NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
WINDOWS 10 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 31, 2015
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 MICROSOFT CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed his Pocono sweep in 2014, the status of his team heading into the Chase and many other topics. Full Transcript: Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono–Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
WINDOWS 10 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 31, 2015
JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 AARP MEMBER ADVANTAGES CHEVROLET SS met with media and discussed rules packages, different challenges of racing at Pocono and his memories of this particular track, how he feels about making the Chase at this point in the season, his feelings about going to various tracks for the final time as a competitor, and more. Full Transcript: Continue reading Chevy Racing–NASCAR–Pocono–Jeff Gordon
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
WINDOWS 10 400
POCONO RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
JULY 31, 2015
MARTIN TRUEX, JR., NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW/VISSER PRECISION CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed his win at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ in June, his thoughts on the recent developments at Michael Waltrip Racing and many other topics. Full Transcript:
TALK ABOUT THE WIN IN JUNE AND COMING BACK THIS WEEKEND:
“Yeah, definitely it feels a little different coming back this time for sure. It feels good. It was definitely a huge weekend for us, for all of us; for me, my team, for Barney (Visser, team owner) and just everybody that has put so much effort into Furniture Row Racing and the No. 78 car. Definitely feels good to be back. Hopefully, we can repeat on what we did last time. Obviously, it’s not going to be easy, but I feel like we are up for the challenge. A few differences in the racetrack with the Tunnel Turn being smooth again, I think that certainly makes it a little bit easier on everybody else. I kind of like the challenge of the bumps just because obviously we had them, seemed like, figured out pretty good. So far the car has felt good today. I feel like we will have a good run for qualifying and looking forward to a great weekend.”
IS THERE ANYTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE TEAM SINCE THAT WIN? IS IT SOMEWHAT MORE CIRCUMSTANCES OR DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM IS ANY DIFFERENT OR CAPABLE THAN IT WAS WHEN YOU WERE HERE PREVIOUSLY?
“Yeah, I mean we definitely ran into kind of a string of bad luck there with Sonoma and Daytona getting caught up in crashes. I felt like we had a really good car at New Hampshire, one of the better cars I’ve had in quite a few years, actually. And got caught a lap down by the caution and had to come from the back and finish 12th, I think, in 45 laps or so. Then last week at Indy I thought we had a pretty good car. We never had the speed that we needed to lead, but we did have a good top five. It’s been a little bit up and down here lately, but I feel like we still have speed in our racecars. We really haven’t been to any tracks where we feel like we have really performed well at. No 1.5-miles, place like Dover where we led the most laps, places that I tend to run really well at. I think we have some more good tracks coming up. I feel like we still have that momentum, we just kind of had some bad luck along the way. We are obviously looking for more speed just like everybody is. I think everybody is stepping up their program as the season goes on and we are trying to do the same thing. We brought a new car here. Trying to be better than last time and hopefully it will play out.”
THE LAST THREE WEEKS YOU HAVE RUN THREE DIFFERENT RULES PACKAGES. WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE ADAPTING TO THOSE CHANGES?
“It hasn’t been that big of a deal driver wise as far as adapting to the packages. I think it is all relative. It’s more about where you’re racecars are. When they take downforce off everyone the good cars still seem like they are the good cars. Certainly I think some guys have definitely put more effort into the other rules packages than we did. I heard stories of people going to the wind tunnel 10-15 times before racing either one of those packages. I think we went once or twice. So, that is one area where maybe we are at a little bit of a disadvantage just funding wise – the amount of money coming into our team. But, I think we have done a good job. We had a really good car at Kentucky in the low downforce and hit some debris on the racetrack and pretty much ruined our race. I felt like we were pretty good in the high downforce last week at Indy too. The guys have done a good job of adapting. As far as the driving goes it’s a little bit different, but it’s still all about getting the most you can out of your racecar and out of your team and all the things you do together. It really hasn’t been a huge change I don’t think for us.”
IS THIS THE SAME CAR AS A FEW WEEKS AGO? ARE YOU IN THE PROCESS YET OF SAVING OR PROTECTING YOUR BETTER CARS FOR THE CHASE?
“It’s not the same car and no, I think honestly at this point we are constantly working at getting better and constantly working on trying to find more speed. I don’t think we have anything set aside car wise that we feel like is better than what we can build going forward. That is the plan. The team is pushing hard, they are working hard and trying to do everything they can to keep getting better. Again, you’ve got to stay with the competition. Things change so fast around here that you’ve got to work hard. Cole (Pearn, crew chief) and the guys are doing a good job with that. Hopefully, we will able to get back to leading laps and putting ourselves in position to win some more races.”
SINCE YOU WON HERE IN JUNE HOW MUCH MORE PRESSURE DO YOU PUT ON YOURSELF AND YOUR RACE TEAM THIS WEEK?
“Not any different than any other weekend I don’t think. Obviously, we have that bit of a safety net so to speak. I think we can tend to take chances a little bit more and this and that. But you know we are still here to win and get the best finish we can for everyone. You definitely feel a little more pressure just because we were so good here last time that you don’t want to screw it up. But at the same time, again, the track is a little bit different and everybody is getting better. I think the (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) cars have proven that in a couple of weeks’ time you can make some really big gains. I think those guys are really the cars to beat right now. We’ve got to continue to work hard and try to get our stuff better and try to again get up front and start leading laps again and put ourselves in position to win again.”
HOW TRICKY IS IT WITH THE PROPOSED CHANGES OR THE NOT PROPOSED CHANGES THAT NASCAR HAS GOING INTO THE CHASE?
“I don’t know that it’s so much notes and set-up’s and things. I think it’s more of we really geared up this season and put a lot of emphasis on building our cars and focusing on the rules package we thought we were going to have. A small team like ours can’t make those big changes and go after a new rules package quite as fast as say the bigger teams. I mentioned earlier about the wind tunnel time. I heard of people using, just for the high downforce and the low downforce package. We really put all our eggs in that basket of ‘hey these are the ’15 rules.’ We developed our whole car around it over the winter and going into the start of the season. We really hope that it continues down that path. At this point we are not really sure what is going to happen. It’s definitely a difficult time for the teams for sure. A lot of money being spent on wind tunnel time and aero stuff and just trying to figure those things out, but at the end of the day we don’t even know what we are going to have yet. So, it’s definitely difficult, especially for the smaller teams to be able to do that.”
WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSIONS THIS MORNING OF THE TRACKSIDE SUPERSTORE?
“I thought it was awesome. Just from my perspective I thought it seems a lot simpler. It seems more modern and just a nicer area to be in. There is shade, there is a little bit of air flow. It is not standing out in the sun sweating walking around to try to find your driver’s hauler or things like that. The biggest thing that stuck out for me, we have a souvenir hauler that we share with other drivers. I’m constantly getting messages on Twitter and on Facebook and my fans asking me at the racetrack ‘where do we get your hats? Where do we get your t-shirts?’ It’s like; well I don’t know where that trailer is at this weekend. It’s just a lot more simplified especially for us. I thought it was a really cool atmosphere out there. It should be fun for the fans. I think they are going to enjoy it.”
CAN YOU TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM POCONO TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR WATKINS GLEN?
“It doesn’t help at all. When you throw right turns in there it mixes everything up. It’s definitely a lot different than here. But, I do love going to Watkins Glen, definitely looking forward to that race for sure. It’s a fun place to go, a fun area. I can’t say enough about the weather up here this weekend, so hopefully we will get some more of that next weekend at Watkins Glen.”
WOULD YOU MIND SEEING A ROAD COURSE IN THE CHASE? WHY HAS THE RACING BEEN SO EXCITING AT WATKINS GLEN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS? WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT THAT TRACK THAN SONOMA?
“I really enjoy the road courses. I probably wouldn’t mind seeing one in the Chase. If I had to pick I would lean more towards Watkins Glen just because it seems like Sonoma is such a wild card race. It’s almost like a Talladega or Daytona of road courses just because of the layout and the double file restarts and how it all works out there. It’s really tight racing and you can pretty much plan on getting knocked off the track at least once throughout the race. It’s difficult, but I think it would be cool to have a road course in the Chase for sure. I really do enjoy Watkins Glen a lot.”
ARE YOU SURPRISED AT THE DEVELOPMENTS AT MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING?
“Yeah, a little bit. I don’t really know a whole lot about what’s going on, but hearing that Rob (Kauffman) is buying into another team is interesting for sure. I’m not sure what they’ve got going on, but it was definitely surprising. I’ve got a lot of friends over there. They have a lot of great people there and hopefully they will all land on their feet and figure out some way to keep going.”
IT’S KIND OF BIZARRE BECAUSE YOU CAME FROM GANASSI TO MWR AND IT’S KIND OF LIKE HE’S DOING THE OPPOSITE:
“You never know in this sport. Things change quickly, especially these days.”
HOW DO YOU THINK THAT DYNAMIC IS GOING TO WORK HAVING WORKED AT BOTH PLACES?
“It has been so long since I’ve been… I was at Ganassi for a year and it was so different then than it is now. Just based on who is there and what they are doing and stuff. It’s really hard to say.”
T.E. McHALE: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us for the latest in a series of Honda media briefings that we’ve conducted periodically throughout the 2015 season.
Our guest today is the president of Honda Performance Development, Art St. Cyr. Art, thanks for making the time for us today.
ART ST. CYR: Thanks for having me, everybody.
T.E. McHALE: I want to start by talking about how the season has turned a little bit more pleasantly for Honda of late with victories in two of the past three races, kind of get your thoughts on any ideas you have related to the reason for that success.
ART ST. CYR: Well, I must say that, you know, the last few races we’ve been pretty happy. Winning two of the last three races was really good for HPD and the Honda teams and Honda in general.
I mean, honestly, it’s been no real secret that we’ve had some struggles with our aero kit this year and trying to deal with some of the sensitivities and drivability with that aero kit.
The last few races IndyCar has put some rules in that has kind of limited the, let’s say, options. They’ve specified specific amounts of downforce at some of those races. Quite frankly, having less options allowed our teams to play in a little narrower box and they were able to be much more competitive in those races.
Like I said, we’ve been really happy with Honda, HPD. The team’s working really hard to figure that out. They’ve shown great competitiveness over the last few weeks.
T.E. McHALE: I wanted to dig a little deeper and give you an opportunity to share some thoughts about the teams themselves. It has been a difficult season for Honda and HPD in a lot of ways. But the fact remains that as we sit here right now, we have a driver who is second in the championship, we have three teams with race victories, we have the only driver in the series who has completed every lap of every race. It isn’t really a lost season by any means. Talk a little bit about the performance of our team so far this year.
ART ST. CYR: Actually we’ve been really proud of our teams this year. As I mentioned, again, it’s not a real secret, our aero kits have been a little bit hard to drive this year. Particularly the Rahal camp, they really upgraded their engineering staff this year and they have shown a really good affinity to match the good performance of the engine and the aero kits and their team performance, really put in a string of good performances.
But it’s not just the Rahal guys. The Andretti team, they have two race victories. Sam Schmidt, the Schmidt Peterson boys have a race victory. As T.E. said, Marco has completed every lap this season. So we’ve had some really good performances and our teams have done a really good job figuring things out. As the season has gone on, they have really taken to what they have available and really maximized that.
I think it’s a real testament to our teams and the strengths of their engineering abilities.
T.E. McHALE: I think it’s pretty common knowledge under this canopy that we are in negotiation with IndyCar for an extension to our current engine supply agreement which expires at the end of this season or in roughly another month. Give us an update on the status of those negotiations, if you would, please.
ART ST. CYR: I’m not going to give too many details about that one.
But, yes, it is true. Everybody knows we’ve been in active negotiations with IndyCar on a contract extension. Back when we started this, we had a lot of discussion about some of the technical issues and the technical vision moving forward. I’m happy to say that we have resolved and we have written in writing resolution on a lot of those technical issues. Some of them we have verbal agreement. There’s still one or two issues that we’re still trying to work through.
Like any company, we want to make sure that we have all of the I’s dotted and T’s crossed before we move forward. But our intent and our wish is to resolve those issues obviously before the end of this season so we can move forward with an extension.
T.E. McHALE: Finally, just your thoughts about the news that came out yesterday regarding the resignation of Derrick Walker as the president of competition at IndyCar. I know you and Derrick worked closely. He was probably your primary point of contact on the resolution of the technical terms you just mentioned.
ART ST. CYR: First of all, I just want to say that Derrick and I have a very good working relationship. I’m going to think he has spent an extraordinary amount of energy and passion dealing with the issues that have surrounded IndyCar over the last couple years.
I’ve really enjoyed working with him. I think it’s going to be a loss not having him around. I view Derrick as a friend. Pretty straight shooter, as things go.
Hopefully the work that he has put in place will continue, but I wish Derrick the best of luck. On a personal note, I’m going to be sad to see him go. Hopefully he sticks around the paddock in the years to come.
T.E. McHALE: We’ll open it up to questions from the floor.
Q. With Derrick’s departure, does that pose a setback for the negotiations for the extension of the engine supply agreement?
ART ST. CYR: Well, I guess my first answer to that is, I sure hope not on that one.
But the negotiations aren’t with Derrick. It’s not with Derrick and Honda. It’s with IndyCar and Honda. The other people involved in that process know the details. We expect it to move forward seamlessly.
Derrick is still going to be around through the end of August. So I fully expect everything to be continuing on as it was before.
Q. You said earlier you struggled in the beginning of the season. Can you give some more details as to the reason for that.
ART ST. CYR: About why we struggled at the beginning of the season. As I mentioned before, one of the issues that we had this year was that our car was just hard to drive. When we bolted the aero kit package on the old suspension settings, it just behaved differently.
We started the process pretty late in developing the aero kit. So part of our plan was to push that as far as possible. We talked to the teams and we explained the way it was going to be. They agreed that to push the design as late as possible, get as much performance out as possible.
The negative side of that is they got the kit right before St. Pete. With the lack of testing, the rules in IndyCar, we really put them behind the eight ball trying to figure out how best to utilize the kit, how best to utilize the downforce, how best to operate their racecars, especially in the early races of the season.
Now as the season has gone on, they’ve learned more. The engineers on each of the teams have figured out where the strengths and weaknesses are, how they want to run the cars.
Like I said, we’ve had success doing that, especially as of late. So I think from my perspective that explains why we had such a struggle at the beginning part of the season, is that the teams were trying to figure out basically a brand new car without any testing.
Q. The rules, clarify what’s allowed during the off season for improvement to the aero package for 2016.
ART ST. CYR: There is some development that’s allowed for 2016. Right now the scope of that one is still under a little bit of discussion. But to directly answer your question, no, we are not frozen with the same aero kit for next year as we are this year.
Q. Have you done already testing with new parts?
ART ST. CYR: Well, we’re not allowed to do any testing on anything for 2016 until the middle of September.
But the rules have always stated there’s going to be some limited development allowed. We have been doing the design process moving forward on that. We will be testing that shortly.
Q. You can’t test the car. Can you test (indiscernible)?
ART ST. CYR: Absolutely. We’ve done our CFD analysis, we’ve done some scale model testing, we’ve done full scale testing of both our 2015 kit and our 2016 kit.
Q. If this thing stays close and Graham is still in contention at the end of this race, would Honda consider funding a second car to help the team gather data for his stretch run?
ART ST. CYR: I’m not going to be able to answer that question directly.
We have talked to Bobby and the rest of the Rahal guys to find out what it is they need. Obviously we’re in a championship hunt, and we want to give them all the support that we possibly can to help them.
I mean, we have two street courses or two road courses, and one superspeedway. There is a pretty wide varying degree of help we can give.
But we have offered to help. I’m not sure we’re going to say we’re going to go as far as funding a second car, because we don’t typically do that at Honda. We will support them however we can to try to get them at the front of the race.
Q. What do you think is a reasonable testing schedule that you’d like to see IndyCar allow next year, even in season, for 2016?
ART ST. CYR: I’m going to get myself in a little bit of trouble if I answer that too straight up.
But, you know, honestly, the amount of testing from mine and Honda’s viewpoint should be commensurate with how much change is allowed.
Now, the rationale behind limiting testing is really to make sure that the lesser funded teams aren’t put at a disadvantage, which I very much support.
If you look around the paddock, there are some well funded teams, there are some teams that are really struggling. I think it’s important to fill out a grid here. We definitely want to have at least 22 cars running every week.
We have to look at the balance between what we want to do and what we can do to make sure we put on a good product for the fans, honestly.
Q. What would be a reasonable number of engine leases for 2016, in your estimation?
ART ST. CYR: Honestly, Honda and HPD has been a supporter of open wheel racing continuously for 22 years. We want it to grow. We want it to thrive. We also want to make sure that there’s not teams that have the capability of being strong and running here and not have an engine.
So really the answer to that question depends on how many teams actually want to run in the IndyCar Series. We are absolutely ready to run at least as many engines as we are running this year. Again, that is predicated on us signing an extension with IndyCar.
T.E. McHALE: With that, we’ll wrap it up. I want to thank you all for taking the time to join us.
Scelzi Sidelined Six-to-Eight Weeks with Compression Fractures in Back
Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (July 30, 2015) – Dominic Scelzi will be sidelined for at least the next month and a half after he sustained several compression fractures in his back last Saturday during a crash at the Peter Murphy Classic. Continue reading Gary Scelzi Motorsports–Dominic Scelzi Sidelined Six-to-Eight Weeks with Compression Fractures in Back
BENTLEY TEAM DYSON RACING LOOKS TO BUILD ON ELKHART LAKE VICTORY MOMENTUM AT MID-OHIO PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE
Drivers’ Championship Within Reach As Season Enters Final Stretch
Team Expects a “Launch” Forward in Start-Line Performance
(Poughkeepsie, NY, 30 July, 2015) Bentley Team Dyson Racing looks forward to this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to backing up the team’s strong performance at the Road America Pirelli World Challenge triple-header at Elkhart Lake, WI last month. Chris Dyson’s convincing win in his Bentley Continental GT3 in Saturday’s race at Elkhart Lake highlighted the weekend, which saw Dyson and fellow Bentley Boy Butch Leitzinger post a combined five top six finishes in the weekend’s three races. Continue reading Dyson Racing–BENTLEY TEAM DYSON RACING LOOKS TO BUILD ON ELKHART LAKE VICTORY MOMENTUM AT MID-OHIO PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE
Team Chevy Drivers Look to Continue Success at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Chevrolet in Pursuit of Fourth Consecutive Verizon IndyCar Series Manufacturers Crown
· Chevrolet V6 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged, directed injected, fueled by E85 powered driver Scott Dixon is the defending winner at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
· Chevrolet drivers have won nine of the first 13 races this season Continue reading Chevy Racing–INDYCAR–Team Chevy Drivers Look to Continue Success at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
JOHN FORCE WANTS MORE OUT OF RETURN TO SONOMA RACEWAY
SONOMA, CA (July 29, 2015) — John Force has been competing and winning on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series for decades. He is the only Funny Car driver to win the elusive Western Swing. This weekend will be the continuation of Force’s 27th Western Swing and, through last week’s race at Denver Force has won 161 racing rounds in the three Western Swing events. That’s an average of two round wins in each of the 81 events comprising the Swing or six round wins per year. Continue reading JOHN FORCE WANTS MORE OUT OF RETURN TO SONOMA RACEWAY
Kasey Kahne Racing – Results Recap
Headed North of the Border
The Outlaws stopped at Williams Grove Speedway over the weekend for a two-night show before heading north of the border for three races in Canada. The first stop was Tuesday night at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario. Both KKR cars had solid runs finishing in the top ten, following up a great night at Lebanon Valley.
Stewart Friesen Scores Thrilling First Ever Outlaws Win
With Ohsweken Speedway win he becomes the first, first-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series winner of the season and just second ever Canadian to win a series event
OHSWEKEN, Ont. – July 28, 2015 – After an epic battle at Tuesday night’s Six Nations Showdown at Ohsweken Speedway, Stewart Friesen scored a thrilling first-ever World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory besting Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart and Parker Price-Miller. Continue reading World of Outlaws–Stewart Friesen Scores Thrilling First Ever Outlaws Win
PERMATEX/FOLLOW A DREAM TEAM BREAKS EPPING SPEED RECORD
Marstons Mills, MA-July 27, 2015-With a run of 266.27 mph – fastest in team history – Jay Blake’s Permatex/Follow A Dream team shattered the New England Dragway speed record by 4 mph at the Eastern Regional. Driver Todd Veney qualified No. 2 in the Top Alcohol Funny Car field on that run with a 5.60 E.T. but overpowered the track in eliminations and was upset by veteran Eric Lourie. Continue reading PERMATEX/FOLLOW A DREAM TEAM BREAKS EPPING SPEED RECORD
Blaney’s Driving And Bullins’ Strategy Add Up To A 12th-Place Finish At The Brickyard
July 27, 2015
Over the years, Eddie and Len Wood, like their father and uncles before them, have made their share of race strategy decisions.
On Sunday, in a nerve-wracking, constantly evolving Crown Royal 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the two Wood Brothers were glad to have someone else making the strategy decisions for their No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane/JDRF Ford Fusion team. Continue reading Wood Brothers Racing–Blaney’s Driving And Bullins’ Strategy Add Up To A 12th-Place Finish At The Brickyard
Top Fuel — Steve Torrence, 3.925 seconds, 319.37 mph def. Tony Schumacher, 3.940 seconds, 305.08 mph.
Funny Car — Jack Beckman, Dodge Charger, 4.190, 293.92 def. John Force, Chevy Camaro, 4.291, 258.96.
Pro Stock — Larry Morgan, Chevy Camaro, 6.944, 199.02 def. Allen Johnson, Dodge Dart, 6.930, 199.23.
Pro Stock Motorcycle — Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.239, 185.51 def. Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 7.230, 186.43.
Super Stock — Dan Fletcher, Chevy Camaro, 11.259, 102.15 def. Jim Hawkins, Camaro, foul.
Stock Eliminator — Ryan Montford, Chevy Camaro, 10.028, 119.04 def. Scott Burton, Pontiac Firebird, 11.350, 98.98.
Super Comp — Bill Percival, Dragster, 9.500, 156.39 def. Justin Ewing, Dragster, 9.541, 150.98.
Super Gas — Michael Miller, ’27-T Ford, 10.539, 138.86 def. Brian Percival, Dodge Dart, 10.518, 131.95.
Top Dragster — Victoria Johnson, Dragster, 7.201, 186.46 def. Adam Chioda, Dragster, 7.974, 161.85.
Top Sportsman — Ron Williams, Pontiac GTO, 8.030, 168.83 def. J.J. Heber, Ford Mustang, 7.007, 192.55.
Schatz Back on Top with Lebanon Valley Speedway Win
Answers after five straight second place World of Outlaws full points finishes
WEST LEBANON, N.Y. – July 26, 2015 – After five straight second place finishes in full points events, Donny Schatz returned to victory lane Sunday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway as he scored his 21st World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature win of the season. Continue reading World of Outlaws–Schatz Back on Top with Lebanon Valley Speedway Win
Beckman Crowned for Third Time at Mopar Mile-High Nationals; Johnson Runs to Ninth Consecutive Final at Denver
· Jack Beckman drives his Mopar HEMI-powered Dodge Charger R/T NHRA Funny Car past John Force for his fourth win of the season
· The victory at Bandimere Speedway is the 11th in 14 events for the new 2015 Mopar Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car body
· Beckman is now second in the Funny Car standings behind teammate Matt Hagan
· Johnson records his fourth career runner-up at Mopar’s marquee event, and his tenth overall Pro Stock final round appearance at the venue
· The “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart driver has now reached the finals at four of the last six races and has closed the gap on fourth place
· Supercharged and naturally-aspirated next generation Mopar Dodge Challenger Drag Pak machines make their first exhibition runs at Bandimere Speedway
· Don Schumacher is presented with prestigious “Mopar President’s Award” Continue reading Mopar Racing–Beckman Crowned for Third Time at Mopar Mile-High Nationals; Johnson Runs to Ninth Consecutive Final at Denver
Line Shows Power on the Mountain at Mile-High NHRA Nationals
DENVER, Colo. (July 26, 2015) – Sunday at the 36th annual Mile-High NHRA Nationals brought a hot racetrack for eliminations after two days of cooler night qualifying, but Jason Line and the Summit Racing Pro Stock team didn’t shy away from the challenge. Line, driving the blue Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro out of the Ken Black-owned KB Racing stable, had one of the most powerful cars on the mountain. The team put together a pair of big-speed runs that whet their appetite as the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series tour moves on to continue the three-race Western Swing. Continue reading Summit Racing–Line Shows Power on the Mountain at Mile-High NHRA Nationals
JOHN FORCE RUNNER-UP AT MILE HIGH NATIONALS
DENVER, CO – John Force and the Blue Def Peak Chevrolet Camaro SS raced to their fourth final of the season and came up a few thousandths of a second from winning for the third time in 2015. The six-time Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals winner was vying for his seventh win at Bandimere Speedway against Jack Beckman but he lost a close final round 4.291 seconds to 4.19 seconds.
“Hey, we are a new team, except for me. But for Blue Def, we showed them that we could give them a race car that could run as well as all of our sponsors including Chevrolet. We will just move on to the next one. It’s the Western swing and we have always done pretty well on it. But right now my race cars are still in a building stage and I have one car right now that I have got to make the move, and that’s Traxxas, but we will get her done,” said Force from his pit area after the final. Continue reading JOHN FORCE RUNNER-UP AT MILE HIGH NATIONALS
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
July 26, 2015
Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing drivers Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Austin Dillon finished 11th, 14th and 25, respectively, in the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Newman ranks 12th in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Kevin Harvick by 214 points, while Menard ranks 13th and Dillon ranks 19th.
Kyle Busch earned his fourth win of the 2015 season and was followed to the line by Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Denny Hamlin.
The 21st race of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season is the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, August 2, 2015, which is scheduled to be televised live on NBCSN beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90. Continue reading Richard Childress Racing–Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard
Anderson Quick on Sunday in Denver, Retains Points Lead
DENVER, Colo. (July 26, 2015) – Raceday in Denver showed a pleasing turn of events for Summit Racing Pro Stock driver Greg Anderson. The 36th annual Mile-High NHRA Nationals proved to be a challenge for Anderson and the KB Racing team in qualifying, but the Pro Stock points leader woke up to a brand new day on Sunday at Bandimere Speedway. With a round win in his pocket and a powerful racecar capable of going rounds, Anderson leaves Denver prepared to pick up momentum as the Western Swing continues. Continue reading Summit Racing–Anderson Quick on Sunday in Denver, Retains Points Lead
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Brian Scott Finishes 36th at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Brian Scott and the No. 33 Shore Lodge Chevrolet qualified for the famed Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard in the 36th position. The Boise, Idaho native began the 160-lap event under loose-handling conditions, but moved his way up six positions within 15 lap utilizing his track bar adjuster in the Chevrolet SS. Green-flag pit stops led the Shore Lodge team to pit road on lap 30 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Scott was caught by the leader falling one lap down. The first caution flag was displayed on lap 44 for debris, which allowed the team to visit pit road for four fresh tires. Green-flag stops were in order for a second time and the No. 33 machine came in for four tires and fuel. Because of green-flag stops, Scott fell one additional lap to the leader. Scott took the wave around during the caution period on lap 91 to regain one lap. During the four tire stop on lap 106, there was an uncontrolled tire that left the pit stall, forcing the No. 33 to restart at the tail end of the field. Scott revisited pit road to top off on fuel and restarted 30th on lap 113. A flat tire led Scott to make contact with the wall on lap 120 bringing out the caution. The Shore Lodge team made multiple stops to fix the right-side damage. Scott also received damage with 13 laps to go and would cross the finish line in the 36th position, three laps down.
Start – 36 Finish – 36 Laps Led – 0 Points – N/A
Brian Scott Quote:
“I’m the most to blame and I didn’t do my job this weekend. We have lots of areas to improve on and need to do better as a team moving forward. We’ll get ready for Richmond.”