Summit Racing

Summit Racing–Anderson sees race at Summit Motorsports Park as ideal setting to move up

Anderson sees race at Summit Motorsports Park as ideal setting to move up

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 1, 2014) – Greg Anderson is a fighter. The Summit Racing Chevrolet Camaro driver has been a powerful force behind the wheel of his steed this season as he has reliably left competitors on the starting line in his quest to garner victory. Though he has yet to celebrate in the winner’s circle this year, the Mooresville, N.C.-based driver is prepared to peak at what he feels would be the perfect time, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. After all, this weekend is his sponsor’s title event at a facility that proudly bears the name of the high performance mail-order parts leader.

Anderson and the KB Racing team have frequently hit pay dirt at Summit Motorsports Park; Anderson has won there twice (2008 and 2010) and his Summit Racing teammate Jason Line was the winner in 2009. Last week in Chicago Anderson surged with one of his best qualifying performances of the year while Line powered his way to the final round.

“We had a great race last week in Chicago, and we left there feeling positive about our performance and that we can find success,” said Anderson, who is No. 11 and a mere 25 points outside of the top 10 in NHRA’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series standings despite missing the first five races of the year as he recovered from heart surgery.

“That extra pressure of racing at our sponsor’s title event seems to sit well with us. In the past, even when we haven’t been doing well, we are somehow able to turn it on when we come to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Last week was certainly a good stepping stone for us heading into this event, and I feel like we should be good when we get there. I’m excited, and this whole team is excited, to tell you the truth.”

Anderson has 74 national event wins in the books, a large number that places him as No. 8 on the list of all-time winningest drivers in the history of NHRA. Number 75 is just around the corner, and Anderson hopes that this weekend he is able to finally reach the goal. So far this year, he has been remarkably – and frustratingly – close with final round finishes in Atlanta and Englishtown.

“It will come,” said Anderson. “But right now we know we need more than luck to get us to that final round and finally close the deal. Everything has to be perfect. If you look back at history, this weekend would be the right place and the right time for it to happen, for us and for our good friends at Summit Racing Equipment.”

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAYTONA SWEEP THE GOAL FOR THE CHEVROLET SS

SECOND CONSECUTIVE DAYTONA SWEEP THE GOAL FOR THE CHEVROLET SS
Chevy’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. looks to be second Chevy driver to sweep Daytona

DETROIT – (July 1, 2014) – In 2013 Jimmie Johnson debuted the new Chevy SS at Daytona International Speedway in spectacular fashion winning the prestigious Daytona 500 in the SS’ first points paying race.  Johnson followed up that success by completing the ‘Daytona Sweep’ winning the Coke Zero 400 in July at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.  This season Chevrolet has the opportunity to do it again.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. piloting the No. 88 National Guard Chevy SS won the season opening Daytona 500 and is poised to complete the sweep by pulling into Victory Lane this weekend at Daytona.  Earnhardt, Jr. a three-time Daytona winner is no stranger to success at restrictor-plate racing.  Of his 21 career victories eight (8) (38.1%) of those have come at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway the two tracks on the circuit that feature large pack racing and depend on aerodynamic superiority as well as a set-up for handling conditions have been one of Earnhardt, Jr.’s career strong suits.

Over the years Chevrolet has been the most successful manufacturer at Daytona winning 18 races in July and 44 total at the birthplace of NASCAR, Daytona Beach, Florida.  Chevrolet has won the last four races at Daytona. Since the beginning of racing at the superspeedway the Bowtie brand has swept Daytona 11 times beginning with the first sweep in 1986 when Geoff Bodine won the Daytona 500 and his teammate Tim Richmond followed up with a victory in the Firecracker 400. This weekend Chevrolet teams and drivers will once again compete under the lights over July 4th weekend celebrating the independence of the United States America and the freedom to compete in a sport built on heritage and history.

Not only will the drivers and teams be busy so will the staff at the Team Chevy display.  Fans visiting Daytona International Speedway for the July 4th holiday weekend will have the opportunity to stop by the Team Chevy display located in the midway area.  The display will feature a number of Chevrolet production cars including: Malibu, Impala, Traverse, Silverado Double Cab, Silverado HC, Camaro, Cruze, Silverado HD, Suburban and Equinox.

Several Team Chevy drivers will also make appearances at the Chevy display including: Reed Sorenson, Michael Annett, Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne.  As a special treat this weekend the Chevrolet Florida Fishing Report team of Captain Rick Murphy and crew will be on site doing demonstrations and signing autographs at the Chevy display.

In support of NASCAR’s American Salute initiative Chevrolet has partnered with Tommy Baldwin racing writing letters to soldiers.  Chevrolet has donated phone cars to mail with those letters so soldiers fighting overseas can call their families back home.  This weekend is the last weekend fans can write letters to soldiers.  There are letter bins located in the Team Chevy display where fans can drop of their letters this Fourth of July weekend.

A fun filled holiday weekend is in store for fans, drivers and teams alike.  Chevrolet looks to sweep the races at Daytona for the 12th time in the manufacturers’ history. On both Friday and Saturday night the fields for both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be led down to the green flag by Chevrolet productions vehicles.  The Chevrolet Camaro will lead the Nationwide field to the green flag and on Sunday the all-new Chevrolet SS will set the pace as the 18th race of the 2014 season gets underway. All of the Bowite branded drivers and teams will hope to beat the heat, miss the ‘big one’ and make their way to Victory Lane to celebrate under the lights at the historic Daytona International Speedway.

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Honda Associates Make Successful Runs At Sunday’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Honda’s racing lineup for the 2014 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb had a little something for everyone with a 24 Hours of LeMans winner racing right alongside Honda associates in vehicles ranging from an Acura NSX to a Honda Fit. At the end of the day, four Honda drivers and riders earned top-five class finishes in Sunday’s 12.42-mile sprint to the top of Pikes Peak, while Honda’s world-renowned race engines did the job, powering Romain Dumas to his first overall Pikes Peak title.

Associates from American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda Performance Development (HPD), Honda North America and Honda R&D combined to field six vehicles for Honda associates in this year’s race. With five of the six Honda drivers having previously competed at  Pikes Peak,each of the six vehicles made successful runs to the 14,115-foot Pikes Peak summit, including the Honda Fit EV of Roy Richards, which won the Electric Production class in a race-record time.

In addition to the efforts of its associates in Sunday’s race, Honda provided power for Dumas in his own  Norma RD Limited prototype chassis entry in the Unlimited class. Starting first, Dumas pushed his Honda power plant to a race-winning time of 9:05.801 to claim his first race win and the first overall Pikes Peak victory for a Honda-powered car.

Richards’ run of 12:55.591 gave his blue-hued Honda FitEV the class win, marking the 13th consecutive year that a Honda-powered vehicle has won at least one class in the famed event.

James Robinson posted the fastest time of the six Honda associate-driven vehicles in his Acura Pikes Peak NSX, finishing sixth in the Open Class with a time of 11:09.134. Zach Jacobs rode his Honda CBR600RR throughout the course’s 156 turns in 11:11.885 to place fifth in the Middleweight motorcycle class, while Sage Marie’s effort of 11:59.095 in his Honda S2000 was good for fourth in the Time Attack 2 class.

Keith Steidl placed sixth in the quad class with a time of 12:31.245, while the only rookie in the 2014 class, Corey Taguchi, placed fourth in the Exhibition standings after posting a time of 14:26.438 in his Honda Fit.Romain Dumas (Norma RD Honda) overall race winner:  “After [finishing 2nd in

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Tuesday Teleconference–Kyle Larson

KYLE LARSON, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS, WAS THE GUEST ON THIS WEEK’S NASCAR WEEKLY TELECONFERENCE.

BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT:

JENNIE LONG:  Good afternoon, everyone.  Today we’re joined by Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  Kyle, you’re halfway through a strong rookie season and you’re on pace to become the first rookie to make the Chase since 2006.  To solidify that goal you need a first win.  What do you think your chances are this weekend at Daytona and in the remaining nine races before the Chase?

KYLE LARSON:  Yes, well, I think going into Daytona everybody has a good chance of winning.  We’re really confident, but at the same time it’s a track where things can go really badly.  Just kind of setting goals as every other week, try to finish the race and get a top 10 and see if we can put ourselves in position to get a win at the end, that would be great.

The biggest goal is to try and stay out of the big one because it’s going to happen.  I’m sure there will be one or two of them throughout the race.  Try to stay out of trouble.  But yeah, it’s been nice being ‑‑ running as well as we have, and if we could get a win sometime before the Chase, that would be great.
Q.  Kind of a two‑part question.  First of all, what does it mean or how does it feel to be part of such a big rookie class with so much talent, and then to follow up on that, how does it feel to actually be leading that class at least based on the first half of the season?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, I’m really happy and stuff that there is such a great rookie class.  In past years maybe there’s been one or two rookies, and the award doesn’t really mean a whole lot, and I think this year with having a bunch of kids having great résumés, to win that would be awesome.  Austin Dillon has won a championship and Rookie of the Year in the trucks and the Nationwide Series, so if I could beat him to win the Rookie of the Year award at the end of the year, that would be great, just because I’ve only got a couple years of stock car experience right now.

It’s definitely one of our main goals, and so far we’ve been doing well, staying ahead of him.  Had a couple bad races the last couple weekends, but we’ll rebound from that and hopefully get back going.
Q.  To win Rookie of the Year and join the list of guys who have won that award, what would that mean just to have your name on that list?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, it would mean a lot.  Like I said, I think this year is really special just because there’s so many rookies and really good rookies.  And to win Rookie of the Year in the Sprint Cup Series is every rookie’s goal.  To keep some other good guys from winning, it would be great.  That’s why we’re trying to stay consistent and be ahead of those guys each week.
Q.  I have two questions, as well.  The first one is you really haven’t had too many times this year where you had back‑to‑back not as great as you’d like to finish, and just kind of talk about getting through that.  And then secondly, what do you like coming up where you think you might get that win prior to the Chase?  You’ve got kind of a mixture of races, and the summer is a little bit less predictable, a little more varied in the tracks.
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, you know, we’ve had two bad races here the last couple weeks.  I think my crew chief said it best.  He’d be worried in the last couple years, but now our car has been fast, so he’s not worried at all.  That’s good, and gave me some more confidence because I think any other two weekends or having two bad races would be less nerve‑racking, but then you go to Daytona where the chances of another bad weekend are high, so it’s easy to get nervous about that.

Yeah, you know, we haven’t had many struggles all year, and now we’ve had a couple bad ones.  Just got to get back on track.

What was the other question?
Q.  The other question was simply where do you like your chances best here if you want to try and get a win before the Chase, which of these upcoming tracks?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, I mean, I don’t know.  Eldora in the truck.  I thought we were good at Pocono.  I think we were really good at Michigan even with the rear bumper off, or with it being on I think we would have been good.  Maybe Michigan, I think, because our engines are really strong there and the cars are good.  It would be a really nice win at the Brickyard.  Any of those three races.
Q.  You kind of jokingly said Eldora in the truck.  Are you going to run the truck at Eldora coming up?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, I believe that’s the plan.  I don’t know if I was supposed to say anything or not about the truck race.  But yeah, we’re running that race.  I’m really excited about that.  We’re going to go test here pretty soon and get ready for that one because that’s definitely a race I want to win.  We were close last year, so it’s nice to get to go back and give it another shot.
Q.  I just want to ask you about Daytona and plate racing.  You’ve run the Nationwide and the Cup.  Is there much difference in just what it’s like in those two different races?  Is there a different feeling in the Nationwide race and how people race from the Cup?  Are there many differences or is it pretty much the same thing?
KYLE LARSON:  No, I think they’re way different.  The Cup car there is the aerodynamics and stuff make them hard to handle in the pack, and seems like you can change lanes a lot more and actually move forward, wherein the Nationwide race is super frustrating and not very hard at all to hold your car in a straight line.  But more than anything, it’s just really frustrating because the bottom lane is so much faster, and when you’re in the lead ‑‑ you can work the top and middle lanes and kind of move forward but you can’t get to the lead, where in the Cup Series I feel like you can work any lane and get to the lead, where the Nationwide Series, if you don’t start up there you’re not going to finish up there unless you really luck out to get up there.
Q.  Who are you running the truck for, and was it much of a challenge just to allow Chip to allow you to run that race?
KYLE LARSON:  I’ll be running for Turner Scott Motorsports again, and no, no, it wasn’t a struggle at all, I think just because it’s in a stock car.
Q.  I’ve got a couple quick ones here for you.  I ran into you back in 2011 when you ran here at Lucas Oil Raceway in the USAC midget in 2012 and 2013 where you had some success.  Just quickly here, just talk about you mentioned the Brickyard and what it would be like a little bit, would be nice to win here.  You kind of know the history at IMS as well as Lucas Oil Raceway.  Does this place hold any special spot for you as far as racing?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, I think especially just because I spent a couple ‑‑ well, a year there in Indiana and have a lot of friends there, and sprint car racing is huge in Indiana.  That to me is like the most special.  And then if you were to win a race at the speedway, that would be a dream come true, it doesn’t really matter what type of car it’s in.

And I think it would mean a ton to Chip Ganassi just to see the Target stock car in victory lane there, too.  Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to that one.
Q.  David Ragan has already committed to run the ARCA that weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway.  Have you given any thought to jumping in a midget car like some of the other guys do there that weekend?
KYLE LARSON:  I gave a lot of thought into it, and I’ll probably just be there to watch.
Q.  How are you dealing with all this attention?  Is it something that you thought was going to be like this, or is the attention that you’re receiving from the media and from all the fans a little bit more than what you figured, and you look for some solace by jumping in the race car?
KYLE LARSON:  I mean, I don’t know.  I think it’s really cool.  I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to it.  I mean, I guess if you have a lot of attention on you, that means you’re doing something good.  I guess even more attention would be even better.
Q.  So you don’t mind all the press inquiries and people asking you all kinds of questions and all the attention?  That’s okay?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
Q.  What have you learned from Chip Ganassi or what do you take from him or why do you like running for him?  What is it about Chip Ganassi that you’ve learned?
KYLE LARSON:  I guess one thing, everybody that drives for him has learned is that to do the obvious things right.  That’s his quote before every race.  It’s probably true, makes us think about that when we’re in the car.  But yeah, racing for Chip is awesome just because he’s a racer himself.  He loves it, and he does a lot for auto racing in general with all the different series that he’s a part of.  He’s a character for sure, and that makes it fun for all of us drivers to drive for Chip.  You never know what you’re going to get from him.  I get to see him almost every weekend at the racetrack and sit down and talk to him.  I’m getting more and more comfortable around him to where I can crack jokes at him and stuff and not be worried about what his reaction is going to be.  I’ve definitely enjoyed racing for Chip.
Q.  He was struggling so hard like say a year ago where he would not give up on it, but the performance, now he’s seeing some success, and you probably see that in his eyes, and he’s given so much to the sport that you look at what you’re able to contribute and he’s so focused on that program having turned around and being a winner.  Is it good to deliver that to him?
KYLE LARSON:  Oh, yeah, yeah.  I mean, the whole team, from Chip to everybody in the shop and just everybody in the whole organization has done a great job to get into both mine and Jamie’s teams, being able to compete for wins every week, which is awesome.  It’s definitely lit a fire in Chip and everybody at the shop again.  We’re all super pumped up to get to the track.

It would be nice to start delivering him some wins frequently, but we’re close.  We’ll get there.  I know Chip is always excited and looking forward to the races.
Q.  I know last year as we headed into this season, a lot of the talk from your team was that you had to cut back quite a bit on running hundreds of sprint car races throughout the course of the year, but now as we head into the heat of the summertime, is there anything that just feels weird to you about not spending so many days in sprint cars and such?  How is that going for you so far?
KYLE LARSON:  It’s not been bad at all, really.  I was surprised, being such a die‑hard sprint car racer and fan and everything.  I thought not racing a lot of dirt track stuff this year would be bad, that I’d be bored.  But I’m not.  I’m so busy with everything that I’ve got going on in the NASCAR stuff that even if I was to go race sprint cars, I really wouldn’t have time to do it.  And I really enjoy racing in the cup series and doing double duty with the Nationwide Series, too.

I’ve been to a handful of sprint car races and maybe only one of the times or two of the times I’ve been, I actually was like, oh, I wish I was out there.  I enjoy watching and cheering for my friends and offering advice and watching the racetrack to let them know how it’s changing and stuff.  Yeah, like I said, I enjoy doing the out‑of‑the‑car stuff there.
Q.  With nine races to go, just want to ask you how confident are you that you and your team will qualify for the post‑season in September?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, we’re pretty confident.  We’ve just got to stay consistent and put ourselves in position like we have all year if we don’t win a race to get into the Chase.  If we do win a race, that would be awesome.  Just got to make sure we finish every race and can’t have weekends like we’ve had the last couple races.  I think if we do get in the Chase, too, we’re well capable enough to make it on each round to the final round at Homestead.  If we do get there, I’d be super confident that we’d pull it off, so I am hoping we can get into the Chase for sure.  I think we have got a good shot.
Q.  If you can pull it off this weekend, what would winning your first Cup race at Daytona International Speedway mean to you?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, it would mean a lot.  I could win anywhere in the Cup Series and it would mean a lot.  I think I have a good chance of winning as well as everybody else because the field seems to be really close when we go to superspeedways.  Everybody’s confidence will be up, the racing will be intense, and just got to stay out of trouble.
Q.  Could you talk a little bit about how much fun you had last year at Eldora and why it’s important for you to do that?  Is that just kind of like a relief and a fun situation for you to be up against these guys on dirt?  Just talk about that.
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, it was a blast last year at Eldora.  You know, a race that I looked forward to when it was announced last year, and then to get to race it and see how well the show was run and how great the racing was made me even more excited for this year.  Getting beat last year made me really pumped up for this year’s race.  Anyway, I don’t get to do a whole lot of dirt racing anymore, so to get back to kind of my roots makes it fun, too.

I’m really looking forward to when we go test here.  I think it’s next week.  So it would be nice to get back in the dirt and get dirty and sweat a little bit and get mud all over my face and stuff.
Q.  Kyle, as a rookie moving up into Cup, usually the expectations aren’t too high and the learning curves are way high, and you seem to have hurdled a lot of learning curves.  Do you feel like you’ve hurdled a lot of learning curves in the Cup Series?
KYLE LARSON:  Well, I think growing up racing like a lot of different types of cars and being young at that helped me learn things quick.  You know, when I was 15, 16 years old, I would be racing winged sprint cars one night, non‑winged the next, a pavement track the next night.  I got good at adapting to things and learning really fast.  I think that helped train me a lot for now being young and in the Cup Series with still not a lot of stock car experience.  I think that all my dirt track and World Outlaw, USAC, all that kind of background of racing helped me learn fast and helped me for each weekend learn the tracks, learn the cars, learn the style of racing and all that. Definitely happy with where I came from in racing.
Q.  Your team members, do you think that they feel like you’ve grasped things real quickly and you’ve been able to conquer these learning curves?
KYLE LARSON:  I don’t know, I guess that would be a question for the team guys, I guess.  I don’t know, I feel like I’ve done a good job at it so far.
Q.  I know obviously the last couple of weeks have not been what you guys have wanted, and I’m wondering how concerned you are about the small drop in points and how critical it is the next month, especially with tracks like Daytona where it’s going to be a crap shoot, New Hampshire where you’ve never raced before?
KYLE LARSON:  Yeah, you know, really I don’t worry about New Hampshire at all because I’ve raced there in a K & N car or ‑‑ I don’t know if we ran two Nationwide races there last year or one.  But I’ve got two Nationwide races there.  I think the one you worry about is Daytona.  It would have been nice to have a solid weekend last week at Kentucky and kind of go to Daytona and be like, oh, we could have a good race here or a bad race and it wouldn’t affect us a whole lot.  But now that we’ve had two bad races in a row where I’m close to being back to the 16th spot in points, it definitely makes you think about it and approach the race weekend a little bit differently.  Just got to stay out of trouble and gain as many points as we can.
Q.  Do you think you’ll be more conservative this weekend or just go out and just do what you need to do and just try to put points out of your mind?
KYLE LARSON:  I feel like I’m pretty conservative most weekends and just try to be up front but not get into trouble.  I’m sure I’ll do the same thing this weekend.

JENNIE LONG:  Kyle, thank you so much for joining us today, and good luck this weekend at Daytona.

Valerie Thompson Racing

Valerie Thompson Racing–World’s Biggest BMW Motorrad Festival Takes Place July 4-6

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World’s Biggest BMW Motorrad Festival Takes Place July 4-6

BMW Motorrad Days 2014sm

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – June 30, 2014…Six-time motorcycle land speed record holder and one of the world’s fastest BMW racers, Valerie Thompson, will make a guest appearance at the 14th BMW Motorrad Days celebration July 4-6 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.  The biggest BMW party of the year is expected to draw over 40,000 motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world.

Thompson will join fellow BMW racing legends in the Classic Tent, which will highlight “90 Years of Championships and Titles,” beginning with the BMW R 37 at the first German Championship in 1924 through the first AMA Superbike victory on the BMW R 90 to the recent successes achieved on the BMW S 1000 RR.  In June, Thompson set her 6th land speed racing record at the Ohio Mile with a blistering speed of more than 208 mph on her BMW S 1000 RR, shattering the previous record and becoming the newest female member of the prestigious ECTA 200 MPH Club.

“I’m thrilled to be invited back to BMW Motorrad Days,” says Thompson, who is making her second guest appearance as a visiting American VIP racer.  “It is an honor to be included among such accomplished riders. Last year, I had a fantastic time meeting terrific people, riding a GS up and down some steep terrain, eating lots of great food and joining the festivities at night.”

When Thompson returns to the U.S., her sights will be set on shattering a new record at the prestigious Bonneville Speed Trials in August and joining the Southern California Timing Association’s (SCTA’s) “Bonneville 200 MPH Club.”  After that, she’ll attempt additional land speed records at El Mirage and the Texas Mile.

“My goal is to get into every single one of the 200 MPH Clubs with my BMW S 1000 RR,” remarks Thompson.  “Since purchasing the bike in January 2012, it has taken my career to a new level. I feel one with this bike, like I’m practically the paint. We are definitely a match made in high-performance heaven!”

When asked whether she considers hanging up her leathers anytime soon, the American Queen of Speed replies, “I’ve never given much thought to hanging up my helmet. With a little help from BMW, I plan to keep going faster as long as I can. There are always new records to break, even if they are mine.”

BMW Motorrad Days is open to all motorcycle enthusiasts free of charge.  The three-day extravaganza features more than 80 exhibitors, test rides on all the latest BMW Motorrad models, guided enduro tours, Irish stunt rider and all-round entertainer Mattie Griffin, world-record precision rider Russ Swift, presentations by Michael Martin and other GS world travelers, the world’s oldest traveling wooden Motodrom show, live music and more.

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Sahlen’s Six Hours of the GlenRace

HPD Racing ReportSunday, June 29, 2014

ReportCircuit:Watkins Glen International Raceway (3.77-mile road course), Watkins Glen, NY

2013 winners:Joao Barbosa / Christian Fittipaldi (Action Express Corvette DP)

Weather:Mostly sunny, mild, 75 degrees

Mechanical Issues Hamper HPD Efforts at Watkins Glen

• Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b’s persevere to finish 10th and 11th

• Team led Friday practice, Sunday warm-up times

Although Extreme Speed Motorsports paced a large prototype field in both Friday practice and the race morning warm-up sessions for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, a variety of issues combined to hamper the efforts of the team’s HPD ARX-03b Hondas in the six-hour endurance contest Sunday at Watkins Glen International Raceway in upstate New York.

Contact with a slower GTD entry at the end of the first hour forced an unscheduled pit stop for the #1 HPD ARX-03b Honda, where the Extreme Speed team found damage to the car’s downforce-generating underbody and left rear brake duct.

Although the team was able to repair some of the damage, starting driver Scott Sharp returned to the race a lap down to the leaders, with the damage continuing to affect both handling and tire wear.  Although the #1 car recovered to run as high as fifth in class with co-driver Ryan Dalziel, additional penalties for pit lane speeding and a late-race gear selection problem – which also may have resulted from the early-race contact – dropped the #1 car to a 10th place finish in the prototype category.

The #2 HPD ran 10th in the opening stint with Ed Brown driving, but was also penalized for speeding in the pit lane when Brown prepared to turn the car over to co-driver Johannes van Overbeek. Later, the car lost additional time for repairs after halting on track with an electrical failure.  After returning to the race, third driver Anthony Lazzaro, van Overbeek and Brown combined to bring the #2 car home 11th in the prototype class.

The HPD-developed Honda engines used in the TUDOR championship are derived from the Honda “J35” series of production V6 engines and include relevant twin-turbocharger technology, along with the efficiency provided by direct fuel injection. Key production-based components that are utilized include block and heads, crankshaft, direct injection fuel system, valve train components, drive-by-wire throttle, alternator, sensors, fasteners, etc. The engine even utilizes a stock Honda oil filter.

Allen Miller (Project Leader, Sports Cars, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race:”It was a difficult day.  While our practice and qualifying lap times are quite good, keeping pace with the Daytona Prototype-spec cars in race conditions is difficult, at best.  The LMP2-spec cars need to have a perfect day to have a chance at a good finish, and unfortunately, both of the Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b’s encountered issues today.  The #2 Brown/Lazzaro/van Overbeek HPD suffered from an electrical problem and stopped on track early in the race.  After diagnosing the problem and affecting repairs, the team returned the car to the track and it finished the race.  The #1 Dalziel/Sharp HPD started well, but contact with a GTD car damaged the left side floor, and both lap times and the team’s pit strategy suffered as a result.  Late in the race, the car also needed transmission repairs, but again the ESM crew did an excellent job of making repairs and returning the car to the race.  We’ll examine the issues that occurred today, take steps to prevent them happening again in the future, and be ready to race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in two weeks.”

Scott Sharp (#1 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b Honda): “This was definitely not the race we wanted at Watkins Glen. There was a little bit of shuffling around at the beginning, but that’s to be expected.  We were running well and improving lap times until the GTD car hit me. The team did a great job fixing what we were able to fix, but unfortunately,it hurt us for the rest of the race.  As a result of the contact, we lost the left rear brake duct. The left rear brake was getting hot, heating up the tire, heating up the rim and we were really hard on the left rear tire.  That meant we had to change tires at each stop, when the tires should have been good for at least two or three stints on our car. A lot of our pit strategy went out the window at that point. We lost a lot of performance on the back left side of the car and we really struggled in the fast corners. It was one of those things that lead to another and it all just snowballs.  It is a shame that both cars had issues today, because this was a race where we thought we could challenge for the win. It was a great effort by the entire ESM/Tequila Patrón team. We did everything we could to compete here, but it just wasn’t our day.

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Rookie Huertas Wins for Honda in Houston

• Fuel strategy pays off for Dale Coyne Racing driver

• Honda drivers claim seven of top 10 positions

• Pagenaud qualifies on pole for Honda

Honda-powered rookie Carlos Huertas won Saturday’s opening race of the Grand Prix of Houston Presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers, “double header” Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend, taking his Dale Coyne Racing machine to victory in an 80-lap event that featured constantly changing weather conditions.

Today’s race was marked by a brief, heavy rain shower less than half an hour before the scheduled start, leading officials to declare the event a “wet race”, requiring teams to start on rain tires and for the race to become a one hour, 50-minute timed event.  The wet/dry conditions also contributed to a total of six caution flags and multiple pit stop strategies through the field.

The early laps were dominated by Detroit pole qualifier Takuma Sato, driving for hometown legend A.J. Foyt Racing.  But Sato’s run ended after 32 laps when he tangled with the lapped car of Mikhail Aleshin.  James Hinchcliffe then took over at the front, as Honda-powered drivers led all 80 laps of today’s race.  Pole qualifier Simon Pagenaud also led the first four laps of today’s race, until brake problems and a long pit stop to repair suspension damage from contact dropped him to a 16th-place result.

A decision by Huertas’ Dale Coyne Racing team to make an early final pit stop proved decisive, as Huertas first followed teammate Justin Wilson for 15 laps, then assumed a lead he would not relinquish when Wilson made his final stop on Lap 73.  The victory is the fourth of the season for Honda, and the first for Huertas in his rookie season of IndyCar competition.

Following Huertas to the checkers were fellow Columbians Juan Pablo Montoya and Carlos Munoz as Honda-powered drivers – four of them rookies – claimed seven of the top-10 finishing positions.

In addition to Huertas and Munoz, James Hinchcliffe led 32 laps en route to a fifth-place finish in his Andretti Autosport Honda, with Honda drivers Jack Hawksworth, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti finishing sixth through eighth, respectively.  Wilson’s late-race pit stop ended his chances of victory today, but the veteran still rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Janice Charlene Vaughn, from Reelsville, Indiana, led the field prior to today’s race start in the two-seat Honda Indy car driven by two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Arie Luyendyk.

Carlos Huertas(#18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda) Houston Race 1 winner:“For sure, it is always possible to win, but today was really tough.  I had no pace at all during the first half of the race, but our car became much better as the race continued.  The team did a great job, and these races are so long that you always have a chance to win if you do the right thing at the right time.  We made all the right calls today, and this is a great victory both for my team and myself.”

Tom Reichenbach (Senior Manager, Chief Engineer, Technical Division) on today’s race win:  “Whenever you have a rain race, it’s crazy.  And today the conditions were tough for everyone.  You just have to be on top of it, and be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities whenever they come.  Dale Coyne Racing made the right calls, had their drivers in the right place at the right time and it worked out in a victory.  Congratulations to Carlos [Huertas] and the team, and to everyone at HPD.  Now let’s go out and get another win tomorrow.”

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Pagenaud, Honda Lead Houston Practice

• Rookies Luca Filippi and Mikhail Aleshin post top-five times

• Honda drivers claim five of top eight positions in practice

As in Detroit earlier this month, Honda-powered Simon Pagenaud led the field in Verizon IndyCar Series practice Friday for the Shell & Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, Presented by the Greater Houston Honda Dealers.  Pagenaud paced the second, and quicker, of the day’s two practice sessions after posting the second-fastest time in the morning.

Honda drivers claimed five of the top eight positions, with series returnee Luca Filippi fourth on the day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Pagenaud’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate, Mikhail Aleshin, sixth overall.  James Hinchcliffe placed seventh for Andretti Autosport with Takuma Sato eighth fastest for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Activities continue Saturday in Houston with qualifying and the first of this weekend’s two 90-lap races.  The ninth and tenth rounds of the 18-race 2014 season start at 3 p.m. EDT Saturday and Sunday, respectively, with live television coverage of both races on the NBC Sports Network.

Simon Pagenaud(#77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Honda) quickest in Friday practice:  “The Oculus car was really orange, and really fast today. I’m feeling very confident because we unloaded fast and we’ve made minimal changes through the day. It’s fun to drive a fast car, and the Honda power is strong here. The track is very improved this year. We just need to keep up with the track as it changes, since the car was pretty much perfect today. If we’re good tomorrow on the Firestone Red tires, we should be in good shape.”

Honda Racing

Honda Racing–Honda Combines Company Resources For AssaultOn 2014 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

• Honda continues race sponsorship and participation

• Working with AMA to introduce new safety technologies

• Honda to field six vehicles, 10 motorcycles in multiple classes

The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb takes place on one of the harrowing race circuits in the world, as automobiles, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles from around the globe race to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak.

And while Honda has always focused its efforts on getting to the top of the mountain before everyone else, this year the company has taken a groundbreaking step toward making the 92nd running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb as safe as possible.

Honda has worked with the American Motorcyclist Association to introduce the use of Air Fence Provided by Road Racing World Action Fund technology at several key corners of the race course. The use of the innovative safety fencing marks the first time that a Pikes Peak competitor has worked with a sanctioning body to improve overall safety at the event.“Honda is proud to have worked with the AMA and event organizers to increase safety for the competitors of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb,” said Senior Vice President and General Manager of Honda Division, Jeff Conrad. “Honda has a long and successful history at Pikes Peak, and helping to increase the safety on the race course allows our drivers and riders to focus on getting to the top of the mountain as quickly as possible.

AirFence consists of a system of connected air-filled bladders, serving as a soft wall safety barrier to protect motorcycle racers from direct contact with solid objects.  The Road Racing World Action Fund, an organization dedicated to improving the safety for motorcycle racing, has provided this technology to circuits across North America through an on-going research and fund raising program.

Making the course safer will, of course, allow competitors to run faster, which is something Honda is more than accustomed to at Pikes Peak. Honda-powered vehicles have taken at least one class victory at the legendary event in each of the last 12 years, and have captured 44 wins overall.

Looking to extend that streak, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda Performance Development (HPD) and Honda R&D have joined forces to field six vehicles for Honda associates in this year’s race. In addition, Honda is providing power for 2013 overall runner-up Romain Dumas’ Norma M20 ‘RD Limited’ in his chase for the overall title.

The cooperative effort between Honda companies will see Honda associates racing a diverse lineup of vehicles in the event, ranging from the Fit EV to a first-generation NSX, along with a Honda CBR600RR motorcycle and a Honda TRX450 All-Terrain Vehicle.

Ten other competitors will compete on Honda motorcycles in the event’s various classes, riding Honda 250, 450, 600 and 1000cc machines.

Extending its event support beyond the race track, Honda returns as the Partnering Sponsor for the 2014 event, Honda Power Sports will be the official ATV/UTV of the event and Honda Power Equipment will provide electricity and light to the pits and staging areas, through the use of Honda generators.

Fensport Performance

Fensport Performance Update

Toyota Sprint Series, Round 2, Woodbridge

The 2nd round of this year’s championship was held a RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk. The airfield track is a favourite amongst the drivers as it is a technical yet high speed 2.2 mile circuit with plenty of fast sections.After our  previous win at round 1 we were upbeat about overall success on the longer Woodbridge track.

The GT86R only had engine mapping and software changes, made using the Ecutek software, we have developed 3 different engine maps with low, medium and high boost levels. The car on low boost is running around 420bhp so medium and high were to be only used if needed!

The day was perfect for the rear wheel drive GT86R, 20 degrees, bright and dry and the 2 practise runs went very well. On to the 1st timed run and Adrian was only 4 corners from the end when disaster struck! The GT86R broke a rear driveshaft! It wasn’t worth continuing the run so it was straight back to the pits.

With no spare driveshaft on site, it was Jay Smith, a very very good friend, who came to the rescue loaning us his shaft from his road car!

We missed run 2 whilst the driveshaft was changed in readiness for run 3.

Adrian said

A huge thank you to Jay for lending the shaft, we couldn’t of continued without it and I was scared to break it as well. So I took it easy on run 3 just to make sure we got a time on the board! I was lifting off over any bumpy sections and was very careful on the corner where it previously broke, despite this I was so pleased to record a 2.10s run which shot us from completely last to 1st place 🙂

I’m loving driving the new version GT86R, the car is beautifully balanced and has the perfect power to grip ratio.”

With more confidence in the driveshaft Adrian continued to increase his speed and run 7 was a full 100% attack to record 2:07.28 and take the overall win 🙂

Summary:

With 2 rounds down and 2 wins under our belt, we are really looking forward to round 3 which is held at Blyton Park on the 20th July.

We  have a few changes to make prior to the next round, new stronger driveshafts, a baffled sump and some improvements to the cooling system are the next modifications. If this all goes well, we may get to use one of those higher power maps!

NHRA

NRHA– Route 66 Nationals

Top Fuel — Antron Brown, 3.814 seconds, 317.34 mph def. Brittany Force, 3.850 seconds, 320.89 mph. Both ARP Cars

Funny Car — Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 4.098, 310.48 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger, 4.147, 308.50. Both ARP Cars

Pro Stock — Vincent Nobile, Chevy Camaro, 6.655, 208.01 def. Jason Line, Camaro, 6.637, 209.26. Both ARP Cars

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Hector Arana Jr, Buell, 6.925, 193.93 def. Hector Arana, Buell, 6.946, 192.82. Both ARP Bikes

Top Alcohol Dragster — Chris Demke, 5.313, 270.59 def. Michael Manners, 5.305, 267.48.

Top Alcohol Funny Car — John Lombardo Jr., Ford Mustang, 5.590, 260.16 ARP Car def. Kris Hool, Chevy Monte Carlo, 5.642, 256.80.

Competition Eliminator — Troy Galbraith, Dragster, 7.602, 129.70 def. Brian Browell, Dragster, foul.

Super Stock — Larry Hodge, Chevy Monte Carlo, 10.518, 125.71 def. Mike Crutchfield, Pontiac G5, foul.

Stock Eliminator — Justin Lamb, Chevy Camaro, 10.936, 119.22 def. Austin Williams, Plymouth Duster, 11.280, 114.49.

Super Comp — Trevor Larson, Dragster, 8.907, 168.30 def. Britt Cummings, Dragster, 8.853, 163.87.

Super Gas — Luke Bogacki, Chevy Corvette, 9.924, 146.21 def. Ray Miller, Corvette, 9.902, 155.47.

Super Street — Nick Folk, Chevy Cobalt, 10.960, 128.09 def. Andrew Field, Chevy Corvette, 10.961, 134.08.

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–Schatz Scores Eighth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Win

Schatz Scores Eighth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Win of the Season at FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake
He builds on his points lead over Daryn Pittman as the Outlaws head into July

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — June 29, 2014 — Donny Schatz is on a roll, scoring his second World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win in three nights, fifth win in 12 races and his eighth win of the season Sunday night at the FVP Outlaws at Cedar Lake Speedway.

For Schatz, Cedar Lake is the site of one of his earliest sprint car wins. In total, he has eight Outlaws wins at the track.

“This is like coming home, really,” said Schatz, a 155-time Outlaws winner. “I spent a lot of Saturday nights coming here – crashing, wrecking, going fast, going slow – we did a little bit of everything here.”

In his STP/Armor All car, Schatz battled for much of the night with 22-year-old David Gravel. Gravel searched all night for a way around Schatz, even leading lap 24.

“It was pretty fun racing with David there,” Schatz said. “He was going to go on the top – I learned 20 years ago you ain’t going to move that wall, so I wasn’t going to mess with it… My car was very good through the middle and the bottom. I just kind of had to play it cautious, pick my way through traffic and just kind of be as smart as I could. He had a good run with us, stayed with us on the restart and made a good race out of it. He was quite a handful.”

“This STP team did a great job, just kept adjusting on the car. We finally got a balance on this racecar where we can fine tune little things and do a lot of learning and that’s how you get ahead. So, I feel good right now.”

Schatz left Cedar Lake with a 93 point lead over Daryn Pittman in the fight for the championship. In scoring his eighth win of the season, Schatz also became the winningest driver on the season, surpassing Pittman.

The race began in front of a large crowd at the 3/8 mile track in New Richmond, Wis. After taking the quick time and winning the Dash, Cody Darrah led the field to green followed by Schatz, last year’s winner Sammy Swindell and Gravel.

A three-wide drag race broke just past the start/finish line with polesitter Darrah on the losing end. Schatz led the first lap with Gravel in close pursuit. After a caution on lap nine, another battle took shape in the third position as Kerry Madsen got past Swindell and Brian Brown on the restart to challenge Cody Darrah for the position. Madsen took third a few laps later.

By lap 22, Davey Heskin, who won his Heat earlier in the night and started the feature in the eighth position, had worked his way to fourth and set his sights on Madsen.

Meanwhile, Schatz and Gravel battled for the lead, as Gravel looked for a way around the five-time champion. On lap 24, Gravel got a run off of turn four and drag raced Schatz down the front stretch. Gravel officially led the lap but was forced to cede the position soon after.

Heskin and Madsen continued their battle in the closing laps, trading the position several times. Ultimately, it was Madsen who took the position for good as the white flag flew.

Heskin’s strong performance is the third in a row for a non-Outlaw driver. He followed up two strong performances by Bill Balog at 34 Raceway and Beaver Dam Raceway. In addition to leading much of the race Saturday, Balog also had the best World of Outlaws finish of his career – third place at 34 Raceway.

After the race, Gravel said he was able to run his Roth Motorsports car in a variety of lines around the track. He said he gave it his all in trying to get around Schatz.

“Obviously Donny is really good on the pedal and he can run the bottom really well,” Gravel said. “I had to run where he wasn’t. It was pretty hard to catch him running his line, so I had to try something different. I was really good on the restarts and I could keep up but the more I slid my tires, the worse I got. I just got in line at the end. He did a good job. I’ve got to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth, all my crew guys.”

Madsen, who briefly took over the second position before a caution came out, reverting the field back to its previous position, said he had a great racecar, but didn’t catch the breaks he needed.

“You know, I thought we had a shot at [the win],” Madsen said. “Right before that yellow I passed David, Donny was right there and man it would have been nice to get up there and tussle with Donny. I’m sure he had a bit left under his sleeve.”

“Awesome to get on the podium, just felt like we could have done a little bit more. Any night you run in the top-three is a great night. Cedar Lake is one of the funnest tracks go to and we really look forward to it every year.”

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series next stops at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. on Wednesday, July 2. The series follows that up on July 4 and 5 with the Boothill Showdown presented by Roto-Mix at Dodge City Raceway Park.

Mopar Racing

Mopar Racing–Hagan Drives Mopar Express Lane Dodge to the Winner’s Circle at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Hagan Drives Mopar Express Lane Dodge to the Winner’s Circle at the Route 66 NHRA Nationals

·         Mopar’s Matt Hagan earns his first Funny Car title of the season at the 17th annual Route 66 NHRA Nationals
·         Hagan beats teammate and No.1 qualifier Tommy Johnson Jr. in first All-Mopar Funny Car final of the year
·         Three of four DSR Dodge Charger R/T Funny Cars advance to semifinals
·         Hagan extends Mopar’s win streak to six national events with either a Pro Stock or Funny Car title victory

Joliet, Illinois (Sunday, June 29) –  He had to beat all three of his Don Schumacher Racing teammates to earn it, but Matt Hagan drove his Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T to a much needed Funny Car title win at the 17th annual Route 66 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Nationals near Chicago on Sunday.
“It’s just good to turn on four win lights again,” said Hagan who’s 11th career win helped extend Mopar’s recent string of victories, in either the Pro Stock or Funny Car class, to six national events. “It’s not been as long as some people but it was long enough. Hopefully we can carry this momentum on but we just have to enjoy the moment right now. It does make you realize how hard these wins are to get and when it does come together you don’t want the day to go away.”

“Congratulations to Matt Hagan for getting back on track with his second final round appearance of the year with this win at Joliet aboard the Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “We look forward to watching Matt and his Don Schumacher Racing teammates contend for more wins this season in celebration of 50 incredible years of 426 Race HEMI.”
Hagan snapped an eleven-race winless streak by driving past teammate Jack Beckman and opponent Bob Bode on his way to a semifinal showdown against his other fellow HEMI-powered teammate, Ron Capps. It was also the first time this season that three DSR Dodge Charger R/T machines have advance to the semi-finals.
It took a hole shot win against Capps for Hagan to advance to his second final round elimination since his runner-up finish in the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season opener. Hagan rose to the occasion and defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. in an all-Mopar final, to become the first DSR driver to defeat all three teammates en route to an event title.
Bolstered by consecutive title wins at the last two national events by DSR teammates Johnson and Capps, Hagan and his Mopar crew brushed off six first-round losses to score their first victory of the season and the first trip to the winner’s circle since the 2014 season finale in Pomona.
It’s been a humbling year for us,” said Hagan who climbs from 10th to eighth in the Funny Car points standings with his efforts this weekend. “Last year we came out and won five races and you think that you’re going to set the world on fire the following year. We just kind of fell off. These guys have been keeping after it.”
With his runner-up finish, No. 1 qualifier Johnson moved into second place in the standings behind points leader, Robert Hight, and will look to keep the momentum going through the fourth event in as many weeks next weekend in Norwalk, Ohio.
“I wanted to win, but if you look at the weekend as a whole, it was great,” said Johnson who also posted his first run under the four-second barrier in qualifying on Saturday “We got into the 3’s, we were No. 1, and we went to the finals. The Make-A-Wish team is so good that it’s hard not to be disappointed with a runner up, but you take a look back at it and have to think, okay, we did really well.”
Eliminations for the Mopar contingent in Pro Stock competition didn’t fare quite as well at Route 66 Raceway. No.1 qualifier, Allen Johnson lost his chance to take the “Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar” Dodge Dart past the second round after losing on a holeshot to Dave Connolly with a .003 second margin of victory.
Last year’s event winner, Jeg Coughlin Jr. didn’t get a chance to repeat after his JEGS.com Dodge Dart jumped the green light start by .001-seconds in his second round match-up against Vincent Nobile. Nobile went on to the Pro Stock title win on a hole shot against teammate Jason Line.
This marked fourth time this year that the reigning NHRA Pro Stock Champion has had a premature exit from eliminations due to a red-light start, but the Mopar driver remained philosophical about it.
“The racing out here is at such a high level that you have to push everything to the edge,” Coughlin said. “We’ve come up just a few thousandths of a second short a few times this year, but we have a bunch of times where we’ve been on the right end of that same situation, so I tend to not let it bother me.”
“I hate it for the guys because they continue to give Allen (Johnson) and I great race cars,” said Coughlin who despite the second round loss remains second in the standing and just one point ahead of his teammate. “But we won’t hang our heads. There’s too much to be excited about, and we’re proud of what we’ve done to get up to second place in the points.”
Fellow HEMI-powered driver V. Gaines suffered a similar fate with his own red-light foul in the first round of eliminations.
The next stop for Mopar teams and drivers will be this upcoming Independence Day weekend for the 8th annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals on July 3-5 in Norwalk, Ohio, for the fourth and last in a stretch of consecutive events, and 13th of 24 Mello Yello Drag Racing series national events in 2014.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen–Spirit of Daytona!

CORVETTE DPs AT WATKINS GLEN: Breakthrough Win for Spirit of Daytona Racing
Westbrook, Valiante score victory; Barbosa, Fittipaldi third for Action Express Racing

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 29, 2014) – Richard Westbrook led a strong showing by Corvette Daytona Prototypes with a thrilling victory alongside Michael Valiante in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday. Westbrook, in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP, won a last-lap dash to the finish by 0.877 seconds.

Corvette DPs took two of the three podium spots in the sixth race for prototypes in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Action Express Racing’s Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi were third in their No. 5 Corvette DP.

“Congratulations to Troy Flis, Richard Westbrook, Michael Valiante and everyone at Spirit of Daytona Racing on today’s outstanding victory,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet Director of Racing. “This was a demanding six-hour race at Watkins Glen. This win – made possible by strategy, performance and execution – helped cap a fantastic weekend for Team Chevy.”

In all, three Corvette Daytona Prototypes led in the race as Chevrolet won overall for the fourth consecutive year at Watkins Glen International and third in a row with the Corvette DP. Four of the top five spots went to Corvette DPs. Burt Frisselle, Brian Frisselle and Jon Fogarty were fourth in Action Express’ No. 9 Corvette DP, and Prototype championship leaders Jordan and Ricky Taylor were fifth with Max Angelelli in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Corvette DP.

Chevrolet increased its lead in the Prototype engine manufacturer championship standings.

“There are several reasons to celebrate today,” said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet’s Corvette Daytona Prototype Program Manager. “All five of our Corvette Daytona Prototypes ran competitively and trouble-free. Our Chevrolet V8 engines are showing excellent reliability, as evidenced by strong showings at Daytona, Sebring and now Watkins Glen. We maintained leads in the engine manufacturer, driver and team championship standings thanks to Spirit of Daytona’s victory and a third-place finish for Action Express Racing. The momentum in the TUDOR Championship appears to be in our favor heading into a critical stretch of events.”

The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The race – set for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 13 – will mark the first visit to the historic track for the Corvette DPs.

RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA RACING CORVETTE DP
“That yellow made things complicated for us at the end because we were good on fuel and we just needed it to go green. But you know you can’t count on that in racing. The yellow came, it was unfortunate for Alex (Brundle) as he got caught up with the No. 9 car on the restart so I got a really good run and I made it stick.  Well done to Michael (Valiante). His stints were incredible, fast and still saving fuel. I’m just so thrilled for everyone on this Visit Florida team. It’s just a massive achievement. We just needed a podium. It has taken awhile, but we just want to make this a habit now like we did in 2012, finishing on the podium. I’m really proud to be part of this team.”

MICHAEL VALIANTE, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA RACING CORVETTE DP
“I knew Richard would be great on the restart. I knew if he could get a run into Turn 1 we would be OK. This whole race was just like qualifying laps. Our approach was to just keep the car safe and be in position to podium. We’ve had quick cars and the team has been doing a great job. The racing is really close in this series and we would like to keep this roll going with some more podiums.”

JOAO BARBOSA, NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP
“Even if we were – I can’t say disappointed – but if we were not 100 percent happy, it’s because we know we could have done better. We had a strong car through the whole stint and the whole race. Unfortunately, the strategy in the race situation didn’t work in our favor with the last yellow flags. But it was a great points day for the Patron Endurance Cup and we probably extended our lead a little bit more. I know we were leading at the three-hour mark, which was one of our goals. We just closed the gap on the No. 10 car in the championship and overall, and that’s what we were looking for when we came here. We were looking also for the win and though we didn’t get that, overall still positive.”

(Could he have caught the No. 90 without the last caution?) “I think so. We had a very competitive car and I was pushing; I was doing really good lap times. I felt we had a chance at the end. On the yellow before the last one, I was caught behind (another car) a little bit and he slowed me down just enough so I couldn’t close the gap on the leaders. But on the last situation, I was able to go by him but there was just not enough time… one lap is not enough to get by.”

CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, NO. 5 ACTION EXPRESS RACING CORVETTE DP
“Yeah it was a good day. Obviously, not exactly what we were looking for but I also can’t complain. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way. The drive-through penalty (for listing the incorrect starting driver) definitely didn’t help us because we fell back and then the yellow came right after. Then the gap between the leader and Joao was pretty big – 35 or 40 seconds – just because he got caught up in traffic. So that really didn’t help. But we win as a team, we lose as a team. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way. We’re gonna turn the page and go on to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. On the other side, we closed the gap on the No. 10 car (in the driver’s championship), which is good, and we opened the gap to the No. 01 and were leading at the three-hour mark. So for the Patron Endurance Championship, it went really well.”

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–Corvette Racing–Watkins Glen Post Race

CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: Third Straight Victory For Garcia, Magnussen
Win equals GT Le Mans championship leads; Gavin and Milner fourth after penalty

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 29, 2014) – In its 15 years of existence, Sunday marked Corvette Racing’s first event at Watkins Glen International. The team made its debut one to remember with a dominating GT Le Mans (GTLM) victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen for Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R.

The duo led most of the day to earn their third straight class victory in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. In the process, Garcia and Magnussen moved into the lead of the GTLM driver’s championship, as did Chevrolet in the manufacturer standings and the No. 3 Corvette C7.R in team points.

“The Corvette C7.R team’s first race at Watkins Glen was exciting given the challenging track and intense competition that kept the pressure on all race,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Antonio and Jan drove a great race and the crew executed quick pit stops. We are thankful to come out of The Glen with a GTLM class win and the class championship lead.”

Garcia and Magnussen also won the third round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – a four-race championship made of the TUDOR series’ four endurance events.

The Garcia/Magnussen combination led 154 of the 185 GTLM laps. Magnussen drove the opening stint and took the lead from the pole-sitting BMW on the first lap. Despite holding as much as a 30-second lead at various points, the final minutes were tense ones. A full-course caution with 25 minutes left brought the Corvette inside its fuel window for the rest of the race. A final yellow period just after the restart meant a final-lap dash that saw Garcia hold off the second-place Viper by 0.185 seconds.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner finished fourth in their No. 4 Corvette C7.R after running second to their teammates for most of the day. A stop-and-go penalty inside the last hour for what race officials judged to be avoidable contact halted their podium charge.

The day wasn’t a complete loss. Gavin and Milner moved into the lead of the Patrón Endurance Challenge with just the 1,000-mile Petit Le Mans remaining at the end of the season.

The next round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance from Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The race, which Gavin and Milner won last year as part of the American Le Mans Series, is set for 2:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 13.

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“The car was really good. I was running perfect. Jan (Magnussen) made perfect start and pulled a gap. Then we got a caution but we made the gap back up from zero to almost 20 seconds. Whenever I was able to go full-on we went up to almost a 30-second lead. Strategy-wise we were like two or three laps short (on fuel) I believe. We decided because the Viper … maybe they gambled a little bit more at the beginning so they were out of sequence to stretch their fuel to start with; they were good to go to the end. We decided to go too, and it was hard. To go through traffic, it was really difficult to save fuel. At the end we would have been OK to the end (without the last caution). That yellow obviously helped us a little bit more just in case. We weren’t really on it, but I believe Corvette Racing again did a perfect race. I think we led everything but qualifying.”

JAN MAGNUSSEN, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“I have to say I am so pleased for how things have gone for the team this year, with the No. 3 car especially, but how we have developed a new car and we keep finding better things to do with it. We are finding better race speed over one lap over the whole distance and making the Michelin tires last for the whole stint. We have a fantastic race car. It’s a very competitive category and you have to be on your game with everything you do. There is no room for any mistakes otherwise you lose it.”

(First race in the Corvette C7.R at The Glen) “I have been here before in other categories, the GRAND-AM GT and also the GRAND-AM DPs earlier. Driving the Corvette C7.R around here is just a fantastic feeling. It’s such a fast race track. It’s almost like there is a part missing of the corner – normally you would have a big braking zone downshifts and everything getting the car ready to rotate and then shoot out the corner. Here that little bit is gone so basically for every corner you barely touch the brake, downshift, back to full throttle. It’s all about the momentum here to build the speed, and that is where dealing with all the traffic was very important; you didn’t get bogged down too much because it would kind of ruin your rhythm. I think both of us did that really well today.”

OLIVER GAVIN, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“Certainly we made a step forward with the car after yesterday morning. We went back to basics with stuff, we changed a lot chassis-wise with the car. So was it the perfect setup? No because it was just really a bit of a stab at it, but it was good enough to race and be in the hunt. I genuinely think we should have had a second-place. Tommy (Milner) did a great job at the start and really got us in a fantastic position. It looked like we were going to be able to race cleanly for second.

(Race impressions) “On the double stint that I did, the first on the medium tire was good and I hung with Jan (Magnussen) pretty much. And then on the harder tire it was trickier. It made it a lot more difficult. But we were still there still in second-place looking like we were going to be able to fight for that and then Tommy (Milner) just got a crazy decision with the penalty. We went back and forth for a long time and it’s a great shame that it ruined our race. We went from second to fourth and I think we should have really had a second. That would have been a great result for the team and the guys. They worked so hard over the whole weekend.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R
“First and foremost, I’m very proud of our guys. After Oliver (Gavin) and I were not very happy with the car in practice they put a lot of work into trying to fix the car and it seems like that we have done that. The car was certainly quite a bit better in the race. We were just kind of behind the eight ball – just needed some more practice time to kind of fine tune it, but I think we are back in the ballpark again. That is obviously really encouraging for going forward.
(Race impressions) The race was pretty good. I had a really fun start there. It was just a shame that I got a penalty for something that I don’t believe should have been a penalty. Obviously the race control saw it differently. We can only just move on and kind of put that behind us and be proud of what we achieved. Obviously a great job by the No. 3 car guys; they executed very well. Our guys did as well. We had great pit stops, great strategy calls… they did everything right.  We deserved a podium today, but we had it taken away.”

DOUG FEHAN, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER
“Today was emblematic of one of my key racing axioms – 25 percent great car, 25 percent great team and 50 percent good fortune. We had all those in our corner today, backed up by flawless pit stops and a great strategy by our engineers. With plenty of power from GM Powertrain, you add all that up and it’s a victory in our first visit to Watkins Glen International in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys for standing on that top step. Everyone worked very hard to earn this one.”

Extreme Speed Motorsports

Extreme Speed Motorsports–Watkins Glen Post Race

After a promising warmup session this morning for Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) with the fastest times posted, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen race was filled with heartbreak and disappointment.  Despite a competitive effort by the Nos. 1 and 2 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development teams, any hopes of solid finishes today at Watkins Glen International were dashed by a combination of contact from an overzealous competitor, electrical and mechanical issues.

After six hours of hard TUDOR United SportsCar Championship racing, the ESM team finished in 10th and 11th places.

ESM team co-owner Scott Sharp started the race for the No. 1 Tequila Patrón HPD team from the fifth position in the Prototype class. He dropped to seventh in the opening lap shuffle and found a solid and consistent pace for his opening stint. Bad luck hit within the first hour, when Sharp pitted for fuel on Lap 26, he was charged with a pit lane speeding penalty. He served a drive-through penalty on Lap 29 and found himself in the midst of traffic in the form of the GT Daytona (GTD) class, the slowest class among the four competing today.

Shortly after returning to the field, Sharp was hit by an overly aggressive GTD car in the left rear. Sharp was forced to pit on Lap 34 for the team to inspect the prototype and find a broken brake duct. The team removed the damaged piece, assessed the rest of the damage and repaired what they could before sending Sharp back on track. While in the pits, he went a lap down on the field and dropped to 10th place.

Sharp improved his position and reached the sixth place by Lap 60, just in time for the first caution flag of the race. On Lap 62, Sharp pitted and Ryan Dalziel took over for his first stint.

Dalziel fought traffic but was able to move into the fifth position by Lap 75. He continued on his fifth-place run, worked to catch the leaders, hoped to catch a yellow flag and ultimately regain a spot on the lead lap. Without a yellow, Dalziel then pitted for a scheduled stop and driver change.

Sharp returned to the No. 1 machine at Lap 93 for his second stint. As a result of the hit earlier, the No. 1 machine was forced to change tires on each pit stop because of the left rear and possible domino-effect damage. Normally a tire change would be beneficial, but the longer they could run on the tire, the quicker the lap times. Sharp pitted for tires and fuel on Lap 121 and maintained his sixth-place run before the final driver change to Dalziel on Lap 148.

After serving a second drive through penalty for pit lane speeding charged to the No. 1 team, Dalziel kept a sixth-place run. Dalziel pitted again on Lap 156 after experiencing some mechanical issues. The team disassembled and inspected the rear end on pit road since the race car wasn’t shifting or performing as expected. The team diagnosed the problem as a gear selection issue. The gearbox was replaced and Dalziel returned to the field on Lap 177, losing nearly 38 minutes during the repair.

Dalziel completed his stint and race in the 10th position.

Ed Brown, co-driver of the No. 2 Tequila Patrón Honda Performance Development ARX-03b (HPD) started from the seventh position and dropped to 13th in the opening race shuffle. He improved him position to 10th place by Lap 25.

Brown pitted on Lap 27 for the scheduled stop and driver change to Johannes van Overbeek. While entering the pit, Brown was charged with speeding and van Overbeek would serve the drive through penalty on Lap 30.

Van Overbeek began his charge to the front and reached eighth position by Lap 35, then sixth place by Lap 62. On Lap 67, the No. 2 machine stopped in Turn 9 with no power and Van Overbeek had to patiently wait for a tow back to pit lane.  While in the pit, the car was not reacting to any command as the team diagnosed the issue and the engine control unit (ECU) was replaced. IMSA officials sent the No. 2 car and crew back to the ESM paddock to complete the repair at Lap 76.

The No. 2 machine was repaired and van Overbeek drove it from the paddock to the pits at Lap 94, nearly 30 laps behind the leaders and 11th in class. Once back in the pits, the team called for a driver change to Anthony Lazzaro.

Lazzaro ran a clean stint from the 11th position until the driver change back to Brown on Lap 152. Brown completed the race for the No. 2 team for the last 40 laps. The No. 2 Tequila Patrón HPD team finished in 11th position.

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen was the third round of the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup. The Tequila Patrón-sponsored championship within a championship includes the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the season finale Petit Le Mans.  Watch as Ed Brown and Scott Sharp talk about the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance here.

Next up for Extreme Speed Motorsports is the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix Presented by Hawk Performance at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on July 11-13.

John Force Racing

John Force Racing–Route 66 Nationals Post Race

TEAM JFR RACE REPORT
12th of 24 races in the NHRA Mello Yello Series

17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals

Route 66 Raceway

Joliet, IL

June 29, 2014

Photos courtesy of Ron Lewis Photography for media use only

* * * *

Final round results from Sunday’s 17th annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway, twelfth race in the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL – Antron Brown, Brownsburg, Ind., Matco dragster, 3.814, 317.34 mph, def. Brittany Force, Yorba Linda, Calif., Castrol EDGE dragster, 3.850, 320.89 mph.

FUNNY CAR – Matt Hagan, Christiansburg, Va., Mopar Express Lane Dodge Charger R/T, 4.098, 310.48 mph def. Tommy Johnson Jr, Avon, Ind., Make-A-Wish Dodge Charger R/T, 4.147, 308.50 mph.

PRO STOCK – Vincent Nobile, Dix Hills, NY, Mountain View Tire Chevrolet Camaro, 6.655, 208.01 mph, def. Jason Line, Mooresville, N.C., Summit Racing Equipment Chevrolet Camaro, 6.637, 209.26 mph.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE – Hector Arana III, Milltown, Ind., Lucas Oil Buell, 6.925, 193.93 mph def. Hector Arana, Milltown, Ind., Lucas Oil Buell, 6.946, 192.82 mph

* * * *

BRITTANY FORCE RUNNER-UP IN CHICAGO

JOLIET, IL — Brittany Force drove her Castrol EDGE Dragster to its second final Top Fuel appearance of the season at the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. Even though this 27 year-old is in her sophomore year strapped in the seat of a 10,000 horsepower Top Fuel car, she drove like a champion today and almost scored her first Top Fuel win for Castrol EDGE and John Force Racing.

In the final round, Brittany went up against former NHRA Mello Yello World Champ Antron Brown. She had lane choice over Brown and she knew he would be tough competitor. Brittany stayed focused, went through her routine and did her job as a driver as she had a great reaction time. Unfortunately, so did Antron, as Brittany’s .063 light verses Antron’s .064 wasn’t enough to hold off his 3.814 second run to her 3.850.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what happened on that last run, everything went by so fast, we didn’t have time to warm up, I got ready in the pits, and we pulled up there and I thought; okay, I’ll have a moment to get in and take a deep breath, and there were funny cars going down the track, and we were the next pair, so I jumped in, suited up and didn¹t have time to think about anything, so before I knew it, the tree was coming down and we were heading down there. I knew I had to cut a good light, because Antron (Brown) always has good lights, so that was my number one thing I wanted to do ­ make sure the crew guys know that I’m working hard and working on my tree, and I left on him, by a little bit, and I’m happy about that. I’m proud of every single one of these guys, because they’ve worked so hard this weekend, and even though we went out in the final, it’s still a great weekend. We had a consistent car ­ it went down the track every single round and I’m so proud of these guys. I’m excited ­ I’m pumped now for Norwalk,” said Brittany Force.

Brittany’s Castrol EDGE team, under the guidance of crew chief Todd Smith has produced a consistent, fast race car that is now a major threat. Combine the car’s performance to Brittany’s awesome driving skills and the Castrol EDGE Dragster is now a force to be reckoned with among the other Top Fuel teams but it takes an overall team effort, especially when you’re going rounds on race day and you’re crunched for time.

“We couldn’t have made it to the finals without a great effort by John Force Racing, and every member of the other three teams here helping our guys out and contributing to this thing. The turnaround is very quick ­ and we’re not as quick as we need to be but we’re improving and getting better, and so the other teams helping us was monumental,” said Todd Smith. “There are some great teams out there. Both nitro classes are really tough.  On race day, you just can’t slip up at all. We had a great day today, and the car has been good.  We’ve needed an ounce of luck, and didn’t get it in the final, but the guys performed well today, and did good, and I couldn¹t be happier.”

Along the way to her second final round Top Fuel appearance, Brittany faced Terry McMillen in the opening round. At the first hint of green from the Christmas tree, Brittany and McMillen’s dragsters leapt off the starting simultaneously, as both drivers had nearly identical reaction times. The Castrol EDGE Dragster went right down the track and posted a winning 3.828 second pass to McMillen’s tire smoking 9.608 second time.

Going into the quarter-finals, Brittany Force ran reigning To Fuel champion Shawn Langdon. Brittany was 0-2 against Langdon in prior events. Once again, the reaction times between Brittany and her opponent were nearly identical, as Brittany had .074 to Langdon’s .075. Again, both dragsters left the starting together but then Langdon’s slicks went up in smoke. For Brittany, her Castrol EDGE Dragster went right down the groove and got the win with her 3.940 second run.

In the semi-finals, Brittany raced J.R. Todd. Brittany was 1 – 0 against Todd in prior events. Todd took a starting line advantage and led almost to the finish line, the Castrol EDGE Dragster drove around Todd at the finish line stripe and got the win by a mere 0.0018 seconds which is approximately 10 inches.

“Looking at the ladder and the guys I’m going to be going up against; Shawn Langdon, Antron Brown, (Terry) McMillen, these guys have been out here forever, and they know what they’re doing. I use that to make sure that I do my job in the car. I jumped on the tree and got the car down there. There wasn’t a single round that felt smooth to me. It felt all over the place and was crazy but I hung on to it and got it down there and I’m excited. We went rounds this weekend and I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Brittany Force.

The 2013 NHRA Rookie of the Year has moved up to the seventh place and has 638 points. With the Countdown to the Championship looming in the not so distant future, Brittany has some breathing room.

Traxxas, The Fastest Name in Radio Control, not only had a fast, but consistent race car to start and finish the weekend at Route 66 Raceway here in Chicago. Courtney Force was the only John Force Racing driver to make four consistent passes throughout qualifying. She qualified No. 5 overall with an average qualifying ET of 4.086 after four runs down the race track. She also posted top speed of the race weekend at 322.50 mph.

“We’re leaving Chicago on a positive note. Our Traxxas team did a great job. This car represents not only The Fastest Name in Radio Control, but it was the fastest out here this weekend. We had top speed of the meet at 322 mph so we’re looking forward to Norwalk,” said Force.

The 26-year-old driver went up against Bob Tasca II in round one on race day. She threw down a 4.138 ET at 312.93 to his 4.21 for the win, but gave up lane choice to the one and only 16-time NHRA World Champion and her father John Force in the second round.

“It was an interesting day all around, having to race Tasca in the first round. I think we both got screwed up on the lights. He put the top bulb out on me and messed with me a little bit and it happened to work. Luckily we were able to take the win even after the starting line mishap.

“We went on to the second round and had to face my dad, who has had a pretty good race car. We were able to take him down, only to be taken out by TJ in the semi-finals,” said Force.

Courtney had a small advantage off the line, but took the win when John Force’s Castrol GTX Ford lost traction. She posted a 4.151 to his 5.543 ET. She was interviewed at the top end about racing her dad and adding another round win to her name.

“You know what it feels great to have this Traxxas Ford Mustang team get down there. Traxxas is The Fastest Name in Radio Control and we were able to outrun the 16-time Champ. So it definitely feels good. They out- qualified us by one spot, but we got the car down there and got the win light. That’s’ all that matters,” said Force

In the semi-finals, Courtney faced Tommy Johnson Jr. She has only faced him once before, when she got the win over him at Topeka this year. This time was different story. Courtney’s Traxxas Ford Mustang hazed the tires and sent the team home.

“We had a consistent race car all weekend right up until the semi-final round. We smoked the tires, but obviously we were going after a good run and trying to get around Tommy Johnson Jr. It wasn’t enough. I pedaled it trying to get it down there, but he was already swinging through the finish line and had turned on the win light.

“Our day was cut short, but we kept our spot in the points. We didn’t slide back, which is always a positive thing when you’re leaving a race. We’re looking forward. No one went around us in points and we’re creating more of a gap between our team and the No. 11 spot in the points which is what we’re really focused on doing. Next weekend we’ll get back out there and hopefully have another consistent race car and I’ll try to do my job.

“I’m just very proud of this team. They worked hard. They did a great job all weekend and gave me a great race car. I really couldn’t ask for anything more as a driver so I can’t wait for next weekend at Norwalk,” said Force.

John Force broke a streak of defeats when he outran Alexis DeJoria in the opening round of this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals.  Ironically, his first round competitor today was the same opponent that put John on the trailer last week. These two fiercely competitive drivers have faced each other fourteen times in the past. This time, it was the reigning NHRA Funny Car world champion to exact a little revenge as both he and DeJoria were fighting for second place in the NHRA Mello Yello point’s chase at the time.

As the Christmas tree barely blinked green, both drivers left the starting line, with John Force getting a slight advantage with a better reaction time. Side-by-side, the two Funny Cars thundered down the track and at the top end, it was John Force getting the win light with a 4.079 second run to DeJoria’s 4.089. It was one of the closest races in round one and it moved John into the quarter-finals.

“Me and Alexis had a good old drag race. She’s a tough competitor and that kid gave me a run for the money. We’re finding consistency in our hot rod, so we just want to keep going rounds,” said John Force.

Heading into the second round, John would face his daughter and fellow teammate Courtney Force in her Traxxas Mustang. John wasn’t going to cut her any slack, as both these driver are in the hunt for points and to make the Countdown to the Championship.

Both cars left the starting line very close to one another, but soon things would go wrong for the reigning NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car Champion. At the sixty foot mark, both Mustangs were dead even and it could have been anyone’s race. Then, at 300 feet down the track, the Castrol GTX High Mileage Mustang started smoking its slicks and got out of shape. John did his best in trying to control his 8000 horsepower race car by pedaling it but it was to no good as Courtney sped away with a 4.151 second run to John’s losing 5.543 pass.

“The only thing Courtney and I talked about, instead of trying to go deep, and trying to kill her, was go shallow and go with lane choice. It makes her light terrible, but if you’re going to go deep, Courtney, just be honest, because I’ll go deep with you. But if we want to go with lane choice, and try to get the rounds, well, then let’s go shallow, and that way, it ain’t somebody, you know what I mean,” said John Force.

Even though John Force lost in the second round, he’s still optimistic and is already looking forward to getting strapped back in his Castrol GTX Mustang and doing battle again. He knows the starting line strategy is key in going rounds and winning races.

“I’m good and we’ve gone some rounds, you know, Robert, he always goes shallow. He don’t care. I always look good racing Robert, but it’s kind of bogus, it ain’t real. I gotta go deep, to even be in the game. Or I get laughed at, I even said to (Matt) Hagen: ‘You and (Jack) Beckman got after each other out there the last round, light goes, I said now you’re talking ­ you guys want to play that game, I’m ready’”, said John Force.

Mello Yello points leader Robert Hight started race day as the No. 3 qualifier and was facing Jeff Arend in the first round. When his Auto Club Funny Car left the starting line it was pulling hard and it pulled the tires loose on the veteran driver. Fortunately Hight expertly pedaled his Mustang Funny Car and was able to chase down Arend to get another first round win, 4.531 to 4.734 seconds.

“That first round was a handful. The hardest thing about pedaling one of these Funny Cars is being patient. You have to wait for the car to settle down and then ease back into it. I caught it pretty quick and then was able to get around Arend. It was so close at the finish line I wasn’t sure I got the win light,” said Hight a two time finalist at Route 66 Raceway.

In the second round Hight was giving up lane choice to veteran Ron Capps. Once again the Auto Club Ford Mustang was in the first pair of Funny Cars to take to the track. Running early is a strategic decision by crew chief Mike Neff who wants to give his crew the maximum amount of time between rounds and also not let too much heat get into the track. His confidence in his tune-up and his crew is evident in the team’s 27 round wins this season.

Unfortunately for Hight his Auto Club Mustang once again left strong but hazed the slicks just past half-track as Capps pulled away with a 4.179 second run.

“We have the points lead but we are not taking anyone lightly and losing in the second round hurts. We went to six finals in a row earlier this year and we want to get back to that kind of dominance. I am proud of my guys because we got some good info during the night sessions and we are figuring some things out for hot tracks. No one is hanging their heads around here,” said Hight.

Chevrolet Racing

Chevy Racing–IndyCar–Grand Prix of Houston Post Race

CHEVROLET RACING
VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
SHELL PENNZOIL GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON
MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER SPEEDWAY
TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST RACE TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 29, 2014

CHARLIE KIMBALL LEADS CHEVROLET INDYCAR V6 CONTINGENT IN RACE NO. 2 AT GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON

HOUSTON, Texas – June 29, 2014 – Under blistering hot conditions at the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston, Charlie Kimball carried the Chevrolet IndyCar V6 banner by fighting his way to his third top-five finish of the Verizon IndyCar season in his No. Levemir Flex Touch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

His fourth-place finish in enabled him to move up one position in the overall standings to 15th.

Sebastien Bourdais, No. 11 Team Mistic KVSH Racing Chevrolet, also notched his third 2014 top-five finish in Sunday’s race coming home fifth. His performance elevated Bourdais up two spots in the standings from 10th to eighth.

Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya was looking to put his No. 2 Verizon Chevrolet into victory lane after coming close in Saturday’s race #1.   Montoya battled from 14th to the top-five but was shuffled out in heavy traffic late in the race. He finished 7th in the event, and remains fifth in points.

His Team Penske teammate and series point leader Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, suffered a suspension failure with just a few laps remaining and came away with a disappointing 11th place finish after making a valiant run to third place.  Power still holds the overall point standings by 39 markers over Helio Castroneves.

Castroneves, who placed No. 3 Pennzoil Ultra Premium Team Penske Chevrolet on the pole, led twice for race-high 47 laps. His dominating run ended on lap 48 when on-track contract damaged his car beyond repair.

The next race on the Verizon IndyCar Series will be on Sunday, July 6th at Pocono Raceway.  Live television coverage will start at Noon on NBC Sports and can be heard live on IMS Radio Network XM 209/Sirius 213 as well as IndyCar.com

DRIVER QUOTES:

CHARLIE KIMBALL, NO. 83 LEVEMIR FLEX TOUCH CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 4TH: “The No. 83 Levemir® FlexTouch® Chevrolet was quick – I kind of like it in the Levemir® FlexTouch® green.  The Novo Nordisk guys did an awesome job in pit lane and the Chevy guys have been working really hard all weekend to give us an engine that’s drivable and gets good mileage.  Overall I’m really happy with a top-five finish and we just drove the wheels off of it when we could.”

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, NO. 11 TEAM MISTIC KVSH CHEVROLETE, FINISHED 5TH: HOW HOT WAS IT OUT THERE; YOU LOOK PRETTY SPENT? “That is the way I react to heat; I dehydrate pretty easily. I hung in there, but I just take my time on the way down.”

HOW WAS THE RACE CAR? “The car was pretty good. We had a different strategy. We started on primes (tires), and we lost a position or two but, at the end of the day, it was working out pretty nicely for us because we went all the way to the end of the window, and we ended up P4, so I was very happy. Then on reds (tires) we were slowly catching the leaders a little bit, and there was that first safety car that bunched everybody up, and I knew the first lap on the restart I was going to have an advantage on options. And I did, and I passed a couple of cars. Then when I got to Helio (Castroneves) Simon (Pagenaud) both went to the inside, I got to them, I moved to the right, and when I got a wheel a little bit over, then he decided to take that line as well. That is a real shame because that destroyed a chance for us to win, and destroyed a chance for him to put up strong points. It is what it is, but we’ll keep at it, and see when we can score a win with that Mistic machine.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 2 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 7TH: “That was a fun day. The No. 2 Verizon Chevy was really good. It was good on both the ‘red’ tires and ‘black’ tires. We were in position there at the end. The racing was really hard right there. That was a good learning experience for me and I’ll know how hard I can race the next time I’m in that situation. Very good points day for us. Now we go to Pocono where I have a lot of experience.”

RYAN BRISCOE, NO. 8 NTT DATA CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 8TH: “It feels good to come out of this doubleheader in Houston with a top 10 finish.  This series is just so competitive and it’s a fight to the finish at every race.  This one wasn’t any different and we were able to come from 15th and get an eighth-place finish.  It’s still not exactly where NTT DATA Racing wants to be but we’re getting closer.”

TONY KANAAN, NO. 10 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 10TH: “Not a bad day I guess, but we need to be more competitive and run toward the front with the Target cars. It was hot again today and you really had to be in shape for two straight days of racing in these conditions. There was some really exciting racing out there and hope the fans here in Houston enjoyed it today.”

WILL POWER, NO. 12 VERIZON TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET, FINISHED 11TH: “I had a great car today; passed a lot of cars. We had a great first pit sequence with the Verizon Chevy. We were in position for a good day, considering where we qualified. We were going to maximize our points and we had a parts malfunction with two laps to go. It’s the same part that malfunctioned on two other cars at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. I feel bad for all the sponsors. We fought really hard all day with nothing to show for it. We have a nice lead in the points but we need to get back on track a little bit at Pocono.”

MIKE CONWAY, NO. 20 FUZZY’S ULTRA PREMIUM VODKA CHEVROLET, FINISHED 13TH:
“Going into the chicane on the first lap, Marco (Andretti) made a move in front of me and I couldn’t stop quick enough.  It clipped the front wing and I think it cut the tire too. So I had to pit immediately and that really killed the race for us.  I thought I could get away with it but it cut the tire.  My (left) thumb was okay during the race after spraining it Saturday.  It felt a little numb at times because I think the tape might have be a little too tight.  But it was okay.  I just tried to fight back and stay on the lead lap as long as I could.  It was hot in the car but I felt pretty good.  I was able to get some air coming into my visor during the yellows.  I had a close call with a piece of carbon that flew up from (Luca) Filippi’s car.  It hit the right mirror and almost me.  It was close to hitting me in the head.  That would have hurt.”

SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA, NO. 17 KV AFS RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 17TH: “To be honest it’s been a pretty rough weekend. It hurts more when you have an amazing car and just not able to use it. Yesterday was Ryan Briscoe and today was a mechanical issue on my out lap. We had to pit a few times to try and fix it and once we were back out there the Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. – KV AFS Racing car was one of the quickest. Unfortunately we were six laps down and could only advance through the field by other driver’s mistakes, which is not where you want to be. I’m very proud of all my boys, they keep doing an awesome job. Days like this happen and we just have to regroup and look forward to Pocono next week.”

SCOTT DIXON, NO. 9 TARGET CHIP GANASSI RACING CHEVROLET, FINISHED 18TH:  “Well that was obviously not the day we wanted to have with the Target car. Race 1 in Houston for us was unkind and today Race 2 was the same way with spec master cylinder issues. It just wasn’t our weekend and we hope we’ll have the same turn around to our season in Pocono next weekend like we did last season.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES, NO. 3 PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM INSURANCE TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET – SIDELINED IN ACCIDENT ON LAP 49 – FINISHED 21ST:
YOU HAD JUST LOST THE LEAD TO SIMON PAGENAUD ON LAP 49. YOU HAD CONTACT WITH SEBASTIAN BOURDAIS. WHAT HAPPENED?
“I don’t know. When I lost the lead with Pagenaud, I was actually trying to attack him. And actually, I was attacking him and trying to pass him. So, right now I’m just trying to pass and see if I’m going to run out of room so I come back to try to do the apex and I had no idea he was there. Obviously when I’m attacking, I can’t have my eyes in the back. So, it’s absolutely ridiculous when the guy has to put the car over there. But anyway; it’s the rules of traffic. The guy that hits the guy in the back it’s always wrong. You’ve got to take care of it.

“Anyway, the car was awesome. Sorry but I’m frustrated a little bit. I am upset, yes, because we had a great car. It’s still like 30 laps to go. I wasn’t even panicking or anything like that. But it is what it is and I’ll move on and see what happens. But the Shell Pennzoil car was awesome. Chevy has great power and it’s just a shame that unfortunately we have drivers like that that does not use common sense. And that’s what we need to have. It is what it is. It’s always going to have ups and downs.”

YOU HAVE HAD A SORE FINGER SINCE LONG BEACH. IS IT BOTHERING YOU? HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THAT?
“Well, it is. I can see that it’s going to be swollen tomorrow; it’s going to be swollen in the next week, but there is nothing we can do in terms of that because it was so sudden what happened. I don’t even have enough time to take my hand off the steering wheel. But anyway, he finished my race and look what happened.”

Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing–Quaker State 400

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Quaker State 400 Post Race Report
Kentucky Speedway
June 28, 2014

Race Highlights:
Richard Childress Racing teammates Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Austin Dillon finished third, 15th and 16th, respectively.
Newman ranks eighth in the Sprint Cup Series championship point standings, trailing current leader Jeff Gordon by 104 points, while Menard ranks 11th and Dillon is 18th.
Brad Keselowski earned his second victory of the 2014 season and was followed to the finish line by Kyle Busch, Newman, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 5, which is scheduled to be televised live on TNT beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and is scheduled to be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Satellite Radio, channel 90.

Austin Dillon Finishes 16th in Cheerios Protein Chevrolet at Kentucky Speedway

Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Cheerios Protein Chevrolet to a 16th-place finish in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday evening after starting from the 16th spot. Dillon noted a loose-handling condition from the start of the 267-lap event. The RCR team pitted for the first time when the caution flag was displayed on lap 28. Crew chief Gil Martin directed the team to service the yellow and white Chevrolet with four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment designed to help alleviate the handling conditions Dillon was facing. When green-flag racing resumed on lap 34, Dillon was scored in the 14th spot. During the ensuing run, he worked his way into the top-10 and eventually raced his way as high as seventh in the running order. He pitted for the final time on lap 216, taking four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment; placing him 14th for the lap-219 restart. The handling on Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet was extremely loose during the closing laps of the event, relegating him to a 16th-place finish in the Cheerios Protein Chevrolet.

Start – 16th       Finish – 16th    Laps Led – 0    Points – 18th

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
“We were just too loose during the last run, which caused us to lose too much track position at the end. We were a solid top-10 car all day and I’m proud of our team’s efforts. The pit crew was solid all day.”

2011 CC Team Icon 27 NSCS Menards

Paul Menard Finishes 15th at Kentucky Speedway in No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet

Paul Menard drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet SS to a 15-place finish in Saturday’s 400-mile event at Kentucky Speedway. The Eau Claire, Wis., driver started 12th and raced in the top 10 for 89 laps of competition. Menard radioed that the car was quite a bit looser and needed more grip on the restarts. After a stop for four tires, fuel, track bar and air pressure adjustments, Menard felt more comfortable in the Chevrolet. From there, he raced inside the top 20 for the remainder of the 267-lap event with only three additional pit stops. The Slugger Labbe-led team made a split-second decision to come down pit road for two tires and fuel during the lap 216 caution. This pit stop put Menard in a position to race inside the top 15 with 47 laps remaining, and Menard was able to race his way to a 15th-place finish. Up next for the No. 27 team is Saturday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

Start – 12th             Finish – 15th             Laps Led – 0                Points – 11th

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:
“Today was tough. We just couldn’t get the front end to turn all weekend like we needed. The Quaker State/Menards Chevy started out loose and was tight on the restarts. By the end of the race we were just way too tight. Slugger had a great call there at the end to come in for two tires and my pit crew had great stops for me all day. I’m looking forward to Daytona next week.”

2011 CC Team Logo NSCS 31 CAT

Ryan Newman Earns Best Finish of Season with Third Place at Kentucky Speedway

Ryan Newman and Richard Childress Racing’s No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS team had a stellar night in the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on Saturday. After starting seventh, Newman and the Luke Lambert-led team raced in the top-10 for the entire 267-lap event. Utilizing several two-tire and four-tire pit stops to gain track position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the pit crew earned a total of five positions during stops. Such was the case on lap 78 when Newman was running sixth and pitted under caution taking fuel and four tires. He returned to action in fourth place, earning two spots on the stop. From that point on, he remained in the top-five pitting for the last time on lap 213. From there, Newman stayed in the top-three and crossed the start/finish line in third place at the 1.5-mile oval. This was his best-career finish at the track, and the best of the 2014 season. He remains eighth in the driver’s point standings as the series heads to Daytona International Speedway for another Saturday night race.

Start – 7th                   Finish – 3rd           Laps Led – 0              Points Position – 8th

RYAN NEWMAN QUOTE:
“We had a great weekend and race here at Kentucky Speedway. We qualified seventh and the car was good all night. Everyone wants to talk about the bumps when we race here, I like to talk about how to race over and through the bumps. We had great pit stops tonight, the crew was awesome and I am happy we finally got the top-five finish we’ve been chasing this year. It was great to have this happen after announcing the Caterpillar extension with RCR earlier this week, too. Let’s see if we can keep it going as we head to Daytona International Speedway this weekend.”

World of Outlaws

World of Outlaws–Brad Sweet Rebounds from Scary Wreck to Win at Beaver Dam Raceway

Brad Sweet Rebounds from Scary Wreck to Win at Beaver Dam Raceway
Sweet notches his fifth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win of the year as Kasey Kahne Racing cars finish one-two

BEAVER DAM, Wis. — June 28, 2014 — One night after a bad wreck that left his car in two pieces, Brad Sweet scored his fifth World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win of the season at Beaver Dam Raceway.

“It feels pretty unbelievable,” Sweet said. “These guys never give up. They worked all night long – they still haven’t slept from last night. I was in the hospital at 6 a.m. getting X-rays and I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to race tonight. So to come out here and get the win is just unbelievable.”

Just 24 hours earlier at Burlington, Iowa’s 34 Raceway, Sweet was racing alongside Terry McCarl, when contact between the two sent Sweet into and then on top of the turn three wall. After hitting an object, the car sheared in two.

“We got a run on the outside and I think [McCarl] just decided, he had been running the bottom, that he was moving to the top and it’s just one of those racing deals,” Sweet said in an interview Saturday afternoon. “Normally, it probably wouldn’t have been too bad of a crash – it would have knocked the front end out or whatever, but just kind of a freak accident. Just lucky everything held up and we are able to race again tonight.”

With the exception of an injured ankle, Sweet was able to walk away from the accident. He said he was unsure how that ankle would affect him in the race car.

“I kind of thought we would come here and just coast around and try to collect some points and try to heal,” Sweet said later in victory lane. “But [my team] gave me such a good car, I got battling for the lead – I think adrenaline took over. My ankle is pretty sore but this is always good medicine, winning.”

After starting in the third position on Saturday night, Sweet, in his SurePoint Medical/SureTest Supplies car, battled polesitter Bill Balog, his Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Cody Darrah and Joey Saldana. Sweet fell back to fourth when the green flag flew. After getting around Saldana for third, Sweet took the second place position on lap 20. On lap 24 he got his opportunity to get around the leader, Balog, on the backstretch heading into turn three. After taking over the top spot, Sweet held on to it through cautions and lapped traffic. He ultimately led 17 of 40 laps.

“We can tear up a race car and come back the next night with a car that’s even better – that says a lot about our team,” Sweet said.

This was Sweet’s fifth win of the season and the seventh of his World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series career. He is currently sixth in the championship standings, 300 points out of the lead.

In front of a packed Beaver Dam Raceway, Balog and Darrah led the field to the green flag. Balog jumped out to an early lead with Darrah in second and Joey Saldana in third. As Saldana and Sweet battled for the third position, Darrah set his sights on Balog. On lap 14, Darrah made a pass in turn two and took over the lead as the cars hit the backstretch.

Saldana brought out a caution on lap 15 after spinning in between turns three and four. This moved Sweet into the third position as Donny Schatz closed in.

Balog found his way back around Darrah on lap 18 – a position he would keep until Sweet caught him on lap 24. After a bad restart on lap 28, Balog fell back, giving way to Schatz and Daryn Pittman who looked to reel in Darrah and Sweet. Darrah had one last chance to get around Sweet as the two encountered lapped traffic with four to go. Sweet however was able to successfully maneuver through the traffic and ultimately take the win. Darrah finished in second, Schatz in third and Pittman in fourth.

“I felt confident that we had a car that was good enough to win here tonight,” said Darrah, who led four laps in his Ollie’s Bargain Outlet car. “And then the restarts, I kept getting a stumble off of four and the first time I got enough position on the 17 to get by him. The second time I knew I was slow I cheated the corner figuring he was to the top but he was lower than I was and he got back in front of us. I jumped the curb and let Brad by us. Awesome job for Brad Sweet to come back from a night like last night.”

Darrah said second place was not the finish he wanted for his team, but that they would take it.

Schatz, who started in the fifth position in his STP/Armor All car, said the racetrack provided a challenge as the lines changed throughout the night.

“We had a good balanced car throughout the whole race,” Schatz said. “We probably needed a bit more lapped traffic but we just didn’t quite get it there. Brad got through there really good, Cody did. We did the best we could, third was it tonight.”

Schatz maintains a 64 point lead over Pittman in the race for the championship. Paul McMahan remains in third, 78 points out of the lead, while fourth place Joey Saldana is 102 points out of the lead.

Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis. hosts the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series on Sunday evening. After a stop at Huset’s Speedway on Wednesday, July 2, the Outlaws travel south to Dodge City Raceway Park for the Boothill Showdown presented by Roto-Mix on July 4 and 5.

Racer News and Results