you feel like it’s such a good track for the organization? “Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I think we’ve had pretty good road course stuff for like a little less than a decade, and I feel like it just builds on itself, even though there was a car change. We actually did struggle with this car on the road courses initially.. like quite a bit. And then once we figured out what it needed; we have smart drivers and smart crew chiefs and we all contribute and get a package that we like, and then we go from there. I think that’s what it took with this car. And then yeah, Watkins Glen is just a faster place, so it takes a little bit of everything. The engine is really important, and we always have great engines. So I feel like we’ve been able to make the straightaways good; get through the braking zones and everything.” Being a little bit more seasoned now in the playoffs, do you find yourself approaching the 10 weeks any differently? Approaching each race any differently? Is it truly just business-as-usual, like the first 26 weeks? “Yeah, I’ve really just learned not to expect or let my guard now. I think last year, with all the bonus points that we had, I think we had 36.. I guess 41 by the time we got to the Round of Eight. But it was easy to feel like – man, we can kind of just point our way through this deal. And then you get to the Round of Eight and guys start to win, and it all really goes out the window. So I feel like for me, it’s learning from that; not letting my guard down and just really trying to show up each week and have winning speed.” This is Rudy’s (Fugle) home race. Do you notice anything different, in terms of his preparation, his attention, stuff like that, or is it also business-as-usual? “No, I mean it was a little bit last year. He had more family and things here. But this year, I feel like he’s just locked-in on what we need to do for the playoffs. So it’s probably, I don’t know his routine or anything like that, but he’s just focused on what we need to do, especially today. Try to qualify well.. that’s going to be important. And then see what the strategy is; see what the falloff is.”  Years ago, when we showed up at Watkins Glen, there were maybe four drivers that were going to win the race. Now, it’s so much deeper. Did you start focusing on becoming a good road course racer at the beginning of career, or is that something you’ve seen in recent years? “Yeah, I feel like it was kind of engrained in me from early on, K&N Series level. Like we’d go do tests with that, and then go race my cart at GoPro Motorplex, and I feel like it was just engrained in me pretty early on. I don’t really feel like at the time that there were that many road courses, but by the time I got to the Cup Series, it was two. And then like the next year, it was three with the ROVAL. No.. it was three the first year, and then yeah, it just kind of kept going and expanding. So it just fit the fact that I was ready for it, but I don’t think I really did it from a young age or anything, but definitely started to up my game when I was 16 or 17 years old.” You haven’t been on track yet, but how have you and your team been preparing for this weekend, knowing that you have a new tire that could have three seconds of falloff per lap? Are you expecting some chaos from that? Are you expecting what we saw at Bristol in the spring, or more like a Richmond situation? “Yeah, I think the tire is going to definitely falloff more, but we’re interested to see if that curb from the test flattens out a little bit because typically it does when you get rubber on the race track.. more cars get the right tire pressures, all those things. So yeah, I think there will still be a lot of falloff and it’ll just be interesting to see if that effects qualifying, if we’re not able to re-run. Or if in the race, like I said, maybe flip the stages because you need tires. It could shakeup the way that you strategize the race, for sure, because typically you’re just trying to strategize based on fuel.” This is the last race for Hendrick Motorsports’ Xfinity Series program. How important for you is it to run that race today, given the track adjustments for tomorrow’s Cup race? Is it going to be beneficial for you to run this race? “Yeah, I mean I love running here, so it was just really a place where I wanted to come run. And also, more laps on a road course are always great. The last one we had was Chicago, which is very unique, so it’s just nice to have 20 minutes of practice and a full race going into tomorrow. Hopefully it’s fun and hopefully we can compete for the win and be up there with Shane (van Gisbergen) and whoever else is upfront.”  Talking about last year, Martinsville Speedway was such a struggle. We saw at Darlington, another driver have a struggle, with Tyler Reddick staying in the car with his situation. I think we can all relate to a sense of feeling uncomfortable when we’re on a drive, but we can pull off. What is that like? When you look back at Martinsville, was that the hardest day in your career and how does somebody get through that? “Yeah, I mean you just have to distract yourself with what the task is. Tyler (Reddick) and I’s situations were different, for sure. But for me personally, as hot as I was, I was just thinking about – how do I get the next spot on the race track. If I could do that, I felt like I was going to advance. I think I had to get like seven or eight spots in the last stage, and I was running 22nd. I think we ended up finishing 13th because a couple guys pitted. It was just about getting the next position and trying to distract myself with that and not think about how I’m feeling. If I thought about how I was feeling, I was probably going to slow down.” No mic..“Not since maybe like late models, when I was like out of shape (laughs).”  Juan Pablo Montoya is coming back to race this weekend. Are you looking forward to being on the same track with someone as successful as he has been in his racing career? “Yeah, I mean he was the man when I was growing up. He was really good here. He was good everywhere, just didn’t maybe win the oval races that he could have or should have. But yeah, it’ll be nice to be on the track with him. Hopefully he’s nice and respectful of the playoff guys (laughs).”

No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R tops Hyperpole field for the Six Hours of Fuji

FUJI, Japan (Sept. 14, 2024) – The plush mallard duck perched on the roof of the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R in the garage at Fuji Speedway is an object lesson and team mantra – maintain a calm, businesslike approach while paddling furiously. That is what Cadillac Racing has done in its 14-race FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) program spanning two seasons — maintain focus and determination through ups and downs, highs and lows to extract the best from the racecar and individuals. A milestone nearly as tall as nearby Mount Fuji was attained Saturday as Alex Lynn drove the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R to the team’s first WEC pole position. “Congratulations to the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R on securing pole position in qualifying for the Six Hours of Fuji,” said John Roth, global vice president of Cadillac. “We are excited to get back on the track and compete for the overall win tomorrow.”

Lynn recorded a best lap of 1 minute, 28.901 seconds on the 2.835-mile, 12-turn circuit with 55 seconds left in the 10-minute Hyperpole session. He advanced to the 10-car shootout by topping the lap time chart in the 12-minute Hypercar qualifying of the assembly of 18 cars. The Hyperpole field was separated by .688 of a second. “It feels so good. Honestly, we’ve tried so hard all year,” Lynn said. “I have to say this car is amazing on one lap. Massive congrats to Cadillac. I just wanted to give the team a pole position this year. We came so close so many times and I’m so proud to have finally done it.” It is the fifth consecutive race that the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R powered by the purpose-built 5.5-liter V8 engine has qualified in the top four and third time this season that it has qualified on the front row, though second for the 24 Hours of Le Mans was met with a grid penalty. P3 at Bahrain was the highest qualifying effort in the inaugural season of the Cadillac LMDh platform. Lynn and Earl Bamber are coming off a season-high fourth-place finish after qualifying third two weeks ago at Circuit of the Americas and will be aiming to match the qualifying spot in the race.

About the raceGreen flag is at 11 a.m. Japanese Standard Time Sunday/10 p.m. ET Saturday. MotorTrend TV’s live coverage (in U.S.) is from 9:30-11 p.m. Saturday and 3-4:30 a.m. Sunday. Full live streaming coverage will be on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. RadioLeMans.com will stream the full race. For a different perspectiveWatch the Six Hours of Fuji from the perspective of No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R drivers Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn at 10 p.m. ET Saturday. WATCH Media resources: Cadillac Racing photo gallery | ’24 WEC statistics

Qualifying quotes

Alex Lynn: “It feels so good. Honestly, we’ve tried so hard all year. I have to say this car is amazing on one lap. Massive congrats to Cadillac. I just wanted to give the team a pole position this year. We came so close so many times and I’m so proud to have finally done it. I still have nightmares of that Le Mans night, missing it by a tenth. Nothing is given for free. If you can start up front in these races, it’s a big advantage. The tire preparation has been a big part of extracting the maximum over one lap. It’s a fantastic racecar that Cadillac has built us. We’re still trying to figure out how to make it just as fast over six hours or even 24. We know how to make it fast, it’s just getting it to do that for the whole time, being at that speed for the whole time. I feel confident that we should be finding some good points tomorrow. We haven’t changed our mentality. We know we’re quite good in qualifying, but 99 percent of our focus has been on the race. Hopefully, all that work we’ve put in will stand us in good stead tomorrow when the lights go out. The track is pretty good. It’s quite hot out here this year, so that’s always a challenge trying to set the car up for multiple temperatures throughout tomorrow’s race.” Earl Bamber: “Alex has been doing a fantastic job the last 18 months in quali. He’s put us in the best possible position tomorrow. I’m going to take the start and hopefully we can get through Turn 1 and start a good race. It’s been building with this program. We’ve been working really hard, chipping away at the details and we’re slowly getting into the window. COTA was a great race for us, so hopefully we can continue that momentum. (about two drivers in six-hour races): We think it’s an advantage. We get a lot more track time during the weekend. COTA was really tough because of the heat but I think we both did a good job. Tomorrow will be a humid one, but I think we can manage it.” Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM sports car racing program manager: “I could not be prouder of the team and drivers with all the effort they’ve put in to getting us to Hyperpole here at Fuji. We are so excited to take the green tomorrow and will be shooting to finish in the same position we started.” Stephen Mitas, team manager: “Wonderful result today for the team. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been an interesting two years as we built up to this. Alex was mega, team was mega, so looking forward to a great race tomorrow.”

COLCORD, OK (September 13, 2024) – Roger Crockett made only his second start of the year on the American Sprint Car Series National Tour Friday night at Arrowhead Speedway, but it certainly didn’t look like it.

The Broken Arrow, OK driver took his No. 11 machine to Victory Lane for his second ASCS win in as many weeks following a Sooner Region score at Enid Speedway on Sept. 7, as well as his first National Tour victory since winning the 2020 season finale at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

“I’m sure people see us win a regional race and think ‘whatever,’ but to back it up and come here and beat the best guys in 360 racing right now feels great,” Crockett said. “I haven’t gotten to do a lot of racing, especially 360 racing the last couple years, but I feel like if I was out on the road with these guys, we would be one of the best. It’s nice to kind of give people a taste of that tonight.”

“The best guys in 360 racing” Crockett referred to were Seth Bergman and Sam Hafertepe Jr., who combine for 14 Series wins on the year and sit 1-2 in points, but finished second and third behind Crockett respectively.

Crockett began to look like a win contender after taking the checkers in the Dash to start on the pole of the main event. A strong start gave him room to jump in front of second-place starter Jordon Mallett on the start and take the top lane through Turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap. Bergman took second away from Mallett while running the bottom before falling behind Crockett on the high side.

Bergman remained on Crockett’s tail through the first eight laps of the race, but the slowed car of Brady Baker on the backstretch brought out the caution before he could make a move.

Hafertepe made the most of the restart by getting around Mallett for third and eyed a move on Bergman before a pileup involving Brekton Crouch, Andrew Deal and Garrett Benson brought out a red flag to put the race on pause.

Another yellow for Alex Sewell’s spin in Turn 3 reset the field once again with 10 laps in the books. On the restart, Hafertepe threw a slider in Turn 1 on Bergman to take over second before Bergman returned the favor in Turn 3, but Hafertepe crossed him over exiting Turn 4 to keep the spot. The shuffling let Hank Davis in on the battle, resulting in a three-way tussle for the runner-up spot.

When things calmed down, Crockett had driven away to a lead of more than three seconds. By the halfway point, Bergman sat comfortably in second and began running down Crockett while Hafertepe and Davis continued trading sliders for third.

The gap between first and second had been cut to one second with eight laps to go when Austyn Gossel slowed to bring out the yellow flag. When the race went back green, Crockett moved down to the middle which gave Bergman an opening to make a move on the cushion.

The two briefly ran side-by-side for the lead down the backstretch, but Crockett quickly shut the door and drove away to his 11th victory on the National Tour.

Any part-time racer can speak to the difficulty of being competitive against those who are in the seat every weekend, but it’s a hill Crockett is willing and able to climb. “The Rocket” finished third in his first start in 2024 with the Series at 81 Speedway and backed that up with his triumph at Arrowhead.

“It’s really hard,” Crockett said. “This is only our third 360 race of the year, only the fourth race in my car this year. And the fourth night we blew the motor up halfway through the main event, so basically no laps.

“We didn’t run the [Knoxville] Nationals for a few reasons, but mainly we were able to work on our car, get it ready to go. Spent all the time in the shop, scales and stuff, so when you do come to the racetrack you know you’re competitive and not out to lunch. That definitely pays off.”

Bergman appeared to match Crockett’s pace at certain points of the race, but ultimately didn’t have enough late in the going. Nevertheless, his runner-up result gives him an 80-point lead in the standings over Hafertepe entering Saturday’s program.

“Late there, it had rubbered down and the top still had some moisture up there,” Bergman said. “So late on that restart, I was like ‘man, I’ll just try to be a hero here.’ Not very often can you run out of the rubber and pass somebody, but we dang near got it done. It was close, but he’s smart and he lane changed and took my line. Had he not done that I think we win the race.”

After two starts at Arrowhead this season, Hafertepe admitted that the Colcord, OK facility isn’t his best track on tour, but the five-time Series champion contended for the win and came home third regardless.

“I like the track a lot,” Hafertepe said. “I think it’s got a lot of potential. I think our operation doesn’t go around here as good as I would like it to. We just need some more track time to figure out a few more things, get a little bit better and we’ll be knocking on the door.”

Davis finished fourth for his fourth-straight top five, while Mallett came home fifth in his first National Tour start in his own No. 14 car since his stint in the No. 55B filling in for Brandon Anderson.

The Hard Charger Award went to Bradley Fezard, who battled engine issues early in the night before starting the Feature with a provisional and driving from 24th to 10th in the 30-lap affair.

UP NEXT: The ASCS National Tour will be back for another night at Arrowhead Speedway on Saturday, with drivers going for a $10,000 top prize in the Green Country Clash finale. Tickets will be available at the gate, while DIRTVision will stream every lap live for those unable to make it to the track.

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11-Roger Crockett[1]; 2. 23-Seth Bergman[3]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[6]; 4. 2C-Hank Davis[5]; 5. 14-Jordon Mallett[2]; 6. 1-Sean McClelland[4]; 7. 95-Matt Covington[13]; 8. 29-Emilio Hoover[10]; 9. 36-Jason Martin[12]; 10. 938-Bradley Fezard[24]; 11. 55B-Brandon Anderson[17]; 12. 2W-Whit Gastineau[11]; 13. 20-Noah Harris[15]; 14. 15D-Andrew Deal[9]; 15. 2B-Garrett Benson[7]; 16. 10-Landon Britt[23]; 17. 45X-Kyler Johnson[8]; 18. 88-Terry Easum[18]; 19. 5S-Danny Smith[22]; 20. 16G-Austyn Gossel[21]; 21. 8-Alex Sewell[14]; 22. 2-Brekton Crouch[16]; 23. 2J-Zach Blurton[20]; 24. 31-Casey Wills[25]; 25. 71-Brady Baker[19]

ARTICLE: https://ascsracing.com/recap/roger-crockett-gets-first-national-tour-win-in-four-years-at-arrowhead/

EVENT INFO: https://ascsracing.com/schedule/event-info/?event=4543435
TRACK INFO: https://arrowheadspeedway.com/
FAN 101: https://about.dirtcar.com/

Koizumi starts seventh as both TF Sport Corvettes make Hyperpole for first time GOTEMBA, Shizuoka, Japan (September 14, 2024) – Tom Van Rompuy and TF Sport’s No. 81 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the front row of the LMGT3 category for the Six Hours of Fuji as both of the team’s Corvettes made the 10-minute Hyperpole session for the first time this year.

Van Rompuy posted the second-fastest time in Saturday’s 10-minute Hyperpole session that set the top 10 spots on the grid ahead of the seventh round for the FIA World Endurance Championship. He set a best lap of 1:40.975 (101.097 mph) in the Corvette that he shares with Rui Andrade and factory driver Charlie Eastwood to miss the Z06 GT3.R’s second pole position of the season by just 0.082 seconds.  The biggest story, however, was both TF Sport Corvettes making Hyperpole, thanks to Hiroshi Koizumi’s strong performance in the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R. The Japanese driver advanced for the first time while Van Rompuy finished in the top-10 for the third straight event and fifth time this season.  Koizumi’s best lap at his home track came on his final effort – a 1:41.310 (100.724 mph) – in the Corvette that he will drive with Sebastien Baud and Corvette factory driver Daniel Juncadella. It equaled the best starting spot for the No. 82 Z06 GT3.R of the season, matching the position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both Corvettes were within 0.3 seconds in the first 12-minute qualifying session ahead of Hyperpole, showing the continued strength in pace and performance of the Z06 GT3.R. TF Sport is coming off a strong showing two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas, where the No. 82 finished eighth in class – thanks to Juncadella’s strong performance in the final three hours – and the No. 81 ran as high as second before being hit by another LMGT3 competitor.  As evidenced by qualifying, momentum is on the side of TF Sport heading to Fuji Speedway. It’s a track the team knows well, having scored two race wins, a runner-up and a pair of pole positions in its previous four trips to the 2.84-mile, 16-turn circuit less than two hours outside Tokyo. The Six Hours of Fuji is scheduled for 11 a.m. Japanese Standard Time (JST) on Sunday / 10 p.m. ET on Saturday. MotorTrend TV will air live television coverage from 9:30-11 p.m. ET on Saturday plus 3-4:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. Full live streaming coverage of the race will be available on the FIA WEC app and the MAX app in the U.S. Radio Le Mans also will stream audio coverage of Sunday’s race.

TF SPORT POST-QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTESTOM VAN ROMPUY, NO. 81 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – STARTS SECOND IN LMGT3: “It’s a very good starting position. Thanks to the team for keeping on working on the setup to give me a really good car. It felt really good and felt good on the lap. It’s really tight, but we’re on the front row. It’s a good position from where to start tomorrow, and hopefully we can gain one more.“It was a really tight qualifying session, and everyone was bunched tight together. We have a really strong car especially for the race tomorrow. We are in a really, really good window. So I’m really happy with the result today, and we will fight for a podium and try to go for a win tomorrow.”

RUI ANDRADE, NO. 81 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Things are really good so far. FP1 was a little tricky for everyone because the track was pretty dirty. As it cleaned up and into FP2, I think the car balance shifted a lot. For us, we learned the car is still quite strong. From the changes we made already for COTA, we saw that we had a lot of pace and were happy with the progression things had taken. We’ve maintained that for Fuji. It’s a completely different track with different characteristics, but the Corvette still seems quick and strong compared to our competition, so I’m happy with that.”(Race prospects) “It’s hard to say. Everyone always has a little bit left in the bag. The most important thing is the feeling that we have in the car and the car balance. We were quite happy at the end of FP2. There are still some small tweaks to be made, but it’s always good when you can end a Friday on a high note and you don’t have so much left to do on setup with Free Practice Three and qualifying. Now it’s about fine-tuning things. It was warmer today and closer to race conditions so it was good to see for our race setup.”

HIROSHI KOIZUMI, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – STARTS SEVENTH IN LMGT3: “I was happy to get into my first Hyperpole! I was aiming for pole position but ended up with P7. In tomorrow’s race, we will win it! This is my first race at Fuji in a year but in a new car with the Corvette and my team at TF Sport. So I’m feeling both excited and nervous! I haven’t had very good results so far this year, but I’ll do my best to achieve a slightly better result for the Japanese fans here at my home track. Our aim is for the podium and hopefully the top step.”

DANIEL JUNCADELLA, NO. 82 TF SPORT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Since COTA, we have been very competitive. The Corvette has been very nice to drive, and we have been up there for every session. Unfortunately we couldn’t get a result in the COTA race due to some penalties. Now here for Hiroshi at Fuji, he can really feel it’s his home race and he has some extra performance in him! This is a great starting position, and we have high expectations for tomorrow.”

Beckman Third, Brittany 10th after First Day Qualifying in Pep Boys Nationals

READING, Pa. (Sept. 13, 2024) – Funny Car rookie Austin Prock took one giant step toward earning his 11th No. 1 start of the season Friday when he drove the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS to a time of 3.849 seconds at a career best speed of 338.43 coupled miles per hour on the first day of qualifying for the 39th Pep Boys Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. Racing in what were likely the best conditions of the weekend, Prock took full advantage at the wheel of the blue-and-black Camaro tuned by his dad Jimmy and maintained by a battle-tested crew that is hoping to celebrate in the Maple Grove winners’ circle for the third straight year after winning in 2022 and 2023 with Robert Hight. “The ol’ Prock Rocket was on fire tonight,” Prock gushed after surging around teammate “Fast Jack” Beckman and into his usual No. 1 spot, “and it sure is fun to drive. It was about as good of a day as we could get. We were second quick in the first session and then we went up there, went low ET and ran a career best speed.  “Proud of that,” beamed the man who started his Funny Car career by winning the pre-season PRO Superstar Shootout in Bradenton, Fla. “We’ve been trying to get some miles per hour out of this thing all season long. Hopefully, we can keep it up the rest of the weekend and the rest of the season.” The former Rookie-of-the-Year’s speed was the third fastest overall this season, faster than any Top Fuel dragster. The only car that’s been faster is Bob Tasca’s Mustang which ran 338.51 mph at Seattle, Wash., and 338.77 mph at Sonoma, Calif. The 29-year-old, who won five races in the regular season including the Labor Day U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis, Ind., is closing in on boss and mentor John Force’s Funny Car record of 13 No. 1 starts in a single season.  Force was No. 1 in 13 of 19 events in 1996, the year he became the first drag racer recognized as Driver of the Year for all American motorsports.  Hight, who stepped out of the seat this year for medical reasons, was the No. 1 qualifier nine times in his second pro season in 2006. Beckman, making his first Countdown start in relief of Force, who remains sidelined after a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va., briefly sat atop the ladder with a time of 3.869 seconds at a speed of 330.80 mph in the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Camaro. He will move to the final sessions Saturday in the No. 3 slot behind Alexis DeJoria, whose 3.867 alongside Prock nudged him for No. 2 on Saturday. “We got (qualifying bonus) points in both sessions,” Beckman said of his Friday performance. “Our car did everything the crew chiefs asked. I can’t wait for race day (but) we’re going to try to get some more points tomorrow. They’re all important when you start from the middle of the pack. The problem is old No. 1 (Prock) keeps gobbling up the most points.” Beckman, the 2012 series champion in Funny Car, won this race the last time he ran it in 2019.  Back on the track on which she set the current NHRA national record of 3.623 seconds on Sept. 14, 2019, and on which she has a higher winning percentage than any other in the Mission Series, Brittany Force secured the provisional No. 10 position Friday with a solid 3.770 at 329.75 mph. She’ll have work to do Saturday to put herself in a lane choice situation for Sunday’s finals. “We’re going down the racetrack,” Force said (she ran 3.816 in the first session), “but (tenth) is not the position we planed to be in so we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

September 12, 2024

After coming just a half a straightaway shy of leaving Atlanta Motor Speedway with a much-needed good points day, Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Freightliner team are headed to Watkins Glen International hoping to battle their way back into a position to advance to Round Two of the Cup Series Playoffs.

This weekend’s Go Bowling at the Glen on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y., is the second of three races in the Round of 16, and Burton and the Wood Brothers are 14th in the standings, 16 points behind 12th place. After the race at Bristol the following week, the bottom four drivers in the Playoff standings will be eliminated from championship contention.

“We had ourselves in a good spot to have a decent points day right up until the last corner,” crew chief Jeremy Bullins said of this past Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Burton was swept up in a last-lap crash and finished 31st after running most of the rest of the race in the top 15 or better. “That’s how it goes with the speedway-style racing.

“There’s only so much you can control in those situations.”

But Atlanta is in the rear-view mirror, and the team’s focus is on the upcoming race on the 2.45-mile, seven-turn road course in upstate New York.

“We will try to rebound this week with our Freightliner Mustang at Watkins Glen,” Bullins said.

“We will do our best to score some much-needed Stage points and get back above the cutline before the cutoff race at Bristol.”

Practice for the Go Bowling at the Glen is set for Saturday beginning at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 1 p.m.

Sunday’s 90-lap, 220.5-mile race is expected to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. Stage breaks are planned for Laps 20 and 40.

USA Network will carry the TV coverage all weekend.
 

CHEVROLET IN NHRA2024 PEP BOYS NHRA NATIONALSMAPLE GROVE RACEWAY READING, PENNSYLVANIATEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE | NOTES & STATSSEPT. 13-15, 2024 CHEVROLET AND JOHN FORCE RACING KICK OFF THE COUNTDOWN READY TO MARCH TOWARD TITLES IN BOTH FUNNY CAR AND TOP FUEL

Notes:Team Chevy kicks off the Countdown to the Championship with John Force Racing this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway Sept. 13-15, for the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Reading, Penn.Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, currently leads the championship points standing after a stellar season so far with five wins to date in 2024, including the U.S. Nationals. Additionally, he’s captured 10 No. 1 qualifiers this year, giving him a career total of nine victories and 13 No. 1 qualifiers.Jack Beckman, driver of the PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car and racing on behalf of sidelined team owner and driver John Force, joins Prock in fighting for a Funny Car World Championship and currently sits sixth, 76 points back from Prock in first.Securing her spot in the Countdown to the Championship while competing at Indianapolis, Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, is looking to Reading coming off of a strong effort at U.S. Nationals that saw her capture her second No. 1 qualifier of 2024 and 48th of her career. She currently sits ninth in the championship standings 93 points behind first.Additionally competing at Reading this weekend, Dallas Glenn leads Greg Anderson in the Pro Stock championship standings, 25 points separating the two.Competing this weekend in addition to Pro Stock, the Chevrolet COPO Camaro drivers of the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown also race this weekend at Maple Grove Raceway. For FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown, Reading is the penultimate event of their 2024 season, as they inch closer to closing out their year and crowning a champion. Chevrolet COPO Camaros sits in first and third respectively. David Janac leads over second by 22 points, with Stephen Bell behind Janac in third with 48 points between the two.

Quotes:AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“(I’m) excited to get back to the track. We’ve been hard at it in the race shop preparing for the Countdown to the Championship. It’s been a great year so far, and we are looking to keep it up for this 6-race dash. Our Chevrolet Camaro has been hot all year long and definitely feels good rolling into the playoffs off a win. Our attention is ahead, one moment at a time.” JACK BECKMAN, DRIVER OF THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE AND COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“Now that I’ve ‘knocked the rust off’ with a quarter-final and then a semi-final finish at my first two races, it’s time for the Countdown to the Championship! With back-to-back-to-back events, I look forward to getting even more comfortable and climbing further up in the standings in our PEAK Chevy. We now are less than four rounds out of first place, with a car and a team that are capable of winning EVERY race. I can’t wait to get my first win for John [Force] soon!” BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:“I’m thrilled to be heading into the first race of The Countdown in Reading this weekend. We enter in the number nine position and our competition is the toughest I’ve experience in my career. I’m proud of our Monster Energy team’s fight to clinch our position in Indy. We’ve made major progress throughout our season and one of our best races of the year was this past weekend at the US Nationals. The great thing about The Countdown is everyone’s points reset; so starting at Maple Grove every driver has an opportunity at chasing the championship. I feel confident coming into a racetrack where we’ve previously won and set the national ET record (3.623 seconds), but we have no room for mistakes. The plan is to continue qualifying in the top spot and go rounds on race day.”

How to Watch:The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals from Maple Grove Raceway airs first with qualifying on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Sunday sees Saturday’s qualifying air at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, with Finals following at 2 p.m. ET on FOX. Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS:1,463: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time). (Three round wins have been captured by Jack Beckman in Brainerd and Indianapolis while racing on behalf of Force who is currently recovering from an on-track incident).626: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 632.167: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time).166: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 1967.84: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time). Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) is fifth with 88.86: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro SS body.48: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Brittany Force.28: Number of NHRA championships Chevrolet holds as a manufacturer since entering the first in 1966. This is the seventh-consecutive award and ninth in 11 seasons. No other manufacturer has won it more than Chevrolet.26: Wins by John Force in a Chevrolet-bodied Funny Car.20: Chevrolet career Top Fuel wins in NHRA.16: Number of Chevrolet career wins by Brittany Force.7: Number of Funny Car driver championships.2: Number of Top Fuel driver championships.

Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car – Countdown to the Championship Media Availability Transcript: (Moderator) Brian Lohnes of NHRA: What does a good U.S. Nationals mean for a team entering the countdown as the number one seed? Austin Prock: Well, I think any race weekend you go into coming off of a win gives you a little bit more, you know, a little bit of pep into your step. But yeah, winning the U.S. Nationals, that was pretty special for me and my family. And we’re excited for the countdown. Nothing matters that we’ve done to, you know, this point. Everything restarts. And we’ve got to go into these next six races and just do the same job we’ve been doing. Our lead got tightened up quite a bit. And we just got to go and execute and really perform better than we have all year long. Moderator Lohnes: How personal was your performance on race day at Indy for you, like, to just put that thing behind you? I know good race car drivers don’t linger on things that happened in the past, but how important was it for you to really kind of drive it down to a pro on Monday at Indy? Austin Prock: It was exactly what I wanted to do. You know, I wanted to go out there and prove to myself that, I can take a hit and bounce right back up from it. I said during the week of the U.S. Nationals after we won, that was the best driving performance I’ve probably had in my career. You know, from doing the burnout perfectly straight, to staging, to leaving the starting line, to keeping the thing in the groove run for run; I was on the money. That felt really good. And, you know, that’s kind of the performance I expect out of myself, and that’s what I want to have these next six races. That’s what it’s going to take to win this championship. Phil Burgess, National Dragster: So, Austin, you’ve been in the countdown before, obviously in Top Fuel, first year in Funny Car, and obviously your first year leading the points. Can you talk about the attitude you have when you come in the countdown and you’re not the top seed and you’ve got ground to make up versus being in the front and not necessarily protecting the lead, but maybe racing differently? Austin Prock: Well, I don’t think we’ll race any different. You know, you’ve got to block that out. But I was actually talking to Chris Cunningham [former crew chief and current co-crew chief for Jack Beckman] this afternoon at the shop, and I was like, “ ..I’ve always said this countdown format, it’s the same for everyone. But I always come in at the lower end of the stick, you know, and I always believed that it was the same for everyone. Well, coming in this year, when you have a 348 point lead or whatever it was, and, you know, you get it taken away all the way down to essentially less than one round because you can’t even count 40 points as two rounds anymore because there’s points and a half in Pomona. I was like, it’s really not the same for everyone. I feel like it’s the same for everyone if you’re like fifth or sixth down, you know, then it kind of like tightens everything back up. Joe Costello, WFO Radio: We are looking at one of the best battles that maybe we will ever see in Funny Car, or maybe not, if you’re able to dominate the playoffs the way you were the regular season. So, I’d like to hear you talk a little bit about the competition, if you would. Austin Prock: Yeah, I think the biggest threat is my teammate, Jack Beckman in that PEAK race car, that PEAK Chevrolet, that thing, that thing’s wicked. On Sunday [in Indianapolis], we were going blow for blow for low E.T. each round and they nicked us a few times. And I don’t know if you guys saw on Sunday, Jack was mowing the tree down. I think he was 62 and 64 or 67 first and second round. That car is going to be tough, you know, so I hope it’s a battle to the finish between the two of us. That would be really special for John Force Racing and great for John Force and great for Jack Beckman and that whole team—Danny Hood and Chris Cunningham.They worked really hard on that race car all year and, you know, kind of got thrown for a loop and had to sit out a few races. And when they came back, they were swinging for the fence and the thing was sticking. So that’s definitely exciting to see from a team standpoint. But there’s a lot of good race cars out there. I mean, Bob Tasca, he can rip and he can drive really well, too. So you’ve got him. You can never count out (Ron) Capps. You can never count out Hagan. You know, Hagan, I feel like a lot of people have been sleeping on him a little bit this year and you can’t count him out. I mean, he’s a four-time champion. He’s an excellent driver and Dickie is, he’s one bad dude. So I think everybody’s in for a treat, this countdown to the championship. The conditions are going to, you know, cool off and the air is going to come to everyone and it just promotes better racing. You know, when we get in these conditions where the racetrack’s really good and the air is really good, the field just really tightens up. So it’s going to be hard to say who’s going to be your toughest opponent, but I know these two Chevrolet Camaro SS’s at John Force Racing are going to be stout.

BENTON, MO (Sept. 12, 2024) – The American Sprint Car Series National Tour will make its long-awaited return to Benton Speedway in Missouri and Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky in mid-October.

The doubleheader weekend will see the Series venture back to Benton for the first time since 1996 and then return to Paducah for the first time since 2018.

It’ll be the National Tour’s first trip to Missouri and Kentucky this year, its second trip to Paducah and fourth visit to Benton.

The Series first visited the 3/8-mile Missouri dirt track in 1995 – a race won by Gary Wright. Then made its last two stops there in 1996 with Terry Gray and Jerrod Hull picking up National Tour victories.

Kentucky got to see the American Sprint Car Series’ fellow World Racing Group series the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series thrill fans in April. Now, it’ll be the ASCS National Tour’s turn to bring its stout field of drivers to the 3/8-mile dirt track.

The last time the Series visited Paducah, Matt Covington picked up the win there. The Oklahoma native is still on the hunt for his first National Tour win this season.

Both events are part of the final 10 races of the 2024 season and will be key races for the championship chase. Seth Bergman and Sam Hafertepe Jr. are the two prime contenders, and their battle has been like a slinky falling down a set of stairs, closing and expanding each weekend.

If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch both races live on DIRTVision.

EVENT INFO
Date – Friday, Oct. 11
Location – Benton, MO
Track Website – BentonSpeedway.com

Times (CT) –
Hot Laps: 6 p.m.
Racing Starts: 7 p.m.

Tickets – Available at track.

Previous ASCS National Tour winners at Benton –
1996 – Terry Gray on June 14, Jerrod Hull on July 4
1995 – Gary Wright on Sept. 23

EVENT INFO
Date – Saturday, Oct. 12
Location – Paducah, KY
Track Website – PaducahRacing.com

Times (CT) –
Pit Gate Opens: 3 p.m.
Grandstands Open: 5:30 p.m.

Tickets – Available at track.

Previous ASCS National Tour winners at Paducah –
2018 – Matt Covington on April 27

The NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series will pay their annual visit to Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International this weekend, with the 2.45-mile, seven-turn, road course marking a penultimate race within each series’ respective seasons. For the first time in history, the upstate New York circuit will host a playoff race for NASCAR’s top division, with Sunday’s ‘Go Bowling at The Glen’ marking the second race of the Round of 16. For the Xfinity Series, Saturday’s ‘Mission 200 at The Glen’ will provide playoff hopefuls with one of the final two opportunities to solidify a postseason position.

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen: Chevrolet owns a winning percentage of 55 percent in the NASCAR Cup Series’ 40-race history at Watkins Glen, with the manufacturer heading into the weekend with 22 all-time victories at the circuit. The Bowtie brand’s rich history at Watkins Glen dates back to the Cup Series’ inaugural race at the circuit (Aug. 1957), with Buck Baker earning the victory in his ’57 Chevrolet. Throughout the years, Chevrolet has posted a five-race win streak on three separate occasions – first accomplished between Aug. 1997 – Aug. 2001 and Aug. 2003 – Aug. 2007. The manufacturer will head to the upstate New York circuit with an active streak of five-straight trips to victory lane – courtesy of victories by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (Aug. 2018; Aug. 2019), Kyle Larson (Aug. 2021; Aug. 2022) and William Byron (Aug. 2023).

ONE DOWN, TWO-TO-GOAn eventful opening race for the Round of 16 provided for quite the shakeup throughout the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings. However, one thing  remained the same: Chevrolet is the only manufacturer with all of its playoff contenders still above the cutline.    Entering postseason competition as the top-seeded driver, Kyle Larson was showing early signs of a robust performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway when an unexpected loss of control resulted in a hit to the outside wall that ended the No. 5 team’s day in Stage One. But thanks to a points cushion he had built during the regular season; Larson still found himself above the playoff cutline following the conclusion of the Quaker State 400, with the former series champion now sitting 10th with a 15-point advantage over the bubble. Putting the misfortune in the rearview mirror, Larson will head to a pair of tracks that have fared well for him throughout his career, including wins in two of the past three Cup Series races at Watkins Glen.  Each of the other four Team Chevy playoff contenders were able to notch top-10 results at the 1.5-mile Georgia venue and maintain a position above the playoff cutline. The biggest mover up the playoff standings was Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman. The 31-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native netted a fifth-place result and a 48-point day in his No. 48 Camaro ZL1 – jumping up six positions in the standings to sixth with a now 27-point advantage over the elimination line. Larson and Bowman’s fellow Team Chevy playoff teammates hold a double-digit points advantage over the cutline, with William Byron in fifth (+33 points), Chase Elliott in sixth (+24 points) and Daniel Suarez in ninth (+22 points).  Heading to the upstate New York circuit, all five Team Chevy playoff contenders are among the favorites to build onto their points cushions. Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott, Larson and Byron have collectively earned the Chevrolet organization victories in the past five consecutive Cup Series races at Watkins Glen. The trio’s teammate, Bowman, has proven to be a top contender when it comes to making left- and right-hand turns, with the driver earning a fourth-place result at Circuit of The Americas (March 2024) and the victory at the Chicago Street Course (July 2024). Suarez, who captured his first career victory in NASCAR’s top division on a road course, has also proven that Watkins Glen suits his driving style – collecting top-fives in three of his six starts at the circuit.

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL15th in Playoff Standings (+33 points)Victories: 3Top-Fives: 8Top-10s: 14Laps Led: 261Average Finish: 14.1Stage Wins: 1 Of Note: – The 2024 season marks Byron’s sixth consecutive appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. – Bryon’s career-best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs came last season during his first career appearance in the Championship 4 – finishing the season third in the final points standings. – Byron has scored 11 of his 13 career NASCAR Cup Series victories during the Next Gen era. – Byron has at least one victory at six of the 10 tracks on the playoff schedule: Atlanta Motor Speedway (two wins), Martinsville Speedway (two), Homestead-Miami Speedway (one), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (one), Phoenix Raceway (one), Watkins Glen (one).

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL16th in Playoff Standings (+ 27 points)Victories: 1Top-Fives: 7Top-10s: 13Laps Led: 19Average Finish: 15.0Stage Wins: 0 Of Note:– The 2024 season marks Bowman’s sixth appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. – Bowman has advanced to the Round of 12 in each of his NASCAR Cup Series playoff appearances – making it to the Round of Eight in the 2020 season to score a career-best sixth in the final standings. – Bowman has one victory at two of the 10 tracks on the playoff schedule: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (one win) and Martinsville Speedway (one).

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 8th in Playoff Standings (+24 points)Victories: 1Top-Fives: 7 Top-10s: 13Laps Led: 213 Average Finish: 11.5Stage Wins: 1 Of Note: – The 2024 season marks Elliott’s eighth appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. – Elliott has advanced to the Championship 4 three times in his career, with his first coming in his championship-earning season (2020). – Elliott has scored seven of his 19 career NASCAR Cup Series victories in the playoffs. – Elliott has at least one victory at seven of the 10 tracks on the playoff schedule: Watkins Glen (two wins), Talladega Superspeedway (two), Kansas Speedway (one), Charlotte ROVAL (one), Martinsville Speedway (one), Atlanta Motor Speedway (one), Phoenix Raceway (one).

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 9th in Playoff Standings (+ 22 points)Victories: 1Top-Fives: 3Top-10s: 7Laps Led: 152Average Finish: 17.7Stage Wins: 1 Of Note: – The 2024 season marks Suarez’s second career appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. – Suarez’s career best finish in the NASCAR Cup Series standings came in 2022 – earning 10th in the final points standings. – Suarez has two career NASCAR Cup Series victories – both of which were earned in the Next Gen era. – Suarez earned his playoff berth in the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the track that will open the Round of 16.

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 10th in Playoff Standings (+ 15 points)Victories: 4Top-Fives: 10 Top-10s: 13Laps Led: 1,089Average Finish: 14.5Stage Wins: 10 Of Note:– The 2024 season marks Larson’s eighth appearance in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. – Larson has made it to the Championship 4 twice, including his championship-earning season (2021) and, most recently, in 2023. – During the playoff era (2004-present); Larson leads the series in multiple playoff race wins in a single season with five in 2021 (Bristol, Charlotte ROVAL, Texas, Kansas, Phoenix).- Nine of his 27 career NASCAR Cup Series victories have come in the playoffs. – Larson has at least one victory at eight of the 10 tracks on the playoff schedule: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (three wins), Watkins Glen (two), Kansas Speedway (two), Bristol Motor Speedway (one), Charlotte ROVAL (one), Homestead-Miami Speedway (one), Martinsville Speedway (one), Phoenix Raceway (one).

RACKING-UP ROAD COURSE WINSSunday’s ‘Go Bowling at The Glen’ will mark the 14th road course event in NASCAR’s Next Gen era. Team Chevy’s Kyle Larson took the Bowtie brand to victory lane in the series’ most recent road course race at Sonoma Raceway (June 2024), giving Chevrolet its ninth road course win in the Next Gen car. Larson is one of six different Team Chevy drivers to earn a road course victory in the Next Gen Camaro ZL1, with others including Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron (two wins); Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (one win); Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez (one win each); and Tyler Reddick with Richard Childress Racing (two wins).

ZILISCH SET FOR XFINITY SERIES DEBUTTrackhouse Racing development driver, Connor Zilisch, will make his much-anticipated NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend at Watkins Glen. The 18-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, native will make his first career start in the series behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Camaro SS – the same ride in which he will run full-time in the series next season. The last time the organization’s No. 88 entry made it to victory lane also came at Watkins Glen – recorded in Aug. 2022 with Kyle Larson.  Zilisch has just two career starts in the NASCAR national ranks – both of which came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series earlier this season. Pressure proved to not be a problem in his first career Truck Series start (Circuit of The Americas; March 2024) – picking up the pole win and ultimately coming home with a fourth-place finish.

XFINITY SERIES HITS PENULTIMATE REGULAR SEASON RACERichard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill once again proved his mastery on drafting-style tracks – driving his No. 21 Camaro SS to the win to cap off the season sweep at his home track of Atlanta Motor Speedway. With a late-race accident collecting the top-two drivers in the points standings, Hill was able to inch closer to points leader Justin Allgaier, with the Georgia native now sitting 71-markers out of the top position.  The three Team Chevy playoff hopefuls that entered Atlanta Motor Speedway above the playoff cutline were able to build on their points cushion – each tallying top-10 results. The series’ road course ringer, AJ Allmendinger, earned a third-place finish and a 44-point day, giving the Kaulig Racing driver a 144-point gap over the elimination line. Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman and JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith also collected a pair of strong finishes at the 1.5-mile Georgia oval, with Kligerman heading to Watkins Glen sitting in the 11th position in the standings (+74 points) and Smith rounding out the top-12 (+44 points).

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen: The Bowtie brand will look to make it three-in-a-row in Saturday’s ‘Mission 200 at The Glen’ – the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ 30th appearance at Watkins Glen International. Most recently, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer delivered Chevrolet its series-leading 12th triumph at the upstate New York circuit. Throughout the series’ tenure at the circuit, the Bowtie brand reeled off eight-straight Xfinity Series victories from June 1994 to July 2001 – a record streak by any manufacturer.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       With 69 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has earned a winning percentage of 47.8% with 33 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – 11 wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 13 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – nine wins). ·       Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Watkins Glen International:      Kyle Larson – two wins (2021, 2022)Chase Elliott – two wins (2019, 2018)Kyle Busch – two wins (2013, 2008)William Byron – one win (2024) ·       In 40 NASCAR Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International, Chevrolet has amassed a series-leading 22 victories and 16 pole wins.  ·       Chevrolet has an active streak of five-straight NASCAR Cup Series victories at Watkins Glen International – courtesy of wins by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (2018-19), Kyle Larson (2021-22) and William Byron (2023). Six drivers in series’ history have posted consecutive wins at the upstate New York circuit, with Larson and Elliott being only two active drivers to accomplish the feat. ·       Chevrolet has earned 19 victories in the past 24 NASCAR Cup Series road course events – dating from Chase Elliott’s victory at Watkins Glen International in Aug. 2019, to Kyle Larson’s victory at Sonoma Raceway in June 2024. ·       In 13 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with nine victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations. ·       Chevrolet has recorded 66 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker’s victory at Watkins Glen International in 1957. ·       Since the debut of the 16-driver playoff field and elimination rounds to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2014, at least five Chevrolet drivers have been represented in the playoffs each season.  ·       In 99 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 48 victories – a winning percentage of 48.48%.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 862 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 979Toyota: 962 (-17)Ford: 948 (-31)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 892Toyota: 856 (-36)Ford: 767 (-125)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 637Toyota: 593 (-44)Ford: 563 (-74)

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup SeriesRound of 16: Race Two of ThreeGo Bowling at The Glen Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. ET(USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity SeriesMisson 200 at the Glen Saturday, Sept. 14, at 3 p.m. ET(USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Busch Light Camaro ZL1Do you enjoy going to upstate New York?“I love getting back up to New York. I spend a lot of time in the state for various things with different partners. I’ll fly up a few days before the race weekend for appearances and enjoy doing it every year. I probably spend more time in New York than I do most other states.” What is your outlook on Watkins Glen?“I’m looking forward to this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen. I’m going to get a little warm up in with the Xfinity Series car, so that will be fun. It’ll be another fun weekend with SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) behind the wheel in a Cup car on a road course. I’ve been working really hard on my road course racing and feel like I’m improving each year which is good. Our cars are faster and I’m ready to climb back in the Busch Light Chevy.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Get Bioethanol Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts heading into Watkins Glen International?“Watkins Glen International is a fast road course. Each lap requires you to be at your best and to give your all. We have had good races at Watkins Glen in the past, and I am confident that our No. 3 team will continue to do so. We’ve been working hard on our road course program for the last few years. You can gain a lot by getting after it in the braking zones and it’s just a high-speed place with all of the grip on the pavement. This is going to be one of those races where if you stay on track, you’re going to have a pretty good run.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1Larson on going to Watkins Glen International after crashing at Atlanta: “I’m definitely excited to get to Watkins Glen. I read a stat last night I don’t think Hendrick Motorsports has lost there since 2017. We’ll see. I think it’s going to be a little different. It seems like there will be a little more tire falloff than normal, I don’t know how that will play a factor into things but regardless, I think our road course package and especially Watkins Glen is a really good package so, we should have some speed it’s just still a road course, so a lot of things can happen.” Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Camaro ZL1You’ve had the pace to qualify up front at the road courses over the past year. What’s the key to keeping it in the mix this weekend?“Our road course package has been making a lot of strides. We have had the speed to qualify up front at the road courses this year, but really only have Sonoma to show for it. The tire wear will throw a wrench in the strategy, but I’m looking forward to the opportunity for a good finish on Sunday with Gainbridge on the hood.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1What are your goals for the remainder of the season?“Our goal is to get to victory lane, pure and simple, and try to build off what we’ve done over the last few weeks and keep that going through the rest of this year and into next year. It seems like we’ve gotten a little bit of a path to towards what does work I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the result from Darlington of what we were able to do there and getting into contention with a second-place there. Do you enjoy going competing at Watkins Glen?“I enjoy going to Watkins Glen. I think it’s a really fun road course. I’ve had good success there with a lot of top-10s. It’s just a neat racetrack. I always enjoyed going to Sonoma and to Watkins Glen when we only had two road races on the schedule. It was always kind of like off weeks where you just did something different. You turn right, you turn left, you didn’t really have to take it too seriously and be pretty good at it. Now there’s seven road courses on the schedule so everybody is getting better at it.” What makes The Glen unique from other road courses?“I think what makes Watkins Glen unique from other road courses is that it feels like a superspeedway because you’re going so fast there. Through the esses is pretty fast and it’s 190 miles per hour down the backstretch. Your minimum speed drops a little bit into Turn 1, Turn 11 and through the Bus Stop. It’s just a really cool place with good braking zones to make some passes. It’s just a fun course.”   Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1Elliott on the biggest change he’s seen with the Next Gen car on road courses: “Just the difficulty in passing. It has become, in my opinion, way harder to do and to get the rear tires to live. It’s just hard. Anywhere that we go, the corner entry, the part of the corner that is narrow, is going to be an extreme challenge to pass. You look at Darlington very much the same way. It’s not like you can fan out and have a bunch of different options when you first turn off the wall. Martinsville is a great example of that, the road courses are a prime example of that. Phoenix is a little bit that way in (turns) three and four. So, when you leave the wall and you can’t get outboard or inboard of someone’s wake, it’s going to be a real challenge. And with road courses, there is one spot that you want to be on corner entry. Unless you are just dive bombing a guy. And even if you are doing that, that is not the optimum way to make a lap time either.” AJ Allmendinger, No. 13 Go Bowling Camaro ZL1“Watkins Glen in the Cup car has been really good for us over the last couple of years. We’ve had top five speed, opportunities to win the race, and we’ve finished second and fourth there in the last two years. I’m really pumped about the opportunity to run the No. 13 Go Bowling Chevy at Watkins Glen. With that car, we don’t have to worry about points and can focus on using our strategy to win the race. I think we can run up front all day and have a great opportunity to steal a win.” William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1Byron on how new tires at Watkins Glen will affect strategy: “I think it depends on pace in practice, how much they fall off. We’re going to have 40 minutes instead of 20, so you’re going to have more time to figure out what that pace drop off is and I think you’ll make your adjustments from there. Confident in my group that they’ll go through all those notes and look at the information and make good decisions.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1“I’m really excited for some road course racing this weekend at Watkins Glen. Kaulig Racing is typically really good at road courses, and with my teammates Shane [Van Gisbergen] and AJ [Allmendinger] who are some of the best on these types of tracks, I’ll be able to lean on them. Hopefully we can carry some momentum from Atlanta into this weekend.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Bowman on Hendrick Motorsports success, personal struggles at Watkins Glen: “I feel like that’s the one road course that I’ve still kind of got to get a hold of a little bit but obviously, Hendrick Motorsports on road courses has been really good for a long time but Chase (Elliott) really got a hold of Watkins Glen and kind of developed all of our stuff to be really good there right off the bat. Trying to play catch up a little bit but I’m excited to get there.” Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1You’ve posted some of your best finishes this year on road courses, how is your confidence heading into this weekend at Watkins Glen?“I really enjoy racing road courses, so I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen this weekend. I’m definitely ready to get some momentum on our side after the last couple of weekends and I think we have a good shot there. We’ve had some good results in the road races this season and I am hoping for our best one yet this weekend. Excited to have Focused Health back on board my Spire Motorsports Chevrolet for another fun weekend in upstate New York.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Mattress Warehouse Camaro ZL1This will be your first time running at Watkins Glen in the Cup Series. This year has been full of new tracks with a lot of unknowns. Do you find the unknown to be detrimental or beneficial?“I’m excited to get back to the Glen. I ran there in 2021 with the trucks and had a lot of fun. I’ve wanted to go back since and I’m finally getting the opportunity. The unknown this year has helped me and everyone else has some unknowns this week too, with the tire changes from Goodyear. It seems so hard to pass there and if what they’re saying about the new tire is true, it rewards guys who don’t qualify well and could add a little more fun to the race. Spire qualified top 10 last year there with Corey (LaJoie) so I think we could be legit.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts on last Sunday’s second-place finish in Atlanta?“Whenever you finish second you are disappointed. It was a great race and weekend with the team, Quaker State, going to the Braves game, everything. But I so wish we could have finished one spot better. We are in a good position right now in the playoffs, but we must keep pushing. You can’t relax or take anything for granted.” Is the No. 99 team an underdog in the playoffs?“If you compare Trackhouse this year against the Gibbs teams, the Hendrick teams and things like that, yes. 2022, Trackhouse was actually one of the best teams. This year hasn’t been the same. This year we’ve been working extremely hard, but the results have been slower than what we thought they were going to be. I wouldn’t consider myself one of the favorites for the championship right now, but is that going to change my mentality of who am I as a racecar driver and the potential of the 99 and Trackhouse in the playoffs? Of course not. I know how good we are on road courses and how good we can be at some of these racetracks and the first two rounds are very critical. If we have good execution days in the first couple of rounds we can get to the Round of 8. And once you are there you have to be perfect. Anything can happen. We’ve seen it time and time again. We just have to continue to push hard, give it everything we got and see where we stand.” Have you found some performance gains that can help you over these last 10 races?“We found some stuff in the last couple months. We definitely got in the right direction. With that being said, we are not winning races yet. We still have work to do. Right now, we can compete consistently in the top 10. But we know that to make it to a championship that’s not going to be enough. We have to continue to push and continue to learn.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2023): 42First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2024 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 11Poles: 7Laps Led: 2,275Top-five finishes: 49Top-10 finishes: 105Stage wins: 16·       Chase Elliott: 1 ·       Kyle Larson: 10·       Ross Chastain: 1·       William Byron: 1·       Shane van Gisbergen: 1·       Daniel Suarez: 1·       Kyle Busch: 1 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 862 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 750Laps led to date: 251,430Top-five finishes to date: 4,347Top-10 finishes to date: 8,965                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,196           Chevrolet: 862           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 836                                                                      Ford: 736           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 188

Former World Champ Back at Maple Grove for First Time Since Winning in 2019

READING, Pa. (Sept. 11, 2024) – Jack Beckman hasn’t mashed the throttle on a race car at Maple Grove Raceway in five long years but, considering the outcome of his last start in the Pep Boys Nationals, one can’t blame the two-time World Champion for feeling pretty good about his chances in this week’s 39th renewal. That he won the last time he raced here is significant. That the car he beat in that 2019 final is the same PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS he now drives in relief of 16-time Funny Car Champion John Force borders on the surreal.  With Force sidelined by the effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va., Beckman was afforded an opportunity he never could have anticipated and he’s trying his best to make the most of it. The former Super Comp World Champ (2003) quickly has adapted to a new environment at John Force Racing, acknowledging that his comfort level has grown each time he’s hit the gas on the aqua blue PEAK Camaro prepared by a crew led by Dan Hood, Chris Cunningham and Tim Fabrisi. “Now that I’ve ‘knocked the rust off’ (with a quarterfinal finish at Brainerd, Minn., followed by a trip to the semifinals in the Labor Day U.S. Nationals, a race in which he posted quick time of eliminations), it’s time for the Countdown,” said the 58-year-old veteran.  “With back-to-back-to-back events (upcoming), I look forward to getting even more comfortable and climbing further up in the standings,” said the 33-time pro tour winner and 2012 Funny Car World Champion. “We’re less than four rounds out of first place with a car and a team capable of winning EVERY race. I can’t wait to get my first win for John, PEAK, and Chevrolet.” Before loss of sponsorship sent him back to work in 2021 as an elevator repairman, Beckman built up an extensive resume at Maple Grove where he won three times in 12 starts (2008, 2015, 2019) and compiled an 18-10 record.  The only Funny Car driver to have won the Pep Boys Nationals more often? That would be Force, who has hoisted the trophy seven times and was runner-up on nine other occasions. * * * * 39th Pep Boys Nationals SCHEDULE Friday, Sept. 13Nitro qualifying, 3:30 and 6 p.m., EDT.Saturday, Sept. 14Nitro qualifying, 1 and 3:30 p.m., EDTSunday, Sept. 15First round eliminations, 10:30 a.m., EDT JFR ON FS1 and FOX Broadcast Network Friday, Sept. 13Qualifying show #1, 7-8:30 p.m., EDT, on FS1Sunday, Sept. 15Qualifying show #2, 12:30-2, EDT on FS1Eliminations, 2-4 p.m., EDT, or 4:30-6:30 p.m., EDT, on FOX (Check local listings)

Brittany Aiming to Become First to Win a Championship from No. 9 Starting Position

READING, Pa. (Sept. 11, 2024) – For two-time World Champion Brittany Force and the crew that maintains her Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, starting the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship from the No. 9 position isn’t so much a challenge as it is an opportunity, one on which they hope to capitalize in this week’s 39th Pep Boys Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway. In a season of struggle, punctuated by the 300 mile per hour crash that left her dad, 16-time Funny Car champion John Force, with a Traumatic Brain Injury from which he now is recovering, the 38-year-old had to reach deep just to make the starting field after failing to qualify for one race and missing another to be with family. Nevertheless, now that’s she’s in it, she knows she can win it.   If that seems a little presumptuous, especially since no driver ever has won the championship from a No. 9 start, know that Force has watched two different John Force Racing teammates improve their standing by nine positions in playoffs. NHRA President Robert Hight, currently on medical leave, won the 2009 Funny Car championship from the No. 10 starting spot, the only driver ever to do so, and, before he climbed into Hight’s Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro this season, Austin Prock advanced from 12th to third in Top Fuel points in 2022. Force could not start her pending uphill climb in a more favorable environment than the one at Maple Grove, the track on which she set the current NHRA national record (3.623 seconds), the track speed record (337.66 miles per hour) and on which she has won 66.6 percent of her two-car matches (18-9). “I’m thrilled to be heading into the first race of the Countdown,” said the 16-time tour winner. “The (Top Fuel) competition is the toughest I’ve experienced in my career (and) I’m proud of our team’s fight to clinch our position in Indy (where she was the No. 1 qualifier and a semifinalist in the 70th U.S. Nationals). “We made major progress throughout the season and the great thing about the Countdown is (that) everyone’s points reset,” said the 2013 NHRA Rookie-of-the-Year. “So, starting at Maple Grove, every (qualified) driver has an opportunity at chasing the championship.  “I feel confident coming into a racetrack where we’ve previously won and set the national record – but we have no room for mistakes. The plan is to continue qualifying at the top and going rounds on race day.” The No. 1 qualifier in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2022 (and the No. 2 starter a year ago), she won the Pep Boys Nationals in 2017 and has been runner-up on two other occasions.  * * * * 39th Pep Boys Nationals SCHEDULE Friday, Sept. 13Nitro qualifying, 3:30 and 6 p.m., EDT.Saturday, Sept. 14Nitro qualifying, 1 and 3:30 p.m., EDTSunday, Sept. 15First round eliminations, 10:30 a.m., EDT JFR ON FS1 and FOX Broadcast Network Friday, Sept. 13Qualifying show #1, 7-8:30 p.m., EDT, on FS1Sunday, Sept. 15Qualifying show #2, 12:30-2, EDT on FS1Eliminations, 2-4 p.m., EDT, or 4:30-6:30 p.m., EDT, on FOX (Check local listings)

ORRVILLE, OH (Sept. 12, 2024) – Sprint Car drivers have been given an extra incentive to get after it at Wayne County Speedway in September with NOS® Energy Drink joining as the presenting sponsor of the World of Outlaws event.More than $10,000 was added to the overall purse for the World of Outlaws Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS® Energy Drink (Friday, Sept. 27), increasing the payout for every position. The event now pays $15,000 to win/$1,500 to start.“We’re excited to join the Buckeye Brawl at Wayne County Speedway and support Sheldon Haudenschild as the event is set to bring out Ohio’s most passionate race fans,” said Lauren Albano, NOS® Energy Drink marketing director. “Between the increased off-track activations for fans and increased purse for the drivers, there will be no shortage of energy throughout the night.”The Buckeye Brawl will be the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series’ first time back at the 3/8-mile Ohio dirt track since 2020. That race was won by Sheldon Haudenschild – who grew up 15 minutes from the track in Wooster, OH.“Obviously, excited to get another race back home, and to have NOS Energy Drink on board is pretty special for me,” Haudenschild said. “The race fans definitely show up when we get to Wayne County. Honestly, the track produces good racing. I feel like it’s probably the closest thing we have to a West Coast type of track. The track is always on point and puts on a good show.”The 2020 race was also the Series’ first time back at Wayne County since 1985. There have been five World of Outlaws races at the track, so far, and three different winners – Steve Kinser (1979, 1981, 1985), Bobby Davis Jr. (1984) and Haudenschild (2020).The NOS® Energy Drink sampling station will be on site at the Buckeye Brawl, providing fans with a complimentary NOS® Energy Drink. The World of Outlaws Fan Entertainment team will also be handing out NOS® Energy Drink giveaways throughout the night.Tickets for the World of Outlaws Buckeye Brawl presented by NOS® Energy Drink are on sale now HERE. Use code HAUDENSCHILD17 to get $5 off your ticket when purchasing online.If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.ARTICLE: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/nos-energy-drink-boosts-buckeye-brawl-at-wayne-county-overall-purse-increased/EVENT INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/schedule/event-info/?event=6228 TRACK INFO: https://worldofoutlaws.com/sprintcars/tracks/?track=Wayne+County+(OH)+SpeedwayFAN 101: https://about.worldofoutlaws.com/

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY LEBANON, TENNESSEE TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE SEPT. 13-15, 2024 CHEVROLET READY FOR THE NTT INDYCAR SERIES SEASON FINALE AT THE RETURN OF NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY Team Chevy Enters the Weekend with Ninth Series’ Manufacturer Title Secured; Team Penske’s Will Power Looks to Fight for Career Third NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship Racing into Nashville Superspeedway this weekend for the final race of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, Chevrolet has clinched their ninth manufacturers’ title since 2012 in the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 era, the third consecutive title for the Bowtie brand.Team Penske and Chevrolet-powered driver Will Power enters the season finale second in the standings, by 33 points, and has the potential to capture a third championship adding to his 2014 and 2022 top honors.Chevrolet heads into the season finale looking to add to 11 wins so far this year, including the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, as well as eight NTT P1 Pole Awards, 28 podium finishes, and three swept podiums.Returning to the 1.33-mile D-shaped oval at Nashville Superspeedway for the first time since 2008, the 14-degree banked Middle Tennessee track will provide ample challenge to competitors for the 206-lap, 267.8-mile Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.Overall, Team Chevy has amassed 122 wins and 135 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards in the V6 era since 2012, in addition to seven wins and five earned poles in eight races with hybrid technology.DETROIT (September 12, 2024) – Closing out the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, Chevrolet races to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend already securing their ninth Series’ Manufacturers title in the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 era since 2012. Over that time, Team Chevy has captured 122 win and 135 earned NTT P1 Pole Awards, 11 of those victories and eight poles coming this year, including the prestigious 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500. The 1.33-mile D-shaped oval will provide a challenge for competitors in the season-finale event, featuring a high-intensity 14 degrees of banking and many in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field seeing the track for the first time in their careers. While a few are returning since the last event in 2008, including championship contender Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet, a new challenge awaits the drivers that includes a softer, alternate Firestone Firehawk tire in addition to the harder, black primary option. “Looking forward to returning to Nashville, and hoping we’ll have a good shot at the championship,” said Power. “I really liked the test, really liked the track. It has a consistent banking, so the car is quite predictable through the corner. I just hope we can open a second lane, and we’re fighting for a championship. Nashville, we’ve had a taste of it. Have some ideas on what will do for car changes and to improve. The No. 2 Team Penske Chevy was pretty good (in the test). The car was reasonable. I felt like (Scott) Dixon was very strong which means the Ganassi cars will be very good there. It put more emphasis on Milwaukee, and ultimately seeing how this plays out.” Over the season, Chevrolet has captured 11 victories including the prestigious 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with one race remaining, totaling 122 wins so far in the V6 era since 2012, in addition to eight earned NTT P1 Pole Awards in 2024 that totals 135 earned top starting positions in the V6 era. Chevrolet additionally raced to three podium sweeps in 2024 at Road America, Iowa 1, and Milwaukee 1. “Heading to Nashville this weekend, we’ve achieved our goal of capturing the manufacturers championship, winning the Indianapolis 500 and we’re prepared to give Will and Team Penske all the support we can to give him a solid opportunity to capture the driver’s title,” said Chevrolet INDYCAR Program Manager Rob Buckner. “We’re looking forward to the event and working with our teams to cap the season with another successful weekend. It’s sure to be an exciting race. I am very proud of the hard work and dedication by our Chevrolet engineers, drivers, and teams this year.” The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix race weekend kicks off the two-day show with a stacked Saturday, including the first practice at 11 a.m. ET, followed by qualifications at 2:15 p.m. ET. High-line practice and final practice wrap on Saturday from 5:15 p.m. ET to 7 p.m. ET. Sunday’s season-finale 206-lap, 267.8-mile Music City Grand Prix from Nashville Superspeedway takes the green flag live on NBC at 3 p.m. ET. All practice and qualifying sessions are broadcast with Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“I feel like turn one of Phoenix is very similar to Nashville, but it’s gonna be weird being on a concrete track for us, as well as a series. So, I am excited about that. It can be more abrasive on the tires. Should have less grip. We’re also going with the kind of like a road course package instead of the speedway wings which I found quite interesting. It’s the same package as Iowa. A little different from Gateway and Milwaukee where we ran the full road course package. At Nashville we won’t run the upper element on the rear wing so it’s a little less downforce than what we had at Milwaukee or Gateway. Obviously, having as many top 10s as we’ve had, plus now a pair of top five has been huge. You know, the car has been really, really good this year to drive and so has the team as a whole. We really just stepped it up, everything from engineering to mechanics, even myself. You know, we’ve all kind of taken a massive step forward.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“I did a little bit of at home simulator using iRacing (in preparing for Nashville). Other than that, the experience is very limited. There are some trends and nuances that you can learn from this but it only gets you to about 90%. The last 10% (always the hardest to find) has to be done at the track; we are trying our best ahead of time to shorten the learning curve once we arrive in person. The closest experience I have is running at Texas Motor Speedway in 2023. The pressure is the same as it has been every other race. Our goal remains the same, and the preparation does not change. Our job is the same as it has been, it just so happens that it is the last one on the schedule. Trusting my instincts. It’s easy to overthink details sometimes but keeping it simple and trusting my experience and the team around me has gotten us a lot further at times than digging too deep in search for answers that sometimes reveal themselves.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:It’ll be my first time racing at Nashville Superspeedway at this weekend’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. I’m looking forward to closing out the season the right way. It’s been a rollercoaster, but we’ve had some great moments, so hopefully, we can create another one in Nashville.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m excited to get going this weekend at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. We had a lot of speed and potential in Milwaukee, and I think we’ll be in a similar spot at the Nashville Superspeedway. I’m looking forward to putting it all together and producing a strong result in the season finale.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“It’s pretty crazy to think that this is the final race of the year. I feel like the season just started, but here we are. This will be the end of my journey in papaya, but I can’t wait to end the season on a high note here in Nashville. It’s going to be a new venue for all of us, but I think we have an opportunity to have a great weekend.” Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:“The finale is here as we head down to Nashville for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. We’re excited for what we expect to be some great racing on this short oval, but also for all of the partner activation we’ll have this weekend, both on Broadway and at Nashville Superspeedway. Not wanting to blow our own trumpet, but our oval cars have been fast this year, so we’re looking to close the season out on a high note.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I am looking forward to racing at Nashville Superspeedway! It will be an interesting weekend with the majority of the grid having never been there. We’re going in with a tight points battle for Leaders Circle positions, so we’re fully focused on finishing the season off strong.” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I am very excited for one more NTT INDYCAR SERIES race this year! It has been a crazy season and will end with a crazy last race with neither Christian (Rasmussen) or I ever having turned a lap at Nashville Superspeedway. It will be interesting, we have a bit of practice but we’ll be figuring it out on the fly! We’ve progressed so much through the season and earned a lot of Top 10s in the second half. I am looking forward to adding to that, getting some good points and hopefully moving up a few positions in the standings!” Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:“Looking forward to returning to Nashville, and hoping we’ll have a good shot at the championship. I really liked the test, really liked the track. It has a consistent banking, so the car is quite predictable through the corner. I just hope we can open a second lane, and we’re fighting for a championship. Nashville, we’ve had a taste of it. Have some ideas on what will do for car changes and to improve. The No. 2 Team Penske Chevy was pretty good (in the test). The car was reasonable. I felt like (Scott) Dixon was very strong which means the Ganassi cars will be very good there. It put more emphasis on Milwaukee, and ultimately seeing how this plays out.”

Chevrolet at Nashville (V6 era since 2012, pre-hybrid):Wins at Nashville: 0 Earned Pole Awards at Nashville: 0 Number of Team Chevy Podiums at Nashville: 0 Number of laps led by Team Chevy at Nashville (V6 era since 2018, pre-hybrid): 0 Of note: The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is returning to the 1.33-mile D-shaped Nashville Superspeedway for the first time since 2008, and this is the first race with the 2.2-liter twin turbo V6 engine, along with hybrid technology.

2024 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:8: NTT INDYCAR SERIES race as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration. 7: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration since mid-2024.  215: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  122: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.  135: Earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 140 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather. 5: Earned pole in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration. 9: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  13: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 6: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 35: Number of times Chevrolet has swept the podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. In total, a manufacturer has swept the podium 56 times since 2012. 29: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.   9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.  46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Po

Flemington, NJ (September 12, 2024) – Joe Morrison will continue his pursuit of Funny Car glory at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals this weekend. The longtime Nostalgia Funny Car and Fuel Altered pilot from Flemington, NJ will make his second start of the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series at the first race of the NHRA Countdown to the Championship playoff race. While Morrison will not be in contention for the Funny Car world championship the veteran driver is looking forward to his potential spoiler role and racing in the ultra-competitive NHRA Nitro Funny Car division, driving for legendary Funny Car driver, owner, and tuner Paul Smith. In his 2024 debut race in Norwalk, Ohio, Morrison qualified for the 16-car field and was ousted in the first round by No. 1 qualifier and Funny Car point leader Austin Prock.   “It was an amazing weekend for our Funny Car debut in Norwalk and I expect even better results at Maple Grove Raceway,” said Morrison, who views this facility as his home track. “We will have more data, and I will be much more comfortable in the race car. This class is so much fun, and I received a great welcome in Norwalk. This weekend we will be looking to make four great qualifying runs and then see what happens on Sunday. We have some amazing partners along for the ride.”  Joe Morrison is eager to get back on track at Maple Grove Raceway, photo credit Ron LewisThe veteran Top Fuel racer turned Funny Car racer uses his race program to promote Right2Breathe.org and he is on a personal mission to help other people have more time with their loved ones. Morrison lost his father to COPD in 2016 and he has joined forces with a number of incredible organizations to bring the opportunity for early detection and treatment to the race track. Joining Morrison at the NHRA Reading Nationals, will be three instrumental companies and organizations: Right2Breathe, the Temple Lung Center and Chiesi USA. All three groups will have a specific mission at Maple Grove Raceway and Morrison will be the ambassador promoting their initiatives.   “I love racing at Maple Grove Raceway. I got my first wins here at an event called ‘Geezers at the Grove’ in my nostalgia altered in 2009. It’s my home track, and I always have a ton of friends and family around,” said Morrison, who made his Funny Car debut at the Norwalk Nationals in June of this season. “The fans here are some of the best anywhere. Every year, people who we have ‘Put Their Lungs on the Dyno’ at past events come by to tell us how their lives have improved. To know that we are making a positive impact in the lives of fans and racers is both humbling and gratifying.”  Morrison along with Right2Breathe and additional partners will once again provide lung screening and information during NHRA national events, photo credit Ron LewisFor Morrison, partnering with Right2Breathe has been a life-changing experience for him and for NHRA fans. One ongoing example of this partnership is the free onsite lung health evaluations Right2Breathe has provided fans giving them the chance to ‘Put Their Lungs on the Dyno.” As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Right2 Breathe is celebrating their 10-year anniversary in 2024, and they have provided lung screenings and lung health education at the Reading NHRA Nationals five times since 2017. Their mission is to provide free lung screening for people at risk for lung disease as well as provide education and support for people already living with lung disease.   Morrison, who last competed in NHRA Top Fuel in 2022, wrapped up his NHRA license cross-grade process in July 2023 with Smith at Virginia Motorsports Park. This expanded his diverse NHRA competition license to an impressive 11th active class, ranging from Top Fuel & Nitro Funny Car to Super Comp and Super Gas.   Morrison will be ready to go on Friday night for two qualifying sessions following an afternoon of fan events including an autograph session at the Right2Breathe.org midway display. On Saturday Morrison will be the featured guest on the NHRA Stage for “10 questions with Joe Morrison” followed by two more qualifying sessions.   The New Jersey native will be competing at Maple Grove thanks to the support from recently added associate sponsor support from the Napp Brothers as well as PennGrade 1® High Performance Oils, Stoms Automotive, Dawn D’Agostino, and MarSchanMotorsports.com (Mar-Schan Motorsports).   “As a New Jersey guy who spent so much time at Englishtown getting support from the Napp brothers is really special,” said Morrison. “We are methodically building our program and every dollar or part deal helps us so much. We are thankful for all our partners.”   On Sunday Morrison should be one of the 16-quickest Funny Cars racing for the iconic Wally trophy in front of an expected sold-out crowd. The race will be broadcast on FOX and will be the lead-in programming for the NFL game on Sunday. Fans interested in buying tickets to the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at www.nhra.com.

LONG BEACH, CA (September 12, 2024) — It is a brand-new season for Funny Car rookie Buddy Hull, driver of the Lescure Funny Car owned by Jim Dunn Racing. After a 14-race regular season Hull’s consistency paid off and the team will be competing for the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car world championship during the six-race NHRA Countdown playoffs. Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team are sitting at No. 12, just 145 points behind point leader Austin Prock. Entering the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals this weekend at famed Maple Grove Raceway Hull and the team are excited about the opportunity.   “We know we have a ways to go for a Funny Car championship but our first goal is to make the most out of the weekend at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway,” said Hull. “We had our best race of the season at the biggest race, the Toyota U.S. Nationals. Racing to the quarterfinals and almost getting to the semis really was a huge boost for this Lescure Funny Car team.”   With the Countdown getting underway Jim Dunn Racing is continuing to add marketing partners including Sunshine Beverages for the Reading and Charlotte Countdown races. Sunshine is a refreshing, hydrating and functional energy drink. With just 70mg of caffeine, it offers the perfect ‘pick-me-up’ for sustained mental clarity, allowing fans to power through tasks with ease. Hull is excited to work with a company like Sunshine Beverages because he understands the benefits.   “You have to be so mentally sharp behind the wheel of this 11,000 horsepower Funny Car,” said Hull. “Sunshine Beverages gives you that boost without the crash. They are working with Jim Dunn Racing because they know we can get them in front of thousands of people and help them expand their presence. My goal is to do my best behind the wheel and then spend some time with the fans talking about all our great partners.”   Two weeks ago, Hull raced to the quarterfinals in Indianapolis upsetting Bob Tasca III in the first round. The round win was a long time coming for the young Top Fuel turned Funny Car driver, but the new father wants to prove the win was not a fluke. Hull and his wife Madi welcomed the birth of their son Maverick prior to the race.   “You look at the progress this Jim Dunn Racing team has made this season it doesn’t always show up on a time sheet,” said Hull. “Everyone has been working to fit me into this race car. They have been super supportive as I have learned how to drive this Funny Car. We have all kept a positive attitude thanks to the leadership of Jim and Jon Dunn. These last six races of the season will be our whole season. That is what we have been working towards.”   With the points reset Hull is 145 points out of first place. There are 100 points up for grabs at event NHRA national event plus qualifying bonus points and the final race of the season is for points and a half. The opportunity to race into the Top Ten or even higher is a realistic goal for the team.   “We have been grinding all season and we have added some new parts for the Countdown,” said Hull. “We want to keep working hard and we’ll see what happens. This has been a great year so far and these final six races will be a lot fun.”   Qualifying for the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals will begin on Friday with two sessions followed by two more qualifying runs on Saturday. The quickest 16 Funny Cars will race for the Wally trophy on Sunday morning with the first round of eliminations scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST. The race will be televised nationally on FOX.