The Series veterans brought their families on the road while competing through eight different states

CONCORD, NC (July 19, 2024) – Amid a grueling season with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models, Brandon Sheppard and Cade Dillard kept their families by their side during the summertime set of events.

The two drivers sit comfortably inside the top four in Series points, with Sheppard leading the standings and Dillard 186 points back from him in fourth place.

Sheppard, a New Berlin, IL native, is grateful to have his wife, Mikala, and his three children Jase, Addison, and Baylor alongside him while keeping his focused energy on the Late Model during race nights.

“It’s really nice to have the family along for the ride,” Sheppard said. “Everybody sacrifices a lot being out on the road and I’m fortunate to be in a position where they can join me and still be able to get everything done. The crew has been a help in the process while we drive up and down the road to every track we go to. The support from my family is huge from my dad and grandpa at the track to the Riggs family and Longhorn family getting us in the right position. We just make the most out of what we got.”

Being a long way from his humble abode in Robeline, LA, Dillard savored the time he got to have with his wife, Shelby, and his two kids Evie and Caden during the Heartland Grand Tour by going on other excursions in between the days of racing.

“They don’t get to be out on the road much because of school, work and all,” Dillard said. “It means a lot to me, honestly. It seems like I always run better with them at the races because you’re gone for stretches of weeks and you get to missing them and your head gets thrown off in a hurry. So, it seems like I’m able to concentrate better because I don’t have to drive 18 or 19 hours to get home to see them. My wife has been extremely supportive and my kids love being here, so we’ve got to other adventures, water parks, campgrounds, and such. This is basically our Summer vacation and we just get to hit some races in between.”

Sheppard’s No.B5 caught heat in June and July by winning his first three Feature wins with the Series in 2024 at Thunderhill Raceway, Ponderosa Speedway, and Deer Creek Speedway. 

Since Sunshine Nationals, B-Shepp finished outside of the top-10 twice and has results inside the podium more than he has not, with 12 podium standings compared to 11 finishes of fourth or worse.

“The confidence is up, but we’re not at our peak or where we need to be right now,” Sheppard said. “Overall, we’re about as close as we can be, we’ve gotten to the stage where the chances made are minor fixes to put ourselves in a position to be there at the end of these races is the big thing and we’ve done that. It’s about the other aspects like handling lapped traffic and fine-tuning to get the last little bit we’re looking for.”

While Dillard continues his hunt for a World of Outlaws Feature win in 2024, he achieved one of the biggest wins of his career at the end of May with a $100,001 triumph in The Big Deal 24 at Mississippi Thunder Speedway behind the wheel of his No.97 CDR Race Cars Modified. He topped the scoring pylon over fellow Late Model competitors Dustin Sorensen, Bobby Pierce, and Ricky Thornton Jr.

“Anytime you can get your motivation up or team morale boosted, things seem smoother,” Dillard said. “Races like that are hard to come by and the wins are even harder. There are great drivers who go their whole career and have never gotten a payday like $100,000. It was cool to me, but more special to win it in a car that we built. We started building them about two years ago and I take more pride in the fact that so many smart minds from my team to engineers to get that machine made to win $100,000. It’s rewarding to a small business and helped a bunch with our operation.”

Dillard’s 2024 season is miles ahead of the 2023 run he had by scoring the second-most Heat race wins of all drivers with 11 and finishing inside the podium more than he’s had in the last two seasons with three on the season.

“Performance-wise, our consistency has been there,” Dillard said. “To be competitive in points, you gotta be inside the podium and top five, but there’s been wins that slip by and bad luck that’s hit us. Nonetheless, our cars had the speed, it’s all about putting it all together. It’s not for a lack of effort, it’s just things don’t go your way sometimes. We just need to keep working at it as we have normally going into these big events coming up.”

Sheppard brings momentum into the crown jewel season with Fairbury Speedway’s Prairie Dirt Classic next up for the World of Outlaws. Winning a fourth in 2024 could move him to third all-time in event wins behind Bob Pierce and Billy Moyer, who share the most PDC wins with five.

“It’s unlike anything else,” Sheppard said. “It’s an Eldora atmosphere but jammed into a small town. The hype is unreal and the fans are great and get into everything. It’s crazy the amount of people packed into that place and what they make out of Fairbury with all the fun things around the area, it’s great for families and kids, a lot of history. It’s close to me and one of those deals you got to have confidence going into.”

He expanded on the week of crown jewel races with Cedar Lake Speedway’s USA Nationals commencing a mere five days after the Prairie Dirt Classic, with Sheppard seeking a second win in the event.

“(Cedar Lake) helped make my career,” Sheppard said. “I always ran good there, and (it was) the first time I really competed for a crown jewel win. The place is awesome, the trophy is amazing, it’s like a bigger Fairbury. It’s a super fun place and the fans make it special. We’ve had a good car the past three years, it’s one of those tracks where you need enough at the end to get up on the wheel and go for the win.”

Sheppard and Dillard set all focus towards the crown jewel action with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models at Fairbury Speedway on Friday and Saturday, July 26-27 for the 34th Annual Prairie Dirt Classic. Alongside the on-track action, there will be a golf tournament for Shriner’s Hospital for Children on Thursday, July 26, live music, an autograph session, and a VFW breakfast on Friday and Saturday. For more information on the event and tickets, CLICK HERE.

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

INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY MEDIA AVAILABILITY QUOTES JULY 19, 2024

Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Camaro ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.   Media Availability Quotes:  How do you see the regular season title playing out with four drivers still in the hunt? “Yeah, I mean obviously it’s really tight between Kyle (Larson) and I, and Denny (Hamlin) and Tyler (Reddick). And William (Byron) isn’t really far out either. There’s still a lot of racing left, is kind of how I look at it. A lot can happen in that period of time. It’s going to force all of us to be really good. You’re going to have to be really solid. You’re probably going to have to win a race or two between now and the end of it to have a legitimate chance without other guys having problems, which I don’t really see four or five guys having a ton of issues between now and then.. not all of them at least.” Have you and Alan (Gustafson) discussed a strategy? There are 15 bonus points on the line.“Oh yeah, we’re trying to win it. We’re trying to run as good as we can to accumulate as many points as possible to win the 15 points. I mean, that’s all that matters. The regular season championship is really meaningless.. it’s just the points. They could really just call it ’15 points’ and it would be the exact same as what it is now.” You mentioned a couple of years ago, when you did win the regular season championship, it did carry you through a couple of the rounds. So how important is it to win it and get those points?“Yeah, I mean it carried us the whole way, honestly. There was no shot we were ever making the final four without the amount of points that we accumulated. We fortunately had a really good first-half of the year. That was the same year, right? In 2022?  Yeah, we just had a really good first-half of the year. And then we ran really bad those last eight-and-a-half weeks. Without those points, we would have been long out of it, in my view. Mathematically, I’m not exactly sure where we would have been, obviously. Judging off the way we ran, we needed to be a lot better and that certainly helped to have some points to lean on because it would have been really, really tough without that. So they can mean a lot. You hope that you’re running good enough that you don’t need them, is the goal that everyone has. But you know, to have eight-straight weeks that nothing goes wrong, is probably not realistic.” Knowing that this track has so much history with your family and your dad having won here. What’s it like to have NASCAR back on the oval and for you to have this second chance to maybe win it? “Yeah, for sure. When we left the oval, I didn’t really think a ton of it. But I do feel like coming back, it does mean more being on the oval, for me personally. This race has always been important because it was one of the few races that I was old enough to be around that dad had one, so I think because of that, it’s always been just a little more special than the rest. And certainly, one of the few wins that I was around for. But more than that, one of the few – it was the only marquee, major if you will, win that I was around for. So it’s always been really special. I always knew how much that race meant to him. And you know because of that, I’ve always had a lot of admiration for the event. It’s always been something in my mind that I would love to match and be able to share that moment with the shoe on the other foot. I feel like that would be really, really cool. Personally, that’s been a goal of mine ever since I started racing in the NASCAR deal. When we left, I didn’t really think as much about it. But certainly coming back, I’m like, yeah – if I were to ever win this race, this is definitely how I’d want to do it, if I had a choice, for sure. Being here was great regardless, whether we raced on the road course or the oval. But I’m excited that we’re back on the oval. The race probably isn’t going to be great, from a passing standpoint. But that’s OK.. I don’t know that it ever has been super stellar in the past 10 years or so. But I think being here is a big deal. It just puts a challenge into a different bucket. You’re going to have to be really on top of things from the beginning of the weekend; have a good qualifying effort and a really good strategy. Find ways to get out front and try to control the event.” Your dad’s 2002 victory, you didn’t kiss the bricks that day? What was the reason for not kissing the bricks? “I don’t know.. I was six (years old). (Laughs) You tell me.. I have no idea why I was uninterested. But yeah, I was uninterested. I don’t really know why, I just didn’t want to do it. I don’t know if I thought it was weird or what, but I was anti-kissing the bricks that day. I just did not want to do it. If I could ask myself why six-year-old me didn’t want to do that, I’d ask and give you a better answer. I really don’t know, but I didn’t. I’d certainly be alright with it now, for sure. I’d be plenty OK with it today, so maybe we can make it happen.” A very rare speeding penalty for you last week. I’m curious if you dissected it at all, especially with the questions of whether there were any mess up with the zone? “I still don’t know, to be honest with you. I haven’t gotten a straight answer. You’re not going to get a straight answer from the NASCAR front, which is fine. But yeah, it was a bummer. I mean whether the zone was too short or the zone wasn’t short enough, we had made ‘X’ amount of pit stops throughout the day that I wasn’t speeding. And everybody else, aside from the handful of guys that got caught, didn’t speed either. So I just kind of chalk it up to mistake on my part, really at the end of the day. There’s nothing I can do about it, so what does it matter now, really? Just try not to make that mistake again. But it was certainly – from how we would typically set our pit road, that had us in a different box than what we would typically be each weekend. I just didn’t do a great job of keeping that in mind throughout the race, and ultimately it flashed red in the zone on their screen. I didn’t feel like I did anything different.. I’m not talking about my bubbles. I didn’t feel like I did anything different on my end than I had done all day. But just the timing of it and everything else, certainly sped in their book. They make the rules, right? So off we went.” This two-week break coming up. Every season is always a grind. For your crew guys, people in the shop, how important is it for the industry to be able to get away at this point in the year? “Yeah, I think it’s extremely important. You know, so often I think we forget about that and just how much of a grind it is for everybody. For you guys, this is a long time on the road. I’m sure everybody is looking forward to a couple weeks of not having to travel on Thursday or Friday, and getting home late Sunday night and being tired all day Monday. It can certainly wear on you. People have families. They have homes and things to tend to, and certainly I think we all recognize the responsibility when we sign up to come do this. I’m not disregarding that in any way, but I think for everybody to have a good mental and physical reset is certainly healthy. And I think it keeps people in a really good headspace when you come back. I think the happier that everybody is inside the garage, the healthier the sport is as a whole. So I think that ultimately, it’s a good. I also believe that less is more, from a scheduling perspective. I think the more that we spend time away from the race track, the hungrier our fans are to have us come back. I think you see that with football and some other sports that have a little bit longer break. When it comes back, you’re fired up for it more. So I think some of those things can be exemplified here a little better, but extremely important to have a break for everybody involved. Just kind of hit that reset button and get ready for the second-half.” A lot of discussion about NASCAR adding an international race next year.. Mexico or Canada. What are your thoughts on that.. racing international?“I’m totally good with it. I think it would be a lot of fun, just to do something a little different. I do think – going back to Jeff’s question about the schedule – when you start racing internationally, you’re going to have potential travel logistics that we wouldn’t typically have. So I think just keeping those things in mind.. like are we going to have another weekend backed right up to that, right? Are we going to have to get everybody’s passports to get across the border and then turn around and get ready to go somewhere else in five or six days? I think those types of things need to be thought through. But I’m all for it.. I have no issues doing anything like that. I think anytime you can tap into a new market, or a market that hasn’t seen a NASCAR race very much.. I’m not exactly sure where they’re talking about going, but I think it has potential to be good. And also, too, maybe it’ll open up some opportunities to go to places that NASCAR has never been, which I think would really be even better.”

BATAVIA, Ohio (July 19, 2024) – The 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals Presented by MyRacePass will be the next event in the chase for the Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup. Ricky Thornton Jr. leads a close battle for the Arizona Sports Shirts Crown Jewel Cup by just 40 points over Jonathan Davenport. Devin Moran is 90 points behind the leader in third, followed by Tim McCreadie and Mike Marlar. The mini-series within the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series schedule consists of fourteen (14) events that pay $30,000 or more to the winner. Drivers with perfect attendance on the tour will earn points in these fourteen (14) events based on their respective finishes. The driver that earns the most points at the fourteen (14) Crown Jewel Cup events will be crowned the Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Champion – earning a $15,000 cash bonus at the year-end awards banquet. The drivers who finish second through fifth in the Crown Jewel Cup standings will earn $6,000, $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000 in cash, respectively for a total point fund of $30,000 for these fourteen (14) events. Arizona Sport Shirts will continue to have a presence at all Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series events as the Official Merchandise Provider for the series along with their extensive online store at https://www.gottarace.com/collections/lucas-oil-late-model-dirt-series For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. 2024 Arizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Schedule:Date – Track – City, State – To Win – Winner Sat. May 11 – Fairbury Speedway – Fairbury, IL – $30,000 – Devin MoranSat. May 25 – Lucas Oil Speedway – Wheatland, MO – $50,000 – Jonathan DavenportSat. Jun. 15 – Smoky Mountain Speedway – Maryville, TN – $50,000 – Brandon OvertonSat. Jun. 22 – Lernerville Speedway – Sarver, PA – $50,000 – Ricky Thornton Jr.Sat. Jul. 20 – Huset’s Speedway – Brandon, SD – $53,000Sat. Aug. 10 – Florence Speedway – Union, KY – $75,000Sat. Aug. 17 – Batesville Motor Speedway – Batesville, AR – $50,000Sat. Aug. 24 – Port Royal Speedway – Port Royal, PA – $50,000Sun. Sep. 1 – Tyler County Speedway – Middlebourne, WV – $30,000Sat. Sep. 21 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, IA – $50,000Sat. Sep. 28 – Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN – $50,000Sat. Oct. 5 – Pittsburgh’s PA Motor Speedway – Imperial, PA – $50,000Sat. Oct. 12 – East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL – $50,000Sat. Oct. 19 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, OH – $100,000 About Arizona Sports Shirts:Founded more than four decades ago, Arizona Sport Shirts has provided bold, unique, and effective apparel for race teams, businesses, and special events. Today, Arizona Sport Shirts continues its commitment to providing cutting edge apparel and merchandise found nowhere else. More information on Arizona Sport Shirts, including online ordering details, is available at: www.ArizonaSportShirts.com.

About Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt SeriesFounded in 2005, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series showcases the talents of the top dirt late model drivers from across the country. In 2024, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series will sanction 63 events across 16 states, including some of the biggest marquee events in the industry, providing dirt slinging, sideways, door-to-door racing action lap after lap.  The series receives national exposure through a television package streamed live via FloRacing, with select broadcasts on MAVTV Motorsports Network.   The in your face excitement of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is second to none in motorsports. For more information, including the latest news, tour schedule, driver information, and more, visit the official website at: www.LucasDirt.com.2024 Official Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Marketing Partners

Feger joins O’Neal, Shirley, Pierce, Moyer and Babb in 30-win club

MAPLE PARK, IL (July 18, 2024) – In the 39-year history of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, only six men have eclipsed 30 Feature wins. Jason Feger added his name to that list Thursday night in the 2024 season finale at Sycamore Speedway.

Feger, the 2010 Hell Tour champion from Bloomington, IL, led every lap of the main event for his fourth win of the summer, joining fellow Summer Nationals champions Don O’Neal (39), Brian Shirley (42), Bobby Pierce (49), Billy Moyer (100) and Shannon Babb (101) as the sixth driver in series history to win 30 Features.

The $6,000 triumph came as his first ever at the 3/8-mile oval, breaking Shirley’s win streak at the track with the Summer Nationals after he swept the event in 2021, 2022 and 2023. It also marks Feger’s 21st Summer Nationals victory in his home state, where each of his four wins this summer have been.

After winning his Heat Race and redrawing the outside pole for the Feature, Feger and polesitter Shannon Babb took the green flag and raced side-by-side into Turn 1. While Babb stuck to the bottom lane, Feger made his way around the top through the first two corners and got a great drive off Turn 2 to take the lead down the backstretch.

Feger soon began to stretch his lead, which grew to almost two seconds before the first caution flag was displayed on Lap 14 for a slowing Cody Overton. On the restart, Feger got the jump he needed to keep Shirley and Dennis Erb Jr. at bay behind him.

From there, Feger began to drive away with the lead while the battle for a spot in the top-five raged on behind him between Shirley, Erb, Babb and Frank Heckenast Jr. When Erb got by Shirley to take second on Lap 23, Feger had a 1.2-second advantage on Erb. Five laps later, the gap was over 2.3 seconds.

As Feger crossed the start/finish line under the white flag, still maintaining his large lead, it looked like smooth sailing to the checkered flag. And then, red.

Contact between Sean Mattingly and Titus Sneed on the backstretch sent Sneed’s car into the outside retaining wall and into a barrel roll by the opening before Turn 3, bringing out an immediate red flag. Sneed climbed from his car uninjured while the rest was towed back to the pits.

This presented Feger with one final test and his longtime Illinois rivals with one final chance on the restart.

“Coming to get the checkers, it’s definitely frustrating, but that’s part of racing,” Feger said. “Dennis is good and [Shirley] is good, so anything can happen. You can have a tire go down or you can just mess up that one time.

“I knew the car was really good; I could go anywhere I needed. I just needed to make sure I hit my marks and not just give it away – make them earn it the hard way.”

But, as he’d done before, Feger got a strong restart, gapped Erb behind him and led the field back around to the checkered flag unchallenged to secure the win in the final Late Model race of the 2024 Hell Tour.

Though he made history with the milestone win in the season finale and two weekly points championships, Feger said in Victory Lane that he expected more from his 2024 Summer Nationals efforts.

“I felt like we’ve been really fast this summer, but it definitely wasn’t the Hell Tour we were looking for,” Feger said.

He said he and the crew found a damaged shock partial way through their Summer Nationals schedule, which may have hindered his performance in the races he ran.

“That was frustrating; I wish we could start over and bring our A-game,” Feger said. “We worked hard, we kept digging and figured out what was wrong.”

Erb held on for second while Heckenast got by Shirley for third on the final lap. Babb completed the top-five.

Feature Results (31 laps): 1. Jason Feger, 2. Dennis Erb Jr, 3. Frank Heckenast Jr, 4. Brian Shirley, 5. Shannon Babb, 6. Bob Gardener, 7. Spencer Diercks, 8. Rich Bell, 9. Mike Provenzano, 10. Jaden Fryer, 11. Mark Voigt, 12. Dale Markham, 13. Jeremy Spoonmore, 14. Mike Lofgren, 15. Doug Tye, 16. Sean Mattingly, 17. Titus Sneed, 18. Cody Overton, 19. Jeff Riddell, 20. Mike Spatola, 21. Mike Mataragas, 22. John Provenzano

BRANDON, SD (July 18, 2024) – Bobby Pierce led wire-to-wire on Thursday night at Huset’s Speedway as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series kicked off the three-day, 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals – Presented by MyRacePass. Pierce’s win was his first of 2024 with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – scoring the $10,000 victory for his sixth win in his last seven late model feature starts. The win is Pierce’s 21st overall in 2024. Pierce was in control for all 40 laps as he beat fellow Illinois driver and defending Silver Dollar Nationals winner Brandon Sheppard to the checkers by 2.224 seconds. Daulton Wilson, the Victory Fuel polesitter finished in third rounding out the Big River Steel Podium. Devin Moran was fourth followed by Hudson O’Neal, whose two-race Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win streak was snapped, in fifth. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 18th time in his career, the 2019 Silver Dollar Nationals winner who finished second a year-ago to Sheppard is looking for a $53,000 payday on Saturday night. “I don’t know what it is, but I was beat up last year after the race and I am again. You have got to stay on the wheel I think like literally the whole time around this racetrack with how it’s shaped and with how the banking flattens off in certain spots. The second you relax is when you push and make a mistake, things happen very fast here. It’s very mentally challenging because you come off the corners in turn four and it tightens up. The only time I got the wall was off of turn four down the straightaway.” Sheppard, a two-time winner of the Silver Dollar Nationals, took over second from Wilson on lap four and trailed Pierce the rest of the way. “The engine got a little bit more on the warmer side than I like it. Thanks to Huset’s Speedway for giving us a great racetrack tonight. We had a pretty good car all night long, we didn’t qualify as good as we needed to. We’ve been working on this thing trying to get a little bit better. We keep finishing second to Bobby. His stuff is really good right now and hats off to them guys, they do a really good job.”  Wilson who held the second spot for the first three circuits of the race, which saw only one caution flag slow the action, rounded out the Big River Steel Podium. “This is a big deal for us. This place has definitely kicked my butt over the years. We were probably the only one on hard tires tonight, so we messed up a little bit there. My guys have been busting their tails and to get a night under our belt on hard tires is not a bad thing either so to be up here is a great thing.”  The winner’s Bobby Pierce Racing, Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and sponsored by Low Voltage Solutions, Hoker Trucking, Churchill Transport, Toyota of Danville, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Rio Grande Waste Service, Collins Brothers Towing, A Plus Vacuum, Leka Tree Service, Carnaghi Towing and Repair, and Ted Brown’s Quality Paint and Body Shop. Completing the top ten were Tim McCreadie, Drake Troutman, Jonathan Davenport, Ricky Thornton Jr., and Carson Ferguson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals Presented by MyRacePassThursday, July 18, 2024Huset’s Speedway – Brandon, SD Allstar Performance Time TrialsOverall Fast Time: Daulton Wilson | 13.4955 seconds Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 18D-Daulton Wilson[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 7T-Drake Troutman[2]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 5. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 7. 111-Max Blair[7]; 8. 07-Ben Sukup[8]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[9] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 32P-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 1-Tim McCreadie[2]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 5. 25C-Chad Simpson[6]; 6. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[5]; 7. 93-Cory Lawler[7]; 8. 15C-Curt Schroeder[8] Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, All Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[2]; 3. 93F-Carson Ferguson[4]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[6]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 7. 6-Clay Harris[7]; 8. 58-Garrett Alberson[3] 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals Presented by MyRacePass Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 25Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Daulton WilsonLap Leaders: Bobby Pierce (Laps 1-40)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 2.224 seconds Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: Debris (Lap 23)Series Provisionals: n/aFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Daulton WilsonPenske Shocks Top 5: Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Daulton Wilson, Devin Moran, Hudson O’NealTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Garrett Alberson (Advanced 7 Positions) PEM 4th Place Feature: Devin MoranWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Drake TroutmanDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Chad SimpsonMD3 Most Laps Led: Bobby Pierce (40 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: n/aColtman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Bobby Pierce (Lap 1 | 13.164 seconds) Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Devin MoranMiller Welders Hard Luck Award: Mike MarlarOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Bob Pierce (Bobby Pierce)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Vic Hill Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Bobby Pierce (13.1250 seconds)Time of Race: 12 minutes 34 seconds 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals Presented by MyRacePass Point Standings After Night 1:

Team Expects to Compete in NHRA’S Countdown with Substitute Driver

KENT, Wash. (July 18, 2024) – On a Pacific Raceways track on which he has won a record nine times, most recently in 2019, John Force won’t have the opportunity to reach double digit success during this week’s 35th NHRA Northwest Nationals. Instead, drag racing’s winningest driver will continue to rehab at an Arizona facility specializing in the treatment of the kind of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) he suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va. While the 75 year-old-racer is sidelined indefinitely, John Force Racing president Robert Hight confirmed Thursday a plan to put the 16-time champion’s PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS back in competition before the start of the NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship in September. “After conversations with John’s team and with our partners, especially Brian Bohlander at PEAK and Jim Campbell at Chevrolet, and with John’s input and approval, we have begun taking the steps necessary to get the PEAK Chevy back on the racetrack,” Hight said. The tentative target for the car’s return is the 47th annual Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire, August 2-3, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, an event in which Force was to have raced against Funny Car rivals Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon and Dale Creasy Jr. as part of a show that also includes Top Fuel dragsters, jets and a world class fireworks show. “We hope to tie up all the loose ends and introduce a driver some time right after Sonoma (NHRA Sonoma Nationals, July 26-28),” Hight said. “There’s a good pool of driving talent out there but, obviously, we need to find the right fit for both the team and our sponsors.” Hight, a three-time NHRA Funny Car Champion and two-time Seattle winner, has himself been sidelined this year by health issues, his seat in the Cornwell Tools Camaro capably filled by current point leader Austin Prock, who this week is trying to become just the third driver to win Northwest Nationals titles in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.

BATAVIA, Ohio (July 18, 2024) – All eyes are on Huset’s Speedway as the high-banked oval prepares to host the 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals Presented by MyRacePass, July 17-20. Over a quarter-million dollars is up for grabs throughout the week.  The action will kick start on Wednesday, July 17 with a complete program for the Tri-State Late Model Series and the IMCA Stock Cars. Then, the Lucas Oil Late Model Series will take center stage with a complete program of Dirt Draft Hot Laps, Allstar Performance Time Trials, Heat Races, B-Mains, and a 40-lap, $10,000 to win A-Main both Thursday and Friday. Drivers will earn points in each of the two preliminary events, with the combined total determining Saturday’s line-up. The top sixteen drivers in preliminary night points will be locked in to the 80-lap finale, while the balance of the field will have to compete in a B-Main. Saturday’s 14th Annual Silver Dollar Nationals presented by MyRacePass will pay $53,000 to win, $2,000 to start. The first twenty non-transfers will be eligible to run the non-qualifiers race which pays $2,000 to the winner, and $553 to start. The Tri-State Late Model Series returns with another full program on Thursday. Then, the Malvern Bank Super Late Model Series (SLMR) joins the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series on Friday and Saturday with a complete program on tap each night. Huset’s Speedway, carved from a soybean field in 1953, is located between Sioux Falls and Brandon, South Dakota on Highway 11. Take I-90 east of Sioux Falls to exit 406, then go south three miles on SR 11. For more information or to purchase advance tickets, please visit www.husetsspeedway.com. Ricky Thornton Jr. leads the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP. Jonathan Davenport is second and Devin Moran is third. Hudson O’Neal is now fourth with Tim McCreadie rounding out the top five in the current championship standings. Drake Troutman is now 15 points ahead of Clay Harris in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Year chase. For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Purses:Thursday, July 18: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Friday, July 19: 1. $10,000, 2. $5,500, 3. $3,500, 4. $2,700, 5. $2,500, 6. $2,300, 7. $2,200, 8. $2,100, 9. $2,050, 10. $2,000, 11. $1,600, 12. $1,400, 13. $1,200, 14. $1,000, 15. $950, 16. $925, 17. $900, 18. $875, 19. $850, 20. $825, 21. $800, 22. $800, 23. $800, 24. $800 = $48,575 Saturday, July 20 – Silver Dollar Nationals: 1. $53,000, 2. $20,000, 3. $10,000, 4. $8,000, 5. $7,000, 6. $6,000, 7. $4,500, 8. $4,000, 9. $3,800, 10. $3,600, 11. $3,400, 12. $3,200, 13. $3,000, 14. $2,500, 15. $2,400, 16. $2,300, 17. $2,200, 18. $2,100, 19. $2,000, 20. $2,000, 21. $2,000, 22. $2,000, 23. $2,000, 24. $2,000 = $153,000 Saturday, July 20 – Non-Qualifiers Race: 1. $2,000, 2. $1,500, 3. $1,400, 4. $1,300, 5. $1,200, 6. $1,150, 7. $1,100, 8. $1,090, 9. $1,080, 10. $1,070, 11. $1,060, 12. $1,053, 13. $1,053, 14. $853, 15. $753, 16. $553, 17. $553, 18. $553, 19. $553, 20. $553 = $20,427 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Tire Rule:Left Front – Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3, (90) W30sRight Front/Left Rear – Hoosier (90) NLMT3, (90) W30sRight Rear – Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) W30s, (92) NLMT4 Previous Silver Dollar Nationals Winners:2023 – Brandon Sheppard2022 – Jonathan Davenport2021 – Kyle Bronson2020 – Brandon Sheppard2019 – Bobby Pierce2018 – Jonathan Davenport2017 – Tim McCreadie2016 – Jonathan Davenport2015 – Scott Bloomquist2014 – Scott Bloomquist2013 – Jimmy Owens2012 – Brian Birkhofer2011 – Don O’Neal

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES ONTARIO HONDA DEALERS INDY TORONTO STREETS OF TORONTO TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE JULY 19-21, 2024 CHEVROLET HEADS TO TORONTO CARRYING MOMENTUM WITH SEASONAL SUCCESS AND PAST TRACK TRIUMPH Chevrolet holds seven wins in 12 events on the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street course in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Team Chevy additionally holds seven earned NTT P1 pole awards on the Streets of Toronto.Chevrolet has 627 laps led and 19 podium finishes at Exhibition Place in Toronto.Chevrolet looks to go four-for-four in 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 with hybrid technology victories at Toronto after winning the debut in Mid-Ohio, Iowa 1, and Iowa 2. DETROIT (July 18, 2024) – After a stellar weekend in America’s heartland that saw a sweep of the doubleheader and a podium lockout in Race One and a double podium in Race Two, Chevrolet and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES head north of the border for the 13th event of the season as well as the 13th event on the Streets of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Chevrolet is three-for-three on victories in the new NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid technology era with the 2.2-liter V6 engine, and this is certainly a testament to the hard work and dedication by our engineers, teams, and drivers, as well as collaboration by the series and manufacturers,” said Mark Stielow, Director of Motorsports Competition Programs at General Motors. “The Streets of Toronto give a tight and tricky track that will be a challenge for all competing this weekend. We’re looking forward to adding to our winning ways both this season as well as in Toronto.” The fourth race of the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 era with hybrid technology after its debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course two weeks ago, this will be the first test of the new technology on a temporary street circuit. Chevrolet is three-for-three with victories at Mid-Ohio with Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, and Iowa with Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin and Will Power, respectively. On the 11-turn, 1.786-mile temporary street course, Chevrolet holds seven wins in the 12 events held during the V6 era since 2012, in addition to seven NTT P1 pole awards, 19 podium finishes, and 627 laps led. Additionally, Chevrolet swept the podium three races in a row at Toronto, during 2014’s Race 1, 2014’s Race 2, and 2015. Overall, Chevrolet holds seven NTT INDYCAR SERIES victories in the 12 events held so far this season including the prestigious Indianapolis 500, in addition to four earned NTT P1 pole awards. Team Chevy looks to Toronto to continue their streak of momentum. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto kicks off with its first practice on Friday, July 19 at 3 p.m. ET. Saturday sees the second practice at 10:30 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six at 2:45 p.m. ET. The 85-lap, 151.81-mile main event Sunday takes the green flag live on Peacock at 1 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 would say having a good short oval weekend is just a confidence booster for the championship. I’d think Toronto you’re basing off of how good we did in Detroit, which we qualified in the top 10 and finished inside the top 10 as well. So, from that perspective, I’m very confident about Toronto. As far as Iowa goes, it gives you confidence because there’s four more short oval races before the season’s over. I think what is important (on street courses) is being consistent, staying out of trouble, running all the practice laps and getting a good balance on the car. Trying to minimize our mistakes. I think all of that’s really important.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“We’ve been building this momentum the last few races and have been progressively getting better in the racing scenarios. Getting back in the car for Toronto, I think is the best thing for me just because when you get kicked off the saddle that hard, you want to jump back on as soon as you can — just to get back in the swing of things and keep that momentum going. I’m very excited that I get to do that this weekend.” Larry Foyt, Team President of AJ Foyt Racing:“It’s been a very positive season thus far. While we haven’t had any podiums or victories to solidify the overall feeling, our week-to-week competitiveness on all the different types of circuits INDYCAR offers has been a great step forward for the team. Understanding the competitiveness of Indy car racing currently, we still felt Santino and the 14 group could finish the season in the top 10 in the Championship. We have just moved into that spot, so it is still a possibility and one we are striving towards. As well, we thought it possible for the 41 group and Sting Ray to put that entry back inside the INDYCAR Leaders Circle (where they currently are). They are fighting hard for this, and it looks like it will come down to the last few races.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“Toronto historically hasn’t been our best weekend, so I’m determined to create some good memories there. The last time I feel like I had a good race there was in 2018 in INDY NXT. It’s just a matter of time before we have a strong weekend in Toronto, so I’m looking forward to getting out there in this wonderful city.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m feeling good going into this weekend in Toronto. It’s one of my favorite tracks and weekends of the year. I’ve been racing here since my days in the junior series and know the track well, so it’s always nice to go to somewhere familiar. Iowa was a really good weekend, so we’re going to keep building on that and see if we can get a new best result with the No. 6 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet team.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m really excited to get up to Toronto for our final street course race of the year. We’ve had a lot of pace the past few events, but have struggled to get things to go our way. This weekend will be all about execution as we compete for the last round before the summer break.” Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:“We close out this stretch of four races in three weekends with our last street race of the season in Toronto, a place I love coming back to. It’s always special getting to race in the place you grew up in, and we’re excited that we’ll have such a strong partner presence with us this weekend. We’ve strung together some strong results as of late, but as always, there’s more to find. Our aim is to continue improving each and every race weekend. As long as we do that, we’ll continue to find ourselves fighting for the top spot on the podium.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“First of all, I am excited to be back in the No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet for Toronto! We will work to build on the momentum we have had going for the past few weekends on the road courses, we are definitely heading in a good direction. I am looking forward to going back to Toronto, it will be my first time driving there since 2019. I have good memories from there, I won my first pole position and earned my first ever Road to Indy win. A place that I am excited to go back to!” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I am very excited to go to Toronto! I like the city a lot, it’s so nice to be up there. I love the atmosphere surround the race and the track itself, there’s so much to look forward to this weekend! It feels very good to be getting back in the car so soon after we had such a such a strong weekend in Iowa. We are ready to continue the good results in Toronto!” Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Toronto is a great city, and the fans are always outstanding. It’s also going to be our first hybrid experience on a street course and not an easy street course. A lot to learn and to work on but so far, we have done well on street course in 2024.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Toronto is the last street course of the season and the first time that we will be with the hybrid system on a track of this nature. Last year was a great race for us where we finished very close to the top-10, so we are going to Canada with confidence.”

Chevrolet in Toronto (since 2012, V6 era, pre-hybrid):Wins at Toronto: 72012: Ryan Hunter-Reay2014 Race 1: Sebastian Bourdais2014 Race 2: Mike Conway2015: Josef Newgarden2016: Will Power2017: Josef Newgarden2019: Simon Pagenaud Earned Pole Awards at Toronto: 72014 Race 1: Scott Dixon2014 Race 2: Helio Castroneves2015: Will Power2016: Scott Dixon2017: Simon Pagenaud2018: Josef Newgarden2019: Simon Pagenaud Number of Team Chevy Podiums at Toronto (V6 era since 2012, pre-hybrid): 19*Chevrolet has swept the podium three times – 2014 Race 1, 2014 Race 2, and 2015 Number of laps led by Team Chevy at Toronto (V6 era since 2012, pre-hybrid): 627

2024 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:3: NTT INDYCAR SERIES race as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration. 3: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration since mid-2024.  207: NTT INDYCAR SERIES races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  115: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012.  130: Earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 135 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather. 1: Earned pole in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as V6 engine supplier with hybrid technology integration. 8: 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. 34: 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 54 times since 2012. 28: 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 Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE Indianapolis Motor Speedway / Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway ParkJuly 19-21, 2024

The final push towards the series-wide two-week break will see all three NASCAR national series head to the “Racing Capital of the World” of Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 11th tripleheader of the 2024 season. The weekend will feature the highly anticipated return of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) oval for the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) – highlighted by the 30th anniversary of the Brickyard 400. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) will kick-off the premier weekend of racing at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP), with Friday’s event marking the penultimate race of the series’ regular season.

CHEVROLET’S WINNING WAYS AT IMSChevrolet’s deep-rooted history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway dates back to the track’s early races, where Chevrolet’s co-founder, Louis Chevrolet, and his brothers competed. This weekend will not only mark NASCAR’s return to the oval configuration at IMS, but the revival of one of the sport’s crown jewel events – the Brickyard 400. This weekend, IMS will celebrate the 30th anniversary since the inaugural Brickyard 400 – a race that saw career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, pilot his Hendrick Motorsports-prepared No. 24 Chevrolet Lumina to the victory.Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletNCS Win at IMS – July 23, 2017

That victory was just the start of Chevrolet’s success at IMS, with the Bowtie brand heading into the weekend with wins in 17 of the 27 NASCAR Cup Series races at the famed 2.5-mile oval – a record more than double the next leading manufacturer, Ford, with six wins. Chevrolet reeled off an impressive 12 consecutive victories in NASCAR’s top division at the track – recorded from Aug. 2003 to July 2014. The Bowtie brand last paid a visit to victory lane on the IMS oval in July 2017 with Kasey Kahne – ultimately marking his final NCS victory before retiring from full-time competition the following season.

GORDON BOOSTS BRICKYARD RECORDSNASCAR Hall of Famer and career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, has a storied history at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Vallejo, California, native became the NASCAR Cup Series’ first winner on the IMS oval by picking up the victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400 (1994). The triumph came when Gordon was at the age of just 23 years, two days – a record that still stands as the series’ youngest winner at the track. Photo Credit: Hendrick Motorsports

The records don’t stop there. In his 17 career NCS starts at IMS, Gordon tallied five wins, 12 top-fives and 17 top-10s – all of which are series-leading feats.

To help celebrate NASCAR’s 30th anniversary at IMS, the Chevrolet Racing Display in the fan midway will feature the actual No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Lumina that Jeff Gordon drove to the victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400. In addition, Gordon is scheduled to appear at the Chevrolet Racing Display on Sunday, July 21, at 12:30 p.m. ET for a fan Q&A.

RICK HENDRICK NAMED HONORARY PACE CAR DRIVER FOR BRICKYARD RETURNWith NASCAR’s return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Rick Hendrick – owner of Hendrick Motorsports and Chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group – will serve as the honorary pace car driver to lead the NASCAR Cup Series to the green flag for Sunday’s Brickyard 400.  Celebrating its 40th anniversary season, Hendrick Motorsports has become the sport’s most successful organization, with every win and championship recorded in partnership with Chevrolet. Geoffrey Bodine put Hendrick Motorsports on the map in its founding season – giving the organization its first NCS win at Martinsville Speedway in April 1984. Fast forward to the 2024 season, the Chevrolet organization leads NASCAR’s top division with 14 championships and 309 points-paying wins.

“For all of us at GM and Chevrolet, as well as for our partners at IMS, it’s an honor to have Rick Hendrick lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag at this year’s Brickyard 400,” said Mark Reuss, President of General Motors. “Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports have had a storied history together over the past 40 years. Having Rick pace the 30th anniversary of this prestigious race is a special way to celebrate our partnership and the legacy he has built in NASCAR.”

Hendrick Motorsports is no stranger to success on the famed 2.5-mile oval, with the Chevrolet organization heading into the weekend with a series-leading 10 victories in the Brickyard 400, including the inaugural event in Aug. 1994 with Jeff Gordon. The organization’s anniversary season also saw Rick Hendrick make his debut as a team owner in the NTT INDYCAR Series, who partnered with Arrow McLaren to field the No. 17 Chevrolet INDYCAR entry for Kyle Larson in the Indianapolis 500.   Official press release is linked here: Rick Hendrick to Drive Pace Car at Brickyard 400

ALLGAIER CARRIES MOMENTUM TO THE HOOSIER STATEAt Pocono Raceway, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier netted yet another strong points day – driving his No. 7 Camaro SS to the Stage One win and a runner-up finish to maintain the second position in the NASCAR Xfinity Series points standings. The 38-year-old Illinois native has progressively moved his way up the points standings through the summer swing. Since his victory at Darlington Raceway in May, Allgaier has had top–10 results in seven of the past nine races – including a pair of runner-up finishes. Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Camaro SS NXS Win at IMS – Sept. 10, 2018Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Looking to continue to build on that momentum, the Team Chevy driver will head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an extra boost of confidence as the only active full-time driver in the series with a win at the 2.5-mile oval. That victory came in Sept. 2018, which also marks Chevrolet’s third and most recent NXS victory on the track’s oval configuration.

With the Superspeedway Package: The NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval will see teams compete with the superspeedway package, which was previously utilized this season at Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The package has fared well for Chevrolet this season, with the manufacturer earning the victory in each of those events – courtesy of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill (Daytona, Atlanta) and Jesse Love (Talladega). In addition, each of those events saw the Camaro SS take six of the top-10 finishing positions – further solidifying the manufacturer’s superspeedway strength.

ENFINGER CAPITALIZING ON FINAL REGULAR SEASON PUSHWhile CR7 Motorsports’ Grant Enfinger is still looking for his first trip to victory lane in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season, the Team Chevy driver is continually proving to be a top contender. The 39-year-old Alabama native came just shy of notching the win at Pocono Raceway last weekend, but a runner-up finish in his No. 9 Silverado RST adds yet another stout result through the series’ summer stretch. Enfinger earned his first runner-up finish of the season at North Wilkesboro Speedway in May, with the Team Chevy driver going on to tally top-six finishes in five of the past six NCTS races. Within that time span, he netted three podium results, including two runner-up finishes (North Wilkesboro, Pocono) and a third-place finish (Charlotte). With a 48-point day at Pocono Raceway, Enfinger was able to build a bigger cushion on the playoff cutline – now holding a 33-point advantage.

Chevrolet in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at IRP:Friday’s TSport 200 will mark the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ 20th appearance at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Chevrolet earned the victory in the series’ first appearance at IRP in Aug. 1995 – a win recorded with Mike Skinner behind the wheel of Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Silverado. Grant Enfinger took Chevrolet to its series-leading 10th NCTS victory at IRP in July 2022, giving the Bowtie brand a win record that is double the next leading manufacturer, Ford, with five victories.

Season’s Short-Track Success: Just two opportunities lie ahead for drivers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to win and secure a berth into the series’ 10-driver playoff field – both coming at a pair of challenging short-tracks (IRP and Richmond Raceway). NCTS’ points leader Christian Eckes has been an automatic favorite going into short-track events this season, with the Team Chevy driver earning victories in two of the series’ three events on short-tracks measuring .75-mile or less (Bristol, Martinsville). In three short-track races this season, Team Chevy drivers have taken the Silverado RST to at least six top-10 finishes in each event – highlighted by a podium sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Chevrolet will pace the field during the tripleheader race weekend in Indianapolis. The Silverado RST will lead the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Friday’s TSport 200 at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Camaro SS will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday’s Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts; and the Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG.  ·       With 55 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 52.7% with 29 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – nine wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 11 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – nine wins). ·       In 27 NASCAR Cup Series races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, Chevrolet has earned 17 victories – a record more than double the next leading manufacturer, Ford, with six victories. Of those victories includes a streak of 12-straight, recorded between Aug. 2003 to July 2014.  ·       Career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, leads the series with five Brickyard 400 victories, including the inaugural event in Aug. 1994.  ·       In 10 tripleheader weekends this season, Chevrolet is the only manufacturer to earn a weekend sweep – accomplishing the feat three times (Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway).  ·       In 93 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 46 victories – a winning percentage of 49.5%.  ·       With his victory at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson is the second driver to hit a double-digit win record in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen era with 10 triumphs. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, William Byron, leads the series’ all-time win record in the Next Gen era with 11 victories.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 860 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

FOR THE FANS:·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Equinox Activ, Equinox EV, Blazer EV, Trailblazer RS, Silverado 2500 HD, Tahoe Z71, Colorado Trail Boss, Silverado 1500 ZR2, Traverse Z71, Corvette Z06.  ·       Fans can also view William Byron’s No. 24 Camaro ZL1 show car. ·       Fans will also have a special viewing of the actual No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lumina that Jeff Gordon drove to the victory in the inaugural Brickyard 400.  Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display: Saturday, July 20·       Austin Hill & Jesse Love: 10:15 a.m.·       Sam Mayer & Sammy Smith: 10:30 a.m.·       Brandon Jones: 10:45 a.m. ·       Justin Allgaier & Carson Kvapil: 11 a.m.  Sunday, July 21·       Austin Dillon: 10:30 a.m. ·       Daniel Suarez: 10:45 a.m. ·       Kyle Busch: 11 a.m. ·       Ross Chastain: 11:15 a.m. ·       Chase Elliott: 11:30 a.m. ·       Kyle Larson: 11:45 a.m. ·       Ty Dillon: 12 p.m. ·       Jeff Gordon: 12:30 p.m.  Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation: ·       Friday, July 19: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.  ·       Saturday, July 20: 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.   ·       Sunday, July 21: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 759Toyota: 751 (-8)Ford: 736 (-23)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 712Toyota: 674 (-38)Ford: 604 (-108)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 533Toyota: 499 (-34)Ford: 443 (-90)

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayBrickyard 400 Sunday, July 21, at 2:30 p.m. ET(NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series at Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayPennzoil 250 Saturday, July 20, at 3:30 p.m. ET(USA Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway ParkTSport 200Friday, July 19, at 8:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Camaro ZL1First time back on the Indy oval in several years, how do you think it will be?“It’s good to be back on the oval. It’s a good change of pace. It’s the first time we’ll be on the oval with this version of the car. A couple of guys did the test there so they’ll probably have a little bit of an upper hand. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the oval but I know how challenging it can be. If we’re good at Pocono, we’ll probably be good at Indy.” Do you feel racing at IMS should always be on the oval whether the racing is good or bad?“It could be on the oval. It could be across town at IRP. As long as we are racing in Indianapolis, that’s all I care about.” What do you expect racing at IRP in the truck?“I don’t know. I haven’t been there since I made my first race in NASCAR. That was my first truck start. I’ve had desire to get back there and I’m finally getting there.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 SENIX Camaro ZL1What are your expectations going back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway?“I’ve always enjoyed the oval at Indianapolis. The prestige behind it, the history. To me when you win the oval, that’s one of the crown jewels. It’s a giant racetrack that you know has so much history and you get to cross the bricks. The celebration that comes along with it. It’s a long race, it’s a lot of fun. My fondest memory of The Brickyard is probably when I was in Victory Lane with Kevin Harvick when he won the Brickyard 400 in 2003 and with Paul Menard in 2011. My brother won his Xfinity race there in 2014. I love those moments.” Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts on heading to the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend?“Indy is a special place, and it’s a big weekend for our Spire Motorsports team. Everybody brings their absolute best to ‘The Brickyard,’ and our No. 7 team is no different. With Indianapolis being the home of Gainbridge, it’s even more of an incentive to have a great run.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Patriotic Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts about returning to the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?“I would like to think that we’ll be good out of the gate going back to Indy but who knows. It’s definitely a tough racetrack. It is so challenging to get right. I’ve had some really good runs there and some that were not so good, but the latest stretch, at the end of the oval time frame that we had in NASCAR, I was right there. I had a shot to win all of them, so I feel really good about going back there. I just want to make sure that our Cheddar’s Patriotic Camaro is as fast as it can be when we get there.” In 2016, you won poles and races for both NXS and Cup races at Indy, the first time in NASCAR history a driver has accomplished the feat. You also dominated the weekend, leading 211 of a possible 233 laps. How much pride do you take in that accomplishment?“The 2016 weekend was huge there at the Brickyard for me. Being able to win the pole and the race for both the Xfinity and Cup Series races just showed our strength as a team, but also my strength as a driver in figuring out what it takes to be good at Indy. That was certainly a highlight for me on the track during that period of time.”  Could you tell a big difference in the way the Next Gen car handled at Indy?“There was a difference in the way the NextGen car handled at Indy. The NextGen car likes to be driven off the right-front tire and you can’t slip the right-rear. But at Indy, as you go through a tire run, you typically continue to get tighter so you need to be on the free side at the start of a run. When you do that with the NextGen car, it can make it very easy to crash.”  Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1“We’ve got another super iconic racetrack that we get to return to: the Brickyard. This will be my second brickyard 400. There are certain racetracks we go to that feel extra special knowing that we’re fortunate to be a part of history, and this is one of those places. It’s a big weekend for us and Cirkul, our partner, and everyone involved. We know we’ve got quite a bit of work to do with the flatter race tracks, but everyone is working hard to keep moving this program forward. Hopefully we can do just that.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Bowman on racing the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: “It’s going to be cool to be back at Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway). That’s going to be a really difficult race passing wise, so track position is going to be super key. Race strategy can play a huge role in any of that, so I’m excited for the challenge and to get back there (the oval).” Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Harris on calling the shots for the No. 48 team at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with five races to go until the playoffs:“I think this weekend at Indy (Indianapolis Motor Speedway), will be like how Pocono (Raceway) was for us last weekend. Now that we have the win, we can take some more chances on strategy to put us in position to win (again). We’re also going to continue to focus on picking-up stage points and continue to creep up in the regular season standings and carry a few more bonus points with us (to the playoffs).” Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1What are you looking forward to at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this coming weekend?“I’m excited to get to Indy this weekend. It will be my first time racing there and it is a super iconic track, so I’m looking forward to getting on the oval on Friday and seeing how it feels. My No. 71 Spire Motorsports team has been working hard day in and day out to bring fast race cars to the track and it has shown the last couple of weekends. Hoping for a solid race on Sunday.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Zeigler Auto Group Camaro ZL1What does it mean to you to race at a historic track like Indianapolis Motor Speedway?“It means a lot and I’m pumped. I raced quarter-midgets there for years, and even drove one around the oval once. I remember thinking that it would be a dream come true to race a full-sized car competitively at “The Brickyard.” Indy has always been a dream, especially the (Indianapolis) 500, but with no Brickyard races for the last few years, this is an incredible opportunity. We’ve got a strong team and this track suits our racing style, so I’m very optimistic. Everyone’s excited – Luke (Lambert), Jeff (Dickerson), the whole team – and we’re ready for a good run.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway Insurance Camaro ZL1Do you think about last year when an air hose caught under a fender and cost you a chance at winning the race?“Last year was heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like we had at Indianapolis last year and keep on trying hard to win races. I mean, we win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say. The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better. But I felt like I was always one step behind Chase Elliott and Michael McDowell.” Are you glad NASCAR is back on the oval at Indy?“Well I liked the road course here. I thought we had an advantage, but it’s hard to argue against racing on the oval here. There is so much history. Winning here would be so exciting and something you would talk about the rest of your life.” What are the keys to victory this weekend?“We are going to have to learn about the track and our car during that Friday practice. That will be key. Obviously on Saturday, getting a good starting spot, and a good pit stall will help and on Sunday it will be about executing with no mistakes on the track and in the pits. I think we are going to put on a great show Sunday and I plan to be at the front.” Sammy Smith, No. 7 Golden Harvest Silverado RSTYou’ve made a pair of starts at IRP. The track is a different animal compared to anyone else. How do you attack getting around the track?“I had the opportunity to run an ARCA car and a Late Model at IRP in 24 hours. It’s very low grip and restarts quickly go three and four-wide. You can run up near the wall, and you can run all the way on the apron. It provides really good racing. The trucks definitely drive differently than either of the other disciplines I’ve been in there. It will be fun to get rolling and should be a fun race. I’m excited to get back there on Friday night.” You will be hopping out of the Xfinity car after practice at IMS and jumping right into the truck at IRP to practice and qualify just over an hour afterwards. How different will those experiences be?“It will be different for sure. They are obviously two different vehicles at two completely different race tracks. The Xfinity cars will be going a lot faster at the big track, and the trucks will be going slower and sliding around a bit more with the low-grip surface. It will be an exciting day.” Bayley Currey, No. 41 Niece Motorsports Silverado RSTYou’ve said that IRP is one of your most-anticipated tracks this year. Why is that?“I think it’s one of the best racetracks in the world. I’d put it up there with Iowa and Homestead. I got to test a little bit in the simulator last year before SVG hopped in the truck for the race, and I loved it. I’m really excited to race here; some of the best racing is at IRP. I think Cup should go there, Xfinity, IndyCar, everything should be racing here with the trucks. It’s going to be so much fun.” Matt Mills, No. 42 J.F. Electric / Utilitra Silverado RSTWhat makes IRP such a fun track amongst all the drivers?“IRP is great. Last year in my first time running at that track, I wasn’t really sure on what to expect, but it was a lot of fun learning how the track changed throughout the course of the race. We’re able to run on the bottom groove, in the middle, and all the way up to the fence. It was cool figuring out how to pass other guys and put them in uncomfortable positions. It just races like how a short track should feel like. Multiple lanes, having the option to change your line based off how the truck is handling, so I’m really looking forward to going back.” Conor Daly, No. 44 Power Plus Silverado RSTThis will be your first truck start on a short track, so what will be the biggest hurdle for you to get used to before Friday night?“Thankfully, it’s a track that I have driven on before and won on. It’s been a while, but this experience in a heavy stock car on a short track will certainly be something that I’ll be learning every lap, every stint, and every stage. I’m going to learn as much as I can to be able to use it towards the end of the race. I’ve also tried to talk to Ross Chastain. He’s very experienced, so I have a really good teammate to learn from. I just have to take advantage of that and be as quick as I can be at the end of the race.” Ross Chastain, No. 45 Alliance Highway Safety Silverado RSTHow challenging is it to jump from the big track in Indy over to the short track at IRP?“It’ll be a challenge for sure, but that’s part of the reason why I’m so excited to run at both tracks. I have fond memories of IRP; it’s where my career began, and I think the racing here is great. The two tracks are so different, so nothing will carry over, and I’ll have to use a different mindset as soon as I hop out of the Cup car in Friday’s practice. I’ve had a fun year racing for Al (Niece) and everyone at Niece Motorsports. Any time I get the chance to drive one of their trucks, I know we’ll have the pace to contend. I’m hoping to make this last start of the year a good one for all my guys on the No. 45 team.” Rajah Caruth, No. 71 HendrickCars.com Silverado RSTIRP was one of your best “all-around” performances last season. How are you looking to build on your solid day at the track last year?“I think overall we have just gotten better, both myself and Chad (Walter). We have made some improvements. I have also gotten better at short tracks, which is something I have really been focusing on. That’s a spot I know I’ve needed to improve. IRP is a track I have a little experience at between ARCA and trucks, so hopefully that correlates to a good run this weekend.” The progressive banking at IRP opens a variety of lines drivers can utilize and make time. Does this add to your excitement as a driver and which line do you prefer to run?“IRP is interesting because the seams determine the banking of the racetrack. Meaning, the higher you go, the more banking the racetrack has. It’s really a testament to how well your truck works. If your truck is turning well, you can take the inner line with the least amount of banking that is the shortest way around. If your truck isn’t turning, you can use the banking on the higher side of the track to help make the corner. It’s a racetrack that’s a different animal with good tools to use no matter how the truck handles.” Chase Purdy, No. 77 Bama Buggies Silverado RSTThe playoffs are closing in and you find yourself battling at the cutline. What is your mindset heading into the weekend?“We have one goal heading into this weekend. Win.” The progressive banking at IRP opens a variety of lines drivers can utilize and make time. How does affect the way you can move through the field?“The progressive banking makes it a multi-groove track. You can run as high or as low as you want, and still make speed. It makes it exciting as a driver and for the fans. The ability to move around and change lanes gives the driver a lot of options. It creates more opportunities to make passes.”

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: 9Poles: 7Laps Led: 1,627Top-five finishes: 38Top-10 finishes: 79Stage wins: 12·       Chase Elliott: 1 ·       Kyle Larson: 8·       Ross Chastain: 1·       William Byron: 1·       Shane van Gisbergen: 1 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 860 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 750 Laps led to date: 250,802Top-five finishes to date: 4,336Top-10 finishes to date: 8,939                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,194           Chevrolet: 860           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 833                                                                      Ford: 733           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 187

CONCORD, NC (July 17, 2024) – 

In the three weeks since the last American Sprint Car Series National Tour event at Tulsa Speedway, several drivers have stayed busy at a variety of regional and local Sprint Car races. But only one visited Victory Lane: Matt Covington.

The Glenpool, OK native attended the ASCS Western Plains Region event at Dodge City Raceway Park on July 6 and dominated the night, leading all 20 laps of the Feature from the pole for his first Sprint Car triumph of 2024. While getting laps ahead of the National Tour stop at Dodge City on Aug. 16 was one reason why Covington made the trip, it wasn’t the only factor.

“Kyler Fetters [Dodge City promoter] is always pretty good to me,” Covington said. “So if I can go there or somewhere else, even if it costs me another hour or something, I might still go to Dodge City just because Kyler takes care of me. And it’s a nice racetrack, I don’t mind racing there.”

The friendly staff and pristine facilities aren’t the only aspects of Dodge City that make it one of Covington’s favorite stops on tour, as his recent success rate there is quite high. He took the win on the second night of a National Tour doubleheader last season after finishing fourth on night one, and was on his way to a second-straight win in June until a collision with a slower car relegated him to 20th.

“It’s a perfect oval, 3/8-mile, semi-banked, it’s what I like racing on the most,” Covington said.

One week after the win, Covington made the trip north to Knoxville Raceway to partake in a weekly event ahead of the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. While the rundown shows a Feature finish of 14th, that doesn’t tell the whole story of Covington’s night.

“We had some good speed,” Covington said. “We were second on the charts after Hot Laps, qualified in the top 10, made the Feature out of the Heat. We were having a pretty good night for us at Knoxville. I just didn’t know about their one-tire rule and I got busted going out there with a different tire on.

“They made me go back and throw another right rear on, and it was a couple inches smaller than what we were planning on going out there with. So we missed it a little bit in the Feature. We were running two inches less stagger than what we were anticipating, and the track was just too good for that.”

While Covington feels confident about his pace at the Sprint Car Capital of the World, he still has one more tune-up planned before the season’s marquee event.

“I’m going to go back up there after this weekend [for the weekly event on July 27] and try to get one more test session in before the Nationals,” Covington said. “Nationals is tough, got a lot of tough cars there, and they’ve got a lot of tough cars there that get to run there every weekend. A guy like me, I’ve got to get up there a couple times to get some practice to try to compete with them.”

Before teams roll into Knoxville, a pair of Kansas tracks await the National Tour this weekend. The doubleheader kicks off Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, where Covington took the checkers last August in the most recent Series appearance at the track. That win was also Covington’s last National Tour win, something he plans on changing this weekend.

“Lakeside’s probably one of our best tracks,” Covington said. “I’ve been there before when the surface was not good at all and you could hardly race at all, but the last handful of times we raced there, I thought it’s been really good.

“The track will slick off pretty quick, but it keeps a top and a little bit on the bottom. So a guy can try to be brave and get real close to the wall, or a guy can be more technical and run the bottom. It really seems to be a nice racy racetrack.”

Once things wrap up at Lakeside, the tour will travel to Wichita for a Saturday showdown at 81 Speedway, another track that has suited Covington well as of late. He was victorious with the National Tour in 2022, and finished second in both Series visits last season.

“I’ve been racing at Wichita since 2009,” Covington said. “The track’s actually a lot different now the last handful of years since they put the wall up around it. Used to, you didn’t really have that, it was pretty much always an around the bottom type of track come Feature time for sure.

“The way they’ve got it now, it’s kind of like Lakeside. The track’s not quite as big and not quite as fast as Lakeside, but it’s still got a concrete wall around it and two pretty decent lines of racing the last handful of times we’ve been there.”

Fans in the Wichita area can buy tickets to Saturday’s race online, while tickets will be on sale at the gate on race day at both tracks. If you can’t make it, watch every ASCS National Tour event live on DIRTVision.

July 17, 2024

NASCAR’s elite Cup Series returns to the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, with the race being contested on the legendary 2.5-mile oval after running the speedway’s road course the past three years.

Harrison Burton will be making his first start on the famed Brickyard track, but it’s a familiar venue for his Draiver-sponsored, Wood Brothers team.

The Woods have raced Cup cars at the Brickyard 26 times, with four top-10 finishes – in the first two Brickyard 400s and in two of the last three, with Paul Menard driving the Woods’ Ford in the latter.

Crew chief Jeremy Bullins has raced there as a crew chief six times, with four finishes of 12th or better. He said he’s really excited to be back on the 2.5-mile track known around the world for more than a century.

“To me one of the coolest things that we get to do is race at historical venues, and going back to race on the oval in Indianapolis is as awesome as it gets,” he said. “There’s nowhere that compares when it comes to motorsports history on our schedule, and it’s a privilege for us to get to race there.”

Bullins said he and the team have prepared an eye-catching Mustang Dark Horse, and he’s anxious to get it on track and tune it for the 400-mile run.

“We have an awesome paint scheme again with our Draiver Ford, and we look forward to a 50-minute practice to try to get our handling dialed in for Sunday’s race.”

That practice session is set to start at 2:35 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, with qualifying getting underway at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Live coverage of practice will be available on the NBC Sports App, while USA Network will broadcast qualifying.

Sunday’s 160-lap, 400-mile race is scheduled to start just after 2:30 p.m., with Stage breaks planned for Laps 50 and 100.

NBC will carry the TV coverage.

BATAVIA, Ohio (July 17, 2024) – The Summit Racing Equipment “Super Twelve” awarded the top twelve drivers in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP – each earning a cash bonus based on their position in the championship point standings. The Summit Racing Equipment Super Twelve is the second of four bonus rounds in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP. The Summit Racing Equipment Super Twelve recognizes the top twelve drivers in their chase for the record points fund of over $1,000,000.00. The series champion will receive $200,000, with the top four drivers in the final series point standings earning a minimum of $100,000. Rick Thornton Jr. earned $5,000 from a total of $16,000 paid out to the top twelve drivers in the championship standings. Second through twelfth – each receiving $1,000 – in the championship standings were Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran, Tim McCreadie, Hudson O’Neal, Mike Marlar, Daulton Wilson, Garrett Alberson, Jimmy Owens, Max Blair, Clay Harris, and Drake Troutman. Summit Racing Equipment Super Twelve Payout: 1. $5,000, 2. $1,000, 3. $1,000, 4. $1,000, 5. $1,000, 6. $1,000, 7. $1,000, 8. $1,000, 9. $1,000, 10. $1,000, 11. $1,000, 12. $1,000 = Total $16,000 For the latest news, results, championship standings and more about the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series, please visit www.lucasdirt.com.

CHEVROLET IN NHRA 2024 NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS PACIFIC RACEWAYS KENT, WASHINGTON TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE | NOTES & STATS JULY 19-21, 2024 CHEVROLET KICKS OFF NHRA’S WESTERN SWING AT PACIFIC RACEWAYS WITH JOHN FORCE RACING FOR THE NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS

Notes:Team Chevy heads to the 2024 NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceway near Seattle, Wash., the 11th round of the season, July 19-21.Returning to competition, Brittany Force will driver her Flav-R-Pac Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster at Seattle this weekend, a place where she holds the Pacific Raceways speed record at 334.73 mph. Force currently sits No. 10 in the NHRA Top Fuel championship standings.Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, enters the NHRA Northwest Nationals leading the Funny Car championship points standings with 914 points, over Bob Tasca III in second by 178 points, and Matt Hagan by 181 in third.Prock, who captured his first pro victory in NHRA at Seattle five years ago, is also the quickest qualifier in seven of the first 10 events this season while also owning the quickest 1,000-foot time over the last seven years (3.820 seconds at Gainesville).John Force Racing last raced to the Seattle winner’s circle with Robert Hight in 2022, defeating JR Todd while also setting low event E.T. (3.960 seconds) and best reaction time (.050). In the same event, B. Force raced to the final round.Pro Stock returns to competition at Pacific Raceways this weekend after a brief hiatus, last competing at the northwestern track in 2022. Troy Coughlin, Jr. took the win over Erica Enders.

Quotes:AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“The Funny Car is such a challenge to drive. You have the same amount of horsepower (as a dragster) but you’re missing 175 inches of wheelbase. I loved driving the Top Fuel car, but Funny Car is where I belong. I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa (Tom Prock, a Funny Car contemporary of Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Tom McEwen) and I am having an absolute blast. I’m loving every second of it. I love the challenge. I love sitting behind the engine. I love the body dropping (down over me) and, to top it off, I’m doing all of it with my family (dad Jimmy is crew chief on the Cornwell Camaro along with brother Thomas).” BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE FLAV-R-PAC CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:“I’m glad to get back to the racetrack after a tough few weeks. I want to thank (crew chief) David Grubnic, John Collins and my team for their patience and support of my decision to stay with my father while racing continued in Norwalk. Missing a race was tough, but I needed to be with my dad and family.  “I’m proud to be running our Flav-R-Pac dragster this weekend to honor our longtime partner, Frank Tiegs. He always reminded me to make sure I was still having fun because that is when you perform at your best. We won a championship together in 2022 and I’m proud to carry him and his family on the car this weekend.  “Our team’s current focus is to improve our starting position in the Countdown. We’ve made great strides in our last few races and I’m eager to take that next step and put our Flav-R-Pac dragster in the winners’ circle for the Tiegs family and my dad!”

How to Watch:The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series action from Pacific Raceways near Seattle airs first with qualifying from the weekend on Friday, July 19 at 10:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s qualifying airs Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, with Finals starting at 4 p.m. ET on FOX. Qualifying will air with the NHRA on FOX team on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS:1,460: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time).626: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 630.167: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time).164: 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 88.84: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro SS body.47: 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.

With a Win, Funny Car Point Leader Would Join Company of Capps, Worsham

KENT, Wash. (July 17, 2024) – On a track on which he won his first NHRA pro tour event five years ago, a milestone made the more memorable by the fact that he shared the winners’ circle with boss and teammate John Force, Austin Prock this week tries to sustain the momentum born of an ongoing dream season at the wheel of the Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. The quickest qualifier at seven of the season’s first 10 races, owner of the quickest 1,000-foot time over the last seven years (3.820 seconds this year at Gainesville, Fla.) and the runaway Funny Car point leader, Prock rolls into Pacific Raceways as the favorite in the 35th renewal of the NHRA Northwest Nationals. Racing for the second event without his boss, who continues to recover from a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) suffered in a June 23 crash in Richmond, Va., Prock is poised to become just the third driver in history (after Del Worsham and Ron Capps) to win the Northwest Nationals in both a dragster and a Funny Car. When he broke through for his Top Fuel win in 2019, he did so in a car sponsored by Rocky Mountain Twist, one of several companies owned by the late Frank Tiegs and his family. In fact, another Tiegs’ company, Flav-R-Pac frozen vegetables, returns this week as sponsor of Brittany Force’s national record-holding dragster. “I’m excited to be back at the track after a few weeks off and (excited to) see what this Cornwell tools team can do,” Prock said.  “I love racing in Seattle. It’s got a special place in our hearts, for sure. We’ll be racing in Frank Tiegs’ memory. He was a great friend and partner of ours (and) I’m looking forward to spending time with his family and friends.”  The 28-year-old also is hoping to deliver a “get well” message to Force, to whom he dedicated his earlier Richmond win. Although his driving career began with success in midgets and sprint cars on dirt and pavement oval tracks, Prock always hoped to wind up where he is right now – in a top-of-the-line Funny Car racing on somewhat of a straight line.  “The Funny Car is such a challenge to drive,” he said.  “You have the same amount of horsepower (as a dragster) but you’re missing 175 inches of wheelbase. I loved driving the Top Fuel car, but Funny Car is where I belong. I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa (Tom Prock, a Funny Car contemporary of Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and Tom McEwen) and I am having an absolute blast. “I’m loving every second of it,” he said. “I love the challenge. I love sitting behind the engine. I love the body dropping (down over me) and, to top it off, I’m doing all of it with my family (dad Jimmy is crew chief on the Cornwell Carmaro along with brother Thomas).” * * * * NHRA NORTHWEST NATIONALS SCHEDULE Friday, July 19Nitro qualifying, session #1 at 4:30 p.m., PDT; session #2 at 9:15 p.m., PDTSaturday, July 20Top Fuel qualifying session #3, 2:30 p.m., PDTFunny Car qualifying, session #3 and first round of Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty NHRA Challenge, 3 p.m., PDTTop Fuel qualifying, session #4, 4:45 p.m., PDTFunny Car qualifying, session #4 and final round of 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, 5:15 p.m., PDTSunday, July 21First round eliminations, 10:30 a.m., PDT JFR ON FS1 and FOX Broadcast Network Friday, July 19Qualifying show, 10:30 p.m., EDT, on FS1Sunday, June 30Qualifying wrap-up show, 1 p.m., EDT, on FS1Sunday, June 30Race coverage, 4 p.m. EDT, on FOX

HARLAN, Iowa (July 16, 2024) – Defending Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series National Champion Hudson O’Neal made a three-wide pass for the lead on lap 22 and led the remaining 31 laps to score his second straight Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the week on Tuesday night at Shelby County Speedway. The first national touring late model race ever held at Shelby County was one to remember as three different drivers took turns leading the Kosiski Family 53. O’Neal prevailed by 3.503 seconds over Ricky Thornton Jr. who put on a late race charge that stalled out with three laps to go to finish second to O’Neal for the second night in a row. Garrett Alberson, who joined O’Neal and Thornton as race leaders rounded out the Big River Steel Podium in third. Devin Moran was fourth and Jonathan Davenport rounded out the top five. Thornton started from the pole and led the first 14 laps until Alberson powered around on the outside to take over the top spot after starting sixth. Alberson was in front for four circuits until O’Neal snuck to the inside of both Alberson and Thornton to take the lead on lap 22. A caution with ten laps to go wiped out the healthy lead that O’Neal had built up over Thornton and Alberson. On the restart Thornton ran the top side of the track as he stayed with O’Neal but ran out of steam with less than five laps to go. In Lucas Oil Victory Lane for the 29th time in his career, O’Neal earned his fifth series win of the season. “I started right around that bottom and then Garrett was making that middle work there for a minute. I got a little bit nervous about it and I’m sure the top came into it at a certain point, and I just didn’t know where to be on the racetrack. I was just guessing where to run. It just feels awesome to come out here and be able to drive these guys’ race car. It’s been a long week and I continue to try and represent these sponsors the best I can.” Thornton maintains the series points lead heading to Huset’s Speedway this weekend for the Silver Dollar Nationals. “I think the fans loved it,” said Thornton commenting to the packed grandstands on hand for the event. “I felt pretty good around the bottom for a while. We worked so hard trying to get our stuff where we could get off the corner. We changed the right front a little bit and think it was the wrong call. I knew on the restarts I wasn’t that good around the bottom so I figured heck I might as well start sending it around the top. I felt like I had a good pace up there. I screwed up there once getting into one and about the destroyed the thing, so I thought I had better go back to the bottom. I let him [O’Neal] get away and his lead kept growing so I went back to the bottom.” Alberson had the Roberts Motorsports car in contention for the win as he came home in third. “These guys are the best in the country you know so to be close and right there with them is great. I was hoping there for a little bit that our tires were the right deal. I probably just needed to do a better job of driving that bottom more disciplined because those guys could do a little better than I could. I ran that top a few laps too long when I didn’t need to. I hurt my tires a little more than I should have, but we held in there it was a good solid top three.” The winner’s Todd and Vickie Burns, SSI Motorsports, Longhorn Chassis is powered by Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by Big River Steel, Wheeler Metals, Professional Concrete Cutting and Drilling, West Side Tractor Sales, Dyno One Inc., Merrill Bonding Company, Bobcat of Batesville, Bob and Tammy Burton, O’Neal’s Salvage and Recycling, Paragon Speedway, Sunoco Race Fuels, Bilstein Shocks, and Indiana USSSA Fast Pitch Softball. Completing the top ten were Daulton Wilson, Max Blair, Clay Harris, Blair Nothdurft, and Brandon Sheppard. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Kosiski Family 53Tuesday, July 16, 2024Shelby County Speedway – Harlan, IA Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Ricky Thornton, Jr. | 13.507 seconds Fast Time Group B: Devin Moran | 13.499 seconds (overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 18D-Daulton Wilson[2]; 3. 111-Max Blair[3]; 4. 04-Tad Pospisil[4]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs[5]; 6. 51-Logan Seavey[6]; 7. 10-Junior Coover[7] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 3. 7-Ross Robinson[4]; 4. 80-Allan Hopp[7]; 5. 17SS-Brenden Smith[5]; 6. 15-Jason O’Brien[6]; 7. 157-Mike Marlar[2] Earnhardt Technologies Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 1-Tim McCreadie[2]; 4. 7T-Drake Troutman[5]; 5. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[4]; 6. 25C-Chad Simpson[6]; 7. 93-Cory Lawler[7] Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 49-Jonathan Davenport[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 93F-Carson Ferguson[3]; 4. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 5. 43S-Derrick Stewart[4]; 6. 35D-Dylan Sillman[7]; 7. 53-Andrew Kosiski[6] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 76N-Blair Nothdurft[2]; 2. 99B-Boom Briggs[1]; 3. 43S-Derrick Stewart[4]; 4. 17SS-Brenden Smith[3]; 5. 51-Logan Seavey[5]; 6. 25C-Chad Simpson[6]; 7. 35D-Dylan Sillman[8]; 8. 93-Cory Lawler[10]; 9. 10-Junior Coover[9]; 10. 15-Jason O’Brien[7]; 11. 53-Andrew Kosiski[12]; 12. (DNS) 157-Mike Marlar Kosiski Family 53 Feature Finish (53 Laps):

Race Statistics  Entrants: 28Victory Fuel Pole Sitter: Ricky Thornton, Jr.Lap Leaders: Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 1-14); Garrett Alberson (Laps 15-18); Ricky Thornton, Jr. (Laps 19-21); Hudson O’Neal (22-53)Wieland Feature Winner: Hudson O’NealArizona Sport Shirts Crown Jewel Cup Feature Winner: n/aBrandon Ford TV Challenge Feature Winner: n/aMargin of Victory: 3.503 seconds Dave Warren Powersports Cautions: n/a Series Provisionals: Mike Marlar; Cory LawlerFast Time Provisional: n/aSeries Emergency Provisionals: n/aTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Garrett AlbersonPenske Shocks Top 5: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton, Jr., Garrett Alberson, Devin Moran, Jonathan DavenportTodd Steel Buildings Hard Charger of the Race: Mike Marlar (Advanced 12 Positions) PEM 4th Place Feature: Devin MoranWilwood Brakes Lucky 7th Place Feature: Max BlairDeatherage Opticians Lucky 13th Place Feature: Drake TroutmanMD3 Most Laps Led: Hudson O’Neal (32 Laps) Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Hudson O’NealMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Ricky Thornton, Jr.O’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Clay HarrisColtman Farms Fastest Lap of the Race: Drake Troutman (Lap 40 | 14.072 seconds) Slicker Graphics Slickest Move of the Race: Garrett AlbersonMiller Welders Hard Luck Award: Jimmy OwensOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Anthony Burroughs (Hudson O’Neal)ARP Engine Builder of the Race: Clements Racing EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Blair Nothdurft (13.4536 seconds)Time of Race: 23 minutes 24 seconds  Big River Steel Chase for the Championship Presented by ARP Point Standings:

Gravel’s early pass on Macedo leads him to becoming the sixth different driver with multiple Brad Doty Classic titlesATTICA, OH (July 16, 2024) – The incredible 2024 campaign for David Gravel keeps on rolling.The Watertown, CT native entered the year carrying the weight of heaps of expectation. And he continues to meet them as he chases his first World of Outlaw NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car championship.Entering this huge week of Sprint Car Racing in Ohio, Gravel and the Big Game Motorsports crew had already made nine trips to Victory Lane. And they displayed on the same speed on Tuesday night at Attica Raceway Park that they’ve shown time and time again this year. This time it came with the prestige of the Ohio Logistics Brad Doty Classic presented by dac® Pet Products on the line.Gravel waited patiently for the right moment and pounced to take the top spot on the 17th circuit of the 40-lapper and drove to his 10th win of 2024 with The Greatest Show on Dirt. He also helped his crew chief Cody Jacobs get some Brad Doty Classic redemption. Oddly enough, it was Gravel himself who denied Jacobs of the event back in 2017.“Happy to get one for Cody because I stole one from him when I was in the CJB (Motorsports) car, and he was in the 49 car with (Tim) Shaffer,” Gravel said. “Happy to get him a Brad Doty Classic and Stephen (Hamm-Reilly) and Zach (Patterson) were working hard. It was hot as hell today. It feels good to get number 10 on the year.”The victory made 2024 the fifth year in which Gravel has reached double-digit checkered flags as his career win total with the World of Outlaws grew to 98. He joined Donny Schatz, Kyle Larson, Steve Kinser, Danny Smith, and Dale Blaney as the sixth competitor to top multiple Brad Doty Classics. The 32-year-old also joined Schatz, Larson, and Blaney as those with at least three World of Outlaws victories at Attica.The field was led to green by Carson Macedo with Gravel alongside him. Macedo jumped out to the early advantage.The early stage of the race was marred by a flurry of yellow flags for several incidents. One early restart allowed Kyle Larson the opportunity to slide ahead of Gravel for second and lock his view on Macedo as “Yung Money” chased a third straight Brad Doty Classic win.Another restart with 33 laps left gave Larson the opening to slide Macedo to take over the top spot and lead Lap 8. But the Jason Johnson Racing pilot slid back ahead of Larson in Turns 1 and 2. In the same set of corners, Larson got a little crossed up and also let Gravel roll back by him for the runner-up spot. After he reclaimed second, it became a game of cat and mouse for Gravel and Macedo. Gravel searched around the Attica surface and found speed wherever he went. Macedo began to drive defensively, but it wasn’t enough as Gravel smoothly rolled the bottom of Turns 3 and 4 right by Macedo for the lead on Lap 17. Gravel promptly built his advantage after taking possession of the top spot. While it might’ve been smooth sailing up front, the battles were wild behind the Huset’s Speedway No. 2. A hard charging Logan Schuchart passed Larson for third and went after Macedo for second. They traded sliders before Schuchart secured the spot. Larson, Corey Day, and Donny Schatz with a damaged nose wing went at it behind them.An issue under a late caution period left Schuchart broken hearted as he gave up the runner-up position to head to the Federated Car Care Work Zone. The problem gave second to Larson, but Schatz passed him on the restart with 14 laps to go as Larson slipped off track in Turn 2 trying to get a run at Gravel.Schatz did everything he could to close in on Gravel as the last handful of laps unfolded, but the No. 2 was too smooth. Gravel got win number 10 in 2024 with just over seven tenths of a second advantage when the checkered flag waved. A methodical approach paved the path for the current point leader.“I was just biding my time,” Gravel said. “Carson was racing pretty defensive. I think he knew he was in trouble and was running a lot of different lines and just trying to figure out what the best line was before I could get the lead because you’re just guessing out there. All of those cautions. I don’t know how many cautions there were, but it was so many. It was hard to get a rhythm.“We unloaded pretty well. Didn’t really feel good in Qualifying, but whatever Cody did to the car for the Dash gave me a really, really good car – something I didn’t have to push too hard and could kind of drive my own race.”Donny Schatz brought the No. 15 home second for his seventh podium in the last 12 Attica races. It was also his 12th top three of the 2024 World of Outlaws campaign. The damaged nose wing didn’t slow the 10-time Series champion at all as he rolled from 11th to second.“It (nose wing) didn’t really affect it like everybody thinks,” Schatz said. “We’re not on the gas that hard here, and I think there were probably parts of the racetrack where it helped. Ultimately, I think I would’ve liked to have had it there and seen what happened. All in all a good effort. The guys got things rolling, and they’re working. This is the type of racetrack that happens in the summer. We had an opportunity. That’s all you can ask for.”Rounding out the podium was Kyle Larson in the Silva Motorsports No. 57. The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion was strong all night, but a slight mistake on a late restart potentially cost him a shot at a third consecutive Brad Doty Classic.“I wish I could have that last restart back,” Larson said. “Obviously, I knew all I could do was really blitz the top there with Gravel. He was really good. I just got my right-rear (tire) hung off the edge and fell back to fourth and had to battle Carson and Corey to get back to third. I was kind of hoping for another caution to get reset, but my car felt pretty good.”Carson Macedo and Corey Day completed the top five.A 23rd to 11th run earned Cale Thomas the KSE Racing Hard Charger.Giovanni Scelzi claimed his fourth Simpson Quick Time of 2024 and the 13th of his career in Sea Foam Qualifying presented by Jon and Janet Wright.Gill Construction Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Giovanni Scelzi (51st Heat Race win of career), Kyle Larson (41st of career), and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid (25th of career). Milton Hershey School Heat Two presented by Gill Construction went to Carson Macedo (129th of career).Carson Macedo topped the Toyota Racing Dash presented by Racing Optics.Joel Myers Jr. won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown presented by CK Mechanical.The Smith Titanium Brake System Break of the Race went to Logan Schuchart.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars head to Rossburg, OH’s Eldora Speedway for a massive two nights of racing. First up is the $25,000-to-win Knight Before on Friday, July 19. Then the 41st Kings Royal is offering up a $175,000 payday to the victor on Saturday, July 20. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.FEATURE RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[2]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz[11]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson[3]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[1]; 5. 14-Corey Day[5]; 6. 83-Michael Kofoid[7]; 7. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 8. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 9. 25-Daison Pursley[10]; 10. 26-Zeb Wise[15]; 11. 23-Cale Thomas[23]; 12. 5T-Ryan Timms[19]; 13. 28M-Conner Morrell[20]; 14. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[18]; 15. 9-Trey Jacobs[22]; 16. 15K-Creed Kemenah[13]; 17. 19H-Joel Myers Jr[21]; 18. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6]; 19. 29-Zeth Sabo[12]; 20. 97-Cole Macedo[24]; 21. 101-Kalib Henry[16]; 22. W20-Greg Wilson[17]; 23. 22-Brandon Spithaler[14]; 24. 99-Skylar Gee[9]For complete results, CLICK HERE.

OCALA, FL (July 16, 2024) — The extended break on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule was a chance for many teams to relax and catch their breath before the six-race Countdown in a few months. For Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team the break was the opportunity the team needed to add some key elements and continue to bear down on a championship tune up through testing and organizational adjustments. Last week the team spent three days in Indianapolis testing and working in race day like conditions to get ready for the two race Western Swing which starts this weekend in Seattle at the historic Northwest Nationals from Pacific Raceways. This will be Hart’s third trip to the great northwest and the businessman and team owner is looking to make some history.

“I have never won at Seattle or anywhere that far from Ocala so we would love to set a record for winning that far from home for the R+L Carriers team,” said Hart. “We added John Stewart officially after Norwalk and he has been a great addition. He and (crew chief) Ron (Douglas) went right to work, and we tested in Indy. We were hoping for a couple days but Mother Nature had other plans.”

Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be ready to light up Pacific Raceways,
photo credit Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase

During the one-day Indy test session Hart along with a handful of other Top Fuel and Funny Car teams made laps looking to improve in every facet of their performance. For Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team it was a great opportunity to make several runs back-to-back in race day like conditions. The team is hoping to duplicate those efforts this weekend in Seattle. The event will feature four qualifying sessions with a unique Friday night program that will be fun for the fans but will most likely not yield race day performance information.

“Our biggest opportunity for improvement and learning will be the first qualifying session and then the two runs on Saturday,” said Hart. “The late-night Friday run will be a big performance opportunity and will be great for the fans, but we need to get race day information. We will take our shot for sure looking to get a top qualifier, but our focus is on getting round wins on Sunday and moving up in the Top Ten.”

In Hart’s two previous trips to Pacific Raceways, he has raced to one quarterfinal in 2022 from the No. 8 qualifier spot and last year as the No. 11 qualifier he lost to Texan Steve Torrence in the first round. For young teams heading to new facilities the learning curve takes some time as they build up data on track conditions.

“When you come to new tracks it just takes some time to get comfortable, especially as a single car team,” said Hart. “My crew chief Ron Douglas has great experience but there are still a lot of little things that change from year to year and team to team. I feel very confident that going back for the third year in a row we will be in a great position to make some good qualifying runs and have a solid race day. Our goal is to use these four races before the Countdown to position this R+L Carriers team for a run at the championship.”

As of right now Hart is sitting in a group of drivers positioned from seventh place to eleventh place where the point differential is just over 150 points. With four races before the Countdown cut-off the chance for upward movement is very achievable. Following the U.S. Nationals the points will be reset and the entire Top Ten will be within 110 points of the No. 1 driver.

“We aren’t thinking about the championship points right now, but we are looking to move up in the Top Ten,” said Hart. “If we can get on a roll this weekend in Seattle and start closing the gap on the teams in front of us while also putting distance on the teams behind us that will be the goal. I can’t wait to get to the track and start making passes.”

Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team will be on track for the NHRA Northwest Nationals Friday, July 19 at 4:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. for two qualifying sessions. Between those runs the track will host several fan friendly events including mass autograph sessions in the pits, cacklefests with nostalgia race cars, a track walk and driver interviews. On Saturday qualifying will continue at 2:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. with Sunday featuring final eliminations beginning at 10:30 a.m. The race will be televised nationally on FOX.

Jul 16, 2024 | Featured, Race Results

The Randy Meyer Racing Team had an exciting weekend at National Trail Raceway for the NHRA regional race with new driver Gary Pritchett behind the wheel of the GUNK nitro-injected dragster, sponsored by Hoopes Fire Prevention and Hedinger’s Equipment. Pritchett, in only his second outing with the team, showcased his talent and potential by securing a runner-up finish, building on the momentum from his debut earlier this year.

Pritchett’s performance in qualifying was nothing short of impressive, as he secured the number two spot with a blistering 5.282-second ET at 271.08 mph. This strong start set the stage for a thrilling race day.

In the first round, Pritchett faced off against John Paul Gutierrez. Despite Gutierrez losing traction right at the hit, Pritchett made a clean pass, clocking a 5.296-second run at 269.89 mph to secure the win. Moving into the semifinals, Pritchett met Joe Maynard in a closely contested race. Pritchett emerged victorious with a 5.330-second run at 266.79 mph, edging out Maynard’s 5.335-second run at 268.38 mph.

The final round saw Pritchett going head-to-head with seasoned competitor Tony Stewart. Unfortunately, Pritchett experienced tire smoke after losing traction at the hit, which allowed Stewart to take the win. Despite the loss, Pritchett’s performance throughout the weekend was a testament to his growing confidence and skill in the race car.

Reflecting on the weekend, Pritchett shared, “What a great weekend with the Randy Meyer Racing team at National Trail Raceway. I’m especially thankful for Randy giving me this opportunity as my confidence in the race car grows. Looking forward to hitting some more races with them. Special thanks to Hedinger’s Equipment and Boninfante Friction.”

Gary Pritchett’s runner-up finish and consistent performance have set a promising tone for the rest of the season with the Randy Meyer Racing Team. Fans and sponsors alike are eager to see what he will achieve next.

LONG BEACH, CA (July 16, 2024) — Momentum. That’s the word that’s on Funny Car driver Buddy Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team’s minds going into the NHRA Northwest Nationals this weekend, June 19-21, at Pacific Raceways, located just outside of Seattle. Since turning a corner at the Thunder Valley Nationals in early June, the team has been building a momentum of consistency and performance that is sure to lead to success during the first race of a shortened Western Swing.
 
“I’ve been telling the team all week that there’s something in the air going into this race,” said Hull. “I have this gut feeling that this weekend will be our weekend. We’ve been consistently running well ever since Bristol, and with a couple weeks off everyone is feeling good. We’re rested up after a busy first half of the season, and we’re ready to turn on some win lights in Seattle.”
 
This will be Hull’s first time competing at Pacific Raceways, as he continues with his rookie Funny Car season after his transition from a part-time Top Fuel driver to a full-time Funny Car driver. The move has been a challenge and offered Hull the chance to get to know new competitors. Throughout the process Hull has leaned on Hall of Fame team owner Jim Dunn as well as his fellow Funny Car drivers.

 
“Jim has been an amazing mentor and talking with guys like Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon has been eye opening as I get comfortable racing Funny Cars,” said Hull, who had experience behind the motor of Fuel Altereds earlier in his career. “Every driver has been great and I love being in this class. I really feel like I am a Funny Car guy.”
 
One thing that Hull is already well known for within the Funny Car class is his willingness to partake in fun off-track contests that benefit charity. During the Northwest Nationals, Hull will be participating in the dunk contest aiding Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW). DRAW is a non-profit organization that provides financial and emotional support to qualified individuals involved in drag racing accidents at a track.
 
“DRAW is a fantastic organization that I am proud to support,” said Hull. “Non-profit work has always held a special place in my heart, and with the recent John Force crash bringing even more attention to just how dangerous our sport can be, I’m happy to help raise money so they can keep working with racing families affected by accidents.”
Seattle is the first of two races where Hull will be sporting a Lescure Mechanical Services Funny Car body, repping one of Jim Dunn’s many season-long sponsors. Lescure Mechanical Services is Northern California’s premier mechanical contractor and is a family-based company.
 
“Lescure has been a longtime supporter of Jim Dunn Racing,” said Hull. “We were pumped to have them on as a full-time partner this year, and now we’re really going to be able to put the spotlight on them for these next couple of races on the west coast. Their company shares a lot of the same strong values as our team, and we’re going to try and win some rounds for them this weekend.”
 
In addition to Lescure Mechanical Services, Hull will be representing other season-long sponsors Vertex Roofers and General Contractors, Solid Start/True Brand Products, Blaze Exhaust Probes, Crow Safety, KGC Construction, Koppl Pipeline Services, Mooneyes, Good Vibrations Motorsports, Powerbuilt Tools and Wiley X.
 
“We have so much going for us as a team heading into Seattle,” said Hull. “The car is moving in the right direction. We’re working better together as a team and the parts are agreeing with each other on the car. This sport has rewarded me with so many amazing relationships and cool opportunities. I want to return the favor with a few round wins.”
 
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will make two qualifying runs on Friday, July 19 and two qualifying runs on Saturday, July 20 at Pacific Raceways. The top 16 quickest Funny Cars in the field will then advance to race day on Sunday, July 21. The first round of eliminations will begin on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. PST. Fans can watch the finals on FOX. For tickets or more information on the NHRA Northwest Nationals visit nhra.com.

DIRTVision Launches ‘Driven to Dirt’ Docu-Series CONCORD, NC (July 16, 2024) – DIRTVision will immerse fans deeper into the world of dirt racing with the new “Driven to Dirt” docu-series, going behind the scenes with the stars of the World of Outlaws and the year’s biggest events.

The first round of the new series will feature drivers from the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars and World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models, giving fans never-before-seen access to their career and life away from the track.

There will also be episodes dedicated to exploring some of the World of Outlaws’ biggest events, such as the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury Speedway and World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“We’re excited to bring fans a new way to show them a side of the sport and drivers they rarely get to see,” said Charlie Mellilo, chief media and marketing officer at World Racing Group. “Fans will get to see World of Outlaws drivers’ lives away from the track, get to know their families, and hear their stories. This goes well beyond what’s presented on a regular race weekend.”

The first episode, featuring World of Outlaws Sprint Car driver David Gravel, will air exclusively on DIRTVision on Monday, Aug. 12. Then, there will be a new episode each month through January 2025 with a mix of Sprint Car and Late Model drivers like four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard, 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz, Giovanni Scelzi, Nick Hoffman and more – all available with a DIRTVision FAST PASS subscription.

Full trailer: https://x.com/WorldofOutlaws/status/1813242121710612983