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Essential Tips for Shipping Your Car from the USA to Canada for Work Relocation

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SM
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Photo by beuwy.com Alexander Pütter on Unsplash

Moving to a new country for work can be both exhilarating and daunting. Shipping a car across international borders is a significant task among the many logistics to manage. Ensuring the vehicle makes it to one’s new home without issues requires careful planning and understanding of the process. This guide aims to ease one’s concerns and provide a comprehensive plan for shipping a car from the USA to Canada.

Here are some essential tips for successfully shipping car to Canada. This column will cover everything from selecting a reliable shipping company to final steps like registration and insurance. By following these guidelines, you can ensure a smooth transition for both you and your car.

Research and Choose a Reliable Shipping Company

Finding a reputable shipping company is the first and most crucial step. Look for companies that specialize in cross-border vehicle transportation, especially those that know how to import japan cars to australia efficiently. Check multiple customer reviews and ratings to gauge their reliability. Ensure the company has experience with customs regulations and documentation for international shipping.

Understand the Costs Involved

Shipping a car across borders involves various costs, including transporting fees, import duties, taxes, and insurance. Request detailed quotes from multiple transporting companies to compare prices. Please consider additional expenses such as customs clearance, vehicle inspection fees, and any modifications that are required to meet Canadian standards.

Prepare the Necessary Documentation

Proper documentation is essential for hassle-free transporting. Gather all necessary paperwork, including your vehicle’s title, bill of sale, and proof of ownership. You must also provide a copy of your passport and work visa. Ensure all documents are appropriate and up-to-date to avoid delays at the border.

Ensure Your Vehicle Meets Canadian Standards

Verify that your vehicle complies with Canadian safety and emission standards. Some modifications may be necessary, such as installing daytime running lights. Contact the Registrar of Imported Vehicles (RIV) for specific requirements and guidelines.

Clean and Inspect Your Vehicle

Thoroughly clean your car, both inside and out. A clean automobile is easier to inspect and reduces the risk of pests or contaminants crossing the border. Conduct a detailed inspection, noting any existing damages. Take photographs for your records and to compare the condition upon arrival.

Disable Alarms and Remove Personal Items

Disable any car alarms to prevent them from activating during transit. Remove all personal items from your vehicle, as they are not insured during the transportation. Personal belongings can also add weight, increasing costs and complicating customs inspections.

Understand the Customs Clearance Process

Upon arrival in Canada, your vehicle will go through customs clearance. Be prepared to present all required documentation and pay any applicable duties and taxes. Cooperate with customs officials and provide any additional information they may request.

Register Your Vehicle in Canada

After clearing customs, you must register your vehicle with the local authorities. Visit a licensing office in your province to complete the registration process. You must provide proof of insurance, a safety inspection certificate, and all import documents.

Obtain Canadian Auto Insurance

Driving in Canada requires valid auto insurance. Contact an insurance provider to obtain coverage that meets Canadian requirements. Compare different policies to find the best coverage options and rates for your needs.

Stay Informed about Import Regulations

Import regulations can change, so it’s essential to stay updated. Regularly check the Canadian government’s official website for any changes in import policies or requirements. Staying informed will help you avoid several unexpected issues during the shipping process.

Shipping a car to Canada for work relocation involves careful planning and attention to detail. By following these essential tips mentioned in this column, you can ensure a problem-free transition for both you and your vehicle. Prepare thoroughly, stay organized, and soon you’ll be efficiently driving your car on Canadian roads.

The Roar of American Glasspack Mufflers: A Look at the Top Manufacturers

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SM
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For decades, the distinctive growl of glasspack mufflers has been a defining feature of American muscle cars and hot rods. These mufflers, known for their straight-through design and aggressive sound, have carved out a unique niche in the automotive world. In this article, we delve into the world of American glasspack mufflers and highlight some of the most popular manufacturers that continue to set the standard in performance and sound.

What Are Glasspack Mufflers?

Glasspack mufflers, often called “glass packs,” are exhaust mufflers designed to reduce backpressure and enhance engine performance. Their straight-through design features a perforated tube surrounded by fiberglass packing, which absorbs sound waves and produces a deep, resonant exhaust note. This combination increases horsepower, improved fuel efficiency, and the iconic, throaty roar that car enthusiasts love.

Cherry Bomb: Disturbing the Peace Since 1968

Cherry Bomb is a name that stands out regarding glasspack mufflers. Since its inception in 1968, Cherry Bomb has been synonymous with high-performance exhaust systems. Their Cherry Bomb glasspack mufflers are renowned for their distinctive red casing and aggressive sound.

Designed for various vehicles, from classic muscle cars to modern trucks and SUVs, Cherry Bomb continues to be a favorite among car enthusiasts looking for that signature exhaust note.

Flowtech: Performance and Affordability

Flowtech is another prominent player in the glasspack muffler market. Known for its balance of performance and affordability, Flowtech offers a range of glasspack mufflers for classic and contemporary vehicles. Their mufflers are designed to deliver a powerful exhaust note while optimizing engine performance.

Flowtech’s commitment to quality and value has made it popular for automotive enthusiasts seeking reliable, cost-effective exhaust solutions.

Thrush: Classic Sound, Modern Performance

With a legacy dating back to the early days of hot rodding, Thrush has built a reputation for producing high-quality glasspack mufflers that deliver a classic sound with modern performance benefits. Thrush Glasspack mufflers feature a straight-through design that reduces backpressure and enhances exhaust flow, resulting in improved horsepower and a distinctive rumble.

Available in various lengths and diameters, Thrush mufflers are designed to fit a wide range of vehicles, making them a versatile option for any car enthusiast.

Dynomax: Engineering Excellence

Dynomax is known for its engineering excellence and commitment to performance. Their glasspack mufflers use advanced technologies to provide maximum exhaust flow and minimal back pressure. The result is a muffler that sounds great and enhances engine efficiency and power.

Dynomax’s glasspack mufflers are crafted from high-quality materials, ensuring durability and long-lasting performance. Their innovative designs make them a top choice for upgrading their vehicle’s exhaust system.

Hooker: Racing Heritage

With a strong racing heritage, Hooker Headers has long been a respected name in the performance exhaust industry. Their glasspack mufflers are engineered to deliver the aggressive sound and high performance that racers and car enthusiasts demand.

Hooker’s attention to detail and use of premium materials ensure that their glasspack mufflers provide optimal exhaust flow and durability. Whether you’re building a street rod or a race car, Hooker’s glasspack mufflers offer the performance and sound to match your needs.

Patriot Exhaust: Custom Solutions

Patriot Exhaust is known for offering custom exhaust solutions that cater to the specific needs of car builders and enthusiasts. Their glasspack mufflers are designed to provide a deep, throaty exhaust note while enhancing engine performance.

Patriot Exhaust allows customization with various sizes and configurations to achieve the desired sound and performance characteristics. Their dedication to quality and innovation makes them popular for those seeking a unique exhaust setup.

The world of American glasspack mufflers is rich with history, innovation, and performance. Manufacturers like Cherry Bomb, Flowtech, Thrush, Dynomax, Hooker, and Patriot Exhaust continue to lead the way, offering high-quality products that deliver the sound and performance car enthusiasts crave. Whether you’re restoring a classic muscle car or enhancing a modern vehicle, these manufacturers provide a range of options to suit your needs. Embrace the roar and power of glasspack mufflers, and let your engine’s authentic voice be heard on the open road.

How to Safely Load and Unload Trailers

By
SM
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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Loading and unloading trailers are crucial tasks in the moving industry (or even for individuals who are moving items). Ensuring these tasks are performed safely can prevent injuries, protect belongings, and optimize the efficiency of the move. Making use of the proper techniques, equipment, and planning are essential for safe operations.

If you are going to rent or purchase a trailer, here’s a comprehensive guide on how to safely load and unload trailers:

1. Plan Ahead

Before you begin the process of loading or unloading a trailer, you need to come up with a plan. Having a well-thought-out plan can prevent accidents and minimize the risk of damage to goods, and movers in London, Ontario can help.

  • Create a Layout: Plan the layout of the items inside the trailer. Place heavier items at the bottom and lighter items on top to maintain balance and prevent shifting during transport.
  • Organize Items: Group similar items together and pack them accordingly. This organization makes the loading and unloading process more efficient, and if boxes are being unpacked at the destination, it makes this easier too.
  • Check Equipment: Ensure all moving equipment such as dollies, ramps, and straps are in good condition and ready for use.

2. Use Proper Lifting Techniques

Using the correct lifting techniques is the key to avoiding injuries. Here are some tips to ensure safe lifting:

  • Lift with Your Legs, Not Your Back: Bend at your knees and keep your back straight when you are lifting heavy objects. This technique will reduce the strain on your back muscles, limiting the chance of you pulling one of them.
  • Keep Objects Close: Hold objects close to your body to maintain balance and reduce the risk of dropping them.
  • Avoid Twisting: Keep your torso straight and avoid twisting your body while lifting. If you need to turn, pivot with your feet.

3. Secure the Trailer

Before you begin loading or unloading goods, make sure the trailer is stable and secure:

  • Use Wheel Chocks: Place wheel chocks in front of and behind the trailer’s wheels to prevent it from moving.
  • Engage the Brakes: Ensure the trailer’s brakes are engaged if available.
  • Check the Ground: Make sure the ground is level and free of debris to avoid slips and falls. It is best not to load a trailer on a hill if you can avoid it.

4. Load Items Safely

When loading the trailer, follow these steps to ensure safety and efficiency:

  • Use Ramps: Utilize ramps such as from Ramped Up to load heavy items into the trailer. This minimizes the effort required to lift items and reduces the risk of injury.
  • Place Heavy Items First: Load heavier items like appliances and furniture first. Place them against the front wall of the trailer to maintain stability.
  • Distribute Weight Evenly: Ensure the weight is evenly distributed across the trailer to prevent tipping or swaying during transport.
  • Secure Items: Use straps, ropes, and bungee cords to secure items in place. This prevents shifting and damage during transit.

5. Use Moving Equipment

With the right tools or equipment, everything is easier. Having the right equipment can make loading and unloading safer and more efficient:

  • Dollies and Hand Trucks: These tools can help move heavy items with minimal physical strain. Use them to transport boxes, appliances, and furniture.
  • Furniture Sliders: Place sliders under heavy furniture to move them easily across floors without damaging them.
  • Straps and Ropes: Use these to secure items to the walls or floor of the trailer.

6. Unload Items Safely

Unloading requires the same level of care as loading. Follow these steps to ensure safety:

  • Start with Lighter Items: Unload lighter items first to make space for maneuvering heavier items.
  • Use Ramps: Again, use ramps to unload heavy items safely. Ensure the ramp is secure and at a safe angle.
  • Work in Pairs: For heavy or awkward items, have a second person assist to prevent injuries.
  • Take Breaks: Moving is physically demanding. Take regular breaks to avoid fatigue, which can lead to accidents.

7. Safety Gear

Be sure to always wear appropriate safety gear as this can protect you from injuries:

  • Gloves: Wear gloves to protect your hands from cuts and abrasions.
  • Back Support: Consider wearing a back support belt if you’ll be lifting heavy items frequently.
  • Non-Slip Shoes: Wear shoes with non-slip soles to prevent slips and falls.

8. Inspect the Trailer

Before and after loading, inspect the trailer for any potential hazards:

  • Check the Floor: Ensure the trailer floor is strong and free of holes or weak spots.
  • Inspect Straps and Ropes: Make sure all straps and ropes are in good condition and can securely hold items.
  • Look for Debris: Remove any debris or obstacles that could cause trips or falls.

Loading and unloading trailers safely is essential to prevent injuries and ensure a smooth moving process. Ensure that you have a plan and the right tools, equipment, and techniques, as this will help you significantly reduce the risk of accidents and damage.

Implementing these strategies will not only protect you and your belongings but also improve the efficiency of your move. For further assistance, professional moving services can provide expert help with loading, unloading, and transporting your items safely and efficiently.

California native Kyle Larson earns second Sonoma career win

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Official Release
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Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Valvoline Chevrolet, drinks wine in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 09, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif. – The hometown hero Kyle Larson executed as he needed to, making a pass for the lead with eight laps remaining in the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 to claim his second win at the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway road course and third trophy of the season.

It was a frantic start to the day on the newly-repaved 1.99-mile course through the rolling Northern Californian hills with seven caution flags falling before the 110-lap race’s halfway point – more yellow flags than the previous two Sonoma races had combined.

But the final 51 laps ran caution-free with varying pit stop strategies playing a vital role in track position. The Hendrick Motorsports driver Larson was among the last to make his final stop – coming out on track in eighth position with 20 laps remaining and then moving forward by picking off one car, sometimes two cars at a time.

Larson, who is from Elk Grove, Calif. about an hour from the track, ultimately put his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet out front for good after a dramatic three-way battle with four-time Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher with eight to go.

After Larson passed them both, Truex kept Larson honest for much of the closing laps only to run out of gas on the final lap. His No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota came to a stop in front of the front-stretch grandstands about 40-yards shy of the checkered flag. And with the other cars zooming by, Truex ultimately inched his car forward to a cheering crowd limping across the finish line in a heartbreaking 27th place.

“I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy,” said the 31-year old Larson. “I was just out there banging laps away. … so I was like, these guys have to pit another time maybe but then when they said I had to go race and then pass those guys, I got a bit nervous. I knew I’d be quick from the get-go but thought once the tires came up to temp it would even off too much.

“Thankful we had enough grip. Thankful too, those guys got racing and Martin never got clear really to where I’d be stuck in third.

“Just an awesome, awesome race.”

After making a last lap pass of Buescher and then benefitting from Truex’s situation, Front Row Motorsports driver Michael McDowell came across the line in second place – 4.258-seconds behind Larson.

Buescher’s RFK Racing Ford was third followed by Hendrick’s Chase Elliott and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, who had a collision with Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch on the last lap that sent Busch’s No. 8 Chevrolet off-track and dropped him from a top-10 finish to 12th place.

“Proud of everybody,” Buescher said of his 32 laps led and Stage 2 win despite starting the race 26th. “That was a good one to be close and in the hunt. … kind of a tough weekend until today if you had told us we’d gather some playoff and stage points, we’d be happy. Just needed a bit more coming to the finish line.”

Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger was sixth followed by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who won the opening stage and led a race best 35 laps. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell finished ninth and Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland claimed 10th-place – the 23-year old driver’s second top-10 finish of the season.

Polesitter Joey Logano finished 21st and the two Australian SuperCar Series drivers making their NASCAR debuts – Will Brown and Cam Waters – finished 31st and 35th, respectively.

It was a significant win for the 2021 series champion Larson, giving him the championship lead by 14 points over his Hendrick teammate Elliott. It comes on the heels of last week’s news that Larson would be granted a Playoff waiver from NASCAR despite missing the Charlotte 600-mile race two weeks ago.

The multi-talented Larson had competed in a rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day weekend with plans to run racing’s celebrated “Double” – the Indy 500 and Charlotte’s Coca-Cola 600. Bad weather, however, ruined those plans. There was a rain-delay in Indianapolis, where Larson finished 18th and by the time he arrived in Charlotte to assume driving duties in that NASCAR race, rain had forced officials to call it early and he never was able to turn a lap.

Larson’s victory Sunday – his 26th career win – was significant for him in the championship standings, but the race was also a big deal for the opposite reasons for Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, who had held the points lead entering the race. Hamlin’s No. 20 Toyota suffered an engine problem on the second lap of the race and he finished 38th – last – in the field and now drops to third in the championship standings, 26 points behind Larson.

“No [warning], it’s just the gearing is a little weird for the track,” said Hamlin, who snapped a five-race streak of top-five finishes that included a win at Dover, Del. and a runner-up at St. Louis last week.

“It’s a lot of high-end RPM stuff, but the same as everyone else and I’m just not really sure. They’ll look at it and figure it out, but certainly not ideal.”

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Midwest where it will make its Iowa Speedway debut with next Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol (7 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Toyota / Save Mart 350
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, California
Sunday, June 9, 2024

(5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 110.
(12) Michael McDowell, Ford, 110.
(26) Chris Buescher, Ford, 110.
(4) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 110.
(9) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 110.
(11) AJ Allmendinger(i), Chevrolet, 110.
(3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 110.
(2) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 110.
(15) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 110.
(14) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 110.
(17) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 110.
(29) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 110.
(35) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 110.
(7) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 110.
(8) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 110.
(20) Zane Smith #, Chevrolet, 110.
(13) Carson Hocevar #, Chevrolet, 110.
(30) Ryan Preece, Ford, 110.
(38) Erik Jones, Toyota, 110.
(18) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 110.
(1) Joey Logano, Ford, 110.
(28) Austin Cindric, Ford, 110.
(36) Kaz Grala #, Ford, 110.
(33) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 110.
(22) Harrison Burton, Ford, 110.
(19) Noah Gragson, Ford, 110.
(21) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 110.
(34) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 109.
(37) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 109.
(6) William Byron, Chevrolet, 108.
(24) Will Brown, Chevrolet, 107.
(32) Josh Berry #, Ford, Suspension, 95.
(27) Justin Haley, Ford, Steering, 88.
(23) Chase Briscoe, Ford, Transmission, 73.
(31) Cam Waters, Ford, Accident, 66.
(16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, DVP, 39.
(10) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, DVP, 16.
(25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Engine, 2.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 74.526 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: 4.258 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 8 for 22 laps.

Lead Changes: 11 among 9 drivers.

Lap Leaders: J. Logano 1-16;T. Reddick 17-33;R. Blaney 34;T. Reddick 35-52;C. Buescher 53-67;A. Allmendinger(i) 68-70;K. Larson 71-80;C. Elliott 81-83;C. Buescher 84-100;M. Truex Jr. 101;K. Larson 102-110;K. Busch 111.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Tyler Reddick 2 times for 35 laps; Chris Buescher 2 times for 32 laps; Kyle Larson 2 times for 19 laps; Joey Logano 1 time for 16 laps; Chase Elliott 1 time for 3 laps; AJ Allmendinger(i) 1 time for 3 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap; Martin Truex Jr. 1 time for 1 lap; Kyle Busch 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 45,12,5,9,48,34,1,99,7,38

Stage #2 Top Ten: 17,41,19,8,16,6,43,38,22,21

Shane van Gisbergen gets second career Xfinity win at Sonoma

By
Official Release
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Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway on June 08, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

By Holly Cain
NASCAR Wire Service

SONOMA, Calif. – New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen powered his way to the lead on a restart with 11 laps remaining in Saturday’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 on the Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway road course and bolted off to a 1.323-second victory – his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series win coming only a week after his first.

The 35-year old Kiwi – who earned his first career pole position earlier Saturday at the 1.99-mile course and led a race best 32 laps – took the lead from Austin Hill negotiating a tight Turn 7 on a late race restart; his No. 97 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet winning a battle of tough side-by-side action that ultimately cost Hill four positions.

Both drivers acknowledged the close racing – the second time this season they have had contact racing for the late race lead at a road course. At Austin’s Circuit of The America they collided racing for the win on the last lap only to see NASCAR Cup Series regular Kyle Larson bolt by to claim the victory over them both.

“Man, what a race – an adventure up and down and up and down all day,” said Van Gisbergen, who – as he did in Portland – celebrated his win by signing a rugby ball and kicking it into the grandstands.

“But that last restart I was just giving it all I had and two guys going for the same real estate came together.

“It was pretty awesome though, a lot of fun. Hope everyone enjoyed the show. Pretty awesome back-to-back weeks for us.”

Hill, who led 21 laps and finished fifth in the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, was clearly displeased with the contact between himself and Van Gisbergen, but insisted on taking a sort or racing “high road.”

“I’m gonna leave it to the keyboard warriors on this one, I’ll let them figure out what happened,” said Hill, as he watched the replay on the track’s big video screen. “No matter what comment I say, it’ll be wrong.

“I plead the fifth, I’m not going to say anything about it,” he continued. “We’ll just go on to the next one, good hard racing. We were holding off SVG for a while, had that caution and I knew it was going to be tough on the restart and it didn’t work out. But we had a good points day and finished in the top-five. You can’t ask for more than that.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed finished runner-up to Van Gisbergen, the ninth second-place finish for Creed in the series and second of the 2024 season. JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer was third with Jordan Anderson Racing rookie Austin Green fourth and Hill rounding out the top-five.

It marked the second top-10 finish in three career starts for the 23-year old recent college grad Green and was particularly impressive considering he started 22nd.

It was another young driver, former Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs who looked to be among Van Gisbergen’s toughest challengers early in the day. He led 26 laps but a slow second pit stop dropped in the field for the Stage 2 restart and he was among 13 cars collected in an accident in Turn 2 that eliminated several top cars.

The other NASCAR Cup Series regular in the field, John Hunter Nemechek was sixth in a Joe Gibbs Toyota with JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier, JGR’s Chandler Smith, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer and Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman rounding out the top-10.

“It was the work we did between weeks to make the car better again,” said Van Gisbergen, who also took the Stage 1 victory; his first career stage win.

“It was awesome racing Ty Gibbs at the start, we were really pushing each other. It’s special to win two road courses in a row and dream about one day winning on an oval.”

Custer’s eighth-place finish was good enough to keep a 12-point championship lead over both Hill and Chandler Smith.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to Iowa Speedway for next Saturday’s HyVee Perks 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Christopher Bell and Chase Briscoe each won a race at Iowa in the 2019 season – the last time the series visited the .875-mile track.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250
Sonoma Raceway
Sonoma, California
Saturday, June 8, 2024
(1) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 79.
(9) Sheldon Creed, Toyota, 79.
(8) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 79.
(22) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 79.
(3) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 79.
(5) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 79.
(11) Chandler Smith, Toyota, 79.
(7) John Hunter Nemechek(i), Toyota, 79.
(12) Cole Custer, Ford, 79.
(14) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 79.
(13) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 79.
(6) Jesse Love #, Chevrolet, 79.
(15) Riley Herbst, Ford, 79.
(33) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 79.
(17) Ed Jones, Toyota, 79.
(31) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 79.
(4) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 79.
(21) Blaine Perkins, Ford, 79.
(19) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, 79.
(18) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 79.
(36) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 79.
(23) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 79.
(32) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 79.
(30) Brad Perez, Ford, 79.
(24) Preston Pardus, Chevrolet, 79.
(34) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 79.
(38) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 79.
(35) Boris Said, Chevrolet, 79.
(29) Leland Honeyman #, Chevrolet, 78.
(25) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 78.
(16) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 77.
(37) Hailie Deegan #, Ford, 72.
(10) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 71.
(26) Thomas Annunziata, Chevrolet, Transmission, 63.
(2) Ty Gibbs(i), Toyota, Accident, 50.
(20) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, Accident, 49.
(28) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Accident, 49.
(27) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, Accident, 49.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 71.986 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 11 Mins, 2 Secs. Margin of Victory: 1.323 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 4 for 14 laps.

Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: S. Van Gisbergen # 1-21;T. Gibbs(i) 22-47;A. Hill 48-68;S. Van Gisbergen # 69-79.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Shane Van Gisbergen # 2 times for 32 laps; Ty Gibbs(i) 1 time for 26 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 21 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 97,16,21,48,20,81,8,5,31,98

Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,97,2,18,00,81,20,48,7,31

Larson executes late pit strategy for a wild Cup victory at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 09: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Valvoline Chevrolet, drinks wine in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 09, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images).

After enduring an up-and-down process in his attempted double duty attempt in May, Kyle Larson rose to the occasion with a strategic NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, June 9.

The 2021 Cup Series champion from Elk Grove, California, led twice for 19 of 110 scheduled laps in an event where he dodged a series of on-track carnages within the first two stage periods. With pit strategies ensuing amongst every team and competitor throughout the event, Larson’s key path to victory occurred with 30 laps remaining as he pitted under green after leading the previous 10 laps. Returning to the track with fresh tires and a full tank of fuel, Larson then spent the next 21 laps carving his way back towards the front, where he would gain ground on the leaders Chris Buescher and Martin Truex Jr., both of whom pitted 13 laps earlier than Larson.

Then with nine laps remaining, Larson took advantage of both Buescher and Truex dueling each other for the lead through Turn 12 and Truex missing the Chute’s entrance turn moments after he assumed a brief lead to overtake both and reassume the top spot. Having the clean air to his advantage while stretching it, Larson was able to pace his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry smoothly around Sonoma’s 12-turn circuit for the final eight laps before he crossed the finish line in first place for his third Cup Series victory of the 2024 season and his second at his home track.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Saturday, June 8, Joey Logano notched his third Cup pole position of the 2024 season after posting a pole-winning lap at 97.771 mph in 73.273 seconds. Joining him on the front row was Tyler Reddick, who posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 97.661 mph in 73.356 seconds.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Joey Logano launched his No. 22 AutoTrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry ahead of the field through the uphill first turn before he led the way through the second turn, a pair of Turns from 3 to 3A and the Chute between Turns 4 and 7 as Tyler Reddick battled and fended off Ryan Blaney to retain second place. As the field proceeded to navigate through the Esses before making the sharp, right-hand turn in Turn 11 and back to the start/finish line in Turn 12, Logano proceeded to lead the first lap as Reddick, Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron followed suit in the top six.

Just past the second lap, the event’s first caution flew for fluid on the course after Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry XSE went up in a billow of smoke just past the frontstretch, where he would manage to nurse his car through the uphill first turn before he parked his car in Turn 2 and became the first retiree of the event.

During the event’s first caution period, select names including Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Hemric and Kaz Grala pitted while the rest led by Logano remained on the track. John Hunter Nemechek would also pit for repairs to his No. 42 Save Mart Toyota Camry XSE entry after he scrubbed the wall in Turn 1 due to slipping into Hamlin’s oil spill.

Following an extensive cleanup on the track due to Hamlin’s oil spill and a blown engine, the event restarted under green on the sixth lap. At the start, Logano fended off teammate Blaney to retain the lead through the first three turns while Reddick was able to overtake and reassume the runner-up spot from Blaney. As the field fanned out through the Chute before entering the Esses, including a series of right- and left-hand turns, Logano maintained a steady advantage over teammate Blaney and Reddick as Elliott, Larson and Daniel Suarez followed suit. Behind, Byron dropped to seventh as Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and AJ Allmendinger were in the top 10.

The following lap, Martin Truex Jr., who was in 18th, spun in Turn 2 after he got turned by Will Brown. Not long after, Ross Chastain got loose and drove his No. 1 Kubota Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 sideways off the dirt course in Turn 8A while he was in eighth place. Amid both incidents, the event remained under green flag conditions as Logano was leading by nearly half a second over Reddick and more than a second over teammate Blaney.

Through the first 10 scheduled laps, Logano continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Reddick followed by Blaney, Elliott and Larson while Suarez, Byron, Bowman, AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell were running in the top 10. Behind, Ty Gibbs occupied 11th place ahead of Christopher Bell, rookie Carson Hocevar, Todd Gilliland and Corey LaJoie as Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Will Brown, Noah Gragson and Austin Dillon occupied the top-20 spots ahead of Chase Briscoe, Austin Cidnric, rookie Zane Smith, Kyle Busch and Ryan Preece. Meanwhile, Chris Buescher was 27th ahead of Cam Waters, Erik Jones was mired in 30th in between rookie Josh Berry and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brad Keselowski was back in 33rd place ahead of Daniel Hemric and Truex was down in 37th behind John Hunter Nemechek.

Five laps later and with a series of battles ensuing around the circuit, the event’s second caution flew after Ty Gibbs, who was running in the top 10, hit the newly installed concrete walls in Turn 11, which broke his right front hub before he proceeded to drive through Turn 12 and slap the outside wall entering Turn 1, which left Gibbs with more right-side damage to his No. 54 He Gets Us Toyota Camry XSE entry. At the time of the caution, Logano maintained the lead by two-tenths of a second over Reddick while Blaney, Elliott and Larson continued to race in the top five. In addition, Byron, who went off the course in Turn 1, had pitted under green to address concerns of a loose wheel to his No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry.

During the caution period and with pit strategy amongst the field ensuing, some led by Logano and including Allmendinger, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Preece, Zane Smith, Cam Waters, Berry, Erik Jones, Hemric, Justin Haley and Grala pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 18, Reddick launched his No. 45 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE ahead of Blaney and the field with the lead through the uphill first turn before navigating through the following three turns and the Chute. With the field fanning out and jostling for spots approaching the Esses, the caution quickly returned after Chase Briscoe, who was running in the top 15, got turned in Turn 8A, where he was clipped by Logano, who bumped Stenhouse and sent him for a spin, as Logano, who shredded the rear of Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, spun off and back onto the course through Turn 8 before he was hit in the rear by Harrison Burton, leaving all four competitors with damage to their respective entries.

Amid the caution period, select names including Bell, Will Brown, Buescher, Byron, Keselowski, Preece and Haley pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track.

The event re-started under green with three laps remaining in the first stage period. At the start, Reddick and Blaney dueled for the lead through the first three turns before Reddick managed to muscle ahead entering Turn 3A and the Chute. As Reddick led Blaney, Larson, Elliott and Bowman through the Esses before Turn 11, McDowell was in sixth while Trackhouse Racing’s Suarez and Chastain battled for seventh place. In addition, LaJoie and Gilliland battled for ninth place ahead of Hocevar, Wallace and Gragson while Cindric and Allmendinger trailed in the top 15.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 25, Reddick captured his third Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Blaney followed suit in second along with Larson, Elliott, Bowman and McDowell, respectively, while Chastain edged teammate Suarez to grab seventh place. LaJoie and Gilliland would round out the top 10 at the first stage’s conclusion.

Under the stage break, some including Kyle Busch, Truex, Preece, Hemric, Allmendinger, Logano, Haley, Stenhouse, Grala and Harrison Burton pitted while the rest led by Reddick remained on the track.

The second stage period started on Lap 29 as Reddick and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Reddick and Blaney dueled for the lead through the uphill first turn and through Turn 2 before Reddick launched ahead entering Turn 3A. With Reddick leading through the Chute, Elliott tried to make a move to Blaney’s outside entering Turn 7, but he got loose amid light contact with Blaney. This allowed Larson to assume third place from teammate Elliott while Chastain trailed in fifth place through the Esses.

During the Lap 30 mark, Austin Cindric nearly flipped as he spun his No. 2 America’s Tire Ford Mustang Dark Horse sideways off the course and through the uphill turn in the dirt entering Turn 2, but he managed to proceed without drawing a caution. Two laps later, however, the caution returned after Will Brown, who was battling electrical issues to his No. 33 Mobile X/Shaw and Partners Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry, parked his car off the course in Turn 11 due to a potential engine issue that resulted in him falling off the pace entering Turn 11. At the time of caution, Reddick was leading ahead of Blaney, Larson, Elliott and Chastain.

As the event restarted under green on Lap 34 amid a stacked restart, Reddick and Blaney dueled amid close-quarters racing through the first four turns before Reddick managed to maintain the top spot and clear Blaney prior to entering the Chute. Meanwhile, Larson bumped and overtook Blaney for the runner-up spot entering the Esses while Chastain, Elliott, Gilliland and Bowman followed suit.

Shortly after, more on-track issues ensued as Bubba Wallace, who was running in the top 10, slipped his No. 23 Columbia Toyota Camry XSE off the course and kicked up dirt in Turn 11. While Wallace recovered despite losing a handful of spots as the field stacked up, trouble ignited in front of him as Josh Berry got bumped and turned into the concrete walls by Erik Jones in Turn 11, which resulted in Berry locking up the tires and going dead straight into Bell, Truex, Byron and Dillon, as all but Truex spun. Cam Waters was also collected in the carnage while the rest of the field in the mid-pack region scattered and jammed on the brakes to avoid the carnage. The carnage drew the event back into a caution period as Reddick retained the race lead.

With the event restarting under green on Lap 39, Reddick retained the lead from Larson, Blaney and Chastain through the first four turns and the Chute, with Chastain bumping and battling Blaney for third place. Then through the Esses, the caution quickly returned after Austin Cindric got Noah Gragson sideways in Turn 8A, where Gragson then clipped Cindric and sent both into the tire barriers as McDowell was also sent into the tire barriers after getting caught in a mid-pack stack-up.

The start of the next restart period on Lap 42 featured Reddick muscling away from Larson to retain the lead as Chastain moved into third place from Blaney. While Bowman and Suarez rubbed fenders while battling for fifth place in front of Elliott before entering the Esses, Reddick kept his No. 45 entry racing in front of Larson to retain the lead during the ensuing lap while the rest of the field behind jostled for spots. By then, Austin Dillon took his No. 3 Get Bioethanol Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry to the garage.

Through the Lap 45 mark, Reddick was leading by six-tenths of a second over Larson while third-place Chastain trailed by nearly two seconds. Behind, Blaney and Bowman trailed in the top five while Suarez, Elliott, Buescher, Preece and Busch followed suit in the top 10 ahead of Truex, Allmendinger, Erik Jones, Zane Smith and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Logano, Burton, Gilliland, Stenhouse and Hemric were racing in the top 20 ahead of Hocevar, Cam Waters, Haley, Bell and Briscoe as Wallace, LaJoie, Grala, McDowell, Gragson and Byron were mired in the top 31.

At the Lap 50 mark, Reddick extended his advantage to two seconds over Larson while Blaney, who overtook Chastain for third place a few laps earlier, trailed by three seconds. With Chastain settling in fourth, Bowman retained fifth while Elliott overtook Suarez for sixth place.

A lap later, Blaney pitted his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry under green along with Elliott and Suarez. Larson would pit his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry during the following lap along with teammate Bowman, Chastain, and rookie Zane Smith before Reddick, the only competitor who has yet to pit, surrendered the lead to pit by Lap 53. Reddick’s pit stop moved Chris Buescher into the lead as he was followed by Preece, Truex, Busch and Allmendinger.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 55, which marked the event’s halfway point, Buescher captured his second Cup stage victory of the 2024 season. Preece followed suit in second along with Truex, Busch and Allmendinger while Keselowski, Erik Jones, Gilliland, Logano and Burton were scored in the top 10. By then, a bevy of front-runners that included Larson, Chastain, Byron, Reddick, Blaney, Elliott, Suarez and Bowman were mired outside the top 25, with Reddick locking up his front tires and going off the course before entering the Chute after he made contact with Larson just after completing his green flag pit service.

With 51 laps remaining, where the entire lead lap field remained on the track, the final stage commenced as Buescher and Preece occupied the front row. At the start, Buescher launched ahead from the outside lane and retained the lead through the course’s first four turns before navigating his way through the Chute. Behind, Truex overtook Preece for the runner-up spot while Allmendinger and Busch battled for fourth place in front of Nemechek and Keselowski. With the field navigating through the various turns through the Esses, Buescher was leading by nearly a second over Truex with 50 laps remaining.

Shortly after, Preece, who was trying to battle Truex for the runner-up spot, slipped sideways and spun his No. 41 Caymus Vineyards Ford Mustang Dark Horse off the course in Turn 7, but the event remained under green as Preece dropped out of the top-10 running order. Meanwhile, Larson, who carved his way into the top 20, was trying to weave his way back to the front amid a series of jostles and on-track contact in the middle of the pack. Other front-runners mired in the mid-pack region with Larson included teammate Elliott, Chastain, Suarez, Reddick and Bowman while Buescher stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over Truex.

With 43 laps remaining, the leader Buescher along with Truex, Busch, McDowell, Logano, Preece, Bowman, Wallace and Burton pitted their respective entries under green. More names including Gilliland, Erik Jones, Haley, Bell, Reddick and Berry pitted over the next two laps before Hocevar, Hemric and Suarez pitted with 40 laps remaining. By then, Allmendinger, who assumed the lead when Buescher pitted, was leading ahead of Larson, Stenhouse, Chastain and Elliott. Once Allmendinger pitted his No. 16 Cirkul Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry along with Chastain with 39 laps remaining, Larson cycled into the lead.

Down to the final 35 laps of the event, Larson was leading by four seconds over teammate Elliott as LaJoie, Blaney and Grala trailed as far as 18 seconds in the top five. Behind, Buescher, the first competitor with four fresh tires and fuel, trailed by 18 seconds in sixth place while Truex, Busch, Allmendinger and McDowell were racing in the top 10 ahead of Keselowski, Gilliland, Chastain, Reddick, Erik Jones, Bell, Cindric, Suarez, Bowman and Haley.

Five laps later, the top-four competitors led by Larson and including teammate Elliott, LaJoie and Blaney continued to run on the track, though all have yet to make another pit stop, while Buescher trailed the four leaders by 20 seconds in fifth place. Meanwhile, Truex continued to trail the lead by 22 seconds in sixth place as Busch, Allmendinger, McDowell and Keselowski were in the top 10. Behind, Reddick, who was still trying to carve his way back to the front, was mired in 13th in between Chastain and Bell, Suarez was in 15th and Bowman was in 18th.

Not long after, Larson surrendered the lead to pit under green as teammate Elliott moved into the lead. Third-place Blaney pitted under green with 27 laps remaining before Elliott and LaJoie pitted during the following lap. Amid the pit stops, Buescher cycled his No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry into the lead as Truex, Busch, Allmendinger and McDowell all cycled into the top five while Larson cycled his way back to sixth place.

With 20 laps remaining, Buescher stabilized his advantage to more than a second over Truex while third-place Busch trailed by four seconds. Meanwhile, Larson, who was locked in a heated three-way battle with McDowell and Allmendinger three laps earlier, trailed in fourth place by less than six seconds while McDowell and Allmendinger followed suit in fifth and sixth, respectively. In addition, Chastain was in seventh ahead of Gilliland, Elliott and Keselowski while Reddick, Bell, Suarez, Blaney, LaJoie and Bowman trailed in the top 16.

Over the next handful of laps, Truex started to close in on Buescher for the lead as he cut the deficit as close to half a second. At the same time, Larson, who overtook Busch for third place, ignited his pursuit on the two leaders, with Larson having fresher tires than both Buescher and Truex, as he trailed both by four seconds. Despite having two series champions intimidating him through distinct approaches, Buescher continued to lead by half a second with 15 laps remaining.

Down to the final 10 laps of the event, the top three competitors were separated by eight-tenths of a second as Buescher retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over Truex while Larson, who now has the top two leaders close in front of his windshield, was trying to navigate his way around Truex for the runner-up spot. Behind, McDowell trailed in fourth place by four seconds while Busch trailed in fifth place by six seconds.

Then approaching the final nine laps of the event, Truex attempted to stick his front nose beneath Buescher entering Turn 11 as Buescher missed his marks. Despite squeezing his way underneath Buescher through the turn, Buescher refused to surrender as he rubbed dead even with Truex through Turn 12. This allowed Larson to close in even more as Truex was able to overtake Buescher to move his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry into the lead in Turn 2. Larson, however, also overtook Buescher for the runner-up spot through Turn 2 as he pursued Truex for the lead. Then entering the Chute, Truex went wide after he missed his marked turn, which allowed Larson to make his move beneath Truex in Turn 7 as he assumed the lead. Larson would proceed to lead by two-tenths of a second over Truex while Buescher trailed in third place by a second.

With five laps remaining, Larson started to stretch his advantage as he was leading by eight-tenths of a second while third-place Buescher trailed by more than two seconds. Behind, McDowell started to close in on Buescher in his late attempt for third place while Busch trailed in fifth place by six seconds. Another lap later, McDowell, who radioed a potential flat tire to his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry, overtook Buescher for third place as Chastain, Elliott, Allmendinger, Blaney and Reddick trailed in the top 10.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson remained as the leader while extending it to two seconds over Truex. As Chastain and Busch tangled for fifth place entering the Chute, Larson was able to cruise his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry smoothly around the 12-turn Sonoma circuit for a final time before he navigated his way back to Turn 12 and across the finish line to claim the checkered flag for his third Cup victory of the 2024 season and by four seconds.

With the victory, Larson, a product of Elk Grove, California, notched his 26th career win in NASCAR’s premier series, his second at Sonoma and his first since 2021. He also joined teammate William Byron and Denny Hamlin as competitors to notch three victories during the first 16 events of the 2024 schedule as the 2024 Sonoma victory marked the eighth of the season for the Chevrolet nameplate and the sixth for Hendrick Motorsports. The Sonoma victory marks Larson’s 20th driving the No. 5 Chevrolet entry for Hendrick Motorsports.

Larson’s Sonoma victory also occurred five days after he was granted a waiver to make the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs. The waiver occurred due to Larson missing the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after on-track precipitations between both the Coke 600 and the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway spoiled his attempt to complete the Memorial Day “Double”, where he opted to start the Indy 500 and was unable to register a lap for the Coke 600 with the event being shortened and as Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier filled in for Larson’s Cup Series efforts.  

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 09: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Valvoline Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 09, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images).

“I didn’t know what we were like doing as far as strategy,” Larson said on FOX. “I was just out there banging laps away. We studied all the strategies, but it’s like doing homework. I don’t really know what I’m looking at. I was like, ‘Well, [Buescher and Truex] have to pit another time, maybe.’ Then [the team] said we had to go race and pass those guys. I got a bit nervous. I knew I’d be quick from the get-go, but I thought once the tires would come up to [track temperature], it would even off too much. Thankful that we had enough grip. Thankful too that those guys got racing and Martin [Truex Jr.] never got clear really where I would get stuck in third. That really saved the race…just an awesome, awesome race car. Cool to win at home. [I’ll] Drink some wine here in a little bit and go celebrate.”

As Larson celebrated his Sonoma victory both on the frontstretch and in Victory Lane towards the circuit’s dragstrip, Truex, who was losing steady ground of Larson during the final lap, had his hopes of posting a strong runner-up finish spoiled after he ran out of fuel approaching the final stretch to the finish line. Truex’s misfortune allowed Michael McDowell to claim the runner-up spot while Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain finished in the top five.

As AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Todd Gilliland finished in the top 10, Kyle Busch nursed his No. 8 zone Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry to a 12th-place result following his last-lap spin from Chastain, where he also ran out of fuel approaching the finish line. Truex ended up in 27th place as he struggled to coast his entry across the finish line to finish the race, drawing a caution as the event concluded.

There were 10 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 20 laps. In addition, 27 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.

Following the 16th event of the 2024 Cup Series season, Kyle Larson reassumes the lead in the regular-season standings following his Sonoma victory and he leads by 14 points over teammate Chase Elliott, 26 over Denny Hamlin, 49 over Tyler Reddick and 53 over Martin Truex Jr.

Results.

1. Kyle Larson, 19 laps led

2. Michael McDowell

3. Chris Buescher, 32 laps led, Stage 2 winner

4. Chase Elliott, three laps led

5. Ross Chastain

6. AJ Allmendinger, three laps led

7. Ryan Blaney, one lap led

8. Tyler Reddick, 35 laps led, Stage 1 winner

9. Christopher Bell

10. Todd Gilliland

11. Corey LaJoie

12. Kyle Busch, one lap led

13. Brad Keselowski

14. Daniel Suarez

15. Alex Bowman

16. Zane Smith

17. Carson Hocevar

18. Ryan Preece

19. Erik Jones

20. Bubba Wallace

21. Joey Logano, 16 laps led

22. Austin Cindric

23. Kaz Grala

24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

25. Harrison Burton

26. Noah Gragson

27. Martin Truex Jr., one lap led

28. Daniel Hemric, one lap down

29. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down

30. William Byron, two laps down

31. Will Brown, three laps down

32. Josh Berry – OUT, Suspension

33. Justin Haley – OUT, Steering

34. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Transmission

35. Cam Waters – OUT, Accident

36. Austin Dillon – OUT, DVP

37. Ty Gibbs – OUT, DVP

38. Denny Hamlin – OUT, Engine

Next on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the inaugural Iowa Corn 350 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The event is scheduled to occur next Sunday, June 16, and air at 7 p.m. ET on USA Network.

CHEVROLET NCS: Larson Scores Home Track Victory at Sonoma Raceway

By
Official Release
-

NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TOYOTA / SAVE MART 350
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
JUNE 9, 2024

 Larson Scores Home Track Victory at Sonoma Raceway

  •  Elk Grove, California, native Kyle Larson closed out a visit to his home track of Sonoma Raceway with a trip to lane in his No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 – the Team Chevy driver’s second career NASCAR Cup Series victory at the 1.99-mile Northern California circuit.
  • Larson delivered Chevrolet its eighth NASCAR Cup Series victory this season; the manufacturer’s 14th all-time NASCAR Cup Series victory at Sonoma Raceway; and it’s 859th all-time victory in NASCAR’s premier series – all of which are series-leading feats.
  • The victory, Larson’s 26th all-time in NASCAR’s premier series, marks his fifth trip to victory lane on a road course – the third most among the series’ active drivers.
  • The win came after a fifth-place qualifying effort for the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team. Earning top-five points in Stage One, pit strategy quickly came into play in the early portion of the 110-lap race. Crew Chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit for the team’s final stop during a green-flag run in the final stage, and after rejoining the field in the seventh position, Larson’s fresh set of tires gave the Team Chevy driver to click-off laps towards the lead – ultimately taking the top position on lap 102 en route to the victory.
  • Larson led Chevrolet to four top-six finishing results, with the former series’ champion leading Chase Elliott in fourth, Ross Chastain in fifth and AJ Allmendinger in sixth.
  • The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Iowa Speedway with the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, June 16, at 7 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

  • In 35 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet leads the series with 14 all-time victories. • Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

Kyle Larson – two wins (2021, 2024)
Kyle Busch – two wins (2015, 2008)
Daniel Suarez – one win (2022)

Chevrolet on Road Courses in the NASCAR Cup Series:

  • Chevrolet has earned 19 victories in the past 24 NASCAR Cup Series road course events.
  • In 13 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet continues to lead the series with nine victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
  • Chevrolet has recorded 66 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1

Finished: 1st

Kyle Larson, getting congratulations from his team. Down here on the frontstretch, from nearby Elk Grove, California, you get your second win at your home racetrack. The final segment of the race you come out in eighth place with about 29 laps to go. How did you find a way to catchall those guys and pass them and still have something left in the tank?

“Yeah, I didn’t know what we were doing as far as strategy. I was just out there banging laps away. I don’t know.. we study all the strategy, but it’s like doing homework. I don’t really know what I’m looking at.

Yeah, I was like – well, man, these guys are going to have to pit another time maybe. Then we said we had to go race and pass these guys, I got a bit nervous. I knew I’d be quick from the get go, but I thought once the tires would come up to temp, it would even off too much.

Thankful that we had enough grip. Thankful, too, that those guys got racing and Martin (Truex Jr.) never got clear really to where I could get stuck in third and that really saved the race. I thought, too, once he got the lead, I’m like – man, I hope he doesn’t have somebody to judge off of here into (turn) 4 and he misses apex. And sure enough, he did, and I had a big run.

Just an awesome, awesome race car. Valvoline, every time we have Valvoline on the car, I feel like we’re really fast. Thanks to Valvoline, HENDRICKCARS.COM, Chevrolet, Jinya Ramen Bar, Prime.

Just cool to win at home – drink some wine here in a little bit and go celebrate.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Gold Filters Camaro ZL1

Finished: 4th

Elliott on his run on the repaved Sonoma Raceway:

“It was a normal road course race. I felt like we were on the right strategy, I just lost too much time there early in the race. I fell back a few rows and felt like our group that we were racing against were who we were probably going to be racing for the win. Fell behind there early; lost a couple of rows and just never could get it back. I’m not sure I had the pace Kyle (Larson, race winner) had, but thought we were a solid top-three to five car and that’s where we finished. We’ll try again next week.”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

Finished: 5th

Describe the racing, overall, here at Sonoma Raceway.

“Confusing. I’m not sure how the No. 5 (Kyle Larson) won, or how I got back to fifth.. I don’t really know. I don’t now how the lap times worked out. I didn’t feel very good in the second or third set of tires for awhile, but it worked out somehow to get back up here.

I’m super proud of the effort by this No. 1 Kubota Chevy team. It’s so good to be in a fast race car. I’m in them most weeks, but to be able to put it together and finish fifth is really, really rewarding.”

AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 6th

“We had a really fast Cirkul Chevy. Travis [Mack] did a great job with strategy with everything that happened adversity wise. I thought overall we maximized our day. If everything fell right, we could have and a top-five finish, but we’re happy with the result.”

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Cirkul Camaro ZL1

Finished: 28th

“We had a good day going for us, until my tires went away there at the end and I spun with about 10 to go. It’s unfortunate to finish the day like this after such a solid run, but I’m proud of the No. 31 team for finding a good bit of speed from where we started the weekend in practice.”

 

About Chevrolet

Founded 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.

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT ROAD AMERICA: WILL POWER PUTS CHEVY IN VICTORY LANE AT ROAD AMERICA

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
ROAD AMERICA
ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN
TEAM CHEVY RACE RECAP
JUNE 9, 2024

WILL POWER TAKES CHEVY TO VICTORY LANE AT ROAD AMERICA

LEADS A TEAM PENSKE CHEVROLET ONE-TWO-THREE

· Team Chevy driver Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, won today’s XPEL Grand Prix at Road America leading nine of the 55-lap race to score his 42nd career victory

· Team Penske and Chevrolet swept the podium with Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Chevrolet finishing second with teammate Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet finishing third

· Today’s win and podium sweep put Chevrolet back in the lead of the NTT INDYCAR Series Manufacturer Point Standings and Power atop driver standings

· A total of five Chevrolet powered drivers finished in the top-eight-in addition to Power, Newgarden and McLaughlin, Romain Grojean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet finished seventh and Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished eighth

Will Power, driving his familiar No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, led the final seven laps of today’s 55-lap XPEL Grand Prix at Road America to pickup his 42nd career victory and his second at the 4-plus mile track likened to the beauty of a national park.

The victory put Chevrolet back into the lead of the very tight battle for the NTT INDYCAR Series Manufacturer Championship, and Power into a five-point lead of the driver standings after seven of 17 races.

“What a great win today for Will Power at Road America”, said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet INDYCAR Engineering Program Manager. “He drove a great race, managing the tires perfectly! The strategy was spot-on and the No. 12 Verizon Chevy crew had excellent stops throughout the race. To score a one-two-three with our Team Penske partnerships is one of those moments we all share great pride. It was a great points day for Will, Josef and Scott as well as Chevy, but there is a lot of racing left. We will take this momentum and move on to Laguna Seca.”

After a 34-race drought since his last NTT INDYCAR Series win, Power led his two Team Penske teammates with Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden brought his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet home in second with Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet in third to sweep the podium. It was the first time since 2017 at Sonoma for a Penske trio to sweep the podium. The last time any team swept the podium was 2020 at Mid-Ohio.

Romain Grojean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet finished seventh and Pato O’Ward, No, 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet finished eighth to give Chevrolet five of the top-eight finishers.

Next on the schedule for Team Chevy in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will be June 21-23, 2024 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California.

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 RACE RESULTS:

1ST Will Power

2ND Josef Newgarden

3RD Scott McLaughlin

7TH Romain Grojean

8th Pato O’Ward

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Will Power, No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, Winner:

“I’ve been digging all year. Sometimes it just works out.

Long Beach I was leading by seven seconds. If a yellow doesn’t fall there, I think we were going to have a pretty good day. A reasonable chance at Barber.

Yeah, very good strategy. Very fast cars. A lot of fun. Like, once all the yellows stopped, it was a very fast-paced race.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, Finished 2nd:

“It was a really good team day. Really good day. I mean, 1-2-3. I don’t think we can be dissatisfied with that. Will (Power) did a great job too. He deserved to win the race as well. He drove really well today. Both things can be true, it was a great team day but I think we let that one go, for sure. That’s what’s hard about it. Our PPG Chevy was fast. Team Chevy 1-2-3, I think we can all be super proud of that. We just put together a great day, we just probably misstepped there at the end. I feel bad that I came in a lap early. I probably should have stayed out.”

YOU STILL ALMOST GOT IT. DID YOU GO INTO THE LIMITER IN ONE THERE?

“Just had a limiter hit. You just can’t keep going like that on a lap. You’re just going to get killed on the sequence. Just the undercut is not working on a day like today. That was the real miss coming in early like that.”

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, THIS WAS A NEW CAR TODAY AFTER YESTERDAY’S WRECK…

“It was just as good. I think all our cars were really fabulous. (Scott McLaughlin) drove a great race, Will (Power) drove a great race, like I said. I think it could’ve fallen any way. I just know that we were in position there at the end, so it’s tough not to close it. Everybody worked on this racecar, the 12, the 3, the 2, so a big thank you to the entire team. That was a team effort to get that car out there, and it was just as good as the day before. That’s what you get at Team Penske, that consistency.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, Finished 3rd:

“Huge team day. The XPEL Chevy was great. We led all the laps, obviously. It was a great team day. Will (Power) with a win, first win in a long time, and then Josef (Newgarden) second. I wish we could’ve ran a little bit longer and a couple of those stints. The overcut was really strong. But ultimately, this is a huge day for the team. Really proud of everyone. It’s been a hard slog over the last month-and-a-half. Big few days for the team, big month for the team. Really proud of everyone.”

JUST HOW BIG OF A DAY IS IT TO COME OUT 1-2-3 AS A TEAM?

“In this day and age, it’s amazing. We got the 1-2-3 on the front row for the Indy 500, a really proud moment for everyone. Obviously, a 1-2-3 on podium after a race is sick. I’m super stoked. We’ll take the points, move forward. A huge rebound for me since Detroit. I’m stoked for the team, stoked for Will (Power) and ready to push on.”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Finished 7th:

“Very good day at Road America. One of the best tracks of the season, and we had one of our best races. P7 at the end, I think we could be very proud of that. Did a helluva job, and a lot learned this weekend. Excited for Laguna Seca.”

Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 8th:

“I think we had a strong race, going from starting 18th to finish P13. Of course, we wanted a little bit more. I was lucky to avoid the crash in Turn 1 at the start. Then, I think we pitted a little bit too early and had an issue with refueling on that pit stop, so we lost a little bit of time there. The pace of the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was good, though; I was happy with the balance and was able to push mid-race. It’s another strong job by the team, and it’s just a matter of time before we put it all together and finish in a good position.”

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 13th:

“I think we had a strong race, going from starting 18th to finish P13. Of course, we wanted a little bit more. I was lucky to avoid the crash in Turn 1 at the start. Then, I think we pitted a little bit too early and had an issue with refueling on that pit stop, so we lost a little bit of time there. The pace of the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was good, though; I was happy with the balance and was able to push mid-race. It’s another strong job by the team, and it’s just a matter of time before we put it all together and finish in a good position.”

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Finished 15th:

“Honestly really solid day, just unfortunate with the start of the race. Smokescreen…the last thing I saw was Herta was sideways and I didn’t want to go straight through and potentially hit him and kill both of our cars, so avoided through the grass. We came back, had a killer strategy with the Sexton Properties Chevrolet. On the second to last stop the car wouldn’t go into neutral for some reason, so we’re going to investigate why that is because I pressed the button and nothing happened. I think that killed our top ten run but we still managed to finish fifteenth, so happy with that.”

Sting Ray Robb, No. 41 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, Finished 17th:

“Another crazy IndyCar race. The start was exciting. We moved up a lot of spots on lap one which was really good. I got into it with Rosenquist there towards the beginning of the race and rightfully deserved a penalty so we went back behind him a few spots. I don’t want to race like that I want to race clean with these guys but we were pushing hard and just like normal racing I guess here in Indy car. I’m really proud of the team. We had good pace today. We went forward a lot and having the Goodheart crew here this weekend was really fun as well. I’m hoping that the next few races we will keep building momentum. But from here I think that we’re doing pretty good.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, Finished 18th:

“Today was a difficult day. We had a wiring issue on the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet that resulted in a wastegate failure. We have some work to do to get back in this in Laguna Seca.”

Christian Rasumussen, No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 20th:

“What a frustrating day. There was pace for so much more, but the incident early on prohibited us from doing that with the penalty that I received. A stop-and-go under green when others were able to serve their drive throughs under yellow, I thought that was very harsh and I really did not understand. Other than that, I thought the pace was pretty good. We made great improvements from warm up to the race in terms of car balance, especially on the black tires. While that was a positive, I am just very frustrated with not being able to get a good result.”

Nolan Siegel, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, Finished 23rd:

“Overall I’m happy with the way we handled the variables that were in our control today. The car was fast all weekend and we got the balance into a very comfortable window that allowed for some solid stints. Unfortunately we had an issue with our second set of reds that forced us to do an extra stop and took us out of contention, but I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity. Huge thank you to Ricardo, Brad and everyone at Juncos Hollinger for their trust.”

Rinus VeeKay, No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet, Finished 24th:

“We were running a great race. We had moved forward pretty well, stayed out of all of the trouble at the beginning. We had Top 10 pace, that’s what I knew coming into the race and that’s what it felt like during the race. I struggled a bit with vibrations at the end of tire stints which was not ideal and did lose a bit of pace there. Then near Lap 40, I had a suspension component failure on the left front and that put us several laps back. Really a bummer and I really hope our luck goes the other way sometime. Looking forward to a weekend off and hugging my dog!”

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS

WILL POWER

THE MODERATOR: The now two-time winner at Road America, Will Power, driver of the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

A 34-race drought for you. The drought is over. You can move on now, right?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I wasn’t sure when it was going to happen. I’ve been digging all year. Sometimes it just works out.

Long Beach I was leading by seven seconds. If a yellow doesn’t fall there, I think we were going to have a pretty good day. A reasonable chance at Barber.

Yeah, very good strategy. Very fast cars. A lot of fun. Like, once all the yellows stopped, it was a very fast-paced race.

THE MODERATOR: You get a win and take over the points championship as well.

WILL POWER: We’re working hard. We want to win the championship. I think we have the cars and the team to do it. Keep pushing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Will Power.

Q. Not only are you back in Victory Lane but so is Ron Ruzewski. For him to have that strategy of the overcut, how brilliant was that?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I sat back. I kind of couldn’t get Scott without using a lot of push to pass. I sat back. I knew I had a lap of fuel on him. I was making the reds last. My in-lap was super quick. They didn’t really go off for me at all. I was kind of babying them. I sat behind there. That was a big in-lap. Gave me enough of a gap on Josef to be able to get up to speed on the cold tires.

Q. First time Liz has been to Victory Lane since her health issue. How special was that?

WILL POWER: It was very special. She was in tears. So was her mother. Had Beau there. Yeah, been a rough trot. It was last year we didn’t get a win. She wasn’t at a lot of the races.

Yeah, good stuff. Good stuff. Very positive.

Q. You mentioned your in-lap being extremely quick. You turned the fastest leader lap of the race. Can you describe the feeling of doing those two laps back to back so quick, and that’s what ultimately made the difference for you pulling into Victory Lane?

WILL POWER: Yeah, the car was really good. I kind of came across something I hadn’t been running that Josef runs a certain way, how he runs the car. I started driving like that, just using setup, and it really helped. Yeah, was just easier for me.

Yeah, so the car was phenomenal. I haven’t had a car like that for a long time in a race. It was very fast.

Q. You mentioned earlier this year keep knocking on the door. The relief now that you’re through…

WILL POWER: Yeah, we’ll keep working for more. Like I said at the beginning of this year, I want multiple wins this year. I think that’s what it will take to win the championship. We have the car for it. We have the engine for it.

You know how this championship goes: very tough group, no bad driver in this field. You have to put it together very well if you want to win.

Q. You’re tied with Michael Andretti. How much does that statistic mean to you?

WILL POWER: That was the next one I wanted to get. That was the one I’d been wanting for a while. To surpass Michael, big fan of Michael’s as a kid. Watched him win a lot of races. The Andretti family, such a big deal, such legends of this sport. Anytime you’re name is around those guys, it’s a big deal. Cool to be equal with Michael.

Q. You’d been competitive last year, your first winless season in a while. Going into the off-season, was there any change in approach, mindset? How did you attack this year?

WILL POWER: Yeah, I just came in way more prepared like I normally am. I was just back to how I prepared for a year, which is constantly improving on my craft.

I have to say I’m a better driver again this year than I was in ’22 when I won the championship. Last year was sort of a stall-out here. Not much I could do. Spending a lot of time at home, looking after Liz, making sure everything was going well for her.

Back to Liz helping me, like she is a big part of my preparation. She does a lot for me. We’re back as a team again.

Q. Liz’s issues affected you mentally. I assume the not getting back to Victory Lane was a drain on you. How down were you? Were you thinking about maybe this is it? How were you thinking about life?

WILL POWER: You start thinking. When that was going on, you start thinking should I be racing at all. If something happens to Liz and something happens to me, is she going to get better, what’s going to happen. The doctor said this can come back at any time. Should I be racing. That was the thing that was planted in my mind last year.

You certainly don’t perform at your highest level because you don’t want your son to have no parents. That is sort of the thing you’re thinking. Yeah, tough wrestling with that. Ultimately, yeah, if she wasn’t getting better, I would stop. I would have to stop for my son. Simple as that.

Q. To go 1-2-3, front row at Indy, the team camaraderie has continued to build. Talk about the importance of that.

WILL POWER: Yeah, man, a great day. Obviously Indy was a great result for Josef to win it, but then also lock out the front row. I predicted that. I know how hard the guys are working back at the shop.

The whole push to pass thing was just an unfortunate incident. There was nothing malicious in it. There was no intent. No one intended to do that. Just habitually I think people press that at times. I think the whole field would have pressed that button at some point subconsciously in a restart. It just looked bad for us.

Yeah, to come back like that at Indy, then 1-2-3 today. Really, I feel like we’re performing at our highest level right now. That includes Chevy. Chevy’s done a great job with the engine. I think we struggled a little bit last year compared to Honda. They went away, did their homework. So did we. Together we have a very strong combination.

Yeah, like Roger said, I feel bad for Roger, that whole thing that happened. Just one of those things. If you’re a team like Penske, people like to pound you if something like that happens. Ha, ha, we knew that’s how you guys are fast.

I know how much work goes into it. I know they don’t even venture into the gray. It frustrates me at time because I know other teams do. But they will not do that just because of that brand. Roger won’t allow that brand to be tarnished with cheating allegations.

We don’t do that. There’s a lot of talk around the paddock. I know we don’t do that. I know other teams do because people push the rules. If I was a small team, I’d be doing it. That’s how you get a slight advantage.

Q. You’ve been with Penske since ’09. Where is the team at now compared to other periods?

WILL POWER: Like, if you take in sports car, NASCAR, INDYCAR, they’re really firing. They’re at their highest level now. The competition has changed, as well. You have no choice but to be at your highest level now or you simply won’t win.

Just the car preparation, quality control. It’s so detail orientated now to win in this series in particular, but the same in NASCAR, sports car. It’s a very tough business. If you’re not winning, you won’t last long.

Q. Have Josef and Scott pushed you?

WILL POWER: I’ve never stopped improving. I’ve certainly learned off those guys. I’ve learned off all my teammates. The moment you think you’re the best, you’re going to get beaten. You’re not learning anything. I’m constantly evolving as a driver.

I think the biggest step I ever took was ’22, mentality, the mental approach. A big step. Something that I found and still use now.

But it’s a fast pace, man. When I think about that race, it was fast paced. Man, this is seriously like no joke. Qualifying every lap basically. Yeah, good, tough group. Tough group.

Q. You talked about having to think about whether you should continue doing this last year. How close were you at thinking about hanging up your helmet?

WILL POWER: Yeah, in the off-season when my wife is sitting in hospital, we’re just wondering what’s going to happen here. She almost died. You start thinking, Yeah, I’m going to have to stop now, take care of my son.

Then after that also, like, it’s a long process. Once they put the metal plates and all that, you have that infection in the blood, it can stick to the metal, come back. It’s like what’s going to happen.

Continual blood tests. You just got to be on top of it. If it comes, you have to be very quick to have the antibiotics reduce it, I guess. It seems like… The doc said it can come back anytime. You got to be quick to catch it.

Q. This was a tough weekend for you a year ago here. Was this one of the lowest points in the season a year ago?

WILL POWER: Yeah, it was a very stressful weekend because I left thinking that Liz was sick again. I left. She was looking in a glass. Actually getting in the car, had booked a private plane, because that’s the only way she could travel. Get in the car, she looks down and says, Look at all the worms in that cup.

I’m like, Oh, shit.

Mother-in-law, I said, You have to stay here. We already booked this plane. Taking off now. I’ll go, call you on the plane.

All weekend she’s going back and forth to the doctors. Turns out she mixed some medications. Hallucinations. That’s how it all started, hallucinations.

Stressful, yeah, this predicament. Should I race or not? Then you crash bad. That’s why I was so I guess angry or just stressed. Anything set me off. Grappling with that.

Yeah, that’s life. People have it way worse. I’m not complaining. People have it way worse. I’m lucky, very lucky.

Q. Does this season feel a little like the championship season in ’22?

WILL POWER: Yeah, back to that flow again. Except we have to win more this year. It’s a tough field. That’s one thing I was a little cautious in ’22 at times where I felt like I needed to push the envelope a little more. It’s that fine line. I think Palou is the one that nails that perfectly of aggression versus risks and so on.

Yeah, I feel like as a package we are very strong, very strong. You see Colton has incredible speed at times, but things seem to happen, which you go through when you’re young. You know that guy’s going to be pretty strong in the future.

I feel like as a package we’re pretty good. Pretty good.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations.

WILL POWER: Thank you.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the second- and third-place finishing drivers. Finishing second, Josef Newgarden, driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Finishing second, driver of the No. 13 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, Scott McLaughlin.

Josef, can tell the mind is thinking, thinking about what just happened. Your thoughts on the race.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It was a great day. Great team day. I think we’re all going to be really pleased with the 1-2-3, especially with the 2 car and the disaster yesterday. It was a real team effort to put a new car together. Everybody pitched in, the 12, the 2 and the 3.

Really rewarding I think for the entire crew when you have to go through something like that, put it all together, we finish 1-2-3, it’s as good as it can get.

At the same time we sort of gave that one away. I mean, I will say this, too. I felt like we gave it away, but all three of our cars were pretty stellar pace-wise. Whether it was the 3, the 12 or me, I think we all had similar pace.

With that capability for any of us to win that race was there. You saw the 1-2-3 because of that, I think.

THE MODERATOR: First Penske podium sweep since Sonoma in 2017. Scott, you’re part of that. A good team day today.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Yeah, ultimately when the cycle finished, last stop, it was all sort of bringing it home for the team in some ways, yeah, as Josef said. I thought we were really quick in parts. Had a great start, led a lot of laps. I think the strategy didn’t fall our way in terms of the overcut was strong. We knew it was going to be strong, but it was really strong today.

I kind of wish we ran reds in the second stint just to get that over and done with earlier, then I could have attacked a bit more on the black tire.

Ultimately, yeah, it’s a huge day. Really proud. It’s been tough, man. Tough from May to here. The boys have been on the road for a long, long time. Huge props to them and the hard work that’s gone on behind the scenes. It’s not stopping now. They have to work till midnight tonight getting ready for the hybrid test we have got on Tuesday.

A good reward for the team, but ultimately still work to do. We’ll keep pushing on. Just proud to get a podium at the XPEL Grand Prix in the XPEL car.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Josef, you did all this with a backup car, one that was built up overnight. What was the confidence that you had going into the race? Do you feel with the previous car you might have pulled that one off?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: It wasn’t a car issue, I can tell you that. I think at Team Penske, certainly me, I’m not ever concerned if we have to build up a new car. We have great consistency across the board. This team I think is the best as far as putting another car on track, and it’s going to be the exact same thing.

We switch cars quite a bit. It’s the same product every time we put it on the track. That speaks volumes to the level of the team, the savvy-ness, the execution of the people. It’s just really solid.

There was no concern about that. I don’t think that would have made a difference today. I think we just all had a really good day. We got a 1-2-3 for the team.

Q. What was your view of the first corner incident with Colton? He was upset.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I haven’t seen it. From what I remember, I remember just everyone checking up on the exit of the corner. I sort of center punched Colton. I hate that most likely affected his race. I’m sure he went spinning because of it.

I don’t know why everyone checked up on the exit. I didn’t see that. I saw people going on the outside. I’m sure something was going on in front of him. It must have been. That’s the only thing I can remember without seeing the actual replay.

THE MODERATOR: The 11 got into the 8.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: I had a great start (smiling).

Q. For those of us who aren’t good at predictive math, why does the overcut have the advantage in that situation?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Just depends on the track. Today the warm-up was really tough on the tires. It was literally nearly three seconds of an advantage on an overcut. Two-and-a-half, three-second advantage.

You can’t get overcut on a day like today. You got to work that problem out. We pretty much had it worked out. We got to sort of a confusing place at the very end with the 78. Was it the 78?

It’s all part of INDYCAR racing. You got to sort of manage the situation. I felt like I didn’t make the right call there. We could have kept going, and we should have. So when you go for the undercut, that’s what happens. You just get burned. We got burned at the end.

Q. Scott, when you were managing the alternates, did they start to become a handful?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Not as much as I thought. I was pretty careful with them. That’s half the reason why I didn’t fight Josef. Ultimately they held on pretty good. Not bad. I definitely probably would have not been able to hold Josef off, regardless. Then a couple P-to-P dramas. I was saving my push to pass for the end of the race or the last exchange.

Yeah, chose to sort of just bring them up and look after them. Obviously thought from a points perspective, after Detroit, just nice to bring home a pretty strong result. I just had to bring that home.

Q. Probably we make a bigger deal about teammates. What Will has been through with his wife over the last couple years, to see the old guy get back in Victory Lane even though you would rather be there…

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: We would. Ultimately we’re race drivers, we want to be the guy. Will is a phenomenal teammate. Josef would concur. Still bloody dead fast. It is awesome to see.

I think most importantly, to have a team 1-2-3 in this day and age, it’s hard. Like, that’s great that Will won. I think the most important story is 1-2-3 for the team. It’s crazy to do that. It hasn’t been done for a long time. I’m really proud of everyone.

Q. Josef?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: 100%. We love Will. I think another point to hammer home is Will drove just as good of a race as anybody today. He was very deserving to win the race. I would say I felt like we misstepped at the end, but Will very much was a deserving winner. His pace was just as good as anybody. He did a great job today. He just kept clean, was there at the end, got it right. That crew, they deserve to win a race. They’ve been close here for a while.

From that standpoint it’s nice. It’s tough. I think we let it go, but at the same time you feel really good for the 12 crew because they deserved it, too. They did a good job today.

Q. What was the mood in the team after a tough Detroit weekend? How tough was the Detroit comeback?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: I think you get a great reset in this group. There’s nothing that ever really lingers. Personally there’s nothing that lingers. From a team side, you don’t see anything linger.

We rocked up here to normal business. Even after yesterday with my mis-step, it’s like, Okay, we’re going to build a new car.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Almost get excited for it. They’re like, Let’s do it.

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: That’s so true. We don’t get a chance to do what they did last night. They hammered out a new car in, like, two hours. It’s crazy. I could have wrote that thing off in warm-up and I would have made the race. It would have made the race with time to spare. It’s so cool to see them work at a high level.

But, yeah, there’s nothing that lingers with this group. They were ready to rock. 1-2-3, like Scott said, that’s the story.

Q. Regarding the team success, like at Indy and Birmingham, everything you were facing in late April, what does it say about the team? How were you able to overcome that?

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Look, I think we said it from the start: eyes forward. We were just focused forward. Ultimately felt like all three cars, all three teams, were like that.

No denying there’s definitely some motivation there. Our jobs didn’t change. Ultimately we’ve always had fast cars from the start of the year. Didn’t matter what happened. It’s a matter of just putting it together.

Yeah, we just executed today. We executed better than everyone. Ultimately that’s why we were 1-2-3.

THE MODERATOR: Scott, seven years now since your team, Team Penske, has pulled off a sweep like this. Sonoma 2017.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Were you part of that?

JOSEF NEWGARDEN: Would have been. Sure.

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the podium. Rest up tomorrow. We’ll see you at Milwaukee Mile.

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN: Or Siebkens (laughter).

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Power Ends Drought To Lead Penske Podium Perfection at Road America

By
Official Release
-

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Sunday, June 9, 2024) – The drought is over for Will Power.

Power earned his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory since June 2022 at Detroit – a span of 34 races – to lead a podium sweep Sunday by Team Penske at the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America presented by AMR. Power had won at least one race for 16 consecutive seasons from 2007-22 before going winless in 2023.

Two-time series champion Power, who started fifth, drove his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet to a 3.2609-second victory over teammate Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet. Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet, 8.0148 seconds behind Power.

Power’s 42nd career victory, tying him for fourth with Michael Andretti for all-time INDYCAR SERIES wins, created one of the more emotional, cathartic victory lanes this season in the series. Power was embraced tearfully by his wife, Liz, who Power cared for during her serious illness last year, and his son, Beau, among other team members and friends.

“Massively special,” Power said of the win. “We’ve worked so hard to try to get wins. I worked really hard in the offseason. Obviously, last season was very stressful. Had half a mind at home and half at the track, so it was very difficult to perform at a high level there.

“Man, I’m just stoked. I’m very happy, man. That was very well deserved for the whole team. We worked so hard for that.”

This was the first podium sweep by a team in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES since Andretti Global drivers Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay took the top three spots in September 2020 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Team Penske’s last podium sweep came in September 2017 at Sonoma Raceway with Simon Pagenaud, Newgarden and Power finishing in that respective order.

Power also took the championship lead by five points over Alex Palou, who finished fourth in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood rounded out the top five in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global.

The race started in chaotic fashion on Lap 1 when NTT P1 Award winner Linus Lundqvist’s No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was hit from behind into a spin in Turn 1 by the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of teammate Marcus Armstrong.

Newgarden narrowly escaped that incident, as the accordion effect of that fracas forced his nose to hit the rear of front row starter Colton Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian, sending Herta’s car into a spin.

Kirkwood took the lead after that incident, with McLaughlin right behind. McLaughlin passed Kirkwood in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 4 and stayed there until Lap 16, when Newgarden took the top spot after McLaughlin’s first pit stop.

By that point, Power had crept into the top five, and tire tactics began to unfold on the leaders’ respective pit boxes.

Newgarden completed the first 17 laps of the 55-lap race on Firestone Firehawk alternate tires, while McLaughlin and Power stayed on Firestone primary tires for their first two stops. INDYCAR rules state drivers must use both tire compounds for at least two laps in each road or street course race.

Alternate, red-sidewall tires had more speed but less durability. So, it appeared Newgarden was in good shape to drive to victory since he already used his alternate tires early in the race, while his two teammates had to run a stint with the alternate tires in the second half of the race.

The pivotal point came on the final pit stops by the Penske lead trio. McLaughlin came to pit road first, shedding his alternate tires for primaries at the end of Lap 42. Newgarden pitted one lap later, staying with a final set of primary tires. He exited pit road well ahead of McLaughlin, as the “overcut” strategy worked.

Power waited until the end of Lap 44 to replace his alternate tires with a fresh set of primary Firestones. The deepest of the “overcuts” prevailed, as Power exited pit lane ahead of Newgarden.

Two-time series champion Newgarden made one final attempt to pass Newgarden at the start of Lap 46, but he couldn’t finish the move. Power then cycled to the lead on Lap 49 as slower drivers on alternate pit strategies made their final stops, and he was never challenged again.

“It was a really good team day,” Newgarden said. “Will did a great job, too. Look, he deserved to win that race, as well.

“We put together a great day. We just probably misstepped there at the end. I feel bad that I came in a lap early. I probably should have stayed out.”

The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES event is the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sunday, June 23 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Live coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET on the USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Race Results

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Results Sunday of the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 4.014-mile Road America, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (5) Will Power, Chevrolet, 55, Running
2. (6) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 55, Running
3. (8) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 55, Running
4. (7) Alex Palou, Honda, 55, Running
5. (4) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 55, Running
6. (2) Colton Herta, Honda, 55, Running
7. (14) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 55, Running
8. (11) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 55, Running
9. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 55, Running
10. (24) Graham Rahal, Honda, 55, Running
11. (13) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 55, Running
12. (1) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 55, Running
13. (18) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 55, Running
14. (22) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 55, Running
15. (19) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 55, Running
16. (25) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 55, Running
17. (26) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 55, Running
18. (9) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 55, Running
19. (27) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 55, Running
20. (16) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 55, Running
21. (10) Scott Dixon, Honda, 55, Running
22. (23) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 55, Running
23. (21) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 54, Running
24. (17) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 53, Running
25. (20) Jack Harvey, Honda, 51, Running
26. (3) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 35, Mechanical
27. (12) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 5, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 126.154 mph
Time of race: 1:45:00.0267
Margin of victory: 3.2609 seconds
Cautions: 3 for 6 laps
Lead changes: 13 among 7 drivers
Lap leaders:
Kirkwood, Kyle 1 – 3
McLaughlin, Scott 4 – 15
Newgarden, Josef 16
Palou, Alex 17 – 18
Herta, Colton 19 – 20
Rosenqvist, Felix 21 – 23
McLaughlin, Scott 24 – 29
Newgarden, Josef 30 – 31
Palou, Alex 32
Herta, Colton 33 – 35
Newgarden, Josef 36 – 42
Power, Will 43 – 44
Herta, Colton 45 – 48
Power, Will 49 – 55

NTT INDYCAR SERIES point standings: Power 236, Palou 231, Dixon 225, O’Ward 184, McLaughlin 179, Kirkwood 179, Herta 176, Newgarden 169, Rossi 162, Rosenqvist 157, Lundgaard 141, Ferrucci 132, Ericsson 130, Armstrong 121, Rahal 121, Grosjean 112, VeeKay 109, Lundqvist 100, Simpson 81, Fittipaldi 81, Pourchaire 75, Canapino 74, Robb 68, Rasmussen 65, Harvey 65, Blomqvist 46, Ilott 39, Castroneves 26, Ghiotto 22, Daly 21, Larson 21, Sato 19, Siegel 17, Carpenter 14, Vautier 12, Braun 10, Hunter-Reay 6, Andretti 5, Legge 5

NHRA AT BRISTOL: Team Chevy Race Report

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NHRA
2024 SUPER GRIP NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS
BRISTOL DRAGWAY
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE
TEAM CHEVY RACE REPORT | NOTES & QUOTES
JUNE 9, 2024

CHEVROLET CAPTURES FUNNY CAR AND FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN VICTORIES IN TODAY’S THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS AT BRISTOL DRAGWAY

Austin Prock Completes the Perfect Weekend for Chevrolet by Qualifying No. 1, Winning the #2Fast2Tasty Challenge and the Thunder Valley Nationals Wally

Notes:

  • Austin Prock, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, continued showcasing his natural Funny Car driving ability by winning his second Wally trophy of the year and in the category at today’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway with a perfect weekend.
  • Prock collected not only the No. 1 qualifier on Saturday, but also won the Mission Foods NHRA #2Fast2Tasty Challenge as well as Sunday’s main event, the Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.
  • Facing off against JR Todd, Prock won with his 3.989 seconds E.T. run at 312.42 mph to Todd’s 4.022 seconds E.T. at 313.66 mph.
  • Additionally, this is Prock’s second victory in four final round appearances this season.
  • Prock’s victory marks Chevrolet’s 163rd Funny Car victory in NHRA and the 83rd in the Camaro body.
  • Prock’s win at Bristol Sunday marks his sixth career NHRA win across the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories in eight final round appearances.
  • Prock also leaves Bristol Dragway the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Funny Car points leader.
  • Despite qualifying No. 15 for Sunday’s Thunder Valley Nationals, Brittany Force and her Monster Energy Chevrolet Top Fuel Team powered to her 38th career semifinal round and showcased rebounding momentum.
  • John Force, driver of the PEAK Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car, raced to the semifinal round on a strong Sunday performance, falling to JR Todd with his run of 4.060 seconds E.T at 314.83 mph to Todd’s 4.012 seconds E.T. at 311.34 mph.
  • In today’s Thunder Valley Nationals, all three John Force Racing nitro hot rods raced to at least the semifinal round at Bristol Dragway.
  • Prock continued his Funny Car roll by qualifying No. 1 at Bristol with a 3.958 seconds E.T. at 317.34 mph in Q1 Friday and maintaining the lead position throughout four rounds of qualifying.
  • Prock’s No. 1 qualifier is his third in a row, adding to his two previous at the New England Nationals in Epping and the Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Dragway.
  • Additionally, with his Q4 run versus owner and teammate J. Force, Prock picked up the Mission Foods NHRA #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win with his run of 4.049 seconds E.T. at 312.57 mph to Force’s 4.033 seconds E.T. at 315.27 mph.
  • Prock’s #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win was his third of the year, awarding both bonus money and bonus points toward the championship standings to the winner. John Force Racing together have won four #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories, with Prock winning three (Pomona – tied with JR Todd, Las Vegas, Bristol) and J. Force winning one (Epping).
  • Jeg Coughlin, Jr. raced his way to the Thunder Valley Nationals victory in Pro Stock, defeating Greg Anderson, driver of the HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro SS Pro Stock car, after Anderson faced trouble on the run and Coughlin, Jr. ran 6.707 seconds E.T. at 204.94 mph.
  • Anderson earned his 126th career No. 1 qualifier by running 6.615 seconds E.T. at 205.38 mph for Chevrolet in his HendrickCars.com Camaro SS Pro Stock car.
  • In an all-Chevrolet final round, David Janac and Stephen Bell squared off in the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown category with Bell smoking the tires and Janac racing to his first career victory in just his third career final round appearance.
  • The Bowtie brand additionally had four Chevrolet COPO Camaro FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown drivers face off in an all-Chevrolet semifinal, with Janac and Bell advancing to the final round.
  • Lee Hartman, in his Hartman Racing Chevrolet COPO Camaro, captured the FlexJet Factory Stock Showdown No. 1 Qualifier, back-to-back fastest nods, with his run of 7.897 seconds E.T. at 174.21 mph.

Quotes:

BRITTANY FORCE, DRIVER OF THE MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET TOP FUEL DRAGSTER:

“This Monster Energy Chevrolet team is leaving Bristol in a very positive state. We made significant improvements throughout the weekend. Qualifying was rough as we qualified 15th, but on race day, we turned the car around and made a semi-final round appearance. Going rounds on race day boosted the overall morale of the team, which we really needed. We got that confidence boost, and now we’re pumped and excited, ready to go to the next one.”

AUSTIN PROCK, DRIVER OF THE CORNWELL TOOLS CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:

“I’ve been working towards this my whole life. I’m so blessed to have this opportunity. I mean, John Force taking a risk on me, and all these partners, great partners of ours that believed in me, that gave me a shot to win my dream. This is surreal. Winning these Wallys is the best feeling in the world. I hope we get many more, and man, this has been a great year. Good job to my Cornwell Tools Chevrolet team.”

ON QUALIFYING NO. 1 AND RACING AGAINST HIS TEAM OWNER AND TEAMMATE, JOHN FORCE:

“John (Force), he’s done a lot for me in my career, and I definitely want to show him I’m capable of winning. If you can beat that guy, you’re getting the job done. He’s one of the toughest competitors out here and I love racing him. Man, you should have seen us back in the staging lanes. We were grinning ear to ear, duking it out again. He was talking a little smack, and I was just laughing. I’ve been saying we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year long – making smart decisions and I’ve got to drive well. We’ve been doing a good job of that again this weekend. I’m super proud of this Cornwell Tools Chevy Camaro team.”

JOHN FORCE, DRIVER OF THE PEAK CHEVROLET CAMARO SS FUNNY CAR:

“Coming off of the weekend we had last week, winner and runner-up, the whole world seems perfect. We love Bristol; have had a lot of success here. We did deliver because all of our sponsors, Flav-R-Pac, Cornwell Tools, Chevrolet, Peak, HendrickCars.com, and Monster. We did our job. But yet, I lost in the semis, and I had a car that, if you look at the numbers, I didn’t get the job done. I’m mad about that myself. I want to give credit to my crew chief, Daniel Hood, and Chris Cunningham and Tim Fabrisi. Looking at the numbers, backing them out, I went deep. It looks like I left on him, but actually I was deep. I’m not telling anybody that understands racing what’s going on, but this is how I make myself better. I beat myself up when things are wrong, because if I’m going to compete with these kids for a title, I got to get back in this fight. (Austin) Prock doubled up with the #2Fast2Tasty and the Wally.

“But I love driving, and I love winning, and I’ve got a car that can compete. I’ve got to get myself together. I got to the semis, should have been to the finals. All I had to do was be a little bit better on that light, and I wasn’t. Even though it shows it in the numbers, that’s because I rolled deep. I’m just honest about it.”

DAVID JANAC, DRIVER OF THE JANAC BROS. CHEVROLET COPO CAMARO FLEXJET FACTORY STOCK SHOWDOWN CAR:

“I don’t have words to describe it. This is a dream that started in the 1970s, and it came to fruition today. My wife, my brother, and all of the Stanfields and all the guys that work with Stanfields, everybody, it’s beyond words. It’s extremely special.”

Up Next:

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series next heads to Virginia Motorsports Park for the 2024 NHRA Virginia Nationals June 21-23, 2024. Friday qualifying airs Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, with Saturday’s qualifying sessions airing Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Sunday’s eliminations broadcast at 5 p.m. ET. All sessions from Virginia Motorsports Park air with NHRA on FOX on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). Coverage streams live throughout the weekend on NHRA.tv, and is available via AppleTV, Android TV, and Roku devices.

AUSTIN PROCK, driver of the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS Funny Car – Thunder Valley Nationals Winner’s Press Conference:

YOU’RE NOW A TWO-TIME FUNNY CAR WINNER. TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY…

“It was outstanding. The whole weekend was unbelievable. We swept the whole deal, and that’s just… all the kudos to this team. My dad (Jimmy Prock), Thomas (Prock), Nate Hildal, are just animals. They analyze this racetrack like it’s the back of their hand and made just such great decisions. This team just puts the Chevrolet together perfectly with these Cornwell Tools. I just get to stand on the gas on time and hang on and they do the rest. Great weekend, really proud. Five finals and two wins, this second one tastes good.”

YOU’VE RACED JR TODD THREE TIMES, WHOEVER WINS BETWEEN YOU TWO WINS THE RACE, WHETHER IT’S FINAL ROUNDS OR EARLIER IN THE DAY…

“That sounds good to me. We love turning win lights on against anybody. Everybody we raced today is a tough opponent. You can’t take any of them lightly. We got the job done. This place is really, really difficult to win at. It’s a tricky track for the tuners, and a very difficult course for the driver. A lot of bumps and the car wants to move inside, outside, you can feel the front end off the ground. To get it done here, you should be proud of that.”

COMPLETING THE PERFECT WEEKEND OF NO. 1 QUALIFIER, WINNING THE #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE, AND THE RACE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR DAY…

“Outstanding job by my team this weekend. Every time we went up there, the thing was a car to contend with. We ended up sweeping it. Super proud of that. None of these guys are easy anymore. They’re so tough, and we ended up getting it done. We had to race Matt Hagan in the semifinals, and he’s absolutely brutal. You’ve got to bring you’re a-game. My dad (Jimmy Prock) and Dickie Venables, they always try to one-up each other. They’re always going out there dropping bombs on each other and we were victorious this time, then ended up racing JR (Todd). You never know with that DHL car. It can throw some serious punches and JR (Todd) is definitely one of the best on the starting line. Ended up getting by him and walking out of here with some gold. Super proud of that.”

WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

“The Funny Car all day long. The Funny Car is such a challenge to drive. You’ve got the same amount of horsepower, and you’re missing 175 inches of wheelbase. That’s insane. This thing is rowdy. Every track you go to, they’re handling totally different. You feel every nuance in the racetrack, whether you’re pulling inside, outside, hitting bumps. So you definitely have got to be on the wheel all day. Every time you get in this thing, as you as you think you have it figured out, you don’t. I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes, but we’ve been able to get it done when it counts. It’s been a great year. I’m really living my dream. I really wanted to drive one of these Funny Cars my entire life. My grandfather drove them back in the 70’s, and he is so happy seeing us all work together and be behind the wheel. I think it’s making him young again. I can’t wait to get out of here and give him a ring.”

JUMPING FROM TOP FUEL TO FUNNY CAR, DID YOU THINK YOU’D BE THIS HOT THIS QUICK?

“I knew the car would be. I didn’t really know what I was getting into to be honest. I hadn’t driven one in six years. I ended up licensing in a nitro Funny Car first before the Top Fuel car, and it was a lot of thinking, a lot of nerves, a lot of pressure coming into this season. I had four weeks to stew on it, had no idea I’d be driving this thing. I was just telling myself you’ve got to believe in yourself, and you need to be there because I know the racecar is going to be there. I’ve watched my dad my entire life, I’ve watched this team for a very long time and I know the potential of it. There was no way I was going to be the weak link. I’ve been studying, I’ve been doing my homework, I’ve been more focused than I ever have been and more comfortable in this racecar. I don’t know if it’s meant to be in a Funny Car or if it’s because my dad (Jimmy Prock) knocks on the hood and walks off. I think that definitely gives me a boost of confidence.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet

Founded 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.

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