The “Smooth Operator” leads the second half of the Feature to score a $10,000 payday

INDEPENDENCE, IA (June 25, 2024) – The third podium of the Heartland Grand Tour was the charm for Bobby Pierce’s return to Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models in 2024.

In a display of dirt Late Model prowess at Independence Motor Speedway, the Oakwood, IL driver grabbed the lead halfway through the 40-lap Feature to win the Monday Madness in Iowa.

Beginning the night by setting a new track record in Sea Foam Qualifying and taking a dominating win in Heat 1, Pierce commenced the Feature from the front by drawing the Bilstein Pole Award.

He didn’t take early command though, as Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman took the top spot on the first lap by using the outside line of the track to clear Pierce after front-row starter Chad Simpson fell out of the race due to a mechanical issue.

Hot on Bobby’s trail was New Berlin, IL driver Brandon Sheppard, who used every lane of the racetrack to get by the Pierce.

Once the lapped traffic came into play, Pierce evaporated the half-second gap on Hoffman to take back the Feature lead.

When Hoffman got held up by a lapped car on the high line, going over the cushion and pulling a wheelie, the No.32 machine slipped by Hoffman through Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead with two laps before the halfway mark on lap 20.

The final caution with seven laps to go gave Hoffman and Sheppard one last sniff at taking the lead away from Pierce, which never came to fruition as he crossed the checkered flag to seal his third Series win of the season at the 3/8-mile track.

The Feature triumph moved Pierce up to fourth in the Series standings, sitting 120 points back from Sheppard for the lead.

“From the start, I was a little worried,” Pierce said. “I knew Nick and Brandon were (on soft tires) and when Chad fell out of the race, that gave Nick the front row. If I can just hang with him, and we did. We got him in lap traffic, and it was great. The later half of the race, the car was great.”

Sheppard got by Hoffman on the final restart to get a chance at closing in on Pierce, however, the soft tire he chose did not help the driver of the No. B5 Longhorn Factory Team Late Model get closer to Bobby as he settles for a second-place finish.

“We didn’t snug up quite as much tonight,” Sheppard said. “We had a different tire on (the car) than Bobby, and I think that hurt us more than anything. Once the track got black, my tire wasn’t as good. Once we got to lapped traffic, Bobby could squeeze through them better than we could. I think we got a really good balance on our race car, we were right there with him. I feel pretty good about it, just gotta get a little better in the race and make the right tire call next time.”

Hoffman closed out the Feature’s podium from Independence after leading the first 17 laps of the Feature. He leaves the Iowa racetrack only 14 points back from the Series points lead.

“I should’ve known better,” Hoffman said. ���I probably should have crossed over on the bottom and get myself back on and not lose a spot. That’s basically what gives it away at the end of the day. I didn’t want to see that caution at the end because that’s when I gave up second. I felt like I was okay. That last five or six laps I wasn’t as good, so we’ll work on that a little bit. All in all, the car was good for us.”

Robeline, LA driver Cade Dillard finished fourth after picking up the Fox Factory Hard Charger Award with eight spots gained in the race, and Chatham, IL driver Brian Shirley rounded out the Monday Madness top five.

RECAP NOTES:

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Cade Dillard

Simpson Quick Time Award: Bobby Pierce

Heat Winners: Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard, Chad Simpson

Bilstein Pole Award: Bobby Pierce

Fox Factory Hard Charger Award: Cade Dillard

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models cross the halfway point of the Heartland Grand Tour with racing from Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, IA on Tuesday, June 25 before finishing the June stretch at I-94 EMR Speedway (June 27), River Cities Speedway (June 28), and Norman County Raceway (June 29). For more information and tickets CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch every World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models race live on DIRTVision.

CASE Late Model Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 4. 97-Cade Dillard[12]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 6. 76-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin[5]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[14]; 9. 22*-Max McLaughlin[7]; 10. 40B-Kyle Bronson[17]; 11. 16-Tyler Bruening[16]; 12. 97JR-Cody Overton[20]; 13. 19-Dustin Sorensen[15]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[19]; 15. 43-Derrick Stewart[10]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[18]; 17. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[11]; 19. 11-Jon Kirby[24]; 20. 58-Garrett Alberson[13]; 21. 22-Charlie McKenna[22]; 22. 17-Tim Simpson[21]; 23. 29-Spencer Diercks[8]; 24. 25-Chad Simpson[2]

June 24, 2024 — COLORADO SPRINGS, CO

• INDYCAR, IMSA veteran Katherine Legge drove the HRC Acura Integra Type S DE5 to a top-five finish in the Time Attack 1 division in her Pikes Peak debut
• Paul Hubers clocked his best-ever run in the HART Acura Integra A-Spec, finishing among the top 10 in the Pikes Peak Open class
• BMX pro athlete Coco Zurita piloted the Acura ZDX Type S pace car to the summit, making history with the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb’s first all-electric pace car

Acura’s Integra racecars earned top-five and top-10 finishes in the 102nd running of The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb brought to you by Gran Turismo this weekend, paced by the all-electric Acura ZDX Type S pace car.

Making her debut on Pikes Peak, INDYCAR and IMSA veteran Katherine Legge finished among the top five in the Time Attack 1 division in the Acura Integra Type S DE5. Unlike the prior week’s cold and wet practice sessions, this year’s hill climb presented unexpectedly idealistic weather conditions, with many racecars’ cooling systems struggling in the warm, sunny weather that exacerbated Pikes Peak’s inherently thin air at the summit. Despite the challenging conditions, the Integra Type S DE5, HRC’s newest racecar, ran reliably for its stint finishing in 10:51.359.

Acura engineer Paul Hubers returned for his third year in the historic hill climb behind the wheel of the HART Integra A-Spec. Between Hubers’ growing experience on the grueling mountain course and key modifications to the Integra’s powerplant, chassis, and new sticky Yokohama ADVAN racing tires, the associate-led racing team shaved nearly 28 seconds off their last attempt at the hill climb, finishing in 11:40.736 and achieving the HART Integra A-Spec’s best performance yet.

Motorsports is a critical component of Acura’s commitment to Precision Crafted Performance, and its Pikes Peak efforts are a pure expression of this ethos. This is the performance brand’s 14th consecutive year competing at Pikes Peak, with the Acura team amassing an impressive 12 first place in-division finishes, over 30 podiums and multiple records.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado is one of America’s longest running motorsports competitions. Since 1916, drivers from all over the world, in a wide variety of vehicles and from multiple motorsports disciplines, race against the clock as they take on the challenging mountain course, starting at 9,390 feet and climbing to the 14,115-foot summit.

Acura 2024 Pikes Peak Racing Results:

Vehicle	Team	Driver	Division	2024 Result
2024 Integra Type S	HRC	Katherine Legge	Time Attack 1	10:51.359 (5th in Class)
2023 Integra A-Spec	HART	Paul Hubers	Pikes Peak Open	11:40.736 (10th in Class)

BMX pro athlete Coco Zurita drove the 2024 Acura ZDX Type S to the summit, making history with Pikes Peak International Hill Climb’s first all-electric pace car. The ZDX Type S reinforces Acura’s commitment to Precision Crafted Performance in the electrified era, with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain delivering nearly 500 horsepower and 544 lb. ft of torque, six-piston Brembo™ front brakes with 6-piston calipers, height adjustable air suspension and performance-tuned adaptive dampers.

About Honda Racing Corporation USA
(formerly Honda Performance Development)Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US), has a rich heritage creating, manufacturing, and supporting Honda Racing and Acura Motorsports customers since its founding in 1993 as Honda Performance Development. From pinnacle racing in INDYCAR and IMSA Sports Cars to commercial racing programs, HRC US powers the dreams of professional and amateur racers from age 4 to 40+. HRC US is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and leads all of Honda and Acura’s high-performance racing programs in North America.

HRC US specializes in the design and development of powertrain, chassis, electronics, and performance parts, as well as technical and race support. The company also offers parts and race support to Honda and Acura amateur and professional motorsports racers; and is continually expanding its palette of racing programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of professional racing. The HRC US title replaced Honda Performance Development on January 1, 2024, to reflect the new role of the company in Honda’s global racing efforts.

About the Honda of America Racing Team (HART)
Founded more than 30 years ago, the Honda of America Racing Team (HART) is among the longest-running associate-driven activities in Honda’s rich history and includes the majority of associate-led racing teams in North America. HART competes in a wide variety of motorsport competitions ranging from road racing, club-level events, rally or off-road racing, or even karting. HART provides invaluable experience to associates through motorsport, while transferring vehicle performance learnings into the development and manufacturing of next-generation Honda and Acura products.

June 24, 2024

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team emerged from a marathon day at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a 14th-place finish in Sunday’s USA TODAY 301. With weather a constant threat, Sunday’s race started on a dry track and ended on a rapidly drying wet one.

Burton took the green flag from 27th place after rain on Saturday led to the field being set using metrics based on recent performances. He moved into the top 25 by the 15th lap and ended the first 70-lap Stage, which ran without a caution flag, in 23rd place.

After a pit stop during the Stage break, Burton restarted the second Stage from 25th place. He fell back a bit in the early laps of the Stage and fell off the lead lap during the 118th circuit as the field made green-flag pit stops.

A caution flag for an incident involving Daniel Hemric allowed Burton and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to opt for the wave-around and rejoin the lead lap. A subsequent yellow flag for a spin involving Kyle Busch allowed Burton and the team to pit at Lap 155 and rejoin the race with four fresh tires and a full tank of fuel.

Back in the top 25, Burton continued to move forward and ended Stage Two in 20th place.

With rain appearing imminent, the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team elected to take just two tires on a pit stop during the Stage break and moved up to seventh place in the running order. Burton was able to post good speed with just two fresh tires and was running 12th when the cars were brought to pit road because of rain.

After a delay of two hours and 14 minutes, drivers returned to the partially dried track on treaded wet-weather tires.

Burton drove into the top 10 just after the restart, then fell outside the top 20 before breaking back into the top 10 with 25 of the scheduled 301 laps left to run. He was running seventh when the race’s final caution flag set up a two-lap Overtime run to the finish. That run didn’t work out in his favor, and he dropped to 14th at the checkered flag. It was his second consecutive top-20 finish and his third straight among the top 25.

Burton told reporters at the track that he was frustrated by the way the Overtime finish played out.

 “I think we should have finished a lot better,” he said. “We picked the bottom on the last restart, and if I had it back I would pick the top…..

“You never know how it works out. It is a bummer to not finish it off. It felt like we had a good car once it went to the wet especially.”

He said tire management was a key factor.

“The caution came out with nine to go and that was really good timing,” he said. “It is easy to be mad now but also thankful that it came out because my right rear was pretty hurt. “We just have to figure out everything there and go over our process on choose. I would like to finish it off better next time, but we had a good car, and I am proud of our guys.”

Next up for Burton and the Wood Brothers team is a 400-miler next Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (June 24, 2024) – When rain started falling during the pace lap for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Trans Am race on Sunday, Chris Dyson made quick but calculated decision to surrender his front-row starting position and duck into the pits to change to rain tires on his #16 GYM WEED Ford Mustang. Although the stop dropped the defending race winner to the back of the field, it proved a canny move; Dyson scythed through the field and into the lead while his competitors struggled on the wet pavement before eventually making their own stops. “It was a gamble, but I knew the odds were in our favor,” Dyson said later. “The weather was not in favor of slicks. From so many years of long-distance racing the team is well-practiced in executing fast, flawless pit stops. And although these are 100-mile sprints with no planned pit stops, we have air jacks on our car and practice for these situations.” By the fourth lap Dyson enjoyed a 45-second lead on second-place runner Paul Menard before a full-course yellow – the first of several over the course of the race – bunched up the field and allowed the rest of the field to change to rain tires. Because the 900-horsepower TA-class cars aren’t permitted to use driver aids like traction control or antilock brakes there’s a premium on driver skill. In the rain that premium is doubled. Dyson continued to extend his lead by a second per lap through the first third of the race, but misfortune struck when he got caught out by a faulty gear shift at Turn 1, running wide onto the wet grass before stoutly hitting the tire barrier. Dyson carefully avoided the gravel trap and eased the banged up but mechanically intact car back onto the pavement to complete the lap and then pitted so the crew could remove the damaged hood, which was blocking his forward view. “My engineers and I just spent the last half hour trying to figure out from the data what happened there,” a subdued Dyson said after emerging from the team’s hauler. “I didn’t do anything different or ‘wrong’ on the corner entry, which makes it more difficult to swallow what happened on the shift. Up to then and even afterwards, the car was flying. I was managing my pace and I was very comfortable out front. The conditions were so tricky but we had a really usable balance and I was feeling really confident.” Quick work by the crew meant that the GYM WEED Mustang got back onto the circuit without going a lap down. A combination of faster laps by Dyson than race leader Menard and his competitors’ misfortunes brought Dyson back to second place, less than 10 seconds behind race-winner Menard when the race was called nine laps short of the scheduled 45 due to the series’ 75-minute race time limit. “It’s disappointing not to come away from Mid-Ohio with a win, when we had a winning car and a winning race strategy,” Dyson said. “But we were fortunate not to have hurt the car badly when I went off and to be able to rally back to second place. Now it’s on to Road America, which is one of my favorite tracks and another place where the team has deep history.” Next Up: Road America In six Trans Am starts Dyson has scored two wins (2020 and 2021) and finished on the podium in all four of his most recent Trans Am starts at the classic Wisconsin circuit. He has captured the pole three times. In only one race, when he won in 2021, did he fail to start on the front row. Runner-up in last year, Dyson is optimistic for his chances this weekend. “I love everything about Road America,” Dyson said. “In addition to being such a beautiful natural circuit with enthusiastic fans and amazing heritage, it’s a very fast track where TA cars can stretch their legs. But the elevation changes and blind corners make it a real driver’s and engineers’ challenge.  We have to work on optimizing braking and traction, and trimming out the car for the long straights.” The Dyson Racing Team has fielded entries at Road America since the early 1980s. The team scored IMSA wins there in 1985, 1987 and 2003, including the closest-ever victory in American Le Mans Series history in 2012. Chris Dyson won the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge event. For more on Chris Dyson Racing. Mid-Ohio Rebroadcast Schedule In addition to the livestream, 60-minute feature produced by Greenlight TV will be broadcast the following Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.  Road America Schedule Qualifying takes place Saturday, June 29, 3:40 – 3:55 PM CT – 3:55 PM (4:40 – 4:55 PM ET) The 100-mile race takes the green flag Sunday, June 30, at 1:05 PM CT (2:05 PM ET) Road America Broadcast Schedule The Road America race will be live-streamed on both the Trans Am and SpeedTour’s YouTube channels. Additional Broadcast Coverage On MAVTV In addition to the livestream, highlights of the race will be broadcast the following Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET to MAVTV’s 22 million North American linear households and 175 million connected devices.

Near miss for Catsburg, Milner in fight for GTD PRO victory; AWA grows Akin Award lead WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 23, 2024) – Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims scored the season’s second podium finish for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a third-place result at the Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday.

The No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports ran up front in GTD PRO, fell down the order following an early-race brake change and then challenged for the win late in a topsy-turvy enduro at Watkins Glen International that was severely impacted by rain. It was the first podium finish for the Garcia/Sims duo, following a similar finish for the No. 4 Corvette at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. While luck went the way of Sims and Garcia at the end, it was the opposite for Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R, which had to pit for a fuel splash from the lead on the final lap. The duo ended up seventh in the final GTD PRO standings. In GTD, AWA’s No 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell, Orey Fidani and Lars Kern finished seventh in class following a similarly chaotic race and a number of drive time-related penalties to GTD competitors. The trio fought from deep in the field and briefly ran in the top-five before the Corvette was caught out on-track in a heavy downpour on slick tires and went off-track. The trio’s result did, however, unofficially grow Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, which goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD. Three separate periods of rain had increasing impacts on the race. The first significant shower hit just shy of halfway and resulted in a crash for two GTD cars that brought out the third full-course yellow of the day. All three Corvettes had elected to stay on dry tires and jumped up the order as the pit closed – the No. 4 to second and No. 3 to third in GTD PRO, and the No. 13 to ninth in GTD. More rain meant more chaos nearly 30 minutes later as the No. 4 Corvette pitted during a brief but heavy shower on the frontstraight for rain tires. Another full-course yellow neutralized the field again, and Milner was left on grooved tires with the track drying quickly. Once the race went green, he had to stop for slick tires and fell down to 10th. The biggest downpour arrived with a little less than two hours to go. Garcia, the No. 77 Porsche and No. 14 Lexus were the only GTD PRO cars to make it into the pitlane for rain tires before the pits closed for the sixth time. After 25 minutes behind the safety car with standing water on the track, officials red-flagged the race. It resumed with 35 minutes left and the field behind the safety car. With the three leading cars in class having to pit for slick tires, Milner assumed the lead and drove a stunning final stint to keep the No. 4 Corvette out front before having to make the last-lap stop. All three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will be back in action for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 14.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTESANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “I’m happy with this. Considering we were on the front row the last two races and didn’t convert, it feels like today we got one back. It was an amazing job by Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller guys to change the brakes. They had the skills to almost keep us on the lead lap. Yes we lost some track position but after that, the car was good and every single strategy call was the right one. I had one of the scariest half-stints in my life when a whole set of our tear-offs on the windscreen came off and then came back on. So I had a triangle in front of me and I couldn’t see to my left. Somehow I made up several positions on the restart, but it was very scary to just keep the car on track. I just couldn’t see anything. Fortunately we got it fixed after the yellow, and it was made better when we were on the same strategy as the Porsche and Lexus to go on wet tires. It was the right call and it would have been nice to run four or five laps in the rain but we couldn’t take advantage of that. It’s also a shame for the No. 4 guys. With all the flag sequences, I think they deserved it. But it’s nice that we were able to get the first podium for Alex and me, and for the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. Now we need to keep the momentum. We know we are fast; we just need to convert and hopefully a win is around the corner.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “To be honest with the weather forecast coming into this weekend, it kind of exactly panned out how we expected with a mayhem-filled race. We started up front and had a nice comfortable stint before we had to change the front brakes. The guys did an amazing job to change everything, and we almost got out without falling off the lead lap, which was pretty impressive. So our race went south for a little while but as with IMSA you’re able to get back in the race and we did. The guys made some great calls and the car was fast. It’s great to get a podium; it felt like we came back into contention where we should have been. It’s cool to get our first podium with the No. 3 Corvette. Antonio did a brilliant job in the end to almost get second. It was really tight out there, and I enjoyed it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD PRO: “Nicky was right in that it was a bit of a lottery race for a lot of people with tire calls and things like that. We did well with the tire choice except for when we snuck in just before a yellow to put wets on. I agreed with Tyler (Neff, No. 4 race engineer) that it seemed like the right call at the time because Turn One was undriveable. At the end, we had to take them back off because the track was drying too quickly. But we also got stuck from getting into the pitlane before the red flag, I was happy that it came. But at the end of the day, the result is what matters. And seventh place is not where we want to be. We did some things really well today and some things not so well. We’ll analyze those things that didn’t and be better for the next time when we go to Canada and try again.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD PRO: “First off, Tommy did an amazing job late in the race in holding off the Aston Martin. I knew he had it and we were hoping the fuel would work out, but then that got snatched away. It’s tough. This style of racing makes some of these races a lottery. At the start I didn’t think we would be in a position to go for a win because our car was great everywhere except on a straight line. So that was a frustration. The car felt good toward the end of the stint, so we could get around some people. It was good on a long run and we saw that at the end with Tommy’s drive. It’s a tough way to end though. Hopefully we can be on the right end of it the next time out.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD: “I’m pleased with our result. It was a tricky race as we were lacking a little bit of speed this weekend, but I’m happy with how my stint went. The team has been working so hard all year long, and today they really delivered for us with strategy calls in what were very challenging weather conditions. They kept us in the fight, and Lars and Matt drove a great race as always.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD: “I’m happy with the result we were able to achieve today. When looking at our outright pace, we were just a bit off the mark throughout the whole weekend, and we are actively working on figuring out the reason behind it. We executed well in the race, the team made no mistakes and were perfect as always. We as drivers kept it clean and were able to make up ground, I think we maximized our performance today.”

Near miss for Catsburg, Milner in fight for GTD PRO victory; AWA grows Akin Award lead WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (June 23, 2024) – Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims scored the season’s second podium finish for the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a third-place result at the Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday.

The No. 3 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports ran up front in GTD PRO, fell down the order following an early-race brake change and then challenged for the win late in a topsy-turvy enduro at Watkins Glen International that was severely impacted by rain. It was the first podium finish for the Garcia/Sims duo, following a similar finish for the No. 4 Corvette at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. While luck went the way of Sims and Garcia at the end, it was the opposite for Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R, which had to pit for a fuel splash from the lead on the final lap. The duo ended up sixth in the final GTD PRO standings. In GTD, AWA’s No 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell, Orey Fidani and Lars Kern finished seventh in class following a similarly chaotic race and a number of drive time-related penalties to GTD competitors. The trio fought from deep in the field and briefly ran in the top-five before the Corvette was caught out on-track in a heavy downpour on slick tires and went off-track. The trio’s result did, however, unofficially grow Fidani’s lead in the Bob Akin Award standings, which goes to the highest points-scoring Bronze driver in GTD. Three separate periods of rain had increasing impacts on the race. The first significant shower hit just shy of halfway and resulted in a crash for two GTD cars that brought out the third full-course yellow of the day. All three Corvettes had elected to stay on dry tires and jumped up the order as the pit closed – the No. 4 to second and No. 3 to third in GTD PRO, and the No. 13 to ninth in GTD. More rain meant more chaos nearly 30 minutes later as the No. 4 Corvette pitted during a brief but heavy shower on the frontstraight for rain tires. Another full-course yellow neutralized the field again, and Milner was left on grooved tires with the track drying quickly. Once the race went green, he had to stop for slick tires and fell down to 10th. The biggest downpour arrived with a little less than two hours to go. Garcia, the No. 77 Porsche and No. 14 Lexus were the only GTD PRO cars to make it into the pitlane for rain tires before the pits closed for the sixth time. After 25 minutes behind the safety car with standing water on the track, officials red-flagged the race. It resumed with 35 minutes left and the field behind the safety car. With the three leading cars in class having to pit for slick tires, Milner assumed the lead and drove a stunning final stint to keep the No. 4 Corvette out front before having to make the last-lap stop. All three Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will be back in action for the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday, July 14.

CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS POST-EVENT DRIVER QUOTESANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “I’m happy with this. Considering we were on the front row the last two races and didn’t convert, it feels like today we got one back. It was an amazing job by Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller guys to change the brakes. They had the skills to almost keep us on the lead lap. Yes we lost some track position but after that, the car was good and every single strategy call was the right one. I had one of the scariest half-stints in my life when a whole set of our tear-offs on the windscreen came off and then came back on. So I had a triangle in front of me and I couldn’t see to my left. Somehow I made up several positions on the restart, but it was very scary to just keep the car on track. I just couldn’t see anything. Fortunately we got it fixed after the yellow, and it was made better when we were on the same strategy as the Porsche and Lexus to go on wet tires. It was the right call and it would have been nice to run four or five laps in the rain but we couldn’t take advantage of that. It’s also a shame for the No. 4 guys. With all the flag sequences, I think they deserved it. But it’s nice that we were able to get the first podium for Alex and me, and for the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports team. Now we need to keep the momentum. We know we are fast; we just need to convert and hopefully a win is around the corner.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – THIRD IN GTD PRO: “To be honest with the weather forecast coming into this weekend, it kind of exactly panned out how we expected with a mayhem-filled race. We started up front and had a nice comfortable stint before we had to change the front brakes. The guys did an amazing job to change everything, and we almost got out without falling off the lead lap, which was pretty impressive. So our race went south for a little while but as with IMSA you’re able to get back in the race and we did. The guys made some great calls and the car was fast. It’s great to get a podium; it felt like we came back into contention where we should have been. It’s cool to get our first podium with the No. 3 Corvette. Antonio did a brilliant job in the end to almost get second. It was really tight out there, and I enjoyed it.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “Nicky was right in that it was a bit of a lottery race for a lot of people with tire calls and things like that. We did well with the tire choice except for when we snuck in just before a yellow to put wets on. I agreed with Tyler (Neff, No. 4 race engineer) that it seemed like the right call at the time because Turn One was undriveable. At the end, we had to take them back off because the track was drying too quickly. But we also got stuck from getting into the pitlane before the red flag, I was happy that it came. But at the end of the day, the result is what matters. And seventh place is not where we want to be. We did some things really well today and some things not so well. We’ll analyze those things that didn’t and be better for the next time when we go to Canada and try again.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SIXTH IN GTD PRO: “First off, Tommy did an amazing job late in the race in holding off the Aston Martin. I knew he had it and we were hoping the fuel would work out, but then that got snatched away. It’s tough. This style of racing makes some of these races a lottery. At the start I didn’t think we would be in a position to go for a win because our car was great everywhere except on a straight line. So that was a frustration. The car felt good toward the end of the stint, so we could get around some people. It was good on a long run and we saw that at the end with Tommy’s drive. It’s a tough way to end though. Hopefully we can be on the right end of it the next time out.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD: “I’m pleased with our result. It was a tricky race as we were lacking a little bit of speed this weekend, but I’m happy with how my stint went. The team has been working so hard all year long, and today they really delivered for us with strategy calls in what were very challenging weather conditions. They kept us in the fight, and Lars and Matt drove a great race as always.”

LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R – SEVENTH IN GTD: “I’m happy with the result we were able to achieve today. When looking at our outright pace, we were just a bit off the mark throughout the whole weekend, and we are actively working on figuring out the reason behind it. We executed well in the race, the team made no mistakes and were perfect as always. We as drivers kept it clean and were able to make up ground, I think we maximized our performance today.”

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, New HampshireJune 22-23, 2024

The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) will make their first and only trip to the New England region this weekend, where New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be the next host of a doubleheader weekend for NASCAR’s top two series. Nicknamed “The Magic Mile”, the 1.058-mile venue first welcomed the NASCAR national ranks in 1990 for the inaugural NXS event, with the track earning a date on the NCS schedule for the first time in 1993. Chevrolet has tallied a combined 28 victories across NASCAR’s top two series, including a series-best 19 triumphs in NASCAR’s premier series.

Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Sunday’s USA Today 301 will mark the NASCAR Cup Series’ 53rd appearance at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and just the third event in the series’ Next Gen era. Chevrolet heads to “The Magic Mile” with a series-leading 19 NCS victories at the track. Career Chevrolet driver, Jeff Gordon, took the Bowtie brand on its first trip to victory lane in NASCAR’s top division at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July 1995, with the NASCAR Hall of Famer going on to score a pair of victories in back-to-back seasons (Sept. 1997 and Aug. 1998) to be credited with the manufacturer’s first three victories at the track. Among those victories includes a record-setting string of six consecutive trips to victory lane, starting with Mark Martin’s win in Sept. 2009 through Kasey Kahne’s win in July 2012 – both of which were recorded behind the wheel of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Chevrolet will eye its 10th NASCAR Xfinity Series win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Sci Aps 200. The Bowtie brand’s nine all-time NXS wins at the track have each come with a different driver, with Ricky Craven piloting his self-owned Chevrolet to the manufacturer’s first NXS triumph at the 1.058-mile venue in Oct. 1991. Most recently, it was JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier that took Chevrolet back to victory lane for the first time in 15 years by picking up the win in series’ July 2022 appearance.

CHASING CONSISTENCYConsistency is serving Chase Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 team well this season. The 28-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native is coming off a strong third-place finish at Iowa Speedway – his seventh top-five finish in the last 11 NASCAR Cup Series races. The result was enough to push Elliott to the top of the driver’s points standings, with the Team Chevy driver becoming the seventh different points leader thus far this season.  The 2020 champion already earned a playoff position with his return to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. In 17 points-paying NCS races, Elliott has recorded finishes no worse than 19th to earn a series-best average finish of 9.1 heading into the New Hampshire race weekend – an average more than three positions ahead of second-place, and fellow Team Chevy driver, Ross Chastain (12.5 average finish).

REGULAR-SEASON RECAPThe NASCAR Cup Series has officially hit a single-digit countdown to the end of its regular-season, with just nine races remaining for drivers to solidify a spot in the title hunt.  With 17 NCS points-paying races complete:

·       Four different drivers have powered Chevrolet to a combined eight victories in NASCAR’s top division this season to lead its manufacturer competitors.  ·       Among those triumphs, the Bowtie brand has earned a victory on every race track configuration that the series competes at this season including: two wins at superspeedway/drafting-style ovals (Daytona International Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway), three wins at intermediate-style ovals (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway), two road course wins (Circuit of The Americas and Sonoma Raceway) and one short-track win (Martinsville Speedway). ·       Looking to capture its fourth consecutive, and 43rd all-time, NACAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championship, Chevrolet has sat atop the manufacturer points standings after all but one race this season – heading into the New Hampshire race weekend with a 10-point advantage over second-place Toyota.  ·       Three Team Chevy drivers have earned the series-best average finish, with Chase Elliott topping the leaderboard with an average finish of 9.1 – the only driver to have a single-digit average. Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron currently tie for second with an average finish of 12.5.   ·       In addition to its series-leading eight NASCAR Cup Series victories this season, Chevrolet also leads its manufacturer competitors in top-five finishes (33) and top-10 finishes (66).

MAYER MAKES IT FIVE-STRAIGHT In the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ return to Iowa Speedway, JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer battled through an overtime finish to collect his second win of the 2024 season. The 20-year-old Franklin, Wisconsin, native already earned a post-season spot with his victory at Texas Motor Speedway, but this trip to victory lane makes Mayer just the series’ fourth repeat winner this season.  The young Team Chevy driver extended the Bowtie brand’s win streak in the series to five-straight heading into the New Hampshire race weekend. Chevrolet’s string of consecutive victories dates back to Justin Allgaier’s victory at Darlington Raceway in May. Since then, Chase Elliott and the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS team picked up the victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen posting back-to-back road course wins at Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway earlier this month.

Bowman Tapped for First NXS Start of 2024The part-time Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Xfinity Series entry is slated for its next start of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend – this time with Alex Bowman behind the wheel. The 31-year-old Tucson, Arizona, native made just one start in the series last season – driving the No. 17 Camaro SS to a ninth-place finish at Watkins Glen International. Bowman has 55 career NXS starts on his resume – tallying one win (Charlotte Motor Speedway – Oct. 2017), seven top-fives and 17 top-10s.  This weekend will mark the sixth NXS start for the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro SS team. Among those starts includes two trips to victory lane – recorded by Kyle Larson at Circuit of The Americas and Chase Elliott at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

BOWTIE BULLETS:·       With 45 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 57.8% with 26 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – eight wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – 10 wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – eight wins). ·       NASCAR Cup Series victories by active Chevrolet drivers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:  Kyle Busch – three wins (2017, 2015, 2006)  ·       In 52 NASCAR Cup Series races held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Chevrolet has recorded 19 victories and 18 poles – both of which are series-best feats.  ·       In 89 points-paying races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 45 victories – a winning percentage of 50.6%.  ·       With his victory at Sonoma Raceway, Kyle Larson is the second driver to hit a double-digit win record in the NASCAR Cup Series’ Next Gen era with 10 triumphs. Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron leads the series’ all-time win record in the Next Gen era with 11 victories.  ·       With its 42 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 859 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: 617 Toyota: 607 (-10)Ford: 588 (-29)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 570Toyota: 526 (-44)Ford: 469 (-101)

Manufacturer Points Standings Chevrolet: 458Toyota: 425 (-33)Ford: 384 (-74)

TUNE-IN:NASCAR Cup SeriesUSA Today 301Sunday, June 23, at 2:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90) NASCAR Xfinity Series Sci Aps 200 Saturday, June 22, at 3:30 p.m. ET(USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90)

QUOTABLE QUOTES:Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1Can you talk about New Hampshire?“New Hampshire is one of the more challenging tracks for me. We only go there once a year and it’s also my crew chief’s (Phil Surgen) home track. Qualifying is important every week but it’s really important at New Hampshire because of the quick pace and it’s so easy to go down a lap quickly. Looks like we have some rain in the forecast this weekend which will be another challenge.” There’s past champions and multi-time winners all fighting for a playoff spot with you, how difficult is it going to be to maintain a spot in the playoffs even though you’re well above the cut line?“I’m fighting for a playoff spot with my heroes. It’s pretty wild to look at the list. I try to keep a broad view of what’s on the horizon so in those high risk moments on track that I’m a little better equipped. The names I’m up against are past champions and heroes. I’m focused on each race and so is my team. We’ve had some fast cars this year its just that we’ve had things happen out of our control.” Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts on New Hampshire Motor Speedway?“I’ve always enjoyed New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This place reminds me of a giant paperclip. Despite being flat, it’s rough. Corner entry is fun there. It’s different. It’s a different type of feel than what we have anywhere else. It is important to have a car that allows you to get into the corner deep if you want to be fast at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The corner is flat, and there is not much banking to hold you. If your car is stable on entry, it helps the rest of the corner so you can be aggressive and make passes. Entry speed is also an important factor. I feel like the car will have to get into the corner and rotate in the center and drive off. At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, everything that matters at short tracks matters there.” Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Camaro ZL1Given your family’s history in the northeast, and some past success at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, this has to be a weekend you’ve been looking forward to.“Loudon is one of my favorite races of the year. It’s pretty much a home race for my family since my grandfather and dad have Northeastern roots. I’ve had success there in the past and generally run well so we’re working hard this week to bring the right setup to the Magic Mile. We’ve have had a couple solid weeks so we’ll keep that ball rolling all the way into the break in the next couple weeks.” Kyle Busch, No. 8 FICO Camaro ZL1What makes New Hampshire so challenging?“New Hampshire is a really tricky racetrack. It’s super flat and has bumpy characteristics to it as well. The asphalt has really gotten old over the years. It feels like racing over highway cracks, but those are all characteristics of a good racetrack. It’s just really challenging and very tough to pass. Everybody says it’s multigroove. You could run three different grooves there, but there’s really only one that’s fast and that’s the middle one. It makes for a challenging Sunday.” Why has New Hampshire been so tough for you in the last few years? “Unfortunately, for me, the last couple of years at New Hampshire have been a huge struggle. This new Next Gen car and I have just not gone well together at New Hampshire. It’s been easy for me to get in trouble because of the nature of the car, the way it rides, the bumps, and the different topography of the track at each end to make grip. It’s definitely a challenge of moving your line around in the corners to improve the balance of the car because this new car doesn’t like different angles and transitions very well.” You’ve won four poles at New Hampshire. Why do you qualify so well there?“I feel like qualifying at New Hampshire is important just because of track position because it’s so hard to pass, making sure you’re in good position at the start of the race just to keep your day simple. I’ve always kind of put an emphasis on qualifying to make sure we do well.” Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Poppy Bank Camaro ZL1“I’m eager to race at New Hampshire for the first time in the Next Gen car; it’s a type of track I really enjoy. Our short track package has been a challenge for us, but I’m looking forward to getting the Poppy Bank Chevy on track.” Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Bowman on his goals for the weekend and running double-duty at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: “New Hampshire (Motor Speedway) has proved to be a decently challenging track for me. I was able to get a top 10 there (New Hampshire Motor Speedway) back in 2021- but it’s certainly a place I’d like to improve at. I’m excited about the opportunity to run in the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevy during this weekend’s Xfinity Series race. Hopefully those extra laps on Friday and Saturday will help me gain some additional insight on the track before Sunday’s Cup (Series) race. Our Ally Racing team is still working diligently to try and put the No. 48 back in victory lane!” Blake Harris, Crew Chief, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1Harris on Alex Bowman racing in the Xfinity Series and Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend: “Anytime we (Hendrick Motorsports) run that Xfinity car, I think we have the opportunity to put that thing (No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro) in victory lane. The team has already been able to do that a couple times this year. The interesting choice of that place for Alex (Bowman) is that New Hampshire is not one of his best tracks. He’s had a couple decent runs there- but overall, it’s not statistically his best. But- he chose it because he wants to get better there. I think it will be good for him to get some laps in the Xfinity car, especially with the short practices, any lap time you get around those place is great. He’ll be able to see the evolution of the track on Saturday in the Xfinity car so when we go rolling into Sunday I think he’ll have a pretty good idea of how we need to approach it.” Zane Smith, No. 71 Focused Health Camaro ZL1This weekend will be the first time you’ll race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. How do you feel going into this weekend?“New Hampshire is one I’ve had circled on the calendar for a while. It’s crazy I’ve never raced there. I always wanted to, but never had the opportunity until now. Timing and other opportunities – it just never aligned. It’s a beautiful racetrack and the fans are awesome. I know my 71 Spire Motorsports team will bring a fast Focused Health Chevy and I’m excited to see how I stack up.” Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Delaware Life Camaro ZL1You mentioned feeling good about New Hampshire despite it being a new track for you. Can you elaborate on what specifically makes you feel confident heading into this weekend?“Last year was full of new tracks when I raced nine cup races, and it’s been nice to go back to some tracks this year, but yeah, Loudon is completely new to me. We’ve spent extra time in the SIM and I honestly feel like learning a new car is a lot more difficult than learning a new track, so I feel good about Loudon this week.” Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Choice Privileges Camaro ZL1What are your thoughts on becoming an American citizen?“I feel very good about this, honestly. It is one of those things that really hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think I have thought about how big of a deal it really is. It’s very special. To finally get to this milestone has taken a lot of work, a lot of time, money and help. I don’t think 95 percent of the people in the country understand the process and what it takes to get this done. It’s been a great journey and nice to have the opportunity to get it done and say that I am now an American citizen. I am very excited to make this official.” Why now?“I have been living in America for more than 10 years, I am getting married next month, maybe in a couple of years we will start a family. This was just the right thing to do. I am very proud to be from Mexico, but I also see the United States as my full time family home.”

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: 8Poles: 6Laps Led: 1,520Top-five finishes: 33Top-10 finishes: 66Stage wins: 11·       Chase Elliott: 1 ·       Kyle Larson: 8·       Ross Chastain: 1·       William Byron: 1 CHEVROLET IN NASCAR CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:Total Chevrolet race wins: 859 (1949 to date)Poles won to date: 749Laps led to date: 250,695Top-five finishes to date: 4,331Top-10 finishes to date: 8,926                                                                                                          Total NASCAR Cup Wins by Corporation, 1949 to Date:                    General Motors: 1,193           Chevrolet: 859           Pontiac: 154           Oldsmobile: 115           Buick: 65            Ford: 831                                                                      Ford: 731           Mercury: 96           Lincoln: 4            Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: 467           Dodge: 217           Plymouth: 191           Chrysler: 59            Toyota: 186

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF MONTEREY WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE JUNE 21-23, 2024   DETROIT (June 19, 2024) – The eighth round of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship takes the Chevrolet drivers and teams to legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, Calif. for the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. With three previous races at Laguna Seca in the 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 era since 2012 (2019, 2022, and 2023), Chevrolet looks to race to victory lane while adding to two earned NTT P1 Pole Awards (Will Power in 2022, and Felix Rosenqvist in 2023), as well as their four podium finishes and 50 laps led. With Team Chevy scoring four wins this season, including the Indianapolis 500, as well as three earned NTT P1 Pole Awards, 10 podium finishes and 316 laps led overall in the seven events so far, the Bowtie brand looks to add a win at Laguna Seca this weekend. A technical paved road course constructed for both motorcycle and auto racing, the 2.238-mile track features considerable elevation change, as well as 11 turns including the famous “Corkscrew” at Turn 8 and 8A, plunging downhill and is one of the most recognizable turns in all of motorsports.   “After a very hectic schedule from the month of May through Milwaukee testing, our Chevrolet engineering group and teams have had just a short time to catch their collective breath before loading up to head to Monterey, California, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet INDYCAR Program Manager. “Easily one of the most recognizable and iconic road courses worldwide, the track presents numerous challenges for our engineering group working with our teams. There are steep elevation changes, tight technical corners, and the famous Corkscrew, which is a combination of high-speed technical corners that spills out into the fastest part of the track, turns nine, 10, heading to the sharp right-hand turn 11, and on to the front straightaway. It is critically important that drivers have the handling and balance needed to put the Chevy power down and maximize their tools to put together a winning drive. We are well prepared and looking forward to taking the momentum from the Road America victory to the winner’s circle at Laguna Seca.” The 95-lap, 212.61-mile Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey kicks off with the first practice on Friday, June 21 at 5 p.m. ET. Saturday sees the second practice at 1 p.m. ET with qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six following at 5:15 p.m. ET. Race day starts with warm-up at 3 p.m. ET, and the race takes the green flag at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network. All practice and qualifying sessions are broadcast with Peacock, INDYCAR Radio, and SiriusXM Channel 218.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (Quotes):Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“[Laguna Seca is] a fun track to put laps together there. It’s a cool track because it’s historical, but not only does it have historic corners, it’s a lot of fun to drive in our race cars. It’s one of the tracks in IndyCar with truly blind corners and you have to really commit. The best places to pass are Turn 2, passing into the Corkscrew, and the last corner. Some of the fun aspects of that track are just being out in Monterey which is really nice and very pretty. It’s just a fun race track, especially since they repaved it. It makes it more challenging because it’s quicker so a little bit more high commitment. A cool track all around. High pace. Quick. Very physical, very demanding. It’s probably one of our most physical courses all year.” Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:“[Laguna Seca] is my favorite. There is a lot to love between the different style corners, the elevation changes and the location. I think I have had some of my best results there because it has always been an end of season event and that is where we are the most prepared. The style of the track I think is good for me as well. There is a lot of smooth but fast turns that flow very well together. One of the most exciting places to pass is the Corkscrew and actually is a very good spot to pass. It always looks pretty spectacular. I love being on the west coast. The atmosphere is usually pretty great and the weather is beautiful. Laguna Seca is one of the best tracks to qualify at as well. It is fast and challenging but requires good consistency.” Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“In the past, we haven’t quite had the best of weekends at Laguna Seca. I think that definitely speaks to the motivation that we have going back this year. It was a pretty hectic race last year, so we’ll see what it’s got in store for us this year.” Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“I’m very excited for my first race with Arrow McLaren at my home event at Laguna Seca. It’ll be a special weekend having all my family and friends there, but it’s also exciting also having it be my first weekend in papaya. Coming off of a win at Le Mans is a great way to start this relationship and I’m really looking forward to getting going.” Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:“It was nice to have a little break after a long stretch of racing, but I’m super excited to get back to the track. We had strong cars at Laguna Seca last year and I’m looking forward to coming back here just as competitive. It’s sort of a home race for me, so there’s plenty of motivation to put on a great show for everyone.” Gavin Ward, Team Principal at Arrow McLaren:“I love classic racetracks like Laguna Seca that reward bravery and punish mistakes. We need race cars that give our drivers the confidence to attack the high-speed turns and navigate tricky elevation changes. This is our last race before introducing INDYCAR’s new hybrid powertrain, so we’ll be looking to head into the hybrid era on a high note.” Christian Rasmussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“I love racing at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca! I have great memories there, the latest being locking up the INDY NXT championship by winning by over 15 seconds last year. I am looking forward to experiencing the track it in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car!” Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet:“It was great to have a weekend off, but I am very excited to get back to racing! We had a good car at Laguna Seca last year, we should have the same fast car again this year. Hopefully, we get into a different rhythm and better results for the second half of the season!” Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“Excited to surf on a good road this weekend at a track where JHR had pace last year.” Agustin Canapino, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:“We arrive to this weekend with big expectations because of the performance that we had last year. At this track. Laguna Seca is one of the best track of the year, a legendary track that every driver wants to drive.”

Chevrolet in Laguna Seca (V6 era):Wins at Laguna Seca: 0 Earned Pole Awards at Laguna Seca: 22022: Will Power2023: Felix Rosenqvist Number of Team Chevy Podiums at Laguna Seca (V6 era): 4 Number of laps led by Team Chevy at Laguna Seca (V6 era): 50

2024 CHEVROLET BY THE NUMBERS:206: NTT INDYCAR Series races as V6 engine supplier since 2012 return to INDYCAR.  115: Wins in the NTT INDYCAR Series since 2012.  130: Earned poles since 2012. Chevrolet holds 135 pole awards in total, with five recorded based on points for weather. 8: Manufacturer Championships since 2012.  7: Driver/entrant champions since 2012.  13: Indianapolis 500 victories by Chevrolet at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 6: Indianapolis 500 wins by Chevrolet since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. 33: Number of times Chevrolet has swept the podium in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since 2012 in the V6 2.2-liter twin turbo direct injected era. In total, a manufacturer has swept the podium 50 times since 2012 in the V6 era. 27: Wins by Will Power since 2012 – all with Chevrolet power – most of any driver with the same manufacturer.   9: Wins from the pole by Will Power with Chevrolet power since 2012, most by any driver.  46: Pole starts by Will Power since 2012 in a Chevrolet-powered car, most of any driver.*Will Power’s career total of 70 poles makes him the all-time pole winner in INDYCAR.

Corvettes in GTD PRO, GTD taking steps forward into summer stretch DETROIT (June 19, 2024) – It’s the turn of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and AWA to put the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R through its endurance paces this weekend for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen – the third long-distance race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The trio of Corvette GT3 entries are part of a 32-car field of GTD PRO and GTD cars – 11 in the GTD PRO class for all-professional teams and 21 in GTD, featuring a mix of professional and non-professional drivers. Despite its status as an endurance race, drivers and cars often approach the Sahlen’s Six Hours as a long-distance sprint.All three Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams will look to add the list of successes for the Corvette Racing brand at The Glen – three victories including a pair in the Six Hours with two previous versions of the Corvette. Those wins came with Pratt Miller running the factory Corvette Racing program. With the team moving toward a factory-supported effort, hopes are high for an elusive first win for the Z06 GT3.R in IMSA after starting the last two races – Laguna Seca and Detroit – from pole position in GTD PRO.CORVETTE RACING MEDIA INFO Corvette Racing media information is updated and available ahead of the Sahlens Six Hours of The Glen – the next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Materials include Corvette Racing event advance and quotes, Corvette Racing stats and figures, Corvette Z06 GT3.R racecar comparisons, Corvette Racing Fast Facts, factory driver biographies and Corvette Racing photography, among other items.The lineups in the three Corvettes remain the same from previous IMSA rounds:· Antonio Garcia and Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports· Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the No. 4 Z06 GT3.R, also for Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports· Orey Fidani, Matt Bell and Lars Kern in AWA’s No. 13 Corvette for GTD. Of note, Fidani leads the WeatherTech Championship’s Aiken Award standings entering the season’s second half. The winner – as the top Bronze-rated driver in GTD – receives an automatic invitation to the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to season championship points, The Glen also is the third round of the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup – a championship-within-a-championship made up for the five long-distance races on the IMSA schedule. At Watkins Glen, points will be awarded at the three-hour mark as well as the race’s end. Entering the Six Hours, Chevrolet leads the GTD PRO Manufacturers standings by three points; a maximum of five points per segment are available at IMEC events. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 23. The race will air live on USA Network from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with full streaming coverage on Peacock. IMSA Radio will air all on-track sessions at IMSA.com along XM 206, SiriusXM Online 996.CORVETTE RACING BY PRATT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PRE-EVENT DRIVER QUOTESANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The Six Hours is a great event for a few reasons. One is that I really enjoy the track. There are excellent sections where you have a lot of mid- and high-speed cornering and some nice changes of direction. It requires a car that is compliant with all these things to be successful. And of course I enjoy the longer races where strategy and trying different things can pay off. It has been a long time since Sebring when we did our last long race as I didn’t do Le Mans, so I think this will mean a little bit more than in years past.” ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “These circuits that are coming up are all brilliant to drive at, which is a great thing about IMSA. There are so many good circuits. To go to places like Watkins Glen is something I am looking forward to. There is always good racing, even if it is tough to overtake on. There are long, flowing corners where you can set up a corner four to five corners away from where you actually make it, which is always a nice feeling. I’m sure the Corvette will feel really good around there. “It will be nice to use the curbing at the Bus Stop again because it was always pretty sketchy in the GTP. There are so many good points to Watkins Glen. I really enjoy the Laces corner… Turn Six is a really nice, long corner than is really tough to get right. There is always a lot of good racing at Watkins Glen and a lot of good overtaking spots. It’s tough to have the GTP cars come past you in a way that doesn’t affect your laptime. It’s a complicated racetrack with so many types of corners. It’s just a great, great circuit.”TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m excited about Watkins Glen and excited to get another opportunity to show what this Corvette is capable of in IMSA. To get a good result and podium at Laguna Seca, and it looked like we were poised for another good result at Detroit before some bad luck. Everyone is working as hard as they can to get a win for this program in IMSA for Chevrolet and Corvette. The six-hour format at Watkins Glen is fun for drivers and teams. It’s one where every single stint in the car makes a difference. It’s also one where strategy comes into play. Teams that may or may not have the fastest car can do some things at certain points in the race to potentially improve their position. It makes things exciting on that front. The track is amazing. We’re fortunate in the U.S. to have some very challenging and exciting tracks, and Watkins Glen is definitely one of those.”NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: ‘Watkins Glen is one of my favorite places. It has been a long time since I have been there, although I do know it from the simulator. It is one of those very high-speed, flowing tracks with a bit of risk to it. You need to have commitment and confidence in the car. These are always tracks that I really love. So I cannot wait to get there. The surface is great with a lot of grip available, and we are all looking forward to that.”MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I love Watkins Glen. It’s one of those iconic racetracks in the world. There are super high speeds. There isn’t really a low-speed corner anywhere. It’s super-high commitment, and drivers always love those corners. It’s basically 3.5 miles of that and one of the highlights of the IMSA season for me. Of my top 10 tracks in the world, eight of them are in IMSA. I love the combination the old-school nature of the racetracks with one of the best – if not the best – racing series in the world. I love the way IMSA goes about the racing, and the level of competition is so high. You have the best drivers in the world in all categories. It’s basically like Le Mans every race weekend in terms of quality of competition. I’ve always loved IMSA, and all the drivers love the old-school nature of these circuits. It’s a nice little run we’re getting ready to go on.”OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We’re feeling confident going into this race. Watkins Glen is a track that we know very well, and we recently completed a couple of days of testing there just last month. We’ve been showing good progress throughout the season and are continuing to learn more and more about the Corvette, and we’re aiming to keep that momentum going. I’m looking forward to another endurance race. This track is very fun to drive.”LARS KERN, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “The team has made big steps with the car and it showed great potential in the last sprint rounds. The progress has been really promising, and it was very helpful for me to jump back in for some laps a few weeks ago during testing just to get a feel for the car again since it has been a little while since I’ve been in our Corvette. There’s a great atmosphere within the team, we have a great working racecar and we all can’t wait to hit the track.”2024 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PointsGTD PRO Drivers Standings1. Laurin Heinrich/Seb Priaulx – 13592. Ben Barnicoat/Jack Hawksworth – 12753. Mario Farnbacher/Ross Gunn – 11934. Bryan Sellers/Madison Snow – 11685. Nicky Catsburg/Tommy Milner – 10606. Alexander Sims/Antonio Garcia – 1057 GTD PRO Teams Standings1. No. 77 AO Racing – 13592. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan – 12753. No. 23 Heart of Racing Team – 11924. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing – 11685. No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 10606. No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – 1057 GTD PRO Manufacturers Standings1. Porsche – 13832. Lexus – 12993. Aston Martin – 12064. Chevrolet – 11425. McLaren – 1115 GTD Drivers Standings1. Philip Ellis/Russell Ward – 13672. Patrick Gallagher/Robby Foley – 11543. Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer – 10594. Parker Thompson – 10385. Mikael Grenier/Mike Skeen – 103313. Matthew Bell/Orey Fidani – 830 GTD Teams Standings1. No. 57 Windward Racing – 13672. No. 96 Turner Motorsport – 11543. No. 120 Wright Motorsports – 10594. No. 32 Korthoff/Preston Motorsport – 10335. No. 43 Andretti Motorsports – 95212. No. 13 AWA – 830 GTD Manufacturers Standings1. Mercedes-AMG – 14572. Porsche – 12083. Lamborghini – 11994. Lexus – 11785. Aston Martin – 10596. Chevrolet – 1026 CORVETTE RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: By the Numbers• 2: Wins at Watkins Glen International in 2021 for Antonio Garcia: the Sahlen’s Six Hours and the WeatherTech 240 in consecutive weeks with Jordan Taylor• 2: Wins and pole positions in the Sahlen’s Six Hours for Antonio Garcia. He won GTLM in 2014 and 2021 and was the GTLM pole-sitter in 2019 and 2021• 3: Victories at Watkins Glen for Corvette Racing since its debut there in 2014: 2014 and 2021 Sahlen’s Six Hours, and 2021 WeatherTech 240• 5: Consecutive podium finishes for Antonio Garcia at Watkins Glen from 2017-2021• 14: Manufacturer Championships for Chevrolet and Corvette Racing since 2001• 18: Victories for Chevrolet in the Sahlen’s Six Hours, ranking second among all manufacturers• 27: Tracks at which Corvette Racing has won races – Baltimore, Charlotte Motor Speedway, COTA, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park/Mosport, Daytona, Detroit, Houston, Laguna Seca, Le Mans, Lime Rock, Long Beach, Miami, Mid-Ohio, Monza, Portimão, Portland, Road America, Road Atlanta, Sebring, Sonoma, St. Petersburg, Texas, Trois Rivieres, Utah, VIR, Washington DC and Watkins Glen• 48: Number of drivers in Corvette Racing entries since 1999 – DXDT Racing’s Alec Udell being the latest in GT World Challenge America at Circuit of The Americas• 71: Years since Corvette was introduced to the world on Jan. 17, 1953 in New York City. A total of 300 cars were produced that year• 129: Victories worldwide for Corvette Racing – 115 in North America, nine at Le Mans, three in the FIA WEC and two in GT World Challenge America• 295: Event starts by Corvette Racing since 1999• 383,516.42: Total number of racing miles completed by Corvette Racing entries since 1999. To put that in perspective, Corvette Racing is more than halfway to the distance traveled by Apollo 13 – the longest manned spaceflight in history: 622,268 miles Corvette Racing at Watkins Glen (wins in bold)2014No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 1st in GTLM (Team’s first race at Watkins Glen)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM 2015No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 4th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 7th in GTLM (Ret., Accident) 2016No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 7th in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 4th in GTLM 2017No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 3rd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2018No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLMNo. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 5th in GTLM 2019No. 3 Corvette C7.R: Antonio Garcia/Jan Magnussen – 2nd in GTLM (Garcia pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner – 8th in GTLM (Accident on first lap) 2021No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Garcia pole)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 4th in GTLM (Tandy fastest race lap) 2021*No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 1st in GTLM (Taylor pole, fastest race lap)No. 4 Corvette C8.R: Tommy Milner/Nick Tandy – 2nd in GTLM 2022No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 6th in GTD PRO 2023No. 3 Corvette C8.R: Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor – 3rd in GTD PRO* Two-hour, 40-minute sprint raceTeam Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use. About ChevroletFounded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.Ryan Smith678.316.1880ryan2uga@gmail.comJudy Kouba Dominick317.408.1049judy.dominick@insidetrackcomms.comSee what’s happening on Team Chevy social sites

Cruz Pedregon

NHRA PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals – Richmond

Pre-Race Report

Quotes for the upcoming Richmond race – 

Cruz Pedregon, two-time Funny Car World Champion

“The Snap-on Dodge is starting to come around. It’s consistent and getting into the summer months, I really feel like that’s going to play into our hands well. With a couple more races before the Western Swing, we expect that consistency to help us in going more rounds.” 

“Making the quarter finals in Bristol before losing a close race to the eventual winner was really encouraging for the team.” 

“We look forward to running in Richmond. It’s going to be warm conditions, but the track is flat and probably one of the smoothest on the circuit. The facility there is a really nice one, and the Dinwiddie/Richmond area fans are always good to see, they have a lot of enthusiasm.”

“We’ve had good round wins at Virginia Motorsports Park, and we had a win there in 2008 that spurred us on to our championship year. But, in 1997, we had a pretty bad fire there, and I remember the long shut-off area made it possible for me to stop the car before I got into the sand.” 

Name on the side of Cruz’s car – Snap-on Nitro Franchisee Timmy Brann

●        Timmy Brann is the Snap-on Nitro Franchisee this week, and he has had his franchise business for 15 years.

●        He previously worked in trucking with his dad.

●        Timmy’s been to drag races over the years and says he really enjoys Pro Stock. But for this race, his name will be on the side of a Funny Car. It will be his first time meeting Cruz, and he’s bringing his daughter to the race to meet him, too.

●        As Cruz’s primary sponsor, Snap-on is asking NHRA fans like Timmy to follow Makers and Fixers on Instagram and inspire other Makers and Fixers like him to submit their stories to makersandfixers.com.

CONCORD, NC (June 19, 2024) – 

In the leadup to the 2024 racing season, Jordon Mallett thought he was going to take a step back from the grind of the American Sprint Car Series National Tour.

With his first child on the way, he was content with scaling back. But then came the call from Brandon Anderson, who suffered a broken arm from a crash in May.

“He had gotten hurt in the car, was going to be out several weeks, and wanted to know if I had any interest in filling the seat,” said Mallett, who finished third in National Tour points last year. “Just had some conversations with him and with Kyle [Anderson] and got our heads together, thought about it, looked at it from my perspective of our team, we were running really well. We didn’t have any major scheduling conflicts with the proposed schedule they had laid out while he was going to be injured. It just mutually worked out.”

Anderson said he considered several different candidates for the fill-in position, but ultimately decided Mallett was the best option on the table.

“I looked at all my competitors, people that I had known in racing,” Anderson said. “He seemed to be the one that really carried themselves the best on the track and off the track.”

After receiving the green light from his sponsors, Mallett got to work beginning with the National Tour stop at Rush County Speedway on May 31. From that moment forward, Mallett has appeared to fit the Brandon Anderson Motorsports team like a glove, going a perfect six-for-six on top 10s, culminating in a second-place result at Tri-State Speedway to wrap up Speedweek. Nevertheless, Mallett believes there is still more left in the tank.

“We’ve had speed every night that I’ve been in the car,” Mallett said. “They’ve got really good equipment; they’ve got everything we need to be successful. Like I said when we started this deal, I felt like once we got in a routine, we were a consistent top-five contender every night.

“I wouldn’t be in the seat if I didn’t think we had the equipment and the brains capable of winning a race.”

For much of Mallett’s time behind the wheel of Anderson’s car, he seemed to have good speed in preliminary action, but struggled to maintain it in the Feature until Tri-State rolled around.

“Ever since we partnered up, we’ve just been really good and really consistent early on, and we’ve lacked something in the Feature,” Mallett said. “Just trying to get me comfortable in the car in the Feature to actually charge forward and have a good race car at the end of the show. Seems like we’ve had a good car at the beginning of the Feature and it just kind of went away, so Saturday night (at Tri-State) was a really good night that we could finally find that threshold that I’m a little bit happier with.”

The strong finishes also confirmed to Anderson that he made the right decision in choosing an experienced wheelman like Mallett to join his team.

“I see a little bit more maturity there, more patience,” Anderson said. “He’s able to articulate things a little bit better and really just keep his cool.”

Mallett’s search for his second Series win, and first with the Andersons, will continue this Saturday at Batesville Motor Speedway – about an hour away from his Greenbrier, AR home. Despite his close proximity to the track, Mallett doesn’t have nearly as many laps around Batesville as most drivers do at tracks in their home region.

“I think we’ve been there cumulatively maybe three times in my career,” Mallett said. “It is just a little over an hour from the house, but rarely do they run Sprint Cars very often.”

With Anderson expected to return to the cockpit later this summer, Mallett said he will return to the seat of his family-owned car on a part-time schedule. His No. 14 machine has already shown speed in 2024, as Mallett won a United Sprint Car Series event at Pine Ridge Speedway in Mississippi on May 27, his last race before moving to the Anderson team.

“As soon as Brandon is healed up, I’ll just go back to my seat in my car and continue on with our schedule like we had originally planned,” Mallett said.

Until then, Mallett is laser-focused on one goal: parking the No. 55B machine in Victory Lane.

“I don’t think I’ve got a car that can win,” Mallett said. “I know I’ve got a car that can win.”

Mallett and the rest of the ASCS National Tour competitors will continue their chase for the championship on Saturday night, June 22 at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove, AR. Tickets will be available at the gate on race day, while every lap will be streamed live on DIRTVision.

CHEVROLET IN NHRA 2024 PlayNHRA VIRGINIA NATIONALS VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK NORTH DINWIDDIE, VIRGINIA TEAM CHEVY RACE ADVANCE | NOTES & QUOTES JUNE 21-23, 2024 CHEVROLET RETURNS TO VIRGINIA MOTORSPORTS PARK READY TO DEFEND  JOHN FORCE RACING’S 2022 DOUBLE WINS

Notes:Team Chevy heads to the 2024 PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals, the ninth round of the season, June 21-23 at Virginia Motorsports Park.Last competing at Virginia Motorsports Park in 2022, John Force Racing left with a handful of hardware, capturing both the Funny Car event win with Robert Hight and the Top Fuel event win with Brittany Force, who also qualified No. 1 ahead of eliminations.Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, enters Virginia Motorsports Park as the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader, coming off his most recent victory at Bristol Dragway.Leaving Bristol, Prock’s team owner and teammate, John Force, 16-time champion and driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, trails in second in the championship standings by just 64 points.From a three-team semifinal finish in Bristol, all three John Force Racing entries will compete in the Mission Foods NHRA #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday during Q2 in Richmond. Force, Prock, and Force will face off for bonuses of additional prize money and championship points.Last competing at Virginia Motorsports Park, Bo Butner, III raced to victory in 2019, with Jason Line taking the No. 1 qualifier in Pro Stock that year.

Quotes:BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:“Excited to return to Richmond, Virginia with HendrickCars.com as our primary sponsor coming out of a strong weekend in Bristol. This team has made some progress on the track, and we know we are starting to see results on race day. After a semi-final round finish in Thunder Valley, our team will enter Virginia Motorsports Park and have a chance to compete #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for extra bonus points and prize money. This weekend, Richmond is changing things up. It will be a 2-day event, which is something I’ve never done in my career. I’m interested to see the fan response for a Saturday and Sunday event. It will definitely speed things up and we are hoping for a positive outcome.” AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“Excited to get to Richmond. We’ve got a 2-day show this weekend with three qualifying passes on Saturday and our race day on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how the fans and competitors take in the new format. Richmond is one of the flattest tracks on circuit which will be much appreciated by the tuners with this weekend’s temperatures. It’s going to be a hot one! As I always say, ‘I never like an off weekend!’ I’m excited to get back into my Cornwell Quality Tools Camaro SS and get back in the groove of things. We’re looking for another strong weekend.” JOHN FORCE, DRIVER OF THE PEAK ANTIFREEZE & COOLANT CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:“Glad to be back in Richmond with my PEAK Chevy. We have won the race a number of times. I’m excited to run it as a two-day race. It’s something new for the fans, the drivers, and the crew chiefs. And we get to run that Mission Foods race in the middle of it. One day of qualifying with a race built right in. It’s pretty exciting. Brittany’s (Force) HendrickCars.com dragster is starting to run better and (Austin) Prock’s Cornwell Tools Chevy is on fire, so we are all looking forward to being back in the seat here in Virginia.”

How to Watch:The 2024 PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals from Virginia Motorsports Park kick off Friday, June 21 with Friday’s qualifying airing at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. Saturday’s qualifying airs Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, with Finals following at 5 p.m. ET. All sessions from Epping, New Hampshire 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.

TEAM CHEVY BY THE NUMBERS:1,459: Round wins for John Force (1st all-time).626: Round wins for Robert Hight; 13th all-time. Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), sits 12th, with 630.167: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for John Force (1st all-time).163: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins since 1967.84: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Robert Hight (6th all-time). Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) is fifth with 88.83: Number of Chevrolet Racing Funny Car wins with the Camaro SS body.47: Number of career No. 1 qualifiers for Brittany Force.28: Number of NHRA championships Chevrolet holds as a manufacturer since entering the first in 1966. This is the seventh-consecutive award and ninth in 11 seasons. No other manufacturer has won it more than Chevrolet.26: Wins by John Force in a Chevrolet-bodied Funny Car.20: Chevrolet career Top Fuel wins in NHRA.16: Number of Chevrolet career wins by Brittany Force.7: Number of Funny Car driver championships.2: Number of Top Fuel driver championships.

Drag Racing’s Biggest Winner Drives PEAK Chevy in PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals

DINWIDDIE, Va. (June 19, 2024) – Five days shy of the 37th anniversary of his first NHRA tour victory (June 28, 1987 at Montreal, Canada), John Force tries to win his 158th this Sunday when he drives his PEAK Antifreeze and Coolant Chevrolet Camaro SS in pursuit of the Funny Car championship in a pared down, two-day version of the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park. “Glad to be back in Richmond with my PEAK Chevy,” drag racing’s all-time winner said of his return to a track on which he has a higher winning percentage than on any other in the Mission Foods Series. “We’ve won the race a number of times (and) I’m excited to run it as a two-day (event). It’s something new for the fans, the drivers and the crew chiefs.” Three Saturday qualifying sessions will set the lineup for Sunday eliminations on what is expected to be an exceedingly hot all-concrete track surface.  An inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the California Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, among others, Force has raised the “Wally” (the winner’s trophy named for the late founder of the NHRA, Wally Parks) four times in 12 appearances in the Virginia Nationals.   Furthermore, while he hasn’t won since 2000, he advanced to the semifinals in 2022, the last time the race was run, and his overall record is a stellar 28-8.   “This is the best car I’ve had in a long time,” Force said of his hot rod Chevy, “and I want to give credit to (crew chief) Daniel Hood, (Chris) Cunningham, (Tim) Fabrisi and all the kids on the PEAK team that keep me motivated to keep going. “I love driving and I love winning, and I’ve got a car that can compete,” he said, “(but) I’ve got to get myself together. I got to the semis at Bristol (Tenn., in the last race on the tour), but I should have been to the finals. All I had to do was be a little bit better on the light, but I wasn’t.” It’s that kind of introspection that has kept Force at the top of his sport for most of four decades during which he won a record 16 championships, 10 of them in succession (1993-2002). “I beat myself up when things go wrong,” he said, “because I’m racing with these kids for a title, and I’ve got to stay in fight mode.” He’ll get an opportunity to hone those “fighting” skills ahead of Sunday’s main event after qualifying once again for the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge as a semifinalist at the most recent event in the series. “One day of qualifying with a race built right in,” he said of the #2Fast2Tasty. “It’s pretty exciting. Looking forward to being back in the seat in Virginia (especially since) Brittany’s HendrickCars.com dragster is starting to run better and (Austin) Prock’s Cornwell Tools Chevy is on fire.” * * * * NHRA VIRGINIA NATIONALS SCHEDULE Saturday, June 22Nitro qualifying session #1 at 12 noon, EDT  Top Fuel qualifying, session #2 and Brittany Force in first round of Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty NHRA Challenge versus Doug Kalitta, 3 p.m. Funny Car qualifying, session #2 and John Force and Austin Prock in first round of Mission Foods 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, Force versus J.R. Todd, Prock versus Matt Hagan, 3:30 p.m. Funny Car qualifying, session #3 and final round of 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, 6 p.m. Top Fuel qualifying, session #3 and final round of 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 23First round eliminations, 12 noon, EDT JFR ON FS1 Saturday, June 22Qualifying show, 1 p.m. EDTSunday, June 23Qualifying show, 1 p.m., EDTSunday, June 23Race coverage, 8 p.m. EDT

LONG BEACH, CA (June 19, 2024) — Any driver will tell you it feels good when you have a gut instinct that you and your car have rounded a corner, and quicker ETs are ahead. Buddy Hull, a Funny Car driver for Jim Dunn Racing, is riding high on that feeling, coming into the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park, June 22-23.
 
“Our performance in Bristol at the Thunder Valley Nationals was exactly what we needed before this race weekend,” said Hull. “We made two solid runs back-to-back, figured out how to replicate when the car runs well, and then had a weekend off to rejuvenate before we hit the ground running again for a busy summer of racing. I am fired up heading to Richmond to build off of those team wins two weeks ago.”

 Buddy Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car team are ready for Virginia Nationals,
photo credit Buddy Hull Racing

In the ninth race of his Funny Car career, this weekend Hull will be experiencing two new things: racing at Virginia Motorsports Park and trialing a new scheduling format from the NHRA. Typically, a national event consists of two days of qualifying that result in three to four qualifying passes. But for the newly revamped Virginia Nationals, there will be three rounds of qualifying all on Saturday.
 
“I really like this experimental scheduling format,” said Hull. “Saturday you get a chance to make two runs before the throwdown session. For us that is perfect. We can get some track time in race day conditions and then try and run a low number. I think if the conditions are good on that race track you could see a lot of Top Fuel dragsters run high 3.60s and low 3.70s with the Funny Cars putting up a lot of 3.80s and low 3.90s. It is going to be great show for the fans.”
 
Hull and the Jim Dunn team will be working towards those low ETs and are hoping to continue with some consistency they found in Bristol. In the final round of qualifying and first round of eliminations, Hull made a 4.185 second and 4.176 second pass, respectively. Now that they have found more consistency, they are hoping to best their season record of a 4.010 second ET that they set in the second round of qualifying at Charlotte.
 
“Almost every race we have had bursts of success where we have made at least one sporadic low-four-second run,” said Hull. “But I want every run to be like that, so we can then get into more of the 3.90s range, sooner rather than later. All of this takes time, and I am always reminding myself that I am still only in my first year with this car. We have the right people surrounding us, who are all putting the work. The results will come.”
 
Richmond is the third race in a four week stretch that Hull is racing with his Blaze Exhaust Probes paint scheme on his Funny Car, repping one of Jim Dunn Racing’s many season-long sponsors. Since 1996, Blaze has been a leading full-service temperature sensor manufacturer that offers solutions for even the most demanding applications. Their reputation for creating the most rugged sensors available has made them a top choice in the industry.
 
“When I say we have the right people surrounding us, I don’t just mean the incredible team members of Jim Dunn Racing, including Big Jim himself,” said Hull. “They are a huge part of it, but an equal part of it is the amazing group of sponsors that the Dunn family and I have brought together to support our team. It feels great knowing we have so many people behind us, not just in their encouragement, but also their hard-earned dollars.”
 
In addition to Blaze, Hull will be representing other season-long sponsors Vertex Roofers and General Contractors, Solid Start/True Brand Products, Lescure Mechanical Services, Crow Safety, Compass Facility Services, KGC Construction, Koppl Pipeline Services, Mooneyes, Good Vibrations Motorsports, Powerbuilt Tools and Wiley X.
 
“Our families and our fans are the final piece of that puzzle,” said Hull. “With the recent addition of legal gambling and fantasy sports in the NHRA, we’re really seeing the fans’ passion for drag racing multiply. It’s not just about putting on a good show anymore but wanting to do well for the fans who go out on a limb to bet on you. It’s a wild time all around to be competing at this level, and I couldn’t be happier to be here.”
 
Hull and the Jim Dunn Racing team will be making three qualifying runs on Saturday, June 22 at Virginia Motorsports Park. The top 16 quickest Funny Cars in the field will then advance to race day on Sunday, June 23, competing for a Wally. The first round of eliminations will begin on Sunday at noon EST. Fans can watch the finals on FS1. For tickets or more information on the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals visit nhra.com.

Chasing Victory at Richmond in Last Event Won by Mentor and Friend Eric Medlen

DINWIDDIE, Va. (June 19, 2024) – Driving virtually the same Cornwell Quality Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS in which Robert Hight won in 2022, the last time a Mission Foods NHRA tour event was contested at Virginia Motorsports Park, Austin Prock this week tries to become the fifth different John Force Racing Funny Car driver to raise the trophy in the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals. A win would be particularly meaningful for the 28-year-old point leader insomuch as the Virginia Nationals was the last race won by the late Eric Medlen, with whom he had forged a strong bond prior to the 2007 testing accident that claimed the life of one of the sport’s brightest young stars. “Eric was a great friend of mine, and a mentor to me,” Prock said. “He took me under his wing and took care of me and taught me (a lot). It’d be very cool for me to be able to join him as a Virginia Nationals winner.” The hottest driver on tour, No. 1 qualifier in six of eight events, a finalist in five and winner of two, Prock is looking forward to a new set of challenges in an event featuring an experimental two-day format. “Excited to get to Richmond,” he said. “We’ve got a two-day show this weekend with three qualifying passes on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how the fans and competitors take to the new format.   “Richmond is one of the flattest tracks on the circuit,” he said of the all-concrete surface put down prior to the 2022 event, “which will be much appreciated by the tuners with this weekend’s (unseasonably hot) temperatures. I never like an off weekend (so) I’m excited to get back into this Cornwell Tools Camaro SS and get back in the groove of things. We’re looking for another strong weekend.” In winning at Bristol, the professionally trained chef not only qualified No. 1 and posted top speed of the meet, he put up the quickest time on race day. It’s a recipe that has his rivals reeling eight races into the regular season. In fact, he’s had quick time and top speed at each of the last three events, a tribute to a Cornwell crew that includes his dad Jimmy and brother Thomas. “This whole deal is a thrill, getting to race with my dad and my brother,” he said. “I mean, this is storybook stuff, the stuff you write up, and it’s actually happening in real life, so it’s really special. “We all know this car will run,” he added. “This thing flew last year with Robert driving, so we’re just getting all the bugs worked out and I gotta keep learning and try not to make any mistakes and give the race car a shot to do what it needs to do. It’s all a learning process. “I really truly enjoy drag racing and (I) loved running the Top Fuel car (in which he won four times for JFR in two full seasons), but Funny Car is where I belong. I always dreamed of driving one like my grandpa (former touring pro Tom Prock), and I am having an absolute blast. I’m loving every second of it. I love the challenge of these cars. I love sitting behind the engine. I love the body dropping. And to top it off, I’m doing it with my family.” Like teammates John Force and Brittany Force, Prock will start his competitive weekend in Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in which he will be seeking his fourth win of the season. * * * * Saturday, June 22Nitro qualifying session #1 at 12 noon, EDT  Top Fuel qualifying, session #2 and Brittany Force in first round of Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge versus Doug Kalitta, 3 p.m. Funny Car qualifying, session #2 and John Force and Austin Prock in first round of Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, Force versus J.R. Todd, Prock versus Matt Hagan, 3:30 p.m. Funny Car qualifying, session #3 and final round of #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, 6 p.m. Top Fuel qualifying, session #3 and final round of 2Fast/2Tasty Challenge, 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 23First round eliminations, 12 noon, EDT JFR ON FS1Saturday, June 22Qualifying show, 1 p.m. EDTSunday, June 23Qualifying show, 1 p.m., EDTSunday, June 23Race coverage, 8 p.m. EDT

The Glen next up for important six-hour race in the championship picture

DETROIT (June 19, 2024) – Three races totaling 31 hours, 40 minutes are packed into June for Cadillac Racing, which concludes its two continent IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship journey this weekend at Watkins Glen International. The Sahlen’s 6 Hours of The Glen is the third of five rounds of IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, which is paced in points by the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R. Cadillac is tied for the top in the Manufacturer Cup.

The No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R will employ full-season drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande, while the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R will have regulars Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken joined by endurance driver Tom Blomqvist for the six-hour race on the 3.4-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International road course. “The last two years I’ve scored a pole position, second place, and a third-place finish, so this year it would be fantastic to finally reach that top step,” Blomqvist said. “Pipo and Jack are locked in a championship fight for the overall championship, and we currently lead the Endurance Cup standings, so I will be giving my all to help the team.”

Media resources* Briefing book for The Glen* Cadillac IMSA ’24 statistics * Cadillac at Watkins Glen results* Cadillac all-time numbers* Driver headshots* Driver candid photos

A 90-minute practice session is scheduled for Friday and another Saturday preceding the 15-minute qualifying round. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R has qualified on the pole in three of the five races, and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R won the Long Beach race from the pole. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R started and finished second at The Glen in 2023, while the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R placed fifth in the inaugural season of GTP. Cadillac won the 2017 race in its first season of IMSA prototype competition. Four of the drivers are coming off competition in the Hypercar class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in which Bourdais and van der Zande, joined by six-time INDYCAR champion Scott Dixon, started on the front row for Cadillac’s highest position ever in the race. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, with Derani and Aitken joined by 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich, started 18th. The sister No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R – a full-time FIA World Endurance Championship entry – started and finished seventh in the iconic endurance race. The month started with the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic. Peacock will provide flag-to-flag streaming of qualifications (3:25 p.m. ET Saturday) and the race (11 a.m. Sunday) in the U.S., while IMSA.tv will stream to a global audience. USA will telecast the first half of the race starting at 11 a.m. IMSARadio.com and RadioLeaMans.com will broadcast qualifying and the race.

‘No Perfect Formula’Documentary chronicles Cadillac Racing’s first year of Grand Touring Prototype/Hypercar competition on its road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans after a 21-year absence. WATCH Race car versus road carSebastien Bourdais and the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R put some high-powered road cars to the test in a drag race. WATCH

What they’re saying No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R

Sebastien Bourdais: “The biggest issue we had last year is we only went for durability and homologation purposes with that car and most everybody else not having the double program of IMSA and Le Mans went testing and had a leg up on us. It proved quite challenging and we struggled, but I think we have a better understanding of what the car needs and what it likes and doesn’t like to try to not repeat the weekend. It’s a long stretch from Detroit to Test Day to Le Mans to Watkins and hard on the crew. We just need a slightly different approach and a stronger baseline, so hopefully we’ll hit the ground running.”Renger van der Zande: “We’re coming to Watkins Glen with a bit of a revenge taste after not having a strong performance there last year. It’s a flowing and high-speed track, which is like Le Mans so for that we’re still in the groove. It is an important race in the championship, so it’s now time to act.”

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Pipo Derani: “We’re going back to a place where we were strong but not the strongest., so we’re hoping to take a step forward. Obviously, last year the qualifying was canceled because of rain so we started the race second and wound up finishing second. It will be a critical point of the championship, so as we enter the second half of the championship hopefully by then it will be clearer – different from last year — the ones who will have a better chance to fight for the championship. Watkins being a long race, it will be important for us to get through it without any issues. With limited track time in practice, we need to maximize the time. That can be beneficial for the race.”Jack Aitken: “It’s a track that rewards being on it from the word go, so getting enough practice time between us really is what sways it. (coming off Le Mans and into another endurance race) I think everybody is going to be a bit fatigued, so it’s going to take a bit of extra vigilance to watch out for each other and we have the processes in place to avoid where mistakes can creep in. Quite a few of our competitors will go through something similar.”Tom Blomqvist: “I’m really excited to be joining back up with Action Express Racing and Cadillac Racing for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen alongside Pipo and Jack. Watkins is one of the highlight races of the season, it’s such a fantastic track and it’s so much fun to drive. The last two years I’ve scored a pole position, second place, and a third-place finish, so this year it would be fantastic to finally reach that top step. Pipo and Jack are locked in a championship fight for the overall championship, and we currently lead the Endurance Cup standings, so I will be giving my all to help the team. After a difficult past month for me personally, to be returning to a championship that I love competing in makes me very motivated and I can’t wait to get back in the paddock and hit the ground running.”

 

by Colby Trotter

DAVENPORT, IA (June 18, 2024) – Before the 2024 season, only two drivers had won four or more consecutive races to open the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. Tyler Erb has now made that a three-person club with his fourth-straight Feature win Tuesday night at Davenport Speedway. 

His company? National Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famers Scott Bloomquist, who won four-in-a-row to start the season in 1990, and Billy Moyer Sr, who won six-in-a-row to start the 1994 Hell Tour. 

“That’s pretty cool because Scott and Billy are two of the best ever,” Erb, 27, of New Waverly, TX, said. “To be able to be in the same category on anything with them is very, very cool.” 

Erb started fourth on the grid after winning his Heat Race and redrawing fourth-best of all the Heat winners. For the first time this season, Erb did not lead the most laps of the main event and was instead forced to battle strong competition to get the top spot in the caution-free contest. 

He made his way to second after polesitter Daryn Klein slipped off the edge of the banking on the opening lap. Erb then went side-by-side with new leader Kye Blight down the fronstretch but Blight dove underneath him in Turn 1 and retained the top spot. 

Blight, the 31-year-old racer from Bunbury, WAU, began setting a torrid pace around the 1/4-mile oval. Blight ran into lap traffic inside the first 10 laps but maneuvered his way around the slower cars to keep a distance between himself and Erb. 

But as the laps clicked off, Erb steadily gained on Blight with each circuit. On Lap 23, Blight was looking for a lane to get by Max McLaughlin, allowing Erb to pull even with him at the start/finish line. 

Erb dove to the bottom side of Turn 1 and slid in front of Blight coming out of Turn 2 to capture the lead. From there, Erb ran away with the race, opening a gap of almost two seconds on Blight by the time the checkered flag waved. 

“Kye was fast; his car was really good,” Erb said. “He was running as hard as he could possibly run, and I tried to just pace him. I tried not to get too crazy following him and make a mistake and drive over the cushion or something dumb. 

“We just got into lapped traffic, and I made him have to move his line around, and I could tell I could still drive a little straighter and a little harder into the cushion.” 

After each win, Erb has mentioned the positive vibes around his team and the role it’s played in the success he’s had so far. 

“My crew is happy and working good,” Erb said. “My home life is good, and I guess that has something to do with it too and all that plays a role in being confident. [My team] is confident in me which is big. It’s real easy to get down on yourself; all racers do. We want to be good or the best and when they believe in you it makes you believe in yourself. 

“I guess being a good person has helped into this too. I feel like I’m being a better person just in general.” 

Now, Erb has a chance to become only the second driver to open the Summer Nationals with five-straight wins in the next race of Week 2 at Adams County (IL) Speedway. 

UP NEXT 

The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models next head for Adams County (IL) Speedway in Quincy, IL, racing alongside the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals. 

Tickets will be on sale at the gate. If you can’t be there, watch it on DIRTVision. 

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results) 

Feature (30 Laps): 1. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 2. 33-Kye Blight[2]; 3. 10-Garrett Smith[6]; 4. 43-Derrick Stewart[3]; 5. 25-Jason Feger[10]; 6. 58-Tyler Clem[8]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[7]; 8. 99T-Dylan Thompson[5]; 9. 8-Dillon McCowan[12]; 10. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[14]; 11. 97-Cody Overton[15]; 12. 14JR-Trey Mills[18]; 13. 27M-Rodney Melvin[13]; 14. 22*-Max McLaughlin[17]; 15. 4G-Bob Gardner[19]; 16. 30-Mark Voigt[20]; 17. 29-Spencer Diercks[9]; 18. 25W-Allen Weisser[22]; 19. 28-Carson Brown[21]; 20. 10K-Daryn Klein[1]; 21. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[16]; 22. 32S-Chris Simpson[11] 

Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (June 18, 2024) – Dominic Scelzi earned his first NARC 410 Sprint Car Series feature victory of the season on Sunday to wrap up the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports.

It was his best result during a busy week that also showcased a top 10 at both Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore., and Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., as well as a podium performance at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.

“It was a weird week,” he said. “That’s the only way I can put it. We started off Wednesday night at Southern Oregon Speedway and the track was really fast from the middle up and it was really wet and greasy on the bottom. Everybody was qualifying through the middle. We did a great job and were fourth quickest so we were on the pole of our heat race. The bottom never got worked in so there was nothing I could do to win the start. The outside front row won every heat race and the dash and the main event. By not winning the heat race I didn’t make the dash and then I started on the inside row in the feature as well. I fell to eighth on the start and raced up to sixth in 13 laps before a bad wreck that ended the race early.”

Scelzi ventured to the Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, Ore., on Thursday. He qualified fourth quickest, won a heat race and placed second in the dash to line up on the outside of the front row in the main event.

“We were good all night,” he said. “They did a rework of the track before the feature. I felt pretty confident. Going into turn one there was a little bit of grease up top and it caught me off guard. I got sideways and into the cushion and it sent me upside down and killed a brand new race car.”

Scelzi rebounded from the 22^nd-place finish the following night at Cottage Grove Speedway, where he timed in sixth quickest, placed second in a heat race and advanced from seventh to third in the feature. It was the second-most positions gained by any driver.

“The bottom was super, super slick so there was no chance to win the heat race,” he said. “That kept me out of the dash again. In the feature I drove from seventh to third and we were under Cole (Macedo) coming to the checkered. The last 10 laps we were the fastest car on the track. So that was a positive, but at the same time a bummer knowing that if we made the dash we would have had better track position for the feature.”

Scelzi was seventh quickest to open the program at Willamette Speedway on Saturday.

“The track was so wet to start the night,” he said. “We qualified good and started on the outside of the front row in a heat race. I felt the polesitter jumped the start and ran me up toward the wall. I was in third off turn two. I tried to rip the top to get back to second and ended up falling to fourth. I started 10 ^th in the feature and just couldn’t get around anyone as there was no passing so we finished 10^th.”

The five-day speedweek concluded on Sunday at Grays Harbor Raceway, where Scelzi was eighth quickest in qualifying. He then won a heat race, the dash and the Timber Cup main event.

“Grays Harbor is one of my favorite tracks in the country,” he said. “Two years ago we ran second to Trey (Starks) and last year we led until I ran out of fuel. We got a good draw in the dash, which helped. In the feature as we went the track got pretty good and wide. You could run the bottom or middle or top. Justin (Sanders) got around me in traffic off turn two and I was able to slide him in turns three and four. It seemed I was the only one in the first few rows able to run the top, middle and the bottom. I was able to run all over the track and we took advantage to earn the win.

“I truly believe if just small things were changed this year we’d be celebrating our fourth NARC win. We finally got our first one. It was perfect timing for us and I believe this is exactly what we needed to get us over the hump.”

Scelzi finished the week ranked sixth in the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports standings.

Next up for the team is the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series this Thursday through Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.

QUICK RESULTS –

June 12 – Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 6 (7).

June 13 – Douglas County Dirt Track in Roseburg, Ore. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 2 (2); Feature: 22 (2).

June 14 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 3 (7).

June 15 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 4 (2); Feature: 10 (10).

June 16 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (1).

SEASON STATS –

28 races, 3 wins, 9 top fives, 12 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 25 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Thursday through Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup with the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 18, 2024) – Progressive American Flat Track, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, picks right back up this weekend with the second-ever running of the Bridgeport Half-Mile at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, New Jersey, on Saturday, June 22. Last season’s stop marked the first-ever motorcycle race in the history of the half-century old venue and was rewarded with an epic Mission AFT SuperTwins showdown that saw Dallas Daniels (No. 32 Estenson Racing Yamaha MT-07 DT) overcome reigning Grand National Champion Jared Mees (No. 1 Rogers Racing/SDI Racing/Indian Motorcycle FTR750) by 0.095 seconds to secure his first-career Half-Mile victory. Daniels returns with the momentum of a freight train after earning his second-career Half-Mile victory in this past weekend’s Orange County Half-Mile and doing so in utterly dominant fashion. The circumstances might invite overconfidence if not for the reminder that rival Mees was in the exact same situation – having won both the season’s previous race and last year’s race at Orange County – before encountering an uncharacteristically difficult round. Buried outside the top ten early, Mees fought his way up to fifth to limit the damage done to his title chances, which he’ll no doubt look to bolster with a bounce-back ride this weekend. While fellow title hopefuls Briar Bauman (No. 3 Rick Ware Racing/KTM/Parts Plus KTM 790 Duke) and Brandon Robinson (No. 44 Mission Roof Systems Indian FTR750) continued to race near the front of the field and expect to do so again at Bridgeport, the final results underlined the incredible diversity and competitiveness of the premier class. Five different manufacturers finished inside the top five thanks to the impressive ‘24 Mission SuperTwins debuts of Dalton Gauthier (No. 79 Moto Anatomy X Powered by Royal Enfield 650) and Billy Ross (No. 29 Mission Foods/Digitale Kawasaki Ninja 650). Meanwhile, a big crop of veteran frontrunners will be looking to make their presence felt in New Jersey, a crew that consists of Jarod Vanderkooi (No. 20 JMC Motorsports/Fairway Ford Ohio Indian FTR750), Brandon Price (No. 92 Memphis Shades/Corbin/OTBR Yamaha MT-07), Davis Fisher (No. 67 Rackley Racing/Bob Lanphere’s BMC Racing Indian FTR750), and Dan Bromley (No. 62 Memphis Shades/Vinson/Al Lamb’s Dallas Honda Transalp) among others. Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER Double defending Parts Unlimited AFT Singles presented by KICKER champ Kody Kopp (No. 1 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) rewrites the history books seemingly every time he throws a leg over his KTM, and this weekend has the potential for yet another revision. With a win this weekend, Kopp will break a tie with Shayna Texter-Bauman (No. 52 Rick Ware Racing/Parts Plus KTM 450 SX-F) to take sole possession of first on the all-time class wins list at 20, while moving into a tie with Texter-Bauman for most career Half-Mile wins at 11. However, he’ll have to overcome recent history to make history for a change considering he finished outside the top five following an uncharacteristically quiet day in last season’s inaugural Bridgeport Half-Mile. Instead, it was rising star Tom Drane (No. 59 Estenson Racing Yamaha YZ450F) who ruled the day. He’ll look to do so again this year, and his cause may be aided by the fact that both riders who joined him on the podium last year – Max Whale (No. 18 Latus Motors Racing/Liqui Moly Harley-Davidson XG750R) and Trevor Brunner (No. 21 Mission Foods/Zanotti Racing Indian FTR750) – have since graduated to premier-class duty. Fourth- and fifth place, however, went to Chase Saathoff (No. 88 JPG Motorsports Honda CRF450R) and Trent Lowe (No. 48 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R), a pair of riders with the talent and motivation to push for the checkered flag this weekend. The deep field of challengers is again fronted by the California trio of James Ott (No. 19 1st Impressions Race Team Husqvarna FC450), Tarren Santero (No. 75 Vinson Construction/P&M Motorcycles Honda CRF450R), and Travis Petton IV (No. 82 ECG Racing/A.M Ortega KTM 450 SX-F), while rookie Evan Renshaw (No. 265 American Honda/Mission Foods CRF450R) feels due for a breakthrough performance. Along with the incredible action on track, the Bridgeport Half-Mile will also feature live music courtesy of acclaimed Southern New Jersey cover band Poor Mouth Henry, the Kids Zone, designated motorcycle parking, numerous vendors, and a variety of food and beverage options. General Admission Grandstand tickets are just $40 (kids 12 and under $5), while Reserved Grandstand tickets are only $10 more (All Ages). A Pit Pass Upgrade provides all-day access to the pit area where fans can scope out the world’s fastest dirt track motorcycles and get up close and personal with the stars of the sport is also available. Multi-day camping passes are available to purchase for $95. New for 2024 is the Opening Ceremonies Trackside Fan Experience ($150 all ages). This ticket option provides reserved seating with Pit Pass access, a guided tour of, and photo opportunities at, the infield podium and start/finish line, infield viewing of Opening Ceremonies and the heat races, and a track talk and photo opportunity with 2016 Grand National Champion Bryan Smith. Visit https://www.tixr.com/groups/americanflattrack/events/bridgeport-half-mile-86133 to reserve your seats today. Gates will open for fans at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT) with Opening Ceremonies scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. PT). You can catch the livestream of all the weekend’s racing activities on FloRacing. Motorsports fans can subscribe to FloRacing to enjoy over 1,000 live motorsports events in 2024. FloSports is available by visiting https://flosports.link/aft or by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. FOX Sports coverage of the Bridgeport Half-Mile, featuring in-depth features and thrilling onboard cameras, will premiere on FS1 on Saturday, June 29, at 2:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. PT). For more information on Progressive AFT visit https://www.americanflattrack.com.

DAVENPORT, IA (June 18, 2024) – Six races in three different states is on tap for Week 2 of the 39th DIRTcar Summer Nationals, led by points leader and the only race winner thus far – Tyler Erb.

Erb leads the Late Model field into another weekly championship chase, which begins Tuesday, June 18, at the Iowa 1/4-mile of Davenport Speedway. Then, it’s off to Adams County (IL) Speedway on Wednesday, Spoon River Speedway on Thursday, Brownstown Bullring on Friday, Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 Saturday and Lincoln Speedway on Sunday.

DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals competition resumes Wednesday at Adams County, continuing through Sunday at Lincoln. Kentucky driver Hunt Gossum leads the points standings with three top-five finishes in the first three races. The Series looks for its fourth different winner to start the season at Adams County.

Tickets for each event will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be at the track to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.

Here are the drivers to watch and storylines to follow this week:

STREAK KEPT A ROLLIN’ – Three races, three wins on the Hell Tour for Tyler Erb.

With his third-straight Summer Nationals Feature win at Fairbury Speedway Saturday night, the 27-year-old from New Waverly, TX, has won the first three Late Model races of the season – a feat last accomplished by six-time champion of the Summer Nationals, Billy Moyer Sr.

Following the Sunday rainout at Sycamore, Erb has officially clinched the Week 1 points championship, making a total of $35,000 in winnings for him in only three races. He’s scheduled to compete in all six events during Week 2 in search of more Feature wins and another $10,000 weekly points championship bonus. He’ll try and make it four wins-in-a-row Tuesday at Davenport.

CHASING GREEN – Currently sitting third in the overall championship standings, Jason Feger is prepared for another week of competition on the Hell Tour.

Feger, 46, of Bloomington, IL, clinched the Week 2 points championship last year, sealing the $10,000 check with wins at Brownstown and Lincoln. Historically, Feger has done well at both tracks with five of his 26 career Summer Nationals Feature wins coming at the two tracks.

Last week, the reigning MARS Late Model champion posted two top-fives and three top-10s in the three races contested. His best finish of third came at Fairbury Speedway on Saturday against a deep field of 48 DIRTcar Late Models – the highest car count thus far.

SUMMIT MOD STREAK – The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals heads into Week 2 of competition, going on a stretch of three different winners in the first three races.

Current DIRTcar UMP Modified national points leader Mike McKinney, of Plainfield, IL, won the season opener Wednesday at Peoria Speedway, reigning MARS Modified champion Michael Long won Friday at Tri-City Speedway, and Trevor Neville scored his first career Summit Modified win Saturday at Fairbury.

The Summit Modifieds went five races before getting a repeat winner in 2023. The record for the most races without a repeat winner is 11, which happened in the tour’s second season of operation in 2012. Multi-time UMP Modified national champion Devin Gilpin won the opening race at Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway and was the first to repeat 10 races later at another of his home-state tracks – Lincoln Park Speedway.

PEACH STATE REPRESENT – Garrett Smith has made public his plans to follow the entire Week 2 schedule as he shoots for a weekly championship and his first Summer Nationals win.

Smith, the 20-year-old Dirt Track World Championship winner from Madison, GA, has two career appearances with the Summer Nationals, both of which came in 2022. His best run came at Springfield Raceway in Missouri when he finished 13th in the main event.

After Georgia-Florida Speedweeks in February, the former national touring racer has primarily raced around the Midwest. His one win this year came in February at Screven Motorsports Complex in his home state of Georgia.

BACK FOR MORE – Dillon McCowan has also made public his plans to follow the Summer Nationals though Week 2 and will come into the six-race stretch sitting fourth in the points standings.

McCowan, 20, of Urbana, MO, made his Summer Nationals debut in 2023, notching a sixth-place finish after starting 15th on the grid at Springfield Raceway in Missouri. Since then, he ran the three races last week, posting a best finish of third in the season opener at Peoria.

The former Modified racer made the transition to full-time Super Late Model racing last year and has already won twice this year – once in DIRTcar competition at Kankakee County Speedway in May.