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PROCK, MILLICAN, ENDERS & M. SMITH GET MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE VICTORIES

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Official Release
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PROCK, MILLICAN, ANDERSON & M. SMITH TAKE NO. 1 SPOTS AT SUPER GRIP NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 7, 2024) – In a matchup of last weekend’s Funny Car final round, points leader Austin Prock knocked off John Force in the finals of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus race, also qualifying No. 1 on Saturday in front of a near-capacity crowd at Bristol Dragway at the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Clay Millican (Top Fuel), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the specialty race, while Millican (Top Fuel), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Smith qualified No. 1 at the eighth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

In the finals of the specialty event, Prock went 4.049-seconds at 312.57 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro, knocking off Force’s 4.033 at 315.27 on a holeshot. Last weekend, it was Force that slipped past Prock in the championship round at Epping in a battle of two teammates and the top two drivers in the points standings. Prock extracted some revenge on Saturday and also earned his sixth No. 1 qualifier in eight races thanks to Friday’s 3.958 at 317.34. He’ll open eliminations against John Smith, looking to sweep the weekend for the first time.

“That’s exactly how you dream it up to race again in the final and see if I can get it back,” Prock said. “We achieved that today and it was another outstanding day for this team. Everyone is doing a great job and this car is so much fun to drive. It’s a good day all-around and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I love those earlier starts.

“Me and John have so much fun racing each other and that’s what we want to do every weekend. John has 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 know you’re getting the job done. He’s one of the toughest competitors out there and I love racing him.”

Alexis DeJoria was second a 3.973 at 319.90 and Ron Capps, who has won back-to-back races in Bristol, is third with a 3.976 at 320.74.

In Top Fuel, Clay Millican enjoyed another magical day at Bristol Dragway, winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge for the first time in his 11,000-horserpower Parts Plus/Rick Ware Racing dragster, going 3.839 at 302.41 to knock off Shawn Langdon in the specialty race. He defeated Tony Schumacher earlier in the day and then got past Langdon to claim the victory in the bonus race.

His run of 3.786 at 325.06 from Friday also easily held up, as Millican claimed the No. 1 spot in qualifying for the first time this season and 26th time in his career. Millican is now focused on going four rounds on Sunday, starting eliminations with a first-round matchup with Cam Ferre.

“This is absolutely awesome,” Millican said. “We are definitely chasing points. Last year we made a mistake and bumped ourselves out of the top 10, so we are looking for every single point we can get. I’m so excited because we’ve chased this. I really wanted to win this. It’s such a great deal that Mission Foods is not only sponsoring the series, but also putting up money for us to have this race. It changes qualifying as a driver.

“You can’t take it easy on Saturday, and that makes it difficult sometimes. But the old man got up on the wheel. I was racing one of the best there is out there in Shawn Langdon. I’m going to brag even if it’s just that I got him that one time.”

Points leader Justin Ashley qualified second with Friday’s 3.795 at 322.42 and Antron Brown was third, thanks to Friday’s 3.809 at 321.27.

Pro Stock’s Enders continued to roll in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, winning for the third time this season, this time with a 6.644 at 207.30 in her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car. That’s a significant amount of championship bonus points for the defending world champion, who knocked off Dallas Glenn in the final round of the specialty race. It continued her strong momentum for the weekend, too, giving Enders a great shot at her 50th national event victory on Sunday.

“We want to get a handle on our hot raceday setup,” Millican said. “Greg threw some huge numbers on the board for the weather conditions but we’re just going to put our heads down and do our own thing. Those points mean an awful lot at the end of the year and my first championship in 2014, had I lost the final round, I would have lost the championship by one point – and we won by 19. It’s always down to the wire, so those points are very important and huge thank you to Mission for putting on the race.”

Greg Anderson delivered a standout run to open Pro Stock qualifying on Saturday, so much so that his pass of 6.615 at 205.38 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro sent him to the No. 1 qualifier position. It’s Anderson’s second No. 1 qualifier this season and the 126th in the veteran’s remarkable career. He’ll open eliminations against Larry Morgan and was thrilled with what the team was able to put together on Saturday.

He nearly eclipsed his own track record, no small feat during the warmer temperatures in the final two qualifying rounds. Now, Anderson will look to win for the third time this season at a track where he picked up his first career Pro Stock victory in 2001. Anderson is also looking for his first Bristol win in 20 years.

“You really never get out of the car at the finish line – at least I don’t – and say you know what I think we got it all. I got out first run this morning and I think we got more than it all,” Anderson said. “I know I’ve never said that before, so it’s fantastic when you do something like that and can back it up on the next run the same day.

“The competition out here is so mean and so tough, you have a different hero every week and you never know who can beat who. To come out here today and outrun the competition by a couple of hundredths, that’s a mile in Pro Stock. It doesn’t guarantee you a win, but to get an advantage like that, it’s priceless. I’m super happy today and hopefully we can carry it into tomorrow. I love racing here. This is where I won my very first ever NHRA national event back in 2001. If it wasn’t for this place and the jump start I got here to start the great career I’ve had, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. It’s been a hell of a ride and I love racing up here at Thunder Valley.”

Enders finished second in qualifying with her 6.631 at 206.92 and Jeg Coughlin Jr.’s 6.639 at 206.45 put him third.

Matt Smith enjoyed an incredible day in Pro Stock Motorcycle, taking the No. 1 qualifier and his first Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the season with a pair of standout runs. He picked up the bonus victory over his wife, Angie, going 6.802 at 199.05 on his Denso Auto Parts Buell, knocking off points leader Gaige Herrera earlier in the day.

Smith lowered the boom in Thunder Valley on that run against Herrera, improving on his No. 1 position by going 6.759 at 200.05. Both are track records and it was also the first 200-mph run at Bristol Dragway in Pro Stock Motorcycle history. He’ll get the opportunity to sweep the weekend, taking on Ryan Oehler to open eliminations.

“I didn’t think .75 was possible,” M. Smith said. “Last night’s pass when I went to the centerline, I knew we could have gone .77, I thought we could go .76, but this morning we just got all of it. We went 1.04 60-foot and the scoreboard popped up. That was pretty much a perfect pass for us. Then we come back for Q4 and we’re low of the round again. All in all, I think we have a good deal for tomorrow.

“Hats off to my whole team. I’m the privileged one that gets to ride the thing and all these guys working on it are the ones making it really good. We’ve got a really good program.”

Richard Gadson’s 6.825 at 197.74 gave him the second spot in qualifying, while Chase Van Sant qualified third with a 6.827 at 10636. Gaige Herrera is currently qualified fourth. He is undefeated in 2024 and a win on Sunday would tie the defending world champion with Bob Glidden for the most consecutive wins (9) and round wins (35) in NHRA history.

Eliminations for the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday at Bristol Dragway.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, the eighth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Clay Millican, 3.786 seconds, 325.06 mph vs. 16. Cameron Ferre, 5.289, 143.19; 2. Justin Ashley, 3.795, 322.42 vs. 15. Brittany Force, 4.061, 233.24; 3. Antron Brown, 3.809, 321.27 vs. 14. Doug Kalitta, 3.937, 311.77; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.810, 323.74 vs. 13. Shawn Reed, 3.928, 304.05; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.814, 326.00 vs. 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.917, 310.91; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.824, 322.27 vs. 11. Cody Krohn, 3.904, 313.80; 7. Billy Torrence, 3.827, 323.43 vs. 10. Josh Hart, 3.847, 318.02; 8. Tony Stewart, 3.829, 312.64 vs. 9. Doug Foley, 3.843, 310.05.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.958, 317.34 vs. 16. John Smith, Dodge Charger, 5.020, 222.44; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.973, 319.90 vs. 15. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 4.209, 282.78; 3. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.976, 320.74 vs. 14. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.185, 273.39; 4. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.988, 315.93 vs. 13. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.153, 257.24; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.997, 312.64 vs. 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.125, 301.87; 6. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.008, 303.09 vs. 11. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.092, 296.18; 7. John Force, Camaro, 4.033, 315.27 vs. 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.064, 310.98; 8. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.033, 312.21 vs. 9. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.038, 307.51.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Jim Campbell, 5.238, 148.33.

Pro Stock — 1. Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.615, 205.60 vs. 16. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.701, 205.72; 2. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.631, 207.62 vs. 15. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Camaro, 6.698, 205.54; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.639, 207.72 vs. 14. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.685, 205.79; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.646, 206.07 vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.677, 205.47; 5. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.655, 207.18 vs. 12. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.676, 205.10; 6. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.663, 206.13 vs. 11. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.676, 205.29; 7. David Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.669, 206.26 vs. 10. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.676, 205.47; 8. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.673, 205.76 vs. 9. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.675, 205.44.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Mason McGaha, 6.702, 205.57; 18. Eric Latino, 6.706, 205.38.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.759, 200.05 vs. 14. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.973, 476.86; 2. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.825, 197.74 vs. 13. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.938, 195.25; 3. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.827, 196.62 vs. 12. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.936, 192.33; 4. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.830, 197.77 vs. 11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 6.932, 198.96; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.854, 198.03 vs. 10. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.915, 195.25; 6. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 6.865, 198.32 vs. 9. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.896, 195.76; 7. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.879, 197.57 vs. 8. Angie Smith, Buell, 6.895, 196.50.

Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Bristol Post-Qualifying Report – 06.08.2

By
Official Release
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TOYOTA IN STRONG POSITION AFTER THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS QUALIFYING
Repeat wins at Bristol on the table in both Top Fuel and Funny Car

BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 8, 2024) – Going into Sunday’s eliminations for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Toyota is well-positioned to be victorious in both Top Fuel and Funny Car at the Tennessee dragstrip. Points leader, Justin Ashley, along with Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon lead the Toyota Top Fuel dragsters, qualifying second, third and fourth, respectively, after laying down fast times in the Friday night session.

Ashley enters tomorrow seeking his third consecutive Top Fuel victory at Bristol Dragway and his third victory of the 2024 season. Langdon also seeks his third triumph of the year, while Brown looks to couple his Chicago win from a few weeks ago.

In Funny Car, Alexis DeJoria was the lead GR Supra Funny Car, earning the second overall qualifying position, missing out on the No. 1 spot by just 0.015 seconds. Ron Capps closely followed in the third position, and J.R. Todd will be the No. 11 seed to begin tomorrow. Like Ashley, Capps is also seeking a threepeat at Bristol Dragway and Toyota seeks four in a row in Funny Car with DeJoria capturing victory here in 2021.

Tomorrow’s eliminations have been moved up due to impending weather with the first round now beginning at 10 a.m. EST. Television coverage of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals eliminations will be on FS1 tomorrow at 7 p.m. EST.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals
Bristol Dragway
Race 8 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Clay MillicanParts Plus Top Fuel Dragster1st*C. Ferré
Justin AshleySCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster2ndB. Force
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster3rdD. Kalitta
Shawn LangdonKalitta Air Careers Toyota Top Fuel Dragster4thS. Reed
Steve TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster6thC. Krohn
Billy TorrenceCAPCO Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster7thJ. Hart
Doug KalittaMark III Employee Benefits Toyota Top Fuel Dragster14thA. Brown

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

NameCarQualifying PositionFirst Round Opponent
Austin ProckCornwell Tools Chevrolet Funny Car1st*J. Smith
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car2ndD. Richards
Ron CappsNAPA Auto Care Toyota GR Supra Funny Car3rdB. Hull
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car11thT. Haddock

TOYOTA QUOTES

JUSTIN ASHLEY, SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, SCAG Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

What are your expectations for tomorrow’s eliminations?

“Yeah, I think for the most part, we accomplished our goal in qualifying. For this kind of race, the person who wins and the team that wins is going to be the team that goes up and down the race track more so than the others. It’s definitely a tricky track to navigate, but we accomplished a lot during qualifying. We’ll have to see what the conditions look like tomorrow. I think they’ll be a little bit better than what we anticipated, should be kind of overcast, at least earlier in the day. Think for our SCAG Power Equipment Toyota team, I think that means good things. I think as long as we can make the power, we’ll give ourselves a good opportunity to win and hopefully it’ll be a long race day.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 2nd

How would you describe your weekend so far and your outlook for tomorrow?

“Well, it feels great to be back at a track I feel we have a really good handle on. In qualifying, we made some good passes. Last night’s Q2 at a 3.973 elapsed time gave us that No. 2 spot, which is incredible and that’s where we need to be, that’s where we are. That’s what we’re capable of. We’re so close! It’s been a while since we’ve gotten a Wally (Trophy) and going rounds tomorrow is going to be key. Being consistent. Who knows what the weather is going to hold for us. They’ve moved us up two hours so we can get some (runs) in before the rain, hopefully. So, we’ll just have to see. But, you know, this seems to be our track. I’ve been to so many finals here, qualifying No. 1 and won.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 65 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships. 

Toyota directly employs more than 49,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 34 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 28 electrified options.

Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved and diverse communities near the company’s U.S. operating sites.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Lundqvist Reigns for First Career Pole at Damp Road America

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Official Release
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ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (Saturday, June 8, 2024) – Linus Lundqvist achieved a hat trick of firsts in his young NTT INDYCAR SERIES career during a frantic, damp NTT P1 Award qualifying session Saturday for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR.

First time in the Top 12 group of qualifying. First time in the Firestone Fast Six. First career pole.

2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Lundqvist earned the top starting spot for the 55-lap race Sunday with a best lap of 1 minute, 45.1519 seconds in the No. 8 American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Lundqvist’s previous best start for a points-paying race in his rookie season of 2024 was 17th at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April.

Lundqvist, from Sweden, became the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie to earn a pole since Romain Grosjean in May 2021 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He entered this race with three consecutive finishes of 24th or worse after earning his first career podium finish with a third place in late April at Barber Motorsports Park.

“Thanks to the 8 crew for sticking with me,” Lundqvist said. “It’s been a rough couple of races. So, to be able to bounce back like this, it’s nice. There’s no better way of rebuilding confidence than with my first-ever pole in INDYCAR, in these conditions, as well.”

Live coverage of the 55-lap race will start at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC and Peacock and 3 p.m. ET on the INDYCAR Radio Network. A 30-minute warmup starts at 12:15 p.m. ET (Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Colton Herta will join Lundqvist in the front row after his top lap of 1:45.2913 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global with Curb-Agajanian. Herta was quickest in the first two groups of qualifying before falling just short to Lundqvist in the Firestone Fast Six.

Marcus Armstrong was the second young Chip Ganassi Racing driver to qualify in the first two rows, third at 1:45.6592 in the No. 11 Ridgeline Lubricants Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kyle Kirkwood will start fourth at 1:46.4498 in the No. 27 AutoNation Honda of Andretti Global.

Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden will start fifth and sixth, respectively. Both drivers lost their best two laps in the Firestone Fast Six due to triggering red flags and didn’t record a qualifying time, with their starting spots determined by their best laps in the Top 12 session.

Power spun in Turn 12, known as Canada Corner, in his No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden went off track in “The Kink” section of the back straightaway and made heavy side contact with the SAFER Barrier in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet on his last flying lap. Newgarden was unhurt.

Drivers used Firestone Firehawk rain tires in the first two qualifying sessions as torrential rain earlier in the day dissipated to light showers. But the rain stopped late in the Top 12 session of qualifying, with a dry line starting to form before the Firestone Fast Six.

Five of the six drivers in the final round of qualifying started the session and stayed on Firestone Firehawk alternate slick tires, with Lundqvist the only driver choosing to start on rain tires. But Lundqvist and Chip Ganassi Racing officials quickly realized that was the wrong choice, and they pitted for alternate slicks after one out lap.

“It was very tricky out there in the wet to start off with and going to dry tires,” Lundqvist said. “I think we were the only ones starting on wets, as well, so I kind of had to make a late switch there. But we made it work in the end, and man, I’m just super, super happy.”

The red flag triggered by Power turned the Firestone Fast Six into a one-lap dash for the pole, as the track continued to dry and get faster with every lap. Lundqvist jumped to the top, and Herta crossed the timing line to take the second position just as Newgarden’s frightening crash unfolded and subsequent red flag ended the session.

Championship leader Scott Dixon will start 10th after his best lap of 2:01.2671 in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in the Top 12 round.

XPEL Grand Prix at Road America Qualifying Results

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Qualifying Saturday for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America presented by AMR NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the 4.014-mile Road America, with qualifying position, car number in parentheses, driver, engine, time and speed in parentheses:

  1. (8) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 01:45.1519 (137.424 mph)
  2. (26) Colton Herta, Honda, 01:45.2913 (137.242)
  3. (11) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 01:45.6592 (136.764)
  4. (27) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 01:46.4498 (135.748)
  5. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
  6. (2) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, No Time (No Speed)
  7. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 02:00.8290 (119.594)
  8. (3) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 02:00.8840 (119.539)
  9. (7) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 02:00.9035 (119.520)
  10. (9) Scott Dixon, Honda, 02:01.2671 (119.162)
  11. (5) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 02:01.5141 (118.920)
  12. (4) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 02:01.6266 (118.810)
  13. (45) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 02:02.3826 (118.076)
  14. (77) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 02:01.7626 (118.677)
  15. (28) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 02:02.6460 (117.822)
  16. (20) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 02:02.0944 (118.354)
  17. (21) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 02:02.7088 (117.762)
  18. (6) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 02:02.1745 (118.277)
  19. (14) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 02:03.8144 (116.710)
  20. (18) Jack Harvey, Honda, 02:02.9443 (117.536)
  21. (78) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 02:05.0248 (115.580)
  22. (60) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 02:03.3098 (117.188)
  23. (51) Luca Ghiotto, Honda, 02:05.1341 (115.479)
  24. (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 02:04.8213 (115.769)
  25. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 02:05.6079 (115.044)
  26. (41) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 02:04.8553 (115.737)
  27. (66) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 02:09.6837 (111.428)

CHEVROLET NCS AT SONOMA: Qualifying Report

By
Official Release
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NASCAR CUP SERIES
SONOMA RACEWAY
TEAM CHEVY QUALIFYING REPORT
JUNE 8, 2024

 Six Camaro ZL1’s Post Top-10 Qualifying Efforts at Sonoma Raceway
 
· Six Team Chevy drivers drove their Camaro ZL1’s to the final round of the NASCAR Cup Series’ qualifying session to earn a top-10 starting position for tomorrow’s Toyota / Save Mart 350.

· The representation came from two different Chevrolet organizations, including all four Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Chase Elliott (fourth), Kyle Larson, (fifth), William Byron (sixth) and Alex Bowman (eighth), and the Trackhouse Racing pair, Daniel Suarez (seventh) and Ross Chastain (ninth).

· Will Brown, driver of the No. 33 Mobile X / Shaw and Partners Camaro ZL1, will take the green-flag for his first career NASCAR Cup Series start from the 24th starting position. The qualifying effort comes after a stellar performance in yesterday’s practice session where he led Chevrolet in the third position on the overall speed chart.

 
Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

  • In 34 NCS races at Sonoma Raceway, Chevrolet leads the series with 13 all-time victories. • Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma Raceway:

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

Chevrolet on Road Courses in the NASCAR Cup Series:

  • Chevrolet has earned 18 victories in the past 23 NASCAR Cup Series road course events (Chase Elliott: Watkins Glen International in August 2019 – William Byron: Circuit of The Americas in March 2024.
  • In 12 NASCAR Cup Series road course races in the Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads the series with eight victories – recorded by six drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
  • Chevrolet has recorded 65 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins on road courses – starting with Buck Baker at Watkins Glen International in 1957.

Will Brown, No. 33 Mobile X / Shaw and Partners Camaro ZL1, post-qualifying quotes:

Brown on the qualifying effort for his first career NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway:

“It was a bit of a tough one, that one. It wouldn’t start at the beginning of the round. I couldn’t get it to fire, and then it wouldn’t run down pit lane. I think there was a fault in the ECU, and then on our laps, it was reading 75 percent power. Unfortunately, we can’t look at the data with how NASCAR works and all that sort of stuff compared to Supercars. But from the data we had, we had 75 percent power out there. We’ll have a look after and see if that’s the case.”

Did that issue get resolved by the end, or is it still something that’s an issue?

“We’re not sure right now. They thought with the data that it got resolved, but after looking at it there, they’re still trying to work it out.”

What’s been your experience so far? When you were in here yesterday, you hadn’t been in the car yet..

“Yeah, yesterday we ran really well. I think then, I put together a good lap, and I was surprised to see where we finished. But yeah, it’s one of those things where we’re a bit unsure after that run. There was a fault there, so we don’t know yet what sort of happened.”

Were you surprised by how much quicker the track was today in qualifying than yesterday in practice?

“No, not really. To be honest, I felt like the track was pretty similar to yesterday. I was a little bit hotter, but I think I had similar times, so it didn’t surprise me at all.”

Do you feel comfortable in the car after just 50 minutes?

“Yeah, I feel comfortable in the car. There’s no drama.. I’m just ready to race. Just a little bit disappointed with qualifying and what happened in it.”

Were there some turns that you felt like you were doing really well, and other places where you’d like to improve?

“Yeah, there’s always places that you can improve on a qualifying lap. You always look back on it. Very rarely do you do just a perfect lap. You think – I wish I would have done just a little bit better here. But yeah, it was just a bit of a messy session, to be honest, for us.”

Kyle Larson had mentioned that you two had been talking. What has it been like kind of picking the brains of drivers over here and learning what the Cup Series is all about?

“Yeah, I just wanted to meet Kyle (Larson), to be honest.. he’s a bit of a legend. But yeah, I got to chat with him and it’s been great speaking with those guys and meeting everyone. We watch a lot of NASCAR now since Shane (van Gisbergen) came over here, so to put faces to names and all that sort of stuff has been awesome. Yeah, I just chatted with Kyle about how we generally run a session in Australia. We run sessions, generally, different. We wouldn’t roll out at the start after a touring car race before us. We would expect there to be oil and whatnot on the track, so we would roll a bit later, which was what our plan was until we sort of had that little bit of hiccup on pit lane.”

Is there any further brain picking going on with the potential to get to the front? Are wheels starting to turn, as far as strategy to get to the front?

“Yeah, I’m not sure just yet, to be honest. That was going to be our plan this afternoon and tomorrow morning; to run through strategy. You sort of have to know where you finished up in qualifying to start working your strategy. But I think we’ll run through that tomorrow and see what strategy we have.”

 

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.

Joey Logano Wins Cup Series Pole at Sonoma

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Official Release
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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Qualifying | Saturday, June 8, 2024

Ford Performance Results:
1st – Joey Logano
3rd – Ryan Blaney
12th – Michael McDowell
14th – Todd Gilliland
19th – Noah Gragson
22nd – Harrison Burton
23rd – Chase Briscoe
26th – Chris Buescher
27th – Justin Haley
28th – Austin Cindric
30th – Ryan Preece
31st – Cam Waters
32nd – Josh Berry
35th – Brad Keselowski
36th – Kaz Grala

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU REPLAY HOW GOOD THAT LAP FELT? “You always look at what went wrong first, or at least that’s my mentality. Unfortunately, I look at the bad parts. Most of it was pretty good. I got a little loose up in turn two and probably left a little bit out there, but it’s hard to hit a perfect lap every corner. If you can average it all out to be pretty good, it works out. It was great to see the Autotrader Mustang having some speed here in Sonoma. It didn’t seem too bad in race trim, either, so hopefully we can turn this into a victory tomorrow.”

WHAT CAN YOU FORECAST FOR RACE CONDITIONS TOMORROW? “The race is gonna be a lot different than what it was in the past here. You think about what it used to be here with a lot of tire wear. Now, the tires seem to last fairly long, so that can adjust the strategy quite a bit from what it used to be here. There are a lot of different options for the crew chiefs to try to make up their mind on how to play out the race and time will tell.”

JOEY LOGANO POLE-WINNING PRESS CONFERENCE

TALK ABOUT YOUR POLE LAP. “It felt good. It’s nice to have a practice yesterday and to be able to work on your car, but even more importantly to have the time last night to review a lot and talk about it and think about it to try to make some good decisions for today and for tomorrow. That’s fun. You kind of miss that part. We used to do that every week, so it’s fun to kind of not be so rushed and actually look at some of the details. We were able to make some good decisions, obviously, with our Autotrader Mustang and show up with some speed today in qualifying trim. I don’t think we’re that bad in race trim either. I think we were pretty good, so I’m looking forward to the race. I think the last time we got the pole here, I think it was 15 years ago or so. It was a long, long time ago with a lot of races in between, so it feels good to at least be starting back up front here.”

DOES IT FEEL LIKE YOUR TEAM HAS TURNED A CORNER? “I do feel like we’re making gains, for sure. This short track package, which is the road course package as well, seems to suit us a little bit better for whatever reasons those are. You can guess as good as me, but it seems like any time we can get off the gas pedal our Penske cars are running a little bit better. We definitely have work to do on the mile-and-a-halves. I don’t think we’ve made many gains there yet, but we’ve got to capitalize on the next few weeks when you look at tomorrow, for sure, but also Iowa, New Hampshire – some good racetracks coming up.”

THE SONOMA POLE WAS IN 2011, BUT WHAT PART OF THE LAP WAS BEST FOR YOU? “My first lap, I screwed up 11 and overcooked it. It was cooked just right the next time, so that was good. My turn two wasn’t that good, actually. I got loose transferring the weight from left to right a little bit too aggressively and busted the back out a little bit. My 3A was really good. My four was mediocre. My seven was pretty decent, I thought. My esses were really good, so all of that together seemed to work out pretty good for us.”

DID YOU FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE IN TIRE FALL OFF IN JUST A COUPLE OF LAPS? “No, not yet. We kept going faster. I mean, all but the last run was faster. We ran two runs the first round. We got faster in the second round, and then we went out for the third time and went faster again. It wasn’t until the last run that we slowed up a little bit. I don’t think anyone knows exactly what the tire wear is gonna look like yet in the race. I guess we’re all pretty curious to see what that is and we’ll all figure it out together.”

THE FIELD IS SO CLOSE. IS THIS A PRODUCT OF THE NEW PAVEMENT? WILL IT BE AS RACY TOMORROW? “I think the fall off, don’t expect it. It’s a repave. Never, ever have we had a repave and the tires fall off. If you want the old Sonoma, it’s buried underneath here somewhere. That’s gone. It may come back years down the road as the asphalt wears in, but the racing will be different. Will it be better or worse? I don’t know. In ways you can argue it could be better because all the drivers are gonna be making qualifying laps every single lap, whereas before you had to pace yourself a little bit more. When everyone is running 10-10s all day long, more mistakes are likely to happen. There might be some interesting moments in the race because of that. The strategy will be different than what it’s been in the past because there’s not tire fall off to speak of, so fuel mileage is probably the name of the game. With all that said, I think the most anyone ran yesterday was like 10 laps, so I don’t think any of us really, really know for sure. A lot of things can change as the track races.”

HOW WERE YOUR NERVES ABOUT THE LAP AS FAR AS ESTABLISHING A TIME? “It’s the same feeling you have qualifying every week. It’s a very intense moment. Nervous, I wouldn’t say nervous – you just get ultra-focused. You try to put yourself in a mode to where you have nothing distracting you from hitting your whole lap. There’s a lot of corners here to hit and you’ve just got to try to average them out to be really good. You may have one corner that’s a little bit off, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. For me, that was turn two on our lap, but the rest of them were really good so it worked out. It’s intense. Your heart rate is maxed out for one lap. For the human body to do that every lap, I think it’s impossible but just the focus it takes – at least for me to go fast. I think every driver is probably a little bit different. Some guys are a little bit more relaxed in the car, but I’ve never been that guy.”

DOES THE REPAVE CHANGE YOUR MARKS? “The braking points are quite a bit deeper, especially into 11 from where we used to brake to now is like, ‘Whoa.’ And the amount of throttle that you carry is a lot more, the aggression back to gas is way more. You used to really have to feather it back to wide-open because it would be really easy to spin the tires, but now you can hammer it pretty hard. You can definitely go to the gas before you feel like you should, but that’s where the lap time is at it seems like.”

CAM WATERS, No. 60 AUKUS/BuildSubmarines.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THAT QUALIFYING SESSION? “It was a lot of fun and super fast-paced. On the first run I was just trying to work out what kind of grip I had and probably left a little bit on the table because we made some changes overnight and the car was different. We couldn’t get anymore out of it on the last run, but I had so much fun. The car was a lot nicer today. We’ll just see how we do in the race now.”

YOU’RE STARTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK, SO WHAT CAN YOU PREPARE FOR ON THIS COURSE? “I’ll be starting right in the middle of the chaos, so I’ve got my work cut out for me. I’m sure it’s gonna be pretty full-on, but it’s gonna be a lot of fun. Hopefully, there is some passing and hopefully there’s a bit of tire deg and we can go forward.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS COURSE OVERALL? “The course is awesome. There’s a lot of undulation. I feel like there are a few passing opportunities and it’s got a little bit of everything. I love it.”

Logano notches third Cup pole position of 2024 at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 08: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Autotrader Ford, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 08, 2024 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images).

For the first time in 13 years, Joey Logano will lead a NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag from the pole position in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

The two-time Cup Series champion from Middletown, Connecticut, commenced the weekend in Sonoma, California, by being the 25th fastest during the series’ lone practice session on Friday, June 7. He then rallied by being the second fastest in his group qualifying session behind Tyler Reddick, where both were among 10 fast competitors to transfer into the final round of qualifying during the event’s qualifying sessions on Saturday, June 8.

During the final round of qualifying, Logano managed to both claim and retain the top-starting spot with a record-setting lap at 97.771 mph in 73.273 seconds, which was enough to remain atop the scoreboard ahead of Tyler Reddick and teammate Ryan Blaney.

With his accomplishment, Logano claimed his third Cup Series’ Busch Light Pole Award of the 2024 season and his first since doing so at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in early March. Logano had also started on pole position in this year’s 66th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and in the non-points All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in mid-May, where he won the latter’s event.

Logano’s pole at Sonoma was one that left the driver of the No. 22 AutoTrader/Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry smiling amid a season where he has recorded two top-five results and three top-10 results, including a fifth-place run at Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway a week ago, during the previous 15 events on the 2024 Cup Series schedule. With 11 events remaining in this year’s regular-season schedule, Logano is 14 points below the cutline to make the 2024 Playoffs and is also pursuing his first points-paying victory of the season.

“It’s nice to see some Penske cars running good again and the Fords as well,” Logano said on FS2. “Proud of the race team. We made a lot of changes overnight. We worked on [the car]. It’s nice you have practice where you can actually go back and think about it overnight and look at a lot of data and try to figure out smart decisions. [Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] and the engineers, everyone did a good job at executing that. Got ourselves a pole on a road course with the AutoTrader Mustang. It’s an intense lap out there. You’re just on the ragged edge there the whole time, but excited and have a good starting spot. Got to capitalize on it now.”

Reddick, the driver of the No. 45 Monster Energy/23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry, posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 97.661 mph in 73.356 seconds and will share the front row with Logano. Blaney, the reigning Cup Series champion and Logano’s teammate at Team Penske will occupy third place and start alongside Chase Elliott. Kyle Larson, the 2021 Sonoma winner who scrubbed the tire barrier in the Chute and sustained left-side damage to his No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, posted the fifth-fastest qualifying lap. He will share the third row with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.

Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain and Ty Gibbs will start in the top 10 while road-ringers AJ Allmendinger and Michael McDowell will occupy 11th and 12th place on the starting grid.

Notably, Carson Hocevar was the highest-starting rookie in the field in 13th place while Christopher Bell will line up in 15th place. In addition, Bubba Wallace will start in 18th place, reigning Sonoma winner Martin Truex Jr. will line up in 21st place, Denny Hamlin will occupy 25th place on the starting grid and Gateway winner Austin Cindric will start in 28th place ahead of Kyle Busch.

Supercar stars Will Brown and Cam Waters will start 24th and 31st, respectively, for their first career starts in NASCAR’s premier series. Brown is piloting the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry for Richard Childress Racing while Waters is driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.

With 38 competitors registering for the event, all 38 made the starting lineup.

Qualifying position, best speed, best time

  1. Joey Logano, 97.771 mph, 73.273 seconds
  2. Tyler Reddick, 97.661 mph, 73.356 seconds
  3. Ryan Blaney, 97.566 mph, 73.427 seconds
  4. Chase Elliott, 97.562 mph, 73.430 seconds
  5. Kyle Larson, 97.542 mph, 73.445 seconds
  6. William Byron, 97.518 mph, 73.463 seconds
  7. Daniel Suarez, 97.513 mph, 73.467 seconds
  8. Alex Bowman, 97.420 mph, 73.537 seconds
  9. Ross Chastain, 97.390 mph, 73.560 seconds
  10. Ty Gibbs, 97.113 mph, 73.770 seconds
  11. AJ Allmendinger, 97.076 mph, 73.798 seconds
  12. Michael McDowell, 97.011 mph, 73.847 seconds
  13. Carson Hocevar, 97.076 mph, 73.798 seconds
  14. Todd Gilliland, 96.944 mph, 73.898 seconds
  15. Christopher Bell, 96.981 mph, 73.870 seconds
  16. Austin Dillon, 96.829 mph, 73.986 seconds
  17. Corey LaJoie, 96.923 mph, 73.914 seconds
  18. Bubba Wallace, 96.819 mph, 73.994 seconds
  19. Noah Gragson, 96.808 mph, 74.002 seconds
  20. Zane Smith, 96.804 mph, 74.005 seconds
  21. Martin Truex Jr., 96.804 mph, 74.005 seconds
  22. Harrison Burton, 96.752 mph, 74.045 seconds
  23. Chase Briscoe, 96.744 mph, 74.051 seconds
  24. Will Brown, 96.752 mph, 74.045 seconds
  25. Denny Hamlin, 96.614 mph, 74.151 seconds
  26. Chris Buescher, 96.691 mph, 74.092 seconds
  27. Justin Haley, 96.555 mph, 74.196 seconds
  28. Austin Cindric, 96.516 mph, 74.226 seconds
  29. Kyle Busch, 96.456 mph, 74.265 seconds
  30. Ryan Preece, 96.193 mph, 74.475 seconds
  31. Cam Waters, 96.334 mph, 74.366 seconds
  32. Josh Berry, 96.180 mph, 74.485 seconds
  33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 96.280 mph, 74.408 seconds
  34. Daniel Hemric, 96.098 mph, 74.549 seconds
  35. Brad Keselowski, 96.166 mph, 74.496 seconds
  36. Kaz Grala, 95.669 mph, 74.883 seconds
  37. John Hunter Nemechek, 95.695 mph, 74.863 seconds
  38. Erik Jones, 95.260 mph, 75.205 seconds

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway is set to occur on Sunday, June 9, and air at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Shane van Gisbergen speeds to first Xfinity career pole at Sonoma

By
Andrew Kim
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SONOMA, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 08: Shane Van Gisbergen, driver of the #97 WeatherTech Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for 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).

Rookie Shane van Gisbergen checked off another accomplishment to his racing resume by notching his first NASCAR Xfinity Series career pole for the second annual running of the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway on Saturday, June 8.

The three-time Supercars champion from Auckland, New Zealand, commenced his first NASCAR weekend at Sonoma on a strong note by being the fastest during Friday’s lone practice session. After being one of 10 competitors to transfer into the final round of qualifying through two qualifying groups, van Gisbergen, who was the fastest in his qualifying group, posted his best qualifying lap at 95.933 mph in 74.677 seconds, which was enough to claim the pole position over a hard-charging Ty Gibbs.

The first Xfinity pole for van Gisbergen comes on the heels of his first Xfinity career victory at Portland International Raceway a week ago, a victory that places him in contention to make the 2024 Xfinity Series Playoffs. He has also recorded two top-five and three top-10 results through his previous 13 starts in this year’s Xfinity campaign and is ranked in 14th place in the current Xfinity regular-season standings with 303 points.

In addition to his road-course expertise and the speed of his No. 97 WeatherTech/Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro entry, van Gisbergen credited his wheel force test he performed in a Cup Series’ Next Gen Chevrolet stock car entry at Sonoma in early May that enabled him to navigate his way around Sonoma Raceway for the first time.

“The WeatherTech Chevrolet, it’s rapid, man,” van Gisbergen said on FS2. “I didn’t do the best laps I could. Still, to have that gap on the field, these [No. 97] guys have done an awesome job. We changed quite a lot from last week. It’s good. I understand what I need from the car to be faster…These NASCAR races are an adventure, so I’m sure this afternoon won’t be plain sailing. We’ll try and get through it.”

Ty Gibbs, a Cup Series regular who is making his third Xfinity start of the 2024 season for Joe Gibbs Racing, posted the second-fastest qualifying lap at 95.458 mph in 75.049 seconds and will share the front row with van Gisbergen. Gibbs finished in fourth place while competing in the inaugural Xfinity event at Sonoma a year ago.

Austin Hill will line up in third place and start in the second row alongside AJ Allmendinger while Justin Allgaier will start in fifth place as he will share the third row with rookie Jesse Love. John Hunter Nemechek, Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed and Sammy Smith, all transferred into the final round of qualifying, completing the top 10 in the starting lineup.

Chandler Smith, the first competitor who fell short of transferring into the final round of qualifying, will start in 11th place and will share the fifth row with series’ points leader Cole Custer.

Notably, Parker Kligerman, who was second fastest behind van Gisbergen during Friday’s practice session, will start in 14th place. Kyle Sieg, piloting the No. 28 RSS Racing Ford Mustang entry that won the inaugural Xfinity event at Sonoma with veteran Aric Almirola a year ago, will start in 32nd place. With Almirola not entered in this weekend’s event, we will see a new race winner in the series’ annual visit to Sonoma.

In addition, Boris Said, who wrecked the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro during Friday’s practice session and switched to a backup car from JR Motorsports, will line up in 35th place as he relied on owner points to make the event. Other competitors who relied on owner points to make the event included Ryan Ellis, Matt DiBenedetto, Hailie Deegan and Garrett Smithley.

With 39 competitors vying for 38 starting spots, Sage Karam, piloting the No. 35 Toyota entry for Joey Gase Motorsports, was the only competitor who did not qualify for the main event.

Qualifying position, best speed, best time

  1. Shane van Gisbergen, 95.933 mph, 74.677 seconds
  2. Ty Gibbs, 95.458 mph, 75.049 seconds
  3. Austin Hill, 95.370 mph, 75.118 seconds
  4. AJ Allmendinger, 95.040 mph, 75.379 seconds
  5. Justin Allgaier, 95.009 mph, 75.403 seconds
  6. Jesse Love, 94.939 mph, 75.459 seconds
  7. John Hunter Nemechek, 94.751 mph, 75.609 seconds
  8. Sam Mayer, 94.716 mph, 75.637 seconds
  9. Sheldon Creed, 94.624 mph, 75.710 seconds
  10. Sammy Smith, 94.509 mph, 75.802 seconds
  11. Chandler Smith, 94.607 mph, 75.724 seconds
  12. Cole Custer, 94.563 mph, 75.759 seconds
  13. Parker Retzlaff, 94.427 mph, 75.868 seconds
  14. Parker Kligerman, 94.389 mph, 75.899 seconds
  15. Riley Herbst, 94.360 mph, 75.922 seconds
  16. Anthony Alfredo, 94.159 mph, 76.084 seconds
  17. Ed Jones, 94.102 mph, 76.130 seconds
  18. Ryan Sieg, 94.050 mph, 76.172 seconds
  19. Alex Labbe, 93.741 mph, 76.423 seconds
  20. Jeb Burton, 93.661 mph, 76.489 seconds
  21. Blaine Perkins, 93.624 mph, 76.519 seconds
  22. Austin Green, 93.601 mph, 76.538 seconds
  23. Jeremy Clements, 93.593 mph, 76.544 seconds
  24. Preston Pardus, 93.566 mph, 76.566 seconds
  25. Kyle Weatherman, 93.532 mph, 76.594 seconds
  26. Thomas Annunziata, 93.515 mph, 76.608 seconds
  27. Brandon Jones, 93.499 mph, 76.621 seconds
  28. Josh Williams, 93.270 mph, 76.809 seconds
  29. Leland Honeyman, 93.251 mph, 76.825 seconds
  30. Brad Perez, 93.131 mph, 76.924 seconds
  31. Josh Bilicki, 93.112 mph, 76.940 seconds
  32. Kyle Sieg, 93.109 mph, 76.942 seconds
  33. Brennan Poole, 93.039 mph, 77 seconds
  34. Ryan Ellis, Owner Points
  35. Boris Said, Owner Points
  36. Matt DiBenedetto, Owner Points
  37. Hailie Deegan, Owner Points
  38. Garrett Smithley, Owner Points

The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway is set to occur on Saturday, June 8, and air at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.

MILLICAN, PROCK, ENDERS & M. SMITH POWER TO PROVISIONAL NO. 1 SPOTS AT SUPER GRIP NHRA THUNDER VALLEY NATIONALS

By
Official Release
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BRISTOL, Tenn. (June 7, 2024) – Top Fuel veteran Clay Millican made the quickest pass on Friday at Bristol Dragway, racing to the provisional No. 1 qualifier at the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Erica Enders (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are also the provisional No. 1 qualifiers at the eighth of 20 races during the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Millican went 3.786-seconds at 325.06-seconds in his 11,000-horserpower Parts Plus/Rick Ware Racing dragster in Thunder Valley, holding off points leader Justin Ashley under the lights to take the top spot. Millican, whose first career NHRA win came at Bristol Dragway in 2017, is seeking his first No. 1 qualifier of 2024 and 26th in his career. Friday also marked another special moment at Millican’s favorite and home track on the NHRA tour.

“It’s always something at this place,” Millican said. “This team has absolutely been incredible. We were struggling a little after testing, and then the next thing you know we start going rounds, go to a final at Charlotte, go to the semis last week. I’m excited to do this for a lot of reasons. When you qualify No. 1 against the monsters that we’re racing against these days you’ve accomplished something. But this is the first time I’ve qualified No. 1 with Mr. Rick Ware present. We are here because this guy loves drag racing. The biggest thing he hasn’t been a part of yet is a win on Sunday, so that’s on my agenda, just in case you’re wondering.

“I would love to be the No. 1 qualifier right here at Bristol. That would be awesome. When it comes to raceday, last year I would have told you I wanted it hot on raceday, but I think we have a car now that it doesn’t matter.”

Points leader Ashley also dipped into the 3.70s with a 3.795 at 322.42, putting him second, and Antron Brown’s 3.809 at 321.27 slots him third.

Austin Prock continued to roll in qualifying, blasting to the top of the Funny Car field with an impressive run under the lights, going 3.958 at 317.34 in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet Camaro SS. Should that hold, the Funny Car points leader would gain his sixth No. 1 qualifier in the first eight races, a remarkable feat for the first-year Funny Car driver. He advanced to the final round last weekend in Epping, finishing as runner-up to his boss, John Force, and moving to the points lead in the process.

Prock made two strong runs on Friday and can continue that momentum on Saturday with the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

“This place is very tough to navigate, for sure. It’s kind of a driver’s racetrack. You have to be on your game all the way to pulling the parachutes,” Prock said. “This is up another level, stressful for the crew chiefs, but if you’re a race car driver you sure do enjoy a place like this.

“When I heard a .95 over the radio, that was the number they were calling and it ended up being good enough. It ended up working out for us, and the entire day was great for this Cornwell Camaro. We have the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge tomorrow, so we’ll be focused. We want to win that medal at the end of the day for sure.”

Alexis DeJoria jumped to the second spot with a 3.973 at 319.90 and Ron Capps, who has won back-to-back races in Bristol, is third after going 3.976 at 320.74.

In Pro Stock, Erica Enders returned to the site of her 2023 turnaround and put on a show, going low in each session, including a 6.631 at 206.92 that put her Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Scag Power Equipment car in the top spot. Enders, the defending event winner in Bristol, is now on track to put up her second straight top qualifier and fourth this season, and she hopes to break through with her 50th national event victory as well.

Thunder Valley might be the perfect place to do it, as Enders’ turnaround last year came in Bristol. She went on to win her sixth world championship and she’ll look to win for the 50th time this weekend.

“I feel like we’re getting a better handle on our race car,” Enders said. “It was a nice run and was better on the graph. I like the four-qualifying run format better, you can track more things, purse is a little bigger on Sunday. I had a very fast race car and that’s translating to here so far as well.

“I love what I do and the people that I do it with. These moments don’t last forever, so you have to take advantage of them. I realize how blessed I am that I get to do what I love for a living and have done pretty well at it. I feel like we have a lot more left to accomplish.”

Greg Anderson is currently second thanks to his run of 6.636 at 206.45 and Jeg Coughlin Jr. is right behind with his 6.639 at 206.45.

Making the quickest run of both sessions in Pro Stock Motorcycle, six-time world champion Matt Smith made a strong statement on Friday, taking the No. 1 spot with a run of 6.788 at 198.52 on his Denso Auto Parts/Matt Smith Racing Buell. Smith is attempting to pick up his second No. 1 qualifier this season and the 54th in his career, but Friday’s two stellar runs also give him a strong shot to possibly unseat Gaige Herrera and end his incredible streak.

Herrera has won eight straight races – tied for the most in PSM history – and 31 consecutive rounds, and a win would tie the defending world champion with Bob Glidden for the most consecutive wins (9) and round wins (35) in NHRA history. Smith, though, has other plans.

“I think we showed at Chicago that we’ve been testing a lot and getting our program back better,” Smith said. “It showed here again. I messed up tuning the bike on Sunday in Chicago and came here to redeem myself. My Denso bike is pretty fast, and I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done so far.

“I’m focused, head down. I’m like a hound dog, I’m a hunting dog right now, on the ground trying to find that 60-foot and make it better and better. We are getting better, and we’ll continue to try to work hard and make our bike as fast as possible.”

Chase Van Sant is currently second after going 6.827 at 196.36 and Herrera is third with a 6.830 at 197.77.

Qualifying continues at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Friday’s results after the first two of four rounds of qualifying for the 23rd annual Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, eighth of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday’s final eliminations.

Top Fuel — 1. Clay Millican, 3.786 seconds, 325.06 mph; 2. Justin Ashley, 3.795, 322.42; 3. Antron Brown, 3.809, 321.27; 4. Shawn Langdon, 3.810, 323.74; 5. Jasmine Salinas, 3.814, 326.00; 6. Steve Torrence, 3.824, 322.27; 7. Billy Torrence, 3.827, 323.43; 8. Tony Stewart, 3.829, 312.64; 9. Doug Foley, 3.843, 310.05; 10. Josh Hart, 3.867, 317.05; 11. Cody Krohn, 3.915, 313.80; 12. Tony Schumacher, 3.917, 310.91; 13. Doug Kalitta, 3.937, 311.77; 14. Shawn Reed, 3.964, 285.11; 15. Brittany Force, 4.141, 220.98.

Funny Car — 1. Austin Prock, Chevy Camaro, 3.958, 317.34; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Toyota GR Supra, 3.973, 319.90; 3. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.976, 320.74; 4. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.988, 315.93; 5. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.997, 312.64; 6. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 4.008, 303.09; 7. Paul Lee, Dodge Charger, 4.036, 307.30; 8. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 4.038, 307.51; 9. John Force, Camaro, 4.048, 312.86; 10. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.064, 310.98; 11. J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.092, 268.92; 12. Matt Hagan, Charger, 4.125, 291.89; 13. Dave Richards, Toyota Camry, 4.209, 256.31; 14. Buddy Hull, Charger, 4.387, 222.62; 15. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.492, 200.08; 16. John Smith, Charger, 5.381, 137.05.

Pro Stock — 1. Erica Enders, Chevy Camaro, 6.631, 206.95; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.636, 205.60; 3. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.639, 206.45; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.661, 205.69; 5. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.664, 206.04; 6. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.665, 206.51; 7. David Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.669, 205.79; 8. Brandon Foster, Camaro, 6.673, 205.35; 9. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.676, 205.47; 10. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.676, 205.26; 11. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.676, 205.10; 12. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.677, 205.47; 13. Cristian Cuadra, Mustang, 6.690, 204.98; 14. Larry Morgan, Camaro, 6.701, 205.69; 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.702, 205.57; 16. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.714, 204.60. Not Qualified: 17. Fernando Cuadra Jr., 6.723, 205.54; 18. Eric Latino, 7.599, 133.04.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — 1. Matt Smith, Buell, 6.788, 199.64; 2. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.827, 196.36; 3. Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.830, 197.77; 4. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.840, 197.13; 5. John Hall, Beull, 6.889, 197.54; 6. Marc Ingwersen, EBR, 6.896, 195.76; 7. Chris Bostick, Suzuki, 6.933, 193.57; 8. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 6.936, 192.33; 9. Ron Tornow, Victory, 6.938, 194.74; 10. Hector Arana Jr, EBR, 6.946, 197.57; 11. Ryan Oehler, EBR, 7.027, 191.54; 12. Angie Smith, Buell, 7.051, 196.50; 13. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 7.055, 476.86; 14. Jianna Evaristo, Buell, 7.572, 135.59.

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Overview- Sonoma Raceway

By
Official Release
-

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Overview-
Sonoma Raceway; June 8, 2024

Track; Sonoma Raceway – Road Course (1.990-Miles)
Race: ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250; 79 Laps –20/25/34; 156.95 Miles
Date/Broadcast: Saturday; June 8, 2024 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET)
TV: Fox Sports 1 (FS1), and the FOX Sports App
Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN) – Check Local Listings for affiliate, and SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90
Social Media: Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport; Facebook, Instagram, and X

Jeb Burton – No. 27 FVP/ Bommarito.com
Chevrolet Camaro SS Preview- Sonoma Raceway

News and Notes:

  • Practice; After clearing a soft NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) technical inspection on Friday morning, Jeb Burton would take the No. 27 FVP/ Bommarito.com Chevrolet to the 1.990-mile newly repaved road course of Sonoma Raceway for a scheduled 50-minute practice session. In his first laps around the picturesque Northern California road course, Burton would record a fast lap of 77.657 with an average speed of 92.252 mph on Lap-11 of his 11-Lap session placing the Virginia driver 24th of the 39 cars entered for the NXS ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250.

– Starting Position; Immediately after the conclusion of Friday’s 50-minute practice session, NXS teams were given 2-hours to prepare for NXS technical inspection prior to NXS ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 qualifying Saturday at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET). In 2024, road course qualifying would consist of two rounds of group qualifying with the first round consisting of 15-minutes of the field split in two groups with the fastest five cars in each group moving onto the second round for a 10-minute session to determine the pole sitter. With 39 cars entered, one car will miss the race. Burton is scheduled to go out on track in Group B at 12:50 PM PT (3:50 PM ET). Qualifying will be shown in its entirety LIVE on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) starting at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET).

– Sonoma Raceway Stats; Saturday’s ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 will mark Burton’s second career NXS start at Sonoma Raceway. In his lone start last season (2023), Burton after starting in the 30th position would finish 26th completing all 79 of the possible 79-laps.

Featured Partner

FVP; Launched in 2005, FVP is built on a commitment to quality and delivered with unmatched service. FVP products are specifically engineered to provide OE quality that is equal or superior in performance to national brands at a competitive price.

The FVP brand started with competitively priced OEM quality batteries, filters, and radiators for cars, trucks and specialty vehicles. FVP now proudly offers a full line of batteries for all of your automotive, RV, boating, commercial and lawn & garden needs. FVP also offers a wide array of condensers, hub assemblies, motor oil, oil filters, cabin air filters, fuel filters, transmission filters, antifreeze, DEF, and chemicals. At FVP, customer service representatives are part-smart and they understand exactly what your customers need. REACH FOR WHAT WORKS.

For more information on the FVP, visit them online at FVPParts.com, and follow their social channels on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

  • Bommarito Automotive Group; A primary supporter of Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport, Bommarito Automotive Group is celebrating over 50 years in the St. Louis marketplace, the Bommarito Automotive Group currently operates 20 automotive franchises throughout every St. Louis neighborhood led by president John Bommarito and the over 900 dedicated team members. Bommarito is recognized by the St. Louis Business Journal as Missouri’s No. 1 selling automotive group and is currently ranked 52nd in the nation. What once started as a vision to have one Bommarito vehicle in every driveway, is today a reality thanks to the ‘Where Price Sells Cars” mission.

For more information on the Bommarito Automotive Group, visit them online at Bommarito.com, and follow their social channels on Facebook, X, and Instagram

Parker Retzlaff – No. 31 FUNKAWAY
Chevrolet Camaro SS Preview- Sonoma Raceway

Social Media; Facebook, X, Instagram

  • Practice; Upon the completion of the soft NXS technical inspection on Friday morning, Parker Retzlaff would bring his No. 31 FUNKAWAY Chevrolet onto the newly repaved 1.990-mile road course of the Sonoma Raceway for the first time with a 50-minute practice session. In his first laps around the road course situated in the hills of wine country, Retzlaff would record a fast lap of 77.027 at an average speed of 93.006 mph on Lap-17 of his 17-lap session placing the Wisconsin driver 16th of the 39 cars entered for the NXS ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250.

– Starting Position; After the conclusion of NXS practice on Friday, NXS teams would be given 2-hours to prepare for NXS technical inspection prior to NXS ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 qualifying Saturday at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET). In 2024, road course qualifying would consist of two rounds of group qualifying with the first round consisting of 15-minutes of the field split in two groups with the fastest five cars in each group moving onto the second round for a 10-minute session to determine the pole sitter. With 39 cars entered, one car will miss the race. Retzlaff is scheduled to go out on track in Group B at 12:50 PM PT (3:50 PM ET). Qualifying will be shown in its entirety LIVE on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) starting at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET).

  • Sonoma Raceway Stats; Saturday’s ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 will mark Retzlaff’s second career start at Sonoma Raceway. Last season Retzlaff would start in the 16th position and encounter a transmission issue on Lap-21 ending his day early. At the end of the 79-laps Retzlaff would be scored in the 38th position.

Featured Partner

  • FUNKAWAY; Headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, FunkAway is a line of odor elimination products that removes the horrible effects of bad smells. Guaranteed to work on clothing, shoes, gear, pet products, car interiors and more, FunkAway allows customers to renew and refresh, rather than throw away. To learn more about FunkAway, visit Funkaway.com and connect on Instagram and Facebook. #FUNKINFAST31

Austin Green – No. 32 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Camaro SS Preview-
Sonoma Raceway

Social Media; Facebook, X, Instagram

News and Notes:

  • Practice; After completing NXS technical inspection on Friday morning, Austin Green would take his No. 32 3Dimensinoal.com Chevrolet onto the 1.990-mile road course of the Sonoma Raceway for the first time in NXS competition with a 50-minute practice session. In his first laps around the road course in a stockcar, Green would record a fast lap of 76.900 at an average speed of 93.160 mph on Lap-19 of his 22-lap session placing the No. 32 13th of the 39 cars entered for the NXS ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250.

– Starting Position; Immediately after the conclusion of Friday’s 50-minute practice session, NXS teams would be given 2-hours to prepare for NXS technical inspection prior to ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 qualifying Saturday at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET). In 2024, road course qualifying would consist of two rounds of group qualifying with the first round consisting of 15-minutes of the field split in two groups with the fastest five cars in each group moving onto the second round for a 10-minute session to determine the pole sitter. With 39 cars entered, one car will miss the race. Green is scheduled to take to the track first in Group A at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET). Qualifying will be shown in its entirety LIVE on Fox Sports 1 (FS1) starting at 12:30 PM PT (3:30 PM ET).

– Sonoma Raceway Stats; Saturday’s ZIP Buy Now, Pay Later 250 will mark Green’s first career NXS start at Sonoma Raceway and third career NXS road course race (Circuit of the Americas 2024, Portland International Raceway 2024).

Featured Partner

  • 3Dimensional.com; The 3-Dimensional Services Group, consisting of 3-Dimensional Services, 3-Dimensional Services Europe, Urgent Plastic Services and Urgent Design & Manufacturing, provides rapid manufacturing services that allow them to engineer and build functional prototype parts and low-to-medium volume production parts up to 70% faster than industry standards. Our capabilities include virtually all manufacturing processes, including: CNC machining, stamping, laser cutting and welding, plastic injection molding, robotic and spot welding, waterjet, hydroforming, tube bending, vibration welding, casting and pattern fabrication, RIM tooling, SLA, and SLS rapid prototyping, to name some. Learn more about 3Dimensional Services by visiting them online at 3Dimensional.com

About Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito Autosport

Jordan Anderson Racing Bommarito AutoSport is a NASCAR team, owned by owner/driver Jordan Anderson and Bommarito Automotive Group President, John Bommarito. Established in 2017 the organization is fueled by an incredible, close-knit team of employees, fans, and sponsors with a focus on integrity in the pursuit of excellence. Our goal is to embrace the journey we’re on and to never give up – whether on the track, in the pits, or in life. Every single team partner, and fan of ours, is what keeps our race cars running strong and our team performing at the highest level.

CHEVROLET INDYCAR AT ROAD AMERICA: TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE ONE RECAP

By
Official Release
-

CHEVROLET IN NTT INDYCAR SERIES
XPEL GRAND PRIX AT ROAD AMERICA
ROAD AMERICA
ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN
TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE ONE RECAP
JUNE 7, 2024

TEAM CHEVY PRACTICE ONE RECAP

Chevrolet had five drivers involved in a back-and-forth first practice session at Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix that found the top-10 drivers in the final order only separated by five tenths of a second

· Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, was the top Chevrolet powered driver with a lap of one minute, 43.3618 seconds around the four mile/14-turn track

· Josef Newgarden, behind the wheel of his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet, was only two-hundredths behind Ferrucci in the final order

· Team Chevy was represented by five in the top-10 at the conclusion of first practice session, including Ferrucci; Newgarden; Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet; Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet and Pato O’Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

· Nolan Siegel will be driving the No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet this weekend at Road America

· Romain Grojean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet, made contact with the tire barrier around turn 14 just 19 minutes into practice and was unable to return to the session

· On Saturday, Team Chevy drivers take to the track for second practice at 10:10 a.m. CT, as well as qualifying and the Firestone Fast Six at 2:25 p.m. ET for Sunday’s race at Road America

TEAM CHEVY TOP-10 FIRST PRACTICE RESULTS:

3rd Santino Ferrucci
4th Josef Newgarden
7th Will Power
8th Scott McLaughlin
9th Pato O’Ward

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet:

“It’s been a great week. We had a good car here last year with the team. We made some adjustments to kind of find some of the areas we were missing. We’re pretty competitive. So I feel good about it.”

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

“We’re back at The National Park of Speed which is awesome. I love this track. The facility is great, the track is amazing, usually the racing is pretty good here as well, so looking forward to that. I think we have a couple of really good race cars underneath us. I had a slight issue in our run in the Goodheart Chevrolet, but we’re going to figure it out and learn from Santino. That was very quick. P3 on the session so really excited about it. Then we have our Goodheart guests here this weekend which is fun as well.”

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

“I love coming here, especially after the repave. It’s a track that I really enjoy. However, we have some work to do after Practice 1. I don’t think we rolled off as strong this year as we did last year. We’ll be looking at what we need to improve on for tomorrow and get ready for qualifying.”

Théo Pourchaire, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“We gained a lot from that session. We kept the No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet clean, which is a positive. It was a windy day today, which made it tough to drive the car. I enjoy this track, though; it’s really nice but tough. It’s a track that suits the NTT INDYCAR SERIES perfectly. We need to find a little bit more performance, but it’s a good baseline that we can build off of.”

Alexander Rossi, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

“The No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet was good today, but there are still some issues that need to be sorted out. Hopefully, we can get closer to finding those solutions tomorrow.”

Romain Grosjean, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“We’ll need to analyze everything in the car. Let’s see if we can go back out today. Should be alright. I was looking and seeing Nolan Siegel in the other car. He’ll gather information for the team. The weather tomorrow doesn’t look great. It’s not ideal, but it is what it is and we have to deal with it.

Nolan Siegel, No. 78 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet:

“On track I think the session went really well. We had no issues going through what we wanted to get through. I made progress every outing. I was being super conservative. Getting thrown into this is not the easiest thing. It’s also not an easy track to just go out and push hard from the beginning. This track is super high commitment and super-fast, so I took my time to get up to speed. I feel it went smoothly and now we have a good base to work off.

“Now, I feel like we can get the weekend going properly. I can meet everyone as I only had like 15 minutes to get ready to do this. It’s not an easy situation but really happy to be here and excited to be working with the team.”

Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Good start. The car was really comfy right off the bat which is nice. Team Chevy looks quick. Good engines. Feeling confident for tomorrow. Just need to see what the weather is going to do. Always love being at Road America. Great track. Excited to see what we can put together this weekend.”

Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“Overall car was okay, but we didn’t hit the spot right out of the truck. I think we got into a really good spot now. It’s good to be back in the XPEL Chevy and looking forward to the XPEL Grand Prix.”

Will Power, No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet:

“A solid start to the weekend for the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team. I love coming to Road America and it’s even better with Chevy power. It’s obviously a big circuit where horsepower is absolutely necessary, and Chevy always gives that to us. We had to battle quite a bit of wind today and there may be some weather in the forecast tomorrow, so that is something that will factor into the rest of our plan to get ready for the race.”

SANTINO FERRUCCI, NO. 14 AJ FOYT RACING CHEVROLET – First Practice Press Conference Transcript:

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone. Santino Ferrucci, driver of the No. 14 AJ Foyt Sexton Property Chevrolet.

Santino, your thoughts on a good start to the weekend for you?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, actually I love this track. Always enjoyed coming here. Been here as a spectator before, as well. Was at Siebkens last night bartending for Racing For Kids.

THE MODERATOR: Raising money.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, raising money.

It’s been a great week. We had a good car here last year with the team. We made some adjustments to kind of find some of the areas we were missing. We’re pretty competitive. So I feel good about it.

THE MODERATOR: Sound start to the weekend. We’ll begin with questions.

Q. What has changed within the program? There is the Penske alliance. How much different does it feel this year compared to last year?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, obviously I think if you look at our results, too, we have four top 10s in six races, on all tracks now, so street, road and oval. It’s been a much easier I want to say way of rolling off of the hauler. So we unroll pretty quick.

Last year we were actually competitive here, which was nice. We were able to take some of that and mix it in with our Penske alliance. Obviously we get some dampers from them. So putting everything together, we have a pretty good car.

I actually feel very comfortable because it’s a car I’ve been on before. I’m not trying to learn something new for the first time this weekend as far as setup goes.

It’s a very similar car off of Barber, as well. We’re starting to find the sweet spot for me because I don’t drive quite like the other three drivers or like my teammate. It’s been a bit of a learning curve.

It’s nice to be quick off the trailer (smiling).

Q. You referenced you’re ahead of a couple of your teammates which insinuates the Penske bit. What does it mean for you confidence-wise, even with the alliance, it’s your team that’s ahead of the Penskes with the same dampers?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, no, they’re not quite the same. They’re close. But with their help, we’ve been able to do as well as them. It’s very hard to beat a team like Penske. I mean, they won quite a few races already this year. So to be just as quick as them or even for this reference quicker, it feels really good for how small our team is.

Still part of that speed is due to James Schnabel, who is a Penske employee, my race engineer, and them helping us out. It’s pretty cool, so…

Q. Obviously a lot less tension today versus last week. Alex called this a proper racetrack. Are you echoing those comments right now?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Depends on your definition of a ‘proper racetrack’. No street course in my mind is a proper race course. They’re all very unique, very different. I would say Detroit has definitely had its challenges.

I love street racing, I really do. It was a very tough weekend for not just us but for INDYCAR at Detroit, starting to understand how it works for us. We had a lot of cautions.

This is what you would consider as a permanent track. One of the greatest tracks, in my opinion, across the globe, not just in the series. This is probably one of the coolest.

Also it’s a true racetrack, in my opinion. What I mean by that, it’s not a paved parking lot that you see a lot of the other series that’s (indiscernible). You make a mistake here, you go off and there’s something to hit. It’s high stakes, high reward. The carrousel has to be one of the coolest corners in motorsports.

Q. Any fence mending in the last week? You were a little bit upset at some other guys… How does that work over the last week and today?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Me and Helio had a great chat on of the grid with helmets on and with helmets off, walking down the grid. I have a ton of respect for him, a ton of respect for Meyer Shank.

I feel horrible about what happened with those guys. Obviously moving forward, I just want to be true to myself and who I am. I think that’s important for my moral values and for my team.

This is a new week, man. We’re going to treat it as is. We’ve been fighting for top 10s now. I’d like to be fighting for a win.

Q. The pace of this practice was about two seconds off of last year. Was that what you expected after the repave? Seems like we had a bunch of offs. Some correlation between those?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I think with the repave last year, the track had this peak of grip, which was phenomenal for our cars. I mean, it was incredibly fast.

Obviously you guys have tough winters up here, to say the least. I’m from Connecticut. When we’re in the middle of summer and I have a hoodie on, I can’t imagine what it’s like here in December and January.

When we saw the practice with the Indy Lights, the Pro 2000 Series, the USF Pro, we saw they were about a second off. We figured we’d be a little bit slower.

We didn’t quite now know what the car balance would be like. But, yeah, the conditions are incredibly technical. Honestly it makes it a lot of fun.

Q. (No microphone.)

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I mean, I had my fair share of dropping wheels, too, flying through the dirt, especially coming on to the main straight. I think everyone will agree the balance of the cars is probably pretty snappy right now.

For me, I love driving an oversteer race car. If you looked at my steering trace, you’d think it was not real. I’m definitely very happy and that has a lot to do with it.

Q. This is obviously the fifth successive weekend of cars being on track. How much of a challenge is this congested period? What have you and your team done to manage that?

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, obviously I think rolling off of Indy and into Detroit was mentally tiring I think for everybody. You’re going into a tight street course. I think having a couple days to rest and sleep, I finally got more than eight hours at home this week, which was awesome.

To come up here and do a full reset, I feel like I have a lot more energy. I can see it in the team. My Texas guys got to go back to Houston. I was very happy about that.

Yeah, racing immediately after Indy is always tough. It would be nice to have the week off. Obviously with the sports this year, it’s very technical to do. With TV, there’s a lot of things behind the scenes that we don’t unfortunately get the benefit of.

But, yeah, I think everybody’s looking forward to getting through this race weekend, going through the Milwaukee test, then sitting at home on the couch (smiling).

Q. Obviously we know about the Penske alliance. Do you put your racing results down to continuity within the team? You’ve been able to hold onto a lot of people, team personnel that you had last year. You have Mike Cannon back, as well.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Yeah, I think a lot of that has to do with it. The little things throughout the race weekend, we’re trying to minimize. We had made a lot of mistakes every race weekend last year, not just from my standpoint but from procedural stuff. Working through all that, tuning that all out, having a proper go this year, we’ve come a long way. We’ve been maximizing track time.

I think we had a bit of a rocky start trying to maximize our track time. Once we got to Barber, we were pretty good. We had our faults at Indy, which is unfortunate. Our road and street course weekends have been a lot cleaner as a whole. We’ve been on track, making the correct setup changes on the pit lane. I think that shows into our continuity.

THE MODERATOR: Appreciate your time. Thanks for coming over. Good luck tomorrow.

SANTINO FERRUCCI: Thank you.

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