PHOENIX, AZ (April 7, 2024) — After three NHRA national events in 2024 Josh Hart and the R+L Carriers Top Fuel team are moving in the right direction. When you drive 12,000 horse-powered land rocket progress is never fast enough for the Ocala, Florida, entrepreneur. This weekend at the NHRA Arizona Nationals Hart and his Ron Douglas tuned R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster made steady improvement over three qualifying runs entering race day as the No. 11 Top Fuel dragster with a two day best run of 3.820 seconds at 320.81 mph.  Josh Hart and R+L Carriers Top Fuel dragster at NHRA Arizona Nationals, photo courtesy of Auto Imagery/Gary Nastase“We moved in the right direction Friday and Saturday even with some unseasonably cold weather,” said Hart, a two-time Top Fuel national event winner. “There were a lot of race cars struggling, but we made progress every time down the track and I felt good about our chances today.”   Hart drew Shawn Langdon, the Gatornationals winner and Arizona Nationals winner today. Langdon and Hart had to wait for seven pairs of Top Fuel dragsters to run before they got their shot at the track. Hart was eager to show off what he felt was an improved R+L Carriers and Burnyzz Speed Shop Top Fuel dragster and as both drivers pre-staged and staged they waited for the amber lights to flash. Unfortunately, Hart hit the throttle too early recording an immediate disqualification.   “That one hurt because that run was smooth as silk and I just missed it,” said Hart. “I think this was maybe my fourth red-light in my entire career over hundreds of runs. I am going to take the positive that the race car is coming around and we are going to test tomorrow at Firebird Motorsports Park tomorrow. I think that will give us a leg up on the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals.”   Hart will leave the NHRA Arizona Nationals sitting tenth in the points tied with Shawn Reed. Considering the series is early in the season the Hart is only two or three rounds out of the top five. The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will be in action April 12-14, at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the first of two four-wide national events. At the end of the month Hart will get another shot at four-wide racing from zMAX Dragway, outside of Charlotte, April 26-28.   “The fans loved the four-wide races and there is a lot going on at the starting line,” said Hart. “You just need to focus on your lane and your light. It is a fun weekend and I am looking forward to getting back on track as soon as possible.”     Qualifying Results Q1: 8.167 sec, 77.54 mph; Qual. 15 Q2: 3.825 sec, 323.66 mph; Qual. 9 Q3: 3.820 sec, 320.81; Qual. 11 Bonus Points: +1 (3rd quickest of Q2)   Race Results First RoundShawn Langdon, Avon, Ind., KalittaCareers.com, (.046) 18.548, 53.50 mph def.  Josh Hart, Ocala, Fla., R+L Carriers dragster, (-.285), 4.182, 217.21 mph  Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Ten – Top Fuel 1. Shawn Langdon                     295 2. Justin Ashley                           259 3. Steve Torrence                       225 4. Billy Torrence                         212 5. Antron Brown                        167 6. Doug Kalitta                            166 7. Tony Schumacher                  165 8. Brittany Force                        146 9. Tony Stewart                          134 10. Josh Hart                               116 10. Shawn Reed                          116

CHEVROLET IN NHRA2024 NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS FIREBIRD MOTORSPORTS PARK CHANDLER, ARIZONA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE | NOTES & QUOTES APRIL 7, 2024 CHEVROLET CAPTURES THREE NHRA WALLY TROPHIES IN PHOENIX, WITH AUSTIN PROCK AND JOHN FORCE IN FUNNY CAR, AND GREG ANDERSON IN PRO STOCK

Notes:Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, raced to his first NHRA Funny Car victory, capturing the Arizona Nationals Wally trophy over Alexis DeJoria to give John Force Racing their second event win of the weekend after John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, won over Matt Hagan in the weather delayed NHRA Winternationals Finals from Pomona.Prock’s win in Phoenix Sunday earned Chevrolet their 161st NHRA Funny Car victory since 1967, the 81st for Team Chevy in a Camaro-bodied Funny Car.Prock kicked off the Arizona Nationals race day from the No. 1 position, qualifying at the top of the leaderboard, with his run of 3.840 seconds E.T. at 334.40 mph earning his second Funny Car No. 1 qualifier and of the 2024 season, and fifth career in NHRA (four in Top Fuel).In Saturday’s Q3, the completion of Pomona’s final round resulted in J. Force, racing to victory over Matt Hagan to capture his 156th-career victory, as well as Chevrolet’s 160th Funny Car victory since 1967, Team Chevy’s 80th in a Camaro-bodied car, and Force’s 20th for Chevrolet.Force Sunday later drove to a Round 2 appearance in the Arizona Nationals, defeated in a close race by J.R. Todd with Force’s run of 4.036 seconds E.T. at 317.64 mph not enough for Todd’s 4.003 seconds E.T. at 319.90 mph.Brittany Force, driver of the Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel dragster, led the John Force Racing team for Chevrolet in qualifying for Sunday’s Arizona Nationals with her pass of 3.689-seconds E.T. at 334.90 mph to put her on the race day ladders at No. 2. Despite strong qualifying, B. Force fell to Tony Stewart in Round 1.Greg Anderson, capturing his 104th national event win in his HendrickCars.comChevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car, raced to the Arizona Nationals Wally trophy over Dallas Glenn with his run of 6.582 seconds E.T. at 208.97 mph to Glenn’s 6.618 seconds E.T. at 208.91 mph. Anderson’s win on Sunday gives Chevrolet their 385th Pro Stock victory since 1970 and the 266th in the Camaro.Dallas Glenn, driver of the RAD Torque Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock, defeated Erica Enders in the Pomona finals conclusion during Arizona Nationals’ qualifying to earn his ninth career NHRA victory in Pro Stock, as well as Chevrolet’s 384th Pro Stock victory since 1970 and the 265th in the Camaro.

Quotes:BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:“Starting off strong in Phoenix, we secured a second-place qualification and consistently made good runs. Unfortunately, our fortune shifted on race day when we were eliminated in the first round due to driving into smoke. However, we’re looking forward to testing tomorrow, planning to complete four laps in the heat, which should be beneficial before heading to Las Vegas. Speaking of Vegas, it’s a place we’ve had success in the past and we’re eager to return. The four-wide format there will definitely mix things up, but I believe the testing in Phoenix will have us well-prepared.” AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“This is huge. All you want to do is make your parents proud, and I sure hope they’re proud because I definitely am. My dad (crew chief Jimmy Prock) and Thomas (Prock) are doing a great along with Nate Hildahl, this whole Cornwell team, and a big win for Chevrolet. A double-up for John Force Racing this weekend, and man, the days don’t get much better than this. What more could you ask for? We’re rolling out of here with some gold, baby.” THOMAS PROCK, CREW CHIEF AND BROTHER OF AUSTIN PROCK:“This is amazing. This has been a tough day. Anybody who’s gone down this track with four runs in a row, they deserve an award. This is great for Cornwell Tools, for our company. We’ve had a great start to this year. I’m so proud of this team. My brother has just done a phenomenal job driving this thing. He deserves a lot of credit. He saved our butts first round, and I’m just excited to celebrate. We’re testing tomorrow, and we’re going to try and a little better.” JIMMY PROCK, CREW CHIEF AND FATHER OF AUSTIN PROCK, on Prock’s driving so far in Funny Car: “He’s still learning, but he’s adapting and he’s changing. He’s doing a really good job.” JOHN FORCE, DRIVER OF THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“It was a fantastic weekend for Cornwell Tools and Chevrolet, clinching a victory like that, especially with Prock landing his first NHRA Funny Car win. It’s a big deal.We had to navigate through some changes, with Robert Hight, a three-time champion, stepping back for a bit. But everything’s aligning well for John Force Racing. Our top priority has always been looking after our sponsors, and this win certainly does that. Clinching the victory in Pomona yesterday was thrilling. It’s still early in the season, but this win sets a positive tone we’re all proud of. Yet, we’re mindful of the fierce competition out there; we’ve got our work cut out for us.Prock’s got a solid team behind him, with his dad and brother in the mix. Robert’s been sharing his wisdom about the car, much like he does with me, and it’s paying off. The kid’s got a background in dirt racing before moving to Top Fuel with us, and he’s had stints in our Funny Car too. Transitioning to a new team in Top Fuel was a challenge, but now he’s backed by a seasoned team, and they’re really complementing each other well. I’m incredibly proud of him for securing these victories for Chevrolet and all our sponsors. It’s all part of the job, but it sure was a great weekend for John Force Racing.” GREG ANDERSON, DRIVER OF THE HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO SS PRO STOCK:“It’s special. It’s been a while. It’s been a tough race track all weekend. My crew did a fantastic job. We managed the race track. We just flat out raced (Glenn). I just can’t thank them enough. I got a little extra pump today. I was watching the NASCAR race at Martinsville, and my teammates at Hendrick were 1-2-3. So, I felt like, you know what, if I don’t win, I’m the weak link in the chain. A lot of pressure there, but I love that. I love the extra pressure. Thank you, Mr. (Hendrick). A great day for you, and a great day for me too. Team Hendrick, baby. Thank you so much. Thank you, Hendrick Cars, Chevrolet, everybody that helps us. Thank you so much. Mac Tools. I love this stuff.”

AUSTIN PROCK, CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR – NHRA Arizona Nationals Funny Car Winner Press Conference:“This is a huge win. This car has been running great, and we started the year out strong. We struggled a little bit last weekend and had to get some revenge this weekend. We definitely did that. That was a great run in the final round there. We were trying to do that all weekend long. Just couldn’t piece it together but it finally all came together. To get my first Funny Car win and enter a league of its own with the Don Prudhommes, the Shawn Langdons, the J.R. Todds, the Kenny Bernsteins, all these people that are legends and future hall of famers, it’s pretty cool to be a part of that small group. To do it with my family makes it even more special. There hadn’t been a bad day at the race track, even last weekend when we struggled. You never want to struggle, but when you get to race with your family, there’s never a bad day out here. Everyone’s just doing an outstanding job. We earned this one today. Had to pedal it first round, dropped holes, legged it as long as I could, almost took the fence out. Then we go up there and I was dead late against JR (Todd) and the Prock Rocket bailed me out. We put it all together there in the final. I chopped the tree down and the thing hauled the mail. We definitely earned it. These Funny Cars are no joke. I said at the top end this is by far the hardest car I’ve ever driven and most competitive class I’ve ever driven in. I’ve been racing since I was 10 years old. There’s nothing funny about a Funny Car.” You say this is the most challenging car you’ve driven yet you win your first in just your third race. It took you 16 races to win in Top Fuel. What’s the difference?“In my Top Fuel career, I worked with some wonderful people. Very brilliant, smart people, but we never really had a fair shot at running back-to-back seasons with the same group of people and that really crippled our performance, I feel. If you name any one of the crew chiefs I worked with, if we had back-to-back years, I think we could’ve really done some damage. When you fall into a golden pot like I did this year into a championship-contending car every year it goes out there, the thing is just bad fast and I’m hanging on and trying to learn as fast as I can. It’s definitely been a crash course, but I’m doing the best I can. That’s all you can ask.” Did you have a mental idea of how long it would take for you to win?“I knew the car was capable of it. I was sure I wasn’t going to be the weak link. I’m just hanging on for dear life, and like I said, do the best I can. Today was the W.” With a tough class and tough field, did you think it would take this short to get your first Funny Car win?“If you don’t believe in yourself, you shouldn’t be here. This is a very competitive class, and if you don’t believe in yourself, you’re not going to be competitive. You’ve got to walk around here believing you can do it, walk with your chin up, take your punches, and try and swing some back. That’s all I’ve been doing. I’ve just been trying to be a sponge. The tough thing about drag racing is you don’t get another lap to fix it. You go up there, and you’ve got to be perfect. If you make a mistake, you’ve got to sit around for three hours or more, and then go up there and make sure you don’t make it again. That’s what makes drag racing so tough. I’ve just been focused. I’ve got the best people in my corner. We’ve got the best sponsors, and the best parts and pieces. I’m just trying not to mess it up essentially. It’s working. I’ve been able to showcase my talent in a really tough field in a tough car.” Talk about, while it being a short time from January to April, about your comfort level in the car…“I’m getting more comfortable every lap, but the thing is every time you get comfortable, this thing tries to do something crazy on you. It’s like in first round, I pedaled the thing, it was beautiful. Couldn’t have done much better. Straight down there, had holes out, got the round win and then I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve got to hang on.’ Next round, it goes out there, drops holes and I about knocked the fence down. I get the finish line board. Almost crashed the car but got the win. Every time you think you’ve got a handle on it, but you don’t, and that’s what makes this category so tough.”

JOHN FORCE, PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR – NHRA Winternationals Funny Car Winner Press Conference:Longtime coming to get back in the winner’s circle. You had to wait a couple of weeks from the weather delay, but how exciting is it to get the Winternationals win?“The best was the sold-out crowd. I love that. Of course, who doesn’t love racing The Hulk (Matt Hagan)? He’s an animal out there. I’ve been struggling. I mean, (J.R.) Todd got me. I think my car ran quick as quick, probably ran quicker. But I got my mind right. I said, ‘how bad do you want to win?’ The only thing that was changing is you could make up a story in your head, but what was really happening was I was mad. I was mad at myself saying ‘you just need to get out of the seat, you’re too old for this stuff, or get out there and fight the fight.’ I did, and things went right, and I got the win. So I’m excited. It’s Pomona, that’s always… where my family and all of us grew up on that race track. It was really exciting, but I just… I’m excited.” You’ve raced, obviously, at Pomona for a very long time, and you raced here at Phoenix (where the final was concluded) since the first race. Is there any level of extra comfort you have here?“You know, it’s funny. Trying to keep my mind right, and I’m sick to my stomach every morning, and just ask ‘why am I stressed?’ Because I dream. Once you get to the race track, I’m well, but I still want that carrot. I still want to win. All of a sudden, something goes right and you don’t know why. Once I get in the race car, I’m home, it’s where I feel right. That’s when the stomach aches go away. Just getting in yesterday was a big deal knowing you could make the show and you could go race. You try to run three races in one and all of a sudden you don’t qualify because you smoked the tires. That’s painful. We got away with it. I’ve got a great team with Daniel Hood and Cunningham has joined us. We’ve got a bunch of young kids who really still believe in me, and do care about me. My wife Laurie and my grandsons, Jacob and Noah, are here. We go the win.” How excited are you, today, versus the first time you’ve ran?“The hard part is thinking I have to give it up. You have to sooner or later. You just can’t go until you fall in the dirt. To have a day like this… First of all, I can’t remember the first day I had my first win. I think it was in Montreal. But the point is, you get this, and all of a sudden, your life is back. I could see my wife (in the Top End) with the two boys after we won with a gleam in her eyes. She was happy for me, because she knows what I go through in the middle of the night sitting up in bed. It gets old. This, this fixes you.” Your last win came just before your 73rd birthday. This one is shortly before your 75th. How do you feel?“I better take it now (laughs). I just realized I’m going to be 75 in another month, and I’m doing some serious thinking where I’m going. But moods change you, and my mood has changed right now. It’s a win, and I’ve had lots of wins. But I’ve watched these young kids, and I’ve got some drivers I’m talking to. There’s something coming; I’ll let you all know.”

Up Next:The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 12-14, 2024. Friday qualifying airs April 12 at 11 p.m. ET, with Saturday’s qualifying airing Sunday at 11 a.m. ET. Sunday’s eliminations wrap up the weekend, with finals broadcasting at 7 p.m. ET. All sessions from Firebird Motorsports Park air with NHRA on FOX on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Claim Memorable Victory at Martinsville Speedway

·       Enduring a green-white-checkered finish, it was William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 team that claimed the checkered-flag in the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.  ·       The victory marked Byron’s series-leading third win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the Team Chevy driver’s 13th career victory in 224 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.  ·       Already the winningest manufacturer and organization in NASCAR Cup Series’ history at Martinsville Speedway, Byron’s victory extended each series-leading win record at the track – recording Chevrolet’s 61st NCS victory and Hendrick Motorsports’ 29th NCS victory at the .526-mile Virginia short-track.  ·       Byron delivered Chevrolet its fifth victory in eight points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races this season; and the manufacturer’s 856th all-time victory in NASCAR’s premier series. ·       All four Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1’s placed in the top-10 of the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, with Byron leading the organization to a sweep of the top-three finishing positions. The feat marks the first time in series’ history that an organization has swept the podium at Martinsville Speedway.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:  POS.   DRIVER1st      William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Ruby Camaro ZL12nd     Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Ruby Camaro ZL13rd      Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Ruby Camaro ZL18th      Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Ruby Camaro ZL1

RIDGEWAY, Va. (April 7, 2024) – William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 team delivered Hendrick Motorsports yet another monumental victory in the organization’s 40th anniversary season – enduring a green-white-checkered finish to claim the victory in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.  Martinsville Speedway holds a special place in Hendrick Motorsports’ NASCAR history as the site of the organization’s first victory. Now, 40 years later, the winningest organization in NASCAR Cup Series’ history only solidified its lasting legacy with Byron taking Hendrick Motorsports back to victory lane at the .526-mile Virginia venue – delivering the organization its series-leading 29th NASCAR Cup Series victory at the track.   Byron’s monumental victory brought Hendrick Motorsports to its 305th all-time victory and Chevrolet’s 856th all-time victory in NASCAR’s premier series – extending their record as the winningest manufacturer and team partnership in series’ history. “On behalf of everyone at Chevrolet, congratulations to Rick and the entire Hendrick Motorsports organization on such a special win at Martinsville Speedway,” said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports. “40 years ago, Geoff Bodine’s victory at Martinsville started a legacy that’s led Hendrick Motorsports to the title as the winningest organization in NASCAR Cup Series history with 305 victories and 14 championships – all in partnership with Chevrolet.” Byron also led the organization to a series-first record at Martinsville Speedway, with a one-two-three finish by Bryon and his teammates Kyle Larson (second) and Chase Elliott (third) marking the first time that an organization swept the top-three finishing positions in a NASCAR Cup Series race at the .526-mile Virginia venue.  “Today’s win by William Byron and the No. 24 Axalta Camaro ZL1 is extremely special for everyone at Chevrolet,” added Campbell. “We congratulate Rick and Hendrick Motorsports on 40 years of success.” The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season will continue at Texas Motor Speedway with the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on Sunday, April 14, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the 267-lap event can be found on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES: William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Ruby Camaro ZL1Finished: 1stHOW SPECIAL IS THIS TO YOU TO DELIVER THIS WIN TO EVERYONE AT HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS?“Yeah, it’s awesome and it’s way bigger than me. There are so many men and women that this is a tribute to with all the hard work in the shop. It’s just a really good environment to work in. They have built something so special over the years, and I am thankful to be a part of it and drive the No. 24. It’s pretty special.” HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE PATIENCE YOU HAD TO COME FROM 18TH TO CONTEND FOR THE LEAD?“It wasn’t pretty. The first stage, we were pretty good – coming from the back and getting up to eighth or ninth. And then we stalled out. We had a couple of pit stops not go our way and then we got too tight. We just had to keep working on that and we eventually got this No. 24 Axalta Chevy where it needed to be; get it turning and doing what it needed to do. Just really proud of the team.” WHAT DID YOU TELL YOURSELF AND WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THAT GREEN – WHITE – CHECKERED?“I knew the shot was going to come from behind and that is just the way it is here. I used a little bit more of the racetrack in (turns) one and two to make sure I could get clear off of two and he gave me a shot over there. We raced pretty clean. He gave me a chance to make the corner and that is all you can ask for.” Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Ruby Camaro ZL1 Finished: 2ndSUMMARIZE YOUR RACE DAY HERE THIS AFTERNOON. “Yeah, it pretty alright I guess. We had great track position from qualifying, so I was able to maintain that all race and get that Stage One win, which was great. We kind of just lost a few spots there in Stage Two and was never really able to overcome that small track position loss. But William (Byron), he did a really good job. He was able to pass cars and they pitted a lap before we did during the green-flag cycle. I really thought that helped him carve his way to the lead because his tires were just ready before ours were. He did a good job; kind of schooled us all and deserved to win. So that was really cool to see him win.  Really awesome to have an HMS top-three on a day like today, with what it means to the company and celebrating 40 years; having all the Hendrick Motorsports’ employees here with their families to celebrate with. It will be a long night of celebrating and taking pictures and all that, but we are excited for Hendrick Motorsports and I am happy to contribute to a good day.” Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Ruby Camaro ZL1Finished: 3rdDESCRIBE THAT OVERTIME RESTART AND WHAT DID YOU NEEDED TO GET BY YOUR TEAMMATE?“I just burnt the rear tires off of it a little bit too much. I had an opportunity. I kind of got William (Byron) up off the bottom and I had a shot at him off of (turn) four, but I just couldn’t get the power down to get underneath him. Really cool for HMS to get a win on the 40th (anniversary) weekend. Wish it could have been us, but I am proud of a couple top fives these last couple weeks. We’ll try to keep it rolling.” IT LOOKED LIKE YOU GAVE IT EVERYTHING YOU HAD ON THAT LAST RESTART AND JUST COULDN’T QUITE GET THERE AND UNFORTUNATELY LOST A SPOT WHEN IT WAS ALL SAID AND DONE.“Obviously number one, congrats to William (Byron) and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Rick and Linda (Hendrick), Jeff (Gordon), Jeff (Andrews), Chad (Knaus) and all the people that put this together for us. They have an unbelievable program and I think we are all proud to call home. It was awesome hosting over 1,000 people from Hendrick today; employees and their families. Glad one of us could get it done. Obviously wish we could have got it done, selfishly, like anybody would.  But it is nice to have a good couple of solid weeks and being in contention for a win. We haven’t been in contention to win one for a while, so kind of nice to get to that last restart when it actually mattered. So, enjoyed that aspect and certainly hungry for more.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 Lucas Oil Camaro ZL1Finished: 16th“We made an improvement this weekend from how we ran last year at Martinsville Speedway. The first run of the race the Lucas Oil Chevrolet got looser as went. We pitted for tires and adjustments and the next run we were a little free everywhere but tight at the three-quarter mark of Turns 3 and 4. At the end of Stage 2 we pitted again but the adjustments didn’t seem to work, and we lost track positions. Crew Chief Randall Burnett and the guys kept working and never gave up. We made the car better by the end of the race and we were able to get a decent finish, but we still have work to do to get to where we want to be.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1Finished: 28th“Today was a hard-fought one. We started out super tight, and I felt like I just killed the right-side tires early on. Trent [Owens] made some great calls, and we continued to get the No. 31 Cirkul Chevy close to where it needed to be during the second stage. We tried gambling a little and running long during the final stage, but unfortunately, we never caught a caution. I’m definitely proud of the hard work this team put in this weekend that we can bring back here in the fall. We definitely made the car more competitive and are going in the right direction.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1Finished: 34th“Long day for the Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off-Road Chevrolet team at Martinsville Speedway. We had a problem with a left front tire locking up and I think the power steering was going out pretty much the whole race. When it went out with about 200 laps to go, I had to fight hard to gain positions. I can at least say I finished the race with no power steering, I’m going to be a little sore tomorrow, but we’ll keep fighting. It’s not the finish we wanted today, but we will go to Texas Motor Speedway next week to try and regain some momentum.”

(4/6/24 – By Ben Deatherage) Stockton, California … Cole Macedo has started the season on a hot streak, dominating the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series competition by leading all 28-laps of the curfew-shortened Asparagus Cup at the recently reconfigured Stockton Dirt Track. It was his second straight NARC victory driving the Tarlton & Son/Complete Parts and Equipment Solutions #21 Maxim for car owners Tom and Tommy Tarlton. It was also the first time he has scored in Stockton.

“I’d rather be lucky than good any day as long as I get a check like this,” commented an ecstatic Macedo in victory lane. “Luckily, Drew (Warner, crew chief) and the guys gave me such a good car.”

Starting on the outside front row, Macedo powered past polesitter D.J. Netto to lead the opening lap of the contest. Macedo had to deal with several caution periods throughout the feature, which put a lot of pressure on perfect restarts to stay ahead of the field.

Twice, Macedo entered lapped traffic, and every time he seemed to get bottled up behind slower cars, he was blessed with a caution. Despite three restarts in the last half of the main event, Macedo ran his line and outlasted all challengers to win his third career NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory.

“I knew if I got off the bottom, I was probably going to get passed, and I kept hearing (Justin Sanders), but after a lap or two, I could get into a rhythm and get my gap,” continued Macedo. “I was getting worried about those late-race restarts, and all it would take is me biking one time, and someone was going to get by me.”

The eighth starting Sanders rallied in the race’s second half to earn the runner-up in the Farmer’s Brewing Company/North County Plastering #2X Maxim. Tanner Carrick placed his California Waterfowl/TC Guide Service #83T Maxim, in third for his first NARC podium since 2022.

Chase Johnson, who started tenth, battled fiercely to stay among the top five and managed to post a fourth-place result in the Toyota of Marin/Price Family Dealerships #24 Maxim. The Parker Automotive/MetalTec Fabrication #15 Maxim driven by Nick Parker posted a NARC career best fifth place finish.

Kaleb Montgomery earned Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors after a 20th to sixth place run, while Bud Kaeding came back from an early race spin to end the night in seventh. Caeden Steele wound up the highest-finishing rookie in eighth.  Ryan Bernal and Gauge Garcia rounded out the top ten.

Colby Copeland, Shane Golobic, Dominic Gorden, and Landon Brooks went for red flag rides in the feature, but all walked away unharmed.

Macedo was the fastest driver in ARP Qualifying.

Bud Kaeding, Joey Ancona, Netto and Croft collected heat race victories. Netto won the Beacon Wealth Strategies Trophy Dash.

HOOSIER RACING TIRES A-FEATURE (30 Laps): 1. 21-Cole Macedo[2]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders[8]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick[12]; 4. 24-Chase Johnson[10]; 5. 15-Nick Parker[15]; 6. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[20]; 7. 29-Bud Kaeding[5]; 8. 121-Caeden Steele[14]; 9. 73-Ryan Bernal[23]; 10. 2K-Gauge Garcia[21]; 11. 7B-Sean Becker[16]; 12. 12-Jarrett Soares[18]; 13. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez[17]; 14. 88N-DJ Netto[1]; 15. 45W-Landon Brooks[19]; 16. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[24]; 17. 29ER-Willie Croft[7]; 18. 88A-Joey Ancona[6]; 19. 26-Billy Aton[22]; 20. 10-Dominic Gorden[9]; 21. 0-Tim Kaeding[4]; 22. 17W-Shane Golobic[3]; 23. 5V-Colby Copeland[13]; 24. 42X-Justyn Cox[11]

METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS:  Cole Macedo, 1-28

WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Kaleb Montgomery +14 (20th to 6th)

ARP FAST QUALIFIER (31 Cars): Cole Macedo, 13.379

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 Laps): 1. 29-Bud Kaeding[1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox[6]; 3. 21-Cole Macedo[4]; 4. 121-Caeden Steele[3]; 5. 45W-Landon Brooks[7]; 6. 26-Billy Aton[5]; 7. 2K-Gauge Garcia[2]; 8. 45-Jake Morgan[8]

KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 Laps): 1. 88A-Joey Ancona[1]; 2. 10-Dominic Gorden[2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]; 4. 15-Nick Parker[3]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[8]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[5]; 7. 21M-Michael Ing[7]; 8. X1-Michael Faccinto[6]

BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT THREE (10 Laps):  1. 88N-DJ Netto[3]; 2. 0-Tim Kaeding[4]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick[2]; 4. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez[6]; 5. 12-Jarrett Soares[5]; 6. 75-Bill Smith[8]; 7. 2R-Richard Brace Jr.[7]; DNS 73-Ryan Bernal

KAEDING PERFORMANCE CENTER HEAT FOUR (10 Laps):  1. 29ER-Willie Croft[1]; 2. 24-Chase Johnson[2]; 3. 5V-Colby Copeland[5]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker[3]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic[4]; 6. 12J-John Clark[6]; 7. 4-Burt Foland Jr.[7]

BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto[2]; 2. 21-Cole Macedo[1]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic[7]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding[6]; 5. 29-Bud Kaeding[3]; 6. 88A-Joey Ancona[5]; 7. 29ER-Willie Croft[8]; 8. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]

STARR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT B-FEATURE (12 laps): 1. 2K-Gauge Garcia[1]; 2. 26-Billy Aton[3]; 3. 73-Ryan Bernal[2]; 4. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[4]; 5. 45-Jake Morgan[11]; 6. 75-Bill Smith[6]; 7. 21M-Michael Ing[9]; 8. 4-Burt Foland Jr.[8]; 9. 2R-Richard Brace Jr.[7]; 10. 12J-John Clark[5]; DNS X1-Michael Faccinto

Drake, subbing for injured teammate Gavin Miller, joined KKM this year and wins in fourth career Series start

SWEET SPRINGS, MO (April 6, 2024) – White flag in the air, one-fifth of a mile remaining. Kale Drake had reeled-in leader Taylor Reimer from over a full second behind in 10 laps and was staring down an opportunity at the biggest win of his young career.

Drake – the 18-year-old national Micro Sprint champion from Collinsville, OK – drove it in deep on the bottom in Turn 1 while Reimer – the 24-year-old from Tulsa, OK, who had led most of the race – gassed it through the middle. A great drive off Turn 2 gave Reimer the advantage heading into the final two corners, but Drake was strong on the bottom.

Again, Drake dove low with speed into the corner, hugging the dirt mound that separated the track from the infield as he rounded Turns 3 and 4. Reimer tried the top lane one more time in an effort to keep her speed up, but it was not enough. Drake pulled even with Reimer off Turn 4 and beat her in the drag race to the finish line by .020 seconds to steal the win and his first career national Midget series victory with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota Saturday night at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex.

Victory Lane painted a vivid picture of two fierce competitors on opposite ends of an incredible finish – one relishing in the taste of victory, and the other awash in the agony of defeat.

“I honestly don’t have words for it at the moment,” Drake said. “It’s pretty surreal, to be honest.”

“I didn’t come here to run second,” Reimer said. “I’m pretty pissed off. Couldn’t get around the lapped car. Gave it up on the last lap.”

Drake joined the Keith Kunz Motorsports (KKM) team as a driver for the first time at the Chili Bowl Nationals in January – where he was named Rookie of the Year after his 14th-place finish in the A-Main – and was hired soon after as a full-time crew member with a few opportunities to do more Midget racing included.

When Xtreme Outlaw full-timer Gavin Miller was injured in a crash at a Micro Sprint event in California three weeks ago, Drake was given the nod to step into Miller’s ride for this weekend’s events while Miller continues to heal in recovery and did not forget to acknowledge his teammate after the big moment.

“He’s one of my really good friends and it sucks not having him here to race against because he is an amazing competitor, super good driver and only getting better as well,” Drake said about Miller. “I wish him a speedy recovery. We want to see him back at the track with us, and the season’s gonna be fun together.”

With that unexpected opportunity, Drake made the most of it, notching a seventh-place finish Friday at US 36 Raceway before breaking through for the win Saturday night.

From third on the Feature starting grid, Drake stayed patient inside the top three for two-thirds of the 30-lap main event. Reimer fired-off well in the opening laps, advancing from fifth on the grid up to second on Lap 11, getting around Drake with top-lane momentum. Two laps later, she drove around McIntosh for the lead in the same fashion, feeding from the top lane speed.

Drake was next to get by McIntosh, taking second from his KKM teammate with a big move to his inside in Turns 1 and 2.  From there, Drake watched Reimer jump out to a lead of over 1.6 seconds at its largest in lapped traffic with only 10 laps left.

That’s when Drake turned on the jets.

“I saw Taylor just kinda become like sitting still in the middle of the track,” Drake said. “Lapped traffic was playing a huge factor there.

“Once I got clear past a few of them, I just started driving as hard as I possibly could and started hitting my marks just like I did that first lap. I got the feeling back in, and once I did, it was just a matter of putting laps down.”

That gap shrunk all the way down to under a half-second by the time Drake took the white flag.

“I saw the white, and I was like, ‘I think she’s gonna get away from us, really,’” Drake said. “I think she just missed her marks, and we were able to capitalize on that and really put down a solid lap. I made sure to burn it in super hard going into (Turns) 3 and 4 to make sure that I was gonna come off straight as an arrow coming out of 4.”

Drake crossed the finish line .020 seconds ahead of Reimer, followed by fellow KKM teammate Ryan Timms, making for an all Oklahoma-born podium.

Timms, 17, of Oklahoma City, OK, had ran fourth for most of the race and made the move on McIntosh for third on Lap 23 to capture his second podium of the season, cutting his points gap to McIntosh down to 47 in the Series standings.

“[McIntosh] moved up, and I went down to the bottom in lapped traffic and was able to use some lapped cars to get by him,” Timms said. “I felt like I was maybe catching Kale and Taylor there at the end. A lot of that was caused by being in lapped traffic as well. But we had a good car and was fast all night.”

McIntosh crossed the stripe in fourth and kept his points lead, while Chase McDermand completed the top-five.

UP NEXT

The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets are back in action next Friday-Saturday, April 12-13, for the two-day Illini 100 event at Farmer City Raceway alongside the World of Outlaws CASE Late Model Series.

Tickets are on sale now at XtremeOutlawSeries.com and will be available at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 97-Kale Drake[3]; 2. 25K-Taylor Reimer[5]; 3. 67-Ryan Timms[4]; 4. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[1]; 5. 40-Chase McDermand[6]; 6. 16-Kyle Jones[2]; 7. 67K-Ashton Torgerson[7]; 8. 21K-Karter Sarff[8]; 9. 89-Todd McVay[11]; 10. 43-Gunnar Setser[9]; 11. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[17]; 12. 13-Elijah Gile[15]; 13. 5U-Peter Smith[12]; 14. 1K-Brayton Lynch[13]; 15. 44-Branigan Roark[18]; 16. 66-Jayden Clay[22]; 17. 55-Trevor Cline[14]; 18. 41-Brad Wyatt[21]; 19. 11A-Andrew Felker[20]; 20. 14S-TJ Smith[10]; 21. 88A-Austin Torgerson[19]; 22. 98-Luke Drotschie[16]; 23. 11J-Todd Jackson[23]

Haudenschild holds off Gravel’s challenge for second $20,000 World of Outlaws win of 2024COLCORD, OK (April 6, 2024) – What a difference a night makes for Sheldon Haudenschild.Friday ended in heartbreak when an incident in lapped traffic cost him a potential win at US 36 Raceway. There would be no heartbreak at Saturday night’s Jason Johnson Classic presented by FK Rod Ends.The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars rolled into Colcord, OK to debut at Arrowhead Speedway with $20,000 on the line. Haudenschild snatched the top spot halfway through the main event and held off a fierce charge from David Gravel on the final lap. The packed grandstands roared as Haudenschild climbed atop the Stenhouse Jr.-Marshall Racing #17. Jason Johnson’s son – Jaxx – handed off the trophy in Victory Lane to an ecstatic Haudenschild.“It’s huge,” Haudenschild said of winning the Jason Johnson Classic. “Obviously, getting to race my first couple years with Jason was a blast. Seeing Jaxx grow up over the years has been awesome. I have some good memories with Jason and love getting this trophy. I know I ran second to David (Gravel) at (Lake) Ozark, so it’s good to get him this time.”Haudenschild’s victory was his 36th with The Greatest Show on Dirt, equaling him with Shane Stewart and Carson Macedo for 20th all-time. Arrowhead became the 23rd different track he’s won at and first in the state of Oklahoma. The Jason Johnson Classic is still yet to see a repeat winner through six editions as Haudenschild claimed his first.Toyota Racing Dash winner – Giovanni Scelzi – led the field to green for the 30-lap Feature with Haudenschild alongside. Scelzi slid up ahead of Haudenschild on the opening circuit to secure the top spot. As the early laps unfolded Haudenschild quickly began to flex his muscle. He kept the NOS Energy Drink machine right in the tire tracks of Scelzi’s KCP Racing #18 as they both hammered the cushion. It didn’t take long before Haudenschild fired a slider at Scelzi in Turns 3 and 4 and cleared him, but Scelzi managed to counter with a crossover to reclaim the lead.Scelzi stared down a heavy group of lapped traffic as the halfway point neared. Behind Scelzi and Haudenschild, a rapidly charging Jacob Allen threw his name into the fight for the win. The Shark Racing driver started 10th and climbed to fourth by Lap 10. Up front Haudenschild began to build momentum on the bottom of the racetrack while Scelzi stayed up top. The margin between the two shrank until they found themselves side by side for nearly a full rotation on Lap 16. Haudenschild used the bottom to muscle ahead and lead Lap 17.Scelzi didn’t let Haudenschild pull too far ahead, but he quickly found himself in a three-car battle for second as David Gravel and Jacob Allen closed in. Allen snagged third on Lap 18 and looked poised to make a run at the win. On the 20th circuit Allen rolled by Scelzi for second in Turns 1 and 2. But in the next set of corners Allen slipped out of the groove opening the door for both Gravel and Scelzi to drive under him exiting Turn 4. The trio roared three-wide down the front straightaway, and Scelzi made contact with Allen’s left front entering Turn 1. The resulting damage to Allen’s car knocked him out of the race and brought out a yellow flag.The caution set the stage for a 10-lap dash to the finish. When the green flag flew, Haudenschild wasted no time darting ahead of Gravel to get some breathing room.The closing laps waned, and Haudenschild appeared as if he may cruise to the $20,000 payday, but lapped traffic became a factor. Haudenschild managed to sneak by a slower car with three laps to go but slipped up in Turns 1 and 2 as the next lap began, allowing Gravel to close on his tail tank.The white flag flew, and Gravel drove the Big Game Motorsports #2 to Haudenschild’s outside in Turns 1 and 2 and nearly nosed ahead. Haudenschild powered ahead slightly down the back straightaway. Gravel threw one last Hail Mary in Turns 3 and 4 and briefly pulled alongside again, but Haudenschild’s speed on corner exit was too strong as he sped away to the checkered flag.The joy of the win helped erase the dejection of the night before.“After nights like last night, it’s tough,” Haudenschild admitted. “So, to rebound and get a win is great. We know we’ve been fast, so our spirit has been good. It’s always good beating the #2 (Gravel). He’s so good this year and all the past years.”Gravel was in good spirits despite coming up just short of back-to-back victories after topping Friday’s visit to US 36. The Watertown, CT native has caught fire with four consecutive top two finishes, and his point lead has ballooned to 40 markers. Gravel thought he might be able to drive by for the win on the final lap but couldn’t quite find the speed needed.“You had to conserve some tires, and I was saving there for a little bit at the end,” Gravel said. “I thought I was maybe going to be able to get him (Haudenschild) on the bottom in (Turns) 1 and 2 then he moved down. That one lapped car I lost a lot of time with and wasn’t able to clear him. Then I was able to get around the #7S and thought I was going to be able to go around him in (Turns) 1 and 2 and just couldn’t quite clear him. Man, the guys have been giving me a great race car. It’s been fun driving the past couple weeks.”After leading early, Giovanni Scelzi completed the top three. The result marked Scelzi’s third podium of the season and served as a nice bounce back after two straight subpar showings for the KCP #18.“I couldn’t tell in (Turns) 3 and 4 if I needed to get all the way down or just move a lane off the cushion,” Scelzi said. “I don’t know. It sucks. Obviously, they’re (Haudenschild and Gravel) veterans. They have a lot more laps than me. They just drove smarter races.”Logan Schuchart and Carson Macedo completed the top five.David Gravel grabbed his first Simpson Quick Time of the year and the 111th of his career.A 24th to 14th run earned Chris Windom the KSE Racing Hard Charger.NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, and Brian Brown. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Giovanni Scelzi.Landon Crawley claimed the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars invade Pevely, MO’s Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for two nights of bullring action on April 12-13. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.FEATURE RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 2. 2-David Gravel[6]; 3. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[1]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 5. 41-Carson Macedo[5]; 6. 24-Rico Abreu[8]; 7. 83-Michael Kofoid[7]; 8. 21-Brian Brown[4]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[12]; 10. 39M-Anthony Macri[13]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[15]; 12. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[19]; 13. 25-Kerry Madsen[16]; 14. 55-Chris Windom[24]; 15. 88T-Tanner Thorson[14]; 16. 70-Kraig Kinser[20]; 17. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[18]; 18. 17B-Bill Balog[17]; 19. 83SR-James McFadden[11]; 20. 88-Austin McCarl[22]; 21. 24D-Danny Sams III[23]; 22. 7S-Landon Crawley[21]; 23. 1A-Jacob Allen[10]; 24. 23-Garet Williamson[9]For full results, CLICK HERE.

NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY COOK OUT 400 TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT APRIL 6, 2024

·       By a mere thousandth of a second, Kyle Larson claimed his second consecutive pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season – posting a best-lap of 19.718 seconds, at 96.034 mph, in his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Ruby Camaro ZL1.  ·       The feat marks Larson’s second consecutive pole win of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and his 18th career pole win in 339 starts in NASCAR’s top division.  ·       This marks Chevrolet’s third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series pole win this season – a streak that started with William Byron’s pole at Circuit of The Americas, followed by Larson’s pole at Richmond Raceway last weekend.  ·       Larson delivered Chevrolet its 57th all-time NASCAR Cup Series pole win at Martinsville Speedway, and the manufacturer’s 746th all-time pole win in NASCAR’s top division – extending its series-leading record in both categories.  ·       FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Raceway on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 STARTING LINEUP:  POS.   DRIVER1st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Ruby Camaro ZL13rd      Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Ruby Camaro ZL110th    Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Ruby Camaro ZL1

Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Ruby Camaro ZL1 – Pole Win Media Availability Quotes Obviously a big weekend, but how important – given all of the different variables going into Sunday – is track position early in the race at Martinsville?“Yeah, we’ve all seen passing on short-tracks have been really difficult in the Next Gen cars. So, I think qualifying has been more important than it has ever been here these last few years. So yeah, I mean getting track position on Saturday, qualifying well, usually pays dividends as long as your team can execute on Sunday. It’s great to get another pole on a short-track, back-to-back weekends. I felt like it really helped our race out last week, and as long as we execute tomorrow, it should help our race out, as well.” Big weekend for the team, but also a cool little stat – 50th career national series pole, combined, for drivers that have come out of the Drive for Diversity Program. Talk a little bit about just what the program meant for you coming up in your career and what you’ve seen as it’s evolved the last few years.“Yeah, that’s great stat to hear. I was in the program 12 years ago or so, and it did a lot for my career then to gain experience. That was really my introduction to pavement racing, especially in stock cars. To kind of see how it has evolved over the years and the equipment that they have now, it seems really good. Drivers are able to go out there and compete at a high level now. Hats off to everybody that’s part of the Drive for Diversity Program. It’s always growing and getting better.” A thousandth of a second difference between you and Bubba (Wallace). Obviously, you guys had a good conversation after the end of last weekend’s race. It seems like there’s good respect between the two of you. What was the conversation, if there was any, on pit road when you were driving by after winning the pole? “Yeah, it’s cool to get a pole, but to edge Bubba (Wallace) out – because he’s got a big personality, I knew he would come up and say something on pit road. No, I think we do – although we’ve had our couple run ins along the way – I do think we have a lot of respect for each other and all of that. I respect him in and out of the race car and what he puts into everything. Yeah, he’s a passionate person – good and bad sometimes.  But no, it’s always fun to compete with him and have good battles.” Did you know you have Linda Hendrick’s name on your car, and just what do you think will be the emotions will be tomorrow with that car leading the field? “Yeah, I didn’t know I was going to have their names on the car until I was driving up to Martinsville today. I thought that was a really nice touch. And yeah, it’s just special. Anytime you can do anything good at Hendrick Motorsports, they’re very proud of us. They are just two of the greatest people I’ve ever got to meet. I’ve really enjoyed this year with the offseason stuff, the get togethers we’ve had as a company and a team, because we’ve really gotten to see Linda open up a lot; get up and give speeches and things. She’s always been really quiet whenever I’ve been around and all that, but this year, I’ve noticed that Rick has put a lot of – I don’t know if pressure is the right word, but he just hands the mic over to her and she always says the right thing. Her speeches are amazing. Yeah, that’s been neat. Having her name on the side of our car here this weekend is definitely special.” When you entered Hendrick Motorsports and you think back to when you knew of this team just as a perspective driver, how cool is it now to really look at the full circle that you know how important this team is in this sport; how important it is for you and now tomorrow you’ll be going out there and racing in that red car? “Yeah, I think this season with it being their 40th season as an organization, I think a lot of history gets brought up. Good history and you see more stats, I feel like, this year because it’s such a milestone year for the organization. Yeah, just hearing stories and all of that is really neat – to see where they’ve come from their beginnings. Rick and Linda kind of talking about before they were ever into motorsports – like getting to that point is a neat story, a great story.  Yeah, for them to go from this potentially being their last race ever 40 years ago, to winning it, and seeing what it’s been built to now – it’s just amazing. They are the greatest team in this sport, and I don’t think you could argue that. Just what Rick and Linda have built together is pretty amazing.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY COOK OUT 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 6, 2024

KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 LUCAS OIL CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway.   Media Availability Quotes:  YOU’RE 13TH IN POINTS. ARE YOU LOOKING WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS NOW OR JUST LOOKING FOR MORE CONSISTENCY?“I think anytime you have good runs, you kind of know that the points will take care of themselves. Anytime you aren’t having good runs, you probably know that you are not in good point standing. So, definitely kind of on the back of the mind for sure. But more importantly, just trying to get our program right and up front, and in a position to where we can win a race or two and not worry about points.” OBVIOUSLY CREW CHIEF CHANGE ON THE NO. 3 THIS WEEK. IS IT IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO BE RUNNING WELL OR BETTER, AS FAR AS HELPING ANYTHING WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE? “Yeah, I mean I think anything for RCR is the strength in having both teams running up front. You know, it seems like there’s a comfort factor there with Austin (Dillon) and Justin (Alexander). Justin, I think, has tried to come off the road a couple times for family and whatnot, but he kind of keeps getting pulled back out of the bullpen and put in play. I respect the hell out of Keith (Rodden), Justin and Randall (Burnett) and all those guys, (Andy) Petree, too. You know, it’s not due to lack of intellect. We certainly have that. There’s a lot going on at the shop and things like that, where it seems like there’s some pretty good minds being put to use on the stuff that we do. It just hasn’t correlated to the racetrack yet.”  KYLE, AS A SPORTS FAN, I’M GUESSING YOU’VE SEEN EVENTS WHERE, MAYBE LATE IN EVENTS, THEY ALWAYS SAY THAT THE OFFICIALS CALL THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. IN LIGHT OF WHAT MAYBE HAPPENED, WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK AT RICHMOND, WHAT NASCAR SAID – HEY, IF THIS SITUATION HAPPENED EARLIER, MAYBE IT’S DIFFERENT. FROM AN ATHLETE’S POINT OF VIEW, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO BE ABLE TO KIND OF BE ABLE TO DICTATE WHAT YOU’RE ABLE TO DO AT THE END, AS LONG AS IT’S NOT WAY OUT OF BOUNDS, AS OPPOSED TO HAVING AN OFFICIAL STEP IN?“Yeah, I kind of feel like they probably – if it was earlier in the race, they probably would have spent time reviewing it and then calling it; making it a penalty and calling a pass through or whatever that is. But since it was the end of the race, they are a lot more prone to let things go when it comes down to the end of the race. We look at bump and runs. We look at dump and runs, right? I mean, a guy that flat blatantly takes out another guy and gets the win because they’re not going to strip that for rough driving or something else, you know what I mean?  So, I feel like that’s kind of their mentality a little bit, of just not wanting to be involved in a finish and stripping a win, per se.” ALSO, I KNOW FOR THE MOST PART THE SHORT TRACKS HAVE BEEN PRETTY CHALLENGING SINCE YOU’VE COME OVER TO RCR. I ALSO UNDERSTAND IF YOU KNEW WHAT THE ISSUE WAS, YOU WOULDN’T BE FACING THESE CHALLENGES. BUT WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU’RE HOPING OR LOOKING FOR THAT ARE KIND OF HIGH ON YOUR RADAR THIS WEEKEND? “Yeah, I mean to me, I feel like I know how to get around Martinsville. You know, I’ve won here before. I feel like my good stretch of races here certainly came from 2013-14 timeframe to about 2018-19, so we had some good runs. I think we won two or three races here in that time period. So yeah, the short track stuff though has, you know, been very miss. We’ve had like two hits I think, so you know it’d be nice to get more on the on the hit side and to where we have good cars that we’re able to go out there and contend and compete. So I think a lot of it is just the reliance on the simulation and what we’re being told in that, and making decisions based off of that – what makes you faster or better in the sim. And that is not transferring to the race track, so we’ve got to go about it a different way.”  YOU HAVE BEEN CRITICAL OF THE NEW SHORT TRACK PACKAGE THIS YEAR. HAS IT CHANGED THE RACING AT ALL FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, AND DO YOU EXPECT ANY BIGGER CHANGES HERE AT THE SHORTEST TRACK YET FOR THE PACKAGE? “I didn’t think we could make it worse, but by golly we did.. for me anyways. Maybe it’s just because we don’t have it quite figured out like others do, but I cannot follow anybody in front of me whatsoever. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the bottom lane, the middle lane, the top lane – if there is a car in front of me, I am terrible.. really bad. I will say the only positive to it is that you can slide the back of the car around a little bit more and not crash. But the front ends are just ungodly not working.” WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE NASCAR DO IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT DIRECTION?“It doesn’t matter because they’re not going to do it, so it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to paint myself in a bad spot to get in trouble.”  OBVIOUSLY, THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THEY’VE MADE THE SPRING RACE 400 LAPS VERSUS THE USUAL 500. TALK ABOUT THE STRATEGY OF RACING 400 LAPS HERE VERSUS 500. AND THEN THE SECOND PART – OBVIOUSLY, NEXT WEEK WE HAVE TEXAS COMING UP. YOUR THOUGHTS, FEELS, ABOUT RACING AT THE TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY NEXT WEEK? “Yeah, 400 or 500.. it’s still a long time. So, to me it doesn’t seem like it’s that much different, honestly. Stage lengths are a little different. How you would kind of strategize the race might be a little bit different. But honestly, to me, it’s not that much different.  So going into next week for Texas, you know we were pretty good there last year. We had a decent car. We were coming up through the field; getting into the top-three. We pitted or we stayed out – I think we stayed out on a stop and I ran a couple laps in the spray. I felt like it hurt my tires a little bit and then I was crashed a couple laps later. So definitely learned from that.. don’t do that. But all around, felt like if we can go back there and repeat with a similar car as we had last time, then I feel like we’re a contender and we can put ourselves in position for a win there.” MARTINSVILLE SPECIFICALLY HAS BEEN TOUGH IN THIS NEXT GEN ERA FOR YOU, BUT I KNOW YOU’VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT JUST TRYING TO FIND THE FEEL THAT WORKS FOR YOU IN THIS NEXT GEN CAR. DO YOU FEEL ANY CLOSER TO THAT FROM THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS AS THIS SEASON CONTINUES AND PROGRESSES? “Not as much, no. I feel like one of the biggest things that we were able to work on with the old car was figuring out ways of being able to develop some rear grip in different ways and the sustainability of the rear tires for a long run. I feel like that’s where our strength here really came in, was my ability of being able to keep the rear tires under the car and go the long distance. Myself, Denny, and Truex – the things that we would learn with each other in our meetings really translated to the racetrack. But since we’ve gone to the new car, everything’s more similar. You don’t have your play book and your tool set is way limited on what you can do in order to find that rear grip, and I have not been able to find that rear grip for here. I can probably be fast for 20 or 25 laps maybe, and then we start throwing the anchor out and the backup light comes on. That’s been my thin, is just finding how to manage the rear tires and keep those under us.”  JOEY LOGANO SAID ON THE NETWORK THIS WEEK THAT WHEN A PIT CREW IS USED TO WINNING, WHEN THEY’RE USED TO BEING A TOP FIVE CAR, IT PUTS THEM UNDER A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF PRESSURE THAN WHEN YOU’RE RIDING 15TH TO 20TH. DO YOU HAVE TO KIND OF CONDITION YOUR PIT CREW TO GET THERE WHERE YOU NEED THEM TO BE TO BE ABLE TO PERFORM ON SUNDAY’S? “Yeah, I mean I would agree with that. I feel like sometimes too just the nature of a driver’s name might put added pressure on a team because they’re looked at a lot more, and they’ve got eyeballs on them a little bit heavily. The teams that I’ve had in the past have done phenomenal jobs of living up to the pressure. I remember – I don’t know, how many times we go to Homestead, and there’s that late-race caution that comes out for the final pit stop, right? And the guys got to go and perform under pressure, and you’re racing for a championship. So, you know, we’ve all been under that position five years in a row. It’s been a minute, but it happened. Remember that? It happened. Nobody got it. Okay, moving on.. (laughs).  It’s tough. I’d look at the 24 bunch when William got over there, right? I think there’s different guys there now, but they probably were like – okay, you know, there’s a young kid coming in, like, whatever.. nobody’s going to have any eyeballs on us. But Kyle moving over to RCR, there are certainly more eyeballs on that pit crew and the things that they do. So I think that’s my example.” TEXAS HAS GENERALLY BEEN A REALLY GOOD TRACK FOR YOU PRIOR TO THE NEXT GEN CAR. I’M CURIOUS, YOUR LAST TWO STARTS THERE HAVE NOT BEEN.. “I think I’ve wrecked in every Next Gen start there, haven’t I?”  PRETTY MUCH (LAUGHS).. BUT MY QUESTION TO YOU IS – WITH BEING WITH A NEW TEAM, HOW MUCH DIRECTION DO YOU GET FROM GENERAL MOTORS AS BEING A KEY PARTNER, AND HOW MUCH INTERNALLY GOES INTO THE CAR? DO YOU KIND OF HAVE A ROADMAP THAT COMES AS BEING A KEY PARTNER, OR IS THERE MORE INDIVIDUALISM THAT TAKES PLACE FROM THE TEAM SIDE? “Well definitely, yes. We’re a key partner team with Team Chevy, so we obviously have that toolbox and the things of the sim and everything that goes along with that to compare and work with the other Chevy teams – Trackhouse and HMS. So we do that. We’ve done that a lot. We’ve done that about everywhere. There has been hot places where we’ve been really good, and we’ve done it on our own. And then there’s been other places where we follow suit with those guys, and we’ve been good or we’ve been bad. But the gist of it is to work together and to work as a team. We have our meetings afterwards, where we all kind of talk about the stuff that we fought over the weekend. What happens after those meetings, I think, is probably the utmost importance – with the engineers and the crew chiefs and stuff reading through our comments; going back to the setups and figuring out why somebody was particularly good or somebody was particularly bad and kind of dissecting that stuff and learning what to do, what not to do.”  WITH THE HISTORY SURROUNDING MARTINSVILLE, WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS THAT’S EVER HAPPENED HERE, AND WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT DRIVING MARTINSVILLE? “I’ll start with the second question first. I don’t know if I have a favorite part of Martinsville. Winning, I guess. That’s the fun part.. when you’re going forward on those long runs and guys in front of you are struggling a little bit, and you can get to them and kind of nudge them a little and go, move on and win.  But other than that, I would say cool moments here – I mean man, some of that with the Hendrick camp and their wins here, and the history that they have here from the tragedy that took place nearby. And then I would say beyond that, further back in history – some of the Earnhardt moments are always entertaining and pretty spectacular with Darrell and those guys. The way that they would fight for wins here was always kind of intense, and it would shine a light on what NASCAR was really made from.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY COOK OUT 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 6, 2024

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway.   Media Availability Quotes:  IT’S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE A TOP-10 AT A TRUE SHORT TRACK. WHAT’S THE STATE OF THE SHORT-TRACK SETUP AT TRACKHOUSE?“Evolving. Following (Kyle) Larson up here to the podium is about like on track. I feel like I follow the Hendrick cars around. We’re working on it. We’re not staying complacent. We’re coming with different packages and trying to find what works. We’ve had glimmers of hope but not sustained competitiveness and speed. If it’s good in the race, we’re not good in qualifying and vice versa. We’re working. We’re changing springs and shocks and whatever we can to get whatever I need to go faster and Daniel (Suarez) as well.” DO YOU FEEL LIKE SOME OF THE BIGGER TEAMS HAVE GOTTEN OUT IN FRONT WITH THIS CAR, AND IF YOU WERE QUALIFYING BETTER DO YOU THINK YOU’D HAVE BETTER RESULTS SO FAR?“I don’t think anyone has a clear upper hand. I feel like we could have won Vegas if I don’t speed on pitroad. We put ourselves in position to gain those spots we aren’t getting in qualifying.“It just makes everything so much easier. It means that you had a car that you could make speed in either on Friday or Saturday or whenever you were qualifying. We’re not trying to go out and drive slow in qualifying. I’m trying. I’m usually sliding because I’ve tried too much. It’s not often that I qualify bad because I under-drive. I’m trying to find that balance. But yes it’s going to help your weekend with pit selection and everything. These are the best of the best drivers and teams in the world. It’s not easy to drive by them.” THE NEW MOTO GP TEAM FROM TRACKHOUSE IN A NEW AND INNOVATIVE IDEA FROM JUSTIN (MARKS). WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE ORGANIZATION SPREADING ITS WINGS?“I’m not surprised. That’s been Justin’s vision and the first time he told me the word Trackhouse before it was a thing or they ever ran a race. Then when I got brought in to drive as the second driver, there were more talks about what’s next. I kind of thought, ‘Wow, he bought CGR and acquired everything that Chip (Ganassi) built and that was our foundation.’ I was kind of locked in on this big thing and Justin was sitting across from me at a campfire one night and was like ‘That’s nothing brother. Just wait.’ So no, I haven’t gotten too zoned in on it. I am going to meet those guys. They’re coming over to the shop this week, have a little Trackhouse Tuesday and have them there. We’ve got some bikes out there in the lobby with our cars, as well. I’m excited to get to meet them face-to-face. We’ve done some videos back and forth. But I’m not too locked in. I don’t understand much about their motorcycles. I was looking at a bike we had at Daytona, like a showbike I guess. I couldn’t tell if it was a real bike or like a showcar like we have old cars. I couldn’t tell if it was an old chassis with old brakes… that’s what we would put together in NASCAR. But I couldn’t tell if this thing was made to look like a bike, if it was a bike. I had no idea. So I have some questions for the riders to learn more about it.” WOULD YOU HAVE ANY INTEREST IN RIDING ONE?No. Chance! Not even a second-seat. Ben Kennedy was showing me some stuff. He’s ridden backseat with a guy. They were on one wheel going forward and one wheel slowing down. So no… not at all! It’s way too fast and I don’t like to be out of control. At least if I’m driving and I’m crashing into something, I’m holding the wheel!” THERE’S A LOT OF HISTORY AT MARTINSVILLE AND YOU’VE PUT YOUR NAME UP THERE WITH HAIL MELLON. HOW OFTEN ARE YOU ASKED ABOUT IT? AND SECONDLY, NEXT WEEK IS TEXAS AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TRACK AND RACING IN TEXAS?“Martinsville is one of those tracks that I remember watching as a kid. For some reason I have a few that I just have vivid core memories of watching NASCAR races when I was a fan. This is one of them. Now competing against some of my heroes who I watched race, or they are directors and different things with other teams and I’m competing against their cars is pretty wild. I do know that we have a small blip in the history of it, but I want more. I don’t want that to be my legacy here. We’re working on that, but there’s no way we’re getting in and out of Virginia without talking about it.“For Texas, my allegiance there is Al Niece. It’s the truck team I drive for, and he lives there just outside of Austin in a small town. Although Dallas-Fort Worth is a long ways away, he has trucks there and a yard there where he rents and sells water trucks and fuel loop trucks. Learning his business and learning the Texas way of life is just so cool. He has a lot of people and we have a lot of people. It’s a huge market for us with a ton of opportunity. Racetrack-wise, we all wish we could do more there. I wish I could pass more. It truly is one of the hardest tracks to pass in my opinion. When I get a pass done, I sometimes physically celebrate in the car on the next straightaway because I did it and I did what I thought was impossible. Hopefully as it ages it opens up more and more, but we will see.” IT’S NOT OFTEN WHERE PRACTICE FALLS AT THE SAME TIME AS WHEN YOU RACE. WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM TODAY’S SESSION FOR THE RACE?“Hopefully how to go fast. I just want to make speed today. Obviously you want to make it early in the run and hang on to it in practice. It needs to drive good but it needs to make speed. That’s all that really matters. I’ll hang on and bounce around do whatever I have to do as long as I’m making speed. And the same in qualifying. Saturday is all about that. I have all day tomorrow and 500 miles to settle in and make my tires live, make my brakes and all that, choose cone, pit road and all that, that’s for then. Now it’s all about getting up and getting going here, and that’s something I’ve struggled with. That’s all I think about as I keep learning how to get better here. It’s a way that helps me, so it’s cool that it’s a great time but honestly Sunday is so far away that it may as well be a different event. Today is all about Saturday and practice and qualifying with those two hours being locked in and ready to rip.” BACK TO THE CAMPFIRE MOMENT, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU SAW THAT GLIMPSE OF HIS BIG PLANS. AND AT THIS MOMENT ARE YOU SHOCKED BY ANYTHING HE DOES?“That one was shocking, to be honest. I don’t have a grasp of what MotoGP is and didn’t for sure then. I knew they came to America a few times, but to be honest I don’t travel much outside of the country… maybe a couple of trips to Guatemala to look at some watermelon fields for our winter watermelons that we bring in. Other than that, I don’t really go anywhere. He had to explain the basics to me and how the team operated. They obviously operate a lot differently from us. He’s been over there insulating himself into the team to learn how they operate, kept a lot of their team together the best I can tell. We had a lot of questions but more than that I want to meet them in person and talk to them, so I get to do that this Tuesday. I’m not surprised. He let me in on it early on, and I got to do some Googling before it came out.” AFTER SOME OF THE CONTROVERSY ON THE RESTART LAST WEEK, ARE YOU CLEAR ON WHERE YOU CAN AND CAN’T RESTART FROM? OR IS IT A MATTER OF EVERYBODY IS DOING WHAT THEY’VE DONE AND YOU RACE TO THE WAY NASCAR OFFICIATES IT?“We run to the rulebook. Although the rulebook says certain things, the officiating has not lined up with that in the past. We all knew it. I’m not surprised by the call. I’m not surprised by the move by the cars involved at the front of the field. Not saying I’m going to do the same thing because if everyone goes early then there is no advantage. The advantage is doing what your competitors beside you and behind you don’t expect. I don’t expect all restarts to fire at Turn Three this weekend by any means. There are two lines for a reason, and we know that. The scary part is when do the reactionary calls change, right? When is that a penalty? At the end of the race or on Lap 10 or 30 or 300 like it was talked about. Being that first guy who gets called for going the same distance early would be tough. That would be tough to swallow. There are clearly two white lines on the track. If they want the zone to be in the zone with how the rule is written and if they want to enforce their rule, then great. If they don’t want to enforce it like we have not enforced it for the last little bit – I don’t know how long I’d even call that – but yeah, it’s up to them and I’ll adjust. I just want a rulebook and an address to go race at. Other than that, tell me where to be and what the rules are and we’ll go race. That’s all I care about.”

NASCAR CUP SERIES MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY COOK OUT 400 TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT APRIL 6, 2024

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM RUBY CAMARO ZL1, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway.  Media Availability Quotes:  You took the alternate strategy at Richmond Raceway last weekend, which didn’t end up working out there. Do you expect to take kind of a converse strategy here, or go with the normal approach? “I have no idea. I don’t think there’s much strategy, as far as like long run stuff, pitting and green-flag stops necessarily here because I don’t think you see the fall off quite like you do at Richmond (Raceway). And two, typically you don’t see the long runs like you do at Richmond. I would say the strategy would be different, but I think where strategy comes into play… like at Richmond, if you get 20 laps on your tires, you’re pitting. Here at Martinsville (Speedway), you could potentially have 60-plus laps on your tires; stay out and gain track position that way. So I think that’s where the strategy comes in, rather than green-flag cycles.” Kyle, you’ve got the Indy test next week. How much do you know what happens after that, as far as your travel goes, the back-and-forth, here to there, and so forth? Have you kind of mapped that out yet? “Ask Jon.. (haha) because I don’t know. He knows more than I do.” What’s your feeling now that you’re approaching that? Any changes in how you’re looking at it? Have you talked more with the guys on the team there and so forth? “No, I mean nothing’s changed. I don’t know.. I’ve been excited about it since January of last year when we announced it. But yeah, I don’t get too overly excited about anything. Just take it every day, day-by-day. Hopefully the weather is good next week, and we can get in the car as scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday, and just get to learning I think from there. I think next week is when I’ll really get to learn more about things; racing and getting to be around like my team of people. The other times I’ve been in the car, I haven’t had – and I don’t even know, maybe I have been around a lot of the team members, but I’ll at least have my team there next week to kind of talk to and learn from. And then yeah, as far as being at the track with teammates and all of that sort of stuff, it will be good.” Do you know what you can and cannot do on a restart, as far as where you can go and where you can’t? Do you have any additional questions after last week? “No, I mean.. I don’t know. I don’t really know – I think we’ve always had questions, and probably still have the same questions. Not even that it was a question, I think we all just push the zone at certain points of the race, especially at the end. Typically, drivers go either early like Denny (Hamlin) did, or right at it. Denny’s not the first person that’s ever taken off before the zone. It’s always been a game.  I don’t know.. I don’t really know how I necessarily view it. I can see all sides of it. There’s lines on the race track, so those could be your lines that you have to go by. But then also, I think as the leader, you need to have full control of the lead. The zones are so small that the leader, most times or at least half of the time, I feel like is at a disadvantage because that zone is so small and it’s easy to predict and time when they can go. So like last year – I think it was last year or maybe the year before – they made the zones bigger. In my opinion, I think that helps the leader. And you see less gains outside the zone. I think you get more strategy going within the zone, which is fair. But you know, at Fontana – everybody behind I think it was (Joey) Logano, tried predicting when he was going to go and he just waited until the end of the zone, which was legal. And they all crashed and then NASCAR thought it was a zone-length issue, when it was really just competitor issues.  I would just like to see the zone a lot bigger – even bigger than it used to be or was early last year because then I think you get those gains… I hate calling it gains, but just strategical moves within the zones. Yeah, I think you would see less jumping of a start if you had the zone longer.” We’re more than a quarter of the way through the regular season. Where do you think your team stacks up? You’ve had speed, your pit crew has been solid, but there has been a bit of inconsistency..“I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s been really inconsistency. In my opinion, we’ve been way more consistent than we were last year. The results probably say the same, as well, a little bit. Last year, we were like winning or ‘DNF’. This year, we’ve been upfront. We’ve challenged for, I don’t know, I feel like a couple of wins. We’ve won one race. We’ve been upfront for a lot of races, but like Atlanta (Motor Speedway) – (Brad) Keselowski spun in front of me and there was nothing I could do there. COTA, (Christopher) Bell got into me and spun.. nothing really I could do there.” So you’d say it’s more bad luck than anything? “And not even necessarily bad luck.. but yeah, I think as a team, we’ve been performing way more consistently than we have, maybe ever. In 2021, we were so much faster than the field and it was easy to be consistent. But at least in the Next Gen era, we’ve been performing way better than we have the other years, so far, I believe.” We know the importance of this week for Hendrick Motorsports. One, do you feel more pressure to win this weekend? And two, has there been any special talks, pep talks, rallies or anything, leading into today? “I would say, to answer the first question – I wouldn’t say I feel any more pressure to win. I don’t think probably any of us four drivers feel any more pressure to win, but we know what the magnitude of a win this weekend would mean for the company. Yeah, I don’t think that’s any more pressure or any more emphasis on the weekend, but we all try to go out there and execute as good as we can every week and hopefully the results end up in a win. As far as like ‘pep talks’ – no because I think that ties into the first answer. We all know what this weekend means to the company, so there’s no real ‘pep talk’ needed to remind us how important this weekend is.” Is there a young driver out there that’s caught your eye, that’s coming through the ranks, and you think – wow, this driver has got the ability to win at the Cup level? “I would say, for me, I’d look at like – I don’t watch a ton of Truck or Xfinity races, but I feel like Corey Heim is really good. I feel like he’s really, really strong in the Truck stuff. Even when he gets in the Xfinity cars, he runs super competitive, and I don’t believe he’s got the funding and the resources like the JGR cars have. So I feel like he does a really good job.  Then, I think there’s guys that haven’t quite made it to pavement racing or stock cars that will hopefully get an opportunity down the road that would be really good. Like from the sprint car side, I pay a lot of attention to Corey Day. He’s 18 years old and very mature. He races really hard and smart. I think he could potentially have the full package to get an opportunity and make it some day.” Next week, we’re at Texas Motor Speedway. What’s your thoughts and feelings about racing there, and what’s the key to having success at Texas Motor Speedway because they’ve tweaked a few things there?  “Yeah, I’m not sure what they’ve tweaked recently, but since they’ve repaved the track – however many years ago that was – Texas (Motor Speedway) has been a very fast place. It’s kind of an interesting track. I like it because our team is fast, but then there’s part that I dislike, as well. I guess that could be said about any track.  I’m excited to get there next weekend. We were the dominate car there last year, and I just made a mistake on the late restart. We’ve won an All-Star race there. We’ve won a points Cup race there. We’ve led a bunch of laps in other races. So yeah, I look forward to getting there and hopefully have another good weekend.” I got a kick out of the Instagram post that you put up in the simulator, when you were kind of like sleeping and then the music woke you up. I assume you hadn’t really done anything like that before, but what was that like for you? What benefit do you think that it gave you, and maybe will give you, come May? “I definitely don’t run the simulator in anything that often, but it’s very relaxing in there between little runs because it’s dark, and you’re in a molded insert to your body, so it’s easy to get relaxed and tired. Catch some naps in there, for sure. And then yeah, you hear the rig kind of fire up and then you get ready to go.  I was in the IndyCar simulator this week and it really wasn’t to learn anything about the car or anything like that. Everybody’s steering wheel is different. Everyone’s layout with the buttons and knobs is different, so just trying to kind of dial in what’s natural for me to reach to get to buttons; making adjustments throughout a lap and stuff like that.  That was really the main takeaway from it. I wasn’t in there for very long at all, but it was really just to kind of like – hey, before you go there next week, maybe let’s make this button mean something different.. stuff like that. It was good to do.” Did you actually fall asleep? “I don’t know… I was definitely close, if I didn’t fall asleep. But yeah, I don’t know.. it looked like I was (laughs).” I’m curious from an athlete’s point of view, but also from someone that oversees a racing series from an official’s point of view, on all the talk about the overtime restart last week. NASCAR says they don’t want to make a ruling unless they’re certain. How important is that? How do you view the idea from an athlete’s perspective and from an official’s perspective, of being lenient on procedures and rules at the end of the race to allow the athletes to determine it? “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m not really sure. I know they have a tough job in the booth, or wherever they manage the race from, in making all of the correct calls and this-and-that. 100 percent of the population is never satisfied with the call or not call. So yeah, it’s tough. I think what most athletes from this series or other forms of sports just like consistency, from what I hear. I would say I would be in the same category of just being consistent. If the ‘end of the race’ call is consistent to what it was last week versus, you know like I heard them say if it was early in the race, we probably would have made a call.. like if that’s their view and they stay consistent within that, then I guess that’s OK. But yeah, it’s just finding some consistency, I think is what most of us would like to see.” Obviously you have the win, so does that kind of change the way you can approach things, in terms of an aggressiveness standpoint the next several week? “No.. I feel like anytime you win, you get that question a lot. I’d be curious to hear if any other drivers’ answers would be anything different than ‘no’. We all try to call the races to win each week, at least at Hendrick Motorsports anyways. So no, I think we just try to continue going forward and executing whatever we have to do to win.”

OSBORN, MO (April 5, 2024) – Twice a winner with the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota last year, Karter Sarff has stepped up his game early in 2024, taking his first trip of the season to Victory Lane Friday night at US 36 Raceway. Sarff, 21, of Mason City, IL, was relentless with the speed and pressure on the leaders through the first half of the main event, eventually breaking through with a successful slide job on Cannon McIntosh with 10-to-go and driving away with his third career Series victory. In 2023, it took he and his family-owned operation several appearances with the Series before he finally broke through for a win during the World of Outlaws Ironman 55 weekend in August. Now, only three races into the new season, Sarff is already up on the board. “It feels super good to win one in the third race of the year,” Sarff said. “Hopefully, it leads to even more this year. Last year, we won two of them, so this year we’re hoping we can win even more than two.” Notably, Sarff utilizes a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) engine under the hood of his No. 21K. Coming into Friday, the TRD program was sitting at a grand total of 499 national Midget series Feature wins with their engines – the first coming in 2006 on pavement with multi-time national champion Dave Steele – and Sarff has now delivered the milestone 500th to the program with the win. After turning the quickest lap in his Qualifying group, winning his Heat Race and claiming high-points honors, Sarff took the green flag for the Feature from outside Row 2 and immediately put the pressure on early leader McIntosh, hounding the Keith Kunz Motorsports #71K nearly non-stop over the first half of the 30-lap race. Inside and outside, Sarff tried several routes to make the pass but was unable to do so. That was until Lap 17 – five laps after a restart – when Sarff finally got close enough to execute his first slide job maneuver in Turn 3, which McIntosh immediately denied with a crossover move out of Turn 4. “[McIntosh] was running the bottom in (Turns) 1 and 2, so I couldn’t slide him there, which was the best spot to do it,” Sarff said. “So was sliding him there in 3 and 4, and it just got so tight off of 4 that he was able to run down the hill back across me every time.” But Sarff gathered his wheels back in and wound the car up on the top lane again in preparation to throw another slider two laps later, which was successful. With a burst of speed off Turn 2, Sarff drove deep into Turn 3 on the bottom and slid ahead of McIntosh by several car-lengths to take over the lead. “We struggled a little on the bottom – it was a little boggy – so right through the middle and the top, the thing would just carry so much speed,” Sarff said. “It was just an amazing racecar.” Despite Sarff’s repeated challenges, the move was much to McIntosh’s surprise. “I felt like after the restart, I was really good,” McIntosh said. “I changed my line up, just started doing something different, and I felt like it was a lot better and I was carrying good speed. I was honestly surprised when I saw Karter poke his nose to the inside because I felt so good. “At that point, I was trying to just play defense, and once he got by, I really didn’t have anything for him.” Now with the lead, Sarff began to drive away from the field, turning laps multiple tenths quicker on average than those behind him as he cruised to a first Feature win of the year. Behind him, Chase McDermand was making his presence felt as well, capitalizing on the lower-lane momentum around the 3/8-mile high-banks to get by McIntosh for second on Lap 26. “I was trying to figure out [McIntosh’s] weakness and where I could gain on him a little bit,” McDermand said. “Just making different lines, trying to make speed down the straightaway. “I was able to get him in (Turns) 3 and 4, which was kind of where I was thinking. I feel like we were close to the same pace in 1 and 2, but I just chose a different line there in 3 and 4 and was able to get a really good run off the corner. He kinda slipped-up there off of 4 and didn’t quite have the run down the straightaway that I had.” McDermand held on for second while McIntosh settled for third with 19 total laps led. Still, McIntosh built on his points lead slightly, now tallying in 16 points ahead of runner-up Zach Daum. UP NEXT The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets complete the trip through Missouri with a visit to Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex on Saturday, April 6. Tickets are on sale in advance at XtremeOutlawSeries.com and will also available at the gate. If you can’t be there, stream every lap live on DIRTVision. ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) Feature (30 Laps): 1. 21K-Karter Sarff[4]; 2. 40-Chase McDermand[5]; 3. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[2]; 4. 25K-Taylor Reimer[8]; 5. 67-Ryan Timms[10]; 6. 7U-Zach Daum[1]; 7. 97-Kale Drake[3]; 8. 19AZ-Hayden Reinbold[9]; 9. 14S-Tyler Smith[11]; 10. 19M-Ethan Mitchell[6]; 11. 67K-Ashton Torgerson[7]; 12. 1K-Brayton Lynch[14]; 13. 5U-Peter Smith[17]; 14. 55-Trevor Cline[22]; 15. 88A-Austin Torgerson[13]; 16. 98-Luke Drotschie[16]; 17. 66-Jayden Clay[21]; 18. 938-Bradley Fezard[20]; 19. 89-Todd McVay[19]; 20. 92-Josh Most[18]; 21. 44-Branigan Roark[15]; 22. 13-Elijah Gile[12]; 23. 56-Tyler Edwards[23]

Sheldon Haudenschild’s misfortune is Gravel’s good luck as he earns his 90th World of Outlaws win.OSBORN, MO (April 5, 2024) – A little luck never hurts, especially in Sprint Car Racing.Sheldon Haudenschild appeared poised for a third straight US 36 Raceway victory on Friday night. He’d taken the lead early and sliced through plenty of traffic as he led the opening 20 circuits. But an incident with a lapped car left him spun between Turns 1 and 2 and ended his hopes of a three-peat at the 3/8-mile.The biggest beneficiary to Haudenschild’s troubles? David Gravel. The Watertown, CT native had clawed his way from fourth to second in the Big Game Motorsports #2. When Haudenschild spun, the gift of the lead fell into Gravel’s lap.After inheriting the top spot, Gravel never looked back on his way to his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car win of 2024. Last year Gravel’s visit to US 36 resulted in a DNF. This year it resulted in redemption.“I was just kind of searching around racing with those guys, and we were able to get to third and then get to second,” Gravel said. “And then Sheldon got into the lapped car there, but I felt like we were right there and could pace him well. I liked my chances. I wish we got to race it out. But the guys gave me a really good car.”The triumph marked Gravel’s 90th with The Greatest Show on Dirt, making him only the 10th driver to reach 90. US 36 Raceway became the 46th different track he’s won at in World of Outlaws competition. Gravel’s car owner – Tod Quiring – is up to 96 Series victories as he gets closer to making Big Game Motorsports only the sixth team in Series history with triple digit wins.An all-NOS Energy Drink front row consisting of Tyler Courtney and Sheldon Haudenschild led the field to green for the 35-lap finale. “Sunshine” jumped ahead on the initial start, but a crash on the front straightaway before the lap was complete caused a complete restart.The opening lap not being finished before the red flag was Gravel’s first piece of good fortune in the Feature. He had slipped all the way to seventh from the second row on the first lap, but the wreck gave him a second chance at a strong start – a chance he took advantage of.“That first start was really bad, and I fell back to seventh,” Gravel explained. “Luckily, there was a red right before everybody crossed the start finish line or I definitely wouldn’t have won this race here tonight. Luckily, we were able to get a redo there.”On the full restart Haudenschild got the advantage on the outside and led the first lap. As they clicked off the early laps Haudenschild committed to the cushion while Courtney stayed low. Courtney closed on Haudenschild and nearly took the top spot out of Turn 4 on Lap 7, but Haudenschild moved low to protect and began to pad his lead.Behind the lead duo Gravel found some grip in the center of Turns 1 and 2 and used it to drive around James McFadden for third on Lap 9. Only six laps later Gravel drove around Courtney to climb into the runner-up spot. Behind Gravel a charging Donny Schatz followed Gravel’s path to the front as Schatz moved into third on Lap 17 after starting seventh.Only six laps after Gravel took second was when Haudenschild came together with the lapped car of Chris Windom in Turns 1 and 2. The resulting spin dropped him from contention and left nose damage on the NOS Energy Drink 17.The incident handed the lead right over to Gravel who planned to take full advantage.Gravel drove away early on the following restart. A handful of cautions interrupted Gravel’s progress toward the checkered flag, but he still mastered each restart as he left Schatz no openings to make a move.Schatz closed a couple times as the two navigated traffic, but he could never near Gravel enough to truly challenge. Gravel took off on one last restart with four laps to go and held on to win by just north of one second.Gravel has collected three straight podiums as he continues to build momentum in search of his first World of Outlaws title. The win allowed him to slightly extend his point lead to 22 markers ahead of Schatz. He’s locked in and ready for that title and the results show.“It’s been a good year,” Gravel said. “We stubbed our toe one night, but other than that I feel like we’ve been on our game. Donny has been running strong, too, so I know it’s going to be a battle all year long.”Schatz brought the Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing #15 home second for his fourth podium in the last six races as the 10-time champion continues to get hot early. Schatz felt that a late wreck that took the leaders out of lapped traffic and caused an open red hurt his chances of winning.“My guys did a great job,” Schatz said. “I felt like we were coming there in traffic, and that momentum kind of went away on the open red. We had to make an adjustment. That’s what you have to do. You have to go for it. We went for it, and it helped me in one corner and hurt me in the other.”Michael “Buddy” Kofoid completed the top three at US 36. The result marked the Roth Motorsports driver’s best result of the season. Kofoid has now pieced together five consecutive top 10 finishes including top fives in the last two. The Penngrove, CA driver credited a pivotal restart for helping him secure the podium.“I knew we were restarting sixth and I finally had the outside,” Kofoid said. “I was thinking if I could snooker a couple guys there we should be good because I could carry so much speed into (Turn) 1 and almost slide through the center and if somebody was on the outside or inside, kind of shoot the gap and do that most of the race.”James McFadden and Tyler Courtney completed the top five.A huge 24th to sixth run gave Chase Randall the night’s KSE Hard Charger aboard the TKS Motorsports #2KS.Buddy Kofoid earned Simpson Quick Time honors.NOS Energy Drink Heats One, Three, and Four belonged to Buddy Kofoid, Tyler Courtney, and Rico Abreu. Milton Hershey School Heat Two went to Sheldon Haudenschild.Anthony Macri won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars debut at Arrowhead Speedway on Saturday, April 6 for the $20,000-to-win Jason Johnson Classic. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.FEATURE RESULTS:NOS Energy Drink Feature (35 Laps): 1. 2-David Gravel[3]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz[7]; 3. 83-Michael Kofoid[5]; 4. 83SR-James McFadden[4]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 6. 2KS-Chase Randall[24]; 7. 41-Carson Macedo[6]; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart[12]; 9. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[25]; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[11]; 11. 8-Cory Eliason[19]; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 13. 39M-Anthony Macri[21]; 14. 55-Chris Windom[13]; 15. 17B-Bill Balog[22]; 16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[23]; 17. 23-Garet Williamson[14]; 18. 88-Austin McCarl[10]; 19. 18T-Tanner Holmes[18]; 20. 45X-Jace Park[20]; 21. 70-Kraig Kinser[26]; 22. 7S-Landon Crawley[17]; 23. 5T-Ryan Timms[9]; 24. 24-Rico Abreu[8]; 25. 1A-Jacob Allen[15]; 26. 26-Zeb Wise[16]For full results, CLICK HERE.

Austin Prock is provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car. while John Force and daughter Brittany win semifinal rounds in #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge

CHANDLER, Ariz. (April 5, 2024) – It was a display of sheer Force in Friday’s NHRA qualifying for the Arizona Nationals at Firebird Motorsports Park – as in an outstanding showing by all three John Force Racing drivers. Austin Prock (3.840 seconds/334.40 mph) captured the provisional No. 1 qualifier spot in Funny Car. “For sure it was cooking,” Prock said of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. If Prock can hang on to the No. 1, it would be his second No. 1 qualifying effort in the season’s first three races. As for the main event, Sunday’s Arizona Nationals eliminations, Prock hopes to follow in the footsteps of the driver he is filling in for this season, three-time Funny Car champion Robert Hight, who won the last two editions of the Arizona Nationals in 2022 and 2023. “I can see the confidence in the team this weekend,” Prock said. “We have a really good notebook of runs here. They’ve won the last few times they came here and we’re off to another great start, but I think we were all a little bit nervous after Pomona (Prock lost in the first round of eliminations).” Prock said there is a feeling in the entire Force camp that this could be a very special weekend for the entire team. “It’s a hell of a start,” Prock said. “All three cars made really outstanding runs and John and Brittany moving into the #2Fast2Tasty final round tomorrow. That’s big for our organization. I was having this talk with one of our track prep guys and I said, ‘Hopefully that’s just a precursor of what’s to come this season from our camp.’” ***************************** Team owner John Force kicked off his bid to win a historic NHRA Funny Car record three separate and distinct events in the same race weekend in strong fashion Friday at Firebird Motorsports Park. In the semifinals of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Force’s PEAK Antifreeze & Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car (3.901 seconds at 325.37 mph) easily defeated Ron Capps (8.909 seconds at 82.80 mph). “Capps is a great racer and we got away with it,” Force said. “Maybe this old guy still has some hope.” Force will face J.R. Todd in Saturday’s #2Fast2Tasty Challenge final round at approximately 4 pm ET. Todd defeated Matt Hagan in their Challenge semifinal matchup. Then, after Saturday’s first round of qualifying in which Force hopes to take the #2Fast2Tasty win. He will come back a few hours later in the second round of qualifying to resume his matchup with Hagan in the postponed final round of the Winternationals (Pomona, Calif.) as part of Saturday’s final qualifying run of the weekend. If Force can win both the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge and the rescheduled Winternationals final on Saturday, he will go for the weekend trifecta in the eliminations of the weekend’s main event, the Arizona Nationals, on Sunday. He is in the No. 4 provisional qualifying spot heading into Saturday’s two qualifying rounds. “I got a little luck on my side,” Force said. “I’m just having fun. Jimmy Prock (Austin Prock’s crew chief) said to me ‘at least we can sleep tonight because you go to bed sick, just worried about failing.’ He struggled at Pomona then he comes out and runs low ET here today with Austin. So I did okay, we all did okay. And yes, I’ll be able to sleep tonight.”  ************************* Then there was Brittany Force, who won her Top Fuel semifinal battle in the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. The pilot of the Monster Energy Top Fuel dragster (3.689 seconds/334.90 mph) advanced to Saturday’s finals of the Challenge, defeating Justin Ashley (3.902 seconds/313.58 mph). Force will meet Tony Schumacher in the #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final round, tentatively scheduled for 3:25 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. Schumacher defeated Billy Torrence in the other #2Fast2Tasty Challenge semifinal on Friday. Equally important, while she’s never won at Firebird, Brittany has three runner-up showings in regular national events there and hopes to break through into the Winner’s Circle in Sunday’s Arizona Nationals. “We’re coming off strong after Q1, at 3.689, an incredible run,” Brittany Force said. “It was exactly what we were targeting and it went straight down the track.” The run gave Brittany the No. 2 provisional qualifying spot heading into Saturday’s two additional rounds of qualifying. She’s hoping to replicate what she did two weeks ago at Pomona, when she was the No. 1 qualifier, advancing all the way to the semifinals on race day. “We’re off to a really great start and I feel like we’re carrying our momentum over from Pomona,” Force said. “It’s shaping up to be a good weekend and we have two more runs tomorrow. We’re hoping for consistency to keep us in the top half of the field before going into race day.” ************************* TV SCHEDULE: In addition to streaming on NHRA.TV, here’s this weekend’s broadcast schedule (all times ET):Friday, April 5 (9:30-11 p.m.), FS1: First round of qualifying (replayed Saturday morning at 3:30-5 a.m. on FS1 and again at 7-8:30 a.m. Saturday on FS2).Saturday, April 6 (10-10:30 p.m.), FS1: Winternationals final round (previously postponed from Pomona two weeks ago due to weather).Sunday, April 7: (10:30 a.m. to Noon), FS1: Highlights from Saturday’s qualifying.Sunday, April 7: Finals (6:30-9:30 p.m.), FS1. #2024ORCE

CONCORD, NC (April 5, 2024) – In a continued effort to put safety at the forefront, World Racing Group is expanding its safety efforts to the American Sprint Car Series with the addition of the ASCS Fire and Rescue Team.

Like the addition of a traveling safety team for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series at the beginning of the season, the ASCS National Tour will also have its own safety crew on scene at every event.

Those who’ve raced with the ASCS in previous years will find familiarity with the team leading the safety efforts, as it will be headed by Billy Hurt, whose team has been with the ASCS Warrior Region for several years.

“The ASCS Fire and Rescue Team is excited for the opportunity to be a part of the National Tour,” Hurt said. “The National teams will have peace of mind knowing we will be there to assist and protect them at all of their events. This is just one of the good things World Racing Group is bringing to Sprint Car racing, and we can’t wait to see what other things improve with this tour.”

Hurt, who has been involved in the safety and rescue of Sprint Car drivers for over 22 years, has been in the fire service since 1982, serving first as a volunteer, and has been a career firefighter and EMT for 26 years in Columbia, MO. Bringing his familiar crew on the road with him, they combine for over 70 years of fire service and training. His team is also an active part of the on-site safety/first responders during the Tulsa Shootout and Chili Bowl Nationals.

“The addition of the ASCS Fire and Rescue Team at all National events will be a tremendous asset for the American Sprint Car Series and World Racing Group going forward,” said Lonnie Wheatley, ASCS Series Director. “While ideally, we would hope to never have the need to put them into action, all teams competing at ASCS National events can rest assured that they are in the most capable hands if and when the Fire and Rescue Team’s extensive skills and experience are called upon. This is a significant step for the American Sprint Car Series in ensuring the safety of its competitors and an early indication of further positive developments for the Series.”

The National Tour of the American Sprint Car Series will begin its 2024 season at Super Bee Speedway in Chatham, LA, on Friday-Saturday, April 19-20. An updated lineup of events throughout the 2024 season is expected soon.

The 2024 season marks the 33rd season of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the American Sprint Car Series National Tour, the ASCS Nation includes regional tours encompassing Wing and Non-Wing competition.

Live coverage of the National Tour can be found exclusively at http://www.DIRTVision.com.

For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ascsracing).

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PASSION AND PROFESSIONALISM: Continuing the Legacy of Jason JohnsonJason Johnson Racing has established itself as one of the sport’s premier teams and continues to uphold Johnson’s standards.OSBORN, MO (April 4, 2024) – Jason Johnson was determined to carve out a path in Sprint Car Racing. Every step of the way in his career he displayed dedication to the sport. Eventually, he worked his way to the opportunity to start his own team. Powered by passion and founded on principles of professionalism, Jason Johnson Racing was born in 2010.The team continues to operate based on the foundation Johnson laid as they’ve become one of the sport’s powerhouses with Philip and Brooke Dietz in ownership and Carson Macedo driving. And this Saturday at Arrowhead Speedway, they’ll look to honor Johnson by topping the Jason Johnson Classic.With Johnson holding his team to a high standard, success came right away. The 2010 American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) championship belonged to Johnson. The JJR #41 took a total of 19 trips to Victory Lane during its debut season.For almost the entire time Johnson raced, his cousin – Philip Dietz – was right alongside him on the mechanical side. There were times early in Johnson’s career when Dietz slept on the floor to have the opportunity to join his cousin at the racetrack. Even though Dietz was with Kasey Kahne Racing when JJR came to life, he recalls how Johnson designed his team for success.“He set the bar pretty high years ago,” Dietz said. “In his early days, he worked for some pretty reputable teams, one being Steve Kinser Racing. How they ran their team and everything they did during that time; Jason took notes of it all.  When that opportunity came to start up his own team, he applied a lot of those same things. He was obviously very particular about the cleanliness of all the gear and having everything look nice and professional to represent our sponsors the best way possible. And on top of that, there was a lot of effort that went into performance and never being content with settling for anything other than being a contender.”The team philosophy led to continued success for Johnson throughout the team’s early years. He reeled off three consecutive ASCS championships from 2012 through 2014. And then Johnson decided to take the step to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars in 2015. An injury at Placerville disrupted Johnson’s first season, but in March of 2016 he tasted redemption when he scored JJR’s first World of Outlaws win as a team at none other than Placerville. Later that year, Johnson summited Sprint Car Racing’s mountaintop with a thrilling Knoxville Nationals win and delivered five words that’ll echo forever, “Shit, I wanted to win!”Johnson went on to tally two more wins in 2016 and added another six over the next year and a half before his tragic passing in June of 2018. But that night would not signal the end of Jason Johnson Racing. His family wouldn’t allow it. They wanted to keep Johnson’s legacy going on the racetrack just how he would’ve preferred. His wife – Bobbi – continued to field the car as they hired Carson Macedo to finish out 2018. Right off the bat, Macedo took the #41 to Victory Lane at Knoxville Raceway in his 360 Nationals Preliminary Night.“I could see it right away in 2018 when I came and drove for Philip and Bobbi, who at the time was the owner of the team,” Macedo recalled. “It was clear cut. They were just professional. Phil was just on top of his game. You could tell their car was just sound every time in hit the racetrack. Phil’s attention to detail was extraordinary. It was just a mold I fit into so easily.”Throughout the entire existence of JJR, the team has prioritized representing their sponsors in the best way possible. Mesilla Valley Transportation has been a longtime supporter, and Royal Jones – company CEO – has found it incredibly easy to work with them and been impressed by their professionalism and dedication.“It was easy from the start when I first met Jason,” Jones said. “He walked in my office. I’d never met him. He gave me a proposal to sponsor him for the next year. I got to know him that way. He was just so sincere, so honest, and just down to earth and always trying to do the right thing. I couldn’t help but take a liking to him, so we sponsored him the next couple years in ASCS until he moved onto the Outlaws. “When he was going to go to the Outlaws, he brought me sheets of what he thought it was going to cost and how he was going to do things. It was like, ‘Wow, these are quite the proposals. You could be working for me getting me business.’ This guy had it all down to a science. He was just so amazing in how he looked at it. You could just tell he was going to be successful.”When 2018 came to a close, Macedo had already inked a deal to drive for Kyle Larson Racing with the World of Outlaws in 2019. That opened the door for JJR to bring David Gravel aboard for the next two years. Gravel pieced together a strong pair of seasons that saw him bag 19 Series wins including the 2019 Knoxville Nationals.“They’re a great family,” Gravel said. “I love Jason’s parents. They’re really good people. Phil’s a good guy. Bobbi is a hard-working person. They built something from really nothing. They didn’t have much, and they’ve kind of built a little empire over there and it’s still going today. I definitely had two great years of racing over there.”Gravel’s departure for Big Game Motorsports presented the opportunity for Macedo to rejoin the team, and it’s been a wildly successful reunion. The Lemoore, CA native collected 11 checkered flags in 2021 and repeated the feat in 2022. He added another seven wins in 2023 and put together his third consecutive third place finish in the standings. Overall, Jason Johnson Racing now sits at 60 World of Outlaws victories, and Macedo is responsible for half.The time with JJR continues to be a dream come true for Macedo who grew up with one goal in mind – becoming a World of Outlaws driver.“I’m with a team that has really good, faithful people behind it,” Macedo said. “Philip is a great guy. He’s a good person. He’s a loyal person. I see the same thing in all the sponsors and partners that are part of the team. It just makes me happy. It makes me thankful for what I have every day. I just couldn’t be more appreciative to be a part of JJR, a team that has a lot of history behind it because of what Jason started.”What Jason started continues to live on. Led by Dietz, the current version of JJR continues to carry the spirit of Johnson by upholding his standards and competing at the highest level. And they have no plans of slowing down as they chase Johnson’s goal of bringing a World of Outlaws title to his race team.“It’s very important to us to carry on the JJR legacy and represent the team no different than how Jason would want it done,” Dietz said. “Our goal in 2015, when we first signed up with the Outlaws, was to run top 10. We knew that it was going to be a challenging year, and we were faced with so many different things between the engines and wing package. “As time went on, we kept bumping our goals up more and more. I think the following year we were hoping to at least win three or five races, which we accomplished. Nowadays, if we don’t win at least five races a year we’re kind of disappointed. It’s pretty amazing that we hit 60 wins the other weekend. It’s very special to me to keep this team up front, keep it competitive. Hopefully, we can continue that on for many years and win many more races.”Macedo and the team continue their championship pursuit this weekend at Osborn, MO’s US 36 Raceway on April 5 before the Jason Johnson Classic at Colcord, OK’s Arrowhead Speedway on April 6. For tickets, CLICK HERE.If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

ROSSBURG, OH (April 4, 2024) – Legends will collide when the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to Eldora Speedway for the #LetsRaceTwo doubleheader, May 3-4. The best Sprint Car drivers in the country will gather in Ohio for the Series’ first of two weekend stops at the iconic “Big E.” Both nights post $12,000 to win top prizes, along with key championship points for Series contenders. Of the top current championship contenders, five have picked up wins at Eldora in the last three years – Carson Macedo, David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Logan Schuchart and Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild.The World of Outlaws will return to Eldora for the marquee Kings Royal weekend, July 19-20. EVENT INFO: Date – Friday-Saturday, May 3-4 Location – Rossburg, OH Track Record – 12.599 sec. by David Gravel on Sept. 23, 2020 Times (CT) – 1:30PM Ticket Sales Begin (Main Gate, Turn 4, Pit Gate) 2PM Spectator Gates Open 6PM Hot Laps/Qualifying -Racing to followTickets – Available at WorldofOutlaws.com. How to Watch – If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.Last Race Video Recap (May 6, 2023 – #LetsRaceTwo) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6-Xt-Yq7LEPrevious World of Outlaws winners at Eldora – 2023 – Logan Schuchart on May 5, Rico Abreu on May 6, Carson Macedo on July 14, Donny Schatz on July 15, Rico Abreu on Sept. 22 2022 –David Gravel on July 13, Brent Marks on July 14, David Gravel on July 15 (Day), Brent Marks on July 15 (Night), Rico Abreu on Sept. 23 2021 – Brent Marks on May 8 (Day), Sheldon Haudenschild on May 8, Carson Macedo on July 14, Tyler Courtney on July 17 (Day), Kyle Larson on July 17, Carson Macedo on July 18, Logan Schuchart on Sept. 24 2019 – Donny Schatz on May 10, Donny Schatz on July 17, Brad Sweet on July 18, Donny Schatz on July 19, Brad Sweet on July 20, Logan Schuchart on Sept. 27 2018 – Donny Schatz on May 11, Donny Schatz on May 12, Shane Stewart on July 12, Donny Schatz on July 13, Donny Schatz on July 14, Brent Marks on Sept. 21, Christopher Bell on October 14 2017 – Logan Schuchart on May 12, Donny Schatz on May 13, Kerry Madsen on July 13, Christopher Bell on July 14, Donny Schatz on May 15, Tim Shaffer on Sept. 22 2016 – Kerry Madsen on May 6, Kerry Madsen on May 7, David Gravel on July 14, Daryn Pittman on July 15, Donny Schatz on July 16, Shane Stewart on Sept. 23 2015 – Donny Schatz on May 8, Donny Schatz on May 9, Shane Stewart on July 17, Shane Stewart on July 18, Greg Wilson on Sept. 25 2014 – Shane Stewart on May 2, David Gravel on May 3, Sammy Swindell on July 11, Kerry Madsen on July 12, Joey Saldana on Sept. 19 2013 – Kerry Madsen on May 3, Daryn Pittman on May 4, Kerry Madsen on July 12, Brad Sweet on July 13 2012 – Chad Kemenah on May 4, Sammy Swindell on May 5, Joey Saldana on July 13, Sammy Swindell on July 14 2011 – Joey Saldana on May 8, Tim Shaffer on July 15, Tyler Walker on July 16, Joey Saldana on Sept. 23 2010 – Joey Saldana on May 8, Paul McMahan on May 9, Joey Saldana on July 16, Steve Kinser on July 17, Jac Haudenschild on Sept. 24 2009 – Donny Schatz on May 9, Terry McCarl on July 17, Donny Schatz on July 18, Jason Sides on Sept. 25 2008 – Craig Dollansky on April 11, Donny Schatz on May 31, Joey Saldana on July 11, Daryn Pittman on July 13, Joey Saldana on Sept. 19 2007 – Jason Meyers on April 13, Paul McMahan on June 2, Steve Kinser on July 13, Donny Schatz on July 14, Joey Saldana on Sept. 21 2006 – Sammy Swindell on April 7, Sammy Swindell on April 8, Craig Dollansky on June 3, Craig Dollansky on July 14, Joey Saldana on July 15, Joey Saldana on Aug. 4 2005 – Sammy Swindell on April 8, Steve Kinser on April 9, Sammy Swindell on June 4, Steve Kinser on July 15, Steve Kinser on July 16, Jac Haudenschild on Aug. 5 2004 – Steve Kinser on April 9, Steve Kinser on April 10, Danny Lasoski on June 5, Dale Blaney on July 16, Jason Sides on July 17, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 6 2003 – Donny Schatz on April 18, Sammy Swindell on April 19, Steve Kinser on May 31, Steve Kinser on July 18, Steve Kinser on July 19, Jason Meyers on Aug. 8 2002 – Craig Dollansky on April 13, Steve Kinser on June 1, Daryn Pittman on July 19, Joey Saldana on July 20, Steve Kinser on Aug. 2 2001 – Stevie Smith on April 13, Mark Kinser on April 14, Andy Hillenburg on June 2, Andy Hillenburg on July 20, Mark Kinser on July 21, Steve Kinser on Aug. 3 2000 – Steve Kinser on April 22, Mark Kinser on June 3, Johnny Herrera on July 13, Sammy Swindell in July 14, Dale Blaney on July 15, Tim Shaffer on Aug. 4 1999 – Steve Kinser on April 2, Tim Shaffer on June 5, Mark Kinser on July 15, Greg Hodnett on July 16, Sammy Swindell on July 17, Stevie Smith on Aug. 6 1998 – Joey Saldana on April 10, Sammy Swindell on April 11, Sammy Swindell on June 13, Jac Haudenschild on July 17, Jac Haudenschild on July 18, Jac Haudenschild on Aug. 7 1997 – Sammy Swindell on April 4, Dave Blaney on June 14, Dave Blaney on July 18, Steve Kinser on July 19, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 8 1996 – Sammy Swindell on April 5, Steve Kinser on June 15, Mark Kinser on July 19, Johnny Herrera on July 20, Mark Kinser on Aug. 9 1995 – Dave Blaney on April 14, Jac Haudenschild on April 15, Steve Kinser on June 10, Dave Blaney on Aug. 11 1994 – Jeff Swindell on April 16, Kenny Jacobs on April 17, Kenny Jacobs on June 11, Dave Blaney on Aug. 12 1993 – Dave Blaney on Dave Blaney on April 17, April 18, Dave Blaney on June 11, Steve Kinser on June 12, Dave Blaney on Aug. 13 1992 – Sammy Swindell on April 12 1991 – Doug Wolfgang on April 20, Steve Kinser on June 7, Sammy Swindell on June 8 1990 – Steve Kinser on April 21, Steve Kinser on April 22, Rickey Hood on June 8, Steve Kinser on June 9 1989 – Lee Brewer on April 22, Jeff Swindell on April 23, Bobby Davis, Jr. on June 9, Doug Wolfgang on June 10, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 4, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 5 1988 – Sammy Swindell on April 9, Doug Wolfgang on April 10, Jac Haudenschild on Aug. 26, Steve Kinser on Aug. 27 1987 – Steve Kinser on April 12, Dave Blaney on Aug. 7, Steve Kinser on Aug. 8 1986 – Sammy Swindell on Aug. 7, Kenny Jacobs on Aug. 8, Bobby Allen on Aug. 9 1985 – Doug Wolfgang on April 13, Doug Wolfgang on April 14, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 8, Jac Haudenschild on Aug. 9, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 10 1984 – Sammy Swindell on April 7, Ron Shuman on April 8 1983 – Steve Kinser on May 21, Brad Doty on May 22 1982 – Danny Smith on May 8, Sammy Swindell on May 9, Doug Wolfgang on June 12, Jac Haudenschild on Aug. 4, Ronnie Daniels on Aug. 5, Rick Ferkel on Aug. 6, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 7, Steve Kinser on Oct. 17 1981 – Sammy Swindell on May 16, Sammy Swindell on Aug. 6, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 7, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 8, Sammy Swindell on Oct. 17, Steve Kinser on Oct. 18 1980 – Sammy Swindell on April 13, Steve Kinser on May 3, Steve Kinser on May 4, Steve Kinser on May 24, Steve Kinser on July 5, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 7, Sammy Swindell on Aug.8, Steve Kinser on Aug. 9, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 30, Doug Wolfgang on Aug. 31, Steve Kinser on Oct. 19 1979 – Ron Shuman on April 15, Dub May on May 27, Steve Kinser on July 3, Sammy Swindell on July 14, Steve Kinser on Aug. 2, Steve Kinser on Aug. 3, Steve Kinser on Aug. 4, Doug Wolfgang on Sept. 1, Shane Carson on Oct. 21 1978 – Bobby Allen on April 16, Rick Ferkel on April 30, Steve Kinser on May 21, Rick Ferkel on July 3, Randy Ford on Aug. 3, Rick Ferkel on Aug. 4, Rick Ferkel on Aug. 5, Steve Kinser on Sept. 3, Shane Carson on Oct. 29

April 4, 2024

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed this weekend to Martinsville Speedway, a track that is special in many ways to the Wood family and others on the crew as well.

Some of the best seats overlooking the paper-clip-shaped half-mile oval are in the Glenn Wood Tower, named for the founder of the No. 21 team who made his Cup Series debut as a driver at Martinsville in 1953. The team, which has its roots in nearby Stuart, Va., has been a fixture at the speedway in the years since that May 17 race in which Wood drove a 1953 Lincoln to a 30th-place finish and earned $25 for his efforts.

Sunday’s Cook Out 400 will be the Woods’ 126th Cup start at Martinsville and it will be the fifth Cup race there for Burton, whose family is from nearby South Boston, Va.

Martinsville is also special to crew chief Jeremy Bullins, who grew up 40 miles south of the track in Walnut Cove, N.C., and attended many a race at Martinsville in his younger days.

“Martinsville is my favorite track on the circuit,” Bullins said. “I’d race there every week if it was up to me.

“I love how technical you have to be and how close together we will race for 400 laps.”

Bullins is looking to build on last fall’s race at Martinsville, where Burton scored the second of the two top-15 finishes he’s posted there.

“We got a top-15 with Harrison last fall and look forward to building on that and hopefully putting together a great run with our Motorcraft Ford,” Bullins said. “It’s a great weekend for the Wood Brothers family being so close to home, and it will be nice to have so many of them at the track with us this week.”

Practice for the Cook Out 400 is set for Saturday at 4:35 p.m. Eastern Time to be followed by qualifying at 5:20. FOX Sports 2 will provide the TV coverage.

Sunday’s 400-lap race is scheduled to get the green flag just after 3 p.m. with Stage breaks at Laps 80 and 180.

FOX Sports 1 will carry the broadcast.
 

Ridgeway, VirginiaApril 5-7, 2024

CLOCKING-IN AT MARTINSVILLEAll three NASCAR national series will convene this weekend at one of the most historic short-tracks in NASCAR history: Martinsville Speedway. Famously known as the “Paperclip”, the .526-mile Virginia venue is the only track on the series’ schedule to have hosted NASCAR’s premier series since its inception in 1949.  This weekend will mark the first of two tripleheader race weekends at Martinsville Speedway this season, with the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS), NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) returning to the Virginia short-track in November for the final playoff elimination race to set the 2024 Championship Four across all three series.

CHEVROLET IN THE CUP SERIES AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAYChevrolet is the winningest manufacturer in NCS’ history at Martinsville Speedway. The Bowtie brand will head into the weekend with 60 wins in the series’ 151-race history at the “Paperclip”. Buck Baker took Chevrolet to victory lane in the 1957 Virginia 500 to deliver the manufacturer its first NCS victory at Martinsville Speedway. Nearly 67 years later, the Bowtie brand has reeled off a series-leading 60 victories – most recently one year ago by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson.

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1Martinsville Speedway – April 16, 2023

The 2021 NCS Champion is one of five active Team Chevy drivers that have claimed a coveted grandfather clock in their racing careers, with Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates William Byron (April 2022), Alex Bowman (Oct. 2021) and Chase Elliott (Nov. 2020) each earning a victory, as well as Kyle Busch with two triumphs (April 2016, Oct. 2017).

Justin Allgaier, No. 7 JR Motorsports Camaro SS Martinsville Speedway – Oct. 28, 2023

CHEVROLET IN THE XFINITY SERIESAT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAYIn the NASCAR Xfinity Series, five drivers from three different Chevrolet teams claimed top-10 results at Richmond Raceway last weekend, with series’ rookie Jesse Love and the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Camaro SS team leading the charge with a fifth-place finish. Chevrolet’s drivers and teams will shift towards yet another short-track this weekend – contesting under the lights at Martinsville Speedway in Saturday’s Dude Wipes 250.

The Bowtie brand leads the series’ active manufacturers with seven NXS wins at the .526-mile Virginia venue. JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier is the series’ most recent winner at the track after claiming his first grandfather clock and a spot in the NXS Championship Four in the Oct. 2023 event. JR Motorsports is credited with Chevrolet’s last three NXS wins at Martinsville Speedway, with Josh Berry and Noah Gragson driving the organization to a season sweep at the track in 2021.

Kvapil Set for NXS DebutA notable entry for Saturday’s 250-lap event includes Carson Kvapil, who will be making his first career NXS start behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Camaro SS. Carrying the Chevy Truck Season livery for his series’ debut, the 20-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina, native has already made his mark in the short-track world. Kvapil is a two-time champion in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car Division – both titles earned with JR Motorsports’ late model program. The young Team Chevy driver has previously competed twice at Martinsville Speedway in the Late Model division – earning back-to-back podium finishes (2022 – second; 2023 – third).

CHEVROLET IN THE TRUCK SERIES AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAYThe NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to competition to kick-off the tripleheader weekend with Friday’s Long John Silver’s 200. This weekend’s event will mark the first of two appearances by the NCTS at Martinsville Speedway this season, with the .526-mile Virginia venue returning as the site of the series’ final playoff elimination race for the first time since 2021. The NCTS has just one short-track race in the books thus far this season – an event that saw Team Chevy’s Christian Eckes pick up the win and lead the Bowtie brand to a podium sweep at Bristol Motor Speedway.

William Byron, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado RSTMartinsville Speedway – April 7, 2022

In the series’ 46-race history at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 17 victories. Mike Skinner piloted the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Silverado to the Bowtie brand’s first NCTS victory at the “Paperclip” in Sept. 1996, with the manufacturer going on to make it three-straight with wins by Rich Bickle (1997) and Jay Sauter (1998). Most recently, it was Team Chevy’s William Byron that took the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Silverado to the victory in the series’ April 2022 event, with the driver going on to return to victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series two days later with Hendrick Motorsports. A victory in Friday’s 200-lap event would tie the series’ current win record by a manufacturer – currently held by Toyota with 18 victories.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS’ ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION CONTINUES AT MARTINSVILLEAt the heart of Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary celebration lies Martinsville Speedway. On April 29, 1984, Hendrick Motorsports became a first-time winner in NASCAR’s top division when Geoff Bodine drove the organization’s No. 5 Chevrolet to victory lane at Martinsville Speedway. Now, 40 years later, Hendrick Motorsports will return to the site of its first win as the winningest organization in NASCAR Cup Series’ history.  From Hendrick Motorsports’ first NCS win at Martinsville Speedway in 1984, to its most recent NCS win at Circuit of The Americas two weeks ago – all of the organization’s victories in the NASCAR national ranks have been in partnership with Chevrolet. Hendrick Motorsports has been the flag-bearer team in Chevrolet’s racing efforts in NASCAR. The organization owns 304 of Chevrolet’s 855 all-time NCS wins (36%) and 14 of Chevrolet’s 33 NCS Driver Championships (42%) – making it the winningest manufacturer and team partnership in series’ history. Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports also hold titles as the winningest manufacturer and organization in series’ history at Martinsville Speedway. Leading its manufacturer competitors with 60 all-time NCS victories at Martinsville Speedway, 28 of those triumphs have come in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports – a series’ record of the most wins earned by one team at a single track. Nine different drivers have contributed to Hendrick Motorsports’ winning record at Martinsville Speedway, including all four drivers in the organization’s current lineup: Chase Elliott (one win – 2020), Alex Bowman (one win – 2021), William Byron (one win – 2022) and Kyle Larson (one win – 2023).

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       Chevrolet will pace the field in the tripleheader race weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The Silverado RST will lead the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in Friday’s Long John Silver’s 200; the Camaro SS will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series in Saturday’s Dude Wipes 250; and the Camaro ZL1 will lead the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday’s Cook Out 400.  ·       With 18 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 61% with 11 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – four wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – two wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – four wins). ·       Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway:      Kyle Busch – two wins (2016 & 2017)Kyle Larson – one win (2023)William Byron – one win (2022)Chase Elliott – one win (2020) ·       In 150 NASCAR Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 60 victories and 56 pole wins – both of which are series-leading records.  ·       In the past eight points-paying races on tracks measuring less than one-mile, Larson has tallied finishes no worse than sixth in five of those events – most recently one week ago at Richmond Raceway with a third-place finish.  ·       Within the first three points-paying races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series races season, each Chevrolet organization had already recorded at least one top-10 finish.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 855 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title as the winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history.

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 258Toyota: 256 (-2)Ford: 230 (-28)

Manufacturer Points Standings Toyota: 224Chevrolet: 220 (-4)Ford: 180 (-44)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 193Toyota: 174 (-19)Ford: 162 (-31)

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity SeriesDUDE Wipes 250Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 pm. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Craftsman Truck SeriesLong John Silver’s 200Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. ET(FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS CAMARO ZL1Do you think your name will always be associated with Martinsville because of the hail melon move?“Absolutely. The goal now is to add a clock to our trophy case to offset it so it’s not just about the hail melon, but I am very proud of it.” How big is qualifying at Martinsville?“It’s big. I can attest that I went from the leader trying to lap me and pushing my back bumper to get by me, to lapping him later on when I had track position and he didn’t. It’s pretty cool how track position plays such a role there.” Where does the grandfather clock rank on your wish list?“It’s high. I have a tendency to be on time, so if I remember – I don’t even know if you have to wind those things or if they’re battery powered – maybe that will help me be a minute early to some things (laughs). It might help with my time management skills.” AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1“Martinsville Speedway has been a good track for our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet team over the years. It’s a fun little paperclip and I love having a “home” race because a lot of family and friends are able to come out and support us. It’s going to be important to be aggressive for 500 laps when the time calls for it. Hoping we can get a good starting position and have a clean day on pit road.” COREY LAJOIE, NO. 7 GAINBRIDGE CAMARO ZL1“Looking forward to rebounding at the paperclip. It’s always good going somewhere you’ve been to Victory Lane in the past. There is much more potential in this 7 team than what the past several weeks’ results have shown, so we’ll go execute like we know we’re capable of and get some points back.” KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 LUCAS OIL CAMARO ZL1The last three races at Martinsville have been tough for you. Why has it been so challenging? “I would say Martinsville Speedway has become increasingly challenging with traffic and having a good car that doesn’t burn the tires off. You need to be able to push and go forward and drive past your competitors, but you also can’t blow the tires off.” Since on track testing is so limited now, what are some tools that you can use to improve your performance without physically being on the track? “The only tools to use are your notes, film study, and past history of what you know for certain makes you good at a particular track. Going on the simulator is a tool, but as we have found for short tracks, it doesn’t seem to correlate all the way and can lead you in the wrong direction.” DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 CIRKUL CAMARO ZL1“The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Martinsville, is being ‘busy’ inside the race car. You’re making multiple up-shifts and down-shifts per lap, at least with last year’s package. I’m curious to see how that evolves. I love this racetrack, and I love what it has to offer. If we get a little bit of warm weather, the racetrack really turns into a rubbered-up style of track, which allows you to move around, so if it gets to that point, the racing can be pretty good.” ZANE SMITH, NO. 71 FOCUSED HEALTH CAMARO ZL1After Richmond, what can you look forward to at Martinsville this weekend?“We had a lot of positives at Richmond Sunday night. We are making progress. I think that will continue in Martinsville this weekend. My team never gives up and it works hard to give me a fast Focused Health Chevy Camaro each week. Our job is to focus on getting better and continue learning every day.” CARSON HOCEVAR, NO. 77 DELAWARE LIFE CAMARO ZL1You’ve raced at Martinsville five times in the past, four in the NCTS and last fall in the Cup Series. What have you learned from these previous starts and how do you, as a team, work toward better finishes?“We had some back luck in my past races at Martinsville, so I feel hopeful about this weekend to put that behind me. I feel confident in myself, and the team feels confident in our program that we can just keep building our notebook.” Martinsville can get heated on the track. How do you channel your competitive drive without getting caught up in incidents? “I think we just try to stay patient and survive all 500 laps to have a competitive day. Staying on the lead lap always helps and putting our ourselves in a good spot higher up in the field helps even more to take us out of the equation if anything ends up happening.”  DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 FREEWAY INSURANCE CAMARO ZL1What are your thoughts on Martinsville?“We need a good finish Sunday. We have struggled the last three weeks getting those finishes. I feel like we have had good cars, but something has happened in those races that kept us from getting a better finish. We have qualified really well at Martinsville the last few races and it’s going to be important we do that again Saturday. On Sunday you have to run your own race, stay out of trouble and hope you have a shot at the end.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Cup Series Statistics Manufacturers Championships:Total (1949-2023): 42First title for Chevrolet: 1958Highest number of consecutive titles: 13 (2003-15) Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023 Drivers Championships:Total (1949-2021): 33First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)Highest number of consecutive titles: 7 (2005-11)Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021) Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2021 Event Victories:Record for total race wins in single season: 26 (2007)                2024 STATISTICS:                                                                                                    Wins: 4Poles: 2Laps Led: 591Top-five finishes: 13Top-10 finishes: 23Stage wins: 4·       Chase Elliott: 1 ·       Kyle Larson: 3  CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 855 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 745Laps led to date: 249,766Top-five finishes to date: 4,311Top-10 finishes to date: 8,884                                                                                                        Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,189           Chevrolet: 855           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 828                                                                      Ford: 728           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 183

OSBORN, MO (April 3, 2024) – The 2024 season for the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota rolls on with two brand-new stops in Missouri to kick off April. First will be a visit to US 36 Raceway on Friday, April 5, and then a trip to Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex on Saturday, April 6. The high-banked, 3/8-mile oval of US 36 Raceway has not hosted a national Midget series event since 2013 but welcomes the debut of the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets, featuring a 30-lap, $4,000-to-win, main event. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will also be in attendance racing adjacent to the Midgets in the first of five nights the two series will pair in 2024. Then, it’s a trip to Sweet Springs, MO’s popular 1/5-mile bullring. A hotspot for local, regional and national Micro Sprint action, Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex has also been an annual host of national Midget racing with POWRi and USAC but welcomes the Xtreme Outlaws for the first time ever in a 30-lap, $4,000-to-win, main event alongside the WFO Micro Series. Tickets for both events are on sale in advance at the links below and will also be on sale at the gates on race day. If you can’t be at the tracks to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision. BUY US 36 TICKETS ($5 cheaper when purchased in advance)BUY SWEET SPRINGS TICKETS Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this weekend: COMING IN HOT – Cannon McIntosh is once again back on top of the Series points standings and is coming into the weekend with momentum from a strong showing of three-straight podium finishes last weekend with the POWRi National Midget League. McIntosh, 21, of Bixby, OK, went back to Victory Lane with the Xtreme Outlaw Series on the second night of the season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center, placing him atop the championship points standings by three over Zach Daum. This past weekend, McIntosh was automatic in the POWRi season openers in Oklahoma, posting a runner-up on Thursday at Creek County Speedway and back-to-back third-place finishes at Port City Raceway on Friday-Saturday. Looking at past results, McIntosh has never competed in a Midget at US 36 but has been dominant at Sweet Springs over the past several seasons. In the 11 national Midget series Features he’s started at the 1/5-mile oval, he’s won five times – three more than the only other driver to win more than one national Midget race there, Buddy Kofoid (USAC 2020, USAC 2022). BREAKOUT – Ashton Torgerson’s first few starts on the national Midget circuit have made a bold statement to each of his competitors. The newest Keith Kunz Motorsports racer from Glendale, AZ, missed the transfer spot into the first Toyota Racing Feature of the season on Friday night of the season opener at the Southern Illinois Center but bounced back the next night, transferring to the Feature via a Heat win and then taking home a sixth-place finish in the main event. He then took the momentum from that strong run in Du Quoin and carried it right into last weekend’s POWRi events in Oklahoma, posting back-to-back fourth-place finishes Thursday-Friday before holding off Tanner Thorson, McIntosh, Daum and more en route to his first career national Midget series Feature win Saturday at Port City Raceway. He’s back in the Safety-Kleen, LynK/Toyota #67K on Friday at US 36, where he’s never raced, but tackles Sweet Springs on Saturday – a track he visited in 2021 in a Micro Sprint. IN SYNC – Trifecta Motorsports is off to a solid start for their second season on the Xtreme Outlaw Series trail and has several reasons to look forward to US 36 and Sweet Springs. Flagship car driver Zach Daum currently ranks second in championship points standings after posting back-to-back third-place finishes in Du Quoin. The inaugural Series champion from Pocahontas, IL, will be one of the few, if not the only driver in the field with prior laps in a Midget around US 36 Raceway, having placed third on two occasions (2011, 2012) and fourth in 2010. This Friday at US 36, he’ll double-dip with both the Midgets and with the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars, also piloting the McGarry Motorsports No. 31 Sprint Car. Daum, team co-owner Steve Carbone and crew chief Bobby Milliser have collectively been working well together as of late, helping special guest driver and 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals winner Tanner Thorson get to Victory Lane last Friday night in the POWRi event at Port City Raceway – the team’s sixth career national Midget series win and first with the No. 5U car. REBOUND RUN – The Mounce/Stout Motorsports fleet of drivers will be back in action with the Series this weekend, looking for a rebound after an up-and-down first weekend out in Du Quoin. Tyler Edwards leads the charge for the Oklahoma-based team as they head for Missouri, sitting 17th in points – the highest of each of the four team cars. Edwards started off strong in the season opener three weekends ago, putting his No. 56E on the outside pole for the Feature, but ultimately fell back to a 15th-place finish after drawing a caution flag late in the race. A DNF cut his eighth-place starting efforts short the next night. California racer TJ Smith qualified for both Features in Du Quoin but took DNFs in both after getting involved in incidents each night, while fellow teammate Austin Torgerson qualified for only Friday’s Feature and finished 13th. New for this week, the fourth teammate joins them on track, as young Oklahoman Jayden Clay makes his debut with the Series after missing the season opener. FRONTRUNNERS – Keith Kunz Motorsports has three of the top five drivers in the championship points standings heading into Missouri, already on the path to defending the Series championship they clinched last year. Reigning champion Jade Avedisian will be away from the team for the weekend, tending to her Toyota GR Cup commitments in Sonoma, CA. However, KKM will still take six cars with them to US 36 and Sweet Springs with McIntosh, Ryan Timms, Taylor Reimer, Luke Drotschie, Ashton Torgerson and Kale Drake on driving duties. Timms, 17, of Oklahoma City, OK, currently sits fifth in Series points after finishes of 12th and second in Du Quoin. Last Thursday, Timms nearly won the POWRi season opener at Creek County, leading into the final laps before colliding with a lapped car that spun in front of him, ending his chances for victory. However, he bounced back with a runner-up finish to Tanner Thorson the next night at Port City before taking on the World of Outlaws on Saturday, capping his weekend with a 10th-place finish at 81 Speedway in his 410 Sprint Car. Gavin Miller, 17, of Allentown, PA, sits one spot ahead of Timms in the standings but will not be racing this weekend as he continues his recovery from an injury sustained in an incident during the KKM Challenge Micro Sprint event in California two weeks ago. In his place, 16-year-old Kale Drake will drive Miller’s No. 97 for both races as he makes his first appearance with the Series since 2022. THIS WEEKEND AT A GLANCE When and where Friday, April 5 at US 36 Raceway in Osborn, MO Saturday, April 6 at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex in Sweet Springs, MO On the internet Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota Twitter – @Xtreme_Outlaw Instagram – @XtremeOutlaw Facebook – @XtremeOutlawSeries.WRG Live broadcast DIRTVision – DIRTVision.com. Annual FAST PASS for $299 or monthly FAST PASS for $39/month. Current championship points standings (view full standings)Cannon McIntosh: 439 points | Keith Kunz Motorsports #71KZach Daum: 436 points (-3) | Trifecta Motorsports #7UShane Cottle: 410 points (-29) | Cottle Racing #86Gavin Miller: 407 points (-32) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #97Ryan Timms: 400 points (-39) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #67Joe B. Miller: 389 points (-50) | Joe B. Miller Motorsports #51BThomas Meseraull: 387 points (-52) | Engler Racing #7xJade Avedisian: 380 points (-59) | Keith Kunz Motorsports #71Chase McDermand: 379 points (-60) | Chase McDermand Racing #40Karter Sarff: 363 points (-72) | Karter Sarff Motorsports #21 Toyota Feature winners (2 drivers) 1 win – Thomas Meseraull (Engler Racing), Cannon McIntosh (Keith Kunz Motorsports) Toyota Feature laps led (4 drivers) 35 laps – Joe B. Miller27 laps – Thomas Meseraull5 laps – Cannon McIntosh4 laps – Tyler Edwards Whitz RC Racing Products Quick Time Awards (1 driver) 2 awards – Ethan Mitchell Heat Race winners (11 drivers) 2 wins – Tyler Edwards1 win – Ryan Timms, Thomas Meseraull, Shane Cottle, Gavin Miller, TJ Smith, Chase McDermand, Cannon McIntosh, Jade Avedisian, Nick Hoffman, Ashton Torgerson High-points honors (2 drivers) 1 honor – Cannon McIntosh, Tyler Edwards Last Chance Showdown wins (6 drivers) 1 win – Taylor Reimer, Gunnar Setser, Austin Torgerson, Gavin Miller, Shane Cottle, Ethan Mitchell DIRTVision Hard Charger Awards (2 drivers) 1 award – Will Armitage, Ryan Timms Podium finishes (5 drivers) 2 podiums – Zach Daum 1 podium – Thomas Meseraull, Gavin Miller, Cannon McIntosh, Ryan Timms Top-10 finishes (16 drivers) 2 top-10s – Shane Cottle, Cannon McIntosh, Zach Daum, Chase McDermand 1 top-10 – Gavin Miller, Ryan Timms, Joe B. Miller, Thomas Meseraull, Jade Avedisian, Karter Sarff, Will Armitage, Taylor Reimer, Mitchell Davis, Trey Marcham, Ashton Torgerson, Rylan Gray 2023 Schedule & Winners – Race No. Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Total Wins) 1. Fri, March 15 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Thomas Meseraull (1) 2. Sat, March 16 / Southern Illinois Center / Du Quoin, IL / Cannon McIntosh (1)

DALLAS, TX (April 3, 2024) — NHRA professional driver Buddy Hull has been a fan of Funny Cars his whole life. The entrepreneur has raced just about every high horsepower vehicle on the planet, but his heart always came back to the front engine, short wheel-based land speed monsters. His passion for the category has manifested itself in a variety of ways most recently the announcement that Vertex Roofing and General Contractors, his primary business, will be an associate sponsor for the 2024 Funny Car Chaos event this weekend at Texas Motorplex, April 4-6. Currently, Hull is the driver of the Jim Dunn Racing nitro Funny Car on the NHRA Misson Foods Drag Racing Series.
 
“I have always been a Funny Car guy and I love the Funny Car Chaos series,” said Hull, who also raced Fuel Altereds and Top Fuel dragster throughout his career. “You see the history in these Funny Cars and the excitement level from the fans when these cars do massive burnouts shooting header flames to the sky. Funny Cars are just bad ass and I am glad I am in a position to support (event promoter) Chris (Graves) and the Funny Car Chaos at Texas Motorplex in my backyard.”

 
The 2024 season of Funny Car Chaos competition will mark the eighth consecutive year of this wildly popular heads-up Funny Car series. With seven points races and two exhibition events on the tour, 2024 will be filled with lots of opportunities to catch some flopper action. Fans can expect on average 30 Funny Cars of all kinds per show and guaranteed two days of grassroots family fun.
 
“The Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos racers greatly appreciate the support of the 4th Annual Funny Car Chaos Classic from Buddy Hull and the team at Vertex Roofers and General Contractors,” said Graves. “Buddy has always been a big supporter of the CHAOS movement and currently has a car being built for Nitro Chaos competition. These are grassroots racers, he’s a grassroots racer, and we all share the same love for the sport of drag racing. If you are in the DFW area and need a roof estimate, call Vertex, I’ve got a Vertex roof on my house and so should you!” 

As always, the Spell Paving Services FCC season will kick off with the biggest funny car event in the world, the one and only Funny Car Chaos Classic at the historic Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. This unrivaled event is set for April 4-6th and will see 50+ Funny Cars from coast to coast and will qualify a 32-car feature show. Also on tap at the Classic is the new addition of the DMP Awnings Nitro Chaos series that will run in conjunction with Funny Car Chaos. That along with hundreds of other racecars including Dirty South Gassers and more will deliver non-stop action on the strip in what will be one of the biggest events of the year in the Southwest.
 
“Getting our season started with Funny Car Chaos is a big deal for Texas Motorplex,” said Christie Meyer Johnson, Texas Motorplex co-owner. “My dad Billy raced Funny Cars his whole career, so this event is special for a variety of reasons. The show is amazing and having over 60 Funny Cars on the property makes this one of the biggest Funny Car events in the country.”

Funny Car Chaos racing continues just two weeks later as the series returns for a third annual visit to State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the Laris Motorsports Insurance CHAOS Cajun Nationals April 19-20th. Cinco de Mayo weekend marks the return to West Texas and Penwell Knights Raceway in Odessa on May 3-4th, then its time to head to the Midwest. Eddyville Raceway Park is the next stop where again the Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos series will run together at the same event, the 2nd Annual Twisted Shifterz CHAOS in the Cornfield on May 24-26th. The Twisted Shifterz and 360 Steel Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway marks the next event on tour, Father’s Day weekend, June 14-15th. On Saturday, July 20th the Funny Car Chaos Summer Showdown will take place at Nebraska’s Kearney Raceway Park. This will be an exhibition, invitational, Chicago-style match race show. The next weekend, July 27-28th the FCC series returns to New Mexico’s Albuquerque Dragway and by now the points chase should be plenty hot with only one points event remaining. East Coast flopper fans can look forward to the return of CHAOS to Maryland International Raceway on August 23-24th for a non-points exhibition event showcasing dozens of East Coast funny car teams and more. The next weekend, the Funny Car Chaos Championship Finals will be held on August 30-31st at Mo-Kan Dragway just outside Joplin, Missouri where the 2024 FCC Champion will be crowned.
 

VERTEX ROOFING AND GENERAL CONTRACTORS JOINS FUNNY CAR CHAOS AS ASSOCIATE SPONSOR AT TEXAS MOTORPLEX

DALLAS, TX (April 3, 2024) — NHRA professional driver Buddy Hull has been a fan of Funny Cars his whole life. The entrepreneur has raced just about every high horsepower vehicle on the planet, but his heart always came back to the front engine, short wheel-based land speed monsters. His passion for the category has manifested itself in a variety of ways most recently the announcement that Vertex Roofing and General Contractors, his primary business, will be an associate sponsor for the 2024 Funny Car Chaos event this weekend at Texas Motorplex, April 4-6. Currently, Hull is the driver of the Jim Dunn Racing nitro Funny Car on the NHRA Misson Foods Drag Racing Series.
 
“I have always been a Funny Car guy and I love the Funny Car Chaos series,” said Hull, who also raced Fuel Altereds and Top Fuel dragster throughout his career. “You see the history in these Funny Cars and the excitement level from the fans when these cars do massive burnouts shooting header flames to the sky. Funny Cars are just bad ass and I am glad I am in a position to support (event promoter) Chris (Graves) and the Funny Car Chaos at Texas Motorplex in my backyard.”

 
The 2024 season of Funny Car Chaos competition will mark the eighth consecutive year of this wildly popular heads-up Funny Car series. With seven points races and two exhibition events on the tour, 2024 will be filled with lots of opportunities to catch some flopper action. Fans can expect on average 30 Funny Cars of all kinds per show and guaranteed two days of grassroots family fun.
 
“The Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos racers greatly appreciate the support of the 4th Annual Funny Car Chaos Classic from Buddy Hull and the team at Vertex Roofers and General Contractors,” said Graves. “Buddy has always been a big supporter of the CHAOS movement and currently has a car being built for Nitro Chaos competition. These are grassroots racers, he’s a grassroots racer, and we all share the same love for the sport of drag racing. If you are in the DFW area and need a roof estimate, call Vertex, I’ve got a Vertex roof on my house and so should you!” 

As always, the Spell Paving Services FCC season will kick off with the biggest funny car event in the world, the one and only Funny Car Chaos Classic at the historic Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. This unrivaled event is set for April 4-6th and will see 50+ Funny Cars from coast to coast and will qualify a 32-car feature show. Also on tap at the Classic is the new addition of the DMP Awnings Nitro Chaos series that will run in conjunction with Funny Car Chaos. That along with hundreds of other racecars including Dirty South Gassers and more will deliver non-stop action on the strip in what will be one of the biggest events of the year in the Southwest.
 
“Getting our season started with Funny Car Chaos is a big deal for Texas Motorplex,” said Christie Meyer Johnson, Texas Motorplex co-owner. “My dad Billy raced Funny Cars his whole career, so this event is special for a variety of reasons. The show is amazing and having over 60 Funny Cars on the property makes this one of the biggest Funny Car events in the country.”

Funny Car Chaos racing continues just two weeks later as the series returns for a third annual visit to State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the Laris Motorsports Insurance CHAOS Cajun Nationals April 19-20th. Cinco de Mayo weekend marks the return to West Texas and Penwell Knights Raceway in Odessa on May 3-4th, then its time to head to the Midwest. Eddyville Raceway Park is the next stop where again the Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos series will run together at the same event, the 2nd Annual Twisted Shifterz CHAOS in the Cornfield on May 24-26th. The Twisted Shifterz and 360 Steel Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway marks the next event on tour, Father’s Day weekend, June 14-15th. On Saturday, July 20th the Funny Car Chaos Summer Showdown will take place at Nebraska’s Kearney Raceway Park. This will be an exhibition, invitational, Chicago-style match race show. The next weekend, July 27-28th the FCC series returns to New Mexico’s Albuquerque Dragway and by now the points chase should be plenty hot with only one points event remaining. East Coast flopper fans can look forward to the return of CHAOS to Maryland International Raceway on August 23-24th for a non-points exhibition event showcasing dozens of East Coast funny car teams and more. The next weekend, the Funny Car Chaos Championship Finals will be held on August 30-31st at Mo-Kan Dragway just outside Joplin, Missouri where the 2024 FCC Champion will be crowned.
 

DALLAS, TX (April 3, 2024) — NHRA professional driver Buddy Hull has been a fan of Funny Cars his whole life. The entrepreneur has raced just about every high horsepower vehicle on the planet, but his heart always came back to the front engine, short wheel-based land speed monsters. His passion for the category has manifested itself in a variety of ways most recently the announcement that Vertex Roofing and General Contractors, his primary business, will be an associate sponsor for the 2024 Funny Car Chaos event this weekend at Texas Motorplex, April 4-6. Currently, Hull is the driver of the Jim Dunn Racing nitro Funny Car on the NHRA Misson Foods Drag Racing Series.
 
“I have always been a Funny Car guy and I love the Funny Car Chaos series,” said Hull, who also raced Fuel Altereds and Top Fuel dragster throughout his career. “You see the history in these Funny Cars and the excitement level from the fans when these cars do massive burnouts shooting header flames to the sky. Funny Cars are just bad ass and I am glad I am in a position to support (event promoter) Chris (Graves) and the Funny Car Chaos at Texas Motorplex in my backyard.”

 
The 2024 season of Funny Car Chaos competition will mark the eighth consecutive year of this wildly popular heads-up Funny Car series. With seven points races and two exhibition events on the tour, 2024 will be filled with lots of opportunities to catch some flopper action. Fans can expect on average 30 Funny Cars of all kinds per show and guaranteed two days of grassroots family fun.
 
“The Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos racers greatly appreciate the support of the 4th Annual Funny Car Chaos Classic from Buddy Hull and the team at Vertex Roofers and General Contractors,” said Graves. “Buddy has always been a big supporter of the CHAOS movement and currently has a car being built for Nitro Chaos competition. These are grassroots racers, he’s a grassroots racer, and we all share the same love for the sport of drag racing. If you are in the DFW area and need a roof estimate, call Vertex, I’ve got a Vertex roof on my house and so should you!” 

As always, the Spell Paving Services FCC season will kick off with the biggest funny car event in the world, the one and only Funny Car Chaos Classic at the historic Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas. This unrivaled event is set for April 4-6th and will see 50+ Funny Cars from coast to coast and will qualify a 32-car feature show. Also on tap at the Classic is the new addition of the DMP Awnings Nitro Chaos series that will run in conjunction with Funny Car Chaos. That along with hundreds of other racecars including Dirty South Gassers and more will deliver non-stop action on the strip in what will be one of the biggest events of the year in the Southwest.
 
“Getting our season started with Funny Car Chaos is a big deal for Texas Motorplex,” said Christie Meyer Johnson, Texas Motorplex co-owner. “My dad Billy raced Funny Cars his whole career, so this event is special for a variety of reasons. The show is amazing and having over 60 Funny Cars on the property makes this one of the biggest Funny Car events in the country.”

Funny Car Chaos racing continues just two weeks later as the series returns for a third annual visit to State Capitol Raceway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for the Laris Motorsports Insurance CHAOS Cajun Nationals April 19-20th. Cinco de Mayo weekend marks the return to West Texas and Penwell Knights Raceway in Odessa on May 3-4th, then its time to head to the Midwest. Eddyville Raceway Park is the next stop where again the Funny Car Chaos and Nitro Chaos series will run together at the same event, the 2nd Annual Twisted Shifterz CHAOS in the Cornfield on May 24-26th. The Twisted Shifterz and 360 Steel Summer Nationals at Cordova Dragway marks the next event on tour, Father’s Day weekend, June 14-15th. On Saturday, July 20th the Funny Car Chaos Summer Showdown will take place at Nebraska’s Kearney Raceway Park. This will be an exhibition, invitational, Chicago-style match race show. The next weekend, July 27-28th the FCC series returns to New Mexico’s Albuquerque Dragway and by now the points chase should be plenty hot with only one points event remaining. East Coast flopper fans can look forward to the return of CHAOS to Maryland International Raceway on August 23-24th for a non-points exhibition event showcasing dozens of East Coast funny car teams and more. The next weekend, the Funny Car Chaos Championship Finals will be held on August 30-31st at Mo-Kan Dragway just outside Joplin, Missouri where the 2024 FCC Champion will be crowned.